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Aaron's PicksBooks, Music, and Movies Photo: Easter EggsIPv4You are not logged in. Click here to log in. | |
Welcome to Aaron's Picks!This is my chance to share some of the things I enjoy with the rest of the world, books I love to read and reread, music I enjoy listening to, and movies I love to watch. There are three sections to this page. I highlight one item from each category. If you want to browse all the items in a category (books, music, or movies), scroll down to the category and click in the link right above the highlighted selection. Since this web page is generated dynamically from a database, each time you visit, a selection from each category is randomly chosen as the highlighted item. Featured Book:The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus
Harry Harrison
The latest Stainless Steel Rat book keeps up the spirit of the other nine. Chronologically, it follows The Stainless Stell Rat Goes to Hell and involves the entire DiGriz family, Slippery Jim and his lovely wife Angelina, and their two sons, James and Bolivar.
While no one will ever accuse this book (or any other in the series) of even pretending to approach high literature, when you're in the mood for a light, fast, action-packed sci-fi adventure where the criminal is the good guy, look no farther. Just like the other books, this one is full of fun and makes me laugh aloud. Just as an FYI, here is the list of Stainless Steel Rat books in chronological order (not the order they were written in, but in order of the stories' chronology):
This latest in the series earns a rating of 3 1/2. It's a fun, quick read, well worth the trouble. Featured Music:Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
I first heard Nickel Creek when they were guests on Prarie Home Companion on public radio. I like acoustic strings to begin with (the group consists of violin/fiddle, guitar, mandolin, string bass, and vocals) and their bluegrass folk sound.
My sister, whose musical tastes overlap mine considerably, let me borrow her Nickel Creek CD. I'm addicted! I love the instrumentals and the vocal selections. I didn't want to have to return her CD. Fortunately for me, we worked out an arrangement whereby she gave me the CD in exchange for my picking her up from the airport in Las Vegas when she gets back from her trip to Colorado later this month (February 2001). I think I got the better end of the bargain. My favorite vocal tracks are probably track #2 (The Lighthouse's Tale), #5 (Reasons Why), and #11 (The Fox). These guys are good! Nearly perfect, in fact. I'll give 'em a 4.5 out of 5. Featured Movie:The Sound of Music
Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer
You cannot imagine my wonder and delight as I first watched the THX digitally masterd DVD edition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's masterpiece, The Sound of Music. The music I've loved since a child was magnificent, from the first instrumental opening followed by Julie Andrews' superb performance of title track The Sound of Music, to one of my favorites, Favorite Things. The DVD edition brought clarity and color to the small screen that made it seem much larger.
Yes, I love this musical. And yes, I'm a sucker for good musicals. Still, this movie has a story and spirit behind it that works in synergy with the powerful music. It is moving. It is marvelous. I love it. What more can I say? It gets the top rating, a 5. | |
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