Diane and I will probably be the only people watching the 2-hour series finale of SMASH on NBC tonight. The premise of the series was to follow the process of taking a concept (the story of Marilyn Monroe done as a musical) to the Broadway stage. The series included plenty of music (good) and plenty of soap opera elements (bad). Diane and I try to support musical dramas by buying tickets to plays and watching the programs when they rarely show up on TV. I suspect there just isn’t a large audience for this kind of entertainment.

While SMASH comes to an end, Longmire with the brilliant Robert Taylor starts Season Two. When I pointed out to Bill Crider the unlikely number of murders in rural Wyoming that Longmire investigates each week, Bill said, “Look at all the murders Jessica Fletcher investigated in Cabot Cove.” Bill’s right, of course. Longmire returns on A&E at 10 P.M. EDT. Check your local listings for times in your area.

While recovering from my two total knee replacement surgeries, I took 800mg Motrin tablets. While the Motrin reduced the inflammation in my legs they tended to upset my stomach. One of the things that settled my stomach was ginger. I tried several brands of ginger and found Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks to be my favorite. Too many of the other gingers I tried were rubbery or mushy or rock-hard. Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks taste great, fresh and chewy. I pay $4.99 for a 5.5 ounce bag which is about a medium price point for this product. Woodstock Organic Ginger Chunks are available at most health food stores and online here. If you’re having any digestive problems, this ginger may help. It certainly helped me.

In the March issue of Mystery Scene magazine, Ed Gorman wrote an article on “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” And here’s the list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

This week, we’re up to Number Three: Deadly Welcome. This novel from 1959 features a State Department operative, Alex Doyle, who’s loaned to the Pentagon for a domestic mission. Doyle has to convince a key scientist whose wife has been murdered to return to the lab. But, in order to accomplish his mission, Doyle has to solve the murder. There’s a sociopath, a hidden treasure, the patented JDM romance, and a violent conclusion. I love it that JDM can put so much story into 160 pages!

While Patrick was home visiting us this week, he installed Microsoft Office 2013 on my DELL computer. I’ve been using Microsoft Office since the beginning. But now, this new version features “The Cloud.” My usual approach–since I’m a text-based Old School guy–involves going through a software manual to learn about the new features in upgraded software. My College is converting from WINDOWS 7 and OFFICE 2010 to WINDOWS 8 and OFFICE 2013 this FALL Semester. So I’ll be spending the Summer learning these two programs. Friends had recommended Katherine Murray’s Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Plain & Simple. I found it easy to use and detailed in sections I was most interested in. If you’re going to use Microsoft Office 2013, I recommend this useful manual. GRADE: B+

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Michael Moss paints a grim portrait of our food industries in Salt, Sugar, Fat. Food scientists calculate a food’s “bliss point” so those who eat the product want to eat more. In fact, manipulating salt, sugar, and fat generates billions in profits (and a trillion dollars in sales) for General Mills, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Frito-Lay, Nestle, Cargil, and Pillsbury. The downside of all this food processing is that one in three U. S. adults are obese. Over 26 million Americans have diabetes (and that number is growing fast). What most impressed me about Moss’s book is the story of the research that goes into creating a new food product. Nutrition is an afterthought. The goal is for the consumer to EAT MORE. Salt, Sugar, Fat shows the nation’s health crisis will worsen. This is an important book! GRADE: A

Star Trek Into Darkness continues the J. J. Abrams “reboot” of the classic SF series. In the first new Star Trek movie, Abrams played around with that universe and came up with an innovative solution to making the series “new.” Now, in the second movie, the crew of the Enterprise battles an old enemy (at least in Star Trek universe terms). Frankly, I thought Star Trek Into Darkness is inferior to the first film. There are some glaring problems. Are there only two Star Fleet starships? That’s all we see. Where are Earth’s defenses? . Benedict Cumberbatch, the villain, needed a bigger part. I’m hoping he returns in a future Star Trek movie. Star Trek Into Darkness is what it is: a noisy, action-packed Summer blockbuster. GRADE: B+

Everyone admits that World War I was an “accidental” war. Like a set of dominoes, country after country fell into the conflict whether they wanted to or not. Christopher Clark’s magnificent history of World War I, The Sleepwalkers, vividly shows how governments can be as stupid as people and make horrifically Bad Choices. Clark’s detailed portrayal of the step-by-step lunacy that lead to one of the deadliest wars in history will fascinate and chill every reader. How could those political leaders and governments and military heads get sucked into such a disaster? The Sleepwalkers proves it was easy. GRADE: A

If you’re a fan of Frank Zappa’s orchestral works, or the best of King Crimson, or Pink Floyd you’ll probably enjoy Jaga Jazzist’s blend of jazz and orchestra music. Jaga Jazzist is a group from Norway. On this new CD, they work with England’s Britten Symphonia to produce some unusual music. Check out the sample below.

I’m sure many of you thought you’d be reading a review of Star Trek Into Darkness, but no…we are in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University for Patrick’s graduation. There are three ceremonies: the PhD hooding ceremony (where Patrick officially becomes Dr. Kelley, Version 2.0), tomorrow’s university-wide graduation, and the Computer Science Department’s ceremony. We’re also attending a brunch at Patrick’s dissertation Co-Chair’s home. Diane, Katie, and I are extremely proud of Patrick’s accomplishments. Anyone who’s been through a doctoral program knows how much work is involved. Congratulations, Patrick!

Our best wishes go out to Ed Gorman for a quick recovery. In the March issue of Mystery Scene magazine, Ed wrote an article on “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” And here’s the list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

This week, we’re up to Number Four: Murder in the Wind (aka, Hurricane). In this 1956 thriller, John D. MacDonald employs one of his patented plot devices–throw some troubled characters together and threaten them with an outside force. JDM comes up with a major hurricane that forces 13 (unlucky number!) people traveling in the storm to hunker down in an abandoned old house. The hurricane, a murder, and the tension among the strangers makes Murder in the Wind one of JDM’s most suspenseful novels.