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  <id>2238960</id>
  <name><![CDATA[Mike Hall]]></name>
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    <about><![CDATA[]]></about>
    <gender>M</gender>
    <location>Mcpherson, KS</location>
    <website><![CDATA[http://mysterylad.xanga.com/]]></website>
    <joined>04/2009</joined>
    <last-active>10/2009</last-active>
    <interests><![CDATA[history, science, music, film, comics, martial arts, mythology]]></interests>
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          <updates type="array">
        <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24450.Bait_and_Switch_The_Futile_Pursuit_of_the_American_Dream">Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1257.Barbara_Ehrenreich">Barbara Ehrenreich</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71456681</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167529573s/24450.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:59:14 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/189593.Antiquity_From_the_Birth_of_Sumerian_Civilization_to_the_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire">Antiquity: From the Birth of Sumerian Civilization to the Fall of the Roman Empire (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/26219.Norman_F_Cantor">Norman F. Cantor</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68708203</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172549640s/189593.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:59:06 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2849538.Creepy_Archives_Volume_1">Creepy Archives Volume 1 (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2918850.Shawna_Gore">Shawna Gore</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71456728</link>
    <image_url>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Z57gj9v3L._SL75_.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:22:54 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[The earliest issues of the legendary Creepy Magazine are at long last collected in a lavish hardcover edition...and what a collection it is!  The original magazine-page proportions are maintained, as is the original publication order and format, right down to the inclusion of the famous Warren magaz...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/The%20earliest%20issues%20of%20the%20legendary%20Creepy%20Magazine%20are%20at%20long%20last%20collected%20in%20a%20lavish%20hardcover%20edition...and%20what%20a%20collection%20it%20is!%20%20The%20original%20magazine-page%20proportions%20are%20maintained,%20as%20is%20the%20original%20publication%20order%20and%20format,%20right%20down%20to%20the%20inclusion%20of%20the%20famous%20Warren%20magazine%20in-house%20ads.%20%20No%20fan%20of%20great%20comic%20book%20art%20should%20be%20without%20this%20volume,%20because%20what%20the%20early%20Warren%20stories%20lacked%20in%20literary%20innovation%20(herein%20you'll%20encounter%20the%20to-be-expected%20retinue%20of%20vampires,%20werewolves,%20and%20zombies,%20most%20of%20them%20players%20in%20the%20style%20of%20simplistic%20morality%20play%20previously%20defined%20by%20the%20EC%20horror%20comics%20of%20the%201950s)%20was%20outweighed%20by%20the%20spectacular%20black-and-white%20artwork%20turned%20in%20by%20artistic%20greats%20such%20as%20Reed%20Crandall,%20Frank%20Frazetta,%20Al%20Williamson,%20and%20Alex%20Toth.%20%20Never%20mind%20the%20admittedly%20obscene%20cover%20price:%20%20even%20at%20$50%20a%20book,%20any%20hint%20of%20buyer's%20remorse%20will%20fade%20into%20distant%20memory%20once%20you've%20beheld%20these%20gorgeous%20pages.%20%20This%20is%20a%20series%20I%20fully%20intend%20to%20collect%20in%20its%20entirety,%20and%20yes,%20I'll%20be%20buying%20these%20collected%20editions%20even%20after%20they%20reach%20the%20point%20at%20which%20my%20collection%20of%20the%20original%20magazines%20begins.%20%20The%20reprints%20look%20that%20good.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2880662.This_Land_Is_Their_Land_Reports_from_a_Divided_Nation">This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1257.Barbara_Ehrenreich">Barbara Ehrenreich</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68772035</link>
    <image_url>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ztHOnjeHL._SL75_.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:34:50 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/442587.A_Flame_of_Pure_Fire_Jack_Dempsey_and_the_Roaring_20s">A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/75097.Roger_Kahn">Roger Kahn</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59562913</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174812532s/442587.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:10:14 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Sport provides an interesting window into history.  In examining a culture’s perspective on sport and the athletes who make sport their business, the reader often gleans key insights into that culture’s values, passions, and wish-fulfillment fantasies.  In A Flame of Pure Fire, Roger Kahn not on...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Sport%20provides%20an%20interesting%20window%20into%20history.%20%20In%20examining%20a%20culture%E2%80%99s%20perspective%20on%20sport%20and%20the%20athletes%20who%20make%20sport%20their%20business,%20the%20reader%20often%20gleans%20key%20insights%20into%20that%20culture%E2%80%99s%20values,%20passions,%20and%20wish-fulfillment%20fantasies.%20%20In%20A%20Flame%20of%20Pure%20Fire,%20Roger%20Kahn%20not%20only%20presents%20the%20definitive%20biography%20of%20Jack%20Dempsey%20(heavyweight%20champion%20of%20the%20world%20from%201919-1926,%20and%20arguably%20one%20of%20boxing%E2%80%99s%20ten%20all-time%20greatest),%20he%20paints%20a%20vibrant,%20detailed%20portrait%20of%20America%20in%20the%20years%20between%20World%20War%20I%20and%20the%20onset%20of%20the%20Great%20Depression.%20%20This%20is%20not%20just%20another%20boxing%20narrative:%20%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20window%20into%20another%20time,%20and%20in%20writing%20this%20wonderful%20book,%20Kahn%20firmly%20ensconces%20himself%20not%20only%20in%20the%20pantheon%20of%20great%20boxing%20writers,%20but%20also%20among%20the%20ranks%20of%20the%20finest%20chroniclers%20of%20the%20early%2020th%20century.%20%20One%20needn%E2%80%99t%20be%20a%20boxing%20fan%20to%20find%20this%20book%20fascinating%20and%20entertaining%E2%80%A6it%20is%20simply%20that%20good.%20%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10776.Green_Hills_of_Africa">Green Hills of Africa (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1455.Ernest_Hemingway">Ernest Hemingway</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59286802</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166333990s/10776.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:42:52 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[What can be written about Ernest Hemingway that hasn't already been written?<br/><br/>If you are already well-versed in the great novels of Ernest Hemingway, do not crack the covers of Green Hills of Africa expecting more of the same.  While most of Hemingway's work draws on his life and experienc...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/What%20can%20be%20written%20about%20Ernest%20Hemingway%20that%20hasn't%20already%20been%20written%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AIf%20you%20are%20already%20well-versed%20in%20the%20great%20novels%20of%20Ernest%20Hemingway,%20do%20not%20crack%20the%20covers%20of%20Green%20Hills%20of%20Africa%20expecting%20more%20of%20the%20same.%20%20While%20most%20of%20Hemingway's%20work%20draws%20on%20his%20life%20and%20experiences%20for%20inspiration%20and%20emotional%20immediacy,%20Green%20Hills%20of%20Africa%20is%20a%20non-fiction%20piece%20that%20does%20more%20than%20draw%20inspiration%20from%20Hemingway's%20life:%20%20it%20is%20a%20chronicle%20of%20his%201933%20African%20hunting%20expedition,%20and%20as%20such%20Hemingway%20the%20man%20is%20central%20to%20the%20book's%20narrative.%20%20However,%20Green%20Hills%20of%20Africa%20is%20far%20from%20being%20merely%20the%20story%20of%20a%20hunting%20trip%20(though%20it%20must%20be%20said%20that%20even%20I,%20a%20reader%20who%20holds%20hunting%20in%20no%20small%20disdain,%20was%20captivated%20by%20the%20drama%20and%20adventure%20in%20Hemingway's%20descriptions%20of%20hunting%20big%20game%20in%20the%20African%20wilderness).%20%20Within%20the%20novel's%20pages,%20Hemingway%20talks%20about%20the%20craft%20of%20writing,%20the%20evolution%20of%20American%20literature,%20and%20the%20destruction%20of%20the%20wilderness%20by%20the%20forces%20of%20modern%20civilization.%20%20Somehow,%20these%20disparate%20threads%20all%20combine%20into%20a%20taut,%20yet%20introspective%20tale%20that%20satisfies%20on%20the%20intellectual%20level%20even%20as%20it%20resonates%20on%20the%20basic,%20primal%20level%20catered%20to%20by%20the%20best%20pulp%20fiction%20of%20the%20period.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 2 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43814.The_Vampire_Lestat">The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7577.Anne_Rice">Anne Rice</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54758350</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170230507s/43814.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:41:35 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[In this second volume of Rice's &quot;Vampire Chronicles,&quot; Rice has clearly realized that the most interesting character in her previous novel, Interview with the Vampire, was not its protagonist, Louis, but its villain, the charming-yet-sinister Lestat.  In reaction to this realization, Rice s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/In%20this%20second%20volume%20of%20Rice's%20%22Vampire%20Chronicles,%22%20Rice%20has%20clearly%20realized%20that%20the%20most%20interesting%20character%20in%20her%20previous%20novel,%20Interview%20with%20the%20Vampire,%20was%20not%20its%20protagonist,%20Louis,%20but%20its%20villain,%20the%20charming-yet-sinister%20Lestat.%20%20In%20reaction%20to%20this%20realization,%20Rice%20shifts%20her%20focus%20to%20the%20titular%20Lestat,%20who%20claims%20that%20the%20previous%20novel%20(told%20from%20Louis'%20perspective)%20is%20riddled%20with%20misinformation%20and%20distortions%20of%20fact.%20%20I've%20heard%20it%20argued%20that%20this%20is%20Rice's%20way%20of%20leaving%20the%20reader%20to%20decide%20whose%20account%20was%20more%20reliable,%20but%20given%20that%20this%20story%20ends%20without%20a%20resolution%20and%20continues%20into%20its%20direct%20sequel%20(Queen%20of%20the%20Damned),%20that%20argument%20holds%20little%20water;%20with%20Lestat's%20tale%20accounting%20for%20two-thirds%20of%20what%20remained%20a%20trilogy%20for%20several%20years,%20it's%20obvious%20that%20Rice%20intended%20Lestat's%20narrative%20to%20be%20viewed%20as%20the%20%22true%22%20narrative.%0D%0A%0D%0AThat%20said,%20the%20real%20truth,%20I%20suspect,%20is%20that%20Interview%20with%20the%20Vampire%20didn't%20lend%20itself%20all%20that%20well%20to%20a%20sequel,%20nor%20did%20Lestat%20as%20previously%20depicted%20stand%20on%20his%20own%20as%20a%20potential%20lead...hence,%20Rice%20turned%20to%20a%20device%20derided%20even%20among%20fans%20of%20lowbrow%20comic%20books,%20retroactive%20continuity:%20%20a%20cheap%20literary%20gambit%20that%20equates%20to%20little%20more%20than%20the%20author%20saying,%20%22No,%20wait...this%20is%20how%20it%20REALLY%20happened!%22%20whenever%20painted%20into%20a%20corner%20(an%20amateurish,%20ham-fisted%20technique%20that%20belongs%20in%20the%20same%20rubbish%20bin%20as%20deus%20ex%20machina).%0D%0A%0D%0AMeandering%20and%20at%20times%20rather%20tedious,%20The%20Vampire%20Lestat%20(like%20all%20of%20Rice's%20books)%20would%20have%20benefitted%20greatly%20from%20the%20presence%20of%20an%20editor.%20%20It%20isn't%20completely%20worthless,%20though:%20%20the%20reinvented%20Lestat%20is,%20as%20vampire%20protagonists%20go,%20a%20compelling%20enough%20figure,%20and%20Rice%20has%20few%20equals%20when%20it%20comes%20to%20capturing%20the%20New%20Orleans%20setting%20of%20which%20she%20is%20so%20fond.%20%20The%20modern%20reader%20must%20also%20remind%20him-%20or%20herself%20that%20when%20this%20book%20was%20written,%20the%20vampire%20romance%20wasn't%20yet%20a%20well-heeled%20genre,%20and%20for%20all%20its%20flaws,%20The%20Vampire%20Lestat%20was%20a%20fairly%20innovative%20work%20for%20its%20time.%20%20Rice%20was%20also%20the%20first%20mainstream%20writer%20to%20give%20fair%20consideration%20to%20gay%20and%2For%20sexually%20ambiguous%20characters,%20and%20that%20does%20mark%20her%20work%20as%20remarkable%20for%20its%20era.%0D%0A%0D%0AHeavy%20on%20atmosphere%20yet%20light%20on%20anything%20approaching%20real%20meaning,%20The%20Vampire%20Lestat%20is%20a%20harmless%20bit%20of%20gothic%20romance.%20%20I%20leave%20it%20to%20the%20reader%20to%20decide%20whether%20that's%20a%20good%20or%20bad%20thing.%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
        <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5055380.Jiu_Jitsu_University">Jiu-Jitsu University (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2096102.Saulo_Ribeiro">Saulo Ribeiro</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58574688</link>
    <image_url>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21LEqfFdDuL._SL75_.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">2238960</id>
  <name>Mike Hall</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240228831p2/2238960.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2238960-mike-hall</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:43:26 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Jiu-Jitsu University is a must-read for any serious judo, jiu-jitsu, or Brazilian jiu-jitsu enthusiast:  if you're a neophyte, the book serves as an excellent supplement to your live jiu-jitsu course; if you're a veteran, Jiu-Jitsu University will challenge many of your existing pre-conceptions and ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Jiu-Jitsu%20University%20is%20a%20must-read%20for%20any%20serious%20judo,%20jiu-jitsu,%20or%20Brazilian%20jiu-jitsu%20enthusiast:%20%20if%20you're%20a%20neophyte,%20the%20book%20serves%20as%20an%20excellent%20supplement%20to%20your%20live%20jiu-jitsu%20course;%20if%20you're%20a%20veteran,%20Jiu-Jitsu%20University%20will%20challenge%20many%20of%20your%20existing%20pre-conceptions%20and%20take%20your%20grappling%20to%20a%20new%20level.%20%20Ribeiro%20identifies%20the%20holes%20in%20many%20tricks%20and%20techniques%20that%20we%20old-timers%20hold%20in%20high%20regard%20as%20vital%20fundamentals,%20and%20he%20does%20so%20while%20outlining%20clever,%20competition-tested%20variations%20on%20those%20old%20stand-bys.%20%20He%20also%20outlines%20an%20alternative%20belt%20system%20to%20take%20the%20place%20of%20the%20one%20generally%20accepted%20in%20BJJ%20schools,%20and%20though%20this%20alternative%20belt%20system%20is%20a%20pretty%20bold%20move%20on%20Ribeiro's%20part,%20its%20underlying%20logic%20will%20quickly%20come%20to%20win%20you%20over.%20%20Once%20the%20reader%20overcomes%20the%20initial%20shock%20caused%20by%20the%20book's%20innovative%20approach%20to%20foundational%20jiu-jitsu,%20this%20weighty%20tome's%20value%20will%20be%20immediately%20apparent.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn%20terms%20of%20print%20quality,%20this%20is%20among%20the%20best%20books%20on%20the%20market:%20%20glossy%20pages,%20color%20photographs%20(the%20partners%20demonstrating%20the%20techniques%20are%20wearing%20uniforms%20of%20different%20colors,%20and%20the%20mats%20are%20a%20different%20color%20altogether,%20making%20the%20action%20very%20easy%20to%20follow),%20an%20eye-pleasing%20layout%20that%20employs%20multiple%20camera%20angles%20where%20needed...the%20simple%20fact%20is,%20this%20book%20could%20retail%20for%20literally%20double%20the%20price%20and%20still%20be%20worth%20every%20penny.%0D%0A%0D%0AAptly%20named,%20Jiu-Jitsu%20University%20is%20the%20first%20JJ%2FBJJ%20book%20I've%20encountered%20that%20actually%20passes%20muster%20as%20a%20bone%20fide%20textbook%20on%20the%20subject.%20%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
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