Movie Review: Ghost Rider

Marvel Comics just seems to be a huge wealth of movie material. The latest release "Ghost Rider" explores the darker side of the comics company. There have been "dark" comics made into film in the past (Spawn, V for Vendetta) but none by Marvel. Now they have broken that mold.

Ghost Rider, does not have the huge fanbase like Spider-Man and X-men but the cult following was enough to make a movie. The nice thing is that with all the comics out there Hollywood can try any of them out and see what hits or misses regardless of the success of the comic. The movies have a different following.

Ghost Rider is one of the few comics from Marvel that make it hard to tell if he is a hero or not. Most comic book heroes don't kill their enemies but allow for the authorities to lock them up. This was all from a time when the Comic Book Authority had to place their stamp of approval before comics could be printed. Marvel comics was one of the first to break out of the stamp of approval and start publishing comics "their way."

Leaving behind the characters of the Ghost Rider created in comics (there was more than one incarnation of the Ghost Rider), This movie takes the best known Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze and builds a movie based on the Johnny Blaze version. Johnny Blaze, played by Nicolas Cage, is a motorcycle stuntman in a carnival doing shows with his father. Johnny is also in love with a local girl, named Roxanne, whose parents don't like her to be with the motorcyclist. So the parents decide to move and take the girl with her. Roxanne tells Johnny this and they plan on running off together. After all, Johnny's dad constantly disapproves of Johnny's actions. The night before they are to run off Johnny finds out his dad is dying of cancer. That night while working on the bikes Johnny is visited by a stranger that promises to heal his dad if he signs a contract. Well, that stranger is Mephistopholes (Peter Fonda) and we all know where those contracts lead. Mephistopholes needs Johnny to be the Ghost Rider, the spirit of vengeance that collects the souls from those who have signed contracts before. Out of love for his father Johnny looks over the contract, and in a round about way signs in blood.

The next day after a scheduled visit with his doctor Johnny's father is miraculously healed of all cancer. But as with all dealings with the dark one, he dies in a motorcycle stunt that afternoon. Johnny then runs off to avoid life, including Roxanne.

Many years later we find Johnny Blaze a world renowned stunt cyclist doing motorcycle jumps Evel Knievel could only dream of. After jumping an entire Football field filled with helicopters with rotating blades. Mephistopholes comes to Johnny to put him to work, hunting down Blackheart (Wes Bentley), his son. Blackheart has decided to make hell on Earth by retrieving a contract in which a Ghost Rider from the 1800's has hidden because all the souls would make Mephistopholes too powerful.

Johnny is befriended by an intriguing cemetery caretaker (Sam Elliott), who seems to know a lot about the Ghost Rider, and helps Johnny defeat both Mephistopholes and Blackheart.

If you're looking for supernatural motorcycle chase scenes this movie is for you. Nicolas Cage as the Ghost Rider is playing the part he was meant to play. His acting brings the life of the Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze to be believable characters in a setting that should not be believeable. Although this movie is best seen on the big screen I am definitely adding this my DVD collection when it comes out.

A couple of extra notes to notice and keep in the back of your mind are:
1. Nicolas Cage had to have his Ghost Rider tattoo covered by make up for the film (he was a fan before he was cast).
2. The chopper Johnny blaze rides is a copy of the Captain America chopper Peter Fonda rode in the movie Easy Rider.
3. The images of the Ghost Rider skull are actually formed from x-rays of Nicolas Cage's Skull.

I will warn you the little kids may be afraid of some of the scenes in this one.

Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Book 2: Suspicion by Mike McQuay

The experiment continues. This statement goes for both the challenge Isaac Asimov presented to 4 sci-fi writers and to the experiment in the Robot City series of books of Robots and Humans working together. But before I jump too far let me give you a little more of a background.

As stated in my review of book 1 in this series, Isaac Asimov's 3 laws of robotics were used by other science fiction writers but only Asimov was allowed to quote them. That is until this series came about. Asimov challenged other writers to write in HIS realm about HIS robots. Michael (Mike) McQuay wrote this book in the series. Some of his previous books are: Life-Keeper (1980), Escape from New York (1981), State of Siege (1984), Jitterbug (1984), My Science Project (1985), The MIA Ransom (1986), Puppetmaster (1991), and Richter 10 (1996) (with Arthur C Clarke). "Suspicion" was published in 1987 along with the other books in the series.

In this book we again join Derec and Katherine after they have mysteriously been transported to Robot City by a device called the Key to Perihelion. The mystery is where this device originated and why were they chosen to "use" it, and the mystery as to who Derec really is, he is suffering from amesia and has no idea who he is. But before they can solve those mysteries there is another one that takes precedence. Derec and Katherine are suspected of murder in Robot City. Only because they are the only other humans on the planet and Robots are incapable of harming humans, thanks to the deeply programmed 3 laws of robotics. It turns out that the murdered human is named David. In the first book in the series we learned that Katherine knew Derec previously and knew him as David. Katherine is still holding back secrets in this book. In fact it is found out that she is only calling herself Katherine, and that that is not HER real name. (curiouser and curiouser)

Another problem is that the city is itself a robotic entity and is in overdrive defense mode. This cause for defense mode is thought to be because of a perceived alien threat. The city is burning up the planet's resources at an alarming rate and the by-product is a speeded up version of global warming, bringing dangerous storms to the planet.

Katherine goes out to examine the body of the murdered David while Derec goes to explore the cause of the defense mode. When Katherine sees that the body of David is an exact "replica" of Derec/David she goes into hysterics and the robots must bring her to safety. In the meantime Derec discovers the cause of the "alien" attack and tries to explain to the central core that there is no attack but the robots need verification before it can stop the defense mode.

This book has more of a Sherlock Holmes mystery feel than does the first book which was a great space adventure. I will not give out the ending of this book, as I always try not to give away endings in any of my reviews. But when I finally get Book 3 I'm sure that review will contain a summary of this book's ending. The only problem is I'm having a hard time finding books 3 and 6 of this series. Both are written by William F. Wu and seem to be out of print. My local library system doesn't even have them.

The Legends of Dune Trilogy Book 1: The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

It was time to pick up another book to read and I was trying to figure out what to read. I am already reading the "Isaac Asimov's Robot City" series and thought I'd better not do another sci-fi book. When I read I read multiple books, and I try to keep them opposite types. I then realized that my reading of the Asimov series was going to be hitting a speed bump. I can't find books 3 or 6 of that series. So I said what the heck, and looked at another Sci-fi book. I was going to re-read "Dune" by Frank Herbert, after all I loved the David Lynch movie, the Sci-Fi channel mini-series and of course the book itself. But I did some research on the book and remembered there were several books written in the "Dune" Series, including some prequels. So here I am on my trek through the stars with Dune. This time I was glad to see Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, had joined in the Dune mythos.

The Legends of Dune Trilogy covers a time 10,000 years before the first book published, "Dune." This series covers some areas mentioned in the earlier (written not timeline) books. Also I read that the information shared in these books will play a vital part in the next book to be released August of 2007. So here's where I jump in.

As it stands in this book there are 3 factions of planets: the Synchronized worlds (run by thinking machines & Cymeks), The League of Nobles (the humans), and the unallied planets (which consists of Arrakis or Dune).

As is learned in "Dune: The Butlerian Jihad," published in 2002, The empire had grown "lazy and complacent." A group of humans decided to overthrow the empire and started calling themselves "the Titans." These Titans have enhanced their bodies to live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This is not enough, they then find a way to remove their brains from their bodies and place them into "robot" bodies. Now called Cymeks they take over the empire. After enslaving man the Cymeks then allow the thinking machines to work for them, even giving the thinking machines human traits. One such trait, the need to conquer goes too far. The thinking machines then take over, enslaving the human race and creating the Synchronized worlds. Worlds that are all linked to the great evermind "Omnius." Omnius keeps the Cymeks for his dirty work and because deep in the programming the evermind cannot bring harm to the Cymeks.

There are the Synchronized worlds, ruled by Omnius, and the League of Nobles, a democratic form of planet alliances, that pretty much get by without harming each other, but then the Cymeks and the Thinking machines attack, forcing intergalactic war. During this war heroes and martyrs are made. If you have read the other books and wondered why there are no computers, how the Fremen got their start, why Spice Melange is so vital or how the 3 main houses (Harkkonen, Atreides and Corrino) came to be in power. This book is a must read.

The authors create and build on the mythos which include the same ideals created by Frank Herbert. In this first book we learn how Tio Holtzmann created the personal shields and the shield technology (which I thought was so cool in the series). The beginnings of the Bene Gesserit witches are also discussed and why they came to be. So basically this book (along with the other 2 "Legends" books) tells the whys of the mythos created in one of the best epic Sci-Fi series ever.

I now can't wait to get started on the next book, "The Machine Crusades," so I'm going to close this review. But before I go, If you have not ever read any of the Frank Herbert's Dune series, it won't hurt to start out with this introductory book. It is written with the same passion as all the others and besides, it's always good to start at the "beginning."

Expendability

The moral here: Never wear a red shirt when hanging out with the bosses.

Isaac Asimov's Robot City book 1: Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic robots (designated by their Asimov created positronic brains) appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, the Laws state the following:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Isaac Asimov created these laws as more or less a challenge to himself for writing his novels. Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm;" the rest of the laws are modified sequentially to acknowledge this. He created murder mysteries in space using the 3 laws and the Detective Elijah Bailey. Bailey would receive help from R. Daneel Olivaw, a human appearing robot. Many science fiction writers have used the ideas of Asimov's robots, but no other author could directly state 3 three laws. Many sci-fi writers used the ideas of the laws but never stated them as Asimov did. Even the positronic brain was copied in the series "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Commander Data had a positronic brain. Asimov was honored to have many sci-fi writers copy the ideas but the laws were his and he did not allow this. Not until the Robot City series of books. This series of 5 books was a challenge to 4 different Sci-Fi writers to write stories based solely on the laws and Asimov's universe.


Isaac Asimov's Robot City is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It takes place between The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire. The novels were written in response to a writing challenge issued by Asimov to write a series involving the Three Laws of Robotics, which brought about a collaboration of several talented authors.


The books in this series are:

1. Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (1987)


2. Suspicion by Mike McQuay (1987)


3. Cyborg by William F. Wu (1987)


4. Prodigy by Arthur Byron Cover (1988)


5. Refuge by Rob Chilson (1988)


6. Perihelion by William F. Wu (1988)

So being the guy that has to read things in order and loving series of books, I have set off in my quest to read the Robot City books. (I have already read all the Asimov books from the "Robot" series to the "Empire" series and ending with the "Foundation" Series.)


In "Odyssey" we are introduced to the character of Derec. Derec has no idea who he is or where he's from and finds himself in the beginning of the book in an escape pod on an uncharted asteroid. The asteroid is being mined by robots that aren't actually mining but looking for what Derec later learns to be a key. The robots bring Derec into the station and as Derec is trying to find humans on the station (which there are none) the asteroid comes under attack from a mysterious ship. The robots have orders to destroy the asteroid but in doing so would end up destroying Derec, the first law prohibits this, so one robot hints that he may have to escape. As Derec is escaping the lost item (the key) is found and a robot insists that Derec take it with him. Derec modifies a space suit to allow him to "jump" from the asteroid into space. The problem here is that this puts him on the mysterious ship.


The ship is run by aliens, who seem also interested in the "key." A side note here, throughout all of Asimov's books one thing that is missing is aliens. All of Asimov's universe is populated by humans or robots. The aliens take Derec into the ship where he is forced to create robots for the aliens since they have no such technology. This knowledge lets the reader know that Derec has had some training in robotics and engineering, even he finds it odd that he can do such work and not know who he is. On the alien ship Derec befriends a canoid alien named Wolruf, and finds that another human is onboard. This other human is the mysterious Katherine. Katherine knows Derec but will not reveal what she knows. Just as Derec and Katherine are to get their hands on the Key once again, something blows up.


The next section of the book takes place on Rockliffe Station a way station for settlers and spacers travelling to distant systems. Again no humans on board the station but the staff of robots are medical professionals. In order to pay for their medical treatment the commander of the station has confiscated the portion of the ship that Derec and Katherine were found drifting in, along with the key. Derec for unknown reasons, feels he must get the key back and Katherine (too eagerly) agrees to help. In the process of searching they find Wolruf is hiding on the station. Wolruf seems to know more than she is saying also and leads them to where the robots are guarding the key.


Now I'm keeping this review as pretty much a recap of events for one simple reason. The book is not meant to be read independently. At the end of the book Derec and Katherine find what the Key can do. It is a teleporter of some sort and sends them to a city of robots "Robot City" there the book ends and leaves the reader hanging completely. To find out what happens the next book in the series has to be read. That is my next quest. So I'll have more for you then. Be ready for a series of cliffhangers.


For some further information the Robot and Aliens series is a spin off of the Robot City series, dealing with the Three Laws, Robots and what would happen if robots were to encounter alien life. The series also features Derec and Katherine.

1. Changeling by Stephen Leigh


2. Renegade by Cordell Scotten


3. Intruder by Robert Thurston


4. Alliance by Jerry Oltion


5. Maverick by Bruce Bethke


6. Humanity by Jerry Oltion

Robot City also had a mystery game of the same name released for the PC in 1995. You played as the role of Derec.

Movie Review: A Scanner Darkly

I can easily start this review out by saying I have just seen one of the most intriguing films of our time.
But I won't, at least not yet. I want to let you know some of the logistics first.



A Scanner Darkly is a Richard Linklater film based on the book of the same name by Philip K. Dick. You may recognize Philip K. Dick's previous books turned to movies that have become underground/cult favorites, "Blade Runner," which was based on his book "Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?" and "Minority Report." With this portfolio you can safely assume that the movie is a bit of a Sci-Fi movie. Well, not quite, at least not too far fetched. But then again that's what makes Mr. Dick's books more interesting is that they don't require a stretch to be believable.


With the Sci-Fi aspect of the film grabbing some attention, another aspect of the film is that Richard Linklater did some very creative cinematography. Borrowing some animation techniques from Ralph Bakshi, this film used real actors that became animated. Ralph Bakshi films were most famous for his "rotoscoping" in which the actors were filmed but the movie was animated over the film. (Some great examples of this are "Cool World" starring Kim Basinger and Brad Pitt, "The Lord of the Rings {the animated version}, "Wizards" and my favorite "American Pop") The actors were filmed and the images were then turned to animation, at times just simply coloring in the faces and clothes to some very elaborate hallucinations and effects. So now you have 2 intriguing aspects of the film.


The next intriguing aspect is the AWESOME cast used in the film. Individually all the actors are underrated and have very unique personalities, but thrown together in this ensemble creates a completely different view of the craft of acting. The actors are:

Keanu Reeves .... Fred/Bob Arctor

Rory Cochrane .... Freck

Robert Downey Junior .... Barris

Woody Harrelson .... Luckman

Winona Ryder .... Donna

These actors all do a great job in portraying some very interesting characters. Yes the "animation" helps but the director still filmed their movements and facial expressions and they are used. At times I found myself thinking there was some typecasting going on...but then I get the realization that these guys are really just great actors and need more roles like this.


Now for the rundown. The film takes place 7 years from now, in Los Angeles, a future where America has lost the war on drugs. When one reluctant undercover cop is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode. In fact, Bob Arctor (Reeves), at some point is not sure if he is keeping watch on himself or his friends and at times loses his own identity. New-Path (a major corporation) has created a new drug called Substance "D" and while other drug use in the story is "acceptable" the police want to stop the dealing of Substance "D." New-Path has also created a major system in which the police can actively watch everyone everywhere (very Big Brotherish) except on the campus of the corporation. And to make matters worse the undercover police are so far under cover that they cannot appear in a professional manner unless wearing a scramble suit, which holographically portrays the wearer into multiple appearances to be the "ultimate everyman." So the police don't even know who's who on the force.


In the process of being undercover, Arctor, becomes addicted to the Substance "D" and soon loses all concepts of reality. At this point the movie becomes a rollercoaster of plot twists and turns, that no-one can predict the final outcome. And it is a great surprise ending, which I won't giveaway, but will give you a heads up: "Give her small blue flowers."


With the use of animation, the constant twists, and each character behaving so "bizarrely" you may feel as if you, yourself are using some psychotropic substance, but you can relax...it's just a movie. In fact you may have to watch it twice, to get the full efect. Then you will realize that you, like me, have seen the most intriguing film of our time.

Music Review: The Bastard Fairies "Memento Mori"

Wow, here's an idea. Give away your album. That's just what this band is doing. They are giving away their CD.

At first I wondered why would an Indie band want to giveaway their music? After listening to the cd, I can tell you they have talent. They are something new to the music scene from attitude to sound. At last something new to break the Green Day, My Chemical Romance soundalikes out there.

Just Click on the Banner Below to join their squad and/or download their free album.

The female vocalists are perfect for something unique and different on a musical scale. The music has some different twists. At times it's Beatlesque, then some reggae beats on a song or two, some haunting melodies and a fun synthesized song thrown in to round it all out.. Check them out after all it's free.

Just Click on the Banner Below to join their squad and/or download their free album.

My favorite tune so far is Moribund. When I heard it I immediately thought of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" by the Beatles.

Just Click on the Banner Below to join their squad and/or download their free album.

"...the most controversial band since the SEX PISTOLS"...
TOP 20 Most Viewed ALL TIME on YouTube.com
TOP 20 Most Favorited ALL TIME on YouTube.com
THE BASTARD FAIRIES download the album now for FREE!!!
...in-stores with 5 Bonus tracks & DVD April 10th...

The shiny, new, and must-have album Memento Mori from The Bastard Fairies hits stores April 10!! The album contains 5 Bonus Tracks AND a Bonus DVD
that are not avaialble on the free download!! Clearly, you NEED this
album! While anxiosuly awaiting spring thaw to get your hand on a copy,
don't be selfish!!! Spread the word to everyone you know-- "Memento
Mori" hits stores April 10!!

Just Click on the Banner Below to join their squad and/or download their free album.

Download-- "Memento Mori" FREE!!!!!

The Bastard Fairies are giving free downloads of their debut album Memento Mori!!!
Just click the link below to download your copy of this fabulous album
today!! No tricks, no gimmicks, just great music absolutely FREE!! All
we ask??? SHARE THE MUSIC-- download the album, burn cd's and hand them
out to all your friends!!

Now that's giving to the fans and yet great marketing at the same time.

They are also using the street team/squad type marketing that got Corinne Bailey Rae recognized and nominated for a grammy. So while the word gets spread you can earn points. So the promoter/fan gets rewarded plus the music is free. And to top it off They have talent.

Give these guys a listen, you won't be sorry. Besides, it won't cost you anything.

Just Click on the Banner Below to join their squad and/or download their free album.

Brother Odd (Book 3 of the Odd Thomas Novels) by Dean Koontz

Book three of the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz has lived up to the greatness created in the first of the series. In the first book, "Odd Thomas," we are introduced to the dynamic character of Odd, the young fry-cook that can see dead people. Odd uses his gift/curse to help the lingering dead move on by usually solving the puzzles of their deaths. He also has the gift of what he calls "psychic magnetism," which is a form of intuition which will always lead him where he needs to be, so he’s never lost.

Assisted by the ghost of Elvis (yep, Presley, the king of rock) Odd Thomas has some interesting adventures. In this adventure/episode Odd has taken up residency in a monastery. No he hasn’t become a monk, he’s just a guest. At this monastery only the Mother Superior and a few Brothers and the Abbot know of his special talents. He has also been given a master key which will allow him into any area of the monastery. This was given to him because the monastery has a poltergeist. A Brother who was believed to have committed suicide in the bell tower, and takes to ringing the bells at various times of the day.

This monastery is also home to a large number of children that have been "forgotten" by society. These are orphaned children that are "damaged." Most are what are called "crack-babies" others are just orphans from very bad home lives. Another resident-become-monk is a brilliant physicist that has endowed the monastery with over 400 billion dollars to take care of these children. Brother John has taken all his vows to become a full fledged monk, but has a dark secret. This secret could lead to the death of the children, the monks and the sisters of the monastery, unless Odd Thomas can do something to help.

Odd is aware of the impending doom by the sudden arrival of bodachs, a dark paranormal creature that is another thing that Odd sees which no one else can. When bodachs arrive there is always trouble, which in all cases means large disaster, looming. Odd follows the bodachs to try and find what may be the disaster. In following, he comes across an entity of which the likes he’s never seen. This new entity is as dangerous as it is mysterious. It is constructed of what appear to be a cacaphony of bones but with multiple types of joints that allow flexibility unlike anything seen in this reality.

Once again Dean Koontz weaves a tale of horror, mystery and even fun that is just a great read. Oh yeah and the moments of poignancy are back in this book so be prepared, just a few tissues are needed, but in various parts of the book, not just the end as in book one.

I’m moving to a sci-fi mode for my next few books if you want to know what’s next click here:
http://astore.amazon.com/giltsbluesstuff

"Ozzfest tour to offer free tickets" or "Someone's been reading my blog"

Fans won't have to strain their budgets to attend this year's edition of Ozzfest --organizers plan to give away tickets for free.

"For the last few years, ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours," said Sharon Osbourne, tour namesake Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager. "We certainly want everybody to make money; however, we also want the kids to be able to afford to come out and have an incredible experience. If we continued with the traditional touring festival model, we would have no choice but to raise ticket prices again this year."

Under Ozzfest's new business model, the tour--to be headlined by Ozzy--will be underwritten by various sponsorship deals.

Exactly how tickets will be distributed remains to be announced, but fans will eventually follow sponsored links at the Ozzfest website or tour promoter Live Nation's site to obtain tickets.

Looks like someone read my previous blog.

We need to save the music industry or it dies this year...

A little harsh on the title but something needs to be done.

Okay, first of all it's not the entire music industry that needs saved, only some parts of it. The other parts just need some tweaking.

I'm a dj at a small town radio station in the midwest and have noticed that within the last 4 years or so the music industry is going sour. This is most seen when it comes to the releases of new music. There are no bands out anymore that seem to have staying power. Sure you may get your little cult faves, but there are no more Led Zeppelins, Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and so on. What do we have instead? My Chemical Romance, Brothermadude, and Justin Timberlake. Don't get me wrong these are all talented people, except for that Timberlake guy, he's part of the problem. More on that later.

You could say that U2 is a band that has staying power, well that is because they have stayed since the early '80s. What we have today some people have attributed to the internet and even more so that source of music pablum MySpace. With so many bands able to get there music out to the public, it's harder for the public to filter. That job used to be filled by the Music Industry labels and Radio Stations. But like anything corporate those have been corrupted. Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying they were perfect, remember "Payola?"

The record labels are just pretty much releasing crap and high priced crap, at that. I remember buying my first CD release in 1986 and paying $18 at Tower Records. Now if you go into any remaining music store CDs are still the same price. The major labels should have found a way by now to bring down prices. I mean really, I get enough spam and junk snail-mail that tells me I can get 12 CDs for a penny. And while were here I think that is one of the reasons "Record Stores" (CD stores just doesn't fit for me) are going belly-up. There's more but you'll have to wait for that.

In the 80s many of the punk/new wave bands set out to prove you didn't have to have musical talent to get rich quick. It seems that tradition is continuing and growing. And some of the talented groups have a hard time competing in the world where what is now, this second, sells so forget the talent. Many of the Independent labels today are what are going to be the future of music, the problem is even they are not going at it the best way.

Many Indies are finding that it is more economical to sell your song for commercial backgrounds or, even more recently popular, to tv networks to make their new shows "trendy." So, for many the new music comes from watching an episode of "The O.C." (I just picked that one out because it's one I hate most.)

Another way for artists to get their stuff out is through the internet. But that is so hard to filter through. Take for example the hugely talented but highly underrated Ryan Adams (not Bryan) on his website you can download several thousands of his freshly written songs...actually tens of thousands. That's just from one artist. Where is my overkill filter?

Also with these downloadable songs quality has been lost (even with the LEGAL downloads). I used to love crisp clean music, maybe even some old Pink Floyd in quadraphonic sound. The movie industry improved their sound quality why has the music industry lost theirs?

Now back to "record stores." In our area we lost Sam Goody's and I hear that my all time favorite Tower Records is bankrupt. It seems that only small independent record stores are left. I think a lot of this is due to the ability to download music, whether legally or illegally. I think this will be good for me, in that I love going to the independent record stores and some of the corporate stores bored me. But, these guys could be gone soon, unless we do something. Okay maybe not "we" but mainly the "Record Labels."

Here are a few suggestions that may save "Record Stores" and maybe even save the industry at the same time.

First, record stores and the industry should get together to allow some sort of musical ATM in the store where you could bring your iPod, Zune, or whatever mp3 player you have, plug it in and pay per download.

Next, BRING DOWN THE PRICE OF CDs!!!! Even stock prices drop after some years (okay hopefully not mine). Next, stop releasing any piece of crap you have just to make a buck. I mean really just because they tried out for American Idol doesn't mean they can sing. I really see CDs as a dying music form, just like the 8-track, reel-to-reel, records, etc. But some artists still release vinyl (yeah I was amazed also). So release CDs as special and worth buying...but cheaper priced, remember. Remember the artists like Pink Floyd that would release an album and the whole album told a story? Green Day and My Chemical Romance have recently tried to bring back that art. Those would be perfect CD releases.

Finally, another issue with prices, Bring down the price of a concert ticket. I would rather listen to a bootleg, than pay $50 for a one hour performance of some band. The indies have proven there are other ways to make money. Besides, do the artists really get that money?

Okay those are some of my ideas, rants and raves. What about you?

Interview with Tommy Chong 1997

Okay, for those of you that don't know I work in radio. You can always tell a radio person because they have thousands of photos of themselves with people (usually famous) that they'll never hang out with. Anyway 10 years ago I got the privilege of interviewing Tommy Chong. This was before his arrest for selling drug PARAPHANELIA (not drugs) across state lines and doing some prison time. I have transcribed that interview and well here it is. If it goes over well I may transcribe many of my other interviews (mainly w/ blues musicians, such as Son Seals, Koko Taylor, etc.).

Gil T. Wilson's Interview with Tommy chong
November 8, 1997
(brief but fun)

Gil T. Wilson: Here with me I have Tommy Chong, who has just played/performed at Stanford & Sons here in Kansas City, Playing/Performing, what would you call what you do?

Tommy Chong (as Blind Melon Chitlin): I be Playin', I be playin' guitar, this is Blind Melon Chitlin, Tommy Chong, Tommy Chong's done lef' the building. This is Blind Melon Chitlin, cause ya'll's playin' blues songs, this is a blues show. Ya'll like the blues. You, you yououou, know what the difference between Rock-n-Roll and de blues, don't you?

GTW: Well YOU tell me.

TC/BMC: Rock-n-Roll is what happens when white boys try to play the blues. You a white boy?

GTW: umm, yes.

TC/BMC: I figgered so. White boys love the blues.

GTW: You see though the best blues instrument I play is a CD player.

TC/BMC: If it weren't for white people there would be no blues.

GTW: How so?

TC/BMC: The white folk, they dug it up. The black people, they played it and then they left it. They left it and walked away to do the Hip-Hop. But the white people they love the blues. See the Rolling Stones they tried to play the blues and it come out like that. It came out like, you see that's Rock-n-Roll. That ain't the the blues.

You see if you ask me what the blues is I'll tell you what the blues is.

GTW: I'll bite, what is the blues?

TC/BMC: The blues is the blues, a yeah. If it were green it would be called the greens.

Wait a minute Tommy Chong, just walked in the door. A yeah. Hol' on. Hol' on.

TC: (as himself) Hey, How ya doin' man?

GTW: Pretty Good. (laughing)

TC: Sorry about that. He gets carried away. Just worked at Stanford's, I hope it was good. It was fun.

GTW: You started out doing Blues, right?

TC: Yeah, I think the very first tune, in fact the only tune I know all the way through is Honky Tonk by Bill Doggett. I know the Guitar Solo, I'm one of the few living guitarists that knows every note of that guitar solo. And I also know a lot of Jimmy Reed songs, he was my favorite. I love Jimmy Reed. I love Sonny Boy Williamson too. I've met a few people. I met John Lee Hooker years and years and years ago. When he was a younger, older man. (laughs) John Lee Hooker in this little blues club. There was NO ONE there. Just me and about three other guys.

GTW: Where was this?

TC: In Vancouver, Canada. That was when John Lee Hooker was playin' whatever gig he could get. You know?

I met B.B. King one time, He was funny. He came up and introduced himself to me. I just had to die laughing. He goes, " Mr. Chong, I'm B.B. King." I said, "Man I know who YOU are." (laughs)

GTW: With the blues starting you into where you are going, are you still doing blues with your performance now?

TC: Oh yeah, yeah. You know, that character that was on earlier (referring to Blind Melon) he's in my show. He's probably the feature act in my show. And I play guitar and sing funny songs. Funny blues songs you know. Like I sing about the dumbest man in the universe, a good old white boy named Michael Jackson.

So I sing about Michael, I sing about oh, a lot of things. I can't talk on the air about it, but uh, ..

GTW: One thing I was going to ask Blind Melon, was about the controversy over his album cover that was going to come out. Did they ever get that to fit on the album cover?

TC: Oh, Oh, we couldn't get it on the album cover. He don't care. See Blind's got tired of , He's got a manager 'cause he got tired of being messed around by the record company. They'd take him into record stores and they'd grab his hand and say, "Feel those? Those are ALL your records. Feel this poster this is your poster." And they'd be lyin', he knows they'd be lyin'.

GTW: On another note. On you, I saw an episode of Nash Bridges

TC: Ah HA.

GTW: And all this controversy going around, you and Cheech are supposed to be Mortal Enemies, aren't you.

TC: Well, we're, we're not mortal enemies, by no means, but uh, we definitely have a difference of opinion when it comes to , uh, you know our public personas. I think that if you're a comedian you should be funny. You know. I may be old-fashioned, but I think if you're gonna call yourself a comedian you should be funny. But Cheech is a serious actor now. I look at him like I look at all serious actors, like yeah, yeah, nice to meet ya. Don Johnson, you know is a big "Cheech & Chong" fan. And he would love nothing more to have us both on the show. But, you know, I can't do that Cop Stuff. I don't believe in it.

GTW: It's like you'd be on the other end?

TC: Well yeah, it's like you said I'm a Blues musician and smoking pot has never been a problem with me as far as the law goes. You know, evil is what you think it is. There's no good or bad, it's just what you think it is.

GTW: Well, blues music, itself, used to be seen as Evil.

TC: Yeah, exactly. You can always blame something on something else it's just a way to try to hold down a whole culture. But rather than give up they gotta, you know Cheech he makes his own decisions as far as what he wants to do with his life and he chose that path. And God Bless him.

GTW: And you're doing your movies, your last was "Far Out, Man", that's been a while when is your next one coming out?

TC: I just finished a movie called "Best Buds." And It'll be in the theatres hopefully, by spring. We'll try to come and do a premier in Kansas City, I've got quite a few friends here. Like this one guy who own's this club. (referring to the former Stanford & Sons comedy club) He's on the witness protection program, he knows a lot of the mob. He's really connected. They'll leave me alone here, you know I can work here without being hasseled. And if I was a teamster I'd be really well off here.

GTW: Thanks, Tommy, for taking the time off to talk with us. If you have a request, I'll see if I can play it for you.

TC: Okay, do you know that Muddy Waters thing where he sings, "Gimme my reefer I don't want umm Champagne but don't give me no cocaine.." something like that?

GTW: Okay, Here's Muddy Waters, Champagne & Reefer.

So should I transcribe the rest?

"On Bullshit" by Harry G. Frankfurt

At the risk of being censored I'm going to review this book anyway. Yes, that's the name of the book. Or rather a mini-book.


Harry G. Frankfurt is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Princeton University, and has written this philosophical essay on the subject of Bullshit. In this 67 page book he discusses what can and can't be properly termed as Bullshit.


Using actual historical examples and the Oxford English Dictionary, Professor Frankfurt clarifies what Bullshit is. I think I can sum it up as follows:

"The mode of creativity upon which it{Bullshit} relies is less analytical and less deliberative than that which is mobilized in lying. It is more expansive and independent, with more spacious opportunities for Improvisation, color, and imaginative play. this is less a matter of craft than art"

So the Bullshit artist is an artist

"Since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its misrepresentational intent."

So Bullshit is only to misrepresent no matter if true or false.

And in closing:

"Sincerity itself is Bullshit."

The fun part of this book is reading the wordplay that finally arrives at the final outcome. At times humorous and at times very philosophical, this book is a neat read.

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before you ask...no i don't get any points to refer you or any compensation from the site there is no catch...just a lot of fun and cool stuff.

click on the images below to check it out.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

"The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call "out there." Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. With these lines of the book the reader is introduced to middle America in a classic book about a true crime. This book serves many purposes as a classic. First it gives the reader a great glimpse of midwestern life in the late 1950s. The process Mr. Capote uses to tell this story creates a whole atmosphere of the era and not just, what I would call, a Jack Webb, "Just the facts, ma'am" reading.


Another purpose served with the writing of this book is that Truman Capote invented a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be remembered as "something new" that has influenced countless writers and created what is now an entire genre called "True Crime."


During the first section of the book the life of the Clutter family and the life of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith (the murderers) is unrolled to create a great feeling of who these characters are. Not only do you get to know the good guys in the story but the bad guys are understood as well. If you saw the movie "Capote" (the movie was based on the section of Truman Capote's life that was spent on writing this book) you may remember a saying that the story explores the underbelly of society in which Hickock and Smith are a product of and that any normal citizen is not that far from touching. It is haunting how guys like Hickock and Smith can be that close to you in normal life and even more so in today's times.

Most of the second section of this book is spent on trying to track down the killers (identity's unknown at this point) by the KBI and other authorities. Also the reader is taken on the road with Dick and Perry, this is a very dark version of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." But it is similar.

This is a classic that should be read by all...but be warned, even if you live in a small town, you may start locking all your doors and windows after reading this one.

The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby

I've never considered myself a fan of history, at least not in so far as sitting down and reading a history book for pleasure. Let alone a medical history book. Anytime I read anything about diseases or injuries, I get these weird squeamish feelings. This book, however, intrigued me and I'm glad it did.


"The American Plague" does not cover the full history of Yellow Fever but does cover what seems to be the most important time period of this fatal disease that could still be a threat today. The time period covered is from 1878 when tens of thousands of people in Memphis, TN died and destroyed the city of Memphis as it once was, through to the turn of the century (18th to 19th) when Walter Reed and many others became martyrs in order to understand the cause of Yellow Fever, and finally to the late 1920's when a vaccine was created.


So why would I torment myself with a medical history book? Because this one is so well written. From page 1 the author leads the reader through life during the epidemic, quarantine, treatment, deaths and discovery of the yellow fever virus. At times I forgot I was reading non-fiction. Now this isn't to say that the facts seemed stretched but just that the prose used in this storytelling captivated me so much I was in the middle of the book before I realized that I hadn't put it down.


Not only is the storytelling great, but the cast of characters just jump out of the book in full life. This is not only due to Ms. Crosby's great writing but to her in depth research. In fact, most of the times when I read a non-fiction book that has appendices and such, I don't bother reading the notes sections. But for this book I stuck around for the notes section and loved discovering how the author uncovered her facts. It's like sticking around for the credits of a movie to find out who did that song that was so awesome.


So do yourself a little favor and read some history. It was fun for me to learn this stuff. By the way, this makes me glad I was vaccinated in the U.S. Navy for Yellow Fever...whew!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

I'm on one of my "read-the-classics" kicks again. So I have decided to read a couple of novels that have been classified as some as classics. My catch is that when I read more than one book at a time they have to cover completely different subject matter. I have achieved that with the latest books: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera and "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. I have not yet finished "In Cold Blood," but now you know what to expect as my next review.


"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" is a political/social/philosophical novel that at first seems like it's going to be a romance novel / erotica, but in fact turns out to be a great summary of the Russian invasion of Checzoslovakia in 1968 an goes on to cover some philosophical issues including the great question; "What is the meaning of life?"


The first section of the book introduces the 3 "main" characters, Tomas, Tereza and Sabina. Tomas is a surgeon that has just gone through a terrible divorce in which his wife refuses to let him see his son so he decides to wash his hands of them. In doing so his parents wash their hands of Tomas. Tomas pretty much then sees women not as objects to love but as sexual beings. He maintains a relationship with artist Sabina while what could be called falling in love with Tereza. Tereza is from a small town outside of Prague and wants to be the sole receiver of attention of Tomas.


Tomas attempts to practice a philosophy of lightness. He considers sex and love two separate and unrelated entities; he sleeps with many women, and loves one woman (Tereza), and sees no problem with the simultaneous existence of these two activities. Accepting the lightness of being means accepting a certain lack of ultimate meaning in life, and living for momentary beauty. Those who accept lightness, for example, are not likely to ally themselves to political parties, either the Communist regime or the diehard dissidents.


Tereza worships books, culture, and kindness. Identifying Tomas as a kindred spirit and outsider, she falls in love instantly and permanently. In Prague, Tomas's womanizing drives Tereza to the brink of insanity. Although she attempts to understand her husband and his lifestyle and cannot argue with him logically, Tereza is unable to be "light" about her love or sexuality. She finds some fulfillment in her work as photographer, especially during the Soviet tank occupation; she does dangerous and politically dissident work as a photojournalist.


Sabina betrays, successively, her father's home, her art school, her lovers, and ultimately her country. Sabina is as beautiful and original as her artwork; early in life, she identified kitsch, or bad, sentimental, insistently sunny propaganda art, and lives her life as an attack on kitsch. She cares deeply for both Tomas and Tereza, even if she cannot understand why Tomas would trade his freedom for domesticity. Ultimately her desire for freedom leads Sabina to leave her love, Franz, and lose all contact with her past. Sabina is the "lightest" character in the novel, although none of the characters ever achieve the extreme lightness.


Toward the end of the novel the writer steps out of the story and discusses thoughts such as kitsch, communism and love. At these moments the book becomes less of a novel and more like an essay on life.


If you are a person who likes a good thought provoking novel mixed with some philosophy this one is for you. This is not a light read, but well worth the time.


If you're interested in reading the book I'll be posting it at Paperback Swap.

Swap Your Paperback Books - PaperBackSwap.com

Or you can purchase it by clicking here:

http://astore.amazon.com/giltsbluesstuff

Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

In this second of three (so far) books following the exploits/adventures of Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz left some holes in his plot but through some great character development gives us a great horror-gripped suspenseful ride in the world of the paranormal.

Odd Thomas sees dead people. They don't talk, but they want him to help solve the puzzles of their. untimely deaths. Assisted by the Chief of Police of Pico Mundo, California, an overweight eccentric novelist and the ghost of Elvis, Odd can face anything, and he does so with attitude.

The adventure this time begins with the ghost of one of Odd's few friend's step-father, Dr Jessup, waking him up in the middle of the night. Dr. Jessup, being a ghost, cannot speak but through his face and simply his presence in Odd's bedroom tells Odd something is awry. Quickly Odd heads to Dr. Jessup's house, in his mind he's wondering how his friend Danny is doing. Danny's step-father, Dr. Jessup, is found dead by odd. Dr. Jessup has been brutally beaten. Danny suffers from Osteogenesis imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle bone disease. Being frail has never been anything Danny has let bother him and that is what keeps him and Odd friends. But the slightest movement can fracture any and possibly all of Danny's bones. After discovering the body, Odd calls the Pico Mundo Chief of Police, Wyatt Porter, one of the few who know of Odd's "talents."
Though advised not to, Odd goes out to track down Danny and find what has happened. Wyatt hints that Danny's real father has recently been released from prison and may have kidnapped him.

As it turns out (spoiler alert) it is not Danny's real father but rather Odd learns that Danny's captors are the insane beauty Datura and her two henchmen. Datura, a phone-sex operator and practitioner of a twisted version of Voodoo, has taken Danny to lure Odd to her. She has learned of his gifts and demands that he show her some ghosts.

Reading this book before reading the intro to the series, "Odd Thomas," may leave some readers in the dark, there are a lot of references to his girlfriend, Stormy and the events that happend in that book. Also the twisted form of voodoo practiced by Datura seems to create more questions than answers and seems at times as an after thought in the whole story.

However, Dean Koontz does such a great job with character development and his description of the scenery and action keep you glued to the book. The character of Odd Thomas, is so believeable that you may find yourself using GoogleEarth to find Pico Mundo, California, but I can tell you for sure....Dean Koontz made it up.

Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) ...from Michael Moore 1/10/2007

If you haven't yet read Michael Moore's letter to the president I'm including it below. After the letter I would like to discuss a few Items.

But First the letter:



1/10/07



Dear Mr. President,

Thanks for your address to the nation. It's good to know you still want to talk to us after how we behaved in November.

Listen, can I be frank? Sending in 20,000 more troops just ain't gonna do the job. That will only bring the troop level back up to what it was last year. And we were losing the war last year! We've already had over a million troops serve some time in Iraq since 2003. Another few thousand is simply not enough to find those weapons of mass destruction! Er, I mean... bringing those responsible for 9/11 to justice! Um, scratch that. Try this -- BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE MIDDLE EAST! YES!!!

You've got to show some courage, dude! You've got to win this one! C'mon, you got Saddam! You hung 'im high! I loved watching the video of that -- just like the old wild west! The bad guy wore black! The hangmen were as crazy as the hangee! Lynch mobs rule!!!

Look, I have to admit I feel very sorry for the predicament you're in. As Ricky Bobby said, "If you're not first, you're last." And you being humiliated in front of the whole world does NONE of us Americans any good.

Sir, listen to me. You have to send in MILLIONS of troops to Iraq, not thousands! The only way to lick this thing now is to flood Iraq with millions of us! I know that you're out of combat-ready soldiers -- so you have to look elsewhere! The only way you are going to beat a nation of 27 million -- Iraq -- is to send in at least 28 million! Here's how it would work:

The first 27 million Americans go in and kill one Iraqi each. That will quickly take care of any insurgency. The other one million of us will stay and rebuild the country. Simple.

Now, I know you're saying, where will I find 28 million Americans to go to Iraq? Here are some suggestions:

1. More than 62,000,000 Americans voted for you in the last election (the one that took place a year and half into a war we already knew we were losing). I am confident that at least a third of them would want to put their body where there vote was and sign up to volunteer. I know many of these people and, while we may disagree politically, I know that they don't believe someone else should have to go and fight their fight for them -- while they hide here in America.

2. Start a "Kill an Iraqi" Meet-Up group in cities across the country. I know this idea is so early-21st century, but I once went to a Lou Dobbs Meet-Up and, I swear, some of the best ideas happen after the third mojito. I'm sure you'll get another five million or so enlistees from this effort.

3. Send over all members of the mainstream media. After all, they were your collaborators in bringing us this war -- and many of them are already trained from having been "embedded!" If that doesn't bring the total to 28 million, then draft all viewers of the FOX News channel.

Mr. Bush, do not give up! Now is not the time to pull your punch! Don't be a weenie by sending in a few over-tired troops. Get your people behind you and YOU lead them in like a true commander in chief! Leave no conservative behind! Full speed ahead!

We promise to write. Go get 'em W!

Yours,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

Okay let's look at this from the different points. First of all you have to remember that everything Mr. Moore does always has that tongue-in-cheek seriousness. He uses a little bit of humor to start the audience on the thinking track. This Is one of the reasons people hate or love him. Because the humor makes it more palatable, some folks don't think he's serious, for that same reason some think he's too serious.

Now, I have always considered myself an Independent thinker leaning more to the liberal. And it's probably because of this that I support Michael Moore's views. He always seems to piss people off but in my opinion, it starts people to talking.

One of the first thing Michael Moore does in this letter is to question the reason we are in Iraq in the first place. I know it's not just him and me that wonder why the hell we are there. After all, we HAVE been given several reasons why. But none are concrete enough. I'm gonna tackle the reason "Weapons of Mass Destruction" later, first let's look at the other 2.

Bringing those responsible for 9/11 to justice. hmmm... everytime this thought/justification/reasoning enters my brain for some reason sparks cross through the synapsis in a logic/non-logic overload. It really hurts to try to think around that one. I mean really didn't we determine that Bin Laden was responsible? And didn't we bomb the crap out of Afghanistan for a while? Just over a year ago after several U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq, Dubya had this to say, "The only way to avenge the death of these soldiers is to keep fighting in Iraq."
Now, is it just me or is there some sort of odd conflict of data/logic here? I mean really upon hearing this my positronic brain has locked up. The only way to avenge the death is to send more to die? I don't get it, really...where is the logic? My poor relays in my positronic brain have been convulsing ever since we went to Iraq to get Saddam and get back at the terrorists led by Bin Laden who live in Afghanistan. Where is Bin Laden? oh yeah...he's on dialysis somewhere planning bombings all around the globe. Hey did you hear about London getting bombed twice?

Okay enough about that.

Let's talk about the "WMD" aspect. If the current regime, er I mean presidency, had said, "We know he has WMDs because we sold them to him, It would have made things easier to persue. After all we trained him and we gave/sold him the "stuff." Of course then we'd come across as junkies turning in our dealers because they sold us bad heroin.

What about bringing Democracy to the Middle East? Do they want it? Is this the Crusades? Why are we responsible? Isn't Democracy about Choice?

As for the rest of Michael Moore's letter, I just see it as his humorous venting, that grabs your attention and moves along the thought of just getting someone to say stop...this doesn't make sense...why are we still there?

Okay now before I get anyone telling me I'm un-American for voicing my opinion, I want you to know I served 6 years in the U.S. Navy as an Operations Specialist (staring at radars and directing aircraft) The thing is though, when I was in Iran was the bad guys (soon to be again) and Iraq was the good guys. Before Desert Storm in the Early '90s, we worked together with them so the battlegroup I was with could bomb the crap out of Iranian ships, oil platforms and land targets to retaliate the mining of the Persian Gulf. So again I'm confused....the year my enlistment (actually 2nd enlistment) was up we went to war against Iraq. (Desert Storm)

As always I SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, I'm just not so sure about the reason.



What do you think?

One Billion Dollars at Stake

If we don't take action, all of the poverty-fighting funding increases that were made in 2006 might be lost!

2006 was an incredible year for the ONE Campaign -- but now all our hard work is in jeopardy. $1 billion in funding promised to fight poverty has been eliminated from the budget.

This is a catastrophic u-turn in the fight against extreme poverty.

You can prevent this loss by contacting our representatives now and urging them to take action.
Click Here

One billion dollars represents so much more than the time that you and other ONE members spent calling and e-mailing Congress. To countless people living in extreme poverty, those billion dollars are the difference between life and death. It is the promise of a better tomorrow, with bed nets to fight malaria, life saving medications, and schools for children.

Right now, the new Congress is set to pass a year long Continuing Resolution (CR) which will keep government funding at 2006 levels through 2007. This means that any gains we made in 2006 would be lost.

Thankfully there are members of Congress working hard to see that our progress is not rolled back. Dick Durbin and Sam Brownback in the Senate and Barbara Lee and Chris Shays in the House of Representatives have written letters to the Congressional Leadership urging them to fund some of the crucial poverty-fighting assistance that were passed in 2006.

Ask your Members of Congress to sign on the Durbin-Brownback and Lee-Shays letters.
Click Here

To make sure that Congress understands the importance of this issue, we will be faxing your letters directly to your elected leaders. Then, to ensure that Congress gets the message, ONE volunteers will be visiting Congressional Leadership offices next week to deliver the letters by hand.

Send a letter to your representatives and urge them to co-sign the Durbin-Brownback and Lee-Shays letters.
Click Here

Congressional Leadership is deciding right now how to allocate a very limited amount of funding, and it is up to you to make sure that they fund poverty-focused development assistance. As a constituent you have your representatives' ears, and it is up to you to let them know that extreme poverty is a priority for you, now and in the future. Sending a letter to now will let them know that you care deeply about ending extreme poverty.

We have a chance to save hundreds of thousands of lives, but only if we let Congress hear this urgent call. We can?t let one more year go by where the scale of our response is outpaced by the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

Please take a moment to send a letter to your representatives and urge them to co-sign the Brownback-Durbin and Lee-Shays letters.
Click Here

Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston

Here's where the fun begins. I can't find anywhere that states whether this book came first or the 1978 TV series. But I can tell you the book is a lot better. I'm pretty sure the book was written after the TV series was launched but the book did have a couple of interesting points that were left out of the campy series.



This book I found on paperback swap and just had to read it since becoming a die-hard Battlestar Galactica fan. As a child I was a fan of the older series, but the new re-imagined series on Sci-Fi has just gone above and beyond where the old one could have gone. Anyway, I found this book and just had to read it, in the hardback edition it only has 215 pages so it would be a quick read.



Okay it was a quick read and basically the book summarizes the first 3 episodes of the '78 TV series. After thousands of years of war the Cylons want peace, at least that's what they say. To celebrate the peace treaty the Cylons tell the Colonists the coordinates to bring all the battlestars. Everyone, except for Commander Adama, are eager to sign the treaty and ready for peace. Commander Adama, commander of the finest battlestar in the fleet, is suspicious and is proven to be right.



The Cylons attack the Colonies and the fleet destroying all of the fleet except for the Galactica, and about 200 "rag-tag" ships. In order to keep the human species alive, the fleet must head for the lost Colony of Earth. This book launches that adventure.



While the book was okay to read it was not really the best writing of most science fiction book series. I do need to point out that it is not as campy as the TV series. I don't know why they had to make the series, laughable, but that was the '70s.



Don't make an effort to go out and buy this book, but if you run across it for free and you are a dedicated Galactica fan don't let it slip buy.





They also have hardback books.




Or you can find it here
Battlestar Galactica Classic: The Saga of A Star World (Battlestar Galactica (Paperback))

Tell Australia to Stop Mutilating Sheep!

Sheep need your help! Each year, millions of sheep in
Australia--the leading exporter of wool in the world--are
mutilated and killed for their wool, not just sheared, as many
people believe.

Please click on this link to send a message to Australia's prime
minister asking him to put an end to mulesing and live exports
once and for all.

Click Here.

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Joystick bloopers? and Dirk Benedict's clothes, Battlestar Galactica '78

As I said in a previous post, I've been watching the original Battlestar Galactica series due to no new episodes on Sci-Fi. Oh my gawd, it is campy. But there are some good possibilities that were just ruined by '70s American Television.

First of all there's the character of Starbuck, portrayed by Dirk Benedict, (who later was "the Face-Man" on the A-Team). Starbuck is like the Galactica's answer to the Enterprise's Captain Kirk. Not in the command seat but in the swinging singles scene. On every episode he seems to always get to kiss the girl and on some episodes he gets 2 or more. Also he seems to always be changing clothes. (His locker onboard the Galactica must be full of varied fashions.) It seems every episode someone has to adopt the local fashion and it always involves Starbuck. So, with Starbuck you've got the cigar smoking, lady-schmoozing, always ready to gamble bad boy.

Another thing with this original series is that they land on planets more often than the "re-imagined" series currently running on Sci-Fi, and these planets have lifeforms other than human. Some of the aliens are pretty cheesy, like the fly-people that run the casino. But at least it's something different.

This next paragraph I need an answer for. I know that for the original series they had to re-use filmed scenes to keep the special effects budget down, but it seems as though one of the re-used scenes is a constant blooper. Sometimes when showing the viper pilots fire the weapons or use the turbo on the joystick, instead of the normal "Fire/Turbo/IM" labels, it says "Stores/Camera Audio/Camera Pulse," anyone know why this is?

Well That's my update...or ramble or whatever. Thanks.

Remember you can always check out our group:

>galactica.gather.com

Battlestar Galactica 1978 series revisited.

In the hiatus of the holiday season, there are no new episodes of Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi until January 21st which will be moved to the new day & time 10pm (9CST) on Sundays. This new time may cut into some of my Adult Swim viewing time..but lately adult swim has gotten lame.

Anyway, during this time I decided to re-visit the Classic 1978 Battlestar Galactica Series. While It was a bit campy at times the series did have it's merits. I'm writing this just to point out some interesting tidbits. after the 1978 series I will watch the 1980 brief series in which they found Earth.

Many of the political views of the time are hidden away in the episodes. For example, during the year 1978 the world was still going through the "Cold War" In which Communists were thought to hate us simply because we had freedom. Well same goes with the Cylons. They hate humans simply because we have free will and are not pre-programmed.

An Interesting thing about the classic series is that the Cylons were said to have been created by a race of reptilians (the original Cylons) but the reptiles died out and the programmed assassins of the Cylons are now called by their maker's names. In the new "re-imagined" series humans created Cylons and the Cylons evolved and rebelled.

Some fun stars to watch for if you also go and re-visit the classic series are: Rick Springfield, he plays Zack Adama, son of Captain Adama and brother of Apollo and Athena, Ed Begley Jr. as Green bean, Jane Seymor as Serina, Loyd Bridges as Admiral Cain, Patrick Macnee (yep from the Avengers), Jonathan Harris (yep, Dr. Smith from Lost in Space), Fred Astaire as Starbuck's father (yes the dancer), and of course Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch and Lorne Greene.

It's odd how in the classic series Captain Adama had a living son AND daughter. The daughter, Athena, is brought back in a sense in the re-imagined series as the 2nd Cylon Sharon taking on the name. The Cylon Athena is married to Helo (human) and their daughter is half human - half cylon and so far is in the possession of the Cylons.

Well I need to stop writing and start watching the next episode ("Lost Planet of the Gods").

For those of you wanting to read more visit my gather group.

galactica.gather.com

The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13) by Lemony Snicket

I am saddened to report that this is the final book in the Series of Unfortunate Events, at least for the Baudelaires. Maybe we could hear more from the other members of V.F.D. or maybe a history of Count Olaf. But Lemony Snicket says this is it.

When we last saw the Baudelaires they were escaping from the high court due to the lack of justice, and they had just helped Count Olaf to burn down the Hotel Deneument and escape in a boat out to sea. Well the orphans and the villain are at sea running out of food and water and all Count Olaf can do is try to boss the children around.

They are all in the same boat but Olaf seems to think the orphans are in his clutches or that they will be his henchmen. But, a storm changes that and the boat is swept away and nearly destroyed before it washes up on a coastal shelf. The coastal shelf is near an Island wher the orphans learn more secrets of their past but first must endure the strange customs of the Island.

The locals on the island are all castaways that have given up on the outside world and want to live in peace. Here they drink a strange drink, a coconut cordial, that is a form of an opiate and keeps them all docile. They also all wear long white robes and eat bland meals. The island's facilitator, Ishmail, uses peer pressure to keep the castaways "happy" and keep the outside world away. But Ishmail has his own secrets, in fact he's got clay feet. hmmm....let that one soak in...or better yet read the book and find out what I mean.

I can tell you that at the end of this book a child is born into the world, a villian dies, a volunteer dies and the Baudelaires learn the history of their parents. I have heard some fans of the books say that this book leaves you with more questions than answers, but In my opinion, I think that these books could have only ended this way. While the answers to some secrets are revealed, more are made even more mysterious.

I'm gonna miss Count Olaf. But I'm glad the kids got motivated to read.

Sign of the Cross by Chris Kuzneski

When I first received this book I noticed how the synopsis was very similar to "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown and almost put the book away thinking, "That's been done, why should I read it again?" I'm glad to say I went ahead and read this book "The Sign of the Cross" and was pleased to read a great action thriller by Chris Kuzneski.



The story follows 3 groups of characters and one secret the Vatican doesn't want releases nor does it know it wants to keep this secret. Group 1 are Professor Boyd and Maria, they are a couple of historians set out to discover the secret of some catacombs beneath a small town in Italy. These catacombs were the hiding places for the pope and key figures during the great Schism in the Catholic church, but they hide a "deeper" secret. The Next group are two mercenaries, Payne and Jones, hired to find Boyd and Maria and bring them back to what could be their death. The next character is the American in charge of Interpol's homicide division, Nick Dial. Dial is trying to uncover who is behind 3 recent crucifixions in the world while trying to prevent a 4th. All Their stories soon come together as dark forces try to uncover the secret that Jesus as a Messiah was faked by the Roman Emperor, Tiberius.



All 3 groups do what needs to be done to all get together for a very climactic ending that will take you by complete surprise. The characters are extremely well developed and completely believable. In fact so much so that some of the non-factual parts of the book become believable. My favorite characters have to be Payne and Jones, the hired mercenaries. The remind me of the Marvel comics "Merc' with a mouth" Deadpool. And It times I saw Will Smith and Martin Lawrence easily playing these guys if a film is ever made. In other words they provide this book, which is filled with dark secrets, sinister plots, evil plotters and constant chases, with much needed comic relief. From the first moment they are introduced they are cracking wise. Great Characters.



All in all, while the formula of the book may be similar to Dan Brown's bestseller, Chris Kuzneski comes up with a surprisingly original thriller. He even pays homage to Dan Brown, when the character Nick Dial, looking for help in the crucifixions, asks, "What do you know about the Bible?" The response is, "More than Dan Brown."



This book is a page turner with more action and suspense than you could ever expect.



If you're interested in reading the book I'll be posting it at Paperback Swap.

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Or you can purchase it by clicking here:

http://astore.amazon.com/giltsbluesstuff

The Penultimate Peril - A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 12 by Lemony Snicket

I only have one more book to go and yet I really see no end in sight. It seems Book 12 has left off just as all the others. Okay maybe with a slight difference. First let's summarize what happens in this book.

The Baudelaires have landed the submarine, "Queequeg" and hopped into a taxi. We learn that the taxi is driven by a volunteer named Kit Snicket...hmmm author's sister? Kit begins by telling the orphans that they have been watched throughout all their misadventures. At first the Baudelaires were left with guardians that either turned out to be villains or the guardians were killed. Then the orphans took matters into their own hands and were on their own through the other unfortunate events. Now they arrive with Kit at the Hotel Deneumont, where they are trying to find out if they, themselves are Volunteers or Villains. Looking back on their "careers" as orphans, they have helped to set fire to a carnival, lied to a record keeper in a hospital, worn disguises and tried to set a trap to catch someone as bait to lure Count Olaf to them. So with all these misdeeds have they become Villians? That answer, sad to say, is not revealed. However, a trial will be held at the hotel to determine whether they or Count Olaf are the villains...but, like I said, it is not revealed.

The interesting thing about the Hotel Deneumont is that it is set up like a library, using the Dewey Decimal System. The arts are on the 7th floor in the 700 section, Geography & History are on the 9th floor in the 900 section and so on. Another interesting thing about this hotel is that all it's rooms are filled with all the characters from the previous books, both Villains and Volunteers.

In this hotel the Baudelaires pose as concierges in order to do double duty as flaneurs. As flaneurs they are to discover the secret of V.F.D. and whether it is safe for the Volunteers to come back to the last known safehouse.

This book didn't seem to possess as much quick wit and elaborate story telling as in previous books. I felt as though this book were simply a summary of all the previous books. It didn't seem to hold my attention as much but there were many twists in the plot to keep me wanting to know what happened next. The unexpected end where the Baudelaires escape with....wait...I'll let you read that yourself. Or at least let your kids read it and let you know.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz has recently released his third novel in the Odd Thomas series, "Brother Odd." As a buzz agent I got to read some excerpts from the book and found the story very intriguing and it seemed like it would be a fun read. Well, I've never been one to do anything halfway, so I couldn't start reading the series from the 3rd book. Keep in mind, however, that each of these books have been written to be independent of each other, in other words you can read one without the other. But I made it a goal that before I could read the 3rd book I had to read the first 2.

So here I am. I just finished "Odd Thomas," and I was right the novel is intriguing and a fun read.

Odd Thomas, is a fry cook with a special 6th sense. This 6th sense enables him to see dead people. The difference between Odd and that M. Night Shamalan movie is that the dead cannot talk to Odd. But they do seek revenge, by helping Odd track down their killers. Another aspect of this 6th sense is that he also sees dark spirits which he calls "bodachs." These bodachs appear and linger when violence and death are about to happen.

In the small Southern California town of Pico Mundo, Odd Thomas has just tracked down the murderer of a little girl and goes to work as a fry cook at the local greasy spoon cafe, when a man with a mysterious aura comes in and becomes the center of attention for a flock of these bodachs. Knowing they are only present when something evil is about to happen, Odd uses the 3rd part of his "gift" to psychically track down this mysterious man he has dubbed "The Fungus Man." The bad guy gets his name because of his appearance being closer to micology than biology. By the way, Odd still hasn't decided if this 6th sense is a gift or a curse.

After tracking down the man Odd gets the feeling of dread in which he feels many of Pico Mundo's citizens will perish in a major catastrophic act of evil. Odd Thomas has to stop this. He is only assisted by his girlfriend, the local sheriff and the ghost of the King of Rock-n-Roll. That's right Elvis' ghost has taken up residency in Pico Mundo.

So with this motley crew of citizens working to fight evil Dean Koontz has written one of his best novels. The character is very believable, even if he has a paranormal gift and the action is intense and non-stop. This book is one that intrigues you with great characters and keeps you held to your seat with a great plot and great action leading to a great climax. I will warn you the book has a sad ending as any paranormal love story does. Dean Koontz's writing is so wonderful I cried at the very emotional end. (Just don't tell the guys.)

This book is the perfect mix of humor, horror and love story.

I can't wait to read the next book.

The Grim Grotto - A Series of Unfortunate Events - Book 11 By Lemony Snicket

Hi, welcome back to the ongoing reviews of the books in the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. I'm a little saddened after reading this book. Not because the events are so unfortunate that they bring me to tears, but because there are only 2 books left in this great series. The writing just gets better and better with each book as well as the thickness (number of pages) of each book. I will say this, the Grim Grotto is by far the funniest and most creatively written book in the series. It is my favorite book of the series.

In this episode the reader is exposed to some great classics in literature. Such as Herman Melville, T.S. Eliot and Lewis Carroll.

First of all the orphans escape from Count Olaf as they make their way through the frozen Stricken Stream on a toboggan. The return of False Spring causes the Stricken Stream to thaw and they are carried through the rushing waters of the stricken stream and separated from Quigley Quagmire. They are soon picked up by a submarine named the Queequeg, of course, named after the character in the Herman Melville novel "Moby Dick." In fact the uniforms on the Queequeg feature the face of Herman Melville. We are then introduced to the most fun character in all these novels, Captain Widdershins. Captain Widdershins reminds me of Robin Williams with the constant speech and quick-changing subjects of his speeches. We are also introduced to Captain Widdershins step-daughter, Fiona. You will be surprised who Fiona's brother is. I'll give you a clue...he works for Count Olaf.

The orphans are then recruited to find the elusive sugar bowl that can help save V.F.D. Along the way they meet up again with Count Olaf, only this time Count Olaf also has a submarine and captures the Queequeg after the disappearance of Captain Widdershins. The orphans receive a Volunteer Factual Dispatch (a telegram) from Quigley. This telegram requires the reading of T.S. Eliot and Lewis Carroll to decipher the code.

All in all this is the best book in the series. Read it for yourself, read it to your kids, have your kids read it to you. Just enjoy the fun in this adventure.

Only 2 books left, with the exception of the "Unauthorized Autobiography of Lemony Snicket." I'm not looking forward to finishing the series but I HAVE to read more. By the way, each of these books can be read independently but it's more fun to read the series in order.

Get those kids reading.

End Global Poverty

If we don't take action, all of the global poverty fighting funding increases that were made in 2006 might be lost!

Check out the e-mail below.

>>>>>>>
From: Josh Peck, ONE.org
Date: December 19, 2006
Subject: Keeping the Promise

Dear ONE Member,

Unless we take immediate action, a billion dollars in anti-poverty funding you helped secure for 2007 will be lost.

While Congress took time to pass important trade benefits for Africa in the closing hours of their last session, they failed to pass funding bills for the 2007 fiscal year. The result is that any funding increases that we secured in 2006 are in jeopardy ? as are the lives and livelihoods of millions of the world?s poorest people who were counting on this funding.

Please take a moment to ask Congress to protect anti-poverty funding and save lives. Click Here

During 2006, your efforts helped to secure a one billion dollar increase in anti-poverty funding for 2007. Incoming Congressional leaders have indicated that they are in favor of maintaining 2006 funding levels through 2007. This decision would mean that we risk losing all of the increases we fought hard to win and the earth?s most vulnerable people risk losing access to anti-malarial bed nets, AIDS medicines, clean water, and the opportunity to send their children to school.

To ensure that these people have the tools to fight back against poverty now and in the future, we must make certain that we follow through on our promises; we must get them the assistance that they need now.

Tell Congress to fight global poverty and save lives. Click Here

Thankfully, there is still some limited money that Congress can allocate for the 2007 budget. We need to let Congress know that we want this money to go towards fighting extreme poverty and global AIDS so that we do not take a giant step backwards.

As a movement we made an incredible amount of progress in 2006. Don?t let our progress be rolled back in 2007, tell Congress to fight global poverty and save lives. Click Here

Thank you for your voice,

Josh Peck, ONE.org


Take action now Click Here