December 1
Here are the latest videos posted to Youtube:
25 Below and Getting Colder song written and performed by Brad Sondahl
Daisy Bell or Bicycle Built for TwoThe Bear went over the mountain
The Ants Go Marching performed by Brad SondahlBooks and other media of note |
Stewball by Peter Bowen Even
though the constant drinking, smoking, self righteousness, and terse
dialog of Gabriel DuPre can be a little over the top, these are fun
Montana novels. Cobra Alliance by Timothy Zahn Although I'm generally able to go along for the ride on this series about augmented soldiers, it seemed a glaring plot hole that, although the host on the planet the protagonist arrives on professes ignorance to inviting her, yet his son picks her up at the space port, rescuing her from a tight jam... Blind but Now I See by Kent Gustavson This book kept me up at night, with emotional tales from the life of the famous flat-picker, Doc Watson. Although by the end the many accolades from loads of famous musicians got a bit cloying, over all it's a great and revealing portrait of the life and times of Doc Watson. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham Although this mostly seemed an angst driven satire about suburban Christmas celebration, Grisham is a good enough storycrafter to keep you guessing. This was my first Grisham novel--I don't expect it's fair to judge his work by a Christmas special, but I didn't like the tone or plot enough to start mining for more of his work. The Everyman Collected Short Stories of Raymond Chandler These stories were mostly long for short stories, short for novellas--probably first published as serials in The Black Mask magazine. Several became the basis for his longer novels. The later ones were interesting in departing from gritty realism into what is now termed Urban Fantasy. The preface contains an interesting timeline on his life and times, but neglects to tell the publication dates of the stories themselves... Tangled 3D (Film) If you haven't seen a 3D movie in their recent incarnation, this is a good one to start with. The story flows, with strong characters and lots of humor, and no bad taste. Martian Time Slip by Philip K Dick. 1964. This book starts as an extremely lame Martian settlement fantasy, rather surprising given that by 1964 a few basic facts about Martian temperatures and atmosphere should have been known. But in spite of Mars sounding a lot like parts of southern California, the plot, when it gets rolling, is mind bending as well as time bending, combining themes of land speculation and precognitive autistics. Gabble gabble gabble! Film: Double Indemnity I've been reading the collected short fiction of Raymond Chandler, so when I ran across this at the library I decided to give it a try, since I'd just read that Chandler, with director Billy Wilder, contributed the screenplay. It's a heart of Noir film--no winners--just a depressing sense of loss. As such, I prefer films like the Maltese Falcon, even with the cynical last line--"I'll wait for you, baby..." Hammett's Falcon is a more careening plot, although this film has its twists as well. It's worth the viewing to see affable Fred MacMurray in a heavy role... |
INBMA |