Books: Supreme Courtship

Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Supreme Courtship is about a President who, fed up with the Powerful Senate Judiciary Committee rejecting his Supreme Court nominees, decides to get back at them by nominating Pepper Cartwright, a popular TV judge, a choice that will surely trouble the Senate. Of course, there is an election underway with a President who doesn't really want to be re-elected but runs for spite, in the face of an amendment to limit Presidents to only one term--an amendment that was developed because of him. It will be up to the High Court and its newest judge to resolve this Constitutional Crisis.

I think Buckley is superior at what he does. Christopher Buckley is always an entertaining read. His latest, Supreme Courtship, is just one more in which he just makes political comedy look easy. It's not quite up there with Thank You For Smoking, but for my money (or in this case, my library card) give me any one of his books for the plane ride, bus ride, or jury duty, and let everyone wonder what the hell I am laughing at.




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The most useless “feel good” regulation of the year.

I put my feelings about the Maryland Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (or VEIP) in a blog post awhile back, based on my own, unique situation with my 1992 Honda Civic. (for those who don’t feel like reviewing the post: It doesn’t pass the VEIP test, therefore I have to go back every month and pay 14 dollars every time just to keep it on the road, which, as it happens, costs less than it would take for me to fix the car.) Now that Barack Obama is President, there are environmentalists who want him to help them adopt stricter emissions standards that surpass the federal standards.

From yesterday’s Examiner:

“Obama called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to re-examine a Bush administration policy that denied California and other states the ability to set their own emissions standards.”

Environmentalists are thrilled.

“It gives leadership states like Maryland the assurance they will be able to meet their own goals to protect the citizens.”--Derek Walker, director of the California Climate Initiative for the Environmental defense Fund, and former head of the Maryland Democratic Party.

(again--I think cleaning up the environment is important, but my experience with the VEIP is that it just doesn’t work--I outlined this thoroughly in an earlier post)


Go ahead! Raise the emissions standards! My car will still keep coming back and failing the test because the law is still toothless and weak, but hey--it’s no skin off my nose.

Dave “The Polluter” G.

I laid out index cards of all the scenes in my new book...

...what the hell was I thinking?

Books: I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very readable and entertaining book. The story is about a young girl whose mother left her at four months old to follow the music of the punk scene. The girl starts her own band, in an effort to bring her mother home. In many ways, the simplicity of this story is appealing. But a few parts of the story lost me, and I will freely admit this has to do with a few of my own personal biases: my dislike of certain cultural institutions like MTV and Rolling Stone Magazine. I loved the part about how the band starts, with all of the natural conflicts and issues that are always there when creative types get together. I was less interested when the band gets unnaturally big, as it seemed…maybe a little unbelievable (but then again, that’s just my own bias.) I was kind of hanging on through the whole “mother left to follow the music” thing, because at my ripe old age it seemed like a dumb reason for a mother to leave. (I think I might not have been the right audience for this book.) But once her real reason for leaving is revealed, it was good to see that it was something much more complicated than that. Throughout the book, the author uses a liberal amount of adverbs which for me was a little distracting, making me very aware that someone is telling a story, preventing me from getting lost in it. I feel like this story is really good and could have benefited from a few less words here and there.

Overall, I respect what the author has done. The story is layered and interesting, with good characters--I like the first person narrative of the daughter-- and all in all it was almost like a history lesson of the punk movement as seen through the eyes of the characters. And the author’s background in “bad poetry” and “DIY feminist ‘zines” are pursuits close to my heart, which is the main reason why I examined this book a little more closely than some others.




View all my reviews.

2009!

End of year blog post.

It was a good year for Davey G. I wrote my first draft of my first novel (Nanowrimo 08), played seven Davey G and the Keyboard shows, wrote, wrote songs, and wrote some more. So now what’s up for 2009?

--By June, hopefully you will see the final draft of my novel, The Best of Thunder Johnson. It is the story of a man who makes an unfortunate mistake in his night job at the cable access station, which causes him to become the focus of a disturbed mental patient’s rage. I’ve got good hopes for this one! Check this space for future details!

--A new Davey G set. I hope to revise my set to encompass all new material, including some of the new songs I debuted in 2008, with a sub-set devoted to the classics. (Don’t worry, Man-Friend isn’t going anywhere.)
And while I’m on the subject of shows:

--For this year, I am going to make every attempt to do my act only on weekends, or before holidays or barring that, early on weekdays. This “going on late” thing just isn’t working out for me.

Next show is March 14 at the Sidebar, where I should be going on third, sometime in the afternoon.

--Nanowrimo 09! Nanowrimo 08 changed my life. I hope to make the second novel one to remember.

Those are just a few of the things. I hope to see many of you out at the Davey G show, and hope you enjoy my book when it comes out!

Dave G.



http://www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Next Week at the Sidebar...Davey G!

Hi,
Next week at the Sidebar…
DAVEY G AND THE KEYBOARD
with
Rare Candy
Markitect
and
Contra

Thursday, December 11, 9 p.m.
7 dollars.

The Sidebar is located at
218 E. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
http://sidebartavern.com/

Hope to see you there!

--Davey G.

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Finished!

Finished writing my novel yesterday.
It is called "The Best of Thunder Johnson."

Details to come...


Davey G.

We are on the edge of the beginning of the far turn, heading toward the backstretch.

A-hem. As of yesterday, November 19, my birthday (thank you) I am at the 35,000 word mark in the National Novel Writing Month challenge of writing a 50, 000 word novel in a month.
The title for this, my first novel is: The Best of Thunder Johnson. I describe it as satire/parody, but it is at this point more about survival than quality. I hope to be finishing up this wonderful little mess I’ve been making (which hopefully will be a gem when I go back to edit later) before the upcoming holiday, but if not, there’s still the better part of a weekend to get this done. So here I go, hope to report back as a Nanowrimo “winner” (all those who get to 50,000 are considered winners) the next time I post.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/312315

--Dave “The Novelist” G.

I got a new hat...

...to replace the one that got run over by a train.

Who looks better, me or Homer?

--Dave "The Time Waster" G.

Nanowrimo update

I am now at the halfway point in my 50,000 word novel that I am supposed to write in 30 days. It has taken many turns, and I’m not sure what will happen between now and the dramatic ending I have planned, but it’s been a good run so far.

In other news…I think I will call my children’s album “Rated ‘G’”

Anyway…
check on my progress here.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/312315
thanks for reading!
Dave

Positive Press for Davey G and Friends!

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to direct your attention to this review of my last show at the Windup Space. It’s from the Baltimore Examiner.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1201-Baltimore-Band-Examiner~y2008m11d6-Review-Saturday-Nov-1-at-The-WindUp-Space
It's in 2 parts, got to part 2 for the Davey G review.
Thanks!
Dave

Week one of my quest for 50,000 words in a month.

I just wanted to post here to update on my progress on the Nanowrimo challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in the span of 30 days. It has been one week and so far I am on pace and I just wanted to reflect on what I’ve noticed.
I’m learning a few things about myself, and my writing, and noting how this deviates from my usual writing habits. For one thing, this is not easy. It is very difficult to crap out words when you are unsure that it will ever make it to the re-write stage. For another thing, I have a very, very hard time killing my Inner Editor. My short stories are usually idea-based and they live and breathe through painful editing. This is the exact opposite of that. This is just me trying to plow forward and tell myself that, crap as it might be, I need to keep moving. Quality is not the point.
You see, in the first day or so I sat down and typed, typed , typed and built up a nice word cushion…and then promptly realized that I did not like what I was writing, at least not enough to spend a month with it. So I started to focus on a character I liked and made the story all about him, all the while keeping what I’d written for the sake of word count (and hell, it might still fit in later). So what I have is a delightful mess.
But as Chris Baty, the founder of this event writes, that is probably exactly the point.
Anyway…my word count is 12,008. My story is moving along, but I have no idea where it will go. Stay tuned, be my writing buddy.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/312315

My First Foray into Novel Writing.

My First Foray into Novel Writing.

It is almost November, and I have been quietly preparing for the National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

My wife has been encouraging me to do this for the last few years and finally, finally, I am going to undertake the epic quest of writing a 50,000 word novel in the span of 30 days. This a challenge that will trump any of my previous writing accomplishments.

I have an idea, and have been keeping a notebook--all of that will remain a secret until I can actually pump this thing out. My life is already pretty well-structured to accomplish this, with days that are blocked for creative pursuits, and I think I’ve laid down some pretty good writing habits in the last few years that will help with this.

So now I’ve told you. Now I’m Committed. 50 thousand words in 30 days or bust.

I encourage anyone out there to join me, to write their own novel and to be a part of my support group. You can find me at the Nanowrimo site. Be my friend! http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/312315

Saturday will be Day One. It is also the day of my big show at the Windup Space (12 W. North Ave, 9 p.m. Davey G and the Keyboard with Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, Bene Gesserit Witch and Markitect) I hope you can be a part of one or the other, or both.
www.myspace.com/thewindupspace

(This book will help. It is written by the guy who founded Nanowrimo.)
http://books.google.com/books?id=O8aRltYgWsUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=no+plot+no+problem#PPP1,M1
Thanks a lot! I’ll let you know how it’s going!

Dave.

This Document is 249 words. Now it’s 254. Now it’s 260...

So many video games...

For anyone interested...I am selling my duplicate copies of Atari Games on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=250312028035

Davey G and the Keyboard at the Windup Space!

It's been awhile, but now I have some new songs and am playing with a great line-up at a fabulous new bar. Come out and see!

Saturday, November 1
At the Windup Space
www.myspace.com/thewindupspace
12 W. North Avenue
Baltimore, MD
21201
Doors at 9.
5 bucks

With:
Davey G and the Keyboard
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad
www.betterhollywood.com/dmfs.htm

Bene Gesserit Witch
http://www.myspace.com/benegesseritwitch

Markitect
http://www.myspace.com/mindblowingrock

Come out for a great night of post-Halloween entertainment!

Stuff I'm Reading: Breaking Free, by Herschel Walker

Breaking Free by Herschel Walker

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Herschel Walker's battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder should be a fascinating story, but I wasn't nearly as interested as I might have thought. I can't tell if the problem lies with the way the book is written or if it's the story itself: do I blame the ghost writers or the man himself for not having an interesting enough story?

I choose to blame the ghost writers, since it was up to them to shape his life in a manner that would make for a better read. (But it doesn't help that there is way too much Jesus in this book.) In better hands, this would have been a good read.

But I commend the fact that Walker came out about this bizzare illness, and it has helped to clear up my own misunderstandings about it. So I will just say that it is only ok.


View all my reviews.

Stuff I'm Reading: The Spy Next Door

The Spy Next Door: The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Damaging FBI Agent in U.S. History by Elaine Shannon

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the true story upon which the movie "Breach" was based, about Robert Hanssen, the man who worked for the FBI and spied for the Soviet Union (and after the breakup of the USSR, Russia) for over 20 years. It is a fascinating story--how this pious, upstanding, downright boring man was able to fool everyone around him as he passed along infomation in "dead drops" as "Ramon Garcia." The more I read, I also gained a real understanding of how something like 9-11 happened without it being uncovered by intelligence agencies. The technology the FBI possessed was behind the times, the flow of information amongst intelligence agencies was poor, plus there was an attitude among the people of the FBI that their agents were of a higher caliber than most people, and were beyond reproach and incapable of such treachery.

The book is written pretty much like an extended magazine article, offering background when needed, trying to offer answers where possible, but still the best answer is that no one really knows why Hanssen did what he did. And to this day the information he sold to our enemies could still be used to hurt us. Frightening stuff.


View all my reviews.

More Davey G musical updates.

I have compiled over a dozen new songs since the last time I played live, and my hope is that maybe half of them are usable. Yesterday I wrote a song called “Frustrating Conversationalist” which will I will probably open with soon, and “Pimple,” a song about keeping your problems in perspective, because it is my solemn hope that Davey G will one day improve your life through my message of self-help and spiritual guidance.
The key to writing Davey G songs, as I’ve learned after all this time, is to just let go and tap into the inner shower-singer in all of us…to record those little moments in the car when I have no radio and I’m singing to myself things like “Bob Bob Bob, Bob Bob or Ann” and wondering if that Beach Boys song is really about a bi-sexual trying to decide if he’s going to spend the night with a boy, Bob, or a girl, Ann. And then someone tells me that the song is actually “Barbara Ann”…but I think that my version is funnier. I digress.

I have 2 shows coming up this fall/winter, with the possibility of a third. The first is Saturday, November 1, at the Windup Space at 12 W. North Avenue in Baltimore. I will be playing with The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, Bene Gesserit Witch and Markitect. This should be a really great show where you can first hear some of the new Davey G material.

I will have another show on Thursday, December 11 at the Sidebar, at 218 E. Lexington Street in Baltimore. Details forthcoming, as this was just arranged yesterday.

Being on my mailing list is the best way to know when the shows happen. Go to the “Contact Me” link on my site and e-mail me, and I will add you.
Thanks for reading today!

--Davey G.

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Stuff I'm Reading: America Between the Wars

America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 by Derek Chollet

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a refreshing history that steers clear of editorializing, cheerleading or any of the things that could have made this partisan pap. As the title states, this is a history from the fall of the Berlin Wall (11-9) to 9-11, and how in spite of what we think, 9-11 did not "change everything." The 12 years between the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror were years where there was great struggle to determine what the role of the U.S in the world would be--how military and economic issues would shake out in the wake of the fall of Communism. Clinton does not get off easy, neither does Bush, but in revealing faults the authors also show how the U.S' Iraq policy in 2008 is really just an extension of policies that were already in place.

While I love a good book that gleefully trashes the current administration, I really benefited more from this type of history that puts the present into perspective.


View all my reviews.

Kyle, and why VEIP sucks.

Kyle, My hard-luck little car.

This is an update on the status of Kyle, my 1992 Honda Civic VTEC, and why I really hate the Maryland Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (VEIP).

My car has been unable to pass the VEIP, which is a test that all cars in Maryland have to take every two years to help reduce carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, thereby helping to control pollution. In theory, I am totally in favor of this. But in practice, it is a seriously messed up system, and here is why.

As some readers may remember, my car had a problem last year where my door did not shut, and therefore I had to hold it shut with a rope and then climb out the passenger’s side door. Because of this, I asked for an extension on my emissions test, as it requires the testers to get in and out of the car. I had three more months to put off taking this test while I tried to figure out the problem. Then, in what I referred to as the Christmas Miracle, Kyle was fixed, and I was overjoyed to finally be able to enter and exit my car like a real person. I immediately took him to the emissions facility…and failed, and was given another three month extension.

One of the ways to get a waiver for this test is if you can show you have spent at least $450 in emissions-related repairs. I took him to my mechanic, and he pretty much said that he’d have a really hard time working up that kind of a bill for me to get a waiver, and furthermore, some older cars just cannot pass this test. And furthermore than that, the VEIP level of $450 is not cumulative. In other words, you can’t drop $200, fail, and then spend another $250 and count it as $450 and get a waiver--you have to spend that much before the test. I decided it would be better to just wait until the three months were almost up and then give Kyle a tune-up and see if that would help.

I waited the three months, got the tune-up (this tune-up would cost about $220)
and went to the emissions place…and failed again. Now what? I wondered.

Question: What happens when your car keeps failing the emissions test?

Answer: Nothing.

Nothing happens. They gave me an inspection certificate with a new due date on it, one month from that date. I went into the office and I asked them, “What happens if my car keeps failing?”
“You keep coming back,” was the answer. And you keep paying $14 every time. And now I have come back and failed the emissions test every month since April. I now have a stack of papers from every failed test, and now I come to my point about why VEIP sucks:
My car, which according to their test which is designed to curb pollution, fails that test every month. According to their test, my car pollutes beyond a reasonable degree. But the only consequence is that I just have to keep coming back and giving them money every month, so that I am complying with the law. I had grave fears that failing emissions meant that I had to take my car off the road or something, but apparently that fear was unfounded. The state of Maryland apparently doesn’t actually care whether my car pollutes or not--they just want me to keep paying $14 a month to stay out of trouble.

What a fucking toothless law. Never mind the fact that my car averages less than 6000 miles a year, that the trip to the emissions place constitutes the most driving I do all month. (I ride my bike everywhere, I walk all the time and my car is mostly for errands or get my equipment to shows, so if anyone is going to accuse me of being “part of the problem” of climate change, they need to calm down.)

It is actually cheaper for me to go ahead and pay the $14 every month than it would be to actually fix my car (and believe me, while I love Kyle, he is 15 years old and I am not putting any more serious money into him).

So to review: My car, while running great, is not passing the VEIP test; the VEIP program is toothless and silly.

Not that I am unhappy that no one’s taking my car off the road or anything, but every month I do this silly pain in the ass trip to the emissions place and every month I fail and every month I give the state of Maryland $14 to keep my “polluting” car on the road.
How does this help the environment?

Davey “The polluter” G.
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com