Showing posts with label Epinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epinions. Show all posts
Saturday, September 28, 2013
How to write a love letter...
...
" OK, OK. I confess. This book is not really about 'how to write a love letter'. I am just shamelessly throwing myself at the web search engine spiders.
Perhaps my sticky net caught you also my dear reader. If it did perhaps you are searching for the perfect words to reveal your heart's anguished desire to claim that of another. If you are on such a mission ...I envy you.
I envy you that feeling of your bursting heart that has so muddled your thoughts that you are having trouble embellishing 'I love you..!!' When perhaps that is all your desired one really needs to read ...and to hear. "
The above is the intro to a review of Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See I wrote more than five years ago and then published at Epinions dot com.
With some eight hundred-plus reviews and essays published at the site . . .it is perhaps not unthinkable I would have forgotten I had already reviewed this book.
Interestingly ...I found my reaction to the book as I reread it recently almost exactly as I described it way back when. It is reassuring, I suppose, to find my gut reaction essentially unchanged.
Check the review, and the book, out. You may find a few tips and phrases that might serve you well today. He/she need never know you stole them from another's heart..!!
...tom...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Founding Myths...
...
Ray Raphael is an unabashed, and unrepentant, child of the Sixties. Describing his college years, he acknowledges his official major was philosophy ...but notes "my real focus was on being an activist."
His activist spirit was fueled by two summers of civil rights work in the American South of the early ‘60s. After completing his undergraduate degree he "became a full-time activist working with 'the Movement' on civil rights and protesting the war in Viet Nam." His 'activist ways' continued as he earned a graduate degree in philosophy at UC Berkeley under the tutelage of "a guy in the department who was an expert in Karl Marx." He later returned to college "...long enough to get a teaching credential" so he could " ...teach high school and resume his work as a radical."
Not exactly the resumé of a writer you might expect to share the "stories that hide our patriotic past" ...as the book Founding Myths is subtitled.
Amazingly . . .he does the Founding Fathers proud ...even as he slices and dices the shiny basket of apples that are 'the stories' we all 'know' about the early days of our nation.
...
Read the rest of my review of Founding Myths at my Epinions.com review page.
Founding Myths || Stories that hide our patriotic past
...tom...
.
Ray Raphael is an unabashed, and unrepentant, child of the Sixties. Describing his college years, he acknowledges his official major was philosophy ...but notes "my real focus was on being an activist."
His activist spirit was fueled by two summers of civil rights work in the American South of the early ‘60s. After completing his undergraduate degree he "became a full-time activist working with 'the Movement' on civil rights and protesting the war in Viet Nam." His 'activist ways' continued as he earned a graduate degree in philosophy at UC Berkeley under the tutelage of "a guy in the department who was an expert in Karl Marx." He later returned to college "...long enough to get a teaching credential" so he could " ...teach high school and resume his work as a radical."
Not exactly the resumé of a writer you might expect to share the "stories that hide our patriotic past" ...as the book Founding Myths is subtitled.
Amazingly . . .he does the Founding Fathers proud ...even as he slices and dices the shiny basket of apples that are 'the stories' we all 'know' about the early days of our nation.
...
Read the rest of my review of Founding Myths at my Epinions.com review page.
Founding Myths || Stories that hide our patriotic past
...tom...
.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Portraits ... by Steve McCurry
...
We have all probably seen her picture. First published in June 1985 as the cover photograph for National Geographic magazine, her beautiful—yet haunting—eyes fix on us. Disheveled hair frames her life-weary face. Cloth wraps round her, covering her head and upper body, ragged holes worn through, telling us these eyes have seen too much. No smile, no frown, no emotion visible. Just ...those ...eyes.
--snip--
In the 200-plus photographs that fill this book, it is the portraits of the children that catch my eye, my emotions. Many of the photos of the adults are richly ornate, decorated for some purpose in their life, either by garb, by possessions, by tattoos, or by the way they have learned to pose their body.
But the children are, for the most part, pure and unadorned. Some are obviously loved and protected. Others appear to be more vulnerable. But all share the exuberance of youth, the joy of the moment, the anticipation of the future that youth brings to the soul.
This is not a book of glamour, though some pictures are of costumed and bejeweled individuals. This is not a book of portraits of rich and famous white people. (Although there is one famous, elegant white guy.) This is a book of portraits of 'people of color', the citizens of the Third World. People surviving. The few pictures of young white people here in the US are almost all portraits of individuals screaming for attention with their tattoos, animals, and hair styles. It is almost embarrassing.
--snip--
See my Epinions.com post here, Portraits / A journey into the soul, to read my complete review of this wonderful book of Steve McCurry's photographs.
...tom...
We have all probably seen her picture. First published in June 1985 as the cover photograph for National Geographic magazine, her beautiful—yet haunting—eyes fix on us. Disheveled hair frames her life-weary face. Cloth wraps round her, covering her head and upper body, ragged holes worn through, telling us these eyes have seen too much. No smile, no frown, no emotion visible. Just ...those ...eyes.
--snip--
In the 200-plus photographs that fill this book, it is the portraits of the children that catch my eye, my emotions. Many of the photos of the adults are richly ornate, decorated for some purpose in their life, either by garb, by possessions, by tattoos, or by the way they have learned to pose their body.
But the children are, for the most part, pure and unadorned. Some are obviously loved and protected. Others appear to be more vulnerable. But all share the exuberance of youth, the joy of the moment, the anticipation of the future that youth brings to the soul.
This is not a book of glamour, though some pictures are of costumed and bejeweled individuals. This is not a book of portraits of rich and famous white people. (Although there is one famous, elegant white guy.) This is a book of portraits of 'people of color', the citizens of the Third World. People surviving. The few pictures of young white people here in the US are almost all portraits of individuals screaming for attention with their tattoos, animals, and hair styles. It is almost embarrassing.
--snip--
See my Epinions.com post here, Portraits / A journey into the soul, to read my complete review of this wonderful book of Steve McCurry's photographs.
...tom...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
...to Be a Cub
... Waveland Avenue. 'the Friendly Confines', ivy on outfield walls, 'Hey, hey..!! ', 'It might be, it could be...', 1969, 1984... Many words, phrases, and years evoke only one place and one team for a baseball fan ...Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs.
When you add the names ...Brickhouse, Williams, Santo, Sandberg, Caray, Smith, Durham, Sutcliffe, Dawson, Maddux, Wood, Zambrano ...when you add the remembrances of these individuals, and many more, sharing their experiences as a Chicago Cub ...there is no doubt What It Means to Be a Cub will be a paean to the life of a Cubs player and others closely associated with the team.
Read more about What It Means to Be a Cub on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
When you add the names ...Brickhouse, Williams, Santo, Sandberg, Caray, Smith, Durham, Sutcliffe, Dawson, Maddux, Wood, Zambrano ...when you add the remembrances of these individuals, and many more, sharing their experiences as a Chicago Cub ...there is no doubt What It Means to Be a Cub will be a paean to the life of a Cubs player and others closely associated with the team.
Photo credit: flickr user wfbakker2 via Wikimedia Commons
Read more about What It Means to Be a Cub on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Gentle Willow...
...
"Gentle Willow is a book for children who may not survive their illness. This comforting story ... will also help all children with the death of friends, family members, or even pets."
Pretty heavy task for a kid's book. But too often the specter of death intrudes into a family and into a child's life.
Gentle Willow is a thin, full-size children's storybook written by Joyce C. Mills, a marriage and family therapist. We meet Gentle Willow, a beautiful tree as sweet and friendly as her name suggests. Across the pond lives her friend Little Tree. Cavorting through the branches of Gentle Willow is her friend Amanda, the happiest, care-free squirrel you could ever imagine.
Life is good. Amanda likes to "chase the big yellow butterflies who (dance) within Gentle Willow's long and graceful branches."
One day Amanda noticed her friend "looked different. Her bark was lumpy and bumpy. Her leaves were turning brown, and her branches were turning droopy."
Read the rest of the review at my review page at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
"Gentle Willow is a book for children who may not survive their illness. This comforting story ... will also help all children with the death of friends, family members, or even pets."
Pretty heavy task for a kid's book. But too often the specter of death intrudes into a family and into a child's life.
Gentle Willow is a thin, full-size children's storybook written by Joyce C. Mills, a marriage and family therapist. We meet Gentle Willow, a beautiful tree as sweet and friendly as her name suggests. Across the pond lives her friend Little Tree. Cavorting through the branches of Gentle Willow is her friend Amanda, the happiest, care-free squirrel you could ever imagine.
Photo credit: Amazon dot com product page
Life is good. Amanda likes to "chase the big yellow butterflies who (dance) within Gentle Willow's long and graceful branches."
One day Amanda noticed her friend "looked different. Her bark was lumpy and bumpy. Her leaves were turning brown, and her branches were turning droopy."
Read the rest of the review at my review page at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Bird ... Power, grace, beauty...
...
It is said that if birds knew what they were doing ...they would fall from the sky like rocks. That they do not is a tribute to the efficiency of intelligent design or evolution ...take your pick.
...
Continuing in the vein of 'capturing nature' comes Andrew Zuckerman with his signature white backgrounds, and his skill in capturing the beauty and essence of his subjects. While Audubon seemed to want to educate his viewers about lands and animals previously unseen, Zuckerman seems to want to wow today's jaded viewer with the power and beauty of the animals alone.
Bird is a coffee-table book featuring his artistic photographs of dozens of bird species. While Zuckerman has tackled other subjects in other books, his topic here is the beauty and diversity of birds.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com. (...and trust me, you will find no 'rubber duckies' in this excellent coffee-table book..!!)
...tom...
It is said that if birds knew what they were doing ...they would fall from the sky like rocks. That they do not is a tribute to the efficiency of intelligent design or evolution ...take your pick.
Photo credit: gaetanlee via Wikimedia Commons
...
Continuing in the vein of 'capturing nature' comes Andrew Zuckerman with his signature white backgrounds, and his skill in capturing the beauty and essence of his subjects. While Audubon seemed to want to educate his viewers about lands and animals previously unseen, Zuckerman seems to want to wow today's jaded viewer with the power and beauty of the animals alone.
Bird is a coffee-table book featuring his artistic photographs of dozens of bird species. While Zuckerman has tackled other subjects in other books, his topic here is the beauty and diversity of birds.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com. (...and trust me, you will find no 'rubber duckies' in this excellent coffee-table book..!!)
...tom...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Earth Abides
...
A recent post by a blogger I consider an online-friend made me think to share my thoughts about the novel Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.
Earth Abides is an old novel. Written in 1949 it is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. Fresh on the heels of WW II and at the beginning of the Cold War, Earth Abides addresses the idea of a pandemic wiping mankind from the earth as easily as sweeping ants off a picnic table.
The copy of Earth Abides (penned in 1949 by George R. Stewart) that I am reading must be thirty years old, if a day. The pages are definitely not acid-free. Yellowing, browning at the edges, corners flaking, many are loosely held in the book. Large sections are broken away from the spine. Great care must be taken to keep it all together, all in order. To maintain it as a 'readable' book.
A quick estimate suggests a total word count of perhaps a hundred thousand words for Earth Abides. Losing one page from my worn copy would make it worthless for resell. Losing ten pages would make it useless even for someone very familiar with the story.
Now imagine every word gone, but one. What value would this book have now? Imagine the book on your nightstand. Every word gone. Save one. What value would that lone word still retain?
...
Earth Abides is a story that rings very plausible. It is the story of a small group of survivors pushing back the darkness that threatens their small community. It teases us with the hope for a rebirth of 'civilization' and all the monumental achievements of man that represent that civilization. But it leaves us with the thought that civilization might simply be the caring and bonding of individuals together in common effort to preserve the human family.
.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
A recent post by a blogger I consider an online-friend made me think to share my thoughts about the novel Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.
Earth Abides is an old novel. Written in 1949 it is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. Fresh on the heels of WW II and at the beginning of the Cold War, Earth Abides addresses the idea of a pandemic wiping mankind from the earth as easily as sweeping ants off a picnic table.
The copy of Earth Abides (penned in 1949 by George R. Stewart) that I am reading must be thirty years old, if a day. The pages are definitely not acid-free. Yellowing, browning at the edges, corners flaking, many are loosely held in the book. Large sections are broken away from the spine. Great care must be taken to keep it all together, all in order. To maintain it as a 'readable' book.
A quick estimate suggests a total word count of perhaps a hundred thousand words for Earth Abides. Losing one page from my worn copy would make it worthless for resell. Losing ten pages would make it useless even for someone very familiar with the story.
Now imagine every word gone, but one. What value would this book have now? Imagine the book on your nightstand. Every word gone. Save one. What value would that lone word still retain?
...
Earth Abides is a story that rings very plausible. It is the story of a small group of survivors pushing back the darkness that threatens their small community. It teases us with the hope for a rebirth of 'civilization' and all the monumental achievements of man that represent that civilization. But it leaves us with the thought that civilization might simply be the caring and bonding of individuals together in common effort to preserve the human family.
.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Monday, May 17, 2010
BFFs before BFF was cool...
...
Do you remember your best friends from elementary school ...middle school ...high school..?? Have you kept in touch with them..?? Or have you drifted apart over the years, finding your own way in the wide, wide world..??
As a 'features' writer for The Wall Street Journal (given the "freedom (to) tend to the hearts of our readers" ...yes, even despicable robber-baron-zombie readers of The WSJ have 'hearts') Jeffrey Zaslow first learned of 'the girls from Ames' in an email response to a column about women's friendships.
Several years later Zaslow began to consider writing "a non-fiction narrative—the biography of a friendship meticulously reported—(that) could be a meaningful document for female readers." Apart from that altruistic motive, he hoped working on the project "would help me understand my daughters, my wife and the other women in my life."
To be honest, I was reluctant to start reading The Girls from Ames. Despite it being a local story I was not sure I would find it interesting. I only began reading when I realized the book was due back to the library. By the time I had read a few pages of the Introduction I was hooked. When I tried to renew it ...its waiting list had grown to seventeen patrons..!!
Weeks later (after I had finally checked it out again) I began to read and appreciate the depth of the story he tells. I had no doubt Zaslow would expertly tell the story of eleven girls/women and their sustained, shared relationships over several decades. I had previously read a similar 'life story' written by him (The Last Lecture, coauthored with Randy Pausch, link below) and had been impressed with his ability to weave an entertaining, emotional, and definitely worth reading story.
The Girls from Ames shares the interconnected stories of eleven childhood friends who blended stronger and weaker friendships between individual girls into a 'circle of friends' and a collective friendship that has endured for decades.
...
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Do you remember your best friends from elementary school ...middle school ...high school..?? Have you kept in touch with them..?? Or have you drifted apart over the years, finding your own way in the wide, wide world..??
As a 'features' writer for The Wall Street Journal (given the "freedom (to) tend to the hearts of our readers" ...yes, even despicable robber-baron-zombie readers of The WSJ have 'hearts') Jeffrey Zaslow first learned of 'the girls from Ames' in an email response to a column about women's friendships.
Several years later Zaslow began to consider writing "a non-fiction narrative—the biography of a friendship meticulously reported—(that) could be a meaningful document for female readers." Apart from that altruistic motive, he hoped working on the project "would help me understand my daughters, my wife and the other women in my life."
Image source: photoxpress dot com
To be honest, I was reluctant to start reading The Girls from Ames. Despite it being a local story I was not sure I would find it interesting. I only began reading when I realized the book was due back to the library. By the time I had read a few pages of the Introduction I was hooked. When I tried to renew it ...its waiting list had grown to seventeen patrons..!!
Weeks later (after I had finally checked it out again) I began to read and appreciate the depth of the story he tells. I had no doubt Zaslow would expertly tell the story of eleven girls/women and their sustained, shared relationships over several decades. I had previously read a similar 'life story' written by him (The Last Lecture, coauthored with Randy Pausch, link below) and had been impressed with his ability to weave an entertaining, emotional, and definitely worth reading story.
The Girls from Ames shares the interconnected stories of eleven childhood friends who blended stronger and weaker friendships between individual girls into a 'circle of friends' and a collective friendship that has endured for decades.
...
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
How to write a love letter...
...
A review I wrote a couple of years ago on Epinions.
Somehow, it seems appropriate right now, given the season...
Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See
OK, OK. I confess. This book is not really about 'how to write a love letter'. I am just shamelessly throwing myself at the web search engine spiders.
Perhaps my sticky net caught you also my dear reader. If it did perhaps you are searching for the perfect words to reveal your heart's anguished desire to claim that of another. If you are on such a mission ...I envy you.
I envy you that feeling of your bursting heart that has so muddled your thoughts that you are having trouble embellishing 'I love you..!!' When perhaps that is all your desired one really needs to read ...and to hear.
Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See are the random samplings of love letters collected from ordinary people with ordinary lives yet extraordinary loves. We all know that no flame burns as hot as the one in our own heart. We all know that no pain stabs as cruelly as that felt in our own broken heart. Luckily many of us are driven to tell each other just that. Just as luckily, we often find the written word an empowering way to 'speak our heart'.
Those extremes, and every feeling in between, are captured between the covers of this book. Editor Bill Shapiro first read a love letter not meant for his eyes when ...
.
.
Read the rest at the review page on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
A review I wrote a couple of years ago on Epinions.
Somehow, it seems appropriate right now, given the season...
Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See
OK, OK. I confess. This book is not really about 'how to write a love letter'. I am just shamelessly throwing myself at the web search engine spiders.
Perhaps my sticky net caught you also my dear reader. If it did perhaps you are searching for the perfect words to reveal your heart's anguished desire to claim that of another. If you are on such a mission ...I envy you.
I envy you that feeling of your bursting heart that has so muddled your thoughts that you are having trouble embellishing 'I love you..!!' When perhaps that is all your desired one really needs to read ...and to hear.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See are the random samplings of love letters collected from ordinary people with ordinary lives yet extraordinary loves. We all know that no flame burns as hot as the one in our own heart. We all know that no pain stabs as cruelly as that felt in our own broken heart. Luckily many of us are driven to tell each other just that. Just as luckily, we often find the written word an empowering way to 'speak our heart'.
Those extremes, and every feeling in between, are captured between the covers of this book. Editor Bill Shapiro first read a love letter not meant for his eyes when ...
.
.
Read the rest at the review page on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Snowman
...
Like a carefully arranged photo album, the pictures of The Snowman share one special day, and night, of one little boy. We know nothing about him, neither his name nor where he lives. We only know this special day is cold and snowy.
Told without words, dozens of smaller and larger pictures tell the story of the creation of 'the snowman' and his interactions with the young boy as he comes to life. The previous reviewer described the artwork as "crayon-brushed" while I might describe them as chalk-drawn. Regardless, they are soft, warm, and inviting and easily flow together to tell the story.
Our young man wakens to a fresh and still falling snowstorm and hurries outside to build a snowman. Rather than a typical '3-ball' snowman, this snowman is piled high with arms carved into his sides. The obligatory pieces of coal, scarf and hat, and other household items complete his form.
That evening the young boy awakens from his sleep (or is he dreaming..??) and goes outside to find his snowman doffing his cap and shaking the boy's hand. His arms work..!! He has legs..!!
Our new friends proceed to explore the house, the world, of the little boy. A pet cat, TV, lights, stairs, clothes, hot water, the flames of a stove, a skateboard and many more household items are all shared with the snowman. The joy of the snowman climbing into a deep chest freezer in the garage is a favorite pic of mine. What could be more natural for a snowman..?!?
As if to repay the boy for sharing the delights of his human world, the snowman takes the boy flying into the winter sky. Yes, a snowman can fly ...you did not know this..??
Read the rest of my review of The Snowman at the review page at Epinions.com.
.
Like a carefully arranged photo album, the pictures of The Snowman share one special day, and night, of one little boy. We know nothing about him, neither his name nor where he lives. We only know this special day is cold and snowy.
Told without words, dozens of smaller and larger pictures tell the story of the creation of 'the snowman' and his interactions with the young boy as he comes to life. The previous reviewer described the artwork as "crayon-brushed" while I might describe them as chalk-drawn. Regardless, they are soft, warm, and inviting and easily flow together to tell the story.
Our young man wakens to a fresh and still falling snowstorm and hurries outside to build a snowman. Rather than a typical '3-ball' snowman, this snowman is piled high with arms carved into his sides. The obligatory pieces of coal, scarf and hat, and other household items complete his form.
That evening the young boy awakens from his sleep (or is he dreaming..??) and goes outside to find his snowman doffing his cap and shaking the boy's hand. His arms work..!! He has legs..!!
Our new friends proceed to explore the house, the world, of the little boy. A pet cat, TV, lights, stairs, clothes, hot water, the flames of a stove, a skateboard and many more household items are all shared with the snowman. The joy of the snowman climbing into a deep chest freezer in the garage is a favorite pic of mine. What could be more natural for a snowman..?!?
As if to repay the boy for sharing the delights of his human world, the snowman takes the boy flying into the winter sky. Yes, a snowman can fly ...you did not know this..??
Read the rest of my review of The Snowman at the review page at Epinions.com.
.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Lovely Bones
...
No. Not a review of the recently released film. But my thoughts about the novel on which the film is based.
The Lovely Bones does not waste your time. Seventeen words into the story you learn of the ultimate horror:
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie.
I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
By the end of this first chapter Susie Salmon is dead and you know the murderer.
I can tell you this 'spoiler', author Alice Sebold can write this 'spoiler', because The Lovely Bones is so much more about the loss of a loved daughter, sister, friend than it is about 'who-done-it'. So much more about everyday moments of grief that erode the strong foundations of a family, moments of grief that break the strong bond between husband and wife, moments of grief that fracture the the strong love of a mother for her children. The Lovely Bones is so much more about budding youth and innocence lost than it is about police, chase, clues, law-and-order.
Lured, raped, murdered, dismembered, hidden . . .perhaps never to be found, Susie narrates this tale from the safe, comforting confines of her heaven. Did you know everyone has their own 'personal' heaven? Susie's heaven is the imagined environs of a High School campus that the earth-bound—the murdered—Susie will never know. She shares her heaven with others, their heavenly desires intersecting with hers. Music, playful dogs, peppermint ice cream, glorious sunsets fill her heaven. From the gazebo of her heaven ("our neighbors, the O'Dwyers, had had a gazebo. I had grown up jealous for one") she watches the earthly world she will never walk again.
Read the rest of my review of The Lovely Bones at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
No. Not a review of the recently released film. But my thoughts about the novel on which the film is based.
The Lovely Bones does not waste your time. Seventeen words into the story you learn of the ultimate horror:
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie.
I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
By the end of this first chapter Susie Salmon is dead and you know the murderer.
I can tell you this 'spoiler', author Alice Sebold can write this 'spoiler', because The Lovely Bones is so much more about the loss of a loved daughter, sister, friend than it is about 'who-done-it'. So much more about everyday moments of grief that erode the strong foundations of a family, moments of grief that break the strong bond between husband and wife, moments of grief that fracture the the strong love of a mother for her children. The Lovely Bones is so much more about budding youth and innocence lost than it is about police, chase, clues, law-and-order.
Lured, raped, murdered, dismembered, hidden . . .perhaps never to be found, Susie narrates this tale from the safe, comforting confines of her heaven. Did you know everyone has their own 'personal' heaven? Susie's heaven is the imagined environs of a High School campus that the earth-bound—the murdered—Susie will never know. She shares her heaven with others, their heavenly desires intersecting with hers. Music, playful dogs, peppermint ice cream, glorious sunsets fill her heaven. From the gazebo of her heaven ("our neighbors, the O'Dwyers, had had a gazebo. I had grown up jealous for one") she watches the earthly world she will never walk again.
Read the rest of my review of The Lovely Bones at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Do the Right Thing...
...
They are the hot topics of today: the economy, health care, the war on terror, energy, taxes. They were hot topics in the last presidential election cycle; Nostradamus is not needed to predict they will remain hot topics for many years, and many elections, to come.
Mike Huckabee, former Baptist pastor and Republican Governor of the Democrat-controlled state of Arkansas, shares his thoughts on these topics and more in Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. As the book is subtitled, he shares his view from inside the movement and from his perspective as a past candidate for the highest office in the land.
There have been other calls for 'common sense' in government: the seminal call of Thomas Paine in 1776 in his pamphlet Common Sense,
... the liberal views of Dr. John Ekerd found in A Return to Common Sense, and the conservative rantings of Glenn Beck in his Common Sense: ... book.
The thing about common sense is ...it is not so common, a thought attributed to many over the years, Sun Tzu, Euripedes, and Voltaire among them. This tasks the reader of any tome calling for 'common sense' to measure the validity of the author's plea and motivation.
Mike Huckabee roots his call to "do the right thing" in his experiences during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign. In a long and winding tale that is at times biographical, at times a travelogue, at times a 'psychology 101' tome, and at times history lesson he never leaves his reader lost or bored.
...
Read the rest of my review of Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
They are the hot topics of today: the economy, health care, the war on terror, energy, taxes. They were hot topics in the last presidential election cycle; Nostradamus is not needed to predict they will remain hot topics for many years, and many elections, to come.
Mike Huckabee, former Baptist pastor and Republican Governor of the Democrat-controlled state of Arkansas, shares his thoughts on these topics and more in Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. As the book is subtitled, he shares his view from inside the movement and from his perspective as a past candidate for the highest office in the land.
There have been other calls for 'common sense' in government: the seminal call of Thomas Paine in 1776 in his pamphlet Common Sense,
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
... the liberal views of Dr. John Ekerd found in A Return to Common Sense, and the conservative rantings of Glenn Beck in his Common Sense: ... book.
The thing about common sense is ...it is not so common, a thought attributed to many over the years, Sun Tzu, Euripedes, and Voltaire among them. This tasks the reader of any tome calling for 'common sense' to measure the validity of the author's plea and motivation.
Mike Huckabee roots his call to "do the right thing" in his experiences during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign. In a long and winding tale that is at times biographical, at times a travelogue, at times a 'psychology 101' tome, and at times history lesson he never leaves his reader lost or bored.
...
Read the rest of my review of Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Ink, Paper, Holiday gift ideas...
...
One of the earliest Christmas presents I remember receiving as a child was a set of Hardy Boys mystery books. One in particular, about a lost gold mine, really caught my imagination. I have never been able to pin that early memory down to one specific book but the imagined world of the Hardy boys swallowed me up. Frank and Joe were my BFF.
From that gift, and probably others before it and many since, has grown a love of books, their words, and their images, both on the page and in the mind. That so many writers are able to create and 'bring alive' both fiction and reality is a wonder to me.
It is no coincidence that decades later I found myself writing a silly review of another book--a tale I had loved forever--and posting it as my first review ... on Epinions.
Since that pitiful start years ago I have kept the focus of my 'Epinions time' on writing book reviews and reading the reviews of others.
In that time I have found myself reading so many wonderful reviews of books that I just knew I had to read . . .but sadly, most remain unread.
Regardless, these reviews were gifts to me. As a pointer to this book or that one, as a brief moment enjoying the thoughts of another Epinions member about a favorite or not-so-favorite book. Any 'book lover' loves to hear the thoughts of others about their favorite books ...and books they have never heard of before. Those shared thoughts are true gifts any day of the year. Those are gifts I find every day here on Epinions for all to enjoy.
In that spirit I will share some links to reviews of books that I have loved discovering and reading here. These are links to reviews and 'bottom lines' from some of the most helpful book reviews I have found on this site. I guarantee that if you click on one or ten you will find a gift suitable for some member of your extended 'gift-giving tree'.
Who would not love a charming book for Christmas..??
Always a mix of sweetness and sorrow
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
review by befus
The Bottom Line: A wonderful book to read and to savor, and to enjoy with a young person you love.
Tori Amos Inspired This Female Empowerment Poetry...Written by a Man
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
review by smiles33
The Bottom Line: Beautifully illustrated, this poem celebrates young girls becoming strong and independent women. It would be a unique gift for pregnant moms and likely to captivate older girls.
Letters of Love to Christopher Reeve ~ Care Packages
... by Dana Reeve
review by Jev04again
The Bottom Line: This book has it all – touching moments, humor, surprise, spirit, and above all else – abiding love.
--snip--
Make sure to read the rest of my book gift idea essay:
Paper, ink . . .and the journey of a lifetime..!!
. . .at Epinions dot com
--snip--
The Bottom Line
So there ya go. A 'baker's dozen' of the fifty-some book reviews that I have rated 'Most Helpful' here on Epinions.
Click one, click 'em all ...and read. If none of them inspires you to click a shopping link to consider the possibility of gifting one of your loved ones . . .then I have failed my task here miserably. My task in this essay and my task on Epinions for the last 9-plus years.
But not to worry ...I guarantee you will find at least one to be just the right book for someone on your gift list . . .or even for yourself.
Enjoy.
One of the earliest Christmas presents I remember receiving as a child was a set of Hardy Boys mystery books. One in particular, about a lost gold mine, really caught my imagination. I have never been able to pin that early memory down to one specific book but the imagined world of the Hardy boys swallowed me up. Frank and Joe were my BFF.
From that gift, and probably others before it and many since, has grown a love of books, their words, and their images, both on the page and in the mind. That so many writers are able to create and 'bring alive' both fiction and reality is a wonder to me.
It is no coincidence that decades later I found myself writing a silly review of another book--a tale I had loved forever--and posting it as my first review ... on Epinions.
Since that pitiful start years ago I have kept the focus of my 'Epinions time' on writing book reviews and reading the reviews of others.
In that time I have found myself reading so many wonderful reviews of books that I just knew I had to read . . .but sadly, most remain unread.
Regardless, these reviews were gifts to me. As a pointer to this book or that one, as a brief moment enjoying the thoughts of another Epinions member about a favorite or not-so-favorite book. Any 'book lover' loves to hear the thoughts of others about their favorite books ...and books they have never heard of before. Those shared thoughts are true gifts any day of the year. Those are gifts I find every day here on Epinions for all to enjoy.
Image courtesy of jurvetson at flickr.com
In that spirit I will share some links to reviews of books that I have loved discovering and reading here. These are links to reviews and 'bottom lines' from some of the most helpful book reviews I have found on this site. I guarantee that if you click on one or ten you will find a gift suitable for some member of your extended 'gift-giving tree'.
Who would not love a charming book for Christmas..??
Always a mix of sweetness and sorrow
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
review by befus
The Bottom Line: A wonderful book to read and to savor, and to enjoy with a young person you love.
Tori Amos Inspired This Female Empowerment Poetry...Written by a Man
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
review by smiles33
The Bottom Line: Beautifully illustrated, this poem celebrates young girls becoming strong and independent women. It would be a unique gift for pregnant moms and likely to captivate older girls.
Letters of Love to Christopher Reeve ~ Care Packages
... by Dana Reeve
review by Jev04again
The Bottom Line: This book has it all – touching moments, humor, surprise, spirit, and above all else – abiding love.
--snip--
Make sure to read the rest of my book gift idea essay:
Paper, ink . . .and the journey of a lifetime..!!
. . .at Epinions dot com
--snip--
The Bottom Line
So there ya go. A 'baker's dozen' of the fifty-some book reviews that I have rated 'Most Helpful' here on Epinions.
Click one, click 'em all ...and read. If none of them inspires you to click a shopping link to consider the possibility of gifting one of your loved ones . . .then I have failed my task here miserably. My task in this essay and my task on Epinions for the last 9-plus years.
But not to worry ...I guarantee you will find at least one to be just the right book for someone on your gift list . . .or even for yourself.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Comfort and Joy
...
Lifetime cable network is currently in the midst of their 'Falalala Lifetime movie marathon' for the holiday season. If you need your first light dose(s) of holiday schmaltz/cheer ...flip the channel over to Lifetime. (Can I use 'schmaltz' to describe a Christmas-time movie..?? Is that kosher..??)
Jane (Nancy McKeon) is a yuppie career businesswoman, too busy enjoying the perks of her VP position for a family life. And her boyfriend ...what a jerk. Flirting with other women right in front of her, taking business calls on his Bluetooth, refusing to turn it off for her while they dine out. I know he is screwing around behind her back. Scumbucket.
On Christmas Eve she slides her car on a snowy street and crashes. Coming to, she finds her husband(!!) opening the door and helping her out of the car. She has crashed right in front of their house. Well, his house. No ...their house.
Husband, house, two kids . . .everything but a dog..!! What is this strange world she now lives in..??
It is movie time with sleeper..!!
Of course, she immediately tries to touch bases with the people in her 'old' life. Her secretary at work knows her ...but not in the same situation she remembers. Her boss at work has no idea who she is, certainly not as one of his VPs. Someone else is living in her apartment.
Luckily her parents still remember her. Veteran character actor Paul Dooley and TV-veteran Dixie Carter (best remembered as Julia Sugarbaker / Designing Women) are delightful in limited roles. Though they do little to help Jane adjust to her new life.
Will Jane ever accept what has somehow happened..?? Will she ever recapture the ten years she has apparently lost..?? Will her husband Sam (Steven Eckholdt) worm his way back into her heart..?? Will her kids find the Mom they know and love inside this now-amnesiac mom..??
.
.
.
Read the rest of my review of Comfort and Joy at my review page on Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Lifetime cable network is currently in the midst of their 'Falalala Lifetime movie marathon' for the holiday season. If you need your first light dose(s) of holiday schmaltz/cheer ...flip the channel over to Lifetime. (Can I use 'schmaltz' to describe a Christmas-time movie..?? Is that kosher..??)
Jane (Nancy McKeon) is a yuppie career businesswoman, too busy enjoying the perks of her VP position for a family life. And her boyfriend ...what a jerk. Flirting with other women right in front of her, taking business calls on his Bluetooth, refusing to turn it off for her while they dine out. I know he is screwing around behind her back. Scumbucket.
On Christmas Eve she slides her car on a snowy street and crashes. Coming to, she finds her husband(!!) opening the door and helping her out of the car. She has crashed right in front of their house. Well, his house. No ...their house.
Husband, house, two kids . . .everything but a dog..!! What is this strange world she now lives in..??
It is movie time with sleeper..!!
Image courtesy of eye of einstein at flickr.com.net
Of course, she immediately tries to touch bases with the people in her 'old' life. Her secretary at work knows her ...but not in the same situation she remembers. Her boss at work has no idea who she is, certainly not as one of his VPs. Someone else is living in her apartment.
Luckily her parents still remember her. Veteran character actor Paul Dooley and TV-veteran Dixie Carter (best remembered as Julia Sugarbaker / Designing Women) are delightful in limited roles. Though they do little to help Jane adjust to her new life.
Will Jane ever accept what has somehow happened..?? Will she ever recapture the ten years she has apparently lost..?? Will her husband Sam (Steven Eckholdt) worm his way back into her heart..?? Will her kids find the Mom they know and love inside this now-amnesiac mom..??
.
.
.
Read the rest of my review of Comfort and Joy at my review page on Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses
...
The large precinct room was open and claustrophobic at the same time. Large, solid columns spaced too close together told you immediately this was not modern construction. Old worn chairs butted up against too-small desks piled too high with papers, folders, and open, crumb-filled donut boxes. From the overflowing trashcans it was hard to tell when the cleaning crew had last been through.
From a desk near the back the tired (even at this early hour) police captain pointed a bony finger at a sergeant and beckoned him over.
Murphy, get over here..!!
Yes cap'n..??
Whadda ya mean 'yes cap'n'..?! Give me your report, damn it..!!
Sorry captain.
He quickly jabbed both hands into his pockets. One eventually found and drew out a wrinkled sheet of paper; the other came out empty, going to his forehead to wipe a thin film of sweat from his furrowed brow.
We done what you ordered, captain. Me and Lebowski rounded up all the (his eyes dropped to the crumpled paper and he slowly, almost moving his lips, read the words...) we rounded up the '100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses'. I got the list of 'em right here.
A wordle of the words used in: 100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses
Image courtesy of wordle.net
He stuck the sheet out toward his captain, but when he showed no interest Murphy pulled his hand back. He waited impatiently, his eyes had the look of a dog's eyes, waiting for a reward after obeying a command.
The captain slumped deeper into his chair, if that was possible. This was really the best man I had for this job..?? he thought.
Read the rest of my review of 100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
The large precinct room was open and claustrophobic at the same time. Large, solid columns spaced too close together told you immediately this was not modern construction. Old worn chairs butted up against too-small desks piled too high with papers, folders, and open, crumb-filled donut boxes. From the overflowing trashcans it was hard to tell when the cleaning crew had last been through.
From a desk near the back the tired (even at this early hour) police captain pointed a bony finger at a sergeant and beckoned him over.
Murphy, get over here..!!
Yes cap'n..??
Whadda ya mean 'yes cap'n'..?! Give me your report, damn it..!!
Sorry captain.
He quickly jabbed both hands into his pockets. One eventually found and drew out a wrinkled sheet of paper; the other came out empty, going to his forehead to wipe a thin film of sweat from his furrowed brow.
We done what you ordered, captain. Me and Lebowski rounded up all the (his eyes dropped to the crumpled paper and he slowly, almost moving his lips, read the words...) we rounded up the '100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses'. I got the list of 'em right here.
A wordle of the words used in: 100 words almost everyone confuses & misusesImage courtesy of wordle.net
He stuck the sheet out toward his captain, but when he showed no interest Murphy pulled his hand back. He waited impatiently, his eyes had the look of a dog's eyes, waiting for a reward after obeying a command.
The captain slumped deeper into his chair, if that was possible. This was really the best man I had for this job..?? he thought.
Read the rest of my review of 100 words almost everyone confuses & misuses at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Vote one more time...
...
Yes, if you are an Epinions dot com member you are not done voting yet..!!
...and if you are not ... well check us out..!!
Yeah, yeah, I know: I munged the question. You are all smart, figure it out on your own..!! ...:minism:...
Thanks for playing..!!
...tom...
.
Yes, if you are an Epinions dot com member you are not done voting yet..!!
...and if you are not ... well check us out..!!
Yeah, yeah, I know: I munged the question. You are all smart, figure it out on your own..!! ...:minism:...
Thanks for playing..!!
...tom...
.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
'lean-n-mean' ...in less than ... 50 words..??
...
22 Words, via Robust Writing challenges us to post in fifty words or less.
At my favorite online haunt sleeper54 has challenged writers to write 'lean-n-mean' for 6 years-plus.
Users have always found it challenging and a good exercise of their writing 'chops'.
Check us out soon.
...tom...
.
22 Words, via Robust Writing challenges us to post in fifty words or less.
At my favorite online haunt sleeper54 has challenged writers to write 'lean-n-mean' for 6 years-plus.
Users have always found it challenging and a good exercise of their writing 'chops'.
Check us out soon.
...tom...
.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Remembering 9/11 ...in 2008
...
noamgalai at flickr dot com
WTC Tribute in lights, from Brooklyn Bridge, September 11, 2007
Various links found today in reference to the events on this date, 2001
Neatorama's simple, stark, and stoic 'roll call' of the victims of that day:
Remembering the Victims of 9/11
A video from a neighboring building of the towers on Sept. 11, 2001
September 11, 2001: What we saw from our apartment
Personal reflections of a New Yorker...
Personal reflections on a September 11th (9/11) hero
NASA image of Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001
Photo
My reviews of various 9/11-related books and films at Epinions dot com
sleeper54's reviews
The incomparable, as always, Big Picture look at the day...
Seven years since -- looking back and forward on 9/11
...tom...
.
WTC Tribute in lights, from Brooklyn Bridge, September 11, 2007
Neatorama's simple, stark, and stoic 'roll call' of the victims of that day:
Remembering the Victims of 9/11
A video from a neighboring building of the towers on Sept. 11, 2001
September 11, 2001: What we saw from our apartment
Personal reflections of a New Yorker...
Personal reflections on a September 11th (9/11) hero
NASA image of Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001
Photo
My reviews of various 9/11-related books and films at Epinions dot com
sleeper54's reviews
The incomparable, as always, Big Picture look at the day...
Seven years since -- looking back and forward on 9/11
...tom...
.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Chicago 2008 post-'Meet-n-Greet' thoughts...
...
'Community' is the result of individuals banding together in a common activity. These activities are unlimited: sandbagging to save a flood-threatened town, participating on a sports team, working as a citizens group for civic improvements ...or writing on a website.
New members (OK, most of them) come to Epinions with similar game plans: to share their opinions by writing reviews. All member/writers utilize the same basic format: Pros, Cons, a Bottom Line, a star-rating, and their thoughts and words.
The Epinions review is the method for any member to define their personal level of participation on the site. To some the community side is less important, to others more important. Some look to balance the level of their writing on the site and the amount of time spent interacting with others. Some like to write, some like to read and rate, some like the social interaction possible on the site. The spectrum is endless and only determined by the desire and actions of any given member.
Some immediately (or eventually) become more deeply intertwined with the site than others. Perhaps they write more often, rate more often, comment more often. Perhaps they frequently interact with other members on the message boards or via e-mails. Each member defines their own level of involvement, either deliberately or by simply 'going with the flow'.
Over the years, the corporate side of Epinions has facilitated the next step of 'community-building' on the site by hosting 'Meet-n-Greets' for community members to interact both with the corporate staff of the Epinions website and their fellow members.
Recently such an event was held in Chicago. These 'Meet-n-Greet' events obviously cater to those members who are strongly interested in the community, in meeting both the individuals who run the 'business' side of the site and fellow members who pepper the site with their words, their rates, and their comments.
I had always told myself that if an official 'meet-n-greet' were held in my area of the country I would make every effort to attend. I knew the chance to meet, in the 'flesh and blood' so many fellow users that I know and trust would simply be too rich to miss.
Let me just say I was not disappointed. The ability to put a face, a voice, just a bit of a persona with a mental image we have of our fellow users is invaluable. Amazingly many of the users were just as I imagined they might be. I really felt that I would be lucky to call them friends in the real world as well as friends on a silly website.
Anyway, I am immensely pleased, beyond expectations, to have met each of them; to have shared just a bit of myself with them and to take from them just a bit of reassurance that not everyone you meet on the internet is really an ax murderer.
...tom...
P.S. My wife and I would like to thank scmrak and pestyside for hosting us for the weekend and being our 'mini-tour guides' for our foray into the big city. Your friendship is valued and appreciated.
'Community' is the result of individuals banding together in a common activity. These activities are unlimited: sandbagging to save a flood-threatened town, participating on a sports team, working as a citizens group for civic improvements ...or writing on a website.
New members (OK, most of them) come to Epinions with similar game plans: to share their opinions by writing reviews. All member/writers utilize the same basic format: Pros, Cons, a Bottom Line, a star-rating, and their thoughts and words.
The Epinions review is the method for any member to define their personal level of participation on the site. To some the community side is less important, to others more important. Some look to balance the level of their writing on the site and the amount of time spent interacting with others. Some like to write, some like to read and rate, some like the social interaction possible on the site. The spectrum is endless and only determined by the desire and actions of any given member.
Some immediately (or eventually) become more deeply intertwined with the site than others. Perhaps they write more often, rate more often, comment more often. Perhaps they frequently interact with other members on the message boards or via e-mails. Each member defines their own level of involvement, either deliberately or by simply 'going with the flow'.
Over the years, the corporate side of Epinions has facilitated the next step of 'community-building' on the site by hosting 'Meet-n-Greets' for community members to interact both with the corporate staff of the Epinions website and their fellow members.
Recently such an event was held in Chicago. These 'Meet-n-Greet' events obviously cater to those members who are strongly interested in the community, in meeting both the individuals who run the 'business' side of the site and fellow members who pepper the site with their words, their rates, and their comments.
I had always told myself that if an official 'meet-n-greet' were held in my area of the country I would make every effort to attend. I knew the chance to meet, in the 'flesh and blood' so many fellow users that I know and trust would simply be too rich to miss.
Let me just say I was not disappointed. The ability to put a face, a voice, just a bit of a persona with a mental image we have of our fellow users is invaluable. Amazingly many of the users were just as I imagined they might be. I really felt that I would be lucky to call them friends in the real world as well as friends on a silly website.
Anyway, I am immensely pleased, beyond expectations, to have met each of them; to have shared just a bit of myself with them and to take from them just a bit of reassurance that not everyone you meet on the internet is really an ax murderer.
...tom...
P.S. My wife and I would like to thank scmrak and pestyside for hosting us for the weekend and being our 'mini-tour guides' for our foray into the big city. Your friendship is valued and appreciated.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Chicago 2008 'Meet-n-Greet' pre-musings....
...
Years ago I registered as a member of yet another website. I am sure we all have a littered 'net trail of sites visited, joined, and allowed to wither on the vine. For lack of interest, lack of 'stickiness', lack of value ...short or long term.
Epinions dot com was such a site for me. I am sure I was probably looking online for info about a book or book reviews when I first found it. I registered and then apparently moved on. Nine or ten months later I 'rediscovered' the site and somehow this time it pulled me in.
Epinions is a site for "unbiased reviews by real people". Reviews of products we all use everyday in our lives: computers, cameras, baby gear, outdoor equipment, books, movies, music, garden equipment . . .the list goes on and on.
What I have learned over the years is that the people of Epinions truly are 'real'. Through the process of sharing my thoughts about products in reviews and about other topics in essays I have learned that many members share my passion for the power of the written word and their ability to shape those words and their thoughts into a 'helpful' review. A review that serves the shopping customer while also meeting their need to reach out, to be heard, to communicate with others.
The passion of members on the site is real and tangible. Some lust for markers of recognition, some strive for popularity, some seek 'trust', some lust after the rising tally of numbers. Some immerse themselves in their own 'work', quietly pursuing their 'vision' of Epinions. While others actively engage, challenge, try to provoke their fellow members into action for this cause or that cause.
The diversity of approaches to the site is amazing. Finding one's own niche can be very stressful or very enriching and rewarding. We all make our own journey and we all look back with mixed emotions about the path we have traveled, the good we have accomplished, the bad we have committed, and those we have helped and those we have hurt along the way.
Perhaps it is a good metaphor for the 'real world' of our daily lives. Or perhaps it is a snow globe shaken by some unknown being, I and others being nothing more than ". . .an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato." To quote Ebenezer Scrooge.
This weekend I am traveling (with my wife) to Chicago for a formal activity sponsored by the site management, a 'Meet-n-greet' where the powers that be and site members have a chance to interact about the workings of the site, goals to meet, changes needing to be implemented, and just where the heck we (as a site and as individual members) are going over the short- and long-term future.
But beyond that is the chance to finally meet many users, fellow members ...flesh and blood people that I know only through exchanges on the site, through e-mails, through silly user-pics on the site.
To be honest, it is kind of scary. Will the 'flesh and blood' ...tom... meet the expectations of those who have interacted, positively and negatively, with me over the years..?? Will I find this user or that user as 'trustable' in real-life as I do on the site..?? Will they meet my expectations..?? And just how in the hell can I or they even have 'expectations'..??
Anyway, a chance to get away for a day or two with the wifie, perhaps our only road-trip of the summer ( before gas prices put us in the poor house...), a chance to meet a bunch of wonderful people . . ..
Expectations indeed.
I am sure I will share some thoughts later about my experiences there. I am looking forward to the next couple of day..!!
...tom...
.
Years ago I registered as a member of yet another website. I am sure we all have a littered 'net trail of sites visited, joined, and allowed to wither on the vine. For lack of interest, lack of 'stickiness', lack of value ...short or long term.
Epinions dot com was such a site for me. I am sure I was probably looking online for info about a book or book reviews when I first found it. I registered and then apparently moved on. Nine or ten months later I 'rediscovered' the site and somehow this time it pulled me in.
Epinions is a site for "unbiased reviews by real people". Reviews of products we all use everyday in our lives: computers, cameras, baby gear, outdoor equipment, books, movies, music, garden equipment . . .the list goes on and on.
What I have learned over the years is that the people of Epinions truly are 'real'. Through the process of sharing my thoughts about products in reviews and about other topics in essays I have learned that many members share my passion for the power of the written word and their ability to shape those words and their thoughts into a 'helpful' review. A review that serves the shopping customer while also meeting their need to reach out, to be heard, to communicate with others.
The passion of members on the site is real and tangible. Some lust for markers of recognition, some strive for popularity, some seek 'trust', some lust after the rising tally of numbers. Some immerse themselves in their own 'work', quietly pursuing their 'vision' of Epinions. While others actively engage, challenge, try to provoke their fellow members into action for this cause or that cause.
The diversity of approaches to the site is amazing. Finding one's own niche can be very stressful or very enriching and rewarding. We all make our own journey and we all look back with mixed emotions about the path we have traveled, the good we have accomplished, the bad we have committed, and those we have helped and those we have hurt along the way.
Perhaps it is a good metaphor for the 'real world' of our daily lives. Or perhaps it is a snow globe shaken by some unknown being, I and others being nothing more than ". . .an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato." To quote Ebenezer Scrooge.
This weekend I am traveling (with my wife) to Chicago for a formal activity sponsored by the site management, a 'Meet-n-greet' where the powers that be and site members have a chance to interact about the workings of the site, goals to meet, changes needing to be implemented, and just where the heck we (as a site and as individual members) are going over the short- and long-term future.
But beyond that is the chance to finally meet many users, fellow members ...flesh and blood people that I know only through exchanges on the site, through e-mails, through silly user-pics on the site.
To be honest, it is kind of scary. Will the 'flesh and blood' ...tom... meet the expectations of those who have interacted, positively and negatively, with me over the years..?? Will I find this user or that user as 'trustable' in real-life as I do on the site..?? Will they meet my expectations..?? And just how in the hell can I or they even have 'expectations'..??
Anyway, a chance to get away for a day or two with the wifie, perhaps our only road-trip of the summer ( before gas prices put us in the poor house...), a chance to meet a bunch of wonderful people . . ..
Expectations indeed.
I am sure I will share some thoughts later about my experiences there. I am looking forward to the next couple of day..!!
...tom...
.
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