“I tiptoed past the Ministry of Interior, where red geraniums lined the building’s windows. In the secret prisons below, police tortured people with whips, limb crushers, nail presses, and scalding and freezing baths. Or else they just executed them. But the geraniums were always fresh.” –From Radio Underground by Alison Littman Alison Littman lives in […]

“I USED TO BE SOMEBODY—when Preston Howard walked down the street, kings and queens would move off to the curb. Okay, so that bit of paraphrased hyperbole, courtesy of George Thorogood, might qualify as excessive, but for sure, when I rode into town, mayors, city managers, and police chiefs became more than a little queasy […]

“Persuasion in NOT a call to action – it is a directed action. It is time to break up the myth that persuasion is a call to action. To “call” is to “invite.” This puts all the power in someone else’s hands. While to “direct” is to “control.” This is the ultimate way to give […]

Spanish and Latin American gambling establishments are on the peak of technical progress. From now on, land and online casinos will use face recognition technology. The project was initiated by a gambling regulator. Similar systems are already in use at Las Vegas casinos. So, passing face control, customers provide an ID. They are also checked […]

As I am listening to this very fine solo piano work I am asking myself the question ‘can the title of a piece of music, influence how it moves you’? Odd though it sounds, I must conclude that the statement is true. All of the tracks on Little Red Boat have some connection to the […]

The plan was simple and should have saved Wheatfield, Minnesota.  A town of 700 people, Wheatfield was suffering the slow death that many small towns all across America are facing every day. That was until the floating image of the Virgin Mary appeared at a local church. Unlike many such apparitions, this one was recorded […]

The internet is a wonderful tool, in a space of 30 years it has gone from an obscure US government funded research project to a tool that is part of our daily lives. Without the Internet pianist and composer David Peoples would have been unable, or at least been very unlikely to have made Looking […]

Ray Sutherland is a Kentucky native who grew up on a farm outside of Bowling Green. He served in the Army, spent two years in Germany, received his B.A. in religion from Western Kentucky University, and his PhD in the Bible from Vanderbilt University.  Ray has served of Professor of Biblical Studies at the University […]

I like action movies. A movie that has Jean-Claude Van Damme is sure to get a look. Even if what they are doing has been done to death. Black sites and escapes from them have all been the action movie rage the last couple of years in between the flood of cartel drug gang violence […]

As Live Bait by Ted Wood begins, the summer tourist rush in Murphy’s Harbor is over and Chief Bennett is on vacation.  Bennet is a bit bored. Not much is going on for him other than he has to figure out what to with the surplus of tomatoes from his garden. That is until Fullwell […]

Fifth in the series, Corkscrew opens with Reid Bennet at home doing his job as Chief of Police in Murphy’s Harbour. Biker gangs have been a problem before in Toronto and a biker gang is about to be an issue again.  This time it is the “Devil’s Brigade” and they are looking for their own […]

When the Killing Starts is the sixth installment in the Reid Bennett series by Ted Wood. Police Chief Reid Bennett was looking forward to his vacation time from Murphy’s Harbour. He is back down in Toronto with his girlfriend Freda and they have plans. At least he thought they did. Instead, an acting gig has […]

As happened in Live Bait, Police Chief Reid Bennett and his police dog, Sam, are not in Murphy’s Harbour. Instead they are over in Olympia where the biggest gold strike ever is drawing people from everywhere. That includes a certain geologist who was recently found dead. Jim Prudhomme is the dead man. Apparently, he was […]

It is early August as The Breakers: A Sharon McCone Mystery by Marcia Muller begins. Michelle Curley or “Chelle” to her friends was living and slowly rehabbing an old building known as The Breakers. Her parents, Trish and Jim Curley, who are out of the country and very worried, can’t get ahold of her. They […]

Detective Elouise Norton has been filled with guilt and grief over what happened to her sister 25 years ago. That tragedy is the core of her being and powers her work as a detective for the LAPD in Land Of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall. It is a Wednesday night in June when LAPD Detective […]

Early summer in Vermont should be a time of beauty. For the most part it is all across the state including the area that surrounds the local ski resort at Bromley Mountain. The natural landscape beauty is marred by the body of a young woman as Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel by Archer […]

When I was a kid, libraries were solemn and very quiet places. Noise was frowned upon. Usually I got the frown right before being told, “Whisper, please.” Silence in the library was a way of life and was expected whether it was the school library or the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library. […]

Dark Sacred Night features a team up of Harry Bosh and Detective Ballard who was first introduced in The Late Show. It also marks a sort of passing of the torch as Bosch sees in Ballard much of the same attitudes that powered his law enforcement career since he came home from Vietnam. As the […]

John Ford Clayton lives in Harriman, Tennessee with his wife Kara, and canine companions Lucy, Ginger and Clyde. He has two grown sons, Ben and Eli, and a daughter-in-law, Christina. He earned a BS in Finance from Murray State University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is active in his […]

As some of you know I have been working with author Joel Moore on a series of internet radio programs about the Civil War. Eventually these will be curated into a web site dedicated to the subject. That is a project that will take some time. What I have learned in my Journey Into The […]

November 11 is a solemn day of remembrance. We remember those that have fought and died in the military conflicts of the United States and its Allies. The casualties of war are celebrated as heroes and indeed they are. Ordinary men and women answered their country’s call to serve in the armed forces of their […]

Few dates in history are etched into the world’s collective consciousness. Americans remember December 7, 1941 for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, September 11, 2011, the attack on the World Trades Center in New York City and of course July 4, 1776 the day America declared her independence from Great Britain. IN the 20th […]

Do you fancy yourself to be a good photographer? There is no doubt that you can make a lot of money as a photographer. You can also make a good name for yourself. You’ll find jobs working weddings, sporting events and even birthdays. Just remember that you’re going to need the highest quality equipment possible. […]

  Throughout history Catholics have been subjected to many accusations against their faith. Some of these myths are rooted in ancient history while others are perpetrated because of social ignorance regarding Catholic beliefs. Dr. Gerard Verschuuren Ph.D. attempts to provide clarity in his book, Forty Anti-Catholic Lies. His work is an apologetical approach, determined to […]

The history of the Catholic Church in the United States oftentimes is not taught in parochial schools and colleges on a regular basis. Such an omission in the educational curriculum needs to be remedied. One book by Reverend Charles Connor remedies this situation with his book, Pioneer Priests and Makeshift Altars. Father Connor traces the […]

On Sunday we remember the fallen of the Great War one hundred years to the day after it ended. It involved our nation as never before in conflict. Conscription was indiscriminate. No matter that a man was unsuited to soldiery, no matter that deep down he was uneasy about the rationale for the conflict, no […]

The Second Vatican Council brought the Church into the 20th century and set the blueprint for the Church’s globalization through the council’s proclamations. Unfortunately, Vatican II is a distant reality for many of the world’s Catholics simply because it occurred over 50 years ago, and the Church and the world have developed politically, socially and […]

Catholics in the United States when it comes to voting compose the largest group among all religious denominations. Collectively, Catholics can influence the direction of elections in favor of politicians that embrace political and social platforms that are compatible with Catholic teachings. What this means for the most part is this, Catholics are not the […]

In the 1980’s, the women played a significant role in the professional wrestling industry. There were even WWE women’s tag team titles because at that time, there was a lot of female talent. The belts were made important because of two great teams – the Jumping Bomb Angels and the Glamour Girls. That rivalry grew […]

For most couples, retiring at the same time is what they most prefer. Retiring at the same time allows couples to spend their golden years together. Usually, when couples retire separately, it’s because of health problems, job loss, a wide age gap or win real money online pokies. So, should you retire before your spouse? Let’s […]