Be warned, this will be boring (and a bit geeky). Sorry, but it's tough to do much with these "book report" posts. And hey, I don't have any other ideas right now. Anyway, I've just finished a couple of works of fiction, NEXT by Michael Crichton and Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. I expected a good read from NEXT, but I must say I was disappointed. The science in it isn't very interesting, and the cultural implications aren't either. I usually really like Crichton, and admire him for being ahead of the curve on the backlash to the global warming hysteria (yes, the backlash exists) with his last effort, State of Fear. But this one just didn't do much for me. Trangenic animals are a bit of a snoozer, I guess. A parrot that talks. Wow! Somehow I don't think Spielberg will be fighting for the movie rights to this one. The Dune book is the conclusion to Frank Herbert's original six novels. He died before he could write a seventh book. The original Dune is the best selling scifi book ever, and for good reason. He created a complex universe and was thought provoking, inventive and still relevant to current society. His son Brian partnered a few years back with Kevin Anderson and wrote a couple of prequel trilogies to the original novel. This served as practice for this effort, and they were good (but not great or as good as any of the original six). That, and it was a way for them to sell a lot of books. Now they're wrapping up the series, which is exciting because the sixth book ended with a lot of unanswered questions. They claim to have Frank's notes for the finale, but after reading this book, I doubt that because of all the references to the prequels. For a while I was afraid they were going to jump the shark, but they didn't. Oh, and the conclusion will span two books. That said, it's so far so good. Hunters of Dune is better than any of the prequels they wrote, and a worthy sequel to the original novels. A final verdict will depend, however, on whether the conclusion to the finale is at least as good. So when it comes out, you can look forward to yet another book report from yours truly. :-p

The last of this year's snow (hopefully) is melting this week, so I figured it was my last chance to show this "Four Bros" video for a while. It's of the four of us Kulla boys taking on Wachusett Mountain with snowboards. As you can see, we very much enjoyed watching each other fall down repeatedly. When that front edge of the board catches the snow, it sure can slap you down hard face first. And I'm not sure if the undiagnosed concussions made it more or less funny. Actually, I'd bet it made it more funny - everything is a laugh once you get punchy. Since Larry was the only one of us that had been snowboarding before (and could actually stay upright), he's holding the camera (and providing comedic commentary, of course). I must say that it's great having three brothers that also happen to be three of my best friends. It always a blast when the four of us get together to do something, no matter what sport we tackle (it's go-karts in April). This video is actually from 2005 and we haven't been back since, so I guess Steve (who really took a beating that day) called it when he doubted whether he would be back.

A few weeks back another Jabbas season ended. What is Jabbas, you say? It's the men's leagues basketball team my friends and I have played on for most of our adult lives. The team is named after Joe's pet dog Jabba, who died quite a long time ago now. We are sometimes known as Jabbas Boys (not Boyz - we know we're not that cool). This season was an average one for us. We started out winning five of six but faded late in the year to end up in 4th place. After winning our first round game with ease, we had to play undefeated Winnelson in the semifinals. Having lost a close game to them a few weeks before, we were hopeful that we could pull off an upset. As is our custom, we came out firing (see video) and took a 12-point lead midway through the first half. But then it went south. We started missing and they were pushing the ball and getting some transition points. It got worse in the second half, after making our first couple of shots we had a long drought and by the time we recovered the game was out of reach. But we showed that we're still competitive with much younger players. And there's always next year...

P.S. I'm not sure how it happened, but for some reason I wear #23 these days. No, I'm not a big Michael Jordan or Lebron James fan. Traditionally, I've worn either #10 or #22, which were the numbers of the Philadelphia 76ers guards when I was a kid (Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney, respectively).

It's time for a book roundup! I've been reading quite a bit lately, and mini-reviews are definitely in order. It's been all non-fiction lately, but four of the five have been first-person stories that were very easy reads. The fifth book is The American Revolution by Bruce Lancaster. The title says it all - it's a recap of the American Revolution. I was inspired to buy and read this book after reading 1776 last year and thinking "What happens next?" since that book only covers the titular year. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how little I knew about how this country came to be. The book was a bit on the dry side, naturally, but it moved along at a decent pace while still giving a thorough telling of the war. I recommend it to all history buffs. Steve Matchett is a color commentator for Speed, the cable TV channel that airs the Formula 1 races, and was once a mechanic for the Benetton F1 team (which has since become Renault F1). Since the start of the 2007 season is almost upon us, I read two of his book to give me a greater insight into the sport. The Chariot Makers details the technology and thought-process behind the design and manufacturing of F1 cars, which is particulary topical since all 11 F1 teams design and manufacturer their own cars at this time of year. It's a bit technical, but that's what I was looking for so I recommend it highly to diehard F1 fans. The Mechanics Tale is a bit more accessible to everyone, as it chronicles his time in the sport as a mechanic. A very interesting insider's look at the sport, which is rare since F1 teams make the CIA look like they have an open door policy by comparison. Bill Bryson is a favorite of mine, ever since I read A Walk in the Woods. His latest effort, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, deviates from his usual travel and adventure format and gives us a look at his childhood growing up in Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s. This is truly a book for everyone, which is true of everything he writes. Not a must read, but I guarantee you'll have a few chuckles while traversing its pages. The final book, Marley and Me, I have already discussed in the previous post, but for those who have read it I just have one thing to say... Dog Beach.