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Kill the Messenger revisits "Dark Alliance," the series that drove Gary Webb from investigative journalism and perhaps life itself. It also serves as a primer for and reading of Dark Alliance, including the book version Webb later wrote.
I really like how Kill the Messenger reads -- like an investigative report. The language is concise. The narrative voice isn't long and breathless. And there are dozens of sources interviewed or referenced for different points of view. The objective style isn't devoid of emotional effect though. It's hard to read how Webb's livelihood dwindled after he resigned from The Mercury News, or his failed attempt to advance Dark Alliance through his chosen profession. Nick Schou -- the author and himself an investigative journalist -- advanced the work laid by Webb, his contemporary. Without apparent favor or fervor, Schou's living sources include dozens of Webb's former colleagues; high-profile detractors; and public-facing supporters. For that, I think Kill the Messenger is indeed his story to tell.
A book review of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nick Schou)
Recommender/Reference: finalcall.com 
Original "Kill the Messenger" book cover (Courtesy of Goodreads)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on Nick Schou's Kill the Messenger, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record" (2020)
Related: "No Place to be Somebody" (Gordone) (2019) Related: The language of "fake" news (2019) Related: "The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black" (2020) Related: Public Intellectuals in Politics, II (2022) Related: "Sour Candy" (Burke) (2023) Related: Authors (Active) 
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Discutí con algunos de los personajes, incluso con la resolución (que era realmente buena). La Chica Salvaje tiene muchas dimensiones, y recomiendo leerlo con uno amigo o en un club de lectural. Fue lento al principio y, por supuesto, no estaba familiarizado con la voz matrimonial en ese momento. Por lo tanto, desconfiaba de retener los detalles sensoriales solo un escenario fugaz de información de fondo en lugar del escenario real. Sin embargo, la autora Delia Owens fue constante el pantano y sus hermosas criaturas y analogías con el comportamiento humano, el ciclo de vida y la voluntad de vivir. Y Kya, analfabeta y una nina sin un centavo criandose a si misma, es su humilde guía sin pretensiones.
Una revisión libre para La Chica Salvaje (Delia Owens). Translated by Simao Henriques, Ph.D.
Recommender/Reference: Alex 
"La Chica Salvaje" (Cortesía de Penguin Random House)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on La Chica Salvaje by Delia Owens, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "Where the Crawdads Sing" (Owens) (2020)
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I argued with a few of the characters, even at the resolution (which was damn good, by the way). Where the Crawdads Sings has a lot of dimensions, and I recommend reading it with a friend or a book club.
It was slow-going in the beginning, and I was of course unfamiliar with the narrative voice at that point. I was therefore wary of retaining the sensory details if only fleeting scenery or background information. However, author Delia Owens is consistent in the marsh and its lovely creatures as analogies for human behavior, the life cycle, and the will to live. And Kya, an illiterate and penniless child raising herself, is its unassuming guide.
A book review for Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens) (Cassandra Campbell, narrator)
Recommender/Reference: Alex 
"Where the Crawdads Sing" (Courtesy of Penguin Audio)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on audio books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one for Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "La Chica Salvaje" (Owens) (2020)
Related: "Siddhartha" (Hesse) (2019) Related: "A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century" (2023) Related: Toni Morrison's birds eye view (2020) Related: NZ prime minister "very honored" after 4th bug named after her (2021) Related: Spotted Lanternfly at Harrisburg riverfront (2021) Related: "Flight of the Butterflies" documentary (2022) Related: Monster helps kids build emotional intelligence (2023) Related: Top 5 quotes from my dad growing up (2024) Related: Authors (Active)
"Found My Niche" by AZ popped up in my stream a week ago. Spotify hasn't tallied it yet, but I've played it at least 20 times since then. The beat -- or the vibe of the beat -- reminds me of "Dreams" by Big Noyd, but the content is different.
At any rate, "Found My Niche" is new from AZ in 2020. He might ride the beat with a syncopated flow: Venereal spread In sexin' ... a lot of sexin' Impérial Moët reppin' A lot of weapons Then exhale in one long breath: Feelin' like a killer inside / My soul died / 'Til the god Wise / Opened my eyes (Word up) The storytelling. The flow. The lyricism. ... especially the flow and the lyricism. I'm feeling this one!
A music review for "Found My Niche" (AZ)
"Found My Niche" by AZ (Courtesy of SoundCloud)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on AZ's "Found My Niche," at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Universal Hip Hop Museum (2020)
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The Resurrectionist is still genius. E.B. Hudspeth: you hit a homerun with this one; it is your magnum opus.
I almost forgot about The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black until a few weeks ago, when I noticed I had liked it on Facebook. Right away I bought my own copy, then re-read it as soon as it came. "You balance a stick on the backs of your hands just along the knuckles while you play.... however, the stick will never fall to the floor, bravo! When I perform, the stick falls, then a symphony flows from me." Dammit! I had to get up and breathe on that one. Dr. Spencer Black loved himself, and Hudspeth gives him a prose that's both literary and lyrical. I highly recommend the hardcover. "The Codex Extinct Animalia" within is a collector's item.
A book review of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black (E.B. Hudspeth)
"The Resurrectionist" (Courtesy of Quirk Books)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "Frankenstein in Baghdad" (Saadawi) (2023)
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How did I overlook Edward Snowden's revelations in light of Chelsea Manning's?
Permanent Record is perhaps the most historic account on domestic U.S. surveillance in the Digital Age. Even then, Snowden shares principles that span his life so far as an all-American military kid to an American-in-exile. One of those principles, from his childhood, is the method by which he details several of the NSA's signals intelligence programs. Disturbing they are (or were?), but I recommend you not search the Web for them until you read Permanent Record in full. As a front-end user, you might benefit from the stream of consciousness of a former back-end admin with top security clearances. Especially if you're not a technologist.
A book review of Permanent Record (Edward Snowden)
Recommender/Reference: Howie Hawkins Campaign 2020 
"Permanent Record" by Edward Snowden (Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including the one on Edward Snowden's Permanent Record, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "Cybersecurity and Cyberwar" (2020)
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The Free & Equal Elections Foundation hosted the Final Open Presidential Debate 2020 in Cheyenne Wyo. on Oct. 24. Ten presidential candidates were invited, including Donald Trump (Republican), Joe Biden (Democrat), Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian), and Kanye West (Independent).
The other five candidates confirmed. They include Brian Carroll (American Solidarity); Howie Hawkins (Green); Gloria La Riva (Socialism & Liberation); and Brock Pierce (Independence). Don Blankenship (Constitution) confirmed but wasn't present at the time of the debate. I ranked each candidate based on his or her ability to 1) Stay on topic 2) Support arguments with evidence 3) Answer the question at hand and 4) Provide a solution distinguishable from co-debators. Presidential Debate Reform (Chad Peace - Independent Voter Project)
Veteran Suicide (Adam Kokesh - The Freedom! Line)
National Defense Authorization Act (Brian Anderson - Nexus)
Blockchain & Decentralized Tech (Brian Anderson - Nexus)
U.S. Sovereignty, Federal Reserve (G. Edgar Griffin - author)
Primaries & Election Reform (Kaia Los Huertos - National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers)
Ranked-Choice Voting (Renaldo Pearson - Represent Us)
Lobbying (Richard Winger - Ballot Access News)
AI & Automation (Free & Equal)
U.S. Debt Ceiling & Consumer Debt (Free & Equal)
Altogether, the participants have respective backgrounds as an evangelical Christian (Carroll); a retired Teamster (Hawkins); a foreign correspondent (La Riva); and a blockchain technologist (Pierce).
Candidate rankings for the 2020 Final Open Presidential Debate
Free & Open Elections Foundation logo 2013 (Credit: Free & Open Elections Foundation)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including 2020 rankings for the third-party Final Open Presidential Debate, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Open Presidential Debate, II (2020)
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Howie Hawkins accompanied his 2020 presidential campaign with a publication that's not a memoir but, in essence, a white paper. If that doesn't differentiate him from some of his Democratic counterparts, then his political strategy for working-class progressives does.
I like that The Case for an Independent Left Party approaches political parties as an operational structure rather than a political platform. In that regard, neither the Green Party that Hawkins co-founded nor the Democratic Party he critiques serves as the book's focus. I was hungry for more than a few sentences on coalition governance, one of my topics of interest. Nonetheless, The Case for an Independent Left Party offers a class perspective of political organizations for which I had a weak lens.
A book review of The Case for an Independent Left Party (Howie Hawkins)
Recommender/Reference: howiehawkins.us 
"The Case for an Independent Left Party" (howiehawkins.us)
Green Party's 10 Key Values: 1) Grassroots Democracy 2) Ecological Wisdom 3) Global Responsibility & Personal Responsibility 4) Community-Based Economics & Economic Justice 5) Non-Violence 6) Feminism & Gender Equity 7) Respect for Diversity 8) Future Focus & Sustainability 9) Social Justice & Equal Opportunity 10) Decentralization
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including the one on The Case for an Independent Left Party by Howie Hawkins, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Open Presidential Debate, II (2020)
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Here's Part 2 of the Open Presidential Debate 2020. The Free & Equal Elections Foundation hosted it in Denver on Oct. 8. Five of the 10 invited candidates participated. They include Don Blankenship (Constitution); Brian Carroll (American Solidarity); Howie Hawkins (Green); Gloria La Riva (Socialism & Liberation); and Brock Pierce (Independence).
I ranked each candidate based on his or her ability to 1) Stay on topic 2) Support arguments with evidence 3) Answer the question at hand and 4) Provide a solution distinguishable from co-debators. Police Reform (Free & Equal)
Education Reform (Free & Equal)
Yemen & Foreign Policy (Free & Equal)
War on Drugs (Free & Equal)
Vaccination (Free & Equal)
Firearms (Free & Equal)
Mass Incarceration & Pardons (Lyn Ulbricht - Ross Ulbricht Defense)
Altogether, the participants have respective backgrounds as a former coal miner (Blankenship); an evangelical Christian (Carroll); a retired Teamster (Hawkins); a foreign correspondent (La Riva); and a blockchain technologist (Pierce).
Candidate rankings for the 2020 Open Presidential Debate (Pt. 2/2)
Free & Open Elections Foundation logo 2013 (Credit: Free & Open Elections Foundation)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including 2020 rankings for the third-party Open Presidential Debate, II, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Open Presidential Debate (2020)
Related: Final Open Presidential Debate (2020) Related: Open Presidential Debate @ FreedomFest (2024) Related: Reaching out to third-party candidates for Harrisburg candidate Forum (2022) Related: Why I question Iran's nuclear program after its claim to develop medicines (2021) Related: "Kill the Messenger" about Gary Webb (2020) Related: Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record" (2020) Related: Opioid Epidemic vs. Crack Era (2019) Related: How some prison populations serve communities, industry prior to release (2022) Related: Why "Make America Great Again" + "Yes, We Can" were successful (2022) Related: How barrier on Stein as viable presidential candidate is man-made (2024)
The Free & Equal Elections Foundation hosted the Open Presidential Debate 2020 in Denver on Oct. 8. Ten presidential candidates were invited, including Donald Trump (Republican), Joe Biden (Democrat), Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian), and Kanye West (Independent).
The other five candidates confirmed. They include Don Blankenship (Constitution); Brian Carroll (American Solidarity); Howie Hawkins (Green); Gloria La Riva (Socialism & Liberation); and Brock Pierce (Independence). I ranked each candidate based on his or her ability to 1) Stay on topic 2) Support arguments with evidence 3) Answer the question at hand and 4) Provide a solution distinguishable from co-debators. Afghanistan & Foreign Policy (Cindy Sheehan - antiwar activist)
Election Reform (Aaron Hamlin - Center for Election Science)
Presidential Debates (Eli Beckerman - Open the Debates)
Privacy & Surveillance (Shawn Stone - producer & media personality)
U.S. Space Force (Jim Cantrell - SpaceX cofounder)
First Nations (Doug Good Feather - Tribal activist)
Altogether, the participants have respective backgrounds as a former coal miner (Blankenship); an evangelical Christian (Carroll); a retired Teamster (Hawkins); a foreign correspondent (La Riva); and a blockchain technologist (Pierce).
Candidate rankings in the 2020 Open Presidential Debate (Pt. 1/2)
Free & Open Elections Foundation logo 2013 (Credit: Free & Open Elections Foundation)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including rankings for the third-party 2020 Open Presidential Debate, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Open Presidential Debate, II (2020)
Related: Final Open Presidential Debate (2020) Related: Open Presidential Debate @ FreedomFest (2024) Related: Is new U.S. Space Force another reason to ratify Outer Space Treaty? (2020) Related: Opposition candidate reacts to Trump, Biden debate (2020) Related: Why "Make America Great Again" + "Yes, We Can" were successful (2022) Related: Reaching out to third-party candidates for Harrisburg candidate forum (2022)
Frustrating and relatable they are, but the risk to consumers by phishing or municipalities by ransomware wasn't my reason for reading Cybersecurity and Cyberwar. Without a doubt, Singer and Friedman delved into such vulnerabilities before the data breaches on Experian and Target or threats on Atlanta and Baltimore. My interest was instead on the remote attacks on a nation's critical infrastructure, like the current tit-for-tat between Iran and Israel.
Cybersecurity and Cyberwar delivers on such defenses. Additionally, it might suggest that the stateside consumer has better defense from cybercrime than Washington and the Pentagon do cyberwar from abroad. As Singer and Friedman acknowledge, the breakdown of Internet architecture like computer networking can get technical. However, the two make lots of pop culture references and offline analogies for understandability.
A book review of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (P.W. Singer and Allan Friedman)
"Cybersecurity and Cyberwar" (Courtesy of Oxford University Press)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on Cybersecurity and Cyberwar by Singer and Friedman, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Why I question Iran's nuclear program after its claim to develop medicines (2021)
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The History of Black Business in America, Vol. 1 is both history book and business text. Walker expands the respective definitions of venture capital, occupation, and self-help to include what she calls slave entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. For example, "Free Dick" Harrington was a slave and remained one in the interest of his profitable manufactory.
From pre-colonial Africa to the U.S. Civil War, Walker classifies these entrepreneurs and the Black labor force moreover by skill set. The linkage between eras was one of my favorite aspects of the book. Yet The History of Black Business isn't all case study of entrepreneurial success. Walker argues that non-market forces curtailed or thwarted much Black economic upstart. In this respect, the history of the book contextualizes the precariousness of antebellum Black entrepreneurship; the business of it highlights the extraordinaires. Inevitably, history and business both present this notable irony.
A book review for The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship, Volume 1, to 1865 (Juliet E. K. Walker)
Recommender/Reference: Jim Clingman | Blackonomics.com 
"The History of Black Business in America, Vol. 1" (Courtesy of UNC Press)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on The History of Black Business in America, Vol. 1, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Candidates appeal to Black voters with pledges of economic justice (2020)
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Toxic Inequality is as much about the "baked-in" middle class as it is the makeshift middle class. Shapiro returns to the homes and communities of families with similar outlooks but divergent outcomes and resources. They comprise a labor market in which high productivity penalizes the hourly wage earner, among other segments, and employer-sponsored benefits incentivizes wealth accumulation for the salaried one.
Apart from Shapiro's insights and solutions, the book's bread and butter are the in-home interviews with respective Black and White families years later. ... the post-Recession follow up to The Hidden Cost of Being African-American.
A book review of Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future (Thomas M. Shapiro)
"Toxic Inequality" (Courtesy of Basic Books)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one for Toxic Inequality by Thomas M. Shapiro, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Candidates appeal to Black voters with pledges of economic justice (2020)
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Aren't compelled to read privacy policies and service agreements? Then read Weapons of Math Destruction instead. It's far more readable and just as relevant. O'Neil highlights the business practices that circumvent federal regulations and protections via data science. I think the new California Consumer Privacy Act, for instance, provides privacy safeguards, but O'Neil's solutions are implementable with or without legislation.
What I like most about WMD is that O'Neil gives the strong and weak methods for the mathematical/statistical models behind their algorithms.
A book review of Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (Cathy O'Neil)
"Weapons of Math Destruction" (Courtesy of Penguin Random House)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Making sense of the encryption algorithm in cybersecurity (2021)
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Varying styles of narrative and techniques of persuasion comprise We are the Weather. In addition to stories and stats, Foer's literary expressions range from an anti-suicide note to a re-imagined dialogue between Jan Karski and the Justice skeptical of the emergent Holocaust. I've never read a book quite like it. Needless to say, my shopping cart had even less eco-unfriendly foods during my recent trip to the supermarket.
A book review of We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast (Jonathan Safran Foer)
Recommender/Reference: Bookwaves/Artwaves 
"We are the Weather" by Jonathan Safran Foer (Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on We are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Ecosia over Google (2020)
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Race for Profit deconstructs the policies and industry practices under which Black homebuyers became a new market of mortgagees. Ultimately, Taylor seems to sober the cautioning of her conclusion. Sobering it may be, but I think Race for Profit narrows the information asymmetry between the Black prospective homebuyer, the lender, and the appraiser.
A book review for Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor)
Recommender/Reference: Boston Review 
"Race for Profit" by Keeanga-Yamahtta-Taylor (Image reproduced with permission from UNC Press)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's Race for Profit, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Could more low-income, Black homeownership slow gentrification (2019)
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Makary's fieldwork and real-time interventions are pure judo -- that is to say, amazing. The Price We Pay offers a prescription to drain the bubble of a bloated and brokered healthcare system. ... a mastermind for patients, employers, and clinicians alike.
A book review of The Price We Pay: What Broke America's Healthcare System and How to Fix It (Marty Makary)
"The Price We Pay" by Marty Makary (Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on The Price We Pay: What Broke American Heathcare -- and How to Fix It, at landturn.com/reviews.
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Gideon is a corporate attorney who abandons Silicon Valley following the execution of his pro bono client.
Mississippi Reckoning is a page-turner, particularly the First Act. The opening scene is high stakes and Zimmerman ups the ante for the entirety of it. Gideon and Kareem, his pro bono client, have standalone backstories; but they're not disconnected. I think each backstory reveals the capacity of Gideon or Kareem to become lethal, even if for dissimilar reasons. Some of the Third Act is redundant because Gideon has rehashed the purpose of his trip for subsequent characters by then. The love scenes, further, are notable because they're a little long and sleepy. It's not necessary for my enjoyment, but I love when fiction uses different writing techniques like letters, memos, and passages. Mississippi Reckoning might incorporate these techniques more than any non-graphic novel I've read.
A book review of Mississippi Reckoning (Mitchell Zimmerman)
Recommender/Reference: aalbc.com Original version posted to another platform on the date above. 
"Mississippi Reckoning" by Mitchell Zimmerman (mississippi-reckoning.com)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on Mississippi Reckoning by Mitchell Zimmerman, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "Summoned at Midnight" (Serrano) (2019)
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A buffet of horror, nightmare, and terror -- some of it pretty good. Dark Cities is a different take on the genre.
"The Dogs" -- A nightmare. "We'll Always Have Paris" -- Not my favorite... but the twist! "Dear Diary" -- A nightmare. "Grit" -- 'Hood horror story. "Dark Hill Run" -- Scary! "Happy Forever" -- The twist! "Matter of Life and Death" -- Entertaining. "The Crack" -- A different kind of nightmare and great narrative voice.
A book review for Dark Cities (Christopher Golden, editor)
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"Dark Cities" by Christopher Golden (Courtesy of Titan Books)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on Dark Cities by Christopher Golden, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: "Frankenstein in Baghdad" (Saadawi) (2023)
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The Third Industrial Revolution is here, and the European Union and China have led it since the Great Recession. From governance by peer assembly to ESCO financing, The Green New Deal provides the standard by which to hold U.S. elected officials in 2020 and beyond. As with The Zero Marginal Cost Society, Jeremy Rifkin is perceptive; on the cutting edge; and far ahead of schedule.
I'll need my own copy.
A book review of The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth (Jeremey Rifkin)
Recommender/Reference: foet.org newsletter 
"The Green New Deal" by Jeremy Rifkin (Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on Jeremy Rifkin's The Green New Deal, at landturn.com/reviews.
Related: Nord Stream 2 overlooked by Rifkin in "The Green New Deal" (2019)
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The Ladies of Holderness was likely out-of-print when I read it as a teenager. It wasn't as thrilling to read for the first time since then, but doing so reminded me of why I tracked down a copy more than 40 years after its publication. The plot is, nevertheless, entertaining like a classic horror movie from the '70s or '80s or a made-for-TV movie during the height of cable.
A book review of The Ladies of Holderness (Dennis Fowler)
Originally published to my previous website around the date above. 
"The Ladies of Holderness" (Courtesy of Amazon.com)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one for The Ladies of Holderness by Dennis Fowler, at landturn.com/reviews.
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The year is almost over, but I can't forget one of my favorite stage plays. No Place to be Somebody (Charles Gordone) turns 50 in 2019.
It centers around Gabe, whose talent won't avail him the most accessible of acting roles. Johnny, his alter ego, is a former street hustler whose associates only hinder him from organized crime. They fraternize at Johnny's bar, all of whose patrons reflect that their best isn't good enough. Directed by John Grabowski, the Chelsea Repertory Company performed Gordone's prize-winning play five years ago. I've watched it multiple times over the year. They did a great job. Act 1, Part 1 - youtu.be/vMbcfqQSBw4 Act 1, Part 2 - youtu.be/aGH4sXWVmy8 Act 2, Part 1 - youtu.be/gPDru5lLwLA Act 2, Part 2 - youtu.be/bUVY-Kn1ZPg Act 3, Part 1 - youtu.be/H_zBNjXbUmg Act 3, Part 2 - youtu.be/m-NWFnpraLY
A stage play commemoration of No Place to be Somebody (Charles Gordone)
Man sitting in the bar (Credit: "KELLYS IN KCMO" by roberthuffstutter | CC BY 2.0)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including a commemoration of No Place to be Somebody by Charles Gordone, at landturn.com/reviews.
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Alek has a knack for recounting her life so that it's understandable to an outsider. In that regard, the Dinka and the African refugee are familiar rather than foreign. I was unable to finish her book when it first came out some years ago. At the time, Diary of a Lost Girl was one of my favorite books. If you've read Kola Boof's autobiography, then I highly recommend Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel.
A book review of Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel (Alek Wek)
Alek Wek's autobiography (Courtesy of HarperCollins)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel, at landturn.com/reviews.
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I finished Transparent Language -- specifically, the Essentials Conversations in Chinese (Simplified). It certifies proficiency in 820-plus words and phrases. The curriculum has 11 units comprised each of multiple lessons. Each lesson, in turn, has a list of exercises.
Despite what the certificate says, I started the Course during the last week of December. Except for the days I was out-of-town or moving, I studied an average of 35 minutes a day. The timestamp on the course certificate wasn't the only glitch. A certificate accompanies each of the 11 units completed, and sometimes I retook an assessment when its completion produced no certificate. Despite my attempts, the certificate for one unit never materialized. By the time I was halfway through the curriculum, I'd experience a real-time glitch or two almost every session. A simple page refresh would remedy the error or similar message, but it sometimes required me to restart the exercise I was working on. This was especially annoying during one of the 11 end-of-unit assessments. However, I appreciated the challenge of retaking a different version of that assessment. What I Liked My favorite feature was the "Learned" section. It tracks your number of "stale" vocabulary for review via Quizlet-like flashcards. On the other hand, my favorite exercises were "Four Square" (a drill on short-term memory and reading comprehension) and "Pronunciation Practice" (which measures your pronunciation against that of a native speaker). The aforementioned was also true for the Arabic Essentials Course, which I reviewed previously. Exercises become less redundant as they vary from unit-to-unit. "Conversation Practice (Say)," for example, allows you to recite dialogue for role-play and playback. On the other hand, "Culture Video" and "Cultural Awareness" help to simulate cultural immersion. What I Disliked The last several units was my least-favorite aspect of the Essential Conversations course. The list of lessons becomes at least TWICE as long, so the course becomes evermore the marathon. In addition, there's often no thematic link to the "Cultural Awareness" exercises. My other least-favorite aspect of the course was the emphasis on phrases over parts of speech or vocabulary. Without a working knowledge of its elements, the phrases were unchangeable and the bare-bone "survival" words unidentifiable. I assume vocabulary was outside the course curriculum, as supplementary vocabulary materials were available. My Recommendations I do recommend Transparent Language for the independent, motivated Chinese learner. Aside from the personalized curriculum, it provides a mobile app and additional resources (i.e. Pinyin Explorer and Business Vocabulary) to help you gain a foundation in the language. I had free access to the entire platform -- which includes dozens of languages -- through my public library. If not, I'd consider the USD $45.95 monthly subscription for the same (USD $24.95 includes a single language). I don't, however, recommend the platform as an introduction to Chinese intonation or 汉字. Neither is stressed, despite the auditory- and reading-based instruction. Reading and writing 汉字 may take the most time to master, but the four tones are essential to the Chinese learner's understandability in speech.
A language review of Transparent Language - Essential Conversations: Chinese (Simplified)
Certificate of Completion - Transparent Language Essential Conversations (© 2019 Jubalyn ExWilliams)
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find dozens of her reviews, including one on Transparent Language - Chinese, at landturn.com/reviews.
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Siddhartha is a novel that may convince you the mind is a superpower. Ironically, his namesake becomes Godlike when he masters introspection over salvation. Originally, one of my childhood friends gave me a copy of this little book as a teenager. I hadn't read it until now (albeit a library copy), but it was well worth the wait.
Courtesy of Penguin Random House
Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). You can find her reviews on books from the Dauphin County Library System, including one on Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, at landturn.com/reviews.
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