tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82100040247025036062024-03-05T10:10:33.817-08:00LadyCady muses on...family, books, and any ol' thoughts that come to mind.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-52066667298943500552010-04-28T13:20:00.000-07:002010-04-28T14:17:32.048-07:00My soul to take by Rachel VincentJust wow! I started this book soon after waking this morning, was almost late leaving for work, and finished it on my lunch break.<br /><br />The heroine, Kaylee, is in high school, she has lived with her uncle's family since her father sent her there after her mother died. Kaylee has a problem, whenever she sees someone covered in shadows, she has an overwhelming urge to scream, a herald to their death. And she has no idea why. Kaylee is at a teen club that she snuck into with her best friend, dancing with one of the hottest guys in school, Nash, when it starts to happen, again. Soon, more classmates are dying, she wants to scream and Nash knows more about why she is screaming than she does.<br /><br />Ms. Vincent pulls you into Kaylee's life, gives you an understanding as to her loneliness, in the midst of family, and anger at her father for leaving her behind. And the passion and unfairness that she feels to not be able to save someones life when she knows that they are going to die.<br /><br />Definitely going to be reading her other books.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-54951560101249688072010-04-26T19:34:00.000-07:002010-04-26T19:58:31.541-07:00Some girls bite by Chloe NeillI loved the book. The heroine is gutsy. The hero, if he is one (we will see), is a 400-year old vampire. Neither wants to attracted to the other, but luckily for us, no choice. <br /><br />The main character, Merit, is great! She's attacked, throat torn by a vampire. Another vampire saves her life by changing her into a vampire; and the vampires can't understand why she's mad and angry and confused, oh and let's not forget grateful. But she handles her change in life and status, by holding close to the relationships that help define her, best friend and roommate, Mallory, and her grandfather. The snarking (love that word) between Merit and Mallory is hilarious, it provides Merit with normality.<br /><br />Ethan, the master vampire of Cadogan House who changed Merit, is definitely an alpha male. He is in charge. He is the protector. And he is Merit's biggest challenge, because she would prefer to avoid him and his attitude. <br /><br />I enjoyed this visit to Chicago. And shall definitely be going back for another visit into Chole Neill's world.<br /><br />Reading Order of Chicagoland Vampires:<br />Some girls bite<br />Friday night bites<br />Twice bitten (July 2010)Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-17307658728707800652010-04-16T09:21:00.000-07:002010-04-16T10:05:13.283-07:00Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake<em>The story: Mira is a nightwalker (a.k.a. vampire). She is an enforcer for the mysterious Coven, sent to the New World (United States). Her mastery of fire sets her apart from the other nightwalkers. She is their executioner if they step over the rules.</em><br /><br /><em>A new foe has entered her domain. He is Danaus, a vampire hunter. He has come for Mira, seeking answers and her death. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>But there is another race, an old foe of the nightwalkers, mostly banished from Earth. And they want to come home. Now is the time for vampire and hunter to join forces or face an unwelcome death.</em><br /><br /><br />Ms. Drake has written a dark story; set in another place where vampires, werewolves and magic is real, but hidden from most humans. Mira, while physically strong, has her weaknesses. She has a past that she prefers to forget/ignore, at least until it slaps her upside the head. She acts fearlessly, knowing that there are others stronger than she is, but she won't willingly bow her head to anyone whom she doesn't respect. She's a fighter, fighting for her right to live her life her way. Danaus is just as strong, in his way. He fights for his beliefs in right and wrong. But there is still much hidden about him, and he does not willingly open himself, allowing his secrets to be spilled.<br /><br />I really enjoyed this story, so much so, that I will be reading the next in the series until I am all caught up.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-50412344484563276172010-04-07T11:54:00.000-07:002010-04-09T11:05:42.706-07:00<a href="http://www.literaryescapism.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010.04-NACMiniChallenge.DDvsFFF1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 175px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.literaryescapism.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010.04-NACMiniChallenge.DDvsFFF1.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.literaryescapism.com/8464/coming-april-1st-nac-mini-challenge-battle-royale">Literary Escapism</a> has a mini-challenge for April. Read 5 <strong>new</strong> authors, from 2 lists (found on LE's website), between April 1st - 30th, and write up a review on your blog. Of course you do need to put in a link to your review. But that's what Mr. Linky is for.</div><div></div><div>The hard part is going to be choosing authors. Because as I go through the list I have to eliminate those I've already read. </div><div></div><div>So the 5 authors that I am going to put on the list to read this month are:</div><div>1. Melissa Marr - Fangs, Fur & Fey</div><div>2. Rachel Vincent - Deadline Dames</div><div>3. Jocelynn Drake - FFF</div><div>4. Tim Pratt - FFF</div><div>5. Jenna Black - DD</div><div> </div><div>Let my reading commence!</div><div></div>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-17411733963124589212010-02-18T11:53:00.000-08:002010-02-18T12:25:46.878-08:00Marjorie Liu's TIGER EYE is coming out as a game April 2010!<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0505526263/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i3?" pf_rd_m="'ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=" pf_rd_r="0WN2T45FMQYWE7F9PJ0J&pf_rd_t=" pf_rd_p="470938631&pf_rd_i="><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 175px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439680617255164322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-quJltWGOBppgG3ZowNnFWWNA-rf8Q70JbdWp4RQutufb1GfVpopQjYQXule0AHyfzKDXuX3iYLlyHsGTG228wd3RWqI0ZXl8kFiW8hkEj_kHezZE9qUqz7DfIKFZA-BhTftYmk4AU00L/s320/Tiger+eye.jpg" /></a><br /><div>The world of "Tiger Eye" by Marjorie Liu has been turned into a game by Passion Fruit Games. It will be out in April 2010 for download only. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>A link for pre-orders: <a href="http://passionfruitgames.com/tiger-eye/pre-orders/"><strong><span style="color:#000000;">http://passionfruitgames.com/tiger-eye/pre-orders/</span></strong></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Delilah "Dela" Reese is the heroine. Her family are psi-talented. Dela's talent is an affinity to metal. She can read any metal and learn it's history, who created it and who used it. She is in China on a business trip. During her exploration of the dirt market, Dela buys a curious riddle box. A strange gentleman tries to buy it from her, forcefully. Refusing him, Dela headed back to her hotel and started to work with the box. She solves the riddle of the box and release Hari, a tiger shapeshifter who had been imprisoned in the box for over 2,000 years. It has been his curse to serve whosoever releases him from the box. Now, a modern day woman is his mistress, and she doesn't believe in slavery. Plus his old enemy, the Magi, is still lurking around with his own agenda for Hari.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>This is a casual interactive game that tells the "Tiger Eye" story, so it is not necessary to have first read the book. There are puzzles, brainteasers and other mini games in the story to advance your character. Available for PC and MAC. </div>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-42998622334306245912010-02-12T12:08:00.001-08:002010-02-12T12:08:21.635-08:00Release Party, Sony eReader Contest and Chat with Author Moira Rogers<a href=http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=19609>Release Party, Sony eReader Contest and Chat with Author Moira Rogers</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-10444560220244553102010-02-06T14:26:00.000-08:002010-02-06T15:35:05.568-08:00a memory of finding booksBack way when ago, I wasn't much of a reader before 4th grade, I was more into playing outside, riding my bike, etc. In fact, after 4th grade is when I really started to read. You see, on my report card at the end of the year, reading had a "D" beside it. I don't really remember my mom's reaction to it, but I do remember that for my birthday that summer I received the first 17 books in the Trixie Belden series by Julie Campbell. I gave it a try, and ended up going through that series like crazy. <br /><br />For those of you who never read the series, in the first book "The secret of the mansion", Trixie Beldon met a new friend over the summer, a millionaire's daughter. They investigate the fortune a miser hid in his house, and the runaway hiding out in Sleepyside; which leads into book 2 "The red trailer myster". <br /><br />Along with the mysteries they find and solve, Trixie and Honey, her new friend and their brothers are involved with their families and communities. I liked to read about them helping someone out, raising money to donate to UNICEF, and the interactions of a normal family. <br /><br />A good read from my past.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-60596168669246824812008-04-17T14:35:00.000-07:002008-04-17T15:14:29.669-07:00Am I slightly crazy?<a href="http://www.sunrvrentals.com/images/kelowna.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.sunrvrentals.com/images/kelowna.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Last week (Wednesday night), I found out that my cousin, Bill from B.C., and his family were coming down to the states. And the best thing was that they were going to bring Granny with them. Their itinerary was to leave on Friday morning, stop in Kelowna for a convention on Saturday, and then onto Washington the next day. This meant that Granny would be spending part of the day in a hotel room or at the convention or both. <br /><br />Then I started thinking...I'm getting paid this week. It's only a five hour drive to Kelowna. Granny would have a chance to rest and recover, before I threw a big family dinner for her on Sunday. Hmmm...<br /><br />My wonderfull and loving husband, Todd, said to go. He knows how much I love Granny. So, I talked to my cousin and Granny to arrange it - does she want to come early and which hotel do I go to once I am in Kelowna.<br /><br />And on Saturday morning, I was so excited to get on the road that I woke up at 4:30am, something that I never do on a normal morning. I had a beautiful morning drive. The sun was up, my sunroof was open and I had my shades on. Everything looked so bright and crisp. The border guard was very nice, he just asked the normal questions "Where are you going? Where are you from? How long are you going to be in B.C.?". <br /><br />And I was on my way! It was a great drive! I had sunlight, scenery and music. And not too many morning vehicles heading north. :)<br /><br />My Granny has gotten smaller. But she is still a wonderful woman. We had a nice drive back home. I turned off the stereo so that we could talk. And boy did we talk! <em>(My husband sees where that aspect of me comes from.)</em> The drive back home took longer than the drive going up, because I had to stop a few more times than I had that morning. Plus people were out and about, and driving slow (10 miles under the limit) when it got darker. <br /><br />But I arrived at Granny's sister's place safe and sound. I had a short visit. And Granny got settled in and ready for a chat with her sister. As for me, I was <strong>so</strong> ready to get home and lay my head down. This trip, short tho' it was did me a world of good.<br /><br /><br />The picture that I've included was a view of the end of the road down into Kelowna. Since I was just in driving mode and did not take time to take pictures, I found a scene from off of the internet of what I saw.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-30962727656825669982008-03-11T13:59:00.000-07:002008-03-11T14:09:00.154-07:00Back from the land of the sickRecently, my loving husband passed along a kiss to me. Sadly, that kiss also included the germs for Strep B or Strep Meridian. Now, I had never in my life had strep throat and I had no idea that there was more than 1 copy of strep. I learned that the strain I had was nothing to fool around with. If you have strep B, and you do not treat, and if you got the flu on top of the strep there was a chance that you could come down with pneumonia. <br /><br />I took my antibiotics like a good girl and never felt anything from the strep until the end. Whereupon, my strep ended and I developed a common cold. My voice barely held out through the end of the week. And I welcomed the week-end, the long week-end since I had taken a few days off. I used that time to rest instead of party and I finally feel symptom free. Woohoo!!!Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-61079158272450070812008-02-14T09:46:00.000-08:002008-02-14T09:50:27.543-08:00Puzzled kitties<a href="http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/7D136A06B4B?z=3&m=422508D939.6DD7E21"><img src="http://www.jigzone.com/im/pCut/3.png" alt="Click to Mix and Solve" style="width:400px;height:300px;margin:4px;padding:0;border:1px solid #999;background:transparent url(http://www.jigzone.com/puz/zemThumb?p.up.Z.MQ.K0.24qcr:jpg)"/></a>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-64584239268446577362008-02-13T18:21:00.001-08:002008-02-13T18:21:03.675-08:00Bloodfever (bk. 2 in Fever series) by Karen Marie Moning<div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/2671692"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/038533916X.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V43916387_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="ac-title" style="font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/2671692">Bloodfever (Fever Series, Book 2)</a></div><div class="ac-creator">by Karen Marie Moning</div><br clear="all" /><div class="ac-entry"><p>Mac has learned that she is a sidhe-seer. She sees the Fae as they really are and if she reacts to what she sees, they will kill her. And now she will learn that she is not alone. That there are answers to her questions, if she’s willing to join the cause.</p><p>Mac is still on the revenge-trail. She wants her sister’s killer dead. And she has learned that she can sense the Fae’s “Objects of Power”, when they are near. Jerico Barrons is a man that is keeping Mac alive; but she doesn’t trust him, since it’s hard to trust someone who won’t answer your questions. But she is going to have to learn to trust his actions over his words. For Jerico, Mac is his key to finding the Sinsar Dubh, the dark book. At least, that’s what we know so far. Mac is still being tormented and tantalised by V’Lane, a Fae who uses sex on human woman turning them into addicts.</p><p>This is a great series! The characters are fleshed out and awesome. Mac is an ordinary girl, thrust into extra-ordinary circumstances after her sister dies, and she finds that the world is not as normal as she had once viewed it in the past. Jerico is appropriately mysterious and enigmatic. It is in this book that you can see that he does have an interest in Mac, aside from her being his “OOP’s Detector” (Mac’s words). They have their own agendas and since this is Mac’s story, we can see Mac’s agenda and guess at the others. The action flows quickly and pulls the reader right into the story – makes it hard to put down. This reader is eagerly waiting and lusting for the next book in the series (looks like a 5 book series).</p></div><div class="ac-progress-link"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/person/ladycady/2671692"><br style="clear:left;" />See more about Bloodfever (Fever Series, Book 2)</a></div></div>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-46136351808524169252008-01-23T10:45:00.000-08:002008-01-23T11:42:42.502-08:002 INTENSE moviesOn Sunday this past week-end, my husband, my nephew and I went to see two movies, both of which I've been wanting to see. My nephew had seen one of the movies, but he was okay with seeing it again. The two movies were "Cloverfield" and "I am legend".<br /><br />For "Cloverfield" there was a notice in the ticket window about motion sickness in viewing this movie. They were correct, wish I had taken dramamine. The movie was intense! It started out nice and low key - people getting ready for a party. After the building shook, things started to pick up when the Statue of Liberty's head came flying out of the air. From that point onwards, I didn't relax through the whole movie. There were people trying to evacuate, there were soldiers and things going boom! The movie followed 4 people (via camcorder) from the party trying to get out of the city, and then they go back to get a friend who's in trouble. And the tension escalates, because we get to see that there is something (giant bug?) attacking the city and dropping little versions of itself or it's soldiers. I'm getting the creeps just remembering some of those scenes. And I have to add that once again the movies put a tourniquet on to a leg that was bleeding - BAD move, unless you want to lose the rest of the leg below the tourniquet.<br /><br />"I am legend" was the second movie that we saw, after lunch. Another movie with intense scenes, plus some sad ones too. The intense scenes started out simple. He went into a dark building, after his dog, with his gun drawn. So now I'm wondering what is hiding in the dark. And it jumps out at you! It was a human, now it's something else that only comes out after dark. Turns out the hero is a scientist who was at ground zero trying to find a cure for this rampant disease which turns people not immune to it, into monsters; this disease was the result of a cure for cancer. The scientist was sending his wife and child away to a safe zone, when things went fluey and they died. Now his only companion for the past three years, his dog, was bitten by the monsters and he still does not have a cure.<br /><br />Overall, two good movies that make you jump, and give you the heebee-jeebies. Wish I had put a light-hearted comedy into the mix after those two.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-44440006218118936532008-01-17T10:50:00.000-08:002008-01-17T11:27:17.066-08:00Took a look at "all-consuming"Since a monthly look is being done at websites. I took a look at this month's offer "<a href="http://allconsuming.net/">All Consuming</a>" and created my <a href="http://allconsuming.net/person/ladycady/">own account</a>. I've added a few books that I've read and am currently reading, and a movie or two, so far. There is still a lot more to add and explore. But I'm thinking that this might be a better way to keep track of past and current reading lists, at least over Library Thing. Mainly because I haven't read about a limit on the site, while Library Thing does have a limit of 200 books, unless you purchase a membership.<br /><br />All consuming is allowing me to keep track of what I am currently reading, which will be nice in the future. But it is the ability to keep track of past books that I have read and liked that is a really nice thing. Sadly, I won't be able to remember every single book from the past. But I won't be saying that in the future if I remember to stay on top of things.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-42960375797574334162008-01-01T10:04:00.000-08:002008-01-01T10:07:57.980-08:00Happy New Year - 2008<a href="http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/14055D53A3D0?z=0"><img src="http://www.jigzone.com/im/pCut/0.png" alt="Click to Mix and Solve" style="width:400px;height:300px;margin:4px;padding:0;border:1px solid #999;background:transparent url(http://www.jigzone.com/puz/zemThumb?p.jz.jzC.HNewYear:jpg)"></a>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-65858164771526724052007-12-15T09:58:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:50:35.440-08:00And last but not least #23 - ReflectingI can sum up these last few weeks in a few thoughts. I experienced frustration, eagerness, laughter and more frustrated hair-pulling. But this can also be used to describe all learning experiences. I am a firm believer in learning new things, so I enjoyed the time I spent on this project and would welcome another opportunity.<br /><br />I loved the opportunity to read through my co-workers postings, it gave an insight into their thoughts and humor. If I was able to figure out who was who, sometimes I would really laugh hard 'cause I'd have a known voice to go with the writings.<br /><br />I really enjoyed learning about and playing with the mashups and the wikis. The newsreaders and rss' were confusing at first, but once figured out, gave me more than enough to keep track of - kinda feel guilty if I fall too far behind on the news, 'cause I know I won't read it. And I just do not see myself using rollyo in the future, unless I start a new career where I need to keep track of specific searches; or the online office applications, simply because I have office at home.<br /><br />Now all I need to do is figure out which thing I learned that will give me the best chance of my family learning and using it to stay connected by adding pieces to it. Almost like a family blog with extras.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-77158941990937037692007-12-14T17:01:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:55:51.554-08:00Thing #22 - LibriVoxLuckily it was easy to find the FAQ page. Because I had a question immediately about copyright and that stuff. I found my answer about half-way down the page. I had never paid attention to the information about "public domain". So I learned that "public domain" pertains to the literature whose copyright has expired - about everything printed before 1923.<br /><br />So, a-browsing I went and found that they have Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, something that I will have to explore. What I did not find was an easy way to go from page 1 of the D's to page 2. After a little bit of playing around, I found that the "easy" way is to click on the next numbered page before the "..." and you're on the next page or 2 pages past what you wanted.<br /><br />Because these are all public domain, there are a lot of the old classics listed - Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, Stephen Crane, and a whole lot more that I've never heard of. So it's a good option if you cannot find a copy of a certain book that you absolutely need for english class to know about this resource. It was also nice to see that there are some readings in foreign languages, a nice way to get better at listening and hopefully speaking in French.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-54566177114402619252007-12-13T15:11:00.000-08:002007-12-13T17:41:52.652-08:00Thing #21 - Podcasts, Smodcasts!I've heard about podcasts - that they're neat and informative and fun. I started looking at the 3 given directories. At podcast, I typed in library news and got 1 item about SirsiDynix Institute. Since I didn't feel like listening to that I tried another search this time book reviews. And it looks like I get a lot (100) of podcasts involving reviews on anything and everything. And the final keyword search "libraries" looks like it has turned something up. <br /><br />If I was interested and I knew how to speak Italian, I could listen to a podcast on library news in Italian. Hmmmm, motivation there, but sadly no time. There were 2 other promising casts, the first one is teenlibrarian and the second is teleread (about e-books). <br /><br />Both podcast and yahoo were just seach engines for the podcasts, didn't have a lot of excessive information on the screen. Might be nice for some, but I wanted a little help at first. Which is why I liked the looks and style of podcastalley. I had learned my lesson from the first searching, so I just typed in libraries and got 27 hits. It's so easy! You click on one and a short menu unfolds to give you a description and the option to get the podcast. I think I'll put any podcasts off to the sidebar. And then I shall explore more...Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-44007391187724198202007-12-11T14:34:00.000-08:002007-12-11T16:57:30.909-08:00A review on the movie "The Golden Compass"After hearing that certain Catholic heads had put this on their "Do Not Watch" list, I had to see the movie to find out what all of the fuss was about. I found that it was a delightful movie. <br /><br />The movie is about a cheeky young girl, Lyra, who gets into the adventure of her life. She runs around all over the place. She has no interest in being labeled a lady, in fact she tells her best friend (paraphrasing: "...to take it back. I ain't no lady. Take it back or we're not best mates!"). Lyra's world is one where a person's soul lives in an animal form outside of their bodies, called demons.<br /><br />Lyra is living at the university, while her guardian is off on expeditions. She is allowed a temporary holiday from learning at the university, to help a lady, Mrs. Colter; who appears like a breath of fresh air to a young lady confined within the stuffy atmosphere that she lives. Before she leaves, the headmaster visits Lyra and gives to her a golden compass, telling her that her uncle had given it to him for safe-keeping and he believes that it belongs to Lyra now, and he also told her not to show it to anyone, especially Mrs. Colton. When Lyra and Mrs. Colton head to town, Lyra finds that the rules of society with Mrs. Colton are even tighter. Mrs. Colter has a hidden agenda for Lyra and a secret life with the Magesterium, the ruler's of society. Lyra discovers that Mrs. Colter is behind that disappearance of the missing children and that her best friend's name is on the list. She runs from Mrs. Colter and falls in with the gypsums (sp?). And they are off, on to a rescue mission to find the missing children. Along the way, Lyra meets new friends and learns how to use the golden compass, which shows the truth to those who know how to ask.<br /><br />After watching the movie, I still had no idea as to why the banning. The movie showcases the adventures of a girl out to rescue her friend. He was taken as part of a secret experiment of the Magesterium's to separate the children from something of their world called dust, which gave life to their souls/demons. Then they were going to raise these children to follow a certain way of thinking that did not disagree with the teachings of said Magesterium. They were going to subvert the "free will" of a new generation. The next day I talked to my sister-in-law and she said that it was because the ruling class was called the magesterium, which is also the name for the learning class of the Catholic church. <br /><br />Flimsy much! Arrgg! I do not like those who ban a book "because"; makes me think of dictators, not a good image for the church in my opinion. But that's one opinion among many.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-20775028245140029642007-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:002007-12-11T16:58:30.801-08:00Interesting articleI was checking through my bloglines feeds and found this interesting article. I say interesting because of the fact that we were doing mashups not too long ago. The mashup is between MeeboMe and a library (who set it up), and it allows people the option to get additional help for finding an item when they hit the message "sorry, could not find...".<br /><br />http://www.bloglines.com/preview?siteid=376&itemid=1548<br /><br />Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste the address. I'm having technical difficulties.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-80490430614914841942007-12-08T10:07:00.000-08:002007-12-08T10:47:28.724-08:00Thing #20 - SPL's access to music librariesI took this opportunity to play around and listen to a few songs from each site that SPL has on offer. Starting with the Classical Music Library, I browsed through their catagories on offer. I scrolled through the catagories of vocal & choral, nursery rhymes - listened to "Hey Diddle Diddle". Then I moved onto the stage & screen catagory, TV music - choosing a few from "The Sword in the Stone". There was a lot of music to choose. I tried to find things that I would recognize, so after seeing something from the "Fiddler on the Roof", I tried to find the artist Topol and came up with zilch. I also played around with the sound quality, changing it from 22kbps to the higher quality of 64kbps. The sound was a bit richer on 64kbps, but you could still hear the scratches from the recordings. <br /><br />Next, I moved on and listened to the African American Song. Since I'm not a big jazz fan, I didn't recognize a lot of songs in that catagory. But I moved on and tried the stage and screen catagory. The sound quality between classican music library and the African American song were similiar. To me, the choices were a bit obscure because I had never listened to a lot of the genres. I did notice that they had 4 choices under the rock genre, and I didn't recognize them; but that could be explained because the timeline only goes up to 1970. <br /><br />And finally, I moved onto Smithsonian Global Sound. I found that when I clicked on a catagory selection, that I had a huge list to scroll through, page by page. That got old, so I decided to try browsing by A-Z, in the genre area. There are over 3000 songs in the children's catagory! So, I scrolled and jumped through and listened to a few. There were some titles that I hadn't seen in years (A frog went a'courtin') and some that I had never seen because they're from another country.<br /><br />This could be something fun to do if you had your computer in an area where you could play the music and actually get something accomplished (chore-wise), else I would spend a lot of time making a playlist and while that played I would be playing games or doing research on the computer. I'll have to remember to tell my husband about this feature, he's the one who listens to a variety of music.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-76111988321186747102007-12-01T10:34:00.000-08:002007-12-01T14:07:27.525-08:00Time to play again!!! #19 web toolsOoohhh, books, I found the first site that I'm going to look at. BRB with an update. The top 3 catagories: LibraryThing, already done that, have the site bookmarked. The Biblio site has possibilites when I'm looking for a book for myself or as a gift. And the Lulu site is not for me, as I have no manuscripts that I want to publish. Onto the next selection. I've found a possible! It keeps track of events for you and lets you know what's coming up in your area. I've been looking for something like this, I'll have to play with it a bit more to see if I actually like it.<br /><br />The cocktail builder site is a hoot! I just typed in a few kinds of the alcohols that I have in my cupboard and it gave me a list of drinks. From the list o'drinks to make with vodka, I'm tempted to try "Adam and Eve" and "Kiss of an angel", and I'm not a big vodka fan - the taste is blahg to me. Apparently there's a drink called the "black cat" and all you need is tequila and amaretto (or another almond liqueur). <br /><br />Under the games selection, "guess the google" was fun. You had to be a fast typer and a good guesser. I had seen and played something similiar at flickr only they used between 4 and 10 pictures. Something mindless that gets your brain moving. The plus side to this game is that it has a pause button, while the other one does not.<br /><br />Some of the tools that I viewed might possibly work in a library setting, the problem would be to go through each tool and see which ones would not work (downloads needed, registrations, etc.) and not everybody has the time to go through all of those sites.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-78349863662948348162007-12-01T09:41:00.000-08:002007-12-01T09:49:06.628-08:00I tried Zoho....At first, Zoho looked like a fun new toy to play with and then I tried to publish something to my blog. How many times and ways can you say frustrating? I went to publish to my blog the post shown below, I followed the directions from the FAQ page on publishing to your blog, and EVERY time I tried to publish it gave me this little red sentence that said "blog not available". WHAT??!!! But I've got it open. So I exited and tried again. Same thing "blog not available". And so I copied and pasted to my blog what I had written in Zoho. But all is not lost, I put a link to my zoho-wiki on my blog.<br /><br /><em>I've played around with Zoho a little bit. I created a list of people to shop for before christmas. And I did to it what I would normally do when I type things up in word. Although the first time that I saved the piece, it pulled all the names together into one line after another instead of leaving it spaced like I had set. This app. seems like it could be an alright situation to use, if you are doing non-sensitive material. But that's just me, 'cause there is no way that I would put sensitive information out-there to hopefully be password safe and secure. <br /><br /> <br /><br />After I made the list I tried to share the document with my husband, in hopes that we would be able to add to it at anytime. <br /><br /> 1) Before he can share, he has to be a member. So now he always shows up as offline. <br /><br /> 2) He tried to join using his hotmail account. Zoho didn't like that. Hmm, I wonder if I should add his hotmail account as the one to share with.<br /><br /> <br /><br />So, I'm not happy right now with the thing. Next, I put together a wiki at Zoho. And now I have to see if there is a way to publish the wiki to my blog. Not seeing any big instructions so far, back to the FAQ's page. sigh...</em>Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-4340108513523080412007-11-23T15:10:00.000-08:002007-11-23T15:40:13.868-08:00Time to play with a wikiTime to dive right in and play around to find out about wikis. When I first tried to log in, I didn't realize which email address was going to be needed. However the second time was a charm, when I used my blogs information.<br /><br />I've managed to edit 2 pages and add my 2 cents into the topics of favorite pie and movies. Kinda fun to play with colors and fonts stuff. Next thing I am going to try is to make up a new page. Hmm...I wonder what my topic is going to be. More after break. :)Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-24311277829371753032007-11-21T16:53:00.000-08:002007-11-21T19:20:47.082-08:00Wiki??? - Thing #16So, I took a look at a few of the options for wikis. I have to say it looks both scary and fun. Is there such a thing? Scary, because if you have it open for everyone to change, then who knows what you will end up with. The fun part was the idea of using it as a learning tool. <br /><br />I took a look at Princeton's Book Lovers Wiki because I thought it would be fun. Anything with the words book lovers in it, I'm going to want to check it out. I looked and was sadly disappointed. It looks like they put a few things in there and then forgot about the site, last entries a year ago. :(<br /><br />The Stephens County wiki had a lot of neat info. on it. I never knew how much they changed the county systems around way back when. I liked this wiki 'cause I learned about something that had happened. This is something to shoot for if you do a wiki.<br /><br />The Bull Run wiki had a lot of information. I liked the part of the "All Fairfax Reads" blog. It lets a person write a review as well as reserving a copy of the book. It just had a lot of good information (research sites, medical resource, etc...) spelled out plainly with the links that go to the information.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8210004024702503606.post-89457216691405396782007-11-17T11:16:00.000-08:002007-11-17T15:19:50.458-08:00My thoughts on "Library 2.0" For SPL, Library 2.0 has given staff the opportunity to learn new tools, and to interact with each other more than normal - in both fun and frustration. Which can be read in the blogs that are tracking the/our work. 2.0 has allowed staff who would normally not attempt this to expand their horizons and it has given them some new toys/tools to play with. <br /><br />Learning about Library 2.0 has been both fun and frustrating. It's been fun to dip my toes into the technological wonders that are available out on the web, finding out how things work and what they stand for. I had a lot of fun using the image generators. It's been frustrating because some of them are real big time-eaters. You can lose yourself trying to find answers, as well as finding more questions and more places to explore. But hey, that's life! What follows is my interpretation and comments on two of the given articles from the exercise.<br /><br /><em>Article #1: "To a temporary time and place" byDr. Wendy Schultz</em><br /><br />Dr. Schultz puts forth her ideas upon the directions (past & future) of the rolls of libraries . Firstly, she defines the role of the library's current incarnation - that they are communities. Then she uses the "chain of meaning" chart to compare and contrast the placement of the library in relation to of all things the evolution of coffee offered to the public: coffee beans, Maxwell House coffee, coffee sold at Dunkin Donuts, and finally the Starbucks experience.<br /><br />Now, if I am judging her statements correctly, the library and 2.0 is right around the Maxwell House level. Everybody is giving their opinion and that opinion is being changed willy-nilly by anyone who cares to. The next level that we are supposed to be shooting towards (3.0) is the one where people using the web utilize it to pick up the information from a reliably great source that will tell them exactly what book or information to get that they would like. And the final stage, is where people come to enjoy the full experience (storage, data retrievel, and solicited commentory) of the library. Something that sounds almost like Star Trek's holo-deck.<br /><br />It read to me like the library is an ever evolving constant that will allow people to return to the beginning. That the library will be a place to disconnect from the ever-busy and all-connected world, almost like an old-fashioned club. But I see that the library is pretty much at the edge of that step. The library is an experience where people have the option to gather to pick up information, where they gather to connect with friends in person or on-line and where they gather to learn and think over new ideas. We're just waiting for the technology to catch up.<br /><br /><br /><em>Article #2: "To more powerful ways to cooperate" by Chip Nilges</em><br /><br />It will be a nice tool to have, the ability to see what is available on WorldCat. What I read sounded almost like a concentrated search roll that will allow people to see if that required item is available in the world. Would the searcher then need to go to their libraries to send for the required material? Or would the searcher be able to directly request the material be sent to them or be viewed online? That question is never touched upon in the article.<br /><br />Acquiring the "user intelligence" as an added bonus makes me shiver in my boots. Because I immediately started to think of Wikipedia and how anyone can change information on its pages. Will this added user intelligence be kept separate from the original entry and just seen as someone's blog-notes about the information? Or something not as nice? We shall see.Ladycadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073807789000278129noreply@blogger.com1