#w.e.b. griffin

[azspot]

The nation’s universities have been deformed into playgrounds for billionaire hedge fund managers and corporate donors. Harvard University will rename its Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after the billionaire hedge fund executive and right-wing Republican donor Kenneth Griffin in honor of his $300 million donation. A decade ago, Harvard renamed the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research after Glenn Hutchins, a private equity oligarch who donated $15 million to the institute. Harvard, to save face, said the famed Du Bois Institute was subsumed into the new entity, but the fact that Du Bois, one of America’s greatest scholars and intellectuals, would have his name replaced by a white equity mogul, lays bare the priorities of Harvard and most colleges and universities.

Chris Hedges

[davidshawnsown]

The Basis for my Ukraine War Series - The Reasons Why Ukraine is Fighting Back

My ongoing Ukrainian War fanfic series here on Tumblr is an AU based on real events - a what if of the war had American volunteers fought in like manner as the Lafayette Squadron of the First World War and the volunteer flyers of WW2 - early on in the invasion of Ukraine and in support of the young International Legion of Ukraine, in the person of the real life national sports athletes, amateur and pro alike, of the nation's pro leagues and the national federations of the USOPC based in Colorado Springs, alongside their companions in Canada and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Commitees.

The reasons why I've done this is in order that the fanfic writing community here know that there's a conflict occuring far away from their homes, wherein for over the past two years Ukrainians and the foreign volunteers of the ILTD and others have been fighting Russians and foreign volunteer allies under her banner all across the frontline, resulting in great victories and tragic defeats and the heroic sacrifices of thousands upon thousands who fought for the freedom and independence of the free world against the might of Russia funded and now armed increasingly by her BRICS allies.

This is also inspired by the novels of the late Tom Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin, the latter of which I began to read and thus have inspired my writing style here on Tumblr since 2022, as well as the AU fanfics featuring sportspersons on Archive of Our Own.

This work is also in a way raising awareness of the need to help arm the people of Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia especiallly among the Americans and Canadians whose fan fiction and original writings have inspired millions around the world. I strongly urge them now more than ever to do their part to help fund and support Ukraine materially and financially so that it can continue its struggle that began in 2014.

May this work be a big contributor to not just the ongoing struggle of the Ukrainian people, but also to the total victory we ought thus to prepare to take part against Russia and its allies around the world.

Glory to Ukraine!

John

@lukeexplorer

(I was inspired by Luke's explainer on his on Substack to make this one.)

[paulgadzikowski]

There are two kinds of novels in the collection of M*A*S*H novels.

Richard Hooker alone (or, I've occasionally read, with a ghost writer) wrote M*A*S*H, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, and M*A*S*H Mania. These are episodic tales of madcap medical mayhem with quasi-technical surgery scenes. M*A*S*H is set in the Korean War, and was published in the sixties. The other two are set in Hooker's beloved rural Maine where Hawkeye and his three army bunkmates practice surgery together from the 50s through the mid-70s; Maine and Mania were published at either end of the 70s respectively.

Richard Hooker and William E. Butterworth (a pseudonym for W.E.B. Griffin, or vice versa, I dunno) co-wrote about a dozen novels published and set in the mid-70s. Some readers question whether Hooker was really involved in them but at least the first has a quasi-technical surgery scene. They're all titled M*A*S*H Goes To [some exotic location, often overseas], and are all non-episodic farces featuring mistaken identities, intercontinental airliner chases, authorities including actual contemporary public figures made to look foolish, and blatant misogyny. Hawkeye and Trapper John appear in each of them, at least more prominently than Duke and Oliver Jones do, and all feature reunions with past personnel or patients of the 4077th: Hot Lips (now Reverend Mother Emeritus Margaret Houlihan Wauchauf Wilson, R.N., Lt. Col., USA Ret., of the God Is Love In All Forms Christian Church, Inc.) and Father Mulcahy (now an archbishop and the Pope's chess and beer buddy) appear in almost all the novels. The world's greatest opera singer, an insufferable egotist who unfortunately is pretty much correct and who hangs out with a portly Arab oil prince, and a Cajun swampdweller who discovered oil on his land are former 4077th patients who appear in most or all the novels. Henry Blake is a general and is C.O. of Walter Reed Army Hospital. The Painless Pole is a henpecked fat old dentist in Michigan. Radar is CEO of his own fast-food empire and marries an opera singer, the sister of the insufferable egotist. Frank Burns remains a small doctor in a small town.

Hooker didn't like the tv series because it offended his conservatism. Both the Hooker/Butterworth novels and the later Hooker novels took occasional jabs at the tv series, especially for killing off Henry Blake. On almost the final page of the final novel, M*A*S*H Mania, Hooker has General Blake pay a visit to Crabapple Cove on the date of the airing of Abyssinia, Henry.

[alrederedmixedmedia]

Alredered Remembers novelist, William E. Butterworth III who wrote as W.E.B. Griffin, on his birthday.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 11.10

Beer Birthdays

Martin Luther; religious leader (1483)

William Hogarth; English artist (1647)

Jacob Betz (1843)

Edward Cecil Guinness (1847)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Bill Bryson; writer (1946)

Neil Gaiman; English writer (1960)

Billy May; composer, bandleader (1916)

Roy Scheider; actor (1932)

Carl Stalling; composer (1891)

Famous Birthdays

Francis Maitland Balfour; British biologist (1851)

Paul Bley; Canadian-American pianist and composer (1932)

Richard Burton; Welsh actor (1925)

Jacob Cats; Dutch poet, jurist (1577)

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1433)

Winston Churchill; author and painter (1871)

Francois Couperin; French composer (1668)

Tommy Davidson; comedian (1963)

Zoey Deutch; actress (1994)

Taron Egerton; Welsh actor (1989)

Roland Emmerich; German film director (1955)

Robert F. Engle; economist, Nobel Prize laureate (1942)

Jacob Epstein; American-English sculptor (1880)

Ernst Fischer; German chemist (1918)

Oliver Goldsmith; Irish writer (1728)

W.E.B. Griffin; writer (1929)

Hachikō; Japanese dog (1923)

William Hogarth; English painter, illustrator (1697)

Russell Johnson; actor (1924)

Mikhail Kalashnikov; Russian general, designed AK-47 (1919)

Jared P. Kirtland; naturalist (1793)

Greg Lake; rock guitarist, singer (1947)

Louis le Brocquy; Irish painter and illustrator (1916)

Vachel Lindsay; poet (1879)

Dave Loggins; singer, songwriter (1947)

J.P. Marquand; writer (1893)

Johnny Marks; composer and songwriter (1909)

Mike McCarthy; Green Bay Packers coach (1963)

Tracy Morgan; comedian, actor (1968)

Ennio Morricone; Italian composer (1928)

Brittany Murphy; actor (1977)

Zofia Nałkowska; Polish author and playwright (1884)

Tom Papa; comedian, actor, tv host (1968)

Mackenzie Phillips; actor (1959)

Ellen Pompeo; actress (1969)

Henri Rabaud; French composer (1873)

Claude Rains; actor (1889)

Ann Reinking; dancer, actor (1949)

Tim Rice; lyricist (1944)

Friedrich Schiller; German poet and playwright (1759)

Sinbad; comedian (1956)

David "Screaming Lord" Sutch; English entertainer (1940)

Bram Tchaikovsky; English singer-songwriter (1950)

Steven Utley; author and poet (1948)

Friedrich von Schiller; German writer (1759)

Brooks Williams; singer, songwriter (1958)

Arnold Zweig; German author (1887)

[bookbagged]

My current reading list

The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin (currently reading) (highly recommended)

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Lieutenants (Brotherhood of War #1) - W.E.B. Griffin

Call for the Dead - John Le Carre

Alaska - James A. Michener

The Bastard - John Jakes

The Paper Menagerie and Other Tales - Ken Liu

The Collapsing Empire, Red Shirts, and Lock-In - John Scalzi

Wheels - Arthur Hailey

The Shining - Stephen King

Parable of the Talents - Octavia Butler (I read Parable of the Sower back in 2016, so I want to try Talents this year)

None of these are in order other than Fifth Season and Left Hand. None of these are set in stone either, but I’m going to give them each an honest try.

Writers I want to try out:

Richard Russo

Philip Roth

Michael Crichton

Alice Munro

James Baldwin

To be honest, I’m pretty well drawing a blank on women writers outside of SF&F and mysteries. I want to broaden my horizons outside of those genres, but I don’t want to read anything that’s too high-brow or literary. Basically, I want to read books by women that won’t feel like a slog. Suggestions?

[cinematic-literature]

Breaking Bad S04E01 (Box Cutter)

Book title

Semper Fi (1986) by W. E. B. Griffin

If Looks Could Kill (2008) by M. William Phelps

The Rising Tide (2008) by Jeff Shaara

[snailg0th]

here’s my giant leftist to-read list for the next few years!!!

if a little (done!) it written next to the book, it means i’ve finished it! i’m gonna try to update this as i read but no promises on remembering haha

Economics/Politics

Property by Karl Marx

Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (done!)

Wages, Price, and Profit by Karl Marx (done!)

Wage-Labor and Capital by Karl Marx (done!)

Capital Volume I by Karl Marx

The 1844 Manuscripts by Karl Marx

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Fredrich Engles

Synopsis of Capital by Fredrich Engels

The Principles of Communism by Fredrich Engles

Imperialism, The Highest Stage Of Capitalism by Vladmir Lenin

The State And Revolution by Vladmir Lenin

The Revolution Betrayed by Leon Trotsky

Fascism: What is it and How to Fight it by Leon Trotsky

In Defense Of Marxism by Leon Trotsky

The Accumulation of Capital by Rosa Luxemborg

Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg

Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault

The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin

On Anarchism by Noam Chomsky

Profit over People by Noam Chomsky

An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory by Ernest Mandel

The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

The Postmodern Condition by Jean François Lyotard

Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher

The Socialist Reconstruction of Society by Daniel De Leon

Anarchism and Other Essays by Emma Goldman

Socialism Made Easy by James Connolly

Race

Biased: Uncover in the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

Blindspot by Mahzarin R. Banaji

Racism Without Racists: Color-blind Racism And The Persistence Of Racial Inequality In America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy And The Racial Divide by Crystal M. Flemming

This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How To Wake Up, Take Action, And Do The Work by Tiffany Jewell & Aurelia Durand

The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism For The Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs

Tell Me Who You Are by Winona Guo & Priya Vulchi

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race by Jesymn Ward

Class, Race, and Marxism by David R. Roediger

America for Americans: A History Of Xenophobia In The United States by Erica Lee

The Politics Of The Veil by Joan Wallach Scott

A Different Mirror A History Of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki

A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn

Black Theory

The Wretched Of The World by Frantz Fanon

Black Marxism by Cedric J Robinson

Malcolm X Speaks by Malcolm X

Women, Culture, and Politics by Angela Davis

Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis (done!)

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis (done!)

The Meaning of Freedom by Angela Davis

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Ain’t I A Woman? by Bell Hooks

Yearning by Bell Hooks

Dora Santana’s Works

An End To The Neglect Of The Problems Of The Negro Women by Claudia Jones

I Am Your Sister by Audre Lorde

Women’s Liberation And The African Freedom Struggle by Thomas Sankara

W.E.B. DuBois Essay Collection

Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. DuBois

Lynch Law by Ida B. Wells

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Sula by Toni Morrison

Song Of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Paradise by Toni Morrison

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Black Skins, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

Killing of the Black Body

Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P Newton

Settlers; The myth of the White Proletariat

Fearing The Black Body; The Racial Origins of Fatphobia

Freedom Dreams; The Black Radical Imagination

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

An Argument For Black Women’s Liberation As a Revolutionary Force by Mary Anne Weathers

Voices of Feminism Oral History Project by Frances Beal

Ghosts In The Schoolyard: Racism And School Closings On Chicago’s South Side by Eve L. Ewing

Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon To White America by Michael Eric Dyson

Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, Big Business, Re-create Race In The 21st Century by Dorothy Roberts

We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race & Resegregation by Jeff Chang

They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery

The Common Wind by Julius S. Scott

Black Is The Body: Stories From My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, And Mine by Emily Bernard

We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

American Lynching by Ashraf H. A. Rushdy

Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affects Us and What We Can Do

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life Of Black Communist Claudia Jones by Carole Boyce Davies

Black Studies Manifesto by Darlene Clark

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Souls Of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

Darkwater by W.E.B. Du Bois

The Education Of Blacks In The South, 1860-1935 by James D. Anderson

The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery And The Making Of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist

The Color Of Money: Black Banks And The Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran

A Black Women’s History Of The United States by Daina Ramey Berry & Kali Nicole Gross

The Price For Their Pound Of Flesh: The Value Of The Enslaved, From Womb to Grave, In The Building Of A Nation by Daina Ramey Berry

North Of Slavery: The Negro In The Free States, 1780-1869 by Leon F. Litwack

Black Stats: African Americans By The Numbers In The Twenty-First Century by Monique M. Morris

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique M. Morris

40 Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, And Redemption of The Black Athlete by William C. Rhoden

From #BlackLivesMatter To Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

A More Beautiful And Terrible History: The Uses And Misuses Of Civil Rights History by Jeanne Theoharis

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History Of Medical Experimentation On Black Americans From Colonial Times To The Present by Harriet A. Washington

Working At The Intersections: A Black Feminist Disability Framework” by Moya Bailey

Theory by Dionne Brand

Black Women, Writing, And Identity by Carole Boyce Davies

Slavery By Another Name: The Re-enslavement Of Black Americans From The Civil War To World War II by Douglass A. Blackmon

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Some Of Us Are Very Hungry Now by Andre Perry

The Origins Of The Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality In Postwar Detroit by Thomas Surgue

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

Beyond Containment: Autobiographical Reflections, Essays and Poems by Claudia Jones

The Black Woman: An Anthology by Toni McCade

Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female by Frances Beal

How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Indigenous Theory

Colonize This! by Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman

As We Have Always Done

Braiding Sweetgrass

Spaces Between Us

The Sacred Hoop by Paula Gunn Allen

Native: Identity, Belonging, And Rediscovering God by Kaitlin Curtice

An Indigenous People’s History Of The United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Why Indigenous Literatures Matter by Daniel Heath Justice

Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, And The Pursuit Of Justice For Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid

The Other Slavery by Andrés Reséndez

Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga

All Our Relations: Indigenous Trauma In The Shadow Of Colonialism by Tanya Talaga

All Our Relations: Finding The Path Forward by Tanya Talaga

Everything You Wanted To Know About Indians But Were Afraid To Ask by Anton Treuer

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer

Latine Theory

Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of Pillage of A Continent by Eduardo Galeano

Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gomez

De Colores Means All Of Us by Elizabeth Martinez

Middle Eastern And Muslim Theory

How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young And Arab In America by Moustafa Bayoumi

We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future by Deepa Iyer

Alligator and Other Stories by Dima Alzayat

API Theory

Orientalism by Edward Said

The Making Of Asian America by Erika Lee

On Gold Mountain by Lisa See

Strangers From A Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans by Ronald Takaki

They Called Us Enemy (Graphic Novel) by George Takei

Yellow Peril!: An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear by Edited by John Kuo Wei Tchen and Dylan Yeats

Yellow: Race In America Beyond Black And White by Frank H. Wu

Alien Nation: Chinese Migration In The Americas From The Coolie Era Through World War II by Elliott Young

The Good Immigrants: How The Yellow Peril Became The Model Minorities by Madeline H. Ysu

Asian American Dreams: The Emergence Of An American People by Helen Zia

The Myth Of The Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosalind S. Chou & Joe R. Feagin

Two Faces Of Exclusion: The Untold Story Of Anti-Asian Racism In The United States by Lon Kurashige

Whiteness

White Fragility by Robin Di Angelo (done!)

White Kids: Growing Up With Privilege In A Racially Divided America by Margaret A. Hagerman

Waking Up White by Deby Irving

The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter

White Like Me: Reflections On Race From A Privileged Son by Tim Wise

White Rage by Carol Anderson

What Does It Mean To Be White: Developing White Racial Literacy by Robin DiAngelo

The Invention of The White Race: Volume 1: Racial Oppression and Social Control by Theodore W. Allen

The Invention of The White Race: Volume 2: The Origin of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America by Theodore W. Allen

Immigration

Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftir

Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist At Work by Edwidge Danticat

My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

The Devil’s Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay In Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli

Voter Suppression

One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson

Give Us The Vote: The Modern Struggle For Voting Rights In America by Ari Berman

Prison Abolition And Police Violence

Abolition Democracy by Angela Davis

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis

The Prison Industrial Complex by Angela Davis

Political Prisoners, Prisons, And Black Liberation by Angela Davis

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (done!)

The End Of Policing by Alex S Vitale

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea J. Ritchie

Choke Hold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler

From The War On Poverty To The War On Crime: The Making Of Mass Incarceration In America by Elizabeth Hinton

Feminist Theory

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft

Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay

7 Feminist And Gender Theories

Race, Gender, And Class by Margaret L. Anderson

African Gender Studies by Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

The Invention Of Women by Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

What Gender Is Motherhood? by Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by Chandra Talpade Mohanty

I Am Malala by Malala Youssef

LGBT Theory

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

Performative Acts and Gender Constitution by Judith Butler

Imitation and Gender Insubordination by Judith Butler

Bodies That Matter by Judith Butler

Excitable Speech by Judith Butler

Undoing Gender by Judith Butler

The Roots Of Lesbian And Gay Opression: A Marxist View by Bob McCubbin

Compulsory Heterosexuality And Lesbian Existence by Adrienne Rich

Decolonizing Trans/Gender 101 by B. Binohan

Gay.Inc: The Nonprofitization of Queer Politics by Merl Beam

Pronouns Good or Bad: Attitudes and Relationships with Gendered Pronouns

Transgender Warriors

Whipping Girl; A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity

Stone Butch Blues by Lesie Feinberg (done!)

The Stonewall Reader by Edmund White

Sissy by Jacob Tobia

Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein

Butch Queens Up In Pumps by Marlon M. Bailey

Black On Both Sides: A Racial History Of Trans Identities by C Riley Snorton

Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin

Ezili’s Mirrors: Imagining Black Queer Genders by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley

Lavender and Red by Emily K. Hobson

[forthosebefore]

Black Literature Matters Event at The New York Society Library

April 28, 2021 - May 1, 2022 Open to the public with limited capacity in The Assunta, Ignazio, Ada ,and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery

View the exhibition trailer | From the opening

In a consequential moment in American history, the New York Society Library presents a not-to-be-missed exhibition of its remarkable collection of African American, Caribbean, and African writers. The Library showcases our remarkable holdings of books by Black writers dating from the late eighteenth century to the present day.

Guest curator Farah Jasmine Griffin has selected titles by such legendary writers as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, Lorraine Hansberry, and Toni Morrison. Black Literature Matters also highlights the pioneering work of librarians Dorothy Porter and Jean Blackwell Hutson. Included in the exhibition are photographs by Carl Van Vechten, Nancy Crampton, Morgan and Marvin Smith, and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

Dr. Griffin is the William B. Ransford Professor of English and African-American Studies at Columbia University, and the Chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department. She is a prolific author on the African American experience.

More Black literature resources here.

This exhibition is generously supported by The Florence Gould Foundation.

Photograph of Langston Hughes. Copyright © Van Vechten Trust; Gravure and Compilation copyright © Eakins Press Foundation.

[panjia042]

 Biography of  CHRIS KUZNESKI

 Chris Kuzneski is an American novelist & a bestselling author.

His thrillers have been translated into more than twenty languages, have been published in more than 40 countries & have sold millions of copies worldwide. He was born on September 2, 1969 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States.

 Chris grew up in Indiana, PA, with his parents and three siblings. As a fourth-grader, he wrote his first book, The Monster Cookbook, a work of fiction that detailed the culinary and nutritional needs of a dozen creatures that he'd created. The school's librarian was so impressed that she had it hardbound and placed in the school's library with all the books that his classmates enjoyed. Unbeknownst to her, a career in writing was born. Chris attended Indiana High School where he was voted Class Clown of his senior class and anchored the offensive line on a team that won back-to-back CENPAC championships. He continued his football career at the University of Pittsburgh, playing with future NFL stars Tony Siragusa, Jeff Christy, Mark Stepnoski, Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, and many others. Unfortunately, a freak foot injury ended his athletic career.

While studying at Pitt, he wrote for The Pitt News, the Indiana Gazette, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, eventually earning his B.A. in writing and his M.A. in teaching. From 1992 until 1998, he taught English and coached football in two western Pennsylvania school districts and was selected to Who's Who Among America's Teachers. But in his mind, he still wasn't doing what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a writer, so he quit his job and started working on his first novel, The Plantation & took a great leap of faith . . .

After being rejected by every agent & publisher, he self-published his first novel “THE PLANTATION”. Most experts thought it was a horrible decision that would ruin his writing career before it even started but the “experts” were wrong. His novel, THE PLANTATION, was praised by James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Rollins, and several of the top writers in the genre.

Their indorsements gave Kuzneski confidence to continue writing. The praise also caught the attention of a young literary agent named Scott Miller, who was just starting at Trident Media. He asked to represent kuzneski & the two of them started kicking butt together. His next thriller, SIGN OF THE CROSS, was released in 2006 and became an international bestseller. So far, it has been translated into more than fifteen languages. SWORD OF GOD climbed even higher on the charts, hitting the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. His fourth book, THE LOST THRONE, debuted in the UK Top-5 and stayed on the charts for several weeks.. His latest book, THE PROPHECY, reached #4 on the UK charts .His fourth thriller, The Lost Throne, was released in the UK in 2008 and peaked at #5 on the British fiction chart. Putnam released the American hardcover in July 2009. It was also his first American hardcover. It won the Bronze Medal for Popular Fiction at the Florida Book Awards, America’s most comprehensive state book awards program. The American paperback reached the New York Times mass-market bestseller list in July 2010. His fifth thriller, The Prophecy, was published in the UK in October 2009 and climbed to #4 on the British fiction chart. Putnam released the American hardcover in July 2010. His sixth novel, The Secret Crown, was released by Penguin UK on September 30, 2010 and within two weeks rose to #10 on The Times bestsellers list. The American hardcover was released on January 12, 2012. Kuzneski's seventh novel in the series, The Death Relic, was released by Penguin UK on September 29, 2011 in paperback and Kindle formats, debuting at #9 on the London Times bestseller list. The American version was published in hardcover on January 10, 2013. The eighth novel in the series, The Einstein Pursuit, was released in the UK on August 29, 2013 by Penguin UK. The American version was released on September 16, 2014. Kuzneski’s first seven novels (and also his ninth) follow the adventures of Jonathon Payne and David "D.J." Jones, former members of the MANIACs—an elite Special Forces unit in the U.S. military. Although the main characters are ex-soldiers, the novels are not “military” thrillers. Instead, they are often compared to the works of Clive Cussler and James Rollins. Kuzneski’s thrillers are known for their action, adventure, Mystery, and humor.

 His eleventh novel, The Prisoner's Gold, won the Thriller Award for the 2016 Book of the Year at a gala hosted by the International Thriller Writers (ITW) in New York City on July 9, 2016. His works have also been honored by the Florida Book Awards and named a Literary Guild's featured selection. Chris’ novels were highly awarded with its armed witty prose, a unique narrative voice, and a penchant for blackmail, Kuzneski has garnered praise from many of the top authors in the world: James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, Vince Flynn, James Rollins, Tess Gerritsen, Douglas Preston, Lisa Gardner, Steve Berry, Scott Mariani, Allison Brennan, W.E.B. Griffin, Graham Brown, Boyd Morrison, John Gilstrap, Raymond Khoury, David Morrell, Andrew Gross, Joseph Finder, Jeremy Robinson, and his writing idol, Clive Cussler.

Simply put, his literary works are awesome.

“I currently live on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I’m not enjoying the sun, surf, and hurricanes, I’m working on my next novel. (At least that’s what I tell my agent.)”, He said.

[aimermadestinee]

🌬 Lisez La montée des haines  Le racisme expliqué à ma fille T. Ben Jelloun La couleur des sentiments K. Stockett Les morts ont tous la même peau B. Vian Les monstres de là-bas H.B. Kemoun Black boy R.Wright Des mensonges dans nos têtes R. Talley Dans la peau d’un Noir J.H. Griffin Senghor et son éloge de la femme africaine (Chants d’Ombre), Césaire et son Discours sur le colonialisme Histoire de l’Afrique B. Lugan My Bondage and My Freedom F. Douglass Les âmes du peuple noir W.E.B. Du Bois J’en passe, juste lisez. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-v33zAzu4/?igshid=1lqlybdw5vbsl

[yesireadforfun]

Book Review: Broken Trust  DNF

Title: Broken Trust

Author: W.E.B. Griffin

Series: Badge of Honor #13

Publication Date: September 27, 2016

Pages: 400

My Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

It’s been a long time since I left a book DNFd, and I’ve never not finished a book written by one of my favorite authors. What usually happens is that I’ll finish a book, love it or like it at the time, then I might not like it later on. This is an author that I began to love in my teens, and his Badge of Honor series is one of my favorites. Or, at least it was. Right from the beginning, I was not excited once I started to read. As I got further into the first chapter, I found that I just wasn’t getting into it and it felt like a chore to keep reading any further. I guess it’s happened again, my tastes in books has changed.

But, keep in mind that this has no bearing on the author or his books. They are still well written and are kind of like an episode of law in order, just in book form. This should not stop you from reading a book from Griffin or the series.

[duker42]

What are your favorite books to read?

Oh man, you’ve hit a passion of mine. My husband bought me my iPad so I would get rid of the 10 18-gallon containers of books I had. I adore reading. I enjoy books by R.A. Salvatore, W.E.B Griffin is another (Brotherhood of War/The Corps Series) Clive Cussler (Dirk Pitt Series). I love romance novels. For the Roses by Julie Garwood is a favorite. Oh and thriller and suspense novels always intrigue. Basically I can be happy reading anything except an instruction manual

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 11.10

Beer Birthdays

Martin Luther; religious leader (1483)

William Hogarth; English artist (1647)

Jacob Betz (1843)

Edward Cecil Guinness (1847)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Bill Bryson; writer (1946)

Neil Gaiman; English writer (1960)

Billy May; composer, bandleader (1916)

Roy Scheider; actor (1932)

Carl Stalling; composer (1891)

Famous Birthdays

Francis Maitland Balfour; British biologist (1851)

Richard Burton; English actor (1925)

Francois Couperin; French composer (1668)

Tommy Davidson; comedian (1963)

Roland Emmerich; filmmaker (1955)

Ernst Fischer; German chemist (1918)

Oliver Goldsmith; Irish writer (1728)

W.E.B. Griffin; writer (1929)

Russell Johnson; actor (1924)

Jared P. Kirtland; naturalist (1793)

Greg Lake; rock guitarist, singer (1947)

Dave Loggins; singer, songwriter (1947)

J.P. Marquand; writer (1893)

Mike McCarthy; Green Bay Packers coach (1963)

Tracy Morgan; comedian, actor (1968)

Ennio Morricone; Italian composer (1928)

Brittany Murphy; actor (1977)

Mackenzie Phillips; actor (1959)

Claude Rains; actor (1889)

Ann Reinking; dancer, actor (1949)

Tim Rice; lyricist (1944)

Sinbad; comedian (1956)

David "Screaming Lord" Sutch; English entertainer (1940)

Friedrich von Schiller; German writer (1759)

Brooks Williams; singer, songwriter (1958)

[artofquotation]

In Memory: “only thing worse than not realizing one’s dreams was to realize them”

In Memory: “only thing worse than not realizing one’s dreams was to realize them”

“only thing worse than not realizing one’s dreams was to realize them”

― W.E.B. Griffin, 1929-2019, book quote from Battleground

[pikecountynaacp-blog]

The NAACP chapter also gave out its annual awards Saturday during the banquet.Bishop S.D. James was awarded with the NAACP Lifetime Achievement award.James became an active member of the Civil Rights movement, boycotting the Montgomery Bus System, surviving the bombing of the Cleveland Avenue Lutheran Church, and led the march of Alabama State students to the capitol to meet the Selma-to-Montgomery marchers. Since then he has also served a mathematics instructor in the Sparta, Georgia school stem, chemistry and physics instructor in Bibb County, and science instructor in Mobile County. He served as chemical laboratory assistant to Dr. Curtis McDonald, during which time their research in spectrophotometry led to the development of the polyester fiber. He currently serves as senior bishop of the Evangelistic Pentecostal Churches Inc., CEO of S.D. James Evangelistic Association, president of Maranatha Bible College and Ministraties Training Institute and much more.Hattie Flowers was honored as matriarch. Flowers attended Pike County Training School and began work at 13 in 1935, watching children for $1.50 a week. She later farmed, picked cotton, stacked peanuts, upholstery, dry cleaning sewing, cooking and baking. She later worked at the school cafeteria and then Edge Regional Hospital, where she worked for 20 years before retiring. Flowers now attends County Line Missionary Baptist Church where she serves in numerous capacities.2019 Freedom Fund Banquet

Judge U. W. Clemon urged guests at the annual NAACP Black Tie Banquet Saturday to take a stand during this “dark and depressing time.”

“We stand where we have always stood: on the side of making the American dream of justice and equality a reality instead of just promises,” Clemon told the packed crowd at the Trojan Center ballrooms. “We stand for voter registration and participation, and against voter suppression. We stand for the election of men and women who will speak for us, and prosecutors who will do justice in cases of police brutality and civil rights violations.”

Clemon also talked about growth requiring change, and traced the history of the NAACP and the change it effected.

“I necessarily must consider the outstanding, indelible history of the NAACP,” Clemon said. “Consider how all three branches of the government turned their backs on us and left us to the mercies of our masters … From the ashes of those perilous times, form the dry bones of segregation, there emerged a redeeming spirit, invited into W.E.B. du Bois (founder of the NAACP). From its inception the NAACO has always ben about change. Over its 110 years, the NAACP has attacked and fought and often won some major battles against discrimination in both high and low places.”

Dianna Bascomb, president of the Pike County branch of the NAACP, said that the struggle for rights continues today despite changes.

“We as a people must come together regardless of our color,” Bascomb said. “We must fight the abuse of entrusted power.”

Dan Green was honored as patriarch. Originally from Louisiana, Green earned his Master’s Degree in learning disabilities from Troy University . He moved back to Pike County in 1986, where he worked at Goshen High School for 13 years. While there he formed the organization Young Men of Distinction which allowed young men to participate in activities outside of school. He was instrumental in assisting 30 students getting scholarships. He now serves as a deacon at First Missionary Baptist Church.

Minnie Wilson was honored as the “unsung heroine” for her victory over drugs and alcohol to become a community servant.

At 17, Wilson lost her mother and became a single parent, but she worked at Troy University in food service for 22 years despite her challenges. However, she became dependent on drugs and alcohol and suffered several relapses before finally leaving Alabama to free herself from dependency. Once she returned to Alabama, Wilson began serving in a variety of roles including voter registration, poll watching, volunteering at OCAP, providing transportation services and much more. She also serves as a member of the usher board of Beulah Hill Baptist Church.

“It’s not about me, its’ about God,” Wilson said.

Cornelius Griffin was honored for his community service. After returning to his hometown of Brundidge after playing football at the University of Alabama and in the NFL, griffin decided to begin preparing Thanksgiving meals for people in the community that otherwise would not be able to celebrate the holiday feast.

“I wanted to do something to give back to those that have given so much to me,” Griffin said.

Ziad Rollins was given the outstanding business award for Flo’s restaurant.

Four scholarships were awarded to seniors at local high schools.

Camille Hope Cameron of Charles Henderson High School will be pursuing chemistry and health professions degrees at the University of Alabama and plants to be an anesthesiologist. Community service includes participation in Tri-Omega community service organization, church volunteering and more.

Aleyan Daniels of Goshen High School will be pursuing a degree in elementary education at Auburn University at Montgomery. Community service includes participation with rotary club, the Pike County Chamber of Commerce junior ambassadors, Turkeys from Heaven and more.

Lauren Pearson of Pike County High School’s community services includes making care bags for city officials, painting mural on the school campus, tutoring in math, volunteering with nonprofit organizations, collecting shoes for the less fortunate in Africa and more.

Kaylee Ferraro of Pike Liberal Arts School plans to attend Troy University in the fall. She participates as member of the Twilighters, editor of the PLAS yearbook and Patriot Press newspaper, over 500 community service hours including with the salvation army, church, Troy Animal Rescue Project, Boys and Girls Club and more.