Thursday, September 30, 2010

Updated review on "Lost Symbol", "No Ordinary Family", Songs Rocking my iPod

Hello,

Here's an update in my reading of "The Lost Symbol". This is up to page 330: I had a lot of free time at work and I was able to read another big chunk of this book. It has improved from how the book started out, but isn't it "The Davinci Code" all over again? So many of the story elements are the same. Also Brown is the master teaser. Every time a puzzle is solved it only opens more puzzles. That was old after about the third time in "The Davinci Code", so it's old all the way through this book. Like in "TDC", I'm guessing Robert Langdon is going to hook up with the women he's escaping with.

He also like to have a lot of misdirections in his book. He wants to lead you to think he's going one way, but then the story goes another way. This sort of plot device is fine. However in his books, he has overused this tactic so much. The last two he has tried in "The Lost Symbol" I saw coming a mile away. It's not like I'm a genius either, even those of us with average intelligence can see these misdirections coming a mile away.

I'm also tired of the bad guys (for lack of a better term) wanting to transform into something higher, especially since I know it'll never happen with Brown as the author. That's just another one of his teasers. Why is it that Langdon and the bad guy are usually two of the very few smart characters?

His stories are predictable, frustrating but undeniably hard to put down. But as I mentioned previously it's not very satisfying. The meal is very good until the reading is done and then I realize I just had a bunch of empty calories.

Out of all the TV series premieres I've seen this year, my two favorite shows are "Rubicon" and "No Ordinary Family". I love at the end of episode 1, Jim Powell's friend, George, created a "lair" for him. That was a nice touch. Although Stephanie (there's that name again) Powell doesn't want him to be a crime fighter anymore. I love how the story is about about people with extraodainary abilities, but there's also a lot of humanity in the show.

About my only complaint about "No Ordinary Family", is the whole story about the daughter, Daphne, and how she's waiting to have sex with her boyfriend. Okay first of all, she looks like she's 13. So there's the ick factor of that and the questionable morality of teen sex.

For those keeping track at home: Jim (Dad) can jump up to a quarter of a mile and bullets don't phase him, unless he's shot really close. Mom (Stephanie) is extremely fast. Daughter Daphne is a mind reader and son JJ is a genius. Out of the extraordinary skills on the show, I think the one I'd like the most is to be able to read minds.



Last night I had the misfortune of watching the very bad and corny "Youngblood". It stars Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe. The requisite babe is Cynthia Gibb. Yes, that's what I thought too. I had never heard of her. You can skip that movie.

Songs rockin' my iPod. These were the songs kicking my butt today while I was walking on a treadmill.

1) "Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"- Cher
2) "Rhythm Nation"- Janet Jackson
3) "All That I Got (The Make Up Song)"- Fergie I absolutely love this song.
4) "Long, Long Way From Home"- Foreigner
5) "Caught Up In The Rapture"- Anita Baker
6) "Machinehead"- Bush
7) "I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You" Madonna and Jonathan Pryce, this song is from the "Evita" soundtrack.
8) "The Time, The Light, The Heart"- Revere
9) "Rock, Rock (Till You Drop"- the awesome Def Leppard
10) "Through With You"- Maroon 5
11) "Sober"- Tool
12) "Start Me Up"- The Rolling Stones
13) "Dance In The Dark"- Lady Gaga
14) "Read Between The Lines"- KSM This could be Daphne's song.
15) "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You"- Heart
16) "Gallows Pole"- Led Zeppelin
17) "Can't Tell Me Nothin'"- Tim McGraw This could be my theme song.
18) "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink"- Merle Haggard I certainly understand the sentiment of the song, but definitely not my theme song.
19) "Red Football"- Sinead O'Connor
20) "Sadness"- Enigma

themusicaddict

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