It took almost five years to make, but James Mangold, director of A Complete Unknown, persisted through the Pandemic and other delays to produce one of the finest movies of the year.  Timothée Chalamet convinced me that he could play Bob Dylan (aka, Bob Zimmerman), a talented unknown from Hibbing, Minnesota who arrives in New York City to make a name for himself. Timothée Chalamet did 35 songs live on camera, including guitar and harmonica work. A recent BBC review called Chalamet “completely believable, better than the film itself.”

Mangold’s expansive Johnny Cash biopic, the 2005 film “Walk the Line,” focused on a much longer storyline. “A Complete Unknown,” based on Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties (2015),  focuses on four critical years in Bob Dylan’s life. The story starts with a 20-year-old Dylan’s arrival in New York City and ends with the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Dylan shocked the crowd with electric instruments and blew up his image as a folk singer. 

Edward Norton is excellent as the intense folk singer, Pete Seeger. Both of the women who played Dylan’s girl friends, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, show more compassion for Dylan than Dylan showed them.

Are you a Bob Dylan fan? GRADE: A

SONG LIST:

• Highway 61 Revisited: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• Mr. Tambourine Man: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• I Was Young When I Left Home: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• Girl From The North Country: Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro
• Silver Dagger: Performed by Monica Barbaro
• A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• Wimoweh (Mbube): Performed by Edward Norton
• House of the Rising Sun: Performed by Monica Barbaro
• Folsom Prison Blues: Performed by Boyd Holbrook
• Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right: Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro
• Masters of War: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• Blowin’ in the Wind: Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro
• Subterranean Homesick Blues: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• Big River: Performed by Boyd Holbrook
• The Times They Are A-Changin’: Performed by Timothée Chalamet
• When the Ship Comes In: Performed by Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton

Andrew Leigh has been a Professor of Economics at the Australian National University and served in the Australian House of Representatives. His How Economics Explains the World is a clear and concise guide to a topic most people don’t understand. Leigh uses examples and stories to make his points. Here’s a good example:

“In 2005, Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald vividly illustrated [economic principles]…by trading his way from a red paperclip to a house. First, he traded his paperclip for a fish-shaped pen. Then he traded the pen of a hand-scrulpted doorknob. Then he traded the doorknob for camp stove. This went on until his fourteenth and final trade: swapping a movie role for a small house. At each step, MacDonald valued the new item more highly than the old item–but he traded with someone who valued the old item more than the new. MacDonald didn’t just get himself a house–he did so through fourteen trades that made another person better off.” (p. 158)

Trade tends to improve the economic state of both parties. That’s why Trump’s plan to impose tariffs (taxes) on trade is a Bad Idea. Some ideas that seem good have Unintended Consequences. You would think shifting from a hunter-gatherer mode to an agricultural society would be an improvement. But, that brings changes:

“The societies that emerged from the agricultural revolution were often highly unstable. During its 500-year history, the Roman Empire had seventy-seven emperors. Half were murdered, and still more died in battle or by suicide. Just one-third of Roman emperors died from natural causes. In one exceptionally brutal eighteen-month period, Nero died by suicide. Galba was murdered. Otho died by suicide and Vitellius was murdered.” (p. 18)

That kind of carnage was unknown in hunter-gatherer societies that were always on the move. Later, more violence sprung up in what we mistakenly consider “civil societies”:

“….[Shakespeare lived] in an age of slavery and superstition. During the 1500s and 1600s, nearly one million people were killed for the crime of witchcraft.” (p. 43)

Without regulation, abuses grow. “Heroin was marketed by Bayer from 1898 to 1910 as an over-the-counter cough suppressant. Cocaine was added to Coca-Cola until the early 1900s. In 1913, one expert claimed that nearly a quarter of the US doctors were addicted to morphine.” (p. 80)

Of course, economists can be colorful characters, too. Take John Maynard Keynes, the originator of Keynesian Economics, for example: “Keynes was a collector of Picassos, Renoirs and Matisses, and an investor who was multimillionaire by today’s standards. He kept diaries of his sexual exploits (with men and women), recording sixty-five encounters in 1909, twenty-six in 1910, thirty-nine in 1911, and so on.” (p. 89)

Ignorance of economic principles is not bliss. “…Mao [Zedong] demanded that people eliminate sparrows, on the basis that they ate grain. The campaign called on people to make so much noise that the sparrows died of exhaustion. Millions of sparrows died, which meant that they were not around to eat the locusts that devoured much of the following year’s crop. Eventually, Mao imported 250,000 sparrows from the Soviet Union to restore the eco-system. Crop losses contributed to a 40% drop in rice and wheat output between 1957 and 1961, and a famine that killed tens of millions.” (p. 118)

Andrew Leigh wrote How Economics Explains the World to help us live a better Life. I think he succeeded! GRADE: A

The Denver Broncos take on the Buffalo Bills in a Wild Card Weekend Playoff game. The weather in Orchard Park is predicted to be benign for this time in January: temps around 30 degrees with only a few flakes of snow. The Bills are 9-point favorites.

Although the Bills are favored, the Broncos have Nothing To Lose. So wily Head Coach Sean Payton probably has a few tricks up his sleeve to disrupt the Bills on Offense and Defense and Special Teams. Remember when Sean Payton pulled a surprise on-side kick in Super Bowl XLIV?

On the plus side, the Bills are relatively healthy and some of the starters were “rested” last week in the meaningless game in New England. Expect a lot of noise at the stadium! What Wildcard Weekend Playoff games are you interested in?

It won’t surprise you to learn that I love Asian food. A few egg rolls and some vegetable fried rice will send me into food ecstasy! When I read some very positive reviews of Hetty McKinnon’s new cookbook, To Asia, With Love, I was immediately interested. When To Asia, With Love arrived, I carefully went through the recipes looking for ones that would fit into my diabetic diet.

I found plenty recipes that looked appealing–the photos of the food will make you hungry!–but I was frustrated by the lack of nutritional information. Many of my favorite cookbooks supply nutritional information which helps me and others with dietary issues to make wise food choices.

So all I can say about To Asia, With Love is that the recipes look delicious, but I’m concerned they may come with a heavy carbohydrate load. GRADE: Inconclusive, but trend towards an A.

The full title of SPECULATIONS 17 (1982) is Stories Written Especially for This Volume By Well-Known Science Fiction Authors, But Their Names are Concealed by a Code and It’s Up to You to Figure Out Who Wrote What.

I’m a sucker for these kinds of gimmick books! Here’s the list of the 17 SF writers who contributed to this volume:

• Isaac Asimov
• Scott Baker
• Alan Dean Foster
• Phyllis Gotlieb
• Zenna Henderson
• Joe L. Hensley
• R. A. Lafferty
• Alice Laurance and William K. Carlson
• Jacqueline Lichtenberg
• Roger Robert Lovin
• Rachel Cosgrove Payes
• Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg
• Mack Reynolds
• Joanna Russ
• Robert Silverberg
• Jack Williamson
• Gene Wolfe

Isaac Asimov writes an insightful introduction explaining the growing popularity of Science Fiction–and this is 1982!–and predicting a bright future for the genre. Asimov also writes story introductions and is careful not to supply any hints as to the identity of the authors. If you’re looking for something fun and different, give SPECULATION 17 a try. (If you GOOGLE Isaac Asimov and SPECULATIONS 17, you’ll get a link to a Wiki page that identifies the writers of the stories without having to crack the Code.) GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Foreword: The Scope of Science Fiction, Isaac Asimov — ix
• Nor Iron Bars a Cage — 1
• Surfeit — 23
• The Winds of Change — 44
• Harpist — 59
• Great Tom Fool, or The Conundrum of the Calais Customhouse Coffers — 75
• The Hand of the Bard — 95
• The Man Who Floated in Time — 111
• Flee to the Mountains — 122
• Last Day — 135
• The Newest Profession — 140
• A Break for the Dinosaurs — 160
• Event at Holiday Rock — 168
• A Touch of Truth — 173
• “Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?” — 182
• …Old…As a Garment — 189
• Flatsquid Thrills — 198
• The Mystery of the Young Gentleman — 205
• Biographies of the Authors — 231
• To Break the Code — 239

Even though we just turned the page on 2024, I’m still living in the Past musically. Lost & Found In the Seventies from 2004 collects a blend of familiar songs–“Lovin’ You,” “Proud Mary,” “You’re No Good,” “American Pie”–with less well known songs. I was surprised that The Hollies were still making the charts with “The Air That I Breathe” in 1974–I always considered them a Sixties group.

Prom Night: This Magic Moment from 2008 includes Rock, Soul, and Pop songs in typical TIME-LIFE fashion. The Big Name groups are here: The Temptations, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Righteous Brothers. There are multiple songs by Brenda Lee, Lesley Gore, and Jay and The Americans. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B (for both)

TRACK LIST:

TRACK LIST:

I’ve been a fan of Bill Pronzini’s writing since the 1960s. I marvel that Pronzini can write westerns with all the quality of his excellent mystery novels. STARK HOUSE just published The Hanging Man & Other Western Stories which collects Bill Pronzini’s best western short stories.

My favorite story in The Hanging Man & Other Western Stories is “Burglarproof,” one of Pronzini’s Quincannon stories featuring a detective hired to solve the theft of a burglarproof safe that contains sacks of gold. Quincannon’s solution is both clever and logical.

I’m also fond of “Decision” where a drifter meets a woman whose husband has abused her. A surprising decision results.

The longest story in this collection is “Crucifixion River” (with Marcia Miller). The story is told by various characters who provide insights into their myriad problems. A man with a past fears he’s been located by a bounty hunter. A young girl yearns to leave her dull rural life and links up with Mister Wrong. A nurse wants to start a new life after disaster befalls her and her marriage. The various plot complications lead to shattering resolutions!

Bill Pronzini’s stories and novels have provided me with 50 years of reading pleasure. When I start reading a book by Pronzini, I’m mesmerized and can’t stop reading until I reach the end. And then, I want more of Bill Pronzini’s stories and fine-crafted words! If you’re looking for a writer who always delivers storytelling excellence and outstanding writing, Bill Pronzini should be your First Choice! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PREFACE — 7

The Hanging man — 11

Markers — 22

Hero — 28

McIntosh’s chute — 33

Decision — 43

All the long years — 49

Burglarproof — 57

The Gunny — 71

Fyfe and the drummers — 76

Wooden Indian — 82

The Gambler — 93

Fear — 101

The Cruel and Deadly Winter — 109

“Give-a-Damn” Jones — 113

Righteous guns — 126

Doc Christmas, Painless Dentist — 130

Not a Lick of Sense — 141

Crucifixion River (with Marcia Miller) — 147

Bibliography — 202

Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen Are Engaged!

Some Good Things happened in 2024. Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen got engaged. Taylor Swift made a couple billion dollars. The U.S. won 126 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions might be headed for the Super Bowl.

But a lot of Bad Things happened in 2024. The Election, the persistence of Covid-19, the deaths of Dame Maggie Smith and James Earl Jones and Donald Sutherland and Quincy Jones, and  a total of 711 people killed and 2,363 people wounded in 585 shootings in the USA.

Despite the storm clouds on the horizon, It will be the wit and wisdom of  Patti, Jeff, Deb, Rich, Beth, Todd, Art, Willam, Maggie, Bob, Tracy, Carl, Lauren, Steve, Jerry, Wolf, Stan, Dan, Neeru, Michael, Byron, Elgin, Angela, Scott, Jim, John, Kevin, Randy, James, Kent, Fred, and Matthew as well as all of you who make this blog a part of your day that will help us all get through this mess.

Thank you, thank you very much.

“A book to me is like a friend, a shelter, advice, an argument with someone who cares enough to argue with me for a better answer than the one we both already have. Books aren’t just door to another world–each book is part of a door to the whole world, a door that always has more behind it. Which is why I still can’t think of anything I’d rather do more than read.” — Alexander Chee

I decided to start the New Year by reading Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I made this selection amid the dozens of books in stacks clamoring for my attention. I had DVRed the PBS series of Moonflower Murders and decided I wanted to read the book before I watched the series. Diane and I had watched the PBS version of Magpie Murders (you can read my review here), based on the first novel in the Susan Ryeland series.  Lesley Manville played Susan Ryeland, an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript of author Alan Conway’s latest novel…a key factor in a murder. We enjoyed the six-part series so when Moonflower Murders showed up on PBS, I decided to read the novel before watching the TV series.

What are you reading to start 2025?

The 13-3 Buffalo Bills travel to New England to take on the 3-13 Patriots. The Bills are 3-point favorites since the Bills are “resting” Josh Allen and other starters who will only make a brief appearance in this game before the Second String players take over in what is essentially a Pre-Season Game for the Bills. The Bills own the Number 2 seed in the AFC Playoffs, win or lose.

As of now, the Patriots hold the Number One slot in the NFL Draft. Should the Patriots win this game, they might lose that position. How hard will the Patriots play? And, who will they play in this game? Will they risk injury to QB Drake Maye in a meaningless game?

How will your favorite NFL team perform today?