Book review - "Isaac's Storm" by Erik Larsen

Today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes to hit the U.S.  A Category 4 slammed into Galveston in 1900 killing over 6000 people and destroying any chanced the city had of becoming a major player in Texas’ economy as a sea port and resort.

Erik Larsen wrote a fascinating non-fiction book, Isaac’s Storm, following Isaac Cline, the director of the Weather Bureau in Galveston.  He stitches together a minute-by-minute time line of the storm as it approached the island and then passed over the city.  Larsen chronicled several families as their situation deteriorated with the rising waters from reviewing hundreds of eyewitness accounts.  Some houses weathered the storm so well on the leeward side of the island, the people inside were shocked to see so many other buildings destroyed.

I’ve read Larsen’s book three times and used it for the basis of my Louisiana Psionic Officer series Scorpion Nest.  Every time I read Isaac’s Storm, I still find something new that I didn’t notice before.

Another 4-Star review for "Legacy of Hephaestus"!

Dan Mitton, a reviewer at Love Bytes Same Sex Book Reviews posted a great review of "Legacy of Hephaestus"!

http://lovebytesreviews.com/2015/09/06/book-review-legacy-of-hephaestsus-a-corey-shaw-mystery-4-by-alex-morgan/

Happy birthday, Nancy Kulp!

Nancy Kulp, the ever-lovable Miss Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies, would've been 94 today, but she passed away back in 1991 of cancer.  She seemed to be one of those people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  I couldn't find a clip of her appearance in a "Twilight Zone" episode, but the one below certainly displays her extraordinary comedic talent!

The Pointer Sisters - He's So Shy (1980)

This was the first single released from their "Special Things" album, their 7th, released in August.  The album went gold thanks to the strength of "He's So Shy" and ushered in the most successful period. 

They performed this song on an episode of "The Love Boat" in 1981.

Project Runway - WTF?

Only four episodes into the 14th season of Project Runway and already I'm asking WTF?  Last night's "iconic" dress episode challenged designers to take one of the many iconic looks and make it their own.  Tim mentioned the pencil skirt and the wrap dress as examples. 

So what the hell is this?  Designer Blake Patterson got the different meanings of 'drag' confused, and designed the iconic National Hot Rod Association's drag chute dress.  I'm sure many women love dresses that look like they're pulling a parachute behind them. 

Usually Nina Garcia rips a designer to shreds for poor construction, but this time, she acknowledged the construction was subpar and said it didn't matter. 

A pity, since most of the other designs were well-constructed and more beautiful.  Perhaps under those bright runway lights, some fabrics emit hallucinogens? 

TBT - Alan Parsons Project's "Eve"

Alan Parsons Project released their 4th album, "Eve" August 27, 1979

From Alan Parsons Project's website:

Eric [Woolfson] had intended that it be about great women in history. But his ideas changed and it evolved into an album about present day relationships, in particular the strengths of women and the shortcomings of men, although it’s perhaps hard to deduce this bearing in mind the album cover which appears unflattering to women. This was certainly not Eric’s intention.
It has often been thought in the past that EVE was the only APP album to feature a female lead vocalist. This actually isn’t the case as on I Robot, Jaki Whitren lends her female vocal to part of ‘Some Other Time’ and also on the same album Hilary Western sings the operatic soprano part at the beginning of I Robot.

Eric recalls that the song ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’ was originally inspired by Joan of Arc and would have had a very different lyric.

On the theme of strong women, Eric’s mother-in-law was named Eve!

Tracks:

1. Lucifer (Instrumental)
2. You Lie Down With Dogs
3. I’d Rather Be A Man
4. You Won’t Be There
5. Winding Me Up
6. Damned If I Do
7. Don’t Hold Back
8. Secret Garden (Instrumental)
9. If I Could Change Your Mind

Mariner 2, the first probe to Venus

At the dawn of the space age, Mariner 2, the first spacecraft to visit another planet, Venus, was launched this day in 1962.  Although it encountered some glitches along the way, it was far more successful than Mariner 1, which had to be destroyed less than five minutes after launch.

Mariner 2 made the journey to Venus relatively unscathed, passing by in December 1962.  It measured solar wind, confirmed the temperature of Venus to be a sultry 864 °F, and atmospheric pressure high enough to crush Soviet probes.  It also discovered that Venus rotates in the opposite direction than the other planets.

However, Mariner 2 did not carry a camera, since cameras were not considered ‘scientific’ equipment, something NASA rectified on the next space probe.

Unfortunately, Mariner 2’s signals were tracked only until January 3, 1963 and is still in orbit around the sun.