Fiction
Black Hills by (supposedly) Nora Roberts. I'm starting to think almost all these authors with multiple books a year are purely ghost written. This "Roberts" book has a blue cover - like many of her other books - with a full moon and a leopard.
NonFiction
Top 10 Florence and Tuscany by Reid Bramblett. A travel guide from DK's Eyewitness Travel series. The cover says, "Pull-out map and guide." Well I would certainly hope so. How crappy would a travel guide be without a map?
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Norwegian Chick Rockers, More Mexican Wrestling, Two CDs Worth of Nick Lowe
Music CDs
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre by The Cocktail Slippers. Norwegian chicks sing garage rock tunes. Featured by Little Steven on his syndicated radio show which I love to listen to.
Quiet Please: the new best of Nick Lowe by Nick Lowe. You have to be cruel to be kind.
DVDs
Thin Ice starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Camryn Manheim. Selleck has done a excellent job with these adaptations of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels.
Dia de los Muertos. Mexican wrestling featuring El Hijo Santo vs. La Park in a steel cage match.
Viva Guerrero!. Eddie Guerrero's wrestling life is celebrated by other famous wrestlers.
Reaper: season two starring That Guy From Twin Peaks, That Guy From Grounded for Life. Slacker finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now slacker has to work for the devil by catching escaped souls.
Fiction
Even by Andrew Grant. Former nsval intelligence officer from Britain is set-up for murder in New York City.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre by The Cocktail Slippers. Norwegian chicks sing garage rock tunes. Featured by Little Steven on his syndicated radio show which I love to listen to.
Quiet Please: the new best of Nick Lowe by Nick Lowe. You have to be cruel to be kind.
DVDs
Thin Ice starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Camryn Manheim. Selleck has done a excellent job with these adaptations of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels.
Dia de los Muertos. Mexican wrestling featuring El Hijo Santo vs. La Park in a steel cage match.
Viva Guerrero!. Eddie Guerrero's wrestling life is celebrated by other famous wrestlers.
Reaper: season two starring That Guy From Twin Peaks, That Guy From Grounded for Life. Slacker finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now slacker has to work for the devil by catching escaped souls.
Fiction
Even by Andrew Grant. Former nsval intelligence officer from Britain is set-up for murder in New York City.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
John Ceepak, Lansdale, Tractors, Vietnam Memoir
Fiction
Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein. John Ceepak and his narrating partner Danny Boyle return for another mystery on the New Jersey shore. The two are on vacation in Atlantic City when Danny meets an old friend who nannies for a magician. The girl is strangled and Ceepak and Boyle get involved.
Punisher: War Journal: Secret Invasion by Fraction, Remender, Spurrier, Chaykin, Macdonald, Dell'Edera. Judging from the cover the Punisher fights green aliens with pointy ears.
Run A Crooked Mile by Janet LaPierre. Rosemary moves to the California mountains to be alone. He she ends up taking in the dog of a recent murder victim. Mystery and danger follow.
Vanilla Ride: a Hap and Leonard novel by Joe R. Lansdale. East Texas pals Hap and Leonard tend to stir up trouble and when "rescuing a friend's daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer" Hap and Leonard end up stirring trouble with the Dixie Mafia who want payback.
Lansdale does real good work.
NonFiction
Classic Farmall Tractors: history, models, variations and specifications 1922-1975 by Kenneth Updike.
The Ghosts of Thua Thien: an American soldier's memoir of Vietnam by John A. Nesser. "Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before becoming a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky."
Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein. John Ceepak and his narrating partner Danny Boyle return for another mystery on the New Jersey shore. The two are on vacation in Atlantic City when Danny meets an old friend who nannies for a magician. The girl is strangled and Ceepak and Boyle get involved.
Punisher: War Journal: Secret Invasion by Fraction, Remender, Spurrier, Chaykin, Macdonald, Dell'Edera. Judging from the cover the Punisher fights green aliens with pointy ears.
Run A Crooked Mile by Janet LaPierre. Rosemary moves to the California mountains to be alone. He she ends up taking in the dog of a recent murder victim. Mystery and danger follow.
Vanilla Ride: a Hap and Leonard novel by Joe R. Lansdale. East Texas pals Hap and Leonard tend to stir up trouble and when "rescuing a friend's daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer" Hap and Leonard end up stirring trouble with the Dixie Mafia who want payback.
Lansdale does real good work.
NonFiction
Classic Farmall Tractors: history, models, variations and specifications 1922-1975 by Kenneth Updike.
The Ghosts of Thua Thien: an American soldier's memoir of Vietnam by John A. Nesser. "Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before becoming a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky."
Monday, June 29, 2009
Romanticize It All You Want, But Bonnie and Clyde were Scumbag Killers
Fiction
Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton. "Delicious Recipes and Knitting Pattern Included." I think you know my opinion on this book.
Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin. I needed to buy more chick books. Divorcee Lila starts learning about plants and rare plants and finds a rare fern in a NYC laundromat. Lila travels to the Yucatan jungle to plant hunt.
A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley. Jessica finds her fiance in an embrace with another woman. Jessica awakes in the bed of her fiance's male business rival. Soon Jessica sees that htings are not as they appeared, can she save what she has lost?
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson. Johnson's novels are supposed to be pretty good. "Interweaving classic noir sensibilities with contemporary themes of social justice, Craig Johnson's popular Walt Longmire mysteries transport readers to the sparse and rugged landscape of Wyoming."
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. in 1962 Mississippi a recent college grad, a black maid who just lost a son, and a black cook with a sassy mouth "come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk...because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times."
NonFiction
Go Down Together: the true untold story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn. If learned all you know about Bonnie and Clyde from the movies "the real story is completely different - and far more fascinating...Clyde and Bonnie were perhaps the most inept crooks ever, and their two-year crime spree was as much a reign of error as it was of terror."
Joan: the mysterious life of the heretic who became a saint by Donald Spoto. We needed a new Joan of Arc biography to replace the one falling apart.
Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton. "Delicious Recipes and Knitting Pattern Included." I think you know my opinion on this book.
Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin. I needed to buy more chick books. Divorcee Lila starts learning about plants and rare plants and finds a rare fern in a NYC laundromat. Lila travels to the Yucatan jungle to plant hunt.
A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley. Jessica finds her fiance in an embrace with another woman. Jessica awakes in the bed of her fiance's male business rival. Soon Jessica sees that htings are not as they appeared, can she save what she has lost?
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson. Johnson's novels are supposed to be pretty good. "Interweaving classic noir sensibilities with contemporary themes of social justice, Craig Johnson's popular Walt Longmire mysteries transport readers to the sparse and rugged landscape of Wyoming."
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. in 1962 Mississippi a recent college grad, a black maid who just lost a son, and a black cook with a sassy mouth "come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk...because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times."
NonFiction
Go Down Together: the true untold story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn. If learned all you know about Bonnie and Clyde from the movies "the real story is completely different - and far more fascinating...Clyde and Bonnie were perhaps the most inept crooks ever, and their two-year crime spree was as much a reign of error as it was of terror."
Joan: the mysterious life of the heretic who became a saint by Donald Spoto. We needed a new Joan of Arc biography to replace the one falling apart.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Just a Bunch of Books
Novels I Will Not Read
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. Foreign exchange student is actually a spy and saboteur sent to plan and execute a terrorist attack "that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to its knees."
I wonder how many spies and terrorists have come to the U.S. all charged-up to cause trouble and then, after staying awhile, said "Screw that," and joined the neighbors for a beer?
Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum. "A Seaside Knitters Mystery." How exciting! A knitting mystery. There's nothing that says death and suspense like knitting.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Is this one of those romances where the wild, free-roaming dude is drawn into the arms of some broad who tames his ways? Johanna Lindsey lives in Maine. Lindsey sells tons of books but I wonder if any are ghost written. I'll also bet she has the bucks to have a pretty big house - but I'll also bet she wasted her money on couches and bathtubs instead of installing an indoor shooting range.
NonFiction For Paranoids and Casual Reading
If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Be Okay: how to know if your child's illness is really an emergency by Lara Zibners, MD.
Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing by Maggie Koerth-Baker. Learn to Leave you mark on history, Train a cat, win a duel, build a dynasty, sell a kidney on the black market, perform your own surgery.
The surgery section mentions Aron Ralston who had his arm crushed and stuck when rock climbing in Utah in 2003. After a few days Ralston cut his arm off to get out. My brother mentioned once about meeting or hearing about this guy before the accident and that basically Ralston was an idiot and bound to have something happen to him.
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. Foreign exchange student is actually a spy and saboteur sent to plan and execute a terrorist attack "that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to its knees."
I wonder how many spies and terrorists have come to the U.S. all charged-up to cause trouble and then, after staying awhile, said "Screw that," and joined the neighbors for a beer?
Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum. "A Seaside Knitters Mystery." How exciting! A knitting mystery. There's nothing that says death and suspense like knitting.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Is this one of those romances where the wild, free-roaming dude is drawn into the arms of some broad who tames his ways? Johanna Lindsey lives in Maine. Lindsey sells tons of books but I wonder if any are ghost written. I'll also bet she has the bucks to have a pretty big house - but I'll also bet she wasted her money on couches and bathtubs instead of installing an indoor shooting range.
NonFiction For Paranoids and Casual Reading
If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Be Okay: how to know if your child's illness is really an emergency by Lara Zibners, MD.
Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing by Maggie Koerth-Baker. Learn to Leave you mark on history, Train a cat, win a duel, build a dynasty, sell a kidney on the black market, perform your own surgery.
The surgery section mentions Aron Ralston who had his arm crushed and stuck when rock climbing in Utah in 2003. After a few days Ralston cut his arm off to get out. My brother mentioned once about meeting or hearing about this guy before the accident and that basically Ralston was an idiot and bound to have something happen to him.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Three NonFic, Two Fic
Fiction
The Scoop by Fern Michaels. Daisy Multroon takes over an ice cream stand in rural Georgia from her aging great aunt. Daisy is retreating from a soured engagement in the big city and decides a change of pace is in order. Daisy promptly and disastrously finds out that running a small business in a small town is tougher than she thought; her experience as a Atlanta investment banker has not prepared her for teenage employees, unreliable suppliers, and the handsome building inspector, Bud. Sparks fly between Daisy and Bud and they are not sparks of love. Yet.
I made all that up.
Swimsuit by Maxine Paetro and James Patterson. Ex-cop reporter hunts Hawaii for missing supermodel.
NonFiction
Methland: the death and life of an American small town by Nick Reding. Reding researches Oelwin, IA whose depressed economy has become dependent on the meth trade.
Novelist and former Deputy Sheriff Donald Harstad is from NE Iowa. He had four or five good crime novels set in rural Iowa. What the heck has Harstad been doing? Maybe I should try and find the guy's phone number or email and ask him.
Not So Big Remodeling: tailoring your home for the way you really live by Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo. "With small thoughtful changes the home you live in can be the home you love."
The NFL Gameday Cookbook: 150 recipes to feed the hungriest fan from preseason to the Super Bowl by Ray Lampe.
The Scoop by Fern Michaels. Daisy Multroon takes over an ice cream stand in rural Georgia from her aging great aunt. Daisy is retreating from a soured engagement in the big city and decides a change of pace is in order. Daisy promptly and disastrously finds out that running a small business in a small town is tougher than she thought; her experience as a Atlanta investment banker has not prepared her for teenage employees, unreliable suppliers, and the handsome building inspector, Bud. Sparks fly between Daisy and Bud and they are not sparks of love. Yet.
I made all that up.
Swimsuit by Maxine Paetro and James Patterson. Ex-cop reporter hunts Hawaii for missing supermodel.
NonFiction
Methland: the death and life of an American small town by Nick Reding. Reding researches Oelwin, IA whose depressed economy has become dependent on the meth trade.
Novelist and former Deputy Sheriff Donald Harstad is from NE Iowa. He had four or five good crime novels set in rural Iowa. What the heck has Harstad been doing? Maybe I should try and find the guy's phone number or email and ask him.
Not So Big Remodeling: tailoring your home for the way you really live by Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo. "With small thoughtful changes the home you live in can be the home you love."
The NFL Gameday Cookbook: 150 recipes to feed the hungriest fan from preseason to the Super Bowl by Ray Lampe.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What to Read 26: Brent Hartinger
I had a phone interview with author Brent Hartinger about two of his novels, Geography Club and Order of the Poison Oak. But, the dang camera was accidentally turned off about 30 seconds into our conversation. I was too humiliated to try and re-schedule another phone call.
Lazy Greyhounds, A Couple Novels
DVD
The Mighty Celt starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Carlyle. Boy living with single mom in Ireland strikes deal with greyhound trainer to get to keep a dog if boy trains dog to win three races.
I bought this because it has greyhounds and Gillian Anderson.
Princess of Nebraska starring [people you do not know]. Pregnant Chinese student studying in Nebraska travels to San Francisco for, possibly, an abortion. Directed by Wayne Wang who does good stuff.
Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser. People fall into the center of the Earth and overcome cgi produced obstacles.
Fiction
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I think I read one of these books a long time ago. I don't know bupkis about the characters but have heard enough to make this prediction: Plum goes after a bail-jumper, Plum's grandmother acts crazy, Plum experiences sexual tension and romantic trouble, other bounty hunters both help and hinder.
The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner. Jo calls herself a 'deadshrinker'. She is a forensic psychologist who helps determine the mental state of people before they died. She gets called to help with a guy who has lost his short term memory. While Jo helps the guy she discovers a link between the guy and a 'biological agent'.
Non Fiction
The Secrets of Happy Families: eight keys to building a lifetime of connection and contentment by Scott Haltzman, M.D.
The Mighty Celt starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Carlyle. Boy living with single mom in Ireland strikes deal with greyhound trainer to get to keep a dog if boy trains dog to win three races.
I bought this because it has greyhounds and Gillian Anderson.
Princess of Nebraska starring [people you do not know]. Pregnant Chinese student studying in Nebraska travels to San Francisco for, possibly, an abortion. Directed by Wayne Wang who does good stuff.
Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser. People fall into the center of the Earth and overcome cgi produced obstacles.
Fiction
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I think I read one of these books a long time ago. I don't know bupkis about the characters but have heard enough to make this prediction: Plum goes after a bail-jumper, Plum's grandmother acts crazy, Plum experiences sexual tension and romantic trouble, other bounty hunters both help and hinder.
The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner. Jo calls herself a 'deadshrinker'. She is a forensic psychologist who helps determine the mental state of people before they died. She gets called to help with a guy who has lost his short term memory. While Jo helps the guy she discovers a link between the guy and a 'biological agent'.
Non Fiction
The Secrets of Happy Families: eight keys to building a lifetime of connection and contentment by Scott Haltzman, M.D.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
A Quick One Before I'm Away
Fiction
Below Zero by C.J. Box. This is supposed to be real good.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. I'm not sure I've ever read one of his novels but I really a short story that was good.
Relentless by Dean Koontz.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A haunted house in 1940 England.
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Gardener's thrillers are supposed to be above average.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. What does Coulter write anyway? Both thrillers and romance? Or Thrillers with some romance? read it and find out yourself.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm late on getting this one.
The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I don't care.
French Gardener by Santa Montefiore. "Santa"? What the heck kind of name is that?
Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell. The cover has a redheaded gal with a head cover and black clothes so this must be an inspirational fiction set in Amish country or something. Let me check... Nope, but I was kinda close. It is in Stoneybrooke, MA way back when.
Repeat After Me by Rachel DeWoskin. Young New York woman Aysha meets a Chinese student in the U.S. They marry and move to China. Cultural goofs provide humor.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. Unique novel told with illustrations.
NonFiction
Mad Science: experiements you can do at home - but probably shouldn't by Theodore Gray.
Chemical Cowboys: the DEA's secret mission to hunt down a notorious ecstasy kingpin by Lisa Sweetingham. True crime tale of an international drug ring trading in Ecstasy tablets. Also endorsed by Bill Crider.
American Cheeses: the best regional, artisna, and farmhouse cheeses: who makes them and where to find them by Clark Wolf. Endorsed by Gerard Saylor (that's me) and other Wisconsin types.
World War One: a short history by Norman Stone. We did not have much on WWI so I bought this.
Large Print
Medusa by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos.
Below Zero by C.J. Box. This is supposed to be real good.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. I'm not sure I've ever read one of his novels but I really a short story that was good.
Relentless by Dean Koontz.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A haunted house in 1940 England.
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Gardener's thrillers are supposed to be above average.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. What does Coulter write anyway? Both thrillers and romance? Or Thrillers with some romance? read it and find out yourself.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm late on getting this one.
The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I don't care.
French Gardener by Santa Montefiore. "Santa"? What the heck kind of name is that?
Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell. The cover has a redheaded gal with a head cover and black clothes so this must be an inspirational fiction set in Amish country or something. Let me check... Nope, but I was kinda close. It is in Stoneybrooke, MA way back when.
Repeat After Me by Rachel DeWoskin. Young New York woman Aysha meets a Chinese student in the U.S. They marry and move to China. Cultural goofs provide humor.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. Unique novel told with illustrations.
NonFiction
Mad Science: experiements you can do at home - but probably shouldn't by Theodore Gray.
Chemical Cowboys: the DEA's secret mission to hunt down a notorious ecstasy kingpin by Lisa Sweetingham. True crime tale of an international drug ring trading in Ecstasy tablets. Also endorsed by Bill Crider.
American Cheeses: the best regional, artisna, and farmhouse cheeses: who makes them and where to find them by Clark Wolf. Endorsed by Gerard Saylor (that's me) and other Wisconsin types.
World War One: a short history by Norman Stone. We did not have much on WWI so I bought this.
Large Print
Medusa by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos.
Tim Finn, Practical Shooting, Exercise, Guy WIth No Shirt
Music CDs
The Conversation by Tim Finn. The great Finn sings songs. Didi I mention I was going to drive to Milwaukee and see this dude in early 2008? He was scheduled on a night when we had a massive snow fall. I did not bother trying to drive in that mess. But, it was snow so much the show was cancelled anyway.
Blackout!2 by Methodman and Redman. The popular rappers team up again.
DVD
Practical Shooting: handgun techniques, volumes 1-3 by Matt Burkett. Tips, training, and instruction on IPSC by professional shooters Burkett, Brian Enos and Don Golembieski. If those check-outs out maybe I'll get a shotgun or rifle one.
Fool's Gold starring ThatGuyWithNoShirt and TheGalWhoIsNotAsHotAsEveryoneSays. Recently divorced couple head to the Carribean to find a treasure ship that sunk in 1715 while gangster tries to catch the husband.
SHAPE 20-Minute Makeover. Exercise video.
21 starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth. College students learn to count cards and play Blackjack in Las Vegas. They get in trouble.
The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale. A replacement.
There's a Place For Us: the 34th annual UW Varsity Band Spring Concert. It took forever to get this cataloged.
AudioBooks on CD
Sleeping Dogs by Ed Gorman. 5 discs at 5 hours. Endorsed by Bill Crider.
The Sorceress: the secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. 11 discs at 14 hours. A YA title. Unednorsed by Bill Crider (as far as I know anyway).
The Conversation by Tim Finn. The great Finn sings songs. Didi I mention I was going to drive to Milwaukee and see this dude in early 2008? He was scheduled on a night when we had a massive snow fall. I did not bother trying to drive in that mess. But, it was snow so much the show was cancelled anyway.
Blackout!2 by Methodman and Redman. The popular rappers team up again.
DVD
Practical Shooting: handgun techniques, volumes 1-3 by Matt Burkett. Tips, training, and instruction on IPSC by professional shooters Burkett, Brian Enos and Don Golembieski. If those check-outs out maybe I'll get a shotgun or rifle one.
Fool's Gold starring ThatGuyWithNoShirt and TheGalWhoIsNotAsHotAsEveryoneSays. Recently divorced couple head to the Carribean to find a treasure ship that sunk in 1715 while gangster tries to catch the husband.
SHAPE 20-Minute Makeover. Exercise video.
21 starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth. College students learn to count cards and play Blackjack in Las Vegas. They get in trouble.
The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale. A replacement.
There's a Place For Us: the 34th annual UW Varsity Band Spring Concert. It took forever to get this cataloged.
AudioBooks on CD
Sleeping Dogs by Ed Gorman. 5 discs at 5 hours. Endorsed by Bill Crider.
The Sorceress: the secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. 11 discs at 14 hours. A YA title. Unednorsed by Bill Crider (as far as I know anyway).
Punk Rock Punks Produce Album 35 Years Later
Music CDs
...For the Whole World to See by Death. According to allmusic.com the three Hackney brothers of Detroit started playing soul and funk and then moved into the proto-punk scene in 1973. They were signed to a label but refused to change to a friendlier band name. The naming argument caused a rift in the band and only now are all seven of their singles being released on CD.
You don't see many black guys playing punk, which reminds me of The Dirtbombs. The Dirtbombs are also from Detroit and we also have an album of theirs here, We Have You Surrounded, which includes this tune.
...For the Whole World to See by Death. According to allmusic.com the three Hackney brothers of Detroit started playing soul and funk and then moved into the proto-punk scene in 1973. They were signed to a label but refused to change to a friendlier band name. The naming argument caused a rift in the band and only now are all seven of their singles being released on CD.
You don't see many black guys playing punk, which reminds me of The Dirtbombs. The Dirtbombs are also from Detroit and we also have an album of theirs here, We Have You Surrounded, which includes this tune.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
New Stuff, Old Stuff, Bikini Stuff
DVD
Taking Chance starring Kevin Bacon. A Marine Lieutenant Colonel reads the obituary for a young Marine and sees they graduated from the same high school. The LTC volunteers to accompany the body back from Delaware back to burial in Wyoming.
Defiance starring Daniel Craig. James Bond fights the Nazis in the Polish woods.
SHAPE: sculpt your abs. This is a replacement for a lost item.
SHAPE: ultimate bikini body workout. Workout routine. No bikinis involved.
Land of the Lost: Seasons One, Two, and Three starring [people from the seventies]. All three seasons of the 1970s kids television show. I would maybe watch one or two episodes off of here to see what looks familiar. But, otherwise, I consider this a complete waste of time.
Maybe I could buy this for my brother's birthday. I still have not gotten him anything and it has been about two months. Does he really need anything anyway? Couldn't I make a donation in his name to the Gerard Saylor Foundation for Knife and Firearms Appreciation?
National Treasure 2 starring Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel. This looks stupid. I suppose kids like it though. Our whole family went to see UP! when my in-laws were in town. Boy Number One, who is six, got quite scared when the bad guy was shooting at everyone.
Taking Chance starring Kevin Bacon. A Marine Lieutenant Colonel reads the obituary for a young Marine and sees they graduated from the same high school. The LTC volunteers to accompany the body back from Delaware back to burial in Wyoming.
Defiance starring Daniel Craig. James Bond fights the Nazis in the Polish woods.
SHAPE: sculpt your abs. This is a replacement for a lost item.
SHAPE: ultimate bikini body workout. Workout routine. No bikinis involved.
Land of the Lost: Seasons One, Two, and Three starring [people from the seventies]. All three seasons of the 1970s kids television show. I would maybe watch one or two episodes off of here to see what looks familiar. But, otherwise, I consider this a complete waste of time.
Maybe I could buy this for my brother's birthday. I still have not gotten him anything and it has been about two months. Does he really need anything anyway? Couldn't I make a donation in his name to the Gerard Saylor Foundation for Knife and Firearms Appreciation?
National Treasure 2 starring Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel. This looks stupid. I suppose kids like it though. Our whole family went to see UP! when my in-laws were in town. Boy Number One, who is six, got quite scared when the bad guy was shooting at everyone.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Hogdoggin' and Nine Large Print Novels
Fiction
Hogdoggin' by Anthony Neil Smith. Billy Lafitte was a Deputy Sheriff and suspected terrorist from Southwest Minnesoto. Lafitte cut town, went underground, and ended up joining a outlaw motorcycle club as their enforcer. Lafitte's nemesis, an FBI agent, is convinced that Lafitte is a traitor and is squeezing Lafitte's ex-wife and kids to get Lafitte to show himself. Lots of violence, action, some sex, and a great scene with some teenagers hanging out in a parking lot.
Monarch of Mulligan Bay by David Mathias. A paranoid 1930s gangster converts his paper money for gold. A Wisconsin gas station owner gets the gold and buries it, telling only his priest at confesssion. Years later the priest, now in prison, tells riddles to reveal the story. Local author.
Large Print
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead. Black teen in late '80s is social outcast at his prep school. He and his brother get to spend the summer in Sag Harbor with the families of other black professionals. Teen has "trials and tribulations...but maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer."
Cry Mercy by Mariah Stewart.
The Sign by Raymond Khoury.
The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore.
Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.
Borderline by Nevada Barr.
One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel.
Silent Man by Alex Berenson.
Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West.
Non Fiction
Hosting a Library Mystery: a programming guide by Elizabeth M. Karle.
Hogdoggin' by Anthony Neil Smith. Billy Lafitte was a Deputy Sheriff and suspected terrorist from Southwest Minnesoto. Lafitte cut town, went underground, and ended up joining a outlaw motorcycle club as their enforcer. Lafitte's nemesis, an FBI agent, is convinced that Lafitte is a traitor and is squeezing Lafitte's ex-wife and kids to get Lafitte to show himself. Lots of violence, action, some sex, and a great scene with some teenagers hanging out in a parking lot.
Monarch of Mulligan Bay by David Mathias. A paranoid 1930s gangster converts his paper money for gold. A Wisconsin gas station owner gets the gold and buries it, telling only his priest at confesssion. Years later the priest, now in prison, tells riddles to reveal the story. Local author.
Large Print
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead. Black teen in late '80s is social outcast at his prep school. He and his brother get to spend the summer in Sag Harbor with the families of other black professionals. Teen has "trials and tribulations...but maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer."
Cry Mercy by Mariah Stewart.
The Sign by Raymond Khoury.
The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore.
Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.
Borderline by Nevada Barr.
One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel.
Silent Man by Alex Berenson.
Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West.
Non Fiction
Hosting a Library Mystery: a programming guide by Elizabeth M. Karle.
Friday, June 05, 2009
I'm Sick of All These Vampire Books
Fiction
Fugitive by Phillip Margolin. Guy rescues prison warden in riot, flees to African dictatorship when accused of a murder, flees Africa after screwing dictator's wife, goes on trial in US with dictator and real murderer from before trying to kill him.
Matters of the Heart by [supposedly] Danielle Steel. Crap.
Medusa by Clive Cussler with Paul Kempros. Don't care.
The Lovers by John Connolly. I cannot keep Connolly and Connelly straight.
Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton. Vampires humping vampires humping werewolves while killing each other.
Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson. Vampires and werewolves have sex and romance.
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. "At one a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing." Presumably there are no vampires.
Non Fiction
Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards. "My famous husband cheated on me with some blond. May as well write a book."
Fugitive by Phillip Margolin. Guy rescues prison warden in riot, flees to African dictatorship when accused of a murder, flees Africa after screwing dictator's wife, goes on trial in US with dictator and real murderer from before trying to kill him.
Matters of the Heart by [supposedly] Danielle Steel. Crap.
Medusa by Clive Cussler with Paul Kempros. Don't care.
The Lovers by John Connolly. I cannot keep Connolly and Connelly straight.
Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton. Vampires humping vampires humping werewolves while killing each other.
Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson. Vampires and werewolves have sex and romance.
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. "At one a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing." Presumably there are no vampires.
Non Fiction
Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards. "My famous husband cheated on me with some blond. May as well write a book."
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Street Fighting in New Ulm! Wilco in Pajamas! Dylan vs. Van Morrison! Los Straitjackets Conquer All!
Music CDs
The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets by Los Straitjackets. I go gaga for Los Straitjackets. Speaking of which...
The Fame by Lady Gaga. What's the deal with this broad? There is a cover story about her on the current Rolling Stone but I did not read it. I think the writing in Rolling Stone is crap.
Together Through Life by Bob Dylan. I did read the Dylan article in Rolling Stone. The writing was crap. The author was trying to drop names, sounded like a know-it-all jerk, and made annoying guesses at future Dylan lyrics from what Dylan said during the interview.
Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl by Van Morrison. Morrison performs his famous album live.
Heart On by Eagles of Death Metal. This isn't new but it was sitting on my desk so I'll list it here as padding.
DVD
Street Warrior starring Max Martini. War veteran returns home to find brother in coma after match in "brutal and corrupt fight club." Jack joins the club for revenge.
New in Town starring Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., J.K. Simmons. Miami executive sent to New Ulm, MN during wintertime to take over manufacturing plant.
I'd be interested in watching this except that Harry Connick is in it. That and the film was shot in Cana-freakin'-da. They should have shot it in New Ulm and shown Schells. Or stuck a Luehring in as an extra. Or headed east to Gustavus.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas starring [people]. 8-year-old boy during World War Two plays in the woods and makes friends with other boy who wears pajamas and cannot come from outside his fence.
Ashes of American Flags by Wilco. Performances filmed in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and District of Columbia. Twenty songs.
Non Fiction
Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: proven plants for the heartland by Anthony W. Kahtz.
The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets by Los Straitjackets. I go gaga for Los Straitjackets. Speaking of which...
The Fame by Lady Gaga. What's the deal with this broad? There is a cover story about her on the current Rolling Stone but I did not read it. I think the writing in Rolling Stone is crap.
Together Through Life by Bob Dylan. I did read the Dylan article in Rolling Stone. The writing was crap. The author was trying to drop names, sounded like a know-it-all jerk, and made annoying guesses at future Dylan lyrics from what Dylan said during the interview.
Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl by Van Morrison. Morrison performs his famous album live.
Heart On by Eagles of Death Metal. This isn't new but it was sitting on my desk so I'll list it here as padding.
DVD
Street Warrior starring Max Martini. War veteran returns home to find brother in coma after match in "brutal and corrupt fight club." Jack joins the club for revenge.
New in Town starring Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., J.K. Simmons. Miami executive sent to New Ulm, MN during wintertime to take over manufacturing plant.
I'd be interested in watching this except that Harry Connick is in it. That and the film was shot in Cana-freakin'-da. They should have shot it in New Ulm and shown Schells. Or stuck a Luehring in as an extra. Or headed east to Gustavus.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas starring [people]. 8-year-old boy during World War Two plays in the woods and makes friends with other boy who wears pajamas and cannot come from outside his fence.
Ashes of American Flags by Wilco. Performances filmed in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and District of Columbia. Twenty songs.
Non Fiction
Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: proven plants for the heartland by Anthony W. Kahtz.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Wisconsin Farmer, Ghost Writing, Color Painting, Faces
Large Print
Rogue by [supposedly] Danielle Steel.
Non Fiction
Stump Ridge Farm by Pearl Swiggum. Tales by former newspaper columnist Swiggum.
The Barn Came First by Pearl Swiggum. See above.
Perennials for Minnesota and Wisconsin by Don Engebretson and Don Williamson. Double Dons. Don Duo. Don Ditto. Duplicate Dons.
Snakes of Wisconsin by Rebecca Christoffel and others. There are only twenty snakes listed, and only four rattlesnake bites between 1982-1999.
Facial Expressions: a visual reference for artists by Mark Simon.
Dynamic Color Painting for the Beginner by Diane Edison.
Rogue by [supposedly] Danielle Steel.
Non Fiction
Stump Ridge Farm by Pearl Swiggum. Tales by former newspaper columnist Swiggum.
The Barn Came First by Pearl Swiggum. See above.
Perennials for Minnesota and Wisconsin by Don Engebretson and Don Williamson. Double Dons. Don Duo. Don Ditto. Duplicate Dons.
Snakes of Wisconsin by Rebecca Christoffel and others. There are only twenty snakes listed, and only four rattlesnake bites between 1982-1999.
Facial Expressions: a visual reference for artists by Mark Simon.
Dynamic Color Painting for the Beginner by Diane Edison.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Hipster Hair Country Band, Elvis Costello's Wife, Pop Music
CDs
Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts. I don't think I've ever heard any of their songs. Judging by the hipster hair and the clothes they wear this one of those country-pop bands.
Quiet Nights by Diana Krall. More jazz vocals and piano by Declan's wife.
Now That's What I call Music! 30 by various artists.
Alternate titles for this disc include:
Now That's What I Call Uninventive Top Forty! 30
Now That's What I Call Overly Produced Tripe! 30
Now That's What I Call Crap! 30
Now That's What I Call Purposely Skanky Pop Girls! 30
Now That's What I Call I Love Skanky Pop Girls! 30
Now That's What I Call I'm Not Kidding, I'm A Weirdo! 30
Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts. I don't think I've ever heard any of their songs. Judging by the hipster hair and the clothes they wear this one of those country-pop bands.
Quiet Nights by Diana Krall. More jazz vocals and piano by Declan's wife.
Now That's What I call Music! 30 by various artists.
Alternate titles for this disc include:
Now That's What I Call Uninventive Top Forty! 30
Now That's What I Call Overly Produced Tripe! 30
Now That's What I Call Crap! 30
Now That's What I Call Purposely Skanky Pop Girls! 30
Now That's What I Call I Love Skanky Pop Girls! 30
Now That's What I Call I'm Not Kidding, I'm A Weirdo! 30
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Two Books With Coffee, Adventure, Comic Killer, Garfield, Soviets
Adult Fiction
Brewed, Crude and Tattooed by Sandra Balzo. Maggy Thorsen is stuck in her coffee shop when a spring snow storm snows her into the mall. Maggy ventures down the service corridor and finds the mall owner dead. She meets other stranded people and, soon one of them are dead.
I got stuck in a mall once. I was in Towne East Square in Wichita when a tornado warning was broadcast. We, my girlfriend and myself, were there while she was looking for a wedding ring. We got crammed into a concrete walled service corridor behind the shops for a half hour or so.
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. Let me guess: Reacher 1-drinks coffee, 2-hooks up with a babe, 3-solves a mystery against nasty people, 4-beats and kills nasty people, 5-hits the road.
Jack Wakes Up by Seth Harwood. Adreniline fueled crime novel with former Hollywood big-shot Jack squiring some thugs through San Francisco's night life. When the thugs start getting murdered Jack gets guys after him.
Anthony Neil Smith plugged this book so much you'd think he was getting a cut of the profits. Or, he has a serious man-crush. He got me to buy either way.
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. Crime writer writes crime novel about crime writer.
Hunt At the Well of Eternity by Gabriel Hunt. 1920s styled adventure novel with Gabriel Hunt helping a woman in distress by traveling to Mayan ruins in Guatemala. Penned by the great James Reasoner.
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. Leo Demidov returns from Smith's first novel. Child 44. Leo and his wife have adopted two girls orphaned during one of Smith's previous operations in the KGB. It's 1956 and Kruschev promises change from the tyranny of Stalin. Now the previously hard-core KGB cop Leo is being hunted for revenge.
Razor Sharp by Fern Michaels. My 52100 steel Spyderco Mule is not razor sharp anymore. I was using that thing to cut anything and everything during yard work over the weekend.
Garfield Fat Cat Three Pack, Vol. 3 by Jim Davis. Kids always check these out. It's neat that all the strips, even the dailies, are in color.
Punisher Comics
Punisher War Journal, Civil War, Vol. 1 by Fraction, Olivetti, and Deodato.
Punisher War Journal, Goin' Out West, Vol. 2 by Fraction, Olivetti and Fernandez.
Punisher War Journal, Hunter/Hunted, Vol. 3 by Fraction, Olivetti, Walker, Wegener, and Chaykin.
Punisher War Journal, Jigsaw, Vol. 4 by Fraction, Remender, Chaykin.
Brewed, Crude and Tattooed by Sandra Balzo. Maggy Thorsen is stuck in her coffee shop when a spring snow storm snows her into the mall. Maggy ventures down the service corridor and finds the mall owner dead. She meets other stranded people and, soon one of them are dead.
I got stuck in a mall once. I was in Towne East Square in Wichita when a tornado warning was broadcast. We, my girlfriend and myself, were there while she was looking for a wedding ring. We got crammed into a concrete walled service corridor behind the shops for a half hour or so.
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. Let me guess: Reacher 1-drinks coffee, 2-hooks up with a babe, 3-solves a mystery against nasty people, 4-beats and kills nasty people, 5-hits the road.
Jack Wakes Up by Seth Harwood. Adreniline fueled crime novel with former Hollywood big-shot Jack squiring some thugs through San Francisco's night life. When the thugs start getting murdered Jack gets guys after him.
Anthony Neil Smith plugged this book so much you'd think he was getting a cut of the profits. Or, he has a serious man-crush. He got me to buy either way.
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. Crime writer writes crime novel about crime writer.
Hunt At the Well of Eternity by Gabriel Hunt. 1920s styled adventure novel with Gabriel Hunt helping a woman in distress by traveling to Mayan ruins in Guatemala. Penned by the great James Reasoner.
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. Leo Demidov returns from Smith's first novel. Child 44. Leo and his wife have adopted two girls orphaned during one of Smith's previous operations in the KGB. It's 1956 and Kruschev promises change from the tyranny of Stalin. Now the previously hard-core KGB cop Leo is being hunted for revenge.
Razor Sharp by Fern Michaels. My 52100 steel Spyderco Mule is not razor sharp anymore. I was using that thing to cut anything and everything during yard work over the weekend.
Garfield Fat Cat Three Pack, Vol. 3 by Jim Davis. Kids always check these out. It's neat that all the strips, even the dailies, are in color.
Punisher Comics
Punisher War Journal, Civil War, Vol. 1 by Fraction, Olivetti, and Deodato.
Punisher War Journal, Goin' Out West, Vol. 2 by Fraction, Olivetti and Fernandez.
Punisher War Journal, Hunter/Hunted, Vol. 3 by Fraction, Olivetti, Walker, Wegener, and Chaykin.
Punisher War Journal, Jigsaw, Vol. 4 by Fraction, Remender, Chaykin.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Nazis, Slutty Vampires, Fat Guy in a Fat Suit
DVD
Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise. This has a neat cast with Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh. I'll try to watch this one.
Paul Blart Mall Cop starring Kevin James. Self-important shopping mall security guard has to rescue hostages in a mall.
We had our van battery go dead atMadison
True Blood: the complete first season starring [people]. Girl who can read minds cannot read a vampire's mind. Other vampires have sex.
Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise. This has a neat cast with Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh. I'll try to watch this one.
Paul Blart Mall Cop starring Kevin James. Self-important shopping mall security guard has to rescue hostages in a mall.
We had our van battery go dead at
True Blood: the complete first season starring [people]. Girl who can read minds cannot read a vampire's mind. Other vampires have sex.
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