The 3-0 Buffalo Bills host the 0-3 New Orleans Saints. And we’ll be hosting 13 of Diane’s former colleagues for the Annual Buffalo Bills Party today. We’ll have the usual: pizza, chicken wings, shrimp (not radioactive!), salads (green, fruit, potato, and pasta), and for dessert, carrot cake, lemon cake, and an apple pie.
The Bills are favored by 16 1/2 points. Check out the Josh Allen merch! How will your favorite NFL team perform today?
Slow Horses returns for its Fifth Season on Apple TV+. The six episodes–one episode dropped each Wednesday–are based on Mick Herron’s London Rules (2018).
Someone is trying to assassinate one of the Slow Horses, but no one knows why. Who would want to murder a failed spy? Jackson Lamb (played brilliantly by Gary Oldman), the head of Slough House, initially rejects the idea anyone would be gunning for one of his rejected agents of MI5. But Lamb is nothing but loyal to his crew so he gets involved.
Like the previous four seasons, Slow Horses presents a plot that seems inexplicable, but then unravels in surprising ways. Must See TV! GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards an A
London Rules: GRADE: A
Yalum was first introduced to readers in Passengers and Perils back in 2022 (you can read my review here). Yalum and his partners, Conn Labro and his lover Jenore Mordene, operate a futuristic Uber enterprise, ferrying paying passengers around the Galaxy.
In Yalum, the Captain of the starship takes center stage as a plot to return Yalum to his planet of origin leads to kidnapping and murder.
Along with the implications of Yalum’s past, the Galaxy is about to undergo a Change where machines will cease to work and magic will rule. Yalum, Conn Labro, and Lenore Mordene travel to Old Earth to investigate the disaster that is about to occur. They also put together a plan to survive the Change by setting up a farm in a safe, protected rural area.
I enjoy Matthew Hughes’s tendency to expand the stories of secondary character in his books. Yalum is a good example of this. If you’re looking for an entertaining and compelling story about a world that is about to turn upside down, I recommend Yalum. GRADE: B
Two of my favorite singers have released new albums. Better Broken is Sarah McLachlan’s first album in 11 years. Van Morrison’s Remembering Now is his best album in the past 20 years.
Sarah McLachlan, a three-time Grammy winner, creates a very listenable–dare I say it…Easy Listening–album. For the first time, McLachlan is working with producers Tony Berg and Will Maclellan—known for their collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. The sound is amazing on this album in part because of contributions by Prince alumna Wendy Melvoin, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz. GRADE: A
After listening to some of Van Morrison’s recent albums–a jazzy one, a bluesy one, an album of covers–Remembering Now is a return to the style of music I appreciate. Remembering Now includes a Van Morrison song entitled, “Back To Writing Love Songs,” which sounds like it was recorded in the era of “Tupelo Honey.” A review in Mojo claims Remembering Now “might be Morrison’s best album since 1991’s Hymns To The Silence.” I agree.
This new album is full of soaring romantic lyricism missing from Van Morrison CDs in the 21st Century. One of my favorite songs on this album is “I Haven’t Lost My Sense Of Wonder”–and Remembering Now proves it. GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
| A1 | Down To Joy Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Kelly SmileyBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Percussion – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPiano – Stuart McIlroySaxophone [Sax] – Paul O’Reilly (5)Trumpet – Mike BarkleyVocals – Van Morrison | |
| A2 | If It Wasn’t For Ray Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Jolene O’HaraBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Backing Vocals – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ], Backing Vocals – Richard DunnPercussion – Alan ‘Sticky’ Wicket*Piano – Stuart McIlroySaxophone [Sax] – Paul O’Reilly (5)Trumpet – Mike BarkleyVocals, Electric Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| A3 | Haven’t Lost My Sense Of Wonder Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Jolene O’HaraBass – Nicky ScottDrums – Eamon FerrisElectric Organ [Hammond Organ], Piano – John McCullough (3)Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| A4 | Love, Lover And Beloved Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Jolene O’HaraBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Backing Vocals – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ], Backing Vocals – Richard DunnPiano – John McCullough (3)Vocals, Electric Guitar, Saxophone [Sax] – Van Morrison | |
| B5 | Cutting Corners Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Jolene O’HaraBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Percussion – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPiano – Stuart McIlroyVocals, Saxophone [Sax], Electric Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| B6 | Back To Writing Love Songs Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Jolene O’HaraBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPercussion – Alan ‘Sticky’ Wicket*Piano – Stuart McIlroyVocals, Electric Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| B7 | The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours Acoustic Guitar – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Jolene O’Hara, Pete Wallace (3)Bass – Nicky ScottElectric Organ [Hammond Organ], Piano – John McCullough (3)Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| B8 | Once In A Lifetime Feelings Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Jolene O’HaraBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ], Electric Organ [Philicorda] – Richard DunnPiano – Stuart McIlroyViolin – Seth LakemanVocals, Electric Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| C9 | Stomping Ground Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Jolene O’HaraBass – Nicky ScottElectric Organ [Hammond Organ], Piano – John McCullough (3)Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Saxophone [Sax] – Van Morrison | |
| C10 | Memories And Visions Acoustic Guitar – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Elle Cato, Jolene O’Hara, Pete Wallace (3)Bass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPiano – Stuart McIlroyVocals – Van Morrison | |
| C11 | When The Rains Came Backing Vocals – Chantelle Duncan, Teena LyleBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Backing Vocals – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave KearyElectric Organ [Hammond Organ], Electric Piano [Rhodes], Backing Vocals – Richard DunnPercussion – Alan ‘Sticky’ Wicket*Violin – Seth LakemanVocals, Acoustic Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| D12 | Colourblind Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bouzouki – Dave KearyBacking Vocals – Crawford Bell, Jolene O’Hara, Pete Wallace (3)Bass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPercussion – Alan ‘Sticky’ Wicket*Piano – Stuart McIlroyVocals, Electric Guitar, Saxophone [Sax] – Van Morrison | |
| D13 | Remembering Now Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Kelly SmileyBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Percussion – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPiano – John McCullough (3)Saxophone [Sax] – Paul O’Reilly (5)Vocals, Electric Guitar – Van Morrison | |
| D14 | Stretching Out Backing Vocals – Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Kelly SmileyBass – Pete Hurley (3)Drums, Percussion – Colin Griffin (2)Electric Organ [Hammond Organ] – Richard DunnPiano – Stuart McIlroyVocals, Electric Guitar – Van Morrison |
TRACK LIST:
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Better Broken” | Sarah McLachlan Benjamin BockMatthew Morris | 4:00 |
| 2. | “Gravity” | McLachlan Thomas Doucet | 5:00 |
| 3. | “The Last to Go” | McLachlan | 3:34 |
| 4. | “Only Way Out Is Through” | McLachlan Tony Berg | 4:01 |
| 5. | “Reminds Me” (featuring Katie Gavin) | McLachlan | 3:49 |
| 6. | “One in a Long Line” | McLachlan Anne Preven | 3:44 |
| 7. | “Only Human” | McLachlan | 3:48 |
| 8. | “Long Road Home” | McLachlan | 4:02 |
| 9. | “Rise” | McLachlan Doucet Preven | 3:38 |
| 10. | “Wilderness” | McLachlan | 4:38 |
| 11. | “If This Is the End…” | McLachlan Berg | 5:35 |
| Total length: | 45:53 | ||
In his Preface to Tales of the Impossible, Bill Pronzini cites Carter Dickson (aka, John Dickson Carr) collection of locked room and impossible crimes, The Department of Queer Complaints (1940), as the book that ignited his fascination with “miracle problems.”
Over his long and successful career, Bill Pronzini has published many stories involving locked room mysteries and impossible crimes. This new Stark House volume collects 19 top-notch stories in that genre.
My favorite story in Tales of the Impossible is one of Pronzini’s stories about his most famous character: the Nameless Detective. The Nameless Detective in “Booktaker” is hired by a bookstore owner to investigate the thefts of several rare and expensive items from his secure Antiquities Room. Despite locks and security monitors, valuable items have vanished. Kerry Wade, the Nameless Detective’s love interest, plays a key role in the solution of how the thefts were accomplished.
Also entertaining are the Carpenter and Quincannon stories set in the 1890s. Pronzini sets his stories in a mausoleum, a gold mine, a sawmill camp, a locked office, and in ghostly surroundings. John Quincannon, who thinks he’s “indisputably the foremost detective west of the Mississippi if not the entire nation,” proves this might be the case as he solves the eight crimes he’s investigating in Tales of the Impossible.
Tales of the Impossible displays the quintessence of Bill Pronzini’s locked room and impossible crime stories. The bizarre crimes, complex puzzles, the tantalizing enigmas make Tales of the Impossible one of the Best Books of the Year! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PREFACE: The Game of Miracles — 7
STANDALONES
The Arrowmont Prison Riddle — 12
Proof of Guilt — 31
The Half-Invisible Man (with Jeffrey Wallmann) — 40
The Terrarium Principle — 50
Vanishing Act (with Michael Kurland) — 54
NAMELESS DETECTIVE
Where Have You Gone, Sam Spade? — 70
Something Wrong — 97
A Nice Easy Job — 102
Dead Man’s Slough — 119
Ace in the Hole — 129
Booktaker — 139
CARPENTER AND QUINCANNON
The Horseshoe Nail — 172
Devil’s Brew — 192
The Chatelaine Bag (with Marcia Muller) –209
The Body Snatchers — 223
The Gold Stealers — 238
Smoke Screen — 255
It Couldn’t Be Done — 270
The Carville Ghost — 290
Bibliography — 312
Back in the mid-1960s, S. E. Hinton, a teenager, wrote The Outsiders, which became a surprise best seller. Now, over 50 years later, The Outsiders: The Musical is touring the country with a blend of West Side Story and Grease. The Broadway version won the Best Musical Tony.
The story is set in Tulsa in 1967. The city has two warring groups: the Greasers (poor teenagers) and the Socs (upper-middle class teenagers) (pronounced /ˈsoʊʃɪz/ SOH-shiz—short for Socials). The musical includes several fights including an epic battle in the rain.
Ponyboy Curtis, a Greaser with aspirations, finds himself on the run after a vicious incident with the Socs. For a musical aimed at a younger audience, there’s a surprising body count.
While my favorite song is “Stay Gold,” I found many of the songs in The Outsiders merely passable. GRADE: B
MUSICAL NUMBERS:
| 1. ACT ONE: | Tulsa ’67 |
| 2 | Grease Got a Hold |
| 3 | Runs in the Family |
| 4 | Great Expectations |
| 5 | Friday at the Drive-in |
| 6 | I Could Talk to You All Night |
| 7 | Runs in the Family (Reprise) |
| 8 | Far Away From Tulsa |
| 9. ACT TWO: | Run Run Brother |
| 10 | Justice for Tulsa |
| 11 | Death’s at My Door |
| 12 | Throwing in the Towel |
| 13 | Soda’s Letter |
| 14 | Hoods Turned Heroes |
| 15 | Hopeless War |
| 16 | Trouble |
| 17 | Little Brother |
| 18 | Stay Gold |
| 19 | Finale (Tulsa ’67) |
Okay, this really isn’t my basement library…but it’s pretty close. What does your library look like? How big is it?
The 3-0 Buffalo Bills are celebrating their 31-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football by taking this Sunday off. The Bills will be back next Sunday to take on Deb’s New Orleans Saints.
How will your favorite NFL team perform today?
Six seasons on PBS and three feature films later, the franchise of Downton Abbey looks like it’s coming to an end (unless this movie makes a ton on money).
The movie is set in 1930, a year after a stock market crash that threw the world into The Great Depression. The Crawley family is forced to tighten its economic belt but not so much that they’ve given up their staff of servants and their assorted holdings. Dower House, former residence of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (the late Maggie Smith, honored with a dedication as well as oil painting of the countess looming over the front hall) remains along with renovation plans to generate cash.
The family is visited by American businessman Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti), brother of Cora Crowley (Elizabeth McGovern). Levinson’s brought another American, Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), a financier who, Harold says, helped keep the matriarch’s side of the family solvent after the crash. Unfortunately, Gus made bad decisions after that, depleting the nest egg that the Crowleys thought they could break open to renovate Downton Abbey and turn it into a rental property that could generate future income.
” Lady Mary is getting a divorce, the news ripples through the surrounding community, making her a pariah among the high society people she used to call friends (even though they really weren’t). Some levity is added by actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West, totally believable as a Clark Gable-style movie star), who was at the center of the last movie. Dexter is reintroduced as the star of a London play by Noël Coward (Arty Froushan, who is absolutely credible playing one of the most charming men who ever lived).”
If you’re a Downton Abbey fan, don’t miss this! GRADE: B+