Dan Assisi's book 'Our Road to Damascus' wins the 15th NIEA 'Religion and Nonfiction' award!

Posted: 07-Jul-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

'Our Road to Damascus' by Dan Assisi, a book that I reviewed in November, 2020 was recently adjudged winner of the (U.S.) 15th National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) in the 'Religion and Nonfiction' category.

I heartily congratulate the author, Dan Assisi on this occasion and share in the celebration of this well-deserving and uplifting book!

Read the book's review now?

Enjoy this book on Counterfactuals by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Posted: 30-Jun-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

Counterfactual thinking might come as a big and pleasant surprise to you! I'll tell you why. Counterfactuals are fun, speculative exercises on interesting events in the past. We take some turning-point of history and ask the purely theoretical question, what if the event that, in fact, changed history hadn't happened? What would have been the impact? For example, the invention of the mobile phone revolutionized the world in recent times. Thinking counterfactually, we might ask "What if it hadn't been invented?"

You could think out some interesting alternatives and keep yourself amused! Better still, it's an excellent topic for an absorbing debate if you are with a group of friends. most importantly, please note that you don't need ANY SPECIAL BACKGROUND to enjoy all this fun — basic knowledge and an inquiring mind are all that's required!

'How World War II Changed America,' a book by Earl Ofari Hutchinson that I reviewed, is an interesting analysis sparked by the counterfactual "What if Japan hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor (America) in 1941 (and started WW II)?" Read it to engage in some enjoyable and entertaining speculation about what WW II did to America.

Go to the review now?

Book review of Margaret Stevenson's 'The COVID-19 Pandemic of fear' posted

Posted: 24-Jun-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

I reviewed the book 'The COVID-19 Pandemic of fear' by Margaret Stevenson (that launched today on Reedsy Discovery) some time back. It's a book that systematically exposes the harsh truth behind COVID-19. No, sir! COVID-19 isn't 'accidental and natural,' as it's made out to be! It's a clear betrayal of trust by those in Gov, Medicine, and Hi-tech whom we look up to. A colluding team of ultra-elites worldwide have plotted to become even more rich and powerful than now at the expense of human lives and freedom!!

Read this explosive book that has full details.

View the review now?

Violinists Taryn Harbridge and Taylor Davis added to the 'MUSIC' page

Posted: 23-Jun-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

My latest music finds are violinists Taryn Harbridge and Taylor Davis. Of course, both play only instrumental music, but what they play sounds bewitching! Some of Taylor's songs are so gentle and soothing that I was able to fall asleep hearing them.

Ready for some ecstasy now?

Best cover of "Blowin' in the Wind?" Decide for yourself after hearing Jessica Rhaye's version!

Posted: 08-Jun-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

This one is a rare find indeed! I've heard countless versions of this Bob Dylan classic—the original by Dylan, and covers by ever so many other artists like Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Brothers Four, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, and many more. The Brothers Four version was the best I'd heard till recently. But suddenly, just a couple of days back, this little-known artist swept past all of them with this stunningly beautiful cover and equally brilliant choreography.

Hear Jessica Rhaye and her band sing it, now?Then give them a big 'hats-off!'

Carole Marsh's 'Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics,' and Elena Miro's 'What Narcissists DON'T Want You to Know'

Posted: 21-May-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

Since I last posted, I wrote two book reviews. Unfortunately, due to some personal issues I wasn't able to post the first one in time. So, this post points to two reviews lumped together. Even so, the release dates of the reviews aren't too far apart, so hopefully, you won't notice anything is amiss!

The latest review is of the book Outbreaks, Epidemics, & Pandemics by Carole Marsh. The one before it is of the book What Narcissists DON'T Want You to Know by Elena Miro.

The first book is for children (i.e., tweens and teens). It's a great resource from which they can learn about major disease Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics with a special focus on COVID-19.

The second (earlier) review is about a new kind of mental disorder called "narcissism," that has only recently raised its ugly head in the USA and other top countries.

Narcissists are products of growing up in highly demanding environments, where kids are denied the recognition, love and approval given in traditional homes. Instead, they are unreasonably pressured to become successful in life.This results in their growing up into misshapen adults. Narcissists are impossible to bond with, particularly in close relationships, because they exhibit toxic behaviors that make them revulsive.

This book gives you all the details and tells you how to identify and protect yourself from getting into a close relationship with one.

Go to the review of 'Outbreaks, Epidemics, & Pandemics' OR to the Review of 'What Narcissists DONT Want You to Know' now?

Cybersecurity and ninjutsu have a lot in common, so why not pack ninjutsu's power into Cybersecurity?

Posted: 06-Apr-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

Did you know that Cybersecurity (a.k.a. info security) has become (or will soon of become) a pillar of the world's economy? The Internet is the technology backbone enabling a growing share of business, ecommerce, and banking transactions. Polished and sophisticated cyber criminals who infest it made away with a cool US $3 trillion in 2015 (1 trillion is a million-million) even while the tireless global cybersecurity workforce was keeping vigil. Experts predict that the money stolen will rise to $10.5 trillion by 2025. The presently reactive and defensive kind of cybersecurity that we use, will need to change radically and turn offensive and pro-active to measure up to that challenge!

It may take sometime before that happens so industry experts want to do everthing they can meanwhile to make cybsecurity smarter, sharper, and meaner. That's where Ninjutsu the craft created by medieval Japanese ninjas, the masters of espionage and reconnaissance, comes in. In this exciting book, the author, a US Army veteran and cyberwarfare specialist who studied ninjutsu in detail, proposes powerful upgrades to cybersecurity drawn from the former to make it more killing.

Jump to the review now?

Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) kill us? Read what Steven Shwartz says in his book

Posted: 19-Mar-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

Shwartz, a luminary in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) seeks to dispel prevalent rumors and myths about AI in this book titled "Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity."

In it, the author debunks many myths that have festered in our minds, needlessly scaring the wits out of us!

Dive in immediately?

Author Jay Gordon Cone discusses solutions for leaders and managers when they get "stuck" at work

Posted: 17-Feb-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

I'm beginning to feel like a parent who has had a string of boy babies, and is hoping the next one is a girl (or vice-versa)! Maybe my next post will be on Music or Poetry, so keep your fingers crossed!! The new review that was added this time is "The Surprising Power of not Knowing What to do: Discovering Creativity and Compassion in a Time of Chaos," a book for leaders and mangers of the modern world by Jay Gordon Cone, Ph.D. In a world more frequently impacted than ever before by major change causing factors like global warming, pandemics, environmental damage, natural-resource depletion, etc. workplace culture has evolved into one where leaders and managers are often faced with problems at work in which they find themselves "stuck," or unable to find solutions forward.

This invaluable book shows how they can come "unstuck" in such situations and proceed, as usual.

Proceed to read this review now?

Robert Goldman writes about the deplorable plight of prisons in the USA due to overpopulation

Posted: 25-Jan-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

This review is of Robert Allyn Goldman's book "The Slammer: A Critique of Prison Overpopulation, a menacing flaw in American culture," an authoritative exposition of the deplorable plight of prisons in the USA today. The author writes out of his own experiences while serving as a dentist in some of America's "maximum-security" prisons (i.e. prisons holding the most dangerous criminals).

Read "The Slammer's" review now?

Julie Gaulke (music artist), a December 2020 find, added to the 'MUSIC' page

Posted: 23-Jan-2021   Reposted: 02-Jun-2022

Julie is a gifted musician. I found her rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" exceptional. She has also sung covers of songs by The Beatles, John Denver, Chordettes, Billy Joel, etc., apart from Simon & Garfunkel hits.

Jump to my discovery of Julie now?

Sean Conley (of NFL fame) writes about his comeback to life after a career shortening injury

Posted: 05-Jan-2021   Reposted: 01-Jun-2022

On the 'BOOKS' page, you'll find my review of The Point After by Sean Conley National Football League (NFL) fame. If you remember, in the 1990s he played kicker for NFL teams: the Detroit Lions, the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Jets, and the Scottish Claymores of Europe.

A short, three years after entering the NFL, Sean's career was cut short by bodily injury—forever!

This is his inspiring memoir that tells us how he survived the loss of NFL and made a great comeback in life by sheer perseverance, grit, and resilience.

Navigate to the review now?