Jonathan Brett Kennedy's Blog, page 2

Book Update

Yeah, I know I said I would be back next week with a review of The Listener by Robert McCammon, but this website isn’t named “The Ramblings of a Mad Man” for no reason, so…

Last year, I wrote about how my wife and I write a list of books, or genres we want to explore more, and how my better half makes up bingo boards because she’s crafty, and she likes doing stuff. This year, my dumb ass was no less ambitious with the board than last. I told her I wanted to do our regular boards, plus I wanted to do a research specific board we would share. This was my way of ensuring I could still enjoy the books I wanted to read, as well craft the narrative for my half of our co-venture.

This isn’t another “I fucked up” post, as I’m doing quite well with my progress, despite being behind due to unforeseen circumstances. I just wanted to let you know what all I’ve read this year so far, because, again, rambling.

Since the first of the year, I have finished Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (a biography covering the lives of Abraham Lincoln,  William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edwin Bates, and their crazy antics in the White House), Entanglement by M. Orenda (a work of science fiction which is hard to explain in a single sarcastic sentence, but I highly recommend it regardless), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the earth is destroyed, there are only two surviving humans in the entire universe, hijinks ensue), A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton (sent to prison for a crime she didn’t commit, a woman hires a Private Dick without a dick to find the real killer, this hard-boiled mystery brings a breath of fresh of air to a long-stale genre) and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (have you ever wondered what happens to a fat person in a crematory machine? Wonder no longer, and the author goes into Stephen King-levels of description with melting human lard escaping from the newly refloored ovens). I also began listening to Beloved by Toni Morrison, but returned it to the library a third of the way in (simply put, her writing is too far above my understanding to enjoy through audio, so I’m waiting to get a physical copy to try again).

Until next time, enjoy knowing I have ruined your childhood with this meme:

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Update!

After more than a year, I am finally back online (yay!). And, as promised, I will be giving weekly updates to this blog, and to my author page (https://www.facebook.com/JonathanBrettKennedy/). Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report today, but I shall return next week with a review of Robert McCammon’s latest novel, The Listener.

In the meantime, I leave you with this image: [image error]

Batman Villain Rankings.

I’m going to say something extremely controversial.

The Joker sucks. He’s a weak villain whose only allure is that he’s crazy. You know who else is crazy? The Riddler. His compulsion to prove he’s smarter than everyone is the only thing distinguishing him from the rest of the rogues.

I know, right? How dare I rip two of the coolest villains? Who could possibly be cooler? Well, practically anyone. In fact, it takes quite a bit to fall further in my esteem than Joker (I’m looking at you Sewer King).

10. Riddler

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Okay, so I’m not a big fan of his schtick. I’ve known too many people who feel the desire to be right or first, and that’s just fucking annoying. However, if the story works, then his compulsion to be the best and brightest can actually enhance the story (seriously, imagine Riddler as the main villain of The Dark Knight). An example is the Arkham games by Rocksteady. In order to face Riddler, you have to solve riddles, and look for trophies. If you give up, he wins.

Another example is found in my #4.

9. Ra’s al Ghul

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The Demon’s Head is just fucking cool. He’s the leader of a cult-like organization who wishes to restore balance through anarchy.

8. Bane

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Bane’s backstory is tragic. He was raised in a prison, and became medical experiment. It’s pretty fucked up. He escapes, and sets out to become a new crime boss in Gotham (it’s an oversimplification, but you get the point). He is smart enough to know he can’t take Batman down alone, and releases every inmate in Blackgate and Arkham, forcing Batman into a gauntlet of villains. Only once Batman is too weak does Bane break his back.

The problem with Bane really lies in that he’s the Man who broke the Bat. There’s really nowhere else to go.

7. Harley Quinn

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I hate Joker, but Harley makes my list? Of course! Unlike Mistuh J, Harley has depth. She’s in love with an abusive psychopath, is brainwashed into performing atrocious acts of violence, and is a licensed psychiatrist.

6. Black Mask

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He’s a gangster who made a mask out of his mother’s coffin. Creepy, fucked up, and badass all in one.

5. Holiday Killer

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Like Bane, Holiday should remain as a one shot. But regardless, The Long Halloween cemented the character’s status as one of the best villains, and far superior to Calendar Man.

4. Hush

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A killer who knows Bruce Wayne’s secret identity, this is a character with limitless potential, as evidenced by the events after the RIP storyline.

3. Catwoman

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She’s a classic character who has appeared in some classic stories, including Year One and No Man’s Land, and who almost always steals the limelight from Batman.

2. Reaper

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A lot of Reaper was used when creating Mask of the Phantasm, but the Reaper is much cooler. Originally a vigilante who patrolled Gotham before Batman, he’s been silent for more than a decade.

The appeal of the Reaper is he can be anyone. In his three appearances, he’s been different. And that makes him fascinating to me.

1. Penguin

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Another old school character, I have loved this character since childhood. Watching old reruns of the 1960s Batman with my dad, I just found him the most interesting. Then I discovered The Adventures of Batman, vol. 2: featuring the Penguin, and my devotion was solidified.

The Allure of the Cuban Cigar

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That’s me, smoking my very first Cuban Cigar. A dream fulfilled? Yes, and no. 

Ask almost anyone on the street for the best cigars, and they’ll tell you to get Cubans. Ask cigar smokers, and they’ll tell you the best cigars come from Honduras and Nicaragua. Still, they are the forbidden fruit. 

Was the cigar worth the cost (the market price was $14)? Sure. I enjoyed every one of them that I purchased, but I’ll stick with my Mark Twains.

New Year, New Me BS Post

As all two of you have likely noticed, I do not keep up this page nearly as often as I should. The same can be said of my author’s page on Facebook. My excuse is I dislike writing on my phone, and that is my only access to the internet at the moment. 

Now, having said that, here is my Resolution to you: until I get internet back in my house, I will update this page, and the FB page, at least once a month, beginning on January 1, 2018. After internet is back, I’ll switch to weekly updates. 

Another update

So far, for research, I’ve read the first volume of Shelby Foote’s Civil War: A Narrative (a fascinating ground-level view of the war) and Grant Goes South by Bruce Catton (a biography which focuses exclusively on his service during the first years of the American Civil War), and I’m currently reading Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson, and listening to Grant by Ron Chernow.  

On the subject of the co-venture, my wife and I are discussing how best to approach them. We have decided to make them compatible, though they can be seen as independent reads. 

That’s all for now.

An Update and a tease for my #SecretProject

Since my last post a lot has happened in my life. My wife quit her job so she could go to school full time. She has since graduated from Cosmetology school, but in the meantime, we had to cut back on expenses (Internet and Netflix were first to go). I’ve been so focused on work, I let my best of intentions of maintaining a blog fall to the wayside.

So what’s new? I’ve abandoned my plans to finish James Clavell’s Asian saga as I found myself actively hating each book more. I have not yet gone on to the second book in Megg Jensen’s Cloud Prophet trilogy (sorry Megg!), but I did finish both The Shining and Pet Sematary (no reviews, except both are well worth a read). 

I have also been maintaining an Author page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/JonathanBrettKennedy/), where I have been teasing a Secret Project. 

To keep this from being a completely useless update, I will reveal to all two of you reading this blog that my Secret Project is a co-venture with my wife, and it is an alternate history set against the backdrop of the Post-bellum era. It will be a five year project the two of us will undertake, and will result in two separate books, as each of us had a different idea while watching a documentary about the American Civil War, which sparked an all night conversation where we discussed mainly the story she will outline, and we will both write. For my idea, we’re doing the opposite. As of now, the two books may, or may not, contradict each other. We’ll have to decide what is best for each narrative. 

Once things get settled down again, I will be back to giving semi-regular updates, reviews, and nonsense. Until then, I offer you this time-traveller I spotted in Fishers, IN.

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Cartoon

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Illustrator unknown, please contact me if you are the creator so that I may properly credit you

Holy Fuckballs!

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If you’ve been following the news or watch SNL, you’ll no doubt be aware that President 45 has surrounded himself with Nazis, Sexists, Homophobes, and Fools. 

President Bannon (different than his puppet President 45) has his agenda (I’ll discuss that in another post, but look at this: 

TIMELINE (for those too lazy, the link is where I obtained my info, and it is a direct copy of what follows, and I have verified most of the info through sources linked below)  

December 29 – President Obama announced sanctions against Russia and ousted Russian diplomats. 

December 29 – Flynn made at least 5 calls to Russian ambassador 

December 30 – Putin announced he will not retaliate invites American children to Kremlin 

December 30 – Trump praised Putin in tweet for his reaction and sucked up to Putin 

January 13: Flynn’s calls to Russia were reported 

***January 14: Pence said oh Flynn just called to tell Russia Merry Christmas (it wasn’t Christmas in Russia) ***

January 15: Pence went on Fox News and said it was Christmas not sanctions that Flynn talked to Russia about (Five times? he called them to say Merry Christmas five times?) 

January 2? – Yates and US Intelligence warned Trump administration that Flynn is lying 

January 30 – Trump fired Yates 

February 13 – Washington Post broke news that Trump has known for weeks that Flynn was lying. Kellyanne confirms that she had been working on this for weeks. That the story (that Flynn called to say Merry Christmas five times) was no longer “sustainable.” 

February 13 – Flynn resigns.

—–

President 45 KNEW that Flynn was lying, Conway knew he was lying, and it’s reasonable to assume others knew as well. 

 This is no longer a Right and Left matter. It’s not a difference of Policy. This is a matter what is best for our country. 

President 45 must go! 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote-A Review

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[image error]I’m a delivery driver by profession. As such, I’m in my car quite a bit, and I use my time in the car to listen to audio books. It’s no problem to finish most stories in a week’s time, and even longer books can be made enjoyable with the proper narrator. 

Before listening to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, my knowledge of the story was Truman Capote wrote it, Audrey Hepburn was in the movie, and Deep Blue Something wrote a song about the film. And my only prior exposure to Capote’s work was the film version of In Cold Blood and the movie Capote (the one with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener). 

So I was untouched, a virgin to the story, unaware of what to expect.

In 1943, our unnamed narrator meets Holly Golightly, a beautiful woman that makes a living from her looks and suckering men into paying for everything. She seems flighty, but underneath, she is quite calculating. Capote wastes no time in letting us know she is not a character to admire, but to detest.

But just as quickly are we made known of this fact do we forget it because Capote’s lyrical sentences help to mold a mythical creature that stands on par with the Sirens that Odysseus encountered. Even those savvy to her ways repeatedly fall under her spell.

Once I finished this story, I had to pull over for a few minutes to absorb everything. The story could have ended no other way, but I still felt a tremendous sadness.

I, too, have fallen under Holly Golightly’s spell.