In our constant quest to stimulate the American Economy, Diane and I purchased a new Nissan Altima SV. This is our 9th Nissan in a row. We have two reasons why we buy Nissans. The first is that Diane’s cousin is part-owner of our local Nissan dealership. That means that when we go in to buy a new car or SUV, we get a rock-bottom price and none of the negotiating shenanigans that happen in most auto purchases.

The second reason is this Nissan dealership has a first-rate Service Department. We have never had a major problem with any of our Nissans. We take our vehicles in for scheduled service and they run great! To me, reliability and safety are paramount factors in choosing a vehicle. Both Patrick and Katie have totaled Nissans (our beloved Maximas!) but in both instances, Patrick and Katie walked away from the accident unhurt. That means a lot.

Do you have any plans to buy a new vehicle?

The disappointing 4-5 Buffalo Bills enjoy a much needed Bye Week to help heal all of their injured players. To make the NFL Playoffs, the Bills would need to go 6-1 in the remaining seven games. Not likely. How is your favorite NFL team going to do today? [Photo provided by WikiLeaks]

Arrival is based on the short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams as linguist Louise Banks. Jeremy Renner plays a physicist. When 12 alien space ships show up, the world is thrown into a panic. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are recruited by the U.S. Army to be part of a First Contact team. The key to dealing with the aliens–dubbed Abbott and Costello by Renner–is to learn their language. While Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner work to crack the alien’s language, the rest of the world predictably stops cooperating with each other and gets ready to attack the space ships (although the aliens have done nothing hostile). Arrival isn’t Independence Day. It’s more like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. If you’re looking for an intelligent Science Fiction movie, then Arrival fits the bill. GRADE: B+

Ramble House just published The Sword of Thongor so the cover artwork isn’t available online yet. In its place, I’m providing one of my favorite Thongor covers instead. Thongor was created by Lin Carter as a Conan clone. If you’re a fan of Robert E. Howard’s barbarian, then you’ll feel right at home with the Thongor series. Like Conan, Thongor travels around getting in trouble. Plenty of sword fights and action propel the books. No doubt Robert E. Howard was the more talented writer, but Lin Carter manages to capture some of the Conan magic in his Thongor series. Robert M. Price is the executor of Lin Carter’s estate. He’s a fan of the Thongor series and decided to write a sequel. Richard A. Lupoff provides an informative Introduction. If you’re a fan of Sword & Sorcery novels, The Sword of Thongor will entertain you. GRADE: B
THONGOR OF VALKARTH SERIES
1. Young Thongor, by Lin Carter, Robert M. Price, and Adrian Cole (Wildside Press, 2012) (ISBN 978-1-4344-4101-0)
2. The Wizard of Lemuria (1965; revised/expanded as Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1969)). In his introduction to the revised edition, “A Word from the Author”, Carter reveals that the revisions consist of restoring certain passages cut by the editor from the first edition, conforming certain portions of the book to details described in later books of the series, and adding a few thousand words of new material.
3. Thongor of Lemuria (1966; revised/expanded as Thongor and the Dragon City (1970))
4. Thongor Against the Gods (1967)
5. Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968)
6. Thongor at the End of Time (1968)
7. Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970)

If you ever wanted to know the background of some of the greatest hits, Marc Meyers has written the perfect book to find out the facts. Anatomy of a Song is a browser’s delight. Elvis had a Number One hit, “Good Luck Charm,” in 1962. When Elvis went into the recording studio in Memphis in 1969 it had been seven years since he had a Number One song. Elvis ended his drought when he recorded “Suspicious Minds.” It’s one of my favorite Elvis songs and it zoomed to the top of the charts. Marc Meyers provides information about the songwriter and the producer of each of the songs along with historical information. If you love Rock, R&B, and Pop music then you’ll find Anatomy of a Song fascinating! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Lawdy Miss Clawdy By Lloyd Price
2. K. C. Loving By Little Willie Littlefield
3. Shout By The Isley Brothers
4. Please Mr. Postman By The Marvelettes
5. Runaround Sue By Dion DiMucci
6. Chapel of Love By The Dixie Cups
7. You Really Got Me By The Kinks
8. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling By The Righteous Brothers
9. My Girl By The Temptations
10. Reach Out I’ll Be There By The Four Tops
11. Darling Be Home Soon By John Sebastian
12. Light My Fire By The Doors
13. Groovin’ By The Young Rascals
14. White Rabbit By The Jefferson Airplane
15. Different Drum By The Stone Poneys
16. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay By Otis Redding
17. Fist City By Loretta Lynn
18. Street Fighting Man By The Rolling Stones
19. Stand By Your Man By Tammy Wynette
20. Magic Carpet Ride By Steppenwolf
21. Proud Mary By Creedence Clearwater Revival
22. Oh Happy Day By The Edwin Hawkins Singers
23. Suspicious Minds By Elvis Presley
24. Whole Lotta Love By Led Zeppelin
25. Mercedes Benz By Janis Joplin
26. Moonlight Mile By The Rolling Stones
27. Maggie May By Rod Stewart
28. Carey By Joni Mitchell
29. Respect Yourself By The Staple Singers
30. The Harder They Come By Jimmy Cliff
31. Midnight Train to Georgia By Gladys Knight & The Pips
32. Ramblin’ Man By The Allman Brothers
33. Rock the Boat By The Hues Corporation
34. Walk This Way By Aerosmith
35. Love’s in Need of Love Today By Stevie Wonder
36. Deacon Blues By Steely Dan
37. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes By Elvis Costello
38. Heart of Glass By Blondie
39. Another Brink in the Wall By Pink Floyd
40. London Calling By The Clash
41. Brother John/Iko Iko By The Neville Brothers
42. Big City By Merle Haggard
43. Time After Time By Cyndi Lauper
44. Nick of Time By Bonnie Raitt
45. Losing My Religion By R.E.M.

“Every battle is won before it is fought.” Sun Tzu stated that trueism long ago, but it is still true today. Robert Cialdini shows how you can persuade people by preparing them for your message. What you do before you make your pitch determines much of the acceptance of your message. There are plenty of applications of Cialdini’s approach in marketing and management. But these techniques would also work in everyday life whether you’re trying to convince your spounce that “just a few more books” would make Life better or swaying your children to your point of view. The preparation of the message is everything! Cialdini also presents ways to change for the better. Different messages must be used but in order to be effective, an organized campaign of messaging needs to be organized. I found a lot of great ideas in Pre-Suasion. You’ll find it useful, too! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Part 1: Pre-suasion: the frontloading of attention.
Pre-suasion: an introduction
Privileged moments
The importance of attention…is importance
What’s focal is causal
Commanders of attention 1: the attractors
Commanders of attention 2: the magnetizers
Part 2: Processes: the role of association.
The primacy of associations: I link, therefore I think
Persuasive geographies: all the right places, all the right traces
The mechanics of pre-suasion: causes, constraints, and correctives
Part 3: Best practices : the optimization of pre-suasion.
Six main roads to change: broad boulevards as smart shortcuts
Unity 1: being together
Unity 2: acting together
Ethical use: a pre-pre-suasive consideration
Post-suasion: aftereffects.
References
Notes
Index

Turnout is everything. Go vote!

The 4-4 Buffalo Bills find themselves mired in mediocrity again. Their best player, running back LeSean McCoy, suffers from a sore hamstring. He may or may not play tonight (another Game Time Decision for Head Coach Rex Ryan). Massive defensive end, Marcell Dareus, returned from his NFL Drug Suspension and promptly developed a sore groin. He may not play either. I can’t remember the last time the Bills won a Monday Night Football game. It’s been at least a decade. I don’t think Cap’n Bob or Rick have anything to worry about tonight.

The Buffalo Bills play tomorrow. What is your favorite NFL team going to do today?

I really wanted to like DOCTOR STRANGE more than I did. Benedict Cumberbatch is just fine as the egocentric, narcissistic neurosurgeon who loses his ability to practice his profession. Rachel McAdams is solid as Strange’s former love interest (she’s also an ER doctor). And Tilda Swinton is a delightful casting choice as The Ancient One. My problem is with the Magic. Given that we’re in a world of magic and sorcery, you’d think that the CGI guys would come up with something cool. Instead, we get buildings folding themselves (a la Inception) and glowing magic shields. Not impressive. I think the MARVEL Special Effects team needs to watch the trailer to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to see how Magic should look like on the Big Screen. GRADE: B