Reading. Its fundamental

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read.  I have had the bittersweet priviledge of finishing the beloved Dark Tower series.  I started reading this monster in high school.  Well, if it gives you any inclination as to how long it has taken me, I graduated nearly 20 years ago and I was in early highschool when I started The Gunslinger.

I am so amazed at the story that I want to go back and start over!  I have also found that, along the years, our clever author Stephen King, has intertwined other stories and related them all to the Dark Tower series.  One such stark reminder is The Stand.  One of the main characters there is Randall Flagg.  For those loyal readers of his, you know this to be the Dark Tower main character as well. However, it is like a Yin/Yang thing.

Ah, stories, they take us places.  Who remembers the Reading Rainbow series.

Butterfly in the sky,
I can go twice as high,
Take a look,
Its in a book,
Reading Rainbow!

Good times. Gooooood times!  Now, I have found myself in a digital age and you can read books on your computer (done it,) on your phone (doing it,) and on this nifty digital device called a kindle (have one.)  But it feels so empty reading a book in digital format.  I rememember when I would find audio books in the library.  I told myself I would NEVER deface a true book by "listening to it."  That was only for people who loved a good story and were no longer able to see to read or who were not with the abililty to access full version braille books because they were physically blind.  Not for people like me who enjoyed the feeeling of finishing a great book.

Also, when you are reading a true book. Nothing feels like turning the page or flipping a corner down to mark your spot when you go to make coffee.  Even better, the images a great story will invoke in your mind as you are reading about the plight of the main character.  To the dismay of movie makers, each person who reads the book first, has a different opinion of what the scene is and the main character looks like.  I believe that those who are gifted with the skill of great comprehension while reading are able to create such an image in their mind and fully enjoy reading for what it is.  Best yet, the feeling of finishing a novel or long book when you turn that last page and take a moment to reflect upon the story as a whole.  Ah, better than a runner's high.

I wonder these days if there will be a time when there will not be any people who can do such a thing or that they will achieve the abovementioned feelings when they finish their digital copy of a great book.  With the advent of the digital format, I have (however) found it easier to obtain and read classic.  Currently I am in the middle of Bram Stoker's Dracula.  I love it and it is easy to get on my kindle as most of the classics are free and you do not have to pay for them.  Another reason I love my digital formats is because they take up a great deal less space in my suitecase when we travel. 

What is your feelings about reading a real book versus a digital format of any kind?

Please suggest topics for me to rant about here.

I have tried to do some daily nonsense here or there and my failed attempt at word of the day has led me to try something different.
While I still anticipate continuing the word of the day, I want to add something more. I like to compose. While I prefer putting pen to paper, it is much faster to put finger to key.
This one is short and sweet and I want suggestions on topics from all of you. Please comment below and suggest things for me to post a rant about and that I will do. If I do not get many rant suggestions, I will have to come up with some rants of my own. However, I prefer to be creative and involve the faithful fellow facebookers in my quest to "publish" something in a public quorum.

Cheers! **Holds up long stem crystal with self draining ice and the finest soda in the nation....COFFEE!" (Did you expect any less?)

Im Baaaack

I honestly forgot that I had this blog. I am going to start posting here again. For those of you that follow my rants of Facebook, you will note that I will post those here too but I am also going to be placing original content here as well. Thanks for remaining constant readers and I hope to get more followers soon.

Netflix, old school love...If you know what you are looking for...

Ah yes, Netflix. Love it or hate it, it is going to be here for a while. People are paying 8 bucks a month to watch movies and tv episodes at their leisure, on their pc's, phones, and game consoles. (Some require an additional subscription of sorts.) Gotta love it. I am certain that it took a big chunk out of the pay per view market when it finally caught footing in the market.
I had the priviledge of a free trial of netflix and yes, we watched the Ong Bak Trilogy that night and it was all well and good but you would not believe the trouble we had to go to simply to find something that we wanted to watch. All the commercials make you think that their database of available titles are up to date and such but NOOOOOO you have to go back over 15 months to find something that is not ancient (in movie/tv terms.) We were amazed at how "dated" the titles were and there were a great deal of titles that we were like "HUH? o.o What is that?" It is not what it is cracked up to be for peeps like me (or dear hubby for that matter.)
While we did finally find something and were able to watch a few things, this whole netflix thing is not for us. We can take our eight bucks a month and find something else or find a great dvd at the store. I am sure there is a perfect fit as a Netflix customer out there. Why else would they be advertising IN YOUR FACE at every damn turn! Well, sorry marketing execs at Netflix, you have failed to impress this customer. You obviously have failed to impress others or it would not be a topic suggested to rant about, huh?
I am not knocking Netflix nor am I giving it a bad rep or review, it is just something that is not for me. You know, like tampons are not for the male population of the world. Well, at least most of it. (We are not including those that go out at 2 am and purchase said product for their significant other. I will say, that is love folks. Plain and simple. That is all I have to say about that.) Some products are a good fit for certain consumers and some are not.
I wonder what it would be like to own the super product. The one product that is in demand for every single person on this planet and there is no competition. Wow, every green thing growing on this planet has that and they do not even charge for it! That just occurred to me. Oxygen. Wow. These things work tirelessly everyday to produce the one thing that every human on this planet needs. Huh. Nice digression there (and a reflection to a previous rant. Just for one moment. BlInK!)
Yes, the Netflix commercials should have a disclaimer at the end or the bottom of the screen noting that "Netflix is not for everyone, should you experience boredom, loss of thought, contemplations of suicide or sleepiness, we suggest you stop using it right away and consult your TV Guide." or some such nonsense.
Thanks to Kat Neal for suggesting this one and for it to be in "the list" at the perfect time for me to rant about it.

The Factor Tree--BzzAgent

As a member of an exciting community called BZZAGENT, I have been privileged enough to try products before they become available to the general public. One such product is FactorTree. Since joining factor tree, I have been able to help my children with their math homework and enable them to excel to higher grades than before. My middle school daughter even thinks that logging on to factor tree is fun!

I encourage each of you to try this site if you have a child in school. No matter if they are a math whiz or not, it will help them gain a thorough understanding of what is going on in thier studies.

Haven't been here in a while.

Getting back into the groove. Haven't been here in a while. Just wanted to let everyone know that I will have my next post up soon. Love all!

Haven