Happy Father's Day

Not a huge post today. Just thinking about my dad and how much he helped to shape me into the man I’ve become today. That includes being a constant reader. Thanks, Dad.

I also am thinking about my two grandfathers and all that they taught me, including what it’s like to have a good time. I remember one of my grandfathers who had shelves full of westerns. It was that memory that eventually prompted me to start writing westerns. I want to write stories he would have enjoyed.

And, of course, I’m also thinking about being a dad, the greatest thing in the world!

Tech for Writers: iOS “Speak Screen”

Do you retain more information when you hear it rather than only reading it on a page?
I know I do. I’m a pretty avid note taker. In college and graduate school, I developed the ability to nearly create a thought-for-thought transcription of a professor’s lectures. That trait also has proven invaluable when I brainstorm my stories.

But sometimes, my brainstorming notes can get quite lengthy and I forget some aspects of the story. Or, perhaps, when I’ve come to a certain scene on a particular writing day, I’ll review the notes I took for that scene before putting prose to pixels.

But wouldn’t it be neat to have someone read my notes to me? (Yeah, I can, and do, read them aloud to myself, but having an external source read the notes allows me time to go deeper into the story.)

Enter the Speak Screen command on the iPhone. I’ve had my iPhone SE just over a month now and I’m still learning what it can do. One feature that is invaluable for folks like me is Speak Screen. It does exactly what you think it does: it reads whatever text is on the screen at the time.

The action is triggered by sliding two fingers from the top of the screen to the bottom. You’ll get a new toolbar that looks like this.

Here you can control the tempo, pause, play, or stop the app from running. The "Simplenote" up there is just the app I was using. It'll be whatever app you have open.

You activate it here: Settings>General>Accessibility>Speech>Speak Screen. You can also select the language and voice you want. I stay with Siri Female (enhanced) since that voice speaks all the weird words better.

And, best yet: naturally, it’ll read your actual prose back to you so you can hear your story while you follow along, making notes.

Brilliant!

It’s a great feature for iOS devices. Writers, y’all should really try it out.

Book Review: The Emperor's Revenge by Clive Cussler

Sometimes it pays to read to the last sentence.

Clive Cussler has the type of literary output I aim to mimic. It started with the Dirk Pitt adventures and, over the years, Cussler has expanded his series to include the Oregon Files, the NUMA files, the Fargo Adventures and the Isaac Bell series. The first four all take place in contemporary times. The Isaac Bell series, my true introduction to Cussler’s works, is by far my favorite mainly because it is set in the early 20th Century.

Now comes THE EMPEROR’S REVENGE, the latest in the Oregon Files series. It’s the 11th book in the series, but my first. This series focuses on Juan Cabrillo, the captain of a fancy ship, the Oregon. On the outside, this ship looks like a hunk of junk, a trawler that wouldn’t normally catch the eye of any bad guy. Underneath, the Oregon is the top-of-the-line military ship equipped with all the latest technology and weapons. Cabrillo commands a group of folks who work as a team called the Corporation, a secret sub-group of the CIA.

I would have eventually gotten around to the Oregon Files series, but what jumpstarted my interest was reading my first NUMA book, THE PHARAOH’S CURSE earlier this spring. In that book, those main characters—Kurt Austin and company—got into a gunfight. In the middle of all that, Juan Cabrillo and one of his men show up. Each team tells the other team the Thing each need to know and then they went on their way. How cool is that! It was basically a little marketing ploy to get interested readers to buy THE EMPEROR’S REVENGE, which was publish three months after PHARAOH’S SECRET. It worked for me.

So what is EMPEROR’S REVENGE about? As in most of Cussler’s modern-day thrillers, the story opens in the past, namely 1821 and Napoleon Bonaparte. That’ll clue you in on whom the “emperor” is. Turns out, Napoleon escaped his exile at St. Helena taking with him secret messages from handwritten notes. Cut to the present day and Juan Cabillo and his team are on a mission. At the conclusion of the mission, he receives word of the events at the Monaco Grand Prix. It seems there was a huge accident that was used to cover-up something worse: a bank heist. Not something that might land on the Corporation’s radar until the truth is revealed: all the Corporation’s money was among the cash looted from the bank.

Now the story is personal.

What follows is Juan’s investigation into the bank heist. He and his team are assisted by Gretchen, a former partner of Juan’s and his “wife” on a previous mission. Needless to say, sparks fly, and not just from the bullets ricocheting off everything during gun fights.

To say that EMPEROR’S REVENGE follows standard thriller pacing sounds like a bad thing, but it isn’t. The pacing is nice and steady. The revelation of the bad guy, who makes up his team, and what he’s after is delivered piecemeal and in nice chunks. I enjoyed the story, the build-up, and the character moments. I suspect readers who have read the ten previous books will get more inside jokes, but as a newbie to this series, this book was just fine.

Long ago, if there was a new book (like EMPEROR’S REVENGE) that caught my eye and I learned it was a series, I’d always go back to book one and plow through the series. But I’d often get burned out and actually never get to the book with the cool cover that got my attention. I’ve chunked that reading style. Now, I read the current book. If I like it, I’ll go back. It seems that there’s a new Oregon File book every year so I have a decade’s worth of material to read.

I listened to the book by the brilliant narrator Scott Brick. He reads almost every series by Cussler, especially the Isaac Bell ones. Brick has a touch of whimsy to his voice and cadence that propels the stories, like EMPEROR’S REVENGE, along in a special way. Seriously, Brick could read the LA phonebook and I’d pay to listen. He’s that good.

Oh, and read until the last sentence…

What I Learned as a Reader:

Back in my original blog, I’d always end reviews with this and I thought I’d apply it here.

In Chapter 1, all the characters are introduced. For longtime readers, this is old hat. For newbies like me, it’s perfect. Each character gets a sentence or two of backstory and a trait. The prose makes each person on the team easily identifiable. From then on, through the rest of the book, I know what these characters look like and act like. I try to do that in my own writing, but it’s great to see how longtime professional like Cussler and Boyd Morrison do it.

Hamilton Wins Big

Sometimes, the best way to teach the American public history is not in a classroom.

Back in December when I first became aware that there was a Broadway play called “Hamilton,” I was both excited and skeptical. You see, I’m a history major and hold both a Bachelors and a Masters degree. Teaching history was something I wanted to do before I changed my mind and became a technical writer. Now, as an author, I get the chance to ‘teach’ history but in a different venue.

I love musicals. Always have. The Music Man was always my favorite until The Lion King. That show is so much more than the sum of its parts. I actually had the opportunity to travel to New York back in 1998 to see TLK because I didn't think it would ever tour.

I saw a second show on that New York trip: a revival of 1776. Now I only became aware of 1776 in graduate school and the idea that the Founding Fathers would be singing was, well, weird. Until I saw it, the movie that is. While it took me a little time to get behind John Adams singing, I quickly grew to love the songs not only as Broadway pieces but as pseudo history classes. Want to know how the Declaration of Independence was written? You could do worse than listening to the "But Mr. Adams" song. It soon became clear that a two-hour musical could deliver history to folks who hated history in high school.

So when I learned about Hamilton, I was both excited and skeptical. Excited for the potential a show like this to educate viewers about America's first Treasury secretary. Skeptical for how the music would be presented. I figured it would be good, but I needed to give it a listen.

NPR put up the cast soundtrack on its First Listen program. I gave it a ‘spin.’ I was mesmerized. Not only was the music hip-hop (hip-hop!) but the words coming out of the singers’ mouths were chock full of historical goodness. Songs like “Alexander Hamilton” and “My Shot” are history textbooks condensed and full of life. Spectacular!

I’m so glad the musical has become a national phenomenon. I’m glad its success has, apparently, kept Hamilton on the ten dollar bill. I’m glad that Ron Chernow’s original biography is now likely experiencing a resurgence in popularity. (It’s a great bio, BTW.) I’m glad that the musical took hom 11 Tony awards last night. Well deserved.

But I’m really glad that history—the subject for which I have a passion—is now getting ‘taught’ to folk who didn’t really think they loved history until it was presented in a different format. If it takes a musical to ignite a drive to learn more about our history, so be it.

“How lucky we are to be alive right now!”

Is James Patterson the KISS of the Publishing World?

Ever since James Patterson announced his Bookshots initiative, I was curious. For those that don't know. the world's #1 bestselling author wants to provoke folks who might not normally read longer books to try out shorter books. As the slogan goes, "Under 150 pages. Under $5." I've read exactly zero Patterson books, but I own a few. In fact, I had picked up Private: India the other day at the grocery store because I wanted to see what that series was like. Last night, I picked up the first two Bookshots books: Crosskill and Zoo 2. I started Crosskill, and dang it if I didn't blow through five chapters. I had to get to sleep, but I can see this kind of thing catching on.

What I'd really like to see is is these books available at Starbucks, drug stores, or grocery stores at the checkout lines. Make them impulse buys.

This Patterson talk had me remembering a post I wrote back in January 2015 for DoSomeDamage entitled "Is James Patterson the KISS of the Publishing World?" Some of my comments can apply to Bookshots today. Anything that gets people reading is fine by me. And, as an author of a book (WADING INTO WAR) that easily fits in a Bookshots format (Under 150 pages. Under $5), I welcome shorter books. In fact, I'm writing one now...

If you're here reading this, chances are good you're already a reader. You don't mind reading giant tomes like the Outlander books or short stories or anything else in between. We can enjoy Bookshots, but, I suspect, they're not aimed at us. Just imagine the person who says "I stopped reading after high school" and then picks up a Bookshots book and sees how fun reading can be. There. Patterson's just made a new reader, and that helps everyone.

Here's the older article. I welcome y'all's comments.

I discovered some new friends this week. I'm a big fan of the rock band KISS and there are a good number of podcasts out there. Up until now, my two favorites have been PodKISSt and Kisstory Science Theater. To quote Yoda, there is another.

 

Pods and Sods is technically a music podcast (a podcast for the musically obsessed...) but Craig Smith and Eric Miller are avid KISS fans. As such, a good chunk of the 82 episodes involve KISS. A fun thing they did last month during the “12 Days of KISSmas,” was cover, in detail, the first 12 KISS LPs, one a day and one an episode. They know their stuff and I found myself nodding to points they made and disagreeing with others.

 

But what utterly surprised me was how funny they are. The key to their humor comes with the intimate knowledge of the subject matter. With that knowledge comes the ability to look at the absurd nature of some of the antics the members of KISS have foisted on the public in their forty years. Craig's impersonations of Gene Simmons is hilarious! Some fans, you can imagine, take lots of umbrage with any humor at the expense of their rock heroes. Not so Smith and Miller. They see the absurdity for what it is and laugh at it *while still being fans.*

 

Now, I understand that being fans of a rock band like KISS and being fans of authors are different realms but I couldn’t help think about the similarities of the two this week while devouring 21 of the 22 KISS-centric episodes (that’s about 20 hours of listening, by the way) and reading about the latest news from James Patterson. Evidently, he’s trying to garner interest in his new book with his so-called “self-destructing book.” According to his website, 1,000 fans get a code to download an advance copy of his latest PRIVATE book and have 24 hours to read the story before “the book self-destructs in a spectacular fashion.” You can follow readers’ progress. Three readers here in Houston got the novel. The website claims it’s a revolutionary reading experience.

 

Yup, it is. And I’m totally cool with it. Why the heck not? Is it a stunt? Absolutely. It is unique? Unquestionably. It is fun? Yessiree bob. It it for everyone? Nope.

 

Neither is KISS. I know many who discount KISS because of their make-up, over-the-top shows (“They only do that because their music isn’t good”--to which I say just listen to some of their songs), and their unabashed salesmanship. That’s all true, but I’m one who learned about rock and roll through their antics. They are my first favorite rock band. Sure, I’ve come to love Chicago, Bowie, Springsteen, Genesis, Sting, and others, but KISS will forever have a special place in my heart. And they have a particular outlook on music and their role in it. They are entertainers, pure and simple. As the guys from Pods and Sods point out, there’s a whole lot of positive messages laced in KISS songs...if you can get past the clunky lyrics and debauchery.

 

Might Patterson be the KISS of the publishing industry? He’s unapologetically commercial. So what? It helps him get product out that the public enjoys. He's not the #1 best-selling author for nothing. He uses co-writers. So what? As the December issue of Vanity Fair points out, he has such a heavy hand in the writing that’s it’s basically his work by the time the books are published. As I’ve piled up manuscripts, I’ve often thought it would be nice for someone to take my first draft and clean it up -- while I write a first draft of a new novel and then come back around to revise the cleaned-up draft later. But that’s just me.

 

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts for this week. I’ve also been working on my new website and I’m close to being done with it. News will be coming soon on that front.

 

What are y’all’s thoughts on Patterson’s stunt? And if y’all like KISS or just in-depth music talk, I wholeheartedly recommend Pods and Sods

Comics Cavalcade

Over the weekend, I went to SpaceCity Con here in Houston. It’s something of a Memorial Day tradition. Typically, the convention is Comicpalooza but that’s been pushed back to Father’s Day weekend. And, yes, before you ask, I’m going there as well.

I’m to the point in my comic book collecting where I gravitate towards the dollar bins. At conventions like these, there were boxes and boxes of comics that are bagged, boarded, and sealed for all time. Those don’t hold my interest anymore. For me, comics are, as they always have been, to read. Because my interests are so varied, I like to sample a lot of different books, even ones that weren’t on my radar back in the day.

The best thing about dollar bins is that, for the most part, they are un-alphabetized, un-bagged, un-boarded, and just shoved in a box. As a result, you literally have to go through book by book looking at the titles, smelling the old paper, pulling out titles that might interest you, and then subdividing said large stack of books into something small and manageable. Now, I’ll leave it up to you whether this spread is manageable or not, but for me, it’ll get me through the first month of summer… or until Comicpalooza!

The Batman titles there on the left are good selection of mid-70s material. The writer for the flagship title is David V. Reed. I haven’t read the Detective books yet. Overall, I was very pleased that I was able to locate a good number of books from 1976 that celebrated the Bicentennial now 40 years gone. That particular title there of Action Comics, when that bad guy is his hitting Superman into 1776, I had seen that cover for a long time and was finally was able to locate it. The Superman title second from the bottom—and the Wonder Woman title—both both look different. They are Pizza Hut collectible editions from the mid-70s. They are reprints from the 50s—which is what I really thought they were—but still fun reading.

Column three has got two sets of titles. There is the Master of Kung Fu which I have heard lots of good things about. Evidently it began as a typical title to capture the early 70s kung fu craze but morphed into a sort of superspy storyline. Shang Chi, the master himself, is the son of Fu Manchu. Back in the 70s, Marvel had the rights to Fu Manchu and used them. Ever since, those rights have lapsed. Thus these titles rarely get reprinted. This particular run, issues 83 to 87, is a single storyline, late in the run, but I figured it would be good chance to read and see what it was like. The Star Hunter stuff was DC’s answer to Star Wars. I have a fondness for cheesy space opera. Back in the day, I bought the debut issue, but never read or located any more. I found these four issues and picked them up. They’re not in order so I will be looking for the others come Father’s Day.

The comics in column three are random. A couple of Bicentennial ones down there on the bottom, each numbered with a special black-and-white number in the upper right-hand corner. When I do peruse the dollar bins, I try to find books that are thicker to give me more content and, most importantly, complete stories. Thus three of those titles in column 4 are all giant size. Ironically, that World’s Finest issue that cost a dollar back in 1979 also cost me a dollar in 2016.

I was lucky to find some Shadow books. The one down there on the front I liked in particular because that was when Denny O’Neil (of Batman fame) took up the title when DC got the rights to write stories about the character. The artist was Frank Robbins who was never one of my favorites — he did the Invaders for Marvel comics and that was my first taste of how cover art and interior art could be different. The modern titles I had never read or never heard of. Ironically these are from 1987 when Denny O’Neil was the editor of the Batman titles. I don’t think he had anything to do with this run, but it is a complete four issue set. The one there on top is a Shadow annual.

The titles on the last column are even more random than the others. A couple of Jonah Hex issue, one Man Wolf (I’m not too familiar with this one, but the creature in question is transformed, I think, by a gemstone from the moon), issue 1 of the Logan’s Run adaptation, and a big annual of Christmas stories from 1997. And, yes, I won’t read that one until December. That Rampaging Hulk title you see is the collection of the black-and-white stories from Marvel magazine back in the mid-70s. Marvel tried their hand at more adult content using the larger magazine format that wasn’t subject to the Comics Code. When the TV show became a hit, Rampaging Hulk was transformed to Hulk! and became color. The Essential titles are all black-and-white reprints typically of color comics, but since this collection were originally in black-and-white anyway — and it only cost five dollars whereas the standard original book cost at least double that amount — how can I pass it up?

That’s my haul from SpaceCity Con 2016. I’ll be reading and reviewing these periodically throughout the summer. Let me know if you have any history with any of these titles as I’d be curious to know if y’all read these books back in the day or even now.

"The Box Maker" Nominated for Best Short Fiction from Western Fictioneers

I am a proud member of the Western Fictioneers group from the start. In fact, one of my Calvin Carter stories, "You Don't Get Three Mistakes," has the honor of being the first story I ever wrote actually be published in a physical book. That was in Western Fictioneers first anthology, The Traditional West."

A few years ago, I volunteered to read and help judge the short fiction contest. I read so many good stories that it was very difficult to narrow down my choices to a mere five.

This year, however, I entered a couple of stories and one, "The Box Maker," is a finalist for the Best Short Fiction Peacemaker Award for 2016!

Over the years, I have heard artists, writers, musicians, actors, and all sorts of creative folks claim that it is an honor just to be nominated. My goodness, how that rings true today. I am truly humbled merely to be on the list.

And huge congrats to Robert Randisi who earns the Lifetime Achievement Award. What he has accomplished in his career is staggering and something for which to strive.

The full list of nominees are here.

Dreading the End of "Castle"

It was never just about one person.

Last night on “Castle,” the 21st episode of season 8, we likely saw the last of the "real" Castle.

By real I mean that there are two lead actors: Nathan Fillion in the titular role and Stana Katic’s Capt. Kate Beckett. From day one, despite the fact that her name is not in the title of the show, Beckett has been an integral part of “Castle.” There were times, deep in seasons 2 through 4, when I came out and said that they should just switch the show name to "Beckett" because that's how powerful the stories about the character were. In fact, after watching last night's program, I re-watched the behind–the–scenes DVD extra from season 1. In discussing what makes the television show "Castle" work, creator Andrew Marlowe summed it up best: "She grounds the show."

I think it's pretty much common knowledge now that the ABC television network has fired Katic as well as Tamala Jones who plays ME Lanie Parish, two stars present from episode one. When the news broke, I think most of us were shocked. That's not an understatement. The reason given was budgetary. I guess Katic just cost too much. But what shocked me more was the brazen attempt to change the chemistry of the show merely for money. I strained to think of something comparable to the firing of one of the two co-leads of a television show. It would be like if Leonard Nimoy was fired from “Star Trek.” It would be like if Gillian Anderson were fired from the “X-Files.” It would be like if Dezi Arnez was fired from “I Love Lucy.” It would be like if Patrick Dempsey was killed off from “Grey's Anatomy.”

Whoops. Bad analogy. That one actually kept going. But there's a key difference: “Grey's Anatomy”is an ensemble piece. It is more than two characters. It is a group. Inasmuch as “Castle” has become an ensemble show — with Ryan and Esposito, Alexis, Martha, Lanie, and whichever commanding officer is in charge — "Castle" is a binary system. Everything revolves around the two co-leads. You can't take one and think you going to keep things the same. It simply won't work.

So what are we left with? ABC has still not said yes or no to a potential season 9. The rumors suggest that if season 9 is a go, it would be a shortened 13–episode season. Really? Look, I know the show began as a 10–episode midseason replacement, but it has grown to be a full 20+ episode series ever since. The show was already in syndication and is already surpassed the 100–episode mark. So, unless there is other number that has to be reached, having an extra 13 episodes in a series seems like a dumb move.

But to take something that is so beloved by so many and literally rip its heart out—let's be honest, Beckett was the heart of the show, maybe even its soul—seems like such a waste. I never watched "How I Met Your Mother" but I know that the series end disappointed many fans. Heck, I'm an “X-Files” guy and that series finale was less than spectacular. Many series finales don't live up to all the time and emotional investments of fans. There are a few exceptions: “MASH” comes to mind and is a beautiful example of the series finale. Heck, thinking about it now, it seems like more shows just peter out than end strong and satisfyingly.

More and more, I’ve come to the realization that “Castle’s” season 7 finale was the perfect ending. When the episode was written, the creators didn’t know if they would be picked up for an additional season, so they wrote the final episode not as a cliffhanger but as a summation of all that had come before. It was beautiful. I remember thinking, even at the time, that they could've ended the entire run right then and there and everyone would be happy. When I discovered that a season 8 of “Castle” was going to be a real thing, I was overjoyed. More Castle was always a good thing. Right?

Wrong. Sure, I have enjoyed most episodes this season, but not like past seasons. I have rolled my eyes more than once with the whole Loksat arc as The Thing to keep Castle and Beckett separate. That Castle himself has become the comic relief in his own show is irritating. Ryan and Esposito are, as always, wonderful. If executives wanted to spin off “Castle” and create and show with just the detectives, I’m game for that. And the absence of Beckett wore me down. I’m not a viewer who knows what goes on behind the scenes. And, ironically, the day the news broke about Katic I didn’t have access to the internet (and only watched that night’s episode via regular TV antenna!), I thought “Beckett’s not in this show much anymore.”

I have been a fan of "Castle" since the original promo. When I think of “Castle,” and particular episodes or moments come to mind, the ones that I remember best all happened in the first seven seasons. The swing set. The science fiction convention. The 1940s one. The early episodes when Beckett, as a reader and fan of author Richard Castle, was all but pinching herself as she got to work. The playful banter between then that slowly morphed into genuine affection and then love. The Johanna Beckett episodes where Katic got to show just how good she can bring Beckett to life. The arrest of Senator Bracken. The one where Ryan’s gun was stolen and used to kill someone. The one where Ryan and Eposito were trapped in the burning building (is that 7). The freezer. The one where they first kissed as part of a ruse. The fun references to Firefly. And, also, the reading of the Nikki Heat books *in real time* and how they were a great counterpoint to the show. They all go together to make Castle the special, special show.

The executives have all but stomped on those memories and tarnished them.

Actually, that's not correct. We will always have seasons 1 through 7. I’m a Star Wars generation kid. That movie series helped shape my life. When the prequel trilogy didn't live up to expectations and folks complained that Lucas destroyed their childhood, that’s not really the case. Those childhood memories are still there, intact, a virtual time machine in the subconscious. I can always go back and remember how much fun I had living a life with Star Wars.

So, too, with “Castle.” We are T-minus six days until the finale of “Castle” season 8 and the end of “Castle” as we know it. Katic will make her inevitable departure to the series. I've not read any spoilers—and won’t—but come on. How else does Beckett leave the series? I will have my tissues ready on Monday night because I know I will shed tears not just at what happens to Kate Beckett but what is happening to one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I know I’ll be upset.

But I have a surefire way to assuage my sadness. Around 10:10 p.m.—after just enough time to commiserate with fans on Facebook and Twitter—I'm going to have the season 7 finale queued up. And I’m going to re-watch it (I haven’t seen it since last year). That will be my happy ending to the show. By 11:00 p.m., I’ll be smiling again. I’ll still be irritated that some executives thought that the best way to keep the show afloat and reduce costs was to fire a co-lead rather than, say, negotiate a rate reduction or film elsewhere or anything. But I’ll be happier.

Why? Because I'll probably just consider season 8 as a weird Patrick Duffy shower scene. I'll just pretend that it never happened.

Book Review Club: Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner

(This is the April 2016 Edition of Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club. For a complete rundown of all the books, click the icon following this review.)

I was taking my turn staying with my son as he recuperated in a hospital when I heard the news that Leonard Nimoy had died. His death didn’t hit me as hard as, say, David Bowie’s did this year, but Nimoy’s passing was unique. I’m a Star Wars kid who discovered Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock only after I learned who Luke Skywalker was. Through the years, however, as I grew older, the more cerebral Trek spoke to a certain part of my psyche, and Spock was a big part of that.

Another thing I really enjoy is learning all the lifetime steps a celebrity went through to get them to the spot when I know them. I love learning about an artist’s early work, the struggles to get noticed, and what they did once they became famous.

So it was a natural that I would gravitate to William Shatner’s latest book, Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man. But, I made a crucial decision: I got the audiobook. Shatner himself reads his work, and that made all the difference.

Shatner uses his friendship with Nimoy as a framing device to tell Leonard’s story. Full confession: I never knew Shatner was Jewish! I knew Nimoy was, but it blew me away when I learned that about Shatner.

Throughout the book, Shatner tells how Nimoy grew up in a hard life in Boston with Jewish parents who emigrated from Europe. Nimoy’s work ethic—always show up on time, be prepared, be professional—is what should be considered normal, whether in acting or anything. Too often it’s not any more, so it makes Nimoy’s example that much more appealing.

I especially loved hearing how Shatner and Nimoy got work in the early golden age of television in whatever role they could land: bad guys, tough guys in westerns, and the like. As a fan of early television, these sections were among my favorites.

The Star Trek gig was especially great for Nimoy because he got a dressing room with his name on the door. He had been working for nearly twenty years at that point, and the Trek gig was his first true steady work. That Nimoy kept at his acting profession and added to his income by teaching and other jobs is a noble example, especially in a day and age when lots of folks think they should get the golden ring right out of the gate.

Shatner pulls no punches when it comes to some of the times he and Nimoy had disagreements. I figured I get the behind-the-scenes story of why he missed Nimoy’s funeral—charity function—and how Nimoy likely would have done the same thing if their positions were reversed.

At the end, however, is when the audiobook earns its keep. Shatner cannot keep all the emotion out of his voice, and it was those passages for which I bought the audio. I wanted to hear Shatner tell this story, and he does so in a wonderful fashion.

If you are a Star Trek fan or enjoy hearing the hardscrabble story of a working actor in the 1950s-2000s, this is a great book because you get two stories for the price of one.

Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Nimoy…and Mr. Shatner.

  

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

My Thoughts on Batman v Superman

If you want to know my thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and have seen the movie (or don't care about spoilers), head on over to DoDomeDamage and take a read.

On discovering The Struts

So, yesterday, I was flipping through Facebook and ran across a Facebook ad for Rolling Stone. The photo was small and I didn’t recognize the band. Heck, I didn’t even know the band name: The Struts. Anyway, the little one-sentence headline read something like “Blah blah blah blah GLAM ROCK blah blah blah blah.” I honestly can’t remember. All I saw was “Glam Rock.” That’s enough for me. I read the article. [Here’s the link] Hmm, I thought. They sound interesting. The article mentioned Spotify. I’ve got the free version so I headed over there.

I found the album, “Everybody Wants,” and set it to play. The free version of Spotify doesn’t play the albums in order, so I had to suffer the shuffle play.

 In retrospect, it would have been nice to note which song I heard first. I can’t remember. From the opening lines of the first song, I was hooked. Shades of the band Slade from the early 70s were all over this song. The second song just kept up the momentum. The lead singer has a way of rolling his Rs just like Freddie Mercury. By the fourth song—this one I know: “Put Your Money on Me”*—I was grinning like a goofball, tapping my foot at my cubicle and bobbing my head. I hadn’t even finished the new LP before I was up and asking my co-workers if they had heard this band and telling them all about the new LP.

 I heard The Struts for the first time around 10:00am or so. By 12:40pm on my lunch hour, I had purchased the entire record. The last time an album has so captured my imagination was in 2013 with Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.

If you like FUN music, unabashedly flamboyant songs as cheeky as they are catchy, and unashamed to tout their artistic influences, The Struts are the band for you.

*Side Note: I *heard* this music before I even saw the band. The music is so fantastic. The presentation, specifically in lead singer Luke Spiller, is over the moon.

Check them out for yourself.

Put Your Money on Me

Could Have Been Me (This appears to be the single)

 Kiss This (good concert footage here)

Here's the Amazon link for the new 2016 reissue (with extra songs!)