My Top Ten Stephen King Novels

"When I was a kid I believed everything I was told, everything I read, and every dispatch sent out by my own overheated imagination. This made for more than a few sleepless nights, but it also filled the world I lived in with colors and textures I would not have traded for a lifetime of restful nights." — Stephen King

It is no secret that, much to the chagrin of my college professors, Stephen King is my favorite author. Ever since my grandmother put my first Stephen King novel in my hands, I have been a fan. I love the way he tells a tale-always with a little bit of mischief. He has not only given me nightmares, but he has inspired my joy of writing. Plus, he's not afraid to use the language that we all use, even if that includes a few f-bombs :) Now, not every Stephen King novel is a blood and guts, nightmare painted horror fest, many of the novels explore relationships between husbands and wives, friendship, and our shared humanity. Many of my favorites deal with the friendships between the most unlikely people. I also love the fact that he often makes heroes out of people that are often the outcasts of society. It was difficult narrowing down my favorite novels. The criteria was simple. These are the ones I've read more than once and plan to read again. Keep in mind, these are not Stephen King's greatest hits. These are my 10 favorite novels.

My Top Ten Celebrity Crushes...

Since I'm celebrating my blogs 2nd birthday, I've decided that I don't want to be serious this week. I want to have a little fun. So, here's the first of my two top tens this week. My top ten crushes. We've all had crushes on celebrities, and if you say that you didn't you sir or miss are a liar. We've all had them, and often, we have come to regret them with that inevitable, what the hell was I thinking. Some are drop dead gorgeous; others are just plain weird. They are actors, athletes, and singers. Some of these guys I still kinda hold a torch for; others have been voted off the island. Without further ado here are my top ten crushes, how they won my little black heart....Feel free to openly mock me...

Happy Birthday, Diana Dishes!!!!

Hey, everybody!!! Today is June 16!!! Today, Diana Dishes turns 2 years old. I've gone from a blog read by me to 13 followers. I would like to take a moment to thank you guys for reading the thoughts of my blog about well...nothing...and everything. You have listened to my rants and my raves, and my ultimate goal has always been to entertain. I hope you have enjoyed. I hope to continue writing articles you will find scintillating...Okay...I can't keep a straight face with that one. Here's to another year!!! No champagne...the blog is not legal, and I don't drink. Here's cupcake instead. See ya!

Hello, My Name is Cheryl...and I'm a Hater...

It is nothing new for people to call me a hater. Heck, my family called me that long before it became a popular word in the "Urban Dictionary." Even my Twitter handle, CIH8U2, expresses my card-carrying hater status. I embrace the hater in me. Yet...am I really a hater?

Merriam-Webster (my go-to dictionary) defines a "hater" as "[1] one who expresses or feels extreme enmity or active hostility; [2] one who has a strong aversion to or finds something very distasteful." Urban Dictionary defines it as "A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person."
Let's examine that shall we.

I don't really hate people. Mostly, I need to get to know you before I will even dislike you. Okay, I'm lying. There are some people that just rub you the wrong way. I don't really care for them, I really don't want to meet them, and generally, spend most of my time trying not to think about them. Yet, their Stans won't let me be. I follow some pretty cool people, and I have some pretty cool followers on my Twitter Timeline. Then, there are the Stans. Not familiar with the term, well it's an allusion to Eminem's 2000 hit song "Stan." According to Urban Dictionary (hadn't quite made it to Merriam-Webster yet), a "stan" is "someone who is all up on their favorite artist's schlong, and can't take criticism or the slightest negative about said artist. But instead of "fans," they're called "Stans," get it?" [P.S. commas go inside the quotations marks Urban Dictionary].

All the Single Ladies...No Wonder He Didn't Put a Ring on It

Earlier this week, I decided against my better judgment to watch VH1's new romantic-comedy (although that genre is a stretch) Single Ladies. I wanted to support this Queen Latifah produced show. Yet, I knew it was gonna be bad. I knew in my heart of hearts it was going to be bad. Did that stop me from watching? No. It became a tweet fest because there was no basketball game, and I think we were all generally bored. For those of you who didn't watch, Single Ladies follows the lives of three friends in Atlanta, GA, Valerie Stokes (Stacey Dash), Keisha Greene (LisaRaye McCoy), and April Goldberg-Jenkins (Charity Shea). Cool, Sex in the City with an urban vibe, right? Wrong. Granted, I didn't care for Sex in the City either. I'm basing my criticisms on the parts I actually saw as I missed the first 5 or 10 minutes.

First of all, how old are these characters exactly. Early 30's, late 30's? It may not matter to you, but I like to have a little basis for a few things. LisaRaye and Stacey Dash were both born in 1966, which would make them both over 40, while Charity Shea was born in 1983 which would put her in her late 20's. Why would they be "girls"? I probably missed that, but while LisaRaye and Stacey look great for their age, am I to believe they are in their late 20's-early 30's? To quote Chad Ochocinco, "Child please..." I watched Stacey Dash on St. Elsewhere, and LisaRaye was playing Diamond when I was a first year teacher, I know Charity is the token white girl, but maybe she should be a little offended that the writers or casting directors think that she looks old enough to pass as their girl. Let's take a look at each girl shall we...