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The men who stare at goats are select individuals within the US army that, well, stare at goats. It’s pretty simple, though their aim is not to get a detailed look at the goat in question. Far from such a rather pedestrian activity, the US army seeks to use paranormal means to kill goats by simply staring at them. As ridiculous as going to war, staring at goats is on par with the attempt by the same US army soldiers to try to walk through solid walls. That their attempts meet with failure whenever they are observed is no surprise. The same could be said for the US armies’ success on the real battlefield, but that’s a totally different discussion…

Jon Ronson’s book is quite fascinating. He recounts his investigations, interviews and overall impressions of the US military’s foray into the paranormal. The ability to stare at goats in an effort to kill them is simply one weapon psychic soldiers were to wield in battle. Walking through walls and attempting to become invisible to the enemy are similar abilities sought by the soldiers. On a more serious note, Ronson investigates and describes torture techniques employed by US army interrogators in Iraq. The use of the Barney song to get prisoners to spill the beans is likely to succeed: ask any parent of a three year old…

Connections between the Heaven’s Gate Cult and the US military, as well as references to the Waco fire make for interesting reading. As is usually the case, there is more to most stories than meets the eye. Uri Geller is said to have been a part of the training program provided to the military, too.

If you enjoy a bit of conspiracy, obscure references to real-world events that provide a new perspective and a good laugh at the US army, The men who stare at goats is just for you. If you’re lazy, you may wish to watch the movie starring George Clooney. Me, I’d just read the book.

We’ve had an enjoyable time reading Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. So enjoyable, in fact, that we are reading it again. Reading books more than once is a common occurrence…

This is also the first time we’re reading a book together on the Kindle, and it’s proving to be of no consequence at all – thanks to the Kindle’s ability to display both text and illustrations, my young audience of one has had no signs paper withdrawal to speak of.

The story of the Fantastic Mr. Fox is rather simple: after stealing once too often from the three farmers on whose property Mr. Fox has dug a hole for him and his family, the farmers swear revenge. Boggis, Bunce and Bean initially manage to outfox Mr. Fox, but the end result is simply the shooting off of his tail.

Not wanting to risk further livestock losses, the three farmers decide to dig the fox and his family out. It’s a dig-fest, with Mr. Fox and family having to dig faster than three spades and later, a power shovel.

At the point of starvation, Mr. Fox hatches an ingenious and successful plan: with the farmers waiting him out, he manages to locate more food than his family could ever need…

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a short read and a lot of fun. After our second read is done, I think we’ll wait for the movie

We finished our second reading of Dahl’s story about James Henry Trotter and his amazing adventure on board a giant peach. The story is quite amusing and holds the interest of young and old. That should be clear. We’ve read the book twice already…

After losing his parents to a rampaging rhinoceros on the streets of London, James has the misfortune of having to live with his nasty aunts. He’s treated very badly and has no contact with anyone. The magic happens when he’s sent out into the garden one night and happens upon a wizard who passes him a bag of green crystals, promising happiness. In his excitement, James drops the bag under a peach tree in the garden. The next morning, a peach the size of a small house has appeared, housing a number of huge insects in the peach stone. James makes a number of new friends and is told that he’s taken his time: the adventure is about to begin.

The insects get the peach on the roll, causing both aunts to be squashed in the process and dropping over the cliffs of Dover into the ocean. James, the centipede, grasshopper, ladybird, spider, earthworm, glowworm and silkworm eventually make their way across the ocean to New York. Of all places, the peach ends up on the spike of the Empire State Building, causing alarm to the city’s inhabitants. On their wondrous journey, our friends encounter sharks and cloud men, whilst completing most of the distance flying along with seagulls pulling the peach attached by silk strings through the heavens.

Each of the insects has a distinct personality, ranging from the caring (the ladybug) to the mischievous (the centipede). By reading one or two chapters a night, we are assured a reasonable attention span, and the ability to recount what happened in the preceding chapters. As with all of Dahl’s books, the wacky illustrations are a welcome sight to those too young to read fluently.

Next, we’ll be reading the adventures of the Fantastic Mr. Fox on the Kindle.

Mr. Fox will be making his appearance in the cinema shortly, so we’ll be getting a sneak peek at the story.

Last week, Marvel Comics announced the availability of select titles for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices via in-app purchasing options. I have the Comics application by Comixology installed, though I don’t use it at all that often. The primary reason is the fact that the free content available holds little interest for me and I don’t have the time to research some of the independent comics available on that platform. The promise of Marvel Comics titles is a bit more interesting, if only due to the fact that I know many of the characters and storylines. The fact that the Marvel titles are available only within the US was of little concern – I have a US iTunes account. Strangely, Comics shows no Marvel content whatsoever…

Providing a wide choice of applications something the iTunes Apps Store cannot be criticized for. I downloaded the free Panelfly reader to the iPhone and launched it in anticipation. Marvel Comics? No problem! As a service to you, the loyal reader, I attempted to purchase issue #1 of the Astonishing X Men: Gifted.

The comics cost USD 0.99 each and are downloaded rather speedily. That’s the good part. The bad part is the important one: reading a comic on a minute screen and having to zoom in and out whilst panning around the page.

Panelfly is able to show an overview of all pages in the current book for easy selection.

Reading any of the content in the full page view mode is pretty difficult, unless you have the habit of carrying a microscope permanently attached to your forehead. Rotating to landscape mode makes little difference and simply necessitates more scrolling.

To zoom in is tedious and takes time. It also made me lose my position on the page. It’s not the ideal reading experience.

So, even though I’m able to get to the Marvel content, it’s unlikely I’d consider this a viable comic book reading experience. Now, if Apple would consider producing a device with a 10″ touch screen, that could all change…

Today, 50 years ago, Goscinny and Uderzo created one of my all-time favourite comic book characters, Asterix. The wacky cast of characters appeared for the first time in a French magazine and legions of fans have followed the adventures of Asterix and Obelix in over 30 comic books, each of which has been translated into almost every language imaginable.

In the time since the first book has been published, more than 300 million copies have been sold. A number of animated and live-action movies have brought the creations of Goscinny and Uderzo to life on the silver screen over the years.

For the 50th anniversary of the popular franchise, a special comic book has been prepared: Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Golden Book will be on sale. The 56 page book is a collection of unpublished illustrations, blended together into a tale of a birthday celebration for our two intrepid heroes. Almost all characters that have featured in some form or another in previously published books make an appearance. As is usual, the friends will get themselves into some kind of an adventure before being able to enjoy their roast wild boar …

The official Asterix website can be found here.

Bon anniversaire!

It’s been quite some time since I settled back into the audio book mode. There have been so many podcasts to keep me busy that I’ve been racking up the credits without choosing and downloading anything new. Not that there isn’t already plenty of book content to listen to on my iPod that I haven’t even started with yet…

I chose Afuta Daku on a whim.It’s a book I almost purchased in paper format some time ago, specifically because of the location where the story takes place (Tokyo) and the fact that it seemed to be a mystery/fantasy title.

The audio book is just over five hours long and is read by Judy Bennett. Nothing wrong with the quality of the delivery, but I found myself constantly annoyed by the accents employed by the narrator. The book is set in Tokyo. The characters are Japanese. Why then is it necessary to change to accents that belong to the greater London district? Characterization is fine, but that simply didn’t work for me.

The book is short and has a rather sudden ending. What starts out as an interesting and intriguing story slowly peters out into nothing. Many questions are left unanswered, even though part of the book takes place in the dreams of one or more characters. Chapters are broken down into times: the story starts with Mari sitting in a coffee shop, reading at just after midnight. She meets Takahashi, who knows here sister Eri and is on his way to an all-night band practice session. Eri is asleep. Asleep for a long time. Two months, we are told sometime later. As the brief novel continues, Eri is being watched by a sinister someone and experiences a rather frightening dream.

A nasty computer expert meanwhile beats up a prostitute and returns to his all night vigil behind a computer screen. Takahashi and Mari meet again during the same night. And basically, that’s it. The story left me with a wish that at least some of the loose ends started within it could at least be tied up. Instead, the reader’s one night sojourn in Tokyo ends abruptly without much satisfaction.

Not bad to listen to, but ultimately a bit of a let down. I’d give this one a miss.

Two books arrived for the boys last week. Lego-themed, of course. Firstly, to enhance our skills at identifying all those characters running around in Lego Star Wars on the PS3 and secondly as a source of more Lego inspiration. Both books are available from Amazon and are DK releases.

The Lego Book is presented in a slipcase that contains two books. The Lego Book provides an overview of the famous Danish company and tells the story of its humble beginnings and all the way to the present day. From producing various wooden toys, inventing the now-famous brick system, the production of the mini figure, specially licensed product editions, robotic kits console games and the 2010 Lego Universe, fans will find a heap of illustrations, full colour pictures and a fair bit of text. The second book in the slipcase is a specific edition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Lego mini figure and provides plenty of background and illustrations.

The Lego Star Wars Visual Dictionary is for fans of the wide array of Star Wars merchandise produced by Lego, as well as the successful computer game. A fair bit of detail is provided about current sets, collector’s editions and special items that were manufactured. A section of the book deals with the creative process and what it takes to get a new Lego kit from concept to store shelf. The highlight for eager young eyes is the special edition mini figure included with the book. That mini figure is sure to have some degree of collector’s cred: it was produced exclusively for the DK book.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the Visual Dictionary: at least half of the thickness is due to the mini figure’s integration into the front cover. Nonetheless, this is a sure winner with the young Star Wars fan – and dad likes it too

The Internet is a wonderful place for finding almost anything. From those rare collectibles on eBay auctions to out-of-print writing preserved in digital format. For comic book lovers, the following resource is likely to become an oft-visited site: Steve Cottle’s collection of newspaper dailies from the days of yore.

You’ll find Batman, Star Wars, Star Trek and many, many others from as early as the 1930’s. The archive is being updated constantly and there is a ton of stuff to keep any reader of comics very happy.

In a move that must be prompted by an imminent 2010 release of an Apple tablet device, Amazon has announced an international version of the popular Kindle. The Kindle Wireless Reading Device in its international guise will be released on October 19. Currently, the item is available for pre-order from Amazon.

South Africa is in the list of countries the Kindle will be officially supported in, which is really good news. The Kindle provides a 3G data connection to download content purchased in the Amazon Kindle store.

The Kindle is  rather compelling device, in my opinion. A large selection of content makes it quite attractive and the ability to share that content amongst devices with synchronization of bookmarks and annotations is very handy. I currently use the Kindle Reader on the iPhone and would love to have a somewhat larger screen.

To choose a Kindle or wait for Apple’s upcoming e-reader killer? A good question

My reading of the first Charlie adventure was a resounding success with the young Alexander. The logical thing to do was to go ahead and read the second adventure, one that places Charlie, family and Mr Wonka in decidedly quirky places. Having just crashed through the roof of the Bucket residence to collect grandparents and parents, the Great Glass Elevator takes off without much fanfare and launches straight into space.

As luck would have it, the USA has a shuttle in orbit making its way to the first-ever Space Hotel. The appearance of the Glass Elevator with odd figures dressed in pyjamas floating about in zero gravity makes the population of the USA and its president rather nervous. That is until our intrepid adventurers save the shuttle crew from a rather nasty attack by Vermicious Knids that have made the Space Hotel USA their home.

The wacky adventure continues in much the same vein: after their short stint in space, the glass elevator comes to rest back in the chocolate factory. Charlie is the heir to the Wonka chocolate empire, and requires some hands to help him run it. The most logical solution is at hand: Wonka Vite is able to reduce anyone’s age and make them young again. A common theme in Dahl’s books re-emerges in this scene: human greed results in three of Charlie’s grandparents regressing to the age of 2 years old. The third has taken even more pills and has regressed to a negative age, minus two, to be exact. Charlie and Wonka climb back into the elevator and travel the nether regions of the earth to enter Minusland in a bid to save Grandma Georgina. In the end, all grandparents end up at their original old age after a dose of the anti-Wonka Vite, Vita-Wonk. A visit to the White House rounds out the adventure, following on the rescue of the astronauts during the Space Hotel incident.

It’s a great read and hugely entertaining. Best of all, reading a single chapter encourages remembering the story so far and being able to recount what happened last. Dahl’s stories are certainly off-the-wall, but highly recommended. It is good to see a book written in the early 1970’s competing well against the modern miracles of entertainment, such as the PS3 and the iPod Touch…