All posts by Frog

24: Live Another Day Episode 9

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I watched the ninth episode of 24: Live Another Day last night.   If you haven’t watched it and intend to do so, please don’t read further!

I have problems with this episode.

The premise that the President of the United States not only negotiated with a terrorist but surrendered himself in atonement for a drone attack which accidentally killed civilians disturbs me.

The president’s additional reason for this sacrifice is even more troubling.  He decides that having been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s it is an appropriate sacrifice to make.  Really?  What does that say to other Alzheimer’s victims?  And this is a person in the very early stages who would have access to the very best healthcare…gee what a role model.

 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

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This melancholy young adult novel is written in the first person from the perspective of a 16 year old girl.  It is so well done that you have to remind yourself that it is, in fact, fiction and not a memoir.   Prepare for an emotional roller coaster, or perhaps more of an emotional dive. There are brief moments of joy that allow you to come up for air.  It reminds the reader, through these young characters, that we are mortal and should live the best life we can, while we can.  The theme of ‘don’t let the disease kill you before it kills you’ resonates.

The author cleverly puts the reader in the shoes (and lungs) of 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster.  She meets Augustus Waters, 17, at a Cancer Support Group.  They are immediately drawn to each other and find they have more in common than their disease.  They share a similar rebellious philosophy and cynical humor about life and death.

Much of their relationship revolves around Hazel’s obsession with her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, which leads them on a journey to learn more about the mysterious author Peter Van Houten.

I can’t say I enjoyed it, because I don’t enjoy feeling sad, but it did make me feel.  I did become invested in the story and the characters.

24: Live Another Day 4-5pm

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In the recently aired episode of 24: Live Another Day the Jack and his new accomplice Kate Morgan (formerly of Chuck) sped across the city.  In less than an hour, 4-5pm, they found the lair of the arms dealer they were seeking and got deliberately captured.   Kate got tortured, and just as they were about to succeed in their mission, Britain’s MI5 stormed in and ruined everything.  All this time Chloe was talking in Jack’s ear.

The most exciting part was watching the psychopathic Margot Al-Harazi send her daughter, robotic Simone, on a mission to kill her sister-in-law.  In the given hour Simone finds her victim and joins her for dinner before she kills her (she actually shed a tear).  Simone is ever obedient to Mummy dearest even after the mother showed some tough love by having her daughter’s fingers chopped off and murdering her husband in the last episode.  This is brings dysfunctional family to a whole new level.

The sister-in-law’s daughter, having witnessed her mother’s stabbing, escapes into the streets of London with Simone in pursuit.  The episode ends when Simone gets hit by a bus!

 

Teen Wolf: TV Series Review

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My daughter got my husband and myself interested in watching the Teen Wolf MTV series during it’s first season.  We are now downloading and watching season 3.  The show is obviously written for a teenage audience,  but we thoroughly enjoy it.  There is a great deal of comic relief.   In spite of battling monsters, and combatting all sorts of strange issues, these characters are first and foremost teenagers.  It is extremely funny to watch their priorities.

The acting on this little tv show is outstanding.  One of the actors particularly, Dylan O’Brien will one day be a household name, I’m sure.  He’s starring in an upcoming movie called The Maze Runner.

I was surprised to learn that my daughter stopped watching last season.  I had to laugh because she said it had become unrealistic and the storyline didn’t make sense.  Unrealistic….we’re talking about werewolves and demons and banshees and shape shifters, even a werecoyote.  I guess there’s a limit to how far some people will suspend their disbelief.

If you haven’t watched it I’d start at the beginning with season one.

 

frogkisser review

Originally published on Bubblews

Why Are They Killing MSNBC?

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I am a liberal or progressive whichever you want to call it.  I am probably one of the most loyal viewers that MSNBC ever had.  So I don’t understand why “they” whoever they are would want to destroy this channel.  Could it have been secretly taken over by the Corporate Propaganda machine known as Fox News and they are dismantling it from within?

Apparently the “News” station has decided to forego reporting the news in favor of political talk shows.  They now carry the same liberal agenda through a series of programs which only differ by the talking head presenting the same subject.  Even I get saturated.

When Fox News became discredited, CNN decided to go after the few Fox viewers who were defecting and switched to a conservative agenda.  So when a good news station, presenting unbiased news is most needed MSNBC is folding up its tents and we’re ‘left’ wondering why?

frogkisser opinion

Originally published on Bubblews

 

Motherless Brooklyn: Book Review

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I read Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem years ago.  I think it was published in 2000.  I came across it again recently and was reminded of how much I enjoyed it.  I can’t compare it to anything else because I’ve never read anything quite like it before or since.

This gripping detective novel is clever, humorous, beautiful and sad.  A group of orphans from the St. Vincent Home for Boys are employed by a Brooklyn small time mobster.  He tutors them and grooms them to perform various odd jobs, not always within the confines of the law.

The ragtag group is devastated and rudderless when their mentor is murdered.  The main character, Lionel Essog, suffers from tourette’s syndrome.  He is determined to find out who killed their boss.  His compulsion to bark, count or swear at the most inopportune moments presents interesting and somewhat comical challenges to his quest.

frogkisser review

Originally published on Bubblews

 

Murder in the South of France: Book Review

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I just finished the 5th book in a series of murder mysteries by Susan Kiernan-Lewis.  I had never read any of her books before but I burned through all five her series, which are set in Provence.

The first book, Murder in the South of France, is not the best one and is kind of quirky, but it is necessary to set the stage for the rest.  However, it is fast paced and funny.  Each book is independent but it is more fun to read them in order.

Maggie is an impulsive young woman in her thirties who writes ad copy in Atlanta.  She ends up investigating the disappearance of her estranged sister in the South of France.  She meets and falls in love with a mysterious, steady, and handsome Frenchman who turns out to be a con man.

Her Frenchman, Laurent,  is also a gourmet cook, so while stumbling over bodies and uncovering clues, Maggie has to stop to sample his haute cuisine.

In most series when the heroin and the hero get together, it’s the end.  But for these two interesting characters the murder, mayhem and mirth are just beginning.

The books in the series are Murder in the South of France, Murder a la Carte, Murder in Provence, Murder in Paris and Murder in Aix.  This clever author manages to keep the sparks flying between this couple through all five of these books.

frogkisser review

Originally published on Bubblews

Dove Season: Book Review

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Dove Season (A Jimmy Veeder Fiasco) by Johnny Shaw

Book Review

At first this looked like a guys book..blood and guts..drinking tequila and bar fights…not something I’d enjoy.   I gave it a try because it was a gift, but once I started I couldn’t put it down.

This contemporary novel takes place in the Imperial Valley of Southern California .  It is portrayed with the love and brutal honesty by an author who grew up there.  He provides a great deal of interesting insight and history about the region.

Thirty year old Jimmy has been drifting for 12 years.   He returns to the dreary alfalfa farm where he grew up because his father is dying.  Jimmy and his father have an unusual relationship.  Some fathers and sons bond through sports, these two bond through dark humor.  Their witty banter, added to Jimmy’s other complex relationships add comic relief to the gritty tale.

Jimmy’s father sends him on a quest to find a hooker, a very specific hooker.  This takes Jimmy and his unusual pals on a perilous trek through rough towns on both sides of the border where they get into all kinds of trouble.  The twists and turns in this book will keep you turning the pages.

 

Originally published on Bubblews

frogkisser book review

 

Zombie in the Living Room

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Children moaned with disappointment when Aunt Arlene left the community swimming pool because the water level dropped.  She wrapped a bath sheet around her ample waist and pulled a large tee shirt over her bathing suit.  She shook out her wet hair which clung to her head in matted strands and stepped into her flip flops.

She purchased a cherry sno-cone at the refreshment stand and happily schlepped home eating the icy treat.  There was a small hole in the bottom of the snow cone cup so drops of the red syrup dribbled down the front of her white shirt.  Her teeth and mouth were stained red giving her a ghoulish appearance.

She entered the living room where Uncle Earl dozed in his recliner chair.  He sleepily opened his eyes to see Aunt Arlene looking down at him.  She grinned and he screamed “Zombie!” and scrambled to his feet and bolted out the door.

(this is a frogkisser tale) Thank you for reading.

picture www.free-graphics.com/free-clipart/

Originally published on Bubblews

 

The Last Dance

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Old Ms. Murphy suffered from dementia and often thought Uncle Earl was someone from her past named Mitch.  This evening she stood at Earl’s front door in a pink flowered nightgown with a pink plastic bath scrunchie in her hair.  Her eyes were filled with tears as she pleaded with Uncle Earl, “please take me to the dance, Mitch?”

Uncle Earl sighed and said, “okay darlin, give me a sec.”  He flipped on the yellow overhead light on the carport and turned up the radio in the house.

Aunt Arlene leaned on her elbows and watched out the kitchen window with a wistful smile.  Earl gently guided Ms. Murphy around the carport while Patsy Cline sang “Crazy”.  The moths fluttered around the light making a flickering effect on the concrete dance floor.

As they swayed, Ms. Murphy muttered incoherently while Earl replied with “uh huh” once in a while and repeated old jokes like, “cows dance to….mooosic….plumbers tap dance..”

Finally Ms. Murphy said, “I’m gettin kind of tired, Mitch.”   “Then, it’s time to walk ya home darlin,” Earl replied.  So he returned her to her caretaker who had just begun to search for her apologizing that she’d slipped out again.

“It’s fine,” Earl said, “we had a nice time didn’t we darlin.”  He gave the old lady a little peck on the cheek to which she responded with a giggle, “don’t you go gettin fresh, Mitch!”

As he walked away Earl said over his shoulder, “ya know, butchers dance at meatballs…hee hee.”

They heard a few days later that Ms. Murphy had passed away, Earl took off his toupee, held it over his heart, looked up and whispered, “I hope yer up there with Mitch enjoyin some Soul Music.”

 

(this is a frogkisser tale) Thank you for reading.

picture www.free-graphics.com/free-clipart/

Originally published on Bubblews