So, I said that yesterday's review of A Christmas Carol 2: The Return of Scrooge may have been the best one yet.  I might have spoke too early.  Here's an excerpt from today's, on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.

"The author is obviously very knowledgeable of Charles Dickens' work, as he brilliantly weaves a humorous story which includes annotated footnotes interwoven throughout the story that helps readers who are not familiar with Dickens' classic novels. The author's subtle wit provides the reader with an amusing tongue-in-cheek and laugh-out-loud funny sequel to the classic Dickens A Christmas Carol. I couldn't help but snicker as I turned the pages, the witty dialogue and humorous interactions between the characters are hilarious, what more could a reader ask for than to be entertained by a contemporary twist on a classic story that leaves a smile on their face?

"A Christmas Carol 2: The Return Of Scrooge would be the perfect addition to any reader's collection of Christmas stories that are annually read during the holiday season. It is a lighthearted fun book for readers of all ages."

But here's the funny thing in the hellacious world of book reviews.  After that truly lovely write-up, full of continual praise, and not a quibble in sight -- the book received four stars.  Now, that's quite good, and I'm fine with it -- except that that actually lowers my Amazon rating!  So, this wonderful review works against me, at least on the ratings end.  If one actually reads the review, that's another matter...

That's the last of the review on this month's "virtual book tour."  Overall the reviews have been extremely positive.  The worst few have been three stars, when reviewers didn't seem to get that this was a humor parody and were bothered that there were footnotes where footnotes are supposed to be, rather than at the end.  Yet this huge rave was only one star better!  Go figure...

Ah, 'tis a bewildering, fanciful world.

God bless them, everyone.

I have a few thoughts from the experience of tracking down all these reviews, and have jotted down some notes.  Hopefully I'll get to them soon and post the piece here.

On Tuesday night, I went to an event on the Westside for Lenovo.  I've mentioned recently the spate of Windows tablets that are upcoming, of which Lenovo has one, but this was to introduce a different of their new products, the Yoga tablet which runs Android 4.2.

I haven't had time to really test the unit, but it has some intriguing, indeed unique things about it, which is rare for a tablet these days.  Most notably, it has an 18-hour battery life, which is remarkable.  (To be clear, that number is under ideal conditions.)  And with a microUSB plug, this long-life battery can be used to charge other devices, notably your cell phone, so you don't necessarily have to carry an extra battery pack.  Also, unlike other tablets, this one isn't completely flat -- it has a sort of rounded "handle" on the side.  This makes for a better, more comfortable grasp, and it also can fold down to a tilt stand position for typing, or as a full stand for watching movies. 

(I'm not 100% sold on it.  It does make it easier to hold the tablet, though it adds some weight -- in fairness, I believe that's where the batteries are installed that allow the long-life.  But it also means its back won't lay down perfectly flat.  It's not problematic at all, though, and some people may love the benefits of it.  Most especially if it's what allows the 18 hours of battery life.)

The specs are good, not great.  It has 1 GB RAM and 16 GB capacity.  It doesn't have the highest resolution, nor is it the most powerful, but the display is very crisp, and the unit is perfectly responsive.  It comes in both 8" and 10" models.

I like that the two speakers are on the front -- and the volume control "up" button cleverly will be up even when you flip the tablet end for end.  And the sound was surprisingly respectable – a bit thin, of course, but quite crisp.  Although the capacity isn't great, it has a microSD slot to expand storage.  And there's a slot for a SIM card.  It uses a lower-end MTK processor, but as I said above, the unit seems responsive, and most importantly this MTK processor allows the price to be impressively low.  The 8" model is just $249, and the 10" is only $299.

What I'm also intrigued by is an accessory that is available for the 10" tablet: a bluetooth keyboard which doubles as a screen cover.  It retails for $70.  I haven't had a chance to test this though, so I don't have any reaction to how well it works.

For those who keep tabs on such things (no pun intended), the event was hosted by Ashton Kutcher, who in an amusing video explained that he wasn't just a spokesman, but was hired by Lenovo as a project engineer, complete with name tag and cubicle.

All in all, the Lenovo Yoga is a very interesting entry into the Android tablet world, that offers several features that standout as uncommon.  With Windows tablets on their way, it's an interesting time for the market.

My favorite Halloween memory came about 15 years ago.  And it involved a Staples office supply store.  No, really.

In the late afternoon, I parked in the lot of my local West L.A. Staples and headed towards the building.  And coming outside at that moment was Ray Bradbury.

Now, mind you, that alone would have been good enough.  I've always loved Ray Bradbury's writing, and the first book of his I'd read was his classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, which centers around Halloween.  But then, so did many of his works.  He wrote a collection of stories, The October Country.  One of his creepy stories is The October Game.  He wrote a short novel, The Halloween Tree.  And much more.  And there was Ray Bradbury.

I tend not to go up to celebrities.  And Ray Bradbury was clearly not in the best of health, helped by a caregiver.  But...this was Ray Bradbury.  And it was Halloween, for goodness sake.  You don't ignore that and expect to have any self-respect.

So, I walked over, simply said how much I enjoyed his writing and expected to leave it at that.  But he was charming, and engaged me in conversation, helped in part by him finding out that I grew up near where he did, in Waukegan, Illinois.  (Glencoe is about 25 miles directly south.)  I don't recall a great many specifics about the conversation, though I do remember his saying how Halloween was his favorite holiday.  (Gee, no kidding!)

Which is why it came as a thrilled -- and is my favorite Halloween memory -- when, as we parted, Ray Bradbury wished me, "Happy Halloween."

Back in March, as the state of California found itself floundering deep in the red, I wrote an article here about how much and why I disliked California ballot initiatives, updating an article I had written four years ago for the Huffington Post, "The California Proposition System is a Bankrupt Idea."

Among many other things, I said --

"However poorly one thinks of politicians, the Proposition System is worse. It starts with the faulty premise that the voting public is going to willingly study a thick guidebook. The voting public didn't willingly study even thin guidebooks when they were in high school and required to. Instead, with propositions, they turn to watching 30-second TV ads to learn what the laws are about.

"Watching 30-second TV ads to learn what a law is about is like reading a fortune cookie and believing that you now understand Eastern Philosophy."

Thanks to some more twists and turns and changing the laws and state constitution and also a situation where the state Senate, Assembly and Governor all now are from the same party (in this case Democratic), the bankruptcy has at least been turned around, but most of the post legal horrors live on, starting of course with the Grandaddy of the All, the infamous Proposition 13, which makes it near-impossible for the state to raise taxes, all the while ballot initiatives keep voting for issues that cost a great deal of money.

I mentioned back in March that I've even gotten to the point where I almost never vote on any proposition measure anymore unless it meets strict Elisbergian Standards.  I just think it's such a terrible way to make laws that I don't want to give it any credence, even when I like the measure.  It's the wrong way to fly because one day (many days...) there will be issues that are mind-numbingly galling which come around to bite you on the butt.  It's a small protest, I know, but one I feel is necessary for my well-being.  And hopefully for others'.  "Not thinking" and watching TV ads, is not only a terrible way to make laws, but it opens the door for such efforts to subvert the system as we've recently had in the state by the Koch brothers and Mormon Church, which only point to that with huge klieg lights.

So, it came with great pleasure when there was a commentary in the Los Angeles Times this past Sunday by George Skelton in his "Capitol Journal" column that began --

Another club member!  O huzzah!

My sole, very-minor disagreement with Mr. Brown is one of basically semantics.  I don't precisely think that "Democracy" requires what he says, but rather "Representative Democracy" does, and that's the system we have in the United States.  But all his other comments are spot on.  Including when he comments, that "devious initiative campaigns too often result in voter decisions that are 'inconsistent with good and quality judgment.'"

But mainly, I smiled when the former long-time Assembly Speaker and Mayor of San Francisco noted, "'I clearly understand that I am in a distinct minority. People in this state are out to lunch' in their love of the initiative system."

Ahhh, the distinct minority is larger by one.  Huzzah, again.

By the way, one of the most telling comments at that reform conference came from former California Chief Justice Ronald M. George, a critic of the current system.  He mentioned that the California Constitution has been amended over 500 times since it was originally written in 1879.  He contrasted that to the United States Constitution, which of course has been around almost 100 years longer, just has only been amended only 17 times after the Bill of Rights.

"So something is wrong" in California, George said.

The article mentions a few ways that the woeful problems of the Ballot Initiative system can be at least addressed, though I thought they were far too minor for my taste.  But any step to fix it is in the right direction.

I do have have on quibble with the article.  Its last sentence ends the piece by saying, " The consensus — with the exception of Willie Brown — is to mend it, not end it."

He may have been the exception at the conference, but we trundle on together...

You can read the full article here.

And scanning only took a mere 13 hours!  Talk about doing a meticulous job...

Well, I'm back at Control Central for Elisberg Industries, rather than working out of one of our satellite branch offices.  It was a bit inconvenient -- there were some things I wanted to post here but didn't have access to material that only resides on this computer, but that's a minor matter.  Thankfully the laptop was there for our executive team to use.

Usually when a virus is found and deleted, and you're told to reboot, it's a minor matter to clear out the pipeline.  But I guess the virus that got detected had been in the boot sector, so the scan was needed.  But...ackkkk.

As I've mentioned, I’m doing a promotion for A Christmas Carol 2:  The Return of Scrooge and have been getting a bunch of reviews.  Most have extremely very positive, though when people somehow don’t get that this is a humor parody but actually think it’s a serious sequel (??!)!, they tend to be mediocre.  But today was one of the best, and…well, if I can't pass it along, who can?

The whole review is here for the skeptical among you, or the full-review afficionados, but for everyone else, this is keeper excerpt --


"A Christmas Carol 2: The Return of Scrooge by Robert J. Elisberg is a real treat. While many retellings of Scrooge's transformation have come to us over the years, this is perhaps the most unique twist of the story I've seen, and it certainly is one of the funniest. I'm hoping I might be able to sneak in another reading of it before the year ends. Some of the text will be familiar to readers of A Christmas Carol, and though the style has a modern feel to it, it also captures the essence of Dickens. This reader feels that while this is a light and humorous story, it highlights an issue that plays itself out in political and social circles today. If you enjoy tales of the season, you won't want to miss this one."

Cheryl Malandrinos
The Book Connection