Astounding Science Fiction 1952 Collection And Available Prints

I’ve been reading classic Sci-Fi for a long time and Astounding being the birthplace for the Mount Rushmore of Sci-Fi writers (Heinlein, Campbell, Asimov, Hubbard) and many, many others has a huge place in the history of modern culture. In reading through an account of Campbell and his editing of Astounding it has brought to my attention the fantastic covers of these monthly “magazines” which is truly impressive. A collection of artwork, fantastical in nature, and as much a piece of culture as the works the magazine contained…

Yet, I cannot find an online collection that encompasses all of them, an exhibition of the artwork, actual copies of the originals, or even prints of them, despite many of them being absolutely perfect for the dorm room, office, studio, garage or other walls. These works are unique in their creepiness, political commentary, beauty, and future prognostication—see inclusion of Chesley Bonestell’s work gracing some of these covers as an example of the real high-end artwork that is present within these.

So…I’ve now gone about the task of collecting many of these works, scanning in the covers and making them available for prints. I will print them in either the full version with the Astounding cover graphics, date, and primary work/author or will crop down to just the artwork itself if desired. Each will appear “distressed” due to the covers not being in 100% mint condition but I think that often adds to their look and none are damaged or otherwise obscuring the artwork itself. Look to the “products” page here for current options and scanned artwork that is available. I am starting with the full 12 issue 1952 covers that are available for print/sale.

Film Review: Haywire

Boy was this a disaster. Looking up things like “Best Spy Movies”, “Best Espionage Movies”, or “Best Action Movies” will frequently turn this movie up as an example of a well crafted film filled with some of the best work its lauded director (Steven Soderbergh) has put together and with a female lead in Gina Carano, it shows that women can do action movies too!

Ugh…While I have liked some of his work a great deal (Out of Sight, Traffic) other works of his are merely fluff or intensely boring (The Good German, Oceans 12, Oceans 13). Haywire is as bad as a modern movie gets. Soderbergh has always liked to play with how he films a movie and is enamored of the “cool” people in Hollywood (and they of him). This runs poorly in both instances here.

First is the look of the film itself which appears to have been shot on an 1994 Nokia flip phone. My goodness. Watching this film is painful on the eyes. The colors are horribly muted and dull. Maybe this was supposed to make the film like some 1960’s Bond film?? I don’t know but it doesn’t work. Details are lost, scenes in foreign countries look like my backyard and scenes that should be crisp and defined (shooting in upstate NY in Winter with snow) become a mush of indistinguishable features. Oh, and don’t get me started on the sound in the film…at times there simply is none. A car trying to make a getaway in reverse doing high speed driving? Completely silent on the car interior to the extent it was actually jarring. Off kilter sound is present a number of times and it seems like they used that 1994 Nokia for recording sound as well as video.

Then we get to the acting and actors. Oh, there are numerous big name actors here, many of which have worked with Soderbergh in the past—Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Fassbender. And there is Gina Carano who at the time was in the middle of an intended transition from MMA start to actress. This one film seemed to put a stop to that until she get her high profile role on the Mandalorian where she was cast far better in the role of a gruff, robot like, bounty hunter in a sci-fi/fantasy show where acting is not overly important. In Haywire though? She is expected to carry the film and she doesn’t. Her MMA skills certainly don’t carry over in any significant extent and she comes across well, robotic, icy, and clunky. Watching her run is, like the visuals, painful. Nothing she does on screen appears natural…its all forced.

The story itself does no one any justice either…whoppee…its supposed to be some sort of double crossing of Carano’s character by the government and the spy firm who hires her to do the government’s dirty work…Yawn..

This is one where my wife and I turned to each other after watching it asking each other why on earth we allowed it to drag through to its conclusion and waste an hour and a half of our lives. Don’t let it waste yours.

Book Review: Red Roulette by Desmond Shum

As a detail of the typical corruption occurring within China over the past 25 years as it became a foremost geopolitical power Red Roulette is a solid education. Making clear that the entire system is grossly broken with the red elite trading influence and favors for wealth, Shum reveals his position in it all. He and his now ex-wife were at the center of influence peddling being close partners with the wife of China Premier Wen Jiabao for nearly two decades.

Parlaying such a personal relationship into sweetheart investment and development projects made Shum a millionaire hundreds of times over but did not protect him or his ex-wife from Communist inquisitions and eventually kidnapping and imprisonment for his former spouse (who was allowed to make a single phone call just prior to this book’s publishing in the middle of the night to Desmond asking him to stop its publishing…and then back into the gulag she went).

As political fortunes changed within China and Xi Jinping rose to power and now General Secretary for life and the hard(er) line Communists/Nationalists have risen in prominence, “reformers” like Jiabao and the Shum’s have been arrested, “disappeared” or kept to house arrest and silence. Once these useful idiots played their part in recovering China from the disasters that were the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolutions and the Red Second Generation (the Princelings or Crown Princes of the Communist Party) was firmly back in power (largely the offspring of original Communist revolutionaries) there was no need for soft players like Jiabao nor those with a capitalist or non-bloodline bent such as Shum…so off to the glue factory these people went.

Red Roulette is not a great piece of literature. It is stilted, sometimes boring, often self aggrandizing in its nature. It does however detail the inner workings of the relationships that make (made?) China work at its peak of uninhibited growth. Looking back now after the “disappearance” of Jack and Pony Ma as well as the breathtaking confiscation of their (and their shareholders) wealth by the Red Chinese, one only wishes that such a slap in the face to Western feelings about how much had not changed within China in recent periods had come earlier. Not that it wasn’t recognized—JP Morgan Chase had a policy for years of giving cushy positions and benefits to the “princelings” in order to gain access and favor in the Chinese market…they had just done so thinking that China had changed….corrupt, yes…but still playing by Western rules of similar glad handing corruption—local politicians giving concrete contracts to their cousin Bob for a new bridge style of unethical behavior. What is revealed here is something different. A truly Chinese “long game” of corruption and acquisition of unfathomable, global power to be concentrated in the hands of the Communist elite. Shum was played like a fiddle…as was his wife…and Jiabao…and the rest of the “reformers” that were the Chinese face to the West throughout the early ‘00s. Shum’s work comes 20 years too late and and may assuage his guilt over having made his bones because of the system but it comes across as far too little, too late.

Precision Rifle Series: Alderbrook "Fall Brawl" in Littleton, NH

So this was new for me. I had the opportunity to photograph the PRS (Precision Rifle Series) Alderbrook Fall Brawl event this weekend in Littleton, NH. Taking place at the Alderbrook Sportsman’s Association Facility this was considered a “Pro Level” event taking place over two days (10/16 and 10/17). I only attended Saturday’s competition as, not thinking before hand, I did not take into account the “leaf peeping” that is going on and lodging was non existent and what there was, was priced at some $300+ a night. Given my home is under two hours away, I drove up and back one day but a second day was not in the cards.

Regardless, the one day I did attend was a great event. Really cool to experience and in many ways quite relatable to my hobby of Rally racing. Each has stages to complete, each occurs in remote areas, each involves technical equipment, each is performed essentially solo, each is a niche sport, each carries its own lingo and customs.

A hack, range confined, wildly inaccurate, ammo dumper myself it was fantastic to see true pros in action and get a chance to tag along. I also had the fortune of choosing “Squad 1” to follow around for the day as within that grouping was an excellent young shooter from Georgia by the name of Ji Zhang from Georgia currently who has a few competition wins under his belt as well as Shannon Kay. Blind luck had me following with Shannon who is not only a Silver Star (two Purple Hearts and a host of other awards as well) recipient but is also PRS owner and leader. An excellent professional shooter in his own right, Shannon was attending this event as while it was a “Pro” level event, it did not count towards the National series points and was being held in a bit of a “trial run” scenario for when Alderbrook hosts a “Pro” event that is also part of the National Precision Rifle Series schedule in 2022.

Hope you enjoy the “shots” and if anyone wants a full-rez version, just drop me a line.

Windham Girls Varsity Volleyball vs. Bishop Guertin 10/06/21

This was a new task for me. Shooting a girls only event as well as a volleyball match for the first time. Quite a different experience than football, basketball, or lacrosse as in those you can simply follow the ball to follow the action. With volleyball if you simply follow the ball, you will be too late for the shot…so its more guesswork and anticipation than the other sports. The angles are also much different and the net is often in the way. Be that as it may, it was a good experience and fair results. Windham won the match 3 games to none and looked like the more “professional” team while BG seemed amateurish in comparison playing in a haphazard manner vs. the regimented and defined structure of the Windham girls. I’ll be putting up the shots I got over the next few days and we’ll see if I get back to improve on these at future matches. Thanks to Mrs. Bartlett the Windham head coach for making me feel comfortable in taking the photos and pointing out where I could shoot from.

Book Review: Beirut Rules

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Do not let any other review dissuade you from taking on this book.

I’ve read some other reviews that mark down the work for not providing “context” to some of the events that occur in the book. This is not an analysis of the thousands of years that went into building the hatred and mixed allegiances, sometimes at seemingly cross purposes, between all the myriad players in the Mideast (Israel, Lebanon, Shiites, Shia, Druze, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestinians, and on and on and on). That is an encyclopedia in and of itself. Nor is it a work on the economic/political state of Lebanon during the periods covered. Nor is it a work on “tradecraft” teaching the reader the ins and outs of operating as a CIA operative under foreign duress. Expecting these topics to be covered in-depth is a setup for disappointment.

Instead the book is a high level coverage of the entanglement between two men of global import—the CIA Chief of Station for Lebanon in the early 80’s, William Buckley and the designer of his kidnapping and execution, Imad Mughniyeh.

While the covers of the work highlight the CIA and Buckley, the work extends both Buckley’s arrival and after his death and is far more about Mughniyeh and Iran’s influence via Mughniyeh than it is Buckley. Buckley ends up simply as one of many victims of Iran’s terrorist mastermind who would, as the book covers, ultimately meet his own demise at the hands of Mossad and the CIA himself in downtown Damascus but not until some 20+ years after his Buckley affairs.

One of the authors, Fred Burton, had first hand experience with the horrors of Beirut in the 80’s having himself been involved in the investigation and attempts to resolve Buckley’s kidnapping and investigation and arrests around the first WTC bombing. This experience lends weight to the connections between the seemingly endless terrorist events emanating from Mughniyeh, Tehran, Hezbollah, and the Bekaa Valley. Killings and bombings that are commonly forgotten in soft Western minds are recounted here (‘83 US Embassy bombing, ‘83 Beirut US Army barracks bombing, TWA flight 847, bombings of Saudi’s Khobar Towers, dozens of kidnappings, bombings in South America, training of killers in Iraq in the ‘00s, IED designs and proliferation and on and on). Mughniyeh could easily be argued as being far more an influential terrorist and killer of Americans than any other.

I think what I came away with the most is the feeling that the West’s attitude towards these forces still lags behind the threat. We retreat into our malls and our phones and have little concept of the conflict we are in the middle of. Even if we ignore it, it does not ignore us. Our government institutions fail to deal with it effectively even when it kills our our citizens or takes them hostage and carves up their bodies in the most horrific ways possible. The only ones who know it and deal with effectively are those on the front lines like Buckley and others who stand as some sort of ill-served, unsupported, miss-understood, oft-forgotten buffer between our society and those who would see it and us brought to ruin.

A great education on the core terrorist events of the past 40 years, those behind them, the thinking that went into them and the West’s failure to deal with it effectively, Beirut Rules should be required reading for anyone trying to understand our interaction with terrorism in the MidEast.

Windham Varsity Football vs. Nashua North 09/17/21

First of the team’s four games that I’ve seen this year and this loss drops the team to 2-2. Far better than last year’s Covid shortened season though. This game against the State’s D1 defending champs was a lot closer than I thought it would be and Windham held a 10-0 lead going into the 4th quarter. Special teams played a huge role in both directions. Windham started the game with an onside kick recovery and had multiple interceptions/fumble recoveries. Unfortunately Windham also muffed a punt giving the ball back to Nashua at one point (though they prevented a score with an interception) and allowed a broken play prayer of a pass to go for the game winning touchdown. Tiger An showed as a beast of a runner for 104 yards—though the team seemed to go away from him in the second half to their detriment as it was clear that Nashua’s defense was completely gassed by the end of the first half. Moving a bit away from the punishing run game gave Nashua time to recover and some life, which they took advantage of on some big plays and costly penalties. A great showing by Windham against one of the State’s best and in front of what it likely to be the largest crowd they will see this year, one only wishes for what could have been.

Photography wise…I HATE night shooting. Just so much you can’t do. Now Windham’s field was pretty well lit in some areas but the endzones were virtually black…not good. But we work with what we have…

Book Review: Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck

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This is the first Steinbeck work I’ve ever read. No, never read Grapes of Wrath in High School or similar, no, never watched any of the films based on his work—East of Eden, Lifeboat, or others.

That said, this work intrigued me more than others likely for the topic—a solo trip in a camper around the country just to see what can been seen and learned.

And learn and travel he does. From Long Island through Vermont to Maine, all the way across the top of the country through the Wisconsin Dells, Minnesota, the Badlands, out to his birthplace in Northern California, down through Texas and out into New Orleans and then back home to NY.

Yes that skips large portions of the country with the mid-Atlantic and center of the country untraveled and much of the midwest unmentioned as he traveled through them quickly or ignored them after what is the finish of the work in New Orleans. Still, he hits on the huge changes that were going on in the US at the time (very early 60’s during Kennedy-Nixon election) and the themes he carries through are oh so relevant today.

Now I have a bit of bias in liking this tale he weaves as virtually every location he visits is one I have as well. Admittedly not in the same trip but over the years I’ve been to New Orleans, crossed Texas multiple times, spent time on the West Coast, in the Badlands, at Niagra Falls, along the coast of Maine, in Montauk…So I can compare my experiences to his.

I end up coming away with similar feelings as he did…albeit 50 years later. I feel, as he did, that America is struggling. That it is out of sorts, lost its way and at conflict with itself. Maybe everyone feels that way in such a big country where ideas and feelings are rarely in alignment with one’s neighbor. Certainly his feelings that Americans are a mix of people that changes in culture from locale to locale and not at all a homogenous group carries to today. As do other ideas including what was a recent, for him, development of the trailer home and trailer parks, march of technology, fear of global annihilation. No dilatant however as I might have thought him to be, he carries very non-current day liberal attitudes towards many things including gun ownership, hunting, self reliance, etc. that have now become an anathema of the Left. I’m not sure Steinbeck would be welcome in today’s Montauk or San Francisco societies. He finds too much in understanding with the Southerners who fear the changes racial integrations are bringing.

Which is really the core of the work. While his time through Texas is the funniest of his anecdotes—never have Texans been described more accurately and more incisively than here, it is his time in New Orleans that you feel his emotions at the fore. Completely portraying the fat, useless, Southern white hags who would show up on a daily basis to scream obscenities at the African Americans simply trying to go to school, Steinbeck spares no punches in exhibiting the backwards nature of these people. Visiting New Orleans today I can’t imagine such attitudes and behavior being condoned but in the backwoods of LA and MS….its clear such thinking exists to the current. The book is worth it for his supposed first hand account of these early school integrations in the South and the bitterness that existed on one side and the distrust on the other. The book will raise real questions in the reader’s mind in the conversations that follow—with an virulent racist Steinbeck gives a ride to after breakfast one day, an African American student who is terrified of Steinbeck’s whiteness and attempts at conversation, and an “everyman” who tries to rationalize the situation—not to forgive it or condone it…but to explain why it came to be.

Steinbeck is great here in producing a bit of a travelogue, a bit of an adventure, a bit of reportage, a bit of social commentary. As a peek at what the state of the US was in the early 60s just prior to so much social upheaval it is well worth the time and as a look at issues that we continue to struggle with today, it is timeless.

The only thing I can’t forgive in the work? His traveling companion. A Poodle? Disgusting. Get a real dog or get a cat. Anything but a poodle…I honestly think its because of the poodle that I had not read this to date. I’ll ding it and him slightly for that…

Navy Seal CCM MK1 Ship Captured Off Outer Banks

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Well, well, well…what have we here?

Directly off Buxton, NC about 30 miles offshore while we were fishing we were passed by two of these boats heading Southeast at a very high rate of speed. Coming out of the Northwest I would assume they come out of the Norfolk area and were out for some Navy Seal training on the day.

These are relatively new ships to the Seal arsenal and are meant to be able to be hauled across the globe by airlift and give the teams the ability to travel over water at over 50+ knots. The dual mounted .50 cals on the back are clearly visible as is the low-viz paint scheme that these ships have been seen wearing for the past few years. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were headed out to some of the Navy’s training zones off the coast as we always see various aircraft heading out that was as well.

Book Review: Come Back Alive by Robert Young Pelton

Picked up this book a while back out of my like of RYP’s prior works to include Licensed to Kill, The Hunter, the Hammer, and Heaven, and World’s Most Dangerous Places.

While LTK and THTHAH are recounts and commentary on RYP’s visits to various conflict zones and interactions with people in such locales, Come Back Alive is more in the form of WMDPs in that it is intended to be more of a “guide” for folks encountering such issues are areas. While WMDP does a country by country breakdown of typical issues in numerous countries and is both entertaining and educational on issues in each location (and quite lengthy), Come Back Alive is more of a general guide to events one might encounter—kidnappings, bad food, lethal animals, car accidents, high altitude sickness, etc.

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I won’t spend much time on this review. The book was not worth anyone’s time. RYP has just taken the Boy Scout’s Handbook here and sprinkled in a few snarky comments about how you are more likely to be killed by a hippo than a lion, that you should run away from a fight and not worry about self defense, and that the third world has lots of bad drivers. There is little to nothing here that common sense or a year in Cub Scouts wouldn’t have already taught you (bring water to the desert as its real dry out there type of advice). The work is disappointing in the utmost given his keen observations and experiences related in his other works. Round file this work in the recycling bin.

Book Reviews: Quick Hits On Three Books

Trying to keep up my reading these days and closed out three works in the past month and a half, all in different genres and of different qualities.

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Double Star by Robert Heinlein: Less a sci-fi novel than a “caper” it is still a fun read. In a very innocent, 50’s sort of way this is a light work with a down on his luck actor “everyman” being selected for his physical likeness to one of the most important men in the solar system. His job? To impersonate said important man while that individual is out of commission and cement the alignment of the native inhabitants of Mars with humanity and bring equality to all. Of course various pitfalls are encountered along the way including assassination attempts, betrayals, love interests, and so on. If I use the phrase “a rollicking good tale” that would describe it nicely. Nothing you are going to pull your hair out philosophizing over but a great little book to be entertained by.

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Casting Into the Light by Janet Messineo: This ended up on a number of outdoor publications’ lists of notable works and I’ve certainly been interested in various fishing and ocean endeavors. It was unfortunate then that it was such a bore. Janet is a surfcaster focused on bluefish. She recounts her youth, introduction to surfcasting and years honing her craft on Martha’s Vineyard. The book is more or less simply a collection of personal anecdotes and remembrances of her past 40 years of surfcasting. Most of them not particularly interesting in nature or on the written page. There is no thread of continuity in the book other than simply the passage of time. No true theme that drives the recounting of events from one period to another. I might have more interest than most simply because of my geographic familiarity with the region and its aquatic life. Others will likely feel it to be more of a slog than I did in getting through it.

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Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy: The third in McCarthy’s “Border Trilogy” after All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing this work follows the two protagonists who were the solo focus (individually) of the prior works, now together working on a southern New Mexico ranch. COTP is actually an extension of The Crossing more than anything. As its central character in Billy Parnham states [paraphrase here] “I’ve gone down there three times and never once came back with what I went down to get”. By “down there” Parnham means Mexico. In COTP it is his fourth and final trip there to assist his friend in John Grady Cole that is the pinnacle of the three books. If you’ve read McCarthy’s books, by this point you know things are going to end badly when Cole falls for a Mexican whore but it doesn’t make the journey to that finale any less wonderful. It is again McCarthy’s ability to draw out descriptions of the deep southwest culture and geography that are so fantastic. Edward Abbey would be pressed to do a better job of desert, rock, sand, dust, coyote, horse and blood descriptions. McCarthy writes like someone who has lived these lives he describes. COTP does read like an extra long chapter of The Crossing and feels slightly overweight compared to the prior two in the series but still an great closer to a classic modern Western triptych.

Film Review: Those Who Wish Me Dead

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Well, we all have our substandard work, don’t we?

I have greatly enjoyed all of Taylor Sheridan’s previous writing and directing work which includes the TV Series Yellowstone, and the films Wind River, Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and Hell or High Water. So when I saw that he was directing this work which had a similar theme to his other work—Neo-Western and dealing with issues of the American West (here being the fire prone areas of the Rocky Mountains) and mixing it with brute criminal behavior that he has previously portrayed so well…I had high hopes.

Unfortunately, saddled with Angelie Jolie who is completely out of her element here and a terrible script (at least partially Sheridan’s own fault), this is a grossly underwhelming film.

Jolie, who has always looked like she is wearing a wig to me, is supposed to be a female smokejumper extraordinaire here but is waifish in her build, runs like toddler, and exhibits exactly zero physical strength in the role. She is also just a straight up terrible actress here and has a completely stilted chemistry (or lack thereof) with the cast. She has been shoehorned into this role by someone and it shows.

The story itself would have let anyone down, so its not all Jolie’s fault. So little is explained of any of the plot or characters that the viewer has no idea of anyone’s real motivation. The killer’s sent after a small boy who may have some accounting info that implicates someone, or some organization are directed by a nameless governmental “baddie” played by Tyler Perry (who shoehorned himself in here as one of the producers). What the info is? What have these bad people done? No one knows. Jolie has some sort of exgirlfriend relationship with Joe Bernthal’s character (the only one even adequate in their role) but that is glossed over and buried with a single sentence. Lightning strikes with an accuracy that makes you think it has it out for Jolie’s character—first striking her fire tower and then, literally, chasing her down as she crosses a field.

The film ends predictably and without any real resolution or information regarding what just happened. Which is kinda the feeling a viewer comes away with? What did I just watch and why did I bother?

If HBO Max, where this film was put on the same day it appeared in theaters due to the relationship between HBO and Warner Bros., is simply going to be a dumping ground for movies that should have been canned or gone “straight to streaming” as they might say…count me out of paying for it. Skip it and watch Hell or High Water again…

Book Review: Freedom by Sebastian Junger

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Well…we all get old don’t we? We all wish for what we feel we have failed to do with our life at some point don’t we?

Junger’s recently released Freedom is a bit of that…and more a mishmash of random thoughts that don’t coalesce around anything truly meaningful or insightful.

I’ll give away the ending of the book because many of the review’s I’ve read of it have shied away from it and linking the reasons for the book’s development to begin with. Junger closes the book with a notation on how his is now in his early 50’s, childless, and in the middle of a divorce…so….yeah….

In short order after Junger’s east coast walk down a number of railroad lines (some 400 miles) that were somehow supposed to stand in for the “freedom” that the work is titled from, he would remarry and father two daughters. One can’t help but wonder at the eyerolling of his editors and publishers as they read this disjointed work and then began putting the pieces together as to why this was written. Clear to any reader Mr. Junger was proceeding through that most cliché of male expeiences—the mid-life crisis. The only thing missing here is the red sports car.

Now Junger wraps some pretty interesting historical anecdotes into this work—from the history of notable train wrecks, to Mongol hordes, to the extermination of an entire male ethnicity in Spain and so on…but none of it really has any connection to the supposed topic of the work. Sure he tries to weave a thread how these relate to “freedom” in a general sense but none of it carries much weight and feels more like a construct his editors forced on him—”Hey, you’ve given us 200 pages of your notes from your walk in the woods to turn into a book…can you please come up with some kind of theme that we can come up with a title for?”

Junger is definitely suffering in his later days…and to be honest I wouldn’t be shocked if the news came out someday soon that he has gone the way of Anthony Bourdain…a brilliant writer and assessor of certain parts of our culture but broken by life events—in Junger’s case the death of his friend Tim Hetherington and being a bystander to so much violence, death, and chaos. His “freedom” solution was evidently finding a new woman and having children, tying himself down to obligations that will actually move him farther away from the “freedom” he supposedly writes about. Now he definitely calls out modern life’s required balancing act between our reliance on society as a whole, that we must both contribute to as well as lean upon vs. homo sapien’s desire to be self reliant and independent of oversight and control. One just wonders if he has traded his own difficult, ugly, violent, distant, lonely life as a writer of modern global subjects with domestic demands that will also fail to fill what seems an every growing hole in his psyche.

But these are all ancillary issues to this work. The work is likely Junger’s weakest. Disjointed and confused are words you might associate with it. There is no narrative despite the attempt to wrap the discussion of freedom around his walk along the railroad and it leaves the reader empty and generally unenlightened. Hell, at certain times after he has rambled on about some random historical event you wonder just how on earth he is going to try and shoehorn the topic of “freedom” to it…but attempt to do so he does, in some inelegant and hackneyed manner. He has been and should be, better. Just not here.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Goffstown 05/25/21

Well that was MUCH better. A bit of aggression, a bit fiesty, a bit angry (broken sticks, some chirping, some actual bad blood developing between the teams)—that’s what we like to see. Windham was out to a big lead early and nursed it in the second half for a 14-4 win. Didn’t get quite to the running clock with a greater than 12 point lead but…good enough. This runs the record to 11-6 on the year with one game remaining, again against Goffstown. Then its on to the tournament—hopefully the boys aren’t too worn out from Memorial Day Weekend for the Monday game which will be super tough and Windham will be the underdog. Going to have to bring their “A” game and then some if they hope to advance out of the first round.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Pinkerton 05/22/21

Men among boys I think is the phrase. In a game lost 17-4 and in which Windham went 0-23 on faceoffs and was completely dominated on both ends of the field, that’s the phrase that comes to mind. Unwilling or unable to match Pinkerton’s physical play, Windham did not have the skill to maneuver around the field to avoid it. Not that Pinkerton was unskilled themselves—far from it. Their passing and cutters to the net often went unchallenged. Deserving of their spot in the top teams of DI, Pinkerton showed Windham just how far they COULD improve. Its partly a matter of “do they want to?” and “are they willing to?” As noticed with Windham’s basketball team this year, facing adversity and physical play is not something bred into Windham players seemingly on a wide basis in the community, nor unfortunately, are the genetics that produce hulking 6 foot, 200 pound middies with quick feet, hard shots, and the attitude of a killer. So 10-6 they are with two games left vs. Goffstown this week before the tournament. Hopefully these serve as a good tune up and prepare them for action.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Keene 05/18/21

This was their ninth win in a row with the following day’s far more difficult win at Keene running Windham’s streak to 10. The NHIAA site only shows Windham’s record as 9-5 but it is missing an additional game and win against Spaulding making their record 10-5. Unfortunately Windham’s next game is against Pinkerton, a DI team and one of the best in the state. making the game simply competitive would be an accomplishment. But that’s this weekend. This 13-4 victory was never in doubt with Windham getting out to a bit lead early. Again, not much work for the defense, who, when challenged, presented an adequate but not strong position. Windham has its best players on offense and presents the scoring punch to compete in the upcoming DII tournament but defense is its weak spot. After Pinkerton will close out the regular season next week with two games against Goffstown, both winnable games against a solid opponent giving Windham a good warmup before the tournament which should start with a home game.

Windham JV Lacrosse vs. Keene 05/18/21

Stayed a bit long after the Varsity game this day and shot the JV game as well. Didn’t shoot a lot but got some photos of players who probably don’t get as much attention as their Varsity teammates. JV was interesting…if anything it was more physical than Varsity. With the running clock the refs aren’t as likely to call a penalty and let a lot of checking and stickwork go. Plus with the players far more likely to drop the ball or have it dislodged means a lot more on the ground jostling to gain possession. Some nifty passing and pay by Windham here so they should be in fair shape for the future as Levine and Charest and others graduate out. I’ll get to the Varsity game in the near future.

TV Review: Zero Zero Zero

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What an excellent show. Largely unhyped here in the US, this show has been on Amazon Prime in recent months and stands up with anything HBO, Netflix, or any other network can produce. Admittedly its not an Amazon product other than the money used to acquire its rights but…It deserves watching over 99% of what is out there.

Americans likely aren’t enthused by it given 2/3 of the show is subtitled as it divides its interconnected stories between Italy, Mexico, and the US for their bases. Don’t let that put you off. If you enjoy dark, modern tales of how the dirty, violent, and unfair the world actually is…this is for you.

Beautifully shot across the globe (including some of my personal favorites in New Orleans, Dakar, Casablanca) the beauty of the natural world—oceans and deserts and mountains and forests—is contrasted with that of our world which seems to be strewn with blood, lies, deception, and betrayal. Production values here are as high as any Bond film…but the “heroes” don’t escape with parkour run across rooftops…they die of disease, knives, bullets and by human hands.

Comparisons?? Well, for me (admittedly short of experience with some of the writers and directors other works) it carries similarities in style and story and violence with Netflix’s Narcos, the Sicario films, and much of Ridley Scott’s portfolio—Blackhawk Down, Black Rain, The Counselor to name a couple. No one as a character comes out looking like a hero…but you do FEEL for these anti-heroes, becoming invested in their stories and outcomes. Which is what the best of these works do. You begin to enjoy Pablo Escobar in Narcos, you begin to empathize with the hitman in Sicario…The same holds true here with the drug dealers, cocaine middlemen and Italian Mafioso.

A revelation in the work is the actor Harold Torres, who has had roles in numerous Mexican films and been up for the equivalent of an Oscar (for whatever that means) a number of times already in his young career. Here as a corrupt Mexican army soldier forming his own paramilitary narco commander he dominates the screen whenever he appears despite a lack of dialogue.

The direction too is phenomenal. When my wife comments on how much she likes the tracking shots or camera movements as a scene transitions from a hospital birthing room to the loading of trucks with soldiers on their way to massacre a birthday party, you know there is some talent behind the lens.

Don’t miss this one. Its is superb from start to finish.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Salem 05/14/21

Running their record now to 8-5 with their 8th win in a row, this one, like the prior Salem game was easy. Never in doubt and little effort required on the part of the Windham defense—which is unfortunate as that is where they need the most work. This puts them squarely in the middle of the DII seedings for the end of year tournament.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Timberlane 05/13/21

Running their record to 7-5 this was a second win in three days vs. Timberlane. Not an easy win but they will take it. Offense seems to be solid and has rounded into nice shape with consistent faceoff wins, crisp passing and a number of players who can score off their own playmaking. Defense still needs work. I’d love to see more aggression, more bodywork, less stickwork. No opposing player has been scared about coming into the heart of Windham’s defense yet and that needs to change. Far too many players get off uncontested shots against Windham goalies. Seven wins in a row is solid and should see them in the middle of the pack for seeding come tournament time.