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A Review of ORACLE WHIP by Bradley Lastname

Absurdity is a difficult thing to do well and Bradley Lastname is an exception to that rule. To exclaim from the roof of a burning building that all is well even though the dogs and cats raining down from the skies are attempting to put out the flames. Here is a fine example of his work,

Bible Of The Damned

For 40 days
And 80 nights,
160 silkworms
In 320 offshore sweatshops
Spun 640 neckties
That hung unworn in 1,280 clothes closets
During 2,560 casual Fridays
At 5,120 bankrupt corporations.

Now take as long as you need and explain to me how you could not LOVE these words put together in one place.

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A Review of THE SQUEAKY FROMME GETS THE GREASE by Bradley Lastname

The writing of Bradley Lastname is best suited for the outskirts of middle America, piped in during lunch time, the family hour a dose of reality and absurbisms the height of which have never been stood on end.
My good friend Michael Basinski reviewed this fine volume at www.the-hold.com, Basinski wrote, “Uproariously insane! Riotous and ball busting humour out of left field. A truck of pig bladder pouring beer pee into the pyramids. Truly a Gregory Corso for the 21st century.
Now if you can seek out this book and you will not be notified by any tribunal or species you will be caught in the draft of warm soothing air.

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A Review of TABLOID NATION by John Schasny

In Tabloid Nation, John Schasny writes, “Like the tabloids, none of this is real.” But it is real and the lower extremities that double as integrity and promise of a better world are often fueled by horrific looks down the drainpipe at the victim’s body twisted and blackened by the flame and it is just that kind of mentality that you get when you read this book. John Schasny catches Middle America in a composite that reeks of itself. Yes, America is garish, cruel and distasteful and that is its good points. What Schasny describes as, “the Zeitgeist of 21st-century America” is where the body of decency is buried and no strand of DNA will revive the beast unless we except that we are all not as so important as to fascinate those next to us in the crowd of onlookers.

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A Review of THE INTRUSIVE ACHE OF MORNING by Patrick Porter

The writings of Patrick Porter in this volume read like lyrics to an unrecorded cd of his music. Perhaps Porter is under the headphones it is 12:37 am and it has been or as Porter writes, “Quivering, Longing in the depths of this pause.” Patrick Porter is a brief glimpse away from an overwhelming surge of sales mostly directed toward those with good taste.

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A Review of ZANES VILLE by Kris Saknussemm

Zanes Ville is written fast and loose with enough cultural references to keep the bed bug generation happy until their I Pod battery re-charges. I made it through the entire text as I do each book I review but it was a struggle and that is good to keep in mind as the author attempts to reinvent something or another and I am not sure which. A story, any story that pretends to dance to its own inner rhythm from the first line is to be applauded, Zanes Ville is not one of those stories.

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A Review of IN LOVE'S SHADOW and DAS L'OMBRE D L'AMOUR by Jay Black

As much as I would like to give this strong effort a positive review I just can’t. It does contain the intimacy of hard work but the language, the style and the complete text is just not up to the level of where it needs to be. The writing is conceited, it’s stuffy and it speaks of someone who takes he or she a bit too seriously. I honestly do not like writing negative reviews but then again I was asked for my opinion. But I must comment on the fact that Jay Black did send a copy with a different translation.

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A Review of THE TORTOISE DIET: WIN THE RACE TO LOSE! by Patricia S. Church RN, BSN

Usually someone will write a diet book perhaps to help some but mostly to mass market an idea to cash in. The Tortoise Diet is not that kind of a book. There is actual concern in the pages and as noted on the back cover, “A portion of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to selected organizations dedicated to the health and wellness of the community.” That to me reads as the idea of this book being put together.
Ms. Church is a health care professional and has lost 100 pounds by following her own plan. This is an easy to read and easy to follow diet plan. It’s recommended for those who enjoy the personal touch and don’t want to pay the rate of an office visit.

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A Review of 50/50 SPLIT by Rick Mizuno

50/50 Split is an affectionate tale of a romance and marriage that like many others goes through changes often unforeseen and unrealized until years later. Told in a calm narrative Rick Mizuno takes his time pacing the story as to slowly reveal his story rather than jumping up and down on the reader and thrusting ahead like many best selling novelists do today. Sorry Rick that you might not sell as many as some that are enjoying widespread sales but at least you know you’re as good or nearly there.

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A Review of GREEN 61 by Cody Fowler Davis

You can’t divorce the fact that Green 61 was written by the brother of a politician. Being that it is an “environmental thriller” again you might decide to take a look at the environmental history of the candidate, all that aside let’s discuss the writing. We’ve already had Cain and Abel but these days that story might be told from the end of a drainpipe in a nondescript section of a lake near a recycling facility. Cody Fowler Davis attacks his subject matter with due diligence and in no time during the novel do you care that he is the brother of a politician, you just care that he is able to tell the story with fervor and humility, come to think of it that is what you want in a politician.

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A Review of THE EMPTY CALORIES from the Press of the 3rd Mind

If you could detail the dreams of a salesmen going door to door slinging rubber gloves and statues of Crowley then if you turned it upside down and attached to a typewriter and left it alone in the shaft of a coal mine during the Christmas holidays then you might begin to approach these works. I absolutely love these writings. They aren’t preachy, they aren’t judgmental, and they aren’t bad. A credit to the industry William S. Burroughs might say.