Welcome to Big, Fat Book Week! I’ve been reading 500+ page books lately so it seemed the right time to dedicate a whole week to them. Let’s start with a new, massive (795 pages!) short story anthology. I’m not a big ghost story fan, but Ellen Datlow’s new anthology casts a wide net over the entire genre. There are mostly new stories and a few older stories include between these covers.

My favorite story is Alice Hoffman’s “The Other Woman.” Hoffman introduces us to someone familiar with ghosts and someone who explains how ghosts operate. Sadly, many of the stories in Echo are very sketchy about ghosts and that vagueness does not enhance their work. I also liked Seanan McGuire’s chilling “Must Be This Tall to Ride” about a carnival ride with ghostly aspects. Aliette de Bodard’s story of a sister trying to save her sister’s unborn child from ghosts is very gripping. And Jeffrey Ford’s “The Jeweled Wren,” a story about a retired couple who decide to explore a haunted house, shows the consequences of their grave mistake. Of the older short stories, I liked F. Marion Crawford’s spooky tale, “The Upper Berth,” from 1886. If you’re in the mood for a ghostly Smörgåsbord of stories, Echo is the book for you. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction Ellen Datlow xii
“Ice Cold Lemonade 25ȼ Haunted House Tour: 1 Per Person,” by Paul Tremblay 1
“Linger Longer,” by Vincent J. Masterson 29
“Whimper Beg,” by Lee Thomas 53
“The July Girls,” by Alison Littlewood 85
“About the O’Dells,” by Pat Cadigan 107
“A Hinterlands Haunting,” by Richard Kadrey 141
“The Number of Things You Remember,” by M. L. Siemienowicz 155
“Must Be This Tall to Ride,” by Seanan McGuire 181
“The Surviving Child,” by Joyce Carol Oates 191
“The Medium’s End,” by Ford Madox Ford 247
“A Shade of Dusk,” by Indrapramit Das 256
“Icarus Rising,” by Richard Bowes 286
“The Puppet Motel,” by Gemma Files 300
“Air Valve Semilunar Astern,” by Nick Mamatas 340
“The Unwrapping,” by Terry Dowling 348
“The Upper Berth,” by F. Marion Crawford 376
“A Burning Sword for Her Cradle,” by Aliette de Bodard 403
“Precipice,” by Dale Bailey 428
“The Shooter,” by M. Rickert 457
“The Tree of Self-Knowledge,” by Stephen Graham Jones 468
“The Other Woman,” by Alice Hoffman 500
“The Loneliness of Not Being Haunted,” by Bracken MacLeod 505
“Mee-Ow,” by Garth Nix 525
“Jasper Dodd’s Handbook of Spirits and Manifestations,” by Nathan Ballingrud 542
“His Haunting,” by Brian Evenson 570
“The Jeweled Wren,” by Jeffrey Ford 588
“The Air, the Ocean, the Earth, the Deep,” by Siobhan Carroll 608
“The Ghost Sequences,” by A. C. Wise 627
“Deep, Fast, Green,” by Carole Johnstone 653
“Natalia, Queen of the Hungry Dogs,” by John Langan 691
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 783

I’m not sure we will even watch THE OSCARS tonight. The whole event lasts too long. There’s not much drama (or comedy). It all seems tedious and unexciting. But, here are my choices for the major categories. I wouldn’t consider 2019 a strong year for movies. My favorite movie, Ford Vs. Ferrari, probably won’t win anything. I have no special knowledge, so here goes nothing. Who do you think will win tonight?
BEST ACTRESS: Scarlett Johansson
BEST ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Laura Dern
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Brad Pitt
BEST PICTURE: 1917
BEST DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes

When Diane was teaching Second and Third Grades in elementary school, one of her favorite books to read aloud to her classes was Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall. Miss Nelson, a wonderful teacher, has the worst class in the school. No matter what she tries, the students misbehave. One day, Miss Nelson doesn’t report for work. The class is elated…until the substitute teacher shows up: mean Viola Swamp. Viola Swamp cracks the whip and the students find themselves with extra homework and none of the fun activities they enjoyed with Miss Nelson. So the class decides to find Miss Nelson and beg her to return to their classroom.

The musical version of Miss Nelson Is Missing follows the plot. I especially enjoyed the performances of Lily Jones (Miss Nelson/Viola Swamp). Her Viola Swamp was very intimidating! This musical was held at the Theater of Youth (TOY) organization in downtown Buffalo. Most of the audience was kids (with parents and grandparents sprinkled in). There was a Q&A session after the one-hour musical and kids could take pictures with their favorite actors on the stage. A fun outing for all. Do you have a favorite kids book? GRADE: B+

The Great SF Stories #19 features some classic stories: “Poul Anderson’s “Call Me Joe,” “Kate Wilhelm’s “The Mile-Long Spaceship,” and A. Bertram Chandler’s “The Cage.” I remember watching the Outer Limits TV version of Harlan Ellison’s “Soldier” back in 1964. Robert Silverberg shows up with one of his clever stories, “World of a Thousand Colors.” But my favorite story in this anthology is H. Beam Piper’s “Omnilingual,” a story about trying to translate an alien language. I appreciate Piper’s research and skill in writing a very technical story but keeping the “sense of wonder” as events unfold. I’d say 1957 was a pretty good year for Science Fiction! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 9
“Strikebreaker” by Isaac Asimov (aka, “Male Strikebreaker,” SCIENCE FICTION STORIES, January 1957) 15
“Omnilingual” by H. Beam Piper (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, February 1957) 33
“The Mile-Long Spaceship” by Kate Wilhelm (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, April 1957) 89
“Call Me Joe” by Poul Anderson (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, April 1957) 103
“You Know Willie” by Theodore R. Cogswell (THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, May 1957) 149
“Hunting Machine” by Carol Emshwiller (SCIENCE FICTION STORIES, May 1957) 149
“World of a Thousand Colors” by Robert Silverberg (SUPER SCIENCE FICTION, June 1957) 167
“Let’s Be Frank” by Brian W. Aldiss (SCIENCE FICTION (GREAT BRITAIN) June 1957) 187
“The Cage” by A. Bertram Chandler (THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, June 1957) 199
“The Education of Tigress McCardle” by C. M. Kornbluth (VENTURE SCIENCE FICITON, July 1957) 215
“The Tunesmith” by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (WORLDS OF IF, August 1957) 229
“A Loint of Paw” by Isaac Asimov (THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICITON, August 1957) 281
“Game Preserve” by Rog Phillips (WORLDS OF IF, October 1957) 285
“Soldier” by Harlan Ellison (aka, “Soldier from Tomorrow” and later adapted into The Outer Limits 1964 episode “Soldier”, FANTASTIC UNIVERSE, October 1957) 305
“The Last Man Left in the Bar” by C. M. Kornbluth (INFINITY SCIENCE FICTION, October 1957) 335

I watched the original Star Trek as a kid. And, I also watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Enterprise, and the Star Trek movies. Diane and I are just starting Star Trek Discovery (also on CBS All Access). But the new series, Star Trek Picard, excites us most. We have always liked Patrick Stewart as starship captain Jean-Luc Picard.

This series so far–just two of the 10 episodes–sets up a scenario where Star Fleet has been infiltrated by a menacing conspiracy that seems so far obsessed with destroying any “synthetic” (aka, android) life forms. At this point, Picard doesn’t have a ship or a crew, but I’m sure things will get moving in tonight’s third episode. This new Star Trek series brings back several actors from previous Star Trek series to reprise their roles, including Brent Spiner (Data), Jeri Ryan (Seven-of-Nine), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), and Jonathan Frakes (Riker). Are you a Star Trek fan? Are you interested in Star Trek Picard? GRADE: INCOMPLETE

In 2016, Andrew Taylor decided to eat nothing but potatoes for an entire year. At the end of that year, Taylor had lost 121 pounds and found his health had been restored. SPUDFIT explains the nutritional science behind Taylor’s diet. Several doctors weigh in on the benefits. So do some chefs and athletes. SPUDFIT includes over 100 healthy, potato-based recipes. I’m considering making “Loaded Potato Skin Bites” (p. 211) this weekend. The “Black Bean Quinoa Chili” (p. 214) looks good, too! Are you a potato fan? Or do you prefer some other vegetable? GRADE: B+
Table of Contents
Introduction IV
Spud Fit 01
Doctors 17
Health Professionals 51
Athletes 87
Chefs 115
Activists 155
Wellness Warriors 181
About the Author 231
Acknowledgements 233
Contributor Directory 235
Photo/Publisher Credits 240

The first Bad Boys movie was a hit 25 years ago. The sequel was a lesser hit 17 years ago. So Will Smith and Martin Laurance have a lot of rust to shake off in this retro-1990s action movie. Some wants Will Smith dead. After being shot (twice) but surviving, Smith’s character–Mike Lowery–swears vengeance on the assassin. But, Smith’s partner, the way more mellow Martin Lawrence, just wants to retire and enjoy his grandson. Well, of course, that doesn’t last. Martin Lawrence provides the humor the punctuates the car chases, motorcycle chases, and explosions that make up much of Bad Boys for Life. If you’re looking for an old-fashion action movie, this is it. GRADE: B+

The Senate might not allow witnesses in the Impeachment trial, but this blog will allow you to testify freely. Despite the ravages of the flu, coronavirus, the approaching Recession, and the upcoming primaries the good people of America (and those Brexit folks in the U.K. and the Euro Zone) await the winds of change approaching fast.

Amid all this chaos, the wit and wisdom of Patti, Jeff, Deb, Rick, Beth, Todd, Art, Willam, Maggie, Bob, Prashant, Sergio, Carl, Lauren, Steve, Jerry, Wolf, Stan, Dan, Michael, Elgin, Scott, Jim, John, Kevin, Randy, James, Kent, Fred, and Matthew as well as all of you who make this blog a part of your day brought hope and sanity in these times of Fake News and strife.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

This Super Bowl Sunday features two of the best NFL teams, Art Scott’s San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs with quarterback phenom Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are favored by 1-point. Diane and I are going to skip the Super Bowl blah, blah, blah and go see a play in the afternoon. But, we’ll be back home by kickoff. We’ll be rooting for Art Scott’s team, but something tells me the Chiefs might win this one. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl? Are you preparing any Super Bowl goodies?

China is far way from the United States, but we’re going to feel the effects of the coronavirus here soon. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working on a vaccine to protect us from the coronavirus–but that is likely a year away. Meanwhile, the State Department has issued warnings not to travel to China or other Asian countries where the coronavirus is spreading. Russia has closed its borders with China. Like any virus like SARS and MERS, the way to protect yourself is to NOT come into contact with infected people. Avoid large crowds. Wash your hands frequently. Surgical face masks may help.

As the public health threat of the coronavirus grows, the impact on the U.S. Economy (and the World Economy) increases daily. Many corporations are scaling back their involvement with China because of the coronavirus outbreak. China’s medical services are stressed to the max. And, the probability of more coronavirus-like illnesses spreading is real. All of this will likely slow down economies all over the world. That Recession I predicted last year was thwarted by THREE Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. But now, the Fed has little power over the tsunami of illness and economic disruption heading our way. Fasten your seat belts!