Blair Books

This is an excellent book. It caters as a reference book, and there is a good chance that you can find it in the reference section of your local library. It is VERY expensive, but worthwhile for weather hobbyists that like to travel or know about other areas of the country. There is more educational material than I expected, in addition to the expected wealth of data. Excellent reference.

this was the first weather almanac i bought since 1978. while the stats are indeed current (up to year 1999) the historical data for most U.S. cities is not reflective of the past, and seems to only track data recorded with a station's new weather equipment, circa 1990s... also, the book itself is largely copied grids from earlier versions of the almanac, difficult to read in some cases. wind data in most cities is not reflected in historical trends.
USA today puts out a graphically pleasing almanac, but the data in their book too is not of super value to the true climatologist. with the vast number of reporting data available today, i would expect a book such as this to include many more cities, and address microclimates. the web itself offers better statistical data than this book; although keeping track of that data ourselves can be cumbersome.

The Sun often visits the Water, who has a very large house. Once, during a visit, the Water asks the Sun why he never visits the Sun at his home. The Sun replies that his home is to small for the Water. The Water asks if the Sun will make his house larger so he and all the water people can visit, so the Sun does.
He, along with his wife, the Moon, make his house larger. The Water people do visit one day, and the new,larger house is so crowded that the Sun and the Moon have to go in the sky, where they have stayed since.

What I have written in this review may be more than in the whole book. Strange, huh?

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky is a great book. The Sun and the Water are great friends. The Sun always went to the Water�s house but Water never went to the Sun�s house. So then the water said ok, but he said you must build a large house. I have so much people they will take up a lot of room. So the Sun went home and built a large house. He went home and saw his wife the Moon so she helped him build a bigger house. When it was done Water came. One of the Water�s friends said is it safe for Water to come in. The Sun said yes so Water flowed in and so did the animals. Soon Water was knee deep so more of the Water�s friends came in so they over flowed. So that cause the Sun and the Moon to float into the sky.

The book�s message is to be a good friend and keep your promises. If you�re a good friend you will get good friends. If you keep your promise and if you ask some one to keep a promise they will probably keep it.

My opinion about this book is that it�s a great book. My
favorite part of the book is when the house over flows and the sun and the moon flow up to the sky. It�s my favorite part because it�s funny. I would recommend this book to you because it�s a great book.

Title: Zorro
Author: Isabel Allende
Genre: Novel

Synopsis: The story of the young man Zorro, and how he came to be the masked legend. Born from a marriage of a rich Spanish man and a native American woman, Diego lives in both worlds. As he grows, he feels strongly the injustices that have been perpetuated against the native occupants of California, causing him to create the alternate persona of Zorro, who attempts to bring some more equality to the world.

Quote: "The fox saved you. That zorro is your totemic animal, your spiritual guide."

Grade: B
Review: I picked this book up on the recommendation of a friend, not expecting to enjoy it too much because I have no particular affinity for Zorro. However, I ended up liking it very much. You don't have to be heavily steeped in the Zorro mythology to get on board with good versus evil, righteousness versus injustice, genius underdog versus somewhat thick bad guys.

In this improbable and quixotic novel Isabel Allende imagines the backstory behind the legend of Zorro. In her tale Zorro is actually Diego de la Vega, the mestizo child of a Spanish aristocrat and his Shoshoné wife, who is raised in southern California in the early years of the 19th century. He is a child of two worlds: the world of the Spanish overlords of California and the world of the oppressed native peoples of the region. His best friend Bernardo is a native American and he spends much of his youth with his grandmother White Owl and her clan. But eventually he goes to Spain to continue his education and there becomes entangled in the complicated Spanish politics of the Napoleonic period. Along the way he and Bernardo have many adventures that build Diego's belief in justice and his commitment to assisting those in need. The character of Zorro builds, finally emerging in full-blown form when Diego returns to California to find his father unjustly imprisoned by an evil Spanish interloper who has carried a grudge against Diego as a result of events that happened in Spain.

The book has plenty of action. In addition to Shoshonés there are gypsies, pirates (Jean and Pierre Lafitte, no less), duels, secret passages, secret rooms, a circus, even an ultra-secret society. It's skillfully written, as I have always found to be the case with Isabel Allende, but I can only give it 4 stars because somehow it fell flat for me. Blair Brown gives a capable reading, but the narrative plods and is ultimately unconvincing.

Mr. Beed's book is the first book I've read of the explosion. My mother took one of Mr. Beed's tours of Halifax in 2001 and bought this book. It's been sitting on my shelf for the past six years. I finally read it. While it is somewhat repetitive, it is a very good introduction to the terrible Halifax explosion. It is easy and quick to read, with great photos and personal recollections from the people who lived through Canada's worst human-caused disaster. I recommend it to anyone wanting an introduction to this tragedy.

I bought this book as a gift for my fiance' and could not help but read it first. As a resident of Alabama, I really enjoyed the author's presentation of the historical background of the restaurants as well as the pictures and recipes.

Amish Values "Wisdom that Works" is a good general overview and introduction on basic principles of the Amish life. Ruth Seitz "plainly" explains 10 values that are guidelines for the Amish. The photography by Blair Seitz is fantastic, capturing the realness, happiness and contentment in daily life.

Cherry Stone

"An Appple From Eden" follows the lives of two extremely different Scottish families in post World War I Scotland, the working class Irish-Catholic Flynns of Glasgow and the Seatons on their inherited estate near Perth. While the Flynns struggle to eke out a living in the grimy slums, the Seatons and their friend, Andrew Drummond, head of the whisky distillery of the same name, lead a life of comparative ease. The families' stories become connected when Bridie, the Flynn's pretty and intelligent daughter, is employed as a domestic servant at The Haven, the Seaton's estate. Once again Emma Blair describes brilliantly the destructive forces of religion and class distinction which bring the story to a sobering and sad climax.

How welcome to see interest revived in the dazzling CGI series which premiered on ABC in the fall of 1994, and which was kicked off the air at the height of its ratings when Disney bought Capitol Cities/ ABC. At that time Claster Television packaged the first two seasons and syndicated it to over one hundred independent stations. Freed of the restraints of ABC's Standards and Practices code, The ReBoot studio in Vancouver B.C. made a third season that was a bit wilder, although I think still OK for kids, and with one continuous story arc. But the Disney cancellation meant that the many imaginative ReBoot toys made by Irwin failed to sell. The third season was never seen in the US until at the request of fans, Cartoon Network ran it along with seasons one and two.

Throwing caution to the wind, the studio- Mainframe Productions/ BLT/ Alliance made a fourth season, such as it was, actually two feature length episodes. What the shows gain in edginess they lose in the innocence that made the original series an instant winner, and ReBoot, known for parodying popular culture, largely became a parody of itself. Both season four shows are simply badly- written. There were also two IMAX rides created. At one time season three was available on four DVDs, but even then fans would write asking how to get seasons one and two. Like so many animated shows, ReBoot misjudged its audience, which would far prefer the innocent shows over the new "edgy" ones.

The Art of ReBoot is a long overdue tribute to the world's first all CGI show. It's a hardback about 10 X 7, about a hundred full color slick pages. There is no text except small comments from designers worked around the montage style pages. It's published by Arcana Studio/ Beach Studio/ DMF, with Jim Su listed as producer, not of the ReBoot series, that was Chris Brough, but of this book. Su's idea was to give credit to all the animators and designers behind the scenes, reversing the policy of early cartoon studios of witholding credit. This approach gives readers an insiders' view of ReBoot from the artists' perspective.

Inluded are numerous character and set designs by Brendan McCarthy, along with color shots from the show of the final versions. The final fourteen pages, titled ReBoot Re-Imagined, show the ReBoot characters reversioned in various styles of graphic novels. Many of these artists are better known for other properties, including Spiderman, Transformers, Marvel Comics, and X- Men. Some also work for DMF, a Toronto comic book/ graphic novel company, and the Arcana Studio. This book is a dazzling tribute to a series many viewers remember fondly. Hopefully revived interest will spur the first two seasons' release on DVD, and maybe even reboot ReBoot back to the air (in its classic form, not an 'edgier' one).

When most Americans think of Indians, they think of the Sioux on the Great Plains, the Navajo of the Southwest, but almost never the many tribes that still live east of the Mississippi River. This thoughtful book tells the stories of Indians as diverse as tye Penobscots of Maine, the Iroquois of New York, the Ho-Chunk and Chippewa of Wisconsin, the Pamunkeys of Virginia, the Cherokees and Lumbees of North Carolina, the Creeks of Alabama, and the Houmas and Chitimachas of Louisiana. Through history, profiles, and photographic portraits by Carolyn DeMeritt, Gaillard tells the stories of those who, despite disease, removal, poverty, and oppression have managed to remain and at times even thrive in the lands of their ancestors. This book should be in every county, public, and high school library east of the Mississippi, and probably west of the river too.

I read all the Girl Talk books and loves them.