Art/Photography, Book Reviews, Young Adult

The Insomniacs ~Karina Wolf, The Brothers Hilts

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(All illustrations credit: Brothers Hilts)

At 43 years of age it isn’t often that I buy children’s pictures books. In a fit of honesty I would have to admit that this is primarily because of the cost. Children’s picture books can be expensive, which is why when I do buy them it is a special treat. Something catches my eye and my heart does that pitter-patter thing that all book lovers experience when a treasure is spied. I went to my local Barnes and Noble the other day with the express purpose of buying myself a little something to celebrate the 7th year of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, and there is was, The Insomniacs, written by Karina Wolf and illustrated by The Brothers Hilts. One look at the cover and a quick read of the subject matter and I was off towards the cash register.

The Insomniacs are like any normal, functioning family. That is until Mrs. Insomniac takes a new job that moves them twelve times zones away. The Insomniac family–Mother, Father and Little Mika–experience the very worst case of jet lag ever. They soon find, to their and the reader’s delight, that night time holds its own special secrets, and one must only be awake to discover them.

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Fitness

The Half Times: Issue Six

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(Photo Credit: Dick Ross, SeeKCRun)

Well, maybe just a little bit. Week 5 of my half-marathon training journey ended with a couple of adventures and also saw the Kansas City area getting its first significant rainfall of the summer. That was heavenly. It started raining mid-afternoon on Friday, the last day of August, and at our home was still raining when we got up before dawn the next morning. Our rain gauge filled to overflowing and best estimates were that we received 7 inches of rain. It was glorious. As was the day after, for the first of September started off with the North Shore Trail Run.

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Challenges

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII

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(Images by Gothicrow, used with permission)

“Does something amuse you?’ asked Uncle Montague.
‘I was merely reminding myself, Uncle, that I am getting too old to be so easily frightened by stories.’
‘Really?’ said Uncle Montague with a worrying degree of doubt in his voice. ‘You think there is an age at which you might become immune to fear?”
― Chris Priestley, Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror

Fear is an interesting thing. When it comes from real danger or the weights and cares of this world then it is something to be despised, overcome, beaten. But when it comes to stories it can be quite delicious to embrace fear. In ‘real life’ we may shy away, or run screaming, from that creaking on the staircase or that dread evil settling upon the land. In the world of stories we will go into that darkened hallway; we will open that forbidden door; we will investigate things that go bump in the night; we will walk through the graveyard at the witching hour on the night of the full moon.

As Autumn arrives upon this hemisphere, a beautiful melancholy settles itself over the world. Daylight fades as the darkness descends earlier each night. Nature beds down to rest and the last flashes of gorgeous color give way to the monochrome shades of winter. There is a wistful scent upon the air and the mood generated by this time of year turns my thoughts toward the mysterious, towards stories with gothic undertones, towards darkened streets and death and the men and women sent to detect those who do these dastardly deeds. Stop the alliteration!!!

Seven years ago that mood birthed R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or R.I.P. for short, a participatory event wherein we the people spend however little, or much, time we want over the months of September and October imbibing all things ghastly and ghostly.

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Fitness

The Half Times, Issue Five: Down and Dirty…

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…or not as the case may be! This week’s summary of my training for the Pilgrim Pacer Half-Marathon in November is devoted to the 4th annual Mud and Muck 5K and 1 mile Mud Dunk. Sponsored by the Trail Nerds, this family friendly “clean” fun event raises money for Harvesters, a local distributor of food for those in need. I’ve long been a fan of Harvesters Community Food Network, it is a company that benefits many of the clients who get services from my agency. And of course I love the Trail Nerds, so participation in this was a foregone conclusion. I decided, however, not to participate in the race this time (saving my energy for next week’s 8 mile trail run) and instead donned my “volunteer” cap again. And as I expected, it was a great pleasure and a tremendous amount of fun.

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Fitness

The Half Times, Issues Three and Four

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The stars were not able to align to my liking last weekend and thus Issue Three of The Half Times, my weekly chronicle of my journey towards a half-marathon on Saturday, November 10th, 2012, is being combined with this week’s issue for a double whammy! Things have slowed down considerable in regards to actually running “events”. I had one on Saturday morning, August 11th (hence the image above) that I will discuss later on in the post and do not have any more scheduled runs until the 8.5 mile North Shore Trail Run on September 1st. While I am loving running 5K’s and am learning much about myself in the process, trying to fit in a half-marathon training schedule, with easy and long runs, is really difficult when throwing in a 5K every weekend. I have some scheduled in October but am undecided as to what the rest of September will look like at this point.

The last two weeks have been great for a lot of reasons. I’ve worked in some 6 mile runs, I’ve run in absolutely gorgeous weather, and I have had several ‘revelations’ that have taught me things about myself. Its been fun.

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Eclectic Musings of a Renaissance Geek