So, here is the deal with whats going on with me, this blog and the lack of content you are probably noticing…
My transition online went a little like this. I’ve used FaceBook for years to share pictures with people far and wide as my kids aged. And I used email when I tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to keep in touch with the family of my heart (my friends) and the family of my blood. I started a blog back then because I was writing these long emails to keep everyone up to date on all the cute things my kids were doing. Then the online social world took off, right around the time I became a widow. And an online presence was the absolute last thought on my mind-although it is why I finally joined facebook.
I read books on my kindles, which changed through the years and managed my ebooks on my laptops. I joined goodreads when it came about and followed my authors via their webpages and blogs. And about a year ago, I started writing reviews of my books on goodreads and amazon. There was so much negativity out there aimed at the authors and I wanted the authors to know that there were readers who weren’t negative and appreciated all the effort that went into their books.
I started reaching out to the authors (and their media minions) to offer support. And some of them told me the best thing I could do for them is write reviews and write blog posts. SO I started a tumblr blog-mostly to build up one authors body of work. And when I went to upgrade my netgalley account and sign up for amazon ad links, I was told tumblr wasn’t considered a respectable platform. Youtube and twitter are, but not tumblr. So, I needed a real website or a twitter following.
And I have spent the last month or so transitioning to wordpress and driving myself insane rying to make it look right, to get the tags right, to get the categories right. I’m still not there! But I realized if I didn’t start posting again the appearance wouldn’t matter-no one would see it!
So, I’m spending most of my time on the appearance! And I will try to remember that I have to post too! I want this site to be a place where book lovers can come and hear my thoughts on the latest books and share theirs. I will work to make it that- so please leave comments or crosspost me!
And if you notice radio silence for too long, don’t be hesitant to email me and remind me that I’m doing this to build up my favorite authors-large and small!!!!
Time for another cvgr speed commentary, body swap edition. The body swap is definitely my favourite part of this book and possibly one of my all time favourite sequences in the entire series. I’d pay big money for Pritkin’s POV while he was in Cassie’s body (if only Karen was on Patreon or something …) because this whole thing is just so funny, so messed up and touching and weirdly sexy at times. Pretty much typical Cassie Palmer right?
– chapter eighteen – Cassie’s initial reaction to Pritkin in her body is pretty hysterical. “I sounded like a very pissed off little girl.” Pritkin’s reaction to being in the wrong body is probably close to what mine would be like – shocked, appalled etc. His accent staying more or less the same makes sense I guess? Accents aren’t necessarily ingrained at a muscle memory level, we can change them very easily. Him keeping any metaphysical abilities he has, like good shields etc also makes sense because we know they’re a mental manipulation of the body’s magic.
– chapter nineteen – much and all as I love that Pritkin kicks ass even when in Cassie’s body – why is it so hot when he shoots people?? I definitely have issues – I would question the fact that his hand-eye coordination seems to have transferred along with his spirit. Cassie’s aim is far to bad to take that many people out with that kind of precision, right? I guess they were in close enough quarters that it didn’t matter. Anyway, I like our introduction to Jonas Marsden. It’s appropriately off key. I also like the way KC prepares the way for important introductions like this long before they ever happen – in Jonas’ case, we’ve already heard about him back in CbS. This is why I never trust what seems like random rambling, or irrelevant details in these books because they always, always come back in some way. This chapter also features the usual top Casskin banter – their arguments about the coffee and the training sessions are so fricking married, like for real, get a room.
– chapter twenty – more Casskin marriedness, their every interaction kills me. Cassie rubbing Pritkin’s back while he gets sick is just so weirdly cute? I mean I know it’s a pretty gross situation, but that’s what makes it so couple-y, that rather than being grossed out at all by Pritkin throwing up, Cassie’s instinct is to take care of him. Everything they do HURTS ME. ALSO ALSO I am not the only one who thinks they’re acting like a couple because Jonas very obviously thinks they’re together, see how surprised he is when Cassie doesn’t want to share a bed with Pritkin. More reasons to love the body swap – the classic line, “No Miss Palmer, what is bizarre is that I currently have a vagina.” I’ve been laughing at that comment since 2009. But great and all as that moment is, nothing but NOTHING will ever top Cassie waking up in Pritkin’s body with a hard on. Her panic at the whole situation is so completely believable and entirely hilarious, but at that the same time, it’s a weirdly erotic scene. She’s just so aware of his body, it brings out her latent attraction to him: “He’d be strong” is so hot I might evaporate. Also, we should start doing a group read drinking game – take a sip every time Cassie describes Pritkin’s hands, take a shot every time she talks about how green his eyes are and finish your drink if she mentions his hair being soft and/or terrible. Or maybe we should not play that game, because it sounds like a quick route to alcohol poisoning. For real though, Cassie has SUCH a crush, it’s killing me. And to top it all off, Pritkin knows exactly what she’s suffering and he thinks it’s hilarious. What a little bastard, I love him.
Ok, SO I know you are in love with Pritkin. I get that. I’m all for anyone who connects with the story in any way. But I have a little bit of a different read on all this. SO rather than assume that everyone knows whats going on in my head, I’m gonna spell it out.
Cassie is a young woman. And despite the fact that she is pretty kick ass even from the beginning she hasn’t had a lot of experience with men. Remember, that her very first sexual experience is IN Louis-Caesar. and he was already, um, well very engaged in the sex act. The geis has made sure that she’s married and has to have a three way with two people- I just said that sentence three times and it still doesn’t sound right, before she has had a chance to find her sexual feet.
And Cassie didn’t start off in the “easy” dating pool-oh no she had to go for the biggest, baddest, most combustible men- First there’s Tomas, although he is pretty tame by comparison to the later love interests, he is a first level vamp, who was strong enough to play human for Cassie for 6 months and challenge the CONSUL of THE LATIN AMERICAN SENATE. And he is her first sexual partner, although its rushed and co-opted by Apollo. Then, there’s Mircea Basarab who has been the right arm of the Consul for a very long time-and it goes back to when he was a Prince in Romania. And if you read Masks, he trained to become a great lover of vampires.
And, John Pritkin is half incubus too. And he has had lots of experience before Rossier got his hands on her. SO for Cassie, this body swap is in many ways a revelation. It’s the first time that she has a sexual experience that is free of the heavyweights that are in her bed. She doesn’t even get to masturbate without participation with Mircea via his mind skills. And suddenly, shes in a male body. And she gets to explore it, without anyone else rushing her,
But even that gets ruined by Pritkin’s knowing smile and interruption. SO I look at it as more about Cassie. And damn does she deserve the time to learn about pleasure- although from inside one of the men is a little bit weird but hey it’s a pythia thing! And what I loved most about the whole body swap was the whole thing AFTER they got back to Dante’s. When Mircea kisses Cassie in Pritkin’s body….and the whole battle confusion and the run through the wild west and the way the body swap fucks Saunders up…
So that’s my two cents. Sorry if you don’t like it. Tell me where I’m wrong, ok?
I’m all for cute pictures of pets. I like them, they make me smile most of the time BUT miserable animals in people clothes or wrapped like a buritto in a blanket…That’s not ok. It stresses the poor animal out. For some animals, mostly toy breeds, they are accustomed to it but others…just love your pets. I don’t need to see them in clothes
Sometimes people like to write things about florist’s shops. Here are two things you need to know, the most egregiously wrong things.
1. It makes no fucking sense to sketch out a bouquet before you make it. Every individual flower is different in a way that cannot really be adjusted the way other building materials can be adjusted, and each individual bouquet is unique. Just put the fucking flowers together.
2. No one — in months and months of working at the flower shop — has ever cared what the flower/color of the flower means. No one’s ever asked. It’s just not something people tend to care about outside of fiction and it’s certainly not something most florists know. You know what florists know? What looks good and is thematically appropriate.
Here’s an actual list of the symbology of flowers, as professionals use it:
Yellow – for friends, hospitals Pink – girls, girlfriends, babies, bridesmaids Red – love Purple – queens White – marriage and death (DO NOT SEND TO HOSPITALS) Pink and purple – ur mum Red, orange, and yellow – ur mum if she’s stylish Red, yellow, blue – dudes and small children Blue and white – rare, probably a wedding Red and white – love for fancy bitches
Here are what the flowers actually mean to a florist:
The Fill It Out flowers:
Carnations – fuck u these are meaningless filler-flowers, not even your administrative assistant likes them, show some creativity Alstroemeria – by and large very similar to carnations but I like them better Tea roses – cute and lil and come several to a stalk, a classy filler flower Moluccella laevis – filler flower but CHOICE Delphinium – not as interesting as moluccella but purple so okay I guess Blue thistle – FUCK YEAH, some fucking textural variety at last! you’re getting this for a dude, aren’t you? Chrysanthemums – barely better than carnations but better is still better Gladiolus – ooh, risky business, someone understands the use of the Y-axis, very good
Focal points:
Long-stem roses – yeah whatever Lilies – LBD, looks good with everything, get used as often as possible Hydrangeas – thirsty fuckers, divas of the flower world and rightly so, treat them right and they make you look good Gerbera daisies – the rose’s hippie cousin, hotter but no one admits it Peonies – CHA-CHING, everybody’s absolute favorite but you need guap Orchids – if this isn’t for a wedding you’re probably trying too hard but they’re expensive so keep ordering them
You know what matters? THE CUSTOMER’S BUDGET. THAT’S TELLING.
-$20 – if you’re not under 12, fuck off, get your sugar something else $30 – good for bouquets but an arrangement will be lame $40 – getting there, there’s something that can be done with that. you can get some gerbs or roses with that and not have them look stupidly solo. $50 to $70 – tolerable $80 – FINALLY. It sounds elitist but this really is the basic amount of money you should expect to spend on an arrangement that matters. That’s your Mother’s Day arrangement. You’re probably not going to spend $80 on a bouquet. $90 to $130 – THE GOOD SHIT, you’re likely to get some orchids $130+ – Weddings and death. This amount of money gets you a memorial arrangement or a handmade bridal bouquet. Don’t spend this on a Mother’s Day or a Babe I Love You arrangement, buy whosits a massage or something.
Miscellaneous:
Everything needs greening and if you don’t think that you’re an idiot.
As a new employee, when you start making arrangements, you can’t see the mistakes you’re making because you’re brand new and you’re learning an art form from the ground up.
With a few exceptions customers don’t have a clear plan in mind. They want you to develop the bouquet for them. They want something that will delight their little sweetbread but you’re lucky if they know that person’s favorite color, let alone flower.
Flower shops don’t typically have every kind of flower in every kind of color. Customers generally aren’t assed about that. Most people don’t care about the precise shade of the rose or having daffodils in July, because they’re not boning up on flower language before they buy. That would imply that they’ve got a clear bouquet in mind and, again, they don’t.
Being a florist is essentially a lot like what I imagine being a mortician is about. You’re basically keeping dead things looking good for as long as possible. You keep the product in the fridge so it doesn’t rot and look horrible by the time the family gets a whack at it, and in the meanwhile you put it in a nice container.
Anyway that’s flowers.
this is magnificent and I love hearing about ppl job feilds
