Finally Got My Money Back

Barnes & Nobles Unsatisfied Customer

Continual Struggles With Nook


N.B.  After several back and forth replies I finally got a refund of $8.55 to be applied to my credit card in the next one to two billing statements depending on how my banks cut off date works.  I used it to apply to the purchase of a soft cover of the book I had already owed.  I had to pay $7.99 and I had someone who had a Amazon Prime account buy it for me so that I didn't have to pay shipping.  Since it is a ACTUAL book there will be NO issue will the FORMAT, the FORMAT is PAPER and INK.  I do like the convenience of having a large number of books in a small tablet that I can carry with me, however it doesn't seem that privilege is worth the cost of possibly losing all your books or being subject to the whims of a nameless corporation that took a month to resolve my issue.

Christmas EVE thoughts

I tried to sleep.  It's not working. I feel like one of the old fashioned doll, the kind that are strung together by several pieces of string. Except one on my strings is missing, the one that connects the head and left arm.  I feel all floppy and my hand is shaking. My head feels to tight on one side and to loose on the other.  Pain pills take me away! Soon it will be Christmas and all over and I can sleep all day and no one will care. I really could sleep all day, If I don't take my new medication.  I can still nap, which is supposed to be impossible, but I can. Tomorrow, I will make a large pot of Starbucks Expresso blend coffee fresh ground and eat lots of sugar.  Then I will crash after everyone leaves and wake up just in time for Doctor Who, or if not there's always DVR!

Continual Struggles with #NOOK

So After four days #Barnes & Nobles got back to me.  That I needed to resend them my book title and the last four digits of my credit card and my mailing address.  I figured, finally I will at least get my money back.  The next e-mail gave me instructions on how to reset my Nook to factory reset.  I sent back a one line answer.  "IT DIDN'T WORK!"  The reply to that was "We will reply in 12-24 hours."  Is it just me or does the service on this product #suck?  With all the people who are switching to e-readers, the store had better be able to deal with technology problems. What actually got a response from someone was an e-mail threatening them that I was going to start looking into a #Kindle.

So my new medicine that is supposed to be keeping me from sleeping all day is keeping me from sleeping all night. I can't win for trying.  I know there are a lot worse things happening to in the world and people who have things that are seriously wrong with them but it's very hard to remember when you've gotten five hours sleep in the last three days.  I lay in bed to go to sleep and toss and turn. I also have something wrong with my sleep cycle so I'm constantly waking up. Right now my face is tingling from my migraine medicine, too.  I have done everything possible so that I can be comfortable.  I have a Tempurpedic bed.  I have polar fleece sheets and about five blankets all of soft materials.  I have multiple firm pillows.  I keep everything I could possibly need next to my bed so I don't have to get up and mess up my sleep.  Yet none of this seems to help.  My brain keeps running.  Here I sit type at quarter to four in the morning and I haven't even sleep a bit.  With Christmas coming, I have things to do I I can't afford to nap all day as I have been doing to to compensate for my lack of night sleep.  That's right.  The reason I caved and went to the doctor is that for the past few weeks I've been sleeping almost all day and still feeling tired.  I know that's wrong.  I have to go get another sleep study done.  I had one done before but it wasn't completed.  There are two parts to the study and I didn't have the second part done.  They didn't tell me about the second and I had scheduled another appointment so I was unable to complete it then.  I won't be able to do the sleep study till after Christmas.  I'm not sure what actually having a label on my sleep disorder will do.  Will saying I'm a narcoleptic or that I have R.E.M. cycle disorder make a difference? Okay rant over, I just needed to get that out. Sorry!

Barnes & Nobles UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER

Dear Barnes and Nobles,

After having written you numerous times, I have decided to write and open letter on the internet hoping to get your attention.  I have been a loyal customer for many year and spent thousand of dollars with your company.  I received a Nook eReader as gift.  I have purchased many books for it.  I had to archive books because I did not have enough space on the device.  When I went to retrieve my book, my Nook said the format was not acceptable to this device.  Since the book was purchased from barnesandnobles.com, there should have been no problem with the format.  I wrote to the customer service department with my pertinent information.  I was sent a form letter back saying I would be contacted within 12 to 24 hours.  I was then sent a letter that the order number was needed.  This book was purchased more then 12 months ago so the order number is not available to access on the Barnes and Nobles website.  When I wrote them the response to their inquiry,  I informed them the authors name and the name of the book again, even though I had previously given them that information in the original letter.  I hadn’t heard back so I re-sent the letter.  I again received the same form letter that read “we will respond to you in 12 to 24 hours“.  That e-mail was sent on December 4, 2012 at 8:44pm.  I have not received a response since.  This type of  behavior is unacceptable for a major corporation such as Barnes and Nobles.  I am putting this letter on my Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Tumbler pages and encouraging my friends and family to share this story.  It is close to the holidays.  Maybe some will reconsider their purchases this season.
Thank You for you time,
Jamie M Zalot

RANT ON PAIN

Since I’m up yet again after having fallen asleep when I didn’t want to so I am going to rant. This happens all the time.  I either can’t sleep or I’m so tired I quite literally can’t keep my eyes open.  I have actually fallen asleep while writing, reading, and other mentally orientated tasks which should not be possible.  I also have bad joints.  My wrists bother me quite a lot and swell sometimes.  Sometimes individual fingers bother me.  I crackle, snap and pop like a name brand cereal that I won’t mention for fear of litigation.  My ankles have always give me trouble since I was a child.  I recently stepped on my left ankle and it gave out and I landed with all my weight on my right knee on a concrete step. OUCH!  Luckily nothing was broken, unfortunately it still hurts.  My hips tend to pop out of joint at the least bit of provocation, and my knees take a little more abuse but follow the same course.  My shoulder has no cartilage left from injuries when I was younger.  I have to be careful about lifting and reaching over my head.  My neck and back are simply worn out but I do have 3 disks with problems in the cervical vertebra.  I am also on long term steroids simple because every time they try to cut the dosage down I get a sinus infection or bronchitis.  I get the IVIG once a month because that cuts down the severity of the infections I do get. I have a headache all the time and I get migraines and clusters on top of those.  I also occasionally suffer from TMJ and have some teeth issues.  I need two back teeth capped but that is too expensive right now.  I also get muscle “twitches”. (I call them Spasms) I bruise, not easily, but because I walk into things all the time. Right now my throat is soar and my nose is blocked and my neck is soar and I think I have enough off my chest that I can go to sleep.  Good night and sorry for ranting!

In the Wake of Sandy Finding Pets a Home

https://www.facebook.com/InTheWakeOfSandyFindingPetsAHome In the wake of Sandy many pets will end up abbandoned or left to fend for themselves. Please if you know a pet in need or know someone in need of a pet direct them here.

Wishes

Wishes When most girls are small they eventually sit around in a group and plan their weddings. It’s inevitable. Something in the female psyche craves this exercise. I’m not sure whether it is a case or one up-man-ship(I’ll have 2 more bridesmaids then you) or something more primal. We have an animal instinct to perpetuate the species. We are told to have children we must be married, therefore we have to get married. I remember sitting in a circle with other girls talking about dresses, bridesmaids, colors, but never really important was the guy you were marrying. Isn't that a bit backward? I must of had a tad more imagination then some of my friends I planned out my children, with names even. I could tell you what they looked like and some brief personality traits. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed. Maybe it would be entertaining to someone. So here is my wedding that will never be, partially because I don’t date and partially because it would be extremely hard for me to have children. (Nothing is impossible, But I’m not holding my breath!) The Details A church wedding of course… The dress is handmaid to a drawing I've been working on for years updating each time my body shape changes The bridesmaids enter in increasing height order in dresses that start in a darker colors then gradually lighten leading to the light pink of the flower girl, then the white of the wedding dress Also the bridesmaids hair starts in a complicated braiding and up do, then the next is less complicated, etc, until the brides hair is down in simple curls with flowers pined into her hair All the bouquets for the girls are simple gathers of a flowers matching the dress. The bride has a simple gather of white roses. The ushers have ties and cummerbunds that match their bridesmaid, also paired according to height. Songs: “There is love” “Hosea” (And Amazing Grace, ‘cause this ain't happening) A reception at a hotel with an open bar The tables have linens to match the bridesmaids dresses. The place setting is simple. In stead of flower centerpieces, there are edible arrangements and there are disposable cameras at all the tables. The menu is a simple buffet with three meat options and two non meat options. The wedding cake would be traditional. There would be a grooms cake and cupcakes. There would be a DJ and two separate rooms for Karaoke and cards. And a Barrista.  The Kids First Born: Katherine Marie Dark Black hair short Very book smart Not a outdoors person or sports person Second Born: Mitchell : Smart Brown hair Green Eye Very willing to please just about anyone sort of short semi okay at both sports and school but kind of an underachiever Third born: Colleen Catherine Very red hair and bright green eyes. Very athletic Tallest of the lot likes to read

N.B.  The thing about wishes , of course, is that you NEVER SPEAK THEM OUT LOUD. Or write them for that matter.  So there go that.  Not that I had any shot at all but maybe someone will get some use out of my color scheme or something.

Cholambic Tetrameter- An Attempt

Bright, sharp, solid ever descending, ever in place 

Waiting piercing time itself trying to displace 

As long is the box is closed the answer is unknown 

Until the shadow falls, the Foreseer’s is the only moan

Insertion Poetry ( Apologies to Snow Patrol)

If I lay here,
(‘cause I just can’t get up)

If I just lay here
(I wish this cough would go away)

Would you lie with me
(Misery loves company)

And just forget the world
(Why don’t I feel better yet)

Circles

Running in circles in my mind
Silence eats away at patience
Time heals nothing
If scabs never form
Pressure remains constant
Soul crushing pain
Heart wrenching
All consuming
Back to the begining

It was odd that the miracle started with a plague. Nobody was sure what was coming but they knew it wasn’t good. It seemed like only a few years but the future was not looking so bright. On that cold Chicago day, the prison cells were overcrowded and full of criminals. What was amazing that it hadn’t happened before. All those bodies close together, fighting for food, space, and dominance. A plague in the middle of the prison cells.

The CDC stepped in right away to see what could be made of the situation. There were no marks on the bodies. There were no indicators that they had anything more than a common flu. One doctor suggested heart failure, but as a guard laughingly said,“ these brutes don’t have hearts!“.   That was where it started, with the dangerous cases, the criminally insane. At first it was only one or two prisoners, the most threatening sorts. Death row got hit very hard the first two weeks. Then the lesser criminal population started to fall out. Those wanted for crimes of rape, passion, and strangely enough usury.

Then it seemed to migrate into the regular populations. It moved into the ghettos, the slums, the back alleys were no one would go. It seemed targeted but no one could find out how it was moving. It wasn’t transmitted by the air. Then the mob bosses started to fall. It wasn’t transmitted by hand contact, although heaven knows those types of people were in frequent contact with each other.  It went through all major families. It went to the Communists, Islamic extremists and the child raperers. Finally, it seemed like no one was dying anymore, if only because there was no one left to die.

Over all about a third of the world population was dropped. It seemed like everyone noticed for a while and then they all just got on with life.  It wasn’t something they could stop or look into.  The CDC investigated for awhile.  They told us to wash our hands carefully. Yeah, like that would have helped anything. People believed because they wanted to believe they still had control.  It was bad but in a good way.  If someone had to go, it was the undesirables.  The ones no one would miss.  If a few politicians and entertainers had disappeared, well, nobody wanted to ask any questions.

After a few months the whole thing died down.  People stopped being cautious and started being lazy again.  By six months out anyone would have thought the whole thing was a mass hallucination.  Of course there’s always one or two that will spout crazy nonsense about the end of days and alien invasions.  I wonder now that they stopped coming forward.  Was it their choice, or were they eliminated in the plague?

People started letting their guard down.  We went back to our normal lives. My normal life was a little harder to go back to then most.  I was a P. I., Private investigator.  Believe it or not, a lot of my work came from cops looking for tips.  With a large percentage of the criminal population down, I was hurting for money.  I still got occasional work from lovelorn wives and husbands, the more rare “I think someone is trying to cover up my dear departed” murders, and a few missing pets.  I admit it. I was bored shitless.

I started looking in to some odd occurrences that began to pop up.  It wasn’t mentioned on the news because good news never is.  It seemed that overnight the dirtier parts of town began to clean themselves up.  The graffiti was missing, sidewalks straightened themselves, and parks bloomed like a master gardener had planted them. No one was reporting this but no one was complaining either. I decided to do a little digging to see what I could find.

I walked into the station in good spirits with a smile on my face.  It never hurt to sweet talk my contacts at the precinct. “Yo, Johnny, what’s the good word?”

“That you’re go out with me Saturday, sweetness.”  He had no doubt in his voice. “I know the most out the way little Italian restaurant.  We could have vermillcelli and get wasted.”  Johnny was also not eloquent.

“ I don’t think so buddy boy. But what’s the word on the rapturists?  I heard they struck again in china town and the residents weren’t too happy.  In fact, some of the locals set fire bombs to the gardens.  Any way I could get a look a the crime scenes?”

“What crime scenes? As far as the chief is concerned, the residents were redecorating and removing weeds that grew up overnight, but the mayor has recommended a voluntary evacuation of the effected area if anyone wants to leave.”

“Why? I mean it’s not like there is radiation or something, right? It’s just someone improving the curb appeal.” I had a wicked sense of humor.
“You’re kidding me right! You haven’t heard the latest one? Everyone in the projects that had cancer overnight has no traces of it. Poof! Not even a drop.”

“ No, Shit. Really?!” This was looking interesting. “ Are the house prices skyrocketing?”

“No there’re keeping it quiet for now, but what kind of chemical or radiation would do that? I mean I wouldn’t want to find out six months later that you gonna die horribly or something, you know” He did have point.

“ I be careful, I promise but this is too juicy to stay out of now.  What is those nut cases are right and this is only the beginning?” If only I knew how right I was.  {END OF SAMPLE}c2012 Jamie M Zalot

#T-Mobile #Samsung Phone sucks

I am a consumer and I buy things.  When I find a company that makes good products I stick with that company.  I have been getting good products from #Samsung for quite a few years.  However recently, my #SamsungGalaxy phone started having problems.  I know the models is a few years old so I went to #T-Mobile to talk about my options.  Since my contract was not up, I could not get a new phone without paying full price.  I could not get a free replacement phone because I did not have insurance (I take care of my electronics).   My only option without out spending hundreds of dollars on a new phone was to pay twenty bucks for a replacement phone. They couldn‘t possibly send me a replacement that was exactly my phone because it isn‘t made anymore apparently, even though I only bought it 6 moths ago.  The phone that #T-Mobile sent me is the #Samsung #Nexus.  It can’t find a Wi-Fi signal, can’t access my e-mail, have the time it can’t upload what it’s trying to upload and took almost two days to download all the apps I use.  I am surprised the #Samsung made such an inferior product.

N.B. I went back to T-Mobile. They refunded my twenty dollars and they let me keep my #Samsung Galaxy.  Real rich of them.  The guy reset my phone and said don't put so many apps on it. Funny. Real funny.

Be Grateful For The Time And Place We Are Living In

We often complain about thing and don’t often stop to take time to be grateful for the time and place we are living in.  It hit me as I was watching The Tudors and reading The Postmortal by Drew Magary how lucky I am to live when and where I am.
For starters as I woman, in this day and age I am free have the ability to vote and not chattel of my father or husband.  I can hold a job (if I had the ability).  I do not have to get married and have children until I die in childbirth.  I can own property.  I am not property.
We have freedom of speech.  I can write this blog expressing my opinion within fear of losing my head.  I can say things about the people in charge or the laws without fear of prosecution as long as I do not lie about them.(libel)
We have freedom of religion in this country.  We can choose which Church we wish to attend.  People tend to forget this.  In The Tudors, people were forced to give up the religion of their forefathers simply on the will of a King.  If they disagreed with this position they were hung, stabbed or beheaded.  Yes, this still happens in some countries but I thankfully live in America.
We are in a age of electronic splendor.  We can instantly communicate with others all over the world.  We can access information instantly.  We have the world at our fingers.  We can hear the words or see images of someone long dead or worlds away.  These images and sounds are preserved forever.
If you get sick today, it is relativity easy to find out what is wrong.  Very few women die in childbirth compared to the middle ages.  When is the last time you heard of someone dieing from the flu, or having a foot amputated for a splinter?  These things happened even as little as 100 years ago.
Right at this moment we have not overcrowded the planet or run out of natural resources, yet.  At some point in the future, most scientists agree, we will.  There will be fights over food, water, fuel and all the resources will be scarce.
If there is to be a point to be taken from all this, it is that yes bad things are always happening.  But I would rather have the bad things that happen now then the bad things that have happened or that will happen. After every rain comes the rainbow.

So today is True Blood day as usual. Great Episode. But I was afterwards I finished watching a Doctor Who episode called State of Decay.  For those of you who don’t know, this is an old Doctor Who episode.  It is Tom Baker era and part of a trilogy called the e-space trilogy.  (If that is all goobly-gook, go to wiki-pedia and learn something.)  The important part was that it is about vampires.  The thing I like most about watch old Doctor Who episodes is the documentaries and interviews on the end.  The ones on the end of this video were great.  Especially enlightening, was the documentary concerning vampire literature.  (I must note that this video was taped and release prior to True Blood.)   The people in the video were contemplating what would be the next big thing in vampires.  They were pretty spot on.  Also cool 9or disgusting depending on your point of view) was the piece on blood itself, complete with the guy saying he wanted to eat blood pudding made with his own blood.  Just sharing!

Doctor Who and the Companions

Your name whispers back to me on an infinite wind.
My mind recalls feelings of bliss.
I longingly reach in fascination for nirvana,
Wanting to give you one precious kiss.

No longer a tactile sensation is this,
Bound to the earth in a golden mist.
My mind has grasped infinite dimensions.
This is no longer a simple, sensual tryst.

Together we soar, souls bound as one.
They fly fleetly over blue skies.
Our minds are so brilliant they blind the Sun.
We burn quickly and fade as love dies.

Pressure and Vacation

So my Dad asked me an interesting question, Why are you sleeping so much on vacation?   See I have been resting a lot at home and I do tend to narcolepsy but not catalepsy. But this vacation was different.  I had been taking two to four hour naps in the middle of the day.  I thought it over.  Was I eating differently?  Had I largely changed my sleeping patterns?  Was over/under doing it on caffeine?  No.  I realized that I was able to relax completely.  I didn’t have to watch every single word I said.  No one knew me here.  There was no chance of the small town grape vine analyzing every move I made, every thing I eat, even where I shopped.( always local of course) It had been such a relief of pressure that my body simply took that time to sleep, which is the body’s healing state.  I wonder how much stress all of us are under in this face book oriented world of ours.  We all have every move judged.  We have every picture critiqued.  We are told what is best for us and expected to do it through the sheer pressure of peers alone.  No one tells the children to behave anymore, their friends pressure them to behave within the norm.  If no one complains that someone cuts in line than that makes it okay.  We should start using this system to our advantage to fix our society before it rots to it core.  When someone’s child runs in the mall, all the adults should help the parent discipline that child.  When a person with 40 items is in the express check out lane, everyone should help the clerk move them to another line.  Peer Pressure works both ways and I’m glad to be rid of some of mine.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or Abraham Lincoln History Destroyer

I went to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  It was made by Tim Burton and he always makes a great movie, graphically speaking.  I wasn’t familiar with the book series the movie was based on, but that wasn’t necessarily a prerequisite. I have seen other movies based on books without reading the books and it worked fine.(every book I didn’t want to read in school) 

I happened to have a lot of background knowledge on Abraham Lincoln, though, and was interested to see how much historical accuracy there would be. I was shocked that either the person writing the book or the person writing the screenplay was unconcerned for historical accuracy. Many things caught my eyes. Some may just be nit picking but they deserve to be mentioned.

First, Mary Todd Lincoln was not Lincoln’s first love and she was not as beautiful as depicted. Pictures exist, take a look.  Second, they had four sons, several of which lived to adulthood.  Third, Mary was considered mad as a hatter.  She was committed to an asylum for a time.

Now to the pure historical inaccuracies. There was furniture out of period.  There was a piece of paper that was obviously printed off a computer.  They skipped spots in the Gettysburg Address.  They didn’t mention that the Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves in the rebelling states, which was important to the plot because in the plot they were the vampires food supply.

As to the fiction part of the story, it was good.  It was gory.  It had a good plot and an interesting concept.  I understood the paralleling of the freeing of the slaves and the vampires trying to take over the country.  It was a thought out concept but the inaccuracy made it hard to fall completely in love with.

My Rating 3 ½ out of 5

TV in DR waiting Room

I happen to sit in a lot of doctor’s waiting rooms, a lot.  I’ve noticed a pattern.  The majority of the television stations are set to ABC, our local channel 6.  This means I’ve seen WAY more of The View and Regis and Kelly then anyone should ever have to put up with.  I don’t mind Rachel Ray, in fact I watch her of my own free will, but then comes the *insert curse words of choice* soap operas.  WHY???!!!  It’s not just doctor’s offices that have adopted this practice of showing “non-threatening” television in public places.  I’ve seen this scheduling take place in pizza parlors, dentists(as if that isn’t torture enough), nail salons, and even car service stations.  Now some place do have some variations.  I have seen news channels, usual Fox News( Don’t even get me started), once or twice children’s programming, and CBS, which is game shows in the morning and more bloody soap operas in the afternoons.  I did see food network once or twice in a doctor’s office, which is just wrong unless they are running programs teaching you how to eat healthy.( It was Paula Dean) So what kind of compromise is there?  I’m sure that the programming I am maligning is someone favorite and that they are reading this and screaming at their screen and calling me an idiot.  I know there are programs I like that most people dislike immensely(not many), but there has to be a middle ground.  One average says we spend about five years of our life waiting, FIVE YEARS!!  I know I’ve had doctor’s visits that seemed like I was waiting that long.J  How about something like Bugs Bunny? Everyone likes Bugs Bunny, right….

Driving with the Family Pet

New Jersey has implemented a new law regarding your pets and seat belts. Yes, seat belts.  Fido, Fluffy and Fifi must now be strapped in to head to the shore, the park or grandmas house.  Now, I’m all for responsible pet ownership.  Sandi tells me how to take care of her all the time.  I have often stuck my nose into others business when I feel a pet is in danger.  I once saw a German Sheppard hanging half way out of a convertible window.  The lady was bringing him into the pet store and I asked her what happens if you have to stop?  However, dogs are not children, no matter much we love them.  They can not be told to sit still, at least, not all of them.  Some will chew through leashes, harnesses and yes, seat belts.  Dogs do have to take car rides to the vets, to the groomers, and to doggie day care.  As long as the dog is safe in the car and not a distraction to the driver, what is the problem?  It seems to me that insisting on seat belts specifically, is the equivalent of demanding a specific child restraint.  Sandi sits on my lap, quietly.  Why should that be a $250 fine?  If I am not wearing my seat belt that is a $25 fine. Yes, Sandi is precious but the law is saying a dog is worth more then a person.  Just saying…

As The Weather Turns...

I must say, temperature wise I love spring and fall.  It’s not to hot and not too cold.  Sartorially, I hate it. I am one of those people who are blessed to learn frugality through the lack of a closet.  In other words, I have NO clothing storage except for two dressers; one with three drawers, one with four.  I appropriated a cedar closet to hang dresses in another room but that doesn’t help much.  I am constantly rolling clothes into tight little bunches so that they fit into the dressers or leaving them in hampers pretending “oh I just didn’t put them away yet” so that I have enough room.  And several times a year I clean out my clothes and pass them off to relatives, Goodwill and other who need/will take them before I am suffocated by them.  Spring and Fall are usual the times I clean out my clothes but the temperatures make it harder because in the spring you can step out the door in jeans and a tee and by the time you coming in need a tank and shorts and in the fall it is the exact opposite.  Oh course there is always the added business of being a women who is not at her ideal weight.  Any item of clothing before it can be discarded has to go through the “well, am I sure I won’t fit in this again ever?” decision.  The choice is always wrong.  You know you’re either never going to be that thin again or you have no self esteem that what ever you are trying is going to work.  And then comes… Bathing suits…  No one likes trying them on.  I don’t care if you Angelina Jolie, EVERYONE dread putting on their suit for the first time since last year.  Thank God for Cover-ups!  Oh well, At least during this Clothing Crisis of Criminal Capacity we get nice weather right?

Review of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series

I picked up a bunch of these books at a yard sale for a $1.75.  I like them.  Good humor and decent stories, although not my usual forte.  I only figured out "who dun-it" about 2/3rds of the way through the book, for me that's fairly good.  I had stopped reading mysteries because I used to figure them out less then half way through.  I like the humor, although if you aren't from Jersey, you won't get some of it.  I actually read more then one of these today and the reviews are much the same.  That was another reason I gave up reading mysteries, monotony. I still liked them, though.  I would have been made to pay full price though.

The Hippie Cluster Paradigm

meant to be read aloud *snapping fingers optional*

Eyes Wide, Towel On
Trying to get the PAIN gone
Ice Packs, heat packs
Trying to making the pain slack,
Keeping rhythm, Keeping time
Head hears bells sounding
Hear the Clock tick tock
Head keep on pounding
Shaking fingers, Shaking hands,
Pain begins to flower
Muscles spasm, Muscle cramp
It seems to last for hours.

Keep it real, Daddio!

review of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I finally read Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I wasn’t intending to read it, mind you. I had the first chapter that Barnes and Nobles gives you for free and I wasn’t overwhelmingly thrilled. I had said that I wouldn’t pay full price for the book. It hadn’t read as bad as some books I’ve had to read for school, that after that crucial first chapter, I picked up and threw across the room. (The Hobbit, what can I say I just didn’t like the writing) I said that I would not go out of my way to read it but if it came to me for free… I would read it. I can’t argue with a free book.




After reading the free sample, I realized that part of the problem was that the entire story was written in present tense. That is just sloppy writing. The editor should have remedied that problem. It wasn’t a thrilling first sixty six pages. The plot was set out in a normal fashion and there were no immediate catches to the reader’s eye. Afterwards, I was not further inspired to read the rest of the book.




Then, I was presented with a free copy of the full book. I decided to give it a second try. The first part was about the same as I remembered. The story and plot was a basic one. A post apocalyptic wasteland ruled by a minority “aristocracy”. There was a plot device was the more common fish out of water and trying to survive. There was some brief intrigue thrown in, in the way of a mild love interest and almost a love triangle but not quite. The book felt incomplete and unfinished. There are sequels available but cliffhangers are for TV and movies , not for books.




All in all, I don’t think I would reread this book. That is my judgment of a books worthiness, it’s re-read-ability. I have books I have read 20 times or more because I love the characters so much and their stories seems so real. This story just seems so out of sync with real life. Not with reality, I understand it’s a fiction book, but real emotion and how people relate to one another. I couldn’t put myself in one of the character’s shoes and say, “YES!, that’s EXACTALLY what I would do!”.

Her

You’ll never love me
I’m not pretty or thin
I’m not up to your standards
I’m never gonna win


We’ll never be the perfect pair
They were always right
They said we were too

 different
They say how much we fight


You two will work much better
She seems much better for you
She'll make you happier
She better not make you blue

Okay… So I’m not so consistent as I should be at writing my blog.  I just don’t have the discipline to sit down and write everyday.  I’m not as able body as I should be.  I thought having Dragon would help with the typing.  It does.  It doesn’t make me have five to fifteen minutes everyday that is mainly pain free.  It doesn’t give me clarity.  I’m giving it my best.  I apologize for not doing better.  I will do as well as I am able.  Upcoming soon will be my opinion on all eleven doctors, some book reviews, and some other stuff.  I will try.  I’m also work on songs and a novel so the time that I have is divided.  Thank you for your patience.

Watch "For You" on YouTube http://youtu.be/T2suhIpCCiI

Rules of three

1. The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted on by an external force.
2. F=ma The acceleration of a body is parallel and directional proportional to the net and inversely proportional to the mass.
3. The mutual forces of actions of two parallel bodies are equal, opposite and co-linear.


My family like all other families has inside jokes they make.  One of the common threads that always seems to come up is Newton’s third law applying to more then gravity.  Seeing as it has been, hmm, awhile since I was in high school science I look up the actual definition.  I, for the life of me, could not for instance remember the exact wording of the third law.  I knew that there were at least two other laws but could not really remember them, either.  So in what way does Newton apply to real life, other then keeping us grounded?


Well to start let us start at the beginning.  Take a look at the first one.  That’s a conundrum and a whole bunch of pretentious vocabulary words.  Basically, it says that you stay going the way you are going until something else interrupts this process.  I think that should be called the sloth rule.  It could also be referred to as the dead end job rule.  How many people just sit their on their butts and do nothing?  Why?  No reason not too.  How long do they waste in meaningless jobs when all it would take would be one little push and they might be the next boss or world magnate? Not that I’m one to talk.  Without that push, they are simply Schrödinger’s cat, that unknowable principal that all possibilities exist until one path is chosen.  But this first law also applies to more then the world of finance.  World Politics comes to mind.  Sounds like a policy of leave them alone and they will leave us alone. Religions see above.  Of course this requires so civility , so I wouldn’t count on it any time soon.  Even as far down as party etiquette, the rules of Newton are painfully constant, at least to the waistline.  The velocity of a dieting body remains consistently moving around the food table unless the body is acted on by an external force. (Person pulling you bodily away from the table or more embarrassing running out of food)


How about rule two? The most confusing sounding rule of them all.  It’s the rule of inertia. In other words, you are pushed only as hard as you can take. Casear Millian uses this, for example, when he says that you get the dog that you can handle.  We constantly push people harder or stronger then us but somewhere we believe that we are able to take it.  We are able to bear our crosses.  If we didn’t have the money, we wouldn’t gamble it.  This seems to me, to be the rule of cliché. 


Now, to rule three, the one that started this rant in the first place.  All actions have an equal and opposite reaction.  If you hit someone, the will hit you back.  If something happens, then something else happens.  My karma ran over your dogma.  Every religion mentions just rewards and just punishments.  Science is just a religion with it’s own commandments.  This is similar to the fourth commandment because it happens to have a reward.  The fourth commandment for those not familiar is Honor thy Father and Mother for thy reward in heaven shall be great.  I see a parallel with every action has an equal and opposite reaction. They both state cause and effect.  If your open up your eyes, you may see the light.  Who know whether it would be a prism or a rainbow or a covenant? 

My FIRST Doctor...

So everyone says you always have a soft spot for your first doctor.  I think I like Doctor Who despite my first doctor. My first episode was the first episode of the new version.  I am too young and too American to have seen the original.  There had been no expectations.  I had watched other modern BBC programming but never a sci-fi.  For some reason there is no vivid recall of a lead up to that first episode. I don’t remember a great advertising campaign, or someone telling me about it. I just remember watching it.  Then suddenly the doctor was a part of my life, as much as if I had grown up watching the original serials on Saturday mornings in Britain. 

Chris Eccleston may be other things but he just will not be remembered as Doctor Who. The only important thing he did was further the plot. He introduced us to Rose and Jack. For that we should be nothing more then grateful but as the doctor he just didn’t impress me. 

Then… REGENERATION

David Tennant will always be my first doctor no matter who I actually laid eyes on in which temporal order, after all this is the doctor. Here was this bright eyed intelligent young old alien, quick witted who had morals and cool adventures every week. Every episode was fast paced and full of these great little puzzles.  The doctor was always there to save the day, but there was a big picture going on too.  American television, with a few exceptions, had been lacking these key ingredients. The good shows had a tendency to either get cancelled or bounced around from night to night.  Every Saturday night, I got to see my doctor, all summer. 

Then Jack got his OWN show, TORCHWOOD.  I made it through the off time between Doctor Who by surviving on this spin-off police procedural.  It was battling aliens every week, X-files but everyone knew what was out there.  Of course, there was that unerringly British inclination to kill someone off every week too, but it keep you guessing.  Who will be the last man standing? (Please, dear god, let it be JACK!)

Five years, I had my wonderful, quirky doctor.  Times were great. Then the clouds started to gather.  Rumors began that David was leaving the show. NOOOO!!!  It couldn’t be true, could it? I not only faced losing my first doctor but would the show even go on without him?  And what about the fate of Torchwood?  Would I lose all my television show at once like a nuclear bomb?

Then REGENERATION…

Sound Down Shout OFF!

Every time I go to the movies, turn on the TV, or listen to the radio I find myself wondering, “Are these sound engineers deaf or just making money on sideline businesses such as hearing aids, and replacement headphones and subwoofers?”.  The Human eardrum can register certain ranges and frequencies of sounds.  It can pull one noise out of many, like someone calling your name to you from across a crowded room.  But too many noises, too many frequencies and it becomes a cacophony, mush.  We also recognize certain frequencies easier than others.  Some pitches provoke pleasing feelings. Some tones transmit terror.  The feeling that has recently been evoked in me is anger.  When watching anything with an audio track this anger is evoked.  On a consistent basis, the vocal track (speaking parts in TV and movies/mid and high range in songs) is put at a lower volume then the rest of the score. The background track/special effects track for movies and the commercial/special effect/background/ promotion music track for TV and the Road-Rocking-Wake-me-up-from-the-second-floor- how-can-you-even-stand-to-sit-in-the-car-with- that-music-playing bass line for the radio is utterly too loud and disrupts the rest of your Movie/program/music.  In a Movie Theatre, you must simply cope with the volume as is.  When watching a movie or TV show at home, you must sit with your hand poised precariously on the volume button constantly hovering between low and high to compensate for some editor’s inability to delicately balance high and low frequencies.   Don’t they understand that music is not a line or a wave but complicated mathematical figure involving time space and relative dimension?  Frankly, half the industry should go bad to kindergarten and relearn how to add and subtract. 

Epic

Epic exists only in poems and dreams.
We no longer know hoe to be bold.
We only care to breathe and survive,
Leaving Souls empty and hearts beating cold.


Paradise has gone missing for good.
We've stopped looking for treasure and gold.
We've begun caring only for shelter and warmth.
Fairy Tales are things only to be told.


Before Love is lost forever,
We must come to our senses, I'm told.
We must recover Joy and Wonder.
We must re-enter the fold.

Meaning behind me

         I guess I’m a stickler for semantics.  You know, a guru of definitions.  See, we get so caught up in what we know, that we forget, that in a dictionary there can be more than one way to define a word.  For example, romance is not all flowers and candy.  It’s a way of seeing life.  It’s enjoying writing letters as opposed to e-mail or phone calls.  It’s looking for a rainbow after a flood instead of seeing the damage caused.  It’s the opposite of a practical, pragmatic view of the world. 

         Another thing we get caught up in is creativity.    One man’s drunken ravings are another’s high poetry.  Bob Dylan wrote beautiful poetry but abused some of the nastiest drugs.  Emily Dickinson’s words touch many people but she was suicidal.

         We often judge others by what they hold dear.  Often symbols are subject to these same multiple meanings.  Sometimes we change which meaning is common simply by using something more often.  My screen name for instance is Rainbowjay.  I chose the rainbow for its little remembered religious significance.  The rainbow was a sign for God to Noah that He would never again flood the world.  It was a symbol of a covenant.  A rainbow is also a beautiful natural occurrence, a prism of light showing all colors.  After reading those definitions, do you wonder why the symbol is so coveted?

         Since man has been able to speak and write, we have learned to alter words to our best advantage.  It is simply our ability to adapt combined with our higher brain function.  Without those skills you wouldn’t be reading this and have the ability to make your own conclusions.  So instead of being upset with the content be grateful that you can comprehend it at all.