Sharing Circle

For those who perhaps are not familiar with him, I just wanted to do my bit to make sure that the whole world learns about the venerable English author, Terry Pratchett.  He’s one of the most prolific, talented, and astute observers of human behavior who is writing today. If you have anything approximating a sense of humor, you will find something to enjoy in his extensive catalog.

Initially made famous for his Discworld novels, which are set on a mythical yet suspiciously familiar disc-shaped world, Pratchett’s work has now in several instances been made into film. Some of you may have seen “Hogfather” which aired fairly recently on American cable television. 

 Unfortunately reading books has to a degree fallen out of fashion, and of course many people are so busy working three or four jobs to make ends meet, that collapsing in front of a television set is the best many of us can do after an eighteen hour day.  Like just about every other instance you can think of, Pratchett’s books have a richness of detail that cannot possibly be translated to a movie… but they’ve certainly given it the old college try and not come up wanting.  (The aforementioned Hogfather was incredibly nicely done….how can you miss, when you cast David Jason as Rincewind? But I digress.)

So, whether you read Pratchett’s books, or watch the available films, if you’ve never heard of him, by all means, step on out and treat yourself, and your family. I would think that any of Pratchett’s books would be suitable for children from about the age of twelve on up, but of course, your mileage may vary. Children younger than that will have some of the jokes sailing over their heads, but they still will enjoy the stories. He’s a master storyteller, and laugh-out-loud funny.

Pratchett writes for adults, however. Anyway, just trust me. If you don’t know Pratchett, I HIGHLY recommend his work, especially his books, especially the discworld novels. Pratchett is a galactic treasure. If we’re rating humorous, imaginative writers on a scale of one to ten, I’d say Pratchett is an eleven! Read him, and thank me later!

I wanted to share a list of some of what I think are the coolest, most inspirational books ever, and I don’t think they are commonly read these days. (Correct me if I’m wrong!) I hope folks might find something new here, and if so, let me know! I love to read and to share good books.

1.) Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl is a book by a concentration camp survivor which will really make you think. It will definitely move you, and it may even change your life. It did mine.

2.) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is also a very inspirational book having to with the author’s experiences during WWII. Well worth reading.

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I just wanted to share some thoughts about Gilda Radner. She was best known for her comedy and her role of “Roseanne Roseannadanna” on Saturday Night Live. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986, and kept an incredible state of mind about her illness–she never lost her sense of humor, apparently. She wrote a book called “It’s Always Something” which was published in about 1988.  It’s a funny, heartbreaking, and inspirational book that I would recommend to anyone–whether cancer has touched their immediate lives or not. Also, there are now apparently organizations worldwide of “Gilda’s Clubs,” where people living with cancer, and their friends and families, can meet to learn how to live with cancer. The center was named for a quip from Radner, who said, “Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I’d rather not belong to.” (more…)

I thought I’d pass on my personal top 100 horror movies. Although I am sure you will find many that you already know and would expect to see I guarantee that you will find some that you have missed out on!

100. IT (1990, Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace)
99. The Beyond (1981, Directed by Lucio Fulci)
98. Cloverfield
97. Don’t Look Now (1973, Directed by Nocolas Roeg)
96. Night of the Creeps (1986, Written and Directed by Fred Dekker)
95. Dead Ringers (1988, Directed by David Cronenberg)
94. Return of the Living Dead (1985, Written & Directed by Dan O’Bannon)
93. Scream (1996, Directed by Wes Craven)
92. Final Destination (2000, Directed by James Wong)
91. Re-Animator (1985, Directed by Stuart Gordon) (more…)

“Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”

-Erica Jong

Need I say more? Erica Jong is a very interesting writer if you’ve never read any of her stuff. I’d recommend “How to Save Your Own Life,” for those of you who don’t know her. Be forewarned: the book is for grownups and would probably be rated R. If you can’t deal with mature things and mature language, don’t read it. Just read her quotes. She’s a thinker, and offers some interesting perspective. Anyway, here’s a link for those of you who may not know her stuff.  How to Save Your Own Life . Enjoy!

I was just thinking about the few television shows I’ve seen from outside the United States (they are mostly all either Japanese game shows or British television shows.) It made me curious about what shows people watch the most and enjoy, whether they are from the USA or from other countries. What do you watch?

I’ve put a list of some of my favorite shows up and I’d love to hear what other people, particularly non-US people, watch most often. Or do you watch at all? (more…)

I’ve had a “thing” for Jim Morrison of the Doors ever since I hit puberty; never mind that he died when I was around two. I dug the music first, then I read his poetry, then I read “No One Here Gets Out Alive.”  Never mind that some of his profundity might have been drug-fueled (ok, was definitely drug-fueled) and never mind that there’s probably a lot of folk especially the young kids who probably don’t have a clue who he was.

I think that he was ahead of his time, especially with this internet stuff and the 24 hour news cycles….where privacy is non existent and where people think nothing at all of exposing the most intimate details of their entire lives to the whole world. So in no particular order I thought I’d share some quotes with y’all from Morrison that ought to make you think.  I’d add a picture of him but I’d bet they’re all copyrighted and I wouldn’t want to get in trouble! (more…)

Feast II

My husband and I are quite the movie buffs and we enjoy several different genres, including horror flicks. Here’s a quick review of one we saw recently – Feast II: Sloppy Seconds.

I really dig dark humor (you know, the kind that makes you cringe while you laugh) and Feast II was full of it. However, although it’s rated R, it’s NOT a movie that you’d want to watch with impressionable children or if you’re rather prudish. It’s not quite as tightly paced as the first one, but it’s still pretty good, with lots of cringy moments. I had a lot of “laugh out loud” moments with it too.

One probably doesn’t expect much out of any direct-to-DVD movie, but I have to say in my opinion this one was a cut above the usual horror schlock. I’m looking forward to more from these writer/directors, and I was pleased to read that they’re doing “Feast III.”

Dedicated horror fans will quite possibly like this movie. So if you count  yourself as one, and you’re wavering over whether to rent it or Netflix it, I say give it a go, but not when your kiddies or nervous wife/sister or mom’s around. They might think you’re sick.