A room without books is like a body without a soul.

Rejected Yet Again

2009-12-18T21:23:26Z

But must remember : My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny. Elaine Maxwell

Life Will Some and Go... Still You'll Feel It's All Right

2009-12-14T02:48:06Z

some will strut and some will fret
see this an hour on the stage
others will not but they'll sweat
in their hopelessness and their rage
we're all the same the men of anger
and women of the page
they published your diary
and that's how i got to know you
the key to the room of your own and a mind without end
and here's a young girl
on a kind of a telephone line through time
and the voice at the other end comes like a long lost friend
so i know i'm all right
life will come and life will go
still i feel it's all right
cause i just got a letter to my soul
and when my whole life is on the tip of my tongue
empty pages for the no longer young
the apathy of time laughs in my face
you say each life has its place
the hatches were battened
the thunderclouds rolled and the critics stormed
the battle surrounded the white flag of your youth
if you need to know that you weathered the storm
of cruel mortality
a hundred years later i'm sitting here living proof
so you know you're all right
life will come and life will go
still you'll feel it's all right
someone'll get a letter to your soul
when your whole life is on the tip of your tongue
empty pages for the no longer young
the apathy of time laughed in your face
did you hear me say each life has its place
the place where you hold me
dark in a pocket of truth
the moon had swallowed the sun and the light of the earth
and so it was for you
when the river eclipsed your life
and sent your soul like a message in a bottle to me
and it was my rebirth
so we know we're all right
though life will come and life will go
still you'll feel it's all right
someone'll will get a letter to your soul
then you know you're all right

-Indigo Girls

Holiday Contest: Win Your own Demon Sheep (and books)!

2009-12-05T17:43:22Z

Please enter over at my blog...

Holiday Contest: Win Your Own Demon Sheep (and books)!

We interrupt this Saturday’s Love Letters from Mho Fho, for a very important announcement…

It has been a year since this guy entered into my life:

Mho Fho came out of nowhere and evolved from a story shared on Twitter. From there I ran with it and Mho became the official mascot of my blog and has become a very important presence in my world I’ve created here on-line.

He makes me laugh and allows me to tap into an inner personality I didn’t know I have. But now Mho has become like any other character from one’s imagination and feels much like a real entity.

Because of his anniversary, I’m holding a special holiday contest, a thank you to all of you who enjoy Mho’s antics and very honest opinions. This is your chance to adopt your own demon sheep! Not only do I have one demon sheep who needs a loving home, but two!

First prize will be this guy:

Second prize will be this smaller brown nosed demon sheep (He snores when you squeeze his tummy):
.

Little "Brownie" getting friendly with Little "Pinky"
.

Starting today and running until Sunday 12/13, in order to have you chance to win either of these lonely demon sheep, you need to come up with your own demon sheep story. In 100 words, tell us what you would do if you had your own demon sheep. What type of demon sheep would you have and most importantly, what would his or her name be?

From the stories left here in the comments, a panel of judges will pick their favorite story. The top 5 favorite stories will be posted here on Saturday 12/19 where the public at large will choose their favorite story out of the five. The top 2 stories picked as fan favorites will win their own demon sheep.

The judges will vote on overall creativity, humor and demon sheep cuteness.

Our judges are some of the top notch demon sheep specialists in this field. They are:

1. Csquared who was once a lucky lady in Mho Fho’s harem.
2. Kris from Kris ‘N’ Good Books who gave Mho the idea for Saturday Advice Love Letters.
3. Stacy from Stacy’s Place on Earth who loves flirting with Mho and almost stole him away from me.
4. Kmont from Lurve Ala Mode. She is just as freaky as Mho is and doesn’t care.
5. Heather from the Book Obsessed Blog. She and Mho are great drinking buddies
6. Little CJ, from the soon to be published Random House/Spectra author Carolyn Crane’s blog, The Trillionth Page.
7. Soon to be released Samhain author Lorelie Brown who was once married to Mho.
8. Ballantine author Tess Dare who is Mho’s favorite author.
9. Grand Central author Larissa Ione who Mho is having a very hot and heavy love affair with (shhh… don’t tell Tessa)

And a very special judge all the way from Canada! Welcome Blackbeary, the demon bear judge!

Bio: Up in the Wintry Wastes of Canada, we don't have Demon Sheep - even their Wicked Wool (covered in Licentious Lanolin) is no match for the frigid temperatures and relentless politeness of the Canadian wilderness. We have Demon Bears instead. Sneakier and tinier than the average bear, true, but we do not steal picnic baskets - WE STEAL YOUR SOULS. Or rather, we VERY POLITELY TRADE YOUR SOULS IN RETURN FOR LESS-THAN-ADEQUATE COMPENSATION (WHAT CAN WE SAY? THE CANADIAN LOONIE IS REALLY BAD RIGHT NOW). We share similar tastes in reading with our fiendishly fluffy cousins to the south, though - so we have sent our Queen, Blackbeary, as the Canadian Demonic Animal Ambassador to help judge your little contest

This contest is only for US residents (sorry international friends). Also to sweeten the prize, each demon sheep will bring some special mystery books with them.

Good luck and let the loopy and probably pervy demon sheep tales begin!

Thanksgiving Kitteh Sez Hai

2009-11-26T14:59:27Z

Can't Get This Song Out of My Head!

2009-11-21T01:53:59Z

Beautiful by 10 Years

Beauty over wisdom to fit in with their styles
Your Cinderella story's for a price
Vanity's a business built to please the unique
Silicone and stars collide, the rest will fall in line

Just as beautiful as you are
It's so pitiful what you are
You should have seen this coming all along

Visually you're stimulating to my eyes
Your Cinderella syndrome's full of lies
Your insecurities are concealed by your pride
Pretty soon your ego will kill what's left inside

Just as beautiful as you are
It's so pitiful what you are
You should have seen this coming all along

It's so pitiful what you are
As beautiful as you are
You should have seen this coming all along

You're everything that's so typical
Maybe you're alone for a reason
You're the reason

It's so pitiful what you are
You should have seen this coming all along

Just as beautiful as you are
It's so pitiful what you are
You should have seen this coming all along

It's so pitiful what you are
As beautiful as you are
You should have seen this coming all along

Heh Heh

2009-11-17T18:24:15Z

That's teaching the school yard bullies out there...

Works For Me!

2009-11-15T17:20:28Z

Me Want Cookie!

2009-11-08T16:25:18Z

From Cakewrecks

MINES!!

2009-11-05T03:11:28Z

Hmm pancakes...

Must Have Been One Hell of a Party...

2009-10-24T17:53:37Z

Who I Really Am?

2009-10-21T19:38:46Z

What if I wanted to break
Laugh it all off in your face
What would you do?
What if I fell to the floor
Couldn't take this anymore
What would you do, do, do?

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life.
What would you do?
You say you wanted more
What are you waiting for
I'm not running from you

I tried to be someone else
But nothing seemed to change
I know now: this is who I really am inside
I Finally found myself
Fighting for a chance
I know now, THIS IS WHO I REALLY AM

-30 Seconds To Mars

Male Ponderings...

2009-10-16T16:21:20Z

Why is it when your wife becomes pregnant, all her female friends rub her tummy and say “Congratulations.”

But none of them rub your crotch and say “well done”.

First Balllon Boy Cartoon!

2009-10-16T04:00:00Z

Can We Say Ouch?

2009-10-13T17:15:39Z

Pencil chair:

I am so buying myself one of these

2009-10-11T18:03:21Z

From Etsy.com:

Feltidermy Hair clips are back!

This little hair clip has been completely hand stitched from my own original pattern from silver gray and antique white wool blend felt. It has black safety eyes, the nose, mouth and whiskers are completely hand embroidered.

Only $23.00

This will be me for awhile...

2009-10-08T19:01:16Z

Big Brother is Watching! Beware Those Who Review!

2009-10-06T03:37:52Z

Big Brother Is Watching! Beware Those Who Review!

It looks like Big Brother is watching! If you are a blogger like myself who reviews books and gets ARCs or books from publishers for free, this FTC release may affect you.

Get a load of this from the Federal Trade Commission in regards to those who receive endorsements:

"The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed.

These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

So, it looks like if you post a positive review for a product, like a book, you must mention where you got the book and how. If a publisher sends you an ARC, which is free that you didn't buy, you must place this "disclaimer" in your review because you have given an endorsement.

But if you post a negative review of a book that you received free from a publisher, you many not have to post a "disclaimer" because it isn't an endorsement.

What does this mean? What about those bloggers who review that are from different countries? Look at a blog like The Book Smugglers where one reviewer is American and the other is from England. What does that mean for them?

Is this a big deal? Should blogs that review products state how they received the product and if they got it for free?

Ed Champion who runs the the Reluctant Habits blog interviewed Richard Cleland of the Bureau of Consumer Protection by telephone about this.

Some facts from Ed's post that caught my eye:

-These guidelines, which will be effective as of December 1, 2009, require all bloggers to disclose any tangible connections.

-Cleland doesn't see any particular problem with a book review appearing on a blog, but only if there wasn’t a corresponding Amazon Affiliates link or an advertisement for the book.

BUT...
A book falls under “compensation” if it comes associated with an Amazon link or there is an advertisement for the book, or if the reviewer holds onto the book.

If I state on my sidebar that I received these books from the Book Fairy or the Book Angels from Heaven, would I be safe then?

Nom Nom

2009-10-02T18:50:53Z

You Annoy Me...

2009-09-28T00:33:14Z

You annoy me because all you do is moan and groan. I wish I could tell you to shut the hell up. Move on and get over it!

ROAR!!

2009-09-24T20:55:51Z

I'm a Yeti ya'll!! be afraid!!

My Character Still Remains The Same

2009-09-13T17:34:39Z

I Am Really Trying To Keep This In Mind

2009-08-29T16:33:00Z

Working on my stupid dreams has been very hard lately. But they may be stupid, but they are mine! Something to look forward to as I keep failing at them.

Hee Hee

2009-08-23T20:22:17Z

It No Longer Matters

2009-08-21T21:34:09Z

There is something very uplifting when you come to the conclusion that another person's opinion of you no longer matters. And so this great rock of woe I have been holding on my shoulders has disappeared.

To those who have a low opinion of me, I don't give a rat's ass what you think.

I feel so much better.

If...

2009-08-19T00:33:16Z

Down with those who try to make you look bad. Their lies will show others their true face.

If you can keep your head when all about you
  Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
  But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
  Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
  And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

-Rudyard Kipling