tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342734882024-03-13T00:53:49.889-04:00Pete's WorldVarious opinions, news items, and links of interest on popular culture, arts and literature, politics, faith, and whatever else moves me. Combining CephasWorld and Pete's Pop Culture Blog.Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.comBlogger3319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-9981552053425552602014-07-22T06:35:00.001-04:002014-07-22T06:35:59.122-04:00The Sandbreeze Escape - summer special only 99¢! Kindle edition by Peter M. Wallace. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004MDLO42">The Sandbreeze Escape - Kindle edition by Peter M. Wallace. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.</a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004MDLO42" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: black;">The Sandbreeze Escape - Kindle edition by Peter M. Wallace. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.</span></a><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Summer special! Only 99¢ for limited time. Download Kindle edition at Amazon.</span><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They're a normal family trying to cope with the increasing stresses of life. The Vaughan family of Atlanta, Georgia (Mark and Cassie; Scott, 12; Sherry, 9; Shane, 6) just need a vacation--an escape. But Mark Vaughan's job responsibilities and the family's lack of funds seem to preclude such a getaway...until a vacation at a luxurious Florida resort called Sandbreeze is offered free of charge in a perplexing letter that is obviously not a sales ploy. Who is their benefactor?<br /><br />After a frustrating drive to the Florida coast, the family is ready for their relaxing week in the sun. But when they arrive at Sandbreeze, they discover an abandoned, unfinished construction project with no one around--except for a strange man lurking in the swampy cattails nearby--and a note with instructions to check into room 37.<br /><br />Exhausted and frustrated, they decide to spend the night and find another place the next day. It's a night they'll never forget. And they're only just beginning on a shocking and life-threatening adventure that can only bring them closer and increase their faith--if they survive.<br /><br />The Sandbreeze Escape is a thrilling family adventure that reveals the importance of love and faith to survive in the world. Through humor, excitement, and a crackling plot, author Marsden Wallace takes you on an escape you'll never forget--one that can change your own life as well.</span>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-30849276578676764502011-07-22T11:26:00.002-04:002011-07-22T11:26:16.620-04:00John Sayles' A Moment in the Sun - Book Review<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9785474-a-moment-in-the-sun" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="A Moment in the Sun" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1302005319m/9785474.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9785474-a-moment-in-the-sun">A Moment in the Sun</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/59757.John_Sayles">John Sayles</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/182676801">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This is an unforgettable book about America at the turn of the last century. Skillfully told and breathtaking in its scope.<br />
<br />
<br />
I must say that the first half was totally engrossing, but it got a little tougher in the second half. I think whole chapters could have been left out. And yet the breadth of it is amazing, it's like you are soaking in the era. Gold rush, Spanish American War, yellow journalism, Cuba, the philippines, African American culture post Reconstruction, the white overthrow of the elected government of Wilmington, NC, the early days of movie making, Mark Twain, the assassination of McKinley, on and on, yet woven into a compelling narrative. I learned some history for sure.<br />
<br />
<br />
This book is getting rave reviews (the one in the NYTimes caused me to buy it) but I don't hear much about it otherwise. It is a rough read, and you have to wrestle with it in more ways than one, but well worth the effort. Like reading a cinder block, it's so fat.<br />
<br />
<br />
It takes dedication to read this, and it's not for everyone, but I admire it greatly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/907997-peter">View all my reviews</a><br />
<div><br />
</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-49597842170781692562011-05-22T11:35:00.000-04:002011-05-22T11:35:06.362-04:00Two Men in a Bar: A True-Life Poem<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I'm in a Minneapolis hotel bar </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Slick, dark and red lit</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Sipping a husky tempranillo</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Mindlessly checking email on my phone</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Reading the latest headlines.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I'm aware of three men at the other end of the bar</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Engrossed in an NBA playoff game</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Because they are making noise.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It's Chicago and some other team.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The man at the end of the bar, young, </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With dark frame glasses and short slick black hair,</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Is especially loud.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He is a Chicago Bulls fanatic.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He offers a running commentary</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In a clear voice that sounds as though</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He's a color commentator on a sports station.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Two other men watch with him </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And comment in softer tones</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But the young man with glasses</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Repeatedly proclaims his allegiance to the Bulls</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Exulting with each goal,</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And one especially dramatic dunk elicits a whoop</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For which he apologizes</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To the rest of us at the bar.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Murmured conversation among the three men</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Continues during commercials.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And then the other two men settle up their tab</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And leave.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The young man at the end of the bar</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Must now watch the game in silence.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But only for a few minutes.</span></div><div class="Body1"><br />
</div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is another young man at the bar </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Seated midway between me</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And that Bulls fan.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">This young man has been chatting with the bartender</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And they must be old friends</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Perhaps in high school years before.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Just enough of a conversation to make it sound so.</span></div><div class="Body1"><br />
</div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The game continues.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The man at the end of the bar </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">says something about Chicago<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To the man in at the middle.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">They realize they are both from Chicago.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The man at the end of the bar says something <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">About Rahm Emmanuel.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The man in the middle disapproves.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Sporadic friendly conversation continues.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The big Bulls fan at the end of the bar asks the man in the middle</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What do you do in Chicago?</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I don't catch his answer, </span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But he says that his husband teaches at the university.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">His husband.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Bulls fan doesn't blink.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He asks the middle man more</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">About his husband.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And they keep talking.</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is as natural a conversation</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Between two strangers</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As you could ever overhear</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In a bar in Minnesota</span></div><div class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With a basketball game on the big flat screen.</span></div><div class="Body1"><br />
</div><!--EndFragment-->Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-3617732990503207292011-04-28T16:38:00.000-04:002011-04-28T16:38:05.883-04:00Harper Lee -- who turns 85 today -- denies cooperating with upcoming book | Jacket Copy | Los Angeles Times<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/04/harper-lee-denies-cooperation-with-upcoming-book.html">Harper Lee -- who turns 85 today -- denies cooperating with upcoming book | Jacket Copy | Los Angeles Times</a>: "On Tuesday, Penguin announced that it would publish a memoir of lives intertwined with the reclusive writer, 'The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee,' by Marja Mills, a former Chicago Tribune reporter, written 'with direct access to Harper and Alice Lee [her sister] and their friends and family.'<br /><br />On Wednesday, the N.Y. Times reports, Harper Lee issued a statement saying that she had not cooperated with the book."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-7162377608125457532011-04-28T16:37:00.000-04:002011-04-28T16:37:01.020-04:00Al Gore's 'Our Choice' App Reinvents Books, Reading<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/28/al-gore-our-choice-app-push-pop-press_n_854783.html">Al Gore's 'Our Choice' App Reinvents Books, Reading</a>: "For Al Gore's book Our Choice, the startup has created an ebook that talks, spins, moves, and folds, featuring video, interactive infographics, maps, and more, all seamlessly interwoven with the text in a way that helps bring the concepts to life."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-29352534453991514842011-04-11T13:48:00.000-04:002011-04-11T13:48:08.605-04:00Real Business - How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts<a href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/news/how-i-got-a-blank-book-to-the-top-of-the-amazon-charts">Real Business - How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts</a>: "Here's how I published a bestseller in just nine days (and made a million authors instantly hate me)."<div><br /></div><div>Grrrrr!</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-51771449203506076022011-04-07T13:20:00.000-04:002011-04-07T13:20:54.700-04:002011 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees - Genreville<a href="http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1149&utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=efc1909c90-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email">2011 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees - Genreville</a>: "The 2011 inductees to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame are Harlan Ellison, Vincent Di Fate, Moebius, and Gardner Dozois."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-30189524872443798722011-04-07T10:46:00.000-04:002011-04-07T10:46:43.137-04:00Google to Revamp YouTube With 'Channels' - WSJ.com<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576247060940913104.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEADTop">Google to Revamp YouTube With 'Channels' - WSJ.com</a>: "Google Inc. is working on a major overhaul of YouTubeas it tries to position itself for the rise of televisions that let people watch online video in their living rooms, according to people familiar with the matter.<br /><br />YouTube is looking to compete with broadcast and cable television, some of these people said, a goal that requires it to entice users to stay on the website longer, and to convince advertisers that it will reach desirable consumers."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-45329795316021499122011-01-25T09:30:00.000-05:002011-01-25T09:30:58.174-05:00'The King's Speech' gets 12 Oscar nominations - Yahoo! News<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110125/ap_on_en_mo/us_oscar_nominations">'The King's Speech' gets 12 Oscar nominations - Yahoo! News</a>: "The British monarchy saga 'The King's Speech' leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.<br />Also nominated for best picture Tuesday were the psychosexual thriller 'Black Swan'; the boxing drama 'The Fighter'; the sci-fi blockbuster 'Inception'; the lesbian-family tale 'The Kids Are All Right'; the survival story '127 Hours'; the Facebook chronicle 'The Social Network'; the animated smash 'Toy Story 3'; the Western 'True Grit'; and the Ozarks crime thriller 'Winter's Bone.'"Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-19261330489849303672011-01-25T08:44:00.002-05:002011-01-25T08:44:35.087-05:00The Same River Twice by Ted Mooney - Review<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7431461-the-same-river-twice" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Same River Twice" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1274874469m/7431461.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7431461-the-same-river-twice">The Same River Twice</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/353110.Ted_Mooney">Ted Mooney</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/143463361">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
Having read a glowing review in the NYT Book Review, and having just been to Paris for the first time last fall, I was excited about getting Ted Mooney's new novel "The Same River Twice" from the library. It is extolled as a "literary thriller," and Mooney is a master wordsmith. Some of his descriptions are breathtaking. <br />
<br />
I jumped into this book and found myself thoroughly immersed in the multifaceted plot and characters. A French woman, a dress designer, is paid as a courier to bring some historic and artistic banners out of Russia to a Paris art dealer, and ends up in a sticky situation in more ways than one. Her American filmmaker husband, meanwhile, while trying to work on his latest art film, discovers that some DVDs of one of his earlier now classic films include an ending very different from his own--yet nicely produced. Why? <br />
<br />
There are other layers going on and you find yourself struggling to keep all the loose ends together. But about halfway through the book, the characters start doing surprising and unsympathetic things, and it only gets worse. Ultimately I found it disturbing, or at least unsatisfying. I wondered if I was the only one who felt this way, given the rather positive review I'd read, and checking a bunch of Amazon reviews confirmed my own disappointment in the book. It's not bad as thrillers go, but ultimately it's difficult to believe the characters or what happens with them. And the motif set up by the title (and several deja vu experiences throughout the book) never quite hits home. But it was nice to experience Paris again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/907997-peter">View all my reviews</a><br />
<div><br />
</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-90275332860610940302010-12-22T10:54:00.000-05:002010-12-22T10:54:25.342-05:00Real world to collide with heroes & villains | accessAtlanta<a href="http://www.accessatlanta.com/celebrities-tv/real-world-to-collide-784678.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm">Real world to collide with heroes & villains | accessAtlanta</a>: "Marvel — whose characters range from the wall-crawler Spider-Man to mutant outcasts X-Men — said Tuesday that the fear, uncertainty and overarching anxiety that has gripped today's world will play havoc with its fictional heroes next spring as it embarks on 'Fear Itself,' a seven-issue limited series that will reach across numerous titles and leave its characters scarred but smarter."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-37573244512714037882010-12-18T10:51:00.000-05:002010-12-18T10:51:20.518-05:00MLK: A Christmas Sermon On Peace<a href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/12/276406.shtml">portland imc - 2003.12.12 - MLK: A Christmas Sermon On Peace</a>: "Peace on Earth...<br /><br />This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We have neither peace within nor peace without. Everywhere paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war; everywhere we turn we see its ominous possibilities. And yet, my friends, the Christmas hope for peace and good will toward all men can no longer be dismissed as a kind of pious dream of some utopian. If we don't have good will toward men in this world, we will destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-49171982707656782132010-12-13T09:24:00.000-05:002010-12-13T09:24:26.763-05:00Meet John R. Gunn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Gunn">John R. Gunn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a>: "The Reverend John R. Gunn (August 17, 1877 - November 15, 1956) was first a minister, and then at about age 43 became a columnist whose daily messages inspired readers for over 36 years. After his death, letters to the editor requested that the columns continue, and so they were reprinted daily for 15 more years. A short time later his messages became radio scripts for the Presbyterian Church in the United States. This award-winning program was produced by the Protestant Radio and Television Center of Atlanta for 10 years. And now Rev. Gunn’s work, written and audio, is available at Day1 [1], a ministry of The Alliance for Christian Media transitioning from Facing Life [2]"Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-82598210930516722522010-12-06T10:51:00.000-05:002010-12-06T10:51:16.263-05:00Google Launches Google eBooks, Formerly Google Editions<a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/45412-google-launches-google-ebooks-formerly-google-editions.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=da45c7c1a0-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email">Google Launches Google eBooks, Formerly Google Editions</a>: "After months of anticipation, Google today launched its long-awaited cloud-based e-book program, Google eBooks. Rebranded from its original moniker, Google Editions, Google eBooks overnight becomes the largest e-book provider in the world, at least in terms of its offerings, launching with nearly three million books available for purchase or download, including “hundreds of thousands of e-books” available for purchase and over two million public domain titles available for free."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-63694488524575101322010-12-02T13:19:00.000-05:002010-12-02T13:19:47.082-05:00God, best-selling author and creator of the Universe, to tell all in new memoir | Shelf Life | EW.com<a href="http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/11/30/god-writes-his-memoir/">God, best-selling author and creator of the Universe, to tell all in new memoir | Shelf Life | EW.com</a>: "Prepare ye for the words of God. Simon & Schuster announced today that they have secured the rights to a new tell-all memoir by the Almighty Creator, who has also previously written under the noms de plume “Allah,” “Yahweh,” and, until a recent legal tangle with fellow author Stephen King, “King of Kings.” According to a surprisingly funny press release, “God is represented by a burning bush, the Greek letters a and ‡, and, in this case, the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, the same agency that represents David Javerbaum.” Presumably this Javerbaum fellow, who is the head writer and executive producer of The Daily Show, will be serving in some function as the prime mover’s amanuensis."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-43383869083025519702010-12-02T13:11:00.000-05:002010-12-02T13:11:27.581-05:00BBC goes global with iPlayer subs, launching on iPad first<a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/12/bbc-goes-global-with-iplayer-subs-launching-on-ipad-first.ars?utm_campaign=Apple+Plaza&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_source=SNS.analytics">BBC goes global with iPlayer subs, launching on iPad first</a>: "The BBC's online, on-demand video streaming service iPlayer will launch worldwide sometime early next year. Much to the dismay of expats around the world, iPlayer has been limited to UK residents, who pay a yearly license to watch BBC content. Now, the Beeb plans to launch a subscription-based service available to anyone, anywhere—with an Apple iPad."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-75311198645224861142010-11-30T14:11:00.000-05:002010-11-30T14:11:33.521-05:00Results of '30 Media Heroes' Voting Announced: Maddow Takes Top Spot! | The Nation<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/156694/results-30-media-heroes-voting-announced-maddow-takes-top-spot?utm_source=NTS+MediaOnline+Subscribers&utm_campaign=c294b72f4e-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email">Results of '30 Media Heroes' Voting Announced: Maddow Takes Top Spot! | The Nation</a>: "I've been having fun since Wednesday with a response to Salon's popular '30 Biggest Media Hacks' list, sponsoring a readers' ballot to pick '30 Media Heroes.' The response was overwhelming, with over 1,200 votes pouring in via Comments at the end of the original story, via e-mail to me directly and at Twitter (via @GregMitch). Votes obviously came from regular Nation readers, but also from many others, and in any case this is not an official Nation survey.�"Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-8036465165032445412010-11-30T08:59:00.000-05:002010-11-30T08:59:52.507-05:00Fox News Joke on ‘The Simpsons’ Pulled from Web Replays On Hulu, Fox.com - WebNewser<a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/webnewser/fox-news-gag-on-the-simpsons-pulled-from-web-replays-on-hulu-fox-com_b9911">Fox News Joke on ‘The Simpsons’ Pulled from Web Replays On Hulu, Fox.com - WebNewser</a>: "For the second week in a row, “The Simpsons” mocked its corporate cousins at Fox News Channel. This time there is an added wrinkle, however, as the joke in question was apparently cut from the online version of the show on Hulu and Fox.com."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-37836891505992695422010-11-30T08:57:00.000-05:002010-11-30T08:57:10.580-05:00Richard Branson unveils Jeff Bridges, cars, and fiddly things for Ipad | Capital New York<a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2010/11/863504/richard-branson-unveils-jeff-bridges-cars-and-fiddly-things-ipad">Richard Branson unveils Jeff Bridges, cars, and fiddly things for Ipad | Capital New York</a>: "Virgin Group emperor Sir Richard Branson debuts his Ipad-exclusive magazine tomorrow. What will it look like?<br /><br />Well for starters, the 'cover' (or is this called a homepage? or homescreen?) is about Jeff Bridges' coming Tron. ('BACK IN THE GAME: JEFF BRIDGES REBOOTS TRON' is the main coverline; Bridges faces forward in black tie on a black background.) It's … a video!"Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-77780972738047274342010-11-19T08:59:00.000-05:002010-11-19T08:59:26.311-05:00George Clooney Eyeing Lead In Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ > The Playlist<a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/george_clooney_eyeing_lead_steven_soderbergh_the_man_from_uncle/#">Exclusive: George Clooney Eyeing Lead In Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ > The Playlist</a>: "Sources very close to the director tell us an A-lister is already in talks with Soderbergh to star in the picture and that star would be none other than “Ocean’s 11-13” actor, George Clooney."<div><br /></div><div>That was one of my favorite programs as a kid. Would love to see this happen!</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-19544658437767911402010-11-16T15:31:00.000-05:002010-11-16T15:31:28.260-05:00McSweeney's Issue 36 Coming--With Lost Chabon!<a href="http://store.mcsweeneys.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.detail/object_id/b98cc3a0-53fa-4ed6-a771-e788dc9d9396/McSweeneysSubscriptionbrBeginningwithIssue22.cfm">The McSweeney's Store</a>: "THE AMAZING ISSUE 36 (coming very, very soon!):<br /><br />Inside this 275-cubic-inch full-color head-crate, there are all the things you'd hope for: a 100-page annotated fragment of Michael Chabon's lost novel, incredible new stories from John Brandon and Colm Toibin, Jack Pendarvis's 'Jungle Geronimo in Gay Paree,' a play by Wajahat Ali—eight astounding booklets in all, along with some other things on top, enough for hundreds and hundreds of pages of perusal, every bit of it, like we said, contained in a more-or-less-life-size friendly-looking head. It will fit on your shelf, it is compatible with most hats, and the stuff inside is wonderful—order yours today!"<div><br /></div><div>Can't wait to get this one!</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-91821979621129289632010-11-16T15:29:00.000-05:002010-11-16T15:29:01.562-05:00LOA Publishes Lynd Ward's Wordless Graphic Novels<a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/45192-loa-publishes-lynd-ward-s-wordless-graphic-novels.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Comics+Week&utm_campaign=2a856c4089-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email">LOA Publishes Lynd Ward's Wordless Graphic Novels</a>: "The term 'graphic novel' didn't exist when Lynd Ward started telling stories in pictures, back in the late 1920s, but to modern eyes, that's exactly what Ward's novels are. Now the Library of America has collected all six of Ward's wordless graphic novels in a two-volume boxed set, Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts, with an introduction by Art Spiegelman.<br /><br />Ward, who was born in 1905, was the first American creator of wordless graphic novels. He worked in that medium for about ten years, producing six full-length works, before changing his focus to children's books and illustrations of other works; he was a prolific illustrator with over 300 works to his credit by the time he died in 1985."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-58790016473529007942010-11-16T15:28:00.000-05:002010-11-16T15:28:46.135-05:00Paul Levitz Puts 75 Years of DC Comics In One Huge Book<a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/45190-paul-levitz-puts-75-years-of-dc-comics-in-one-huge-book.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Comics+Week&utm_campaign=2a856c4089-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email">Paul Levitz Puts 75 Years of DC Comics In One Huge Book</a>: "Former President and Publisher of DC Comics, Paul Levitz has lived and breathed comics his entire adult life. A comics fan magazine that he co-wrote and published in high school, The Comic Reader, led to his first job with the mega-publisher that is DC. With DC celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Levitz took on the incredible task of writing about its numerous characters, authors and artists and their impact on the world. From Taschen Books, 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking is a mammoth tome you won’t be able to miss on the shelves of your local store. In fact, it will probably need it’s own table."Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-66645691915474400772010-11-03T10:29:00.000-04:002010-11-03T10:29:19.867-04:00Rev. Peter M. Wallace: The Christian Call to Civility - Huffington Post<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/the-mask-of-civility-slip_b_774979.html">Rev. Peter M. Wallace: The Christian Call to Civility</a>: "It almost seems as though all pretense of civility in our nation is evaporating in the heat and light of an increasingly divisive atmosphere fueled by a rabid 24/7 media.<br /><br />So does all this mark the start of a malicious new world order, or is it the last barking snarl of a dying corpse?<br /><br />As our society under God continues to progress in its acceptance, and even celebration, of one another -- despite our race, our gender, our orientation, our religion or even our politics -- those who hope to maintain their 'superiority' feel threatened and fearful. They are losing in the grand scheme of things, and with their backs against the wall they are fighting for their way no matter what.<br /><br />As a person of faith, I join in the chorus of those who call us all to a higher ideal. I believe we can be better than this."<div><br /></div><div>Read on at HuffPost...</div>Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34273488.post-43627389365229294392010-10-20T16:25:00.000-04:002010-10-20T16:25:35.057-04:00The Case for Obama | Rolling Stone Politics<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/220013">The Case for Obama | Rolling Stone Politics</a>: "The charges are familiar: He's a compromiser who hasn't stood up to the GOP or Wall Street. But a look at his record reveals something even more startling — a truly historic presidency"Cephashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782269172632680961noreply@blogger.com0