Edwin Edwards -- Governor of Louisiana

People from all over the country brag that their home state has the worst, or most corrupt politics in the country. My wife is from New Jersey and she has always argued in favor of The Garden State having some dubious political history -- until she moved to Louisiana. In spite of her home state loyalty, she seems to agree that things are very bad in the deep south.

For over fifty years, Edwin Edwards was involved in some way in the state's political scene.

Click here and read my review of an interesting new book about the former governor who is at the time of this writing, incarcerated in federal prison.

Even if you aren't from Louisiana or don't care about Louisiana, there's something for everyone with any interest in politics.

Robert E. Lee

PBS will air a documentary on Robert E. Lee on Monday, Jan.3, 2011 at 9:00 PM.

Notice the physical changes in his appearance as he aged, and also as the was affected by the stress of war. The two images furtherest to the right could be as close together as 6 months but are most likely a few years apart (maybe as much as 10-15 years). I had the opportunity to review a preview copy recently. Here's my review:

http://technorati.com/entertainment/tv/article/dvd-review-american-experience-mdash-robert/

Art of Photography

Great new book on the technical side of photography.

Instructor Bruce Barnbaum includes important NON-technical info as well.

Shown here is one of my favorite images of his, "Moonrise Over Cliffs and Dunes".

Often criticized as being "false", it is actually a combination of two images. What it depicts, does not exist in nature.

Do you think this is ethical?

Does it compromise his integrity?

Check out my entire review here:

http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/book-review-the-art-of-photography/

War Is A Racket

Ever heard of Smedley Darlington Butler?

How about "Devil Dogs"?

Butler was, at least during his lifetime, the most decorated solder in U.S. military history. To this day, not very many have won TWO Medals of Honor. Then, after a thirty-three year career of exemplar service to this country, Butler experienced an enlightenment. He began a campaign against war.

War Is A Racket is his book explaining his position, how he arrived at that position, and his recommendation for dealing with war. Here is my review of that book.

Mel Torme - Remembered at Christmas

Another Christmas season and another time to hear our favorite Christmas music. Here's some info on the composer of a seasonal favorite, "The Christmas Song". Many of us know it by the lyrics in the first verse, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."

Nat King Cole had a big hit with it and it's one of the most covered Christmas songs ever.

Join me in celebrating and remembering Mel Torme. Follow this link to my tribute to him on Technorati.com.

John Lennon - Power to the People

Here's my review of a new compilation of Lennon hits.

http://technorati.com/entertainment/music/article/music-review-john-lennon-mdash-power/

I also had a review of a new book about John and the link to it is here:

http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/book-review-john-lennon-mdash-life/

Please take a moment to check out these articles and consider re-tweeting, sharing on Facebook, and/or Digging them. I would really appreciate it.

Robert Altman - The Oral Biography

Mitchell Zuckoff has written a new book about film legend, Robert Altman. Here's the link to my review: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-robert-altman-the-oral/

Altman directed 37 movies, countless television programs, and several plays. Here's the trailer to one of my favorite movies he directed:

Remembering Leroy Anderson

Who? You know.

I bet you know the words to some of his songs already -- may have danced to some of them, too. Do you tango?

Do you type?

Ever listened to a clock?

Danced with your cat?

You know Leroy, he's great! Oh, and he pronounces it: "la - ROY", the classical way. He went to Hah-vahd you know.

He's shown here in this photo with Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops for whom he wrote a number of pieces. A large portion of his body of work was referred to as "light orchestral" compositions. He would appear as a guest conductor for the BP and of course conduct his own pieces.

Read my article at this link for the rest of the story:

http://technorati.com/entertainment/music/article/remembering-leroy-anderson/

Playboy Hard Drive

Here's my news article on Playboy Magazine's most recent effort to recoup lost readership, revenue, and advertising.

Business analysts say the future for the magazine is online -- but this is off-line. It's an external hard drive.

Read the story here: http://technorati.com/technology/article/playboy-hard-driveevery-issue-cover-to/