Haunted ink bottle

Posts Tagged ‘cosmetics’

This week’s book is Artemis Fowl, which I loved. Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old genius criminal mastermind (awesome) who kidnaps a fairy and holds her hostage to extort fairy gold (more awesome) from the hidden kingdom of magical creatures. Eoin Colfer approaches this material in a way that is fresh, exciting, and not the least bit patronizing so that adults will be able to enjoy this book as much as their children.

Artemis is a welcome change from the standard unlucky but scrappy hero (whose parents are probably dead) who means well and is genuinely courageous that populates most MG series. Artemis Fowl doesn’t mean well for anyone but himself and his mother. He is relentlessly cold in his assessment of people and situations and he even poisons a fairy (don’t worry, this is MG and the fairy comes out okay, but still…). Artemis doesn’t kill anyone, but murder is never an impossibility for him (in fact, he threatens nearly everyone he meets) and that keeps the character fresh and interesting.

Also fun are Colfer’s amusing pairings of traditional magic with modern technology so that the fairies are part standard magical creature, part Men In Black. Various characters have guns, ninja skills, bombs, and the ability to eat through nearly anything. The whole affair reads like a big budget summer movie and that’s a compliment. I love summer movies and I loved Artemis Fowl.

Of special note to writers: witness how Colfer easily navigates through multiple third person fixed perspectives. His narrative is never restricted to just one character, which is a break from the norm in MG fiction and admirable. Although Artemis Fowl is unquestionably the main character, he isn’t always the current protagonist in the text. Colfer more often writes from the perspective of various fairies and even a dwarf, each with their own goal and story to tell. And the novel is all the richer for it.
Amazing Cosmetics Lipgloss Jo

So many reviews have already been written about this wonderful novel, so I’ll just say that I enjoyed it very much. In fact, it is one of the best novels that I’ve read in the last 5 years. The construction of the novel is clever, the characters are well-drawn, and the plot is very compelling. Gruen made two wise decisions in structuring the story: a) starting with the big event that the rest of the story retroactively leads up to, and b) having Jacob Jankowski narrate the story long after the events as an old man in a nursing home. These choices give the story extra tension, poignancy, and depth; they’re the novelistic equivalent of adding 3D to a movie. Gruen obviously did extensive research to capture what it was like to work and live in a depression era travelling circus.
Mor Cosmetics Gelato 5

I purchased this item in October, when I moved into a new home. one of the first things I did was clean the carpets, and this machine did a great job. I congratulated myself on researching all the reviews on Amazon and buying a good machine at a reasonable price, one that I would be sure to use for years in my new home.

That was October. Now it is January and I got the machine out to clean the carpets again. When I started it up it was immediately clear that the brushes were not turning at all and it really doesn’t do anything without the brushes turning. I re-read the manual to locate the problem but none of the examples helped solve the mystery. after quite a while of looking it over from every angle I discovered that the plastic (what a mistake!)spindle that connects the brush assembly to the motor (via an enclosed belt) had snapped cleanly in the middle. Getting the brush assembly with its half of the spindle out was no problem, but when I tried to get the broken part of the plastic spindle out of its housing, it went back into the motor.

Amazon will not refund after 4 months (even though I only used it once) I am left with taking the chance of trying to take it all apart, (and hoping I put it back right) as well as buying a new brush assembly or finding a service center to ship it to (it’s big and bulky and the shipping will not be cheap, nor will the repair, I imagine.

Stanley Steamer (twice!) would have been cheaper and much easier.

Stila Cosmetics #24 Double | connectedtofinland