Russell Atkinson's Blog, page 92
June 2, 2016
North Korea endorses Trump
I’m really independent and not very political, but I think this Reuters news bit is worth contemplating and hasn’t made it to any news outlets I regularly follow:
North Korea endorses Trump for president
North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as “a prescient presidential candidate” who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North.
A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state’s mouthpieces, described Trump as a “wise politician” and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
June 1, 2016
Tell Me Where It Hurts by Nick Trout
Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon by Nick Trout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you’re a pet lover or would-be vet or just someone who enjoys a wry and witty account of someone else’s workday, you’ll enjoy this book. I can’t quite push it to five stars, but I’m glad I hung in through a few of the rocky spots. Trout writes well and is obviously a very experienced and talented veterinary surgeon. Other reviewers invariably compare him to James Herriot and his All Creatures Great and Small, usually to ill effect. I believe that’s unfair to Trout, who writes about his modern day urban pet practice, which is in no way comparable to the rural farm practice of the 1930s in northern England. I tend to think that the negative comments reflect a nostalgia for a simpler time rather than a critique of the writing itself.
Trout does spout a bit too much of his personal philosophy at times and I tend to think he is too full of himself. I sense some false modesty in his writing, too, but there are many great stories, both humorous and heart-warming to make the book well worth reading. Trout is English but practices in Boston. I’m a bit curious how the decision to stay in the United States to practice came about and he doesn’t really explain it. I listened to it on CDs. The British actor did a very good job conveying the smarmy wit and still was able to switch to a convincing serious tone when the content required it. He even did American women’s accents and voices creditably, if not perfectly.
May 29, 2016
May 26, 2016
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In general this was an engaging read. It takes a while before you know where it’s going, but there’s a murder mystery waiting for you if you have the patience for it. The central character is Patrick, a Welsh lad with Asperger’s Syndrome, that is, autistic but supposedly high-functioning. He has a fascination with death and is driven to find out why his father died. We find him in a dissection room with a group of pre-med students. As expected, he’s the one to have the critical insight, although the average reader will have it figured out at least 50 pages before he does.
I suspect that most of the reviews and interest in this book will focus on the Asperger’s aspect. Frankly, I’m a bit tired of that syndrome. It’s become the affliction du jour for movies, books, TV, and even video games (The Big Short, The Bridge, The Rosie Project, Cole Phelps, among others). I’m afraid that with a severely autistic close relative, I don’t find it amusing. The portrayal of it in this book is wildly inaccurate. Even severely autistic (i.e. non-Asperger’s) people Patrick’s age have better social skills and awareness of others than Patrick and true Asperger’s sufferers are much better, i.e. more normal, than that. He’s an insensitive caricature at best. If you can set aside the insulting portrayal, the plot is interesting if far-fetched and the writing style is very readable. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Welsh countryside, although there wasn’t a great deal of that. I have more than a little Welsh blood in me, but I’ve never been there. I did have to look up a few Britishisms like Marmite and Vladivar. Another thing I liked about the book was the absence of violence, sadism, and excessive foul language, although be prepared for a good dose of gore in the dissection room.
May 25, 2016
May 20, 2016
Baby Come Back
Here’s a video from a fellow amateur guitarist I follow on YouTube:
May 19, 2016
Behead Me will be 99¢ on Saturday and Sunday
If you’ve been waiting for a bargain price to download the latest Cliff Knowles novel, Behead Me, this weekend is your chance. It will be 99¢ for those two days (and in the UK £.99).
May 16, 2016
Our Ignorant Newsies – Lester Holt edition
NBC news today had a story about food trucks for dogs. It specialized in treats, very similar in appearance to ice cream sundaes. Lester Holt, the anchor, ended the piece by saying that everyone loves ice cream trucks and it’s good to know that “there’s never one far away.” Hmm think about that. So if I’m in San Francisco, there’s never one far away, like in Miami or New York. Ever? I think he must be mistaken. What he no doubt meant was there’s always one nearby, or, more precisely, there’s always one not far away. That’s not the same thing.
This mistake is an example of the misplaced negative. Some thinks that “never” means the same thing as “always not,” which is generally true when both the “always” the “not” are referring to time. However, here, the “not” refers to something different – distance – not time. This mistake is most commonly made by people who just aren’t very smart. They don’t understand the logic of what they are saying. I have to admit, though, that it sounds right if you aren’t paying close attention. It slipped right by me the first time and I noticed it only because my wife scoffed when he said it. Just because the listener can understand what you mean doesn’t mean that it’s okay. He’s the primary news anchor of a major network, for Pete’s sake. He should be able to use proper grammar and pronounce words right, but then Dan Rather did okay for himself when he couldn’t do either. One hopes that such iconic figures would serve as positive examples for our youth. Fat chance.
On an unrelated note, the local news reporter who came on right after with a breaking story about a shootout on the highway said the police were there looking for gun casings. Hmm, again. I’ve never seen a gun casing. What does it look like? Might you mean shell casings? Then she repeatedly said that one of the cars involved was a Jagwire. Yes, Jagwire, not Jaguar. Sigh.
May 13, 2016
Life imitates art – Headless body found
Headless body found in pickup truck
http://www.khou.com/news/crime/headless-body-found-in-brazoria-county/189927334
Somebody’s been reading Behead Me.
May 12, 2016
Nominate Behead Me for a ReadFreely award
Hey, Cliff Knowles fans,
My latest Cliff Knowles Mystery, Behead Me, has been very popular, and based on several early reviews, the best-written book of the series. If you liked it, please nominate it for a ReadFreely award using the form below.
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