Go back in time, without having to invest in a Tesla Time Machine.

Amazon Link

Jokers and Dandies by Sharon Schuler Kreps is a book that you could expect to find if you opened up a time capsule and made it past the Atari game console and eight track tapes.  It is Kreps' collection of memories about her family as she grew up in that decade, complete with crazy relatives and great grandmothers which adjectives can't describe.

Kreps goes into what life was like with a whole menagerie of animals - from pigs to parrots.  Add to that an older sister whose mission in life is to torture her younger sister, and two younger brothers, and there is a recipe for mayhem.

The book comes off as if Kreps is sitting next to you with a glass of wine from a box at your first family reunion and sharing stories that no one wants told about them.  You will learn and remember things about the seventies that you may have forgot (or which you could!) along with many things about her family that you may not want to know (I can never think of the term "dinner bells" in quite the same way anymore).

If you like light hearted stories and want to take a trip back in time without having to rig up your own DeLorean time machine and go back to the future, then Jokers and Dandies might be the most economical way to make the journey! 

If you are a baseball stat freak - I have the perfect game for you!

Ok, I thoroughly admit that I am a baseball freak / geek.  Being a huge baseball fan, it would make sense that I am drawn to baseball simulation games.  But the problem that I often run into is that most games have the user bat, pitch, run - which kinda messes up the stats.  Plus, I like "dynasty" games in which you are the owner, draft, and have to work within a budget.  To me - it's all about the beautiful (yes, beautiful) stats that baseball creates.

If you are like me, then Out of the Park Baseball (they are up to edition 15 at this moment!) is the perfect choice for you.  With OOTP 13 and above, you can hold a draft, set it in any year that you wish (deadball, steroid era) and have players from every era pop into the draft at different years.  Or you can just pick a year, have your set roster, and go from there.

The greatest thing about this game is that you can make it as complicated or as simple as you want.  The season I am playing has A, AA, AAA minor league teams that (hopefully) can feed your major league roster.  The computer can initiate trades, and is fairly good about not making a horrible deal.  Injuries, trade deadlines, rule 5 draft picks, minor league options, roster expansion, and almost every conceivable obscure rule that you can think of is included.

You can choose to simulate a whole season in about 5 minutes, or call every pitch of every game - it is all up to you.  The "action" on the field is all "text based", so if you are looking for a HD version of Babe Ruth facing off against Nolan Ryan - well that's not going to happen.  But, the stats are going to be a heck of a lot more realistic.

This game is hands down THE standard for baseball simulations.  Nothing can match it for the stats, playability, customization - it's like Prego - it's in there!

This same group features a hockey franchise game as well, and I am sure if you want to recreate the Johnstown Chiefs and the Hanson Brothers from SlapShot - I am sure there's a way!

This game is a 12 out of 10!  It has been my go-to prescription for many years to combat the most hideous man-made caused infliction ever created - the off season!!!

Take a pass on the movie "Devil's Pass"

Amazon Link

I broke a rule that I had made for myself tonight.  Never watch a movie that your dad picked up for a buck at a yard sale.  I suppose there is an off chance that my father could have inadvertently picked up a copy of "Time Bandits" and at least I could have enjoyed some nostalgia of my youth.

But, as my luck usually turns out, my dad picked up a copy of "Devil's Pass" instead.  I have to admit, the cover was intriguing.  "Based on a true story" is across the bottom, and I am always up for learning something new.  I had never heard of the Dyatlov Pass Incident in which 9 hikers died under mysterious circumstances in 1959.  There was a picture on monster on the cover - so I figured the movie was going to use that incident and then go into some Yeti theory of the deaths.

Well, saying this movie is based on a true story is like me saying that I had a beer with Babe Ruth.  Babe Ruth (from what I read on wikipedia) was a real person - so I can say anything after that and say it was based on a true story.  I really, really, really try to stay positive in my reviews - because I know that someone put their heart and soul into the effort.  Well, maybe just time and no heart and soul into this venture, because I don't see how anyone could have this "vision" of this movie and convince others to actually follow through with it and create a film.  Astonishing.

I am going to venture from my policy of trying to be positive, mainly because I feel like I was deceived by the "true story" aspect and can not get the time back that I invested in sitting through the entire movie just to write this review.

Instead of talking about the nine hikers that died (which is a true event), the film goes all Blair Witch Project on the unwitting audience to follow 5 college yuppies who decide to travel to the Ural Mountains to try and determine what happened to the hikers on some super extra credit project.  Seriously, I can't suspend my belief here - kids in college are trying to dig through couches to get enough change for a 40 oz beer and bag of Dorito's.  Oh, these kids won a grant to go on this trip - my bad.  They were obviously better grant writers than hikers, because they were seen wearing very little for a place that was -22 degrees Fahrenheit when the original 9 hikers died.

So, through the lens of a shaky camera, the audience is taken on the trip from their point of view.  I am going to cut to the chase on the plot.  The five students climb the mountain, and after a avalanche (which may not have been started by natural causes) one of their members goes missing and another suffers a horrible broken leg.  They spend exactly zero effort trying to locate the missing hiker, and after setting the broken leg, find enough emotion to remark on the lack of cell phone reception one of the hikers has even though they were told that their plan would have the coverage.  I wish I were making that up.  I guess he was taken in by misrepresentation as well - hard to feel sorry for you, dude.

During the night, two of the campers find a door in the middle of the mountain, but the lock is on the outside which means that the metal door was meant to hold something inside.  The door is open - and big footprints start to appear mysteriously with a starting point that looks like the creature was dropped out of the sky and disappeared with the path ending abruptly.

Add in a couple of Russian soldiers shooting at them, running into the door for protection and getting shut in, the Philadelphia Experiment, UFO theories, wormholes, and creatures that look like the Russian Youtube monster in the woods and insert your own ending.  The most unbelievable part - that the freaking camera battery never dies and subjects us to watching the filming.  

Guys, if you have an urge to film everything - even when monsters are chasing you into a room with a wormhole and you let a woman do the dirty work of fighting off the monsters so you can keep filming - I would like to offer this bit of advice.  JUST STOP IT!  PUT THE CAMERA DOWN! You will never get a prom date by sitting back filming girls kick monsters butts with only "chain whips" as weapons.  I know - I tried - didn't work (based on a true story).

One last note - don't panic and think the tube on your TV went bad, there is about 20 minutes of pitch black with audio only throughout the movie.  Now that I think of it, the scariest thing about the DVD was thinking "Ah crap!  I just bought this TV!"

"There is enough potatoes here to choke a donkey," is the one line that sticks out in my mind.  Other than that, there was enough poor dialogue to choke a reviewer. 

I need to quit writing and find enough change for beer and Dorito's now.

Like Country? Me? Couldn't happen...., but it did!

I came across Robin Landry's album by sheer chance - or should I say luck?  I'm going to go with luck, because after listening to "Twenty Years Ago" and "Waiting" - I just went ahead and bought the whole album based on those two songs.  And you know what?  It is now one of my favorite albums to play on my hour commute to and from work.

She has a beautiful voice and you can tell she put her heart and soul into this album.  I don't know much about where her career was before this album, but it wouldn't surprise me if it takes off afterwards!

I was fortunate enough to come into contact with Robin through my book, and I can tell you the world needs more quality people just like her.  It's nice to know that the person behind the songs is as great as their music - it makes it mean just a little more.

It's upbeat, kinda country - but the catchy kind - not the wrecked my truck and dog ran away and spilled my beer type.  For someone who likes rock n roll, Robin Landry might just make me take a trip on the country wild side for a while to explore!

Check her out at -   http://robinlandry.bandcamp.com/    and let her know that Nate sent you - don't be shy!

When is going to be a good time to start?

This past year has been quite a whirlwind of activity and completed things on my "to-do" list.  Since writing down my goals, taking serious steps towards acting on them, and following through, quite a bit has changed for me:

• I am now the author of two books "How the Tortoise Became Fast" & "Tommy the Tortoise's Wish for Speed"
• I have gotten both books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes on my own.
• I designed my own website at www.natemercer.com
• Gone to multiple book signings that I have arranged for myself
• I started a blog with a friend named "Movies & Manuscripts" that is getting hits internationally on a daily basis.
• I have read 25 books so far this year (mainly for my blog).
• I have changed out all of the exterior lights on my house on my own (no small feat).
• I will have dug out by hand and am building a 13 x 23 foot patio complete with retaining walls and firepit.
• I am 1/5 of the way towards my goal of losing 35 pounds.
• I have twice beaten my personal best (since turning 30) in 5k's
• I am working towards becoming a Certified Coach through ICF.
• I have taken personal days off work to give presentations to veterans groups to help "Pay it Forward".

As I write this, I kind of surprised myself at the list - and this all has happened since January.

Am I writing this to brag?  Well, as the saying goes "It ain't bragging if you really did it." 

No, this post is more about what is possible when you spend just a little time with yourself, commit some things to paper, find the right people to coach you, and then (most importantly) take action.

I committed to quit letting life happen to me this year and make life happen for me instead.

If you haven't done it already, when is going to be a good time for you to start the same?

The Babe goes deep @ the Louisville Slugger Museum.  

Trust me, in the end when you list your accomplishments, you will wonder why you ever settled for less.

Here is something to smile about!

Don't wait until you reach success to become happier!  

Most of us are relatively happy, but we are also aware of a deep sense that we could be happier.  

We believe happiness will come when we reach certain goals in our lives like getting married, buying a new home, getting a raise, a promotion, or a new job.   So we forego a little happiness today and this week so we can reach those goals sooner.  

Our challenge is the days and weeks turn into months and years.  

The goals we thought would make us happy turn out to be just milestones on a long journey, and our happiness does not materialize like we had hoped. Happiness in the form of a deep sense of contentment, satisfaction, and fulfillment seems to be missing. 

This book will help by providing a clear plan on how to choose happiness and then leverage that happiness to become even more successful.

Amazon Link: 

Web Site:  http://connectinghappinessandsuccess.com/

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I don't want a GPS system - I was lost in "The Labyrinth" and didn't want to find my way out!

"The Labyrinth" is a strong debut novel by Dorian Zari that any fan of Stephen King should check out.

Zack, Carly, Dan, and Sarah all have senses that are either too good, or not good enough - a deaf cello player who plays to packed houses, a blind man who can see to the stars and paints pictures hung in galleries, a nose that can smell everything to the point that cocaine is needed to dull the sense, and a tongue that can break down the ingredients in Col. Sanders secret KFC recipe!

The villain is a nice young boy who happens to think he is in Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" music video.  Really, dude - lose the sunglasses.  Problem is - once you see what is behind the shades, you might wish that The Guardian left them on.

Past lives and star crossed lovers have waited millennia for just the right moment to take out their arch enemy - but was it really just fate that put them in the moment or was there something else pulling the puppet strings all along?  What happens when you have finished the roller coaster ride of multiple reincarnations and find out that you are on your last one?  What exactly is with the hourglass on the cover?  Why is this labyrinth made of material that just usually isn't associated with your run of the mill carnie fun house maze.

And why does everything have to end when the alcoholic finally lands a beautiful stripper and goes straight?  Maybe it is just crappy luck, or maybe that nice young boy in the sunglasses might know the answer - why don't you just go up and ask him?  I am sure you are dying to know....
____________________

Zari must have some dark space in his head that sprung forth in the writing of this novel.  A nice benefit of reading the book is that you can visit these dark spaces, close the book, and put it on a shelf in your basement if you are scared.  Zari must have had to put it on paper to get the light shining in those spots again - and I am sure it was a much longer process...

The story reminded me in a way of Stephen King in the sense that Zari just drops The Guardian into the story and doesn't really go into detail about the how or why he is there.  But, Zari leaves little doubt that The Guardian is a bad, bad man.....  If you hire body guards and the company sent you The Guardian, you might want to ask for a refund for misrepresentation...  LOL.  I am not saying this is a distraction or a weakness at all - just a comparison that jumped to mind.  Heck, if Stephen King can drop a dome around a town in (where else) Maine, offer no explanation, and just start killing characters off - why should anyone else get into the mundane backgrounds before starting the book's body count?

Zari has a few scenes that "blew my mind" (or head off).  One made me literally stop and call my co-blogger and share with him what I just read.  Let's just say that after reading this book, I can never think of Russian Roulette quite the same way again.  Why use a gun, when there are so many other options that are available?

In the end, Zari lifts the veil and nicely wraps things up by explaining things for those in the audience who need that sort of thing.  Me?  I was too interested in The Guardian's modis operandi to really care, but the author did look out for the inquisitive souls that just had to know.

All in all, this was a strong and well thought-out, novel.  For a few dollars, check out Dorian Zari's book and show your support for this talented Indie Author!

Amazon Link                   Goodreads Link                 Barnes & Noble