tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90762910621003100682024-03-12T18:40:05.577-07:00Classics and CheeseAvid reader, writer, food-lover, and historian of rock-and-roll (1960 - present), fantastic fiction, and just about any topic in the past.MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-49262188422424910612020-05-28T06:14:00.000-07:002020-05-28T06:14:36.894-07:00Forgotten Realms<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I couldn't list all my Star Trek novels without listing all my D&D: Forgotten Realms novels (don't worry D&D fans, Dragonlance is next).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Forgotten Realms was one of the best additions to the D&D universe and after decades still is the genesis for tons of games, novels, and memorabilia. One of my most prized possessions is the Waterdeep City System campaign set that comes with a detailed map of the entire city of Waterdeep that takes up a whole table to lay outSo without further ado, here is a list of Forgotten Realm novels I've read over the years:</span><br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Crystal Shard - R.A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Streams of Silver - R. A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Legend of Drizzt: Exile - R. A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Legend of Drizzt: Homeland - R.A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Legend of Drizzt: Sojourn - R. A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Canticle: The Cleric Quintet - R.A. Salvatore</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Realms of Magic (short story collection) - various authors </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Realms of Mystery (short story collection) - various authors</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Swordmage - Blades of the Moonsea Book I Richard Baker</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pool of Radiance Carrie Bebris</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I read "Swordmage" as an Advanced Reader Copier and wrote a review about it for a magazine years ago, but I'll be damned if I can remember what magazine. I did give it a good review though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Pool of Radiance" I found in a gym-sized book fair buried under a ton of other fantasy novels. It was in perfect condition, and even though I had never played the game, or read the previous books in the series, couldn't help but to pick up and give it a read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have a handful of other Forgotten Realms novels that are on my ToBeRead pile, and I even have one on my e-reader, and I feel an obligation to all the folks who devoted so much to the universe to read at least as many of these as I have the Dragonlance books (see the upcoming post). Looking on the list now, I especially feel this way, because quite frankly that list looks puny.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Forgetfully Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael</span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-10154377659198157512020-05-08T06:15:00.001-07:002020-05-12T05:40:22.402-07:00Star Trek Novels<span style="background-color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: yellow;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm an obsessive list maker - not of what I need To Do, but of trivial things that no one other than myself really care about.<br /><br />For instance, I've been keeping track of all the books I've read since Jan. 1, 1999. I thought I was a freak for doing this, until I found out there are literally thousands of people who keep reading lists and proudly share them with their other reading friends.<br /><br />So... I've read a lot of Star Trek books since the day I discovered science fiction in both print and movie form, and I thought this would be a good place to start. It's not that impressive of a list to Trekkies (or Trekkers or whatever they are these days), but I'm pretty proud of it so far.<br /><br /><b>Generations</b> - J. M. Dillard<br /><b>First Contact</b> - J. M. Dillard<br /><b>The Next Generation: Ship of the Line</b> - Diane Carey<br /><b>Best Destiny</b> - Diane Carey<br /><b>Deep Space Nine: Valhalla</b> - Nathan Archer<br /><b>Deep Space Nine: Warped</b> - K. W. Jeter<br /><b>The Three-Minute Universe</b> - Barbara Paul<br /><b>Probe</b> - Margaret Wander Bonanno<br /><b>Voyager: Incident at Arbuk</b> - John Greggory Betancourt<br /><b>The Next Generation: Nightshade</b> - Laurell K. Hamilton<br /><b>Renegade (#55)</b> - Gene DeWeese<br /><b>Dreadnaught (#29)</b> - Diane Carey<br /><br />I feel like there might be one or two missing from here. Maybe I haven't read as many as I would like to believe. If I think of them, or if I read more (I have one in the queue), I'll update this post.<br /><br />Until Next Time,<br />Michael</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span align="left" style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Star Trek"></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-60150454012892730942019-06-10T15:40:00.003-07:002019-06-10T15:40:50.479-07:00I'm backYes, I'm back.<br />
<br />
Taken away by my workload, school projects, life, etc. etc.<br />
<br />
Can't believe it's been two years.<br />
<br />
And I need to update my currently reading list.<br />
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For those who are curious, I'm reading "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty.<br />
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More updates coming, eventually.<br />
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<br />
Literally Yours,<br />
MichaelMIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-59503417782852744602017-10-23T18:28:00.000-07:002017-10-23T18:28:39.453-07:00Numbers<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So I mentioned in a previous post or two that due to a class I'm currently taking, my reading time would be reduced, but at the same time, that I would be looking for ways to apply what I learn to the world of books and/or publishing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Obviously, it's no surprise that I love words and reading, etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What does surprise people is my fascination with Math. Don't be mislead by that sentence, I'm not saying I'm good at Math, just that I'm fascinated by it. There are even particular hard science fiction books that I've enjoyed because they involve characters interaction with Math (tangent: I did not like Arthur C. Clarke's final novel "The Last Theorem". I thought despite the co-authorship with Frederick Pohl, the novel was poorly written, poorly plotted, and poorly executed. It may have started out as a good idea, but it quickly turned south.) And eventually some of my future posts will involve science fiction novels with math-based themes or plot lines.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVjlCu4xfxR8ZiDB9Ei5FDJg2hHF2ZBo_Zt-ShpnFI1RB67iuHbIs8f7fs62NbWvIFEcy5B1XKrA9JtOqGWcLH7yrxFACaBCm4CsxAPRYqNkEw3qZ0__2Z2Stbi9CXAL7x1wpI-ORxrg/s1600/300-00.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="500" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVjlCu4xfxR8ZiDB9Ei5FDJg2hHF2ZBo_Zt-ShpnFI1RB67iuHbIs8f7fs62NbWvIFEcy5B1XKrA9JtOqGWcLH7yrxFACaBCm4CsxAPRYqNkEw3qZ0__2Z2Stbi9CXAL7x1wpI-ORxrg/s320/300-00.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But Math, like English, is a language, and it's characters represent abstracts and ideas, just like English, and through the language we can better understand the world around us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The one lesson we've covered a lot in my Statistical Analysis (Nanodegree) class is standard deviations, how to calculate it, and what it ultimately means.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Basically, if you have data, you can pick a piece of particular datum and calculate where it lies in relation to all the other data in the population you took it from. In other words, you can calculate how many standard deviations this one particular piece of data is from the mean/average. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I could go much more into the details and how that is discussed, but I suspect many of my regular Cheesy Readers aren't ready for me to suddenly change the regular topics of this blog so quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Maybe as I go, more and more will become fascinated by my path, but maybe others only want to see my final conclusions. Time will tell.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Deviantly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-21148574136801684302017-10-08T14:00:00.001-07:002017-10-08T14:00:03.164-07:00The Ox Bow Incident quotes<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I recently finished "The Ox Bow Incident" by Walter Van Tilburg Clark and thought I'd post some of the more interesting quotes from the book. Keep in mind, I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the quotes I've posted below, but I find them worthy of thought and discussion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm4kO1uxKfIUyPYXWoLZau-azLCXDv-WgBa4aATHA-hKxtkNnwGASYNpybMt_9zWK2s5Df8a4YiKb21fxalmg_7LLO-OYcd2FpfhCkGc6JguwWXDtU_xIKWYgzOoohUWs2X6oaM-BPJg/s1600/46212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm4kO1uxKfIUyPYXWoLZau-azLCXDv-WgBa4aATHA-hKxtkNnwGASYNpybMt_9zWK2s5Df8a4YiKb21fxalmg_7LLO-OYcd2FpfhCkGc6JguwWXDtU_xIKWYgzOoohUWs2X6oaM-BPJg/s320/46212.jpg" width="193" /></a>"Law is more than the words that put it on the books; law is more than any decisions that may be made from it; law is more than the particular code of it stated at any one time or in any one place or nation; more than any man, lawyer or judge, sheriff or jailer, who may represent it. True law, the code of justice, the essence of our sensations of right and wrong, is the conscience of society. It has taken thousands of years to develop, and it is the greatest, the most distinguishing quality which has evolved with mankind. None of man's temples, none of his religions, none of his weapons, his tools, his arts, his sciences, nothing else he has grown to, is so great a thing as his justice, his sense of justice. The true law is something in itself, it is the spirit of the moral nature of man; it is an existence apart, like God, and as worthy of worship as God. If we can touch God at all, where do we touch him save in the conscience? And what is the conscience of any man save his little fragment of the conscience of all men in all time?"<br />"...night is like a room; it makes the little things in your head too important. A man's not clearheaded at night."<br /><br />"All any of us really want any more is power. We'd buck the pack if we dared. We don't, so we use it; we trick it to help us in our own little killings. We've mastered the horses and cattle. Now we want to master each other, make cattle of men. Kill them to feed ourselves. The smaller the pack the more we get."<br /><br />"We're doing it because we're in the pack, and because we're afraid not to be in the pack. We don't dare show our pack weakness; we don't dare resist the pack."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So if you'd like to comment or discuss anything you've read above, or would just like to talk about the book in general, please feel free to comment below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Incidentally Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-32252050634261569592017-05-30T06:38:00.001-07:002017-05-30T06:38:52.197-07:00Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper than Swords<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12585612-game-of-thrones-and-philosophy" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347654134m/12585612.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12585612-game-of-thrones-and-philosophy">Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1393696.Henry_Jacoby">Henry Jacoby</a><br /><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1284396945">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />If you love "A Song of Fire and Ice" and/or the HBO series "Game of Thrones" don't feel as though this is a necessary read to gain any deeper understanding than you probably already have. If you are compelled to suck down every word written about this series, then yes, go ahead and read it. Personally, I love philosophy, but I wasn't able to read more than just a few essays at a time without taking a long break between because of many of the repetitive essays and examples. All in all, I could have spent time reading more worthwhile books.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/13029622-michael-peeples">View all my reviews</a><br />MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-64742146946162946102017-04-06T09:34:00.001-07:002017-04-06T09:34:40.556-07:00Ghost In The Shell - The Quest<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I suppose it's time I weigh in on the remake of the anime classic "Ghost In The Shell".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My knee-jerk reaction to remakes is always negative, but this time was a<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> little different - let's j<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ust </span>say I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'m... apprehensive.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I did<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n't learn about this <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">remake until only a few weeks shy of it<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s release<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> at first <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">became a bit excited because our CGI technology has advanced since this animation was first release<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">d over 25 years ago. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even when I heard Scarlett Johans<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">so</span>n would play the lead, I still held out hope. But as the story line played out in the trailer, my hear<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t sa<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">nk a little.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKCz-iCcZFgviOF_ZZvwWyWGcapl_9AvukBoQU3mjWsC3lIjC-DASyDEaMymDO1KrDFel7af-XWFH8NPMrYhfXXwumJcmXTlmKWNaF8KK-2T1JzqaNF7GRGA21B_p45-QN3G7Wf4PNxM/s1600/Ghost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKCz-iCcZFgviOF_ZZvwWyWGcapl_9AvukBoQU3mjWsC3lIjC-DASyDEaMymDO1KrDFel7af-XWFH8NPMrYhfXXwumJcmXTlmKWNaF8KK-2T1JzqaNF7GRGA21B_p45-QN3G7Wf4PNxM/s1600/Ghost.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From what I can tell, this<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> live<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-action movie is going to focus more on "solving the m<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ystery of her origin<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">" and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">only touch upon </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the philos<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ophical question of whether self-</span>consciousness equals life. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And while there are scenes that mirror the original, it looks like there are plenty of new ones due to this p<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">lot change and addition of a few char<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">acters.<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This at least has <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">basis to be a really good reboot, we'<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ll just have to wait and see.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What I found really <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">sad <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">was th<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">at a young movie reviewer on the Fox News channel made the moronic statement that this film reminded <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">him of <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"The Mat<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">rix" and b<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">elieves this was inspired by the W<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">achowski Brothers film. I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">f that guy had taken two seconds on Google he would have realized it's the other way around. The original 1995 anime insp<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ired <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"The Matrix<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">." Just goes to show that <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the "experts" are<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n't always experts.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Withou<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t actually having watched the film, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm not going to say much more<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - this post isn't meant as a <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">movie re<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">view<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, but</span></span></span></span> I do want to view this remake/reboot wi<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">th an open mind<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">D<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">o I b<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">elieve I'll like it? There is a dec<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ent chance I will.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will I own it? If I like it half as much as <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the original 1995 movie, yes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will I like it more than the original? <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Highly unlikely. T<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">he original will always have that nost<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">algia for me<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - that certain mystique I felt at that age of <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">an ex<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">citing<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, action-packed</span></span> technological future</span></span></span> where artificial intelligence and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">humans team together.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219827/?ref_=vi_tr_mp_t_18" target="_blank">IMDB page</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>of the new <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ghost in the Shell for more in<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">fo</span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Futuristically Yours,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael </span> </span></span></span> </span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-3509974554770128832017-02-01T12:17:00.001-08:002017-02-01T12:17:32.510-08:00Never Meet Your Heroes...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">... or in this case, follow them on Twitter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You may have heard the adage before - "Never meet your heroes." The reason for that is because you learn how human they are and you witness their strengths as well as <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">foibles</span> first ha<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">nd, and sometimes that can be quite disheartening</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Such is the case with Stephen King. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wouldn't call him my hero, but I've enjoyed his fiction since I was a teenager, and have always thought it'd be nice to meet him someday. So when I signed up for Twitter, I began following his account.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've now decided I have to stop. I can't stand to listen to him whine anymore.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I understand that he didn't support Trump. He's even said more than a few times that because of <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the Watergate scandal </span>he refuses to vote Republican ever again. Hey, I'm cool with that. The man has his personal political beliefs, and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">whether</span> I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">agree with his beliefs or not, </span></span>those beliefs don't keep me from enjoying his work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But in the lead up to the November 2016 election and in these months following, his Twitter posts have been predominately political, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">wholly</span> anti-Trump, and have lacked any sort of intelligent thought.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don't get me wrong. I follow plenty of anti-Trump people, and probably the same number of pro-Trump people. Unlike many of my "open-mi<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">nded" friends who imme<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">d<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">iately block anyone who doesn't <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">be<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">l<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ieve exactly like they do, I read both <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">sides of any issue<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">/deb<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ate.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unfortunately, th<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ough, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>King constantly posts whiny little quips that completely lack any sort of depth<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span>wit, or th<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ought</span>. I honestly expected him to...well, be a better writer. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">His tweets are simplistic rehash<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">es of items we've all <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">seen on the news<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> multiple times. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I</span>f <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">he only posted them once in a while, that'd be fine. But he <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">posts mu<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">l<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">tiple times per day - I sometimes wonder if he's even writing fiction any more, seems like all hi<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s time is spent on Twitter now like a teenage girl who can't stop giving updates while at the shopping mall.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My plan is simple<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'ll mute his feed for a while, give <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">him a few months to emotionally recover, and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">then check back in. If he's still going on and on<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, the<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n I'll stop following him. I'll <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">continue to read his fiction<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and I'm sure that King being King, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">like in the past, he'll get in a polit<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ical jab or two. But that's okay<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have faith he'll temper his comments for t<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">he sake of his fiction.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I still like the guy, just can't follow him on Twitter. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm just o<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ne guy among <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">his thousands of <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">followers and loyal <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">re-tweeters, I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">doubt he'll even notice<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I'm gone.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time....</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tweetly Yours,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-69775382554106662752017-01-12T06:19:00.002-08:002017-01-12T06:19:47.295-08:00Okay, So It Was't Exactly a Banner Year...<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, usually these types of posts are written during the last week of a year. But me... Hey, I got busy, so I'm a little late on this topic. Plus, my Year In Reading isn't much to brag about this year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I fell way short of my short story goal, even let my subscription to the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction expire for a while in an effort to get out from under the rising stack of issues I haven't read yet. The number of novels I finished this year is nothing to boast about, although I did manage to read more classic novels than modern novels, including a reread of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," one of my favorites of all time, and squeezed in my annual reread of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4f3Qk51rtBag3evx4G-AtQSbrtHmxWzkdFQq-nVvkbJuDv7mMoHNzsXsiKRFRWlJDwVkt7UFZVspYvkG6jHrY9I7cuseUebbJ9bkc_eFvcjOdlEQ6sthAHzQPejqcGC67239Kez_TII/s1600/51S9-ZVTPCL._SX258_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4f3Qk51rtBag3evx4G-AtQSbrtHmxWzkdFQq-nVvkbJuDv7mMoHNzsXsiKRFRWlJDwVkt7UFZVspYvkG6jHrY9I7cuseUebbJ9bkc_eFvcjOdlEQ6sthAHzQPejqcGC67239Kez_TII/s320/51S9-ZVTPCL._SX258_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="249" /></a>I did read a number of Information Technology books, articles, and essays in an effort to keep up with the industry that pays my bills. Then on a personal level, I kept my head buried in a lot of cookbooks and woodworking books. I lived through a total top-to-bottom bathroom remodel, and adopted an Olde English Bulldog (named Zeus by the previous owner, which sort of brought to my attention that the past three out of four animals I've owned have been named after mythological figures, and five out of the last five pets have been named from fictional characters -- I'm sensing a theme here).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The blogs continue on, not regularly, but enough to let folks know I'm still alive. I tweet at least once per day from at least one of my accounts, but for all purposes have practically sworn off Facebook completely - the last time I logged on to that bit social media was pre-November election, I just couldn't stand the bitterness and hatred BOTH sides were throwing at each other. All I learned from that was how hypocritical both sides can be - each thinking of themselves as "open minded" when in fact, neither of them are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Other than those little tidbits of news, life for me has remained pretty normal - the novel continues, the poetry continues, and I've brought my book hoarding pretty much under control. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So that's it -- the Year 2016 in Review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you have a bit of scrap wood around you're wanting to find a project for, I've linked in two videos on how to build your own Tardis. (If you have to ask what the Tardis is, you're reading the wrong blog). The first one is more instructional by a <a href="https://youtu.be/_BaVax0cArg" target="_blank">by a man in Oakland</a>, and the second one is by a <a href="https://youtu.be/rtWUrJU46M8" target="_blank">nerdy English woman</a> who enjoys poking fun at herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Annually Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael</span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-11549279685931600012016-12-14T21:24:00.002-08:002016-12-15T06:29:19.631-08:00Just How Many Humbugs Are There<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm finishing up my yearly reread of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." I could post a little something about it and its staying power in our culture, but thousands of people before me have done it and said it better than I can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Instead, I thought I'd do what I do best - Make an Irrelevant List.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since I love the book so much and many of the adaptations, I thought I'd give a stab at listing all the movie and television movie versions with the actor or actress who played the part of Scrooge. I won't list the many television cartoon or sitcom recreations because that'd make this list too long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So here, in chronological order, is a list of "A Christmas Carol" adaptations:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scrooge (1901) -cast list unknown</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1908) - Thomas Ricketts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1910) - Marc McDermott</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scrooge (1913) - Sir Seymour Hicks and retitled Old Scrooge for its U.S. release in 1926.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1914) - Charles Rock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Right to Be Happy (1916) - Rupert Julian</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1923) Russell Thorndike</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Old Scrooge (1926) - Sir Seymour Hicks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scrooge (1928) - Bransby Williams</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scrooge (1935) - Sir Seymour Hicks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1938) - Reginald Owen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPscxJeiNc8h7PwPxFzGi7WlhCLS-4DlAgcDSmn2LfM2HLXCv30Gs-xArqEgzytZsUUAB7B6255H1zRq8vb8VWXDbnm6WlGwIC-dFcJjvPi6SKUc07hoKxwrZzyqhAgp86IBas69WyoKw/s1600/Christmas-Carol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPscxJeiNc8h7PwPxFzGi7WlhCLS-4DlAgcDSmn2LfM2HLXCv30Gs-xArqEgzytZsUUAB7B6255H1zRq8vb8VWXDbnm6WlGwIC-dFcJjvPi6SKUc07hoKxwrZzyqhAgp86IBas69WyoKw/s320/Christmas-Carol.jpg" width="320" /></a>Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (1951) - Alastair Sim</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scrooge (1970) - Albert Finney</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - Scrooge McDuck</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - Michael Caine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1997) - Tim Curry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (1999) - Patrick Stewart </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) -voice: Simon Callow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Christmas Carol (2009) - computer animated with Jim Carrey</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Again, this list doesn't encompass the dozens of random cartoon versions that exist, and doesn't include the hundreds of foreign language versions of the book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whenever discussing movie version of this classic tale, the question always comes up: Who is the best Scrooge?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Boss and I only slightly disagree. To her, Alister Sim is the best, closely followed by Michael Caine, and nearly all movie critics agree with her. Personally, I switch the two, Caine followed by Sim. If you haven't watched Caine in the Muppet version, you should give it a try. Honestly, Caine does a wonderful job as Scrooge, but doesn't get the full credit he deserves because it's a Muppet version. The good movie critics, thankfully, give him his due.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So since this is the end of this entry, log off your computer, snuggle in, and either read the book or watch the movie. Slow down, enjoy the Season, and keep Christmas in your heart the whole year long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If I need to convince you, then maybe this <a href="http://movie trailer" target="_blank">movie trailer</a> will help. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spiritly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-8678670607979576042016-11-21T10:30:00.001-08:002016-11-21T10:30:44.797-08:00A Must-Read for Science Fiction and Horror Fans<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been reading some more non-fiction lately than usual - a lot of technical stuff for work, and a lot of food stuff for my <a href="http://notobsessedwithfood.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">foodblog</a>. I did manage to squeeze in a Star Trek novel, and I do manage to hammer out a little more on the fantasy novel everyday, but since March or so, my brain and time have been occupied with things other than keeping you folks on the edge of your seat.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsxLxmxg1j1VRQDgkX1LJS37OuHzA_jiQd8HTcJVGdW7OBqJb4mG_Kww6zY0fRYkoXzv1vwhRKPJKm5RFVsVltR5fKdrkmrrlwJygALRbAsNULOc9K11YODrla7lpDmshOoR9dDQw-l4/s1600/41uV0rigouL._SX294_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsxLxmxg1j1VRQDgkX1LJS37OuHzA_jiQd8HTcJVGdW7OBqJb4mG_Kww6zY0fRYkoXzv1vwhRKPJKm5RFVsVltR5fKdrkmrrlwJygALRbAsNULOc9K11YODrla7lpDmshOoR9dDQw-l4/s320/41uV0rigouL._SX294_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="189" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My last publis<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">hed entry dealt with Mob<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">y Dick (1851), an American classic<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. T<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">his entry<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, th<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ough, will deal with a<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Europ<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ean classic <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">that straddled the shifting literary trend from <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gothic fiction to the slowly <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">building age of Romantic l<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">iterature. You know it as "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. Technically, it's "Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus," but that's usually something only us real geeks know.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's a brilliant novel which explores themes of the general nature of mankind, morality, compassion, vengeance, and revenge. It's nothing like the Universal monster movies that everyone knows; it lacks the iconic character of Igor, who was created strictly for the movies, and Victor Frankenstein is not a doctor. In addition, there is even an entire section where the unnamed "monster" tells his side of the story. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At first, Shelley published it anonymously in 1818 to only fair reviews. A few years later, the reprints included her name, which caused a small handful of critics to argue whether a woman could have written it, and another small handful of critics who said the novel's few flaws were directly because a woman wrote it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With time, as we all know, it has become a classics novel in its own right, and can be credited with being one of the earliest science fiction as horror stories. The story is compelling, enough so that it's difficult to put down at times, and the language is quite beautiful throughout despite the novel's themes and mood. As an example, I thought I might include a few of the more thoughtful quotes below:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When Victor Frankenstein realizes that he's become obsessed with creating life from inanimate flesh:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"If the study to which you app<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ly yourself has a <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy you<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">r <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">taste for those simple pleasures in which no a<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">lloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </i> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuG8rGG_t08HOdUc87Y33-SyZa7xKohgDDx4eXi97F13fqJcovgpacwHFhyphenhyphenKuIikP5YJFYJyGDdEl-vth1gAb1JYtHmv3-jzLcnhKkn1sqEkrIClMv0DZWW6vZWwDN8EzbPk_yZ8w7-8/s1600/tumblr_o0xq2esvr11qz7t0xo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuG8rGG_t08HOdUc87Y33-SyZa7xKohgDDx4eXi97F13fqJcovgpacwHFhyphenhyphenKuIikP5YJFYJyGDdEl-vth1gAb1JYtHmv3-jzLcnhKkn1sqEkrIClMv0DZWW6vZWwDN8EzbPk_yZ8w7-8/s320/tumblr_o0xq2esvr11qz7t0xo1_1280.jpg" width="222" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The point in the narrative when the unnamed creation decides to turn to evil to punish mankind for its sins:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"For the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them, but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream I bent my mind towards injury and death."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And another line spoken by the unnamed creation:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock."</i> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Finally, I've decided to include this last quote as well, solely because the Mel Br<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ooks comedy<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> "Young Fr<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ankenst<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ein<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">" included it when Frederick Frankenstein read from his grandfather's private library, and I'm a geek who is always on the look out for little bits of trivia like this:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"After days and nights of incredible labour<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and fatigue, I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">became myself c<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">apable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Overall, it's a short novel per se, and one that's well worth reading, especially if you've only ever seen movie versions. I've read it multiple times now and I'm always discovering and rediscovering numerous wonderful parts. If you take the time to give it a spin, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Victorly Yours,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael </span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-47991537428086777042016-03-19T06:13:00.000-07:002016-03-19T06:46:21.552-07:00Moby Dick - The MilestoneI must confess. This blogger, when nothing more a young, easily distracted bundle of college party energy, didn't always read all the books he was assigned to read. Yes, yes. There were books I simply either didn't read or only read the absolute bare minimum to pass the test. I skipped parts, read summaries, listened to others talk about the reading assignments, took good notes while in class, but didn't completely read a few of the actual books themselves.<br />
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Moby Dick was one of those books.<br />
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Assigned in American Literature class when I was a student at SIU-Carbondale, I don't recall how I performed on that test, but I ended the semester with a good grade, so I assume I must not have done too bad.<br />
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I never forgot Moby Dick though. What I did pick up from that class made me vow to read it at some point when I didn't have the stress of a classroom deadline and could approach it from a leisurely perspective. I liked the cover art of this particular printing, and it had many of the underlining and side notes I had scribbled in it from class.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGRffLGiuwsDd8ITVf32Fq3eBMVpe7Y0tEJk6rfaK-h6mgLJkJ-2_jRExh6eboOvEYbSOsF1BLauAgdD44vfQ3Nn_cgnvuSumLITLyylDWWwWMcpscuSYFKCpK_voH0c-mGxodGwciMY/s1600/295457-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGRffLGiuwsDd8ITVf32Fq3eBMVpe7Y0tEJk6rfaK-h6mgLJkJ-2_jRExh6eboOvEYbSOsF1BLauAgdD44vfQ3Nn_cgnvuSumLITLyylDWWwWMcpscuSYFKCpK_voH0c-mGxodGwciMY/s1600/295457-M.jpg" /></a><br />
Years passed. And passed. And passed. <br />
<br />
<br />
It never left my sight. Always sitting there on the shelf, reminding me of the promise I made. It even manage to survived The Great Book Loss of the late 1990s when I accidentally donated the wrong box of books and lost some of my favorites. Recently, I took it down from the shelf, really gave it a good thoughtful examination, then began reading.<br />
<br />
I'm glad I did, and I'm particularly glad I waited until I was an adult to do it. I fully believe that my reading now gave me more fulfillment than it would have then, and I also believe that I enjoyed this first reading at this age more than my classmates did from long ago. In fact, I'm convinced that if I had actually read this cover to cover when it was assigned to me, I would have hated this novel much like I learned to hate other great authors because of being forced to read them before I may have matured enough to fully appreciate their work.<br />
<br />
It is a wonderful book, deserving of nearly all of the accolaids it receives, and I can understand why some people cite this as their favorite novel. It's a complex and deep work that honestly deserves multiple reads to fully grasp all the symbolism and philosophical elements it contains.With that being said, though, it is long and at times extremely slow narrative. I found myself thinking, "Oh let's get on with it," more than a few times, and sometimes, Melville's efforts to accurately portray every aspect of a whaler's life is more than is really necessary to make his point. I understand that a whaling voyage was mostly monotonous stretches of time broken up by unexpected and intense moments of action, but that didn't make this any easier to bear.<br />
<br />
I have no doubt that I will randomly pick this up from time to time and reread some of my favorite parts, or even seek out quotes and sections for use in my other writing endeavors. I also have no doubt that I will one day reread it after I catch up on the ton of other books I need to knock off my list. But I can also guarantee that it'll be years and years from now - my brain simply needs the vacation.<br />
<br />
Until Next Time...<br />
Ishmaelly Yours,<br />
Michael MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-81755918406473280482016-01-23T20:52:00.001-08:002016-01-23T20:52:08.850-08:00Further Proof that Hollywood Execs Have No Soul<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The man isn't even dead a month, and Hollywood has started the machinations to reboot <i>Labyrinth</i> (1986).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh yeah, you read that right. They're even casting about for the new Goblin King. Not that David Bowie could have played the part if he was still alive, but doing it so soon after his death just reeks of insensitivity. Of course, Hollywood is in the business to make money, and cashing in on Bowie's cult hit is not beneath them.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeq4VdGiuYG5POaVneTAqvk35-4HItcGGfw6Hc8u2zVPyrtLkj01vouO-EzurmI4knyIwNXa4OVp-QGQr1fV0KHJdYhftp1VIve07JKq5eZRzf3vHxedkpnGAtdATSHbbGN-jlTCT1woc/s1600/labyrinth-bowie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeq4VdGiuYG5POaVneTAqvk35-4HItcGGfw6Hc8u2zVPyrtLkj01vouO-EzurmI4knyIwNXa4OVp-QGQr1fV0KHJdYhftp1VIve07JKq5eZRzf3vHxedkpnGAtdATSHbbGN-jlTCT1woc/s1600/labyrinth-bowie.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Reportedly TriStar Cinema is working with The Jim Henson Company and will be employing one of the co-writers of Guardians of the Galaxy. Any more details are not available and probably subject to change, but the rumor mill says everyone involved is excited about pursuing this.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The original was the last film Jim Henson directed. Monty Python's Terry Jones was the principle writer, and George Lucas was the executive producer. Despite the film’s current popularity and recognition as one of the greatest films from Bowie's movie career, initially it bombed at the box office and didn't earn the following it has now until it was released on video and cable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What this means is that there will be a whole new slew of fans who will enjoy that universe of imagination and visionary wonder that Henson created, and maybe some of those fans will do themselves a favor and venture back to view the original. But for those of us who loved Bowie, he will always be the One True Goblin King, knowing deep in our hearts that the new one is an impostor - or a wannabe at best.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Disgustedly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Michael </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-30293158914565224672016-01-15T19:29:00.000-08:002016-01-15T19:29:01.527-08:00Shannara Surprise and Shock<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Honestly, they caught me off guard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I haven't watched MTV since.... well, let's just say a generation or so, and I haven't kept up with their broadcasting habits. I never expected this, but as I was innocently searching for something else, I was nearly knocked out of my chair when I stumbled upon this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWRegLPeU7m1KYJByUK3YU-j-5oTSnp97kykdFuhyphenhyphen_HEsoXDEWu_yFL5HauQliYgqhx5BUxqybgrLCousTksfNtIXg_4wBXl3VSBKAQlPf3Rj0gVkkoYf2Y4L6rFZMc0mzargMi33W-w/s1600/MV5BMTkxNjEwOTY4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTA2ODk0NzE%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWRegLPeU7m1KYJByUK3YU-j-5oTSnp97kykdFuhyphenhyphen_HEsoXDEWu_yFL5HauQliYgqhx5BUxqybgrLCousTksfNtIXg_4wBXl3VSBKAQlPf3Rj0gVkkoYf2Y4L6rFZMc0mzargMi33W-w/s320/MV5BMTkxNjEwOTY4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTA2ODk0NzE%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" width="216" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">MTV has pushed the two hour pilot of <a href="https://youtu.be/XPrHybyCRzw" target="_blank">The Elfstones of Shannara</a> to YouTube!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I KNOW!!! How great is this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Something I thought I was going to have to wait until they released on DVD/BluRay, I inexplicably found on YouTube. Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to make <a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank">The Boss</a> sit down and watch this one with me. Of course, that screws up my whole idea of rereading the book before watching the adaptation, but dang it, now that it's out there, I can't NOT watch it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Seriously? Could you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I thought not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So in case you didn't know, I had to share. I'm still going to reread the book this spring, and everyone one should, but don't let this opportunity pass. Watch it now before MTV comes to its senses and removes it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Surprisingly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Michael</span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-4317121566918076692016-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:002016-01-11T19:58:18.219-08:00Don't Forget About His Film Career<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With the passing of David Bowie this weekend, many news outlets are focusing on his music career and how much he influenced countless number of current musicians over his four decade career. I admit I have a handful of Bowie CDs I love, and in particular one of which I received from <a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank">The Boss</a> for my birthday a few years back and then played so relentlessly I think she came to regret buying it for me.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhemjqQrgR27sfWLtZ7w8uI_tgsx1ZVnU6rZjYbsS2ypUZPd_sDYqi8CclC63gACvmdfQjg1q5pxai6Xi0vEHhBfqvh46nwY0_ZCR5g6sawSKz5BnsuyxGwBs_XFKVi3zxpTfTmBztQRs/s1600/labyrith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhemjqQrgR27sfWLtZ7w8uI_tgsx1ZVnU6rZjYbsS2ypUZPd_sDYqi8CclC63gACvmdfQjg1q5pxai6Xi0vEHhBfqvh46nwY0_ZCR5g6sawSKz5BnsuyxGwBs_XFKVi3zxpTfTmBztQRs/s1600/labyrith.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">But many don't realize the influence and contribution he had on the fantasy genre book publishing business through his movie career. Many modern female authors of fantastic fiction credit the Jim Henson movie <em>Labyrinth</em> (1986) with directly turning them on to fantasy stories, especially fiction, as a way of recapturing that magical feeling of fairy tales and folk stories that they had had as young girls but had lost as they became teens. After watching that movie with Bowie as the evil Jareth the Goblin King and future Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly as the young teenage girl who wishes her baby brother away, these young future authors began to not only seek out other fantasy stories, but began to write them as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">His role as the Goblin King wasn't his only venture into the world of acting, though. To the previous generation, he was most famous for <em>The Man Who Fell to Earth </em>(1976), and I particularly loved his brief and uncredited cameo as "The Shark" in the movie <em>Yellowbeard</em> (1983). That short fifteen-second scene alone is worth YouTube'ing if you get the chance. He also starred in the television series <em>The Hunger </em>(1999) and did numerous other cameos and voice-overs in cartoons and video games.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Be sure to take a moment to pay tribute to this man who was much more than a musician; he was an actor, painter, and writer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Fame-ously Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Michael</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-25506489582847576722016-01-05T18:57:00.000-08:002016-01-05T19:56:47.300-08:00Step On Up for an 80s Revival<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I never start out the year with a solid reading plan. I usually have a few books in mind I'd like to finish before the end of the year, but that's about as close as I get to any sort of plan. This is usually because my mood determines what book I'll pick next more than anything else.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As mentioned in the previous post, I'm currently reading the <em>Changewind</em> series (1987- 1988, and 1996) from Jack L. Chalker due to all the weirdness that came about its rediscovery. And I do plan to throw in Saberhagen's <em>Swords</em> trilogy (1983-1984) this summer. There is also a reread of <em>The Elfstones of Shannara</em> (1982) I wanted to read before the series began airing, but considering that it starts this evening, the goal has changed to rereading it before the television series comes to a close. I also like to reread at least one book of Tolkien's each year - <em>The Simarillion</em> is on tap this year. Wanna guess when I first read that book?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sensing some common ground here?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Me too, which also got me thinking about other books I loved during that time, especially <em>The Winds of Altair</em> (1983) and <em>Orion</em> (1984) by Ben Bova (which, by the way, garnered some teasing while I was in school because of the unusual cover art), and Hubbard's <em>Battlefield Earth</em> (1982).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguF2xN3o22LOdsHeP9HEGiYocN9__XHzAYj2nHPGXGxgEWiX8YwX6ewrkNFU25p9xNVqZemjtjksif43g6vfQ9rZhPfGID92ZkhK8B07zPXyZWIQHiF5YyWNsETLXbAsrc8vkEU5FWo0g/s1600/Back-to-the-80s-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguF2xN3o22LOdsHeP9HEGiYocN9__XHzAYj2nHPGXGxgEWiX8YwX6ewrkNFU25p9xNVqZemjtjksif43g6vfQ9rZhPfGID92ZkhK8B07zPXyZWIQHiF5YyWNsETLXbAsrc8vkEU5FWo0g/s320/Back-to-the-80s-logo.png" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yeah, that's a lot of 80s science fiction and fantasy for one year, some rereads, some not. But I also have a few classic literature books I'd like to include, and I've promised myself to read more non-fiction. I like to keep up on modern literary novels as well, so I have to throw two or three of them on the pile. Plus I want to keep to my goal of reading 52 short stories in one year because not only do I enjoy the short form, I want to continue to promote the form both in this blog and in other areas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">None of that includes a promised reread of "The First of Heaven" so I can refresh my memory of the <em>Wheel of Time</em> series before tackling the Brandon Sanderson books sometime in the next year or two. I originally read this series as each book was published over the course of the past fifteen years, but got behind around book ten, and I don't trust my memory with everything that's happened from the early and middle books, which means a reread is practically required.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Phew! I've got my year cut out for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But all that 80s stuff is also infused with the launch of Comet Television in my local market. In case you've never heard of it, it's a new science fiction channel that is currently showing a lot of cheesy science fiction films, including a ton of 80s films. If I'm not careful, I really will accidently slip back in time, and my younger self ain't going to be too encouraged when he sees how I've aged (or how he will age, whichever).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All that means is that it's time for me to logon and put a few more pages underneath my belt this evening - I've got a lot of 80s reading ahead of me. Wish me luck!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until Next Time...<br />Radically Yours,<br />Michael</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">P.S. Having no idea where my brain patterns have been focused lately, </span><a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Boss</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> coincidently enough pulled up some old episodes of ALF that we've been rewatching on Hulu. "Now...where's that cat Lucky hiding?" </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-48744652503866993272015-12-29T18:17:00.001-08:002015-12-29T18:17:36.676-08:00Adventures with Misplaced Books<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tell me if this has ever happened to you...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You pick up the first book of some trilogy. You're cruisin' along and at least 150 pages deep when you suddenly lose it. Who knows? Maybe it fell into some blackhole or a magician whisked it away to an ethereal place between realities. Doesn't matter. It's gone and you can't find it anywhere. You know better than to go out and buy a new copy, because the moment you return from the bookstore it'll reemerge and be sitting in the middle of your dining room table smiling at you mockingly, as if to say, "Hi, I've been sitting here the whole time." And while you spend your spare time looking around for the blasted thing, you move onto other books, eventually forgetting about that lost novel. One day a memory of it is triggered though, and you realize it's been twenty years and nine home moves since you've thought about it. You decide to buy it and try again, only to learn it's been out of print for the past ten years. Aaarrggghh!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Hxe3IdkZJmc4VQP0b3gwEUfC2buNmtlKU80MWvvwImHrIr1_9g9IZKj0glUsiO4U2XmuYuXwkcSI1EhoaT2YZHTo26xsin6_ziBrtwdBqD5qtCbkvwYNWwYLkkJlf2sYsDvVdLFxDf4/s1600/n7127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Hxe3IdkZJmc4VQP0b3gwEUfC2buNmtlKU80MWvvwImHrIr1_9g9IZKj0glUsiO4U2XmuYuXwkcSI1EhoaT2YZHTo26xsin6_ziBrtwdBqD5qtCbkvwYNWwYLkkJlf2sYsDvVdLFxDf4/s200/n7127.jpg" width="124" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">That's happened to you, right? Right? No?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sadly, that's happened to me twice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>When the Changewinds Blow</em> by Jack L. Chalker and <em>The First Book of Swords</em> by Fred Saberhagen both fell victim to this bad luck, although it's been so long ago, I don't remember which one got lost first.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hey, don't blame me! I'm not responsible for the actions of some rogue wizard or errant blackhole, I'm just your average scifi/fantasy junkie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now here comes the weird part:<br />At a local library-sponsored bookfair in the recent past, not only did I run across the complete Changewinds trilogy, I also found the entire Books of Swords trilogy and its sequel, Book of Lost Swords trilogy. But wait! It gets stranger... Both trilogies had two copies of the first book!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wlsYnvytiGuQ_N605ZMNh7eTrFYb4GXFk5ghiL0qMK2hq6yM1RMPxyWoYYhtsERVggAH8JFftLLCIY1m4193nHZ9Go504lHpBwLK0LgN5Fjne3NY8jrfDA8Z7mtFkfW8wOq9i71gVFY/s1600/16509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wlsYnvytiGuQ_N605ZMNh7eTrFYb4GXFk5ghiL0qMK2hq6yM1RMPxyWoYYhtsERVggAH8JFftLLCIY1m4193nHZ9Go504lHpBwLK0LgN5Fjne3NY8jrfDA8Z7mtFkfW8wOq9i71gVFY/s200/16509.jpg" width="121" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, even though I live over 100 miles away from where they went missing, I'd be willing to bet that those extra copies of the first books were my original copies, whisked there through some wibbly wobbly timey wimey thing eagerly awaiting my arrival to reclaim them as their rightful owner. So in the middle of this gigantic book fair I'm totally geeking out at this point, and quickly throw all eleven books into my bag (Yes, eleven. I bought both copies of the first books - I'm not taking any chances).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since my "To Read" pile is a queue that is about two years long, I'm just now getting around to reading the first book of the Changewinds series, and maybe this summer I'll start the Swords trilogies. But either way, I'll let you know when I complete them, and if anything "sideways" happens, trust me, I'll let you know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until Next Time...<br />Wobbly Yours,<br />Michael</span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-53452942725495347962015-12-22T18:38:00.002-08:002015-12-22T18:38:49.104-08:00Year End Short Form Review<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's the end of the year, and I've surpassed by goal of 52 short stories for the year (one per week). So I thought I'd take a few moments to mention some of the stories and authors I found memorable and worthy of seeking out longer works by.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"The Traveling Salesmen Solution" - David Erik Nelson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Testimony of Samuel Frobisher" - Ian Tregillis<br />"Five Tales of the Aqueduct" - Spencer Ellsworth<br />"We Are Not Insured Against Murder" - Jay Carey<br />"Sir Pagan's Gift" - Tom Underberg<br />"The Culvert" - Dale Bailey<br />"The Wild Ones" - Albert E. Cowdrey<br />"Embrace of the Planets" - Brenda Carre<br />"Our Little Secret" - Barbara Nadel<br />"The Fox in the Water" - Richard Adams<br />"The Hole in the Sky" - Richard Adams<br />"I'll Follow the Sun" - Paul Di Filippo<br />"The Bomb-Thing" - KJ Kabza</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The best story I read this year was "Yeshua's Dog" by Tim Sullivan and initially published in the November/December 2014 issue of <em>The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction</em>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Next year, I hope to read more - of course, not the number that well-known editor Gardner Dozois reads in a year - but at least ten to twelve more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Supporting short fiction by buying and reading short fiction works is good for the overall fiction publishing industry, especially the authors. So, set your own reading goals. It doesn't have to be as high as mine, but at least set one and honestly try to keep it. You'll be a better person because of it. <wink></wink></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Shortly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Michael </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-17932013261135762702015-12-14T06:43:00.000-08:002015-12-14T06:43:25.063-08:00Who Wants Some Doritos?<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who can watch a late night B-movie without snacks? Doritos, Fritos, Ruffles with French Onion dip, or even the old stand-bys of pizza or popcorn. So with that in mind, I thought it would not be <em>too far</em> off theme to share a recent non-fiction book review about nutrition and modern food processing techniques that I've posted on Amazon, LibraryThing.com, and GoodReads:</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0eJEkB-JWue-n_SbFhc0CFqbBDnL7kKaywrksPzbMB0NT-3FMdBwH8qk8BiWKrVPY4LTzYQufICwyCuLdH5wvnflMsFDH62BPpue1BJ6zNn2fzO_TPXhMXxbrJB3L_bQoIfdBoRbMTg/s1600/the-dorito-effect-9781476724218_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0eJEkB-JWue-n_SbFhc0CFqbBDnL7kKaywrksPzbMB0NT-3FMdBwH8qk8BiWKrVPY4LTzYQufICwyCuLdH5wvnflMsFDH62BPpue1BJ6zNn2fzO_TPXhMXxbrJB3L_bQoIfdBoRbMTg/s320/the-dorito-effect-9781476724218_hr.jpg" width="212" /></a><span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"In <em>The Dorito Effect</em> Mark Schatzker
details the cause of the health crisis today, including obesity and
other preventable diseases, as being a direct result of what we as a
society (and ultimately world economy) have done to our food. In
simplest terms, the link between nutrition and true flavor, and how
modern food is grown and processed may increase yield rates, but
decreases a food's inherent flavor and nutritional value. In response,
we have increased the use of artificial flavors disguised as "natural
flavors" to satisfy our biological cravings for the real flavor and
nutrition, therefore creating a cycle wherein we, as human beings,
continue to eat these "faux" flavored foods in a futile attempt to
satisfy our bodies' needs.<br /><br />He explains that "natural flavors"
aren't so natural, or on the off chance that these "natural flavors"
really do come from natural sources, these flavors are used and placed
within foods that they don't really belong, therefore fooling our
tongues with manufactured deliciousness and creating "the snack
equivalent of crystal meth." And not only is more manufactured flavor
added to our food everyday, the number of availability of those foods is
increasing simply due to cost reduction business decision where yield
is more important than flavor because it is something that can actually
be measured.<br /><br />I was a little disappointed in the ending narrative
when he details a dinner he planned based on a particular strain of
tomatoes. It was cliched, not compelling, and predictable. Thankfully it
only lasted about ten pages.<br /><br />The Dorito Effect, quite simply, is
what happens when food gets blander, flavor technology gets better, and
its consequences to our health."</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Note for my Cheesy Readers: The comment below does not appear on my posted review.</span></em></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></em></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite all the informative and eye-opening information I read in this book, don't think for one minute that I'm going to stop eating these late night bags of goodness. In fact, I think I hear a bag or two calling to me from the local convenience store down the street.</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time...</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nutritionally Yours,</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael</span></span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-36972753746241985302015-11-28T18:12:00.002-08:002015-11-28T18:12:35.745-08:00Thousands of HerculesThere have been thousands of television shows and movies devoted to Hercules. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but if it is, it's not much of one. A simple IMDB or Wikipedia search shows that Hercules has been the subject of the visual media since the early days of film, if not the protagonist at least an active character.<br />
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<br />
The other night I had the chance to watch two versions I hadn't seen since the 1980s. Lou Ferrigno starred as the demigod in these cheesy Italian-backed classics, <em>Hercules</em> (1983) and <em>The Adventures of Hercules II </em>(1985). All things considered, the special effects weren't too terribly bad considering the low budget and the tools were available at the time. If you get the chance, look those up and have a little fun. (Note: The next weekend, the same channel showed <em>Hercules versus the Mongols </em>(1964), which pitted Hercules versus Attila the Hun.)<br />
<br />
Of course, as my highly educated Cheesy Readers know, the Ferrigno movies weren't the Italians' first foray in the annuls of Herculian lore. They pumped out a lot of myth-based films in the 1950s and 60s when they weren't busy filming Westerns, and many of these films are available super cheap in DVD box sets.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoFbLUiCk5YyiPTC7SzHyhAVBCYhwXOJTnxT-06An_umnd5tWrS26XGfEBSQcQUokoRxm2wHFagvSY3YE6is0u_jwqyH3lCA3Wz0b3lczsnvKI9knKMFuUFPQ3IoJM7tJaPNiAiKbhiI/s1600/MV5BMTg4ODAwNDg5OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODgxMjkyMQ%2540%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoFbLUiCk5YyiPTC7SzHyhAVBCYhwXOJTnxT-06An_umnd5tWrS26XGfEBSQcQUokoRxm2wHFagvSY3YE6is0u_jwqyH3lCA3Wz0b3lczsnvKI9knKMFuUFPQ3IoJM7tJaPNiAiKbhiI/s200/MV5BMTg4ODAwNDg5OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODgxMjkyMQ%2540%2540._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" width="135" /></a>Pop quiz time: What was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first American film? Obviously, it was <em>Hercules in New York </em>(1969).<br />
<br />
And who can forget the <em>Hercules: The Legendary Journeys</em> starring the skinniest of all Hercules Kevin Sorbo in the 1990s. It had such a large following that there was even two spin-offs, <em>Xena: Warrior Princess,</em> that ratings-wise did just as well as the Sorbo series, and <em>Young Hercules</em>.<br />
<br />
Disney got in on the craze with their own movie and animated series, and in the most recent American version of the legend, Dwayne Johnson took a crack at the title role. Our half-man half-god is scheduled into the plotline of the ABC series <em>Once Upon a Time</em>, and has made multiple appearances in hundreds of cartoon, including Sailor Moon. He's been in outer space, in particular the planets Venus and Mars, and even spent time hanging with Superman. But of course, the most memorable of all Hercules appearances was when he starred with the three greatest comedians of all time in <em>The Three Stooges Meet Hercules</em>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6xxm9fszPHsPEgzIrtprOQDQJvtdFp5Xg1vhCU6qGmu9EhjWD8dA88YPW6VSu7p7ZSqb7MBDUV1t8RseM-i-5OD8hyphenhyphenldQC6mq21JmH8se8ZzcBoxh48FZyWX4yxbV8JRTMDuFbgrXg8/s1600/MV5BMTQ4ODA5MTA4OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjMyODM5MTE%2540._V1_SX214_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6xxm9fszPHsPEgzIrtprOQDQJvtdFp5Xg1vhCU6qGmu9EhjWD8dA88YPW6VSu7p7ZSqb7MBDUV1t8RseM-i-5OD8hyphenhyphenldQC6mq21JmH8se8ZzcBoxh48FZyWX4yxbV8JRTMDuFbgrXg8/s200/MV5BMTQ4ODA5MTA4OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjMyODM5MTE%2540._V1_SX214_AL_.jpg" width="135" /></a>So why so many films involving Hercules? It's quite simple. Hercules is a half-god, half-man with the strength of a god, but mankind's foibles. Other than his twelve labors and a few mentions in a handful of other stories, 80% of his life has plenty of elbow room to elaborate on and give writers plenty of wiggle room to weave their own stories. What tale-teller can resist using this made-to-order and easy to recognize character for their own purposes? Quite simply, the character of Hercules has become the Go-To Guy for hero stories throughout the ages. But not only that, an action star with great muscularity but questionable acting abilities can star in a high-action film in which he can show off his muscles, wield a sword in cool on screen fights, and have a nearly naked damsel cling to him for protection. Only Conan can offer the same kind of on screen flexibility.<br />
<br />
Until Next Time...<br />
Herculianly Yours,<br />
MichaelMIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-39062586777683482432015-11-17T06:31:00.000-08:002015-11-17T06:31:09.833-08:00What's the Diff?<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's the age old question. Wise men throughout the years have debated this. Their long white beards, thick black spectacles, some even with pipes that they light with stick matches as the scent of cherry tobacco fills the air.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I even Googled it, searching among the mass knowledge available to modern researchers, hoping to stumble upon some collective knowledge of the matter. Answers came back from years ago. Posts that were dated as far back as 2005 and later (gasp).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>The Answer:</em> Nobody knows.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you the question, Cheesy Readers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DKtZrG2jnkpmZu5cVOEeHZa2s2jRrbpjXm_Yo2N3dp1QxdOQXmQGzLquKqp8e1VJ3jjtaNKWEwd_oRa1k_7Imq7uOVp8N3TkMgbP6PorbCZ9OFddMWvV-l9plsTDpUdhCI1dT2j8QEw/s1600/AHMDEC2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DKtZrG2jnkpmZu5cVOEeHZa2s2jRrbpjXm_Yo2N3dp1QxdOQXmQGzLquKqp8e1VJ3jjtaNKWEwd_oRa1k_7Imq7uOVp8N3TkMgbP6PorbCZ9OFddMWvV-l9plsTDpUdhCI1dT2j8QEw/s320/AHMDEC2015.jpg" width="216" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"What is the difference between <em>Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine</em> and <em>Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine</em>?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've read many issues of both and I certainly can't tell the difference, nor do I have any real preference. I like the tradition and history of Ellery Queen, while at the same time, I grew up listening to "Alfred Hitchcock Ghost Stories for Young People" available on 33 1/3 rpm records from my local library. So for me it's always been a debate of Tradition versus Nostalgia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Further clouding the debate is that both magazines are owned by the same publisher (Penny Press, a division of Dell Publishing). From what I can tell, they are two separate entities, although their webpages link to each other. Ellery Queen has a plug from Stephen King at the top of its page; Alfred Hitchcock has no plug from anyone on its site. Both magazines follow the same basic format, and their webpage layouts are nearly identical. They have two separate editorial staffs, and writers concur that a submission to one is not a submission to the other. It's not usual for a budding writer to be rejected by one magazine only to be accepted by the other. Even to writers they've published the distinction isn't clear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix521KrvqLpe5u0P_TsiK7WRz94PawY_YbitNDRgXLCPqpeLm1vD6Xsgn7SDdzCxcZIa7BRqhbA9if538TflpibHnaaOxXuoVrj54e6jPW9dBdAz3OV4bGZGp6_TzckknC-Jmba2xsJzw/s1600/EQMDEC2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix521KrvqLpe5u0P_TsiK7WRz94PawY_YbitNDRgXLCPqpeLm1vD6Xsgn7SDdzCxcZIa7BRqhbA9if538TflpibHnaaOxXuoVrj54e6jPW9dBdAz3OV4bGZGp6_TzckknC-Jmba2xsJzw/s320/EQMDEC2015.jpg" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix521KrvqLpe5u0P_TsiK7WRz94PawY_YbitNDRgXLCPqpeLm1vD6Xsgn7SDdzCxcZIa7BRqhbA9if538TflpibHnaaOxXuoVrj54e6jPW9dBdAz3OV4bGZGp6_TzckknC-Jmba2xsJzw/s1600/EQMDEC2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Collective Wisdom on message boards and forums seem to have no consensus on the differences. One person says the EQMM has been quality writing, another says the quality has fallen off enough that in ten years it'll be out of business (that was posted in 2005, and so far, I haven't heard a peep about either publication folding). Another keeps his subscription to EQMM because he used to love receiving it in the mail when he was young. Some say one will take "blue" language while the other doesn't, but everyone seems confused about which is which. More than a handful of readers subscribe to both simply because they love reading and love reading mysteries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All of which brings me around to my original dilemma. What's the Diff? Yet another universal enigma that shall always remain unanswered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Perplexedly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Michael</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-4433047369402331662015-11-11T19:15:00.000-08:002015-11-11T19:33:55.593-08:00How Times Flies When You Read a Lot of Books<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unpacking and reshelving books after a move revives the love of those books and also serves as a reminder as to why you kept them. Granted, some make you wonder why you bothered to keep and move them, but many make you look back at them with a sense of nostalgia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm sure I've mentioned before that I keep an Excel sheet of everything I've read since the late 1990s. It's helpful for many reasons, including the observation of trends in my reading habits, but it's especially helpful for two distinct reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShXWR_vRbVXsa2VVJF_vdjAI1vbbJSEQUOGqLsGgPA9DsvYnzqj_RO6AaazOHA9W5dMS8kwtJsww4ZdNTf6ztNsFFP3hM8rb95iQZwNjE0ELY0S_vGps50T5El0Oa-q3FS9gnwPs3N1o/s1600/358859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShXWR_vRbVXsa2VVJF_vdjAI1vbbJSEQUOGqLsGgPA9DsvYnzqj_RO6AaazOHA9W5dMS8kwtJsww4ZdNTf6ztNsFFP3hM8rb95iQZwNjE0ELY0S_vGps50T5El0Oa-q3FS9gnwPs3N1o/s320/358859.jpg" width="187" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For instance, the Arthur C. Clarke short-story collection <em>The Other Side of the Sky</em>. At first I couldn't remember if I had read it or not. Reading the table of contents didn't help, and neither did reading the first few sentences of some randomly picked stories. So I pulled out the ol' Excel sheet, went back through the ages, and sure enough, I had read it. I scanned the notes I made and the stories came flooding back to my memory. I can even remember reading them on my lunch break at work, but when I saw the date when I read them, the shock nearly ruined my morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2007!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Holy Crap! Eight years ago! My memory of reading them is so vivid, it hardly seems like eight years ago. If I had had to guess, I wouldn't have guessed any more than five, and I would have considered that a stretch. When I scroll through all the stuff I've read since then, I can clearly see that the timeframe is accurate, just hard to swallow. Once I calmed down, I felt the urge to go back and reread those stories since I enjoyed them so much the first time. But Alas! The pile of books I haven't read yet awaits. And while I will reread these stories one day, they will just have to sit quietly on the shelf. Oh! The Lament of the Constant Reader: So Many Books, So Little Time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time...<br />Nostalgiacly Yours,<br />Michael</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">p.s. If you do get a hold of that Clarke book, or have access to some of his short works, I highly recommend "The Star", "The Nine Billion Names of God", "The Wall of Darkness", and "The Songs of Distance Earth" (which later evolved into a novel of the same name that I've read twice).</span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-73142976364544680702015-10-29T21:10:00.000-07:002015-10-30T06:51:08.114-07:00Lovecraft Inspired by Melville? Maybe.<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I haven't read <i>Moby Dick (1851)</i> by Herman Melville since an American Literature class I took at SIU-Carbondale about <censured> X-years ago. Many moons later, I set a goal to read every story written by H. P. Lovecraft. I know that Melville walked the edges of atheism, the man v. nature theme, and the definition of good and evil in this example of Romanticism from the American Renaissance. Then decades later Lovecraft (1890-1937) dealt with many of the same themes, focusing on man's relation and place in the vast, cold, uncaring universe through the avenues of horror and science fiction, but I never thought to include them in the same breath.</censured></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjA8W6uNtunbasdsw_UGmXNcZrKfU7gZD_WoStvtua7oHqnPOclm03Dmnca2DSdaBD9D5T2aTDTTMwwb-4rDMlntIo8WevKTLU_z3nTs5wunuuwX1wn2OgZhdfFOPNti1k9lSzcPPTVc/s1600/moby_dick_book_cover_by_mario0357-d6rt002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjA8W6uNtunbasdsw_UGmXNcZrKfU7gZD_WoStvtua7oHqnPOclm03Dmnca2DSdaBD9D5T2aTDTTMwwb-4rDMlntIo8WevKTLU_z3nTs5wunuuwX1wn2OgZhdfFOPNti1k9lSzcPPTVc/s320/moby_dick_book_cover_by_mario0357-d6rt002.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until today...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was sitting in <strike>hell</strike> the dentist's office reading Chapter 42 "The Whiteness of the Whale" from Moby Dick when the second paragraph so reminded me of Lovecraft that I actually stopped reading for a moment, reminded myself that I was in fact reading a book published nearly 40 years before Lovecraft was born. I reread that paragraph, and then continued to read the rest of the chapter <u><i>as if</i></u> I was reading Lovecraft. This gave me an entirely new perspective on the chapter, lending it a depth I had never appreciated before - serving yet as more proof that each of us should reread the classics and other books we love, because each time, we bring more life experience and wisdom to the pages, creating a new experience to cherish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And while I usually don't like transcribing long passages in this blog, I'll make a exception this time because I think if you've ever read Lovecraft, you'll see what I saw:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlk1AD5CmWkclcyfuahE__0Et4k4VaABRkD99YGfFvxRggzM5pU9fo-Vv746lNrgPCgar76slKOXAXETVegIWeGWRpte20psptJKtmc0AwHNyXDzj9KYA6-nUql5vHWcZY5OK4DJnLxo/s1600/mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlk1AD5CmWkclcyfuahE__0Et4k4VaABRkD99YGfFvxRggzM5pU9fo-Vv746lNrgPCgar76slKOXAXETVegIWeGWRpte20psptJKtmc0AwHNyXDzj9KYA6-nUql5vHWcZY5OK4DJnLxo/s320/mountain.jpg" width="190" /></a><i><span style="font-size: small;">"Aside from those more obvious considerations touching Moby Dick, which could not but occasionally awaken in any man's soul some alarm, there was another thought, or rather vague, nameless horror concerning him, which at times by its intensity completely overpowered all the rest; and yet so mystical and well nigh ineffable was it, that I almost despair of putting it in comprehensible form. It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me. But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be for naught."</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Throw in a few more adverbs, and I bet your average reader couldn't tell who wrote that paragraph. All the elements of Lovecraft are there: the nameless horror, despair at relating those feelings into words, but compelled his experiences to mankind. So while Melville may never have been sited as an influence of Lovecraft, we can probably assume that at some point Lovecraft read Melville along with the other writers of the American Renaissance (including Melville's contemporary and friend Nathaniel Hawthorne), we could possibly argue that in some way, the tone and theme's of Moby Dick subconsciously infused their way into Lovecraft's writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I may be totally wrong here, or just a guy who reads too much, but I can now read Melville and Lovecraft in a whole new light, and learn to appreciate their work from a much deeper point of view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hermanly Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Michael</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(While my Lovecraft epitome was a coincidence this year, last year it wasn't. If you want to read more about my Lovecraft habit, you can read last year's blog <a href="http://classicsandcheese.blogspot.com/2014/10/tis-season.html" target="_blank">'Tis the Season</a>.) </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-66305805091163859812015-10-17T07:27:00.001-07:002015-10-17T07:27:22.085-07:00UPDATES: I'm Back! and some other random stuff<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the spirit and vernacular of classic science fiction B-movies, I haven't kept the captain's log up to date lately because <a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank">The Boss</a> and I relocated Headquarters to a larger homebase that puts us in a better vantage point to carry out our future missions. (<i>Translation: We moved into a new house.</i>) Our new Command Center is more spacious and allows for expansion into the realms of possibilities than the previous locale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim15i5iFToY5PvP8kdskko_KCjIiqURdgzbAtJptodQ48rwcUwo5HYaOpyn3jNWaTA6wmxCnoFcZLZg68-JbWkSgho96qYczpp-4y0NmMyeU1gQfkve4RPac3qbHchcuoQxCGgsLWbpCc/s1600/Orbital_office_complex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikClkkrOTeoJDV9Xb88UbnBtLa_2a9PZ4vvH9XouFnHmBANAr8BYgqkeE3qIaMg44gPPU96PiAeOzPChapVXNBGsFrakcCGArihmM8T7ZHBHPvY8SXOmNTlXx6ZwG6msiNhmJuyaCfFKo/s1600/SatelliteOfLove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikClkkrOTeoJDV9Xb88UbnBtLa_2a9PZ4vvH9XouFnHmBANAr8BYgqkeE3qIaMg44gPPU96PiAeOzPChapVXNBGsFrakcCGArihmM8T7ZHBHPvY8SXOmNTlXx6ZwG6msiNhmJuyaCfFKo/s320/SatelliteOfLove.jpg" width="320" /></a>The immediate, short-term disadvantage though was that the first week or so we couldn't locate seasonally appropriate DVDs to watch; the box with all our fun Halloween movies was buried among a mountain of boxes. So the first night here, I found a copy of the cheesy 80s movie <i>Elvira: Mistress of the Dark</i> on a YouTube channel and, as appropriate, fell asleep late into the night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We've found the movies now, and I plan to carry out my yearly traditional rewatching of both the Carpenter and Rob Zombie versions of Halloween, as well as a few other movies I reserve for this time of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But all this really means though is that now that we are getting settled in our new Satellite of Love, I can once again devote time to bringing you my latest opinions, thoughts, and rants. So stay logged in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">******* </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since <a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank">The Boss</a> and I aren't as active outdoors now as we were this past spring and summer, my Twitter activity has declined as well. My followers know that I would occasionally post science stories if they seemed to lend themselves to something related to science fiction topics, or even something that had previously appeared in science fictions stories. I will continue to do this, but more frequently now and over a wider range of topics. At this time I don't envision myself having "Science Moments" blog postings like <a href="http://www.tamaras-studio.com/" target="_blank">The Boss</a> does, but I'm not ruling that out either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That should do it for now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Orbittally Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael</span> MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076291062100310068.post-89265915563004123232015-09-11T19:43:00.001-07:002015-09-11T19:43:43.884-07:00Shannara comes to MTV<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few moons ago I heard rumblings of the world of Shannara being brought to television. Unfortunately, I became so distracted by this recent rash of remakes, that not only did I lose track, I completely forgot this was in the works.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In July MTV released a three minute trailer with clips and interviews about the January 2016 premiere of the ten episodes that recently wrapped up shooting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/crjkQHnDYu0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/crjkQHnDYu0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had meant to reread the first few books of the series before its premiere, starting with <i>The First King of Shannara</i>, which <i>chronologically</i> in the first book of the entire series, but because of the high number of books still sitting on my "To Be Read" pile, I haven't quite gotten there yet. I've bumped it near the top though, so soon I'll be deep into the Four Lands again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I didn't know where MTV was going to begin the story, but they those to start with the second book of the original series, <i>The Elfstones of Shannara</i>, the story of Wil Ohmsford who accompanies Amberle Elessedil on her quest to create a new Ellcrys, a magical tree that serves to banish all demons from the Four Lands. Oddly enough <i>Elfstones</i> was the first book I read of the series nearly twenty years ago. Unknowingly at the time, I read the first two books out of chronological order, but that is the great thing about the first few books of the Shannara series - they can be read independently and out of order, and the reader won't be lost or feel as if some backstory is missing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now as I watch the trailer, I'm excited to see this incarnation of a yet another fantasy series I grew up loving, so I thought I'd share the clip here for all my Cheesy Readers. Enjoy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Magically Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael </span>MIchael Peepleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105721106202167856noreply@blogger.com0