“Direct from Broadway, the critically acclaimed and much beloved production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony®-winning triumph is coming to Buffalo with its Broadway stars to boot. Into the Woods features Montego Glover as The Witch, Stephanie J. Block as The Baker’s Wife, Sebastian Arcelus as The Baker, and Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf – all reprising their Broadway roles – in a production called “radiant” (Variety), “enchanting” (The Wall Street Journal), and “a priceless revival with a perfect cast” (The Washington Post). Directed by Lear deBessonet (Hercules), this theatrical event honors Sondheim’s legendary memory and his Broadway masterpiece like never before.”

When Katie found out that Into the Woods was coming to Buffalo after a successful Broadway run, she called us and urged us to buy tickets quickly. We did and now we’re glad we saw this top-flight version of one of Stephen Sondheim’s most popular musicals. Stephenie J. Block (The Baker’s Wife) and Sebastian Arcelus (The Baker) are married to each other in Real Life.

Into the Woods debuted in 1986 in San Diego at the Old Globe Theater and premiered on Broadway in 1987. It won three Tonys. The musical weaves the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. The characters in this musical are based on “Little Red Riding Hood“, “Jack and the Beanstalk“, “Rapunzel“, and “Cinderella“. A childless baker and his wife discover a witch has placed a curse on them. The witch will lift the curse which will allow them to have a child–if they bring her four objects. So off the Baker and the Baker’s Wife go…into the Woods.

As is common in Sondheim musicals, there are some deaths and darkness. Most of these were glossed over in the 2014 Disney movie adaptation which we saw. It felt like we were on Broadway watching this musical! Are you a fan of Sondheim? GRADE: A

I try to approach each book I read without assumptions or expectations, but somehow I thought Lessons in Chemistry was a Romantic Comedy. Maybe I was led astray by Jim Tierney’s clever cover (that No. 2 pencil plays a key role) or the suggestive book title. But Lessons in Chemistry is NOT a Romantic Comedy. There’s only a smidgen of romance and some dabs of occasional comedy in this 390 page novel.

Elizabeth Zott is chemist working for Hastings Research Institute in 1952. As you might expect, she gets little respect although she’s the best chemist in the company. Bonnie Garmus then introduces an incident with Elizabeth and her thesis advisor at UCLA where the advisor attempts to rape her (p. 18) so we know a large portion of Lessons in Chemistry will involve sexual discrimination, male chauvinism, sleazy Fifties/Sixties conduct, and creepy sexist behavior. Most men in Lessons in Chemistry behave badly.

The turning point for Elizabeth happens when a local TV producer approaches her with the idea for a scientific cooking show to be called Supper at Six. Since the producer is offering more money than Elizabeth is making at the Hastings Research Institute, she dubiously takes the offer and surprisingly becomes a successful TV personality.

But Bonnie Garmus has further intentions. Elizabeth’s lover is a rower and introduces her to rowing (Garmus is a rower in Real Life, too). Both Elizabeth and her lover have murky pasts which Elizabeth’s precocious young daughter, Madeline, explores. And, as you would expect, Elizabeth uses her unique cooking show to advance feminism.

So, although I started reading Lessons in Chemistry with false expectations of romance and comedy, I got a lesson in chemistry, female empowerment, food preparation, and child rearing. GRADE: B

I’ve been a fan of Tracy Kidder’s work since I first read The Soul of a New Machine in 1981. Kidder won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for that book about the process of building a new computer. My favorite Kidder book is House (1985) about a team of guys building a house. Kidder’s method is to embed himself in his subject, follow the principle characters around for a year or more, and then detail all that he has learned.

Rough Sleepers (2023) is a rough read. I taught at an inner city college for nearly 40 years so I saw and encountered plenty of homeless people on my way from the parking lot to the main College building. One time an agitated young man offered to sell me a gold wedding ring (it was obvious that he needed a fix badly). I told him I’d have to go to an ATM to get some cash to buy his ring and that I’d be back in a few minutes. Needless to say, I drove away and didn’t come back.

Tracy Kidder followed Dr. Jim O’Connell around for five years as O’Connell treated homeless people on the streets of Boston. O’Connell, who graduated from Harvard Medical School, was offered a position for a year to bring health care to homeless people. O’Connell did his year–and stayed for 30 more years. I have vast admiration for O’Connell and his team of nurses who try to care for wretched, homeless people society ignores.

“Jim was sometimes asked how he came to be a doctor to homeless people, and what kept him going. At one public lecture, he answer the question this way: ‘Most of the patients I’ve been close to over these thirty-two years are dead. So there’s a certain sadness and moral outrage that I can’t get rid of. But when you work with people who’ve had so little chance in life, there’s a lot you can do.'” (p. 19).

The key factor in most of O’Connell’s homeless patients is mental problems. That, and abysmal family (or lack thereof) conditions. Sex abuse at early ages for both men and women, physical abuse, poor nutrition, little or no education, and no respect from American Society leads them to live on the streets or under bridges.

Despite Dr. O’Connell and his team’s amazing efforts, the homeless continue to struggle to stay alive in one of the most expensive cities in our country. I applaud O’Connell’s valiant efforts to help these poor people, but until America changes its attitudes towards mental health and poverty, the ranks of homeless people will continue to grow. Diane and I have made yearly donations to the Buffalo City Mission (who provides food and shelter for homeless people) and Friends of the Night People (who provides clothing and food for homeless people). But, the problem continues to grow. Do you help the homeless? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Author’s Note — xiii

I. The van — 1

II. The art of healing — 17

Conscripted — 19

Foot soaking — 25

Disaster medicine — 33

III. The pantheon — 49

Numbers — 51

A new face — 58

The street team meeting — 64

Angels without wings — 73

The memorial service — 79

IV. Against medical advice — 83

No loud voices — 85

Upside-down medicine — 89

Death by housing — 97

Eulogies for Barbara — 105

Living life backwards — 112

V. Searching for meaning — 117

A history of Tony — 119

Inventing a purpose — 130

The social director — 135

Autumn street rounds — 143

Success — 155

VI. A system of friends –163

Winter comes — 165

Tony’s world — 174

The beauty of human connection — 181

Sisyphus — 190

Boundaries and limits — 201

The gala — 204

The prism — 211

VII. The night watchman — 219

The worry list — 221

Button-down-shirt moments — 225

The hug — 228

The law of pariahs — 232

In Boston Municipal Court — 236

Childhood — 243

A free man — 248

Confession — 252

The night watchman — 257

VIII. The portrait gallery — 267

A pandemic season — 269

The portrait gallery — 273

Acknowledgements — 283

Sources — 287

I hope I’m not spoiling anyone’s expectations of Anti-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania when I say that this Ant-Man 3 movie is basically a 2-hour trailer for the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. A powerful villain, Kang, gets exiled in the Quantum Realm and just coincidently, Kang meets up with Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) who was rescued by Hank Pam (Michael Douglas), the genius who communicates with ants and designed the shrinking/expanding Ant-Man suit. Kang uses lures Janet Van Dyne into helping him restore his incredible technology.

Many viewers will be disappointed by the diminished role of Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. But Director Peyton Reed and writer Jeff Loveness concoct a frenetic film with the need to give screen time to Quantum Realm rebels like telepath Quaz (William Jackson Harper) and Cassie (Kathryn Newtown)–Ant-Man’s grown up daughter. Even more viewers (like me) who love The Wasp (aka, Hope Van Dyne) played by Evangeline Lilly will notice The Wasp pretty much isn’t given much to do until the final Big Battle.

Much of Anti-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania concerns introducing the latest MARVEL supervillain, Kang (Jonathan Majors), who has mastered Time and plans to conquer the Multiverse…when he figures out how to escape from the Quantum Realm. In one of his villain speeches to Ant-Man, Kang declares he’s killed trillions in his conquests…including Avengers. More foreshadowing of possible Avenger deaths in future movies. Anti-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was about as satisfying as eating a Twinkie. GRADE: B–

Dead Man Walking (2016) is the second book in Simon R. Green’s Ishmael Jones Mystery Series. Ishmael Jones is an agent for The Organization, a super-secret agency. Ishmael Jones and his girl friend, Penny Belcourt, are sent to a secret facility where a rogue agent is being held. The rogue agent, Frank Parker, claims to have classified knowledge and knows the names of traitors inside The Organization.

Dead Man Walking follows the template Green presented in the first Ishmael Jones mystery, The Dark Side of the Road (2015) (you can read my review here) with an isolated facility and multiple murders. Ishmael Jones and Penny follow the clues to unravel this cunning mystery. I’ve read over a dozen Simon R. Green books in various genres. If you’re looking for a brief, entertaining mystery…look no further. GRADE: B

Ronald Isley (of The Isley Brothers) sings a batch Bacharach/David songs on this 2003 CD. His velvet voice fits these types of songs well. Isley includes a couple of obscure Bacharach/David songs like “Here I Am” and “In Between the Heartaches.” Burt Bacharach died last week at age 94, but twenty years ago he could still produce, arrange, and conduct on Isley Meets Bacharach as well as play the piano on all the songs on this album. The sound on this CD is great!

The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection presents a cross-section of Bacharach/David songs sung by Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, the Carpenters, Elvis Costello, B. J. Thomas, Gene Pitney, Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, The Drifters, The Shirelles, and many more artists. I listened to all of these songs growing up in the Sixties.

My favorite Bacharach/David song is “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” and my favorite version is on Disc 1 of this set sung by Tommy Hunt. Do you have a favorite Bacharach/David song? GRADE: A (for both CDs)

TRACK LIST:

		Alfie	3:47
		Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head	5:14
		In Between The Heartaches	3:34
		Make It Easy On Yourself	5:34
		A House Is Not A Home	4:38
		The Look Of Love	4:32
		Count On Me	3:54
		This Guy’s In Love With You	4:32
		Close To You	3:44
		Anyone Who Had A Heart	4:26
		Love’s (Still) The Answer	4:04
		Here I Am	4:19
		Windows Of The World	4:18

TRACK LIST:

	Carpenters–	(They Long To Be) Close To You	3:45
	Dionne Warwick–	Do You Know The Way To San Jose?	2:46
	Perry Como–	Magic Moments	2:42
	Marty Robbins–	The Story Of My Life	2:33
	B.J. Thomas–	Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head	3:00
	Aretha Franklin–	I Say A Little Prayer	3:33
	The Shirelles–	Baby It’s You	2:43
	The Drifters–	Please Stay	2:18
	Tom Jones–	What’s New Pussycat?	2:20
	Gene McDaniels*–	Tower Of Strength	2:17
	Gene Pitney–	(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance	3:01
	Tommy Hunt–	I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself	2:52
	Dionne Warwick–	I’ll Never Fall In Love Again	3:00
	The Burt Bacharach Orchestra* & Chorus*–	Nikki	2:23
	The Drifters–	Mexican Divorce	2:35
	Jimmy Radcliff*–	(There Goes) The Forgotten Man	2:49
	Bobby Vinton–	Blue On Blue	2:26
	The Searchers–	This Empty Place	2:09
	The Drifters–	Let The Music Play	2:39
	Dionne Warwick–	Anyone Who Had A Heart	3:13
	Brook Benton–	A House Is Not A Home	3:02
	The Stylistics–	You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)	3:40
	Gene Pitney–	Only Love Can Break A Heart	2:50
	Chuck Jackson–	Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)	3:23
	Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass–	Casino Royale	2:36
	Dusty Springfield–	The Look Of Love	4:11
	Dionne Warwick–	Walk On By	2:57
	Burt Bacharach–	Don’t Go Breaking My Heart	2:29
	Sandie Shaw–	(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me	2:41
	Jackie DeShannon–	What The World Needs Now Is Love	3:16
	Nancy Wilson–	Reach Out For Me	2:28
	Jack Jones–	Wives And Lovers	2:31
	Gene Pitney–	Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa	3:00
	Jackie Trent–	Make It Easy On Yourself	2:46
	Dionne Warwick–	Don’t Make Me Over	3:26
	Anita Harris–	Trains And Boats And Planes	2:51
	Bobby Vee–	Be True To Yourself	2:06
	Trini Lopez–	Made In Paris	2:23
	Cilla Black–	Alfie	2:40
	Dusty Springfield–	Wishin’ And Hopin’	2:56
	Petula Clark–	This (Girl’s) In Love With You	3:32
	The 5th Dimension*–	Living Together, Growing Together	3:52
	Dionne Warwick–	Odds And Ends	3:28
	Chuck Jackson–	I Wake Up Crying	2:18
	Tony Orlando–	To Wait For Love	2:23
	The Shirelles–	It’s Love That Really Counts (In The Long Run)	2:17
	Christopher Cross–	Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do)	3:54
	The Pretenders–	The Windows Of The World	2:58
	Dionne & Friends–	That’s What Friends Are For	4:17
	Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello–	God Give Me Strength	6:08

I occasionally accept challenges so when James Wallace Harris posted (you can read about it here) about D. E. Stevenson’s novel, Miss Buncle’s Book and invited commentators to read the book from 1936 I decided to give it a try.

Here are the words that hooked me for this project:

Why do we love some books more than others? Why are some books so enchanting? Why is it so hard to always find the perfect book to read? Especially when we’re old and jaded and have read thousands of books.

I just finished Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson and I want to explain why I loved it so much.

Miss Barbara Buncle lives in a quaint English town called Silverstream. Miss Buncle, in the middle of the Great Depression, finds her “dividends” are NOT now enough to cover her living expenses. She consults with her maid, Dorcas, on the possibility of raising chickens. Dorcas discourages her boss. So Miss Buncle decides to write a novel based on her life in Silverstream. She changes the town’s name to Copperfield and begins writing her book.

Needless to say, Miss Buncle’s book gets published and becomes a best seller with “John Smith” as the author on the book’s cover. The citizens of Silverstream are not amused by the accurate and honest portraits of themselves in the pages of Disturber of the Peace. Mrs. Featherstone Hogg organizes the community to sue the author of Disturber of the Peace even though no one knows who the author really is.

I found Miss Buncle’s Book clever and fun. I listened to Patricia Gallimore brilliant narration on the audiobook version and loved every minute of it. I also included The Comfort Book Club YouTube link above where Miss Buncle’s Book is discussed. If you’re in the mood for a classic English novel from the 1930s, this book will entertain you from start to finish! GRADE: A (for both the book and the audiobook)

I have no dog in this fight so if I were a betting man (which I am NOT) I would take the Kansas City Chiefs and the 1 1/2 points. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?

Velma is an American adult animated mystery horror comedy television series based on the character Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo franchise. Since Velma was my favorite character–the one with the brains to solve the mysteries–in  Scooby-Doo  I decided to check this new series out.

Created  by Charlie Grandy for HBO Max, Velma stars executive producer Mindy Kaling as the voice of Velma, with Sam Richardson (Norville), Constance Wu (Daphne), and Glenn Howerton (Fred) in supporting roles. Grandy also serves as the showrunner of the series. The action involves Velma Dinkley and the other teenage members of Mystery Inc. before their official formation, making it the first television series in the franchise to not feature the Scooby-Doo character–which is okay by me.

Velma premiered on January 12, 2023, to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the vocal performances, but were divided about the “humor” and criticized its meta storytelling, characterization, and departures from the Scooby-Doo franchise. Velma earned a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes by the critics and a 9% from the audience.

I’ve only watched four of the 10 episodes so I hesitate to make any definitive statements about the quality (or lack thereof) of this show. I like the snarky characters, but the vibe tends to be negative. Were you a  Scooby-Doo fan? Did you have a favorite character? GRADE: incomplete