The Legend of Tokyo Rose

| December 21, 2013

Archiving a bit of text (Chapter 5 in Miss Your Lovin by Ann Elizabeth Pfau) in researching some WWII Pacific history. See the Gutenberg link above but text saved below. American veterans of the Pacific war still remember Tokyo Rose. She was the most dangerous and seductive of the enemy radio announcers who broadcast propaganda […]

Desultory advice: Buy BIGGER bathroom bar soap

| May 5, 2013

Once in a while the “post for the day” reaches desperation levels and inspiration comes to me in the shower … literally! So after reaching into the simpleton part of my brain – the majority of it, before I get a wise crack – a brilliant cheapskate idea for my eventual advice book crops up. […]

Book: General Stanley McChrystal and My Share of the Task

| January 15, 2013

If you enjoy reading history and military biographies, the new General Stanley McChrystal autobiography My Share of the Task will be your “cup of tea Joe.” I ordered an ebook version last week after reading a couple short reviews and found it difficult to put down. In fact, I found myself rewinding the Tivo buffer […]

Book: We Were Pirates by Robert Schultz and James Shell

| June 12, 2011

Enjoying a World War II audio narrative and reading about the book We Were Pirates.  It is a book that help us understand the life of WWII American submariners, particularly Torpedoman Robert Hunt and his point of view. He shared his memories and his collection of photos and documents from his service aboard the USS […]

SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper

| May 5, 2011

With the fascination of Seal Team Six’s operation in taking down Osama bin Laden, the timing of former Seal Team Six member’s Howard Wasdin’s new book couldn’t be better. He was interviewed by WSJ’s Lee Hawkins after the successful mission in Pakistan on Sunday and offers a little bit of detail one what it takes […]

Ordered Rawhide Down and watched 127 Hours

| April 2, 2011

  I’m looking forward to reading a new book, Rawhide Down, the near assassination of Ronald Reagan, by Del Quentin Wilber, after listening to a couple of interviews while driving this week. The history and medical component to the story really sounded compelling, particularly since it was a piece of history that I remember – […]

Book: Going Rogue by Sarah Palin

| March 13, 2010

Since we’ve had rain for a couple of days while on vacation, I picked up a book off the coffee table and started reading it here at the condo … before finishing the other ones I brought along I might as well add. It’s a book I’ve been curious about, but not willing to buy […]

Adding some “light” reading to my weekend: Windows 7 Secrets

| February 19, 2010

I’ve added  a little light reading to my weekend plans from Paul Thurrot and Rafael Rivera’s book, Windows 7 Secrets … it’s only 1080 pages. I’m hoping the book will help enhance an already satisfied Windows 7 user by teaching me a few tricks in using Microsoft’s newest OS. As regular readers know, I’ve been […]

Book: World Cruising Routes, an ocean crossing necessity

| January 12, 2010

For many years I’ve contemplated buying a fairly expensive reference style book — one that I really don’t currently need, but have wanted. Since I had a few Christmas dollars to spend (thanks Mom H.) I figured now was the perfect time add the $60.00 628 page book to my library. After spending a few […]

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll available at books.google.com

| September 23, 2009

Although I’m not one to read books (especially 728 pages) on a web browser, I did notice that Ghost Wars by Steve Coll is available as a scanned and imaged book on Google. So far I’m finding the history lesson intriguing and fitting with one of my favorite movies, Charlie Wilson’s War. If you’re interested […]

At 89, John Demjanjuk, alleged Nazi guard deportation halted

| April 15, 2009

Having lived in the Cleveland area in the 1980s and 1990s and remembering this event, it is puzzling why it has taking so long to deport John Demjanjuk a resident in Seven Hills, Ohio. It is good that we continue to track down war criminals, particularly those taking part in running Nazi death camps, but […]

Daniel Tammet runs the numbers on McCain

| October 16, 2008

For those of you familiar with the book “Born on a Blue Day” by Daniel Tammet, you’ll enjoy his blog post on John McCain’s age. As a ‘numbers guy,’ he takes a look at both actuarial tables of a 72 year old man in the U.S., the McCain family history and lifespan of past U.S. […]

Meghan McCain talks with Neil Cavuto

| October 15, 2008

I monitor the RSS feed for Meghan McCain’s blog (McCainBlogette.com) and have been looking forward to reviewing her new children’s book about her father since it was published a few weeks ago. Although I haven’t picked the book up yet, I have read a few reviews on it. Below I’ll include an interview Meghan had […]

Merry Christmas 2007

| December 24, 2007

Last night my wife and I enjoyed reading the small Max Lucado coffee table book “One Incredible Moment” in front of our Christmas Tree. Although the book was published in 2006, the segment included below, Mary’s Prayer, was originally part of the Lucado book “God Came Near.” As you prepare for your Christmas celebration and […]

VIDEO: “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell

| July 13, 2007

I’ve written previously about a book I’ve just finished reading and wanted to include a more recent interview available on the Internet. His thoughts on the fatal decision that cost the lives of his SEAL team are shared as well as a few of his personal ‘opinions’ regarding the War on Terror. The book Lone […]

Vacation book choice: Talking Right

| July 31, 2006

I’m looking for a light reading book for my upcoming vacation. Geoffrey Nunberg’s book, Talking Right, might just be the ticket. It looks humorous enough to keep the reading light, but topical enough to hold my interest. I’m open for opinions and will offer a few tidbits if they are worthy after our family vacation. […]

The Boys of Pointe du Hoc

| September 12, 2005

The Boys of Point du Hoc, by Douglas Brinkley has masterfully honored Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder and his 225 U.S. Army Rangers for their June 6, 1944 D-Day climb and the man who honored them 40 years later. Their undertaking is beyond thinking as they scaled the 100 foot cliffs while the enemy sprayed […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog