Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
End of 2009 musings...
It's a funny thing, in many ways I've always considered my new years and end of years to run concurrent with my school years, in other words, from August to July. This is because I've spend most of my life in schools, either as a student or an educator (and many years as both), so I don't always put the same empasis on Dec. 31st-Jan. 1st that a lot of other folks I know do. Still, this has been quite a strange and up and down calendar year - this 2009, and I can't say that I'm sorry to see it go and 2010 arrive. For that matter I"m also kind of happy to see the decade end (and yes, I know you purists consider 2001-2010 to be a decade, good for you but I'm going with 2000-2009, just like I consider 1930-1939 to be the "thirties" for instance, so there). Don't get me wrong, a lot of good things happened both in my personal life and in the world in general during the past decade and the past year, but...all things considered, I'm ready to move on.
A little retrospect is always good however, and I'm thankful for a lot - my family, my job, my co-workers, my books, my political party's electoral victories at the end of the decade. Despite some setbacks for both my family and my country, I'm fairly optimistic about the future.
On the book side I ran across some new authors (to me at least) in the previous years, some new major favorites now include fantasy wirters Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchett, historical fiction writer (and fellow Pulp lover) Paul Malmont, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, sports writers Peter King, and Stewart Mandel, historical fiction writer Norah Lofts, and Pulitzer Prize winners Junot Diaz and Edward P. Jones both of whose works opened my eyes to new places and cultures. A good decade, and final year especially for reading. As the year ends I'm reading Terry Pratchett's Sourcery while trying to convert my family to become fans of the Discworld.
Physically, I'm trying to make the change from couch potato to moving being, encouragement is always welcome. I did start my wii fit profile today, at my daughter's urging, and took a short walk in the rain. We'll see how the new year goes.
The "animal whisperer" and the "teen age vegetarian moralist" are arguing, make that discussing the best strategies to use in playing Assassin's Creed II. "Shoot the flying demon!" "Here, let me do it!" "No, play it on your own dang file!" "Argghh..." Aw, the joys of being a parent. The "saint" (as I call my harried spouse) as retired to the relative quiet of our bedroom to read her Christmas present Under the Dome - I think I'll take my Discworld tale of Rincewind and his misadventures and join her. Good night all. Possibly more notes on the past year tomorrow, including my addiction to Facebook in general and Mafia Wars in particular...
A little retrospect is always good however, and I'm thankful for a lot - my family, my job, my co-workers, my books, my political party's electoral victories at the end of the decade. Despite some setbacks for both my family and my country, I'm fairly optimistic about the future.
On the book side I ran across some new authors (to me at least) in the previous years, some new major favorites now include fantasy wirters Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchett, historical fiction writer (and fellow Pulp lover) Paul Malmont, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, sports writers Peter King, and Stewart Mandel, historical fiction writer Norah Lofts, and Pulitzer Prize winners Junot Diaz and Edward P. Jones both of whose works opened my eyes to new places and cultures. A good decade, and final year especially for reading. As the year ends I'm reading Terry Pratchett's Sourcery while trying to convert my family to become fans of the Discworld.
Physically, I'm trying to make the change from couch potato to moving being, encouragement is always welcome. I did start my wii fit profile today, at my daughter's urging, and took a short walk in the rain. We'll see how the new year goes.
The "animal whisperer" and the "teen age vegetarian moralist" are arguing, make that discussing the best strategies to use in playing Assassin's Creed II. "Shoot the flying demon!" "Here, let me do it!" "No, play it on your own dang file!" "Argghh..." Aw, the joys of being a parent. The "saint" (as I call my harried spouse) as retired to the relative quiet of our bedroom to read her Christmas present Under the Dome - I think I'll take my Discworld tale of Rincewind and his misadventures and join her. Good night all. Possibly more notes on the past year tomorrow, including my addiction to Facebook in general and Mafia Wars in particular...
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Who Lincoln Was | The New Republic
Sean Wilentz has an excellent article on Lincoln. Here's the link,
Who Lincoln Was | The New Republic
Who Lincoln Was | The New Republic
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen
Just so there's no doubt.
I love everybody, even those folks who attack, argue or do thinks to provoke ire. I have lots of friends who don't agree with me on things such as politics, religion, literature, etc. but as far as I'm concerned they are still and always will be friends.
Having said that, there are some things I probably need to post to clear any misunderstandings.
1. I'm a Christian, but I don't think you have to go to church to be saved, and I don't accept the conservative right wing litmus test (whatever it is this week, month, year, etc.) See Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," summed up as "help others".
(And don't start about abortion. I'm pro-life, but we've had GOP Presidents galore since 1981 along with GOP controlled Congresses. Voting for them did nothing to lower the abortion rate. Voting for Democrats who help the poor did.
2. I voted for President Obama in 2008 and plan to do so again. I'm grateful every day to God that he is President. However I AM ASHAMED of my votes for Reagan in 80 and 84, and for Bush in 2000 and 2004. I know a bunch of my friends and former students and Facebook buddies who agree with me, and I know a bunch who don't. That's fine, but don't expect that telling me to listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or calling the President names will change my mind.
3. The Georgia Legislature should apologize for slavery and segregation. It really doesn't matter that much any more, but it would be a nice symbol and the right thing to do. Since it's the correct thing to do, I don't expect the Georgia Legislature to EVER do it, since they prefer to do the wrong thing as much as possible.
4. Our health care system is messed up and needs to be improved. It would be nice if what's left of the GOP could actually admit to this, but they won't.
5. I sometimes wish that the so called libertarians could get what they wish, and that we have no public schools, no publicly funded roads, no public police protection, no public fire departments, etc. After all, all that stuff is "Socialism" gasp, cough, gasp...I guess this would make them happy, you know, like living back in 1877 or 1859 when things were the "good ole days"...
Myself, I agree with the progressives like Theodore Roosevelt that some government is much better than the fantasy world of the Sara Palins and Joe the Plumbers...
6. I'm willing to debate anything, but what passes for debate on the web nowadays is simply name calling, usually juvenile, hateful, profane and racist (or "raciest" as a guy called me the other day).
7. I believe education is the key to a better world, and encourage everyone to read as much as possible, but read all viewpoints, not just a few. Having said that, education is not a panacea however. There will never be perfection in this world...
8. I don't believe we are anywhere near the "end times". I know loved ones who disagree, but since the world is a million times better off now than it was in, say 600 AD (CE) or 1348, or 999, or 1861 I'm just not convinced...
9. I don't think letting gay folks get married threatens my marriage in any way, shape, form or fashion. I'm a romantic at heart, and all for true love. Period.
10. If you don't agree with me on these, you can either (1) continue to be my friend and disagree with me (this is my preference) or (2) quit speaking to me or befriending me - I'm tender hearted, this will probably hurt my feelings for a minute or two, but then I'll survive. I'll still keep you in my prayers.
11. If you're a fan of Pulp magazines, adventure, fantasy, hard boiled mysteries, comedy, humor, good books, cats, dogs, movies, football, college and high school wrestling, track and field, music (especially the blues, rock, or classical), and life and other people in general, then we can probably find enough in common to continue to enjoy each other's real life and virtual (Facebook, etc.) company...
Best wishes regardless,
Steven
I love everybody, even those folks who attack, argue or do thinks to provoke ire. I have lots of friends who don't agree with me on things such as politics, religion, literature, etc. but as far as I'm concerned they are still and always will be friends.
Having said that, there are some things I probably need to post to clear any misunderstandings.
1. I'm a Christian, but I don't think you have to go to church to be saved, and I don't accept the conservative right wing litmus test (whatever it is this week, month, year, etc.) See Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," summed up as "help others".
(And don't start about abortion. I'm pro-life, but we've had GOP Presidents galore since 1981 along with GOP controlled Congresses. Voting for them did nothing to lower the abortion rate. Voting for Democrats who help the poor did.
2. I voted for President Obama in 2008 and plan to do so again. I'm grateful every day to God that he is President. However I AM ASHAMED of my votes for Reagan in 80 and 84, and for Bush in 2000 and 2004. I know a bunch of my friends and former students and Facebook buddies who agree with me, and I know a bunch who don't. That's fine, but don't expect that telling me to listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or calling the President names will change my mind.
3. The Georgia Legislature should apologize for slavery and segregation. It really doesn't matter that much any more, but it would be a nice symbol and the right thing to do. Since it's the correct thing to do, I don't expect the Georgia Legislature to EVER do it, since they prefer to do the wrong thing as much as possible.
4. Our health care system is messed up and needs to be improved. It would be nice if what's left of the GOP could actually admit to this, but they won't.
5. I sometimes wish that the so called libertarians could get what they wish, and that we have no public schools, no publicly funded roads, no public police protection, no public fire departments, etc. After all, all that stuff is "Socialism" gasp, cough, gasp...I guess this would make them happy, you know, like living back in 1877 or 1859 when things were the "good ole days"...
Myself, I agree with the progressives like Theodore Roosevelt that some government is much better than the fantasy world of the Sara Palins and Joe the Plumbers...
6. I'm willing to debate anything, but what passes for debate on the web nowadays is simply name calling, usually juvenile, hateful, profane and racist (or "raciest" as a guy called me the other day).
7. I believe education is the key to a better world, and encourage everyone to read as much as possible, but read all viewpoints, not just a few. Having said that, education is not a panacea however. There will never be perfection in this world...
8. I don't believe we are anywhere near the "end times". I know loved ones who disagree, but since the world is a million times better off now than it was in, say 600 AD (CE) or 1348, or 999, or 1861 I'm just not convinced...
9. I don't think letting gay folks get married threatens my marriage in any way, shape, form or fashion. I'm a romantic at heart, and all for true love. Period.
10. If you don't agree with me on these, you can either (1) continue to be my friend and disagree with me (this is my preference) or (2) quit speaking to me or befriending me - I'm tender hearted, this will probably hurt my feelings for a minute or two, but then I'll survive. I'll still keep you in my prayers.
11. If you're a fan of Pulp magazines, adventure, fantasy, hard boiled mysteries, comedy, humor, good books, cats, dogs, movies, football, college and high school wrestling, track and field, music (especially the blues, rock, or classical), and life and other people in general, then we can probably find enough in common to continue to enjoy each other's real life and virtual (Facebook, etc.) company...
Best wishes regardless,
Steven
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Flashman
I've recently started re-reading the Flashman books, in no particular order. Just finished "Flashman and the Mountain of Light" set during the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46). I enjoyed it, though of the twelve Flashman books I'd have to place in the bottom six as far as my favorites go. I've realized that all my favorite books have Elspeth in them, even if only for a short spell. If I had to rank the books in order of my favorites, it would probably be thus:
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord - no. 1. This is the book I'm currently re-reading, and it's just as good as I remembered, from the opening scene of Flashman playing with his great grandchildren and reminiscing with them about famed abolitionist John Brown, till the climax at Harper's Ferry, this is, imo, the best of all the Flashman books.
Flashman - no. 2. To me, the very first book in the series is still one of my favorite reads. I've lost count of how many times I've re-read it, but it has to be approaching double digits.
Flashman's Lady - no. 3 The excerpts from Elspeth's diary are priceless, and I wish Frasier had written more adventures with her in them or at least her viewpoints.
(to be continued)
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord - no. 1. This is the book I'm currently re-reading, and it's just as good as I remembered, from the opening scene of Flashman playing with his great grandchildren and reminiscing with them about famed abolitionist John Brown, till the climax at Harper's Ferry, this is, imo, the best of all the Flashman books.
Flashman - no. 2. To me, the very first book in the series is still one of my favorite reads. I've lost count of how many times I've re-read it, but it has to be approaching double digits.
Flashman's Lady - no. 3 The excerpts from Elspeth's diary are priceless, and I wish Frasier had written more adventures with her in them or at least her viewpoints.
(to be continued)
Finally...Summer
Summer is finally here for the Hollywood household. The animal whisperer completed summer school, and we get to go on vacation for a few days...all I can say is "Yay!"
Monday, May 25, 2009
Analysis: Powell flap gets GOP to ask 'What kind of party ar
Colin Powell stirred up the Republican Party's very public internal debate about the direction of the party and asserted it's losing because it doesn't appeal to moderates like him.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Saturday, March 14, 2009
I think I've got it now...
I think I've finally got it now...after years of listening to talk radio and reading the right wing bloggers...
1. Everything is Obama's fault...conversely nothing is the fault of George Bush, except that he was just too damn liberal...(i.e. NOT a true conservative)...
2. Pure free market capitalism would solve everything. If you don't believe that then you must read Ayn Rand and F. A. Hayek followed by Neal Boortz...Repeat as often as necessary...
3. Affirmative Action is apparently much, Much worse racism than oh...say...the lynchings of the 20th century...
4. Huge deficits to fund foreign wars such as the one in Iraq will NOT have to be paid off by our grandchildren, but apparently any money spent now on education or infrastructure WILL have to be paid off by our grandchildren...I mention this because some are silly enough try to say that deficits run up under Republicans count, while it is obvious that ONLY deficits run up under evil Socialist Democrats count...
5. "Government" has NEVER accomplished anything...Moon landing - doesn't count; Federal Highway system - doesn't count; World War II effort - doesn't count; and so on...
And yes, for those of you who voted Republican in 2008 and think it was a good decision, I AM being sarcastic in all the above...
I could go on, but I think most folks will get my point. There is a mind set in this country that will never accept anything that doesn't square with their so called conservative beliefs. I say so called conservatives because the modern day right are not true conservatives in the sense of the word that Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley, Jr. ever were. No, today's right wingers want to undo most of the changes in this country since the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. A return to the "good old days" is what they claim will solve all our problems. For a realistic look at what America was like in the "good old days" of 1919 I suggest they (and everyone else) spend some time reading "Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919" by Ann Hagedorn after reading the usual right wing gospels of Rand and Hayek and Limbaugh and Boortz. It might open some eyes.
My closing point, this is a great country not because it is perfect or anointed of God. It has been great to this point because of people who have loved it while still recognizing it's flaws and trying to correct them. People such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to name just a few...
As for the present cast of right wing "heroes" such as Tom Tancredo, Eric Johnson, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Sanford, and Rick Perry...I'd enjoy it if they all moved to a country more to their liking so that the remainder of us Americans can actually try to show our love for our country by trying to work to help it and to (yes) improve it. Just saying...
1. Everything is Obama's fault...conversely nothing is the fault of George Bush, except that he was just too damn liberal...(i.e. NOT a true conservative)...
2. Pure free market capitalism would solve everything. If you don't believe that then you must read Ayn Rand and F. A. Hayek followed by Neal Boortz...Repeat as often as necessary...
3. Affirmative Action is apparently much, Much worse racism than oh...say...the lynchings of the 20th century...
4. Huge deficits to fund foreign wars such as the one in Iraq will NOT have to be paid off by our grandchildren, but apparently any money spent now on education or infrastructure WILL have to be paid off by our grandchildren...I mention this because some are silly enough try to say that deficits run up under Republicans count, while it is obvious that ONLY deficits run up under evil Socialist Democrats count...
5. "Government" has NEVER accomplished anything...Moon landing - doesn't count; Federal Highway system - doesn't count; World War II effort - doesn't count; and so on...
And yes, for those of you who voted Republican in 2008 and think it was a good decision, I AM being sarcastic in all the above...
I could go on, but I think most folks will get my point. There is a mind set in this country that will never accept anything that doesn't square with their so called conservative beliefs. I say so called conservatives because the modern day right are not true conservatives in the sense of the word that Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley, Jr. ever were. No, today's right wingers want to undo most of the changes in this country since the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. A return to the "good old days" is what they claim will solve all our problems. For a realistic look at what America was like in the "good old days" of 1919 I suggest they (and everyone else) spend some time reading "Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919" by Ann Hagedorn after reading the usual right wing gospels of Rand and Hayek and Limbaugh and Boortz. It might open some eyes.
My closing point, this is a great country not because it is perfect or anointed of God. It has been great to this point because of people who have loved it while still recognizing it's flaws and trying to correct them. People such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to name just a few...
As for the present cast of right wing "heroes" such as Tom Tancredo, Eric Johnson, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Sanford, and Rick Perry...I'd enjoy it if they all moved to a country more to their liking so that the remainder of us Americans can actually try to show our love for our country by trying to work to help it and to (yes) improve it. Just saying...
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Another one down
Hard to believe that 2008 is almost over, and 2009 just days away. If you had predicted many of the year's events 12 months ago, I'm sure many folks (including yours truly) would have have scoffed. Barack Obama the new president elect? The Miami Dolphins division champs? The Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs, with a rookie quarterback no less? The worst economic scenario in years, possibly decades?
No, I wouldn't have predicted any of the above. Having said that though, I'm hopeful about the upcoming year. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, and I hope all of you have a Happy New Year.
No, I wouldn't have predicted any of the above. Having said that though, I'm hopeful about the upcoming year. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, and I hope all of you have a Happy New Year.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Good bye November (personal asides)
Well, the month of November is almost over, along with it comes the end of my Thanksgiving holiday. Wish I could say I had been more productive, but overall it was a good month. Mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law came to visit for a short week the first of the month, and we had a good time with them, if they do destroy me at cards whenever we get together!
A good month at work, with some positive changes at school. Most important to me is that a new Counselor co worker came on board, and she's been a blessing.
On the work out line, both the teen age moralist vegetarian and myself have fallen off the wagon so to speak. Definitely need to hit the gym. In his defense I will say that he's taken several long distance walks lately, so at least one of us hasn't been a total loss.
The animal whisperer is surviving middle school, and like her sibling turning into a pretty good writer. I'm proud of both of them, perhaps they will have the self discipline their old man lacks.
The saint survived the month, but the stress of Christmas time is fast approaching. She both loves and dreads this month, perhaps I should actually help with the Christmas decorations this year...
On the personal indulgement side, I've watched some really good college football games (last night's Oklahoma - Oklahoma State contest was particularly good - even though I was kind of rooting for the underdog). I am very disappointed to see Sylvester Croom resign from Mississippi State though. He was (and is) a class act and I think something is wrong with college athletics when a good man like him has to resign while the Bobby Petrinos and Lou Sabans thrive - nothing against them personally - but I'd rather my child be coached by Croom or someone like him if he/she was in college sports.
It has been nice to see the Atlanta Falcons return to a competitive level in pro football. I think GM Thomas Dimitroff and Head Coach Mike Smith are class acts too, and I'm happy to root for the Birds this year.
On the writing side nothing to report of any substance. November was a good month for reading however. Read my first book by Christopher Buckley with the new "Supreme Courtship" and slso my first book by David Sedaris with "Me Talk Pretty One Day". Loved the first, thought the second was ok, although I'm willing to check out more by Sedaris, and definitely looking forward to reading more Buckley.
On the Pulp Magazine era retrospective personal list I've read most of the University of Nebraska Press Bison Books Frontiers of Imagination Series re-issue of Clark Ashton Smith's "Lost Worlds". I'd forgotten how much I really really like CAS, especially his Hyperborea and Averoigne stories.
A good month at work, with some positive changes at school. Most important to me is that a new Counselor co worker came on board, and she's been a blessing.
On the work out line, both the teen age moralist vegetarian and myself have fallen off the wagon so to speak. Definitely need to hit the gym. In his defense I will say that he's taken several long distance walks lately, so at least one of us hasn't been a total loss.
The animal whisperer is surviving middle school, and like her sibling turning into a pretty good writer. I'm proud of both of them, perhaps they will have the self discipline their old man lacks.
The saint survived the month, but the stress of Christmas time is fast approaching. She both loves and dreads this month, perhaps I should actually help with the Christmas decorations this year...
On the personal indulgement side, I've watched some really good college football games (last night's Oklahoma - Oklahoma State contest was particularly good - even though I was kind of rooting for the underdog). I am very disappointed to see Sylvester Croom resign from Mississippi State though. He was (and is) a class act and I think something is wrong with college athletics when a good man like him has to resign while the Bobby Petrinos and Lou Sabans thrive - nothing against them personally - but I'd rather my child be coached by Croom or someone like him if he/she was in college sports.
It has been nice to see the Atlanta Falcons return to a competitive level in pro football. I think GM Thomas Dimitroff and Head Coach Mike Smith are class acts too, and I'm happy to root for the Birds this year.
On the writing side nothing to report of any substance. November was a good month for reading however. Read my first book by Christopher Buckley with the new "Supreme Courtship" and slso my first book by David Sedaris with "Me Talk Pretty One Day". Loved the first, thought the second was ok, although I'm willing to check out more by Sedaris, and definitely looking forward to reading more Buckley.
On the Pulp Magazine era retrospective personal list I've read most of the University of Nebraska Press Bison Books Frontiers of Imagination Series re-issue of Clark Ashton Smith's "Lost Worlds". I'd forgotten how much I really really like CAS, especially his Hyperborea and Averoigne stories.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008
I'm really thankful for a vast number of things this year, foremost my family, followed by my good friends and co-workers (two groups that overlap a great deal). My health is a little better, I still have a job, a roof over my head, food to eat, and a few good books.
On a more mundane level, I'm really thankful for some small things, like:
Facebook - I really like this social network, even though it contributes to a lot of time wasting, but I keep telling myself I could be doing worse things...
Planet Stories publishers - Any group that prints old great stuff like the works of Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Henry Kuttner, Otis Adelbert Kline, and others is alright in my book. I really really love these guys...
My bosses - both the ones at home and the ones at work - I'm serious about this...cause I've lived through other principals and significant others who were much harder to please...
The Jonesboro branch of the Clayton County, Ga. library system, along with the interlibrary loan pines system that they use. A nicer bunch of people with a better selection of free books is impossible to find out there. I know...
The Atlanta Falcons are winning again!! Who'd a thunk it??
Dishnetwork tv, along with that little thingie that allows you to pause and / or record. Oh, and for my children who know how to work it...
On a more mundane level, I'm really thankful for some small things, like:
Facebook - I really like this social network, even though it contributes to a lot of time wasting, but I keep telling myself I could be doing worse things...
Planet Stories publishers - Any group that prints old great stuff like the works of Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Henry Kuttner, Otis Adelbert Kline, and others is alright in my book. I really really love these guys...
My bosses - both the ones at home and the ones at work - I'm serious about this...cause I've lived through other principals and significant others who were much harder to please...
The Jonesboro branch of the Clayton County, Ga. library system, along with the interlibrary loan pines system that they use. A nicer bunch of people with a better selection of free books is impossible to find out there. I know...
The Atlanta Falcons are winning again!! Who'd a thunk it??
Dishnetwork tv, along with that little thingie that allows you to pause and / or record. Oh, and for my children who know how to work it...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Debate Thoughts
Interesting that the debate of Friday night seems to have changed few minds. I thought Obama was clearly the more Presidential of the two candidates, and in my mind won the debate, although it seemed to me that McCain did get in a few zingers along the way. Of course in corresponding with some of my friends who are McCain supporters they had a completely different take on things, feeling that McCain won. Probably what matters most are two things, first, how the undecideds perceived the debate and second, how the public/media/blogger etc. buzz puts a spin on things, cause there are few things I believe in more than self fulfilling prophecies.
With those points in mind, it seems that early results are tending in Obama's favor, but I think it's still too early to tell. Like most of those in the country who are interested in politics, I can't wait for the Biden-Palin debate coming up next week. I'm planning on making a point of watching that one as well.
With those points in mind, it seems that early results are tending in Obama's favor, but I think it's still too early to tell. Like most of those in the country who are interested in politics, I can't wait for the Biden-Palin debate coming up next week. I'm planning on making a point of watching that one as well.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
New Blog for Book Reviews
I've decided to put all my future book and movie reviews on a seperate blog from this one, the new blog is entitled "Coach's Reviews" and the link is
http://coachhollywood67reviews.blogspot.com/
which can also be found on my profile on this blog.
http://coachhollywood67reviews.blogspot.com/
which can also be found on my profile on this blog.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Review of "Pulsifer: A Fable" by Wm. Michael Mott
This is a really good read. The main character is a "rogue" in the model of other literary rogues such as Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever and George Macdonald Fraser's Harry Flashman. Many of his adventures and misadventures are the result of his own machinations. Despite this, I found myself caught up in the story and actually caring about what Pulsifer did or what happened to him, which to me is the mark of a good storyteller.
The fantasy world in which the action takes place is a continent surrounded and threatened by encroaching ice, where magic works, and science has been forgotten. The story is reminiscent of Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique and Jack Vance's The Dying Earth series, high class company indeed, but Mott pulls the whole thing off with his own imagination. I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Belated thoughts on the US Olympic Track and Field Trials
As always, this was a great track meet. I think holding it in Eugene, Oregon was a plus, as there's probably not a town in America more supportive of Track and Field. As always happens, some favorites didn't make the team, either because of injury or having an off day. This year's prime example was probably Tyson Gay defending world champion in the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Gay is a supremely talented athlete, who apparently works hard, isn't afraid to compete against his rivals unlike some sprinters of the past, and just seems to be a class act and nice guy from the interviews I've read. He made the team in the 100 meters, but pulled up lame in a 200 race, so he won't running that event (which is arguably his best perhaps) in Beijing. This mishap has ignited what seems to be an every four years debate regarding how the U.S.A. selects it's track teams. Those who don't like our system of only taking the top three in each event, based on the trials races/events only, always point to something like this and complain that we are leaving our best people off the team. Their proposed solution is usually some way of allowing a top ranked athlete a guaranteed spot on the team in case of a mishap such as the one that affected Gay in the 200.
And they're probably right.
However, the key word here is probably.
Gay, defending world champion in the 200 is a great runner, but there is still no guarantee that he would have beaten first place finisher Walter Dix, or second place finisher Shawn Crawford, or third placer Wallace Spearmon in the 200 if he had not been injured. Indeed Spearmon said as much after the race. And if you think that Gay should have been guaranteed a spot on the team in the 200, what do you say about Crawford, who is the defending Gold Medalist from the 2004 Athens games? Or Dix, who is a rising young star and national collegiate champion and who actually won the trials race? Or Spearmon, who has medaled in the 200 in both the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, and just happens to have the fourth fastest legal time in history for the event? Which one of these athletes would you kick off the team for a guaranteed spot for Gay?
My answer would be that you don't. You go with the top three placers in the trials, just like always. That's the fairest most objective way. No one can claim politics, or favoritism, etc. that way. You're one of the top three, you're on the team and may the best person win in a similar winner take all format at the Olympics themselves. First place? You get a Gold Medal, and so on.
I wasn't alive in 1948, but there's a classic story about the 1948 games that I think pertains to this debate. Harrison Dillard was the all out favorite to win the 110 Meter High Hurdles and go to the 1948 London Olympics and win the Gold in that event. In the trials, Dillard (you guessed it) failed to place in the top three and didn't get to race in the 110 Hurdles. However, the United States still took all three medals in the event, thanks to William Porter, Clyde Scott and Craig Dixon.
As for Dillard? Well, he did make the 1948 team in his second event, the 100 Meter Dash, in which he was manifestly not the favorite, having barely made the team by placing third in that event. What happened in London? Dillard won the 100 meters, beating out the favorites. He also won another Gold medal as part of the 4 X 110 relay team. In 1952 he made the team finally as a hurdler, won the Gold and took another Gold as a member once again of the 4 X 110 relay team. The point of the story isn't that he should have been on the 1948 team as hurdler but was kept off due to a poor trials performance. The point is that the beauty of Olympic track competition like most athletic competition is that favorites don't always win, and sometimes heroics come from those from who we least expect it. I'll be rooting for Tyson Gay in the 100 if he makes the final, but I'll also be rooting for Dix, Crawford, and / or Spearmon if any of them make the 200 final, because they all deserve to be on the team.
And they're probably right.
However, the key word here is probably.
Gay, defending world champion in the 200 is a great runner, but there is still no guarantee that he would have beaten first place finisher Walter Dix, or second place finisher Shawn Crawford, or third placer Wallace Spearmon in the 200 if he had not been injured. Indeed Spearmon said as much after the race. And if you think that Gay should have been guaranteed a spot on the team in the 200, what do you say about Crawford, who is the defending Gold Medalist from the 2004 Athens games? Or Dix, who is a rising young star and national collegiate champion and who actually won the trials race? Or Spearmon, who has medaled in the 200 in both the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, and just happens to have the fourth fastest legal time in history for the event? Which one of these athletes would you kick off the team for a guaranteed spot for Gay?
My answer would be that you don't. You go with the top three placers in the trials, just like always. That's the fairest most objective way. No one can claim politics, or favoritism, etc. that way. You're one of the top three, you're on the team and may the best person win in a similar winner take all format at the Olympics themselves. First place? You get a Gold Medal, and so on.
I wasn't alive in 1948, but there's a classic story about the 1948 games that I think pertains to this debate. Harrison Dillard was the all out favorite to win the 110 Meter High Hurdles and go to the 1948 London Olympics and win the Gold in that event. In the trials, Dillard (you guessed it) failed to place in the top three and didn't get to race in the 110 Hurdles. However, the United States still took all three medals in the event, thanks to William Porter, Clyde Scott and Craig Dixon.
As for Dillard? Well, he did make the 1948 team in his second event, the 100 Meter Dash, in which he was manifestly not the favorite, having barely made the team by placing third in that event. What happened in London? Dillard won the 100 meters, beating out the favorites. He also won another Gold medal as part of the 4 X 110 relay team. In 1952 he made the team finally as a hurdler, won the Gold and took another Gold as a member once again of the 4 X 110 relay team. The point of the story isn't that he should have been on the 1948 team as hurdler but was kept off due to a poor trials performance. The point is that the beauty of Olympic track competition like most athletic competition is that favorites don't always win, and sometimes heroics come from those from who we least expect it. I'll be rooting for Tyson Gay in the 100 if he makes the final, but I'll also be rooting for Dix, Crawford, and / or Spearmon if any of them make the 200 final, because they all deserve to be on the team.
Del Toro's golden touch illuminates 'Hellboy II'
In Hellboy II: The Golden Army (* * * out of four), the giant crimson daredevil is a snarky bad-boy superhero taunted and misunderstood by the masses. This weekend, the cigar-chomping, beer-swilling big guy faces off with another reviled superhero: Hancock.Hellboy wins pretty much hands down.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Hellboy Heats Up the Superhero - TIME
The clamor of moviegoers to be the first to see the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight — theaters that scheduled midnight shows next Thursday have added others at 3 and 6 a.m. — proves that superheroes are plenty hot these days. But one of our favorites is downright infernal. That would be Hellboy. A demon summoned to Earth by Nazi scientists in 1944
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, July 07, 2008
Love in the time of the Great Pulp Magazine era
I'm in love. With my dear wife of course. That one is a constant. I'm talking about a book here as a new found object of my affections. About once every few years I find a book or author that I just simply find amazing. As a kid it was Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan of the Apes", then J. R. R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit", next Robert E. Heinlein's "Citizen of the Galaxy", and Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" - later on it was Robert E. Howard's "Conan the Conqueror". Later still it was Jack Vance's "The Dying Earth" and Karl Edward Wagner's "Death Angel's Shadow". In college it was David Morrell's "First Blood" and Raymond Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely". Adulthood (am I an adult? opinions vary) brought the discovery of different types of authors such as Ken Kesey's "Sometimes A Great Notion", Paul Auster's "City of Glass", Ursula K. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea", Jane Austen with "Pride and Prejudice" Fredric Brown's "The Fabulous Clipjoint" and P. G. Wodehouse with the Jeeves short stories. I could go on, but probably should have stopped a bit back. If you get the feeling that I love certain books to the point of obsession, then you'd be correct. I don't know of any other way to describe the feeling of discovering a new great author though...
The point is, I've started reading a book that ranks up there with these others in terms of the effect it has had on me. I just started it recently, but it is so good I literally have to force myself to put it down and go do other things, otherwise I'd get nothing done but read it. Of course, it is summer so I guess that's ok...
The book I'm raving about is "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" by Paul Malmont. It's set in 1937 about the time of H. P. Lovecraft's death, and besides Lovecraft includes Walter Gibson (author of The Shadow novels), Lester Dent (author of the Doc Savage novels), L. Ron Hubbard (a pulp author before he came up with Scientology), E. E. "Doc" Smith (noted pulp science fiction author) and others. If that doesn't sound interesting to you let me assure anyone who loves a good read that you don't have to be a fan of the old pulp authors to love this book, which so far is well written and interesting. The rivalries between authors, most of whom were writing like crazy just to eat during the Depression, (a great incentive in defeating 'writer's block' one would imagine) along with Malmont's gift at storytelling and portraying various characters realistically make this a compelling story once you get into it, which for me was by page 2.
Still it does help to be interested in the days when heroes like Doc Savage and The Shadow and Conan and Sam Spade and others were the only entertainment many folks had. I'm up to episode (chapter) 7 of the book and I hope to finish in the next day or two, at which time I'll post a review. I'd probably have finished it already but the Olympic Trials track meet took up much of my attention over the weekend (more on that later), so I'm behind on promised reviews of Charles R. Saunders' "Imaro" and "Imaro II", as well as Manly Wade Wellman's "Hok the Mighty", not to mention a bit of promised housework and some minor paperwork that I told my bosses (under duress) that I'd drive in and do at school soon. Hopefully my wife and Principal Ben will understand that Walter Gibson's quest to find out what happened to his good friend H. P. Lovecraft take precedence. Meanwhile my daughter is crying for the computer, so I guess I'll just go back to "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril"... When I last left Ron Hubbard had just called a meeting of the American Fiction Guild to order, a group including Cornell Woolrich (of Rear Window fame) whose mother attends most meetings with him...not that there's anything wrong with that...
Friday, June 27, 2008
Everything Old is New Again Again
Back in the 1960's I discovered the world of the Pulp Magazine fantasy authors. Thanks to Ace, Ballantine, Lancer, and some other paperback publishers I was introduced to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, among others. Later on I would come across even more writers from the heydays of the pulp magazines, such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and other masters of the hard boiled detective genre. I could name drop for a long time, but anyone who has read these authors knows that they were the trailblazers for many of today's mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy authors.
Now it seems that the influence of the pulp masters has even gone mainstream, with the works of Michael Chabon, Paul Malmont, William F. Nolan, Walter Satterthwait, and numerous other writers even using famous pulp authors as characters in their novels. Pulp reprints of stories of famed Pulp Magazine Era characters such as Doc Savage, The Shadow, C. L. Moore's Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry, along with the works of authors such as Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton and H. P. Lovecraft can be found in most bookstores and certainly online. Printing firms such as Haffner Press and Planet Stories are reprinting the works of many of the great science fiction and fantasy authors, while Crippen and Landru reprints many of the great hard boiled mystery writers from the days of Black Mask Magazine and other hard boiled pulps.
And all of this is isn't even to mention new movies coming out in the Pulp tradition, such as the new Indiana Jones, Hellboy II, The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and 10,000 B. C. just to name a few. The movement isn't just about reprinting old classics, or movies, or a few "mainstream" authors. There are a host of new rising writers who are contributing to the field and many of them are quite talented, such as Wm. Michael Mott, Bill Cunningham, William R. Jones, Angeline Hawkes,Peter Mark May, just to name a very few that spring to mind off hand. And these are just some of the ones I'm aware of, and having been out of the loop for a while, I'm sure there are many more.
The point is that the Pulps (and we can discuss later what that term means in a literary sense) are back and I know I'm a very happy camper about it. When I can explain to my daughter how her "Haunting Ground" game and her favorite graphic novel "Hellboy" are both full of influences from the Pulps such as Weird Tales and the "Shudder" Pulps, and that much of the background story for Haunting Ground and Resident Evil 4 (her other fave) comes right out of the Gothic tradition going back to "The Castle of Otranto" and she actually thinks it's a neat thing to discuss with nerdy old dad, then I can have hope for the younger generation.
Now it seems that the influence of the pulp masters has even gone mainstream, with the works of Michael Chabon, Paul Malmont, William F. Nolan, Walter Satterthwait, and numerous other writers even using famous pulp authors as characters in their novels. Pulp reprints of stories of famed Pulp Magazine Era characters such as Doc Savage, The Shadow, C. L. Moore's Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry, along with the works of authors such as Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton and H. P. Lovecraft can be found in most bookstores and certainly online. Printing firms such as Haffner Press and Planet Stories are reprinting the works of many of the great science fiction and fantasy authors, while Crippen and Landru reprints many of the great hard boiled mystery writers from the days of Black Mask Magazine and other hard boiled pulps.
And all of this is isn't even to mention new movies coming out in the Pulp tradition, such as the new Indiana Jones, Hellboy II, The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and 10,000 B. C. just to name a few. The movement isn't just about reprinting old classics, or movies, or a few "mainstream" authors. There are a host of new rising writers who are contributing to the field and many of them are quite talented, such as Wm. Michael Mott, Bill Cunningham, William R. Jones, Angeline Hawkes,Peter Mark May, just to name a very few that spring to mind off hand. And these are just some of the ones I'm aware of, and having been out of the loop for a while, I'm sure there are many more.
The point is that the Pulps (and we can discuss later what that term means in a literary sense) are back and I know I'm a very happy camper about it. When I can explain to my daughter how her "Haunting Ground" game and her favorite graphic novel "Hellboy" are both full of influences from the Pulps such as Weird Tales and the "Shudder" Pulps, and that much of the background story for Haunting Ground and Resident Evil 4 (her other fave) comes right out of the Gothic tradition going back to "The Castle of Otranto" and she actually thinks it's a neat thing to discuss with nerdy old dad, then I can have hope for the younger generation.
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