What a pleasant surprise to be encouraged by my fellow bloggers–Lashaan & Trang, book lovers and reviewers extraordinaire–of the Liebster Award. You can enjoy their reviews at https://bookidote.wordpress.com. [Applause] Continue reading
writing
Shift Gifts
A vase with purple misshapen polka dots, a hula dancer lamp, a beige tinted statue of a nude–gifts you’re tempted to shift. Somebody may not be the wiser. What was presented to you is now gifted to another. What comes around keeps going around. Was it at Peggy’s shower when you first saw that doodad made by Ronco? On another occasion at Roscoe’s birthday party, the same gift by Ronco reappears. Christmas rolls around. Surprise! That doodad by Ronco is yours. How many times has this been re-gifted? Best not to break the chain. There’s a party coming up for Susie . . .
Image contributed by Moi
©2015 Karina Pinella
Cash Landing by James Grippando (a book review)
According to the author, James Grippando, his story is inspired by actual events that happened in Miami—a heist carried out by amateurs. The heist starts out boldly and goes well. The aftermath is when things start to unravel. The amateur crew comprises Ruban Betancourt, a man disillusioned with the law; his brother-in-law, Jeffrey, an overweight, drug addict leaching off his mother; and his uncle, Pinky, an ex-convict who was nicknamed as such because of how far down his manhood reaches to his pinky. They hire two other people, both former convicts. One of them is the driver whose role is to ditch their getaway vehicles. The other one is the insider who smooths the entry for the big steal. Continue reading
Ahead on a Stick
It’s not just an ordinary day in the ‘hood. Today is the First Annual Race-o-Rama on Washington St., in a neighborhood of single, and mostly, multifamily homes. Their peeling paint and chipped shingles, a consequence of the past rough winter and general lack of funds, do not faze the merriment of the ragtag bunch. The kids range in age from nine to fourteen. There are about a dozen of them, half in the audience, while the others are getting ready to motor up in their unique makeshift racers.
Image courtesy of Vlado from Freedigitalphotos.net
Lamont “LeMans” revs up his mini-roadster, powered by his short legs. Ramon “The Main Rain Man” can barely keep still, poised to pedal his trike. “Cuz” Chondelle is riding high on his pogo stick. Their older siblings are lined alongside them; one on a bike, another on a unicycle and a third on a skateboard. They all eye the finish line ahead.
“You getting this on tape, Clarice?” Delroy asks. “It’s for pos-ter-ee-tee.” He calls out to the girl holding up a smartphone with a cracked screen.
“You been reading again, Del-boy?” Royale chortles.
Delroy shoots him an “eat my shorts” look and hunches down to get set as Sharlayne primes the group, “When you see my gun go off, that means go.” She is holding up an orange-colored water blaster, which she squirts at the group.
The kids watching laugh as the group, poised to race, are momentarily startled as water sprays them. “You’re supposed to aim it up in the air, wonder brain,” Royale yells as he wipes off the water from his face. He gets soaked the most because he is the closest to Sharlayne.
“Well, you sure aren’t ‘cuz you’re still crying about a little water. Get going.”
Now Lamont is head to head with Ramon, while Delroy whizzes past them. But Chondelle surprises all as he overtakes them.
“Whoa, there goes Chondelle almost lick the dust, but now he’s ahead on a stick . . . yeah . . .” one of the kids watching starts to rap out a song in honor of the frontrunner. Suddenly, two cars seeming to race with each other careen by them. A gun shot in the air. Chondelle in the lead crashes to the ground. The kids scream as the two cars speed away, long gone.
It turns out to be just another ordinary day in the ‘hood.
©2015 Karina Pinella
The Pyramid (a movie review)
This is a horror movie that takes place deep underground. Although the story line is a little different, this movie falls into the same category as the following movies: As Above, So Below; The Descent; The Descent Part 2. If you’ve seen those movies, do you see the commonalities among them? The horror takes place beneath the surface with a mazelike challenge for those trapped down there to get out. And there are strange creatures in them there parts. Continue reading
Ground Beef with Kale and Carrots
Summer meals tend to be grill heavy, but after burgers and steaks almost every day, one can get weary of the same preparation. How about a change of pace?
Using fresh or frozen kale, take a bunch and chop (if fresh) and set aside; you can also use pre-cut bagged kale too. Peel and chop 5 carrots, 1 onion, and if you happen to have 2 yellow squashes or zucchinis, chop those also, but they’re optional. Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 or 2 plum tomatoes. If you don’t like tomatoes, replace this part with a sprinkle of lemon juice or zest. If you go the lemon route, just add this ingredient after everything is cooked. Continue reading
Danny Collins (a movie review)
When I saw the trailer to this movie, I thought it would be a slow-moving story about a washed up star. I almost didn’t watch the movie, but I’m glad I did because it turned out to be a gem. Al Pacino is excellent as Danny Collins, an aging rock star who somehow gets stuck doing the same thing. That’s because he got sucked into pleasing a fan base that ironically stifles his creativity, always expecting the same old songs night after night. During the 40 years of going through the motions, he tries to forget his misery by snorting coke and drinking heavily. Continue reading
Please Pass the Sheep Butt
Ages ago I drove more than 10 miles just to look at a free-range chicken. It wasn’t even a live one; it was frozen. Those were the times when antibiotic-free meat or chicken was a rarity. It would cost an arm and a leg to buy a lean, but clean chicken that wasn’t an antibiotic addict. As a student with no cash flow at the time, I could only stare at the chicken and weighed the costs in my head. Do I spend the rest of the day panhandling for a healthy meal, or do I go back home and eat whatever there is and do my homework? Continue reading
Finders Keepers by Stephen King (a book review)
I found Finders Keepers as another entertaining read from King, with a somewhat mysterious ending. The story is sectioned into three parts, with the first two parts further broken into chapters that alternate between two different young men’s stories. Continue reading
The Forger (a movie review)
This is a bittersweet father and son heist film. John Travolta plays an art forger who is imprisoned for four years. To get out sooner, he makes a deal with an outside well-connected criminal, who pays off a crooked judge to release Travolta’s character, Ray Cutter, nine months before he finishes his prison term. Not too much later, the viewer is shown that Ray Cutter has a teenage son, played by Tye Sheridan, who has cancer. Ray’s father, played by Christopher Plummer, has been taking care of Ray’s son while Ray has been in prison. Now that Ray is out of prison, he is indebted to the criminal who arranged for his early release. The payment is for Ray to steal a painting by Claude Monet and replace it with a forgery. Then things start getting interesting. Continue reading
Karina Pinella 
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