How to Survive an Alien Attack

Just in case....

Famous Writers’ Libraries

This week we’re getting a peek inside the library of the leading lady of mystery, or “Queen of Crime” has she is often referred as, Agatha Christie. To my surprise, there is a touch of whimsy in the room I did not expect. I thought it was going to plain and bland. But it’s not. It’s elegant and feminine. And the banner running along the walls is beautiful. I wish I could find clearer pictures of it.

No: 7 Agatha Christie

Our New Toy

This year my husband and I decided to celebrate our birthdays together (They’re only two weeks apart, anyway.) and splurge on a big gift. We picked something we can both enjoy. So here’s our new acquisition:

                 I had a permagrin since it arrived yesterday. =)

These are so freaking funny

Famous Writers’ Libraries

This week we’re getting a peek inside the library of one of the giants of American literature: Hemingway. In my search, I found many photos of the man himself, (He was a fox by the way.) but very few of his personal library. And those I found show a surprisingly modest room. I expected something a bit more dramatic. Then again, it is understated just like his writing style. 

No: 6 Ernest Hemingway

 

Good movies that got bad reviews

I saw Oblivion recently and really loved it. That made me questioned the mediocre reviews it received. Why do good movies get bad reviews? Well, I don’t know. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions and taste is subjective. Still, it doesn’t explain why some people get it so wrong. That boggles my mind. Here a list of great movies that got, not bad, but scathing reviews:

Star Wars

"It’s an assemblage of spare parts—it has no emotional grip... an epic without a dream."—Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

Forrest Gump

"It is... glib, shallow, and monotonous, a movie that spends so much time sanctifying its hero that, despite his 'innocence,' he ends up seeming about as vulnerable as Superman."—Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

2001: A Space Odyssey

"pretentious, abysmally slow, amateurishly acted and, above all, wrong”—Stephen hunter, Washington Post.

Gladiator

"By the end of this long film, I would have traded any given gladiatorial victory for just one shot of blue skies."—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Godfather, Part II

"It's a Frankenstein monster stitched together from leftover parts. It talks. It moves in fits and starts but it has no mind of its own... Looking very expensive but spiritually desperate, Part II has the air of a very long, very elaborate revue sketch."—Vincent Canby, The New York Times

The Wizard of Oz

"It has dwarfs, music, Technicolor, freak characters and Judy Garland. It can't be expected to have a sense of humor as well, and as for the light touch of fantasy, it weighs like a pound of fruitcake soaking wet."—The New Republic

Alien

“An empty-headed horror movie with nothing to recommend it” –Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Schindler’s list

“A theme park masquerading as master’s thesis”—Luke Y Thompson, New Times

The Matrix

“It’s astonishing that so much money, talent, technical expertise and visual imagination can be put in service of something so stupid”—Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

Gone with the wind

"Badly written…a bore” Arthur Schlesinger, The Atlantic

Okay, now you can scratch your heads.

Famous Writers’ Libraries

For the fifth instalment of this series, I choose one of my favorite writers, Dean Koontz. I must have read at least two dozens of his books, the latest being Odd Thomas.

No: 5 Dean Koontz

When I realized my novel needed a complete rewrite instead of a revision

The Top 10 Jobs That Attract Psychopaths

I read this article on Forbes and thought. OMG! I have to reblog this. At some point in ours lives, we all had to work with crazy coworkers…I put up with a few myself. Well, maybe those persons were psychopaths. Apparently there are jobs that attract them.

Without further ado, here’s the list of occupations most attractive to psychopaths:

1. CEO
2. Lawyer
3. Media (Television/Radio)
4. Salesperson
5. Surgeon
6. Journalist
7. Police officer
8. Clergy person
9. Chef
10. Civil servant

Here’s the list of jobs with the lowest rates of psychopathy:

1. Care aide
2. Nurse
3. Therapist
4. Craftsperson
5. Beautician/Stylist
6. Charity worker
7. Teacher
8. Creative artist
9. Doctor
10. Accountant

Fascinating and scary!

Famous Writers’ Libraries

This week, I really wanted to show Oscar Wilde’s library. I love the guy! When I was a teen I was obsessed with him. I must have read The Picture of Dorian Gray three or four times back then. It still is one of my favorite. Alas, I couldn’t find any photo of his library anywhere. So instead I’m showing Rudyard Kipling’s. As you can see it’s a very English looking room. “What is the Law of the Jungle? Strike first and then give tongue.”—Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Books.

No: 4 Rudyard Kipling

How I feel when I start the revision process

                                                Yup! :-/