Ivory Cup - MTG 4E

 

This is the exact same card as Iron Star, except for the color white instead of red. Sometimes Wizards would do a whole cycle of artifacts, one for each color, but at other times they'd only do it for a couple of the colors. I think it all came down to the balance of the game. Did Color X "need" a lifegain artifact to help it out? Well, too bad, because that would make Color X too powerful. Ahhhh, those were the days when Wizards actually cared about the game as a game and not only as a money making machine.

Of course, I "might" be viewing things through my Glasses of Urza nostalgia ;-)

By Mine Own Right Arm...

 

I looked, but there was no one to help;
    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
    and my wrath upheld me.
`Book of Bookstooge, Chapter 63, Verse 5

Thankfully, anyone who suffers from Eggnog Withdrawal Syndrome (or EWS) during the year gets a reprieve now. Eggnog flows like, well, eggnog. While it may look mighty, that container is already 3/4's empty and I'm adding eggnog to the grocery list again. I suffer enough without having to deal with EWS unnecessarily. So cheers to all my fellow EWS sufferers, this is the season we can rest, relax and imbibe!

ps,
In all fairness, Mrs B bought me that eggnog from the grocery store. I don't want any of you thinking that I chopped down a tree, created the cardboard carton, created the eggnog by magic and put them together. Even I am not THAT egotistical. 

The Resolve of Immortal Flesh (Collision #1) 2Stars DNF@45%

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Resolve of Immortal Flesh
Series: Collision #1
Author: Rich Colburn
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars DNF@45%
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 543 / 242
Words: 212K / 95K
Publish: 2016

I really tried to give this book the benefit of the doubt, mainly because it had been recommended to me in the Book Recommendations V post. However, the guy who wrote this made that impossible. He’s a bad writer with a terrible sense of pacing, an ego that demands he blather on and on about his pet philosophy and the lack of ability to write realistic characters that are more than cardboard.

This should have been a 300 page book, tops. But we spend an inordinate amount of time following the main character as he grows up in a broken home with insane parents. Things randomly happen with no apparent connection. The main character is also an asshole. I’d have gladly chopped his self-centered head off with my Tool of the Trade.

This is bad writing by a bad writer and I’m glad to see that he hasn’t churned out any more trash after 2017 when he put out the sequel to this book. Harsh, yes, but writers like this guy are polluting the literary landscapes like microplastics are polluting our water supply. They should be ashamed of putting out such sub-par garbage. They aren’t skilled enough and they are also teaching a whole generation of readers to accept writing that isn’t good. I’m going to stop there before I start talking about their “special” place in the afterlife :-(

★★☆☆☆

From the writer

What if the spirit world was rampant with technology sophisticated beyond anything mankind
has imagined?
What if a sociopath got his hands on a powerful piece of this technology?
What if you couldn’t die no matter how much damage your body sustained?
Join a reluctant hero on his quest to discover what the heck he should do with his time now that he has unlimited power and the world as he knew it collides with the “unseen” world. Will demon-possessed biomechanical monsters kill everyone? Will there be enough coffee to last through to the end of the world? Will that play into our hero’s decision whether or not to bother saving it? These are questions we’ve all wondered about. Explore these and other important philosophical questions as you follow the adventure that was contrived to do just that.

On a more serous note:
The Collision series offers a technological explanation for the supernatural. Human psychology, questions of life and death, and the nature of the supernatural play a critical role in the story of a man who becomes aware of the technology used by beings existing in higher modes of reality. The story is filled with humorous situations and comments, fantasy machines, and philosophical discussion.
The target audience is young adult to adult. The book does include some supernatural horror and some violence.

Best of Mystery 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Best of Mystery
Series: ----------
Editor: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 745
Words: 304K
Publish: 1976

When I started this book of short stories, my intention was to take some notes, as I had kind of, sort of, maybe’ish glanced at the page numbers and my brain registered that this wasn’t one of the normal 200-250 page collections. However, I was using this as a buffer to get through both Skitarius and Tech-Priest (of which not even this book could save Tech-Priest). That didn’t lend itself well to taking notes, so I figured I would just do that after I ended up dnf’ing Tech-Priest.

The problem then became that this beast of a book became a crashing avalanche of stories that I dared not stop lest I become crushed under its ponderous weight. There are 63 stories in this volume. That is just too much. If I had stopped to take notes on even ten of these stories, I probably would have dnf’d this collection just out of despair at so much crime and evil being portrayed. So to continue with the avalanche imagery, I had to keep racing down the literary mountain trying to stay one story ahead. I managed it and I was ok, but I don’t think I’ll try to read another Hitchcock collection that is this big again in the future (not that I have any, mind you. I just looked and the next biggest one is just a shade over 400pages, which I think I can handle). The last time I read a collection this big was Tales of Terror, which had 58 stories.

I guess I’m going to chalk this up to a lesson learned, again. Hahahahaa.

★★★✬☆

Table of Contents:

WINTER RUN—Edward D. Hoch

YOU CANT BLAME ME—Henry Slesar

A FLOWER IN HER HAIR—Pauline C. Smith

THE COST OF KENT CASTWELL—Avram Davidson

PSEUDO IDENTITY—Lawrence Block

THAT RUSSIAN!—Jack Ritchie

GALTON AND THE YELLING BOYS—Hillary Waugh

BLIND DATE—Charles Boeckman

PRESSURE—Roderick Wilkinson

THE RUNNING MAN—Bill Pronzini

THE VIETNAM CIRCLE—F. J. Kelly

SADIE WHEN SHE DIED—Ed McBain

A VERY CAUTIOUS BOY—Gilbert Ralston

A TRY FOR THE BIG PRIZE—Borden Deal

VOICE IN THE NIGHT—Robert Colby

UNDERTAKER, PLEASE DRIVE SLOW—Ron Goulart

NEVER SHAKE A FAMILY TREE—Donald E. Westlake

HERE LIES ANOTHER BLACKMAILER—Bill Pronzini

DEAD DUCK—Lawrence Treat

GAMES FOR ADULTS—John Lutz

NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS—James Michael Ullman

VARIATIONS ON A GAME—Patricia Highsmith

CHILD’S PLAY—William Link and Richard Levinson

JUST A LITTLE IMPRACTICAL JOKE—Richard Stark

MURDERER #2—Jean Potts

THE THIRD CALL—Jack Ritchie

DAMON AND PYTHIAS AND DELILAH BROWN—Rufus King

GLORY HUNTER—Richard M. Ellis

LINDA IS GONE—Pauline C. Smith

FRIGHTENED LADY—C. B. Gilford

COME BACK, COME BACK . . .—Donald E. Westlake

ONCE UPON A BANK FLOOR—James Holding

WARRIOR’S FAREWELL—Edward D. Hoch

DEATH BY MISADVENTURE—Wenzell Brown

WITH A SMILE FOR THE ENDING—Lawrence Block

TELEVISION COUNTRY—Charlotte Edwards

ART FOR MONEY’S SAKE—Dan J. Marlowe

NOTHING BUT HUMAN NATURE—Hillary Waugh

MURDER, 1990—C. B. Gilford

PANTHER, PANTHER IN THE NIGHT—Paul W. Fairman

PERFECTLY TIMED PLOT—E. X. Ferrars

#8—Jack Ritchie

ALL THE NEEDLESS KILLING—Bryce Walton

A MELEE OF DIAMONDS—Edward D. Hoch

ONE FOR THE CROW—Mary Barrett

HAPPINESS BEFORE DEATH—Henry Slesar

I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT—Bill Pronzini

NEWS FROM NOWHERE—Ron Goulart

A CASE OF DESPERATION—Kate Wilhelm

AN INTERLUDE FOR MURDER—Paul Tabori

DEATH OVERDUE—Eleanor Daly Boylan

THE BEST-FRIEND MURDER—Donald E. Westlake

PATTERN OF GUILT—Helen Nielsen

A REAL, LIVE MURDERER—Donald Honig

DOCTOR APOLLO—Bryce Walton

THE PURSUER—Holly Roth

FINAL ARRANGEMENTS—Lawrence Page

COUNTDOWN—David Ely

MURDER BETWEEN FRIENDS—Nedra Tyre

CASE OF THE KIND WAITRESS—Henry Slesar

GHOST OF A CHANCE—Carroll Mayers

THE MONTEVIDEO SQUEEZE—James Holding

THE WHITE MOTH—Margaret Chenoweth

• All of My “Alfred Hitchcock” Reviews

Currently Reading: Joshua

 

The last time I read through my Bible from cover to cover was back in 2020. Abandoning my daily reading had the predictable result of me forming some thought patterns that were definitely not Christ-like. I've addressed those earlier this year and began my daily reading again. Then I got hit with my eye palsy and I stopped. Then that stoppage became a habit (again) and I just didn't start up. So this November I decided that come hell or high water, I was going to start reading my Bible daily again. I am starting the book of Joshua, which is the 6th book of the Bible.

Joshua is one of the History books of the Bible and chronicles the following for the nation of Israel starting around 1400 B.C.

I. Entering the land  [1-5]
II. Conquering the land [6-12]
III. Allocating the land [13-24]

I originally had grand visions of tearing through the entire Bible and getting it done by year's end. Considering I have 60 more books after Joshua, that simply isn't happening. But 30minutes in the evening, every evening, should get it done by early '26, and that same schedule should see me through it again by the end of '26. That's the goal anyway. Wish me luck!

Island Sanctuary - MTG 4E

 

When I look at this, all I can think of is the TriStar company production logo. I don't know HOW Wizards of the Coast got away with this.

Daylight Saving - But Who Will Save Us?

 

yes, I fully support the sentiment expressed in this trailer. I hate daylight saving and I hate going back and forth twice a year. It royally messes me up.