The 6-2 Buffalo Bills travel to Florida to take on the 2-7 Miami Dolphins (aka, Dumpster Fire). Miami fans are appalled at their team’s poor performances and misguided trades. The Bills are 9 1/2 point favorites, despite the rash of injuries on Defense.
How will your favorite NFL team perform today?
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 46 times. I’m sure I saw all 46 because my parents were big fans of The Ed Sullivan Show and watched it faithfully. And, of course, my brother and sisters and I watched it, too.
Stiller and Meara’s son, Ben Stiller, during the Pandemic, decided to make a documentary film about his famous parents.
Ben Stiller does not sugar-coat his parents’ relationship–which was rocky at times. Anne Meara developed a drinking problem. Anne Meara also had acting ambitions and considered comedy inferior to “real drama.”
Jourdain Searles of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote that it’s “a fascinating snapshot of American comedy history, illustrating how much the industry has evolved over time.
I found Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (2025) deeply personal and honest. Ben Stiller presents his parents in sharp detail. Nothing is Lost and nothing is hidden in this brilliant documentary. GRADE: A
Mick Herron‘s Down Cemetery Road was first published in 2003. With the success of Herron’s dysfunctional spy series, Slow Horses, on Apple TV+, Morwenna Banks adapted Down Cemetery Road for an 8-episode series directed by Natalie Bailey for Apple TV+.
I’m very impressed by Emma Thompson who plays the private investigator Zoë Boehm, a woman of grit, determination, and intelligence. Zoe’s new client, Sarah Tucker (played by the glorious Ruth Wilson), is looking for a missing child.
The two women join forces as they untangle a nefarious Government plot. I’m enjoying the Apple TV+ version of Down Cemetery Road (you can read about it here) but this largely forgotten novel launched Mick Herron’s career that is now celebrated by the Slow Horses series. The novel shows the glimmer of talent that will burst into fame for Mick Herron in the years ahead. GRADE: B+
Back in 1987, my sisters fell in love with Dirty Dancing. Well, more accurately, they fell in love with Patrick Swayze who plays dance instructor Johnny Castle in the movie. Set in a vacation resort in the 1963 Borscht Belt, the film made $214 million worldwide. Clearly, there was an enthusiastic audience the seething sexual chemistry between Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
When I saw Dirty Dancing I was impressed by the soundtrack of the movie. Dirty Dancing included more music than many of the films in theaters at that time. There was a lot of dance music–after all this is a movie about dirty dancing–but there was also a surprising number of songs from the early 1960s included like “Be My Baby” by the The Ronettes, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by The Four Seasons, “Stay” by Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, and “Some Kind of Wonderful” by The Drifters.
Are you a fan of Dirty Dancing? Do you remember the music in this movie? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
It was a very sad day in 2022 when I read Patricia A. McKillip had died at the age of 74. I’d been reading McKillip’s wonderful fantasies for decades. It started back in 1976 when I first read The Riddle-Master of Hed. By the final page of the book, I knew I had just read what would be considered a classic.
I went back and read McKillip’s 1975 fantasy, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Brilliant! And, as the years went by, I read every McKillip book that came my way. In addition to being a gifted novelist, McKillip could dazzle readers with her short stories, too.
Tachyon Press has honored Patricia A. McKillip with a marvelous collection of her best fantasy stories. And, surprisingly, two non-fiction pieces–“What Inspires Me” and “Writing High Fantasy”–shares McKillip’s approach to writing and her love for fantasy. These insights made me appreciate McKillip even more! If you haven’t read Patricia A. McKillip, The Essential Patricia A. McKillip is the perfect place to start! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Ellen Kushner
Stories
“Lady of the Skulls”
“Wonders of the Invisible World”
“The Lion and the Lark”
“The Harrowing of the Dragon of Hoarsbreath”
“Out of the Woods”
“The Fortune Teller”
“The Witches of Junket”
“Byndley”
“Jack O’Lantern”
“The Stranger”
“The Gorgon in the Cupboard”
“Mer”
“Weird”
“Hunter’s Moon”
“Undine”
“Knight of the Well”
Nonfiction
“What Inspires Me”: Guest of Honor Speech at WisCon
“Writing High Fantasy”
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox, reprising the role from the Netflix series and a few appearances in the MCU) dons his pointy red ears again and battles rampant crime. This nine-episode series gets off to a slow start–the first episode is just a rehash of what happened to Daredevil leading up to this new series. But, once it gets going Daredevil: Born Again delivers action and entertainment.
“Wilson Fisk, (aka, Kingpin played by Vincent D’Onofrio), a crook, bully, and prime Daredevil rival who hijacks the electoral system and becomes the Mayor of New York City. Once in office, the imposing thug uses his power to personally enrich himself and get vengeance on his personal enemies. Sound familiar?”
In addition to Kingpin, Daredevil also faces the Muse, Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), and other criminals. But the main attraction to this new series is the resistance to a tyrant who has taken over the City. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+
The Fantastic Detective Notebook is a browser’s delight! Gary Lovisi has updated the limited paperback edition from 40 years ago and Stark House has included dozens of eye-popping full-color covers to make this book a necessity for book lovers!
If you’re a fan of fantastic fiction and detective stories–a unique genre blend–Gary Lovisi takes you on a guide tour up and down the mean streets and menacing space ways. Just check out the Table of Contents. You’ll see dozens of authors you’re familiar with who write about Science Fiction Private Investigators and wizardly detectives.
The combination of great full-color cover artwork and bibliographic detail with insightful analysis makes The Fantastic Detective Notebook a great book for readers and collectors. And, it would make a marvelous holiday gift for that hard to please book lover on your Shopping List! Don’t miss this important and unique volume from Stark House! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction to the 2025 Edition — 9
Preface to the Original Edition — 11
THE AUTHORS:
Mario Acevedo — 21
Lou Anders — 22
Donna Andrews — 22
Neal Asher — 23
Isaac Asimov — 24
Janet Asimov — 31
Robert Aspirin, Linda Evans — 31
Kage Baker — 32
Bruce Balfour — 32
John Barnes –33
K. A. Bedford — 35
Alfred Bester — 36
Lloyd Biggie, Jr. — 37
P. L. Blair — 38
Algernon Blackwood — 39
David Brin — 40
Rosel George Brown — 40
Eric Brown — 41
Fredric Brown — 45
Jim Butcher — 46
Dennis R. Caro — 48
Caleb Carr — 48
Michael Chabon — 49
Jack L. Chalker — 49
Curt Clark (Donald E. Westlake) — 50
Hal Clement — 51
Barney Cohen — 53
James Nelson Coleman — 55
Glen Cook — 55
John Connolly — 60
Arthur Byron Cover — 64
Jamie Craig — 65
John Dalmas — 65
Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois — 66
Maurice G. Dantec — 66
Avram Davidson — 68
Len Deighton –68
Lester del Rey — 69
Mirian Allen deFord — 70
Marianne de Pierres –71
Philip K. Dick — 72
William C. Dietz — 75
J. M. Dillard — 75
George Alec Effinger — 76
P. N. Elrod — 78
Philip Jose Farmer — 81
Jonathan Fast — 81
Joe Clifford Faust — 82
Alan Dean Foster — 82
Andrew Fox — 84
George Foy — 84
Colin Free — 85
Robert Frezza — 86
Eric James Fullilove — 86
W. D. Gagliani — 87
Eric Garcia — 88
Randall Garrett — 89
Jean Mark Gawron — 91
Chet Gottfried — 92
Stephen Goldin — 92
Ron Goulart — 93
Rob Grant — 101
Simon R. Green — 102
Terence M. Green — 104
Martin H. Greenberg — 106
Guy Haley — 106
Warren Hammond — 107
Harry Harrison — 108
Isidore Haiblum — 109
Peter F. Hamilton — 110
Colin Harvey — 111
Lynn S. Hightower — 111
Douglas Hill — 112
Edward D. Hoch — 113
William Hope Hodgson — 114
James P. Hogan — 115
Trevor Hoyle — 116
Bob Ingersoll & Tony Isabella — 116
Maxin Jakubowski & M. Christian — 117
Laurence M. Janifer –117
K. W. Jeter — 118
Colin Kapp –119
Lee Killough — 120
Joe Kimball — 121
Andrew Klavan — 122
Victor Koman — 123
Dean Koontz — 124
Keith Laumer — 124
Stanisław Lem — 125
Jonathan Lethem — 126
Paul Levinson — 128
Frank Belknap Long — 129
Jean Lorrah –129
Katherine MacLean –130
James D. Macdonald — 131
Alan Marks — 131
A. Lee Martinez — 132
Steven E. McDonald — 133
Mike McQuay — 134
Sam Merwin — 135
Chris Moriarty –135
Sam Merwin — 135
Chris Moriarty –135
Lyda Moorehouse — 136
Robert K. Morgan — 136
Robert Morgan (C.J. Henderson) — 139
Ed Naha — 141
Larry Niven — 142
William F. Nolan — 144
Eric Norden — 146
Warren Norwood — 149
Alan E. Nourse –150
Mel Odom –151
Robert O’Riodan — 152
Stephanie Osborn — 153
Alexei Panshin — 154
Robert C. Peterson — 156
Mark Philips — 156
Charles Platt — 157
Fletcher Pratt — 158
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child — 160
Seabury Quinn — 160
J. Michael Reaves — 161
David V. Reed — 163
Robert Reed — 164
Mike Resnick — 165
Alastair Reynolds — 165
Mack Reynolds — 166
J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts) — 170
Stephen Robinett– 176
Christopher Rowley — 177
Kristine Kathryn Rusch — 178
James Schmitz — 181
William Shatner — 182
Robert Sheckley — 185
John Shirley — 186
Steven I. Shewsbury — 186
Martin Siegel — 186
David Alexander Smith — 187
L. Neil Smith — 188
Wen Spencer — 191
Steven Spruill — 192
Sean Stewart — 194
John E. Stith — 195
Dan Stout — 196
Charles Stross — 199
Anton Strout — 200
Robert Sydney — 201
Jeffrey Thomas — 202
Mark W. Tiedemann — 204
E. C. Tubb — 204
Jack Vance — 205
Mark L. Van Name — 206
Jo Walton — 207
Edward Wellen — 210
Manly Wade Wellman — 210
Ted White — 211
Wynne Whitford — 213
Sean Williams — 214
Nicholas Yermakov (Simon Hawke) — 214
John Zakour & Lawrence Ganem — 215
Roger Zelazny — 220
Afterword — 222
Appendix A: Recommended Reading — 223
Appendix B: Select Short Fiction — 226
Appendix C: A Note on Cover Art — 228
Up to a couple of weeks ago, the Buffalo Bills were favored in this game by 1 1/2 points. Then, Vegas changed the point spread to the Chiefs being favored by 1 1/2 points. This week, Vegas changed the spread again: the Chiefs are now favored by 2 1/2 points.
Why is Vegas changing the point spread? Clearly, all those folks on Fanduel, Draftkings, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetMGM shifted the line from the Bills to the Chiefs. What do they know that we don’t know?
How will your favorite NFL team perform today?
Based on a Mick Herron mystery novel of the same name, Down Cemetery Road brings two unlikely women together to investigate a series of unlikely events. Ruth Wilson plays Sarah Tucker, an art restorer, who becomes involved when a child from her neighborhood is injured. When Sarah goes to the hospital, she’s denied admission to the floor where the child is being treated. Sarah witnesses the child being removed from the hospital. When Sarah goes to the Police, she’s told the case has been “flagged” and she’s dismissed.
Frustrated and confused, Sarah–by chance–meets Emma Thompson’s Zoe Boehm, a spiky private investigator who soon has a personal reason to help Sarah and find the missing child.
I’ve only watched the first episode of Down Cemetery Road and can’t wait for the next seven episodes that drop on Wednesdays on Apple TV+. Both Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson draw you into this nefarious plot. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards an A
