One-star review

Ganked from sleigh, papersky, and rezendi; I believe John Scalzi started the whole thing, challenging other writers to post one-star reviews they got on Amazon. I'd actually posted about this previously, but if you missed it the last time around, here it is again:

[There are no one-star reviews, by the way, for Emerald House Rising. Hurrah! The lowest review of that book that I got was one person who marked it four stars but said she really meant about 3.5.

The Wild Swans, out of twenty-six reviews, has one one-star review, as follows: ( here it is )

I should also give a tip of the hat to someone who gave the book three stars ("I may have been overly generous") but titles the review "Typecast, Contrived, Lacking in Subtlety." Gee, what would the reviewer have said if he/she really hated it? Read that review here.

Edited to add: trogon pointed me to another review at Library Thing that I hadn't seen before. This is a 1/2 star rating out of five!

The portrait of AIDS in this book is very early 1980s (everyone is going to die; sex is bad, yadda, yadda). It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Thinking about teaching about sex

In a rather interesting juxtaposition, I read two fascinating posts today on the subject of sex. The first was cakmpls's musings here about the changing mores/generational shift re: the delicate art of negotiation between a man and a woman as to whether her 'no' really means 'no' in the heat of the moment.

The other was an essay at Salon's Broadsheet [broadsheet] about the increasing cultural obsession with the virginity status of A list teen celebrities.

It's been interesting, reading these posts and reflecting upon my role as a mother in teaching my girls about their own sexuality: about thoroughly understanding it (the mechanics and emotions both), enjoying it without fear, and respecting its power. I've tried to initiate conversations over the years, to seize teachable moments. Still, I worry. Fiona is fifteen now. I haven't really detected much evidence of crushes, either way, among her group of friends, but they're at the right age (and face it, she's so beautiful), and the tone of their banter amongst themselves is occasionally starting to edge into the more risqué, so it could come anytime, I know. I think that kids today face a lot of pressures---and some greater dangers--that I didn't really face when I was in own my teen years. I was sort of a late bloomer, too, which, looking back, I think helped me a lot.

I hope I'm doing it right. God knows I'm trying. But I guess that's one of the questions parents might never know.

(Oh, except: Mom and Dad? You did it really right for me.)

Friday's Rubber Chicken Update

Last week's riddle was "What kind of car does the RUBBER CHICKEN like to drive?"

We deliberated between several answers but finally selected and posted "A Stretch Limo."

Today, MacPhail posted their answer, and it turned out to be the first one that had occurred to us but didn't use: "A Mini Cooper."

No new riddle yet; will report it if one appears.

I won a photo contest!

Remember this photograph, which I posted of one of my lunches last September?




On a whim, I sent it off to the Laptop Lunches website, because they have some promotional pictures of the way the lunchboxes can be used on their website, and I thought they'd be interested in seeing it, since (in my opinion) the photo was particularly pretty. I just got an email today that said:

Dear Peg,
Congratulations! You are a winner in the Laptop Lunches photo contest!

You have won a $25 gift certificate for the Laptop Lunches Web site, one copy of the "How To Make a Healthy Lunch for Kids" DVD, and a complimentary copy of our forthcoming book of creative lunch ideas (projected publication date: 2009).

Awesome. They sent a release for me to sign, and they'll use the picture in the forthcoming book.