Book Recommendation – Murder on the Marlow Belle

It was nice to revisit the folks of the Marlow Murder Club. Don’t get them confused with the Thursday Murder Club, though. They are very similar, but each very distinct, I love the characters in both series. This time around it is Murder on the Marlow Belle.

Judith, Suzie and Becks are at it again. This time around, they search to find the murderer on The Marlow Belle. Hear is the Goodreads synopsis:

Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him – it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.

Oliver was, by all accounts, a rather complicated chap with a reputation for bullying children during nativity play rehearsals, and he wasn’t short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, and Becks are convinced they’ll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, and this case is not so clear-cut after all. The gang will need to keep their wits about them to solve this case, otherwise a killer will walk free …

This book had all the elements that I have come to enjoy from this group. There were plenty of laughs as the women search for the killer. This one was hard to put down. There was a sort of “cliff hanger” at the end of this book and I’m already waiting for the next book due out this year. It looks like it will pick up where this one leaves off.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one ….

4 out of 5 stars

Too Much Glare

We’ve been using the same photographer for about 3-4 years now. It never fails, she always seems to find perfect pictures among chaos. We were unable to get family photos done around Christmas, so when her Spring Mini Sessions opened, we scheduled one.

One thing has changed since the last family photo session – three of us are wearing glasses. For the first time ever, I was a bit disappointed with the photos. About half of them had glare on our glasses. Honestly, I’m not sure if our photographer’s assistant did the editing or not, but I was surprised at how many of them had glare.

I attempted to download a few photo apps to see if I could fix them, but every last app wanted credit card information or a subscription for 6 months. I wasn’t about to do that. I attempted to use Gemini and Chat GPT to see if they might be able to get rid of it, and it was hit and miss. One program removed my daughters eye glasses completely along with her eyebrows!

I did drop a note to the photographer, and perhaps she has a way to get rid of it. I’m not sure. I hope so. As I said, we’ve been pretty loyal customers and I hope there is something she can do.

There were some good pictures, though. There was no real bunny this year, but the kids did get one to snuggle.

As difficult as it is to get these to to sit still, there were a couple nice ones of the two of them.

Sadly, it was the family photos that the glare played a factor in. Too many people with glasses, perhaps? A couple of these were run through AI, but the glare is still there.

She had the kids take a few together with Sam, but the glare really messed those up. By the time it was my turn to get a couple with the kids, Andrew was kind of done with pictures. Ella, however, is always happy to get pictures with me. She also always knows how to make a dad feel special.

I really hope that our photographer reaches out. I have a couple friends who take pictures, but I don’t know if they’d be able to correct them. Fingers crossed.

Tune Tuesday

It was on this day in 1958 that Elvis Presley joined the US Army.

Elvis had been in the RCA recording studio in Nashville on February 1, 1958. It was on that day that he would record Wear My Ring Around Your Neck. This would be the final recording session before he entered the service.

The song was written by Bert Carroll and Russell Moody. What is unique about the song is that it was particularly notable for breaking a string of ten consecutive number 1 hits that Elvis achieved in just two years. Although it was Presley’s sixth number-one hit in the American R&B charts, it only peaked at number 2 on the American pop charts.

In June of 1958, while on his first army leave (furlough), Elvis recorded five songs: “I Need Your Love Tonight,” “A Big Hunk O’ Love,” “Ain’t That Loving You Baby,” “(Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I,” and “I Got Stung”. This was his final session until March 1960, when he was discharged.

While in the army, RCA continued to release songs that Elvis has already recorded.

Movie Music Monday – Sky High

It took me a bit to find a movie to feature today. This is mainly because it wasn’t so much about the movie, or the song. I wanted to find a song and movie based on the artist. On this day in 1944, Ric Ocasek of The Cars was born. There are plenty of Cars songs in the movies. Honestly, I could have picked Moving In Stereo because of the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High because that’s the one everyone talks about. Instead, I picked Just What I Needed, which is featured in 2005’s Sky High.

This movie really has quite the cast. Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Lynda Carter, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, and even Cloris Leachman! I’ve never seen the movie, but the cast makes it something I may have to visit.

I also admit that I am stretching it a bit, because the Cars version is not it the film. The version in the film is by Caleigh Peters (whoever that is.) It doesn’t matter, though, because I want to focus on Ric today.

Songfacts.com says, “Ric Ocasek was The Cars’ frontman, but he had bass player Ben Orr sing lead on this one. Unlike some singers, Ocasek had no problem handing off a hit to a different bandmember to sing.”

Ric was the writer of Just What I Needed. Songfacts says “he wrote this song in a basement at a commune in Newton, Massachusetts, where he lived at the time. At least that’s the story he told – he also said that all written words are fiction.

“Just What I Needed” is a classic example of his skewed sense of humor and sly lyrical touch. It seems very sweet when he’s telling the girl she’s just what he needed and letting her know he’s happy to have her wasting his time. But then he gets to the chorus:

I guess, you’re just what I needed
I needed someone to feed
I guess, you’re just what I needed
I needed someone to bleed“

The song established The Cars as one of New Wave’s leading hitmakers and helped get them a deal with Elektra Records. According to songfacts, They recorded a 2-track demo of the song that their manager brought to two popular Boston radio stations: WBCN and WCOZ. This ploy rarely works, but the group had built a following in the area and the song was very radio-friendly. Both stations played it and listeners loved it; on WBCN, it became the most-requested song by a local band in the history of the station. With a song on the radio in a major market, The Cars were a surefire success and had their pick of record labels. They went with Elektra, who had them re-record the song and released it as their first single.

Happy Birthday, Ric!

WordPress Daily Prompt

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

Every once in a while, there will be a prompt that I feel compelled to write an answer to. In this case, I wrote about it in 2020.

Who was my most influential teacher? That is one of the easiest questions to answer. Tom Shaner. Why? Well, here is a link to the blog I wrote when he passed away:

https://nostalgicitalian.com/2020/12/29/im-gonna-miss-you-sir/

Book Recommendation – Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead

Here is another book that I read simply because the title intrigued me. Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is a considered a psychological thriller that had been praised for its twisty plot, unreliable narrator, and exploration of memory, guilt, and trauma, drawing comparisons to Luckiest Girl Alive and The Lost Night. 

I was not really sure what to expect from this book, but it was actually one that keep me interested. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

What if everything you know about the worst night of your life turns out not to be true?

Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a “witness” to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve—events known to the public as “Scarlet Christmas”—though Charlie knows she was much more than that.

Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She’s the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie’s former classmates threatens to shatter everything she’s worked for, Charlie realizes how much she’s changed in nine years. Now, she’s not going to let anything—not even the people she once loved most—get in her way.

Charlie made for an interesting character. She seems to be a pillar at this magazine, however, as the plot gets going toy see how frail she is. There is anxiousness, nervousness and overall fear that she deals with. She is obviously dealing with some PTSD. That paranoia is what really drives the story and peaks your interest as to what happened that night.

Not the best I have read this year, but a good one none the less.

3 out of 5 stars

Spam Be Damned

If I had all of the money that the daily spam calls tell me I have coming to me I would never have to work again and I could travel the world! Every single day I get 3-6 calls from various numbers saying that I have been approved for $20,000 – $100,000 and that all I have to do is call them back to finalize the deal.

The calls are always a recording. There is never a live person there. One time I decided to answer to see if I could just play along and drive the scammer on the other end crazy, but there is never anyone there.

The calls come at all hours of the day and night. On days I work, there will be no less than three calls/voicemail messages from these annoying jerks!

I’m sure that my number was part of some data breach and that’s why there are all the calls. The calls used to come “Edna.” Now they don’t even mention a name.

Someone told me that this “Cloaked” app helps. It is supposed to find all the lists that have your info and gets rid of it. I’m sure it is at a cost, but I am always scared about apps like this. I’m never sure what I can trust.

Have you ever used this app or something else that will end this annoyance?

Verses From the Italian Bard

I hope that it isn’t a crime
Today’s post will be done in rhyme.
I’ve got something to say
On World Poetry Day
Keep reading if you’ve got the time.

I am aware and I know it
I’m not a very good poet.
But I’m going to try
And don’t ask me why
I just hope I don’t blow it.

My brain’s in a bit of a fog
And I thank you for reading my blog
My kids and my wife
Well, they are my life
I suppose that so is my dog.

Today’s the birthday of JS Bach
His music is far from rock.
He had twenty kids
He must have been flipping his lid
And he probably went into shock.

While this has been very fun
I’ll limit my poems to one.
After reading this far
Grab a drink at the bar
Now, aren’t you glad that I’m done?

A Finger Pickin’ Good Birthday

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Jerry Reed. Without a doubt, he was one of the best guitar pickers in Nashville!

Jerry Reed Hubbard was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20, 1937. By the time he was in high school he was writing songs and singing them. At 18 years old, he was signed to a record deal at Capitol Records by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery. He was being promoted as a “teen sensation” after recording some rockabilly songs in 1956. His label mate, Gene Vincent helped him get some notoriety as a song writer when he recorded Jerry’s song “Crazy Legs” in 1958.

I had the chance to interview him when I worked in country radio. If I had to rank all the interviews I’ve ever done, his would be in the top three. He was a joy to talk to and he had so many fantastic stories. One of those stories was about recording with Elvis.

In 1967, Jerry’s version of Guitar Man landed on the country chart and it caught the ear of Elvis. Elvis wanted to record the song. The story was recounted in the Tennessean when he passed away:

Reed recalled how he was tracked down to play on the Presley session: “I was out on the Cumberland River fishing, and I got a call from Felton Jarvis (then Presley’s producer at RCA Victor). He said, ‘Elvis is down here. We’ve been trying to cut “Guitar Man” all day long. He wants it to sound like it sounded on your album.’ I finally told him, ‘Well, if you want it to sound like that, you’re going have to get me in there to play guitar, because these guys [you’re using in the studio] are straight pickers. I pick with my fingers and tune that guitar up all weird kind of ways.'”

Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. “I hit that intro, and [Elvis’s] face lit up and here we went. Then after he got through that, he cut [my] “U.S. Male” at the same session. I was toppin’ cotton, son.” Reed also played the guitar for Elvis Presley’s “Big Boss Man” (1967), recorded in the same session.

You can hear the distinct “Reed” sound that Elvis was looking for in the intro:

It is said that Jerry’s syncopated guitar playing style was influenced by Merle Travis and Earl Scruggs. This style was nicknamed the “claw”, due to the appearance of Reed’s hand as he played. The Claw also happens to be one of the coolest instrumentals that Jerry Recorded. You can hear that same sound heard in Guitar Man in The Claw.

Jerry was great friends with Chet Atkins and they played the song as a duet more than once. They did an album together which featured the song (and a funny video to accompany it):

…and they performed it live on TV quite a few times as well:

Jerry was an amazing talent. Thankfully, he left us plenty of music to enjoy. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Son!

Friday Photo Flashback

I suppose I could have skipped the Friday Photo Flashback this week. I posted quite a few photos yesterday for my anniversary after all. However, I did find one photo worth sharing again. It takes us back to St. Patrick’s Day of 2022.

Ella is two here and Andre is about 5 months old. My wife always does such a good job getting them clothes for holidays. I’m not sure if we got pictures of them this year.

Ella had such natural and beautiful curls here. I love her little smile. It’s had to believe that Andrew ever looked like this. I miss those chubby cheeks.

They are growing up way too fast.