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Sunday, June 23, 2019

Netflix's I Am Mother

The bot or droid, known as Mother, selects an embryo from a catalog of many embryos. Depositing her into an artificial womb, the embryo grows into a  baby.

Mother raises the girl, known as Daughter, but shields her from all knowledge of the outside world

Mother has been programmed to save humanity but she will also kill humans if it benefits her larger plan. Daughter realizes that Mother has been lying  to her  when a stranger break through the protective barrier.

The stranger, played by Hilary Swank, looks a lot like a much older version of herself. The stranger is injured and distrustful of droids, including Mother. She claims to be in contact with other humans.

After the stranger is better, Daughter takes off with the stranger. She has learned some terrible truths about Mother and the family of embryos kept in the clear cases.

The stranger has secrets, too, which leads the daughter to reject her and return to Mother. 

Ostensibly, Daughter has returned for her infant brother and the other embryos. She confronts rather than reconciles with Mother, who is it turns out, is more than a single bot.   

In the end, viewers hear Mother's chilling lullaby. Mother is 
capable of killing but so too are all the other players in this narrative. 




Saturday, June 22, 2019

Conferences for Bloggers


I've never heard of these conferences but they look like an awesome way for bloggers to network and gain new skills:

June 20-23: International Food Blogger Conference

The International Food Blogger Conference began in 2009 and now attracts 200+ food bloggers, writers, and digital media influencers with great passion for the industry. Events include food tours and sessions covering technology, social media, and blogging 101. “Lightning Talks,” fast-paced presentations from fellow attendees, are returning for the second year. IFBC19 takes place at the Centennial Hall Convention Center in Juneau, Alaska.

June 27-29: TravelCon

TravelCon is “the place to learn the business of travel media.” Boost your skills in video, photography, writing, and blogging. The conference has an impressive lineup of speakers to cover industry best practices and what’s buzzing right now in the travel industry. The event takes place at Westin Copley Place in Boston.

June 27-30: SHINE

SHINE is an invite-only conference for fitness, wellness, and nutrition social influencers. Attendees will experience a mix of workouts, networking, and breakout sessions covering topics like content creation and industry trends. Anyone interested in attending can fill out an application on the event website. The conference takes place in Anaheim, Calif., during the Idea World Fitness Conference.

July 15-17: MozCon

MozCon brings together industry leaders from search engine optimization (SEO), mobile, local search, and more. Attendees will learn tactics for ranking higher in search results and have plenty of opportunities for networking. The three-day event takes place in Seattle.


https://mediablog.prnewswire.com/2019/06/04/blogger-conferences-june-2019/

Monday, June 10, 2019

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

One by one Kya's family leaves her--her mother, her siblings, her beloved Jodie, and lastly her alcoholic and abusive father. Kya, whom the town  calls "the marsh girl," learns to rely on herself and turns to the marsh for comfort. 

While its difficult to fathom how she can do this, Kya learns to provide food for herself by bartering with a local bait shop owner, Jumpin'. She hides from anyone wanting to send her to the local school but eagerly learns to read from a local boy, Tate.

Shunned by the inhabitants of Barkley Cove, Kya learns to hide as skillfully as a deer. Part of Kya, however, still yearns to connect with the townspeople.

Maybe that's why she falls for Chase, the confident local rich kid who motors a flashy boat. By this point, Tate has also abandoned her--he has gone off to college. 

Kya believes Chase's lies--that he loves her and intends to marry her. Only later will Kya comprehend the depth of his deception and it nearly destroys her.

This is an incredible story with many plot twists that keep readers guessing. 

Mired with Kya's story is the story of the town itself and its prejudice towards her. When Chase turns up dead, the sheriff automatically accuses Kya.

Since childhood Kya has collected feathers, shells, and other marsh specimens. Just as Kya uses her intelligence to scientifically catalog her marsh specimens, Kya will use her intelligence to safeguard what she believes rightly belongs to her.  

This debut spent many weeks on the New York Times best-selling list and will soon become a major film.

Saturday, June 1, 2019

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen

Bowen's historical novel, The Tuscan Child, is a gratifying read. 

Joanna and her father, Sir Hugo, couldn't be more different. After his death, Joanna is startled to find a love letter to a woman in Italy. 

Intrigued, Joanna goes to San Salvatore in Italy, to discover more about her father's life. She knew he had crashed while serving in World War II but she had not known the exact location, San Salvatore, a hill town in Tuscany.

Though there are no hotels in San Salvatore, Joanna finds a comfortable place to stay. She feels at home with Paola's family until a strange event occurs. Someone has drowned one of the local men in the well near Joanna's rented room.

Police think Joanna, a foreigner, is suspicious, even though she insists she has nothing to do with the man's murder.

Renzo, the son of a rich landowner in San Salvatore, has a connection to her father and the woman he names in the letter, Sofia Bartoli. Is he the "beautiful boy" her father mentions in the same letter?

The novel takes many twists and turns and Joanna learns what's true and what's false. 

At the Corpus Christi festival she beings to see Renzo in a new light.  Though she does not trust Renzo, something is drawing her and him together.


This is a charming World War II story with light intrigue and light romance.

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