Most Buffalo Bills fans will be rooting for the Houston Texans to beat the New England Patriots. The Patriots are 3 point favorites over the Texans. In the late game, the LA RAMS are 3 1/2 point favorites at snowy Chicago. I’m mildly hoping the Rams win…but I admire what the Bears have done this season. Plenty of late game comebacks!
Who do you think will win these games?
If you’re a fan of Pulp Fiction from the 1920s and 1930s, you’re familiar with Spicy Detective Stories, Spicy Adventure Stories, Spicy Mystery Stories, and Spicy Western Stories.
But, what about Spicy Zeppelin Stories?
In his clever and informative INTRODUCTION, Will Murray traces the genesis of this fictitous pulp magazine back to the 1970s. Years went by and the myth of Spicy Zeppelin Stories grew. Finally, Murray admits there came a point when he had to create an issue Spicy Zeppelin Stories before someone else did.
And here it is! Spicy Zeppelin Stories, Volume 1, Number 1, October 1936 appears just as it would have…if it really existed back then.
The prolific Will Murray, known for his many Pulp Fiction inspired novels and author of 40 books in The Destroyer series, decided he would write all the stories in Spicy Zeppelin Stories using a number of pseudonyms. Murray took the approach that the stories would be written in Depression fiction style and feature a Doc Savage-like story–Gondola Girl”–a Western story, a Science Fiction story in the Captain Future and C.L. Moore’s Northwest Smith mode, a typical weird menace story, a G-man story, and an air-war yarn. The common element to Murray’s Spicy Zeppelin Stories is every story features an airship of some type.
My favorite story in Spicy Zeppelin Stories is “Zeps of the Void” by “Jason Rainbow.” Solar Smith’s vengeance on Space Pirates is focused and cunning. I also enjoyed “Catwalk Creeper” by “D. E. Need” where beautiful women are attacked by “Medusa the Destroyer”–turned to stone–and shattered into pieces aboard a Zeppelin. Neat mystery!
If you’re looking for something different and exciting, Spicy Zeppelin Stories might be exactly what you’re in the mood to read! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION By Will Murray — 1
Gondola girl By Wray Murill — 9
Gasbag buckaroo By Noah Count — 71
Hydrogen horror By Page Turner — 101
Zeps of the void By Jason Rainbow — 135
Rail lair By Philip Space –165
Catwalk creeper By D. E. Need — 191
The Celestial Airship By Anonymous — 219
Chane By Ray W. Murrill –221
The 1980s offered a wide range of musical styles. Blondie’s “The Tide is High” has a reggae vibe. Hall & Oates “Private Eye” has a catchy pop-rock sound. Olivia New-John’s “Magic” was recorded for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred Newton-John and Gene Kelly. The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” makes it on both #1 Hits of the ’80s and American Bandstand’s Greatest Hits of the Century: 80s along with “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and The News. #1 Hits of the the ’80s does a nice job including many of the 1980s most popular songs: Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” (great music video, too!), Kenny Loggins’s “Footloose,” Kim Carnes’s enigmatic “Bette Davis Eyes,” and the Fine Young Cannibals’s “She Drives Me Crazy.”
American Bandstand’s Greatest Hits of the Century: 80s includes some disco with “Love Come Down” by Evelyn “Champagne” King and Taylor Dayne’s “Don’t Rush Me.” I still love “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper and “867-5309 / Jenny” by Tommy Tutone. Do you remember these hits from the 1980s? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+ (for both)
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Robert Palmer– | Addicted To Love | 4:25 |
| 2 | Huey Lewis & The News– | The Power Of Love | 3:55 |
| 3 | Kenny Loggins– | Footloose | 3:47 |
| 4 | Duran Duran– | The Reflex | 4:24 |
| 5 | Daryl Hall & John Oates– | Private Eye | 3:28 |
| 6 | The J. Geils Band– | Centerfold | 3:37 |
| 7 | The Human League– | Don’t You Want Me | 3:59 |
| 8 | Kim Carnes– | Bette Davis Eyes | 3:46 |
| 9 | Culture Club– | Karma Chameleon | 4:13 |
| 10 | Blondie– | The Tide Is High | 4:41 |
| 11 | Sheena Easton– | Morning Train (Nine To Five) | 3:22 |
| 12 | Olivia Newton-John– | Magic | 4:30 |
| 13 | John Waite– | Missing You | 4:29 |
| 14 | Terence Trent D’Arby– | Wishing Well | 3:32 |
| 15 | Paula Abdul– | Straight Up | 3:51 |
| 16 | Fine Young Cannibals– | She Drivers Me Crazy | 3:32 |
| 17 | Cutting Crew– | (I Just) Died In Your Arms | 4:37 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1-1 | Evelyn “Champagne” King*– | Love Come Down |
| 1-2 | Billy Ocean– | Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) |
| 1-3 | Pointer Sisters– | Jump (For My Love) |
| 1-4 | Eurythmics– | Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) |
| 1-5 | Starship (2)– | We Built This City |
| 1-6 | The J. Geils Band– | Centerfold |
| 1-7 | Toni Basil– | Mickey |
| 1-8 | Rick Springfield– | Jessie’s Girl |
| 1-9 | The Romantics– | Talking In Your Sleep |
| 1-10 | Thomas Dolby– | She Blinded Me With Science |
| 1-11 | Mr. Mister– | Broken Wings |
| 1-12 | Kajagoogoo– | Too Shy |
| 1-13 | Ray Parker Jr.– | Ghostbusters |
| 1-14 | Taylor Dayne– | Don’t Rush Me |
| 1-15 | A Flock Of Seagulls– | I Ran (So Far Away) |
| 2-1 | Wham!– | Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go |
| 2-3 | REO Speedwagon– | Keep On Loving You |
| 2-4 | Cyndi Lauper– | Girls Just Want To Have Fun |
| 2-5 | Bonnie Tyler– | Total Eclipse Of The Heart |
| 2-6 | Bangles– | Walk Like An Egyptian |
| 2-7 | Huey Lewis & The News– | The Power Of Love |
| 2-8 | The Romantics– | What I Like About You |
| 2-9 | Toto– | Rosanna |
| 2-10 | Men At Work– | Who Can It Be Now? |
| 2-11 | Paul Young– | Everytime You Go Away |
| 2-12 | ‘Til Tuesday– | Voices Carry |
| 2-13 | Tommy Tutone– | 867-5309 / Jenny |
| 2-14 | Nena– | 99 Red Balloons |
| 2-15 | Mike Reno & Ann Wilson– | Almost Paradise (Love Theme From “Footloose”) |
David Greig’s novella starts with a savage Viking attack on a small island off the coast of England. The monks in the isolated monastery are butchered and their meager religious valuables ransacked. The Vikings capture the women who kept the chickens and farm animals who supported the monastery and put them aboard their dragon ship to sell as slaves.
After the Vikings sail away, we discover there are three survivors: a young boy who was in training to be a monk, the wife of the blacksmith, and a surprise survivor. Greig then spends most of the rest of The Book of I showing how the survivors repair the wreckage and learn to work together.
Of course, a year later, the Viking ship returns and all hell breaks loose again…but with a different result. If you’re in the mood for a clever story with an unusual cast, The Book of I delivers a quick and compelling reading experience. GRADE: B
Eight years ago I watchedThe Night Manager (you can read my review here), after I read John le Carre’s book of the same name. Le Carre liked the production and encouraged Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood and Elizabeth Debicki to make a sequel. Then John le Carre (aka, David John Moore Cornwell) died in 2020 but the plans for more episodes of The Night Manager progressed.
“In April 2024, it was announced that BBC and Amazon Prime Video had ordered a second and third series, with Hiddleston and Colman returning in lead roles and Laurie as an executive producer. Alistair Petrie, Noah Jupe, Douglas Hodge and Michael Nardone also reprise their roles from the first series, while Camila Morrone, Diego Calva, Indira Varma, Paul Chahidi and Hayley Squires joined the cast in lead roles. Georgi Banks-Davies serves as director for the second series.”
If you’re a fan of John le Carre’s books and enjoy spy stories, you might want to check out this new 6-episode series on AMAZON Prime Video. GRADE: Incomplete but treading towards a B+
Judith Viorst–well known children’s book author and poet–could have titled Making the Best of What’s Left…A Guide to Widowhood instead. Viorst is 94 years old and a realist.
“Milton, my husband of almost sixty-three years, died in December 2022. He wasn’t supposed to die before me–I told him this was something he COULD NOT DO– but when did he listen? I write, in this book, about widowhood, but I also want to explore the challenges that I and the people I’ve talked with…dealing with these years beyond age eighty, in what I’m calling the Final Fifth of Life” (years 80 to 100). (p. 1)
Viorst explores options in housing–depending on health. She deals with loneliness. Health issues get a comprehensive analysis. Is there romance after 80? Viorst thinks so.
Viorst counsels not to wait too long to say the things that you need to. And to show how you feel about the people in your life before it’s too late. This short book addresses all the important Aging Issues with humor and sincerity. How is aging going for you? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
ABOUT THIS BOOK — 1
A valentine for the extremely married — 3
Home — 5
Our sensible safe retirement community — 17
Old — 19
Losing it — 32
What’s left — 35
Grow old along with me and my home health aide — 49
A little while — 51
Stop being dead — 65
Counting the dead — 67
What else I remember — 83
Afterward — 85
An afterlife — 99
Happiness — 103
Getting out the vote — 119
Loneliness — 121
A Jewish widow’s country-western love song — 138
Community — 139
Princess Margaret, Pearl Harbor, “daffodils,” etc. — 149
Wisdom — 151
Prescription — 161
Epilogue — 163
A FEW ENDNOTES — 167
Acknowledgments — 173
According to Vegas, the Buffalo Bills should win this Playoff game. The Bills are favored by 1 1/2 points. But Jacksonville has won 8 games in a row and their Quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, is on fire. I’m expecting a close game and hoping the Bills will find a way to win!
No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
I’m rooting for Art Scott’s 49ers even though the Eagles are 6 point favorites.
No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 2 New England Patriots, 8:00 p.m. ET, NBC
All Bills fans are hoping the Chargers can upset the 3 point favorite Patriots. Who do you think will win these games?
No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at No. 4 Carolina Panthers, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Chicago Bears, 8:00 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video
The LA Rams are favored by 10 points over the Carolina Panthers–even though the Panthers beat the Rams earlier in the season.
The Packers and the Bears both won a game against each other so the Bears being 1 1/2 point favorites over the Packers makes some sense since the Bears are home for this game.
I’m picking the Rams and Packers to win. How about you? Who do you think will win these Playoff games?
I’ve been reading George Steiner (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) for decades. Steiner has been called Polymath for the range of his essays and reviews. Take WHAT IS COMPARATIVE LITERATURE? (1994) for an example. “At best, the major writer adds graffiti to the walls of the already extant house of language.” (p. 3).
Steiner dabbles in Popular Culture, too. “The episode of avenging execution in Mickey Spillane’s I, The Jury may derive its undeniable power from that ritual slaying of the priest-king…” (p. 13)
Some may argue that Steiner’s topics like Marxism, Levi-Strauss, and Freud are obsolete today. But Steiner’s criticisms are still valid: “The Marxist analysis of history has shown itself to be one-sided and often grossly in violation of evidence.” (p. 10) “Freud sought to banish the archaic shadows of irrationalism, of faith in the supernatural. His promise, like that of Marx, was a promise of light. It has not been fulfilled.” (p. 23).
“Here are three great mythologies devised to explain the history of man, the nature of man, and our future. That of Marx ends in a promise of redemption, that of Freud in a vision of homecoming to death; that of Levi-Strauss in an apocalypse brought on by human evil and human waste.” (p. 37)
Steiner’s critique of the current attitude towards Truth speaks volumes: “Truth…is in fact a complex variable dependent on political social aims. Different classes have different truths.” (p. 54) Or, as the saying goes: “Truth isn’t a solid, it’s a liquid.”
George Steiner: A Reader was published in 1984. Steiner went on to write much more in the following decades but this volume does collect the best of Steiner’s early writings. You’ll find essays where Steiner takes a Deep Dive into Literature, Politics, and Culture. If you’re looking for a brilliant writer with sharp insights into difficult subjects with eloquent writing and unique perceptions, Steiner’s work tackles literary texts and cultural issues with dazzling skill. GRADE: A (for all three books)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
| Introduction | p. 7 |
| The Critical Act | |
| To Civilize our Gentlemen (1965; from Language and Silence) | p. 25 |
| Marxism and the Literary Critic (1958; from Language and Silence) | p. 37 |
| Georg Lukacs and His Devil’s Pact (1960; from Language and Silence) | p. 54 |
| ‘Critic’/’Reader’ (1979; from New Literary History) | p. 67 |
| Readings | |
| Nineteenth-Century America and Russia (1959; from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky) | p. 101 |
| Homer and Tolstoy (1959; from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky) | p. 109 |
| Tolstoy’s Immanence in the World (1959; from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky) | p. 118 |
| The Final Comparison (1959; from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky) | p. 132 |
| Racine (1961; from The Death of Tragedy) | p. 136 |
| Verse in Tragedy (1961; from The Death of Tragedy) | p. 154 |
| Tragedy and Myth (1961; from The Death of Tragedy) | p. 159 |
| Epilogue (1961; from The Death of Tragedy) | p. 165 |
| Obsessions | |
| A Death of Kings (1968; from Extraterritorial) | p. 171 |
| The Cleric of Treason (1980; from the New Yorker, 8 December) | p. 178 |
| Matters German | |
| The Hollow Miracle (1959; from Language and Silence) | p. 207 |
| A Kind of Survivor (1965; from Language and Silence) | p. 220 |
| Schoenberg’s ‘Moses und Aron’ (1965; from Language and Silence) | p. 234 |
| Postscript (1966; from Language and Silence) | p. 246 |
| Heidegger’s Silence (1980; from Martin Heidegger) | p. 258 |
| Lieber’s Lament (1979; from The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.) | p. 266 |
| The Defence of A.H. (1979; from The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.) | p. 272 |
| Language and Culture | |
| The Retreat from the Word (1961; from Language and Silence) | p. 283 |
| Night Words (1965; from Language and Silence) | p. 305 |
| Eros and Idiom (1975; from On Difficulty) | p. 314 |
| The Distribution of Discourse (1978; from On Difficulty) | p. 345 |
| Speech as Translation (1975; from After Babel) | p. 369 |
| Privacies of Speech (1975; from After Babel) | p. 385 |
| Creative Falsehood (1975; from After Babel) | p. 398 |
| Theme and Variations (1975; from After Babel) | p. 410 |
| English Tomorrow (1975; from After Babel) | p. 420 |
| Future Literacies (1971; from In Bluebeard’s Castle) | p. 423 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
NOSTALGIA FOR THE ABSOLUTE (1997) TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Secular Messiahs — 1
Voyages into the Interior — 12
The Lost Garden — 24
The Little Green Men — 38
Does the Truth Have a Future? — 50