I have been to many of the places covered by Mr. Rice in "Baha to Patagonia." I picked this book up as a little travel reading for my last trip which took me down through southern Patagonia.

My review is weather which apparently followed him around. This made every short story (and I mean every one) an epic, and the reader cannot help but feel elated the author must have done something really really bad in the past in order for him to be followed by such storms. I, on the other hand, had almost next guy, but way too many words are dedicated to how hungry he and his wife are at the end of the day.

3) His wife's fear. At one point, he mentioned how scared she is, and then goes on to say that she had even jumped out of an airplane. Well, I commend her on her parachuting experience, but many women accomplished this feat, and I found it did have knowledge on the flora and fauna within many of the areas he visited. He also did paint a fairly good picture for the reader on the varied environments. This did have substance, unfortunately, the shock value techniques of his storms seemed to drown it out.

The book is better titled "Patagonia to Baja" since the adventures begin at the tip of the continent and work their way back to Baja. The book is divided into 9 adventures which the author and his wife experienced in Chile (4), Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Baja California (for this one, a friend joined him instead of his wife). Each story was exciting and informative. The trips to Chile and Argentina were done without a guide service, while the other trips were guided trips. These were trekking and sea kayaking trips (they camped-out instead of staying in hotels). At times I felt as if I were there with them. I'm planning a South American adventure in the future and found this book to be valuable in giving me insights into this part of the world.

Tarzan and the Forbidden City has all the usual elements of the formula: cruel villians, some comedy, lovely heroines, and threatening wild beasts. The first half of the book was better than average pulp adventure. Here, the pace moved quickly; the story's main conflicts emerged in the midst of Burrough's evocative depictions of the threatening and unknown regions of the African jungle. However, towards the end, the tension bogs down into a series of relentless and wild action sequences where cliffhanger follows upon cliffhanger, stretching the bounds of plausibility, even for a Tarzan story.

"Tarzan and the Forbidden City" was the 20th novel in the Tarzan series and by the time it came out in 1938 Edgar Rice Burroughs was just turning them out by the formula to pay the bills. Adventurer Brian Gregory was seeking the legendary city of Ashair looking for the Father of Diamonds, the biggest gem in the world, but disappeared in the jungle two years later. Tarzan does not care for either Gregory's quest or his fate, but when old friend Paul d'Arnot makes a personal plea for the Lord of the Jungle to guide the rescue mission organized by Gregory's father and sister Helen, he agrees. Also involved is Atan Thome, a stereotypical ERB Eurotrash bad guy, who is also after the Father of Diamonds and has sabotaged the Gregory safari. Everybody arrives at Ashair at which point they are made prisoners by Brulor, the Ashair High Priest, who plans horrible deaths for all of the intruders, thereby explaining why the place is referred to as "the Forbidden City" in the title. Throw into the mix Atka, the sexy queen of Ashair, the rival forbidden city of Thobos led by King Herat, and a tribe of local great apes led by Ungo. So, there is nothing new here, but if you have made it all the way to the 20th Tarzan story then you might as well keep going and push on through the final four books. If anything, "Tarzan and the Forbidden City" continues to evince the idea that Edgar Rice Burroughs was the king of potboilers during the golden age of pulp fiction.

On the plus side, this book is very well organized and is easy to read and understand. It goes through major sections of Daniel and then proceeds to Revelation.

However, the author fails to explain key points in some of his more controversial interpretations. For example, one of his first statements is that the time, times, and half a time is equal to 3,278 years. As this is not an interpretation that I have seen before for this particular item, I would very much like to know how he come up with that number.

This is a pattern that I find throughout the book: the author makes a number of interpretations without backing them up. While this is not a bad description of what one person believes the book of Revelation, if you are looking for an indepth study on prophecy, look elsewhere.

The "Finding Your Soul Mate Journal" is essentially 372 blank and mostly blank pages. You get:

Pages 1 and 2 - Title page and publishing information.
Pages 3 and 5 - Introduction telling you the journal is based on the "Four Rivers of Life" by Angeles Arrien, and why journaling is helpful.
Page 6 (and all even pages thereafter) - 23 blank lines for writing.
Page 7 (and all odd pages thereafter) - The page is split into 4 questions, each with 4 blank lines underneath for your answer: What inspired me? What challenged me? What surprised me? What deeply touched me?

That's it. Essentially a blank book. Admittedly, I bought this journal sight-unseen without the benefit of any reviews, and feel ripped off. These are great questions to journal about, but I would have preferred for Evelyn Rice to simply have give these journaling instructions in her "Finding Your Soul Mate Handbook". There's no need to pay the full price of a book for blank pages.

A clear indication of why you shouldn't interview you friends. No question is challenging, no question is controversial, and the net result is a boring suck-up-athon.

The books assumption is that we can learn a foreign language the way we learn our native one by hearing it. However our native language surrounds us 24 hours a day. The book's title is substandard French as is some of the text. It is not made clear which is and which is not. The basic grammar rules are not explained or reinforced leaving students to puzzle over a language construction. While they may parrot phrases I have noted they have a lot of problems with construction because they don't know the rules.

The workbook has meatier grammar skills than the text. The tapes have rapid-fire speakers that are hard for first year students to understand. The tapes are conversations not repetition exercises. The intent is to gain understanding of the conversation however when one doesn't know the words or how they are said it is hard to follow or understand at the pace the speakers set. There are a nice variety of voices but in learning attempting to adjust to someone who is very soft-spoken may not be the best idea. Clarity in speakers would be much nicer since the idea is to learn French at this stage. The conversational reinforcement for the chapters is lacking.

Advice: Save your money and look elsewhere. At least look at the book and system personally before buying and compare with other systems. Plus: colorful text and good French Culture coverage in the text if you buy it.

The trial of OJ Simpson was one of the famous and controversial events of the 1990s. Now that it is past, we can better see it in perspective. If OJ was guilty, he would have to quickly dispose of the bloody clothes, shoes, knives so they would never be found, yet take home the socks and glove! I don't believe this. The red liquid blood from the two victims says they were murdered around 11:30PM. The limousine driver was there at 10:45 and drove OJ to the airport at this time. OJ was "100 per cent not guilty". The coroner who did the autopsies said "the forensic evidence says the murders occurred after 11PM".

The "Foreword" says laws contain the rules of a society in written (or unwritten) form. They are subject to change, like the conditions that create them. Cicero said "true law is right reason in agreement with nature". But reason varies with people over time, and "nature" is but a name given to a particular set of facts. A better definition of "law" is the power of some groups to use the tool of government to serve their purpose. "Cui bono" said the Romans - "for whose benefit"?

Just at midnight Sunday June 12, 1994 a couple saw the bleeding body of Nicole Brown Simpson. The police were called, and they found the body of Ron Goldman. The Medical Examiner was NOT called, so important evidence vanished forever! That Friday while OJ waited at lawyer Kardashian's home, AC Cowlings came over in his white Bronco and took OJ for a ride.

Page 52 has the claim that Nicole was killed due to jealousy, and Ron because he showed up. The 25-30 stab wounds on Ron suggests a personal hatred, the quick killing of Nicole implies she was the bystander. If Ron physically resembled Nicole's current boyfriend Keith, could it have been a case of mistaken identity?

Page 62 tells that Ron Goldman's work clothing was found in his apartment. This means he walked home to change before leaving again around 10:30PM! The book doesn't tell that he had earlier filed for bankruptcy to discharge $100,000 in debts; who would lend him money to buy a restaurant?

Pages 73-74 summarize the County Coroner's testimony at the trial. You can read the autopsy reports yourself for the description of two knives" single-edged knife, double-edged stilleto. The stab wounds on Ron's right front chest suggest left-handed killer, the wounds on Ron's right back suggest right-handed killer. You can read "Tainting Evidence" by Kelly and Wearnes for more details on the DNA testing in this case.

The highlight of the prosecution was the trying on of the crime scene gloves - they didn't fit! The gloves contained Caucasian limb hair from its previous owner. The Fuhrman tapes, and his refusal to testify again, marked the end of the trial.

Page 101 quotes Darden saying Paula broke up with OJ; her book says she visited him daily in jail, and through the second trial. Pages 107-108 does NOT tell the jury asked for a re-reading of the limousine driver's testimony; this convinced them to vote "not guilty".

Pages 111-113 tell how the trial and verdict was a litmus test of attitudes by blacks and whites. He doesn't say anything about the biased reporting by the media ('TIME' magazine darkened OJ's picture to hide the fact that OJ had no scratches or bruises). Nothing has happened since 1995 to contradict the jury's verdict. The whiney complaints about the verdict and jury system have ceased. ....

Gay (male) Asian Canadians must face the same issues that their American and Australian counterparts do: being a double minority, only being courted by older white men, finding themselves attracted to other Asian men for the first time, etc. This book is a collection of fiction, political articles, drawings, and photographs of up & coming gay Asians, mostly from Toronto. Still, there's something that feels redundant about this book. The book is a quick read. Perhaps because it says nothing that "Q&A" or "Witness Aloud" haven't already said before and better. It has these photos inside but they will remind you of 1970s American gay liberation publications, except featuring Asian men. Further, you can't tell if the photos challenge racist myths or re-inforce them. Women are left out of the picture, as are South Asians and other people of color. Plus, they use the term "rice" unproblematically, almost admitting to non-Asian readers that they are just a dish to be eaten and forgotten. An American voice is included here, but it belongs to Justin Chin who always surprises me that he gets published when so many more gay Asian-Americans write more interesting stuff than his. This book is good for looking at gay East Asians in a comparative, global context. There is an interview with Richard Fung, who is always awesome in every way. And I must remember that people of color face different issues in Canada than they do here. Still, there is something unimpressive about this book.

Rebecca Rice, at age 23, fell in love with a man of 55. They married, and she nursed him through his terminal illness -- a brain tumor which killed him at 62, leaving her a 30 year old widow.

First -- the good -- Ms. Rice appears to be unstintingly honest in her portrayal of herself, her friends, and family. Also, the first part of the book captures the grief of losing a beloved spouse well.

But...then she goes abroad, to Oxford, to take a summer course, and seven months after her husband's death she has thrown herself into an affair with a wonderful man whom she met fortuitously on her fourth day there. Within a year after her husband's death she has moved across country to live with her new love.

Now, I don't object because I don't think that she should fall in love again, or even that it was quick. More power to her! It is to her credit that she neither succumbed to the despair of suicide or self-medication. I object because it comes nowhere near paralleling the usual experience of widowhood.

As a young widow myself (now 2 years into the journey), I felt cheated. I had hoped for more insights into how one reconciles oneself to an immense loss, and not the Romance that it suddenly became.

Or maybe I'm just jealous...

While Badley raises a few interesting points, she takes the literature far too seriously and will lose many readers because of her writing style, which is too heavy with academia. She also seems to have a feminist axe to grind, as she spends a great deal of space writing about feminist elements in the authors' work.

I would recommend looking for this at the library if you feel you must read it. There's not enough here to merit the cover price.