This is a great take from Barely Political on the now infamous 20-year-old Bill O'Reilly meltdown...
tagged: movie, YouTube, video, politics, Barely Political, Bill O'Reilly, meltdown, media
Friday, May 16, 2008
Friday Blogthing: The beat goes on
Here's more proof of the inaccuracy of online quizzes...
tagged: Friday, blogthing, music, style, quiz, blog, meme
What Your Taste in Music Says About You
Your musical tastes are reflective and complex.
You are intellectual to the point of being cerebral.
You are very open to new experiences, and even more open to new ideas and theories.
Wisdom and personal accomplishment are important to you.
You are naturally sophisticated. You are drawn to art, especially art by independent artists.
You are likely to be financially well off... and not because you were born that way.
tagged: Friday, blogthing, music, style, quiz, blog, meme
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Book Report: Shakedown
Title: Shakedown
Author: Joel Goldman
Synopsis:
Kansas City FBI Agent Jack Davis cuts corners and calls in favors to piece together seemingly unrelated clues in a mass murder while battling a debilitating nerve condition that has cost him his job.
My thoughts:
This blog has benefited me in a number of ways. It has allowed me to meet some really fun and talented people. It has given me a creative outlet (though, admittedly, the "creative" bit is debatable). But the real reason I started it is to try to get free stuff.
My first score on this point was a review copy of the That Thing You Do director's cut.
And most recently when I received an invitation to review Shakedown by local author and trial lawyer Joel Goldman I jumped at the opportunity. Who am I to turn down a free review copy of the book?
Shakedown is Goldman's fifth book and takes place in various neighborhoods throughout the greater Kansas City area. Genre-wise, I guess you would call it a crime/suspense thriller, which isn't really what I usually go for. Still I was excited to dive in and give it an honest try.
I was a little concerned in the first couple of chapters where the author used, in my opinion clumsily, a written street vernacular for the inner dialogs of some minor characters. This was soon forgiven though, as I came to appreciate the pace of action in the story.
I also appreciated Goldman's use of the Kansas City area as a character device in the novel. He does an excellent job of describing the different neighborhoods, from the tough and gritty Quindaro, Strawberry Hill and the rail yards in Argentine to the upscale Country Club Plaza shopping district and the suburbs of Johnson County.
Goldman also peppers in several literary Easter Eggs for his Kansas City readers. The main character, for example, uses the alias of "Detective Funkhouser" in some scenes, an obvious reference to the KCMO mayor.
I also was interested in the way Goldman incorporated aspects of another book I recently read, Malcom Gladwell's Blink. One of the main characters is an expert in the Facial Action Coding System (which Gladwell discusses in detail in his book) and uses this skill to help solve the murder. But it ends up costing her.
The writing is solid and the narrative tight enough to keep me turning the pages. I thought the plot was a bit contrived at times, and several sequences were easily predicted.
But I’d still give it a solid recommendation for your summer reading list, especially for those of you in Kansas City. Add it to your beach bag or take it on that road trip. It’s a good read.
Rating: Recommended summer/beach reading
Note: Read more 3AM Book Reviews.
tagged: books, literature, Joel Goldman, Shakedown, review, Kansas City, Quindaro, Strawberry Hill
Author: Joel Goldman
Synopsis:
Kansas City FBI Agent Jack Davis cuts corners and calls in favors to piece together seemingly unrelated clues in a mass murder while battling a debilitating nerve condition that has cost him his job.My thoughts:
This blog has benefited me in a number of ways. It has allowed me to meet some really fun and talented people. It has given me a creative outlet (though, admittedly, the "creative" bit is debatable). But the real reason I started it is to try to get free stuff.
My first score on this point was a review copy of the That Thing You Do director's cut.
And most recently when I received an invitation to review Shakedown by local author and trial lawyer Joel Goldman I jumped at the opportunity. Who am I to turn down a free review copy of the book?
Shakedown is Goldman's fifth book and takes place in various neighborhoods throughout the greater Kansas City area. Genre-wise, I guess you would call it a crime/suspense thriller, which isn't really what I usually go for. Still I was excited to dive in and give it an honest try.
I was a little concerned in the first couple of chapters where the author used, in my opinion clumsily, a written street vernacular for the inner dialogs of some minor characters. This was soon forgiven though, as I came to appreciate the pace of action in the story.
I also appreciated Goldman's use of the Kansas City area as a character device in the novel. He does an excellent job of describing the different neighborhoods, from the tough and gritty Quindaro, Strawberry Hill and the rail yards in Argentine to the upscale Country Club Plaza shopping district and the suburbs of Johnson County.
Goldman also peppers in several literary Easter Eggs for his Kansas City readers. The main character, for example, uses the alias of "Detective Funkhouser" in some scenes, an obvious reference to the KCMO mayor.
I also was interested in the way Goldman incorporated aspects of another book I recently read, Malcom Gladwell's Blink. One of the main characters is an expert in the Facial Action Coding System (which Gladwell discusses in detail in his book) and uses this skill to help solve the murder. But it ends up costing her.
The writing is solid and the narrative tight enough to keep me turning the pages. I thought the plot was a bit contrived at times, and several sequences were easily predicted.
But I’d still give it a solid recommendation for your summer reading list, especially for those of you in Kansas City. Add it to your beach bag or take it on that road trip. It’s a good read.
Rating: Recommended summer/beach reading
Note: Read more 3AM Book Reviews.
tagged: books, literature, Joel Goldman, Shakedown, review, Kansas City, Quindaro, Strawberry Hill
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Malcom in the middle
Speaking of The New Yorker, I saw a video excerpt from its recent "Stories from the Near Future" conference.
The excerpt caught my eye because it is a presentation by author Malcolm Gladwell, whom I wrote about recently.
Eddie Muphy's Buckwheat meets Jimmy Fallon's IT guy.
His topic deals with why so often the wrong people are hired for the job, from teachers to policemen to presidents of the United States. It's much more interesting than it sounds so go check it out at the link above if you have some time over lunch.
tagged: The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, Saturday Night Live
The excerpt caught my eye because it is a presentation by author Malcolm Gladwell, whom I wrote about recently.
Gladwell is as fascinating as a speaker as he is as a writer. I think part of that has to do with the fact that he looks like a Saturday Night Live character, or a human version of a muppet.
Eddie Muphy's Buckwheat meets Jimmy Fallon's IT guy.His topic deals with why so often the wrong people are hired for the job, from teachers to policemen to presidents of the United States. It's much more interesting than it sounds so go check it out at the link above if you have some time over lunch.
tagged: The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, Saturday Night Live
YouTube Tuesday: Toast to Hillary
The presidential campaign of the last two years really has me worn out. I still haven't decided which of the three democrats still in the race (Obama, Clinton and McCain) I could vote for.
It seems like the Democratic party, in it's quest to squelch democracy, is really putting the pressure on Hillary to drop out of the race. Evidently according to the Party Bosses, the gajillions of people who support Clinton don't really deserve to have their votes counted.
Be that as it may, I've been enjoying the Naked Campaign series from The New Yorker illustrator Steve Brodner. In his latest webisode, he toasts Hillary's campaign...
tagged: movie, YouTube, video, politics, campaign, Hillary Clinton, Naked Campaign, democrats
It seems like the Democratic party, in it's quest to squelch democracy, is really putting the pressure on Hillary to drop out of the race. Evidently according to the Party Bosses, the gajillions of people who support Clinton don't really deserve to have their votes counted.
Be that as it may, I've been enjoying the Naked Campaign series from The New Yorker illustrator Steve Brodner. In his latest webisode, he toasts Hillary's campaign...
tagged: movie, YouTube, video, politics, campaign, Hillary Clinton, Naked Campaign, democrats
Sunday, May 11, 2008
RE: Your Brains
Props to Zach for snagging some horrific pictures of the Kansas City Zombie Walk in Westport.
Go check out the ghouly images. It's yet another example of local bloggers breaking important news stories that the mainstream media are afraid to cover.
Also, in honor of the event, here's another apropos song by Jonathan Coulton...
tagged: Kansas City, Wetport, zombie, brains, Jonathan Coulton
Go check out the ghouly images. It's yet another example of local bloggers breaking important news stories that the mainstream media are afraid to cover.Also, in honor of the event, here's another apropos song by Jonathan Coulton...
tagged: Kansas City, Wetport, zombie, brains, Jonathan Coulton
Friday, May 09, 2008
HEADLINES: This week's tough SOB award goes to...
You remember that story from last year about the Florida guy who fought off a bobcat with his bare hands. Yeah, that d00d was one tough SOB.
This week, we met another tough old SOB, Steve Wilder of Omaha, Neb.
Wilder awoke a few nights ago to find that his throat had swollen shut and he was unable to breath.
What to do? Call 911 and die while waiting for an ambulance to show up too late? No thanks. How about give yourself a tracheotomy with a FREAKIN' STEAK KNIFE!!!
Look for a story link similar to this to show up on ER or Grey's Anatomy in the next few weeks.
tagged: headlines, news, tracheotomy, steak knife, Steve Wilder, surgery
This week, we met another tough old SOB, Steve Wilder of Omaha, Neb.
Wilder awoke a few nights ago to find that his throat had swollen shut and he was unable to breath.
What to do? Call 911 and die while waiting for an ambulance to show up too late? No thanks. How about give yourself a tracheotomy with a FREAKIN' STEAK KNIFE!!!
"Got a knife and located it and pushed in and blood went gush.”Dayum! Makes my self-ingrown toenail-otomy look kind of wussy by comparison.Blood was gushing out, but air was gushing in. Wilder was successful at performing a self-tracheotomy. "I think I closed my eyes, but fear or something took over. I didn't feel no pain or nothing."
Surgeons train for years to do what took Wilder only moments, though it wasn’t an entirely new experience. He had throat cancer several years ago, which is where his breathing problems originated. The same thing happened some years back, so he grabbed a steak knife and went to work.
Look for a story link similar to this to show up on ER or Grey's Anatomy in the next few weeks.
tagged: headlines, news, tracheotomy, steak knife, Steve Wilder, surgery
Friday Blogthing: Sometimes you feel like a nut
Sometimes you fee like three nuts, right The D?
tagged: Friday, blogthing, nut, cashew, quiz, blog, meme
You Are a Cashew
You are laid back, friendly, and easy going.
Compared to most people, you have a very mild temperament.
You blend in well. You're often the last person to get noticed.
But whenever you're gone, people seem to notice right away!
tagged: Friday, blogthing, nut, cashew, quiz, blog, meme
Thursday, May 08, 2008
And to wash it down...
Mad props to Chimpotle for hepping me to the latest fast food artery clogger, the 60-slice bacon cheeseburger.
But after ordering a cheeseburger with 60-slices of bacon, it seems silly to wash it down with a plain old soda. If only there was something more appropriate.
Hmmm... Oh yeah!
It's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes!
tagged: bacon, meat, water, food, health
But after ordering a cheeseburger with 60-slices of bacon, it seems silly to wash it down with a plain old soda. If only there was something more appropriate.
Hmmm... Oh yeah!
It's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes!
tagged: bacon, meat, water, food, health
Book Report: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Title: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Synopsis:
Blink is a non-fiction essay about the ability of the human mind to make highly accurate snap judgments, the process by which we make these kinds of judgments and pitfalls and dangers that can occur when we don't realize what influences this kind of decision making.
My thoughts:
This book was highly recommended to me by many people. Several of my managers at work are Gladwell disciples and have also recommended his earlier work The Tipping Point.
There are also some pretty smart bloggers out there who recommended Blink as well as one of my favorite football coaches.
So why all of the acclaim? Well, for one thing this is a really well written piece of non-fiction. Gladwell covers several case studies where split second decision making has been successful and where it has led horrible, tragic mistakes.
Case studies run the gamut from marriage to military games (not much difference there, right?) and from fine art to speed dating.
Gladwelll introduces fancy terms like "rapid cognition" and "thin slicing" that and explains them in a clear and entertaining way.
There is also a fascinating discussion of facial expressions, or rather the various component parts of facial expressions made up by the various individual movements of facial muscles.
Microexpressions, as they are called, can involuntarily reveal a glimpse of a person's true emotional state to the trained observer.
And interestingly, just as emotional states cause these involuntary facial movements, voluntarily producing certain facial movement can influence one's emotional state. It's a two way street.
Gladwell's writing style is conversational and easy to read, a reflection no doubt of his time in the newspaper world.
It's a fast 320-page read and the insights into how our minds work (or don't work, in some cases) makes it well worth your time.
Rating: Recommended
Note: Read additional 3AM Book Reviews here.
tagged: books, literature, Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, thin slicing, rapid cognition, microexpression
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Synopsis:
Blink is a non-fiction essay about the ability of the human mind to make highly accurate snap judgments, the process by which we make these kinds of judgments and pitfalls and dangers that can occur when we don't realize what influences this kind of decision making.My thoughts:
This book was highly recommended to me by many people. Several of my managers at work are Gladwell disciples and have also recommended his earlier work The Tipping Point.
There are also some pretty smart bloggers out there who recommended Blink as well as one of my favorite football coaches.
So why all of the acclaim? Well, for one thing this is a really well written piece of non-fiction. Gladwell covers several case studies where split second decision making has been successful and where it has led horrible, tragic mistakes.
Case studies run the gamut from marriage to military games (not much difference there, right?) and from fine art to speed dating.
Gladwelll introduces fancy terms like "rapid cognition" and "thin slicing" that and explains them in a clear and entertaining way.
There is also a fascinating discussion of facial expressions, or rather the various component parts of facial expressions made up by the various individual movements of facial muscles.
Microexpressions, as they are called, can involuntarily reveal a glimpse of a person's true emotional state to the trained observer.
And interestingly, just as emotional states cause these involuntary facial movements, voluntarily producing certain facial movement can influence one's emotional state. It's a two way street.
Gladwell's writing style is conversational and easy to read, a reflection no doubt of his time in the newspaper world.It's a fast 320-page read and the insights into how our minds work (or don't work, in some cases) makes it well worth your time.
Rating: Recommended
Note: Read additional 3AM Book Reviews here.
tagged: books, literature, Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, thin slicing, rapid cognition, microexpression
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