Tim Dorsey's Hurricane Punch

I try to grab a variety of novels when I visit the public library. Mostly, I like murder mysteries/suspense thrillers, but sometimes I get a story about women’s lives or something new. The other day I grabbed Hurricane Punch by Tim Dorsey. It turns out that Dorsey might be crazy—who could have thought of this plot? It is an insane story about a serial killer and a newspaper reporter in Florida during several hurricanes. It was really amusing in spots. Here are some good quotes (“Serge” is the serial killer):

1. “I celebrated in advance, in case something good happened.” Coleman (Serge’s sidekick)

2. “…I dreaded the thought of getting my own cell, but the cutthroat competition of the wireless industry has created all kinds of offers you can’t refuse. Like mine. This guy set his phone on the counter in Starbucks, and before he knew it, I was halfway down the block…” Serge

3. “Remember the key to life. Always act like you deserve to be here.” Serge

4. “…mental illness is like cholesterol. There’s the good kind and the bad. Without the good kind, less flavor to life. Van Gogh, Beethoven, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, Pink Floyd…scientific breakthroughs, spiritual revelations, utopian visions, zany nationalism that kills millions. Wait, that’s the bad kind.” Serge


It’s great to discover a new, (maybe crazy) author. I checked out another of Dorsey’s books today.

Lines from The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons

I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons this weekend. It was a thought-provoking movie, a “curious case” indeed. Here are some lines I especially liked.


1. Mrs. Maple: Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?

2. Ngunda Oti: You'll see little man, plenty of times you be alone. You different like us, it's gonna be that way. But I tell you a little secret I find out. We know we alone. Fat people, skinny people, tall people, white people... they just as alone as us... but they scared shitless.

3. Benjamin Button: It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.

4. Benjamin Button: [Voice over; letter to his daughter] For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

5. Benjamin Button: Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some people get struck by lightning. Some are born to sit by a river. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim the English Channel. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people can dance.

A Quote I Like...

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." – CS Lewis

About Buzzards...

Earlier this week I saw a huge vulture on the side of the road, and it reminded me of something I wrote a couple of years ago (before I had a blog):

March 25, 2007

A disturbing thing happened yesterday. I looked out the bathroom window and saw a large bird, even bigger than these fat cardinals and woodpeckers who fight over the Ol’ Roy dog food Wayne puts out for the dogs. This bird was BIG. Cautiously, it looked around the yard, wary, watching for killer dogs (where were those maniacs?). Pretty in an odd way, its body was covered with black feathers, but its neck and head were free of feathers, making the curve of its neck and head look like a goose or a duck or something. I noticed it had a little hook on the front of its beak; it hooked down. Gradually, I decided that it must be, well, a vulture—a “buzzard” as we say around here. In my backyard? Were all the dogs all right? The bird was trying to drink water out of an orange bucket Wayne had left in the backyard…but there was water in other containers for the dogs nearby. Why not drink there, or in the creek? I went for the camera, which was naturally not charged up. I went outside to see if the buzzard were still there. No…but then I looked up. There it was, high in the walnut tree—definitely a vulture, looking down over the hill, thankfully not over the house. So far up in the tree, it looked just like the cartoon buzzards on Jungle Book.

I see symbols everywhere, literature-teaching woman that I am. A sign of death?
What is it that Mel Gibson’s character says in the movie Signs? "Are you the type of person who sees signs in everything?"

"Creeped me out," as the kids say. Diana came home a little while after that, and we watched Thelma and Louise. When Wayne came home from his mother’s house, I told him about the buzzard and the orange bucket. There were fish guts in there—he cleaned some fish and left the remains in the bucket (I know...ewww). There is always a reasonable explanation-- even a nasty, smelly one-- for unusual events, even signs.

At least I didn’t hear it say "Nevermore."

About Turkish Delight and the Internet...

Today, my younger daughter said, "Do you know what Turkish Delight is?"

"Nope. It sounds good in books, though."

"I know! It's in Narnia..."

"Yeah, the witch gave it to the boy..."

"I'm going to look it up! I want to know what it is." She settled down at the computer and began to google. She found the recipe, read it through, and said, "Ewwww." Then she looked up all kinds of exotic foods from the links on the recipe site, and tried to pronounce their names aloud, giggling madly. This went on for quite a while.

This is why I love the internet, and Google, and the innate curiosity of kids, and my kid...

Here's a Great Video: Sound of Music, Train Station

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

That's the Truth!!!

"Housekeeping ain't no joke."

Louisa May Alcott

Not very grammatical, but I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!