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David Salley

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Historical novels [Apr. 24th, 2023|11:37 am]
David Salley
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I don't mind a fictionalized biography of someone written as a novel rather than a dry summary of facts.  But when you take two actual living people, and write about a romance between them that didn't take place in real life, that's crossing a line.  Also, any novel that features Dracula as the central character is NOT a historical novel!
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Book Challenge [Apr. 14th, 2023|09:43 am]
David Salley
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I didn't care for the categories in this year's Popsugar Book Challenge or Goodread's Book Challenge.  So, I decided I'd just catch up on books I've been meaning to read while looking for other challenges.  One interesting one I found was A Century of Mysteries, read ten mystery novels, each one written in a different decade of the past century.  Doing a search by publication date on Goodreads, I discovered I was done.  Too simple.  So, I decided to make it harder.  Each novel had to be the first appearance of the detective and I went all the way back to the first detective story.  It took awhile just to compile the list of what fit the category and was available.  Seeing as I'm over two thirds done, I decided to post a progress report here. 

* read and reviewed
- TBRL
1840's * Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales - Edgar Allen Poe - 1841 (C. August Dupin #1) [1]
1850's - Bleak House - Charles Dickens - 1853 (Detective Inspector Bucket #1) 
        Available online.  At 1000+ pages, the longest book on this list!
1860's The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins - 1868 (Sergeant Cuff #1) 316 pgs.
        I own a copy
1870's - Desperate Remedies - Thomas Hardy - 1871 (Cytherea Graye #1) [2] 
        Available online. 
1880's * A Study in Scarlet - A.C. Doyle - 1887 (Sherlock Holmes #1)
1890's * The Amateur Cracksman - E.W. Hornung - 1899 (Raffles the Gentleman Thief #1) [3]
1900's - The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad - 1907 (Secret Agent #1) 
        Available thru ILL
1910's * The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton - 1911 (Father Brown #1)
1920's * The House Without a Key - Earl Derr Biggers - 1925 (Charlie Chan #1)
1930's * Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie - 1930 (Miss Marple #1) [4]
1940's * The Moving Target - Ross MacDonald - 1949 (Lew Archer #1) 246 pgs.
1950's * Casino Royale - Ian Fleming - 1953 (James Bond #1)
1960's * Friday the Rabbi Slept Late - Harry Kemelman - 1964 (Rabbi Small #1)
1970's * Rest You Merry - Charlotte MacLeod - 1978 (Peter Shandy #1)
1980's * Fellowship of Fear - Aaron Elkins - 1982 (Gideon Oliver #1)
1990's * One for the Money - Janet Evanovich - 1994 (Stephanie Plum #1)
2000's - Angels and Demons - Dan Brown - 2000 (Robert Langdon #1) 
          I own a copy
2010's * Now You See Me - Sharon J. Bolton - 2011 (Lacey Flint #1)
2020's * Murder Goes to Market - Daisy Bateman - 2020 (Claudia Simcoe #1) 
[1] The FIRST modern detective story!
[2] His debut novel!
[3] A.C. Doyle's Brother-in-law! John Barrymore played both Raffles and Holmes in movies. 
[4] 'The Thirteen Problems' was written first, but published second.
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Who am I and what have I done with the real me? :D [Apr. 11th, 2023|12:01 pm]
David Salley
Clarence Thomas has been accused of having billionaire Harlan Crow as a sugar-daddy.  It's being referred to as the Thomas Crow Affair.  I can't believe I missed a pun that obvious. 

I agree with shock-jock Howard Stern.  Bud Light has a transgender spokesperson.  Kid Rock responded by using a case of Bud Light as target practice.  Howard Stern: "I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing," Stern said on his show Monday. "I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life. I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f—ing want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team,"   I agree with Howard Stern???
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Rick Mills Baseball Reading Challenge [Apr. 6th, 2023|08:36 pm]
David Salley
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An online friend, Rick Mills, has a mystery novel webpage and he posts contests. This is one of his latest, the 2023 Baseball Season of Abra Cadavers!  The goal is to complete all nine types of plate appearances to become an All-Star!
Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand and remove your caps for the National Anthem.
Get a Single by reading one book. Now how hard is that?
           The Gideon Oliver Mystery Series by Aaron Elkins
           Fellowship of Fear #1
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5291228328
Get a Double by reading two books by a second author (Different author than the single)
           Stephanie Plum Mystery Series by Janet Evanovich
           One for the Money #1
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5344837368
           Going Rogue #29
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4930041659
           The first and the most recent novels
Get a Triple by reading three books by a third author (Different author than the single or double)
           Lacey Flint Mystery Series by Sharon J. Bolton
           Now You See Me #1
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5347352453
           Dead Scared #2
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5383864792
           Lost #3
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5467005451
           There are more books in the series, alas they're not available in the local library system. :(
Get a Home Run by reading four books by a fourth author. (Different author than the single, double, or triple)
           A White House Chef Mystery Series by Julie Hyzy
           State of the Onion #1
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4480846481
           Hail to the Chef #2
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5259534944
           Eggsecutive Orders #3
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5271096287
           Buffalo West Wing #4
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5300112758
           I've actually read six out of the nine at this point, so . . .
           Affairs of Steak #5
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5324979082
           Fonduing Fathers #6           
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5324979145
You have hit for the Cycle once you complete a single, double, triple, AND a home run.
           Single - The Gideon Oliver Mystery Series by Aaron Elkins
           Double - Stephanie Plum Mystery Series by Janet Evanovich
           Triple - Lacey Flint Mystery Series by Sharon J. Bolton
           Home Run - A White House Chef Mystery Series by Julie Hyzy
Get a Foul by giving up on a foul one with the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish)
           This one is going to be a problem.  Do I deliberately pick a novel so bad I won't finish it? Or do I just hope I run across one this year?  My last DNF was "Daisy Jones and the Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid last year.
Get a Bunt by reading a short story.
           The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (12 short stories)
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5344859433
           Raffles - The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung (24 short stories)
               https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5393341103
Get a Stolen Base by stealing (reading) a book which has been submitted to any of our previous or current challenges - in any year - by someone else. This is an incentive for you to browse the readings of the other challengers. Browse all the archived challenges at The Mystillery. http://rickmillsproject.com/mystillery/index.html
           Hmmm, a-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go . . . :)
Strike Out when a book physically strikes out of your house (back to the library, loaned out, mailed out, given away, sold, traded, composted, thrown out, audiobook taken outdoors for a walk, book taken elsewhere to read, etc.)
           I have a friend who is downsizing her library. 8-O  She gives me a box of books once a week. I take a few to keep and donate the rest to the Free Little Library on the front lawn of the local public library. I've given away three boxes of books to date.  However, just to be technical; Nightshade by Susan Witting Albert.
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45 [Mar. 20th, 2023|01:32 pm]
David Salley
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I know my NSHO doesn't matter, but if I was NY AG, I wouldn't do a thing this week.  Arrest?  What arrest?  Who told you we're arresting someone?  You have a bad source of information.  We're not arresting anyone.  Let them wander around aimlessly and disperse feeling like fools.  I'd let GA AG go first, and THEN put out a warrent so they no idea where to protest, NY or GA.  Or where they've taken him for that matter.  :)  And as for Randy Quaid, "A 'Spring Awakening' will make insurrection seem like a childrens' birthday party", there's an adage, "Fool me once, . . ."  They're going to find the National Guard already in place with lethal force pre-authorized.  BTW, have you noticed the "Lock Her Up" party is suddenly against political prisoners???  
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Valentine's Day; That Was The Weekend That Was [Feb. 14th, 2023|08:23 pm]
David Salley
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Saturday was errand running.

Sunday our UU tech guru was on vacation and I subbed for him.  I think I did well.  He left a three page instruction manual. I added another page of notes.

Monday was a Soul Matters meeting.  A small group of church members somewhere between theology discussion group and lunch buddies.  The theme of the month is LOVE.  The monthly booklet included a page of self-love suggestions and said we should start doing one or two of them this month.  I've been doing more than half of them during the pandemic lockdown just to stay sane! 

Tuesday is Valentine's Day!  My and I bought a family pack of peanut butter M&Ms for the superbowl.  She made me promise not to buy expensive chocolates.  I used a heart box from a few years ago and dumped the remainder of the M&Ms into it and left it on her laptop. :D   The weather was clear and high forties, so I left early in the morning to hike around College Lodge for a 'forest bath', one of the self love suggestions.  I promised the group I'd upload a few pictures. 
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Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about . . . [Feb. 10th, 2023|04:52 pm]
David Salley
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For those who haven't heard, I've been kicked off Facebook.  DJT can get back on, but me, not so much.  It seems posting Addams family memes violates their policies on self-harm and suicide.  So, I got advised to get counseling and booted off my social media account, because that's how you treat self-harm patients, cut them off from their support network of friends.  So, in the meantime, I've re-activated my LJ account.  If I understand this correctly, if my friends haven't posted in a while, LJ will notify them that I made a new post.  We'll see how it goes.

I want there to be a record of this.  I'm making another prediction.  Allegedly, as a result of Tucker Carlson's tirade against the M&M's spokescandies, the Mars Candy Company has announced that they are retiring them for an "indetermininate amount of time" and their new spokesperson will be Maya Rudoph!  So, the company that is second only to Budwiser for creating brilliant Superbowl ads has dropped an ad campaign that they've probably been working on since the last Superbowl and are going with an SNL commedian???  I call BS!  This Superbowl is going to be the greatest trolling ever since Cartoon Network rickrolled the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!  You heard it here first!  
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Restaurant Review [Aug. 23rd, 2018|05:59 pm]
David Salley
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Restaurant: Friendly Buffet
Type: Chinese Buffet
Address: 800 Harlem Rd, Suite 300, West Seneca, NY 14224
Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Website: http://www.friendlychinesebuffet.com/
Rating: *** three out of five stars

It bills itself as a Chinese - Japanese - Italian - American buffet.  I've learned that most Chinese buffets have a sushi bar because the average American can't tell the difference between Oriental cuisines and cutomers keep asking for it if it isn't there. Interestingly, kimchi was also available and I think of that as a Korean dish.  And most Chinese buffets have cheese pizza, chicken wings, a salad bar and an ice cream cooler so the kids will eat something and the parents are more willing to come back.  As for an Italian buffet... the picture that immediately comes to mind for me is either a St. Joseph's Day table which is a vegetables and fish Lenten tradition, or miles of pasta.  The closest thing I saw to Italian was the cheese pizza for the kids.  My wife says the sushi bar was actually quite good.

For me, the first pass thru a Chinese buffet is going to be; Lo Mein noodles, General Tso's chicken, a fried egg roll and a bowl of egg drop soup.   The lo mein was bland, the egg roll was good, the chicken and soup were okay.  The food was fresh, hot, and replenished often.  There was a wide variety of items.  There was nothing that was yuck, but nothing was fantastic either.  The price is inexpensive and my mother was always getting 10% coupons in the mail.  Coupons also available on the website.  And it's convienently close to my mother's house.  Will I go again?  Yes, if I'm up in Buffalo visiting my mother and in the mood for Chinese.  Am I going to drive up from Fredonia just to eat there, probably not.
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New Mailbox [Apr. 23rd, 2018|09:04 pm]
David Salley
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It was finally warm enough, long enough, that the ground was unfrozen and I could dig a post hole for the new mailbox. The snowplow driver had taken ours out, pole and all. So, I bought a new mailbox post and rented a post hole digger. Post hole diggers are amazing pieces of machinery. You set it up where you want the hole, plug it in and beams of microwave radiation disintegrate the dirt. You turn it off when the hole's deep enough. I WISH! It's two narrow rounded shovels hinged together. You take a handle in each hand, drive it into the ground, pull the handles apart to bring the shovel blades together and then lift up to remove the dirt from the hole.

So, there I am, trying to dig an 18" post hole. Dig with post hole digger, dig again. Stop. Go into house to get rose bush clippers to cut grape vine roots. How do you know it's grape vine? Because this is Chautauqua County. Q.E.D. Kneel down, cut roots, stand up, dig, stop. Go into house to get crowbar to force rock out of side of hole. Stand, dig, kneel, more vines, stand, dig, kneel, lever rock, stand, dig. Go back into house to get garden trowel because it's muddy down there. Digger, trowel, clipper, crowbar, stand, sit, kneel, lather, rinse, repeat. I've done so much standing and kneeling, it felt like I was back in church!

After the hole is dug. You use one hand to hold the post in the hole, the second hand to hold the level against the post to make sure it's straight and with your third hand push the rocks that you've dug out back into the hole to hold the post in place long enough to fill the hole back up with dirt. My arms are so sore, it hurts to move them. And tomorrow I get to fasten the box to the post!
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That Was The Weekend That Was [Apr. 10th, 2018|12:05 am]
David Salley
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This weekend was Interviewing the Candidates for the NY 23rd district.  One of them, Ian Golden came in early from Ithaca, so he held a meet and greet at a local bar from 6PM to 8PM.  It lasted until 8:30, then they took him down the street to the Contra dance where he apparently danced until 10:30 at which point he went out to eat with more locals until nearly midnight.  At 6:30AM on Saturday, he was out jogging with still more voters and came in for the 11AM interview session.  I don't know if I would have the stamina to run for office. 

The Interview the Candidates was held Saturday morning.  We have five democratic candidates running against GOP incumbent Tom Reed.  All five are running for office for the first time.  Linda Andrei, a doctor; Max Della Pia, retired military; Ian Golden, small business owner; Tracy Mitrano, cybernet security expert, and Eddie Sundquist, teacher turned lawyer.  We had five rings of chairs labelled Education, Social Networks, Gun Control, Economy, Protecting Democracy.  Everybody took a chair at the ring they felt strongest about.  I sat with Social Networks.  The candidates each took a chair and answered questions for 20 minutes before rotating to the next group. 

Sunday morning was blacksmithing.  The lesson was on chisels and punches.  Which sounds easy, shape the striking surface you want and you're done right?  Not quite.   Annealing, stick it in a barrel of wood ashes and let it cool over five hours, gives you a soft metal that won't take an edge.  Quenching, stick it in a barrel of ice water and cool it quickly, gives you hard metal that will break like peanut brittle.  Tempering, working a little of each, makes it just right for tool edges.  Yes, we made all the Goldilocks jokes and yes, we've all seen the sword making scene in Conan.  Now you know the other way to upset a blacksmith. :D

After blacksmith class, was music practice.  It was a very good practice.  Weirdly, we have no performances coming up.  None of the vigils that we know of want musicians.  
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