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By Vick Mickunas
| Thursday, August 21, 2008, 08:35 PM
For many years I have tried to wrap my mind around the issue of the gullibility of many American voters. When the manipulation often seems so obvious I ask myself “JUST HOW STUPID ARE WE?”
As the battle between Obama and McCain devolves into a Louisiana Swamp Match I have found a book that attempts to answer my eternal question. JUST HOW STUPID ARE WE-Facing the Truth About the American Voter (Basic Books) by Rick Shenkman reveals some incredible factoids about how dumb we are today and how we have always been consistently stupid voters. Exasperating? Yes! But also strangely refreshing?
Voters act like the stock market-unpredictable-contrarian-absurd! I feel better now as I watch the sheep being led about by their noses. That, would be us.
Vick Mickunas
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politicked
By Vick Mickunas
| Wednesday, August 20, 2008, 05:06 PM
One of my favorite books from last year has just come out in paperback. It is getting the recognition it deserves. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction last year. Here’s what I said about it in my year-end round-up:
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”(Riverhead) by Junot Diaz. This story bounces across the pages. Oscar is intelligent, overweight and obsessed. He’s a Dominican kid living in New Jersey with his comic books and a fantasy of one day finding the woman of his dreams. The action shifts to the Dominican Republic, where Oscar becomes enamored with a dangerous female. This inspirational tragedy unfolds with diabolical precision among astonishing footnotes.
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confessions of a galley slave
By Vick Mickunas
| Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 08:01 PM
The film maker/pundit/author/gadfly/slash/obnoxious guy Michael Moore will publish his “Election Guide” next week.
Here’s a sneak peak:
The back cover has a quote from Republican congressman Tom Davis of Virginia. He says “the Republican brand in in the trash can. If we were dog food, they’d take us off the shelf.”
Moore says “Which begs the question: how many Democrats does it take to lose the most winnable election in American history?”
Moore presents ten presidential decrees for his first ten days. “Mr. Obama, here are ten good ideas you can announce for each of your first ten days in office. (Moore presents a list and the reasons for each decision. I’ll give you the ideas. You’ll need to pick up the book for the reasons).
Bring back the draft.
Anyone who tries to make a profit from healthcare will be arrested.
Ban high fructose corn syrup.
The American people will no longer pay more taxes than the French do.
Ban all commercials in movie theaters.
Defeat Al Qaeda and the next generation of America-haters by building wells.
From now on, when you dial 4-1-1, you will be talking to someone who lives in your town.
Make Social Security solvent until the 22nd century by having the rich pay their fair share.
Update the pledge of Allegiance.
Free HBO for everyone!
Continue reading "Michael Moore’s Election Guide 2008"...
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politicked
By Vick Mickunas
| Monday, August 18, 2008, 08:09 PM
Brad Meltzer’s new novel, THE BOOK OF LIES (Grand Central) will be released on September 2. I just got a copy today in the mail. Then FedEx came with another copy. So, I thought; I should have a contest and give away this extra copy? Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Here’s a teaser about the book from the inside cover:
“In chapter four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history…
Does that pique your interest? I will mail this extra copy of the book to one person who posts a comment in the comments section of this blog post. Here’s what I ask you to do:
Barack Obama and John McCain are busy trying to select their vice-presidential running mates. I want you to comment on who they should pick and why? You can comment on Obama, McCain or both tickets. I will choose the one commenter to receive the book who impresses me the most with her/his comments. Witty comments are good. Intelligent comments will impress me. Clever ones. Funny ones. Dead serious ones. I will judge which one is the winner. So impress me. This contest will end when one or the other candidate announces his choice.
Will McCain anounce his VP choice in Dayton? Some sources seem to think so:
“Politico’s Mike Allen appears to confirm what many already suspected — Sen. John McCain will announce his running mate Aug. 29 — the day after the Democratic National Convention ends, as well as McCain’s birthday — in Dayton, Ohio. According to Allen, the McCain campaign hopes to hold a large rally of up to 10,000 people for the announcement in Dayton, with another appearance with the vice presidential pick in Pennsylvania following soon after.”
Leave a comment. You might win the book. I’ll e-mail the winner so that I can arrange to mail them the book.
Oh, and that reminds me of a Brad Meltzer story……
Continue reading "win the new book by Brad Meltzer"...
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looks good on paper
By Vick Mickunas
| Sunday, August 17, 2008, 03:00 PM
THE TURNAROUND by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)
George Pelecanos starts his latest novel, “The Turnaround,” in 1972. Alex Pappas is thumbing a ride to work at his father’s diner in Washington, D.C.
Alex sees The Rolling Stones on their 1972 concert tour. The opening act is Stevie Wonder.
In 1972, I hitchhiked from Des Moines to Knoxville, Tenn., to catch that same tour. Pelecanos had me right there.
This nostalgia trip ends suddenly when Pelecanos brings us to the scene of a crime. Alex rides along in a car with two of his friends. They decide to drive into a black neighborhood and do something incredibly stupid. The three white youths encounter three black youths along the road, and an ugly racial incident occurs.
In the chaos that ensues we are not quite sure what happens. Somebody pulls a gun. A boy dies. Another suffers a horrific injury. That nostalgic sense of 1972 fades into the rear-view mirror like some hideous dream.
The remainder of “The Turnaround” occurs in the present day. Alex is 35 years older and he runs his father’s diner now. One of his sons has recently been killed in Iraq. Alex takes his leftover desserts to the VA Hospital for the vets who are there recovering from their wounds.
“The Turnaround” presents issues that are vital to Pelecanos, who told me that “Alex is probably the most autobiographical character I’ve ever written.”
The book is dedicated to a family friend who died in Iraq. The author’s father once owned a diner in D.C.
He explained: “I’ve been to the VA Hospital here in D.C. I’ve talked to a lot of veterans who have been in previous wars including the first Gulf War. They get forgotten. These people, unless we keep an eye on the ball and just keep talking about this, will be in a sense forgotten, too, because we’ll be on to the next war and the focus will be on that. But they’ve got to live their lives. So we have to really make sure we keep thinking about them.”
While he is at the hospital, Alex encounters a man who recognizes him. He is one of the fellows who was involved in that tragic incident.
“The Turnaround” presents an object lesson in the power of redemption and the importance of how a person is raised. Pelecanos believes that “anybody who is who they are got there for a reason.”
Pelecanos wrote for the popular TV series “The Wire.” He told me about his latest project.
“I wrote for a year on this show called ‘The Pacific.’ … We follow a group of Marines from the beginning of the war all the way through all the island campaigns to the end. That’s going to be on HBO in 2010. I wrote a couple of hours of that.
“It’s produced by (Steven) Spielberg and (Tom) Hanks. It’s sort of a sequel to “Band of Brothers.”
For Pelecanos, it’s deeply personal. He said: “I did it for my father.”
My interview with Pelecanos felt deeply personal too. Like Pelecanos, I had a father who fought in the Pacific with the Marines. This book resonated with me on many different levels.
Vick mickunas
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confessions of a galley slave
By Vick Mickunas
| Saturday, August 16, 2008, 12:33 PM
Spinmeisters on the hard right are up to their old tricks again. Dr. Jerome Corsi,the author of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry has scribbled another toxic diatribe in an attempt to blackball the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama.
The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality is already the number one book over at Amazon.com. But Senator John McCain might have accidentally stuck his foot in his mouth and into the tar. Here’s more from the LA Times:
Continue reading "The Swift Boating of Barack Obama"...
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politicked
By Vick Mickunas
| Friday, August 15, 2008, 01:02 PM
Audiobooks are a growing segment in publishing. We lead busy lives. Audiobooks are perfect for those long commutes. They are also ideal when a book just won’t work, in the bathtub, at work, or walking in the rain.
I just finished the audio version of THE TURNAROUND by George Pelecanos (Hachette Audio). I read the book first and I liked it so much that I decided to listen to the audio version to see how that might enhance the pleasure I had already derived from Pelecanos in print.
The book begins in 1972 in Washington, D.C. Some teenagers are enjoying their summer, listening to music, smoking weed, going to concerts. Then they make a foolish decision. A racial incident occurs. When it is over, one boy is dead, another disfigured.
Fast forward to the present and Pelecanos shows us how that reckless moment changed the lives of the boys who were there. This is powerful stuff and Pelecanos cranks up the tension and keeps the criminals slithering along, waiting for their opportunity.
Pelecanos wrote for the highly regarded HBO series THE WIRE. The audiobook is narrated splendidly by Dion Graham who appeared on THE WIRE.
Continue reading "hot new audiobooks"...
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