A Musical Interlude - Six Degrees of Separation.... Sort of..

Jo and I were relaxing this afternoon; I was doing some ironing and she was playing solitaire and listening to music. I heard one of the songs and it sounded familiar. When I asked who it was by, she told me it was a song I'd recommended to her. This was it - Canadian singer, Mac Demarco - On the Level. She asked me where I'd heard of the song. I got my handy dandy little music book out, the one where I add songs I want to put on my USB. It turned out that I got it from a BBC Radio 2 show hosted by one, Nemone. I also had 3 other songs from that particular show.

Nemone Metaxas

Of course, this started one of those conversations that Jo and I often have. I got Jo to try the other three songs from that particular show, Ivy Lab's Stars, KDA - NYC, and Groove Armada's - I'll Be Searchin'. It turned out that Nemone, born Nemone Metaxas, was at one time a singer and saxophonist in a funk band that also included a certain Tom Findlay who went on to form Groove Armada.

For Jo, the Ivy Lab song reminded her of Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot. I can hear what she means. There may have been some sampling going on. Either way they are both great songs. I particularly like the video of Sweet Like Chocolate.

As we continued our musical discussion, we wandered from Groove Armada to that Canadian group that I recalled that had a song about washing your face in my sink.... Ah yes, said my wife, you mean Dream Warriors, a Toronto band that ran from 1988 - 2002. The particular song was Wash Your Face in My Sink.. They never had any big hits in Canada, but Jo told me, Wash your Face reached #16 in the UK. Their big hit, however was My Definition of Boombastic Jazz Style.

Of course when we reached this song our Six Degrees of Separation really caught fire. It turns out that the Dream Warriors song sampled a song from jazz meister Quincy Jones from 1962, Soul Bossa Nova in his album (yes that's what we had back then, albums.. .LP's.. records.. ) Big Band Bossa Nova.

This song has been used and sampled many, many times over the years. Probably the most famous incarnation was in a certain movie by another Canadian, Michael Myers, Austin Powers. Do you remember this?

The final look at the Soul Bossa Nova came from another Canadian performer, jazz singer Emilie-Claire Barlow. She did an interesting version combining Quincey Jones's Soul Bossa Nova with Sonny Bono's The Beat Goes On. It's quite excellent, as Jo described it as smooth peanut butter for the soul. This is her version of The Beat Goes On. For Canadians of a certain age (my age that is), Emilie is the grand-daughter of The Friendly Giant. Cool, eh?

Anyway, there is your musical interlude for a week in October. Hope you enjoyed it.

Coronation Street - Some Thoughts

Wow!.. Before I get into my post, just wanted to say, Wow! I'm pessimistic that anything will come of it, but Nancy Pelosi just announced that the various committees in the House of Representatives who are investigating 'the F***wit' what is in charge of the US, will now all fall under the Impeachment umbrella. We'll see what happens, but good on you, Nancy. It's about time.

OK, enough of that. That wasn't the reason I wanted to make this BLog entry. So... This morning Jo and I were enjoying an old episode of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. The series starred Patricia Routledge (of Keeping Up Appearances fame) and Dominic Monaghan (AKA Merry of Lord of the Rings and also Charlie Pace of Lost). The series featured Routledge as a private detective and Monaghan as her assistant. It ran for 4 seasons from 1996 - 1998. It's a most enjoyable series. Anyway, this isn't the point of my BLog entry either. 😛

As we normally do when we're watching TV, we spent lots of time identifying various of the guest stars. I think we get as much enjoyment out of doing that as we do actually watching the show. I think I've always liked doing that. I remember one time when I was visiting with my Aunt Lorreine. We were watching various movies on TV and as each one started we'd identify everyone in it even before the credits came up. Lots of fun.

So while Jo and I were entertaining ourselves as we watched this particular episode, Episode 4 of Season 1 specifically, we noticed a few characters who had also been on Coronation Street. Specifically, they were Nigel Pivaro who played Terry Duckworth in approximately 250 episodes of the Street and Sally Ann Matthews who played Jenny Bradley / Jenny Cooper for almost 700 episodes.

So that's the point of my entry here. Talking about these characters, Jo and I started going through the early relationships on Corrie; Len Fairclough and Rita of the Cabin, Uncle Albert who lived with Ken Barlow and Deidre (or more correctly who let them live with him), etc. It just got me thinking about how much I had enjoyed watching the series back in the '80s.

Coronation Street has run since 1960. I don't know how long it's been shown in Canada. I'll assume pretty well from the beginning but I can't verify that. I do know that I discovered it when I moved to Ottawa in either 1981 or 1982. (Let me just say that my memories on this might not be totally accurate but please bear with me).

On CBC it was usually about 3 months behind what was being shown in the UK. It was on daily, Mon - Fri, usually around 4 pm, later it moved to 7 pm. When I discovered it, CBC also showed it as an omnibus edition Sunday mornings. It was really a fluke that I discovered it. It was one of those mornings, I guess, when I was relaxing at home with my morning coffee and I presume the family were still asleep. I remember turning it on and just wondering what the heck the show was and what was going on.

Annie Walker

Those were the days when the Rovers Return was run by Annie Walker. I think Fred Gee and Bette Lynch worked behind the bar and Hilda Ogden was the cleaner. Life centered around the Rovers Return and there were so many interesting characters; Elsie Tanner (very sexy), Rita, Ken and Deidre Barlow, Hilda and Stan Ogden, etc. The show just hooked me and it wasn't long before I began to understand what was going on and who each person was. It was so different from any other soap opera I had watched. And I'd been hooked on General Hospital, All My Children and One Life to Live during my university years (hence my great marks.)

Eddie Yeats

It didn't take long before I had some favorite characters. Eddie Yeats was one of the bin men and such a nice guy. Later on Curly Watts was his partner. I think I could relate to Curly, always unassuming and no matter how successful he became, he couldn't get a girl. Darn you, Raquel!!

Corrie became my Sunday morning ritual while I was in Ottawa the first time. Imagine my joy when one of my co-workers, an American sub-mariner who was seconded to our section as an exchange officer, Russell was his name, got hooked on the show as well. That was how we would spend our Monday morning coffee break; sitting down in the coffee room discussing the Sunday omnibus. Pathetic, eh? We were both hooked.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. Firstly, Russell got posted back to the States and then in 1989, I got transferred to Germany, thereby losing my access to Corrie. I did get to see the odd episode during my various trips to the UK and when I returned to Canada, I was able to get back into it.

But it never seemed the same and then in the 2000's when Jo came to Canada to be with me, even though we tried to watch it, well, it wasn't the same for either of us. Corrie had become a soap and the story lines just got too ridiculous. When I got hooked on it, it was more than a soap, it was a look at average, normal people and their relationships and how their lives revolved around the local corner shop, the pub and their local businesses and family lives. Ah well, things do change, I guess. I'm just happy that I was able to enjoy it for awhile so many years ago.

Thanks for everything, Corrie!

If you've never seen Coronation Street check it out. It's still pretty neat. If you want to get information about the characters from the beginning to the present, check out this site. It's pretty amazing.

Back to regularly scheduled programming in my next post. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Just Finished, Currently Reading, Awards

I'm feeling the best I've felt all week. Not sure what is but I've been achy all over. I think doing some stretches and such helped. We've had mixed weather this week, alternating nice, sunny mild days with windy, rainy ones.

So what to talk about today. I'll update a book I've finished this weekend, plus what I've started. Also it's time to update my awards lists and if it's not to big of a post by then, I'll get back to my History of North America.

Just Finished

1. Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey. This was my first exposure to Lovesey's writing. I enjoyed it. My review is below.











"Wobble To Death by Peter Lovesey is the first book in his historical mystery series featuring Scotland Yard Sgt Cribb. It is also my first exposure to his writing. It's an interesting premise to say the least.
The story is set in London, 1879 and is centered around a pedestrian race at the Agricultural Hall. From the foreword, these races took place fairly regularly, where groups or walkers would participate in a 6 day race, with the winner being the one who was able to walk the longest distance; somewhere over 500 miles, in the six days. It reminds me of the movie They Shoot Horses, Don't They, which was about marathon dance contests.
Anyway, in this particular race one of the contestants dies and this brings in Sgt Cribb and Constable Thackeray to investigate the circumstances. It turns out the contestant was, in fact, murdered. There are a number of potential suspects that the two intrepid detectives must investigate. It's an interesting story with interesting characters, somewhat light on the mystery but still entertaining. You get a nice picture of the time and the race and contestants. It was a nice introduction to the series and I will find other books featuring Sgt Cribb. (3.5 stars) Lovesey also writes the Peter Diamond mystery series. I have the first book in that series to try as well."

Currently Reading

My Cadfael Books

As my replacement to Wobble to Death, I've continued with historical mysteries. This time it's the 10th book in the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, The Pilgrim of Hate. It's been a most enjoyable series so far. The synopsis is below.

"Pilgrims are gathering from far and wide to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the translation of Saint Winifred's bones to the Benedictine Abbey at Shrewsbury. In distant Winchester, a knight, supporter of Empress Maud, has been murdered - not apparently an event of importance to those seeking miraculous cures at the saint's shrine. But among the throng some strange customers indeed begin to puzzle Brother Cadfael -  and as the story unfolds it becomes evident that the murder is a much less remote affair that it first seemed."

2017 Awards and the Birth Date Thing

US Billboard Charts #1 Single 10 November 2017

Rockstar by Post Malone ft 21 Savage. Post Malone is an American rapper from Syracuse, N.Y.  Rockstar was his first #1 single. It features American rapper, 21 Savage. (If you click on the song title, you can catch the YouTube video. I don't particularly like it.)

UK #1 Single 10 November 2017

Havana by Camila Cabello ft Young Thug. Camila Cabello is a Cuban - American singer, who started out with Fifth Harmony. This is her first #1 song and it features American rapper, Young Thug.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2017

Origin by Dan Brown.This is the fifth installment of Brown's Robert Langdon series; Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol and Inferno. I've read Angels and Demons and it was OK. I may have to try the other books sometime. The synopsis is below.








"Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that ‘will change the face of science forever’. The evening’s host is his friend and former student, Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old tech magnate whose dazzling inventions and audacious predictions have made him a controversial figure around the world. This evening is to be no exception: he claims he will reveal an astonishing scientific breakthrough to challenge the fundamentals of human existence.
But Langdon and several hundred other guests are left reeling when the meticulously orchestrated evening is blown apart before Kirsch’s precious discovery can be revealed. With his life under threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape, along with the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.
In order to evade a tormented enemy who is one step ahead of them at every turn, Langdon and Vidal must navigate labyrinthine passageways of hidden history and ancient religion. On a trail marked only by enigmatic symbols and elusive modern art, Langdon and Vidal uncover the clues that will bring them face-to-face with a world-shaking truth that has remained buried – until now."

Pulitzer Prize Winner 2017

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. This is the sixth novel by America writer Colson Whitehead.










"Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood - where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned and, though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.
In Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor - engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven - but the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. Even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom."

Nobel Prize Laureate 2017

Kazuo Ishiguro (UK).  Ishiguro is a Japanese - born, British novelist, screen writer and short story writer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as a writer 'who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.'

Hugo Award Winner 2017

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin. This is the second book in American writer, Jemisin's, Broken Earth trilogy. The Fifth Season won the Hugo last year. It will be followed by The Stone Sky.









"The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring – madman, world-crusher, savior – has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever.
It continues with a lost daughter, found by the enemy. It continues with the obelisks, and an ancient mystery converging on answers at last.
The Stillness is the wall which stands against the flow of tradition, the spark of hope long buried under the thickening ashfall. And it will not be broken."

Edgar Award Winner 2017

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. This is Hawley's fifth book. He's also known for creating the TV series Fargo and Legion.










"On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter--depart Martha's Vineyard headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the passengers disappear into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs--the painter--and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of a wealthy and powerful media mogul's family.
With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the tragedy and the backstories of the passengers and crew members--including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot--the mystery surrounding the crash heightens. As the passengers' intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy: Was it merely dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations--all while the reader draws closer and closer to uncovering the truth."

Man Booker Prize Winner 2017

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. American writer Saunders is an author of short stories, novellas, children's books and novels. Lincoln in the Bardo is his first novel.









"February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy’s body."

Giller Prize Winner 2017

Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill. Redhill is an American - born poet, novelist and playwright.This was his fourth work of fiction. He also wrote under the pseudonym Inger Ash Wolfe.









"Jean Mason has a doppelganger. At least, that's what people tell her. Apparently it hangs out in Kensington Market, where it sometimes buys churros and shops for hats. Jean doesn't rattle easy, not like she used to. She's a grown woman with a husband and two kids, as well as a thriving business, and Toronto is a fresh start for the whole family. She certainly doesn't want to get involved in anything dubious, but still . . . why would two different strangers swear up and down they'd just seen her--with shorter hair furthermore?
Jean's curiosity quickly gets the better of her, and she visits the market, but sees no one who looks like her. The next day, she goes back to look again. And the day after that. Before she knows it, she's spending an hour here, an afternoon there, watching, taking notes, obsessing and getting scared. With the aid of a small army of locals who hang around in the market's only park, she expands her surveillance, making it known she'll pay for information or sightings. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants--the regulars of Bellevue Square--are eager to contribute to Jean's investigation. But when some of them start disappearing, it becomes apparent that her alleged double has a sinister agenda. Unless Jean stops her, she and everyone she cares about will face a fate stranger than death."

So there you go. I'll do the History and Science entry next time. If you are interested in seeing what other books were on the list for the various Awards, the links for each are below.

New York Times Best Sellers during 2017

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Fiction_Best_Sellers_of_2017

Pulitzer Prize Winners and Finalists in All Categories 2017

 http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2017

The Hugo Awards 2017

http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2017-hugo-awards/

The Edgar Awards 2017

 http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html

Man Booker Prize 2017

http://themanbookerprize.com/fiction

Giller Prize 2017

http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/and-the-2017-scotiabank-giller-prize-goes-to-michael-redhill/

Just Finished, History & Science and the Birth Date Thing.

The end of another week. Yesterday we went out to check out a house that is for sale in our neighborhood. Out of our price range but still interesting to check out. The final episode of Halt and Catch Fire was also on last night. What an excellent show it was! If you haven't seen, it's about the development of the computer industry and the internet from the perspective of 4 people who work and compete. Really great show on AMC. It should have won Emmy's. I can't understand when you see some of the shows that do win. Oh well. It's worth checking out if you want to watch an excellent dram series.

Just Finished

I finished my first horror book of October yesterday; The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. It was a slow start but once I got into it, it moved along nicely. I enjoyed a lot.









"I've never seen either of the movies based on The Phantom of the Opera by French writer, Gaston Leroux. Well, in fact, I guess I've seen one, a very loose remake starring Paul Williams, The Phantom of the Paradise, but I don't know if that counts. I've once seen the musical and enjoyed it immensely.
Having said all that, I was interested in finally trying to read the book. I had found an interesting edition published in 1985 by the Dorset Press and decided to buy it.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the story when I started it. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, with a mite of difficulty getting into the flow of the translation. But once I got going and more in depth into the story, I found the story increasingly interesting. The last half moved along at breakneck pace and there was considerable tension and excitement.
The narrator of the story is researching the stories of the 'Opera Ghost' who had haunted the Paris Opera House. He persuaded the managers to maintain Box 5 for him, demanded a payment of 20,000 francs a month for his use. (why would a ghost need money, you ask? Good question). Deaths are attributed to him, an soprano in the opera loses her voice during a show and is replaced by Christine Daae, who the 'ghost' fancies. The owners sell the opera to two new managers and ensure they are aware of the conditions of keeping the 'ghost' happy. Of course, they don't believe the stories, with consequences.
Christine has another admirer, Viscount de Changy, who tries to save her from the ghost, Erik. Along with the Persian, an old acquaintance of Erik, they two must make a mad race through the cellars of the Opera in a last ditch attempt to save Christine from the ghost / Phantom of the opera. I enjoyed the story more and more as it moved along and as we discovered more about Erik and where he came from. All in all, after a bit of a slow start, it was a most enjoyable story. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

I've started my 2nd Horror story, the 2nd book in the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. That would be Forever Odd. I'm enjoying so far. Koontz does have a nice way with words and story flow.









"I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He's just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope."

Great Historical Events

In today's excerpt we finish off 1793 with the invention of the cotton gin.

"Invention of the Cotton Gin

 Cotton gin invented by Whitney. A machine for separating seeds from cotton; an invention which revolutionized the cotton trade, and which added more to the wealth and commercial importance of the United States than any other invention of enterprise could have done at that time.
Yellow Fever first visited the United States at Philadelphia.
Automatic signal telegraph introduced and applied in New York.
Steam first applied to saw-mills in Pennsylvania by Gen. Bentham.
President's salary fixed at $25,000."

We move onto 1794 next excerpt with the Whiskey Rebellion, etc.

Science of Common Things

Professor L.G. Gorton highlights the dangers of thunder storms in today's excerpt.

"Why is it dangerous to stand near a tree during a thunder storm? Because the tree, being a high object and a good conductor of electricity, is very liable to form the conductor for the lightning. Why is it dangerous to be near a fire during a thunder storm? Because smoke and flame are conductors of electricity. Where is the safest place during a thunder storm? In the center of a dry room, away from all conductors of electricity. (Ed. Note. I was going to say in the next county, but I guess that would work too.)"

In the next excerpt we move from thunder storms to thunder itself. :)

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2015

Canadian Decoration (CD)

2015 was a big year for me. I hit my sixth decade. My marriage to Jo reached its 13th year and I look forward to many, many more. Since I was now 60, my career with the Canadian military ended, after 41 years in the Regular and Reserve forces. I was one year from achieving my 2nd clasp on my Canadian Decoration; a medal we receive after 12 years of service and then receive a clasp for every ten years afterwards. But, hey, I now have a great retirement to look forward to with Jo. It's been great so far.. :0)





US Billboard #1 Single 10 November 2015

The Hills by The Weeknd. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye is a Canadian singer / songwriter from Toronto. The Hills was his first US #1 single.

UK #1 Single 10 November 2015

Hello by Adele. This is the 2nd time that English singer / songwriter has been on my Birth Date Song list, the first was in 2011 on the US charts. Hello was 3rd UK #1. It was the lead single from her 3rd album.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2015

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. This is the 3rd year in a row that Grisham had the #1 best seller on my birthday.










"On the right side of the law - sort of - Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. His office is a customized bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, and fine leather chairs. He has no firm, no partners, and only one employee: his heavily armed driver, who also so happens to be his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant, and golf caddie. Sebastian drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun. He defends people other lawyers won't go near: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house. Why these clients? Because Sebastian believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial - even if he has to bend the law to secure one."

Pulitzer Prize Winner 2015

At the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.  This was the 2nd novel by American writer Doerr.










"Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another."

Nobel Prize Laureate 2015

Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus). Alexievich is a Belorussian investigative investigator and non-fiction prose writer. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".

Hugo Award Winner 2015

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. 











"Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision."

Edgar Award Winner 2015

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.  The last book by King that I've read was Under the Dome. I may have to check this one out too.










"In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with two new, unusual allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands."

Man Booker Prize 2015

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon Jones. This was the third novel by Jamaican writer, Marlon Jones. Jones now lives in Minneapolis.










"On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert, gunmen stormed his house, machine guns blazing. The attack nearly killed the Reggae superstar, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Marley would go on to perform at the free concert on December 5, but he left the country the next day, not to return for two years."

Giller Prize Winner 2015

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis.  Alexis was born in Trinidad / Tobago, was raised in Ottawa, Ont and now resides in Toronto. Fifteen Dogs was his ninth novel.









"It begins in a bar, like so many strange stories. The gods Hermes and Apollo argue about what would happen if animals had human intelligence, so they make a bet that leads them to grant consciousness and language to a group of dogs staying overnight at a veterinary clinic. Suddenly capable of complex thought, the dogs escape and become a pack. They are torn between those who resist the new ways of thinking, preferring the old 'dog' ways, and those who embrace the change. The gods watch from above as the dogs venture into unfamiliar territory, as they become divided among themselves, as each struggles with new thoughts and feelings. Wily Benjy moves from home to home, Prince becomes a poet, and Majnoun forges a relationship with a kind couple that stops even the Fates in their tracks."

One more year to review and then I've got up with the present. It will be interesting to see what my birth day in November of this year brings. Have a great week!

New Books and Other Stuff

I have to say those news reporters who've been braving the hurricanes to report to us are very brave. The same people that the idiot President has called enemies of the country. Idiot! American coverage is exhausting; have to take a break once in awhile. Neither Jo nor I can believe those people who refuse to listen to everybody telling them to GET OUT! Darwin must be shaking his head. But, I do wish the very best for those countries in the Caribbean that have been so severely impacted already and also to Floridians who are now starting to feel the brunt. Stay safe!

New Books

Four books arrived from Reusemebooks in the UK Friday. All belong to series that I have been enjoying.

1. The Grail Tree by Jonathan Gash. This is the third book in the Lovejoy series. I've read the first so far and I have also enjoyed the old TV series.

"Antique dealers are mostly lustful, greedy, savage, crude and vulgar - in fact, just like you. The difference is that I bet I'm a lot more honest about me than you are about you. I was entirely honest with a little old forger who claimed he had the real Holy Grail - I told him he was nuts. If I had a penny for every crackpot 'grail' story I've come across, I'd be loaded now. Yet he was a decent bloke and, whatever it was he had, someone thought it was worth murdering him for it. What choice did I have but to find out what the hell it was all about?"

2. Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey. OK, I stand corrected. I have yet to try either of Peter Lovesey's mystery series; the Peter Diamond or the Sergeant Cribb's series. But I now have the first book in each. This is the first book in the Sgt. Cribb's historical mystery series.

"London, 1879. In the vast, freezing Agricultural Hall the crowds are gathering to bet on which of a motley group of pedestrian walkers will become Champion Pedestrian of the World. The race will last six days, covering over five-hundred miles around and around the hall. Conditions are barbaric: the rivalries are even worse. As the contestants wobble dizzily onwards, they are overtaken ... by unexpected death.
With the help of sore-footed constable Thackeray, Sgt. Cribb must also race against time to catch the ruthless murderer..."

3. Wycliffe and the Three-Toed Pussy by W.J. Burley. I've enjoyed quite a few of the Inspector Wycliffe mysteries. I've finally found the 1st book in the series. Yay!

"Pussy Welles was dead. She lay slumped on the plain oatmeal-coloured carpet, her auburn hair lustrous in the sunlight, and a jagged hole ripped by a bullet in the middle of her chest. What was even more bizarre was that the murderer had torn the shoe and stocking from her left leg, revealing that Pussy had a deformed foot bearing only three toes.
As Superintendent Wycliffe began to investigate the case he discovered that Pussy had led a wild and dangerous life. She was lethal where men were concerned, manipulating them for her own entertainment, and there were several people in Kergwyns who had reason to hate her. But it took yet another death before Wycliffe came to realise that the killing was far more subtle and tortuous than it first appeared."

I was checking through the book and saw his foreword and loved it. I must share.

"I apologize to the local council and to the planning authority for planting a village of two hundred and fifty people on the coast between St. Ives and Zennor without the necessary permits.
I apologize also to the few residents on those beautiful cliffs for saddling them with such obnoxious neighbours.
Of course Kergwyns has no existence outside the pages of this book and neither have the people who live in it."

4. Heartstone by C.J. Sansom. This has been one of my favourite historical mystery series. I've read the first four and this is the fifth book. I also have the sixth waiting my attention. As far as I know there isn't another on the way, but I can continue to hope. Matthew Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer during the time of Henry VIII and he often finds himself trying to solve cases for Henry's spymaster. Excellent tales.



"England is at war. King Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the currency to pay for the war, and England is in the grip of soaring inflation and economic crisis.
Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr, which will lead him into the corrupt labyrinth of the King's Court of Wards. Asked to investigate claims of  'monstrous wrongs' committed against his young ward Hugh Curteys by Sir Nicholas Hobbey, a Hampshire landowner, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant, Barak, journey to Portsmouth. Shardlake has taken the case, despite the imminent threat of invasion, as it also gives him the opportunity to investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam whom he has befriended and whose family once lived nearby.
Arrived in Portsmouth, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a battle zone. The mysteries surrounding the seemingly normal Hobbey family, and the events that destroyed Ellen's family nineteen years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. Events will converge on board one of the King's great warships, gathered in Portsmouth harbour, waiting to sail out and confront the approaching French fleet..."

Great Historical Events

Today I'll excerpt events from 1787 and 1788.

"1787. May to Sept. - Convention held in Philadelphia of the States to form a Federal Constitution.
Sept. 28. - The Constitution as it now stands, minus the amendments since added, was laid before the Continental Congress, which sent it to the several States for approval.

Invention of Iron Bridges
1788. Iron bridges invented by Thomas Paine, the author of 'Common Sense' and 'Age of Reason'. He made a model for an iron bridge to be built over the Schuylkill, with a single arch of iron of 400 feet span. The idea was suggested to his mind by observing the construction of a spider's web."

Next excerpt will cover 1789 and the Constitutional Congress.

Science of Common Things Today's excerpt from Prof. L.G. Gorton discusses rainbows and halos.

"What causes the rainbow? The refraction and reflection of light by the drops of falling water. What is a halo? (Ed. Note. I always thought it was that light that circled my head because I was such an angel!) It is a luminous or colored circle seen around the sun or moon under certain conditions of the atmosphere. What is its cause? The refraction of light by minute crystals of ice floating in the higher regions of the atmosphere. Why do halos foretell wet weather? Because they show a great amount of moisture in the atmosphere which will probably form rain."

In the next excerpt, I'll show the good Professor's answers about stars.

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2009

US Billboard #1 Single 10 November 2009

Fireflies by Owl City. Owl City is an American synth-pop band out of Minnesota that formed in 2007. Fireflies was their first single and it reached #1 in the US and UK amongst other countries and it reached #2 in Canada. What do we know anyway.. :) It's a great song.

UK #1 Single 10 November 2009

Fight for this Love by Cheryl Cole. Another great song, this one from Cheryl Cole who started out with successful group, Girls Aloud. This was her first solo single and it rightfully reached #1 in the UK. The link is to a great live version.

New York Times #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2009

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This is the third novel by Brown to feature Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. The other books were Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. I read the first book and thought it was OK, but it didn't make me want to read the others. I'll just watch the movie. :)








Pulitzer Prize Winner 2009

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. This is another book I haven't read. It was also turned into a TV mini-series in 2014, starring Frances McDormand.

"Olive Kitteridge: indomitable, compassionate and often unpredictable. A retired schoolteacher in a small coastal town in Maine, as she grows older she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life. She is a woman who sees into the hearts of those around her, their triumphs and tragedies.We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and a young man who aches for the mother he lost - and whom Olive comforts by her mere presence, while her own son feels overwhelmed by her complex sensitivities.A penetrating, vibrant exploration of the human soul, the story of Olive Kitteridge will make you laugh, nod in recognition, wince in pain, and shed a tear or two."

Nobel Prize Winner 2009

Herta Muller (Germany). Herta Muller is a Romanian-born German novelist and poet. She won her Nobel Prize as an artist "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed".

 Hugo Award Winner 2009

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I've read one of Gaiman's stories so far, Neverwhere, and have also seen the movie adaptation of Stardust and enjoyed them both.

"After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family..."

 Edgar Award Winner 2009

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box. C.J. Box is an American author of 21 books. He is known for his Joe Pickett series. Blue Heaven was a standalone mystery.

"A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother are on the run in the Idaho woods, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are. And where their mother lives.
Retired policemen from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the local sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children. Now there's nowhere left for William and Annie to hide…and no one they can trust. Until they meet Jess Rawlins.
Rawlins, an old-school rancher, knows trouble when he sees it. He is only one against four men who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses. But in this thrilling mystery novel from C.J. Box, these ex-cops don't know just how far Rawlins will go to protect William and Annie…and see that justice is done."

 Man Booker Prize 2009

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I've had this on my shelf for a little while now and once I get over being intimidated by its size, I'll give it a try. The book was also turned into a successful TV series.The book is a fictionalized biography telling of the rapid rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII following the death of Sir Thomas More.







Giller Prize Winner 2009

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre. The Bishop's Man is the 2nd book in MacIntyre's Cape Breton trilogy. 

"Father Duncan MacAskill has spent most of his priesthood as the 'Exorcist' - an enforcer employed by his bishop to discipline wayward clergy and suppress potential scandal. He knows all the devious ways that lonely priests persuade themselves that their needs trump their vows, but he's about to be sorely tested himself.What is striking about The bishop's man is the way the author achieves a necessary balance, keeping a judicious distance between himself and his tale of institutional corruption and its dire effects. Both dispassion and compassion inform his narrative."

Middle of September almost. My plan is to finish Nicholas Nickelby in the next couple of days. I'm really enjoying very much. I want to see how things will resolve for Nicholas, his sister, the woman he loves, his best friend and other characters I've come to like a lot.

And September begins....

Another month is upon us, the last month of the 3rd quarter or the first month of the 3rd...er... 3rd... LOL.

New Books

On Friday I received a book in the mail from Discover Books in Toledo OH. It's the first book in Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield mystery series. I've read one of his Butcher Boy series and enjoyed and my brother says he prefers this series. So we'll see, eh?

"Jane Whitefield is a Native American guide who leads people out of the wilderness - not the tree-filled variety but the kind created by enemies who want you dead. She is in the one-woman business of helping the desperate disappear. Thanks to her membership in the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe, she can fool any pursuer, cover any trail, and then provide her clients with new identities, complete with authentic paperwork. Jane knows all the tricks of the trade, ancient and modern; in fact, she has invented several of them herself.
So she is only mildly surprised to find an intruder waiting for her when she returns home one day. An ex-cop suspected of embezzling, John Felker wants Jane to do for him what she did for his buddy Harry Kemple: make him vanish. But as Jane opens a door out of the world for Felker, she walks into a trap that will take all her heritage and cunning to escape..."

Sounds like a neat concept...

Just Finished

I finished my first book of September this morning, a nice, quick, entertaining spy story. Last Laugh, Mr. Moto is the fifth of six Mr. Moto novels by John P. Marquand. I've read 3 so far and am still trying to find the other 2. Don't expect deep, thoughtful spy novels with the Mr. Moto books, just neat little stories. Mr. Moto is a Japanese spy with a pragmatic attitude when it comes to getting what he wants and likable considering he's the enemy. My review of this book is below.



"Last Laugh, Mr. Moto is the fourth book in John P. Marquand's Mr. Moto spy / war series that I've enjoyed. This adventure finds Mr. Moto, some other spies an American, Bob Bolles in the Caribbean, searching for a US fighter with new technology on it. Bob, an ex-US Navy officer who had quit the Navy after being passed over for promotion, sails the Caribbean with Tom, a faithful hand, always out of money and sort of shiftless.
Bob has spent time in Jamaica and is asked to leave by the Jamaican police. He is hired by Mr. and Mrs. Kingman to sail them to the Winderly Isles, specifically Mercator, purportedly to just get away from things. Accompanying them is their assistant, Oscar, another suspicious character. Mr. Moto plays a minor role at this point, managing a clothing shop in Kingston.
Bob gets more suspicious when his old Navy boss asks him to help them search for the missing aircraft, but due to his anger at the promotion board, he refuses. The adventure moves along nicely with suspicions growing about the Kingmans and their motives.
Very much of the story is left unstated and for you to figure out. Mr. Moto makes another more important appearance as the tension builds. He is a very pragmatic spy, at one moment working with Kingman, then not. Who are the Kingmans? Who is Mrs. Kingman? What are they looking for from the plane? Can Bob interfere? Will Mr. Moto succeed in his mission? All excellent questions and they are played out nicely as the story progresses? An entertaining read as always and a good adventure. (3.5 stars)"

The complete Mr. Moto series is as follows -
1. No Hero (Your Turn, Mr. Moto) (1935) (3 stars)
2. Thank You, Mr. Moto (1936) (3 stars)
3. Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
4. Mr. Moto is so Sorry (1938) (3 stars)
5. Last Laugh, Mr. Moto (1943)
6. Stopover: Tokyo (The Last of Mr. Moto / Right You Are Mr. Moto) (1957)
Currently Reading

I'm now starting a book that Jo got me for Xmas this past year.

"I wanted rebirth; my birth had been a mockery ... The narrator of this curious and fantastic novel is a young man born to a rich, selfish and desperate mother, who pursues a nightmarish life in which the compulsion to humiliate both himself and others, and to degrade conventional values through profanity and perversion, is seen to be an attempt to exorcise an horrific childhood.
Mariana, a beautiful girl who resembles his mother, becomes the catalyst towards which he gropes in his search for a rebirth. Before all the ghosts are laid he and Mariana explore completely the 'human hell' necessary for his final purgation."

Great Historical Events

It's been awhile, hasn't it? WHERE DID THIS FEATURE GO?? Well, it just got lost in the shuffle a bit. So where were we last time?

"1784. Great distress prevailed in the United States owing to scarcity of money.
Treaty of peace with the Six Nations at Fort Schuyler.
1784. First agricultural society in the United States at Philadelphia.
Methodist Church organize by Bishop Coke.
Feb. - First voyage made from China to New York.
1785. Commercial treaties between United States and Prussia, Denmark, and Portugal. (Ed. Note. and from the future, we can hear President 45 shouting 'worst treaties ever for the United States!!!)
Thomas Jefferson sent as Minister to France (Ed. Note. I wonder how much he contributed to the President's campaign?... just kidding!)
John Adams Minister to London. He was the first ambassador from the United States to Great Britain.
Copper cents first issued from a mint at Rupert, Vt.
1786. Financial embarrassment threatens the peace of the country.
Death of Gen. Greene
First cotton mill in the Unites States built at Beverly, Mass."

Next up is Shay's Rebellion.

Science of Common Things

Today's excerpt from Prof. L.G. Gorton discusses colour.

"Why are some substances white? Because they reflect all the light that falls upon them without changing it. Why are some substances black? Because they absorb all the light and reflect none. Why are some substances red? Because they absorb all but the red part of the wave. Blue substances absorb all but the blue, etc."

Next up, refraction and rainbows.. :)

The Birth Date Thing 10 November 2007

Winding this thing down, ten years left... *sigh*

Billboard #1 Best Selling Single 10 November 2007

Kiss Kiss by Chris Brown. Chris Brown (1989) is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Kiss Kiss was his second US #1 single.

UK Best Selling #1 Single 10 November 2007

Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis. British singer / songwriter Leona Lewis (1985) won the third season of the X-Factor in 2006. Bleeding Love, written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder was her second UK #1.

New York #1 Fiction Best Seller 10 November 2007

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. This is a short novel about an American football player who can't get work in the US anymore and whose agent finds him a job to play for the Parma Panthers in Italy.









Pulitzer Prize Winner 2007

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I read this in 2010 or earlier and found it a disturbing, at times frightening, but excellent book. The movie, starring Liam Neeson, reflected the book quite well. If you like dystopic futures, you'll like this.







Nobel Prize Laureate 2007.

Doris Lessing (UK). Doris Lessing was born in Iran (1919) and died in London (2013). She was a British novelist, poet and playwright. She was awarded the Nobel laureate as ' that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny'.

Hugo Award Winner 2007

Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. Vinge previously won the Hugo in 1993 and 2000.

"Robert Gu is a poet and recovering Alzheimer's patient. The world that he remembers was much as we know it today. Now, as he regains his faculties through a new cure, he discovers that the world has changed. He is 75, though by medical miracle, he looks much younger, and he's starting over, for the first time unsure of his poetic gifts."




Edgar Award Winner 2007

The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. This book is the first in English writer Goodwin's historical mysteries set in Turkey, featuring Yashim the Detective. The other books are -

The Snake Stone (2007)
The Bellini Card (2008)
An Evil Eye (2011)
The Baklava Club (2014)




Man Booker Prize Winner 2007

The Gathering by Anne Enright. The Gathering is the 4th novel by Irish writer, Enright.

"The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother's house, in the winter of 1968."





Giller Prize Winner 2007

Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay. Late Nights was Hay's 3rd novel. It is set in a radio station in Yellowknife, NWT.

"Harry Boyd, a hard-bitten refugee from failure in Toronto television, has returned to a small radio station in the Canadian North. There, in Yellowknife, in the summer of 1975, he falls in love with a voice on air, though the real woman, Dido Paris, is both a surprise and even more than he imagined."





There you go. More in the coming days. Enjoy your long weekend if you are celebrating one.