My Current Interest

                 My favorite vampire sleuth is back in this second book of the series.   This time Simon is off to be part of a writers’ conference held at the home of Lady Hermione Kinsale.   She has brought together a group of respected authors for what is supposed to be an educational and inspiring week for aspiring writers.   Then the unexpected happens: an imposter and a murder.                                During the conference, well-known author Dorinda Darlington is killed.   Well, she is but she is not. The true Dorinda Darlington is Simon.   He uses the name as a pen name in order to keep his true identity a secret.   The reason he was invited to the conference is for the historical books Simon writes under his own name.   To tell the truth, Simon was not too thrilled about going to the conference in the first place.   Then he saw the name Dorinda Darlington on the name of presenters.   Simon knew an imposter would be at the conference.   In order to figure out what wa

                    Sometimes a restaurant can fall apart because of one person.   Often the owners know there is a problem somewhere, but they do not know for certain who or what is causing it.   That is where the show Mystery Diners comes in.   Charles Stiles and his team set up cameras throughout the restaurant and send people in undercover in order to figure out what is really going on when the boss is away.                                Most often the people calling in Mr. Stiles are owners, but there have been a few managers as well.   They all usually have a suspicion as to who is creating the trouble, and Mr. Stiles directs the attention towards that person.   He sends in team members posing as new employees, customers, and vendors.   They interact with the suspect in an effort to bring out the bad behavior.   As the cameras are rolling, the owner sits in a nearby control room with Mr. Stiles.   They get very uncomfortable with what they witness.   If Mr. Stiles did not

                  When the brochure for the Milwaukee Ballet’s 2012-13 season arrived last year I came across Genesis in the line-up.   An International Choreographic Competition, I knew it was something I wanted to see.   I was curious to discover what up and coming choreographers were creating.   For months I waited for this event.   Finally, this past weekend, it arrived.                              The competition featured three different choreographers.   Each created a segment of dance about twenty minutes long.   All had their own story, costumes, lighting, music, and dancers.   There were two awards the choreographers had a chance to win.   First was the one chosen by a panel judges.   The other was the Audience Favorite Award which was decided by the audience.   After every performance, the audience was asked to vote for their favorite segment.   As all three works were quite different from each other, I was very interested to see the results of the voting.           

                 Did you know Dracula had a daughter?   According to the animated movie Hotel Transylvania he does.   Dracula (Adam Sandler) keeps his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), hidden away in the hotel he runs as a safe haven for other monsters.   He is a devoted father and he does not want Mavis to get hurt by the humans of the outside world.   Throughout Mavis’ childhood this is fairly easy for Dracula to do.   Then Mavis turns 118 and everything changes.                 Dracula promised Mavis that when she turned 118 years old she could go out and explore the world.   The day has now come and Mavis cannot wait to venture out.   Dracula agrees to let Mavis go, but only for a short time as there is a hotel full of guests waiting to celebrate her birthday.   He suggests a village she can get to and back from quickly.   Mavis agrees this village is a good plan and she sets off on her adventure.   What Mavis does not know is the village her father is sending her to is fake.