And here is Anne Kilkenny's letter in full:

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002).

She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library?

No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

August 31, 2008

So, tezmilleroz, your LiveJournal reveals...

You are... 3% unique (blame, for example, your interest in simmone howell) and 8% herdlike (partly because you, like everyone else, enjoy writing). When it comes to friends you are a total whore. In terms of the way you relate to people, you are keen to please. Your writing style (based on a recent public entry) is intellectual.

Your overall weirdness is: 55

(The average level of weirdness is: 28.
You are weirder than 90% of other LJers.)

Find out what your weirdness level is!Total whore, keen to please...all true. But intellectual? *hysterics*

Here's how it works:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here www.wendalicious.wordpress.com linking to your results.

Note to Novices: I've added a link to the more obscure offerings.  Even I didn't know a few of them...

The list after the jump...

The Wendalicious Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile: I've had fried alligator nuggets - does that count?
6. Black pudding: at Eamonn's once, on St. Patrick's Day.  I must have been drunk.
7. Cheese fondue: I grew up in the 70's, didn't I?
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari: I thought they were onion rings.
    
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi: it's bolded, I've eaten it.  And man is it good!
    
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes: quite a lot, as it happens.
19. Steamed pork buns: Chinese comfort food (for me, anyway)
20. Pistachio ice cream: just the other night!  mmmmm...
    
21. Heirloom tomatoes: I had some tonight!
    
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper: why would I do a stupid thing like that?
27. Dulce de leche: not yet, but it sounds pretty damn good...
28. Oysters: yuck.
    
29. Baklava: Dessert of the Greek Gods. Mount Olympus-y!
    
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl: I'm severely allergic to clam chowder, unfortunately.  Found that out the hard way one vacation in Cape Cod...
    
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O: remember those parties I used to have, with the Jell-O fishbowl?  I don't.
    
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal: I'd try a little...and wash it down with some lassi
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more: If someone bought it for me...I can't afford it.
46. Fugu No. F***ing. Way.
    
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal: sadly, fatly, yes.
    
56. Spaetzle: in fact, I make my own!  Recipe coming someday...
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV: Molson XXX (14%), smuggled in from Canada, back in college
    
59. Poutine: looks kinda gross, but I'd try it.
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads: though my neighbor Chef Mark is lobbying HARD to get me to try them...
63. Kaolin: this is a ROCK.  Why is this on the list?
64. Currywurst.  Sounds interesting...
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs: gives me the creeps
    
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake All of the above!
    
68. Haggis: uh, no.
69. Fried plantain: at a Cuban restaurant in Florida...oh my, yummy!
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette. No thank you to both.
71. Gazpacho: made some last week!
    
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill. What?
    
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie: again, sadly.
78. Snails
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant  I fear I will NEVER get this opportunity, since it involves actually traveling outside the U.S. (and my dear hubby lately is a bit of a homebody)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare, rabbit. I am still haunted by a horrible childhood memory of a skinned Bugs Bunny lying in my Grandma's kitchen sink
    
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate.  If it's chocolate, I'm in.
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. I wasn't impressed.  Now I want to try some Kopi Luwak...
    
100. Snake

My score is 50, 51 if you count the crocodile.  I'm nowhere NEAR as adventurous as someone called Wendalicious should be.  But I'm okay with that.

My Question:

Are you an Australian or American Idol fan?

My Answer:

Yes.  Since moving to Australia, I really enjoy Australian Idol...maybe it's the accent.

I never was very interested in American Idol, though.

Join Kailani at An Island Life for more Aloha Friday!

It's been another beautiful day here, I have been so grateful for this milder weather. Although it's been in the low 80's and moderate humidity, with a fan I've been so much more comfortable than when it was so hot. I've just been kind of lazin around today. JD was off again and when he is home I just don't do much. Although he does go and run around much of the time.

There really is alot to chatter about. I watched the last night of the RNC and the Fox interview of O'Reilly's interview with Obama. I thought he did a good job answering the questions, but I just don't feel that confident in him. His views are just to liberal for me. McCain's speech was good also, although he is not a great speech giver. He does better in like a town hall setting, which they tried to set it up like. I just don't question his love for America and that he will do what is best for the country as a whole. So there's my view of the nights news, lol.....

Just not much on now, all reruns till the new fall season begins. So I was online at pogo playing games and checking my email. Talk to Em, as I do every day. Sometimes we gab like a couple of magpies and other times we just have so little to say. When I'm down she listens and visa versa. I am grateful and so blessed to have her so close. Right now my plans are to go over there saturday. I need my Preston fix, lol.. I hope he did well in preschool this week, no accidents. *smiles*

I've heard from all my friends in the coastal states and all are well without much damaged. That is a blessing. Since I haven't much to talk about I'll do my Saturday Special Meme and a couple of others for fun today.

September 6, 2008 Saturday Special

~My Favorite DVD Movie Is~

1. In Drama? -So difficult to chose just one, but I would pick "The Hunt for Red October"

2. In Comedy? -Oh my any of of Julia Robert's or Meg Ryan's comedy movies, like "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Sleepless in Seattle".

3. In Mystery/Suspense? -Gosh I don't know, I don't watch to many mysteries

4. In Action/Adventure? -Not sure if this one qualifies in the category, but I can't leave out "The Lord of the Rings" Triology which has both action and adventure, lol. It's my all time favorite movie!

Friday Fun

1. School uniforms: Good thing or bad thing? Why? -There are pro's and cons's to both sides of this issue, takes away peer pressure when they all dress the same, yet strips a child to some extent of showing their individualism
2. School supplies: Our school district operates under a limited budget and school supplies other than notebooks and paper tend to be common use, meaning the class shares what each child brings in. What is your feeling on providing for the class rather than just your child? -I think it's asking alot to provide for a whole class for some parents, but I personally didn't mind to much buying a little extra to help the students.
3. Favorite classes: Math or science? English or History? Band or chorus? -Drama, in high school and then choir, lol
4. Foreign languages: Did your school have a foreign language requirement? What languages did they offer? Did you take a language? -high school 1 yr so I took French and don't remember a thing, lol
5. Visiting the past: If you could go back to school, would you? Or is it better off in the past?! -a couple of years ago I went to see my old high school and enjoy some memories, but I would not want to go back.

These are from a new Meme I found thru my friend Toni called That's my Answer

1. How often do you buy something only to return it later due to various reasons? -I've return an item if it's not working or damaged but it's very rare, I can only think of 3 times in my life.

2. This is the Two Choices game and this is how you play. I’ll give you Two Choices, simply make your choice and then offer Two Choices for the next person, etc…Easy enough, right? - I was #8 and my question was Stick or automatic? I said automatic, then my turn I asked Red or Blue?, really fun to do.

3. Hot Topic - Do you think that Sarah Palin can be both an effective vice president AND a good mother? What is your opinion on mother’s working in such high profile and demanding jobs? -I think Sarah Palin can be very effected and any woman who has the support of her husband and children as she seems to have. If you have a husband behind you and helps you with the raising of the children and the home then I don't see why a woman can hold a demanding or high profile job, just as a man does

4. Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens - Here is a list of a few of my favorite things.

1. Seeing my grandchildren
2. My DVD collection
3. My computer
4. The puppies at my feet
5. Enjoying the online friends I know
6. Most important my quiet time with my Lord.

Till next time....

But pleasures are like
poppies spread---
You seize the flow'r,
it's bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls
in the river---
A moment white---
then melts forever.

~ Robert Burns ~

1. Sitting in front of the tv, what's on the screen?
A sports event (though it has to be one of his/our teams, not just any ol' team), SportsCenter on ESPN, or, lately, Corner Gas.  (I don't know what it is about Canadian TV -- I think it's the quirkier scripts -- but we both really like it.)

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Usually Italian.  He doesn't like creamy dressings.  If there's a selection that is more creative than simply Italian, but it's not creamy, he'll probably go for that.

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Tomato soup

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order?
We don't really go to bars. But, sometimes, on date nights, he'll order a red wine.

5. Where did he go to high school?
He went to five different high schools.  He graduated from Heart to Heart Christian School. 

6. What size shoe does he wear?
11

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Guitars, complete with their own humidity-controlled room.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Anything with a whole lot of meat on it.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
I don't know about every day, but he'll happily eat Mexican food a good five times a week.  Oh!  Tortilla chips and salsa.  I think he does eat that every day. 

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Rice Chex.  He also likes Honey Bunches of Oats, but since he's trying to be gluten-free, he would prefer Rice Chex.

11. What would he never wear?
A Speedo.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
He's been a Packers fan since his early childhood, but now that Brett's gone to the Jets, he is torn.  I've also turned him into a diehard baseball/Diamondbacks fan.  And the Suns. 

13. Who will he vote for?
McCain.  For certain.  He gets really wearied by politics in general, but there is no question that he'll vote for McCain.

14. Who is his best friend?
Before we were married, he was best friends with a guy named Ralph.  We're still good friends with Ralph and his family, but it's not like they hang out regularly.  He's also good friends w/ our associate pastor, Doug.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Be sarcastic with the kids, yell at them (I say, "I'm not yelling, I'm chastising" but I think it's the tone that bothers him).  There are probably more things that I don't do that he wishes I would, rather than things that I do do that he wishes I wouldn't.

16. How many states has he lived in?
Arizona, North Carolina, California, and briefly in Indiana.  So, that's four.

17. What is his heritage?
Other than one grandparent being of Dutch descent, he's really not sure.  We're not even sure of our last name, which might be German, or might be Russian.  I've always found that a bit unsettling, since both sides of my family (though especially my mom's) finds geneaology incredibly important.  We've had conversations that it would be fun to do one of those gene tests that finds out your heritage, but that's not something we're likely to spend money on just for fun.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
He doesn't like cake, except for carrot cake.  I usually make him a pumpkin pie for his birthday, since that's his favorite.  I think last year, I did make him a carrot cake.

19. Did he play sports in high school?
He played soccer and a little bit of football.

20. What could he spend hours doing?
Playing guitar.  Endlessly.  For hours.  Literally, six or eight hours at a time, sometimes.  He's good at it, and he writes songs, and he leads worship at our church (on guitar), and he loves music in general, so it's pretty easy for him to totally lose track of time while playing guitar.  One of the best gifts I ever bought him was a Vox Amplug, so he could play electric w/o plugging it into an amp.

And John, since you and everyone who speaks on your behalf keep bringing it up, let's talk straight about it. The ideological Christian control meme now active in government power isn't just about controlling government but lives and minds and bodies. Indoctrination, thought control, censorship. Captivity, yes, and even torture. Never mind the immorality of torturing terrorist prisoners, what about domestic torture, of wives and teenage daughters and worst of all, little innocent children, even small babies, both physical and emotional? Many suffer and some actually die as a result of such dangerous, dominionist beliefs being glossed over with lipstick!

Calling that faithful or loving or godly or Christian or principled or prolife is not straight talk. And it certainly isn't "leaving the families and children alone" and unmolested by politics or ideology.

Yet this week you, all by yourself, the original maverick who would rather lose an election than go against your family values, patriotism and principles, YOU, sold out your hard-won position of trust for your own ambition to be elected president, without properly vetting your second-in-command.

Let's talk straight now. I'm a good American mom, small-town background, smart, experienced in education and public service, much like Sarah Palin, right? You appreciate all women like us right, not just Sarah Palin. Here's some diversity of advice not driven by party then. I saw signs of this Christian control ideology in Sarah Palin's background in just one morning of quiet reflection, on August 2. (see my words from that date below, just as they first appeared under this essay toying with the wild idea of Palin.)

Except this divine intervention storyline isn’t harmless. . .
[refer to] the Christian control meme: “. . . a series of posts examining the Christian control meme as semi-pornographic advice online and off, advice on spanking with love, no — that spanking IS love. And that love is control, shown through an elaborate system of limits and consequences. And that the child’s resistance is natural; expect it and prepare to subdue it early and often. Beat it out of the children you love, show them who’s boss every minute of the day and night. This is divine commandment and the more ritualistic and intimidating, the more memorably painful, the more thoroughly it breaks the child’s spirit, the better.
Love is thereby defined as power, absolute control by any escalating means that crushes challenge to authority of any kind.”

Their idea of prayer is brandishing god’s will to prove that he wants them personally to win every battle large or small right here on earth. (And get rich besides.)

It translates to a form of self-deluding political power over other people including friends, family and of course foes, that simultaneously corrupts the believers into hurting the receivers — meaning that it literally hurts real Americans right here on earth in both human and divine terms.

I’d argue that if there is a god and he indeed has loving plans for his human creations, we’ve clearly been lied to and set up by sinful self-serving mortals from the beginning of time about what it is and how it’s supposed to work.

In America this wicked reality used to be seen mainly in church, you know, corrupt televangelists and . . . cult child abuse, etc. So if you could stay out of that — and you weren’t in any [minority] class Church resented and terrorized — then you were reasonably safe in secular society with the Constitution and the rule of law.

But now this divine dominion, paternalist pugilist meme has amassed great secular power too, apparently generated from this same conviction that one’s power must be untouchable because it is divinely bestowed.
God obviously wants me to win, because I am winning.

As I wrote, [Alberto Gonzalez' hatchet-woman Monica] Goodling’s victims and what happened to Terri Schiavo [shamefully, shockingly fed by Christian control-meme men at the highest levels of government including Bill Frist and my state's governor Jeb Bush] are recent example of secular power directly hurting individual humans.

Now look at the private Palin family fight and how it connected to her public power. Her own husband “is employed as an oil-field worker and fisherman” without legal or political qualifications of any kind, yet apparently as her First Gentleman he was all OVER this story. . .

Whatever actually happened to the state trooper and his government supervisor under Palin, it’s plain to see that it didn’t happen the way good government and American justice is meant to work, with transparency and due process and civil rights for everyone involved:
With a righteous WALL between anyone’s personal-family power and public governance power.

So the real threat to all we hold dear as Americans, is now a paternalistic, working class-pandering, gun-toting, moose-killing, code-speaking, militaristic, cop-warrior, tension-racheting, testosterone-saturated tough-guy Christian Soldier army animated by absolute belief that god made everything on earth for them to control, including all the other people in or out of church who won’t just salute and obey, and then, that god blesses the telling of whatever lies seem necessary to keep the plan working.

And now the responsibility is all on you. You have elevated the Embodiment of such dangerously unAmerican beliefs to the very threshhold of the White House, created a Golden Calf (er, Moose? Pitbull?) these ignorant, brutal, woman-child-and-truth-trashing tribes are thronging to adore.

So why couldn't you see it, John McCain? Maybe you need to take some time alone in the desert (Arizona, say) to be very sure you haven't been tempted to betray America again for your own benefit?

Repent now. Your time draws short. If you win, you lose, and so does the country and people and principles you love. Which would mean it wasn't really a miracle but a temptation, right? You say you've lived through the worst and doing the right thing is easy for you now. So do it, John McCain. Save the nation you put first and spare innocent children, not just their lives but their freedom to think and learn independently, to believe or not without being forced and held captive and beaten, to live yes but also to love and pursue happiness in this great country we ALL love.

http://www.sourcegeek.totalh.com

1. If I was to walk into your life, would you let me stay or ask me to leave?

2. Catch a bright star and place it in your pocket for a rainy night.

3. And you can send me roses, but I prefer wildflowers.

4. I want to move on from my misguided past but I'm dealing with a memory that never forgets.

5. I'm the innocent bystander / Somehow I got stuck in the middle of your nightmare.

6. What's keeping us apart isn't selfishness, it's my complete inability to commit.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to working on my posts for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, tomorrow my plans include a fun and furry BBQ at Mary's and Sunday, I want to have dinner at the Westsyde Pump and raise money for the SPCA!

Friday Fill-Ins are fun!  See what other people said here.

I was just checking my email inbox and to my delighted surprise I find I have been given the Brilliant Weblog award by my very good buddy Sandy (whose blog is one of the ones I regularly read and who is also one of my pen pals). According to her write-up of me, she finds me an interesting person (which is always nice to hear) and she loves me dearly (which is also always lovely to hear - incidentally, Sandy, I love you too!).

And so the task now falls to me to pass the award onto other deserving bloggers. Like Sandy, I don't always have time to leave comments, but I do regularly read the blogs listed in my blogroll and there are a few I'd like to pick out as being a bit special and deserving of a little credit:

• Sitting on a Cornflake is the blog of my good friend, Michelle, where she writes about life, books and bringing up her two lovely daughters.
• Creative Rainbows is the web home of another of my very close friends, Susie, who is very artistic. You can check out some of her beautiful work at this blog.
• Bookworms Will Rule the World is the home of many a fine book review by Janet whose reading tastes are very eclectic and there is bound to be a recommendation to suit any reading taste!
• In the Wee Hours is the perfect place to catch up with Sarah's life and love of literature.

And, although I may be a little biased here, I'm also flagging up two blogs affiliated with The Book Club Forum. Yes, I'm Admin on the forum and I contribute to both the blogs, but they also have posts written by other people and are really great:

• BCF Book Reviews
• BCF - The Blog

Of course, there are other fantastic blogs I regularly check out (and to see them, all you have to do is click on the links in the various sections of my blogroll - go on, you know you want to!), but these are the ones I visit most regularly for various reasons and I just wanted to give them a high-five for being great!

7 Things Known About Me

1. I love shopping

2. I'm lazy [And I don't do my homework so don't ask me for any homework okay because I don't even jot them down]

3. I walk very, very, very fast and eat very, very, very fast.

4. I talk a lot. Because if I don't talk, I will get depress. When I'm depress, nothing else is right and fun.

5. Hopelessly romantic [Hahahahahaha! No comment!]

6. A penyakai that makes people super crazy and sesat-ed [Eh, mana ada!]

7. I don't reply miss calls and SMS-es unless they are important. 

7 Things Less Known About Me

1. People will never take the time to know me because they think that I'm so insignificant.

2. I love reading and writing

3. I am actually a very neat person. [Eh, really la! Believe me la!]

4. I love shopping for presents! Be it a present for a normal friend or a best friend!

5. I don't litter or spit around. [Eww -_____-]

6. I like people who are interesting, outgoing, fun, cheerful and yea, open minded.

7. I love Add Maths and Sejarah [HAHAHAHAHA! Because I got A1 for this 2 subjects! Ching Yin, don't you so remember how we read the book until our mata nak buta already? -______-]

Top 7 Must Have Things In My Bag

1. My huge mirror [Yes, the famous red one]

2. The sexy black comb [Because it's skinnier than me]

3. Baby Ixus

4. Baby Sony

5. Handphone

6. Tissue paper

7. Period pad [Because I'm so practical you know].

I don't keep money in my bag and I don't bring my IC out because I believe that I looks 100% like a Malaysian and no, I don't litter.

There. Updated. There will be a better update when I'm inspired.

]]> http://sherby57.wordpress.com/?p=241 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:09:25 +0000 sherby57 http://sherby57.wordpress.com/?p=241 How does Simon Cowell influence the war for reality?

It's a simple answer with no question.

Within some circles (and other shapes), Simon Cowell is known as The Dream Smasher. Circles within the circles (like a social Venn diagram) argue on whether this is a positive or negative role to play.  Some say that by crushing people's dreams, SC is destroying the dream energy of those poor unfortunates and is causing a disintegration of the shared memetic field.  Others argue that by putting a stop to unachievable goals, he is actually freeing up the inner mental jizz-fluid on the frontal meme-sphere.

They're all idiots. The War is much more complex than that. Not only is there not a good side and a bad side, there are no sides at all (and no roof).  There's not even a war occurring at all. And yet me and my colleagues fight it every day.

Understandably, people struggle with this concept. And this struggle is a key component of the war.  Stick with me, my children, and all will become clear. Only it probably won't.

Ciao Bloggisti!

I'm feeling a bit peckish. I think I ate too much when I was in Canada and my stomach has expanded. Damn you Food Court!! So now I'm hungry a lot. And when that happens I love going on luscious foodie blogs, like Jasmine's Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. This week she posted about a cool list that I just had to share with you. It's called the Omnivore's Hundred and she got it from Andrew from the British blog Very Good Taste. Basically, it's a list of the 100 foods "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life". It's an eclectic and international round-up of delicacies, some of which are heavenly and others stomach-turning. I didn't do too bad for a little girl from Scarborough. What about you? How much of the world have you eaten? I'd love to see your lists!

If you're interested in taking part, here are the instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Here are my results for the VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (I have had carpaccio a lot. Does that count?)
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (my daughter loves it)
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (my hubby's fave)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (street meat is da best!)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (but the hubster planted tomatoes that were rotting in our fridge and those plants are now producing the most delicious pomodori ever!)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (see my post on Paris)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (Had it on the pier in San Francisco. Yum!)
33. Salted lassi (the best way to cool down after eating a fiery curry)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (am so tempted to try this one!)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (I'll try everything once but I don't want to risk my life!)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (nowhere near as good as Tim Horton's!)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (When I was 10 I could eat an entire meal. Now I can only manage Happy Meals!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (eating earth???)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (Well, I've eaten jackfruit. Does that count?)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (Mmmm. Fried dough!)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (merçi Stéphanie!)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini (just had one in Scarborough, of all places)
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (Sold as Mikado here in Italy. So addictive)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef (would be a dream!)
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano (chocolate goes well with anything!)
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (I've had snake-infused grappa though)

Ok, now it's your turn!

]]> http://randomburblings.wordpress.com/?p=541 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:57:25 +0000 Parenthesis http://randomburblings.wordpress.com/?p=541 This one via Expensive Mistakes, thanks dude.

1. What’s worse - Physical or mental cheating? Both equally dodgy, if you think it, next thing you might be doing it …
2. Is it easier to forgive or forget? I find it easier to forgive others. I’m not always that easy on myself however.
3. Can men and women be” Just Friends?” Yes, without a doubt.
4. Dating co-workers? Depends. If you work for a company that employs 5 people, not so smart. If your employer has an 8500 strong workforce, and you don’t work in the same office space, why not?
5. All expenses paid vacation to anywhere? Copenhagen, thank you.
6. On the way to the electric chair - What’s your last meal? Fillet champignon, rare, and a bottle of bubbly.
7. Water parks are…? Unhygienic.
8. When you are “In Love” do you notice other people? Not as such. I tend to be the obsessive type..
9. Is flirting cheating? Got to agree with EMCT here - depends on the intention behind the flirting.
10. Would you rather have 1 great friend or 5 pals? One great friend.
11. If someone called you a bitch would you be offended? Nope.
12. Are you ok with your significant other being friends with an ex? I s’pose so. See 3 above.
13. Would you live with someone without marrying them? Probably not.
14. Favorite sport? To watch – rugby. To play – tennis.
15. Is toilet paper hung over or under? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed …
16. Do you squeeze toothpaste from the middle or end of the tube? Middle.
17. How do you feel about tanning booths? See 7.
18. Friends with benefits? Huh?
19. Do you believe in angels? Yup, in the sense that I believe they exist, not in thinking they bring me luck or anything.
20. Would you rather take pictures or be in pictures? 6 of one, half a dozen of another.
21. Have you ever flirted with someone you had no interest in? Yes.
22. Ever kissed a random person and then walked away? A couple of times. I even snogged a cop who was part of a raiding party at a club once. He had a moustache. I was sixteen, ok.  And pissed ...
23. Would you buy bootleg merchandise? Crime doesn’t pay.
24. What color looks best on you? Winter colours. Brown, green, gold.
25. If you could play any sport professionally what would it be? Golf.
26. Ever break up with someone and regret it? Once, yes.
27. Are you a jealous person? Unfortunately, yes.
28. Would you ever have plastic surgery? I’d consider it.
29. When do you want to get married? When I meet Mr. Right.
30. Who has the sexiest accents? The Scots. Love the burr.
31. Next concert you’re attending? Would love to see Santana live in concert.
32. Favorite song? Only one? You must be kidding me? For now, “I put a spell on you” by Nina Simone.
33. Favorite movie? Again, only one? American History X.
34. What’s your occupation? Underpaid corporate drone.
35. What’s your sign? Cancer.
36. Are you a beach, country or city person? Beach. Preferably when it’s attached to a city – like Cape Town.
37. Best holiday spot? The Loire Valley in France. Spent some time there in 1997.  Heaven ...
38. Have you ever had a “secret affair?” Yes. They're the best kind ;)
39. If you could own a non-traditional pet which would it be? A Siberian Tiger.
40. Favorite show as a child? Thunder Cats.
41. Where do you spend most of your money? Exclusive Books.
42. Are you currently working at a job that you hate? It has its moments of late.
43. Have you ever been so heart broken that you called in sick to work? Nope. I’m a sadist. I get up, go to work, breathe in and out all day, and pretend I’m just fine, meantime I’m bleeding inside …
44. Favorite summer drink? Cosmopolitan.
45. Can you change a car tire? Nope.  That’s why I joined the AA, and have Dad on speed dial ;)
46. Favorite cologne / perfume? Miss Dior, Noa and Promesse from Cacharel, J’adore, also by Christian Dior.
47. Favorite candle scent? Jasmine.
48. Would you consider yourself adventurous? Not as such.
49. What is your My Space profile song? Wordpress, not myspace, thank you.
50. Favorite concert attended? Freshly Ground.
51. Would you date an already attached man / woman? No.
52. Would you sing Karaoke in front of co-workers? Nope.
53. Can you shoot pool? A ha ha ha ha! No.
54. Do you like your siblings’ significant others? Loved my sister’s ex. Don’t really know my brother’s fiancé. She seems nice.
55. Can you drive a stick? Huh?
56. Did you wear white at your wedding? Not married, and if I did, my wedding dress would be ivory, with gold and copper and bronze beading. Not white, who wants to look like a meringue on their special day. And I don’t give a continental about tradition. And can the veil at the same time.
57. Have you ever sat and hoped for a phone call? Who hasn’t?
58. Ever skip school and spend the day at the beach? I went to school in the Transvaal. So no.
59. Favorite TV show? My Family.
60. What do you think about gay marriage? People must do what they want. Judge not, etc.
61. What are you waiting for at the movies? Something better than what’s been on circuit of late. Although Dark Knight rocked …
62. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Easter.
63. Describe your fighting style: drunken master or angry monkey? Drunken monkey.
64. Piercings? Yup.
65. Tattoos? Yup.
66. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Exclusive Books, @home and Rain.
67. Thongs? Nope.
68. Write 2 truths and 1 lie. I am ambidextrous, I love sushi, and my favourite vegetable is a Brussel Sprout.

I tag all and sundry.

Picking a winner was incredibly tough.

I've ruminated over all of the entries - even called in the talented Ms de Waal for another opinion.  She offered a fresh perspective on things, and of course, that set me off reading them all again.  And again. And again.

At last, and now at the end of my tether I submitted my top three to secret weapon, uberjudge and said "pick one". [Not MD, before you jump to conclusions :) ]

So he did.

The stories were all fabulous, I am enamoured  of all of them.  However there can only be one winner.

That's right folks.

The winner of Dazzle Me, V, is

*drumroll*

Original Cin.

Wooooooooooooohoo!

Truly a story worthy of the crown :)

Thank you to everyone who stepped up to the plate.  A special mention to the nearly won's - Kyk, to quote Dolce " ... because he actually got off his lazy arse and wrote something", Ten Miles because he is a superlative story teller and great writer, and Shebee, for the honesty of her story.  I hope to see you all in round 6!

Original Cin - drop me a note via FaceBook so I can arrange to get your prize to you ...

Yo soy así y así seguiré nunca cambiaréeeeeeeee

BARRENADO me ha enviado un MEME así como quien  no quiere la cosa,jejeje y yo he decidido contestarlo, porque me encantan estas chuminadas.

Pelo : Moreno, ondulado, con flequillo, y estoy encantada con él porque se puede considerar que lo llevo larguito y me costó mi tiempo.

Ojos : Marrones oscuros, muy oscuros.

Mi mejor rasgo : La empatía, por decir algo.

Altura : 1, 69

Lentes : No

Numero de pie : 39

Edad : 26, 27 el 25 de Octubre, así que ya sabéis, a felicitarme, jeje

Piercings : No, aunque una vez me hice uno en una oreja que mi madre  en un viaje a Francia en “Fragoneta” me lo pilló, me obligó a quitármelo y ya no hubo manera de recuperarlo. Tendria…14 o 15 años.

Tatuajes: Ninguno, tampoco me llaman la atención, pero tengo una cicatriz en el tobillo derecho que no me importaría nada tapar.

Frase favorita: Mmm… “Nunca dejes de sonreír, ni siquiera cuando estés triste, porque nunca sabes quién se puede enamorar de tu sonrisa”

Diestro o zurdo : Diestra y para algunas cosas zurda

Un deseo : Conseguir todos mis objetivos.

Echas de menos a alguien :Si. Para empezar a mi novio cuando no está cerca, a mi abuela cuando voy a Madrid y compruebo que ciertamente ya no está con nosotros, a mis amigos de Madrid y a los de Sevilla cuando he estado allí, a la gente que en un pasado conocí y a la gente que de repente se “pierde”…y podría seguir así sin parar…

Mayor vicio : Fumar, internet, hacer fotos compulsivamente.

Estas enamorado : Sí y mucho.

Con cuánta gente te has liado: Eso ya no importa.

Novi@ en estos momentos: Si, llevamos un año y un mes.

Amor a primera vista : Nunca.

¿Amar o que te amen? : Las dos cosas.

¿Te rompieron el corazón alguna vez? : Si, más de una.

¿Y tú lo rompiste? : También,  más de una.

Locura más grande por amor : He hecho muchas…pero me quedo con la de ir a Madrid a conocer mejor a un amigo de una amiga mía…sin tener garantías de nada y pasar el fin de semana con él sin apenas conocerle…Ahora es mi novio,jeje.

¿Una cita ideal? : Eso no importa mientras el quién sea el ideal. Pero soy bastante sencilla y siempre me gustó momento, pizza, cervezas y play, jejeje

Un lugar: Cualquiera, pero puestos a soñar... Nueva Zelanda, pero un lugar viable…El Parque de Maria Luisa (Sevilla) me parece romántico y embriagador.

Romántico o espontaneo: Espontánea más que romántica, pero también romántica y bastante.

Películas: Soy una consumidora nata de cine, me gustan todas y todos los géneros, el que más me cuesta ver es el Western, pero también hay muy buenas y respecto al cince de Terror las veo sin criterio alguno, pueden ser pésimas que las disfruto igual.

Bandas sonoras: Me suelen gustar todas las bandas sonoras de las películas que precisamente me gustan, pero escucho mucho Habana Blues y la de Once me parece brutal.

Canción: La Vie En Rose. Edith Piaf

Dulces: Todos.

Deportes : Natación, ciclismo, paddel, senderismo, piragüismo. Algunos los he practico y otros los practico.

Bebida sin alcohol : Coca cola light, agua, sunny delight, batido de vainilla.

Bebida con alcohol :Cerveza, tinto de verano, lambrusquito, vodka con zumo de naranja, legendarios con coca cola light, tequila y bajo ningún concepto beberé ron miel ni whisky.

Comida favorita : Pasta, gazpacho, ensaladilla rusa, tortilla de patatas, croquetas, pizza, lentejas, frijolitos, cordero, todo… espinacas cocidas no y pescado más bien poco

Marca favorita de vestir :Me da igual mientras me siente bien.

Materia de la escuela : Dibujo, latín, griego, literatura.

Animales: Tuve una tortuga de peque y ahora mi hermana tiene un pececito y 4 caracoles marinos que más bien cuido yo.

Libros : El que caiga en mis manos y si me gustan suelo releerlos…Pero si alguien ha seguido mi blog, sabe que mi libro por excelencia es “Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios” de Torcuato Lucas de Tena

¿Besado a un extraño? Depende de lo que se considere extraño…

Tomado alcohol : Si

Fumado : Si.

Escapado de casa : No

Le paso la pelota a :

Olga, que es muy activa blogueando

Juguetona, también muy activa blogueando

Lola que no tiene blog pero sé que lo contestará

Dani, que se había olvidado de mi blog  y éste es su castigo

Flor que hace tiempo que no la veo L

Y a El Capi, como forma de bienvenida a mi rinconcito

Ilustración de LUCY MACLAUGHLAN

Today's topic from JM: I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I think I generally do a pretty good job of staying away from books if my only motivation for reading them is to know what's hot or to keep up with what "everyone else" is reading. After all sales numbers do not necessarily imply anything about the quality of a book (case in point: James Patterson sells millions of books, but he doesn't even write them by himself). My personal TBR list is far too long to waste time reading books I don't enjoy, but since I work as a bookseller, I do feel obligated to know what the popular books are and what's coming out soon. I keep on top of everything by reading industry publications (Shelf Awareness, Publishers Lunch, newsletters from the publishers we work with, and internal company publications), talking to our customers, and asking my coworkers about what they're reading. There are enough of us here, and we have varied enough reading preferences, that I can get a good idea of what a book is about and be able to talk to customers and clients about it without having read it.

As a reviewer, I do like to keep up on current trends, and there are usually enough good books coming out that I can read ARCs and write reviews about books I'm genuinely interested rather than picking something up just because it is soon to be released. I only request ARCs and review copies of books that I really want to read and review because again, life is too short, and there are too many good books in the world, to read something I don't enjoy.  However, I do think it's important to step outside my comfort zone occasionally and read something that will expand my horizons. After the Fire and American Wife  are recent example of that (click titles for my review).  It's all about balance and being well-rounded.

Regarding the Twilight series: I would NEVER have read those books if not for my job, which entailed planning and promoting a midnight release party for Breaking Dawn and hosting a monthly teen readers/Twilight book group. Am I glad I read them?  Not really.  Sure, I was conversant in teen-speak and could chat with the twelve-year-old who sat next to me on the plane last week, and now I can answer parents' questions about whether the books are appropriate for the kids, but I wasted many hours of my life reading books that are poorly written and that I had very little interest in, and I hate doing that. I can't say I'm too sad that she's suspending work on the next book, Midnight Sun, since a partial draft was leaked online last week.  (Click here for details in the August 28th entry).

Click here to read my review of Eclipse and my thoughts on the first 3 books and here to read my spoilerific review of Breaking Dawn.

Want to expand your horizons? Enter to win an ARC of After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival, which was recently released on August 25th.

Suggested by JM:

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

Yay! Today the question comes from a friend of mine! It's a good question, too.

To be honest, I don't think I've ever read a book because of peer pressure. In my time I've probably avoided books because everybody was reading them...but these days I'm done with that. If I want to read a book, I read it. If not, there are too many books I'm excited about to spend  time reading books out of obligation!

On the topic of the Twilight books - I haven't read them, either! But I'm interested in trying the first one, because it sounds like something I might enjoy.

What about you?

Suggested by JM:

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

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In a word: no. My time for reading is limited, and I do it first out of pleasure. I guard my freedom to choose.

I belong in the category of people who haven't read the Twilight series, too. It doesn't interest me. Among fellow Christians, The Shack is a book that's been recommended to me by three people now, all of whom I trust. But I shudder at the thought of reading it. It's about a child abduction, and the journey a father makes in coming to terms with the seemingly senseless pain. It's exactly the kind of thing I already have nightmares about. An extended reading experience on the subject -- even if everyone else is reading it -- is the last thing I want, though the problem of evil interests me enough to read nonfiction discussions of it.

A final factor that comes to mind in considering this question is the number of times movies have been all the rage, and when I finally get to see them, I feel let down. (Forrest Gump, anyone?) I've wondered at times if I'm just argumentative, someone with an adolescent impulse to form an opinion opposite to everyone else just to be different. But I don't think that's it. Sometimes the movie will meet even the stellar expectations all the rave reviews have fanned into flame. But movies "everyone is seeing" -- or books "everyone is reading" -- start with the handicap of being pre-judged. I vastly prefer opening a book without defined expectations, and having it take me by storm.