Just a few notes that I've updated a few site related things, mostly links added. I joined So Trendy Topsites so vote for me if you will! Also, I've added another affiliate - Melanie from Lysianassa so go visit her. (= Lastly, Melissa from Aquilus has a new banner exchange up and I've joined that which you can see here with the rest of the rotations I'm apart of.
Cole @ 7:53 AM
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A is for Alibi
Conspiracy Theories
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Splash Updates
I've redone the Free Webhost page from a list of links to a full chart comparing 40 (okay 39) free webhosts on the internet today. The page itself is only a condensed chart and you can view the full chart as either a webpage or Microsoft Word document.
Cole @ 8:16 AM
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Cole @ 8:16 AM
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I just recently (as in earlier this morning) finished reading A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton. I had only heard of this author and series in recent years, as she has become increasingly popular, and decided to pick this one up in my quest for new reading material. I will most likely continue on with the series because my interest is piqued but whether I'll finish it is dubious.My first thought upon reading this book is the the author, Miss (Mrs? Ms?) Grafton doesn't seem like an established writer. Her writing is tense and terse which does go with the personality of Kinsey Millhone, the private detective protagonist of the series, but also makes reading feel very choppy. Additionally, the use of tense is amateur; I would have known better in my high school English classes than to switch tense the way the author does.
Still, the reader is drawn to Kinsey Millhone and the book which is, if you couldn't guess, a mystery. I like mysteries, don't get me wrong, but I don't like them too mysterious. I don't like being in too much suspense; it pisses me off. But I didn't need to worry about that in this book. Although it's fast moving and takes a few surprise turns, it's believable and not stomach-upsetting.
I also felt that both contents and style of writing were dated which makes sense considering that this book is over 2 decades years old, older than myself in fact. I was quite surprised to read that this book was originally published in 1983; as I'd mentioned, I'd only recently heard of Sue Grafton who is, by the way, 60-some years old. My estimate of her age by her style of writing.
Anyway, in this story Kinsey Millhone is hired by Nikki Fife to investigate the murder of her ex-husband for which she was imprisoned 8 (or was it 9 years?). Pleading innocent she sends Kinsey on a chase which has long been dead but being the ever stubborn and dare-I-say anal detective that she is, Kinsey pushes on even when the trail seems to be cold.
Eventually, after interviewing those surrounding the case, becoming romantically involved with one of her suspects, being present at a break in and listening on the other end of the phone as a potential lead is murdered, the clues start adding up and Kinsey discovers who is, in fact, behind the murder of Nikki's husband Laurence Fife and also, coincidentally, a woman who was murdered in the same fashion shortly after.
"And in the end should someone die?" Yes and that someone, though I won't name names, dies because Kinsey shoots him. Actually she - and I quote - "blew him away." I'm not entirely sure the hard ass personality of Kinsey is something you can always believe and it is with that line which I am most skeptical, but I go went with it anyway.
At the end of this book I was flabbergasted; it was just so short. At 200+ pages, it's not an epic novel by any means so perhaps the fantasy books I've been reading make for a poor comparison because there is a full story in here. I hope that, in future novels, Miss Grafton chooses to elongate her stories a bit more, clean up her writing, and modernize the content and style.
Overall A is for Alibi is a book worth reading, even if it is 20 years old and especially if you can let some things go to aid the suspension of disbelief.
Cole @ 2:34 AM
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Some say that President Bush is not stupid, he's just not articulate and while I would argue with the former point, I certainly cannot argue with the latter. In fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to find even a die-hard Bush fan who couldn't easily agree that the president does not have a smooth way with words.
With that said, should it matter? If a president, any president, were an inarticulate genius, would that lower them in the minds of the general public, or in my own? would we think higher or someone who was more articulate or relied heavily on the abilities of a team of speech writers, even if that person was an ignoramus?
Does articulation affect how well a politician does his jp? Does it matter if a speech is done well or is presentation only superficial and easily disregarded if the behind-the-scenes work is solid? Does the face the president shows to his country, and the world, matter as much as the work he does, even if that face seems to impede that work?
Still, even if articulation is less important than other aspects,wouldn't it be in anyone's best interest to improve upon it, if only to case being the butt of (inter)national jokes and the punch line of the day of sitcoms and talk shows galore?
Perhaps any attention given to the president, even attention garnered by his linguistic foibles, is good attention? Could it not all be a scheme to turn America's - and the world's - head while something much more sinister occurs?
Cole @ 6:57 AM
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With that said, should it matter? If a president, any president, were an inarticulate genius, would that lower them in the minds of the general public, or in my own? would we think higher or someone who was more articulate or relied heavily on the abilities of a team of speech writers, even if that person was an ignoramus?
Does articulation affect how well a politician does his jp? Does it matter if a speech is done well or is presentation only superficial and easily disregarded if the behind-the-scenes work is solid? Does the face the president shows to his country, and the world, matter as much as the work he does, even if that face seems to impede that work?
Still, even if articulation is less important than other aspects,wouldn't it be in anyone's best interest to improve upon it, if only to case being the butt of (inter)national jokes and the punch line of the day of sitcoms and talk shows galore?
Perhaps any attention given to the president, even attention garnered by his linguistic foibles, is good attention? Could it not all be a scheme to turn America's - and the world's - head while something much more sinister occurs?
Cole @ 6:57 AM
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You can feast your eyes on some new link back banners here and if you'd so kindly snag one to link me, I'd appreciate it. The banner content actually is a hint of what's to come.
Cole @ 9:22 AM
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Cole @ 9:22 AM
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A few updates on the splash page.
We had a lovely 5 o'clock in the morning fire alarm which jolted Rian out of bed. I hadn't yet fallen asleep so it sucked. We dressed and headed out with the rest of the building while the firefighters decided nothing was wrong. Woo.
Cole @ 5:58 AM
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We had a lovely 5 o'clock in the morning fire alarm which jolted Rian out of bed. I hadn't yet fallen asleep so it sucked. We dressed and headed out with the rest of the building while the firefighters decided nothing was wrong. Woo.
Cole @ 5:58 AM
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