LAST 6 BOOKS READ

1) A Single Step by Heather Mills McCartney: Actually quite an interesting autobio of
the lady who married/divorced the cute Beatle after the death of his 1st wife. Most
of the book tells of how she became a model, lost her leg, and became a spokesperson
for anti-landmine causes and artificial limbs for people in poor countries.

2) The Mask by Dean Koontz: Apparently not one of his most memorable books, since I can't
really remember what it was about...hahaha...

3) Don't Tell Dad by Peter Fonda: Another autobio, encompassing his youth, movie-making
and relationship with his Dad & sister Jane. Fascinating reading, pretty much pulls no punches,
especially about his run-ins with the government.

4) The Lizard King by Jerry Hopkins: A semi-continuation of No One Here Gets Out Alive with new material and interviews about you know who...or you should!

5) The Illuminati by Larry Burkett: A promising novel ruined by an overly pro-"christian'
slant. Why must non-'christians' be the enemy, as if everything is only black or white?
Don't know, but it could have been left out of this book and made a better read overall.

6) Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Baigent,Leigh,& Lincoln: The book that much of Brown's DaVinci
Code was based on. Unfortunately, an overabundance of minute detail makes this a
tough book to read, even though the actual concept is interesting, and if it WAS true,
would probably bring about the end of Christianity as we know it. (Which may not
be a bad thing.)

So, there you have it; a combination of fiction & non-fiction in which the non-fiction books
are actually better overall than the fiction.

RIP: BOBBY 'BORIS' PICKETT

And so the Monster will Mash no more...at least not in person. Though I was fortunate to see
him perform his hit at a Halloween show in Orlando back in the early 90s. And his
less famous updating of it, which I believe covered his whole repertoire.
If I remember correctly (ha-ha) also on the bill were Tiny Tim & Weird Al
Yankovic...truly a Halloween show to remember.

"I was working in the lab late last night; when my eyes beheld a dreadful sight"...RIP...

YES, THIS MEANS YOU..WOOF WOOF...

Isn't this great? Actually saw signs like this when we were in Nanaimo 2 years ago. Some of them actually have plastic bag dispensers attached to them.

...And woof woof to you too!!

HARVEY WHO?

Watching Gray's Anatomy last night, hard to resist that show, especially
the smoking hot Katherine Heigl, but that's not who this is about.
Toward the end of last nights show, the Chief Of Surgery is at a bar, and
mentions that last time he dated, he had a Harvey Wallbanger in one
hand, and an afro-pick in the other. Harvey Wallbanger, now that takes me back
to the girl I was dating when I met Phyllis. This girl, Helen (hell on wheels) used
to drink Harvey Wallbangers all the time. Now a H.W. is actually a Screwdriver
made with the addition of Galliano, very nice drink.
So next time you go somewhere and order a drink, order a Harvey Wallbanger
and see how smart the bartender really is...

TOO FUNNY TO PASS UP!

 "Why don't my privates look like a centerfold's?
 Beyond the extensive airbrushing magazine photos undergo, the hard truth is that even if you started with a nice, tight package, child birthing changes everything. Once you push a couple of 8- to 10-pound babies through the birth canal, things down there are gonna look more like Mary Poppins' carpet bag than a cute little change purse."

 

Well, `ello there Mary Poppins!!

 

 

LAST 6 BOOKS READ

1) Great Detectives ed.by D.W. McCullough: 2 novels, 1 novella, 14 short stories covering a range of well- and not so well-known literary detectives. Not bad, but certainly all were not "Great".

2) Golden Interlude - The Edens in India 1836-42 by Janet Dunbar: A fascinating look at life in Colonial India through the eyes of the two sisters (Emily & Fanny) of the Goverrnor-General.

3) Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd: Cybill looks at Cybill...interesting, and smarter than
you may think she is.

4) Aerosmith by Martin Huxley: The Aerosmith story (duh!). Not a lot of detail, but a good overview of the band's history.

5) Hearts In Atlantis by Stephen King: A long twisty novel made up of 3 barely intertwined sections. More of a tale of life in the 50s,60s,70s than anything else, but he does manage to bring in the Breakers & the Dark Tower.

6) False Memory by Dean Koontz: What if you went to a psychiatrist and he WAS the problem?
Hopefully, it's not possible to the extent in this book, but it'll certainly make you think twice...or thrice...

POINT TO PONDER

"The illusion of quality is more valuable than quality itself."

from Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen

Which is a fiction book, quite funny, but also serious. And
of course, the line above is very true in this day & age; when
most companies don't really seem to care about the quality of
their products, or at least not past the point where it may impinge
on profit margins.

Of course, maybe what's good for the goose is good for the gander...
...the illusion of work is more valuable than work itself...hmmmm.....

WHICH CAME FIRST...

...the chicken or the egg?
Well, if you have a breakfast burrito from
Chick-Fil-A, it has eggs & chicken...

So they come at the same time!!

But while we're on the subject, the real answer is eggs.
Why?
Because dinosaurs laid eggs and came before chickens...so now you know...

DON IMUS

What an asshole...but on the other hand I can remember listening to him

on the radio 30 years ago and thinking the same thing.

That's what he gets paid for, so why is it such a surprise all

of a sudden...

 

Stupid is as stupid does...but so is stupid listens to...

 

RIP:KURT VONNEGUT

 "Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark comic talent and urgent moral vision in novels like Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater caught the temper of his times and the imagination of a generation, died Wednesday night in Manhattan. He was 84."

 

 And another icon from my past gone...

 

Really enjoyed reading his stuff when I was in high school; Cat's Cradle, Sirens Of Titan, Breakfast Of Champions, Player Piano, from what  I remember, probably others. An interesting writer, with a

uniquie point of view, though probably not as well known now as he was in the 60s-70s.
 

AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM IDOL

Have you noticed lately that no one seems to be able to just sing the
National Anthem? Before sporting events, live shows, etc, it seems that
everyone has to have an Anthem singer. Unfortunately, none of the people
seem to be able to just sing it with the dignity which one would think it requires.
Instead, everybody seems to yodel and howl (with vibrato!) as if they were
singing for Simon Cowell & Co. What's up with that...if you want to be on AI, the
for God's sake be on the show; just don't rehearse by singing the National Anthem
in front of thousands of people!

You know, the last time I heard the Anthem sung respectfully, it was sung before a hockey game...

...by a Canadian!!

TIME SHARE STORY...AND MORE

Way back in the ancient past, about 1974 or 75, Phyllis & I went to Atlantic City for a visit.
Of course, back then there was still a lot of things to do on the Boardwalk, and there were no casinos. So this guy comes up to us and tells us if we go look at a time-share we'll get a
free gift. Back then, there weren't really a lot of time-shares, and we'd never heard of it, so of course we went. So they showed us around an old building that was being renovated, none of it finished, and had us 'envision' what it would look like when it was done! Needless to say, we passed on the opportunity (though it's probably worth a small fortune today) and got our free gift...
...a $5 gift certificate to the MR PEANUT Store!!!

Such a deal...

On a side note, the original Spencer Gifts warehouse and outlet store was just outside of town, and nothing like the mall stores of today. Most of what they sold was $1 or $2 items out of a catalog you'd get at home, and the outlet store carried the stuff that was leftover in quantities too small to put in the catalog.

We also ate dinner in a restaurant (Friar Tuck's??) that was in an old church, you actually sat on the old pew benches to eat.

I know it's hard to believe for anyone under 50 or so, but Atlantic City used to be more than just casinos (and slums).

LAST 6 BOOKS READ

1) Cross by James Patterson:While on the trail of The Butcher, Alex finds out more about
his wife's death. The series is definitely winding down to a finish, or so it seems.

2) Alfred Hitchcock Presents Bar The Doors: 13 tales of terror as selected by the master of suspense (or so they claim). Some interesting stories, and a glimpse of what old time terror tales were like.

3) Double Trouble by Greil Marcus: Essays on pop culture, including some drawing comparisons between Elvis and Bill Clinton (no-really!).

4) Appointed To Die by Kate Charles: The new Dean of Malbury Cathedral gets murdered (eventually). The book should have been called Waiting & Waiting To Die, but once the murder finally happens, the rest of the book picks up.

5) A Certain Justice by P.D.James: High profile lawyer gets murdered and Adam Dalgleish investigates.

6) Dark Matter by Garfield Reeves-Stevens: Really odd combination of horror/sci-fi/murder mystery. But a little too much science serves to show how smart the author is, while the detail just slows down the storyline.

WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN?

Right here, actually...just really, really busy at work. Been staring at Excel files for 3 solid months; after a while don't have the energy left to find interesting things to talk about. But, things look like they'll be slowing down a bit now, so hopefully I can get back on track.

Hope you missed me...