100 Notable Books of 2015

27 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

Tags

100 Notable Books of 2015, Books Most Enjoyed in 2015, MillersTime Favorite Reads, NYTimes

1206-BKS-100Notables-01-master675-v2

João Fazenda, NYTimes

And the season of (best/worst) lists has begun.

While we await the best (?) list of all — MillersTime Readers Favorite Reads of 2015 — hint, hint, reminder, reminder), here’s an early look at the Times 100 Notable Reads of 2015.

Despite my love of reading and my freedom to read at will, I’ve only read six of them (A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, The Meursault Investigation, Karnel Daoud, The Sympathizer, Viet Tanh Nguyen, Between the World & Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ghettoside, Jill Leovy, and On the Move, Oliver Sacks).

Just one of these six is likely to make it to my favorites for 2015.

Plus, I’ve only even heard about three others (Purity, Franzen, Fates & Furies, Groff, and Jonas Salk, Jacobs). At least one of these I already know will show up on a MillersTime reader’s list.

Anyway, except for the wonderful nine of you who have already sent in your favorite reads this year, take this as a not-so-subtle reminder to make up your list and send it to me before Dec. 15th.

Thanks.

“Who Turned My Blue State Red?”

23 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Alec MacGillis, Cutting the Safety Net, NYTimes, Red State/Blue State

Only occasionally do I post something about political issues.

Generally I find most of my ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’ are pretty set in their views about what is going on in our country, and the purpose of MillersTime is not to add to the disharmony that seems so present these day.

But when I do come across something that I find ‘of interest’ and think it may be equally so to others in both the categories mentioned above, I do post it in The Outer Loop and/or Articles of Interest sections of MillersTime.

And so today’s post of an article by Alec MacGillis from the NY Times, Nov. 20, 2015. It seems to me to explain something about what is presently happening in our country .

See what you think about his: Who Turned My Blue State Red ? – Why Poor Areas Vote for Politicians Who Want to Slash the Safety Net.

Respectful Comments are welcomed.

The Balkans – “It’s Complicated”

21 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"samoborska kremsnita", "Sarajevo Rose", "The Cellist of Sarajevo", Bosnia-Herzegovina, Crossroads of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik, Istria, Karanac, Kotor, Kumrovec, Ljubjlana, Marshal Tito, Montenegro, OAT, Opatija, Overland Adventure Travel, Postojna, Samobor, Sarajevo, Slavonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Srebrenica, The Balkans. Croatia, truffle hunting, Tunnel of Hope, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Zagreb

B.4

(“Sarajevo Rose” – Ellen Miller)

Now that Ellen’s Balkan photos are posted (The Balkans: Thru Ellen’s Lens), I can’t delay any longer trying to capture in writing a bit of our recent trip.

And the Final Two Contest Winners Are…

19 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

2015 Millerstime Baseball Contests, Big Papi, Boston Red Sox, Contest Winners, David Ortiz, Papi, Sox

First, permit me a moment of digression:

davis_st2232_spts-15912-8840 Photo by Jim Davis/Boston Globe

One of my father’s useful pieces of advice was “There’s a time to leave the party.”

David Ortiz seems to agree.

As he turned 40 yesterday, he announced that the 2016 MLB season would be his last. Despite having an excellent season in 2015 (BA – .273, HRs – 37, RBIs – 108), he has chosen to “leave the party” next year, and thus forgo a likely $11 million paycheck for 2017. (Don’t feel sorry for him, though, he made $16 million dollars last year and will do so again in his final season.)

Better to leave before the inevitable decline (Derek Jeter, for example, was not so wise).

As the picture above indicates, Ortiz was involved in all three of the Sox World Series victories, victories that would not have happened without him. Plus, he has given Sox fans endless opportunities to cheer and ward off that hopelessness and pessimism that all of us who have been raised to be obsessed with the Sox have had to endure.

Thank you Papi for all you’ve given us, and thank you for choosing a good time to leave the party.

Now, on to the original purpose for today’s post — announcing the final two winners of the 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contest.

The polls are closed, and your ballots have been counted.

Calling for Your Most Favorite Reads in 2015

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

books1-539x303

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read”- A. Lincoln

It’s that time of year again — when I request you share with other readers of MillersTime your most favorite books read over the past 12 months.

Here are a few guidelines that may help in drawing your list and in making my compilation easier:

*When I ask for your Most Favorite Reads of 2015, I’m seeking fiction and/or nonfiction books that stood out for you above all you’ve read in the past year. What have been the most enjoyable, the most important, the most thought provoking, the best written, the ones you may go back and read again, the ones you reread this year, and/or the ones you have suggested others read?

* You are welcome to send just one title or up to a half dozen or so. (Please limit your contributions to six as it takes me many hours to compile the list. For some of you this request may be difficult, but remember the request — MOST Favorite Reads of 2015.)

* List the title, the author, and indicate whether it is fiction (F) or nonfiction (NF).

* If you are willing, please write a sentence or two about why each particular book made it to your list for this year. If you prefer not to add this, no problem, but I’ve found readers enjoy the comments and use them in choosing books to read for the coming year.

* Don’t be concerned about whether others will have the same book(s) on their lists. If we get a number of similar titles, that’s just an indication of the power of a particular book/author.

* Your books do not have to be ones that were written and/or published in 2015, just ones that you read over the past year.

* Send me your list in an email (Samesty84@gmail.com) before Dec. 20 so I will be able to post the entire list at the end of the year. (If you send me your list soon, you may be able to avoid my constant email reminders to do so.)

To see previous years’ lists, click on any of these links: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.

A Winning Trade

17 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"108 Stitches", Craig Kimbrel, Dombrowski, Padres, Red Sox, Sox

aac394a2ea3548f992caf4798605cda5-aac394a2ea3548f992caf4798605cda5-0 The best trade, baseball and otherwise, is one that benefits both sides of a trade, imho.

If that is so, then I think the recent Sox-Padres trade meets that definition of a ‘best trade’.

While it really isn’t possible yet to evaluate either the short or long term outcome of what Drombrowski has done for/to the Sox, it seems to me that in one trade he’s drastically changed the Sox bullpen for the better – Tazawa in the 7th, Uehara in the 8th, and Kimbrel in the 9th.

The best evaluation of this trade is the one yesterday by Alex Speier. If you haven’t seen it, take a look: 108 Stitches.

Feel free to add to what he has to say in the Comments’ section of this MillersTime/GoSox post.

I don’t know how many of you follow Alex Speier’s 108 Stitches, but if you’re not getting his daily blog post sent to your email, consider doing so. Sometimes there’s more than even the most obsessed of you might want to know, but he’s always informative.

Five Good Films, Two Not So Good

15 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"Bridge of Spies", "Brooklyn", "Flowers", "Labyrinth of Lies", "Meet the Patels", "Room", "Suffragette", 24th Philadelphia Film Festival, Documentaries, Films, Foreign Language Oscar Submissions, Movies

Four of the five good films mini-reviewed below are in theaters now, and one of the two not so good ones is also widely available around the country.

Labyrinth of Lies ****1/2

The time is 1958 and a low level young public prosecutor stumbles onto and pursues a story most of post WWII Germans want left alone — the participation and guilt of many Germans who were part of the Auschwitz holocaust.

Labyrinth of Lies is based on true events, but here it is a fictionalized account of what occurred. As Johann Radman (Alexander Feeling) proceeds on a lonely effort to expose war criminals, he meets stiff resistance from virtually everyone in Germany. They just want all of these issue left behind. Yet he perseveres.

Germany’s official entry into the foreign film category of the Oscars, Labyrinth of Lies tells the story of what one person can do, did do, and at what costs and with what results.

(More than 97 per cent of our Sunday Cinema Club rated this film either excellent or good.)

Bridge of Spies ****1/2

Help Choose the Winner(s)

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

2015 Millerstime Baseball Contests, Baseball Contests, MLB, Winners

Grind: Extra Fine (Small Circles & Effect: High Contrast), Brew: Color Gels (1/2 Pic & Full Blended Circles), Serve: Stirred (Flash Burn Tone & Brown Bag Texture)

Enough information is now in the record books that a winner can be chosen for the 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contest #2: Make a prediction about something that will happen during the 2015 MLB season.

Below you will see the 46 contestants’ predictions and whether they missed by a mile (20), had some truth in their prediction (16), or basically nailed something that happened (10).

The winners will be chosen by MillersTime readers (see below).

More Grand Kids’ Photos

09 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 3 Comments

For those of you who like these sorts of pictures, here are some from a recent three day babysitting gig we actually enjoyed.

Three peas

Winners – 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

baseball, MillersTime Baseball Contests, MLB, Winners - 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contest

Spring-Training.th_

That was a pretty good World Series, especially if you’re not a Metropolitans’ fan. But even they did surprisingly well this season. The Royals clearly were not to be denied and deserved the win. There’s something different about watching baseball when you don’t have a ‘dog in the fight.’

On to the winners of the 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests.

The Balkans: Thru Ellen’s Lens

02 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Ellen Miller's Photos, Montenegro, Photos, Solvenia, The Balkans

Here are a dozen of Ellen Miller’s favorite photos from our recent trip to Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Below these 12 are links to more photos in two slide shows.

B.15 Continue reading »