There will be an abbreviated session of the floating book shop today, then I'll be off to Jersey to celebrate the 14th birthday of my great niece/godchild Danielle. Meanwhile, here's a preview of the story I've been working on the past week. It's about 95% done. I used a few Italian terms. I'm not s...

There were two particularly interesting op-ed pieces in today's NY Post. George Marlin focused on the pay of legislators. In Texas it's $7200; in Connecticut $28,000; New Jersey $49,000; New York $79,000 - and they want a raise! And this doesn't even count their perks. An elite class of the corrupt ...

There's a maniac on the loose in our section of Brooklyn. On June 6th a shop keeper was murdered at 7718 5th Av. in Bay Ridge. The creep used a .22 caliber handgun. This past week another at 1877 86th Street met the same fate. Neither victim was robbed. Police are wondering if the similarity in the ...

Carla Neggers has been writing since she was eleven. She has had great success, publishing 60 novels in the romantic mystery genre. Her work has been translated into 24 languages. I just finished Kiss the Moon (1999). Set in rural Vermont, she describes the area convincingly. The characters are beli...

This week I watched a television production of Dr. Zhivago (2002), courtesy of Netflix. It was in two parts, each less than two hours. Based on the novel by Boris Pasternack, one can't help but compare it to David Lean's 1965 film, which won five Oscars. The first is more cinematic, of course, the s...