Scrapbook Saturday: Disney Part 4
Katie 
Some more Animal Kingdom pages
Book Review: I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live in It
I was pretty pumped to read “I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live In It” because I could totally relate to the title. Unfortunately I was expecting more about the friends in the computer than I got, although I could totally relate to almost everything the author was writing about since she is only a few years older than me. Replace her Bette Midler online chat rooms with Hanson and you’ve got me. She even went to Oklahoma to meet up with someone she had met online – I do that yearly. The book became more about her life and how technology played a big part in it than what I was expecting with more about the relationships and friendships she had made through the internet. Jess is funny though, so I really enjoyed her dissection of twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. We are both from Connecticut and both have engineers for Dads so when my friend thought that perhaps I wrote this book, she really wasn’t too far off. The only difference is she is married and met her wife on match.com, and while I’m not looking for a wife I have tended to shy away from dating sites. The rest of our lives do seem to parallel though so maybe I should give it a try….
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live in It is tech analyst Jess Kimball Leslie’s hilarious, frank homage to the technology that contributed so significantly to the person she is today. From accounts of the lawless chat rooms of early AOL to the perpetual high school reunions that are modern-day Facebook and Instagram, her essays paint a clear picture: That all of us have a much more twisted, meaningful, emotional relationship with the online world than we realize or let on.
Coming of age in suburban Connecticut in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Jess looked to the nascent Internet to find the tribes she couldn’t find IRL: fellow Bette Midler fans; women who seemed impossibly sure of their sexuality; people who worked with computers every day as part of their actual jobs without being ridiculed as nerds. It’s in large part because of her embrace of an online life that Jess is where she is now, happily married, with a wife, son, and dog, and making a living of analyzing Internet trends and forecasting the future of tech. She bets most people would credit technology for many of their successes, too, if they could only shed the notion that it’s as a mind-numbing drug on which we’re all overdosing.
Throwback Thursday: Honor Society 7/22/09
Headliner: Honor Society
Opener(s): Jesse James
Venue: Blender Theater
Cost: $34
Setlist:
Book Review: Encore
When I started reading Encore I had the feeling that I had already read it. It turns out this is a second book in a a series and I had previously read Amplified as part of the Good Groupie’s rock reading novel club. The beginning of the book is a bit of a recap with what is going on in Jasmine’s life – she bluffed her way into a band after being kicked out by her father. Now her father is coming to visit – and well, she may have bluffed to him about the genders of the band members she is living with…
This story revolves around the band on tour, mostly on the west coast and dealing with traveling in the van, figuring out when to shower and dealing with crazed fans. In addition to the story there is also snippets from the bands social media, a blog they are keeping while on tour as well as some of the nice and not so nice comments from “fans”. There is one crazy fan in particular, Jeremy, who takes a liking to Jasmine and offers to show her around when they are in his home town. Except he takes things a little too far and ends up showing up everywhere – both online and off. But that is just one of the conflicts that the band has to contend with on twitter. The lead singer seems to have a breakdown on stage, resulting in them being kicked out of the venue. Another band member gets beat up while they are on an off day for what he is wearing. There is of course the will they / won’t they conflict of Jasmine and Sean… and of course Jasmine’s Dad giving her an ultimatum and her running off to join the band is still looming over her as well.
I thought this book was a fun and quick read, it seemed somewhat realistic to the tour life (not that I’ve ever been in a band on tour but it seemed to match what I think it would be like.) There are characters to love and hate and some in between as well. I am looking forward to more stories from Tara Kelly.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
I lied my way into a band, humiliated them on stage, and got my heart broken by the bassist. Now…we’re on tour together.
Of course my dad, who I haven’t seen since he kicked me out, makes a surprise visit the day before we leave. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go well. I have to quit the band and go to college or he’s cutting me out of his life for good.
This tour is the best opportunity we may ever have – and it’s already a disaster. We’re broke. We can’t stop fighting. And being in such close quarters to Sean isn’t exactly helping me get over him. Even though we’re just friends now, every time our fingers brush or our eyes catch, my heart betrays me. He’s the kind of distraction I can’t afford to have right now…no matter how much I wish things were different.
This is one road trip that will be hard to forget…
Virtual Race: Mad Eye Moody 5k
Race Title: Mad Eye Moody Constant Vigilance 5k
Distance: 5k
Company: Hogwarts Running Club
Charity: Limbs for Life
Andy Grammer at Mohegan Sun Arena
I saw on Mohegan Sun’s website that they were doing hotel packages for an Andy Grammer show, but didn’t know he was coming. It turns out it was one of their invitation only concerts and luckily I was invited! Seats are assigned to sections and are general admission within them and when we picked our tickets up we were up in section 116. Quite a difference from the 2nd row seat I had last time I saw him!
He started off his set with two of his older singles – Keep Your Head Up and Fine By Me. He threw in several covers throughout he set and even did a brand new song that should be on his next album called “The Good Parts” and finished his set with Good to Be Alive.
The show was a lot of fun and Andy puts on a great show – playing piano, guitar and trumpet – using 2 mics at once to distort his sound and even throwing in a little dancing as well! It sounded like he hasn’t played a show in a while and he kept saying how happy he was to be there and how being on stage was “his favorite”!
Dalton Rapattoni The Acoustic Attempt Tour
At the end of March Dalton Rapattoni came back to Connecticut this time with his “Acoustic Attempt Tour” which was just him and his guitar – and that was it. No opener, nothing. The show had doors at 5pm, Dalton was on stage by 5:30 and a little after 6 he was told he only had 10 minutes left! He did a decently sized set considering the time constraints – some of the songs performed being contenders for his upcoming album. He chitchatted a bit throughout the set and mentioned how he does that to distract us from the fact that he is tuning his guitar! After the show I had a M&G and told him I enjoyed this set better than his last and he teased that he was going to let the band know! I explained that the band was awesome last time and I loved them, but there is just something more intimate when it is just him and his guitar. I was one of the last ones for the M&G and was in my car by 7pm. I kind of love shows that end that early – I’m getting too old for all the late nights 😉
Scrapbook Saturday: Disney Part 3
This week is some Animal Kingdom fun
Book Review: Gone
Gone is the second book in a series. I had not read the first, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. From what I can tell, each book in the series seems to focus on a different set of characters that are all somewhat connected.
In this book, we meet Alec and Raegan at the hospital. A girl has just been found in a park and they think that it may be their daughter, Emma, who was abducted three years earlier. The couple split after the abduction but decide to work together to try and figure out who took Emma, if she is still alive and if other kids being abducted are related. They have found patterns between the other abductions, but Emma doesn’t fit it. Is her abduction related or is Alec right and his biological father is to blame?
There are a lot of twists and turns in this story and I couldn’t put it down once things really started taking off! Definitely a great read if you’re into mystery and thrill!
I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
Three years ago, Alec McClane and Raegan Devereaux lived every parent’s worst nightmare: their one-year-old daughter, Emma, was abducted from a park when Alec turned his back for just a moment. Emma was never found, and presumed dead. The crushing trauma, plus Alec’s unbearable guilt, ended the couple’s marriage.
Now a four-year-old girl matching Emma’s profile is found wandering a local park. Alec and Raegan are heartbroken to discover she’s not their daughter but are newly motivated to find closure…and each secretly feels desperate to be in the other’s presence again.
Alec suspects his vengeful biological father is behind Emma’s disappearance. But as Raegan investigates other abductions in the area, she sees a pattern—and begins to wonder if Emma’s kidnapping is actually linked to something more sinister.
As Alec and Raegan race to uncover the truth, a long-burning spark rekindles into smoldering passion, and they realize they need each other now more than ever.
Throwback Thursday: Jonas Brothers 7/21/09
Headliner: Jonas Brothers
Opener(s): Honor Society, Jordin Sparks, Wonder Girls
Venue: Nassau Coliseum
Cost: $50
Setlist:
