Thank you, both for the suggestions! 🙂 It’s a church camp, and last year I brought some *award winners* from when I was a kid . . . well, some of the things were too yucky for the girls. I was thinking, Island of the Blue Dolphin-type stuff; strong female character; survival; autonomy. But when the characters ended up gutting birds, etc., the girls lost interest. Your suggestions are exactly what I was looking for.

I’ll be taking those lists to the library – almost everything is on-tape any more.

Girls – I’m in need of book suggestions for 5-6th graders. I’m counseling at a camp for a week and like to have a book-on-tape for the girls to listen to as they drift off to sleep. 😀 My kids are boys, and the kids I work with are little, so I’m looking for some suggestions from you all. What books did you really like when you were 11 or 12? They’ve got to be “clean”, but aside from that, anything goes.

Ahhh, yes, I see, but were you around in 1969? :woot: Or is this just some urban internet legend that has a life of it’s own.

Anyway, interesting dating system there.

😀 I don’t think I’d want anyone to know I monkey message, if you know what I mean 😉 Conjurs up images of deranged Capuchin monkeys. For those of you who don’t remember organ grinders’ monkeys, click here.

Where are folks getting these names? I mean the Wii is silly enough, now it’s monkeys, what’s next?

Ditto on the Lovecraft stories. He has a few collections if you just want to get a taste of his writings. Weird and a bit disturbing, but fun anyway.

My favorite book of late, is Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. A description from a fan site “Ender’s Game is a science fiction novel that tells the story of Andrew Wiggin (nicknamed Ender by his sister, Valentine.) The story takes place on Earth in the future. Earth has been attacked twice by an alien species called Buggers, nearly destroying the human race. Mankind begins training young geniuses to become soldiers and commanders to fight in Earth’s defence if the Buggers should ever attack again. Ender is extremely intelligent, and at the age of six years old, he goes to Battle School to be trained. Ender quickly rises to the top in Battle School and begins training in order to command Earth’s fleet.”

There is a twist at the end; I highly recommend this book for a quick read. There are others in the series, but none comes close to the appeal and fun of Ender’s Game.

Oh – and 1984 by George Orwell is a must-read! Sad to say I didn’t read it in high school or college, but am now. Uncanny similarities to current situations.

I see you’ve already read it; but if anyone else hasn’t, do pick it up!

Tea Granny – congratulations! I love the way you got your name; and that you jump right in and help any and all with your sage advice; not only in the technical areas, but also in the real-life arena.

Enjoy your special status, girl – you deserve it.

Oh if we had IMing back then . . . My husband had to work about 3 hours away for 7 months . . . He’d leave on Monday morning around 5, live there through the week and get home Friday around 9 (there was a time change). Then he’d be home for the weekend. It was tough, with two little kids and me teaching at nights. We emailed like crazy during the day – almost IM, but not quite as responsive and called when we could. This has the potential for keeping folks together even when work demands they not be; e.g. soldiers, truckers, engineers.

On a *beware* note though, a good friend met someone online – probably 690 miles apart (both married with school-aged kids), they met several times IRL, decided to divorce . . . she did . . . he didn’t . . . she’s now raising the kids on her own. Always keep your perspective whether you’re dating online or in town. Things are not always what they seem.

I was referring to the USA team’s effort as weak. They just didn’t seem to be driven to win. They did catch a few breaks but couldn’t captialize on them.

The rest of the games that I’ve been able to watch have been lots of fun; truly passionate players giving it their all.:woot: