Book Review - The Raindrop by Brian. D. McClure

The Raindrop (The Brian D. McClure Children's Book Collection) part of the


From the author:


"I am just a raindrop, I am smaller than small. What am I doing here? I have no use at all..." So begins the story

of The Raindrop. In this adventurous journey, many Truths are uncovered which help the Raindrop remember the higher purpose of his life. This simple and heartfelt story, allows children and adults of all ages to remember the Truth of who they are.
My Review:

I found this book to be charming, with great rhythm and rhyme.  The story had a great message and purpose, but for my son who is almost four and has autism, it was way above his head... Words like hydrogen and oxygen were out of his vocabulary and made it more reasonable for older children.  The illustrations were beautiful and colorful and matched the story well.  I would suggest that this book would make a wonderful gift for an older child aged 6-8 and would make a wonderful addition to school libraries as both the message and the science work well together.

This book is one of seven written by this author and all have a wonderful message of belonging and place that resonate throughout the story.

About the Author:

Ohio born native Brian McClure is the Founder and President of The Universal Flag and its affiliate companies. He is an author, human rights advocate and messenger of the oneness of all. Inside of the Universal Flag Companies, he set up a Non Profit Foundation to help relieve the suffering which he has witnessed in third world countries, along with spreading the Universal Flags throughout the World. The flag was recently paraded and flown at The United Nations as part of World Peace Day.

Disclaimer: All opinions in this review are my own, based on reviewing a copy of the book that I received through Pump Up Your Book.  I was not obligated in any way to provide a positive review


Happy Birthday to....

my wonderful daughter, Robyn!!! She's twelve if you can believe it!

Photobucket

Here she is at 5 weeks:

And a few more recent shots:


It's a busy birthday day and weekend for us, so this is a short post!  Lots of prep and cleaning left to do for her movie marathon stay-over tomorrow night (Can't call it a sleepover if they don't plan to sleep, right?)

Hope everyone else who celebrates today is having a wonderful day!

Friendly Wednesdays: I Can Show You How to NOT Do Things

Welcome to the latest edition of Friendly Wednesday :) and I am pleased to introduce Lauren from Her Silent Musings as our FW guest this week.  We talked a little about what previous FW guests have written and she came up with this very creative post for all of us:

I Can Show You How to NOT Do Things: The Things I Can't Do Tutorial


1. I can't, apparently, walk gracefully.  I took ballet for I don't know how many years and everyone always complimented my grace, yet I trip over a loose brick - and I'm not just talking about a mild little shuffle - walking to the garage from class the other day.  In order to do this, first make sure you are wearing flip-flops as these are the shoes most likely to cause this embarrassing display of clutziness.  Second, you want to make sure your nose is stuck so high up in the air you can see birds' eggs in the trees.  And lastly, you want to walk in the direct line of fire of a brick protruding from the ground.

2. I can't speak out in class like other students who just air their opinions like dirty laundry.  In order NOT to do this, make sure you sit closer to the back of the classroom.  Never make eye contact with the teacher.  Don't think any coherent thoughts that you'll feel inwardly urged to raise your hand about.  Also, it helps to be severely introverted and frightened of the idea of an entire - sometimes this means over 100 students - class's eyes on you.

3. I can't conserve gas.  This is because I don't know how to drive at or below the speed limit.  If you want to be able to NOT conserve gas and drive the speed limit watch lots of NASCAR, it'll get your blood pumping. Wear Puma shoes.  They just feel so good plunged down against the gas pedal.  Also, make sure you get that cheap gas that burns faster than the expensive stuff.  Because, in addition to your speeding burning out the fumes, you'll need that to burn them faster.

4. I can't go to sleep at a decent hour.  If you're a blogger, this one will be easy peasy.  Just do stuff for your blog into ridiculous hours.  Or keep the TV turned to We so The Golden Girls will be bribing you with another follow-up episode (or Ion with Criminal Minds, that works, too).  And wait to take showers until midnight, or eat dinner at 10:00 or 11:00 instead of a sane hour like 6:00 or 7:00.

5. I can't stop buying books.  When you first get paid, allow yourself a huge book splurge at your local bookstore.  Yeah, you really should save that money until next payday, but oh my goodness those books are just calling you...I mean, look at these bargain sales!  Not to mention, when I go to the library, I will pile about ten books in my arms like I'll actually read them all in two weeks.

6. I can't write my book.  I'm sure just about every writer can relate, and have their own methods of NOT writing.  For me, I'll stare at my computer screen for about a minute, then grab about ten pieces of chocolate out of my candy dish and make pictures with them, then post them to Facebook.


You can read more of Lauren's Musings at Her Silent Musings


When I asked Lauren to tell us a bit about herself she said this:

I love books.  Probably more than what is healthy for your average sane person.  But are any of us really sane?  You’ll have to forgive me if I ask too many questions.  I tend to muse a lot, hence my blog’s name.  My English professor even pointed out that within my papers I ask too many questions.  That should tell me something.  Ironically, that same professor had us pick a word that described us on the first day of class.  I picked curious.  Hmm…  You see, I have this thing for stories, rustic appurtenances with some kind of historical backdrop attached to them.  Things like old letters and postcards fascinate me.  Old movies, classic novels, and my favorite – old, decrepit wood.  Don’t ask.  I just have this fetish.  It’s something about old wood that makes my senses crawl with wonder.  You should also know that I have this thing for Mustangs.  Yes, I drive one.  Her name is Silverada, or Silvy, for short.  Actually, I just totally made that up.  My old Mustang (the ruby red ’98 V-6er was named Old Girl, because, well, obviously she was old).  I look at Mustangs the way some girls look at boys.  And, yes, I look at boys that way, too; just  more discreetly.  I’m currently working on a book.  I wonder if I should even tell people this anymore?  It seems when I say this, whether to myself or others, it’s like digging for some hidden land in the ground and continuously running into a pipeline.  And then all that happens is I am digging this big, stupid, meaningless hole.  And for what, I ask?  For what?  Sometimes I worry that I won’t be able to make my writing crafty and clever enough.  I so terribly want to be clever and crafty, but also poignant and thought-provoking.  I want to say something that matters to people, and not in the boring educational text way.  But the captivating, I-can’t-pry-my-fingers-off -this-book-for-the-life-of-me way.  So badly, I want this.  So badly…

P.S. If you would like to be featured on Friendly Wednesday, please drop me a line at heather at actingbalanced dot com and I will be happy to provide details for you!

Post it Note Tuesday - Ach Baby Updates



It's another POST IT NOTE TUESDAY - this week is a pregnancy update :)

















Are you a PINT fan - link up at Supah Mom

MMMmonday - Lime Coconut Rice Pudding

I can honestly say that I don't alter this recipe in any way... and I LUV it!  It's good served warm or cold... I especially like it chilled on a hot day!


I first found this recipe at the Charleston Wine and Food festival and it's so easy and great to make
You can also find it here on the Mahatma Rice website (picture there too)

Ingredients

1 cup Mahatma® Jasmine Rice
2 cans (13 to 14 oz each) light unsweetened coconut milk
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp fresh lime zest
toasted sweetened flaked coconut, for garnish

Directions

In a bowl, soak rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, bring coconut milk, milk, sugar and rice to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and add lime zest. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if desired.

Book Review - Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary

By T.H.E. Hill

From the Publisher:
A spy fiction about the Americans who ran the pre-wall Berlin Spy Tunnel that the CIA used to tap Russian telecommunications cables, and about the Russians whom they were intercepting.  The novel is ostensibly set against the backdrop of the Berlin Spy Tunnel (Operation GOLD, covername: PBJOINTLY). The yarn is told from both ends of the tunnel. One end is the story of the Americans who worked the tunnel, and how they fought for a sense of purpose against boredom and the enemy both within and without. This side of the story is told with a pace and a black humor reminiscent of that used by Joseph Heller (Catch-22) and Richard Hooker (M*A*S*H*). The other end of the tunnel is the story of the Russians whose telephone calls the Americans are intercepting. Their end of the tale is told in the unnarrated transcripts of their calls. They are the voices under Berlin.  Voices Under Berlin is the proud winner of 5 Book Awards:  PODBRAM Best Historical Concept, “Puss Reboots” book blog Top 10 Books for 2009, Hollywood Book Festival,Branson Stars & Flags Book Award and Military Writers’ Society Book of the Month.

The Review by Heather's Hubby:
Voices Under Berlin was a fascinating view into post-WW II Berlin.  The story follows the lives of a group of soldiers whose duty it was to manage a series of wire taps.  The story primarily focuses on a character  named Kevin who is a genius at listening to Russian coded conversations and figuring out their true meaning.   As the story progresses Kevin falls in love with a German lady named Gabby who may or may not be a Russian spy code-named Primrose.   In addition, Kevin also has to contend with the bumbling Lieutenant Sherlock (nicknamed Sheerluck) who is out to get him He also has a group of friends and colleagues who make life interesting for the unit in Berlin by engaging in a series of pranks.   If you liked the M.A.S.H. television series, you will probably like this book as the styles are similar.   The novel is designed in a near-episodic fashion whereby each chapter tells a short story but with a few themes running throughout to the end story to tie it all together.   The writing is good, the story progresses at a quick pace and the attempts at humor are actually funny for the most part.  Overall, this novel is a nice way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

To read more about the history of the book and about the author, please check out T.H.E. Hill's Friendly Wednesday Guest Post where he talks about the real facts of the end of Operation Gold and PBJOINTLY and his inspiration for the book.

We received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book Promotions.  Receiving a complimentary copy in no way influenced the reviewer's opinion and all opinions expressed are his own.


Friendly Wednesday: Berlin: Wonderful Tunnel!


Today's Friendly Wednesday Post comes from author T.H.E. Hill, author of Voices Under Berlin and gives us a peek into the history of the cold war and the lengths that the US went to to get information about Russians in East Germany.  Stop by tomorrow for my review of the book after reading this wonderful background!


During the night of 21-22 April 1956—fifty-four year ago—the Russians discovered the CIA spy tunnel in Berlin that serves as the historical background for my novel Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary. This engineering marvel extended 1476 feet through sandy, watery ground to reach three cables only 27 inches beneath the surface of the earth, on the shoulder of the Schoenefelder Chaussee, a major highway. One of the most difficult engineering problems that the builders had had to overcome was to dig up to the cable from the main tunnel shaft without dropping some truck passing over the highway above into the tunnel. The total cost of the tunnel project was over six and a half million 1950s dollars, which in 2009 dollars would be almost $53 million.

When the tunnel was discovered by the Soviets, the Time Magazine article (7 May 1956) about its discovery was entitled "BERLIN: Wonderful Tunnel." In the article a German journalist described the tunnel as "the best publicity the U.S. has had in Berlin for a long time." It was indeed a big deal back then. One of the Amazon reviews for Voices Under Berlin says that the novel is "relevant for today." I think that is an accurate assessment.

• You can learn more about the Berlin Spy Tunnel at the on-line Cold War Museum.

From the perspective of history, this is but one of the early minor skirmishes from the known history of the Secret Cold War, which is in reality only the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more things that went on in the Secret Cold War than are known to the public. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "In the real world, the right thing never happens in the right place and the right time. It is the job of historical novelists to make it appear that it has." That is what I've done with Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary.

The official history of the tunnel describes its discovery like this:

"At approximately 00:50 hours on 22 April, 40 or 50 men were seen on the east side of the Schoenefelder Allee, deployed along the entire area observable from our installation, digging at three to five foot intervals over the location of the cable, and incidentally, the tap chamber. At approximately 02:00 hours the top of the tap chamber was discovered, and at 02:10 Russian speech was heard from the microphone in the tap chamber. The first fragments of speech indicated that the discovery of the tap chamber aroused no suspicion among those present. . . . Shortly afterward the microphone went dead and, after 11 months and 11 days, the operational phase of PBJOINTLY was completed."

In Voices Under Berlin, the description is a bit less formal, and it gives you a feeling for what might have really been going on at the tunnel site on that April night when the Russian discovered it. That is the big difference between history and fiction. The historian tries to be objective, suppressing any discussion of the feelings of those involved, which, by definition, are purely subjective. The novelist, on the other hand, is looking for exactly the kind of thing that historians spurn. Ignoring the factual chaff of the memoirist, whose task is more descriptive than analytical, the novelist likes to search for sweeping truths of global breadth that reflect the processes that take place in people's minds. The pseudo-reality of fiction seeks to subsume the individual factual realities of the many. Voices Under Berlin, therefore, is ostensibly, but not entirely 1950s Berlin. To steal a line from Walter Cronkite, "Today is Saturday, the twenty-first of April 1956. All things are as they were then, except… You Are There."

The Voices Fall Silent

It was raining the Saturday night that they shut the Shoss down. Detroit was in the Crow's Nest, but even he could not miss the fact that the blurred streaks of light that normally floated about four feet above the Shoss on dark, rainy nights like this one had disappeared. It was normal for it to slow down to one or two trucks a minute with the occasional car thrown in for variety, but for it to go totally dark—except for the compound-perimeter lights and the spotlights on the Vopo tower—was unheard of, until at least 23:00 Local. It was only 20:00 Local and there should have been plenty of life left in the light show yet.

Detroit knew what time it was because he had AFN on and the unmistakably American voice of the announcer had just said: "It's eight o'clock in Central Europe. Do you know where your children are?" Detroit did not have any children, but he knew where he was, and he would have rather been out in the rain, looking for the children he did not have than sitting in the Crow's Nest watching trucks and cars that were not there.

There was not anybody to talk to in the Crow's Nest, and nothing to do except watch the Vopos watch you, and stare out into the dark, looking for some threat to the tunnel, whatever that might be. It was terribly boring and everybody pulling duty in the Crow's Nest dreamed of seeing the mythical floozies in the Vopo tower that Kevin had always talked about, or at least finding a threat to the tunnel, so that they would have something to do.

Detroit had the same dream as everybody else, but there he was with an indication of a threat to the tunnel that he did not recognize, so he just kept watching the darkened Shoss do nothing, and did not tell anybody.

At 20:37 Local a single Russian jeep came out of the darkness, moving at a walking pace. It was preceded by a uniformed Russian on foot, holding a long, thin stick that he swept slowly back and forth across the shoulder of the road in front of him as he plodded along in the pouring rain about ten feet ahead of the jeep. He was walking the cable track. Even Detroit could see that. Detroit picked up the binoculars and studied the walking Russian. He looked even more disgustingly bored than Detroit was, which was a major achievement in and of itself, but the Russian did have the advantage of being sopping wet. If Detroit had been sopping wet too, he would have, without a doubt, looked more disgustingly bored than the Russian, but he was dry and sitting down to boot.

The Russian held up his hand and stopped. He didn't want the jeep to run over him and had to let them know he was going to stand still. He was right over the tap chamber. He waved his wand back and forth. He motioned to the jeep to cut the motor so he could hear better. That action also explained why the Russians had shut down traffic on the Shoss. The cable track walker would not have heard anything as quiet as a gas leak with all those noisy trucks zipping by him every ten seconds. The drenched Russian turned around, walked back to the jeep, and climbed in. It wasn't heated, but at least it got him out of the rain and the wind. Six minutes later, the jeep was joined by a Russian two-and-a-half-ton truck.

An officer got out of the jeep, and went back to talk with the sergeant in the truck who was in charge of the digging detail. After a short conference, the sergeant got his crew out of the back of the truck and showed them where to start digging: right in front of the truck. The truck's headlights lit up the work site for them.

The officer went back to the jeep and got inside. The jeep did a three-point turn so that its lights were pointing at the truck. The extra light made it easier for the shovellers to see what they were doing.

This was something Detroit could understand. All the hours of seemingly wasted vigilance expended on manning the Crow's Nest had just paid off. The Russians were digging right over the tap chamber.

Detroit picked up the handset of the field telephone and spun the crank. A bored voice at the other end said "You rang?" in imitation of Master-Sergeant Laufflaecker's now famous greeting to the Crow's Nest. It was Corporal Neumann. "The Russians have stopped all the traffic on the Shoss, and they're getting ready to dig right over the tap chamber." Detroit's call to Corporal Neumann produced a flurry of activity. The Chief of Base started his counter-surveillance run to the Site. Fast Eddie wrote an imminent threat to the Site report and ran it down to the comm center. Sergeant Laufflaecker climbed up to the Crow's Nest, not so much to keep Detroit from getting lonely, as to confirm his observations. No actions as dire as those prescribed by the SOP for an event such as this could be taken on the basis of uncorroborated reporting.

"That doesn't look good," said Sergeant Laufflaecker, corroborating Detroit's analysis of the situation. As if to corroborate his corroboration, one of the Russian diggers put his foot on his shovel to push it another six inches deeper into the ground, and fell 13 feet to the bottom of the tap chamber instead.

Sergeant Laufflaecker instantly recognized the significance of the digger's disappearance, grabbed the field phone and aggressively turned the crank that rang the bell at the distant end.

"Yes," said Corporal Neumann, who recognized the sound of disaster striking that was implied by the way the bell of the field phone was ringing.

"Intruder alert!" intoned Sergeant Laufflaecker. "Evacuate the tunnel, and cut power to the lights!"

"The tunnel's been empty since Detroit made his first report," replied Corporal Neumann. "The tunnel is dark," he added, turning the key in the switch that activated a big red light at the tunnel entrance. The light said "Do Not Enter."

"Good," replied Sergeant Laufflaecker, "and get the fifty-caliber into place."


• To find out what happens next, you'll have to buy a copy of Voices Under Berlin.

For those whose Cold War vocabulary was challenged by this excerpt, the novel has a glossary at the front.


About the author:
T.H.E. Hill, the author of Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary, served with the U.S. Army Security Agency at Field Station Berlin in the mid-1970s, after a tour at Herzo Base in the late 1960s. He is a three-time graduate of the Defense Language Institute (DLIWC) in Monterey, California, the alumni of which are called "Monterey Marys". The Army taught him to speak Russian, Polish, and Czech; three tours in Germany taught him to speak German, and his wife taught him to speak Dutch. He has been a writer his entire adult life, but now retired from Federal Service, he writes what he wants, instead of the things that others tasked him to write while he was still working.

You can learn more about T.H.E. Hill and his books at:
www.VoicesUnderBerlin.com



This guest post and my review tomorrow were coordinated through Pump Up Your Book Promotions and I thank the coordinators there for putting me in touch with T.H.E. Hill and this wonderful book

Friendly Wednesday - a review...

The guest blogger who I had scheduled for this week wasn't able to provide us with their column because of a family emergency, so I thought today I'd link up the last several weeks of FW posts in case you missed some :)

Out of The Box and Into the Kitchen
Planning Ahead
Exciting News
Is All Flour Created Equal?
Ultra Violet Protection for your Eyes
Blog Tips
Eighties Rockers

If you want to be featured on Friendly Wednesdays, please email me at heather at actingbalanced dot com - my readers love the recipes, tips and stories that get shared on FW :)

Hope everyone is having a marvelous Wednesday!

Post It Note Tuesdays - The Karma Edition

It's another Post it Note Tuesday hosted by











new domain

MMMmonday: A Yummy Spring Salad!

I was hunting around for a yummy and different salad and ran across the Tomato Asparagus Salad on AllRecipes.com.

It's light, flavorful and easy to make!   Me being me, I had to make an alteration so you will find my addition in red...

Ingredients:
3/4 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and
cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 plum tomatoes, halved and sliced
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
1. Place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 5-7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
2. In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, tomatoes and onion and cheese. Drizzle with vinaigrette and gently toss to coat. Serve with a slotted spoon. 


Notes: I used crumbled garlic and herb feta because that's what I had in the house... and it was yummy!
You can view a picture and the original recipe here

An Announcement!

I have officially switched over to my own domain... http://www.actingbalanced.com - please update your blogrolls and my buttons if you have them.  If you subscribe by feeds, here are the new ones:

RSS: http://www.actingbalanced.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Atom: http://www.actingbalanced.com/feeds/posts/default

If you subscribe by Networked Blogs, Facebook or Google Friends, it should have automatically migrated...

Sunday Stories will return next week... and don't forget to come and visit tomorrow for MMMmonday!

And I want to thank...

Heather from Out of the Box Into the Kitchen for my latest award! She has given me the

You can read all about my responsibilities and the origins of the award here, but the main task I have is to share this with 7 fellow bloggers and of course to let them know they've won the award :)

So without further ado, I share this with seven wonderful bloggers that you should definitely check out:

Serene is my name, Not my life...
The Versatile Investor (Yes this is my brother, but if you can't plug for family, who can you plug for)
The Skinny Fight
The Thought Bubble
Sugar Tails
A Diary of Lovely
Blue White Life

I hope you will take the time to visit these wonderful and diverse blogs and share some bloggy love today!

Book Review - Citizen Dick





Citizen Dick by Richard Arneson is a first novel written with no holds barred about the back room deals and corporate greed found at fictitious CommGlobalTeleVista and the path that lead Dick Citizen, slacker and loser to find himself neck deep in all of it...

From the book jacket:
Creative accounting. Mismanagement. Vanishing 401Ks. Insider trading. Misplaced power. Neuroses. Bloody clown suits. Meatloaf costumes. Self-administered prison tattoos. You guessed it…Corporate America.

And in 1989, nobody better exemplified those characteristics—and a hundred tawdry others—more than CommGlobalTeleVista, a telecommunications behemoth that’s future relied on a promotion that would provide customers with something they didn’t want or need, and a CEO who hoped buying a meat company—or acting like its takeover is in the works—would move their stock price north of $75 per share and award him a $100 million bonus.

And it all happened because Dick Citizen—an unambitious, twenty-five-year-old with an obsessive hatred for his first name, an uncanny ability to hit a golf ball long and straight, and a bizarre skeleton in his closet—stumbled backwards into the last place he should be—you guessed it…Corporate America.

My review:
Citizen Dick is not written in typical novel style, with short, choppy chapters that take time to build and a confusing array of job titles and character descriptions, but as you are able to enter the world of Dick Citizen and the other players you find yourself engrossed in the hilariousness of the situations...  
Dick, who catapults from late night radio host, making $6 an hour through a corporate communications job where he spends his time writing fictitious press releases about the company's desire to buy into the world of meat packing...  eventually becomes the VP of Meat in a bizarre and sometimes confusing tale of greed and indifference that I'm sure reflects the author's own dealings with corporate America...
I had trouble keeping up with the plot at times, but the individual scenes and sarcastic humor kept me coming back... the characters, including Dick's mother - a woman who advocates smoking as a healthy part of her marathon running lifestyle who found that "logging miles and sucking down Camels could be done simultaneously" and wrote a newsletter about it called "lung capacity".  It was almost written like a series of comic strips, punch lines in hand and strung together by a series of sub plots..
Once you get past all that, and take it for what it is, the book has funny and ironic moments that keep you reading...  
I have to say that this book may warrant a second reading, because I'm sure I missed more as I tried to weave through the characters and the plot... it certainly put a new spin on corporate America...
I would recommend this book to anyone who has spent time in Corporate America as a funny, light hearted read..

About the Author:
Richard Arneson’s thirteen years working in corporate America drove him up a tree―literally. Once he escaped the telecommunications industry after ten years of service, he built a tree house―ostensibly for his two young sons―installed electricity and cable TV, and set out to fix himself, deciding that dealing with the memories of working in the goofy-as-hell world of corporate America could only be accomplished by getting them down on paper. Citizen Dick is the result. 

Arneson is currently working on his next novel, The Tree house, which, ironically, is not being written in his tree house but  in the cab of his 1950 Chevy pickup truck.

Arneson lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife, a two-time cancer survivor who can’t remember why she married him, and their two sons. He plans on building a second story on his tree house.

You can read more about Citizen Dick and Richard Arneson at www.citizendickthebook.com

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book through Pump Up your Book , and was not influenced in any way to write any part of this review, the opinions expressed are my own.


Book Review - Rock Stars

Rock Stars: The rise, fall, and rise of 80's glam frontmen into pop culture by David S. Grant
ISBN: 978-0-557-18240-4



From the publisher: 
Rock Stars is a look back and forward with the glam metal singers from the eighties.  Accompanied by illustrations of each singer, Rock Stars takes a tongue and cheek look at both the careers and music created during this time.


My review: As a child of the late 80's I grew up and cut my teeth on bands like Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi and Poison.  As part of the Much Music generation (in Canada) or the MTV generation in the US, videos like Twisted Sister's We're not Going to Take It and other classics are indelibly linked in my mind... this book refreshes your memories of the first time you picked up a cassette or recorded the new song from the radio onto your boom-box... 


David S. Grant provides personal insights as a rock and metal buff and follows through by painting a picture of where the rockers are now... Each chapter deals with a different lead singer and flows from a pencil sketch from Joel Gwidt to a narrative and ends with an anecdote or comparison piece...  Each section also includes an 'essential playlist' to introduce you to David's choice of seminal songs for each artist.  



Books can, and have been, written entirely devoted to individual lead singers or bands, but this book provides an interesting overview of several of the top Rock lead singers from the 80's and whets your appetite to learn more...


This book rekindles your nostalgic senses and makes you want to track down and add tracks you remember to your i-pod... and to find the ones you only have vaguer recollections of too...


I recommend Rock Stars to children of the 80's and anyone who has a love of all things 80s Rock and Roll as a good overview of the genre and the time...


I want to thank Pump Up Your Books for putting me in contact with David Grant, and providing me with the opportunity to review his book.    I was provided with a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for writing my review.  Receiving this copy did not require me to write positive comments and all opinions expressed in this review are my own.


If you want to review books on your blog, I highly recommend checking out Pump Up Your Books for new authors and books on tour

Friendly Wednesday: "Eighties rockers coming to your town soon..." by David S. Grant

I am pleased today to have David S. Grant, renowned author and blogger guest posting about a subject near and dear to his heart (and my own), 80's Rockers.  Having grown up with music of all kinds in my house, it was bands like GNR that sparked my imagination and had me listening on my walkman late at night...

Without futher ado, and don't forget to check out his work and bio at the links provided at the bottom of the page, and stop back tomorrow for my review of his latest book, Rock Stars!

"Eighties rockers coming to your town soon..." by David S. Grant

Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver, and Loaded) has stated that he is developing a memoir of his life. With McKagan’s entry into the world of autobiographies, this makes three members (Duff, Slash, and Steven Adler) from the original GN’R lineup to venture into the memoir business. Given Izzy Stradlin’s need to stick to his independent roots, no one is holding their breath over IZZY, which would have to be the title, right? That leaves us with W. Axl Rose.

The Axl memoir is interesting to many because of three factors. First, at times, Rose has maintained a semi-reclusive life, vanishing from a spotlight he once dominated. Second, few have had as many “what were they thinking?” moments as Axl. This is a perfect output for his side of the story. Finally, there is the good versus evil, love versus insanity, caring versus destructive natures (often in the same breath) through both his music and performances. Would all the answers be revealed in a “tell all” book? Of course not, it would probably confuse fans more, but in good natured fun, let’s look at some potential titles for this book that will never see the light of day.

10. (My Band is) OUT TO GET ME
A band, millions of dollars, paranoia.

9. AXL, THROUGH THE WORDS OF THE COURT
A two thousand page book of court documents: Ranging from the GNR name, royalties, and other lawsuits. Axl includes footnotes that often include the word bullshit.

8. CHINESE DEMOCRACY: THE CONTRIBUTORS
Essentially, a list of band members, managers, and other contributors to the latest GNR album. A surprisingly long read at 642 pages.

7. APPETITE FOR RECONSTRUCTION: A look at facial surgery and cranium accessories
Chapters include: Oversized Aviators, The Art of Corn Rows part I, The Boxers, Kilts, and The Art of Corn Rows part II.

6. PARADISE CITY: Omaha, Nebraska
Using his experience on the road, Axl shocks all with his claim that Paradise is in a small town named Omaha.

5. MY CIVIL WAR: A list
A list of names Rose is either unhappy with, has a problem with, or seeks revenge upon. Also, not a quick read.

4. PATIENCE: The Making of Chinese Democracy
A day by day look into the diary of Axl Rose from 1995 through 2007, sold in three volumes.

3. AXL: THE CONCERT RANTS
All of the favorites are captured here: Warren Beatty, Scott Weiland, the fans that blink during “November Rain,” everyone in the media and so on.

2. FASHIONABLY LATE: The Axl Rose story
A handbook on how to be a rock star today. Lesson # 1: Don’t leave the hotel until the show is suppose to start. #2: If even one fan is out of line, stop the show. Everyone will understand.

1. ASIAN FUSION
Disappointing his fans, Axl writes a cook book.


David S. Grant is the author of several books including Rock Stars, Happy Hour, and Corporate Porn. David lives and works in New York City. For more information go to: http://www.rockstarbooks.net or http://www.davidsgrant.com.

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MMMmonday - Gyros Burgers with my twists...

I was excited to read about another great recipe to try on my friend Heather's blog Out of the Box and Into the Kitchen - Gyros Burgers...

Our family is a huge fan of the real authentic gyros, shaved pressed lamb and beef, grilled and served with tzatziki sauce and other additions... so I thought we'd try these...

and even before I could try them, I recommended them to my cousin who was looking for an interesting supper choice too!  They really liked them so it redoubled my resolve to make this recipe...

But, I also learned that the burgers were hard to keep in the pitas, and so modified our meal to be cooked ground beef (like you would for tacos or meat sauce) rather than formed burgers... this also appealed to me because I could better control just how cooked the meat was... and being pregnant, this was important to me!

Here is the original recipe from Heather's site with my modifications in Red:

Gyro Burgers
1 lb ground beef(or ground turkey)
1/2 onion, diced
3/4 tsp oregano
2 cups plain yogurt (I used Greek Yogurt - easy to find these days at most supermarkets)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried chives (I had fresh, so I used fresh instead)
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground pepper (We like pepper so used 1/2 tsp instead)
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted the salt completely)
1 cucumber, seeded, peeled,chopped (We only needed 1/2 a cucumber)
pita (we used Greek flat bread pita - most authentic...)
mozzerella cheese (we used crumbled Feta instead for a more authentic taste)

tomatoes - for topping
spinach leaves - for topping
Mix one cup of yogurt with seasonings(except oregano). Place half the mixture in with meat, oregano, and onions. Mix meat together and form patties
, grill until done to your likeness (As I said, I just pan sautéed the meat rather than make patties. Take the rest of the yogurt and mix it with the cucumber and 1 cup of plain yogurt to make the sauce. Stir and place in fridge. Once burgers are done, place in pitas and top with sauce. I steamed the pitas in the microwave with a damp paper towel for 30 seconds before placing the sauce onto the pita and then scooping meat, tomato, cheese etc onto it.  The nice thing about the ground meat rather than the patty was you could control how much you wanted...


These weren't quite as good as authentic gyros... they lacked the slow cooked meat flavor, but were good none-the-less and we will make them again!  

Sunday Family Stories - Heather's Hubby Edition

I am still having trouble writing and reading on the computer... Ach Baby doesn't like it... so I prevailed on Wayne to do another post for us....

So here is one of his stories:


With Heather’s pregnancy family stories have been coming rushing back into my brain.  Some of the stories are happy and poignant while others are sad and morose.  I have even thought of a couple that has really made me laugh.  It has been hard to choose one but chosen I have.  You tell me what category it fits into.

I was never good at school when I was young.  I really didn’t like it for some reason that to this day I can not fathom.  In elementary school I was in particular quite the ragamuffin and/or scamp.  I remember in grade eight having a math test I really wasn’t prepared for so I decided to make sure the test did not happen.  I sat down and went through all of the ways to get out of the test.  While I could have chosen something easy like faking being sick, that was not my way.  I decided to create a nice diversion instead. 

Using a baggie filled with baking soda, a brick and some string I developed a device that would pull the fire alarm during my class period.  That way I could see the test, know what was on it and then study for it when I was sure it would be given to us again the next day.  So I spent hours the night before figuring out the weights needed to trigger the brick attached to a string to fall at a rate of pace that would pull the lever with enough force to trigger the alarm at just the right time.  It was really quite ingenious. 

The next day during the recess before the class I snuck into the storage area and set up my device.  As I wandered into class assured my nefarious plan would work nicely, I confidently flipped over my test paper.  The test was on force and was similar to all of the math I had to use the previous night.  As I looked at the test stunned that I actually knew how to answer the questions, what happens but my plan works to perfection. 

As we are standing on the side walk in the now rain, the teacher announces to us that since our test was disrupted, he was going to just take our homework scores instead and he was cancelling the test.  It is when I learnt that ‘D’ stands for deserved!