PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG- My Life As A Ramone by Marky Ramone

Finished We 8/29/18

This is a hardback that I picked up at the library. I finished a documentary about The Ramones on Amazon Prime and noticed that Marc Bell had written a biography about his years in the group.

Tommy Ramone was the original drummer, but decided to give that up and become the band's full-time producer and 'musical director'. He might be the man most responsible for 'the Ramone's style'.
Bell was a well known and respected drummer before he joined the band. He had a recording career with a heavy metal trio called, 'DUST'. He was only 18 years old when he had his first recording contract. He was also the drummer in RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS and he drummed for WAYNE COUNTY'S band.

He was a Ramone from 1978 through the beginning of 1983. Then, he was asked to leave the band due to his alcoholism and was out of the band for four years until 1987. The band hung it up in 1996.

I can't believe that they used to tour in a fifteen seat Econoline van. If at all possible they wanted to sleep at home in their own beds whenever possible. All the Ramones, and their wives and girlfriends would be assigned a seat in the van and they would spent the very long days and nights, feuding, eating at Cracker Barrels, and listening to a Golden Oldie station on the radio.

John Cummings- Johnny Ramone; the authoritarian Right Wing driving force of the band. He took care of the finances and drove them with an unwavering fist. He is not a very pleasant character, and didn't really see himself as a musicain, but more of a 'musical personality' or 'guitar hero'.

Douglas Colvin- Dee Dee Ramone; the poet of the band and human garbage pail for any drug, potion, or liquor that was anytime available. When they visited the home of Stephen King, Dee Dee wrote a song called 'Pet Sematary' that became the title song for the movie. Dee Dee wrote it on the spot and it took less than an hour. Died of a heroin overdose after he had controlled his drug intake to 'pot only' for years. Marc says that, in a way, sobriety killed him because had he not lost his extensive tolerance for the drug, the amount of heroin that killed him would have done little or nothing. It might not have even gotten him off.  During the 80's he attempted to become a rapper, Dee Dee King.

Jeffrey Ross Hyman- Joey Ramone; The Resident Hippie- He was probably the soul of the outfit. He was crippled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Many, many times he had to be brought back to where they had last left so that he could 're-count'. Just getting him to leave his apartment was almost an impossible task.

Joey Ramone had a huge scar on his back. He claimed that it was from a shark attack, but actually he was one of a Siamese twin that was removed at birth.

Thomas Erdelyi- Tommy Ramone; A Hungarian/American and the original drummer. He went on to produce the first few albums and was always an integrel part of the band even when he was not an official member.

Monte was the driver and basically acted as a babysitter for the band.

I love all Rock'n'Roll Memoirs and this was a cut above. Also the last third of the book deals with his addiction to alcohol and his insights are very perceptive.

THE WHITE LIONESS by Henning Mankell

Finished We 8/29/18

This is a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale. The author is Swedish and the book is the third in the Kurt Wallender Mystery Series (1998).

From wikipedia-

"The story itself takes place in 1992. The plot follows two parallel patterns, one during late apartheid South Africa where incumbent president F.W. de Klerk, leader of the Afrikaner minority which is on the brink of losing power to the African majority under the leadership of the ANC, about to end 44 years of suppression by the Broederbond rule. Simultaneously, Detective Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander is investigating a case of a missing female Methodist real-estate agent outside Ystad. Upon the eventual recovery of her body, as well as the discovery of a severed black finger at the crime scene, Detective Chief Inspector Wallander realizes the case has deep roots in the history and current development in South Africa, where it appears that an extremist cell of the Broederbond is about to orchestrate the murder of F W de Klerk by an infamous black assassin, wishing to plunge the country into a long and devastating civil war.''

Notes:
Konvovalenko is from the old Russian Secret Service and one of the most vicious killers I've ever encountered. He is working for a secret agency in the South African government. He's living in Sweden and training a hit-man to take out a prominent leader, and the only goal is to create chaos. Either the white leader of the party in power, or Mandela himself- it doesn't make a difference since the aim is to create the maximum of civil unrest.

I thought that it was interesting how the body of the real estate agent is found. A professional thief is contracted to steal three metal water pumps. These were pumps that were common in rural Sweden and they are wanted by Swedes living abroad. The pumps remind them of home.

The character of Wallander is very interesting. He's not the normal, 'in charge' type of lead, but he is riddled with quirks and neurotic tendencies. He loves his college aged daughter, but rarely thinks about his ex-wife.

I really liked the novel and would have finished it much sooner,  but I got involved in Mrarky Ramone's biography of his time in The Ramones, 'PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG- My Life As A Ramone'.
The BBC made a film of  THE WHITE LIONESS in 2016 with Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I'd like very much to see this when it's available.

THE NINTH HOUR by Alice McDermott

Finished Sa 8/18/18-  The August 2018 selection for The Contemporary Book Club

Meticulously well written- McDermott beautifully creates a horrific exposition of "The Poor".

Set in Brooklyn, NY, probably in the 1920's (mention of a prohibition bottle of whiskey in Mr. Costello's room), and continues to near the present day.

Jim and Annie are Irish and married. He is a motorman but kind of lazy, and Annie is on his back. He commits suicide by pulling out the gas link to the oven. Annie is pregnant. Sister St. Saviour arrives on the scene and tries to allow Jim to be married in consecrated ground. The paper relates that it's a suicide, so they can't use the burial policy that the couple have purchased.

Annie's child is named after Sister St. Saviour and called, Sally.

Annie is given work where the nuns live. She helps Sister Illuminata in the laundry room. Sister Illuminata is an authority of laundry. She learned it from her mother. She is one of the few nuns that speak of her past.

IMPORTANT SECTION-

Sally leaves on a train to become a nun in Chicago. It is a Ride Through Hell. She sits next to an over-weight vulgar woman who talks incessantly about sex to Sally. And in the dining car Sally meets a woman who bilks her out of most of Sally's money. She has a couple of dollars in her shoes and fifty dollars pinned to the lining of her bag.
Before the end of the train ride Sally strikes the old woman.

Sally will not be a nun and immediately returns to NY-
Sally realizes that she will not meet the world with a 'helping hand'. Sally will meet the world with a 'clenched fist'.

Next Section-

When she returns she sees that Annie is having an affair with the milkman, Mr. Costello.

Title of the book-

Nuns are asked to pray at certain times of the day. The 9th Hour is between 2pm and 3pm.
1) The time Jesus died on the cross
2) The time that Annie and Mr. Costello have their affair

Sally becomes a companion for the ugly, insane, and rude, Mrs. Costello. She has lost part of her leg due to diabetes.

Sally is the one that suggested that she watch Mrs. Costello. This is a way to atone for Annie's sexual behavior.

Sally decides to poison Mrs. Costello's tea with alum. This way she will lose her soul to save her mother's life. With the spiritually ugly Mrs. Costello out of the picture, this will allow Annie and Mr. Costello to have a life together.

I think (the ending is unclear) that Sister Leanne is aware of the poisoning, but covers for Sally. Sister Leanne takes this sin upon herself. Sister Leanne will never enter heaven. She uses a metaphor about an unfitting wool coat. Heaven is when the hot, prickly coat is removed. The sister will never be able to remove the stain of the 'attempted murder sin' that Sister Leanne has 'absorbed' from Sally.

Not Covered-

Red Whelan took Patrick's great grandfather's place in the civil war ($300 to serve for another man). Red also lost part of a leg. Two one legged people in the story.

Sally and Patrick Tierney marry, and one of their daughters tells the story.

A BED BY THE WINDOW- A Novel of Mystery and Redemption by M. Scott Peck, M.D.

Finished Sa 8/11/18

This is one of my old hardback novels that caught my eye. I picked it up for two bucks at the West Branch, and finished it Mo 9/1/97.

The novel was set in a nursing home, Willow Glen, in the rural mid-west in 1988.

A quadriplegic, Steven Solaris is stabbed through the heart with a pair of scissors. He was placed in a mental institution after birth because he was thought to be below an idiot. However, he has an IQ higher than 135. He is universally loved- except by the people that neurotically jealous of him.

Rachel is the murderer. This woman is wheelchair bound- lost both legs to diabetes. Very strong, and filled with hate. She's been in a hateful relationship with her husband. Love can bind us together, but sometimes Hate can bind just as strong, or stronger.

Lieutenant Petri is a young detective from the New York/ New Jersey area. He wants out of the crowded urban space and looks forward to life in a rural area. This is his first murder investigation. During the course of the investigation, he 'remembers' that his mother had sexually abused him as a pre-teen. This is why he was so against Heather. In his mind, her sexual relationship with Steven was a kind of abuse.

Mrs. Simonton- the owner and superintendent of Willow Glen. She's old and savvy, and clashes with Petri, at first.

Dr. Kolnietz- he is the psychiatrist that discovered Stephen. As a student in high school he worked at the institution, Kolnietz learned that Steven was placed in the asylum in error. Stephen was actually a genius and he only needed a way to communicate.

Roberta McAdams- She does the books for the nursing home. Aloof and cold; she is a dominatrix on her 'off time'. She's probably the weakest character, and she really doesn't change.

Heather- the lovable nurse who is first thought to be the killer.  She had been having a sexual relationship with Steven. The murder happened quite near the nursing station. Betty, another nurse, was present but deeply involved in a romance novel. Heather had gone for a walk around the building. Kind of odd, since she had never 'walked' around the building before. Odd plot point?

Georgia Bates- the novel opens when her son and daughter-in-law place her back in Willow Glen. Nothing is wrong with Georgia, except that when she lived with her family she was always incontinent. When she was back in the home, this habit disappeared. But, she constantly complained that she was 'forced to be in this concentration camp'.

Mrs. Grochowski- another quadriplegic, and loved by everyone. This woman started out an unhappy 'people-pleaser'.  As her multiple sclerosis progressed, she learned acceptance and became almost saintlike and loved by everyone.

Peggy- a nurse who learns to care

Tim O'Hara- a platonic lover of Mrs. Grochowski- almost a storybook romance. He dies of a stroke, but both knew that the next one would be it.

Hank Martin- 'Horny Hank', roams the nursing home trying to grab any female within reach. In the end, he wants to 'court' Mrs. Grochowski after Tim dies.

Peck's philosophy is quite intriguing and the novel expertly blends Christianity and a kind of secular humanism.

The author's page on wikipedia-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck

THE CLOSERS by Michael Connelly

Finished Mo 8/6/18

I mistakenly ordered this from Amazon Books after reading the previous book in the Harry Bosch Series. Almost the day that I received the book, I noticed it on my shelf in the study. No harm, no foul because I loved the book.

NOTES:

Harry had been retired for almost three years and his female Afro-American partner, Kiz Rider pulled some strings to get him back on the force. He and Kiz are on the 'cold case' squad- renamed, 'Open Unsolved'.

Their first case is a seventeen year old murder that seems to be a slam dunk because DNA evidence has been found.

A 16 year old girl, Becky Verloren was taken from her home near Oat Mountain in Los Angeles. At first it was thought to be a suicide, but taser marks were found on the girl's neck. DNA was found on the automatic weapon. It's thought that the killer was a Mel Gibson fan and was firing his gun in the 'Hollywood' manner. The automatic handgun 'bites' the shooter in the web of skin between the thumb and the forefinger.

Becky's mother has kept her room exactly as it was the night she disappeared. Her father left his lucrative restaurant and became a drunk on skid row. Bosh locates him as a chef in a half-way house and he's been three years sober. In the end he starts using again, ends up in jail so that he can murder Stoddard. He did it with a sharpened spoon.

Roland Mackey is a match for the DNA and had been, and is still involved with White Supremacist gangs, and has been in and out of prison. He drives a tow truck.

ANSWER:

The killer is Principal Stoddard. This man was in love with Becky Verloren. When she became pregnant, she wanted an abortion and he wanted a life with her. When he's caught he says that the gun was to use to kill himself, but Bosch reminds him of the taser.

Although Bosch believes that a true detective must 'get off your ass, and knock on doors'. But he also firmly believes in studying 'the murder book'. Bosch is meticulous, and his one minor fault might be that he doesn't keep his partner in the loop.

THE COMMITMENTS by Roddy Doyle

Finished Fr 8/3/18

I bought this trilogy from Amazon Books after reading SMILE for the Contemporary Book Club. I was the only one in the group who liked the book, and I felt that I needed to read more by this author. THE COMMITMENTS, THE SNAPPER, and THE VAN are all sections of this book which is known as 'THE BARRYTOWN TRILOGY'. 'Barrytown' is an area in Dublin, Ireland north of the River Liffey.

This is Doyle's first novel, and it's only 141 pages. It's a simple story of a group of young people who fall under the spell of American Soul Music, struggle to master their instruments, and learn to perform.

Large parts of the book is dialog and lyrics (capital letters) of the songs.

It's worth a look, but the movie that the book is based is far superior. And the soundtrack (which I have) is essential to both the book and the film.

Link to the book's page at wikipedia-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Commitments_(novel)

PS- the power went off just as I was finishing this entry, but luckily nothing was lost. The power on Westview goes off more than any other place that I've ever lived- it's like Eastern Europe during the 50's!

STAY CLOSE by Harlan Coben

Finished We 8/1/18

This is a hardback that I got at the library book sale last June.

All of Coben's books are worth a look, some more than others, and this one is kind of in the middle.

Interesting premise-

A young woman, Megan/ Cassie, had been 'in the life'- she was a stripper in a seedy Gentlemen's Club in Atlantic City during the 80's. Now, she is a 'soccer mom', married to a lawyer, has two kids, and lives in a 'McMansion' in suburban Connecticut. Yet she occasionally feels 'the pull' of that life. Sometimes things in the suburbs become a bit too 'vanilla' for her.

She also was involved with the love of her life, Ray Levine. This man never forgot her and lost control of his life due to their breakup. He currently works as a photographer that is hired to make it appear that the client is a celebrity. The client is a 'nobody', yet Ray acts (for a hefty fee to his boss, Fester) as if he is a paparazzi photographer getting candid shots of someone very famous.

On a business trip, Cassie's now a realtor, she attends a convention in Atlantic City and goes back to to the club, La Creme. Lorraine, her old bartender/ connection, told her that the man that had been abusing her had come into the bar.

Detective Broome, of the Atlantic City PO, realizes that there has been a serial killer operating in the Atlantic City area for almost two decades. Each year, in March, a man disappears, and he later ascertains that these men all had a history of domestic violence against women. Finally, he narrows it down that these killings have all occurred on Mardi Gras.

Later, Ray is suspected of being the murderer, but the reason he is at the Pine Barrens each year is to celebrate/ morn the loss of his love, Cassie. This is on March 18th, not the day of Mardi Gras.

The novel kicks off when Ray is mugged and his camera is stolen. Lorraine did this because he had inadvertently taken a picture of the latest murdered man.

'The Killing Field' is a real place in Atlantic City called Pine Barrens. This is a wooded area where there were where the iron-works were located during the 18th century.

Eighteen bodies of men that Lorraine murdered are thrown into a well.

Another real place is 'Lucy, The Elephant'. A 65 ft. tall elephant made out of wood, tin, and plaster. A window in the back of the sculpture called, 'pane in the ass'. This was the secret meeting place between the lovers, Cassie and Ray.

Lorraine is the killer, and I kind of suspected this far too early. Usually Coben's endings are completely out of the blue, and I think this one had an ending that's a bit too obvious.

The blurb about the book at Amazon Books-

"Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at the age of forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo, pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Broome is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case—a local husband and father who disappeared seventeen years ago—and spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man’s family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up at any moment to step into them.

Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past never truly fades away. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American dream—the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest façades—they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat."

STRAIGHT LIFE- THE STORY OF ART PEPPER by Art and Laurie Pepper

Finished Tu 7/31/18

This is a trade paperback that I got from the library. I heard Marc Maron mention this book during one of his interviews. He claimed (possibly as a joke) that the book was marginally about music, but overwhelmingly about heroin. It really isn't.

It's really a very detailed account of his life, and due to his third wife, Laurie. She met Art when he was involved with Synanon during the late 70's where they were both trying to kick their addictions.

She said that when she met him she was fascinated by his stories about his life. She insisted that he begin compiling them and she began taping and transcribing the material. She also wanted to turn these transcripts into a movie, and she did make a YouTube video. Here's the link-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEIDgZ4VFA

From the book's page at Amazon Books-

"Art Pepper (1925–1982) was called the greatest alto saxophonist of the post-Charlie Parker generation. But his autobiography, Straight Life, is much more than a jazz book—it is one of the most explosive, yet one of the most lyrical, of all autobiographies."

Notes:

Joined the army near the end of WWII.

First big band was with Stan Kenton.

Married early and had a child with Patti; (daughter) Patricia. He became estranged from them for most of his life.

Diane, Christine, Laurie were the main women in his life.

In the fifties he got hooked on heroin. This was a man that spent most of his life in jail for drug offenses. He always maintained that the reason he spent so much time behind bars was that he never snitched.
He was also an alcoholic, or he would do anything to get high. He used methadone in conjunction with numerous other drugs including alcohol.
He had many tattoos.

Drugs didn't destroy this man's life, it was America's War On Drugs that ruined him. Addictions are not 'crimes', but they are clearly health and psychological problems that are NEVER helped by fines or prison.

He was actively involved in the beginning of Synanon.

wikipedia link to the organization-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanon

He seemed to be very attracted to the concept of group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game."
Synanon evolved into 'The Church of Synanon', most likely for tax reasons, and eventually demanded a life-long commitment. Members would agree to live their entire lives within the program. This is where Art Pepper drew the line. 

Charles Dederich is credited with the phrase, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life".

He was in poor health for most of his life, and also, a bit of a hypochondriac.

He wanted to die while high. He snorted cocaine as he entered the hospital for the last time.

Died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He seemed to know that he was about to die.