September 2007

AC360 on Monday...

September 30, 2007

Liz tipped me off that there was a commercial on CNN this morning about Michael:

New/old interview

September 28, 2007

And another stellar find by Sharon! A report done for Chris Matthews during "Operation Swarmer" in March of last year. I absolutely adore this photo -- I've never seen him wearing a keffiyeh before...

Another delay for the book

September 25, 2007

Last night I received a heads-up from regular contributor Sharon that the publication of Michael's book has now been pushed an additional year, to September 2009. I just received confirmation of that date from the Australian publisher.

A new blog, Arianna, Jack & Buster

September 18, 2007

I've finally added an off-site blog, so that from now on if news breaks while I'm at work, I can at least post something. (Of course, it will also give you guys a chance to put up comments and get to know one another, if you wish. There are some really great people who are regulars on the site.) The link is in the sidebar.

Also, on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," Arianna Huffington had some nice things to say about Michael, and during the third hour of TheSitRoom on Monday, Jack and one of his e-mailers did, as well. Just thought I'd share them...

Read More...

Donations

September 16, 2007

I've had several very sweet e-mails from people wanting to help with the dead DVD drive problem, which just blew me away. So my friends have talked me into setting up a link on the Site Info page to make it possible to donate to the site via PayPal.

Thanks to all of you who wrote and commiserated, too... Definitely makes the all-nighters worth while!

Slow but still steady...

September 10, 2007

I apologize that the clips are getting up more slowly these days -- the DVD drive on my poor old PowerBook died last week and quite honestly I don't have the money to replace it. I have come up with another way to get the clips converted and posted, but it is adding a couple more hours onto the whole process. But I promise I will keep them coming!

Yuri Kozyrev's Fallujah photos

September 08, 2007

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View the photographs taken by Yuri Kozyrev
during the battle of Fallujah

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These photos are copyright Time magazine and Yuri Kozyrev. I have archived them here simply for easier access.

Thanks to Sharon for sending the link.

My thoughts on "House to House"

September 05, 2007

House to House: An Epic Memoir of War
by SSG David Bellavia with John R. Bruning

I have read a lot of books about the Iraq war. Literally an entire bookshelf worth. Many of them are Very Important Books, the kind that will make their way into course curriculums of the future, that are cited as reference material for other books, that hit the NYTimes best-seller list.

But I have never pressed my friends to read them, never choked up trying to explain why a particular book was so important, never said that they would never forget this book.

Not until House to House.

David Bellavia interviewed on TSR

September 04, 2007

Today on The Situation Room, Wolf interviewed David Bellavia about his new book, the current state of al-Anbar province, and Michael.

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SSG David Bellavia's new book: "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War"

September 01, 2007

If you've read Michael's article about the 2nd Battle of Fallujah in November of 2004, you will remember SSG David Bellavia as the crazy/brave leader of the Army squad with whom he was embedded. Bellavia has just released a book about that battle, House to House: An Epic Memoir of War, and will be doing some media appearances this week to promote it, including The Situation Room on Monday and Glenn Beck's show on Tuesday.

For more information about the book, check out the publisher's website.
For information on appearances, check out www.davidbellavia.com.

I picked up my copy of the book today and it is incredible. If the standard for war memoirs is "gritty," then reading this is like being sandblasted... Yes, there is stuff in there about Michael, and I will write up some of that in the next couple of days, but you can't read this book without being deeply, deeply moved by what these guys went through.

More to come once I've finished reading it...

New addition

September 01, 2007

Yesterday I received a terrific suggestion for the site, one I am sorry I didn't think of myself -- since not everyone has a fast internet connection, I am going to start offering a smaller version of the video clips. So for anything posted as of today the photos will no longer link directly to the video clips. Instead, there will be options on the main page (where the transcripts are) for either a Large or Small version of the clip. The Large will be the one I am currently posting (iPod standard). The Small one will be about one-tenth of the file size, with a very small screen, but should allow for a much faster download and provide easier access to anyone with a slow connection.

I will go back and re-convert older clips as I have time -- my poor little PowerBook will be working overtime for quite a while to tackle this project, but I think it will be a worthwhile addition to the site. (Thanks again, Sean!)