Java Davis's Blog, page 27
May 11, 2015
Book Review: Traveling the Two-Lane
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Book Review: Traveling the Two-Lane, Marilyn Berman (5 coffee beans)
it took me a long time to read this book because it was so rich, I often couldn’t absorb more than one or two chapters, or even one page, at a time.
In her 60s, tightly wound, and a life-long closeted lesbian, the author decided to break free of her own shackles and go on an extended road trip. She bought a van, had it retrofitted for the road, and charted a strict itinerary, heading for Alaska. To her credit, Dr. Berman decided it was about the journey rather than the destination. It was about seeing sites, experiencing new things, meeting new people, and reconnecting with old friends. She drove in a somewhat haphazard manner around the United States and Canada for eighteen months, giving the reader insightful descriptions of her travels and what she took with her when she moved on.
Counterbalancing this exceptional travel writing is the author’s remembrances of painful or embarrassing moments in her past that still plagued her. I was rooting for her to feel better about herself, and by the end of the book, I felt that she had reached this. This book is not just a fascinating, wonderful, travel read, it’s also a keeper, because I’m betting that I will want to read it again sometime.
I am grateful to an agent of the author who offered me the opportunity to review this book.
May 8, 2015
I Apologize
To everyone who follows this website, I need to apologize to you. Someone, somewhere, attached a couple of new pages to the site that lead to a website called torture.net, or something like that. I followed one of the links and it definitely goes to a horrid place. If you are on this website, theroadtripwriter.com, I hope you will not see these offensive links, or more particularly, not follow them.
I have contacted my webmaster, who contacted Google. They are aware that these things have been happening to some of their WordPress-based website, and they are working on managing this problem. Until they figure it out, I would advise everyone to take good care of yourselves online.
May 4, 2015
7 Weeks
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7 Weeks
I’m leaving in 7 weeks for an extended road trip. But I’m still writing my next book. Should I commit to finishing my book before I leave, and just work on blogging while I’m on the road? Or should I forget this arbitrary deadline and just work when the mood strikes?
It would be nice if I could create this hard deadline, but not having a boss can sometimes take away your drive to succeed. I’ll keep you posted.
April 30, 2015
Movie Review: Into the Wild
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April 29, 2015
Movie Review: Into the Wild (4 Coffee Beans)
Into the Wild is one of those rare titles where the movie way outstrips the original book by Jon Krakauer. The book seemed almost emotionless, like the author couldn’t decide how he really felt about the story and the young man Chris.
The movie illustrated a great story about a young man whose family sucked, who wanted to escape as far as he could go, which would be Alaska. When I wanted to disappear, and I think it’s true of everyone, I also dreamed of heading to Alaska to lose myself. Chris traipses around the country for a bit, making useful alliances along the way, but never opening his heart to anyone, disappointing people who learn to truly care for him. Finally, he gets to Alaska, with no appropriate clothing, a book of local plant life, and a giant-sized bag of rice. Despite his plant book, he manages to poison himself and die. That information was available before the movie came out, so his death should not act as a spoiler here. He died!
This story of a disaffected youth trying to find freedom rings true for me, and perhaps for other road trippers, as well.
April 27, 2015
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Many of you who follow this blog are from countries far from the United States. You many not know that one of our more famous cities, Baltimore, Maryland, is out of control with rioting, property destruction, and assaulting the police, who are unable to manage the crowds, there are so many people participating in the riots. Buildings and cars are in flames. The mayor of Baltimore authorized authorities to give space to the rioters, and then she ducked out of sight. The cost of Baltimore’s recovery in real dollars will be many, many millions, if not a billion.
The reporters from all the media outlets are afraid to cover the carnage. They’ve also been assaulted. As I write, the governor of the State of Maryland has declared a “state of emergency,” which means he will send in military assistance. This has all been going on for many hours.
How is this helpful to anyone? Many businesses will close their doors permanently because they will not be able to recover financially from the destruction.
Perhaps in the country where you live, you see such things going on, too. No peace, no sanity. I hope you are all doing well today, tonight, tomorrow.
April 26, 2015
Free ebook Triptych ends Monday
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