Marines Making My Day

How is it that men in uniform can make any day better?

Why Being an English Major Rocks

Here's the part where I once again rub in your face that I am a college student and probably significantly younger than you.

Ever heard of a book called A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis?  Well, if you haven't here's a brief summary of it taken from RomanceWiki (cuz anything ending in Wiki is so scholarly ;p):

Taking the stance that the popular romance novel is a work of literature with a brilliant pedigree, Regis asserts that it is also a very old, stable form, properly defined as a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines. Arguing that the ending in marriage found so objectionable by critics is hardly the sole governing element, Regis brings to the forefront other, more significant narrative components, such as the reform of a corrupt society and the breakdown of the barrier between hero and heroine. She traces the literary history of the romance novel from canonical works such as Richardson's Pamela through Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Brontë's Jane Eyre, Trollope's Framley Parsonage, and Forster's Room with a View, then turns to the twentieth century to examine works such as E. M. Hull's The Sheik and the novels of Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, Janet Dailey, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Nora Roberts. Situating each novel in its own time while interpreting it through the critical vocabulary she proposes, Regis specifies how romance conventions change yet retain the essential formal requirements of the genre.

In other words, this book and this lady are awesome, because she uses academic arguements to shut down all those jerks who say romance novels are nothing but trashy bodice rippers for bored lonely housewifes who sit around eating bon bons.

So why am I so psyched about this book right now?  Because Pamela Regis is a professor at my college, and as an English major next semester I am taking her Popular Romance course!  How freaking awesome is that?!  I was so excited about it I was even willing to take it despite it being an 8am course.

At first a part of me wondered if having to analyze and do as work what I normally do for fun would be a turn off, but then I was like, "Romance novels for homework? Having to write papers about them instead of about boring dead white guys?  Lolz I am sooo there!"  I think I see a senior thesis in my future.

You Could Have Fooled Me

Happy April Fool's Day!  I hope everyone is staying out of too much trouble?  Here are a few of my favorite pranks that I've stumbled across:

1. The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998 BK "unvieled" the left-handed Whopper, where all the ingredients were rotated 180 degrees to satisfy their lefty customers.  Apparently it was quite frequently requested the following day, though several right-handed folks made sure to request the original, right-handed version.

2. Dihydrogen Monoxide
Sounds dangerous doesn't it?  While not specifically an April Fool's Day prank, I had to include this one.

Dihydrogen monoxide is a fancy name for... water.  This hoax can be traced back to the Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide, a hoax organization started by Craig Jackson.  Among the many things it warned against were dihydrogen monoxide being a major component of acid rain, that it contributes to the greenhouse effect, that it can cause severe burns, and that it is fatal if inhaled.  This prank has been replicated several times since- and can always be reproduced with some of your less chemistry inclined friends!

3. LA Highways Down for Repair

In 1987 a LA DJ announced that all LA highways would be shut down for an entire month for repairs starting April 8th.  Since LA is absolutely dependent on these highways, most residents who heard (and believed) the DJ were in a state of panic.  The station and the California Highway Patrol were flooded with calls for the rest of the day.  Understandibly, the Highway Patrol did not think the prank was that funny.

4.  Walled In
A video prank- and my favorite office prank of all time!


The moral of all this?  Remember what day it is and take everything with a grain of salt and some good humor!

Interweb Humor

I just wanted to share a few things I'd found online over the past few days that had really made me laugh.

TGIF: Hawt Football

TGIF everyone!  This hasn't been the greatest week for me, so I'm glad to see the weekend.  What's the best solution to a bad week- hot men and a funny video of course!

Since the Super Bowl is coming up I decided to go with a football theme!  I'm not a big football fan but I get shivers looking at these guys ;)

I was deeply distrubed when I was googling these photos(and no, not just because google images without safe mode is a mine field).  Why are they all white?!  I didn't want to use professional football players, so I mostly looked up models, but since a whole lot of pro footballers are black, wouldn't it make since to have some black models too?  Not that these guys aren't smokin', but what's up with all the white washing?

On a different note, look a funny video, because British people make us laugh:

Facing The Week Ahead

I'm not that much of a slacker, but after charting out my upcoming semester I've come to the conclusion that the upcoming week is going to be hellish.  I have this theory that professors try to scare everyone the first week (done!) and then work everyone to death the second week (about to happen) to weed out anyone who isn't serious about the course.  Now if only I didn't have four professors doing this at the same time...

Because of the intensity of the upcoming week, I doubt I'll be able to fit in much more than one book or novella, but we'll see how things roll.  As a motivator, I ended up buying a few books I had planned on one day reading.  Sort of a buy-now/read as an "I survived the first month!" celebration.  Here's what I ordered:

Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked and It's in His Kiss
I love the Bridgerton series.  I have On the Way to the Wedding sitting on my bookshelf, but I'm refusing to read the books out of order.  I know it doesn't really make a difference since they're stand alone novels, but I've read them in order up until now and I would hate to break the pattern.

Captive Bride by Johanna Lindsey
It's her first novel and I heard it was awful.  So I had to read it.  I've been told several times I might enjoy it for the sheer horror of it.

Her Colorado Man by Cheryl St. John
I've never read Cheryl St. John but I know a lot of people really like her.  And I really like the Harlequin Historicals line, so this seemed like a good place to start.

Finally, I redesigned the blog!  It had a "makeunder" I guess.  Since I have zero capacity for HTML/CSS, I tried to pick a blogger template I thought I could work with in the future, and I'm pretty happy with the result.

More Happy and Some Reads

How could I forget this on my Mega Post of Happy Things?!?! I don't know how many other peeps are into web shows, but I love them.  It might be that they come in awesome bit size time portions (which can also be really annoying when you just want to find out what happens).
1) Koldcast.tv:
-Blue Movies is one of there really funny series.  Season One ended a while ago and I'm not sure when Season Two is starting up, but all the episodes are still posted.  The show centers around the dramas of a low budget rising pornography company and one of their new-to-show-biz interns.
2) Take180:
-They did this really great series a year or two ago called My Alibi.  Since it's over all the episodes are up and there's no need to wait for new ones.  That was possibly one of my favorite web shows ever.  Sort of a Breakfast Club spin off- a bunch of high school kids held in detention on suspicion of a prank.
**The other show of there's I really love is I <3 Vampires.  If you're into the paranormal scene at all check this one out.  I recommend it.  It's currently in the middle of Season Two, which is turning out to be much darker than Season One.  It plays off of the Twilight craze quite a bit.  I <3 Vampires is about two girls who are obsessed with a series of books about vampires, except the books turn out to be a little too real...**


Reading Update

Title: Her Secret Fling
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: None
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:
Jake Stevens--star reporter and celebrated literary genius--is a snake. How else to explain the way he turns Poppy Birmingham's hero worship into loathing with a single conversation? So what if she's got a lot to learn about journalism? Aren't they coworkers now? On the same team? Jake can take his attitude and...

Then during a job-related road trip, their relationship goes from antagonistic to hedonistic in no time flat. And suddenly Poppy can't think of anything more delicious than having a secret fling with Jake. But with all this intensity, can she really keep it no-strings-attached?

Review

I know a lot of people are big fans of Ms. Mayberry, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I couldn't really connect to either character, and that just made the book fall flat for me.  This really comes down to personal taste, but Poppy was too bubbly and optimistic.  It might have been the Olympic athlete in her that had her always keep going, never give up, and keep her chin up high.  While Jake was a bit of a prick, I could relate to him more. 

I felt that Jake was justified in being annoyed with Poppy for getting the job at the newspaper.  There were tons of people who worked really hard in journalism and deserved that job.  Poppy worked really hard in her field and did deserve recognition, but didn't necessarily deserve rewards that she wasn't qualified for.  She didn't have a college education, and a full time job at the paper didn't seem to fit.  It seemed more like a midlife crisis.  I don't know.  I think I sound I bit mean, but it's mostly because Poppy spent most the book being stressed out rather than achieving something meaningful.  Other than being a big fan of Jake's works, there didn't seem to be anything pulling Poppy to a career at the newspaper, and I don't think writing was her passion.  

All in all, while Her Secret Fling didn't click with me, I'd be willing to give Sarah Mayberry another try in the future because the writing was ok and the sex was steamy.

Title: Lessons in French
Author: Laura Kinsale
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: None
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:

"It was quite settled by now. She was born to be a spinster. The gentlemen would have to declare their undying devotion to other ladies. Callie would be too much occupied with developing a delicate constitution and a dependable recipe for tapioca-jelly."

She is, after all, Lady Callista Taillefaire, jilted three times in spite of her fortune and her father's best efforts to find her a husband. Now her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her gigantic prize bull, Hubert. But when Callie's only old flame returns from his long and mysterious absence in France, her quiet spinster life turns upside down.

Dark-eyed, elegant and a magnet for trouble, Trevelyan d'Augustin has given Callie lessons in more than his language in the past. Her father put a harsh and humiliating end to any dreams of romance with a French émigré scoundrel, however, and Callie never thought to see him again. Swallowing his pride, Trev has finally come home to care for his failing mother, but his secrets and misdeeds follow him.

Callie soon remembers that nothing is ever peaceful with Trev around. The enormous Hubert vanishes into thin air, one of her former jilts comes back to woo her in a most determined manner--and her bull takes the town by storm! In the midst of these misadventures, Callie finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her...

(Dear God, for the life of me I could not find a shorter summary, and honesty I was too lazy to write one myself.)

Review
**warning, mild spoilers!**

I had mixed feelings about this book, but overall I really did like and enjoy it.  It was the first Kinsale I've ever read, though I do have a copy of Flowers From the Storm waiting patiently on my shelf.


It worked well as a light comedy, though a times I felt confused about what was going on.  Either too much action was going on too follow or it seemed like characters were saying (or thinking) one thing and doing another.  Often Callie and Trev seemed to be having these internal angst moments where they swore it was too tormenting to be near each other, and then go right along with their witty banter and flirtations.  Either I was seriously misreading or they were being over the top.


I really did like all the characters though, especially Trev and Hubert (the bull).  For a bull, Hubert had a lot of personality, even if he mostly was just stubborn and ate buns.  Admittedly, I have a soft spot for farm animals.  Trev, on the other hand, I didn't want to like, but I couldn't help it (sort of like Callie).  He bungles almost everything up, and makes more messes to cover for those.  Total boyish charm *sigh*.


Here comes the spoiler...
Something that did bother me though was that Trev was supposedly a virgin (if I managed to interpret that part of the story correctly). I don't know what it's supposed to add to the story, especially since it's rather awkwardly tossed in there.  Also, it's not believeable.  Trev wasn't in love with Callie until they met again, so what was he saving himself for?  Especially with so many chances?  It just seemed too contrived for me.


Nevertheless, Lessons in French was a fun, light read for me which I would recommend to anyone else who likes historical romances.

Mega Post of Happy Things

I've been out of the blogosphere for almost two weeks now.  Like most of the population I've been under the weather, and then got backlogged with life and had no time to update.  So, to make up for that, I'm doing a Mega Post of Happy Things.  In other words, a big list of things that make me smile with as many links as possible.

Non-Romance Blogs I Follow
1. Lolcats: Who doesn't follow this one?  I'm also going to mention the numerous associated blogs I check out on a regular basis: ROFLrazzi, Pundit Kitchen, Graphjam, Kludges, Failblog, Failbook, and Hacked IRL.
2. Nathan Kamp: Book Covers: Ok, so this is sort of related to romance, but more under the hot men category.  You can probably recognize him because he's on tons of romance covers.  Did anyone else watch the pilot for Royal Pains just for Nathan's two-second cameo...?
3. Odd News: Mainly from the UK, but the articles are universally funny.
4.Oddly Specific:  I think this one is also associated with Lolcats, but I like it enough to give it its own line.
5. Picture is Unrelated: Another golden Lolcat cousin filled with WTFckery.
6. Sleep Talkin' Man:  From the UK as well, but this guy must have hilarious dreams.
7.  Stop Making That Duckface!:  You know someone who does it, and please, just stop.
8. manvszombies:  I've never really gotten into the whole zombie thing, but I get a kick out of this.  If you've read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies you might like it.
9.  WEDINATOR: Snark-worthy wedding moments.
10.  Cake Wrecks: This goes well with WENDINATOR.
11. XKCD: Geeky jokes for the nerd in all of us.
12. Autocomplete Me: When Google suggest goes awry.
13. Hunk du Jour: Self-explanatory.  Hot Men make me happy.
14. 5-Star Men:  More hot men!  Both this and Hunk du Jour are targeted for gay men, but I see no reason a straight woman can't enjoy it.
15. Indexed: Clever messages on index cards.
16. PostSecret: Sometimes funny.  Sometimes tragic.  I've been following this blog for almost six years and have gone to a few signing events.
17. FMyLife: As most this list proves, life's fails are entertaining.

On My YouTube Account
1. CommunityChannel:  Apparently spunky Asian-Australian girls make big youtube sensations.  Usually posts every 3-7 days with easily to relate to self-deprecating humor.
2. CollegeHumor:  I'm pretty sure MTV owns this.  They post pretty frequently with a variety of ongoing shows and series.  Really funny and some of the stuff is very well done.

Blog Awards

Tracy was really awesome and tagged me (quite awhile ago) for the Sugar Doll Award.  I'm supposed to list 10 things about myself and pass it on.  To be honest, I'm horrible about tagging other people so I'm just going to encourage anyone who wants to do this to post it on their blog.

My ten things:
1.  I'm obsessed with the Iditarod.  For those poor souls who do not know what the Iditarod is, it's the dog sled race up in Alaska.  (Anyone seen Balto?)  I've been known to get pretty big crushes on some of the younger mushers, my two favorites being Rohn Buser and Dallas Seavey.  Rohn isn't in the race this year, but Dallas is and I'm definitely cheering him on.  The race is still going on now, so check it out!
2.  I want to become a flight attendant.  Most people look at me funny for this.  Would I really want to deal with the insane hours and crabby passengers.  Well yea, I do.  I'd be awesome at it (I have amazing customer service skills) and the benefits would be sweet.
3.  I love the movie Repo! The Genetic Opera.  It's hard to describe, except that it's as campy as Rocky Horror and you get to see Paris Hilton's face fall off.
4.  I'm terrified of relationships.  I love reading romances, but there's a big difference between enjoying the story and actually being ready for a relationship.
5.  Cary Grant is my hero.  I have a nice little collection of his comedies, my favorite being The Philadelphia Story.
6.  I'm focusing on school right now, but one day I want to write romance.  Probably contemporary romance.  I already have a few ideas bouncing around my head.
7.  Red and black are my favorite colors.
8.  I have three stars tattooed on my body.
9.  I have two cats, Jesse (James) and Aby (which is short for Abyssinia, the source of the Nile), and a betta fish named Napoleon.
10.  I am not a morning person, whatsoever.  When left to my own devices I become completely nocturnal. This happened to me for a few weeks during my freshman year at college.  It was very inconvenient.

Just Friggin' Awesome
A couple weeks ago over at Smart Bitches there was a contest to promote The Marriage Ring.  The winner got a $1,500 gift certificate to Fragments jewelry.  My friend won!  I was in a state of shock for the first few minutes after she told me.  I'm so happy for her!

Twilight
Whether you love it, whether you hate it, most of us can't take our eyes off it.

Yea, I'll be there.

Hot Men
Would any make-you-feel-better blog post really be complete without them?

The Loss of a Treasure

Anyone who lives in Delaware or the DC metro area has (hopefully) heard of Lambda Rising. To sum up: for 35 years Lambda Rising has been Washington's premier LGBT bookstore, with one of the largest collections of fiction, erotica, memoirs, nonfiction/history, and tons of other odds and ends. They have some of the most wonderful and knowledgeable staff and has created a real sense of community.

That being said, I was upset to learn that both Lambda Rising stores are closing. Lambda Rising has always held a special place in my heart. It was where I bought Sweet Lips by Mel Smith and first discovered homo erotica five years ago. Since then I've developed a soft spot for the genre, though the bulk of my reading is still mainstream romance. I felt slightly better when I found out that it is closing because the owner is retiring, not because they are going out of business. Still, it won't be there anymore.

The second thought that crossed my mind: OMG yay a sale!

It was so awesome to walk in there and find all books 40% off! Despite having a $20 cash limit, I was able to walk away with some goodies.



It took me quite a bit of time to settle on one piece of erotic I wanted to buy. I ended up sitting in the middle of one of the aisles with my friend, flipping through a stack of books trying to pick one. I narrowed it down to three and with my friend's advice picked this one. The plot sounded fairly interesting, I liked that it's a historical, but mostly did you see that cover! Best. Erection. Ever.

Speaking of erections, this book was irresistible as well. I've been flipping through it and never realized until now just how much thought goes into a blow job. There is also this awesome chapter for guys about etiquette and considerations for your partner. Fellatio has never been so equal! The other reason I just had to get this is because my friend bought The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. Maybe we'll switch when we're done reading our own.

I had the funniest cashier when checking out. The ridiculous cover of The Price of Temptation lead to some witty banter about the absurdity of many Harlequin covers and Nathan Kamp's abs. His exact comment was "I don't like a guy to be too ripped. I don't want to get rug burn just from going down on him". FTW!