J.B. Sommerset

"Snow again" J.B. Sommerset (c) 2024 There is an old Marxist saying that goes, "Religion is the opiate of the people." I agree in part with that quote, but there is more to that, it's summed up, sort of, in the rest of his writing. I have chosen to shorten that and add it here. So here you are, the quote of the week.  "Power is the opiate of the rich, much like religion is the opiate of the people..." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

"Adolf Drump" J.B. Sommerset (2024) Wow, that election really through me off my game, I gotta make up for this somehow. Here's a quote I thought would be fitting for the times. This one isn't mine, but it needs to be said anyway: "The harshest tyranny is that which acts under the protection of legality and the banner of justice". F. Montesquieu Cheers! Here's to getting back on track.

This post is for those of you here in the states, not my friends over seas. To the rest of the free world, I feel obligated to apologize for what comes next, because it’s not just going to affect us. It will have ripples that will change everything. This election was the “go ahead” for the Putins, the Kim Jongs, and the Victor Orbans of the world. For that, as an American, I am sorry. To start with, I am so utterly disappointed in so many people today. I did not vote for him, I voted for Harris. For me, the choice was obvious, and oddly enough, it had nothing to do with politics- we’ve been down that road before with this man, he lied then, like we knew he would. Last night we cast our ballots and let the statistics show the nature of our character and basic values we care about. America voted a 34-time felon, twice impeached, con artist into office. We vapidly put the keys to the country in the hands of a narcissistic mad-man and his cronies. A man, who, by our own adjudication sh...

"The Way Down", J.B. Sommerset (C) 2024 This should have been posted on Friday, I was, however, indisposed. So I am posting it now. One of the things about living on a mountain, and it being the fall, is that you have to get prepared for winter. This year, I have been chopping a lot of fire wood, and winterizing the house. We did alright last winter, but it was a mild winter in comparison to the one before it. This morning is the first morning since Friday that I have been able to sit down to update. So here it is, your quote of the week, it all about autumn: "Fall is the reminder that all things end, even suffering, and also that there is reprieve in the ending of things."  J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

Well, here it is, the audio book of the week. In this case, since it is coming into the season, the Halloween season that is, I picked something dark. Again, I have mentioned that I like H.P. Lovecraft . I have posted a number of his stories, but it's hard to remember which ones. I know I have posted the likes of " At the Mountains of Madness ", " The Dunwich Horror ", and " The Shadow Over Innsmouth " (one of my personal favorites). I even recently reviewed " The Color out of Space " with Nick Cage - which was really different than the original but okay for what it was. I am almost certain I've never posted this one. This week, lets have a listen to " The Dreams of the Which House ".  Cheers!

"The Red Belt" J.B. Sommerset (c) 2023 I was watching the news the other day, I know, I know, I shouldn't do that... anyway, I was reminded of how slanted the new is in this day and age. I noticed how certain news networks only play the part of the action that supports the narrative that bolsters their agenda. This is nothing new, I have noticed this many times, it's one of the reasons I don't watch the new much. Here's a quote that represents how I feel about news in these modern times.  "He who controls and filters the context of events can effectively control the narrative and change the meaning of how people see the truth..." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

Well it's that time again, this week has been busy and I haven't had the time to find something new for the audio book of the week. In part because I have been binging on short stories, this week I have been revisiting one of my favorites " Thomas Ligotti ". Such a juicy and plump set of works. He is a dark delight, and there is a lot of his stuff that I just haven't got to yet, so hear is a new one, at least for me. Enjoy, "The Red Tower" by Thomas Ligotti.  Cheers!

I was making some "bomb-ass" steaks on the grill this weekend and I let the T.V. decide what it wanted to show. It's one of those "smart TVs", so it had a good idea of what I like, you know, from all that spying on me. While I was preparing the marinade it started playing something sentimental from my past- because apparently my TV knows me in that way. You know, intimately. Like it watched you grow up, I tell you, these algorithms are out of control. But nonetheless it knew that I wanted some good old 80s nostalgia.   So I am tenderizing the steaks and in the back ground I hear something I haven't heard in far to long. That sound was the sound of a prison escape, followed by and ORV chase on a beach in Oregon, with the police, and the sounds of 7 kids just loving the 80's even though they are about to be kicked out of their homes by the "cheap guy" Troy and his douche bag father. Some of you Gen-Xers know what I am talking about. Some of you k...

"Lil White Blossom" J.B. Sommerset (c) 2024 Welp, it's fire season again, which means that, being where I live, I will spend a lot of time looking at my "watch duty" app. Like more than I should, and definitely more than I want to. At any moment there could be a catastrophe. Yay for global warming or climate change, or Earth menopause, or what ever it's called now. This will be quick because I must get back to looking at the app to see if the woods I love so much are on fire. Here is the quote of the week:  "You can get scars doing the things you hate, or you can get them doing the things you love, either way, if you have lived than you will have scars..." J.B. Sommerset. Cheers!

This week I just fell like crushing some skulls and making some dude lament me. That's right, we are going straight Robert E. Howard this week, well, his legacy at least. It's some premium " Conan the Barbarian " goodness. This one is a lot like the last audio book, Tarzan had 23 follow ups, well, Conan had 21 adventures (by Howard ). I plan to own them all someday, but these collections get quite expensive.  This week, I am going to step outside the Robert Howard series, and look at some additions people have written in the Conan sagas, and there are more than I can count. We are going to go with " Conan The Swordsman ", by  L. Sprague de Camp , Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg . A collaboration, great! This is o ne I have never read, so I will be doing this with you this week. I take it the legend himself  needs no introduction so enjoy your skull crushing this week. Cheers! 

Hey gang, it's been a while since I posted an interview with an author. I have posted interviews with authors before, and even this particular author, but not in a very long time. And being that this is one of my favorite authors, the wonderfully weird Kurt Vonnegut , author of such works as " Slaughter House Five ", " Player Piano ", and " Cat's Cradle ", I had to give it a go and put it up for you guys. For those of you who have never read any of his works, shame on you! Go out and get a couple of his novels and dive right in! Hope you enjoy this interview. Cheers!

Well, it's that time again, the audio book of the week, although due to broken links these things are not as reliable as they used to be. This week I was exposed to the Disney film- " Tarzan ". Although it's a great kids movie, the Disney show doesn't really capture even half of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books by the same name. Of which, most people don't realize that Tarzan of the apes had a butt-load of adventures. Tarzan appeared in 24 stories written by the OG himself and numerous adaptations by other authors who loved his work! So, forgive me if this is a repost of an older book, there are too many to keep up with. This week I chose " Tarzan the Untamed ". Enjoy this turn of the century goodness.  Cheers!

  "Driveway Bear" By J.B. Sommerset (c) 2024 Most of the photos I post for the quote of the week are in fact photos I took from at "mountain lair". My 10 acres in the woods where I live, where I am surrounded by trees, animals, and magic. I have too many photos at this point to use in a life time of posts. I capture all kinds of wild life up here, and I do mean all kinds. I have mountain lions, bears, bobcats, elk, moose, deer, etc. This guy (in the photo above) was passing across my driveway as he moved down the mountain to a place with less secure trash cans. Sometimes it can be a little interesting and also a little dangerous, but I love being this close to nature. So, to honor that, this week I am posting an old quote about the subject at hand. “Consider all beings and where our progress puts them. Nature is not exclusive; it is inclusive with all its children, even it is chooses to eat them.” J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

  "Orange Juice Sunset" By J.B. Sommerset (c) 2024 It doesn't quite feel like summer yet, at least not where I live, but I get the feeling it's coming- that is with hope. Hope is an interesting thing, an intangible piece of magic in an sometimes dark world. Hope guides us through dark waters without asking much. This week is all about hope. So here it is, your quote of the week. “Always guard your hope because without it you are hopeless.” J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

Sometimes it's hard to keep the bi-weekly audio book up because often there are broken links, bad readings, missing chapters, and so on. A lot of the time they don't stay up because of this. They will get flagged and I will remove them. I hope that doesn't happen with this weeks audiobook. Speaking of... This week I chose to post a different, more contemporary book from a very prolific writer- James Patterson. I hope you enjoy! Cheers!

"Little White Flowers": By J.B. Sommerset (c) 2024 I was having a conversation about religion the other day with a good friend who also just happens to be Christian, it's not their fault, it's hereditary. All jokes aside, they are a good person, and we have been friends for a while and we have always butted heads around one topic. That topic is church, and being that I am who I am I said some things- interesting things. Some of which I have been saying for years but never had the wherewithal to write down.  This time I wrote some of them down. So here you are, the quote of the week: "The difference between spirituality and religion is that Spirituality will help you find your God, religion will help you find someone else's..." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

Every once in a while I see a preview that strikes my science-fiction bone and makes it feel all warm and tingly. There are a couple of things that can do this to me, the first is a story's premise, the second is execution. Sadly, this week I was very, very disappointed. This week I am reviewing that thing we all saw on Netflix, " Atlas ". We all saw it because Netflix put it front and center. It looked okay in the previews, but in our hearts we knew... We knew it was going to suck. We watched it, to be sure, and yup, we were very disappointed.  That's right, I said "Atlas". I watched it so you don't have to. No, really, I mean it. Don't watch this movie if you love science fiction and your health, this will only hurt you in places you can't recover from, like in that tiny sliver of hope, way, way, down in the bottom of your heart.  If you want a really good story about A.I., giant robots, cool gadgets, machine love, and the whole works, you shou...

"The Bleeding Trees" Photo Credit J.B. Sommerset 2024 This week I was watching an old movie, in the movie all the characters are irredeemable garbage people. All of them, except for the deceased character- he was an angel, or so the the audience was led to believe. Close to the end of the show, we, the viewers learn that he was the reason the whole conflict started (through gratuitous flashback, I might add). It got me thinking about the duality of the nature of mankind. We are all a bunch of trash pandas who are capable of doing wonderous things. I said something I thought would make a good quote of the week. It popped out in conversation when I was discussing the movie with a friend. I though I'd post it, so enjoy, here it is, your quote of the day. "If you are lucky enough to be recognized as a hero, and you want to stay that way, make sure to die before all your followers find your garbage..." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

"My Coffee" (Photo Credit: J.B. Sommerset 2024) It's important to remember that we all call be empowered, but we can never look to someone else to provide that empowerment. It must be an act of self discovery for it to be empowerment. Others can help us to find it, but it's very nature is one of ownership. This weeks quote is about empowerment: "Empowerment is, for the most part, the awareness and recognition that personal choice is the only real power we can have..." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!

  "The Way Less Traveled" (Photo credit: J.B. Sommerset 2024) Sometimes we say absurd things, things that just slip out. Sometimes we feel bad about those things we say. Sometimes we are just impressed with how strange it is. Here's one that just slipped out years ago, I decided to write it down and now I bring it to you guys... Keep in mind, this was said in different times, and in stranger days. "Don't be a dick and give the gift of religion to anyone, they most likely don't deserve that kind of treatment, are you trying to start a war? Oh, and get off my door step with that book, we are all full up on Jesus here." J.B. Sommerset Cheers!