BITS & PIECES

Openers:  "The target is approaching the Vatican."

It was something Agent Kate O'Hare never thought she's hear, at least not outside a movie theater.

-- The Bounty by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton (2021)

The Fox and O'Hare series of entertaining romantic caper novels features beautiful and tough FBI Agent and former Navy SEAL Kate O'Hare and international thief Nick Fox as partners in government sanctioned scams usually targeted against wealthy criminals who hover just outside the law.  Nick (think Cary Grant in It Takes a Thief) had been one of the most wanted in the FBI's Most Wanted list.  Kate was the agent who tracked him down, even though it took her five years.  Then Nick escaped and Kate had to track him down again, but this time Nick had made a deal with the FBI, going to work for them as a secret asset (think Raymond Reddington in The Blacklist.  Much to Kae's dismay, she was assigned to be Nick's handler as he organized elaborate scams to bring down the bad guys, while also bilking them out of millions in illicit pelf (which went into the government coffers).

The series consist of the first five novels (and two novellas) written by Evanovich and Lee Goldberg.  A sixth novel was published as by Evanovich and her son, Peter Evanovich.  The Bounty, the seventh and presumably last book in the series, is signed by Evanovich and thriller writer Steve Hamilton, from an original story idea by Peter Evanovich.  the earlier books in the series leaned heavily on humor and featured a ragtag group of misfits organized by Nick Fox to help pull off his scams; sadly, these characters are missing from the novel and I, for one sorely miss them.

As we open, a master thief is preparing to break into the security-laden Vatican City Museum to steal, presumably, a priceless ring once worn by Pope Paul VI which is on display.  Having been warned somehow of the intended theft, Vatican official arranged for Nick Fox to lend his expertise in trying to predict what the outrageous thief might try.  The thief made it into the museum, but did not go for the ring; instead he grabbed an old document and fled, with Kate chasing right behind him.  He got away by leaping off the dome of the Basilica and parasailing over St. Peter's Square -- but not before Nick recognized the thief as his own estranged father, Quentin Fox.

Quentin had been a respected art dealer in America with connections all around the world.  He was also a secret asset of the CIA, infiltrating terrorist operations and arms dealers.  This side of Quentin was unknown to his son, or to other government agencies.  Quentin had retied over a decade ago but he was recently contacted by the Brotherhood -- a remnant of the Third Reich preparing to upset the world order -- to steal the Vatican document which was a key to a treasure map locating some 400 tons of Nazi gold which had been lost for over 70 years.  This gold would go a long way to financing the Brotherhood's plans.  The brotherhood has joined forces with a terrorist group noted for a tattoo of a red star on the necks of their members.  Quentin tried to advise the CIA, but all of his contacts were long retired or dead, and no one would pay attention to him, so he decided to steal the document and find the treasure before the Brotherhood did.

Nick and Kate joined his father in an off-the-books treasure hunt that took them to the Eiffel tower, to Mad King Ludwig's castle, to a live polar bear exhibit at an Viennese zoo, to an abandoned and unapproachable monastery high on an Alp mountain, then to Casablanca and the Moroccan desert, and finally to an underground complex hidden in the Swiss Alps and to Herman Goering's private villa in Austria.  They are joined by Kate's father, a retired marine experienced in covert operations, and a mild-mannered German literature professor.  At each step of their journey, they meet murderous attacks by the "red stars," while also being pursued by Interpol.

Action, humor, and interesting characters abound.  But instead of an elaborate scam, we get to see Kate, Nick, and their parents in survival mode.  An interesting read, but not quite the vibe one expects from the series.  But the book is fast-paced and the 300-plus pages zoom by quickly and effortlessly.

Incoming:

• "John Adams" (John S. Glasby),  When the Gods Came.  A somewhat forgettable 1960 science fiction novel.  "Men had fought wars throughout history, but never such a war as the one which destroyed the cities of earth and turn vast areas into badlands, stretches of intense radioactivity where nothing could grow and no one could live.  It also produced the deviates, mutants who had warped bodies and strange talents.  But there were others who had still stranger talents, mental powers exceeding those of the mutants, and whose bodies did not bear the sign of the deviate.  Their origin could not be traced to an atomic war; even they themselves had no idea whence they came.  Forced to take part in the abortive war between Eastern and Western Federations, one man and one man [? - JH] eventually escaped and discovered creatures similar to themselves.  But to discover their origin they had to go back five thousand years; and the answer lay not on earth, but somewhere in the stars."  [See John Glasby, below.]
• Kelley Armstrong. Watcher in the Woods.  Mystery, the fourth novel in her Rockton series.  "The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately -- understandable considering its mix of  criminals and victims fleeing society for a refuge within its Yukon borders.  Casey Duncan, the town's only detective on a police force of three. has already faced murder, arson, and falling in love in the several months that she's lived here.  Yet even she didn't think it would be possible for an outsider to locate the town and cause trouble in the place she's come to call home.  When a U.S,. marshal shows up demanding the return of one of the residents but won't say who, Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are skeptical.  And yet only hours later, the marshal is shot dead and the only possible suspects are the townspeople and Casey's estranged sister, smuggled into town to help with a medical emergency.  It's up to Casey to figure out who murdered the marshal, and why someone would kill to keep him quiet -- before the killer strikes again.:"  Also, The Deepest of Secrets, the seventh (and thus far, latest) Rockton mystery.  "It's not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows first-hand.  Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives -- and thrives -- because the residents' many secrets stay just that:  secret.  But what happens when these secrets start to come out?  Overnight, no one is safe.  It's not a question of if your secret will come out -- but when.  Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight.  For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn't handling those revelations vey well.  People are turning on one another, and when one of the loudest complainers turns up barely alive, it's clear that the trickster is actually a murderer.  The threat of exposure is reaching its breaking point. and no one knows what's going to happen next."
• Robert Asprin, Phule's Company.  Humorous science fiction, the first in a series.  "The Few.  The Proud.  The Stupid.  The Inept.  Meet the soldiers of Phule's Company.  They do more damage before 9:00 A.M. than most people do all day...And they're mankind's last hope."  Also, Phule Me Twice. with Peter J. Heck, the fourth in the series.  "When the planet Zenobia is invaded, Captain Willard Phule is made their military advisor.  The first priority for Phule's Company:  staying out from underfoot of the peaeful, dinosaurlike Zenobians...And, unbeknownst to the Zenobians, they're getting two Phule's for the price of one.  A robot double of Phule appears out of nowhere.  And only the real Phule knows who the real Phule is..."  And, Phule's Errand, with Peter J. Heck, the sixth and final book in the series.   "Phule is without a doubt the only captain in the Space Legion with his own butler, but Beeker has stuck with him through thick and thin.  Which is why it's incomprehensible to Phule why Beeker has run off-planet without a word -- and with Omega Company's lovely new medic.  Without his right-hand man, Phule has no idea what his left hand is doing.  So he takes off after his errant butler, just as General Blitzkrieg decides to make a surprise visit to Zenobia,  And the only thing Blitz would like better than catching Phule off guard is to catch Phule AWOL..."  Asprin was best-known for his MythAdventures Series and for the Thieves' World series of shared world anthologies.  Asprin went through a series of personal and financial problems in the 1990s, and gained the attention of the Internal Revenue Service; a settlement was reached with the IRS, and from 2000 on most of his novels were co-written, presumably to allow him to retain a little cash for sales.   
• Frank Baker, Stories of the Strange and Sinister.  Collection of ten macabre tales.  Baker (1908-1983) is probably best known for his fantasy Miss Hargreaves (1940), in which two young men invent a story about an old woman only to find that she has come to life, and for The Birds (1936), which may have been an influence on Daphne du Maurier's "The Birds" and the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same title; I would note, though, that Baker's story was published five years after the publication of Philip MacDonald's short story "Our Feathered Friends," which covered the same territory. 
• Marie Benedict, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie.  In 1926, Agatha Christie went missing, sparking a nationwide search for the author, who reappeared eleven days later with an explanation of where she had been or of what had happened.  So, gee, let's write a novel, story, or article about it...it's sure to sell.  In 2021 best-selling writer Benedict published her take on the story, eliciting a fair amount of praise:  "twists, surprises, and an ending that packs a punch"..."gripping"..:"an empowering and wonderful tribute"..."a clever reconstruction"...and "Girl power advocates will find satisfaction in the solution."
• Michael Crichton, Prey.  Techno-thriller.  "In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong.  A cloud of nanoparticles -- microrobots -- has escaped the laboratory.  This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing.  It is intelligent and learns from experience.  For all practical purposes, it is alive.  It has been programmed as a predator.   It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.  Every attempt to destroy it has failed.  And we are its prey."  I have been going on a Michael Crichton kick lately and this is one of the few novels of his that I have not read.
• Alan Dean Foster, Sentenced to Prism.  Science fiction, part of Foster's Humanx Commonwealth series.  "The Company had a big problem -- it was illegally exploiting a fabulously rich planet named Prism, a world where even the tiniest creatures were living jewels.  But somehow all contact had been lost with the scientists of the survey team.  The company didn't want to draw attention to itself by sending in a rescue mission, so they assigned Evan Orgill, a self-confident problem-solver, to investigate.  Evan was good, but he didn't understand Prism.  Worse, he couldn't solve the real mystery of the mission...until it was too late."
• Arthur O. Friel, The King of No Man's Land.  Fantastic adventure novel, the third in the McKay, Ryan, and Knowlton series.  "The three adventurers, McKay, Ryan and Knowlton, return to th jungle of Ecuador and Peru in search of their friend, David Land, who has not returned from an expedition researching the headhunting Jiveros of the Amazon jungle.  Knowing they would need help to track down the Jiveros that David was thought yo have searched for, they seek the aid of their long-time partner Jose Martinez, who they had not seen since he took up the mantle of King of the White Ones.  Jose joins the quest, and brings along a troop of warrior hunters, and a captured priestess whom he wishes to return to her people.  As the team sets out through the South American jungle, it becomes evident that things are not quite as they first appeared.  Not the beautiful princess, not the deadly Jiveros, and not even their friend Jose and his warriors."   Also, Mountains of Mystery.  The fourth book in the series.  "The intrepid explorers, McKay, Ryan and Knowlton, travel to tropic wilderness of the Guayana region of Venezuela.  They search for a tribe rumored to exist deep in the jungle -- a 'lost white race' with white skin, blue eyes, yellow hair... With scant few details on the location of their quarry, they enlist the help of guides and locals along their quest:  Portonio, a Venezuelan guide; Senor Lucio (Loco) Leon, a Spaniard on questionable ground with the local governor; even Marquiritares and Uaunana natives from the jungle!  And yet, not everyone they meet is quite as they appear, and it becomes clear that the challenge of finding the mythical tribe requires more than simply navigating the hostile terrain."  These books were first published as four-part serials in Adventure in 1924 and 1925; the first two books in the series -- The Pathless Grail and Tiger River -- were published in paperback by Don Grant's Centaur Press for its "Time Lost" series in the 1970s; they, with their great Jeff jones covers, are firmly ensconced in Mount TBR and I will be getting to them shortly.  A fifth related adventure, "In the Year 2000," features the grandson of two of the characters and was published in Adventure in 1928; this serial has never been published in book form.  Friel himself began exploring the South American jungles shortly after writing the first book in the series; in addition, he earlier spent a number of years as the South American editor for the Associated Press.  Friel's writing is said to have been an influence on Robert E. Howard's work.    
• Wilfred Funk, Litt. D., Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories.  This is like catnip for me.  Take for example, the word "addlehead."  The Greeks described an egg that didn't hatch was a "wind egg;" the Romans mistranslated this to "egg of urine;" in Middle English this was given as adel egg because adel was their word for urine; an addled egg was believed to have been decomposed into urine, and anything spoiled was later considered addled; from there, a person now considered addleheaded is one who is "weak, muddled, and good-for-nothing."  Who knew?
• John Glasby, The Lonely Shadow:  Tales of Horror and the Cthulhu Mythos.  Collection of five stories -- three horror stories and two Cthulhu Mythos stories.  Glasby was a prolific British writer active in the 50s and 60s who used a wide number of pen names and house names to produce over 350 novels and stories. {See "John Adams," above.]  He wrote some 25 science fiction and fantasy novels, more than 30 western novels, 34 hospital romance novels, two crime novels, six desert adventure novels, six "James Bond-ish" spy novels, as many as a hundred World War II novels, and a large amount of horror stories, many of them in the Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.  ISFDb lists over 25 pseudonyms for his science fiction works alone. 
• Betsy Gomes, editor, She Changed Comics.  Brief biographies of 59 female comic book artists and illustrators from Nell Brinkley (b. 1896) to the modern day, placing them in their historical and social contexts, with illustrations.  A presentation of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
• "William Grant", Faraday #5:  The Trackwalker.  "Many people believed that Ironsprings should be called Iron Fist.  Because that's how self-serving Marshal Josh Wade and his deputized brothers ran things -- letting gambling, boozing, brawling, and prostitution rum rampant as lone as Wade collected a 'business tax' from the profiteers.  But Ironsprings was a railroad town, as well, and there were signs that the rash of robberies plaguing the Union Pacific originated somewhere in Josh Wade's domain.  That's when Jared Macalester, the trackwalker, came to town.  But Macalester was more than he appeared to be:  he was Matt Faraday's good friend and crackerjack agent gone undercover to uncover the truth, stop the crimes, and save the town in the process -- but not until first facing ambush, train wrecks, a small civil war, pistolero Tim Quick, whose temper and gun matched his name, and then hottest blood-feud since the Earps and the Clantons reddened the dust of the O.K. Corral!"  This was a short-lived series from Lyle Kenyon Engel's Book Creations, Inc.  This one was probably written by Robert Vaughan or by Book creations editor Paul Block; the series also included one book by James Reasoner and one by Bill Crider.
• Harry Harrison & John Holm (uncredited on the cover but included in the copyright; Holm is a pen name for Tom Shippey), The Hammer and the Cross.  Historical science fiction novel, the first in a trilogy  "What if...The Gods of Asgard challenged Christianity for the future of mankind?  865 A.D.  Warring kings rule over the British Isles, but the Church rules over the kings, threatening all who oppose them with damnation.  Only the dreaded Vikings of Scandinavia do not fear the priests. Shef, the bastard son of a Norse raider and a captive English lady, is torn by divided loyalties and driven to strange visions that seem to come from Odin himself.  A smith and warrior, he alone dares to imagine new weapons and tactics with which to carve out a kingdom -- and launch an all-out war between...THE HAMMER AND THE CROSS."  
• Stephen Graham Jones, The Babysitter Lives and Killer on the Road.  Two horror novellas in a single volume, published dos-a-dos (like the old Ace Double paperbacks); each has also been published separately.  Babysitter:  "When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-old-twins in bed early and spend a quiet night studying; the SATs are tomorrow, and checking the Native American/Alaskan Native box on all the forms won't help if she chokes on test day.  But tomorrow is also Halloween, and the twins are eager to show off their costumes.  The house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place eleven years ago,  Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter's worst nightmare has come true:  they're not alone in the house."  Killer:  "Eighteen-year-old Harper has decided to run away from home after having another blowout argument with her mother.  However, her two best friends, little sister, and ex-boyfriend all stop her from hitchhiking her way up Route 80 in Wyoming by joining her on an intervention disguised as a road trip.  What they don't realize is that Harper has been marked by a very unique serial killer who's been trawling the highway for the past three years, and now the killer is after all of them in this fast-paced and deadly chase where the interstate becomes a graveyard."  Also, Mapping the Interior.  Horror novella, winner of a 2017 Bram Stoker Award.  "Times have been tough for twelve-year-old Junior, his mom, and especially for his younger brother, Dino.  When his dad makes a surprise visit late one night, Junior is desperate to make him part of their family again.  The only problem is, Dad drowned eight years ago.  And bringing back the dead always comes at a cost..."
• Brian Lumley, Titus Crow, Volume Three.  Omnibus collection of two horror novels, In the Moons of Borea and Elysia:  The Coming of Cthulhu.  With the most powerful...and most evil of the Elder Gods, Cthulhu, roused from slumber and preparing to destroy all of mankind with a single blow.  Titus Crow and Henri-Laurent de Marigny are hopelessly outmatched.  But they are not hopeless -- they have been joined by heroes from other times, other worlds, other planes of reality.  in a marvelous climax, heroes from other Brian Lumley series gather for the dramatic final battle." 
• "Jack Martin" (Gary Dobbs), Billy's Guns (originally published as Wild Bill Williams).  Western.  "He ain't wild by choice -- he's wild by reputation.  When gunfighter-turned-gambler Wild Bill Williams rolls into the town of Stanton, he's just looking to win a few hands and maybe lose a few memories.  But trouble follows Bill like whiskey follows a poker game, and it ain't long before he's staring down a crooked sheriff, and a town with more graves than people.  With a six-shooter on his hip and a devil-may-care grin, wild bill isn't just fighting for survival -- he's fighting for redemption.  But in a land where legends die fast and heroes even faster, the line between outlaw and lawman gets mighty thin."  The good news is that, after nine years, Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin will have a new western coming out in September.
• Sylvia Melvin,Death Behind the Dunes.  Mystery.  'a killer lurks among the men and women at Gulfview High School's class of '86' reunion.  By evening's end, Lyndy McNeil, a former student and lead cheerleader is found dead behind a sand dune.  Lieutenant Nick Melino of the Sheriff's Office, also a class member, is determined to find the killer of the woman he once loved.  Hampered by an approaching hurricane, Nick's team work frantically to gather crime evidence left on the beach before 'Eileen' destroys it all.  As the investigation continues, shocking details about secret lives, concealed for a quarter century, come to life.  Illicit affairs, blackmail and hidden identity point a finger at more than one suspect.  A tragic unforeseen twist in circumstances enlarges the investigation from a crime of murder to busting a heroin ring.  Would forensics, video technology and human determination bring justice?  Or would Lundy's murder linger unsolved, forgotten over time, like footprints in the sand?"  I think we all know the answer to that last question.  This is a local author and the book appears self-published.  Signed by the author to "Ron." 
• Abir Mukherjee, A Rising Man.  Mystery, the author's first novel and the first in the Wyndham and Banerjee series; winner of the CWA Historical Dagger Award.  "Calcutta, 1919.  Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta.  Desperately seeking a fresh start after  his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force.  He is immediately overwhelmed by the heady vibrancy of the tropical city, but with barely a moment to acclimatize or to deal with the ghosts that still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that threatens to destabilize a city already teetering on the brink of a political insurgency.  The body of a senior official has been found in a filthy sewer, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to leave India, or else.  Under tremendous pressure to solve the case before it erupts into increased violence on the streets, Wyndham and his new colleagues -- arrogant Inspector Digby and Sergeant Banrejee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID -- embark on an investigation that will take them from the opulent mansions of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city."
• Eddie Muller, The Distance.  Mystery, the first Billy Nichols novel, and winner of a 2003 Shamus Award.  "It's 1948, an era when newspapermen were stars -- and, San Francisco sports writer Billy Nichols is no exception.  Known as Mr. Boxing throughout the city, he's an insider's insider who plucks and polishes  his pearl-like stories from the nonstop hustle of the city's nightclubs, gambling dens, and ringside seats.  Billy Nichols is right where he wants to be...until he stumbles onto a shocking crime scene.  Soon Billy's in too deep, caught in a conspiracy of desire, deceit, and betrayal.  He triggers a chain of events whose consequences could cost him his career, his marriage, and maybe his life."  Muller, of course is a leading -- probably the leading -- expert on film noir.
• Weston  Ox,Reign of Evil.  A Seal Team 666 novel.
• Willard M. Oliver, Robert E. Howard:  The Life and Times of a Texas Author.  A comprehensive biography of the creator of Conan the Barbarian.  This was highly recommended by James Reasoner, and when James says "Jump," I say, "How high?"
• James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein, with Mark Shulman. Treasure Hunters.  Juvenile adventure, the first in a series.  "Treasure hunting is awesome!  But only if Bick, Beck, Tommy, and Storm can find a shipwreck full of gold, some long-lost artifacts and world-famous paintings.  AND their missing parents -- IMMEDIATELY, IF NOT SOONER."  I picked this one up soley because of Grabenstein.
• Steven D. Price, 1001 Dumbest Things Ever Said.  A compendium of stupidity, published in 2004, so there's a lot by the Bushes and Dan Quayle.  It's not just quotations; there's also headlines.  Who can forget the classic "Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped"?
• John Skipp, editor, Zombies:  Encounters with the Living Dead.  Doorstop horror anthology with 22 stories and three long articles.  Many of the usual suspects are included.
• Paul Tremblay, The Little Sleep.  Mystery, Tremblay's first novel.  "Mark Genevich is a South Boston private detective who happens to have a severe form of narcolepsy, which includes hypnagogic hallucinations, like waking dreams.  Unsurprisingly, his practice is not exactly booming.  The one day the daughter of an ambitious district attorney and a contestant on the  reality talent show American Star named Jennifer Times comes to him for help.  Or does she?  A man has stolen her fingers, she claims, and she'd like Genevich to get them back."  Things get a lttle weird from there.  My copy has a blurb from Bill Crider, who knew his beans and whose recommendations could always be trusted.

One Meat Ball:  Sometimes a tune pushes its way the front of your brain and stays there, often for several days.  For me this week it has been this classic song from Josh White.  I have no idea why this earworm decided to visit me at this time.  On the bright side of things, I does point out an important lesson:  You get no bread with one meat ball.

Maybe this will become your ear worm over the next few days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5banQi2LuM

Fufu:  Today is National Fufu Day.  Say what?  Fufu is a much -loved dish popular throughout West Africa.  The word "fufu" comes from Twi, a language spoken in Ghana; it means "to mix."  And that's what you do to make fufu -- it's a soft ball of dough made by pounding yams, cassava, or plantains into a smooth mix.  It evidently takes a lot of muscle to do it right; or, you can cheat by using a food processor rather than a mortar or pestle to turn those pesky roots into a smooth dough.  Serve it alongside a rich stew or soup.  Then just dig in.  You don't really need a fork because God gave you hands.  "Some swirl it through peanut stew, others pair with egusi or okra soup."  Yum!

there are different types of fufu.  You can have Nigerian okpu, or Ghanaian cassava-plantain mix, or Caribbean yam-based versions.

Don't blame yourself if you have note heard of National Fufu Day.  It's only been around since 2022.  It's celebrated on August 11 to tie in with the yam harvest season.  Fufu is a simple starchy ball that has traditionally brought generations to the table to celebrate.  Perhaps you'd like it on your table, too.

Elvis Has Not Left This Building:  We are also celebrating Elvis Week, which first began in 1978 when people gathered outside the gates of Graceland to mark the anniversary of his death.  Over more than four decades. Elvis Week has grown to become an important time on caledars throughout the world.

"Jailhouse Rock"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0Rz-uP4Mk

"Hound Dog"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYWl13IWhY

"Don't Be Cruel"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpKyFTYvhpU

"Love Me Tender"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5SkY9WHekg

"Can't Help Falling in Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU

An interesting story of when Elvis stopped an entire concert for a dying 7-year-old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WLvbHprtaE

"Burning Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2VYAtqRe0

"Kentucky Rain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czuc4q4axqU

"In the Ghetto"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6am8V5KNJ4A

"All Shook Up"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23zLefwiii4

500:  The clip is only eight seconds long, but here's Babe Ruth hitting his 500th home run 95 years ago today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_xJGq7Xzc8

Shaw and Lee:  Al Shaw (Albert Schutzman, 1902-1985, born in Poland) and Sam Lee (Sam Levy, 1891-1980, born in Newark) were a popular act in the closing days of vaudeville, beginning in the 1920s and actually continuing for decades after the death of vaudeville.  They were close friends of Burns and Allen, who helped them find work in the latter part of their careers; as with George and Gracie, the Shaw and Lee act was one of the best in vaudeville.  Today they are best known for their 1928 8-minute Vitaphone short, The Beau Brummels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjtjXTg7FiU

A a clip of them performing in 1949:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnlRU1hq4NQ

Quiz Time:  Here's some theme songs from 50s and 60s television shows.  How many can you recognize?  (Turns out I spent an inordinate amount of time in m y youth in front of the boob tube.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFD7sZcYj6A

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, May 1952:  Tom, Roger, and Astro are assigned to a special training flight aboard a passenger spaceliner, the Prince of Centaurus.  A simple training voyage had to turn into a test of skill and courage, especially when there are space pirates lurking!

https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/CB/4C_1952_05.pdf

Florida Man:

• Dentist and Florida Man Richard Glenn Cantwell, 61, of Tampa, has been arrested for sending over a hundred threatening messages to three public figures, including an author, a religious leader and a television personality, over a period of five years; in addition, he sent threats to four other public, including a public official from another state.  He faces five years in prison for each count.
• Florida Bacteria Vibrio Vulnificus is one the rise.  Officials have confirmed 13 cases of flesh-eating bacteria in the state; eight deaths have been confirmed.  The cases span eleven counties but the infections are "sporadic and do not indicate an outbreak."  Last year, Florida saw 92 cases with eleven deaths.  The bacteria can been found in saltwater and brackish water; storm surges can push coastal waters inland, heightening risk of infection.
• Florida Woman and Homestead charter school teach Sandra Marta Colombo, 61, is charged with child abuse after she three a sandal at a student to get his attention.  Her aim was bad and the shoe stuck another student in the face.  Hard.  The victim did not cry.  There appeared to be no marks or bruises.  The victim said that Colombo apologized and rub her forehead where the shoe had struck.  The incident happened on February 28.  Colombo was booked into jail on August 6.
• Florida Man and Coral Springs High School teacher Joseph Michael Melendez, 33, has been charged with sexual battery and lewd and lascivious behavior involving a student during his freshman and sophomore years.  The victim developed an "emotional bond" with Melendez, who then became his mentor.  Melendez oversaw the school's after hours American Sign Language club.  Parents and the school both expressed shock.
• Florida Man Robert Hoover, the owner of Family Farms in Davie, is fighting to regain custody of his animals, which police had seized on July 24 amid multiple charges of animal cruelty.  Davie police had released photographs of the animals in which they appeared to be emaciated and underfed.  Hoover claims one of the photos depicted recue animal that he was trying to bring back to health; the other phots, Hoover said, were equally misleading.  Hoover's attorney said he has testimony from dozens of people stating that the animals were well cared for and not abused.  A judge has allowed Hoover's veterinarian to examine the animals and report back.
• Florida Man and ex-Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez was found guilty last November of  of corruption charges.  Martinez was charged with receiving $15,000 in bribes for political favors; each charge could bring a five-year sentence.  Sentencing was due to have been last Thursday but has been delayed until September 15; no reason for the delay was reported.  Prior to entering politics, Martinez was a 17-year law enforcement veteran and had risen to the rank of police lieutenant.

Good News:

• Finally!  Something to deter wolves.       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scarlett-johansson-and-ac-dc-are-being-used-to-scare-off-wolves-by-american-farmers/
• Hope may be on the horizon.       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/company-seeks-sale-and-manufacturing-approval-for-successful-stem-cell-parkinsons-treatment/ 
• Now his forest friends will stop laughing at him.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wisconsin-bear-with-snack-jug-stuck-on-head-freed-relocated-and-released/
• "My AI is bigger than your AI!"  "Oh, yeah?"       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/big-insurance-uses-ai-to-quickly-deny-claims-physican-fights-back-with-ai-app-that-quickly-appeals/
• A year without traffic deaths.          https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/helsinki-goes-a-full-year-without-a-traffic-death-thanks-to-better-planned-streets-lower-speed-limits/
• Some YouTubers are pretty neat.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/fan-favorite-youtuber-raises-10m-for-st-judes-by-visiting-50-airbnbs-in-50-states-in-50-days/
• Here's a video of a daring rescue.        https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/fearless-hero-sprints-in-front-of-train-to-rescue-man-collapsed-on-track-watch/

Today's Poem:

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay.

-- Robert Frost

Postscript:  It's my father's birthday.   He would have been 109 years old today.  I miss him every day.