writing

Republican Debate Take Two

/ Karina Pinella / 2 Comments

A spirited debate like we saw last night at the Reagan Library goes a long way toward the White House. At times contentious, sometimes petty, and even outrageous – it was all part of the mix. Now for some select talking points as the candidates weighed in:

Rand Paul is for legalizing medicinal marijuana, Mike Huckabee makes a point about accommodating U.S. citizen Kim Davis on her free will to discriminate, Marco Rubio sounds off about making sure we vote for a president who can start the ground running on day 1, Ted Cruz is firm about ripping up the Iran deal as soon as he takes the oath, Ben Carson says there is no scientific ground to connect vaccines with autism, Donald Trump continues to trumpet the same spiel of making America respected again, Jeb Bush reminds us how he was able to get Florida’s economy to thrive, Carly Fiorina demonstrates her problem solving skills by providing specific ideas on how to deal with Putin and other foreign leaders, (as well as domestic concerns), Scott Walker asserts his ability on being able to address our runaway deficit, John Kasich tells us that he has worked in the business sector at one time and how he is a much better candidate for having such experience in addition to his current public service role, and Chris Christie implies that as New Jersey’s governor, his daily dealings with a mostly Democratic state has sharpened his diplomatic skills.

Have you picked your favorite candidate yet?

Aloha (a movie review)

/ Karina Pinella / 3 Comments

I watched this movie because of Bradley Cooper, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Alec Baldwin, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams. The cast sounded too good to pass up even though the trailer didn’t do much for me. Sometimes watching something light like Aloha can be relaxing; the photography looks nice and the actors look good. You don’t get excited much about anything in this movie though; it’s like watching someone’s vacation video. As the title suggests, the movie is set in Hawaii. Continue reading →

Lip Schtick

/ Karina Pinella / Leave a comment

Quack, quack, quack,
Quit the duck lip schtick.
What’s with the pout?
The moue, the pucker, or whatever you
Want to call it when your lips stick out.
Spare the sparrow face too.

©2015 Karina Pinella

©2015 Karina Pinella

A Rainy Day and Monday Get Me Dow(n)

/ Karina Pinella / 3 Comments

The Dow (I)
At times harsh like hail,
Or can be steady as rain
Is the Dow’s nature.

Images from Wikimedia-Creative Commons/Public Domain

Images from Wikimedia-Creative Commons & Public Domain-Clarence White

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dow (II)
At times bad weather,
Crystal ball cannot predict
Dow Jones’ twitchiness.

The Fixer by Joseph Finder (a book review)

/ Karina Pinella / Leave a comment

This is a thriller set in Boston with references to the Big Dig, a fiasco of a highway/tunnel project that ran way behind schedule (try over 8 to 10 years, depending which viewpoint you take) and racked up the cost to over $20 billion (still not fully paid to date). Although that in itself is criminal, there are many other criminals in the story. Much of the story is about Rick Hoffman, a thirtysomething journalist who finds himself out of a high-paying job and homeless. He goes back to his family home, which has become a big fixer-upper because his father has been in a convalescence facility for 18 years due to a stroke that left him unable to speak or care for himself. His mother has long been deceased and his only sibling, a sister, lives in Seattle. Continue reading →

A ‘Nuff Said Series: Three Shades of White

/ Karina Pinella / 4 Comments

Part 1:

White

White
“Meh. . . ”

Part 2:

Whiter.1

Whiter
“Yeh.”

Part 3:

Courtesy of rajcreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Courtesy of rajcreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whitest
“Ooh!”

The President’s Shadow by Brad Meltzer (a book review)

/ Karina Pinella / 2 Comments

This book is the third of a series about a young Archivist named Beecher White, who gets involved in the many intrigues going on in the White House. The underlying mystery about how his father had died is revealed in this book, and tied to the mystery of two dismembered arms, each planted in a strategic place that implies it’s an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States. You also get to know more about the other characters introduced in the first two books. If I give even a hint of what happens, I will end up spoiling a good read. Continue reading →

Spam Chat

/ Karina Pinella / Leave a comment

Laugh snaps,
Quick clicks,
Instant snippets,
All of you . . .

What a ham;
Snapchat crazy.
Dishing out every minute.
Turning into spam . . .

Image contributed by Moi

Image contributed by Moi

©2015 Karina Pinella

Ground Beef with Peas, Carrots, and Mung Bean Sprouts

/ Karina Pinella / Leave a comment

This ground beef recipe is a filling for egg rolls. Let’s start with the wrappers.

There are different types of egg roll wrappers. There are thick ones made of wheat that tend to overpower the filling and there are paper thin ones like rice paper or lumpia (loom-pyah) wrappers, both of which are found in Asian grocery stores. You can also use phyllo dough if you wish, but you would bake rather than fry them. The one type typically found in regular grocery stores is made of wheat. Whichever you prefer, the ideal taste I find is one with thin wrapper so the filling is the dominant texture and flavor rather than the wrapper. Continue reading →

What We Do in the Shadows (a movie review)

/ Karina Pinella / 6 Comments

This movie is a must-see for those who want to laugh. A unique take on vampire movies, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary about the lifestyle of three vampires “flatting,” or sharing a place together. As documentaries go, this one includes different components like the reminiscing moments, a confessional, a self-revelation or occasional epiphany. Within such chapters, the stories told in the context of being a vampire are hilariously absurd. Because I don’t want to spoil it for you, I will give a small example. The main vampire telling the story talks about the differences in their behavior or “maturity level” because of their age differences, with one being over 800 years old vs. one who is under 200 years old, and then there is the “geriatric” who is over 8,000 years old and he looks like the vampire character in Nosferatu. Continue reading →