We arrived in Bürchen, CH, three hours ago, and it was 20° centigrade outside (27° below in the valley). The Alps looked like the Himalaya. Still do. Never seen so much snow in April. Happy to be here.
Apr 25, 2018
We've arrived
We arrived in Bürchen, CH, three hours ago, and it was 20° centigrade outside (27° below in the valley). The Alps looked like the Himalaya. Still do. Never seen so much snow in April. Happy to be here.
Apr 23, 2018
Apr 20, 2018
Apr 17, 2018
Above the clouds: the view this afternoon
Very low clouds moving in this afternoon---feels like San Francisco:
It happens rarely, and when it does, it's typically in late April; possibly something to do with the contrast between water- and air temperature. Not photo-shopped, folks, NOT.
Apr 14, 2018
Comey compress
Our take from the previews of James Comey's book A higher Loyality:
Most damaging for Trump is the observation that The Donald never laughs. He is unable to laugh. And second, obviously, is the recurrent, and convincing comparison of Trump's behavior with that of a Maffia boss.
Apr 11, 2018
Not a Godfather movie...(update)
...the man in the middle is actually Michael D. Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer:
And here, a quote from "slimeball" Comey's book: “I once again was having flashbacks to my earlier career as a prosecutor against the Mob. The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview. The lying about all things, large and small, in service of some code of loyalty that put the organization above morality and above the truth.”
Apr 2, 2018
Yesterday night
We're renting our house during Easter and stay with friends higher up on the hill. This was the view yesterday evening (around 10 PM). On the horizon, to the left, Cannes and its Croisette.
Mar 30, 2018
Mar 25, 2018
Mar 20, 2018
More praise for This Is Heaven
A new review of This Is Heaven, on Amazon:
March 16, 2018
This is Heaven. Yes it is. The sequel to GREEN EYES. I'm a big fan of Ampersant. I've read a lot of his work. Let me tell you that I read this book slowly and took my time. Actually the story was so good I wanted to just keep reading. The reason. He uses action and thrills and you want to savor the sex scenes and learn from them. Especially getting bitten. Come on, admit it, you want to be bit too. What I also like about the book that it continues from the Green Eyes. It's a month later or ten years later. It's the next day, of sorts. I wasn't expecting that and I'm happy it was that way. I am happy with this book and waiting for the next one.
March 16, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
This is Heaven. Yes it is. The sequel to GREEN EYES. I'm a big fan of Ampersant. I've read a lot of his work. Let me tell you that I read this book slowly and took my time. Actually the story was so good I wanted to just keep reading. The reason. He uses action and thrills and you want to savor the sex scenes and learn from them. Especially getting bitten. Come on, admit it, you want to be bit too. What I also like about the book that it continues from the Green Eyes. It's a month later or ten years later. It's the next day, of sorts. I wasn't expecting that and I'm happy it was that way. I am happy with this book and waiting for the next one.
Mar 17, 2018
Fill in the blanks
If utilitarian calculations are to be applied, they need to be fully applied. For a package of political benefits, these evangelical leaders have associated the Christian faith with racism and nativism. They have associated the Christian faith with misogyny and the mocking of the disabled. They have associated the Christian faith with lawlessness, corruption, and routine deception. They have associated the Christian faith with moral confusion about the surpassing evils of white supremacy and neo-Nazism. The world is full of tragic choices and compromises. But for this man? For this cause?
---Michael Gerson in the Atlantic.
Mar 16, 2018
Mar 14, 2018
Mar 11, 2018
This morning...still raining
When I woke up, during dawn, the clouds were still touching the top of the rock across the bay.
Mar 10, 2018
We all know Goodreads has had it's share of drama
Mona > Goodreads Status Update
Mona added a status update
We all know Goodreads has had it’s share of drama. We’re
battle-scarred & throw up our hands saying “we just want to read
books”.
So, I, too, got the message from the troll "Tammy".
But, unlike some, I believe what she posted is true. And IF any of it’s true,
it isn’t just drama. It is HUGELY problematic, potentially illegal, and has the
power to really hurt people.
Please, just think through a few of these things:
COMMENTS (showing 1-15 of 727) (727 new)
Recently the author MA posted on
his blog an entry showing pictures of himself. He said it was because anon
trolls were trying to dox him and out his personal information - something he’s
long said he’s tried to keep private, though much of which he himself has
shared online. *shrug*In this post he himself admitted to sending fake pictures in the past to people in his readership and friend circles. He admitted to this lie. It hurt a lot of people, people who trusted him. That sucks. But maybe, for some of you, that doesn’t sound like such a big deal…fake pictures? Meh. But it’s the lie that sets this stage.
Mar 7, 2018
Mar 6, 2018
Mar 3, 2018
"ADDICTIVE. UNIQUE. SPECIAL. Witty. Philosophical. Extraordinary." --- another review of the Green Eyes
Gay Book Reviews has a new review of the GREEN EYES, by Lena Ribka. Enjoy:
THIS BOOK IS DIFFICULT TO REVIEW/RECOMMEND…
WHY:
1. GAY EROTICA.
This book was a nominee for LAMBDA 2016 in the category Gay Erotica. It is not a genre that can compete with MM Romance. Yes, I know, the majority of MM Romance Readers want a lot of SEX scenes in their books, but not THE KIND of Sex Gay Erotica offers. Gay Erotica is not about the romance between the two. It is about libido in the first place. Sex in the genre is often dirty, unclean, rough, aggressive and reeking. Are you ready for it?
2. A VERY UNUSUAL WRITING STYLE.
For me it was a winner. But I’m aware that the style Michael Ampersant delivers/offers is not everyone’s cuppa. Do you understand THIS KIND of humor?
WHY this book is ingenious:
You treasure all LAMBDA nominees. You have just to know them.
You estimate a SPECIAL writing style. I assure you, you won’t come across SOMETHING like this BEFORE. Michael Ampersant’s style is UNIQUE.
The inimitable style: 5 stars.
The story itself:doesn’t matter.
It is one of those books where the writing and the way of telling is much more interesting than the story itself. I think that it could have at least 50 pages land some long-winded observations less. But the way the WHOLE package is made is so unusual and ridiculously delicious, the humor is so profound, that in spite of all my complaints, I need just to read more by the author.
Honestly, I wanted to DNF it more than once during reading, it was mostly WTF-“eye-rolls”. BUT. I. JUST. COULDN’T. I had to come back. AGAIN and AGAIN. I don’t know, but it is something about this book that difficult to explain, difficult to describe and difficult to separate from.
ADDICTIVE. UNIQUE. SPECIAL. Witty. Philosophical. Extraordinary.
The Lambda Literary Award finalist
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Feb 28, 2018
Feb 27, 2018
"Oil, oil...!"
And, anything the GREEN EYES have to add to this? Sure, always. Here, Part II (This Is Heaven), CH. 20, The Headless Horseman. Alex and John have left Juliette's hotel room and the scene of a Barbette Bienpensant provoked flagrante, a scene also involving Juliette's new friend, Romeo:
Alex laughs. Chuckles in an old-fashioned way. Slaps my shoulder—even though that’s difficult on account of my head-rest—we’re in the truck, heading to the hospital where Alex needs to be for unclear reasons. “You are contagious dude, yes, you are,” he says.
“What?”
“The post-coital checkup, this is so you, you could have invented it.”
“Never heard of post-coital checkup.”
He hoots. “Gotcha, gotcha.” He cocks his head (which he will do a lot for the remainder of this episode). “I shouldn’t laugh,” he adds. “I believe.”
“There wasn’t any blood,” I say.
“They’ve possibly changed the sheets in the meantime. ‘Room service, room service, we have a de-hymenation.’ Or there wasn’t anything like a virgin…like in the first StarWars movie or what. They are lost in the desert, and the robot shouts, ‘Water, water.’ And the princess shouts, ‘Room service, room service’.”
“You don’t make sense.”
“No, it was Mel Brooks. A Star Wars parody. The robot shouts ‘Oil, oil.’ Spaceballs was the title.” Alex looks at his watch. “How much time did they have? Eight hours, nine hours. They did it four times. Five times. It hurts the first time. But then—female orgasms aren’t automatic, you know. In this case, however, I’m confident—she looked so otherworldly.” He gives me this look: “This is heaven, John, I told you.”
The sequel to the Green Eyes---available now
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Feb 26, 2018
Feb 25, 2018
Feb 24, 2018
Feb 21, 2018
Sogni pensieri parole --- a new review of "This Is Heaven"
Cool, folks, cool. We have a new review of "This Is Heaven," an Italian one. It was originally posted on I mei sogni tra le pagine, but is also available on GoodReads and supposedly on Amazon, and it's by S.M. May, the famed Italian author of oh-so-teasing SM-work. S.M. is actually a full-fledged attorney at law---perhaps not so much of a coincidence. Here she goes:
Like the first book, “This Is Heaven” has a bizarre and crazy plot. John, the narrator, tells us of the volatile relationship with his partner Alex, which is further complicated by a gaggle of new friends.
The scenes are often surreal, the dialogues full of jokes and witty quirks. There’s an initial sense of disorientation, but the reader eventually learns to understand the extremely particular/original---and, at bottom---cynical/sarcastic voice of Michael Ampersant, which hides, and thus reveals, a vast cultural/literary background.
From the famous incipit (“It was a dark and stormy night”) of the cataclysmic Chapter 47 to the numerous quotations and allusions in the text: it’s a real treasure hunt.
Ampersant is a very good author who loves to play with words, and the art of writing. And how can we not appreciate a writer whose author picture is captioned: “The author picture is a bit outdated, but not photoshopped” (?). [LOL]
Like the first book, “This Is Heaven” has a bizarre and crazy plot. John, the narrator, tells us of the volatile relationship with his partner Alex, which is further complicated by a gaggle of new friends.
The scenes are often surreal, the dialogues full of jokes and witty quirks. There’s an initial sense of disorientation, but the reader eventually learns to understand the extremely particular/original---and, at bottom---cynical/sarcastic voice of Michael Ampersant, which hides, and thus reveals, a vast cultural/literary background.
From the famous incipit (“It was a dark and stormy night”) of the cataclysmic Chapter 47 to the numerous quotations and allusions in the text: it’s a real treasure hunt.
Ampersant is a very good author who loves to play with words, and the art of writing. And how can we not appreciate a writer whose author picture is captioned: “The author picture is a bit outdated, but not photoshopped” (?). [LOL]
The sequel to the Green Eyes---available now
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