Bernard Cornwell adds another volume to the saga of Uhtred, the reluctant ally of King Alfred of Wessex. Set in the Ninth Century, Uhtred battles against the forces of savage Dane, Harald Bloodhair. He’s called “Bloodhair” because before a battle, he kills horse, slices open its stomach, and plunges his head into the bloody mess. This ritual tends to demoralize “Bloodhair’s” opponents. Warfare tended to be a brutal affair, but Uhtred is such a successful warrior because he has mastered the strategies of this type of fighting. The Burning Land is the 5th volume in Cornwell’s Saxon series. I’ve read and enjoyed all of these books. If you enjoy great historical adventures, I highly recommend this series. GRADE: A-

Roger Ebert appeared on OPRAH and showed us what real courage is. For those of you who just beamed down from Saturn, Ebert had thyroid cancer which spread. After numerous surgeries, Ebert now is cancer-free, but the price was enormous: Ebert can’t eat, drink, or talk. However, a computer firm in Scotland is working on a voice system that will reproduce Roger Ebert’s original voice based on Ebert’s recorded commentary on famous movies. Ebert demonstrated this new/old voice by typing words into his laptop and the speech program faithfully produced Ebert’s voice. Yes, it was a bit crude, but I was amazed the technology had come that far. Ebert’s wife, Chaz, impressed me with her dedication and love for husband. What a caring spouse! Ebert announced his OSCAR picks: BEST ACTOR, Jeff Bridges; BEST ACTRESS, Sandra Bullock; BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Mo’Nique; BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Christoph Waltz; BEST PICTURE, The Hurt Locker; BEST DIRECTOR, Kathyrn Bigelow.

If you’d like to read a moving memoir about Roger Ebert, click here.  Thanks to Art Scott for this link.

The reclusive Romanian-born pianist, Radu Lupu, played a brilliant program for an enthusiastic audience at the Ramsi Tick Concert Series. Lupu opened with Janacek’s “In the Mist.” Very atmospheric. Then Lupu tackled the stormy “Appassionata” Sonata by Beethoven. After the Intermission, Lupu closed with Schubert’s sublime Sonata in B-flat, D. 960. If Radu Lupu is performing in your area, you should go listen to his wonderful piano playing! Or pick up one of Lupu’s fine recordings.

Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a middle-aged, burned-out Country & Western singer who smokes too much and drinks too much. After playing a gig at a bowling alley, Bad meets a young reporter who wants to interview him, played by sexy Maggie Gyllenhaal. You know what happens next: they fall in love. I was reminded of Tender Mercies where Robert Duvall, who appears in this film, played another burned-out Country & Western singer. Crazy Heart is a darker movie. Jeff Bridges will probably win an Oscar for Best Actor for this outstanding performance. GRADE: B+

Today, at 3 P.M. EDT, everything will stop in Canada. That’s when they’ll drop the puck for the Gold Medal game between Team USA and Team Canada. A week ago, the USA pulled an enormous upset, beating the Canadians 5-3. The U. S. Men’s Hockey Team hadn’t beaten Canada in the Olympics since 1960…50 years ago! Well, here we go again: the heavily favored Canadian team, yearning to avenge their loss of last week, will be skating as if they’re wearing jets. Ryan Miller, Team USA’s gritty goaltender, turned away 42 of 45 shots the last time these teams played. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Canadians fired over 50 shots at Miller today. If Team USA wins today, it will be as unlikely a win as the 1980 upset of the mighty Russians.

Dostoevsky is best known for his great novels The Idiot, Crime & Punishment, Devils, and The Brothers Karamazov but he also wrote short stories. This collection features three stories, “A Gentle Creature,” “White Nights,” and “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man.” Dostoevsky explores the inner lives of shy people, dreamers, and intellectuals living in a brutal society. Loneliness and estrangement from community are Dostoevsky’s constant themes. This edition is a modern translation by Alan Myers with an Introduction and useful notes by W. J. Leatherbarrow. If you’re interested in Dostoevsky’s short fiction, this is a good place to start.

(This completes the February 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge.  I will read and review one short story collection per month in 2010.  To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.

In 1954, Galaxy and Simon & Schuster ran a contest inviting science fiction readers to write a novel. The winning novel would be serialized in Galaxy and then published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster. Well, a year went by and the editors at Galaxy and Simon & Schuster determined that none of submitted novels were worth publishing. They approached Lester del Rey and Frederik Pohl to write an acceptable “winning” entry. That’s how Preferred Risk by the pseudonymous “Edson McCann” came to be published. It’s the story of a future world run by The Company, an insurance agency. If you’ve read any of the C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl sociological SF novels like Gladiator-at-Law where the world is run by law firms, you’ll know what you’re in for. Preferred Risk doesn’t compare with classics like The Space Merchants, where advertising agencies run the world, but I found reading it great nostalgic fun. And, I love the wrap-around Richard Powers’ cover!

Everybody knows about Phil Spector and his “Wall of Sound” but Spector had a lot of help from Jack Nitzsche who was a key arranger and conductor. Nitzsche’s career spanned decades, but I think he did his best work in the Sixties. He worked with dozens of groups like the Righteous Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse, the Crystals, the Rolling Stones, and the Everly Brothers. The Lonely Surfer is an oddity in the Jack Nitzsche oeuvre. It’s an instrumental album from 1963. Later in his career, Nitzsche wrote film music for several movies including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and An Officer and A Gentleman. That film music owes a debt to “The Lonely Surfer.” To listen to “The Lonely Surfer” just click here.
Track list:
1. The Lonely Surfer (Album Version) 2:35
2. Puerto Vallarta (LP Version) 2:30
3. Stranger On The Shore (LP Version) 2:09
4. Theme From Women Of The World (LP Version) 2:56
5. Old Town (LP Version) 2:53
6. Ebb Tide (LP Version) 2:18
7. Theme From Mondo Cane (More) (LP Version) 3:08
8. The Magnificent Seven (LP Version) 2:10
9. Baja (LP Version) 2:20
10. Theme For A Broken Heart (LP Version) 2:49
11. Beyond The Surf (LP Version) 2:16
12. Da Doo Ron Ron (LP Version)

When I was kid back in 1955-1956, I wanted to be Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp was played by Hugh O’Brian who, like George Cooney today, radiated intelligence and class. AMAZON wants $32.49 for this set. I found it at BJ’s WAREHOUSE for $16.99! That’s for 35 half-hour episodes (on 4 DVDs)! Guest stars included Angie Dickinson, Mike Connors, John Carradine, James Coburn, and Louise Fletcher. Wyatt Earp was made when Hollywood still knew how to make Westerns. If you want to listen to the Wyatt Earp Theme Song, click here.

Amy Bloom writes stories in a sassy style that explore dysfunctional relationships. Like when a stepmother has sex with her step-son after her husband dies. Or two couples who break into an adulterous couple and a clueless couple. Clearly, there’s a market for this kind of fiction. Amy Bloom is an accomplished writer who handles her characters with confidence as their lives disintegrate. Raymond Carver and Bobbie Ann Mason wrote these kinds of stories too, but they usually deal with folks lower on the socio-economic spectrum. Bloom prefers middle-class Baby Boomers. If these kinds of domestic destruction stories appeal to you, you’ll like Where the God of Love Hangs Out. GRADE: B-