The Hollow Crown includes Henry IV: Part I, Henry IV: Part II, and Richard III. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Sally Hawkins, Sophie Okonedo, and Tom Sturridge, these adaptations of three of Shakespeare’s best plays are a delight to watch. Special features include: deleted scenes and “The Making of The Hollow Crown. This package holds 6 hours and 19 minutes of pure drama. If you love Shakespeare, you’ll love these performances! Do you have a favorite Shakespeare play? GRADE: A

Will Trump have Gennifer Flowers seated in the first row next to Mark Cuban? Will Hillary be too wonky> Will Trump melt down? With the Debate turn into a yawner? I’ll be watching some of the Debate tonight, but I’ll be flipping over to Monday Night Football, too. Tomorrow morning, I’ll check with Morning Joe on MSNBC to see who the Chattering Classes think won the Debate. Will you be watching? What do you think will happen?

The Good News is that the Cardinals haven’t beaten the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo in 45 years. The Bad News is the Bills are a disappointing 0-2 and 4 1/2 point underdogs in this game. After the Thursday Night Football debacle, the Bills management fired Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman. Most Bills fans think the Roman firing was a simple case of scapegoating. This is a team with a lot of problems. Speaking of problems, the Buffalo Bills travel to New England to take on the Patriots next week! Yikes! How is your favorite NFL team going to perform today?

I’m a big fan of soulful music so I was eager to hear Brian McKnight’s new music CD recorded live in January 2016 at Los Angeles’ historic Saban Theatre . Brian McKnight sings about love and loss and hope. I find his music compelling and honest. If Brian McKnight was singing in the Sixties, he’d be on Motown Records. If you’re in the mood for some mellow music, I recommend An Evening With Brian McKnight. Take a listen below. GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1. Find Myself in You 7:39
2 Used to Be My Girl 2:58
3 Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda 3:14
4 The Only One for Me 7:16
5 My Kind of Girl 2:43
6 Crazy Love 6:57
7 6,8,12 5:44
8 On the Down Low 4:15
9 The Rest of My Life 2:51
10 One Last Cry 3:09
11 Anytime 5:56
12 Back at One 3:45
13 Fall 5.0 5:16
14 Still 5:27
15 Everything 3:23
16 Forever 3:41
17 Brothers in the End 3:30

Back in 2006, Subterranean Press (one of my favorite small press publishers) brought out In the Beginning: Tales From the Pulp Era by Science Fiction writer Robert Silverberg. Silverberg wrote a ton of SF back in the 1950s and Subterranean decided to collect some of it. Now, Subterranean Press has just published a companion volume, Early Days, with more stories from Robert Silverberg’s early writings. Granted, Silverberg developed into a marvelous writer in the next decade. But these stories from the 1950s show his talent and his affection for the genre. I enjoyed this nostalgic trip back to my younger days when I first read these stories with delight!
TALBE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
The Inquisitor
The Ultimate Weapon
Harwood’s Vortex
Quick Freeze
Six Frightened Men
Puppets Without Strings
A Time For Revenge
Housemaid No. 103
Rescue Mission
Planet of Parasites
Slaves of the Tree
Frontier Planet
The Aliens Were Haters
The Traders
Waters of Forgetfulness
You Do Something to Me
There’s No Place Like Space!

Ever feel like flinging a book across the room? I had that sensation a few times while reading Caleb Carr’s new novel, Surrender, New York. A couple of State University of New York (SUNY) professors (like me) investigate a series of deaths of “throwaway” children. A “throwaway” child is a child whose parents have moved away and abandoned them. Carr’s narrator, criminal psychologist Trajan Jones, formerly of the New York City Police Department, now lives in a upstate town. Dr. Jones has a sidekick named Mike Li. Together, they teach online courses for SUNY and help the local police when they’re stumped.

Carr loves excess in Surrender, New York. Dr. Jones has a pet. No, not a dog or cat or fish. It’s a cheetah! Dr. Jones has an office. No, it does not look like a Dilbert cubical, it’s a World War II German airplane! The plot is compelling, but the over-the-top aspects of this book really mount up over its 600+ pages! If your tolerance level for annoying excesses is high, then I’d recommend Surrender, New York. If not, skip it. GRADE: C+

I love pizza and although Western New York has plenty of great pizzerias, I occasionally like to make pizza at home. The Elements of Pizza shows how to make great pizza in the comfort of your home. Ken Forkish shares the secrets of great crust. He enthusiastically develops great pizza recipes. And this book is full of mouth-watering photos of the world-class pizzas you could make, too. I plan to make the Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza this weekend! What’s your favorite pizza?
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1 Introduction

11 CHAPTER 1 THE SOUL OF PIZZA

39 CHAPTER 2 PIZZA STYLES

51 CHAPTER 3 EIGHT DETAILS FOR GREAT PIZZA CRUST

61 CHAPTER 4 INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT

83 CHAPTER 5 METHODS

103 CHAPTER 6 PIZZA DOUGH RECIPES

SATURDAY DOUGHS
108 Saturday Pizza Dough
110 “I Slept in but I Want Pizza Tonight” Dough
112 Single Dough Ball
114 Enzo’s Pizza Dough
116 Saturday Pan Pizza Dough

REFRIGERATED LONG DOUGHS
118 24- to 48-Hour Pizza Dough
120 48- to 72-Hour Biga Pizza Dough
124 48- to 72-Hour New York Pizza Dough

NATURALLY LEAVENED DOUGHS
127 Wild Yeast (Levain) Culture
130 Overnight Levain Pizza Dough

SPECIALTY DOUGHS
134 Al Taglio Pizza Dough
136 Bar Pizza Dough
138 Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

141 CHAPTER 7 PIZZA RECIPES

SAUCES
145 Basic Tomato Sauce, Two Ways
146 FWSY Sauce
147 Vodka Sauce
148 New York Pizza Sauce

ITALIAN & ITALIAN-INSPIRED
150 Pizza Marinara
153 Pizza Margherita
156 The Ferdinando
158 Pomodoro Royale (with Cheese)
161 Prosciutto and Bufala
163 Mortadella and Pistachio Pizza
166 Zucchini Blossom Pizza
168 River Po Pizza
171 Carbonara Pizza
173 Pizza Bianca and Pizza Rossa

NEW YORK & NEW YORK–INSPIRED
175 New York Cheese Pizza
177 Simple Tomato Pie
181 Meatball Pizza
183 A.J.’s Pie
184 Vodka Sauce and Sausage Pizza
187 Brooklyn Hot Honey Pie
189 Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza
192 Grandma Pie
195 Adam Kuban’s “Love Supreme” Bar Pizza

KEN’S ARTISAN PIZZA CLASSICS
197 Margherita and Arugula, Two Ways
200 Arrabiata Pizza
202 Prosciutto Pizza
204 Fennel Sausage and Onion Pizza
206 Spring Onion Pizza

TRIFECTA FLATBREADS
209 Oregon Basil Pesto and Burrata Flatbread
211 Tarte Flambée
214 Nettle Pesto Flatbread With Morel Mushrooms

VEGETABLES & JUST BECAUSE
217 The White Owl
221 Escarole Pizza
223 Delicata Squash Pizza
225 Butternut Squash Pizza
227 Artichoke and Bacon Pizza
230 Chanterelle and Garlic Pizza
233 The Tommy Habetz Pizza
235 The Pie Hole Skillet Pizza
237 Hawaiian Pizza
240 Raclette Pizza

242 Measurement Conversion Charts

There aren’t very many good movies about business, but Equity is one of them. Anna Gunn plays an investment banker launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that will make or break her career. Very high stress. Directed by Meera Menon and written by Amy Fox, Equity shows the duplicity and backstabbing that can occur when millions of dollars are at stake. James Purefoy plays Michaal O’Connor, Gunn’s lover and possible competitor. Sarah Megan Thomas is convincing as Gunn’s Girl Friday. Alysia Reiner steals every scene she’s in as Samantha, an SEC investigator who yearns to bust some hedge-fund billionaires. I really liked the Machiavellian plot and all of the realism of the characters’ decisions. If you’re a fan of business skulduggery, Equity delivers. GRADE: B+

George Kelley, Diane Kelley, Jeff Meyerson, Bill Crider, Deb Pfeifer, and Jackie Meyerson

Jeff Smith, Janet Rudolph, Beth Fedyn, Joe Danger, Jackie Meyerson, and Kate Derie

Diane Kelley, Marv Lachman, George Kelley, and Art Scott
THE GOOD:
1. Meeting Deb and her husband, John. What a fun couple!
2. Free Books! Lots of them!
3. A decent Dealers’ Room. Good, but not great.
4. Loved the panel featuring Bill Crider, Joe Lansdale, Lawrence Block, S. J. Rozen, and Catherine Coulter.
5. Enjoyed seeing everyone who missed the Albany BOUCHERCON! And Raleigh!
6. Getting a tour of the Tammany Morgue by our niece who is a CSI agent for the Coroner’s Office. I saw a dead body they were about to autopsy!

THE BAD:
1. Heat, humidity, and torrential rain.
2. The faucet in the bathtub in our room at the Marriott leaked. I complained and the Front Desk sent an “engineer” to fix it. It continued to leak all during our stay. What a waste of water!

THE UGLY
1. Southwest Airlines sent us from New Orleans to Orlando, FL. Then there was a “mechanical” problem. Delay. Then Southwest decided to fly us to Buffalo on a “different” plane. But the plane had to fly in from Aruba. More delay. We left the Marriott at 11:30 A.M. and finally arrived home at 10:00 P.M. Not fun!

While you are watching your favorite NFL team, Diane and I will be flying to Orlando for the first leg of our return to Buffalo. BOUCHERCON was a blast, but there’s no place like home. The Bills are licking their wounds from Thursday Night Football and getting ready for next Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. How is your NFL team going to do today?