I’m a sucker for trying new coffee flavors. This limited edition of Starbucks Brown Sugar Cinnamon K-cups are available from now to June 2026. Here’s the nutritional information:
Starbucks Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cold Brew Concentrate (Sweetened) (Per 6 fl oz serving)
Calories: 60
Total Fat: 0g
Sodium: 0mg
Total Carbohydrates: 14g
Sugars: 11g
Protein: 1g
Potassium: 510mg (10% DV) Starbucks +1
Other Formats
Ground Coffee / K-Cups: These products contain 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g sugar, and 0g carbs, featuring natural flavors without added sweeteners.
If you enjoy flavored coffee with cinnamon and some sweetness you might enjoy this. Do you have a favorite coffee?
I am a big fan of Pulp Fiction and Will Murray–writer of wonderful adventures of Doc Savage, Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes, and Tarzan–who brings back a Pulp Hero to take on a Pulp Villain. Secret Agent X is a master of disguise who was once an intelligence agent. Now he has given up his former identity to fight crime as the nameless, faceless Secret Agent X with the ability to impersonate anyone. Secret Agent X was a pulp magazine that ran for more than forty issues from Ace Magazines. Paul Chadwick created the character and the stories were written by Chadwick with various other pulp fiction writers, chiefly G.T. Fleming-Roberts.
Doctor Death is one of the few villains to have his own pulp magazine, a short-lived pulp science fiction magazine published by Dell Magazines in 1935. Altus Press has reprinted five Doctor Death novels and several short stories. Doctor Death was a former academic named Dr. Rance Mandarin. He is a master of both scientific and mystical arts which makes him incredibly powerful.
Doctor Death is “determined to hurl civilization back to the Dark Ages”! Harold Ward, created Doctor Death and wrote the novels under the pseudonym “Zorro”.
As a master of science and the supernatural, Doctor Death presents problems to Secret Agent X that he can’t overcome by himself. After an almost fatal battle with Doctor Death, Secret Agent X decides he needs help in stopping this super-villain.
Secret Agent X recruits three other crime fighters: The Cobra, Moon Man, and The Griffon. Together, they are the Secret Circle.
Secret Agent X found Doctor Death’s hidden lair in the deadly catacombs. The Secret Circle face Elementals, Harpies, Minotaurs, and Zombies in the assault on Doctor Death’s booby-trapped hideaway!
If you like The Avengers and the Justice League, you’ll enjoy the epic conclusion of Secret Agent X Vs. Dr. Death! The team of crime fighters face many perils in their battle with Doctor Death. You’ll be on the edge of your seat! GRADE: A
With the gloominess of our current situation, we all need some Love and Happiness. This compilation from 1990 brings some of the fun back with songs like “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers.
Who can resist “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King? Or “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” by Glady Knight and The Pips?
Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+
In her revealing “Introduction” Jane Gardam cites James Joyce’s Dubliners as the book that affected her as a writer. Gardam is an award winning writer who shows in this collection of her short stories she likes the best that the people in the background sometimes hold the best story material: the old and shy and reclusive and sheepish, the conservative wives, the stay-at‑home mothers and impoverished ex‑colonials, the dwellers in cottages and suburban villas out of the mainstream.
Take “Grace” as an example. Clockie loses his virginity while Gardam’s crafty story-telling presents the implications. And in “Lunch with Ruth Sykes” the Past reaches into the Present with startling consequences.
The Stories of Jane Gardam (2014) presents three decades’ worth of her short fictions full of surprise and menace. If you’re looking for a master of short story writing, this is the book for you. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION — 13
Hetty Sleeping — 21
Lunch with Ruth Sykes — 41
The Great, Grand Soap-Water Kick — 57
The Sidmouth Letters — 65
A Spot of Gothic — 89
The Tribute — 101
The Pig Boy — 119
Rode by All with Pride — 139
The Easter Lilies — 159
The First Adam — 175
The Pangs of Love — 187
Stone Trees — 201
An Unknown Child — 211
Showing the Flag — 227
Swan — 237
Damage — 257
The Dixie Girls — 293
Groundlings — 311
Grace — 325
Miss Mistletoe — 333
Telegony (a triptych in three parts: Going into a Dark House; Signor Settimo; The Hot Sweets of Cremona) — 341
A while ago, Todd Mason recommended Polar Diet Orange Dry. I’m always looking for new beverage options so I went to Wegmans…and struck out. They had many Polar products on the shelves, but NOT Polar Diet Orange Dry. I went to TOPs. Same thing: plenty of Polar products but no Polar Diet Orange Dry. I then tried our local Consumer Beverage Center. Again, no dice.
So I did what I always do: I ordered Polar Diet Orange Dry from AMAZON. Within a few days, it arrived. Diane initially thought the box was fu ll of books–she was getting The Look ready–but when I opened it and displayed the cans of Polar Diet Orange Dry, she retreated from DEFCON 5.
Over the next few days, I drank a can of Polar Diet Orange Dry daily. I agree with this review: “Polar Diet Orange Dry is widely praised for its crisp, refreshing, and authentic orange flavor, often described as a ‘dryer,’ less-sweet alternative to Orangina or traditional orange soda. It features real orange juice concentrate, a distinct, sharp carbonation, and a ‘fleshy’ citrus taste that makes it popular as a low-calorie, versatile beverage.”
I don’t know about “fleshy” but it sure tastes good to me! If you’re looking for something a little bit different with low calories and refreshing orange flavor, you might consider giving Polar Diet Orange Dry a try. Are you a fan of sparkling water? GRADE: A
Nick Foster, an in-demand consultant to GOOGLE, Nokia, Sony, Dyson and many other Big Tech companies, is a “futurist” even though he doesn’t like that term. Foster’s new book, Could Should Might Don’t (2025), presents a model for thinking about the Future.
The Future business is littered with false promises: flying cars, cold fusion, women’s equality, etc. Foster explores why predictions go wrong…and how they come true.
The reason I’m recommending Nick Foster’s book is that unlike a lot of books I’ve read about the Future, Foster is willing to talk about the risks of predicting the Future. Trump should have read Could Should Might Don’t before he started the disastrous Iran War (or Excursion). “Unintended Consequences” are the bane of prediction.
If you want to think about the Future in a rational, more reliable, and serious way, give Could Should Might Don’t a try. What do you think about the Future? GRADE: B+
“Women’s History Month, celebrated annually in March, honors the contributions of women to American history, culture, and society. Originating from a local California celebration in 1978, it grew into a national observance in 1987, featuring notable figures like Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, and Rosa Parks. The month includes International Women’s Day on March 8.”
To celebrate Women’s History Month, I read Nora O’Donnell and Kate Andersen Brower’s We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America (2026). I confess: I was unfamiliar with many of the important women listed in the early chapters of this book. Fascinating nonetheless!
I did know all the women in the last section of the book–recency bias perhaps. But my favorite chapter in We the Women was Chapter 24: Agnes Meyer Driscoll: The Code Breaker. What an amazing woman! She was born in 1889 and excelled at mathematics, music, and physics. She was proficient in five languages: German, French, Latin, Japanese, and English. Driscoll worked for the Director for Navel Communication in the Code an Signal Section in Washington, D.C. during World War I. She became one of the first Navel instructors in the field of cryptography.
During World War II, Driscoll worked on cracking the German and Nazi codes. “In 1959, just before her retirement at the age of seventy, Agnes received her final assignment: to decode a set of ‘unreadable’ messages that others in her section had found impossible to solve. Two weeks later, she figured it out. Of course she did!” (p. 202)
Norah O’Donnell honors the many women who have made the cause of Women’s Rights key to success and freedom in America. Although the battle continues, my allegiance is with the women and not the stupid men who run this country right now. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — 3
Part 1: The first fifty years : the women behind America’s fight for independence, 1776-1826
Mary Katherine Goddard: The Printer — 13
Phillis Wheatley: The Poet — 18
Mercy Otis Warren: The Intellectual — 25
Elizabeth Ellet: The Historian — 32
Elizabeth Freeman: The Freedom Seeker — 39
Deborah Sampson: The War Fighter — 46
Patience Lovell Wright: The Sculptor — 51
Part 2: Risk takers and rulebreakers : Seneca Falls and the Civil War, 1826-1876
8. The Grimke Sister: The Truth Tellers — 67
9. Charlotte Forten: The Abolitionist — 76
10. The Women of Seneca Falls: The Signers — 83
11. The Blackwell Sister: The Doctors — 95
12. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: The Medal of Honor Recipient — 103
13. Susan and Susette La Flesche: The Advocates — 111
14. Anna Dickinson: The Orator — 118
15. Belva Lockwood: The Lawyer — 121
Part 3: Blood, sweat, and tears : the Gilded Age and the great demand : 1876-1926
16. Emily Warren Roebling: The Builder — 143
17. Katharine Wright: The Aviator — 151
18. Inez Milholland, The Suffragist — 157
19. Maggie Lena Walker: The Titan of Finance — 164
20. Mary Tape: The Determined Mother — 170
21. Zitkala-Sa: — The Writer — 175
22. The Hello Girls of World War I: The Operators — 182
23. The Ninetieth Amendment: The Vote — 190
24. Agnes Never Driscoll: The Codebreaker — 198
25. Margaret Sander and Katharine McCormick: The Birth Control Pioneers — 205
Part IV: Warriors, rebels, and visionaries : women at war at home and abroad, 1926-1976
26. Mary McLeod Bethune: The First Lady of the Struggle — 220
27. Eleanor Roosevelt: The Great “Agitator” — 232
28. Frances Perkins: The Cabinet Member — 245
29. The Six Triple Eight: The Soldiers — 252
30. The New Orleans Four: The Barrier Breakers —258
31. Romana Acosta Banuelos: The Treasurer — 267
32. Babe Didrikson: “The Greatest Athlete Who Ever Lived” — 273
33. Patsy Mink: The Mother of Title IX — 280
34. Pat Schroeder: The Legislator — 287
35. Constance Baker Motley: The Judge — 296
Part V: My lifetime : women’s progress in America, 1976-today
I didn’t laugh once. Yes, this British version of Saturday Night Live has all the format features of the US version, but it just wasn’t funny. You would think that Tina Fey would inject some humor into the premier of this show…but no.
The musical group, Wet Leg, was awful. The female lead singer belted out lyrics like “People want to fuck me.”
Diane and I skip a lot of skits in Saturday Night Live US–we typically watch the opening, the host monologue, and Weekend Update. Most of the music groups are not to our taste. The Saturday Night LiveUKWeekend Update was lame.
Saturday Night LiveUK will be available on Peacock the day after the British broadcast. We won’t be watching. GRADE: C-
“A book like this has no start and no end. These are things we’ve been thinking about and will go on thinking about, they’re part of a conversation older than we are and that will carry on longer than we will.” (p. 352)
Jo Walton and Ada Palmer, two Award winning writers, share their years of conversations about Science Fiction and Fantasy. As Jo Walton puts it, Trace Elements (2026) “will join nonfiction works like Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Language of the Night, Samuel R. Delany’s The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud on the short shelf of titles essential to all readers of our genre.” I agree.
I’m a fan of Jo Walton’s solo volume, What Makes This Book Great (2014) (you can read my review here). If you’re a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy, this is a must-read!
“Our greatest hope, of course, is that this book will be the middle of a conversation, as you who read these pieces chew on them, share them, debate them, harvest the terms and observations useful to your own ongoing thoughts about the interwoven world of stories we all love, and say new things.” (p. 553)
What more can you ask from a wonderful, nonfiction book on Science Fiction and Fantasy? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Section 1: Genre; or, The Modern Proteus — 1
Integral to the Plot: The Author-Reader Contract –3
The Science Fiction Conversation: Imprint SF — 22
Genre Pacing and Protocols, or What is Genre? — 35
Poem: By Their Spaceship Ye Shall Know Them — 54
History of Science Fiction Publishing — 55
Sheep’s Clothing Why SF and F might Be Disguised as Each Other — 93
Where Does Dystopia Fit as a Genre? — 114
Not Saving the World? How Does That Even Work? — 121
Mitfreude: The Joy of Sharing Friends Joy — 132
A Mitfreude of Manga and Anime (and Their Relationship with SF) — 134
A Mitfeude of Genre Romance — 167
History and Robots — 192
The Ghost Did What?! Translation Exposing Providentialist Thinking — 209
Section 2: Anyone Who Says Differently is Selling Something — 219
Chrome Pain Chronicle, in Prose and Verse — 221
Writing Realizing Disability + Power — 237
Not Deluded How I Sold My First Novel While on Vacation — 259
The Key to the Kingdom, or How I Sold Too Like the Lightning — 266
Author’s Note and Acknowledgements from Too Like the Lightning — 275
Section 3: Craft — 279
Spear Point Theory — 281
The Protagonist Problem — 284
What’s Reading For — 293
Expanding our Empathy Sphere Using SF & F, a History — 306
Poem: Translated from the Original — 316
Censorship and Genre Fiction–Let’s Broaden Our Broader Reality — 317
How to Encourage Space Exploration? — 325
Poem: On Praising Tech — 328
Poem: Old Question — 329
Meta, Irony, Narrative, Frames, and The Princess Bride — 330
Hopepunk, Optimism, Purity, and Futures at Hard Work — 337
Some consider Judith (1975) Judy Collins’ best album. The Very Best of Judy Collins (2001) updates the songs since Judith and includes Judy Collins’ early hits. I love Judy Collins’ rendition of “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.” “Send in the Clowns” is a classic. And so is “Both Sides Now.”
While I prefer Sandy Denny’s version of “Who Knows Where The Time Goes,” Judy Collins comes close to that perfection. “Amazing Grace” is heart-felt.
Despite her successes, Judy Collins has a sad history of addiction to alcohol and drugs. Collins entered a rehabilitation program in Pennsylvania in 1978 and has reportedly maintained her sobriety ever since. Are you a Judy Collins fan? Do you have a favorite song? GRADE: A (for both)
Starbucks +1
