I first read Robert Hughes’s Culture of Complaint when it was first published in 1993. Robert Hughes was the art critic for Time magazine at the time so there are many art references in Hughes’s critique of American culture. In the 23 years since Culture of Camplaint was published, all the factors Robert Hughes identified have worsened. Hughes pointed out that our broken education system was producing students not ready for work. Too much dumbing down. Hughes showed that American politics was becoming polarized and Major Problems like climate change and immigration were being ignored. A couple decades later, we are experiencing the hottest Summer in recorded Weather History and Washington is gridlocked. The most depressing presidential campaign in my life staggers on to November. Most of the problems Hughes identified in 1993 have all gotten worse. Economic inequity, racial problems, and the threat of terrorism plague us. Rereading Culture of Complaint reminded me of the agenda of problems that needed urgent attention back in the Nineties or America would suffer. Well, here we are. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Culture and the Broken Polity -1
Multi-Culti and Its Discontents-81
Art and the Therapeutic Fallacy-153
Notes-205

Viggo Mortensen plays a hippie-like father named Ben. Ben and his six kids live off the grid in the wild. No phone, no running water, no nothing. But, when Ben’s wife dies, the children want to attend their mother’s funeral in New Mexico. Initially, Ben resists. He doesn’t want to return to civilization. But the kids wear him down and before too long, Ben and his children are traveling the highways in a converted school bus. Part of this movie centers around the education Ben is giving his kids. They can track animals and kill them for food. The kids are reading Middlemarch and listening to Bach. His eldest son can speak six languages. At a key point in the movie, the eight-year-old little girl starts quoting from The Bill of Rights. Ben then asks her to give her opinion of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Things start to unravel when Ben and his kids crash the funeral of their mother. Grandpa (Frank Langella) hates Ben and has him thrown out of the church. More unraveling. Ben finally has to face the fact that his educational methods haven’t readied his children for the Real World. Captain Fantastic will stay in your thoughts long after you walk out of the theater. GRADE: A-

Darren Mitchell was kind enough to alert me to Rock Chronicles: Every Legend, Every Line-Up, Every Look (2012). Rock Chronicles follows the format of Sci-Fi Chronicles that I reviewed here. Plenty of photos and charts. Who knew that of all Eric Clapton’s albums, Unplugged (1992) was his biggest seller at 24 million copies. These “Chronicle” books are a browsers delight. If you’re looking for an entertaining Rock History volume, this is it. I bought my copy online for a penny (plus Shipping & Handling). There’s an updated version published in 2015, but this edition fits the bill for me. GRADE: B

Yes, 100 tons of Buffalo Chicken Wings will be consumed this weekend during the 15th Anniversary of this celebration of the chicken wing. Buffalo is known for a lot of things, chiefly its snow and cold. But we’re also the home of the Buffalo Chicken Wing. This Festival started as a small event over a decade ago. It has grown in popularity each year. Now, vendors from all over the United States are featured at Wingfest. Plus chicken wing vendors from other countries! If you’re a fan of chicken wings, this is an event you will enjoy. Every imaginable kind of chicken wing variation will be available. Thousands of hungry chicken wing lovers will flock to Coca-Cola Field for yummy time! Check out the WINGFEST web site here.

I’ve enjoyed all of Hank Davis’s anthologies over the years. You can check them out here, here, and here. This anthology focuses on creatures from space starting with John W. Campbell’s classic, “Who Goes There,” which was the basis of the classic movie, The Thing. Lovecraft’s classic “The Colour Out of Space” is here with Fritz Leiber’s brilliant “The Mind Spider.” Some of these stories were new to me. I wasn’t familiar with Chad Oliver’s “The Space Horde,” or Gordon R. Dickson’s “Love Me True,” or Simak’s “Operation Stinky.” There’s a story in Things From Outer Space for just about every SF taste. If you’re in the mood for some “creature-feature” SF stories, Hank Davis delivers again! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
STORY COPYRIGHTS
DEDICATION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THINGS FOR THE MEMORY Introduction by Hank Davis
WHO GOES THERE? by John W. Campbell, Jr.
ALL ABOUT “THE THING” (A PARODY IN VERSE) by Randall Garrett
THE THINGS by Peter Watts
THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE by H. P. Lovecraft
AS IT LAYS by David Afsharirad
AMANDA AND THE ALIEN by Robert Silverberg
WE DON’T WANT ANY TROUBLE by James H. Schmitz
AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO by Sarah A. Hoyt
RIDING THE WHITE BULL by Caitlin R. Kiernan
THE MONSTER FROM NOWHERE by Nelson Bond
SITTING DUCK by Daniel F. Galouye
THE MIND SPIDER by Fritz Leiber
THE THING FROM—OUTSIDE by George Allen England
THE SPACE HORDE by Chad Oliver
THE LEECH by Robert Sheckley
ROUGH BEAST by Roger Dee
LOVE ME TRUE by Gordon R. Dickson
DEVOLUTION by Edmond Hamilton
OPERATION STINKY by Clifford D. Simak
THE HUNTING GROUND by David Drake

Scott Porter is a Florida private investigator who is in love with his married secretary, Trudy (but more about that later). A potential client brings Porter a mysterious note and a rare first edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue. It doesn’t take long before the bodies start piling up. Organized crime, the FBI, sudden violence, and a complex love affair fuel this non-stop thriller. If you’re in the mode for a fast-paced mystery, Mad Dog Barked will take you on wild ride.

Rick Ollerman is scheduled to attend BOUCHERCON in New Orleans in a couple weeks. He’s a good example of writing noir in STARK HOUSE mode. I reviewed his 2015 mystery, Truth Always Kills here. GRADE: B

As I read Stewart O’Nan’s City of Secrets I kept looking at the cover thinking, “Did they put the wrong cover on this book? Is this really Stewart O’Nan?” City of Secrets is NOT Last Night at the Lobster and is 180-degrees from The Odds. City of Secrets, set in 1945, follows a Jewish refugee named Brand as he reaches Palestine. Brand drives a cab provided by the underground determined to set up Israel. Little by little, Brand becomes involved in missions with other refugees. There’s a train robbery. But, after reading one chapter, I knew how this novel was going to end. City of Secrets was more of an Alan Furst book. O’Nan’s approach produced a story that didn’t create any suspense. I figured the secrets in this book out very quickly. You will too. GRADE: C

After 40 years of teaching, I’m retiring. Under the conditions of the Retirement Incentive I’m accepting, I have to teach the Fall Semester. My last day will be December 30, 2016. I’m experiencing mixed emotions. I have one of the Best Jobs in the world. I love teaching. I enjoy working with eager students and my colleagues. But as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sing it’s “Time to Say Goodbye.”

Yesterday I reviewed Charles Stross’s space operas that explored the nature of money in the Future. Today, I’m celebrating a wonderful history of money by William N. Goetzmann. Financial history can be dry and dull, but Goetzmann’s writing is lively and insighful. And Goetzmann shows how money developed in China (usually ignored). I completely agree with Goetzmann’s assertions that money and cities are essential to developing a civilized society. Most readers will find Goetzmann’s chapters on the emergence of global markets most relevant to their financial decision making. If you’re interested in money (and who isn’t?), Money Changes Everything provides a clear, detailed history. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
PART I FROM CUNEIFORM TO CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION 15
PART II THE FINANCIAL LEGACY OF CHINA 137
PART III THE EUROPEAN CRUCIBLE 203
PART IV THE EMERGENCE OF GLOBAL MARKETS 401
Conclusion 519
Notes 523
Bibliography 541
Illustration Credits 555
Index