Today I sit beside my father as he lies in hospice, and I think about baseball. In the spring of 1964, we lived in Phoenix where my dad was trying to earn a living on a real estate boom that didn’t really boom until after we had returned to California a year later. At school, … Continue reading FOR MY DAD
Life
THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 2: “A Land of Things and Ideas”
Audiences could relate to The Twilight Zone because it was essentially about the search for happiness. Granted, these searches were highly unusual, and the results were mixed. TZ is a highly moral show, and those who achieve a happy ending are people who earn it, through their general decency and kindness. I argued last week that Mr. … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 2: “A Land of Things and Ideas”
“. . . a land of both shadow and substance . . . ” THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Art mirrors life. And, like many a Boomer, I have found my parallels in books, movies and TV. Take the last six year – please! (Bah dah BUMP!) I have felt trapped in a cross between a Stephen King thriller (both The Stand and The Dead Zone come to mind) and Game of Thrones. Overshadowing it all, there has been … Continue reading “. . . a land of both shadow and substance . . . ” THE TWILIGHT ZONE
AIM (NOT SO) STRAIGHT AND TRUE: My Resolutions for 2023
A few weeks ago, my pal (and Book Club Arch Nemesis!) the Puzzle Doctor reached his 2000th post on In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. Not bad for a man who’s only been blogging since 1954. I hit my 500th post last August (it was a dreary review of a dreary book, Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Documents in … Continue reading AIM (NOT SO) STRAIGHT AND TRUE: My Resolutions for 2023
PAT ON THE BACK: Meeting (Some of) My 2022 Goals
“There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away . . . “ These words by Emily Dickenson were emblazoned on the bookplates my grandparents gave me when, at an early age, I declared my love for reading. I pasted them into every volume I owned and used up my stock long ago. … Continue reading PAT ON THE BACK: Meeting (Some of) My 2022 Goals
A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
The text came over a year ago: Coastal Repertory Theatre Company in Half Moon Bay, California was planning its next season - a return to live theatre! – and they wanted to know if I was interested in directing one of their plays. See, they had heard from a mutual friend that I was really into the … Continue reading A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
(This is for Carol.) True story: after acing my bar mitzvah at the tender age of 13, I told my parents that when I grew up, I did NOT want to be a rabbi - I wanted to be a movie star. My mom and dad exchanged a look – correct that: it was a Look – … Continue reading THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
“It’s psychology that interests you, isn’t it? Well, that doesn’t change with time. The tangible things are gone – the cigarette end and the footprints and the bent blades of grass. You can’t look for those anymore. But you can go over all the facts of the case, and perhaps talk to the people who … Continue reading PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
Here it comes – the moment when all the bloggers you visit try and entice you to keep coming back with our promises of things to come. Some of my plans are rather amorphous: I hope to do some spiffing up of the site itself so that Ah Sweet Mystery will be better organized, sport … Continue reading BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
DONE IN? DONE GOOD: Why It Has to Be Murder
In a recent post at The Invisible Event, one of JJ’s readers ended his response, full of interesting observations, with this: “Finally, a point that’s been bugging me for years. Why does so much detective fiction, especially the novels, focus on murder? Detective short stories, at least, tend to be a bit more diverse and focus … Continue reading DONE IN? DONE GOOD: Why It Has to Be Murder
Ah Sweet Mystery! 