Shenanigans Episode 26: It Ain't the End of the World. It's the Crapture

If you're listening to this after April 23rd, you missed the End of the World...again. Never fear, the Biblical prognosticators were wrong. But as Rich says, they only need to be right once. Just not this time. Christian metal band, Stryper, is in the news because Walmart won't sell their latest album. Craig said a missing comma would solve all their woes. Almost every kid swears, even accidentally. Craig and Howie tell us of a couple of instances where the kids dropped F-bombs. It's hard not to laugh when it happens. I know you've been there. Howie tells us the correct way to poop, and annoying the telemarketing scammers is the greatest thing since sliced ketchup.

Book Reviews Reloaded: The Boost

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on December 9, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays or Fridays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

The Boost - Stephen Baker

Tor Books

336 Pages

Good science fiction is the type that is advanced far enough to fit the genre, yet close enough to reality that you truly believe that it could happen. There is no magic or deus ex machina.  Everything can be proven through science, even if it is extrapolated from theoretical science. Thankfully, it won’t enter the realm of dwarfs, fairies or pixies. The Boost, by Stephen Baker, is great science-fiction.

Literally the Best Reviews: Panorama

Panorama - Steve Kistulentz

Little, Brown & Company

400 Pages

Sometimes I pick up a book, not exactly planning to bring it home. Somehow I forget that it’s in the pile when I check out and it ends up on the reading shelf by my chair. Such is the case with Panorama by Steve Kistulentz. I took it off the shelf just the other day and ended up reading the whole book in a single day. That’s a win for for readers everywhere.

Genealogical Society to Present Program on African-American Genealogy

The Niagara County Genealogical Society (NCGS), based in Lockport, N.Y., is pleased to have Ms. Linda Hammond, from Buffalo, NY, and a long time genealogist, share her personal journey and strategies with the Western New York public, for exploring your African American family history. Please join her on:

Reminiscing: Say Cheese!

I would venture a guess that there are more photographs taken today than any other time in American history. Almost all of that is entirely due to the ease of use with cameras on all our cell phones. It’s easy to snap a couple of pictures when the thing is sitting in an unsnapped holster. However, I would also guess (and this is my opinion only) that while more photos are taken, they are likely of lesser quality than we used to see when we had to buy film and get that film developed.

Go and Say Goodbye

The word came down this week that we’re losing The Bon Ton store in Lockport. With its closing, it truly marks the end of an era, in several ways. The last vestige of the Lockport Mall will now no longer be there. Sure, the building may remain, but the last ties have been broken. It also breaks the chain back to the Buffalo department store -- AM&A’s.

Book Reviews Reloaded: Snowblind

Snowblind - Christopher Golden

St. Martin's Paperbacks

464 Pages

After I graduated from the youth and tween books, I found myself gravitating toward works by Stephen King. I’m talking about the old-school King like It, Tommyknockers, and The Stand. These were the books that would scare the crap out of you.  After time, King’s books drifted away from scaring you out of your pants and seemed to tame a little. They’re still great works, but they seem to have lost a bit of that extra edge.

Shenanigans Episode 25: Attack of the Vibrating Pigeon Drones

This week, I wasn't sure how the show went. After I listened to it again, it was pretty darn funny, even if the end of the world is scheduled to start around the time we record Episode 26. At least that is the revised date from the revised date from the revised date. And which version of the Bible are they using to determine the end of the world? Is it the Bibizzle? We can only hope. Police in Argentina claim that mice ate 1,200 pounds of seized marijuana........sure....In our Public Service Announcement of the Week, we implore you adults to be more careful when playing with your toys. What exactly is the average airspeed velocity of a full bag of cocaine? Squirrels need our love, too, and we learn that pepperoni and seagulls don't mix.

Literally the Best Reviews: The Transition

The Transition - Luke Kennard

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

336 Pages

When I finished this book late last night (or early this morning depending on your definition of your day), I immediately thought to myself, “What the heck did I just read?” It’s not very often than I write a book review so soon after finishing a book. Most of the time, I give the book a day or two to stew around in my head so I can break it down. This one, however, had me a bit flummoxed, and I knew I had to write this as soon as I got up this morning.

Old Fort Niagara Opens Re-Enactment Season

The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, launched the American Revolution a long time ago, but its history will be retold and re-enacted on April 21 and 22 at Old Fort Niagara. “Patriots Day Weekend” is the inaugural event of the fort’s re-enactment season with living-history programs that are suitable for all ages.

Photo courtesy Charlotte Clark

Patriots Day Weekend will also honor all U.S. military service people, who will be admitted free with proper ID. A ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday will award special plaques to:

Old Fort Niagara Recognizes Volunteers, Looks to Recruit

Old Fort Niagara recently hosted its annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast and recognized James and Cheryl Brown of Lockport, N.Y., as the “2017 Volunteers of the Year.” This annual event pays homage to the hundreds of people who share their time and talents at the fort as reenactors, docents, special-event helpers, musicians and more. In 2017, volunteers logged 32,950 hours, which the fort values at $494,250.

Reminiscing: Get On Your Bikes and Ride!

Spring is here! Right? I think? Maybe? At any rate, it’s about time for bicycling weather. All winter, the bikes have been hanging from the rafters in the garage. Since Easter, the bikes have come down, and we’ve gotten new ones from the neighbor as he moved out to a new residence. The kids have been out riding since then, dodging raindrops, potholes, and snowflakes. That they were so excited to be able to cruise Bob-O-Link with the wind flowing through the hair that billows from under their bike helmets. It made me think back to my days riding bikes, albeit without the helmets.

Thinking Out Loud on the Homefront - Getting Newspaper People Right

Book 17 for me in this year's endeavor was one that grabbed my attention simply from its title: The Good Byline. This debut novel by Jill Orr focuses on a mid-20s heroine, Riley Ellison, and many of the people who have known her for most of her life in her home town of Tuttle Corner, Virginia.

There are many who would classify this book as a "cozy" mystery. Truth be told, I've read my share of those. I have turned to them if I wanted something lighthearted with just enough hints dropped by the page to keep me guessing "whodunit?" In this book, I found that there were some parts of the story I pieced together quickly, while there were other plotlines that were not fully revealed until the end in a way many in this genre tend to  do: all but just the underlying plot lines tied up in a neat little bow, while a couple others entice you to pick up the next book in the series. Orr succeeded in doing just that.

Book Reviews Reloaded: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on November 25, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays or Fridays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August - Claire North

Redhook Publishing

432 Pages

Imagine if when you died, you were immediately reborn to live that life all over again and you remembered everything from your previous life or lives.  What would you do differently? Would you be able to amass a fortune with all that you had learned before? What if there were others like you in the world? Would they help you or hinder you? Those are some of the questions raised in the novel The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August by Claire North.

Shenanigans Episode 24: Time Traveling With Sexy Gronk

This week, the boys start off with a little seriousness as they talk a little about the Humboldt tragedy. But, they quickly move on to the rapid influx of time travelers in the news lately, and they debate whether time travel is even possible. Rich is a nonbeliever in time travel, while Howie and Craig do believe. A man caught having an affair tries to pass off the woman he's cheating with as a sex robot, and she plays along! And for the Amazon Product of the Day, Gronk erotica. No, you read that right. Someone wrote Gronk erotica. The reviews are hilarious, maybe even funnier than the idea that someone wrote Gronk erotica.

Literally the Best Reviews: Need to Know

Need to Know - Karen Cleveland

Ballantine Books

304 Pages

Political espionage can be a tricky genre. Sometimes they are spectacular, like the early works of Tom Clancy. Other times they can be a tired retelling of a retelling of a retelling. It is a genre that I like, so I almost always pick them up when I’m at the library. This time, I picked up Need to Know by Karen Cleveland. Cleveland is a new author, testing her skills at the political thriller in her first novel. Right from the first page, I was hooked by the writing.

Thinking Out Loud on the Homefront: A Cautionary Tale

If you've been a reader of mine in recent weeks, you've come to expect me to give you my thoughts on how a novel can relate to my life or to our current world. Some of the more relatable tales recently have been A Man Called Ove, How to Stop Time, and Dark Matter, among others.

Monday morning I finished Nick Clark Windo's "The Feed" and found myself longing for spring to finally show up so I could truly embrace the beauty of as little technology as possible during the day. The Feed is Windo's first thriller, and thrill me it did!

Reminiscing: A Kindergarten Romance

Whenever my kids talk about boyfriends, I cringe just a little bit and I try to change the subject. The twins are not quite fourteen yet, Corliss just turned twelve, and Josephine is eight, but they’ve all been talking about boyfriends since they were in preschool and kindergarten. I know it’s inevitable that they’re going to talk about boyfriends, but I’d like to hold off as long as possible. Besides, it’s not like I was totally innocent in my own youth exuberance.

Who's Calling Your Phone?

Telemarketers have a crappy job. There’s no way to sugar coat it. People are so fed up with the scammers on the phone that all telemarketers get lumped into one big category. With the advent of Caller ID, it’s much easier to screen these calls so you don’t even have to pick up. The scammers keep getting better and better at getting around that, though. That just means we have to be a little creative. I’ve had a little fun with some of the scammers.

Shenanigans Episode 23: Leading the Fist Bump Revolution

This week, Craig and Howie talk about Ready Player One. Don't worry - there are no spoilers. Gronk makes yet another surprise visit, this time dressed as the Trojan Horse. Have you heard about the THC lube? It will get things higher. Meanwhile, Brett demonstrates what an electric NASCAR race would sound like. Just in case you weren't entirely certain, the French are rude and will even sue to prove it. Matt has decided that he can no longer shake anyone's hand. Instead, he will be leading the Fist Bump Revolution. New Zealand is still looking for those elusive Russian spies so they can deport them. Either those spies are really good at their jobs, or the Russians couldn't care less about the Kiwis.

Cast: Craig, Howie, Charlie, Brett, and Matt

Book Reviews Reloaded: Hollow World - Michael J. Sullivan

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on November 18, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

Hollow World - Michael J. Sullivan

Tachyon Publications

384 Pages

It seems today that in Hollywood and on television that reboots or re-tellings are the newest fad. Occasionally, there's an interesting take on an old favorite, such as the "Tin Man" twist on "Wizard of Oz." More often than not, we get a hackneyed mess that detracts from the original vision, like the Star Trek reboot, or the abominable remake of “Can’t Buy Me Love.”  Now it seems that the reboot and revisioning epidemics have spread to books.

Driven to Try: The Reading Olypmics

For any of our faithful readers lately, it’s been easy to figure out that Howie has been on a reading mission for the year. He has a goal of reading one book a week for a full year, ultimately reading at least 52 books over the course of 2018. His last three articles have been book reviews, of a sort. He prefers to write about what the book means to him rather than the mechanics of the book generally found in a review. One of the side effects of Howie going on a reading binge totally affects me.

Thinking Out Loud on the Homefront: Thirty-Seven Will Mess With You

Whether due to sheer stubbornness or just some innate need to finish what I started because I had to know what happened, I managed to finish my 15th book of the year Tuesday morning. Titled "Thirty-Seven" and about a character of the same name, this novel, by Peter Stenson, was exactly what the synopsis on the book flap said it was going to be. The only problem I had with it was it was almost too honest.

Book Reviews Reloaded: The Bend of the World

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on November 4, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

The Bend of the World - Jacob Bacharach

Liveright Publishing

320 Pages

Sometimes when I pull a book off the shelf at the library and read the inside cover, I get excited at the possibilities of the story inside. Will it be as exciting as the editor-written introduction, or will it utterly fail to meet expectations? Most of the time, the books that jump off the shelf at me meet expectations, some even even exceeding those expectations. Rarely, they just don’t make the cut. The latest book I read, The Bend of the World, by Jacob Bacharach unfortunately was one of those that just didn’t do it for me.

Literally the Best Reviews: Blue Monday

Blue Monday - Nicci French

Pamela Dorman Books

322 Pages

Several months ago, someone recommended the Louise Penny mystery series. When I was looking on Amazon on similar books (something I do all the time when I find a book I like), one of the recommended books was Blue Monday by Nicci French. Ironically, I had just seen Sunday Silence on the New Releases shelf at the Lockport Library, and I thought the book looked interesting. I realized that this was part of the series and I was looking at the first and latest books of said series. Well, my OCD locked in and I brought the first book home with hopes of finding a new series to read. (I love series. You gain a more intimate relationship with the characters when you meet them again and again in book after book.)

REMINISCING: It's True Love, Apple of My Eye

With Easter falling on a Sunday for the first time since last year, I didn’t get around to publishing a Reminiscing article. I’ve had an extra 24 hours to think of something epic about which to write.  It didn’t really help...much. Still, I came up with something that most of you who grew up around the same time I did will definitely recognize. I’m sure that more than a few of you have actually done some of the things I’ll be writing about.