Boston College’s graduation ceremonies are today. By the time you read this, Diane, Patrick, and I will be heading over to the BC campus. Katie will stroll across the stage in a few hours and accept her Master’s Degree. Then, the job hunt begins. But the field of Elder Care is growing so I’m sure Katie will find a good job. Katie wants to stay in Boston so that narrows the job search. Congratulations, Katie!

George Pelecanos sets What It Was back in the 1970s. A psychopathic killer who calls himself Red Fury is on a rampage. When Fury steals the heroin that belonged to the Mafia, a couple contract killers are sent out to deal with the problem. Homicide Detective Frank Vaughn is also on the trail of Red Fury. Vaughn finds former cop, Derek Strange, involved in the case, too. If you’ve read any of Pelecanos’ work, you know that the writing is tight, the plot is supercharged, and the violence is graphic. I’ve enjoyed all the Pelecanos novels I’ve read. GRADE: B+

Narek Hakhnazaryan, the brilliant cellist, was born in 1988. Can you remember what you were doing in 1988? That makes Hakhnazaryan 24 years old. He may be young in years, but he plays with passion and talent. Noreen Cassidy-Polera accompanied Hakhnazaryan on a new Steinway with panache. The Ramsi Tick Concert Series audience gave Hakhnazaryan and Cassidy-Polera several standing ovations (I was one of them). If this duo shows up in your town, they’re well worth hearing.
PROGRAM:
Fantasiestucke, Op. 73 Robert Schumann
Sonata in A Major Cesar Franck
Sonata Gyorgi Ligeti
Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Nocturne, Op 16, No. 54 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Introduction &
Polonaise Billiante, Op. 3 Federic Chopin

Requiem was published by TOR in 1993, but somehow I missed it. Talk about forgotten books, how about the books you don’t even know exist! I found a copy of Requiem while rummaging around in a Good Will thrift store last week. Of course, I bought it and ran home to read it. Yes, Requiem is a bit of a mishmash. But, there’s plenty of good reading here. Check out the Table of Contents. For my money, Robert Silverberg’s essay on Heinlein sums up Heinlein’s writing career and takes a careful measure of the man. If you’re a Heinlein fan and haven’t read Requiem you need to.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface — Virginia Heinlein
Editor’s Forward — Yoji Kondo

Part I — Works of Robert A. Heinlein

Requiem
Tenderfoot in Space
Destination Moon
Shooting Destination Moon
The Witch’s Daughters
The Bulletin Board
Poor Daddy
Guest of Honor Speech at the Third World Science Fiction Convention — Denver, 1941
Guest of Honor Speech at the XIXth World Science Fiction Convention — Seattle, 1961
Guest of Honor Speech — Rio de Janeiro Movie Festival, 1969
Guest of Honor Speech at the XXXIVth World Science Fiction Convention — Kansas City, 1976

Part II — National Air and Space Museum Heinlein Retrospective — 6 October 1988

NASA Medal for Distinguished Public Service for Robert A. Heinlein
This I Believe — read by Virginia Heinlein
Speeches by the Panelists:
Tom Clancy
L. Sprague de Camp
Jerry Pournelle
Charles Sheffield
Jon McBride
Speeches by the Special Guests:
Catherine Cook de Camp
Tetsu Yano

Part III — Tributes to Robert A. Heinlein

Poul Anderson — RAH: A Memoir
Jim Baen — Jim Baen’s RAH Story
Greg Bear — Remembering Robert Heinlein
J. Hartley Bowen, Jr. — Recalling Robert Anson Heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke — Robert Heinlein
Gordon R. Dickson — Robert Heinlein
Joe Haldeman — Robert A. Heinlein and Us
Larry Niven — The Return of William Proxmire
Spider Robinson — Rah Rah R.A.H.!
Spider Robinson — Robert
Robert Silverberg — Heinlein
Harry Turtledove — Thank You
Jack Williamson — Who Was Robert Heinlein?
Yoji Kondo and Charles Sheffield — Farewell to the Master

Simon Baker, the hunky Australian, who plays Patrick Jane (a psychic con man who has turned into a crime fighter) generates most of the energy for The Mentalist. Baker’s character is quirky (but cute) and carries the burden of triggering the murder of his wife and daughter by a psychopathic killer called “Red John.” And, as usual, the Season Finale returns to the Red John plot device. Much of The Mentalist is silly. In fact, Diane and I prefer the humorous episodes to the serious, grim episodes. I’m sure the conclusion to this final episode of this fourth season will be a cliffhanger.

“As a guest, Emily Price had three main drawbacks: she was incapable of saying please, incapable of saying thank you, and incapable of saying sorry, all the while creating a surge in the demand for these expressions.” At Last is Edward St. Aubyn’s fifth book in his Patrick Melrose series. Patrick Melrose, a product of a dysfunctional family, has managed to stop being a junkie but now is fighting alcoholism. He’s separated from his hyper-maternal wife and trying to figure out what to do with his middle-aged life. You don’t need to read the previous four Patrick Melrose novels to appreciate the various dilemmas Patrick has to contend with in At Last. The snarky quote above gives you an idea of what you’re in for. GRADE: B+

I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for The Cowboys (1972). In my quest to replace my favorite 100 movies (yes, I’m working on that list, Rick!) with Blu-ray versions, I found The Cowboys at BJ’s Warehouse for $7.99. What a deal! John Wayne, abandoned by his regular cowhands, takes a chance and hires 11 greenhorn schoolboys to assist him in a grueling 400 mile cattle drive. The supporting cast of Colleen Dewhurst, Bruce Dern, and Roscoe Lee Browne deliver memorable performances. Special Features include an interview with director Mark Rydell, a cast reunion featurette, and the original trailer. If you haven’t seen The Cowboys you’re missing a wonderful film. GRADE: A-

Another week, another book sale! The NT Historical Museum Book Sale also featured a “Bag Sale.” Buy a shopping bag for $5 and you get to take home all the books you can stuff into it. All of these books are as thick as a brick so they filled the bag quick. Still, what a deal!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you hard-working moms! Katie gave Diane a signed first edition of Anna Quindlen’s new book, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. Nice! Patrick is in Barcelona, Spain for a job interview. I’m sure he’ll bring Diane a wonderful present (nudge, nudge) back from Spain. We’re hosting Diane’s Mom and my Mom and eight other guests for Mother’s Day dinner. We’re reenacting Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, salad, veggies, chocolate cake, and strawberry short cake. Yum!

Home improvements continue at the Kelley Chateau. Diane is pondering new countertops for our kitchen. But our leaky old kitchen faucet took priority. Our fix-it guy came over, scoped out the job, and then it was off to Home Depot. Diane picked out the Moen Chateau Chrome kitchen faucet because it was almost identical to the old faucet. It works exactly the same way. Our fix-it guy also installed some shut-off valves as part of the installation. That way, we don’t have to turn off all the water in our house if there’s a future problem with the kitchen faucet. The battle against entropy continues…
Product Features:

The ever–popular Chateau® collection features soft, clean curves and modern, rounded styling – a proven classic.
chrome finish to create a bright, highly reflective, cool grey metallic look
one–handle lever design for ease of use
convenient side spray
aerated stream
conventional deck mount design
ADA compliant
meets ab1953 (california); s152 (vermont) legislation
limited lifetime warranty