I got to free feed Blizzard today!!! EEEEE! It came totally out of the blue after den cleaning. He was a good boy, and I came away from it with all ten fingers still attached! :P Oh, and Kenny snuggling with his barrel (in his holding pool that I made sparkly clean)? Adorable! I also took my water quality quiz today... and OMG, I couldn't read the questions about the "weirs" without giggling. :P

WTF is up with THIS?! Seriously, who's bright idea was that?! TV show based on commercials = *puke*

Aaaand, since February is now over, here's the book wrap-up for the month! Current books and all-time faves can be found on my "Book Recs" post here!
2/19/07
Just a Geek - Wil Wheaton
If you didn't love Wil Wheaton before, you will after you read this book. He is totally candid about his experiences. It's wonderfully refreshing to read a story by a celebrity who says exactly how they feel about their experiences as an actor, without trying to give the "everyone I work with has been amazing" schtick. His stories are absolutely hilarious, and you see that he really is a down-to-earth kind of guy, with many of the same trials and tribulations as the rest of us. If you follow his blog, many of the entries are excerpts from there. It's fun to read his commentary on those entries, and see what he was really thinking when he wrote the entries I remember reading long ago. Whether or not you're a Star Trek fan (and whether or not you hated Wesley - rather, especially if you hated Wesley), this one is a must-read!

2/14/07
Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
Quite possibly the oddest book I've ever read. And I mean that in a good way. I was just amazed that someone could actually have a life like that. Completely crazy, and utterly hilarious!

2/11/07
Stargate Atlantis: Exogenesis - Sonny Whitelaw and Elizabeth Christensen
Absolutely fantastic. IMHO, the best of the Atlantis novels yet. All of the major characters got a fair amount of story time. I wouldn't call it a huge "team" story insomuch as they had separate plots going on, but none of the characters felt neglected. Even Teyla and Weir got decent storylines! The characterization was fantastic. Rodney had a nice, emotional story that really provided great development for him. And the storyline between Sheppard and Weir is fantastic, in a somewhat angsty, angry way. ;) Of course, the marine biology geek in me had a field day - all the descriptions of the ocean under Atlantis were all fantastic! A great all-around story, not to be missed by Atlantis fans.

2/6/07
Dreams of the Solo Trapeze: Offstage With the Cirque du Soleil - Mark Schreiber
An interesting book! It provides some neat insight into the lives of Cirque du Soleil performers, particularly those involved in the European tour of Saltimbanco. It really brought me back to working at Cirque de la Mer - a lot of the atmosphere that he described was present there, too. Very fascinating to read about how these performers came about their professions, and what they go through while on tour. It feels a bit like a soap opera at times, but it's more along the lines of a memoir about the author's time with the troupe than anything. But if you like Cirque, check this one out. :)

2/1/07
Eldest - Christopher Paolini
If Eragon was a rehash of Star Wars (and Lord of the Rings and the Pern books and...), then Eldest is most definitely The Empire Strikes Back. Once again, Paolini proves that he can't quite write an original story. Change the names of the characters, throw in a Muppet and some carbonite, and George Lucas would be all over him. The plot "twists" still come as no surprise at all (after all, I have seen all six Star Wars movies) and the author seems to relish the use of cliches and teeny-bopper angst. That being said, it's still just as entertaining as the first - and considerably heftier. It still kept me reading excitedly from beginning to end, even as I cracked cynical jokes. If you enjoyed the first book, definitely give this one a shot.