Noooooooo...............

I can't get no satisfaction 
I can't get no satisfaction 
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try 
I can't get no, I can't get no ...

                                            Rolling Stones

I can't blame the Rolling Stones. I can't blame the router company. I can't blame the universe. I feel that I am tech savvy but setting up a WiFi printer has beaten me. I'll just hardline that *(@#$. Now, the router acted up and has beaten me. It beat me so bad that I had to use my hotspot to get on the internet for my Twitter addiction. Then I was fed up and went out and bought another one (I'll return the other to the manufacturer as even when it did work, it was slow, slow ...) I figure it to be a lemon. Now, I am online so aah!  Now, I can review my three books...aaahhh! Then I can start writing so I can have something new when I host open mic next Saturday.

*****

...There's nothing like a big  culo cubano... (Blanco, 2012).

Heartfelt poems even the comedic ones. My favorite is "Betting on America" because I can totally relate to the family interactions while watching the pageant.

Looking for the Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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*****

He "offered priority signing to smokers, the reason being that, because they didn't have a long to live, their time was more valuable.  Four years later my (his) special treatment was reserved for men who stood five-foot-six and under...It seemed unfair to restrict myself (himself) to men, so I (he) included any woman with braces on her teeth." When the pregnant and the lame asked for special treatment, he made them wait their turn (Sedaris, 146).

The satire wasn't lost on me.  I enjoyed it but since my first Sedaris book was "squirrel seeks chipmunk" which reminded of Gerald Durrell's books which humanized animals except Sedaris' version was a bit more adult. For instant, in "The Squirrel and The Chipmunk" where the squirrel talks about jazz but the chipmunk agreed that she liked it too without knowing what jazz means, jazz because several things including anal intercourse, Communism, fortune-telling and "maggot-infested flesh of a dead body, the crust on an infected eye, another word or ritual suicide. And she had claimed to like it!"

Therefore, this book paled in humor when compared to the previous.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was ok - had some funny essays but I found "squirrel seeks chipmunk" stories funnier.

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*****

"Muses hate one thing with a passion: speech writing. To be more specific, we hate having to help some poor fool write a concession speech," (White in Chapter 21, Kindle Edition).

Let's be honest: nobody likes to lose. Then to explain and talk about losing. I hated losing the tech-savvy war where I couldn't configure those IPs to set up some wireless devices. I know it's going to cost me to bring in a specialist to help me configure these things. Where was I? This book - I really liked the concept (about a muse), how it was written (it was a very conversational style as I felt the muse was relating to me) and was real sorry that it ended. Overall, it was a enjoyable story!

The Life and Times of No One In Particular by Jamie White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It had a great concept that was executed brilliantly: our narrator is a muse recounting a few of her victories and some of her pitfalls throughout time. It was narrated in an amusing, enchanting way.I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter and felt a bit sad (because there was no more to read). However,it did end at a good point.

I would recommend to anyone (especially those in need of a muse)!The Life and Times of No One In Particular

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*****

Well, I really want to have something new for next Saturday. I did issue a challenge: watch a movie at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale then read it at the next open mic poetry event. 

I can't wait to find out how many took up the challenge.

*****

Blanco, Richard. 2012. "Betting on America," in Looking for the Gulf Motel, 9. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburg Press.

Sedaris, David.2013. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Sedaris, David 2010. squirrel seeks chipmunk. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

White, Jamie. 2012. The Life and Time of No One In Particular. Kindle edition.