Review: Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies is a book about a girl named Tally who lives in an extremely technologically advanced culture in a futuristic world. In Tally's world, when a person becomes sixteen, they are given an operation that essentially turns them "pretty". Tally is looking forward to her operation until she meets a girl named Shay, who tells her about a group of rebels- outcasts who escape to a colony called Smoke, and don't have the operation. Tally is intrigued, but stays back home and awaits her operation; Shay goes to Smoke, giving up hope that Tally will join her. Tally is actually in a waiting room before her operation when a "special" comes and takes Tally back to HQ for questioning. They give her two options: find Smoke and alert them with a sensor hidden in a necklace , or never become pretty.

E.L.F. Cosmetics

Elf (Eyes Lips Face) is a company I ran into just a few years ago- their goal is to sell good quality cosmetics without impacting your budget. Boy have they! The large majority of their products are $5 or less- most of them with a $1 pricetag. They sell a line of mineral makeup, as well as nail polish, lipstick, face powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, bubble bath, makeup brushes, tweezers, eyelash curlers(even false eyelashes!) and so much more. The best part? No animal testing, and they're PETA approved.

WISH LIST! Amazon Kindle

This is one of THE coolest gadgets ever. It's the Amazon Kindle, an electronic book reader. My uncle bought one and was away when it arrived, so I was able to sign for the package and try it out for a week before I shipped it to him. My thoughts? AMAZING! The Kindle's screen is specially designed to allow you to read in direct sunlight. You can upload music to listen to while you read, and go online for FREE nearly anywhere you get cell service. One of the best websites I found for use with the Kindle was Project Gutenberg. I was able to download Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and other classics, and there are thousands more that are avaliable on their website(click Project Gutenberg.) I found that a couple of the buttons were inconveniently placed- I accidentally hit forward or backwards numerous times, but after a few days I was able to speed through whatever I was reading. If you're a reader, whether it's books, newspapers, blogs or email, it's worth the hefty $359 price tag.

Excerpt from John McCain's newsletter

"My Friends,

I am honored to announce that I have chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as my choice for the Republican nominee for Vice President. As a father with three daughters, I can't express how proud I am to choose the first female Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.

Sarah Palin is a trailblazer and a reformer. As the first female governor of Alaska, she challenged a corrupt system and has been a tireless advocate for reform - passing a landmark bill on ethics reform. She has taken on the old politics in Alaska and reformed the state's energy industry. She rejects wasteful pork barrel spending. She's fearless - exactly the type of leader I want at my side and the type of leadership we will bring to Washington.

My friends, together Sarah Palin and I make the strongest presidential ticket and I know that she joins me in asking for your support as we head into our Convention week in Minnesota. We're shaking things up in this campaign - and Governor Palin and I are ready to bring real reform to Washington."

Visit Johnmccain.com for the full details.

Governor Sarah Palin

YES YES YES!!!! If there were any doubts that this would be a historic election, there are no more doubts now! (Taken from her Wikipedia Page)

"Sarah Louise Heath Palin is the current Governor of Alaska and the presumptive 2008 Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States. She will be the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing the Republican Party and the second female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major political party. Palin was born in Idaho and raised in Alaska. In 1984, she was the runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, receiving a scholarship that allowed her to attend the University of Idaho, where she received a degree in journalism."

Is that awesome or what! She's got beauty, brains and a degree in Journalism. ROCK ON! CONTINUING

"After working as a sports reporter at an Anchorage television station, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470 in 2000) in 1996, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002. Palin was elected Governor of Alaska in 2006 on the theme of governmental reform, defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic Alaskan governor Tony Knowles in the general election. She gained attention for publicizing ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders. Sarah and her father would sometimes wake at 3 a.m. to hunt moose before school, and the family regularly ran 5 km and 10 km races.^[4]

Palin was the point guard and captain for the Wasilla High School Warriors, in Wasilla, Alaska, when they won the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982; she earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play.^[4] She played the championship game despite a stress fracture in her ankle, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds.^[4] Palin, who was also the head of the school Fellowship of Christian Athletes, would lead the team in prayer before games.^[4]

In 1984, after winning the Miss Wasilla contest earlier that year, Palin finished second in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant^[5] which won her a scholarship to help pay her way through college.^[4] In the Wasilla pageant, she played the flute and also won Miss Congeniality.

Palin holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho where she also minored in politics. She married her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, on August 29th, 1988, and briefly worked as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations while also working as a commercial fisherman with her husband.^[4] Details of Palin's personal life have contributed to her political image. She hunts, eats moose hamburger, ice fishes, rides snowmobiles, and owns a float plane.^[13][51] Palin holds a lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association."

You can see the entire page here.