Homage to the dry Martini and Raw Oysters

A personal homage to the dry Martini and Raw Oysters

Whether you prefer a Martini made with Beefeaters, Tanqueray, Magellan Blue, Bombay Sapphire, Old Raj, or any number of other suitable Gins, a fine dry Martini is never better than when it is paired with a plate of raw oysters on the half-shell.

Read my story at the link below.

On Martinis and Oysters

Laudizen

On a Beach on Nantucket

Remembering youth and love on the island of Nantucket. From Cliff Beach to Madaket, Surfside to Sankaty Head, Brant Point to Great Point, and from Polpis to downtown, the welcoming pineapples of the Jared Coffin House have sung their siren song, and the storied island of Nantucket is populated by many ghosts from my past.

Read the story at the link below.

On a Beach on Nantucket

Laudizen King

Ebooks on PC - Digital Readers for PCs

Don't have a digital reader? You can open up the world of ebooks and enjoy the power and flexibility of a digital reader on your desktop PC at home. Download a version for your PC at the links below and enjoy ebooks on your home computer.

Adobe Digital Reader for PC

Kindle for PC

Kindle for MAC

FBReader for Unix

Happy holidays!

Free Ebook Available

Now thru Christmas, I am giving away copies of 'Mosaics', an ebook containing my favorite collection of travels, memoirs, and stories!

It is published by Smashwords and is available in all the download formats used by the most popular digital readers: the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, the Sony e-reader, select Palm devices, the Apple iPhone or iPad, and your personal computer as well.

To begin, create an account at smashwords.com with an email address and a password.

Go to the page for 'Mosaics' by Laudizen King
Mosaics

Add the book to your shopping cart and use coupon code XU44W at checkout

Don't have a digital reader? Download a version for your PC at the links below and enjoy 'Mosaics' all the more.

Adobe Digital Reader for PC

Kindle for PC

Kindle for MAC

FBReader for Unix

Enjoy! Happy holidays, Laudizen King

Heinrich Harrer

Heinrich Harrer - The man behind 'Seven Years in Tibet'

He was larger than life, a modern day Indiana Jones. He was in the group that made the first successful ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, author of 'Seven Years in Tibet', lived in Lhasa, friend to the Dalai Lama, world explorer and mountaineer with first ascents around the world, including Alaska.

Read my story at the link below.

Heinrich Harrer

Laudizen

The White Mountain Chronicles on sale

‎"The White Mountain Chronicles", an ebook recalling 18 years of adventure in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is on sale for 1.99 this Christmas season now thru January 5 at Smashwords. It is available in all the popular download formats.

Follow the link below and use coupon code FC72A at checkout

The White Mountain Chronicles

Laudizen

Ebook Stores for Laudizen King

The White Mountain Chronicles
Mosaics
Death Valley Wind

Laudizen King's Ebooks are available for purchase and download at the following Ebook stores. Visit the links below to compare prices.

Smashwords

Kobo

Diesel

Sony

Barnes and Noble

iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users can download the iBooks App at iTunes:
Apple


Laudizen

Brian McCarthy - The Osceolas

I've only communicated with Brian through the internet; Brian had purchased a copy of my Ebook, 'The White Mountain Chronicles', and we ended up emailing each other about trails and adventures in the White Mountains. Brian loves the mountains of New Hampshire and appreciates the special moments that a hiker can experience there. Brian sent me an email with a description of a weekend adventure that included camping at Hancock Campground on the Kancamagus Highway and climbing Osceola East Peak and Mt Osceola via the Greeley Ponds Trail.

It is a wonderful account, and it is a pleasure to include it on my website.

Read the story of Brian's October weekend in the White Mountains at the link below.

The Osceolas - October 2010

Laudizen

Images from Yosemite Valley, October, 2010

Four large-format images from Yosemite Valley, October, 2010

Yosemite Valley - October 2010 - Number 1

Yosemite Valley - October 2010 - Number 2

Yosemite Valley - October 2010 - Number 3

Yosemite Valley - October 2010 - Number 4

Laudizen

Laudizen books at Sony Ebook store

All three books now available at the Sony Ebook store.

Laudizen books at Sony Ebook store

Laudizen

Interlude

Interlude - Winter in New Hampshire

Favorite places and hikes in the Granite State and the White Mountains: New Hampshire during winter.

Interlude

Laudizen

The White Mountain Chronicles - a Review

(Note: a review of my eBook, 'The White Mountain Chronicles' as added to Smashwords on September 16, 2010 by Brian McCarthy.)


The White Mountain Chronicles - a Review

I'm a huge fan of Laudizen King! I've read "The White Mountain Chronicles" at least a 1/2 dozen times. You can't imagine how much I can relate to this work.

I enjoy his writing style and the way he speaks of the White Mountains and the time he spent there. I share so many of his sentiments about the area, but one that stands out most to me is his thoughts on hiking alone, "I'd rather hike alone than share the mountains with someone who does not appreciate them the way that I do".

I'm a bit embarrassed by it, but I often think how great it would be to have a hiking partner like him, someone who loves the whole mountain experience: the drive up as the weight of the world starts to leave your shoulders, the satisfaction of a long hard hike, the pleasure of a warm camp fire and cold beer afterwards, gazing at the stars from a tent in Dolly Copp, and all of the other great things that come with the mountain experience.

I actually just stayed at Dolly Copp on Sunday night before hiking King Ravine on Monday and was thinking of this book. I'm curious what his favorite site was. I was putting up my tent in the rain, remembering the story 'May Camp', of arriving late in the evening at Dolly Copp, and getting his tarp set up in the rain. His writings are so vivid that it's impossible to be in the area and not recall a story or two of his about the area you're in.

Laudizen King's writings mean a lot to me. I think you will enjoy them as well. When your schedule, the weather, or life in general won't let you be in the mountains, Laudizen King's writings are the next best thing to being there yourself!

Brian McCarthy
September 16, 2010

(Use the following link to see the review at Smashwords.)

Review

Laudizen

Travelogues

A collection of Travelogues from Smashwords

Travelogues

Laudizen

'Signposts and Junctions' is now out of Print

I recently received several emails asking me about purchasing a copy of 'Signposts and Junctions'. That collection of stories, my first paperback book, is now out of print.

The best of those stories, however, appear in 'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles', two eBooks published by, and available at, Smashwords.

Find them both at the links below:

'Mosaics' is a collection of 41 stories, essays, travels, and memoirs that span the decades of a life.

Mosaics

'The White Mountain Chronicles' celebrate the eighteen years the author spent traveling and hiking in the Granite State of New Hampshire.

The White Mountain Chronicles

Laudizen

Hockanum River Canoe Trip

Hockanum River Canoe Trip, Thirty Years On

read it at the link below

Awash and Adrift on the Hockanum River

Laudizen

Piece of Work

Sometimes a good idea bears no fruit

read it at the link below

Piece of Work

Laudizen

Steven Slater - after the fall

It seems that passengers on the now famous JetBlue flight are painting a different picture of the reluctant hero, calling him rude and short with the passengers. Oh, how we wanted to champion his actions because we all know what those who fly must face and endure every day.

Steven Slater and JetBlue

I think the airline, JetBlue, should out the passenger by name and have her arrested, she is the person who put the flying public in danger by her reckless acts in the cabin, and now the courts make her out to be the victim. I'm not excusing Slater's actions, I just want to see the weight of the law placed on the perpetrator. Another example of a gutless corporation unable to rise to the occasion. What a statement her arrest would have made to all of the impatient, rude, self-important pieces of excrement that fly every day and demand that everyone else get out of their way.

The 2 wheel muse

The 2 wheel muse is a website dedicated to celebrating the stories, emotions, and experiences of all things motorcycle. All stories and images are from supporters around the world.

Take a look and submit something original of your own: a story, club ride, remembrance for a fallen friend, personal experience, or any other thing related to the bikers world. I'll publish it on the muse.

Follow the link below to read the 2 wheel muse.

2 wheel muse

Laudizen

Inception

We just saw the movie 'Inception' and I'm getting a token!

Juice

Juice

From the 495 Beltway around Boston

Follow the link below to read the story.

Juice

Laudizen

Little Tokyo Moment

Little Tokyo Moment

A crosswalk in Los Angeles turns back the decades

read it at the link below

Little Tokyo Moment

Laudizen

The Fokker U 2

The Fokker U 2

Remembering my friend, Ed Mainville, and the boating life on Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River

Follow the link below to read the story.

The Fokker U 2

Laudizen

Now available at Sony, Apple, and Smashwords

My two ebooks, 'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles', are now available for download at the Sony Reader Store, the Apple iBook store, and at Smashwords. Readers now have easy access to both collections of stories.

'Mosaics' is a compilation of stories and travels that celebrate the people and emotions that make the human experience so personal and grand.

'The White Mountain Chronicles' is a unique collection of stories detailing eighteen years of adventure in the mountains of New Hampshire: from nights of revelry to dangerous water crossings and mountain blizzards, from friendships forged on the trail to solitary moments on windy summits.

'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles' are published by Smashwords. Support your independent writers.

Laudizen

Ebooks Now Available at Sony Reader Store

My two ebooks, 'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles', are now available for download at the Sony Reader Store. Readers with accounts at the Sony ebook store now have easy access to both collections of stories.

'Mosaics' is a compilation of stories and travels that celebrate the people and emotions that make the human experience so personal and grand.

'The White Mountain Chronicles' is a unique collection of stories detailing eighteen years of adventure in the mountains of New Hampshire: from nights of revelry to dangerous water crossings and mountain blizzards, from friendships forged on the trail to solitary moments on windy summits.

Peruse them both at the Sony Reader Store by following the links below.

Mosaics

The White Mountain Chronicles

'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles' are published by Smashwords. They are also available at the Smashwords website.

Laudizen

Houseboat

Houseboat

On Lake Don Pedro in the Great Central Valley of California with the Allen family.

When I worked at the Foster Poultry Farms in Livingston, California I had the opportunity to experience the houseboat life on Lake Don Pedro first hand through Carter Allen and his family.

Follow the link below to read the story.

Houseboat

Laudizen

My AMC White Mountain Guides - Corrected

Dear friends,

I recently discovered that the New Hampshire story posted on my website, "My AMC White Mountain Guides", was corrupt and only 20 percent of the story was visible, probably from a bad upload. I consider this story one of my favorites and it is the lead offering in my ebook, "The White Mountain Chronicles". This error did not occur in the ebook, only on the website. I have corrected the error and the story is now complete and reposted on the website. I apologize to those readers who encountered the partial file.

Follow the link below to read the story.

If you do not see the above message displayed before the story, please refresh or reload the page.

My AMC White Mountain Guides

Laudizen

2 downloads

'Mosaics' and 'The White Mountain Chronicles' are the titles of two Ebooks by Laudizen King and are published by Smashwords. Sales coupons good for a discount on the price of each download are available on the Laudizen website.


'Mosaics' is a collection of 41 stories, essays, travels, and memoirs that span the decades of a life. Because this book is so hard to encapsulate in the 400 characters (including spaces) that appear with the publisher, Laudizen has published a description of 'Mosaics' on his website.

Find it at the link below.

Mosaics

'The White Mountain Chronicles' celebrate the eighteen years the author spent traveling and hiking in the Granite State of New Hampshire. Discover 'The White Mountain Chronicles' at the link below.

The White Mountain Chronicles

Laudizen

Lunch goes Awry

Lunch went awry when I opened my cup of gelatin fruit only to discover that it was really fruit cocktail in heavy syrup.

Two new Stories

Two new submissions from Elaine Morris are in the 2 Wheel Muse. One is an account of visiting the Allman Brothers Museum (The Big House), the other describes a road trip to Texas. Enjoy


The Big House

Road Trip to Texas

Laudizen

Red Flannel Hash - New Hampshire Style

Red Flannel Hash - New Hampshire Style - a style of hash served with sweet beets as well as potatoes. Visit the link below to see it made in pictures.

Red Flannel Hash

Laudizen

Remembering Baltimore and Fort Holabird

As the wife and I sit in California awaiting the start of the Preakness, my thoughts drift back to 1969 and those days when I first entered the Army. After finishing basic training at Ft Dix in New Jersey that March, I reported to Ft Holabird, the US Army's Military Intelligence School located in the gritty Dundalk area of Baltimore.

I was at Ft Holabird that spring from the end of March to the end of May taking an Intelligence Analyst course. We had some great Marines in our class as well, and one weekend we got into a brawl on the softball field playing members of another class. I remember the gritty sports bars in the area, Colgate Creek, going to Pimlico and the Preakness, seeing the Orioles and many wonderful ballplayers they had (including Brooks Robinson), going to a Jimi Hendrix concert, the EM club and the famous pig sisters.

Next stop: Vietnam.

The Prekness always brings these memories back, every year.

Sokhna Trip 2010

I received the link to this video about the Sokhna Trip 2010 from the "Bikers in Egypt' group on Facebook. It truly is a small world. So watch the video, turn up the sound, and enjoy the ride! You'll find the link to the video at the page below.

Sokhna Trip 2010

Laudizen

Johnny Miller at the 2010 Players Championship

After Tim Clark hit driver off the 14th tee, Johnny Miller said this about his blind second shot from that location, "You gotta be smoking something to go at that pin." Clark did, and hit a brilliant shot to 18 feet to make par.

Four Frames

No person living or dead, has ever captured the heart and soul of America in four frames the way Garry Trudeau has for so many years in his classic strip, 'Doonesbury'. Piquant and succinct, eloquent and expansive, unyielding in his defense of every person standing up to arrogance and intimidation, his warm heart and manifold spirit provide the echo in the darkness that helps me through many a depressing day.

Thank you.

The 2 Wheel Muse

The 2 wheel muse is seeking new stories and pictures from anyone with a story to tell about motorcycles, past or present. Visit the site at the link below and read the stories and view the pictures submitted by others from around the globe.

So write up a story and submit it to the muse, or make it just pictures with a line or two. The muse is waiting to publish your piece. Whether it is a story about your first bike, your club, a memorial piece for a fallen friend, or a motorcycling adventure, all are welcome. And after it is published, you'll have a link to share with friends and family as well.

I hope to hear from you soon!

The 2 Wheel Muse

Laudizen

Norman

A short story about some neighbors I once had, and their Pug, Norman.


Norman

Laudizen

Northern Presidential Traverse

Follow the link below to enjoy a visual journey: a hiking traverse of the northern peaks of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Enjoy the rugged beauty of New Hampshire's high country as the author travels from Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Madison Spring Hut. Along the way are numerous views of the southern peaks, Mt Washington, Mt Clay, Mt Jefferson, Mt Adams, Thunderstorm Junction, and Mt Madison.

Northern Presidential Traverse

Laudizen

Apple and Android Phones for ebooks

"Apple’s iPhone has quickly become one of the most popular ereading devices for ebooks. It’s true, and this rapid ascendance of the iPhone as a strong competitor to other ereading devices is largely thanks to the success of one of the most popular applications for the iPhone, the Stanza ereading app. Over 2.5 million book lovers have downloaded Stanza onto their iPhone or iPod Touch, allowing them to browse, download and read thousands of books. In addition to Stanza, Smashwords books are distributed via Aldiko and WordPlayer, two popular mobile reading apps for Android phones." (from Smashwords)

Visit and sample my ebooks at Smashwords!

Laudizen King at Smashwords

Laudizen King at Smashwords

Visit Laudizen King at Smashwords

Laudizen King at Smashwords

Blood Mountain

The new featured story on my website is 'Blood Mountain', a story celebrating Blood Mountain and the Appalachian Trail in the mountains of North Georgia. You can find it at the link below.


Blood Mountain

Laudizen

Pilgrimage

I want to thank everyone for their warm comments about my story 'Pilgrimage', a tale spanning almost 40 years revolving around the experiences of an Army nurse that served in the Vietnam war.

Read it at the link below.

Pilgrimage

Laudizen

HealthCare

This just out to all the protesters crying that the majority of Americans are against the HealthCare Plan signed into law. Yes, I am tired and against many things; right now I am against loud and disrespectful idiots standing up for the hateful fringes of American society. You don't speak for me.

'The Pacific' on HBO

For those of you enjoying 'The Pacific' on HBO (as I am), please read 'Goodbye Darkness' by William Manchester and 'With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa' for an honest and unvarnished look at the horror of the Pacific War as told by combat Marines. Your understanding of the world, as well as your appreciation for the actions of the United States during World War II, will never be quite the same.

Laudizen

The Goodbye Girl

My wife is up north for a week and I miss her. I return from work today to find a large package addressed to her placed at our door. In a strange way, just like the symbolism that the guitar held for Marsha Mason in 'The Goodbye Girl', the package reminds me that she intends to return, and all is well with the world.

What Happens in Vegas

RC Herman, friend, raconteur, editor of the Norton Club of Colorado newsletter, takes us on a trip to the 2010 Vintage Bike Auction held in Las Vegas. Enjoy his story and pictures from the event on the 2 Wheel Muse at the link below.

Vintage Bike Auction

Laudizen

Earthquake

A sly dog at work told me that he and his wife entered into sexual congress yesterday at 4:00am. When the 4.4 Earthquake struck the Los Angeles basin a few minutes later they both about died laughing, and he had a smile plastered across his face all day long.

I wonder if I should let Caltech know................

Generous Critic

The generous Critic fann'd the Poet's fire, And taught the world with reason to admire. EA Poe, writer, critic, (1809-1849)

Joseph Heller on Writing

Success and failure are both difficult to endure. Along with success come drugs, divorce, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, medication, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure.

Joseph Heller, writer (1923-1999)

Armenian Genocide Resolution

Not the best time to cause distress for a secular Turkish government under pressure from the forces of Islam, a government and a world far removed from 1915.

Sway

Strange dreams
Sway me this morning, of
Killer whales and pony tails,
Naked curling and
Nantucket sails.

She's a California girl

She relocated to Maryland with her husband and daughter then the blizzard of 2010 hit the Washington DC area with 40 inches of snow: all she has in her closet for footwear are loafers, sandals, and flipflops.

Gift of Richard Brautigan

Remembering Richard Brautigan and the Confederate General from Big Sur, Revenge of the Lawn, Trout Fishing in America, and The Towel.

The giving, and receiving, of a Richard Brautigan gift can be found at the link below.

Brautigan Gift

Laudizen

Morning Joe

Just made coffee, Peet's Major Dickason's using a little 2-cup cone drip filter held in a small cheap plastic holder, run into a tall thin travel cup until full. This makes as good a cup of coffee as any method I know: easy, fast, no mess, always satisfying.

Olympics

I, for one, would like to see ice skating and all the other events that decide victory based only on a judge's score removed from the Olympics. Let them have their own championship (IE fiascoes).