Carol's Notebook – Page 461

Fort Steuben Bridge Implosion

February 21, 2012 by Carol17 Comments

Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette They exploded one of our bridges today. I wasn't there to see the implosion but the photos are pretty spectacular. It'll be odd driving down by the river and not seeing that bridge any more, even though it's been closed for quite a while. The bridge had been here, crossing the Ohio River between Steubenville, OH and Weirton, WV since 1928....

Review: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

February 21, 2012February 21, 2012 by Carol10 Comments

Dan Brown's novels follow a formula, but it's a formula that works. For the most part, The Lost Symbol is a gripping thriller. The end is a little flat, but overall it kept my attention, kept me turning the pages. Robert Langdon, famed symbologist, is summoned to Washington, DC under false pretenses. Once there, he learns that a good friend is in danger. The villain, a psychopath, insists that Robert is the only one who can help him uncover the secret portal to the word that will unlock the ancient mysteries, or something like that. Langdon has to solve a series of codes, of course, and interpret a variety of symbols, on his desperate search around Washington. Luckily he has a beautiful, intelligent woman to help him on his quest. Unluckily, the CIA seems to think he should help them, at the expense of his friend's life. Brown tends to use settings with historical value and likes to teach us about secret...

Guest Post: Gordon Gumpertz, author of Red Hot Sky

February 20, 2012February 19, 2012 by Carol3 Comments

Today, I'm happy to welcome Gordon Gumpertz, author of Red Hot Sky, with an interesting point about life on our little planet. Escape to a New Planet By Gordon Gumpertz Coffee, tea, or milk? What would you order if you had to sit in coach class for 20 years while your starship raced through outer space at the speed of light? That's how long it would take to reach the nearest planet discovered so far that may have an atmosphere that could support human life. That is, if man someday develops the technology to transport people at the speed of light (about 300 million miles per second).The planet called Gliese 581d has 6 times the mass of earth, and lies within its star's habitable zone which could mean a temperate climate and, hopefully, air and water. If the human race is to survive beyond a billion years from now, such a trip will be necessary. Those of us living on planet earth today are...

Movie Review: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

February 19, 2012 by Carol7 Comments

Okay, just to be clear, The Mysterious Island (2012) is not a great movie. What it is is a fun adventure film, perfect for the whole family. TSean Anderson receives a message from his grandfather, who claims to have found the “Mysterious Island” that Jules Verne wrote about in 1974. Anderson's stepfather, played by, Dwayne Johnson, helpe him decode the message and then decides tot ake the bonding moment even farhter, heading out of a quest to the South Pacific. On the island of Palau, they hire a tour guide to take them to the island, and his daughter comes along, too. Before long, they’ve arrived at the Mysterious Island, Grandpa shows up. He shows them all the wonders of the isldand, and it is an amazing place, but they quickly realize they need to get off now, becuase the whole place is sinking. There are of course, all kinds of obstacles, most notably giant bugs, birds and lizards. And trekkig across the jungles...

Venice in February: Brunetti’s Cookbook by Roberta Pianaro and Donna Leon

February 18, 2012 by Carol21 Comments

Two things I love- Italian food and mysteries. And Donna Leon has found a great combination with Brunetti's Cookbook. Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti series is one of my current favorites, and for those who've read the books, you know why she needed to add a cookbook. If you haven't read the books, let me tell you a bit about them. Brunetti is an inspector for the Venice Questura, so the mysteries are basically police precedurals, not the food-based cozies that are so popular now. But the descriptions of Venice transport you there, and the food is just mouth-watering, whether he's eating at a neighborhood trattorio or at home where his wife, Paola, cooks delectable multi-course meals. That's not to mention the pastries, the wine, the coffee. In Brunetti's Cookbook, Roberta Pianaro has brought these dishes to our dinner table, with Leon interspersing the recipes with excerpts from her novels and essays about food and Venice. It's a marvelous cookbook to actually sit down...

Flash Fiction: To Lay Down His Sword

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012 by Carol9 Comments

"To Lay Down His Sword" It had come. Today was the day he had been dreaming of and fearing, the day he would lay down his sword. He had been chosen on the day he was born. It had been the seventh day of the seventh month, an auspicious day. The priests had taken him to the temple, where he had lived for the last 18 years. He had learned much. He was able to read and write, to understand the symbols that adorned the holy spaces and the Queen's dwelling. They had taught him how to fight, armed and in hand-to-hand combat, to protect the people of the village, the temple, and, most importantly, the royal family. He was strong and, he knew, handsome. He placed his sword on the stone table and joined the other two young men facing the altar. One would receive the ultimate honor and be sacrificed to the gods. One would become a true priest, allowed into...