One of the finest break-up songs you will here. This performance has a quicker pace than the recorded version.
Nobody picks like Mark Knopfler and this is his finest song.
*I received this book as a free review copy.*
It is always evident when an author has fun writing a book. It is obvious in Nan Becklean’s debut that she writes with a great amount of love and investment in her story. As a result, you find yourself dragged in.
In a not so distant world the average life expectancy has about doubled. The impact that has on the United States economy and resources is nearly catastrophic. Enter the Heaven program which allows 85 year olds to enter and enjoy the last 10 years of their lives in luxury before mandatory disposal. In the midst of that scenario Becklean weaves romance, longing, redemption and even a bit of a murder mystery.
Becklean has done an admirable job of creating an engrossing story that at the same time takes American excess and the potential danger that it entails to task. Not the best book you will come across but not the worst either.
Frank Schaeffer knows fundamentalism. As the son of Francis Schaeffer he lived in the reactionary, judgmental excesses that is extreme Calvinism. He recounted his break from the religious right in his controversial 2007 memoir Crazy For God.
Now he returns with a look at the dangers of the twin extremes of fundamentalist Christianity and the militant intolerance of the new atheists. Schaeffer skewers both sides brilliantly and although he sometimes pushes the snark factor a little too far he knows from which he speaks. Although pointed he is fair. While he strongly highlights the speciousness of Dawkins (comparing him to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap is a particular highlight) and the caricature that is Hitchins he holds respect for Dennet who refuses to veer into the same realm of disdain. On the other extreme he points out the consumer Christianity of Warren alongside the bizarreness of Lahaye and Jenkins.
In the second part he lays out the real heart of the gospel. This is no middle ground but is instead a third way, the way that Jesus mapped out. It is the way of love. Highly recommended.
The victors of the 74th Hunger Games return and this time they are expected to participate in a winners tour of each of the 12 districts of Panem. However, great unrest exists in the districts as Katniss Everdeen has become more than just a winner. Now, she is a symbol of resistance.
Collins has created an indelible character in Everdeen and, despite the periodic diversions into teenage female histrionics, this is yet another dystopian tale.
If I could dismantle the Contemporary Christian Music scene and recreate it with music that is truly sacred and means something I would begin with this song. It is, to me, the core of the gospel and the summation of my hope. All will be well and all manner of things will be well.
It is a shame the Ian Curtis’ depression was so severe he was never able to live to see how influential this song would become.
Despite Vanilla Ice’s best efforts he could not kill off the greatness that is this song by two of the great rock vocalists of all time.
In 2002, when Nolan Richardson gave his famous press conference that blended elements of US race history with a call to buy out his contract at the University of Arkansas I was one of many who thought that it was time for him to go. Granted, I did not know the entire story at the time and the debacle that has been Arkansas Razorback basketball has caused a deep sense of regret that the greatest figure in Arkansas sports history does not still roam the sidelines.
In this book, Bradburn recounts Nolan’s rise from the poorest neighborhood in El Paso to arguably the most important black collegiate basketball coach of all time. He does a remarkable job of placing Nolan’s meltdown into its full context. Nolan does not escape without any scars in this telling but the greatest damage is done to the legacy of Frank Broyles, the most powerful Athletic Director in the country who could not tolerate any coach being more popular or successful than he was.
That Nolan’s story ended at the University of Arkansas so poorly is a sad testament to the bitter specter of racism that has plagued this nation for far too long. Nolan was a trailblazer in many ways. How sad that he is not still coaching my favorite team. Arkansas basketball might never regain the prominence that he led them to.
If you are on the lookout for a highly suspenseful, action packed thrill ride then look no further than this debut novel, the first of two to come out by Patrick Lee. Travis Chase is trying to pick up the pieces of his life after serving the past 18 years in prison. The former police officer finds himself deep in the Alaskan wilderness pondering whether or not to return home to Minnesota or stay secluded. Stumbling upon the downed wreckage of a jumbo airliner he discovers the body of the First Lady of the United States. However, what he finds is nowhere near as shocking as what has gone missing. Unless he can find it and stop the cataclysmic chain of events that have been set in motion the world will never be the same again.
Mixing the best of thriller writing with elements of Science Fiction this is a novel not to be missed.