Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know by Dr. Meg Meeker

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
by Dr. Meg Meeker
Ballantine Books
0345499395

As you may or may not know, we recently welcomed a new baby girl to our family. I'm also the first to admit that I don't know the first thing about girls. Never have. In raising our daughter, I need whatever help I can get.

I heard about Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know via Dave Ramsey's recommended reading list. Reading it was an eye-opening experience for me. I told my wife that it made me want to lock up all our kids (girls and boys) until they were thirty. There are a lot of scary, scary things in the world. It's a predatory society in which we live. And I am only partly talking about people deliberately trying to harm your daughter. But that's far from everything. On top of the obvious threats, it's clear that the world does not have the best interests of your child in mind. Kids are exposed to adulthood far too early. They play grown-up before they can even begin to understand what that means.

While I don't promote living in a constant state of paranoia, I really don't promote naivety. Kids--yes, even teens--are not grown ups. They need guidance. They need protection. Providing these things are the job of the parent. If the parent doesn't, someone else will. Kids will look to celebrities, friends, other parents, Victoria's Secret, and any number of other sources to decide what adulthood is. We can't trust those sources. And we can't expect politicians (despite their banner waving) or teachers to raise our kids. They can't. And it's not their job.

There's really too much for me to cover in any sort of detail. The table of contents hits the big points:

1. You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life
2. She Needs a Hero
3. You Are Her First Love
4. Teach Her Humility
5. Protect Her, Defend Her
6. Pragmatism and Grit: Two of Your Greatest Assets
7. Be the Man You Want Her to Marry
8. Teach Her Who God Is
9. Teach Her to Fight
10. Keep Her Connected

Raising kids is a big task. It cannot be done with passivity. Man up. Yeah...I said that.

And God help the kid that tries to date my baby girl.

Goals Twenty-Ten

I welcome 2010. I'm going to own 2010. I think it's going to be a good year.

Like so many others at this time of year, I'm putting together some goals for the future. Goals have been a popular subject on the Dave Ramsey show recently. You can read/listen to a recent call about goal setting here. It was a good call. Dave identified several categories for goal setting: Career, Financial, Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical, and Family. I've given these some thought and here's my initial list. I'll leave them open to ongoing review.

Career

• Do something with those picture books I've written. Write that cover letter. Send it out. That fits under Career, right?.

Financial

• Tweak our envelope system. Already done.
• Bump up college savings.
• Replenish our savings (just bought a new HVAC system for the house...ouch).
• Work on long range savings (vacation, car, etc).

Spiritual

• Finish this read-through of the Bible.

Intellectual

• Dig into my non-fiction reading list. At least one per month. Probably two with some fiction thrown in.

Physical

• Run a local 5k trail run in the spring.
• Put on another 10-15 pounds.

Family

• Family/Couples Devotions. Also falls under Spiritual
• Family Vacation!

A less tangible goal for the year would be to pursue my strengths. That is, spend less time worrying about my weaknesses and, instead, invest more into what I do well. That doesn't mean I'll slack off on things I don't enjoy activities where I don't feel gifted. I just not worry about it as much. God gave me my strengths for a reason.

The real question, of course, is whether I'll follow through with this goals.

Nerdy Excitement!

I received some exciting nerdy news recently. Hamilton County (HamCo) currently has several separate library systems. We're in the Hamilton East Public Library district so we have access to library branches in Fishers and in Noblesville. There's also a Carmel Clay system with one large branch. We were briefly in this district during or various moves a couple years ago. There's also a system in Westfield where we lived for several years. Additionally, there are a couple more systems that aren't quite as close to our home.

The New Year brings a countywide borrowing program that will allow us to check out materials from any of the HamCo libraries. The systems will still be separate but we'll have access to them all. I'm seriously pumped about this. The Carmel Clay library is very close to my office so I imagine I'll be stopping there semi-regularly.

I am curious about the details. I know there will be some additional registration when I first want to check out from a different library. And materials will need to be returned to the same library from which they were checked out. But how will holds be handled? Or will they? And what happens if someone does return something to the wrong library? Should be interesting.

Anyway, good news. I know Carmel has some books that our home library does not. So far, here's the list:

• Inventing Toys: Kids Having Fun Learning Science by Ed Sobey
• The Flying Circus of Physics by Jearl Walker
• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream
by Adam Shepard
Harper
ISBN: 0061714364

The premise of Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream is an experiment. The author, recently out of college, took $25, his journal, and an empty gym bag and set out to see if he could make it in a new town. His goals were pretty simple. After one year, he hoped to have $2500 in cash, a furnished place to live (with or without a roommate), and a functioning car. The book chronicles the author's journey through living in a shelter, searching for a jobs, working with social workers, and all the highs and lows in between.

To some extent, the book is a response to Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. I have not read Nickel and Dimed. Maybe I should but I doubt that I will. I've read some excerpts on Amazon and my impression was that the author's goal was to complain and, ultimately, fail in making it. That just didn't feel right. I apologize if I'm off on that. Again, I haven't read it. Neither is this a review of Nickel and Dimed.

In any case, I enjoyed Scratch Beginnings. It was obvious Shepard, the author of Scratch Beginnings, set out to succeed and that appealed to me. He did got lucky on several things. He landed a particular job that went a long way to helping him pursue his goals. He also stumbled into a homeless shelter with a lot of useful programs to help the residents. As life goes, things did not always go his way. Through it all, he was focused, he sacrificed for his goals, and he went after it.

The friends Shepard makes during his journey are an eclectic group. There are those with similar goals and work ethic and there are those content to let the world happen to them. The point at which Shepard explained his experiment (at the end, of course) to his friends was interesting. In particular, explaining it to the guy that, well, had already succeeded in the same experiment. The only difference was that the experiment was his life.

About the only complaints I had about the book concerned the writing style. Some of it was preachy. Some was a little egotistical. Then again, it was autobiographical. If I wrote a book about me, it would almost certainly seem egotistical.

So, will Scratch Beginnings change anyone's mind about the American Dream? Probably not. Those (like me) that believe you can make it with focus, determination, and hard work will find the book appealing and fitting into their ideals. Those that don't will complain that Shepard was far more privileged than many others. He had youth, education, health, and no family to support. All are maybe valid complaints--Shepard actually points several out--though they'd still be missing the point. Either way, previously held ideas won't be swayed. My guess is that Nickel and Dimed is similar...making good points that will be lauded by those that agree and dismissed by those that don't.

The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More

The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More
by Ed Sobey and Woody Sobey
Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1556527454

I don't remember how I found this book. I might've just been browsing the library. Maybe I heard about it somewhere. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that it was a lot of fun to read. It's no secret that I love toys. I also love tinkering with things. This book was a cool combination of those two topics.

The authors essentially gathered a collection of toys for the sake of taking them apart to figure out how they work. The toys ranged from the very simple Magic 8 Ball to the potentially very complicated bicycle. For the more complicated toys (e.g. the bicycle), they authors glossed over a lot of details. That's to be expected, I think. Bicycle tinkering, alone, could fill a library of books. Overall, the toys were well covered. My one complaint--and I'm not sure it really counts as a complaint--is that several of the toys seemed a bit repetitive. Ok, not so much the toys themselves the scientific principals behind then. Again, I think that's to be expected. If two toys both operate on compressed air, it's only natural that the details would be pretty similar.

I did really like that the authors covered the history of many of these toys. And I especially liked how the authors provided information on how to create your own, homemade versions of the toys. I'll be making a stomp rocket in the near future.

I also now know how the Nintendo Light Zapper works. It wasn't what I expected. Interesting.

Cha..Cha...Changes

Yet another long gap in blogging. I am still around. Honest. Here's the rundown on the last few months. I'll keep them brief with the plan to post more on each later.

1. Here's the big, big news. We're having another baby! That's right. Number Three is due in early November. Our oldest was born in late November 2006. If you do your math and Baby Three is reasonably on time, we'll have three kids under the age of three for about a month. Yikes!
2. Denisa and I went on vacation. We spent a few days in Michigan's Beach Towns while the boys stayed with my parents. Everyone had a blast. And we very much appreciated the time.
3. I'm constructing built-in bookcases to surround our fireplace. The first (of two) is nearly complete. I'm in the middle of working on the second. I hope to have everything except the doors done by the end of the September (of 2009).
4. I have a couple other creative projects in the works. Some writing. Some woodworking. Some artwork. A lot of general awesomeness.
5. Speaking of awesome, I wrote a Mission Statement. Here's the short version: Bring the Awesome. I'm debating whether or not to post the longer one.
6. I'm doing a six-week study at church based on Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. I read the book awhile ago. The study has been a good supplement.
7. I started running again. Not a lot but I'm steadily able to run longer, faster, and with less pain.
8. I've been reading some good stuff:

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
• The Silver Chair by CS Lewis
• The Last Battle by CS Lewis
• Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
• Story by Robert McKee
• The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman
• Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
• The 39 Steps by John Buchan
• Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
• Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias

Months!

It's been months since I've posted anything. Not really sure why. I think I've just been distracted by...well...a lot of stuff. Maybe I was testing to see who noticed my absence and said something. If that were the case, every single one of you failed. Miserably. Not that I'm keeping track.

Some quick updates:

1. The boys are growing like crazy. Jonah has passed through crawling to cruising in a blink. He's a determined little guy. Jonah's first birthday as well as his dedication at church is in just a couple weeks. Jesse is full of questions and curiosity. He's sleeping in a big boy bed and even memorizing Bible verses. Amazing!

2. I banged up my Honda Civic on my commute home in February. Poor Rhonda ended up totaled. She was a loyal friend (not that you would know anything about loyalty) and I miss her. This prompted me to buy another car. The new ride is another Civic EX. It's pretty close to what I had...just black and with 2-doors instead of 4. We'll call it the (semi) sporty version of Rhonda. I got a great deal on it. I haven't named it yet. Maybe Coop. Or Cooper.

3. Worked on and completed another sculpture. I'll get pictures and details posted shortly.

4. We refinanced our mortgage and started college funds for the boys. We've been meaning to do both for awhile. With rates low and investments on sale, it seemed like prime time to get going. I think this put us working on Dave Ramsey's Baby Step #6 (Payoff home).

5. More reading. I finished the last of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. I love Lewis. Good stuff. I also read Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer. This book was a look behind the creation of Veggie Tales. And interesting story of a man pursuing his mission. I think that's it. Currently, I'm reading Story by Robert McKee and Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message by Ravi Zacharias. both are pretty intense.

6. Pondering my next creative endeavor. Sculpture? Graphic Novel? Not sure.

Sorry I don't have more pictures. Here's a start.

Iron West, Tommysaurus Rex, and Creature Tech

	Iron West by Doug TenNapel Image Comics ISBN: 1582406308
	Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel Image Comics ISBN: 1582403953
	Creature Tech by Doug TenNapel Top Shelf Productions ISBN: 1891830341

I like westerns. I like robots. Why not have both? That's what I thought when I found Doug TenNapel's Iron West graphic novel at the library. Ok…I admit that I think similar thoughts on a pretty regular basis. This was different as it was prompted by the finding of book rather than…well…boredom.

Anyway, if the name Doug TenNapel sounds familiar, it’s probably not surprising as he’s worked on a lot of different projects. I was most familiar with his Earthworm Jim creation.

Iron West featured the humor and, let’s face it, off-the-wall-ness you’d expect from TenNapel. There were portions that seemed a little gimmicky but, overall, I really liked the book. It had humor, action, character development, and character growth. In this case, the main character grows from a man that runs from challenges to one the accepts and responsibility for those around him. I liked the silliness of the story. I enjoyed the free-flowing artwork. And I liked that the story was wholly contained in one book. You start from scratch with no preconceived ideas as to who the characters are or should be. Well done.

I enjoyed Iron West enough that I proceed to read the other TenNapal works in the library’s collection. Next up was Tommysaurus Rex. I actually enjoyed this more than Iron West. Like Iron West, the story is solid and well told. Again, there’s silliness but I’d consider that a good time. Through the telling of a story that involved a boy finding and befriending a dinosaur, the boy learns valuable lessons about kindness and sacrifice.

Third in my TenNapel reading trilogy was Creature Tech. Maybe my favorite of the three. The silliness is still there. The solid story and characters are still there. The silliness (thankfully) is still prominent. Space eels? Demon cats? A symbiotic organism? Good stuff. Here, the main character finds a faith he’d previous put aside for science. Yes, there’s a message of faith here. I wouldn’t call the message thinly-veiled though I didn’t find it preachy, either.

All in all, I’m disappointed the library doesn’t have more TenNapel works. From what I’ve read, it’s lively and fun without being superficial. While I didn’t know it when I first picked up his work, TenNapel’s is a professing Christian and it shows through. As in several of my previous book reviews, I was pleased to see these books fall into the category of things I wouldn’t mind my kids reading. The language was clean. There may have been a cheek shown in Creature Tech but it’s brief (you know, assuming you don’t read the same panel over and over).

Bone: The One Volume Edition

Bone: The One Volume Edition
by Jeff Smith
Cartoon Books
ISBN: 188896314X

I've fallen behind on my reviews and my blogging in general. I've been busy, ok?!

Anyway, I've always heard good things about the Bone series by Jeff Smith but I never really got into them. No, it's not that I didn't get into them. I don't think I really even tried. I'm pretty sure I picked up the books and thought they looked too childish and left it at that. I know...this from someone that still watches cartoons. Recently, though, I thought I'd give them a real try. Fortunately, the library has copies and I was able to pick up a few of the books published by Scholastic. I was impressed and, with the help or Christmas gift cards, I scored a copy of Bone: The One Volume Edition.

Well, I'm still impressed. First off, the edition is something like 1300 pages. I own some pretty big books but I think this is definitely the biggest. But, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The artwork is a terrific mix of realism and stylization. The fact that three of the main characters are, for lack of a better description, blobby people only adds to the fantastical nature of the story. And it really is fantastic. There are twists and turns. Humor and horror. Action and drama. It's pretty intense. No wonder it's 1300 pages.

I think part of why I liked the book was that is offered something for both adults and children. It is childish, as I initially thought. But, unlike my first feelings, there's a lot for grown ups too. It's something I can enjoy without worrying about my kids also reading it. That scored big in my book.

It should be noted that Bone: The One Volume Edition is in black and white. I believe that's how the books were originally published. I know you can get them in color as the Scholastic copies at the library are printed in color. Really, I could go either way on it. I like the black and white for it's originality and simplicity. On the other hand, the color looks really good, isn't distracting, and might draw in those that are turned off by lack of color. Either way, it's worth checking out.

Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Spectra
ISBN: 0553804715

I think I've been through just about all the Mike Mignola Hellboy graphic novels in the local library's collection. I enjoyed each of these a great deal. They packed in a lot of action, mystery, and humor into a package of fascinating artwork. This led me to look at other works by Mignola. I think there are a couple short story collections that I'd like to eventually read but, sadly, these were not part of the library collection. However, they did have Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire which was written by Mignola and Christopher Golden. The cover featured artwork by Mignola, the book was peppered with pretty cool woodcut-type art by Mignola, and the story sounded pretty interesting. So, I picked it up and read a good vampire story over the holidays.

I really enjoyed the book. It was...I don't know...different. It doesn't follow a linear kind of "...and then this happened..." story. I don't want to give away much of the book as reading it really benefits from not knowing what's going to happen next. Essentially, though, the story follows a man named Baltimore as he transitions from warrior on a battlefield of man to warrior on a supernatural level. Much of the story is told by three of Baltimore's friends as they wait for him in a strange little inn. Each was summoned by Baltimore and each showed up without really knowing why they were summoned. None of the men previously knew each other so we, the readers, learn a lot about them as they learn about each other. As the talk, each man answers essentially two questions:

1. How do they know Baltimore?
2. Why did they show up when Baltimore asked? That is, why do they believe the strange things he says?

The first question prompts them to recall to their experiences with Baltimore. What's their connection? The second opens the door to the weird occurrences the men have experienced in their own lives. And these experiences are genuinely weird. While the world is normal on the surface, there's definitely something strange going on just below. Whispers of the unexplained.

The actual world reminded me a lot of the old Tales from the Darkside series..only a little less 80s and a little more bleak.



Anyway, in summary, I really liked the book. It's a pretty quick, intriguing read. Give it a shot.

Updates

So I haven't really been feeling the blog lately. I've had a lot of other things going on and keeping the blog updated hasn't exactly been a high priority. Here's a couple quick on various aspects of my life:

1. The family is awesome. Jonah had some stomach funkiness a few weeks ago but he's over that. He's rolling over now and even eating rice cereal. He's growing so fast. Jesse is picking up new words all that time. More than that, he's starting to put them together in actual sentences. We've been participating in MOPS date night recently. Ok, only once so far as the MOPS season has just started. But we're really liking that. If you're not familiar with it, it's kind of like a babysitting co-op. There are 18 couples working together and every couple weeks, three of the couples watch the kids of the other 15. Through the 18 week schedule, I think we'll work three and have 15 date nights of our own. I would highly recommend that kind of thing to parents.



2. Reading. I've read a lot of 007 books by Ian Fleming lately: Casino Royale, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and one whose title would likely bump the blogs rating up a bit (Bond fans, you know what I'm talking about). They've all been a blast to read. They'd better be or would've been silly for me to read so many. The 007 books are a lot different the movies. Much more realistic. It's funny to see the covers of the books and their portrayal of the scantily clad woman when you know that it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual writing. I think they're just trying to play up the relationship to the movies. I also read Men and Cartoons by Jonathan Lethem. It's a collection of short stories in several genres. All were interesting and fun to read.

3. I've been exercising more. Ok, not necessarily more but definitely with more intensity. I'm putting a more concerted effort into it. For me, that planning, simplification, and turning off the television while I work out. It makes a big difference. I feel better and the bathroom scale has me slowly inching back up to my college weight.

4. Speaking of college, I went rock climbing with a couple college buddies at Climb Time this past weekend. It was the third time I've gone and the second time I've gone with this two friends. It is really a lot of fun. We had a good showing and we all successfully climbed walls that we really didn't think we'd do. There is one section of evil blue wall that I could never get. Next time, Blue! Anyway, I'm definitely feeling it in my forearms. I'm also feeling a nice bruise on my knee and another on my chest.

5. My priorities seem to be in a constant state of flux. Without going into too much detail, the shortness and preciousness of life have really been at the forefront of my mind lately. I'm not sure how I'll use that just yet. Part of me says "Why mess around with saving for retirement when I can enjoy things now? To heck with my Roth IRA, I'm buying an Alfa Romeo." But I also know that's not entire healthy. I'll keep you posted. And, if I get an Alfa, I'll take pictures.

Later.

McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories

McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
by Michael Chabon (Editor)
Vintage
ISBN: 1400078741

I've grown fond of short stories. There are several reasons for that. First, they're short. My time for leisure reading is pretty tight and I appreciate that I can read an entire short story in one sitting. Second, I appreciate the art form of the short story. It takes a special kind of author to create characters, situations, and a story that readers will care about in only a few pages. I have a few collections of short stories on my shelf. These represent the works of Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, and Elmore Leonard and I like to pick them up as I can. Still, I like to grab a more varied selection of authors at times.

That leads me to McSweeney's... I've enjoyed the McSweeney's website for awhile and I was happy to find the McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories collection of short stories at the library. Anyway, I enjoyed the stories. Admittedly, I did not get into all the stories. There were a couple that I started but eventually skipped over. I imagine that's typical for short story collections. I figure it's akin to my picking up a dozen books from the new books section at the library. Of those dozen, there's bound to be a few that don't appeal to me. That's not to say they were bad stories by any means. But, again, it goes back to my shortness of available time. If something doesn't grab me, I have to move on. In this case, I moved on just a few pages.

I especially liked 7C by Jason Roberts, the Miniaturist by Heidi Julavits, and The Fabled Light-house at Vi-a del Mar by Joyce Carol Oates. All were creepy and, really, just plain weird.

Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood

Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood
by Robert Lewis
Focus
ISBN 1589973097

I have two sons. One will be two years old in November. The other was born just this past May. Raising these two guys is painfully important to me. And I deliberately use the work painfully as is pains me to think about the consequences if I don't raise them to the very best of my ability. I guess that concern is a good starting point but I want more.

Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood by Robert Lewis was mentioned in a conversation with a coworker and I am grateful for that. I appreciate that mention as I really, really liked this book.

As you would expect from the title, Lewis uses the idea of medieval knighthood as an ongoing analogy. The romanticized/idealized knight of olde was a chivalrous, honorable, courageous man in an age wrought with greed and darkness. But these knights didn't just become knights. It required years of teaching and training. There was a defined process. There was a ceremony to mark knighthood. Similarly, we can't expect our boys to simply become men. Manhood, in Western society, is very, very different. Genuine manhood is not something that's often actively taught, or even defined. The concept is clouded in ambiguity. What is a man? How does a man act? When does a boy become a man? Sons need guidance and direction.

That direction comes from scripture and Lewis draws heavily on the Bible to define manhood and how a man should act. He details what's missing from Western culture and lays out a plan for fathers wanting to raise sons to be Godly men. The overarching theme is that Dad's need to be deliberate in their fatherhood. Pulling directly from Lewis, men reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and expect the greater reward. This is how men should act and this is how men address fatherhood. This is how fathers remove the ambiguity regarding manhood. This is how our sons know we truly care about their growth.

I also liked the Lewis is a big supporter of ceremonies. Similar to a page becoming a squire and a squire becoming a knight, fathers ought to mark a son's transitional periods. When a squire was knighted, there was no uncertainty as to what was happening. The new knight was honored and celebrated. Similarly, we should celebrate our sons. We remove yet another ambiguity. With a ceremony, sons know their lives are changing. If marking a transition to manhood, they know they're putting away their childish ways. They know that, going forward, they'll be expected to act like a man and they'll be treated as a men. Investing time and effort into this will prove to them that it's the big deal that it should be. They will want to meet those expectations.

There is so, so much more I could write here but you're much better off just reading the book. I've taken it to heart. While my sons are very young and I'm a little limited in what I can explicitly teach them (we have worked on a couple of the Biblical ideals -- kindness and perseverance) -- defined by Lewis) , I know the other things will come soon enough. My first step, though, is to be the kind of man I want my sons to be. My boys are watching how I live with incredible closeness. They're learning from me without my sitting down and directly instructing them...maybe more from my example than anything I'll teach.

While it was definitely written for the father raising his sons, I really think it has a lot to offer others. Fathers of daughters. Husbands. Singles. Women.

If you'd like a second, better written review, check this one out at John Calvin's Ghost.

Doc Savage: Brand of the Werewolf/Fear Cay

Brand of the Werewolf / Fear Cay (Doc Savage, Vol. 13)
by Lester Dent as Kenneth Robeson
Nostalgia Ventures
ISBN 1932806865

Man, what a find! Have I mentioned that I love libraries? I don't normally keep up on newly released books but I did wander through the new arrivals section of the other day. Much to my surprise, the library had purchased a large collection of reprinted pulp novels of the 1930s! Rows and rows of The Shadow! Volumes of Doc Savage! Superheroes before tights were all the rage! I was familiar with some of the character's histories but I hadn't read any of the actual stories. I limited myself to just one volume containing two Doc Savage stories, Brand of the Werewolf and Fear Cay.

While I found the book in New Arrivals, it should be noted that the stories date back to the 1930s. The first Doc Savage novel was published in March of 1933. For comparison, Superman was created in 1932 and first published in 1938. I believe I have those dates right. Now, if you're familiar with the earliest versions of Superman, you know he was a lot different than his current incarnation. He and the writing behind him were reflections of the times. Doc Savage is no different.

Savage is a renaissance man. He's incredibly strong. Through various exercises, he's heightened his senses to near superhuman levels. He's an engineer, a chemist, and an electrician. He's wealthy so cash isn't a problem. He even has a Fortress of Solitude before Superman had a refuge of the same name. He travels with a team of guys, all of which are the tops in their particular field. It's like Captain America meets the A-Team. They're a bunch of guys seeking adventure simply for the sake of adventure. They help others where there's no profit for themselves. I guess that's just a mentality I don't see much of these days. Sure, we still have superheroes but it just doesn't seem the same. Savage is more real. There's no element of fantasy involving radioactive spiders, gamma ray mutations, or alien power rings. He really is just a normal dude that's worked hard to be the best. This feels more attainable.

As for the writing, I'd say it was decent. The characterizations and some of the dialog amongst the main characters is a little repetitive. Ok, there were actually two consecutive paragraphs that were nearly identical so maybe is would be more accurate to say it was very repetitive. Then again, these were pulps. I don't know that they were ever expected to be more than disposable escapism. Anyway, the actual stories/mysteries are actually pretty good. I didn't find them to be predictable and that was good. There were enough twists and turns to keep it going.

The books were reasonably family friendly as they're clearly intended to appeal to adolescent boys. Keep in mind, though, that the 1930s was a lot different than the 2000s. This was before political correctness. Before society began sheltering children from, well, just about everything. So, while Savage and his team have a vow to never take another's life, people do get hurt and/or killed. People and they're dialog are often stereotyped. Something to keep in mind.

Anyday, in a world where basketball players get more praise than nearly everyone, Savage is a refreshing change.

A Friday Without Donuts

Here's something I started...oh, I don't know...months ago. It's a short, short story in the vien of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure novels. I think it's a fun idea and I may expand on it later. We'll see. For now, it's just a little Choose Your Own Adventure diversion. Enjoy!


Read A Friday Without Donuts

You are a Systems Engineer living in the Midwest. You awaken one Friday morning to find yourself still completely exhausted from playing your newest European agriculture-themed board game until 3 am the previous night. Still, it’s breakfast day at the office and you want to get in before all the cinnamon rolls are gone. It’s going to be a rough morning but you lurch out of bed anyway.

The commute is uneventful. In fact, were you more alert, you would likely think it a little too uneventful. You arrive but don’t notice the lack of traffic or that all the stoplights are flashing an ominous yellow.

There are only a few cars in the parking lot but that’s not unusual this early in the day. You park up front and stumble to the sidewalk. On the street, an ambulance and a fire truck race by, sirens blaring. You get a funny chill along your spine and you suddenly remember the strangeness of the drive. You wish you’d bothered to listen to the radio.

A movement catches your eye and you look to the entrance of the office. There’s a man just out of the gaze of the streetlight. He’s moving but not saying anything. You tell yourself that he's probably one of the construction crew trying to get to the building's remodeling project. Still, there's something in the air that makes your skin crawl. Maybe it's that terrible stench...like one of the local office geese hissed it's last defense nearby.


If you choose to approach the man, go to page 2.
If you choose to sneak around to the back door, go to page 3.

1

You choose to see if the guy’s alright.

“Hey!” you shout. “Do you need some help?”

The man hesitates for a moment like he’s unsure he heard you correctly. He’s still in the shadows but you hear him shuffling around. Probably looking for identification or something. He steps into the light and you see it’s actually one of the sales guys from the next office.

“You ok, Roy?”

“Rargh,” Roy mumbles as he approaches. You see his clothes are dirty and his normally impeccable blond hair is caked with blood. His shoulder seems to be hanging a little off-kilter. Also, there's a knife sticking out of it.

Roy is a zombie. You weren’t exactly Roy’s best friend before. You feel even less inclined to like him, now.


If you choose to run, go to page 4.
If you choose to fight, go to page 5.
2

You opt for the path of a coward and force your shame deep into your yellow-bellied gut. You quietly round the corner but take a peak back to see the stranger step into the light. It’s Roy, one of the sales guys from next door. You've just begun to breathe a sigh of relief when Roy topples down the stairs. His arm snaps backwards has he hits the bottom step. There’s jagged bone protruding from his forearm but Roy is surprisingly unfazed.

Also, there’s a knife sticking out of his shoulder.

Your sigh of relief turns into a gasp of disgraceful (remember, you’re a coward...you’ll always be one) fright. Your gasp catches Roy’s attention and he turns your direction. He’s slow and uncoordinated but definitely clear in his intentions. He’s heading your way, mumbling.

“B…B…Brains.” Clearly, Roy is a zombie.

You turn and run (sound familiar?).


If you run for the back door of the office, turn to page 6.
If you run for the car, turn to page 4.
3

You choose to bolt for your car...it has never judged you for your cowardice. You’re out of shape but think you can make it. You’re right. You reach the car long before Roy.

Within seconds, you’ve locked yourself in the car and have the engine running. Even with the door and the window between you, Roy doesn’t seem discouraged. You gun the engine and the tires squeal.

Your car rockets forward, leaving Roy in the dust. Unfortunately, you’re not exactly in the practice of flooring your car in your office’s darkened parking lot. You misjudge the distance to the end of the parking lot and soon find yourself launching your poor sedan over the curb. The hill is steep and your speed too fast. You’re in the retention pond almost instantly.

You struggle with the door but it’s jammed. The window works and your chances at freedom look pretty good. Of course, Roy is also guessing his chances of getting at your brains are pretty good right now, too. He’s in the water and wading your direction.

I’d give you the choice between drowning and being a brain-eaten statistic but that seems almost cruel. Too bad.


Start Over
4

You reach for the only thing you have that could remotely serve as a weapon: your thermos of coffee. It’s not much but it is stainless steel and you hope a good bludgeoning will make zombie Roy think twice about breakfasting on your brains.

You cautiously approach Roy, thermos at the ready. The creature lunges, icy fingers clawing at your throat. Fortunately, your scarf protects your head and neck. You swing the thermos and you feel it connect with Roy's skull. He staggers, stunned by the force of the steel. Several teeth fall from his mouth. You wonder about what kind of threat a toothless zombie poses but only just a moment. Roy lunges again. This time, you’re more prepared and jab at his face. The built-in cup of the thermos tumbles to the ground but not before you’ve successfully wounded Roy’s eyes. He claws at his own face but soon falls and writhes at your feet.

You’re feeling pretty good about yourself. I mean, you’re breathing heavily but at least you’re not sweating. You retrieve your thermos cup and return to your car. Roy’s spasms have slowed but he seems to be making no indications of more attacks. You pour yourself some of your homemade joe and take a breather.

It’s not until it’s too late that you discover that both your thermos and the cup were contaminated with Roy’s zombie germs. Within hours you’re a zombie. Unlike Roy, though, you're stuck in your car, lacking the motor skills to operate those tiny door lock plunger things

Way to go.


Start Over
5

You opt to hightail to the office’s back door. It seems like a good idea because as the dead are notorious slow on their feet. And that knife in Roy's shoulder can’t be good for his speed.

You reach the back door and fumble with your key fob for a brief instant. Your access is denied.

“Crap,” you mumble under your breath. “I’ve been fired and no one bothered to tell me.”

Roy isn’t too far back, now. His life-status hasn't slowed him up as much as you’d like. You try the fob again and, again, you’re denied. Maybe you shouldn't have made such a stink about your last project assignment. The car looks like it would’ve been a much better idea.

“Rrrargh!” Roy is all but upon you and the only thing in your hand is a keychain and a thermos.


If you choose to fight, go to page 5.
If you choose to run for the car, go to page 4.
6

Invicible: Ultimate Collection Volume 1

Invincible: Ultimate Collection 1
by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley
Image Comics
ISBN 9781582405001

Up until this past week, it had been months since I’d read a superhero comic. Actually, the last one was DC’s New Frontier. I hadn’t been avoiding them. I’d just found myself in the mood for other things. Then I found the Invincible Ultimate Collection 1.

I wasn’t previously all that familiar with the Invincible series but I do like to read new stuff. I had heard of it. In fact, I had heard very, very good things about the series. I’d even flipped through a couple issues at the comic shop and I remember thinking it looked pretty cool. Unfortunately, my comic-buying budget was already maxed out and the series was already several issues along. Those things discouraged me and I didn't buy it. That’s a shame because this is a book that really did live up to the hype.

Without giving too much away, here’s the rundown on the story. It follows a high school student named Mark Grayson, a normal high school guy with homework, college prep, a job at a burger joint, and the typical adolescent awkwardness. Ok, so he’s not so normal. And, no, this isn’t Spider-man. He’s known for a long time that his dad is the world renown superhero, Omni-Man. He also knows that, eventually, it’s very likely he’ll develop the superpowers of his father. And, no, this isn’t Son of Superman. A lot of things happen to Mark. He does get his superpowers, he joins his first Super Team, he fights alongside his Dad, and he faces terrible, terrible tragedy. The story arc is well paced over the 13 issues and we see Mark really grow as he faces numerous challenges both as a hero and as a kid. You can read vast amounts about the series on Wikipedia Invincible entry but be forewarned that there are spoilers aplenty.

The writer, Robert Kirkman, is someone I’m familiar with from his work on The Walking Dead series (another book I sadly didn’t discover until well after it began). I really enjoyed The Walking Dead and Kirkman’s work on Invincible is no less appealing. It’s concise. It’s clear. And, even while creating a new universe of characters, you feel like you know each of them quite well in a very short time. Yyou get a real feel for the heroes as both heroes and as people. You know them as both the costumed figure and the alter-ago…and they’re the same person. That is, it’s the same personality in both. You don’t read them and think “there’s no way these are the same people”. That’s a good thing.

The artwork is equally impressive. While the characters do lean toward some of the typical over-buff superhero physique, it’s not outlandish. It does a good job blending realism and stylization and, most importantly, the artwork is believable (to the extent that a superhero comic can be believable). Proportion is terrific. The surrounding details are amazing and add a great deal to the atmosphere.

The book doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is. Does that make sense? It’s not forcing itself to follow any sort of trend. It doesn’t try to be a gritty drama. I don’t get that it has any sort of big political agenda like so many other books. It doesn't have any big summer movie blockbuster tied to it (though it looks like it may eventually be a movie). It’s a very good, very well-developed story that’s fun to read (and re-read, if you're like me).

Some of the issues have some pretty violent and even gory images but the language and story are generally family friendly.

I’ll be looking for more.

Book Review: Colored Pencil Texture

Creating Textures in Colored Pencil
by Gary Greene
North Light Books
ISBN 0891346538

Ok, this book has a pretty targeted audience. Namely, artists looking to improve their skills in painting realistic images in colored pencils. I happen to fall into this demographic though I don't know how many readers of this blog also do. Still, I think it's certainly worth reviewing.

First, some background. I kind of fell in love with colored pencils in college. They're simple and straightforward. The economical side of me likes that the pencils and the drawing surfaces are reasonably priced. The practical side of my likes that they're compact, easy to transport, and clean. The nerdy, mathematical side of me likes the precision available with pencils. Finally, like many other mediums, a skilled user of colored pencils can create artwork that's absolutely amazing. I've seen incredible, stylized colored pencil drawings and I've seen amazingly realistic renderings. Despite all the aspects that I love, I feel out of practice over the last several years. It's only recently that I've gotten back into them. In doing so, I wanted a good source of information. That's where this book comes in.

Creating Textures in Colored Pencils answered many of my questions about the medium. There's information on the types of pencils, the kinds of surfaces, erasers, solvents, and many of the other tools that you may or may not need (many I wasn't even aware existed). The information on techniques was very useful. While I'd been using the layering technique for years without realizing it, I was completely unaware of burnishing. From there, the book contains dozens of examples with detailed information on how to create realistic images. The examples range from flowers to fabric to people/skin tones to man made materials like highly reflective chrome.

If you're interested in colored pencils, you may find this book helpful.

Rocketo: The Journey to the Hidden Sea by Frank Espinosa

Rocketo Volume 1: Journey to the Hidden Sea and Rocketo Volume 2: Journey to the Hidden Sea by Frank Espinosa Image Comics ISBN 1582405859 and 1582407355

Here's a book I found by chance...Rocketo by Frank Espinosa. Ok, actually, two books. Ok, one story, two volumns. Back off!

Anyway, I was checking out the graphic novels at the local library. I honestly can't remember what I was actually looking for but, while I was in the neighborhood, I checked out the books on the New Release shelf. That's where I found Rocketo. I had never heard of it. I wasn't familiar with the author. I didn't have any clue as to what I should expect.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The artwork immediately caught my eye. The colors and inks are bold. While it's heavily stylized, it's incredibly engaging. Every brush stroke drives the story. And every brush stroke is driven by the story. Nothing is wasted. Rocketo represents the perfect example of Scott McCloud's theory stylization can be healthier for the story than realism.

As I read, I found the story just as engaging as the artwork. This is no superhero comic though there's certainly no shortage of action. In fact, it's packed with action. But there's also intrigue, deception, friendships, and magic (not Harry Potter kind of magic but the kind of magic that comes from engulfing oneself in the unknown). The story takes place on earth, far into the future. Life on earth is nothing like it is now. Land masses are different. New lifeforms exist. Dogmen. Birdmen. Living storms. All of this has led to a new age of exploration. It's the story of one such explorer...one that's lost, so to speak. And it's the story of how this lost explorer finds his way back.

As you can probably guess, I would highly recommend the books. For those of you with families, there is quite a bit of violence but both the language and the artwork are clean.

Book Review: Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie

Appointment with Death
by Agatha Christie

I'm terribly behind in writing up my book reviews. I'm going to try to catch up in the near future.

I'm guessing my regular readers weren't expecting a review of an Agatha Christie novel on RetroBrett. Surprise! Honestly, it wasn't something that was sitting on my to read list so picking it up was kind of a whim. Here's what happened.

With the birth of Jesse, the labor was induced. That meant it was scheduled and we had time to plan, pack, and prepare. I knew we'd likely have a decent amount of down time in the hospital while we waiting for labor to actively begin so I packed It's Superman by Tom DeHaven. With Jonah, it wasn't so scheduled. Oh, we had plenty of time to get ready but my picking out a book from my shelf wasn't a top priority. The plan, actually, was to grab a Narnia book but I completely forgot about it.

Anyway, we're in the hospital...waiting. I needed to run out for some lunch and contemplated a stop at Target or Barnes & Noble to pick up...I don't know...something to read. Instead, I opted for Goodwill. I knew I could find something there. I knew it would be cheap. And I knew stopping at a bookstore would overwhelm me with choices. I wanted something engaging but still something I could put down/pick up/put down/pick up/etc as needed. Something fun but still with some meat to it. I wasn't sure what I'd find. What I walked out with was this Agatha Christie book.

Now, I'd read Christie before but it's easily been a decade since. The book fit what I was looking for perfectly. I found myself wrapped up in the mystery. It easily passed the long hours of waiting at the hospital. And it was actually fun to read. I haven't read many mysteries so I don't know how it compares to others. Now, I'm not really one to play Clue with the novel. I don't try to pick out the culprit as I read. Really, I'm more along for the ride. This was even more the case when I was sitting in a chair, anxiously waiting for our second child to arrive. Regardless, it was a good ride...to be along...for.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. Probably the biggest testament to this has been the direct results of reading it:

1. I've since read another Christie book (yet to be reviewed).
2. My wife and I have gotten hooked on Poirot DVDs from the local library (I'll post more on this later).

Book Review: Making Comics by Scott McCloud

Making Comics
by Scott McCloud
Harper Paperbacks
ISBN 00607809

I've previously reviewed Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud. I thoroughly enjoyed both books. Naturally, I was pretty pumped when his book, Making Comics, came out recently. I was not disappointed. Where the previous two books focused on the past and future of comics, Making Comics focused on the actual craft. This fit in nicely with my current aspirations.

One might think that this would be a step-by-step, how-to-draw book but this is not the case. Really, the core is storytelling via comics. How do you tell a story with artwork? How do you make it not only readable and worthy of reading? H0w do you make you characters interesting and convincing?

Here are some of my big takeaways:

1. How does the artist balance clarity (simplicity, ease of reading) with intensity (the flash that catches reader's attentions). What to include/exclude. Framing. POV. Really, it's like directing a film...on Bristol Board.

2. Facial expressions. Seriously, Making Comics includes pages upon pages about expression, facial musculature, and the ever-so-slight variations on expressions. These pages, alone, might make it worth buying the book. It's really impressive. It prompted me to pull out my copy of Burne Hogarth's Drawing the Human Head.

3. Word use. Details about sound effects, bubbles, even fonts. How can they help/hurt the story.

4. Making the world of your comic feel real. It really is the little details that pulls the reader into this world. Taking a little time (i.e. space in a comic) to really show the world will go a long way.

5. Tools of the trade. Honestly, I was expecting a greater focus on art mediums, materials, techniques but was pleasantly surprised. Don't misunderstand. Having the right tools can make a task a lot easier and, if having something like a t-square means I can spend more time telling the story and less time making parallel lines, I'm all for it. I appreciated McCloud's documentation of what successful artists use...having a few guidelines make the art supply story feel a lot less intimidating. I also appreciated, though, the mentioning that great artists can make terrific artwork with just a few basic tools like printer paper and ballpoint pens. Ok, I wrote more about this, the smallest aspect of the book, than any of the other takeaways. Sorry.

There you have it. I really liked the book. I'd really like to own a copy but we'll see how that works out...I'm terribly cheap.