A-HOLE BOOKS: CURRENT BOOKS BY TONY BANKS

A-HOLE BOOKS: CURRENT BOOKS BY TONY BANKS: My name is Tony Banks. I have been a freelance writer for years. I have had some minor success in the publishing world as I’ve had some book...

THE NAKED SOCIETY by Vance Packard: A Review

 

The Naked Society is a book from the sixties written by journalist/author Vance Packard who was considered the Michael Moore/Alex Jones/Jesse Ventura of his day. This book is about the U.S. government's growing surveillance of its citizens. With everything that's been in the news lately about that one whistleblower who released details about how the government was spying on citizens by "gathering" their various communications through their phone records, e-mails, etc., etc. under the guise of "protecting" them from terrorists, I feel this book is just as relevant today--perhaps even more so--as when it was first published. What's kind of scary is that some of the spying techniques that Packard reveals in his book are not only still in use today by not only the government but by corporations and various other agencies but have actually been added upon, especially with the advent of the Internet and whatnot that, of course, wasn't there back when this book was initially published. This book is a good read for anyone who is concerned about the growing lack of (so-called) privacy in American society that's growing increasingly "naked" by each & every day.

40 Book Promoting Sites – Part 7

40 Book Promoting Sites – Part 7

WONDER WOMAN: ROLE MODEL/FEMINIST ICON?

Wonder Woman in her more "traditional" look.

Wonder Woman in her more recent "conservative" look.

Wonder Woman is the brainchild of writer and psychologist William Moulton Martin--yes, a MAN--who made her first appearance in the comics back in 1941. For those few of you who don’t know who Wonder Woman actually is, she’s an Amazonian-esque princess who lives on an island called--you guessed it!--Paradise Island devoid of men who decides to go to Man’s World to help fight the good fight with the help of her “magic” lasso--which forces villains to tell the truth--and bullet-stopping bracelets and Invisible Plane and whatnot (or something like that!). Wonder Woman, like many superheroes, has gone through various changes throughout the years. At one point, she even “loses” her superpowers and becomes a more “normal” superhero. For some reason, feminists who’ve long regarded WW as some sort of feminist icon--Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine even featured WW on the front cover of the first issue--weren’t too happy about this and pestered the producers of the WW comic to change her back, which, of course, they eventually did. Quite frankly, I never understood the whole “feminist icon” thing since Wonder Woman is scantily-clad AND big-bosomed, which, of course, are two things feminists normally don’t care all that much for. They [the feminists] insist that Wonder Woman is a good role model for young girls by somehow showing them [young girls] that they can do anything . . . so long as they have magical powers and wear the American flag as underwear! (It kind of reminds me of when the feminists lauded the movie Thelma & Louise as the ultimate feministic film when, in reality, it was a blatant rip-off of a B-movie called--wait for it!--Assault Of The Killer Bimbos!) Anyway, I have to admit I’ve never been the biggest Wonder Woman fan. As a kid when I was heavily into comics, I was always more into the lesser-known superheroes and that, of course, included the superheroines, including Wonder Woman-esque Valkyrie, Hellcat (both from The Defenders, which was one of my favorite comics growing up), Scarlet Witch and Madame Masque (who was Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man’s girlfriend and who is probably regarded in Comic Book World as more of a villainess than an actual superheroine). I don’t even remember watching the much-ballyhooed seventies TV series starring the voluptuous Lynda Carter as the titular (pardon the pun!) title character, although I, of course, did definitely watch it in reruns in later years. In recent years, Wonder Woman has gone through yet another change when she was given a brand new--and more “conservative”--outfit much to the reported chagrin of her diehard fans (and I’m sure that includes the feminists!). As for Wonder Woman being some sort of role model, feminist or otherwise, to paraphrase the late great George Carlin, if your kid needs a role model and you ain’t it, then you’re BOTH, well, screwed (and, of course, GC used another word for screwed!)! Oh yeah, one thing I've kind of wondered about Wonder Woman's celebrated Invisible Plane is, what good is having an "invisible" plane WHEN YOU CAN STILL SEE THE DANGED PILOT?! Just asking!

AN ODE TO CAMILLE PAGLIA (Which Is Kind Of Ironic Since She Claims To "Hate" Blogs And/Or Bloggers!)



Author/social commentator Camille Paglia is what one would call an anomaly in that she claims to be both feminist and anti-feminist. Camille, an humanities professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, first burst onto the national scene in 1990 with the release of her book Sexual Personae: Art & Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson that presents what some have perceived as “incendiary” theories on Western culture from ancient Greece to Elvis. Paglia became even more famous—and more infamous—with the release of her follow-up books Sex, Art & American Culture and Vamps & Tramps. Her philosophy, which has drawn considerable ire from feminists and other critics, incorporated paganism, Madonna and Freud. Camille also insists to be “radically pro-pornography” and has even publicly supported the controversial organization NAMBLA (the North American Man-Boy Love Association, for those of you who don’t watch The O’Reilly Factor on a regular basis). However, Camille Paglia has seemingly dropped out of the public spotlight since the late-nineties, only popping up sporadically on TV and in magazines (and occasionally in the movies). The last magazine appearance I’ve seen Camille make was in the October 1998 issue of Penthouse where she wrote yet another article blasting modern-day feminists and feminism (and where she also made the surprising—and, to me, rather disappointing—statement regarding the-then Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal/debacle how “married governors or presidents . . . should not be dropping their pants in front of female underlings or secretly preying on buxom young interns” when it was quite clear that it was Monica who was first showing her rather full thong to Bill and doing the “secret preying”). Still, regardless of how many times she appears on TV and in print, Camille Paglia is a force to be reckoned with (or, at least, was) in the feminist world. Just ask Gloria Steinem and Tammy Bruce!

SEX & THE SINGLE FIREMAN by Jennifer Bernard: A Review

 

Sex & The Single Fireman is by noted romance author Jennifer Bernard. The story centers around firefighters Sabina--that’s Sabina, not Sabrina--and her “boss” Chief Roman. The two first meet when Sabina takes a trip to Las Vegas and she nearly has a one night stand with a “hunky” stranger but backs out at the last minute (damn it!). Of course, it turns out that said “hunky” stranger was her new “boss” Chief Roman, much to both their surprises. Anyway, as is usually the case in romance novels, both Sabina and Roman are harboring secrets: Roman’s first wife Maureen--whom they have a son Luke together--was also a firefighter who died while trying to rescue others in the Twin Towers on 9/11 while Sabina used to be a child TV star on a popular show and, once the show was over to get some much-needed cash, she appeared topless in a B-movie. No one at the station knows about Sabina’s past until it’s revealed by her unscrupulous former agent Max and her estranged fame-hungry mother Annabelle, who had co-starred with her daughter on the TV show, who both come back into her life and reveal it to everyone, much to her mortification, especially when Max drops off a copy of her B-movie at the fire station where she has a topless shower scene. Max and Annabelle’s goal is to persuade--i.e. force--Sabina to do a reunion show, which, of course, Sabina has no interest in doing since all she wanted is a “normal” life, as she rather heatedly informs both Max and her estranged mother whom she hadn’t spoken to since leaving the show. Of course, during all of this chaos in her life, Sabina tries to decide what her true feelings are for Chief Roman (and vice versa). Things between them get even more intense when Sabina gets trapped inside a burning building and Roman frantically rushes in to rescue her and ends up saving her life. While she is recuperating, both Sabina and Roman attempt to come to terms with their growing feelings for one another. Again, as is ALWAYS the case with romance novels, the two eventually reconcile their romantic feelings towards each other and get together (but I, of course, won’t tell you how they get together as there‘s kind of a twist, so you’ll just have to read the book, all right?). Actually, Sex & The Single Fireman is a pretty good read even for those who aren’t fans of romance fiction (and I’m looking at YOU, fellas!). I myself picked it up--even though I am of the male persuasion--because, for one, the title had the word “sex” in it, and two, I thought the cover model was pretty hot (I’m talking about the female model, you pervs!). Though, I must say, the title was a bit misleading because there’s not a sex scene, uh, excuse me, love scene until about halfway through the book--chapter 18, as I recall--and another one a few chapters later (both of which are probably the most wildly descriptive “love” scenes I think I’ve ever read in a romance novel!). There’s also some humorous scenes in the book; like, for instance, when one of the beefed-up firefighters who goes by the name of Vader enlists Sabina’s help in trying to convince his girlfriend Cherie he’s not a homophobe so she takes him to a “gay” bar where things, of course, don’t go quite as planned (and, again, you’ll just have to read the book to see what I’m talking about, okay?). This book would’ve made a decent Harlequin Blaze novel were it not for its length (close to 400 pages) and, of course, it contained more sex, uh, I mean, love scenes (damn it!).

Hugh Howey: Self-publishing is the future — and great for writers

Hugh Howey: Self-publishing is the future — and great for writers