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, August 30, 2013

Interview with a GREAT Small Press editor … Jennifer Gresham ... NFL Hush Money ... Glickman ... In Other News ...

Amici:

 
Dana King’s Grind Joint will be published by Stark House Press and is ready for pre-order right now … and here the author interviews the funniest, best-looking (except for his fingers), and one of the most talented editors in the business … Dana interviews the amazing Rick Ollerman (nobody juggles more than this guy, including the Phat Dad—moi) … check the interview out here …
 
 
 

 
 
 

From Jennifer Gresham's blog, Everyday Bright ... (her words) As a freshman in college, I struggled to choose between two very different majors: chemistry and English.

I thought I loved them both. Since I was attending the U.S. Air Force Academy, I knew I'd have a job after graduation regardless of what I picked.

Chemistry certainly sounded more practical, and for a bright, over-achiever like myself, a professional track also seemed more appropriate.

Over the years, the Air Force funded my master's degree and then a Ph.D. The military culture, which encourages officers to change positions every two to three years, allowed me to explore a series of diverse jobs including nuclear treaty monitoring, teaching college chemistry, grants management, and corporate communications for the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Check out Jen’s video right below, amici ... this is one brilliant cookie ... it’s a life lesson she presents ... and one we can all use in the pursuit of our dreams and to just get the most from our lives without all the unnecessary pressure we too often put on ourselves.




Evelyn Amelia Stella does NOT like squash ... oy vey ...

 

Nonno says (in his Popeye voice): Oh, the rat finks, infinks, don’t likes their squarshk. Eat your spinichk, eat your spinichk!


 

NFL Hush Money ... the bottom line: NFL players who suffered concussions, whether they led to ALS or not, will not be able to sue the league ever again. That’s the gist of the $765 million bone the league tossed at the players yesterday. Former players, those who were injured during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, are strapped for cash and that was the excuse for settling for the short money. In the meantime, the league never goes through the legal discovery process which would expose just how complicit team owners and league officials were in hiding the concussion issue from players (and the world). They get to walk away unscathed, pretty much the same way the Wall Street banks did after demanding and getting a bailout that precludes them from being liable to lawsuits.



USA Today: “... the NFL won't have to disclose internal files about what it knew and when, about concussion-linked brain problems. Lawyers had been eager to learn, for instance, about the workings of the league's Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, which was led for more than a decade by a rheumatologist.”

Chalk up one more victory for big money at the expense, this time the health expense, of the worker bees.


Glickman ... An HBO documentary about legendary athlete/broadcaster, Marty Glickman, is more than just a tribute to one man. It’s also a history lesson exposing the politics of the time, from the 1936 Olympics through the golden age of television. Glickman was severely and unjustly discriminated against for being Jewish … bad enough Hitler, et al, took issue with the Jewish faith, but when team and U.S. government officials kept Glickman and a fellow Jewish runner (Sam Stoller) from running in the 400 in Berlin, it was an absolute travesty of justice and democracy. Check out the HBO trailer here, then watch the documentary. Very touching … and Glickman was one amazing athlete long before he became an iconic broadcaster.




Keith Olbermann’s return to ESPN ... I used to love this lunatic back in the day on ESPN ... he and Dan Patrick made each new broadcast akin to an old days SNL treat … but after his political show (the unrelenting boot-licking he did on the air for Democrats without ever taking them to task for being Republicans in drag), it was difficult to listen to him. Now he’s back on ESPN and the caustic sarcasm didn’t quite work for me the other night (it was about the NCAA and the dopey half-game suspension it issued Johnny “football”). I could care less about Johnny “football” or the NCAA, but Keith-O’s style probably doesn’t have enough distance behind it yet for me. I look forward to getting beyond it … Keith-O, when he isn’t ranting in denial, is one clever dude.

Here’s one I still enjoy very much … Keith-O calls Bill-O (Bill O’Reilly) the Sisyphus of Morons …




Fast Food Workers of the World Unite … and set an example for the rest of American workers … there is strength in numbers and even more strength when you show some balls … do whatever you have to do to unionize, then pick a party that will represent you with passion and competence (obviously neither of the two major parties qualify). Vote GREEN OR SOCIALIST OR COMMUNIST … and show the rest of us that all it takes is a pair of balls and some perseverance … all it ever takes to accomplish anything worth anything in this life.


—Knucks

Crosby, Stills and Nash … with a flashback to Woodstock …



“… three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music and I God bless you for it … ” —Max Yasgur



The actual songwriter, Joni Mitchell, singing her tune ...