My New Love: Gramovox Bluetooth Gramophone

I am completely in love with this!! I have a thing for old fashioned things (and let's be honest, I'd also take an original Magnavox) but the old school/ new school charm of this is irresistible.

You can read more about the Gramovax here.

Resolution Update

Have so far lost 10 lbs by making better food choices, weightlifting and doing the occasional jog. Not bad for a month and a half. Still on track with my DietBet and have just started the slow-carb diet, made famous by Tim Ferriss.

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series #1) by Laurell Hamilton

Details

ISBN-13: 9780425197547
Publication date: 8/3/2004
Series: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series , #1
Pages: 368

Summary

“My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me “The Executioner”. What I call them isn’t repeatable.
Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I’ve seen their victims. I carry the scars…

But now a serial killer is murdering vampires—and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer… “

In a world where vampires, zombies and werewolves have been declared legal citizens of the United States, Anita Blake is an “animator” – a profession that involves raising the dead for mourning relatives. But Anita is also known as a fearsome hunter of criminal vampires, and she’s often employed to investigate cases that are far too much for conventional police. But as Anita gains the attention of the vampire masters of her hometown of St Louis, she also risks revealing an intriguing secret about herself – the source of her unusual strength and power.

Review  

I rarely reread books and much less series; this is one of the few exceptions. Anita Blake is one of my favorite paranormal characters of all time (that is, at this point in the series, because I HAVE read the reviews about the last ten or so books...)...right up there with Mercy Thompson. She's spunky, tough, and has a great sarcastic chip on her shoulder. Downed this one in a day, anxious to reintroduce myself with Anita, Jean Claude, the steamy but annoying vamp, and Edward, the soulless assassin who happens to also be Anita's good...friend?

All in all, loved this story as much as I did the first go around. Unfortunately, being privy to the reviews of how this series, uhm, morphes, I'm a bit afraid to invest my heart into it...

4/5

 

Crash (Visions #1) by Lisa McMann

Details

• ISBN-13: 9781442405912
• Publication date: 8/6/2013
• Series: Visions Series , #1
• Pages: 233

Summary

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

Review

Short and sweet. I like the characters - typical girl with a crush on a childhood sweetheart slash Romeo and Juliet family rivalry and pizza. Other than the characters, and the 'I-SWEAR-I'M-NOT-CRAZY, I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!' thing, it was a bit droll. And the ending!!! Not expected, but a definite (and, might I add, lame) serial set-up. Don't know if I want to commit reading more of the series if the pace and style stay the same.

3/5

2014 Resolution: DietBet 10 Challenge

I have more or less made a good start on my intricate resolution plan for 2014, one which focuses on health, diet and reading (I have to have a little pleasure, right?!).

As for the weight loss portion, I have set up a few challenges and workout/eating plans to reach my goal. The main driver is the DietBet 10 Challenge, where you can win mullah if you lose 10% body weight in 6 months! You put money in the pot, which is motivating, but you can win a crap-ton more, which is even more motivating.

Sister 2013 by Jeannie Hsieh

I was about to decide I wouldn't find another CPop song for the year that I could even listen to, but this was worth the wait. Didn't really care for it the first time, but since it was kinda catchy, I took another round with it and it stuck. I like the video too - even though it's a bit out there (and on my own I would NEVER have made all the knock-off connections), I really do like it. Makes you want to dance!!!

Shang Xin De Ren Bie Ting Man Ge(傷心的人別聽慢歌) by Mayday

Don't usually find CPop songs I like, but this is seriously upbeat and catchy. The video is fun as well. Enjoy :)

Thanks to Ken Wei for the translation:

 

你哭的太累了, 你伤的太深了, 你爱的太傻了
nǐ kū de tài lèi le, nǐ shāng de tài shēn le, nǐ ài de tài shǎ le

You’re crying till too tired, you’re hurt too deep, you love dumbly

你哭的就像是末日要来了

nǐ kū de jiù xiàng shì mò rì yào lái le

You’re crying just like it’s the end of the world

oh~ oh~

所以你听慢歌, 很慢很慢的歌, 听得心如刀割

Suǒ yǐ nǐ tīng màn gē, hěn màn hěn màn de gē, tīng de xīn rú dāo gē
that’s why you listen to slow song, very very slow song, listen until you feel like as if a knife is piercing your heart

是不是应该换一种节奏了

Shì bu shì yīng gāi huàn yì zhǒng jié zòu le
shouldn’t you change into a different rhythm

 
* oh~ oh~
 

不要再问, 谁是对的, 谁是错的, 谁是谁非, 谁又亏欠谁了
bú yào zài wèn, shuí shì duì de, shuí shì cuò de, shuí shì shuí fēi, shuí yòu kuī qiàn shuí le
don’t ask anymore, who is right, who is wrong, who is and who isn’t, who owes who

 
反正错了, 反正输了, 反正自己陪自己快乐
fǎn zheng cuò le, fǎn zheng shū le, fǎn zheng zì jǐ péi zì jǐ kuài lè
Already wrong after all, already lose after all, one accompany oneself happiness after all

 
** 我不管你是谁的, 谁是你的, 我是我的
wǒ bù guǎn nǐ shì shuí de, shuí shì nǐ de, wǒ shì wǒ de

I don’t care who are you belong to, who is yours, I am mine

 
让心跳, 动次, 动次, 动次, 动次, 感觉活着
ràng xīntiào, dòng cì, dòng cì, dòng cì, dòng cì, gǎnjué huózhe
let the heart beats, moving, moving, moving, moving, feeling alive

 
我不管站着, 坐着, 躺着, 趴着, 都要快乐
wǒ bù guǎn zhàn zhe, zuò zhe, tang zhe, pā zhe, dōu yào kuài lè
I don’t care whether standing, sitting, lying upside, lying on back, all must be happy

让音乐动次, 动次, 动次, 动次, 快要聋了

ràng yīn yuè dòng cì, dòng cì, dòng cì, dòng cì, kuài yào lóng le
let the music moving, moving, moving, moving, almost deaf

不管了, 不想了, 不等了, 不要不快乐

Bù guǎn le, bù xiǎng le, bù děng le, bú yào bú kuài lè
don’t care anymore, don’t think anymore, don’t wait anymore, don’t be unhappy

伤心的人别听慢歌

Shāng xīn de rén bié tīng màn gē
sad people shouldn’t listen to slow songs

人生分分合合, 爱情拉拉扯扯, 一路曲曲折折
rén shēng fēn fēn hé hé, ài qíng lā la chě chě, yí lù qū qu zhé zhé
life is full of meeting and parting, love is going back and forth, twist and turns all the way

我还是期待明日的新景色

wǒ hái shi qī dài míng rì de xīn jǐng sè
I’m still looking forward to tomorrow’s new scenery

oh~ oh~

 

愤青都释怀了, 光棍都恋爱了, 悲剧都圆满了
fèn qīng dōu shì huái le, guāng gùn dōu liàn ài le, bēi jù dōu yuán mǎn le
Youth’s anger has relieved, singles are already taken, tragedy has become satisfactory

每一段争执都飞出和平鸽

měi yí duàn zhēng zhí dōu fēi chū hé píng gē
Every dispute are resulting into dove of happiness

repeat *

repeat **