eBook Review: Lone Star Planet

H. Beam Piper, Lone Star Planet

Product Details

• File Size: 181 KB
• Print Length: 88 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004UK0GKK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
• Price: $0.00

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:

2.1. What I liked:  Piper's satire. 
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? It tries to be a roller coaster, but most of the action happens in a courtroom, so it is a walk in the park threatening to become a roller coaster.
Free and worth the download.

2.2. What I did not like: Nothing. Once I got into the over-the-top satire, it was all good.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Science fiction fans. H Beam Piper fans.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes. There is killing, but it is not graphic.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  Yes.

2.6. The plot in a nutshell:

     Stephen Silk, one of the Solar League's spies, finds himself appointed the Ambassador to New Texas to fill the vacancy left by the late Silas Cumshaw. Some inhabitants of New Texas killed Ambassador Cumshaw. Silk is to investigate Cumshaw's death and determine if the aggressive z'Srauff -- whom the Solar League suspects of planning to invade New Texas -- had a part in the murder. It becomes apparent to Silk that many who sought his appointment hope that this will get him killed, too.
     During his journey to New Texas, Silk familiarizes himself with the local political situation, with his personnel, and with the side-arms the League provided him. On New Texas, everyone goes armed.
     Soon after his arrival on New Texas, Silk finds himself locked in the Court of Political Justice. "[T]he defendant, Wilbur Whately, is here charged with political irresponsibility and excessive atrocity in exercising his constitutional right of criticism of a practicing politician." The defendant killed S. Austin Maverick, a practicing politician. The trial is not to determine if Whately killed Maverick -- that is stipulated -- but to determine if Whately acted 'excessively'. The Court of Political Justice puts the victim on trial for the crime of introducing to the legislature 'An Act for the Taxing of Personal Incomes, and for the Levying of a Withholding Tax.' Except there is no trial. What it amounts to is President Judge Nelson sua sponte takes judicial notice that Maverick put up such a bill. The judge frees Whately, pronounces that he himself would have killed Maverick had Whately not beaten him to it, and adjourns the court to go to the barbecue being given in honor of Silk's arrival.
     (I found this quite humorous. It amounts to codification of the famed Texas defense "Your Honor, the deceased needed killin'.")
     A couple of days later, three men -- Switchblade Joe Bonney, Jack-High Abe Bonney, and Turkey-Buzzard Tom Bonney -- are brought to trial in the Court of Political Justice for their part in the murder of Ambassador Silas Cumshaw. Judge Nelson allows Silk to enter into the proceeding as an amicus curiae. Silk presents evidence that the Bonney brothers acted as pawns of the z'Srauff. He then asks Judge Nelson to dismiss the action because Cumshaw was not a practicing politician within the meaning of New Texas law. (Silk does not want ambassadors subject to New Texans' acts of political dissent; that is, murder.) Judge Nelson agrees, frees the Bonney brothers, and hastily adjourns court. Silk guns down the Bonney brothers. 
     The Fleet of the Solar League intercepts the z'Srauff invasion force and destroys it. Silk marries a New Texas girl, goes native, and "is still active in politics on [New Texas], often in opposition to Solar League policies[.]"

 2.7. Other:
     This is in fact a novella (~22,000 words). The story was first published under the title A Planet for Texans. It is a stand-alone story and separate from Piper's Terro-Human Future History series and from his Paratime series.
     Authorial credit is also given to John Joseph McGuire. When I compare Lone Star Planet to other Piper stories, I believe McGuire may have written most of the story. It does not read like Piper's other work.

2.8. Links: 

Wikipedia on Lone Star Planet
Lone Star Planet from the Gutenberg Project
H Beam Piper at the Gutenberg Project

2.9. Buy the book:  Lone Star Planet

eBook Review: Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army

Philip H. Sheridan, Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army

Product Details (Volume I)

• File Size: 393 KB
• Print Length: 534 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (March 27, 2005)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000JQU87A
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
• Price: $0.00 

 

Product Details (Volume II)

• File Size: 359 KB
• Print Length: 522 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (June 1, 2004)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000JQU87K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
• Price: $0.00

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:

2.1. What I liked:  History that you cannot get anywhere else, especially Sheridan's coverage of the Franco-Prussian War.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Mostly roller-coaster, but we know how the ride ends.
These books are free, and they are worth the downloads.

2.2. What I did not like:  Sheridan's writing style. His prose is gilded and pompous sounding. His writing shows the influence Grant had on him and becomes readable when he served under Grant, but out from under Grant's tutelage, he reverts to his old heathen ways.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  History buffs.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  No. I've read all the Sheridan I can stomach.

2.6. Other:  I read Ulysses S Grant's memoirs and William T Sherman's memoirs.
     I divide Sheridan's memoirs into five parts:  1. In California and Oregon before the War; 2. The War; 3. After the War; 4. The Indian Wars; and 5. The Franco-Prussian War and a tour of Europe.

1. In California and Oregon before the War.
     Sheridan graduated from West Point in 1853. Soon he was ordered to the Pacific Northwest where he treated with and fought the local Indians in small unit actions. He campaigned summer and winter. This was important for his later campaigns against the Plains Indians.
     By Sheridan's account, he won the conflicts with the Indians single-handed. He stood short in the saddle and short on modesty.

2.  The War.
     Unlike Sherman, Sheridan did not plaster his memoirs with copies of orders. There are some, but they serve to highlight Sheridan's accounts.
     Sheridan found his unit in the Pacific Northwest divided in its loyalties when the Civil War began. Some officers resigned their commissions and went to fight for the Confederacy. Sheridan was promoted captain and ordered to report for duty in Missouri. He executed his orders by sailing from San Francisco to New York City and travelling cross-country.
     When he arrived in Missouri, General Halleck appropriated him to his staff to sort out the mess Fremont had made of Halleck's department's finances. Sheridan wanted a combat command, but he performed Halleck's accounting task so well that it looked like Halleck would keep on staff for the whole war.
     Sheridan ran afoul of General Curtis and his officers who were profiteering. Curtis tried to courtmartial Sheridan, but Halleck stepped in and saved him.
     All the while, Sheridan tried to wrangle a combat command. Sherman offered him a regiment of volunteers, but that appointment fell through. In May 1862, Sheridan was appointed to command the 2d Michigan Cavalry. He won his first battle with this unit and thereby gained a promotion to brigadier general of volunteers.
     Sheridan continued from success to success in other commands in the Western Theater, compiling a string of accomplishments that he never failed to trumpet. One instance stands as an example of his jealousy for acclaim. At the Battle of Chattanooga, his division overran a Confederate held ridge. Sheridan claimed the guns -- cannon -- the Confederates left behind, because his men had taken them. They did not stay to secure the guns but continued in pursuit of the Confederates. Other units secured the guns and were credited with their capture. Sheridan expended several dozen pages of his memoirs with sworn statements from his subordinate unit commandeers to show that his division took the guns, contrary to the official reports.
     After Chattanooga, Sheridan was given command of the Union cavalry in the Army of the Potomac. Meade, his immediate commander, wanted to use the cavalry in its traditional roles for screening and reconnaissance. Sheridan wanted to use the cavalry as a separate arm. Their dispute rose to General Grant, who persuaded Meade to give Sheridan his way. Sheridan took the Union cavalry on an extended raid around the Confederate army. Along the way, his forces defeated the Confederate cavalry and killed their commander, General J.E.B. Stuart. That's the upside. The downside is that the Army of the Potomac was effectively blind while Sheridan went raiding.
     It is worth noting that American cavalry in the Civil War was what the Europeans called dragoons. American cavalry rode to battle, dismounted, and fought with carbines. Sheridan himself wrote that, during the entire war, only once did his cavalry charge with drawn sabers.
     After commanding the cavalry army brilliantly (according to Sheridan) or with mixed results (according to Meade), Grant named him to command the Army of the Shenandoah. The Confederates used the Shenandoah Valley as a gateway to raid Maryland, Pennsylvania, and to threaten Washington, DC. The raids into Maryland and Pennsylvania did damage to the public but the Confederates trooping across the Potomac from Washington scared the bejeezus out of the politicians in Washington who demanded SOMETHING MUST BE DONE RIGHT NOW!
     Grant sent Sheridan to sweep the Confederates from the Shenandoah. Sheridan took some time getting organized, a fact that did not sit well with Grant because the politicians were pissing down his collar. In September 1864, Sheridan got going and burned the Shenandoah. Over the course of six months, he destroyed the Confederates forces opposing him. Then, in a surprise, he returned his army to the command of General Grant. Given Sheridan's ego, this is incomprehensible to me still.
     Sheridan reported that there was much spying going on in the Shenandoah, but he managed to turn this to his advantage by sowing disinformation with rebel spies.
     Grant left Sheridan in command of the forces that had comprised the Army of the Shenandoah. Sheridan headed for Petersburg, Virginia and effectively became the far right wing of Grant's army. His move meant he was perfectly positioned to cut off Lee's route of retreat, and that's what Sheridan did. Soon after followed the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
     Grant ordered Sheridan to Texas to defeat the last Confederate forces in the field, but Kirby Smith surrendered before Sheridan could cross the Sabine.

3. After the War.
     Sheridan showed great interest in events in Mexico. Although he never explicitly said so, my impression is that he wanted to invade Mexico to kick the French out. He does say that he passed firearms and ammunition to Juarez.
     In 1867, Sheridan was named military governor of Texas and Louisiana. He spent most of his term as governor in New Orleans, investigating a riot, enrolling voters, and replacing elected officials with his appointees. President Johnson spent a great deal of time undoing what Sheridan did. Finally, Thomas replaced Sheridan as military governor. In August 1867, Sheridan left to command the Department of the Missouri.
   
4. The Indian Wars.
     In Kansas, Sheridan quickly learned  that his forces were too few to keep the Indians pacified unless the Indians wanted to be pacified. He asked for and got state levies. He did the one thing the Indians could not do -- campaigned in the winter (see 'In California and Oregon before the War' above) -- and defeated the Indians thereby.
     His winter campaign was a logistical nightmare from start to finish. I give Sheridan credit for seeing it through. Forcing that campaign on to a successful conclusion was an act of will.
     The sad part is that it was unnecessary. The Indians said they wanted to talk. Sheridan refused. He said the deal was done and the Indians had to abide by it. A lot of Indians and a lot of soldiers died after Sheridan's refusal.
     When your choice is talk or bleed, talk.

5. The Franco-Prussian War and a tour of Europe.
     Grant promoted Sheridan to lieutenant general in 1869. He and Grant believed war between Prussia and France was imminent. Sherman asked for leave to go to Europe to observe the war. Grant gave him leave and supplied him with a letter of introduction.
     After some confusion, Sheridan arrived at King Wilhelm's headquarters in the field. King Wilhelm ordered that Sheridan be shown every courtesy possible.
     Wilhelm did not speak English and Sheridan did not speak German, so they communicated through a translator. However, Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian chancellor, and Helmuth von Moltke, the Prussian chief of staff of the army, both spoke fluent English. (Moltke married an Englishwoman.)
     Sheridan wore his uniform at the front. This was not a good idea. His uniform closely resembled the French uniform. Many times he was accosted by Prussian troops. By accosted I mean they pointed guns at him and he surrendered to them. After the first incident, he rode with a royal pass in his tunic. This did not stop the Prussians from pointing rifles at him, but it did mean they released him quicker.
     At Gravelotte, Sheridan witnessed a charge of Prussian cavalry uphill against French infantry dug into the hillside. Predictably, the French destroyed the Prussian cavalry. Sheridan opined that the Prussians misused their cavalry. Well, they certainly did that day.
      After the French emperor surrendered his forces in the field but before the capital capitulated, Sheridan toured Europe. He was feted in Istanbul, Athens, and Italy. He returned through France and rejoined the Prussian Army about the time the German Empire was declared with Wilhelm as its first Kaiser.
     Bismarck told Sheridan he did not care to march the united German armies through Paris, but the troops wanted that glory. Not to give them that honor would risk mutiny. Bismarck wanted to install the daughter of Napoleon III on the French throne. He believed he could more easily manipulate her than a new French republic.
     I have seen few accounts of the Franco-Prussian War, so I was especially interested in Sheridan's. I gleaned from his account that cavalry made no difference for either side. The Prussians outmarched the French but did not outfight them. The Prussians did not win the war; the French lost it.
     The French moves evidenced poor strategic and tactical thinking. For example, the French marched 140,000 men into Metz, a fortress designed for 25,000. So what happened inside an overcrowded, besieged fortress? They got in each other's way, sanitation failed, and food was exhausted sooner. To Marshal Bazaine's credit, he held out for two months, a month more than expected.
     One thing I wonder about. The King and the Chancellor and many other government ministers were in the field with the army. So who was running the Prussian government during the war?
     Sheridan told Grant that, in military matters, the Americans had nothing to learn from the Europeans. I think he was right. The union army had demonstrated an ability to march and fight and keep supplied under conditions far worse than any the Europeans encountered. I have never found any evidence that Moltke studied American military science, but given the breadth of his knowledge I should be astonished to find that he did not.
     Sheridan's memoirs end here.

2.7. Links:  none

2.8. Buy the books:
Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army - Volume 1
Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army - Volume 2

Sale!

     My wife loves sales. So much so that often when we are walking along the sidewalk, I get ripped to the side to stare into a store window at some widget that is marked thirty percent off. I don't even know what it is, but because it is marked down we gotta have it. I hear cries of "Sale!" and "Discount!" I swear, you could sell my wife a sack of wet dog shyt if you marked it 70% off.
     I did not think my wife's penchant for discounts and freebies could intrude on an evening of entertainment, but it did.
     Walking along the street Saturday night, we happened upon a block party thrown by a union of Asian students. Hundreds of college-age students sat on the ground before a raised stage. When we walked up, Chinese performers danced on the stage. My wife took an interest and looked for a place to sit.
     Me? I learned to sit seiza in aikido, but sitting seiza on asphalt is not my idea of fun. I appropriated two chairs to our use. We sat at the back of the crowd so as not to hinder anyone's view. Others followed my example, and soon there sprang up a row of chairs at the back of the audience. As I looked left and right, I saw all the chairs were occupied by young Japanese women in kimonos.
     I practiced my limited Japanese on these girls, and they -- once they discovered how limited my Japanese is -- practiced their English on me. Mostly we smiled and, together, suffered through a number of bands from Beijing who sang off-key. Loud and off-key. With fireworks. The lead -- (ahem) -- singer for one band informed us in English that they had formed the band on Monday before that Saturday. She told us the band's name in Mandarin. For all I know, that name could be translated as the Cacophonous Caterwaulers. That would fit. They then proceeded to screech in Mandarin. Many Chinese attendees -- marked by Tee-shirts that proclaimed 'China' on the back -- applauded. I didn't. Nor did any of the kimono-clad girls sitting near me.
     That was about all the fun I could stand, but in answer to my unspoken prayers, the action took a break while the stage crew reset the stage for the next act: the first Japanese band.
     Four young, skinny men took the stage -- lead guitar and backup, bass guitar, and drums -- calling their band 'ulma sound junction' -- all lowercase. I slumped down in my seat, steadying myself for a Japanese round of caterwauling. Then -- WHAM! -- the boys got off to rolling start, dueling riffs back and forth between lead and bass. And it was good! I sat up a little. The drummer entered with a crash of cymbals, and the bass guitar player started to sing -- in English! With a strong voice and on-key!
     I sat up all the way. The style -- heavy metal -- was not to my taste, and maybe my judgment was affected by the juxtaposition of  ulma sound junction with the Cacophonous Caterwaulers, but, hey, these guys were good. After their second song, they introduced themselves -- in English -- as coming from Okinawa. They came for the exposure. The skinny bass guitarist-lead singer pointed high over the audience and announced, "We have CDs in the back. Take! Free!"
     The echoes from last syllable had not died before my wife rocketed up like she had pulled the triggers for a jet's ejection seat. Luckily for bystanders, there was no one between her and the table where a couple of smiling roadies held out CDs for the taking. My wife stormed up to the table and rattled off a question to the roadie to confirm that this CD was indeed FREE. Not understanding English so well, the poor guy hesitated. That hesitation nearly cost him dear. My wife snatched the CD from his hand. A little shocked, he quickly inventoried his fingers to make sure she had not taken more than just the CD.
     I had not had time to move except to turn my head to witness this incident. Smiling, my wife sat down, waved the CD, and said, "Free!" She was as happy as a clam now. This fortuitous concert had yielded a freebie.
     WARNING: Do not stand between my wife and a sale.

     ulma sound junction's website for PC and for mobile phone

My wife read, laughed at, and approved this post. She, too, says you should check out 'ulma sound junction'.

Nossa

     I first listened to Brazilian música caipira with Leandro e Leanardo. Their beautiful Temporal de Amor is still my favorite song. Like American country music, música caipira has evolved into something more Paul Simon than Sons of the Pioneers.
     This past weekend my wife and I ventured to a Brazilian restaurant, Carne do Brasil, run by my friend Ivo. Ivo plastered his churrascaria's walls with flat screens on which he plays DVDs of Brazilian musicians. That is how I came to discover Michel Teló. I come late to the party, I know, but I get there.
     Outside the United States, Michel Teló is the biggest music star on the planet. His rendition of "Ai se eu te pego" topped the music charts across Latin America and most of Europe.
     Here he is singing at the Planeta atlantida in Rio Grande do Sul earlier this year (at 4:17 he crosses to stage right where a group of 40 young women are singing the English version and proceeds to sing with them; that's why people like him so much; he invites you to party with him, and he parties with you):

     For those of you who don't speak Portuguese, MT reports the success of "Ai se eu te pego" across Europe and Latin America. After he sings in English, he tells the crowd that he prefers to sing in Portuguese.
     I understand. My native language is English, and I prefer to sing in Portuguese.
     Tenha um bom dia e, para ser feliz, sempre canta.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The character development. The Bat.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster.

2.2. What I did not like:  The length. The unbelievable docility of the Gotham police. The stupid excuse for a plot.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Christopher Nolan fans.

2.4. Is the movie appropriate for children to see? Yes. Sex hinted at but not shown. Movie violence; that is, gunshot dead people without entry wounds. No blood.

2.5. On the basis of viewing this movie, will I pay to see the sequel? I think The Dark Knight Rises wraps up the Christopher Nolan trilogy. I might pay to see another one, but I would probably show up late to the party like I did this time. I don't know if I can stand any more of Christian Bale in the role of Batman. He plays serious as Batman and Bruce Wayne. No difference. I liked Michael Keaton's portrayal better. He gave Bruce Wayne/Batman different personalities.

2.6. Rating and the plot in a nutshell:

2.6.1. How I rate movies:
-- I want my money back.
-- Worth a rental, not more. 
-- Worth first-run theater price once. <-- The Dark Knight Rises
-- I will pay first-run theater price to see it again.

Running time: 165 minutes.

2.6.2. The plot in a nutshell << SPOILERS >>:

     Bane (Tom Hardy) escapes CIA custody in an aerial capture: a C-130 overtakes the CIA turboprop in which Bane is flying and a four-man team rappel down to the turboprop to dismantle it in mid-air. (My thoughts at this point: The 130 has an N number painted on the fuselage which means it is registered with the FAA. Maybe these guys are criminals but they keep their licensing straight. And why turn to crime when you can afford to buy, maintain, and operate a C-130?)
    Eight years after Batman defeated the Joker, Gotham City celebrates Harvey Dent Day and the Harvey Dent Law that the Mayor credits with imprisoning thousands of criminals, thus making Gotham safe. (One cop jokes that they will be reduced to collecting overdue library book fines.) Police Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman)* knows the truth about Dent -- he was a bad, bad man -- but will not expose it. Why? 'Cause Gotham City needs heroes.
     In a mishmash of scenes that serve only to introduce characters, we learn that 1) Wayne Enterprises is broke, 2) Wayne Enterprises R&D department created a working fusion reactor (!) that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) mothballed, 3) Bruce Wayne believes Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) can save Wayne Enterprises and the reactor project, 4) Bruce Wayne is a physical wreck (one character alludes to Howard Hughes's reclusion), 5) Officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) knows more than he lets on, and 6) Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) is a charming yet dangerous thief.
     Bane's henchmen shoot Commissioner Gordon, but he escapes and ends up in a hospital bed. (When the henchmen bring Gordon to Bane, Bane kills them both for small mistakes. Is this the kind of leadership that inspires the troops? If I were one of the henchmen, I would look for other work. Bane's retirement plan really sucks.) Bane then breaks into the stock market to bankrupt Bruce Wayne. Why? He's already broke. I guess worse than broke is broke².
     In short order, Bane isolates Gotham from the rest of the world, traps 3,000 of the police underground (Why does Gotham need 3,000 police, anyway? The mayor said the city had no organized crime, so why keep 3,000 cops on payroll? Jobs program, I guess.), and releases the criminals from the jails. Bane steals the fusion reactor and turns it into a six-megaton bomb.
     Batman comes to the rescue, only he doesn't. Bane beats the crap out of him. (You know, for a couple of guys who were trained in martial arts, they seem to fall back to old-fashioned toe-to-toe streetfighting most of the time.) Bane throws Bruce Wayne into the prison-pit where Bane had been. Bruce Wayne starts the long process of healing.
     Five months go by. The released criminals hold sentencing courts. There are no trials to establish guilt, just sentencing. The fusion reactor is slowly failing and will soon go critical. The cops are still underground. (I know. Gotham's finest show less initiative than a pack of paraplegic cub scouts, but, hey, I didn't write it. Talk to Christopher Nolan.) Bruce Wayne escapes from the prison-pit, returns to Gotham, and asks Catwoman for help in exchange for a clean record. She betrayed him once, but, hey, let by-gones be by-gones. She betrays him again.
     Finally, the cops climb out of the sewers -- looking like their faces need a shave and their suits need a press but not like they have been living in the same clothes for five months. They storm Bane's boys with pistols. Bane's boys let 'em have it with automatic weapons. Bane's boys are bad shots. They machinegun an elbow-to-elbow crowd of cops and kill TWO of 'em, by my count. Everybody drops guns and starts the slugfest, including Batman and Bane. Batman, who lost a bout of fisticuffs with Bane before he spent five ill-fed months in the prison-pit, hammers Bane. Hey, that's it! Hit him in the mouthpiece! Why didn't Batman think of that before? 
     Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Commissioner Gordon and his gang of blues are tracking the reactor through the city. For reasons known only to God and Christopher Nolan, Bane chose to motor the reactor around the city. Gordon et alia ambush Bane's motorcades until they find the one with the reactor. Gordon places a jammer next to the reactor so that Bane cannot set it off. All this work buys him 11 minutes more before the bomb detonates.
     Batman attempts to torture the fallen Bane into revealing who has the detonator, but, being Batman, he's really bad at torture. Miranda Tate knifes Batman and reveals 1) she is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, 2) she was the child who escaped from the prison-pit, 3) Bane was her protector in the pit, 4) she, too, was a member of the League of Shadows, and 5) she has the detonator. I dunno, but I thought this was a lot to say while she twisted a knife in Batman's guts. Why are villains always so talky-talky? (I did not see this coming. Really. Miranda Tate as the evil genius behind all these shenanigans came as a surprise.)
     Catwoman arrives and blows away Bane. No toe-to-toe bare knuckles for her. She uses 20 Mike-Mike. Tate escapes to die in a truck crash. Batman flies the reactor-cum-bomb away from Gotham; it explodes. Not quite the end.
     The presumed-deceased Bruce Wayne leaves coordinates to John Blake who traces them to find the Bat Cave. We find out that John Blake's first name is Robin. So the Boy Wonder starts out a 30-year old man. Hmmm.
     Alfred goes to a cafe in Italy and sees Bruce Wayne at another table. Smiles. Roll credits. 

     You have to see Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to understand this movie. Really, you do.

* Gary Oldman has been a favorite of mine since I first saw him play a coked-up DEA agent in The Professional. (Rating: ) Jean Reno played the title character. The film introduced a 12-year old Natalie Portman to the screen. (She was twelve when Luc Besson made the movie; thirteen when he released it.)

2.7. Other:

     I enjoyed this movie. I should not, but I did.
     I liked the characterization of Alfred Pennyworth (Sir Michael Caine). Alfred loves Bruce Wayne. He doesn't want him to be Batman. He wants him to live and enjoy life and raise up a family. Alfred cannot stomach watching the boy he raised destroy himself, so he leaves.
     I like the characterization of John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Underplayed but always strong.
     I enjoyed Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), but I did not like her. I saw her change from a thief to a defender of civilization in the movie. Bane and Tate are amoral. Catwoman is immoral and knows it. She needs an ordered society to thrive. The egalitarian anarchy that Bane creates offers her nothing.
     There are many, many things about this movie that I don't like. For instance, it is manifest that Bruce Wayne is as competent to judge character as a pig is to judge wine. He sleeps with Miranda Tate but does not know she is Ra's al Ghul's daughter? Nor that she is a trained Shadow warrior? How do you keep those little telltale movements from showing? Have you ever really watched a Navy Seal move? They have a different air about them. Bruce Wayne ran a five-minute trace on a caterer's maid to find the Catwoman, but he did not trip to the fact that the woman he intends to turn over Wayne Enterprises to is the daughter of his old sensei and nemesis? And then Catwoman betrays him not once but twice. I tell ya, when it comes to women, Bruce Wayne thinks only from the waist down.

Addendum:
     I was sittin' in the theater, watchin' the movie, mindin' my own bidness, when all of a sudden Nolan started throwin' politics at me.
     Baddies are takin' out the stock exchange. The chief of police says he will
not risk cops to save the broker's money.
     The broker says, "It's not my money. It's everybody's."

     Bane -- when he frees criminals, traps the police, and isolates Gotham -- claims he is giving the city back to the people. He rules in the name of the people. The result? Bread lines.

     At one point, seeking shelter in what was a mansion before Bane took the city, Catwoman says to her accomplice, "This used to be somebody's house."
     Accomplice responds, "Now it's everybody's."
     Catwoman's face looks like she just smelled the back end of a gassy goat.

     I am reminded of Macdonough's Song.

YMMV.

2.8. Links:
IMDb review
Rotten Tomatoes review

Show times for your location 

SPAM Attack

    I have not posted to The Log of the Antares since 13 July 2012. Here's why.

     Over the last two weeks, I have received numerous new comments that appear only in my email, not in the blog's comments section. Most of these seem to be directed through my post eBook Review: Flying Fury. If you look in the Comments for that post, you will see a spam posted there. It purports to come from Daniel Hirsch and compliments that post for the 'information' it contains. It ends with a sales pitch and a link. 

     All the other spams I have received follow a similar format. They all compliment the post for the 'information' it contains and follow with a sales pitch and a link. I am especially fond of the one that began 'Greetings from Idaho!' and ended with a link to a lawyer -- in Rome, Italy. 

     I do not know if these spammers are sending malware. I run Linux and, therefore, am immune to Windows worms. Warning: If you run Windows, do not follow the link! I do not know that the link uploads malware, but I advise you not to take that risk.

     Speaking of dead bodies, I see that Windows users now account for 85% of all my pageviews and Linux users only 9%. Usually Windows users account for less than 75% of all pageviews and Linux and mobile device OS percentages run higher.

     Most of my pageviews are in the US, and Russia runs a distant second. That the Russians like my blog does not worry me. I get a lot of pageviews in Russia and Latvia. 

     Atypically, Italy has moved up to third. A month ago, no one in Italy visited my blog. Now they're third? Hmmm. I also have hits from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Israel that arouse my suspicions. Not that I have anything against Indonesians, Taiwanese, or Israelis, but a month ago they were not coming to my blog. Now I get spammed and they are here. 

     If you have a similar experience, please leave a comment below. If you spam me, please be advised that I will attack your site.

     I have posts backlogged. What with writing and the Olympics, it's gonna be a busy weekend.

     Back soon with more posts.

Movie Review: Safe House

Safe House

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The action.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster.

2.2. What I did not like:  The message. The message the writer, David Guggenheim, sent with this movie is self-righteous rubbish. God be thanked, the message does not detract from the action. But when I thought about it, I realized that the vacuity of the message made the action pointless.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Action movie fans.

2.4. Is the movie appropriate for children to see?  No. I do not recall much profanity, and much of the violence is movie violence -- gun-shot victims with no spatter and no blood -- but there are two scenes of hand-to-hand combat in which the winner kills the loser by snapping his neck. One of these comes early in the movie and the other, late. I do not think these are appropriate for the kiddies to view.

2.5. On the basis of viewing this movie, will I pay to see the sequel? No. I enjoyed the action, but I found the message so preachy in its morality that I was put off. How put off? I want not to see anything that David Guggenheim writes.

2.6. Rating and the plot in a nutshell:

2.6.1. How I rate movies:
-- I want my money back.
-- Worth a rental, not more. 
-- Worth first-run theater price once. <-- Safe House
-- I will pay first-run theater price to see it again.

I saw Safe House on cable. I missed the first run in theaters. I am glad to see that it did well: $85 million spent in production, $202 million gross in theaters worldwide.

Running time: 115 minutes.

2.6.2. The plot in a nutshell:

     Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), an ex-CIA agent, acquires electronic files that detail nefarious dealing from a number of intelligence agencies, such as the American CIA, the British MI6, and the French Securite.  Within minutes of acquiring the files, a team of assassins (TA) attack him. He seeks refuge in the American consulate in Cape Town, SA.
     The CIA send in an interrogation team that spirits Frost away to a safe house kept by Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). The TA attack the house and kill the interrogation team. Weston escapes with Frost.
     Weston speeds around Cape Town, chased by the TA, simultaneously fighting with and trying to protect Frost, and calling his French girlfriend and the CIA. Frost escapes from Weston's custody, but Weston finds him just in time to rescue him from the TA. All the while they are together, Frost schools Weston in spy work.
     Weston takes Frost to a safe house in the country. Of course, the TA shows up with the big, mean baddie from the CIA who sicced the TA on Frost. The housekeeper at the country safe house attacks Weston and gets his neck snapped for his efforts. Explosions. Gun shots. All die but Weston.
     Weston returns to Washington, DC, and -- by publishing through newspaper sources -- exposes the CIA, MI6, and Securite for the corrupt evil-doers they are. Sunshine everywhere. Lambs lie down with lions. The world has been made a better place. Except where it hasn't.

2.7. Other:

I enjoyed this movie. It had a lot of action. Some critics say the action scenes were choppy, but I found no fault with them. I think the director, Daniel Espinosa, did a good job.

I have been a fan of Denzel Washington since Crimson Tide when he went toe-to-toe with Gene Hackman and held his own. I rely on Mr Washington to give a strong performance, and he never disappoints.

The surprise in Safe House was Ryan Reynolds. In this movie, he went toe-to-toe with Denzel Washington and held his own. In the future, I shall look for Mr Reynolds. He demonstrated that he can perform in the heavyweight division.

Addendum:

This is a movie with a MESSAGE: Spy organizations like the CIA, MI6, and Securite do baaad things. Really?

(A note of reality: I have never seen a movie made about how evil are the Cheka, KGB, and SVR. These are the people who poisoned Alexander Litvinenko with polonium. Just so you know, polonium is not easy to get, is very expensive, and leaves a distinctive radioactive trail. The SVR all but rented a billboard in London saying "Yup, we did it." Why does David Guggenheim not apply his writing talent to this story?)

Okay, so spy organizations do bad things. Really? I mean, is this a surprise to you? Did you expect spies to be choir boys?

"Men are not ruled with prayer books." -- Niccolo Machiavelli

YMMV.

2.8. Links:
IMDb review
Rotten Tomatoes review

Movie Review: Fortress

Fortress

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The airplanes and the CGI.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster.

2.2. What I did not like:  The acting and some of the writing. The acting was cheesy but okay. The writing suffered from a lack of research.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Air combat history buffs.

2.4. Is the movie appropriate for children to see?  No. Profanity and lots of it.

2.5. On the basis of viewing this movie, will I pay to see the sequel? If there were a sequel, I would pay the same I paid to see Fortress. I guess that's a left-handed 'yes'.

2.6. Other:  How I rate movies.
-- I want my money back.
-- Worth a rental, not more. <-- Fortress 
-- Worth first-run theater price once.
-- I will pay first-run theater price to see it again.

I saw Fortress on cable. I think it went straight to DVD; that is, it never played in theaters. There is some evidence that it played theaters in England.

The plot in a nutshell:

The B-17 Lucky Lass flew bombing missions over Italy from a North African base. Her aircraft commander was killed on one mission, so Wally (Donnie Jeffcoat), the right-seater, got promoted to the left seat; that is, he became the aircraft commander. The Lucky Lass got a new right-seater, Michael (Bug Hall), and two replacements for the waist gunners who were also killed on the last mission. 

Michael had trouble fitting into the crew, but with time and effort he won their respect and led the crew out of danger (kinda, kinda not) when Wally got killed. Michael got promoted to the left seat; new replacement showed up; rinse and repeat.

For the little I paid for this movie, I enjoyed it. The acting was so-so, but I liked Howard Gibson in the role of Caparelli, the maintenance chief.

I liked the CGI airplanes. They were well done. I don't know if P-40 Warhawks ever flew escort for B-17s, but the P-40s in the movie were brilliantly done. I especially liked the yellow checkerboard tail motif.

In the movie, a P-40 flew a steep climbing turn to shake off and take out a ME 109. I don't know if a P-40 jock ever did that, but I know it can be done and with that exact maneuver. I had two friends who flew F-51s (the Air Force designation for the Army P-51) and took out F-86s with that manuver. I also met an Egyption Air Force major who use the same maneuver in '73 with a MIG 19 to take out an Israeli F-4. Would an American P-40 jock in '43 have the stuff to take out a Luftwaffe 109 pilot with that maneuver? Possible, but not likely.

Fortress showed that good CGI can be done cheaply. I said it is worth a rental, and -- since they released it straight to DVD -- that means they succeeded. Check it out.

Addendum:

There is what must be an administrative hearing before the squadron commander over a theft of officers' club scotch by one of the crew of the Lucky Lass. The prosecuting officer cites the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). This is an anachronism. The UCMJ did not exist until 1950. During the Second World War, the US Army Air Corps operated under the Articles of War. Something the writers would have discovered had they googled the UCMJ and spent 10 minutes reading the article.

Second addendum:

At the end of the movie, the producers complained that no one who had a flying B-17 let them (the producers) use their (the owners') plane. I saw why. Look, boys, just 'cause y'all wanna make a picture 'bout B-17s don't mean I'm gonna turn cartwheels over the opportunity to show off my plane. I get them opportunities twice a week. And they pay. Y'all want my plane in your picture? Pony up some money. Else, go on back to Hollywood and get your special effects department to whip up somethin'.

Third addendum:

Bug Hall? Your headliner is named Bug? That was cute when he starred in the movie of The Little Rascals, but that was eighteen years ago. How can anyone take you seriously as an actor when you insist on being called Bug? Your name's Brandon. Use it.

Fourth addendum:

I discovered that the checked-tail P40s in the movie truly existed. They were from the 325th Fighter Group. The group flew P40s from April to September 1943 when they swapped their Warhawks for Thunderbolts; half a year later they were flying Mustangs. And, yeah, they escorted bombers, and they often defeated 109s until Messerschmidt developed the 'f' model. 30 July 1943 they baited the Jerries to come up and play and shot down more than half of those who took the bait.

Here is a picture of checked-tail P40:

I have never seen a P40 with such a long canopy before. Unusual modification, that.

YMMV.

2.7. Links: IMDb review

Movie Review: The Amazing Spiderman

The Amazing Spiderman

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The cameo appearance by Stan Lee (LOL funny). Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker; he looked the part.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster, but the wait to get on the ride was too long.

2.2. What I did not like:  A lot.
1. The story was Swiss cheese. There were too many holes in.
2. The slow pace. At 2 hours 16 minutes, the movie is AT LEAST half an hour too long. Be sure to go to the toilet RIGHT BEFORE you see the movie.
3. The set-up for the sequel. It comes after the credits start to roll (after the producer and director credits but before the cast credits). And it is not needed.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Marc Webb (the director).

2.4. Is the movie appropriate for children to see?  Yeah, but take 'em to see Brave instead.

2.5. On the basis of viewing this movie, will I pay to see the sequel? No.

2.6. Other:  How I rate movies.
-- I want my money back.
-- Worth a rental, not more. <-- The Amazing Spiderman
-- Worth first-run theater price once.
-- I will pay first-run theater price to see it again.

The Amazing Spiderman took an hour to get going. The first hour was just set-up and scenery shifting. The second hour was full of action but disjointed.

On the right side, Andrew Garfield gave a great rendition as Peter Parker; equal to or better than Toby Maguire's.

On the left side -- and there is a lot on the left side, the story had more holes in it than a wheel of Swiss cheese. Five samples (there are many, many more):

1. The young Peter Parker discovered his home had been broken into. His father dug a file out of the false bottom in his desk drawer, packed up his family, took Peter to stay with his Aunt Mae and Uncle Ben, and disappeared. Why run? Why leave the kid?

2. Peter Parker said his own self that he worked up his web and webspinners in his little lab. He was a tech wizard. So why did he haul around a butt load of film cameras?

3. With his new-found powers, Peter Parker taunted his high-school nemesis Eugene 'Flash' Thompson on the basketball court and leaped from half court to dunk and shatter the backstop. What did that display earn him? A stiff talking-to from the principal with his uncle present.  Were the writers brain-dead?

4. Uncle Ben got shot, and Peter hunted his killer. For a while. Then he gave up that hunt. Never found the killer. Did the writers think we wouldn't notice?

5. In the final chase, a cop shot Spiderman in the leg (from a hundred yards with a pistol while Spiderman was climbing the face of a building!). When the chase was over, Peter went home to Aunt May. She saw the scratches on his face and gave him a hug. Never a word about the gunshot wound in his leg. (Oh, BTW, the cop shot from Spiderman's left side but the entry wound was in the exterior of his right thigh with no noted exit wound.)

My wife had a two-for-one coupon that the theater honored. At that, it was worth the price of admission. Had I paid two full ticket prices, I would have been angry.

All in all, I would have preferred to stay home and watch John Carter on cable. 

YMMV.

2.7. Links: Rotten Tomatoes review
 
2.8. See the movie:  Find the show times for your location.

eBook Review: Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer

Brian O'Neill, Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer

Product Details

• File Size: 5701 KB
• Print Length: 454 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (April 30, 1999)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006B7LRQW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars (43 customer reviews)
• Price: $9.99

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:

2.1. What I liked:  Stories of the young men who flew the Big Bird early (1943-early 1944) over Germany. Follow-up on their lives after the war. The photos.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Because it is a book about aerial combat, it should be a roller coaster. Sometimes it is. But it is a roller coaster with all the excitement of a Travel Channel travelogue. I never felt like I was there.

2.2. What I did not like:
2.2.1. The formatting. Evidently this 'eBook' was scanned from a paper version. The quality of the print runs the gamut from passable to difficult. The best that can be said for it is that it is not illegible. Brad Geyser's Amazon review has more details.
2.2.2. The time to load. Perhaps the book loads slow because of all the photos in it. I dunno. But it took 9 seconds to load. Each time. Every time. Yes, I counted.
2.2.3. The lack of excitement. I don't know how he did it, but Mr O'Neill drained all the adventure from the stories of these men. As B. Barrett said in his Amazon review, the account is "[f]actual but dry". Even when I read the story of Staff Sergeant Joseph Sawicki, one arm shot away, buckling two wounded crewmates into their 'chutes and booting them out of their flaming Fortress to save their lives, I did not feel anything. Rightfully, Sawicki's actions should have been honored with a posthumous award of the CMoH. How do you drain that heroism of feeling? I dunno. Ask Mr O'Neill. He did it.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  The families of the airmen named in the book. If your daddy or your granddaddy is in the book, buy the trade paperback and highlight his name.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book? No.

2.6. Other:

     This book started as a factual account of the experiences of Bob Hullar's B-17 crew. Somewhere it morphed into an aggregate personal oral history of the 303rd Bomb Group. Well, at least an aggregate personal oral history of the missions that Bob Hullar flew.
     The problem is that Mr O'Neill was not there. He interviewed these men decades after the fact. Any emotion they felt when they recalled these events -- and I am certain they felt emotion -- was lost in the translation.
     I do not have a relative who flew with the 303rd. I never felt connected to the events Mr O'Neill related. But I got something that many related to 303rd crew may have missed: A feeling of outrage at the haphazard way the Eighth Air Force threw away the lives of bomber crews on disjointed missions that contributed nothing to winning the war.
     For example, the Eighth Air Force sent unescorted bombers into Germany in 1943 to bomb industrial targets like the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt. Evidently they had read Giulio Douhet's The Command of the Air (aka 'The Theory of Frightfulness') and bought into its tenets. These raids did not work. And the price was excessive: 25% losses on that raid.  And still the command ordered more raids like it.
     The RAF won the Battle of Britain because the Luftwaffe turned from bombing airfields to bombing London. You would think at least the Brits would learn from their own recent history: Knock out the enemy air force first. But, no, the Italian captain must be right. We can destroy the morale of the enemy from the air. We don't need no stinkin' infantry. "[Douhet] believed that 300 tons of bombs over the most important cities would end a war in less than a month. This can be compared with the fact that the allies during War War II dropped in excess of 2.5 million tons of bombs on Europe without this being directly decisive for the war."
     I can justify bombing the submarine pens at Bremen. I can justify bombing railroad centers. I can justify bombing the V-1 launch sites. But bombing ball bearing factories? Better to spend the bombs, fuel, and men bombing Luftwaffe bases. Or Wehrmacht depots.
     The best part of the book relates the lives of the B-17 crews after they had flown through Hell. It made me feel good to know that they came back to live full lives. God knows they deserved them.
     Another reviewer wrote that the book made him feel as if he flew with the crews of the 303rd on their missions, but I never felt that way.
     I wanted to like this book, but I didn't. Still, it is a flying book, so it gets three stars from me.

Addendum:
     Years ago, I had a friend who flew in a B-17 crew in the Eighth Air Force. I think he was a gunner, but honestly I don't recall. I heard him read a poem about his piece of the war. He wrote of his father eagerly questioning him about his experience; his father had missed service in the First World War and wanted his son to fill the hole in his life.
     All my friend could recall were the cold barracks with a single stove for heat, the thin blankets, getting the shakes when on leave at Blackpool, the terror in the air over Germany -- terror without details, and moving one cot closer to the
stove and adding one more blanket to his covers when a squadron mate did not return. That was the story of his war: One cot closer to the fire.
     I heard my friend read that story and I knew in my bowels that there was no glory in the thin air over Germany. Just fear.

Second addendum:
     My notes from the book show four typos:
     1. Location 951: VIII vice VII,
     2. Location 4281: were vice was, 
     3. Location 5233: 1966-1967 vice 1966-1977, and
     4. Location 5412: Consul vice Counsul.

     I highlighted nine passages in the book:
     1. "[Y]ou heard that sound [of B-17 engines starting], you knew for sure that today men were going to die."
     2. "[T]he high command thought we were expendable."
     3. "I always had the feel- ing (sic) that the losses were justifiable some way."
     4. "After 16 missions they were the most senior crew in the Squadron." (What does this say about the loss rate? Nothing good.)
     5. "According to the metro winds we got in our briefing flight plan, the winds were supposed to be 320 degrees at 110 knots (!) at bombing altitude of 25,000 feet. I could tell from the way the winds were drifting us on the way to the English coast that they were not as metro had forecasted and the metro winds for the balance of the trip wouldn't hold true either." (Best weather advice I ever got from a flight instructor: Treat all forecast winds as headwinds.)
     6. "There was much anger among the 41st CBW's bomber crews at debriefing. As Elmer Brown recalls, 'I was furious about them having sent us up in the dark taht way, so that those midair collisions could happen. This was one the high command really screwed up.'" (Yeah, they screwed up with radio silence, too. IMO Eaker, Doolittle, and Spaatz all should have been court-martialed for dereliction of duty and manslaughter. Pour encourager les outres.)
     7. "Two minutes of combat is a lifetime." (Amen.)
     8. "[T]he day's operations really underscored the impact that seasoned combat veterans could have on the outcome of a mission. The skill and determination that Brown and McCormick showed was what made the difference between a successful strike and a failed one . . . ."
     9. "All during these years, Bud Klint's priorities were the same as those of the other veterans and fathers of his generation -- earn an income, raise his children . . . , get ahead in his career -- but in all this time Klint's World War II experiences were 'always there. In the background.'" (This one quote summarizes the book.)

     Three stars out of five. YMMV.

2.7. Links:
Bert Stiles, Serenade to the Big Bird (If you really, really want to read a book about B-17 crew, read this one. One of the best air combat books ever written.)
B-17 Flying Fortress in Action (coffee table picture book)
B-17 in Action (No. 63) (coffee table picture book)
B-17 in Action (No. 12) (coffee table picture book)

2.8. Buy the book:  Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer