New Story Review at SBR for Dave Freer’s novella “Without a Trace”
Folks, Dave Freer’s “Without a Trace” (from the new Naked Reader e-books, www.nakedreader.com) was a fun middle-grade read about two kids from South Africa, Mike and Amos . . . Mike’s father has just fallen into a coma, and he’s afraid of being taken away from his home, so he and Amos go on an adventure and fall into a parallel version of South Africa. Their adventure is fun, and it carried me along effortlessly — I enjoyed reading “Without a Trace” thoroughly and truly hope it finds its audience.
Here’s the link to my book review at SBR:
Enjoy!
Baseball (Mostly Brewers) Updates: Marcum, Greinke, Hart — and a bit about Vinny Rottino
The Milwaukee Brewers look to be much better this year with the addition of pitchers Shaun Marcum (acquired in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason) and Zack Greinke (acquired in a trade from the Kansas City Royals in the offseason), but up until tonight we Brewers’ fans had little idea of how well either would pitch as Marcum hasn’t been fully right (he had an arm strain/shoulder injury in spring training if I recollect correctly) and Greinke remains on the disabled list (DL).
But tonight, Marcum pitched extremely well, throwing seven shutout innings in an impressive 6-0 Brewers win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. Marcum mixed his pitches well and effectively, baffling the Pirates’ hitters while efficiently moving through the Pirates’ lineup — only one hitter reached third base, while Marcum gave up only one walk and four hits with four strikeouts recorded. (In the eighth inning, left-hander Zach Braddock came in and struggled a bit, which was why he was lifted in favor of right-hander Kameron Loe after Braddock only managed one out while allowing two walks with a wild pitch. Loe got the final two outs without undue drama, then left-handed side-armer Mitch Stetter came in and pitched a one-two-three ninth.)
If Marcum continues to pitch like this, Brewers’ fans will warm up to him in a hurry.
At any rate, the news on RF Corey Hart is positive; he took batting practice without pain and is expected to go on a rehabilitation assignment soon to one of the minor league teams in order to prove his injury is sufficiently healed for him to return as the everyday RF. Hart is now hoping for a return to the line-up by April 22, which is when the Brewers’ next home-stand begins. This is wonderful news, especially because Hart had a breakout year last year (Hart was my pick as Most Valuable Player for the Brewers in 2010). Getting Hart back will be a tremendous help.
As for Zack Greinke, he threw 25 pitches in a simulated game and felt no pain, which means his broken rib has probably healed enough that he, too, will be out on a minor-league rehab assignment soon. The hope now for Greinke is that by the end of April, he’ll be ready to pitch for the Brewers.
Please see this update from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel for further details:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/119722294.html
And finally, my favorite minor-league utility player, Vinny Rottino, currently remains in the Florida Marlins minor league system and has started the season with the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Marlins’ Class AAA affiliate (that is, their highest-level minor league team). So far the 31-year-old Rottino is batting only .065 with one hit in 12 at-bats, but has a .353 on base percentage due to taking several walks. (Stats taken from Rottino’s games through April 11, 2011.)
Here’s a link from the Racine Journal-Times, where the headline reads, “Pirates give Jaramillo a Chance; Taschner, Rottino still have Hope”:
http://www.journaltimes.com/sports/article_28fa5ae2-6585-11e0-bb13-001cc4c002e0.html
Here’s a relevant quote from the article, including a response from IF-OF-C Vinny Rottino himself:
Since signing with the Milwaukee Brewers as an undrafted free agent Feb. 3 2003, Rottino’s modus operandi has been to play every game with abandon and wait for his chance. His mindset remains the same eight years later.
And after hitting .307 with eight homers, 69 RBIs and 22 stolen bases for the Suns last year, Rottino believes he has positioned himself to make it back to the major leagues.
“I’ve been given an opportunity to play baseball for a living and I know I keep saying that,” said Rottino, a 1998 St. Catherine’s graduate. “I really feel that after the year I had last year, I have a legitimate chance to get back to the big leagues.
“This is an organization where, if you perform well in the minor leagues and they think you can help the major league team win, they’re bringing you up. That’s a lot different situation from a lot of other organizations.”
Note that Rottino has played in the minor leagues for both the Brewers and the Dodgers prior to being signed by the Marlins in 2010. And while I greatly appreciate Peter Jackel’s column (I’d wondered what was going on with Rottino and said so in a blog post from a few weeks ago), Jackel failed to note that Rottino won an award last season from the Southern League (AA) — he won an award for “best utility player/performance.” That, along with his excellent batting average, on-base percentage and the most stolen bases he’d ever had as a minor-leaguer, must be why Rottino is so hopeful of getting a chance with the Marlins this season.
If you are as interested in following Vinny Rottino’s career as I am, please follow this link to Rottino’s minor-league page (where you can find out where he’s playing, how he’s doing and what positions he’s playing, too, for that matter):
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=OF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=457130
I really like Rottino; his attitude is refreshing, and the fact that he’s still in there fighting at the (for baseball) advanced age of 31 is encouraging for anyone who refuses to stop believing in himself (or herself). Vinny Rottino is another example of persistence in the face of long odds, and I hope he breaks out of his early-season slump soon as when he’s right, he’s a good hitter, an excellent fielder (especially in the infield and outfield) and a fast and smart runner. I, too, believe that Rottino has what it takes to be a successful major league player as a utility man/defensive replacement/pinch hitter/whatever — and I hope he gets his chance this year.
Scott Walker’s first 100 days — Can We Say, “Fiasco?”
Those of you who do not live in Wisconsin, be glad. Because that means Scott Walker is not your Governor.
I lead with that tonight because today was the day Scott Walker, the current Governor of the state of Wisconsin, marked his first 100 days in office. And he was very proud of his accomplishments in “creating jobs” and his “budget-repair bill,” even though the latter is stalled in the courts right now — I know this because he said so on WTMJ-AM, NewsRadio 620 in Milwaukee, WI, this afternoon.
Now, a more balanced and nuanced way to look at Scott Walker’s first 100 days is this article from the LaCrosse Tribune, where the headline says it all: “Walker’s First 100 Days a Mixed Bag.” See this link: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/b0d1725c-64b8-11e0-8a4f-001cc4c03286.html
Here’s a good quote from that article:
“Walker has pushed through an unprecedented amount of legislation,” said Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan government watchdog group. “But the way he has gone about it has divided the state in ways I’ve never seen before. And I am just not sure how we get back from where we are now.”
See, that’s where I’d fall on the spectrum — I really don’t know how we go on from here, except by recalling every single last legislator who voted for the noxious “budget-repair bill” in a possibly-illegal vote.
Here’s another quote from the article which I think is quite relevant:
“Things were running along smoothly for about six weeks and then (Walker) took a hard turn to the right and became this incredibly divisive figure,” said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha. “The honeymoon ended quickly, but he has no one to blame but himself.”
Amen, brother!
At any rate, this is how I see it: we’ve never had eight sitting Republican Senators targeted for recall before. (As for the eight Dems also being targeted for recall, only three may be recalled. All eight Rs will be recalled — that is, have to run in recall elections to hold their seats — and at least five will lose their seats in the election. So far, two Rs — Dan Kapanke of LaCrosse and Randy Hopper of Fond du Lac — have already had the recall signatures turned in to the Government Accountability Board, and we know they definitely will have recall elections. Because the GAB is not stupid, they are waiting for the other six Rs to reach the required amount of signatures, so all eight recall elections can be run at the same time.)
Here’s the link to the best site on the Web that’s working to recall the Republican 8:
But getting back to what Wisconsinites feel about Walker, there are some people who believe Walker is doing well — not many, but some. This article from Eau Claire (WEAU) had locals grade Scott Walker; here’s a link:
http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/100_Days_in_Office_Locals_grade_Scott_Walker_119722794.html
Now, here’s what the folks said:
“You know, I’d give him an A-minus, and the reason I’d give him an A-minus is that he’s doing the best he can,” says Regla Garcia, adding people should give all politicians their fair chance to do their work.
“I’d say he’s getting like a B-plus. He’s balancing the budget and he’s evening things out,” says Ken Holm, adding that Walker could work on his negotiation skills a little bit more.
“As a former teacher, I know a little bit about grading, and I would give him an F,” says Paul Hoff, mentioning the funding cuts to education and collective bargaining as reasons for Walker’s failures.
“I’d give him a big fat F. I don’t think he’s done what anybody expected him to do,” says Mary Jurmain, who says she plans on leading recall efforts against the governor when he becomes eligible.
Now, notice the two nice scores? One said Walker needs to “work on his negotiation skills” and the other basically said Walker hasn’t had enough time yet to prove whether he’ll be any good or not. While the other two were very blunt — they gave Walker Fs, and one said that not only will she work to recall the Governor, she plans to work very hard to recall him and implied that she is looking forward to doing so.
That, in essence, is what Scott Walker has done to Wisconsin. He has divided my state like no one else; he currently has about a 40% approval rating, with a strong 30% Republican disapproving of his policies — that is, his own party disapproves of him that much.
And that, exactly, is why I say that Walker’s first 100 days have been a flat-out fiasco.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin (aka WisDems) had this to say today about Scott Walker’s first 100 days, at this link:
http://www.wisdems.org/news/press/view/2011-04-100-days-of-disgrace
And a relevant quote (all of this is from Mike Tate, Democratic Party Chair):
“We knew it was going to be bad, but nobody could have predicted it would be this bad. Scott Walker’s first 100 days in office have been an unqualified disgrace.”
Then, a bit later, the press release goes on with:
“In his first 100 days, Scott Walker has torn Wisconsin in two in a deliberate plot to drive wages and benefits into the dirt and hasten the concentration of power in the hands of the wealthy few.
The good news is that Wisconsin has seen through Scott Walker and his schemes. The working families of Wisconsin are standing up and taking their state back.
Scott Walker’s first 100 days were a disgrace. Let us hope for Wisconsin’s sake he uses the next 100 to change from his disastrous course.”
In case you’re wondering why Mike Tate took such a hard line, perhaps you missed this story about Scott Walker’s major Republican fundraiser Bill Gardner and his money-laundering, who has a plea agreement pending to save him from jail:
This is a story from John Nichols of the Nation; he points out that while Scott Walker was against high-speed rail, he definitely was for this one donor’s rail system — and no wonder, as Gardner illegally funneled thousands of dollars to Walker. Gardner is going to plead guilty to two felony counts of money-laundering in order to get a suspended sentence; he also will receive a $166,000 fine, while seven employees — those Gardner coerced, mind you, to give money to Walker — are all fined $250 apiece. This is the largest fine the Government Accountability Board has ever leveled against any single contributor.
Anyway, this only caps off what I already felt about Scott Walker — and let’s not even start about last week’s Supreme Court race, which is still in doubt (the 14,000 votes the Waukesha County clerk found at the last minute has apparently tipped the race to incumbent Justice David Prosser, but the GAB has refused to certify the election and has called clerk Nickolaus “incompetent” thus far), or I’ll really get mad — and that’s this:
Walker must go. Recall. Recall. Recall.**
——
** You may have noticed that my tag says “Scott Walker, temporary Governor.” That’s because I firmly believe Walker will be recalled and will be voted out as soon as the recall election is held (in January or February, 2012). In Wisconsin, we cannot recall a legislator until he has served one full year — but we can start getting signatures in November of this year. My own state Senator, Van Wanggaard, can and will be recalled at the same time, as I’ve said before due to his own “yes” vote for the “budget-repair” bill that eliminated collective bargaining for public-employee unions despite Wanggaard being a former policeman and police union member.
Just reviewed Stoney Compton’s “Alaska Republik” — Enjoyable alternate history, but . . .
Folks, I’ve rarely had such a struggle to review a book as I just did with Stoney Compton’s second novel, ALASKA REPUBLIK. This book is fun — it’s an alternate history where the Czar never fell, North America is full of smaller countries (a smaller USA, a Confederate States of America, the Republic of Texas, the Republic of California, the First People’s Nation, and Deseret, not to mention British Canada and French Canada), and Alaska is fighting for its independence in 1987-8 . . . but because it’s not deep, this book isn’t as good as it should’ve been.
Now, having a book you flat-out enjoyed, but one that nags you, that says, “I should’ve been better, and here’s why,” is not a pleasant experience. But I had to call it as I saw it; here, there’s a fun story with a really well-thought-out alternate history (which I talked about in my review for RUSSIAN AMERIKA at SBR several days ago), but it lacks depth, and that hurts the story.
Still, for pure storytelling enjoyment, if you like alternate history, you will truly enjoy both of Compton’s books.
Here’s a link to my review at Shiny Book Review; have at:
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/alaska-republik-good-but-not-deep/
New Review up at SBR for Amanda Green’s “Nocturnal Origins”
I just reviewed NOCTURNAL ORIGINS by Amanda S. Green, an urban fantasy set in Dallas with shape-shifters, murder, police procedurals and a great deal of suspense; I enjoyed it thoroughly. Please go read my review, and see why I believe Amanda Green is a writer to keep your eye on:
Quick Note about Naked Reader
Folks, I’ve been remiss about discussing the Naked Reader, which is at nakedreader.com — they’re a new e-book place and so far, they’ve accepted extremely high-quality manuscripts from Sarah A. Hoyt (writing as both herself, and as Sarah d’Almeida), Amanda S. Green, Kate Paulk, and Dave Freer . . . and I’m fortunate enough to get to review them all for Shiny Book Review.
Note that I’ve already reviewed DEATH OF A MUSKETEER, and will shortly be reviewing Green’s NOCTURNAL ORIGINS, Freer’s WITHOUT A TRACE and Paulk’s IMPALER, and I can tell you from what I’ve skimmed that all four of these books are very, very good. Better than that, they’re all in different genres — the first is a “Three Musketeers” pastiche that adds in stronger roles for the women in the Musketeers’ lives, the second is urban fantasy/suspense novel set in the present-day, the third is an alternate history located in South Africa (with suspense) and technically would probably be classified as a young adult/YA novel, and the fourth is a historical fantasy about everyone’s favorite vampire, Vlad the Impaler, who lived in the 1400s.
But best of all? This is a new e-book publisher that seems to really be going places: they know what they’re doing, they’ve accepted very high quality stuff, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about them so far.
Plus, they want people to review their stuff, which is always an excellent sign.
So please, if you want to read good e-books, go to nakedreader.com and buy some — Heck, buy several. And if you’re looking for a good place to send your work, try them out as well, but keep an eye out as to when they’re open for submissions next and remember, always be professional.
Just reviewed Stoney Compton’s “Russian Amerika” at SBR
Folks, a new review is up for your delectation at Shiny Book Review, as I just reviewed Stoney Compton’s RUSSIAN AMERIKA . . . read this book. It’s an excellent alternate-history and good “coming of age” tale with some rousing battle scenes; I enjoyed Stoney Compton’s book quite a bit and think you will, too, if you give it a chance.
Note that my review for Compton’s second book in this series, ALASKA REPUBLIK, will follow later this week.
Now, back to Wisconsin election returns . . . at least, for me.
Wisconsin Department of Justice Fails; No Charges Against Ken Kratz
Folks, this just disgusts me.
I wrote several blogs on this subject last October because what Ken Kratz did as the District Attorney of Calument County was absolutely appalling and beyond disgraceful. It was shocking, rude, disgusting and absolutely wrong.
At any rate, Kratz must have a guardian angel or two looking out for him because he’s not going to face any charges of prosecutorial malfeasance for calling the much younger Stephanie Van Groll (then a domestic abuse victim) a “hot young nymph” (and other disgraceful things) via text message. This was not right because of many things — Van Groll’s ex-boyfriend and abuser was being prosecuted then by Ken Kratz, for starters — but the state Department of Justice has determined that while Kratz didn’t do anything good with this, he didn’t “break any laws.”
All I can say are two things; here’s the link to the story, first:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/ken-kratz-sexting-prosecu_n_841412.html
And second — BS! (BS to the highest degree, even.)
Look. Justice should not be partisan, OK? And it’s obvious what happened here — Kratz abused his authority, what appears to be over and over again — yet the DoJ refuses to do anything about it?
Astonishing, even considering the nonsense we’re putting up with right now in Wisconsin, which I have blogged about ad nauseum (just look for posts under “Wisconsin Politics,” “Wisconsin Protests” and “Wisconsin Recall Elections” if you want more on this topic).
Here’s the deal, folks: Ken Kratz managed to dodge a huge bullet here. It’s unjust, not to mention very, very wrong, for him to have done so, and the only reason I can think of as to why Kratz managed to dodge this bullet is because of Wisconsin politics, sordid though it is.
Disgusting!
Tired, ill, and reading
This past week hasn’t been one of my best.
As to what’s wrong? Well, I hit the six years, six months mark in my grief observance . . . what a passive way to say that I’ve now been without my husband for over six years and six months. And I hate it, but can’t do anything about it, save remember my beloved husband Michael as he was while he was alive — and know to the bottom of my soul that we will be together again in eternity if at all humanly possible.
Oh, yeah. And I’ve been sick, too — sinus stuff and flu symptoms, which hasn’t stopped me from looking for work (and wouldn’t have stopped me from accepting a job had one been offered) . . . still no luck on the job front.
Before I go on, I wanted to mention the passing of Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to ever be nominated on a major party ticket for Vice President. She’s still one of only two women to be nominated (Sarah Palin being the other) . . . Ms. Ferraro was a tough, strong, smart, capable and confident woman who would’ve made an exceptional Vice President and an even better President, had she ever had the opportunity.
Ms. Ferraro was a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton for President, and spoke for me as well as for many others after the 5/31/08 debacle that was the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee that decided the fate of Mrs. Clinton and the Democratic nomination — not at the hands of the voters, but instead at the hands of the DNC itself. Ms. Ferraro was astonished and disgusted, and her clear, strong voice helped smooth the waters afterward and made our dissent as HRC Dems more forceful, coherent and logical. I will miss Ms. Ferraro and her tenacity, and I hope “The Good Place (TM)” will appreciate Ms. Ferraro and bring her joy, peace and whatever else she wants as her productive and happy afterlife.
Now, on to less important stuff.
This past week I’ve read at least six books, most of which I’m going to review at Amazon.com and/or Shiny Book Review down the line. The best of the lot was Louisa Young’s MY DEAR, I WANTED TO TELL YOU, as it’s a horrifically realistic portrait of World War I, but IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS by Erik Larson was also very good and very horrifying, the latter book being about Ambassador to Germany William Dodd and his family, who served during 1933-1937 being stationed in Berlin and saw first-hand what was going on with Adolf Hitler, Josef Goebbels, and all the others. The only book I really couldn’t get behind was Gina Showalter’s UNRAVELED, this being the sequel to INTERTWINED (I liked INTERTWINED, mind you) . . . just didn’t buy most of it, and the reason I didn’t buy it was that the characterization wasn’t as solid as in the previous novel. (When your main character, Aden, is a guy with a bunch of dead people inside his head, you need to believe in him or the concept doesn’t work. I bought it in INTERTWINED, didn’t buy it in UNRAVELED. Would still give Ms. Showalter one more chance to sell me on this universe down the line, though, because of the previous, far-stronger novel.)
I’ve also had a problem recently in focusing my attention on one thing, or even on any ten things . . . I believe this is due to exhaustion, and being ill, and trying to pretend I’m neither one.
Well, the time for pretending is over; I hope by saying out loud, in public, even (as blogging is a public endeavor even if no one reads it but me), that I’m going to take some down-time if I can makes sense.
Other than that, I continue to watch Wisconsin politics. The Governor’s budget repair bill was stalled in the courts, but the Republicans tried an unusual end-around that I’m not even sure I can describe — they believe by doing this rather odd thing (you have to publish a bill specifically by the Secretary of State’s office in Wisconsin or it’s not legal, and after it’s published it takes ten days to take effect; this hasn’t happened as a Dane County court enjoined that with a temporary restraining order, but a different place in the government has published the bill and the Republicans believe that’s enough and the bill — which stops the state from collectively bargaining with employees in public employee unions — is now law. I have my doubts on that score but have no doubt — zero — that the original judge who gave the temporary restraining order will have more to say tomorrow and that any legal action will be officially blocked by five PM tomorrow.) Note that the Wisconsin Republicans did this weird “end-around” thing after 5 PM on a Friday because they wanted to make positive news, such as it is, and mute the negative news a little . . . tomorrow I’m sure all the crap will hit the fan, again.
Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot to add that one of my friends, whom I respect highly, has told me that he thinks I should not write the Elfyverse (my universe, my concept, my voice) or Michael’s universes (granted, all of those were Michael’s concept and me trying to match Michael’s voice, which is very tough) and instead should think of something else to write and do that.
Well, here’s my thought on that — it’s up to me what I do, and these days I’m glad to get any ideas at all. If I can get one story consistently talking to me so I can do more with it, I’m going to work with it — whether it’s a new story, an existing story in my Elfyverse or an existing story in Michael’s, it doesn’t matter. Only the strength of the story matters . . . I just hope I’ll start hearing something after I heal up a little, because right now none of my stories are talking to me, at all.
Note that I appreciate my friend for saying what he did even though I feel he’s flat wrong. Being able to honestly communicate is important, even if you don’t always agree — probably because you can’t always agree, it’s important to have some real communication going on even if it’s, “I really don’t like what you’re doing, Barb, and wish you’d stop.” (My response wouldn’t be printable, I’m afraid, but that’s the drawback to free, honest and open communication.)
Oh, and last, Writers of the Future bounced both of my stories out in the last two quarters . . . what else is new?
New review at SBR: Seven Deadly Scenarios
Folks, I talked more about SEVEN DEADLY SCENARIOS in my previous blog post (about the importance of military planning); now it’s time to talk about the review I’ve just done at SBR for this terrifying book.
http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/seven-deadly-scenarios-seven-chilling-reads/
Andrew F. Krepinevich is a military “futurist,” meaning he projects what’s now known about various countries or terrorist groups and then tries to extrapolate from that in order to give our military some sort of strategic advantage. Because it’s important to plan, yet so many of our military high-rankers continue to do what military high-rankers have always done — prepare for the last war, not the one that’s coming — well, that’s what keeps Krepinevich on track, and that’s exactly what SEVEN DEADLY SCENARIOS is all about.
Truly, you owe it to yourself to read this frightening book, just to know exactly what the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and all of the folks who work with these august personages) have to deal with on a daily basis.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 