Last Rant;

Some days turn out just plain funny and this is one of them. However the “joke” offered by the one-trick-pony-anti-American conspiracy theorists is so well worn that it is necessary to find an “it’s so boring, it’s funny” mindset to provide the slightest curl of a lip. In any circumstance this will be the last thing I post on the subject. I’m going to join the club of smarter Americans who just ignore the stupidity.

I realize that in the ersatz intellectual circles of Goodreads at Amazon it is entirely de classe for a US citizen to say anything in support of their country. So call me a jingoist or anything else you’d like. I really don’t care anywhere near as much as you’d care if I merely pointed out your contradictions, silly value judgements, and preference for weak innuendo over hard fact. At the most bottom of lines, it would be best for this country to return to their pre-WWII isolationist policy and not get involved with other country’s problems. Hell, if they’re going to hate us for it, let them hate us for nothing. Let them dump their products in their own back yards and put Americans back to work. Let them break their own budgets doing the surveillance necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. If they really think that there is no such thing, perhaps they will be enlightened by the bomb a jihadist places in a supportive crack.  

Today I read a series of out and out insults written to someone with the audacity to call into question things which the foreign bookseller-conspiracy theorist said. The long story ended with a recapitulation of their “policy,” a referral to their “policy Statement,” and the absurd statement that they are better Americans than the Americans themselves. That can be answered in a myriad of ways, but suffice to offer two words containing seven letters. ................. Okay. The foreign moderators of the Hate America threads will require the specificity they don’t require when they claim US atrocities. Hint. First word begins with “E” and the second begins with “S.” They say that US leading families are reptilian, that the US created Al Qaeda and ISIS, that the federal Reserve is purposely bankrupting the world, that 6 people control 65% of the world’s resources, that if anyone speaks of these things mind-controlled assassins will eliminate them (Presumably not these two foreign operatives, though.), that the symbolism on US currency is that of a secret controlling society either called the Masons, Illuminati or a host of other names (These secret organizations ostensibly intend to maintain their clandestine existence through advertising it on papers seen by everyone in the US every day. DUH!!!!!! I think it would take the return of Dubya to come up with a plan as sound.), that a missing plane was zapped by an obliterating death ray, secretly made by aliens for the US because there were 15 scientists on board who had just finished a nasty secret project (Admittedly the conspiracy theorists occasionally show a hint of fairness. This theory was abandoned when the plane debris washed up on shore and the 15 scientists were found safely on land.), that Tesla technology which could provide everyone with free energy is suppressed, without mentioning that one large city tried to implement it and it didn’t work; that the US has covertly started every war known to man. I could go on, but I’m getting extremely bored.

I guess social media has been proving for some time now that it’s perfectly acceptable to put mental retardation on the web. What disturbs me is that a traitor is allowed to capitalize on it. That statement probably upsets some good Americans. I’d just like them to consider one thing. In a time of war these people are allowed to without proof say anything detrimental about a country they have never lived in, while they throw the burden of proof on America to prove that it didn’t do something. This is like requiring you to prove that you didn’t kill a neighbor of yours who died 20 years ago.

The conspiracy theorists, as a group, claim that there is proof (Or the closest thing to it they possess regarding any of their claims.) that the US had involvement in the continuation of the Nazi-Fascist MK-Ultra program, which involved mind control experimentation and “Manchurian Candidate”- type of speculation. The “conclusive” proof they refer to are documents, which are available on line. The CT’s infer a US admission to wrongdoing because of this. In actuality, the documents do indeed refer to a US MK-Ultra program. What is never cited by the rabid-half-truth-gossipmongers of US malfeasance is that these are merely budgetary documents. They do refer to a program named MK-Ultra, but never specify what the purpose of that program was and only deal with expenditure approvals. The program lasted less than a fiscal year and its total budget was either $4,700 or $7,400; I can’t recall which. Even taking the larger number, this is suggestive of some short-lived folly, which was quickly abandoned, regarding some un-defined activity which occupied some government employee’s time less than a year. Check me out if you think I’m lying. It’s public information. Whatever conclusions you make, my point is that after claimed diligent decades of research, this is the closest thing to evidence found by the CT’s in support of their hundreds of anti-US claims. The only logical conclusions I can imagine are that either the claims are false or that the claimants are totally incompetent.      

Other Factoids about the Conspiracy Thread;

1) It is disproportionately Arabic; and they are supposedly there to discuss books. A few members do not even write in English. Whassup with that? Subject for a real conspiracy. Perhaps?

2) You are free to say anything, no matter how much in piss-poor taste, about Catholics, Protestants, America, the west and your mother, but if you make the slightest of comments which might be construed as being anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Hamas or anti-Palestinian you will suffer slings and arrows and may even be expelled from the “open to all, say whatever you want, no rules thread.

3) The evidence strongly suggests that the moderators have taken a side, and it’s not the American one.

4) One honorary member who resides in the US$-oil rich United Arab Emerites is openly anti-US, anti-Jew, and anti-Israel. He’s a bit comical in his serious audaciousness to criticize others for human rights abuses, when his now rich nation is still at least partially governed by Sharia law, and publicly stone women to death for alleged adultery. The bug-eyed ingrate seems not to realize that without the benefit of the largesse received from those he now despises, the self-proclaimed intellectual (It should be noted that this designation requires no testing or licensing procedure, and that there are smart intellectuals as well as stupid ones.) would be out in the desert kicking camel shit along with the rest of his family, hoping that ISIS didn’t find, rape, and kill them. 

5) He has been allowed to say such things for years. But, if you joined GR tomorrow and said something negative about someone’s book, you might be expelled. The priorities are obvious.

6) This guy amuses me too. He’s a codger who claims to have been high up in US Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence for about 20 years. He speaks authoritatively about every world event you’ve heard of and many you didn’t. He claims to have been at many of them, claims to know the behind the scenes truths of Russian and Israeli secret operations and cites conspiratorial suggestive US irregularities at every one. I sometime wonder why no one asks him why he didn’t do anything to stop it at the time. Why didn’t he at least tell someone at the time? He finds these things so appalling now, what caused the religious, Beckett-like conversion? Guess what he does in his dotage? You got it!!!! He writes books about it, just like the moderating duo.

7) The operatives attempt to put aside detractors, conveniently avoiding any substance with a command for them to stay “on topic.” But, who could be more off topic than those who suggest a million man march on Area 51, the US capitol, and the Pentagon on a site designed for book discussions?

8) Much worse than the minor idiots mentioned in 4, 5 and 6 are these moderators-operatives who manage the conspiracy-hate US-misinformation thread. You’ll have to trust me on this one, but it’s not essential as the other facts speak for themselves and can be gleaned or documented with small effort. My testimony is that one of the operatives has admitted that this whole thing is just a scam to sell highly plagiarized books to Americans, in further hopes of a movie deal. In the context of the Bob Dylan song titled “Jokerman” he said that the song was about him, while he opined as to whether or not there was any real difference between him and Billy Roper. These statements exist on GR PMs which have been deleted, but I believe can be un-deleted. If you believe this great; if not it’s not necessary. 

I never thought that I’d have anything good to say about Donald Trump; Bernie Sander’s record almost entirely consistent with my personal values. But godmmit Bernie, the Donald seems to be the only candidate who realizes that ISIS and radical Islamic ideology are a threat. Jeez.

Things are getting weirder and weirder here. This whole situation is complete bullshit, and I’m out of here.

Some days turn out just plain funny and this is one of them. However the “joke” offered by the one-trick-pony-anti-American conspiracy theorists is so well worn that it is necessary to find an “it’s so boring, it’s funny” mindset to provide the slightest curl of a lip. In any circumstance this will be the last thing I post on the subject. I’m going to join the club of smarter Americans who just ignore the stupidity.

I realize that in the ersatz intellectual circles of Goodreads at Amazon it is entirely de classe for a US citizen to say anything in support of their country. So call me a jingoist or anything else you’d like. I really don’t care anywhere near as much as you’d care if I merely pointed out your contradictions, silly value judgements, and preference for weak innuendo over hard fact. At the most bottom of lines, it would be best for this country to return to their pre-WWII isolationist policy and not get involved with other country’s problems. Hell, if they’re going to hate us for it, let them hate us for nothing. Let them dump their products in their own back yards and put Americans back to work. Let them break their own budgets doing the surveillance necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. If they really think that there is no such thing, perhaps they will be enlightened by the bomb a jihadist places in a supportive crack.   

Today I read a series of out and out insults written to someone with the audacity to call into question things which the foreign bookseller-conspiracy theorist said. The long story ended with a recapitulation of their “policy,” a referral to their “policy Statement,” and the absurd statement that they are better Americans than the Americans themselves. That can be answered in a myriad of ways, but suffice to offer two words containing seven letters. ................. Okay. The foreign moderators of the Hate America threads will require the specificity they don’t require when they claim US atrocities. Hint. First word begins with “E” and the second begins with “S.” They say that US leading families are reptilian, that the US created Al Qaeda and ISIS, that the federal Reserve is purposely bankrupting the world, that 6 people control 65% of the world’s resources, that if anyone speaks of these things mind-controlled assassins will eliminate them (Presumably not these two foreign operatives, though.), that the symbolism on US currency is that of a secret controlling society either called the Masons, Illuminati or a host of other names (These secret organizations ostensibly intend to maintain their clandestine existence through advertising it on papers seen by everyone in the US every day. DUH!!!!!! I think it would take the return of Dubya to come up with a plan as sound.), that a missing plane was zapped by an obliterating death ray, secretly made by aliens for the US because there were 15 scientists on board who had just finished a nasty secret project (Admittedly the conspiracy theorists occasionally show a hint of fairness. This theory was abandoned when the plane debris washed up on shore and the 15 scientists were found safely on land.), that Tesla technology which could provide everyone with free energy is suppressed, without mentioning that one large city tried to implement it and it didn’t work; that the US has covertly started every war known to man. I could go on, but I’m getting extremely bored.

I guess social media has been proving for some time now that it’s perfectly acceptable to put mental retardation on the web. What disturbs me is that a traitor is allowed to capitalize on it. That statement probably upsets some good Americans. I’d just like them to consider one thing. In a time of war these people are allowed to without proof say anything detrimental about a country they have never lived in, while they throw the burden of proof on America to prove that it didn’t do something. This is like requiring you to prove that you didn’t kill a neighbor of yours who died 20 years ago.

The conspiracy theorists, as a group, claim that there is proof (The closest thing to it they possess.) that the US had involvement in the continuation of the Nazi-Fascist

Other Factoids about the Conspiracy Thread;

1) It is disproportionately Arabic; and they are supposedly there to discuss books. A few members do not even write in English. Whassup with that? Subject for a real conspiracy. Perhaps?

2) You are free to say anything, no matter how much in piss-poor taste, about Catholics, Protestants, America, the west and your mother, but if you make the slightest of comments which might be construed as being anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Hamas or anti-Palestinian you will suffer slings and arrows and may even be expelled from the “open to all, say whatever you want, no rules thread.

3) The evidence strongly suggests that the moderators have taken a side, and it’s not the American one.

4) One honorary member who resides in the US$-oil rich United Arab Emerites is openly anti-US, anti-Jew, and anti-Israel. He’s a bit comical in his serious audaciousness to criticize others for human rights abuses, when his now rich nation is still at least partially governed by Sharia law, and publicly stone women to death for alleged adultery. The bug-eyed ingrate seems not to realize that without the benefit of the largesse received from those he now despises, the self-proclaimed intellectual (It should be noted that this designation requires no testing or licensing procedure, and that there are smart intellectuals as well as stupid ones.) would be out in the desert kicking camel shit along with the rest of his family, hoping that ISIS didn’t find, rape, and kill them. 

5) He has been allowed to say such things for years. But, if you joined GR tomorrow and said something negative about someone’s book, you might be expelled. The priorities are obvious.

6) This guy amuses me too. He’s a codger who claims to have been high up in US Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence for about 20 years. He speaks authoritatively about every world event you’ve heard of and many you didn’t. He claims to have been at many of them, claims to know the behind the scenes truths of Russian and Israeli secret operations and cites conspiratorial suggestive US irregularities at every one. I sometime wonder why no one asks him why he didn’t do anything to stop it at the time. Why didn’t he at least tell someone at the time? He finds these things so appalling now, what caused the religious, Beckett-like conversion? Guess what he does in his dotage? You got it!!!! He writes books about it, just like the moderating duo.

7) The operatives attempt to put aside detractors, conveniently avoiding any substance with a command for them to stay “on topic.” But, who could be more off topic than those who suggest a million man march on Area 51, the US capitol, and the Pentagon on a site designed for book discussions?

8) Much worse than the minor idiots mentioned in 4, 5 and 6 are these moderators-operatives who manage the conspiracy-hate US-misinformation thread. You’ll have to trust me on this one, but it’s not essential as the other facts speak for themselves and can be gleaned or documented with small effort. My testimony is that one of the operatives has admitted that this whole thing is just a scam to sell highly plagiarized books to Americans, in further hopes of a movie deal. In the context of the Bob Dylan song titled “Jokerman” he said that the song was about him, while he opined as to whether or not there was any real difference between him and Billy Roper. These statements exist on GR PMs which have been deleted, but I believe can be un-deleted. If you believe this great; if not it’s not necessary.  

I never thought that I’d have anything good to say about Donald Trump; Bernie Sander’s record almost entirely consistent with my personal values. But godmmit Bernie, the Donald seems to be the only candidate who realizes that ISIS and radical Islamic ideology are a threat. Jeez.

Things are getting weirder and weirder here. This whole situation is complete bullshit, and I’m out of here.

Some days turn out just plain funny and this is one of them. However the “joke” offered by the one-trick-pony-anti-American conspiracy theorists is so well worn that it is necessary to find an “it’s so boring, it’s funny” mindset to provide the slightest curl of a lip. In any circumstance this will be the last thing I post on the subject. I’m going to join the club of smarter Americans who just ignore the stupidity.

I realize that in the ersatz intellectual circles of Goodreads at Amazon it is entirely de classe for a US citizen to say anything in support of their country. So call me a jingoist or anything else you’d like. I really don’t care anywhere near as much as you’d care if I merely pointed out your contradictions, silly value judgements, and preference for weak innuendo over hard fact. At the most bottom of lines, it would be best for this country to return to their pre-WWII isolationist policy and not get involved with other country’s problems. Hell, if they’re going to hate us for it, let them hate us for nothing. Let them dump their products in their own back yards and put Americans back to work. Let them break their own budgets doing the surveillance necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. If they really think that there is no such thing, perhaps they will be enlightened by the bomb a jihadist places in a supportive crack.   

Today I read a series of out and out insults written to someone with the audacity to call into question things which the foreign bookseller-conspiracy theorist said. The long story ended with a recapitulation of their “policy,” a referral to their “policy Statement,” and the absurd statement that they are better Americans than the Americans themselves. That can be answered in a myriad of ways, but suffice to offer two words containing seven letters. ................. Okay. The foreign moderators of the Hate America threads will require the specificity they don’t require when they claim US atrocities. Hint. First word begins with “E” and the second begins with “S.” They say that US leading families are reptilian, that the US created Al Qaeda and ISIS, that the federal Reserve is purposely bankrupting the world, that 6 people control 65% of the world’s resources, that if anyone speaks of these things mind-controlled assassins will eliminate them (Presumably not these two foreign operatives, though.), that the symbolism on US currency is that of a secret controlling society either called the Masons, Illuminati or a host of other names (These secret organizations ostensibly intend to maintain their clandestine existence through advertising it on papers seen by everyone in the US every day. DUH!!!!!! I think it would take the return of Dubya to come up with a plan as sound.), that a missing plane was zapped by an obliterating death ray, secretly made by aliens for the US because there were 15 scientists on board who had just finished a nasty secret project (Admittedly the conspiracy theorists occasionally show a hint of fairness. This theory was abandoned when the plane debris washed up on shore and the 15 scientists were found safely on land.), that Tesla technology which could provide everyone with free energy is suppressed, without mentioning that one large city tried to implement it and it didn’t work; that the US has covertly started every war known to man. I could go on, but I’m getting extremely bored.

I guess social media has been proving for some time now that it’s perfectly acceptable to put mental retardation on the web. What disturbs me is that a traitor is allowed to capitalize on it. That statement probably upsets some good Americans. I’d just like them to consider one thing. In a time of war these people are allowed to without proof say anything detrimental about a country they have never lived in, while they throw the burden of proof on America to prove that it didn’t do something. This is like requiring you to prove that you didn’t kill a neighbor of yours who died 20 years ago.

Other Factoids about the Conspiracy Thread;

1) It is disproportionately Arabic; and they are supposedly there to discuss books. A few members do not even write in English. Whassup with that?

2) You are free to say anything, no matter how much in piss-poor taste, about Catholics, Protestants, America, the west and your mother, but if you make the slightest of comments which might be construed as being anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Hamas or anti-Palestinian you will suffer slings and arrows and may even be expelled from the “open to all, say whatever you want, no rules thread.

3) The evidence strongly suggests that the moderators have taken a side, and it’s not the American one.

4) One honorary member who resides in the US$-oil rich United Arab Emerites is openly anti-US, anti-Jew, and anti-Israel. He’s a bit comical in his serious audaciousness to criticize others for human rights abuses, when his now rich nation is still at least partially governed by Sharia law, and publicly stone women to death for alleged adultery.

5) He has been allowed to say such things for years. But, if you joined GR tomorrow and said something negative about someone’s book, you might be expelled. The priorities are obvious.

6) This guy amuses me too. He’s a codger who claims to have been high up in US Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence for about 20 years. He speaks authoritatively about every world event you’ve heard of and many you didn’t. He claims to have been at many of them, claims to know the behind the scenes truths of Russian and Israeli secret operations and cites conspiratorial suggestive US irregularities at every one. I sometime wonder why no one asks him why he didn’t do anything to stop it at the time. Why didn’t he at least tell someone at the time? He finds these things so appalling now, what caused the religious, Beckett-like conversion? Guess what he does in his dotage? You got it!!!! He writes books about it, just like the moderating duo.

Things are getting weirder and weirder here. This whole situation is complete bullshit, and I’m out of here.

The US is bad if it turns refugees away. The US is bad if it takes them in. So say, the US hating conspiracy theorists. The “rationale” for the former badness is simply being inhumane. The “rationale” for the latter badness is that it is part of another conspiracy. It seems that the US has let in many ISIS operatives purposely, as the US shadow government knows that they will commit some mass atrocity, which will become an acceptable reason to expand the War on Terror and further restrict civil liberties. The US can’t win. While the terrorism issue may be the most complicated one today, it is safe and simple to say that in a time of war the US should enforce longstanding laws and charge the perpetrators of such detrimental stupidity with sedition; or at the very least require some sort of intelligence test of foreign conspiracy theorists before allowing them to peddle their wares here.   

My experience was not as good (as the bloggers.) On the same day 2 "reviewers" one starred each of my 23 books. One wrote 7 identical "reviews," saying; "Worst book I ever read. Glad I didn't have to pay for it." I wrote to both GR and Amazon to no avail. I'm 90% certain that this was all caused by one GR writer, reviewer, failed actor and failed movie producer. He is also a librarian at GR, and coupled with his computer skills can hack into things. At first I questioned if this was some sort of delusion on my part, but through searching the net I have found many, and I mean many, identical stories.

Frankly, the whole thing merely reflects the false sense of self importance many GR reviewers have; and which profit-deficient Amazon allows in return for unpaid librarian work. Yes, some writers get upset and so did I; FOR TWO MONTHS. I've come to see that experienced readers pay little attention to the GR rating system, which also skews things upward with five star author exchanged reviews. There is no evidence that any GR reviewers ratings have any effect on book sales, whatsoever. Its not exactly the New York Times or Salon.

Perhaps now, I have triggered another series of one stars; and I really don't care. It seems obvious to me that now that everyone knows the worthlessness of GR ratings, a series of one stars might get the attention of an intelligent reader. "Hey, if this guy can piss off the morons, maybe there's something here!"

I am tempted to tell GR and Amazon to go fuck themselves; but they have already accomplished that.     

I just discovered that there is a website which says that for an $8.95 monthly fee, waivable under certain circumstances, a subscriber has access to over 3,000,000 books, many in public domain, at no additional charge. It is also said that Amazon downloads these generally scanned books and charges for them. .......................... I suppose that's what "Amway on Steroids" is best at; stealing someone's labor.

Amazon will soon die. That's no wishful thinking. Its a recognition of the smell already there. On a financial basis, holders of their twenty year, profit deficient, over-priced stock are rated #1 in the possibility of taking severe losses. That's not me saying that; its the cold, numerical calculation of Wall Street. 

The other sites have a virtual e-library. GOOD. Good for readers, and that's the point; isn't it? For a writer or reviewer, it suggests a need to keep their day job. Yeah, I know that there are Kings, Weirs, Saunderses and Sandersons out there. But, the chances of joining that club are lower than the chances of winning a million dollars a month for life from Lotto.

In fact it is indisputable that all of these "literary breakthroughs," broke through utilizing their prior access to the big muckety-mucks with access to promotional dollars. This is not to say that they are un-talented. For every one of the "breakthroughs," there were 99 others pushed and deemed deficient.

In recognition of many of the "problems" engendered by the ease of digitation, it is also an environment in which the reader has more choice than ever before. That's as it should be. Its just an environment in which those writers and reviewers in need of a regular credit to their checking account would play their hands best to drop out when the betting gets heavy. ..................................... That's so anti the "New Age," "go for it" crap, isn't it? Not to sound "smart," I recommend the 20 year old DFW "Infinite Jest."

So, bottom line; you've put in the work; a work you at least initially loved. It seems the height of desperation and financial stupidity to then pay for some useless, internet charlatan to "make your writing more lucrative," when it is also easily seen that the ones most credentialed and competent, have been attempting to precisely and unsuccessfully do that, in the course of their employment, since Guttenberg. Their "success" rate has been, for the "stars" among them a marginal 10% and an exemplary one-tenth of that. In this overloaded e-book and indie market they have found it more dollar-wise to extend "services" to writers and reviewers, rather than sell books.

Business aside, the whole thing is ultimately just for the gentle readers. The opportunists will never be able to change the fact that, that is how it should be should be. You writers and reviewers know damn well that any of us can write a book or a review. All of us. It is the kind readers at the core; without whom nothing else would exist.

I'm embarrassed to say that my books are again available for free on Amazon, until midnight today; whose time yet to be determined. After a day and a half 31 have been taken. ...................... Pathetic, right? Super pathetic when there are 20 books offered. .................... Its really OK for me. Sympathy is better placed elsewhere. Its more a joke to me. My only regret is that no one has taken one called; "Old Miss Gracing." Its pretty maudlin, with a jackass thriller attempt inserted. It most reminds me of; "A Trip to Bountiful," in feeling. Its kind of old; kind of sad, better written than personally typical, and was "poetically" based on the life of a wonderful person; one everyone would have been blessed to know. If she saw this she would say; "What the hell are you talking about?" .............................. She would say; she would say; she would say; she would become silent; she would turn away ....................................

So, maybe , just give it a small chance; whenever schedules permit. If the first five pages are un-interesting , then go on to better things. ............................ I don't think that this request is for me. Or her. Or my loved old lady. Maybe its Or a plea to the absolution of the un-explainable  guilt I will never escape; that which you and you and you call into question. ...................... Or maybe just, another un-heard cry we've all made in darkened pillows. Or maybe one which just reaches for a warm hand, never there. Maybe, a heart which has been buried under the dirt; the prevalent logic, research and Oz depiction with which the prevalent laws have made it dollar worthy. Or just; or just; or just.  I am comforted to think that it is for her too short of a memory; a memory never given a chance;  coupled with the longer memory of the one who made it all OK;  and your literary quest which  is so here. . ............................. I can't be sure. Something which seems to be horribly cruel made it this way. ............................... Thanks for bearing with US this far.

Try "Old Miss Gracing." I love you readers.

In the context of book reviews this topic goes back a bit. In the broader context it goes back even further. So, I'll try not to bore you with things you've already heard; though I do have to say that I find it incredulous that DH Lawrence was one censored.

What may be different this time is that the writers can say whatever they want; and it is the reviewers who are being called into question. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I don't know what it is.

One incident I've heard of happened in merry old civilized England. A writer found the reviewer who had one starred his book and hit her on the head with a wine bottle; hopefully already consumed. I may have the sexes wrong, but it doesn't matter.

The perverse thing is that many other reviewers then one starred the book; resulting in more people becoming aware that the thing existed; no doubt leading to greater sales than it would have had otherwise.

As far as I understand how it now stands, at least with "oh so" significant Goodreads, a reviewer can say whatever they want about a book, but are precluded from demeaning the writer. ................................. The slightest bit of thought about that indicates a sizable gray area. For me, I find it OK to make fun of books which are not specifically stated to be recollections of a writer's painful past.

In the real world the GR issue has seemed to evolve into a question of whether or not the reviewer has actually read the book. ........................... DUH!!! .................... We all know that this is a deflection, as there is no way one can prove whether or not they've read a book. But just like the investigation of Hillary's "inappropriate" computer usage, it keeps people away from hearing about the bankrupting cost of the now fourteen year old "War on Terror,."  where it stands, the goals, etc. etc.

If that is somewhat palatable to my respected reviewers, I will now risk incurring your wrath. What you have said in your review is no more sacred than what the writer said in the book. Pragmatically, it is best for a writer to not confront their own reviewer, but another writer might well confront the review. The review is not the supremest of courts.

Reviewers have advised me that; "They can say anything they want, and that one cannot bully a book." Let me just say "OK," other nuances reserved for tangents dictated.  Previously mentioned issues aside, it seems easy to follow with; "I can say anything I want and that one cannot bully a review." ........................ Free speech? ................ Nothing personal? ..................... I hope OK.

Right now my unscientific view of the situation is that there are plenty of crybaby writers, maybe spoiled by the high ratings they were given by the re-salable "free book"-in-return-for-an-honest-review-scam; the author swapping of "honest" reviews, or the fifteen buck per pop four and five star ratings available from numerous sources Amazon finds convenient.

But, it is also true, that there are at least as many crybaby reviewers, who seem to consider themselves un-impeachable. Right now, the power lies with them, as they fill the social book websites with their free labor; and writers are a dime a dozen, with a million e-books available at no cost everyday; 900,000 of them properly priced.

So, now that I've offended both sides, I'll close with this. When I have some interest in a book, I read the synopsis and some reviews. I make my decision when I use Amazon to view the first few pages. That and the ending are where the writers put their best stuff, and if they cannot compel my interest in the first five pages, it is invariably downhill from there. I mean this as both truth and a commentary on what the reviewing industry has degenerated to. It is just a regurgitation of what knowlegable readers have been openly saying for some time now.

The reviewers here on Booklikes seem to be bucking the four star-five star-Goodreads, marketing approach, which has already been seen as a joke. "Applause, applause," to take an early quote from Joni Mitchell. To paraphrase and attempt to make 2015 relevant another; "We are leaving. You don't need us." In time everyone followed or claimed to. 

If I could offer any personal observation, it is that, it is that it is only in the interest of Amazon and similar stock-selling-machines that these things are any sort of "issue." We writers, reviewers, and most importantly, readers,  have been tricked into supporting a monopoly of calculating haters. It will be only the first step into freedom when we take the easy road of standing against everything that they stand for. Its after that, no more futuristic than Amazon's stock price, when we might be able to tackle the other issues.

Hey. You know, at the core, we're all on the same side. Nuance, nuance, perceived nuance; easily seen through.

It is probably fair for me to point out that I'm extremely biased. Patti Smith is my all time favorite artist. I also find it difficult to write a lot as I would just be duplicating the anonymous review found here on Booklikes. But, I must repeat that in a time of cynicism, this book is like a spring breeze coming warmly off the gulf. It is loving, warm, hopeful and happy without being the least bit insipid.

My wife introduced me to Patti's first four albums ages ago and I'm so glad she did. The first; "Horses," is on Rolling Stone's all time top 100 list. My favorite and also my candidate for the best album of all time was "Radio Ethiopia." That changed later; when she did "Gung Ho." Now I can't decide which is number 1 and which is number 2.

Though I am hesitant to try to speak for the most genius of artists I'd like to point out a few things about her many people believe which are probably not true. While she is a champion of the LGB&T contingent, I believe that she herself is hetero. She would say the "issue" doesn't matter. It is clear that the love of her life was her husband, Fred Smith (same last name coincidental) who died of heart failure at age 45. Though she is called "The queen of punk," I think that title came about only because she rose to prominence when punk did. To me it seems obvious that her music covers many genres, but most often a throwback to the protesting, free loving sixties.

So, do yourself a favor and get this book. Its only 80 pages, actually less because it doesn't start until page 9; and the pages are tiny. I'll always be grateful to Patti as it was her words and music which got me through the most difficult parts of my life. I'm convinced that the best of universities will one day offer not one, but two courses on her.

I don't review much, but was compelled to do this one today, when a BL friend asked for recommendations of happy books. This was my best choice. Its joyous. I also got something out of it. I learned that Patti had a book out I had not known about; "M Train." I know that they have D trains, F trains, and other lettered trains in NYC. And I might be wrong, but I don't believe they yet have an M train. But, that would be just like Patti; so far ahead of her time.    

There's so much here, I could ramble a long time, but have had a chance to distill. Despite what comes next I have no disagreement with what has been said above and below; but I think I have some nuance I'd like to mention. First, regarding sequels, it seems to me that if someone is going to tailor the main character, no doubt update the technology employed, and maybe alter the plot line, why not call it something else? Perhaps, this is too puritanical, but to call it James Bond seems a farce most likely aimed at box office. Yes, it can be done extremely well in some cases. Tim Burton is great. And, yes, your reference to the original Bond in book form complicates that. I'm only speaking of the movie history. I also recognize that had I been in the position to decide whether or not to finance the first Batman movie, I'd have decided "no," thinking; "No one above the age of ten wants to see a comic book on screen; and those below the age of ten are dependent on their parents to pay for it. ................ Ah, OK, but very low budget with an option." Regarding the cat-dog-art-transcendence thing, the short answer is just to remind you of John Estes, silver, imperfectly reflecting telephone booths. On a side note I'm told this is extremely difficult to do technically. And I'd bet that in 100 years few will remember what a telephone booth was, and the painting will lose some of its meaning, I think you addressed that generally. The longer answer starts with Narcissus at the pond. If you painted a dog and I saw a cat, I hope I would not have made my view known to you. If I had I'd have been embarrassed. If you said; "That's a dog, stupid," I'd have responded either; "Well, you have to admit that's a funny looking dog," or borrow a line from the Replacements which said; "I suppose your guess is more or less as bad as mine." Your inclusion of my "disconnect" in the work itself strikes me as overly egalitarian; though well within the non-definitions of post-modern and post-industrial. Without all the detail it seems that some responses would qualify and others would not. Or do you lean a bit toward the Cocteau acceptance, and perhaps pedestal placed, artist who says nothing? I don't. Someone called this the ultimate art dilemma. I'm homeless and more or less live with 20 other homeless people. One day I find a movie camera in a garbage can. I start filming my friends who are having a great time posing for and playing in front of the camera. I meet some producer who likes the film. We cut it up and make it into a movie. The movie is a smash. My old friends see it and are incensed. Universally, they say; "That's not me. How could you show me that way?" They never talk to me again. I sit alone in my million dollar house and drink till I pass out. I don't really care to attempt a definition of "art." But, I think that I know it when I see it. For the last year I've been going on GR and Booklikes, primarily because home improvement contractors hired by my wife have been coming and going and I can't concentrate on writing. I also thought it would be a good time to learn something about "literature." I often focused on what people seemed to like. Its kind of all over the place. With a deference to box office potential, a YA story, with a likable, kickass female protagonist set in a dystopian future or past world not very different from where we live today was the best guess I got. To Red. My "NEVER MIND" comment was intended to be a joke aimed at myself, based on something Gilda Radner did in the early days of "Saturday Night Live." I think my interest in these subjects are obvious. Its just a little embarrassing and funny to me to find that I went on and on about something everyone already knows or has taken further. Its so long ago, I really don't remember a lot about the attitudes displayed in the early James Bond movies. I'm sure they were at least some degree over the top. To deplore past behavior, currently viewed as reprehensible seems a safe 20-20 hindsight. To delineate a view of how these same games may be being played today in different costume risks social ostracism. Oooh, ooooh, oooh; the perennially smiling "New Age" guru, who used to be a nun denied priesthood, again exhibits the Joker mask she wears at all but bed-times, and says that it might be best if you find another group. For the sake of congeniality you affect a facial crunch which appears to be one trying to hold back tears. As you walk away you affect a facial crunch which appears to be one trying to hold back tears. As you walk away you return to your natural expression and you know you are free. Hey, for the sake of the youngsters who may not have heard it the first time through, on something close to secondary topic, in the hopes of prompting conversation, I close with a few lines from Bob Dylan taken from his song; "Visions of Johanna." "Inside the museum infinity goes up on trial. Voices echo this is what salvation must be after a while. But, Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues. You can tell by the way she smiles." Can't resist. Have to at least include the opening as it blew away two of my young poet friends. "Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're trying for peace and quiet? We sit here stranded, though we're all doing our best to deny it. And Louise holds a handful of rain tempting you to defy it. Lights flicker from the opposite loft. In this room the heat pipes just cough. The country music station plays soft. But, there's nothing, really nothing to turn off. Just Louise, and her lover so entwined. And these Visions of Johanna that conquer my mind.”

I just saw this on another site. YAY! For some strange reason I couldn't copy  the beginning. 

"So, this is proof positive that Goodreads knows about the problems on their site and is clearly trying to cover everything up.

Well, we have news for them.  And not good news, either.  Because of the bullying and false reviews on the site, not to mention the libeling, defamation, and character assassination being done on authors or anyone who stands against the GR bullies, a HUGE lawsuit against GR is brewing right now.  What is unfortunate for GR is that they think by ignoring the problem and trying to cover it up, it will go away.  But problems don’t go away just because you ignore them.  On the contrary, this whole thing is about to get worse.

Much, much worse."

One of the most perverse things in this situation is that somehow many people have come away with the impression that the authors are a bunch of "flouncing speshuls" to quote one person. Personally, I never spoke to any reviewer about one of my own books, but here and there pointed out some inaccuracies or contradictions in their reviews of others. I'm so glad that the techies have not yet figured out a way to allow moisture to seep through computers, as my house would have been flooded. I kind of picture an irate toddler told that he had to go to bed. Christ, what crybabies.

You know if somebody honestly dislikes and one stars one of my books, my heart is not broken. If she had the interest to use a formal rating system my wife would have done that to a number of them; and she'd have reasons. What I object to is the farce which benefits neither readers or writers. I complained to GR only once and was graced with no reply. One reviewer's sock puppet stuck one star ratings on each of my books. Then another did the same, and included the identical "review" on seven of them. It said; "Worst book I ever read." I complained at that point on the grounds that each posted all 23 one star ratings on the same day; suggesting that this indicated a possible lack of actually having read them or a sickly masochistic person who likes to multiply their pain by 23 or 46. Last I checked they are still there, while the 300 higher ratings and reviews have been deleted. At the same time I started to get e-mails from this sock puppet calling me "faggot" and making 12th grade type comments about my mother. I kept copies of this stuff if no one believes me. I didn't want to post them because they are just gross. Worse, I had a local female friend who, despite being uninvolved, was deleted from GR, and received the same kind of stuff with the addition of death threats. In her case she brought this to the attention of the authorities, and is able to reasonably pinpoint which librarian-reviewer-shit writer sent the e-mails. I hope Bezos has not yet been allowed to buy this federal agency.

Speaking of Jeffy, did you all see how excited Wall Street got when Amazon reported a 19 cent profit per share last quarter. The stock went to $580 and Bezos sold off a bundle. I can almost understand the excitement over this company, as for 20 years now they have never been able to generate a consistent profit. But, come on guys. After you get through jumping up and down on the exchange floor, take the little hand held device out of your pants and do a little math. 19 cents per quarter equals 76 cents per year; assuming they can continue this surprisingly good performance, right? The average stock sells for about 16 times earnings. Even at $500 per Amazon share that equals 658 times earnings, right? What sophisticated calculation have I missed here?    

Here's an excerpt from a post on the web by Zoe Desh. It may be found in its well written entirety under whygoodreadsucks. com or a number of other sites beginning with Zoe Desh. THIS IS OF NO INTEREST TO READERS. In fact, its better that they are kept in the dark about such goings on. BUT IT IS REQUIRED READING FOR ANY AUTHOR who would like not to be personally maligned and simultaneously be accused of maligning other authors; legal ramifications threatened.

Zoe's post very competently covers most areas my personal, one year, Goodreads experience endured. I might take the liberty of adding that, while I cannot present evidence acceptable to a court, it became LOGICALLY apparent to me that when I ran afoul of one or two of the GR librarians or super-librarians. I sometimes have doubted the things which happened to me inferred; thinking that I may have been dreaming up reasons  why my books didn't approach the sales levels of Rick Riordan, though in truth I was very briefly one of Kindle's top 20 and once three of my books simultaneously occupied numbers 8, 13 and 15 on their ever changing list. When I was deleted from GR I also has over 300 four and five star reviews deleted from the author page I could no longer access. You may have trouble believing this, but I don't give a flying fuck about the effect on my income. Unless a book goes movie the writer gets chump change; and its always been that way. The average indie author grosses under $500 per annum and the average number of sales of an indie book are 100. Yeah, I know that the web is full of writers who say that they are selling 200,000 books per year and will tell you how to join in their success if you buy their book. I have three words for them; bull-fucking-shit.

So, why do I bother to write crap like this you brightly ask? The fact is that I really don't give a damn if anyone ever again looks at one of my books. That's not meant to sound offensive. I'm 66 and enjoy writing them as a hobby.  I did some posts here similar to this one, which I deleted, after here, encountering an oh-so-sweet GR librarian. The butter would not melt in her mouth as she told me how the GR librarians don't even have the power to do what I claimed they did.

Read this and more of Zoe's post. Then find 10,000 other people saying similar, if not exactly the same thing. My purpose is to expose that Goodreads-Amazon site or what it is; a mis-managed, useless bullshit business. OK, many of you might say; "Tough shit, hack. Its a competitive world and you got on the shit end of the stick. Whine at somebody else." To them I repeat that I really don't give a flying fuck about my personal income give or take the $500 per annum effect on my life. I don't care if anyone ever again sees one of my books. What I am saying is that pre-Amazon, Goodreads was a site for READERS to exchange thoughts, find new books to read, and read reviews of little known books. Now, the exchange of thoughts is severely inhibited by the censorship policies and the decaying thought of the failed authors on the threads, trying to advertise the brilliance of their shit books. If a reader seeks recommendations the search engine is apparently unable to come up with anything other than that which was once on some best seller list. The rating and reviewing system there has become totally irrelevant. Yes, you can still get a fair rating or a fair review, in fact thousands of them, of well known books written by Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Salinger. Thanks for the information. However the garbage which goes on there has made it impossible to get an honest assessment of Leon Scrudato. GR is big; that's all.

The powerful and sensitive GR librarians are invariably also reviewers, and in many cases jealous authors. If you say something which annoys one of the sacred cows, you will be amazed at how many detrimental things will happen to your information. If you write GR to complain they'll either say they can't do anything or completely ignore it. This can also branch over to your Amazon account.

So authors, read this short excerpt from Ms. Desh. If you find it interesting there's lots more where it came from.

"Since Goodreads has a lean corporate structure, who does all the trench work to run the forums and groups? Volunteers of course. And there is one particular volunteer above all other volunteers that wields enormous power on the website, the Librarian. As an author, you need to understand the power of the Librarian.

The hierarchy at Goodreads is as follows: above all is the Librarian, queen bees in the hive. Under no circumstances ever challenge a Librarian. Never! They maintain absolute, dictatorial control over each of your Book Description pages, once you have submitted them and a direct line to the Goodreads gestapos in the front office. I'll discuss how that affects you as an author in the next section dealing with your author information."

By the way, I'll close with a way in which any malcontent can screw up the GR system. Its the job of no more than 30 employees to review every flagged post. If a lot of people start flagging every one, it'll drive them nuts. 

Its just what's on my mind today. This is an excerpt from the book I'm writing now. I hope it makes you laugh a few times. Its a lengthy ensemble thing about 80% finished, but needs much more editing than usual. I try to do something different each time and this one is much more cynical than the others. This one is an attempt to do the cold of "Infinite Jest" in heat. ....................... All right, that should have been your first laugh. DFW is one of my favorite authors; at times favorite. I've done one patterned after his magazine style of writing, which is jokier and easier than his novels. This is a bar conversation about 2/3 into the book. Here goes.

Rick felt an arm on his shoulder and used the mirror to see that Josh was behind him being overly familiar. Still, he was glad to see the self-proclaimed internet maven at all, as this was Rick’s reason for being at the bar on that day. His revulsion at the touch gave way to a necessarily endured repugnance. Business. Business. Fucking business.

     Josh sat next to him and with an air of smiling certitude said; “You called, chief?”

     Fully cognizant of the likely satirical tone, Rick responded with seeming politeness. “Yes. Glad you could make it on such short notice. I’ve been doing some thinking about what we’ve been talking about.”

     “And?”

     “And I want to hear the details. The devil is always in the small print.”

     Josh chuckled and said; “Thanks for the compliment. The details are simple. I manage your campaign for mayor. You shut up and let me use the internet the way I can. You get elected and make me business manager, with your full support, solely responsible for the re-negotiation of the garbage contract.”

     Aubrey returned with Rick’s double Jack and placed it on a coaster in front of him. She looked toward Josh, and said; “Hi, Loki. What can I get ya today?”

     “Vodka and tonic, babe; and don’t be stingy.”

     As Aubrey departed to perform her duties, with a twinge of faux merry incredulity masking apprehension, Rich said; “LOKI???”

     “Yeah, um. ................. Hard to explain. Long story. No relevance. I have a walk-in closet full of outfits. Like you.”

     Rick-Richard-Richard III smirked as he took another double Jack gulp and responded; “Mine’s more like a nineteenth century wardrobe,” refraining from the original word “kas” for fear of misunderstanding. In the momentary lull he asked; “So where were we, Loki?”

     “I don’t exactly know. Lost track. Anyway, here comes Aubrey.”

     Aubrey served the elixir and was dismissed with an obligatory “Thank you.”

     Josh took a sip and half asked; “So, I guess you’ve decided that you want to be a big shot again.”

     “Depends on the terms.”

     “You heard ‘em. Garbage contract mine. You can do what you want with the little shit. .................... More or less, depending on surprises.”

     “So what are you going to do for me that I can’t do myself?”

     “Basically nothing if you were computer savvy. But, you’re not.”

     Rick looked askance.

     “Look. You can easily get 100 votes from the members of the Brisas Area Gardening Society, just by saying that you’ll do something about the goddam elms. You can .........”

     “I’m not against the elms and couldn’t do anything about them if I wanted to.”

     “Irrelevant. It’s the hottest issue in Propicio. Tell ‘em some shit they want to hear, get in, and concoct some story later. .................... Hey, you sure you were in politics before?”

     Indignantly Rick said; “We were straight shooters back then!”

     “Yeah, right. You say that so convincingly. A natural born politician.” With his left thumb and forefinger he pinched Rick’s cheek and said; “You’re beautiful.”

     “Hey!!!”

     “Pardonome. Come on. Let’s quit the dancing. You called me here for a reason. You know you need me.” He slurped his drink, looked at his wristwatch and added; “I’ve got other shit to do.”

     “All right, all right. Just do me the favor of explaining what it is exactly that you’re going to do for me.”

     “Okay. You can run for mayor yourself and you will lose. You can put up signs all over Propicio Road, like all the other candidates. Nobody will look at any of them as they are an uninteresting eyesore. I know how to use the “private” e-mail addresses of all the registered voters to keep putting your name in front of them. Invariably they vote for the name with which they are most familiar. We’ll do a video of you in your garden playing “good old guy” from old Propicio and it will touch their button pushing hearts. We show them what they want to see. They buy it every time. The program always works.”

     “How do you get all those e-mail addresses.”

     “Professional secret. .......... Used to work for Homeland Security. Nuff said?”

     “Scary shit.”

     “It’s the reality today. Any notion of privacy is dead.”

     “So why do you need me at all?”

     “Frankly, I probably don’t. I could do this and win with any of a number of candidates. But, you have the old time experience, a name that is associated with the ‘good old days,’ and that ‘oh so sweet’ straight shooter face.”

     “All right. So, just to be clear, you get me elected and in return you get the garbage contract payoffs?”

     “Yeah, simple as that. You appoint me Propicio business manager. If something else big comes up we’ll talk.”

     “...........................”

     “So, I’ll have my guy out to your house for the video. The Brisas Area Gardening Society will be descending on the town council again FRIDAY NEXT. You be there, get to the podium and make a speech announcing your candidacy. Tell ‘em you’re going to get rid of the Calle de la Congelacion elms and restore Propicio to old time values. Afterward mingle with the crowd. Smile that sweet innocent looking smile a lot and try not to say anything particularly stupid with specifics. When challenged divert to talking about the good old days ad nauseum. And then get the hell out of there. Look at your watch and say you’ve got an appointment with some local tree remover. ............. You were mayor. You know how to handle this shit, right?”

     “We were straight shooters back then.”

     Josh pinched Rick’s cheek again, and said; “Beautiful. So sincere. Perfect. Vinny is so vulnerable right now. .......... Just curiousity; is that shit for real?”

     “I don’t know. Matter?”

     Josh guzzled the remnants of his glass, got up and said; “No. I’ll be in touch,” and walked out. The coin flipping man made a mock sign of the cross and bowed his head slightly, in sarcastic admiration. Rick wolfed down his remainder and stood, evincing minor balancing difficulties. As he left he said to the coin flipping man; “Heads again?”

     The coin flipping man stooped to retrieve the quarter. Without looking at Rick he deadpanned; “You betcher fucking ass.”

     Rick walked home slowly. He was so deep in conflicting thoughts, unconscious of the scenery, he may as well have been in Nepal.

I'd just like to thank everyone for the kind words and the heart-button-pushes. The friendly people I've encountered on this wonderful website are truly appreciated. .......... And quite frankly; and not entirely due to my happy experience; you all impress me as being smarter and more competent than the crew at Goodreads.

I know that some of you are on many sites. No problem. But, I'm noticing that some of the names I knew at GR have recently moved here; most also keeping a presence there.

I'm pretty new to this stuff, so bear with me a bit if I'm saying things you already know. My only "credential" is that in 12 months or so, I apparently annoyed Amazon sufficiently to be electronically banned from writing anything on their main site or GR. What is very surprising to me is that I also am no longer allowed to post on things like the NY Times or Facebook. I have suspicions about how this was done, but am computer non-saavy enough not to be able to explain it. I was advised by a friend that they are doing things not only with my laptop, but also through the modem. There is more to say in this regard, but this has already gone on long enough to lose all attention. CUT TO THE CHASE.

 If you are already or are planning to go on GR be aware of these facts. The vast majority of the people there are authors trying to sell their books. GR has a staff of 30. Amazon utilizes the unpaid services of "librarians" to "maintain and improve" the site. They're almost invariably also authors and reviewers. In return for their free work which supposedly centers around importing books and authors with no interest in GR, they are granted the right to access, change, delete or completely fabricate any information on the site. Of course, if asked; Bezos would say that this is not the GR he knows. More, but CUT TO THE CHASE AGAIN.

The librarian-reviewers-authors have established cliques. When a clique becomes significant in size it USUALLY then becomes affiliated with a larger one. Truly, not to sound bitchy, these groups seem to be populated by jealous failures. Most members also work through the use of what are called "sock puppets." These are simply fake identities which the LRA use to say things they do not wish to be associated with their primary persona.

So, my friends, you've seen that the path is mined. But, if we just look around a little bit, we'll see where the digging took place. They can't cover that well enough to make it appear as natural. If you choose to post on GR just post and leave it there. Do not reply to any commentary. That's all you have to do to avoid stepping on the mine. Be as brave as you naturally are, and learn to be careful on the slippery rocks.

Truly, when I first started to think about some of the "coincidences" that seemed to be happening to me, I wondered if I had become deranged and delusional. Yet when I started to search the net I found so many people telling a similar, and sometimes the exact same story, I became convinced that my perceptions had some merit.

The excuse-competent entity commonly known as Amazon, is already under attack from many sides. Chances are that one of them will do them in; like an apocalypse; the exact circumstances of that yet to be defined.

I know how it can get. ....................... Not as well as some. I now know that I grew up in a privileged time; so privileged that it would take forever to try to convey it to someone under 35. Like all of us, I more or less tried my faulty best with mixed results. When I read the words of today's youth I think I detect a logical despondence married to a clandestine hope that everything will be all right. Illogical love feels that it will; pragmatic science observes that it always has worked out, and therefore concludes that it will continue to. Are there any other viewpoints?

What can I say that you don't already know? Look before you leap? Read the fine print? Maybe, just maybe what I might unsurely "add" is a line stolen from an ancient song; "Be brave young lovers and follow your hearts. Be brave and faithful and true. (Believe it or not) I had a love of my own like yours. I had a love of my own."

Those who calculate, like Amazon and GR, claim short term victories. Short term, that's all. Temporary imbalances get the most adept at playing dumbed down attention. Short is invariably out-distanced. ......................................... It is inarguable to say that those lovers who have suffered the derision of the logicians-dependent-on-a-certain-funding will eventually prevail. The logicians, scientists or whatever term is now used admit their inadequacy, whether they know it or not. ............... Long boring story.

This gets a bit difficult. But, you know if your stuff is liked and you then say that mine ain't all that bad either, we'll both win on every level known. And vice-versa, the only warranted time to kick Bob Dylan in his ass. For me, I don't really care about book sales or movie gross receipts, properly named. I'm past retirement age and no matter the sales or dis-interest in my books, for me at this point matters little. Not quite true. As much as Amazon allows I make them electronically free five days every quarter. And sometimes takers have written to me saying that they enjoyed one or the other. It is so welcomed. For weeks I keep thinking that someone actually read and said that they liked something I wrote. Please forgive the naïve entrée into obsequiousness. It is not some stupid ploy. As far as I can tell it is just something highlighted in a multi-angled, complicated portrayal of simple, un-definable wetnesses which roll down all of our cheeks. In that moment we think that we might understand. We do our best to again finally awake. If we can escape the  stasis compelled by those warm blankets, we might actually arise. We think that we might have made some devlish, not articulated as such, deal. We'll get up when we need to piss in the commode............ Oh godammit, I miscalculated again. What fucking day is it?" Monday? Wednesday? I don't know. Fuck. If I can't clean up this mess myself it will sink into the porous brick. ................................. On second thought let it sink. .................. Kind of; there is a disturbing residue. Whatever. They now have super-duper cleansers which strain the borderlines of the old truth-in-advertising-laws; with the knowledge of being fully Scalia complicit. OMG, a bargain; 33% off in the largest of letters. Let me get on the cell phone to my spouse for comparison. Ah, shit. Communication blocked. .................................. Goes nowhere. Easily predictable boredom. Too long to define. OK, likely more a problem of mine imagined by you. Thanks. It's OK as long as you're all right. Overly brave in words. Maybe, but I seem to think that I actually feel something and hope that you do too. The glorious times when I was allowed to look right into your eyes were my happiest, most hopeful of times.

Those times are long gone, except in the involuntary dreams which often jar me awake. Differing manifestations; differing places; differing races; differing, differing, differing, ad infinitum. You may not know that there was a time when it was so beautiful in my head, that it killed all else. It is only for you that I try to write; hoping you would read one, and maybe somehow convey that you liked my best efforts. I try to vary the styles. Yadda, yadda;  

Hey, you wonderful continuations of the species. Don't ever forget that the future  is some kind of illusion, no different from the prognostications of a stock market pundit wishing to sell shares at a price.

Its now in your capable hands. Its finally different now, isn't it? 

I have to cut it. Sleep dictates.

Despite my penchant for redundancy, stick with me, my young friends. I only want to portray what is in a prominently advised acquiescence to an idea.

This diatribe is going on far too long; that a believed adventurous and merciful excursion documented in the nineteenth of Christ supposed centuries.

Hey, my few friends, it's time for me to go. I don't want to, but ................ Doesn't really matter much in any configuration of Dos5's rules. We've advanced to Windows.

Keep on. Keep on. You do in surprisingly adaptive ways. They know that they are deficient in their long demonstrated lack of creativity. If we may be allowed to play a bit of a game we should first insist upon true parity.

In the safety of my head these likely invaders. ....................................... I have to quit. I'm sorry. I guess that I'm just worn out. ......................... If we're "lucky" we all get there. That may well be the sarcastic prize; maybe the memory of a departed, special friend. In dreams we have no choice but to dream of the days when................................. Oh boy the tangents possible with their diversionary attempts.........................................

Not their fault. But not ours either. ............................................ Another long and un-bearable tangent.

Sign off necessitated.  If we all just loved each other all the "issues" would disappear. 60's shit?

Hey kids. My happiest time was when I held my mother's hand and we skipped down the tree lined street to the library. School was not yet in required session. In the cold room she had taught me how to read and write prior to kindergarten. I guess this was my concept of normality; my father travelling most of the year in an another unsuccessful attempt to be a star; my mother overly complacent in her attempts to instill life at the cemetery; me, in my outgrown crib, not yet tired, in an adjascent room, silently watching as they argued about something I couldn't understand, across from each other b.......More,  more I guess . I didn;t think it was my choice. Too tired and incompetent to add anything right now.. I hope it was "entertaining.

Keep bravely on.

Twenty years after publication and 2.5 billion reviews later it has to publicly appear both irrelevant and presumptuous for one to think that they might  have something worth saying concerning this book and its author. That is undeniably the judgment before hearing the case for the defense.

IJ is intimidating in a number of ways. It was once considered the book to read if one had any pretensions to intelligence, being "hip" or a sensitive male. It is said that it sat unread in a prominent place in many houses, a display of whatever the homeowner was trying to convey. It is also high on the all time list of "books started and not finished." Though IJ is brimming with ideas, reviewers rarely mention any. They regularly quote from the back cover, make some joke about the length of the book and its footnotes, call it genius, then proceed to demonstrate that they had never read it or didn't understand it. So, another "review" is called for. What sayeth thou judge?

I'm just going to try to mention a few things I consider of significance which I have not seen other reviewer's say.

1) Most importantly this is not a very difficult book to read if you keep in mind that the main themes are A) that the post industrial world is cold and indifferent. When one reaches out one is greeted with a "withering" comment indicating the primacy of self interest. B) You are not truly a human being. You are what the documentation in your file says you are. C)The entertainment industry is the current manifestation of the Biblical beast. D) There is a coming apocalypse. E) The "greater one yet to come" is already here, but is hampered by illness, and probably wears a Depend Adult Undergarment. F)Though it is not an ideal solution, those who survive the apocalyptic event will be those who take drugs. Most of this is said allegorically and could be debated.  

2) DFW's vocabulary was gargantuan. People who knew him said that he wasn't doing it to impress and he always tried to tone it down, but he had TWO college professors for parents. He stated that he used to read a lot of avant gard stuff, but moved away from it when it became overly dry and boring, suitable only for PhD candidates. He said things should be entertaining. He sent me to the dictionary many times and sometimes I didn't feel like going. Don't worry about that. There are about 850,000 words in IJ, and if you miss a few, no big thing.

3) So far IJ has sold 150,000 copies. "The Corrections" exceeds that at least 20 times over and maybe more as some people have said they lost the ability to count at some point. IJ has been voted onto a number of best 100 lists.

4) DFW has most often been compared to Pynchon, Gaddis, Joyce, Beckett and even Burroughs. In truth, any similarities are miniscule. He refused to answer questions about the comparisons saying that it was unfair to both people. His favorite author was Don DeLillo.

5) He only wrote three novels and this is the one he put everything into. He made light of the first one saying it was a college project. Since no one can decipher the theme one TV host asked DFW what it was about. He replied; "I had a girlfriend who said she'd rather be a character in a book than a real person. And I got to wondering; 'What's the difference?'" He committed suicide while writing "The Pale King." I have seen a few reviewers call this his best work and I laugh. It was completed by someone else and changed substantially.

That's about all I want to say. If I start getting into tangents and sub-plots I could go on forever. Professional critics can find no fault with IJ. It is impeccably written, extremely inventive, and un-classifiable. There are things in there some people might find disturbing. Though it was not coined by him, one of his favorite quotes was; "The purpose of writing is to disturb the comfortable and to comfort the disturbed."

IJ gets my highest recommendation, tied with three or four others.

For me this book was doomed. I read it right after I read "Infinite Jest." That's akin to being the poor soul who replaced Willie Mays. Actually, that was Bobby Bonds, Barry's father. I didn't like it at all. Sometimes I focused on "poetic" passages which were still underway long after the falcon had reached Lithuania. Sometimes the perfect manner in which people speak made me wonder if they all were carrying scripts. Sometimes I thought the characters were just a bit too stupid as they displayed little ability to deal with "issues" which have been on the table for a half century or more. Jeez, is Alfred the only one who occasionally makes up his mind?

Having said that; I am a fan of "poetic" writing, do not appreciate misused words and do enjoy the company of people who are not dogmatic. Worse, after I decided that I hated the book I spent a few months with indie stuff. With my expectations apparently altered I re-opened "The Corrections" and was absolutely floored by the fantastic writing I discovered.

This book is long and probably not have been hurt by a bit of trimming; though it is also true that the story is a wide one. Whether or not any individual reader will like it is probably a function of more factors than text space allowed here. There is no doubt that there will be parts you will find brilliant. The only advice I offer was learned the hard way. Don't read it right after "Infinite Jest" or "The Catcher in the Rye.

I wonder how much more this book would be liked if it had not won so many goddam awards.