I met Ruth Rendell at a BOUCHERCON. I think it was in Philadelphia but I’m not positive. Ruth Rendell spoke with me for about five minutes. I told her how much I enjoyed her mysteries. She told me her favorite writer was Henry James. Ruth Rendell was courteous and personable to a random fan like me. I’ve read over a dozen of Rendell’s books over the years includes some of her “Barbara Vine” suspense novels. But I decided for this special Ruth Rendell FFB to read one of her books that has been on my shelf for years. I chose the 1985 mystery, An Unkindness of Ravens. A marketing executive with secrets is found dead. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford finds himself in an uncomfortable position because the dead man was a neighbor. As a subplot, Wexford’s dour partner, Burden, struggles with a domestic problem. Like all the Rendell novels I’ve read, this book is carefully constructed. Wexford untangles the twisty plot with his usual intelligence and patience. If you enjoy clever British mysteries, An Unkindness of Ravens provides plenty of entertainment.

I’ve used Turbotax for about 20 years. Some years are better than others. But this new version was easy to install and get up and running. My tax return is relatively simple. The only complication this year was Social Security. Diane is collecting her full Social Security benefit while I’m collecting “Spousal Benefits.” But other than that complication, the process was quick and easy. I was done in 45 minutes. Yes, we have to pay the Feds and New York State, but not much. My goal is to break even. And, I came pretty close. I used the “Deluxe” edition which I purchased at Sam’s Club for $35 which includes the free NY State module. Have you done your taxes yet? How are you going to spend your tax refund?

Around Christmas 2015, my left hip started to hurt. I thought it might be the weather. I thought I might have accidentally “bumped” it. I took some over-the-counter ibuprofen and hoped the pain would go away. It didn’t. So I called for an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon (the same surgeon who successfully replaced my bone-on-bone knees with new titanium knees). But, of course, I had to wait five weeks to get in to see him.

My surgeon examined me, had an X-Ray taken, and told me: “You can use this cream on your hip or I can give you a shot.” I opted for the steroid shot. And he gave me this new pill, Duexis, which is 800 mg. of ibuprofen with famotidine to protect my stomach.

A week later, the hip pain is greatly reduced. The shot and the Duexis tablets are working. What a relief! How do you deal with your aches and pains?

Although Michael Fassbender (who plays Steve Jobs) and Kate Winslet (who plays Apple Marketing Executive Joanna Hoffman) didn’t win any Oscars for this movie, their nominations show that the Academy recognized the difficulty of their roles. Steve Jobs in Aaron Sorkin’s script is a passionate perfectionist and a difficult person. That combination makes him hostile to his friends and workers. Yet, the fact remains that Jobs was a genius who came up with the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iPad, and iPhone. I liked Steve Jobs but it never really found its audience. Maybe this Blu-ray will help. Special features include: Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs, Feature Commentary with Director Danny Boyle, and Feature Commentary with Writer Aaron Sorkin and Editor Elliot Graham. GRADE: B+

Tom Wainwright believes we have lost the “War on Drugs” and we need to come up with a different strategy. Wainwright is an editor with The Economist so it shouldn’t surprise you that his approach is an economic one. It’s too easy for drug cartels to ship their product to the States (and elsewhere). It’s too easy to distribute the drugs and sell them. It’s too easy to take the money out of the country. Narconomics suggests ways Government could make all of these illegal activities much more expensive. Wainwright argues for a market-based solution to illegal drugs. The old methods haven’t worked so why not try something different? I found Wainwright’s analysis fascinating and his descriptions of the “business side” of drug dealing compelling. If you have any interest in solving our country’s drug problems, Narcoomics is a good place to start. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction Cartel Incorporated
Chapter 1 Cocaine’s Supply Chain: The Cockroach Effect and the 30,000 Percent Markup

Chapter 2 Competition vs. Collusion: Why Merger Is Sometimes Better Than Murder

Chapter 3 The People Problems of a Drug Cartel: When James Bond Meets Mr. Bean

Chapter 4 PR and the Mad Men of Sinaloa: Why Cartels Care About Corporate Social Responsibility

Chapter 5 Offshoring: The Perks of Doing Business on the Mosquito Coast

Chapter 6 The Promise and Perils of Franchising: How the Mob Has Borrowed from McDonald’s

Chapter 7 Innovating Ahead of the Law: Research and Development in the “Legal Highs” Industry

Chapter 8 Ordering a Line Online: How Internet Shopping Has Improved Drug Dealers’ Customer Service

Chapter 9 Diversifying into New Markets: From Drug Smuggling to People Smuggling

Chapter 10 Coming Full Circle: How Legalization Threatens the Drug Lords

Conclusion Why Economists Make the Best Police Officers
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

I though 2015 was a strong year for movies. Of course one of my favorite movies of 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road, won’t get the respect it deserves. I liked Sylvester Stallone’s performance in CREED, but Michael B. Jordan should have gotten a nomination, too. That might have negated some of the controversy about the lack of diversity in the nomination process. Here are my guesses who will win tonight. Who do you think will win?
Best Picture: The Revenant

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Actress: Brie Larson, Room

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Animated Feature Film: Inside Out

Last year Patrick saw Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn at a concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He liked their energetic banjo music. When Diane discovered that Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn were coming to Buffalo, we immediately bought tickets. You can check out the video below to sample what we’re going to see and hear tonight. If you’re in the mood for something different, I recommend Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn’s music. They’re terrific!

Last week for FFB, I reviewed Gardner Dozois’s The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Best Science Fiction. You can read that review here. For this week’s FFB, I decided to review the second volume: The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels. These short novels display the variety of themes science fiction deals with. I really like Robert Silverberg’s Sailing to Byzantium and Mr. Boy by James Patrick Kelly (no relation). Several of these stories are award winners. Once again, Gardner Dozois opts for variety in his choices. If you’re a fan of SF short novels, you’ll find a lot of quality in this anthology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PREFACE,
SAILING TO BYZANTIUM • by Robert Silverberg,
SURFACING • by Walter Jon Williams,
THE HEMINGWAY HOAX • by Joe Haldeman,
MR. BOY • by James Patrick Kelly,
BEGGARS IN SPAIN • by Nancy Kress,
GRIFFIN’S EGG • by Michael Swanwick,
OUTNUMBERING THE DEAD • by Frederik Pohl,
FORGIVENESS DAY • by Ursula K. Le Guin,
THE COST TO BE WISE • by Maureen F. McHugh,
OCEANIC • by Greg Egan,
TENDELÉO’S STORY • by Ian McDonald,
NEW LIGHT ON THE DRAKE EQUATION • by Ian R., MacLeod,
TURQUOISE DAYS • by Alastair Reynolds,

My favorite song on this 1989 album is “When The Night Comes.” Joe Cocker, who one critic opined gargles with razor blades, is in fine form on One Night of Sin. I like Cocker’s rendition of “Fever,” the classic song usually sung by women. And Cocker does a nice job with Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man.” There’s a little bit of everything on this CD: blues, pop, and torch songs. Well worth a listen. What’s your favorite Joe Cocker song? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1. “When the Night Comes” (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Diane Warren) – 5:20
2. “I Will Live for You” (Stephen Allen Davis) – 4:11
3. “Got to Use My Imagination” (Gerry Goffin, Barry Goldberg) – 4:24
4. “Letting Go” (Charlie Midnight, Jimmy Scott[3]) – 4:11
5. “Just to Keep from Drowning” (Marshall Chapman, Davis) – 4:39
6. “Unforgiven” (Tim Hardin, Ken Lauber) – 3:28 – CD bonus track
7. “Another Mind Gone” (Joe Cocker, Jeff Levine, Chris Stainton) – 4:44
8. “Fever” (Eddie Cooley, John Davenport) – 3:37
9. “You Know It’s Gonna Hurt” (Rick Boston, Nick Gilder) – 3:59
10. “Bad Bad Sign” (Dan Hartman, Midnight) – 4:09
11. “I’m Your Man” (Leonard Cohen) – 3:52
12. “One Night of Sin” (Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, Anita Steiman) – 3:14

I’ve read the first two books in Alastair Reynolds’s space opera series: On the Steel Breeze and Blue Remembered Earth. Poseidon’s Wake follows the template of the previous books with the conflict between human and machine civilizations. A human colony on Crucible receives a message from a nearby star system. The colony sends an exploration vessel with a secret saboteur aboard. The vessel arrives to find two very different alien artifacts. And, suddenly, one of the alien artifacts turns on. If you like space opera with Big Themes, Poseidon’s Wake delivers. However, I wish Reynolds concentrated on action and less on conversations. This is a very chatty book. GRADE: B-