I've never read a John Grisham novel before, and other then The Firm I can't say I remember to many of his films. I'm not sure why I picked out this book other then the desire for something different. A great story, well defined character, and a plot with twist and turns to keep you guessing always make for a good read. Unfortunately, this book falls a little short on all of those.

Why You Should Read:
- It's an easy read that moves along at a nice pace. While some of the plot items and choices made leave you scratching your head, you keep wondering what will happen next and it's that anticipation of the big twist that keeps you going.

- I found the insight into the inner workings of a big law firm (accurate or not) to be fascinating. I think this is where Grisham shines in making that legal world come to life. While that probably wasn't suppose to be the main focus of the book, i found it be one of the most interesting subjects.

- The exploration of work life balance. While having nothing to do with the actual main plot of the story, this really made me think. Grisham dives deep into what it takes to get ahead in large company and is is really worth it. Does making $200K a year matter if you work 70 hours a week?

Why You Should Skip:
- Thin character development, specially the secondary ones. At no point do you not know what someone will do. The characters are simple and easy to predict.

- Some really illogical choices made from the very beginning of he book (and then throughout). Choice that you would not expect from someone who made out to be so smart. And then towards the end the logical choice are made, with no good reasons of why it took so long.

- Technical issues. This may bug only me, but I hate when books/movies get technology completely wrong. At one point there is a uber secure computer system used that was custom built to not allow any access at all. No drives on the front, a 24/7 monitored room, etc... yet somehow a USB port is installed in the back... and it's active? Really? If it was physically needed they never heard of group policies? Also, they mention that the entire data contents of the law firm (largest in the world) could be stored on a 750GB hard drive. Wow! that would be very cost effective if you only needed one hard drive for a corporation, yet somehow.. that doesn't seem accurate.

- The ending. While not giving anything away, the end falls flat. I really though there was a chapter or two left when the book ended. First of all, the major danger that hangs over the main characters head the entire book has already been resolved. There is no risk other then perhaps personal safety and even that fizzles. You go through the entire book, accepting everything that happens because you want that big payoff at the end, and it never arrives.

Final thoughts:
It's not a bad book, but i get the feeling that had I read any of his other novels that this one would not hold up. It really felt like part one, and maybe someday a second novel will bring a proper conclusion to the story. Then again, this may be me still getting strung along by Grisham thinking something good will happen if I just go to the next page....

Rating:
3 out of 5

My brother-in-law Ken took me to the Red Wings game last night. It was my first time going down to Joe Louis arena and it was actually really cool being there. It's much smaller then it looks on TV. Now....granted the game itself was pathetic and trying to get a shuttle back to our car after the game was an chilly adventure.. but overall I'd do it again. Well... perhaps a Tigers game when it's warmer out :)

I took some pictures and video that can be found here.

2008 has come and gone and it's that time of year when one naturally reflects back on the previous twelve months. I heard a lot lately on how people want to forget 2008, how they just want to look forward to 2009 and the promise it might bring. It's understandable actually, with the economic collapse (ten fold worse here in Detroit), incompetent government leadership, and another year of war. For me, I have a slightly different take.

For one thing, sports provided many high points for me. The year started off great with Ryan Newman winning the Daytona 500, ending a winless streak that was starting to tarnish a still young career. Then a few months later Ozzie came to the rescue in the playoff and led the Red Wings to another Stanley Cup victory. Heck you know the year is going good when MSU football contends for a Big Ten championship and ends up with a new years day bowl game. Perhaps the season was made even sweeter by the embarrassment that was the U of M season. A trend I hope continues for years. Outside of sports 2008 brought me my first nephew and my parents there first, and long awaited, grandchild, Benjamin. And Josephine Fleming did her best to be a 2009 baby but eventually came out before the deadline for Shannon and Meg. I couldn't be happier for both of them. I also voted for the first time... voted for someone who's career I'd been following closely since 2004 and someone I have great hopes for.

While these facts alone would make a year better then most. I would say, oddly, that the high points for me were two occasion when I was woken up abruptly at 5 or 6 am from a deep and peaceful sleep. Now anyone who knows me knows that getting up early is not something I do.... ever... unless absolutely forced too. But for these time I have never gotten up and been so alert, so quickly in my life.

The first time was a cold winter morning in January. I awoke to my name being called over and over again and Linh standing over me. The room was dark, but the bathroom light was on. I forget the exact words, but they were strait and too the point... "I think I'm pregnant". Let me tell you.. that will wake a guy up... And sure enough she was. While it came as a slight surprise (and by slight I mean completely), it was not unwelcome news. Perhaps earlier then we planned, but as we always say to my friend Dun... "You're not getting any younger". The next 8 months seemed to fly by. I spent much of my free time trying to stay busy by painting the condo and prepping the house for the new arrival. A place that I bought three years ago for myself and now it will be holding four.

The second morning wake up was on Sunday, October 5th. It was a little after 5 AM when Linh once again shook me awake. Again it was dark and only the bathroom light was on and she said "I think it's time". Roughly 12 hours later Keely Linh Maleck was born. People say when your child is born it's a life changing moment. They say it's the greatest event in their life. Looking back, that's probably true. But at the time I didn't know what to think. I was so proud of Linh.. she handled the whole day with more courage and composure then I could ever muster. Mostly I was just thankful that everyone was ok and healthily.... Keely had five fingers, five toes, and a good set of lungs... that's for sure. It was scary.. the thought of what was to come. The unknown. But I only freaked out a few times the first few weeks. Once insisting we call the pediatrician because Keely wasn't crying enough. They thought I was a moron, and didn't really try to hide their feeling.

The time since has been wonderful. Keely is a great baby and we've been lucky enough to have Linh's family help out and watch here while we both work. For as great as 2008 was I am very excited about this year. All the 'first' that will soon arrive. First words, first time she crawls, first time we can take her and Sydney to the park. We hope to make a lot of changes this year as well, so.. with any luck... next year I can declare 2009, "best year ever".

'Tis that time when we reflect on back on previous year (for better or worse).

Here's what I've learned:
- It's impossible to find a job in MI with a company that's doing well (Jacobsons.. Ford.. Pulte..)
- Macs are so worth the extra few dollars
- Being sick on new years eve sucks
- Despite looking easy, installing a dishwasher can take up to ten hours
- Not only are all my friends married... now the children are arriving
- There is nothing more frustrating then being a lifelong MSU football fan
- Wisdom teeth do not come out easy
- Everyone loves the Wii
- 4 year olds are better then you at the Wii
- Dragonmead is evil, no matter how tasty.
- The first few Rolling Stones albums are really good.
- LCD TV's are great, but make hockey blurry.
- HD-DVD is the best and will win the format war (this statement may make the 2008 list...)

I?d like to express my outrage at the programming choices that were made yesterday. What kind of station broadcast 1 ? hours of a live sporting event to then cut it off completely? Only to eventually give a statement that it would be re-aired at 11:30 PM at night. Why was the Tigers game not moved to FSN Detroit which had no real programming on? Why was one of the events not moved to digital sub channel? If you had no intentions of showing the entire NASCAR race why start it at all? And then right before it does finally air at night? you announce the results. This shows no respect for you viewers, to which I no longer am one. If I want to watch one of your show? I?ll download it.

UPDATE:
The Response:
Thank you for your note.

Please know that we were also disappointed by this past weekend?s weather issues. As you?re certainly aware, the NASCAR race was scheduled for Saturday night. Due to inclement weather, the race was postponed until Sunday afternoon at 1pm. Fox 2 was already contractually bound to air the Tigers game at 2pm. After a brief rain delay in Kansas City, we had to switch coverage for the start of the baseball game.

It was a scenario that was out of our control.

Knowing that NASCAR fans would want to see the end of the race, we aired the finale after our late news.

Thanks for watching Fox 2.

Wow... a canned response that answered none of my questions... Thanks Fox 2!

More happy Fox 2 viewers:
http://community.myfoxdetroit.com/boards/topic.aspx?topic_id=4688a
http://community.myfoxdetroit.com/blogs/SportsFanWaterford/2007/05/06/NASCAR_Dumped

Congrats to the MSU Spartans hockey team on winning the national championship in hockey Saturday night. I'm pretty sure the neighbors knew I was watching the game with 18.9 seconds left.. I yelled... loud.