Neuroscientist David J. Levitin explores the latest research on aging and makes some useful suggestions to living a longer, healthier, and happy Life.

One of the first suggestions Levitin makes is to protect your brain. If you get a stroke or suffer mini-strokes, your chances of accelerating dementia increase substantially. The key factor behind strokes is uncontrolled blood pressure. You should be monitoring your blood pressure daily. There are plenty of medications available to help keep your blood pressure where it should be.

Another suggestion is to cut down on sodium to protect your heart. Our food tends to be over salted and that produces spikes in blood pressure. Levitin warns of the links between smoking and heart attacks/strokes. Over 1.6 million Americans die from heart disease in the U.S. each year–more than Covid-19 killed!

Levitin makes dietary suggestions. They are similar to Michael Pollan’s mantra:  “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Like Pollan, Levitin points out the dangers of “fake” food with plenty of additives and chemical “enhancers.” And, the problems with eating meat laced with steroids and antibiotics increase.

Social factors, emotional factors, and pain management all contribute to a better quality of Life. If you want to improve the time you have left to live, Levitin provides a workable roadmap to successful aging. GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 The Continually Developing Brain 1

1 Individual Differences and Personality 3

The search for the magic number

2 Memory and Your Sense of “You” 31

The myth of failing memory

2.5 Interlude 62

A brief biography of the brain

3 Perception 88

What our bodies tell us about the world

4 Intelligence 115

The problem-solving brain

5 From Emotions to Motivation 146

Snakes, rickety bridges, Mad Men, and stress

6 Social Factors 179

Life with people

7 Pain 205

It hurts when I do this

Part 2 The Choices We Make 233

8 The Internal Clock 235

It’s two A.M. Why am I hungry?

9 Diet 251

Brain food, probiotics, and free radicals

10 Exercise 280

Movement matters

11 Sleep 295

Memory consolidation, DNA repair, and sleepy hormones

Part 3 The New Longevity 311

12 Living Longer 313

Telomeres, tardigrades, insulin, and zombie cells

13 Living Smarter 344

Cognitive enhancement

14 Living Better 367

The greatest days of our lives

Appendix: Rejuvenating Your Brain 401

Notes 403

Acknowledgments 475

Art Credits 477

Index 479

I have no special knowledge who will win tonight, but here are my choices. Do you plan to watch the Oscars? Who do you think will win?

BEST PICTURE: The Power of the Dog

BEST DIRCTOR: Jane Campion

BEST ACTRESS: Jessica Chastain

BEST ACTOR: Will Smith

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Ariana DeBose

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Troy Kotsur

American Rhapsody surprised me. I thought I was going to hear a tribute to George Gershwin. Instead, I saw a drama of two pianists. One is a classically trained pianist (Randall Kramer) who has been contracted to play Rhapsody in Blue with a local orchestra. The pianist struggles with the piece so he hires a local jazz pianist (Richard Satterwhite) to “teach” him how to play Rhapsody in Blue.

What the white pianist learns about Rhapsody in Blue from the Black pianist is that George Gershwin studied Blues, Ragtime, and Jazz to create his musical masterpiece. As the Black pianist plays the key songs (listed below) an “imaginary” group of singers appear to perform and sing the songs. Along with the classically trained pianist, the audience learns about the influences that produced Rhapsody in Blue.

The local theater group who put on American Rhapsody was terrific. The two pianists, who performed live on stage, were exceptional. If American Rhapsody shows up in your neighborhood, don’t miss it! GRADE: A

Back in the early 1970s when Men’s Action series like Don Pendleton’s EXECUTIONER and  Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s DESTROYER dominated the paperback spinner racks, I started reading the quirky THE LONE WOLF series written by Barry N. Malzberg under his “Mike Barry” pseudonym. At the time, I didn’t know “Mike Barry” was actually Barry N. Malzberg whose Science Fiction I was also reading.

Malzberg conjures up a character named Burt Wulff who is launched on his violent rampage against drug dealers after he finds his fiancé murdered. I knew back in 1973 when I read Night Raider that this book was different from the rest of the men’s action-adventure series when I saw the lines of Yeats’ poetry at the start of the book!

In addition to Night Raider and Bay Prowler this Stark House omnibus includes “Prologue: The Passage of the Light, “Some Notes on the Long Wolf,” and “The Ethic of Vigilantism” where Malzberg writes about how the Lone Wolf series came to be and what his strategy was for the series. Another bonus is a Bibliography of Barry N. Malzberg’s works.

Rereading Night Raider and Bay Prowler after almost 50 years shows how canny Malzberg was in constructing this series to appear as an EXECUTIONER-like clone, but subverting the genre with a secret agenda. The Lone Wolf series features wholesale destruction and mayhem within a story arc that Malzberg cunningly devised from the beginning to explode in the series conclusion. Hang on for a wild ride through the dangerous darkness of America in the Seventies! GRADE: A

I decided to binge on three Rumer CDs that just arrived. I’ve been a fan of Rumer’s mellow voice for years. Her CDs follow no schedule. They’re released seemingly at random. Let’s start with RUMER: B-SIDES AND RARITIES (2015).

Randomness continues with Rumer singing familiar songs like “Arthur’s Theme” and “Sailing” and “It Might Be You.” I enjoyed “Alfie” and “Moon River.” These classic songs sound new with Rumer singing them. Volume 2 is due to be released next month so I’ll be reviewing that CD in a few weeks. Love the cover! GRADE: A

RUMER: B-SIDES AND RARITIES TRACKLIST:

		Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)	3:57
		Dangerous (Bossa Nova)	4:07
		Sailing	4:29
		Hasbrook Heights	3:24
		Come Saturday Morning	3:14
		It Might Be You (Theme From “Tootsie”)	3:20
		Moon River	2:33
		Separate Lives	3:49
		The Warmth Of The Sun	3:21
		Alfie	2:53
		Long Long Day	3:12
		Soul Rebel	3:33
		Here Comes The Sun	3:50
		Marie	2:41
		Frederick Douglass	5:29
		That’s All	3:12
		I Believe In You	3:05

RUMER: LOVE IS THE ANSWER is an EP from 2015. My favorite song on this EP is Rumer’s version of the Hall & Oates hit, “I Can’t Go For That.” GRADE: B+

RUMER: LOVE IS THE ANSWER TRACK LIST:

1		Love Is The AnswerWritten-By – John Wilcox, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell, Todd RundgrenWritten-By – John Wilcox, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell, Todd Rundgren	4:11
2		Being At War With Each OtherWritten-By – Carole KingWritten-By – Carole King	3:52
3		I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)Featuring – Paul PescoWritten-By – Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara AllenFeaturing – Paul PescoWritten-By – Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen	4:22
4		Be Thankful For What You GotWritten-By – William DeVaughnWritten-By – William DeVaughn	6:00

I’m not a big fan of live CDs, but somehow Rumer and her team managed to suppress any crowd noise and applause–one of things that annoy me about many live recordings.

On RUMER: LIVE AT LAFAYETTE (2021) Rumer sounds relaxed and comfortable singing her set of songs–some new some familiar. The band sounds great and the result is a concert CD that will go into heavy rotation on my CD player. If you’re in the mood for some enjoyable songs sung by a wonderful artist with a great voice, check out Rumer’s work. GRADE: A

RUMER: LIVE AT LAFAYETTE TRACK LIST:

The Fate Of Fireflies
		Come To Me High
		June It’s Gonna Happen
		Take Me As I Am
		Bristlecone Pine
		Oklahoma Stray
		Aretha
		Learning How To Love
		Play Your Guitar
		You Just Don’t Know People
		Pizza And Pinball
		Sara Smile
		Slow
		Love Is The Answer
		Better Place

The stories in Beyond the Veil deal with aging, death, dying, and ghosts.

My favorite story in Beyond the Veil is Stephen Gallagher’s “A Mystery for Julie Chu.” Julie Chu likes to shop at auctions, thrift stores, and  consignment stores. Chu has a talent at finding vintage items that are underpriced.

Chu finds an old toy called Mr. Disco. She buys it for a pittance. But Chu soon learns Mr. Disco allows the Dead to speak to the Living. I thought I knew where “A Mystery for Julie Chu” was going, but Stephen Gallagher had some clever tricks up his writer’s sleeve that surprised me.

Other than “A Mystery for Julie Chu,” I didn’t find any other story that pleased me in this anthology. The constant dying and suffering wore me down. GRADE: C

Table of Contents

Introduction Mark Morris 1

The God Bag Christopher Golden 3

Caker’s Man Matthew Holness 21

The Beechfield Miracles Priya Sharma 44

Clockwork Dan Coxon 69

Soapstone Aliya Whiteley 79

The Dark Bit Toby Litt 93

Provenance Pond Josh Malerman 107

For All the Dead Angeline B. Adams Remco van Straten 119

The Girl in the Pool Bracken MacLeod 135

Nurse Varden Jeremy Dyson 144

If, Then Lisa L. Hannett 159

Aquarium Ward Karter Mycroft 173

A Mystery for Julie Chu Stephen Gallagher 185

Away Day Lisa Tuttle 205

Polaroid and Seaweed Peter Harness 213

Der Geisterbahnhof Lynda E. Rucker 231

Arnie’s Ashes John Everson 244

A Brief Tour of the Night Nathan Ballingrud 257

The Care and Feeding of Household Gods Frank J. Oreto 268

Yellowback Gemma Files 282

Biographies 307

I’m fond of Time Travel stories so you’d think I would be ecstatic over The Adam Project. But, you would be wrong.

Ryan Reynolds plays a pilot who travels from 2050 back to 2022 in an attempt to save his wife (Zoe Saldana). Reynolds’ character, called Adam, really wanted to arrive in 2018, but a mis-calibration by Adam’s craft lands him in the wrong year. Adult Adam then meets his 12-year-old self (brilliantly played by Walker Scobell) which does generate plenty of humor. But, murder squads from 2050 arrive to kill Adam (and even his younger self).

You would think that a movie with a cast that includes Ryan Reynolds; Mark Ruffalo; Jennifer Garner; Walker Scobell; Catherine Keener; and Zoe Saldaña would be fabulous. But, once again, you would wrong.

The Adam Project gets bogged down in family problems: an inattentive father, a surly son, and an unconfident mother. The action scenes are okay, but there are too few of them. There’s potential in The Adam Project but much of it is wasted. GRADE: B-

“In the spring of 1990, New Kids on the Block started the Magic Summer Tour, a summer that lasted 303 days and earned $57 million. The year’s highs grossing films was Ghost and the ghost of of Patrick Swayze was not CGI. David Lynch’s Twin Peaks debuted on ABC, but its hallucinatory Melo dram was disconnected from both lear time and the rest of the TV universe, where Cheers remained the most popular show.” (p. 33)

Chuck Closterman revisits the 1990s with insights into its music, movies, politics, TV shows, and famous people. Remember Operation Desert Storm? Remember the stock market zooming to new highs?

The Nineties will be famous for the introduction of the Internet and GOOGLE. And the culture changing TV programs like Seinfeld and Friends and The X-Files. The National Football League solidified its position as the dominant sport in America. People thought David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest–1,079 pages–was the best novel of the decade.

What do you remember best about the Nineties? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction p. 11 

Fighting the Battle of Who Could Care Less p. 5

[projections of the distortion] p. 29

The Structure of Feeling (Swingin’ on the Flippity-Flop) p. 33

[i see death around the corner] p. 49

Nineteen Percent p. 53

[casual determinism] p. 73

 The Edge, as Viewed from the Middle p. 77

[the slow cancellation of the future and the fast homogenization of the past] p. 103

The Movie Was about a Movie p. 107

[the power of myth] p. 123

 CTRL + ALT + DELETE p. 129

[alive in the superunknown] p. 165

 Three True Outcomes p. 169

[vodka on the chessboard] p. 185

 Yesterday’s Concepts of Tomorrow p. 189

[the importance of being earnest] p. 209

 Sauropods p. 213

[giving the people what they want, except that they don’t] p. 241

 A Two-Dimensional Fourth Dimension p. 245

[the spin doctors] p. 273

 I Feel the Pain of Everyone, Then I Feel Nothing p. 279

[just try it and see what happens] p. 305

 The End of the Decade, the End of Decades p. 311

Acknowledgments p. 339

Sources p. 341

Index p. 355

Sometimes I’m in the mood for a good, thrilling historical novel. And, here are two of them: The Eyes of the Queen (2020) and The Queen’s Men (2021). The two books are subtitled: An Agents of the Crown Novel.

The Eyes of the Queen introduces Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth I’s “principal private secretary” (aka, spy master). Mary Queen of Scots is under confinement but she’s busy plotting the assassination of Queen Elizabeth using her wiles to feed information on the Queen’s movements to her supporters.

Meanwhile, Walsingham recruits Queen Elizabeth’s tutor and sometime alchemist, Dr. Dee, to investigate the assassination plot. Dee discovers threads that lead to a group who recruited a sharpshooter who never misses. Only Dee can disrupt the assassination…if the assassin’s minions can be outwitted! GRADE: B

When Queen Elizabeth travels in a convoy through Waltham Forest at night, her carriage is ambushed by masked gunmen and riddled with holes. By chance, the Queen happened to be in a different carriage, but one of her ladies-in-waiting is killed. Walsingham suspects someone in the Royal Court is leaking information to the assassination team…but who?

Dr. Dee is called in again to assist the investigation. In addition, the Queen asks Dee to discover the formula for “Greek Fire,” a incendiary fluid famous for its ability to burn on water. With the threat of an invasion from Spain, the secret of “Greek Fire” might delay the Spanish Armada. In 1578, Dee has limited equipment and knowledge of how to re-invent the long-lost toxic substance. But, conspiracies swirl around the Royal Court as members of the Privy Council attack Walsingham for not solving the latest assassination attempt.

Dee finds himself drawn into a nefarious plot to “protect” the Queen…which could lead him to the gallows. While Walsingham urgent searches for the assassination team, Dee discovers that one of the gunman had a relationship with the dead lady-in-waiting. Following that clue leads to a mind-boggling plot to destroy the Queen and most of the Royal Court. If you’re looking for action and intrigue, The Eyes of the Queen and The Queen’s Men deliver more thrills than a roller-coaster! Are you a fan of historical fiction? GRADE: B+

Yesterday, I reviewed Jack Vance’s Alastor series. Splatterlight Books published this authorize “sequel” to Vance’s trilogy in 2019. In addition, Splatterlight published a “sequel” to Vance’s Demon Princes by Matthew Hughes, Barbarians of the Beyond (you can read my review here), in 2021.

A young man named Gunnar and his mother Justine arrive on the peculiar planet Phaedra after Gunnar’s father is killed on a military mission. Gunnar signs up for school and immediately is attracted by one of his classmates, a strange girl, Lavoine, who claims she’s a witch.

Phaedra features artifacts from the Elder Race that dominated the Galaxy before disappearing. Strange alien boats called Galleons sail the rivers of Phaedra. But Bad Things happen to anyone who tries to interfere with the Galleons progress.

Lavoine, with Gunnar and some friends, attempts to contact the Galleons with forbidden technology. The result sends Gunnar and Semele, a fierce huntress, to try to stop the return of the Elder Race and the destruction of humanity!

I enjoyed this intense adventure. Not only did Tais Teng write Phaedra: Alastor 824, he also painted the wrap-around cover! If you’re a Jack Vance fan, you’ll be entertained by this book. I hope Tais Teng writes more Alastor adventure novels! GRADE: B+