Review of "Great Quarterbacks #2: Kilmer, Hadl, Bradshaw, Phipps," by Bill Gutman

 Review of

Great Quarterbacks #2: Kilmer, Hadl, Bradshaw, Phipps, by Bill Gutman ISBN 044807429X

Three out of five stars

Choice of subjects is questionable

This book was published in 1974, when there were some all-time great quarterbacks still active. Fran Tarkenton, Bob Griese, Len Dawson and Joe Namath were all active at the time and are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While Bradshaw made it into the Hall of Fame, the other three in this book did not.

 At the time of publication, Bradshaw had only been a starting quarterback for four years and his lifetime completion percentage was 0.484. Phipps had been a starter for only two complete seasons and his completion percentage was 0.470. Furthermore, Bradshaw had thrown for 41 touchdowns with 73 interceptions while Phipps had thrown 24 touchdown passes and had 45 intercepted. These are hardly the stats of great quarterbacks.

While the writing is good, the subject matter is questionable. At the time, these were not elite NFL quarterbacks, belying the phrase “Great Quarterbacks” in the title.

Review of "Lazarus Risen, issue 2," comic by Greg Rucka et. al.

 Review of

Lazarus Risen, issue 2, comic by Greg Rucka et. al.

Five out of five stars

 I spotted this comic in a used bookstore and it looked interesting, so I bought it. It remained interesting throughout the read, even though it was difficult to understand due to no context being established in the images. The reader is dropped right into a three-way battle where the heroine is going against two allied protagonists.

 Fortunately, there is a page of text at the beginning that explains some of the situation. It is a dystopia, where the world is ruled by a few very powerful families. Their power is based on economic control of nearly all the world. Almost seventy years ago the families made an agreement as to how the world would be parceled and governed. Each family names a champion that has great powers to do battle and recover from severe wounds. That champion is known as a Lazarus.  

 While war is still the killing grounds that it has always been, there are now strange protocols, for even within the domain of a family there are other families that will not hesitate to attempt to usurp the leaders. In many ways it is similar to the days of royal houses, where loyalty to the ruling house is based more on the perception of power that can be lost at any time.

 The opening action is brutal and bloody, but after that it shifts to being more in the area of intrigue and maneuver than a physical battle. The reader learns that even though there are agreements in place between families, there is a lot of room to maneuver, even before the rules are bent.

 This is a dark dystopia with a heroine capable of whipping all comers. Yet, despite her fighting ability, in many ways she is a mere tool to be used in a deadly game of great political and economic power.

Review of "Star Trek the Early Voyages: The Battle On Rigel," number 3 in the series

 Review of

Star Trek the Early Voyages: The Battle On Rigel, number 3 in the series

Five out of five stars

 The crew of the pilot must battle to survive

 This story features the crew of the original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” where the Enterprise is lured to a planet where the remaining inhabitants have great mental powers of illusion, but little real capability to do anything else. The “Early Voyages” sequence of comic stories describes the adventures of the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike, with Number one as First Officer and Spock as another bridge officer.

 In this case, the Enterprise is on Rigel VII, supposedly to initiate deep contacts between the planet and the Federation, where Rigel VII will join the Federation. The society on Rigel VII was recently very warlike with the large and powerful Kaylar specifically bred to be the elite warrior class. When the story opens, the Kaylar are conducting the Festival of Light, which honors their code of battle.

 At first, things seem normal when suddenly, the Enterprise crewmembers on the ground are cut off and under deadly attack. Captain Pike is lured away from the others by a beautiful woman that is an aide to one of the high government officials. It is a trap, yet despite being much smaller than his opponent, Pike is able to defeat the Kaylar in a maneuver that Star Trek viewers will recognize. Once all is understood, the Rigellian application to join the Federation is denied, although what will happen next is not specified.  

 This story is very engaging, and in many ways quite realistic. Many of the episodes of all Star Trek series have as a premise that planets are eager to join the Federation. It was refreshing to read of an incident where there was strong and deadly opposition to their planet becoming a member of the Federation.

Review of "Right Field Runt," by Joe Archibald

 Review of

Right Field Runt, by Joe Archibald ISBN 0825514185

Three out of five stars

Too much “You can’t do it” from a parent

 Joe Archibald is one of the best authors of juvenile sports fiction to ever write a word. Yet, in this book he pounds a position to the point where the reader is annoyed. Gary Conyer grows up loving baseball and his goal is to play professionally. Unfortunately, he already has two strikes against him in the eyes of his father. The first is his size, small as a youth with no prospect of ever coming near to being six feet in height. The second is his older brother, a star athlete all through school and a modest success in the lower level pros. Gary’s father constantly talks down his chances at success in baseball.  Furthermore, Gary’s head coach in the youth leagues also does not see any potential in him and uses him extremely sparingly.

 Fortunately, Gary has some things going for him, the first of which is an iron hard determination to succeed. The second is that he is very fleet afoot, capable of running down fly balls in the outfield that no other player could come close to. Finally, one of the assistant coaches that played in the minor leagues recognizes Gary’s potential and works with him.

 As you would expect, despite some initial setbacks, Gary eventually succeeds in making a career in baseball. Although he has to fight in both the literal and figurative sense. It is a good story, but enough already with the negative comments from his father.

Review of "Eat That Frog!," by Brian Tracy

 Review of

Eat That Frog!, by Brian Tracy ISBN 9781626569416

Five out of five stars

The key is selective procrastination

 Nearly every person is faced with more work than can possibly be done in a day, even when you stretch it out long into the night. As Tracy points out more than once and rather effectively, the key is not to avoid putting things off, but to properly prioritize your tasks and delay doing those things that are not immediately critical.

 The famous and nearly always true Pareto 80/20 rule is repeated many times. Since 80 percent of your gain will be a consequence of 20 percent of your work, it is foolish not to identify and act on the 20 percent.

 There is really nothing new or originally stated in this book. Yet, that is not a criticism or an argument against reading it. The reality is that good ideas and advice need to be hammered home over and over again if it is to ever be fully implemented. It reads quick and light, even though the content is valuable and worthy of repeating.

Review of "Shalako," DVD

 Review of

Shalako, DVD

Five out of five stars

Sean Connery as a different kind of hero

 Released in 1968, this movie appeared after Sean Connery had starred in five James Bond films and had supposedly retired from playing Bond. In this one, he plays a hero (Shalako) once again, this time a loner that is somewhat of a drifter. He is a man known and trusted by the Native Americans, the name Shalako is derived from their language.

 There is generally peace in the area between the Native Americans and the whites, but that peace is being disrupted. A large expedition of European royalty led by a group of American mercenaries has violated the treaty and crossed into the reservation. The leaders are arrogant men that consider all others, including the American hired hands, to be beneath them.

 Shalako meets with the leader of the Native Americans and promises to move the Europeans from the reservation. When they refuse, there is a battle and against his better judgement, Shalako decides to aid the Europeans. Part of the reason is that he is falling for a countess played by Brigitte Bardot.

 The action is tense and unforgiving, the terrain is rugged and spectacular. There seems to have been none of the action shot on a sound stage. Connery is superb in playing a different kind of hero, so well that even the most ardent of Bond fans will not lament that he is not playing the 007 role once again.

 

Review of "Give Us A Smile Beetle Bailey," by Mort Walker

 Review of

Give Us A Smile Beetle Bailey, by Mort Walker ISBN 0448170299

Five out of five stars

Continuous publication since 1950

 Debuting in 1950, Beetle Bailey has been in continuous syndication since then. While there have been a few changes in the cast over the years, it has remained surprisingly stable. The gags are also regularly recycled, albeit with minor changes. For example, there is the one where Sergeant Snorkel is hanging from a branch on the side of a cliff. How he gets there and how he gets out of the predicament is rarely explained. There are also the many instances where Snorkel beats Beetle into a disjointed pile of flesh. Beetle is always good as new in the next strip.

 In their own ways, most of the cast are inept, from General Halftrack to the voluptuous secretary Miss Buxley, to Snorkel and to Beetle himself. Beetle is always running close to first in the contest to be the laziest soldier of all time. He is almost completely lacking in ambition, only the threat of force will push him to do what he is assigned. Even then, he does not always complete his assigned tasks.

 This collection of cartoons contains instances of most of the recurring gags of the strip. Fans of the strip will immediately recognize the gags and appreciate them. An historical note is that Walker introduced Lieutenant  Flap in 1970. He was the first black character in the strip and Walker made him an officer rather than an enlisted. To Walker’s credit, Flap was portrayed as a black man of the late sixties, wearing colorful clothes when off duty and always speaking his mind.

 This book is an excellent summary of a strip with great longevity that is based on very few basic premises. Unlike other strips, there is no depth to these characters.