It's Banned Books Week again. (Already? How is it this late in the year already?) I found this list (click on "Permalink" to expand the entry) on the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1999 - 2000 at Jen Speaks, and decided to go through it myself to see how many of these books I've read (the ones I've read are in bold). Some of them I can totally understand being banned or even challenged, but others . . . Blubber? How to Eat Fried Worms? Where's Waldo?? Hello? How does this make sence?

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Haven't read it, but it's on my list for this year.)

Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (Haven't read the latest one, yet, but I have it.)

Forever by Judy Blume

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Giver by Lois Lowry

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine

A Day No Pigs Would Dieby Robert Newton Peck

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Sex by Madonna

Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein

Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry

The Goats by Brock Cole

Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

Blubber by Judy Blume

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Final Exit by Derek Humphry

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

Deenie by Judy Blume

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (another one on my list of books to read.)

Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

Cujo by Stephen King

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Crazy Lady by Jane Conly

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

Fade by Robert Cormier

Guess What? by Mem Fox

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (also on my list of books to read)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Native Son by Richard Wright

Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday

Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen

Jack by A.M. Homes

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle

Carrie by Stephen King

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge

Family Secrets by Norma Klein

Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Private Parts by Howard Stern

Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (???)

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

Sex Education by Jenny Davis

The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene

Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney

Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Lisa-Marie wrote this at 20:14

We had a pretty good sized quake just about 10:15 this morning.

It was centered around Parkfield, CA, so even though the initial quake was 6.0, we didn't have but a little rumbling and a standing-in-a-boat, rock-n-roll feeling. (Nothing like the 6.5 that hit Paso last December. We really felt that one in SLO!) There were dozens of aftershocks immediately after today's quake, but we didn't feel any of those.

I'm home for the day; I had a dental appointment earlier. Everything went very well, and I'm now able to go four whole months before my next cleaning instead of three! There was a little bleeding behind the upper-left quadrant, but it wasn't enough to worry the hygenist, who said my gum tissue was, for the most part, in fantastic shape. I'm thrilled and relieved! All the hard work is finally paying off!
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 15:12

A list of 200 things; the things I've actually done are in bold. Found at Dreama's and Atypical Female.

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten my own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Rode on a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72.Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it.
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken (my husband has never broken my heart)
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Rode a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place (Ew! Gross!)
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents (Just one: my dad)
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ...more than once? - More than thrice? (Twice, actually)
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job (Laid off, yes; never fired)
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Rode on a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph (Then again, maybe I shouldn't admit to that one . . .)
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Rode a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Does rainbow trout count?)
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested


Lisa-Marie wrote this at 12:43

Apparently Mount St. Helens is at it again.
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 12:23

I'm going to try to be really, really positive this morning, mostly because I've had more failures than successes recently, and hopefull recounting some positive things will help improve my "life sucks" attitude. They might be pretty wimpy positives, though; like I said, not everything has been going my way lately, however:

1. I got a really good haircut on Friday. I was wishing I'd had the girl cut my bangs a bit shorter, but they turned out really nice this morning and they're not hanging in my eyes, so I'm not complaining anymore!

2. I got all of last year's pictures uploaded into my new LapisBlue weblog. I just need to do all of this year's now. I'm using one of the new multi-media templates from Typepad, and in order for it to work properly, I have to upload the pictures, rather than just img src them. The result is really nice, though, so I'll keep working at it until I have them up.

3. I received a note from my friend Weetabix last week, which was really sweet, really cute, and really cheered me up. (Also, there's a pretty good chance that something very fun will be happening soon!)

4. Last week I also received a thank you note from my friend Jewel for the birthday gift I sent her. I thought it was particularly nice of her because she'd already thanked me via e-mail and over the phone!

5. Saturday morning's walk up to Carlene's for coffee was really nice. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot, and mom and I kept up a pretty good pace!

Wow! Writing down all these positive things has totally changed my mood for the better! Sure, there were a lot of things I didn't get done this weekend that I'd planned to, and I didn't feel well for most of it due to my Aunt Flo's sudden visit, but in general things are pretty darn good, and I'm grateful to have Participation Positives as a way to remind me of all the good things I have in my life!
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 07:10

I think we might've won this particular battle against the ants. They showed up yesterday, and totally disrupted what had been a really good day. We killed and cleaned, cleaned and killed. Today, I haven't seen any more ants, and hopefully we won't see any for some time. If ever.
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 21:22

They're back. Gah!
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 21:20

I used to have that very first Hello Kitty coin purse. I bought it at Fonk's; I remember it well. Can you imagine what that little purse might be worth today if I'd kept the darn thing? Gah!
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 12:12

We had a perfect day in Cayucos for The Firm's Annual Summer Party: sunshine, a light breeze, good food and great company! The journal entry is here.

Lisa-Marie wrote this at 22:22

Three years ago today the United States of America was brutally attacked. While the passing of time may have dulled our pain somewhat, and our memories may have faded a bit, we must never ever forget the horror and tragedy of that day. This morning I re-read my journal entries from September 11, 2001 and the days, months and years that followed. Just so I wouldn't forget how bad it was. So I wouldn't forget why we've gone to war, as horrible as that is. It's important to remember, always.

Later on today I'll be joining my co-workers and their families at a beach house in Cayucos for our Annual Summer Party. We're going to eat and drink and laugh and have a great time, I'm sure. As important as remembering today's sad anniversary is, it's also important to live our lives and to enjoy every moment we have with our friends and families.

God bless America.
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 10:32

This afternoon I had the opportunity to have lunch with two of my friends: Jewel and Ali. We went out to this cute little cafe, antiquie, gardeny type place that reminded me a lot of Heart's Ease in Cambria. The food was great, the weather was wonderful (although it was a bit hot), and the company was fantastic! I had just seen Jewel not too long ago, but she was passing through town, and took the opportunity to stop for lunch. Ali I haven't seen in ages, despite the fact that we work in the same town, not too far away from each other. So busy - we are all so darn busy! But it was nice to see them again, even for an hour.
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 19:33

Things I did over my three-day weekend: yardwork, including grass cutting, shrubbery taming, and cutting down of the dead tree (we still need to remove the stump, but that can be done at a later time); hand-stamped ten Christmas cards (these will probably be for a card exchange if I decide to participate in one); went through my piles of mail and chucked/shredded 90% of it, got my pictures from JournalCon, Washington D.C., and the San Diego Zoo organized and on-line.

Things I didn't do over my three-day weekend: finish reading I, Robot, start reading Wide Sargasso Sea, organize my shoes, put anything up for sale on Ebay, swap out my seasonal clothes.

All-in-all not too bad; I'm quite satisfied with what I managed to get done, and don't feel too badly about what I didn't.
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 19:07

The Labour Day Weekend Edition

1. Yardwork: mow the front and back lawn, cut back the outrageously overgrown shrubbery, contemplate chopping down the poor dead tree in back yard, but in the end, decide to put it off and just stare sadly at it.

2. Deal with the hundreds of San Diego Zoo and Washington D.C. pictures: organize, sort-out, save, don't save, resize, post and SHARE!

3. Begin work on Christmas Cards: choose design, collect and organize all the supplies, and start stamping!

4. Organizing: shoes, shoes, shoes! Also, switch out seasonal clothing from closet. Yes, I know it's still 100°, but I'm sure it'll be cooling down pretty soon. I hope.

5. Buy toilet paper. Actually, I suppose that should be #1.

6. Put more stuff on Ebay: rubber stamps, books, and maybe that old spotting scope. Do hunters still use those things?

7. Finish reading I, Robot, and start the new L&J Book Club selection: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Also, finish reading Mrs. Dalloway and A Cat Called Canoe.

8. General Weekend Stuff: buy groceries, pick up sundry items at K-mart (bathroom drawer organizers, paper towels, TP, file folders).
Lisa-Marie wrote this at 20:58