Read These...

Okay, lovely lit-blogger 3M suggested that perhaps I could do an occasional post on books that have caught my eye (or heart, or imagination) recently. I like that idea, but I'm not interested in doing summaries of the plots or even discussing why I enjoyed the book...I just want to recommend to anyone who is interested a few good reads. So, to that end, I'll let the authors speak for themselves, and just post a quick excerpt that I like.

If I post a book here, I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

Let's see how long I can do this. :D




"This place is a mystery. A sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands, a new spirit.."






"Is that the movement of the world? An infinitesimal lapse that has just succeeded in ruining the possibility of perfection forever? ...all those things that pass before us, which we miss by a hair and which are botched for eternity...all the words we should have said, gestures we should have made, the fleeting moments that were there one day and that we did not know how to grasp and that were buried forever in the void..Failure, by a hair's breadth."








Also of interest...

Isn't this apple the coolest thing ever? I really hope this isn't a hoax.

Robert Downey Jr is going to play Elwood P Dowd?? Okay, he's no Jimmy Stewart, but I'm still going to pay to see it.

The Booker Award shortlist was announced. Looking at those books stacked like that makes me really want to read them all. At least I did, until I read the summaries...zzzzzzzzzz!

Newsflash!! Americans have an unhealthy diet. Since I been reading up on fitness and nutrition and applying them to my own life, I've started to notice how the people around me eat. It's atrocious! I just want to go around slapping the doughnuts out of people's mouths...even skinny people. I've become a food Nazi {{hangs head in shame}}.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:




"Everything has a beginning and an end. And if it was good, the end is always sad." ~ Shah Rukh Khan, Indian movie star.


I love Shah Rukh Khan so much. His name means "Face of a king"....his parents obviously knew what they were doing. So handsome!

If you have Netflix, I highly recommend getting a copy of "Asoka" or "Chak De: India!"...both are great, great movies.




Okay, until next month...kookie out!

Good Lordy...I'm 40!!

Just dropping by the old blog to let anyone who still follows it that I am still alive and tomorrow is my 40th birthday!

How the heck did that happen??

In any case, in the last few months my youngest son, Logan, moved out of the house, freeing up his room...so, of course, I converted it into a library. What else would I do with it?? And I'm loving it!!

Also, I basically hit my weight goal in March and I drifted sort of aimlessly around wondering what I should do with myself now that I am no longer fat. Finally, after much soul searching I believe I found a sport that I truly, truly love and appear to have some talent at....bodybuilding. So, I crafted a whole new set of workouts and revamped my diet specifically so I can build more muscle.

Here are a couple stupid self-portraits I did. Hopefully in another couple months I'll be able to retake the pictures and see some improvements.









Be kind with your comments....remember..I AM an old lady! And I've only been seriously lifting for a few months. :D


It is a wonderful sport. I'm sore most of the time...but I really, really enjoy it. It is weird, however to look at the scale and be disappointed if the number goes DOWN. I guess that will take some getting used to. :D

Still reading (of course...that's like saying I'm still breathing)...I've gotten through about 100 novels so far this year. I've really loved "Drood" by Dan Simmons and "Into the Beautiful North" by Alberto Urrea. I highly recommend both!

I guess that's all for this update. Peace!!

Kookie out.

You don't write, you don't call!!

I know.

I promise book and movie reviews and I don't deliver.

I've been busy, man!!

I just got back from Philadelphia where I saw Flight of the Conchords perform TWICE! What a treat! And, I got a chance to say hello to the boys again.

Like I said, I've been busy!


Me and Bret McKenzie. He's adorable through and through.


















Me and Jemaine. He was SO tired! He gave two of the most energetic performances I ever saw....he just left it ALL out on the stage (bless his heart)...but he was still nice enough to take a picture with me and sign an autograph. He's a very sweet man, and I love him with all my heart.

Also, on my trip I read "A Separate Reality" by Carlos Casteneda, which, as "Lost" fanatics already know is the book that Little Ben gave to Sayid while he was in Dharma LockDown. Little Ben said he read it twice...I read it once and have to say I think it's one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. Give it a look, if you are looking for something to broaden your horizons and perhaps give you a different perspective on the world.

In any case, I don't know when my next post will be (or if there will even be one)...so I'll catch you all when I catch you.

Kookie out!

All you need is LOVE!

I've gone and fallen head over heels in love with not ONE...but TWO new things that I must share with you...

Okay, I've been in such a RUT lately, it's not even funny! It had been months since I'd read something that I truly enjoyed...I believe the last thing was "Don Quixote" back in November and then I read "The Feast of Love" by Charles Baxter at Bookfool's urging and found that I really, really enjoyed it, but I wasn't in LOVE with it. I was very much in LIKE with "The Feast of Love". Read it when you get a chance, it's worth your time.

But, as so often happens at times like these, the VERY next book I picked up after "The Feast of Love" is turning into 'something'.

You know how you just get captivated by the way an author will describe a feeling that shouldn't even be able to be described in words? Or how a story will pull you along so hard that you forget you are sitting in your home with a book in your lap? Or how sometimes you feel so close to a fictional character that you can't believe they aren't part of your actual life? Yeah. Book love. The greatest feeling on Earth.

And I believe it's found me again. I haven't finished it yet (in fact, to my glee, I've barely started it)...but I want to tell you all about it, so you can get started yourselves down the path of book love.


The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway. Like I said, I've barely started the book, but it seems to be a post apocalyptic story with ninjas and kung fu masters and truckers and...oh...read it for yourselves! It's wonderful! I will review it in full when I'm done. (I know it must be love because I can't bear the thought of being 'done' with it).



AND, secondly, I'm totally, totally in love with a young Indian actor named Allu Arjun (and of course, in Asia, the last name is first, so his first name is Arjun). Arjun is a big star in Tollywood..which is the film industry of the Telugu speaking area of India. His movies are CRAZY by American standards, but they are wonderful (mostly because of him)...they tend to be lighthearted love stories with MUSICAL numbers and FIGHT scenes!

It's almost impossible for me to describe what these movies are like...but I've bought three of them (yeah, I sent away to INDIA for the DVDs...that's how much I love these films), and I'm going to try to screencap and summarize the plots and see if I can't post videos of the dance numbers...you guys HAVE to see this...it's ASTOUNDING!

Arjun is a HELL of a great dancer...very athletic...very graceful...very enthusiastic. And he's as charming as all get-out. Anyway, like I said, I'll try to screencap the first movie and get up a review as soon as possible.

Here's a few pictures...just so you can see how adorable he is...























































...and, ahem...








*drool*



Anyway, stayed tuned for more...

Lost Discussion ..."Since you Left" and "The Lie"

Dear Producers of Lost,
I'm a great admirer of your show. You might call me a 'fan'. As such, I would like a moment of your time to discuss a very important matter that affects the pleasure I take while watching your quality program.

Josh Holloway is a very handsome man...no question. He's got lovely eyes, a great voice and dimples that can make a lady swoon....HOWEVER, seeing him without his shirt on is NOT the treat you seem to think it is.

Honestly, I see better physiques at my gym every single day. Please allow Mr Holloway to remain fully clothed for the remainder of the season. I would greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Kookie

PS-I would like to say at this point that ANY TIME you want to let Naveen Andrews go without a shirt, I wholeheartedly approve.














On that note, I have to say EPIC FAIL to Jack. Look pal, would it have been SO much trouble to just remove Sayid's shirt before you put the heart monitors on him? I know you were pressed for time and all...but COME ON!!!


Oh yeah...now the show. What did you guys think? I know this is the kind of episode that will make the casual viewer either stop watching or grab his head in agony...but we aren't casual viewers here, are we?? Discuss in the comment section...where spoilers WILL abound..you've been warned.

Here we go again!!

Well, folks...tonight is the night! Two all new episodes of "Lost" to kick off the new season. YAY!! I'm pretty excited. AND *fanfare* unspoiled! That's right...I've read NO spoilers (ah, but the day is young!)..so everything that happens tonight will be a surprise for me too!

Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have much to discuss...and lots of screencaps to post (and yeah...I might find a few of Sayid, just because...)

In the meantime...here's an update of what's been going on in my life recently. Just to kill time and fill up space. :D

Around the time that I decided to put this blog on sporadic hiatus I started taking work out tips from a young man at the gym who I'd become acquainted with. Just through the little advice he gave me, I lost 35 pounds between July and November. During that time, he and I have become good friends and he's taken me under his wing and decided that he would like to train me...to help me meet my physical goals. So, he helped me put together a whole new diet and exercise routine and I've lost another 14 pounds since November (bringing my current weight to 186)...and he thinks I can get all the way down to 140 or 150 by the time my 40th birthday rolls around. I've never been that slender! So, I'd like to take this time and opportunity to publicly thank him for taking such an interest in me and being my friend...

Thank you, Jess. You are one of the sweetest, funniest, most generous men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. You have no idea how glad I am to know you....and I'm looking forward to all the butt-kicking workouts you're going to put me through in the future. BRING IT!

Um, what else? I haven't had time for much else besides working out and reading and trying to keep my house in some semblance of order. Even with Logan gone most of the time, this place STILL looks like bears live here....extremely literate bears...but bears just the same.

I just finished reading "Buddenbrooks" by Thomas Mann. It was pretty good (I was surprised I liked it as much as I did), but it wasn't anything to get that excited about. I will get around to reading his "Death in Venice" before long.

Bookfool recommended (in glowing and adjective laden phrases) that I read Charles Baxter's "The Feast of Love"...so I'll be picking that up from the library tomorrow. If Bookfool says "read it"...I am SO there!

Otherwise, the books I've been reading have NOT really been setting my heart ablaze...and that is sad. I SO much want to fall in love with something right now...but I just haven't found 'the right one' yet *sigh*. Anyone got any suggestions?

Anyway...tomorrow look for a "Lost" discussion post sometime in the afternoon.

Kookie out!

Flight of the Conchords

When last we left our hapless Kiwi Kuties, their manager had scored it big with another two man band (The Crazyy Dogggz).

Now, thanks to the folks at Funnyordie.com, I give you Episode 1 from the second season of "Flight of the Conchords" starring my pals Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement.....(did I mention that I actually know these guys??? I KNOW!! It's still hard for me to believe too!!). The full season officially begins on HBO on January 18th....be there, or be square.

Even if you aren't a fan...if you don't laugh in the first 5 minutes (or at least by the end of Murray's song), then I give up.

PS-This video is only available in the US. It will be available to Canadian views on the 23rd of December... sorry.

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos