http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sun, 10 Apr 2005 15:22:24 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/10/152224.php Michael WalshIn the spring of 1902, two women were talking about the outlook for the current year. One was about 25 years old, the other about 60 years. They were discussing farm business because that was their way of living.Jeremiah Murphy was born near Kilquane, County Kerry and lived through one of the most traumatic periods of Irish history and social change. This manuscript was discovered in the author's attic shortly after his death in Pennsylvania in 1990.When Youth was Mine is an absorbing and true story of a young man growing up in County Kerry, between 1902 and 1925. It details his personal involvement in the eventful and turbulent years in his native Ireland. It also recalls old rural habits and customs which have since died away.This book provides a vivid account of the War of Independence and the Civil War. Sensitively written, it contains both humor and poignancy. Books27979@blogcritics.org Sun, 10 Apr 2005 15:22:24 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/06/110557.php Michael WalshBefore Charles Ponzi sailed from Italy to the United States with big dreams but no money, his father assured him that the streets were really paved with gold, and that Ponzi would be able to get a piece. Ponzi came to the United States in 1903. After drifting around he found a job in an Italian bank in Montreal as a clerk. There he first saw the fraud operation known as "robbing Peter to pay Paul". While in Montreal, he landed in prison, for check forgery. When released he found himself back in a US prison for smuggling illegal aliens. He drifted again for some time and ended up in Boston in 1916. There he met his wife Rose and came upon the scam that today still bears his name.The scam was based upon the international reply coupon (IRC), a financial instrument that the United States and 62 other countries had devised to make it possible "for a person in one country to essentially send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to someone in another".Ponzi planned on buying coupons in countries with weak currencies and cashing them in other countries with strong currencies. It would not work, but this was the basis of the scam that would allow him to offer a return of 50 percent in 45 days.Ponzi raised the "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scam to an art form and raked in millions At the peak of his success, Ponzi was taking in more than $2 million a week. While it lasted, Ponzi's scheme made some people rich beyond their wildest dreams. When it ended, it rocked the nation. Books26357@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Mar 2005 11:05:57 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/27/102115.php Michael WalshTristan Jones sets out on a daring six-year voyage around the world by sail, he travels from the Dead Sea, the lowest body of water in the world, to the Andes Mountains and Lake Titicaca, the highest body of water in the world. During this intrepid voyage, he traveled a distance equal to twice the circumference of the world and found himself "a thousand times beyond the limits of endurance."An epic journey of exploration and discovery, along the way he was thrown in jail, attacked by Arabs, rescued by Ethiopians, nearly killed by a rat, and saved by a crocodile. He found a desolate island off Colombia, full of political prisoners. In Cartagena, it was drug dealers, in Zanzibar assassins...and thieves almost everywhere.Incredible Voyage is just one of many incredible books by Tristan Jones. He has the ability to put down on paper the many adventures that made his life, and to put you right there along side of him as he relives them. Books26061@blogcritics.org Sun, 27 Feb 2005 10:21:15 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/20/145656.php Michael WalshThe 15-minute Freedom 7 flight in 1961 made astronaut Alan Shepard America's first man in space and its first hero of the space age. One of the two best pilots among the original Mercury Seven, Shepard was selected over the other, John Glenn, and his career culminated in taking Apollo 14 to the moon. The driven quality about him sometimes made him unappealing and even downright appalling, but it helped him fight off Meniere's disease to get back into space while simultaneously building a business empire. The author has done a good job on putting together a thorough biography of a man who fiercely guarded his privacy. The information gathered to create this book required much research by the author and the results that he has pieced together reveal insight into one of America's most enigmatic heroes. Books25592@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Feb 2005 14:56:56 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/13/115001.php Michael WalshSome people claim that there's a biographer to blame in the preface of this book. In a letter Jimmy asks the author to "Live your own life and stop trying to figure out mine." If you are interested in what makes Jimmy tick then this may be the book for you. Part one goes way back to 1846 and covers Jimmy's ancestors from Nova Scotia and Norfolk Island. Eng follows the future Captain Buffet to Mississippi where he is a sailing ship captain and raises a family. Everything you really want to know about Jimmy's grandfather, dad, mom, uncle, sisters and who he took to his high school prom is revealed. Buffett fans know all the themes, the ocean, sailing, getting drunk and playing in dives in New Orleans. Interesting was his first trip to Key West in an old Packard with Jerry Jeff Walker. In Key West he finds a home and the characters for many of his songs. Eng covers a lot of trivia, and rambling speculation about Jimmy's possible ancestors that we really don't want to know. Overall, as a Buffett fan, I enjoyed the book. Books25452@blogcritics.org Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:50:01 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/06/170812.php Michael WalshChicago is known throughout the world for its architecture. Although many people are familiar with the city's skyscrapers and public buildings, they often overlook or are unaware of Chicago's mansions that are located throughout the city. These mansions represent Chicago's past and its future, and it can even be said that they are the very embodiment of Chicago and its architecture. These fashionable residences were built to make a statement, and what better way to have done this than to employ the leading architects of the time to design them. These architects included men such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Hobson Richardson, Daniel Burnham, and John Wellborn Root."Many were first-generation successes who wanted the best for their families, but were never fully accepted in Chicago's top society," Remer said. "Many built where their mansion was perhaps among the first in a trend to add value to their community."Many of the homes were built when now-revered architects were still unknown. "Frank Lloyd Wright began his career as a draftsman of lovely homes in the development of Edgewater, then a Chicago suburb, in the late 19th century" Books25190@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Feb 2005 17:08:12 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/03/113635.php Michael WalshThe Monks guide to New York City is not like any travel guide you have seen before. The Monks' show up in a beater motorhome and explore NYC with their special off beat point of view. Interviews with Lady Bunny, Quentin Crisp & The Guerrilla Girls. Michael Monk on Coney Island Landmarks. The world of travel writing will never be the same. Books25063@blogcritics.org Thu, 3 Feb 2005 11:36:35 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/20/175259.php Michael WalshYou would not dare invent Wright's life; it is too melodramatic. He survived scandal, murder, fires, divorces, bankruptcy, social ostracism, and pursuit by the FBI for offenses ranging from violation of the Mann Act, for transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes (twice, and in the appropriate sequence, each 'victim' became his wife), to accusations under the Sedition Act of allegedly encouraging his apprentices to refuse military service during World War II.If you know any American architect, or maybe any architect, by name, it is Frank Lloyd Wright. This is just the way Wright would have wanted it. There is a story that he was a witness at a trial, and after being sworn in, he was asked his occupation. "I am the world's greatest architect," he deposed. When this raised eyebrows, he clearly loved making the explanation, "After all, I am testifying under oath." The remarkable works he produced were a product of that huge ego, as were the financial and marital crises that were present every year of his working life. It is all covered in succinct form in Frank Lloyd Wright (Viking), by Ada Louise Huxtable, part of the admirable "Penguin Lives" series. Huxtable is an established architecture critic, and an obvious admirer of Wright; her book, full of praise and wonder at the works, does not skimp on the questionable morality, which did not just extend to sexual affairs but also to basic financial agreements with clients and creditors. "He never played it safe - in art or in life - and apology was not his style." Any lack of scruples is long gone; the buildings (most of them) remain. Books24484@blogcritics.org Thu, 20 Jan 2005 17:52:59 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/10/091023.php Michael WalshThis is the grandaddy of all planespotting books. It is an illustrated guide to civil aircraft that have been flown in every country of the world. With over 800 pages organized into an alphabetical listing of manufacturers, including Airbus, Boeing, Cessna, De Havilland, Tupolev, and more. Over 1,600 color and b/w photos and cutaway illustrations. Also includes a chronology of civil aviation and a list of specifications of many planes in the text. Books24079@blogcritics.org Mon, 10 Jan 2005 09:10:23 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/21/173756.php Michael WalshLook at the web as you've never seen it before: through the eyes of the average user. Users experience the usability of a web site before they have committed to using it and before making any purchase decisions. The web is the ultimate environment for empowerment, and he or she who clicks the mouse decides everything.Designing Web Usability is the definitive guide to usability from Jakob Nielsen, the world's leading authority. Over 250,000 Internet professionals around the world have turned to this landmark book, in which Nielsen shares the full weight of his wisdom and experience. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, he delivers complete direction on how to connect with any web user, in any situation.Nielsen has arrived at a series of principles that work in support of his findings: 1. That web users want to find what they're after quickly; 2. If they don't know what they're after, they nevertheless want to browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner. This book is a must-have for anyone who thinks seriously about the web. Books23509@blogcritics.org Tue, 21 Dec 2004 17:37:56 EST