Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to read. I have books all over, in stacks and piles, and my bookshelves are two books deep. I will never have or read enough books. So, it is only right and necessary that I have books at the lake, as well (rest assured that I have at least one copy of each of these books at home!). I bought copies, some used, some new, especially for the lake. As much as it goes against the grain, I am trying not to worry if they get a bit of water or dirt or sunscreen on them (very tough not to think about it, but I am trying!).
So, I present my list of books I have at the lake (Oh, I also have lots of little romances, but I'm not counting or listing them!):
I love the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien books and movies. So brilliant. For some reason I haven't bought the 2nd of trilogy, but I plan to.
1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I absolutely love this book and read it every October, because the month seems to fit the mood of the book. Beautiful.
5. The Marrying Kind by Cynthia Rutledge: This is a little Christian romance that I absolutely love. Great story and characters!
6. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks: I absolutely love this book and cry every time I read it. The movie is different, but beautiful, as well.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I first read this in high school and wrote my senior English thesis paper on Jane. Brilliant novel.
8. William Shakespeare-Complete Sonnets: A collection isn't complete without some Shakespeare! I do love the Bard! Especially his sonnets.
9.Emma by Jane Austen: Jane Austen is my favorite author of all time and I love all of her books.
10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: This is my absolute favorite novel of all time. I adore it and have read two times already this year. Mr. Darcy: need I say more?
I love J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series and have books 1-6 at the lake. As I only have space left for three, I'm going to double them up.
11. Year 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ;
Year 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
12. Year 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban;
Year 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
13. Year 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; I think OotP is my favorite of the first six (book seven is coming out sometime in the next few years). It is the longest so far, and the heaviest. I once dropped the paperback copy on my nose. Luckily, I didn't break it.
Year 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
What books would you read at the lake or on vacation?
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Now showing in 24 overseas markets, the film took in $58 million to bring its overseas gross to $125 million. It set new box office records for opening weekend results in Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Singapore and Malaysia.Hooray! I have seen the movie twice, but I do plan to see it again, quite soon. I am glad to see people are still going in droves. It is perfect entertainment for a hot summer day and you are guaranteed to laugh. If you haven't seen the first one, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl , I recommend doing so. It will let you in on the numerous inside jokes in DMC and explain the characters and "history" to you. Plus, it is a simply fabulous movie.
In its maiden voyage to seven territories, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hijacked the foreign box office over the weekend with a lusty $46.6 million, nearly quadrupling what its predecessor opened to in those same markets. Not even the final matches of the box-office-draining World Cup could stop it.Let's hope it keeps going.
In the United Kingdom, Pirates nabbed the eighth-highest opening ever and the biggest of the year, raking in $25.3 million from 514 locations. Down Under, it tallied $8.4 million, also the eighth best if all time and eclipsing the first movie by 111 percent.
Yo ho, yo ho. A pirate's life for… everyone."Yo ho, yo ho" is right!
Or so it seems after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest plundered the record books with an estimated $132 million opening weekend, swatting Spider-Man's long standing $114.8 million milestone atop the all time chart.
Buena Vista's swarthy sequel marauded over 8,500 screens at 4,133 sites—the third widest debut ever—compared to Spider-Man's 7,500 screens at 3,615 sites, though Pirates' estimated 20 million admissions out-paced Spidey by only a hair.
Pirates pilfered a trove of records, but the key ones, in addition to opening weekend, were biggest single and opening day and fastest to $100 million. On Friday, Dead Man's Chest raked in $55.5 million (including $9 million's worth of 2,100 midnight showings), eclipsing Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith's $50 million and grossing more in one day than its predecessor, The Curse of the Black Pearl, did in its entire opening weekend. Dead Man's Chest also became the first picture to cross the century mark in two days flat.How exciting! I do hope it continues to do very well.
In order to reach record heights Dead Man's Chest appealed across all demographic groups, including an equal gender split. "There wasn't a category that stood out," Viane noted. "It was just a total blend." The studio's exit polling indicated that the audience's assessment was on par with the original with 92 percent rating Dead Man's Chest "excellent" or "very good," and pollster CinemaScore backed that up with an "A-" rating.I quite agree: it was excellent. Once again, I laughed throughout. Go see it! Repeatedly! :)
Captain Jack Sparrow discovers he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman. With time running out, Jack must find a way out of his debt or else be doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife. Making matters worse, Sparrow's problems manage to interefere with the wedding plans of a certain Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who are forced to join Jack on yet another one of his misadventures.I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I promise not to reveal any specifics. :)
Move over Darth Vader. Captain Jack Sparrow is king for a day. Preliminary estimates released by Disney show that "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" earned $55.5 million on Friday, which would set the record for the largest one-day take at the box office.Even Drudge has this headline up: BIGGEST OPEN IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY! Hooray!
The previous record was set last year by "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," which grossed about $50 million.
The movie was shown on 4,133 screens, beginning at midnight Friday. Only 2004's "Shrek 2" and "Spider-Man 2" debuted on more screens.
Disney also received reports of continuous sellouts and requests to add more screens at multiplexes.
"We're obviously thrilled beyond belief. Anytime you break an industry record ... the word ecstatic comes to mind," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution at Disney.
The swashbuckling sequel is on pace to eclipse the three-day, box-office record held by "Spider-Man" in 2002 with $114.8 million.
You answered 79% of the questions correctly.Great interview with writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio here.
Mostly correct. Yo ho ho! And, if you’re of legal drinking age, a bottle of rum.
Even without a documented connection to a notable forebear, experts say the odds are virtually 100 percent that every person on Earth is descended from one royal personage or another.What a list! George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert E. Lee!
"Millions of people have provable descents from medieval monarchs," said Mark Humphrys, a genealogy enthusiast and professor of computer science at Dublin City University in Ireland. "The number of people with unprovable descents must be massive."
By the same token, for every king in a person's family tree there are thousands and thousands of nobodies whose births, deaths and lives went completely unrecorded by history. We'll never know about them, because until recently vital records were a rarity for all but the noble classes.
It works the other way, too. Anybody who had children more than a few hundred years ago is likely to have millions of descendants today, and quite a few famous ones.
Take King Edward III, who ruled England during the 14th century and had nine children who survived to adulthood. Among his documented descendants are presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Zachary Taylor, both Roosevelts), authors (Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning), generals (Robert E. Lee), scientists (Charles Darwin) and actors (Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Brooke Shields). Some experts estimate that 80 percent of England's present population descends from Edward III.
LONDON (Reuters) - Children's author J.K. Rowling has revealed that at least two characters will die in the seventh and final installment of her bestselling Harry Potter series, but was careful not to say who.I know I will certainly be in line to get one before it comes out. I am anxious to see how the story ends, and, at the same time, I dread finishing the series and seeing the end of beloved (possibly?) characters.
Children and adults are expected to rush and buy the final Harry Potter novel in their tens of millions when it is complete, and if the publication of the sixth book is anything to go by, secrecy surrounding the plot will be tight.
Rowling has already said that the final chapter of the seventh book was written long ago.Does that mean she's going to kill Harry off in book 7? Or that she thought of it, but decided against it?!?
"The final chapter is hidden away, although it's now changed very slightly," she said in an interview broadcast on Monday on Britain's Channel 4. "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die."
When asked to be more specific, she added: "No, I'm not going to commit myself, because I don't want the hate mail or anything else."
She did explain that she understood an author's desire to kill off the main character of a successful series.
"I've never been tempted to kill him (Harry) off before the end of book seven, because I always planned seven books and that's where I want to go.
"I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks 'Well, I'm going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels ... so it will end with me, and after I'm dead and gone they won't be able to bring back the character'."
Speaking on Monday evening, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, 40, said she was well on the way to finishing the eagerly-awaited seventh Potter book.I completely agree about the pure evil and that evil doesn't target the extras. I just hope that Harry doesn't have to pay the price. He's paid so much already. And I don't want Ron or Hermione to die. Or Ginny. Or Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Or Fred and George. Etc., etc., etc.
"I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I've known exactly how the series is going to end," she told a chat show on Channel 4 television.
"The final chapter is hidden away although it's now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve. But I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die," Rowling said.
"A price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras, do they? They go for the main characters -- well, I do."
As for the seventh and final chapter in Harry's increasingly dark odyssey, Britain's most famous (and wealthiest) author has confirmed she has started writing the story. But according to U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, the currently untitled tome won't hit bookstores until 2007 at the earliest. Our guess is it will be on shelves just in time for a certain movie opening.I don't know if that would be a smart thing. If, let us say, Harry or another big favorite dies, fans will not be in the most forgiving mood (I know I won't). I am sure that would affect ticket sales. It would be better to release the book after the movie.
3. Dani loved food, especially meat. Some of her favorites were Cadbury Mini-Eggs, the excellent beef jerky from a local butcher shop, bananas, Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers from Wendy's, and ice cream. Once my mother caught her pulling a bag of Mini-Eggs of the table in the tv room and then scarfing a bunch up. Whenever we had any out she would watch us intently. If she was sleeping, she would suddenly awaken and put her head up. She loved the Egger's beef jerky so much. She once stole a large piece off the napkin on my leg. Another time we got some for my dad for his birthday and tucked it with some of the other gifts. When we got the gifts out, Dani kept sniffing and sniffing the clothing. It took us awhile to figure out that she smelled beef jerky on them. When she was little she really liked bananas. Once I was home alone and she was sleeping in the back room. I pulled a banana off the fridge and she came running. Ice cream was her favorite treat. We always let her lick the bowls, cartons, and fast food containers, after we finished. Her eyes would get a very intense gleam and she looked rather scary. It was so very adorable and funny. After she got cancer we began giving her her own ice cream. She would get so excited whenever we got the carton out. I will miss sharing my food with her.
4. Dani loved to go on walks. If anyone touched the cupboard where her leash was kept, even to get out the dust mop, she would be there right away. Then, she would follow the person around with such excitement in her eyes. She and I had our own little route. She knew right where to go. I couldn't come downstairs in certain clothes or shoes, or go over by my discman, without her thinking it was time for a walk. We couldn't even say the word "Walk" without her perking up. When someone got the leash out, she would jump up on that person and bark for joy. Even after she got cancer, she would pull so hard on her leash and sniff everything. Sometimes it took forever to move her along the path. Sometimes she would just go over to the cupboard, sit down, and look up at it. She would nudge her nose at the cupboard door. How could anyone resist? I will miss taking walks with her.
5. Dani loved to sleep, especially in the lap of luxury! She loved blankets, pillows, pads on the floor, couches, and beds. She had her own little pillow and her own blankets (we spoiled her terribly). Yet, she still loved using ours. If my mother stretched out on the love seat in the tv room, Dani would go over and expect to get up on one half. My sister always moved over or off for Dani! Sometimes she would just be back there by herself, sleeping. Sometimes she would take herself up to take a nap or go to bed on my parents' bed, most especially on my mother's pillow. On occasion I would go into the back tv room and find Dani sleeping on a huge pile of blankets or on top of the pillows on top of the couch, in the oddest ways! If anyone was sleeping on the couch or the floor, Dani made it her business to say hello! If someone was staying at our house, and we were setting up a bed on a floor, Dani would always climb on and impede our ability to put the sheets on. She thought it was her new bed! Once, I was sitting on the couch, towards the middle, next to my dad. There was a pillow on my left. My mother was on the love seat and my sister on the floor. I got up to get something in another room. When I came back, Dani was in my spot. I picked her up, took her over to the open spot on the loveseat, and started back to my spot. She beat me to it! I picked her up and put her back again. I sat down in my spot. Dani came over and climbed up on to the pillow beside me and just glared. It was hilarious. She would go up to bed early with my mother and then not come down until late morning. I will miss her hogging the couch and finding her sleeping everywhere.
6. Dani loved to play with her toys. Sometimes on walks she would find tennis balls over by the university's tennis courts. She was so proud to come home with one. Sometimes she would take great pleasure in pulling the fuzz off of one or tossing it for herself. Sometimes she would have fun throwing it down the stairs and then running after it. She loved it when we would throw one in the back yard or at the playground for her or down the hall. She would run through the middle of the back yard, but, because of her cattle instincts, she always went to one of the sides to come back. It was so funny. Whenever she was finished playing, she would just lay down or not bring the ball back. Another of her favorite toys was plastic milk jugs! Actually, plastic bottles of any kind. She would steal them out of the recycling bin. It was hilarious to hear and watch her run around with a milk jug. It made such a funny noise and she just loved batting them around! She had lots of other toys: her plastic hot dogs (the first of which we have only a tiny tip of left---she chewed the rest to bits), her squeaky Old Navy bones, her other toy balls, her ropes, and the stuffed animal the wonderful people at the animal hospital gave her when she went into remission. She loved it when we stuck a tennis ball into an old sock and tied a knot. We would play tug with her or she would chew on it or fling it around. Sometimes, with the stuffed animal, the ball in the sock, or the ropes she would grab a hold and shake her head around like she was trying to kill it. We always wondered why she didn't stop when she hit herself in the head. I suppose it was just too much fun. It was amazing the way she knew where they all were. She would stick one some place and find it there weeks later. I will miss playing with her toys with her and seeing them every where.
7. Dani had sooooo many nicknames. They constantly evolved, but we always called her by the old and new ones. First, she was named for one of our favorite baseball players, former Mariners' catcher Danny Wilson. One of her first nicknames was "Devil Dog." When we got her she seemed so quiet. Boy, were we wrong! She had soooooo much energy! She would race around the house when we got home from work or school and let her in. She bounced off sofas and ran around in circles. Outside she would race around and then charge you and then dart off and go around again. Often, when she was little, she would look at you with a gleam in her eyes and then steal something from the garbage can or from the clean laundry that was being folded or your shoe or whatever. Then she would look at you and dart off down the hall. We would run after and chase her round and round the sofa. It was impossible to catch her! You would finally get something back and she would steal something else. Such a little devil! Other nicknames included: Dan-Dan, Daniella, Baby-ella, Little Baby-ella, Dan, Danner, Dan-Doll, Dolly, Danimal, Dani the Dog-faced Dog, Bobo the Clown Dog, Bobo, Tubby, Tub-Tub, Tubber, Puppy Wuppy, Pupper, Hairface, Furface, Dogface, Baby Dog, and so many more that I can't even think of right now. I will miss calling her by name.
8. Dani was a Pirate Dog! She had the loveliest black around her eyes (not the fur, but her eyelids, etc.), just like Captain Jack Sparrow! Last Halloween she dressed up as a pirate, with her own pirate hat, neck scarf, and monkey! She wasn't too please by the hat, I can tell you! But we got some good pictures. (You can see them here.)
9. We could never stay mad at Dani (see "Devil Dog" stories in #7). Once, when she was a little dog, she got in trouble for something and my dad put her out in the back yard. A short time later someone let her in. My dad was standing in the kitchen. Dani ran in and nipped at his foot and ran out of the room. It was absolutely hilarious and the story still makes me laugh! She never got mad either. Even if she was acting snappish, I would put my hand out and she would just lick it. The only person she would bite was my sister. They always got in trouble together. The only furniture Dani wasn't allowed on were the nice sofas in the front living room. She never got on them, really, until after she got cancer. My mother had, in emotion after learning of the diagnosis, declared that Dani could go where ever she wanted. After we started treatments and Dani was just fine, she said Dani didn't need to go up there. My sister, however, took it to heart and started putting Dani up there. One week, Dani just started going up on the couch on her own! We would look out and see her climbing up or already situated. And the thing was, she wouldn't get down! It was hilarious, but we had to be firm. My sister was scolded, but she still did it secretly. The truth came out after Dani went to play with God and we all had a good laugh. We could always tell she had been up there because of the warm spots! I will miss her getting up there!
10. Dani was afraid of little dogs and little kids, especially babies! She was quite a baby herself! Wind, thunder, pots and pans, and a sheet of paper falling down all scared her. She would cower under tables or come to you with her "tail tucked" (as my sister would say) and ears back, or hide in the bathroom or my parents' room. Sometimes we would put her on our laps (she wasn't a tiny dog!). Some of the things she was scared of were soooo silly, but she was scared just the same! On garbage day, she would make a big show, barking at the truck. But, when it came to our garbage can, she would retreat to the far side of the yard or her dog house, still barking. So tough! Sometimes a bird would be in the yard or someone would be going down the alley and Dani would just lay there or go about her business. If one of us looked out and she saw us, she would start barking as though to prove she was doing her job. Even if she was inside when the garbage truck came, she would run into the kitchen and bark her head off. Nothing would silence her! She would often run the length of the fence, barking all along, just to make her point. I will miss her fear and her courage.
11. Dani was always happy to see us. Even if I had been upstairs for an hour, she would wag her tail like mad and look so excited. When she was a puppy she would come in and wake us up in the mornings by jumping on our beds. The day after my high school senior all nighter, I was sleeping on the fold out couch in the bed because my sister's friend was using my bed. Dani burst through the door at least 3-4 different times and woke me up. It was adorable. Whenever she was happy to see us she would either rub up against us or rub her head on our legs. Sometimes she got excited when people were sitting next to each other and she would go under our legs and rub and then go around and do it again and again. It was so sweet. Whenever we left, she would either have her head out the fence or be looking out the front window. The smudge marks are still there. Sometimes she would bark when we left. She was always happy when we came back. I will miss her joy at seeing me.
12. Dani loved to play out in the yard with us. If my dad was watering the lawn, Dani would bark furiously at the hose and enjoyed getting sprayed by the water. She thought she could chase it. When she was a puppy and my mother was pulling weeds, Dani would grab the weeds from the pile and spread them all over the yard. She used to throw her tennis ball out the fence for our old neighbor to throw back in. One of her favorite spots was right behind the dog house. It was sort of shady there. Her favorite spot, however, was right on top of the picnic table! She would jump up there and sleep or survey her territory. It was always fun to look out the back door window and see her up there. She loved it. I will miss playing with her in the back yard.
13. Dani is now with God. She is playing with our first dog Lucy and is so happy and carefree. No more vet visits (though we have the greatest vet and animal hospital in the world), no more needles, no more thunderstorms. I thank God every day for her presence in my life. She was one of hte greatest gifts he could have given us. We will miss her every day of our lives, but we know we will meet her (and Lucy) again at Rainbow Bridge.
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