Tuesday Post Without Title

Good morning, fellow enthusiasts of Stroock's Books. And happy Tuesday. 

Once again, we will not have a scorcher today with temps only reaching into the high 70s.

Back to backs at the gym. We're tired and sore. Mid month we weighed in at 245, pounds not kilos.

Our colon/endoscopy follow up was fine. No cancer or anything. We do have a bourgeoning acid reflux issue which the doctor said could become a major problem down the road. Time to get on another med, we're not happy about this, and make a few lifestyle changes, about which we are also unhappy. Coffee causes reflux, as does seltzer, both of which we drink a lot of (of which both we drink a lot?). Heck, we've been using seltzer to treat heartburn for decades. As noted previously, we are not happy. We are miffed even. We are not happy at all. 

We've new prescriptions to pick up. We're also not happy about this.

Deal or what?...The Israeli press is filled with doom. The administration insists the deal is a good deal (they would though, wouldn't they?) We can't see or imagine why Trump would give the game away after accomplishing so much. So maybe he's not giving the game away. Nevertheless...We sure hope Trump knows what he's doing. We can't help but notice that oil is below $80 this morning. 

Related...Dems only have a +5 advantage in the polls. That's not enough. 

Jews...so what's with the Torah walk and the new synagogue? Well, our old synagogue was in a town that used to be very Jewish. The demographics changed and now the town is very Latin. The congregation shrank and then shrank some more. Ours were the last children bat mitzva'd. With the congregation shriveling, and dues drying up, our synagogue merged with a neighboring synagogue. It was a very moving ceremony. The new synagogue is much closer to home, which is nice. 

DOGE report. 

Okay, we figured out the next chapter in World War 1990: Thatcher's War. The chapter takes place a week after the Battle of Ardee and has a news report showing Britain's farcical advance into Ireland. Lots of political machinations with preparations for the Dublin assault. 

We should finish the nuke novel Suez story today [Should-Ed]. 

Doom...or not...or Maybe

Good morning, Stroock's Books loyalists. Happy Monday and happy mid-June.

Plenty of rain last night. Good. We needed it. Highs only in the mid-70s today. Which is nice. 

We have a follow up to our colon/endoscopy a few weeks ago. Wish us luck. 

Dance taxi is over. Only a few more days of school left. 

The US and Iran have a deal they say. Or not as according to the veep, they're still talking. The US is saying the deal means one thing. Iran is saying the deal means something else. Hot Air has an early write up. Right now this seems like more of the same. The fighting stops.  Hormuz opens. Nuclear talks begin. This feels like a punt, so far. 

The Israelis are apoplectic, which should surprise no one. Boy if some of these terms are true....yikes. Usually this blog reminds reader(s) to eschew doomerism. Right now we remind reader(s) to eschew optimism. We await events.  

Final thought, Duane Patterson at Hot Air is about where we are.

Trump has his announcement. The market will rise today. The price of oil will drop.

Related...In The Times of Israel a long interview with Together Party leader Naftali Bennett. We like the cut of his jib.

Staying Jewy... So yeah, we did a Torah walk yesterday in which we physically walked the Torahs out of our old synagogue and drove them to the new synagogue and walked them in. 

We look good, there's no getting around it. They gave us the heavy torah. 'Your husband looks like he spends a lot of time at the gym,' - true quote. You're goddamn right we do. This being America in 2026, we took the precaution of having a police escort. One never knows if stabby will show up. 

Kurt Schlichter discusses the latest round of Irish Troubles and asks some excellent questions. A fun column, as is Schlichter's wont. Let's just say many of his points will seem familiar to readers of World War 1990: Ireland. 

Ugh...what is this urge to have to know what is going on in the world up to the very minute? This we must eschew. 

We searched in vain yesterday for something to read. We fight ennui.

DOGE report.

We had a big sales spike yesterday, no idea why. 

We spent a few hours going over the Suez story. It's coming along. we think we have the ending. 

We've no idea how to get to where we need to go in World War 1990: Thatcher's War. 

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 6/14/26

Good Sunday morn, Christian faithful. We hear Waffle House has a kids eat free special today. 

The New York Knicks are world champions for the first time in 53 years. And that's the first New York championship since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012. Riots ensued. Congratulations Knicks fans.

Yesterday's dance recital went just fine, two girls, two shows, five dances. What can a dad say? 

Heh, we can say that there is no dance taxi for three months. That means free evenings, no more 8:30 dinners, etc etc. 

Israel slammed 70 + Hezbollah targets yesterday, hit Beirut's Dahieh suburbs this morning and has ordered more evacuations. Is Israel launching a new campaign, or taking care of business before an Iran deal, which is close being signed, they say? We hear contradictory reports as to what's in the deal. The Israeli press is filled with doomerism. Israel is just not in a place where it can allow itself to enjoy the moment. This blog awaits events. 

Oh, happy birthday, Mr. President. 

Will's good idea for the week of 6/14/26.

We're working on Suez, but have no idea how it ends. We've no idea what actually happens in the DEW line story. We need more short story ideas for the 5th nuke novel. Something else overseas, but what? But who? Whom? Ideas welcome. The 5th nuke novel is 36,000 words.

We're off to do a torah walk from our old synagogue to our new synagogue. It is exactly what it sounds like.

Saturday Updates

Good morning, Stroock's Books weekenders, and happy Saturday. 

Last night we attended services at our new, larger and much closer synagogue. Dang, they do the prayers to a different melody. We were lost for much of the service and will have to relearn the prayers. Mrs. Stroock, who grew up with this stuff, was right at home. The dinner, service and oneg were perfectly pleasant, and we've already made new acquittances. Shalom.

Heh we learned that the synagogue was getting a new cantor, who happened to be the cantor from one of our previous synagogues. Which is nice. We liked her very much. Shalom again. 

A peace deal with Iran is close, they say once more. Given the details we've seen, the deal is acceptable. Two questions for the doomers. What are more air strikes supposed to accomplish? How, exactly would we topple the regime?  Eschew doomerism. Learn to take the W. 

Anyway we suspect this ceasefire will resemble the current not-ceasefire. 

The things.

We read through World War 1990 Thatcher's War and are pleased. The narrative is set through the Battle of Ardee. 

We have the rough draft of the BAOR story. It's messy and all over the place, but the draft is there. We'll give the story a read and then let it sit. Mostly, the story is General Harry Tuzo in his BAOR field HQ working the radio and trying to find out what the hell is happening. 

We began another nuke novel short story. An Egyptian Major patrols the west bank of the Suez Canal, going from situation to situation. He ponders where he has been, and where things are going. 

That's all for us. We're off to the much-anticipated dance recital. 

Round and Round

Good Friday morn, Stroock's Books kibbutzim and shabbat shalom. We are starting at our new synagogue tonight. We'll provide details on the why of that as needed (it's nothing bad).

We had our last dance taxi service of the year last night. We can take down the little dance-taxi schedule on the fridge. We're almost a little emotional. Recital tomorrow. 

The US and Iran have struck a deal, Trump says. He says that a lot. Iran denies a deal has been reached. What are the terms? We know some of them (maybe) but not all. Some terms seem ok. Some seem not so okay. This is the very latest*, and seems acceptable to this blog. We suspect negotiations are riding a familiar merry-go-round. Our best guess is this is another not-a-ceasefire. But that is only a guess. Nobody knows nuthin'. We await events.

We do know the stock market will rise, oil prices will fall. 

DOGE report. 

Same, on all fronts, really.

We like our British invasion of Irelan chapter. It's farce ending in tragedy. 

The Suez chapter in the 5th nuke novel is coming along just fine. 

*'One issue remains unresolved: the Lebanon clause. The Americans are prepared for a ceasefire in accordance with the latest terms, meaning one that leaves Israel with the ability to respond to an emerging threat, while Iran is demanding a full ceasefire. However, according to the diplomatic sources' assessment, this gap will not be an obstacle, and the issue will be discussed in the next stage of negotiations.' Note that Israel just finished destroying the Hezbollah fortress at Dabin and is preparing to attack Nabatieh. 

Title Held Upon Request

Groggy, more coffee!

Much better.

Good morning (afternoon now) reader(s) of Stroock's Books, and happy Thursday. 

We slept in half an hour, and it's thrown off our entire morning schedule. What the actual F?

The weather is weird, with a kind of hazy humidity and cloud cover settling over New Jersey as if it's early August. 

Mowed the lawn. Could probably have waited another day. 

We understand the New York Knicks had some sort of miracle win against the Spurs last night to take the finals lead 3-1. Congrats. Knicks fans have been acting like obnoxious jerks. They'll be insufferable when (if) the Knicks win the series. Expect victory riots. We do see some Knicks gear here in northern New Jersey. 

The war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon continues. 

DOGE report,

We read the opening air raid chapter of World War 1990: Thatcher's War and think it needs another scene or two. We are generally pleased with what's there. The invasion chapter awaits. 

We are writing a story about an Egyptian army officer on the banks of the Suez the fourth day after the nuclear war begins. So far we are also generally pleased. 

We uncovered a continuity error in The Great Nuclear War of 1975 series. In the first novel the presidential briefing specifically states that Paris was not destroyed. But the 2nd and 3rd novels say Paris was destroyed. Oh well.

Cue the Clash (IYKYK)

Happy midweek, Stroock's Books reader(s). 

A little rain early this morning, with a little more rain coming later this morning. Which means we won't be able to mow the lawn. Aw, damn it! 

When cleaning the kitchen last night, we dropped a big bottle of olive oil on our little toe. Ouch!

The US and Iran are close to a deal, they say. They've been saying that for...well...a while. As for negotiations, who the hell knows? Trump is all over the place. Just this morning he was saying Iran is 'taking too long' and 'will have to pay a price.' The New York Post is really talking up potential strikes this morning. We suspect the talk is a negotiating ploy.* We'll say this. If you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.** We shrug and dismiss media reports out of hand. Nobody knows nuthin'.

You know, we were scanning half a dozen Israeli news websites this morning, as we do every morning, and we realized something. Yes, we see a few news stories about strikes on Iran or Haredi protests or some such. But we guess that half the articles presented are analyses, not news, or something like, 'Israel under pressure - retired general says'. What is this? Because it ain't news. It's people's opinions. 

For all you doomers out there, a long report on the massive, generational damage Israel is doing to Hezbollah.

Karmelo Anthony convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison. No riots, so far. Can the Summer of Melo be far off? We don't know. But there are plenty of riots in Belfast. It's nice to see the Irish returning to form. 

DOGE report.

We read through another third of World War 1990: Thatcher's War. Though the narrative strikes us as a tad muddled, we're quite pleased overall. We may or may not do a chapter where the RUC is cracking down on the Prods. We need to do the Dublin attack chapter. That's the last thing. 

A friend on FB sparked a 5th nuke novel story which we began writing right away. Which is nice. 

*This blog remains skeptical that a renewed aerial campaign can topple the regime or force concessions. 

** Reference.