No comments about Yogi Berra's Favorite Baseball Radio Shows.

5 comments about Star Trek: The Next Generation - Kahless.

1. A scroll recovered from an archeological site throws into doubt the story of Kahless the Unforgettable, who is revered by the Klingons. The clone of Kahless enlists the aid of Captain Picard and Lieutenant Worf to prevent opportunists from using the occasion to effect a coup d'etat.
   
   Although his prose is frequently clunky, author Michael Jan Friedman passes the test of a Star trek author, which is whether his novel would make an effective addition to the filmed canon. He has a firm grasp of the characters and his story fills an important gap in Trek history.



2. I've decided to get some of the Audiobooks of Star Trek novels that don't peak my interest. I am not a big fan of Audiobooks anyway so only the books that I will probably never get around to reading are the ones that I am going to be listening too. A friend of mine can get Audiobook real cheap. So I downloaded Kahless on my ipod and I was on the road.
   
   I have heard nothing but good things about Michael Jan Friedman and I even own several of his novels but I haven't had a chance to read any of them. So I figured this would be a nice introduction, and it certainly was. I am not a big Worf fan... he's okay... but every since he punked out in Skin of Evil during season one I have never been able to respect him to the fullest. So that's why this book about the klingons was not a must read.
   
   It started absolutely fascinating as the legend of Kahless was proved to be make believe. A scroll was found that pretty much said that everything klingons believed about Kahless was not true. This bit of information could break up the empire forever. So the "current" Kahless who is a clone of the original sets out to seek the truth and keep the empire in one piece. However, he needs help so Worf feels it is his duty to find out the truth. Picard also joins in the quest to find out the truth of the legend of Kahless and the conspiracy that is threatening the empire.
   
   As far as in the Audiobook the only characters from TNG is Picard, Worf (they are in it throughout) and Riker and Troi have cameos. All four are written extremely well. With the help of Kevin Conway (narrator) it was very easy to imagine the story that is playing out right into front you. The fight scenes were explained by the author and narrator with a lot of feeling. The other klingon characters were introduced and handled well too. As with all Audiobooks I feel that a lot was missing. I serously doubt that I would ever give an audiobook above 3 stars. However, I really enjoyed this adventure and if you are a Next Generation fan then I think you will too. I recommend reading the book. This story was actually to good to just do the Audio on. I have just purchased the book and will get around to reading it soon.
   
   The Three stars is for the Audiobook I think the book itself will get a much better score.



3. In this novel by Michael Jan Friedman we get to see the truth behind the legend. The novel is based on the events from the TV episode. The lie that is the legend and the truth are separated in this story. If you like Klingon battle scenes and history as it happened this was one of the first Klingon books of it's time. It's surprising to be that MJF wasn't allowed to expand on this concept. Currently, R. A. DeCandido writes about our favorite Klingons. However I'd still like to see a few by Friedman.



4. Klingon mythos are treated on the series as a footnote rather than an established fact.This Novel seperates the man from the myth.If you follow Star Trek closely like I do then you can easily recognized the legend of Kahless and instead of unknown references and stories about him,you'll get the truth from his own words.
   
   It's amazing how well this Novel is written and how they really paid attention to detail.All the stories told always have a motitum of truth behind them as well as the actual truth inserted.You'll really see who Kahless was as a man and how he would in the coming centuries is remembered as a savior of the Klingon Empire and celebrated as a God.
   
   Even the side story with Riker,Troi and Alexander Rozenko is really well done and doesn't suffers from the pitfalls of the side stories from previos ST Novels.
   
   But the main plot will have reading until exhaustion.It's one of those rare Novels you simply can't put down.And if you're a huge Klingon fan like I am you have to read this Novel.One of the best Star Trek Novels in my collection and one that you can't aford to pass up.
   
   Read and enjoy.You won't be disapointed I promise.



5. You had to know if Spock could meet the image of Surak, father of all the Vulcans now hold to be true, then we should not have been surprised that Worf would get to meet Kahless the Unforgettable. However, when the most famous Klingon of them all was resurrected via cloning in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Rightful Heir," Kahless 2.0 became the Emperor of the Empire again and a symbolic but still unifying figure. "Kahless" is a "STNG" novel by Michael Jan Friedman (who wrote the comic book for DC), are purports to provide the truth behind the legend of the Klingon Empire's greatest warrior (and did you know they have trademarked the word "Klingon"?).
   
   "Kahless" is a double-tracked novel, where we begin in "The Modern Age" of "STNG," and then go back to "The Heroic Age" in which the original Kahless lived. The story takes place in the eighth year of Jean-Luc Picard's command of the "Enterprise-D," which means it takes place between the events of the show's final episode, "All Good Things," and before what happens in the theatrical film "Star Trek Generation." Olahg, one of the clerics of Boreth, is part of a team excavating one of the sacred locations where Emperor Kahless had walked. He discovers a buried box that contains a scroll that purports to be the work of Kahless the Unforgettable, and written on the scroll are word that can only be considered blasphemy by the faithful in the Empire.
   
   What the words on the ancient scroll do is through into doubt the ancient stories that have been passed down regarding Kahless. Of course, what this is really about is seeing the man behind the legends, and no one, not even Kahless the Unforgettable, can stand up to the mythology that has sprung up about him. For fifteen hundred years the Klingons have revered Kahless as not just their first emperor and the man who first united their people, but as the legendary warrior who taught the Klingons the meaning of honor. All Klingon children learn of how Kahless and his brother Morath fought for 12 days and nights because Morath had broken his word and killed their father, dishonoring their family. If the truth strips away the myths and fables, the Klingons might not like what is left.
   
   With the Klingon Empire threatening to come apart at the seems, Kahless turns to the few people he can trust, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lt. Worf of the starship "Enterprise." Friedman's book goes back and forth between the treachery, rumors, and possibility of civil war in the Modern Era with the story from the Heroic Age of the young Klingon warrior named Kahless who defied the tyrant Molor. The legend says Kahless forged the first bat'leth and founded the Empire after slaying the tyrant, a battle celebrated with the Kot-baval festival. But we learn that while Kahless was concerned with preserving his honor and the safety of his family, but once he reluctantly became the leader of the rebels, he had to make decisions on a more practical basis.
   
   I appreciate the idea that myths and legends spring up around what we would call world historical individuals, and distort the "real" them. Abraham Lincoln was arguably the most hated man in America, in the North as well in the South, pretty much until the night he was assassinated. The problem, such as it is, would be that we only know bits and pieces of the legend and lore of Kahless from a handful of episodes, mostly from "STNG" and usually involving Worf because the big irony is that the one Klingon officer in Starfleet is probably the most ideologically pure follower of Kahless around, which is why the cloned emperor can trust him. But this gives Friedman plenty of space to flesh out the story so he gets to stack the deck the way he wants. Still, those who are particularly interested in the Klingon culture will have to at least check this one out and see what they think of what Friedman came up with. Just remember, "qaStaHvIS wa' ram loS SaD Hugh SIjlaH qetbogh Ilod" (I know others have said it here, but it is so true).

4 comments about In Their Own Voices: A Century of Recorded Poet.

1. if you're into poetry...this is essential. best purchase of an audio cd i ever made.



2. As an avid fan of poetry, chills run up my spine when I listen to poems I have held in my hands as paper, read by their creators. This album, is a vocalization of our country's history throughout the twentieth century and you will be captivated with each reading. (Particular favorites of mine: Langston Hughes, Alan Ginsburg, Amiri Baraka, Theodore Roethke, Maya Angelou, to name a few).



3. Received as a gift that keeps on giving. Each hearing's another present. Liner Notes and order of presentation superb.

   We need another set like this of more and more and more; find all old Caedmon and Voyager audio tapes plus Burton's Donne and make one! Stuart, light bearer, led the way to this; he is thanked and thanked ever after...




4. I wonder what our world would be like if our ancestors had learned first to preserve language in an archival form (that is, durable, convenient for shelving, and available for idle perusal) as spoken rather than written. Before we knew how to write, poetry was already a living and ancient art. We knew it as spoken word, recited before a crowd. The recital was as much of a performance as a play. Somewhere in the last two or three millenniums we have forgotten how important the spoken word is to poetry, how far a voice carries toward making the art accessible.

   This anthology of 20th century recorded poetry, released without an accompanying text, forces us to reconsider our normally complacent approach to verse. We cannot *read* these poems, we can only *listen* as their creators perform them for us. It's a wonderful opportunity and a thrilling experience!

   The collection starts with a scratchy take of Walt Whitman, notable mostly because it is the first recording of a poem. It progresses smoothly through the 20th century via a multi-cultural variety of 79 known and lesser-known poets reading 122 known and lesser-known poems. Most poetry is spoken, some is sung. A few include music. One of these--an excerpt of Jack Kerouac's "American Haikus" punctuated with a saxophone--is one of the high points of the collection. Another--Anne Waldman's clumsy "Uh Oh Plutonium"--is the worst of the bunch. Even it can be excused, as all selections contribute to the theme at the heart of this anthology: at least some poetry, even in this book-bound age, is meant to be read and heard aloud. The ancient art in its richest tradition is alive and well.

   END

No comments about Lorsque l'Enfant Parait, Vol. 2: 1976-1977.

2 comments about The Best of Old Time Radio.

1. I bought this set on a whim several months ago. Haven't regretted it for a second! I didn't know what I was missing until I started listening to these CD's. Unlike TV, this requires you to use your imagination. Trying to visualize what is transpiring and what the characters look like is more fun that I could have imagined. Beats today's in-your-face TV by a country mile. Now I understand why radio was so popular in its' day, and remained so for many years after television hit the scene. You will most likely find yourself listening to these CD's over and over again. I certainly do. They'll transport you to another time & place.



2. This is when radio really was the theater of the mind. Ahhhh, the good old days. If you work in radio you should have this box set...

1 comments about Another Monty Python Box.

1. It's really inappropriate to realese an album like this. The material within, is of course some of the greatest comedy to ever come to life, but do we really need another box set. The joke of that is gone, and everyone who is gonna buy these albums, has pretty much already done so. Only buy this if you don't have these albums.

No comments about Anthologie Sonore: French Philosophers.

5 comments about Permanent Record.

1. hey, want to know EVERYTHING about this
   Permanent Record: Al In The Box is a four disc compilation boxed set of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It features his favorites songs from his first eight studio albums, plus alternate versions of "My Bologna", "Happy Birthday", "UHF", and the previously unavailable new single, "Headline News". The Andy Warhol-esque cover art and "Headline News" also appear on Yankovic's Greatest Hits Volume II, which was released a month after Permanent Record.
   
   The boxed set also comes with a booklet written by Dr. Demento
   
   Permanent Record went out of print on March 1, 2006, because the artwork was lost.



2. Weird Al Yankovic is a great band and this is a great collection of their songs. I mis some great songs on it. The songs 'Armish Paradise', 'weenie in a bottle', 'Bohemian Rap City' and 'I was only kidding' for example. From 2 cd's of Weird Al are no songs at all at this collection! Despite this, it is a great album and y'all should listen to it!!!



3. My husband is a huge Weird Al fan and has been wanting to convert his tapes over to CD. This collection includes most of his favorite songs and was a super gift for Valentine's Day!



4. Very please with product and service. I would not hesitate to do business with this person again.



5. About seven years ago I might have given this package 5 stars. This box set was great in its heyday, but I'm afraid it is severely outdated now. I think it's time for a new one. Weird Al Yankovic is definitely famous enough to warrant a second box set. Hell, Led Zeppelin has two box sets. Why shouldn't Al?
   
   This only covers Al's career from early 1980, to about 1993 or thereabouts. Nothing from "Bad Hair Day, Running With Scissors," or "Poodle Hat" is included, not to mention his latter-day film theme songs like "Spy Hard," or "Polkamon." If you are one of those people who lives in the past, though, or one of those misguided fools who thinks Al should have retired some time back in 1989, then this is the perfect purchase for you. It has a couple of rarities that can't be heard anywhere else, like Al's original accordion version of "My Bologna," and "Headline News" the parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies, which was written specially for this box set. The brief bio booklet that comes with the set is pretty cool too. It was written by Dr. Demento, and it chronicles Al's youth, college days as an architecture major, and his rise to fame. Overall, this is a great buy for the casual fan, but if you are like me and you are obsessed, I suggest you do like I did and just buy all of the CDs.

No comments about Le Grande Faim.

No comments about Anthologie de la Poésie de Langue Francaise.