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Reading Minds: The CoastGab Book Club

Started by PhantasticSanShiSan, October 23, 2008, 12:06:30 AM

paladin1991

"We are NOT ninjas!" 
          Head Ninja, 'Brainsmasher: A Love Story'

2666 by Roberto Bolano

And with that, I'm off like quicksilver. Gotta go run over some cyclists!

(Anyone remember Kevin Bacon as a bike messenger in Quicksilver? Holy inner tube. That movie caused deep deep hurting.)

Movement Key : EC

zeebo

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 14, 2014, 03:25:15 PM
2666 by Roberto Bolano ...

Whoa I've heard about that one.  Isn't it pretty grim and difficult?  (not that those are necessarily bad things)

zeebo, this is from a few minutes ago of Inspector Zeebo's latest visit to extract tribute.  Fortunately, I had enough to get him to break the siege.

Wish it was clearer, but I had to take it through a screen and a filmy window to catch him there.  If I'd opened the door, he would have jumped down for his swag.

[attachimg=1]

Cam, thanks again for the John Macdonald tip!  I've devoured eight McGee books, and looking forward to more as soon as the next in the series are returned to the library.  I'm a binge reader to begin with, but these are more addictive than almond M&Ms and Oxycontin.  Great stuff!

Quote from: zeebo on August 14, 2014, 04:23:46 PM
Whoa I've heard about that one.  Isn't it pretty grim and difficult?  (not that those are necessarily bad things)

Compared to the bellgab politics arena-meana, it's a walk in the park my bushy-tailed friend.

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 14, 2014, 06:38:45 PM
Cam, thanks again for the John Macdonald tip!  I've devoured eight McGee books, and looking forward to more as soon as the next in the series are returned to the library.  I'm a binge reader to begin with, but these are more addictive than almond M&Ms and Oxycontin.  Great stuff!

You're so welcome. If you really wish to show your gratitude, you will help me pen a forgery of A Black Border for McGee.

We'd be millionaires. Or hundredaires. I'm unsure if the current reading public would care or even realize we had "located" the Holy McGrail.

Movement Key : PR

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 15, 2014, 01:13:01 AM

You're so welcome. If you really wish to show your gratitude, you will help me pen a forgery of A Black Border for McGee.

We'd be millionaires. Or hundredaires. I'm unsure if the current reading public would care or even realize we had "located" the Holy McGrail.

Movement Key : PR

I hope you are jesting, suh, because otherwise what you propose is blasphemy, and I refuse to be a party to it.  It would be akin to slathering ketchup and mustard on a Beef Wellington.

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 15, 2014, 09:35:54 AM
I hope you are jesting, suh, because otherwise what you propose is blasphemy, and I refuse to be a party to it.  It would be akin to slathering ketchup and mustard on a Beef Wellington.

Was it that obvious? Of course it was. (But I would like your help knocking over a 7-11. I've got the safe time codes.)

The last time I co-authored a work, one of the writers killed the other one.

It's a jungle.

Note:
Very VERY difficult to stage a believable suicide that aligns with the dark stars of: blunt force trauma from an IBM Selectric, shared fingerprints all over three empty Jack Daniel's bottles, and chipped teeth resulting from the roundhouse application of a 1947 paperweight from Sea World preserving the dessicated husk of a seahorse.

But writers write about staging crime scenes, so complaining is unacceptable.

Those who stage a scene, stage, those who don't, teach staging.

Movement Key : CC2

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 15, 2014, 11:23:32 AM
Was it that obvious? Of course it was. (But I would like your help knocking over a 7-11. I've got the safe time codes.)

The last time I co-authored a work, one of the writers killed the other one.

It's a jungle.

Note:
Very VERY difficult to stage a believable suicide that aligns with the dark stars of: blunt force trauma from an IBM Selectric, shared fingerprints all over three empty Jack Daniel's bottles, and chipped teeth resulting from the roundhouse application of a 1947 paperweight from Sea World preserving the dessicated husk of a seahorse.

But writers write about staging crime scenes, so complaining is unacceptable.

Those who stage a scene, stage, those who don't, teach staging.

Movement Key : CC2

You can't beat those old Selectrics for stopping power.  I would have claimed self-defense, though.  The other writer viciously attacked me after I pointed out that the seahorse paperweight he was trying to sell me was a clumsy fake, because SeaWorld didn't open until 1964.

Keep me posted on that 7-11 job.  I'll disguise the Selectric to look like an old Royal so we'll be able to waltz right in and nobody will suspect a thing until it's too late.

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 15, 2014, 11:50:46 AM
The other writer viciously attacked me after I pointed out that the seahorse paperweight he was trying to sell me was a clumsy fake, because SeaWorld didn't open until 1964.

(screams in horror at monitor) Would you believe I was "thinking" Marineland of Florida and typed SeaWorld? Holy shit. I must be winding down.  In a bad way. Such muscle memory translation errors are disturbing.

Thank God for weed eaters. 

I mean editors!  Son of a . . .

Movement Key : NYA

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 15, 2014, 12:07:39 PM
(screams in horror at monitor) Would you believe I was "thinking" Marineland of Florida and typed SeaWorld? Holy shit. I must be winding down.  In a bad way. Such muscle memory translation errors are disturbing.

Thank God for weed eaters. 

I mean editors!  Son of a . . .

Movement Key : NYA

That's why you should always consult the Old Bedouin's Camelsocks Almanac if you're not entirely sure of your facts.  It's saved my bacon a few times, Francis.

zeebo

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 14, 2014, 06:21:04 PM
zeebo, this is from a few minutes ago of Inspector Zeebo's latest visit to extract tribute.  ...

Well done, Inspector.  Demand your well-deserved snacks!

Tarbaby

Ha! You guys are made for each other. And Yorky too although he seems to have hied himself to a nunnery of late. :-)

Oh, Zeebs, I've finished ringworld and I am on book number two,  Ringworld Engineers.

Quote from: Tarbaby on August 15, 2014, 04:06:23 PM
Ha! You guys are made for each other. And Yorky too although he seems to have hied himself to a nunnery of late. :-)


If Yorkie has hied himself to a nunnery, you can be sure it's the Elizabethan definition of one.  ;)

Hey Cam, did you know about the 1970 version of "Darker Than Amber" starring Rod Taylor as McGee?  I just found out about it while looking for recent news about the "Deep Blue Good-by."  The whole movie is on YouTube, so I'm going to check it out today.  Rod Taylor wouldn't be my first choice to play McGee, but I imagine he pulled it off--we'll see.  I just read that DiCaprio was the first choice to play him in Deep Blue, and that would have been all wrong IMHO.  Sounds like he's one of the producers, and Dennis LeHane is doing the screenplay.

BTW, the 1970 movie replaces the Alabama Tiger with the Alabama Tigress, played by Jane Russell.  Nothing against her, but I really wish screenwriters would quit making big changes for their own sake when adapting books to movies.  I just don't get that shit.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpjvnlIxrmE

Well, that was interesting even though it was more than a little disappointing.  Rod Taylor actually did a fine job as McGee (and Theodore Bikel was very credible as Meyer), but unfortunately the screen adaptation left much to be desired.  It's not a UA film, but it has the same look, and for the most part is indistinguishable from the 800 other low budget action movies made in 1970. It also has the period's generic jazzy rock action soundtrack with the rapid fire bongos way up in the mix, which I'm actually kind of a sucker for, and the standard big star with three lines of dialogue in one scene cameo by the aforementioned full figured cross your heart gal.  I'd say go ahead and watch it for the occasional good bits and as a study in typical 1970ish action movie that's not very faithful to the book, but don't expect too much otherwise.  And I have to warn you, there are a couple of scenes where Rod Taylor is wearing one of those colorful little scarf/ascot hybrid things that were popular in the day, but which I doubt McGee would have been caught dead wearing.

Mr. Fidget

I will never finish this book.
[attachimg=1]
It covers a wide spectrum.
[attachimg=2]
Lots of tables, and reference data.
[attachimg=3]
Index included.
[attachimg=4]
I have never had a popup advertisement,
when conducting research/reference w/ it.
I recommend it.


Just read Blasphemy by Douglas Preston. Picked up in an airport during a fit of boredom. My eyes demand more bleach.
Actually took me a while to realize this wasn't the same Preston who wrote The Hot Zone. Because wow

FP

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 19, 2014, 10:59:48 AM
Hey Cam, did you know about the 1970 version of "Darker Than Amber" starring Rod Taylor as McGee? 

I knew of it, but never viewed it. I should watch it for research purposes, despite the Alabama Tigress fiasco.

I agree with you about Leonardo. He has his strengths and charisma but can be miscast as easily as any actor.  I can't see Leo as McGee.

That almost sounds like a viable thread. "Hollywood's Casting Blunders."

Speaking of. It's funny, but what I think of immediately is Dick Sargent as the second Darrin Stevens. They should have put the show on hiatus and searched for someone more similar - money concerns and scheduling pressures be damned. Darrin 2's voice and appearance built a brick wall.

But it's not everyday you run into someone with the facial construction similar to York's. Some distinctive genetics going on there that really added to the role, and his exasperated voice was non-grating. I found Darrin 2's voice highly grating. He sounded like he was whining to Samantha.

I've been known to tell a lady-friend or two, "Sam, fix me a drink."

If they don't get that joke, it's a deal breaker.

And back on topic... the next book at bat is Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes.

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 27, 2014, 01:27:01 PM
FP

I knew of it, but never viewed it. I should watch it for research purposes, despite the Alabama Tigress fiasco.

I agree with you about Leonardo. He has his strengths and charisma but can be miscast as easily as any actor.  I can't see Leo as McGee.

That almost sounds like a viable thread. "Hollywood's Casting Blunders."

Speaking of. It's funny, but what I think of immediately is Dick Sargent as the second Darrin Stevens. They should have put the show on hiatus and searched for someone more similar - money concerns and scheduling pressures be damned. Darrin 2's voice and appearance built a brick wall.

But it's not everyday you run into someone with the facial construction similar to York's. Some distinctive genetics going on there that really added to the role, and his exasperated voice was non-grating. I found Darrin 2's voice highly grating. He sounded like he was whining to Samantha.

I've been known to tell a lady-friend or two, "Sam, fix me a drink."

If they don't get that joke, it's a deal breaker.

And back on topic... the next book at bat is Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes.

The word I was looking for to describe what Rod Taylor wore in a couple of scenes is "neckerchief,"  and this is why McGee wouldn't have been caught dead wearing one.

[attachimg=1]

Which brings us back to Dick Sargent.  While it's unlikely they would have found a Dick York look-a-like, because I've never seen anyone who looks like him, DS was about as bad a choice as was the casting of the shrill and prissy Joseph Kearns as Mr. Wilson in the old Dennis the Menace series.  He came across like a docent at a tea cup museum.  Even worse was replacing him after he died with Gale Gordon as his brother, and then offering the lame explanation that George Wilson was out of town for an extended period.

Back on topic--Just finished "The World Jones Made," one of Philip K. Dick's early novels.  Interesting stuff.  I've not read much of his work, because I couldn't get into the first couple of books I tried many years ago, but now that I'm much older and marginally wiser, I'm going to give him another go, especially since he was a close friend and mentor of my favorite "supernatural secret history" author, Tim Powers.

AA

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 27, 2014, 02:44:38 PM
The word I was looking for to describe what Rod Taylor wore in a couple of scenes is "neckerchief,"  and this is why McGee wouldn't have been caught dead wearing one.

Now all I can think about is Carly Simon's You're So Vain.

You walked into the party,
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot....


hahahaha. Goddamn, I love that old song. The song has been covered by many performers, but I would donate my left testicle to a castrated friend if Spinal Tap would cover it and spell it, and intend it, as "vein." (I have plenty of married friends sorely in need of spherical support.)

Whether one hates or loves Marilyn Manson, his cover was good, and Johnny Depp's drum work was solid, if highly unexpected.

Quote from: Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost on August 27, 2014, 02:44:38 PM
Even worse was replacing him after he died with Gale Gordon as his brother, and then offering the lame explanation that George Wilson was out of town for an extended period.

Would that Hollywood had simply explained/allowed the original Mr. Wilson's departure using a flashback depicting young master Dennis haven chosen the left-hand path, going the way of The Bad Seed, and offing Wilson with a manual lawnmower or even a rusty pair of shears like in the The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.

But what blasphemy to "anti-Christen" our lovable Dennis the Menace.

That's "Hollywouldn't" for ya.  ;)

zeebo

Ok I finally made it through the third Game of Thrones book, A Storm of Swords - all 900+ pages of it.  And this is of course after nearly two thousand pages from the first two books.  And of course, once the full series is finally written out, I'm not even halfway through it all.

However, even though I have mixed feelings about it, I've decided I'm done, and if I want to know how it turns out I'll maybe check out the HBO series someday.  Why?  Well I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll speak generally. 

First off, there are some great things in it.  GRRM is definitely good at writing interesting, fleshed-out characters with various motivations and flaws/strengths/moralities, and especially good at writing dialogue (as well as internal monologues).  Some of the action sequences and plot twists are exciting and unconventional and even have a strain of dark humor, of which I'm a fan.  Martin gives great evocative descriptions down to very minute details of his world.  And there are some fantastic wry one-liners as well, sprinkled throughout.

But I have two main problems that I can't deal with any more: 

One, it's so sprawling, and full of countless characters and subplots, most of which seem to just meander endlessly, that I've just lost my patience.  Some of the characters I want to follow I have to wait for sometimes a hundred pages before I get the next step in their journey.  And often new characters are brought in while others just disappear (one way or another).  All these descriptions of clothing and banners and connections between this knight and that maiden and how some Ser was unhorsed by some hedge knight ten years ago or how some royal house member had a bastard with some tavern girl etc etc.  I can't take it anymore, enough already with all the family trees and different house names and mottos and nicknames and titles and who was what lord's ward and who squired together before they fought in which battle under which king and what healing potions the maesters are mixing up and which gods are being prayed to and which house is treating with some other house to back the throne, or rebel against it etc. etc.  Aaaargh, enough already!

Two, when I read fantasy, or sci-fi, some part of me wants to venture into an intriguing world, filled with wonders and adventures.  Now even though I really do have respect for this story which is really a kind of anti-fantasy, what with all it's grim brutalities and adult themes, it's just not a place I want to spend anymore time in. People see ads for the tv show and think Wow it's about dragons, neat!  Nope, it's about many very unlikeable, scheming, duplicitous, corrupt, even brutal people (note some do have redeeming qualities for sure) trying to survive in a repressive, violent, difficult land where people starve and get maimed in battle or married off to people they don't like and end up in slavery or dungeons or much worse.  People just seem to be grinding through, enduring such hardships day-after-day, half-starved, sleep-deprived, freezing, broken-hearted, recovering from battle-wounds, etc. that it just gets to you after awhile. 

I'm bummed as there are several characters I'm really invested in, and would love to know what happens with them (or maybe not, if you know what I mean), and how all the plots turn out, but with some misgivings, I'm bailing out on the books.

But since this is the book thread, I'll leave you with a quote from one Tyrion Lannister:  "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge."

IT

This isn't really on topic, but seemed the appropriate thread nonetheless:

I donated a "like new" book to the local library. Beasts - a novella by Joyce Carol Oates. The book was in such good condition after I read it that it didn't seem right sentencing it to a life of "half-priced books resell hell."

I was informed that their policy on donations forever links my name as donor of the book. I don't know if it is only in their database or some kind of notice in the book. Since the librarian began the process of cataloging it before I could even get out of there, I know it's going to be absorbed into the collective. (books donated that they don't wish to add to their shelves are set aside for a future fund raising book sale.)

If I had known it was this easy to achieve a type of local immortality, I would have given them some nice books long ago.

All that's required of me now to perpetuate my good name is to make sure the library doesn't close down. 

It's a real ghost town in there.  It might be a short eternal life.

Quote from: Mr. Fidget on August 20, 2014, 02:42:25 AM
I will never finish this book.

It covers a wide spectrum. Lots of tables, and reference data.
Index included. I have never had a pop-up advertisement,
when conducting research/reference w/ it. I recommend it.

I keep meaning to tell you, Mr. Fidget, that that looks like a very fun book to keep around.


zeebo

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 29, 2014, 06:08:19 PM
...If I had known it was this easy to achieve a type of local immortality, I would have given them some nice books long ago.

All that's required of me now to perpetuate my good name is to make sure the library doesn't close down...

Yeah but this cuts both ways.  That Wayne Dyer self-help book, given to me by a well-meaning but misguided relative, which was promptly donated, unopened in mint condition, is now forever tied to my legacy.

Quote from: zeebo on September 30, 2014, 01:56:16 PM
Yeah but this cuts both ways.  That Wayne Dyer self-help book, given to me by a well-meaning but misguided relative, which was promptly donated, unopened in mint condition, is now forever tied to my legacy.

That donation is going to come back and haunt you for sure. In more ways than one.

Especially when the relative asks how surprised you were coming across that crisp one hundred dollar bill tucked into chapter 3.  ;)

Never fear. I have a feeling the bill would still be present, and the book in unopened and in mint condition on the library shelf, assuming the bill wasn't spotted during the application of the "mylar reincarnation wrap legacy shell."

zeebo

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on September 30, 2014, 02:28:10 PM
That donation is going to come back and haunt you for sure. In more ways than one.

Especially when the relative asks how surprised you were coming across that crisp one hundred dollar bill tucked into chapter 3.  ;)

Oh man, some schlep's gonna crack that book open to the "visualize prosperity" page, find that c-note, and be like "It works!"

Man, where else on the web will you find people griping about a casting change for a show that's been off the air for fifty years?  Gotta love this place!

Full Dark, No Stars - the book comprises four novellas by Stephen King :

1922
Big Driver
Fair Extension
A Good Marriage

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