Back in 2023, Wednesday was the series with the highest ratings on Netflix. The 8-episodes featured the surly Wednesday Addams–based on Charles Addams classic cartoons that originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and Charles Addams death in 1988– dealing with the dangers of Nevermore Academy, a school for “Outcasts” like vampires, werewolves, and sirens. Wednesday was just learning how to deal with her power: visions.

While Wednesday nearly loses her life in Season One, her return to Nevermore plunges her right into a series of killings caused by “a murder of crows.” Netflix dropped four of the eight episodes on August 6 with the final four episodes being released on September 3rd. The Wednesday cast–Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, and Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay with other returning regulars including Steve Buscemi as Barry Dort, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams–is already in Ireland filming Season Three. If you’re a fan of the Addams Family, you’ll enjoy this new series! GRADE: Incomplete…but trending towards a B+

Anthony Gottlieb is the executive editor of The Economist so his history of philosophy from the beginning to the Renaissance aims at enlightening the general reader. This isnot an academic book. Its aim is to explain the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to the intelligent reader. A surprising number (to me) of philosophers were killed because of their ideas. Still more philosophers, like Cato, committed suicide rather an repudiate their ideas because the Government or Church didn’t like them. Others like Galileo, were threatened with death unless they “changed their opinions.” After reading a book like The Dream of Reason, I always come away with new respect for the power of ideas. If you’re interested in philosophy, this is a good place to start. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction p. vii
• Acknowledgements p. x
• Part 1
• 1 The Archetypes: the Milesians p. 3
• 2 The Harmony of the World: the Pythagoreans p. 21
• 3 The Man Who Searched for Himself: Heraclitus p. 41
• 4 The Truth about Nothing: Parmenides p. 52
• 5 The Ways of Paradox: Zeno p. 65
• 6 Love and Strife: Empedocles p. 73
• 7 Mind and Matter: Anaxagoras p. 84
• 8 He Who Laughs Last: Democritus p. 94
• 9 Opening Pandora’s Box: the Sophists p. 109
• Part 2
• 10 Philosophy’s Martyr: Socrates and the Socratics p. 131
• 11 The Republic of Reason: Plato p. 169
• 12 The Master of Those Who Know: Aristotle p. 220
• Part 3
• 13 Three Roads to Tranquillity: Epicureans, Stoics and Sceptics p. 283
• 14 The Haven of Piety: From Late Antiquity to the Renaissance p. 346
• Notes p. 432
• Index p. 457

While I’m a fan of David Mamet’s play, Glengarry Glen Ross (which won a Pulitzer Prize) and his screenplays for The Verdict and Wag the Dog, it’s sad to see a bright guy like Mamet drink the Trump Kool-Aid and join the MAGA movement.

Back in 2022 Mamet’s decline started with Recessional: The Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch (you can read my review here). Then in 2024, there was EVERYWHERE AN OINK OINK (you can read my review here). The Disenlightenment: Politics, Horror, and Entertainment (2025) completes the trip to the darkest rings of Hell for Mamet.

But amid the ranting about the dangers of Liberal America and how great Trump is, Mamet includes nuggets like this: “To excuse his invasion of Poland in 1939, Hitler dressed a company German convicts in Polish uniforms, trucked them to the border, shot them, and announced that Poland had tried to invade Germany. With our knowledge of his subsequent monstrosities, we might see this charade as quaint. ” (p. 113)

Mamet comments on college protestors for Gaza this way: “But the gays for Hamas would be killed in Hamas-controlled territory, and the feminists doing so would be killed, as would any Westerners. What, then are the enlightened voting for? For representatives to offer them the thrill of social protest. If this isn’t entertainment, I miss my guess. But it is a costly entertainment.” (p. 89)

When Mamet occasionally writes about the theater in The Disenlightenment some of his assertions can be thought-provoking: “A play benefits from an intermission. All young directors want to improve an evening by doing away with the intermission. (Other directorial apercus are limited to ‘do it in street clothes,’ ‘on a bare stage,’ ‘in a different period,’ or ‘change the gender of the roles.’ All these are moot, as the audience cares as little of these as for change the hat of the campfire storyteller). But the audience benefits from an intermission. They are allowed a chance to wonder and prognosticate the progress of the next act.” (p. 95)

Reading about how all our problems are the result of Biden’s policies and Democratic/Liberal thinking while Trump is the only one who can save us gets tedious fast. I’m done with reading Mamet’s essays on politics. GRADE: D (for dismal)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Open City—an Introduction — 1
2. Box Jumper — 5
3. The Kennedys — 9
4. The Shill — 19
5. The Springbok — 24
6. The Bally and the Tip — 32
7. No Coups in England — 36
8. “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” — 42
9. Road Trip — 49
10. Hypothermia — 53
11. Decision Height — 57
12. Dese Dem Dose — 62
13. Come Smoke a Coca-Cola — 65
14. The Temp Score and the Look Back — 70
15. The Generation of the Desert — 73
16. Intersectionality — 77
17. “The Poor Are Always with Us” Explained — 84
18. The Zero Point — 90
19. Woody Allen and the IDF — 101
20. Armageddon –105
21. Firewall — 111
22. Upstage of the Couch — 115
23. The Hangman’s Rope — 121
24. Failing Up and Down — 128
25. The Benjamins — 137
26. Lesbians and Whaling — 140
27. Some Maxims of Napoleon — 144
28. Stonewall — 155
29. Herman Melville and the Jews — 158
30. Motherless Children — 162
31. Song of Praise — 165
32. Bartenders’ Guide: The Shirley Temple and the Molotov — 168
33. Munchausen by Proxy — 171
34. My Romance — 177
35. Oklahoma — 182
36. What Shall We Give the Sun God? — 187
37. Maverick — 192
38. Carmen Miranda and the Panama Canal — 196
39. The Farmhouse — 207
40. The Wheel — 213
41. The Bus Station — 217
42. Gandhi N’ Me — 221
43. Inherit the Wind — 224
44. The New Zealander — 228
45. The Long Way Around the Barn — 234
46. Acknowledgments — 239

I’ve been a Buffalo Bills fan since 1960–I was 11 years old. The team is 65 years old and has had some success…and lots of failure. Until present Head Coach Sean McDermott arrived in 2017, the Buffalo Bills missed the Playoffs 17 years in a row! But, the loyal Bills fans stuck with the team. Now many fans think This Might Be the Year the Bills Make It to the Super Bowl. The five straight years of winning the AFC East has led to the Bills being the focus of this year’s Hard Knocks series. An episode will air every Tuesday night on HBO MAX until the Bills take on the Ravens in Highmark Stadium for Week 1 to kick off the 2025 NFL regular season.

Episode 1 delivered a fun look at the Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY. There were both serious and silly moments. The serious moment came when First Round Pick Max Hairston fell to the ground with what would later be diagnosed as a LCL strain. Hairston will be week-to-week.

The silly stuff featured Dawson Knox’s beautiful wife packing his travel bag for Training Camp. And A.J. Epenesa–Bills Defensive End–with an 11-foot snake he captured.

This week’s episode will probably concern running back James Cook who is holding out for a new contract. Are you a fan of Hard Knocks? GRADE: Incomplete, but treading towards an A.

• Episode 1: Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. ET

• Episode 2: Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. ET

• Episode 3: Aug. 19 at 9 p.m. ET

Episode 4: Aug. 26 at 9 p.m. ET

I’m a sucker for books by successful writers who share some of their wisdom and secrets. STEERING THE CRAFT: A TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY GUIDE TO SAILING THE SEA OF STORY has gone through several iterations, but this 2015 edition presents a comprehensive–although brief–presentation of Le Guin’s thoughts about writing.

I really like Le Guin’s approach which stressing finding your own voice and style. And, according to Le Guin, you develop your voice and style by writing–of course–and reading. Here’s list of Ursula Le Guin’s favorite books:

Ursula K. Le Guin recommends:

(How many of these books have you read?)

Ursula Le Guin died in 2018, but she left a legacy of wonderful books. Steering the Craft is one of them. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction ix

1 The Sound of Your Writing 1

2 Punctuation and Grammar 11

3 Sentence Length and Complex Syntax 20

4 Repetition 36

5 Adjectives and adverbs 43

6 Verbs: Person and Tense 47

7 Point of View and Voice 61

8 Changing Point of View 87

9 Indirect Narration, or What Tells 94

10 Crowding and Leaping 117

Appendix: The Peer Group Workshop 127

Glossary 136

Exercises

1 Being Gorgeous 8

2 Am I Saramago 18

3 Short and Long 32

4 Again and Again and Again 41

5 Chastity 45

6 The Old Woman 58

7 Points of View 71

8 Changing Voices 89

9 Telling It Slant 97

10 A Terrible Thing to Do 124

The perfect time to listen to Yacht Rock music is mid-Summer! Many critics compare Yacht Rock to Easy Listening music, but I would argue the quality of Yacht Rock music is a cut above. Some consider Steely Dan’s music of the 1970s the beginning of Yacht Rock. There’s no doubt that Michael McDonald is a key player in the genre. The same goes for Kenny Loggins.

The groups most closely associated with Yacht Rock music are Toto, Poco, Pablo Cruise, 10cc, Chicago, REO Speedwagon, and Air Supply.

Are you a fan of Yacht Rock? Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+ (for both)

TRACK LIST YACHT ROCK 1:

TRACK LIST YACHT ROCK 2:

If you look closely at the cover above, you’ll notice this 1955 AVON Books paperback sold for 25 cents. AVON publishes a number of paperback collections of The Saint stories. From time to time, I dip into a stack of paperbacks featuring The Saint. The Saint, (aka, Simon Templar) is an adventurer and modern day Robin Hood. Many of these stories feature The Saint righting wrongs in clever ways.

My favorite story in The Saint Cleans Up is “The Charitable Countess” where an arrogant Countess challenges The Saint to steal her diamond neckless. You can guess how that turned out!

I also liked “The Arrow of God” where a rich man dies from being stabbed with a beach umbrella. All the suspects–including The Saint–found the rich man a boor and all had motives to kill him. But The Saint unravels the case with aplomb. If you’re in the mood for some entertaining, clever mystery stories, just read The Saint collections. Are you a fan of The Saint? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The green goods man — 7

The charitable countess — 26

The mugs game — 51

The unkind philanthropist — 75

The arrow of God — 102

The trailer for Music Box: Yacht Rock, A Dockumentary (above) explains what “Yacht Rock” is. You’ll be familiar with most of the songs featured in this one hour and 35 minute tribute to the mellow music of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Yacht rock is a subgenre of soft rock that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, characterized by its smooth, sophisticated sound, polished production, and influences from jazz, R&B, and funk. It’s often associated with a laid-back, breezy vibe, evoking images of relaxing on yachts or enjoying sunny California coastlines. While it’s sometimes considered a subset of soft rock, yacht rock is distinguished by its higher production quality, sophisticated arrangements, and focus on melody and musicianship. “

Music Box: Yacht Rock, A Dockumentary includes snippets of interviews and performances of Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Steve Lukather, Toto, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Brenda Russell, Jay Graydon, David Pack, Tom Scott, Gary Katz, JD Ryznar, Steve “Hollywood” Huey, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Prince Paul, Brian Robert Jones, Bethany Cosentino, Fred Armisen, Steven Hyden, Amanda Petrusich, Alex Pappademas, Jason King, Molly Lambert, Rob Tannenbaum

Check out the compilation Yacht Rock CDs on Thursday, August 7, 2025. GRADE: A

“A moment of reckoning has arrived for the West. The loss of national ambition and interest in the potential of science and technology, and resulting decline of government innovation across sectors, from medicine to space travel to military software, have created an innovation gap.” (p. xiii)

Alexander C. Karp, CEO of tech company Palantir (palantíri are powerful, magical stones that allow users to see and communicate across vast distances.  These stones, also known as “seeing stones,” were created by the Elves and given to the Numenoreans in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings) sees plenty of problems for the U.S.–and this was before Trump took power and Elon took a chainsaw to Government agencies. Cuts in research and technology place our country at a disadvantage to the more advanced and focused Chinese. The race to master Artificial Intelligence slips away from us.

Karp defends his decision to use Palantir to provide advanced weapons systems for the Department of Defense (where Microsoft and GOOGLE refused). Future wars will be fought with drones and robots. AI will direct combat operations. And the better AI will win more battles.

The Technological Republic predicts a grim future for the U.S. and the world. The World Order that kept the Peace post-WWII is breaking down and an invasion of Taiwan in 2027 by China looks likely. What do you think? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I’m a sucker for a good Sherlock Holmes pastiche. I’ve read another Holmes pastiche by David Stuart Davies–The Tangled Skein (you can read my review here)–and decided to read Sherlock Holmes & The Veiled Detective which had been on my shelf for years.

Davies likes to mix things up a bit in his Sherlock Holmes pastiches. This time, Davies creates a scenario where Sherlock’s nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, surrounds Holmes with informants in order to manipulate the great detective.

Holmes’s situation looks dire until Davies provides a life-line to Sherlock before Moriarty’s dastardly plans can come to fruition. If you’re in the mood for a fun Sherlock Holmes pastiche with some unusual surprises, Give Sherlock Holmes & The Veiled Detective a try. And you might consider some of the other David Stuart Davies mysteries below. GRADE: B

DAVID STUART DAVIES: Sherlock Holmes Adventures:

Revenge from the Grave (2022): Holmes and Watson are once again pitted against the late Professor Moriarty‘s gang.

Sherlock Holmes and the Hentzau Affair (1991): A crossover with characters from The Prisoner of Zenda. Holmes and Watson are engaged to solve the disappearance of Rudolf Rassendyll.

The Tangled Skein (1992): Holmes battles Count Dracula in a re-imagining of the events of the Bram Stoker novel.

The Scroll of the Dead (1998): Holmes and Dr. Watson pursue an ancient Egyptian treasure with links to immortality.

Shadow of the Rat (1999): Holmes investigates the Giant Rat of Sumatra.

The Veiled Detective (2004): An alternate account of the relationship between Holmes and Watson that posits Watson as an agent of Professor Moriarty.

The Games Afoot (2008): A short story collection edited by Davies.

The Devil’s Promise (2014): An investigation into a corpse on the coast leaves Watson in a months long coma, and Holmes acting suspiciously.

The Ripper Legacy (2016): Holmes and Watson look into a child’s kidnapping that is connected to the Jack the Ripper killings.

The Instrument of Death (2019): A crossover with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.