Crabby people

    Really.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    It certainly did not lack for excitement, nor for ingenuity upon the part of my friend.  Indeed, he came up with several ploys and strategems which I have no hesitation in saying had to be unique in the field of crime solution.  The business regarding Her Majesty the Queen and the see-through aspidistra plant was little less than inspired.  And his employment of radio waves during the period he spent in suspended animation, prior to erecting the full-size facsimile of the Forth Bridge, was a work of genius.

    I must emphasize my admiration for the way he dealt with the conundrum of the Greek lady-boy and the travelling rhinoceros impersonator.  And his bravery when confronted by quite so many fire-walkers whilst he foiled the evil intentions of the psychic triplets should have earned him the Order of the Garter at the very least.

    (from The Chickens of Atlantis by Robert Rankin)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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First Novel

    Yeah, this is quite often true.  Sometimes it's cloaked as a Fantasy or Science Fiction novel.  Or even a Horror novel.  But the underlying structure is a coming-of-age tale.

Bonnie Raitt - Nine Lives

Artist  :  Bonnie Raitt

Album Title  :  Nine Lives  (1986)

Genre  :  Rock

-  Tracks  -  (favorites in pink) 

01. No Way to Treat A Lady
02. Runnin' Back To Me
03. Who But A Fool (Thief Into Paradise)
04. Crime Of Passion
05. All Day, All Night
06. Stand Up To The Night
07. Excited
08. Freezin' (For A Little Human Love)
09. True Love Is Hard To Find
10. Angel

    Bonnie Raitt is a fantastic Blues guitarist/singer, with a string of successful albums beginning in 1989.  But before that, she also put out a bunch of critically-acclaimed but modestly commercially-successful LP's, during the years of 1971-1986.

    I picked this album up for $1.99 in a small record shop in Federal Way, Washington, and digitalized it last week.  The record was in pristine shape - a couple small scratches at the beginning/end of the tracks, and that was about it.  I ttok those out manually, and then didn't even have to use the de-scratch program.

    If you can get over the fact that Nine Lives doesn't contain a lick of Blues on it, you will find it to be a very enjoyable album.  Yes, it's 80's music, with horns and synthesizers and stuff.  But there are some nice guitar riffs injected into the majority of the songs, and even a way-kewl reggae tinge on a couple of them.  My two favorite tracks are No Way To Treat A Lady (a Bryan Adams cover) and Stand Up To The Night.

    Wikipedia gives some fascinating details about the making of this album.  Apparently, Bonnie was having some severe record company (Warner Bros.) problems at the time.  So Nine Lives was under-sponsored, lacked a promotional tour, and unsurprisingly, did not sell well.

    Warner Brothers and Bonnie parted ways after this album, and a couple years later she signed with Capitol Records, redefined herself as a Blues artist, put out the smashingly-successful album Nick Of Time, and never looked back.  And while it was a fantastic career move,  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that her earlier albums are pretty decent as well.

    FWIW, Nine Lives is available at Amazon for $15.96 (CD) or $9.49 (MP3).

Escher Friday

American Idol Tryouts

    Man, it seems like a gazillion people are trying out for American Idol this year.  The above flowchart seems like a handy guide for them.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Once you’re in the arena, the rest of the world becomes very distant,” he continues.  “All the people and things you loved or cared about almost cease to exist.  The pink sky and the monsters in the jungle and the tributes who want your blood become your final reality, the only one that ever mattered.  As bad as that makes you feel, you’re going to have to do some killing, because in the arena, you only get one wish.  And it’s very costly.”

    “It costs your life,” says Caesar.

    “Oh, no.  It costs a lot more than your life.  To murder innocent people?” says Peeta.  “It costs everything you are.”

    (from Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins)

    9*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Super Bowl Memes

    There are hundreds of Super Bowl memes out there, some of which aren't about the Katy Perry halftime farce.  Of all of them, this is my favorite.

Pennsylvania State

    Um, dear sweatshirt seller who uses a computer to generate these "State University" pieces of apparel.  The Keystone state is unique.  We call it Penn State.  Nobody but NOBODY who went to PSU is going to buy this stupid sweatshirt.

    And FWIW, while the other state school can be formally called the University of Pennsylvania on occasion, its alumni/alumna will simply call it Penn.

Quote for the Day

    Really, now.  How many Eli Wallach quotes have you seen?  And movie lines from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly don't count.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Do you remember playing that game with the blindfold?” Valens asked.  “You know, the one where you blindfold someone and tell him to find certain people in the room, but everybody keeps tiptoeing about from place to place, so that no matter how hard he tries, he never finds them unless they want him to?”

    “No,” said Ruso, trying to picture Valens as a child.

    “Really?”  His friend sounded genuinely surprised.  “Of course, it was much more fun when there were girls playing.”

    “I can imagine.”

    “And plenty of wine.”

    (from Tabula Rasa, by Ruth Downie)

     8½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Friday Night Philosophy

    It's been that kind of week.  But the weekend is here, and it's time for glasses.

Just an idea...

    I support this.

Reading is Fun Wednesday

E-Card Tuesday. Winter Edition

    Here in Phoenix, we don't even know the meaning of the word Snow.

Quote for the Day

   It's true.  There is no reason for Genius and Crazy to be mutually exclusive.

Therapy

    This is why I don't go to Therapy.  It would seriously impact my Time-Travel adventures.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    She smiled.  “I never took you for the martyr type.”

    “You mean there’s a martyr type?  Who the hell would want to be a martyr?”

    “More than you’d think.  In the right setting it can be a form of celebrity.”

    “I guess so.   Who was it who said that some people climb onto the cross merely to be seen from a greater distance?”

    “Camus, I believe.”

    Patrick was startled – happily.  “You’ve read Camus?”

f

    (from Sims, by F. Paul Wilson)

     8*/10.  The full review is here.

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Back to school

    Yay for me!!  I'm going back to school!  Well, it's Traffic School, but that still counts, doesn't it?

Go Seahawks!

    I've never been a fan of the New England Patriots, although I'd cheer for them if they were playing the Dallas Cowboys.  I'm not a big Seattle Seahawks fan either, but I will definitely be cheering for them in the Super Bowl.

Grammar Nazis and Commas

    I've been reading up on the proper use of commas.  Cuz Beta-Readers have got to be punctuation pros.

Kale

    Kale,  Yuck.  But maybe I haven't been eating it the right way.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “All we wanted to know was, are we on the right road for the Hundred Acre Wood?”

    Julian nodded.  “Follow your nose as far as the next clearing but one and wait for a dramatic plot reversal,” he sighed.  “There’s usually one along every ten minutes or so.”

    “Many thanks,” the intruder said.  “If it’s any consolation, the river of predestination has many bends but few bridges.”

    “I’ll bear that in mind,” Julian assured him.  “And now, if you don’t mind -“

    “Carry on,” replied the intruder.  ”Be seeing you.  Strive to be at peace.”

    “Same to you with knobs on.”

    (from Snow White and the Seven Samurai by Tom Holt)

  8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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FaceBook Warning

    I adjusted my FaceBook settings to eliminate the Apocalypse threat.  The Universe sleeps a little safer tonight.

E-Card Friday

    Awww.  Ain't love a marvelous thing?

RIF Thursday

    Reading Is Fun.  One learns from every book one reads.

Antisocial Support Groups

    That is an inherent weakness of Antisocial Support groups.

Philosophy Tuesday

    Words to live by.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “So what?”

    “So this,” Leopard’s finger stabbed out again.  “These legends were created by a group of ex-Nazis right after World War Two.  They were brought over by the OSS and given the job of creating legends for agents who were then inserted inside the USSR.  They called themselves the Norns, the weavers of fate from Wagner’s Ring Cycle opera.”

    “How do you know all that?”

    “The Internet, dude.  How else?”

    (from Father Night by Eric Van Lustbader)

    6½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Dylan Sunday

Saturday Zen

RIF Friday

    And I for one appreciate that information.

Why do we call it Finland?

    Germany calls itself Deutschland.  Spain calls itself Espana.  And Finland calls itself Suomi.  So why don't we call these countries what they call themselves?

    This question was posed to me a couple days ago, and I still don't have an answer for it.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “This is a terrible idea,” Carveth said.  “I mean, haven’t you noticed that we’re actually going towards the enemy?  Four people can’t defeat six divisions, especially if a quarter of them are hiding.  It’s like mooning people at light speed: it just won’t work.  At a guess.”

    (from God Emperor of Didcot by Toby Frost)

    8½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Frasier

    Is it just me, or did Frasier have the best scriptwriters in Hollywood?

Today's Drabble

   I can empathize with Ralph.  I've had this nightmare as well.

Squirrel Jam

  I always love a well-constructed pun.

Cursive

    Ah, Cursive.  You gave me so many bad "Handwriting Grades" in elementary school.  Cute girls got assigned to try and help me, but in those days they had Cooties.  I was very happy when I made it to Junior High and my sloppy handwriting no longer got graded.

    Now of course, we "write" everything with a computer, tablet, cell phone, or e-mail carrier.  And even my signature is usually digitally affixed.

    So up yours, Cursive! I outlasted you.

Irregardless

    We post far too few SMBC cartoons here.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “You are an … interesting man, Elend Venture,” Yomen finally said.

    “I’m a bastard,” Elend said.

    Yomen raised an eyebrow.

    “In composition, not in temperament or by birth,” Elend said with a smile.  “I’m an amalgamation of what I’ve needed to be.  Part scholar, part rebel, part nobleman, part Mistborn, and part soldier.  Sometimes, I don’t even know myself.  I had a devil of a time getting all those pieces to work together.  And, just when I’m starting to get it figured out, the world up and ends on me.”

    (from The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson)

    9*/10.  The complete review is here.