News and Reviews.

I meant to do this sooner, but time got in the way. Special thanks to Craig for the loaning of this great documentary if you will about the history of heavy metal. A 2005 release about Sam Dunn, a lifelong metalhead who became an archaeologist yet had a mission: To decipher and discover where the roots of heavy metal came from, what makes metal so damn popular, takes the casual fan inside of concert hall, as well as detailing the many, many genres of metal. Interviews galore from Toni Iommi of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy from Motorhead, amongst others.

I still crank up the Sabbath and Metallica from time to time. I hereby recommend this DVD for renting/buying at your leisure. I learned ALOT about the death metal side of life. Not that I can afford to live it at my age but...

Everyone knows that Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth met their maker on August 16th in 1977 and 1948. What you might not know is that the same fate befell a beloved Indian player on that day in 1920. Ray Chapman was the heart and soul of the Tribe for almost seven years. Author Mike Sowell does a masterful job of recounting the events that to the only death by a beaning in baseball. That's to say with over 32 million pitches thrown since 1876, that's a fraction of one percent.

Beaning aside, the book details a fractious pennant chase in the American League. It also gives you an in-depth on hurler Carl Mays, who until his dying day would tell you he always protected the corners and didn't mean to hit Ray Chapman. Chapman also notorious for 'digging in' plate at bat.

This season was also the one where the Black Sox scandal was revealed and sent to trial. An allegation of 'tanking' in the 1921 World Series discussed as to why Carl Mays isn't in the Hall of Fame. Great book! Great storytelling! It just isn't summer without a book to read! I'll shortly have a review on the Diamond guy, David Lee Roth. A friendly reminder that before you Xbox it, reading is good for mind. That rocks it!

Over and out in Big D

Mr Will