This Guy Falls Down

Oh, so I guess I could participate, too, couldn't I?

Sorry, I got so busy administrating that I forgot to post my own books!  I read one kid's book this week and one young adult book.  Feeling really good about myself at this point, I made the ill-advised choice to launch into a longer, thicker, Umberto Eco-style book.  While I'm enjoying said book, I am in danger of going oh-fer for Week 4.  But it's not about the numbers right?  Well, if you're wanting to win the Quantity Award it is.  But I guess I'm disqualified.  At any rate, here are a couple books I read last week:

1. The Ghost of Windy Hill - I remember reading this when I was in about second grade.  I was looking for another book and saw this on my bookshelf.  Looking at it to try to remember it soon turned into me reading it.  Not very compelling or layered, but does a great job of playing on the young imagination.  I remember when I first read this book I was nervous about the chapter titles.  "The Crazy Quilt" and "The Sound of Bells".  Then you read it and it's not really all that scary.  If you're older than about ten, I would skip it.
2. Slam, by Nick Hornby - So far this is my book of the summer.  Hornby is easily one of my favorite authors, and for great reason.  He has a knack for weaving modern culture into a story about modern social themes, and throwing in a big splash of humor along the way.  In this case, a young skater has his life turned upside down when he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant.  Like the excellent movie Juno, Hornby is not afraid to acknowledge that kids are having sex, and there are consequences.  But he does so in such an entertaining and thought provoking way.  So far, this is my "if you only read one book off of this list, read this one" suggestion.
3. I started an interesting book called "The Rule of Four".  It's about a group of college students who are studying an ancient Rennaissance text.  Things start to get really serious when somebody turns up dead.  It's a pretty good book, but it's pretty thick, both literally and figuratively.  Hopefully I'll finish by this Friday, but don't count on it!

(My contribution to Summer Reading Club)

Monday Mashup #2

Thanks again for everyone's participation this week!  Here's another big pile of creative goodness for you:

First of all, Kelly W. cracked me up with her excuses:

Soooo….ummmmm….

- The dog ate my book
- I was reading it outside and the wind blew it away
- I lost the book
- I loaned it to a friend and never got it back

Here's an entry from a buddy of mine in Wales.

Gary Smith:

The Paradoxical Commandments

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

Summer Reading Club, Week 3

It's that time of week again!  How's your summer reading coming along?  Do a blog post with a list of what books you've been reading, and use the Mr. Linky deal below to let us know about it.  Or do a review of your favorite book you've been reading.  OR do a post about why you're so busy that you haven't read anything.  OR do a post about why you don't like to read!  If you haven't joined us yet, this is the week to get started.  See, just like the public library, we so crave your participation that it really doesn't matter how we get it!

As for me, I read a great book this week called "Slam" by Nick Hornby.  I hope to do a full review of it shortly and link it back here!

It is definitely summer

Remember summer?  Not the season, but, you know, summer?  There are some fond memories for sure.  But there's also a lot of sitting around and trying not to be hot.  Plus, at least where I live, it's so long.  You knock out all the things you'll write about in the "how I spent my summer" essay in the first couple of weeks.  Then it's still June and you're just trying to figure out what to do.  And it's hard to get motivated, because it's so HOT.  It's a vicious cycle. Don't get me wrong.  I love me some summer.  I'm just saying, that's all.

Take today for instance.  I have hardly a thing to twitter about, let alone blog about.  So I'm blogging about, well, nothing.  Not that good funny Seinfeld kind of nothing, either. 

Maybe I should go roll some change.  Or pick apart a golf ball and see what's inside. 

Hair metal day

OK, since I'm still excited about hearing Nuno on the radio the other night, and since Motley Crue's new record came out this week, I'm declaring today HAIR METAL DAY on this blog. 

To participate, all you have to do is say the name of your favorite hair metal band in the comments below.  For those of you who do not like/do not get the glory that is hair metal, you can participate too!  Just use the comments below to write something along the lines of "I don't get it" (be nice and be brief!)...

To get things started, I'm going to list 10 bands who deserve some sort of recognition:

1. Guns n Roses - They came on the scene and blew everybody else out of the water.  And their music has aged pretty well, all things considered.  Come on, Axl.  Finish the new record already!
2. Motley Crue - I remember in sixth grade our youth pastor did a whole thing about "the evils of rock music".  Motley Crue was top of the list.  All the kids ran out and bought their record that week.  I know it's awful, but at least I'm being honest!
3. Bon Jovi - Another band whose music has aged really well.  Great songs.
4. Skid Row - Their second record is probably the best of the genre.
5. Extreme - Nuno was arguably the best guitarist in hair metal, and Gary Cherone has some pipes.  I loved them in high school.  It always felt to me like they skipped a step and never put out a record that truly showcased their sound.
6. Cinderella - I give them the prize for "most improved".  Their first record is kind of a Bon Jovi/ AC/DC ripoff.  By Heartbreak Station they were forging some cool new territory.
7. Tesla - Another great band that transcended the genre.  The acoustic record was fun for sure.  Another case of a band that never really captured "their thing" on record.
8. Winger - They got written off as a "chick band" and it wasn't fair.  People forget that Kip Winger was Ozzy's bass player first and he can really play.  Plus Reb Beach was/is a guitar wizard.
9. Warrant - Everybody remembers them for that awful Cherry Pie video.  I remember them for how awesome that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" song was.
10. L.A. Guns - Other than "The Ballad of Jayne", these guys never really had a breakthrough.  And it's a shame because they rocked.  Tracii Guns used to be in Guns n Roses (he was the "Guns" part).  And even though Jon Bon gets the credit, Tracii was the first hair band guy to cut his hair off...

(Before you comment, let me give you a quick definition of "hair metal".  It's a very narrow subgenre of heavy metal that was popular in the late '80's.  The music was almost secondary to the image - the biggest bands often had the coolest videos.  I try to limit it to bands who broke in as part of this scene, so bands who got big in the '70's like Van Halen or the Scorpions, while definitely part of the scene, wouldn't qualify.  Neither would a thrash band like Metallica.)

(This post is my ROCKIN contribution to Watercooler Wednesday!)

Blog It Mobile

I'm doing this post as a test for blogging with Blog It Mobile. While itseems to work pretty flawlessly, somebody's gonna have to show me what the big deal is.

For what it's worth, you have site where you can update blogs, Twitter, Facebook status, Tumblr, etc.

But it feels redundant. Right now, I email pictures to Typepad, then use their iPhone app to add text. I also email posts to Tumblr. I simply leave a Safari window open on the Twitter homepage. That takes care of my tweets AND Facebook status?

Does anyone know why I need another mobile app with LESS functionality than I currently have? If you've got an answer, do tell...

Nuno Bettencourt interview

OK, let me just have a little fan moment here.  When I was a senior in high school, Extreme was my absolute favorite band.  Nuno Bettencourt is one of the best rock guitarists ever, and Gary Cherone is a master at weaving spiritual, moral and political messages into his lyrics.  Not to mention they ROCK!  I saw them at a little club in Atlanta in '90, at a big theater in '91, then at the Fabulous Fox in '92.

Imagine my surprise and delight when, earlier this evening, I'm flipping through the channels on the XM, and hear them say "Nuno Bettencourt is going to be on here shortly."

Nuno did a great interview.  He likened them doing their own thing for awhile and then getting back together to a kid leaving home.  You've got to leave home and see the world to be able to appreciate your home.  The interviewer was very knowledgeable and asked some good questions.  It was interesting to find out that Nuno's a big Judas Priest fan.  And it was awesome to hear them talk about King's X, another great heavy band with spiritually charged lyrics.  In fact, King's X will share the stage with Extreme on tour later this summer.

The interview ended with a sneak peak at Extreme's new song "Stars".  If this song is any indication, this is going to be one of the best rock releases of '08.  I'm serious.  Very Queen-esque.  Great vocals, and, of course, great guitars. The album comes out August 12th.

I think the interview will be available HERE in podcast form very soon.  I'll try to let you know.

Did I mention I'm seeing Extreme in Atlanta this August?

Monday Mashup #1

This is going to be a semi-regular feature of the Summer Reading Club.  I will pull a few excerpts from people's lists/reviews and just MASH 'EM UP right here before your very eyes.  If you'd like to participate, just put a list of the books you've read this summer on your blog and do the Mr. Linky thing from this past week (or whatever the current week is!). 

BTW - if you're a neat freak, it's not for you.  But if you're like me and you like to look at a big old pile of creativity, it's pretty cool!

The order this week is based on when people posted, with Dustin taking the prize for first.  I'll shake it up next time.  I'm not like Southwest Airlines - I don't reward earliness.  Also, I may not include EVERYBODY every week.  But we'll see...

  Here goes nothing!

• Dustin: Napoleon's Pyramids, by William Dietrich: Historical fiction based around the time of the French Revolution about an American who finds an ancient trinket and tries to find its purpose (without being killed). Indiana Jones with a taste of The Mummy wrapped inside a history lesson about France and Egypt in the late 1700s.

Summer Reading Club, Week 2

How's your summer been going?  Have you been up to enough cool things that your "what I did last summer" essay for school is shaping up nicely?  Mine's been a lot of fun.  A LOT of sitting around by the pool, going to the beach, and going to White Water.  Best of all, I've been able to carve out some reading time.

So let's see those lists!  On a side note, I know there was some confusion about the format for your list, and whether to update the same list each time (that's what I'm doing).  Everyone looks great.  At the "end of the summer" in August I'll have you guys make one big list where all your books are together so I can "judge" them.  But until then do whatever works best.

Also, this Monday, I'm going to do the first "Monday Mashup" where I'll do a post here that is just a hodgepodge of your best book reviews.  No pressure.  You don't have to do anything extra, and it will be fun.  In that reading books sort of way...

The best and worst of summer movies

We in Third Day have a long-standing tradition of going to films in the summer.  The bigger the budget, the more ridiculous the plot, the more stuff that gets blown up, the better.   I guess the film studios realize that they have to pull out all of the stops to get our attention.  Sometimes it works, and, well, sometimes not. 

So, my question to you is, what is the BEST summer blockbuster movie you've ever seen?

AND

What is the WORST summer blockbuster movie you've ever seen?

That's it:  your answers should consist of two movies.  Best and worst.  This should be fun.

...and begin.

(my contribution to Watercooler Wednesday Thursday)

HERE ARE MINE:

BEST:  Batman Begins

WORST:  Van Helsing