From the time I heard the first few notes of The Theme to TAXI I’ve been a Bob James fan. I’ve always enjoyed James’ entertaining smooth jazz. I bought his albums, then his CDs. Now, I’ve bought his DVD of his live performance at the Queen Mary Jazz Festival. Check out the video sample below to see if it’s to your taste.

When my trusty Omron HEM-711 blood pressure monitor died after eight years of daily measurements, I went to Sam’s Club and bought a replacement. Since I was pleased with the Omron blood pressure monitor I had, I bought the newest model: the HEM-780. It cost $60, but I’ve seen higher prices for this unit in other stores. When I brought it home and tested it out, I liked the larger display and the quick, quiet operation. I take my blood pressure every morning. The HEM-780 will keep a record of 200 readings in its memory. The blood pressure cuff is comfortable. If you need a blood pressure monitor, I recommend this one. GRADE: A

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON opened here a couple months ago. We finally caught up with it and I’m glad we did. The plot is straight-forward: a Viking village faces constant attacks by dragons. The entire populace is obsessed with battling the the dragons. All, except a geeky boy named “Hiccup.” He’s the son of the fierce Viking leader. And, his father is disappointed in the boy’s small stature and interest in science (rather than battle). Hiccup finds a wounded dragon, repairs its broken wing, and they forge a bond. As Hiccup learns to understand dragons, he comes to realize that the Vikings are mistaken in their mindless battling of the creatures. I liked the story and the dazzling 3-D graphics. If this movie slipped past your radar like it did mine, check it out on Netflix or cable. GRADE: B

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, this 3-CD set of American music is just the thing to put you in a patriotic mood. Of course, SONY could have easily titled this CD LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S GREAT HITS. All of this music has been available on various Bernstein CDs, but now it’s all in one handy package. AMAZON is selling this set for $14.99 which almost qualifies it for a BARGAIN OF THE WEEK. GRADE: A
PLAY LIST:
Disc: 1
1. Overture to Candide
2. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Prologue. Allegro moderato
3. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; “Somewhere”. Adagio
4. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Scherzo. Vivace leggiero
5. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Mambo. Presto Listen
6. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Cha-Cha (“Maria”). Andantino con grazia
7. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Meeting Scene. Meno mosso
8. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; “Cool” Fugue. Allegretto
9. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Rumble. Molto allegro
10. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Finale. Adagio 11. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for Solo Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble; Prelude for the Brass
11. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for Solo Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble; Fugue for the Saxes
12. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for Solo Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble; Riffs for Everyone
13. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato’s “Symposium”); I. Phaedrus. Pausanias (Lento – Allegro) (Instrumental)
14. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato’s “Symposium”); II. Aristophanes (Allegretto) (Instrumental)
15. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato’s “Symposium”); III. Eryximachus (Presto) (Instrumental)
16. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato’s “Symposium”); IV. Agathon (Adagio) (Instrumental)
17. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato’s “Symposium”); V. Socrates. Alcibiades (Molto tenuto – Allegro molto vivace) (Instrumental)
Disc: 2
1. Chichester Psalms for Chorus and Orchestra; I. Psalm 108 (verse 2) & Psalm 100 (complete)
2. Chichester Psalms for Chorus and Orchestra; II. Psalm 23 (complete) & Psalm 2 (verses 1-4)
3. Chichester Psalms for Chorus and Orchestra; III. Psalm 131 (complete) & Psalm 133 (verse 1)
4. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Opening Hymn; To the Poem
5. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; The Pennycandystore Beyond the El
6. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; A Julia de Burgos
7. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; To What You Said …
8. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Ensembles; I, Too, Sing America – Okay “Negroes”
9. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Ensembles; To My Dear and Loving Husband
10. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Ensembles; Storyette H. M.
11. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Sextet; If You Can’t Eat You Got To
12. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; Music I Heard With You
13. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; Zizi’s Lament
14. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Three Solos; Sonnet: What Lips My Lips Have Kissed …
15. Songfest – A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra; Closing Hymn; Israfel
16. Mass — A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers; 2. Hymn and Psalm: “A Simple Song” (Voice)
17. Nachspiel
18. Dream with Me
Disc: 3
1. West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast; Maria
2. West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast; Tonight
3. America
4. West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast; Somewhere (Ballet)
5. On The Town; Lonely Town (Excerpt)
6. On The Town; Lucky to Be Me (Excerpt)
7. On The Town; Some Other Time (Excerpt) 8. Wonderful Town; Ohio
8. Wonderful Town; A Little Bit In Love (Never Felt This Way Before)
9. Wonderful Town; A Quiet Girl
10. Wonderful Town; Conga!
11. Paris Waltz
12. The Best Of All Possible Worlds
13. It Must Be So
14. Glitter And Be Gay
15. I’m Easily Assimilated
16. Make Our Garden Grow

After enduring an annoying delay getting over the Rainbow Bridge to be admitted to Canada, I drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I picked up Patti and Phil Abbott at their bed-and-breakfast and we zipped over to St. Catherine’s to the Book Depot. Have you ever visited a bookstore where you needed a shopping cart? The Book Depot is a huge warehouse filled with remaindered books. I like it because British editions sometimes show up there for incredibly cheap prices. Both Patti and I did very well in the “bargain book” section where books were priced $2 a book. Irresistible! Then we had another annoying delay on the Rainbow Bridge to enter the U.S. I took Patti and Phil to lunch at Guy Fieri’s favorite restaurant from DINER, DRIVE-INS, AND DIVES: Pizza Junction. Phil and I ordered pizzas while Patti tackled the Philly cheese-steak sandwich. Then I took Patti and Phil to another remainder bookstore, The Book Outlet. More economic stimulus! When we picked up Diane, Patti and Phil got a tour of the Kelley Collection 2 (aka, The Bat Cave). You’d think Patti never saw 30,000 books in a basement before! We finally caught a break traveling back over the Rainbow Bridge (no delays) and we dropped Patti and Phil back at their B&B. We met up again later in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a quick snack (thanks, Phil!) before we attended the Shaw Festival’s wonderful play, An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. Great conversation, great fun! Let’s do it again someday, Patti and Phil!

Scott Turow’s sequel to his best-selling Presumed Innocent perpetuates some of the same flaws as the original novel: too long, too static, and too derivative. In the original novel, Rusty Savich, is charged with murdering a woman he was having an affair with. The strengths of Presumed Innocent were the court room scenes and the cunning legal strategy. Innocent has court room scenes, but not enough of them. And Turow annoyed me with his “technique” of switching from first-person narration to third-person narration. Innocent plays with irony as Savich, now a judge and seemingly brain-addled, gets into another affair with a much younger woman, violates basic legal procedure by revealing a pending verdict to a defendant (who, not surprisingly, skips bail), and then is accused of murdering his bipolar wife. At least a 100 pages of this 400+ page novel could have been edited out. I wonder if Harrison Ford will play Savich in the movie version of Innocent. GRADE: C
(Thanks to the North Tonawanda Public Library for providing this book.)

Please Give is one of those “slice-of-life” movies. Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt play a couple who own a lucrative used furniture business in New York City. They have a cranky teenage daughter (Sarah Steele). In the apartment next door, a 90-year-old woman (Ann Morgan Guilbert) has sold Keener and Platt her apartment. They can take possession when she dies. The senior citizen is cared for by her granddaughters, Amanda Peet and Rebbecca Hall, who have their own complicated relationship. Keener deals with a compulsion to give money away to poor people and to volunteer. This movie doesn’t quite jell, but the fine performances make it worth watching. GRADE: B

When I read Rick Riordan’s first Percy Jackson novel, The Lightning Thief, I was unimpressed and stopped reading the series. Of course, the Percy Jackson stories garnered a strong following of teenage readers who thought the idea of a kid having the powers of the Greek gods appealing. Rick Riordan’s newest series novel, The Red Pyramid: The Kane Chronicles #1, features a brother and sister team who seek to rescue their archeologist/magician father from the clutches of the Egyptian god, Set. [SPOILER ALERT!] In fact, Carter Kane is possessed by Horus and Sadie Katie is possessed by Isis. [END OF SPOILER ALERT!] Plenty of magic, a globe-trotting journey, and sibling rivalry result. I found this 516-page book too long and too discursive. I’m sure The Red Pyramid will make a great movie with tons of CGI effects. You might want to wait for the movie version. GRADE: C+
(Thanks to the North Tonawanda Public Library for providing this book.)

Sebastian Junger, best known for The Perfect Storm, was embedded with a single platoon through their 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Junger’s story of the dangers these soldiers faced every day should balance the bland reporting on our “progress” in Afghanistan. You get to know the soldiers on a personal level as Junger captures their hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares. The soldiers cope with their stresses in various, dysfunctional ways. WAR should be required reading for everyone at the Pentagon and the State Department.