Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Fall is the best season of all the seasons

Fall replaced summer as my favorite season right around the time I went to college. Summers were hot, boring, and filled with days painting fences at the local high school. Autumns were cool, exciting, and filled with days learning cool shit and hanging out with friends. I don't work as a groundskeeper anymore, and there aren't any month-long reunions planned, but fall is still the best season.

Because fall is when school starts, fall is a great time to really hunker down and get things done. Just because you're not in school is no reason to let that classical conditioning lapse. Fall is a time for change, a time to get things started. You've got 6 months of long nights ahead of you, and no excuses that the weather is too nice to be productive.

Now, finally, we get to eat fall food. Some people say that 6 months of nothing but apples in the produce section is boring. Those people are communists. What's that, summer? Hamburgers? Boom, beef stew. Watermelon? Hot chocolate. What you got? Margaritas? Double IPAs. Chicken wings? Bitch, football Sundays INVENTED chicken wings. Get out of here.

And it's the return of robe and sweatshirt weather. There's something to be said for going shirtless in the summer, but there are not many things better than wrapping up on the couch in a robe, or taking a walk through some crunchy leaves with a lady who holds your hand inside your hoodie pocket.

As I mentioned earlier, we also get football season. Even though the Bears are schizophrenic, football season is still the best single sporting event of the year. Sorry, Olympics. Sorry, March Madness. Sorry, Lord Stanley. Y'ain't got nothin' on the highs and lows, the drama and the rivalries of the 20 weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.

But maybe the best part of fall is how it lends itself to the appreciation of now. Fall is a fleeting season. On one end it gets crowded by Indian summers, and on the other it gets crowded by Thanksgiving snowfalls. The leaves stay colorful on the trees for a week, maybe two. If you aren't paying attention to fall, you may miss it. It's a subtle season, and the more you are aware of your self and your surroundings, the more you'll enjoy it. So take the time. Sleep with the window open even if it's a little cold. Take a walk in a forest preserve, and don't worry about the trails. Have some coffee on the porch when you can see the steam coming off the cup. Read with a blanket.

Fall is here, and the weeks roll onward...

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

My review policy

There's been some discussion over on Kindleboards about the ethics, validity, and worth of independent authors reviewing the books by other independent authors. Some say it's an incestuous circle jerk, and contributes to the perception that independent authors are shady, nepotistic egomaniacs who fluff their peers regardless of quality. Others say that authors reviewing authors is a time-honored tradition, and that being independent does not rob one of objectivity or experience. I can see both sides.

As a disclaimer, I write the reviews on this site primarily as recommendations to friends. That means I'm not going to review a book that I wouldn't recommend to people I know, so you're not going to see bad reviews on this blog. I don't review everything I read because I got shit to do, and I'm not going to let a bad or mediocre book take up any more of my time than it already has.

So you already know my view on this. Yes, there is a chance that some author takes offense to something I say in a four star review and alt-bombs Battlesongs with 1 star reviews, but I like to have more faith in humanity than that. If anyone can write a book good enough that I recommend it to friends, I believe they can handle a negative word about some secondary characters without losing their shit.

And so call me biased if you'd like because I won't roast some of the many bad books I've read on this site. There are other sites for that. When my sister calls me from Barnes and Noble asking for a book suggestion, I don't spend five minutes ripping on bad books either.

Friday, September 9, 2011

In which I review a book about a demon-possessed rock band

Voice by Joseph Garraty is a difficult book to rank. It's good, let's get that out of the way right now. But even a few days after finishing it, I'm unable to decide whether its high points (which are VERY high) make up for its low points (which are rather meh) enough to give it the highest ranking.

John Tsiboukas is the lead singer and clear weak link in his band Ragman after he convinces the cynical sexpot Stephanie Case to join as lead guitarist. Seeing the talent around him, and feeling his dream of pulling himself out of poverty via rockstardom fading away, John makes a deal with a demon who manifests as Johnny Tango, John's stage personality who wears leather jackets and has a killer voice. Johnny Tango takes over more and more of John's actions, and Ragman's shows begin converting more and more people into Johnny's 'disciples', violent, zombie like people who are insanely devoted to Johnny.

The strengths of Voice are apparent. The opening chapter is one of the creepiest, most gripping openings to a book I've ever read, regardless of genre, publisher, or format. The characters of John/Johnny and Case are as real as can be, and the scenes with the band performing are so well done you can almost hear the music. The top-tier antagonist, referred to as the man in the black suit (explicitly NOT the devil) is deliciously creepy and very well written for the brief time he appears. His right-hand-man, Douglas, takes a larger role and is quite fun to dislike.

But the weaknesses are what make me conflicted. All but one of the secondary characters (Erin, the band's manager being the exception) are largely one-dimensional. This includes the band's bassists, which is a problem due to how central they are to the overall conflict. Additionally, Johnny's motives are never explained; it seems his goals are simply to create disciples in order to spread violence, which seems shallow. This makes the disciples behavior somewhat confusing. I felt that Garraty may have tried to explain their behavior in a dream sequence, but the allusions and metaphors eluded me; this may be my own failing rather than the author's.

Overall I would recommend Voice to anyone. It's not quite horror, it's not quite fantasy; it has the same plain yet otherworldly feeling that some of Stephen King's books have, without the fart jokes. The writing is crisp enough that you don't notice it, and the highs are high enough to keep you engaged through till the end.

4/5 stars

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Football 2011

Football season has finally arrived. Last year, the Monsters of the Midway, the Chicago Bears, lost to those twaddling cheeseheads, the damn Green Bay Packers, in the NFC Championship game. The Bears surprised everyone in 2010 by going 11-5 and winning the NFC North for the third time in 6 years, during a season they were widely predicted to finish at or below .500.

This year appears to be more of the same. General consensus is that the Bears will be lucky to win 8 games and will miss the playoffs. Sports media further aggravates these insults by projecting that the Detroit Lions, who have won eight games over the last three years, will finish ahead of the Bears in the NFC North.

The 2011 Bears have one of the most difficult schedules in the league, based on opponents' 2010 records. I'd like to offer my own thoughts and predictions based on the Bears team as they appear to me independent of their schedule.

Most of the key players on defense are on the wrong side of 30. They can all still play at a high level (witness Urlacher's Pro Bowl selection at 32), but the chance of injury is higher with older players, and the backups are untested at best. I think the defense has another year, maybe two, of elite play left in them, but the window is closing.

That said, Henry Melton is the best defensive prospect the Bears have had in years. Lovie Smith's defense relies on a dominating 3-technique tackle, and Melton looks like he can fit the bill.

An injury to any of the starting linebackers would cripple the defense.

Aside from Charles Tillman, the Bears starting cornerbacks are not noticeably better than their backups. This could be a problem given their schedule.

If Brandon Meriweather replaces Major Wright as the starting free safety, it will be trading a 24 year old who makes big plays on the ball at the expense of solid tackling and good coverage for a 28 year old who makes big plays on the ball at the expense of solid tackling and good coverage.

The offensive line looks to be leaps and bounds better than the one that gave up 52 sacks last year. Losing Olin Kruetz hurts from a cohesion and leadership standpoint, but the unit as a whole is more physical and more talented than the one from last year.

Because of the improvements on the O-line, I expect Jay Cutler to take another step forward at QB. The Bears receiver problems are overblown, and if Cutler can stay upright, I don't think throwing 30 TDs is out of the question.

Matt Forte deserves a raise. Lance Briggs does not.

The threat of Devin Hester on punt returns is overstated. I encourage opposing teams to kick to him, preferably low, line drive style punts. Don't be a wuss; kick it to Hester. What's the worst that can happen?

Hopefully the shock collar that Lovie Smith strapped on Mike Martz during the 2010 bye week still works, and will keep Martz from calling 8 consecutive pass plays to open games this year.

Final prediction: 10-6, 2nd in NFC North, wildcard playoff berth.

Friday, September 2, 2011