Rob's Blog

Tag: Swampys Florida


July 23rd, 2015 – My watercolor painting of Whitey Markle for the Silver Springs Alliance!

by on Jul.23, 2015, under Caricatures, Cartooning, Florida Outdoors!

2015-0723-Whitey-1

Meant to post these earlier! This one of 5 paintings I did for the speakers at an event our group, Silver Springs Alliance, had back in May. As each speaker spoke I illustrated what they were speaking about. LAter I added watercolor.

Here’s the one for, Florida folk singer/Sierra Club leader/all around good guy, Whitey Markle. He covered a great deal of territory and it was fun for me, knowing the area so well, to poke further fun at it all in the artwork. Each painting is given to the speakers as a “Thank you!” for coming out and helping more Florida citizens learn more about our water problems in our great state.

(Been meaning to post more, but have been on the road again! Lots going on the next few days. I should be posting a lot more.)

2015-0723-Whitey-2

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

July 20th, 2015 – Book: ‘M*A*S*H Goes to Miami’ by Richard Hooker & William Butterworth.

by on Jul.20, 2015, under Books

Mash Goes to MiamiMash Goes to Miami by Richard Hooker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The most frustrating part of this book is the less-than last 50 pages that take place in Florida with the main characters! This book should be titled: MASH Travels the Globe. The usual large bundle of characters are all over the place in the typical Butterworth fashion in this series. All traveling from Maine to Paris to Alaska to New Orleans, etc. This book should not have the name Miami in it.

The only use of a Miami setting is a pit stop at the Miami International Airport, something about a Catholic church early on and scenes in a hotel along Miami Beach that is loosely compared to The Fontainbleu.

The entire cover is deceiving. This is not a continuation of the MASH TV series. Butterworth is following the lead of Hooker and using those characters, plus plenty more. The cover art shows the characters in fatigues and indicates the gang is going to “invade unwary Miami”. None of which happens. It’s not atypical to have a cover not match the interior story. Considering the promises of “The smash hit TV series MASH Goes to Miami” and how far the story is from Miami, this is particularly bad packaging.

The writing is typical of the series. Butterworth is chug-a-lugging books at this point and the non-ending elongated names of everything and heavy line-by-line repetition are the filler. The writing is very funny and fun. There’s not much of a story, though the makings of a few are present. It’s all more of a travelogue. Next time I see author Tim Dorsey, I must ask him how much the Butterworth books influenced him.

The characters are not only well written, but written over and over and over again. I remember now why I had trouble getting through these three decades ago.

I believe this is my second time reading this entry in the series. Some 35 years ago I read most of the series. The trouble with the mutli-named everything is that after all these years, the books all merge together in my head. Reading this brought that to my attention.

Poking around about named authors, Richard Hooker and William Butterworth, I was surprised to learn Hooker didn’t write the continuing series and Butterworth is multiple people! Shocked to learn Butterworth is also W.E.B. Griffin! I’ve always had fond memories of the MASH series. Now I have to try a “Griffin” book, something I’ve put off due to their length and size of series. Curious about the use of humor and strung together names.

I really like the humor and the writing and the characters. It’s plotting that’s a problem. Also, many today would likely despise the 4 or 5 names everything and body has.

Despite all that, the book is very funny and a genre vanishing from the bookshelves, so…
Bottom line: I recommend this book: 5 of 10 points.

View all my reviews

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

July 11th, 2015 – Book: ‘The Shadow Patrol’ by Alex Berenson

by on Jul.11, 2015, under Books

The Shadow Patrol (John Wells, #6)The Shadow Patrol by Alex Berenson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I want to first note – since I haven’t before – that, besides Vince Flynn, it’s Alex Berenson that has flung me into the espionage genre that I had avoided all of my reading life. Now I have stacks of books I’ve gathered over the last five years all of crafty individuals trying to save the world.

Involving ‘The Shadow Patrol’, it was this book that that I realized what a terrific job Berenson does capturing the dialogue of the different characters. The variety of the lingo of soldiers portrayed is excellent. Also excellent is the heroes dialogue in his head, what he communicates in the field and how he communicates to his CIA connections. Mighty tough to keep that consistently.

About the story: This story is a light effort for the hero. One with bad guys that are not to destroy the world, but internal grief in the ranks of the soldiers, if I may understate. The story written does seem understated. The bad guys are not as well delineated as to their motivations as would be needed to want the hero to save the day. There were the final chapters to stop the bad guys, but I wasn’t cheering the hero on as I have in previous Berenson books. The ending was also week.

The writing, besides the excellent dialogue, is extremely good in setting description. There is a real feeling for where all occurs. The character descriptions and background are also well explored. As I typically complain about contemporary books this one could have used some editing. Especially considering the rather simplicity of the plot.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of 10 points.

View all my reviews

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , more...

July 8th, 2015 – Florida Heroes History talk & Batman on a rocket! What a combination!

by on Jul.09, 2015, under Cartooning

2015-0708-FortMcCoyTalk-1

Gave another Florida History Heroes talk at the Fort McCoy Library in Marion County this time. I spoke about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her writings that help depict and preserve the area around Fort McCoy. There’s Henry Plant whose steamboats traveled the nearby Ocklawaha River. There’s also President Richard Nixon who acted on the efforts of others to stop something that would have transformed the entire area….but you’ll have to come to a talk to find out what that was. smile emoticon

At these talks I strongly urge, and have available, books on the subjects that can be checked out. We need to support our library to encourage reading!

Wrapped up with a drawing that’s subject matter is based upon the answers by an audience member. The little fellow below proposed a rocket ship and Batman. Below is the drawing.

Next stop is this Saturday at the Reddick Library in north Marion County at 2pm. If you’re in the area, come on by!

Here’s where I’ll be:
Reddick Public Library
Address: 15150 NW Gainesville Rd, Reddick, FL 32686
Phone:(352) 438-2566

Big thanks to my pal Natalie Lyons, with the Reddick Library, for arranging these Marion County Public Library System – FL talks!

 

2015-0708-FortMcCoyTalk-2

 

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

July 2nd, 2015 – My Color Version of the Creature in the Woods!

by on Jul.02, 2015, under Cartooning, Swampy's Florida

Here’s the color version of the drawing I posted last night!

Trilby is strolling through the woods to a picnic and is bothered by an intruding alien & his transportation device. The lone extraterrestrial inquires as to the nearest burger joint. Trilby points the way to the The Burger Inn, though, in truth, he’s not quite sure where he is at the moment.

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

July 1st, 2015 – My Inking of a Creature in the Woods.

by on Jul.01, 2015, under Cartooning

I’m grounded for a bit and getting as much artwork out as I can. Amongst the cartooning done tonight included the next few days of my daily Swampy’s Florida daily celebration cartoons. This one was fun! The fun of aliens is that you can make it up as you go along! grin emoticon

I’ll leave a shroud of mystery as to what this creature might be celebrating Thursday. Tomorrow you can see the color version over at Swampy’s Florida or I’ll later share it here.

I’ve been having fun creating a continuous story linking the celebratory daily cartoons into a story. The fun is trying to figure out how to link each day together!

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

June 29th, 2015 – Book: ‘Blood land’ by William W. Johnstone

by on Jun.29, 2015, under Books

BloodlandBloodland by William W. Johnstone

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Of the few dozen Johnstone Clan novels I’ve read, few were published during William Johnstone’s lifetime. This one was. Considering the few books written at the time by him, I figure this one may have been written by Johnstone himself and not one of the herd of ghost writers to come.

Unfortunately, this is the worst of the books I’ve read possibly actually written by Johnstone. I can read a formula cast in the structure of the book. At the time he was also producing the Smoke Jensen series and this book too much reflects those. You could swap out the hero for Jensen. Not that it ruins the novel, just that it indicates Johnstone’s later actions of employing ghost writers considering how much he was able to produce, apparently, plot-wise.

The entire premise is hard to believe, which means the writer failed to connect his plot with the reader. Basically involves bad guys taking over a town with a vision of taking over the world in their way. The idea of the seduction of the townspeople seems more real today than possible in 1985. Still more than far fetched.

One of the most important things to take from this book is Johnstone’s writing of the farming industry and what was and would be happening. Younger people will have a great deal of trouble understanding what he is writing in that what he wrote has not only happened but is so buried in the commercial maelstrom, that the idea of the independent family farms that produce for the U.S. to such a high level will be hard to perceive.

The writing in the book is less than standard. The setting is described at points, but I never got the feel of the place as I have in so many other Johnstone Clan novels. That character construction is also far less than the usual stellar efforts of a Johnstone novel. The most interesting characters, to me, is the father and one named ‘Lila’, but little is done with them.

I figure this book is a sign of the stress of producing too many books at the same time by Johnstone.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 6 out of 10 points.

View all my reviews

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , more...

June 22nd, 2015 – Drawing and Inking!

by on Jun.22, 2015, under Cartooning

Hunkering again getting more and more and more cartooning done! This time at one of my new favorite’s, Angels in Tavares. Every meal has been tee-riffic!!!
Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

June 15th, 2015 – Trilby and a bunny!

by on Jun.16, 2015, under Cartooning

2015-0616-TrilbyBunny

Trilby and a bunny! You can see the color version over at Swampy’s Florida later this morning.

My rugged schedule of the past week and a half has finally caught up with me. Was in a meeting Monday night where I just kept feeling sicker and sicker and couldn’t slip out. Made my way home and crashed. This proves that I’m not in perpetual motion, despite what people say.

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

May 30th, 2015 – Florida Agriculture Research!

by on May.31, 2015, under Books, Florida History!

2015-0530-Florida-AgricultureResearch

Hunkering down and wrapping up research for a talk of the history of Florida agriculture I’m giving Sunday to the Florida State Horticultural Society (FSHS) annual meeting. A mostly serious talk and a bit different for me. I’ve got more talks of Florida history to groups coming this Summer.

Been running on all cylinders this past month and will try to catch up with postings.

Leave a Comment :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , more...

Looking for something?

Use the form below to search the site:

Still not finding what you're looking for? Drop a comment on a post or contact us so we can take care of it!