Charlie's Books

Charlie's Books
Buon Giorno, Amici!

Our motto ...

Leave the (political) party. Take the cannoli.

"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela

Right now 6 Stella crime novels are available on Kindle for just $.99 ... Eddie's World has been reprinted and is also available from Stark House Press (Gat Books).

Friday, March 16, 2012

Super Mario … Johnny Porno goes ebook … St. Patrick’s Day … Goldman’s Muppets … When the right is right … The new NBA Contract … Kevin Harrison …

Amici:

Bills sign Super Mario (a.k.a. Mario Williams) … how cool is that? Tom Brady, your days are numbered. The last time the Bills opted for a premier pass-rusher, they drafted the great Bruce Smith … the NFL has been put on alert, the Bills mean business ($50 million guaranteed worth). I almost feel sorry for the Cheatriots, Yets and Dolphinations. Almost ...


Super Mario to the rescue!

Johnny Porno goes ebook … Kindle here:

Nook here:


Freckles Rule!


St. Patrick’s Day … oy vey, this means between Jim (“Doc”) Nyland and my wife, the Principessa Ann Marie, I’ll have to eat that stuff that takes all friggin’ day to cook and smells up the entire house. Us eye-talians take issue with this day mostly because of the chow we’re forced to eat (or starve, she tells me) … We have an ongoing joke war going on at casa Stella; the wife is half eye-talian/half Irish (so I make exceptions [name the movie that line is from and win a cookie). She points out that I’m half Sicilian, which is why my knuckles continue to drag on the floor.

So, here’s the chant I torture my much better half with hourly during this festive day: orin begorrin (my teasing of the green/my wife’s Irish side), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Bills QB who broadcasts each throw by winding up like a pitcher with no runners on base) and Ed Shaughnessy (great drummer featured on the old Johnny Carson show) … now can we order pizza?

Say it a few dozen times fast (especially if your spouse is half Irish). Orin Begorrin, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ed Shaughnessy ... now can we order pizza?


The Goldman Muppets … excuse me for not being surprised over this one, but what did some of their clients think they were being called behind their backs? There’s a mob protocol that requires certain types of introductions, usually preceded with an exchange of cheek kisses (whether the two men greeting one another hate each other or not). Introducing a third party determines third party status. “Friend of mine, friend of ours”; the difference being, one means the third party is either a “somebody” (someone who’s taken the “oath”) or a “nobody” (someone outside the realm of a made guy). And behind each other’s backs there’s often as much respect as Rush Limbaugh has for Sandra Fluk and/or Bill Maher has for women in general (we’ll get to that one next). The point being, amici, if Goldman treats their million dollar customers like that, is it any wonder they pissed all over the public (demanding a no strings attached bailout from their lackeys in the government)? Not to mention the snarky way they dealt with their lackeys on capital hill during those Congressional “hearings”.


When the right is right … if what dopey Rush Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluk upset the Democratic party (not just women in general), one has to wonder why and/or how people like Bill Maher and Lewis CK (who was supposed to be the featured comedian at the white house media dinner) get a pass. Forget the $1,000,000 contribution Maher gets to make from his ivory tower (and Obama gets to keep while ignoring the misogynistic rhetoric).

While driving home at night I have a few options. Listen to Mike Francesa on WFAN or Mark Levin on WABC … both get on my nerves, but sometimes Mark Levin (a lunatic of the far right, make no mistake) has a point and he drives it home as well as MSNBC (or, as he labels them, MSLSD) … last week he played two clips on different nights. One of Lewis CK spouting some nasty dialogue (rivaling the characters from my novels) about Sarah Palin. Another night he featured a young Al Sharpton spouting anti-white rhetoric (although he did point out that the right reverend has apologized for his comments over time). Needless to say, he mentioned Bill Maher’s calling Palin the dreaded C-word and that nobody in the white house seemed to have a problem with it; the defense being he’s a comedian first, political analyst/contributor second (even if programs like CNN and MSNBC/LSD continue to seek his opinions on pretty much everything except, notably, the Limbaugh controversy).


Aside from the fact Maher’s HBO show features politicians and political analysts weekly, he gets to cling to comedian as an excuse for calling Palin the C-word.

And the white house has no problem with that as their defense.

It’s sort of how they treated public worker union members in Wisconsin last year. Ignoring them completely.


Which leads to the new NBA contracts for superstars. Last week it was reported that Dwight Howard of the Magic was basically offered the option of having both the coach and general manager fired if it would keep him in Orlando. From what I heard (and it could be wrong), Howard was decent about the option and said he wanted nothing to do with those decisions. Good for him/Bad for the NBA.

Less than a week later Camelo Anthony (no matter what his spin on it is) put coach Mike D'Antoni on the hook (and D'Antoni resigned forthwith). This is the new NBA contract for superstars … if a superstar isn’t happy, before he goes anywhere, the coaches are sent packing.


The End of Linsanity … now that Carmelo Anthony has had his way and Mike Woodson has replaced Mike D’Antoni on the bench, Jeremy Lin’s days of being the team’s offensive catalyst are a thing of the past.

I can’t wait to see how that goes over … thus far the Knicks have rebounded with 2 consecutive blow out wins (against two so-so teams). Personally, I think it’ll prove yet another disaster just as soon as the superstar doesn’t produce against the teams that count. And then the New York Knicks organization will rival the Philadelphia Eagles for the honor of being the dumbest organization in all of sport.


— Knucks

That Jersey kid mentioned above, Kevin Harrison, live ...