AQUA EROTICA ed. by mary anne mohanruj

AQUA EROTICA edited by mary anne mohanraj. New York: Random House, 2000. 208pp. including notes on the contributors. paperback, waterproof.

AQUA EROTICA is a collection of eighteen stories involving sex and relationships revolving around a watery theme. Such notables as Carol Queen and Cecelia Tan have contributed short stories. The stories themselves are a talented blend of erotica and literary devices. They offer up contrasting vignettes from invented and actual lives.

The waterproofing on the pages renders them thicker than found in ordinary books. Those who like relaxing in a tub or pool with a good steamy book will certainly enjoy this one.

~sapphoq reviews books and more

ANONYMIZER.NET 9/24/06

Anonymizer offers free limited proxy services and a paid variation which includes blocking X-controls, spyware scanning, and digital shredding. After trying the freeware, I quickly converted to a paid account and I have never regretted it. Some may argue that I am excessive about the security of my computer since I also have Kapersky, SpyGuard, SpyBlaster, PopUpSmasher, C-Cleaner, G-Zapper, Ad-Aware Personal, Spybot, HiJack This and Sandboxie installed on the thing and I use them regularly. I don't care. I like my electronic privacy even if there are companies out there and a government hellbent on denying me the same. But I digress.

A couple of days ago, Anonymizer sent me a form letter about beta-testing their new anti-Spam protect your-personal-email-addy product and I agreed. Yahoo also offers the ability to create disposable e-mail addys but the Anonymizer service has more options. While Yahoo limits members to two a year, with the Anonymizer service, I can create upto 1000 disposable e-mail addys. Additionally, they integrate seamlessly with an e-mail account of my choosing. I have had no difficulty using the service with a POP3 access account and via my Incredimail client. AND, I can also invite friends to try it out and create accounts for them.

Way to go Anonymizer!!!
~sapphoq reviews books and more

COREL PAINT SHOP PRO X by Dave Huss and Lori J. Davis

COREL PAINT SHOP PRO X: The Official Guide, by Dave Huss and Lori J. Davis.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. large paperback, 406 pps including index.

sapphoq reviews says:
I discovered PaintShopProX several months ago and has spent many delightful hours creating art. Some of the art has been in one small non-juried art show in Pennsylvania and was also recently included in an on-line gallery at OtherHoodLights e-Journal. I have been looking for a book about PaintShopPro X in bookstores in vain until last week. Now it is here and it was definately worth the wait.

sapphoq

FLOATING OFF THE PAGE by Ken Wells, ed 8/28/06

Floating Off the Page: the Best Stories from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL's "MIDDLE COLUMN," Ken Wells, ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. 282 pps., including index of contributors.

Ken Wells collected 67 stories from the Wall Street Journal's Middle Column. If these stories are representative, then the average non-reader of the Journal has truly missed out on a great column. Topics run the gamut from a dispute on just how the Christian scriptures should be translated into Klingon to why camps have to pay up or forgo singing such traditionals as "Happy Birthday" to carrots to the ethics of vegetarianizing your feline or canine pet/companion to street musicians. Definately worth a look-see. Expect to spend some time hooting in laughter while taking in the deeper meaning of it all.

~sapphoq reviews

SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC by Paul Kurtz 8/19/06

Skeptical Inquirer: The magazine for science and reason. Vol.30, #5. Sept-Oct 2006.
"Science and the Public" by Paul Kurtz, pp. 13-19

Skeptical Inquirer admittedly is not a magazine for everyone. It is connected with the Center for Inquiry in Buffalo NY [a place I have visited] and part of its' mission is to scientifically investigate claims of the paranormal variety. "Science and the Public" attempts a summation of the past three decades of Skeptical Inquirer. The past thirty years has seen a decrease in public interest in paranormal claims coupled with an increase in interest in complementary and holistic medicines.

An excerpt from page 16 follows:
*Eyewitness subjective testimony uncritically accepted without corroboration is a potential source of deception (in accounts of molestation, reports of apparitions, past-life regression, UFO visitations, etc,).
*Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.
*The burden of proof rests with the claimant, not the investigators,
*Paranormal reports are like unsinkable rubber ducks; no matter how many times they are submerged, they tend to surface again.
*There is widespread gullibility and will to believe expressed by certain segments of the population, fascinated by mystery and magical thinking and willingness to accept tales of the occult or supernatural.
*In some cases, but surely not all, blatant fraud and chicanery may be observed, even in young children.
*In evaluating evidence, watch out for hidden bias and self-deception pro and con (including your own) to determine if something is a pseudoscience or not.
*There is no easily drawn demarcation line between science and pseudoscience, for one may be dealing with a proto-science. [end of excerpt].

Within the excerpt is a veritable wellspring of wisdom.
Kudos to Paul Kurtz for writing an excellent article.

~sapphoq reviews