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Book review: William Prystauk’s Bloodletting

Angel Ackerman 4 Comments

It has felt like ages that I’ve wanted to read William Prystauk’s Bloodletting—  so I purchased this new edition with great anticipation.

The book description and cover make it quite apparent that Bloodletting merges genres and has its own style: part mystery, part love story, quite erotic, yet all romantic. The character of Denny Bowie and his viewpoint present a man who won’t compromise who he is, brimming with intelligence, counter-culturalism, passion and curiosity. 

Denny’s lifestyle won’t appeal to everyone and his fantasies and desires may make some readers squeamish. In the end, Denny merely wants to find the person(s) who accepts him and loves him for who he is. 

The mystery combines murder, sex and greed. Prystauk artfully and ingeniously uses multiple techniques to weave a first-person narrative that includes information and scenes that Denny did not witness.

The characters throughout the story never fall flat. Every one of them has a flaw or a trait that builds them as real people and not the stereotypes they could be because of their involvement in the BDSM community. 

By the end of the book, I had to know the answer to the mystery and even once that was revealed there was still the emotional denouement of what would happen between Denny and his love interest(s).

Adventure in Rock Creek Park

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Today we took a winter’s walk in Rock Creek park.

Many people were jogging. And walking dogs off-leash. One spry pup dig holes relentlessly. See him here:

https://youtu.be/HKYyoNTuMSI

And upon leaving the park, we discovered a lovely neighborhood of 1950s modern homes, amazing in their architecture and how they aged seamlessly.

And then we discovered deer in someone’s yard trying to return to the park.

Our social justice tour

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I wanted to come to Washington, D.C., to visit my friend, M. I intended to come last weekend but didn’t because of the forecasted snow storm.

My teen wanted to come, but I rescheduled the trip for this weekend and she had school… so I thought… what if we made it a social justice tour in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

So, I signed her out of school to “explore social justice in our nation’s capital.”

We ended up on the campus of Georgetown University’s Law Center. And had a sandwich nearby where I tried my first pastrami.

I don’t know why I never had pastrami before.

We then attended a rally for Marzieh Hashemi, the African-American journalist and American citizen who lives in Iran and works for the English language Iranian Press. She is also a Muslim convert.

Marzieh recently came home to the United States to visit family when she found herself “kidnapped” by the FBI and transferred to two different detention facilities, where she was not offered halal food nor allowed to wear her hijab.

I had heard Marzieh’s story on NPR’s Morning Edition and saw M posting some updates on her situation on Facebook. When he mentioned a rally and protest today, I wanted to go.

She called her 11-day imprisonment an act of “intimidation” and encouraged all of us to make sure we make a difference with our lives because we will all eventually die.

Meanwhile, my daughter ended up on Iranian TV. See the little blue globe in the photo and the brown haired girl in the jean jacket? That’s my baby.

Check out my YouTube videos of this event:

The beginning of the event:

https://youtu.be/1Bl4A5NoE7g

Marzieh’s son talks about growing up in a home that the FBI raided without reason:

https://youtu.be/BAOPut6jVH4

Marzieh arrives:

Marzieh speaks:

https://youtu.be/ZcgL2Iog0s8

Dime Show Review has my ten word story live

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

Last weekend, I got the news that Dime Show Review will publish my ten word story, “Stoicism.”

While still working in the newsroom, I earned the reputation of “word count goddess” so I thought a ten-word story was a challenge I could enjoy.

It’s now live, so check out Dime Show Review.

https://www.dimeshowreview.com/stoicism-by-angel-ackerman/https://www.dimeshowreview.com/stoicism-by-angel-ackerman/

A new review on Crash Palace Productions and… car shopping?

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

Recently (which in my universe means more than a week ago and somehow I didn’t notice), Billy Crash published the latest in our mother-daughter movie reviews on the horror web site, Crash Palace Productions. Please have a look:

http://crashpalaceproductions.com/2018/10/21/boys-in-the-trees/

I have survived life as a marching band mom one more season, somehow navigated various minefields at work and now find myself car shopping.

During the summer, my beloved Altima and I had what I consider a premature end. My husband bought a car he has wanted for quite some time, a Nissan Juke. He is smitten with it, but I am not.

He recently received a promotion. I am working more and also working more erratic hours. This, when combined with a teenaged daughter, means we may soon become a two car household.

Since I have a car, I am in no rush and I am frugal. I am comparing leasing vs. buying and new vs. used.

And it’s exhausting.

I spent my day off today at two Kia dealerships. And drove various used cars, too.

My walking tour of Salisbury

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We finished the official 5k volkssport walk in Salisbury, Maryland, with almost 2 hours before the bus came to pick us up and drive us off to the racetrack in Dover, Delaware.

Dunkin Donuts had alerted me via their app that the Ravens won yesterday so I could get a free medium coffee. I googled the nearest Dunkin from our hotel (La Quinta) and asked Gayle if she were up for another adventure. She said sure.

Off we went.

On the way we passed a Wawa and a Goodwill. My ears perked up.

After a straight shot one mile walk, I got my coffee and a spider donut with a munchkin head. We stopped at Family Dollar and also at Goodwill. I bought a shirt, a blouse, a dress, and two sweaters for $31.

We still got back with an hour to spare.

Brief update: Cape May Eastern Shore Maryland volkssport trip

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

Today is the third and final day of the Liberty Bell Wanderers bus trip to Eastern Shore Maryland.

These trips include volkssport walks of 5 or 10K daily and some sightseeing highlights.

Unfortunately internet and free time have both been unpredictable so I’ve been posting more on YouTube and Instagram that blogging.

On Instagram, check out the hashtag #theadventuresofPJtheBear.

This is a tractor trailer at the grain mill at Purdue Chicken in Easton, Maryland:

https://youtu.be/cLMjk0Rol7E

This is a brief video of the weird little rail system in Cape May:

https://youtu.be/rpsziLk0vtA

Now, I am just starting to edit video on my phone so these are poorly & sloppily edited but this ferry might have been my favorite part of the trip:

https://youtu.be/FbJ4SkUyiAY

This cruise on the Patriot in The Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Saint Michael’s are definitely my second favorite:

https://youtu.be/S0ZtdAtQnd0

https://youtu.be/3ZiQCLar6xM

On the road again…

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

I’ve meant several times to blog but PJ and I are on the road again, with Gayle and her niece/practically twin sister Bonnie (oh the joys of having a large family), on the Liberty Bell Wanderers weekend bus trip.

This three day adventure will take us to Cape May and the eastern shore of Maryland so stay tuned.

I woke at 4:30 this morning and some household snafus had me running at least ten minutes late. This bothered me as I am an extremely punctual person.

I am wearing my Wilson Warrior Marching Band t-shirt as red is the Liberty Bell Wanderers color and today is homecoming. I will be missing the big alumni band and halftime performance, featuring the song, “Africa.”

This group is part of the American Volkssporting Association, so we will be doing a series of volkssport walks.

So I’m almost to Cape May. I look forward to sharing PJ’s newest adventures.

North Carolina memories (and the great little town of Littleton)

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

So, on my little girl’s 14th birthday we found ourselves in North Carolina. Our plan was simple: the Sylvan Heights Bird Sanctuary in Scotland Neck and the Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum in Littleton, N.C.

I fell in love with Littleton, with it’s population of 640. It reminded me of the small town near my childhood home (population, 400) but a tad more vibrant.

Littleton had several churches, three restaurants, a police station, an independent pharmacy, an independent hardware store, a library and an arcade.

And the newspaper box had about a gazillion copies of a freebie newspaper that appeared to be an advertising supplement to the local daily. It was literally one broadsheet, both sides, which made it four pages. About 2/3 of one page was the classifieds.

And in the middle of this broadsheet was the weekly Food Lion circular.

And it was in this sweet town we found Grandpa’s Barbecue where I had a good helping of sweet potato pie and the best potato salad I had ever eaten. The potatoes where practically puréed.

From there we went to the Crpytozoology Museum, which I believe I mentioned in an earlier post.

That place was two rooms in this couple’s house. He was a retired photographer from the New York Daily News and he said the area has a strong paranormal pull.