November 2011 Archives

Well it took 44 years but thanks to Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane's Morgan the Raider finally returns in The Consummata, the just released sequel to 1967's The Delta Factor.  As Collins puts it in the preface, after "a disappointing experience producing a Factor film, however, the frustrated Spillane set aside the already-announced second Morgan novel" but twenty years later gave the "incomplete manuscript" to Collins to finish.  (BTW My review of The Delta Factor novel can be found here.)  So, was The Consummata worth the wait?  It sure was!   

This is a little late, but this Greenwich Time article on how iPads can help voters with disabilities is still pretty important.  Voters with disabilities in five of  Oregon's counties were able to cast their ballots in a recent special election.  As the article notes, voters can use the iPad to pull up the right ballot and choose their candidate with one tap on the screen.  Plus, voters with poor vision can either adjust the font size on the iPad or have the device read them the information.  For more, click here. 

BEFORE I BEGIN... Let me point out that the book I'm about to review, Mickey Spillane's The Delta Factor (first published in 1967)  is (a) out of print and (b) not currently carried by Greenwich Library (although you can request a copy through our teriffic InterLibrary Loan service).  The reason I'm reviewing it is that, after nearly 43 years, The Delta Factor was finally followed up by a belated sequel, The Consummata (which we do carry; click here to see), begun by Spillane and completed by Max Allan Collins.  However, in order to get readers to overcome any fears of having to read Factor before The Consummata, as well as grab another chance to promote All Things Spillane, I've elected to discuss the merits of the earlier work. 

Tommy Edison, blind since birth, has managed, through YouTube videos , to show how he deals with certain activities that present challenges to him such as using paper money, ATMs, DVD players and crossing streets. He is also a movie critic and his humorous reviews provide us with a glimpse in how the visually impaired enjoy life.

Here's one he did on crossing the street alone:  
 

For more videos by Tommy, check out this link. (The panhandler one is a riot.) WARNING:  Some adult language. 

Thanks to the Center For Disability Rights in West Haven and the Global Voices site.