Book promo…

First up,  Karl Gallagher’s sixth book in his Fall of the Censor series- Trouble in my Day

As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

Cut off by an enemy offensive, Marcus Landry must take his ships behind Censorate lines, fighting to find a way home and find new support for the rebellion.

After leading the resistance against the Censorate occupation of his adopted homeworld, Marcus Landry is the natural choice to lead Corwynt’s new ships against the enemy. He’s never commanded a warship before. But his crews are as new on the job, and someone has to be in charge. He’ll take his rebels out to liberate other worlds from the Censor’s grasp and give them ancient books proscribed by the Censorate.

Some were even written on Old Earth, before the Censor depopulated it.

Admiral Pinoy has been granted the ultimate gift of the Censor: command of a fleet to crush the rebels and barbarians disturbing the proper order of humanity. He will correct his past mistakes over the bodies of his enemies. First, he must teach troops used to ruling defenseless subjects how to fight an enemy who fights back.

Marcus Landry is racing the enemy to rejoin the free people. Rebels are gathering to defend their new freedom, but will they be enough to defeat the forces of the Censorate?

Next up, John Van Stry’s first book from Baen has been released in mass market paperback- Summer’s End

The blurb-

SOMETIMES A DARK PAST CAN HAUNT YOU. OTHER TIMES, IT JUST MAY BE THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOU ALIVE.

Fresh out of college with his Ship Engineer 3rd-Class certificate, Dave Walker’s only thought is to try to find a berth on a corporate ship plying the trade routes between the many habs, orbitals, and moons in the Solar System. The problem for Dave, however, isn’t his straight C average. It’s that his stepfather, a powerful Earth Senator he’s never met, wants him dead.

Forced to take the first berth he can find, Dave ends up on the Iowa Hill, an old tramp freighter running with a minimal crew and nearing the end of its useful life, plying the routes that the corporations ignore and visiting the kinds of places that the folks on Earth pretend don’t exist.

Between the assassins, the criminals, and the pirates he needs to deal with, Dave is discovering that there are a lot of things out there that he still needs to learn.

But there’s one hard lesson he learned long ago that he’s being forced to remember: how to be ruthless.

Sarah Hoyt has a new book of short stories out- Christmas in the Stars

 

The blurb-

This is a collection of four Christmas short stories.
It starts with a star-explorer stranded in unknown coordinates listening very hard for sleigh bells. Then there are two deserters of a doomed planetary war, in a forsaken planet, trying to do the right thing to secure peace and good will, even if one of them happens to be dead. And did you know there was a small, sweet robot at the nativity? Also, sometimes, all you need for a Merry Christmas is a cat.
This is a short collection, but it’s heartwarming and cozy, and the sort of thing to read on a snowy afternoon, by your fireplace, with a cup of eggnog nearby.

Last but not least, Raconteur Press has a new anthology out- You see, What Happened Was…

The blurb-

We all know that one guy. The one who can’t be trusted to touch anything or he’ll break it, destroy it, or find a way to make it worse. This anthology contains stories about that guy as he bumbles, stumbles and destroys his way across different genres and settings.

Is anybody really surprised???

Econazis are editing an administration report?

Nearly two dozen authors and contributors to the Biden administration’s landmark climate report work for left-wing environmental groups, some of which receive money from a liberal dark money network.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), published in November, projects dire climate change scenarios and emphasizes the need for large-scale economic mobilization to prevent its worst effects. Over two dozen of the report’s hundreds of listed authors and technical contributors work for environmentalist or left-of-center policy advocacy organizations, like the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Nature Conservancy.

Full article, HERE.

As usual, real science takes a back seat to agendas…

Again…

Ye Gods and little fishes…

Teh stoopid is strong with this one!

When will the liberal media learn? It’s an evergreen question because they never do. This time around, Deadspin is the perpetrator of a race hoax targeting a literal child who was just trying to enjoy a night out at a Kansas City Chiefs game, and senior writer Carron (yes, really) Phillips has already doubled down on his smear amid justified blowback for his story.

“The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, native headdress,” was Phillips’ story on Deadspin, run with a side profile photo of a young boy with black paint on his face. 

Full article, HERE.

The ‘angles’ of this story are just plain ridiculous! And trying to spin it to blame the CHILD for dressing in his favorite team’s colors and headdress is beyond the pale!!! I’m truly glad to see people/fans pushing back on this idjit and pointing out that fans for EVERY team paint their faces/bodies/other body parts in the two colors of their teams! And the whole stealing Native American symbols isn’t flying either.

Unlike the Washington team and others in other sports, KC hasn’t bowed to the progs and changed their team name or symbol (Good for them!).

I remember when Florida State got jumped on about the Seminoles name/likeness and the Seminole Indians spoke out saying they APPROVED of the linkage and profited from it! I note that particular ‘charge’ hasn’t been brought up again… snerk…

There is also a move afoot (ahorse) by other Native American tribes to have the Washington team reverse the decision and go back to the Redskins.

I just hope it works!!!

Sigh…

Disney continues to dig their hole deeper…

In an unsurprising development for sane Americans, another major company is admitting that woke ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies are bad for its bottom line. As it turns out, going woke does in fact correlate with going broke, and this time, it’s Disney making the uncomfortable realization that putting virtue signaling to intolerant leftists ahead of turning a profit was a mistake. 

Full article, HERE.

Between Kennedy’s killing Star Wars, and the ESG versions of Marvel movies, and the ‘new’ Disney prices at Disney World, that hole isn’t going to fill in any time soon.

It seems that attendance at the parks is ‘down’ and not ‘rebounding’ as expected after the Wuflu kerfuffle, as folks look at tightening their belts due to inflation. When you add in the prices now to go to a theater and see a movie, I can’t say I’m really surprised by any of this.

Oh, and the number of people dropping subscriptions to things like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ and the other streaming services aren’t helping either…

Mondaze Humor…

Annndddd…. The first Christmas joke… sigh…

Golf on Christmas Day.

Four old timers were playing their weekly game of golf, one remarked how nice it would be to wake up on Christmas morning, roll out of bed and without an argument go directly to the golf course, meet his buddies and play a round.

His buddies all chimed in said, “Let’s do it! We’ll make it a priority; figure out a way and meet here early, Christmas morning.”

Months later, that special morning arrives, and there they are on the golf course. The first guy says, “Boy this game cost me a fortune! I bought my wife a diamond ring that she can’t take her eyes off it.”

The second guy says, “I spent a ton too. My wife is at home planning the cruise I gave her. She was up to her eyeballs in brochures.”

The third guy says “Well my wife is at home admiring her new car, reading the manual.”

They all turned to the last guy in the group who is staring at them like they have lost their minds.

“I can’t believe you all went to such expense for this golf game. I slapped my wife on the butt and said, ‘Well babe, Merry Christmas! It’s a great morning – intercourse or golf course?’

She said, “Don’t forget your sweater.”

++++++++++

THE STRANDED ENGINEER

There was this male engineer, on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for the first time. It was wonderful, the experience of his life. He was being waited on hand an foot. But, it did not last. A Hurricane came up unexpectedly. The ship went down almost instantly.

The man found himself, he knew not how, swept up on the shore of an island. There was nothing else anywhere to be seen. No person, no supplies, nothing. The man looked around. There were some bananas and coconuts, but that was it. He was desperate, and forlorn, but decided to make the best of it. So for the next four months he ate bananas, drank coconut juice and mostly looked to

the sea mightily for a ship to come to his rescue.

One day, as he was lying on the beech stroking his beard and looking for a ship, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Could it be true, was it a ship? No, from around the corner

of the island came this rowboat. In it was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, or at least seen in 4 months. She was tall, tanned, and her blond hair flowing in the sea breeze gave her an

almost ethereal quality. She spotted him also as he was waving and yelling and screaming to get her attention. She rowed her boat towards him.

In disbelief, he asked, “Where did you come from? How did you get here”?

She said, “I rowed from the other side of the island. I landed on this island when my cruise ship sank”

“Amazing”, he said, “I didn’t know anyone else had survived. How many of you are there? Where, did you get the rowboat? You must have been really lucky to have a rowboat wash-up with you?”

“It is only me”, she said, “and the rowboat didn’t wash up, nothing else did.”

“Well then”, said the man, “how did you get the rowboat?”

I made the rowboat out of raw material that I found on the island, replied the woman. The oars were whittled from Gum tree branches, I wove the bottom from Palm branches, and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree”.

“But, but, asked the man, what about tools and hardware, how did you do that?”

“Oh, no problem, replied the woman, on the south side of the island there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed. I found that If I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools, and used the tools to make the hardware. But, enough of that, she said. Where do you live?”

At last the man was forced to confess that he had been sleeping on the beach.

“Well, let’s row over to my place, she said.” So they both got into the rowboat and left for her side of island.

The woman easily rowed them around to a wharf that led to the approach to her place. She tied up the rowboat with a beautifully woven hemp rope. They walked up a stone walk and around a Palm

tree, there stood an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white. “It’s not much, she said, but I call it home. Sit down please, would you like to have a drink?”

“No, said the man, one more coconut juice and I will puke.”

“It won’t be coconut juice, the woman replied, I have a still, how about a Pina Colada? Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepted, and they sat down on her couch to talk.

After a while, and they had exchanged their stories, the woman asked, “Tell me, have you always had a beard?”

“No”, the man replied, “I was clean shaven all of my life, and even on the cruise ship”.

“Well if you would like to shave, there is a man’s razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom.” So, the man, no longer questioning anything, went upstairs to the bath room. There in the cabinet was a razor made from a bone handle, two shells honed to a hollow ground edge were fastened on to its end inside of a swivel mechanism. The man shaved, showered and went back down stairs..

“You look great, said the woman, I think I will go up and slip into something more comfortable.” So she did.

And, the man continued to sip his Pina Colada. After a short time, the woman returned wearing fig leafs strategically positioned and smelling faintly of gardenia.

“Tell me, she asked, we have both been out here for a very long time with no companionship. You know what I mean. Have you been lonely, is there anything that you really miss? Something that

all men and woman need. Something that it would be really nice to have right now.”

“Yes there is, the man replied, as he moved closer to the woman while fixing a winsome gaze upon her, “Tell me … Do you happen to have an Internet connection?”

Yay…

Ate the last of the leftovers (except for some ham), thanks to the gang last night!

Now on with the regular meals! I’m DONE with turkey until Christmas!!!

I know some folks like turkey year round, along with pumpkin whatever, but I’m not one of them. Meat and potatoes, and fish for me. And shrimp… and fried catfish…

Funny how our upbringing seems to ‘drive’ what we like to eat. And how much of an impact a military career can affect that, especially when one gets to travel. The problem with that is that you get to eat the foods in their ‘natural habitat’, then come back to the states and try to find ‘authentic’ dishes…

Which is usually a failure of epic proportions! In a way, we’ve been lucky out here, because we’ve got a base here with foreign students, so good actual Greek, Italian, and we used to have good German restaurants in the area.

What was/is your favorites???

Rules…

For me, but not for thee…

As always, rules for thee, not for me, per the Democrat Party. 

According to reports, President Joe Biden will be riding into the sunset after it was highlighted that no criminal charges will be filed despite being caught in possession of classified documents. 

Sources close to the matter told CNN and the Wall Street Journal that Special Counsel Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden for mishandling documents, is not expected to charge anyone. 

Full article, HERE.

Sigh… I guess I’m really not surprised by this. Once again, we find that ‘laws’ don’t seem to matter, depending on whom is subject to them.

Is is 2025 yet???

Here we go again…

Hamas is playing games as usual… with lives at stake! 🙁

“As President, I have no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” Joe Biden said in a statement. “That’s why—from the earliest moments of Hamas’s brutal assault—my national security team and I have worked closely with regional partners to do everything possible to secure the release of our fellow citizens.”

Even Squad member Rep. Jamal “Fire Alarm” Bowman appeared to take some credit for the deal. “I’m grateful that our continuous calls for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages has begun to make a difference,” he said in a post on X/Twitter.

Well, Hamas postponed the ceasefire—the ceasefire they wanted—until Friday, which IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus says is  “indicative” of their “psychological warfare” tactics.

Full article, HERE.

Backchannel says this is their norm, rather than an exception… What truly angers me is the MSM here seems to have bought into the Hamas mantra lock, stock, and barrel whether by choice or ‘direction’.

This makes me wonder who and how many hostages will ever be returned. Obviously, not all of them, as deaths have been reported, albeit not enough specifics to determine who has died.

Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the other catspaws of Iran need to be ended by any means necessary, otherwise, this crap is just going to continue.

Kicking the soapbox back in the corner now…

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

As the holiday season kicks off today, take a moment and step back from the sales, hoopla, family dinners/arguments/loony Uncles etc. and think about how lucky we are to live where we do…

And have the freedoms that we have, both due to our country and our ability to EARN a good enough living to be able to feed the crowd, travel to family, and the other things that we take for granted…

Having spent a number of Thanksgivings and Christmases out of the country over the years, I truly count myself lucky to be able to enjoy these holidays with family and friends.  I know many scoff at the food in the military, but I will tell you that Thanksgiving and Christmas the mess halls/chow halls, the field kitchens, the mess decks on the ships and subs ALL go out of their way to fix a traditional meal, literally soup to nuts (and everything in between) for those servicemen and women (and on shore bases the families) of our military.

This is from the 646th ADC in New Jersey (in 1956).

This is from the 71st Transportation Battalion in Vietnam in 1967

What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu?

Little is known about the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plimoth Colony in October 1621, attended by some 50 English colonists and about 90 Wampanoag American Indian men in what is now Massachusetts.
We do know that the Wampanoag killed five deer for the feast, and that the colonists shot wild fowl—which may have been geese, ducks, or turkey. Some form, or forms, of Indian corn were also served.
But Jennifer Monac, spokesperson for the living-history museum Plimoth Plantation, said the feasters likely supplemented their venison and birds with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, and wheat flour, as well as vegetables such as pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas.
“They ate seasonally,” Monac said in 2009, “and this was the time of the year when they were really feasting. There were lots of vegetables around, because the harvest had been brought in.”
Much of what we consider traditional Thanksgiving fare was unknown at the first Thanksgiving. Potatoes and sweet potatoes hadn’t yet become staples of the English diet, for example. And cranberry sauce requires sugar—an expensive delicacy in the 1600s. Likewise, pumpkin pie went missing due to a lack of crust ingredients.
And the whole food coma thing?  Well, that’s yet another myth…
It’s not the tryptophan in the turkey, it’s the booze, the amount of food (those second and third helpings of Granny’s sweet potato casserole and the pumpkin pie), and the sheer relaxation (other than the family fights/looney Uncle) and not having to work the next day…
And please, when you do sit down for your Thanksgiving, say a prayer for all our men and women serving in the military wherever they may be, and remember too our LEOs, Fire and EMS folks that are on the front lines here at home every day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours…

Book promo…

Friends are very prolific authors, unlike me… sigh

First up, Peter Nealen with his latest in the Pallas Group series is out- Non-State Actors

As always, click the cover for the link to the Amazon page.

The blurb-

The war came back at Pallas Group Solutions. Chris and Nick both found themselves fighting for their families’ lives.

In response, they struck back.

Now, with two major underworld figures dead, who had facilitated crimes for the People’s Republic of China, the cartels, and others, the war has entered a new phase.

There’s no going back.

There is only the fight.

As Pallas Group Solutions becomes a Non State Actor.

You’ll love this high-octane thriller because the stakes are as high as the action is intense. 

Next up, Alma T.C. Boykin has another of her Familiar Series out- Hunter and Horseman

The blurb-

Undying love or cruel obsession?

Devon County, a quiet rural corner of Pennsylvania. That is, until two brothers refuse to take “no” for an answer. Malice and magic pull Jude Tainuit, the lone Hunter, into the fray. When a tornado rips through the county, leaving pain and twisted power in its wake, the Hunter and his allies face two foes – one in the open, and one who lurks, patient and deadly. A blood-path magic worker hides in the storm, one who hunts Hunters.

Worse awaits. Aunt Martha goes to visit relatives, leaving Jude in charge of the farm … Or as in charge as his Familiar and Martha’s cat will allow.

Jude Tainuit will need all his skills, and the help of allies great and small, to face the storm when twisted power awakens the phantom Horseman.

This one has a ‘really’ interesting twist in it… 🙂

And last but certainly not least, Cedar Sanderson has a new short story out- Running into Time

The blurb-

Time travel isn’t possible. Is it?
If it was feasible, how would it work?
And what price would the world’s powers pay to have the inventor under their control?

Garry never asked to be assigned to protect the girl he really liked in his classes. He just wanted time to get to know her better.

Pol never minded being called a mad scientist. He had good reasons for being mad. His top priority was protecting his sister, no matter the cost.

Both men were about to run headlong into a surreal reality, where the only answer might be held by a little white mouse cupped gently in a woman’s hands…

Highly recommend all three of these, and not just because they’re friends!