Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2)

Reliquary picks up where the epilogue of Relic left off. And I must say right of the bat, that this book was much better than Relic.

It begins with two skeletons being discovered in the Harlem River. Both skeletons are found headless, just like Mbwun did to his victims. At first the police do on pick up on the connection, but when Sergeant Laura Hayward points out that a large number of similar murders were occurring to the Mole People (homeless individuals living under New York, in an underground society) and Captain D’Agosta & Captain Waxie realize that the situation may be bigger than they first assumed. Captain D’Agosta sees a number of similarities between the original Mbwun killings and the current murders and calls in the original team to take a look.

The Captain calls in Margo Green and Dr. Frock (both assisted in the original defeat of Mbwun), who agree to look into this new string of murders with the assistance of Agent Pendergast from the FBI.

Realizing that the Mole People have been dealing with these attacks for far longer than the citizens and Police of New York city, Agent Pendergast disguises himself and goes underground to meet with Mesphisto, the leader of the Central Park underground community.

Mesphisto had already taken it upon himself to reach out to the police about the killings but when that failed, he contacted Bill Smithback, the journalist who published the book on the New York Museum monster. Mesphisto told Smithback about a mysterious group of beings, they dubbed the Wrinklers that had been terrorizing the Mole People for months.

It is not long before Margo Green & Pendergast realize that the “Wrinklers” were actually a modified version of the Mbwun monster. They uncover that Gregory Kawakita had adapted the Mbwun plant into a drug and had been testing it on people who soon realized that the drug was not only giving them an addictive high, but transforming them into monsters. The Wrinklers killed Kawakita after he developed a conscious for what he had done to those people and they destroyed his lab.

However, Green & Pendergast now have to figure out who is leading the Mole People now, where the drug is being developed now that Kawakita is dead and his lab destroyed, and how to kill the Wrinklers who are just as fast and intelligent as Mbwun.

I, personally, enjoyed this book much more than Relic. It was more action packed and quick. Relic, at times, seemed to drag, but Reliquary keeps you reading with its twists and turns. I must admit that I did not see the ending coming, and I am usually good at guessing those things, but this one…caught me off guard!

Relic (Pendergast, Book 1)

I just finished reading Relic (Pendergast, Book 1), it was not until I was a good ¼ of the way into the book did I feel the need to text my boyfriend and ask if this book was possible a movie. Which I learnt there was. I had seen the movie years ago on a plane flying home for the summer. I must have been around 14 and all I remembered was a monster in the New York City Museum. So I can’t say how similar the book and the movie are, or how horrible of a job they did turning it into a movie (because they usually do a really horrible job).

Relic starts with a number of gruesome murders taking place in the New York Museum of Natural History right before a superstition exhibit opens. A number of people have been found with the head removed the their frontal lobe & pituitary gland missing.


One of the pieces that is to be displayed in the exhibit is the Mbwun (meaning “He who walks on all fours”), a statue of a monstrous ½ man ½ reptile. The statue was discovered in the Brazilian rainforest while Dr. Julian Whittlesey is searching for proof of the Kothoga. Dr. Julian Whittlesey disappears upon his return to New York.

As more murders take place on museum property FBI agent Pendergast shows up. He works alongside the NYPD to help bring in the murdered before opening night. However, it soon becomes relevant that the murderer is not a man, but in fact a beast of some kind. Margo Green, a grad student at the museum finds the DNA link that proves the murder is in fact a creature with human instances.

Refusing to close down the museum Dr. Ian Cuthbert is convinced that even though the murders are occurring, the superstition exhibit must go on, putting everyone who attends that exhibition in danger.

As the exhibition opens things begin to go downhill fast and it is up to Maro Green, her advisor Dr. Frock and Detective Pendergast to stop the monster that is now on an anger driven rampage through the hundreds of guests who are trapped inside the museum

I must say that this is not one of the best books that I have read, but now that I have finished it, I will move onto Book 2, Reliquary.

This book seemed to drag a little and it had more dialog in some places then was needed. The book had its moments where it moved along at a very decent pace, and in some places it died down and dragged.

I think I shall watch the movie next, hopefully it is better than the book.

My Trip…Down the Stairs

For those of you how know me, know that I can be a bit of a clutz. I spend a lot of time running into things and falling over and off of things. It really does help keep me on my toes.

I am very well known in some special circles for my ability to trip while walking up the stairs. This seems to happen to me almost on a daily basis, so it doesn’t bother me too much. I have learnt to hold onto things, wear sensible shoes and so on. BUT falling down the stairs, this is a different episode all together. Overall, I have prided myself on my ability to not fall down the stairs and end up face first on the bottom landing, but my pride was surely crushed last week.

This past week, I was feeling a little under the weather, dizzy, congested, and exhausted, but I was heading off to work anyway. I was running a few minutes late, because you never really know how much time a puppy will need in the morning, so I had everything in my hands. My phone, purse, lunch, keys and of course the trash bags were all securely wrapped up in my two hands. I am walking cautiously down the stairs because I know that my hands are full, and I don’t want to drop anything.

I am about four steps from the landing when I completely miss a step. Suddenly I find myself tumbling towards the ground and all I can think is “OMG, I don’t want to break my phone!”. So I hold fast to everything in my hands, deciding that this is a better choice than bracing my fall, and hit the concrete with a thud. I feel a sharp pain shoot into both of my knees and I am sure that I have done at least some minor damage to my wrist.

But have no fear! THE PHONE IS SECURE!

Lying on the ground, with trash scattered around me I think to myself, “Thank Gawd no one was here to witness this travesty,” but boy was I wrong. I hear a man call out from a distance, “Are you ok?” and I look up to see an elderly man making his way to me. Completely embarrassed that I have not managed to keep this tragic episode a hidden secret, I jump up, allowing the pain from my knees to shoot down my legs. Adrenalin rushing, I no longer feel pain and assume that I am perfectly fine. I quickly gather up the contents of my spilled trash.
“I’m fine,” I mumble to the man as I turn redder than a tomato (which, for a mixed girl like myself, is truly a feat to be proud of) and I rush off to my car. I toss the ripped trash bag onto the floorboard thinking to myself, there is no way I am going to spend any additional time in that mans line of sight. I jam the keys into the ignition and rush off to work.

It is only once I hit the highway that I become of aware of the blood that is running down my left arm and down both of my legs. I have to wait until I am at work before I can fumble with some Band-Aids, in a meager, non-medical attempt to patch myself up.

And of course…..It was a Thursday, because I never could get the hang of Thursdays!

So it is a week later, the open wound on my wrist has healed nicely, and it will only leave a dime size scare. My right knee is right as rain, but my left one is still refusing to heal and stop bleeding. My beloved boyfriend has recommended I burn it shut, but I figure, since I have insurance and all…if need be, I will go get some stitches.

So that is my tale about my trip down the stairs…. and the moral of this story if there is one…is, be careful were you step because the landing could be farther away than you think.

This Place

Sometime you just have a song that seems to fit your mood for the day. Or you just have a song that no matter what you are doing you always love to hear it. I have a few songs like that, but today, while busy busy busy at work, dealing with 101 things all at one time and realizing that this day is just not long enough to get everything done, the song "This Place" - by the Decendents starts to play on my iPod.

I love all types of music, everything from hip-hop to punk rock, but my favorite has and most likely always will be PunkRock. something about that F' the world and Damn the Man always makes me smile!

So the lyrics for the song that fits me perfectly today:

This Place Sux
I Haven't Found A Single Thing To Call My Own
And There's Nothing Left For Me To Do
Just Play The Game, Pretend To Do Work
No My Boss Isn't A Jerk
It's Just This Place
This Place Sux
I Been Slinking Through The Halls Like An Unwashed Dog
And Everybody Treats Me Like A Criminal
Talk About Me Behind My Back
At Least I Don't Have A Stick Up My Ass
Like The People In This Place
This Place Sux
This Place Sux
This Place Sux
I Feel My Confidence Draining Away
I Feel Them Laughing At Me Everyday
I Never Thought It Would End Up This Way
Good Thing I'm Not Going To Stay
This Place Sux
I Haven't Found A Single Friend In Three Whole Years
Cause There's Nobody Here But The Bible Boys
Talking About Their White Bread Politics
Gotta Leave The Room Cause You're Making Me Sick
Gotta Leave This Place
This Place Sux

Avatar - The Movie

I have been waiting to see Avatar since I saw the first preview MONTHS ago. Although not as obsessive as my Father, I have been following the movie.

Avatar has been breaking so very interesting records. With an original budget of $230 million, some sources are saying that it has cost closer to ½ a billion dollars to make and promote the movie worldwide. This would make Avatar one of the most expensive movies ever made…if not the most. So now it is a rush to make the money back and to do this Avatar has to bring in Titanic numbers. Titanic is currently the top grossing movie in history, released in 1997, Titanic, brought in over $1.8 billion (The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King in second at just $1.1 billion). With James Cameron having directed both, it would not unbelievable to see Avatar overtake Titanic. Avatar was released on Dec 18th and brought in $212 million in just the first weekend. As of today it is estimated that Avatar has brought in an astounding $352 million.

Side note: to view this movie in 3D there is an additional $3.50 fee (maybe more or less in some places) for each ticket, which is definitely playing a huge role in the earning that Avatar is seeing.

Avatar has actually been in development since 1994 and was originally supposed to be released soon after Titanic in 1999, but according to James Cameron, the technology needed to catch-up and boy was he right! The Script, Na’vi language and the entire culture of the Na’vi people and the moon Pandora was created by Cameron.

The Avatar story is set in 2154 on the moon Pandora. Humans have come to Pandora to mine a rare and precious mineral, however there is already a indigenous race on Pandora known as the Na’vi, and the Na’vi’s main home (known as Hometree) is located over the largest deposit of the precious mineral that the Humans are there to mine. And like we, the humans, have always done, we threaten the Na’vi to get them to move so we can get what we want.

The story is told to us through the eyes of Jake Sully (played by Same Worthington), who is a former Marine who is stuck in a wheelchair. Jake gets the opportunity to travel 6 years to the human outpost on Pandora because his twin brother (Tom Sully, a famous Ph.D scientist) was killed just days before he was suppose to go. The investors chose Jake because his DNA is similar to his brothers and will thus allow him to be the human driver to the Avatar. The Avatars were genetically engineered by combining human and Na’vi DNA. The Avatars look very similar to the Na’vi, except for a few minor differences (including having 5 toes and fingers instead of 4). The goal of the Avatars is to live among the Na’vi and gain their trust so that they can negotiate the relocation of the entire population so that the Humans can mine for the area for the rare mineral. Jake works alongside Dr. Grace Augustine (played by Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (played by Joel Moore). Dr. Augustine is the founder of the Avatar program and both she and Norm spend years preparing for the opportunity to link with their Avatar. Neither of them are originally pleased to have Jake instead of his brother, Tom.

Once linked to his Avatar, Jake can once again walk, something that he has missed for years. Since Jake is a former Marine, he is given the mission from Colonel Miles Quaritch (played by Stephen Lang) to infiltrate the Na’vi and learn how to take them down from the inside. At first Jake is fine with this mission, but while linked to his Avatar he falls in love with a beautiful Na’vi woman known as Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana). Naytiri, under the orders of her mother (the clan physic) and father (the leader of the clan) takes Jake under her wings and teaches Jake the way of the Na’vi. He has to past many test to become accepted by the Na’vi and a warrior among them. Jake is not accepted by everyone, mostly Tsu’tey (played by Laz Alonso) who is to become the next clan leader and is to wed Neytiri.

As Jake learns more about the Na’vi and their respect for Eyra and all creatures (trees and animals) he begins to question his original mission. He begins to lose himself and would rather be in his Avatar instead of as himself, stuck in the wheelchair and away for Neytiri. Jake passes his final test by bonding with a Banshee and Neytiri takes to the tree of souls (a scared place to the Na’vi) where they join as man and woman.

The next morning the battle begins as the Humans bulldoze over the tree of souls.

I will leave the story there and leave you wandering what happens to Jake Sully and the Na’vi people.

Some people claim that this movie has a confusing story, or not a good plot, I personally think those people are just being negative and trying to find something wrong with this movie. The story is easy to follow as long as you are over the age of 15.

Side note: This movie does contain a number of cuss words and may not be suitable for those under the age of 13/14. My sister in 14 and she didn’t completely follow the story, but she got the main plot. Plus it may not be worth paying $13+ for kids who are not going to follow the story and not sit quietly for almost 3 hrs. Yes it is a beautiful movie worth everyone seeing, but it’s not worth spending that kind of money for kids to be completely lost and just enjoy the “cool” imaginary. Go take them to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, it is cheaper and they would probably prefer to see that one instead...and it wouldn't cost you $13+ a head.

I think this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I did go see Sherlock Holmes a few days earlier and although that was a good movie, there is no question which is better and if you have to pick one to see. GO SEE AVATAR!

James Cameron has stated that if Avatar is successful; two sequels to the film are planned.