Tuesday, September 19, 2023

CCx (part 1) - The Commander and the Chief series

 




cover art by DAVIS Creative, Becki Davis



Announcement

The Commander and the Chief series updates.

All published books (paperback, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited) of this series are linked as a set on amazon: The Commander and the Chief series

The series overall theme:

The Commander, a British doctor, and the Chief, a Native American lawyer, take on the Deep State.

They team up to get to the bottom of the suspicious death of the Chief's husband. The trail leads to coverups, blackmail and bribery schemes, assassinations, and powerful villains with the shadowy characters that control them.

The Old World meets the Wild West when the two tie the knot in a till-death-do-they-part Anglo-America union. As rogue forces act to eliminate them, the Commander and the Chief cowboy up to keep calm and carry on.

Buckle up for a wild ride where the Big Sky is the Limit.




And in the Big Sky, may Blue Skies shine on you!

Thank you for your readership.

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For more in this series, search blog:

CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5, CCx
The Commander and the Chief series

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Photo: cover art by DAVIS Creative, Becki Davis







Tuesday, August 29, 2023

CC5 (part 1): Pow Wow

 


cover art by DAVIS Creative, Becki Davis

Pow Wow 


Pow Wow (powwow or pow-wow) has historical as well as modern meanings:

 North American Indian ceremony involving feasting, singing, and dancing.

INFORMAL

a conference or meeting for discussion, especially among friends or colleagues.

Data from Oxford Languages

It's also the title of my latest novel (Book 5) in The Commander and the Chief series:


The Commander and the Chief take on the rogue Deep State:

the Gunfight at the UK Corral, 
missing Redcoats in the Nevada Triangle, 
and nuclear blackmail!

Available on amazon


Here's the next wild ride:

Speaker of the House Karl Kelly was never supposed to be President of the United States. But that happens when President Todd resigns and the VP kills himself. Then the rogue Deep State acts to remedy that.

First, take out the new VP, Laurel Hardy. Assassins strike in London, during her Pow Wow with Ambassador Nova Orlovic. But the women fight back as Wild West meets Middle Eastern terrorism in the Gunfight at the UK Corral.

Next, an attempt at US regime change escalates to nuclear blackmail. But Commander Reginald Barrett’s Methuselah project to reverse aging becomes the bargaining chip to forge dubious alliances to fight the Deep State.

Meanwhile, in the mysterious Nevada Triangle, provocateurs incite ET and prepper conventioneers to attack visiting British soldiers. But the Redcoat Regiment vanishes as the mob closes in, and conspiracy theories abound.

Will the Commander and the Chief defuse the nuclear threat and international tensions before it’s too late?

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As for the Native American meaning of Pow Wow (spoiler alert), that is saved for the last chapter.

And below is a sample of the real thing:




For more information on Pow Wows, check out: What is a Pow Wow?

Your readership is most appreciated.

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For more in this series, search blog:


CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5, CCx
The Commander and the Chief series

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Photo: cover art by DAVIS Creative, Becki Davis

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Arts (part 2) - What's Opera, Doc?

 

My first big exposure to classical music was through the Saturday morning cartoons.

There was a good reason for this. Classical music was in the public domain. No copyright. No royalties. No problem.

A classic among the Looney Tune/Meerie Melonies cartoon series (which ran for 80 years) is the 1957 short morality tale...

What's Opera, Doc?

The long running feud between Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd continues in the setting of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre.



Part 1




Part 2



Part 3



"In 1992, the Library of Congress deemed it "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, the first cartoon short film to receive such honors." 
(reference: What's Opera, Doc?

Looney Tunes meets Opera.

Best cartoon ever!


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For other posts on this theme, search:

Arts

Music

Culture

Pop Culture

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Friday, June 23, 2023

Arts (part 1) - The Starry Night

 


The Starry Night 

It's one of the most recognized and celebrated works by Vincent van Gogh.

A year before his suicide, van Gogh painted a depiction of the view from his asylum room window, just before sunrise, with an imaginary village in the background.

Over 80 years later, this 1889 Post-Impressionist painting inspired Rock musician Don McLean (of American Pie) to compose this tribute to van Gogh: his paintings, his life, his struggles, and suicide:

Don McLean - Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) 


https://youtu.be/oxHnRfhDmrk


So begins a new thread:

Arts

Spanning the centuries of artists, we have the confluence of van Gogh -19th century painter - and Don McLean - 20th and 21st century rock composer.

Timeless...

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For more info:

* Biography:  Vincent van Gogh - Vincent van Gogh from 1880 to 1890 | Britannica

* Biography: About | Don McLean

* Painting: The Starry Night | History, Description, & Facts | Britannica 

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For other posts on this theme, search:

Music

Culture

Pop Culture

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Photo: wikipedia/StarryNight




Monday, May 29, 2023

Music (part 11) - Edelweiss

 


Winter of 2022-2023 was a tough season in my parts.

Never thought the snow would end, even after it was officially "Spring."

Now, the snow has turned to rain. We see green instead of white. And new life.

With this turn, I think of the beautiful song from The Sound of Music (1965 ) -

Edelweiss

The version below is sung up in the mountains.



https://youtu.be/yMJsW1rxAbQ


May the optimism of Spring, expressed in this beautiful song, carry you throughout the year.


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For other posts on this thread, search:

Music


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Photo: Edelweiss/wikipedia





Friday, April 14, 2023

LOL (part 6) - California Fleein'



California Dreamin'

John and Michelle Phillips had written the song of that title in 1963.  

The lyrics reflect the longing for Los Angeles warmth during a cold spell in New York City.  It also would define a popular California sound of the 1960s counterculture. (Reference: California Dreamin'

And it had become a hit. 

The Mamas and the Papas (1965) performed one of the best-known versions of California Dreamin', but later a music video was made by The Beach Boys as shown below:




In 2023, 60 years later....

 The Babylon Bee  parodied this Beach Boys California Dreamin' video reflecting the sign of the times in California. Denizens were fleein' instead of dreamin' of coming there.

California Fleein'




LOL!

What makes comedy funny is that it based on truth--when everything woke has turned to crap!

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For other posts on this thread, search:

LOL
 

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Tuesday, March 7, 2023

LOL (part 5) - Breaking Bad meets Star Trek and Pies

 


Pi(e) Day is March 14 

An obvious mathematical pun - 3.14.

A few years ago, Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013) was a hit as a crime drama thriller.

Its premise: "A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future."

But there was some comedy relief, such as Season 5, episode 9,  as shown in this scene between the banter of characters Badger and Skinny Pete. 

While one of main characters, Jesse, is having a breakdown, Badger pitches his ideas for a Star Trek script over pizza.



https://youtu.be/mIsauNJ392o


For the animated version of Badger's script, courtesy of Matt Czap:



https://youtu.be/fX1AGFHIros


There you have it.

Breaking Bad meets Star Trek and Pies!

And hopefully it brings a laugh -- LOL -- for Pi(e) Day!


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For other posts on this thread, search:

LOL

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Photo: Pi Day