How Did I Not Know About This Before?

Rhea would so be into this. Not any time in the next two books, mind you, but fast forward a few years, and totally!

Ready to Believe Your Eyes?

While counting down to Wendy Paul's launch party tonight, I tripped over this:



Isn't it amazing how we process things in relationship with what surrounds them, thus creating perception?

Are You Ready for Decadence?

Some of you may have noticed that I'm not one of those authors who reviews other people's books. I always think it's great when other authors do it, but there's just something in me that resists when asked. It's been a long time since I read a book for enjoyment--or seen a movie, for that matter--and it just seems unfair to review books that I'm reading for technical reasons.

But there are exceptions. And one of them just happens to be cookbooks.

If you haven't yet made a Wendy Paul recipe in your home, then you've probably never made a key lime pie or rootbeer float cupcake in ten minutes. It's possible you've never laid out two dozen cupcakes in front of women who were on diets, only to watch them disappear in an hour. It's possible you've never made cookies that you sampled until you were in a sugar coma.

And if you don't pick up Wendy's new book, you may never know how absolutely amazing a cake bite can be.

I was lucky. I got to try Wendy's cake bites as far back as last December--delectable little mini-cakes that are about as big around as the circle you make when you connect your pointer finger and your thumb into a circle.

Amazing. Rich. The life of a party.

I've done more than one book signing with Wendy Paul, and I'm not sure whose books I've sold more of. As a person who doesn't like to spend time in the kitchen, Wendy won my heart with 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes. As a person with friends with various dietary needs, she gave me awesome cookie recipes for cookies for all types of diets in 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone. And with 101 Gourmet Cake Bites for All Occasions, I know for a fact that those recipes are worth the extra time in the kitchen. I've shared Wendy's cake bites with some of the most elitist bakers I know, and without fail their eyebrows shoot up and something along the lines of "Wow!" shoots out of their mouths.

And that's why I'm giving a copy away. I know you'll love it that much. Winning is easy:

#1- Follow this blog (so I can contact you if you win)

#2-On Facebook and/or Twitter (one entry each) tweet/post "The cake bite cookbook I want the most: http://bit.ly/pEHbTc " and tag me so that I see the post.

It's that easy!

You'll notice that the link is for the book launch of 101 Gourmet Cake Bites for All Occasions, and yes, you ARE cordially invited! I'll be there. So will Wendy, and it will be a great time with great people. So feel free to get some friends together August 20th and join me at an amazing cake bite party that will get you excited to bake!

A Woman's View with Amanda Dickson

I love Amanda Dickson. For those of you who live in Utah, you can listen to her on KSL talk radio every morning from 5-9.

Now that's a woman who loves her job! I think she shows up at 3:30 am, or something. I asked her once and she answered, but the answer was such a shock to my system that I have since blocked it. But it's either 3:30 am or something equally ridiculous.

Hat's off to you, Amanda.

Anyway, going on Amanda's show is always a good mental check in--and a good reminder for me that I should practice my "on air" manners more often. There's always one question--one conversation, where I wish I could rewind time and reframe how I say something.

This week I totally wish I could press rewind on several of the conversations, but they were good conversations to have. And maybe the things I said that come out wrong will actually inspire conversation... that's one way to add a silver lining, right?

One of the topics Amanda brought up an Iranian woman who pardoned the man who threw acid on her face, blinding and disfiguring her. The conversation was centered on the impact a person can have through forgiveness, both on others and themselves. During the conversation I'm kind of mean on the subject of personal injury lawyers, and the entitlement Americans feel when they experience pain that can be blamed on another. Except I don't say it that well. I'm pretty ineloquent. I kind of label personal injury lawyers as "Do you hate your neighbor? We can help!" proponents. That's what happens when I try to make points quickly... but point being this: This news story points out that she was coached to forgive the man his sentence to show the world that Iranians are good people, which kind of makes it seem political, but let's take that out of the equation.

What do you think about this form of justice? Do you agree with the decision this woman made to let her attacker walk free without punishment? Do you think the man should be punished in another way that is not so "eye for an eye"? Or do you think the original punishment was appropriate?

I ask this question with other cases in mind. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing, but there is a point where it seems appropriate to make sure criminals aren't allowed to repeat their behaviors.

I hope the comment feature on blogger is working again, because I would really love all your thoughts on this. As anyone who listens to A Woman's View this Sunday will discern, I'm still feeling this subject out, because I just don't know.

On my side, I like to forgive, but I can imagine that stance changes dramatically once you have child to protect and provide for. What I could forgive someone for doing to me, I may prosecute to the fullest extent of the law should I have a child. For example, I've had dogs bite and injure me and left the owners with only with feedback as to how to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

But is it the right choice? To leave the instance unreported? What if that dog does bite again? A kid maybe, or another dog, or a person, and there is no record of previous violent behavior by the dog.

Did I play a role in the second attack by choosing to "forgive" and sending the message that being a non-vigilant dog owner does not have repercussions?

I've looked back on many instances in my life where I chose "forgiveness" while watching the other person's relief to avoid accountability. But did they learn anything? Did this Iranian man learn anything? Does he feel the impact of being saved the same fate he inflicted on another, or just the relief of not being punished? Will he victimize again, overtly or covertly?

At what point is punishment merited?

I don't know. That's why I'm asking.

What have you experienced when it comes to the balance of mercy and justice? When is mercy appropriate, and when do we throw the book and someone and then bury them with it? At what point are crimes protected by religious beliefs or "harmless" appetites, and at what point to values become universal?

I hope the comment feature is back up, but be sure to copy your text before you press enter so you won't lose it if blogger is being lame.

I look forward to your thoughts :)

Totally on Team Sasha

From Season 1 of So You Think You Can Dance, I've been in love with the show. In my little opinion, that's what reality TV should be. It's not so much a competition as a celebration of a common love. The dancers are a tight-knit group who cheer for each other, and nearly everyone walks away with a career in the industry, based not only on the exposure they received, but on the merit of thousands upon thousands of dedicated dancing they've put in over the years.

In nearly every case, each dancer on this show has every reason to have a career in dance.

It's awesome.

Even better? Each year the dancers seem to be a step up from the year before. It's kind of freaky, really.

I've had made favorite this year, as she's made it thus far in the competition. She may not be the most technically superior dancer, but she moves as if she can't help but dance and I LOVE watching her. She just can't help but dance, and it makes some part of me very, very happy to watch.

So here's me sending my vote into the universe for Sasha. And if you don't watch So You Think You Can Dance, I totally, totally recommend it.

Feel free to check out some of Sasha's performances below as a sampler, and watch other performances on Fox.com or youtube. SO worth it!

Harry Potter 7, Part 2. Quick Review

To a true Harry Potter fan, no review really means much. We will see the movies anyway, give them every benefit of the doubt, and count down the days to J.K. Rowling's new web site.

But since I'm being asked/texted, I'll put some quick thoughts here on the final movie.

I give it 3 stars out of 4... 3 1/2 if you infuse the movie with all you know from the books.

The reason for the loss of star (I totally give part 1 4 stars)? There's a return to stilted, non-acting. Everything feels rushed, but not in a get-your-heart-beating way. In an include-it-all way. The emotions and characters are very flat. Harry portrays intensity by mouth breathing, he and Ginny seem more distant than ever, the only way you know Ron and Hermione are in love is from the books. (You need a little more than obligatory hand holding and one abrupt kiss. There should be chemistry! You know, like there was in Part 1?)

The adult cast delivers, but no one really gets much screen time. I actually wonder if people who haven't read the books leave the theater confused on several levels. Several details are included without being explained. I would think they would leave people without the back story saying, "Huh?"--which, by the way, I'm totally fine with (because everyone seeing these movies should read these books). I'm glad the details are included, but it all seems quite obligatory.

Passionless. The movie really is that on most levels. The chemistry between characters is passionless, and even 99% of the death eaters seem somewhat blase about taking over the world.

But really what hurts this film (for me) is that the director is over his head in the action scenes. He doesn't know what to film and what not to film. Knock Michael Bay all you like, but when you compare the HP magical fighting to Michael Bay's muggles fighting in the recent Transformers movie, the gaping chasm of quality is a bit sad. I'd explain, but that seems spoilery. Needless to say, you're never really worried that Hogwarts will fall before Harry gets what he needs, and the loss of key characters is not something we're part of or are made to feel. We have to lean on the books for that.

So yeah. Those are my quick thoughts. And I probably would have forgiven it all if Rupert Grint and Emma Watson could have pulled some chemistry, or even some eye contact, out of their hats and made me believe they wanted to live through it all to be together. And I would give it 4+ stars if Daniel Radcliffe would stop mouth breathing to try to raise the intensity of a scene and learn how to do a reaction shot that actually moves through a thought process, not just the sustained single expression someone told him to do.

"Stand here. Look there. Try to smile like you're happy."

"Stand here. Look there. Look serious."

"Stand here. Look there. Be awkward."

Etc.

Fix those two things and I'd forgive the emotionless action scenes as a bonus and decree this movie epic.

The books are epic. One of the movies was on par. This one fell a bit behind.

There you have it. My brief thoughts on HP Part 2.

See it. It's worth it. And let me know what you thought! I'm going to a total nerd party on Saturday where I'm sure we'll talk about it for hours. I'm sure I will meet many who would have me burn for these thoughts, but they are what they are. I wanted more from the movie. More heart. But hopefully by telling you all this and lowering expectations, you'll go in and absolutely LOVE it.

Because chances are, you will LOVE IT!

Hope you enjoy!

What Conspiracy Theorists Taught Me: Patriotic Edition

One of the joys or being a writer is the research. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I love it! "Facts" are so often presented through a single lens, but when you start focusing in on a subject or question, that little extra ounce of focus starts opening the doors to non-traditional perspectives.

So since it's the 4th of July, I thought I would write about the very thing we pledge our allegiance to: the flag.

Huh. As I write that, it sounds weird... We pledge allegiance to cloth, not our country, leaders, or even the Constitution. But that's not what I'm writing about... or maybe it is... you tell me.

So today's post focuses on conspiracy theories surrounding our flag. But to understand the conspiracy, you need to be made aware that there is more than one flag. One is a peace-time, civil flag, and the other a martial flag used during times of war, occupation, and martial law.

The martial flag looks like this:

Pretty familiar, right? The second flag, or non-martial/civil flag looks like this:

Descriptions of this flag being displayed can be found in older literature, like the Scarlet Letter and the design is currently implemented in both the designs for US customs and the Coast Guard in designs like this:

Once you know what to look for, doing the research is easy enough. Once can start by simply googling "American flag" and "American civil flag." The civil flag, designed in 1799 by Oliver Wolcott Jr., was supposed to serve as a signal--largely on ships-- to differentiate between military and civilian vessels, in order to protect civilian vessels from being fired upon. This flag was allegedly used regularly up until the Civil War. Once war was declared, martial flags were raised. And since that day, no one has ever taken the military flags down and raised peace-time/civilian flags in their place.

So to bring this to modern times, if this civil/martial flag thing were still in effect, commercial airlines, cruise ships, civilian yachts, and anything transporting civilians would prominently display the civil flag to communicate that they come in peace, while jet fighters, battleships, and anything transporting military would bear the "we've got guns" flag so that citizens of any country and other military operations would be clear on what they were dealing with.

The conspiracy theory? Well, I probably don't have to spell out how conspiracy theorists interpret the permanent retirement of a "We come in peace" flag and replacing it with our war-time, military flag. Nor does it probably need explanation of what they think about a pledge of allegiance being written for every civilian to learn, memorize, and repeat whenever the military flag is raised. ESPECIALLY when images like this are available from the time the pledge was instituted by Congress (source: wikipedia, which is also a great place to research the Bellamy salute--especially if you find this image incendiary):

Last, it also probably doesn't need description as to what they might think about the military flag being stamped onto every commercial ship and craft that leaves our nation's boundaries.

And all this is just the beginning of the rabbit hole surrounding this underground controversy. Because if there's one thing governments and militaries don't take lightly, it's the emblems that identify them. And the fact is that they still are using the civil flag in areas of government where it's appropriate. I saw the civil flag when I drove through customs at the Canadian border a few years back and was totally confused by the flag. I thought it odd that on the border of my own country they had the wrong flag on the uniforms. But like most Americans, I just shrugged and got on with my drive.

Now, years later, it turns out those customs agents wore a different emblem for a reason. The government hasn't forgotten the flag, or its meaning. It just doesn't raise them, manufacture them, or advertise their history anymore.

Isn't research fun?

Right there--right in that very premise--is a book. I probably won't write it, but still, this is why I love research. You never know when little nuggets like this will come in handy :)