Survivor 20 - Heroes vs Villians Week Three

Tucker's Nuts
Sandra Diaz-Twine (2)
Parvati Shallow (3)
Jerri Manthey (6)
Rupert Boneham (7)
Danielle DiLorenzo (10)
Amanda Kimmel (11)
Courtney Yates (14)
Coach Ben Wade (15)
Rob Mariano (18)
Tyson Apostol (19)

Assshhfault!!!!
Colby Donaldson (1)
Cirie Fields (4)
Russell Hartz (5)
Candice Woodcock (8)
JT Thomas (9)
Tom Westman (13)
James Clement (17)
Randy Bailey (20) -- Booted Week Three
Stephenie LaGrossa (12) -- Booted Week Two
Sugar Kiper (16) -- Booted Week One

Book 10 of 52 -- Chris Moore's Island of the Sequin Love Nun

This is a re-read.

Still entertains me.

He is such a magnificent writer.

Book 9 of 52 -- Bill Engvall's Just a Guy

I found this book to be like a strong sprinting horse - fast out of the gate with hilarious floor-rolling stories from his youth, only to lose my interest as he entered the college and professional years.

I laughed over the stories of the misadventures of his childhood, but found his tales of college and finding his professional way to be just like a million other 'how I found my comic career' stories.

Book 8 of 52 -- James Patterson's Worst Case

Good characters... weak villian... will keep reading this series...

Just wish he would focus more on quality instead of quantity...

Book 7 of 52 -- Howie Mandel's Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me

I love Howie Mandel and I enjoyed the book.

Not the best, but it made me laugh a lot.

Survivor Heroes vs Villians -- Week One

Tucker's Nuts
1. Sandra Diaz-Twine (2)
2. Parvati Shallow (3)
3. Jerri Manthey (6)
4. Rupert Boneham (7)
5. Danielle DiLorenzo (10)
6. Amanda Kimmel (11)
7. Courtney Yates (14)
8. Coach Ben Wade (15)
9. Rob Mariano (18)
10. Tyson Apostol (19)

Assshhfault!!!!
1. Colby Donaldson (1)
2. Cirie Fields (4)
3. Russell Hartz (5)
4. Candice Woodcock (8)
5. JT Thomas (9)
6. Stephenie LaGrossa (12)
7. Tom Westman (13)
9. James Clement (17)
10. Randy Bailey (20)

8. Sugar Kiper (16) -- BOOTED WEEK ONE!

Book 6 of 52 -- Dennis Lehane's Gone, Baby, Gone

Reading about the scum of humanity that Lehane's Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro come up against is like watching a David Fincher movie.

It's all grit staring you right in the face with unflinching honesty.

The fourth book in the detective series has the duo searching for a missing child.

In true Lehane fashion, there are more twists than a crazy straw, and the plot gets deeper and deeper and more horrifying as the truth comes out.

Luckily there's the character of Bubba to add some needed comic relief to the story.

A story that's hard to put down, and harder to shake when you finish it.

Book 5 of 52 -- Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island

Dennis Lehane's prose is very well paced; secrets behind every corner.

Plot twists abound, but I can't say the whole book surprised me because I thought of just about every scenario Marshals Daniels and Aule could get into.

At first I thought the premise of two US Marshals looking for an insane, escaped murderess on an island during a hurricane was a little to zany to work, but man, I'll tell you, the whole book is so well done!

And I was TOTALLY satisfied with the denouement.

The dialogue really grabs you.

It's funny at times, heartbreaking at others and completely true to life.

Book 4 of 52 -- Dennis Lehane's Sacred

Sacred is another terrific mystery in the series featuring Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, the team you'd want on your side if you needed a private investigation -- if only they were real people.

Lehane describes these characters in such realistic detail and uses such crisp dialogue that you forget that they are only fictional characters.

Nonetheless, they are characters you want to get to know better, and Lehane successfully evolves the personalities of Patrick and Angie in each of the five books in the series.

Thus, it's best if you read the series in chronological order.

Sacred is very fast-paced and loaded with surprising plot twists, which forces you to read on non-stop.

Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to all of Lehane's books.

The Blind Side Moviegoing Experience‏

PREVIEWS

Nine

Avatar

The Last Song

It's Complicated

Valentine's Day

Invictus

Crazy Heart Moviegoing Experience

Yay! A theater FULL of old people and the average age with us in the theater was 63.6

Only two previes.

The Last Station

Date Night

Book 3 of 52 -- Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked

I enjoyed this book so much. My recommendation is don't bother with my review just go get the book so your reading pleasure can begin as soon as possible.

Annie, Duncan, and Tucker have reached middle-age and are stuck in lives that have not, in their own opinions, been well lived. Regrets abound and all are seeking a way out of their own misery and confusion. Unbeknownst to them their lives are all about to collide. Their regrets couldn't be more opposite. Tucker has littered his life with ex-wives and children he has not done well by while Annie and Duncan have cohabited lazily for 15 years without committing to either marriage or children. With those conflicts laid out clearly Hornby proceeds to tell their individual stories with a tenderness and poignancy that illuminates the human condition. These three people come so alive and are handled with such a masterful touch that I enjoyed every single word of dialogue, description, and detailed insecurity. This book will make you laugh, it might even make you cry a little, but it cannot help but make you think about life and relationships and how each of our actions affect those around us every day.

Well done, Sir, very well done.

The Young Victoria Moviegoing Experience

Same day as A Single Man... we ate some lunch in between.

:)

Crazy Heart

Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

A Single Man Moviegoing Experience

Two previews in a small theater in Montclair.

The White Ribbon

Youth in Revolt

Book 2 of 52 -- James Patterson's I, Alex Cross

This is a quick, undemanding, unsatisfying read.

It relies on a tired story line that goes something like this: Our hero is the only person on the planet who can go up against the dark powerful forces who are doing horrific things, and bring them to justice. Everyone else has failed. The pressure on him to give up is intense. And incredibly, everyone else who is near this case ends up either dead or dead-ended, but somehow our hero gets a free pass.

Sounds sort of silly, doesn't it? And of course, let's not forget, the dark forces go right to the top, to the top I tell you. (No spoiler here, the White House is mentioned at the start of the book)

I read this book, there was nothing to it. But unlike Chinese food I'm not hungry for more an hour later.

Book 1 of 52 -- Sue Grafton's U is For Undertow

I have been reading Grafton's alphabet series for a very long time now, and I really do enjoy Kinsey and the stuff she gets up to.

I didn't think that this book was stellar, but I thought it was still strong.

I found that there wasn't that much suspense and the plot was fairly predictable.

I like the mix of the times of 1988 and 1967 and the way Ms. Grafton goes back and forth between the two, and the characters are still very good although there isn't that much of Henry in this one.

The book is all Kinsey as she tries to find out what happened in a 20 year kidnapping case where a little girl has been missing since she was abducted.

I still love the series and I really like Kinsey and in this book we get another fascinating look at her as a young child.

Yes, I am waiting for "V".

Invictus Moviegoing Experience‏

There were only three other people in the theater for a 10:20 am showing.

MY THEATER!

MWAH HA HA HA HA HA

PREVIEWS

Crazy Heart

Death At A Funeral

Up In The Air

Green Zone

Book of Eli

Edge of Darkness

Avatar Moviegoing Experience‏

It was in 3D!
I spent three bucks on the movie after a coupon and got free popcorn.

And... because I used my Movie Watchers card... I earned a free movie and soda ticket for a future movie!

Good times.

Previews:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Knight and Day

Clash of the Titans

Despicable Me

Shrek Forever And Ever

Alice in Wonderland

Book 67 of 52 -- Jill Jonnes' Conquering Gotham

Jill Jonnes does a wonderful job of describing the long and difficult saga concerning the digging of the Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers, as well as the construction of old Pennsylvania Station in the middle of turn-of-the-century New York's infamous "Tenderloin" district. Very well-written and easy to read, she discusses the travails Alexander Cassatt and subsequent PRR presidents had in dealing with New York's Tammany Hall, the shifting muck and silt under the Hudson River, which at times threatened to doom the project, and a number of other issues related to an undertaking that was described as one of the world's greatest engineering feats. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in railroading, New York City, or the Pennsylvania Railroad in particular.

I stole the review from Amazon... but it is a great book.

Book 66 of 52 -- Stuart Woods' Hothouse Orchid

Mr. Woods is on cruise control with his books... so I will remain on cruise control for my review.

Cmon Stuart.

You can do better than this.

Smelmooo