There aren’t very many good movies about business, but Equity is one of them. Anna Gunn plays an investment banker launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that will make or break her career. Very high stress. Directed by Meera Menon and written by Amy Fox, Equity shows the duplicity and backstabbing that can occur when millions of dollars are at stake. James Purefoy plays Michaal O’Connor, Gunn’s lover and possible competitor. Sarah Megan Thomas is convincing as Gunn’s Girl Friday. Alysia Reiner steals every scene she’s in as Samantha, an SEC investigator who yearns to bust some hedge-fund billionaires. I really liked the Machiavellian plot and all of the realism of the characters’ decisions. If you’re a fan of business skulduggery, Equity delivers. GRADE: B+

George Kelley, Diane Kelley, Jeff Meyerson, Bill Crider, Deb Pfeifer, and Jackie Meyerson

Jeff Smith, Janet Rudolph, Beth Fedyn, Joe Danger, Jackie Meyerson, and Kate Derie

Diane Kelley, Marv Lachman, George Kelley, and Art Scott
THE GOOD:
1. Meeting Deb and her husband, John. What a fun couple!
2. Free Books! Lots of them!
3. A decent Dealers’ Room. Good, but not great.
4. Loved the panel featuring Bill Crider, Joe Lansdale, Lawrence Block, S. J. Rozen, and Catherine Coulter.
5. Enjoyed seeing everyone who missed the Albany BOUCHERCON! And Raleigh!
6. Getting a tour of the Tammany Morgue by our niece who is a CSI agent for the Coroner’s Office. I saw a dead body they were about to autopsy!

THE BAD:
1. Heat, humidity, and torrential rain.
2. The faucet in the bathtub in our room at the Marriott leaked. I complained and the Front Desk sent an “engineer” to fix it. It continued to leak all during our stay. What a waste of water!

THE UGLY
1. Southwest Airlines sent us from New Orleans to Orlando, FL. Then there was a “mechanical” problem. Delay. Then Southwest decided to fly us to Buffalo on a “different” plane. But the plane had to fly in from Aruba. More delay. We left the Marriott at 11:30 A.M. and finally arrived home at 10:00 P.M. Not fun!

While you are watching your favorite NFL team, Diane and I will be flying to Orlando for the first leg of our return to Buffalo. BOUCHERCON was a blast, but there’s no place like home. The Bills are licking their wounds from Thursday Night Football and getting ready for next Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. How is your NFL team going to do today?

Southside With You is the story of Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson’s First Date. Parker Sawyer looks and sounds a lot like Barack Obama. Tika Sumpter is convincing as Michelle. Michelle insists that this “is not a date” because she is technically Barack’s boss while he serves his Summer Internship at the law firm in Chicago that Michelle desperately wants to succeed in. First-time Director, Richard Tanne, also wrote the script for Southside With You. This is where the movie struggles as Tanne tries to make conversations “dramatic” and “meaningful” within the context of a date. There are a few awkward moments and unconvincing moments. But, there is chemistry between Sawyer and Sumpter and that carries the movie. GRADE: B

This anthology from 2001 features writers I consider among my favorites. Ed Gorman and Marty Greenberg put together 439-pages of great story-telling. What I really like about this anthology is the length of the stories. Cain, Westlake, Block, MacDonald, Spillane, and Whittington showcase their talents in these longish stories. If you like what you see in Pulp Masters you’ll probably enjoy the two previous anthologies by Gorman and Greenberg: American Pulp and Pure Pulp. These are top-notch stories!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Ed Gorman p. vii
• The Embezzler by James M. Cain p. 1
• Ordo by Donald E. Westlake p. 81
• Stag Party Girl by Lawrence Block p. 142
• College-Cut Kill by John D. MacDonald p. 192
• Everybody’s Watching Me by Mickey Spillane p. 256
• So Dead My Love by Harry Whittington p. 330

The Bills lost to the Baltimore Ravens 13-7 in the Opening Day game. The Bills offense was listless. The Bills defense couldn’t stop the Ravens when they needed to. In this first Thursday Night Game of the season, the Bills face an AFC divisional opponent, the New York Jets. The Jets lost a squeaker to the Cincinnati Bengals 23-22. The loser of this game will be in a deep hole just one week into the NFL season! The Bills defeated the Jets twice last year. Can they do it again? If they do, the Bills need to score more than seven points!

By the time you’re reading this, Diane and I will be on a flight to Baltimore for the first leg of our journey to BOUCHERCON in New Orleans. If all goes well, we should be landing in the Big Easy around dinnertime. I’ve been to New Orleans three times (but not since Katrina) while this is the First Time for Diane. Our son Patrick will attend BOUCHERCON, too! The attraction of BOUCHERCON is the people. We have dinner plans with Beth and Joe and Art Scott. I’m sure we’ll have brunch with Bill Crider and the Myersons. And plenty of conversations with Maggie Mason, Ted Hertel, Marv Lachman, and other old friends. The highlight of this visit to New Orleans will be meeting Deb and her husband! Fun, food, and friends! It doesn’t get better than this! Will we see you at BOUCHERCON?

This new Blu-ray version of The Commitments looks great! I loved The Commitments 25 years ago and this 25th Anniversary Edition includes plenty of Special Features:
“25 Years Later: New Interview with Alan Parker and Cast”
“Audio Commentary with Alan Parker”
Four Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
Music Video
Image Gallaries
Collectible Booklet
If you’re a fan of The Commitments this new Blu-ray edition is a must-buy. And the music sounds even better!
TRACK LIST:
1. Mustang Sally
2. Take Me To The River
3. Chain of Fools
4. The Dark End Of The Street
5. Destination: Anywhere
6. I Can’t Stand the Rain
7. Try a Little Tenderness
8. Treat Her Right
9. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
10. Mr. Pitiful
11. I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
12. In the Midnight Hour
13. Bye Bye Baby
14. Slip Away

Diane and I were early fans of Seinfeld. The humor was off-beat. We liked the fact that the setting was New York City (although the series was shot in California). No other comedy program at the time tackled topics like masturbation, lame dancing styles, and eating sandwiches during sex. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s Seindeldia makes a valiant attempt to explain the success of the TV comedy (it generated over $2 billion in profits) through interviews and a mostly chronological approach. Seinfeldia is full of fun facts. Rosie O’Donnell was originally considered for the role of Elaine Benes. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David would “fire” the team of writers at the end of each season and hire a whole new writing staff in order to “keep things fresh.” Jerry Stiller had trouble remembering his lines so his appearances required dozens of extra takes…which explains why Stiller’s character of George’s father is always angry! if you’re a fan of Seinfeld you’ll enjoy this guide to one of the best TV shows ever. I want to drop everything and watch one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, “The Yada, Yada.” Do you have a favorite Seinfeld episode? GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS::
Introduction: the baseball game
The origin story
The players
The network
The cult hit
The production
The writers
The bizarros
Seinfeld nation
The show about something
The larry david-shaped hole
The end
Seinfeldia emerges
The bizarros: the sequel
The legend of the curse
Seinfeldia
Acknowledgements
Source Notes
Interview List
Index

I think the Buffalo Bills lead the League in players who are serving 4-game drug suspensions. Another player, facing a possible suspension for domestic abuse, was cut this week. Despite all of this chaos, Head Coach Rex Ryan projects an air of confidence. Bills fans know much of the 2016 season will be determined by what the Bills do today in Baltimore. Rex Ryan has a 6-1 record in Opening Day games. How is your favorite NFL team going to do today?