Just because I love it

Dosso Dossi's Mythological Scene. I saw it at the Getty.

That is all.

Book review review

This morning I was perusing Amazon's book reviews, and I came across "The Secret".

Some of you may have read this this or seen the film. It is a power of visualisation, law of attraction self help book.

Well anyways I went to the reviews, and then I found it. The review of all reviews!

There really are no words. I read it, and as the sheer brilliance of it sunk in I could do nothing but sputter to my husband "You.. must...read... this.!!"

It is written by Ari Brouillette.

"Please allow me to share with you how "The Secret" changed my life and in a very
real and substantive way allowed me to overcome a severe crisis in my personal
life. It is well known that the premise of "The Secret" is the science of
attracting the things in life that you desire and need and in removing from your
life those things that you don't want. Before finding this book, I knew nothing
of these principles, the process of positive visualization, and had actually
engaged in reckless behaviors to the point of endangering my own life and
wellbeing.
At age 36, I found myself in a medium security prison serving 3-5
years for destruction of government property and public intoxication. This was
stiff punishment for drunkenly defecating in a mailbox but as the judge pointed
out, this was my third conviction for the exact same crime. I obviously had an
alcohol problem and a deep and intense disrespect for the postal system, but
even more importantly I was ignoring the very fabric of our metaphysical reality
and inviting destructive influences into my life.
My fourth day in prison was the first day that I was allowed in general population and while in the recreation yard I was approached by a prisoner named Marcus who calmly informed me that as a new prisoner I had been purchased by him for three packs of Winston cigarettes and 8 ounces of Pruno (prison wine). Marcus elaborated further that I could expect to be raped by him on a daily basis and that I had pretty eyes.
Needless to say, I was deeply shocked that my life had sunk to this level.
Although I've never been homophobic I was discovering that I was very rape
phobic and dismayed by my overall personal street value of roughly $15. I
returned to my cell and sat very quietly, searching myself for answers on how I
could improve my life and distance myself from harmful outside influences. At
that point, in what I consider to be a miraculous moment, my cell mate Jim
Norton informed me that he knew about the Marcus situation and that he had
something that could solve my problems. He handed me a copy of "The Secret".
Normally I wouldn't have turned to a self help book to resolve such a severe and
immediate threat but I literally didn't have any other available alternatives. I
immediately opened the book and began to read.
The first few chapters deal
with the essence of something called the "Law of Attraction" in which a primal
universal force is available to us and can be harnessed for the betterment of
our lives. The theoretical nature of the first few chapters wasn't exactly
putting me at peace. In fact, I had never meditated and had great difficulty
with closing out the chaotic noises of the prison and visualizing the positive
changes that I so dearly needed. It was when I reached Chapter 6 "The Secret to
Relationships" that I realized how this book could help me distance myself from
Marcus and his negative intentions. Starting with chapter six there was a cavity
carved into the book and in that cavity was a prison shiv. This particular shiv
was a toothbrush with a handle that had been repeatedly melted and ground into a
razor sharp point.
The next day in the exercise yard I carried "The Secret"
with me and when Marcus approached me I opened the book and stabbed him in the
neck. The next eight weeks in solitary confinement provided ample time to
practice positive visualization and the 16 hours per day of absolute darkness
made visualization about the only thing that I actually could do. I'm not sure
that everybody's life will be changed in such a dramatic way by this book but
I'm very thankful to have found it and will continue to recommend it heartily. "

I know! The craziest think you have ever read right? Here is the link.

Here are some of the comments that people wrote in response to it, that I also found particularly brilliant. I sat and laughed at the comments longer than the review.

"Perhaps his own thoughts attracted the shiv"

"Got shiv. Works well. Shipped fast. Easy to use A++++++"

" I found this review very unhelpful. I recently took a long journey on a pleasure yacht which was overtaken by pirates. Having read Ari's review, I quickly raced down into my stateroom to recover my copy of The Secret and turned to Chapter 6. Alas, no shiv, whereby I was shortly apprehended by the Captain and his fearsome crew. Apparently, in some books the shiv is embedded in Chapter 7, I was informed as I walked the plank. I currently reside in the belly of a huge whale. "

"I bought this book and mine did NOT come with shiv. Have repeatedly visualized myself receiving and using aforementioned shiv in various circumstances. Still no shiv. Feel really disappointed and let down by universe. 1 star. Do not recommend. "

As thick as melted chocolate bars....

Tazia asked me in a comment on my last post what to do instead of a mix of cocoa.

Here is what I like to do, when I am feeling particularly naughty.

Chocolate chips

Milk, the creamier the better. The naughtier I feel, the creamier I use, hey don't judge

vanilla, just a bit.

Add the chocolate chips and about 1/4 cup of milk to a sauce pan, stirring constantly on a medium high heat.
When they are melted add the rest of the milk.
Keep stirring until the desired thickness and temperature is reached. Don't let it get too hot, or the milk will scald.

When I made it last, I only had semi sweet chocolate chips, so I added a bit of sugar. But if you use milk chocolate you wont need sugar.

I like mine thick and rich. I'll make it at the Christmas Eve party.

And how strange is it that Ev and I went after this topic at the same time.

Enjoy!