http://www.emlynley.com/blog/2013/06/deputy-joe-sneak-peek-james-buchanan/

Laying Ghosts is a many-layered story. There’s a mystery to be solved, as well as a lot of family drama and relationship changes and growth for Joe and Kabe. Joe is a wonderful first-person narrator. He comes across as a bit of a redneck and sometimes a bit too stuck on the rules, but inside he’s much more. He’s a sharp investigator, a loyal lover, son, and brother, and much more emotional than his tough exterior would reveal.

via LAYING GHOSTS by James Buchanan | Joyfully Reviewed.

snagged from Joe My God

This is a Pasadena staple. It’s been around for years.

The sushi is not perfection, but it is damn good for the price and the fact that it is made in batches and sent floating around on boats. They do have someone culling it once it’s been around a few too many times.  There’s a bit of Sashimi coming around, most of the fair is hardier fish or mixes (like spicy tuna rolls, or spicy crab roll in a jalapeno and then tempura fried, spider rolls, etc.). You’re not going to get the best Spanish Mackerel or elitist belly tuna…but it’ll be good for a sushi craving when you want to try your luck at what’s on the plate (sometimes it’s a guess …although if you ask they’ll tell you), you can order specific sushi, but what’s the fun in that. This place is far more about the lighter ambiance than the food.

Take a few friends, have a couple large Japanese beers and share plates. Our discovery…the 12year old (who asked for this place as a B-day dinner [as opposed to a more upscale sushi bar here in Pas we often dine at]) likes uni. Who knew that fish eggs ruled for that age group.

But it’s a decent sushi place with good food and a fun atmosphere…A Float is good for a meal.

I’m going to start to blog about the attempts to maintain a self sustainable lifestyle in an urban setting which we regularly engage in to varying levels of success. I’ll sort them under the category “urban survivalist,” so if you don’t want to hear about this that’s the category you should unsubscribe.

Cheese. We love it, the fresher the better. My guy, SG, has been online looking at Mozzarella making…because he makes homemade pizza (deep and thin — daymn good). So he found a recipe, went to the not quite local beer/wine/cheese making shop in Van Nuys, and got citric acid and rennit tabs (’cause killing a calf and rendering down the stomach lining is not going to happen in the middle of Pasadena). 1gallon of whole milk…from the organic grocer so that it’s pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized, and hormone free.  About $4, US.

Yeah, do the recipe and that gives us two fist size balls of what I would call a solid farmer’s cheese. I can buy 3x as much at Costo for less. And the result is more akin to a mild feta or firm ricotta than anything resembling mozzarella. Good taste, mind you, Princess loves it (and I love anything that will get her to consume dairy) and it’s decent crumbled over a light salad, but it’s not the texture of fresh mozzarella that I’m used to.

I like to know the process of a hot milk cheese. There are obviously magical, mojo, shaking rattle steps over the pot elements that the “oh so simple” recipes we’ve found leave out. Those, apparently, are critical to cheese making.

This I’ll chalk up to a not quite fail, since we got something edible out of it.

“Finally, the subjective well-being of BDSM participants was higher than that of the control group. Together, these findings suggest that BDSM practitioners are characterized by greater psychological and interpersonal strength and autonomy.”

via Study: Bondage Aficionados Are Better-Adjusted Than Most.

With an unusual hero, great characters, and an interesting storyline, Laying Ghosts is a great read. Anyone who hasn’t read this series ought to pick up the first book ASAP.

via LAYING GHOSTS by James Buchanan | Joyfully Reviewed.

“In a short letter dated May 2, a Navy official told Autumn Sandeen, a veteran and transgender activist: “Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System DEERS has been updated to show your gender as female effective April 12, 2013.”

via Pentagon Recognizes Transgender Veteran, Advocates See A “Shift”.

Winners of the Geoff Mains Non-fiction Book Award are Lee Harrington and Mollena Williams for “Playing Well With Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Exploring and Navigating the Kink, Leather and BDSM Communities.” Honorable mention in this category goes to Tristan Taormino (ed.) for “The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge.”

In the John Preston Short Fiction category, the winner is Annie Cox for “Muriel” (Pink Flamingo Press). Honorable mention for short story goes to I.G. Frederick & Patrick for ““Aunt” Grace” (Smashwords Edition).

Winner of the Samois Anthology Award is Elizabeth Coldwell (ed.), “LIPSTICK LOVERS” (Xcite Books). The honorable mention goes to Wes Royal (ed.), for “Whatever Lola Wants (and Other Wicked Tales)” (FDC Publication).

Victorious in the Pauline Reage Novel category is L. M. Somerton for “The Portrait’ (Total-E-Bound). The judges were unable to concur on second place honors this year with 27 novels submitted for consideration. Honorable mentions therefore go to The Masters of Falcon’s Fantasies by Cassidy Browning & Reggie Alexander (Siren Publishing), Power Exchange by A. J. Rose (Voodoo Lily Press), Eve Portrait of Submission by Steve Maser (Pink Flamingo Publications), Beyond the Edge by Elizabeth Lister (MLR Press) and A Forbidden Love by Lee Dorsey (Pink Flamingo Publications).

The winner of the Cynthia Slater Non-fiction Article Award for the second year in a row is Mollena Williams, this time for “On Collars And Closure and Owning Myself” which appeared in her blog The Perverted Negress at http://www.mollena.com/. Ms. Williams also earned second place in this category for “Digging in the Dirt – The Lure of Taboo Role Play”, which appeared in Tristan Taormino’s (ed.) “The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge” (Cleis Press).

Nominations for literary works published in 2013 will open late this year.