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Patricia Volk's enchanting memoir nails both 20th-century American life and the glorious eccentricities of her relatives with the gift for vivid detail of a fiction writer. (After all, she's published one novel and two short-story collections.) "Our hallway was the color of ballpark mustard. The living room was cocoa, my mother's wall-to-wall, iceberg green," she tells us. Volk begins with her adored immediate family: charismatic father, hypercritical but loving mother ("Mom made me, and now she will make me better"), and older sister Jo Ann, best friend and occasional mortal enemy. But they're only the beginning, just as the garment-district restaurant that rules her father's life is only one of the family achievements. Great-grandfather Sussman brought pastrami to the New World. Grandfather Jake, a demolition expert, was profiled in The New Yorker. "Everybody did one thing better than anybody else. Aunt Gertie sang the works of Victor Herbert. Aunt Ruthie mamboed. Granny Ethel braked with such finesse it was impossible to tell the moment the car went from moving to a stop." Of course, perennially negative Aunt Lil embroidered a pillow with the motto "I've Never Forgotten a Rotten Thing Anyone Has Done to Me"--but maybe she was embittered by the fact that Uncle Al slept with her for 11 years then refused to marry her because she wasn't a virgin. (She sent out wedding invitations anyway, and he fell in line.) All these great stories are arranged along a casual chronological arc ("from Sussman Volk in 1888 to Cecil Volk in 1988"), but nothing is ever really finished. Her father closes Morgen's in Manhattan; her sister's husband opens a trendy food shop in Florida. "We're still feeding people," Volk asserts.
published : 2002 by Vintage binding : Paperback pages : 256
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The Author is brilliant, she's writing down her family journey (and herself) in a wonderful memoir. Every time she mentioned food (from liverwurst,spaetzle, sturgeon, cucumber salad to herseyettes) I do get hungry reading it (*smile*) made me wanting to have restaurant family too !!! Not to mention hidden Mattie's chocolate cake recipe inside the book, a little treasure, I will for sure give it a try.
Normally, I'm against spoiler but for this particular book I want to share my favorite part of the book with all of you :
" Family is what we first know of the world. Family IS the world, your very own living microcosm of humanity, with its heroes and victims and martyrs and failures, beauties and gamblers, hawks and lovers, cowards and fakes, dreamers and steamrollers, and the people who quietly get the job done.
Every behavior in the world is there to watch at the dinner table. You study them. You learn. You see how they change and how they stay the same. But if you think you can really know them, you're missing the point. The point isn't how well you know somebody. The point is this : In a family you don't come from nowhere. You enter the world already part of something. The myths and behaviors are allthere to model yourself on our against. You are who you came from. There is no escape, but there is transmutation.
Family is become who you will be. It's through family you learn there are no limits on ideas, nothing is strange if it seems right, and if you believe in what you do, who cares what anybody else thinks. Knowing so much about them, how open hearted can you bear to be ? You were born with the chance to love them. You might as well. They're YOURS."
(taken from Boost - page 230)
I'm totally in agreement with her, this book is all about living and enjoying live with your loved one, great book indeed.
After years of bachelorhood and ample pressure from his Father, Doc and the best friend Mac, Eddie (Ben Stiller) start to wonder if he is being to picky about the women he meets. So when a chance encounter with an alluring blonde name Lila leads to a sweet romance, Eddie impulsively proposed. But right after the wedding, as the newlyweds get to know each other on the drive down the California Coast, Eddie begans to realize he has mde a terrible mistake. Soon after reaching their exotic Mexican hideaway, he falls for the-down-to-earth Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), who has no clue he's on his honeymoon. Now Eddie has to find a way to extricate himself from his days-old marriage.
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We watched it last night and after the first 15 minutes Miguel was looking at me shake his head then turn to his right ... fell asleep right away. Yes, it's a funny movie (hey, its Ben Stiller movie.. he is FUNNY !) but didn't tickle me in the right direction, in my opinion its kinda boring actually.. not enough sparks. My favorite part is whenever the Mariachi shows -up otherwise its a chicklit movie with a twist at the very end, therefore 3 stars from me.
Frank Falenczyk (Ben Kingsley) loves his job. He just happens to be the hit-man for his Polish mob family in Buffalo, New York. But Frank's got a drinking problem and when he messes up a critical assignment that puts the family business in peril, his uncle (Philip Baker Hall) sends him to San Francisco to clean up his act. Played with gruff charm by Kingsley, Frank is not a touchy-feely kind of guy, but things begin looking up for him. He starts going to AA meetings and gets a job at a mortuary where he falls for the tart-tongued Lauren (Téa Leoni) who is devoid of boundaries and clearly not mourning her step dad's sudden passing. Meanwhile, things aren't going well in Buffalo where an upstart Irish gang is threatening the family business. When violence erupts, Frank is forced to return home and with an unlikely assist from Lauren, faces old rivals on new terms.
Stylishly directed by John Dahl (Rounders, The Last Seduction), 'You Kill Me' is the story of what happens when two mismatched people find a common calling. With dead-on performances by Kingsley and Leoni, 'You Kill Me' is a street-smart mob comedy that scores a direct hit.
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It's totally predictable but super-duper-hillarious movie, I laughed a lot !!! For those of you looking for feeling good movie (my cup of tea) than look-out for this one, its a guarantee that you'll rolled-your-eyes-out laughing :)
Oh, and here a trailer teaser for you to enjoy.....
It’s 3 a.m. and Elizabeth Gilbert is sobbing on the bathroom floor. She’s in her thirties, she has a husband, a house, they’re trying for a baby — and she doesn’t want any of it. A bitter divorce and a turbulent love affair later, she emerges battered and bewildered and realises it is time to pursue her own journey in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance. So she travels to Rome, where she learns Italian from handsome, brown-eyed identical twins and gains twenty-five pounds, an ashram in India, where she finds that enlightenment entails getting up in the middle of the night to scrub the temple floor, and Bali where a toothless medicine man of indeterminate age offers her a new path to peace: simply sit still and smile. And slowly happiness begins to creep up on her.
About Author: Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of a short story collection, Pilgrims (a finalist for the Pen/Hemmingway Award), a novel, Stern Men and a book of non fiction, The Last American Man (nominated for the National Book Award and a New York Times Notable Book for 2002). She is a writer-at-large for American GQ where she has received two National Magazine Award nominations for feature writing. Elizabeth Gilbert lives in Philadelphia.
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I read it with huge curiosity, considering the very last place mentioned in her book is abot Bali. Must admit that she's very witty and charming ... wish the ending plot is different hence 3 stars from me, just my own opinion obviously. My favorite part of the book is when she's in India (won't spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet).
For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
As a child, Charley “Chick” Benetto was told by his father, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.
Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.
He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother -- who died eight years earlier -- is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened.
What follows is the one "ordinary" day so many of us yearn for, a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain the family secrets, and to seek forgiveness. Somewhere between this life and the next, Charley learns the astonishing things he never knew about his mother and her sacrifices. And he tries, with her tender guidance, to put the crumbled pieces of his life back together.
*About the Author* Mitch Albom is the author of the international bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie, as well as six other books. He also writes screenplays and stage plays. Albom serves on numerous charitable boards and has funded three charities in the Detroit area. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.
For more information, please visit www.mitchalbom.com.
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I have high expectation over this book since I really enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People you meet in Heaven by the same author, must say that this one didn't impressed me as much as the previous 2 books. Yes, he did wrote some 'nice reminder' about how important family is and stuff but nothing WOW, hence the 2 stars from me.
Actor & Actress: Jet Li (Fearless, The One) as Rogue, Jason Statham (Italian Job,Transporter, Crank) as Jack Crawford,Nadine Velazquez, John Lone as Chang, Steph Song as Lisa, Devon Aoki as Kira, Nicholas Elia as Daniel Crawford Director: Philip G. Atwell GENRE : ACTION & THRILLER
After his partner Tom Wynne (Terry Chen) and family are killed apparently by the infamous and elusive assassin Rogue (Jet Li), FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) becomes obsessed with revenge as his world unravels into a vortex of guilt and betrayal. Rogue eventually resurfaces to settle a score of his own, setting off a bloody crime war between Asian mob rivals Chang (John Lone) of the Triad's and Yakuza boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). When Jack and Rogue finally come face to face, the ultimate truth of their pasts will be revealed.
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WOW !!!! This movie is fantastic, both Jet Li & Jason played brilliantly, big thumbs up for them. Must warn you all, it is not for the faint-hearted, some of the fighting scene result were hard to digest, a bit similar to Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino but much better plot. LUV IT.
My Hubby sent it to me, source is unknown but the information sounds legit to me :), if anybody else out there can give us further knowledge about this interesting *commonly use* hand sign please do share it with us.
Q: Name the four seasons. A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink. A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.
Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? (brilliant, love this!) A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: What causes the tides in the oceans? A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
Q: What are steroids? A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.
Q: What happens to your body as you age? A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty? A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes A: Premature death.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized?(e.g. abdomen.) A: The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the fibula? A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean? (I do love this one...) A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section" A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?' A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
PS.Thank you yeberkoben for emailing this one to me, you made my day !
In SCAR TISSUE Anthony Kiedis, charismatic and highly articulate front man of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recounts his remarkable life story, and the history of the band itself. Raised in the Midwest, he moved to LA aged eleven to live with his father Blackie, purveyor of pills, pot, and cocaine to the Hollywood elite. After a brief child-acting career, Kiedis dropped out of U.C.L.A. and plunged headfirst into the demimonde of the L.A. underground music scene. He formed the band with three school friends - and found his life's purpose. Crisscrossing the country, the Chili Peppers were musical innovators and influenced a whole generation of musicians. But there’s a price to pay for both success and excess and in SCAR TISSUE, Kiedis writes candidly of the overdose death of his soul mate and band mate, Hillel Slovak, and his own ongoing struggle with an addiction to drugs. SCAR TISSUE far transcends the typical rock biography, because Anthony Kiedis is anything but a typical rock star. It is instead a compelling story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption.
Author Information: Anthony Kiedis is the lead singer of the rock group The Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of the most beloved bands in the world. He lives in the Los Angeles, Ca. area. Visit www.redhotchilipeppers.com for further information on the band and its history.
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Miguel lent me this book to read first (since I read faster than him *grin), I remembered vaguely bought the RedHotChilliPeppers Californication Album in 1999 cause I kinda like some of their songs (Under The Bridge & Give It Away) but it doesn't prepare me enough to read about the lead singer of the band.
He lived such a crazy, dope filled and promiscuous live that at some point I started to putting down the book, hesitating to continue on. Then I took it to Bali with me,finished reading it there but he didn't impress me at all... especially after I learned that he's been to Jakarta (hated the place apparently) and Bali (its really an over crowded cluster f*ck of traffic with some air pollution thrown in - quoted words by words from his book), these comments are a bit nasty, coming from a person that idolized by so many people out there, that probably reading his Biography, hence only 3 stars from me.
Anyway, like they say... whether its recollecting the influence of women who have been his muses, or retracing his journey that's included appearance as diverse as a performance before half a million people at Woodstock or an audience of one at the humble compound of the exiled Dalai Lama, this book is compelling reading. A story that could only have come out of Hollywood.
Consider MR. BROOKS. A successful businessman. A generous philanthropist. A loving father and devoted husband. Seemingly, he's perfect. But Mr. Brooks has a secret -- he is an insatiable serial killer, so lethally clever that no one has ever suspected him -- until now.
Academy Award winner Kevin Costner stars as Earl Brooks, a man who has managed to keep his two incompatible worlds from intersecting by controlling his cunning, wicked alter ego Marshall (Academy Award winner William Hurt). But now, as Mr. Brooks succumbs to one last murderous urge, an amateur photographer (Dane Cook) witnesses the crime. Suddenly Brooks finds himself entangled in the dark agenda of an opportunistic bystander, as well as hunted by the unorthodox and tenacious detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore). Can Mr. Brooks outsmart his adversaries and conceal his shocking double life from his wife (Marg Helgenberger) and daughter (Danielle Panabaker) or will someone expose his crimes and his identity once and for all in this unpredictable and electrifying new thriller.
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We didn't plan to watch this movie, I saw it showing at Premiere in EX,went inside to check the time and got the 9.55 pm tickets. Normally, we won't go to watch a movie this late (considering it will be finished at midnight) but something intriguing me about Kevin Costner & Demi Moore in the movie poster.... I just grab the ticket and told Miguel afterwards that we'll be watching movie after our dinner, must say that he's not too impressed :-(
It turns out to be a GREAT movie !
Luuuuuvvv Kevin & Demi in this movie, they're playing their role amazingly, Kudos for Raynold Gideon (Screenwriter/Director) too, haven't watch a movie that is cleverly done like this one for a long time, Raynold knows how to keep everybody on their toes till the very end.
Got 4 stars from me 'cause honestly I was a bit disturb about 'killing do & don'ts' in the movie... its scary to think that somewhere out there some psycho might get an idea from it :-(
Anyway, a little teaser from the Movie Thriller... enjoy !
This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare and Henry who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are alternately harrowing and amusing. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's passionate love for each other with grace and humour. Their struggle to lead normal lives in the face of a force they can neither prevent nor control is intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
*About Author*
Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and a professor at the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, where she teaches writing,letterpress printing and fine edition book production. She shows her artwork at Printworks Gallery in Chicago. This is her first Novel.
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This book is is full with surprises, I read it with a huge question-mark in my head, totally un-predictable and pure fantasies.... all of my questions answered at the end, like a big puzzle solved.
A beautiful story about love, how we shouldn't take things for granted in life, we can't change what happened in the past and we cannot see our future, we must live in the moment.
On that note, I'm not gonna wasting my time anymore, every single second counts, better do something good and meaningful so I can remember it with a big smile in my face.
As a typically slender French girl, Mireille went to America as an exchange student and came back fat. That shock sent her into an adolescent tailspin, until her kindly family physician, "Dr. Miracle," came to the rescue. Reintroducing her to classic principles of French gastronomy plus time-honored secrets of the local women, he helped her restore her shape and gave her a whole new understanding of food, drink, and life. The key? Not guilt or deprivation but learning to get the most from the things you most enjoy. Following her own version of this traditional wisdom, she has ever since relished a life of indulgence without bulge, satisfying yen without yo-yo on three meals a day.
Now in simple but potent strategies and dozens of recipes you'd swear were fattening, Mireille reveals the ingredients for a lifetime of weight control–from the emergency weekend remedy of Magical Leek Soup to everyday tricks like fooling yourself into contentment and painless new physical exertions to save you from the StairMaster. Emphasizing the virtues of freshness, variety, balance, and always pleasure, Mireille shows how virtually anyone can learn to eat, drink, and move like a French woman.
*About Author* Mireille Guiliano (Meer-ray Julie-ano) is a long-time spokesperson for Champagne Veuve Clicquot and for more than 20 years has been a senior executive at the world’s leading luxury goods company, LVMH, including as president and CEO of Clicquot, Inc., the US firm she helped found in 1984 and was its first employee.
A native of France, she grew up amidst cooks, chefs and restaurateurs in provincial France and was educated in Paris, where she studied French and English literature at the Sorbonne and languages at the Institut Supérieur d'Interprétariat et de Traduction. Mireille holds the French equivalent of a master's degree in English and German and a certification as a translator/interpreter. She also has a command of Italian and several other languages. She first arrived in America as an exchange student in Boston and came back for good early in her professional career. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband, Edward, president and CEO of New York Institute of Technology, and makes frequent trips to their homes in Paris and Provence for business and pleasure.
****** Bought this book when I was 7 months pregnant and planning to read it when my Baby is out to the world, didn't realize that I won't have any time to sleep or eat properly let alone to read a book!!! So, when Ariel was 6 months old I started to read it slowly, trying some of her recipe (The Leek Soup is a must try, everyone !!!!). Apparently the essence of French gastronomy is to have a little of several things rather than a lot of one or two.
Must say I didn't follow her practical advice right away since I'm still breastfeeding (excuses, excuses....) but I do remember her watchword "Portion Control" especially after polishing a big sliced of chocolate cake or a tub of ice cream... hiiiiiikkkssss.
Anyway, I didn't attached the cover of the book for this review 'cause you might be wondering (like me at the beginning) how she looks like, voila.... got her picture right here ;-)
This book is highly recommended for those of you that planning to lose weight as well as for those who simply want to eat better and maintain a healthy shape.
In RED DRAGON we learned who he was. In SILENCE OF THE LAMBS we learned how he did it. Now comes the most chilling chapter in the life of Hannibal Lecter -- the one that answers the most elusive question of all - why?
Based on the best-selling author Thomas Harris' new book of the same name, HANNIBAL RISING reaches back to explore the origins of Lecter's rage, terror and savagery...
The story begins in Eastern Europe at the end of World War II. For many it was no longer a conflict of nations but one of individual survival, at any cost. A young Hannibal watches from only steps away as his parents violently die, leaving his cherished young sister in his care. This horrific moment will soon pale in comparison to the atrocities he is forced to witness, changing him forever.
Alone and without any means of support, he is forced to live in a Soviet orphanage that once served as his family's beloved home. He flees to Paris, where a cunning aptitude for science sees him accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within a serial killer who was not born, but made.
Visit www.evilwillrise.com for more.
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Watched the previous 2 movies of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) with great curiosity and fear (obviously). This one starring Gaspard Ulliel as young Hannibal still haunting me with disturbing images. Its a difficult movie to watch if you have your daughter sleeping in the next room. My suggestion, don't watch it at night and also don't watch it alone.
Its brilliantly violent, cold-blood mixed with good looks (ehm) got 3 stars from me 'cause I hate the fact that this movie is exposing cannibalism !!!
PS. My hubby said its Hannibal the Cannibal movie, what do you expect ?
One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize–winning career.
The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel García Márquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master.
Alternately reverential and comical, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.
*About Author* Gabriel García Márquez was born in Colombia in 1928. His many books include The Autumn of the Patriarch; No One Writes to the Colonel; Love in the Time of Cholera; a memoir, Living to Tell the Tale; and, most recently, a novel, Memories of My Melancholy Whores. Gabriel García Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
***** "The first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race." — William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review
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Read this book when I was pregnant with Ariel, my imbalance hormon made me getting involved with every character, I remember woke -up one morning dreamt about them having live conversation with me !!! Reading this fascinating tale of The Buendía Family pretty much remind me how a family tradition is playing an important rule of our lives, no matter where we come from and what we do. Kudos for GABO (his nick name), I love this book !!!!
PS. Read in Kompas this morning that Klub Sastra will has a dicussion about this book in MB Book Point, Jakarta Selatan today at 3 PM onwards.
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny smoe plepoe can.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Being king isn't for everyone especially if you're a prickly ogre who smells like the shallow end of the swamp. When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he wanted was to rule Far Far Away, but when his Frogger-In-Law, King Harold,suddenly croaks, Shrek is quickly fitted for the crown. Now unless the reluctant would-be king can find a suitable replacement,he'll be royally screwed for te rest of his days. As if Shrek didn't have enough on his plate, Princess fiona has another little surprises on the way. With his head spinning and his belly in knots,Shrek sets off on a quest to find the only other possible heir to the throne, Fiona's long lost cousin Artie, an under achieving medieval high schooler.
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This one is a MUST to watch... its funny all the way !!!! Definitely not for children under age 'cause Mike Myers isn't shy about his "nice" words.
My Mother -In-Law, Ani, made this dish when we're visiting her last February. It is simple, (nearly) fat free and delicious. I've been making this endlessly for family supper, ladies luncheon, food hamper for sick friends, even coffee morning ... so versatile that I just prepare them couple days ahead and put it in the oven half an hour before serving it.
This recipe is to take part in Cook & Eat Red Meat that Arfi inisiated,for those of you that would like to participate,click here : Ayo Ikutan Event Cook and Eat Meat
(^_^)
You will need :
I Kg Satsumaimo (Japanese Sweet Potato) ; or Kumara 500 Gr Butternut Pumpkin ; or any type of Pumpkin 500 gr Tess Potato
Steam all the above until cooked, cool it slightly, peel the skin off then mashed them with a little bit of butter (if you wish).
For the filling : 500 Gr Ground Beef 1 Cup diced carrots 1 Cup green peas 1 Cup Corn Kernel 1/2 Medium Onion, chopped finely 2 tbsp butter
Heat the wok, add butter & onion sautee until soft & fragrant , add ground beef, keep sauteeing until the beef slightly brown in color then add :
1 cup beef stock or water 1 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp paprika ground 1/4 tsp oregano ground 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 bayleaf salt - as you like
When it reach boiling point, add carrot+corn+green peas, cover the wok with the lid and lower the heat. Simmer it until the liquid almost gone, put aside and let it cool-off.
Grease the baking dish with butter, put the first layer of mashed potato, spread it evenly then add the filling, lastly spread the last layer of mashed potato, top it up with:
100 gr light cheddar cheese, grated
Pre-heat the Oven, gas-mark 4 then bake the dish until the top is golden in color.
When Daniel Stone was a child, he was the only white boy in a native Eskimo village where his mother taught, and he was teased mercilessly because he was different. He fought back, the baddest of the bad kids: stealing, drinking, robbing and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush – where he honed his artistic talent, fell in love with a girl and got her pregnant. To become part of a family, he reinvented himself – jettisoning all that anger to become a docile, devoted husband and father. Fifteen years later, when we meet Daniel again, he is a comic book artist. His wife teaches Dante’s Inferno at a local college; his daughter, Trixie, is the light of his life – and a girl who only knows her father as the even-tempered, mild-mannered man he has been her whole life. Until, that is, she is date raped…and Daniel finds himself struggling, again, with a powerlessness and a rage that may not just swallow him whole, but destroy his family and his future.
More about the book : When the hardcover of Tenth Circle was released the week of March 17, 2006, it debuted at #2 on the NY Times bestseller list, was ranked #1 on the Wall Street Journal and Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists!
About the Author Jodi Picoult, 40, is the bestselling author of fourteen novels: Songs of the Humpback Whale (1992), Harvesting the Heart (1994), Picture Perfect (1995); Mercy (1996), The Pact (1998); Keeping Faith (1999), Plain Truth (2000), Salem Falls (2001), Perfect Match (2002), Second Glance (2003), My Sister's Keeper (2004), Vanishing Acts (2005),The Tenth Circle (2006) and her newest novel, Nineteen Minutes. In 2003 she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction.
She was born and raised on Long Island… something that she believed at first was a detriment to a girl who wanted to be a writer.
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This book is about rape and murder, very sensitive issues for every parents. When I saw this book I was not sure if I'm ready to read it but afterwards Im glad that I did..... a story of a flawed family on the brink of destruction grips from start to finish, I was desperate to know how they dealt with the problem !
The other thing I like about this book is Dustin Weaver comic artwork in it... very thoughtful of the author, brilliant artwork !
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject—the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.
*About Author*
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. In 1970, the Foreign Ministry sent his family to Tehran, where his father worked for the Afghan embassy. They lived in Tehran until 1973, at which point they returned to Kabul. In July of 1973, on the night Hosseini’s youngest brother was born, the Afghan king, Zahir Shah, was overthrown in a bloodless coup by the king’s cousin, Daoud Khan. At the time, Hosseini was in fourth grade and was already drawn to poetry and prose; he read a great deal of Persian poetry as well as Farsi translations of novels ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry once again relocated the Hosseini family, this time to Paris. They were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, but by then Afghanistan had already witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In September of 1980, Hosseini’s family moved to San Jose, California. They lived on welfare and food stamps for a short while, as they had lost all of their property in Afghanistan. His father took multiple jobs and managed to get his family off welfare. Hosseini graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego’s School of Medicine, where he earned a Medical Degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and began practicing Internal Medicine in 1996. His first love, however, has always been writing.
Hosseini has vivid, and fond, memories of peaceful pre-Soviet era Afghanistan, as well as of his personal experiences with Afghan Hazaras. One Hazara in particular was a thirty-year-old man named Hossein Khan, who worked for the Hosseinis when they were living in Iran. When Hosseini was in the third grade, he taught Khan to read and write. Though his relationship with Hossein Khan was brief and rather formal, Hosseini always remembered the fondness that developed between them.
In 2006, Hosseini was named a goodwill envoy to the UNHCR, The United Nations Refugee Agency.
**** It is hard to put this book down, read it within a day 'cause I need to know what is going on with Amir, the main character of the book. Since the setting is in Afganistan the writer using some words and expression in Farsi,Afgan Language, that is so beautiful and moving, the stories just flow.
One of the review that I read mentioned that this book is not about story of Mideast politics but it is a story of life, through the characters and the plot,which is captivating and at time quite disturbing, this extraordinary novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history, I'm totally in agreement.
A TALE OF YUMMY MUMMIES WITH FLAT BROWN TUMMIES...
Four parents-to-be seem ante-natally sorted. Flash Hugo and Amanda have booked a chic private clinic and royal maternity nurse. Right-on Jake and Alice want an all-natural home birth with whale music and tree-hugging nappies. But nothing goes quite to plan. Amanda finds motherhood less glam than the stars make it look and disappears back to her career. Which leaves Hugo with the child and without a clue what to do.
Alice has problems too. Bringing up baby to Jake’s eco-fascist standards means home-made organic everything and a recycled cardboard cot. Will nappiness bring happiness to anybody? Not before bedhopping spouses, beastly bosses and bitchy nursery mothers have all done their dreadful worst…
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Its too predictable & shallow.. not my favourite kind of book, it has some funny side though... quite entertaining.
