If you’re in the mood for something completely different, you might want to give The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy a try. “Dr. Sleech (Stephanie Hsu) and Dr. Klak (Keke Palmer) are top scientists at THE SECOND BEST HOSPITAL IN THE GALAXY. Each day at work they’re confronted with seemingly unsolvable medical riddles while having to navigate the hospital’s more bureaucratic staff members, especially Nurse Tup (Natasha Lyonne).”
THE SECOND BEST HOSPITAL IN THE GALAXY is wild and wacky! I know this isn’t ER or St. Elsewhere, or Grey’s Anatomy, but it’s way more fun. The 16 episodes will keep you amused! Check out the trailer above! GRADE: A
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles books have been sitting on my shelves for years. Finally, I decided this was the time to read one of them. I started with Game Over (2008). Detective Inspector Bill Slider investigates a murder of ex-BBC correspondent Ed Stonax. But, an enemy from Slider’s past, Trevor Bates (aka, The Needle), threatens to kill Slider and his fiancé, Joanna. GRADE: B
After finishing Game Over, I decided to binge on a few more of Harrod-Eagles’s Bill Slider mysteries. Fell Purpose (2009) begins with the body of once beautiful and brilliant Zellah Wilding. Zellah was strangled with a pair of tights. Bill Slider and his team investigate the teenager who was rebelling against her Christian family with a secret boyfriend. Slider interrogates Zellah’s friends but the identity of the mystery man remains problematic. Bit by bit, Slider and his team reveal Zellah’s secrets until they uncover the killer. GRADE: B
Body Line (2010) also starts out with a body: David Rogers was a doctor–handsome, charming, and wealthy. Who would want to shoot him in the head? Slider and his team talk to Roger’s many girlfriends and are baffled by the contradictory stories they’re told. The mystery of David Rogers leads the team into a world where nothing is what it seems. GRADE: B+
I was completely baffled by Kill My Darling (2011) when a paleontologist is found murdered in the woods. Slider and his team investigate the men in Melanie Hunter’s life and one by one eliminate them from suspicion. Why was Melanie murdered? What dark secret did she harbor that got her killed? Cynthia Harrod-Eagles faked me out (and Slider for much of Kill My Darling) and the conclusion is one big surprise! GRADE: A
I’ve been a fan of police procedurals since I read Ed McBain’s Cop Hater in the early 1960s. I went on to read all 55 books in the series. If you like police procedurals, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles writes an outstanding series! I’ll be reading more Bill Slider mysteries in the months ahead! If you’re interested in how Cynthia Harrod-Eagles came up with Bill Slider, she tells all here: https://www.cynthiaharrodeagles.com/bill-slider-mysteries/how-it-all-began/
A few weeks ago I attended a Joan Osborne concert (you can read my review here) and since then I’ve been playing several Joan Osborne CDs. My favorite Joan Osborne album is Breakfast in Bed with its covers of many hit songs. Included on this CD is Osborne’s stirring rendition of “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” from Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Also great is Osborne singing “Heat Wave.”
How Sweet It Is is almost as good as Breakfast in Bed with Osborne singing standards like “I’ll Be Around,” “How Sweet It Is,” “War,” and “Everybody Is a Star.”
Also worth listening to is Righteous Love with songs like Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” and “Love Is Alive.” If Joan Osborne visits Western New York again, I plan to attend her concert! How many of these songs do you remember?
“The Call of Cthulhu” is one of H. P. Lovecraft’s most famous stories. After reading Gou Tanabe’s brilliant rendition of At the Mountains of Madness (you can read my review here), I decided to read Tanabe’s other artistic manga book.
“The Call of Cthulhu” is a cosmic horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in February 1928.
Lovecraft introduces an incredible, ancient, powerful being who has the ability to sway the minds of humans to serve it. This also sets the Mythos on a course where beings like Cthulhu are the vanguard of a horde of extraterrestrial creatures who will arrive on Earth to subjugate and overwhelm mankind.
Once again Gou Tanable’s brilliant artwork illuminate the story and add impact to an already classic horror short story. Don’t miss this wonderful version of Lovecraft fiction! GRADE: A
Bill Crider was a big fan of the John Wick movie series. I admire the brutal and private world John Wick operates in–professional assassins–but unrelenting violence tends to wear me out.
Which brings us to the new movie, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina where John Wick actually shows up briefly. Surrounding Ana de Armas who plays Eve Macarro–an assassin with ballerina skils–with incredible brutal action choreography and a wacky origin story, Ballerina pirouettes gracefully onto the Wickverse.
Ballerina is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). Directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten, Ballerina weaves wild storytelling–mostly revenge and retribution–with peaks into the secret world of assassins.
Ballerina is likely to be the top action movie of 2025. If this is your thing, you’ll like it…a lot. If not, just wait a couple of months and watch it on one of your streaming services. GRADE: B
Diane and I saw the movie version of Good Night, and Good Luck back in 2005. We enjoyed the drama of the Press going after a demagogue like Senator McCarthy. We’re looking forward to seeing this stage version tonight at 7:00 ET on CNN.
“Good Night, and Good Luck is a historical drama play written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. It is adapted from their 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck and focuses on the conflict between veteran CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. The play’s Broadway premiere in March 2025, directed by David Cromer, stars Clooney as Murrow, making his Broadway debut.
The play has enjoyed strong box office grosses, setting the historical Broadway weekly record. For the week ending May 4, 2025, the play’s gross of $4,003,481.50, made it the first Broadway play to surpass $4 million in a week.” That number doesn’t seem surprising with tickets to Good Night, and Good Luck going for over $1000. Will you be watching Good Night, and Good Luck tonight?
I’m a huge H. P. Lovecraft fan and At The Mountains of Madness may be his best known work. Gou Tanabe’s brilliant graphic novel blends incredible artwork with Lovecraft’s disturbing visions.
The book opens with this warning: Gou Tanabe’s manga adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft was drawn in the traditional Japanese comics style, whose page and panel order reads the opposite of the Western order, right-to-left. Please turn the book around and begin reading.
The English translation brings Lovecraft back to life. At the Mountains of Madness was written in February/March 1931 and published in 1936. It was rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. Then it was originally serialized in the February, March, and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories.
Lovecraft’s novel records the events of a disastrous expedition to Antarctica in September 1930, and what is found there by a group of explorers led by the narrator, Dr. William Dyer of Miskatonic University. Throughout the story, Dyer details a series of previously untold events in the hope of deterring another group of explorers who wish to return to the continent. These events include the discovery of an ancient civilization older than the human race. And you know what that means in Lovecraft Land…
If you’re an H.P. Lovecraft fan, this incredible graphic novel version of At the Mountains of Madness is a must-read. It doesn’t get much better than this! GRADE: A
Around the mid-1990s, there was a brief musical infatuation with reggae music. A number of groups and solo artists attempted to sing reggae songs with mixed results. My favorite song on The Roots of Rock: Rock ‘N’ Reggae is Joe Cocker’s version of “Many Rivers to Cross.” The best known single of this collection is Blondie’s hit “The Tide is High.” Why Eric Clapton’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is on this CD is baffling…but I like the song so…okay.
Rock On: 1994, which came out in 1996, provides a snapshot of where musical tastes were 30 years ago. R. Kelly (no relation) was still a Big Star. Big Mountain had a hit with “Baby, I Love Your Way.” Boston was still active with “I Need Your Love.” Richard Marx was still crooning songs like “Now and Forever.”
The musical tenor of the 1990s is apparent on these compilation CDs. You can hear the drop-off from the music of the 1980s. It might be cause by the decline of MTV and the rise of online music streaming services. GRADE: B- (for both)
