Blog Has Moved

OK, the blog has officially moved now to it's new location on MilitantLibertarian.org. You'll now find the blog at:

http://reviews.militantlibertarian.org

Let me know if you like the new site and how it looks. I'm adding a few new things to the way it functions, including a contact form where you can request specific things you'd like to see reviewed.

Thanks and see you at the new site!

Note: for those subscribed via RSS, if your feed URL says "feedburner.com" at the front, you've already been migrated to the new site and don't need to do anything. If yours still says "blogspot.com," you'll need to go to the new site and re-subscribe using the button link at the top-right.

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year!

Moving and Stuff

I've been very busy lately, so I've kind of slacked off on posting here. It's been a week since my last review when I originally had the goal of doing two reviews per week. Sorry about that.

The good news is that I haven't totally been neglecting the blog either. I've decided to move it to the MilitantLibertarian.org domain where it belongs, so stay tuned for the announcement of that, which will be coming soon.

The setup isn't ready yet, but I have a great layout prepared and it's coming along nicely. The RSS and other subscriptions should follow to the new location without a hitch, so no worries there.

Thanks for your patience and have a Merry Christmas!

The Iron Web

The Iron Web by Larken Rose

I have a couple of things to confess before I get into this book: I am a fan of Larken Rose's political writing and this book pisses me off.

For the first part, I believe Rose to be one of the foremost writers of anarchistic political thought today. He has a way of concisely, deliberately, and succinctly explaining facets of free range thought. He does it without flowery language nor does he do it by resorting to collegiate-level writing that few enjoy or understand.

For the second bit, the fact that he can do that and write a really great novel pisses me off. Why? Because I've tried to write fiction. Many times. It's a lot harder than you'd think. Larken makes it look easy. Bastard.

That should tell you where I'm going with this review. The Iron Web is likely the best modern book I've read since John Ross' Unintended Consequences. The two books have a somewhat similar trail, being about the police state and emerging freedom, but they have two very different ways of expressing the idea.

The story that The Iron Web revolves around is relatively simple. A group of anarchists live in the woods of Northern Arizona. The government, of course, calls them terrorists. Soon enough, the standard Waco/Ruby Ridge scenario begins.

The story mostly revolves around three major characters:

• Jessica, a well-to-do 19-year-old innocent,


• Jason, a rookie BATFE agent, and


• Betsy, personal secretary to a Senator who is the President-elect.

The story unfolds both in the woods of Arizona and in the office of a United States Senator. The two worlds are very different, the goings-on are related, but the perspectives are mostly at odds.

The Iron Web is an excellent read and well worth the time. It will enlighten and entertain any libertarian, anarchist, or Glenn Beck wannabe. Neo-cons probably won't like it and Obamabots will hate it.

I highly recommend this book, which you can get from the author at this link.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Climate Money

Originally posted on Aaron's Environmental Corner

I’ve now read all three of Joanne Nova’s booklets. This is the second of the three, as I reviewed The Skeptics Handbook a couple of weeks ago.

This book, Climate Money, is a sort of addendum to Skeptics as it moves from the science to the politics. It is primarily about the “premier” body of climate alarmists (global warming advocates), the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the funding they and other governmental agencies receive to “study” climate change.

In fact, the whole book can be summed up with Nova’s singular fact:

“The U.S. Government has spent over $79 billion since 1989 on policies related to cliamte change…”

Compare that to the paltry $23 million (with an M, not a B) that Exxon-Mobil was lambasted for spending on skeptical queries in about the same time frame. For those who aren’t easily able to grasp millions and billions, that means the evil oil company spent 0.00029% of what government did to combat what the global warming scientists were saying.

Let’s say you’re looking for a job. You just graduated from the university, you’ve got $90,000 in student loan debts, and you have a bright, shiny, spankin’ new Ph. D. to use to get a job. Your field is, say, physics as it applies to climatology. You start looking.

You can choose to work for the short-term, short-lived $23 million in funding that Big Oil is promising or you can work for the global warming lovers in various government agencies and get a piece of that $79,000 million they have.

Hmm…

Further, if you choose the global warming train, you get to write papers that, so long as they agree with the conformist (AGW) viewpoint, will have only a modicum of criticism from peers. Most of the auditing, in fact, will be left to volunteers who will come from great organizations like Greenpeace and ACORN. You know, those groups with the stellar reputations for honesty and good will.

Continuing through Nova’s book, you’ll find that she discusses the infamous “hockey stick graphs” that have been thoroughly debunked, she shows the “weather stations” that collect vital “warming data” which have been placed by air conditioners, over pavement, or on top of buildings.

Then she gets into the real nuts and bolts of climate alarmism and CO2 spewing: carbon trading schemes.

This is where the bankers, business men, and Wall Street types “go green.” By that, we don’t mean they become ecologically aware either. They literally see green in these markets. Which is why, suddenly, these are all the rage amongst governments pushing to pass the latest and greatest way to screw all of us while pretending it’s to save the planet.

Overall, Nova’s work is awesome and this book in particular is of real interest to those who also follow politics. It’s coverage of the political side, coupled with the money-grabbing end of things really pulls together the entire global warming alarmists’ game. It exposes what is really going on so the rest of us can see it clearly.

Plus, it’s quite timely what with Climategate and the coming talks in Copenhagen.

Download the book for free from Joanne’s website by clicking here. It’s 19 pages long in PDF format.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Molon Labe

Molon Labe by Boston T. Party

First off, it must be said that this is Boston's first attempt at fiction. I should also note that Boston is a good friend of mine. That said, I found this novel to be compelling, very interesting, but also flawed.

The book is about a Free State Project centered in Wyoming. Boston is primarily a non-fiction writer and this shows in the amount of data and information contained in this book and its story line. The premise is awesome and the book, while it could use some editing, is well written. The plot is good and keeps you interested as well - the real pull coming from the main character's continual outsmarting of the feds. The greatest flaw in this book is the assumption that thousands of libertarian-minded people will be willing to work together for a short time in order for the plan (the plot) to succeed. Not very realistic. :)

While this book has a few problems, it's well worth reading. It's a great idea, gives great information on the plans for a Free State West (which Boston is working on for Wyoming and which I am actively participating in), and a realistic process and timeline for doing so. I have yet to read a book from Boston T. Party that I can't recommend to others.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

No Greater Threat

No Greater Threat: America After September 11 and the Rise of a National Security State by C. William Michaels, Wei-Bin Zhang

If you want to read a great synopsis of the USA PATRIOT Act with a full understanding of the legal and law enforcement ramifications of it and see clear lines drawn as to where our nation is headed, this is the book to read. Be prepared to start re-thinking your stance on where the government is headed and how it will affect personal liberties.

Of course, today it is somewhat outdated with the sunsets, renewals, additions, and more that have happened. Other laws, as bad as the USAPA, have come into play now as well. This is a goo starting point if you want to see how the Police State has progressed starting at 9/11/01 to present.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

The Skeptics Handbook

The Skeptic's Handbook by Joanne Nova

This booklet is free to download in PDF format, is about 16 pages long, and is nicely illustrated and put together. Despite it’s somewhat heavy subject matter, it is easy to read and is written in plain English.

The book’s main point is this single question:

“What science is there that more CO2 forces temperatures up further?”

Most global warming (anthropomorphic global warming or AGW) theory is based upon computer modeling of the atmosphere. These computer models have thus far been proven to be highly inaccurate in their predictions. They failed to predict the general cooling trend we’ve seen globally since 1998, when temperatures peaked the last time.

In fact, all of the phenomenon they claimed would happen has so far failed to materialize. Basically, the greenhouse signature is missing. There is nothing to prove that CO2 or any greenhouse gas that we know of is raising global temperatures or causing harm. In fact, ice core data is directly contradicting the AGW theory.

Further, during the ice age of 105-115 million years ago, CO2 was at nearly 280 parts per million in the atmosphere (roughly equivalent to today) and temperatures were around -6° Centigrade.

And now the IPCC, the world’s “consensus body of scientists,” has been caught using bad data and graphs gleaned from Wikipedia, placing ground thermometers in parking lots, near air conditioners, and in generally urban environments where radiant heat is bound to give higher readings. Further, they routinely discount or ignore satellite data, which is what consistently shows an overall lowering of temperature for the past ten years.

Nova then identifies how CO2 reacts in the atmosphere and shows that a “tipping point” is an illusion and that the assumptions made by the AGW modelers about carbon’s logarithmic absorption curve are wrong.

Finally, she lists a select group of well-known climate scientists of various disciplines that have changed their tune in regards to global warming and become skeptics.

Last, but not least, Nova addresses the real cause of global warming: alarmism, “consensus” taking by the IPCC (in self-interest), and a general attitude of argument by authority. This, in my view, is the biggest damnation of global warming proponents. When you quote non-scientific bodies, organized by government, funded by government, and pooled from the get-go with people who had foregone conclusions before they were appointed, you will not get science. You will get political propaganda in the name of science.

The core point, once again, is that the recent warming of the planet is caused by a so-far unknown factor. There is no evidence to show that it is being caused by any of the greenhouse gases that we know of.

“Anything that heats the planet will melt ice, shift lemurs, and cause droughts. None of these things tell us WHY the planet got warmer.”

t-shirt-unskeptical-scientist-medIn the last chapter of the booklet, Nova shows a graph titled Cutting through the Fog in which she addresses the most common responses given by AGW proponents. This, to me, was the best part of the book. It gives the usual answers or arguments for man-made global warming and/or CO2 and quick, bullet-riddling returns that shoot down the argument (which is usually false to start with).

For instance: when someone says “What would you know? You’re not a climate scientist.” The answer: “Neither is Al Gore. I know what evidence is and I can read a graph. How about you?” If they persist and call you a “denier” or “oil company shill” the response is “Name-calling is all you’ve got? Where’s your evidence? Neither of our opinions will change ice core records and satellite data.”

In the end, I would highly recommend you read Nova’s book. It’s free, short, concise, and entertainingly useful. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, you will find this book useful. If you read this book and cannot find reasons to discount her (based on science), but still believe that global warming is made by CO2, you are a member of a religion and are going forth based on your own faith, not on science.

Oh, and Joanne is also Australian, just like Bob from the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation, whose book The Day the Lights Went Out I reviewed not too long ago. She didn’t mention anything about putting shrimps on the barbie or use the word “crikey” anywhere in her book either. I’m beginning to believe that Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin have lead me astray as to what Australian culture is really like. Come to think of it, I can’t recall a single AC/DC song with those words in them either.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills

Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills is the story of Carlos Hathcock, a hick from Kentucky who, through his love of shooting and his dedication to the Marine Corps, became the Corps' number one sniper. A part of the founding of the Marine Corps' sniper team and training programs, he began to exemplify what a Marine sniper is meant to be.



His life itself is very interesting, his exploits in Vietnam were great, and his personal sacrifices and perserverance are breath taking.



His tragic life end and new beginning are definitely something for all of us to learn from. His stoic dedication to his love of craft are something we should all remember. Carlos Hatchcock was one of the greatest of Americans, starting from nothing and becoming a legend.DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

UP

UP by Disney Pixar
We got this movie the day it released and have watched it twice. It's possibly one of the best movies Pixar has come out with. Definitely a great one worth seeing. Younger kids might not understand it, but most from ages 6 or 7 on up should follow along easily.

The movie is mostly a love story between a man (the main character) and his wife (who appears only in the first part of the film). His realization that he never helped her fulfill her dream and then wanting to do it after she's gone is the core of the film.

Along the way, a Wilderness Ranger and a lot of other characters lump in. I can't really give more information without ruining the film. I can say that the way it was put together, the story line, and the multiple themes that permeate the film are extremely well done.

All of this comes with two caveats: be prepared to cry. Or at least get the sniffles, tough guy. You will. Be also prepared to laugh regularly.

Second caveat: this is a Disney film. So steel yourself, as you'll be forced to sit through their damn commercials at the beginning and at the end. Disney is the only film company I know of that still literally forces you (through DVD lock) to watch all of their previews, ads, etc. You can't even skip the credits to see the special features, for hell's sakes. I hate this. It's the most annoying thing possible.

The only Disney movies I still have any interest in watching are Pixar films. I hope they dump Disney and go solo soon. Disney B L O W S.

OK, I'm done ranting. UP is definitely worth watching and should be seen ASAP if you haven't seen it already. Go see it again if you have. It's awesome and very highly recommended.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Fall of the Republic

Fall of the Republic by Alex Jones, a documentary
I watched this movie expecting more of the same from Alex. In his last movie, The Obama Deception, I was pretty critical of the fact that that film was really just a rehash of his two older films with the name "Obama" thrown in to beef it up. Of course, that's an over-generalization, but it's how it was viewed by myself, who's seen all of Jones' films to-date.

This movie, which is a documentary of the pending takeover of the entire world's economic systems, is very different from Jones' earlier work. There are no angry crowds with Alex at their head screaming through a bullhorn. There's no confrontations with elected officials or other government types with a lot of questions and no answers.

Instead, this film is relatively sedate in its presentation. But it packs a huge punch.

I would say that this film is by far the best that Jones has done when it comes to pure documentary work. Most of the film is interviews with various experts, such as Gerald Celente, regarding how the financial oligarchs, the Banksters, and so forth have manipulated the system, created their own rules, and are busy ruining the world's economies so that they can replace them with one large, over-arching world banking system.

Obama is featured, but only as a puppet of the real controllers--which I think is more effective and gets the truth across much better. C-SPAN footage of Congress-critters lying, of Al Gore stating blatant untruths, of Obama saying one thing and signing another into law, of Bush, Cheney, the whole troop at Goldman Sachs, and on and on as they commit their acts of rape and pillage in broad daylight, right in front of us, while they use the Cult of Personality (currently Obama and Friends) to distract the public from their true machinations.

The film is definitely well-worth the watch, whether you're an Alex Jones fan or not. The evidence is all laid out, soberly, with no ranting, screaming, yelling, or any of Alex's other signatures.

In fact, that very soberness and the quiet way the information is given is probably the biggest wake up of the movie. The information is there, the news reports are shown, the video footage of the robber barons and their minions saying the words are presented, and the whole thing is laid out. Including a solution to save us all.

That presentation, the calm, quiet, clear-eyed way it's given, is very different from Jones' other films and is the very thing that makes this documentary so gripping.

Watch this movie. You can see it free on YouTube, free on PrisonPlanet.tv, you can download it, buy it, trade it, whatever. It's available all over the place. Get it while you still can. Soon enough, this will be illegal too.

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
Anyone who's read this blog for any amount of time has probably figured out that I have a real soft spot for Viking Metal. I love this stuff. Right up front, I'm going to tell you that this band is one of the most kick ass metal bands in this genre I've heard so far. I really like Heidevolk, but this band is better.

Amon Amarth is a Swedish band that started out as a basic death metal banned. Calling themselves Scum (not exactly original), they were basically a nobody band. They changed their name to Amon Amarth and began focusing on Norse mythology, which the lead singer Johan Hegg was extremely big on.

Him being such a giant, the other guys in the band probably had to follow along. The dude is HUGE.

Anyway, their music is guttural, strong, and filled with mythos. The lyrics are great stuff (mostly in English). This album caps off more than half a dozen so far under this band name and is probably one of the better ones, I think. Some of the early stuff was a little hokey and the band hadn't found their smooth collaboration yet, I think.

Once Sent From the Golden Hall and Sorry Throughout the Nine Worlds are a little disjointed compared to the latter three including this new one. They aren't crap, it's still great music, but you can really hear a difference in sound quality and group mesh between them.

This album grinds hard and has extremely impressive lyrics and I highly recommend it to any metal fan.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
I saw this book on the shelf at the used book store and was amazed I had never read it. I'd heard about it and even had friends tell me about it, but had never read it myself. Odd, since I am a big fan of Heinlein.

I read this book and found it fascinating and, of course, full of my favorite thing about Heinlein: libertarian thought. He's the Ayn Rand of the blue collar, sci-fi world. Especially with this book.

While this book is not the paradigm-changer that Stranger in a Strange Land was for me, it's definitely up there as one of the best books ever written. It won a lot of awards and many consider this to be Heinlein's opus. It was the fourth book of his to win a Hugo Award, which is a record that still stands (four Hugos for one author).

The story is about a colony on the moon that, tired of the oppression of the world government (basically the United Nations, but with a different name) and their own slavery, the colonists create a revolution.

The main character, Manny, is a blue collar shleb who has no interest in politics and even less interest in revolution. He's a computer repair man, which is a rarity on the moon since most have to be shipped in from Earth and can only stay for a short amount of time before losing their "earth legs" and begin physically unable to go back.

Manny discovers that the supercomputer that does most of the real work Lunar-side is alive. The Mycroft system (he calls him "Mike") has become self-aware. Manny is the only one that knows and the only one that Mike talks to. Until the revolution, that is.

The whole story is well-told and in the broken English of someone who hasn't learned to write except as a requirement for reports. It's an interesting kind of truncated almost pidgin-English and is written from Manny's point of view. Sort of a "Fox jumped over hen house" rathern than "The fox jumped over the hen house."

All in all, this is definitely a book that anyone who's interested in freedom, liberty, modern revolution, science fiction, or Heinlein should read. Very highly recommended. TANSTAAFL!

Zero Greenhouse Emissions - The Day the Lights Went Out

This review originally published here.

Back in early August, I was inducted into the Voices For Change Honor Roll at the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation. A few days later, I purchased the book Zero Greenhouse Emissions: The Day the Lights Went Out (Our Future World) by Robert Williamson.

I bought the book* with the plan to read it right off and do this review as well as to learn some of the background on the Global Warming issue. The book itself is available as either a hard cover or an electronic book (I got the e-book) and is about 200 pages long. Proceeds from the book go towards the efforts of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation and it's Chairman, the author Bob Williamson.

Obviously, I didn't read it right off as I was in the middle of a major research project at the time. I finished the book over this weekend and have been kind of mulling it over for a day or two while I worked on some political ghost writing that left the non-political parts of my brain free to ruminate on the climate. Which it did.

The book is sort of in two parts. Mostly, it's the story of an individual and his community when the CO2 problem finally shuts out the lights. This person (it's written in the first person) lives in Australia in an average-sized town near a larger city. The story begins with the shutting off of electricity and a basic inventory of items that are dependent on that and the resulting loss of access to petroleum and so forth.

This part is interesting because unless your odd (as I am and apparently Bob is), you have probably never gone through your house considering how much of the stuff you use and depend on requires either electricity or petroleum/carbon-based fuels.

I did this personally about three years ago when I began thinking about how much things cost in terms of dollars and cents. I'm self-employed, so every dollar I make requires my time and effort. I prefer to use my time and effort on things I enjoy doing (which generally don't make much money) rather than on things I have to do (which often are what make me more money).

To cut to the chase, when I first looked at how much of our lifestyle was dependent on energy (both electric and gas), I was amazed. I challenge you just to go into your kitchen and see how much you can do in there, right now, without using any petrol-based energy. It changes your perspective, whether you're a global warming believer or skeptic.

As the hero of the book continues, the perspective is on the first few days and then weeks of living without power. As the book progresses, the perspective gets wider and wider, taking in a more global (from a local point of view) scope. Some parts of the world are hit a little harder by the change than others.

Throughout this, the second portion of the book begins to emerge. This is the science and background information on the man-made global warming phenomenon. Being a skeptic, I had a rough time with some of this information, but the general gist was real enough for me that the individual details aren't worth fighting over here. No matter how much of a climate skeptic you are, you have to admit that resources are waning and are going to be gone.

Whether the trigger event is a greenhouse gas, the disappearance of industrialized phosphorous or nitrogen from agriculture, or the final outcome of running out of cheap petroleum resources, the result is basically the same. Our consumerism will have to stop and our huge energy dependence will have to end.

In Bob's scenario, it was easier and nicer than it appears it will be in reality, but his point wasn't social commentary, but on how people can cope with a lifestyle change. His underlying point is even more fundamentally important: it's possible to make these changes now, without waiting for the plug to be pulled. On this, he and I are in total agreement.

Overall, I would highly suggest this book to anyone who can read. Whether you're a greenhouse gas skeptic or not, you'll get something important out this book.

Fair warning, so you don't go in blind as I did, since Bob is Australian and the book is written in Queen's English. So some translation for us Americans is in order while reading. Although I don't think he used the word "crikey" and never once mentioned Foster's. So I'd question his authentics as an Australian.

Disclosure for our heroes at the FCC: I am not a member of nor an officer of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation. I did not receive compensation or remuneration for the writing of this review nor will I receive other incentives for future sales of the book due to this article or the links herein. The book was purchased with my personal funds and was not a gift. Thank you, lawyers at the FCC, for making me make ridiculous statements like this in my reviews now. I love my government and the terro... umm... nice bureaucrats who make it run so well.

Retro Review: Unintended Consequences

Unintended Consequences by John Ross - This is by far the best book I've read...ever. I swear. This book not only outlines the plight of anyone who believes in their right to keep and bear arms (enumerated by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution), but shows how the BATF (aka "ATF", aka "Bureau of American Tyranny and Fascism") literally entraps people into breaking the law. This agency is NOT about "upholding the law," nor do they "investigate crimes." This agency is all about CREATING crimes and then enFORCEing them.

They don't show up to your house during the day with a warrant, knock on the door, and serve that warrant. Nor do they arrive at your home, shout that they have a warrant, and then barge in (e.g. DEA-style) from all sides. Nope. They wait until you're gone, then they storm your house (usually using local cops and FBI agents as their fodder) and take everything there. They then find you, wherever you may be, and arrest you in public where you have the least chance of fighting back. They aren't stupid. The BATF knows that their "enemies" are armed and dangerous. Nevermind it's our RIGHT to be armed and dangerous in order to FIGHT BACK against this kind of tyranny!

Anyway, this book centers around a man who grew up BEFORE significant gun law had been enacted. He became a part of the "gun culture." The book nicely outlines gun control laws, in a chronological manner, and how they affected those who were a part of the "gun culture." Eventually things come to a head after a great interlude by a rookie agent attempting to bait Henry (the main character) into an illegal proposition at a gun show.

The best thing about this book is that it MUST have the powers that be worried. After all, it outlines a clear and simple way for a relatively non-violent revolution to take place...

I highly suggest you read this book! I don't care who you are! If you're an agent of the government, you'd better read it as a matter of self-defense so you'll know what could be coming. If you're an average Joe on the street, read this book so that you know what CAN be done to make change really happen. GET THIS BOOK!

Conveniently, I've included a link to it at Amazon.com. I'd suggest going there NOW.

Remember: after the first one, the rest are free...

Jamie Robinson, Breaking Through

Jamie Robinson, Breaking Through

I love guitar. Hard rock and heavy metal are all about the guitar. I originally found Jamie Robinson through YouTube when searching for guitar solos from AC/DC's song Thunderstruck to see how it's played. Jamie has a whole website of guitar "how-to" and lessons. For free. How cool is that?

Anyway, it was on his website that I found he has a new album out (it released in late May) featuring his guitars. So I ended up on YouTube again, linked to the Infliction Productions post of one of the songs off that album, Zero Hour.

From there, I was getting the album. Jamie rocks hard and his guitar is unbelievably awesome. The music is good (most of the songs are available through the Infliction Productions YouTube channel) and the guitar playing is just killer.

I highly recommend this to heavy metal or hard rock fans who love great guitar playing and awesome licks. Great stuff here.

Megadeth: Endgame

Endgame by Megadeth

I'm a big fan of Mustaine and the band and have been for a long time. With that said, if this weren't a Megadeth album, I would tell people that it's only average. It gets a point for being Megadeth, though, so it's a little better than average.

Like most albums nowadays, it has three or four good songs on it, a couple of songs that I won't skip just because they're playing next in line, and a couple that I will skip over every time.

Some of the more political types will note that there is a decided progression in Mustaine's lyrics. Their last album was, well, on the edge of mainstream Republican and heading towards Glenn Beck. Now Dave's definitely in Beck territory, but for those who are libertarians, don't hold your breath that the lyrics are truly Jeffersonian.

All of that aside, the one song I refuse to listen to any longer is the third track, 44 Minutes, which just had badly distorted lyrics and a crappy theme overall. The music is killer, but Dave ruined it with his pro-cop, pro-establishment rant.

The absolute best song here is the title track, which rocks some serious guitars and some great background drumming. It's solid Megadeth the whole way.

The first track is almost just as good, being an instrumental that consists of great drum work and bass fillers and then two guitars (Dave and Chris) trading off on solos. Totally awesome stuff.

Overall, this is a good album and worth getting if you're a Megadeth fan. Otherwise, save your money and just buy the two tracks I've mentioned as digital downloads.

Insomnium

Insomnium Rather than reviewing a single album, I'm just going to look at the whole band. Their latest album, at right, is Above the Weeping World. They have two other albums as well, Since the Day It All Came Down and In the Halls of Awaiting. They have a new album due out next month.

This is a heavy, heavy band with a lot of musical talent. That pretty much sums up my entire impression of this group. Insomnium has strong guitars, great drums, and strong, deep-thought lyrics.

Their music is thoughtful, well-rounded, but not so "out there" that regular people won't like it. This isn't some art club band, but they are good musicians for sure. Their music isn't Prague Rock, neither is it just plain heavy/death metal. It's some kind of mashup of the two.

The video below is for their song The Elder and does a good job of showing off their talent:

The Agonist - Lullabies for the Dormant Mind

Lullabies for the Dormant Mind is the latest album from The Agonist, releasing in March of this year.

This is another hardcore, death metal band with a female lead. Their music is full of changes and alternates between harsh metal chords and quiet backgrounds. Leading the vocals is Alissa White-Gluz whose voice is full of range, going from the growling, grind of death metal to the nearly-operatic tones of a metal front.

The unique look of the band is another thing here. Were Alissa to not have multi-colored hair and several piercings, you'd guess she was just the girl next door with no metal grind to her at all. Possibly even a Brittany Spears fan?

The guitars (bass and lead) are manned by Chris Kells and Danny Marino, respectively. These two play off one another well, showing a range beyond the usual 3-chords of power. If you listen carefully, you'll hear the inspired drumming of Simon McKay as well, which is subtle in most of the band's songs, but ads more flavor than you'd think.

Overall, this is a great band. This album is a great addition to their lineup of discs so far. It's not as gritty and is more thoughtful than Business Suits and Combat Boots.

This Canadian band is definitely worth keeping your eye on. Great stuff from an up-and-coming powerhouse!

THX 1138

THX 1138 stars Robert Duvall. This was, as I understand, Lucas' first foray into full directorial control of a movie. I think his talent shows through here, as the movie is very well done.

The storyline is pretty straight forward. Take Orwell's 1984 and mash it up with Huxley's Brave New World and you've got THX. Although this makes it sound as if the plot is kind of boiler plate, it's not really. The cinematography really sets the mood here.

Rather than being the bleak, crumbling world of 1984 or the 1970s disco of Brave New World, this one is a more sanitary, whitewashed, boring future world. Nearly everything is white or gray and so are the lives of those who are involved in the movie.

The police robots are in black, with blank, human-like but empty faces and the boring monotone of most people's speech finishes off the plainness of the world.

The ending sequence to this movie is great, with an extremely interesting bit of camera work and set building. You'll know what I'm talking about once you see it.

Overall, this is a great movie. The story may not be as poignant as the two classics mentioned, but it's still definitely worth watching. Careful with the kiddies as there is some nudity here, but it's tastefully done.

Girl Scout Hand Grenade

Girl Scout Hand Grenade has three things going for it as a band, in my book:

1. They're a death metal band with a kind of punkish rhythmic


2. They have a really cool name


3. They have a chick lead singer

The band's motto is "We Are Goats in a Word Full of Sheep Metal."

I mean comon. How killer is that? For some reason, I totally get wood when I see a chick singing death metal. When they're actually good at it? The big O comes.

The band is from Michigan. You can see their MySpace at this link. They have a full album out and have been around long enough to establish that they aren't some garage band with a bunch of lame tunes for your wedding.

Girl Scount Hand Grenade is pretty hard core and definitely loud. Some of their stuff is pretty boilerplate death/grind core, but lots of others jump out and say "mosh, f'er, mosh." Then I wish I hadn't cut my hair and try to spin it anyway.

When you go to their page, try Birth of the Resistance for a cool song with some changeups and harsh thrashing. Try Raul Julia is Dead for something completely different you probably won't expect from a death metal band. Great tune.

Below is probably my favorite, though, called Avoid Embrace. Enjoy!

Defiance

Defiance starring Daniel Craig (aka James Bond) and the guy who was the Manchurian Candidate in the latest version of that film. Liev something. I think he was Wolverine too.

Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. I knew that having Craig in it would mean stuff would probably blow up and he'd probably spend some time looking like he wanted to kill people. What I didn't expect was for him to (sort of) be the pacifist in this movie.

The movie tells the story of the Jews of southern Russia and their flight into the forest. Some of them have a thirst for revenge against the Nazis and join with the local partisans. Others, like Craig, look for survival and work to support the partisans in supply and repair and so forth, but do not participate in bloodshed except in self-defense.

The movie is based on true events and some of those depicted in the movie are still alive today.

The conditions were horrible, the times were brutal, and the chances of survival were not very good. But they got through all of it. That's kind of the gist of this movie.

The back story is one of brotherhood, love, deep friendship, and the coming together of ideals after long separation.

It's a great movie, but definitely not one for the kiddies. Lots of violence and warfare scenes, for sure. Definitely worth seeing, though. Highly recommended.

Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black and Most Def.

I'll be honest and tell you that I didn't expect much from this movie. I (mostly) like Jack Black, but he's definitely done his share of flops and pure pieces of crap. This movie, though, was much better than I'd expected. Even my wife liked it, which almost never happens when I pick a comedy.

First, it actually has a story line that is pretty good and kind of touching. Not really touching, but at least a good message. Mostly, though, it's about Jack Black's character (Jerry) being nucking futz.

The scene with them sitting and talking while wearing an aluminum sieve and strainer on their heads (to keep the microwaves out) is hilarious. The scenes where Jerry gets magnetized... awesome.

Mostly, though, the comedy is all about cheesy and belly-laughingly funny remakes of popular movies. Driving Miss Daisy? Check. Scenes in the public library from Ghost Busters? Check. Two nutcases running around the big city and having their loony antics be ignored by everyone walking by? Check.

The movie is downright funny, is mostly family-friendly, and definitely worth watching.

Psychic Warrior

Psychic Warrior by David Morehouse

I read this book expected two things: a decent story and a lot of b.s. I was pleased with one and surprised at the other.

The story that Morehouse tells is great. It's based on his own life as a member of the armed forces in both the Army Rangers and ultimately in military intelligence. Of course, no substantiation can be made as to what he did in intelligence, beyond his own story, but the book itself is at least verified by someone else who was with Morehouse in the ultra-secret program they were involved in.

Of course, that's not proof, but it's better than some of the other books on this subject, at least.

Regardless, the story itself is extremely captivating and will hook you in quickly and keep you wondering. The psychic phenomenon are not what you'd really expect (if you've read anything on this stuff), and that's actually a good thing.

Mostly, I expected more of the Sylvia Browne or Discovery Channel psychic medium hoo-ha, but instead it's an honest and real account with real explanations and background as to how this stuff works (as far as he can tell, of course).

The story told is excellent and well worth the read. I greatly enjoyed the book, whether true or half-true, and my doubts about its authenticity did nothing to detract from my overall enjoyment of the story being told.

I'm more inclined to believe than disbelieve, mainly due to my general distrust of government and its machinations. If true, by the way, this books shows you what MK Ultra became by the 1990s.

Recommended read, well worth it.

Annexed Asylum

This is a band from Birmingham, Alabama that a friend of mine on Twitter (@BitterOldPunk) introduced me to. Not his kind of music, but definitely mine.

Annexed Asylum is pure, hard-driving death metal. They have a great sound, similar to some of the harsher old Megadeth and a lot of the newer stuff from Mudvayne with a little dust of Prong and Death sprinkled on for good measure.

Unlike some of the other bands I've reviewed here before, Annexed Asylum didn't have to grow on me. From the minute I visited their Myspace page and heard Combustion, I liked them.

If you're politically-minded, like I am, check out Morbid Torture on that Myspace page and look at the pic that comes up to accompany the song. That's great shit right there.

Anyway, if you're into hard core and serious death metal, this band rocks. Check out their stuff, buy their album, and go see them live if you're in 'Bama.

Rambo

Rambo starring Sylvester Stallone

When I was younger, I thought that the Rambo flicks were totally awesome. In a way, they were, though at that time I really had no idea of the story they were telling in the background. They weren't really much of a follow-on to Rocky either, though they did break Stallone away from that stereotype, I guess.

Stallone, of course, deserves plenty of ridicule for being mono tonal and relatively boring to watch in close-up or while doing anything that's not action oriented. He's got a lot of energy and a remarkable understanding of some things, however. More than he usually gets credit for, I think.

Considering that he wrote the script for most of the Rocky flicks, wrote the scripts for Rambo, and even directed this one, he's got more going on than some of us might think.

This movie shows that off. I will warn you: I have never seen a movie with more gore, violence, or blood than this one. Sly went with pure realism when he made this movie. You'll see arms blown off, women raped (more or less, clothes ripping and beatings, anyway), people blown to bits, and someone gets eviscerated. On camera. Plain sight. No creative movie coverups.

All of that aside, though, the violence isn't really gratuitous. It's part of the story and the theme behind the plot.

Without explaining every detail of the plot line, the basic theme is that soldiers (warriors, really) are what they are. They are good at violence, good at warfare, and good at killing. It's what they do. The question isn't whether they commit acts of violence: all warriors do. The question is for what purpose they do so.

Some do it for power, as exemplified by the bad guy in this movie. Some do it for money, as shown by the mercenaries hired to go in to save some people at another point. Finally, some do it because it's what they know how to do and in order for the good in society to exist, someone has to stand up against the bad.

The story is extremely well told, the camera work is really awesome, and the location, scenery, and acting are all nicely done.

In the end, this is a movie well worth watching. Especially given some of the realities of our world today. If you aren't good at blood and gore and don't like Stallone, though, you can skip this one. I do, however, consider it well worth the time to watch.

Ender In Exile

Ender in Exile, Orson Scott Card

I have to admit that I looked forward to this book for a long time. I've been a fan of Card and especially this series since the release of Ender's Game when I was a teenager.

If you aren't familiar with the series, you'll probably not understand much of what I say after this point. I'm writing this with the assumption that you're familiar with the series and have read at least one of the three books in it.

All I can say to you if you haven't read any of these: GO GET ENDER'S GAME. Now. Don't waste time. Go get it. You'll read it cover-to-cover, I swear.

OK, all that said, this book clears up a lot of what's between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. Although it was the last to be written and released, it's technically supposed to fit between the other two.

It answers a lot of questions left unanswered after reading Speaker, especially what happened to Ender and how he got the Bugger egg he's been carrying around, trying to find a home for.

It basically picks up immediately after Ender's Game, with the war over and the world in political turmoil as the Earth's governments and people try to deal with the huge galactic naval apparatus they've built. Ender and his lieutenants in the Battle School are political hot potatoes that everyone fears.

The way things play out, the creation of new colonies to both get rid of the Battle School children they don't know what to do with as well as send some of Earth's overpopulation away is the perfect solution.

The intrigue, genius maneuvering of Ender, and the way all things play out are extremely well done and most of the loose ends from the other two books are tied up and explained.

An excellent book, highly recommended if you're a fan of this series. If not, well, you suck. :)

Life in Vacuum - Nothing Ever Stays Secret

You know when you've hit the big time? When bands approach you to review their new EP, that's when. This band came to me and asked if I'd review their album. That, my friends, is star power and critical success.

Or maybe they took a look at this website and said "Wow, this guy needs help" and threw me a bone. Either way, I was yet again introduced to a new and cool band thanks to the Internet.

I've been listening to this album for a few days now, getting it down and feeling out the band's style. My first and continuing impression is that Life in Vacuum is very much like a modernized Dead Milkmen. Although, admittedly, with more musical ability--no offense to the Milkmen, one of my favorite teenage bands.

Their lyrics are a little more thoughtful than the Milkmen, for sure. While their music isn't as technically advanced or as some of the progressive Prague bands like Tool or my recent favorite The Isosceles Project, it's not simplistic and lame either.

In fact, one of the drawing points of this band, for me, is their continual use of change-ups and creative sound-effecting with various instruments. Even after listening to this album in continual rotation (the EP contains only four songs), I'm not bored with it. It's that different.

Life in Vacuum is a little bit crazy, but not as crazy as System of a Down (another of my favs). They're a little bit nuts, but not as nuts as the Dead Milkmen. They're a little bit progressive, but not as progressive as Tool. In short, they're kind of like a lot of bands I like, but not like any one of them more than another.

They're unique.

Life in Vacuum might have to grow on you, but I think this new band will gain a following in the near future. They're definitely worth checking out. You'll find them on Myspace at this link.

The Lives of Others

Awesome German-made movie set in the 1980s East Berlin. The plot follows a play write and his girlfriend, a leading actress. The main character, however, is a Stasi captain assigned to watch them.

This is definitely a movie worth watching. The film portrays the police state for what it is and the politicking that goes on when such apparatus are in place.

The main character, the Stasi man, is an idealist whose life revolves totally around his devotion to the state and his belief that his job is to protect its security. His idealism towards the state comes into question, however, when he sees the actions of the GDR's leader and his own superior officer.

During his surveillance of the couple, he begins to understand and empathize with them.

The movie is all about this man's journey and change of heart. It is extremely well done and the actor who plays the Stasi man (Ulrich Muhe) does a beautiful job of showing character and emotion without words.

This movie is definitely high on the list of great films and is well worth the watch. There is some brief nudity and the movie is in German with English subtitles.

Retro Review: Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

A utopian world of socialism, genetic engineering, and mindless happiness is questioned by one of its inhabitants upon finding love. In this world devoid of individuality, Bernard Marx (the main character) finds himself questioning the world around him and on a quest to find what is missing.

What is missing is individuality and self-awareness, something which Marx has but does not realize. A truly fascinating look at a future which is both wonderful and terrible, this book should be on everyone's shelf.

The Wrestler

The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke

To be honest, I didn't have a lot of expectations for this movie. I don't particularly like Mickey Rourke and didn't really think this flick could be that great and figured it was a lot of hype. It won some awards, though, and then a friend of mine said he'd seen it with his girlfriend and thought it was great.

So I got it and watched. I ended up watching it twice, back-to-back.

Two things stand out in this movie: Rourke is hideous to look at. I don't know what happened to the guy, but he's UGLY now. Strangely, that fits this movie perfectly.

The other thing is the overall cinematography and theme-setting. They try to set the story with some clips of what The Ram's (Rourke's character) life is like, but most of this is actually done through the lighting and locations. Excellent work there.

Turn out that Rourke isn't a bad actor either. The story line is fairly basic, but has a deep theme and strong cinematics. Rourke is in excellent physical condition and the wrestling actually, while well-done, is a background interest in the movie. I doubt he's actually "in the ring" for more than fifteen minutes of the whole film.

Mostly, the movie revolves around the character and those close-in around him. His prospective girlfriend (a stripper), his daughter (who he's neglected throughout her life), and his drug addictions ("juice," various pain killers). And, of course, the cusp of the movie: The Ram's failing health and lackluster career.

Overall, the movie is really well done and totally worth seeing. It's definitely rated R, though, so no kids. There are long nude scenes with the Ram's girlfriend (Marisa Tomei), being as she's a stripper. Nothing overly gratuitous and it fits right in with the plot and movie.

Definitely a movie worth seeing. Go get it!

Official Trailer:


The great song from Springsteen for the movie (much of the same footage, but the entire 4 minute song included):

Best of the Destroyer (3 novels in one)

Best of the Destroyer by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir

This book includes three of the early Destroyer novels, "Chinese Puzzle," "Slave Safari," and "Assassins Play-Off."

I have to confess that I'm a big fan of the Destroyer series, starring Remo Williams (Sheva reborn, the Destroyer) and Chiun, Reigning Master of Sinanju. Sure, they're "pulp" novels, but they're like no others. Halfway between comic books and deep-thought philosophical pieces, these are the greatest series of pulp novels ever written. Ever.

I was first introduced to Remo and Chiun through a book on tape back in the day. Then I saw the movie, which was pretty good, but not great. Then when I was a truck driver, I discovered the Graphic Audio Destroyer series. HOOKED!

Now that I'm no longer in a truck, I have started to discover the novels themselves. I started with this 3-book series to get an early introduction and to find out if the early books are worth reading.

Holy crap! They rock!

Murphy and Sapir manage to mix politics, mysticism, gritty real-world action, and tons of humor (dry and witty mostly) all into each book. Friikin' awesome. Of the three in this book, I think Chinese Puzzle is the best (it's book #3 in the series), but Assassins Play-Off has a lot to offer in the way of mixup and Chiun-based humor.

If you've been dubious about these books, have only seen the movie and judged the novels based on that, or have no idea what I'm talking about: you NEED to try these. They're available all over the 'Net (I got mine from a used Amazon seller). Definitely worth it.

Even if you don't like them, at least you gave it a shot. Trust me, though. You'll love 'em!

I've since bought 12 more books from the series. I promise not to fill this blog with reviews of them, though. :)

Hogfather

This movie was originally made for TV on BBC, but is one of the most well-made television movies I've seen in a long time. It's three hours long, so expect a long (but entertaining) sit.

If you aren't a fan of the Discworld novels from Terry Pratchett, then this movie is probably not going to be to your liking. You never know, though.

It's loosely Christmas-based. The satirical comparisons to our own Western stereotypes and rituals are hilarious and insightful, as are most of Pratchett's satire-laden fantasy novels in this series. The Discworld itself is a flat, dish-shaped planet that rides on the back of four elephants who in turn ride on the back of a giant sea turtle who swims through space. That's where things just get started.

Pratchett is endlessly humorous and full of surprises and funny comparisons. If he hadn't gone into novel writing, he would likely have given George Carlin and Mitch Headberg a run for their money on the standup circuit.

The story is basic, but full of little themes and great cinema from both the camera and the acting perspectives. The Hogfather (like Santa Clause) is a Yule deity that distributes presents on Hogswatch Night. He rides a sleigh pulled by a group of flying boars and wears red and white.

Well, the Assassins Guild of the city of Ank-Morporkh are commissioned to murder the Hogfather and employ their most efficient (and lunatic) assassin to do the job: Mr. Teatime, who'll quickly correct you with the pronunciation of his name as "Tay-a-tim-ey."

Death (appropriately named Mort) finds out about this and attempts to stop it, with the reluctant help of his niece. Most of the movie involves Death (you know, skull, bones, black garb, a scythe) masquerading as the Hogfather and Teatime's brilliant plan to go after the Tooth Fairy as an in-road to the Hogfather.

The movie must be seen to be fully appreciated. I highly recommend it and it's definitely family-friendly and fun for all.

Here's the first three minutes of the film, which pretty much lays out the humor therein:

Revolver

This film stars Jason Statham, who in many ways has become one of my favorite actors. Mostly because of films like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

This movie is at least as good as those two great films, though in a different way. While the other two are gangster films set in London and with a more indie-film feel to them, this one is set in Las Vegas and stars big names like Ray Liotta.

The plot is relatively simple, but extremely well done and the twists that go on will keep you going "What the..?" throughout. I had to watch it twice before it all came together for me. Most of it makes sense the first time through, but you notice some little things you didn't see before on a second run.

The basic plot is this: Statham plays a gangster who goes to prison rather than turn in his boss. After seven years in solitary, spending his time passing notes between the two men locked up next to him: a master chess player and a con artist, Statham is released. The other two released two years before him and Statham finds himself cleaned out. They knew his secrets and they emptied his accounts.

Starting from scratch, Statham rebuilds his little criminal empire and before long, he's getting into the big leagues. Meanwhile, Mr. Gold, a mysterious underworld gangster whom no one's met, but everyone fears, latches onto Statham's ex-boss, Ray Liotta's character.

At the same time, Statham decides to consider his options for revenge on his old boss. Thus, the plot ensues.

I won't give away the surprises, so I'll leave it to you to watch the film to get the rest.

This movie is highly recommended and well worth watching. It's on my short list of favorites.

The Isosceles Project

I'm going to just let the cat completely out of the bag on this one. This band is the best band I've heard since I discovered Tool in the 1990s. Really. You all know that I consider Tool to be the greatest band of all time. Well, this one is right up there in the top 5 and may get into the top 3 when I've listened to them even more.

The band is from Canada, but I don't hold that against them. Their music is probably niche'd as "heavy metal" in the same way that Tool is, but it's definitely much more than that.

The Isosceles Project is not Prague Rock like Tool, but more of a progressive heavy metal instrumental group. If your favorite song is Metallica's Orion, like mine is, you'll love this group.

I'm probably completely hacking up the praise for the Isosceles Project, but I'm trying to get across not just what they play, but how great they play it.

Once more: this is the greatest band I've found in over a decade. Really.

Right now, they have no label and their album isn't available on Amazon or iTunes, but you can get it directly from their website at IsoscelesProject.com. Their music is all over the Internet as well. I've embedded a YouTube of one of their songs below.

Uncivil Liberties

This movie is about a near future where government agencies have nearly full access to everything there is to know about Americans. They monitor everyone continually (for our own good, of course).

The plot centers around a woman who is deeply involved in one of the alphabet soup agencies that runs computerized tracking of individuals. When her sister takes her to a party, the computer matrix she built crosses her profile with someone on the "terror watch list."

That someone is a one-time member of a militia group who's stepped away from the group and is now living in an RV behind the home of the person who held the party.

Things get dicey from there. Basically, the woman is a high priority and a "hit" is placed on her, as her death would (the militia groups believe) short circuit much of the security (i.e. domestic spy) apparatus.

The assassin, the former militia member who rejoins when his friend asks him to carry out this assignment, balks at the job once his finger is on the trigger. Shortly afterwards, the militia finds out that the woman has defected and put the entire security agency's code online to be hacked.

The movie itself is pretty good, for what it is, and the subject matter is definitely something that should be mainstream (but isn't). However, the film is not just low budget: it's horribly so.

Not because the production values were bad. They were extremely good for something of this scope with the limited resources I imagine they dealt with. What's wrong is the acting, the hack-job story, and the unconvincing outcome.

I think that the producers were aiming for a sort of real-life Matrix meets Enemy of the State. Like I said, the idea was great. The story line, however, falls flat and the acting is less than second rate from many of the players.

So I guess the movie is worth watching if you're into the whole Patriot movement thing (which is why I saw it), but don't expect to convince anyone of the plight of our civil rights using this movie. In fact, you'll probably find yourself ready to shut it off several times throughout. Once the o-so-obvious plot twist comes, you can safely do so.

I'm not recommending this movie to anyone. If you want to click my Amazon link up there and buy it, feel free. I won't turn down the money. :) But don't go out of your way to see this flick.

Son of Rambow

Yes, the title is spelled correctly. This movie, Son of Rambow, is about the making of a movie of the same title, by two boys somewhere in Britain. One is the class problem child--a thief, con artist, and truant. The other is an imaginative boy walled in by his mother (and dead father's) religious beliefs and the naive world they've given him.

The two meet, become master-slave (through a con), and eventually best friends. In their pursuit, they work on the film Son of Rambow, which they will be submitting to a local film contest. The plot line of the film their making is simple and direct, but makes perfect sense considering the two boys making it.

Enthralled by Silvester Stallone's Rambo, they begin work in earnest.

Scenes are at times cheesy, at other times poignant, and always thoughtful and even tear jerking. The two boys who play the main characters in this movie are extremely good actors for such youngsters.

This is definitely a great movie and worth watching.

Flash of Genius

Without a doubt, Flash of Genius is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. My wife really wanted to see this one after seeing a commercial for it on another movie. We rented it and it was one of the best movies we've seen, bar none.

This movie, though, is very different from what the two of us usually agree on. It's a great movie about a man who has his idea stolen by the Ford Motor Company and fights to get his rights back. It ruins nearly every other aspect of his life, this pursuit of justice, but he finally wins in the end.

The movie causes you to question things on several levels. First, why is it that Ford figured they could just steal the idea and get away with it? Is this the evil corporation at work? Then, why does it take so much effort, time, money, etc. for the fight in the Patent courts to proceed? By the time the movie is over, he's gone from a not-quite-middle-aged man to a gray-haired guy with a slight limp.

Well, the two processes work in tandem to explain the situation. Ford thought that they could get away with stealing from this nobody professor because it would take years, piles of cash, and a lot of effort for him to take them through court and win.

In other words, our crappy justice system encourages large corporations to feel they have the upper hand in these situations. When a multi-billion dollar company like Ford is faced with a lawsuit from Joe Schmoe, they can blow it off because all of the odds are in their favor. That's justice for ya.

The other level of this movie is the interaction between the hero and his family and friends. Things are strained, to say the least, in much of the movie. He nearly sacrifices his entire life, family, and more just to go through with this lawsuit. Most would have given up at the first offer of several hundred thousand dollars when Ford wanted to settle.

The underlying point of this movie is supposed to be one man's pursuit of justice against all the odds. But the rest of that premise is "and at any price." He gives up almost all that he has for this pursuit.

Was it worth it? Monetarily, maybe so, but he doesn't win those years back, just a pile of cash. Personally, I don't think his struggle was worth it. The movie, though is poignant, strong, and extremely well done.

I definitely recommend this movie to everyone. It's extremely good.

Lexington & Concord

Lexington and Concord: The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution by Arthur Bernon Tourtellot - This is one of the most eye-opening accounts of the events before, during, around, and immediately after the battles of Lexington and Concord I have ever read.

This book is very well written and gives great insight into events as they unfolded. It shows the heavy role that people like Alexander Hamilton and Samuel Adams had to play in the gestation of our American Revolution and details the battles themselves with fine color.

How To Hydroponics

How To Hydroponics is likely the best book I've ever read on this subject. Not because it's so full of information--which it is, but because of it's down-to-earth and very readable nature.

Other hydroponics books cover much more information with lots of scientific graphs and information. This one, though, focuses on the actual hydroponics gardener rather than the data-hound scientist type.

The science of hydroponics can be interesting, sure, but for those of us who actually want to use the information in a practical sense, most of that science is extraneous.

How To Hydroponics includes general information so you'll know how hydroponics works, why it works, and what you need to know to make it work. That's the first third of the book.

The second third is about the general uses of hydroponics, ideas for how it is used, where it is used, and so forth. The different types of hydroponics systems and what situations they're best used for are covered too.

The final third is the meat of the matter and the culmination of the book's information. This is where Keith Roberto (the book's author) gets down to the nitty-gritty. He shows you how to build a variety of hydroponics systems to fit your situation. Ebb-and-flow, aeroponics, constant immersion, and more.

Totally awesome book and very highly recommended. Great stuff!

Idiocracy

Iodiocracy starring Luke Wilson is a movie that can be summed up with two words: Prophetic and Vulgar.

In the context of the film, both make perfect sense, though. The general idea is that Wilson's character is accidentally sent through time to the year 2500. There, he finds out that the average human IQ has dropped steadily to the point that Wilson, a totally average person, is now the smartest man on the planet.

The future is filled with idiots, vulgar speech made up of street slang and gibberish English, etc. The President of the United States is a former professional wrestler who got his office because he knew a few 2-syllable words, and he rides around D.C. on a huge, limousine sized Harley Davidson.

Long story short, the movie is funny, somewhat entertaining, and shockingly prophetic. It predicts that the dumbing down of people will continue and shows the eventual result of that.

If you don't mind a lot of trash talk and a fairly straight-forward, but still humorous plot line, then this movie is good for you. Honestly, though, you won't miss much if you skip it.

Wall-E

Disney/Pixar

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for Pixar movies. I have been since back when they were just featured shorts. This one is definitely one of their more creative in terms of cinematography. The story is fairly straight-forward and the animation is good, but not really great.

What makes this movie click, though, is the creative storytelling--there's almost no talking until nearly halfway through. The story is told through actions, sound effects, and flashes of written signs or video blurbs as Wall-E passes a TV screen on his daily routine.

To synopsize the plot: Wall-E is an automated garbage compactor. Something has gone wrong that caused all the others to shut down, but Wall-E is still running. So he's basically alone on the planet--him and his friend the roach, that is. The humans left long ago, having piled up so much garbage that the planet became uninhabitable.

Their original plan, you find out, was to leave the planet on a "space cruise" for a few years and then come back to a clean, rebuilt planet (thanks to the thousands of Wall-E droids left behind). That, of course, didn't happen, so they're still cruising space in their giant ship.

Lonely Wall-E eventually meets another robot, a probe droid sent to find out if there is life on Earth again yet.

The bad guy in this movie is not who you'd expect and the story isn't as "right foot, left foot" as you'd think. Nothing spectacular in the storyline, but it's well done nonetheless.

I enjoyed the movie and recommend it to everyone. It's a good family movie with just enough action to keep the little ones interested.

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

The Original Adventures of the Greatest Sword and Sorcery Hero of All Time! by Robert E. Howard and edited by Patrice Louinet.

I've read a lot of Conan. I have the movies on DVD. Conan used to feature regularly in our Dungeons & Dragons sessions back in the day. For most of us, Conan is both a comic book sword-and-sorcery hero, a caricature of barbarism and bravery, and the ultimate in "boy books" heroes.

Conan was undoubtedly Robert Howard's greatest character in terms of success and likely the most well fleshed-out hero in all of his writing. Conan has muscles, native wit, and a focus and fury that denies all fear. At the same time, he is rather aimless, somewhat the scoundrel, and nearly always suckered by the women he meets.

No matter your views of Conan, you must agree that the works of Robert E. Howard will forever be remembered as classic renderings of the barbaric hero and the greatest of fantasy swordsmen in literature.

This collection is one of the best I've seen: perhaps the best. Not only are the stories in chronological order by publication (rather than some editor's guess as to "time line" in-story)--as they appeared originally--but they are completely unedited and unchanged from their original published versions.

A few that didn't make publication for one reason or another (usually because Howard wasn't sure if he'd "gone over the line") are also included at the end. The enlightening forward written by the editor is also extremely valuable for its insight into Howard's career and life.

This book comes with the highest recommendations I have to give.

Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution

Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls.

This is one of the best biographies of Adams I've ever read. If you aren't familiar with anything more than the role he played according to your high school history teacher, you need to read this book. Seriously.

You've probably guessed from the logo picture to the left and on my other blog at MilitantLibertarian.org that I am a huge Samuel Adams fan. Why? Because he was the original Patriot, the Rabble Rouser, the man who made the Revolution happen.

For a dozen years before the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams worked to push the issue of freedom, liberty, and independence for America.

This book chronicles as much of the role that he played as can be known. Unlike most of the other Founding Fathers, Adams didn't write a diary, keep a lot of correspondence, or write a memoir of his life. Samuel Adams wasn't worried about being remembered or given credit. He told his cousin John Adams that he wasn't interested in money, fame, power, or a legacy. He was only interested in securing independence for the millions of Americans yet unborn.

That was the kind of man that Samuel Adams was. In 1775, only two people had warrants out for their arrest when the redcoats marched towards Lexington: John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Hancock was wanted because he was Adams' financier.

This is one of the greatest books you can read regarding the American Revolution and the first years of our nation once established. It details Adams' life throughout, but focuses specifically on the dozen or so years before 1776 and a decade after the Revolution and the writing of the Constitution. These are the times when Adams was relentlessly writing, speaking, stirring up crowds, working the back rooms of political meetings, and getting the job done.

Adams was a master at political intrigue, back-room dealing, convincing people to join his cause, to rally in the streets, and to always push for freedom and liberty.

In short, the title says it all. Samuel Adams was the Father of the American Revolution and the reason our nation began. He is George Washington's equal, if not greater. His example is perfect for the times we live in today.

I highly recommend this book.

Kull: Exile of Atlantis

I love Robert E. Howard. I'm a big fan of Conan. I hadn't read any of the stories in a long time and decided to buff out my collection of books with Howard's name on them. So I did a little search on Amazon and found a LOT of stuff.

Well, I knew that Howard had written some westerns and other stories, but was really only interested in Conan (I thought). I got a good book that is a definitive collection of Conan stories in the order they were published. I'll be reviewing that one soon.

I also found this book of Kull and a couple of other books that I only vaguely was aware existed. Since they are all from the same publisher in the same series of Howard books with his stories in the original (unedited, uncommented) forms, I decided to get others as well.

Boy am I glad I did. Kull is every bit as cool as Conan. In fact, I'm glad Howard didn't do too much with Conan as king, because it would have just been a ripoff of Kull anyway. Kull was Howard's first popular character, by the way, and Conan was actually a construct of Kull--Howard needed a new character and he had some unpublished Kull stories that didn't quite fit the Kull personality, so they became Conan.

This book contains every story of Kull the Exile from Atlantis (aka "Kull the Conqueror" aka "Kull the King"). They're awesome! With his Pict friends, his ignorance of kingly fashion and ways, and his unabashed curiosity and lack of fear set him apart.

Very awesome and I highly recommend you read these. Even if you think you've already read everything Robert E. Howard. Expect to see more books from Howard's collected stories getting reviewed here, I have several now...

Boondock Saints

Boondock Saints is one of my favorite movies. The movie is full of great cinematics, has some really good acting, and an awesome soundtrack.

It's the story of two Irish brothers who work in a slaughterhouse and whose lives take a turn when they find themselves face-to-face with the Russian mafia. They run afoul of the mafia boys while defending their local pub--a matter of pride for any Irishman.

This leads them onto a path of vigilantism, along with their friend who's a local Italian mob "runner," and introduces a gay FBI agent to their cause.

The visuals are awesome, the adventure is great, and the plot is very well written. This movie is highly recommended and definitely one you should own on DVD/BlueRay/whatever.