Tag: Chris Hemsworth

In the Heart of the Sea

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This book combines my two favorite reading subjects: impossible  survival, and the sea.

In the Heart of the Sea details the incredible true story of 20 Nantucket whalers in 1821.  Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly marries careful research, psychology, and biology with a heart-wrenching account of human suffering and strength to create a novel of resounding intensity.

The crew of the Essex was sunk in the Pacific by a bull Sperm Whale.  A whale, described by First Mate Owen Chase, as having a very human concern for its slain brethren.  Chase described the attack as deliberately vindictive, a prospect that was beyond terrifying to the whalers.

They drifted on the open Pacific, living on 1.5 ounces of hardtack and half a pint of water  a day for 96 days.  Exposed to sun, raging storms, wind, and rain, sores covered their entire bodies and they lost two-thirds of their body weight.  They resorted to cannibalism, forced to eat their dead shipmates and even came to once drawing lots, shooting a crew member and devouring his corpse.

The story is one of leadership, despair, resilience, ingenuity, and sacrifice.  It is an account of personal strength and a testament to the human spirit.  Do not miss this book!

In 2014, a film adaptation will be released starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, and Ben Wishaw (so…Thor, Scarecrow and Q).

I CAN’T WAAAAIIT!

The Avengers

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

I can’t even tell you how excited I am for The Avengers to hit theaters!

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to vacation at the family beach house in Ventura.  The bedroom I slept in had a chest of drawers and in the bottom drawer was a mountain of original Marvel and DC comic books.  There were Spiderman and Batman, Justice League and Avengers comics piled so high that the drawer barely closed.  I used to sit on the floor at the foot of the bed for hours, reading and rereading all these strange, colorful stories.

And so I became enamored of the Marvel Universe (Batman was a separate favorite).  Naturally, I went to see all the Marvel movies when they came out.

I absolutely adore Robert Downey Jr.  The first movie I saw that he starred in was Iron Man.  It is one of my very favorite movies, Iron Man 2 was better though.

I saw The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor.  

And those movies were good.  Really good.  I love action movies, attractive people and super heroic snazziness.  And Marvel movies have those three things in spades.

My sisters are  on their first backpacking trip, and they get back Friday.

They’re super cool and they like all the same actors and actresses as I do, so we’re going to have a freak-out party in the theater when we go to see it the night they get back.

Oh yes, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth (not a fan of Liam but Chris is amazing), Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson all in one movie????

It is going to be magnificent.  I can’t wait!!!