Useless Nexus

“The Last Trail” by Zane Grey

I’m currently listening to “The Last Trail” by Zane Grey in audio format from Librivox.org.

I’ve always meant to read some of Zane Grey’s many works but have never seemed to get around to it. I’m about one-third of the way into “The Last Trail”, one of Mr. Grey’s earliest novels. So far it’s a great tale of the old west and the narrator, Mike Vendetti, has a beautiful deep voice that sounds as I would imagine a frontiersman’s voice to be.

May have to add some more Zane Grey to my listening list. Now if only Librivox had a feature by which I could search by narrator. I’d grab some more of Mike Vendetti’s work as well.

Tags: audio, book, novel, old west, Zane Grey

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Clone Wars was good

I saw Clone Wars on Saturday night. The short review is that I liked it and had a good time.

It’s fun and lively. The movie assumes you are a Star Wars fan and knows what is going on. Plenty of Clone on Droid action and battle scenes. Of course it’s all animated and still enjoyable but a bit too cartoon like at times. On a few occassions the combat is close quarters and becomes unbelievable, even for Star Wars.

I won’t get into critiqueing the plot. There is plenty of spoilers on the ‘net if that is what you are looking for. But I thought I’d post to say that I enjoyed it. If you are a Star Wars fan then you might as well.

Tags: Clone Wars, movie, Review, Star Wars

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“War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells

I finished listening to “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells from Librivox. This is the version done in collaboration and read by many different narrators. There is also a version red by a solo narrator. I have never read H. G. Wells original version. Only listened to recreations of the Orson Welles 1938 radio version or the 1953 and 2005 versions of the movie. Which brings me to a bit of a rant.

First, the audio book I listened to was very good. I did not mind the different voice at each chapter and found the quality of the audio very good. The story itself is of course legendary and in my mind far better than the other versions I have seen.

Now the rant. Why does hollywood alter such great stories and weaken them with their own ideas when frankly the original story is far more thrilling exciting? Perhaps it’s the lack of imagination. I’m ashamed to think that it is a need to “American-ize” everything. Another story I think was ruined by the Hollywood crowd is the story of Operation Primrose and the capture of U-110. You will probably recognize the Hollywood movie name of “U-571″. U-110 was captured before the United States entered the war and was captured by quick thinking British and the Royal Navy and is a grand tale on it’s own.

If you have never read of listened to H.G. Wells original story then please get it. It’s a great story!

Tags: audio, book, Entertainment, H.G. Wells, Podcast, rant

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