OK, I'm back shortly. Mark, Paph schoseri is one I couldn't get for blood nor money, unless I paid a lot of money, when I was collecting species. I maybe saw it available twice, for wads of cash. This guy is little, but way stupid cheap, and I figured why not. I don't think it's a jacked-up hard to bloom thing (and I've dealt with those). Too much on-topic. Joaquin is a fantastic kitten-child and makes me very happy. The bitey thing is going away as he grows up. He retains his spotted gorgeousness. He's ever so smart (I refrained from swearing here so as not to get tossed off the forum, but really...). And not to be too off-topic on-topic (that kid of mine), what are we reading lately? I could start a new thread, but I don't wanna. I'm reading 'Tieta' by Jorge Almado, and not being thrilled by it-a bit ponderous and too many interruptions by the author to drop in his comments...I don't know. I'm liking the story but not the telling, and it may just be the translation. I had a lovely break in the tale with the 'Brokeback Mountain' short story (borrowed for a friend from a friend, and of course I read it first). A dandy story. You should probably all know that I get drunk and loaded (some of you may know what the loaded part is about, aside from the drunk) before these little sillinesses get written out. Chemicals happen. It's not always a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it's pretty good. At any rate... I'm off. Love you kids. -O-

I rented it last night. I liked it but it is a bit hard to keep up with. I will watch it again, just to figure it out. Kinda like the lake house, I just can't keep that one straight in my head.

I said last post, saw it as before it was released...not impressed. I saw flaws in the whole time travel thing, and that bugged me! Not the time travel part, but it seemed he at first could only travel in his own time then he travelled out of his time, he could control where he travelled, he couldn't control it...I just didn't get it. And was it about him not her, or so it seemed to me. Okay I guess I just really didn't get it. Tent it when it comes out on DVD. Vickey-MN

Sorry for the double post. I just remembered that I had saved this article from the Contra Costa Times which lists their book club choices going back several years. I thought they had some interesting choices and it gave me some ideas for my own club. Times Book Club Selections as of 1 October 2005 Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) Beginning with April 1997: 1. "The Romance Reader," by Pearl Abraham. 2. "Atticus," by Ron Hansen. 3. "The Giant's House," by Elizabeth McCracken. 4. "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," by Rebecca Wells. 5. "Maiden Voyage," by Cynthia Bass. 6. "Ugly Ways," by Tina McElroy Ansa. 1998 7. "The Tortilla Curtain," by T. Coraghessan Boyle. 8. "The Samurai's Garden," by Gail Tsukiyama. 9. "The Light of Falling Stars," by J. Robert Lennon. "The Weight of Water," by Anita Shreve. "Straight Man," by Richard Russo. "All Over But the Shoutin'," by Rick Bragg. "The Family Markowitz," by Allegra Goodman. 1999 "The Chin Kiss King," by Ana Veciana-Suarez. "Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia," by Marya Hornbacher. "Caucasia," by Danzy Senna. "About a Boy," by Nick Hornby. "Lost in Translation," by Nicole Mones. "Evening," by Susan Minot. "The Museum Guard," by Howard Norman. "The Girl in the Photograph," by Gabrielle Donnelly. 2000 "Werewolves in Their Youth," by Michael Chabon. "Amy and Isabelle," by Elizabeth Strout. "House of Sand and Fog," by Andre Dubus III. "Tender at the Bone," by Ruth Reichl. "An Equal Music," by Vikram Seth. "One Hundred and One Ways," by Mako Yoshikawa. "The Miracle of Castel di Sangro," by Joe McGinniss. "Plainsong," by Kent Haruf. "The Wholeness of a Broken Heart," by Katie Singer. "Black Girl in Paris," by Shay Youngblood. 2001 "Water, Carry Me," by Thomas Moran. "A Regular Guy," by Mona Simpson. "Motherless Brooklyn," by Jonathan Lethem. "The Feast of Love," by Charles Baxter. "An Invisible Sign of My Own" by Aimee Bender "Bones of the Master: A Journey to Secret Mongolia" by George Crane "Ghostwritten" by David Mitchell 2002 "The Death of Vishnu," by Manil Suri. "The Man Who Ate the 747," by Ben Sherwood "Black, White and Jewish" by Rebecca Walker "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint" by Brady Udall 43: "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold 44: "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger 45: "Ella Minnow Pea" by Mark Dunn 46: "Mary and O'Neil" by Justin Cronin 2003 47: "Edgewater Angels" by Sandro Meallet 48: "The Virgin's Knot" by Holly Payne 49:"The Dive From Clausen's...