Dune 2000 V

Good afternoon Stroock's Books faithful. It's mid-May and we've yet to really have a spring. The weather has been mostly cold and rainy all month. We blame New Jersey governor Phil Murphy for this. 

Yesterday Gazans and West Bank Persons celebrated Nakba Day, in which they lament the Arab's inability to destroy Israel in 1948. Happy Nakba Day, everyone. Am Israel Chai. Nakba Day is faker than Kwanzaa. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the Rafah operation will 'intensify'. Joe said 'don't'. Bibi did. Israel Radar reports on the perilous situation on Israel's northern border and doesn't think Israel can maintain the status quo. Reminder, Netanyahu has been prime minister for most of the last 15 years while Hezbollah built a massive terror infrastructure. Exit question, is Iron Beam deployed?

NJ.com tells us: When polling in 2016 gave Hillary Clinton a false sense of confidence, Allan Lichtman was there to burst her bubble. He predicted Donald Trump would win. And, of course, he was correct. Now, the man who correctly predicted nine of the last 10 presidential elections, thinks 2024 will go to Joe Biden.' We repost this because we took Professor Lichtman's class when we attended a non-Jesuit University in Washington DC during the 90s. Read on, you'll see Professor Lichtman really doesn't know what's going to happen in November. Neither do we. Decent enough class. We think we got a B. 

You know...For at least the last decade, when we're writing one book, we're thinking about starting another. We're always anxious to finish, to get on with things and begin a new project. But honestly, after World War 1990: Norway and War Night, we're not sure what we're getting to work on. That is, we've no idea what our autumn project will be. It's a good thing we got that World War Two alternate history story submission to make in July. 

Anyway, as always we've been thinking about audience expansion, and we're returning to an idea we've had before. That is, turning The Blue and the Red: Palmerston's Iron Clads into a short story compilation about that war. We're mostly imagining the adverts we'll place in Civil War and British military history magazines. We don't see a lot of risk. Even if Civil War buffs reject the book, the current fanbase should (should!) like it. 

In the final scene of Frank Herbert's Dune, most of the cast gathers in the imperial throne room. The ambience of the show is turned all the way up, and everyone is wearing very FHD costumes.  Alec Newman, as the soon to be emperor Paul, is dressed in robes and wearing a headband almost like cult leader. Paul threatens, he commands and dictates. 'Tell them [the Navigators] to look into the future. They will see me staring back at them.' And later, 'If I am not obeyed...the spice will not flow.' We were once again moved, emotionally, when Paul readies for his fight against Feyd and Chani tells him, 'I am not afraid,' After the fight, the Princess Irulan approaches Paul. He turns to her and then walks to Chani. This scene is a fine ending to the Frank Herbert's Dune. But it is not the end of or review.