Sound Off Saturday

Happy Labor Day long weekend! I know that most of you are all probably off doing something fun and exciting for the last long weekend of summer. I know that I wish I was. So, for those of us stuck at home or work, this post is for you! 🙂

This last week I was stuck at home with an extremely painful abscessed tooth, so I got a lot of reading in. I devoured Adrian Phoenix’s – Black Heart Loa, which is the second book in her Hoodoo Series. Look for my review this upcoming week. I also read Kait Nolan’s – Red, an awesome young adult paranormal that I’ll be featuring next week on the blog. And I polished the week off with Jeaniene Frost’s – One Grave At A Time, the sixth book in her Night Huntress Series. Yes, I visited a Bayou in Louisiana, the Appalachian Mountains and went on another thrilling adventure with Cat & Bones! I am a professional armchair traveller/thrill – seeker, lol.

It’s finally September. The month that all the kids go back to school, (thank God!), and the month that all the awesome fall season TV shows start up again. Am I a little bit too excited about this? Yes, yes I am, ha ha. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “Hello! My name is Judi and I am a TV addict”. 😀 I can’t wait for The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Sanctuary, Fringe, Hawaii 5.0, Castle, Bones, both NCIS’s and a slew of others to come back. I’m excited about a few new ones, The Secret Circle, The Ringer, Grimm, The Sing Off, and Terra Nova. I’m still mourning the loss of Smallville and Stargate Universe. I told ya I was hooked on lots of shows, lol.

Talk to me people, what awesome books did you read this week? Did you go and see a wicked movie? Eat an amazing dinner? See friends or family that you haven’t seen in a long time? Go somewhere or do something interesting? Work on writing a novel? Throw a computer at the wall or out a window? Get stuck driving behind a complete moron who has no business behind the wheel of a vehicle like I seem to have happen to me several times weekly? Have an annoying or condescending person wreck your day?  How was your week? What did you think of that movie you saw or book you read? Are you excited about any books, TV shows or movies that are coming up soon? Are you going on a trip somewhere exotic?  Do you need to vent about something really frustrating? Go for it, I want to know.

Is It Just Me Or…

Lately I’ve been noticing what seems to be becoming a trend in quite a few of the books I’ve read, and I’m wondering if I’m the only one who feels this way. Transitions people. I am noticing a serious lack of transitions and it throws me off when I’m reading! 😦 For those who aren’t too sure what in the heck I’m talking about, here’s the definition that I’m referring to from my Encarta Dictionary:

“grammar: linking word or phrase: a word, phrase, or passage that links one subject or idea to another in speech or writing “

Microsoft® Encarta® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Basically, what I’ve been noticing is that I’m reading along, going with the flow, following the action, the dialogue, etc., and BLAM! With no page or chapter break or any indication what-so-ever, we’re in a different scene, quite possibly with different characters. Huh? Or I’m all invested in a scene with characters who are doing/saying something, and BLAM! They’re all of a sudden doing or talking about something else. WTF is that all about? And trust me, I have flipped back to re-read and have also made sure I didn’t miss a page in there somewhere.

If it were only one or two books in a hundred, I could chalk it up to natural error in either the writing or editing, but this has been happening with alarming frequency. And not just in e-books or print, not just with new authors or small publishers. I am also not just referring to books I’ve reviewed here on the blog, as I’ve read a lot of books that I haven’t reviewed here. I’m not looking to point fingers anywhere, I’m just wondering if I’m the only one who’s noticed this?  Sound off people, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

RT 2010 – The After Show

WARNING – This post is a way off topic rant for my blog.

ETI: WARNING: This post may contain subject matter that may be offensive to some and inappropriate for people under 18 years of age.

Wow! I read Wicked Lil Pixie’s post today along with the comments. Then I followed the link to Dear Author’s relevant post & comments and finally ended up at Antonio’s Blog.

Can I just say that I am truly disappointed in the human race today. People go to the RT Convention, at least for the most part, I’m thinking, to get to meet & greet some of their favorite authors, attend some interesting workshops & panels, and socialize with others who share some of our same interests, which would be reading. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend, but in looking for blog write-up’s about how it was, I found Jackie at Literary Escapism’s blog which was informative and positive and then I find all the  rest.

I feel terrible for all the Mr. Romantic Times contestants, models, strippers, etc. Whether or not these men are paid to be there to entertain in whatever  capacity they are, there is no excuse to treat any of them like a piece of meat! Sure, maybe there are 1 or 2 in every bunch who’s actions may invite it, but again, do not judge them all by that one or two individuals actions. One or two commentors had it right when they said that if the roles were reversed and we had heard about a large group of men treating a woman that way, well… then we would all be outraged and something would have been done about it.

I probably shouldn’t be writing this post right now because I am fuming just thinking about it. So freakin what if last years pageant winner teared up at the end? Is he not human? Because last I checked, men have emotions to, and yet people want to make fun of him for it? Sad. So freakin what if some of the men are short? There are short, tall, fat, young, old, skinny women too. Do you see those men blogging about all the disgusting drunk fat women who grope them like meat? NO. I spent over 20 years working in bars and have seen my share of Ladies Nights with male dancers. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING lady-like about the women who go to see male dancers! More like a pack of ravening wolves. Many times I was embarrassed to even be a female after witnessing this behaviour. I have also seen my share of bars full of men who are there to see female dancers and no way in hell would that kind of behavior be tolerated towards the female dancers. Talk about double standards!

Then I see people dumping on this guy Antonio for trying to explain his side of the story. It just really pisses me off that just because he’s 1) a man and 2) a dancer/stripper that he gets disrespected or even worse made to feel like he’s less of a person because of his job. I’ve known a lot of strippers over the years and the majority of them are just trying to make a buck. Trying to put themselves through school, trying to pay off loans, trying to support their children, trying to get by in an economy that sucks. For whatever reason they are doing this job, they get lumped into a lower class citizen category and even worse, they are treated as such. They are treated as unintelligent, as egotistical, as unfeeling hunks of “beef” and as promiscuous. Why is that? It boils down to jealousy as far as I can tell and jealousy makes people behave despicably. I have witnessed this time and time again and it’s just sad. It goes both ways. Gorgeous men and women get treated as less than human even though most people think that they get special treatment, or have it easy in life. They have no idea how wrong they are.

On behalf of mature, intelligent, thoughtful, observant and non-judgmental people, I am disappointed in the human race today and I hope that these guys know people like myself who will support them and help them get over what a bunch of small-minded, jealous, ignorant people put them through.

Edited To Include:

I’m not bashing any blogs out there or in any way implying that the RT Convention isn’t a great event. It’s my dream vacation, to be honest. My rant is against anyone who felt the need to imply that these guys in some way deserve to be treated like “meat”.