(no subject)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080104/ap_on_re_us/winter_storm

We're okay. Spent most of the day without power, but that means I got a lot of reading done. My grandmother is pretty shaken up (she has trees in her backyard), my uncle had to leave because the dock where his boat is tied broke loose, Mom and Rich are somewhere out on the Pacific driving the cat up the coast and I'm not sure the status of their houseboat.

It's an absolute mess around my apartment. I walked outside during a lull in the rain and the sidewalks are absolutely covered with tree branches (thankfully rather small ones) and roof material. The area in front of the mailboxes is rather flooded so I'll have to send Alan out (since he has boots) if and when we get another break in the rain.

It's selfish of me to be excited about the volumes of snow falling in the mountains and what that means for possibilities of skiing next week, but I have to admit that was my first reaction. Purely impersonally, though, we do actually desperately need a good snowpack. This winter has been far too dry. Last winter was dry and look at the fires that resulted. So for that I'm glad. But it's horrible for it to fall all at once and perhaps be trapping people.

(no subject)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080104/ap_on_re_us/winter_storm

We're okay. Spent most of the day without power, but that means I got a lot of reading done. My grandmother is pretty shaken up (she has trees in her backyard), my uncle had to leave because the dock where his boat is tied broke loose, Mom and Rich are somewhere out on the Pacific driving the cat up the coast and I'm not sure the status of their houseboat.

It's an absolute mess around my apartment. I walked outside during a lull in the rain and the sidewalks are absolutely covered with tree branches (thankfully rather small ones) and roof material. The area in front of the mailboxes is rather flooded so I'll have to send Alan out (since he has boots) if and when we get another break in the rain.

It's selfish of me to be excited about the volumes of snow falling in the mountains and what that means for possibilities of skiing next week, but I have to admit that was my first reaction. Purely impersonally, though, we do actually desperately need a good snowpack. This winter has been far too dry. Last winter was dry and look at the fires that resulted. So for that I'm glad. But it's horrible for it to fall all at once and perhaps be trapping people.

Happier post

Notes On A Fridge (on a spaceship) is back! Go read for Firefly goodness!!

Happier post

Notes On A Fridge (on a spaceship) is back! Go read for Firefly goodness!!

Book #1 - Tarzan of the Apes

First book of the year! Very fast read (for me); three days or so of concerted, sitting down and spending hours reading. I haven't been able to read like that in a long time. I suppose it helps that the book is interesting.

This is the first in the Tarzan series of books, and tells of Tarzan's birth and growing up in the jungle on the west coast of Africa, and how he came to meet Jane and learned to become a gentleman. Never having read any other book about Tarzan nor seen any movies other than the Disney version, I was frequently squeeing to Alan in pleasant surprise (over things like Jane being American and blonde), or noting pivotal moments like his first love letter to her and... character deaths, and points where the film had diverged (Sabor is a lioness, not a jaguar; Clayton is Tarzan's (unknown to either of them) cousin, not a random big-game hunter looking for gorillas, etc.). I really really enjoyed the book, and found myself believing that Tarzan absolutely could have taught himself to read and write in the way the book describes, and his incredible physical prowess managed not to come off at all Gary Stu-ish. So the book was absolutely beautiful, right up until the last two pages. Dude. I have not been this dissatisfied with an ending since Doctor Zhivago. I can't get any more specific than that for fear of spoilers, but those of you who know my proclivities in books and film should be able to guess why I'm so grumbly. I shall have to find the second book and hope that things turn out not to be so bad as they seem as of the end of Tarzan of the Apes. Yes, I realize that was exactly Mr. Burroughs' intent, and I shamelessly bow to the commercialism that will satisfy my curiosity.

Title: Tarzan of the Apes, although my cover looks like this (reproduction of the first edition)
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Pages: 401

1 / 24 books. 4% done!

Book #1 - Tarzan of the Apes

First book of the year! Very fast read (for me); three days or so of concerted, sitting down and spending hours reading. I haven't been able to read like that in a long time. I suppose it helps that the book is interesting.

This is the first in the Tarzan series of books, and tells of Tarzan's birth and growing up in the jungle on the west coast of Africa, and how he came to meet Jane and learned to become a gentleman. Never having read any other book about Tarzan nor seen any movies other than the Disney version, I was frequently squeeing to Alan in pleasant surprise (over things like Jane being American and blonde), or noting pivotal moments like his first love letter to her and... character deaths, and points where the film had diverged (Sabor is a lioness, not a jaguar; Clayton is Tarzan's (unknown to either of them) cousin, not a random big-game hunter looking for gorillas, etc.). I really really enjoyed the book, and found myself believing that Tarzan absolutely could have taught himself to read and write in the way the book describes, and his incredible physical prowess managed not to come off at all Gary Stu-ish. So the book was absolutely beautiful, right up until the last two pages. Dude. I have not been this dissatisfied with an ending since Doctor Zhivago. I can't get any more specific than that for fear of spoilers, but those of you who know my proclivities in books and film should be able to guess why I'm so grumbly. I shall have to find the second book and hope that things turn out not to be so bad as they seem as of the end of Tarzan of the Apes. Yes, I realize that was exactly Mr. Burroughs' intent, and I shamelessly bow to the commercialism that will satisfy my curiosity.

Title: Tarzan of the Apes, although my cover looks like this (reproduction of the first edition)
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Pages: 401

1 / 24 books. 4% done!