I re-watched The Departed (2006) last night, courtesy of Netflix. I'm glad I did. As is the case with many of Martin Scorsese's films, it improves with the second viewing, once the shock of the violence, profanity and cynicism become secondary to the engrossing story and wonderful performances. Leonardo DiCaprio is not appreciated enough. He is ter

Friday the 13th proved lucky for the floating bookshop. I took the show to Park Slope, which surveys have cited as the most literate neighborhood in Brooklyn. One guy in particular lived up to that assessment, buying a book on string theory, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. I am in awe of people who understand that stuff. I read Stephen Hawkin

Unable to find any program to my liking last night at ten, I gave the remote a spin around channels not included amongst my favorites, and came upon Newt Gingrich giving an address at Wesley College in Delaware. He touched on the common conservative economic talking points: drilling, deregulation, lower taxes, elimination of the Capital Gains Tax,

Whew! Charles Manson has been denied parole for the twelfth time. Had me worried for a while. I read an interesting tidbit about Masters champion Bubba Watson. He claims to have never taken a golf lesson. At least we have one thing in common. His dream was to play in the NBA. I'd say he found a better one. A basketball championship is shared with p

There's a lot of good stuff in the news today, the most important a report of a cyber warrior, who has dubbed himself The Raptor, claiming responsibility for going after sites friendly to Jihadists. He took them down for two weeks and left messages taunting them. He has a Twitter account and claims to be retired military, with a son currently servi

Among Joanne's vast book donation to me were several by Joanne Fluke, who, like Diane Mott Davidson, specializes in culinary mysteries. Her heroine, Hannah Swenson, runs a cookie shop in a small Minnesota town, and solves murders on the side. It's silly, of course, but it's meant to be fun, not high art. I just finished the twelfth in the series, T

Rest in peace Chief Jay Strongbow, WWF fan favorite from the '60's through the 80's. Of course, being a pro wrestler, his age is a mystery. Obits list it as anywhere from 79-83. By the way, if you don't already know, he wasn't really an Indian. He was a goombah out of Jersey, real name Joe Scarpa. And contrary to popular belief, he's not related to

It's been another bad week for the green movement. A123 Systems, makers of batteries, has filed for bankruptcy, taking 279 billion taxpayer dollars with it. I guess it's time to fire up the government printing press once again. Hey, it's only money. And the bad news wasn't restricted to the U.S.. A fourth solar energy manufacturer has gone belly up

It was a gorgeous day, not a cloud anywhere, the temperature mild, negating the effects of the breeze. Political Man stopped by the floating bookshop, telling me about his trip to the dentist. It wasn't long before he went into full campaign mode, telling each person passing: "Four more years, tax the rich, keep women's rights." He attracted a Russ

Last night the NYC PBS station ran back to back documentaries on literary marvels. The first was dedicated to Margaret Mitchell, author of the phenomenon Gone with the Wind (1936). Born in 1900, she was unconventional, the antithesis of the southern belle. She spent one year in college, which was notable only because she protested the presence of a

I am fascinated by the irony that occurs in life. I, a pro-capitalism conservative, helped edit my friend Bob Rubenstein's The White Bridge, which is in large part an anti-capitalist screed. Now he has given a glowing review to my third novel, Killing, which is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Here is a link to the review: http://www.amazon.com

Our postman arrives after 4 PM. I frequently forget about it and don't pick up my mail until the next morning. Logging off the computer at 7:30 last night, I suddenly remembered and went to the lobby hoping there would be a mail order for Killing in the box. There was even better news - a letter from a TV producer interested in purchasing A Hitch i

The floating bookshop was shelved by rain today, which gave me the opportunity to get some chores done. Recycling empties and check cashing put some moola in my pocket, but the most important part of the day was filling the gas tank. A couple of weeks ago I had a huge repair bill, $863. Every time I went to the station the pump would stall repeated

I didn't anticipate much business at the floating bookshop today, as the wind was very brisk. Marie stopped by on her way to Manhattan to return items to Bed, Bath and Beyond. She described herself as an "impulse buyer." I'd never have guessed it. She seems so level-headed. She's been so kind to me, donating darn near 100 CDs and videotapes, most o