Month: March 2012

Book Review – Life With Sally: Little White Dog Tails

klwalker2 Book Reviews

To all you pet owners out there, I have a book for you that just might be worth your attention.  This book is Tricia McDonald’s Life With Sally: Little White Dog Tails.

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Before I get to the review,  I would like to be very honest with all of you.  Unfortunately, I am not a dog person.  My family’s history with dogs was ended in 1990.  It happened when Bo, our German Shepard got involved in a horrible incident with a neighbor kid.  Bo was provoked, which was the reason for his animosity.  Sadly, he was put to sleep shortly after.

Now, I may not be a dog person.  But I’m definitely a Sally person.  Why, you ask?

Sally is not your typical dog.  She is a silly miniature bull terrier with doggy OCD.  She has a fascination with lawn rakes and toads, enjoys eating June bugs and runs in circles whenever she is happy.  She’s definitely a dog that is full of surprises, and has won my heart over.

The book is laid out in a series of little white tales, which tells us a little more about Sally.  Whether Sally is getting a doggy massage, having ice cream, painting a picture or having fun with the garden hose, the mini-adventures are fun to read about, and kept the pages turning.

The tales are based off of the Life With Sally column, which is published monthly in Cats and Dogs magazine.  Published in 2009, it is a book that every dog owner must have.  While I don’t have a dog myself (I have one cat named Tigger), I still liked reading about the little white wonder.  As a pet owner, I can definitely relate to loving and caring for a pet.  Whether it’s feeding the pet or giving it attention, it is a labor of love.  A labor that’s well worth it.

As Tricia has expressed in her book, she has become a Sally person.  She is not alone.  After reading this book, I have become a Sally person myself, and I’m sure that you will be too when get the chance to read this.  Just click on the book above, buy it and let Sally capture your heart.  I give Life With Sally: Little White Dog Tails a 4 out of 5.

Project Fountain and π for all….

klwalker2 The Walker Estate

In update news,  I am very pleased to say that my latest short story, “Project Fountain” is moving right along.  I decided on this title instead of “The Infinity Code”, because I feel that fits the story a lot better.

 

With that update done,  I now have plenty of π for everyone.  In honor of π Day, I encourage all of you to help yourself to the π.  Click below and enjoy!

 

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Happy Pi Day!  I hope that was enough for everyone….

It’s-a me, MAR10!

klwalker2 The Walker Estate

That’s right.  For those of you who are not aware, today is a day dedicated to the mustachioed hero we all know and love:  Mario.

 

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/2/21/FortuneStMario.png

 

So why is today dedicated to Mario?  To answer that question, all you have to do is look at today’s date.  Today is March 10th.  In knowing that, MAR10 = Mario, hence the reason we have Mario Day.

Okey Dokey! As for this special day, what you do on it is up to you.  You can dress like Mario, talk like Mario, play Mario-related video games, watch the Super Mario Bros. movie (if you dare), play Mario Monopoly, or anything else Mario-related.  Whatever it is, just remember to observe the most famous character in video game history.

Thank you so much for reading my entry!  Bye bye!

On a Pen and a Prayer….

klwalker2 The Walker Estate

Did I say pen?  I actually meant to say “keyboard”, but that word doesn’t work very well in this context and there wouldn’t be any alliteration.  Anyways, I digress.

Getting to the heart of the matter, writers really have their odds stacked against them.  Their chances at success are very little, if any at all.  Even if I were to write something good,  That in itself would only satisfy the status quo.  Tens of thousands of writers can write something good, leaving only a very small number capable of writing something great.

This is where great divide begins.  The bottomless chasm that separates “good” writers from “great” writers.  “Great” writers can actually make a living writing novels and going on book tours.  “Good” writers need to keep their day job.  They amass a portfolio of various writings and continually perfect their novel, in hopeful expectation that their work will be published someday.  They want to be next in line, joining the ranks with all the other “great” writers of the world.

So where do I stand?  I consider myself a “good” writer, with “good” taking on the role as my mortal enemy.  Good is not good enough, so I exhaust all my efforts to best it until it is conquered.  When good is defeated, good becomes great.  It is a rather idealistic goal, but one that is seemingly impossible at the moment.  Good has been tough to master, and I have been wrestling it for a long time.

But hope springs eternal.  A faint glint of hope is clearly visible by those who embrace optimism and are unwilling to let it go.  This hope is given to us by God.  This is what I believe, and I’m not ashamed to say it.  Whether you accept it or reject it, that is up to you.

In grasping this hope, I will continue battling good until I rise above it.  When good becomes great,  maybe then I can pave a brighter future.  A future filled with better things.

Pizza Dream….

klwalker2 The Walker Estate

I don’t know if I have mentioned it on this site, so I’ll mention it now.

Recently, I have expressed an interest in having my own pizza business.  Upon recent research, however, I guess I’m going to have to kiss that dream goodbye.

With pizza being a $30 billion a year business, there is no such thing as too many pizza stores.  The trick, however, is finding a franchise that your area doesn’t have yet.

Enter Papa Murphy’s Pizza.  This chain is unique, in that it prepares the pizza for you.  From there, you take the pizza home and bake it yourself.

When I looked up the franchise information to start one of these stores, my dreams flew out the window.  It would cost $200,000-$400,000 to start a franchise.  To put things in perspective, my bank account doesn’t even have a comma yet.  The only way to make this kind of money would be to win the lottery, or have the salary of an experienced brain surgeon, dentist or attorney.

And that’s only half of the obstacle.  The other half is actually having managerial experience.  While I’m proficient at making pizzas, I have not become manager yet.  I could work on that and get there eventually, but that still wouldn’t be enough to actually have the money to start a franchise of this scale.  It’s like the old saying goes: “you have to spend money to make money”.  In this case, I would have to spend a lot to even get started.

So kiss that dream goodbye.  Forget I even mentioned it.  With that, I will just go back to writing – something that I’m actually somewhat decent at.