Oddities

Watching "Oddities" with the bookends and Lisa . . .

Quote

In 3 words I can sum up everything I've learned in life; it goes on. - Robert Frost

Hiroshima by John Hersey

I finished reading John Hersey's "Hiroshima", a great early example of "new journalism". It was superb, and I have since passed it on to Grace. If I had a complaint it is that the bombing is presented without any context. There is no discussion of Japan's rape of China, its attack on Pearl Harbor, the torture and murder of thousands of American POW's, the fierce resistance on Okinawa that cemented the certainty that a conventional invasion of Japan would be an epic bloodbath, etc. It was not the TOOL that was evil, but the war that spawned it. That is touched on for a sentence or too in the epilogue, but that was not enough  Grade: A+ (book 73 of 2012)

Eastwood's speech

Just watched Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican convention. Obviously age chipped away at his delivery, but his opinions were spot on. Well done sir, thank you.

Quote

"My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening," Alice Rooselevelt,  TR's daughter, on her Dad's thirst for the limelight

Guest of Honor by Deborah Davis

Friday I finished reading "Guest of Honor" by Deborah Davis. It's a non-fiction account of the 1901 White House dinner of Teddy Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington - the first time a black man was invited to break bread with the President, and an action that enflamed the South. I respect the dinner and the courage it took for all parties - but I think the book as a whole failed to live up to the importance of that moment. It was organized loosely, spending far too much time tracing the biographies of the two men and then relegating the dinner and its aftershocks to less than a third of the book. Also, while I know its a work of popular history and not a scholarly treatment, I could have done without some of the annoying hallmarks of that genre; such as endless times when successive, often irrelevant anecdotes and trivia were used to establish the feel for the time and place. One thing it did do well was re-establish the brilliance of Washington, a man long dismissed by historians weened on the jealousies of his rival W.E.B. DuBouis. Grade: C+/B- (book# 72 of the year)

You are so freaking smart. You need to become an editor for some these independents. They'd be in tears but smarter for it. Pays well too. - Violetta

Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants by Lee Goldberg

Thursday I finished reading "Mr Monk and the Two Assistants" by Lee Goldberg, a book based on the tv show "Monk". I liked the premise (bringing back the old assistant Sharona and having her lock horns with Natalie) but I thought the book was flat, with a messy plot and no real zest. Goldberg is the writing partner of William Rabkin, author of the Psych novels, and judging soley from this effort I'd say Rabkin has the lion's share of the talent. Still, the dialogue worked well so perhaps Goldberg is just handicapped by his history as a scriptwriter. Grade: C [book #71 of 2012]

You gotta wonder

The Mass Shooting at the Local Sikh Temple

JSOnline reporting btwn 8 and 20 shooting victims at an Oak Creek Sikh temple . . .developing

UPDATE: JSOnline reporting up to 30 shooting victims with children being held hostage . . .

UPDATE: Think before you comment: on a post about the temple shooting, with news of 30 dead or wounded, children held hostage, etc . . smack dab in a back and forth of prayers and thoughts of the victims. someone posts that she hopes the guy she just started dating is ok (he works for Oak Creek PD). All respect for the cops on scene and I hope for their safety, but bleep your boyfriend; spend a second thinking about the victims and the kids, *at least* when they are the stated subject at hand.  

update: I see that my reaction itself was an emotional response to the tragedy and off the mark. She had every right to think of those she knew personally. 

UPDATE: js now confirming @ least 7 dead. For those outside Wisconsin, Oak Creek is a Milwaukee suburb near our home.

This is horrible. 

UPDATE: The final numbers were six dead (and the shooter, who killed himself after being shot by police) and 4 wounded (including an officer shot multiple times).  A seventh victim died in 2020 from his head wound after living with partial paralysis for years. 

100% Accurate

U live in a house of 4 girls remember? We will remember this - Lulu