Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

I remember seeing the first three Indiana Jones movies while in my early teens, so when I learned a new adventure was being released, I was excited to see it. In some ways, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” met my expectations, and in some ways, I was disappointed. Consequently, this is going to be a flip-floppy review.

It’s been nineteen years since we’ve seen our whip-toting hero in action. A lot has happened to Indy since then. He’s still teaching and he’s still going out on brave expeditions, but as we come in to the movie, we discover he’s been kidnapped by some Russians who are determined at all costs to continue their research into the sciences, primarily the sciences that deal with the mind. Their leader, a scary woman played by Cate Blanchett, is in search of the key to the mysteries of the universe. She thinks Indy can lead her to the first of those keys, a highly magnetized box containing the remains of a cadaver.

Meanwhile, Indy is contacted by Mutt Williams, (Shia LeBeouf) a young man who says his mother knows Indy. He doesn’t recognize the name of Mary Williams, but the story the boy brings him is enough to get him on the case. His old friend Professor Oxley has discovered a map to a city made of gold, called “El Dorado” by some. Ox has been kidnapped, as has Mutt’s mother, and Mutt needs Indy to help free the two captives.

A whole bunch of chase scenes later, we are reunited with Mutt’s mother, who turns out to be none other than Marion, Indy’s old girlfriend. It only takes us about thirty milliseconds to figure out that Mutt is Indy’s son, something we actually suspected right from the start, even before we knew who his mother was.

I enjoyed seeing the cool artifacts and all that, but Indy’s getting old, and that’s a fact. He’s still cool, but he’s not the same. He’s not as spry, his stunts aren’t very good, and we didn’t even get to see him use his whip all that often. I felt the chase scenes were overdone and quite frankly, I got bored. And the ending …

Oh, the ending. What can I say about the ending?

Well, let me back up a little.

In “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indy was in search of the Ark of the Covenant. This was an actual historical item and we had the opportunity to postulate about all the legends and mysteries and contemplate some “what ifs” to go along with the adventure. In “Temple of Doom,” he’s searching out a relic in India. In “The Last Crusade,” he’s looking for the Holy Grail, which some say didn’t exist, but still, the storyline was based on history and it was fun to see him look into the past and piece together bits of the story. Each of these movies had some historical element to them that made them more plausible.

But how does “Crystal Skull” end? Well, see, it turns out the skull belonged to an alien who came to this planet and brought the ancient Mayans farming skills and other knowledge they didn’t have. The movie ends with a giant space ship bursting out of the ground and taking the Russians to another dimension with them.

Huh?

How did we go from storylines based on somewhat plausible historical fact to chasing after urban legends as if they were real?

Of course, there are those who might argue that the Ark of the Covenant was also an urban legend. They might not have a problem accepting the introduction of aliens into the film. But I don’t believe the ark was a legend, I believe it really existed. My personal enjoyment of the film was disrupted because of that belief.

I’m just speaking for myself—you might enjoy the movie. It’s not the biggest waste of time I can think of, but I’m glad I didn’t shell out the eight bucks to see it in the theater. I do caution that it is a PG-13, not for sexual references or for language, but for action-related violence, of which there is quite a bit.

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Husband and Wife Dating

Remember way back to when you were single? How you always put your best foot forward on a date, worked on being witty, charming, and thoughtful? Now that you’re married, did those tender moments of romance get exchanged for discussions about poopy diapers and whose turn it is to change them?

We've been counseled to keep the romance alive by continuing to date after we're married. As we get away from the house and remind ourselves of all the reasons why we fell in love in the first place, we can give our marriages the spark they need to keep going. We all agree that continuing to date is a good idea, and some of us even do it. But I don't think husbands and wives see it quite the same way.

Getting ready, from the Wife's Perspective . . .

She wakes up in the morning. Tonight is the night! They'll go out to dinner, linger over a delicious meal, maybe touch fingers across the creme brulee, and feel the zing of romance reignited. She gets out of bed, looking forward to the night out with her wonderful sweetheart, and as soon as she comes out of the bedroom, her eyes fall on a mess. And another mess. And another. She can't possibly have a babysitter over to see all this.

She makes breakfast (which no one will eat) and she starts to clean. And clean. And clean. The children aren't really helping -- rather, they're running around behind her, gleefully chuckling while throwing everything on the floor, again. She cleans the children's rooms, you know, the rooms the children were supposed to clean, but they didn't, because they're ungrateful little creatures who don't understand how good they've got it. She cleans the bathroom, washes the dishes, sweeps the floor, vacuums the carpet, and dusts. At some point in there, the children get lunch, but she doesn't. She's got too much to do.

She makes dinner so the sitter doesn't have to, and she has a talk with the children. She tells them everything she expects of them, promises a reward if they're good and punishment if they're bad, she reminds them of the movies she let them pick out at Blockbuster to watch while the sitter is there, and then, only then, does she get in the shower. She has roughly five minutes to replicate four hours at a spa.

Then she has to decide what to wear. What does she have that's a) clean b) flattering enough to make him fall in love with her all over again c) still fits? She tries on outfits, realizes she's too fat to really look good in any of them, and goes with the last thing she put on, even though she's not completely happy with it.

She's dressed and ready to go, but she can't wear eye make-up because the toddler got into her mascara and rubbed it all over the wall, and you can't wear eye shadow without mascara. The sitter has arrived. She tells the sitter all the personality quirks of the children, she tells her they've been fed, what they're allowed to do, what they're not allowed to do, puts a limit on the number of cookies they may be given throughout the night, explains the bedtime routine (including the necessity of giving little Roddy his blue blanket) gives emergency telephone numbers, negotiates a pay rate and a time to be home, and tells all the children goodbye roughly thirty-seven times, during which little Roddy wipes his sticky fingers across Mommy’s pants, leaving a long, trailing smear.

Getting ready, from the Husband's Perspective . . .

He gets home from work a little late, goes into the bedroom and changes his shirt, puts his wallet in his pocket, and he's ready to go.

Is it just me, or is date night just a little more complicated for the wife than it is for the husband? And why, ladies, do we get so excited when he asks us out, knowing we'll have to go through that whole rigmarole? Because we love the big lugs, that's why. And even though we’ve got peanut butter on our pants and we’re worried the whole time that Tracy will cut off Billy’s hair and that George will set fire to the house, we’ll look in our husband’s eyes and remember the first time we ever saw him. What we were wearing, what he was wearing, everything we said . . . those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

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Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Lewis is a brilliant boy who spends his time inventing things. His latest creation is a memory scanner. He hopes to use it to retrieve a memory of his mother and to find out why she left him at the orphanage when he was just a baby. He’s been there ever since, and no one wants to adopt him—his imaginative projects are just a little too much for most people to accept, and he’s beginning to fear that no one will ever want him. If he can remember his mother, maybe he can track her down, and she’ll take him back. Then he’d have the family he’s always wanted.

But when his memory scanner display at the school science fair goes awry, he runs in shame. Why do things always turn out this way? Why can’t he be successful, just once? Frustrated, he begins to tear up the plans for his inventions, only to be stopped a boy named Wilbur who claims he’s from the future, and wants Lewis to return to the fair and continue his work with the scanner. Lewis is reluctant to believe Wilbur, but goes with him on a ride to the future in his time machine to prove his story is real.

Lewis finds himself enchanted by Wilbur’s family, the Robinsons. They’re a little off the wall, but they each spend their time exploring their talents and doing the things that make them happy, and they accept Lewis as one of their own. When they invite him to live with them, he believes all his dreams have come true, but if he stays, it will mess up the space/time continuum. Lewis has to finish his work in his own time or the Robinsons will not be the Robinsons in the future.

Combating the Man in the Bowler Hat who wants to claim Lewis’s memory scanner as his own, Wilber and Lewis find a way to set things back to rights, and in the end, they all get what they most dearly want.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, and so did my husband and children. There were moments of comedy throughout that offset the scenes of mild peril that might be a little much for a very young or very sensitive viewer, but your older children will love the film. I particularly liked the reference to Tom Selleck.

This film was rated G.

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A Little More about Proposition 8

As we get increasingly closer to Election Day, blogs and Web sites all over the Internet are ramping up with articles and opinions on the same-sex marriage issue now being brought up in California. We've seen how things have progressed in Massachusetts to the detriment of the traditional family, and now we face the same thing happening in California and most likely, eventually the rest of the nation.

One of the statements frequently made by those who are voting in favor of same-sex marriage is that to vote against it is an act of hate. I want to state quite emphatically at this time that I don't hate homosexuals. In fact, in my opinion, if a couple of the same gender has fallen in love and wants to spend their lives together, that's great -- send me your address and I'll mail you a toaster. (No, not really -- I can't afford all those toasters.) I don't consider it any of my business how another person conducts their love life, just as I don't consider my love life any of your business. But it becomes my business when the government insists that my children be taught contrary to my beliefs, and homosexuality is contrary to my beliefs.

Lest that be taken to be a hateful statement, let me once again explain. I am vehemently opposed to the idea that school children are being taught how to perform homosexual activity at school. But I am also vehemently opposed to the idea of school children being taught how to perform heterosexual activity at school. Sex, of any nature, is something to be taught by parents, in the home, at the time the child is ready. Some children simply aren't ready for the facts of life until they're a little older. Some are ready to know a little earlier. To take this information, which is most sacred in nature, and to present it in a way that does not take the individual child's level of maturity into consideration, and to offer it with no moral underpinnings at all, is to create epidemics of unbelievable proportions. Epidemics of STDs, teenage pregnancies, abortion. All of which could be avoided with proper moral instruction, and as schools have removed God from the classroom and are no longer allowed to teach anything with a moral foundation, that moral foundation must come from parents in the home.

This lack of religious instruction in the schools is only one of many reasons I've chosen not to send my children to public school. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that my children enter this world with a moral compass. When they go out into the work force and to college, I want them to know who they are, and to have the courage to take a stand. If the lawmakers continue on their current path, and things that are moral are deemed to no longer be issues of morality, what is that going to do to all the other standards we have held so dear? They are going to erode. That's just how it is.

You know, I can't think of any other law ever made that has received so much press in the schools as same-sex marriage. I don't recall new driving laws or tax laws being made into booklets and distributed to school children. Why is that, I wonder?

I urge you wholeheartedly to keep a close eye on the candidates in these last few days before the election. Candace Salima has written a series of political blogs which are informative, well-researched, and intelligent. I encourage you to visit her blog and read every single political entry. This election may be one of the most critically important we've ever had. The outcome of Proposition 8 is going to set a precedent for the rest of the nation. Even if we don't live in California and can't cast our ballot one way or the other on that proposition, we need to be aware of it and to realize that it won't be too much longer before that same type of vote is brought to our own states. We need to stand up and protect our freedom of religion, our freedom to teach our children morals, and to keep God in our lives.

Presenting Lily Mars (1943)

“Presenting Lily Mars” is a lesser-known Judy Garland film, but I think it’s one of my favorites.

Garland stars as Lily Mars, a nineteen-year-old girl who dreams of being a Broadway star. She’s the oldest child of a widowed mother, and every moment is spent trying earn money to support the family. She’s just sure that if she could get a part on the big stage, her mother’s financial woes would be over, so she’s doubly motivated to land a role.

Her mother makes hats, and one of her customers is the mother of John Thornway, big-time Broadway producer. She has a soft spot for Lily, and speaks to her son about a part, but John (Van Heflin) isn’t interested in auditioning any small town girls. This does not stop Lily, however, who proceeds to throw herself at John repeatedly in some very hysterical and often embarrassing ways.

When John returns to New York, Lily decides to follow him. When she shows up at the theater, he relents and gives her a small part. Her persistence and determination impress him, and before he knows it or even wants it to happen, he’s fallen in love with her.

The leading lady in his show gets jealous and quits, and John makes a mistake, clouded by his new romantic feelings—he casts Lily in the role. She’s ecstatic and throws herself into the part, but the night before the show opens, John has to admit he was wrong. Lily isn’t ready for such a huge step. Her heart is broken.

But she is a girl of integrity, and when the curtain goes up on opening night, she’s there to resume her previous role of chambermaid. John is proud as he watches her on stage, knowing she’s suffered a huge letdown and yet is there to support and uplift the play, and him.

This movie struck me on several levels. First, I’ve always had a thing for older men (my husband is fifteen years older than I am) and so I totally identified with Lily’s crush on John and cheered when he fell in love with her. I liked Heflin’s character a lot in this film—he came across in a very masculine and yet romantic way. I also appreciated the step away from the traditional starlet storyline – girl goes to Broadway and makes it big – as we see Lily struggle for what she wants and actually lose the part. But she used that disappointment to build her own reserves of strength, and we close the movie with her starring performance on stage, which took place some time later, after she learned and honed her skills.

This movie didn’t utilize Judy’s talents quite as much as I would have liked, but I enjoyed it quite a bit nonetheless.

This film was not rated.

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Trick or Treat: Creating Memories Safely

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to trick-or-treat. My parents were sure I would either get poisoned or captured by a witch’s coven. Now as a parent myself, I allow my children to participate in the tradition, with careful supervision, of course.

Halloween was a lot of fun last year. I took all four children out and left my husband at home to deal with our own visitors. My daughter was a fairy princess, and the three boys were pirates. I put an eye patch on my youngest, thinking he'd never wear it—two-year-olds just don't do the more intricate details of costuming—but he actually kept it on a whole hour.

We headed for the first house. This being my toddler’s maiden voyage, I didn't know what he'd make of it—but it only took one house for him to get in the groove. From then on, he marched with purpose, holding up his bucket and saying, "Tricky treat!" It was so cute.

By the time I was too tired to keep going, each child had around two pounds of candy. My toddler had a death grip on his bucket and wouldn't let me carry it for him—he kept saying, "No, is my tricky treat." It took a little extra strength for him to get his haul back to the van, but he made it.

While wandering around in the dark and keeping my children from falling into ditches, I had a lot of time to think. For instance, why do we trick or treat? We go to the store and buy huge bags of candy. Everyone else in the neighborhood has gone to the same store and purchased the same candy. We leave our own candy at home and run all over the place, mooching off everyone we know, in the dark, and usually the cold. We're told not to take candy from strangers, and yet we're all dressed up in the hopes that no one will recognize us. And, when we're done, we end up with the exact same type of candy we bought ourselves, which we handed out to other begging, costumed children. Where is the logic in this?

The kids think it's fun. They like to dress up and beg. I for one would rather stay home and eat my own bag of candy. I mean, it's mine. I got it through legal means. There was no groveling involved. I like it better that way.

Despite my own possible hang-ups about begging food off people, we’ll be going out again this year. I can’t deny the positive memories we’re creating for our children. You’d think their focus would be entirely on the candy, but it’s not. In fact, most of the time, my children don’t even eat all their candy. They forget about it long before it’s gone.

Instead, they talk about how fun it was to see everyone’s costumes, how cute my toddler was (he got more candy than any of the other kids, and no surprise—he’s a charmer) and how much they enjoyed the fact I came with them this year. I usually send my husband, and my kids were thrilled I’d taken a turn. They talk about how the houses were decorated, and they talk about what their costumes will be next year. The candy is a very small percentage of the overall thrill.

So how can we help create a positive experience for our children in the midst of all the hyper-sugared chaos? Here are some tips I’ve discovered.

1. Feed your children a good dinner before you head out for the night. Include lots of protein. This will not only help keep them warmer, but this will combat the sugar-induced hyperactivity which is sure to set in later.

2. Go out as soon as it’s dusk. The later at night, the more you’ll run into those who are interested in pulling pranks.

3. Of course, stay in familiar neighborhoods and only go to the homes of people you know and trust. Accompany your children rather than allowing them to go out by themselves.

4. When you get home, allow your children to choose a small amount of candy to eat that night. We usually allow three smaller pieces or one large piece. Then put the candy away and dole it out one or two pieces per day until gone. You can use it as a reward for chores and good behavior, and in this way, you’ll keep your children from becoming sick from eating all that sugar at once.

5. Put a lot of emphasis on the fun of being together and dressing up. Whenever you talk about Halloween, mention the good experiences you had the year before that weren’t candy-related.

6. Depending on the dynamics of your family and the needs of the individual members, you might want to consider steering clear of haunted houses and frightening costumes, focusing instead on the cute, fun aspects of the holiday.

7. If your children are sugar-sensitive, you can buy sugar-free candy at nearly any grocery store. Take them trick or treating as usual, but then substitute what’s in their bucket for what you bought. This way, they still have the fun but not the side effects.

As with any occasion, you can put your own spin on it and celebrate it any way you like. If you’re concerned with the spooky aspect of it, as my parents were, you can avoid that in your own celebrations. Just remember that holidays, whatever they might be, are about building family traditions and foundations, regardless of how you choose to celebrate—or not celebrate—them.

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Mormon Synchronized Swimming

I'm crying, I laughed so hard!

A Very Tristi Newsletter

Did you all know that I have a newsletter? You can subscribe to it on the home page of my website. I only send it out about every three months and keep you up to date on book signings and the like. If you're interested, sign up and check it out!

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

I’m a Jane Austen fan, although I admit, I enjoy the movies more than I do the books. I think that still counts, doesn’t it? When I heard a movie had been made about a book club devoted only to the works of Jane Austen, I was intrigued. When I started hearing movie reviews both of a favorable and unfavorable nature, I was even more intrigued. I decided to see the film for myself and create my own opinion. And because I’m very opinionated, that’s exactly what I did.

We begin the movie with four women who are good friends. There’s Bernadette, kind of the mother hen of the group, married six times and looking for number seven. Jocelyn has never been in a close romantic relationship and doesn’t think such things really exist. Sylvia believes herself to be happily married, until her husband drops the bomb—he’s seeing a woman at work and he wants a divorce. Their daughter, Allegra, is a free spirit who is still trying to find her wings.

When Sylvia’s friends learn of her divorce, they decide to call upon one of their common bonds and start a Jane Austen book club to take her mind off the direction her life has taken. By chance, Bernadette meets Prudie, a self-absorbed high school French teacher, and invites her to join. Jocelyn meets Grigg, a young man who enjoys science fiction and has never read Jane Austen, but is willing to give it a try. These six come together and use the lessons in the novels to help them overcome problems in their own lives, all the while using the lens of each other’s perceptions to help see themselves more clearly.

That said, it should have been a very good movie.

However, there were other elements in the film that kept me from enjoying it fully. Allegra is lesbian, and while we don’t see any complete bed scenes between her and her partners, there was just enough to make me uncomfortable. Prudie is strongly tempted to have an affair with one of her students, although, to her credit, she walks away and recommits to making her marriage stronger.

Do I recommend this film? If you own a ClearPlay, or if you have a friend who’s already seen it and will hold the remote to blip you through the questionable scenes, then yes, I would recommend it. The parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. The parts I didn’t enjoy, I can’t recommend. And there you have it.

This film was rated PG-13.

Join me back here on Friday as we continue our love fest with old classic movies.

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You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

I was raised on classic movies and as an adult, I still can’t get enough of them. Now that I’ve seen all the Fred and Ginger films, I’m working my way through Fred’s other movies. One I particularly enjoyed recently was “You Were Never Lovelier,” which puts him opposite the lovely Rita Hayworth.

Rita plays Maria, the second oldest daughter of a wealthy nightclub owner. Her older sister has just married, and her two younger sisters both have fiancés and want to tie the knot as well, but their father is old fashioned. He believes the girls should marry in the order of their births, and until Maria finds a husband, the two younger girls will just have to wait. Consequently, everyone is eager for Maria to let a young man into her life, but she just isn’t interested. She’s looking for Sir Galahad to ride up on his white horse, and until she meets a man who can fulfill her expectations, she’s never getting married.

Meanwhile, along comes Johnny (Astaire) a hoofer who wants a job in the nightclub. Maria’s father isn’t interested in letting him audition, but that doesn’t deter Johnny. He finagles a way into the family home and catches a glimpse of Maria, and she catches a glimpse of him. It’s not love at first sight – they can’t stand each other.

But when Maria’s father decides to start sending her flowers from a secret admirer, hoping to open her eyes to the possibility of romance, and when she mistakenly believes they’re coming from Johnny, well, anything can happen.

This movie features some really incredible dance numbers. I can easily see why Fred called Rita his favorite dance partner—she was with him on every single note and I never felt, like I sometimes did watching Ginger, that he was taking two steps for every one of hers. This film isn’t as well-known as some of Astaire’s others, but if you’re a fan, you should definitely be adding this one to your “must see” list. It’s one that deserves more attention than it gets.

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A Future for Tomorrow -- Haley Hatch Freeman

Last year, I presented at a literacy fireside in Eagle Mountain. Afterwards, while we were milling around chatting with the ladies who had come out, I was approached by a beautiful young woman who introduced herself to me as an aspiring author. I meet aspiring authors regularly and am always willing to share advice, but this story was a little different. This story was true, and the author was a survivor.

Haley Hatch Freeman went through a difficult struggle with anorexia as a teenager. Well below one hundred pounds before she began to regain her weight, every day was a fight for her life. But with proper counseling, loving parents, and relying on the strength of her relationship with the Lord, she overcame this affliction and is now a happy, healthy mother of two children and looks at her future with hope.

Haley as she began her road to recovery.
Haley today, healthy and full of life.

"A Future for Tomorrow" is not an easy read as we sorrow over Haley's condition and ache as she faces her reality. However, woven throughout the book is the thread of hope, and at the conclusion, we see how her experiences helped shape the woman she is today. This is a book I believe should be read by every parent, every young woman, and every Young Women's leader. You see, anorexia is not just something that happens to girls who are falling through the cracks. Haley grew up in a strong home and had a loving relationship with her parents. She was active in church and her community. She was probably one of those girls that you just couldn't picture having struggles at all - and yet she did. This disorder can afflict anyone, and it's important for us all to recognize the warning signs, to know how to get treatment, and most of all, to know there is hope.

I interviewed Haley for Families.com. You can read that interview here and here.

(This book was published by Granite in 2008.)

Visit Haley's blogspot and order copies of "A Future for Tomorrow" for your holiday gifting, and receive free shipping.

Great Review and Interview

The ever-impressive Lu Ann Staheli interviewed me for her blogs and for the Spanish Fork News. Here are links to her blogs, and she says this will appear in the newspaper this week or next.

Lu Ann's Library

Lu Ann's Book Review

Thanks, Lu Ann!

One More Thing ...

Jen at Lords of the Manor sent me the link to this and I had to share it. It's geared toward the Catholics in the nation but the message applies to persons of all religions, and it gave me chills.

Tristi Goes Political

You all know I like to get on my soap box from time to time. That's half the fun of having a blog -- you get to spout your opinions and get them out there. Costs less than therapy and it's just as effective, if not more.

Just for the purposes of taking a stand, I'd like to share with all of you how I feel about our current presidential election and certain issues taking place in our country at this time.

First of all, I'm voting the McCain/Palin ticket. I'm not lovingly crazy about the temper tantrums McCain threw during his debates with Romney, but I have this to say. That man loves America, and he will do whatever he can to protect her. Palin impresses me as a woman of strength and determination who will keep family first and knows that it's through families that we have our true strength and destiny. These are principles I wholeheartedly espouse and support.

Second, I'd like to refer you all to a book called "Financial Armageddon." It was written by a man named David B. Draughon and you can purchase it here or here. This book looks at money from a historical standpoint and shows us step by step how our money system was divinely inspired and set up by our Founding Fathers, and how it has been devalued and in fact, become unconstitutional in its use down through the decades. This economic crisis we currently face is no surprise to me in light of the information I gleaned from this book, which is not a hyped-up conspiracy theory but is based on documented historical fact.

Third, I'm stating in no uncertain terms that I am against the legalization of same sex marriage. I do believe that we all have the right to live our lives the way we see fit and to either be blessed for or suffer the consequences for our actions. But I do believe that when we make something legal, that's saying we believe it's right. To quote our modern prophets, "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God." The principle of a family is the principle upon which the entire plan of salvation is based. God is our Father. He sets us the example of fatherhood. Everything He does for us is a symbol of family. He has asked us to form families based on the husband/wife unit because this is the way families are organized in heaven. He wants us to have the very best of everything He has, and so He has sanctified marriage as the most holy, choice union we can ever enter, and the bringing of children into this world as an incredible, remarkable blessing. I am, beyond question, pro-life.

I fear for this country should Obama become the president. His comments that devalue religion and family disturb me greatly. When we turn our backs on the importance of religion, the importance of family, and the importance of the true meaning of America, we will lose the freedoms upon which this country was built. God designated this land as a promised land and said that we would be safe as long as we obeyed His laws. We are drifting further and further away from the commandments He gave us in regards to this land and we will soon lose the precious gift that is this free nation if we do not stand up, be counted, and assert our voices in behalf of what is right and true.

And just so you know, any nasty comments left in this trail will be deleted. I won't stand for them on my blog and you can go write your own about how unfair I'm being.

Wonderful Advice from F. Enzio Busche

And There Was Rejoicing in the Land

I'm pleased, delighted, and tickled to make the announcement I have been wanting to make for, oh, years now.

I have acquired a new publisher.

That's right. This week I signed with Cedar Fort and they will be publishing my new contemporary mystery series.

I don't have a release date on the first book yet, but will let you know as I find it out.

In the meantime, break out your sparkling apple juice and party with me!