Murder on the Withlacoochee by Ron Johnson

  Good Read October 30, 2015

Ron Johnson did a nice job bringing to life the Withlacooche river area. It's filled with characters, murders and fighting between the air boat people and the noise haters. There were some annoying spelling errors, it could have used a good proof reader. But other than that I enjoyed this book, which had some good twists and turns and was a fast paced read. I would have liked to have read the third and from what I understand incomplete last book in the hoped for trilogy, which was cut short by the author's death.

Doctor Who:The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (Big Finish Audio)

Excellent! October 23, 2015

I have listened to about a dozen of the Big Finish Doctor Whos and it has been a real mix. The writing has been the main problem. Some of the storylines are just plain rubbish! This one from 15 years ago however, is excellent. In fact, it could have been a REAL Doctor Who from Colin Baker's time or even before.

I want to fess up here. I was NOT initially a Colin Baker fan. In fact, I hated him as the Doctor! I couldn't stand his acerbic personality and found him to be totally unpleasant as well as some of the shows. As time went on however, and Baker was allowed more room for humor, I began to appreciate his Doctor more. By the time Trial of a Time Lord came up I really began to enjoy his character. Baker was obviously finding his stride! and then it was all over. Sylvester McCoy started out funny and ended up sputtering! Just the opposite of Baker.

I can't stand the "new" Doctor Who for many many reasons and I started looking for more. I purchased all the DVDs available and even enjoyed listening to the very old audio CDs of the original soundtracks that edited in some narration. I enjoyed hearing Jon Pertwee in the two audio shows that he had done for the radio and hated very much some shows Tom Baker did that had a swamp in the TARDIS and dancing ballet shoes! Dreadful.

Then I discovered Big Finish classic Doctor Who shows. The funny thing is that of all the shows I've heard Colin Baker has been the best actor for these audio adventures. Despite how huge he's gotten since his TV days, his voice stayed pretty consistent. He has his character down still, the one I liked from the old days and he is fun to listen to.

Sometimes the storylines haven't been too good, but this one is wonderful! It IS a REAL classic Doctor Who episode. The story might be a little too reminiscent, there are some obvious similarities to a Pertwee story, but it is so well done, both with the writing, style and acting, that you can really "see" the show. It was like listening to a show that you missed from the good old days.

It was nice having a Brigadier story I hadn't "seen" before. Nicholas Courtney fell in easily to his Brig character and Dr. Smythe, The Big Finish companion for Colin Baker is a rather bearable character. James Bolam guested as well as another New Tricks actor. The cast was first rate and the sound effects and music were well done.

All around this one is a good one.

My God and My All by Elizabeth Goudge is a beautifully written biography about an extraordinary holy man.

My God and My All: The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Elizabeth Goudge was originally published in 1959 under Saint Francis of Assisi. I had read one other book on this popular saint sometime ago, however, what was different about Goudge's book is the beautiful writing style which vividly brings Francis and his age to life.

Goudge who was a popular novel writer who died at the age of 84 in 1984, did a wonderful job writing this biography of Francis who was born in the 1180s. Using her skills as a novelist she used the many stories and sources available about St. Francis to create this excellent moving biography of one of the Catholic Churches most favorite sain

At first, I wondered whether Goudge was going to strip away all the supernatural from Francis' story, ignoring the miracles and healings that are attached to him, like so many of the writers about saints do today. However, the author does include miracles and healings attributed to him.

Although she writes this biography like a novelist, Goudge never "invents" anything using poetic license. Whenever she speculates, she lets us know. She weaves Francis' life into the early Medieval history of Italy and Europe with ease.

My God and My All is a modern masterpiece that is beautifully written about an extraordinary holy man who revitalized the Church twelve hundred years into it's existence.

Anyone can read this well crafted book. Elizabeth Goudge was an Anglican, her father being an Anglican priest. All Christians should relish this wonderful book, but, unfortunately they won't. As a Catholic I found this book to be very refreshing, informative and beautifully written.

(I received a copy of this book for an honest review from Handlebar.)

Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II [Blu-ray]

  Amazing Modern Classic!, April 28, 2015

Red Cliff is an exceptional film. It is a modern day classic the Lawrence of Arabia of our time. John Wu has directed a masterpiece. The photography is just stunning. Although there are a lot of computer generated shots they blend seemlessly into the film and only enhance the motion picture elements.

The storyline is based on a telling of a historical event in Chinese history that is widely known in China but not so much outisde of Asia. Wu has enhanced the traditional storyline with his own additions. What is amazing is how fast this movie goes. Despite it being something like five hours long, one is spellbound with the acting, visuals and effects. The film is not slow or boring at all. I watched it again and finally ordered a copy of my own because this is such a wonderful film that I will definitely watch it over and over again through the years.

John Wu has out done himself with this truly great work of cinema. I only wish I had seen it on the big screen in the theater. The acting is terrific and even though there is not an English track and one has to "read" the movie, it is not too overwhelming to read since there are many extended visuals. I highly recommend this excellent film of the first order. It's great fun!

Thank you for reviewing Pius XII and the Holocaust

  Well Done Work, August 22, 2015

The book is a well written and well researched look at the so-called controversy on Pope Pius' alleged silence during World War II in relation to the Nazi's systematic imprisoning and killing of Jews. Snachez makes a reasoned analysis of the available facts and paints a realistic picture of Pius.

In some ways the author gives too much weight to some of the critics of the pope since some were obviously contrived and used false and manipulated evidence to prove their thesis (Hitler's Pope). He also doesn't seem to give too much weight to the many priests and religious who helped the Jews and later said that Pope Pius had instructed them to do so.

Apart from these gripes, I think the book is a good starting place for people who think they know what Pope Pius XII actually did or didn't do in relation to the Jewish Holocaust.