I can’t think of a trio of songwriters who turned out more hit songs than Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. Most of their work was done at Motown Records but they branched out later in their careers. Holland/Dozier/Holland wrote great songs for Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Michael Jackson, and the Jackson 5. This fabulous 3-CD set collects many of the tunes everyone was listening to back in the 1960s and 1970s. How many of these classics do you remember? Do you have a favorite song among all these hits? GRADE: A

TRACKLIST:

1-1	–Eddie Holland*	Jamie	2:25
1-2	–The Marvelettes	Locking Up My Heart	2:26
1-3	–Martha & The Vandellas*	(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave	2:46
1-4	–The Miracles	Mickey’s Monkey	2:46
1-5	–Mary Wells	You Lost The Sweetest Boy	2:33
1-6	–Marvin Gaye	Can I Get A Witness	2:47
1-7	–The Miracles	I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying	2:39
1-8	–Martha & The Vandellas*	Quicksand	2:36
1-9	–Eddie Holland*	Leaving Here	2:30
1-10	–Martha & The Vandellas*	In My Lonely Room	2:30
1-11	–Dusty Springfield	When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes	2:56
1-12	–Eddie Holland*	Just Ain’t Enough Love	2:28
1-13	–The Supremes	Where Did Our Love Go	2:34
1-14	–Four Tops	Baby I Need Your Loving	2:44
1-15	–Eddie Holland*	Candy To Me	2:26
1-16	–Marvin Gaye	Baby Don’t You Do It	2:33
1-17	–The Supremes	Baby Love	2:35
1-18	–The Supremes	Come See About Me	2:41
1-19	–Marvin Gaye	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)	3:00
1-20	–Martha & The Vandellas*	Nowhere To Run	2:52
1-21	–The Supremes	Stop! In The Name Of Love	2:52
1-22	–The Supremes	Back In My Arms Again	2:58
1-23	–Four Tops	I Can’t Help Myself	2:44
1-24	–Four Tops	It’s The Same Old Song	2:44
1-25	–Kim Weston	Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)	2:56
1-26	–The Supremes	I Hear A Symphony	2:41
2-1	–The Supremes	My World Is Empty Without You	2:34
2-2	–The Elgins	Darling Baby	2:36
2-3	–The Isley Brothers	This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)	2:44
2-4	–Kim Weston	Helpless	2:36
2-5	–Jr. Walker & The All Stars*	(I’m A) Road Runner	2:48
2-6	–The Supremes	Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart	2:54
2-7	–Chris Clark (2)	Love’s Gone Bad	2:23
2-8	–The Supremes	You Can’t Hurry Love	2:53
2-9	–Four Tops	Reach Out I’ll Be There	3:00
2-10	–The Elgins	Heaven Must Have Sent You	2:32
2-11	–Martha & The Vandellas*	I’m Ready For Love	2:55
2-12	–The Supremes	You Keep Me Hangin’ On	2:47
2-13	–Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*	(Come ‘Round Here) I’m The One You Need	2:33
2-14	–Four Tops	Standing In The Shadows Of Love	2:37
2-15	–The Supremes	Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone	2:48
2-16	–Martha & The Vandellas*	Jimmy Mack	2:49
2-17	–Four Tops	Bernadette	3:03
2-18	–The Supremes	Reflections	2:51
2-19	–The Chairmen Of The Board*	Give Me Just A Little More Time	2:41
2-20	–Freda Payne	Band Of Gold	2:54
2-21	–Flaming Ember	Westbound #9	3:32
2-22	–The Politicians Featuring McKinley Jackson	Free Your Mind	2:50
2-23	–The Band	Don’t Do It	4:46
3-1	–Holland-Dozier Featuring Brian Holland*	Don’t Leave Me Starvin’ For Your Love	3:23
3-2	–Holland-Dozier Featuring Lamont Dozier*	Why Can’t We Be Lovers	4:04
3-3	–Holland-Dozier Featuring Eddie & Brian Holland*	Where Did We Go Wrong	4:12
3-4	–Lamont Dozier	Out Here On My Own	4:53
3-5	–Lamont Dozier	Trying To Hold On To My Woman	7:27
3-6	–Lamont Dozier	Fish Ain’t Bitin’	4:21
3-7	–Michael Jackson	Just A Little Bit Of You	3:11
3-8	–The Originals	Good Lovin’ Is Just A Dime Away	4:14
3-9	–Jackson 5*	Forever Came Today	6:23
3-10	–Eddie Kendricks	Get The Cream Off The Top	3:09
3-11	–The Supremes	I’m Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking	4:10
3-12	–Lamont Dozier	Going Back To My Roots	9:46
3-13	–Shalamar	Uptown Festival – Part.1 (Going To A Go-Go – I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) – Uptight (Everyhing’s Allright) – Stop! In The Name Of Love)	3:59
3-14	–The Doobie Brothers	Little Darling (I Need You)	3:26
3-15	–Lamont Dozier	My World Is Empty Without You	4:50
3-16	–Simply Red	You’ve Got It	3:56

The 12th book of Harry Dresden adventures presents huge shifts in the story arc of the series. Harry Dresden, Wizard and Private Investigator, receives a visit from his ex-girl friend, Susan. Susan tells Harry he has a 7-year-old daughter named Maggie. Then Susan tells Harry that the Red Court of vampires has kidnapped Maggie and intend to use her in a death ritual.

If you check out the cover artwork for Changes by Chris McGrath, you’ll figure out where this death ritual is scheduled to take place. In addition to the Red Court, thousands of deadly creatures will be guarding the site.

Harry realizes he can’t rescue his daughter by himself so he makes some Big Decisions which will change the future novels in this series. Needless to say, the battle at the conclusion of Changes explodes with Harry’s fury at those who would sacrifice his daughter to further their dark schemes. Jim Butcher makes a lot of gambles in this book. I’m eager to see if they work out. GRADE: A-

I’ve been watching AGENTS OF SHIELD for seven years. Each year, the series improved. The cast is great, the writing is filled with surprises, and the plot arcs dazzle the viewer.

But, sadly, all good things must come from to an end. Disney, who owns the MARVEL franchise, has pulled the plug on all of their shows on Network TV and cable. Hope springs eternal that a new Agents of Shield might show up on Disney+ but I’m not holding my breath.

Tomorrow night, ABC TV will broadcast a 2-hour finale to Agents of Shield. I’m prepared for the eventuality that some of the characters might not make it to the conclusion of the series alive (Joss Whedon is known for dispatching characters no matter how popular they are). And, I’ll have some tissues handy because I’m guessing my eyes might get a little misty. Are you a fan of Agents of Shield? Do you have a favorite episode? GRADE: A (for Season Seven)

Jude Devereux, best selling writer of 30+ books that hit the New York Times bestseller list, found herself in a Bad Place after her son died in an accident and Devereux went through a divorce. A psychic then told Devereux that money attracts Evil so Devereux gave this psychic $17 million (p. 81). Ben Carlson spends much of Don’t Fall For It relating stories of people who did fall for it and lost their money.

Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme cost many Big Name investors plenty of money: Steven Spielberg, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, John Malkovich, Larry King, and many average income people. Carlson explores the reasons why people–some very smart people–fall for financial scams. Not a day goes by without someone falling for the Nigerian Prince scam. You would think people would be more cautious with their money, but they aren’t.

We’re in the Golden Age of Financial Scams with unscrupulous people claiming they’re from Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and the IRS and wrangling innocent people’s Social Security numbers and banking information. Carlson shows how to avoid these scams and to protect yourself from massive losses that could result. Have you ever been scammed? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 No One Sells Miracles 5

Goats as Viagra? 7

Radio 9

The Placebo Effect 10

Correlation Does Not Imply Causation 11

Same as It Ever Was 13

Chapter 2 How to Sell Anything 17

The Count 18

Selling the Eiffel Tower 20

Everyone is in Sales 22

Chapter 3 Fast Money 27

The Promise of Huge Returns with Minimal Effort 29

When Trust Goes too Far 32

Do Your Homework 33

Chapter 4 It’s the End of the World as We Know It 39

Cognitive Dissonance 41

The Man Who Walked on Water 43

No One Knows What’s Going to Happen 45

Why Pessimism Sells Better than Optimism 47

The Value of ‘I Don’t Know’ 48

Chapter 5 Sleight of Hand 51

Bad Brad 53

A Magician Reveals His Secrets 56

Chapter 6 When Success Doesn’t Translate 61

Defeated by Decency 62

Don’t Try to Get Rich Twice 66

Chapter 7 When Fraud Flourishes 71

When There’s an ‘Expert’ with a Good Story 71

When Greed is Abundant 73

When Capital Becomes Blind 74

When the Banking Industry Gets Involved 76

When Individuals Begin Taking Their Cues from the Crowd 77

When Markets are Rocking 79

When the Opportunity Presents Itself 80

When Human Beings are Involved 81

When Innovation Runs Rampant 82

Chapter 8 The Siren Song of New Technologies 85

The Railway Napoleon 87

The Media’s Role in a Bubble 90

The Other Side 93

The Silver Lining of a Market Crash 94

Chapter 9 The Seductive Power of FOMO 97

How to Create a Monopoly 98

The Roaring 20s 100

When the Tide Goes Out 102

Not a Ponzi but Close Enough 103

The Seductive Power of FOMO 104

Chapter 10 Type I Charlatan 109

John Law and the Mississippi Company 111

Speculation is a Hell of a Drug 113

Pop Goes the Bubble 115

Type I and Type II Charlatans 116

Chapter 11 Type II Charlatan 121

The South Sea Company 123

Type II Charlatan John Blunt 124

The Bubble Act 127

The Echo Bubble and Dunbar’s Number 128

Chapter 12 Fooled by Intelligence 131

Newton’s Mania 134

The Problem with Smartest People in the Room 135

Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions 137

Fooling Yourself with Complexity 138

Chapter 13 How Gullible are You? 141

Ponzi versus Bernie 146

The Sacred Relationship 148

Chapter 14 The Easiest Person to Fool 153

Getting Rich versus Staying Rich 156

Shot out of a Cannon 157

The Biggest Fraud of All 158

Conclusion: Six Signs of Financial Fraud 163

1. The Money Manager Has Custody of Your Assets 163

2. There is an Aura of Exclusivity in the Pitch 164

3. When the Strategy is too Complicated to Understand 165

4. When the Story is too Good to Be True 166

5. When the Returns are Ridiculously Good 167

6. When They Tell You Exactly What You Want to Hear 168

Index 171

The Buffalo News food critic, Andrew Z. Galarneau, reviewed Jay’s Artisan Pizza and made this provocative statement: “If you told me I would only get one more pizza, then lights out, this would be the one. Specifically, Jay’s red top spicy Detroit Style ($15).” You can read Galarneau’s full review here.

As you might know, I love pizza in all its infinite forms. So after reading Galarneau’s pizza review, I had to try this pizza that was to die for. Diane wanted to try Jay’s Margarita Pizza and I wanted Galarneau’s favorite: the red top spicy Detroit Pizza. At this time Jay’s Artisan Pizza is Take-Out only so I went online and put in my order for a 4:00 P.M pick up.

Jay’s Artisan Pizza, a 15-minute drive from our house, had plenty of parking in front of its restaurant. Diane called to say we arrived and a masked woman brought out our pizzas and placed them in the trunk of our Nissan Rogue. Easy peasy!

As soon as we arrived home, we looked at the pizzas. They sure passed the Eye Test! They looked yummy. My red top spicy Detroit Style pizza featured sweet crushed tomato, Parmiagiano and hot cherry peppers with chile honey on a field of mozzarella. Then there’s the sharp cheddar around the rim for a unique flavor. Diane’s Margarita Pizza’s pillowy crust (somewhat like the texture of a cressant) held tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and bits of kale. Both pizzas were delicious!

However, the question is: would these be our choices for our Last Pizza? Alas, no. As good as these pizzas are, I prefer the generous toppings and thicker crust of Good Guys Pizza (formerly, Pizza Junction which was featured on Drive-ins, Diners, & Dives).

What’s your favorite pizza?

A couple days ago, 1.2 million Americans filed for unemployment. Bad economic news! But, what did the Stock Market do? It went up! The United States leads the world in positive coronavirus cases and deaths (over 1000 per day!) Yet, stocks continue to rise (and gold, too!). The Stock Market masks the true situation in our country.

The worlds of Main Street and Wall Street live very different realities. Millions of Americans are unemployed and the Unemployment Rate is 10.2%. Their Federal Stimulus benefits have expired. Many millions–including children–will find themselves homeless in the days ahead. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ has hit new highs. The popular FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) group of stocks zoom upward. What’s going on here???

There’s a disconnect between the Economy for middle and lower class Americans, and the Economy for the 1%. The Rich can shift assets around and make money. Middle class and lower class Americans are stuck. While the Rich have options like “working” and living anywhere they want, everyone else doesn’t. The Coronavirus Pandemic is an inconvenience to the Rich. It’s devastating for the rest of us. And, it also helps that the Federal Reserve is spending trillions to keep the Stock Market propped up.

So, what to do? First, limit your spending. The Coronavirus Pandemic is already suppressing consumer spending. This is NOT the time to buy a Big Ticket Item. Prepare for the Worst: stockpile some bottled water, canned food, and your medications. Things could get Very Ugly when the Second Surge of the Coronavirus hits in October! Avoid taking risks. How are you doing during these dire times?

I first encountered Frank Frazetta’s artwork on the cover of some ACE editions of Edgar Rice Burroughs back in the 1960s. Later, the eye-popping Frazetta covers on the LANCER editions of Robert E. Howard’s Conan series created a sensation. Frazetta also illustrated albums covers for  Molly Hatchet‘s first three albums that feature “The Death Dealer“, “Dark Kingdom”, and “Berserker.” In 2009 Kirk Hammett, the lead guitarist for Metallica, bought Mr. Frazetta’s cover artwork for the paperback reissue of Robert E. Howard’s “Conan the Conqueror” for $1 million.

Fantastic Paintings of Frazetta was just published with more examples of Frazetta’s incredible artwork like this:

J. David Spurlock, the editor of this project, began this new Frazetta book by starting with the original million-selling 1970s mass market art book, Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta. Then Spurlock expanded and revised the format to include twice as many images and presents them at a much larger coffee-table book size of 10.5 x 14.625”! The collection presents both classic Frazetta artwork and previously unpublished works. If you’re a Frazetta fan, this is a must buy! Do have a favorite Frazetta cover? GRADE: A

I’ll be very interested to see what Deb, Steve, and Jeff–our resident  musicologists–think of this compilation of “Hair Metal” bands from 1986-1992. Some of the bands are familiar: Quiet Riot, Dio, Poison, Black Sabbath, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Ratt, and Motley Crue. But there were a few groups I didn’t recognize–Vixen (an all-girl group from Minneapolis) and Nelson (a couple of long-haired blond brothers)–that I would like to hear more from.

I wasn’t really a Hair Metal fan, but these Glam Rock tunes dominated the radio air-waves for five or six years so I heard plenty of these songs. Were you into Big Hair and guitar riffs? Do you recognize these groups? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+ (well worth the $1 I paid for this 2–CD set)

Tracklist

1-1	–Mötley Crüe	Dr Feelgood	4:49
1-2	–Slaughter	Up All Night	3:44
1-3	–Faith No More	Epic	4:51
1-4	–Queensrÿche	Silent Lucidity	5:45
1-5	–Lita Ford	Kiss Me Deadly	4:00
1-6	–Winger	Easy Come, Easy Go	4:01
1-7	–Warrant	I Saw Red	3:57
1-8	–Twisted Sister	I Wanna Rock	3:03
1-9	–Mr. Big	Just Take My Heart	4:23
1-10	–Europe (2)	Superstitious	4:34
1-11	–Giant (4)	I’ll See You In My Dreams	4:45
1-12	–Vixen (2)	Cryin	3:32
1-13	–Firehouse (2)	Don’t Treat Me Bad	3:55
1-14	–White Trash (4)	Apple Pie	4:07
1-15	–Nelson (4)	After The Rain	4:05
1-16	–Krokus	American Woman	3:35
1-17	–Loverboy	Turn Me Loose	3:29
1-18	–Black Sabbath	Heaven And Hell	6:56
2-1	–Poison (3)	Unskinny Bop	3:47
2-2	–Skid Row	I Remember You	5:11
2-3	–Dokken	In My Dreams	4:18
2-4	–Extreme (2)	Hole Hearted	3:37
2-5	–Whitesnake	The Deeper The Love	4:00
2-6	–White Lion	Wait	3:59
2-7	–Dio (2)	Rainbow In The Dark	4:14
2-8	–Foreigner	Say You Will	4:12
2-9	–Faster Pussycat	You’re So Vain	4:08
2-10	–Quiet Riot	Bang Your Head (Mental Health)	5:16
2-11	–Bad English	Price Of Love	4:45
2-12	–Ratt	Way Cool Jr	4:27
2-13	–Enuff Z’nuff	New Thing	4:20
2-14	–Bonham	Wait For You	5:00
2-15	–Damn Yankees	Where You Going’ Now	4:39
2-16	–Bullet Boys	Smooth Up In Ya	4:24
2-17	–Vandenberg	Burning Heart	4:09

Turn Coat is the 11th book in the Harry Dresden series. As a Wizard and Private Detective, Dresden’s life is never dull. This book opens with a surprise visitor to Dresden’s home. The events that flow from this incident lead Dresden into an investigation into a possible traitor in the White Council of Wizards.

As Dresden gets closer to the identity of the traitor, he’s attacked by a snakewalker (who also has the ability to be a shapeshifter). After one of Dresden’s allies is killed by the snakewalker, Dresden decides on setting a trap that will expose the traitor. But, the almost invincible snakewalker shows up in another ground-shaking battle at the book’s conclusion.

While the battle scenes are always impressive in the Harry Dresden books, Turn Coat focuses on Dresden’s investigatory skills in exposing the traitor and the Dark Forces manipulating the action. Great story-telling! GRADE: A

Palm Springs is being marketed as a romantic comedy. If your idea of a romantic comedy is serial suicides, then Palm Springs might appeal to you. Andy Sandberg plays Nyles, a lackadaisical member of a crowd at a wedding. Cristin Milioti plays Sarah, Maid of Honor, whose life involves drinking and sleeping around. Through a series of odd events (including dinosaurs!) Nyles and Sarah end up in a time-loop where they have to experience the wedding day over and over again, potentially to Infinity (think Groundhog Day). Nyles and Sarah attempt several strategies to escape from the time-loop.

I didn’t find Palm Springs funny or romantic. J. K. Simmons is wasted in a lame role. Director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara spin their cinema wheels for about 90 minutes before they come up with an unlikely con conclusion. GRADE: C