Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita is book number 2 in her Cara Kennedy series. It is a mystery thriller set in Alaska. Book 1 in the series is City Under One Roof. Cara Kennedy is an Anchorage Police Department Detective. She is on administrative leave after her husband and son disappear while on vacation in Point Mettier. Point Mettier is an isolated town where its residents all live in one high-rise. In book one Cara finds some of the answers to her husband and son’s disappearance and they weren’t pleasant. (I’m not spoiling things by telling you what she discovered). Anyway at the end of the book she makes another discovery that leads her back to Point Mettier to see if she can find the final answers!
Village in the Dark is full of great characters.The story is told through the eyes of three women. First is obviously the main character Cara Kennedy. Second is the owner of a hotel within the Point Mettier high-rise Ellie and finally Mia, an Indigenous woman who left the village she grew up in to enter the White man’s world. The plot of the novel interweaves the lives of all three women. It’s really hard to say more without revealing too much!
Bottom Line
The bottom line is Village in the Dark is a really terrific read. It;s filled with great quirky characters and a few twists here and there that kept me guessing, I really would recommend that you should read City Under One Roof before reading Village in the Dark. So check them both out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Iris Yamashita
One of the prog rock albums that has been in my music rotation for a while now is The Clockwork Man by This Winter Machine . This Winter Machine is a multi award-winning Neo Prog band from the United Kingdom. It was formed in 2016 by vocalist/song-writer Al Winter
About This Winter Machine
This Winter Machine began as a quintet originally comprised of :Al Winter (voices), Gary Jevon (guitars), Marcus Murray (drums), Mark Numan (keyboards), and Peter Priestly (bass) –
The band’s early influences included: the pioneers of 70s Symphonic Progressive or 80s Neo-Progressive scene. Major influencers of the band came from Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Rush and Genesis. Their first album was titled The Man Who Never Was. It was released in 2017.
The Man who Never Was was well received by audiences, press and radio worldwide. Their second album ‘A Tower of Clocks’solidified their standing in Prog Rock circles. ‘Kites’ the band’s third album saw a major revision in the musician line-up. The album garnered both critical and audience acclaim after its release in 2021. The album continued to expand their fan-base.
The Clockwork Man
The Clockwork Man was released in December of 2023. And is the band’s fourth album, This is the album I’ve been listening to and really like! The musician line-up looks like this…..
Al Winter / vocals
– John Cook / guitars
– Leigh Perkins / keyboards, whistles, backing vocals
– Dave Close / bass
– Alan Wilson / drums
With:
– Andre Saint / vocals (track 4)
– Ade Fisher / guitar solo (track 1, part 2)s.
I’m not going to discuss all of the tracks in this post. You can read a review that does that here I’ll just say like everything about this album The vocals are strong (with lyrics I can understand!), the guitar work is great and the songs are all interesting! So Check It Out! As for me I have three other albums from the band to check out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of This Winter Machine
So one of the things that I’ve been doing instead of writing blog posts is visiting Goodwills and hunting through their vinyl. sometimes you find nothing ,. Other days you find a few. And then there are the days, when you’re in the right place at the right time! Last Friday was one of those days! Nine of the twelve albums I found are shown above. As you can see they’re all classic rock albums and all in very good condition.
Of the nine albums only three are in my vinyl collection. Wheels of Fire,Ssshand Crosby, Stills and Nash. I bought them because both the album and the covers are in better shape than mine.
The three Cream albums are all reprints from 1977. However, the covers and records are all in really, really good shape! the other three albums are just albums I never got around to buying.
And Two Good Books
I also search there books for sale and I usually find several, especially in the Audubon, N.J. store. On lat Friday I wasn’t as lucky with the books as I was with the vinyl. However, I did find two good books. I have read the James Lee Burke book Flags on the Bayou and it’s great.I read. While I have read several David Slaton novels from Ward Larsen. I haven’t read one since 2018 when I read Assassin’s Run (David Slaton #5). The one I bought is Assassin’s Edge (David Slayton #8). And while I hate reading books in series out of order I just may have to in this case!
So all and all last Friday’s trip to Goodwill was a big success! Twelve good albums and two book!
Now Ill leave you here, but I’ll leave you with some music and hour plus soundtrack with tracks from the albums I found! Enjoy!
Looking tonight at the Roots calendar I bought back in 2010, I saw that the Atlantic City Pop Festival kicked off on August 1st in 1969! Guess what I don’t even remember anything about it!
From Wikipedia …
‘Atlantic City Pop Festival took place in 1969 on August 1, 2 and 3rd at the Atlantic City race track, two weeks before Woodstock Festival. It actually took place in Hamilton Township Atlantic City Race Course.
There was heavy security at the festival, and the stage the acts performed on was created by Buckminster Fuller. A ticket for the entire 3-day weekend was $15.00 to see all of the performers listed. Attended by some 100,000+ people.
The Performing Artists
And it seems the lineup was quite impressive:
Booker T. & the M.G.’s
Tim Buckley
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Byrds
Canned Heat
The Chambers Brothers
Chicago (as the Chicago Transit Authority)
Joe Cocker
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Crosby, Stills & Nash (billed, but did not perform)
Cass Elliot
Iron Butterfly
Jefferson Airplane
Dr. John the Night Tripper
Janis Joplin
B.B. King
Lighthouse
Little Richard
Looking Glass
Lothar and the Hand People
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Hugh Masekela
Buddy Miles
Joni Mitchell
The Mothers of Invention
Tracy Nelson & Mother Earth
Procol Harum
Buddy Rich
Biff Rose
Santana
Sir Douglas Quintet
Three Dog Night
Johnny Winter
Yep, it was a pretty impressive list of musicians! And 1969 as looked over the list I realized that I have albums from many of the artists. I have highlight the artists whose albums I bought in 1969. Here’s a short playlist of songs from the albums the above musicians released or would have released shortly after the festival.
You can also back other top rock albums from 1969 here at Wikipedia. As well as, more about the Atlantic City Pop Festival here at Wikipedia and in an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer posted on the 50th anniversary of the festival. Here
So, as I’ve written previously over the last year, particularly from September to June I only ran sporadically.And I’ll tell you that the summer is not an easy time for this 73 year old to start over! Anyway the way that I am trying to restart my running is by both running and walking, Basically, I’ll run about a half mile and then walk a quarter mile and keep that switching going for about 30 minutes or more. It also turns out to be running until my heart rate gets up to about 140 bpm and then walking until it drops back to 110 bpm or lower.
The Runs
Anyway I ran last Friday 7/26 I covered 2.09 miles in 32:27 for a 15:30 /mi pace. Overall, I ran for 14:45 and walked for 17:41. On Sunday I did a little better. I covered 2.68 miles in 39:36 for an average pace of 14:46/mi. The good thing was that my time running was 21:29 and walking time only 18:04. In addition on Friday my average heart rate was 117 BPM and my max heart rate was 1369 bpm, While on Sunday my average heart rate was 125 bpm with a maximum of 151 (‘ during my old man sprint at the end – lol. So I know it will take some time to get back running fairly well, but at least if I improve on each run I’ll be happy!
The Soundtracks – Part 1 – Shut Up & Play – Toronzo Cannon
The soundtrack for Friday’s run was Shut Up & Play the latest release from Chicago blues artist Toronzo Cannon. FRom his website……
“I want my songs to be heard and experienced, not just listened to,” says cliché-defying, internationally beloved Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon. With his richly detailed, truth-telling original songs, blistering, inventive guitar work and impassioned vocals, Cannon is on the cutting edge of today’s contemporary blues scene and is known as one of the genre’s most creative artists. His sound is inspired by his heroes, including Hound Dog Taylor, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, Son Seals and Jimi Hendrix. On his third Alligator Records album, Shut Up And Play!, Cannon blazes his own path with 11 emotionally-charged originals. From serious to humorous, his imaginative songs are fueled by his powerful, cathartic guitar solos and his soulfully authoritative voice.
Toronzo wrote all of the twelve tracks on the album and he says this about his songs……
“I write what I know, what I feel,” Cannon says, “I like to put myself in the shoes of the subjects of my songs. This record is about the things going on in my life since 2019–it’s a document of what I’ve seen and been through, but the stories are universal. And it’s my way to get past negative things and keep my own sanity. Listen to the lyrics. I am a Black man in America. These are NOT protest songs. I try to create honest, common sense understanding with my songs.”
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Shut Up & Playis a terrific album and one that should be in every blues lovers collection, My favorite tracks on the album include: “Had to Go Through it to Get to It”, “Can’t Fix the World”, “Got Me by the Short Hairs” and the title track. So check it Out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Toronzo Cannon
Ok so the last year has been a blur. I had a couple of health problems that upset my life. First, there was a problem with my left eye. When I closed my right eye and only used my left eye, every thing had a gray cast to it, rather than the true colors. That problem sent me to an ophthalmologist who didn’t;t know what the problem was. So she sent me to a retina specialist who also wasn’t sure what caused the problem. Fearing I had some kind of mini-stroke he sent me to my family doctor for blood work and a cardiologist,The cardiologist was asked to perform an echo cardiogram and the ultrasounds for my carotid arteries. Both were fine no blockages anywhere. The cardiologist also had me wear a heart monitor for several weeks. At that time I was still running and everything again was good. So it was back to the retina specialist.
From the Retina Specialist to Other Specialists
He was still puzzled and said he’d like me to go see a neuro-ophthalmologist. I did that in December of 2023. His evaluation led to an MRI to make sure the were no masses in my head pressing on the optic nerve. The MRI revealed no mass and according to them an atrophied optic nerve that looked “funky” His recommendation was to remove my not too bad cataracts. Their thinking was that the removal of the cataracts would improve my vision. So it was back to the retina specialist. He in turn sent me to a cataract specialist to be evaluated. It didn’t take long for the cataract specialist to long to determine that, yes she could remove the cataracts, but not before I was evaluated for glaucoma!
Finally, an Answer!
I visited the glaucoma specialist this past April and he quickly determined that yes I had glaucoma in that eye. So now I am using eye drops that have lowered my eye pressure greatly.
Now in addition to worry about my eye, I also had problem was my carpal tunnel, which went from a minor annoyance to a major annoyance! /My hands were so bad that I woke up two or more times a night with both hands on fire. I had to shake them and hope they woke up! Anyway that sent me a a hand specialist and cortisone shots and surgery looming. However.since January my hours are Target have been cut drastically and my hands are pretty good at least I don’t wake up at night and my dexterity has improved!
Don’t Forget Babysitting!
So as if the above was not enough to upset my blogging life,my daughter had a baby in February of 2023. In September my wife and I became full time babysitters for her. We babysat almost everyday from September to June from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Needless to say it has been hard to find time to blog and/or run during those months.
But how can you not enjoy every day you’re with this little one!
Bottom Line – Let’s Get Writing
So the bottom line is I have four or five weeks to get back in the groove of blogging. And that means I need to keep reading, listening to great music and running and doing stuff to turn back my biological clock. So I have something to write avout!
So I started off Saturday morning by deciding I would listen to some music from each of the music genres I listen to most often. Sometimes it would be new music and sometimes music that,s been in my music library for a long time.And I actually picked an album that’s been in my library since the late 90s early 00s. Jack Williams’ 1997 release Across the Winterline. I bought the CD in the bargain bin at Tunes in Mount Laurel, NJ. I bought it at a time when my sons and I would go to Tunes almost every week. They were in their teens and I was getting back into buying music for me! Anyway I fell in love with Jack’s guitar playing and his songs about life in the south i’ve been a fan since then .
From Jack’s website
The music of Jack Williams, rooted in his native South Carolina, is shaped by a 65-year career of playing folk, rock, jazz, R&B, classical and the popular music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. He is counted among the most dynamic performers on today’s “folk” circuit – “…one of the most enlightened and entertaining performers I’ve ever encountered”, said Dave Humphreys of Two-Way Street Coffeehouse in Downer’s Grove, IL.
Jack is considered a “musician’s musician”, an uncommonly unique guitarist, a writer of vivid songs with a strong sense of place, and a storyteller in an old Southern tradition who further illustrates each tale with his guitar
More Buzz from his website
“…. his artistry… is nothing short of amazing. Dazzling picking, expressive voice, unique and interesting songs. He is a showman in the best sense of the word and just wowed our audience. I think they would have followed him anywhere.” Rich Warren, WFMT “Midnight Special”, Chicago IL
I posted the above stuff from his website because they can tell you about Jack better than I can! All I can say he’s great and listen to his wonderful music! As for me, I need to check out and get a couple of his recent CDs
Here’s Jack performing a song from Across the Winterliine “Mama Lou” One of my favorites>
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Jack Williams
Three- Inch Teeth is the 24th book in the Joe Pickett series from C.J.Box, It is also the 23rd book I have read in the series. The only book in the series I haven’t read is Cold Wind. (Note to self read Cold Wind this year!). As a long-time fan of the series, while Three- Inch Teeth is one of his best books, it is for me one of the most disturbing.
About Three-Inch Teeth
The story begins when a rouge grizzly bear attacks and kills a fly fisherman in Joe Pickett’s territory. Everyone is surprised by the grizzly;s presence because they aren’t supposed to be in the area. The other surprise is the victim could have been Joe’s future son-in-law!
Meanwhile, former rodeo star and Saddlestring resident Dallas Cates is released from prison. Joe helped put Cates in prison Joe was involved in the deaths of several members of Cates’ family. These deaths happened after Cates had attacked Joe’s adopted daughter April and left her for dead. (See books Endangered and Vicious Circle). Anyway, Dallas is out for revenge and his hit list includes: the judge, the county prosecutor, Joe and his wife Marybeth and Nate and Live Romanoski.
Enlisting in some allies to help him extract his revenge, Dallas devises a way to use the bear attacks as a cover for his murderous plan.One of his allies is Alex Soledad, who appears inStorm Watch.
The Bottom Line (Spoiler Alert)
Three-Inch Teeth is a little grisly (no pun intended). However, I think it’s one of Box’s best books. The characters, as always, are well-developed and the action and suspense is great throughout the book. It was disturbing for me because of the deaths of some of the characters in this book and past books.
While I think Three-Inch Teeth could be read as a standalone, it would be that much better if the books I mentioned earlier were read first!
The ending of Three-Inch Teeth was upsetting. It set the stage for future books in the series. And I can’t wait! So, Check it Out!
Links for the Further Explorations of the Books of C.J.Box
I really started to explore jazz more in 2014. Prior to that time I had a few favorites I listened to regularly. Those artists included mostly Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith and occasionally Freddie Hubbard and McCoy TYner. When I set out to expand my jazz listening I would review both the Jazz Charts at both the Roots Music Report and JazzWeek. Additionally, I would review the Jazz Birthday Page at All About Jazz.
when I was reviewing the chart I would look for a musician who played an instrument I liked. Those instruments were guitar, Hammond B3 and trumpet. When I would find someone I didn’t know I’d read their biography at the site. Then I’d go to Spotify and find their music. Finally, I would write a post!
Today, when I reviewed the birthdays, one name jumped out quickly, Josie Quick. ( no pun intended) Josie is a gifted violinist and I am familiar with her playing. However, I am not familiar through here work as a jazz musician. Rather, through her work with New Age Artist Timothy Wenzel. As a matter of fact, I was listening to Josie’s violin last night on Wenzel’s latest release Immerse.
Josie Quick and Jazz
Josie Quick’s contribution to the jazz genre comes via the jazz groups Perpetual Motion which she founded with jazz guitarist Tom Carleno in 1989.
Josie Quick and Tom Carleno founded the acoustic jazz group Perpetual Motion in 1989. Based around the sizzling jazz violin style of Josie Quick, this dynamic instrumental combo will take you on a musical journey that can range from bluegrass to swing to rock to Jean-Luc Ponty inspired jazz. Guitarist Tom Carleno pens much of their material in a style reminiscent of Michael Hedges. Bassist Blake Eberhard and drummer Rob Chamberlin complete the quartet. Josie’s improvisational style is a combination of the influences from her classical and jazz training. l and jazz training
More About Josie Quick and her Music from her Website
…..At the University of Denver, where Josie received her Bachelor of Music degree in classical violin performance, she discovered musicians Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grapelli – two vastly different jazz violinists – and Darol Anger – more of a new-age fiddler. Josie began trying to do what they were doing on her own because there weren’t a lot of resources for jazz violinists at the time. “I got a lot of ‘violinists don’t play jazz’ or ‘I don’t know how to do it so I can’t teach you. I had to figure it out on my own. Now I’m taking a creative strings workshop and I’m realizing just how much I missed because jazz violin is a big thing now.”
When it comes to her music preferences today, there’s not much Josie doesn’t like. “I really like world and Latin music, Brazilian choro, flamenco, bossa novas, gypsy, jazz, African, rock’n’roll just about anything.”
So, Happy Birthday , Josie Quick! Now I think I’ll listen to some Perpetual Motion and maybe that Timothy Wenzel album again! Here’s some live Perpetual Motion……
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Josie Quick
The Goodwill Album Haul
