Book Review: Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Title: Shadowed Summer. Author: Saundra Mitchell. Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Mystery. Paperback: 192 pages. Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; First Edition (June 8, 2010). Description: Nothing ever happened in Ondine, Louisiana, not even the summer Elijah Landry disappeared. His mother knew he ascended to heaven, the police believed he ran away, and his girlfriend thought he was murdered. Decades later, certain she saw his ghost in the town cemetery, fourteen-year-old Iris Rhame is determined to find out the truth behind "The Incident With the Landry Boy". Enlisting the help of her best friend Collette, and forced to endure the company of Collette's latest crush, Ben, Iris spends a summer digging into the past and stirring old ghosts, in search of a boy she never knew. What she doesn't realize is that in a town as small as Ondine, every secret is a family secret. My Review: I didn't hear much about this book, but the story sounded interesting and I happened to receive a free copy... 

So I read it. Fun, exciting personal story, right? Well, it is an understated reaction to an understated book. Despite the book being about ghosties I can't say it is all about the ghosties. The story is about friendship, growing up, healing  and all that good angsty stuff that coming of age stories should have. I think what I liked most about the book was the setting. Setting can become its own character, a behemoth presence in a story. The setting doesn't overwhelm the story itself, but it surly enhances all the good qualities. The small town stuff. Showcasing the dark secrets everyone seems to have and hide. And it is plain to see that past events still have an effect on the people of Ondine. I see this book as a read for a younger crowd, I wouldn't have a problem with my little sisters reading this (they are 9 and 11). The romance is sweet and light. An awakening to love, if you will (jeez, I can't believe I actually just used that expression...as if I were sixty and a college professor). The main relationship focus is family and friends. 

I was kinda hoping for something to happen before I read the book, before I knew the character ages. I probably would have been rolling my eyes if anything did happen between these young kids (was that a spoiler?). There is a mystery going on, but I never saw it as a "Let's solve a murder and find a killer!" It was more of a puzzler, for the characters, about why this ghost was coming to them for help (he does have a peachy way of asking... sheesh). And stuff just gets resolved (I suppose) in the end. Rating: 3.5/5. I enjoyed this book so I don't want to say that I feel like a younger audience would like this more. Maybe older audiences would find it a bit of a nice departure from all the stuff saturating the ya market now. This book is a nice quick read about a small town girl trying to solve a ghostly mystery, and boys, crushes and friends seep into mix. So if that sounds like something you may like then check this title out. I have to make a mention that I liked the mini twist at the end. It was kind of bittersweet... probably why I liked it.

More on The Subject of Leadership

Jesse Wendel at News Bite group blog hits on one of my pet subjects, how to tell a real leader from a fake leader: If you’ve got something even close to working, be appreciative. Don’t whine, don’t complain. Send postcards and thank you notes to the people helping you achieve your dreams. Stop bitching about how they’re not perfect or they should do it differently. If they ask for your help, give it unstintingly precisely how they ask for it. Don’t feel compelled to tell them all your good ideas about how they should be doing it better or differently. They’re doing their goddamnedests to feed you your gig on a fucking silver platter. If you simply are unable or not constituted to cut the boss a break or not complain and stir up shit, leave. You should be somewhere else doing something else, some where you can run your own shop. No harm, no foul. Sure, people will miss you for about ten minutes. And then they’ll get on with making their TV show, running their baseball team, building their software, or winning a Congressional Seat. The rest definitely bears a read, and a re-read.

Stop What You’re Doing and Read This - Book Review

What follows are ten essays written by writers, publishers, scientists and other reading advocates who tell their version of how reading can transform a reader’s brain, mind, and soul. I loved the idea of this book when the publisher offered me a copy because I cannot convince people to read. I wish I could, but I have no idea how to do it. I can simply speak my own experience. “Why  should you read?” I might say to a non-reader. “Well, because I  have read, and it’s gotten into me somehow. I feel connected to the booming life of history. I feel embedded in words that generations will read long after I’m gone, and generations have read long before I existed. I’m in the conversation now, and I want to remain plugged into it. I’m empathetic now. I’m calmer. I’m no longer a solitary mind steeping in self-doubt and fear and the longing for joy; I am one of a whole soul of people who feels just like me. That is why you should read. To be part of that.” This is what I say over and over when people ask me why they should read, and it never elicits transformation. It actually puzzles people who see literature as a waste of time and readers as self-gratifying “bookworms”.

And it seems so insubstantial. All of the essays in Stop What You’re Doing and Read This!, while told in different styles and from different points of view, ultimately support the final essay, which is highly technical and discusses how the brain works when one is reading, and what can happen to the brain if one does not exercise it by reading deeply enough, not to simply take in knowledge and spit it back out, but to analyze it, form a conclusion, and support that conclusion as an individual and newborn thought inspired by reading but created in the mind of the reader. This final essay warns readers that to fail to think deeply actually weakens the brain, and that technology which offers readers short-cuts in deep thinking will have grave effects on the minds of those new souls entering our 21st century who will form tomorrow’s leaders. The final essay seems to plea with all those who have read the prior essays and can say, “Yes, yes. I love literature too. I can see the point of reading.”

“You love literature? Then we need you. We need to figure out where to go in the 21st century: how to save literature, keep it vital, and retrain the human brain to receive it, not docilely, but richly. We need you to fight with us. Teach your children. Train your brains. Do not fade into technology. Do not become lazy readers. Literature is too rich to die this death, and it will not die if we refuse to become passive. If literature affects life as deeply as we have laid out in this book, then the changing dynamics of literature will deeply alter life. We must be prepared for this and face it intellectually.” (The above quote is me analyzing and paraphrasing.) Many of the essays in the collection offer personal anecdotes about the life of a reader which demonstrate the enriching power of literature. I enjoyed these but felt far more energized by the essays that discuss the effect of the tools of writing on the brain.

My favorite essay in the collection was by far “The Right Words in the Right Order” by Mark Haddon. He dissects how words and their placement creates effects within the mind of the reader. For example, “Sad.” What a small word for the depth that is true sadness. Writers, poets take that intense longing, and that tiny little word, and combine it with other words that create rhythms that pierce the very soul, and readers feel  what the word cannot truly demonstrate. We live it because it is universal. As a new-budding writer, I found this essay particularly fascinating. Haddon addresses how writers create an illusion of life with just the alphabet,  and why it works. He also compares literature to its more popular cousin these days, film: “Stop reading right now. Look around you. It doesn’t matter if you’re lying in bed or sitting in a crowded tube carriage. This is what film can’t do. The sense of being inside  looking out,  of seeing a world that belongs to everyone but is nevertheless yours alone.” Mark Haddon - “The Right Words in the Right Order” (Essay #5).

DIY Electronic Project - A Wireless Microphone

Are you a “do it yourself” project enthusiast? If you are this is for you! First, building the circuit! This circuit is a popular phantom powered circuit based on the Schleps Design. It is a very easy and very clean circuit. The biggest trick with building it for a wireless microphone is laying it out on the perfboard. There’s not much space to get everything into the body. Follow the layouts and you should be fine. The microphone capsule has an internal fet and biasing, two large parts aren’t needed. The capsule I’ve chosen for this project is a Projects Unlimited capsule – 6538 L-R. It’s a great capsule and I have found the sonic quality to rival the famous Panasonic WM-61AY capsules. You can choose to use Panasonics here instead, if you like without changing anything else on the circuit.

With steel wool, lightly buff the copper side of the perfboard. This will mean that the soldering will be better. Then, with snippers, carefully cut a rectangle on the perfboard, more diy projects. Slide the board into the aluminum tube to make sure it goes in. File the edges of the perfboard smooth if it doesn’t fit. The fit should be snug.  This is very important: make sure that no metal edges of the perfboard touch the aluminum body – only the fiberglass portion. If you cut too much, try again (you should have plenty of perfboard). Stuff the board (build the circuit). The Resisters will go in vertically. That means that one leg stays straight while the other is bent in a 180 degree loop. Use bits of the snipped resister and capacitor legs to act as the bridges from one hole to another. Everything should be very straightforward. Make sure to note the + and – of the capacitors and Zeners.

Another World

Yesterday seemed like a day-long episode of the Twilight Zone. First there was the sighting of Sly Stallone in the Italian Market, then yesterday evening, I went with Bridgette to deliver a painting of mine that recently sold to the client's home. Most of the time, people will pick up work from the gallery, but once in a while, she'll deliver the piece(s) herself. She'd called me Tuesday afternoon and asked me if I wanted to go along to meet the purchasers and I said yes. I'm always interested in who is buying my works and where they wind up. Anyway, this particular client lives in Moorestown, NJ. Bridgette and I drove up, almost got lost, but made it in time to meet the guy and his wife at their place. During the last part of our drive, it's getting darker and the houses are getting bigger, and bigger, and yeah, you get the idea. The mail boxes are almost half-a-block away from the houses in this particular development. The good thing is that the houses are not the ugly, cookie-cutter homes you normally see in suburban, and increasingly, urban, developements. It also wasn't a gated community. Nonetheless, the neighborhood seemed, well, sterile and cold, and not just from the weather last night. I'm too used to seeing people walk around at night and standing there looking at these places, I couldn't imagine much life happening there, despite the obvious presence of people in their homes. Maybe it was the newness of everything. From the looks of it, these houses haven't been up for long, a few months at the most. The lawns were also a little too green.

At first, we were afraid that we had the wrong place, but luckily, Bridgette's instincts were on target. The wife opened the door, toting one of her young sons and let us in, painting in tow. As expected, the inside was as big as it looked. The husband was in the kitchen and after getting settled, the wife showed us around the house. It was big, but modest in style and very relfective of the owners. Bridgette and I kept looking at each other every time she showed us room after room. We didn't even make it to the third floor. There wasn't time for that anyway since Bridgette had another meeting last night and the client had a dinner to get to. We chose the best spot for the work and hung it. I've always wondered who lived in places like this and I got to find out last night. This couple, at least, was very nice and down-to-earth. They're genuinely into collecting contemporary work and very curious. They asked a lot of good questions and aren't into art just for the hell of it. I have gotten to meet other collectors of my work, but most of the time, that was at the gallery. I like connecting with the people who buy my work, but I felt a huge disconnect lifestyle-wise. I couldn't imagine living in a suburban development and having a place that requires having people come in and clean. There's no way they do their own house-keeping in a home that big. Everything was too new, also. I need a good mix of old and new where I live. Overall, it was a good experience. I liked meeting the couple and they are enjoying the painting and paying for it, so everybody benefits. 

Are You Always on the Run?

Mineral makeup is the answer! If you are like billions of women around the state it looks as though we are constantly on the run. Between work, errands, shopping, school activities, household events, doctor's appointments... there really is never adequate clip to acquire it all done. Usually taking attention of yourself, especially how you look, is one of the last things on the listing and often doesn't acquire done at all. Well, it doesn't have got to be that way. There is a fast and easy solution to having natural and beautiful looking skin. It's called mineral makeup. Mineral constitution is fast emerging as a favourite among American women as we go more than aware of what we are putting on our tegument and how that personal effects how we look. Not all Mineral Makeups are alike but pure mineral constitution is non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic with no unreal chemicals, additives or animate being by-products, waxes or fillers. It is actually lulling and healing to the tegument and is the lone constitution recommended by plastic surgeons and dermatologists followers surgical tegument and facial treatments. Not only is pure vitamins and minerals constitution actually good for your tegument it supplies first-class insurance while feeling lightweight-like you're not wearing any constitution at all. It gives you natural, healthier and little looking skin.

For the adult female on the go, the benefits of mineral constitution are many. The newest mineral makeups come up in a pressed expression so there is no mess. And no clip wasted cleaning loose minerals off of your countertops or flooring or changing your shirt (again). Pressed mineral constitution is also very easy to apply. A few speedy brushwood shots in any way and you're done. Some mineral makeups come up in convenient powder compacts so you can just throw them in your bag and go. But mineral constitution is very H2O resistant and, even through a strenuous workout, doesn't rub off. So there is usually no demand to reapply your constitution at all throughout the twenty-four hours economy you cherished time. Mineral constitution also have a natural SPF 15. So, unless you take to, there is no demand to add an further sunscreen to your constitution modus operandi, economy you clip and money. A pure mineral constitution is also extremely versatile. The colours can be worn on the cheeks, lips or eyes so coordinating your constitution is a snap. And there is no demand to pass money on respective constitution products. Because mineral constitution blends with your skin's ain facial oils, it doesn't have got got to fit exactly like regular constitution so you don't have to worry about limit lines or purchasing a new constitution every clip your suntan deepens or lightens a shade. With all the fantastic benefits of pure natural mineral constitution in clip and money savings, it really is the perfect solution for the woman on the run!

IlluxCon

Greetings all. Sorry for the silence, but I've been having some technical difficulties, namely dropping WIFI in my room. After spending a few hours trying to maintain a connection for more than a few moments I gave it up and decided to see if I had better luck today. Yeah! I'm off and running! I flew over to Altoona, PA on Wednesday. It was a day full of airports and airplanes. Thankfully, there was nothing exciting to report. When I hit Dulles Airport, I hooked up with a few partners in crime, Ben Thompson, Daren Bader, and Rob Ruppel. I've had the pleasure the meet Ben and Daren before, but this was my first opportunity to meet Rob. What a wonderful party to travel with! Funny, and fantastic conversations. After climbing off the tiny prop plane in Altoona, we wandered our way over to the Ramada hotel. While checking in, we ran into Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire (my wonderful guests for this trip) and got the invite to a late dinner, but before that I updated my cartoon coloring pages baby :) Off we went with a contingent of artists and collectors. I had a blast! I made the mistake of sitting in the middle of the table, and surrounding myself by 18 gifted and talented folks. I struggled to hear every single conversation going on... I failed miserably. But is was hysterical what happens when you only hear half of a sentence every minute or so. It's amazing how inappropriate most conversations end of sounding! After dinner, it was time to hit the sack. Thursday started off bright and early. My room is near the dumpsters, and the garbage truck makes it's daily visit at 6 am, which is 3 am on my body clock. Off to breakfast... I found that Rob was also a early riser, and we had breakfast together. I have a confession to make. I'm a huge had of Rob's work. I cut my teeth on the work of Rob, Brom, Jeff Easley, Clyde Caldwell, and Larry Elmore back in my formative D&D years.

Rob was the only one of those guys I had not met in person, and I had trouble not just being a big fan boy around him. Like so many of the artists I know, he's just a down-to-earth guy, and has some great experiences and insights to share. I've really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet him. Shortly after breakfast it was off to the Discovery Center (Heritage Center? I've heard it called both names) for set up. True I didn't have anything to set up, but I helped haul a couple of boxes, and lent my opinion about how things should be hung...when someone was foolish enough to ask. I spent most of the day harrassing Lars Grant West. Lars is a wonderful guy, and as I found, easy to distract from the task of hanging his art. That gave me the opportunity to swing by every 1/2 an hour and comment about the fact that he only had one piece hanging... Yes, I can be cruel sometimes. I was a blast getting the chance to visit everyone again. Then it was time to get to work. Portfolio reviews! Just a few this evening, but it was a nice warm-up for the rest of the weekend. Here are a few pics from set-up on thursday. Vincent Villafranca shows off some of his wearable art. Ben Thompson getting the final touches finished on his booth. Rob Ruppel resting after the very strenuous act of hanging all his art on the wall...okay, so there wasn't a lot of pieces, but the giant "butt" was the talk of the set-up. Tom Kuebler mugging behind one of his amazing creations. Dave Seeley was busy doing all kinds of serious construction projects to bring some light to his corner (hopefully Sam will recover from his injuries quickly). Dave also provided an energetic sound track for the build and was awseome. Cyril Van Der Haegen takes a little time after setting up to get some work done. More to come...