January 2012

     Hey everyone, sorry for not posting here like I norm would but life has been a bit heck it for me. My Wolf and I are finally in our new place and we have not net access unless we go to the nearby BK to log into their WIFI. Not to mention I'm in my last class before I grad with my Associate's in Arts and Comm. Another 5 more mnths to go before I can drop this little wolf. Believe me I can't wait until June comes. Can't to start on Bachelor's next but I'm going to play hell trying to get up in the mornings in time for school *sighs* But I'm going to have to do so with my stepson though just hope I can manage it all with the new baby. We shall find out and see won't we? ;)

Intervention by Kira Harp

Intervention by Kira Harp


My rating: 5 of 5 stars




An impressive and touching story. This one hit a part of me with this short yet it's a powerful read. Gives one hope and worth taking the time to read it.

Violet Tresse by Augusta Li

Violet Tresses by Augusta Li


My rating: 4 of 5 stars




*** Originally it's a 3.5 for me***


A sorta cute fairytale of M/M content that reminded me of Rapunzel and far with an interesting twist and unexpected ending.

Deadly Secrets by Savannah Hartley

Deadly Secrets by Savannah Hartley


My rating: 4 of 5 stars




So many unexpected twists and turns in the story plot and in all honesty it through me for one heck of a loop. It really goes out of the box and beyond this world in fiction. Literally.


All in all I enjoyed this story even for the whackiness and I know there's a book 2 in the works and I sure can't wait for it.


Little secret? The ending surpasses as a cliff-hanger for me that's left me knocking on the author's door and saying: Hurry it up already!

The Tragic Story of Gwen Araujo

Fast Facts

• Full name: Gwen Amber Rose Araujo
  
  
• Born: February 24, 1985 
• Residence: Newark, California 
• Attackers: Michael Magidson, Jaron Nabors, Jose Merel, Jason Cazares

• Died October 4, 2002

• Former name:Edward Araujo, Jr.

• Fact: 

  Gwen Amber Rose Araujo (February 24, 1985 – October 4, 2002, née Edward Araujo, Jr.) was a transgendered teenager who died during or shortly after an attack by multiple individuals. The events leading up to Araujo's death were the subject of a pair of criminal trials in which it was alleged that the attackers were angered by the discovery that Araujo — who, at the time, was living as female — was biologically male. Two of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder, but the jury concluded that no hate crime was committed; two other defendants pleaded guilty or no contest to voluntary manslaughter. The circumstances of the case have caused it to become a rallying point for the LGBT community, and a number of underreported and controversial aspects about the case and about Gwen's murder remain points of contention.  

  
  

  LIFE:  

  Araujo lived in Newark, California. Family members report that she was a happy and energetic child. She expressed the desire to be female from an early age and, just prior to her death, had started to live as a woman. Araujo attended public school and a local church with family members until she began to be ostracized for her sexual identity, at which time she began to withdraw socially. She stopped attending Newark Memorial High School prior to her graduation and began to look for work. She was unable to find a job, which her mother states was the result of intolerance created by her child's gradual transition between genders.

   

  DEATH:  
  Araujo, who was going by the name "Lida" at the time, was introduced to a circle of friends whom she met during a chance encounter while walking down a local street. The group of young adults enjoyed passing the evening hours with party activities that included playing dominos and consuming drugs and alcohol at the home of Araujo's to-be assailants. Araujo was reported to have engaged in sexual activities with at least two of the men from the group. A few weeks later, she was invited back to the house where a party was planned. She wore her mother's peasant blouse to the party, although her mother had asked her not to and expressed discomfort with Araujo's appearance. Araujo told her mother that she was just being jealous. This was the last time Sylvia Guerrero saw her child alive. 
  
   At the party on October 3, 2002 it was discovered, by forced inspection (conducted by a young man at the party), that Araujo had male genitalia. In an explosion of activity, the men that she had had sexual relations with became extremely agitated. Once it was discovered that Araujo was biologically male, Mike Magidson began choking her in the hallway of the house. At this point numerous guests left the residence. Jose Merel and Jaron Nabors remained inside the residence with Mike Magidson. Jason Cazares claimed to go outside at this point; however he did not leave because he had arrived in Mike Magidson's truck. After everyone left, the three assailants continued assaulting Araujo. She was brutally beaten for about 5 hours. Jose Merel struck her over the head with a frying pan and then struck again with a can of tomatoes, causing a gash to her head which bled profusely. Mike Magidson kneed her in the head against the living room wall, with such force that her head caused an indentation in the plaster wall. After this, Araujo was taken to the garage of the home and strangled with a rope. Most accounts have Jose Merel cleaning blood out of the carpet at the time she was strangled. She was then hog-tied, wrapped in a blanket and placed in the bed of a pick-up truck. The three assailants, plus Jason Cazares drove her body to parkland in El Dorado County, California, a wooded area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada known as Silver Fork, where she was finally buried in a shallow grave. It is not clear at what point during this sequence of events Araujo's death occurred. However, the autopsy showed that she died from strangulation associated with blunt force trauma to the head.
  
  
  
  TRIAL:
  Nearly two weeks passed before Araujo's body was discovered by the authorities. For fear of reprisal, the partygoers did not report the crime and the assailants all agreed not to say a word to anyone about the matter. Later, however, Jaron Nabors began talking to a friend about what happened. The friend called the police and Jaron Nabors was later detained and questioned. Under interrogation, Jaron Nabors disclosed the location of Araujo's body. 
  
   Alameda County Sheriff's Office dispatched four crime scene investigators and two detectives who recovered the body at the gravesite. The deputies were led there on October 16, 2002 by Jaron Nabors, the youngest of the four individuals charged with the crime. The four accused of the murder were: Michael Magidson, 22, Jaron Nabors, 19, José Merél, 22 and Paul Merel, Jose's older brother. Paul Merel was quickly released because his girlfriend came forward to the police telling them that Paul had left that night with her. Paul Merel and his girlfriend were never charged and became witnesses for the prosecution. Nabors later testified against the other three in a deal with the DA for a lesser charge of manslaughter after police monitored a jailhouse letter and information gained during a wiretapped telephone conversation with one of the accused. Jason Cazares was arrested over a month after the other defendants, and only after Nabors implicated Cazares in a letter to Nabors' girlfriend, explaining how he (Nabors) wasn't involved in the killing.
  
  
  On December 16, 2005, pursuant to a plea agreement, Cazares entered a no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter with an agreed sentence of six years in prison. He will serve a little more than three years given his time in custody. He, along with Magidson and Merél, were formally sentenced on January 27, 2006. Nabors was sentenced to 11 years in prison, as his plea agreement indicated, on August 25, 2006.
  
  
  REMEMBERANCE:
  Araujo's mother, who referred to her child as her little "Angel", has said publicly that she would like her daughter's case to be influential in changing the disciplinary actions for hate crimes resulting in death to include the death penalty. Sylvia Guerrero and her brother David have appeared publicly and before national media to express their grief and to denounce violence against gender-variant youth.
  

  

  
   Araujo's mother, who referred to her child as her little "Angel", has said publicly that she would like her daughter's case to be influential in changing the disciplinary actions for hate crimes resulting in death to include the death penalty. Sylvia Guerrero and her brother David have appeared publicly and before national media to express their grief and to denounce violence against gender-variant youth. 
  
  
  At Araujo's mother's request, a judge posthumously changed Araujo's legal name from Eddie to Gwen on June 23, 2004.  
  
  A Lifetime Network Movie called A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, starring J.D. Pardo and Mercedes Ruehl, aired on June 19, 2006.
  
  
  NOTE:You can also find this movie and vew the whole thing on YouTube. Just search: Girl Like Me Gwen Araujo.  
  

  

  If you have Netflix the full 'real' story and the trial can be viewed by looking up. Trained in the Ways of Men.

        Trained in the Ways of MenDocumentary filmmaker Shelly Prevost examines the brutal 2002 murder of Gwen Araujo, a transgender teen who was killed by four men enraged to discover that she was actually a biological male, in this nuanced look at gender identity and aggression. The case became a rallying point for the transgender community when the men, who had all been intimate with Araujo, claimed that her deception justified their actions.

   

  Cast: Sylvia Guerrero, Tony Serra, Michael Thorman

  Director: Shelly Prévost

   Genres:Documentaries, Gay & Lesbian Movies, Crime Documentaries, Social & Cultural Documentaries

  This movie is:Violent, Cerebral, Controversial, Dark.

   

  PERSONAL NOTE:

  I watched the Youtube vid and the movie on Netflix and I'm still in shock and that's putting it mildly. I cried my man-tears and I'm quite traumatized by it all. What this poor young 'lady' went through and the tragedy of it all shows how life IS unjust even in today's world. Something that will remain with me the rest of my life after seeing this is Gwen's words alone: LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT!

   

LOL!

Want Me by Rowan McBride

Want Me by Rowan McBride

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story was odd, but quite interesting. Long but worth it. In its own way I was reminded of the flick Freaky Friday, but so different.

Imagine if you will you have the shy boy and the football jock sharing a room with this young man. You man infatuates with the body of the jock and places a spell so the jock reacts every time the words 'Want Me' are spoken. Each time the young shy man has an orgasm their bodies are altered where eventually the roles are reversed. Curse? Obsession? Jealousy? Desire? I'm still trying to figure that one out so you'll have to read this one in order to come to your own conclusion.

I personally had to keep reading it just to see how the story would end. I'm not one that reads the ending first and then gets to the story. :gasps: It's a SIN too!

You can like/hate the characters. It's a coin toss between the two and a fine line only the reader can conclude.

Maladaptation by L.A. Fields

Maladaptation by L.A. Fields

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I found the story disturbing yet interesting in its own way. It's this little town with what I would refer to as this little cult that uses their own means to try and 'correct' teenagers who do not meet their parents expectations, but more like this: The child unlike the previous book I read 'Bootcamp' where the children were tossed by their parents for misbehaving in their eyes, the teens in this book were different. This book was an easier read and even easier to stomach and follow. The parents tossed the kids out to foster parents who kept eye on them while they went to meets and had to follow rules, but weren't not subjected that I could see to physical punishment. The punishment was more to affecting their psych. For instance, the one boy that this story was mainly about named Marley had his boxes of books taken away because they were blasphemous, evil in content and were corruptive to a healthy mind.

Take away my books and I'd rip the gorge outta your throat.

The story consists of different children and diff reasons for them being in this town and tossed out like they were leaches, freaks, diabolical and condemnable in the eyes of God. All hokey if you ask me, but you be the judge and jury.

What I'd like to see is a follow up to this story. I'm not saying the ending, but I was pleased with the outcome to this and I'd like to know where this teens are now and what might have became of them. :zipping my lips: T'is all I'm saying.

Out today!

Mage of Silence by Edward Kendrick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A truly great story with memorable characters that you won't grow to love, you'll just love them period.

Another great from this author and friend!

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's horrifying to read this book and come to realize that no matter how much you hear about the existence of boot camps, what occurs in them. I'm a Canadian and I've only heard of one in existence in Ontario and they're shutting the damn lot down after investigating it thoroughly. But aside from that...

The author of this book takes you into the reality of a boot camp. It's a hard story to swallow and I'm going to tell you how while I sat here reading it every nerve ending in my body jumped, every emotion ripped through my like a lightening bolt and I was nauseous and left somewhat traumatized by this story. I tell you now it's not a light read in any shape or form. Not one iota, but I do like that the author gets the word out there that 'let's face it folks it's all to damn real!'

Looking for angst? It's in this book. But if you're a sensitive reader? Stand back and move past this one. If you can take and your balls are brass and your tough as nails? Go for it.

In all I did enjoy this book, but now I'm ready to tackle something with a little less impact on my mental state of mind that's not too stable in thought pattern at the moment after this story.

The following is a trailer to this book. NOT FOR THE FAINT!

I'M PROUD

If you're gay, it's a sin.
If you're bi-sexual, you're confused. 

If you're skinny, you're on drugs. 

If you're fat, you look nasty. 

If you're dressed up, you're conceited. 

If you speak your mind, you're a bitch. 

If you don't say anything, you're stupid. 

If you cry, you're a wimp. 

If you're a girl with lots of male friends, you're a hoe. 

If you're a guy with lots of female friends, you're a player.

You cannot do anything without being criticized. We live in a society where people can't survive if they are not judging the next person. 

Love me or hate me, but you will never change me.

I am PROUD of who I am. Are you? If so paste this to your blog. 

January 2012

     Hey everyone, Welcome Back Nat :) Hope everyone is enjoying the new year? I have some good news I will be out of school on March 11th of this year with my Associate's in Arts and Comm *party time giggles* Bad news is my stepson is now sick. No fever but as we all know children can spike fevers at any time. So I'm pushing the fluids like peppermint tea to help soothe his upset tummy. Even though I am putting my health at rish nursing him back to health I would do for any child or person that I love dearly :) I just found out that I have a friend that lives over in Scotland that just had surgery. He's doing fine now but he's also taking anti cancer meds to make sure that whatever it was removed doesn't come back. We also just told my stepson about me being pg. So far he's handling the news pretty good it just hasn't fully sunk in yet with him. Love you all *hugs everyone* Demon, I know you are doing better. Should have your story completed before this year is over and sent to you :)

New year, "new" resolution ???

Every new year, the same pattern: for a couple of weeks, it is fashionable to say "Happy New Year" 50 times a day. And don't you dare forget the rules:

• do not forget anyone
• do not say it twice to the same person... it's rude!
• Smile... and mean it please...
• if you have an email address, type "Happy New Year" and click "send to all"
• if you have a cell phone,... ditto

How many of those "Happy New Year" do you really mean? I'm not talking about those said to your loved ones, or friends... I'm talking about those you say to other people: to your colleague who stabbed you in the back 1 week prior... To your neighbour who always rails at you because you wake him up with your shower at 7 a.m.... To the clerk at the post-office who closes his counter after you've been waiting for 10 minutes (or was it 15?)...

I've never liked hypocrisy but as most of you, I must play by these social rules. However, and I don't know why, I'm pretty unsociable this year. (Ahh... you've noticed too!)

So after having been asked 10 times today "what resolution did you make for 2012?" After answering 9 times: "None" and getting the "Really??? ... you're sure? "... I can now say that I have one for 2012: to stop being hypocritical.

And like all new years' resolutions, such as... to stop smoking or to do 10 push-ups every morning (what is "new" about those by the way?), mine will last 10 days at most.

And that's the fun about it, isn't it?