Nobody 874

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Nobody # 874

Nobody Asked Me But:

“Only by respecting yourself can you win the respect of others.” Dostoyevsky

A question that is asked over and over in a book I just finished (and review below) is, “what is the most beautiful place that you have never seen.” I assume that since I have never visited the place, it can only exist in some combination of visuals I have seen and my imagination. So here goes: For most of the week I leaned towards Kyoto, Japan or the Seychelles Island group in the Indian Ocean. But, by week’s end, my choice became clear. The most beautiful place that I have never seen is Earth from the Space Station. And, no, it is not on our upcoming vacation list. Damn!

Your choice?

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

Michelle and Palin, at history they’re failin’

As they unite to get out the word

With fireworks we play

It’s our country’s birthday

After all, this is July the Third

When on my birthday I muse, ‘bout the bad things I choose

My mistakes I look straight in the eye

If my country could claim

That they do the same

What a glorious Fourth of July

When she was at Hale, through her classes would sail

To her lessons was always most dutiful

Now she is wed

May it ever be said

She is truly America the beautiful

Repubs supersonic when labeled moronic

You can’t blame it on Jerry Brown’s youth

Perhaps a bit rough

But it really is tough

To condemn him for telling the truth

The call to resign, to me isn’t fine

From these vultures all starting to hover

That she was shot

Her fault it was not

Give Giffords a chance to recover

If Bachmann’s top two, I’m telling you

The Repubs have a fatal infection

It’s in the realm

Of The Nightmare On Elm

That Michele could win the election

“My background is strong, in this race I belong

Though some things I wear are quite lacy

I’m very smart

Though I can’t tell apart

John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy”

More district rules, commanded by fools

Education by fiat has risen

I’m glad I retired

If in rules I was mired

I’d feel like I was in prison

Frank is bankrupt on ethics the schlup

He is evil and nasty and vile

On ego he’s big

The immoral pig

But on decency missed by a mile

Folks are unhappy, if he can’t make it snappy

Unemployment will end up his curse

With never a doubt

They’d vote him right out

But his opponents all look to be worse

What’s the big deal, why do folks feel

That Newsweek showed very poor taste

If the dead could opine

Princess Di wouldn’t mind

She’d think your bad thoughts were a waste

My wife is the type to ignore all the hype

But the nearest club she may grab

If she reads one more time

In prose or in rhyme

That there’s something bad in her Tab

I won’t blame the Brits for producing these nits

Who are over the top with their rants

But it’s hard to resist

Slamming those who insist

That Michelangelo’s David wears pants

I was but one, as we all had our fun

As without trial we convicted Strauss-Kahn

But to weigh this new factor

He seems not the actor

But the guy who was acted upon

As the Times TV writer, Mary Mac is a fighter

Wrote this line that will give readers fits

Called the “Thrones” good TV

But still it could be

“About time that they tone down the tits”

No, I’m not kidding. Times television critic, Mary McNamera actually wrote this line in her column yesterday. And I also love this line: “HBO has a higher population of prostitutes per capita than Amsterdam or Charlie Sheen's Christmas card list.”

Here’s Hugh on Frank McCourt:

Did you ever see the movie “The Best Man” with Henry Fonda?

Fonda describes a fellow democrat from the south as having “all of the attributes of a dog, accept loyalty.” I cannot help but think of FM this way.

Last week I promised that I would list my all-time top 10 favorite reads in the mystery/thriller category. However, I am going to cheat a little and give you a baker’s dozen, alphabetically listed here by author’s last name rather than in order of preference. (Since ranking them would be extremely difficult.) But if I HAD to choose my first among equals, I suppose I would go with Seven Days In May.

Fail-Safe- by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler

The Tin Roof Blowdown – James Lee Burke

The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly

Faithful Place - Tana French

Six Days of the Condor – James Grady

Seven Days In May – Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey

The Millennium Trilogy – Stieg Larsson

Gone Baby Gone - Dennis Lehane

Mystic River - Dennis Lehane

The Lonely Silver Rain - John MacDonald

Small Vices - Robert B. Parker

Silent Joe – T. Jefferson Parker

The Night Gardner – George Pelecanos

Note: In the case of James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux) and Michael Connelly, (Harry Bosch) there were so many outstanding books in their series that I arbitrarily selected one to represent many.

Book review – The Quest For Anna Klein by Thomas Cook

This is the fifth book I have read by Cook, who won an Edgar for The Chatham School Affair. None have been easy. All have been some degree of worthwhile. Quest is no exception. Thomas Danforth didn’t set out to be a spy. He was pulled in to the world of intrigue seeking a life with more purpose than running a successful im

porting company and, more importantly, because he has fallen in love with the fascinating Anna Klein. The two become part of a plot to assassinate Hitler that goes horribly wrong. From that point on, Danforth spends years searching for his Anna. He travels from Germany to the most remote parts of the Soviet Union, before his search ends in a great surprise.

One of the things I liked best about the book was its many great quotes. My favorite is from Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” where he has Eve say: “With him all deaths/I could endure, without him live no life.”

Bakeries I have loved – Bouchon, in Napa Valley: