The Bad Influence Speaks

7.18 Friday Song

For today the iPod had a classic cued, Ben King's Stand by Me.

Posted to youtube by Lizziekirk

7.14 Hot Lick

Since I've been in another Torchwood viewing mode for the past week or so (I'm trying to get a friend hooked), I thought that we could use another luscious hottie from this British drama.

Ladies and gentlemen, this week's Hot Lick James Marsters.

If you'd like to see more of this charming lad check out his website at: jamesmarsters.com

Picture courtesy of www.caballerosdelzodiacoforo.com.

7.11 Friday Song

And what has the magic iPod brought up for us now?  Looks like Garth Brooks singing Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old):

Posted to youtube by bsproductions88

Shadows of the Bedside Table

This week, even though I have library books to read, on a whim, I picked up a favorite to re-read.  While I'm at it, I will probably re-read the whole series.

Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff.

This is the first in her Smoke series with Tony Foster.  As those who have read her Blood Books (this week's hot lick is one of the stars of the series based on them) know, Henry left Toronto and moved to Vancouver and Tony went with him. In this book, they have ended their intimate relationship but remained friends as Tony has moved into a profession in his chosen field, a PA for a tv show about a vampire detective.

On the set, strange things start happening.  Tony and his friends end up in a fight against a shadow force from another world to save their own.

This is very much a favorite book of mine bad puns, dry wit and all.

Ok, I sleep on a futon so I really don't have a beside table so no shadows.  It still sounds better than "on the floor by the bed." 

Ok, and the Bedside Table doesn't actually encompass the entirety of my reading.  I have a 5+ book a week habit.

7.9 Hump Day Quote

Bunny slippers remind me of who I am. You can't get a swelled head if you wear bunny slippers. You can't lose your sense of perspective and start acting like a star or a rich lady if you keep on wearing bunny slippers. Besides, bunny slippers give me confidence because they're so jaunty. They make a statement; they say, 'Nothing the world does to me can ever get me so far down that I can't be silly and frivolous.' If I died and found myself in Hell, I could endure the place if I had bunny slippers.
-Dean Koontz

7.7 Hot Lick

Ah, I can't believe that it has taken me so long to get around to this studly young gentleman.  He is a talented young actor with credits such as the TV show Blood Ties, and the movies such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Pacifier. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kyle Schmid.

Check out one of his fansites at: Kyle Schmid Central

Give this trivia game a try

Goodreads has a trivia game composed of numerous, and let me reiterate NUMEROUS, questions submitted by readers.  It is freakishly addictive even as you curse the authors of some of the questions (really do we need that many questions about Anne of Green Gables).  I've answered over 1,000 questions and I'm still only about 15% through it all. 

Stop by and check it out: Never Ending Book Quiz

7.4 Friday Song

This week my iPod has led us to Blind Faith.  Have a listen to Can't Find My Way Home.

Posted to youtube by Gurumachine1000

Book Recommendation

I found a description of this book at a friend's website (Blog A-Go-Go on the right).  She in turn had it recommended to her by a reader of her blog.  If you can find it (I got it at  my local library), you should check it out. 

The Suspicions of Mr. Wincher by Kate Summerscale. (Amazon link)

It is a Victorian detective novel with a slight twist; the crime actually happened.  Using contemporary news articles, letters and police reports, Summerscale pulls you into the investigation of the murder at Road House in 1860 England.  Though some parts feel a little bogged down with technical facts, it is a fascinating foray into the minds of not only the killer but the investigators and the general English public. 

7.1 Hump Day Quote

Men have always got so many "good reasons" for keeping their privileges.  If we had left it to the men, toilets would have been the greatest obstacle to human progress.  Toilets were always the reason women couldn't become engineers, or pilots, or even members of parliament.  They didn't have women's toilets.
-Hazel Hunkins Hallinan, in  Dale Spencer, There's Always Been A Women's Movement, 1983