Book Review: "The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 3)" by Lemony Snicket

I'm continuing in my quest to read all 13 books in this delightful series. (Okay, I mean delightful in the sense that it makes for some entertaining reading, by no means do I mean that the poor Baudelaire orphans have delightful adventures.) Mr. Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) has just released book 13 "The End." From my recent interest in the books I'm saddened that I didn't start reading them earlier. But then again, I can now read all 13 without interruption.

The books were originally purchased for my kids and when I saw that they were as engrossed in them as they were with the Harry Potter books, I had to try them...about 6 years too late.

In this contribution to the series we find the Baudelaire orphans being sent to their Aunt Josephine, okay once again not a direct relative but their second cousin's sister-in-law, but the closest to family they have. Aunt Josephine is a great character, she's afraid of everything, including realtor's, and is a perfectionist when it comes to grammar. She has a whole library full of grammar rule books and in that same library is the "wide window" looking out on Lake Lachrymose.

Once again Count Olaf returns to take the Baudelaire fortune, this time under the guise of Captain Sham, whose business card proclaims him to be proprietor of Captain Sham's Sailboat Rentals. He flirts with Aunt Josephine enough to get through her shell and later convinces her to commit suicide and leave the children to him. Now as you may remember Count Olaf has already tried different ways to get the fortune, one by adopting them, one by trying to marry Violet (the oldest) and then by murdering Uncle Monty and threatening to take the kids to Peru.

Once again, Lemony Snicket does not allow the reader a happy ending. It always ends bad for the orphans, but the creativity in the writing and the fun characters make this book a great read. And like I say any book that gets "kids" of all ages reading it's worth checking into.

This book cemented my fandom. I was on the fence before but now, I'm a Lemony Snicket Fan.

I will never again go to Mexico...Okay so I only went to Tijuana before, but now...

Book review: "The Ruins" by Scott Smith

I have just read one of the creepiest, scariest books since Stephen King's "The Cell," "The Ruins" by Scott Smith.

Let's start off by talking about who the author is. Scott Smith is the author of the 1993 book "A Simple Plan." And he also wrote the screenplay, which got him an Oscar Nomination. Remember that book or movie? The downfall of some folks that found lots of money? Well, after 13 years Mr. Smith has written another book that traces a different sort of downfall. This book is written balls to the wall. There aren't even any chapter breaks. Once the action starts, it is a struggle to put the book down or even to find a place to put the book down.

4 Americans (Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacey) are on vacation in Mexico. Where they meet up with a German who speaks English (Matthias) and 3 Greeks who speak neither English nor German, but have prided themselves on adopting "Mexican" names, Pablo, Juan and Don Quixote. Matthias' brother Heinrich has taken off with a girl who is an archaelogist working on the site of some ruins. After some time Matthias worries about Heinrich and goes out to find his brother armed only with a note and a map sketched on a napkin. The Americans and One Greek, Pablo, decide to go along, after all what is Mexico without some Mayan Ruins?

The horror begins when they discover a Mayan Village and realize they must have missed the path as sketched on the map. The villagers try to ignore the party of 6 tourists but when the tourists venture onto a path that the villagers have been trying to conceal, the Mayans must become aggressive. First they try to warn the party from going onto a hill that has been overgrown with a vine with beautiful stained glass red flowers. But as soon as one steps into the vine the Mayans draw their bows and force the party to the top of the hill. All around the hill the tourists notice small mounds when they approach one of the mounds they discover the skeletal remains of Heinrich. The Mayans keep guard and do not allow the tourists off the hill under threat of death. But the tourists soon discover that death by arrow would be better than what the ruins and the vine have in store for them. The red color of the flowers is soon replaced by the constant flow of red blood.

Scott Smith, writes the book in what seems like one breath...at least I don't remember exhaling. The approach he uses is the never-turn-away-method. Once the action and gore start the author forces the reader to look closer. Such as when Pablo falls down a mine shaft and breaks his spine. We go through the process of having to lift his useless legs onto a makeshift backboard and then having to amputate his legs after they have been stripped to the bone. Or when Eric gets a glass cut after trying to help Pablo out of the mine shaft and then to discover the vine growing inside him the next morning the vines use the cut as entrance, then using a knife to carve up his own body to rid it of the vine...out of paranoia? You decide.

If you like horror, suspense, thrillers this is your book. If you are looking for a Zagat's guide to Mexico....Stay away from this book.

How to re-evaluate the world and your position in it.

a Book Review: "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer

At the risk of losing many of you at the first part of this review, I will tell you this book was recommended by PETA. I have recently had my stomach and life turned by a few books about the meat processing system, and was eager to find more information. Those books were "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (See previous review), "Don't Eat This Book" by Morgan Spurlock, and "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. At first I thought it would only be fast food that I'd be turned away from. But then I realized the meat packing plants don't care if they are slaughtering for home use or fast food use, all the same abuses happen.

In "Animal Liberation," Peter Singer takes us on a journey of the mind, ethics and morality. The book is broken down into 6 chapters, each independent of each other yet building on one another, so I will break this review down to a chapter by chapter review/summary.

Chapter 1. All Animals are equal...or why the ethical principle on which human equality rests requires us to extend equal consideration to animals too.

In this chapter the author presents the idea of "speciesism." This is along the lines of racism, sexism, etc. This argument is presented with simple, straightforward facts and ideas with no emotion tied to them. In fact throughout the book the author does not attempt to influence the readers way of thinking only to spur (pun intended) the thinking process. On the idea of human equality, The principle of equality is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans: it is a prescription of how we SHOULD treat human beings. This equality should and could be carried over to "non-human" animals. Why should animals be forced to live in conditions we would not allow the lowliest of humans live in? Why should we as humans claim the right to slaughter and eat animals. Why should we as humans think that animals are there for us to pour chemicals on just to see how they react, or "condition" through painful electric shock? The author answers these questions, by saying simply. We shouldn't.

Chapter 2. Tools For Research...your taxes at work.

This chapter is one of the 2 extremely disturbing chapters which the squeamish should not only read but ask why we do these things. Or better yet allow these things to happen. I'm talking about using animals for cruel research projects. From shocking monkeys to learn how to fly a plane and then inducing radiation sickness on them to see if they can still fly with little electric shock "reminders" to pouring chemicals into bunnies eyes that we already know are irritants. In this chapter a European scientist after viewing several psychological animal experiments is quoted as calling American Scientists barbarians. The ironic part is that really, European scientists are cruel...just not as cruel as Americans. One quote that I love is that in experiments still going on now to find how much smoking contributes to lung cancer the author asks, "If people continue to smoke, knowing that by doing so they risk lung cancer, is it right to make animals suffer the cost of this decision?" The final outcome of this chapter is that animal research is completely unnecessary. For example, in guinea pigs pennicillin causes adverse effects, if we had accepted this animal research we would never had the use of that extremely useful medicine for humans.

Chapter 3. Down on the Factory Farm...or what happened to your dinner when it was still an animal.

One of the cruelest things discussed in this book is the treatment of veal cattle. These young calves are taken from their mothers (usually machine siphoned dairy cows) and kept in cages/pens which they cannot move because if they did move...the meat would not have that tender veal quality. They are also kept from having the proper nutrients because the nutrients would darken the meat. All for some snobby rich person to have their unique meat. That is just useless waste. The atrocities to other animals are also discussed. (For more on this go to my myspace site and watch the "Meet Your Meat" Video. http://www.myspace.com/gilwilson)

Chapter 4. Becoming a vegetarian...or how to produce less suffering and more food at a reduced cost to the environment.

Finally someone not only tells you why but how. And really it is just as easy as saying...leave off the meat. The main idea behind becoming a vegetarian is that in becoming a vegetarian a person would increase the amount of grain available to feed people elsewhere, reduce pollution, save water and energy, and cease contributing to the clearing of forests; moreover, since a vegetarian diet is cheaper than one based on meat dishes, they would have more money available to devote to famine relief, population control, or whatever social or political cause they thought most urgent. That's it in a nutshell. Now, keep in mind I'm not a full fledged vegetarian, but I'm working on it. I was back in college and never felt better.

Chapter 5. Man's Dominion... a history of Speciesism.

Here we go off on a tangent of how throughout times (from biblical to modern) we have denied the "non-human" animal freedom. I found this chapter to be dull but informative. It shows how throughout times humans have been cruel...but in an optimistic turn shows how views have slowly changed.

And Finally
Chapter 6. Speciesism today

Basically this shows the progress we are making...and have made in the be nice to animals campaign. Really folks it isn't hard stuff here. Why should we hunt animals for mere trophies? Why should we wear fur when synthetics are just as easily available and look just as nice?

Well what do you think?

Book Review: "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair

I read a couple of books recently that kept referring to Upton Sinclair's novel "The Jungle." Those books were "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser and "Don't Eat this Book" by Morgan Spurlock. These books were mainly books about the corruption and "unhealthiness" of the fast food industry. They all referred to the Meat packing industry where corruption still runs unchecked. "The Jungle" spurred some reaction from government when it was written because of the exposing of corruption and "unhealthiness" of the meat packing industry. The public outcry that resulted from this novel led to the 1906 Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. It also, however, led to a report issued the same year by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Husbandry that refuted the worst of Sinclair’s allegations. The public’s perception at this time was that the meatpacking industry feared these Acts. What was unrecognized, however, was the fact that meatpackers knew they were viewed with contempt, and facing substantial losses, the industry actually supported the Acts. They just did not want to be the ones to pay for the implementation. These Acts allayed most fears, and ironically, actually favored big business, which was the opposite of Sinclair’s intention.



Knowing that a novel could have such an impact, I had to read the book.



In "The Jungle" we follow a family of Lithuanian immigrants as they leave their country and set out to live the American Dream. Soon that dream is realized to be a nightmare. They are robbed by corrupt police upon their arrival in New York City and finally make their way to Chicago and to the stockyards where the main Character, Jurgis Rudkus has a friend that he has heard has "made it" in America. The friend runs a deli just outside of the stockyards where the families in the area all work at the stockyards. In order for any family to survive, as Jurgis finds out, all members must work, including children. They are taken on a tour of the stockyards all the way from the killing floors to the packing rooms. At first Jurgis is impressed by the speed and efficiency of the process. But once he begins work on the killing floor he sees and experiences all forms of corruption.



Jurgis and family are constantly followed by disaster, from Jurgis hurting his back and missing work to the death and disappearance of several family members. We follow Jurgis's plight as he is optimistic and willing to work to support the family, to being blacklisted from the stockyards, to "hoboing it," to a life of crime, to assisting in political graft and finally to becoming a voice for socialism.



Throughout the book nothing good ever seems to happen to Jurgis until (spoiler alert) he discovers Socialism. At this point the book becomes more of primer on Socialism and starts to become a series of philosophical discussions on the same.



Up until the discovery of Socialism the book is a heartstring tugging insight to the working man's world of the turn of the 20th century. The constant battles, struggles and disasters are enough to make the reader want to give all his earnings to the poor man. And serve as a great reminder of where this nation was 100 years ago.



I would normally tell you at this point to either enjoy the book or not to bother. It's hard to enjoy the hardships, but I think this should be a book to include in your must read list.

Book Review: "Abadazad: Book 1 -The Road to Inconceivable" by J.M. DeMatteis Illustrated by Mike Ploog.

What do you get when you cross a couple of comic book guys with a great idea for juvenile fiction? You get the latest series based book craze that'll keep the kids reading, the Abadazad series.

Before the Abadazad series found its way to book format, it had a cult following as a comic book in the comic book world. The comic that told the story of 14-year-old Kate and her search for Matty, her missing little brother who is trapped in a world with a queen with three eyes and a dream thief.

The publishers of the original comic book—CrossGen—went bankrupt and the Abadazad saga came to an end. But that ending didn't last long! Disney Publishing brought Abadazad back to life. The first two books in the series—The Road to Inconceivable and The Dream Thief—cover the original story told in the comic, but in book form.

The new Abadazad book series stays true to the original vision of the writer/artist team, D.C. Comics' J.M. DeMatteis and Shrek illustrator Mike Ploog. The first book in this series, The Road to Inconceivable, opens with Kate trying to come to terms with the disappearance of her little brother, Matty. After 5 years she still misses him, and her relationship with her mother offers no comfort. Just when Kate's about to accept that she will never see him again, meets the neighbor across the hall who has some strange stories and and "artifacts" from a mysterious world called Abadazad. After The death of her neighbor Kate receives a strange package which contains a glowing crystal ball. This ball then stransports her to Abadazad, where she finds out that her brother is being held captive. Now Kate has to make a brave choice: Risk everything she's ever known to try and find him or ... For Kate, there is no "or." The choice is easy. What follows is anything but.

I will tell you that the ages listed on the book are for 9 to 14...but since there is no time in Abadazad, I recommend you read it with your kids. I thought it was a great read. In fact, I could not put this book down and read it in one night. Now where is book 2.

To know the book it is great to know the author and illustrator. At least in this case. I'm a huge comic books fan and J.M. DeMatteis has worked on my favorite, Spider-Man, so I was drawn (pardon the pun) to this book.

Eisner Award winner J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician and rock music journalist before entering the comic book field. He has extensive experience writing comic books where his work has won both popular and critical acclaim. His projects have ranged from Spider-Man and Superman to The Justice League. He has also received great acclaim for his groundbreaking personal visions, such as Moonshadow, Seekers Into the Mystery and the autobiographical Brooklyn Dreams. He lives with his family in upstate New York.

Mike Ploog has created art for a wide variety of comics, books and movies. He began drawing for Marvel, where he was involved in many of their best-known titles and cult favorites such as Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing. He was a designer and storyboard artist on dozens of major motion pictures—both animated and live-action—including Shrek, The Lord of the Rings, Disney's The Black Cauldron and Little Shop of Horrors. He lives and works in Devon, England.

Books #1 and #2, The Road to Inconceivable and The Dream Thief, are the first two books in this series. Book #3: The Puppet, the Professor, and the Prophet will be available March 2007. Book #4: Historcery will be available Summer 2007.

Check out their cool website abadazad.com

Book Review: "The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness" by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

The idea for individuals to be nice to each other and the rewards will come has been out there for a while. There's the "teachings" of Deepak Chopra, the movie "Pay it Forward," "The Power of Positive Thinking" (although this one is more on an individual level), Chicken Soup for the Soul and Random Acts of Kindness. These are simple ways of living in which we can be nice to one another and "karma" or the universe will see to it we get our just rewards.



Well now the business world can take heed. "The Power of Nice" has a business approach to being nice that can help your business grow faster than dog-eat-dog. The authors have cited their own examples of how this has worked for them and have gathered real-life examples from others in the business world. You will read examples from Donald Trump (yes he can actually be nice) to Jay Leno.



Now, the really interesting part of this book is not the examples but they have exercises at the end of the chapters, which they call "Nice Cubes" that can help you actually put it into practice. They have also created "The Six Power of Nice Principles" which are a great way to refresh your self and your co-workers on how to be nice in the business world.



Here are the 6 Principles:


1. Positive Impressions are like seeds.

2. You never know.

3. People change.

4. Nice must be Automatic.

5. Negative Impressions are like germs.

6. You will know.




For further explanation of the principles check out this great book. You might even do good giving your boss or sales force gifts of the book.



Also check-out their Website. thepowerofnice.com

ONE

This Friday, ONE and EDUN will launch a special edition ONE T-shirt, made by local artisans in Lesotho -- one of the poorest nations in the world. The workers who produce these shirts can earn enough to provide for their entire family. In part, this factory, along with others just like it, is the result of a historic bi-partisan effort by the United States to help 37 African nations develop their industries and rise out of poverty.

But this amazing accomplishment is now in serious danger. If Congress doesn't act in the next few weeks, a critical provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) will expire -- jeopardizing tens of thousands of jobs and the future of the entire African clothing industry.

If we act quickly, we have the power to stop this. That's why today we're calling on Congress to renew this provision without delay. To really turn up the heat, we'll publish the name of ONE members who support this extension in a full page ad in Roll Call -- the Capitol Hill newspaper that every member of Congress reads.

Please add your name to ONE's full page ad in the Capitol Hill Newspaper, Roll Call.
http://one.org/MadeInAfrica2

AGOA is a win-win agreement where American businesses invest in developing African industry. In return, African industry provides American consumers with high-quality low-priced goods. It would be crazy for Congress to let this important provision expire.

Failing to renew it would be disastrous. As the Wall Street Journal put it, "The bottom line is that if the provision on using outside fabric dies, so will Africa's assembly industry, which is a particularly important source of jobs for women."

When it comes down to it, for these workers voices to be heard in American politics, they need your voice. And this is a moment when they simply cannot afford for any of us to remain silent. When you see the ONE T-shirt on Friday, you'll know you did your part to ensure apparel workers in Africa can keep right on working.

Please add your name to ONE's full page ad in the Capitol Hill Newspaper, Roll Call.
http://one.org/MadeInAfrica2

Thanks for your voice.

P.S. Learn more about AGOA and the provision that will expire if Congress doesn't act.
http://action.one.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=49


Take action now at http://one.org/MadeInAfrica2

Review: "Water for Elephants: A Novel" by Sara Gruen

"Water for Elephants" has got to be one of the most beautifully and creatively written books from this century. Sara Gruen introduces us to Jacob Jankowski at the age of 90 (or is it 93?, he's not sure) and Jacob at the age of 23. The book is written as though the elder Jacob's memories are jostled back as a circus is setting up the big top next to the nursing home where Jacob now lives.

The flashbacks happen throughout the book as Jacob is sleeping or rambling to a nurse. The book opens with a stampede in a menagerie of a circus and some man with a top hat and cane is either trampled or beaten to death. It only comes clear in the unraveling of the story. And the rest of the book we spend jumping back and forth from the nursing home to Jacob's life during the early years of the depression.

The young Jacob is about to graduate from Cornell with a degree in Veternary Science. He will then go home and go into practice with his dad as the town's Vet. Then the bad news hits. Jacob's parents are killed as their car is run off a bridge. He then has to go back and identify the bodies and put things in order. When he arrives at his home he finds out his parents mortgaged the home to pay for his college. Being the Great Depression, Jacob's parents owe more than their estate is worth and the bank possesses the home and family practice. Jacob returns to school just in time to take his final exams but walks out when he realizes he has no home, no parents nothing. He ends up jumping a train just to leave.

The train he jumps on is a circus train. The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth is a roving fleabag ensemble of "cooch tents," "kinkers," and "hay burners," whose tyrannical m.c, Uncle Al is always on the lookout for "born freaks." Uncle Al is also wanting to be the next Ringling Brothers. After some wrangling Jacob becomes the circus's veternarian, after all Ringling has their own vet. Jacob falls in love with Marlena the Horse Trainer/Performer. The problem is Marlena is married to August the paranoid schizophrenic. August is the circus's animal handler. And is often prone to outbursts of violence which most of the time he takes out on the animals. Especially when the circus gains ownership of Rosie, the elephant. Jacob's love of Marlena and the animals gets him to hate August, but needing the job he stays out of August's way. The anger of August and the love between Jacob and Marlena bring this book to a very exciting climax.

One of the best parts of the book is when we are with Jacob 90 (or is it 93?), the wry look at life and humor in the character creates some really great "comic relief."

Enjoy this book, I did.

Review: "Deception Point" by Dan Brown

WOW just wow. I have just completed reading my 3rd book by Dan Brown, and I am still out of breath. "Deception Point" is a thrill a minute. It is like watching a season of "24" but all at one sitting.

I guess I should tell you about the book. First you have a very close presidential campaign. One candidate, the incumbent,President Hearny, is a huge NASA supporter. His opponent, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, bases his campaign on the issue that NASA is a losing venture and should be privatized so taxpayer money could be used for other endeavors like public schools. Senator Sexton, may be ahead in the polls and could win the election hands down, isn't playing fair. First he is under suspicion of accepting enormous illegal campaign contributions from private aerospace companies who have billions to gain from the privatization of NASA. And has already been under the thumb of the press of a sex scandal with his lead campaign aid.

Then the world changes. A NASA satellite detects a large, high-density rock buried 200 feet below the Milne Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island, high in the Arctic Circle. NASA scientists determine the rock to be a meteor containing fossils proving that life exists elsewhere in the universe. This looks great for the President, but he even finds it a little "convenient" in the timing. So he brings on 4 independent, civilian scientists to prove the meteor is for real. And to help further the proof, he brings on intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton, the daughter of Senator Sedgewick Sexton.

The excitement begins when the scientists start to doubt the authenticity and then start dying. The race begins back to Washington D.C. from the Arctic Circle to stop the President from announcing the meteor to the world. And all along finding further proof the meteor has been faked. The scientists will "parasail" across a glacier in the Arctic Circle, ride an ice berg and then ride a submarine in the Arctic Ocean. Then fly by helicopter to a research vessel sitting on top of a volcano about to blow off the New Jersey coast. Oh yeah, and this vessel is surrounded by deadly hammerhead sharks. All this time being chased by the military elite "Delta Force." Oh, wait, did I tell you that before all this Rachel rides an f-14 to the Arctic Circle?

It's non-stop action and science and espionage in "Deception Point." Make sure you have some time set aside for this page turner you won't be able to put down.

Review: "The Frog King" by Adam Davies

"The Frog King" by Adam Davies

Harry Driscoll is "The Frog King." This freshman book by Adam Davies is yet another one of those young guy having a rough times trying to succeed in NYC stories. Once I started reading this book I had to go out and rent that 80's movie with Michael J. Fox, no not "Back to the Future", "Bright Lights, Big City." "The Frog King" is the same sans wild cocaine use and sans Michael J. Fox. Okay I guess it is only similar in that both main characters are assistant editors for a publishing company and both characters have a love interest that was the greatest thing in the world but they both are selfish "smart asses" and lose the girl.

Okay "The Frog King" is actually no comparison. This book while having some similarities to the movie & book "Bright Lights, Big City" it presents a new fresh view. Harry, or "Hairball" to his girlfriend Evie Goddard, is struggling to make ends meet. He has a low salary despite his Ivy League education and has to share an apartment with a strange roommate that has strange affinity toward knives and says never let the superintendent see you. So as you can see, that's a bit sneaky. As an assistant editor he has taken it upon himself to rid the world of cliches. And In relationships he's a typical guy unable to make a commitment and cannot allow himself to use the word love. Oh yeah and he has this manuscript that he just can't seem to write.

Enter his "E" girlfriend, Evie. Harry claims to have problems with "E" girls like; Candi, Jenny, Laurie, or any other girl whose name ends in the "E" sound. And now he has Evie. Evie and Harry have a very intellectual relationship and at the same time very childlike. Evie has endometriosis and has lived with the pain all her life. She cannot have sex due to the pain. But for Harry, she has a very risky surgery so they can share that experience. Throughout this book Harry, talks about her as if she is the only thing in his life. With one exception, he cannot use the word love. Harry in order to further his career starts sleeping with a famous editor, he thinks he's keeping it from Evie but she knows.

So there we have the ongoing battle between a man and his love. Throughout the book we are introduced to some of the book's side characters. There is Keeno, an artist that is Harry's voice of reason. Birdie a homeless girl, that pops up to show Harry's "human" side. And Jordie, the dictionary editor, who Harry wishes he had Jordie's life of a loving wife and family. All the characters in this book are beautifully written and definitely multi-dimensional. Although we learn to love/hate Harry at least we know why.

Although Harry is selfish and never tells Evie he loves her he does come up with some very romantic ways of showing his affection. Like when they couldn't afford to go to Jamaica for vacation, Harry decorates his apartment in a Rasta fashion, although the sand is simulated by the dirt & grit on the linoleum floor. Hey, he tries.

I will warn you this book does not have a happy ending, nor does it have a sad ending. It's is a very real book in that it really doesn't have an ending. In this book the ending is not what the reader seeks, in fact I didn't want it to end. The storytelling is captivating. Another feature is the constant wordplay and even the logomachy between Harry and Jordie. If you don't know what logomachy is read the book and it'll be fun.

Keep Propaganda Off The Airwaves

Hi,

The ABC television network -- a cog in the Walt Disney empire -- unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11". ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production, and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".

That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.

The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.

Join me in telling Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger to keep this propaganda off the air.

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/pathto911/ftsozm

Thanks!

Book Review: "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugarman & Jerry Hopkins.

Book Review: "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugarman & Jerry Hopkins.

For many people the 60's died in 1971 with the final death in the "Holy Trinity of Rock," Jim Morrison. The other 2 being Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix who died the year prior. In fact after Janis's death Jim was known to say "You are with number 3."

The times were wild and experimental to say the least and Jim Morrison was one of the most experimental. Calling himself more of a poet than a rock star Jim Morrison would create social experiments at each of the Door's concerts. The book, "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugarman & Jerry Hopkins, chronicles the life of Jim Morrison as seen through the eyes of Danny Sugarman and Jerry Hopkins. As far as biographies go, there is nothing really revealing in this one. Jim Morrison's life remains a mystery even after reading this book. I think what the authors tried to do with this book is to immortalize Morrison by making him some sort of god, maybe a Dionysus of the 60s. The book is full of anecdotes that just perpetuate that myth. Nothing about the man himself or what made him create what he did.

Even when they talk about the death of Morrison they perpetuate the myth by giving several possibilities of how Morrison died or even that he may still be alive. Maybe a little resurrection story going on here?

So, if you are looking for an interesting chronicle with no substance this is the book to check out the book. What it lacks in real substance, it does give the reader a nice brief history of The Doors and Jim Morrison.
If you are looking for a GOOD biography of Jim Morrison, one that has some substance and emotion, a better read would be "Light My Fire, My Life with the Doors" by Ray Manzarek. Now that's a good informative and emotional book.

Books I am currently reading (and will be reviewing soon):

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

"Water for Elephants: A Novel" by Sara Gruen

"The Frog King" by Adam Davies

You won't believe this

Hi,

Hundreds of billions of tax dollars go to private contractors every year -- a lot of it needless pork barrel spending. There's a bill to create a public database of every federal contract, but a Senator who famously fought for a "bridge to nowhere" won't let it come up for a vote. Demand accountability now and we'll deliver your message to Republican Sen. Ted Stevens.

With your help, we can make real change. Please join me by signing this petition:

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/accountability/ftqnql

Thanks!

CDF Katrina Project Needs Books

Democrats.org has a post called "CDF Katrina Project Needs Books" that's worth checking out...

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools Katrina Project partners with community based organizations, service agencies and universities in the Cleveland, Columbia and Jackson, MS areas to provide after-school programming each day public schools are in session for children in families affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Book Review "Bushwhacked, Life in George W. Bush's America" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose

Okay, if you are a corporation or support corporations not having to pay taxes or to clean up their own toxic messes, this book is not for you, because you are already receiving all the good stuff you paid the President to do for you. Now if you are a concerned American that believes that the people govern and not the corporations, then this book will let you know the error in your ways. Now before I get into the review I should start by telling you that the authors, Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose, wrote a book exposing "Dubya" back when he was Governor of Texas. That book was called "Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush." The opening to the book "Bushwhacked" pretty much says If you would have read "Shrub" they wouldn't have to write "Bushwhacked."

The first half of this book is about how big business bought and paid for the presidency. No, It wasn't hanging chads that determined our fate it was Enron, Harken, Baker Botts and many more. Before I go any further I want to point out 2 things: 1.) The authors have cited all their sources and have them listed in the book if you want to check the facts. 2.) Not until this book, and some research of my own, did I realize how Enron's Kenneth Lay and George W. were such good friends. You wouldn't have known it after Enron was exposed.

"Bushwhacked" then goes on to point out how all of what "Dubya" is doing now in the White House, he tried and failed in Texas. Everything from poor environmental policy to destroying children's lives through budget cuts and faith based intitiatives. It's amazing that I even still eat meat after reading this book and the Eric Schlosser book "Fast Food Nation." Yep, "Dubya" even has his hands in the tainted meat industry.

Then we get to the really fun stuff the bait and switch of getting us into Gulf War II. The authors provide a section listing all of the reasons "Dubya" cited when getting us into the war. This section leads to my "favoritist" quote in the book. The quote is from Paul Freundlich: "All right, let me see if I understand the logic of this correctly. We are going to ignore the United Nations in order to make clear to Saddam Hussein that the United Nations cannot be ignored. WE're going to wage war to preserve the U.N.'s ability to avert war. The paramount principle is that the U.N.'s word must be taken seriously, and if we have to subvert its word to guarantee that it is, then , by gum, we will. Peace is too important not to take up arms to defend. Am I getting this right?"

So no matter where you stand on the Gulf War II or the Bush Presidency you need to read this book. It will either open up your eyes to let you know what you may be getting screwed out of.

It is hard to read this book, for one reason, I kept having to retreive it from across the room. After many chapters it would go flying.

Let me know what you think of the book...and oh yeah, go out and vote.


Books I am currently reading (and will be reviewing soon):

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

"No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins

"The Frog King" by Adam Davies

Review: "A Series of Unfortunate Events,Book the Second: The Reptile Room" by Lemony Snicket.

Lemony Snicket got better. This second book in the 13 book series seems to be a lot funnier than the first. I guess with the first book he had some introductions and got those out of the way. Now, I do have the advantage of reading these books one after another and have that advantage of fresh knowledge of the previous book, but I'm taking a short break away from the series after this one. I just have some other books to get to.

Anyhow, back to the Reptile Room. Here we find the Baudelaire children or rather Baudelaire orphans being shuffled off to their next next-of-kin. This "uncle" is a herpetologist (studies snakes) and is a fun character. Too bad he gets killed off. Oh, come on now, I didn't give anything away. In fact all throughout the first part of the book the author is telling us that "uncle" Montgomery Montgomery will not live. So now that you have that oh-my-gawd-he-spoiled-the-ending look off your face, let's talk about the book.

Mr. Snicket, or as we learned in the first review Mr. Handler, continues with his defining of words that are not used in normal speech or that may be advanced vocabulary, but this time around he has a lot more humor in the definitions. Because of this fact alone this book was alot more fun to read. Another fun part of the read is the section when he talks about morals in stories, like the boy who cried wolf or little red riding hood. He comes up with the morals of those stories (something I deduced when I was 10 years old) is don't live near wolves. I laughed out loud and had to look around and make sure someone wasn't looking at me.

This book was filled with fun moments like the names of many of the snakes. My favorite was the Virginia Wolf-snake, which you should never, under any circumstance, let near a typewriter. Now with all the fun for the reader keep in mind the Baudelaire orphans still don't have anything good going for them, at least not for too long. "Uncle" Monty's assistant has mysteriously quit and disappeared so he gets a new assistant. Well the orphans and the reader know immediately it's Count Olaf. Yes, he's back to steal the Baudelaire fortune. I won't tell you what happens, other than "uncle" Monty dies. But I will give you a hint: This is only book 2 of a 13 book series.

Happy reading.




Books I am currently reading (and will be reviewing soon):

"Bushwhacked" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

"No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins

Review of "The Accidental" by Ali Smith

"The Accidental" is a very creatively written book. Each chapter or section is written by a different point of view of the characters involved. And they are written as stream of thought, to clarify this, stop for a second and examine all the thoughts going on in your head and the interruptions that occur and then what thought(s) you go back to and start again. This is the way this book is written. At first I thought this might have been too gimmicky...but I easily lost myself in the book and the style, so it definitely worked.

The story follows a British family on holiday for the summer. Eve Smart, a writer of a series of historical-fiction what-if books that are making her and her publisher some pretty good money, but she has hit the wall with ideas and whether or not to keep writing these books. Her 2 children; Astrid, a twelve year old who I think is the wisest in this book is obsessed with video, Magnus the 17-year-old son, who has a guilty conscious after he showed some guys in school how to crop a picture of a fellow girl student's head on the body of a nude model, the girl committed suicide after the picture was e-mailed out to all the classmates. Then we have Eve's Husband Michael (step-father to Astrid and Magnus). Michael is a professor who along with teaching English, has extra-curricular activities with his female college students and a few others he meets along the way. By the way, Eve knows this, but Michael doesn't know she knows.

Now with this much dysfunction, you would think that would be enough for a good story. But in comes the catalyst, Amber. Amber is a free-spirited 30ish woman that shows up and everyone in the house thinks she's there for someone else. For example, Eve thinks she's one of Michaels "girls," but wonders why she's so much older than the rest. Michael thinks she's helping with Eve's book. So Amber gets free reign over the house with great hospitality. We soon discover Amber has some strange motives. She's constantly pointing out where Eve's life went wrong, she does everything to not be "picked up" by Michael, has sexual relations with Magnus, and shows Astrid that life is not what you record and remember, but what it could be.

And this is really only the beginning of the story. The point-of-view storytelling works great, especially when pointing out how each family member sees the same scene. While the reader has to relive the same scenes over and over the point-of-view is so different it makes for separate stories.

There is some great literature in this book. I call this one my newest Classic. I'll have to check out the other books by Ali Smith.




Books I am currently reading (and will be reviewing soon):

"Bushwhacked" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose

"A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book The Second: The Reptile Room" by Lemony Snicket.

"No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

Review: "A Series of Unfortunate Events,Book the First: A Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket.

Okay I sat down and decided to read the "Series of Unfortunate events" Books. (I make my best decisions sitting down.) After all I got the books once for my step-son to read, and then my step-daughter started reading them and they weren't wrong about Harry Potter, so I'm giving this series a chance. Besides, this October Mr. Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler author of "Watch Your Mouth","The Basic Eight" & "Adverbs") will be ending the series with book 13.

Okay first of all if you've seen the movie...you should have read the books first, at least, that's what I'm finding out. The movie has bits and pieces of the first 3 books all scrambled to make the movie.

In this first book we find the unfortunate Baudelaire children, who once led happy lives, have lost their parents and their home. They are then shuffled off to live with some distant relative they had never heard of, Count Olaf. Well the Count is only after their fortune. So he comes up with a brilliant plan to marry the 14 year old violet, thus giving him control over the fortune. Hmmmm something strange about an old man marrying a 14 year old girl. But they have many unfortunate encounters...notice they are never bad...just unfortunate.

Without just retelling the story, I'll just say this that anything good that happens to these kids doesn't last.

Now the storytelling in this book and I'm sure like the rest of the books in the series, is written in a very cynical/ironic voice. When something bad happens the author will say, or rather ask you to stop reading and constantly tell you nothing good happens to the orphans. At the same time these books are great for children ages 8 - 16, not only for great reading but also because the author teaches with his writing. In a unique tool, which allows for several asides to the reader, the author also defines some words that definitely help to increase a young reader's vocabulary. Now as an adult I found some of this irritating...defining words I already knew the meaning of, however he found ways to define some of the words to fit within the story.

Get those kids to reading. There are 12 and soon to be 13 books in this series, so they can stay interested for a while.

I'm cutting this review short because I'm going to start on the next book in the series "The Reptile Room" and may provide some more info in that review.


Books I am currently reading (and will be reviewing soon):

"Bushwhacked" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose

"The Accidental" by Ali Smith

"A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book The Second: The Reptile Room" by Lemony Snicket.

"No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins

Review "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown.

I decided to go back and read an earlier book by Dan Brown after Reading "The DaVinci Code." And Mr. Brown did not let me down. (Hmmm, maybe I should write poetry.)

Anyhow if you've read "The DaVinci Code" or even saw the movie,(after all there were millions of you)then you know of the treasure hunting adventure Robert Langdon is capable of leading. "Angels & Demons" is no exception.

In this earlier story of Robert Langdon, we go on a great tour of Rome, especially Vatican City. But before that we find out that a top scientist and his beautiful physicist daughter (there has to be some sort of love interest for Mr. Langdon right?)have discovered how to create a universe in a lab and the side product is anti-matter. Thus possibly combining science and religion. When that scientist is murdered and a container of anti-matter is stolen the adventure begins.

Oh by the way, at the same time the Pope has died and the college of cardinals must elect a new pope. But the antimatter is somewhere around the Sistine Chapel and the battery powered cannister is losing power. What that means is; when the power that is keeping the anti-matter from touching matter a great explosion will occur destroying most of Vatican City. While all the "top" cardinals are voting. Thus destroying the Catholic church.

And who is doing this? Well Dan Brown introduces to us yet another secret order "the Illuminati." And the adventure begins. 4 Cardinals are to be murdered in 4 different churches through Rome. Robert Langdon must solve puzzles and historical riddles from the likes of Galileo, artist Bernini and the path of enlightenment.

The great thing about Dan Brown's writing is that you can trace the steps on a map. In fact the writing pretty much compels you to look up a map of Rome and trace the path, and use Google find the actual statues with the clues. (btw, on the author's website he has done this for you.) This page turner is a really great read and has the constant twists and turns of a great mystery. I will not give away everything but there is a great twist at the end.

This book was yet another exciting adventure. Check it out. Let's hope for more from this great adventure/mystery writer. Eventually I'll get to "Digital Fortress" and "Deception Point."

How many cults can Dan Brown come up with? As long as there are conspiracy theorists I think Mr. Brown will have more material to write from.

okay a preview of upcoming reviews:
Now reading:

"Bushwhacked" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose (Still going on this one, It's one you read, get mad, put down and then like an accident on the highway, you have to look, so you pick up again.)

"The Accidental" by Ali Smith (So far it is a realy good read, the writer has a great skill with writing in train of thought of a character)

"A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book The First: The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket. (I bought this series for one of my kids a few years ago and they loved it. Well they were right about Harry Potter so I'm gonna check these books out. Besides, it's good to find out what your kids are reading.)

Book Review "The Bad Place" By Dean Koontz and more

Okay I said after reading "Velocity" I would give Mr. Koontz another chance. (In case you missed it: Velocity is a let down.)

Anyhow I went back to an older book by him "The Bad Place" This is some good stuff. It's got teleporting brothers, hermaphrodites, anti-hermaphrodites, psychic Downs-syndrome patients, erotic twins that invade the minds of animals, someone who can blow up inanimate objects with their hands, serial killers who drink blood and a husband and wife detective agency.

Now I know Stephen King wrote about a psychic Downs-syndrome patient in the book "Dreamcatcher" and I forget which Clive Barker book had a serial killing hermaphrodite, but Koontz blends them all.

Dakota and Dakota detective agency take on the case of a man that can't remember anything about himself other than his name and that when he goes to sleep he wakes up with bags of cash, rare red diamonds and a bug that is genetically engineered. The case becomes more mysterious when it is observed that their client, Frank Pollard, teleports in his sleep...but doesn't seem to be putting himself back together the right way.

Now this book has velocity. Not only did I stay interested and couldn't put it down, but it had a twist and turn every 5 minutes. (or should that be 5 pages). Plus Mr. Koontz created characters that in the totally unreal setting seemed real. My favorite is the employee of Dakota and Dakota, Clint. He's rugged and has a hidden since of humor. I could see Vin Diesel playing him in the movie. Not too bad of a book. If you like adventure and the paranormal this is your book.


Okay that was short...but I didn't want to give away any of the twists / turns or the end.


Here are the books I'm reading now:

"Bushwhacked" by Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose (As if I weren't pissed of at the gubmint enough)

"The Accidental" by Ali Smith (Should be interesting)

"Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown ( I loved "The DaVinci Code" it was a great adventure story...so I had to go and read an earlier Dan Brown book.)

As soon as I finish each book I will post a review. And I promise that the review will be longer. It's just so hard to review a book without giving away the mysteries :)