Deep Storm by Lincoln Child; 2007; Doubleday, New York, NY; 370 pages; 978-0-385-51550-4; 6/25-6/25

Beware of Spoilers

Dr. Peter Crane, former Naval medical officer, is chosen to take in a highly classified operation miles beneath the ocean surface.  He is told that the project is excavating a former civilization that disappeared a long time ago but it turns out to be something completely different.  He has to deal with an overly aggressive security officer who only doles out information on a highly restrictive need to know basis, a saboteur or two and an unknown signal from beneath the earth’s crust.  It turns out that an alien race is storing weapons of mass destruction beneath the earth’s surface.  Dr. Crane is responsible for preventing them being accessed and saving a lot of people.

I was disappointed that early on it was going to be another Atlantis  story, but Child deftly turns a corner and makes it a much more interesting story.  RRR

Moments in the Sun, Baseball’s Briefly Famous by Mark McGuire and Michael Sean Gormley; 1999; McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, NC; 239 pages; 0-7864-0549-X; 6/20-6/25

Disco Demolition Night, a World Series perfect game, a player killer by a pitch, a tater in play, a real player who became well known through a work of fiction and a one legged pitcher.

Brief biographical sketches of players who were famous (or infamous) for a brief time.  Their notoriety peaks again when something similar happens or on the anniversary of what happened.

There are several interesting players profiled here, but my favorite is Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, who was a real player made famous in Field of Dreams, either because of the movie or that it was Burt Lancaster’s final role.  It is interesting that the article the newspaper editor reads is the actual article that ran when Doc Graham died.

Anyone who likes baseball would enjoy this slim volume.  RRR

Good morning, I got up and walked this morning for the first time in a couple of months, I only went a mile, but it’s a start. I saw a cardiologist awhile back and she told me I needed to lose 130 pounds, so I am starting that journey.

I must say that the world will be a slightly less funny place from now on. George Carlin had a heart attack and died. If you haven’t heard his comedy, make an effort to somehow hear what he has to say.

Now for the music.

Hold Me/Laura McGreevey/EP. I originally downloaded this because I knew Laura when she was in high school. She sang in high school but she really has come into her own. I really liked the songs, but this morning after reading Lamentations 1, this song really spoke to me. My only refuge is in my Lord. Laura has a wonderful voice and is a great songwriter. Check her out at lauramcgreevey.com

Immigrant Song/Led Zeppelin/The Best of Led Zeppelin, Vol 1. The last time I reloaded my ipod I resolved that I would only have one song per band and Stairway is so overdone. Immigrant Song has a classic riff and listening to Robert Plant sing is always great. Watch the DVD extra’s on School of rock to see Jack Black beg Zep for permission to use it in School of Rock.

American Woman/Lenny Kravitz/Austin Powers 2. Lenny takes an old Guess Who tune and definitely makes it his own. His guitar work is truly great and his voice has just the right balance between polish and rough for this song.  Haven’t heard much from Lenny lately, I need to go look for more music and see what he is doing.

Bleeding Love/Leona Lewis/Bleeding Love. I know nothing about this artist and this is only the second time I have heard the song. I kind of like her voice, and it has a nice hook. When I refilled my ipod I asked my son, David, to add some music that he thought I would like and this is one of the songs.

Get Rhytm/Little Richard/Kindred Spirits, A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash. Here is a pairing that is very inspired, I never would have thought to ask Little Richard to sing a Johnny Cash song. But man does it work, it is a flat out rock and roll song as Little Richard pounds it out on the piano. It rivals Johnny’s version as an original.

See ya later.

Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner; 2005; William Morrow, New York, NY; 242 pages;0-06073132-X; 6/18-6/20

Parenting doesn’t matter as much as we think, abortion caused the decline in the birth, teachers cheat on student test, sumo wrestlers cheat, drug dealing is a pryamid scheme and the Klan is afraid of it’s own information.

These are some of the conclusions that the two Steves reach in Freakonomics.  I am somewhat skeptical of their research, because in statistics and market research I learned that you can make numbers say whatever you want.  If you take their conclusions at face value they have reached some interesting conclusions, some which I kind of agree with.  Peer pressure is as influential as parenting, who we are as parents is more important than what we do as parents.

The statement that will raise the most eyebrows is the conclusion that legalized abortion is one of the reasons the crime rate went down in the 90’s.  There were fewer people in the group that was most likely to become criminal, because the unwanted pregnancies  had been terminated.  The unwanted child is less likely to well treated in the home and less cared for, turning to gangs and a criminal lifestyle for rewards.

I found this book to be a lot like Blink and The Tipping Point  full of common sense but not too startling if you think about it.  RRr

The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child; 2007; Warner Books, New York, NY; 388 pages; 978-0-446-58028-1; 6/17-6/18

After all the intense books that I have read lately I needed some escapist literature reading. I thought that Preston & Child could provide some escape since I have enjoyed some of their stuff before.

FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and his ward, Constance Greene are visiting a monastery high in the mountains of Tibet when the monks ask for their help, a mysterious artifact has been stolen from the monastery. If the Agozyen is allowed free rein it will cleanse the earth of all that is evil, since there is a little evil in each of us you can guess what that would mean. Pendergast trails the thief to the newest, biggest ocean liner which has just left London on it’s maiden voyage. As he reduces his suspect list, he also works with the liners security to foil some card counters and investigate some murders. The thief has unleashed an evil on the ship, which at one point even threatens to turn our hero evil. Ultimately through force of will Pendergast is able to use the evil for good and save the day and retain his goodness.

The physical parts of the book are pretty good, but the spiritual struggle comes off as an afterthought to me. RRr