The Ravens have had success against the Patriots in the Playoffs, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this year. Tom Brady has offensive weapons and a good defense this time around. I think the Patriots will cover the 7-point spread. In the second game, Panthers vs. Seahawks, the Seahawks are favored by an eye-popping 11 points! I actually think the Seahawks are good enough to cover the spread, too. What do you think?

Stark House has been publishing some great omnibus volumes during the past couple of years. Sax Rohmer’s Batwing/Fire-Tongue is a perfect example of this. Back in the 1960s, I read Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels published by Pyramid. Plenty of action and secret cults and criminal master minds. I had copies of Batwing and Fire-Tongue but never got around to reading them. When Stark House published this omnibus volume a few months ago, I bought it and finally got around to reading it. Batwing is the better book. Paul Harley, a “consultant,” is hired by a wealthy Cuban who fears he will be assassinated. Harley fails in preventing the assassination, but launches an investigation to find out who killed his client. The plot is twisty and clever. Fire-Tongue features Paul Harley investigating the murder of a friend who many have been killed by a secret cult. Fire-Tongue reminded me of those Fu Manchu adventures. Both books are fun reading if you’re in the mood for some mystery and adventure.

Starting off 2015, I went in to Quest Diagnostics for my yearly PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) blood test. Within a day, I had my results: 1.1. My urologist was delighted. Over the past 15 years or so my PSA has hovered around 1.0. Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. My secret: pizza. The lycopene in the pizza sauce protects the prostate. I also like ginger which recent studies say also is good for a healthy prostate. If you’re a guy 50 or older or you care about someone in that age range, I strongly recommend the PSA. Early detection of problems is a key factor. And, then there’s the relief when you find out you’ve scored well on the PSA test.

I’m a sucker for books like A Lifetime of Fiction: The 500 Recommended Books for Ages 2 to 102. William Patrick Martin used librarian book lists, book awards, best book reading lists, and book reviews to generated these lists. This is a great resource for parents looking for good books to have their children read. You’ll find plenty of familiar books here, but some surprise titles, too. Well worth a look! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Prescoolers (Ages 2-5)
2. Early Readers (Ages 4-8)
3. Middle Readers (Ages 9-12)
4. Young Adults (Ages 13-17)
5. Adults (Ages 18+)
6. Special Interests
7. 27 Writers You Should Know

Agent Carter is a retro-Marvel series. Tonight’s 2-hour episode introduces Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter who becomes an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. during World War II. Typical action-packed adventure results. Plenty of Nazi bashing. There are only 8 episodes in this mini-series. Will this lead to a full-fledged series? We’ll have to wait and see. But, if you’re looking for a way to enter the Marvel Universe, Agent Carter might be the way to go.

The new movie version of Into the Woods is based on the Broadway play. It’s full of stars: Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emiliy Blunt, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski, Tracey Ullman, and many others. The plot is a mash-up of fairy tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Bean Stalk. I always thought the musical possessed a core of darkness and this movie version contains a bit of that. The problem many people might have is the music by Stephen Sondheim. A surprising number of people loath his music (Bruce Taylor for one). The soundtrack to the movie is also available. I liked Into the Wodos but you may not. GRADE: B+

Although the Colts crushed the Bengals 27-0 on October 19, the Bengals found a way to make it into the Playoffs as a Wild Card team. Now the Bengals seek to oust the Colts and extract some revenge for that beat-down. I would take the Bengals and the 6-points. The Dallas Cowboys need to beat the Detroit Lions or this season will be considered a failure. Tony Romo had his best year, but his Playoff performances have been disappointing. The 7-point spread may make the Lions attractive, but I’m going to cast my fate with the Cowboys. They are overdue for a big Playoff win. What do you think?

Both of these Playoff games have mystifying aspects. Can Arizona (a 4-point underdog) surprise the suddenly hot Carolina Panthers? If the Steelers’ outstanding running back Le’Veon Bell can’t play because of an injury, will that tip the balance to the Ravens (3-point underdogs)? I would love to see Arizona confound Vegas and win against Cam Newton and the swaggering Panthers. And I would love to see the Ravens, who needed “help” to get into the Playoffs, shock the Steelers. But, my head says take the Panthers and the Steelers and lay the points. What do you think?

“Marshall Jevons” is the pseudonym of two economics professors: William L. Breit (Trinity University) and Kenneth G. Elzinga (University of Virginia). Their amateur sleuth, Henry Spearman, is a Harvard University economics professor (modeled on Milton Friedman). Spearman solves murders by using economic principles. For example, in the first book in the series–Murder at the Margin (1978)–Spearman solves a series of murders (a retired General and a sitting Supreme Court Justice) with a couple economic principles like the Prisoner’s Dilemma. My favorite mystery in this series is The Fatal Equilibrium (1985) where an associate professor at Harvard is murdered because of his attempts at securing an academic promotion. Concepts like “opportunity costs” and “marginal utility maximization” come into play. The Fatal Equilibrium became the first mystery novel to be published by a university press (MIT). The third book in the Henry Spearman series, The Deadly Indifference (1995) involves real estate and academic history.

William Breit died in 2011, but his writing partner just published The Mystery of the Invisible Hand (2014) where Henry Spearman unravels the death of an artist. Yes, these books are a bit gimmicky. But the economics behind the plots is sound and I found them entertaining. You might, too.