Friday, June 24, 2011

Cacoethes by M. Scott Craig

This book was very interesting. It dealt with short stories and poems about passion and disappointment. There were some stories that I really got into while others I really didn’t like as much. None of them were awful, they were just not my favorite.
I found the writing style to be interesting. He is a good writer who can pull you in to the stories. He is able to make you really feel with the characters in some of his stories.
I found the fact that he would write a poem and then continue it further on in the writing to be very interesting. It made me wait to read more. One of my favorite poems was done that way. It was about a chair and seasons. It was a wonderful poem.
I loved this book. I love the way it is written and the way it was presented.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Trend Micro Online Guardian

Monitor and protect your kids against Internet dangers

Just because your child has accepted you as a "friend" doesn't mean you're getting total access to their online social life. So how can you be sure you're getting the information you need to protect them against Internet dangers including cyberbullying and online predators?

Simple. With Trend Micro™ Online Guardian for Families, you can monitor your children's behavior on the most popular social networking sites including Facebook and MySpace, filter the content they view on the Web and take action to help keep them safe.

In one easy-to-read report, Online Guardian shows web browsing history, wall posts, messages, photos, chats, and more to give you a clear view of what your kids are doing online, regardless of their privacy settings. Because the more info you have at your fingertips, the easier it is to spot a problem before your children get in trouble. How's that for peace of mind?


Works from anywhere

Once your kids have registered their social networking accounts on a computer running Online Guardian, it doesn't matter which computer they use to access these sites — whether they're at home, at school or at a friend's, you'll always know what they're up to online.


Features

How can Trend Micro™ Online Guardian for Families help give you the information you need to protect your kids against Internet dangers?
Set online time limits and make daily use schedules
Block websites by specific categories
Prevent sensitive data like passwords and credit card info from being sent out
View comprehensive online and monthly email activity reports
Set individual profiles for up to 5 children
Monitor activities on Facebook and MySpace, regardless of privacy settings
Monitor instant messaging/chats on Yahoo! and MSN
View reports and manage activities anytime via a web browser
See all uploaded/viewed videos and pictures on YouTube and Flickr
Password for parents to temporarily turn off monitoring and content filtering
Track keywords searched and sites visited

Important Browser Information

Please note that Online Guardian only works on the following supported browsers: Internet Explorer 7.0, 8.0, and FireFox 3.6

There is a discount code that you can use to get the product. discount code "BZZ20". The website is http://reg.trendmicro.com/terra/osa



I am a BzzAgent and am participating in a Campaign where I get to use the product for free. I think this is a wonderful product. It allows me to see where my child has been and what they were doing.

Cars 2: The Video Game.

Are you ready to take a crash course in saving the world? In Cars 2: The Video Game, train to become an agent of C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations & Motorized Espionage) and take on dangerous missions, compete to become the fastest racecar in the world, or just use your spy skills in exciting, action-packed combat racing!

Over 20 characters to choose from including past favorites such as Lightening McQueen and Mater the tow truck, as well as new spy personalities like Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell
Action packed missions that unfold in 6 exotic locales across the world
Adrenaline filled combat racing that keeps you on the edge of your seat
A robust multi-player functionality - perfect for high velocity fun for the whole family
Available on Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS, PC/Mac
ESRB Rating - Everyone to Everyone 10+
In stores June 21, 2011. Pre-order here!





I am a BzzAgent and that is where I heard about this game. I think that it would be a good game for children of all ages to play.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton

This book was great. It held my attention and allowed me to be moved into the story. It also lead me to make my own conclusions to see if I was right. I ended up being wrong but that made it more interesting. Adding the final character in the final part was very good.
This book is a murder mystery. It goes through figuring out where all of the main characters knew each other or had worked together. It was well done and only came together at the very end of the book. The deaths and the way the killer put together the movie was very interesting. I enjoyed that the most.
I found the descriptions of the deaths to be very interesting and detailed when they were watching the killers movie. The shootings were the ones that got me the most. After my own shooting, these were very engaging.
I loved this book. It was well written and pulled me into the story quickly. It was also a quick read. I found all parts of this book to be very good.

Tales of a Baseball Dream by Jerry Pearlman

I enjoyed this book. It was very inspirational for me. I loved the way that baseball and baseball superstitions were used to make points in this book. I also found the death of the father to be a very important aspect of this book. I know that death of a close family member can cause a lot of pain and problems for teens and also younger children.

I will be keeping this book for my son. He is 5 years old now and I think this book may help him as he gets older. I know that there is a lot of stuff that he will need to work through as he gets older including adapting to his ADHD. Since this book was an inspiration to me, I think that it could also help him.

This was a very interesting and easy to read book.(

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo, Lynn Vincent (Contributor), Sonja Burpo, Colton Burpo

I found this book to very inspirational. It tells the story of a young boy who has a ruptured appendix and nearly dies. He later tells his family of his trip to heaven. He describes what Jesus looks like and what heaven looks like. He tells his parents about relatives that he had never met in life.

there were times when I cried while reading this book. I also found many parts funny. I think that this book would be good for anyone to read.

Trouble Down South and Other Stories by Katrina Parker Williams

This book was very easy to read. It was written very well and drew me in to the stories. I found it to be a kind of history of African Americans from slave days to current. It was kind of sad how much oppression there still is for the African American community in these stories.
There are 12 stories in this book. Some of them seem to follow off the others and others do not. I enjoyed all of the stories but Slave Auction, The House Down the Dirt Lane and Aunt Luella’s House had the most impact on me.
Slave auction is about a slave mother and her 4 year old son who are sold at auction. They are sold to different owners and separated. It was a well written story that was hard to read for me. When I was hurt, my son was two and while I was in the hospital for a month and a half he was only allowed to see me a few times. That was very hard.
The House Down the Dirt lane is about a soldier who had PTSD after coming back from war. The bosses at my work are still trying to say that I have PTSD after my accident. It is very frustrating.
Aunt Luella’s House was very interesting to me. I know about the violence African Americans face but the death in this story seemed to be for nothing. That bothered me.
I am not African American but I found this book to be very good and it helped me understand more how they might feel. A very good book.

Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng

This is a very interesting children’s book about a little girl and her grandmother. The grandmother has died and gone on. She comes and takes the girl to the moon on a ladder. There the girl is taught how to love other people so that the people can learn to love and help others. She is taught empathy for others.



It is a tale by President Obama’s sister. It has a lot of elements that probably come from African American traditions. I loved the book and so did my son. I usually put books on the bookswap but my son is not willing to part with it. This one we will have to keep.



It is a very good book and it can teach young children about empathy and caring for others. I would recommend this book to anyone with children. It is well written and teaches a lesson that all children need to learn.

An Unquenchable Thirst by Mary Johnson

This book was interesting because it gave me an idea what the life of a nun in the Missionaries of Charity was like. I had never thought about what it would be like to be a nun but to be a nun in the group started by Mother Teresa would be even more difficult because they are to have nothing. They are to live in poverty like the people that they are helping. I can understand why Mother Teresa would want this, but it would be very difficult to live it.



I do not know much about the Catholic religion so this book was a little harder to read because of all the things I didn’t know. I did not understand the Hail Mary and penances as well as I would have liked. I found it interesting that the nuns seemed to have problems with their vows often.



This book gave me a look at the life of a nun, but it also gave me a better perspective on Mother Teresa. She was a good woman and did a lot of good, but it is also good to know that she struggled with her relationship with God. She also had struggles in her life that without a book like this we might never know about.



Thank you for a wonderful book that made me think about my own walk with God, and what that means to me.

Hurricane by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I enjoyed this book. It drew me in and held my attention. It was very exciting with many twists and turns. I could see how some of the book would turn out since it had Hurricane Katrina as a storyline. There was a lot about the story that surprised me though.



It had a lot of the voodoo religion to it which I found interesting. I also found the idea of nature cleaning itself with the hurricane to be interesting. I felt that nature needed to clean itself after the pollution that was shown to exist in this book. Pollution does hurt people and the land that is polluted.



I found the mystery part of the book to be very interesting. How she finds out who is trying to kill her is interesting as well. I really enjoyed the book and felt that it was worth reading again.

TRESemme

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They are available at grocery and drug stores and big box retailers including Target and Walmart.
I have tried the product as a BzzAgent. I got free samples of it to try. I found that it did keep the color in longer and that it did help my hair feel better. It seemed to keep the moisture in my hair so that it did not dry out as it normally does. This shampoo and conditioner really helped my hair. These are my results of course, but it can work for you as well.

Cut Through the Bone by Ethel Rohan

This is a book of short stories. All of the stories were interesting. They could be true stories. They are well written and a quick read. Of the thirty stories in the book I found four to be very interesting. These stories touched me more than the others. All the stories were good but these four were my very favorites. My favorites are: Lifelike; Gone; Under the Scalpel; and Vitals.
Lifelike was just a very interesting story. Now that I have seen some of those dolls that really do look like babies, I can see how a person could do this. I just found it very interesting and sad.
Gone gave me a feeling that was similar to how I felt right after my accident. I didn’t lose my breasts but I feel that I lost a lot due to nerve damage in my face. I thought that this story had a real meaning for me and I really enjoyed it.
Under the Scalpel has a lot of the same feel as Gone for me. I wanted to hide right after my accident. I did not want anyone to see me. I was afraid of what others would think. Now that I am almost four years out from my accident, I don’t care but at that time I was scared and didn’t want anyone to see me.
Vitals is very interesting. I sometimes feel like the woman in the story. I love her words at the very end. “I’m here, though?” she whispered. “Tell me I’m here.” I loved this. I do have that feeling sometimes. I just want to know that I am still here.
This is a great book and I really enjoyed it.

Ears to Hear by Anne Correll

This story for children is very good. It brings God into the life of all children by showing how God helped the children in the story. I found this story to touch my own heart as I thought about the way that I think about God. God is important to me but I have never thought about how He speaks to His people today.
This story told of a family where the mother dies giving birth to the youngest. The father then moves around to find odd jobs to keep them together. They are living in the car. The father teaches the boys their schoolwork and he also reads to them from the Bible every day. He teaches the boys that they can turn to God whenever they need help.
They are traveling in the mountains when the car breaks down and the father goes for help. The rest of the story shows how God works with the family but it is something that must be read. This really touched me.

Death pact by William Manchee

This was an interesting story. I have never read anything like it before. It was hard for me to see where the story was going and what would happen next. The plot moved quickly and was interesting.
It started with the lawyer being asked to be the daughter’s fiduciary if anything happened to the father. The father then dies while skiing. The daughter then seduces the lawyer and once she becomes emancipated they are married.
The aunt is angry about this because she thinks that there is a large inheritance that she wants. The inheritance never happens, but the lawyer invests what they have left. The aunt is murdered and the niece is charged.
The death pact comes in if she loses the trial and has to go to jail. If she would lose and be going to jail she wants them to die together by taking cyanide. It is a very interesting story to say the least. I will not give away the ending but it is good.

The Regiftable Gift Book by Larry Zafran

This is a very cool concept. It is a book that has an explanation on the first page. The idea of the book is to give it to someone when you do not know what else to give them. Then they pass it on to the next person. This can be done 15 times before the book is over.
When the last person gets the book there is a page in the very back that should have been filled out by the first person who gifted the book. The last person should email the first person so that they know where the book ended up. I love this concept and think that it would be great for Secret Santas or other gag gifts.
I plan on giving it to my sister for her bridal shower or baby shower and see where it goes from there. This could be a very fun thing to do.

The Briton and the Dane:Birthright by Mary Ann Bernal

This book was very interesting. It took historical events and people and made a fiction story about them. This was about King Alfred and King Guthrum in the Ninth Century. It tells of how Christianity was becoming popular in Great Britain and how the other gods who were in the country were losing their power over the people.
King Guthrum has to fight his illegitimate child for his throne and the book is about the conspiracies that are going on in the illegitimate son’s camp before the ballets begin. There is a lot of intrigue to the story. There are kidnappings, murders of whole villages, and more in the book.
They use the monasteries that have been left by the Romans as places of refuge for the women and children who are losing their homes and lands or will be killed by the opposing army. Some women are taken there and help until the battles are over so that they will be protected and not do anything that could get their husbands and family killed.
The way this book was written made me want to read more. Even though it was written with words that would have been period I could understand it and the few words I did not know were in the glossary. I really enjoyed this book and will read any more that are written.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Lawful Orders by Jonathan P. Tomes

This is a military book. It starts with a soldier disobeying an order from a superior officer in Vietnam. He is injured the next day and nothing is done about the disobedience until both of the men are in the same class at Leavenworth. They are both Majors by this time but the one who was disobeyed wants the other to be charged.
Armstrong charges Thomas with mutiny since disobeying a lawful order was beyond the statute of limitations. The book then goes through the whole trial. Thomas is charged with mutiny but the charge is unable to be upheld since all aspects of the charge are not there. The judge states that Thomas is not guilty of the mutiny charge but can still be tried on the disobeying a lawful order charge. Thomas wants to continue the trial on the lawful order charge even though he could get out of it by invoking the statute of limitations.
I found the way the book ended to be very good. It drew me in because I just had to know what happened to Major Thomas. I was relieved when I saw how the book ended. It was an emotional ride while the trial was going on and then with the way the book ended it was very fitting.
This was a wonderful book that everyone could benefit from reading. It shows the way that the military deals with its own people and what happens when they disobey an order.

Heaven's Shadow by David Goyer

This book is a great science fiction piece. It left me wanting more and wondering what would happen next. I loved the way the story pulled me in and made me want to read more. I found the plot to be interesting.
The story starts with a near earth object being found and shuttles launched to see what it was and where it was from. The near space object is really a space ship of some sort itself. NASA sets off a nuclear bomb on the near space object.
While this is happening the near space object is launching small orbs at earth that hit both NASA and the Indian space command centers. After the attacks the orbs grow and start to leave taking people from earth with it.
The space ship is also able to regenerate dead loved ones from the astronauts lives and they are told that they are to help the aliens in the future.
I found the book to be very interesting and can’t wait for the next one in the series. I love books like these and can’t wait to find out what happens to the main characters.