San Jose City College Board vs Senate

Marine Bio 64 Summer 2011 Baylands Nature Preserve

Have to say i enjoyed this trip with Dr D'Eliscu and my friends in class including Tony Larosa, who took these pictures, and Kelli Melocik. I hate that this is the last class that Kelli will take at City but i know that she will enjoy San Francisco U! I could go through and name most of these birds at this point along with the plants at this sand marsh. The smell was not all that pleasant but i must say that i had a blast, enough so that i went back on the 4th of July in the morning. I wind from the bay was more than i expected and the temperature was COLD for late June.

All in all, i can see why so many people enjoy bird watching.... wish i could go canoeing and enjoy nature, maybe i should move to Minnesota?

Heartless by Diana Palmer

So i am a huge fan of Diana Palmer, but there are times where i just want to strangle the heros of her books. The men treat the women like CRAP, yes they have a reason for doing so but at times i just want to shake the shit out of the female lead and yell "YOU DON"T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS SHIT!"
Heartless is the story of Gracie and her stepbrother Jason. Needless to say that Gracies past is HORIBLE and yet Jason who has know her for over 10 years has not one clue about it. I know the point of a story is to have conflict and with her past still a secret it does alot for the story. In a moment of passion that scares Gracie and which makes Jason think that he made a horrible mistake, the lives that they have built starts to fall apart. Jason gets engaged to a moneyloving model that makes Gracies life hell.
Being that this is a Long Tall Texan book, it takes place in Jacobsville. A town that Ms.Palmer sets this series of books around. Now, i LOVE this town and the people that live there. It is one of the HUGE reasons that i come back to her books again and again. Its a town that has cowboys, business men, ex-merc's and an ongoing struggle to kept the local drug smuggling out of town. The town lawyer is the town lawyer in everybook, and so on. You get to see the previous characters grow and fact hardships. In Ms.Palmers world verything does not come up roses. Yes, one will find love but that does not gurantee that smooth sailing is ahead. It just means that you have someone in the boat with you when you hit rough waters. (yeah, that is just like real life)
Back to Gracie and Jason.... by reading all this your thinking gee, i don't think i want to readd this, but it IS worth it. Just know going in you'll want to hit Jason on the head and yell at Gracie to just move on, forget him... but in the end you'll be glad he woke up to really see Gracie and understand her, and you'll be happy that Gracie gave Jason so many chances with her heart....
Hmmmm.... this makes me want to reread some of Ms. Palmers work......and i will say i keep every book that i have by this author

Karrawinds's Collection | Santa Clara County Library | BiblioCommons

Karrawinds's Collection | Santa Clara County Library | BiblioCommons

Twilight Craze

OK, so Twilight came out in October of 2005, as far as i can tell, and since the word GO, i have been pressured to read this book and then the series. i freely admit that the premise of this book is right up my alley. Romance and vampires.. who could want more?? Well, i am not one to jump on a band wagon when it comes to books. It seems the more everyone tells me read a book the more i resist. (stupid i know, but just the way i am)

My best friend read the book after her teenage daughter went on and on and on about Bella and Edward, how much she LOVED the book. Then my best friend was after me nonstop to read it. i told her i would, time passed and still i did not read it. It got to the point that she finally mailed me a copy of the book. i just kept putting it off, i just was not in the mood for a teen read. My mother heard me talk about the book and how crazy my friend and her daughter were about the book and she decided to read it. and she joined in the consistent persistence that i read Twilight.

UGH! Got to the point were i was tired of even hearing about this dang book and the series. Then the movie came out. Mom took me to see it. Truthfully, i did not see the whole craze about it. I mean, i could tell that the premises of the book would be good, but just did not translate well to the screen. There was a jem of something to the story, but still..i was not in the mood to read this Twilight book.

Then New Moon came to the screen. Once again Mom took me to the movies to see it. HOLY CAT BALLS!!! OK OK OK i admit when i am wrong! Seeing New Moon, i walked out of the theatre and went straight to the library and checked out the whole series of books and read all 4 in less than a week. ( Hello, Breaking Dawn is 768 pages!)

Needless to say i am now a HUGE Twilight fan. Even went online and read Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyers that she has posted on her website. (for those of you not in the know Midnight Sun is Twilight retold from Edwards POV... But it is not a complete work. Ms Meyers stopped working on the project when it was leaked on line..Finally she decided to post what she had written on her website so that there was not different versions out in cyberspace)

Any fan of romance would not make a miss step with the reading of Twilight. Once read you will drive straight to the bookstore or library for the next three books in the series. *** Side note**** Thank you Wendi for your stubborn nature! love ya!

Reading gay romance...namely T A Chase books

About a year ago i bought an Ebook that was in the menage romance section. Now being a romance reader for over 20 years (i started early), what got my attention other than the fantastically written story and characters was the interaction between the 2 men in the story. Yes, they loved each other, both emotionally and physically. It was so beautiful and heart warming. Growing up in the South, the Bible belt, i have been surround by prejudice all my life. It has been a constant battle to stand up and let my voice be heard in opposition against the popular Southern Christian POV. It is one of the things that i HATED about living there. The narrow mindedness of the people when it comes to people that are different. It hurts my heart that alot of Southerners do not even see how their words are hurtful and judgemental. Living in California now is such a blessing in many a way, namely this one!
Growing up my Mother told me never to judge a person because i haven't walked in their shoes. i have lived my life with this kept firmly in mind. It has caused tension within my family, friends to say hateful things to me, and even the end of some friendships (my thought is that i was better off without them). So, that being said..... i am not gay, but how to see into the life that a gay man lives??? Why the written word, of course.
OK, OK, OK.... i am finally getting to my point. (Which is ??? your asking) An author by the name of T A Chase. First book i read by this author was Out of Bounds then the sequel High Line. Both of these books are romances but they also deal with the RL reactions of these public figures that come out as gay. With the first a professional basketball player and the second a race car driver, this author took a chance with his writing of these characters. i am a open minded person, but now i am a more aware open minded person. By stating this do not think that the romance in these books are sub-standard, you could not be more wrong if that is your thought.
i have read other book by T A Chase.... Angels Evolution was wonderful but different from anything else that he has written. Only draw back was the ending was setup for another book for other characters that were in the novel and i have yet to see it mentioned to be published. (hate, hate, hate when that happens) Great series is the For a Home.... at this date there are currently three books in this series. Whoopee!!
All this said, the thought that is prevalent in my mind is the lesson that my Mother taught my growing up that goes hand in hand with reading well written book. Remember, the objective for a good read is to entertain and expand your mind. Have experiences that you could never have in RL. i am walking in other peoples shoes, learning lesson that i never would have seen in RL, or at least not yet. (like to think i would have learned them anyway, just not this fast....or so i would like to think)