This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel and Other Stuff


Is It or Isn't It?

Taken over the wall behind my house.
        When I saw the "NOW OPEN" sign in the window of the Habit Burger last Friday I was excited, but there seemed to be a dueling message.   Was it really open or was it "COMING SOON"?   I walked over to see for myself.  The sign on the front door said they were going to be conducting job interviews from October 13th until the 17th so I guess someone put up the "OPEN" sign too soon.   That same afternoon the "NOW OPEN" sign was replaced by "NOW HIRING".   Maybe they'll be open the following week?



        If you're wondering what this is about then you might have missed my earlier post about Habit Burger which you can find here.   I'll give a report on the establishment once I've tried it.   There is another Habit Burger being constructed a couple miles away from me in Downey.  They must be doing a real push to expand the chain.

New Book Arrival


        The 2014 compilation from Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles is here.  I was fortunate to have been invited by Nutschell Anne Windsor and Alana Garrigues as a special guest to their book release party this past Saturday October 11th.   It was an event royale.  I'll be having more on the event and the book in an upcoming post when CBW-LA does their official book release blog tour.  Some of you will be undoubtedly be contacted to help out with the tour.  

        To buy the book so you can add your review and write about it on your blog, be sure to visit Story Sprouts: Voice at Amazon.   Support this wonderful group--all book proceeds go to help out with their education programs.  The book will be a welcome addition to anyone's library.

Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel

        If you follow my blogs Wrote By Rote or A Few Words you may have read about the recent release on Kindle of the children's book Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel.   The book was originally published in 2008 and has recently been released via Amazon on Kindle.

         Since I'm always willing to help out my writer friends, I've given author and my good friend Dan Holom reviews on the book as well as spreading the word on social media.

Read more about the book in my Goodreads review:

Sleepy Sheepy and DanielSleepy Sheepy and Daniel by Daniel Holom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This charming rendition of the Bible story of Daniel in the lions den is one that will delight children and parents. Illustrated by renown Disney animator Mark Henn, the visuals will captivate all who enter this story. The narrative by author Dan Holom is intelligent, but easy to understand.

"Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel" is the first of what will be a series of Bible stories presented in a similar manner. Sleepy and his animal friends Sifter, a wise old horse, and Coco, a comical camel, are characters that are apt to become classics of children's literature.

Anyone looking for values based stories that interpret the Bible in a way suitable for children will welcome this book and the others to follow. The message is not heavy handed so it should not be particularly offensive to those who are not religious. This is the kind of book that will do kids good without being too serious in doing it.

View all my reviews

          Dan and Mark hope to see a series of books after this, but a lot depends on the market.  If you'd like to support this kind of series I hope you will purchase a copy and then leave a review on Amazon and wherever else you think might help.  Check out the book on Amazon and see what you think.

          And don't forget to help us promote this by sharing this post and all of the other pages on social media as much as you can.    If I can convince Dan of the power of social media I might even be able to talk Dan into starting a blog so you all can communicate with him.

           Do you tend to leave book reviews and the like?    Where do you leave most of your reviews?   Has anybody tried Habit Burger yet?




23 comments:

  1. Cute take on a Bible story.
    The dueling signs in the window is funny.
    And congratulations to Nutschell!

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  2. That book sounds cute.

    I've posted a few reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and my blog. I haven't done any in a while though.

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  3. I just restarted posting book reviews after a six month hiatus or so, with the bulk of them appearing on Amazon. I used to post them on my blog, mostly in conjunction with a post touching upon the subject of the book.

    I would say about 95% of my reviews are for (new and old)fiction that I don't buy but borrow from the public library, and with the remaining 5% the same rule applies.

    We don't have the Habit Burger out here, but people are already going ga-ga for Chik-A-Filet that has recently opened here in CT. We do have a few Sonics out here as well.

    The Inner Sibling

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  4. I've never heard of Habit Burger. Is it a west coast thing? I almost always review books by up and coming authors though I skip it if there are already hundreds of reviews.

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  5. Hello Mr B. I was passing and thought it has been some time since I left a comment so now seems like a good moment. Hope all is well and hunky dory out in the sun, it is rather grey here in Britain things were fine until October then Autumn kicked in big style.

    I hope you get your Habit Burger soon, It is so close to being a Hobbit Burger. . . . I know which one I would buy.

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  6. Alex-- I'd imagine that we'll be hearing about the CBW-LA release on your blog soon.

    L.Diane -- I don't know if there is a great advantage to me in my doing the reviews I do, but I enjoy doing them.

    GB-- I don't buy many books because these days I can't afford them. For that reason I mostly review books, music, and movies that I already own or have gotten through distributors like Netflix. A new Chik-a-Filet just opened a couple miles from where I live. No nearby Sonics that I know of but there are some within at least 10 miles from me.

    Susan GK-- Habit is primarily West Coast though not exclusively. I prefer to do reviews where there are only a few, but sometimes I feel compelled to do them where there are already many others.

    Rob-- Always good to hear from you my friend. Think we can exchange weather for a few days. I'm getting sick of the hot weather here. I'd love to see some cool, gloomy rainy days.

    Lee


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  7. I hope you try out Habit Burger when they open and let us know how it is and if it will become a 'habit'.

    I never leave book reviews because I would be unable to give the plot away. I've never been able to explain books or movies very well verbally, much less write about them.

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  8. Let's hope your friend realizes the power of social media and congrats to him. We don't have Habit Burger up in Canada land but I fear there will be more than one job opening for this place considering someone place Now Open at this place:)

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  9. Never heard of Habit Burger. Maybe it is a CA thing.

    Good luck to your friend(s) and their books!

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  10. LEE ~
    I did go to The Habit Burger back on August 20th, as I indicated I was going to do on your original blog bit.

    My assessment?

    Well, first thing you gotta consider is that I am a vegetarian, so I ordered the veggie burger, which might not be (and probably is not) as good as their regular meat hamburgers which are, according to their name, their claim to fame.

    The Veggie Burger was big and pretty sloppy (a good thing) but I have had better. I was really looking forward to the guacamole (as pictured on the burger in your original post) but there was not nearly as much on it as I anticipated and it tasted it bit bland, so that was a disappointment.

    Overall I would give the Veggie Burger a "B". Pretty good but not memorable enough that I would return for another.

    I ordered the onion rings also because I remembered you said you had a thing for the O' Ring.

    The onion rings were fairly large and definitely better than average. (No comparison to those stringy rings you'd get at McD's or Joke-In-The-Box.) However, again, I've had better onion rings but I would give these a "B+" and say I was more impressed with the Rings than I was with the Burger.

    What I really DID NOT LIKE about The Habit Burger Grill was how hot and stuffy it was inside. The place was pretty small and with that grill fired up all the time it was uncomfortably warm inside and I was eager to eat quick and get out of that sauna. I don't know if their A/C unit wasn't working properly or if it's always that hot and stuffy due to the size and the heat coming off the grill, but I don't believe I'll be returning - at least not to THAT particular location.

    Unequivocally, the very best Onion Rings I've ever had were at a little hamburger joint across the street from Paramount Studios. I show the place and rave about it in the 'Food & Beverage Section' toward the bottom of THIS BLOG BIT.

    I don't know how far you live from Paramount Studios, and I don't know if the O' Rings are like they were back in the late 1970s and early '80s, but I can tell you that back then actors and actresses would go on their lunch or dinner breaks to the place just to get the O' Rings. The rest of their food was just average but their Onion Rings were OUT OF THIS WORLD (pun intended) and I ate them often.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  11. I try reviewing everything I read and yes, I have enjoyed The Habit but only once.

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  12. I'm really half and half on reviews which is bad.

    I've never heard of Habit Burgers. I remember once when my husband talked about Jack-in-the-box food in the far away land of California. To this day, I've never ate at one OR even seen one.

    Don't know how I missed your last Wrote by Rote post, but I did. I'll go read it now.

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  13. Those mixed messages are definitely "interesting." Hope their burgers are burgers and not maybe hot dogs every once in a while.

    I do reviews for books that I like. If I can't finish a book, I don't review it. If I review, I put them on Amazon and Goodreads. I don't usually review on my blog, but I put links to them.

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  14. Hi Arlee,
    This is indeed a wonderful information about a Bible character especially created for kids. Thanks for sharing this note,I must check in to read that. Though I am late here i am happy that i found it, but sad to note that all my friends here are left me out LOL
    No worries,
    Keep going
    and I still come in to read
    @Alex this is for you too!!! LOL
    Best to all at A to Z and IWSG :-)
    ~ Phil

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  15. The books sounds good.
    Loved the whole post though I am all behind today for various reasons,

    Still trying with my book, but I won't give up hope.

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  16. Sleepy S.D. sounds like a sweet story and I'm sure the illustrations are spectacular. Hopefully Habit Burger doesn't open too many chains close to each other.

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  17. well, it was now something, anyway

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  18. JoJo-- I have a feeling that I will become a habitual customer at Habit Burger. It's across the street from me and I'll probably be smelling the aromas all day.

    Birgit-- I'm still not totally sure of the power of all social media but I am convinced that anyone in any kind of business does well to take advantage of it.

    Robin -- Mostly CA but there are Habit Burgers in other states according to their website.

    Lee

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  19. StMC--

    The Veggie Burger was big and pretty sloppy (a good thing) but I have had better.

    Shades of Carl's Jr! I'm not a big fan of "sloppy" burgers and I don't know that I'd order a veggie burger other than out of curiosity.

    ...I was more impressed with the Rings than I was with the Burger.

    Good onion rings are hard to find in fast food restaurants other than some of the independents. I'm not close enough to Paramount Studios to entice me to the place you talked about. I'd say there are some similar places not far from me. I have had some pretty good onion rings at nearby establishments, but the orders are usually too big and kind of expensive.

    What I really DID NOT LIKE about The Habit Burger Grill was how hot and stuffy it was inside

    My local Habit Burger is somewhat small, but it seems adequately sized. The one you went to must have been having AC problems. I'd give them another chance maybe.

    Thanks for the report. I'll be giving mine in a week or two.

    Lee

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  20. Eve of Hearts-- I don't review everything, but I try to do as much as I can.

    Teresa-- I also have a Jack-in-the-Box a block from me. I don't eat there often as it's not my favorite. I like their tacos, but I swear they're not the same as the ones I remember getting when I was a kid in San Diego in the early 60's. I get a kick out of their commercials though.

    C.Lee -- I don't often review books on my blogs. When I do the comments usually go down a good bit.

    Phil-- Not sure about everyone else, but I've been really bad about visiting blogs in the past several months. It's a time thing partly. Good to see you stop by though.

    Yvonne-- I hope you get a buy link so I can promote your book. I want you to sell all you've got and run another printing.

    Sheena-kay-- Habit Burger has a long way to go before they have as many locations as McDonald's and many other chains. They'll be okay for a while I'm sure.

    Andrew-- Just goes to show that things change--sometimes really fast.

    Lee


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  21. I'm on Goodreads, but have never actually posted a review there. I post all my reviews on Amazon, though I haven't regularly posted reviews for awhile. Nowadays, I tend to post reviews in spurts, instead of on a daily or weekly basis.

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  22. I hadn't heard of Habit Burger until you mentioned it in your other blog post. I looked it up to see if we had any near us. NJ and Utah are the closest to me. Don't think I'll be trying them anytime soon. Perhaps you can share a picture of one of their burgers when it opens?

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  23. In my opinion, the Habit is ok, but I prefer Fat Burger and In and Out. Great book review! I have done one or two in the past, but have not done any lately. Can't wait to hear about the book release party you attended. Thanks!

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Lee