Crucible - A Novel

Crucible by John Sayles, 2026. Yesterday I finished this incredible work of historical fiction based on 15 years in the life of Henry Ford and the violent rise of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. The book follows the stories of several people involved with Ford's many endeavors of the time including his auto plant assembly lines in Detroit, his Fordlandia rubber plantation and village in Brazil, his private security army, his fight against the efforts to unionize his factories, his supporting the war effort, etc. All this happening during the times of the Depression, the War, race riots, the Great Migration, his antisemitism and support for fascism. Lots of real historical figures throughout the book too.

This was a very fascinating book although sometimes it was hard to follow what was going on since there were no chapters and dates of the incidents as they happened. This novel would make a really good television series.

This is the first time I've read a book by this author but I've seen lots of his movies.

Furnace Time

It's been getting chilly the past few days and especially at night. It has been in the 60s during the day and 50s at night. Most of the time it was getting chilly in the house and we were wearing a second layer. We also needed to wear a coat yesterday on our walk. It feels like Fall is here and we have been talking about turning on the furnace soon.

Last night the temperature got down into the 40s and this morning when I came down it was 62 in the house. I turned on the furnace. I set the thermostat for 68 since it was going to be sunny and in the 60's today. The warm air from the furnace felt good and the temp quickly rose to 68.

We'll see how it goes...

Ultra Chilled 04 - Kitchen Listening

Ultra Chilled 04 is probably the last of these chill compilations I'll be playing for awhile. I certainly have been enjoying these sounds over the past few days but it's time to move on although I do have several other chillout compilations album in my collection that goes right with this stuff. They were also used extensively in my Night Chill mix series.

I'm not sure what I'll be playing tomorrow but it will be good but different.

And what's with the album cover photos?

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina for Dinner

Tonight Becky made something quick and easy for dinner. It was very tasty too. Gnocchi alla Sorrentina... a frozen dish from Trader Joe's. It's been in the freezer for a a while and this evening seemed to be a good time to try it out. We had never had this from them before. Becky cut and cooked some veggies that were added to the gnocchi. Everything tasted great.

During dinner we agreed with having this again sometime and that it would also be a good thing to take with us on vacation in the Adirondacks next year.

This is how it looked out of the bag while still frozen. The large blobs with the gnocchi was the frozen sauce. 

The dinner was imported from Italy.

The Fix - MAGA Dystopia Book

The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government by Barbara  McQuade, 2026. I just finished reading this book earlier today. Another Trump MAGA Dystopia book. I liked that after going through the many anti-democracy corruption activities of the current fascist administration the author details some incredible activities for implementing solutions for the problems of the grift and mob behavior detailed throughout the book. 

It's like she read my mind to come up with some of the fixes like... getting rid of the electoral college, representatives based on popular vote and not winner takes all, term limits and age limits for congress and the courts... especially the supreme court, ban gerrymandering and no district changes allowed by politicians, enforcing govt corruption laws, protecting the free press, etc., etc.

I read this book in a little over a week. I'd like to read her book Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America from 2024. 

Ultra Chilled 03 - Kitchen Listening

More Ultra Chilled Kitchen Music on the stereo today. Volume 3. Another 2 cd set running a little over two hours. Sounds laid back and cool. Nice background too.

Trump Friends - MAGA Dystopia

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Ultra Chilled 02 - Kitchen Listening

Played more of that Ultra Chilled compilation sets today. Volume 2. Another two hour collection of relaxing ambient groove trance electronica. Features remixes of Radiohead, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, Bebel Gilberto, Royksopp, Zero 7 and more. 

Book Arts, Downtown & Cafe 59

Becky and I went last night to an art opening downtown at Book Arts. It was a Friday evening and we thought we would go have some dinner down the street from the gallery at Streetlight Brassier then go to the gallery. The traffic was a little crazy heading downtown... very busy. We got a parking spot down the street at the square across from the library. This was about 5:30. We walked down to the restaurant and saw that it was closed for a special event. That explains why there were no reservations when I checked it a couple of days ago. We had also seen that Mohawk Place was closed for an upcoming Octoberfest Party. That was where we usually park down there. So we walked further down the street and saw there was a street party and band playing on the sidewalk in front of Tappo Restaurant. We were heading a little past there to get something to eat at the Big Ditch Brew Pub but unbelievably we saw that the place was jammed. No tables in the restaurant but a couple outside. Now it was also windy and cool downtown. Becky had a jacket but I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and thinking I should have brought something more.

We then saw that there was actually the Curtains Up street party happening that night and it was going to get much more crowded soon. We saw some other restaurants all full of people and lots of tents and stages set up throughout the area. We decided to head back over to the gallery and check out the art show which was a friend... Kathy Sherin. We got over there around 6 and had a great time talking with lots of friends. It was very busy there too. 

After a while we decided to get in the car and leave downtown for another restaurant. We thought we would go up Franklin street to Allen and check out Cafe 59. We parked nearby and got a nice table. There were people there but it was after the main dinner time and not crowded.  We had a couple of our usual sandwiches... I had the Harvest Wrap and Becky had a chicken finger sandwich. I ordered a side of potato wedges that we split. We loved our dinner. Then we went home.

Trump & the News Media

Donald Trump has announced in a fit of rage that he's banning CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House entirely, over what he called their constant fake reporting.

Trump posted the announcement himself, declaring that effective immediately, three major news organizations are banned from the White House.

So the President of the United States, using the powers of his office to decide which journalists are allowed to cover him based on whether their reporting flatters him. 

He also mocked MSNBC's recent name change as proof of failure. He then posted that he will soon ban other so called fake news media outlets.

A sitting president is openly threatening to keep expanding a media blacklist, one outlet at a time, based entirely on whether their coverage of him is favorable.

This isn't how a free press is supposed to work in America. Journalists exist to hold power accountable, not to serve as approved messengers for whoever happens to occupy the Oval Office. The moment a president gets to personally decide which news organizations are allowed in the building depending on how nice their coverage is, that's not journalism anymore. That's state propaganda.

And Trump isn't hiding it. He's saying it outright, in writing, with more bans promised to come.

The CNN news network responded to Trump’s announcement that he’s “banned” CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from the White House with a statement of defiance, vowing to stand strong against Trump’s authoritarian urges and delivering an implicit threat of legal reprisal.

The press release reads, “CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”

Reading between the lines is a clear and obvious threat to bring immediate legal action against the White House if this “ban,” which Trump has tried and FAILED to implement in the past, ends up being more real than just a Truth Social post.

We hope to see similar statements from MS Now and POLITICO post-haste. Trump cannot be allowed to get away with this flagrantly illegal attack on the free press and violation of the Constitution that he swore to uphold.