Gasp!

DVD Review: Element: Tai Chi For Beginners, with Samuel Barnes

My review of Element: Tai Chi For Beginners, with Samuel Barnes appeared in yesterday's Birmingham News.

"The slow, flowing movement of tai chi looks inviting. This ancient Chinese martial art is said to reduce stress and improve balance and flexibility. Master teacher Samuel Barnes shows how to perform beginning tai chi postures in his DVD, "Element: Tai Chi for Beginners."

It also appears in the Birmingham News Living blog. Feel free to snoop around, as they regularly post some damn good stuff.

Consider This: William Thornton's Brilliant Disguises

A friend of mine, William Thornton, has a new blog called Brilliant Disguises. It a look at classic and contemporary literature from a Christian perspective. Since we've had many discussion of literature in the real world, I can vouch for the fact that he's got a strong grasp on the subject. I think it'll even have something to offer an average agnostic.

His literary choices will surprise you, if you tend to think all Christians are alike.

Book Review: Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers by Caroline Sullivan

Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers by Caroline Sullivan

Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999 256 pages

 

Exciting girls everywhere with their tartan costumes and pop-sap songs, the Bay City Rollers ruled Britain in the mid-70s. Their single, "Saturday Night," crossed the ocean in 1975, topping the U.S. charts. By 1978, their immense fame faded. They closed that year out by starring in The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars, alongside a character named Witchiepoo. So much for rock respect.

 

Caroline Sullivan's memoir, "Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers" isn't about the Scottish group. Instead, she focuses on herself and a gaggle of girls who served as groupies to the boy band. It's a fun, memorable and breezy glimpse at growing up the 70s.

 

Sullivan skillfully structures the book by setting up a question in the opening chapter. Just how did she - a teenage girl from New Jersey - end up serving them beer and cigarettes in a Detroit hotel room. It wasn't as easy as it might sound. From the time they landed on American soil, Sullivan followed the group by any means necessary. The chases, turnarounds and trickery involved are captivating. Throughout the book, the question isn't whether Sullivan and her Tartan Tarts (as they called themselves) could catch up with the group. They did, more often than not. Rather, the reader is left curious what will happen when they finally get members of the band alone in a room. Will she have the courage to act on her convictions?

 

Throughout the book, it is assumed that the reader knows that Sullivan is one of Britain's leading rock critics. In between getting fired from jobs and questioning her sanity, Sullivan straddles between her love of all things Roller and punk music. These hints of the future serve as a brilliant counterpoint, putting the Rollers and even the 70s in a colorful pop context.

 

The band beds them and brushes them off, but the payoff comes years later. In 1994, Sullivan interviewed Les McKeown for Radio 1's show "Soundbite." McKeown is trying to revive a stagnant career. She is doing a segment on fading teen idols. The game is reversed, and now he tries to impress her. This power shift underscores how the times have changed. Thank goodness for that.

 

Caroline Sullivan's book was a hit in Britain. At one point the film rights were optioned by Courtney Love. For those of you who don't know about the book, it is a perfect way to shoot a weekend. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down.

 

Further reading on the Bay City Rollers:

 

A recent profile of Les McKeown in the Scotsman.

 

Complaints of missing royalties

 

Watch them perform their hit: Saturday Night

Book Review: Creative Recovery by Eric Maisel and Susan Raeburn

 My review of Creative Recovery: A Complete Addiction Treatment Program That Uses Your Natural Creativity by Eric Maisel and Susan Raeburn appeared in the February 16th edition of The Birmingham News.

"Some speculate that creativity fuels addiction, but psychologists Eric Maisel and Susan Raeburn believe it can be used for recovery. In "Creative Recovery: A Complete Addiction Treatment Program That Uses Your Natural Creativity," the authors describe techniques that can assist creative people in pursuit of abstinence."

Read the rest

Book Review: Herschel Walker's book, 'Breaking Free'

My review of Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder, by Herschel Walker with Gary Brozek and Charlene Maxfield appeared in February 2nd edition of The Birmingham  News.

It went something like this:

"Football star Herschel Walker knew he had a problem when he considered murdering a man who failed to deliver a new car on time. Ordinarily this might seem like a spoiled celebrity temper tantrum, but Walker wasn't given to having diva-like moments. As a born-again Christian, such rage was unacceptable to him. Coupled with hearing voices in his head encouraging him to commit the crime, Walker knew that he to find out what was wrong."

Read the rest

I Don't Want to Die Alone

 Whenever I try to explain the past, I find that I'm not telling the whole truth. 

There are multiple explanations for what happened.

 

When I look out a window, I can describe what I'm seeing.

 

But when I look through another window, I see the same thing at a different angle.

 

I'm not a liar. I just don't know you well enough.

 

by Laura Axelrod
February 9, 2009

Birmingham, Alabama

Book Review: Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? by Dr. Beth Ann Ditkoff with Andrea Ditkoff and Julia Ditkoff

My review of "Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow?: Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body" by Dr. Beth Ann Ditkoff with Andrea Ditkoff and Julia Ditkoff was published on January 26 in The Birmingham News.

"You are in line at the grocery store. Suddenly, your daughter spots a woman standing nearby and cries out: "Why does that woman have a mustache?"

After the initial embarrassment subsides, you may be stuck trying to answer an awkward question about the human anatomy. When Dr. Beth Ann Ditkoff's children began asking such questions, she decided to write a book that would have all the answers. The result is "Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow?: Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body."

Book Review: Surviving Ben's Suicide by C. Comfort Shields

My review of "Surviving Ben's Suicide: A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery," by C. Comfort Shields was published on January 19 in The Birmingham  News.

"When her boyfriend, Ben, shot himself in the head, Comfort Shields felt like her life had ended. The 18-month romance was fraught with difficulties, but she had no idea it would end so tragically. In "Surviving Ben's Suicide: A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery," Shields poignantly discovers that she didn't cause Ben to kill himself; nor could she have healed him from his troubles."

A completely unrelated review  was published on January 12 in the Birmingham News. It was the oddest book/video combo I've seen in a while. My quibbles are in the review.

Book Review: I Bet I Won't Fret by Timothy Sisemore

My review of  "I Bet I Won't Fret: A Workbook to Help Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder," by Timothy Sisemore was published on January 5 in The Birmingham  News.

"Children experience anxiety throughout their lives, but for some it is a constant problem. Pervasive fear becomes a daily struggle, making it difficult for them to talk to friends or go to school. Young people who experience this type of anxiety will find solace in Timothy Sisemore's book, "I Bet I Won't Fret: A Workbook to Help Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder."

Book Review: The No Bull Book on Heart Disease by Joel Okner, M.D. and Jeremy Clorfene

My review of "The No Bull Book on Heart Disease: Real Answers to Winning  Back Your Heart and Health," by Joel Okner, M.D. and Jeremy Clorfene was published on December 29, 2008.

"The pressure in your chest and shortness of breath are terrifying. An ambulance rushes you to the hospital. After an emergency bypass operation, you learn that you need to make lifestyle changes, but you still don't understand what has happened or why. In Dr. Joel Okner's and Jeremy Clorfene's book "The No Bull Book on Heart Disease: Real Answers to Winning Back Your Heart and Health," readers learn what to expect during and after treatment for heart disease."

Back... Again

Once again, I've let time slip by without writing anything. It's not that I have writer's block, though I will admit, it was difficult after my Dad's death. I think it mostly has to do with wanting to revamp this space. My plan is to make it more dynamic. Since I'm busy formulating my blueprints, I'm neglecting the day-to-day doings.

 

So please forgive me... Again.

 

Meanwhile, I will post my book reviews from the past month. And I'll work on summoning up a few other thoughts as well.