The Storm by Clive Cussler: In
the middle of the Indian Ocean, a NUMA research vessel is taking water samples
at sunset, when a crew member spots a sheen of black oil ahead of them. But it
is not oil. Like a horde of army ants, a swarm of black particles suddenly
attacks the ship, killing everyone aboard, while the ship itself goes up in
flames. A few hours later, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are on their way to the
Indian Ocean. What they will find there on the smoldering hulk of the ship will
eventually lead them to the discovery of the most audacious scheme they have
ever known: a plan to permanently alter the weather on a global scale. It will
kill millions . . . and it has already begun.
Bannon
Brothers: Honor by Janet Dailey: When two of her friends, thousands of
miles apart, are struck down, Kenzie, an expert trainer of combat dogs, turns
to Link Bannon, a high-level intelligence officer, for help in finding the
truth - a dangerous mission that puts them in the path of an unhinged killer.
Gone (DVD): When her sister disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to once again face her abductor. Check Availability
Man on a Ledge (DVD): Ex-cop
Nick Cassidy escapes from prison to plan the ultimate heist: steal a $40
million diamond from cutthroat businessman David Englander, and in the process
prove his innocence. From the ledge of the famous Roosevelt Hotel, with the
whole world watching, Cassidy plays a clever game of cat & mouse with the
NYPD while his dutiful brother Joey works against the clock to extract the
diamond and clear his brother's name. Check Availability
We Need to Talk About Kevin (DVD): Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined. Check Availability We need to talk about Kevin:Lionel Shriver. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, published by Serpent's Tail, about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the perspective of the killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documents her attempt to come to terms with her son Kevin and the murders he committed. Although told in the first person as a series of letters from Eva to her husband, the novel's structure also strongly resembles that of a thriller. The novel, Shriver's seventh, won the 2005 Orange Prize, a U.K.-based prize for female authors of any country writing in English. In 2011 the novel was adapted into a film of the same name. Check Availability
That persistent beeping noise you are experiencing as you read this is not a traffic jam or a garbage truck backing up. It is The City of Bloomfield Hill blog blowing it's own horn. HONK ! A year ago on June 1st 2011 edition one hit cyber space and after the next four or five of editions we were delighted to have 13 or so visitors for those pages. Now 360 more days has gone by and we have published 222 editions and those pages have enjoyed 13,167 visits. That is up from the 10,000 visits we had at the start of April and the 5,356 last December. For year end we put All who had visited our blog (collectively) on the short lost of our Person of the Year honors.We firmly believe that anyone who reads this publication deserves award. Your interest in local affairs is commendable . You have definitely acted in the public good.
The Question is have we ? I first heard of such a question when I was home from College a number of decades ago. It was a Saturday and my Father, a television executive came to breakfast dressed for the office. I commented and he said he was going to the city to meet a minister and his flock. They had some interesting projects going on and he would learn about them. The TV station where he worked was licensed to broadcast by the Federal Communications Commission. Periodically that license came up for review and the station had to demonstrate at public hearings that they acted in the public good. Those hearings were promoted on the station and because in those quaint days the people were presumed to own the airwaves the public was invited to attend or to show cause why or why not the licence should be renewed..
Newspapers and printed publications are different. They are governed by the concept of Freedom of the Press and the principals allow such freedom. In terms of the public good we could always be better. The Oakland Press who helped launch us and in who's on line edition we appear asked for 3 submissions a week with a word count of 300 or so words. That's 156 per year . We delivered 222 and constantly topped the 300 word count. The latter aspect is depending on your view point is either good, or bad, but not indifferent. The topics we cover are not available elsewhere. It seems the weekly press is adverse to covering events that involve night time meetings. We are not a weekly. We are two thirds of the way to being daily. Honk !
We are not without our critics however and we must give the devil it's due. If this blog lacks subtlety it is because the author has none. In college when the topic of the best movie ever made came up, which oddly enough came up quite frequently, the author always argued for John Ford's "The Horse Soldiers" staring John Wayne.
Others kids argued for Citizen Kane,2001 Space Odyssey,Grand Illusion, or Easy Rider. I didn't win any arguments but when "Mission Statements" came in vogue in the nineties I wondered why. What could be said that wasn't already said in the Horse Soldiers. In time and with repeat viewings I managed to memorize most of the dialogue in the key scenes and apply them to situations life presented. While critics would agree that The Horse Soldiers was not John Ford's greatest work, in 1941 it was he (not Citizen Kane's Orson Welles) who won best director Oscar for the film How Green was my Valley. That fact once considered a monumental travesty is now a studied point by revisionists. Citizen Kane, I always regarded as one of one of the creepiest movies ever. Stark scenes, weird camera angles, and weird people,( like the guy who wigs out in a house so big he calls it Xanadu) and in the end it's all about some sled that is thrown in a furnace.
As the years go by, in the spirit of enhanced wisdom at a later age I am also reviewing that opinion as well. The thought has occurred to me that there might be a more polished Mission Statement Movie than The Horse Soldiers, and guess what turned up ?
Mr Thatcher's visit to the Inquirer, is prompted by the news of an Armada (Spanish of course) reported to be off the New Jersey coast in the yet to be implemented Spanish American War. Mr, Thatcher says the report is false. Citizen Kane (based somewhat on real life William Randolph Hearst) asks if he can prove it. Well today he could.. He could go the Television stations and film at 6 and 11 would reveal no such Armada. Film is an interesting medium. So is print and the ability to combine the two is a most recent phenomena. Incidentally the Oakland Press is at the vanguard such reporting. In the coming year we will use video to show aspects of our City as well as writing about them.
We are not however not feuding with the transit company. The City of Bloomfield Hills doesn't have one.
We do feud with City Commission. We don't mind the fact that they may not know how to run a government any more than we know how to run a newspaper. What we mind is that they are not trying everything. A big for instance would be consulting the public first and foremost. That is why we made it our point to tell the public first and foremost. We are a City of 3800 people not five commissioners. Some of our 3800 residents have a dramatic influence on the Global Economy. We hope to share some of those stories in the coming year.
We believe that if the people are not attending City Commission meetings, City Commission as the town's elected Government should be going to them. Otherwise we run the risk of being robbed blind by what someday might be a pack of power mad pirates. We see our role as looking out for the civic interests of our residents.
In an interesting and entertaining manner of course. In that regard it is amazing how well Mr. Thatcher plays the role of my wife. Long suffering wife, I might add. In the summer when we go up north with Uncle Mike we stop at the Big Boy. Them to eat. Me to tap into the WiFi and rewrite the blog. I sit at a separate table so that if I spill my iced tea and wipe out everything there will be only me to blame.Uncle Mike usually asks why I am sitting "over there." The wife sounding none too pleased replies "don't ask" When they pass me on the way to the cash register I look up and see my wife with palm of hand extended indicating that I have five minutes. I nod. Ten minutes later she returns to plop down beside me and asks why I can't just write 300 words and be done with it. I explain that I had to do over the paper four times. She asks if I think anyone will notice. I say I would.
Our Promise to you in year two ?
To inform and entertain
To provide the people of this City with a tireless champion of their rights as citizens.
To Offer City Blogs from five continents from people who live there and like it.
To Offer an on line conduit to the Baldwin Library.
To offer an on line conduit to City Hall
To connect to every every local paper in the area and provide a search engine that can search all of of them.
To develop your ability to express yourself in our blog.
It was said that in the Calvary of Ulysses Simpson Grant there is no such thing as can't. In fact shortly before the war started the General himself was a clerk in a leather goods store. The rest as they say is history.
Gone (DVD): When her sister disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to once again face her abductor.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (DVD): Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined. Check Availability![[Cover]](http://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=1582432678/SC.GIF&client=sirsi&type=rw12)
