Reading, reading, reading!

Books have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Been doing some reading recently:

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich - I don't remember who turned me on to these books  just that it was someone from my extended church family.  I should probably thank them or buy them a donut.  I LOVE the Stephanie Plum series.  How much?  This book is 310 pages and I read it all in about 3 hours.  Between the end of dinner and before bed time.  Funny and fun to read.  And Grandma Mazur to boot. I can't remember a character that I look forward to as much as Stephanie's delightfully nuts maternal grandmother.   Plus waiting for the day when her dad finally loses control.   Looking for a series to follow?  Highest recommendation.
I already have the next one in the series "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" and will probably dispatch that tomorrow.

After the Prophet - The Epic Story of the Shia Sunni Split in Islam by Lesley Hazelton - Most Americans know virtually nothing about Islam or it's two major sects.  What gets tossed around as common knowledge is largely wrong and biased.  If you'd like to understand the whos, whats and whys I would strongly recommend this book.  It is an easy read and lays out the landscape of Islam in the years following the death of Mohammed in a clear and concise way.  The book helped me piece together little bits and get a better global understanding of the reasons and causes for the deep seated animosity between these two groups.  It doesn't cover the theology and doctrine of Islam but you'll know a lot more than you did before.

Breath of the Soul by Sister Joan Chittester - I belong to a book group and this is the book that we've been working our way through.  It's a tiny little book but is wonderfully written (as always with Sister Joan) and offers some wonderful insight into a life of prayer and faith.  Each chapter is about 3 pages long but they cover a wide range of ideas and concepts.  Really enjoyed this one.  It's a keeper.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - Hard to go wrong with Dame Agatha.  This is the very first of the Miss Marple series and the very first of that series I've ever read.  Not sure what I expected,  a kind of "Murder She Wrote" little old lady detective.  Miss Marple isn't really that at all.  There's a definite style to the English country mystery and this fits to a t.  I enjoyed the story and would certainly read some more.




Legions of Space by Keith Laumer - Another Baen Books release of one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors.  This is two novels and several shorter works.  Just rollicking good stuff.


On the less than thrilling side I've been trying some "popular history" stuff that has left me cold. "How We Got Here", "Stupid History" and "The Slacker's Guide to U.S. History" all try for the breezy style of say James Burke's "The Pinball Effect".  Sadly they don't want to work hard enough to be witty and bright and settle for being snarky and smug.  I wasn't able to finish any of them.  I was offended as a writer and a lover of history.  Read anything by Burke or any of the books in the Mental Floss series.  Don't waste your time with these.  There are more than enough people in our country with truly crappy understandings of history.  Don't become one of them.

View From the Phlipside Radio - DC reboot

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside.

Ok I think I’m about to surprise some long time listeners to this show.  In fact I have to admit I’m having a little trouble grasping what I’m about to say myself.

I’ve spent the last couple years grumping about how I don’t like re-mixes and re-boots and just am generally against people messing around too much with the familiar and iconic.  Well I suddenly find myself on the other side of the fence.  That’s right a major re-boot announcement was made just a couple weeks ago and after careful consideration I’m thinking I might just be in favor of it.

I think I need to sit down, I’ll probably get light headed here soon.

The announcement is from the oldest comic company in these United States DC Comics.  Between August 31 and September 30 they will undertake a complete re-launch of the entire DC universe of comics with some dramatic changes for some of their best known characters.  DC has been around for ever and has some of the best known comic superheroes in the world (can you say Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to mention just a few?) but to be honest the business side has been tough.  Of course this is nothing new in the comic industry.  Even when times are good things can be tough.  DC has already done some ground breaking changes like offering the print version and all the digital versions on the same day at the same price.

But it’s the re-boot of some of the characters that grab me.  Batman and Green Lantern are at the top of DC’s sales charts so they’ll see the least change.  At the other end some series are being shut down and replaced.  But Wonder Woman is being taken much more back to her mythological roots.  And Superman.  Superman is getting taken back to his roots too, to the point that DC will issue a brand new Action #1 almost a thousand issues after the original Action #1.  The description of the new young Clark Kent is as a Bruce Springsteen version.  Superman has desperately needed some way to drag him out of the 1930’s paradigm that has hobbled him for the last couple decades.  Could this be it?

It’s a radical change.  But the time might just be right.  This might just be the re-boot that proves the rule.  Or it could be the end of the oldest comic publisher in America.  Gotta admit it’s gonna make it worth checking out some old familiar books.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

View From the Phlipside Radio - Amazon vs Libraries

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside.

It’s not often that I come across a media story that makes me uncomfortable.  Not creepy uncomfortable just I’m not sure I like this idea.  And that kind of uncomfortable is probably a very bad sign for this particular business model.

The media world in general is very imitative.  If you see someone else doing something and succeeding you immediately try and figure out how you can get in on the same thing.  One

reality TV show is a success and suddenly the whole world is filled with reality TV.  Streaming video is a success online?  Then everybody has to offer streaming video.  Needless to say not everyone does it well which means that some of those folks end up losing a lot of money on bad imitations.

For example we’ve talked about the success of Netflix in offering first DVD rental service then streaming media.  It’s not that they were first but rather that they were the first to really make it fly.  So people start imitating.  Amazon earlier this year decided to jump in.  So far the results are eh.  But Amazon didn’t become Amazon by being shy and retiring in business.  The other way of imitating a success is trying to find a slightly different approach.  And that’s where my discomfort begins.

Amazon is looking at taking the Netflix concept and use it in their prime product line, books.  Word is that you pay a monthly subscription fee just like Netflix and you get access to their massive inventory of books.  Now there’s still lots of details to work out, like hard copy, digital or both?  What kind of payment to the publishers will be needed?  There are others who are already trying this like the folks at booksfree and bookswim.  Neither of whom I’d heard of before this story surfaced.

So what makes me uncomfortable?  It’s that neither of those companies are who has the most to lose in all this.  That would be your local public library.  If Amazon makes a deal for e-books with the major publishers it creates a huge and insurmountable challenge to libraries moving into the digital age.  In times of tight budgets this is a game that the libraries just won’t be able to stay in.  Netflix helped put brick and mortar video stores on the endangered list.  I have an uncomfortable feeling about the outcome of this particular piece of imitation.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

View From the Phlipside Radio - Lucas Redux

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside.

So here’s our question for today - What is wrong with George Lucas?  George Lucas the man who brought us the iconic movies/series American Graffiti, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.   It would seem he had a grip on the movie making process.  But apparently not.

Here’s the bit he seems to have forgotten.  Once you have created an iconic image or story or whatever you LEAVE IT ALONE!  But not our George.

Earlier this year I discussed the announced Star Wars 3D version scheduled to be inflicted on the movie watching world starting early next year.  I’m still in the 3D is a passing fad (again) camp.  I’ve seen it used really well a couple times and with no particular distinction a couple more.  

But just in case the folks at LucasFilm haven't alienated enough of the Star Wars faithful they’ve now announced that for the upcoming Blu-Ray boxed set they are making more changes to the original material.   This isn’t new, George has done it before.  He’s used improved CGI technology to change things in previous releases.  Now he’s  fiddling around even more.  The change getting the most attention is adding a long Noooooo to Darth Vader’s dialogue when he saves Luke from destruction by the Emperor.  Think Capt Kirk in The Wrath of Khan.  The other is changing the sound Obi Wan uses to scare away the Sand People.  Both sound silly and out of place to my ear.

The reality is that most of the changes are small and only the dedicated fan base will even notice them.  But the other side of the coin is that you don’t fiddle with an icon.  Lucas seemed to realize this when he said that the original DVD releases would be the definitive version.  That was back in 1997!  When you keep fiddling with an icon you’re telling all the fans that they have idolized a lesser creation.  Any artist will tell you that eventually you have to say “OK, I’m done now” and let the work have its own life.  To be constantly adjusting and fiddling and changing says that it’s all about you.  At this point George Lucas needs to step away his movies and stop letting his ego call him to the Dark Side.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

Ah football season again

I'm back playing the football pool organized by Aran Walter and the youth community at St. Thomas Episcopal church in Oshkosh Wisconsin.  The pool is called STYGNFLPEC which stands for Saint Thomas Youth Group National Football League something P, something E, something C.  I honestly don't remember.  It's a fun pool just for the bragging rights.

The concept seems easy enough.  Pick the straight up winner of each week's game and then assign a point value to it.  The idea is you assign the highest value to the game you're most confident in and the lowest to the one you have the least faith in.  At the end of the week's games your points are totalled up and the person with the most points at the end of the season wins.  Easy.

Yeah, right.

My goal each year is to finish in the Top 10.  My bottom standard is to finish in the top half of the entire field.  I think I've failed that bottom one once.  I don't believe I've ever finished in the Top 10.

So here we go.  Week 1.  A pretty good week.  I was let down by Cleveland (9 points), Denver (12 points) and NY Giants (14 points).  The Bengals, the Raiders and the Redskins were better out of the box than I expected.  Also missed that the Giants had as many injured.  For a first week (which is traditionally awful for me) 88 points and a 56.26% correct pick percentage was actually pretty good.  To be at the top of this poll I probably need to keep it in the 60% on picks (this weeks top player had 115 points and a 68% pick rate.  Best pick rate was 75% for places 2, 3, and 4.  Obviously they missed a bigger point game or two).  I'm #30 at the moment in  a field of 82.  So I'm OK.  As I said week 1 tends to be awful for me so I'm happy.  If Denver and the NY had come through for me I'd probably be about 10 places higher.  But that's the way it goes.

In case you wondering about why the Steelers didn't get a mention in the "let me down" list I had them as my 1 point game.  I knew that Baltimore certainly could beat them.  Beat them like a drum was NOT what I was expecting.

Next weeks games look like they'll be fun to pick as well.  Sigh.

Movie Updates

Let's see what I've been watching:

Secretariat - (2010)  This was one I meant to see in the theaters and just never got to it.  I'm betting I missed some of the experience because of it.  I remember the time of the film vividly (the early '70s).  I remember the amazing buzz around this big horse.  No one could believe that he was doing what he did.  As it turned out his owner, his trainer, his jockey and Big Red himself believed.  And that was all that was needed.  With each win the buzz grew until that stunning, astounding, not-even-Hollywood-would-try-to-sell-this-ending that actually happened.  Maybe it was just the memories carrying me along but I don't think so.  This is a wonderful movie with some fabulous characters including the horse himself and an outstanding cast.  Well worth seeing.

2012 - (2009)  When this one popped up on one of my movie channels I thought "What movie is this?"  I have no memory of it in the theaters or being advertised or anything.  Weirdly it finished as one of the Top 20 films of the year.  With John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson the cast had plenty of recognizable names.  This is an end of the world flick and isn't too bad.  It just isn't real good either.  The 200 million dollar budget resulted in great effects but as per usual big effects movies leave the story line a little thin.  Not a bad movie for a rainy, lazy afternoon.

The Three Burials of Melchiades Estrada - (2005)  Tommy Lee Jones directorial debut is a movie that is strange and compelling for me.  The story unfolds in pieces that bounce between different times and characters.  Things are never quite what they appear and the ending appeals to me because it was well done, unexpected and decidedly NOT standard Hollywood.  I was particularly impressed by Jones' visual sense.  A couple of times you get just a taste of John Huston's mastery of the wide open western skies. This is not your stock Hollywood movie.  And that may be the best, most complimentary thing I can say about it.  I enjoyed the movie immensely.

The Machinist - (2004) Speaking of not your stock Hollywood movie.  Although once upon a time Hollywood made movies like this.  The first thing you notice about this movie is the Christian Bale's skeletal look.  He dropped something like 60 pounds for the role and wanted to lose more but the director feared for his health.  Given that he had to turn right around and put on all kinds of muscle for his next movie (Batman Begins) they were probably right.  This is a good old fashioned psychological thriller with a large dose of Hitchcock and just a touch of Fellini.  This movie is not casual viewing.  It wants to think, to wonder, quite honestly to be confused.  Visually striking and impressive.  Not surprisingly it did much better worldwide than it did at home.

View From the Phlipside Radio - Social Oldies

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside.

I remember an old Flip Wilson routine.  His character Geraldine Jones would proclaim “When you’re hot you’re hot”.  Well in the world of the social network who is hot just might surprise you.  It surprised me.  And I’m a member of the group that’s hot.

That’s right it’s older folks.  Baby Boomers.  Older Gen X types.  Even among the retired crowd the social networks are having to sit up and pay attention.  In part the reason why the business types are paying attention is because we older folks do something that the young folks don’t.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Young folks are still flocking to the social media sites and they are a huge part of the user group.  On the other hand the largest growth group are us oldsters.  Over 50% of adults over 30 are involved in some kind of social media, like Facebook or LinkedIn.  And for those of us who are over 65 (which lets me out by a fair margin) about a third of that age group are on the social networks.  So the older generation are certainly worth the attention of the media moguls.

The real reason why they are  paying attention is the fact that while we may not be inclined to hit the “Like” button for advertisers we are more likely than the younger generation to actually click on the advertisements.  You can imagine the excitement of the advertisers when they find people who might actually check out their ads rather than clicking on the link that says “See what this girl did when her Father posted on her Facebook page”.  As an aside do yourself a favor.  DON’T click on those links.  They are scams and trying to get your contact info so they can drown you in annoying spam.

Turns out that this could be a big deal.  You see social network sites are now the third most visited category for all internet users.  The younger generation will no doubt be astounded to hear that e-mail is still safely in first place, followed by search engines and then social network.  So a growth in the demographic that actually clicks through (that’s the technical term) on the advertising has to be good news for all.  As usual it looks like the adults will have to pay for the good times of the younger generation.  Ah well.

Call that the View From the Phlipside