Thanks to everyone who signed up for my giveaway! I really enjoyed the book and hope.................................................................................................................................................................
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Phastings!!!!! enjoys the book!!!!
Thanks again to everyone for participating!
Heather
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
On Stranger Tides Giveaway Ends Tonight!
Just a reminder that you have till midnight MST to sign up for my giveaway! Thanks to all who are participating! Good luck to all!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Classics Bribe Summer Challenge!
Details: Check out any of these links for more details!
Summer Reading Classics Challenge & Giveaway:
I have a huge shelf full of TBR classics, including a shelf on my Nook! The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Persuasion, and Middlemarch have been on my mind lately....so these are my top three this summer! Join the challenge and join the fun!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers and Giveaway! CLOSED!
FTC Disclosure: bought from Amazon.com
Published: 1987
Pages: 336
Content: zombie and pirate mayhem and a bit o'romancin'....
Ahoy, me hearties. This be a grand adventure fer any pirate! We follow Jack Shandy as he be taken captive aboard the Jenny...he be fightin' the bocors, the zombies, and the dreaded Blackbeard, as well as savin' t'love of his life, Elizabeth. Lots o'rum to be had, swords t'be fought, and zombies t'kill in this harrowing tale of t'Fountain o'Youth and the strange tides that be....
Ratin': 4/5 stars! Ahoy! A pirates life for me!!!!
If this book be o'interest please leave your name, email address and why ye be lovin' t'pirates' life! That be all, me hearties. Ye be havin' til Friday at midnight to enter MST and me wee lil' boy will be drawing randomly from 'is pirate hat! Winners will be notified by email and please be respondin' within 24 hours or I will be forced to choose a new winnah! Arrrr, me be not wantin' to do that. Name, email, why ye be lovin' t'pirates life! Or no entry....
Dead men tell no tales....Arrrr....Enter at yer own risk!!! ;)
CLOSED GIVEAWAY
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Parting Glass...RMT: Pirates! Wrap-up
Today’s the wrap day for Random Magic Tour: Pirates!.
As one of the mates - ahoy, matey! - sailing with this crew of
buccaneers, would like to say thank you for visiting the blog on May 25 for
my review and how to dress like a pirate post, and hope you also
enjoyed some of the other great blogs on the tour.
I'm also reviewing On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers for Velvet over
at vvb32 reads and am hosting a giveaway for the book tomorrow. So come
back for a chance to win!
Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoyed the tour!
For the wrap day of the tour, we’re just going to raise a final pint
o’ grog to say thanks for the good company and may your days be filled
with smooth seas ahead, good grub, solid comrades, romance and
adventure. Yaaaargh.
As this particular traditional toasting song goes, good night and joy
be to you all!
PSSSSSSSS......
Message in a Bottle: visit Liana's Paper Doll Blog today to see the Pirate
Queen Sasha and read more about her at
Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
How to Dress Like a Pirate and The Sea Hawk
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| Random Magic Schedule |
Reading about Captain Jack, the pirate king, was quite a treat! He's definitely what I think of when I think pirate. Here's what he looks like:
"The king of sea thieves was decked out in eye patch, peg leg, curly black hair, and big floppy hat with a floofy ostrich feather, as if he'd stepped out of a coloring book about pirates." (p. 216)
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| starcostumes.com |
Imagine him to look a bit like this:
Well, maybe a bit fatter and dirtier and maybe with a floofier hat:
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| funhousetheatrical.com |
Dressing like a pirate is fun anytime of the year!!!!
Here's what me hubby and I like to dress as:
Here's some fun pirate fashion for the ladies!
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| This is a great one with pants, sexy but not porny |
costumesgalore.net
Here's for the wee lasses:
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| buypiratecostumes.com |
Here are some pirate accessories to go with any ensemble:
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| Skull Bag |
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| Fancy necklace and earrings. |
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| Kiera's sword. |
For the buccaneers:
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| Cartoon getup is sooo in season! |
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| Three classics! |
When all else fails go for an awesome pirate bandana, me hearties!
They will never fail you in a pinch.
Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
Random Magic Tour: Pirates!
Bonus: Free audio book: The Sea Hawk
As part of Random Magic Tour: Pirates!, it’d be fun to
swap some great pirate yarns - or just listen to a few great tales
about the sweet trade, the black flag, pirate queens or the Brethren of the Coast.
On this blog, you can listen to the audio book The Sea Hawk, by
Rafael Sabatini. Here’s a description of this novel about vengeance,
adventure, and the brethren of the Barbary coast:
From Wikipedia: The Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally
published in 1915. The story is set in the late 16th century, and
concerns a Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is
villainously betrayed by a jealous brother. After being forced to
serve as a slave on a Spanish galley, Sir Oliver is liberated by
Barbary pirates. He joins the pirates under the name ‘Sakr-el-Bahr,’
the hawk of the sea, and swears vengeance against his brother.
If you enjoy the stories, you can download a free MP3 version of this
classic book:
Listen to or download audio book (MP3 format)The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini.
Courtesy of LibriVox.
RMT: Pirates! Special Bonus Feature- Pirate Movie Night!
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| Random Magic Tour |
Pirate Movie Night
The world of Random Magic is vivid and painted in bold and brilliant colors,
and the Nine Muses actually paint
with the colors of life, itself. A lot of people have commented that Random Magic unfolds visually, like a movie, and that it would make a great movie. And Random Magic
Tour: Pirates! is all about pirates. So, the special bonus feature on the tour today is -- pirate movie night! Grab your popcorn, get comfortable, and pick your drama: Either a feature film about the return of Long John Silver, that infamous character who originated in the novel Treasure Island, or a marathon of the first season of The Buccaneers. The Buccaneers can currently only be viewed in the U.S., Canada, and selected other regions, so Return to Treasure Island is provided for international viewers, so that everyone has a chance to enjoy pirate movie night. Oh, and for a pirate quote from Random Magic? Sure, here’s a quick one:Random Magic quote of the piratey persuasion: "'Aye! Use yer deadlights, mates,’ yelled Hammer Jack, ‘the captain’s naught but a scurvy tar -- let's send 'im to Jack Ketch! Take the ship!’ ‘Crk!’ said the parrot." And here’s a quick run of pre-feature trailers! A book trailer for Random Magic and a short, pirate and odd international film -- that’s for the people who love indie, quirky, international and art films, Random Magic author Sasha Soren enjoys unusual, cool projects. COMING ATTRACTIONS Random Magic video short
Shown above: Book trailer, Random Magic
Find Random Magic: Amazon | Kindle
Shown above: Short film, Pirate Girl vs. Evil Toys
The film is in Swedish only, with no subtitles, but you won’t need
subtitles to know what’s going on, as it’s a quirky, stop-motion
action short.
MAIN FEATURES
Shown above: Start marathon, The Buccaneers (Season One), The
adventures of Captain Dan Tempest (Robert
Shaw).
This episode: Captain Woodes Rogers arrives with an official pardon,
from King George, for all pirates. Most of the pirates accept the
King’s offer, but Blackbeard and his gang resist, make a getaway, and
scheme to have Rogers’ own ship attack the island.
All episodes
Viewing license and info: Rightsholder approval, includes advertising,
free, available to viewers in selected regions. Recommendation:
Viewers in U.S., Canada, U.K., some other regions.
Shown above: Feature film, Return to Treasure Island
About: Captain Long John Silver heads back to Treasure Island to see
if he can dig up a buried treasure.
Viewing license and info: Public domain film, available to viewers in
most regions. Recommendation: International viewers.
Get an audio book version of Treasure Island: Listen or
download.
For international fans of animation, a second feature has also been
provided below:
Shown above: Series episode, Yolanda, Daughter of the Black Corsair
About: Spanish cartoon series dubbed into English. Based on the
adventure novels, originally in Italian, by Emilio Salgari.
Viewing license and info: Rightsholder approval (BRB), free, advertising.
Recommendation:
International viewers. You might also enjoy reading about more pirate
queens during the RMT tour!
Finally, for people who enjoy some of the cool indie show selections
on YouTube, here’s a video discussion about pirates, from this very
tour!
Shown above: Documentary or YouTube reality series - Book Lover-BookChicks
discusses real-life pirates.
Viewing license and info: Rightsholder approval, YouTube show, host is
LexieVamp666, pirates episode
specifically for Random Magic Tour: Pirates!
If you’d like to find more cool piratey things, feel free to join us
on the tour, there’s a lot going on --
features about pirate grub, gear and eats, music and games, a great
art series, an interesting series on pirate queens, lots of prizes and
a fun treasure hunt.
Set sail with us! Browse the tour schedule.
Here's another interesting tour feature you might also enjoy: Find
some pirate plunder, with Little Pirate Prizes, these aren't marked on
the schedule and they're not part of the hunt, but they’re out there
for visitors to find and they could be ANYWHERE! Find some Little
Pirate Prizes.
Have fun and good luck!
Random Magic by Sasha Soren
FTC Disclosure: received from author for review
Published: 2010
Pages: 397
Content: Nothing to get antsy about
This was definitely a different book. It was really quirky and zany and kind of tough to understand what was going on with whom and why and how even. A few parts got more serious and were easier to understand and then it got zany again and back to bewilderment. She has a lot of mythical and literary references that just went completely over my head. I'm sure over half the book went over my head in that case. I'd like to read it again one day and take the time to look this stuff up!
But I loved Winnie. She's the best thing about the whole book. She's strong, smart, funny, zany, sassy, etc. A great heroine. I love strong female characters. Henry? Henry who? Yeah, I don't really have much to say about him since he wasn't a strong presence in the book. He didn't really have any qualities I remember...Plus the one time he's alone and not with Winnie the book goes all serious and hits us over the head with morality and right and wrong. I'm not sure if the author was doing that on purpose or not...the book is crazy, whacky fun...so it could be.
This book definitely isn't for everyone. I liked it but I just didn't understand a lot of it and that made it hard to get through. I liked what she was trying to do, though and I'm sure there are some really smart people out there who get most of it and makes it amazing.
I received the book courtesy of the author and this in no way affected my review.
Rating: 3.5/5
Join me later today for my piece on how to dress like a pirate!
Thanks for dropping by, hope you enjoyed your visit here! Here's another
interesting tour feature for the Random Magic Tour that you might also enjoy.
The main Rum + Plunder treasure hunt is open internationally!
Here’s a fun way to win something piratey and cool:
Browse prizes at vvb32 reads or join the hunt… (click coin for more info).
 |
| Click here |
Bonus: Find even more pirate plunder, with Little Pirate Prizes,
these aren't marked on the schedule and they're not part of the hunt,
but they're out there for visitors to find, so have fun finding some
cute pirate things. Follow the tour schedule!
Have fun and good luck!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
One Line Movie Reviews
1. Due Date (2010): Aye, this be yer typical bosom buddy comedy an' nothin' special, arrrr.
2. The King's Speech (2010): Shiver me timbers, this be an excellent, touchin' story on that nefarious head o' state King George VI overcomin' his demons.
3. The Tourist (2010): Be that Cap'n Jack...er, is Johnny Depp just a normal math teacher from the States?
4. How Do You Know (2010): There be too many issues...gender roles, feminism, love/relationships, which turned this into some vile smellin' swill.
5. Fair Game (2010): This be a sea worthy docudrama on why de Bush President invaded Iraq.
6. Tron: Legacy (2010): Weird and confusing continuation of the original Tron.
 |
| Rating: C |
2. The King's Speech (2010): Shiver me timbers, this be an excellent, touchin' story on that nefarious head o' state King George VI overcomin' his demons.
 |
| Rating: A+ |
3. The Tourist (2010): Be that Cap'n Jack...er, is Johnny Depp just a normal math teacher from the States?
 |
| Rating: B- |
4. How Do You Know (2010): There be too many issues...gender roles, feminism, love/relationships, which turned this into some vile smellin' swill.
 |
| Rating: C+ |
5. Fair Game (2010): This be a sea worthy docudrama on why de Bush President invaded Iraq.
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| Rating: A+ |
6. Tron: Legacy (2010): Weird and confusing continuation of the original Tron.
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| Rating: C |
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday Movie Meme- Farming Movies
Feature Presentation...
MONDAY MOVIE MEME
hosted by Molly of The Bumbles Blog.
1. Charlotte's Web (2006): Charlotte is the spider on the farm trying to save her dear pig!
2. Babe (1995): Another farm pig, Babe, helps out on the farm. He's some pig.
3. Shane (1953): Shane tries to make himself at home with a local family on their homestead/ranch. Lots of farming and then fighting!
4. City Slickers (1991): Billy Crystal and friends take a ranching trip together and learn how to steer cattle and live their lives.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
FTC Disclosure: bought from a second-hand store
Published: 1989
Pages: 256
Content: language, sex
Amazon.com summary: Each chapter of screenwriter Esquivel's utterly charming interpretation of life in turn-of-the-century Mexico begins with a recipe--not surprisingly, since so much of the action of this exquisite first novel (a bestseller in Mexico) centers around the kitchen, the heart and soul of a traditional Mexican family. The youngest daughter of a well-born rancher, Tita has always known her destiny: to remain single and care for her aging mother. When she falls in love, her mother quickly scotches the liaison and tyrannically dictates that Tita's sister Rosaura must marry the luckless suitor, Pedro, in her place. But Tita has one weapon left--her cooking. Esquivel mischievously appropriates the techniques of magical realism to make Tita's contact with food sensual, instinctual and often explosive. Forced to make the cake for her sister's wedding, Tita pours her emotions into the task; each guest who samples a piece bursts into tears. Esquivel does a splendid job of describing the frustration, love and hope expressed through the most domestic and feminine of arts, family cooking, suggesting by implication the limited options available to Mexican women of this period. Tita's unrequited love for Pedro survives the Mexican Revolution the births of Rosaura and Pedro's children, even a proposal of marriage from an eligible doctor. In a poignant conclusion, Tita manages to break the bonds of tradition, if not for herself, then for future generations.
Wow. This is quite the different book. My first book with magical realism was Garden Spells. So I'm not sure how other books in the genre are...but this one was a far cry from realism! I would say this is more of a myth/tall-tale. While interesting, it just wasn't my book. Glad I read it but it was just a bit too bizarre for me. I went into it expecting a little more realism. Though, the movie now interests me. I wonder how they went about making this one...
The story does have a theme of love conquers all (even an overbearing abusive dead mother)!
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
RMT: Pirates! Random Magic Tour: Pirates! May 10-30, 2011 About: Random Magic Tour organization: Lyrika Publicis Triton Tavern proprietress and guest relations: vvb32reads Contact the tour: @RandomMagicTour
Random Magic Tour Schedule.
Rum + Plunder Treasure Hunt (May 11-30)
Win some marrrrrvelous plunder!
Browse prizes
and
Bonus: Little Pirate Prizes
Cool surprise treasures scattered throughout the tour…
Win some marrrrrvelous plunder!
Browse prizes
and
Bonus: Little Pirate Prizes
Cool surprise treasures scattered throughout the tour…
Friday, May 6, 2011
Arrr! It be de beginnins' of some Pirate Talk, Reviews n'Fun, Arrrr!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday Movie Meme- Upward! Ho!
Feature Presentation...
MONDAY MOVIE MEME
hosted by Molly of the Bumbles Blog.
This week is all about taking to the air!
1. The Rocketeer (1991): Billy Campbell takes to the sky with a rocket pack to fight the evil commies!
2. The Kite Runner (2007): Is a metaphor to rise above our troubles and learn how to forgive. A tragic but important story.
3. October Sky (1999): About a boy's love of space and science and how he eventually became a rocket scientist.
4. Hot Shots! (1991): I thought I'd go with the spoof of Top Gun rather than Top Gun!
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