Casino Royale---very upsetting and disturbing movie!

We saw this movie for my birthday last night…and I'm still bothered about it. This new James Bond movie is action packed and supposedly an awesome movie. We'd heard great things about it. So we took the chance. Big mistake!! This is supposed to be PG-13 and let me tell you, it's extremely disturbing. Disturbing with a capital ‘D’...

In one scene, Bond is stripped naked. They sit him on a chair that has no bottom, just a frame. This way, his private area is hanging down below the chair and he proceeds to get beaten several times in that area by a large rope with a knot on the end...He screams these horrible terrifying screams of agony as he's being hit over and over in the private area. I had to look away and I nearly cried and left the theater. I had to cover my ears to keep from hearing these awful, agonizing, gut-wrenching screams. This is PG-13???????!!!!!!!

I'm disgusted that this was considered PG-13. I cannot imagine my 13 yr old daughter seeing this scene. I was so upset that Les nearly took me out of the theater. He was mad on my behalf…because I was so bothered. He even said, he’s a guy and can handle a lot of disturbing scenes, but this scene bothered him a lot too! We both felt it should have been labeled Rater R—at the very least. NEVER PG-13…

I realize this is based on the Ian Flemming book and in the book the scene of torture lasted an hour...but, this is no Bond movie I would ever want my kids to see. That’s the crux of the problem here. If it had been Rated R, I would have been upset, but not outraged…Rated R, I can understand. Adults can handle that sort of violence I guess, but a 13 year old???

To be totally honest, this movie soured me on Bond movies all together. Also, it lasted for 2hours and 24minutes. It really just drug on. A couple of folks got up and left, because every time we thought it was coming to an end, there was more…it seemed to never end. The thing is, I grew up on James Bond movies. So this is doubly upsetting for me. I should have stuck with Prestige. I think I would have enjoyed that movie. At the very least I wouldn't have felt the need to throw up afterwards.
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A Tribute to a Friend

Okay, this one is for my friend, Pat. I know, I know...two blog posts in one day, a new record for me, LOL! But, I wanted to post this on here, so everyone can see this. Pat, you are amazing! You touch me in so many ways and I don't even think you realize it. You think of others first...you are forever emailing me things that let me know that I've been on your mind. I'm humbled that I stumbled across you. To steal a line from "As Good As It Gets"...you make me want to be a better person. You are an example of what a good friend, a true friend really is!

I've learned...

to be more forgiving,

to get more involved,

to let myself relax,

to attempt to be more out-going,

to be more...me, since the day I met you.

I hope you don't mind, but I'm posting the "My Dearest Friend" poem here, because I want everyone to see the kind of woman you are!

My Dearest Friend
You smile and it brightens my day,

You move me with the sweet things you say,

You’re the light in a tunnel that seemed ever gray.
How was it that I lived without you?
There’s no words that could possibly imbue,

My dearest, Pat, in all that you do…
I will always be here to help you through!
You are my friend,

never to part,

side by side,

heart to heart!

I Love You!

Causing Havoc, by Lori Foster

Blurb
Extreme fighter Dean “Havoc” Connor has knee-melting good looks and a hardened heart. Orphaned and torn from his sisters as a boy, he has no family and he's fine with that. Until he gets a letter revealing how much the once-little girls want him back in Harmony, Kentucky.

First, this story is not connected to Jude's Law. Both Heroes ARE fighters, however.
Second, Causing Havoc comes out February '07.
Third, there is a follow up story called "Simon Says", coming in August '07. You get a tiny glimpse of Simon in Causing Havoc. Simon is Dean's trainer, agent, all around everything sort of guy.

My First Reaction
"HOT, baby! OMG!" You won't want to pass this book up. I swear to you...DO NOT walk, run to the bookstore when it hits the stands because Dean is one helluva sexy Alpha Male. I have always adored the possessive, domineering, protective, slightly arrogant type characters. Dean is that for sure, but he's also sweet, caring, tender, vulnerable and so easy to like. Lori Foster's characters are always easy to relate to. I always feel as if I know these people by the time I'm done. As if I could actually run into them on the street. They just seem real.

A Brief Summary
Dean feels as if he's been punched in the gut when he gets a letter from his sister, Cam. He's not spoken to or seen his sister since he was a small child. Suddenly, out of the blue she wants to see him? Pleads with him to come for a visit? Dean doesn't feel as if he owes his sisters, Cam and Jacki, a damn thing! However, he does have some time to kill, as he's between fighting matches at the moment. Besides, well, he's curious about them, too. So, he goes to Harmony, Kentucky and finds...two beautiful young women?

Dean remembers Cam and Jacki as small girls, so it's tough for him to imagine these two woman as his little sisters. Cam is the mothering, nurturing type and tends to wear her heart on her sleeve--which has Dean shying away almost from the start. He's managed to build a wall around his heart and damned if anyone's going to penetrate it. Jacki is wild and carefree and reminds him of...him. Scary thought! LOL! But before he meets them, he stops in at a local bar and runs into a gorgeous Eve Lavon. He's taken by her immediately. Sparks fly off these two from their first meeting. Just when the evening looks as if it's going Dean's way and he'll be sharing a night filled with scorching passion, plans change, leaving Dean with nothing more than a teasing taste of what could have been and a hard on that won't quit. Luckily for Dean he's not seen the last of Eve.

This story will take you through lots of family drama and have you panting and laughing and crying...I swear it's the most emotion-filled story Lori Foster has ever written. Eve and Dean are my kind of couple. They fall into a relaxed sort of relationship that manages to be not only sensual but somehow familiar as well. Then there's Jacki and Gregor. These two nearly stole the show! I loved the way Gregor treats Jacki, making one mistake after another before finally getting it right. He's so...human and I think I enjoyed him almost as much as Dean.

Final Thoughts
It was tough for me to finish this story, because I found myself somehow bonding to these characters. I loved Dean's protective brotherly ways towards Cam and Jacki--even though he didn't want to admit to feeling brotherly. Also, I loved all the little mistakes the three siblings made until they finally learned that, as a family all that matters is love and trust. Everything else will come. Not since the Buckhorns have I wanted to visit and revisit a family like I did with the Connors. I give Lori Foster very high marks for creating a story that I know I'll want to re'read!

Honest Friend or Vicious Bitch?

So, the question was, what do you consider important traits in a friend?

my answers were:

1.) Kindness. Mean, rude behavior I’ve got no time for.
2.) Truthfulness, BUT this doesn’t mean it’s okay to be a total B**** and pretend you’re just trying to be honest.
3.) Knows how to keep a secret. My privacy is very important to me. If I tell someone intimate details of my life, and then they turn around and tell everyone…bye-bye.
4.) Understands that life can get busy. While I’ll always be there when needed, I won’t be in their face every waking moment.

However, this topic got me to thinking--that's always scary--and while I do agree that honesty in a friendship is vital, I also think it's important to keep it nice. Everyone is always saying that honesty is best. After all, no one wants their friends to lie to them, just to spare their feelings. But, when honesty is only a clever way of putting you down, making you feel like you can't do anything right, or has you second guessing yourself every time you open your mouth, then that's not honesty, that's viciousness.

I've learned real quick who my friends are and who aren't my friends. I’m very cautious about who I make friends with these days, and even more careful about who I share my confidences with. Friends who get off on 'honesty' will shake your self-confidence and make you think it's your fault, because you just can't handle the truth...

So, speaking from experience here, I say this: If you have a friend who does this to you, then pats you on the back and says, "oh gee, i didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I guess I was just trying to be honest"...Dump them fast!! They are using the word 'honesty' just to be cruel to you. You don't deserve it!

my two cents on Honesty vs Viciousness.

Twenty Odd Things About Me

1.) I love old movies, such as "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and "Psycho".

2.) I'm forever yo-yo dieting.

3.) I enjoy wine, especially the wine my husband makes.

4.) I always watch documentaries about Serial Killers like "Jack the Ripper".

5.) You'll rarely if ever see me wearing yellow.

6.) I have tons of books I've never read, and probably won't read.

7.) My youngest daughter looks so much like me it's eerie. LOL

8.) If I could have had ten kids I would have.

9.) I'm the youngest of 4 kids. And the only girl.

10.) I get nervous and start second guessing myself every single time I finish writing a story.

11.) I had a little brother who died of S.I.D.S, whom I miss greatly. I would have been a big sister.

12.) Anytime my daughters spend the night somewhere I worry terribly and I always go into their room and clean so it looks nice and pretty when they come home.

13.) I hate romantic comedies.

14.) I used to love to watch Red Shoe Diaries.

15.) I ran track and played basketball in high school, but I wasn't great at either sport.

16.) I procrastinate. A lot.

17.) I'm terrible at calling people. Not sure why that is...

18.) I don't really wish my husband was more romantic. He's perfect the way he is.

19.) I went blond once.

20.) I never lay out in the sun...I use sunless tanner instead.

Done!

*phew* Finally got the synopsis finished. After revising and researching 'how to write a winning syopsis'...I've written these things before, plenty of times, but I'm the type of person that likes to refresh myself, maybe learn something new. I feel pretty good about this submission. We'll just have to wait and see though.

Now, it's onto a new story. What shall I write...hmm, well, the truth is I've already got two stories started, just not sure which one I want to go with first. I think maybe Training Lucy: Part I. It's planned to be a teaser length, so I could get that one done and submitted a lot quicker than the other...

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Can't wait to go book shopping with you. We have just GOT to get our hands on Christine Feehan's "Conspiracy Game". WooHoo! Love those Ghost Walkers... :-)

Happy Hump Day everyone!