Today I got my second scam phone call from someone trying to infect my computer. The first time I wasn’t on my toes enough to record it. This time I did.

Also this time it came in on a “withheld” phone number but previously, it came in on a local phone number: 763-279-1719, the caller ID said Call M. That time I just said, “Um, I don’t think so” and he hung up on me. This time he got really upset when he learned this was a business number.

I can’t guarantee this is the exact same company but the person sounded the same. I googled the number from last week and found that if you stay on the line with them (which I will do next time) they try to get you to visit a website and infect your computer.

I started recording once I knew what it was, he had just said something about an IT Computer Departmetn and I said, “We don’t have an IT department”…this is where the audio starts.

[Listen to the Call]

I just wanted to share how happy I am that I finally got my Color Nook all set up.
I may have mentioned before that I bought one. It was maybe 6 months ago. I got it because, well, I’d wanted one ever since I knew they existed, but also because I was reading [a Stephen King book] that was so large it actually hurt when it rested on my stomach while I was reading.

Within a few days I rooted it. For those who don’t know, this means I hacked into it, basically unlocking it so that I could use it as an Android tablet. The Nook out of the box does allow for some apps to be installed but it’s very limited and they charge you most of them even though they’re free regularly. I’m already hobbled by AT&T on my phone, I didn’t want to do the same on the Nook.

So I looked online and found some instructions that I was able to follow. After about 4 hours of pulling my hair out, I realized there is a difference between an SD Card reader and an SD Card Adapter. You must use a READER. Once I got that straight it worked like a charm! I thought I was all done. I went about using my Nook as both an e-reader and a tablet. I downloaded the Kindle app for android so I can read Kindle books too.

Then, I saw this video done by a guy who works at The Nerdery (where I really want to work, by the way, but I’m not Nerdy enough, I guess). He was posting about how he was a Nerd for Android. He showed his Color Nook all rooted and it looked like an HTC phone, not like mine looked. That’s when I realized that I had not really done all I could on this puppy.

So I found a video that walks me through the steps of getting a custom ROM onto it. I know that didn’t mean anything to me at first either. But the video was fantastic and showed me exactly what I needed to do. It took me about an hour (but mostly because I kept getting interrupted). So now I have a lovely Android Tablet that ROCKS!!

I am feeling so confident about this I may just go ahead and root my phone too. Though the only reason I can see for doing that is to get rid of those stupid AT&T apps that I don’t want.

Here’s what my Color Nook start page looks like now.
Look, it’s my Dudder…..(click on photos to see larger)

Main Screen on rooted Color Nook

and see, a real Android menu!

Want one? You know you do!! Click on the top/first photo of the color nook at the beginning of those post to go to BN page.

Or
[here]

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I chose this book based on the cover alone.

I have a fascination with old tymie things and photographs in particular, tickle my fancy. I really didn’t have much of an idea what this book was about but I knew it was told in part by photographs.

Without giving too much away, I will tell you that a young boy is shown some of these photos by his grandfather who says he knew these children when he was a kid. He told him some pretty wild stories about them and how they all lived together in this giant mansion that served as a home for these children that didn’t fit in elsewhere.

As the boy grows older he decides his grandfather’s stories are made up and the photos doctored. But when he’s 16 events cause him to travel to Wales and this old mansion, and learn for himself.

I really enjoyed the story. It was interesting, creepy, suspenseful, and even sweet. I guess I’d say it’s in the fantasy genre. But don’t let that stand in your way of reading it if that’s not your bag.

I didn’t realize this was a Young Adult book until I was about half way through. So don’t let that sway you away either. I mean, look at Hunger Games. Not. For. Children.

After finishing the story and reading the Epilogue I saw that the story was written around real photographs that the author had come across. Whereas, reading it, I assumed that the photos were staged for the story. I sort of wish I’d known the truth before, which is why I’m telling you.

Check this one out if you’re at all interested in old photography and old mansions.

*I purchased it for the Nook.I would actually recommend getting this one in real book format instead however. I would have liked ot be able to see the photos better, they were too small on the Nook.

[Buy Physical Book at Amazon]
[Buy the Kindle Version]

Watch the Trailer

Making of the trailer

Title: The Killing Room
Year: 2008
Cast: Timothy Hutton, Clea DuVall, Meade Patton, Bill Stinchcomb, Nick Cannon, Peter Stormare, Anoop Kaur Sikand, Shea Whigham, Chloë Sevigny, Luke Sexton
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Screenwriters: Gus Krieger, Ann Peacock

The Killing Room

Yikes. Well, I am still on my Timothy Hutton kick. I knew nothing about it, other than he was in it. I mean, I read the synopsis when I put it in my queue, but that was months ago. A couple of nights ago I popped it in not remembering anything about it.

It’s about a secret government program that…no, I can’t say more.

It’s about a young FBI agent who’s applying for a job…no, can’t go that way either.

Um, we know that there was once a project that the government was running that had to do with mind control and it was shut down….or was it?

Basically 4 people are put in a room. They are here because they’ve agreed to take part in an experiment and get paid for it. They start to get their instructions and BAM everything changes. The whole game.

What I can tell you is that Timothy Hutton is looking great, and of course, acting wonderfully.

I was also very pleasantly surprised by Nick Cannon. I didn’t even know it was him until I IMDB’d the movie later. All I know of him other than this is that he hosts a talent show and is married to Mimi. But man, he’s a good actor! I would definitely like to see him in other stuff.

This is one of those mind f*ck movies, which I am partial to. If you like those too, I’d recommend it.

Get it:

or [Netflix It]

Title: Look Again
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Publisher/Date: St. Martin’s Press; 2009

This is the story of a woman who adopted a little boy about a year old when he was basically abandoned in a hospital while he was recovering from a serious heart defect.

A couple years later she gets one of those cards in the mail that shows missing children, and the child on the card looks just like her boy.

Being a reporter she can’t just let it rest. She researches the story and starts to put the pieces together.

I can’t say much more than that without giving away the whole story and there are many parts to it.

But I’ll say that it was a fun and easy read. The story was well crafted. I guessed the main story point right away (and was right), but there were many other pieces that I never saw coming.

I didn’t like how the author described what the characters were wearing. That’s just a bug-a-boo I have. I mean, it’s one thing to say ‘she dressed casually’ but I don’t need to know (or care about) the brand of her clothes. It’s just so girly. Though, I’m reading a Christopher Moore book right now and he’s doing that too. Aargh.

Anyway, good story, could have been edited. The beginning took awhile to go anywhere, but by half way through I was pretty hooked and by the last 20 or so pages I was glued.

Get it:

I don’t normally go all gushy over a store, especially an online store, but [Shabby Apple] is an exception. In this day where so many stores don’t give two hoots about their customers, I am always very pleasantly surprised when I encounter one that goes the extra mile.

Several months ago on a whim, I bought a Groupon for the online clothing store, Shabby Apple. I think I paid $50 for $100 of merch. I looked at their site and thought the dresses were really cute and I think all their dresses were under $100. Seeing as I don’t even own a dress (other than my two hippie dresses that are tie-dyed cotton) I decided it was time to start dressing like a grown-up. I figured I could pick out anything pretty much, for the price of a night of happy hour.

A few weeks ago I started looking at their site in earnest. They have this cool thing where you answer some questions about your shape and they show you the dresses that will look best on you. I laughed when I did this first because while showing me things that would be flattering, a lot of them were earrings, handbags, etc. But I kept looking and I picked out a dress that I thought would suit my, um, shape. I used their size chart and picked an XL because I knew I’d cry if it ended up being too small.

[here's my dress] on someone way prettier and skinner than me.

I think it was about 10 days later, I got the dress (and a groovy necklace I also ordered since the dress didn’t come to $100). I tried the dress on and it fit. I was so excited. Then the next day I looked at it hanging and noticed there was a zipper on the side. I figured that it probably meant that the mid section was supposed to be pretty fitted. Since I was able to get it on without unzipping it, I wondered if it would look better if it were smaller.

So I emailed Shabby Apple and explained that I could gather a couple of inches around my midsection and that the length was a tad long (though I’m short so that’s to be expected). Within about an hour I got a response from one of their employees saying that she’d talked to the warehouse manager. They measured the two sizes of this dress and discovered that the large was a few inches smaller all around so that would probably be better for me.

I sent back the XL (I did have to pay for the shipping) and within about a week I got the new dress. I tried it on last night and it’s perfect! It also came with a coupon for $5 off my next order (so did the original order).

They have so many cute things and the dress I got, anyway, is well made. The necklace is gorgeous. I love that much of the jewelry is named after Alice in Wonderland. The one I got is called [Mad Hatters Time Keeper]

Check them out.

Title: Just Another Love Story
Year: 2007
Cast: Anders W. Berthelsen, Rebecka Hemse
Director: Ole Bornedal

I heard of this as a recommendation from a Facebook friend who liked it. She said it was a “Great film from Denmark”. Maybe you know that I love all things Danish (except, strangely, the pastry ‘Danish’) so I put it in my Instant Queue on Netflix.

I watched it last night not really knowing what to expect, I didn’t even read the synopsis. I was going on the movie poster only, which shows a woman laying on the ground with a man standing over her with a gun.

Well, this is quite an interesting story. It begins showing snippets of two different love stories. One is a man and his wife, seemingly madly in love. The next is a man who’s obviously distressed, sweating and shaking. They zoom out and he has a gun pointed toward his head. Zoom out even more and it’s a woman (also sweating and shaking) holding the gun.

So then the explanations begin. I’m not sure how much to give away here, so I’ll say now that I recommend this film if you’re OK with paying close attention. Because it is in Danish with English subtitles, you can’t play Farmville while watching this one. Unless, of course, you understand Danish.

Here’s the official synopsis:

A husband and father, Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen) lives a quietly predictable life in the suburbs. When he inadvertently causes a car accident that leaves a young woman, Julia (Rebecka Hemse), with amnesia, he finds himself telling incredible lies to make her and her family happy. By pretending to be Julia’s boyfriend, Jonas opens up a brand-new life for himself, one full of exotic and endless possibilities.

If you plan to watch it and don’t want any spoilers, stop here. If you want to know more keep reading.

So the woman we see in the beginning, we see her driving down the road in a distressed state. She sees a car up ahead of her stopped in the road, she tries to swerve around it and hits it slightly but really bangs into another car coming from the other direction, her car flipping over and she flies out of it landing on the road. The car she barely hit is carrying a man, woman and two kids. This is the man from the first snippet. He gets out, runs to her and tries to help her. She’s saying over and over again, “Sebastian, I don’t want to die.” A doctor arrives and takes over. Our guy goes back to his car, to his wife and kids and tells them that the parties in both cars are dead.

He works for the police, so he’s able to learn who she is and that she’s not dead. Curiosity gets the better of him and he goes to visit her, but they won’t let him in because he’s not family. So he tries again this time saying that he’s her boyfriend. He walks into the hospital room and her family is surrounding her, weeping, but so happy to finally meet…Sebastian! And he’s too stunned to correct them. And so it goes.

There’s a LOT more to it, but I won’t give away anymore than that. If that beginning sounds interesting, you’ll like it. Rent it.

Get it:

[Netflix It]

Title: The Ramen Girl
Year: 2008
Cast: Brittany Murphy, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tammy Blanchard, Kosei Asami, Gabriel Mann
Director: Robert Allan Ackerman
Screenwriter: Becca Topol

The Ramen Girl

Another night alone and a ton of movies to choose from. Ahhhhh….Tonight’s feature is called The Ramen Girl. It stars Brittany Murphy and no one else I knew (though there was one woman who was vaguely familiar).

It’s about a woman who moves to Tokyo with her boyfriend and within two weeks of her arrival, he leaves her. Stuck in a foreign city, not speaking the language. I’m glad she has more guts than I do, because I’d have been on the next plane home and it would have been a really short movie.

So one night while she’s sitting on the balcony of her very (unrealistically) large apartment drowning her sorrows in a beer, she notices a cute noodle shop across the street. It’s a rainy night and it’s pretty much the only bright spot on the street.

The heads over there and walks in. The shop is closed, and the husband and wife team who run it tell her this, but since she doesn’t speak Japanese she doesn’t understand. So she starts crying and they tell her to sit and feed her a bowl of soup that looks awesome.

The soup makes her feel better so she starts going there more often. Eventually she gets it across to them that she wants to learn how to make Ramen. Apparently in Japan, this is really a skill. Not like opening the package of Maruchen and adding water. No, this is serious business. Not everyone can do it. Certainly not a white girl from America. But she’s undeterred in her adorable Brittany Murphy way.

She’s wonderful in this. The Japanese couple are great. The story is predictable but still enjoyable.

Think Karate Kid but instead of a kid, a young woman, and instead of karate, soup: Learning at the hands of the master, being teased, competing, falling in love…etc.

It was odd watching this and realizing she’s no longer with us. It’s so sad. She was a great talent and a lot of fun to watch. There aren’t many actresses out there who can compete with Brittany Murphy in the charm department.

Cook up a package of Maruchen and watch it. It’s a nice treat.

Get it:

or [Netflix It]

Title: Sharp Objects
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher/Date: Three Rivers Press (July 31, 2007)

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

While this is Gillian Flynn’s first book, it’s the second one I read. I tend to use Bookmooch whenever possible and her second novel, Dark Places was available before this one, so that’s how it happened. This is not a problem however, since the two are unrelated.

What they do have in common is a female main character who is psychologically troubled.

Sharp Objects is a story about a reporter for a Chicago newspaper who’s editor sends her back to her hometown to investigate and write a story about some missing children. He figures that since she’s a ‘townie’ she’ll gain insight and get more info from the town’s members better than a stranger might.

What he doesn’t know (until later) is that her home life while she lived there was quite stormy. Her mother is batshit crazy, her step father is more a Step-ford Father, and she has a half sister who she doesn’t really know at all because she was born after or at least very young when our heroine left town to go to college.

She’s a recently recovering cutter. But instead of cutting just lines in her body, she cut words. Words that have some meaning to the situation. So her body is covered in word-scars.

At the time she arrives, one little girl has been abducted and found murdered. The second one is still missing. In investigating the disappearances of these little girls she uncovers some very disturbing things about the town and it’s inhabitants.

The book is well-written and a solid page turner. At times it feels predictable, until you realize you were wrong in your guesses. The story is well thought out and the characters believable, albeit often unlikable. It’s one I could picture being a film. Maybe because of the words on her body, I kept picturing them glowing under her clothing whenever a situation would recall something from her cutting days.

It was hard to put down. It’s an exciting and quick read.I read it in four days (and I spend a lot of time watching TV leaving little time for reading).

Get it:

or

Title: Drowning Ruth
Author: Christina Schwarz
Publisher/Date: Ballantine Books (July 31, 2001)

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

This is an odd one, but I good story. It takes place in Wisconsin and begins in 1919. A woman (not named Ruth, oddly) drowns before the book opens. She has left behind her sister who lived with her, and her daughter (Ruth). The little girl is about 5 at the time and she keeps mentioning “the night I drowned”. She’s repeatedly told that no, she didn’t drown, she’s right here. It’s her mother who drowned.

The story goes on with Ruth being raised by her Aunt Maddie (whose mental stability is repeatedly questioned) and sometimes her father who was away in the war when Ruth’s mother died.

I can’t say too much about the other events that take place or you will start to guess things. You may be entirely wrong, but still…

So I’ll just say it was an interesting book. You don’t really know what happens until the very end and it pays off.

Get it:

or