Clubs Books

Dennis Hart did a thorough job of researching the program. He provides an overview of radio broadcasting in general as well as the nitty gritty of Monitor over almost two decades.

When former NBC president, Sylvester "Pat" Weaver died on March 15, 2002, his old network broadcast an obituary highlighting his programming innovations. Weaver brought us both "Today" and "Tonight," television shows that have lasted 50 years. Pat Weaver was a programming genius. Unfortunately, NBC Television failed to mention his major NBC Radio achievement: "Monitor." It revolutionized the network radio business 50 years ago; but, unfortunately, it died from neglect and the bottom line 30 years ago.
Monitor aired every weekend for 20 years. The first few years, it was broadcast 40 hours a weekend; later it was cut back to 16 and then to 12. But, in the beginning, if you were on the Monitor Beacon, you were one of 30 million listeners going places and doing things each weekend. You were hearing Dave Garroway, Henry Morgan, David Brinkley, Mel Allen, Joe Garagiola, Hugh Downs, Ted Brown, Gene Rayburn, Brad Crandall and many more. Bob and Ray were at Radio Central most of the weekend. Nichols and May were there too, as was Jonathan Winters. Weekends were different and so was Monitor.
So, why am I writing about Monitor 30 years later? Well, I was quite a devotee of Monitor. I listened every weekend. A year ago, it was a weekend, I was looking up a site on a search engine and, on a whim, I typed in "Monitor" to see what I'd find. To my surprise, I found an elaborate Web Site devoted entirely to Monitor with history, audio, pictures, reminiscences: ... Until then, I thought I was the biggest Monitor aficionado in the country. No, Dennis Hart is truly Mr. Monitor. This site was his brainchild. But he has more material than could ever fit on a Web site. Hence, the book.
This is a great book, easy to read and well-documented. Dennis actually interviewed Mr. Weaver. Mr. Weaver's comments demonstrate how much he thought of Monitor and how disappointed he was to see it end and why it did. Dennis also has interviewed other Monitor personnel, both on-the-air and behind the scenes. The book's packed with inside information.
When you go to the Web site, read the comments in the guestbook. See how many messages express hope that Monitor will return. I hope it will too. But until then, we have Monitor, the Book, and Monitor, the Web site, thanks to Dennis.

Dennis Hart has done a great public service with his history of "the last great radio show".

That show was Monitor on NBC radio, a program that not only ran every weekend for nearly twenty years, but in doing so, saved the NBC radio network from early extinction at a time when television was robbing network radio of its audience.

So what was Monitor? The brainchild of the late, great Pat Weaver, Monitor was a true magazine of the air--an intelligent, lively, exciting mixture of news, comedy, music, sports, interviews, and live remotes from around the world, all packaged into an ever changing format hosted by radio greats like Gene Rayburn, Dave Garroway, Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen, and many others. There was simply nothing else like it when it began in 1955. And really nothing else like it when it fell victim to the changing times and was finally cancelled in January 1975.

Hart deftly chronicles Monitor's creation, and breathes life into the story of its long run--longer than any other radio program. From the famous hosts, to the intense work it took for the show's producers and writers to actually create on a weekly basis, hours of live programming at a time when broadcasting technology was primitive by today's standards, to the Monitor Beacon itself, Hart reminds Monitor's fans why they spent so many of their weekend hours listening to the program.

I was a fan for years in the '60s and early '70s, but you don't have to remember the show to appreciate this affectionate history. And given the state of commercial radio today, you may come away wondering why Monitor is still not running every weekend "going places and doing things" and once again delighting millions of listeners.

Cheryl Duran has created a useful compendium of the horror field for the neophyte and the seasoned fan alike. Written by a true fan of the genre, this book is a fun overview which includes movies, TV, comics and toys. It turned me onto a couple of vintage movies I had never seen and sent me scrambling to my local video store to check them out!
Clint Hutchison - writer/director of TERROR TRACT

Ms. Duran has created a work of genuis for all movie bluffs.
The MCCGTH is one of the three greatest works on horror in the last thirty years.

The Monster Club.com's guide to horror is great fun to read! It really captures the spirit of why I love horror. I've loved monsters and horror films since I was little, and I have a huge collection of books dedicated to horror. What sets this book apart from the rest is the tone. It's obvious that the author is a fan of many of the same films I like, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Instead of taking a clinical approach and analyzing topics or films to death, she takes you on a fun whirlwind tour of many facets of the world of horror. Highly recommended!

In this book, you'll recognize many of your friends in the characters of the Misfits. It is a down to earth book that is easy reading for young and old. It is also one of the most humorous outdoor books I've read since my last Patrick McManus book, They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?

I thoroughly enjoyed sitting back, relaxing and riding along with the Misfits as they got into and out of one predicament after the other and managed to catch fish and have successful hunts in spite of their trials and tribulations. Good reading from age six to whatever!

This is the first book of this nature that I have ever read. Let me tell you, I will read more od Mr. Moore's works!! Not on was this a great read, but it brings be back to a simpler time.Everyone should read this great work. It will make you laugh, cry, and remember the good ole days!!!

This picture book covers diverse themes. Poetry is interspersed between the photographs, and there is a section in the book which gives brief biographies of the women photographers of this book.

A section on humans includes the Tibetan man, Yi woman, Kuna woman, a winter solstice celebration, mountain monastery, and a ghost town. Most of the book, however, is centered on nature. There are photos of Monument Valley, Arizona, autumn reflection in a waterfall, minerals such as sandstone, etc. Plants photographed include the fleabane, sunflower, white spruce cones, and the flowering crab apple. Animal photographs include the African elephant, impala, bald eagle, python, elephant seal, and the lion. There's even a photo of a spider web with a captured fly.

I received this book as a gift from a friend several years ago and consider it one of the best gifts I have ever received. This book is a wonderful blend of photography with poetry and insight. The combination of words and pictures depicts nature, people, and everyday life in a way that you have never seen before. For nature lovers or photography buffs, I highly recommend that you purchase this book if you can locate it anywhere.

Now in a revised tenth-anniversary edition and edited by writer, photographer, naturopathic physician, and acupuncturist Judith Boice, Mother Earth Through The Eyes Of Women Photographers And Writers is a full-color compendium of stunningly beautiful photographs truly capturing the impressive and memorable splendor of the natural world, alongside brief yet moving essays and poems written in reverence of the earth's bounty. A vivid celebration of life itself, Mother Earth Through The Eyes Of Women Photographers And Writers is a especially attractive coffee table book and a fine addition to any nature lover's personal collection.

I loved this book! The main character, E.Z. Elias, a private detective is very funny and so realistic it seems as though you know him personally. The book was fun to read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good detective novel!

I found Murder In The Rose City to be riveting from the very start and never lets up. The lead character is a Portland, Oregon private investigator named Eric "E.Z." Elias. He is half-black, cool, funny, sexy, and knows how to go after the bad guys. He gets his chance when hired by the Deputy D.A. to track down a drug dealer named "Worm." Along the way, E.Z. is seduced by a beautiful blonde, framed for her apparent murder, and falls head over heels for a Whitney Houston lookalike!

The action, fun, and romance of this hard-boiled urban detective novel makes it a winner big time! See for yourself!

I truly enjoyed reading this book! E.Z. Elias is a humorous detective who gets involved in two different cases that really put him to the test. It was a thoroughly enjoyable book that I was able to read in only a couple of days! Good work, R. Barri Flowers!

This book piqued my interest as I kept seeing the ad for it in the back of other Del-ray manga.The concept of the series has been done, girl somehow gets involved with a group of hot, popular guys. But Morinaga's brand of random, comic hilarity and cast of characters that completely mock their stereotypical counterparts, bring a whole image to the sports and romantic comedy genres.

What drew me to actually get it was the character of Hana herself. Morinaga has very beautiful and interesting artwork especially regarding Hana who looks and behaves totally different from the standard bright- eyed, bushy- tail, energetic, cute girl you normally get in this genre. She's not sickenly naive or un-necessarily hot-headed (her reasons for getting mad at the boys are actually valid). She's lazy, irritable, gluttonous, and flawed, your REAL average girl. The way she interacts with the hot all-boy posse including her love interest, Izumi, is priceless. It's a real journey of her learning to get along the clueless and spoiled rich boys and coming to care for them (it's blatantly obivious at first that she could care less for any of them).

Hana Suzuki is a refreshing contrast to your average manga (and anime) heroine and if you pick up this title for any reason, it'll be to see her character evolve.

This book is really funny;. It also has really good art work. The last time I laughed this hard was when I read "Queens" and "Demom Diary"
The author really has a gift for doing things in a funny way plus there is plenty of romance, which we shoujo lovers enjoy. It's a very enjoyable read. I plan on getting the whole weries.

If you're expecting a sports manga, you're going to be dissappointed.
Very funny with similarities to the earliest parts of Kare Kano, but without any serious aspects.
Quite funny, nice artwork.

While Pasternak is known in the United States mainly for his novel "Dr. Zhivago" - or, more to the point, the film based on "Dr. Zhivago" - he was quite an accomplished poet. A better poet, I think, than he was a novelist. Although I've never read Mr. Rudman's translation - or, for that matter, any translation at all - "Sister of Mine-Life" keeps to its bosom a host of beautiful poems.

Rather than try to explain Pasternak's incredible gift for metaphor and detail, his absolute love of words - he was a decent translator of Shakespeare and others - I'll roughly approximate my favorite poem, from it's original Russian. It is untitled.

***

My friend, you ask, who ordered
That the holy idiot's speech should blaze?

***

Let us trickle words
As the garden drips amber and lemon
Absently and generous,
Gently, gently, gently.

And there's no need to explain
Why there is such ceremony
Of madder and of lemon
Scattering on leaves.

Who made pine needles rush
On a long stick, like music
Through the locks of Venetian blinds,
To the bookcase.

Who reddened the rug of mountain ash
Rippling beyond the door,
Written through with beautiful,
Quivering cursives.

You ask, who orders
That August be great
To whom nothing is small
Who lives in the finishing

Of maple leaves;
Who, since the days of the Ecclesiastes,
Hasn't left his post
And is hewing alabaster?

You ask, who orders,
That the September lips of asters and dahlias
Shall suffer?
That leaves
Should fall from stone caryatids
To the damp gravestones
Of autumn hospitals?

You ask, who orders?
--Omnipotent God of details,
Omnipotent God of love,
Of Yaigails and Yaidvigas.

I don't know, was it decided,
The riddle of the road to the afterlife,
But life, like the stillness
Of autumn -- is details.

I can't quite transmit the pine needles rushing through the Venetian blinds as boats through a sluice, but I'm sure Mr. Rudman could. Even through my approximate translation, it's possible to see what a man of detail Pasternak was. In my edition, the introduction begins: "With Pasternak, you must hurt" -- as great ideas are, the editor notes, painful.

Pasternak certainly took painful care of his words, his thoughts, his beauty. And "Sister of Mine-Life," one of his earlier collections - (the summer of 1917) - is beautiful, detailed and pained.

***

As a post script, I prefer "Sister of Mine-Life," to "My Sister-Life" because the construction "sistra maya" - rather than "maya sistra" stresses that she's my sister.

Also, because life and sister are both female in gender, "my sister" and "my life" are dually coupled in Pasternak's title. "My" could refer solely to sister, or it could be my life, as well.

Some of our strongest poets are those who energize the material things and concrete sensations of daily life in special ways. Objects set apart by poetic imagination and power become sacred and establish a bond between the reader as perceiver and the thing perceived. By extension the bond opens the reader to an entire universe of ensouled matter--a new way of looking at the world.

Such is the poetry of Boris Pasternak in this 1917 book written at the height of The Great War and on the eve of the October Revolution. Pasternak's spirited materialism predates William Carlos Williams's concept "No ideas but in things."

Pasternak sets many of these poems in concretely described locations where his magical materialism can go to work. In "The Flies of the Moochkap Teahouse,"

The spirit sweats--the horizon's
tobacco-tinged--like thought
Windmills image a fishing village
Boats and weathered nets.

This poet's world view of ensouled materiality provides a unique perspective on the new century just beginning. Each reader must decide for him or herself just how prescient or prophetic Pasternak's "The Definition of Soul" was to become.

It falls like a ripe pear into the storm
with a single clinging leaf
How faithful--it quits its branch--
reckless--it chokes in the heat.

We learn much about Pasternak from his later novel and the film (Dr. Zhivago) it spawned--but we don't experience his power as a poet. He was possibly the the most poetically powerful of figures in what is known as the Silver Age of Russian Literature, including Marina Tsvetaeva Selected Poems (Tsvetaeva, Marina) (Twentieth-Century Classics), Osip Mandelstam Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam (New York Review Books Classics), Anna Akhmatova Anna Akhmatova (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets), and Nikolai Gumilyov The Pillar of Fire, among the most talented and brilliant poets of the twentieth century. They bore the brunt of the Soviet regime's ideological attacks and physical repression.

Here is poetic brilliance and talent of the first rank--the power of poetry of material things on display.

Pasternak's poetry is better than his prose. Why he is still often better known for the latter baffles me. I suggest this or any of his collected poems to the reader looking for creative, quality poetry. Pasternak certainly ranks as one of the greatest amongst the group of very talented Russian poets that emerged during the first quarter of the 20th centuary. His poems deserve just as much (if not more) recognition as his novels.

If you enjoyed Harry Potter, you will relish this...live it!...'Ancient cities, magical powers. Sages with extraordinary powers and bigger than life warriors.? This is a story of courage. A saga of fighting the odds. Of living a life of empowerment. Naked in a sandstorm will take you deep into your soul as you read. This is the story of great battles, mystery and truth. You will rediscover yourself as you follow the hero, Avhmon. He is like you. He is YOU!

You will learn to harness the powers of the metaphysical as you follow the great sages Moreihe, Ananda and Charaka. You will fight great wars with the brave Prabu, Kattaboman, Devtha, Avhmon and the 'Narashima warriors'-The celestial warlords.

Lust, love and sacrifice is part of human nature. Naked in a sandstorm is about those too.

Meet the terrible Kormi he will make you loathe him. And there is Apsara, you will cry with her. Get to know Kirtana, a woman with a burning passion and unbound love.

In a cave, five miles deep, in the bowels of the earth, you will discover what the future holds for you! And discover the mystery behind the sacred virgins!'

A fast paced action, psychological fantasy thriller that will enthrall and at the same time EMPOWER you!

Its THOUGHT PROVOKING and EMPOWERING!

I enjoyed the book so much, that i sent the author an email of appreciation, for a book well written! Here is the mail i sent! __________________

Dear Mohan,

I finished your book. It exceeded my expectations- though I didn't think that would be possible! It's not a book someone can only read once. There are so many thought provoking aspects that one soon realizes it's not just another book of fiction but a book filled with philosophical viewpoints coming from years of study, experience and deep thinking. Each merits contemplative thought to get the full impact. I'll be reading it again- slowly- so I can do just that.

Most fiction books are simplistic- a fast read- evoking little personal involvement from the reader. As I followed Avhmon's quest for spiritual growth- his questions became my questions- and his discoveries- my discoveries. Thank you.

Truly this is the book that has everything- just as you described on the back cover.

I could go on and on but won't- I'll spread it out in subsequent emails. Only one question this time- "Do you see auras?"

This book is- exceptional!

God bless and take care!

Phyllis

It exceeded my expectations - though I didn't think that would be possible! It's not a book someone can only read once. There are so many thought provoking aspects that one soon realizes it's not just another book of fiction but a book filled with philosophical viewpoints coming from years of study, experience and deep thinking. Each merits contemplative thought to get the full impact. I'll be reading it again - slowly - so I can do just that.

Most fiction books are simplistic - a fast read - evoking little personal involvement from the reader. As I followed Avhmon's quest for spiritual growth - his questions became my questions - and his discoveries - my discoveries.

Truly this is the book that has everything

Prepare yourself for an adventure such as you've never experienced before. An adventure that will transport you from an ancient mythical world to the most far reaching revelations of the world to come. Through the artful story telling of the author, you will become one with Avhmon on his quest for truth and spiritual enlightenment. Avhmon's adventures are many and you will share in his fears and triumphs. You will intimately come to know those people who most influence his life and growth. Avhmon's questions and discoveries will become yours and, in the process, many of your long held beliefs will be reexamined and forever changed. You will emerge enlightened, empowered and enriched. This is a must read!

Its a fiction/fantasy...set during ancient civalization. It is about one persons quest for self discovery. Along the way, meets with lots of adventure and action, love, lust, suffering and friendship. The setting for the story is different somewhat from other books. I found it refreshing. As i read, i could identify myself with the hero and the situations...A cozy read!

Naked Skydiving, that's the magic words!

Naked Skydiving is a novel that is really eloquently written stand up comedy on the page.

"Naked Skydiving is rich with names and colors."

A complete and up to date guide to the Lifestyle. From the history of swinging to lists of clubs to worldwide conventions this directory has it all. An excellent resource for couples interested in the pursuit of sexual stimulation and satisfaction - from those just thinking about taking their first step to those with decades of experience.

Sexuality covers many variations, from celibate to celebatory (with more than one partner). For those couples for whom monogamy seems limiting to their relationship, the alternative is the swinging lifestyle. Where does one go for information concerning such intimacy? I always recommend the NASCA INTERNATIONAL'S DIRECTORY OF SWING CLUBS, PUBLICATIONS & EVENTS.

While neither graphic nor clinical, this latest directory contains a surprisingly comprehensive amount of information concerning the who, what, why and where's of this lifestyle. It certainly answers many questions of what swinging is, how it started, who swingers are and what they look like (like members of the gay lifestyle, many families also have swingers in them - they just look like regular people!).

The book provides sections on social etiquette, where to go and what to do. The largest section is devoted to a state-by-state listing of swinging clubs followed by an international club listing. Swinging magazine publishers have a listing along with many interesting swinging websites

Swinging conventions and resorts have sprouted up all over the country and the world and most of them are listed here.

I will say, as the editor in chief of one of the major swinging publications, Contact Publishing's Swingers Update, I find this directory an invaluable tool and source of information.

This is THE primary directory for any journalist or academic needing a starting point for a first hand examination of the grass roots sexual subculture known as "the lifestyle." For couples thinking about attending a lifestyle party, convention, or holiday, there is no better place to look for options than this volume. As for couples who are already in the swinging lifestyle and perhaps traveling across the continent or overseas, this book should be in your suitcase--right beside your Frommer's Guide. Hundreds of clubs in 47 states and 20 countries are listed, with detailed descriptions of each club, a contact phone number, and an Email address. In addition, there are separate sections on swing publications, events, and resorts, as well as a measured chapter that defines the subculture, gives its history, profiles its participants, and offers cautionary words about the necessity for strictly adhering to its etiquette. There are now millions of mainstream people who are "in the lifestyle," and most of them do follow that etiquette, believing they live in a certain STYLE that melds their conservative family values--matrimony, children, emotional monogamy--with the erotic cultivation of their marriages by attending the subculture's events. Nevertheless, roughly ten per cent of the couples in the lifestyle do not actually swing. They just like dressing for the beach or the harem and going to parties where Bacchic titillation is the norm. If you want to get a handle on how to meet some of the warm and walking people in the lifestyle--swinging or non-swinging--this is the book.