LIVING IN DIVINE SPACE by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

For most Christians and even most (Gentile born) Messianic Jews, this hard-cover book will be Advanced, when it should be intermediate for beginners. For others, it will be intermediate. And for few, it will basic. And for yet just a handful, it may not be worth their time, other than to present it to their students as a gift. Its well worded for those who want to dwell on The Reception while practicing Mussar in their daily lives. Hebrew Roots "Teachers" like Jim Staley and Michael Rood, never teach this kind of material. Either it behooves them to have to seriously study the Word like never before... or its causing them to fear having to bear the loss of people who follow them blindly, who now realize that they are finally making some progress and don't need to be shepherded by Personalities. I don't know; maybe it's both. 288 Pages with charts. (Linda Pinsky Publications, Gal Einai Institute, Jerusalem [ 2003 ] )

FIRST BLOOD by David Morrell: A Review

 

First Blood is the book that introduced the character John Rambo to the world (although he was initially only referred to as Rambo in the book as his first name John was added on in the subsequent movies). Released back in 1972 (about a decade before the film First Blood was released with--of course!--Sylvester Stallone as the title character) and written by author David Morrell in his first published book, it tells the story of wandering Vietnam Vet Rambo traveling the countryside where he winds up in the "hick" town of Madison, Kentucky where he's picked up by aging Sheriff Teasle who informs Rambo how "his kind" isn't "welcomed" in his "respectable" town. After dropping him off at the edge of town, Rambo ignores the Sheriff's "warning" and returns to town where's he's picked up again by Teasle who arrests him and takes him to the police station. Being locked up causes Rambo to have flashbacks to his days as a POW. He finally reaches his limit when the cops rather cruelly try to shave him without shaving cream. Rambo manages to wrestle away from the cops after slashing one to death with the straight razor. He flees nude on a motorcycle (after having been stripped naked by the cops) and a manhunt ensues. In the movie, Rambo only kills a handful of people (this was done to make the character appear more "sympathetic" to the moviegoing public). However, in the book, Rambo proves to be little more than a murderous psycho as he manages to kill several cops, National Guardsman and even some civilians. Like in the movie, Sheriff Teasle--who's actually a more sympathetic character in the book than he was in the movie who appeared more as a bigoted redneck (played by--of course!--Brian Dennehy)--receives help in hunting Rambo from Colonel Sam Trautman who was Rambo's commanding officer in Vietnam. Also like the movie, Rambo is finally confronted by Trautman. Though I won't spoil how the book ends, I will say that, unlike the movie, things do not end well for either Rambo or his foe Sheriff Teasle. (I'll offer a hint: Unlike the movie, there are no sequels to the book save for the movie adaptations also written by Morrell.) One of the things I found most interesting about the book is that it was written from the points-of-view of both Rambo and Teasle switching off from one to the other. One minor complaint I did have about the book, however, is how the prose started getting somewhat choppy in the second half of the book where Rambo is being pursued by both Trautman and Teasle. I'm not sure if this was done to make the action more succinct or if Morrell was merely in a hurry to finish the book. In any case, First Blood is a pretty taut action novel that also attempts to convey a sort of political message about the Vietnam War (at least that was my interpretation of it anyway). I think it would be of especial interest to fans of the Rambo films--including myself--who would like to see a different take on the character.



ON WRITING by Stephen King: A Review

 



Stephen King was, at one time, my favorite author. That is, until he started backing away from writing hardcore horror fiction and started writing books about baseball and such (and when I started getting more-and-more into reading the aforementioned “urban fantasy“ novels by writers such as Patricia Briggs, Lilith Saintcrow and Yasmine Galenorn, among others). Anyway, On Writing is one of my all-time favorite Stephen King books even though it’s not the aforesaid hardcore horror fiction that made him a household name. In the book, King gives aspiring writers tips on how to become a successful writer and whatnot. Interspersed with said writing tips are stories from King’s own childhood that helped shaped his writing abilities. To be honest, I’ve always been a fan of Stephen King’s nonfiction writing (the baseball stuff excluded, of course). In fact, I’ve found the “forewords” and “afterwords” to his books just as enjoyable as the book itself, and sometimes even more so. Which is one of the reasons I found this book such a treat. As a matter of fact, Stephen’s nonfiction style of writing--as amply displayed in this book--has been a major influence on my own nonfiction--and even fiction--style of writing (and I’ll, of course, let you decide for yourself if that’s a good or a bad thing!). And, FYI, I’ve also been a huge fan of Stephen King’s short stories of which he’s also compiled into various books (of which I intend to review at a later date).



My Amazon bestseller made me nothing

My Amazon bestseller made me nothing

SHARYN WOLF VS. JAMES FREY: The Oprah Factor: A Commentary

Sharyn Wolf

James Frey

 



I posted before about how author James Frey was given the third degree--and THEN some!--by the once-almighty Oprah Winfrey--and, of course, this blog's namesake--after he had admitted that he had "fudged" a little in his supposed autobiography A Million Little Pieces that was purportedly about his battles with drug addiction and such. That got me to thinking about another author featured on Oprah's old TV show who, like Frey, was also forced to admit she had "fudged" in her books yet, unlike Frey, she wasn't grilled by the once-almighty Oprah. The author's name is Sharyn Wolf and she was regularly featured on Oprah's old TV show as a relationship and/or marriage "expert" who had authored one or two books on how to have a "successful" relationship and/or marriage. Now here's where the "fudging" comes in: Apparently while Miss Wolf was touting her relationship/marriage "expertise" on Oprah's show AND in her books, her own marriage was apparently in the crapper. Not only that, but the "expert" information she touted in her books as her own she, by her very own admission in a TV interview I saw her give (but, of course, NOT on Oprah's show!), pilfered from other sources. So, the million-dollar question is, did Oprah berate Sharyn as she so famously--or was it infamously?--did on her old TV show as she did James? I got one word for that one: Noooooooo!!!! So why was that, I wonder? Personally, and frankly, I think it was because Oprah started getting some heat from her "viewers" about "supporting" Mr. Frey after he had finally "admitted" that he had in fact "fudged"--at least a little--in his "nonfiction" book A Million Little Pieces (of which he's STILL catching heat for to this very day), saying how his overall tale of overcoming addiction was more "important" than his "truthfulness" and whatnot. Here's a good rule-of-thumb for all my fellow book readers out there: When an author recounts certain events in their life in literary form, chances are that they HAVE "fudged"--at least a little--in their narration (which is probably why James Frey got the "support" of other authors such as the late legendary author Norman Mailer). Also, it might also be a good idea to take with a grain-of-salt whenever an author touts themselves as an "expert" about something unless they have the hardcore credentials to back it up and even then you STILL might want to take their "advice" with a grain-of-salt (Dr. Phil, are you listening?)! In any case, this is just more proof that this is most definitely NOT Oprah's Effing Book Club! 

TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY IN SEARCH OF AMERICA by John Steinbeck: A Review

 

Travels With Charley In Search Of America was written by legendary author John Steinbeck who, for those who can't recall their grade and/or high school English lessons, wrote the classic novels The Grapes Of Wrath and Of Mice & Men and a whole slew of other classic books that have been read by countless readers. Travels With Charley might not be as "classic" as some of his others, but it's actually one of my personal favorites. In 1960, at age 58, Steinbeck decided to take a road trip across the country in spite of his failing health. With his French poodle named--of course!--Charley, and with his wife's blessing, he rode across America in a specialty-made camper he called Rocinante after Don Quixote's horse (Don Quixote is another classic novel for all you who feel asleep in English class). In his book, John Steinbeck wanted to see how much America was changing and, at times, he found said changes wanting as he made what Bill O'Reilly (bet'cha never thought Bill O'Reilly would EVER be mentioned in the same sentence as John Steinbeck, did ya?) would call "pithy" comments about things like the increasing number of mobile homes he saw and American's increasing need for instant gratification. I think John made some of his best observations when he traveled down to New Orleans during the time when they were staring to "integrate" public schools. He mentions this group of older women called "the cheerleaders" who were leading the protest against said "integration" in a very vocal--and, as Steinbeck described it, very ugly--way. In fact, John himself describes the show "the cheerleaders" put on as "bestial and filthy" as they shout down the black--and even white--children being ushered into the school. The book was published several months before he deservedly won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Fans of John Steinbeck's fiction will, I feel, no less enjoy this "nonfiction" work of his. And I put the word "nonfiction" in quotes because some critics over the years have questioned the "validity" of Steinbeck's accounts of his travels in his book (like, for instance, author Bill Steigerwald who wrote the far-less-than-classic book Dogging Steinbeck that was highly questionable--and critical--of the book's "validity"). However, as Bill Barich wrote in his book Long Way Home: On the Trail of Steinbeck's America about the book: "I'm fairly certain that Steinbeck made up most of the book. The dialogue is so wooden. Steinbeck was extremely depressed, in really bad health, and was discouraged by everyone from making the trip. He was trying to recapture his youth, the spirit of the knight-errant. But at that point he was probably incapable of interviewing ordinary people. He'd become a celebrity and was more interested in talking to Dag Hammarskjold and Adlai Stevenson. The die was probably cast long before he hit the road, and a lot of what he wrote was colored by the fact that he was so ill. But I still take seriously a lot of what he said about the country. His perceptions were right on the money about the death of localism, the growing homogeneity of America, the trashing of the environment. He was prescient about all that." That's good enough for me! A sidenote: Remember when author James Frey was grilled about the "validity" of his supposed "nonfiction" book A Million Little Pieces by the self-righteous likes of this blog's namesake Oprah Winfrey after she had picked the book for her almighty Book Club and had initially "supported" the book even after Frey admitted that he had in fact fudged some of the "facts" in his book about his battles with drug addiction and such? I can just imagine John Steinbeck being grilled by the once-almighty Oprah nowadays over the "validity" of his Travels With Charley book. Quite frankly, I think people will remember John Steinbeck LONG after they've forgotten the self-righteous likes of Oprah Winfrey (and, judging how fast Oprah's popularity has dropped rather significantly since leaving her once-hallowed TV show to run her own apparently failing TV network, that's VERY likely to happen!).
 

THE DEATH OF RIGHT & WRONG by Tammy Bruce: A Review

 

I’ve, of course, read some stupid political books in my time (reread the review of Ann Coulter’s asinine book and/or Bill O’Reilly’s equally-asinine books). But I think Tammy Bruce’s inexplicably bestselling book The Death Of Right & Wrong really takes the political cake. Tammy Bruce, for those of you who don’t know who she is (lucky!), is a former president of the LA chapter of NOW (the National Organization for Women) who later became a shameless Republican-ass-kisser (Dennis Miller, are you listening?) even though she’s an admitted lesbian, a staunch “pro-choice” advocate and STILL considers herself to be a feminist (at least somewhat so). What’s wrong with THIS picture? And you’ll REALLY be scratching your heads when you read TDORAW. For instance, in the book Bruce gives her “insight” into the rampant Catholic sex abuse scandal by implying or saying how the Catholic Church was “infiltrated” by “gay” priests who, according to Bruce, "joined" the priesthood so they could "prey" on young boys as she accuses "gay" men of being wont to do (even though she starts the book by describing her "affair" with some soap opera actress who committed suicide when she was a teenager yet she doesn't accuse her fellow lesbians of seeking to "prey" upon young girls). She doesn't really offer too much in the way of "evidence" to back up her "claims" save for some "study" done by some--who else!--right-wing outfit (and we all know how "impartial" THEY can be!). And then she praises the Boy Scouts and how they (supposedly) stopped said child sex abuse by going out of their way to (supposedly) keep “gay” boy scout leaders out of the boy scouts altogether. Of course, years later come to find out that child sex abuse was about as rampant within the boy scouts for about the same length of time as it has been within the almighty Catholic Church even though they kept “gay“ men out of their ranks. Oops! While Tammy Bruce may admittedly may not be as, shall we say, bombastic as, say, Ann Coulter, I still think she can be as equally full of . . . well, you know! Personally, and frankly, I think someone--like yours truly!--should remind Miss Bruce that the so-called right will regard people like her as an "aberration" no matter how much she kisses their ass, you know what I'm saying?

BERLITZ HEBREW PHRASE BOOK & DICTIONARY: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

This is one of the BEST Israeli Phrasebooks on the market. I only wish they had 3 or 4 Audio CDs to go with it. And then? Yeah, it would be perfect. 19 out of 20 Stars.



CRACKING THE BIBLE CODE by Jeffrey Satinover, M.D.: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

This is Bar-None, the very best book yet available on the History and General Workings surrounding the Bible Code. The best parts of this are the Talmudic references and the story of Rabbi Weissmandl who help rescue over 1.1 Million European Jews from going to their deaths. Ironically today, he's probably the LEAST known Political and Religious Leader of the 20th Century. It's enough to make your blood boil..! This will probably wind up being Jeffrey Satinover's greatest work in literature over-all and not just in Investigative Reporting. 

LEARN BIBLICAL HEBREW by John H. Dobson: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

2nd Edition with Audio CD ROM (Baker Academic, 2005) I just bought two (2) more copies of this. A replacement and one for a new Messianic Believer who I'm giving free lessons to. The only problem I have with this book, is that Mr. Dobson could easily have told you what the names of the Vowels are as he's introducing each one and it's pronunciation. But they ARE in the Glossary of Grammatical Terms in the back of the book on Page 348 in a table. There's a Selective Subject Index starting on Page 379 and a Scripture Index starting on Page 383, which includes Passages from The Tanakh used in the book. If you're beginning this kind of Study for the first time, John H. Dobson's little hard-cover Book and CD is the best thing you could possibly purchase. Don't forget to buy a Hebrew Language Tanakh (Old Testament) with it! 18 out of 20 Stars.

 



THE RABBI'S CAT by Joann Star: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

For American Jewry in general and especially those of us who have an Algerian/Morroccan Ancestry, this magazine-sized Graphic Novel is sure to delight. This has the right kind of feel to it, where the Story of the Algerian Rabbi, his daughter and their talking Cat, melds very well with the Artwork of the Author.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X (as told to Alex Haley): A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

This is one of the world's best written works from the first-person point of view, where adversity is a constant theme, but where Malcolm comes through strongly in each phase of his own life's story. For those of us who are bi-racial to any extent, this Man's fortitude to overcome Racial Bigotry and reading about it, is a source of inspiration for us. The themes haven't really changed much at all. If Malcolm were still alive, he wouldn't be pulling any punches against the lies and hypocrisy that are still rampant in American Politics.



ROOTS by Alex Haley: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

For those of us who have been oppressed by White Power, this book is both a joy to read AND depressing. Some won't see the connection of the African Scenery like I did, but from the beginning of the Novel, I almost felt as if I were reading about the Real World Example of Tolkien's "Middle Earth" and the lives of the Hobbits in their own special little corner of the Globe. But after the White Orcs made their appearance, it started to fall apart. I couldn't handle it.

GREAT AMERICAN HYPOCRITES: Toppling The Big Myths Of Republican Politics by Glenn Greenwald: A Review

 

In his book Great American Hypocrites, author Glenn Greenwald targets various prominent right-wingers/Republicans for their various hypocrisies. For instance, he cites the blatant hypocrisy surrounding the right-wing/Republican notion of "masculinity" involving being so damned gung-ho about going to war when a prominent number of right-wingers/Republicans oftentimes went out of their way by using their prominent family connections and such to keep their cowardly asses out of various wars such as Vietnam--e.g. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney--while using their various "allies" in the media--e.g. Fox News and The Drudge Report--to "question" the actual military service of such prominent left-wingers/Democrats like former Presidential candidate John Kerry. My favorite part of the book is when Greenwald goes after right-wing/Republican "hero" John Wayne who's largely regarded in right-wing/Republican circles to this very day as The Ultimate American Patriot even though he went out of his way to avoid military service during World War II while his fellow thespians were lining up in droves to sign up for military service during WWII. Wayne, as Greenwald also notes in his book, was a staunch "family values" advocate back before the right-wing/Republican catchphrase "family values" even became fashionable in that crowd. Of course, like so many other right-wingers/Republicans who routinely espouse "family values" and whatnot, Wayne was likewise two-faced about his purported beliefs in that he was married--and divorced--multiple times. In fact, as Glenn points out in his book, he actually got married on the very day one of his numerous divorces was finalized to his mistress. Also according to the book, Wayne--whose real name was Marion Morrison, by the way--was also known to pull a Chris Brown a time or two on his wives (and I don't have to tell you what I mean by THAT, do I?). Wayne--again, according to the book--was also a hard drinker who was known to pull a Rush Limbaugh on more than one occasion (and, again, I don't have to tell you what I mean by THAT, now do I?). Regardless of whether you're a right-wing/Republican or not, Great American Hypocrites should be of interest to anyone who detests blatant political hypocrisy of ANY kind. A sidenote: Before I start getting any nasty messages defending the "character" of John Wayne, he actually admitted during an interview that he had all but "avoided" military service during WWII. From what The Duke said in the interview (of which I listened to, by the way), he said that he actually contacted the military about "serving" and they informed him that he would start out as a "lowly" private just like everyone else. According to The Duke, this didn't sit none too well with him, so he decided against actually doing his patriotic duty--as, of course, he demanded others do (and, of course, chastised those who didn't)--and instead chose to play "war hero" in his movies. Put more bluntly, The Duck, uh, I mean, The Duke was apparently afraid that actually serving his country would ruin his burgeoning movie career. How's THAT for patriotic! 



"Angel Para Bellum #1" by Kent Minami and Art by Nozomu Tamaki: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

A war between heaven and hell is brewing and only a young man named Mitsuru holds the key to prevent it. ... As a pretty liberal guy, I was shocked to find this Manga Comic that's geared to readers 16+ Years Of Age in a Bookstore smack-dab in the very center of Conservative Christian America: Springfield, Misery.
The "Angels" is this story are Hermaphrodites. Yeah, yeah, yeah; Let it go.
I just grabbed this right off the shelf, looking to copy some artwork-by-sight, for my own enjoyment. And knowing how I like to enjoy whatever it is I'm occupying myself with, I just have to say; "I enjoyed it." (laughing now)
Boy Howdy!
So for those of you who are a bit queasy with 'other material' that blurs the lines between Hetero and Homo, Sexuality, you might not want to read this.
I myself, as a Hack-Cartoonist, didn't really mind the images. It was really the Story that made me a tad un-easy. Wow! (Flex Comic Inc., Tokyo 2011)



HARD AMERICA SOFT AMERICA: Competition vs. Coddling & The Battle For The Nation's Future by Michael Barone: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

Michael Barone is a Senior Writer (at publication) for the 'U.S. News & World Report'. Despite the implication of the title's Republican-sounding attitude, this little book is chock-full of the historic foul-plays of the games that America's Conservatives have ignorantly pressed onto the American Public. But to be fair, he tells us what the short-comings have been from the Liberals also. Overall, this is a very good book that will help compress America's Political History into easy-to-digest chunks of information, allowing it's Conservative Readers to better grasp Liberality and allowing Liberals to better understand their Conservative Opponents' mindsets. 19 out of 20 Stars.

OCCULT ETHER PHYSICS: Tesla's "Ideal Flying Machine" & The Conspiracy To Conceal It by William Lyne: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

After reading Nick Cook's "The Hunt For Zero Point," this explained to me how the Germans, before both World Wars had managed to succour Nikola Tesla's ingenious inventions and get them, eventually, in the Nazi's hands. Also how Werner Von Braun worked in the United States during the 1930s. Interesting reading, to say the least and am thinking of seriously considering buying more of his books. This is a keeper for those of us who are researching Historical Black-Ops in America. It's centered around both Tesla and the sheltered Nazi Scientists.



BIBLICAL HEBREW & ARAMAIC by Larry A. Mitchel: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

In his 'General Orientation' on page xiii, Note 2, Mr. Mitchel points out that (non-vowel) which he calls a ''Sewa," but that's just Book-ese and should have been pronounced like Biblical Israelis and Modern would: "SchVAH." It's realistic and unpretentious sounding and I mean to say 'come on; we're not teaching the Romans how to speak Hebrew now, are we?' Other than this, I'm scanning this over for a few hours last night; and either I've missed it or I can't find a single mistake in it. But I'm just beginning the intermediate stages of understanding Modern Israeli Writing. Taking myself into an honest accounting for what I don't know thoroughly enough, I went from page one, making a list and by the time I hit page eighteen, I had counted 32 words and it fell on "Bal," a word of negation; "Not, surely?" and it's the 6th word from the top left side. Alphanumerically, it comes to 32. Funny ain't it? This number went higher to the end of the 19th page, where my total ignorance of words to that point, was 48. See that? 19. 48. Do I have too much time on my hands or what? According to one source, if a beginner learns just the 25 words on page 1, they will be able to immediately read 43% of the Tanakh as a whole. So get this neat little book, which will fit neatly into your man-bag or purse and easily so. If you use a good hi-lighter lightly on these pages, they shouldn't bleed through: Good paper for penning small notes.



THE NEW TESTAMENT IN HEBREW & ENGLISH: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

This is the Salkinson-Ginsburg Hebrew Language New Testament which comes with a King Jinx aVersion (yes it's a partially messed-with Translation, hence the renaming by me, to King Jinx and hey it less dirtier than "Sling Jizz," am I right? Knowing Ezekiel 16:17, people, please don't. Be. Offended. When those of you who can read Mishnaic Hebrew see this book, you'll understand why the memory of King Jinx deserves to be cursed. Just read Romans 6:17 and 1 John 5: 7,8 as two examples. More than 5% of Phillipians has been messed with as well as Mattityahu 24:15. As in Purim with Blessed Mordechai and Curse-ed Haman, from this Edition I could sing the Praises to God, while Cursing the Ignorant Gentile King of England , drunk OR sober!

HEBREW VERB TABLES by Asher Tarmon & Ezri Uval: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

As an everyday student of Hebrew Language and Grammar, I use this constantly and have referenced it thousands of times. However, there are two problems with it, one of which for myself and BY myself, has been corrected. This first problem is that NONE of the Verb Tables at the top give you the English definition for the Verb being conjugated. Using the book itself and being very careful to not get it wrong, I referenced each Root and wrote it's corresponding English Verb, penciling it in at the top of each of the 235 Tables. Yeah, I know, right? Tough job. It took me about 3 days to finish that neat little adventure, but was well worth it in my opinion. The next problem is a simple printing error at Table 36 in the Pa'al Section, "L'seyt=To Bear, To Carry, To Marry." In it's future tense, the SHE form is deleted (but is exactly the same as the HE form, future) and is replaced by the WE form. So instead of "Teesa'," you find "Neesa'." Otherwise, this is not that big of a deal: The former was deleted and was replaced by the latter. So that you'll also notice in that Table (36) that the WE form, future tense, is blank. Printing error.

MODERN HEBREW: An Essential Grammer by Lewis Glinert: A Guest Review by Robert John Huffine

 

I've had Mr. Glinert's books now for over ten years. He's the 'Gandalf the Gray' of Teaching Hebrew to English speaking students. I have found NO MISTAKES in his publications. Everything is Vowel-Pointed. There are Exercises and as the back of the book says; "a richly varied vocabulary ranging from the elegant to the very colloquial(everyday, mundane) . I'm always surprised and not pleasantly so, either, that the "Leaders" and "Teachers" of and in the Hebrew Roots Movement are never, and I do mean NEVER prescribing to their fellow congregants, these kinds of excellent learning materials! Must be a "Control--Issue," you think? Don't let them Sheeple know more than the Mean, Heartless Wolves do..! This book is equally recommended for Beginners as well as Advanced. One of the best, if not THE best book on Hebrew Language and Grammar I've ever seen or heard about. 10 out of 10 Stars in MY category! Lewis Glinert is Professor of Hebrew Studies, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.



DO AS I SAY (NOT AS I DO): Profiles In Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweiser: A Review

 

Do As I Say (Not As I Do) is a book written by author Peter Schweiser that details what he describes as the blatant "liberal hypocrisy" of such noted left-wingers like Ralph Nader, Nancy Pelosi, Barbra Streisand, Michael Moore, Al Franken (who, of course, wrote the earlier-reviewed the appropriately-titled Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot), the late Ted Kennedy and Bill & Hillary Clinton, among others. Among Peter's contentions are how noted lauded "leftie" author Noam Chomsky has accepted money from the very institutions he routinely criticizes like the Pentagon and/or Noam's fellow lauded "leftie" controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore's foundation owning stock in companies such as noted war-mongering Halliburton--whom Moore once denounced as being run by a bunch of "thugs" for their blatant war profiteering in places like Iraq and Afghanistan--even though he prominently stated in his book Stupid White Men (of which I intend to "review" at a later date) how, and I quote, "I don't own a single share of stock." While Peter might be admittedly splitting hairs somewhat on the Moore "stock" issue, this book is still an interesting read for those who detest hypocrisy of ANY political kind (like, of course, yours truly!). 

RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT & Other Observations by Al Franken: A Review

 

Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot & Other Observations is the book that put Saturday Night Live alumnus Al Franken on the literary map. In the book, which was released back in the mid-nineties, Franken--who's unabashedly left-wing/Democrat--seriously lampoons not only Mr. Rush but also the top right-wingers/Republicans of the day, including Pat Buchanan (by showing what aa apparent "Nazi lover" he is), former Republican senator/congressman Phil Gramm (by showing what a "bastard" he was), Bob Dole, and the irrepressible Newt Gingrich (yes, THAT Newt Gingrich!). But Al saves his sharpest barbs for the book's title target Mr. Limbaugh to hilarious effect. My own personal political views are neither left-wing nor right-wing, and I view Al Franken as a Kool-Aid drinker for The Left--especially since becoming a Democratic senator in his own right--the same way I view Rush Limbaugh as a diehard Kool-Aid drinker for The Right. Still, Franken makes some pretty spot-on "observations" about Rush Limbaugh and his "bastard" co-horts and/or allies on The Right. This book is for anyone who despises the blatant hypocrisies and/or lies of various media/political figures in this country regardless of what their stated political views may be (like, of course, yours truly!). A sidenote: As one might expect, The Right were none too pleased about having one of their own so horribly "slandered" by the "liberal" likes of some "leftie" as Al Franken (the aforementioned Bill O'Reilly had "slandered" Al on his TV show by calling him a "vicious" commentator), especially Mr. Limbaugh himself. All of which was more than a little ironic considering how Rush has made a virtual career out of "slandering" others, including a then 12-year-old Chelsea Clinton whom Limbaugh actually referred to on his long-defunct TV show--yes, someone actually gave this "big fat idiot" his very own TV show!--as, and I quote, the White House dog, as Al himself pointed out in his book. Of course, Al's fellow "lefties" who tried to unsuccessfully run Rush off the radio years later after he "slandered" that "unknown" college student who testified before Congress about government funding of birth control by calling her a "prostitute" literally applauded when one of their own Bill Maher "slandered" Sarah Palin--yes, THAT Sarah Palin!--by calling her The "C" Word (and we all know what THAT word is, don't we, boys & girls?). 

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C. Andrews: A Review

 

Flowers In The Attic was the debut novel of the late V.C. Andrews. It tells the story of the Dollanganger family as told by 12-year-old Cathy. Facing financial destitution, Cathy's mother tries to get back on her ailing father's good graces in an attempt to get a lofty inheritance. Apparently she "shamed" her family by marrying and having children--including Cathy, her older brother and fraternal twins--with her very own cousin. However, in order to do that, she agrees to have their spiteful grandmother-- who's a religious nut-case who looks upon them as if they were spawned from the Devil himself--lock them away in the attic to keep them out of sight of her husband who apparently has no knowledge of his own grandchildren's existence. At first, the children's mother visits them regularly and lavishes them with expensive gifts and keeps assuring them that soon her father will be gone and she'll receive a sizable inheritance and she can take them away so they can live a better life. However, her visits become more and more infrequent until she stops visiting them altogether. When she does start seeing them again, she announces that she got married to her father's attorney, much to her children's surprise and chagrin. It's during this time that Cathy and her older brother Chris become closer and closer, and it's their increasing "closeness" which leads to one of the more disturbing passages in the book (and I believe I'll just let you read that for yourself, all right?). Eventually the children discover that they're slowly being poisoned by their evil abusive grandmother and their own mother and they hatch a plan to escape the attic, which leads to some tragic consequences (and, again, I'll let you read the book to find out what those "consequences" are, OK?). This book, as you can probably already tell, can be rather disturbing at times and is probably not for the easily-offended, especially about religious matters. V.C. Andrews's books, as regular readers of her novels can no doubt attest, follow the same theme, i.e. seriously effed-up families who usually have some serious religious issues. (It kind of makes one wonder if Miss Andrews was writing from "personal" experience, if you know what I mean.) This book was also made into a rather lackluster movie starring Kristy Swanson (who's perhaps best known for starring in the movie version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Ashton Kutcher vehicle Dude, Where's My Car?). A sidenote: After the death of V.C. Andrews, her books were so popular that her family decided to hire a ghostwriter to continue writing books under her name supposedly based on her own story ideas and such (as her many legions of fans will probably already know).