Though put together for fun by UNCLE CLARK, there’s a LOT of truth in this video.
BUT personally I like Nickelback. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Thanks Val.
The Target by David Baldacci
Book 4 in the Will Robie series.
I’d hoped Robie partnering with another American black ops assassin, Jessica Reel, would make for the BEST book in the series, so far.
BUT this book is everything I don’t like about Baldacci.
Unbelievable. Predictable. Jingoistic. North Korea evil but redeemable by the USA, USA, USA.
The subplot with Reel’s father, Earl Fontaine, was the one section well done. I wish the rest of the book was that good.
Though there are two more books in the series, I’m OUT.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Unbreakable (2000) – M. Night Shyamalan
I’ve never become a Shyamalan fan, though — of course — The Sixth Sense (1999) is a brilliant film.
I finally watched the critically acclaimed Unbreakable.
For me Unbreakable was an inferior version of Sixth Sense. Another picture where Bruce Willis is quiet and subtle.
Samuel L. Jackson was excellent, however.
And the movie is skillfully done.
But too slow paced for me.
The plot reminded me of the more entertaining Fearless (1993). But Jeff Bridges as Max Klein in that film was better than Willis in this one.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The River by Peter Heller
An excellent book. Wilderness survival.
Two best friends together on a long, remote canoe trip to Hudson’s Bay. Their friendship tested by forest fire, white water, and violence.
Heller knows the outdoors intimately. And writes skillfully.
He traveled the world as an expedition kayaker. Worked as a logger, offshore fisherman, river guide.
Highly recommended.
Only Murders in the Building
A fan of by Steve Martin & Martin Short, I was bound to enjoy Only Murders.
Selena Gomez? … Who? I’m not her demographic.
But having the old comedians team up with a young female singer was smart. She’s the right age to make fun of both.
As I’ve come to expect, Steve plays the straight man. Martin the comic.
And we can all make fun of true crime obsessives listening to podcasts. 😀
I’m already looking forward to the second season.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
I’d not read this one Rebus book … or had I?
Happily, my memory is so BAD that it seemed vaguely familiar, but not uninteresting.
Naming of the Dead is a crime novel by Ian Rankin.
… the 16th of the Inspector Rebus novels. Set in Edinburgh in July 2005, in the week of the G8 summit in Gleneagles. …
… Rebus is nearing retirement (“nobody would blame you for coasting”), and becomes sidelined until the apparent suicide of MP Ben Webster occurs at a high-level meeting in Edinburgh Castle. …
At the same time, a serial killer seems to be killing former offenders, helped by a website set up by the family of a victim. …
Weight of BIKE not important
When I started bike touring, I carried significantly more luggage than most on a somewhat heavier bike. YET I seemed to make about average mileage each day.
It’s not a race.
AND — if this video is correct — carrying 1 extra kilogram over 100 km results in only about a 2 minute time penalty.
SO — I’ll carry all the weight I want on future trips. I have a lot of capacity volume on my new bike.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
Fegan was an IRA killer in northern Ireland.
Went to prison for 12 years for his crimes.
Finally out of jail — now that “peace” has come — he is being haunted day and night by 12 ghosts of the people he killed.
This was Neville’s first book. And it’s much admired by fans of Irish literature, a high standard.
It’s profane and violent. But the plot is certainly engaging.
Cycling Scottish “Bothies”
Alastair Humphreys likes to cycle to remote huts in Scotland.
The Mountain Bothies Association administers about 100 such huts.
“… No tap, no sink, no beds, no lights, and, even if there is a fireplace, perhaps nothing to burn …”
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
World Travel by Anthony Bourdain (2021)
Said to be written by Bourdain — his longtime assistant Laurie Woolever actually only had one meeting about this book with her boss before he killed himself at the age of 61 in June 2018.
A shocking end to one of our favourite travel and food gurus.
But Bourdain had long talked about writing a summing-up travel book, highlighting his favourite foods, cultures, meals and destinations. Woolever made it happen.
The book includes short summaries of 43 destinations from his many years filming Parts Unknown and No Reservations.
Profane, opinionated and often hilarious.
Bourdain was a tough guy. But travel opened his eyes. He wanted to tell the truth, to challenge the powerful, to expose wrongdoing. He’d call out racism at every opportunity.
He championed industrious Spanish-speaking immigrants—from Mexico, Ecuador, and other Central and South American countries—who are cooks and chefs in many United States restaurants,
Amazon – World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, April 20, 2021
Rick McCharles 