Book Review: The Man in the White Suit by Ben Collins

To enjoy this book you need to be a fan of Top Gear U.K.  You need to understand the epic global phenomenon of "The Stig."  And, that most importantly, the Stig's identity is never revealed. No one knew his name, saw his face or heard his voice. After Season 2, the black-suited Stig chatted about who he was, so he was fired. Ben Collins remained in secrecy as the white-suited Stig for eight seasons. By then, the press started questioning that Ben Collins was the mysterious Stig, although Collins repeatedly denied it. Collins was not officially fired from Top Gear U.K. until his autobiography - The Man in the White Suit: The Stig, Le Mans, the Fast Lane, and Me - was published. So that brings us to the book review.

This was a long read for me - I do not know British expressions or internationally acclaimed racing car drivers. Nevertheless, the book was enjoyable. Collins has lead a very interesting life. At the age of four his sole ambition was to be a fighter pilot...His father instilled in him the love of speed. Ben took the eye examination for a fighter pilot and failed. He was crushed, but he never lost his passion to excel. For his 18th birthday, his father's gift was a trial in a single-seat racing car at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. The racing car driver was born.

The book basically has three components - Ben Collins the racing car driver (including movie stunt driver), the Stig, and a member of the British Army. His recollections of his army training were quite amusing. As the Stig, Ben coached hundreds of celebrities from Tom Cruise to Lionel Ritchie around Top Gear's Dunsfold racetrack, each person vying to be the fastest celebrity in "a reasonably priced" car. The competition is fierce. Ben has also tested hundreds of exotic supercars and family cars around that track too. Manufacturers (owners, designers, engineers) even listed to the Stig's comments and suggestions for improving or tweaking their cars. Amazing.

With rumors of Top Gear U.K. considering another Stig, a terrible racing accident in Romania, and the birth of his baby girl, Collins decided to give up the Stig and just be Ben Collins. Certainly he needed a less-franatic, less-traveled life. Even though the producers were looking for another racing car driver(s), the parting was not amicable when Collins published his book. That's silly. "You told everybody that you were the Stig before we could fire you." Ridiculous.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ben Collins's autobiography. Of course, I am a rabid Top Gear U.K. lunatic. It was good to finally know the man behind the mask. Two thumbs' up!

TV: How the States Got Their Shapes

Did you know that Atlanta gets more rain per year than Seattle? But, Atlanta is built on bedrock so the ground cannot absorb all that water. Or, that Nevada's state line was lowered into Arizona's territory so that Nevada would include part of the Colorado River? Why? Because Arizona sided with the South during the Civil War. Cool, huh? Did you know it took Canada and the U.S. decades to agree to a treaty that determined the Maine and Canadian borders? Know how they finally decided. Watch the show! 

As part of Steven's homeschooling courses, he is learning history. But, I did not want all of his lessons to come from books. Reading, reading, reading. Good to know, not always the right way for a particular student to learn. I discovered a fantastic TV program on the History Channel: How the States Got Their Shape. Today's lesson was "A River Runs Thru It." Hence, the paragraph above.

I enjoy the mini-quizzes. Which river is longest? The Mississippi, the Missouri, the Colorado or the Ohio? Nope, not the Mississippi. It is the Missouri River. What is the water source for the City of Las Vegas? No googling........ Lake Mead. But, is Lake Mead actually a "lake"? No. It is the reservoir at the Hoover Dam. Where is the Hoover Dam? It is located on the Colorado River about 24 miles from the Strip southeast of Las Vegas.

It's a very enjoyable show with information about the states, but not presented in a boring documentary sort of way. The host Brian Unger travels to each state, showing the area and asking local citizens questions about their state. We do not have cable or satellite TV so we were watching it online at http://www.history.com/shows/how-the-states-got-their-shapes but then discovered it on Amazon Instant Videos. We have Roku and watch the episodes thru that service. We have Amazon Prime so these particular TV episodes are free (otherwise they're $1.99 each). They're also online at Amazon.com or DVD. 

I recommend the TV show for everybody - It is informational, interesting, entertaining and fun.

TV: Body of Proof

The third season of Body of Proof has started - Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. on ABC. I really like this show. Dana Delaney portrays a medical examiner in Philadelphia named Megan Hunt. Of course, medical examiners perform autopsies, not investigate murders. And, no woman who stands on her feet all day would wear her fabulous platform pumps..... but I like it anyway.

The end of season two was a shocker. The writers were killing people off right and left - people who worked with the medical examiner. At the end of season two, Dr. Hunt's medico-legal detective Peter Dunlop was stabbed and she was calling for help. This season starts off Dr. Hunt's returning from a three-month leave of absence after Peter's death. Okay.....so they did kill him off. Answered that question. I am always surprised when a main character is removed from the show. He was the secondary character after Dr. Hunt. Boom! He's gone.

Season three begins with a two-part episode called "Abduction." Someone is killing U.S. combat veterans and removing their spleens. Ew. Dr. Hunt must discover who are the killers and why the veterans are being killed. Soon after she makes a startling discovery, Dr. Hunt receives a phone call that the killers have kidnapped her daughter. She has something they want back. Hum, interesting.

Although I enjoyed the episodes, anything involving the U.S. military makes me squeamish. The mainstream media does enough trash talk about our armed forces, so I dislike when they're portrayed as bad in movies, books, TV. Of course, the allover message of the show was our veterans need more help, but still.......

I still recommend the show. Two thumbs' up!

TV: The Taste

I am enjoying The Taste on Tuesday nights on ABC. It's a twist from the typical cooking competitions. There are four judges - Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey. Each judge selects four chefs for their kitchen. Whatever the challenge may be, each cook prepares just a bite, or taste. The judging is blind so the judges don't know if they're voting off one of their own people. I like that. It's all about The Taste.

Of course, the entire world knows Anthony Bourdain. He's my favorite chef. I hope his team wins even though my favorite contestant is not on Team Anthony. More about that later..... I am aware of who Nigella Lawson is, but I've never seen her TV show or read her books. I have no idea who Ludo Lefebvre or Brian Malarkey are, but I'm cheering for Ludo instead of Malarkey. It's a personality thing. Malarkey shouts just for the sake of shouting. That drives me nuts. Ludo is a classically trained French chef so I understand him and what he wants in his kitchen.

You just have to make it past the first two episodes - the auditions - and then the show gets interesting. This week was Episode 5: Sandwiches. I t-o-t-a-l-l-y understand that challenge. Making a good sandwich is actually difficult. One slip up and it can go from awesome to awful. My Dad loved sandwiches. He was always putting different combinations together. And, that's why I like diners. You can always get a good sandwich at a diner.

Khristianne Uy

My favorite chef-contestant is Khristianne Uy (Team Malarkey). She is one cool chick. She creates dishes that even my picking tastebuds would try, and I like her stories. My least favorite is Gregg Drusinsky (Ludo Team). Too arrogant, yet a crybaby. Annoying.

We're halfway thru its short season, so we'll know who the winner is soon. I hope you'll give The Taste a try. I'm enjoying the show.

TV: Project Runway Season 11

I am one of the original Project Runway fanatics. I breathed Project Runway each week and couldn't wait for the next episode. By the time a TV program is popular, I'm bored with it. I recently had a Project Runway marathon. I watched all of Season 10 and then caught up with Season 11. I'm b-a-c-k!!!!!

First, there's the adorable Tim Gunn. I want to be Tim Gunn when I grow up. He's just a cutie and so polite. I wonder if he'll give heterosexual men "gentlemen" lessons? Tim Gunn's Grooming & Manners. I can see it......

Second, Season 11 is Teams Edition. Normally, I hate teams projects during the other seasons. But, Season 11? Now, this I like. Of course, I don't always agree with judges. In fact, I rarely agree with the judges. Even if they actually choose my top and bottom picks, their final votes are not the same as mine. Most of the time.

Third, guest judges! This week the adorable Divine Miss M (Bette Midler for those who don't remember Bette Midler as a mermaid, but that's another story) was a guest judge. She doesn't have a very good poker face, at least for the worst outfits. I thought that was hysterical. "Ew, what is that?!" I agreed with Bette. This week's materials were flowers and hardware. I'm amazed at what people can do with fabric much less flowers and mini-blinds. It was a cool challenge. One team did an awesome job - 1950s Doir, plus coordinating colors (Go Stanley!!) - the other team was just horrible. They forgot all the outfits are supposed to be cohesive. 

In the photo, Dream Team's (stupid, I know) creations are on the bottom. Classy, feminine, beautiful. Team Keeping-It-Real's (which they don't) outfits are the top row. The judges said there was no "losing team" this week because everyone did an amazing job. Hum....I don't think so. Thankfully, Joe was eliminated for his bulky, oversized sweater dress. No wait, he called it a coat. Nope, he called it a sweater dress again. Whatever. It's a mess. (Top row, far right). If the model is a size Two and the dress makes her look like a size 32, then I don't want it. Apparently Joe was more interested in "his vision" than a flattering silhouette. 

So, four designers are gone. I agree with those choices.

Finally, they replaced Michael Kors with Zac Posen. Now, I love Michael Kors. If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying all my clothing and accessories from Michael. But, Zac Posen has been a breath of fresh air this season. Of course, he's a cutie too.