Ex-carrier Ranger set for last voyage in early 2015

On December 23, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn USS Ranger10 Comments

from the Navy Times:

USS Ranger at sea in 1968 - US Navy Photo, cleared for publication — USS Ranger at sea in 1968 – US Navy Photo, cleared for publication

The ex-carrier Ranger is set to make its final sea voyage in early 2015.

The Navy paid 1 cent for shipbreakers to tow and scrap the decommisioned aircraft carrier, which once launched combat missions in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, Naval Sea Systems Command said Monday.

“Under the contract, the company will be paid $0.01. The price reflects the net price proposed by International Shipbreaking, which considered the estimated proceeds from the sale of the scrap metal to be generated from dismantling,” the NAVSEA release said. “$0.01 is the lowest price the Navy could possibly have paid the contractor for towing and dismantling the ship.”

The Ranger is to be towed from its berth in Bremerton, Washington, to Brownsville, Texas, where International Shipbreaking Ltd. is based. The carrier will have to be towed around South America, a four to five month journey, as its too large to fit through the Panama Canal, NAVSEA said.

The Ranger was commissioned in 1957 and spent its entire 36-year career in the Pacific, making a total of 22 Western Pacific deployments, NAVSEA said.

The dismantlement comes after veterans’ and historical groups were unable to raise enough money to turn the Ranger into a museum, like The Intrepid Museum in New York City. The Ranger had been on donation hold for eight years.

“After eight years on donation hold, the USS Ranger Foundation was unable to raise the necessary funds to convert the ship into a museum or to overcome the physical obstacles of transporting her up the Columbia River to Fairfview, Oregon,” NAVSEA said. “As a result, the Ranger was removed from the list of ships available for [donation] and designated for dismantling.”

–

What a waste.

–Malcolm

Dear Big Sky Brewing Company

On December 19, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Glacier National Park, Montana2 Comments

A year ago, I walked into the Interlaken Lounge at Many Glacier Hotel and bought an ice cold mug of Moose Drool. With a name like that, I figured what could possibly go wrong.

It was darned good.

When people asked me what I was drinking, naturally I said “Moose Drool.”

Since most visitors to Glacier Park look for moose but never find them, folks wondered how I got close enough to get the drool into a mug.

“If you ring a bear bell by the light of the moon, a moose will appear,” I said. “Hand it some grass (not pot) to start the drooling process.”

Those who took a sip immediately left the bar and headed out into Swiftcurrent Valley to find their own moose. I left the hotel the next morning before any incident reports were filed with the park rangers.

The Problem

You brew Moose Drool in Montana but don’t distribute it in faraway Georgia. I see by your business plan, you’re concentrating on your neck of the woods and that makes sense. Meanwhile, I’m stuck sitting here drinking Schlitz. (Not really.)

So, here’s an opportunity for the Big Sky Brewing Company to set up a wonderful promotion. Get a tractor trailer, put your logo all over it, and send it down into Georgia with some guy called Bandit serving as your escort.

Film the whole thing and put it on YouTube. It will go viral. Big Sky will haul in big bucks.

While it may not get me a continuous supply of beer here in northeast Georgia, I’m hoping for a couple of free bottles. Then, next time I’m in the Interlaken Lounge at Many Glacier Hotel, I’ll buy a round of Moose Drool for everyone.

Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of contemporary fantasy novels and paranormal short stories including “Dream of Crows” which appears in the Lascaux Prize 2014 anthology.

Do you like all those best-books-of-the-year lists?

On December 18, 2014December 18, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

Every year almost every newspaper, website and blog that covers books, publishes a best-of-the-year list. I’ve never been sure why. Perhaps you know. Do these lists. . .

Help people who don’t read know what their bookish friends might want for Christmas?
Give book editors an easy way to fill-up space on the book pages with (basically) a list of books and cover pictures that seem to be recycled from the years’ bestseller lists?
Show readers why certain books made the lists while other well-reviewed books did not so that book buyers have a means of making intelligent choices?
Give reviewers, critics and editors a chance to look intelligent by passing judgement over the work of a lot of authors and publishers in a rather simplistic format?
Actually help avid remembers catch up with books they might not have noticed throughout the year?
Simply make book publishers happy so that they’ll buy some more advertising?

My eyes glaze over when I see lists that are very similar to the best-of lists I’ve been seeing all year. What I’d rather hear about are books that never made any lists during the year and–at least in the book editor’s or critic’s view–have been unfairly overlooked.

As a small press author, I see these lists as biased in favor of the major publishers who already have the clout to keep their books in the public eye. Very few small presses (other than the most prestigious houses) will have any of their books appear on these lists. Frankly, those books are on nobody’s radar no matter how good they are.

The deck is stacked against small presses because review sites usually ignore their work because nobody’s ever heard of it. That is, without BIG PUBLISHING CLOUT, reviewers pass over chances to review small press books.

By year’s end, the best-books list makers only know about books from major publishers–or the rare dark horse books that catches the public interest in spite of the odds–and so the lists end up being more publicity for the books that don’t need more publicity.

But even if all books that deserved (by one yardstick or another) to be considered for these lists actually were considered, I can’t help but feel the lists are comparing apples and oranges with a bias toward what was popular and well known as opposed to what was good. With so many subjects, genres, styles, types of plots and areas of focus, comparing books like this seems about as silly as making a list of the world’s best foods or best animals or best mountains or best clouds.

The public likes lists, wants to know who or what is best, as though everything and everyone can be defined by a set of sports-type statistics. So we’ll probably always have these lists even though I’m hard pressed to find anything good about them.

Seriously, if you like the lists, I hope you’ll leave a comment saying why you do.

–

You May Also Like: Nasty old New York Times, what’s what’s wrong with you? about an author who goes on a public rant when her book is left off the list.

—Malcolm

My comedy about a hard-as-nails newspaper reporter who doesn’t respect authority, Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire, is on sale for 99 cents throughout the holidays.

Briefly Noted: ‘Montana’s Charlie Russell’

On December 13, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Montana, reviews

It’s difficult to read about Montana without coming across Charlie Russell sooner or later. He’s the state’s most celebrated and most widely known artist. This book offers a view of Russell’s work in the collection of the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Nothing is better than seeing the paintings up close. If you can’t do that, this book is a fine introduction.

From the Publisher: Montana’s Charlie Russell brings to life the Montana Historical Society’s world-class collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, bronzes, and illustrated letters by the Treasure State’s famed “Cowboy Artist.” Using advanced digital technology, each of the 230 pieces in the Society’s permanent collection has been meticulously photographed to bring to life, in vivid color, Russell’s artistic mastery. Carefully researched scholarship illuminates the stories behind each artwork. The result is a catalog of Russell’s art as you’ve never seen it before.

From the Montana Historical Society Press Release

MHS RELEASING NEW CHARLIE RUSSELL BOOK MORE THAN 60 YEARS IN THE MAKING

“In 1952 the Montana Historical Society acquired the Malcolm Mackay family collection of the artwork of Charles M. Russell that became the heart of its unmatched assemblage of the famed Montana cowboy artist’s masterpieces, paintings, illustrated letters, sketches and sculpture.

“Since then, it has been the dream of many to reproduce the entire MHS Russell art collection in a high-quality book that would celebrate the artist’s vision of Montana and the breadth of his amazing career — that took him from cowboying in the Judith Gap to one of the best loved artists of the West…

“…K. Ross Toole, MHS director in 1952, said while raising funds to acquire the Mackay collection: ‘If Montana has contributed one thing to the heritage of the whole West, it is Charles M. Russell’s paintings …. It was Montana that inspired him; it was Montana that he painted.'”

–

With this book on your coffee table, you can turn off the TV for the Winter.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of “The Seeker,” a book about mountains, first loves and betrayal set partly in Montana’s Glacier National Park.

Authors, Would You Like to be Interviewed?

On December 11, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writing

A great opportunity for indie authors.

Bertram's Blog

If you are an author, I am inviting you to let me promote your latest book.

I do author interviews and character interviews, and post excerpts on my blogs, and I don’t charge a penny! Of course, since you get what you pay for, I can’t guarantee you will sell books because of your efforts and mine, but they will be promoted via Facebook and Twitter. If I haven’t scared you off, click here to find the directions for my Author Questionnaire. Click here to find the directions for my Character Questionnaire. And click here to Let me post your excerpt!

Here are some tips for doing the most compelling interviews:

For my Author Questionnaire, I begin with the question, “What is your book about?” It’s the hook, the reason why we are all at the blog — to know about your book. So, please, don’t start your…

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Free listing for your book at Indies Unlimited

On December 9, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writing4 Comments

There are a lot of sites “out there” that are worth a look if you’re a writer needing advice or looking for a free listing for your book. My friend good friend, author and publisher Melinda Clayton, writes articles for Indies Unlimited, so I’ve been tuning in on that site a lot lately.

There’s good stuff there such as Melinda’s overview of AuthorsDen. Among other things, check out the blog and knowledgeBase. You can also list your books on the site on Thrifty Thursday and Print Book Paradise. These listings work well when you want to publicize reduced prices.

Here’s there’s blurb about the service

On every Thursday at 5 a.m. Pacific time, Indies Unlimited presents a feature called “Thrifty Thursday.” It’s simple: authors can list their free or 99¢ e-books and readers can find a large selection of free and cheap reads in one convenient place. For those of you looking for Freebie Friday, it has now been incorporated into Thrifty Thursday. Click here for the most recent Thrifty Thursday. If you have a print book priced under $15, you can participate in Print Book Paradise (also known as Mr. Pish’s Print Book Party) each Sunday at 9 a.m. Pacific time.

To learn more, click here.

I’ve used the Indies Unlimited listings several times and have been pleased with the results.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of contemporary fantasy novels, paranormal short stories and satire. “Jock Who” is free if you have Kindle Unlimited. That’s how I would read it!

Briefly noted: ‘Walk Myself Home’

On December 8, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn reviews

“tear down every poster every newsstand every high-tension wire every bill board every high-rise every highway sign leading out of town every aeroplane in the sky every high and mighty penthouse hotel every bar and grill tear up every alley where you were hurt every research paper that described you and got it wrong every house that trapped you every letter every spite every thought that thought you less every x and y with too much breath in your face or too much blade at your throat every shout every temper every gust of grit around your feet every car parked outside your door every doorway every bank every bonnet every promise every classroom every boy with a semi-automatic under his right arm rushing in yelling freeze just before you do” – Excerpt from the book.

As I was blogging about the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre on my Calamities of the Heart blog, I thought of this 2010 anthology that serves in part as a voice for women who have been victims of violence and/or who live in areas where they must live in fear of it daily.

In the aftermath of Ferguson, some said that a white person cannot possibly understand the daily challenges and fears of African Americans. Likewise, it might be said that men cannot possibly understand that it’s like to live with the challenges and fears of women of all races.

When read carefully, Walk Myself Home edited by Andrea Routley may help men and women understand what’s on the other side of the gender gap.

From the Publisher: “There is an epidemic of violence against women in Canada and the world. For many women physical and sexual assault, or the threat of such violence, is a daily reality. Walk Myself Home is an anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction and oral interviews on the subject of violence against women including contributions by Kate Braid, Yasuko Thahn and Susan Musgrave.

“Walk Myself Home began as a small idea: to create a chapbook and sell it at the next LoudSpeaker Festival. The response was overwhelming. This small idea found a chorus of voices, and its sound was too big for a chapbook.”

From Amy Reiswig’s Review in Focus Online: “Be prepared. Many of these short works explicitly discuss or represent assault—at the hands of fathers, teachers, strangers, friends, neighbours. Routley also includes pieces addressing subtler forms of violence: derisive jokes, job discrimination and cultural assumptions around beauty, submission and gender roles. As she writes in the introduction, ‘In order to end violence against women in our society, we must be able to recognize it,’ and this means recognizing not just actions but attitudes.”

Ultimately, the book promotes hope, hope that–as Heidi Greco says her review–will lead to a time when “every woman can say with confidence – no matter the time of night or day – not to worry, that I’ll Walk Myself Home.”

Perhaps some day the book will be available in Kindle/Nook for those who cannot afford the paperback.

–Malcolm

FSU v Oregon in the playoffs

On December 7, 2014January 25, 2015 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Life2 Comments

I’ve been going to FSU games since I was a kid. First, as a high school student selling peanuts and Cokes at the stadium and then as an FSU student. So, I’m happy to see the Seminoles are in the playoffs after winning 29 straight games through two consecutive seasons and winning their third ACC Championship in a row.

More of a baseball person, I seldom watch football unless there’s an FSU game on TV. And, as (apparently) an out-date-viewer, I dislike the idea of having a formal college playoff system. But, if we have to have playoffs, it’s good to be there.

As for Oregon, they had a heck of a year. Nice to see in the playoffs. My father taught at the University of Oregon for several years and I still have snowy wintertime memories of Eugene. Plus, one of my brothers lives in Oregon and the other one used to live there.

FSU doesn’t have the dominant team they had last year, so heaven only knows how the Oregon game will end up. We’re probably going in as the underdog in spite of our record. (Too many close calls this year.)

Nonetheless, my prediction is FSU 65, Oregon 56. You heard it here first and probably won’t hear it anywhere else.

—Malcolm

UPDATE: Obviously, the game was a mess for those who follow FSU. Frankly, I would have put in the backup quarterback in the third quarter to show Oregon something different for a series of downs or so and to give Winston time to calm down.

Review: ‘The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon’

On December 5, 2014December 5, 2014 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Fantasy, reviews, writing2 Comments

The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon, by Lowell H. Press, Parkers Mill Publishing (September 10, 2014), Ages 10 and up, 316 pages.

Starting with the cover, this is a beautifully crafted book.

Lowell H. Press has written an inventive novel about a hierarchy of mice living in the gardens and secret interior spaces of a castle inspired by the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.

The colony’s king cares little for his subjects and is mostly interested in taking the food they save throughout the year for his own use during the winter months.Two brothers, Sommer and Nesbit, discover that all is not what it seems, including the king’s purported fear of a pending invasion of the colony by a massive army of woodland mice.

Sommer, who is drafted by the king’s minions for a suicide mission on the colony’s behalf and Nesbit, who insults the king and flees into the dangerous forest, take different approaches to survival and justice. Sommer becomes a cadet commander, while Nesbit becomes known as either a worker of magic of an exceptionally lucky mouse.

Set in a 1700s world, The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon is a delightful story with well-drawn characters and an underlying culture and myth that will charm young readers while keeping their parents engaged whenever this derring-do yarn is shared around the dinner table or at at bedtime.

Press used his visit to the Schönbrunn Palace to great advantage in developing a setting for his story that is well suited to the mice colony’s culture and history as well as to the people and cats who appear throughout the tale for better or worse.

Sommer and Nesbit of the Long Meadow Colony are tiny, as mice go, but they make up for it in bravery and guile.

–Malcolm

Tell me a story

On October 6, 2014April 27, 2019 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writers4 Comments

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you
–Bob Dylan

We who write are tambourine men, poets, liars, con men, dreamers, pied pipers, spinners of yarn, spinners of mirages, tinkerers with reality, profane disciples of all that’s engraved in the sand on a beach, creators and destroyers of worlds, demons and tricksters and gods, snakes in the grass, and golden eagles flying high above the divides between night, day, worlds, sleep and consciousness.

We who write intend to lead you astray for that is where you will find yourself, your salvation, your journey’s beginning, your lover, your treasure and everything that matters and gives substance to life.

If you read our words, if you follow the jingle jangle of our stories, we promise you that whatever you thought was engraved in stone was in fact fluid and that whatever you thought was fluid was your imagination and that reality is always a deck of cards that you can choose to play face down or face up depending upon your penchant for fate and destiny.

We who write cannot be trusted to give you a straight answer for we only know dark and crooked roads and the stories that live alongside them. But do not take care or look behind you for the prize comes with the unexpected, the epiphany hidden amongst devils and the light that shines on the darkest night for those who walk with their eyes wide open.

Believe what you will, but when you follow tambourine men, poets, and liars there is no turning back though you may believe some dream or illusion that you have turned back as we all go deeper into the labyrinth toward Minotaurs that will–if the gods be kind–tell us the secrets of life if we survive the journey.

We who write are always en route to the center of the labyrinth where all stories lead us, and where they will lead you, too, if you dare to say, “Tell me a story.”

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of “Conjure Woman’s Cat.”.