Woodstock's Blog

Books Update continued

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:14:00 GMT

Continued, and I hope not ad nauseum.

THE RAGE by Gene Kerrigan

Kerrigan is one author I wish would write faster. He is a journalist in Ireland, and a new novel shows up every six years or so. His main characters are usually Irish cops, usually facing some sort of ethical situation. In The Rage the cop is investigating a murder in which a man was gunned down in the doorway of his own home. In a parallel story, a group of low life thugs are planning to rob an armored car. Political manuvering closes the investigation of the murder, and the cop knows that guilty parties are escaping. A nice, enigmatic ending.

THE LITTLE BOOK by Selden Edwards

Another book discussion choice. It's turn of the century Vienna, and two men are new on the scene. It's the heydey of one of Europe's most glamorous capitals and coffee houses are crowded with young intellectuals. It develops that the two men are time travelers - each from a different era in the later years of the 20th century. They share another important connection. I'm scheduled to lead the discussion, so I hung in there and finished reading the book, but I wasn't very impressed. Unless your interest in time travel sends you on a quest to read every book of that genre you can find, I'd say skip this one.

ROGUE by Frederick Ramsay

The sheriff of a rural county in Virginia hunts for the driver who critically injured the woman he loves. The plot begins to center on academic intrigue, the push for tenure, and the jealousies which seem to control a small college campus. A good book for a long airplane flight.

BREAKING POINT by C J Box

Game warden Joe Pickett is drawn into a battle between the EPA and a local property owner. Notes by the author explain that he based the plot on a real life legal struggle between a California couple and the EPA which eventually found its way to the Supreme Court. The landowners prevailed. Unfortunately for the characters in Box's book, things turn very ugly very quickly and the issues are resolved, but not in court.

THE BURGESS BOYS by Elizabeth Strout

I consider Strout an American treasure. Two men and their sister grew up in a small town in Maine. The men have each become lawyers, one with a wide reputation. When the sister's son becomes embroiled in what might be seen as a hate crime, the brothers return to help with the legal issues. Long buried secrets are uncovered, and like all good fiction almost nothing can be viewed as black and white. The author shifts point of view from one character to another, but interestingly, the reader never sees events though the eyes of the pivotal brother. Excellent read.

THE DINNER by Herman Koch

Translated from the original Dutch. I heard the book discussed on NPR, and when I requested the book from the library, I was startled to see a holds list of several dozen entries. It was worth the wait to read it. Two married couples meet to discuss the fallout from a teenaged prank gone bad in which their two sons were involved. Little by little, the reader learns more and more about the narrator, and I was startled and dismayed as I read the final chapter. It made me wonder what Alfred Hitchcock might have done with the story were he still around to write and direct movies.

SIX YEARS by Harlan Coben

Six years before the book opens, the protagonist was jilted by the woman he loves. He sees a funeral notice for the man she married instead and seeks the opportunity to pay his respects and re-establish contact with her. He meets the widow and is shocked to be talking to a total stranger. Perhaps not the best of Coben's stand alones, but it won't kick him off my "don't miss" list.

That's it for the fiction. Non fiction coming up in a day or two.

Tax Exemptions

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:21:00 GMT

I worked for years in public accounting. From about 1980 or so until I retired in the fall of 2002, I worked in tax departments of smallish CPA firms. I've long since let my license lapse, without a full time employer footing the bills for continuing education requirements, maintaining a license is too expensive. I still work four or five months of the year in the tax office owned and operated by a friend I met when she and I worked for the same firm in the early 1990's. I also studied for and received a Master's degree in the law of taxation from the University of Denver.

I don't hold myself out as any kind of an expert in anything related to taxation, but I've been reading the news of late with interest.

I'm only familiar with Colorado law. Here a corporation can apply for non-profit status with the State, but will need to go through an additional process of applying for tax exemption under Federal law. Basically, the federal regulations are written in such a way to grant tax exemption to organizations which exist for a specific purpose, and are not designed to provide private enrichment for an individual or group of individuals.

The application process can be time consuming and complex. In my view, the process SHOULD be time consuming and complex. My reaction to the recent spate of news articles is not concern over some groups getting extra attention. My concern is on the flip side - how many organizations are having their applications slide successfully through the process without the appropriate amount of attention paid to them?

If any specific type of organization is receiving detailed, careful, and expert attention, that's appropriate. Tax exemption is a privilege, not something that should be taken for granted. What's not appropriate is letting attention slide for every other type of organization.

I almost never comment on politics, but my hackles have been raised a little by recent news articles. At the root of all the problems the public perceives with the IRS is the failure of Congress to fund its operations sufficiently. At the root of the failure to fund the operation is the unwillingness of the American public to pay for services it wants and needs.

Rant mode off!

I feel compelled to add the standard disclaimer you will read at the bottom of any email you receive from a tax advisor. The above comments do not represent tax advice and cannot and should not be relied upon in any tax issue.

Books Update - part the Second

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:55:00 GMT

THE TRINITY GAME by Sean Chercover

A televangelist begins to utter strange prophecies, which, beyond all reason, prove accurate. Weather reports, stock market fluctuations, sports scores. Needless to say, unsavory types who make money from the gambling industry would like to have him silenced. The evangelist's nephew is an investigator for the Vatican, and he ends up working to establish the truth of what is going on. Chercover has written a very thoughtful book - not all the questions raised by the plot are answered, which I thought was a wise choice. Questions of belief and doubt are very personal issues, worthy of much more thought than the few hours spent reading a suspense novel. However, I think it's a good thing that the issues are raised every now and then, in a matter leaving readers to decide for themselves.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck

Another choice by a book discussion group. I read it years and years ago - probably in my college days. Much of what I remembered was heavily based on the movie version. So I enjoyed a return visit. I had forgotten that Steinbeck alternated between chapters which followed following his characters, and other reflections on the history of the events of the depression years.

LIVE BY NIGHT by Dennis Lehane

Lehane recently won the prestigious Edgar award for best novel. The story begins in early 20th century Boston and follows a small time hood throughout his career. He eventually rises to run a multi-faceted organization on Florida's Gulf Coast. The reader grows to respect the main character, while retaining a measure of unease with the scope of his criminal activities. I haven't read all the other nominees, but Lehane has written an award worthy book.

SUSPECT by Robert Crais

The two main characters each work in law enforcement, and each has suffered significant emotional trauma in the line of duty. Maggie was trained as a military dog, and was an eyewitness to her handler's death from an IED explosion. Scott is an officer with the LAPD, and he is recovering from physical and emotional wounds received in an attack which killed his partner. Scott applies to the K-9 corps, thinking he won't have to work with a partner. He sees Maggie cowering in her cage and asks to work with her. Thinking that this will provide a reason to retire them both, the powers that be agree. In very satisfactory fashion Scott and Maggie make their unlikely partnership work. Definitely a book for dog lovers.

BENEDICTION by Kent Haruf

Haruf is a Colorado treasure, writing lovely small novels set in a fictional small town set on the wide open Colorado plains. His latest features the owner of a hardware store in the small town - approaching the end of his life since cancer treatments have ceased to be effective. The book is a gentle, thoughtful portrait of small town life, and a realistic view of human relationships. If you haven't read anything by him, you're missing something special.

To be continued -

Books Update

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:40:00 GMT

It's going to take me a while to list my entire log since my last update, I didn't realize it had been that long. During my rehab after my knee surgery, the vicodin had a distressing effect on my mental acuity. It was very strange - I could still do the word puzzles I love - mostly cryptograms - and I could stare woodenly at the TV, but reading and writing seemed to hover just outside my mental grasp. So my log has a gap of a few weeks. But both reading and writing picked up speed, and when I looked at the log I was startled to see how many titles were listed. So here goes - probably the first of three or four updates.

MISERY BAY by Steve Hamilton

Hamilton sets his series with protagonist Alex McKnight in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. McKnight is a retired cop, sometimes working as a private investigator. He learns of a series of deaths - of fathers who are also retired cops and a distressing follow up - adult children of the retired cops. The challenge for McKnight is to discover the link connecting the families affected by the tragedies. Hamilton's McKnight series are always good reads.

DANDELION WINE by Ray Bradbury

A book discussion selection. Bradbury is one of my all time favorites. This is an episodic and nostalgic portrait of small town Illinois life in the early years of the twentieth century. Bradbury is always worth a re-read.

FORCE OF NATURE by C J Box

Game warden Joe Pickett has an eccentric friend, Nate Romanowski. Nate lives "off the grid" and keeps in touch with his friend on a sporadic basis. Readers learn a lot in this book about what sent Nate into his nomadic and isolated existence when a former military comrade shows up in Wyoming, determined to kill Nate and seeking to draw him into view by threatening his friends. The baddie in this book is one of the most ominous villains I've ever read about.

AS THE CROW FLIES by Craig Johnson

Sheriff Walt Longmire is a witness to a young woman's fatal fall from a cliff. As he goes to investigate her death and determine her identity, he finds an infant boy, and it's clear the child's mother was the woman who died. Johnson is another author, who, like Box, lives in Wyoming and writes about the culture of that state. Johnson's characters include Cheyenne and Crow, and the reader learns intriguing details about the contemporary life of the people of those traditions.

I'll keep going on this update during the next few days. Stay tuned.

Coors Field - 2013

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:42:00 GMT

Each year in our training session, we get updates on the various remodeling projects at Coors Field completed during the off season. We also get various little tidbits about the operation of the stadium which I find interesting. For example, the pull boxes for fire alarms are disabled during the games, so that the temptation to "just see what happens" won't put us in a situation of needing to evacuate thirty thousand people.

Although Colorado has recently enacted legalization of recreational pot - Coors Field does not allow you to bring it in or smoke it while you are at the stadium.

We now have a vegetable garden, in an area near the eastern entrance gate which was previously a small grass lawn. It's all very upscale - no commercial fertilizer; locally indigenous vegetables (whatever they are); and the harvest will be used in the restaurant and grille located on the second deck near right field.

One of the picnic areas has been expanded with low level climbing equipment designed to appeal to toddlers.

The paneling in the concourse level brew pub has been updated with paneling made of so called "beetle-kill wood" Obtained from the hundreds, if not thousands, or pine trees killed by pine beetles in the Colorado high country.

The brewpub in question is brewing a special 20th anniversary beer available only at Coors Field until the season ends. Rockies began their major league play in 1993, and yes, I know that this is the 21st year, nevertheless, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year.

The warning track party suite, which is located on the field level right behind the right fielder has been upgraded. This is one suite I might enjoy attending for a game.

Because of the waning number of reporters from print media, the press box had extra capacity on the lower level of the press area which has been going unused for the last several years. So, a new upscale club level seating area has been carved out of the press level - with a fantastic view of the field, and a pricey season ticket package deal.

The concourse level remains familiar in very comfortable fashion. Some of the permanent concession stands have menus which vary from last year, and some of the cashier stations have been streamlined. But for the most part I feel at home when I'm out there. I was pleased to see that I can still get raspberry gelato if the spirit moves me!

On my way to real life

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:36:00 GMT

About six weeks ago, now.

Returning Coors Field staff meets for one half day session just before Opening Day, each year. The time is required. Mostly we hear about various employee policies which get minor tweaks every now and then - the employee ticket allotment, uniform policies, time clocks and ID's.

This year, as I entered the service level door, I walked by several large hand trucks and fork lifts piled high with gear bags. Sitting brightly atop one stack was a red, yellow and white bag from the World Baseball Classic. The others were all the familiar Rockies purple and black, making the WBC bag resemble a cherry perched atop an ice cream sundae drenched in some dark sauce of questionable identity.

Turned out the team was on its way to Milwaukee to begin the season, and the extra gear items had been shipped from spring training in Arizona back to Denver. As I walked along the passageway, I met several clubhouse attendants coming the other way, all of them involved in moving stuff down to the Rockies locker rooms and clubhouse.

The floor near the special restaurant used by holders of expensive tickets was covered in corrugated cardboard, and the tracks of the carts and lifts were visible - the staff had made several trips already.

Also lined up in the hallway were several very impressive Harleys, and parked beside them, looking for all the world like a pesky little brother, was a mini-bike.

I moved past the restaurant around the corner to the elevator and went up to the conference room. This is adjacent to the "super suites" and the opening day preparation was in full swing there, too.

Several ice buckets - not yet filled with ice - along with an array of bottles of wine and an impressive layout for what would be a dessert bar.

As impressive as these suites are, when I think about going to a game, I think about the muted buzz of the concourse, the smell of onions, the sticky sensation of beer or a soft drink on the cement beneath my feet, and the "whoop" which alerts me to an incoming foul ball. Would I sit in a suite if I was invited? Probably. Would I find several reasons to sneak out and go downstairs at least twice? Sure!

On our morning walk

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:29:00 GMT

Saw two.

One of my walking partners, who knows a LOT more about birds than I do, although I share her enthusiasm, told us she hadn't seen avocets in our area for five or six years.

They are lovely birds, they walk along in the shallows, with long graceful steps, gazing at the water below and occasionally bending down to grab something.

Marking Eric envious!

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Fri, 5 Apr 2013 20:10:00 GMT

I shook hands with Goose Gossage today, and visited with him for about ten minutes. He was in the Coors Field lobby, working on connecting with a friend coming to the game with him, Goose had the friend's ticket and they had lost touch with each other in the crowd.

He remembered talking with me on a few occasions when he called the club over the years. He is just as nice in person as he is on the phone.

I know I've been quiet for too long, and perhaps this isn't the most diplomatic way to return to the blog, but I had to share.

I have more to write, about my knee surgery and the recovery from that and my first few days back at Coors Field. Real life has rolled around again!

And the Rockies are 3-1, won their home opener for the first time in several years. Jeff Francis got his first win. I wasn't able to watch very much of the game, but I did see a very nicely timed strike out, with two out and two men on.

Getting a balanced pair

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:03:00 GMT

A few yeasr ago, I had my right knee replaced. My original knee was in terrible shape, after a long ago injury, and decades of favoring it. I was very pleased with the results, so when xrays revealed major deterioration of the left knee, I was ready to balance things out. The surgery last week went well, the rehab center has wi-fi, and I hope that therapy will have me up and moving with efficiency soon.

Stay tuned for updates!

"This ain't a football game,

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 20:12:00 GMT

we do this every day."

Earl Weaver in a 1982 conversation with George F. Will.

Weaver died today at the age of 82. He was the winningest coach the Orioles ever had, and like Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel almost as famous for being quotable as for being an excellent manager.

The quote above is a favorite of mine, for awhile it was on one of the employee bulletin boards near my work area at Coors Field.

And to add to the sorrow for baseball fans, Stan Musial also died today, at the age of 92. In the days before free agency, Musial was the face of the St Louis Cardinals to almost every fan of every other major league team.

May they both rest in peace.

Disappointed

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Tue, 1 Jan 2013 09:20:00 GMT

I almost never comment on politics, but I am dismayed at the report coming from Washington this morning.

On my Facebook page yesterday, one of my friends had a photo, a screen shot obviously concocted by someone who knows how to manipulate computer graphics.

The photo showed one of the chambers of the US Congress, with the question: "Are you sure you want to send these 535 items to the recycle bin?" Dark humor, perhaps, but I thought it hit the nail on the head.

All of us pay the salaries and benefits packages for all of the legislators. We all deserve better, no matter what our own politics.

I'm not really enjoying a feeling of "bah, humbug!" as the new year begins.

However, to all of you who follow this blog, and especially to those of you who comment regularly, I wish I could convey what your friendship means to me. Thank you and may you and all those near and dear to you have a wonderful New Year!

All time best books list

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:29:00 GMT

From previous years:

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME - Mark Haddon

A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS - Amos Oz

PLAINSONG - Kent Haruf

BREAKING CLEAN - Judy Blunt

THE NAMESAKE - Jhumpa Lahiri

THE LOST, A SEARCH FOR SIX OF SIX MILLION - Daniel Mendelsohn

SEARCHING FOR TAMSEN DONNER - Gabrielle Burton

I can't bring myself to remove any of these, so I'm expanding the list by two and adding:

ROOM - Emma Donoghue

SHARDS - Ismet Prcic

Happy Reading everyone!

Books update - best of 2012

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:57:00 GMT

Moving on to 2012, and my best reads of the year.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue

A remarkable achievement of tone and voice. A story of kidnapping and imprisonment told completely through the eyes of a five year old boy. The author explained in an NPR interview the source she used for the voice and viewpoint of the young narrator.

TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante

A retired physician, who specialized in surgery of the hand, has been taken into custody by the police as a person of interest in the death of a neighbor, who has been found murdered with one of her hands mutilated after her death.

Another remarkable use of voice and tone, since the physician is sinking into the increasing fog of Alzheimer's disease, and the reader learns the truth about the death from the point of view of one whose cognitive abilities are seriously impaired.

JUST LIKE US by Helen Thorpe

I wrote about this book in its own blog entry earlier this year. I chose it for the "best of" list because of the author's careful presentation of all sides of the difficult debate about illegal immigration.

SHARDS by Ismet Prcic

English is the author's second language, and each time I stopped to think about that I was amazed all over again at this book. The author is an immigrant from Bosnia. He has two protagonists, one a well educated young man from Bosnia who is now living in the United States, and a sort of shadow figure, or cipher, who served in the Bosnia military and endured multiple shocks to his mental stability as a result of what he observed during the war. As the book proceeds, the two characters begin to blend until the reader is not sure whose memories belong to who. It's clear that there are many autobiographical elements in the novel. The author and his remarkable book deserve a much wider reputation.

BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter

The proprietor of a small hotel in coastal Italy in the 1960's; a Hollywood producer at the end of his career; a retired screen actress running a small theater in Idaho; a cameo by a drunken Richard Burton; an author with a bad case of writer's block; and several other eccentric characters fill this novel by one of my favorite writers.

CANADA by Richard Ford

A teenaged boy is yanked from his Montana home and taken to Canada as a result of a misguided attempt by his mother to keep him out of the clutches of the US social services system. His experiences there make him a witness to some truly horrific events. 2012 seems to be the year for unusual narrative voices!

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann

On the day when a high wire performer strung a cable between the towers of the World Trade Center and walked between the two buildings, a collection of New York residents deal with problems in their own daily lives as well as the startled reaction of the residents of the city to the daredevil feat. At first, the various stories seem to be unrelated to each other, but eventually the author ties them all together. I feel like saying that this is a 9/11 book, but it isn't really. But maybe it is. The events of 2011 are eventually included near the end. The novel won the National Book Award a few years ago. It's worth reading.

Books update - best of 2011

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 10:34:00 GMT

I was looking over my reading log, for some reason curious about what I had marked as the best reads of 2011, and realized that I hadn't posted my customary annual round up a year ago.

So, somewhat belatedly, here's my list of the best reads of 2011. This list might include books published a year or two before I read them.

LEARNING TO DIE IN MIAMI by Carlos Eire

The author and his brother were sent out of Cuba by his family in the early 1960's. His parents had every expectation that at least one of them would be able to follow in a few weeks, but instead the two boys ended up in a series of foster homes for several years until their mother was able to join them.

This is the second memoir written by Eire, after WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA. Both books are deeply moving examinations of the immigrant experience in the United States, in addition to the thoroughly engrossing tale of one man's life.

STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG by Kate Atkinson

Atkinson sort of writes a series; sort of writes detective novels; sort of writes general fiction. If that sounds intriguing, I mean it to be. Her protagonist Jackson Brodie appears in all of her books, but the action rarely centers on an investigative case he has been hired to work on. It probably would help a reader unfamiliar with Atkinson to begin with her first featuring Brodie: CASE HISTORIES, and try to read them in order. I find her fiction quirky, surprising, and very very readable.

THE PANIC VIRUS by Seth Mnookin

Journalist Mnookin got interested in the controversy over the connection between childhood immunizations and alleged complications including autism and mental retardation. What he found out as he investigated led to this book. Although there is quite a bit about the medical issues involved in the book, the author became more concerned with various journalistic missteps and failures as the issue found its way into general public awareness. He has quite a bit of harsh critism for most coverage of the issue and even icons like Oprah Winfrey are not immune to his criticism.

THE LONGEST WAR by Peter Bergen

Another journalist who takes popular awareness to task, this time political planners are the targets of his analysis. He analyzes how we got into the extended military actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though he writes about history, politics, sociology, and military issues, the book is very readable.

BOOMERANG by Michael Lewis

More analysis of headlines and various political and economic events. Lewis visits Iceland, Ireland, Germany, and Greece exploring economic policies and missteps in each location and follows up with a look closer to home in California. His book is very readable and informative. Lots of food for thought!

Well, sorry to be so late in this update. I'll write about 2012 in the next entry and update my all time "best of" list then.

Broncomania gone bad

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net (woodstock) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 10:12:00 GMT

There is one other house between my house and the street to the west. That house stood vacant for a year or longer, but a young man bought it a couple of years ago and renovated it extensively, both inside and out. His renovations included replacing an aging, sagging fence with a very attractive new one.

The fence isn't there any longer, or at least some of it isn't. The taller, "privacy fence" version between the front and back yards isn't either. And the neighbor on the street behind us also is missing a large section of his privacy fence. In addition to the shredded fence parts, both yards were, for a few days, strewn with sections of automobile fenders, bumpers, and various other large pieces of metal.

A couple of weeks ago, the Broncos played Oakland on national TV. Shortly after midnight, my neighbor awoke to the sound of what he thought was someone ripping the door off of his house. He heard the noise of the car speeding away, looked out the window, and called 911.

The next morning the police told him that the car, which would have been instantly recognizeable as a survivor of a violent collision, was reported stolen about 10 minutes after his 911 call.

I had the first opportunity to visit with my neighbor this morning when I went out to get the newspaper. What the police think happened is that celebrating the Broncos win got very enthusiastic, and a group of celebratory Broncomaniacs got in their car and instead of heading home drunkenly, crashed drunkenly into my neighbor's fence. As soon as they were able, someone with a clear head reported the car stolen. As long as everyone involved keeps their heads about them, and their mouths shut, my neighbor thinks it's unlikely he will ever know who damaged his property.

The police told him they will keep the file open for awhile in hopes they can press charges. They are not optimistic.