Despite a snow storm dumping a foot of the White Stuff on us, Diane and I drove to our local Rite Aid–just 5 minutes away–and received our second Moderna Covid-19 shot. So far, the only side-effects we’re experiencing are sore arms and fatigue. Sadly, several other vaccination sites shut down because of the snow. We lucked out!

Meanwhile, the coronavirus rates declined in Western NY. We have 3.7% positive testing. How are things where you live?

Radha Blank plays herself in (and directs) this autobiographical film. Blank is a playwright who was a hot commodity when she was 30 but now she’s approaching 40 and stuck teaching high school kids. Blank decides she needs to change things up and decides to become a rap singer. She finds a music producer named D (Oswin Benjamin), in an apartment in the Brooklyn, and starts rapping.

Meanwhile, Blank’s agent, Archie Choi (Peter Kim), manages to entice a wealthy white investor to produce Blank’s play about gentrification, HARLEM AVE. But problems occur when the promised Black director never eventuates and instead a white director (played by Welker White) changes Radha Blank’s play into “poverty porn.”

Blank shows how contemporary playwrights battle problems of having their creative vision “modified” by financial backers, actors, and social forces which the illustrates the dilemma of Black artists whose careers rely on white decision-makers. 

Yes, there’s humor in The 40-Year-Old-Version. But I was confused by the mix of messages. Does Radha Blank really hate teaching? Does she want to abandon her playwriting dreams to become a rapper? Why does Blank avoid her brother? Plenty of questions, not enough answers. GRADE: C+

At a certain point in my college career, I considered pursuing a degree in Intellectual History. Plain old History is one damn thing after another and Intellectual History–according to my professors–makes sense of all those damn things that happened. Johan Norberg’s Open: The Story of Human Progress argues that societies that foster openness do better than societies that are closed.

Norberg presents plenty of evidence that countries that allowed freedom and encouraged innovation had higher standard of livings and more prosperity than the closed countries. But, freedom and innovation threaten powerful elites and they can diminish freedom and reject innovation. Burning libraries and banning books are just tools for the regimes that want to control their populations.

Knowledge is power and dictators fear it. Societies that reject educating women, countries that suppress news on TV and in the press, regimes that poison opponents all face declining economies and civil unrest. Johan Norberg convinced me with his evidence and logic that openness is the way to go. Are you a History buff? GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Introduction: Traders and tribalists 1

Part I Open

1 Open exchange 19

2 Open doors 68

3 Open minds 124

4 Open societies 167

Part II Closed

5 Us and them 213

6 Zero-sum 248

7 Anticipatory anxiety 286

8 Fight or flight 334

Open or closed? 362

Acknowledgements 383

Notes 385

Index 418

I love Chinese food so this new cookbook attracted me. But Xi’An Famous Foods isn’t just a cookbook. It tells the story of how Jason Wang and his family left China and made it in America.

I’m going to give some of the recipes in this book a try:  Spicy & Sour Spinach Dumplings in Soup,  Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, and  Stewed Pork Hand-Ripped Noodles in Soup. There are dozens of mouth-watering food photos to fire up your appetite! Great food and a great story of business success! Do you like Chinese food? GRADE: A

One of the reasons I’m a fan of Jack McDevitt’s Science Fiction novels–I’ve read over a dozen of them–is McDevitt’s tendency to include a mystery in each of his novels. Infinity Beach (2000) concerns an effort to find alien civilizations. Humans have several populated planets and faster-than-light starships, but they haven’t found any aliens…yet.

Dr. Kimberly Brandywine is in charge of public relations for the Seabright Institute. The Institute plans a spectacular feat of stellar engineering in an attempt to signal hypothetical aliens: blowing up a star!

I like the character of Kimberly Brandywine because she’s smart and tenacious…and a bit reckless.

Brandywine’s receives a phone call from an old teacher that causes her to re-examine the circumstances of her sister’s disappearance and presumed death. Emily Brandywine disappeared twenty years earlier, shortly after the early return of an exploratory mission searching for aliens.

Brandywine starts to investigate the disappearance which police dismissed. What really happened? Was someone on the crew of that exploration starship a murderer? Did the crew find evidence of alien life? And then did they suppress their discovery? Why would they do that?

Infinity Beach was nominated for a Hugo Award. It didn’t win but McDevitt did win a Nebula Award for Seeker in 2006. If you’re looking for a SF novel with plenty of suspense and mystery, I recommend Infinity Beach. GRADE: B+

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I would introduce you to this Motown anthology of Love Songs. Of course, I’m a big Smokey Robinson fan so I’m delighted by “Tears of Clown” included on this CD. And, of course there’s “Cruisin'”–featured in an Allstate commerical–which is classified as: “A pair of astronauts smoothly traverses the moon as Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin” sets the mood. Not beholden to gravity, these drivers know they’ll be rewarded with savings from Allstate.”

What’s your favorite Love Song? GRADE: B+

Tracklist:

1	Diana Ross & Lionel Richie–	Endless Love Written-By – Lionel Richie	4:26
2	Billy Preston & Syreeta–	With You I’m Born Again Producer – David Shire, James Di Pasquale Written-By – Carol Connors, David Shire	3:38
3	Diana Ross–	Touch Me In The Morning Producer – Michael Masser, Tom Baird Written-By – Michael Masser, Ron Miller*	3:26
4	Smokey Robinson–	Being With You Producer – George TobinProducer [Associate] – Mike Piccirillo Written-By – William “Smokey” Robinson*	4:06
5	Smokey Robinson–	Cruisin’ Producer – William “Smokey” Robinson* Written-By – Marvin Tarplin, William “Smokey” Robinson*	4:27
6	Diana Ross–	Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) Producer – Michael Masser Written-By – Gerry Goffin, Michael Masser	3:23
7	Diana Ross–	It’s My Turn Producer – Michael Masser Written-By – Carole Bayer Sager, Michael Masser	3:56
8	Charlene–	I’ve Never Been To Me Producer – Ron Miller *Written-By – Ken Hirsch, Ron Miller	3:44
9	Diana Ross & The Supremes*–	Love Child Producer – The Clan Written-By – Deke Richards, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, R. Dean Taylor	2:55
10	Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*–	The Tears Of A Clown Producer – Henry Cosby, William “Smokey” Robinson* Written-By – Henry Cosby, William “Smokey” Robinson*, Stevie Wonder	2:59
11	El DeBarge With DeBarge–	All This Love Executive-Producer – Berry Gordy Producer – El DeBarge, Iris Gordy Written-By – El DeBarge	5:53
12	Commodores–	Three Times A Lady Producer – Commodores, James Anthony Carmichael Written-By – Lionel Richie	6:39
13	Diana Ross & The Supremes*–	Someday We’ll Be Together Producer – Johnny Bristol Written-By – Johnny Bristol/Harvey Fuqua*, Jackey Beavers	3:29
14	Stevie Wonder–	I Was Made To Love Her Producer – Henry Cosby Written-By – Henry Cosby, Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy	2:36
15	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell–	You’re All I Need To Get By Written-By, Producer – Nickolas Ashford/Valerie Simpson	2:40

Last Wednesday, I reviewed My Favorite Science Fiction Story (you can read the review here). Then, Todd Mason, learning of the existence of My Favorite Horror Story, reviewed it here. Now, I complete the trifecta with My Favorite Fantasy Story (2000). This is my favorite volume of the three because some of my favorite stories can be found in this volume. “That Hell-Bound Train” won Robert Block a Hugo Award. Jack Vance is celebrated by Robert Silverberg choosing “Mizirian the Magician” and George R. R. Martin choosing ” Liane the Wayfarer.”

Classics like L. Sprague de Camp’s “The Gnarly Man” and Charles Dickens’s “The Bagman’s Story” are represented. I enjoyed Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald’s spy mashup, “Stealing God” where the Holy Grail makes an appearance. And Andre Norton pick’s one of my favorite Manly Wade Wellman stories, “The Spring.” All in all, an excellent anthology! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION by Martin H. Greenberg — 1

• “Ghosts of Wind and Shadow” (Charles de Lint) – selected by Tanya Huff — 7
• “Mazirian the Magician” (Jack Vance) – selected by Robert Silverberg –38
• “Troll Bridge” (Terry Pratchett) – selected by Michelle West — 56
• “The Tale of Hauk” (Poul Anderson) – selected by Mickey Zucker Reichert — 67
• “In Our Block” (R. A. Lafferty) – selected by Neil Gaiman — 90
• “The Gnarly Man” (L. Sprague de Camp) – selected by Terry Pratchett –98
• “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” (M. R. James) – selected by Morgan Llywelyn — 121
• “Homeland” (Barbara Kingsolver) – selected by Charles de Lint — 141
• “Stealing God” (Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald) – selected by Katherine Kurtz — 160
• “Shadowlands” (Elisabeth Waters) – selected by Marion Zimmer Bradley — 181
• Mopsa the Fairy (Jean Ingelow) – selected by Gene Wolfe — 192
• “Liane the Wayfarer” (Jack Vance) – selected by George R. R. Martin –303
• “The Spring” (Manly Wade Wellman) – selected by Andre Norton — 315
• “That Hell-Bound Train” (Robert Bloch) – selected by Rick Hautala —328
• “The Dancer from the Dance” (M. John Harrison) – selected by Stephen R. Donaldson — 343
• “More Spinned Against” (John Wyndham) – selected by Matt Costello — 367
• “The Bagman’s Story” (Charles Dickens) – selected by Margaret Weis — 379
• “Unicorn Variations” (Roger Zelazny) – selected by Fred Saberhagen —-394

If you’re a fan of the group Talking Heads, you’ll love David Byrne’s American Utopia. The performance is a mix of music and commentary led by David Byrne, the front man of the Talking Heads. This theatrical concert features a talented group of musicians who are constantly in motion. The action on the stage never stops.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is directed by Spike Lee who manages to keep the dancing and music under control during the performance before an enthusiastic audience. The film was shot in New York City in 2020 before the pandemic shut Broadway down.

If you’re in the mood for a high energy concert, this is the one to watch! Are you a Talking Heads fan? GRADE: A

SONG LIST:

• “Here” (from American Utopia)
• “I Know Sometimes a Man Is Wrong” (from Rei Momo)
• “Don’t Worry About the Government” (from Talking Heads: 77)
• “Lazy” (from Muzikizum by X-Press 2)
• “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” (from Speaking in Tongues)
• “I Zimbra” (from Fear of Music)
• “Slippery People” (from Speaking in Tongues)
• “I Should Watch TV” (from Love This Giant)
• “Everybody’s Coming to My House” (from American Utopia)
• “Once in a Lifetime” (from Remain in Light)
• “Glass, Concrete & Stone” (from Grown Backwards)
• “Toe Jam” (from I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat by The Brighton Port Authority)
• “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” (from Remain in Light)
• “I Dance Like This” (from American Utopia)
• “Bullet” (from American Utopia)
• “Every Day Is a Miracle” (from American Utopia)
• “Blind” (from Naked)
• “Burning Down the House” (from Speaking in Tongues)
• “Hell You Talmbout” (from The Electric Lady by Janelle Monáe)
• “One Fine Day” (from Everything That Happens Will Happen Today)
• “Road to Nowhere” (from Little Creatures)
• “Everybody’s Coming to My House: Detroit” (End Credits)

If you’re a fan of cartoons in The New Yorker you’ll enjoy Harry Bliss and Steve Martin’s A Wealth of Pigeons. Bliss is provides excellent cartoons and Martin provides the punchlines. Here’s a couple of examples:

About 130 cartoons fill this book. I found about a third of them funny, a third made me smile, and a third were clunkers. You have to find fun where you can get it these days. Do you enjoy cartoons? Steve Martin? Harry Bliss? GRADE: B