Movie Reviews ... The Thunderbolt Kid … Momma Stella and my thesis … Best of Luck to DRL ...

Amici:

 

The Day I Saw Your Heart (Mélanie Laurent) a HILARIOUS yet poignant movie ... Justine’s father can’t stop himself from befriending her ex-lovers ... he either plays golf with them or hires them to work at his “schmatta” shop. A non-religious Jew, Eli Dhrey (Michel Blanc) speaks without a filter and often steps on his tongue ... including with Justine’s new boxing beau ... there’s another daughter desperate to adopt a baby, a younger pregnant wife and all the complications of stepchildren/stepwives/step-everything. This was hilarious and very poignant. A TK MUST SEE ...

 

 

 

Home (Isabelle Huppert) ... what happens when you live alongside a highway that’s been out of commission for ten years? For one thing, you get to use it for your own entertainment (floor and skate hockey, bike riding, lounging in the sun, etc.) ... and what happens when they reopen the same highway? Oy vey ... Home is an interesting movie ...

 

 

 

Tales From the Golden Age ... Life under Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania was no picnic ... and these humorous tales are entertaining from the outside ... especially one where some party officials are spinning around a swing carousel all night because, well, orders must be obeyed! It’s a fun watch, in a dark sort of way.

 

 

 

 

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, by William Bryson … This was suggested reading for my thesis, but I enjoyed it way too much to consider it a working read. This was absolutely hilarious. Guys my age have to read it, if not for the laughs, than to appreciate the nostalgia, which is way too much to list here. Here’s one for kids in the 50-60s who couldn’t wait to get an electric football game; the author VERY ACCURATELY lists it as the worst toy ever invented, then proceeds to explain why.

 

It’s a memoir covering the life of the author having grown up in Des Moines during the 1950s … There are so many quotes to take from this book, there’s no way to do them justice, except to read them yourself. A pure delight.

 

Get The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid here:

 

Next week’s book reviews: Go Tell it From the Mountain, James Baldwin (plus some video of him debating William Buckley, Jr. … and Attack in the Library, George Arion (Pro Fusion crime)

 

 

Momma Stella and my thesis ...

 

Me: So, Ma, what did Poppa Tommy do when he wanted to fool around?

 

MS: What the hell are you talkin’ about?

 

Me: You know, when Poppa Tommy wanted some action. What he do? Talk dirty, grab your buns, what?

 

MS: Get the hell out of here.

 

Me: Come on, I’m serious. I need it for my thesis.

 

MS: Go scratch your ass.

 

Me: Tell me. A little amorous action between yous two?

 

MS: Are you out of your mind?

 

Me: I mean it. What he do? I need it for school.

 

MS: What the hell kind of school is this?

 

Me: For my MFA.

 

MS: MF what? What the hell are you writing now, you sick bastid?

 

Me: (laughing) The Stella Family chronicles.

 

MS: The what?

 

Me: The Stella family chronicles.

 

MS: I think I must’ve dropped you on your head or something.

 

Me: I’m serious. Did he, you know, grab a little somethin’ somethin?

 

MS: (death stare) You’re a real moron, you know that?

 

Me: (laughing ... can’t stop laughing)

 

MS: Yeah, go’head, have a stroke now. Your head is all red. You better lose some weight.

 

Me: (still laughing)

 

MS: Stop, you crazy bastid! You’re gonna have a heart attack already!

 

Me: (calms down) So, what then, you grabbed him?

 

MS: I’ll hit you in the head with this telephone in two minutes.

 

Me: Okay, it was all mechanical. You just did it to have kids. No romance.

 

MS: (looks to the ceiling) Oh, Gesu, please help him. Please, Lord.

 

Me: Me and Annie, we have, like, codes when we wanna ... you know.

 

MS: That poor girl. You leave her alone!

 

I love my Mommy!

 

 

 

One of our own is taking a long walk ... Darrel Leo Rome, SNHU MFA graduate, published author, and all around wonderful person, is taking some time to trek the Appalachian trail. We’ve featured some of DLR’s work here on TK, but the man himself is greater than the sum of his parts. Here’s to DRL and his journey.

 

Visit his wonderful blog here:

 

—Knucks

 

Johnny Appleseed (Johnny Strummer) … the theme song from John From Cincinnati, one of two shows David Milch left us hanging with and never finished ... the other being Deadwood ...

 

 

 

Angela Gheorghiu, the ugly one’s latest opera flame, and because my wife LOVES this aria, singing Vissi d'arte from Tosca … sing it, baby …

 

 

Some of yous will recognize this one, O mio babbino caro, from a couple of commercials … but it’s actually from Gianni Schicchi …

 

 

 

And from La Traviata, Sempre Libera …

 

 

The Turner Erotica … Ruby Thursday ... William Weidner ... Baby Shower Pics ... Flyers-Penguins ...

Amici:

 

 

From the author, Bob Begiebing’s page: J. M. W. Turner, the greatest British landscape painter and one of the most revolutionary influences on Western art since the eighteenth century, left upon his death a rich and varied legacy to Britain’s National Gallery, including more than 19,000 sketch studies containing considerable erotica. When John Ruskin, Turner’s greatest supporter at the time, discovered the erotic works, he, with the help of National Gallery Keeper Ralph Wornum, burned most of the material they found offensive. The Turner Erotica follows narrator William James Stillman (the young American artist, Consul to Rome and Crete, friend of Ruskin, and acquaintance of Turner) as he pursues a dangerous quest across Britain, Europe, and New England to discover and save the few remaining studies that through theft and betrayal escaped Ruskin’s outraged fire. In his quest, Stillman enlists the help of Pre-Raphaelite William Rossetti, the liberated American painter Allegra Fullerton, and Sir Richard Burton (the greatest linguist, swordsman, pistol-shot, and covert agent for the British government in the 19th century). Stillman’s obsession with the surviving erotic studies arises out of their potential value to British art history and his deep sense that the studies contain a secret clue to the master’s celebrated body of public work.

 

The above is the background, amici. Here’s TK’s Review: Intrigue abounds in this wonderful biographical novel. Whether Stillman is re-stealing the once stolen remaining Turner sketches that weren’t burned, or trying to find the person(s) the sketches have been given for safekeeping, the Turner Erotica pulls you along the way a classic mystery does—keeping you engaged, interested and anxious to know what comes next. And there's no shortage of politics and/or religous zealotry (the cause of the initial burning--puritanical insanity).

 

When Stillman first re-steals the sketches, it is during a very comical yet tension filled scene, after which he becomes the prime suspect in a private investigation. Stillman goes through some personal hells, including his first wife’s suicide from melancholia and his son’s sudden fall, injury and disease (but there’s even more regarding his personal tragedies). Even after Stillman falls for a younger woman from a wealthy family (who is also an artist and a model), there’s always another obstacle in Stillman’s path to finding peace. Securing the missing Turner sketches becomes secondary several times through this adventure, including after a hired thug tries to steal them back, after which Stillman falls prey to his own jealousy over his beautiful wife ... and, well, no spoilers here, amici. You’ll have to read to find out.

 

TK’s favorite passage: The sketches tracings were then tracings of the eye through memory; the paintings, the synthesis of the particular and the universal. If one was the basis of the old master’s art, the other was the end of the act: the essential reality behind the optical appearances carefully studied through thousands of sketches.

 

A side note for SNHU MFA’ers ... the author mentions the White Mountains of New Hampshire at least 8 times (I was marking as I read and stopped at #8).

 

TK says: The Turner Erotica is a page turner containing all the ingredients necessary for a top notch mystery; an ongoing anxiety dream that keeps you following what happens next. This wonderful novel isn’t just for art enthusiasts ... it’s a great read for everyone.

 

Get The Turner Erotica here:

 

 

 

Visit the author at his website here. And check out the accompanying music selected by TK at the bottom ... from Tosca.

 

 

 

And here’s a wonderful short story from Richard Adams Carey, a devout fan of the Moonachie Blue Team, a terrific mentor and a great writer. Ruby Thursday ...

 

 

 

Check out the other Stones’ song mentioned in Rick’s short story, Ruby Thursday, at the bottom of this post ...

 

 

 

 

The Strength to Wage War, by William Weidner ... a fascinating article about the politics of war during WWII, wherein Great Britain had to hold fast, for political and moral reasons (both on battlefronts and at home), to General Montgomery, Eisenhower chewed glass (more or less) while waiting for dear Monty to break out at Caen, and ultimately he did the politically correct thing and allowed Churchill to have his way (and save Monty). You can find Mr. Weidner's article in the Early Fall '2012 Issue of WWII History.

 

Author William Weidner is a veteran of the U.S. Army. His book Eisenhower AND Montgomery at the Falaise Gap was selected by the Military Writers Society of America as its book of the month in January 2011 and nominated by the group for its 2011 Non-Fiction History Award. He resides in Grand Junction, Colorado.

 

 

Pictures from the First Grandchild’s Baby Shower (is that what they call these things?) … First up: Phat Dad and the expecting Dad ... notice the similarity in body types. 

 

 

Phat Dad and his boyos ...

 

 

Phat Dad and his figlia (daughter to yous nons) ...

 

 

 

Who’s more pregnant, the Phat Dad or Leslie (the Mom)?

 

 

 

That baby Stella girl is gonna have one fat Grandpa, eh?

 

 

 

Wednesday night is Rivalry Night on NBC Sports channel … and this past week it was the Flyers at the Penguins for one of the wildest games I’ve ever seen. What impressed me most was the non-stop tenacity of each team. I’d missed much of the first period (when the game was tied 2-2) but the rest of the game was an incredible display of determination by both teams. The Flyers went up 5-3 at one point and then took back-to-back-to-back penalties and the Penguins capitalized on their power play with two goals, but one was called off because the puck was kicked into the net. Not a problem, they quickly tied the game anyway. I thought the momentum had swung for good until there was a minute or so left in the game and the Flyers managed to put one behind the Penguin’s goalie’s back. Forgetaboutit … so I don’t know all the names yet … I probably couldn’t spell them anyway. What a game!

 

And then Thursday night I had to watch our Rangers blow another game ... oy vey, it’s like rooting for the Bills all over ... but at least now I can ignore baseball … again.

 

Go Bills!

 

—Knucks

 

Speaking of erotica ... the most erotic aria ever ... the wonderful Bryn Terfel as Scarpia, singing the Te Deum, from Tosca ...

 

 ...

 

As a follow-up to Rick’s story up above (and because it’s mentioned in the story), my favorite Stones’ song ... what else? Sympathy for the Devil ...

 

 

Spiral ... Peter Rabe ... The Women on the Sixth Floor ... DRL story from Atticus Review … The Living Legend ...

Amici

 

 

In 2005 the French put together a crime series known over there as Engrenages. Here, on Netflix, it goes by the name Spiral, and it is Magnifique! I watched 3 seasons immediately after sending off the first half of my thesis … it was a cool-down relax period for me and this show kept me intrigued from start to finish (including waking up at 3:00 a.m. to watch the last two episodes of season three before going to work). Wonderful stuff … and here’s the cast:

 

 

 

Caroline Proust: Police Captain Laure Berthaud (TOUGH AS NAILS AND CAN CURSE WITH KNUCKS!). A skilled Paris criminal police officer who leads an investigation group from a territorial division (2nd DPJ), she is known for her energy and tenacity but also for her tough and sometimes borderline methods. Devoted to her work, she is very attached to her men and would do anything to protect them when they make a mistake. While she is quite successful with men, her private life is a mess and she seems unable to build a lasting relationship.

 

Grégory Fitoussi: Assistant Prosecutor Pierre Clément. A young magistrate (AN EXCELLENT CHARACTER; THE DO-GOODER IN A BAD WORLD) with a promising career, he believes in his profession and in the integrity of justice. But his success and his righteousness provoke the hostility of his superior, the powerful Republic Prosecutor of Paris. He is close friends with Captain Berthaud and Judge Roban but also, more surprisingly, with Joséphine Karlsson.

 

Philippe Duclos: Judge François Roban (JAVERT WITH A TWIST). An experienced investigating magistrate (juge d'instruction), solitary and hardworking, he knows all the tricks of his trade. Often reproached for his coldness and even cruelty with suspects and witnesses, he attaches a lot of importance to his independence from the executive powers. But he is aware that his job has nearly destroyed his life and the people he loved.

 

Thierry Godard: Police Lieutenant Gilles "Gilou" Escoffier (GREAT CHARACTER). Berthaud's long-time team member, they are practically family. With methods as borderline as his captain's, they often cover each other to escape disciplinary inquiries. Having difficulties enduring the toughness of his work, he has a long history of drug abuse.

 

Fred Bianconi: Police Lieutenant Frédéric "Tintin" Fromentin (PERFECT CHARACTER FOR THE TEAM DYNAMICS). Responsible and reasonable, good in proceedings, he is the stable element of Berthaud's group. He generally disapproves of his colleagues' methods and therefore is often torn between straying into illegality and betraying his friends.

 

 

 

Audrey Fleurot: Lawyer Joséphine Karlsson. A clever, beautiful (amici, she’s friggin’ GORGEOUS) and highly cynical young lawyer, she is extremely ambitious and always looking for cases that will earn her a maximum of fame and money. She finds it exciting to defend monsters and does not hesitate to cross or double-cross to get what she wants. However, her shady dealings and her hate for police eventually get her into trouble. Freckles galore!

 

 

 

 

The Silent Wall, by Peter Rabe ... what happens here stays here? Never mind Las Vegas, try the town of Forza d’Aguil in Sicilia … Matty Matthews revisits Forza d’Aguil in Sicilia where he was stationed during World War II. He goes in search of a former lover and winds up in a Mafioso abyss. He wants out, but out isn’t so easy … not after he offends a local Mafioso by paying for a bottle of wine … crazy is as crazy does, but Rabe does a magnificent job of building the tension … written is a kind of stream of consciousness that will lead the reader in this absolutely intriguing read to its finish.

 

And, hey, the forward to this book is not too shabby either. This guy over at Stark House Press, Rick Ollerman (who I had the pleasure of having dinner with twice in the White Mountains of New Hampshire) does a great job of making readers want what they’re about to engage. And it’s no surprise to this author how even more debts of gratitude are owed Mr. Ed Gorman (who saved me from crime writing oblivion a few years back). Starkhouse Press rocks!

 

Join Stark House Press today, amici … and check out the Peter Rabe page here.

 

 

The Women on the 6th Floor … a wonderful feel good movie that takes place in France … the aristocracy vs. the workers? Close enough for jazz … wonderful stuff, start to finish. You wanna feel good, watch this flick. My favorite character, of course, was the communist maid ... hilarious.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember this fella? Well, you should. A graduate of the Southern New Hampshire University MFA program, Darren Rome Leo (DRL) is getting some notice. Check out this wonderful short of his at Atticus Review, The Big John River Bridge

 

 

 

Above picture by Shane Remer, another very talented good guy from the SNHU MFA program.

 

Finalmentamia! Bruno in the Hall of Fame ... you might have to be at least 50 to appreciate this, but Bruno Sammartino was a hero when I was a kid (40 years ago, when wrestling was REAL ... okay, so maybe not real, but it didn’t look as dopey as it does today) ... My grandfather used to translate the Italian Bruno spoke each Saturday morning after he was jumped by one of the bad guys while being interviewed by Ray Morgan ... and if George “the Animal” Steele says Bruno was the best ever ... than Bruno was (God damn it)! Never mind Jurassic Park (when dinosaurs ruled the world) ... this was back when eye-talians ruled the world ... Bruno! Bruno! Bruno!

 

 

—Knucks

 

The wife was upset when she learned that Joe Cocker didn’t have some form of MS … not because she’s mean, but because she felt extra love for him thinking he had the disease all hese years (40+ now) … when I told her it was Joe playing the “air guitar” (his form of coming up with a shtick) … she became very angry at him … not me. Uncle Joe Cocker … with a little help from Me Friends (remember it) …

 

 

 

 

Rick Marinick’s CRIME: Inside Out ... the author of Boyos will soon have a radio show ...

Amici:

 

 

 

“The FBI couldn’t catch a cold in a pneumonia ward without a rat.”

 

That remains one of my favorite quotes by a dear friend and a great author, Rick Marinick. If you don’t know Rick’s story, you should check it out—it’s a fascinating one.

 

The long story short, how’s this for a few career twists: a bouncer, a DA’s assistant, a martial arts expert (the kind that actually used it outside of a Dojo and not in front of some mirror), a Massachusetts (Statie) State Trooper and later an armored car robber, for which he eventually served 10 plus years inside (where he earned his BA and an MA in creative writing from the Boston University Prison Education Program). Once Rick was out, he never looked back. He worked on Boston’s big dig while writing one of the best crime novels of our time, Boyos.

 

 

 

He’s an intense guy, extremely disciplined and he’s more than generous. He’s been trying to get me to give up the heavy weights and return to human form for a long time now, but my discipline is not anywhere close to Rick’s. Two thousand sit-ups a day? At this point it’d take me two thousand years to do two thousand sit-ups (maybe three thousand years). Rick can knock that off in an hour.

 

There’s no smoke blowing here, amici. Rick is the real deal; tough as nails and authentic as authentic can be. He’s been featured on the A&E Irish mob series Paddy Whacked (see video at bottom) and he’s been a Boston Globe best-selling author.

 

Check out Rick’s website and the his latest pursuit, a radio show all about crime (how it works and how to prevent crimes from happening to you).

 

Also check out the video on Rick’s site ... then listen to the Podcasts. His first guest is a legend in non-fiction crime writing—T. J. English, who wrote an incredible account of the Irish gang on the West Side of Manhattan, appropriately titled: The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob.

 

I read that book three times when it first came out and will reread it at least once more.

 

Here’s an NPR Podcast interview with Rick:

 

 

Rick has written two crime novels, one of them a legend now in Boston, called Boyos. It is EXTREMELY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED reading for anyone into crime fiction and/or what I’m calling urban literature from now on (because really, who’s gonna stop me?)

 

Here is an interview Rick did with January Magazine from back in the day.

 

Rick’s Youtube channel can be found here:

 

And below is my review of Boyos after it first came out.

 

 

Boyos ... a crime fiction classic. One time short-order cook, junior civil engineer, automobile painter, nightclub bouncer, and “Statie” (a Massachusetts State Trooper), Richard Marinick learned to write in prison. After getting involved “in the life” in South Boston’s underworld, Marinick graduated to armored car heists, and in 1986 “the life” came crashing down on him.

 

He spent more than ten years in prison where he took creative writing courses, as well as earning two honors degrees (BA and MA) through the Boston University Prison Educational System.

 

When released from prison, Marinick worked on Boston’s “Big Dig”, and in his spare time on and off the job, wrote what will one day be regarded as a classic crime novel, Boyos.

 

Boyos is raw and pure magic. It sings the street song in rhythms Marinick no doubt had burned into his being from his years on South Boston’s streets and all the contemplation ten years in prison will provide. A background story that mirrors that of Whitey Bulger (a guy on the FBI’s Most Wanted list prior to 9-11, who managed to fool and make a fool of the entire federal witness protection program, and whose brother was a Massachusetts State Senator and college President), Marinick’s tale of two brothers working under a Bulger-like Irish mobster is riveting from start to finish.

 

It is a song of South Boston’s streets that will stay in your head long after you’ve finished this compelling read and one that rivals the classic, The Friends of Eddie Coyle (the original Boston born masterpiece by George V. Higgins).

 

If you’re familiar with the life of any city’s streets, there won’t be much to guess at in Boyos ... the idea of honor amongst thieves has long been put to rest. Government deals rule ... deals that not only forgive murders already committed, but also those yet to come.

 

The thing that will grip you about Boyos is Marinick’s voice. It is as unique as was Higgins. It is pure. It is brutally honest. It is magic.

 

And if you’re not familiar with a street life of any kind, Boyos is your new Bible, brother. Take it at face value, because the man knows of what he writes.

 

Twenty-eight years ago, Dave Gresham read from The Friends of Eddie Coyle in an English class I had the good sense not to sleep through (I never missed Dave’s classes, but often slept through most of my others to be well-rested for football practice--I was never accused of being the sharpest knife in any drawer). That George V. Higgins classic crime novel changed my life. Along with Dave’s help and encouragement over the years, I stuck to a silly dream and continued to write whenever I had the chance.

 

In an essay for the reader, Marinick describes writing every chance he had while working the Big Dig (after serving more than 10 years for armed robbery). I smiled remembering how I used to try and write scenes to plays between shifts answering phones in a bookmaking office.

 

Marinick’s voice in Boyos, I have to believe, will catch some other wannabe writer’s ear the way Eddie Coyle had caught my ear so long ago ... and maybe it’ll give them a new direction in life the way The Friends of Eddie Coyle eventually gave me one. It certainly rates right up there with the Higgins classic crime novel of life in and around the Boston underworld.

 

If you’re into hardboiled crime fiction, Boyos is one you really shouldn’t pass on people. It will be a classic in the genre. It already is for me.

 

 

Rick’s second crime novel, In For A Pound, also a wonderful read, can be found here:

 

Rick and I, and probably most writers and readers of crime novels and/or urban literature everywhere, share a love of George V. Higgins, especially The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Here’s my tribute to Mr. Higgins over at The Rap Sheet.

 

Hopefully, I’ll get to keep doing tributes to my friend Rick for a long time to come. Rick, along with Dana King and John McFetridge, write the best organized crime novels around, fact.

 

—Knucks

 

Paddy Whacked Part 8 ... with Rick doing some of the narrating ...

 

 

And here’s the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana ...

 

 

Good Kids … The Art of Character … Panhandler Party … Super Bowl Sunday …

Amici:

 

 

Good Kids … one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. A laugh a page, often a laugh a line. Josh and Khadijah are fifteen-year-old friends who inadvertently observe a kiss between their parents; Josh’s father and Khadijah’s mother (although both kids consider Khadijah’s Mom a dad). The kids become close as they attempt to gauge the weight of the kiss; was it the real deal or something inconsequential? They engage in some sleuthing to figure it all out and eventually come to the obvious conclusion: Josh’s Dad and Khadijah’s Mom are having an affair. A lifelong pact is the result: the kids will never cheat on their partners.

 

Alas Josh and Khadijah are parted once the inevitable divorces come to pass; Khadijah moves away with her mother while Josh, still carrying strong feelings for Khadijah, lives with his Mom until he hits the road with his band.

 

Josh is the narrator of this adventure. He’s the musician son of hippy parents, and his pursuit of becoming a rock star nearly materializes, except it doesn’t, leaving him a young man with some residual royalties from overseas, where his music serves as background filler for a few Pepsi commercials, but without a career. Lucky for him, his first big relationship is with a television personality from a very wealthy family. Not necessarily by design, but let’s face it, income problem solved.

 

It is an ironic twist of fate that his father seems to hop from one very wealthy woman to another in his never-ending pursuit of free-time to write essays he never writes, but that’s a fractal (as the author might point out) of the bigger through-line of the novel. There are many such fractals in this hilarious tale, some of which include politics, race relations and the homeless situation. The politics includes some ivory tower liberalism versus libertarian tunnel vision and is funny stuff. And then, of course, there’s the no-cheating pact (sorry, no spoilers) …

 

Josh has a do-gooder sister, Rachel, who goes out of her way to help shelter the homeless. A family discussion between Josh’s family and his fiancée’s family is one of the funniest scenes in the book, especially when Josh’s liberal sister is pitted against Julie’s (Josh’s fiancée) very wealthy libertarian father.

 

Coming of Age for a kid as bright as Josh (Khadijah is no slough either) makes the trip all the more fun for the reader. His dialogue is super sophisticated (think Big Bang Theory), yet believable. The ironies in this tale are wonderfully scripted, as is the clever repartee. Bottom line: you’ll laugh your ass off while visiting Massachusetts, California and some familiar turf (for me) in Greenwich Village. And American nostalgia abounds, including in one of my favorite passages:

 

Khadijah and I were forty minutes late, in the end. Dinner might have been torture, except that Ted and Khadijah turned out to have an artful and mesmerizing couple-shtick, a routine developed unconsciously over years of get-togethers, a performance of themselves. It was like RUN-DMC.

 

And Good Kids is way too much fun to pass on, amici. A very funny read and highly recommended.

 

Get Good Kids here …

 

 

 

 

Speaking of good reads, ESPECIALLY for writers, here’s one by an amico with much vested in this weekend’s football game. David Corbett’s, The Art of Character. I’ve been working with writing text guides for the past two years in an MFA program and none of those have anything on what my brother from another mother has to offer. Visit David’s website and learn more about his work and his literary aid here:

 

Bio: David Corbett worked as a private investigator for fifteen years before becoming the widely acclaimed author of four novels, with short fiction twice chosen for Best American Mystery Stories. He has taught at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, 826 Valencia, Chuck Palahniuk's LitReactor, and the San Francisco Writers' Grotto.

 

Get The Art of Character here …

 

 

Panhandler Party … a friend of my son-in-law’s pulled this one off on the #4 train … funny stuff.

 

 

Breakfast of Champions ...

 

The Super Bowl (to me it’ll always be filled with pasta) … let’s face it, if yous read this far, it’s what yous have no doubt been waiting for, the ugly Knuckster’s lock of the year … or, as it’s known around bookmaking offices everywhere: money in the bank (for bookmakers).

 

The ugly one’s pre-season super bowl picks were the San Fernando 49’ers and the Texas Two-Steppers … but Texas proved themselves pretenders when it counted and were routed by the Foxboro Choketriots … who were then routed by the Wes Cravens of Baltimore (by way of Cleveland) … so where does this all go (yous ask)?

 

The Knuckster still holds a grudge with the San Fernandians over the Alex Smith situation, even though the K-kid has more than proved his worth. This is probably more a dinosaur issue for moi, much like having to accept C.J. Spiller has proven himself over Fred Jackson as the feature running back for my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills, but that doesn’t change the fact that the San Fernandoians would still be playing in the big game if Alex Smith was their QB (just like my Bills would still suck if Jackson was the feature back).

 

So … because I left my heart in Alex Smith’s locker, I’ll be rooting for the Wes Cravens of The Wire fame, because … I want the 49’ers to have to wonder about that mid-season choice they made (even though it will have nothing to do with anything should the Wes Cravens actually beat them) ... and let’s face it, they’re among the elite capitalists of the NFL (5 rings already).

 

This is all very scientific stuff, amici … much the way my wife picks horses (and wins) while I study the Racing Form (and lose).

 

The reality is I’m not particular about who wins this game. Both teams have rings, the 49’ers several, and more important than who wins or loses, the Choketriots have the worst seat on the couch ... for getting there so late ... AGAIN.

 

The Cheatriots are out, so the Bills win.

 

Go either or ...

 

—Knucks

 

And for the Mack the Knife routine the 46’ers (they lose 3 points having Ackers) pulled on Alex Smith ... 

 

And because my wife loves this one ...

 

Book and Movie Reviews … Out of the Bubble ... Big Daddy Book Launch ... So Long Choketriots … Hello Hockey!

Amici:

 

 

 

The Gin Closet … Leslie Jamison’s debut novel is a gritty work that drives the reader across the country in an attempt to solve a family puzzle (or two); a missing daughter/aunt/sister. Matilda (Tilly) was the directionless odd daughter compared to her determined and focused sister, but how (and why) does a mother let a daughter go? The opening scene is a grabber for sure; Stella (not me) finds Lucy (her Grandmother) on the floor—she’s been there for a while. While being cared for, Lucy mentions her missing daughter. Stella is Tilly’s idealistic niece and after learning from her grandmother about a missing daughter, an aunt Stella never knew about, she wants to know more. Stella has been anorexic (definitely not me) and has been on the bad end of a relationships with a married man (pregnancy = abortion). Before her grandmother (Lucy) dies, Stella confronts her overly focused/rigid mother (Dora) about her Mom’s missing sister (Matilda/Tilly), then seeks Matilda to tell her in person (before her missing aunt receives a cold letter from a lawyer) about the death of her mother … and a journey begins.

 

Tilly has lived a dire life. Prostitution and booze haunt her. Prostitution served as a means of survival, the booze as a means to dull her pain. Tilly is also a mother and an extremely perceptive person. In fact, Tilly sums up Stella (and herself) very accurately with these passages:

 

She was looking to help. That much was clear. She wanted to help Haitian kids, her whore aunt, everyone. She was still trying to figure out what her life was becoming, like it already had a shape and all she needed to do was squint hard enough to see it.

 

Every week for months, we got something in the mail from Haitian Smiles, a free calendar or a despairing letter, all of it addressed to Stella by name. I cared about them, too, those smiling and not-smiling thin folks down south; they just didn’t know it.

 

Tilly is a great character and so is Stella. She’s also a very perceptive woman, especially as regards the emptiness in her own life. When the entire process of her abortion is regurgitated for Tilly’s sake, from her married lover’s cowardly wishes to the actual termination procedure, the reader is reminded this is no fairytale being told.

 

There are no spoilers in TK reviews, so you’ll have to read to find out how Stella’s trip to visit an aunt she never knew existed turns out. What she finds upon arrival is an overweight, alcoholic aunt. What she (Stella) learns includes: Tilly’s past prostitution; that she has a cousin, Tilly’s successful son who lives in San Francisco, and things heat up another notch. Read this one, amici. It’s more than worth the price of admission.

 

A novel loaded with gravitas, poetic and gritty, The Gin Closet is an engrossing read start to finish. A TK Very Highly recommended read.—Temporary Knucksline

 

Get the Gin Closet here …

 

 

 

The Book of Ruth ... never mind that Jane Hamilton’s 1988 debut novel won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for best first novel in 1988 and/or that it was an Oprah book club pick in November 1996 (because ALL awards are fugazy). I’m tellin’ yous that this is a terrific read much easier to navigate and comprehend than William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. Told in a brilliant stream of consciousness-like point of view, the author’s protagonist, Ruth, breaks our hearts while making us smile. She also keeps us keenly aware that a tragedy is surely unfolding and it is a payoff no reader will turn away from once the journey begins. A very good read.—Temporary Knucksline

 

Get the Book of Ruth here …

 

 

Blue Valentine ... another GREAT performance by Michelle Williams with an equally GREAT performance by Ryan Gosling. A back and forth (past and current) look at a couple in crisis; one more in love than the other. Poignant and heartbreaking, start to finish. Very highly recommended ... and how Michelle Williams is passed over by the group of Hollywood politicians who decide the nominations for the Academy Awards confirms my belief that ALL awards are 100% horseshit and 0% credible, except she was nominated for this movie along with Gosling (so there, Knucks).  The awards are still fugazy, but her performances are always brilliant.  The last two movies I’ve seen with her, Take This Waltz, and now Blue Valentine, were over the top great performances by her and both casts.

 

 

 

SNHU MFA alums have put together a newsletter and a webpage ... pretty cool beans. Outside the Bubble ... SNHU MFA alum newsletter ...

 

SNHU MFA webpage ...

 

 

 

 

BIG DADDY’S BOOK LAUNCH … Book Launch for THE HARD BOUNCE is TONIGHT! Friday at 6:00pm, at The Mysterious Bookshop in New York, New York, 58 Warren St, New York, New York 10007-1099

 

And if that’s not enough of Big Daddy, there’s more ... N@B NYC 3 will be on Sunday January 27th, at the Shade Bar, 241 Sullivan Street (Corner of W 3rd) 6p.m. Readers include: Big Daddy his own bad self, SJ Rozan, Matthew McBride, Hilary Davidson, Reed Farrel Coleman, Seamus Scanlon, Kathleen Gernert Ryan, Thomas Pluck, Justin Porter, Albert Tucher, and Terrence McCauley.

I still wear the 4X Thug Lit t-shirt Todd sent me a few years back at least once a week … it’s a beautiful thing … even on me.

 

 

 

So Long Choketriots … Did you hear Cosell’s voice raining down over this vast great land of ours? Down Go the Choketriots! Down Go the Choketriots! Down Go the Choketriots!

 

And is it coincidence that Terrell Suggs said the same thing the ugly Knuckster has been saying for years now ... to wit: The Cheatriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since being caught cheating! It’s a fact, look it up. Negate the wins they did manage during their cheating era and they become the best 2nd place finisher of all time.

 

As regards last Sunday, it was a beautiful thing, to say the least … and even though I couldn’t watch it (our dish had been knocked out of line by the roofers and wouldn’t be restored until Monday), I was able to listen to the second half in the Stellamobile on the radio (reading a very good book, The Gin Closet {reviewed above} when the Cheatriots had the ball and occasionally turning up the radio to check the score) … and wasn’t I surprised when the Wes Cravens scored their last TD? I’d thought the score was 21-13 (distracted by the book I was reading) … so when I heard it was 28-13 and not much time left in the game, well, I was all smiles.

 

Bottom line: my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills finish on a great note (no, not beating the Moonachie Green team in the last game of the season) but making room on the couch for the Cheatriots to watch the super bowl! The great “dynasty” team with all the stats (Brady beats Montana’s playoff record, the Cheatriot offense runs a play every 27 seconds, netting them an average of 13 plays more than the rest of the league, they score a gazillion points a game ... bla, bla, bla) ... the bottom line is they can now proudly wear the moniker of “dynasty choke artists” ... that’s right, the Choketriots and their classless Belicheat (and his gimmick offenses) have now FAILED so many times when it counts, is there any reason to take them seriously anymore?

 

Okay, so I’m having some extra fun at their expense. Tom Brady, to my mind, is the best QB ever, hands down. They are an offensive machine, but something is missing that would put them over the top. The other day I listened to a Boston sports reporter with Mike Francessa on the FAN and he believes what I suspect is the case: They play way too soft a schedule and are in way too soft a division to make it past the tougher competition they meet in the playoffs. I’ve always thought that about Moonachie Blue, by the way; that their schedule is what makes them so tough come playoff time. Yes, playing my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills twice a year is a gift. Add two more against a chaotic Moonachie Green team and an up and coming Dolphination squad and that’s 5-6 easy ones every year ... or, what the Boston sports writer called them: “Tomato can” teams you can kick around.

 

Still, in the end, it was refreshing to see that not only does Eli Manning own Giselle’s husband, so does Joe Flacco ...

 

Go Bills!

 

Speaking of the crying game (what the Cheatriots do every time they lose) ... how about that dirty Tom Brady?

 

I say suspend him against all their division rivals and thus better prepare them for their next playoff run ...

 

 

 

Gaboritrik! Hello Hockey! ... Co-worker, Sue Bennett, is responsible for my newfound love of all things hockey ... and author, Dana King, explains the game I’m watching from time to time ... and isn’t it great those crazy SOB’s on skates are back? I’ve watched three games in a row, including two nights ago—the Rangers’ OT win over the Bruins of Cheatriot town ... another beautiful thing (Gaborik ending it with a hat trick) ... how cool was that?

 

So last night it was the Rangers and the Flyers of Freedom Town ... how these guys play back-to-backers is beyond me. The Rangers looked exhausted on the ice last night (and probably were) ... one can only hope the capitalist owners are compensating the workers for breaking down their bodies ...

 

I couldn’t resist.

 

—Knucks

 

For Tom Brady and all his loyal Cheatriot fans ...

 

 

Quintan Lawman, MFA Graduate … DRL (again) ... Book reviews: Townie ... and Rîmaru: The Butcher of Burcharest … Noir Bar in New York event ... More Glib than Profound …

Amici:

The short story below is a wonderful piece Quinton wrote while in prison (Star Island) last summer; a rewrite of Genesis in third person, which he says was a lot of fun. Quinton also has started a blog: Q Continuously. 

Quinton’s thesis is tentatively titled War Puppets. The book takes current events, along with human behavior, and magnifies them. By the time he’s done with the story (at least two more books), he hopes to have an explanation in place as to why so many morons seem to sit on seats of power … how is it we can repeatedly fail to learn from history, and why we have so hard a time with this whole "global society" thing.

Here’s the short Star (Shutter) Island piece Quinton wrote last summer.

Your God

You think this is easy? You think you can just snap your fingers and create Heaven and Earth? Well, if you’re God, you can. You flip the switch, and you get light—good to go. The explosion is awesome, and makes one hell of a bang.

There still isn't much to look at, so you make both night and day by spinning the blue planet hanging in the third slot. Sometimes it faces the sun, and sometimes it doesn’t.

You want more? What are you going to do about it? Right now, you’ve got a spinning ball of water flying through space. Sure, you could create some underwater plants and coral, but what else? You need some land. No problem. You pull, drawing up a massive continent from beneath the water. It’s heavy, but it gives you what you need: another environment in which to create. Not too shabby.

You go on a gardening kick, creating grass, herbs, fruits, and all that good stuff. These change, growing and waning with the seasons you’ve created by making the planets orbit the Sun.

You’re particularly proud of the Sun, but you also like the Moon. You made it orbit the Earth as a little accent piece, like planetary jewelry, to light up the night a little. Earth, by the way, is what you call this third planet. You’re quite pleased with yourself, oh great creator of things.

As you measure them, you’re about four days into creation now, but still bored. So you throw some life into the mix. You think it’s easy to just pop creatures with brains into being? You think wiring a neural network together to form thought is a cake-walk? Again, you’re God. Creating things is kind of your bag. Snap your fingers, and you’ve got birds, fish, and even a few sea mammals. Pretty slick, huh?

You watch this all for a day, really enjoying it. You're not really sure where you came up with the idea of "days" to measure time because you live in all times and all places. You shrug, not worrying about it because you've got an idea brewing in your head.

Day five brings back the boredom. So far, your creations have multiplied, mutated, and grown—and that’s great. Hell, you even smack them with a meteor once just to see what happens. Poor bastards.

This fifth day, however, is special. It’s this day you figure out the ultimate in reality entertainment—humans. You make them interesting, capable of conniving, loving, and fighting. You give them paradise, but you also give them free will. You rub your hands together maniacally as you consider the possibilities.

For fun, you make these humans look a little like you. They’re smaller, and a whole lot less omniscient, but you’re particularly proud of the free will thing. You bless them and send them on their way, warning them of bad apples.

Congrats to Quinton!

Quick follow-up on D.R.L. (lasts week’s graduate profile) ... Darren has a wonderful blog called Thought Vomit (highly recommended reading)  ... and this series of posts ) is flat out terrific.

Townie … Andrew Dubus III … a recommended reading from two of the faculty at Southern New Hampshire University (Ben Nugent & Diane Les Becquets), the son of the great master of the short story permits a look into his troubled upbringing. Specifically, the lack of a father’s guidance, continuously moving from one tough neighborhood to another from a lack of funds, dealing with his initial fear of violence and later conquering it, only to find a need to suppress the anger and urge to violence that ensues. While I was mostly interested in the author’s relationship with his father (which is perhaps why it was suggested reading for me—my thesis deals with father-son issues), much of how he (the author) dealt with his demon’s were too close to home; perhaps a sense of been there, done that. Ultimately, the author’s life experiences, especially those without so many of the distractions many of us consider necessities, was what won this reader over. At one point, he was literally clueless about a baseball game when he first attended one with a friend. He also learned construction the old fashioned way and worked hard to support himself doing odd jobs (learning as he went). How he first fell in love with an Iranian woman and didn’t recognize her love for him was intriguing. By Part III, Townie resonated well, not because of the violence the author had to experience, but because of the father-son relationship, and all of the author’s internal conflicts; conflicts that perhaps made better sense of his world and his place in it.

Get Townie here ... 

Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest … Ion Rîmaru was a Romania serial killer from May of 1970 to May of 1971. The book from Pro Fusion Crime, by Mike Phillips, Stejarel Olaru, Ramona Mitrica (editor) is a well documented tale of not only the killer, his family, and the victims, it also serves as a condemnation of the aftereffects of years of communist rule, whereby citizens were so suspect of authorities, those who admittedly overheard the screams of several of Rîmaru’s victims (since most were attacked in populated buildings/areas), they did nothing. The authors give a detailed historical look at the indifference of those citizens, including actual interviews with a few who heard and/or saw some of Rîmaru’s attacks taking place.

The book might be more intriguing to fans of true crime and/or serial killers, but it did remind me of the horrific murder of Kitty Genovese and how our citizens (in a free society) didn’t bother getting involved.

As for police corruption … the list is too long to document, but the rise of organized crime within the various immigrant neighborhoods of big cities was a direct result of people not trusting the authorities here in America. As for institutionalized corruption, it is more than well-documented throughout American history.

Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest is a fine glimpse into the mind of a notorious serial killer and an intriguing read. It’s great to see an Eastern European publisher of crime make it here. Definitely recommended reading for those with that special interest in psychopathic behavior.

Get Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest here ... 

 Noir Bar in the City … Todd (Big Daddy) Robinson has a debut novel, The Hard Bounce, with Tyrus books. Todd will be reading along with some other big time names in the crime fiction world at the Shade Bar, 241 Sullivan Street (Corner of W 3rd) 6pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013. Those big name readers include, SJ Rozan, Matthew McBride, Hilary Davidson, Reed Farrel Coleman, Seamus Scanlon, Kathleen Gernert Ryan, Thomas Pluck, Justin Porter, Albert Tucher, and Terrence McCauley.

I still wear the 4X Thug Lit t-shirt Todd sent me a few years back at least once a week … it’s a beautiful thing … even on me.

 More Glib than Profound … former high school football mate (we played next to each other on the offensive line one year), Steve Edelblum, writes one of the funniest and informative blogs around these days … after many years of not seeing one another, I met him while with wife #3 in Atlantic City. He was dealing craps and I was throwing money away (one of my last ever gambling fiascos). Then we met again and we shared a few walks along the Point Pleasant boardwalk (post wife #3). Through emails and yapping, I could tell Steve had/has an undeniable gift–writing. Check him out and see what I mean. Balls out funny and always informative.

We used to walk the Boardwalk in Point Pleasant back in the day ... what a pair of nerds.


 —Knucks

 I’ve been giving some wake-up FB shout-outs to my fellow SNHU 4th semesterites this week ... if the ugly one has to get up at 3:15 a.m. to work on his thesis, so (theoretically) do my compatriots ... here’s three of the wake-ups. Yes, I can be one annoying MF’er ...

Manhattan Transfer ... Java Jive



The Andrew Sisters ... Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

 

And Wham ... Wake me up before you Go Go