Closing Thought–28Aug18

While there’s not much to laugh at regarding the White House briefings these days, this is hysterical! Thank You chuq!

In Saner Thought

Bad Lip Reading!

I do enjoy good humor.  And the guys at Bad Lip Reading do humor so well.

We all have heard the MSM go on and on about the Press Briefings….all the antics and all the drama behind them….so the guys at BLR had to do a video on that very subject…..

If you cannot appreciate good humor than I suggest that you turn your boob tube to A&E and watch the latest BS on “Naked and Afraid”…..

See you guys later……be well, be safe…..chuq

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Whimsical Wednesday

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”Alarms and Discursions”, G.K. Chesterton, Gene Wilder, Whimsical Wednesday

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

G.K. Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions

 

Jacksonville Shooting

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Jacksonville Landing Mass Shooting

I’m sure most of you know by now, there’s was another mass shooting on Sunday, in the U.S. The 24-year-old shooter murdered Eli Clayton, 22, of California, and Taylor Robertson, 27, of West Virginia. He injured a dozen more at the Jacksonville Landing “Madden NFL 19” gaming tournament before killing himself. And here’s a big surprise: the Baltimore resident LEGALLY purchased the two handguns used in the shooting despite having been hospitalized twice in psychiatric hospitals when he was a teenager, and ring  prescribed anti-psychotic medications. I honestly don’t know what else to say. I don’t even have hope that perhaps this will be the calamity that finally forces common sense gun reform. The only way things will change is if we remove the politicians who so stubbornly cling to the NRA and its ideals. And we can begin doing that this November. We cannot sit apathetically at home and do nothing!

John McCain’s Farewell Letter ~ “I lived and died a proud American.”

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Farewell Letter, Senator John McCain

Senator McCain has left the country a farewell message to the country he loved. Here’s the full text.

My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes—liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people—brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

’Fellow Americans’—that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process. 

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been. 

We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening. 

I feel it powerfully still.

Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.

And here is the emotional reading of that letter by McCain’s friend and the family spokesman, Rick Davis.

 

Music Monday- Who Did it Better? Mad World

Nicole over at Bookworm Drinketh, does this fun twist every week on Drew’s (The Tattooed Book Geek), Music Monday. She picks a song and gives readers a choice between the original and a couple of covers. It’s so much fun, and this week she’s picked one of my favorite songs, Mad World, originally by Tears for Fears. Check out the videos if you can and give your favorite a shout out. Nicole will announce the winner next Monday.

The BookWorm Drinketh

It’s Monday All, so time for some Music Monday hosted by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek!

Last week, we had our face off of Flagpole Sitta between Harvey Danger and Austin Hartley-Leonard, well, the winner was…………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Austin Hartley-Leonard!!

Wow!!!! Well, I’m glad to see that originals don’t always have to win. We’ve had some surprises with these Face off’s which is why I’m having so much fun with them!

Well, on to the Face off for this week!! This is a 3 way competition by special request of my niece!

Mad World Tears for Fears VS Gary Jules VS The Riverdale Cast

VS

VS

Please cast your vote in the comments below and tune in next Monday of the winner! If you know of another version that you feel is better, feel free to cast a write in vote in the comments below and I’ll…

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R.I.P. Neil Simon ~ Master of Comedy, Screenwriter, Author and Pulitzer Winning Playwright ~ 1927-2018

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R.I.P. Neil Simon

Neil Simon, the prolific comedy writer who created such Broadway hits such as: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and The Sunshine Boys, has passed away from pneumonia. Between 1965 and 1980, his plays and musicals had more than 9,000 performances. Just in 1966 alone he had four Broadway plays running simultaneously. He also wrote the screenplays for over twenty films. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize he also received: the Mark Twain Prize; a Tony Award for Best Playwright for The Odd Couple; another Tony and the aforementioned Pulitzer in 1991 for Lost in Yonkers; a special Tony for his overall contribution to American theater; 16 Tony nominations and four Oscar nominations, among many more. In 2010, The New Yorker’s John Lahr wrote: “For almost half a century, his comedies have offered light at the end of whatever dark tunnel America has found itself.”

If you can go through life without experiencing pain, you probably haven’t been born yet.

~ Neil Simon ~

 

Women’s Equality Day 2018

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Audre Lorde, Inspirational quotes, Women’s Equality Day

On this day in 1920, women obtained the right to vote with the passing of the 19th Amendment (although in some Southern states there was widespread voter suppression against Black women, men, and even poor whites until the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964). While we have come far it’s obvious from recent events that true equality is still not quite within reach for many women. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge this day, for more work needs to be done.

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

~ Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist, librarian, and civil rights activist  ~

 

R.I.P. Senator John Sidney McCain III~ “The Lion of the Senate”

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R.I.P. John McCain

One day after the McCain family announced he would no longer be receiving treatment for the brain cancer he had been battling for the past year, “Maverick” John McCain has passed away. While I didn’t agree with the majority of his political stances, I never doubted his patriotism and love for this country. And for that, this tireless public servant, and decorated war hero has my respect. May his family take comfort in the condolences and tributes pouring in from all sides of the political spectrum. 

Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.

John McCain, Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir

Happy 100th Birthday Leonard Bernstein!

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Happy 100th Birthday Leonard Bernstein

The brilliant singer, songwriter, composer, Leonard Bernstein may have passed away in 1990, but thankfully his music will always live on. To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, Google has created a wonderful Doodle to honor him.

🎼Here are 5 of my favorites.🎼

This will be our reply to violence, to make music much more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.

🎹Leonard Bernstein ~ 1918 – 1990 🎹

The Sacrifice Box, by Martin Stewart (Blog Tour) ~ 4.0 Stars

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Coming-of-age stories, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to a NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: August 28th, 2018

368 Pages

Synopsis: A horror story about friendship, growing up, and finding a place in the world: Gremlins meets The Breakfast Club by way of Stephen King and Stranger Things.

1982, the summer before seventh grade. Five kids with nothing in common—Sep, Arkle, Hadley, Lamb, and Mack—become instant friends. On the last day of summer, they find a stone box buried in the forest, and each places an object inside to seal their friendship. And they make rules:

Never come to the box alone.

Never open it after dark.

Never take back your sacrifice.

1986, the summer before eleventh grade. The five haven’t spoken since that day in 1982. Sep has gone through the past four years alone and plans to escape to boarding school. But strange things are happening—mirrors are breaking unexpectedly, electricity is flickering in and out, and people are coming down with inexplicable physical ailments. 

Someone has broken the rules. And it seems the five committed more than objects to the box’s ancient stone—they gave it their deepest secrets and darkest fears, and now these are being returned in a flood of shambling corpses, murderous toys, and undead pets. The gang must reunite in an attempt to discover the secrets of the sacrifice box—and Sep might be the only one who can stem its tide of evil before it’s too late.

Before I give you my review of The Sacrifice Box, I have to give animal lovers fair warning: A LOT of them die in this book, and in some pretty gruesome ways. Humans do as well, but let’s be honest, it’s our fuzzy four-legged friends that we really hate seeing perish. What? I’m just saying what we’re all thinking! Anyway, if you have a problem with books like Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, then this twisted tale may not be for you.

 

Okay, now for the nitty gritty. As the premise states, The Sacrifice Box is part Stranger Things, part Breakfast Club, part Gremlins, and definitely has a mix of Stephen King—specifically Stand By Me, It, and Pet Semetary. This could have been a red hot derivative mess, but Martin Stewart takes all these elements and skillfully blends them into a nightmarish concoction that captured my attention so thoroughly I finished it in one sitting.

 

There were two issues I had which prevented me from giving this 5 stars. While I loved the main character September “Sep” Hope, I didn’t find the other characters quite as well rounded. There’s a lot of action going on in this story and it flips between different timelines, and I think that because there was so much happening, the characters’ development suffered a bit. My other problem was with the ending which I felt was too rushed and left a few loose ends. Because I’m a reader who likes her books to be neatly tied up, especially when they’re standalones, I was a little frustrated by this.

Despite these issues, I absolutely loved The Sacrifice Box and I think fans of hardcore horror will really enjoy this. The book is marketed as YA, but I would strongly recommend it for 16 year-olds and up due to all the blood, gore, and overall scariness of it. It’s an entertaining mix of terrifying horror and a poignant coming-of-age story that looks at love, friendship, and the secrets we all keep hidden deep within ourselves.

 

You’re probably wondering “Kim! What’s up with the creepy gifs?” Well, if you choose to read this let’s just say you might want to lock up any stuffed animals and dolls in the house. And you might want to keep an eye on your pets. Um, and be wary of birds, squirrels, deer, and…Just don’t go outside until you’ve recovered from reading this book!

About the Author:

Martin Stewart has previously worked as an English teacher, university lecturer, barman, recycling technician, and golf caddy. A native of Glasgow, he now lives on Scotland’s west coast with his wife, baby daughter, and a very big dog. He enjoys cooking with eggs, running on the beach, re-watching his favorite films, and buying books to feed his to-be-read pile. 

You can also find him here:

Twitter – https://mobile.twitter.com/martinjstewart

Goodreads – https://goodreads.com/author/show/238277.Martin_Stewart

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/martin_j_stewart/