Sue Knott's Blog: Knott The Screaming Type

Sites like this one can be an invaluable tool for finding books that you will love. But, mere ratings -- rather than reviews -- can be deceiving. And a review need only be a few words to make it valuable. (I've offered suggestions for such words below.)

What Ms. Highbrow finds entertaining may not be what Ms. Lowbrow enjoys. And vice versa (though, Ms. Highbrow may be fooling herself and it wouldn't hurt Ms. Lowbrow to reach. Just a string of one-word comments can be far more helpful than a star rating. Some suggestions:

Gripping. Sophisticated. Funny. Amusing. Page turner. Eloquent. Tear jerker. Heart wrenching. Thought provoking. Spellbinding. Delightfully naughty. Disturbingly filfthy. Coarse. Boring. Predictable. Violent. Action-packed. Juvenile. Sophmoric. Chilling. Depraved. Immplausible. Inventive.

You don't have to tell the reader what the book was about. You need only tell them how it made you feel and why. The words you choose should give the reader an idea of your taste. (Ms. Lowbrow will likely choose common words, whild Ms. Highbrow will gravitate toward multisyllabic behemoths that will have us reaching for our dictionaries.)

If you have things you look for in a book (sexy, spunky, plot twister, etc.)...why not leave a comment that might help the readers (all 6 of them) of this post write their next review.

I hate to admit it, but I'm not very tech-savvy. I have an e-reader, but if I want to do anything more than simply read a book on it, I have to look up step-by-step instructions.

So, when it came time to digitize my books, I told my publisher I did not want them to have DRM (Digital Rights Management). I didn't really understand DRM (still don't...my bad), but I didn't want to put barriers between my readers sharing my books with their friends.

Unfortunately, I didn't understand how much pirating was going on. I figured that most readers would be a bit wary of getting a computer virus from any of the sketchy free-download sites. But, now I see that someone is pirating my print book and selling it on Amazon's UK site.

So, my question is: How important is it to you to own ebooks that don't have DRM? Do you ever lend out your ebooks at all? Opinions are welcome.

Here's the deal: Cleaning my home office would be easy if that's all it was. But, it's not. It's admitting I'm never going to go to the weaving class on that brochure. Or learn to paint with that book. Or listen to the offspring's 5th grade music recital on that CD. Or write more poetry using the book on meter. Or restring that broken necklace. Or contact any of those people in that Rolodex (curse of the pre-digital age). It's admitting defeat or limiting my options with every toss.

Clutter isn't a sign of a disorganized mind. Clutter is evidence of a mind filled with hopes, dreams and ambitions. If only I knew which ones to truly let go of.

Here's the deal: Cleaning my home office would be easy if that's all it was. But, it's not. It's admitting I'm never going to go to the weaving class on that brochure. Or learn to paint with that book. Or listen to the offspring's 5th grade music recital on that CD. Or write more poetry using the book on meter. Or restring that broken necklace. Or contact any of those people in that Rolodex (curse of the pre-digital age). It's admitting defeat or limiting my options with every toss.

Clutter isn't asign of a disorganized mind. Clutter is evidence a sign of a mind filled with hopes, dreams and ambitions. If only I knew which ones to truly let go of.

Warning: do NOT go to this movie if you are faint of heart. There are enough drugs, sex, nudity and swearing in any given 10-minute segment to burn your grandmother's eyes out of her head.

That being said, I don't believe these elements were included to pander to one's baser insticts. Rather, the film is trying to give us a sense of the utter debauchery of the individuals involved.

I did not know this was a true story when I went to see it. If I did, I might have had qualms about supporting a venture that is likely putting money into the pocket of Jordan Belcourt. The man seems to have no moral or ethical base and has made his living blatantly swindling individuals.

However, it is an interesting and entertaining story and does open one's eyes to what can and does go on in the financial world...sometimes with your money.

If you can stand almost 3 hours of nudity and drugs, go see it. You'll enjoy the humor, be entertained, and learn a little something about the sleazy side of Wall Street. (Sometimes I wonder if there is a non-sleazy side.)

There were young children in the audience when I saw this film. That was a shame. It is an excellent movie, but it will not be appreciated by most children. A mature teen would enjoy it, perhaps, but not a child. It is not about Mary Poppins so much as Mary Poppin's author.

Emma Thompsom does a spectacular job bringing the famously difficult author to life. The viewers are treated to two stories at once: the challenging childhood of the author and the collaboration with Disney of the challenging woman the author turned out to be. The first story is rather tragic. The second is largely humorous, but has its moments of pathos and drama. Anyone of either era will appreciate the nostalgia value of the scenes as well.

The screenplay is well written, flawlessly acted and beautifully produced. You will laugh and cry. And you will walk away wanting to know more about Ms. Travers. There seems a lot more to be known. I can't wait to read the biorgraphy I just ordered.

Seriously, it isn't fair. I can (and usually do) go all day without a bite to eat. I make sure I have a little protien in the morning, then I'm usually busy non-stop until sunset.

But, once I have my dinner, I want more. I start scavenging around the kitchen for food, pissed at myself for not having anything interesting available.

If I go food shopping at night, rather than during the day when I haven't been eating, I'll bring home all kinds of goodies. But, they don't last long.

I suppose if food tasted horrible, I wouldn't have this problem. It's just a pain in my (difficult to keep from getting bigger) butt.

I suppose I should be thankful that I don't feel the need to eat during the day. When I used to have a regular job, I'd be snacking from the stress and lunch was the highlight of my day.

Any hints on how to conquer evenings would be appreciated.

This is not a political post. But, it is about how today's (2013's) healthcare coverage system works. And by "works" I mean "does not work." Or, more accurately, I mean "sucks."

Unfortunately, no one realizes how bad the system sucks until they either try to follow their dreams or get really, really sick. And since most people cannot imagine themselves getting really, really sick -- but would love to think they might want to someday follow their dream -- we'll start there.

Usually following your dream involves saying "neener, neener, neener" to your boss while putting your thumb on your nose and wiggling your fingers. Here lies the problem. It turns out that you can't get decent healthcare coverage at an affordable price without your joyless, soul-crushing employer.

Let's look at that word, "affordable." Some of you may think $1,000 a month is not "affordable." Unfortunately, that is the going price for "affordable" family coverage. At least, it is in NY state. As states go, NY requires providers to give its citizens pretty decent healthcare coverage. You can probably get by for less in states where the coverage includes little more than a Bandaid (R), aspirin and a lollipop. (Note: you really don't get that lollipop in NY anymore.)

Without an employer or a business generating real income (and your new business likely won't generate income and will be considered a "hobby"), you'll pretty much need to fork over something in the $30,000 (annual) range for family coverage. Can you hear your dream dying?

Let's say you'd like to be an author. It will take you a lot of time to write your book. Even more time to make any money from writing. And all those years that you are trying to be an author, you'd be paying those tens of thousands of dollars a year for healthcare coverage. Of course, if your spouse is employed, you can use his/her coverage.(isn't that "his/her" thing annoying? We need sex-neutral singular personal pronouns.)

Sure, I know what you're thinking. I'll just use my spouse's "affordable" coverage. But, there's a catch. Once said spouse sees you following your dream, he/she will become envious and want to follow theirs. But, the spouse can't because the spouse is the family's "affordable" healthcare coverage getter.

Maybe your dream isn't to be an author. Maybe your dream is to retire early. Who doesn't want to do that? And maybe you've been a good little saver and could actually afford to do that. Well, factor in that $30,000+ annual healthcare coverage cost and your savings will look like chopped liver. (Note: I don't know what chopped liver looks like, but I'm guessing it is not pretty.)

I am not going to say Obamacare is or is not the answer. No one knows how close it might be to the answer. And anyone who thinks they know is fooling themself. ("Themself" should be a word. No one wants to write or read "his or her self. It is inefficient.)

Anyway, looking into the future to predict how the Affordable Care Act will pan out is simply too complicated. There will be both good and bad unintended consequences.

One unintended consequence I'm predicting is a lot of people retiring early. That will be a good thing: job openings for young people. Happy retired people. And healthier people. (I don't know about you, but working is not as good for my health as not working. Working is stressful. Working requires me to sit alot and that is ruining my back. When I'm not working, I go to the gym. I walk. I eat healthier because I have the time to prepare healthy food. Heck, I'd GROW healthy food.)

Unfortunately, I don't think any of this early retirement stuff would happen all at once because a lot of people will be skeptical. After all, if the administration changes and the Affordable Care Act is axed or gutted -- and you retired early -- you might be shoot out of luck.

There are probably bad unintended consequences, too. I'm just pointing out some of the good stuff that would happen if we fixed the system. And I don't know if Obamacare will fix the system because I cannot predict the future. I just wanted to point out that as the system stands in 2013, you can forget your dreams of quitting your job or retiring early because your need for healthcare coverage will stomp all over those plans like Lucy Ball stomping grapes in the classic "grape stomping" episode of "I Love Lucy" (not to be confused with the classic "candy assembly line" episode.)

I could go on and tell you how if you get sick under the current plan (I mean really sick, for a long time: the kind of catastrophic sickness health insurance was designed for), your healthcare coverage (as opposed to old-fashioned health insurance) will leave you high and dry. Because you will eventually lose your job. And if you lose your job, you will eventually lose your employer-sponsored healthcare coverage. And then you will have to pay that $30,000+ annual rate until you are dead broke and go on Medicaid. Ain't that a great system?

I won't bother going into details on that because no one ever thinks it will happen to them. (And you can always use your spouse's coverage. And if your spouse doesn't have coverage, you can get divorced and marry someone with coverage. Don't laugh. I'll bet this has happened. I know a guy with a brain tumor who got married for the healthcare coverage.)

Anyway, I bet no one is reading anymore, so I should stop talking to myself. If you are still reading, and you have a dream, remember, I am not the one squashing your dream...I am just the one informing you how the current healthcare system will squash it. Maybe the Affordable Care Act will fix it. Maybe it won't. Put your dreams on hold until something is definite (which might not happen for a long, long time.) Have a nice day.

If you like your movies more on the deep than fluffy side, Mud is an excellent choice. Reminiscent of "Stand By Me," only more intense, Mud brings that feeling of Middle School adventure and angst to life. It's a story of love and rejection, fathers and sons, hope and loss...including the loss of traditional ways of life of days going by. Glad to see Reese Witherspoon back to acting rather than stomping through the drivel of Legally Blonde and other formula movies in her recent body of work.

Now You See Me: Go see it if you are intelligent enough to follow a sometimes complicated story line, enjoy crime stories, or are in the mood for something fun and different. I really enjoyed it.

The Great Gatsby: Go see it unless hearing modern music in a period piece will disturb you. Visually stunning. Follows the book closely, though takes a bit of a different interpretation on some things. Explains outright what they want you to think the symbolism means. In any event, I cared more about Gatsby and Daisy in this movie than in the book or in the Redford movie.


Oblivion: Go see it unless you like your sci-fi to be plausible.

Star Trek Into Darkness: Go see it if you are a fan of the first generation. You will probably enjoy it if you are younger, but many of the best bits are the takeoffs on the original characters. Unfortunately Kirk and Kahn did not even seem to try to pull off the personalities of the original characters.

Oz The Great and Powerful: Go see it with your family if your kids aren't easily frightened. An enjoyable and visually interesting extension of the original.

Hangover Part III: Don't bother. Not quite as bad as the turd that was the second movie, but only a couple laughs and mostly a waste of time.

42: Everyone should go see this, especially teens who really don't have a clue about how things used to be. My teen enjoyed it. Very well done and entertaining as well as emotionally informative.

Iron Man 3: Go see it if you like action adventure flicks. Well done.

The Place Beyond The Pines: A movie that didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, but was not completely unsuccessful. On the dark and depressing side.

Olympus Has Fallen: Corny, but somewhat entertaining. Go see it if you have nothing better to do.

Identity Thief: A complete waste of the talents of its heroine. There was one really funny scene, but she was not really a part of it. Skip it unless you like dull formulaic movies. (I'm thinking most of Reese Witherspoon's flicks would be an example.)

The Company You Keep: Sadly a fail. But, one of the better movies Shia LeBouf has ever been in.