Book Excerpt for the Day

    The Fink-Nottle, you see, was one of those freaks you come across from time to time during life's journey who can't stand London.  He lived year in and year out, covered with moss, in a remote village down in Lincolnshire, never coming up even for the Eton and Harrow match.  And when I asked him once if he didn''t find the time hang a bit heavy on his hands, he said, no, because he had a pond in his garden and studied the habits of newts.


(from Right Ho, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse)

7½*/10.  The full review is here.

Demotivational Friday

Cops in da 'Hood

   Lots of cops with lights a-flashing when I got home today.  Two on the streets that straddle the nearby Junior High (pics #2 and #3), and these guys in the top pic, in the water run-off basin right across the street from us.

    All I can think of re these top guys is that they landed a helicopter in the basin to air-evac someone to the hospital.  Although it then begs the question, if the copter's done come and gone, why are these two still lolling about?

    It's also possible they busted someone at the Jr. High for drugs or something.  But then what's the point of the car in the basin?

    In any event, since they didn't have assault weapons like they had the last time nine cars of cops descended upon our neighborhood (see here), this is all just a tad bit ho-hum.  It might get a couple lines in tomorrow's "local" section of the newspaper, but I'm betting not.

In Memoriam - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (d. 04/11/07)

   Can it really be five years already since Kurt Vonnegut became unstuck in time and was transported to Tralfamador?  Royal bummer.

    Listen.  Simply put, Kurt Vonnegut is the greatest 20th-Century American writer.  I hesitate to say "of all time" only because of Edgar Allan Poe.  Slaughterhouse Five rates a "10*/10" to me, as does Sirens of Titan.  There are a host of "very good" Vonnegut novels (Cat's Cradle; Player Piano; Breakfast of Champions; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater), and only one that I considered a "stinker"  (Galapagos).

    Of course, I read Galapagos 20 years ago, so maybe it's time to go revisit it.  And Slapstick currently resides on my TBR shelf.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    He gestured toward the canvases in the main room.  "What are they, really?  I mean, no bullshit.  Because - I wouldn't say this to very many people - they remind me of the way life was inside my head when I wasn't taking my pills."

    "They're just make-believe," I said.  "Shadows."

    "I know about shadows," he said.  "You just want to be careful they don't grow teeth.  Because they can.  Then, sometimes when you reach for the light-switch to make them go away, you discover the power's out."


(from Duma Key, by Stephen King)

9*/10.  The full review is here.

Autological

    "Autological" and "Heterological" deftly examined.  And we won't even mention my personal favorite, "Pentasyllabic".

Eostre Trip

    We took the day off to do some time-traveling.  Headed back to ancient Egypt to do some celebrating of Eostre the original way, before Christianity hijacked it and gave it their spin.

    Had a nice time with the Thebans, although the weather sucked.  Prayed that the earth would renew itself this year - no small matter in a land where life and death depend on the Nile.  Got the assurance from Isis that all would be well.  Ate some figs (yuck) and olives (double yuck), then called it a day.  Told the Thebans we'd see them later - about 46 centuries hence.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "I intend," said Melicent, rather grandly because of the jolt the blunt question had given her, "to take the veil, and I would like it to be among the Benedictine sisters of Polesworth."

    "Sit down here beside me," said Sister Magdalen comfortably, "and tell me what has turned you to this withdrawal, and whether your family are in your confidence and approve your choice.  You are very young, and have the world before you..."

    "I am done with the world," said Melicent.

    "Child, as long as you live and breathe, you will not have done with this world.  We within the pale live in the same world as all poor souls without."

(from Dead Man's Ransom, by Ellis Peters)

8½*/10.  The full review is here.

Eye Exam

    I was off today for the holiday, and Liz celebrated it by making eye appointments for both of us.  Which effectively killed the afternoon.  I supppose she had a point, since my last eye exam (we looked this up) was in 2006.

    The good news is - neither my eyes nor my contacts have changed since that time.  The bad news is - since my uncorrected eyesight is something like 20:2000, it really can't get any worse.

The Mew Christy Minstrels

    "Meow many roads must a man walk down..."

    Back to converting LP's to MP3 files.  Tonight I did The Kingston Trio's Something Special album, and it put me in a 60's state of mind.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "Our ways have existed since time began.  Yours but for a blink of the eye.  Yet ours is considered legend and lore."  She shook her head as her manner relaxed.  "I feel the same way when the stories of Christianity are told to me.  I remember one about a man who lived three days in a whale's stomach.  They claim he survived.  Ha!"

(from Strega Muirne by William Deen)


6*/10.  The full review is here.

Guns don't kill people...

    This will forever be my mental image of Texas theocrat/governor Rick Perry.  And to think that there are a bunch of bozos out there who wanted to put him in the White House.  One of which is God, if you believe Mr. & Mrs. Dimwit.

RIP - Earl Scruggs

Earl  Eugene  Scruggs

b.  :  06 January 1924

d.  :  28 March 2012

    Simply put, Earl Scruggs is a bluegrass legend.  Some of the folks he played with over the years include Bill Monroe (the father of bluegrass), Lester Flatt ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett"), Vassar Clements (another bluegrass legend), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ("Will the Circle be Unbroken"), and Doc Watson & Ricky Skaggs (the Three Pickers).

    But he was more than just a musician.  When The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band  came to Nashville looking for C&W artists to collaborate with on Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Scruggs embraced the gesture.  Bill Monroe didn't want anything to do with a bunch of long-haired hippies.  Earl supported the (Vietnam) anti-war movement.  And the team of Flatt & Scruggs was constantly adapting rock & roll tunes into the bluegrass genre.

    I have albums by him from all stages of his career, and a video of the Three Pickers, which is a treasure.  Most of the first generation of bluegrass pickers are gone now.  Alison Krauss is more of a diva lately, and even Ricky Skaggs is looking a bit old.  Right now, the bluegrass band that I'm most excited about is Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.  Yeah, it's that Steve Martin, but the man's also an accomplished banjo picker.

    So Rest In Peace, Earl Scruggs.  You had a long career, you wore the bluegrass mantle proudly, and your songs will not soon fade away.  I for one consider you a liegend.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "So - Where would this Hive Engine be, do you think?"

    Sleipnir looked at him askance.  "The Large Dangerous Mechanical Lab would be my guess.  Why?"

    "Well... I've never seen a Hive Engine, now have I?"

    Sleipnir wheeled around and prodded his chest with a finger.  "You want to go sneaking into one of the Baron's labs?  Even after what happened to you the last time?"

    Theo looked at her blankly.  "Well.. Yeah."
   
    Sleipnir did a quick jig.  "Sweet!  Let's go!"


(from Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio)

8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

Lego Quiz

    Something kewl that's been making the rounds on FaceBook.  Solve the eight images below.  I got six.  I missed #5, and really should have gotten that one.  And missed #8, which almost everybody else does as well.  Answers for those two in the comments.  The others, you really should have no trouble with.



RIP Trayvon Martin

    It's time to wake up to the fact that there is NOT racial equality in America, and that if you're a black male, you essentially have a bull's-eye on your back 24/7.  Ditto if you're Hispanic.

    It's time to recognize that gun nuts are not your neighborhood watchmen; they're your local thugs who fantasize about blowing some minority away.  And your white local policemen are not there "to serve and protect", they are there to look the other way when some black teenager is killed in cold blood just because he had the gall to be walking thru a lily-white community.

    But this is where it ends.  This outrage will not get swept under the rug.  It will not disappear from the headlines once the next American Idol contestant is eliminated.  Because if they can shoot an unarmed, scared, 17-year-old black kid - they can just as easily shoot you.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "The good thing about being in the BookWorld is that we aren't hampered by anything as awkward as physical laws.  The RealWorld must be hideously annoying to do science in, but given how difficult it is, I suppose breakthroughs are of greater value.  In here, for example, perpetual-motion machines are quite feasible."

    "What's stopping us from using them?"

    "Finding a way to make them stop.  Once we've figured that out, we'll have perpetual engines in every minicab and bus in the BookWorld."

(from One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde)

8¼*/10.  The complete review is here.

Happy Birthday, Leonard Nimoy

    Happy Birthday, Mr. Spock.  81 years old today.  Wow.  Live long and prosper, dude!

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Even though Blomkvist was used to Salander's penchant for shocking clothing, he was amazed that his sister had allowed her to show up to the courtroom in a black leather miniskirt with frayed seams and a black top - with the legend I AM ANNOYED - which barely covered her many tattoos.  She had ten piercings in her ears, and a ring through her left eyebrow.  Her head was covered in three months' worth of uneven stubble after her surgery.  She wore grey lipstick and more black mascara than Blomkvist had ever seen her wear.  Her eyebrows were heavily darkened.  In the days when he and Salander had spent time together, she had shown almost no interest in make-up.


(from The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson)


8*/10. The full review is here.

Instrument match

    Click to enlarge. Let's see now.  In my life, I've played the trumpet, the trombone, the piano, and the guitar.  All of them badly.  I'm thinking of taking up the triangle next.

Neverworld's End - Xandria

Artist/Group  :  Xandria

Album  :  Neverworld's End  (released March 06, 2012)

Genre  :  Symphonic Metal

Rating  :  9*/10

   Xandria is a German Symphonic Metal band.  If you like groups like Nightwish and Within Temptation, you'll like Xandria also.  Neverworld's End is their recently-released 5th studio album.  They have a new female lead singer - Manuela Kraller - and she does just fine, and will make you say, "Tarja who?"

    You can find most or all of the tracks already on YouTube.  Amazon wants $7.99 for the whole album, which is a pretty good deal for roughly 70 minutes of music.  The entire CD is good, and if I had to point to one particularly kewl thing about it,  I'd say it's the nice balance between the Symphonic and the Metal/Rock.  Kewl stuff.  9*/10.

- Tracks  (favorites in pink) -

1.)	A Prophecy Of Worlds To Fall
2.)	Valentine
3.)	Forevermore
4.)	Euphoria
5.)	Blood On My Hands
6.)	Soulcrusher
7.)	The Dream Is Still Alive
8.)	The Lost Elysion
9.)	Call Of The Wind
10.)	A Thousand Letters
11.)	Cursed
12.)	The Nomad's Crown
13.)	When The Mirror Cracks
14.)	The Sailor And The Sea

the resemblance is striking

    I find Santorum to be an embarrassment to my home state of Pennsylvania - until I realize what a parade of bozos my current residence, Arizona, has trotted out over the past 30 years.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    I stepped inside, shedding water, and could see at a glance it was a good choice - clean, nicely old-fashioned, attractively priced at (pound)26 B&B according to a notice on the wall, and with the kind of smothering warmth that makes your glasses steam and brings on sneezing fits.  I decanted several ounces of water from my sleeve and asked for a single room for two nights.

    "Is it raining out?" the reception girl asked brightly as I filled in the registration card between sneezes and pauses to wipe water from my face with the back of my arm.

    "No, my ship sank and I had to swim the last seven miles."


(from Notes From A Small Island, by Bill Bryson)


8*/10.  The complete review is here.

Tax Night

    Something quick, as it's Tax Night and I'm heading over to my tax lady's house for our annual 3-hour ordeal and confab.  The above picture has nothing to do with this; I just couldn't find a tax-related image in my files.

 again again again

    Dear Blogger.  Is there some FREAKING reason you've decided to unilaterally add a pop-up ad to the word a-g-a-i-n in my posts?!?!

- UPDATE -

    Found the problem.  A nasty little piece of Malware.  If you happen to get this problem, google "Text Enhance" (the bastards behind this) and read the "Waffles At Noon" post on it.  Whatever you do, don't go to the Text-Enhance website; they'll try to  get you to install even nastier stuff.

Contraception, Dinosaurs, and Gays

     Sad to say, but there are a bunch of people out there who think the Bible reads this way.   But they're not to blame - they've been led to believe that due to listening to their local pastor, priest, bishop, or whatever.  Sheeple, please.

    I'm not keen on letting anyone tell me what to think, particularly someone who claims some Deity has given them a divine message.  If the Creator wants to tell me something, I'd like to think She can come to me directly.  And so far, She hasn't.

    But then again, several of my multiple personalities are Gnostic.  So what can you expect?

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "What the wossname is it?" said the parrot.

    "It's their god."

    "Get away?"

    "No, really.  It's Quezovercoatl.  Half man, half chicken, half jaguar, half serpent, half scorpion, and half mad."

    The parrot's beak moved as it worked this out.

    "That makes a wossname total of three homicidal maniacs," it said.

    "About right, yes," said the statue.


(from Eric by Terry Pratchett)

8½*/10.  The full review is here.
 

Freegal

    Something mindless, since I spent most of this evening exploring a new bit of TechnoGeekery.  I've discovered that you can download MP3 music files via your local library, and via something called "Freegal" (rhymes with "legal").

    The downloads are free and are not DRM-protected.  There is a decent selection, although you have to think in terms of what music a library would have.  Lots of classical, blues, and folk.  Not a lot of Metal.  And the search engine leaves a bit to be desired.

    Some examples.  There are no Lady Gaga tracks.  No Within Temptation.  Even worse, no Eric Clapton.  But they do have the latest Bruce Springsteen album, and the new Meat Loaf one.  Obscure stuff is hit and miss.  I was pleasantly surprised to find they had some Don Nix, Dulce Pontes, and even some Tinariwen.  And a poopload of New Riders of The Purple Sage and John Mayall.  But I didn't find any Mason Proffit.

    The one catch - you can only download three tracks per week.  This makes sense; they don't want someone hogging up all the downloads.  But it does mean you have to choose wisely, and that if you want a whole album, it may take a few weeks.  Unless you get three or four local friends together, and all cooperate to download tracks from one given album.

Happy Pi Day!

    Happy Pi Day to all!  I celebrated it properly -  at exactly 1:59 PM this afternoon I wrote "Pi Pi Pi Pi Pi Pi Pi..." on my company's Instant Messaging board.  It is also Albert Einstein's birthday, so Geekiness runneth rampant today.

    Don't forget that June 28th is "Tau Day" (2x pi), and July 22nd is "Pi Approximation Day".  And the biggest Geek Holiday of all - Talk Like A Pirate Day - isn't until September.

Savoy Brown - Looking In

Album Title  :  Looking In

Artist/Group  :  Savoy Brown

Genre  :  Blues/Rock

Year  :  1970

Rating  :  8*/10

    KDKB used to play these guys, back when that station still had a soul.  I remember them mostly for the album Hellbound Train (1972), because I requested its titular song to be played on KDKB the day after Nixon got re-elected.  The DJ thought it was a hilarious idea, but he never played it.

    This is a very good blues-rock album, somewhat in the Clapton sub-genre.  I don't know why these guys never made it to the top tier of rock; they certainly are talented enough.  I bought the LP for $1; it was in good shape, so converting it to MP3 files was a snap.  RYM gives this a rating of 3.82/5, which is close to mine.  You can find Savoy Brown on YouTube, including a live version of Track 04 from this album, Sunday Night.

TRACKS

01. Gypsy

02. Poor Girl

03. Money Can't Save Your Soul

04. Sunday Night

05. Looking In

06. Take It Easy

07. Sitting An' Thinking

08. Leavin' Again

09. Romanoff

My favorite tracks are in pink, but honestly, it's all good.

Romantic Music

    I'm not a big fan of romantic music - unless you conisder Pink Floyd, The Doors, or Nightwish to be in that genre.  Still, sometimes you gotta go with the flow.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    "Women love us for our defects.  If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our intellects.  You will never ask me to dinner again after saying this, I am afraid, Lady Narborough, but it is quite true."

    "Of course it is true, Lord Henry.  If we women did not love you for your defects, where would you all be?  Not one of you would ever be married.  You would be a set of unfortunate bachelors.  Not, however, that that would alter you much.  Nowadays all the married men live like bachelors, and all the bachelors like married men."

(from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)


9*/10.  The complete review can be found here.

Shakesbear!

    I mada a trip to our local library today.  Partly because they had a copy of Jasper Fforde's One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing available.  Which is almost impossible to find in the local bookstores - both new and used ones.

    The other reason was to see whether one can "borrow" e-books from the library for my Kindle.  To which the answer is "yes".  It's a somwewhat convoluted process, and ATM I'm already reading two (real world) books, have a third one on the Kindle (a freebie from Amazon), and now OOOTIM.  So I don't really need yet another book, especially one that I have to "return" in some manner in three weeks.

    But I'm a techno-geek, and it's going to gnaw at me until I simply have to try this new resource out.  I'll probably give in to the gnawing tomorrow.

Just Wrong

    It's been a while since we've done a "Just Wrong" post.  So here's a good one.  Meaning, it's wrong on so many levels.

Quote for the Day

    "I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty.  I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law.  That makes me a liberal, and I'm proud of it."  (Paul Krugman)

Coming to a theater near you... maybe

    Fetih 1453 is an epic movie dealing with the taking of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.  What makes this film special is that it's told from the Turkish POV.  Which means it is also told from the Muslim POV.  The film is already out in Turkey (obviously), and in some or all of Europe as well.  The anti-Muslim hate groups are apparently self-righteouly indignant about that.

    As a history-lover, I find this setting fantastic.  Plus it's always enlightening to see a historical event from "the other side of the coin".

    Alas, if anything, anti-Muslim prejudice is even more deep-rooted in the USA than in Europe.  And Arizona of course is a bastion of bigotry.  So I'm not overly optimistic about the film ever making it to Phoenix.  In the meantime, I can content myself (and so can you) by watching the movie teasers and trailers on YouTube.    Here's a link to one of them, which even has English subtitles, albeit poorly done.  FWIW, the cinematography is awe-inspiring.

Broccoli

    This pretty much sums up my attitude towards broccoli.  And spinach, and cauliflower, and rutabagas, and zucchini.  The only way I can stomach them is by smothering them in a cheese sauce to the point where I can't taste them at all.  But that sorta defeats the purpose of eating veggies, doesn't it?

Book Excerpt for the Day

    What you do recall, and recall vividly, is that in the June of your twelfth year, your mom, emulating her poetic idol, Sylvia somebody, turned the oven on and stuck her head in it.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case might be, she was guilty of an embarrassing oversight.  Your family had an electric stove.

    Instead of gassing herself into sweet oblivion, all she did was get unbearably hot and set her hair on fire.  An awful odor filled the flat.  When you crawled out of bed to see what the smell was about, she was kneeling in the middle of the kitchen, smoking like a smudge pot, while your father emptied a jug of red wine on her head.

(from Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas by Tom Robbins)


7½*/10.  The full review is here.

Wild about Wilde

    I'm just about finished with my first Oscar Wilde book - The Picture of Dorian Gray.  I'm not big on Classic Lit, but this is very good.  Much better than Nathaniel Hawthorne or Emily Dickinson.  Best of all, if you own a Kindle, it's free at Amazon.

Movie quote for the day

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!   ...  (thump)