Booklist

Frankenstein: Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein--is a brilliant re-imagining of the classic story that only world-renowned and New York Times bestselling author could conceive, bringing the two hundred-year-old "monster," a literate, mysterious loner, to modern day New Orleans on the trail of his creator.
I love it when writers update old monster stories. Well, I love it when they do it well. The juries still out on this one since it's a trilogy and I have only read the first book. I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy it all that much. I thought it was pretty shallow. No depth in the story, no character development to speak of, chapters that were, on average, 5 pages long. It almost seemed stitched together...kind of like a certain monster we all know and love. And that was the other thing, the monster wasn't in it very much and when he was, he chose to swoop in Aslan-like and help only when the mood suited him.
So, not much else to say. I'll give the final verdict once I've read all three.

Booklist

Deep Fathom by James Rollins
Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfaces from an aborted underwater salvage mission to find the Earth burning. Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. Air Force One has vanished from the skies with America's president on board. Now, with the U.S. on the narrow brink of a nuclear apocalypse, Kirkland must pilot his oceangoing exploration ship, Deep Fathom, on a desperate mission miles below the ocean's surface. There devastating secrets await him—and a power an ancient civilization could not contain has been cast out into modern day. And it will forever alter a world that's already racing toward its own destruction.
This is a re-read. I first read it years ago when it first came out...when I was first introduced to Rollins' books. I liked his stories back then. I don't like the books he's written lately. It seems too much like he jumped on the Da Vinci Code bandwagon. I remember really liking this book when I first read it...enough so that I thought a series with the Kirkland character would have been good. I didn't enjoy it much on the second read. I found myself skipping alot. Oh well. I ran out of library books and had to grab something around the house. I'll try not to let that happen again.

Annie Velma (Granny) Gordon (1914 - 2009)

Velma Gordon, age 95 of Milligan, Fla., went to be with her Lord on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, at Shoal Creek Rehab.

Velma was born on March 21, 1914, in Pollard, Ala., to Daniel and Martha Garrett. She was a longtime resident of the Milligan area. Velma worked as supervisor in the lunchroom at Milligan School until it closed, then she moved to the Baker School lunchroom where she worked as manager for 23 years. Velma was a member of Milligan Baptist Church.

Velma was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Thomas N. Gordon; a daughter, Sarah Elaine Gordon, and a granddaughter, Sherry Elaine Gordon Everett.

Survivors include her five sons, Thomas L. Gordon and his wife Virginia of Gainesville, Fla., Bobby Gordon and his wife Joyce of Milton, Fla., Jerry Gordon and his wife Emily of Lewisburg, Tenn., Terry Gordon and his wife Jody of Holt, Fla., and David Gordon of Milligan. She is also survived by her precious 24 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren.

A time of visitation will be held on Friday at Whitehurst-Powell Funeral Home from 5 to 8 p.m.

The celebration of Velma's life will take place on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m. at Milligan Baptist Church with the Rev. Ted Jernigan and Don Smith officiating. Burial will follow in Milligan Baptist Church Cemetery.

Whitehurst-Powell Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements.

Endoscopy

This morning I had my first endoscopy. The doc is trying to determine what is causing my excess gas and sometimes gas related pain. We arrived at 7:30 am and things got underway very quickly. As the nurse was prepping me she noticed my Beatles watch and she told me about seeing them in Chicago when she was 15. I asked her if she could hear them over the screaming and she, of course, said no. I also asked her if she was screaming like the other girls and she said yes.
They took me in and prepped me. I did not like the bit they put in my mouth and made them take it out until I was sufficiently doped to handle it. The next few hours are a blur.
I remember very little from the time I woke up at the hospital to the time I woke up at home. I know they put me in a wheelchair to take me to the jeep but I don't remember getting in the jeep. I don't remember the drive home. I do remember getting into bed when I got home but that's pretty much it until I woke up between 1 and 2. Apparently I was quite chatty and hilarious in my doped up state. You would have to talk to my wife to get a full account and even then she won't tell you everything. Apparently I talked about some slightly inappropriate things in the jeep on the way home. The things I can mention are that I told the nurse that it would be great to watch Pink Floyd's The Wall in my present state. I also told my wife, once we were home, that it felt like I was floating and proceeded to put my hands out and flap them like wings. That's all I can remember she told me right now. Apparently it was quite funny.
As for the endoscopy results, they saw no tumors or blocks or physical red flags of any kind. They took some samples to test for H. Pylori and a couple of other things. I'll find out about all that later. I have to go back for a lactose intolerance test and a blood test for further info on my liver. Apparently I have fatty liver disease which runs in the family. I'm not too worried about that since my Granny has it and she's 95 and my dad has it and he's 72.
So, all in all, it was a more exciting and entertaining day for my wife and the hospital staff than it was for me. I slept through it all.

Booklist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
On the heels of rereading and seeing the movie version of Half-Blood Prince, I decided to reread this one as well. I still think it's pretty slow at times and fairly unsatisfying in some respects as an ending to the series. I was not happy with the movie version of HBP and haven't been happy with the work Yates has been doing as director. Too many things changed from book to movie that didn't make sense to me. And now, after rereading Deathly Hallows, I am very unhappy. There are things they changed in HBP that directly relate to important events in DH which means more senseless changes are coming. Why base it on the book at all? Why not just take the character of Harry Potter and do whatever you want with him? That seems like exactly what they are doing. I have a hard time believing Rowling is okay with it all but I guess money talks. That's too bad.
I'll give the last movies a chance but I don't hold up any high hopes. After that, who knows. Harry Potter vs. Predator anyone?