I don’t believe I’ve read a Stephen King novel since I was in my early twenties. Misery might have been the last one. Not because I don’t enjoy his books, but because they keep getting gianter and gianter. His early releases (with the exception of The Stand) are normal-sized, but over the years they’ve all expanded to a thousand pages, or thereabouts. And that’s intimidating.
However, I pre-ordered his new one, 11/22/63. It’s a time travel story, and I love that kind of thing. It released last Tuesday, and downloaded to my Kindle while I was at work Monday night. On Friday evening I started reading it, and am already 25% finished. That’s about 250 pages, in dog years.
And man, it’ll suck you in. I can’t stop reading it. I got roughly three hours of sleep last night, because of that thing — and an early-morning obligation. I now feel like I’m walking around underwater, but it was worth it. I read the coolest scene last night, right before I turned off the light…
King is the kind of writer who makes it look easy. He uses simple language, in a straightforward way. It causes a person to believe they might be able to pull it off, too. But when you sit down and actually give it a shot, you realize just how skilled that mofo really is. If you’re interested, his book on writing (called On Writing — I told you he was straightforward), is really, really good.
Anyway, I’m enjoying 11/22/63. However… I’ve noticed characters in 1958 speaking phrases I don’t believe were in popular use at that time. Like “shopping mall,” for instance. I could be wrong, but that feels like a 1970s phrase to me. Before that, I believe they were called shopping centers. Am I way off? Also, “lip-synching.” There’s no way that was a 1958 phrase. I think it was something that came out of music videos, and the early MTV days. Right?
Another thing I’m enjoying is the re-launched version of Beavis and Butthead. It’s exactly like the old version, and it still makes me laugh. I saw one last night where they wandered into a room on an Army base, while on a field trip, and began playing around with drones flying above the Middle East. They believed it was a video game, and comedy ensued.
The show is still great, in my opinion, and I look forward to new episodes every week. And I’m already re-watching the ones I saw last week… Mike Judge can do no wrong, as far as I can tell. Even The Goode Family rocked.
And finally, I saw an interesting documentary on Netflix a few days ago. It’s called Winnebago Man, about a guy who spewed profanity while making a sales video for Winnebago, back in 1989. Someone put together an outtakes collection, and it went viral, during the VHS days. Now it’s on YouTube, and the makers of the film went in search of this angry “Winnebago man.” It’s a good movie, and really funny in parts.
What are you enjoying these days? Is there anything good we should know about? Please tell us in the comments section below.
And I’ll see you guys again tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Now playing in the bunker
Do your holiday shopping at Amazon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rpZZHqrR0I
Another funny car salesman ad from youtube.
Semi-humorous car commercial, but posted mainly for Greg and Chuck if Belpre. Remember Rob Liotti, lead singer of the Parkersburg rock band “High Voltage” back in the 80s? Here is what he’s doing now. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYeWMG9uzKQ
Watched it. Rob still communicates on FB with Mark Eagle, a bartender back in our day.
Oh man, that is cool! Rob was a really nice guy. A few years ago there was an article in the Parkersburg News about his brother building a replica of the Batboat (from the 1960’s Batman).
Wasn’t he a big time football player before he started that band or something? The last I heard they were planning a movie about AC/DC’s Bon Scott in Australia and Rob was being considered for it. Man I think it would be great to get a story on him if we could. I have seen some video on Youtube of him. Maybe WV Surf Report could do something. I think that would be awesome.
Under the Dome was something like 5 thousand pages and it rocked. I love the formula he uses – a small group against impossible odds… (aka the Mist… aka the Langoliers… aka Cell…)
Have a blessed day everyone
Grrrr
LOL… I thought there would be more angry resonses by now. Thanks for playing along
Bless you
I’ll keep you in my prayers.
Bless your heart!
Yours in Christ!
Yours in Christ!
don’t know why the double entry. Maybe because I didn’t send the “Angel” email to 742 friends within 8 minutes.
Jesus loves you and so do I
You know my lawn guy? Do you know his cousin Jose?
I JUST finished Under the Dome about a week ago! Over 1100 pages long, and after I was done, I found out that it is going to be on Showtime (as a miniseries?) Awesome book, AND Brian K. Vaughn is doing the Showtime series, too…awesomer!
big time YAY
I have never befoer seen anyone get that angry at flies
I don’t want any more bullshit anytime during the day… from ANYONE,? that includes me.
Never read any Steven King but I remember lip-synching from American Bandstand in the early 60’s, so he may be correct on that one. Do think shopping mall is from a latter date tho.
If you want to start – look for a group of short stories called Graveyard Shift. It starts with “The Mist” which is a good intro to his style. The rest of the stories arn’t bad but they’ve been made in to some terrible movies (notably Maximum Overdrive) which was a decent little short story called Trucks.
For some of his best work though? The Green Mile… Shawshank Redeption (called something about rita hayworth or something)
Or not… I don’t get paid a commission so no skin off my teeth (where the hell did THAT phrase come from?)
The “Shawshank Redemption” was actually a novella in the boof “The Four Seasons” and it was called “The Rita Haworth Incident” believe it or not, it was only about 100 pages.
That was one of my all time favorite movies.
You’d think by now I’d know better than to trust my memory for 20 some odd years ago about a book I read once.
I sit corrected.
The story that became Stand by Me (The Body), Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and two other really good novellas can be found in a book called Four Seasons. Just a hint of the supernatural in the last story, the rest are fairly mainstream, and it’s some of his best work.
ditto
and I apologise for nothing
skin off my teeth
well “thankee” CitizenX … (from the Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration The Talisman….also “god pounds his nails well” for the truly obsessed fans
If you’re wondering about lip-syncing–and not only lip-syncing, but the crappy, couldn’t give a shit kind–pick out your favorite (or least favorite) band from the 60s and type it into Youtube for guaranteed lip-syncing (dis)pleasure.
The amazing thing about Stephen King was that he wrote some of his doorstoppers in the 80s on a cloud of coke and massive gallons of beer, raiding the medicine cabinet for listerine when the booze ran out. It’s all in “On Writing.”
Thanks for the emailed Monday update. The subject matter differs from the Website, but the writing style is the same. Great way to start the week; keep ’em coming.
I won’t bother with Beavis and Butthead. I am not really a fan of shows coming back.
I sort of think Stephen King is hack, but The Dark Tower series is great.
I just realized that your name is Ringo spelled backwards (or ringO)
Mind. Blown. Seriously.
It’s from a T.V. special Ringo did in 1978. He played himself and a character called Ognir Ratts.
I believe you can watch it on Youtube.
For a time back in the late 90s, I used to paste the following letters on the bass drum head of my drum kit:
WWRD
which was supposed to mean “What would Ringo do?”
I know; I can be kind of a geek sometimes…
Hack? I know that’s what my English professors kept screaming while I was in college, but I never really understood it. Granted, he has mass appeal, but that doesn’t negate talent. Have you read Bag of Bones or Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption?
I disagree. James Patterson is a hack. Stephen King is not.
I totally agree. I’ve never understood the appeal of James Patterson. Or Nicholas Sparks, either.
Nicholas Sparks should be bitch slapped. No man writes like that. I think he craves to be Nicole Sparks.
It’s too much sap for me. I don’t mind romance if it’s done well, but he doesn’t come close.
I tried to read Spadework and gave up after a chapter or two…
The husband a.k.a. The Controller of the Remote and Mr. Sucky Movie Chooser has had to work the past two Sundays leaving me home alone to do viewing as I pleased.
Yesterday I watched back to back Chick Flicks: A Little Help with what’s her name from The Office and Notting Hill with my new hero Hugh Grant. Last Sunday I Netflixed up Four Weddings and a Funeral.
I cannot believe he has kept Hugh Grant hidden from my view all this time, well, except for Bridget Jones Diary on cable which I will watch from whatever point I happen upon it. I loves the little toady girl Zellweger, too.
His response was “I thought you didn’t like him since you made so much fun of him about the blow job thing.” Nah, I’ll make fun of anyone paying for a BJ from a hooker named Divine. Please.
I had absolutely no idea I would just adore me some Chick flicks. What else have I been missing?
Vicki: If you like Hugh Grant, “Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Bridget Jone’s Diary, then you need to Netflix “Love, Actually” the next time you have the remote all to yourself. Maybe you’ve already seen it. It’s centered around Christmas, so it should be playing about now. One of my very favorites.
Saturday on Lifetime they had The Betty Broderick story. I missed it this time around but God, I loved that movie!
I was always a fan of The Burning Bed.
Oh yeah – another good one!
I concur! I adore Love, Actually. It is my favorite Hugh Grant, I think, after Notting Hill.
Watch the movie entitled “Once.” Glen Hansard, Margita Irglova. Tell me what you think of it from a “chick flick” perspective. I have guy friends who absolutely love it, but female friends who hate the ending. It has really great music, and I thought, that while the ending coulda just as easily gone the other way, it was a really good way to end it.
Love, Actually so up in the queue. Also, cc, I IMDb’d Once. I’ll be searching the ‘flix for that one, too. So many movies, so little time.
“Music and Lyrics” is kind of good if you like Hugh Grant (Drew Barrymore co-stars).
I had (what I would consider) a similar experience this weekend. The wife was watching “Water for Elephants” and the main character’s parents were killed in a car accident – in the early 1930’s. I wasn’t around then, but didn’t the cars top out around 25 miles an hour? How did anyone die in a car accident back then? Doesn’t seem real to me at all.
I would love to read “11/22/63”. Love me some Stephen King.
Right now, the only thing I have time for are some TV programs I don’t miss:
Sons of Anarchy
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Hell on Wheels (new on AMC. 2nd episode last night)
All are completely different from one another and look forward to them every week.
American Horror Story a bit chilling at times. But I can’t stop watching it. You have to like that sort of thing though. Amazing some of the shit they are getting away with on FX.
I missed Boardwalk Empire last night. Thank God I recorded the series. Can’t wait to go home and watch!
I like the way the butcher in Boardwalk Empire talks – his accent and phrases – it’s well written and presented.
No Walking Dead? It’s more about the survivors than the zombies – lots of character flaws to sink your teeth in to ( no zombie pun intended)
I see commercials for the “Walking Dead” all the time. I just forget about it. That’s one I need to catch up on demand. Looks great.
I’ve been enjoying the new seasons of NCIS and masturbating left handed. Not necessarily at the same time.
And lest I forget, fucking Steelers!
Mark Harmon is a handsome man I’ll grant you that but still….
I just learned something new on the internet. If you lay on your cock until it’s numb, it’ll feel like you’re jacking off someone else. Wait. What?
If you bring your hand up through your legs from behind at the same time does it feel like you’re giving a reach around?
I think so. But you don’t want to drive for several hours afterwards. It’ll feel like someone else is driving and you’re likely to have a wreck. The cops won’t understand.
You bastards.
I just tried this stuff and now I feel used and dirty. But in a very detached way.
You were kidding, weren’t you?
If it detached you have an even bigger problem
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
And may the Lord bless and keep you and yours.
Praise Jesus
A fuggin men.
That didn’t look right.
It’s late.
I haven’t read Stephen King in ages but this one does look good. I’ve been reading a lot of Pat Conroy and his books are around 450 pages. If I could write even one paragraph as well as this guy writes I’d be happy.
Just burnt the bejesus out of my pie hole on some soup. And I’m still hungry!
Well THANK GAWD you are apologizing for whoring out your twitter feed. I had a feeling that’s what was going on.
I felt dirty FOR you.
Heh. You sold me on Winnebago Man. Great stuff and queued up on the instant. If you are a fan of another internet sensation, Banksy, I can recommend Exit Through The Gift Shop (also available at Netflix.
Got the Monday dispatch!
I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop a few weeks ago, and thought it was terrific. I end up watching a lot of documentaries via Netflix streaming for some reason.
I do too, Jeff. I see things (like TV shows) that look interesting then some obscure title I’ve never heard of that is a documentary & I’ll watch it. Then I’ll check out all the suggested docs based on what you saw.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I HIGHLY recommend ‘The King of Kongs: A Fistful of Quarters’. It’s centered around annual Donkey Kong competitions & the guy who is the reigning king from when he was a teenager into adulthood is a supreme ass. I kept hoping someone would come along & just kick him in whatever balls he didn’t tuck that morning. Douche.
But seriously, it was a GREAT documentary!
Do you think that ‘Mr Brainwash’ is actually Banksy?
Tipsey it never occurred to me.
Mind. Blown. 2/2 LOL
Fartknocker, Shut up bunghole. Love me some Bevis and Butthead.
I had my tonsils out on 11/22/63. Am I in the book?
I shat 8 diapers full on 11/22/63. Am I in the book?
Oh yeah, you are in the book. Just not that one. Do you still have the diapers?
Depends.
I can’t wait to read it, but it will have to wait on a trip to Barnes and Noble. I buy all Stephen Kings in hard cover. Have you read Mile 81? As much as I love disappearing into a doorstop-sized Stephen King, his short stories hold their own appeal. My absolute favorite is Bag of Bones. A&E has a Bag of Bones miniseries coming out next month,and I’m hoping against hope that they don’t ruin it. For every Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me there is a The Dead Zone (Christopher Walken? really?) and Carrie.
As for what I’m enjoying right now, my TV is controlled by a toddler, so we’ve been switching back and forth all morning between Little Einsteins and The Dukes of Hazard (thank you, dear husband, for introducing that). I’m reading Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, the #3 in the Outlander Series. It’s a time travel story, and I’m in love with guys in kilts.
I’d like to read Stephen King’s take on Little Einsteins
m,
The Outlander series is awesome. If you’re only on the third book, you have a lot of good reading ahead.
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I am loving the series. I think there are two more books?
There are seven Outlander books right now, and the last one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger – a lot of loose ends to be tied up. That’s why I’m expecting (hoping for?) an eighth.
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They’ve been running a non-stop loop of “The Kennedys” on REELZ. I caught some of that. Pretty interesting, I guess.
I have lots of advice on rearing children if anyone is in the market.
King has a reputation for not doing his research. Makes me want to scream, too. Shit like that throws me right out of a book. I’ve always thought he did his best work when he restricted himself to a short story format, truthfully. Describing the mailmans inner life at length in Cujo, for an example, did nothing whatsover to move the story along.
Best thing I’ve read recently is The Autobiography of Mark Twain. OO, the vitriol! It’s fantastic!
According to some things I’ve read, he doesn’t even remember writing Cujo he was so high. It’s not one of his best books, but still creepy as hell. His work has improved since he got sober.
Once he got sober and started with the ‘Rose Madder’ kinda hosetripe it all started to read like he wrote it with Amy Tan sitting on his face. He’ll always have Graveyard Shift and ‘Salems Lot to his credit, though, and thats nothing to sneeze at. Particularly if you have Amy Tan sitting on your face.
Amy Tan sitting on his face? How ever would he reach the keyboard?? I didn’t enjoy Rose Madder or Dolores Claiborne, but Bag of Bones and Under the Dome were both great, and his last couple of books of short stories were great, too.
Where the hell did you get the photo of when I tried out for the track team?
Lately my reading has been interrupted by the bouncing around in the upper-berth of the truck I’ve been in. After four weeks of non-stop running (I’m home for a bit) and the first-seat driver’s lame jokes…I am a Stephen King book. I imagine just killing the fucker outright. Or driving over a cliff in the Rockies and jumping at the right time. Or perhaps stuffing his smelly socks in his mouth and lighting them on fire blaming the whole thing on his need for kinky sex with truck stop hookers.
Pass the Hail Marys
Hooray for lot lizards!
.
dto, I didn’t know you were a trucker! Man, after being stuck in Alaska without many roads for so long, that seems like an awesome life, although after a while I am sure it might get old. When I come down to the Lower 48 on vacation, I always drive a lot, as I have relatives stretched from Seattle to Maryland, and points in between. I once did Parkersburg to Seattle in slightly under 48 hour non-stops. I got stopped for 104 MH in Montana, when the limit was still “Safe and Prudent Speed.”
After 30 days, I returned the rental car, after filling it with gas and recording the mileage. When I got to the return counter, the guy punches in the numbers, looks at me and asks, “Uhhh, are you sure this mileage is correct? This shows you put over 10,000 miles on the car!” I looked at him and with a straight face answered, “Yep, that sounds about right.” I LOVE driving!
clintcurtis…Yeah, I’m headed back out by the weekend. I’ll do this for about two more months driving team. Average about 7000 miles a week with the guy I’m with, so I’ll have miles and time while getting decent pay when I look for something different. I’m more of a solo driver kinda guy but they say the money’s slim. We’ll see. Seems like they’d rethink the “Unlimited Mielage” thing with you the next time you do that.
See ya on the funway! 🙂
I just picked up 11/22/63 yesterday, and I’m looking forward to it. Currently in the middle of rereading some ancient Larry Niven (‘Protector’, 1973), so I have to finish that first. And yes, King really does suck you in; over the years I’ve lost a lot of sleep to that bastard.
I liked King’s Gunslinger series a lot, as well as ‘The Stand’. ‘Dome’ and ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ were good too, although not as. I also enjoyed the hell out of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series; I’m hoping for a new book sometime next year. And, I recently reread Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle series; good stuff!
Top Gear comes on in a couple of hours. And I’m very pleased with the new Beavis and Butt-Head.
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It’s funny you mentioned Larry Niven – I was just thinking about Niven’s Law (“Never waste the readers time”) in regard to Stephen King. I recently read one by King that broke that law so badly that I vowed to just stop reading him.
At his best, though, he is one hell of a good writer, so I’ll break that vow sooner or later.
I bought my Kindle because of “The Dome.” That book was so heavy it was hard to hold it up, and forget about taking it along anywhere. I’m currently reading 11/23/63.
I like Beavis and Butthead a little bit. When they do that laugh for too long, it gets on my nerves. I usually get a couple of big laughs out of the show. They’re so stupid – it’s great.
I took Under The Dome with me everywhere for over a week! You should see my arm muscles now! Great book, and I got fit picking the thing up to read it, too! Thanks, Unca Steve!
I too am enjoying the return of Beavis and Butthead. My favorite parts are when they are watching those shitty MTV reality shows like 16 and Pregnant etc.
The Goode Family are real people. I have been working for them for the past five years.
Books I couldn’t put down:
Savages Don Winslow
The Informationist Taylor Stevens
Wake Up Dead Roger Smith
Oh…and I just got 11-22-63. Yeh it’s big.
Good God the further evidence link about killed me. That’s getting broadcasted to everyone I know.
Two words on Stephen King: “The Shining.” Wow, I was in my 20s when I read it and it was seriously the scariest book I have ever read. What a classic!
What have I been enjoying lately? 2 degrees above zero temperatures, a huge snowbank in front of my house, sledding with my daughters, taking diuretics and being able to pee regularly, and thewvsr.com and all the great people commenting here.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which they finally made a movie of, out in December. (Book & TV series were *great*.)
TV – Homeland, Person Of Interest, Fareed Zacharia’s GPS.
Books – Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series (do not miss), King’s “Hearts In Atlantis” and anything by W.E.B. Griffin. Also, George Carlin’s last books, bitter, but worth reading. Anything by the late Carl Sagan, especially “The Demon-Haunted World”.
late to the party, but I love SK. I thought the short story that was made into the move 1408 was pretty damn good.
Just a quick thank you about your Winnebago Man recommendation. Watched it last night. Really good.
Feel your pain re: writing. I am trying to bang out the last chapter and a half of my thesis so I can FINALLY get my piece of paper that proves I went to grad school.