"Astro the Steller Sea Lion" by Jeanne Walker Harvey Book Review

"Astro the Steller Sea Lion" by Jeanne Walker Harvey is the biography of a Steller Sea Lion found at such an age that he could never be returned to the wild. This is a story with sad and happy moments that get us to understand these noble creatures. 

All and all I found this to be an interesting narrative with a high educational value. The images appear to be altered from real life or close examinations of real life images. 

In addition, a part of the proceeds from this book will go to the welfare of these animals. 

Who should read this book: Everyone

Books read: 177 of 5000

A Man so Broken as I

6^th January 2017

Dear Cassi,

A nimbus appears around every light when I look through my left eye. This is my body’s way of saying that I haven’t had enough water to keep the toxins out of my blood. I haven’t strained myself enough to justify this problem, but it came up anyway.

Over the last few days I’ve been pushing the consumption of vegetables. Pickle has been picky about that and I spent the last half of the day cleaning out the crap in my work room. There was cat spore that had been left from the time of my last litter of kittens more than a year ago.

I used the broom to sweep up the old cat litter and the smell of urine filled the air. This is depression. This is the look of a man so broken as I, and a man looking to change things. I have my better days like this one when I clean things up, and my bad days where I can’t get out of bed.

I’m told the Japanese have a tradition of filling in cracks in broken things with gold because the history makes them more valuable. I’m not sure you can do that with my home or my life for that matter. Then again if history makes a thing more valuable than I am worth more than gold and so are you.

Stay golden, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

"Berenstain's A Book" by Stan & Jan Berenstain

"Berenstain's A Book" by Stan & Jan Berenstain is a book with a

lot of words starting with 'A'. It follows a progression of angry ants advancing over many different objects. 

This is a solid book in most respects, and if your a fan of the Berenstain Bears it really has to be a must read. However, if you're a fan of the books then how can learning what an 'A' is be useful? 

Further along that line, the book mentions something called and Angleworm. Now I looked it up and an angleworm is a worm used for fishing. It's a shortening of angler's worm. However, the worm in question was not on a hook or used to catch a fish.  

This book is unremarkable and pandering to fans. If you're a fan go for it, and if not then leave it pass. 

Who should read this book? Berenstain fans 

Books read: 176 of 5000

All in Your Head

4^th January 2017

Dear Cassi,

I may have mention a few times that the old man refused to take me to the doctor when I was in high school. This is to say that he wouldn’t take me to the doctor for mental health reasons. He did take me in for a ‘sports physical’ a few times and he even once pointed to this to say that I was fine.

The doctor ordered a blood test that the old man wouldn’t get off his ass to drive me to so I feel his argument is rather hollow. He went against doctor’s orders there at very least. 

I remember the old man said “it’s all in your head” as if that meant it wasn’t real. A brain tumor is all in your head but mental illness is in your head, in the tissues of your heart, and in every part of your body. Further, weather the problem is in your head or in your foot there is no reason to deny your child treatment.

That was Yule for you. He would first laugh at my problems, and when they didn’t go away he would yell at me over them, but the old man would never do anything to help.  If I’m to get anywhere in life I need to get there on my own.

No one helps Richard Leland Neal. I am a man beyond help and beyond asking for help. I must accept that part of my life.

Ego Solus,

Richard Leland Neal

"Me and Annie McPhee" by Olivier Dunrea Book Review

"Me and Annie McPhee" by Olivier Dunrea is a counting book about monkeys on an island. They count out the beings on their island and show ups who they live with. This is a book for early education filled with fun imagery that will tickle the imaginations of children. 

This is a good sized book done in bright colors that you can read with your child. I would say it's a good early day reading book. 

Who should read this book? Children and parents looking to brighten their day. 

Bookd read: 175 of 5000

"Shadow" by Suzy Lee Book Review

"Shadow" by Suzy Lee is an odd book in that you do very little

reading in the nature of absorbing the material. This is the story of a little girl seeing stories in her shadows in the attic of her house. 

We are treated here to an odd array of spooky artworks and childish adventures that tickle the imagination. This is a fun book that teachers children that books are worth reading. It's an abnormal little book that I'm glad I now have in my collection. 

Who should read this book? Any one

Books read: 174 of 5000

Green by Sharon Gordon Book Review

'Green' by Sharon Gordon is very much like the last Sharon Gordon

book I reviewed 'Orange'. The book names a few things that are the color and then tells you reader to take an action. One of the things I noted was that the book talked about a green snake. It could go wrong when you tell your kid to find a snake given the age these books are targeted for. Then again, most snakes are harmless. 

Who should read this book? Very young children who do not live around dangerous snakes. 

Books read: 173 of 5000

Save the Ocean Promotion

20^th November 2018

My Dear Friends at (YouTube Channel),

I’ve been a subscriber for some time and was wondering how much it is to sponsor a video. I’m running a promotion on my channel where I pay for a pound of trash to be removed from the ocean for every thousand subscribers, and I just want to get the word out.

I figure that sponsoring a video on your channel would be a good idea, because a group of science minded folks would want to save the ocean and this is a way they can do that free of charge. This is one of those grass roots ideas that starts with one person but it’ stalling and needs a bit of a boost.

I review movies, and that would be off brand for you folks, but saving the environment shouldn’t be off brand for anyone worth watching on YouTube. Imagine what would happen if we started this as a trend? What if YouTube creators started looking to good causes to find success? What a wonderful thing that would be.

In any case, here is a link to the promotion:

Let me know,

Richard Leland Neal

Not This Bear: A first Day of School Story by Alyssa Satin Capuchilli

'Not This Bear: A first Day of School Story' by Alyssa

Satin Capuchilli is a book about a young bear going to school for the first time. It is a story were the bear is just named bear and fear is overcome by experience. 

This is a good little story with fun art work and a great lesson for young children going to school for the first time. 

This is a great book for reading to your child before bed time as it's nice and large and well made. I have to say I very much enjoyed this story. 

Who should read this book? anyone. 

Books read: 172

Requirements of the Law

It is believe that the suspect in this case killed this
animal by cracking his skull in a vice. 

9^th January 2018

Dear County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control,

This letter is being sent with Check 1020, and I will have proof of your receiving it when the check clears with my bank. You may consider this a payment under duress as your organization has failed to provide me with an investigation in good faith which is a requirement of the law. 

Last year I reported to your organization that one of my neighbors had admitted to shooting cats in his back yard with a 22 caliber rifle. Whereas this activity was limited to feral animals I reported him when I learned that he was responsible for the death of one of my animals. I now believe this man to be responsible for the death of as many as six animals belonging to myself, 4 cats and 2 dogs.

The complained was investigated by Officer Armando Ferrufino who on concluding his investigation asked for a favor on behalf of the suspect proving that his investigation had been biased and therefore unacceptable in the eyes of the law. I have since obtained a copy of Officer Ferrufino’s report there are discrepancies between this report and a proper investigation.

Firstly, the letter I used to report the crime was missing from the report. This is destruction of evidence. Second, nowhere in this report does it state that Officer Ferrufino asked the suspect if he owned a 22 caliber rifle or if he had committed the crime in question. I informed Officer Ferrufino that I had photographs of my animal’s injuries and he did not request to see them or note this in his report.

Your organization has willfully refused to render me a lawful investigation, and you’re expecting me to pay for a service you refuse to provide is unlawful. Officer Ferrufino appears to feel that aggravated animal abuse is not a crime worthy of his time. It is not Officer Ferrufino or County of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control that determine what is and is not a crime. The people of the state of California make that determination and your organization is paid to enforce the will of the people.

I expect an investigation consistent with the requirements of the law,

Richard Leland Neal

Desires of the Human Heart - Richard Carlson

Orange by Sharon Gordon

'Orange' by Sharon Gordon is your good old book on color. It 

names a number of things that are orange and what you do with them. This is a book for very young children that teaches you things like what a basket ball is and what an orange looks like. If your child has progressed to the point that they no longer have and issue naming the colors then this book is not for them.

Who should read this book? Very young children. 

Books read: 171 

Hello! Hello! by Matthew Cordell Book Review

'Hello! Hello!' by Matthew Cordell is the story about a girl who

suddenly finds herself without the internet. She first reaches out to her family and then, when they ignore her, she goes outside and finds a world of magic in her own mind. 

This is a book grounded in the idea that you shouldn't live your life online but also shouldn't live it entirely in the real world. 

This is a book that kind of tells the techofile to take a breath and feel the real world every now and again. 

Who should read this book? Everyone.

Books read: 170 of 5000

Wanderer Explanation

8^th January 2018

Yeah, well, the wanderer explanation for my depression is just a hypothesis that’s not backed up by testing. I didn’t do all that well in Neuropsychology, but I found the subject fascinating.  I recall reading that hoarders hoard because when they see items more of their brain becomes active and hording may be a comorbid problem with me. My most recent hording behavior is books. I keep looking for free books on craigslist even as I haven’t read most of the ones I have. 

If we take it as true that more of my brain becomes active when I look at things that would explain a good deal of my behavior. It would mean that I take a global view of every situation or, to put it in the context of Kelly’s Construct Theory, my constructs are strongly connected. This would be true in my problem solving behavior as well.

Look at the situation with these cats and I. The best option will always be to reunite them with their owner. Their owner lost them because of poverty, so one of the things I did was try to help her find a job. That makes sense.  Another thing I did was respond to a craigslist ad requesting a “Gay themed” screenplay and offered to write the cat owner’s story as a film as she is a lesbian who lost her job because of a bad relationship. 

I would then give the cat owner half of whatever I made on the film. I never got an answer to that reply, but the idea is sound and clearly ‘out of the box’ thinking.

The classic example of my condition that I like to use is that if you say “paint” I think “eggs shell was used to thicken the paint Michelangelo used to paint the 16^th chapel”. The connection is clear but why would you think that every time someone said paint?

Another great example would be how and why I’m intentionally extending the length of this email. The first reason is therapeutic. By recalling event surrounding my depression I’m activating my Hippocampus. This suppresses the Amygdala and weakens emotional response to memories. You should know this as ‘Systematic Desensitization’. The second reason is so that I can use this email as a blog post. I will likely come up with a joke or comic to go with it and then post it on my blog ‘Letters to Cassi and Other Folks’. The more I post the more likely I am to have followers, make money, and better my situation. Thus, you see that it’s kind of like multitasking.  

The higher level of composition needed for a blog post requires me to proofread the letter more reinforcing systematic desensitization and bettering therapy. The act of posting on a blog is an attempt at economic freedom alleviating the stressor.

Do you see what I mean? 

'The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade' by Deborah Diesen Book Review

'The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade' by Deborah Diesen

is the story of a group of babies who protest things like naps and eating their peas. It's an outlandish take on babies and how they act, with the strong reminder that babies aren't babies for very long. Both the frustration and joy of children will last only so long.

This is a book more for parents than for children because of the topics discussed. It serves as that reminder that you should think of your baby as a thing that you won't have forever.

Who should read this book? Anyone with children.

Books read: 169 of 5000 

Childhood Dreams and Missing Hands

This is an email I sent to a researcher who does work with the human brain. 

8^th January 2018

In my case the sleeping disorder appears connected to an inability to alter my situation. This is supported by childhood dreams of having my hands removed and some of my artwork where the hands are missing. I appear to be unable to sleep because of a subconscious need to address the problem and an inability to do so.  There were times I exhibited walking behaviors where I wandered around the house, sometimes with my eyes closed, with no apparent goal or destination. This could have been a survival tool for early humans. If the problem were environmental then it could be something that could be walked away from. A human in the natural state may have needed to wander looking for food or water, conserve energy because of scarcity, and would have rested only when finding safe and satisfying ground.

It should be noted that in times of plenty, say I’m getting a lot of overtime and making a lot of money, I tend to sleep and lose weight rapidly.

It needs to be noted in my case that I exhibit signs of a swollen Amygdala. I experience strong feelings of anger if my heart beats to fast, and I practice breathing techniques to control this problem.  

Halls of Justice - Lenny Bruce

If I Grow Up - Lenny Bruce

Anonymous Donor - Lenny Bruce

Writer Who Knows Depression

3rd January 2018

All righty,

Looking at your craigslist ad I can see you’re looking for a writer who knows depression. I have credits as a writer on IMDB and I have been diagnosed with Persistent Recurrent Depression. I also hold a BA in Psychology so you could say I have a good understanding of the condition.

I am on the old side for your criteria given that I’m in my late 30’s and you want a younger man, but I’m told I look young. I have no connection to Portland as your ad mentions as I live in LA.

I think the big question is, ‘what is this for?’ and that would determine if I should be involved. If you’re looking for someone to be on camera I’m not sure that would be me. I can’t see flying up to Oregon to get my face in something, but if your big goal is to have a clear depiction of depression that I can do.

I know a few production folks here in LA but not a group of people who are looking to work for free.

Best,



Richard Leland Neal

Going Back to God - Lenny Bruce

Seeking High-Concept Stories

This was a letter responding to an ad for 'High-Concept Stories' to be turned into a graphic novel. I'm going to grant you that 'high-concept' means that it's easy to explain but the truth is that high-concept and lowest common denominator are closely related marketing terms. 

This is one of those situations where I can show the reply to the letter and you tell me if you think I should have spoken to any of my friends about this fellow.

26th December 2017

Hay there (Publisher),

I read your ad on Craigslist for material for a Graphic Novel. Well, I have my own work which is not published, and I happen to know a fellow who is a bestselling Sci Fi author who was thinking of turning his work into a graphic novel.

I’m sure you’d be most interested in the bestselling author, well, I’m going to need to see some art work before I recommend you to him. He’s not the kind of man I’d like to have mad at me.

As for my own work, I have a film/novel I’ve been trying to market. It’s a Cabin in the woods style slasher. It got me an A+ in college as a film script, and then I rewrote it as a novel. I’ve never been good about marketing these things, but it’s definitely high concept. These would be characters you’d like to see face off with Jason or Freddy. The novel goes a step further to include evil bikers and men in black.

I wrote this to be a lowest common denominator kind of work with a possibility for merchandising. I also have some harder Science Fiction but it would be a much more involved project.

In any case, let me know if any of that sounds interesting,


Richard Leland Neal
Reply:
"Lowest common denominator" kind of stuff really doesn't sound too appealing to me. But I would be interested to know what your author friend might be pitching. But I don't want to pretend that my operation is any bigger than it is. I have self-published a handful of comic books and graphic novels over the last decade, nothing big. I don't do any of the artwork myself, and instead hire artists that are a good fit for the material. I act more as the publisher and editor.

My Response to Reply:
"Lowest Common Denominator" is how Shakespeare wrote so you're not interested in anyone who has a 'bestselling Author' stamp and he's not pitching anything. We just had a conversation about turning one of his earlier works into a graphic novel.

Something of Yourself - Fred Rogers

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories By Dr. Seuss Book Review

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories By Dr. Seuss is a

collection of Seuss stories that appeared in magazines. The Bippalo Seed itself is the story of greed and teaches the lesson of not wanting too much.  There are other stories to this book about not believing everything you are told, accepting what you can't change, following directions, and not bragging. 

Now, this falls into the category of the lesser known Seuss so the stories are fun but not iconic. However, Seuss's art has been successfully recovered and restored so that you would never know that these stories had to be recovered from older archives that were of less than perfect quality. 

Who should read this book? Dr. Seuss fans. 

Books read: 168 of 5000

A small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

A small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose by Stephanie Stuve-

Bodeen is the story of a girl who just wants a dog more than anything. She asks her parents every day for her dog, but they just wont go get her one. 

Then one day she gets the bright idea of tricking her parents into making promises about a dog that leads her to getting what she wants. 

Man I hate people like this and the book is one that has a story that I dislike not because it is not well executed but because it's the story of a girl outwitting her parents. It's a story that ends well leaving us with the idea that tricking people into giving them what you want is okay.  

Who should read this book? Folks who really trust their kids. 

Books read: 167 of 5000