According to the latest QUEST newsletter on prostate cancer, two studies produced some interesting findings:

1. According to a study in Urology (Oct. 2016 issue) men with a PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) score of 1.5 or less have a low risk of developing clinically significant cancer within 5 years.

2. A four year study of 4,000 men found that men who drank more than three cups of coffee per day lowered their risk of prostate cancer by 53%.

My father had prostate cancer (and had it surgically removed) so my urologists monitor my PSA results closely. My most recent PSA score was 1.1 and although I’ve had people roll their eyes when I tell them I drank 10 cups of coffee a day for years (I’ve tapered off to 6-7 cups since I retired), I’ve always believed coffee had health benefits even though it was demonized in recent years. Do you drink coffee?

Bruce Handy explores the appeal of Children’s Literature in Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature As An Adult. My favorite chapters are the ones on Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon which originally was titled Goodnight Room), Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, and Beverly Cleary (the Ramona series). Wild Things is not a comprehensive survey of children’s books, but it does a nice job identifying great books and what makes them great. After finishing Wild Things I wanted to drop everything and read a Ramona book! What were your favorite books when you were a kid? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction xii
1. New Eyes, New Ears: Margaret Wise Brown and Goodnight Moon 1
2. Runaways: Family Drama in Picture Books–and Well Beyond 25
3. Once Upon a Time and In and Out of Weeks: Fairy Tales and Maurice Sendak 43
4. Why a Duck? The Uses of Talking Animals from Aesop to Beatrix Potter to Olivia the Pig 77
5. You Have to Know: Dr. Seuss vs. Dick and Jane 107
6. Kids Being Kids: Ramona Quimby, American Pest 139
7. God and Man in Narnia 161
8. One Nation: Washington’s Cherry Tree, Rosa Parkes’s Bus, and Oz 183
9. Going on Seventeen (Or Not): Little Women, Little Houses, and Peter Pans 205
10. The End: Dead Pets, Dead Grandparents, and the Glory of Everything 239
Afterward 263
Acknowledgements 267
Appendix 271
Bibliography 279
Index 289

Melissa Rauch (“Bernadette” on The Big Bang Theory) voices a feisty Harley Quinn in the new DC Animated Movie. Poison Ivy and Floronic Man (aka, Jason Woodrue) have teamed up to alter the Earth forever. Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Nightwing (Loren Lester) turn to a “reformed” Harley Quinn to help them track down Poison Ivy. There’s some silly stuff in a gangster bar and some other surprises in this entertaining adventure. If you’re a Batman and/or Harley Quinn fan, you’ll want to see this. GRADE: B+
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Harley Effect
Loren Lester: In His Own Voice
A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie: Batman: Gotham By Gaslight
2 Bonus Cartoons

Beautiful and sexy blonde actress Della August finds herself blackballed by the Hollywood Establishment after the accidental death of her hunky younger boyfriend, actor Rod Blane. After six months of no work, Della August turns to Rick Holman, an “industrial consultant,” to “fix” the problem. Holman investigates the dirty underworld of Hollywood financing. He gets beaten up. But, in typical “carter brown” fashion, Holman stumbles over the deadly facts that leads him to discover What Really Happened. GRADE: B

Hope you enjoyed BLONDE WEEK!

The Concrete Blonde (1994) was the first Michael Connelly mystery I ever read. Harry Bosch, a Lieutenant in the Los Angles Homicide Division, is on trial for his actions during the Dollmaker investigation. The Dollmaker was a serial killer who killed women and then applied makeup to the corpses making them look like dolls. Bosch shot and killed a naked, unarmed man who evidence later showed was the Dollmaker. But, the man’s family is suing for damages.

An anonymous note leads the police to another body buried beneath concrete. It looks like the work of the Dollmaker. But, the time of death is AFTER Bosch killed the prime suspect. Bosch investigates this new development which leads into LA’s porno industry. The dramatic tension between Bosch’s trial and his investigation proves compelling. Are you a fan of Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch? GRADE: B+

Weeep for a Blonde is the 27th Mike Shayne mystery. It was published in 1957. The DELL paperback version on the right was published in 1964 with a Robert McGinnis cover. Mike Shayne, a red-headed private investigator based in Miami, stumbles into a case where a beautiful blonde wife is being physically abused by her wealthy husband. When the blonde is murdered, Mike Shayne becomes the Prime Suspect.

I read Mike Shayne DELL paperbacks in the early 1960s. The McGinnis covers had a lot to do with that. But Mike Shayne was the first private eye character I read about. Later, I graduated to Mike Hammer, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and Lew Archer. But Mike Shayne was first. Do you have a favorite Mike Shayne novel?

Bob Dylan released Blonde on Blonde in 1966. It was one of the first double albums in rock history. Two singles came from Blonde on Blonde: “Rainy Dad Women #12 & 35” and “I Want You.” Most of the songs on the albums were recorded in Nashville. Two of my favorite Bob Dylan songs are on Blonde on Blande: “Visions of Johanna” and “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” Blonde on Blonde completes a trilogy of albums from 1965 and 1966: Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde On Blonde. Dylan’s later albums wouldn’t have the energy and vibe of these three classics. What is your favorite Bob Dylan song? GRADE: A
VINYL RECORD TRACK LIST:
Side one
No. Title Length
1. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” 4:36
2. “Pledging My Time” 3:50
3. “Visions of Johanna” 7:33
4. “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” 4:54
Side two
No. Title Length
1. “I Want You” 3:07
2. “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” 7:05
3. “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” 3:58
4. “Just Like a Woman” 4:52
Side three
No. Title Length
1. “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” 3:30
2. “Temporary Like Achilles” 5:02
3. “Absolutely Sweet Marie” 4:57
4. “4th Time Around” 4:35
5. “Obviously 5 Believers” 3:35
Side four
No. Title Length
1. “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” 11:23

Joyce Carol Oates published Blonde, a fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe, in 2000. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. In 2001, CBS broadcast a mini-series based closely on Oates’s novel. The major difference between the mini-series and the novel was the notion that Joyce Carol Oates explores in detail that Marilyn Monroe was assassinated was left out of the TV version of Blonde.

Joyce Carol Oates started out writing a novella about Marilyn Monroe, but Oates realized around page 175 there was a lot more story to tell. Blonde is a quirky book. Oates deals with most of Marilyn Monroe’s love affairs. She refers to Marilyn’s husbands by using initials. If you read this 700 page tome, you’ll learn what a tortured life Marilyn Monroe led. Some blondes don’t have more fun. Do you have a favorite work–short story or novel–by Joyce Carol Oates? GRADE: B+

My favorite part of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) is the floor show number where Marilyn Monroe, pretty in pink, sings “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Decades later, Madonna would pay homage to this classic scene in her “Material Girl” music video. Not only does Marilyn Monroe look fabulous in this film, but Jane Russell more than holds her own with her singing and dancing.

Marilyn and Jane are best friends. Marilyn is obsessed with money. She has the son of a multi-millionaire interested in marrying her, but his father is balking. Jane likes tall, handsome men regardless of their financial status. While on a cruise ship to Europe, Jane flirts with the American Olympic Team. There’s a silly subplot about a diamond tiara and some hijinks about recovering some damning photographs of Marilyn with a conniving old man. All in all, Gentleman Prefer Blondes delivers frothy fun. What’s your favorite Marilyn Monroe movie? GRADE: A-