Roxanne Barbour's Blog, page 22
January 14, 2013
Quotation – January 14, 2013
In private correspondence the great mystery writer Raymond Chandler once confessed that even if he didn’t write anything, he made sure he sat down at his desk every single day and concentrated. I understand the purpose behind his doing this. This is the way Chandler gave himself the physical stamina a professional writer needs, quietly strengthening his willpower. This sort of daily training was indispensable to him.
Haruki Murakami
January 11, 2013
Quotation – January 11, 2013
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.
W.E. Johns, The Passing Show
January 8, 2013
Quotation – January 8, 2013
Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers
DIY a Hoth Winter Wonderland With Star Wars Snowflakes
via Mashable
Eric LarsonNov 19, 2012
More good news for Star Wars enthusiasts. As if an announcement of a new franchise andAngry Birds collaboration weren’t enough, fans of the series can now decorate their homes like a Hoth blizzard using a swanky, do-it-yourself collection of paper snowflake designs.
Artist Anthony Herrera released a set of snowflake sketches of the franchise’s most memorable characters. He’s got ‘em all: Luke, Leia, C-3PO, Yoda — even an X-Wing ship.
Of course, cutting out the intricate patterns takes a bit of Yoda-like patience (“Nooo!“), but how often does the chance to hang a dozen Admiral Ackbar snowflakes in your living room come about? It’s about as rare a barri on Tatooine.
The snowflakes are available to download on Herrera’s website. There’s also a tutorial videoexplaining the best ways to fold before cutting.
Check out the gallery below to see some of our favorites. What other cool Star Wars-themed holiday decorations have you seen this year?
Yoda
Image courtesy of Anthony Herrera Design
January 7, 2013
Quotation – January 7, 2013
In the real world, nothing happens at the right place at the right time. It is the job of journalists and historians to correct that.
Mark Twain
January 6, 2013
Quotation – January 6, 2013
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
E.L. Doctorow
January 4, 2013
Quotation – January 4, 2013
Do the thing you fear the most and the death of fear is certain.
Mark Twain
January 2, 2013
Quotation – January 2, 2013
The capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still be anaerobic bacteria and there would be no music.
Lewis Thomas
December 31, 2012
Quotation – December 31, 2012
Words — so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
December 30, 2012
Book Review: The Devil Colony
The Devil Colony (Sigma Force, #7)
by James Rollins (Goodreads Author)
Roxanne Barbour‘s review
Dec 30, 12 · edit
Read in December, 2012
Blurb:Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a gruesome discovery–hundreds of mummified bodies–stirs international attention and fervent controversy. Despite doubts about the bodies’ origins, the local Native American Heritage Commission lays claim to the prehistoric remains, along with the strange artifacts found in the same cavern: gold plates inscribed with an unfathomable script.
During a riot at the dig site, an anthropologist dies horribly, burned to ashes in a fiery explosion in plain view of television cameras. All evidence points to a radical group of Native Americans, including one agitator, a teenage firebrand who escapes with a vital clue to the murder and calls on the one person who might help–her uncle, Painter Crowe, Director of Sigma Force.
To protect his niece and uncover the truth, Painter will ignite a war among the nations’s most powerful intelligence agencies. Yet an even greater threat looms as events in the Rocky Mountains have set in motion a frightening chain reaction, a geological meltdown that threatens the entire western half of the U.S.
From the volcanic peaks of Iceland to the blistering deserts of the American Southwest, from the gold vaults of Fort Knox to the bubbling geysers of Yellowstone, Painter Crowe joins forces with Commander Gray Pierce to penetrate the shadowy heart of a dark cabal, one that has been manipulating American history since the founding the thirteen colonies.
But can Painter discover the truth–one that could topple governments–before it destroys all he holds dear?
I enjoyed this novel immensely. Even though I had not been introduced to any of these characters previously, Rollins does an excellent job of re/introducing them–even to new readers.
I thought the plot was a tad too complicated–but only a little.
The scientific concepts were well explained, with just enough detail.
The close timing (character predicaments) seemed a little too forced a couple of times.
I haven’t read any other Sigma Force novels, but that will be remedied shortly!
I only found two editing errors (not that I was actually looking for them), a “\” popped in two places (page 135, and 213).
This was a wonderful novel, and I am looking forward to the next Sigma Force novel.
