Reading And Writing Books

     

Tucson Weather Today


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On March 23, 1999, bestselling author Thomas Harris delivered the 600-page manuscript for his new novel, Hannibal, to Delacorte press. Hannibal was part of a two-book contract that paid Harris a $5.2 million advance. The book was the third novel featuring serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, who first appeared in Harris' 1981 book Red Dragon as a minor character. He played a larger role in The Silence of the Lambs (1988), which sold some 10 million copies and was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1991.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter

Personal Opinion:
The book is great -- the movie, in my estimation, is not. The movie takes such flagrant liberties with the plot, such as, among other things, leaving out the character of Mason Verger's sister (a fascinating study) and completely changing the book's ending. The movie utterly destroys the story's original magnificence.

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WORD FOR TODAY

motivation
noun
the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way.

Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas.

Motivation may be rooted in a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. It can also originate from specific physical needs such as eating, sleeping or resting, and sex.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Wernher Von Braun

 Born Mar. 23, 1912
Died June 16, 1977

Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and, subsequently, in the United States. He is credited as being the "Father of Rocket Science".

Joan Crawford

 Born Mar 23, 1905
Died May 10, 1977

Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theater. She starred in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. after Crawford's death, daughter Christina wrote a "tell-all" memoir, Mommie Dearest, in which she alleged a lifelong pattern of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by Crawford.

Roger Bannister

 Born Mar 23, 1929
Age:   83 years old

Roger Gilbert Bannister is an English former athlete best known for running the first mile in less than 4 minutes.

Amanda Plummer

 Born Mar 23, 1957
Age:   55 years old

Amanda Michael Plummer is an actress best known for her work on stage and for her roles in films such as The Fisher King (1991), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), and Pulp Fiction (1994).

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You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C. S. Lewis
 

Blog Rhymes With Slog

Tucson Weather Today

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As we entered a Tucson Safeway store . . .

at just after nine on Saturday morning -
a recreational balloon passed overhead.

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Q: What is a book good for?
A: A book...

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From: A.W.A.D

Expostulate
verb intr.:
To reason earnestly with someone in order to dissuade.

Wow! I had always thought the word meant 'to object loudly.' Now I see that I was wrong.


Another word with which I was mistaken about its meaning:

hegemony
the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others;

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Greta Christina's Ad Hoc Soup

With traditional soup, you make a big pot of it, and cook everything together, so the flavors of the vegetables/ beans/ meat/ whatnot all get blended into the broth.

But with this soup, it's exactly the opposite. You don't make a big pot of it at once; instead, you make just a bowl or two of it at a time, ad hoc. You cook your protein, you saute your veggies... and then, at the very last minute right before you're ready to eat, you put all the stuff in a bowl, and pour the hot broth/ stock over it.

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While conversing on the phone, a person all of a sudden speaks nonsensical words, such as, when intending to say, "Okay, see you when you get home" instead enunciates: "Ki say ya one jewgetum."

Is this a sign of senility? A simple form of forgetfulness? Or a physical disability (such as a brain malfunction) that comes and goes?

I question this because it's been happening to me lately.

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The Writer's Almanac credits Aryn Kyle with saying: She loves the thrill of beginning a new story and she loves the glory of finishing a first draft. But all of that time writing in between can be difficult and discouraging, she said, like "digging through concrete with a salad fork"

Now that's a pretty good description of the process of writing fiction.

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To Kill A Mockingbird

What To Kill A Mockingbird isn't

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Regarding To Kill a Mockingbird: Flannery O'Connor said, "It's interesting that all the folks that are buying it don't know they are reading a children's book."