TheAccountant

The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss Got a signed copy and just finished it off. Good read. Set in the world of the King Killer Chronicles. Bast from The King Killer Chronicles is the main character and IMO it shows him in a slightly different light then we have seen him in before. Enjoyable but come on Patrick, would you please get back to The King Killer Chronicles? The 2 books in that series you wrote were so good. We have been waiting for ever for the 3rd book in the series. Starting to wonder if it will ever come out.

I must be a large HOF guy. Not a huge baseball fan but I would have voted for Beltre, Biggio, Rolen, Helton & Mauer. Not certain about Baines though. I actually thing there were some other gutys on the ballot I might have voted for but I can't recall the names right now. But it seems like every year when I see the ballot I am like "I would vote for him and him and him and him. O, yes, and him. Probably him as well. Maybe him as well" Then only a few of the folks get in. Prime example - even though I generally would vote no on the steroid guys - I would have voted for Curt Schilling. Grade A jerk but I would have voted him in.

The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution by Ryan Grim I like Ryan's reporting for The Intercept, Breaking Points and Counter Points so I gave this a shot. Decent book, at its best when its not about her or The Squad but rather when he is talking about politics and government from when AOC won her first primary up through the summer of 2022. Thankfully, despite the title its not really about AOC or the squad. Interestingly Ryan has another book (which I have not read) titled "We've Got People". The title to this book could easily be "They have the Money" - and the "They" is not AOC and the Squad. Decent, interesting read but nothing very special. Learned a few things.

I read that many years ago. IMO The Inferno was the best of the 3 books.

I seem to be the lone vote for Pete (although as others have said, both are informative and fun to watch).

I like the start of the song. You know what I mean (). After that I don't get anything from the song itself.

Worked from home again today so, back to the moving box. First out: Molly Hatchet - -Flirtin with Disaster Awesome title track. "Whiskey Man" is a good song as well. The other songs I don't go crazy for however. Likely much better live than on the album. Never got to see them live however so I can't say for 100% certain. They are ok - I guess. But nothin I really go for. Great (like one of my favorite all time) album covers. Next out of the box: Jackson Browne - Hold Out I enjoy "Boulevard" but the rest of the album is forgettable for me. Next out of the box: Jethro Tull - Original Masters A Tull greatest hits album. I will enjoy some Tull now and then. Saw them live in the 1990's - decent show. Good album. Next out of the box: AC DC - Back in Black Not a big ACDC fan but this is an album I never skip a song on. The title track, "Hells Bells" & "You Shook Me All Night Long" are the best songs but everything is worth listening to. Good album. Last out of the box: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet A disappointing album IMO. Its has 4 songs that got airplay, "Never Say Goodbye", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer" & "Wanted Dead or Alive". For me however, "Never Say Goodbye" is a dud. "You Give Love A Bad Name" is good & I still enjoy it. The other 2 hits ("Livin On A Prayer" & "Wanted Dead Or Alive") are still awesome. What make the album so disappointing is that after those songs the quality falls way, way off (IMO). You have 3 very good songs (2 or which are excellent) and then everything else is a dud. Big drop in quality. Thought that at the time and still think so. With 3 very strong songs you would expect / hope for some good deep cuts - but their are none.

Worked at some again so it was back to the moving box's. First out: Amazing Grace - The Pipes, Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Besides Amazing Grace the record has a number of other traditional marches, slow air, reveille, quick march's, slow marches & jigs. Plus the Imperial Russian Anthem. Lots of bagpipes. Quite the change from the metal of yesterday? Good though. I like it. But things were about to get weirder. Next out of the box: Elizabethan Verse and its Music - W.H. Auden & the NY Pro Music Antiqua The poetry I could do without, but the Elizabethan music I enjoy. Next out of the box: Foreigner - Inside Information This album came out in 1987 and at the time I was living in Rochester NY. The lead singer of Foreigner (Lou Gramm) is from Rochester so, since the home town boy had made it big, the album (and band) would get a lot of support there. I recall 2 songs ("Say You Will" & "Heart Turns to Stone") getting a lot of airplay from the local radio stations. Say You Will is standard single material and does nothing for me. Heart Turns To Stone is good though. The rest of the album does nothing for me however. Next out of the box: Blondie - The Best of Blondie I got this in the early 1980's before I discovered hard rock, metal and prog rock. At the time I enjoyed it. But its not aged well for me. A few ok songs ("Call Me", "Heart of Glass" & "Dreaming") but most don't really thrill me. Last out of the box for the day: Air Supply - Lost in Love Ok, get ready to barf. I actually still like this album. Bought it when it came out and liked it a lot then. Not like I am going to listen to it a lot but the title track I still really enjoy and "American Hearts" is decent. The other songs are nothing special but they are not horrible either. But the big thing is the album fits together, one song flowing into another. Its an album that much more than the sum pf its parts. Not like I am going to pull it out a lot, its not my sort of music, but if I am in the right mood I still like it. Decent. This is what happens when you pull records out at random - sometimes you get things that all go together (like yesterday when it was mostly an Iron Maiden day with some other hard rock and metal mixed in). Sometime, like today, you get some albums that just don't have anything really in common with each other. Since I am working from home again tomorrow it will be interesting to see what comes out of the box.

Worked from home today so that gave me a chance to open up the moving box's again and listen to whatever came out. First out: Bad Company - Dangerous Age This album had no big hits and only one song that I recall getting airplay of any kind ("No Smoke Without A Fire"). I saw Bad Co. twice on the following tour and I recall them playing it live - and it was enjoyable. As for the album, I like it. Other than the one song I mentioned I could not tell you the title of a song on the album but, weirdly, anytime I listen to the album I never skip a song. For me its one of those albums that is just a lot more than the sum of its parts. Everything just fits together and once you start listening you just want to listen to the entire album. Or at least I do. Next out of the box: Iron Maiden - World Piece Tour 83 What is this you ask? Its a Maiden boot that was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on May 26th, 1983. The quality is a bit rough but its still enjoyable. Good set list. Its comprised of the following: Where Eagles Dare Wrathchild The Trooper Sanctuary Flight of Icarus Iron Maiden 22 Acaitia Ave. Run To The Hills Revalations Die With Your Boots On Still Life The # of the Beast Sanctuary Next out of the box: Iron Maiden - Donington Park Yes, this is another Maiden boot, recorded at Donington Park on August 20th, 1988. Good quality recording. Might have been off the board or from a BBC feed. Good set list agin. Its comprised of the following: Moonchild The Evil That Men Do The Prisoner Wrathchild Infinite Dreams The Trooper Can I Play With Madness Heaven Can Wait Wasted Years The Clairvoyant 7th Son of a 7th Son The # of the Best Hallowed Be Th Name Iron Maiden Run To The Hills 22 Acacia Ave 2 Minutes To Midnight Runing Free Sanctuary Last out of the box: Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell Good album, esp. side 1.

So far the album is 3 for 3 - at least IMO. Enjoy all 3 songs a lot. Good stuff.

Worked from home today due to the cold and my car being in the shop so that gave me a chance to pull out some records. First out: Journey - Captured Live Journey from near their prime. Should be awesome, esp since I have seen Journey about 6 times (with either Steve A. or Armel on lead vocals) and always really enjoyed them. Right? No. For some reason this album is not thrilling to me. Should be awesome but its just not. Its not something I really care for. Don't know why but thats just my reaction to it. Next out of the moving box: Night Ranger - Midnight Madness This has the very good "You Can Still Rock in America". Plus it has the awesome "When You Close Your Eyes" which is my favorite Night Ranger song. It also has "Sister Christian" which was Night Rangers biggest hit but was a song that I did not like (at all) at the time and it has not grown on me. I can't understand why it was such a big hit - not at the time and not know either. I know most folks think this is Night Rangers best album but I actually prefer Dawn Patrol. It has "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" which is every bit as good as "You Can Still Rock in America". True, it does not have anything that match's up to "When You Close Your Eyes" but it also does not have a dud like "Sister Christian". So thats basically a wash. Where Dawn Patrol exceeds Midnight Madness is the deeper cuts. The other songs, which did not get airplay, are better than the songs off Midnight Madness which did not get airplay. Still, with the 2 very good songs on this album (and some ok songs that did not get airplay) its a good album. Next out of the box: Ozzy - No More Tears Good album. Good tour as well - saw Ozzy on this tour. It was the 2nd and last time I saw him live. Went out of my way to when he announced it would be the "no more tours tour" and was pissed when it was not. The Who were honest when they said they would not be touring for a prolonged period. It was the press and promotors who played it as a farewell tour. So The Who don't bother me. Ozzy did bother me. Anyway, like I said, good album. 3 excellent songs ("Mama, I'am Coming Home", "Time After Time" & "Road to Nowhere") plus a couple of good songs (the title track & "Mr. Tinkertrain"). The other songs I could kind of care less about. Interesting, it came out in 1991 and at that time good music was still coming out but I had a feeling that it was not like the mid 1980's where killer albums were coming out basically every week. Still, I enjoyed the music scene. Little did I know that in about a year or 2 the rock scene would basically die. Ever since then its been a little here and a little there. Some years nothing comes out thats worth listening to. In other words, this album was almost the end of a glorious era. Next out of the box: Styx - Equinox This has the very good "Lorelei" and the excellent "Suite Made Blue" - which may be my favorite Styx song. If not its right near the top with "Come Sail Away" and "Renegade". The other songs on the album are nothing special for me however. Last out of the box for the day: John Cougar Mellencamp - uh-huh Interesting that the liner notes mention that the album was written and recorded in 16 days in July of 1983. Thats Rush like speed!! Impressive. The album has 3 good songs that got airplay ("Crumblin Down", "Pink Houses" & "Authority Song"). For me, "Pink Houses" is the best followed by "Authority Song" and then "Crumblin Down". The rest off the album does nothing for me.

Sad but I must confess that I have not purchased it for many years. Was great once upon a time but I felt the quality went down through the years. Last time I bought it might have been around 2007 or 2008. My guess is that one or more of the companies mentioned in the original article were private equity funds (i.e. vulture capitalists). Sadly they ALWAYS wreck magazine / newspapers when they purchase them. Just so they and their small band of already rich owners can become even more obesely wealthy they wreck journalism (in the broadest possible sense). Still, a sad end of an era (as with National Geographic basically ending a while back). In some ways National Geographic was an even bigger loss.

Just finished Salems Lot by Stephen King. Not a big fan of his work. I don't really go for horror all that much so i tend to stay away from his work. I recall looking at this book way back when I was in college in the 1980's and I got the feeling it was well written. I read The Dead Zone, Fire Starter and Cujo by him way back in the 1980's. The first 2 were ok, enjoyable but nothing I was wild about. Cujo I did not care for. I think I tried one or 2 other book by him and they were not to my taste. However, all the posting on TRF about David Soul passing away got me to purchase this book and give it a shot. Its very well written. But clearly not my cup of tea. It just reinforced for me that horror is not something I enjoy reading. Got of plenty of other books to work on so I will move on to them and stay away from his writing. Like I said, just not my cup of tea.

Just finished The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. Good book. Very informative and I would recommend it.

Recently we have lost the first 2 men to have won the World Cup as a player (Zagallo in 1958 & 1962, Franz in 1974) & as a manager (Mario in 1970, Franz in 1990). Mario was a very good player (from what I have read) but in some ways he was even better as a manager - getting all the pieces to work together with the magnificent 1970 Brazil side. Franz was a magnificent defender (or so I have read) and played for a large part of the crazy 1970 semi-final against Italy (best world cup match ever? - based on what I have seen on youtube I would say yes - I welcome comments from those more knowledgable then I am about the sport though) with his arm in a sling. Yes, Germany could not sub him out - but he was still playing hard. Impressive. But, after wining it all in 1974 he retired and eventually came back to manage Germany to glory in 1990. RIP giants of the beautiful game.

Agreed about Augeri - I think he played the local fair a year or 2 back. The Ultimate Sin is an album I will listen to every song on. They are all good but nothing is great. But I never skip a song. That being said, IMO its the weakest of the 2 Jake E. Lee albums.

Never heard of them here in the USA but they sound like they would be my kind of music. Thanks for the recommendation - will have to check them out. and White Lion - good band. Saw them back in the day with Vixen and Ozzy. All 3 bands were very enjoyable.

Also just finished Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt. These guys had previously written How Democracies Die which was excellent (one of my top 20 non-fiction books) so I had hight hopes for this book. I was sort of disappointed. Only sort of. It was ok but nothing special. Can't say don't read it, but can't say it is anything wonderful either. Worth reading? Yes - I guess. Well written - yes. Good points? Yes, some. But just nothing very special. On to my next book....

Finally finished this book off. Pages 285 - 315 or so were very good but not good enough to change my overall opinion of the book. A real dud. Can't recommend it.

Currently working on Doppelganger by Naomi Klein. I had previously read "No Is Not Enough" (which was decent), "The Shock Doctrine" (which was excellent) & "On Fire: The Burning Case For a Green Neal Deal" (also excellent) by her. So I had fairly high hopes going into this book and frankly its been a huge disappointment. I won't get into what she is trying to say - I just don't think its totally appropriate that I get into that here. I will say I have watched some interviews with her about the book and what she said in the interviews was more interesting then the book. I will also say that I basically agree with much of what she is trying to say. Its just the writing style is a snooze fest. IMO the first 80 page or so were terrible. I was about to give up when the book caught fire and from there about to page 120 it was fairly good. Then it sort of went back to sleep. Had some ok moments but nothing very interesting. Better than the first 80 pages however. Around page 240 it briefly caught fire again and there were about 5 or so interesting pages and now its gone back to sleep agin. No idea if I will get through it all and I clearly can not recommend it. A real disappointment. Esp with those 2 books by her that I consider to be excellent. I would rank them somewhere in the top 15 non-fiction books I have ever read. Note - not in my top 3 however. My top 3 are clearly: 1. Our Revolution - by Bernie Sanders 2. On Corruption in America and What is at Stake - by Sarah Chayes 3. America: The Farewell Tour - by Chris Hedges After thats its a jumble of a lot of very good books. Can't say for certain that they would make the top 10 but the top 15 likely yes. So that makes this one all the more disappointing. A real dud.

Worked from home for part of the day today (took the AM off to take dad to another doctors appointment). So that allowed me to open up the moving box and listen to whatever came out at random. First out: AC DC - Flick of the Switch First off, not a big ACDC fan. Did see them in concert once - it was ok but nothing special (IMO). I have a friend who saw them in the early 1980's in West Germany when he was stationed there in the US Army (come to think of it, it was likely on this tour) and he swears it was the best show he ever saw. High praise since he is into early 80's New Wave music and generally he dislikes metal. That being said, I have always had a feeling this album is slightly underrated. Yes, it suffers from coming right after ACDC's (un)Holy Trinity (Highway to Hell, Back in Black & For Those About to Rock). But it should not be overlooked. Part of the reason I think it is overlooked (IMO) is that not only does it come after those albums but it also came out in 1983. By that time you had Def Leopard putting out Pyromania, Priest had put out Screaming for Vengeance, Maiden had put out Piece of Mind (and was about to release Powerslave), Ozzy was putting out what he was putting out Dio was putting out albums that are classics. I could go on. Yet ACDC was just chugging along putting out music that sounded very similar to what it had put out in the 1970's. Basically ACDC was driving a 1970's station wagon and much of heavy metal had moved onto sport cars. The station wagon was just not attractive in comparison. But their is something enjoyable about the station wagon. Its not great but its enjoyable in its own way - esp the songs "Rising Power", "This House is on Fire" and the title track. So it an ok album. Next out of the box was a double album: Iron Maiden - Tales of Steel & Other Beautiful Things Not familiar with this Maiden album? Not a shock - its a boot. It appears to be a full show that was recorded in Frankfurt Germany in 1991 just before Christmas (Bruce wish's the crowd a Merry Christmas) with Anthrax having opened for Maiden. The set list is excellent. It consists of the following: Tail Gunner Public Enemy #1 Wrath Child Die With Your Boots On Hallowed Be Thy Name 22 Acacia Avenue Holy Smoke The Assassin No Prayer for the Dying Hooks in You The Clairvoyant 2 Minutes to Midnight The Trooper Heaven Can Wait Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter Run to the Hills Sanctuary Excellent live Maiden. Very good album. Listening to it basically 32 years after the show and it holds up to the test of time.

You lucky dog you. Never got to see either Dokken or Accept (or Dio for that matter). All 3, esp. Dokken, were on my list of bands I really wanted to see back in the day. I liked Under Lock and Key more than Breaking The Chains and perhaps slightly more than Back for the Attack. But (obviously) not as much as Tooth and Nail. Still, a good 4 album run before they blew apart.

First out of the moving box today: Dio - Victory Never heard of this album before? Not a shock. Its a boot of a show he (according to the notes on the album) played at the Hammersmith Odeon on October 6th, 1984. Last In Line era Did. Very good stuff. Next out of the box: Heavy Metal Battle What the heck is this you ask? Well, side 1 is a boot of a Dokken show. According to the notes on the album, the show was recorded live in Hollywood in 1984. Its not more specific. Wish it was but hey, Tooth & Nail era Dokken is the best Dokken (IMO). Very good stuff. Side 2 is a boot of a Dio show recorded live in New Orleans in 1985 (according to the notes on the album). Wish it was more specific but its not. Still Vivian was still with him - that much is clear. More very good music. Last out of the box for the day: Dio - Intermission Live Dio recorded in San Diago. Not exactly certain when but clearly on the Sacred Heart tour. My guess would be after Vivian was kicked out of Dio's group. Plus one new album track. Good but the boots were much better.

Worked from homebody (for part of the day - had to take part of the day off to take dad to the do's). So that gave me a chance to open the moving box's up and whatever came out at random was listened to. First out: The Who - Quadrophenia A classic. Next out of the box: Rush - Hemispheres A decent, middle of the pack Rush album. Next out of the box: Rush - AFTK. Very good album. BTW - Why do I call Hemispheres a middle of the pack album? For me it is just that. Mind you, a middle of the pack Rush album is still a very good album. If I was going to rank Rush's 19 original albums it would be some where in the middle. My top albums would be: 1. 2112 2. Power Windows 3. HYF 4. FBN 5. Presto 6. AFTK 7. S&A My bottom albums would be: 19. VT (the remix - the original mix is almost a different album and would rank at 20) 18. CoS 17. T4E 16. CA 15. RTB CoS I don't care for because of the long songs on it - but it has crept up a bit recently so its pushing to move past T4E. T4E has not aged well plus it has Dog Years and Virtuality - both of which are just bad songs. As for CA & RTB they are almost interchangeable. At its best CA is better than RTB but all of CA before Halo Effect I find to be unlistenable. So that knocks it down below RTB. I can at least listen to all of RTB. So that leaves sort of a middle pack of albums (ST, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, MP, Signals, Grace Under Presure and Counterparts). All of them are good but all have some flaws. Better than what is below them but not as good as the 7 gems above them. Will work from home again tomorrow so I may get to listen to some more albums (before taking dad to another doctor's appointment).

Worked from home today so I got the chance to fire up the record player and whatever came out of the moving box at random got listened to. First out: Triumph - Never Surrender Excellent title track. "A World of Fantasy" and "When The Lights Go Down" are almost as strong. Plus a bunch of very good instrumentals. The other songs are good as well. Very good album: But things were about to get even better. Next out of the box: Rush - Power Windows My 2nd favorite Rush album (only 2112 is better IMO). Awesome in every way possible - esp. Neils lyrics. Next out of the box: Rush - A Show of Hands. A generally prefer live albums to be recorded at one show and this album was recorded at several shows over 2 tours but it works out fine here. A very good live album. Better than ESL (IMO). Next out of the box: Bob Seger - Travelin Man This is a boot that was recorded in West Germany in 1980. Live Seeger - what not to like? Good stuff. Side 1 is killer with "Feel Like A Number", "Travelin Man", "Beautiful Loser", "Still the Same", "Main Street" & "Old Time Rock'n Roll". Side 2 aint bad either with "Turn The Page", "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" plus a few weaker songs - although the crowed enjoyed it all. Good album. Scary thing is, as awesome as the Seger album was, it was likely my least favorite album of the day. Thats saying something since it was darn good.