CD Compilation PickMe#19

The 19th compilation in my PickMe series is called “Summer Wine”

01 But Now I’m Back (Pink Martini)
02 Mi Talisman (Ana Gabriel)
03 If I Had The Power (Vidar Busk)
04 Sweet, Sweet Love (Russell Morris)
05 Brandnew Start (Compendium)
06 Time After Time (Ernestine Anderson)
07 The Glory of Love (Jimmy Durante)
08 Summer Wine (Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood)
09 Secret Love (George Michael)
10 Mambuloo (Mo’ Horizons)
11 Hotel Utopia (Alejandro De Pinedo)
12 MacArthur Park (Jeff Duff)
13 Thunderball (Ian Moss)
14 This Boy (The Beatles)
15 Attention (Guy Sebastian)
16 Chez Clerambault (De Phazz)
17 This Guy’s In Love With You (Carl Riseley)

This is the album I was constructing when I was side tracked with the quieter #18 compilation.

Track Notes: 01 from their Splendor In The Grass album. Make sure you get the DVD/CD version as the DVD is great 02 from the Samson & Delilah Soundtrack 08 something magical about this song 14 a less well known Beatles track

Tower and Hive: Anne McCaffrey

1) The Rowan; 2) Damia;
3) Damia’s Children; 4) Lyons Pride; 5) The Tower and the Hive
ISBN 0593023582 (Bantam) Hardcover, 1990
ISBN 0593023749 (Bantam) Hardcover, 1992
ISBN 0552139122 (Corgi) Paperback, 1994
ISBN 0552142182 (Corgi) Paperback, 1994
ISBN 0593043243 (Bantam) Hardcover, 1999

This series documents the history of a dynasty of Telepaths and Kinetics that serve humanity for inter-stellar communication and shipping.

It all starts with a baby caught in a mudslide. She has the mental scream to keep Altair’s talents on edge until she’s found. As the sole survivor of a tradgedy, she becomes a state ward and is educated by the planets’ Prime telepath/kinetic. At a relatively young age, she is shipped off to Callisto to assist Earth’s Prime in the busy home system.

It’s a lonely life, but she’s soon joined by Afra Lyon.

Their lives are tuned upside down when alien bugs (hive minded) attack outer colony world Deneb. Their Prime, Jeff Raven, shouts a warning back to Callisto station to enlist their support. All the talents unite, and the invaders are destroyed.

Jeff and the Rowan marry, having wayward child Damia. Afa rescues Damia again and again until one error gets her sent to Deneb. As she matures, she is assigned as Prime for the new tower on the mining world, Aurigae. While out in space looking out for more hivers she meets mind to mind with an inter-galactic voyager. He turns out to be predatory and it takes a mind meld, with Afra and her brother as focus, to overcome and destroy him.

Afra marries Damia, and they have many children…

Somewhere in there, another sentinent species (Mrdinis) contacts the humans to join with them to defeat the hivers.

The last 3 books detail Damia’s childrens efforts, in conjunction with the Mrdinis, to chase down the hiver worlds and eliminate their capacity to wage war again.

Well written. I loved the first 2 books best, but the whole series is well worth reading. I first read these books as they were released. It was great to re-read them now, as a complete series. The ending was not as I remembered – must have confused it with some other tale.

CD Compilation PickMe#18

The 18th compilation in my PickMe series is called “Serenity”

01 I Feel Blue (Alif Tree)
02 Sleep Away (Bob Acri)
03 Phraseology (Compendium)
04 Death by Chocolate (De-Phazz)
05 After the Rain (Michel Legrand)
06 Inara’s Suite (Greg Edmonson)
07 You’re Not Alone (The Trio)
08 Estate (Toots Thielemans)
09 Once in the Long Ago (Kevin Kern)
10 Theme From The Tiki Wonder Hour (Combustible Edison)
11 Singing Wings, Crying Beasts (Santana)
12 Kamikaze Requiem (Lindsay Buckland and Carlos Vamos)
13 John’s Music Box (The Mamas & The Papas)
14 Phone Call (Los Lobos)
15 Dropped Off at Turkana (Alberto Iglesias)
16 Fairy Of The Lake (Yonderboi)
17 Serenity (Frequency)

This time the quiet tracks won out over jazz and the rest. But there is a more up beat compilation coming..

Track Notes: 02 a track that comes with Windows 7 (the self titled album needs to be re-released) 06 from the FireFly TV Series soundtrack 07 a bit quiet at times, but lovely 08 Toots played the Midnight Cowboy theme tune (gotta get that on the next compilation) 10 a bit bassy but pleasant 11 Santana!! 12 Lindsay Buckland (electric dulcimer) colaborates with Carlos Vamos (guitar) for a double album called “The Famous Unknowns” (2007). Lindsay is an Australian artist who often plays in Adelaide Mall. 13 short interlude by John Phillips 14 from the soundtrack of Desperado 15 one of many nice tunes on The Quiet American soundtrack

10 Things I’ve Learned

In a recent article titled “10 Things I’ve Learned”, Thomas Chicca reveals some interesting and helpful tips after retiring from an engineering consulting firm after 35 years. Thomas’ tips are very useful and are likely very applicable to many of us… enjoy. Things Tom has learned and some words of wisdom:

1. Family & health care first, work and career second
2. Other people are not like me
3. Managing people is different than managing projects
4. There’s more than one way to get things done
5. Most people want to be successful and to do the right thing
6. Sooner or later you’ll come across someone who is simply a “horses ass”
7. Fundamentally I’m a geek and Learn as much about yourself as you can
8. The biggest obstacle to your future may be your past success
9. When you have a clear and strong belief, it may be wrong
10. You can never communicate too much

To read in detail Thomas’ comments see this article from the Winter 2009 American Surveyor Magazine

Beatles 3000

Even 1000 years after they’ve died, the world will still remember the incredible talent of John, Paul, …

http://scottgairdner.com/2009/11/23/beatles-3000/
Funny, sacrilege!!

Ranger’s Apprentice Series

by John Flanagan
Random House Australia

Towards the end of September, the first book in the series was being offered for $5. I bought books 1 & 2. It didn’t take long to read them.

Borders were selling the series at 3 books for the price of 2. I bought books 3-8. And just a week or so ago the ninth book was released. All 9 read now!! That ended the current 2 book story, so no loose ends.

The books can be found in the Child Fiction section of book shops. Don’t let that put you off, as the whole series has been a great read. Read in sequence to not miss anything.

John is an Australian writer, and here’s a description of book 1 to whet the appetite.

“Will is small for his age, but agile and energetic. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected as an apprentice to Castle Redmont’s Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic. Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger’s secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger’s weapons are not so useless after all…”

Books 1-4 comprise the first adventure
Books 5-6 the second adventure
Book 7 is a prequel to 5
Book 8-9 complete the 4th adventure
Book 10 starting a new thread, is due out in Nov 2010

For more information, visit
www.rangersapprentice.com.au

Recommended reading for all ages

This is Me, Jack Vance

ISBN 978-1596062450 (Subterranean)
Hardback, 2009

This is Jack Vance’s biography. His journeys around the world. The people he meets. For much of his career, Vance has been one of the field’s most private writers, an author who preferred to let his work speak for him. this book has been released to coincide with the release of the tribute anthology “Songs of the Dying Earth”.

It is not a story about his works. Towards the end…
“I have been counseled .. to the general effect that since this is the autobiography of a writer I ought to say somthing about writing.” That takes all of 4 pages.

Jack was born in 1916 and led a pretty interesting life thru to 2009. He doesn’t write any more due to blindness. This biography being his only exception.

I gave up reading Jack Vance novels long ago. In my library I have:
- The Dragon Masters
- Emphyrio
- Showboat World
- The Dying Earth

None of which I retain memories of. Maybe I should read them again to remind myself of his writing style.

Jack vance most recent publications have been released through Subterranean Press.
www.subterraneanpress.com
Follow this link to see what’s available, and other reviews.

October Books

My last review was entered on 20th September. Have to catchup with my reviews because this is what I’ve read since:

John Flanagan
- Rangers Apprentice Series. Books 1-9

L.E. Modesitt Jr.
- The Imager Portfolio. Books 1-2

Jessica Hagy
- Indexed

September Reading (not yet reviewed)
Ian M. Banks
- Matter (A Culture Novel)

David Weber
- Safehold Series. Books 1-2

November Reading
I’m currently reading Jack Vance’s biography – interesting.
Other biographic tombs yet to be read include those about H. Beam Piper and Richard Matheson.

Too True

Peter Bakowski, poet

” My greatest extravagance is … buying books more quickly than I can read them”

Too true. Not the only person to have that problem ;)

Crytpic: Jack McDevitt

Cryptic
The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt

ISBN 978-1596061958 (Subterranean)
Hardback, 2009

Amazingly, this is my first Jack McDevitt book. And it’s content is not something you come across much these days – pure science fiction. No fantasy here.

There are an interesting number of stories that deal with space exploration. The failure to find other space fairing races – are we alone!

One poignant tale deals with a time capsule. You now, those things you chuck a few things in, and marvel at when dug up again in 10, 20 or 50 years. Hopefully not as alarming as in the film “Knowing”.

In this case its’ been put away for a thousand years. Things like novels from popular 20th century authors, were stored in it – Bradbury, Clarke, Swanwick, Tiptree, etc. Wonders to set young minds to asking questions. Especially as man was still stuck in the solar system – external journeys have been put in the “too hard” basket. “To Hell with the Stars”

A few other stories, nearer our own time, deal with the fallout from retreating from space just as achievements are made. Just because we’ve ‘been there, done that’. It makes you think!

And as usual, a smattering of post disaster stories.

The last story “Time Travellers Never Die” seems to be an introduction to a novel of the same name, that is due for release in ACE Hardcover in Nov 2009.

38 Short stories – a great read

This Subterranean Press edition seems to be sold out. Grab a copy wherever you can.

http://jackmcdevitt.com