Busy Weekend

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We got a lot of projects done and enjoyed the happenings around our little town. There were all kinds of thing to see and do. It was all and all a very busy weekend.

But we still took time to smell the flowers. Hope you did too!

Please visit Freda's Tuesday Takes

Bearded Iris

If you pass by the color purple in a field and don't notice it, God gets real pissed off.
Alice Walker




















This is not a fantastic photo but I like the way the sun brings out all the swirls and lines in the petals.















These photos were taken over a week ago, since then the wind and rain have taken their toll on my poor irises.















In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood







Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields.
Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers










Love quotes, visit Freda's Quote It Saturday.

To view more beautiful flowers from around the world visit Macro Flowers Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers.

Also be sure to visit Through Squirrel Eyes. The squirrels took over my post today, check it out HERE.

The Friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your link to The Friday 56

Jack: A book about a dog where the dog doesn't die at the end

Page 56*
J: How soon is soon enough?
TG: A couple of weeks.
J: How long is that?
TG: Hmmm, that's like 28 meals.

J = Jack
TG = Tall Guy

* I have this book on my Kindle for PC and for some reason it won't show me the page numbers. I think this is page 56.

The Filter Bubble

“You spend half your life in Internet space, but trust me—you don’t understand how it works. Eli Pariser’s book is a masterpiece of both investigation and interpretation; he exposes the way we’re sent down particular information tunnels, and he explains how we might once again find ourselves in a broad public square of ideas. This couldn’t be a more interesting book; it casts an illuminating light on so many of our daily encounters.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth and The End of Nature, and founder of 350.org

Synopsis
An eye-opening account of how the hidden rise of personalization on the Internet is controlling-and limiting-the information we consume.
In The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You, online organizer and former director of MoveOn.org, Eli Pariser reveals just how invasive and pervasive personalization has become. Each page you land on is collecting data about you, never mind if you’ve logged in or not. It uses your online history as cues to narrow down what you will see in the future. As sites fine-tune their ability to personalize content, we will increasingly each live in our own, unique information universe, our own “filter bubble.” We’ll receive news that is familiar, pleasant, and confirms our beliefs—and since the filters are invisible, we won’t know what is being hidden from us.
Using this surprising revelation as a jumping-off point, Pariser pulls back the curtain of the Internet. He peers into the server farms, the secret algorithms, and the geeky entrepreneurs that have given us this new reality. Along the way, he also investigates the consequences of corporate power in the digital age. In the end, Pariser shares the ways that citizens and corporations can take action to alter the isolation of our filter bubbles. It is still possible to change the course of information sharing so that we are able to encounter information that sparks creativity, innovation and the democratic exchange of ideas.
The Filter Bubble will make you think twice about everything you do online, from shopping on Zappos, to browsing the news on ABCnews.com.


Eli Pariser is the Board President, and former Executive Director, of the 5-million member organization MoveOn.org. A pioneer in online politics, Pariser is a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and a co-founder of Avaaz.org, one of the world’s largest citizen organizations. His op-eds have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. He grew up in Lincolnville, ME.






Review
If you and I, on different computer using the same search engine at exactly the same time, typed in the exact phrase and hit search would we see the same results? We would expect to see the same list of results but we probably would not. Why? Because we each reside in our own bubble and the information coming to us is being filtered.

"They are prediction engines, constantly creating and refining a theory of who you are and what you'll do and want next. Together, these engines create a unique universe of information for each of us --- what I've come to call a filter bubble---which fundamentally alters the way we encounter ideas and information."
Eli Pariser, The Filter Bubble

My husband and I started surfing the World Wide Web in 1996, so I must admit that all of this information did not come as a complete shock to me. What I didn't realize was how wide spread it has become. I have noticed changes through the years but recently, in the last year in fact, I have seen many more signs. Have you seen an ad on your browser from a company you recently visited? In that ad was a group of products you had looked at in the last day or so. The ad was tailor made just for you.

Every time you click on a page or ad on the Internet, every time you swipe that grocery store card that gives you better prices, every time you walk into a store or shop (cameras are everywhere) information is collected about you. Of course it is all intended to give you a better shopping experience or make your Internet time more productive and enjoyable but is it worth it?

I have to admit I like the recommendations I get from Amazon.com or Netflicks but I'm not all that thrilled that out there somewhere is a mass of information about my personal habits. What I really don't like is the thought of an algorithm deciding what is going to pop up on my Internet search inquires. And then there is the news we see, that of course if filtered too.

In the Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser helps us to understand how this all came about, where its going and what it means to us. You will find the information both enlightening and disturbing.

The Filter Bubble is a must read for anyone who travels along the World Wide Web.

You can buy The Filter Bubble HERE.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review, all opinions are my own.

My Bubble

Hi All, it's almost Thursday and that means it's time for Thursday Two Questions!

I just finished reading a book called The Filter Bubble which I will be reviewing tomorrow. This book has raised a lot of questions about the Internet for me. The questions I have for you today are related to what I have read.

1) What is the main role of the Internet in your life?

2) How would you feel if you knew that what you view on the Internet was being "selected" for you? In others words you would be seeing what someone else thinks you should see.

I hope you will all come back tomorrow and learn more about The Filter Bubble.

Visit Thursday Two Questions for more!

Reflecting Pink

It was a beautiful day at the lake, blue skies and a pink dogwood tree.

My regular readers know I can't help myself when it comes to reflections. I like to separate them out and flip it around. Nothing but the reflection.

Different view of the same scene.

For more photos visit Watery Wednesday and Tuesday Takes.

Ruby Red

"But Charlotte had been carefully prepared to find her way around in the past from the time she should have been rocking dolls in her elegant arms. She’d never had time to play or make friends, go shopping, go to the cinema, or date boys. Instead she’d been taught dancing, fencing, and riding, foreign languages, and history. And since last year she’d been going out every Wednesday afternoon with Lady Arista and Aunt Glenda, and they didn’t come home until late in the evening. They called it an introduction to the mysteries. But no one—especially not Charlotte—would say what kind of mysteries."

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Kerstin Gier
Translated from the German by Anthea Bell

Henry Holt and Co., May 2011
Grade Range: 7 and up, Age Range: 12 and up
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9252-3, ISBN10: 0-8050-9252-8,
Young Adult Fiction, 5 x 8-1/4 inches, 336 pages,

Review

Have you ever imagined yourself traveling through time? Traveling back a few month, years or to an era long before your grandparents were born .... or before that? It could be a good thing or not.

This is the kind of book I loved to read as a child and young teen (okay, I enjoy books like this even now). There is a mysterious secret society, a little romance and it's just down right fun. Gwyneth is a bright young woman with a rather eccentric family, but she has led a relatively normal life until suddenly she is taking leaps into the past.

If you are looking for a gift, or know a young teen who loves to read, this would be a great book to give. Heck, pick up a copy for yourself and indulge your inner child. I definitely recommend.

You can read an excerpt from Ruby Red HERE. You can purchase Ruby Red HERE.

If you had the ability to travel any where in time, where would you go?

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review, all opinions are my own.

May Flowers

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

If quotes are your thing why not join us for Quote It Saturday.

For more beautiful flowers from all over the world visit Macro Flowers Saturday, The Brenda Photo Challenge, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers. Be sure to check out my Guest Friend flowers at Today's Flowers on Sunday.

Be sure to visit Through Squirrel Eyes, I have Mandarin and Wood Ducks for you today.

The Friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.

Page 56
The middle-class was growing, and because middle-class people had both a day-to-day stake in the life of the nation and the time and money to spend on entertainment, they were hungry for news and spectacle.

Sharing a Heart

Notice the cloud behind the limbs.

Visit Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday to see hearts from around the world.

It's time for Thursday Two Questions.

Many of you already know I am involved with our local Cat Management Coalition (CMC) and I occasionally volunteer with them during spay/neuter clinics. The CMC is dedicated to decreasing the local feral cat population through a catch-neuter-return program. Today I had the opportunity to learn post op procedures. This included administering immunizations, inserting a microchip and tattooing the ear of each cat following surgery.

I have volunteered with many organizations in the past including the American Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Special Olympics, etc.

My questions for today:
1) What are you feelings on volunteer service?
2) For what organizations do you (or have you) volunteer your time?

Fairly Red

I was out at the fairgrounds this weekend for a car show that was part of our annual Balloon Stampede. There were all sorts of things to catch the eye but this was shiny and red, and very cool. It's a 1935 Chevy.

For more photos visit Freda's Tuesday Takes and Ruby Tuesday.

Early Morning Walk

Early Friday morning in my backyard. I wish I could share the scent of the lilacs with you.

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock

For more quotes and photos visit Quote It Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers.

If you want to know more about the last photo go HERE!

Friday 56

The Friday 56


Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.







Page 56:
"If I don't bring him home then Tess will have him again, and she's always saying that she's Mr. Bean's favorite in the class."

Strawberry Blooms

The strawberries should be ready next month, yummy!

It's time for Thursday Two Questions.

Gardens come in many sizes, from a plot of land to a pot on your windowsill. A garden can be in the ground or in containers.

1) Do you have a garden, what type?

2) What is your favorite garden plant?

Emperor Goose

The Emperor Goose (Chen canagica)

The breeding ground of this species of goose is around the Bering Sea, primarily in Alaska but also in Siberia. It is sometimes seen southward along the Pacific Coast of Canada and the US. They are mitigatory and winter in mainly in the Aleutian Islands.

The coloring of the male and female are almost identical but juveniles have heads the same color as the body.

These two Emperor geese live at our local Pioneer Park Aviary. The aviary has a breeding pair that live there year round. They have a huge wooded area to live in with a stream running through the enclosure.

Please visit Tuesday Takes, and Watery Wednesday for more photos.

I just found out that The Road to Here is the Nature Site of the Week at Nature Center Magazine. You can visit the magazine and see the article by clicking HERE.
Thank you Emma.

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice - Review

IT HAPPENED ONCE.
IT HAPPENED AGAIN.
BUT SHE COULDN’T STOP IT.
NOT THEN.
NOT NOW.

Despite all her years determining the fates of families, veteran family court judge Hope Willis couldn't save her own. If only she’d turned her head, she would have seen the car containing her daughter, struggling to get out.

Now she’s frantically grasping at any hope for Krissy’s rescue. Her husband dead-set against it, she calls Casey Woods and her team of renegade investigators, Forensic Instincts. A behaviorist. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A former Navy SEAL. Unconventional operatives. All with unique talents, skills and personal reasons for being part of Casey’s team, they’ll do whatever it takes.

Able to accurately read people after the briefest of encounters, Casey leads her team to Krissy’s home. There she picks up the signs of a nervous spouse, a guilty conscience, a nanny that hides on her cell. She watches as secrets beg to creep into the open.

Forensic Instincts will dig through each tiny clue and eliminate the clutter. But time is running out, and even working around the clock, the authorities are bound by the legal system. Not so Casey’s team. For they know that the difference between bringing Krissy back alive and disappearing forever could be as small as a suspect’s rapid breathing, or as deep as Hope’s dark family history.

About the Author
ANDREA KANE’S groundbreaking romantic thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller, paving the way for a series of smash hits focusing on the various cases investigated by NYPD detectives and FBI special agents. With a worldwide following and novels published in sixteen countries, Kane is also the bestselling author of fourteen historical romance novels. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is learning new ways to sharpen her firearms and investigative skills like a true FBI agent. Between target practices, she is researching and writing her next supercharged romantic thriller.

Review
Andrea Kane is a bestselling author but I have to admit this is the first one of her books I have read. I can tell you for sure it will not be the last.

When a child is kidnapped time is of the essence and finding the child becomes the priority of all the law enforcement agencies involved in the case. That sense of urgency is felt from the first chapter to the last and it makes for a very riveting read. The story moves along at a good pace and easily holds the reader's attention. And if the kidnapping of a small child is not enough to keep you on the edge of your seat add an unsolved mystery from the past. I loved all the twists and turns as I tried to figure out what could possibly happen next.

The story centers around Casey Woods and her team, Forensic Instincts. Their techniques might not please the local FBI but those same techniques leave no stone unturned. I really like the characters Andrea Kane has created with the Forensic Instincts team and look forward to reading about more of their cases in the future.

You can preorder The Girl Who Disappeared Twice HERE and learn more about Andrea Kane by visiting her WEBSITE.


I received an ebook version of this novel from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are my own.

Tidying Up

Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day.

If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.

James Barrie, from Peter Pan

For more flowers, photos and quotes visit Photo Time, Quote it Saturday, Flowers on Saturday and Today's Flowers.

The Friday 56

I'm trying something new today and joining
The Friday 56!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.






Page 56:
"Not to mention how unlikely it is that they'd have had time to go upstairs, take Oreo, and leave _ not to mention knowing the layout of the house, where Krissy's room is __"

A Little Bird Told Me

Thursday's are always fun and a good time for questions.

This has been an eventful past week in world news but I'm not going to question you about any of those items. My questions for you today deal with the where and how.

1) What is your favorite source of news? In other words, when you want to know what's happening in the world where do you look first?

2) Which source of news do you trust the most? Or the least?

For more questions and answers visit Thursday Two Questions.

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO

Here Fishy, Fishy

It was a beautiful day at the aviary pond and Mr. Turtle was taking advantage of the warm sun. But look close, he has some company there in the water. Mrs. Goldfish was near the surface to take a better look at the sunny day. Mrs. Goldfish only made a brief appearance so this is the best photo I could get of her. She is really more of a golden color but the way the sun was hitting the water she looks more reddish.

There are two groups of goldfish, "tank suitable goldfish" and "pond suitable goldfish". Tank suitable goldfish are usually the egg-shaped double-tailed variety like the fantails. Like the type you find at the pet store.

Pond suitable goldfish are much larger, slim-bodied, single tailed fish like the one you see in the photo. It is not suitable to put the pond goldfish in a tank. Well not unless you have a really big tank with at least 150 gallons for them to swim around in. Our aviary pond has a lot of large goldfish.

For more photos visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

The Rebellion of Jane Clarke

About The Rebellion of Jane Clarke

Jane Clarke leads a simple yet rich life in the village of Satucket on Cape Cod—until her refusal to marry the man her father has picked out as his son-in-law causes an irreparable tear in the family fabric. Banished to Boston to make her living as best she can, Jane enters a strange, bustling city awash with redcoats and rebellious fervor. And soon her new life is complicated by her growing attachment to her frail aunt, her friendship with the bookseller Henry Knox, and the unexpected kindness of British soldiers, which pits her against the townspeople and her own brother, Nate, a law clerk working for John Adams. But it is the infamous Boston Massacre—the killing of five colonists by British soldiers on a cold March evening in 1770—that forces Jane to question accepted truths as she confronts the most difficult choice of her life.

Sally Gunning’s The Rebellion of Jane Clarke is an unforgettable story of one woman’s struggle to find her own place and leave her mark as a new country is born.

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 26, 2011)

About Sally Gunning

Sally Gunning is the author of two previous novels, The Widow’s War and Bound. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband.
Find out more about Sally at her website, and add her as a friend on Facebook.

My Review

When I heard about this book I was excited about reading it. I am very much into genealogy and at the moment I am tracing a group of ancestors in the late 1700's, which is about the same time as the story in The Rebellion of Jane Clarke takes place. With the research I had already done on the history of the period reading historical fiction of the same era intrigued me.

The story is written from Jane Clarke's point of view. From her life in the village, a sea voyage, to her new life in Boston the reader shares her thoughts and observations. I really liked the character of Jane Clarke, she is a sensible young woman who is trying to find her way, and her future, in a new place. She explores her new surroundings with a sense of curiosity. The people she meets, from John Adams to a British sentry, help to shape her views. This is an exciting time in history but it is also filled with danger as the stirrings of a new nation awakens thoughts of revolution. Several of my ancestors fought for our country's independence and The Rebellion of Jane Clarke has given me a taste of what their everyday lives might have been like.

Am I recommending this book? Most certainly!
You can buy The Rebellion of Jane Clarke HERE.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review, all opinions are my own.