Rockstar Remix by N.E.R.D.

This is really more of a test run to see if I can get a video embedded into a post.  If it works, I hope you enjoy the video.  It's my favorite N.E.R.D song, at least my favorite remix of the song.

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Hercule Poirot is en route from Calais to Nice on the Blue Train when he finds himself as the center of a vexing crime. A young American woman, Ruth Van Aldin Kettering, is found brutally murdered on board the train. The killer is still at large, and it is up to Poirot to pick him or her out among a cast of suspicious characters. Among them are Ruth's husband, Derrek Kettering, to whom she is unhappily marries, and an exotic dancer with a taste for a man like Derek.

As he pursues the killer, Poirot encounters several passengers with a keen interest in a large, legendary ruby that Ruth possessed, a gift from her wealthy father. It's a race against the clock for the charming detective...

Hercule Poirot is once again the star of this book, and I must say he was easier to take this time around. I think it helped that the story is told from a few different arenas and he isn't on every page. There is something endearing about him when I don't have to listen to him pontificate on every page.

The best part of this book was another strong female character that reminded me of Anne Beddingfeld and Virginia Revel. Katherine Grey is a wonderfully strong woman who keeps her own counsel and has a sharper eye and mind than most give her credit for. I have to give Agatha credit for being able to write sharp, intelligent women who would feel at home in 2010 solving crimes all by themselves.

The other character I really liked was that of Derek Kettering, the murdered woman's philandering husband. There is something so innocent and naive about him that you can't help but like him, so when he starts to feel something for Katherine you can't help but cheer them on.

Now that I got the character part out of the way, I'm going to say a quick word about the mystery itself, which is the whole point of the book. After reading The Big Four, I'm so excited to be reading a book that is not only well written but has a mystery that is so beautifully crafted that I couldn't help but smile the entire time I'm reading the book. I will recommend this book to anyone who loves a well crafted, murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I read this for my own personal self challenge as well as the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 and the Typically British Reading Challenge both of which are hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

The Dreyfus Affair by Peter Lefcourt

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Consider the possibilities: In the middle of a pennant race, a team's star shortstop falls in love with his second baseman. Which is exactly what happens to Randy Dreyfus, the best-hitting, best-fielding, best-looking, and most happily married young shortstop in the major leagues.

Now I'm gong to have to admit that this is a reread, probably for the 10th or 11th time by now and I still love it every time I read it. I'm actually still waiting for the movie to come since Ben Affleck bought the movie rights to it years ago. So Ben if you are reading this, please get to making this movie.

Randy is a lot like a few friends of mine, other than they aren't rich and famous. He is a guy who is living his life and having to deal with an issue he never really took the time to look at before. Not until he started having odd feelings about his second baseman D.J. who also happens to be black. He is a guy who thought he had everything you could want in life, a happy if bland marriage, two kids, a successful career, and admiration from thousands of kids that wanted to grow up and be just like him. How little he knew of himself.

This is a book about discovery, about finding out who you really are and accepting it. It's told with a lot of humor and wit and will have most readers laughing at loud, and not always where you think the laughs would come from. Randy's conversations with the shrink he starts to go to because he can't understand why this is happening to him and the shy, awkward why he handles D.J. at first will have you smiling and remembering what it's like to be in his shoes. Who doesn't remember the first time they really, truly fell in love and how excited and scared it made you feel.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a good love story with a happy ending for everyone involved. I read this for the GLBT Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Amanda.

January GLBT Mini-Challenge: Why Reading GLBT Works Are Important To Me

This month's mini-challenge for the GLBT Reading Challenge 2010 is pretty simple actually. The challenge is to write one or two paragraphs on why this challenge or issue is important to us. Of course just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy to put into words.

I've been debating with myself what to say and how to say it every since I signed up for the challenge. To be quite honest I almost didn't sign up for it. I kept on thinking to myself, what if some of my readers are turned off by it, especially some of those I've come to like and respect. What if those same readers decide to never come back, how would I fell about it? After all this thinking and worrying, I remembered something. I dealt with these issues years ago, back in high school actually, so why am I worried about it now? I've dealt with rejection before and it didn't break me, what made me think I couldn't deal with it now?

I guess I still haven't answered the question though have I? I've always know I was gay. My childhood crushes were always on boys in my class or celebrities like Rick Astely (don't judge). I never liked a girl for anything than as a friend. I still did things that the typical boy does; climbed trees, raced bikes, joined Cub Scouts, went camping, played with He-Man and G.I. Joes, and had a thoroughly good time getting filthy in the mud. Doing all those "normal" activities never changed who I was, who I was afraid to be.

Skip ahead to when I was 12, this is where I really start to answer the question. This was the age I really started to deal with it and what it would mean for me. I don't come from a religious home but I have always gone to church with neighbors or friends. I have always felt that God was there and looking out for me, that he loved me and I loved him. That was the problem for me. I grew up being told that if you are gay you are going to Hell and that God doesn't love you. Why would any 12 year old want to go to Hell? So for the next few years I would pray to die in my sleep. That if my being gay was wrong, let me die. I didn't want to live in sin. I didn't want God to hate me. I wanted to be just like everyone else. I even went as far as doing something a lot of gay youth still do, I contemplated killing myself. Can you imagine being so scared of who you are that at the age of 13 you would even think of ending your own life?

Thankfully, I never even attempted it. After a few years of this I started to realize something, God loved me no matter who I am because he created me as is. I realized that after all those years of praying, going to church, and talking to God that I had my answer, that I was loved no matter who I ended up loving myself. I started to come out when I was a Sophomore in high school to a few friends and adults that I trusted, by the time I was in college I was completely out though I never made a point of telling people about it. Being gay is a small part of who I am, it doesn't identify me or label me as a person. I feel no guilt or shame for it, because then I would be ashamed of myself and I'm proud of who I am. I have turned into a man that I can be proud of.

Here is my point, I want those young men and women who are now in the position I was in to know that they are not alone. That there are millions of us who went through the same turmoil and felt the same conflicted emotions they are feeling now. That it is OK for them to embrace who they are and love themselves the way they are loved by their family, friends, and God. I don't want one more gay youth to even think about committing suicide the way so many already have. If I can even help one person by showing them that they will survive, that the pain will go away, and that they are special and loved, then losing every follower I have will be worth it.

Now with the heavy part out of the way I want to say something about the books I will be reading for this challenge. In high school I would go to the library and check out every book I could find that dealt with gay characters or being gay. For the most part they were pretty depressing, Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet, Maurice by E.M. Forster being a few of them. They depicted, for the most part, doomed or failed relationships and unhappy lives. They all painted a pretty bleak picture of what I had to look forward to.

So for this challenge the majority of books I read will be the gay equivalent of chick lit. They will be light, romantic comedies that always end well and where the guy always gets the even cuter guy. Now I may throw in a few paranormal/horror and fantasy books in for good measure, we'll see.

Now I know I've written way more than the challenge called for so I will end this here. I wish you all happy reading and I look forward to discussing the books I read for this challenge with you.

Favorite Fictional Characters --- The Thundercats

I'm not feeling well today and for some reason when I'm sick my brain reverts back to my childhood, so here I am blogging about one of my favorite cartoons and it's characters. Growing up I absolutely loved this cartoon. It was a combination of fantasy, scifi, and action; all of which seems like manna from Heaven to a adolescent boy.

The show chronicled, for 4 seasons, the struggles the Thundercats went through after fleeing their home world of Thundera after it was destroyed. Ten years after that destruction they landed on Third Earth where they attempted to rebuild their lives. They were followed there by the evil mutants who were responsible for the destruction of their home world.

When I see DVD collections or watch snippets on youtube, I'm instantly transported back to those years when if I was sick I had my mom there to take care of me. I would curl up on the couch and eat poached eggs (which I don't miss) or soup and crackers. I may just have to relive that aspect of my youth today.

Lion-O is the leader, even though he has a child's mind in an adults body due to the fact his stasis pod broke so his body aged while his mind didn't. He control the Sword of Omens and all the power that entails.

Panthro is the chief mechanic and inventor for the group while also being a fierce warrior. He is the oldest of the group and can be counted on to be there when he is needed.

Tygra is the chief architect and builder for the group and has a sense of integrity and calmness about it. I always loved his whip like weapon the most, I wanted one as a kid.

Cheetara is the lone adult female of the group and is the fastest of them all. Like Tygra, she has mental powers that come in handy and cause her problems all at the same time.

WilyKit and WilyKat were the two annoying kids that never failed to get on my nerves. Not sure why but they reminded me of the kids on your block that are so hyper that you get tired of playing with them pretty quickly.

Snarf is the heart and comic relief of the show. He is a cat like creature that helped raise Lion-O and is so odd and different that you can't help but like him. Though I know a lot of people probably disagree with me on this.

My last message to any Hollywood producers reading this post (like that's going to happen) is this, please make this into a live action movie, stressing the word ACTION. If you do make this into a movie, please don't make a comedy out of it. You guys have already destroyed a lot of my childhood favorites, please don't ruin this one.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object-artfully encoded with five symbols-is discovered in the Capital Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation...one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon-a prominent Mason and philanthropist-is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations-all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

The last thing I read before I put the book down was the critic blurbs on the back cover. After reading all of them, including this one from the Library Journal "This masterpiece should be mandatory reading. Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet.", I was left with one rather large question. Did they just read the same book?

Now I'm not saying I didn't like the book, because I did. I found it to be a fast paced, heart pounding romp through our nations' capitol. It's a fun, entertaining read that I'm sure millions are devouring within one or two sittings like I did. That's it though, the book isn't life changing or so brilliantly written that everyone should be required to read it in school rooms.

What I like the most about the book is Robert Langdon, who since The Da Vinci Code, reminds me of a sexless Indiana Jones. A middle aged action hero for the masses, one that appeals to both men and women. He is a fantastic character and I applaud Dan Brown for dreaming him up. he is a welcome addition to the action/thriller genre and I'm glad I've been able to get to know him over three books.

I do have one slight problem with the book and one problem that was a little more serious for me. The first was how much googling I had to do to understand every little fact and nuance in the book. I'm used to that with Dan Brown books, I had to do the same thing with The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Between searches for all the symbols, buildings, and religious references along with all the reading I did on Noetic Science I spent almost as much time online as I did reading the book. I shouldn't blame Dan Brown for this though, I'm like this anytime I read a book that mentions something I'm not already familiar with.

The larger issue for me was how easy and predictable the identity of the villain is. The dust jacket makes Mal'akh sound like the most dangerous foe ever encountered in a thriller, I found him to be a tedious and egotistical brat who's motives really aren't ever explained. Figuring out who he really is, wasn't that hard to do. Figuring out why he takes the horrific actions he does is a little bit harder to pinpoint. The explanations in the book just don't make sense to me. A lot of us have had serious issues with our parents, but I don't know any that go to this length for a sense of revenge that really doesn't make sense. If there is a flaw in the book, it is here.

The other normal issues exist as well; a plot that depends on a lot of coincidences and conjecture, a cast of characters that could be put into any other thriller and feel right at home, and the occasional dialogue that sounds like it's coming out of a encyclopedia or dictionary.

With all that being said, I would still recommend this to anyone who wants a thrilling romp full of action and intrigue.

This will fall under the Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn at Book Chick City.

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Hercule Poirot has had his share of intruders-yet none more peculiar than the emaciated stranger covered in mud who stumbles into the detective's apartment, shout half-crazed warnings about "the Big Four," and dies. But not before plunging Poirot into a crazy netherworld of international intrigue, secret weapons, kidnapped physicists, underground laboratories, hairbreadth escapes, and an employee from a local insane asylum who's all too eager to let the baffles Belgian in on the sinister secret of "the Big Four".

To be honest when I started this book, that is only 198 pages long, I thought it would be a quick read. Unfortunately it took me two days to get through it, simply because I didn't like it.

You already know I'm a huge Christie fan, hence the whole reading all her books in order, so I'm always a little sad when I come across one that I could do without. As you can tell from the synopsis this one had too much going on for such a short book. Each chapter felt more like a short story that was rewritten to go with a bunch of other short stories. The main threat of "the Big Four" which was the sole continuing thread throughout the book just didn't come off as credible. The Big Four are a quartet of super genius criminals bent on world domination. The only problem was that they were boring and one dimensional. It almost reminded me of a rejected plot for a old Charlie Chan movie.

The only redeeming quality for me was the return of Hastings, our narrator from the first few Hercule Poirot books. He always paints Poirot in a light I find more agreeable. Poirot still comes across as egotistical, but somehow Hastings softens that image and makes Poirot more human to me. For this reason alone I'm glad I read the book, I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

This book will fall under two different challenges, other than my own Agatha Christie self challenge, Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010 and Typically British Reading Challenge 2010 both of which are hosted by the wonderful Carolyn of Book Chick City.