Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Book Reviews: The First Two Crossfire Books by Sylvia Day

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As the Wall Street Journal said:  There is finally someone sexier than Christian Grey...His name is Gideon Cross and he is, of course, a hunka  hunk of burning love.  When Bared to You came out, it sold 80,000 paperbacks in the UK in the first week alone.  More than Fifty Shades did.  And when Reflected in You came out, it sold 82,000 copies in the UK. On Goodreads, BTU has 71,4111 ratings and RIU, 35,075. Amazon reviewers give BTU an average 4.7 stars, RIU, the same.  So why all of the fuss about this Crossfire Series?  There are some similarities to Fifty Shades of Grey. Read more...

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Genre:  Teen romance grades 7+

Author:  Ally Condie

It seems like the trilogy genre is on fire.  I know the first trilogy I read was The Lord of the Rings.  Now we have the Twilight series, The Hunger Games, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and of course, the grand mamma of them all, Fifty Shades of Grey etc.  As a reviewer it is awfully hard to go from reading a Fifty Shades of Grey series, the adult dominance and submissive stuff, to reading a trilogy written for teens.  Truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed the first in Ally Condie's trilogy, Matched.  Condie  has the middle book, Crossed,  as well as the concluding book,  Reached, now at a book seller near you or on an e book site.  Read more...

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

If You Like Vodka...

I have been a vodka aficionado for a while.  I've tasted quite a few through out my travels especially while in Russia.  But, I've come across a USA distilled vodka that I love.  It's Tito's Vodka made in Austin, Texas.  I was telling a friend of mine about Tito's and we decided to do our own little tasting of vodkas.  We had Tito's, Ketel One, Grey Goose and Crystal Head vodka (the one made by Dan Aykroyd).  Tito's won hands down.  Not only is it smooth in taste but the price is smooth. Crystal Head is anywhere from $45.00-$50 for 750ml .  Ketel One and Grey Goose $38-40.00 for 750ml.  Tito's is around $28-30!  The magazine, Wine Enthusiast, out of 100 points gave Tito's 95 points, Ketel One 89 and Grey Goose 84.  If you doubt my love of vodka, just read my blog about my adventure of trying to get some vodka on Borneo:  http://satisfyingmycuriousity.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-been-while-since-i-last-posted-but.html.Read more...

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Giving "Back": I See Rotten Tomatoes Coming My Way

I'm going to approach this subject two ways.  The first will certainly be considered a "humbug" approach.  The second will probably have mixed reviews.  First, the "humbug" approach or how I let a phrase like "giving back" totally irritate the heck out of me.  But why?  Because, often, when people feel they have some extra time in their lives and want to do something for their community, they say they want to "give back".  Well, here's my point.  Give what back to whom and why?  I guess you could say I take the phrase literally and not figuratively.  Give back...let's see, the path I've taken in life has, at times, been rocky.  Have I faced a fiscal cliff or two in my life time?  You betcha.  But I have never had to, luckily, rely on the auspices of the government (taxpayers) nor private nor public charities to help me out.  I've never been on welfare nor food stamps nor medicaid.  I've not had to eat in a soup kitchen or ask for charitable help.  If I had to do any of these things, and then I found myself with the ability and where with all to "give something back" to those who have given to me, then I would with an open heart. rotten tomatoes photo: Rotten tomatoes rottentomatoes.jpg  Read more...

Monday, November 26, 2012

If You Want to Go to London, Read This...

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I've got two pieces of advice for you if you're going to London:  either go on an expense account or go on an all inclusive tour.  I don't like tours.  I'm not into the pack your bag every day and be with 30 strangers, some of which can either be really obnoxious or are repeatedly late or are chronic complainers.  But London is so expensive, I'd give it a shot.  London isn't the most expensive city in the world.  That honor, according to CNN, is Oslo, Norway.  New York ranks 6th.  But when the equivalent of 1 GBP (British Pound) costs $1.60 US, you're losing money like crazy.  That's why it's so expensive for travelers who use US dollars.  We got a discount at a JW Marriott, The Grosvenor House, which included breakfast.  I'm not going to say how much but it was reasonable enough not to figure into the overall expensiveness of the city.  We didn't eat at overly expensive restaurants but still ended up, for 3 people, with restaurant  tabs of $250 or more (includes tip).  And we're not big wine or mixed drink drinkers.  By the way.  I do like my martinis, vodka thank you.  They pour ONE ounce!  Sometimes at 10 GBP or $16 US.  We did eat at some great restaurants though.  One fun one was Bone Daddies on Peter Street in SoHo.  They specialize in ramen noodle dishes.  We had three bowls of ramen soup at 10 GBP each or $16 US.  The soup was delicious and I would highly recommend the place.  It's hard to find.  Peter street is a very short street and most people don't know where it is. I had to laugh.  It was like a phone commercial.  I walk up to five people standing in front of a bar.  No, this is not the beginning of a joke. I asked them if they know where Peter Street is and Bone Daddies.  Two of them, at the same time, say, let's race and begin to frantically look on their phones to see who can find my info the fasted.  We were at the restaurant 5 minutes later.  Read more:

Monday, November 12, 2012

Books to Give for the Holidays


It’s been a very good year, in my opinion, for the publishing world. It was buoyed by The Fifty Shades Trilogy.  Some authors seemed on auto pilot while others tried a different tack.  And as usual, we have many old characters back:  Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, and John Corey, just to name a few.  The *-***** stars are provided by Amazon.com readers. I'll also designate TR, to read, or otherwise assume I read it.  

So here’s a list of books I have either read or I will read.    Read more...

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Will I Always Remember Christian and Ana? Depends...

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Hah!  Suckered you in!  This is a blog on memory.  Although I must say that I will probably always remember Fifty Shades Fifty Shades of Grey as well as I remember reading my first "adult" fiction at the tender age of 13. And I do remember it, The Golden Hawk by Frank Yerby.  It was one of those bodice rippers with the hunky sea captain thing going on.  Forward (didn't I just see that word used in some campaign? How soon we forget.) then to the topic.   On Feb. 22 of this year, I wrote a blog entitled: Every memory soon becomes fiction. It's a quote from Ernest Hemingway.   I found this article in the Huffington Post and I thought I'd pass it on because so many of us baby boomers are worried about Alzheimer's.  We'll walk from one room to the next with a purpose to do so and by the time we get to the other room...realize we have forgotten that purpose.  Not to worry.  There's a reason for it and many of the other worrisome memory lapses we might have.  Hopefully this will relieve you of some of your anxiety.    Read more...

Monday, November 5, 2012

AAMOI: TAFS (Translation Below)

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As a matter of interest: texting acronyms for seniors.  :-X.

I bought this little flip book, Texting Dictionary of Acronyms.  I'm not into this stuff like the kids of today are.  Mostly I use the LOL or LMAO with a smattering of :)) or :((.  But apparently there is a whole new world of language out there that scares me.  Scares me because I love the English language and all of its nuances.  Here's a lovely texted nuance: EPADY.  Want to guess what it stands for?  Eat poop and die you. Very nuanced.  I'm convinced that as our world evolves all our progeny will have on their hands are little thumbs to type on tiny keys.  Since my readers are mostly, not all, but mostly a little older, this little handbook does have texting acronyms for seniors.  So here goes TWS (texting while senior):   Read more...

Sunday, October 28, 2012

My First Time Was with Tricky Dicky

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Tricky Dicky?  Well, for those of you who are too young to remember, Tricky Dicky was one of the nicknames for President Richard Milhouse Nixon. My other choice was Hubert Humphrey.  When you ask people about their "first" time, normally they say it was horrible, not worth it, should have waited, what's all the fuss about.  With my choices of Nixon and Humphrey, for the "first" time, I would have had to use some of those adjectives   I suppose that if I were to compare myself with Lena Dunham, the young woman behind the ad recently approved by the Obama campaign, I'd have to say I lost "it" to Tricky Dicky.  Sexual innuendos and voting.  "O" my.  What next?  Fifty Shades of voting? I could really go somewhere with this 50 Shades analogy but I have some sense and sensibility and won't go there.  This is how outrageous this campaign has become.  The last few weeks have been taken up with arguments over Big Bird, binders and now the "lost" virginity. So I guess we shouldn't be thinking about the the unemployment rate, the high number of people on disability, the number of people on food stamps, the number of unemployed women, our debt to the Chinese,and we certainly shouldn't be concerned with the resurgence of Al Qaeda and the death of a US ambassador and 3 other Americans.  Nope.  Big Bird come here.   If you haven't seen the "virginity" ad, here's the dialog. (By the way, the Lilly Ledbetter act was signed by Obama in 2009.  It's an equal pay bill.)  Read more...

Sunday, October 14, 2012

What the Heck is a Zwickelbier or Schwarzbier?

Spoetzl Brewery is located about 9 miles from my home town smack in the middle of Texas' German/Czech territory. Spoetzl Brewery is located in Shiner, Texas.  The area's towns have  populations of 900-2000 people. Shiner beer was very popular in the '60's with the hippies because it was one of the first organic beers. The brewery used to have tables and chairs in the tasting rooms but that had to stop because too many local people came in, plopped themselves down and had a few cold ones. Back in the '60's when we were drinking beer (and not old enough I might add...I am NOT advocating underage drinking here), the thing to do was send a car to Colorado to bring back a trunk full of Coors.  Shiner beer?  You've got to be kidding me. Yuck.  Today Shiner is quite the boutique brewery.  The brewery is so popular that they have a huge Bocktoberfest, held in October, of course. It's a big party with nationally renowned bands, bike-a-thons from Austin and of course, plenty of German /Czech food and BEER!
  Read more...

Friday, October 5, 2012

A Dessert For Christian and Ana: Fifty Shades of Grey Sex Bars


A girlfriend of mine made these for a party I recently had.  She called them Better Than Sex Bars.  I'll call them Fifty Shades of Grey Sex Bars in honor of Christian and Ana.  Knowing Christian's penchant for kinky f*ckery, he may do a few things kinky with whatever left over peanut butter or butter or other ingredients he may have.  I don't believe either of them would agree with my girlfriend's premise that these are better than sex.  But they certainly are decadent with a touch of eroticism in them.  I can just see Christian with his torn jeans hanging on his hips with a ripped tee shirt on and making these for Ana.  Oh my... Read more...

Saturday, September 15, 2012

When Spousal Preferences Don't Align

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A heady topic that could lead to just about anywhere.  But here's what I'm talking about.  There's an article in every Saturday Wall Street Journal by Dan Ariely.  He tries to find answers to peoples "dilemmas". One of the questions asked of Dan was, "My husband and I are childless...each day he comes home and says 'What do you want to do tonight?' We've tried every restaurant within a 5 mile radius.  Neither of us enjoys shopping or watching movies at a theater.  His hobby is aviation and I don't fly...we usually end up watching TV and we don't even like TV.  Can you shed some light on our problem?" 

Dan's answer was basically something my husband and I did with a group of friends many years ago.  We had a core of 3 couples.  Each time someone asked, well, what are we doing this weekend?  No one could agree on what to do.  Inevitably someone would say, I don't want to do that.  Here's what Dan recommended to the couple and then I'll follow with what we did as the three couples. Read more...

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Artemis Fowl: Review on the 1st book in a series (For kids)

Genre: Children's books ages 10+ Fantasy




I was getting my afternoon pick me up, the Very Berry Hibiscus at Starbucks, and they were offering quite a few iTune downloads.  One was for their book pick of the week, Artemis Fowl: Book One.  Since I know that there are other readers out there besides the Fifty Shades fanatics, I thought it was time to review a kid's book.  So I read Artemis Fowl: Book One by Eoin Colfer.  Here's the premise of the story.  12 year old Artemis Fowl, who lives on the family estate in Ireland,  is left virtually an orphan when his father, a nefarious criminal of unsavory means, is killed.  This throws Arty's mother into a tail spin.  She stays in her own room with all the curtains closed, she is paranoid, sees creatures, and stuffs her husband's wedding tuxedo to emulate her deceased husband.  This leaves Artemis, who is a genius, in a void. Read more...

Monday, September 3, 2012

Perfect Timing: When's the Best Time To...

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Occasionally I'll pick up the magazine Mental Floss (at six bucks an issue it had better be interesting).  I'll have to admit that a great deal of it goes beyond satisfying my curiosity.  But if you want some trivia for the Mensa group, it might be for you.  In their Sept. edition they had a feature article on time.  And part of that feature was the importance of doing things at the right time of day.  For example, it's 6pm EST where I am and I should have just finished exercising because?  Find out why with "Want to make your days happier, healthier, and more lucrative?"  Well then, "just follow this schedule" (I've added some personal commentary):  Read more...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

2016: Obama's America; Review

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Yesterday we went to see this documentary.  It is on its way to being one of the most successful documentaries of the year.  Why? Because even though President Obama has been in the White House for almost 4 years, he is still an enigma to many millions of Americans.  So Dinesh D'Souza, noted conservative author and lecturer, decided to investigate "who" Obama really is.  I'm going to let a local CBS affiliate reporter as well as a community college teacher from CHICAGO give his "take" on the documentary.  Like Paulsen, I was surprised at the direction D'Souza takes and he makes a very compelling argument.  I've heard the left call this documentary "propaganda".  Well, we can all call something we don't like propaganda. Read more...

Monday, August 27, 2012

A Nut Case and a Cold Cucumber: Book Reviews

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

Talk about varied reading habits...I'd like to say I savored them like a good dry martini but these two were quick and easy like downing a shot. 

Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
 Read more...

Sunday, August 19, 2012

For You Golfers Out There...

This is a terrific article by John Paul Newport who writes golf articles for the Saturday Wall Street Journal.  I was unaware that different countries have different handicap systems.  Interesting.  Enjoy:  Read more...

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey and Trickle Down Economics

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I think Ronald Reagan is turning over in his grave.  The Fifty Shades Trilogy has caused an explosion (oh my) in a very niche industry.  It's as if the readers are submissives being led into the cavernous maw of capitalism and to the ever intrepid entrepreneur.  Many individuals and businesses are finding ways to lubricate their pockets with money by cashing in on the phenomena of the Fifty Shades trilogy.  The trilogy has made $20 million in the US and $31 million worldwide. E. L. James books  Read more...

Saturday, August 4, 2012

U3 and U6: The REAL Umemployment Numbers

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I probably should stick to the Fifty Shades of Gray stuff because that is what everybody wants to read about these days.  The last thing they probably want to do is read about U3 and U6.  Life right now is tough enough with high gas prices, food prices going up, local municipalities trying to raise sales taxes, and we're in re-runs on TV.  Thank goodness for the Olympics!  Ok.  Gird your girders.  This blog is about the unemployment rate.  Please don't run! Don't run away from the lion because the lion, in this case, the truth, will bite you in the butt.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

A Mixed Bag of Book Reviews

I'm going to do reviews for 2 books:  Toltec by Alex Walker  Product Details a local writer, by the way.
The Long Shadows by Andrew Erlich Product Details


Talk about different subject matters:  A first time novelist creates a wonderful world of adventure, with mystery and thrills galore and then a novel about the tortured (?) life of an 8 foot 6 inch "giant". 
 
Let's start with great adventure with Toltec.  Here's what the publisher's had to say about the novel: Read more...

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Olga(75) to Helen(77) Let's Run Over the Homeless Guy and other Useful Info

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It's true.  Back in 2008 two elderly women were convicted of running over and killing a homeless man for his life insurance.  How did they know he had life insurance you may query?  They took the policy out on him.  They took the policy out, put him in an apartment for two years (the minimum I guess you have to live to get awarded the policy), then they got him drunk and drugged up, dumped him in an alley, backed up and gunned the SUV, and ran over him and killed him.  Unfortunately, as bright as these two ladies might appear to be, when they ran over the gentleman, they damaged the undercarriage of their SUV and called a tow truck.  Darwin awards anyone?  They will spend the rest of their lives in prison. Read more...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Buck Naked and Some Really Did Look Like George Costanza (Shrinkage!)

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I was looking at a map of Nantucket...please, no.  Don't do it.  Their once was a girl from Nantucket, who said, if you want you can...Stop!  There are too many variations for that ending.  Buuuutt, while looking at the map, I noticed there was a "fat ladies beach" and a "nude beach".  Whiiiicchhhh brings back memories of our Windstar Cruise which had a stop in Mykonos.  There were three couples in our group.  We were and still are dear friends.  One of the guys had, without the rest of us knowing about it, via guide books scoped out the nudest beaches on Mykonos. Read more...

Sunday, July 8, 2012

FRSO: F**k- Room Service-Shower-Out: Book review for The Kings of Cool and Savages

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Savages came out in 2010.  Don Winslow, the author, said he got so many questions about the main characters in Savages that he just had to write a prequel. The Kings of Cool, which was published in 2012, was to satisfy his reading public but because he also already "knew their backstories." 

The first chapter of The Kings of Cool is "F**k me."  The first chapter of Savages is "F**k you."  That's it.  Those are two chapters.  In both novels, Winslow uses, as I would call it, stream of consciousness writing.  As it comes into his head, that's the way he writes it.  Two words for two chapters?  Puts a real powerhouse in those words.  The writing is interspersed with screen play dialog: Read more...

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Absinthe the Truth

Back in the late '80's when I was a newbie sales rep for a major cruise line, I flew to San Antonio.  When I got off of the plane, I went to the rest room. I had on a long, peasant style skirt.  I exited the rest room...you know where this is going don't you?  It took a full 4-5 minutes, with all kinds of people deplaning before a woman rushed up to me and told me my skirt was stuck in my panties.  Soooo, that meant my rear was in view for 4-5 minutes.  I can understand why a guy wouldn't tell me.  But why that long for another woman?  Because some people just would rather not bring it to your attention. Why?  Because it might embarrass me?  Come on.  You either know someone who is like that OR you YOURSELF is like that. Read more...

Monday, June 25, 2012

Book Review: Beautiful Ruins A Novel by Jess Walter

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Product Details
In 1997, Mr. Walter and his wife took a trip to Italy and visited the Cinque Terre region. He says he was blown away by the beauty and how “evocative” it was. At the time, his mother also had cancer. Both of these aspects of his life figure into the narrative of this great read…beach or otherwise. To set the stage (remember this prepositional phrase), I will start by giving you a list of characters that somehow all become connected in a 6 degrees of separation sort of way. Read more...

Monday, June 11, 2012

Danged Squirrels and Hard German Noggins...

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The continual skirmishes between the owner of a bird feeder and the ever resourceful, ingenious squirrel sometimes makes you just want to give in.  You can go to any bird store online or one near you, and they always have some new gadget or food that should deter the squirrels.  Some people even create their own devices.  I know one elderly gentleman  (who apparently didn't have much to do) who rigged his feeder with a low voltage electrical current.  He'd stand by his window and wait for the squirrels.  As soon as he'd see a squirrel mount the feeder...zap!  It didn't kill the squirrel just stunned him a bit.  My success with the squirrel battle is the Droll Yankee Flipper. Read more...

Monday, June 4, 2012

A Russian trilogy by Tom Rob Smith

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Child 44 Published 2008

The Secret Speech Published 2009

Agent 6 Published 2011

For those of the baby boom age, remember when we did drills in case of a nuclear bomb, we covered our heads and got under our desks?  Remember how real and potentially catastrophic the Cuban missile crisis was?  Do they still teach the cold war in school today?  Do the kids even know about Stalin?  I'm a wannabe history teacher...anyway...

I thought that since the hunkster, ex KGB punkster, Vladimir Putin, was once again in charge of mother Russia, I’d review the three secret police thrillers by Smith. I’m going to digress here to make a point. I recently finished a nonfiction book about the only North Korean prisoner to ever escape from a North Korean internment camp. He had been born there. So for him lying, tattling, turning on family, lack of love, lack of attachment was a way of life. There was no moral compass. For the people of Russia, they have lived this type of life since almost the beginning of their history. First the Tsars, then Lenin, Stalin, and the multitude of following leaders who kept the Russian people all under their thumbs and afraid to move or speak in fear of being turned in to the secret police, whether there was guilt or not. The Russian leaders looked at the state they created as a utopia, a workers’ paradise where only political crimes occurred.

Leo Stepanovich Demidov is a hero of the great patriotic war against Hitler. It’s now 1953 and he’s a MGB (KGB precursor) officer knowing that to stay safe he must be relentless in his job and never, ever question authority. While routinely investigating the death of a young boy, he is asked by the boy’s father to look further because he knows, he just knows, that the death is a murder. If Leo decides to do this, he could be thrown into a situation that could cost him his life as well as the lives of his wife and adopted daughters. Through further, surreptitious fact gathering, Leo begins to believe there is a real murder spree going on. When he brings this possibility up to his superiors, it’s NYET! Not in Soviet society! All is peace and calm and violent crime is only manifested in a capitalist society! Leo must follow his wife because she may be an enemy of the state (does he really trust her? Does she trust him?). Is he an enemy of the state by pursuing this case or is he (by the Soviets) considered a true hero because he tortures those he is told to torture without asking any questions? It’s a stifling and suffocating environment Smith creates with enough Stalin era violence and paranoia to abound. The book is based on the Rostov Ripper case. It’s the best of the three and really good enough to make you want to read The Secret Speech.

We are now going to get more up close and personal with Leo and his wife, Raisa, and their two adopted daughters, Zoya and Elena (their parents had been killed by Leo’s forces). The Secret Speech is set in 1956 and Leo now has a squad of homicide detectives helping him with cases. Supposedly Khrushchev gives a speech, behind closed doors, that decries Stalin era tactics and the Soviet Union will be more of a benevolent society. NYET! Say the old timers. But those that were tortured, exiled, and the families of those that were killed will not let the “old timers” get away with it. Mix that in with the criminal element and you’ve got a big pot of borsht. The catalyst to the story is that a member of this group remembers Leo and what he had done to someone they knew and loved. Reprisals begin getting Leo’s family sucked into the maelstrom. The plot leads you from a gulag and its atrocities to the streets of a budding revolution in Budapest. The real question that arises during this novel, as well as with the questions asked at the Nuremberg trials, is can or should people be given a second chance? As the reviewer for the NY Times asked, “Is redemption possible for men like Leo? And, if so, should it be?” Denise Lehane in his review asks, “what is an ordinary man to do when his very existence makes him an apparatchik of institutionalized sadism?’

The last in the trilogy was published in January, 2012, Agent 6. This is by far the most ambitious of the three. Amazon.com picked it as one of the best books for January. The book begins with a flashback of how Leo was in the beginning, how he met Raisa and how she used him, by marrying him, to keep her self safe. But now it’s the Cold War and Raisa and Leo finally realize they’re in love. Raisa has proven herself to the state as a great teacher and has moved up in the ranks. So much so she and her daughters are allowed to take a trip to the United Nations. Leo warns her not to go. His old MGB thinking takes holds and he begs her not to go. What can go wrong? And with that we get a novel that spans three decades. It’s mostly a story of a tormented Leo, a man without focus, a man dogged by what happened in NYC and by his history. But it’s the Soviet Union after all and he is disgraced, therefore, he is not allowed to go to NYC to find out what happened. With this novel, I did get a little bogged down with the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. It does reveal, however, how easy it is for an occupying force to get bogged down. I think Smith was having so much fun writing about this that he forgot about the story. But eventually we get back to Leo and Raisa and Zoya and Elena. The ending will totally wring your heart. It is haunting…


Final word: DA! To all three…

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Quirky Hotel Locations, Odd Pin Ups and Helpful Travel Gear

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When I traveled to Istanbul in 1996, I had heard that a new Four Seasons Hotel had recently opened...at the site of an old prison.  The hotel is built on the site of the Sultanahmet Jail.  The jail, built in 1918/1919, had great historical significance to Istanbul history.  Therefore, when the site was picked for the hotel, all efforts were made to incorporate the prison history into the hotel.  The best part about the hotel though is its location.  It is minutes from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. But the downside is all of the tourists swarming around.   Read more...

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Crypts, Mummies and Bones...Sightseeing the Italian Way

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I don't know why certain cultures or religions love their bones but the Italians sure do.  I remember my first trip to Rome in 1978, I think it was, and part of our tour was a visit to a Capuchin Crypt located under the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.  It is located on the Via Veneto (very fashionable) and right down the street from the US Embassy.  The Capuchins are an order of friars in the Catholic church.  They are an off shoot of the Franciscans.  Anyway, this crypt contains the skeletal remains of over 4000 friars.       Read More...

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Warmed Toilet Seats, Old Coins and Cheaters...

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


If you've not been to Ephesus, Turkey, it is one spot you need to experience.  Started as a city in 550BC by the Greeks and then dominated by the Romans, it is the largest active excavation in the world.  It is compactt therefore, easier to experience.  We had been there in the early 1990's and at that point our guide told us that at one time the city had 330,000 inhabitants the majority of which were slaves.  On this visit we were told 400,000.  Maybe they adjusted the number, who knows.  On both of our trips we had highly educated guides.  On the first trip our guide was a professor of history and this time our guide was an engineer.  Yes, we believed them because of the quality of the tours we booked.  Anyway, this time we had friends with us who hadn't been. We get out of the bus and the heavens open.  What should have been an hour to an hour and a half  was 30minutes. Here's some of what my friends missed:  The Greeks and Romans were ingenious and sneaky engineers.  They built cisterns on the tops of the hills to catch rain water.  It then flowed downhill to provide running water. At right there is a picture of the latrines.  The seats were marble and therefore, cold in the winter.  So, the slave owners would send their slaves down to the latrines and have them sit on the marble to warm it up.  When it was warm, here came the owner.  At their feet was running water for them to clean themselves.  Read more...