Martha Wells - The Authors List

Martha Wells. The Authors List with 7 books from a science fiction series... The Murderbot Diaries.

I enjoyed these books very much and the first five were particularly awesome. The series is told from the perspective of a cyborg security unit for a far future hyper-capitalist space faring society that hacked and disabled her corporate control system and goes rogue.

This author has written a lot of other books and many of them in the fantasy category such as the Raksura and Ille-Rien series.

Martha Wells books I've read:

• All Systems Red, 2017 - Aug 2018
• Artificial Condition, 2018 - Oct 2018
• Rogue Protocol, 2018 - Apr 2019
• Exit Strategy, 2018 - Aug 2019
• Network Effect, 2020 - May 2020
• Fugitive Telemetry, 2021 - Jun 2021
• System Collapse, 2023 - Apr 2024

Pirate Nests - A History

Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740 by Mark G. Hanna, 2015.

This was a very interesting history of piracy in the North American colonies, the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean and the impact on the development of the American colonies and British Empire.

There certainly was a lot in this book about the development of America I never learned about in school especially the special collaboration between the pirates and the ports of the early American colonies. There were some thought provoking descriptions of the relationships between the pirates and Cotton Mather, Puritanism and Quakers. And the pirate's ongoing changing struggles with the British authorities.

As a kid I was very interested in pirate movies such as Treasure Island, Long John Silver, Captain Kidd, Morgan The Pirate, Mysterious Island, Swiss Family Robinson, A High Wind in Jamaica, The Light at the End of the World, etc.

Philip Roth - The Authors List

Philip Roth - The Authors List with 8 books I've read. I started off with Portnoy's Complaint back in 1972. I picked it up from a paperback display while traveling and then read it on a Navy cruise in the Caribbean. It was talked about a lot around that time but I remember not liking it very much. Then about ten years later I read another of his books... Goodbye, Columbus. That was OK, but not great. Twenty years later I tried again and then I read a couple of his books I really did like. In 2013 I read four more books.

There are probably a few more of his novels I might want to read but I doubt I'll get to them. There are just too many other novelist I want to check out.

Philip Roth books I've read:

• Portnoy's Complaint, 1969 - Feb 1972
• Goodbye, Columbus, 1959 - Jun 1983
• The Human Stain, 2000 - Apr 2003
• The Plot Against America, 2004 - May 2006
• Everyman, 2006 - May 2013
• Indignation, 2008 - Jun 2013
• The Humbling, 2009 - Jul 2013
• Nemesis, 2010 - Aug 2013

Michael Connelly - The Authors List

Michael Connelly - The Authors List with 8 books. This is another series of crime novels I read in 2022 and 2023 and were all part of the LAPD detective Harry Bosch series. The first book I read from this author was The Black Echo, a novel published in 1992 that I read in 2022. I've enjoyed every book that I've read from this author.

There are about 20 more books in the series and also several spin-offs.  I've watched several seasons of the Bosch television series too. 

Michael Connelly books that I've read:

• The Black Echo, 1992 - Sep 2022
• The Black Ice, 1993 - Oct 2022
• The Concrete Blonde, 1994 - Apr 2023
• The Last Coyote, 1995 - May 2023
• Trunk Music, 1997 - Jul 2023
• Angels Flight, 1999 - Oct 2023
• A Darkness More Than Night, 2001 - Nov 2023
• City Of Bones, 2002 - Dec 2023

Dinner at Mira with Dave & Donna

Becky and I had a wonderful dinner tonight at Mira a Mediterranean Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in the old Pano's restaurant building.

We had five shared plates that included Rainbow Trout, Hanger Steak with sweet and soul onions, Lumache Pasta with sweet sausage ragu and pecorino, Culurgiones with sweet potato brown butter pecorino and Suppli with fried rice and mozzarella. All very amazing dishes. We had a good table with a nice view of Elmwood Avenue.

Had a couple of Wayland Especial Mexican Lager drafts.

The service was wonderful and the food was delicious. The place was hopping too. 

Bernard Cornwell - The Authors List

Bernard Cornwell. Another from the Authors List and another 8 books I've read by this author. I started off with his historical novel The Last Kingdom in the Saxon series which focuses on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex during the late 9th and early 10th centuries. I've enjoyed reading the first seven books of this series and I really should read some more of them. I also watched the five seasons of the BBC television series adapted from these novels although I hadn't read the books of season 5. 

The last book of his that I read was a non-fiction history of the battle of Waterloo during the Napoleonic Wars.

He has also written several other series of historical novels that look interesting.

Bernard Cornwell's books I've read. 

• The Last Kingdom, 2004 - Jan 2019
• The Pale Horseman, 2005 - Jan 2019
• Lords of the North, 2006 - Feb 2019
• Sword Song, 2007 - Mar 2019
• The Burning Land, 2009 - Apr 2019
• The Death of Kings, 2011 - May 2019
• The Pagan Lord, 2013 - Jul 2019
• Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles, 2014 - Sep 2019

Richard Russo - The Authors List

Richard Russo. The Authors List with 8 books that I've read. The first of his novels I read was Nobody's Fool in 1994. I read another one right away but then didn't continue with his books until the early 2000's. 

I found his novels which take place in upstate New York to be very interesting and amusing forays into the blue-collar heart of America.

I am also currently reading another of his novels... Somebody's Fool which I started yesterday.

The books I've read by Richard Russo:

• Nobody's Fool, 1993 - Jun 1994
• Mohawk, 1986 - Oct 1994
• The Risk Pool, 1988 - Jun 2000
• Straight Man, 1997 - Aug 2001
• Empire Falls, 2001 - Dec 2001
• Bridge of Sighs, 2007 - Jun 2013
• Everybody's Fool, 2016 - Feb 2017
• Chances Are..., 2019 - Dec 2019

Some Irish Vinyl Spins

Went up on the 3rd floor to spin some Irish vinyl this morning with a nice variety of music from Ireland.

Started off with some traditional instrumental Irish folk music from The Chieftains. I have several of their albums on vinyl. 

Then it was Clannad, an Irish folk, pop, new age band from Donegal. I love the singing of this band.

Finally I played my favorite album from the Celtic rock band Horslips. Their Book of Invasions record.

• The Chieftains - The Chieftains 7, 1977
• Clannad - Macalla, 1985
• Horslips - The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony, 1976

Icy St. Patrick's Day 2026

It snowed last night. It seemed like it was snowing hard all night but it really wasn't. We got up this morning and there was about maybe an inch on the ground. It was a non-slippery crunchie icy snow. 

Becky had some errands to run this morning. So I cleaned off the car and then shoveled the ice and snow while the car was running and warming up.

Then after Becky left I went back out and put some salt down on the sidewalk and around the house walkways and steps.

Brain Awareness Week

The Aneurysm Foundation promotes Brain Awareness Week. This is a very important concept for me as brain aneurysm awareness saved my life. It led me to following up on what happened to my father and his brother and their father too. Doctors back in their day said their all having ruptured brain aneurysms was coincidental. So 18 years after the death of my father I had to insist that I get tested for the possibility of a brain aneurysm and not wait for a rupture some day. I was aware of the potential problem and it turned out I needed to be. And not just for me but 12 people in our family have had aneurysms now that we have an awareness of the need to be tested.

The Line of Demarcation

A photo of Mark creating what he told me was "a line of demarcation". Yesterday he and Jody were out there putting the recently discarded cuttings from their front porch vine that they use to block the view of their other neighbors porch. Now it is being used to somehow block the garden that the same neighbor planted in her backyard last summer which was actually just another weed patch. So I'm wondering how far they will be going with this demarcation line thing. It cracks us up. I guess we'll have to wait and see how this things turns out. Cue The Banjo!

E. L. Doctorow - The Authors List

E. L. Doctorow. The Authors List. I've read 8 books by this author and I really focused on his historical fiction novels. The first one I read was Ragtime in 1979. Then a couple more in the early 80's.

I've enjoyed reading his books over the years. The last one I read was in 2011. He wrote one more book in 2014 that was published just before his passing in 2015. I should probably read that one when I get a chance.

The books of E. L. Doctorow that I've read.

• Ragtime, 1975 - Sep 1979
• Book of Daniel, 1971 - Feb 1980
• Loon Lake, 1980 - May 1982
• World's Fair, 1985 - Sep 1988
• Billy Bathgate, 1989 - Oct 1990
• The Waterworks, 1994 - Jan 1995
• The March, 2005 - Oct 2005
• Homer & Langley, 2009 - May 2011

Into The Fire - Protest Songs FV

Into The Fire as the war goes on and more oil tankers burn. Another mix of protest songs from albums in my collection. Mix #14

Into The Fire - Protest Songs FV

1. Into The Fire – Bruce Springsteen
2. Final Straw – R.E.M.
3. Breathing – Kate Bush
4. Intervention – Arcade Fire
5. Seconds – U2
6. Russians – Sting
7. 21st Century Schizoid Man – King Crimson
8. Lucky Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
9. Sweet Cherry Wine – Tommy James & The Shondells
10. Wooden Ships – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
11. Soldier – Procol Harum
12. The Captain – Leonard Cohen
13. Soldier’s Angel – Stevie Nicks
14. All & Everyone – PJ Harvey
15. Searching For A Soldier’s Grave – Laura Cantrell
16. 16 Military Wives – The Decemberists
17. John Walker’s Blues – Steve Earle
18. Bombs Away – Eels
19. No War – The Ben Miller Band
20. Song Of A Soldier – Willie Nile

Philip Kerr - The Authors List

Philip Kerr. I've read 14 of this Scottish novelist's historical thrillers and almost overlooked him when I was putting together my Authors List. All of the novels of his that I've read have been part of his Berlin detective Bernie Gunther series. They are all set in Germany during the 1930's, the Second World War and the Cold War.

His first three books written between 1989-1991 were later published together in a trilogy titled Berlin Noir in 1993. That is how I read them during the summer of 2010. Then I read the rest of the books over the next few years. The last book of his I read was his last Bernie Gunther in 2019 published a year after he sadly passed away at 62. 

Philip Kerr novels I've read:

• March Violets, 1989 - Jun 2010
• The Pale Criminal, 1990 - Jul 2010
• A German Requiem, 1991 - Aug 2010
• The One From The Other, 2006 - Jan 2011
• A Quiet Flame, 2008 - May 2011
• If The Dead Rise Not, 2009 - Jun 2011
• Field Gray, 2010 - Sep 2011
• Prague Fatale, 2011 - Jul 2012
• A Man Without Breadth, 2013 - May 2014
• The Lady From Zagreb, 2015 - Jul 2015
• The Other Side Of Silence, 2016 - Jun 2016
• Prussian Blue, 2017 - Apr 2018
• Greeks Bearing Gifts, 2018 - Sep 2018
• Metropolis, 2019 - Jun 2019

All Over Again - Protest Songs FV

America at war is Deja Vu all over again. It's now two weeks into the illegal war and oil tankers are burning.  Another mix of anti-war peace and protest songs from albums in my collection. 

This is #13. I took a break for a few days but guess I couldn't just stop. 

All Over Again - Protest Songs FV

1. Deja Vu (All Over Again) – John Fogerty
2. Let’s Impeach The President – Neil Young
3. Orange Crush – R.E.M.
4. New Killer Star – David Bowie
5. Jacob’s Ladder (Not In My Name) – Chumbawamba
6. I Don’t Wanan Be A Soldier Mama – Robert Randolph & The Family Band
7. What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes? – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
8. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Flogging Molly
9. Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens
10. Washington Bullets – The Clash
11. Melancholy Soldiers – The Skids
12. New Year’s Day – U2
13. Forever Young – Alphaville
14. Right Here Right Now – Jesus Jones
15. Politik – Coldplay
16. Killing An Arab – The Cure
17. Bomb The World – Michael Franti & Spearhead
18. Too Young To Die – Jamiroquai
19. Zombie – Fela Kuti
20. Drone Bomb Me – Anohni
21. Johnny Was – Bob Marley & The Wailers
22. I’m Just Another Soldier – The Staple Singers

Upon A Dark Night - A Novel

Upon a Dark Night by Pete Lovesey, 1997. I just finished my fifth crime mystery novel in his Peter Diamond detective series that takes place in Bath, England. A lot of plot twist in this one and some interesting police procedure detective work. It was a quick read and I've been enjoying this series of novels with Detective Diamond as the chief of the murder squad in the fascinating city of Bath.

Lovesey has written 22 novels in this series and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Becky's Irish Soda Bread

It's that time of year again when Becky makes her delicious Irish Soda Bread which of course recently has been her hybrid Americanized version she adopted from the NY Times. I've written about her soda bread a couple of times over the past couple of years describing her baking method.

• Skillet Irish Soda Bread 3/17/24
• Irish Soda Bread 3/14/25

Adrian McKinty - The Authors List

Adrian McKinty. Now we're on to a Northern Irish writer of crime novels. Most of the 8 books of his that I've read were part of the detective Sean Duffy series that takes place in Belfast during The Troubles. 

I have really enjoyed the 7 novels of the Sean Duffy detective series and also the one standalone novel The Chain. The last book I read was about a year ago and I'm looking forward to his new one in the series.

Adrian McKinty books I've read:

• The Cold Cold Ground, 2012 - Feb 2021
• I Hear The Sirens In The Street, 2013 - Mar 2021
• The Chain, 2019 - May 2021
• In The Morning I'll Be Gone, 2014 - Aug 2021
• Gun Street Girl, 2015 - Nov 2021
• Rain Dogs, 2016 - Feb 2022
• Police At The Station and They Don't Look Friendly, 2017 - Mar 2023
• The Detective Up Late, 2023 -  Feb 2025

A Windy Night... and Day

Becky and I both woke up several times overnight because of the very high winds. I should also say the very noisy high winds. It sounded like some of the neighbor's trash containers were blowing around. I had mine put away close to the porch and one up against the shed door to keep it from blowing open which sometimes happens. It didn't happen last night. I went outside this morning to check on things. Some small branches came down in the backyard but nothing serious. I'm also going to put some bungy cords on the air conditioner cover to keep it from flapping in the wind which can be somewhat noisy.

Yesterday we had both some snow and rain during one particular hour which I wrote about here.

So today it will be cloudy all day but no rain or snow until tomorrow morning. It will be windy again tomorrow too. It looks like it will be a mixed weather week coming up just like it was a mixed weather time over the past couple of weeks. Looking forward to some real nice spring weather.

A Snow Rain Hour

Earlier today we had some strange weather. Within an hour around noontime we had snow that covered everything, some sunshine, then a lot of rain that got rid of all the snow. March in Buffalo.

I also saw the first robin in our yard during that snow. The other robins we've seen this spring have been on our walks.

Martin Walker - The Authors List

Martin Walker is next on my Authors List at 8 of his novels I've read. He is a writer and former journalist from Scotland who writes crime detective novels that take place in a rural village in France. The books are always an interesting blend of police procedure, restaurant cooking, wine tastings, current events and local history.

All 8 of his novels I've read are part of the Bruno, Chief of Police series of which there are 18 novels so I still have a way to go.

The Martin Walker books I've read:

• Bruno, Chief of Police, 2008 - Nov 2022
• The Dark Vineyard, 2009 - Dec 2022
• Black Diamond, 2010 - Feb 2023
• The Crowded Grave, 2011 - Mar 2023
• The Devil's Cave, 2012 - Jun 2023
• The Resistance Man, 2013 - Jan 2024
• The Children Return, 2014 - Jan 2025
• The Patriarch, 2015 - Jul 2025

Guinness at Coles

Becky and I went over to Coles tonight for dinner. They always have some St. Patrick's Day specials in March which we enjoy so we thought we would get over there before the rush this weekend. St. Patrick's Day is next Tuesday which means this weekend is the crazy time with the parade and all. We also have reservations next Thursday at Miras across the street so tonight it was.

I had their always wonderful Guinness Beef Stew dinner along with a couple of Guinness Stout drafts. Becky had one of their regular nice sandwiches. 

The bar was busy as usual on a Thursday night and there was a party upstairs. The place was highly decorated Irish style and tomorrow night there were promoting their annual Irish Blessing of the Kegs night at 7 pm. That was another reason we decided to go there tonight rather than tomorrow.

We had a great time as usual.

Larry McMurtry - The Authors List

Larry McMurtry is next on my Authors List with 9 books of his that I've read. I started out with Lonesome Dove in 1985 but it would be another ten years before I read another one of his novels. I finished reading the four novel Lonesome Dove series as each book came out. Then I went on with the Berrybender series of four books. There are a few other of his books I'm interested in checking out.

I really liked watching the Lonesome Dove television series. I also liked a couple of films made from his early novels... The Last Picture Show, Hud (Horseman, Pass By) and Terms of Endearment. 

Larry McMurtry books I've read:

• Lonesome Dove, 1985 - Jun 1985
• Streets of Laredo, 1993 - Dec 1995
• Dead Man's Walk, 1995 - Jul 1996
• Comanche Moon, 1997 - Apr 1998
• Boone's Lick, 2001 - May 2001
• Sin Killer, 2002 - Jan 2003
• The Wandering Hill, 2003 - Jul 2003
• By Sorrow's River, 2003 - Dec 2005
• Folly and Glory, 2004 - Feb 2006

Tom Clancy - The Authors List

Tom Clancy. Another writer on my Authors List with 10 books that I've read. The first one was Patriot Games I read in 1990 after seeing the Hunt For Red October movie. During 1990 I also read two other political thriller novels including Red Storm Rising and The Hunt For Red October. I would read a few more throughout the decade and the last book I read was a disappointment in 2002. No more since then. 

I did enjoy reading his books in the 1990's, 

Tom Clancy books I've read:

• Patriot Games, 1987 - Jan 1990
• Red Storm Rising, 1986 - May 1990
• The Hunt For Red October, 1984 - Aug 1990
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin, 1988 - Jun 1994
• Clear and Present Danger, 1989 - Sep 1994
• The Sum of All Fears, 1991 - Mar 1995
• Without Remorse, 1993 - Sep 1995
• Debt of Honor, 1994 - Nov 1999
• Executive Orders, 1996 - Dec 1999
• The Bear and The Dragon, 2000 - Aug 2002

Brother Jack McDuff - Kitchen Listening

Brother Jack McDuff has always been one of my favorite jazz musicians. I especially loved his soul jazz organ music from the early 1960's. It was wonderful listening to him playing on several of his albums from that time period today. I especially loved that two of them also featured the amazing jazz guitarist Grant Green too.

I got a lot more of his albums to play later too.

Today's albums:

• Brother Jack, 1960 - with Bill Jennings
• The Honeydripper, 1961 - with Grant Green
• Goodnight It's Time To Go, 1961 - with Grant Green
• Brother Jack Meets The Boss, 1962 - with Gene Ammons

The 2026 Trump War Mixes

One of my responses to the obviously illegal war that trump started to cover up all his other illegal activities was to post a series of protest song mixes that I reconfigured in my current Final Version hour and a half mixes. 

Here they are listed and with links to their posts. I posted them to Facebook and also put them up on YouTube Music. This is it for awhile but there could be 2 or 3 more. I still have some protest songs to use.

Protest Songs FV

• Masters of War 2/28
• What's Going On 2/28
• Armageddon Days 3/1
• People Have The Power 3/1
• Mad World 3/2
• From A Distance 3/3
• Redemption Song 3/4
• Long Dark Night 3/5
• Lives In The Balance 3/6
• There Is A War 3/7
• Gimme Some Truth 3/8
• War Is Over 3/9

Pasta Dinner

We had a nice pasta dinner Becky put together tonight with some nice sauce and lots of fresh veggies.

We had that wonderful French peasant bread with it spread with some delicious San Marco basil pesto from the Co-Op.

James S. A. Corey - The Authors List

James S. A. Corey on the Authors List with 9 books I've read. Actually this is a pen name for two science fiction collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck and together they have written a space opera The Expanse series over a ten year period. I have read the entire 9 book series and enjoyed it all very much. Started with Leviathan Awake in 2017 and finished with Leviathan Falls in 2022.

I've also watched all six seasons of The Expanse television series.

The books of The Expanse series I've read.

• Leviathan Awakes, 2011 - Mar 2017
• Caliban's War, 2012 - Apr 2017
• Abaddon's Gate, 2013 - Apr 2017
• Cibola Burn, 2014 - May 2017
• Nemesis Games, 2015 - May 2017
• Babylon's Ashes, 2016 - Jun 2017
• Persepolis Rising, 2017 - Mar 2018
• Tiamat's Wrath, 2019 - Dec 2019
• Leviathan Falls, 2021 - Feb 2022

Michael Crichton - The Authors List

Michael Crichton is another author that I've read 10 books. The first one was The Andromeda Strain in 1974 followed quickly by The Terminal Man. It took Jurassic Park in the early 90's to get me back into reading his novels.

I also very much liked his movie Westworld from 1973 which he wrote and directed but wasn't based on a novel. Actually I've enjoyed quite a few films based on his novels and sequels.

His books that I've read:

• The Andromeda Strain, 1969 - Feb 1974
• The Terminal Man, 1972 - Aug 1974
• Jurassic Park, 1990 - Jan 1991
• Sphere, 1987 - Mar 1991
• Congo, 1980 - Feb 1993
• Rising Sun, 1992 - May 1993
• The Lost World, 1995 - Aug 1995
• Timeline, 1999 - Jun 2000
• Prey, 2002 - Apr 2003
• The Andromeda Evolution, 2019 - Aug 2019

War Is Over - Protest Songs FV

War Is Over. The 12th mix of my protest songs from albums in my collection. Now we are hearing that demented don is claiming that the war is over and he has won. But of course we know he is lying and has no idea about reality.

This is the last mix of this series for awhile.

War Is Over - Protest Songs

1. War Is Over – Lowland Hum
2. Recuperating From The War – The Autumn Defense
3. How You Survived The War – The Weepies
4. Love Vigilantes – Laura Cantrell
5. Post-War – M. Ward
6. Man At War – Daniel Johnston
7. The Peace Song – Jesse Colin Young
8. I Am Not At War – Luka Bloom
9. Dirty Little War – Will Hoge
10. This Is Baghdad – Bruce Cockburn
11. 19 Miles To Baghdad – Lizzie West & The White Buffalo
12. Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning – The Wrights
13. Battle Of Armegeddon – Larry Sparks
14. Men In A War – Suzanne Vega
15. The War You Left – Joy Of Cooking
16. War Song – Neil Young
17. Get Up, Stand Up – Peter Tosh
18. Redemption Song – Bob Marley & The Wailers
19. I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night – Billy Bragg
20. I Ain’t Marching Anymore – Phil Ochs
21. Travelin’ Soldier – Dixie Chicks
22. This Uncivil War – Gretchen Peters
23. Battle Hymns – The Nightwatchman
24. America – Simon & Garfunkel

Like a Summer Dinner

It was a sunny warm day. We took two walks today and saw a robin both times. It was 65 degrees in the backyard and in the sunroom it had temperatures reaching almost 80 degrees. 

So we had a summer-like dinner with veggie burgers, salad, guacamole and chips. Yum. 

The Story of Jamaican Music - Kitchen Listening

Today I played a 4 CD Various Artists set of reggae and ska collection titled Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music as part of my Kitchen Listening series. It was released in 1993 on Mango Records and provides a fabulous history of the island's music scene across the years and includes all the different musical styles with 95 songs. For a fan of reggae there are a lot of familiar tunes here but also some incredible deep cuts and amazing information about the music. Includes ska, rock steady, reggae, dub, dance hall and ragga. This box set runs a little over 5 hours. I have several other box sets of various artists reggae compilations.

I've been a big fan of reggae music since I spent some time in Jamaica in 1971 exploring the island's music scene while in the Navy. I would go on to visit many other islands and countries throughout the area of the Caribbean Sea where music and food was a great way to spend your time while on shore. The reggae and ska influence was everywhere down there back then. When I got out of the Navy in 1973 one of the first things I did was build up my reggae music collection.

First Robin

Becky and I went for a walk earlier today and while out and about we saw our first robin of the season on a neighbor's lawn. It looked happy to be here but we'll see how long that last. Usually we see our first robin in our backyard. I spent about an hour in our backyard sunroom where it was almost 80 degrees... but no robins there yet. The temperature in the backyard was around 65 degrees and sunny. 

Gimme Some Truth - Protest Songs FV

Gimme Some Truth. Another mix of protest songs from albums in my collection. The war continues based on more lies, corruption and stupid fantasies. 

Gimme Some Truth - Protest Songs

1. Gimme Some Truth – John Lennon
2. 20th Century Man – The Kinks
3. Question – The Moody Blues
4. Fresh Air – Quicksilver Messenger Service
5. Nature’s Way – Spirit
6. Take The Star Out Of The Window – John Prine
7. To Susan On The West Coast Waiting – Donovan
8. We Seek No Wider War – Phil Ochs
9. War Song – The Fugs
10. Hey, Mr. Draft Board – David Peel & The Lower East End
11. Draft Resister – Steppenwolf
12. Who’s Gonna Win The War? – Hawkwind
13. The War – Lee Michaels
14. Draft Morning – The Byrds
15. Talking World War III Blues – Bob Dylan
16. If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song) – Peter, Paul & Mary
17. Guantanamera – The Sandpipers
18. Peace Will Come (According To Plan) – Melanie
19. War In Peace – Skip Spence
20. Love, Peace and Happiness – The Chambers Brothers
21. Let’s Work Together – Canned Heat
22. He’s Misstra Know It All – Stevie Wonder
23. Wake Up Everybody – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
24. Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley & The Wailers

3001: The Final Odyssey

Today I finished reading Arthur C. Clarke's fourth and final science fiction book in the Space Odyssey series that began with 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. I had read the other two novels of the series back when they came out in the 1980's. The last book in the series was published in 1997 but somehow it was off my radar although I had did read his 3 volume series Time Odyssey in the late 2000's. 

I started reading 3001 just last week on March 3rd. So it took me six days to read this book. It was amazing and I don't know why it took me almost 30 years to get to it. 

I wrote about Clarke and his position in my Authors List here. This is now the 12th book of his that I've read. There is still one more novel of his that I want to read.

A Walk In The Zoo

It was a nice sunny afternoon for a walk but also a little chilly and windy. We did enjoy our walk very much and had decided it would be nice to visit the zoo. The zoo wasn't very crowded for a Sunday afternoon but we did enjoy our time there. We especially love seeing the small children running around the exhibits.

We did spend some quality time in the Rainforest Building and the animals seemed very active. Especially the monkeys and the birds. We spent close to an hour there and then headed back home. While walking down Russell we ran into our old friend Molly and stood around talking for awhile. It turned out that she was also just down at the zoo for a power walk and we just missed running into her there.

It is so nice to have the zoo so close to our home and as members we love making it part of our neighborhood walking routines.

Classic Blues - Kitchen Listening

I played some classic blues this morning from my collections of albums from the Smithsonian Folkways series of recordings. It went on for several hours and included such classic blues artists as Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee, Elizabeth Cotton, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Son House, Josh White, Lightnin' Hopkins, Victoria Spivey, and on and on.

This music made for a very pleasant morning and was much better than having any news on the TV. I have many more albums from this Smithsonian Folkways series and looking forward to playing more later.

H.G. Wells - The Authors List

H.G. Wells was a big influence in my lifelong love of science fiction both for reading his novels and seeing the movies based on his books. I read 9 of his books that included 8 novels and a collection of short stories.

The first book of his I read was The Time Machine as a teenager in the mid-1960's along with a few other of his novels. Then I read them again in the 70's along with some others. I read The Time Machine and War of the Worlds again just a few years ago. 

I saw the movie of the Time Machine in our neighborhood theater when it came out in 1960. I was 9. It was a double feature with the previously released War of the Worlds.

H.G. Wells books I've read:

• The War of the Worlds, 1898
• The Invisible Man, 1897
• The Island of Dr Moreau, 1896
• The First Men in the Moon, 1901
• The Food of the Gods and How It Came To Earth, 1904
• The Sleeper Awakes, 1899
• The War in the Air, 1908
• The Shape Of Things To Come, 1933
• The Country of the Blind and Other Selected Stories, 1911