History Geek

This is nice. Not a rave, but not a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, either.

http://thebookblurb.blogspot.com/2012/05/kindred-spirits-by-julianne-lee.html

Library Thing reviewed "Kindred Spirits," and I was particularly taken with their conclusion:

"In a perfectly timed release in the 100th Anniversary of the Civil War this year, Julianne Lee has written a winner. Her research is meticulous, her characters so believable I was nearly rooting for the South for a bit and with a love story woven throughout, this is definitely a book to start out your spring/summer reading list."

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Outcasts-by-Vonda-N.-McIntyre

Outcasts
Three Stories

by Vonda N. McIntyre

“Screwtop,” “Steelcollar Worker,” “The Genius Freaks.”

Kylis believes she can protect herself, but when the commander of the prison Screwtop threatens her lovers, she understands her own vulnerability. Jannine loves the accomplishment she feels in her Virtual Reality job... yet she fears doing it too well, and attracting the attention of her superiors. Lais, the freak,  flees from comfort and rewards, knowing too much about herself.

Reading now: "An Object of Beauty" by Steve Martin.

Yes, really. He's brilliant, and I have thought so since "Cruel Shoes."

Went to Chattanooga on Friday to visit Dale and see the show. I don't do this very often, but I love bluegrass music, and it was Alison Krauss. WHAT a voice! What a band! I got to meet her backstage, as well. Sweet, sweet lady. I'm still doing the Fangirl Dance of Joy.

La-la!

Ten quick questions I've fielded from the Pittsburg Examiner.

http://www.examiner.com/historical-fiction-in-pittsburgh/10-questions-with-historical-fiction-author-julianne-lee

I'm not generally one to toddle along after the crowd, but I've become curious about "The Hunger Games." It's an intriguing title, the more intriguing because the books are YA. My imagination went nuts trying to figure out how "hunger" and "game" could be used together. I don't generally like YA, because I was never that age and am uncomfortable reading stories about characters who are. But the trailers for this movie pulled me in. Turns out I can relate to this story better than I could to Harry Potter and his cuddly kind.

Also, Nikki talked me into going to the movie with her. She had the day off from work, and I needed to get out of the house, so we had lunch and caught the movie.

I must say, I thought the story was brilliant. Clearly the premise was drawn from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," and it did well in constructing a world where such a weird thing might be plausible. I sense a revolt of some kind not far off, but I understand this is a trilogy so I guess I should have patience.

So Sunday was Fun Day this week. I recommend "The Hunger Games" for the holdouts, if there are any left.

My Border Collie, Maxwell Edison, will be two years old on May 1, which for Border Collies is the age of majority. At that point, he's supposed to be an adult, and should behave like one. Anyone who knows Border Collies knows how crazed they are until they mature and settle down a little. Our previous collie, Ziggy, never did get over doing what we called "The Ziggy Dance" every time someone came and went in the driveway. So we've been looking forward to Max growing up and becoming the good dog we know he can be.

Max is a smart dog. We know he wants to be a good dog. Mostly he's been a breeze to train. In obedience school he picked up on sit, stay, come, leave it, walkies, and shake hands so quickly the instructor often had trouble filling the entire hour. He fetches like a champion, and will wear me out wanting me to throw things for him to bring back. When we decided he was old enough to train to the invisible fence, it took him exactly five minutes to learn not to leave the yard. Even Ziggy had required an entire day, and the instructions recommend several days. So one would think Max is a dream dog, willing to obey every command.

Not so.

For the past two years we have been struggling to get him to not pee in the house. We have watched him like a hawk. We have let him outside at regular intervals. We have admonished him when we caught him in the act. And yet we have still found little puddles here and there around the house. I have had to toss out several area rugs he ruined. He likes to herd the cats, and if he cornered one, he became so excited he peed right there. As his second birthday approached, I began to despair of ever trusting him in the house. Especially when he learned to lift his leg. Certain places began to suffer horribly.

It got to where I had to do inspection every night before bed. He had about six spots around the house, and every time I entered a room I had to check to see if he'd peed in one of them. I began to admonish him if I saw a fresh puddle, and never mind if I caught him in the act. He began to get it. For a few days he couldn't figure out what my problem was, and every time I went into a room he would hang back and watch me. Sometimes he hid in the bathtub. But for about two weeks now he's not peed on the floor, and with five weeks to spare till his second birthday. I have hope we'll soon be able to trust him and not need nightly inspection.

Now if I could figure out how to make my elderly cat pee in the box instead on the base of my office lamp. Thank God for pee pads.