Robert Rodriguez's

A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez
$26.99
A timely and relevant book, whose sales figures would have benefited from an even more expansive title incorporating the by-line "PED's in Baseball".

This book is a tour de force of the steroid culture whose ramifications are permeating baseball to this day.

Using the life of Alex Rodriguez as the catalyst, not merely as the central character, the author explores the role of the office of the MLB Commissioner, club management, Scott Boras, the Players Association, BALCO and a netherworld of Dominican pseudo pharmaceutical fitness trainers in cultivating a sports mentality in which the rampant use of steroids is not only widely acknowledged and encouraged but supported by a code of silence in which non-using players, though disgusted, would never rat on a fellow player.

The reader is taken on a journey behind the scenes of the club house, the training yards, the glitz of the celebrity scene and into the homes of the various stars. The story of the anonymous drug testing of 2003 is discussed in full, together with the reaction of the various major parties to establishing a bona fide drug testing program within MLB.

Heavily supported by interview and drawing on numerous other books exploring the baseball drug phenomenon, the author provides a sense of authenticity supporting claims made, in what would otherwise be a clear route towards defamation litigation owing to the text's base grit in detail.

As the names of the "List" of positive testers is slowly leaked in the papers, supported by the findings of the Mitchell Report, this book clearly explains the mentality of those who made themselves vulnerable to the "PED's in baseball" net.

A contemporary book exploring a still unfolding drama.

Readers are recommended to download the audio version of this text too. Read with immense color, its 7 hours provide a wonderful way to hear this story told.

With nil repetition or filler, this book is simply a legitimate contribution to baseball history, written very much in the moment.

Planet Terror (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]
$29.95
This Blu Ray is amazing. If your a horror fan, I feel like you almost have to like this one. Funny, gorry, sexy, and straight up RAW. A great cast with amazing looking woman. This was the first half of the Grindhouse double feature when it was originally released along with its counter part, Quitin Tarrantino's Deathproof. Made to look like a grainy 1970's horror, you would think a bluray version would be obsolete, but you would be wrong! The Blu Ray version comes with an option to watch the movie with or without the grainy 1970s film looking effect. This results in a crisp clean 1080P looking Planet Terror, or a choppy, grainy 1970s feeling Planet Terror. In my opinion the film is WAY more enjoyable in crisp clean 1080P, and you can see and appreciate the cheesy gore and explosions in a more detailed way. So if you like horror, like good lookin girls, and like Bruce Willis, and have a Blu Ray Player, definately pick this one up. Oh, and watch for Quintin Tarrantinos guest appearance! (Too bad Death Proof SUCKED!!!)

Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
$16.00
I had never seen a film by Robert Rodriguez before reading this book, but what an amazing story! It could inspire anyone to want to make a movie even if you've never contemplated such an idea before. As a start-out film maker, it's been far more inspiring than any technical book I've read on the subject of film making. If you are a film maker, and you have somewhat succeeded in what RR calls "becoming technical", then this book oozes just enough technical stuff to keep it informative without detracting from what the book really is - a recount of his experience making El Mariachi. Whatever you take from the book, it's going teach you something.

Rebel Without A Crew is also a hilarious read. Rodriguez writes very freely and this is one of those books responsible for the well-known cliche "once you start you can't put it down" or something along those lines.

Robert Rodriguez Mexico Trilogy (El Mariachi / Desperado / Once Upon A Time In Mexico)
$29.96
Liked the last two movies, but I didn't like the first one as much. The set is a good purchase, however, as it shows where the last movies came from.