Okay, after my fiftieth viewing of The Big Lebowski, I stand even more firmly convinced that this Coen Brothers classic is simply - and without a doubt - the greatest movie .. EVER MADE. The Dude - his Dudeness, El Duderino - not only abides, he pretty much rules the entire cinematic universe. Okay, I can hear all you Citizen Kane, Godfather, Casablanca fans bleating from the balcony. The Lebowski? Really? So I guess it's just up to me to not only present the case for the Dude, but PROVE that no other film even comes close to one slacker's search for the ultimate Caucasian (aka a White Russian for all you uninitiated).
1) Jeff Bridges as the Dude. Rumor has it that Kurt Russell was also considered for this role. He would have been great. Love Kurt. But Jeff Bridges should have immediately been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Oscar the minute Lebowski wrapped. Every single f---ing scene with Bridges is a clinic. A CLINIC. Some actors need dialogue. Mr. Bridges delivers the finest scene in cinematic history without speaking a word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl7o1EB0sYI .
2) John Goodman as Walter Sobchak. Okay, I understand that so-called film critics wax on and on about the "craft" of being a great supporting actor, but honestly John Goodman puts every other performer to shame. Proof? Just watch and listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BdT5mFAk-Y . Watch Bridges just play off Goodman's genius. As for Steve Buscemi, the Academy needs to create a new award for him, Best Supporting Supporting Actor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEMiz6rcxc . As for John Tuturro as The Jesus, Best Supporting Supporting Supporting Actor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZR58d77a4A .
3) The single funniest scene in cinematic history. The set up is simple. You've seen this scene a thousand times before in a thousand different detective movies. After some investigative work, The Dude and Walter track the stolen ransom money to a high school student who went joy riding in The Dude's car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PztgWdMEJdg Yes, that's Larry father in the background in an iron lung. AN IRON LUNG! They had to take me out of the movie theater and call an ambulance the first time I saw this I was laughing that hard.
So there you have it. I could go on and on and on and keep proving my point. But right now I feel like pouring myself a Caucasian and just chilling with my rug. BTW, I married my wife because she is the only woman I've ever known who loves this movie and totally gets it. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have married Jen anyway. But her appreciation of this masterpiece sealed the deal. To all bachelors out there, I recommend screening Lebowski with any prospective spouse just to see her reaction. If she can't just kick back and let the movie take her where its going, she may also have the same problem navigating the twists, turns and ludicrous non sequiturs of matrimony. But that's just .. like my opinion, man.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
From my Scribd Library - The Cult of Personality Testing by Annie Murphy Paul
The Cult of Personality Testing by Annie Murphy Paul
https://www.scribd.com/book/225119370/The-Cult-of-Personality-Testing-How-Personality-Tests-Are-Leading-Us-to-Miseducate-Our-Children-Mismanage-Our-Companies-and-Misunderstand-Ourselves
I had the highest expectations for this book after seeing the title and reading the introduction. Confession - I DESPISE personality tests, neurolinguistic programming, lie detectors or any other "tool" that so-called experts believe can quantify and qualify our innermost thoughts, feelings and proclivities. In my opinion, people who place their faith in such pseudo/para scientific instruments stand the very real risk of harming themselves and others. Over the last 30+ years, I've known people who have lost jobs, reputations and families due to the misuse and abuse of psycho-babble snake oil. So I'll admit, I did bring a certain bias to my reading of The Cult of Personality Testing.
As I started delving into the main body of the work, I found a plethora of good, solid information regarding personality testing presented crisply and cogently. If you're looking for a primary reference work on personality tests - their origins and originators - then this is your book. But ... (you felt the "but" coming, didn't you?) I'd be remiss if I didn't address the limitations of Ms. Paul's study. To my great disappointment, the book never delves deeply into the fallacies of these tests nor the irksome, oft-times irreparable harm they can cause. Judging by the title and introduction, I anticipated a thorough analysis and explication of each test exposing its content, structure, weaknesses and, frankly "how to beat it." I guess that's another book, though, which I'll continue looking for and may eventually research and write myself.
Despite its shortcomings, The Cult of Personality Testing takes its rightful place in my Reference and Science & Para-Science libraries due to its impeccable research and scholarship.
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11873888/Reference
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11872188/Science-and-Parascience
https://www.scribd.com/book/225119370/The-Cult-of-Personality-Testing-How-Personality-Tests-Are-Leading-Us-to-Miseducate-Our-Children-Mismanage-Our-Companies-and-Misunderstand-Ourselves
I had the highest expectations for this book after seeing the title and reading the introduction. Confession - I DESPISE personality tests, neurolinguistic programming, lie detectors or any other "tool" that so-called experts believe can quantify and qualify our innermost thoughts, feelings and proclivities. In my opinion, people who place their faith in such pseudo/para scientific instruments stand the very real risk of harming themselves and others. Over the last 30+ years, I've known people who have lost jobs, reputations and families due to the misuse and abuse of psycho-babble snake oil. So I'll admit, I did bring a certain bias to my reading of The Cult of Personality Testing.
As I started delving into the main body of the work, I found a plethora of good, solid information regarding personality testing presented crisply and cogently. If you're looking for a primary reference work on personality tests - their origins and originators - then this is your book. But ... (you felt the "but" coming, didn't you?) I'd be remiss if I didn't address the limitations of Ms. Paul's study. To my great disappointment, the book never delves deeply into the fallacies of these tests nor the irksome, oft-times irreparable harm they can cause. Judging by the title and introduction, I anticipated a thorough analysis and explication of each test exposing its content, structure, weaknesses and, frankly "how to beat it." I guess that's another book, though, which I'll continue looking for and may eventually research and write myself.
Despite its shortcomings, The Cult of Personality Testing takes its rightful place in my Reference and Science & Para-Science libraries due to its impeccable research and scholarship.
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11873888/Reference
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11872188/Science-and-Parascience
Sunday, January 11, 2015
The Nigerian Factor, the 4-1-1 on 4-1-9
My fascination with Nigeria started years ago, back in college when I discovered Chinua Achebe. For those who don't know Achebe, he's just as influential a literary voice in Africa as Faulkner, Woolf, Ellison, Hemingway or Frost on this side of the Atlantic. You can read about him on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe ) and check out his seminal works Things Fall Apart, No Longer At Ease or his monumental lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Achebe impacted my burgeoning literary and political awareness as much as Dizzy Gillespie and Mozart shaped my musical awareness. Because of Achebe, I devoured everything I could get my hands on regarding Nigerian life and culture. And then, a few months later, I moved onto my next intellectual obsession. I was in college, what can I say.
Fast forward ahead ten years or so and my next encounter with Nigeria. Make that encounters with Nigeria. Hundreds of them really, with the legions of Nigerian ministers, government officials and lonely widows that began filling my email inbox with untold opportunities to make millions of dollars .. for free. According to Andrew George Balfour, Esq., (chief solicitor with A.G. Balfour Chambers and Associates), Ms. Annabel Okem (computer scientist with the Bank of Nigeria) and countless other well-meaning citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, all I needed to do was provide my bank account and other personal information so they could "legitimize" various family fortunes and ill-gotten gains, and then toss me a few million sumolians for my time and trouble.
The first time I received one of these emails twenty years ago, I was flabbergasted. The horrible spelling, mangled grammar and transparent ruse induced gales of laughter. With each and every successive email, my curiosity and amusement sharpened. Anyone who knows me has been subjected - at one time or another - to a long discourse on confidence games, swindles, frauds and scams of every persuasion. My fascination with The Life began when I saw Paper Moon and The Sting as a kid, and since that first introduction to ropers, hustlers, shills and vics I've been obsessed with the Art. With that first email from Nigeria, I immediately recognized the con - an updated but rather amateurish variation of the old Spanish Prisoner or Detroit-Buffalo game. Basically, the mark is persuaded into funding an advance fee that will clear the way for a big score, some crumbs of which he'll given for his trouble. How could anyone actually fall for this? As the emails continued, I started saving the most hilarious come-ons in my library while paper chasing the origin and logistics of The Nigerian Prince.
I quickly learned that what I was calling The Nigerian Prince was officially known as The 419 Scam. 419 is the article in the Nigerian legal code dealing with fraud. The game started on fax machines in the late 80s and early 90s, but really took off with the advent of universal email in the mid-90s. After amassing quite a bit of research on 419, I discussed it during one of my Fringewatch 2000 presentations at Borders Books in Westlake during the mid-90s. As I joked my way through the explanation, I noted one audience member who seemed none too amused. Afterwards, I learned why. Her brother had been duped by one of my "Nigerian Princes" to the tune of $50K, and he was still on their hook, wiring final payment after final payment via Western Union to his "legal representative" in Lagos. A few days later, I met with her and her brother at the Borders Cafe, outlined the con as best I could for him, and then watched in utter stupefaction as he called me a fool and stormed out.
That's the day that I really started taking 419 seriously. Further research put me in contact with individuals committed to exposing the dangers of 419 and, in some cases, actually scamming the scammers themselves. Websites such as 419 Eater ( http://www.419eater.com/ ) & The 419 Coalition ( http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/ ) actively pursue 419 perps, and 419 Eater publicly posts their numerous online encounters with 419ers for public consumption and edification. Through the years, then, I've followed the development and spread of 419 into other countries as well as American and Western popular culture. With all the novels, movies TV shows and news exposés addressing 419, you'd think every potential mark would be forewarned and forearmed. Yet, 419 is still a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise every year, and recent revelations regarding the Nigerian organization Boko Haram have added yet another layer to the twisted tale of 419 ( http://1389blog.com/2014/06/06/nigerian-email-scams-419-frauds-fund-boko-haram/ ) Not only is 419 robbing marks of their hard-earned money, but women and children in Nigeria are being robbed of their freedom, as well. Needless to say, Chinua Achebe must be doing somersaults and pirouettes in his grave.
With all this in mind, I've found some readily accessible resources (see below) available to anyone wishing to further their understanding of this felonious phenomenon.
https://www.scribd.com/book/226429087/Email-Scams-From-Around-the-World-Well-Parts-of-Africa-Really
https://www.scribd.com/book/206606952/The-Nigerian-Fraud-Conspiracy-Finding-U-S-co-conspirators
https://www.scribd.com/book/233095619/A-Culture-of-Corruption-Everyday-Deception-and-Popular-Discontent-in-Nigeria
If anyone reading this post wishes to further discuss 419 or any other scams, please don't hesitate to contact me on this blog, or my email: chris.telamon65@gmail.com or m_e_kozak@yahoo.com .
Or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mark.e.kozak
Fast forward ahead ten years or so and my next encounter with Nigeria. Make that encounters with Nigeria. Hundreds of them really, with the legions of Nigerian ministers, government officials and lonely widows that began filling my email inbox with untold opportunities to make millions of dollars .. for free. According to Andrew George Balfour, Esq., (chief solicitor with A.G. Balfour Chambers and Associates), Ms. Annabel Okem (computer scientist with the Bank of Nigeria) and countless other well-meaning citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, all I needed to do was provide my bank account and other personal information so they could "legitimize" various family fortunes and ill-gotten gains, and then toss me a few million sumolians for my time and trouble.
The first time I received one of these emails twenty years ago, I was flabbergasted. The horrible spelling, mangled grammar and transparent ruse induced gales of laughter. With each and every successive email, my curiosity and amusement sharpened. Anyone who knows me has been subjected - at one time or another - to a long discourse on confidence games, swindles, frauds and scams of every persuasion. My fascination with The Life began when I saw Paper Moon and The Sting as a kid, and since that first introduction to ropers, hustlers, shills and vics I've been obsessed with the Art. With that first email from Nigeria, I immediately recognized the con - an updated but rather amateurish variation of the old Spanish Prisoner or Detroit-Buffalo game. Basically, the mark is persuaded into funding an advance fee that will clear the way for a big score, some crumbs of which he'll given for his trouble. How could anyone actually fall for this? As the emails continued, I started saving the most hilarious come-ons in my library while paper chasing the origin and logistics of The Nigerian Prince.
I quickly learned that what I was calling The Nigerian Prince was officially known as The 419 Scam. 419 is the article in the Nigerian legal code dealing with fraud. The game started on fax machines in the late 80s and early 90s, but really took off with the advent of universal email in the mid-90s. After amassing quite a bit of research on 419, I discussed it during one of my Fringewatch 2000 presentations at Borders Books in Westlake during the mid-90s. As I joked my way through the explanation, I noted one audience member who seemed none too amused. Afterwards, I learned why. Her brother had been duped by one of my "Nigerian Princes" to the tune of $50K, and he was still on their hook, wiring final payment after final payment via Western Union to his "legal representative" in Lagos. A few days later, I met with her and her brother at the Borders Cafe, outlined the con as best I could for him, and then watched in utter stupefaction as he called me a fool and stormed out.
That's the day that I really started taking 419 seriously. Further research put me in contact with individuals committed to exposing the dangers of 419 and, in some cases, actually scamming the scammers themselves. Websites such as 419 Eater ( http://www.419eater.com/ ) & The 419 Coalition ( http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/ ) actively pursue 419 perps, and 419 Eater publicly posts their numerous online encounters with 419ers for public consumption and edification. Through the years, then, I've followed the development and spread of 419 into other countries as well as American and Western popular culture. With all the novels, movies TV shows and news exposés addressing 419, you'd think every potential mark would be forewarned and forearmed. Yet, 419 is still a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise every year, and recent revelations regarding the Nigerian organization Boko Haram have added yet another layer to the twisted tale of 419 ( http://1389blog.com/2014/06/06/nigerian-email-scams-419-frauds-fund-boko-haram/ ) Not only is 419 robbing marks of their hard-earned money, but women and children in Nigeria are being robbed of their freedom, as well. Needless to say, Chinua Achebe must be doing somersaults and pirouettes in his grave.
With all this in mind, I've found some readily accessible resources (see below) available to anyone wishing to further their understanding of this felonious phenomenon.
https://www.scribd.com/book/226429087/Email-Scams-From-Around-the-World-Well-Parts-of-Africa-Really
https://www.scribd.com/book/206606952/The-Nigerian-Fraud-Conspiracy-Finding-U-S-co-conspirators
https://www.scribd.com/book/233095619/A-Culture-of-Corruption-Everyday-Deception-and-Popular-Discontent-in-Nigeria
If anyone reading this post wishes to further discuss 419 or any other scams, please don't hesitate to contact me on this blog, or my email: chris.telamon65@gmail.com or m_e_kozak@yahoo.com .
Or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mark.e.kozak
Friday, January 9, 2015
From my Scribd Library - The Book of Bad: Stuff You Should Know Unless You're a Pussy by Christopher Lee Barish
The Book of Bad: Stuff You Should Know Unless You're a Pussy by Christopher Lee Barish
https://www.scribd.com/book/171535088/The-Book-of-Bad-Stuff-You-Should-Know-Unless-You-re-a-Pussy
I really wanted to love this book. I mean the concept is lock-stock-and-barrel in my wheelhouse. The cover and chapter headings promise oodles of taboo and forbidden knowledge, kind of like Bill Poundstone and/or Cecil Adams for the outlaw set. So I settled in and found an amusing, fast read. Which is exactly the problem.
The entries lack depth and insight. A book that advertises "inside information" should be packed with interviews or articles written by experts who have actually performed the disreputable and nefarious activities discussed. Alas, the author only feeds us some tantalizing tidbits and rollicking anecdotes.
I'm keeping TBoBS in my reference and crime library more as a nod to its high concept than its actual content. For anyone looking for similar reference titles involving "secret" information and basic outlawry, please consult my collections, Reference and Crimes, Cons & Scams, on Scribd:
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11873888/Reference
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11872131/Crime-Cons-Scams
MK
https://www.scribd.com/book/171535088/The-Book-of-Bad-Stuff-You-Should-Know-Unless-You-re-a-Pussy
I really wanted to love this book. I mean the concept is lock-stock-and-barrel in my wheelhouse. The cover and chapter headings promise oodles of taboo and forbidden knowledge, kind of like Bill Poundstone and/or Cecil Adams for the outlaw set. So I settled in and found an amusing, fast read. Which is exactly the problem.
The entries lack depth and insight. A book that advertises "inside information" should be packed with interviews or articles written by experts who have actually performed the disreputable and nefarious activities discussed. Alas, the author only feeds us some tantalizing tidbits and rollicking anecdotes.
I'm keeping TBoBS in my reference and crime library more as a nod to its high concept than its actual content. For anyone looking for similar reference titles involving "secret" information and basic outlawry, please consult my collections, Reference and Crimes, Cons & Scams, on Scribd:
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11873888/Reference
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11872131/Crime-Cons-Scams
MK
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Work, Life, Mortality & Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
I've been wrong all these years about the last moments of my life. Based upon the countless anecdotes I've read regarding NDEs (near death experiences), I thought a million images would flicker simultaneously across the movie-screen in my mind before I saw the white light. This morning, however, I only saw white - inside my brain and outside the windshield.
I left the house in Avon Lake at 4:30AM to make it on time to my job in Solon, Ohio, fifty miles away. I was giving myself three whole hours to make the 60 minute commute. My gas tank was three-quarters full, and although I was hungry I decided to forego any food or drink until I was safely at my destination. Nothing worse than being stranded on the highway when Nature starts calling. After brushing off the Sedona, I cranked up Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, backed out of the drive, crunched through some un-plowed back streets, and then crept down Route 83 South towards the I90E entrance.
This is going to be a bad one. I already knew that, but I've been car-sledding along Cleveland's Highways To Hell for the last 30-odd years so I figured I'd be okay. Just take it slow. About 3 miles an hour should do it. At least I was the only one on the road. I mean how bad can it really get?
I found out a few miles later. Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic were already knocking out the final coda on Movement One, and I hadn't even reached the next exit yet at Crocker Road. Damn, this is going to take HOURS! And then it just happened, like when your satellite dish suddenly loses the TV signal. WHITE OUT. Not the kind of "this sucks" visibility where you can still navigate through the hazy screen of snowflakes. I mean WHITE OUT.
Just WHITE. All around and filling every window. So WHITE you suddenly wonder if you're actually still moving, that is until you feel the road beneath your new tires start spinning and your anti-lock brakes pulse like compression stockings. The snowflakes and Beethoven's fugato fill your eyes and ears with WHITE. No random images of Mount Rushmore, Buddy Rich live at the Agora, your wedding day or even The Big Lebowski. Just WHITE.
Then you stop moving. The van, the tires, the road. Everything stops. WHITE. And then Beethoven's second movement is suddenly alluding to the Ode To Joy theme from the Fourth Movement. I've noticed that a hundred times before, but it still surprises me every time. Not knowing what else to do, you exit your vehicle and walk around trying to get your bearings. Which way am I facing? Where's the road? For a moment, the whiteness abates, and you see the guard rail. Not even a foot from your passenger side door. You don't know why, but you get back in the mini-van, back up, point your front bumper east and forge ahead again. Beethoven's serene Third Movement has started, gracing your inner ears. The snow-blindness almost seems comforting now, like a blanket swaddled in a lullaby. Minutes roll and slide into more minutes.
The next WHITE OUT isn't a shock. For a moment, you find yourself wondering if this isn't still the first WHITE OUT. You question whether you ever came to that first stop. This time the brakes only shudder slightly before you come to a gentle, rocking halt. You sit and listen as Beethoven wends through two more variations of theme one before the squall recedes. You put the Sedona in gear again and navigate the shoulder for a hundred yards before merging back onto I90 east. You drive another five minutes or so before the universe comes crashing back into your senses. F--- THIS! Not today. Not like this.
A minute later, the Fourth Movement has begun, and I'm calling and leaving a message for my boss. "Not today. Sorry." Then I call my wife, Jen, tell her I'm heading back home, and then lose myself in The Ode To Joy. Jen only has one question for me when I stagger into our back door an hour later. "Why did you even go out there in first place?" I mutter something about my job, my life and how I hate being one of the weak people who miss work because of the weather. She calls me an idiot and makes me a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. I eat, watch the Today Show, think about God and Nature and Beethoven and Life and decide to take a nap. As I drift off to sleep, I hum the Ode To Joy and feel myself spinning and slipping, headlong and helpless in a universe of WHITE.
I left the house in Avon Lake at 4:30AM to make it on time to my job in Solon, Ohio, fifty miles away. I was giving myself three whole hours to make the 60 minute commute. My gas tank was three-quarters full, and although I was hungry I decided to forego any food or drink until I was safely at my destination. Nothing worse than being stranded on the highway when Nature starts calling. After brushing off the Sedona, I cranked up Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, backed out of the drive, crunched through some un-plowed back streets, and then crept down Route 83 South towards the I90E entrance.
This is going to be a bad one. I already knew that, but I've been car-sledding along Cleveland's Highways To Hell for the last 30-odd years so I figured I'd be okay. Just take it slow. About 3 miles an hour should do it. At least I was the only one on the road. I mean how bad can it really get?
I found out a few miles later. Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic were already knocking out the final coda on Movement One, and I hadn't even reached the next exit yet at Crocker Road. Damn, this is going to take HOURS! And then it just happened, like when your satellite dish suddenly loses the TV signal. WHITE OUT. Not the kind of "this sucks" visibility where you can still navigate through the hazy screen of snowflakes. I mean WHITE OUT.
Just WHITE. All around and filling every window. So WHITE you suddenly wonder if you're actually still moving, that is until you feel the road beneath your new tires start spinning and your anti-lock brakes pulse like compression stockings. The snowflakes and Beethoven's fugato fill your eyes and ears with WHITE. No random images of Mount Rushmore, Buddy Rich live at the Agora, your wedding day or even The Big Lebowski. Just WHITE.
Then you stop moving. The van, the tires, the road. Everything stops. WHITE. And then Beethoven's second movement is suddenly alluding to the Ode To Joy theme from the Fourth Movement. I've noticed that a hundred times before, but it still surprises me every time. Not knowing what else to do, you exit your vehicle and walk around trying to get your bearings. Which way am I facing? Where's the road? For a moment, the whiteness abates, and you see the guard rail. Not even a foot from your passenger side door. You don't know why, but you get back in the mini-van, back up, point your front bumper east and forge ahead again. Beethoven's serene Third Movement has started, gracing your inner ears. The snow-blindness almost seems comforting now, like a blanket swaddled in a lullaby. Minutes roll and slide into more minutes.
The next WHITE OUT isn't a shock. For a moment, you find yourself wondering if this isn't still the first WHITE OUT. You question whether you ever came to that first stop. This time the brakes only shudder slightly before you come to a gentle, rocking halt. You sit and listen as Beethoven wends through two more variations of theme one before the squall recedes. You put the Sedona in gear again and navigate the shoulder for a hundred yards before merging back onto I90 east. You drive another five minutes or so before the universe comes crashing back into your senses. F--- THIS! Not today. Not like this.
A minute later, the Fourth Movement has begun, and I'm calling and leaving a message for my boss. "Not today. Sorry." Then I call my wife, Jen, tell her I'm heading back home, and then lose myself in The Ode To Joy. Jen only has one question for me when I stagger into our back door an hour later. "Why did you even go out there in first place?" I mutter something about my job, my life and how I hate being one of the weak people who miss work because of the weather. She calls me an idiot and makes me a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. I eat, watch the Today Show, think about God and Nature and Beethoven and Life and decide to take a nap. As I drift off to sleep, I hum the Ode To Joy and feel myself spinning and slipping, headlong and helpless in a universe of WHITE.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
From my Scribd Library - I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehova's Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams
I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehova's Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams
https://www.scribd.com/book/224248349/I-m-Perfect-You-re-Doomed-Tales-from-a-Jehovah-s-Witness-Upbringing
To begin with, let me issue a disclaimer of sorts. I'm a sucker for books on cults & sects, be they scholarly investigations, true-believer screeds, polemic exposés or "I Used To Be In a Cult/Sect" memoirs. So when I cracked open I'm Perfect, my interest was already piqued. Over the first 50-60 pages, I discovered a well-written and laugh-out-loud narrative of growing up in a JW household. The author's career as a stand-up comedian is clearly apparent in a never-ending string of irreverent descriptions and absurd observations. By the book's halfway point, I was hooked and breezed through the rest of the book in a few hours. Unfortunately, I think Abrahams' prose and voice lose a lot of punch in the book's second half where her experiences as a JW devolve into an engaging but somewhat clichéd memoir of OCD and related issues. For anyone seeking a compelling memoir told from a unique perspective, I certainly recommended I'm Perfect, especially the first half of the book. For anyone looking for similar titles involving cults, sects, please consult my collection, Religion & Cults, on Scribd:
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11070316/Religion-Cults
MK
https://www.scribd.com/book/224248349/I-m-Perfect-You-re-Doomed-Tales-from-a-Jehovah-s-Witness-Upbringing
To begin with, let me issue a disclaimer of sorts. I'm a sucker for books on cults & sects, be they scholarly investigations, true-believer screeds, polemic exposés or "I Used To Be In a Cult/Sect" memoirs. So when I cracked open I'm Perfect, my interest was already piqued. Over the first 50-60 pages, I discovered a well-written and laugh-out-loud narrative of growing up in a JW household. The author's career as a stand-up comedian is clearly apparent in a never-ending string of irreverent descriptions and absurd observations. By the book's halfway point, I was hooked and breezed through the rest of the book in a few hours. Unfortunately, I think Abrahams' prose and voice lose a lot of punch in the book's second half where her experiences as a JW devolve into an engaging but somewhat clichéd memoir of OCD and related issues. For anyone seeking a compelling memoir told from a unique perspective, I certainly recommended I'm Perfect, especially the first half of the book. For anyone looking for similar titles involving cults, sects, please consult my collection, Religion & Cults, on Scribd:
https://www.scribd.com/collections/11070316/Religion-Cults
MK
Sunday, January 4, 2015
It's Been Awhile .. Is Anyone Still Out There?
Well, it's been awhile since I updated my writing career here. Like everyone else trying to indulge a creative passion while managing a "Real Life," annoying inconveniences like work, home & car repairs and family issues have a way of sapping creative output. Yes, I'm still working on White Picket Jungle (short stories from the Chris Telamon universe) and Stalking Mule, the follow-up novel to Cat & Cat. Unfortunately, real world obstructions have left me with a rather nagging case of creative constipation over the last 8-10 weeks. When I have time, I have no energy; when I have inspiration, I have no time.
In retrospect, I find myself wondering how the heck I ever finished Cat & Cat with the same schedule and relentless distractions. With the new year, I've set some new goals. I will finish my current projects and once again be more of a presence here, as well as Facebook, Linked-In & Pinterest. Now let's see how long that lasts.
I did receive some good news towards the end of the year regarding Cat & Cat. Several local libraries - Avon Lake, Porter Public, Lakewood, Oberlin & the Cuyahoga County system - are in the process of adding Cat & Cat to their e-book collections. They've all told me the same thing, however. "Get printed copies." I guess there's still a significant portion of our population that needs paper and ink. That in mind, I have the investment earmarked for this year, and I'm currently pricing printers. By this time next year, I fully expect to have hard copies of Cat in addition to the e-book.
Speaking of e-books, one of my best Xmas presents this year was a free 90-day trial to Scribd. If you're not familiar with Scrbd, it's kind of like a Netflix for e-books. My novel, Cat & Cat, is a featured title there:https://www.scribd.com/book/221640413/Cat-Cat So, if you're on or into Scribd, please take a look at my novel, as well as my Library and Collections:https://www.scribd.com/mark1kozak/collections . I'd love suggestions for other material I might like. Just a quick perusal will give you a pretty good idea what I'm into.
That's all for now.
MK
In retrospect, I find myself wondering how the heck I ever finished Cat & Cat with the same schedule and relentless distractions. With the new year, I've set some new goals. I will finish my current projects and once again be more of a presence here, as well as Facebook, Linked-In & Pinterest. Now let's see how long that lasts.
I did receive some good news towards the end of the year regarding Cat & Cat. Several local libraries - Avon Lake, Porter Public, Lakewood, Oberlin & the Cuyahoga County system - are in the process of adding Cat & Cat to their e-book collections. They've all told me the same thing, however. "Get printed copies." I guess there's still a significant portion of our population that needs paper and ink. That in mind, I have the investment earmarked for this year, and I'm currently pricing printers. By this time next year, I fully expect to have hard copies of Cat in addition to the e-book.
Speaking of e-books, one of my best Xmas presents this year was a free 90-day trial to Scribd. If you're not familiar with Scrbd, it's kind of like a Netflix for e-books. My novel, Cat & Cat, is a featured title there:https://www.scribd.com/book/221640413/Cat-Cat So, if you're on or into Scribd, please take a look at my novel, as well as my Library and Collections:https://www.scribd.com/mark1kozak/collections . I'd love suggestions for other material I might like. Just a quick perusal will give you a pretty good idea what I'm into.
That's all for now.
MK
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