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  Esoteric Renaissance : It Is Officially Summer—local Brush Fire <![CDATA[ Well, I guess we can officially declare it Summer. I got off the bus today and was greeted with the sight in this photo. Ironically, I also seemed to be the only one walking down the road who even noticed this mass of dark smoke to the southeast. *sigh*<br /> <br /> From what I'm hearing on the NBC4 broadcast, this is right near the oddly shaped boulder from which Eagle Rock, CA gets it's name.<br /> <br /> It's interesting to note the Glendale Fire Captain they're interviewing right now has said there is no longer such a thing as "fire season" as far as Glendale Fire Department is concerned. Having watched how many of the recent fires we've experienced in Southern California happen at "odd" times of year, I'd have to agree. We've seen them start up everywhere from March to November, sometimes January when it's warmer.<br /> <br><br>Another interesting note: The Fire Captain speaking on NBC4 has said they do not suspect arson for this, but more a result of windborn embers. Yet, LA Times is <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/four-suspicious-fires-burning-in-eagle-rock-area.html" title="LA Times article">reporting the fires as "suspicious"</a>.<br /> <br /> I'd actually be interested in seeing the numbers for how many of these "off season" fires are the result of mankind lending a helping hand to the destruction.<br /> <br /> Currently it's still a voluntary evacuation situation. Evacuees are being sent to the Glendale Civic Auditorium on Verdugo Rd, across from Glendale Community College.<br><br><br><br><hr><br><br> ]]>

  ~1 year on
  Esoteric Renaissance
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  Esoteric Renaissance : GoodReads Reviews - 29 July 2009 I read...a lot.
  
  Rather than spam this blog with a new review every day or two, as I read that many books most weeks, I've collected the reviews of the last week into one post. A couple of these are older books that I read a while back, but did not have a chance to post reviews of earlier as the blog was still in hiatus. The last three books, Books 1-3 of the "Fever" series by Karen Marie Moning, are the first three of five. A full review will come after the entire series is complete. The ratings are a good indication of my initial feelings upon first reading these three over the weekend in between Blogathon posts/prep.
  
  

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  Fast Ships, Black Sails by Ann VanderMeer
  
  
  My rating: 3 of 5 stars
  Not as good as I was expecting after reading the Steampunk anthology. Took a long time to get through it as I had trouble getting into many of the stories, despite being written by some of my favorite authors.
  
  "Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik and "Elegy for Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores and Righteous Thieves" by Kelly Barnhill were, perhaps, the two pieces I enjoyed the most. Each one had a depth to the characters I found sadly lacking in many of the other stories -- although "Iron Face" by Michael Moorcock was a nice vignette, I found it too short a piece to bring up the general level of quality in the anthology as a whole. I would have liked to see one of his longer works included.
  
  

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  Divine Evil by Nora Roberts
  
  
  My rating: 3 of 5 stars
  Normally, I really like Nora Roberts' stories. The plotlines and character developments are generally intriguing and three-dimensional. But, I didn't get that from this one. The two main characters were likable enough and the story kept me reading without getting bored.
  
  Still, I can't say it was one of her best works. It was fairly easy to guess at the 'Big Bad' and, while the characters were likable, some seemed to almost slip into a caricature of "small town people" -- the town gossip, the town whore, the barkeep, the green deputy, the 'outsiders' from the city. And, while there was tension between the two main characters, the relationship between didn't seem to really struggle at all. It was a fait accomplis almost from the first kiss, give or take a couple shouting matches.
  
  All in all, enjoyable, but not spectacular.
  
  

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  Steampunk by Jeff VanderMeer
  
  
  My rating: 4 of 5 stars
  A very comprehensive collection and excellent overview of the genre. The essays covering the roots of the genre were of particular interest to me. Some may find two or three of the tales a bit on the dark side. But I like dark.
  
  

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  Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
  
  
  My rating: 4 of 5 stars
  
  
  Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning
  
  
  My rating: 4 of 5 stars
  
  
  Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
  
  
  My rating: 4 of 5 stars
  
  
  
  
  View all my reviews >>
  
  
  
  
  

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  ~1 year on
  Esoteric Renaissance
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  EsoRen 'Thon : Quick Update on the Goodie Bag Drawing Trivia is officially closed. I am currently tallying up the totals. I'm going to give a $5 sponsorship and a raffle ticket to anyone who answered correctly, not just the first answer, as there were some answers provided via email due to issues registering here on the site and it would be unfair to penalize those who responded to the questions after responses were received in email as there was no way for them to know.
  
  The drawing itself will not happen until Saturday, however. We realized that, with sponsorships open until the 31st, it would be unfair to anyone who sponsors us after the drawing if we were to draw the winner of the goodie bag before sponsorships officially closed.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  ~1 year on
  Esoteric Renaissance
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  EsoRen 'Thon : Quick Update on the Goodie Bag Drawing <![CDATA[ Trivia is officially closed. I am currently tallying up the totals. I'm going to give a $5 sponsorship and a raffle ticket to anyone who answered correctly, not just the first answer, as there were some answers provided via email due to issues registering here on the site and it would be unfair to penalize those who responded to the questions after responses were received in email as there was no way for them to know.<br /> <br /> The drawing itself will not happen until Saturday, however. We realized that, with sponsorships open until the 31st, it would be unfair to anyone who sponsors us after the drawing if we were to draw the winner of the goodie bag before sponsorships officially closed.<br><br><br><br><br><br><hr><br><br> ]]>

  ~1 year on
  Esoteric Renaissance