tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86317892024-03-06T20:25:15.636-08:00From Where I SitA compendium of thoughts on writing, politics, education, technology — and sailing.Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.comBlogger498125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-50339541593469287052022-02-26T17:36:00.011-08:002022-02-27T14:06:43.929-08:00"Grieving The Gift" - a gift for parents and readers<p> </p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">G</span><i style="font-size: large;">rieving The Gift: Experience The Journey Through Eyes of A Parent</i></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i>by Dr. Jamie McClintic is an extraordinary book on many levels. It defies any attempt to pigeonhole it.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdv9OFhpPFsKcCZjK2eLoE7rTQm9LcMOHu47WxxxCjsWE01DYvONzRGStFtiRpt5ctGUTkBk3xH7nhvuGAJVqgIdLMwrXGnInRX1sO2UNy9ccGGr4BOhgxMiPqcWbrfdVu_55YyLkfbiRsRIadSt95rBjdBgVrgnpk0GXN0zqiHM1qaK9BH7U=s970" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="700" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdv9OFhpPFsKcCZjK2eLoE7rTQm9LcMOHu47WxxxCjsWE01DYvONzRGStFtiRpt5ctGUTkBk3xH7nhvuGAJVqgIdLMwrXGnInRX1sO2UNy9ccGGr4BOhgxMiPqcWbrfdVu_55YyLkfbiRsRIadSt95rBjdBgVrgnpk0GXN0zqiHM1qaK9BH7U=w225-h312" width="225" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> On one level, it's an expertly told tale of the struggles the author faced when she gave birth to her daughter Maddox who has Down Syndrome. The book also chronicles the emotional rollercoaster that followed the birth. But even that attempt to summarize is feeble. It neglects to salute a remarkable personal narrative produced by McClintic and a book filled with pages of helpful clinical information and advice that other parents dealing with impacts of having a disabled child might face.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> A little reviewer self-disclosure is required. McClintic's father, journalist Greg Awtry, is a good friend, though I have never met Dr. Jamie McClintic in person. Nor have I met her daughter Maddox, whose birth and first decade of life fill this book. That said, after reading <i>Grieving The Gift </i>closely, I feel like I'm part of the family. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">G</span><span style="font-size: medium;">rieving The Gift</span></b></i><span style="font-size: medium;"> is not </span><i style="font-size: large;">easy</i><span style="font-size: medium;"> reading. The author is painfully honest and frank about her thoughts, reactions and struggles from the moment of Maddox's birth through the astounding challenges of her early years. Today Maddox is the love of her mother's life. It wasn't so at first at all. And therein lies the title.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> It's might be as emotionally charged a book as I have ever read. And the writing? Compelling from start to finish. I'm not usually a weeper when reading. But this book in places had me groping for the tissues. I would rate it a two-Kleenex box book.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Take chapter 6, titled <i>Fake It Until You Make It: Three to Six Months.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> McClintic writes about her realization that the denial and anger she experienced immediately after Maddox's birth - and depression over what having a Down Syndrome child could mean - denied her the understanding that her first child was, in truth, a gift. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">"I</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> never recognized</span></b></i><span style="font-size: medium;"> the gift of acceptance until Maddox turned five years old. I was late," McClintic writes. "This revelation made me sad. That was part of my personal motivation for writing this book. I don't want any of you to miss as many years as I did. While wallowing in my depression, I ended up missing some really amazing moments in Maddox's life."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The details of those moments, many of which are chronicled across the 11 chapters, are best left to readers to absorb themselves from reading <i>Grieving</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Besides being a well-written, compelling tale. the book's photos, layout and design are engaging and dramatic. The design makes it like looking at a family photo album, one with margin notes written by a narrator who doesn't pull any punches, but who still manages to demonstrate vulnerability, strength, compassion as well as the ability to learn and adapt.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i>Grieving The Gift</i> does not have to be read straight through in marathon sittings. But McClintic's writing makes it difficult to put the book down. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">O</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ne very important final note</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">: You </span><i style="font-size: large;">must</i><span style="font-size: medium;"> read the Epilog carefully and in its entirety. Really. </span><i style="font-size: large;"><u>Every</u></i><span style="font-size: medium;"> word. OH! And for sure, please keep that tissue box nearby in those final pages.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span><span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>(<i>Review</i> <i>By Michael J. Fitzgerald</i>) </b></p>Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-18138284067395343152021-12-10T12:56:00.002-08:002021-12-10T13:04:13.820-08:00'Madhouse at the End of Earth' - a polar adventure<p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: medium;">NTARCTICA, Bellingshausen Sea </span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">- My natural aversion to being cold went through the roof as I read </span><i style="font-size: large;">Madhouse at the End of the Earth</i><span style="font-size: medium;">. Ditto for living in the kind of haunting darkness experienced by people living in extreme northern and southern climates in winter.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The non-fiction book by journalist Julian Sancton pulls no punches in describing the 1897 voyage of the ship <i>Belgica</i> as it goes deep into the Antarctic on an expedition to find the South Pole. It gets trapped in sea ice forcing captain and crew to winter over in sub-zero temperatures.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyAcP4JkVaTJ7UWhSgKo2oMCDwFtq2UA4Ayz2d9_DTcLuLCybO2t9UYSMlb3T31Y9NohDzo4FtOTeavNBxqv4iYs1rGmTMY0nyDBTfZ0ERtNbABxibRmM5Ks6xKfGlzbSEAyUAQc9bCSfhtzv7_xli9_-e3zVvUDO9SmcUJLz6ps-aqwXyHwA=s596" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="388" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyAcP4JkVaTJ7UWhSgKo2oMCDwFtq2UA4Ayz2d9_DTcLuLCybO2t9UYSMlb3T31Y9NohDzo4FtOTeavNBxqv4iYs1rGmTMY0nyDBTfZ0ERtNbABxibRmM5Ks6xKfGlzbSEAyUAQc9bCSfhtzv7_xli9_-e3zVvUDO9SmcUJLz6ps-aqwXyHwA=w219-h337" width="219" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The temperatures were bad enough. Almost as bad as the food. Being trapped in the ice with little hope of escaping could trigger claustrophobic feelings in anyone. But descriptions of the desolate darkness for months are horrific. So is reading about the crew devouring penguins.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Yes, they reluctantly resorted to eating penguins. It was <i>that</i> or starve.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> P</span><span style="font-size: medium;">enguin meat</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"> - particularly eaten almost raw - had </span><i style="font-size: large;">such</i><span style="font-size: medium;"> a foul taste that some of the crew and captain refused to eat it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> "Imagine a piece of beef, an odoriferous codfish and a canvas-back duck roasted in a pot with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce," the ship's doctor wrote, describing the taste.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Ugh!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The food, cold and light deprivation all play heavily into the madhouse the resulted. But the story also examines the ambitions of the ship's captain, Adrien de Gerlache. He wanted glory and recognition, both of which pushed him to deliberately allow the ship to be trapped. He thought he could demonstrate extraordinary courage and valor of he and his men by surviving a polar winter. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0DaLTTtaLben5pjQcU0JoohrGZivH-8TTdwDh4A4zzQSIb8CDZhsbv1RN-bAfKXlKIE8hey9mjqkn9l9XSBWw_dUglPV7KHBl20NFmKH6iaC2ExQBIXRbFgc_Z3QW1mvXAr7-KVfmQQ2hcV-WsgsipFYwgq7vEaOhDXA77bWldT1G4o0py1o=s1350" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1076" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0DaLTTtaLben5pjQcU0JoohrGZivH-8TTdwDh4A4zzQSIb8CDZhsbv1RN-bAfKXlKIE8hey9mjqkn9l9XSBWw_dUglPV7KHBl20NFmKH6iaC2ExQBIXRbFgc_Z3QW1mvXAr7-KVfmQQ2hcV-WsgsipFYwgq7vEaOhDXA77bWldT1G4o0py1o=w186-h234" width="186" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> It proved true, but a very costly gamble.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> T</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he ambitions of others</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"> are also weaved throughout </span></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Madhouse at the End of the Earth.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> One of those is Roald Amundsen, who would become a famous explorer after surviving his stint on the Belgica. The book makes it clear the men of the Belgica might not have survived if were not for Amundsen's help. The same can be said for the ship's doctor, who ended up going to prison.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> But the doctor's tale is best left to readers to suss out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Meticulously researched and written with almost novel-like style, <i>Madhouse at the End of the Earth</i> is highly recommended reading. Sancton has done an amazing job in this book.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> O</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ddly enough</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">, the book is published by Crown, an imprint of Random House, which is a division of Penguin Random House LLC of New York.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Yes, <i>Penguin</i>.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i>Review by Michael J. Fitzgerald</i></span></b></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p>Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-51972121925365152172021-11-07T15:25:00.006-08:002021-11-07T15:42:32.207-08:00'Project Hail Mary' a prayer for a human future<p> <b><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>LANET ERID</b> - It's hard at the moment to imagine the entire Earth pulling together to save humanity. Really.</p><p> We are facing extinction, thanks largely to human greed and stupidity. (Check out any debate about how real climate change is for evidence of <i>that</i>.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkG0JpdH5l1ITWgJ_PUGxp1HW-yKEb0qeqCAR2BnPq3oB9sXFlCD2F5eRlnR-_60pTfekYXEas2ivf5_1SeTqd0ZrSdaKSZNo1sTrT_rC96tEHkqogcqbDapCzCHBjQ3O1-7WVA/s792/Screen+Shot+2021-11-07+at+2.58.29+PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="518" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkG0JpdH5l1ITWgJ_PUGxp1HW-yKEb0qeqCAR2BnPq3oB9sXFlCD2F5eRlnR-_60pTfekYXEas2ivf5_1SeTqd0ZrSdaKSZNo1sTrT_rC96tEHkqogcqbDapCzCHBjQ3O1-7WVA/w253-h387/Screen+Shot+2021-11-07+at+2.58.29+PM.png" width="253" /></a></div><p></p><p> But Andy Weir's new novel, <i>Project Hail Mary</i>, chronicles an extra-terrestrial threat that pushes earthlings into just such an unlikely planet Earth scenario - nations working together. The sun is losing its power and the Earth is, gasp!, <i>cooling</i>. Quite the turnaround from what we face today.</p><p> Weir's first novel, <i>The Martian</i>, was a smash hit with readers. It eventually was made into a movie of the same name starring Matt Damon. It was a great film. And for lots of reasons I never read Weir's book.</p><p> But <i>Project Hail Mary</i> has a movie in it certainly. I'll be in line early to see it. And the book is a best-seller.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> T</span>he premise is simple</b>. The earth is threatened and the answer to saving the planet lies in the stars. Stars <i>waaaaay</i> away. This threat also presents a menace to other creatures in far-away galaxies. And those other creatures are chasing the solutions just as aggressively as Andy Weir's protagonist, Ryland Grace, a science teacher.</p><p> Grace could be called "The Almost Accidental Astronaut." You will have to read the book to understand why.</p><p><i> Project Hail Mary</i> is told through Grace's eyes. The timeline bounces around slightly, going back and forth between Grace on the ground on Earth before leaving for his adventures in space, light years away.</p><p> Did I mention Grace's intergalactic meetup with an alien spaceship - and an alien?</p><p><i> Project Hail Mary</i> gets a little technical in spots. Actually, it can be downright nerdy. But those nerd sections can be lightly scanned and not hurt the understanding of the overall plot. Some of the technical asides are fascinating. Given Weir's background, you can bet the science is real.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1u0DQaMGMqPSX-cM4MI-hRg76S5A9bkULHMWyN0Zg1tGk9U-7H-8yM0b0z0pSNKL09bTxZQxdAtPsKL4-729Tly-lATev-FXZUWLuY0JNDA7F7EqEZFcxesgPgVPocw3r688gw/s300/weir-andy-image.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1u0DQaMGMqPSX-cM4MI-hRg76S5A9bkULHMWyN0Zg1tGk9U-7H-8yM0b0z0pSNKL09bTxZQxdAtPsKL4-729Tly-lATev-FXZUWLuY0JNDA7F7EqEZFcxesgPgVPocw3r688gw/w231-h231/weir-andy-image.jpeg" width="231" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> T</span>his novel</b> - like <i>The Martian</i> - has plenty of twists and turns providing life-threatening scenarios for both Grace and his newly found alien friend. Yes. Alien <i>friend</i>.<p></p><p> In the end, most readers will go away satisfied having read a good yarn. And perhaps readers might even be slightly more optimistic about the possible future of humanity. Perhaps.</p><p><i> Project Hail Mary</i> is available at the Scappoose (Oregon) Public Library on the new book shelf and in bookstores and online everywhere.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i>Review by Michael J. Fitzgerald</i>)</span></b></p>Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-75213728877441133582021-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:002021-10-24T17:57:19.912-07:00'Lightning Strike' novel is electric for readers <p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><b>SCAPPOOSE, Oregon</b> - William Kent Krueger's <i>Lightning Strike</i> begins with the trappings of a murder mystery - which it is, in part.</p><p> But before the first chapter is finished, it's clear the novel is also a coming-of-age story, commentary on intermarriage between Native Americans and non-natives, and a sharply tuned look at the interplay of the ultra-rich with the poor.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EXR25ShGeNrnM6DBICve0Pi-C5dt3-U6G3fEoaq78biqUBGy1A7voMB3wKnQ0WzOE56WnMQ5_VG5E50yy68vMa7LM5Sr_vgIja1Ph2ES65Cahg5l57dajjUPjXdySunXl8R4dw/s794/Screen+Shot+2021-10-24+at+12.37.19+PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EXR25ShGeNrnM6DBICve0Pi-C5dt3-U6G3fEoaq78biqUBGy1A7voMB3wKnQ0WzOE56WnMQ5_VG5E50yy68vMa7LM5Sr_vgIja1Ph2ES65Cahg5l57dajjUPjXdySunXl8R4dw/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-10-24+at+12.37.19+PM.png" width="203" /></a></div><p></p><p> On top of all that it's a page turner that's almost impossible to put down.</p><p> The story is set in the early 1960s in the area around Minnesota's Iron Lake - a real place you can look up if you want to see it though a non-fiction lens. But Krueger has created a detailed fictional world that should make most readers feel as if they visited.</p><p><i> Lightning Strike</i> also is a short course in the culture of the Native American Ojibwe tribe, highlighted by the clash between non-Ojibwe law enforcement and the tribal members over two Native American deaths. The clash pieces point out the beliefs of the Ojibwe and how difficult it is for the non-Objiwe to relate.</p><p> <b>The story is told through the eyes</b> of 12-year-old Cork O'Connor, who is also the main character in other Krueger works.</p><p> The chapters are relatively short. Some end with cliffhanger episodes, many have a philosophical ending that has readers pondering.</p><p> Besides a solid mystery yarn, <i>Lightning Strike</i> is also often a warm family tale. But, a warning. There's plenty of heartache lurking, too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnwz2PSiuwsQj20jzWJI6OxaeyOIaaAGWNMy3nVHLOhevf6gbV8kGrFC98KY7FSNaaPHRzYylhF6vFzudLoBFibt5vXVGrJBSQVLiglJCoINbBke4m3-HtlLT4BxRQeU-yga7jQ/s1706/Screen+Shot+2021-10-24+at+12.39.13+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1706" data-original-width="1236" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnwz2PSiuwsQj20jzWJI6OxaeyOIaaAGWNMy3nVHLOhevf6gbV8kGrFC98KY7FSNaaPHRzYylhF6vFzudLoBFibt5vXVGrJBSQVLiglJCoINbBke4m3-HtlLT4BxRQeU-yga7jQ/w130-h179/Screen+Shot+2021-10-24+at+12.39.13+PM.png" width="130" /></a></div><br /><b> If this latest William Kent Krueger novel strikes a chord</b> with you, Krueger has a long list of other books that have garnered excellent reviews, too. Krueger is a <i>NY Times </i>best-selling author and lives in St. Paul Minnesota with his family.<p></p><p> <i>Lightning Strike</i> was published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster of NY. It's available on the new book shelf at the Scappoose Public Library in Scappoose, Oregon and bookstores.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Review by Michael J. Fitzgerald)</span></b></i></p><p><br /></p>Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-85214202295097239552015-03-31T07:35:00.004-07:002015-04-01T10:22:35.325-07:00Dipping a toe into the 'chick lit' genre<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York</b> - When I picked up a copy of the novel <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Grace-Jane-Green/dp/1250047331/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427812297&sr=8-1&keywords=saving+grace+novel">Saving Grace</a> </i>(St. Martin's Press, 2014) the opening chapter grabbed me right away with a description of a cranky novelist and the tension between he and his cookbook-writing wife.<br />
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Not that I am a cranky novelist. <i>You hear me? I'm not!</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlECYvQnkN1Am7LtmIlBAPzzrgozvuCOiR0uegGMOuK5y_L7LKjpP5ibC_pCl1xiENqMDwmEZa6CV6nb37nKat3HQpWvK0z3h9wIHK5Y5_829O5H2BZtZodftPMiTgJE_-u7yOJA/s1600/21853667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlECYvQnkN1Am7LtmIlBAPzzrgozvuCOiR0uegGMOuK5y_L7LKjpP5ibC_pCl1xiENqMDwmEZa6CV6nb37nKat3HQpWvK0z3h9wIHK5Y5_829O5H2BZtZodftPMiTgJE_-u7yOJA/s1600/21853667.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a>But the compelling story about their relationship gradually shifts into a tale about mental illness, jealousy, betrayal and evil intrigue.<br />
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Lots of evil intrigue. (Oh! And for the <i>record</i>, the husband/novelist is <i>not</i> the one with mental problems.)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span></b>arly on, <i>Saving Grace</i> author Jane Green introduces a young woman to work with she and her husband as a family assistant. Readers of novels like this immediately see the red flags and think they know what's going to happen.<br />
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They're wrong.<br />
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But I said <i>readers of novels like this</i> because Jane Green is considered practically the inventor of the genre of literature known as 'chick lit,' focusing on women and relationships in novels that are snapped up by women. (<i>Please note, I resisted all temptations here to inject some stereotypical male comment about the proclivities and habits of women</i>.)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b> didn't realize I was reading <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/chick-lit">chick lit</a></i> until I looked up Ms. Green's other work and to contact her about a detail that disturbed me in the book.<br />
<br />
As write my <a href="http://authormichaeljfitzgerald.com/">novels</a>, I am extremely careful to ensure that details are, well, as truthful as can be. I don't change the speed of light, alter gravity, make up statistics or have Lincoln assassinated by a cruise missile.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4YxqTMZjUV_PlFwpBaywSOdHKgwZFCVitT1adbl114hE6qJminnQge90VAclyVkGNO38SKBAyraAkrxARVFNUyNNtCi1GEadOPzt2mD39lZDE9gdES581op8L2VZ2n0yxV_W-g/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4YxqTMZjUV_PlFwpBaywSOdHKgwZFCVitT1adbl114hE6qJminnQge90VAclyVkGNO38SKBAyraAkrxARVFNUyNNtCi1GEadOPzt2mD39lZDE9gdES581op8L2VZ2n0yxV_W-g/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Author Jane Green</i></b></td></tr>
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What caught my eye was a section in which the author's wife is discussing bi-polar disorder with her doctor. In the course of that conversation, the doctor says that in 1996 the number of people diagnosed as being bi-polar was 1 in 20,000 in the U.S. In 2014 (presumably) that number had jumped to 1 in 20.<br />
<br />
<i>Sweet Jesus!</i><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b> contacted Ms. Green and asked if we could chat about that detail, which, so far, I haven't been able to track down.<br />
<br />
<i>Saving Grace</i> is good read, fast-paced, and transcends <i>any</i> publisher's marketing labels to entice readers to buy a copy.<br />
<br />
<i>And</i> it's on the new book shelf at the Watkins Glen public library, too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-70062000924908688252015-03-24T14:27:00.002-07:002015-03-24T14:39:52.852-07:00Empire of the Summer Moon - and American tragedy<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>ACHE, Oklahoma</b> - <i>Empire of the Summer Moon</i> (Scribner, 2010) chronicles the rise and fall of the Comanche nation, which author S.C. Gwynne calls "the most powerful Indian tribe in American history."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVUL-7TVnHwRpOt6Ux-NE9GrWPSY5vG4nBXkYxyAuLxQA19mNKxxh-LNKPkQ1vwHSATxvPFP-Y8BsOLy8SJQXLOd3jVloZdvJeYb6lUIi1xkOxtXW9MU-XJHUwIDDV0jw5WppCA/s1600/tumblr_lfaznsQpGm1qaouh8o1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVUL-7TVnHwRpOt6Ux-NE9GrWPSY5vG4nBXkYxyAuLxQA19mNKxxh-LNKPkQ1vwHSATxvPFP-Y8BsOLy8SJQXLOd3jVloZdvJeYb6lUIi1xkOxtXW9MU-XJHUwIDDV0jw5WppCA/s1600/tumblr_lfaznsQpGm1qaouh8o1_400.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Empire's cover - with Quanah Parker</i></b></td></tr>
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<br />
This non-fiction book reads like a thriller novel. If <i>only</i> it were fiction, at least the parts about what the United States did to the Native Americans of the Old West. (We weren't <i>any</i> kinder to the tribes of the east, but that's another long tale of avarice, greed and evil.)<br />
<br />
This book fell into my lap, <i>literally</i>, while I was moving some books off a bookshelf at a friend's condo in Coconut Creek, Florida. I started reading it and was transfixed. I left that copy on the bookshelf there but was fortunate in that the Watkins Glen Public Library had <i>Empire of the Summer Moon</i> waiting for me when I returned from my trip.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span></b> lot of familiar (and painful) cultural ground is covered in this book. But the writing style of Gwynne has a pulsing beat to it that makes it as compelling as a book designed as a page turner. I suspect he wrote it that way knowing how powerful it would be. There is no dry history in this tome. All the stories he recounts are lively and rich in detail, told through the personal lives of settlers, soldiers, Native Americans and captives.<br />
<br />
Oh yes, the <i>captives</i>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xZpgTn9M-wkCLwCxwpPQVPrBiSehdC4YpgXydoWajQD_WOcS-HscE1D9aujotldY5EFc9trQPgLI3uKZmVPPy2dCvL-HRvIZqP1aqyaSKEVIL3QiEyPiug7QEQm8oSM7JjuifA/s1600/sc-gwynne_custom-9fbc9dd1c88a557b5e7a390adb6ecbe3426baeb4-s6-c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xZpgTn9M-wkCLwCxwpPQVPrBiSehdC4YpgXydoWajQD_WOcS-HscE1D9aujotldY5EFc9trQPgLI3uKZmVPPy2dCvL-HRvIZqP1aqyaSKEVIL3QiEyPiug7QEQm8oSM7JjuifA/s1600/sc-gwynne_custom-9fbc9dd1c88a557b5e7a390adb6ecbe3426baeb4-s6-c30.jpg" height="200" width="127" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>S.C. Gwynne</i></b></td></tr>
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There are many horrific details in the book about how captives were treated, not just by Comanches, but by almost all of the tribes. Likewise the fate of Native Americans at the hands of U.S. Army are shown, too.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">B</span></b>ut a major focus of Gwynne's narrative highlights the life of Quanah Parker (whose photo is on the book's cover), once the chief of all the Comanche tribes. His caucasian mother (Cynthia) had been taken in a raid and became the wife of a Comanche chief, giving birth to Quanah before she was brought (unwillingly) to a white settlement.<br />
<br />
If you have ever seen the film <i>The Searchers</i>, starring John Wayne, it was based on the raid in which Cynthia Parker was taken from her Texas home.<br />
<br />
As a Comanche war chief, Quanah led the U.S. Army on many a wild chase and was feared, hated and by some Army officers, admired for his tactical abilities.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b>n his later years Quanah became a thoroughly modern American man at the turn of the 20th Century, even once dining with President Teddy Roosevelt.<br />
<br />
But I am giving away way too much of the tale.<br />
<br />
<i>Empire of the Summer Moon </i>is a riveting story that probably should be required reading in every American high school. But then, it would likely never get approved for any "Common Core."Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-66527135302126195282015-03-20T07:02:00.005-07:002015-03-20T07:06:41.765-07:00'The Fifth Gospel' - a Vatican thriller novel<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span>ATICAN CITY, Rome, Italy</b> - Welcome to the modern Vatican, where political intrigue and modern technology collide to produce a thriller that mixes religion, family, church history and politics into a neat, very readable package.<br />
<br />
Oh, and there is a murder in the pages of <i>The Fifth Gospel </i>(Simon & Shuster, 2015).<br />
<br />
Or is there?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4mgQrCeTUY5KX8YqnvXYaxhjEU3kGg96qs7wyJm8QIl6RlLWMQCesEw8Zln6XpBAd5wDIuuaUeS-AaqauaEUmHq4nYCeY8qvaCk2zNFRqhquUAbwRWH8QO9qK7A_4FhMw0CKVQ/s1600/9781451694147_p0_v4_s260x420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4mgQrCeTUY5KX8YqnvXYaxhjEU3kGg96qs7wyJm8QIl6RlLWMQCesEw8Zln6XpBAd5wDIuuaUeS-AaqauaEUmHq4nYCeY8qvaCk2zNFRqhquUAbwRWH8QO9qK7A_4FhMw0CKVQ/s1600/9781451694147_p0_v4_s260x420.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><i>The Fifth Gospel</i> uses the history of the Shroud of Turin as a backdrop. And like any good novel, the book takes a small thread and pulls it, dragging the reader along with it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>t doesn't take much dragging. In fact, once the story launches and the reader realizes that history is being made - and <i>revealed</i> - it's a page turner just like something written by David Baldacci.<br />
<br />
Baldacci, coincidently, endorsed the book and said <i>"It will change the way you look at organized religion."</i><br />
<br />
He hit the mark there. It's a book of revelations not only about the Roman Catholic Church, but what happened when the church split - east and west - a thousand years ago. And how the Shroud fits in to the schism that developed.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsRawXUrm_Q7-LJbRTkQKz4VIE8_Nnf5tuMXhmi06-g_hiBPF6gtaC3I39sbIVp2oKB4KxnaPd-Rib8ji2cV-hoMmQ8UQbz4SHmfx-q6pQBGDgsfIWX5wGxh0koHKtfKnPDFJsQ/s1600/11111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsRawXUrm_Q7-LJbRTkQKz4VIE8_Nnf5tuMXhmi06-g_hiBPF6gtaC3I39sbIVp2oKB4KxnaPd-Rib8ji2cV-hoMmQ8UQbz4SHmfx-q6pQBGDgsfIWX5wGxh0koHKtfKnPDFJsQ/s1600/11111.jpg" height="200" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Ian Caldwell</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span>uthor Ian Caldwell has set the novel in the Vatican City, offering a glimpse into the life that goes on behind the walls of the tiny city-nation, home to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. <i>The Fifth Gospel</i> doesn't hammer religion. It uses historical incidents to weave the mystery.<br />
<br />
The book was 10 years in the writing and publishing process. Its attention to detail and plot shows it.<br />
<br />
Recommended reading for everyone. But <i>one</i> caution. This is no airplane book - unless you are flying from New York to Australia.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>he book is on the bookshelves of the Watkins Glen Public Library.Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-8399871240304446182015-01-25T13:54:00.000-08:002015-01-25T13:54:31.890-08:00'The Book of strange new things' - an earthbound review<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York</b> - <i>The Book of strange new things</i> by Michel Faber is, <i>indeed</i>, a strange book itself.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChYaXreBIo226I-oQo6NnzM_Q58Zw5PkFeH_ZKM1LxCsh-gv_cQR7KFtZt2d7u__PABPIb7vfG8GbY5pQuD1aS0x3h43H-hLYK2u00psaO2XtJ8XVLu0gM-co3jTrJTF6W48pSg/s1600/20697435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChYaXreBIo226I-oQo6NnzM_Q58Zw5PkFeH_ZKM1LxCsh-gv_cQR7KFtZt2d7u__PABPIb7vfG8GbY5pQuD1aS0x3h43H-hLYK2u00psaO2XtJ8XVLu0gM-co3jTrJTF6W48pSg/s1600/20697435.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a>It's part science fiction, part theological treatise and part counseling about loneliness, couples and long-distance relationships.<br />
<br />
Oh. And throw in a <i>multi-galaxy corporation </i>that has established an outpost on a planet a gazillion miles (or was it light years?) from earth.<br />
<br />
Still, the story of an earthly minister who travels to a colony where aliens are intrigued with the idea of Christianity works for the most part. And although the book runs slow in some spots, the relationship between the minister and the wife he left on earth (temporarily, temporarily!) is as intriguing as it is hard to watch.<br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he Book of strange new things </i>is actually the Christian <i>Bible</i> and the pastor's interactions with the aliens are, well, I don't want to spoil it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOYHetwSXd0yazLRuMVttSSQaUzQNwUuPD4xvoH8wrXqHCW5q9goyE57_Vm8xbh9sL403v4dE9VTeGx1xeNRT6Wr3sgAq7NptfFU_EwwFjsXSxT2fptmrLkNC5rHdXAxZFjGpJQ/s1600/16272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOYHetwSXd0yazLRuMVttSSQaUzQNwUuPD4xvoH8wrXqHCW5q9goyE57_Vm8xbh9sL403v4dE9VTeGx1xeNRT6Wr3sgAq7NptfFU_EwwFjsXSxT2fptmrLkNC5rHdXAxZFjGpJQ/s1600/16272.jpg" height="200" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Michel Faber</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By the way, I suppose it is <i>entirely</i> wrong to call the indigenous people on the planet aliens. It is, after all, their planet.<br />
<br />
This book is not an easy read, yet I couldn't stop slogging through it.<br />
<br />
I have read that the author has announced that this tome is his last.<br />
<br />
Well, it did take him 10 years to write it so he has earned his rest.<br />
<br />
It's on the new book shelf at the Watkins Glen Public Library.Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-81918909252294831902013-10-08T15:01:00.000-07:002013-10-08T15:03:24.090-07:00Hiaasen's new novel 'Bad Monkey' is good<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York</b> - Carl Hiaasen's latest novel, <i>Bad Monkey</i>, isn't really about a bad monkey, although there is one it in. And he is bad. Oh my, he is bad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgpEf16ON7kmYnbm5NQIVfqyw47qzQ9Ab9nJo5NfLEvUtizZ_FrVZSycfwnhajPz6I9W8T6nMOFQayihEPKfCmgB_PRBSqhrlHPLhBRk1A1DZSvL2DUTYxaiFZL2s9G2p9z0FFQ/s1600/bad-monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgpEf16ON7kmYnbm5NQIVfqyw47qzQ9Ab9nJo5NfLEvUtizZ_FrVZSycfwnhajPz6I9W8T6nMOFQayihEPKfCmgB_PRBSqhrlHPLhBRk1A1DZSvL2DUTYxaiFZL2s9G2p9z0FFQ/s200/bad-monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Instead, <i>Bad Monkey</i> is a somewhat typical Hiaasen romp through the byzantine and bizarre world of South Florida politics and police. <i>Bad Monkey</i> at first seemed a little, well, <i>too</i> Hiaasen with characters acting <i>so</i> bizarre, you can't believe them. Even if they are supposed to reside in South Florida. Which is a bizarre place.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>B</b></span>ut there is no putting this book down. Within the first 100 pages most readers will be totally hooked and rooting for the protagonist of the book, a guy has been busted from his police post as a detective to the <i>roach patrol</i> - a restaurant food inspector. By the way, this book won't encourage you to do much restaurant dining in South Florida either.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwddN95mL1sSy3C9n1mDRNf1QdKm5OhOBWI3wOa6CwWhm7Bnke-AHJxinbzfB0Kix4x0I6OjC-tLwpkXt7mU1eD3uzLE2AEJ9WNTIXEqWAmpDP335_mkOSLoFveL_IPXsX-qVoHg/s1600/9780307272591_custom-65c4767e55442bca42887f9493af82a9d188c784-s6-c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwddN95mL1sSy3C9n1mDRNf1QdKm5OhOBWI3wOa6CwWhm7Bnke-AHJxinbzfB0Kix4x0I6OjC-tLwpkXt7mU1eD3uzLE2AEJ9WNTIXEqWAmpDP335_mkOSLoFveL_IPXsX-qVoHg/s200/9780307272591_custom-65c4767e55442bca42887f9493af82a9d188c784-s6-c30.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
<br />
How the main character got busted from cop to food inspector I really cannot write about here. My granddaughter sometimes reads these posts. Right Samantha?<br />
<br />
But you find out early in the first of the book. It involved a vacuum cleaner. I've said too much already.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>C</b></span>arl Hiaasen hardly needs any promotion from me. But this book is entertaining reading. It might help you bone up on your voodoo skills, too. For more on that, check out <i>Bad Monkey</i>.Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-9201923279883322632013-08-26T16:59:00.001-07:002013-08-26T19:00:41.196-07:00A book about a man called Iscariot - as in Judas<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York, USA</b> - There are challenging biographies and there are <i>challenging</i> biographies.<br />
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But Judas Iscariot, the ultimate Christian symbol of betrayal?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MGxccF2YloCjCjX1iqisCNKdj3QOZlajHxQtcBYkWGsymLeWDWxpclJv1Xb7sJHQbb-AA9zBXob4rnyJliGumqzHjNnfW8_wQdtu7_EyZgDcOj12gJWYbiIiA3IFGvkphB3dNA/s1600/judas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MGxccF2YloCjCjX1iqisCNKdj3QOZlajHxQtcBYkWGsymLeWDWxpclJv1Xb7sJHQbb-AA9zBXob4rnyJliGumqzHjNnfW8_wQdtu7_EyZgDcOj12gJWYbiIiA3IFGvkphB3dNA/s200/judas.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
Hoo-boy! <br />
<br />
In <i>Iscariot</i>, author Tosca Lee creates a fictional account of Judas Iscariot's life and times, leading from childhood to his suicide (by hanging himself). The work, although a novel, is based on <i>years</i> of research by Lee who also authored <i>Demon: A Memoir </i>and<i> Havah: The Story of Eve</i> - both bestsellers.<br />
<br />
It's a fast-paced book, full of the kind of historical detail that makes such volumes easy to read. After all, you know how it ends. But getting there in this case is <i>everything</i>.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurk4-HfHl_rps8w0k1ZC1kcsjcr-liwvyt-Uvk-9lB3Ce-9ZV0lS9a-UGgZllVlIiwPqYezjSjUZTrOqFLgZYmwqVwSvP-M_bRJAPuuwA7vth7raXDYKwMV4kdBjQkYPQqhoVpA/s1600/tosca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurk4-HfHl_rps8w0k1ZC1kcsjcr-liwvyt-Uvk-9lB3Ce-9ZV0lS9a-UGgZllVlIiwPqYezjSjUZTrOqFLgZYmwqVwSvP-M_bRJAPuuwA7vth7raXDYKwMV4kdBjQkYPQqhoVpA/s200/tosca.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Tosca Lee</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>L</b></span>ee builds a case that Judas was not the penultimate devil that most Christian theologians have made him out to be. If anything, he was more devout than the other apostles. But in a twisting and turning set of events, he ends up with the famous 30 pieces of silver.<br />
<br />
It was a mistake and he knew it right away. But the book postulates it was all way more complicated than that.<br />
<br />
<i>Iscariot</i> is actually an uplifting book in many ways. And well worth reading.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>t was good enough that I am on the trail of copies of Tosca Lee's two other works.<br />
<br />
<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-7493402870868163922013-07-17T05:22:00.001-07:002013-07-17T05:23:41.021-07:00"The Eye of God" James Rollins' latest thriller<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>ONGOLIA </b>- Normally, covers that indicate a book is part of a series - in this case a Sigma Force Novel - turn me right <i>off</i>.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xiIGmmD8vtn1vHA0rkqCGaePV7WRb5NOYY06txO3rLbdiiue7-ZyOLul5qwehVhgGqz21Nji66JRSvk4lUUGTxKbN3HOymUIs6G1dW0Gj6IHR1qWn6TP-KNHlVLkwKsE8UdoUg/s1600/rollins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xiIGmmD8vtn1vHA0rkqCGaePV7WRb5NOYY06txO3rLbdiiue7-ZyOLul5qwehVhgGqz21Nji66JRSvk4lUUGTxKbN3HOymUIs6G1dW0Gj6IHR1qWn6TP-KNHlVLkwKsE8UdoUg/s200/rollins.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>James Rollins</i></b></td></tr>
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<br />
It might be the same reason I don't eat at franchise restaurants. I want something original, fresh - like a Lionel Shriver or Jodi Picoult novel where the characters are new, the plot lively, and not a rehash of some old plot or formula that resulted in an avalanche of book sales. (James Lee Burke novels are a <i>notable</i> exception to this by the way. His new book <i>Light of the World</i> will be out July 23 and the characters in it are old friends.) <br />
<br />
In the case of <i>The Eye of God </i>by James Rollins, I decided to take a look anyway, as it had quantum physics, time travel and religion mixed up in the mash with the Sigma Force people.<br />
<br />
It was a formula that worked.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b>f the book were shorter, I would recommend it for reading during an airline flight across country. But at just over 400 pages, it's longish. And the action is fast and a little too tiring take in to read in just one or two settings.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLuE3xA4sPg9NvgONkXMakgCbjhbA1IXVeasC7p1bZBHCn5H_3WCiDWXu89JdYf2yEDcRDF2qZ5NJKba18GfAnYHyVOBbZNxvUJicEFwpth1h1th7-SZcbNY5gefgtX0N1W6bTQ/s1600/eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLuE3xA4sPg9NvgONkXMakgCbjhbA1IXVeasC7p1bZBHCn5H_3WCiDWXu89JdYf2yEDcRDF2qZ5NJKba18GfAnYHyVOBbZNxvUJicEFwpth1h1th7-SZcbNY5gefgtX0N1W6bTQ/s200/eye.jpg" width="132" /></a>Like many action books, this has a serious <i>end-of-the-world</i> bent, but just enough plausibility of science, religion and military action to make it, well, believable. The physical feats of some of the characters stretch credulity, but then swimming under ice flows in Lake Baikal never seemed like a good idea to me anyway.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I </b></span>can't speak for other Rollins' books, but <i>The Eye of God</i> is worth of look. And if you do pick it up, follow it all the way to the very end. There's a surprise ending with a heart warming twist involving time and its relation to the universe. <br />
<br />
<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-14534670617934583732013-05-09T05:57:00.002-07:002013-05-09T06:11:17.202-07:00Follow the money in Roger Hobb's 'Ghost Man' <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York, USA</b> - <i>Ghost Man</i> by Roger Hobbs moves back and forth in time in a way that in many novels can be <i>sooooo</i> irritating, I give up on them.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmur3-0Cdv8Y65Q6sYTkQu53kXzIuDetYlJILTpgMH6F6e_8mELRFODuWv6_jOnlobzotX-dUiwihq2j2NTyGESs1vj7UCG4kFKkuQiwSOJ1348RMAxAd-_Ic6j6iIj7XWy_bSZg/s1600/hobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmur3-0Cdv8Y65Q6sYTkQu53kXzIuDetYlJILTpgMH6F6e_8mELRFODuWv6_jOnlobzotX-dUiwihq2j2NTyGESs1vj7UCG4kFKkuQiwSOJ1348RMAxAd-_Ic6j6iIj7XWy_bSZg/s200/hobbs.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Hobbs</i></b></td></tr>
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<i>Ghost Man</i> does so <i>seamlessly</i>.<br />
<br />
And that this is his <i>first</i> novel makes that accomplishment - along with his well-developed plot and nearly flawless execution - all the more impressive.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbc9WPZL8ZAGK8TpmOGhnJKywJZBxgRwuebZivgqhswakHJO2nvseX5UARnbUsD7P3XMoBGJzOiv4GwpjlO5dIs90r6s90ycnLUi7UN12KXs_dQs_b9PRYJeyPxgksPObckRWng/s1600/0213-ghostman-roger-hobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbc9WPZL8ZAGK8TpmOGhnJKywJZBxgRwuebZivgqhswakHJO2nvseX5UARnbUsD7P3XMoBGJzOiv4GwpjlO5dIs90r6s90ycnLUi7UN12KXs_dQs_b9PRYJeyPxgksPObckRWng/s200/0213-ghostman-roger-hobbs.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>he storyline is pretty-classic crime novel with robberies, crooks, and a lot of hi-tech communications and gadgetry thrown in to complicate matters. And there is plenty of gun play, too.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, all of the scenes, robberies and technical details come off with a solid ring of truth.<br />
<br />
Roger Hobbs did his <i>homework</i>, it seems.<br />
<br />
He gives a glimpse into a crime world that is as dark as it is chilling. Think of <i>The Sopranos</i>, but without much of the humor that was sprinkled in those HBO programs along with crushed fingers and blood. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>here are also references to what happens if a person is forced to ingest a large quantity of nutmeg. But to give away <i>that</i> - and how it fits in to the book - would give away part of the plot.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9hURGDEmBAF0vf0MysQyCtjoznWkNYK96j6kWQ5o-xnimTwDBKQnlAr811tWd-XZz6DkuI80Skv7q6Ql6Xl8avXI14OKJnkigfI7mCLRMbgxYfvsUp_Vb2YAeTcNYxY1YAtpww/s1600/nutmeg-new-netherland-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9hURGDEmBAF0vf0MysQyCtjoznWkNYK96j6kWQ5o-xnimTwDBKQnlAr811tWd-XZz6DkuI80Skv7q6Ql6Xl8avXI14OKJnkigfI7mCLRMbgxYfvsUp_Vb2YAeTcNYxY1YAtpww/s200/nutmeg-new-netherland-3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Danger! Danger!</b></i> <i><b>Nutmeg!</b></i></td></tr>
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I'm <i>not</i> telling. There could be a Ghost Man lurking outside my door right now.<br />
<br />
<i>With</i> nutmeg.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">G</span></b>host Man</i> is well-worth a close read. And it will be extremely hard to put down.<br />
<br />
<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-36595870157627890872013-04-30T10:21:00.002-07:002013-04-30T10:22:07.262-07:00The Graves Are Walking - a book about famine<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhU754O3pscqq4XWSfyZ_XqA9UO30qz0p04C1zQ2v0x6LtsZZWN3CZxcgq8PEkbDvIqybHQ5yj0a1g5fDWjz9Hz9IRI07bYPzjlKDTRKQt5XVowtHAjK9lc0ykVBx2lfsCBJypA/s1600/kelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhU754O3pscqq4XWSfyZ_XqA9UO30qz0p04C1zQ2v0x6LtsZZWN3CZxcgq8PEkbDvIqybHQ5yj0a1g5fDWjz9Hz9IRI07bYPzjlKDTRKQt5XVowtHAjK9lc0ykVBx2lfsCBJypA/s200/kelly.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>John Kelly</b></i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York</b> - The Great Famine in Ireland, the one that sparked the <i>massive</i> migration of Irish from Ireland to the United States and Canada, has been written about extensively since the 1845s when the potato crop went bad and agriculture was decimated.<br />
<br />
But a 2012 book by John Kelly, <i>The Graves Are Walking</i>, gives a fresh look (and accurate historical account) of that terrible time, for which most Irish people blame their English overloads of the era.<br />
<br />
There is plenty of blame to go in that direction. But after reading Kelly's work, it seems clear that the famine and subsequent events were as much a fault of classic British <i>bumbling</i> as malignant intent.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYZ5dE8Ldk-bngMv0U-efDKIjkaNb09YxeyLBHEitc6o7oSYv4XwtYQlmCLZlH7X4wlHKwQNvib0FJqXOBzZvl5TvFL8owN_H7CCuon5Ynidk54zjXr7Lk5hQdXfxEtZGbWa-dw/s1600/graves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYZ5dE8Ldk-bngMv0U-efDKIjkaNb09YxeyLBHEitc6o7oSYv4XwtYQlmCLZlH7X4wlHKwQNvib0FJqXOBzZvl5TvFL8owN_H7CCuon5Ynidk54zjXr7Lk5hQdXfxEtZGbWa-dw/s1600/graves.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he book walks through the famine years, explaining the massive exodus from Ireland and why the millions died of starvation. Could many of them have saved had the British acted more in the interests of the Irish? Yes. That they didn't was part ineptitude and a large dose of British attitude about the Irish people.<br />
<br />
The Brits believed - perhaps <i>still</i> believe in some cases - that the Irish reliance on the potato as <i>the</i> major farm crop was because the Irish were lazy. Potatoes were simply <i>too</i> easy a crop to grow, Kelly writes, leading the British to have nearly complete a lack of sympathy when the crops failed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span>nd when I say crops <i>failed</i>, I mean the entire planting of potatoes. Without shipment of food from outside of Ireland, people knew the Irish would starve - which they did because relief measures were <i>pathetically</i> inadequate.<br />
<br />
<i>The Graves Are Walking</i> is not easy reading, but it's hard not to hear echoes of some modern American attitudes about the poor in the U.S. eerily reflected in this book.<br />
<br />
It might be a good volume to ship to some of our GOP legislators who want to slash food programs for the poor. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b>t's on the new book shelf at the Watkins Glen library and was published by Henry Holt and Company of New York city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RrWeDHiJePpUZ237vJCZxEREJp1gevAcRNyQOv_CSTw_LhfnSgcFKMBRQ3C8HQtCPYBsJfn4Z0kB7dnETxYx35oyY29QAWRNIwd3MqSIf95YlJhTHQ1QybuimRc4gBzCvF_sJw/s1600/starvingfamily.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RrWeDHiJePpUZ237vJCZxEREJp1gevAcRNyQOv_CSTw_LhfnSgcFKMBRQ3C8HQtCPYBsJfn4Z0kB7dnETxYx35oyY29QAWRNIwd3MqSIf95YlJhTHQ1QybuimRc4gBzCvF_sJw/s400/starvingfamily.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><b>A starving Irish family in County Galway</b></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-14481822688401576962013-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:002013-01-29T06:19:24.859-08:00'Hitchcock' bio-pic a winner with Anthony Hopkins<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>OLLYWOOD, California, USA</b> - Alfred Hitchcock's movies have always fascinated me. And one episode of his popular television series once scared me <i>sooooo</i> badly when I was about 10 years old, I would wake up screaming in the night.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOffwcOKyMHA-n4J7NrrfYrF6yw-MY3p8L4zXTPa_HaKpdfLP9LDVPUrmLz_W9w8SybdBRNO0ZPwGQ65EqigQ_S_OEVlpIqhgxlfZFlckm6SsRgS0tab0hCtjxiq9rmI3FGKgYng/s1600/h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOffwcOKyMHA-n4J7NrrfYrF6yw-MY3p8L4zXTPa_HaKpdfLP9LDVPUrmLz_W9w8SybdBRNO0ZPwGQ65EqigQ_S_OEVlpIqhgxlfZFlckm6SsRgS0tab0hCtjxiq9rmI3FGKgYng/s200/h1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The real Alfred Hitchcock</i></b></td></tr>
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I forgive him for that episode. But if I wake up tonight in a cold sweat because a creature is coming up my stairs, I'll post something in this space tomorrow. Unless the creature gets me, of course. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he picture stars Anthony Hopkins in the title role with Helen Mirren as Hitchcock's wife, Alma. The rest of cast is dynamite, too. And I challenge any male who watches this film to avoid being smitten by Scarlett Johansson. She plays the role of Janet Leigh who, in turn, played in one of Hitchcock's most famous films, <i>Psycho</i>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcPPRZaSV38owwcr5GKjEClCnTkRGfpqjIFMWcS9CwZz98mNpbqeFbY2tQqv9J8KcoSIfyKPjSUrz2GoNSVV0nTT-D83diLgpBR9mRnckRmEzdqE29Y2p2xsITXVjDWUgp0HDlg/s1600/h5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcPPRZaSV38owwcr5GKjEClCnTkRGfpqjIFMWcS9CwZz98mNpbqeFbY2tQqv9J8KcoSIfyKPjSUrz2GoNSVV0nTT-D83diLgpBR9mRnckRmEzdqE29Y2p2xsITXVjDWUgp0HDlg/s200/h5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Scarlett Johansson</b></i></td></tr>
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<i>Psycho</i> is the template around which the entire movie revolves. How Hitchcock and his wife work as a team is fascinating. And the movie script for <i>Psycho</i> gives plenty of insight into who Hitchcock himself was.<br />
<br />
A tortured genius is a <i>gross</i> understatement.<br />
<br />
Hitchcock is well worth seeing. But unlike his television series, it's unlikely to keep you awake at night. I think. <br />
<br />
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-7220565773815450122013-01-20T20:30:00.001-08:002013-01-20T20:33:32.497-08:00Film 'Argo' a winner - great actors, great directing<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>EHRAN, Iran</b> - The movie '<i>Argo</i>,' directed by and starring Ben Affleck is a<i> tour de force</i> of moviemaking.<br />
<br />
I am not entirely sure what a <i>tour de force</i> is, but is certainly sounds impressive.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCHAXdlsYhHK3XjbV69ZEqHoSoKvmrIJMFGCpChjJs1tarqqn2xfKMt3jeLibnPtXSnu2m9ID-MVtKqnO9gXT-pck1qjnzCjECWSb5Yu4Yp5wIaFqwnLw0IjN37kOzR-daJIiuA/s1600/Argo2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCHAXdlsYhHK3XjbV69ZEqHoSoKvmrIJMFGCpChjJs1tarqqn2xfKMt3jeLibnPtXSnu2m9ID-MVtKqnO9gXT-pck1qjnzCjECWSb5Yu4Yp5wIaFqwnLw0IjN37kOzR-daJIiuA/s200/Argo2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Ben Affleck as a CIA agent</b></i></td></tr>
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The script and directing are as tight as can be. It's one of those movies you don't want to look away from the screen for even a second - you will miss something. I did, and replay is really hard on a computer.<br />
<br />
Lots of CIA intrigue in it. Mostly it shows that our government <i>can</i> get things done, but largely in spite of itself. The top dogs of the government don't come off well. Only the misanthropes, like the character played by Ben Affleck seem to navigate it well.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span>ll the actors did a great job in this film, though John Goodman and Alan Arkin really went over the top in their performances. More of that <i>tour de force</i> stuff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHektxzXedtIfe7NcqYMHaPVQazMveiD7T1flTm-dWJx4OWI4EkMKNwPcGQlBzWqRspbL8fa4Tftd24wGnm-wE-lyE_DBcy6lrr2HK0SqOEaU2kNy18sLYUD1SgMWdxByAO1B8Uw/s1600/argo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHektxzXedtIfe7NcqYMHaPVQazMveiD7T1flTm-dWJx4OWI4EkMKNwPcGQlBzWqRspbL8fa4Tftd24wGnm-wE-lyE_DBcy6lrr2HK0SqOEaU2kNy18sLYUD1SgMWdxByAO1B8Uw/s1600/argo1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Arkin and Affleck</i></b></td></tr>
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<br />
The story line is dramatic - U.S. hostages during the Iranian crisis of 1979-80 need to be rescued from the Canadian embassy where they are hiding out.<br />
<br />
But beyond that, <i>no</i> spoilers here. Watch <i>Argo</i> instead. It's worth it, <i>especially</i> the final few scenes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhbWFIL2sNVTfVi9FAVK7eOVx9TH-DXqRvMx7A5mDXBtsHzwS680-dNVpouBF2rdQfhz4dxfqMjCrUC5KmFaq27ZWnJgGoixlgoZjkrYQhJx_wBUhzwP9xCxUUfhP4TpHJhqIeA/s1600/argo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhbWFIL2sNVTfVi9FAVK7eOVx9TH-DXqRvMx7A5mDXBtsHzwS680-dNVpouBF2rdQfhz4dxfqMjCrUC5KmFaq27ZWnJgGoixlgoZjkrYQhJx_wBUhzwP9xCxUUfhP4TpHJhqIeA/s400/argo3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Getting past the Iranian guards</b></i></td></tr>
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-15770294295918999102013-01-09T16:12:00.000-08:002013-01-09T16:21:23.809-08:00"Hope Springs" - a painfully funny film<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">N</span>UEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico</b> - Last night I watched <i>Hope Springs</i>, a film billed as a romantic comedy with a great cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep and Steve Carrell.<br />
<br />
With those three, how can you miss? Really.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aMzQzlzKXT9rQuQBHlZxa4L3ifmoRUbNT8PDn45Equlr-k2vxTSNeh2rOS1ny44aT3_swRBt6thX70uNg8shDB9tB1O9DfejDj1vwolAMhQFSIw_wvMeWjlZ8V1YivXqoekI8g/s1600/Hope_Springs_S_carrell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aMzQzlzKXT9rQuQBHlZxa4L3ifmoRUbNT8PDn45Equlr-k2vxTSNeh2rOS1ny44aT3_swRBt6thX70uNg8shDB9tB1O9DfejDj1vwolAMhQFSIw_wvMeWjlZ8V1YivXqoekI8g/s200/Hope_Springs_S_carrell.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Steve Carrell</i></b></td></tr>
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Still, I am not much of a romantic-comedy fan. Seen too many Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Jessica Parker films bomb. <br />
<br />
But <i>Hope Springs</i> is funny, in a painful sort of way, depending on how many years you have been married and what you think about couples counseling. I would say it's a dark comedy.<br />
<br />
And worth watching.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOcDBRNJo985lTfhh6uR9f6u6eQXDqOW8BrNqpsBAUJeAtcIlaO4_e-GxdHT3MWdYRFHRlhoT7mwB4NR5qfRGycHJf_j40b42FOvrLC-l_EJbVlpNCARbikmq8bbfWrOjt9vCpw/s1600/hope4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOcDBRNJo985lTfhh6uR9f6u6eQXDqOW8BrNqpsBAUJeAtcIlaO4_e-GxdHT3MWdYRFHRlhoT7mwB4NR5qfRGycHJf_j40b42FOvrLC-l_EJbVlpNCARbikmq8bbfWrOjt9vCpw/s200/hope4.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Elizabeth Shue</b></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ommy Lee Jones stole the show with his acting, though Meryl Streep's portrayal of his wife was Oscar-caliber, too. And Steve Carrell? Carrell played it <i>sooooo</i> straight and in doing so, was far funnier than in any schtick he could have come up with.<br />
<br />
I would recommend the movie without reservation but with one caution - watch it <i>very</i> carefully.<br />
<br />
This is <i>not</i> a movie that allows you to work in the kitchen and just listen. If you don't watch for all the visual cues, you miss a lot. The facial expressions alone are amazing.<br />
<br />
Also starring in <i>Hope Springs</i> in a cameo roll as a bartender is Elizabeth Shue. She's steals her scenes without effort.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNPwCMy1KSEWxE8les6fUzItvQ9_P-NAaukAcMvkUI3t8YkRccnX-CDVQT9wgUJ1jYlWrrYsJh-E504izLlSQPTbQ_QyQ1Y0M6ZRcF4mHfGKNZ6JeUWTAjn8CnYLlAyzqXw4ogg/s1600/hope2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNPwCMy1KSEWxE8les6fUzItvQ9_P-NAaukAcMvkUI3t8YkRccnX-CDVQT9wgUJ1jYlWrrYsJh-E504izLlSQPTbQ_QyQ1Y0M6ZRcF4mHfGKNZ6JeUWTAjn8CnYLlAyzqXw4ogg/s400/hope2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Street</i></b></td></tr>
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-86406407380798835572012-12-04T06:39:00.001-08:002012-12-04T06:56:11.560-08:00"The Trial of Fallen Angels" takes you - somewhere<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">N</span>UEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico</b> - <i>The Trial of Fallen Angels</i> by James Kimmel Jr. is a remarkable book from two directions. First, it is well-written and easy to read. Second, it is his first novel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdy5jLhw2nFTcJypxx-2f0baVavvBFoP7ZI-3jVnsBxRN3m6N27VBtagLvV1FWM3dKEExKsOpcNZUBwbri2tRYeMNpE4eB7tWjuFVhSTHpNqjmU4k2KR_dWjNOgWa36Kf0U-qHFw/s1600/trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdy5jLhw2nFTcJypxx-2f0baVavvBFoP7ZI-3jVnsBxRN3m6N27VBtagLvV1FWM3dKEExKsOpcNZUBwbri2tRYeMNpE4eB7tWjuFVhSTHpNqjmU4k2KR_dWjNOgWa36Kf0U-qHFw/s200/trial.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Kimmel</b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have wailed in this space about first novels before - usually that they don't have the snap that later work does for most novelists. But <i>Trial</i> reads as quickly as a detective novel, though the plot will weigh heavy in most reader's hearts.<br />
<br />
I mean <i>really</i> heavy. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he book is about dead people. Well, no, wait. Dead people isn't the right way to say it. Perhaps <i>souls in transit</i> would be better.<br />
<br />
These souls are headed towards heaven, or somewhere else, and all are caught up in an ecclesiastical judicial system. No, there aren't practicing lawyers in heaven (we can hope). But then this book doesn't take place in heaven. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuuybQxJsEDAxCmfWX-ABQ-KsCGO5EMB4cSOKBrEgu_L2lErfb4SL9qojHYiE4Qjxs11ha20-sVN67IxgE2UuvjPWXhWduNQv64JcjEOPhk53l9JvAEJc65BIrlwSd6pljue1wg/s1600/trial+of+fallen+angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuuybQxJsEDAxCmfWX-ABQ-KsCGO5EMB4cSOKBrEgu_L2lErfb4SL9qojHYiE4Qjxs11ha20-sVN67IxgE2UuvjPWXhWduNQv64JcjEOPhk53l9JvAEJc65BIrlwSd6pljue1wg/s200/trial+of+fallen+angels.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>Trial</i> is set in an otherworldly locale where things, as you might guess, are never exactly what they seem. And people's motives, sins, and intentions are never as simple as we still on earth would like them to be.<br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he Trial of Fallen Angels</i> has plenty of twists and turns, too, making it close to a page turner.<br />
<br />
Just don't read it <i>right</i> before you go sleep. The dreams I had for several nights running were pretty spooky.<br />
<br />
No, make that <b><i>really</i></b> spooky. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-21863896349978182882012-11-20T16:21:00.002-08:002012-11-20T18:16:35.552-08:00Isaac Asimov's "Nemesis" warns of Earth's future<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">N</span>UEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico</b> - The late Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction thriller <i>Nemesis</i> is both uplifting and sad at the same time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4STjFqoW32O2Wz4973K8ppAqW6WTyTMlzqquwLkloisoY1IH_1suGUBjw-6P0projnKP6zG1mPql2XOHhy20Cc9e0DWRmKH9Q7YNlhdbvyIKjNhyHdupwf1QWXPBpA5zMK9XjA/s1600/Isaac_Asimov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4STjFqoW32O2Wz4973K8ppAqW6WTyTMlzqquwLkloisoY1IH_1suGUBjw-6P0projnKP6zG1mPql2XOHhy20Cc9e0DWRmKH9Q7YNlhdbvyIKjNhyHdupwf1QWXPBpA5zMK9XjA/s200/Isaac_Asimov.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Isaac Asimov</b></i></td></tr>
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<br />
The 1989 tome came out as most of the U.S. population had given up completely on space travel as something worth pursuing (and funding). That's the sad part. When the U.S. first went to the moon, the plans were for a manned-mission to Mars by 1985.<br />
<br />
That never lifted off the ground.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>B</b></span>ut the <i>uplifting</i> part is about human nature and how in the end, humanity saves itself from cosmic disaster through clever thinking (with a little help from an alien intelligence). A relative handful of humans leave Earth in the book, trying to find a new world for everyone. That's all the plot you get from me.<br />
<br />
I just finished reading <i>Nemesis</i> for the first time and like all good science fiction it holds the test of time.<br />
<br />
<i>Perhaps</i> oddly, it talks about the need to save the people of Earth who are living on a planet stripped of natural resources and polluted beyond belief. Sound familiar? The Earth's population at the time of Asimov's Nemesis? About 8 billion. That's 1 billion more than live on Earth as I write this. And Earth's population went from 6 billion to 7 billion in just over 11 years.<br />
<br />
Are we stripping the planet of natural resources and polluting it <i>beyond</i> belief.<br />
<br />
<i>Yup</i>. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>f you are a science fiction buff, grab a copy at a used book store or get it through Kindle or the iBooks. No warp drives pushing space ships around in this book - they have better, more interesting stuff, though.<br />
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Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-57391546889261500282012-11-03T07:27:00.003-07:002012-11-03T07:29:15.960-07:00Climate change connects with the Zoo<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York, USA</b> - The hammering that New York, New Jersey and other eastern seaboard states just took from Hurricane Sandy might - <i>might</i> - be a wakeup for people about the reality of climate change. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_NW_EI_JIA1AT80LRj4AjmMoHbErAXAStwFZTE_EqnaiFy84xdnk7Y3y5QnwuyhWJ-m77nlDpHTip3GUXMkv6XoRZGoP5HEsc10KqdXvdqICwz5Ng_SVq4Qs3efLQuBzKl_94A/s1600/Patterson_Zoo_HC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_NW_EI_JIA1AT80LRj4AjmMoHbErAXAStwFZTE_EqnaiFy84xdnk7Y3y5QnwuyhWJ-m77nlDpHTip3GUXMkv6XoRZGoP5HEsc10KqdXvdqICwz5Ng_SVq4Qs3efLQuBzKl_94A/s320/Patterson_Zoo_HC.jpg" width="217" /></a>My relatives in the Long Island-New Jersey area are all ok, but it was (and remains) a harrowing experience that will be talked about for years. As of this writing, most are without electricity and heat and repair efforts are slow at best, more likely glacial.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span>s Hurricane Sandy roared through the Finger Lakes - and it <i>did</i> roar through but doing <i>relatively</i> little damage - I was finishing a book called <i>Zoo</i>, James Patterson's (and Michael Ledwidge's) latest.<br />
<br />
I have not been much of a Patterson fan in recent years, but this book should get more attention from people who are watching climate change, genetically modified food effects, and the destruction of the planet as we plunder it for oil, gas and minerals.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>t's hard not to spoil the plot here. But I will say that the book describes how man's incessant desire for more industrial growth leads to a problem with animals. No, they don't get sick, exactly. But imagine your pet Chihuahua suddenly turning from a yipping little thing with a grapefruit I.Q. to a clever, conniving pooch with the attitude of the late Leona Helmsley.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hrgj7EXlRTo7hopYNky3wLxtAGY1AM-jXBDflXcKaxQtrC_tYGYbYEdt_JkTvOb8vCtqAhUExVjKnGBSHDfohu1p9t2-tBdq1UiPfTEs3GSahAU7TgmdkgnvGy5FxmepN-z4g/s1600/chihuahua+angry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hrgj7EXlRTo7hopYNky3wLxtAGY1AM-jXBDflXcKaxQtrC_tYGYbYEdt_JkTvOb8vCtqAhUExVjKnGBSHDfohu1p9t2-tBdq1UiPfTEs3GSahAU7TgmdkgnvGy5FxmepN-z4g/s200/chihuahua+angry.JPG" width="200" /></a>Ouch. That really bites.<br />
<br />
I had a biology teacher in high school who used to say that "Mother Nature <i>always</i> bats last."<br />
<br />
Hurricane Sandy was a good demonstration of that. And Mother Nature still is at the plate.<br />
<br />
A reading of <i>Zoo</i> is just as frightening.<br />
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-24700274705223504292012-11-01T16:35:00.001-07:002012-11-02T05:52:07.814-07:00Friend and colleague Nick Trujillo passes away<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ACRAMENTO, Calif., USA</b> - I first saw this afternoon on Facebook that my friend and colleague Nick Trujillo had passed away.<br />
<br />
Someone had posted a picture of him, saying he would be missed and for just a moment, I thought he had <i>retired</i>.<br />
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My conversations with Nick for the last few years - before I left California State University, Sacramento - were about retiring and all the things <i>both</i> of us wanted to do. He had created a musical alter-ego (Gory Bateson) and performed a lot of great music all over the world. We even chatted about doing a couple of duets, he (or rather Gory) on the guitar, me on the ukulele.<br />
<br />
The <i>problem</i> with retiring was Nick still enjoyed teaching, a lot. And all the <i>gas</i> he had gotten over the years from department chairs and deans and administrators - right up to university president's office - <i>never</i> dented his optimism about students and how important they were.<br />
<br />
And <i>Jaysus</i> he took a <i>lot</i> of shit. He asked questions, refused to accept bureaucratic bullshit answers and was fearless in taking on authority. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>N</b></span>ick was one of a few people in the Communication Studies Department who extended themselves to welcome those of us to who were refugees of the Journalism Department when it was forced to disband back in the 1990s. He and I had already collaborated on a couple of schemes aimed at getting students a better journalism and communications education.<br />
<br />
For those not involved in higher education (at least this is true at California state colleges) a footnote might be needed here: University faculty want students to learn; administrators are mostly concerned with filling seats and collecting cash.<br />
<br />
I won't rehash all the nonsense he put up with - he wouldn't want it, really. He thought the people that harassed him over petty matters were kind of like the dog crap you sometimes get on your shoe. It was the price of walking free, even if annoying. And people like that, he and I agreed, are easy to scrape off.<br />
<br />
That's a <i>long</i> way of saying Nick was a stand-up guy. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">W</span></b>hen Nick's wife Leah became ill with cancer, I spent time with both of them and to this day remain in awe of how committed they were to each other. He stood by like the <i>rock</i> that he was until the moment Leah died.<br />
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We should <i>all</i> be so brave.<br />
<br />
Adios Nick. Say hello to Leah for me. And please sing her lots of those silly songs you and Gory were making even <i>more</i> famous with your traveling road show. On quiet nights around the 5th Floor of Mendocino Hall at Sac State, I suspect caring people will be able to hear the tunes.<br />
<br />
Here's a classic:<br />
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<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-58532362198226565552012-10-28T15:46:00.001-07:002012-10-28T15:46:11.500-07:00'This Is How It Ends' - an Irish book, it is<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>UBLIN, Ireland</b> - <i>This Is How It Ends</i> is really about how it ends.<br />
<br />
But the question is, from the first page, what the hell is <i>it</i>?<br />
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I won't spoil it.<br />
<br />
Get it? <i>It</i>?<br />
<br />
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OK, let's just <i>move</i> on. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoIa2FfdohCUQZkB95UzjR7hX1CYx3F9705LHyRwhQa1oQRB4Y2xL_26EktW-j8vqqRSEjlZQCvhGsEn_itQgCChyphenhyphenNcdzOEV7tR_ujg2SBmN2snuARe4DUyIEqT_aqbaCzgYLpA/s1600/DR_This_Is_How_It_Ends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoIa2FfdohCUQZkB95UzjR7hX1CYx3F9705LHyRwhQa1oQRB4Y2xL_26EktW-j8vqqRSEjlZQCvhGsEn_itQgCChyphenhyphenNcdzOEV7tR_ujg2SBmN2snuARe4DUyIEqT_aqbaCzgYLpA/s200/DR_This_Is_How_It_Ends.jpg" width="133" /></a>The book takes place in Ireland (not that hard to guess from the headline <i>or</i> the dateline on this review) and it involves an American with the unlikely name of Bruno and a Irish woman named Addie.<br />
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It unfolds page-by-page against the backdrop of the 2008 U.S. elections, an eerie coincidence as I read the book almost exactly four years from when the events in this piece of fiction took place. Spooky! And it isn't even Halloween. Yet.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>t wasn't until I was done with the book - which I read in three days straight - that I found out that this is author Kathleen MacMahon's <i>first</i> novel. And she's a <i>journalist</i>.<br />
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Together those things normally for me would mean two strikes against <i>This Is How It Ends</i>. But in fact, it was (to comment in a <i>slightly</i> British manner, not Irish) a smashing book.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdMl0bBxLXFwio34huzoxMkZqgsd6_THwQZ4vLMvKamAAO8x7xJj-86sZx1a0Mb_8IqBDnwixcQsMprztxkziBMH5cmssrj0Ffzzgdq7hr_3ip6irEuZmbyMUfNaQiw8ZQEtDfw/s1600/Kathleen-MacMahon_I_882985t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdMl0bBxLXFwio34huzoxMkZqgsd6_THwQZ4vLMvKamAAO8x7xJj-86sZx1a0Mb_8IqBDnwixcQsMprztxkziBMH5cmssrj0Ffzzgdq7hr_3ip6irEuZmbyMUfNaQiw8ZQEtDfw/s200/Kathleen-MacMahon_I_882985t.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Author Kathleen MacMahon</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And it was <i>smashing</i> right up to the last word.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>G</b></span>ood reading under any circumstances. And you will have to read it to see how it all ends.<br />
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Obama does get elected in the book, by the way, but you knew that already.<br />
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Local folks can pick it up at the Watkins Glen Public Library, but I see it's available just about from any bookseller/dealer.Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-22350012196921034252012-10-10T21:10:00.001-07:002012-10-10T21:10:58.100-07:00The real math on Big Bird and PBSPHOENIX, Arizona - The only time Mitt Romney stepped in it last week in his debate with President Barack Obama was when he said he wanted to cut funding for PBS - and kill the iconic Big Bird in the process.<br /><br />Pundits later said he planned that line about Big Bird.<br /><br />Even Romney isn't that stupid. Really.<br /><br />No, Romney's shot at PBS, Big Bird and Jim Lehrer (moderating the debate) was the only genuine moment of the debate for the Mittster who becomes more frightening every time I hear him speak.<br /><br />He thinks that the nation is just another company he can takeover, strip of all its wealth and then dump - like he did so many companies through his firm, Bain Capital.<br /><br />Perhaps the best retort to his nonsense is offered up by Sesame Street characters themselves, showing how his PBS tirade (he thinks we need to borrow money from China) is such crap.<br /><br />The Count puts it all in perspective.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/10/10/3260.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/10/10/s_3260.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='209' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-17842520287979930342012-09-05T14:52:00.002-07:002012-09-05T14:52:55.158-07:00'Drift' shows a troubled, too-expensive U.S. military<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York, USA</b> - Rachel Maddow's book <i>Drift</i>: <i>The Unmooring of American Military Power</i> makes for good, if <i>chilling</i>, reading.<br />
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This comprehsive study of the American military is also one of the most depressing books I have read in awhile.<br />
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Maddow traces the history of the U.S. military from the beginnings of the nation right up to today. And she does so with the same touches of snarky humor that are the hallmark of her television show on MSNBC, even when she exposes some horrific military problems and costs.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>n describing the nuclear weapons the United States has lost over the years - yes, you read that correctly, <i>lost</i> - she offers the following:<br />
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<i>"There obviously was not a nuclear blast in Spain in 1966, but these two nuclear bombs did explode. There were essentially massive dirty bombs. The conventional explosives that form part of the fuse in these nukes blew the bombs apart and scattered radioactive particles and bomb fragments all over Palomares, Spain. Whoopsie!" (page 228)</i><br />
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<i>Whoopsie</i> indeed. The U.S. continues to pay the people of Palomares for that whoopsie, by the way, sending everyone to Madrid for expensive health checkups to see what their radioactivity levels are. Oh, and a few years ago, $2 million of your tax dollars went for some soil cleanup so a condo project could be built where the soil was still radioactive.<br />
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Maddow's research seems very sound (her endnotes list sources). And much of what she writes about is drawn directly from various declassified public documents.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>wo major things I can't get over.<br />
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First, she details how GOP icon and <i>saint-in-waiting </i>Ronald Reagan was a disaster when it came to military issues. And it is also clear his Alzheimer's was likely raging <i>long</i> before he left the White House.<br />
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Two, any of the <i>much-wailed-about</i> shortages of money citizens are getting pummeled with in this election - Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, education, health care, just to name a few - can be laid directly at the foot of the unbelievable amounts of money thrown at the U.S. military and legions of private contractors. She does a great job of documenting the money and that some military people are getting <i>more</i> money than they know how to spend.<br />
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Jaysus.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">B</span></b>y the way, this might keep you awake tonight: A good-sized portion of the killing being done in the name of the people of the United States of America, is being done by private companies. Drones dropping bombs on villages in Afghanistan and Pakistan are being <i>flown</i> by mercenaries in the employ of U.S. companies.<br />
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And those mercenaries are immune from the laws of the U.S. and the countries where they are dropping bombs. They have also been caught doing quite a few other, arguably criminal, things (human trafficking) that they get away with because of that immunity.<br />
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Read the book, it's <i>all</i> documented.<br />
<br />Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-19842042614220633022012-08-29T09:16:00.002-07:002012-08-29T09:16:35.584-07:00Wambaugh is back with 'Harbor Nocturne'<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ATKINS GLEN, New York, USA</b> - The harbor of San Pedro is familiar to me, as a sailor and Californian of many years.<br />
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But Joseph Wambaugh shows a seedy side to the area that I don't remember from my visits there, though I suspect through his former cop's eyes, it's accurate. <br />
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<i>'Harbor Nocture'</i> is a classic Wambaugh book, as good as much of his early work that had his books flying off the shelf. I admit to taking a hiatus from anything Wambaugh for the last few years. The books for a period lacked the snap of some earlier works.<br />
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Having just finished <i>Harbor Nocture</i>, I will have to get back to the library stacks and see when he re-emerged with his old voice.<br />
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I just may have missed some good books.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></b>arbor Nocture</i> has some dark moments and some very funny moments. And it has one particularly tragic moment. For that, you will need to read it. <br />
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The plot revolves around crime, redemption, drugs and power, with the interplay of Italian and Croatian cultures. Do you need to know anymore?<br />
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For local folks, Harbor Nocturne is available on the shelf at the Watkins Glen Public Library. Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8631789.post-63416572954260751412012-08-15T06:15:00.001-07:002012-08-15T06:19:45.795-07:00The End of Country is near for Pennsylvania<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span>ALOIS, New York, USA</b> - Seamus McGraw's 2011 book <i>The End of Country</i> takes a very literary look at what has happened - and is happening - to Pennsylvania's rural countryside and towns as natural gas companies have taken over and begun their destructive 'hydrofracking' process.<br />
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I say <i>literary</i>, because in many parts, this tome reads as smoothly as a novel, even though like any novel dealing with uncomfortable material, it <i>is</i> hard read in spots.<br />
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What McGraw is able to do effectively in this book isn't just to show what greedy bastards (and liars, <i>oh the lies</i>) the people representing these environmental destruction teams are. He also shows how the many thousands of dollars dangled in front of very poor people changed the people themselves, pitting neighbor against neighbor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7Ar4mtVbd9lx8VnkbmfnnCs8SROAWdS3iTNbkJfDN0IO6shJVe5FGtboF1z460Vl9-jDUKwKNUdQ0FmFNmirIedXf6r_WMoXWRalLY5TVnh6ZcxnmeSGk5jkGe3uYWKh1LXeHw/s1600/11437163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7Ar4mtVbd9lx8VnkbmfnnCs8SROAWdS3iTNbkJfDN0IO6shJVe5FGtboF1z460Vl9-jDUKwKNUdQ0FmFNmirIedXf6r_WMoXWRalLY5TVnh6ZcxnmeSGk5jkGe3uYWKh1LXeHw/s320/11437163.jpg" width="209" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span></b>nd in the end, it's obvious that though some people are richer in dollars, the entire communities are much poorer for allowing this earth-destroying technology on their land.<br />
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McGraw's book is an important one, well worth reading. And if Hollywood has any cojones, it would make the basis for an excellent movie script. It's a real life thriller with all the elements of a good film: danger, big money, greed, tragedy and a small dose of triumph.<br />
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There's even the death of beloved dog - at the hands of the gas company doing drilling on the land of one of the main characters.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>O</b></span>n the cover of the book, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote: <i>"Deeply personal, sometimes moving, sometimes funny, </i>The End of Country<i> lays out the promise and the perils faced not just by the people of one small Pennsylvania town but by our whole nation."</i>Michael J. Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840859418177870381noreply@blogger.com0