Port Morturary Reviewed

      I finished Port Mortuary and find that it really was a different book than I expected it to be. Except for a couple of really gruesome book in the mid 2000's I really enjoy the Kay Scarpetta series. This one was a bit of departure from the others. Instead of the first person narrative she usually uses, she did this one in first person stream of consciousness, meaning that if Kay didn't think it or stopped listening to who she was with, then we lost what that other person said. It really made it much more challenging to solve the mystery while giving you the feeling you were inside her head and getting more info than you were. It was done very nicely and is a good read.

Brian

New Legally Free Music

      Time for another set of free music sitting there for the downloading from Amazon. This time I am going to try and feature some pieces that are newer to the free side. Leading off is a band called the New Mastersounds, and their jam Thermal Bad, as sweet of piece of funk jazz as I have heard in a while. Next a sweet little pop, dance piece from new artist Metric called Gimme Sympathy, and yes that title is a play on the Stones classic Gimme Shelter as one of the questions in the song is whether you want to be the Stones or the Beatles. I also found this new funk piece in the new artist section, the band name is JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound with a fun little song called Baaadnews, The third song I found at the New artist sight I liked was from Ben Rector with nice version of Let the Good Times Roll. Finally I found a new blues song. This is rock blues from Big Dixie Mafia called No One Ask that really lets their guitarist shine. Enjoy the sounds

Brian

Why you should check snopes before passing on an email

    So I got this email today saying a Cindy Williams (not the actress) had written an opinion piece for the Washington Times saying our soldiers didn't need a raise and that an airman had responded basically saying bullshit. So far all is true, this all actually happened in 2000. That's right 11 years ago, 9 months before 9/11. Now is when the lies start. My email stated that Ms Williams worked for the Obama Administration. False she worked for the Clinton Administration from 1994-1997. It also said she should spend time in Afghanistan. False we were not yet in Afghanistan yet. How do I know it is false. because at that time the maximum overseas deployment was 6 months and the editor left this in. Little edits like this have made an email started 11 years ago keep going, and going. Do all your friends a favor and delete these type of emails when you get them no matter how much you sympathize with the soldiers.

Brian

Don't Forget the Card

     Apparently a card for every occasion includes a card for losing your job. Hallmark has come out with new cards for people to give to someone who lost their job. Saw this blurb and now I am wondering, with facebook, email, texting, and twitter available do we really need a card to tell someone we are sorry they lost their job.


Brian

Modern Free Mysteries

     Today some comedic  mysteries came free. Both are the first book in new series but there the similarity end. From Peggy Webb comes a fun little mystery called Elvis and the Dearly Departed, an eagerly awaited debut with good reviews. From new author Delia Rosen comes another southern setting, this one with the twist of a New York Deli in Nashville called A Brisket, A Casket. Reviews are a little bit more mixed but that is to be expected in a first novel. Also now available free for the umpteenth time but still worth downloading if you are a beer fan is Beer is Proof God Loves Us: Reaching for the Soul of Beer and Brewing from UC Davis professor Charles Bamforth. It is a nice little history of the brewers art and modern brewery system. All in all a better haul then yesterday.

Brian

New Free Books Worth Reading

     It being the top of the month all my old free books worth reading are now at new higher prices, so I had to pick some new ones. Topping the list is another cookbook, Pumpkin Cookbook a perfect fall addition to your repertoire with the reviews saying it has a good mix of recipes. Next is an old bit of fun from L Ron Hubbard called The Black Ensign, a great piece of pulp fiction from the late thirties and early forties that still reads well today. Next is on of the most referred to stories in Science Fiction The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most inventive and creative books ever written. Finally another classic in the Sci-Fi genre, H G Wells - The Time Machine. These last two are from the publisher Vook who really does a good job of making sure the electronic version is clean and readable. Enjoy

Brian

Cartoon for those over 40

     A little bit of silliness for everyone: Baby Boomers Rock