Letter writing is a dying art. When was the last time you actually wrote a letter (and mailed it–not emailed it)? The last letters I remember writing were to Bob Napier when he was editing MYSTERY & DETECTIVE MONTHLY, the late lamented letterzine. But that was over a decade ago. I read Meanwhile There Are Letters because I’m a fan of both Ross Macdonald and Eudora Welty. Their wit and intelligence shows on every page of this book. The topics vary, but I was most interested in Macdonald’s thoughts about writing detective fiction. Welty’s pithy comments led to read the other collection of her letters, this time with William Maxwell, her editor at The New Yorker. Maxwell and Welty discuss James Thurber, Katherine Anne Porter, J. D. Salinger, Isak Dinesen, William Faulkner, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, Walker Percy, For Madox Ford, John Cheever, and more writers. Just as letter writing is a Lost Art, letter reading is in danger of fading away, too. But, before it does you might want to indulge in reading these wonderful letters. GRADE: A

While the ongoing Greek financial crisis lurches toward another ineffectual bailout and China’s stock market bubble threatens to pop, I’m struck by the economic ignorance of politicians everywhere. The European Union is fatally flawed because a common currency–the euro–needs a centralized budget entity. But none of the EU countries wan to give up their financial power. Our economy is still struggling because politicians refuse to fund bills that would fix our roads and bridges (and create jobs) because of politics not economics. If politicians just read Popular Economics they’d have a much better idea of how the Economy works. If you want to understand what’s happening in the financial markets and how the world really works, start here. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD By Steve Forbes
INTRODUCTION
PART I: TAXES
1. Taxes are Nothing More than a Price Placed on Work
2. When We Tax Corporations, We Rob Them of Their Future
3. Government Spending Did Not Create the Internet, and Has Never Created a Job
4. It’s the Spending, Stupid: Budget Deficits Really Don’t Matter
5. Capital Gains Are the Elusive Jackpot That Drive Innovation
6. The Best Way to Spread the Wealth Around is to Abolish the Estate Tax
7. Wealth Inequality is Beautiful
8. Savers Are an Economy’s Most Valuable Benefactors
9. Job Creation Requires Perpetual Job Destruction
10. Conclusion: Bulldoze the U.S. Tax
PART II: REGULATION
11. Appalachian State Almost Never Beats Michigan, and Government Regulation Almost Never Works
12. Antitrust Laws: The Neutering of the Near-Term Excellent
13. Conclusion: Don’t Dismiss College Dropouts Delivering Alternative Weeklies
PART III: TRADE
14. “Trade Deficits” Are Our Rewards for Going to Work Each Day
15. Comparative Advantage: Could LeBron James Play in the NFL?
16. “Outsourcing” is Great for Workers, and as Old as the Pencil
17. “Energy Independence” Would be Economically Crippling: “Global Warming” is a Crippling Theory
18. Conclusion: Free Trade is the Path to Knowledge, Liberty, World Peace, and Big Raises
Part IV: MONEY
19. A Floating Foot, Minute, and Second Would Give You Ugly Houses, Burnt Wings, and Slow NFL Draft Picks
20. Do Not Be Fooled by Rising and Falling Computer, Flat Screen, and VHS Prices: They Are Not an Inflation or Deflation Signal
21. True Inflation is Currency Devaluation, and It is a Cruel Blast to the Past
22. If they Tell You They Predicted the “Financial Crisis,” They’re Lying
23. Conclusion: “Do-Nothing” Politicians Deserve a Special Place in Heaven
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NOTES
INDEX

I bought this copy of Romeo & Juliet for $4.99 at BJ’s Warehouse (AMAZON has it for $5). A Blu-ray for under $5 is a bargain and this movie is one of my favorites. I’m not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but he’s very good in this film. I am a huge Claire Danes fan and she’s terrific as Juliet. Director Baz Luhrmann’s films are always a little wacky. The contemporary setting for Romeo & Juliet was an audacious risk, but he pulls it off. I loved this movie when it first came out in 1996. It’s even better on Blu-ray at this incredible price! GRADE: A

Diane and I traveled to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada to see You Never Can Tell. This play is part of the yearly Shaw Festival that features Shaw’s plays (and this is one of them) as well as plays from the GBS time-period. Set in 1886 in the English seaside town, the comic antics start immediately. Dr. Valentine (played by Gray Powell), a dentist, falls madly in love with the fetching redhead, Gloria Clandon (played by Julia Course). But, of course, there are obstacles. Gloria’s mother, a famous writer, has been living apart from her husband for 18 years. But, guess who lives in this seaside town? Yes, Mrs. Clandon’s estranged husband. And the wisest waiter in the world: William (played to perfection by Peter Millard). There are plenty of silly antics including a wacky costume party that morphs into a legal proceeding. Shaw peppers his play with his “ideas” and sardonic wit. If you’re looking for an entertaining and enlightening vintage play, check out You Never Can Tell. GRADE: A

Amy Shumer is the Real Deal. Yes, she’s been getting a lot of hype with the run-up to the release of her first movie, Trainwreck but Amy has the talent. This movie is a conventional romantic comedy. Don’t expect any surprises. But Amy Shumer turns straw into comedic gold. Amy plays Amy, a New York City woman who drinks too much and smokes too much weed and sleeps around. She works for a men’s magazine called “S’Nuff” as a writer of articles like “You’re Not Gay, She’s Just Boring.” I really liked Colin Quinn as Amy’s dysfunctional father. Tilda Swinton nails it as Amy’s boss. And Bill Hader shows he’s got the Right Stuff to be Amy’s boyfriend despite plenty of trials and tribulations. If you’re looking for a funny summer movie that is slightly raunchy, Trainwreck fits the bill. GRADE: B+

When I was reading Ant-Man comics as a kid, I realized Ant-Man was a “second tier” Marvel character. He didn’t have the powers of an Iron Man or Hulk or Thor. Ant-Man could shrink and command ants. That was about it. But there are charms in lesser heroes as this new Ant-Man movie demonstrates. Likable Paul Rudd plays likable Scott Lang, ex-convict. Scott gets recruited by an elderly Dr. Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) to put on the shrinking suit and save the world from complete collapse. Where the Avengers movies and Captain America movies have grand themes and super-villains, Ant-Man has to battle a Mad Scientist. I liked Evangeline Lilly as Pym’s daughter, Hope. Sure, there’s some silliness in this film, but if you’re a fan of The Incredible Shrinking Man, Fantastic Voyage, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids you’re going to enjoy Ant-Man. GRADE: A-

Don Winslow’s majestic novel of the Mexican drug cartels, The Power of the Dog, has a cast of dozens of characters. Winslow shows how the cartels work fueled by millions of dollars and millions of guns. That alone would make The Power of the Dog a great novel. But Winslow goes a step further and shows how the U.S. deals with the drug cartels. There are points in this book where I didn’t know the Good Guys from the Bad Guys. Everyone in the drug trade becomes corrupted. There are scenes of extreme violence in The Power of the Dog. Double dealing, betrayal, treachery, and scheming permeate this detailed narrative. Next week, I’ll read Don Winslow’s sequel, The Cartel. and post my review. If it’s as powerful as The Power of the Dog, I’ll be in for another turbulent reading experience.

I enjoyed Alan Bradley’s first Flavia de Luce mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Flavia is an 11-year-old genius at chemistry. In the second book in the series, The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, Flavia is drawn into two crimes: the death of a puppeteer and the death of a child. In typical Flavia fashion, the clues to these crimes can be unlocked through chemistry. Alan Bradley has his tongue pressed firmly in his check at times as he has Flavia deal with her eccentric father and her mean older sisters. But the mysteries are clever and their solutions will stir memories of that chemistry class you took back in High School. If you’re looking for something different to read, I’d recommend the Flavia de Luce series. GRADE: B+

Yeah, yeah, I know the European Union (EU) has struck another “deal” with Greece to save their economy. But if you read James Angelos’ The Full Catastrophe: Travels Among the New Greek Ruins you’ll be as skeptical of this new bail-out of Greece as I am. Greece is deep in debt. Their economy is stalled. The Greeks lead the world in not paying their taxes. The last two EU bail-outs did not solve the Greek financial crisis. Promises were made to “fix” the problems–but little was done. The problem of Greece leads to the problems of Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland–countries that share the same budget problems Greece has. The EU can throw money at their problems, but that’s not going to solve anything. Our economy and stock market will be affected if the debt crisis in Europe spreads. And, of course, the U.S. has debt problems, too. James Angelos’ insightful book deserves a wide audience. GRADE: B+

This qualifies as a Bargain of the Week! I found Mission Impossible: Complete Season One at BJ’s Warehouse for $7.99. That’s all 28 episodes on seven DVDs. I remember looking forward to Mission Impossible each week. The episodes were clever and suspenseful. Were you a fan of Mission Impossible? Do you remember any of these episodes?

Here’s a summary list of the episodes in this box set:

1 “Pilot” Bernard L. Kowalski Bruce Geller September 17, 1966 1
In order to remove two nuclear warheads from a Caribbean island (and prevent their imminent use), the Impossible Missions Force (“IMF”) team enters a hotel being used as the headquarters of the island’s dictator so that the team members may gain access to the hotel’s vault where the warheads are being kept. Martin Landau plays the role of the dictator as well as his regular role of Rollin Hand (throughout the first season, Landau does not appear in the opening credits but is credited during the Dossier scene). Wally Cox appears as IMF agent Terry Targo, a skilled safe cracker. The Los Angeles Griffith Park Observatory is used to film the exterior of the hotel. This episode is notable because the mission instructions voiced by Bob Johnson are delivered from a vinyl LP instead of a tape, and it is also the only episode of the series written by creator Bruce Geller.

2 “Memory” Charles R. Rondeau Robert Lewin September 24, 1966 3
An IMF agent with a photographic memory (Albert Paulsen) allows himself to be captured and subjected to a harsh interrogation to help destroy a politically connected mass murderer. This is the only “regular-format” episode in which the IMF does not receive its mission instructions from a recording during the Tape scene) and, as such, the voice of Bob Johnson is not heard; instead, IMF team leader Dan Briggs is handed a card with printed instructions.

3 “Operation Rogosh” Leonard J. Horn Jerome Ross October 1, 1966 4
When an unbreakable foreign agent (Fritz Weaver) known as “The Murderer” who specializes in mass murder is discovered in Los Angeles, the IMF team needs to break him (only to discover a planned biological attack on Los Angeles area water system). The team must trick him into revealing the location of his biological devices by convincing him that it is three years into the future, he is back in his own country, and he is on trial for being an American spy. This is the first episode in which the Apartment scene is not used in the opening act.

4 “Old Man Out: Part 1” Charles R. Rondeau Ellis Marcus October 8, 1966 2A
With the rest of IMF team posing as a traveling circus performing in a city park next to an impregnable prison, Rollin allows himself to be imprisoned to rescue physically infirm Catholic Cardinal Vossek (Cyril Delevanti), the leader of a country’s freedom movement who was arrested and held in the prison for interrogation (and then scheduled for execution). Vosseck is overtly based upon Cardinal Cardinal József Mindszenty and his high-profile imprisonment by a totalitarian government in the Eastern Bloc. Mary Ann Mobley appears as IMF agent Crystal Walker.

5 “Old Man Out: Part 2” Charles R. Rondeau Ellis Marcus October 15, 1966 2B
Continuation of the previous episode. The team’s rescue plan hit a snag at the end of the previous episode when Cardinal Vossek was transferred to another cell.

6 “Odds on Evil” Charles R. Rondeau William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter October 22, 1966 5
In order to prevent an arms delivery to the prince (Nehemiah Persoff) of a principality by an arms dealer (Vincent Van Lynn) and to make sure that he cannot buy more (so that he is prevented from attacking an oil-rich, neighboring state), the IMF team enters a casino, utilizes a wearable computer to predict the winning number in a game of roulette (with the winning number being displayed as the date on an analog watch), and rigs a game of baccarat through the use of marked cards and special contact lenses. Nico Minardos appears as IMF agent Andre Malif. This episode has similarities with Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.

7 “Wheels” Tom Gries Laurence Heath October 29, 1966 8
In order to unfix the election result in a foreign country (and prevent the police-controlled Nationalist party from establishing a terrorist dictatorship), the IMF team enters a police station being used as both a polling place and the headquarters of the party so that Barney Collier may gain access to the station’s backroom where the fixed voting machines rigged with three “zero” wheels are being kept. Landau plays a proprietor of a bookstore as well as his regular role of Rollin. Mark Lenard appears as the party’s unscrupulous candidate.

8 “The Ransom” Harry Harris William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter November 5, 1966 9
When a friend’s daughter is kidnapped by a crime boss and held as ransom for the exchange of an informant held in protective custody, Briggs calls in the IMF team to rescue her. This is the first episode in which the Tape scene is not used to provide mission instructions; instead, the mission is developed by the team as an “off-book” mission (and the only one led by Briggs). Also, this is the first instance in which the team confronts members of a domestic criminal organization.

9 “A Spool There Was” Bernard L. Kowalski Ellis Marcus November 12, 1966 6
Rollin and Cinnamon Carter pose as reunited ex-lovers in an unfriendly country in order to retrieve a spool of recording wire hidden by an agent killed while evading capture. Neither Barney nor Willy Armitage appears in this episode. Michael Shea appears as Pieter Stakovar.

10 “The Carriers” Sherman Marks William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter November 19, 1966 13
In order to stop an expert in American traditions, slang, and customs (Arthur Hill) from conducting his plan of bacteriology warfare against the U.S. and to put him permanently out of business, the IMF team infiltrates a mock-up of an American town located behind the Iron Curtain where enemy agents learn to act as Americans. George Takei appears as IMF agent Roger Lee. The theme of using a mock-up of a town for training enemy agents was employed previously in the second-season episode “Colony Three” (S02/E03) of Danger Man and later in the fourth-season episode “Welcome to Liberty Village” (S04/E05) of Alias. Also, this episode has similarities with Ian Fleming’s novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

11 “Zubrovnik’s Ghost” Leonard J. Horn Robert Lewin November 26, 1966 11
In this “haunted house” episode, a scientist (Beatrice Straight) is being asked to defect by the ghost of her late husband. In order to keep her from going behind the Iron Curtain and to get her working for the IMF again, Rollin, Barney, and IMF agent Ariana Domi (Martine Bartlett) pose as a psychic research team, countering the efforts of a medium (Donald Davis) who is pressuring her to work from behind the Iron Curtain. Neither Cinnamon nor Willy appears in this episode. The laboratory set (including the hallway and elevator) from “The Carriers” (the previous episode) is featured in the Tape scene of this episode.

12 “Fakeout” Bernard L. Kowalski Leigh Chapman December 3, 1966 7
With an ill-mannered leader of an international narcotics syndicate (Lloyd Bridges) living in a country that has no extradition treaty with the U.S., Cinnamon romances him in order to get him out of the country so that he can be legally arrested and stand trial in the U.S. (kidnapping him has been ruled out as being politically embarrassing). Neither Rollin nor Willie appears in this episode.

13 “Elena” Marc Daniels Ellis Marcus December 10, 1966 10
When a woman named Elena (Barbara Luna) acting as a key agent of the IMF begins to behave in a bizarre manner indicating a severe emotional disturbance, Rollin and a psychiatrist (Barry Atwater) need to find out in six days why she is behaving so strongly and decide whether she will continue to be a dangerous threat to the IMF; if not, she will be killed. Neither Cinnamon, Barney, nor Willy appear in this episode, making it the only episode of the entire series in which none of the series regulars featured in the opening credits are chosen by the IMF team leader for the mission during the Dossier scene. The laboratory set (including the hallway and elevator) from “The Carriers” (S01/E10) is featured in this episode.

14 “The Short Tail Spy” Leonard J. Horn Julian Barry December 17, 1966 14
Two feuding assassins of different ages representing two groups of an enemy country are focused on assassinating a professor who recently defected to the U.S. In order to prevent the assassinations and totally discredit the younger assassin and the group for whom he represents, Cinnamon feigns her love for the younger assassin (Eric Braeden), Dan works to move the older assassin (Albert Dekker) out of the way, and Barney protects the professor (Edward Colmans). Neither Rollin nor Willie appears in this episode.

15 “The Legacy” Michael O’Herlihy William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter January 7, 1967 15
In this “treasure hunt” episode, sons of Adolf Hitler’s most trusted Nazi officers gather in Zurich, Switzerland, to locate Hitler’s “personal fortune” believed to be worth more than $300 million. Rollin infiltrates the group in order to get the money before they do (and prevent them from launching the Fourth Reich). This episode was remade as “The Legacy“ (S01/E05) in the series remake (wherein “sons” was changed to “grandsons”). There are three other episodes of the original series that have been remade for the series remake: “The Condemned” (S02/E19 & S01/E04), “The System” (S03/E15 & S01/E02), and “The Killer” (S05/E01 & S01/E01). This is also the only episode of either incarnation in which the villain escapes at the end.

16 “The Reluctant Dragon” Leonard J. Horn Chester Krumholz January 14, 1967 16
An expert in rocket control (Joseph Campanella) working from behind the Iron Curtain was supposed to follow his wife (Mala Powers) in defecting to the U.S. a year earlier, but he was reluctant in leaving. Now that he has made a simple but extremely effective anti-ballistic missile system that could completely destroy the balance of power in the world if it were to fall into the wrong hands, Rollin poses as a police deputy commissioner of East Germany in order to get him out before his government discovers what he has achieved. John Colicos appears as the head of security who is suspicious of the expert. Neither Cinnamon nor Willie appears in this episode.

17 “The Frame” Allen Miner William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter January 21, 1967 17
When four elected officials are killed in “accidents” and replaced with persons favorably disposed toward organized crime, Dan and Rollin pose as caterers for a lavish get-together at the home of the U.S. syndicate boss (Simon Oakland) in order to stop him from expanding into government. Arthur Batanides appears as IMF agent known as Tino.

18 “The Trial” Lewis Allan Laurence Heath January 28, 1967 12
Dan allows himself to be arrested, charged, and subjected to a show trial as a would-be saboteur in order to stop and discredit a public prosecutor and the head of the secret police (Carroll O’Connor) so that he will never be a political threat or threaten international peace. Neither Cinnamon nor Barney appears in this episode.

19 “The Diamond” Robert Douglas William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter February 4, 1967 18
When the despotic prime minister of a white-supremacist West African regime attempts to sell the world’s largest uncut diamond in order to finance a campaign driving the native majority off their tribal trust lands, the IM Force is sent to destroy him.

20 “The Legend” Richard Benedict Mann Rubin February 11, 1967 19
Briggs and Cinammon impersonate a former Nazi and his daughter who are invited to attend a reunion of aged Nazi leaders at the home of Nazi fugitive Martin Bormann, who is planning the creation of the Fourth Reich. This episode shares many similarities with Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious.

21 “Snowball in Hell” Lee H. Katzin Judith & Robert Guy Barrows February 18, 1967 21
The IMF must recover or destroy a vital component for a nuclear weapon that is in the hands of an evil prison warden (Ricardo Montalbán), and make sure that the warden does not give the formula to anyone else.

22 “The Confession” Herschel Daugherty William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter February 25, 1967 20
When the assassination of a U.S. senator by a Communist bloc agent threatens to lead to war between America and the Communist Bloc, Briggs and the IMF set out to prove the killing was actually orchestrated by the senator’s principal backer.

23 “Action!” Leonard J. Horn Robert Lewin March 4, 1967 22
An Eastern European filmmaker plans to release a film he created to falsely allege an American war crime in Vietnam; the IMF must prove the film to be a fake. Cinnamon Carter receives the recorded instructions in this episode, the only time in the show’s history that someone other than Dan Briggs or Jim Phelps ever received the briefing. The character of Dan Briggs does not appear in the episode.

24 “The Train” Ralph Senensky William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter March 18, 1967 23
The IMF team must simulate a train ride carrying a dying prime minister to a Swiss hospital, to convince the leader that his chosen successor would become an oppressive dictator upon his ascension. Beginning with this episode, appearances by Steven Hill as Dan Briggs were scaled back in preparation for his departure from the series.

25 “Shock” Lee H. Katzin Laurence Heath March 25, 1967 24
When an American envoy is kidnapped and replaced by a disguised agent planning to assassinate a U.S. diplomat, the IMF must stop the assassination and elicit the whereabouts of the real envoy out of the enemy agent. The envoy, the imposter and a disguised Dan Briggs are all played by James Daly, allowing Steven Hill to be absent for most of this episode.

26 “A Cube of Sugar” Joseph Pevney William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter April 1, 1967 25
The IMF meets drug culture as Rollin and Cinammon infiltrate a prison to recover a kidnapped agent as well as a microchip hidden within an LSD-laced sugar cube.

27 “The Traitor” Lee H. Katzin Edward J. Lakso April 15, 1967 26
Eartha Kitt guest stars as a contortionist recruited by Briggs to help discredit an agent who has defected to the enemy.

28 “The Psychic” Charles R. Rondeau William Read Woodfield & Allan Balter April 22, 1967 27
Cinnamon poses as a psychic to convince a tycoon that his life is in danger, leading to a high-stakes poker game against Rollin. This is the final episode in which Steven Hill appears as Dan Briggs.