Paperback Friday: Miller & Norton

Here are the book covers that I currently have scanned for Walter Miller and Andre Norton.

The View from the Stars
Copyright 1964 by Walter M. Miller Jr.
First Ballantine Printing: January 1965
Ballantine Books, Inc. , 101 Fifth Ave. New York, N. Y. 10003
The View from the Stars is a collection of Mr. Millers short stories which first appeared in the pulps form 1952 to 1954. I read this one last year. These tales certainly testify to the talent of a writer who would win the Hugo Award for for his novel Canticle for Leibowitz which I also have but have not read.

A Canticle For Liebowitz
Copyright 1959, Walter M. Miller Jr.
Parts of this book appeared in a different for in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, copyright 1955, 1956, Fantasy House, Inc.
J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & New York
Book Club Edition

"a dedication is only
a scratch where it itches --
for Anne, then
in whose bosom Rachel lies
muselike
guiding my clumsy song
and giggling between the lines
-- with blessings, Lass
W"
_____________________

Quag Keep by Andre Norton
Copyright 1979, Andre Norton
A DAW Book by arrangement with Antheneum Publications.
A Margaret K. McElderry Book.
First DAW printing, September 1979.


I have read Quag Keep twice. Once during the '80s, as a school boy, after reading a review of the book in Dragon magazine. Quag Keep is, of course, set in Greyhawk and was the first novel I ever read where the characters are rpg players who become their game characters. I read the book again within recent years, it is a light fun read, not unlike simple joy of a R. E. Howard novel.

The Time Traders by Andre Norton
Publication Date: 1958
Publisher: Ace

Ms. Norton's novel The Time Traders is one of the 501 Must Read Books and I found it through Paperback Swap. (Canticle for Leibowitz is also a 501 Must Read Book.) The Time Traders is available through Google Books, Project Gutenberg and I reviewed it at The Polyhedral Dicebag and compared it to Howard as well.

Next up on Paperback Friday will be Frederik Pohl.

More of what Santa brought me

Of course I got more shirts for Christmas and then bought one while at Myrtle Beach. I got the Justice League, Batman and Star Wars comic book shirts for Christmas and purchased the Tilted Kilt shirt in Myrtle Beach. These shirts, and the blogs, seem to make me an official middle aged fanboy. (almost middle aged) A fanboy of comics, sci-fi and beer.

These four make 42 shirts displayed with 323 remaining to reach the proposed target of 365. Not that I intend to own 365 shirts, I had only speculated that I own that many. Hopefully we will all know how many shirts I actually own by the end of this year.



How about some more obscure humor by Jack Handey from his book Deeper Thoughts, the sequel to Deep Thoughts. "It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, waiting for that money."

I have long suspected that Jack Handey is a pen name for Al Frankin. I'm gonna research the theory right away.

Fuller's London Porter

This past month I had the pleasure of consuming some Fuller’s London Porter. Fuller’s London Pride is among the best selling ales in England and, by my analysis, their Porter is also World Class. The pour produces a bubbly beige head and a beautiful dark chocolate colored body of liquid. The smell is a bit vinous, like a malt vinegar.

The first sip betrays my nose. The dominant flavors are chocolate malts with no hint of vinegary sourness. Any hops are in recession too in this full, unsweet chocolate body. As the liquid warms the chocolate sweetness becomes more pronounced and is almost syrupy at the finish.

I have long preferred Porters to Stouts and Fuller’s London Porter is a great one to prefer.

Grade: 4.9 out of 5 pints

Here's a funny photo I found while searching for London Porter images.

Cheesy Bread, Cheesy Brand

Dear Domino's Pizza,

If Cheesy Bread is the best product you have to lead your marketing chamaign, you might want to rethink you whole business model. But if your goal is to be the McDonald's Corp of the pizza service industry than I think your current campaign is on track.

New Year's Resolution - of sorts

If I here that dang Adele C D one more time it's gonna become a Frisbee.

2011 Year End Report

Here we are at the end of 2011 and it's been another banner year at Fanatical Recycling Inc. We did a lot of recycling and rated a few beers, didn't bitch about culture too much, but there's always more room for that, and we didn't do any restaurant reviews. One local bar barely escaped a disrespectful post, we didn't sell any F.R.I. t-shirts and, in fact, T-shirt Tuesday is still in the lurch.

So, as C.E.O of F.R.I., my number 1 priority for the new year is to reach some level of resolve with T-shirt Tuesday. I have come to the conclusion that I do not have 365 t-shirts, I believe I have around 100 shirts. We will, collectively, see what we can determine through the T-shirt Tues project.

Other things that didn't happen on F.R.I. this year; I didn't write about our wedding anniversary or our vacation. For our wedding anniversary, back in August, we went over to Maggie Valley, N. C. for a weekend getaway which was nice. Sally and I have been on vacation this week in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and we'll be going to Gainsville, Ga. to celebrate N.Y.E. with a few of our old pals.

Myrtle Beach has been nice too. We have been shopping, went to the beach and collected some shells. We've played in the indoor Lazy River at the condo. I've been playing Danger D.J. on facebook and Sally's been learning her way around her new Kindle Fire. Neither one of us eat seafood so we haven't done that. We did eat at a great place called Nacho Hippo at Market Commons. It was good, if you come here, go there!

More beer on Monday has been clicking along this year. I always have plenty of craft beers to taste and write about. But, occasionally other responsibilities keep me from writing about a new beer each week. I will put more effort toward this thread in 2012 too.

Paperback Friday, an archive of artwork from old paperback novels, has appeared again belatedly. I'll work on finishing the book images which I have scanned and then start over, since I've acquired more paperbacks since this project started.

I could talk and blab about plans for this blog as if it were a real business but, "that's all I have to say about that." I wish you all a Happy New Year and I'm sure to be back typing some smart ash comments again soon.

Haffenreffer Private Stock

I have well established my weakness for off-brand beers, lesser known breweries and small regional labels. I've found another one of these while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor from Latrobe, Pa.

Private Stock pours into a hazy golden corn like body with a fairly typical foamy head. There are very noticeable floral, apple juice aromas flowing from this brew. The first sip is a surprising taste, much like cider, which returns with subsequent sips. This is a very sweet brew rather than the often dominant hops flavors more common in malt liquors. It is probably too sweet for most but I find it is a refreshing change from my usual drink selections. I'm sure that Private Stock is brewed with a blend of corn, rice, wheat and barley malts but they have a good recipe.

The Private Stock slogan is, "Malt Liquor with the import taste," and it does taste much like a hefeweizen. I can't really give Private Stock a very high rating since it is so unlike beer styles traditionally on my drink menu. But, I can give Private Stock a 3 out of 5 pints.

I also found some funny Photoshop work while searching for Private Stock images on the entree-net. Other Private Stock fans would have you believe that it is enjoyed by Sean Connery



and Christopher Walken.