http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/celebuzz/RfKn/~3/jRWMZsLdPVE/califugnication110309.html

Initially, I was going to make this an Unfug It Up.


[Photo: WENN.com]

Then I realized it would be the shortest discussion ever (presumably) because I can point very clearly to the thing that is derailing Madeline Zima here. Yeah, okay, the dress boasts a giant red arrow to her pelvis, as if someone is at risk of not understanding that the Love Canal entrance is thither. But it might be cute; I don't know. It's difficult for me to focus on anything with those leaden grey tights mucking up the works. If she scrapped the stockings and the twee Mary Janes, then I could resume analysis of the rest of her outfit, marvel at how much Ms. Zima reminds me of Alicia Silverstone, and end with a well-timed Clueless joke and a query about vegan cupcakes. Alas, let us weep for what could have been, dear readers.

What a treat to have a couple of days at home with time to read. This morning I read FLYGIRL by Sherri Smith (Putnam, 2009). Meet Ida Mae Jones, a young woman who learned to fly from her father. Ida Mae has plans to get away to Chicago where she can obtain her pilot's license; there no one will deny her simply because she is "colored." But the U.S. is drawn into World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Ida Mae's brother Thomas enlists and makes her promise to stay home to help the rest of the family. When the WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, are formed, Ida Mae decides this is her chance to fly. She creates a license from her father's old one and heads off to join up. She will have to pass as white in order to become a member of this group of women who will train to fly in the war effort. It is dangerous, but Ida Mae is determined to succeed. She must prove to herself and to others that women, even women of color, are capable of serving and flying.

It is difficult not to be pulled into the story of a woman determined to fight against racism and sexism all in one fell swoop. Ida Mae and her comrades Lily and Patsy are an indomitable trio even in the face of tragedy. While there is no evidence to suggest that women of color joined WASP, Smith makes it entirely plausible for the reader.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/660000266/post/1230050323.html?nid=3340

The season for charitable giving (and giving) is upon us. I have been keeping track of the number of times this fall I've been asked to make a do...

http://elizabethwrites.com/blog/2009/11/surprise-and-thank-you.php

A huge thank you to everyone for being so understanding about the ARCs for The Unwritten Rule--I am still going to do my best to get copies, but it's really nice to know that if I have to send out photocopies, that will be okay.

So, in order to thank you for your awesomeness I'm--you guessed it!!--giving away some books!

For your chance to win, all you have to do is comment and tell me about a book or movie that surprised you with its ending. For instance, I just read Lucy Dawson's His Other Lover, and I so did not see the ending of that book coming! (I wrote a whole review of it over at goodreads)

Leave your comment about a book or movie with an ending that wasn't what you were expecting by midnight EST this Friday, November 6th and then I'll pick four names at random and each of those four people will get a free book!

Books I'm giving away are: an ARC of Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Domamore, Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me by Louise Rennison, and As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

So come on, tell me what's surprised you!

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/020843.html

Postal worker to another: Oh, no, don't worry. You do what you want. It is impossible for them to fire you, girl.

--Tompkins Square Park

Mr. Big, sarcastically on cell: Is there anything else that I can do for you, honey, while I'm out making a living?

--First Class Cabin, American Airlines

Overheard by: Frequent Flyer

Scruffy drunk hipster guy to frumpy drunk hipster girl: That's how girls touch me... at work.

--Cobble Hill Brooklyn

Guy on cell: I really need to give up drugs cause, like, no one will hire me. I'm gonna wait a few weeks and try to get a job at Food Emporium.

--Astor Place

20-something girl to another: See, the thing with sweatshops is, at least they have jobs.

--Chelsea

Overheard by: arielle

Well-dressed gay man to another: Doesn't she know the best part of her job is going through the OfficeMax catalogue to order matching office supplies? That should be the highlight of anyone's day!

--E Train

Overheard by: lk

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/85j84KARKGU/

http://icanhascheezburger.com/?p=205095

The What a Girl Wants girls are talking again! This time about mean girls. Do the mean girls of YA lit reflect a disturbing reality?

Remember that for one more week, HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS can be read for FREE over at the Simon & Schuster site here: http://promo.simonandschuster.com/dragons/

Please re-post the link and pass along your friends and family! It's also a great place to listen to excerpts of the audiobooks, and get great extras like the Dragon Wallpapers. And if you haven't stopped by yet, please go take a look!

James
Week Two of the SHADOW tour...

One thing that totally bums me out about fall and winter is the days being so short. When it starts getting dark at, like, 4:45, I just want to crawl back into bed and put my head under the covers. (That's sort of my default setting in fall and winter. I know, it's not healthy, but whatever.) Anyway, since I'm all about looking on the positive side these days---or trying to---here's a bonus to the time change: it's not QUITE so dark at 6am now. You can sort of see the sun coming up. A little light in the distance is always a nice thing.

In other news, I know the LAST thing I needed was another show to watch, but I've been totally sucked into The Big Bang Theory. We've been watching it on DVD from the beginning of the series, and it's just become another thing that makes these early dark nights that much better. I've been trying to figure out why, exactly, I like it so much, and I think it's that the premise is not like anything else on TV. The characters are unique, and so well drawn. I think in this time of reality TV (and believe me, I watch more than my share) you can forget how good a well-written, well-created show can be. I guess as viewers we've come to see people like Santino from Project Runway and the girls from The Hills as "characters," but they're not. A real character is someone like Sheldon on the Big Bang, so well drawn and distinct that there's no one else like them. Although, honestly, I kind of have a thing for Howard as well. I think it's those belts and mock turtlenecks. Who can resist?

Speaking of reality TV, last night I caught a bit of the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, and I just felt...I don't know. Discouraged? We learned this season that NeNe is writing a book, and Kim has a hit single with "Tardy for the Party." But if you watched the show, you saw that Kim didn't really SING that much on her song. And you saw that NeNe's book is actually being written by someone else. So can you be a singer without singing much, or a writer without writing much? Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm at that point in my own novel where I'm kind of tearing my hair out a bit, and I get bothered by people who don't have so much trouble. But that's MY issue, not theirs. In fact, I should just delete this whole paragraph so I don't seem like some cranky old woman. But instead, I'll just lighten the mood with a picture of my new crush:


Ah, that's better. Now I'm going to go drink some coffee and work on my attitude.

Have a great day, everyone!

I haven't posted anything of relevance for a while.

I'm not about to break my record.

Seriously. I have bronchitis. I've had bronchitis for, like, for-ever. This chronic lack of oxygen is affecting my ability to do anything other than drag myself to work, drag mysself back home, occasionally post a FB note--like about THE SERIAL KILLER in my backyard; seriously, the neighbors thought the smell was coming from a sausage factory?--and sleep. Antibiotics. Antihistamine/decongestant. Cough syrup. Albuteral inhaler. Hopefully I'll be recovered in time for the BOOK FAIR this weekend. I spent 4 hrs in Urgent Care yesterday and did not come out of there with what I wanted, which was steroids--Doc-in-a-box: "You're not wheezing." Me: "But I'm not breathing either!"--but this new antibiotic seems to be doing the trick.

So I blame hypoxia for my lack of writing effort. I'll flip open a file, look at it, hack and spew all over the keyboard, hammer out a word or three, then close the file out again and laspe into a coma. I can't concentrate enough to do any further revisions on LMB. And with Rinn still out to Tina there's not much else for me to do (still awaiting the ______ sucks ______ doesn't suck verdict). Meantime I've been watching a lot of TV and oinking out on leftover Halloween candy.