Just reviewed Yu’s “How to Live Safely in a SF Universe” for SBR
Folks, here’s the latest review; for those of you who’ve read my Amazon.com review from last year, this goes into a little more detail about the plot and gives a short snippet from page 213. (I loved HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE last year; that is unchanged.)
Now, as to why I reviewed it again? It’s a good book that makes me laugh and think — rare, that combination — and it’s about to come out in trade paperback (meaning it’ll be a little cheaper to buy — $11 versus $16 or thereabouts).
So if you somehow missed this book last year, and you like SF, philosophy, and humor — because philosophy doesn’t have to be dry as dust nor boring as Hell — you will love Charles Yu’s book.
Check out the review at:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/yus-universe-well-worth-entering/
Periodic state of the Elfyverse Update
Folks, tonight’s update will be short and sweet — the state of the Elfyverse is as follows:
300,000 + words on AN ELFY ABROAD (ELFY sequel; this book will be split down the line, once I have a good ending — I’m about 8 chapters from the end there). Working on part 46 (revision) and part 47 (first draft) at this time.
45,000 + words on KEISHA’S VOW (ELFY prequel set in 1954) — working on part 31 (revision) at this time.
Considering a new beginning — the same events, but told differently and more directly — for ELFY. Still in the planning stages. ELFY remains at just under 240,000 words and may well be split down the line.
Otherwise, as far as writing goes — got a new poem completed, which I’ll sit on for a few days before asking my first readers to take a good look at that (and one other I wrote a while back about observing the judicial recount). Looked over KEISHA’S VOW last night (revised for over three hours). Have a short story idea or two in process . . . 1/2 of the fourth “Columba” story has been written (though it’s in first draft form, so there’s a lot of work left to go there) . . . and, finally, another “Joey Maverick” story is in the works, but so far it’s more planning than actual writing going on. (I’ll have to write almost all of this one, then retrofit what I can from Michael’s novel MAVERICK, LIEUTENANT, to fit.)
Because the last two stories were Michael’s — I’m doing my best to finish them (there was a bit of a start for the fourth “Columba” story, but that’s all — less than 2K words were there, almost all of which come _later_ in the story than I have written; I have about 5K words written there) — it takes more energy and effort to complete them. But I know I can’t leave these stories be; when I get an idea there, I like to write it down and do what I can with it when the energy and time are available.
I realize I cannot bring back my husband this way, but at least the worlds he created remain alive so long as I keep trying — no matter how long it takes.
That’s about it, writing-wise, though I’m also hoping to re-start another novel that’s post-Civil War steampunk (with Fae elements).
In other words, I still have plenty of projects, which is just as well — it’ll keep me from being bored.
Just Reviewed NRP’s anthology “Night Whispers” for SBR
Folks, please take a look at my review for the Naked Reader Press anthology NIGHT WHISPERS, which I just posted a few minutes ago at Shiny Book Review:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/night-whispers-scary-stories-from-a-short-anthology/
If you like stories about vampires, magic, or “things that go bump in the night,” you will love this anthology.
Hot, humid weather here — WI Republicans Try to Cheat
While trying to survive the extremely hot, humid weather here in Southeastern Wisconsin (high today is expected to be near 100), I’ve been looking on with bemusement at the Wisconsin Republican Party’s latest bunch of dirty tricks.
How about this headline? “Wisconsin Republicans Want Allies to Run as Democratic Protest Candidates in Recall Election Primaries.” And they’re not even denying that they’re doing it! Here’s a link — now here’s a quote:
Stephan Thompson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement Monday that Republican state senators face recalls for doing their jobs, unlike Democratic senators who he says deserted their constituents for Illinois.
Thompson said the Republican senators are busy crafting a state budget, which puts them at a disadvantage to challengers to have time to campaign.
“Because of this disadvantage, and the outrageous nature of elected officials facing recall for standing up for a balanced budget, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has advocated that protest candidates run in Democratic primaries to ensure that Republican legislators have ample time to communicate with voters throughout their districts after the state budget is approved,” he said in the statement.
By doing this, Republicans would force the Democratic challengers to spend money on a primary instead of saving it for the general election. Spoiler candidates could also launch negative attacks on the Democrats while the Republican incumbents stay out of the fray.
So, the head of the Rs thinks it’s perfectly fine to do this. Hmm.
Next, here’s the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (aka WisDems) response, from the same article:
The Democratic Party called on Republicans to stop their “Nixonion dirty tricks” and scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon with Democratic Senate Leader Mark Miller.
And now, today’s news from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, where Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate Majority Leader (R-Juneau), admits he was behind this idea all the way:
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald fully endorsed the idea Tuesday of fielding fake Democrats in recall elections against Republicans in an effort to delay the general elections.
“It gives us another month to campaign,” said the Republican from Juneau.
Recall elections for six Republican senators are scheduled for July 12. If there are multiple candidates from the same party in any of those elections, the July 12 election becomes a primary election and a general recall election will be scheduled for Aug. 9.
Now, here’s the “money quote” (or in this case, the “money area”) of this article, which is a follow-up to Daniel Bice’s yesterday MJS article:
Fitzgerald said Republicans would be recruited to run as Democrats — likely in all six races — so that the elections would be pushed back a month. He said he was persuaded by campaign staff that it was a good idea and consulted with state election officials to make sure it was allowed.
And what, pray tell, is Fitzgerald’s motivation for this? Supposedly, it’s to get back at the Dems because they supposedly ran a “fake R” in the 2010 election against one of the Rs. Going on:
Fitzgerald said the idea was developed in response to a fake Republican running last year against Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer of Manitowoc. Ziegelbauer was a Democrat who long voted with Republicans; he quit the Democratic Party last year and ran for re-election as an independent.
A fake Republican ran in an attempt to split the vote between him and Ziegelbauer, giving the Democrat a chance to take the seat. The move didn’t work, and Ziegelbauer kept his seat.
Mark Jefferson, the state Republican Party executive director at the time, called that move a “nasty, cynical ploy.”
Of course, the Dems deny this.
Going on, Fitzgerald says that:
“Recalling senators for taking a tough vote is just wrong.”
He also said holding the recall elections were costly for taxpayers. By forcing primaries with fake candidates, those costs will only climb.
So, the recalls against Rs are bad, but the three pending recalls against Dems for doing their jobs by leaving the state to deny a quorum are good? How is this logical?
Then, Fitzgerald says that “recalls are expensive,” then turns around and says that they should force primaries with silly, stupid “fake Dem” candidates to cause an even greater expense? How does this possibly make sense, even in an alternate universe?
I’m sorry, Mr. Fitzgerald. You do not get to “have your cake and eat it, too.” You can either be for the recalls, as your party might get a few of the Dems out — or you can be against the recalls, as your party will probably lose a number of seats. But you cannot be both, and you certainly cannot say that “recalls are expensive” while doing your level best to lengthen the process and make it even more expensive, because that does not fly.
This just goes to show you that the Republican Party in Wisconsin cannot be trusted if they’re willing to admit to these types of “dirty tricks” — and no matter how hot and humid it is, there’s no excuse whatsoever for the latest bunch of horrible behavior.
And to Mr. Fitzgerald, personally, I will say only this — I hope every single last Republican who voted for Gov. Walker’s “budget-repair” bill gets recalled as soon as legally permissible (for most, it’s next January). Including you.
Brian Sabean Goes Ballistic re: Posey/Cousins collision; also, a Ben Sheets update
What on Earth has gotten into Brian Sabean?
Sabean is the General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, and is mad as Hell over the 5/25/11 collision between Florida Marlins catcher Scott Cousins (who was trying to score a run) and Giants catcher Buster Posey (who was trying to block home plate and keep Cousins from scoring). Posey sustained a serious injury and is now out for the season; for more on his injury, check out this article.
Now, I can understand why Giants fans — and most baseball fans in general — want Buster Posey to play, not see him sitting on the DL with a long-term injury to deal with. He’s an exciting young player and fans love him. I also can understand why the Giants, and Sabean in particular, would be angry that Posey was injured, especially as some others, including Mike Matheny, seem to believe that Cousins was most definitely at fault in that collision and that Cousins may well have been trying to injure Posey (even though Cousins insists he wasn’t and has apologized several times; check this article out if you don’t believe me).
But why this sort of incendiary rhetoric, all available at this link?
Sabean did not pull any punches during an interview on KNBR on Thursday, calling Cousins’ targeted hit “malicious” and saying he didn’t blame Posey for refusing to return an apologetic phone call.
“Why not be hard-nosed?” Sabean said. “If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy.”
Asked if perhaps those words were too harsh, Sabean didn’t back down. In fact, he left little doubt that the Giants are bent on getting some on-field vengeance.
“He chose to be a hero in my mind, and if that’s his flash of fame, that’s as good as it’s going to get, pal,” Sabean said. “We’ll have a long memory. Believe me, we’ve talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can’t be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I’ll put it as politically as I can state it: There’s no love lost, and there shouldn’t be.”
Now, the Giants have apologized for Sabean’s comments, which to my mind is way too little, way too late, especially as Cousins has been getting death threats; see this link for details about that.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Joe Torre, who now works for Major League Baseball, wants to talk with Sabean (see this link for details). Torre is a well-respected former manager and catcher, and knows the game as well as anyone living; Sabean should listen to Torre, who I hope will tell Sabean the equivalent of this: “Shut up. Shut up now. Don’t be any more stupid than you have to be; you’ve already said more than enough as it is.”
Torre telling Sabean off is the best thing to do — but in case Torre’s message doesn’t take, I hope Torre will exercise his authority and suspend Brian Sabean as a fine, no matter how hefty, will not do. Sabean’s comments should not be tolerated, no matter how frustrated Sabean is, and no matter how much Sabean appreciates Posey’s play (or Posey’s positive effect at the box office).
Now for something completely different, as I’d like to pass along some good news regarding Ben Sheets.
As previously reported, Sheets had a huge surgery on his elbow last year and his prospects for playing at all in 2011 looked dubious. While I’m not sure if he will be able to pitch this year, I did find one Web site, here, that says Sheets is rehabbing in Arlington, Texas as of March of this year — and Sheets wouldn’t be rehabbing so seriously if he wasn’t at least going to try to make a comeback ASAP.
Sheets being in Texas makes perfect sense for a wide variety of reasons. Sheets’ home is in Louisiana, so Texas isn’t all that far away, comparatively; better yet, it’s where his former Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux now makes his home (as the pitching coach for the Rangers, naturally). It also seems that Sheets is comfortable with the doctors in Texas and that his rehab is proceeding well.
All I can say is this — good for you, Ben, and I truly hope you’ll be like Chris Capuano this time next year. (As in, you’ve made it all the way back, you’re pitching as well or better than ever, and your second major rehab stint will have gone successfully.)
Just reviewed “My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You” for SBR
Folks, go out and grab Louisa Young’s MY DEAR, I WANTED TO TELL YOU as soon as you can, especially if you love World War I historicals, realistic romances, good characterization or excellent writing. Young’s novel has it all, and I truly enjoyed it.
Here’s the link to my review:
Odds and Ends — including the End of the WI State Supreme Court race
I have so many different things to discuss right now that I’ve decided to make this an “odds and ends” post — otherwise known as a “quick hits” post.
The first is that the race for the Wisconsin state Supreme Court has come to an end as JoAnne Kloppenburg conceded. The recount, which I viewed from the beginning as a mandatory one due to the closeness of the vote and the chicanery going on in Waukesha County in particular, brought her a few hundred votes closer to David Prosser but not nearly enough for her, apparently, to keep on fighting despite the hundreds of irregularities and errors found in Waukesha County alone. Ms. Kloppenburg is a very good lawyer and knows the law regarding recounts much better than I do, so she must’ve felt that it was unlikely she’d win a court case, so prolonging the race any further made no sense to her.
My reaction to all of this, however, is that while I found out by observing the recount in Racine County for a day that our election proceedings here are on the up-and-up, I really think the election was stolen and that Ms. Kloppenburg was the true winner. I cannot prove this, and it’s possible no one will ever be able to prove it — or maybe someone will after the fact, as some observers did in Florida after the Bush v. Gore incident, or in Ohio with the numerous problems there in the 2004 election — but it’s how I feel.
I also feel that the state of Wisconsin has missed out, because Ms. Kloppenburg had an outstanding record and would’ve made a great judge. Republicans, especially of the Scott Walker variety, liked to paint Ms. Kloppenburg as a “liberal,” but what she really was happened to be an independent, someone who’d worked for both Republican and Democratic Governors. We needed a centrist on our extremely polarized Supreme Court, and we didn’t get it — what a terrible day for Wisconsin, and what an awful thing to have to say . . . but it’s all true, and it’s sad.
Now onto a happier update. Vinny Rottino hit .373 in May for the New Orleans Zephyrs (the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins); this was after suffering a 1-for-26 slump to start the season. Rottino has stolen 7 bases, being caught stealing twice; he’s hit 20 RBI, 2 HR, has 10 doubles and one triple, and his current on-base percentage is .407. Rottino now appears to be playing every day in right field and is playing excellent defense and a fine overall game while putting together another quiet, but good season as a contact hitter.
Here’s a story from nola.com that was written on May 15, 2011, about the Zephyrs and the hot-hitting Rottino in particular:
Vinny Rottino continued his hot hitting Saturday night, and New Orleans Zephyrs relievers continued their shut-down pitching.
The result was a 5-4 Zephyrs victory against Tacoma at Zephyr Field.
Rottino, who has reached base in 21 consecutive games, drove home the go-ahead run in a three-run rally in the sixth inning and also scored two runs.
And here’s what Rottino had to say about it all, especially his 1-for-26 start:
“I never panicked,’’ he said. “That’s the key. I’ve gone through spells like that before at the beginning of the year. … Now I feel pretty good at the plate, just waiting for the pitcher’s mistake. That’s the main thing.’’
Rottino’s game is similar to someone like the Brewers’ Nyjer Morgan; he’s speedy (though not as speedy as Morgan), he plays excellent defense and has a strong arm, and he’ll rarely make mistakes on the basepaths. Rottino plays all positions except pitcher and second base (unlike Morgan) including catcher (though he’s more of an emergency catcher due to taking it up late) and would be an asset to any major league team whose General Manager is using his brain today.
Finally, there’s the Milwaukee Brewers update. They actually won their first game against Cincinnati last night and Corey Hart hit yet another home run, raising his season total to five. Hart’s still not all the way back to last year’s All-Star form, but he’s looking good in the outfield and is hitting steadily now, with some power . . . though I’m a big fan of Hart, the best thing about the ’11 Brewers is that so far, their pitching has been anywhere from OK to outstanding, with Shawn Marcum and Randy Wolf in particular pitching much better than expected. (Yovani Gallardo is still a little inconsistent, though his last two-three games have been great, and Zack Greinke is still rounding himself into form. As for Chris Narveson, while he’s a very nice man and can pitch, he’s had some really rough outings lately. And I keep thinking the Brewers would’ve been better off to keep Chris Capuano, who’s doing well for the Mets despite a 3-5 record because of how poor the Mets are playing as a team.)
So that’s it for updates . . . what I’d encourage you to do is to keep your eye on Rottino (when he finally makes it to the majors to stay, that’ll be one of the best human interest stories of the past several years as he’s now thirty-one years old and has been the apparent victim of what I like to call “age prejudice” as most teams would rather look at a really young guy than an older one with a steady batting eye and a steady presence in the field), keep an eye on the Brewers (especially their pitchers), keep an eye on Capuano, and watch for the upcoming Wisconsin recall elections in July.
Just reviewed Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ “Call Me Irresistible” for SBR
Folks, here’s the link for tonight’s review at Shiny Book Review, first off:
Now that you’ve seen that, and have had a chance to read my review of CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE, let me elaborate a little more about Ms. Phillips’s newest effort.
First, this is Ms. Phillips’s twenty-first novel, and yet she couldn’t come up with a better “flaw” than the hero, Ted Beaudine, being a guy who makes love to his partner for several hours at a time? No matter how well this was described or set up this isn’t enough of a “flaw” — how can someone being so caring of his partner be considered a flaw by anyone?
I don’t care that Ted’s intended, Meg Koranda, believed she wasn’t “special” enough because this apparently was Ted’s standard practice with his girlfriends (Ted’s a serial monogamist, so he only has one GF at a time). Meg knows this is Ted’s policy — Ted is much too nice to point this out himself, of course, as that would be really crude — because her best friend Lucy had been engaged to Ted and nearly married him and said so. (Lucy jilted Ted at the altar.) Lucy’s comments to Meg add up to this: Ted’s every woman’s dream lover, and he’s world-class in the bedroom department because he takes his time and makes sure his partner appreciates the act before he finally gives in and takes his own. But because Ted apparently treated every woman this way, even though he has every possible good quality there is, by the time Meg and Ted get down to business, Meg does not feel like Ted’s seeing her — and that’s just wrong.
But Meg goes too far in her beliefs, believing that Ted doesn’t really care unless he loses control now and again in the bedroom department. This just doesn’t make any sense. Most women do not wish for their intendeds to lose control in the bedroom, yet Meg does exactly this. How is this believable?
Finally, the way Meg is treated throughout isn’t really believable, either. Meg is broke, desperate, without employment and a car that’s barely running that’s also out of gas, and is stranded in Wynette, Texas, with a bunch of people who hate her because they believe that Meg somehow coerced Lucy into running off and jilting “favorite son” and town Mayor despite his young age of twenty-nine or so, Ted, at the altar. So everyone goes out of the way to insult Meg, which is a very similar plot-line to AIN’T SHE SWEET? with much less justification for it, and very few of the townspeople give Meg a chance.
While this is a very funny novel in spots, and I enjoyed it because of the humor, I didn’t feel this was up to the best novels of Ms. Phillips, which along with AIN’T SHE SWEET? include DREAM A LITTLE DREAM and LADY BE GOOD. And it’s because of the lack of a true flaw in the hero — or at least a true explicit flaw (as Ted believing Meg was at fault at first is definitely a flaw in a guy who supposedly is a world-class inventor with a genius IQ) — along with how poorly the heroine is treated that just did not sit well with me. At all.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 