![]() ![]() Some YouTube clips were – shall we say- eye popping! She was ahead of her time and her influence can still be seen today. The author takes us through the years- with an interesting piece on Betty Davis- not to be confused with the actress- an artist I honestly have no memory of. I admit I love the girl groups from this era of time- so I really enjoyed this section- and agree the influence of these groups was huge- but is rarely acknowledged in the world of rock music. ![]() Girl groups such as ‘The Shirelles’ have been forgotten over the years. ![]() (Janis gave public credit to Thornton- while Elvis refused.) These women were influential outside of their work in the studio, as well.īig Mama Thornton – who recorded ‘Hound Dog’ before Elvis, and ‘Ball and Chain’ before Janis Joplin- never got her due, though she worked well into her old age. Often times, these women, whose music was often mislabeled as soul or R&B, never got the respect or recognition they deserved- and doubly so for those who made contributions to male dominated rock groups. I enjoyed this tribute to the black women who helped to shape rock music. Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll by Maureen Mahon is a 2020 Duke University Press publication. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() ![]() The feeling was brief and gone at once, Harry’s circuitry not rewired to respond to the negative feedback.Īnd a bit of the information was gained: the intrusion of this sort could be felt, and Professor Quirrell hadn’t tried it yet. That was a serious blow to the newborn hypothesis of no harm however, there was no true pain from the strike. ![]() ![]() Immediately, he felt as if slapped with something hot. ![]() He wasn’t sure if they could hurt each other at all-and wasn’t eager to check-but the likeliest option was that they were equal, at least in terms of the harming power.Īs he was pondering that, Harry, almost automatically, started following one of the outer strings of the Professor’s thought-yarn. Harry wanted to flinch, but then it dawned on him.Īs a pure thoughtform, Professor Quirrell had neither the gun nor Avada Kedavra. It started off vague, just a feeling of sheer wrongness that made him stutter his words, quickly transforming into horror as he realized just who the professor was. He went through many emotions upon recognizing the other being in front of him at first, he was relieved to find someone competent, someone to bounce off of the multitude of ideas plaguing his head. Harry wasn’t sure he could speak, but he tried nonetheless. ![]() ![]() However, critical response grew to the point where many now consider it among Malamud's best works. The novel received mixed reviews when it first appeared, due to its complex narrative structure. Ultimately, this flawed hero will learn too late of the consequences of blind ambition. As he attempts to reach that goal, his moral courage will be tested. The novel introduces Roy Hobbs, an initially innocent young man, who strives to be "the best there ever was in the game" of baseball. ![]() Malamud employs forces of good and evil to complicate the choices and consequences that face his protagonist. The novel's allegorical framework blends realism and fantasy in its exploration of the theme of moral responsibility. ![]() Stricken down in his first attempt, Hobbs gets a second chance, as Bernard Malamud brilliantly raises all the passion and craziness and fanaticism of. ![]() Roy Hobbs, the protagonist of The Natural, announces this dream aloud - a display of hubris that invites divine retribution. In his Dictionary of Literary Biography article on Bernard Malamud, Joel Salzberg notes that the author "holds a preeminence among Jewish-American writers that has consistently been reaffirmed by recent critical assessments." Malamud, however, began his career with his popular first novel, The Natural, influenced by his love of baseball and his fascination with stories of the mythological quest for the Holy Grail. All he ever wanted was to be the best in baseball. ![]() ![]() ![]() Trying not to give spoilers, just saying that there are a lot of threads in this story. Bits seeming not quite like fantasy, but the stories we hear of business people using their influence in illegal ways to make more money/power, but as with many of those sorts of tales they also use something slightly (or very) supernatural to help them. This time it's in both a fictional town similar to others in Cornwall and also a real town (though I didn't believe it, so Googled it) called Mousehole! He was sort a founder of Urban Fantasy, and this is another great example. The story is in a new setting than much of his writing. ![]() The narrator did a wonderful job, changing voices and accents enough to easily differentiate the characters and beautifully narrating the story. The villains are a bit darker than in much of his writing, but the story just as magical and eventually quite hopeful. Point being I'm so glad this is now available as an audiobook. Plus, while I still buy hard copies, I'm a slow reader. I've been a fan of this author for a while, but his books are getting harder to find, many of his older works are out of print. Another wonderful story by Charles de Lint ![]() ![]() However, the hospital soon made the nurse give Beth back.īeth then went into the foster care system, where she lived with many families until she came of age. Darius had secretly hoped that the nurse would adopt his daughter. ![]() As a newborn, Beth spent time in the Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit before going home with a nurse from the hospital.ĭarius with left with watching over her from the shadows, knowing that as a Brother fighting in a war against the Lessers, he couldn't be the father Beth would need. She then died of extreme blood loss, leaving behind a baby girl that appeared, in every way, to be fully human. ![]() After Beth was born, her mother lived long enough to tell a nurse that the father of her child was dead. Francis Hospital before Darius could reach her. Fritz, Darius's doggen, speculates that Beth's mother reached out because she was afraid of what she was bringing into the world.īeth's mother went into labour and was brought to St. It wasn't until Beth's mother was about to give birth that she contacted Darius again. ![]() At some point during their relationship, Beth's mother realized what her lover really was, and out of fear or anger, or both, she left him without informing him that she was pregnant at the time. Whether that love was reciprocated remains unknown. Elizabeth is the blooded daughter of Darius, who openly claimed to have loved Beth's human mother. ![]() |