Yearly Archives: 2012

Huntsman Gets a Key Endorsement

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Steve
Posted in Politics

Although Jon Huntsman is the only GOP candidate I could definitely vote for, I don’t hold out much hope that he’ll win the nomination. He’s invested everything in New Hampshire, but things aren’t looking good there.

However, the Boston Globe, arguably the most respected newspaper in the northeast (if you don’t count New York), has endorsed Huntsman. That’s a good sign. Won’t go all that far, but it’s something. They wrote that only Romney and Huntsman stand out as truly presidential

“Among the candidates, only two stand out as truly presidential, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. Both have track records of success, and both, through their policies and demeanors, have shown the breadth of spirit to lead the nation. But while Romney proceeds cautiously, strategically, trying to appease enough constituencies to get himself the nomination, Huntsman has been bold. Rather than merely sketch out policies, he articulates goals and ideals. The priorities he would set for the country, from leading the world in renewable energy to retooling education and immigration policies to help American high-tech industries, are far-sighted. He has stood up far more forcefully than Romney against those in his party who reject evolution and the science behind global warming.

“With a strong record as governor of Utah and US ambassador to China, arguably the most important overseas diplomatic post, Huntsman’s credentials match those of anyone in the field. He would be the best candidate to seize this moment in GOP history, and the best-prepared to be president.”

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Books I Read in 2011

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Steve
Posted in Books

I read 49 books during 2011. Not as good as the 81 books I read during 2010, but in 2010 I had a lot of down time, with 3 surgeries. I plowed through gobs of books while recuperating. But 49 is still good.

You can read the complete list, along with brief descriptions and links to my reviews.

For this post, I’ll spotlight my 10 favorite books of 2011, in roughly the right order. This doesn’t mean they were technically the best, the ones a professional reviewer would applaude. These are just the ones I, Steve Dennie, ordinary guy, personally enjoyed.

  1. City of Thieves, by David Benniot. Set in St. Petersburg, Russia, during World War 2. My review.
  2. Blood Safari, by Deon Meyer. My introduction to a fabulous South African writer.
  3. Hot, by Mark Hertsgaard. An artfully written look at the ramifications of a warming earth.
  4. Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child. Jack Reacher stumbles into trouble in a small Colorado town named Despair. My review.
  5. I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore. The first of a planned series about an alien war brought to earth. My review.
  6. Matched , by Ally Condie. A young girl comes of age in an interestingly-imagined dystopian society. My review.
  7. Night of Thunder, by Stephen Hunter. Bob Lee Swagger, master sniper and all-around tough guy, tackles a conspiracy built around the Bristol NASCAR race. My review.
  8. The Professional, by Robert Parker. The third-to-the-last Spenser novel written by the master, and it’s a good one. My review.
  9. Area 51, by Annie Jacobsen. The whole fascinating history of the super-secret chunk of Nevada known as Area 51. Loved it. My review.
  10. Spade and Archer, by Joe Gores. How Sam Spade, the famous Dasheill Hammett sleuth of “The Maltest Falcon,” got to be Sam Spade. My review.
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Out of the Corn Fields

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Steve
Posted in Politics

Well, that Iowa Caucus sure thinned things out.

  • Perry is leaving the race. (Oops, no he’s not. Changed his mind.)
  • Bachman is leaving the race.

I imagine Bachman’s followers, scarce though they may be, will jump to Santorum or Gingrich. Considering the up-and-down nature of this race, those followers have probably bounced around to other candidates already.

Then, today, John McCain endorsed Mitt Romney. It’s been 3 years since McCain said “yes” to anything.

Now, on to New Hampshire, where my guy, John Huntsman, has invested all of his eggs. Now that Santorum is having his 15 minutes, that leaves only Huntsman awaiting his time in the sun. But Huntsman, being a moderate, isn’t a legitimate Republican. I imagine Rush considers him a liberal. As he would consider me a liberal.

The Republican party wants nothing to do with us moderates anymore. So be it.

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Books: “Bad Blood” (Sanford) and “Cross Fire” (Patterson)

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Steve
Posted in Books

Catching up on some more books I read late in the year.

Bad Blood, by John Sanford (2010).
As I’ve written before, I much prefer Sanford’s Virgil Flowers series to his signature Lucas Davenport “Prey” books. Flowers is a much more interesting character than Davenport (who is actually Flowers’ boss). This fourth entry begins with a 19-year-old football star bludgeoning a coworker, and then he’s found hanging in his cell. A deputy is suspected of killing the boy, but that deputy is then murdered. As Flowers and the lady sheriff investigate, clues point to a girl murdered a year before, and to a secretive religious community where lots of bad things seem to happen. The book ends with a doozy of a shoot-out, and a startling act of vengeance. Yes, I think this is the best Flowers book.

Cross Fire, by James Patterson (2010)
I read Cross Fire in one day, on the plane back from California in early November. Patterson’s style–the short chapters, the color-sparse writing, the unrelenting pace–is well-suited for travel reading. This book brings back serial killer Kyle Craig, who, after extensive plastic surgery, assumes the identity of an FBI agent and ends up working with a clueless Alex Cross to solve a series of sniper killings (the victims being corrupt politicians). Realistically, it’s a bit of a leap, but I willingly suspended my skepticism and enjoyed the ride. The ending seemed a bit weak, yet satisfying. The Alex Cross books rarely disappoint (Cross Country being an exception), and this one certainly didn’t. Not one of his best, but an average Alex Cross book is still a lot better than most other books in this genre.

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Four Books: Child, Mankell, MacDonald, and Schlink

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Steve
Posted in Books

I’m getting caught up with mini-reviews of some books I read during the latter months of 2011.

Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child (2008)
This is the 12th book starring hard-guy Jack Reacher (and the 4th Reacher book I’ve read this year). It takes place in the Colorado towns of Hope and Despair, located 12 miles apart. Reacher wanders into Despair and gets all kinds of guff when he merely tries to buy a cup of coffee. He ends up back in Hope, where he teams up with a woman deputy to unravel the diabolical goings-on in Despair.

This was one of my favorite Reacher books. The conspiracy at the heart of Depair is nothing particularly compelling, but everything around it is. Reacher just throws himself into situations and creates havoc. Plus, it reminded me of the first Reacher book I read, “Echo Burning.” Both books involve Reacher wandering innocently into a town and getting embroiled in a Big Messy Situation which demands his tough guyness.

The Man from Beijing, by Henning Mankell (2011)
I cannot over-emphasize how disappinting this book was. It started out great: nearly everyone in a small village in cold and snowy northern Sweden is massacred, a hideous scene. A woman deputy is introduced, then a woman with a connection to some of the victims. Then Mankell takes us back to a the American West, where some Chinese immigrants find themselves serving as slave laborers on the continental railroad. I was fully engrossed.

But I don’t think Mankell really thought through where he wanted to take the book. Soon, the woman deputy becomes a disagreeable caricature, and the other woman, now suddenly the central protagonist, ends up pursuing clues to Beijing. Before long, we’re in Africa, then back to Sweden, then England. It’s just a mess.

Mankell, normally one of my favorite writers, basically indulged in building a story to affirm some personal anti-Chinese political opinions, and it just fell flat. When the whole thing wraps up, there is one glaring inconsistency–a major, major one involving the identity of the killer–involving a photograph which I can in no way resolve. Maybe something was lost in translation. But more to the point, if anything was lost, it was lost in the writing. I hope Mankell got these political obsessions off his chest. I just wish he hadn’t dragged me along.

The Drowning Pool, by Ross MacDonald (1996)
MacDonald, in my book, is the heir–or at least the first heir–to the Raymond Chandler legacy. His guy, Lew Archer, is more interesting, to me, than Phillip Marlowe (though not as funny). But this is the worst MacDonald book I’ve read. I struggled to get through the last 100 pages, and came close to just quitting. It never, for a minute, grabbed my interest. But that won’t stop me from reading more MacDonald books, because he’s normally reliable.

The Gordion Knot, by Bernhard Schlink (2010)
This is a strange little character-driven spy novel, which starts in Germany but spends most of its pages in New York City. This is the second book I’ve read by this German mystery writer, and I didn’t really care for either of them. Why did Black Lizard sign this guy?

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2011: A Very Eventful Year

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Steve
Posted in World Events

When you think about it, a whole lot of major stuff happened during 2011. Nothing like 1968–the monster of all eventful years–but more eventful than 2010 and 2004, which I wrote about previously. For 2011, I give you:

Internationally: the Arab World

  • The uprising in Tunisia, with a dictator toppled. (January)
  • The uprising in Egypt, with a dictator toppled. (February)
  • The uprising in Libya, with a dictator toppled and killed. (February)
  • Protests occur in Yemen and Bahrain. (January)
  • Demonstrations in Algeria. (February)
  • The uprising in Syria, with continued bloodshed. (March)
  • Dictator overthrown in Ivory Coast. (April)
  • Two American hikers finally released from Iran. (September)
  • Saudi Arabia grants women the right to vote (sort of). (September)
  • Renewed protests in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. (November)
  • Big earthquake in Turkey. (October)
  • Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit released after 5 years in Palestinian captivity.

Internationally: Elsewhere:

  • The Japanese tsumani, and the threat of nuclear reactor meltdown. (March)
  • The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. (April)
  • South Sudan becomes a nation. (July)
  • A gunman in Norway kills 68 campers and personal friends. (July)
  • Phone hacking scandal rocks the Rupert Murdoch media empire. (July)
  • World population passes 7 billion. (October)
  • Rioting in Greece. (October)
  • Silvio Berlusconi finally resigns as Italy’s premier. (November)
  • Hillary Clinton’s ground-breaking visit to Myanmar. (December)
  • Huge protests in Russia against Vladimir Putin. (December)

On the Military Front:

  • The death of Osama bin Laden. (May)
  • 22 Navy SEALS killed in shot-down helicopter. (August)
  • Military don’t ask, don’t tell policy is repealed. (September)
  • The capture and execution of Ghaddafi. (October)
  • The US military’s final withdrawal from Iraq. (December)

Politically:

  • The shooting of Gabriel Giffords (January)
  • Protests against the Republican governor in Wisconsin. (February)
  • Obama releases birth certificate. (April)
  • Donald Trump plays hard-to-get as a presidential candidate. (Spring)
  • The debt ceiling talks. (Summer)
  • Congressman Anthony Weiner resigns after scandal. (June)
  • New York legalizes same-sex marriage. (June)
  • The Occupy Wall Street movement. (September)
  • The failed Super Committee. (October)
  • The rise and fall of Herm Caine. (October)
  • The endless debates and ups-and-downs of the Republican primary season. (Fall)

In Sports:

  • The scandals at Ohio State, Penn State, and Syracuse. (November)
  • Both the NFL and NBA get off to a late start because of contract negotiations. (summer and fall)
  • Tebow-mania. (Fall)

Pop Culture:

  • Verizon begins selling the iPhone. (February)
  • The Oprah Winfrey show ends. (May)
  • Amy Winehouse is found dead. (July)
  • The Casey Anthony trial finally comes to an end. (July)
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger admits fathering a child with a housekeeper. Maria Shriver ends their 25-year marriage. (July)
  • Soap “All My Children” cancelled after 41 years (September)
  • Amanda Knox freed in Italian court. (October)
  • The death of Steve Jobs. (October)
  • Michael Jackson’s doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter. (November)
  • Regis leaves his program. (November)
  • Keith Olberman canned by MSNBC (January) and Glenn Beck canned by FoxNews (June).

Not to Mention:

  • The tornadoes in Alabama. (April)
  • Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF, arrested for raping a hotel maid. (May)
  • The tornado in Joplin, Missouri. (May)
  • World doesn’t end, as Harold Camping predicted. (May)
  • The last Space Shuttle flight. (July)
  • 10th anniversary of 9/11. (September)
  • Standard & Poor’s lowers the US credit rating for the first time ever. (August)
  • Wind gust toppled stage at Indiana State Fair, killing 7. (August)
  • Virginia earthquake causes cracks in the Washington Monument.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedicated in Washington, DC. (October)
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