Monday Book Pick: Anno Dracula
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
Mr. Newman starts with the premise that the so-called “heros” of Bram Stoker’s Dracula screwed the pooch and were slaughtered like the incompetent buffoons they appeared to be. With them out of the way, Dracula pretty much has his bloody way with England. This includes having his bloody way with Queen Victoria. Yup, Prince Consort Dracula. Being a vampire becomes fashionable in Jolly Old England. Causes a bit of an upheaval to the social order. Yup, the Vampires are out of the closet for good. I really enjoyed this book and even better, it is the first in series.
Quote of the Day
Filed under: Culture of Corruption, Our Dear Leader, Politics
“…if you think Bush using his Constitutional authority to replace U.S. Attorneys is a giant scandal, but shrug your shoulders at the federal government sending guns to Mexico, where drug cartels use them to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent, then you are a hopeless partisan hack who is literally willing to overlook murder to advance your political agenda.”
— Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt, June 25, 2012
Friday B-Movie Pick: Haywire
Steven Soderbergh directed this film built around Muy Thai and MMA fighter Gina Carano. So ya, the fight scenes kick ass. Otherwise this a pretty boiler plate spy thriller will some suprising A List actors. Michael Fassbender, Ewan MacGregor, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas. Ya, that is a lot of star power, but it’s Carano kicking ass and not bothering to take names that really make this film.
Cover Songs: Train in Vain
My music taste runs pretty wide. That’s probably a reason why I enjoy a good cover tune as much as I do.
Today, let’s take a look at the song, Train in Vain, made famous by the Clash.
There are a couple of good covers of this song.
Those are the ones by Annie Lennox & Dwight Yoakam.
Both are from dedicated cover song albums, Medusa and Under The Covers respectively.
In both cases, the artists are covering songs that influenced them and are not trying to replicate the sound of the original.
They are putting their own unique style on the song, and it is a better song for it.
Monday Book Pick: Loose Cannon: The Tom Kelly Novels
Loose Cannon: The Tom Kelly Novels by David Drake
A pair of Cold War with Aliens thrillers sharing the same hero/anti-hero, Tom Kelly. Tom Kelly is a spy, and not the sauve, Vodka martini drinking type of spy that that era made famous. Nope, Kelly is a roll up your sleeves and get the job done, regardless of where the chips may fly type of spy. The ladies still love him, probably because is a seriously “bad boy.” Ok, not a bad “boy”, he is a man who lives by his rules, not the rules of the agencies that employ him. If you are looking for gritty action with a healthy dose of aliens, settle down in a comfortable chair and get to know Tom Kelly.
Sunday SciFi: Top Ten Red Shirts who weren’t wearing Red Shirts
Tor publishing has created a list of The 10 Most Memorable Trek Redshirts Not Dressed in Red
10.) Crewman Green (Uniform Color: Gold), “The Man Trap”
9.) Joe (Uniform Color: Blue), “The Naked Time”
8.) Robert Tomlinson (Uniform Color: Gold), “Balance of Terror”
7.) Lee Kelso (Uniform Color: Beige?), “Where No Man Has Gone Before”
6.) Karen Tracy (Uniform Color: Blue), “Wolf in the Fold”
5.) Latimer (Uniform Color: Gold), “The Galileo Seven”
4.) Sam (Uniform Color: Pink Bathrobe), “Charlie X”
3.) D’Amato (Uniform Color: Blue), “That Which Survives”
2.) Arlene Galway (Uniform Color: Blue), “The Deadly Years”
1.) Sam Kirk (Uniform Color: Civilian Orange Colored thing), “Operation—Annihilate!”
Last minute Father’s day’s gifts…
Remember kids, you can always send an Amazon Gift Card at the last minute by email.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Gattaca
This 1997 film is best known for where Uma Thurman meets the man who would become her ex-husband. Other than the ex-Mr. Thurman, it really has a pretty good cast. Uma Thurman, who went on to fame in the Kill Bill movies, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Shalhoub, Jude Law and Alan Arkin give the movie some serious acting chops. SNL’s Maya Rudolph had a brief scene as well, one of her early “serious” acting jobs. The movie focuses on an old SciFi concept, when science allows parents to start editing their children’s genes to create “perfect” humans, what happens to those who didn’t have their genes tweaked? A good film, but not a great one.
Saint Bernard Keg
One of my sons got a Saint Bernard, so I had to get a keg for the beast.
The son in question is a Helicopter pilot, the sticker was his idea.
Originally posted at the Slices of Life blog
Gettting your Honky Tonk on
I first heard Andy’s Automatics on Pandora, which lead me to track down and buy their album, Things Have Changed.
The one review on Amazon describes them as a Wisconsin bar band. I’m betting they are a hoot to see live.
It’s good rocking country singing about hot lady cops, the problems of being a traveling band, and dealing with evil women.
Check it out!