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Archive for the ‘Fears’ Category

Andrew Norriss–The Unluckiest Boy in the World (2006) [audiobook 2006–Glen McReady]

Posted in Adventure, Andrew Norriss, Audiobooks, C., Children's Books, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Michigan, T., Travel on August 29, 2014| 1 Comment »

[LISTENED TO: August 2014] The Unluckiest Boy in the World

unlkcyMy kids enjoy just about any audio book, but I try to find ones that seem funny (and age appropriate for both of them).  For reasons I’m unclear about, it seems like most of the audio books that are age appropriate are British or Australian–either they release more audio books, or that’s just what my library orders.  So we wind up listening to a lot of British readers (I think my kids can tell a British accent now).

I didn’t know anything about this book (or its author) but the title sounded great and the age was appropriate.  We listened to it on our trip to Michigan, and it was a perfect length to fit near the end of our arrival.  Boy did we like this book.  There are so many funny unexpected moments.  And the story has a great sense of companionship and closeness among outcasts.  And of course, really bad things happen in inappropriate places, which is quite funny.

I’m really glad I got this book, and I’d be interested to see what else Norriss has written.

So just who is the unluckiest boy in the world?  Nicholas Frith is an average boy eleven year old English boy–not really lucky but not really unlucky either.  Indeed, nothing interesting ever happens to him.  Although he does have an interesting parental setup (which is complicated and best left for the story to reveal, but suffice it to say that his dad is in the United States, but not because he was trying to get away from Nicholas or his mum.

As the book opens, Nicholas and his mum are on a vacation in Spain.  They don’t speak Spanish and while the taxi driver/tour guide is nice, neither he nor his mom is really sure what’s going on.  At some point he leaves the taxi to go pee.  As it turns out though, he winds up peeing on the ancient grave of a very bad man, Toribio de Cobrales.  Of course, there is a curse on this grave (it really should have been better protected, no?)–anyone who defiles it in any way will have nothing but bad luck thrown at him for the rest of his life.  Nicholas is really sorry, he didn’t realize any of that, but it doesn’t matter.  As soon as he defiles the grave the curse comes at them, with thunderclaps and earthquakes and all manner of trouble falling on them in the next few minutes. (more…)

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Christopher Healy–The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle (Book II of The Hero’s Guide) (2013) [audiobook 2013–Bronson Pinchot]

Posted in Adventure, Big Books, Children's Books, Christopher Healy, Demons, End of the World, Fables, Fantasy, Fears, Humiliation, Supernatural on August 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: August 2014] The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

stormThis audio book was ten hours long.  We listened to it on a long car trip (from Michigan to New Jersey) and when it looked like we might not finish the book, I considered slowing down on the interstate so we’d get to the end before we got home.  THAT is how good this book was.

This book picks up a few months after the exciting conclusion of the first book.  The Princes are back home (well, most of them are), reveling in the glory of their accomplishments.  Except that those blasted bards have written new songs about the League of Princes, like the incredibly popular “The Embarrassment of the League of Princes” which is causing the Princes even more grief than they had before they saved the world from blowing up.

Prince Liam is living with Prince Frederic (in Frederic’s castle).  He is trying to train Frederic to be a better fighter (with very poor results).  Princess Ella is living there too (in separate rooms, of course).  Ella and Frederic have been engaged since their first adventure, but not much has been spoken about it since that first day.  Indeed, Ella is a much better fighter than Frederic and she has been training harder with Liam. Liam is clearly smitten with Ella, but he doesn’t want to hurt Frederic.  When Frederic’s father gets fed up with Liam trying to teach Frederic how to fight, he makes it clear that Liam is unwanted.  So Liam leaves.

Gustav is not fairing any better.  It is his brother’s birthday and the humongous cake has been set out for them (while Gustav has been sent to the kiddie table).  When he disrupts the ceremony once the bard sings “The Embarrassment of the League of Princes,” he is unceremoniously sent off to teach the trolls how to farm (so they stop stealing from the villager’s gardens).  Of course, Gustav knows next to nothing about farming, so he teaches them how to brawl, which the trolls love even more.

Duncan has been writing a book since the first book. It was originally to be called The Heroes’ Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (hey!), but has since been changes to The Heroes’ Guide to Being a Hero.

The Prologue of our book tells us about Duncan’s book and then says:

No you may be asking yourself, Who is this Prince Duncan and what makes him such an expert on heroes? To which I will respond by saying that perhaps you may have skipped a book on your way to this one.  You should probably check on that.

So yes, the series will continue to be hilarious. (more…)

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Christopher Healy–The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (Book I of The Hero’s Guide) (2012) [audiobook 2013–Bronson Pinchot]

Posted in Adventure, Alternate Reality, Audiobooks, Big Books, Bronson Pinchot, Children's Books, Christopher Healy, Demons, End of the World, Fables, Fantasy, Fears, Humiliation, Revenge, Supernatural, Trilogy on August 26, 2014| 1 Comment »

[LISTENED TO: June 2014] The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

heros1Holy cow, did I love this audio book!

I was looking for an audio book that the kids would enjoy on a long car ride.  The title sounded terrific and when I saw that it was read by Bronson Pinchot, I didn’t wait another second to download it.  And yes, Pinchot’s reading was stellar and amazing, but in addition, the story was hilarious and fantastic.

And I’ll get out of the way that the book is completely kid-friendly.  There’s nothing objectionable (the harshest word is crud).  Some of the violence is cartoony (and Pinchot makes it pretty visceral) but it doesn’t last long.  My nine-year old and six-year-old were just as hooked as the adults.

This book aims to set the record straight about Prince Charming.  Prince Charming is of course in every fairy tale, but you did know that they are not the same Prince Charming, right?   Those lousy bards who created the songs about the female leads certainly got the Princesses names correct, but they never bothered to get the Princes’ names into the songs.  (Charming is an adjective, not a name).  So, meet Prince Liam, Prince Frederic, Prince Duncan and Prince Gustav. They’re the Prince Charmings (actually it is Princes Charming–the book is very much a stickler for proper grammar), who saved–Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively.  And they are out to make names for themselves or at least make their names known.

Each one of them starts as an outcast for a different reason.  The only thing I found confusing about this story was trying to keep the kingdom names straight.   So I’m trying to outline them here. (more…)

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Clifford Riley–Operation Trinity [The 39 Clues: Cahill Files #1] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Clifford Riley, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Jan Van Eyck, Mystery, Religion, Short Books, Spies, Threats, Travel, Violence, WFMU 91.9 FM--Jersey City, NJ on August 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

trinitySOUNDTRACK: GREASY KID STUFF–WFMU 91.9, New York City (1997-2006).

grekidIn my vast exploration of Greasy Kid Stuff (seriously, at least 15 minutes at work), I found the WFMU website.  It turns out that Greasy Kid Stuff, the radio show broadcast weekly from WFMU from 1997 until 2006.  Then they moved to Portland and couldn’t manage the remote connections properly, so the show ended on WFMU.

The good news is that you can hear weekly playlists of all of the shows from 2000-2006 on the playlist page.  They have playlists that date back to the beginning, but there’s only audio starting in 2000.  The bad news is that you the shows are all archived in Real Audio.  Which, I don’t know, may or may not really work anymore.

But for a historical look at a funny and weird kids show check out the archives, and if you still have Real Player, give it a listen.

[READ: June 17, 2014] Operation Trinity

The Cahill Files were a series of “books from the vault” of the Cahill family.  They were originally released as e-books and some of them have been collected as print books.  The first was Operation Trinity.  And like Vespers Rising, it chronicles the history of the Cahill Family.

The story is broken into three parts, each one chronicling the “life” of a painting.  The painting in question is Jan Van Eyck’s altarpiece (see bottom of post for picture of it). The first part is set in Ghent in 1566.  In reality, the painting was finished in the 15th century and was installed in the Saint Bavo Cathedral.

The story follows Matheus Jacobs, an ordinary, some might say even less than ordinary, boy whose family doesn’t seem to think all that much of him.  Until one day when his mother says that she wants him to become an altar boy so he can protect this altarpiece from the Vespers.  (His father doesn’t think he is worthy, but she disagrees).  He doesn’t know why his mother chose him, or what his mother has to do with anything like this, until she reveals that she can speak several languages and is well versed in the history of the Vespers.  He rides his untrusty mule to the church, where he marvels at the beautiful painting.

He soon meets Father Gerard who sends him on an errand.  While away, he hears a man inciting a mob against the church.  The mob grows incensed, as mobs do, and sets out trying to weed out the Catholics in the village.  Matheus is freaked because they are heading for his home village.  And when he arrives, he sees that the mob is trying to burn down his house.  In the fracas, one of his family members is killed, and the rest of his family insist that he head back to the protect the altarpiece because the Vespers are behind the mob and they are headed for the church. (more…)

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Lionel Shriver–“Kilifi Creek” (New Yorker, November 25, 2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Africa, Fears, Lionel Shriver, New Yorker, Pixies, Short Story, Swimming on July 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_11_25_13Viva.inddSOUNDTRACK: PIXIES & “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-”I Bleed” (2009).

iblledYesterday I posted about “Weird Al”‘s new song “First World Problems” which parodies the Pixies’ style. I didn’t know that Al liked the Pixies, but he’s evidently quite a fan.  And the feeling is mutual. Here’s a video from 2009 of Al singing lead on the Pixies’ track “I Bleed.”

Al is totally passionate about the vocals.  The more professional looking video has an audio the mix is a little odd, as Al is so much louder than the band, that his intensity really sticks out, even though I’m sure the rest of the band was just as loud.  Indeed, there’s a fan video that is mixed better (which I have posted below, even though the more professional one has the welcoming introduction for Al).

I like that he starts with the spoken style (even if his spoken voice is not as menacing as Francis’).  And then when the actually rocking part kicks in, Al, keeps up just fine.

[READ: July 1, 1014] “Kilifi Creek”

This story starts out with an interesting technique–speaking about the main character in third person but with great insight and almost a judging attitude into her mindset: “It was a brand of imposition of which young people like Liana thought nothing showing up on an old couple’s doorstep, the home of friends of friends of friends….  mature adulthood–and the experience of being imposed upon herself–might have encouraged her to consider what showing up as an uninvited impecunious house guest would require of her hosts.”

Indeed, Liana is traveling around the world and has stopped at various people’s houses for free room and board for a week or so, all in the name of young exploration.  In most instances, she gives the lucky family a few days’ notice. And she felt she repaid the families not with money but with brightness and enthusiasm.

This particular family was on the Kenyan coast, their name: Henley.  “Regent Henley carried herself as if she used to be good-looking and her husband Beano (a ridiculous name for anyone so old) was a big game hunter.  They were wealthy by African standards and their native help often had little to do, Liana even considered that her arrival would give the help something to occupy themselves with.”

She was staying for six nights.  But rather than doing any major exploring, she spent most of her mornings writing things online to her friends, and most of her afternoons in a bikini, coming to and from the Kilifi Creek behind the Henley’s house. (more…)

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David Baldacci–Day of Doom [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Six] (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, David Baldacci, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Pixies, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on July 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

doomsdaySOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“First World Problems” (2014).

fwp“First World Problems is what Al calls a style parody.  This is a parody of the Pixies.  I can kind of hear it (especially in the riffs), but his Black Francis voice is somehow off (he’s usually so spot on with his mimicking).  But as it is basically a Pixies song, it is loud and quite rocking.  And, better yet, it’s really funny.

I get a kick out of the expression “first world problems” because why should that make a problem any less invalid, and yet, Al’s first world problems are outstanding.

I couldn’t order off the breakfast menu, cause I slept in till two
Forgot my gardener’s name, I’ll have to ask him later
Tried to fast forward commercials, can’t – I’m watching live T.V
My barista didn’t even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte

The opening bass and the female backing vocals are fantastic, and as always, guitarist Jay West gets their guitar sound perfectly.  The video doesn’t scream Pixies to me (although it is very very funny).  In fact at one point he looks more like Iggy Pop than anyone else (except with a shirt on), but that’s okay, it still makes me laugh a lot.  Who knew Al was a fan of the Pixies?

[READ: July 10, 2014] Day of Doom

This is the first book by David Baldacci that I have read.  Baldacci is typically an adult writer who I know is quite popular and prolific (he has done some kids books too).  I very much enjoyed the suspense and thrill of this book, but I have to say I feel like he really does not write very believably for his characters.  There is a romance that is played off quite flatly, there is an act of contrition which I don’t think anyone would believe, especially not a family member, and the bad guys are just so bad they are cartoonlike.

These characters have been through seventeen books now, so we know them pretty well, and I hated to see them get smoothed so much here.  I also didn’t care for the way Amy’s love dilemma was solved fairly easily for her.  And I was really surprised by the body count in this book.

Four major characters were killed by the end of the book.  It’s pretty brutal and really takes the series out of the realm of kids book and way into the realm of YA. (more…)

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Flinch: a collection of stories to inspire wonder…and question the darkness within us all (2014)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Andrew Richardson, Anton McKay, Birds, Bobby.N, Boredom, Cancer as plot device, Chris Bolton, Chris Bones, Christian Read, Christian Scott, Colin Wilson, Culture Shock, Dave McKean, Death, Disease, End of the World, Fears, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Greed, Hauschka, James Barclay, Justin Randall, Mark Welsh, Mel Tregonning, Michael Katchan, Pigeons, Ray Fawkes, Revenge, Shaun Tan, Short Books, Short Story, Skye Ogden, Terry Dowling, Tom Bonin, Tom Taylor, Volker Bertelmann, Weekend Edition on June 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

flinchSOUNDTRACK: HAUSCHKA-“Improvisation,” “Random Gifts” and “Mt. Hood” in the NPR studios (2010).

hausckaHauschka is German composer Volker Bertelmann and he plays the prepared piano.  What that means is that he places things on and in the piano to alter the sound of it.  (Nothing he does creates any permanent damage).

Mostly he creates percussive sounds with things like bottle caps,Tic Tac boxes and skewers.  And while it sounds simple, it is really quite ingenious.

This Vimeo link shows him talking to Guy Raz at NPR about the random materials that Raz has given him and then demonstrating how they change the sound of things.  Then he plays the “Random Gifts.”

The Youtube Video below shows another improv piece from the same day using different items.

This Vimeo link to him playing “Mt. Hood” shows off his use of ping pong balls.

All of his songs are fairly simple and fairly slow, primarily because the preparations add resonances and percussion that would overwhelm if he played faster.  Thus his pieces are often moody and reflective

Hauschka has a new album out as of this month called Abandoned City.  Every track on the new CD is named after a city that has been abandoned, that is vacant.  And his spare oftentimes eerie music goes very well with that theme.

There’s lots more videos of him on YouTube which are worth checking out.

[READ: June 23, 2014] Flinch

I was grabbed by the cover of this graphic novel.  The book is so short that I was really surprised to see that it was actually a collection of short stories.  As you can tell from the subtitle, this work is going to be dark and more than a little creepy.  And it is.  And while there are some similar visual styles, it’s interesting to see just how different these 13 stories can be.  Most of the stories use very few words, relying instead on the power of the visuals.  And it works pretty well.

I didn’t think any of them were especially creepy or dark, although the first one is kinda gross.  I enjoyed them for what they were, short stories that revel in the darker side of life.  I hadn’t heard of most of the artists.  The only one I knew was Shaun Tan. (more…)

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Linda Sue Park–Trust No One [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Five] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Death, Domenico Scarlatti, Eliot Fisk, Fears, Greed, History, Paco Peña, Roland Smith, Sabicas (Agustín Castellón Campos), Short Books, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

parkSOUNDTRACK: ELIOT FISK AND PACO PEÑA-Tiny Desk Concert #364 (June 14, 2014).

eliotIt may not be correct to say that these two guitarists rock, but man do they rock.  I have a  couple of Eliot Fisk CDs but nothing prepares you for watching his fingers fly on that big old classical guitar.  And Paco Peña plays an amazing flamenco guitar.  Watching them play together is really something magical.

It’s especially fun to see Fisk so clearly enjoying himself as his hands fly all over the neck of the guitar.  It’s also interesting to compare Fisk’s guitar with the flamenco guitar, just to see how differently the instruments sound.  There’s little more that I can say about this except that it is really amazing.

Together, they play four pieces:

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D Major K.33; Bach: Prelude in F major, BWV 927; Sabicas: “Farruca” and
Peña: “El nuevo día (Colombiana)”

Watch below:

[READ: June 17, 2014] Trust No One

All along through this series I felt that perhaps it was too old for my nine-year old.  And this book really felt like it pushed this book clearly into the YA realm.  It opens with a talk about the Twin Towers’ destruction, which I realize is before a nine-year old was even born, but it still feels very sensitive.  But, most intense of all, a beloved character dies.  I won’t say which one, but suffice it to say I was really shocked.  In the first series, people got hurt, but this time people actually die.   It’s pretty rough.

As for plot, this book really brings a lot of plot threads out into the open.

First, we learn who the mole is.  Second we learn who Vesper One is.  And third we finally see what’s going to happen with the serum that Dan has been collecting ingredients for.

I haven’t mentioned the serum in the other reviews.  It has been going on throughout the books, but was never near the forefront until now.  Because the mole tries to sneak it away from Dan.  And by the end of the book, Dan has mixed all the ingredients together.

But first we go back to New York where the kids have hired a cab to take them to Yale (for $600).  On the way there they are stopped by a motorcade, which they assume is the Vespers.  But it proves to be a far more shocking piece of information.  After fleeing the scene (and Amy getting a chance to use some of her physical training, they make it to the Yale library where they see out the Voynich manuscript.  One thing I love about this series is that all of the locations and artifacts are real.  like this Voynich manuscript (which you can certainly read about on Wikipedia). (more…)

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Yiyun Li–“A Sheltered Woman” (New Yorker, March 10, 2014)

Posted in Babies, Fears, Federico Aubele, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Parenting, Short Story, Tiny Desk Concert, Yiyun Li on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_03_10_14Steininger.inddSOUNDTRACK: FEDERICO AUBELE-Tiny Desk Concert #350 (April 21, 2014).

faFederico Aubele is an Argentinian singer-songwriter.  He sings in both Spanish and English. And in this Tiny Desk Concert, he plays pretty guitar solos between songs which makes the three songs all seem like one long piece.

His guitar playing is clean and beautiful on the nylon string guitar.  He plays in the quintessential “South American”/”classical” style [some might even call this Flamenco, Paul].  And his voice is low and deep but also expressive.

The three songs here are “Laberinto Del Ayer,” “This Song,” and “Somewhere Else.”  They are each quite pretty and melancholy.  And when he starts speaking in Spanish at the end of the third song, his voice is definitely enticing.

[READ: June 10, 2014] “A Sheltered Woman”

In this story, the second or third I’ve read by Yiyun Li, the main character is an older women who goes by the name of Auntie Mei.  Auntie Mei is a first month nanny–she stays for only the first month, to make sure that the mother is breastfeeding correctly and that everyone is prepared to move on–her skills are very specific to the first month.  And she is in very high demand among Chinese immigrants.

She has worked for 126 families in the last eleven years.  And she never gets attached to any of the families–calling each mother Ma and each child The Baby.

With this new mother who, like all the other mothers is Chinese (but who wants to be called Chanel), Auntie Mei is having a bit of a hard time.  The mother is disinterested in her baby, claims to have postpartum depression (Auntie Mei says “Don’t speak nonsense”) and even had a dream that she drowned her baby in the toilet.  Mostly, Chanel is angry that her husband is not around–he has been away on business since the baby was born.  We later learn about the strange details of their marriage.

Auntie Mei tries not to get involved.  She keeps telling Chanel (and others in the story not to tell her details).  She feeds Chanel a thick soup (designed for breastfeeding) and massages her breasts when she does not produce milk.  But after a few days Chanel says she quits and leaves the baby entirely in Auntie Mei’s charge.  Auntie Mei protests but she can’t allow the baby to die so she takes over.  Chanel simply watches TV and complains–she won’t even go buy groceries. (more…)

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Daniel Abraham–“Balfour and Meriwether in The Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance” (2009) [from Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded] (2010)

Posted in 19th Century, Adventure, Daniel Abraham, Egyptology, End of the World, Fantasy, Fears, Moon Hooch, Moonhooch, Short Story, Steampunk, Supernatural, Violence on June 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

steamiiSOUNDTRACK: MOON HOOCH-“Bari 3” (2014).

bari3Man, I love Moon Hooch–that loud crazy baritone sax and the other skronky sax.  But there’s also the great drumming.  And, in this song, there’s so many stops and starts, it’s amazing they can do so much with just 2 different types of instrument.

Just how many different things can one band do with two saxophones and a drummer?  Well, in the case of Moon Hooch, the answer seems to be limitless.  This song jumps and twists–it has a heavy loud section and a smooth groovy section, it even has a loud thunderous section.  Between Colin Stetson and Moon Hooch, the saxophone is definitely cool again.

And why not watch Moon Hooch play this song at a scenic rest stop on a Pennsylvania highway:

[READ: June 10, 2014] “Balfour and Meriwether in The Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance”

After having read the other two Balfour and Meriwether stories, it seemed only natural to track down the first of the stories.  And it happened to be collected in this Steampunk anthology.  I didn’t read anything else in the anthology even though I like steampunk, mostly because I didn’t have time.

This story opens, as the others do with Balfour and Meriwether sitting at home by the fire.  Then Lord Carmichael bursts in with news.  This means Balfour and Meriwhether know it is time to save Queen and country.

In this case, the crisis involves Napoleon and some old plundered Egyptian goods.  This proves to be a similar premise as Tales from the Clockwork Empire and I have no idea if Napoleon’s plundering of Egyptian artifacts led to any clockwork machinery for real or not–I may have to look that up.  But this story ups the ante by having a Jewish conspiracy as well.

The British museum has several Egyptian artifacts (taken from Napoleon’s army), but it is believed that Napoleon’s men included false items with the loot in order to discredit anyone who thinks that all of the items are real.  One such falsity was believed to be a sarcophagus.  Lord Abington (the anti-Semite) wants that sarcophagus opened while no one else around.  But when he opened it the others in the next room heard a scream, a thud and then silence.  Meriwther and Balfour speculate about what was in there–perhaps it was plague and the whole museum may need to be razed.  This freaks out Lord Carmichael, naturally. (more…)

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