Solitude Creek is the fifth of a series on body language expert, Kathryn Dance, a widowed mother of two, working as an agent for the California Bureau of Investigation. We find her here solving two different cases, with one of them being a sting operation and I will not go on because I wouldn’t want to spoil this good read. I will reveal that one of the culprits is a person that sets up situations leading to crowd panic, resulting in violence and ugly scenes. As always, author Jeffrey Deaver delivers a good plot and engrossing characters. Continue reading
writing
Unfinished Business (a movie review)
This movie has a chuckle in almost every scene. The main actors—Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, and Dave Franco–have great chemistry together. Vince plays a high performing salesman who decides to quit his job because he feels unappreciated and has had no time to spend with his family of two kids and wife. As he goes to the parking lot to leave, he comes across Tom, who was let go that same day because of his age (67 years old). Vince also meets Dave, who had just interviewed with the company, and was heading out. Still feeling charged from having the courage to walk out, Vince declares to the two that he is starting his own business and he asks them if they want to join in. They do, and more funny stuff happens. Continue reading
Dream Reel
Deep sleep viewing
Surreal yet so real.
Running naked,
Looking for cover.
But to no avail,
As no one cares.
Just you and shades of you,
Behind closed lids.
All from your reel of id.
©2015 Karina Pinella
The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker (a book review)
One of the main characters in The Scarlet Gospels is a character first found in Clive Barker’s earlier novella, The Hellbound Heart, upon which the Hellraiser series of movies were based. The character is the lead Cenobite, referred to as the Hell Priest in The Scarlet Gospels. He has nails sticking up from his head, earning him the nickname of Pinhead behind his back by the people he tortures. He despises the name and it makes him angrier when his nemesis, Harry D’Amour, taunts him with it. Continue reading
Chicken Taco Casserole
This is a complete meal with protein, vegetables, and grains. The beans used here may be canned or dry. Dry beans would require an overnight soaking. You can use a 16-oz. bag of black beans or pinto beans. Before rinsing the beans, pick off any particles that don’t belong there, such as small pebbles. Cover the beans with cold water and let soak overnight.
The next day, the beans will need to be cooked first. The fastest way to do so is to use a pressure cooker, which is a specially sealed pot that cooks food quickly due to the physics of steam and pressure. Without getting technical or sidetracked here, I suggest you Google pressure cooker to learn more about it. It is an excellent way to make certain dishes quickly. For example, if you wish to make beef stew and use a cheap cut of meat, you can easily and quickly tenderize the meat by using a pressure cooker. Also, the pressure cooker makes excellent shredded pork or chicken. Continue reading
Straight Face to Straitjacket
Clowns abound and they can be found in the work place too. I remember one in particular from several jobs ago. I’ll call him Bozo so I won’t be sued. He worked harder to make my boss laugh than he did doing his job as an individual contributor. I think it was because my boss had a reputation of being a prig with a sprig up his thingamajig. That he had only one expression—straight faced—gave Bozo a challenge he didn’t find while working in Accounts Receivable.
A brief about my boss—it was rumored that he was born at the Company*, where he started at the ground level and after throwing people under the bus and stabbing their backs, he eventually pulled himself up to VP class. He was not in the corner office just yet, although he made it clear to those who counted that he would rule from there some day. (Last time I heard he is still eyeing that carpeted real estate.) Continue reading
Tickle Me Pink
Like a beetle knocked down on its back,
With its reedy legs fluttering up in the air,
Us drones, minions, working stiffs
Flounder about in our tedious routines–
Crunching numbers, pushing papers,
While the bigwigs think of ways
To stretch our time and pay
So thinly, so third quarter results
Can outperform prior year’s figures.
Tickle us pink, why don’t you?
Better than a pink slip . . . I think?
©2015 Karina Pinella
Fruit Pizza on Cassava Bread
As an alternative to a wheat base, try cassava bread. I found it in the Produce section of a grocery store (Market Basket). The bread has only one ingredient—cassava pulp, or yuca. A product of Dominican Republic, the brand name is Caridom. It’s flat and triangle shaped, like a big pizza slice, so it’s perfect for this recipe, which is great for snacking. The recipe also makes for a nice breakfast, lunch, or dinner now that summer is here and if you are so inclined to have a smorgasbord of fruits in one sitting.
Image contributed by Hymn
At the Dump
We haul in our garbage;
Glimpses of our lives revealed.
Empty boxes shipped from Amazon,
Paper bags from Trader Joe’s brimmed
Full of glass, paper, and plastics.
The transfer station makes it easy—
No need to separate the recyclables.
Bring all in one big receptacle.
The bordered grounds contain our mess and stink;
We drive away feeling light and free,
Happy to dump our stench,
Thinking all our trash is gone for good.
But they come back to haunt us,
In ways we connect with other causes.
Next time, let’s pause . . .
Try to limit our toss.
©2015 Karina Pinella
Bro’, You Heavy
My bro’ is stew, or in the sewers. I am sorry for what I did, but I was tired.
Bub, my bro’, weighed a ton. For breakfast, he would eat six bowls of Honey Monster Puffs, five fried eggs, four strawberry Pop-Tarts, three buttered waffles, two thick slabs of bacon, and a partridge in a pear tree. I exaggerate. He did not eat the tree. I will not bother writing the rest of what he would eat during the rest of the day; it will just make my journal look like a grocery list. And remind me how close to broke I was getting because food is not getting cheaper. It is a good thing I get to take home some leftovers from Hog Heaven, where I wash dishes and bus tables. I also get a 10% discount at the Food Mart, where I stock the shelves three days a week.
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Karina Pinella 
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