The Senate might not allow witnesses in the Impeachment trial, but this blog will allow you to testify freely. Despite the ravages of the flu, coronavirus, the approaching Recession, and the upcoming primaries the good people of America (and those Brexit folks in the U.K. and the Euro Zone) await the winds of change approaching fast.

Amid all this chaos, the wit and wisdom of Patti, Jeff, Deb, Rick, Beth, Todd, Art, Willam, Maggie, Bob, Prashant, Sergio, Carl, Lauren, Steve, Jerry, Wolf, Stan, Dan, Michael, Elgin, Scott, Jim, John, Kevin, Randy, James, Kent, Fred, and Matthew as well as all of you who make this blog a part of your day brought hope and sanity in these times of Fake News and strife.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

This Super Bowl Sunday features two of the best NFL teams, Art Scott’s San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs with quarterback phenom Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are favored by 1-point. Diane and I are going to skip the Super Bowl blah, blah, blah and go see a play in the afternoon. But, we’ll be back home by kickoff. We’ll be rooting for Art Scott’s team, but something tells me the Chiefs might win this one. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl? Are you preparing any Super Bowl goodies?

China is far way from the United States, but we’re going to feel the effects of the coronavirus here soon. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working on a vaccine to protect us from the coronavirus–but that is likely a year away. Meanwhile, the State Department has issued warnings not to travel to China or other Asian countries where the coronavirus is spreading. Russia has closed its borders with China. Like any virus like SARS and MERS, the way to protect yourself is to NOT come into contact with infected people. Avoid large crowds. Wash your hands frequently. Surgical face masks may help.

As the public health threat of the coronavirus grows, the impact on the U.S. Economy (and the World Economy) increases daily. Many corporations are scaling back their involvement with China because of the coronavirus outbreak. China’s medical services are stressed to the max. And, the probability of more coronavirus-like illnesses spreading is real. All of this will likely slow down economies all over the world. That Recession I predicted last year was thwarted by THREE Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. But now, the Fed has little power over the tsunami of illness and economic disruption heading our way. Fasten your seat belts!

Edward D. Hoch wrote over a 1000 short stories. For 34 years, each issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine included a clever story by Ed Hoch. Hoch wrote many series featuring colorful characters like thief Nick Velvet (who would only steal worthless things), Captain Leopold, the occult detective Simon Ark, and of course, Hoch’s most famous investigator, Dr. Sam Hawthorne. Crippen & Landru have published five volumes of the Hawthorne stories. And now, they’ve published a volume of Hoch’s female investigators: Susan Holt, Libby Knowles, and Annie Seats. Each woman solves baffling crimes like who would poison a man in prison just before his execution? Why did three people fall to their deaths from hot-air balloons? If you’re a fan of traditional mystery stories that feature locked rooms and impossible crimes, Hoch’s Ladies is a must-buy. Are you a fan of Hoch’s stories? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION by Michael Dirda 7
Featuring Susan Holt (department store promotions manager who finds mysteries where she travels)
A Traffic in Webs 11
A Fondness for Steam 32
A Parcel of Deerstalkers 49
An Abundance of Airbags 68
A Craving for Chinese 84
A Parliament of Peacocks 102
A Shipment of Snow 120
A Shower of Daggers 138
A Bus Load of Bats 157
A Convergence of Clerics 173
A Gateway to Heaven 187
Featuring Libby Knowles (ex-cop and now professional bodyguard)
Five-Day Forecast 199
The Invisible Intruder 214
Wait Until Morning 228
Featuring Annie Seats (California Police Detective)
The Cactus Killer 244
First Blood 254
Baja 271
Sources 284

The Triple Album Collection qualifies as a BARGAIN OF THE WEEK. This 3-CD set costs only $9.56 on AMAZON! You get three albums for the price of one! I know Joe Cocker sounds like he gargles with razor blades, but I like his unique sound. And the backup singers and band are fabulous! Are you a fan of Joe Cocker? Do you have a favorite Joe Cocker song? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
UNCHAIN MY HEART
1.1 Unchain My Heart 5:02
1.2 Two Wrongs 4:01
1.3 I stand in wonder 4:21
1.4 The river’s rising 4:04
1.5 Isolation 3:48
1.6 All our tomorrows 4:22
1.7 A woman loves a man 4:14
1.8 Trust in me 4:13
1.9 The one 4:34
1.10 Satisfied 3:21
JOE COCKER LIVE!
2.1 Feelin’ Alright (Live) 5:11
2.2 Shelter Me (Live) 4:29
2.3 Hitchcock Railway (Live) 4:03
2.4 Up Where We Belong (Live) 4:39
2.5 Guilty (Live) 2:45
2.6 You Can Leave Your Hat On (Live) 4:28
2.7 When The Night Comes (Live-Memorial Auditorium) 4:55
2.8 Unchain My Heart (Live) 5:57
2.9 With A Little Help From My Friends (Live) 9:27
2.10 You Are So Beautiful (Live) 2:46
2.11 The Letter (Live) 4:40
2.12 She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Live) 2:36
2.13 High Time We Went (Live) 7:59
2.14 What Are You Doing With A Fool Like Me (Live) 4:49
2.15 Living In The Promiseland (Live) 3:55
NIGHT CALLS
3.1 Love Is Alive 3:55
3.2 Little Bit Of Love 2:25
3.3 Please No More 5:28
3.4 There’s A Storm Coming 4:08
3.5 You’ve Got To Hide your Love Away 5:01
3.6 I Can Hear The River 3:41
3.7 Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me 5:28
3.8 Night Calls 3:27
3.9 Five Women 5:34
3.10 Can’t Find My Way Home 3:27

David Owens includes plenty of examples of hearing loss and difficulties throughout his excellent book. For example, Owen describes Stephen Cobert’s lost of hearing in one ear after an operation (p. 69). Arnold Palmer wore hearing aids in each ear from his 40s to the end of his life (p. 9). And as we age, we have more hearing problems. Millions of older Americas have to deal with tinnitus. More millions can’t make out what is being said at the other end of the dinner table in a restaurant.

But, help is on the way! David Owen’s profiles new companies who are introducing digital products that deliver better hearing for reasonable prices. New surgical techniques may restore some hearing losses. Owens explains how our hearing works and shows that seeking help NOW can prevent more drastic hearing losses in the next few years. New research could help us hold on to the hearing we still have.

How is your hearing? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Pardon? — 1
2. Our world of sound — 13
3. The body’s microphone — 31
4. When hearing fails — 43
5. Cicadas in my head — 65
6. Conductive hearing loss — 91
7. Hearing aids — 117
8. Stigma — 151
9. Beyond conventional hearing aids — 165
10. Cochlear implants — 197
11. Asylum — 213
12. The mice in the tank — 227
13. Volume control — 245
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND SELECTED REFERENCES — 261
INDEX — 283

Diane and I finally got around to seeing Harriet, the story of Harriet Tubman. Cynthia Erivo plays the slave turned abolitionist, ROTTEN TOMATOES notes that the movie is “formulaic” and I tend to agree. The movie begins with scenes of racism and brutality on a plantation in Maryland. When Harriet realizes her master intends on selling her, she decides to flee the the North. Harriet, hunted by men and dogs, manages to make the 100-mile trek to Philadelphia where she finds help with William Still–abolitionist, and writer–played by Leslie Odom, Jr.

After a year of working as a domestic servant, Harriet decides she needs to return to Maryland to free her husband and her family. William Still thinks she’s crazy to return to a slave State and risk her freedom…and her life. But Harriet, determined to bring others to freedom, undertakes the dangerous journey. There are some surprises and Harriet’s fate changes when she becomes a “Conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Harriet Tubman spans a range of emotions. She delivers some powerful speeches and isn’t afraid to do battle with the slavers. My only quibble is with the pacing of this movie which lurches from action to static scenes to back to action with regularity. GRADE:B

Rob Kapilow is a composer, conductor, and music commentator. He loves this music and it shows in each of the chapters he writes about these great songs. Kapilow first provides the context for each song–the historic significance, the song’s genesis–and then proceeds to show how the song “works.” Yes, there is actual music–notes and everything–on the page. But Kapilow adds to the musical notation the actual music a web site, Listeningforamerica.net, where you can hear the music that printed on the pages of Listening For America.

I particularly liked the chapter on “Send in the Clowns.” Stephen Sondheim, who has written hundreds of songs, can’t believe “Send in the Clowns” is his most famous song. “It sounds like a piano bar song,” Sondheim told Hal Prince. Kapilow shows why “Send in the Clowns” is much more than a piano bar song. If you’re interested in this music and want to know more about these classic songs, I highly recommend Listening For America. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PREFACE — xii
Prologue : Nothing Comes from Nothing — 1
Inventing America / Jerome Kern’s “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” — 21
The New Sexual Morality / Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It” — 40
Airbrushing the Depression / George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” — 57
Segregation and Opportunity in Harlem / Harold Arlen’s “Stormy Weather” — 82
Appropriation or Inspiration? / George Gershwin’s “Summertime” — 102
Immigration and the American Voice / Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” — 133
How the Other Half Lived / Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine” — 156
Love in New York / Richard Rodgers’s “I Wish I Were in Love Again” — 181
The Impact of Recorded Sound / Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” — 202
America Goes to the Movies / Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow” — 227
World War II and the Integrated Musical / Richard Rodgers’s “If I Loved You” — 249
America Gets a Classical Voice / Leonard Bernstein’s “I Can Cook Too” — 279
Will the Real Annie Oakley Please Stand Up? / Irving Berlin’s “I Got the Sun in the Morning” — 309
Fantasy in New York / Leonard Bernstein’s “Tonight” — 334
Rock and Roll, Broadway, and the Me Decade / Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” — 364
New Directions On and Off Broadway / Stephen Sondheim’s “Finishing the Hat” — 393
Epilogue : The Broadway Musical Goes Global –419
Acknowledgements — 427
Notes — 431
Credits — 435
Index — 449

The twelfth series of the British science fiction television program Doctor Who premiered on January, 1 2020 and is scheduled to air weekly to March 2020, a 10-episode run on BBC America (on Sunday nights) and on other streaming services. I’ve already enjoyed the first two episodes–Spyfall (Parts 1 & 2)–which spoof spy movies. Jodie Whittaker returns for her second series as the Thirteenth Doctor.

For those of you not aquainted with Doctor Who, he/she is an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in the TARDIS (which appears to be a British police box on the outside but is vast on the inside). Series 12 also stars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill as the Doctor’s traveling companions, Graham O’Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan. I was much happier when the Companion was Karen Gillan who has gone on to greater roles.

If you’re looking for some fun Science Fiction adventures, I recommend this latest version of Doctor Who. GRADE: B+

I read a fair number of graphic novels, but Fairlady: Volume One written by Brian Schirmer and illustrated by Claudia Balboni, departs from most of the Super Hero, SF, and Fantasy graphic novels I usually buy. Jenner Faulds, who disguised herself as a man to fight in a war, returns home to The Feld for a new start after the war ends. Jenner decides to become a “Fairman,” a licensed private investigator. But, Jenner calls herself a “Fairlady”–the only one–and tackles cases the other Fairman won’t touch.

So Fairlady is a mashup of police procedurals and fantasy. Each of the five issues collected in Fairlady: Volume One includes a self-contained story. My favorite adventure was “The Case of the Missing Page.” If you’re looking for mystery with a fantasy setting, I recommend the Fairlady series. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Case of the Blue Rock
The Dead Fairman Mystery
The Case of the Barbarian’s Secret
The Case of the Missing Page
The Case of the Missing Murderess