When I was kid back in 1955-1956, I wanted to be Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp was played by Hugh O’Brian who, like George Cooney today, radiated intelligence and class. AMAZON wants $32.49 for this set. I found it at BJ’s WAREHOUSE for $16.99! That’s for 35 half-hour episodes (on 4 DVDs)! Guest stars included Angie Dickinson, Mike Connors, John Carradine, James Coburn, and Louise Fletcher. Wyatt Earp was made when Hollywood still knew how to make Westerns. If you want to listen to the Wyatt Earp Theme Song, click here.

Amy Bloom writes stories in a sassy style that explore dysfunctional relationships. Like when a stepmother has sex with her step-son after her husband dies. Or two couples who break into an adulterous couple and a clueless couple. Clearly, there’s a market for this kind of fiction. Amy Bloom is an accomplished writer who handles her characters with confidence as their lives disintegrate. Raymond Carver and Bobbie Ann Mason wrote these kinds of stories too, but they usually deal with folks lower on the socio-economic spectrum. Bloom prefers middle-class Baby Boomers. If these kinds of domestic destruction stories appeal to you, you’ll like Where the God of Love Hangs Out. GRADE: B-

I don’t know about you, but I can listen to k. d. lang sing all day long. Her voice is crystal-clear and distinctive. You don’t have to guess who’s singing when a k. d. lang song is playing on the radio. This collection is more than a glorified “Greatest Hits” compilation. There are alternative versions of some of k. d. lang’s best known songs, plus some rare material I’ve never heard before–and I own every CD k. d. lang ever released. This collection comes in two versions: the “plain vanilla” (cheaper version) and this edition with the bonus live CD and the DVD. I recommend the complete edition. If you only know k. d. lang from her seminal renditions of “Hallelujah,” “Constant Craving,” or “Crying,” you’re in for the time of your life when you listen to Recollection! GRADE: A
Track List:
Recollection [3CD/1DVD] [Box Set]
Disc 1
1 Trail of Broken Hearts 3:25
2 Constant Craving 4:37
3 The Air That I Breathe 6:14
4 Helpless 4:15
5 You’re Ok 3:03
6 Western Stars 3:14
7 The Valley 5:30
8 Summerfling 3:52
9 Miss Chatelaine 3:49
10 I Dream of Spring 4:02
11 Hallelujah 5:08

Disc 2
1 Help Me 4:00
2 Hush Sweet Lover 4:06
3 Beautifully Combined previously unreleased 2:43
4 Crying 3:48
5 Love For Sale 5:26
6 Golden Slumbers/The End 4:17
7 Barefoot 4:17
8 Moonglow 4:34
9 So In Love 4:35
10 Calling All Angels 5:19
11 Hallelujah previously unreleased / New Version / Version 5:36

Disc 3
1 I’m Sitting on Top of the World 3:45
2 Sexuality 3:25
3 Skylark 3:48
4 Helpless Live 4:35
5 Western Stars Live 3:27
6 Wash Me Clean Live 3:58
7 Thread Live 3:37
8 \Once In a While Live 3:32
9 I Dream of Spring Live 4:14
10 Smoke Rings Live 3:36
11 The Right to Love Live 3:46

Disc 4: DVD
1 Constant Craving
2 Just Keep Me Moving
3 Hush Sweet Lover
4 Miss Chatelaine
5 The Mind of Love
6 Crying
7 You’re Ok
8 Summerfling
9 Love is Everything
10 Hallelujah Live
11 Helpless Live

Even if you’re not a big hockey fan, this game is worth your attention. The Canadians are under enormous pressure to win this game in front of their home crowd while the U.S. team is loosey-goosey. Ryan Miller, pictured above, is Team USA’s goalie and a Buffalo Sabre so, of course, my sympathies are with him. I expect plenty of hitting and scoring. NBC and the CBC are scheduling this game in Prime Time tonight so they must feel the same way!

“The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”  That’s what it says on the ALA web site.  And, if you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you’ll recall I reviewed When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead on December 14, 2009 and you can read it here.  This is just an update to say, “Can I pick them, or what!”  When You Reach Me won the Newbery Award as the best Children’s Book of 2010. Congratulations to Rebecca Stead! Drongo, Jeff, and I enjoyed this fine novel. You will, too!

From the moment when Roy Dillon gets smacked in the stomach with a baseball bat, you know Things Are Not Going To Go Well in this noir classic.  Dillon finds himself involved with his mistress, Moira, who tries to convince him to drop the small grifting and attempt a Big Con with her.  Meanwhile Dillon’s mother, Lily (who works for the Mob), has her own plans for her wayward son.  Jim Thompson is best known for The Killer Inside Me and A Swell-Looking Babe. But The Grifters offers insight into criminal minds that you won’t find in other noir fiction.  Jim Thompson is a master of capturing the life of small-time criminals and this book is one of his best.  The movie is pretty good, too.

An 18-year-old girl becomes Queen of England as factions around her attempt to manipulate the newly coronated Queen for their own purposes. Emily Blunt dazzles in this costume drama as a strong, but naive ruler. She decides to marry Prince Albert, played with panache by Rupert Friend. Together, they transform traditional England. If you enjoy palace intrigue and political maneuvering, you’ll really like The Young Victoria. GRADE: B+

Eventually, I’m sure you’ll see a more detailed and analytical review of Gator A-Go-Go by Bill Cirder (connoisseur of all things alligator) on his excellent blog Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine, but this is a quick heads-up to those of you who are fans of Tim Dorsey’s loony mysteries featuring vigilante serial killer Serge A. Storms and his goofy sidekick, Coleman. This is the funniest Spring Break novel you’re likely to read. If you like Carl Hiaasen, you’re likely to enjoy Tim Dorsey’s screwball Florida adventures. GRADE: B+

For those of you who missed the earlier Tim Dorsey books, here they are:

1. Florida Roadkill (1999)
2. Hammerhead Ranch Motel (2000)
3. Orange Crush (2001)
4. Triggerfish Twist (2002)
5. The Stingray Shuffle (2003)
6. Cadillac Beach (2004)
7. Torpedo Juice (2005)
8. The Big Bamboo (2006)
9. Hurricane Punch (2007)
10. Atomic Lobster (2008)
11. Nuclear Jellyfish (2009)
12. Gator A-Go-Go (2010)

Surprisingly, it’s been 10 years since Sade’s last CD. Too long a time! I’ve listened to this CD several times over the past week and the music never gets old. Sade’s sultry style coupled with crystal clear recording makes listening to these songs a pleasure. Sade broke into popular music in the Eighties with her debut album, Diamond Life and later built an audience with hits like “Smooth Operator” and “No Ordinary Love.” Soldier of Love doesn’t contain any hit material like that, but it is mellow music for a snowy evening. With a glass of wine in one hand and your sweetie in the other, and Sade on your stereo, you’re in for something good. GRADE: A-

According to Roger Ebert, there are 21 stars in Valentine’s Day which gives new meaning to “ensemble cast.” Director Gary Marshall explores almost all the possible permutations of love in this commercial bit of movie confection (most of the audience in our theater were couples, mostly young). Julia Roberts commanded the scenes she was in. Ann Hathaway proves once again she’s one of the best actresses in Hollywood as she plays an “Adult Phone Entertainer.” The web of connections between all the cast members is clever with a few surprises. I liked Valentine’s Day, but more importantly my wife really liked it. GRADE: B