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...

Song List for The Fifty Shades Trilogy

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.


I should have included this in my last post.  These lists are from EL James' website:

Fifty Shades of Grey:


Lakmé (Act I): Flower Duet- Alain Lombard, Mady Mesple, Danielle Millet & Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique- 50 Classics for Beginners


Sex On Fire- Kings of Leon -Only By the Night (Deluxe Version) Read more...

Kinky F**kery: My Book Review on The Fifty Shades Trilogy

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.

I was at my allergist’s office waiting for the time to pass after I had gotten my allergy shots. Since I was getting ready to go on vacation and looking for something to download for the long flights, I noticed another patient reading her e-book. I asked her what she was reading and she blushed. She said, “You’re going to think I’m silly but I’m reading the Fifty Shades Trilogy.” Now I had heard of the Trilogy and knew it had something to do with bondage. OK, a little light reading for the trip. I downloaded the first book and finished it within 2 days and then realized that I hadn’t downloaded the other two! Where can I find a Wi-Fi to connect to?!!! AHHHHH! Many of my friends have read the books and mostly it’s, “oh my.” And that will normally be accompanied by a huge blush. 

So here’s the deal. E.L. James, a British mother of two read the Twilight series and saw the movies. She basically said “wow”. I want to do something like that but for adults. She began writing the book and publishing it on fan-published erotica sites. It became such an online phenomena that an Australian publisher won a bidding war to get them published and now Universal pictures has picked up the rights for $5 million and E.L. has script and casting approval. That’s something Stephanie Meyer didn’t even have. There is one book sold every second. Why have these books started such a craze? Well, in the US the books are being called “mom porn.” I guess that means that there are a lot of lusty housewives out there looking for something “different”. The basic premise is this: 21 year old, gawky, technophobic, Anastasia Steele meets 27 year old uber rich, extremely handsome, standoffish, domineering Christian Grey. We are repeatedly told about his stunning grey eyes, his stunning physique and his wavy thick hair. Oh my. But little is actually said about Ana’s looks except that she has long brown hair, she’s pale and has blue eyes too big for her face. So what does Christian see in Ana that enthralls him? You see he’s into BDSM, bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism. Christian has a bleak and dark past and when he was 15 he was seduced by an older lady who brought him into the BDSM world. He has no clue about having “vanilla” sex. He sees Ana as a submissive and wants her to become part of his world. Now, when E.L. was asked on 20/20 about is it appropriate to portray a young woman as a submissive she replied,” Well, women take control all day…they go to work, they care for the kids, they cook, they clean…it’s nice to every once in awhile give control over to someone else.” Many reviews have been written criticizing the novels on this level. The only thing I could say is that James could have made Grey and Anastasia older. Anastasia being 21 AND a virgin keep niggling at the back of my brain. She’s not a virgin for long…But other reviews have said that the book has great overtones about learning to compromise, that when it comes to sexuality there needs to be an openness between partners as to what is, as Christian would say, a “soft limit and a hard limit.” On a basic level (really basic) it’s about the evolving dynamics of two people falling (possibly) in love.

The writing is really, really bad. James admits this. She repeats herself time after time: Oh my, kinky f***kery, holy cr*p, Ana constantly biting her lower lip, her inner goddess is always doing back flips and his flashing grey eyes. It seems she gets erotically charged every time Christian comes around (OK, that’s loaded with some double entendres). And how many times can he grab a fist full of her hair and pull her head back?

So why then read the books? It’s purely guilty pleasures. A woman’s sexuality is awakened by a very experienced man (who has a Red Room of Pain). You get to follow their sexual exploits (with kinky f**kery) as well as their developing relationship. Plus there are some side stories of some interest. But the story is all Ana and Christian’s.

Buy or download Fifty Shades of Grey and see if it’s for you. It’s definitely not hard core but even if a little BDSM is too much for you, don't waste your money. Fifty Shades of Grey introduces you to Ana and Christian and their push and pull (OK stop with that) relationship. Fifty Shades Darker leads you to why Christian is the way he is and his learning to compromise and Fifty Shades Freed gives you the climax (stop that!) to the story. James wraps the last book up nicely by ending with Christian (in real time) experiencing  his first meeting with Ana. That is where you learn what she really looks like and why he becomes entranced by her.   (Jamie Dornan will play Christian and Dakota Johnson, Ana.)

Final take: I thoroughly enjoyed all three books. If the movie studios follow the books, the movies will have to be NC 17. And the big question is…who will play Christian and who will play Ana? James wants unknowns and I tend to agree with her. And if you're really into the novels, try this link to Goodreads where readers wrote in with their favorite quotes:  https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/15732562-fifty-shades-of-grey .

Hostile Cab Drivers,Helpful Locals and Mark Twain

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.


We all have stories to tell of hostile cab drivers whether NYC, Hong Kong or ISTANBUL.  My girlfriend and I decided to head directly to the Grand Bazaar and we asked the concierge how much a cab would cost from the hotel to the Bazaar.  He said pay no more than 20 Turkish lira (1.44 lira to the dollar).  We verify with our driver that it will be MAXIMUM 20 lira.  16 lira it cost.  After having fun getting lost in the maze of the Bazaar, we head outside to get a cab.  The first cab driver:  we got in the cab, asked to verify the price, 20 EURO!  When we said no, he backed up at lightening speed so as not to lose his place in line, and shooed us out.  Next cab driver:no.  Next: no.  Next: no.  Finally I see a policeman and ask for his help.  Would he really help?  He also verified that we should pay no more than 20 lira.  He asked 3 other cabs and they all said no.  He finally shouted to a cab driver driving in the opposite direction to take us.  He did at 16 lira.  We quickly learned to only get cabs at hotels or restaurants.  We had a great seafood meal at Sur Balik on the Bosporus. Yes, there are Starbucks but no commemorative Istanbul coffee mugs.  Drat!  Read more...

Book Review: Phantom by Jo Nesbo

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.


There was a time when Jo Nesbo was called “the next Stieg Larsson”. Not any more. The Norwegian crime writer has sold over 14 million books worldwide as well as having been translated into 40 languages.  Since I began reading Nesbo last year,  I've found that his publisher has been playing fast and loose with publishing dates. In Nesbo’s novels featuring the detective Harry Hole, there are 9. But his publisher will publish a new Harry Hole novel in the UK and US before publishing an old one. It makes it very hard to try and keep up with where Harry was the last time you saw him. Now let’s deal with the name, Harry Hole. There are some people in the US who would put this bull’s eye of a name on their kid. I had to find out if this was the name used in the Norwegian language novels. I wrote a review on Amazon UK and asked if someone would respond to my question, “Is his name really Harry Hole or is it Lars something?” I got an answer from a UK reader. He led me to the BBC Worldwide Book Club which had an interview with Nesbo. He was asked to pronounce Harry Hole in Norwegian. Here it is phonetically: Hurree Who-la. Read more...

A Bic Lighter, a Large Suitcase and a Screaming Salesman

We are about to embark on a vacation that begins in Istanbul, Turkey.  I've been fortunate to have visited that great city on a number of occasions.  But what I want to try to bring to life for you is our first shopping experience in the Grand Bazaar.  The building of the Bazaar began in 1455 and was completed in 1730.  It has 61 covered streets and over 3000 shops.  It is not a place to go for the feint of heart or for the OC set.  If you don't know what you want or haven't scoured a map in advance or hired a guide, it will be like trying to see all of Pompeii in a few hours.  Can't be done.  One section is rugs, another semi-precious, precious jewels, another silver, leather, ceramics, souvenirs. Read more...

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

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.


Take some old, but real, weird pictures
Add a rocky, bog ridden isolated island off of the coast of Wales
Add an old orphanage

Stir and you get creepy.  Let's deal with the old but real pictures that are scattered throughout the book.  The author, Ransom Riggs, began collecting what is called "found photography".  That is pictures taken by others that you "find" at flea markets, antique shows etc.  When his publisher suggested he create a story around his "found" photos, he began constructing a world based on an orphanage that housed children with "peculiar" powers.  The cast of the book would consist of the children he "found" in his photos. 



He ended up using 44 of the pictures he found. Read more...

Book Club Bliss: Bibliochix

I can't believe that the book club I belong to, The Bibliochix, has been together 10 years.  We were once so young...I'd like to be clever and try to tie in book titles throughout the blog.  Something like:  After our summer get together, we certainly didn't try to Purge. Or, it's a good thing that Mildred didn't try to Pierce her navel.  We don't have a Mildred but you get the picture, and I'm sure you're saying, don't do that.  OK.  We are a sort of diverse group.  I'm the oldest by blah blah blah years.  But let's just say the majority of the chix are not baby boomers, some have adult children, some have high school aged, some have high powered jobs (including being the moms they are), some are entrepreneurs, and some, as an aside,  raise chickens and bees.  I'm the baby boomer and proudly retired (at a young age I might add). We have, at times, 10-12 members and, at times, may have only 4-5 members attend a discussion.  But that's OK.  I'm also the only one who lives in the suburbs.  At first we tried meeting at Starbucks but it was just too noisy.  So, one of the girls suggested we meet at the Ritz Carlton in their bar called "the Library".    Read more...

Every Memory Soon Becomes Fiction

While doing my reading on Ernest Hemingway, I found this quote of his, " Every memory soon becomes fiction."   I guess looking back is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope.  This thought manifested itself this past weekend when I went to Texas to visit with my sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews.  But let me digress. My father's side of the family is large.  He had 6 brothers and sisters and with most of them living and fighting through Dubyah Dubyah Two , post war, they went forth and multiplied.  Produced quite a few baby boomers they did.   When my father was still alive and we would have family reunions, the most frequently shouted phrase between he and his siblings was, "you don't know what you're talking about!" At those reunions, the person who got heard was the one who shouted above the fray.  It inevitably was about a memory one aunt or uncle had that the others did not agree with.  When I met with my cousins, one brought up the fact that my two aunts didn't know what to do about their memories and wondered if they were still correct, and they so wished their brother, my Uncle C,  was still alive because he was the arbitrator of "the truth".  It pains me to say this, but one of these days my beloved aunts and uncle will no longer be with us to tell us tales of their growing up.  Of their life during the depression or what it was like to live through "the war" years or humorous stories about my dear grandma and grandpa.  I don't care if their memories are somewhat skewed.  They are my heritage and they become my memories.

 As my mother once told me, "one of these days you will be the senior generation."  OMG.  So it was very interesting when I had my reunion with my family and how easily the words came out from the future "senior generation":  "you don't know what you're talking about!"  Every memory does soon become fiction...Thanks a pant load Ernest.

The World Was Never the Same: Events That Changed "My" Life

 I ordered from "The Great Courses" (college lectures you listen to in your car or home) The World Was Never the Same: Events That Changed History.  Professor J. Fears from the University of Oklahoma selected 36 events beginning in 1750BC through today that in some way he feels impacted and changed the world.   The Battle of Vienna (1683) anyone?  It got me to thinking.  Now that's a dangerous thing to do.  It got me to thinking about what major events IN MY LIFE changed MY life.  Were they decisions I consciously made or was I fortunate (to use a favorite Obama word) or had dumb/bad luck?  Read more...

Two Mann Booker Award Winners: Julian Barnes and Michael Ondaatje

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes 

2011 Mann Booker Award Winner
160p

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje 
256p
Winner of the Mann Booker Prize in 1992
For The English Patient

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned The English Patient because you may go running from this review like Elaine did on Seinfeld when she went to see the movie with John Peterman. But please don’t. First let me explain why I’m doing two reviews at once. As you can see, both books are rather short. They both have a similar theme: Older men who are now looking back on their lives and contemplating if they’d made the right choices.  Read more...

Contain This! My Life In the Unorganized World

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.


Somewhere along the way, maybe it was my husband spelling it out for me, I discovered I did not have the "organization" gene.  Not anal enough, I guess.  I don't mind going hunting for a pair of flip flops that have hidden themselves under the bed.  Or better yet for an excuse, looking for one the cat hid during hide and seek.  In reference to the above where my husband spells out my lack of neatness, I graciously let him know about a few of his idiosyncrasies.   But this isn't about his lack of patience or his abundance of macho, it's about me and what I've been trying to do to overcome my A: lack of neatness gene B: laziness C: don't give a rip attitude.  I blame it on A. Read more...

A Girl Who Loves to Read (Non-fiction by your blogger)

It's a small town in south Texas. Population 900, three churches, one Lutheran, one Catholic and one Baptist. The elementary school is one long rectangular building with classrooms on each side of a long corridor. In the first grade there are a total of 30 kids. In the second grade a total of 25. And as you go up to higher grades, the numbers are always the same, 25-30. The business district of the town is primarily one long street with a pharmacy, shoe repair, meat market, bank, general store and several "pool" halls where residents of the town smoke cigarettes, cigars, down beer but above all play dominoes and pool. No traffic lights, a police chief, one deputy. There are two dance halls, one a VFW hall, one an American Legion hall and at both you can hear country and western and ompah music play into the night. No movie theatre (there used to be one where the girl and her older sister went to see "Tom Dooley" and "The Mummy"  and other great monster movies but it closed). No bowling alley, no pizza palace, no Chinese restaurant. There was just a great diner and one "joint" that made the best, the very best chili where the grease floated to the top and you dunked your homemade bread into it and it was pure heaven. Then, if there was any chili left over for the next day that morphed into the best, the very best enchiladas you'd ever tasted. In this town was the grandest of homes. Read More...

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The first printing of Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel was 150,000 copies, virtually unheard of for a first time novel. The rights have been sold in 30 countries and the movie rights have already been sold. Why the hype? The publishers believe they might have the next Harry Potter or Twilight series on their hands. Let’s see if I agree…

Let me break the novel in to two parts, the plot and characters and the writing itself. What’s the reason for doing so? There is a huge disconnect between the two. Let’s start with the plot and characters. The novel takes place in the late 1800s. Two magicians/illusionists, Mr. A.H., the man in the grey suit and his antagonist, Prospero the Enchanter aka Hector Bowen, have been playing, for many years, a rather insidious game of pitting one of their own “magic” students against the other to see who can “win” a game. But the question throughout is, what kind of game is it? What do they win when the game is complete? But more importantly, what happens if they loose? Read more...

Martha, What's That Noise and Final Thoughts on Africa

We caught a British Airways flight from Joberg to Livingstone, Zambia and then a light 6 seater plane to Chongwe Lodge located at the convergence of the Chongwe and Zambezi Rivers.  We had one of two expanded "suites", meaning we had a large 8 sided tent that was flanked by an outside dining room/bar area and an outside bathroom. We even had, oh, the decadence of it all, a butler! We quickly learned that since we were there during the dry season (the time you really want to go to Africa) that there were numerous hippo pods on the sand banks in the river.  We had our own personal pod right in front of our accommodations and when they made noise, particularly at  night, it felt as if they were in bed with you.  There isn't any noise only the hippos and lions...Chongwe was a relief from the touristy Etosha National Park.  Here, the animals have claim over everything.  Nothing is fenced.  So, it is not uncommon for hippos or lions or whatever to come sauntering through the camp.  In addition to doing the game drives, we were also able to do water safaris using either motorboats or canoes.  We opted out of the canoe adventures because of the numerous  hippos in the river.  Remember, hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal (other than homosapiens).  I've posted some videos on YouTube about our Chongwe adventure.  Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrvyOUGDPLQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_HGurUOlE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl3tOyXDw9M

As far as "Martha, what's that noise"?  Read more...

First Sand, Then Rock, Now the "Bush"...Namibia and Zambia Part Two

We once again head to the gravel runway to catch our Caravan plane to head to Etosha National Park.  By the way, depending on the airline you're using or the country in which you're flying, there are strict rules on the weight of luggage and they must be soft sided, like duffel bags.  When we did the Botswana and Zimbabwe trip, we were limited to 25 pounds each and that included all carry ons and camera gear.  This time we had a little better weight limit of 44 pounds each.  Read more...

Are There More Stars in the Universe than Sand on Earth?

This is the kind of question that physicists like to answer when they're drunk. I can't take claim for that.  I read it on Ask Google.  But the question in the title is one my husband kept asking the entire time we were in  Namibia.  Because Namibia is one interesting country of wild topography and lots and lots and lots of sand. If a would be first time visitor to Africa were looking for a safari for their first trip, Namibia would not be on the top of their list(unless you're a geologist).  Most people pick Kenya, South Africa,  Tanzania, Botswana.  Well, this would be my third trip to sub-Saharan Africa and I had always heard about the haunting beauty of the Namib desert and the Skeleton Coast. Read more...

How to Find a Good Book to Read

Generic I know. But I have had many people come up to me regarding my book reviews and ask me, “How do you select your books?” I also have people come up to me to “review” my review or say that the book that was reviewed “wouldn’t interest me at all” or “I send all of your book reviews to my sister. She loves them!” I appreciate all of your comments. I do take them in to consideration. But, back to how do I select the books I want to read. Well, I know my tastes but that happens to be splattered among the genres. About the only books I don’t like are fantasy, science fiction, and heavy historically detailed tomes. Usually I begin with getting emails from numerous web sites. I know. Will I get hacked etc.? Well, the ones I use are well documented sites. I use primarily  four different types of sites. One is from book sellers, the other from book reviewers, the third from “collection sites” and the fourth from the authors/publishing houses. For example, I get two emails from Amazon.com. I now have two Kindles (one for me and one for my hubby). I got tired of lugging books all over Timbuktu. So, you can tell Amazon to send you emails only for certain genres. For me, it’s murder/ mystery, award winners, and what’s new on Kindle. You can do the same for Barnes and Nobles and many other book sellers.  Read more...

10 Best Books for Book Clubs

I subscribe to an email alert from Readinggroupguides.com.  They had a contest for all of their email readers as to what were the top 10 best books for book clubs over the last 10 years.  Here's the list they came up with and I am proud to say that my book group, Bibliochix, has read 9 of the 10.  We weren't into the Eat, Pray, Love stuff.

Overall Top 10 (By votes)


1.The Help by Kathryn Stockett: A spirited debut that explores the Civil Rights movement through the relationships between a young white woman and two black maids. http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_h/the_help1.asp 

2.Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: An elderly man reflects on his younger years as the veterinarian for a travelling circus during the Great Depression, and the many relationships he formed with man and beast alike. http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/water_for_elephants1.asp   read more...

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

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.


I was just in New York City during the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  For the remembrance of the day, two huge light columns blazed into the night sky to replicate the twin towers.  In  Let the Great World Spin,  the twin towers are in their infancy.  They are looked upon by the critics as "the largest aluminum siding job in the history of the world."  That is until the French acrobat, Philippe Petit, strung 210 feet of braided cable from tower to tower 110 stories up.  Then he walked across.  As McCann tells us, Petit, "was pureness moving..He was inside and outside his body at the same time, indulging in what it meant to belong to the air." (In an eerie "premonition", while Petit is walking between the towers, someone from below takes a picture of a jetliner crossing in back of him which looks as if the plane is flying into the tower.)  The tight rope walk of Petit is the fulcrum of this novel.  It is, in a way,  a novel of six degrees of separation.  It really reminds me of the movie Crash.  It is a novel that brings back unpleasant memories for NYC and the times...the raging debate over the Vietnam war, the resignation of Nixon, the decaying of a great city ridden with crime and trash, and the burgeoning of drug use. Read more...