This book has been around for a while, but it is a must read for anyone interested in writing, and anyone interested in Stephen King. It is a quick but valuable read. Since Mr. King stresses brevity, here is a quick (and hopefully valuable) review/summary.
The book is divided into the following sections: (more…)
A LARGE shout-out to the Tomball High School Cougar Pride Marching Band. They had a very successful October contest season, including: (more…)
The dynamic due put together a phenomenal acoustic album, for Dave and Tim fans, DMB fans and accessible to music lovers of all genres
Yes, I’m a Dave Matthew’s fanboy. I purchased both the CD, the DVD and bought early so I would get the extra Europe 07 CD (my wife and I met Monte and Margaret from Munich in Oxford, UK to see the boys, and I’m sure I can hear the girls screaming on those tracks).
UPDATE: Since many folks have asked, I’ve started adding links to the lyrics on the DMB site.
I’ve had this album since it first came out, and have worn it our on road trips around Texas…maybe it’s the reason my iPod disc drive crashed (just in time for Christmas…hmmmm). Why should you own this album? The Dave Letterman Matthews Top Ten: (more…)
Happy birthday, gorgeous. More beautiful on the inside and out with every passing day. You keep getting better looking, and, as we agreed 19 years ago, I don’t…. 
Ulitmate Kudos: An exciting ending to a classic series
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an excellent end to an extraordinary series. Picking up with the search for the Horcruxes that Voldemort locked split pieces of himself in, the book ties together most of the remaining loose ends in satisfying fashion. Harry, Ron and Hermione do not return for their last year at Hogwarts, choosing instead to take on the task that Dumbledore assigned to Harry. Along the way, much of the backstory is revealed about Harry’s relatives, Dumbledore’s relationships, Voldemort and more. The giants, house elves, goblins and other magical creatures all play a part, as do Luna, Neville, the Weasley and Mallfoy families.
A character does die in the first chapter (in the flow of the story) and others in the end (some needlessly; though a cost for the final battle must be shown, some dying off screen as it were aren’t in the flow of the story)
As an author, I admire how Ms. Rowling combined several different themes in this book and throughout the series: (more…)
Ultimate Kudos: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and deservedly so
World War II has always held a fascination for me: the global scale, the impact on world politics and powers of today, the coming of Age of the United States as a super power, the thoughts of what could have been had certain decisions or battles gone one way or the other (see Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle or many of the other alternative history novels to get your imagination going). Over the years, I have read many books, including the great John Keegan’s, Cornelius Ryan’s and a 25 volume Encyclopedia of WWII that my mom got me for Christmas as a kid (no, I am not kidding).
I received The Day of Battle (the 2nd in Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy) as an ARC at BEA, but wanted to read the series in order.
I am very glad that I did. Operation TORCH, the battles of Kasserine, Sidi Bou Zid, the taking of Bizerte and Tunis are told as stories from the perspectives of leaders and soldiers, based on meticulous research detailed in over 100 pages of notes. An Army At Dawn is a great representation of the grisly and personal nature of war, a fitting history of the men and women who fought in WWII. (more…)
With the media trying desperately to draw our attention to a muddled presidential race and the war in Iraq, we Americans sometimes forget that democracy begins at home. Large issues, some in far away places, makes us forget that it is the grass roots efforts of non-politicians (vs. who raised more money than who multi-million dollar fundraisers for presidential campaigns) that make democracy truly the voice of the people.
Which brings us to my friend Bill Molina and his award winning documentary, Truth Be Tolled.
In the interests of full disclosure, I went to high school and college with Bill. I was even in one of his first movies (which hopefully will never make YouTube, but Bill had an evil glint in his eye about that when I last saw him).
At the recent WorldFest (also known as the Houston International Film Festival), Truth Be Tolled received the Platinum Award (highest award) in its category (feature documentary). Another of Bill’s entries, the short documentary Chichen Itza got the Gold Award for cinematography.
So Bill is talented, not a hack. You can lookup his other impressive credits.
The story of Truth Be Tolled is two-fold: the Texas Department of Transportation (and, I would speculate, other state highway departments) are trying to double tax citizens by putting tollways on existing, already-paid-for-by-our-taxes roads; and secondly, TxDOT is attempting to push the massive TransTexasCorridor, a quarter-mile wide set of tollways, rail and other conduits, through the Texas legislature with nary a citizen vote. The documentary also depicts how both of these activities are being done without or in some cases in spite of citizen feedback. The TTC project is especially scary, as it plans to use the concept of emminent domain to grab land for the massive Mexico to Oklahoma corridor.
Now my point is not that TxDOT and the Texas Governor’s office are doing something wrong or illegal (as some would claim) nor am I coming down on the side of the lobbyists and pundits pushing to eliminate the TTC. I have not had the time to research who is doing what, who is saying what.
My point is that Bill made this film to make a point, to get citizens like me interested, to educate. And it appears to have worked. Bill and his team gave copies of Truth Be Tolled to each and every member of the Texas legislature (for free, as in Bill paid for this himself, please send him money or travelers checks!).
On May 2, the Texas House approved a measure the Texas Senate had already approved, to place a two year moratorium on TTC activities. Govenor Perry is expected to act on these bills within the next few days. He could veto, sending it back for a 2/3 majority override, assuming he does so while the Legislature is in session.
So Ultimate Kudos to Bill. His movie is excellent, beautifully photographed, obviously passionately done. He has gotten a lot of people talking and discussing and acting on an issue that normally would not have been on the radar screens. And that is ultimately what democracy is for.
5 stars: Intricate plot, excellent book. How does Simmons think this stuff up?
Mr. Simmons is arguably one of the best genre-hopping authors around, having pulled down awards for SciFi, Horror, Fantasy, etc. But this massive book (700+ pages in the paperback) makes me wonder exactly how does he think this excellent stuff up?
Ilium mixes the Trojan War (is it the real Trojan War, or a setup re-creation?), future humans (who are so pampered that they have forgotten or have been forced to forget their history, basic skills like reading and cooking, etc.), post-humans (evolved in some fashion) and Jupiter/Asteroid Belt organic-plus-Artificially Intelligent miner/workers into a story that is part future, part past. Combining these characters with literary references to Shakespeare, Proust (the Jupiter miners have all of ancient Earth in their databases and a weakness for literature), Homer and others, would in the hands of a lesser writer, make for a slogfest of a read.
Simmons masterfully blends these characters, time-shifting settings and science fiction creations into a plot that is a page turner for the majority of it’s bulk. The plot opens up, little by little, letting the reader slowly but surely put these pieces together, while keeping us engaged with what’s happening. The science of the science fiction is added to make this complexity quite possible, which is what good science fiction is all about.
The only issue I have with this novel is that (without giving away any spoilers) one has to read the next novel, Olympos. But it is a small issue, and, given the quality of Ilium, I will happily dive into Olympos.
Highly reccommended!
5 stars: Two virtuoso’s captured live
Unfortunately, you cannot capture the brilliance of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live on an album. But this one comes close.
We saw this dynamic duo in Oxford England March 2007, as they played for more than three hours. Their performance live is unmatchable.
This album demonstrates yet again what an amazing songwriter, singer and acoustic guitar player Dave Matthews is…and it shows glimpses of the amazing talent that is Tim Reynolds. Dave’s lyrics shine in this acoustic set more so than in DMB studio albums, as his voice becomes the third instrument in this duo. Through Dancing Nancies, #41, Dancing Nancies and Cry Freedom, Dave’s songwriting expertise is more visible than with the full band. Tim Reynolds is amazing live and in person, and my one issue with this album is that his contributions aren’t noticeable unless you know what you are listening for. But you can certainly hear his lead licks on #41, Dancing Nancies and Say Goodbye.
And it took me awhile, but I recognized the acoustic “Little Thing” (something “Dave and Timmy had been working on”) as “An’ Another Thing” from Some Devil…both versions are great.
An excellent album, see them in concert if you get the chance.
5 stars: From one author to another: a terrific story
I was reading this novel just as I was putting the finishing touches on my own first book; Senor Zafon’s characterizations and scene descriptions encouraged and discouraged me at the same moment: encouraged because I was reminded that authors can put pictures into people’s minds, pictures so vivid that the author’s world becomes real; discouraged because he showed me what a long way to go I have as an author (and I wasn’t even reading it in the native Spanish!).
The places, like the library and the mansion, were visible to me.
The main characters respect for his father, for the books, and his longing for the women in his life, was incredibly well described and laid out.
And the plot yanks you in. I was reading this on a beautiful beach in Greece, and it continually brought me away from that reality into it’s own world. I had to pass it to my wife and my son to read, and they also devoured it on the same vacation. It is that kind of read, the kind that you cannot put down no matter where you are.
I eagerly search the Internet for news of Senor Zafon’s next work.