The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, Orbit books, 2015 (Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award) Yes, I’m now at the point where I have actually started to read the books given to me for Christmas by my DDD (Dearest Darling Daughter). DDD is an admirer of fantasy fiction and I’ve had many enjoyable hours reading …
Where Has All the News Gone?
The offerings on the left bank have been sadly lacking in news lately. For a blog that prides itself as ‘Views on New from those that Snooze’, you might consider this a vexing oversight. My only excuse is that what’s reported as news right now lacks much variety. Prior to the emergence of the Confounded, …
The Gift That Kept On Giving
Is there any Christmas gift more bold and brave in terms of your stress level than giving a piece of new computer technology to the aged parents? It begins with dissatisfaction at the speed of their internet and the annoying propensity it has to work badly because of ‘poor signal’. Even trying to work from …
CHRISTMAS 1951
With Christmas almost upon us, what better time is there for delving into that perennial holiday favorite, Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’? While nothing quite compares to reading the original, there have been any number of film-makers that have attempted to capture the spirit of Christmas with film adaptations. There are many viewers that maintain the …
THE MYSTERY OF THE DISAPPEARING WORKERS
After nearly two years of pandemic Kanadoodle is now experiencing a labor shortage. The first indication was news from thousands of restaurants, closed because of COVID and unable to find sufficient staff when they re-opened. Well, if there’s a choice between slaving away in the service industry or staying safer at home, who is rushing …
THE ‘LYMPIC CHAMPIONS FOR SILLY WALKS
There's nothing like the ‘lympics to bring out the competitive spirit. Sure, there's a few medals to be won by athletes, but the real games are in the political sphere. Jobe Bidinghistime, current Prez of ‘Murica announced recently that his government is boycotting the upcoming winter ‘lympics in Porcelain. This is in retaliation for the …
GOING GREEN WITH ENVY
I’m convinced that people only use public transit because they can’t afford a car. Unlike buses, a car gets you where you want to go, when you want to go and gets you there faster – unless you’re stuck in a traffic jam, find that there aren’t any parking spaces anywhere near your destination or …
THE POLARIZED EXPRESS
When I look at the news out of ‘Murica, I sometimes think that their civil war (1861 – 1865) never ended: it’s just that the fighting continues using politics as weapons and the streets and law-courts as the battlefields. There are an endless number of skirmishes on a few familiar topics: my rights vs. community …
INSPECTOR GAMACHE RIDES AGAIN
Louise Penny – All the Devils are Here – St. Martin’s Press, 2020 (An Inspector Gamache story) It used to be that movies and television shows relied on books for their inspiration. These days I’m beginning to suspect that crime/mystery novels are borrowing the techniques of popular television series. There is the first novel where …
REMEMBERING REMEMBRANCE DAY
Back in the 1970’s I lived for a time in Oxford, England. While there I supplemented my lack of income by working as a bookkeeper/receptionist at a boat yard located on an idyllic little spot beside the Thames, just outside the city. The yard rented canal boats for those that viewed drifting around the inland …
Richard's Left Bank 