Romance Novel Review: Hot Westmoreland Nights – Brenda Jackson

Jul11

Introverted, sheepherder Ramsey Westmoreland is more interested in his sheep than a relationship. He was emotionally detached because he was burned years ago by an unfaithful woman. So when he is approached by a successful woman’s magazine, Simply Irresistible, to be their fine, sexy front page model, he says no. Chloe is the editor of the magazine and decides that she will not take no for an answer. She travels out to his ranch with the intentions of changing his mind. Because of a case of mistaken identity, she does not get to tell him about that and ends up working for him as a ranch cook for two weeks.

It may sound really farfetched, but once you read how it happens, you can understand how Chloe got in the predicament. And then it is funny, but you know the time is going to come when the truth is going to come out.

While struggling to deal with the issues that made them both previously swear off relationships, Ramsey and Chloe have to come to terms with the fact that they have more than a passing attraction. And they do, it makes for some hot and steamy nights!

For more about my thoughts on author Brenda Jackson, check out post http://wp.me/p1P7gt-3U

Romance Novel Review: Spontaneous – Brenda Jackson

Jul11

Sparks fly early in for the maid of honor Kimani and best man Duan Westmoreland. After a very steamy night, they share a cab on the way to the airport and Kimani confesses that she needs a fake fiancé. Private Investigator Duan is happy to oblige, especially after learning that the man Kimani’s mom is about to marry was suspected of murdering his two ex-wives.

Their story is so much fun especially since there is so much inner conflict as they try to rationalize the things they do and the emotions they feel while reminding themselves mentally that the engagement is only for show. This is supposed to be a pretend engagement, but they cannot ignore the connection that they share is more than just about the physical.

Adding to the drama is Kimani’s mother’s constant search for love, Kimani’s career plans, and Duan’s hesitance to admit that he is hooked.

In the end, their love causes them to engage in some really spontaneous behavior!

For more about my thoughts on author Brenda Jackson, check out post http://wp.me/p1P7gt-3U

I would rather not shake your hand because I don’t want to die

Jul10

Last night I saw Contagion.

For a germaphobe like me, this was a cautionary tale. I already freak out if someone coughs too much or sneezes too often. I look at that person warily and ask, “Are you sick?” Usually without waiting for a response, I pull out the sanitizer and cover my own mouth and nose. This movie has taught me that I am not being overly paranoid, I am being safe because I don’t want to get sick and DIE!!! Okay, maybe I am overreacting a wee bit, but the movie was so realistic that I feel it could happen. In retrospect, I guess that means the screenwriters and directors did their job well.

The movie starts off with Gwyneth Paltrow’s character sitting in a restaurant bar waiting for her flight. She is talking on the phone and looking quite pallid, which she attributes to jetlag. She gets home, still not feeling well and next thing you know, she is dead.

Whoa! (umm yea it was over for her that quickly)

No sooner does her husband (Matt Damon’s character) have the chance to process that depressing information, his son dies as well. Scenes from all over the world show similar occurrences.

The CDC and WHO (played by Lawrence Fishburn, Kate Winslet, and others) are faced with a global dilemma. It was bizarre that a seemingly non-threatening head cold morphed into a killer disease. This is the battle of science vs. bacteria (and the time it takes to kill the host organism). CDC and WHO need to understand what is happening so that they can treat the illness. Without a vaccine, humankind is defenseless and the number of people are dying increases exponentially. It is even more difficult to contain whatever it is with the movement of people on every possible mode of transportation. From one infected person in an airport, there are outbreaks in many other parts of the world. I guess the scariest part of this movie was the fact that disease’s initial symptoms had the appearance of something as innocuous as a mild cold but was highly contagious and extremely deadly .

How many times have people in the office came to work with a slight head cold? I don’t like to take chances, but who knows when I have touched something that they touched? Elevator buttons, refrigerator door in the canteen, etc.

Even though I try not to consciously touch my face, how many times have I done it unconsciously?

And let’s not even begin to analyze what we touch when we are on public transportation.

As I type this, I took a minute to apply more anti-bacterial sanitizer.

Yea, this movie messed with my head more than I anticipated. Or maybe I knew on some level it would be like this and that is why I waited so long to see it. In the end, the outcome was kind of what I would have expected, meaning it seemed to be a very realistic ending.

The genre of this movie is thriller and I can say it was a thrill to watch it.

Most importantly, I was making mental notes of what I need to do in the event of a global contagious disease that begins killing people like flies. Don’t shake hands. CHECK.

Don’t take public transportation. CHECK.

Have gun loaded. CHECK.

Increase inventory of , , and , . TRIPLE CHECK

Unlike the movies with radioactive bugs or other giant monsters, the villainous bacteria in Contagion could actually exist. Would real life imitate a fictional movie? I hope that it never happens. But knowing how unsanitary people can be, I am not convinced we would be any better off.

Overall: The movie is worth watching if you have not already done so. And seeing what started the deadly virus ball rolling will make you want to go wash your hands and apply sanitizer just to be cautious.

Romance Novels: This is not REAL life people!

Jul2

Since I like to try to read books in a series, in the future, I will be reviewing several romance novels by the author Brenda Jackson. This post about the author is to give you an idea of what to expect when you read her books.

I like to say that Ms Jackson’s books are short novels (about 200 pages) since the books I usually read are double in length. I have read one book from her Kimani series and several more from her Westmoreland series. The Westmoreland series feature members of the super-rich Westmoreland family. Each generation of the family likes to have a lot of children. Even though they are born into a wealthy family, they have all appreciated what advantages they have had financially to work in various fields of expertise from professionals to sheep farmers. As a result, they are no strangers to hard work and they are down-to-earth (insert your daydreamy “Ooooo” here).

Ms Jackson’s books follow a simple formula:

Guy meets girl.
The intense attraction and desire between them is immediate (they cannot explain or deny their lack of self-control).
For whatever reason, one or both of them do not want a long term relationship
They usually fall in love in a matter of weeks. (from the books I have read so far, I think the quickest was 2 weeks)

Some readers who have bought Ms Jackson’s books have complained in their reviews about the lack of realism. To that I reply, “Whatever!”. I do realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but people have to be reasonable. By choosing a romance novel, I think that a reader has to suspend normal belief to think that all of these short, passion filled relationships are going to lead to a long term, lasting happy marriages. I am sure it is possible, but the odds are not very likely. With inventive and fanciful storylines, these books are contemporary fairy tales, not to be confused with real life. Knowing the predictability of Ms Jackson’s books does not detract from the entertainment value for me.

If you are looking for real life romance stories, look it up in the encyclopedia. If you want an amusing diversion in the form of a romance novel, Ms Brenda Jackson will not disappoint.

That being said, as I read her books, I will be summing them up and reviewing them on here.

Xbox with Kinect

Feb5

I only bought my Xbox because of the Kinect. I was intrigued by the next level of advancement of motion sensor gaming. In contrast to the Wii, with the Kinect there are no batteries are needed because your body is the controller. I was able to buy Xbox 4GB console and Kinect on sale for around $250. There are several memory options of the Xbox console, but if you are not a real serious gamer like me, the 4GB is fine. However if, you want to play games like Halo, Call of Duty, or Far Cry, you might be better off splurging for the 250GB console (which is going to be about $100 more expensive). If you don’t, you might end up running out of memory and have to buying the larger memory console later. Save yourself the time and money and buy what you need the first time around.

When using the Kinect, you need a lot of room. A good playing area is about 6-8 feet away from the sensor. They recommend at least 10 feet if there are 2 players. I play in an area less than 6 feet, so my head is a little cut off on the projection image. This means that on some games I am lose points because the sensor does not full recognize my movements. But for the most part, the sensor does a pretty good job of knowing where I am and what movements I am trying to make.

If you buy the Kinect new, you will probably have the Kinect Adventures game to come with it. Since the Kinect is fairly new, most of the Kinect games are going to be the most expensive. From what I have seen, the average prices start at about $40. Most of the games that I want are $50, so I am waiting for sales and specials. During the Christmas holidays, there were Amazon specials and I was able to get Dance Central 2 for $30 (regular price $50) and The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout for $20 (regular price $40).

I can rent games from Blockbuster, but since the Kinect games are newer, it cost $2-3 a day unless I buy the gaming subscription. I have Blockbuster Online which allows me to put games in my queue. As of yet, I have not received any games because there is a long wait for all the Kinect games.

Overall, I love my Xbox with Kinect. It is worth the money spent. I am able to exercise without feeling like I am doing a workout. So far, I have lost 5 pounds. I am motivated to keep on playing my games and burning off the pounds.