Everywhere I go and Everywhere that I went...

Everywhere I go and everywhere I went, I'd look for and/or talk about books.

Airports

Airplanes

Grocery stores

Drinks/dinner with friends

Drinks/dinner with strangers

Chicago

Denver

St. Louis

Phuket

London

Rome

Memphis...

Every bookstore I go to and every book store I went to,  I kept seeing this author: Lisa Scot-to-line, Lisa Scottoline, but I've never read her.  Author of twenty lawyer-esque mystery's based mostly in Philly, Ms. Scottoline has been quite successful both in and out of the literary world.

Twenty books. That's a lot.  If you've ever tried to write a book ( full disclosure, I have) it's not easy. It's downright hard. So twenty best sellers, she must be good, right.

You darn tootin' she's good. 

So, as I most often do, call it an addiction, I'll buy all the books of an author than categorically file them in my fiction section or non fiction based on the genre and subject matter, of my library (guesstimated to be 4,000) with the pleasurable intention of reading them some day.  So with Ms. Scottoline, I did just that. Well, over the course of a few years I did.

 I would pick up one or a few of her books at Barnes and Noble STORE, not a web site, or at HalfPrice Books, again a STORE not a website.  ( caps used for emphasis of the love of a book STORE and all that it entails). Until just this past spring I had all of hers. Yes all twenty of them. She has also written four non-fiction books which I've yet to pick up during my journey.

As I'm writing this blog and taking a photo to include, I discovered this shocking dilemma: I don't have all of them...yet!  I'm missing two. Everywhere that I went I was certain I had all of her books.

But until that next exciting trip to the bookstore( visited two today) to complete my Scottoline selection, I'll continue reading what I have, so that everywhere I go and everywhere that I went I can say I have read or at least have all of her books.

And...Everywhere That Mary Went she might have too.  Who's Mary? She's the character in Scottoline's first fictional tale, the title? Yep you guessed it:

Everywhere That Mary Went




For a complete and chronological list of books visit her website: Lisa Scottoline




Happy Reading,
Mike

PS. Teach a Child to read and their world will be endless.

Climbing a tree, hoping the circle will be unbroken?

 Over the 4th of July weekend I climbed a tree. It was tall, full of branches and leaves. Some branches old, but as strong as the truth of oak. Leaves in abundance, over 5000 at last count. Yes I scaled this tree in a journey to learn more about it. Ya see, this tree is one of my families history  stretching to the heavens for miles and miles, budding leaves of knowledge and heritage. Some I knew of, while others were foreign but held purpose.

 Back to the mid 1700s thus far, a part of this tree started to grow. Full of , "doctors and lawyers and such" , a verse from a song yet a lineage of my existence.

 As I studied this tree with my beautiful Mother, learning things of new and old, a  circle started to gather.  An arc of close and yet distant relatives, cousins and kin. Some not seen in years while others just a summer ago.  Some last seen have gone now, past on unexpectedly, but leaving us with memories of laughter, warmth and love. A void that reminds me of a song about a circle.

We start to form another circle under a tree, touching that "..green green grass of home.."  with a soft summer breeze of smiles blowing through our hair and a dusting or two of melancholy and remembrance.  

 Words spoken of laughter, traditions and trust.

 What I know of this tree I climbed has barely scratched its bark. Theres much more to learn, to absorb and to grow with.  I wish to revisit this tree in months and years to come and learn more to strengthen the trust that this family circle no matter how torn and tattered will continue to be unbroken.

There's a few iterations of a song, beginning with AP Carter, patriarch of the first family of country music, the Carter family, then in recent memory, the Nitty Gritty Dirt band who put an album together and subsequent video and kept it relevant in our society's consciousness. The video, includes Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Roger McGuinn, Rosanne Cash, John Haitt, Chet Atkins, Bruce Hornsby, June Carter Cash, Emmylou Harris,, Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Levon Helm and many others. A link is included below.

It's a song of spirit and loss but also of strength, love and family. A song that my family, immediate and extended, holds dear. Dear as the limbs stretch to the heavens, the leaves abundant and full of memories, and a love that forms  a circle that will always remain...unbroken.

Will the circle be unbroken, bye and bye Lord bye and bye..

 

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

 

Boston Terrorist On the Cover of the Rolling Stone...and 911 calls

There's been an outcry both on social media and in political circles( Boston Mayor letter of criticism)  on Rolling Stones magazines cover showing the Boston bomber on it's latest issue.

I guess the question I have is, history has shown that magazines have covered similar subject matters, was there an outcry then? I don't know, just asking.  Hitler, Bin Laden, Charles Manson come to mind.

What's different from Rolling Stone vs Time Magazine? Time Magazine did the same thing with the Columbine shooters. What am I missing here? Journalistic freedom or abuse there of or blatant insensitivity?

Either way, TV, Newspapers, Magazines 'celebritize' violent acts by reporting names of the perpetrators in their issues and covers. Unfortunately we see it time and time again. Columbine, Newtown CT,  Tucson AZ, Aurora CO, Virginia Tech,  how's RS's decision  any different? Perhaps they're providing rock star treatment? Or as this subscriber has witnessed, RS has been making a much stronger play to report on more than just music for years.

Is Rolling Stone considered a news publication? Review the many years of past issues and decide. Entertainment photos, musically and cinematically as well as politically. Their interviews and articles have ranged from the Vietnam war to politics to drugs to sex and of course music,  you name it and they've probably covered it.

Their name and history alone speaks to rock stardom and celebrity. Have they crossed the line?

If we're angry at RS, we should be angry with TV and other media outlets and prohibit the release of photos/names of those criminals and instead of 'promoting it' and be more sensitive.

By no means do I condone it( and no I'm not cancelling my subscription), I'm just stating a fact: Sensationalism sells and good journalism does to.  The mere fact that social media is discussing it is in itself doing what RS wants, publicity, directly or indirectly.  How's the saying go? "There's no such thing as bad publicity" as associated with PT Barnum. Well, relatively speaking any way.  But it's a sad fact, sensationalism sells. Unfortunately, it comes at the price of sensitivity and respect to those that have suffered from acts of violence. Could they have shown photos of the victims, sure, but would that have garnered as much attention? Again, it speaks to publicity.

Or are they wishing to debate a cultural issue:  "How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster",  as the cover states.

Sensitivity and journalism can long be debated, it has for many years and will continue. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Information Act allows our American society to speak, either verbally or written; freely.

Let's take 911 calls for instance, what's the real value of releasing to the general public the sometimes gut wrenching recordings of victims on 911 tapes?  What social value does that bring? Freedom of Information act? Please!! 

Imagine you're a victim or you've lost a loved one or a friend by the result of a violent act and the 911 call for help is re-broadcasted on your local and national news.  Do we need to relive these moments? There's sensitivity and privacy at stake here. What's the real social value here? My view is we prohibit the airing of these calls, period.

A magazine decides to sell their publication with a terrorist on the cover and other news organizations, TV and internet are doing the same thing, so the questions remain:

What's different and where do we as a society draw the line?

Live at the Troubadour

As complex as the times were, the music was simple in its purity.

 

Carole King, James Taylor, Jackson Browne,  Crosby and Nash, Eagles, Cheech and Chong ( yes, really) and more took part in the platform of Doug Weston's Troubadour.

 

Weston - complex; the music - pure.

 

Think of your favorite faded jeans, your favorite shirt, your favorite shoes or chair and bury yourself in the comfort of a look back to a time when the country was changing and music was changing too.

 

To this music fan, there's nothing more innocent than the soft strum of an acoustic guitar and lyrical messages that comfort ones soul during reflection, bad times or good, and the pleasure of the company of an old friend.

 

History of music, history of our country, an education of music royalty, watch "Troubadours - The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter"  and transform yourself back to the rage and age of innocence of the late 60s and early 70s.

 

For lovers of this musical history era and for those lovers of music in general, your library isn't complete nor are you doing your musical knowledge justice if you don't own this CD/DVD treasure.

 Peace, Love and Happiness.

The Voice has been silenced..

...well at least one of them.

With the recent announcement of Amazon ending it's affiliate program in the State of Minnesota, the ability of earning money for bloggers has been severely limited.

Good or bad, the decision does ponder a question of creativity and money making.

As the saying goes, " ...follow your passion."  One of my passions is writing. But as I would blog or write, that little dollar sign voice in my head would scream 'how should I write this post in a way that could make me money?'.

Well that voice has been silenced.  Now, some people may point out that I still hear voices in my head, perhaps that is true, however, with Amazon's decision, my motivation has been cleansed of any 'doing it for the money' virus and purifies my creativity back to my original passion, free of any thoughts of how to write to make money and do just that....write.

If the stars were to align in the great cosmos in the skies, perhaps my blog, writing skills and content would one day be noticed and someone would find it worthy of more than a few shillings and pence. 

For those that did support my blog by purchasing books through it, I thank you.  For those that continue to read and comment, I thank you even more.

So it's onward with my passion and now a bit quieter with one less voice inside my head.

Huh? What was that, did you say something?  Shh...I'm writing.

Thank you.

Is the truth stranger than fiction? NSA, Verizon and The Broken Window

Back in June of 2011, I blogged about a novel by Jeffery Deaver called, The Broken Window.  The recent leak or discovery of  the National Security Administration tracking cell phone calls, records, etc. reminded me of this great thriller. 

Fictitious in nature, Deaver digs into data mining and the consequences of that data if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Every phone call, web search, GPS route and destination and credit card scan is tracked by one company. A very timely read, leaving one to wonder what if?

Out of the many fictional books I've read, this is by far  one of the most intriguing and thought provoking novels leaving the reader to think, ....to think about every phone call, text, tweet, Facebook post made, every credit card scan and web search. Where does all that data go and who's looking at it, and even more importantly, how's it being used!

Highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 bookmark rating!

From June 2011:

Bond James Bond.


I hadn't read Jeffery Deaver in a few years, 07/18/09 to be exact. I'd pick up a book that I hadn't read of his, think about it, then put it down, my uncertainty would then continue. But this week,  I decided to and as I read, The Broken Window, I couldn't understand why I ventured away from his books. Cause he's a great author of suspense and who done it's! 

In The Broken Window, join Lincoln Rhymes and Amelia Sachs as they dig deep into the world of data mining and personal identification  to solve despicable crimes in Deaver's eighth installment of these extraordinary detectives. Somewhat George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four-esque with a touch of Huxley's Brave New World, The Broken Window raises questions about personal privacy and how much anyone should know.. how safe is your data? Who sees it and what do they do with it?

Now you may ask, why did I entitle this post, Bond, James Bond. Well the reason is, Jeffery Deaver has been commissioned by the estate of Ian Fleming to continue the James Bond story. His first book, Carte Blanche was released this week. Do you prefer yours shaken or stirred?