I’m always looking for good tasting snacks with moderate carbohydrates. I was in Sam’s Club last week and walked by a kiosk where a little old lady was handing out free samples of Triple Berry Nut Trail Mix.

So I tried the “Tasty Blend of Dried Cranberries, Rick Dark Chocolate, Almonds, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cherries, and Cashews.” Yummy!

I like all the ingredients in this mix. The price was right so I bought a bag and enjoy this healthy snack. Do you like trail mix? What’s your favorite snack? GRADE: B+

Check out the cast of Unfrosted:

• Jerry Seinfeld: Plays Bob Cabana and also directed and co-wrote the film
• Melissa McCarthy: Plays Donna “Stan” Stankowski
• Jim Gaffigan: Plays Edsel Kellogg III
• Amy Schumer: Plays Marjorie Post
• Hugh Grant: Plays Thurl Ravenscroft as Tony the Tiger
• James Marsden: Plays Jack LaLanne
• Thomas Lennon: Plays Harold von Braunhut
• Jack McBrayer: Plays Steve Schwinn
• Bobby Moynihan: Plays Chef Boyardee
• Bill Burr: Plays President John F. Kennedy
• Christian Slater: Plays Mike Diamond

Other cast members include Max Greenfield, Fred Armisen, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, and Drew Tarver. Plus a number of surprise celebrity cameos!

Jerry Seinfeld wrote and directed this story of the origin of the Pop Tart. It’s silly and weird! Be prepared for a wacky ride if you decided to watch this strange movie. GRADE: B

For 30 years or so, I’ve seen books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child in Book Sales and on remainder tables. I have never bought one of their many books nor read their work…until I read the first review of their books that I’d ever seen.

The brilliant David Vineyard, who contributes frequently to Steve Lewis’s excellent blog, Mystery*File, wrote a review of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Dr. Leng–the 21st book in the Special Agent Pendergast series. Not only did the review highlight elements that intrigued me, David’s comment to me gave me direction and motivation:

1. David L Vineyard Says:
   March 25th, 2024 at 1:50 p.m. My personal reading recommendation for this long series would be to start with RELIC (and its sequel RELIQUARY), and then jump to the Diogenes and Helen trilogies that fill in a great deal of Pendergast’s intriguing history. BRIMSTONE, featuring Count Fosco as a villain, is far and away my favorite among the books, I was always a fan of the boys, loving books like ICE LIMIT and RIPTIDE, but the Pendergast saga has really grown on me.The books are a saga, and you could easily read them in order, but it isn’t necessary in order to enjoy them. Other stand outs in the series are THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, STILL LIFE WITH CROWS, THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS, CEMETARY DANCE, THE OBSIDIAN CHAMBER, and VERSES FOR THE DEAD. The Diogenes Trilogy consists of BRIMSTONE, DANCE OF DEATH, and BOOK OF THE DEAD. The Helen Trilogy: FEVER DREAM, COLD VENGANCE, and TWO GRAVES. There really hasn’t been anything quite like this since the 19th Century French feullitons, newspaper serials like the works of Dumas and Hugo, but also Ponson Du Terrail’s Rocambole saga, Paul Feval’s the Black Coats saga, or Jean de la Hire’s tales of the Nyctalope.

How could I resist after reading that comment! I immediately visited my favorite used bookstores and found Relic (1995) and Reliquary (1997). A couple days later, I finished both books and happily agree with David Vineyard on the Pendergast Saga. Pendergast–in the first two books of the series–casts an enigmatic shadow on the investigations. In Relic, Pendergast shows up on page 78; in Reliquary, he shows up on page 108. Events are in motion when Pendergast appears unbidden to assist in the mysteries.

The action in Relic takes place mostly in the New York Museum of Natural History as visitor are being savagely murdered. The police are confused by these seemingly random killings. Museum researcher Margo Green uses her scientific expertise to point Pendergast towards a bizarre explanation for the dead bodies. GRADE: B+

The action gets ramped up in the sequel to Relic, Reliquary. Margo Green is again involved in a series of savagely murdered victims. The trail leads to the warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries beneath Manhattan where thousands of homeless people live. But something new and deadly has been added to the underground societies. Lieutenant D’Agosta, Pendergast, and Green again face danger as a massive catastrophic event is about to occur. GRADE: B+

I’m currently tracking down the other books in the Pendergast series!

There’s plenty to debate in considering the rankings (and album choices) on Apple Music’s latest list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time. How can Frank Ocean’s Blonde rank higher than Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde? Only one Rolling Stones album? Taylor Swift’s 1989 ranking higher than Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run? Radiohead’s OK Computer higher than Carole King’s Tapestry?

Clearly, Apple Music’s staff generated a list of albums to create controversy and increased traffic on their music website. Do you agree with these goofy Apple Music choices and rankings? Is your favorite album included in this list?

Steven Erikson, best known for the fantasy series The Malazan Book of the Fallen, has also written a number of novellas set in the Malazan world like The Fiends of Nightmare (2016). Necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach were minor characters in Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, only appearing in Memories of Ice. But fans loved the dark humor of the necromancers and Erikson responded by writing novellas about them for the past 20 years.

“Aye, sir, sly as a fox you are, that’s for sure.”

“I am not sure, Mister Reese, if I like the comparison. Foxes are often the prey of frenzied packs of dogs let loose by the inbred classes, after all. I do not see myself as the object of such sport.” (p. 85)

That’s snippet of conversation between Bauchelain and Emancipor Reese who is the necromancers’ aging manservant. He frequently uses drugs and alcohol to numb his mind to the bizarre acts he witnessed working for the deadly duo. 

In this 100 page novella, the story takes place in the dismal kingdom of Farooq. The King has been murdered and on the throne now sits Bauchalain, with Korbal Broach acting as the Grand Bishop, terrorizing the peasants. Since becoming a self-professed tyrant monarch, Bauchalain has emptied the Treasury. All actors and musicians have been arrested for their crimes against humanity. To distract the populous from the rampant corruption and increasing violence, Bauchalain declares war against the border state of Nightmaria, land of solitary lizard-people.

Bauchalain summons demons and the chaos is complete.

I have to be in the mood for these dark fantasy comedies with their wild action and headless corpses running amok. But, when I am in the mood for dark magic and dark deeds, these Bauchelian and Korbel Broach novellas are Guilty Pleasure. GRADE: B

Bauchelain and Korbal Broach series:
   1. Blood Follows (2002)
   2. The Healthy Dead (2004)
   3. The Lees of Laughter’s End (2007)
   Bauchelain and Korbal Broach (2007)
   4. Crack’d Pot Trail (2009)
   5. The Wurms of Blearmouth (2012)
   6. The Fiends of Nightmaria (2021)
   Upon A Dark of Evil Overlords (2021)

The pluses of Atlas: Jennifer Lopez–a brilliant data analyst) takes on a rogue Artificial Intelligence who wants to cleanse the Earth of humans. The action sequences fill the screen with explosions and excitement–AIs are hard to put down.

The minuses of Atlas: the rogue AI leaves Earth and heads to the Andromeda galaxy. Why so far away? Earth sends J. Lo, a bunch of military rangers in battlebots, and some snarky AIs of their own to fight the rogue AI. It doesn’t not go well for the earthlings.

J. Lo presents a compelling presence as an expert on AI and a Cassandra who warns the military about the destruction they face. She’s also a great fighter in her battlebot. But the movie bogs down as J. Lo and her AI (named “Smith”) have some heart-to-heart conversations.

If you’re in the mood for some vivid action sequences and battles on an alien planet in a galaxy far, far away, check out Atlas. GRADE: B-

“Doctor Strange: Dimension War is based on the original comics by Stan “The Man” Lee, “Sturdy” Steve Ditto and “Rascally ” Roy Thomas, as featured in Strange Tales #110-111 and #114-146, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2.“

I actually read those old Doctor Strange comic books back in the early 1960s (but not the Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2). The story of Stephen Strange, gifted but egotistical surgeon, losing his abilities and turning to the magical and mystical Ancient One for answers resonated with the pre-teen me back then.

Now, James Lovegrove (whose Sherlock Holmes pastiche series I’ve enjoyed here, here, here, here, here, and here) brings the adventures of Doctor Strange from the comic books to a full-length novel.  Baron Mordo, Nightmare, and Dormammu–Doctor Strange’s most deadly adversaries–constantly plot to defeat the defender of humanity with the arcane magic threats that powerful entities seek to deploy.

If you’re a Doctor Strange fan, you’ll enjoy Lovegrove’s retelling of these classic comic book stories. If you’re a casual fan, there’s enough magic and excitement in this book to keep the pages turning quickly! GRADE: B+

Nine years ago, Mad Max: Fury Road set high standard for the pure action Summer Movie and won six Oscars for its incredible look and sound (you can read my review here). Now, after being delayed by the Pandemic, the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road showed up at my local AMC Theater and I watched it.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a curious movie. The star, Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays a younger version of Fuuriosa in this film, doesn’t show up until after the first hour. Alyla Browne plays the 10-year-old Furiosa who is kidnapped from her village and “adopted” by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor). I like how Mark Kennedy of the Assoicated Press characterized Hemsworth’s role: “Hemsworth wears fingerless gloves, a codpiece, leather pants, a sleeveless leather vest and flowing hair, like he was a member of Motley Crue circa 1983.”

Although Hemsworth lacks the powers of Thor in this film, he’s a badass with hundreds of motorcycle psychos willing to commit mayhem at his command. The best part of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga are the incredible battles. The worst parts of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga are merciless torture scenes and cruelty of the post-apocalyptic world. Not a lot of dialogue in this movie, I doubt if Anya Taylor-Joy says 100 words. But, if you’re looking for an action movie with breath-taking stunts, give Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a look. GRADE: B

MAD MAX MOVIE SERIES:

FILM RELEASE DATE DIRECTOR SCREENWRITERS STORY BY PRODUCED BY

Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by  Robert Louis Stevenson. It was marketed as a boys’ novel to the same audience as Treasure Island attracted. Kidnapped was serialized in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886. The hardcover novel was published later in 1886. It was acclaimed by Henry James as Robert Louis Stevenson’s best novel.

Narrated by 17-year-old David Balfour, the young lad is plunged into penniless peril on Page One! Balfour’s parents have recently died and he is given a letter by a family friend, a minister of Essendean named Mr. Campbell, to be delivered to his family’s ancestral estate, the House of Shaws in Cramond. Balfour hopes that the letter will allow him to obtain financial assistance from his only living relative – his uncle Ebenezer, a man he has never met.

Tricked by this wicked uncle who has stolen his inheritance, young David Balfour is then kidnapped and bound for danger in America. That plan blows up when the the ship, The Covenant, David Balfour is on runs into trouble. Fog-bound near the Hebrides, the ship strikes a small boat. All of the small boat’s crew are killed except one man, Alan Breck Stewart, who is brought on board and offers Captain Hoseason a large sum of money to drop him off on the mainland. Belfour later overhears the crew plotting to kill Stewart instead.

Belfour and Stewart barricade themselves in the roundhouse, where Stewart kills a murderous helmsman and Belfour wounds the Captain. Stewart then kills five more men and intimidates the remaining crew into surrender. The Covenant tries to negotiate a difficult channel without a proper chart or pilot and is soon driven aground on the notorious Torran Rocks. Belfour and Stewart are separated in the crash, with Belfour being washed ashore on the isle of Erraid, near Mull, while Stewart and the surviving crew row to safety on that same island.

Belfour and Stewart meet up and a strange and difficult friendship is results with Stewart committing to helping Belfour to gain his legitimate inheritance. Stewart, however, also seeks vengeance.

If you’re in the mood for High Adventure in the classic mode, give Kidnapped a try! GRADE: A

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