Monday Blue is Big for a Blue Week

Good morning Stroock's Books reader(s). Yeah, nothing to say yesterday. We dunno.

We await our glasses. Like real glasses, not these cheap CVS readers.  

So it's 10/7 week and we've no idea what to do. We're reading In the War Room. Riveting Do we want to read a history of the attack? There's plenty of uplifting stories of resistance too you know. And do reactivate Operation Hatikva? We look good there, that's just all there is to it. 

Related...looks like we finally found a decent Israeli poll aggregator. Likud rising. 

NFL wrap...An endzone interception run all the way back for a touchdown is a hell of a way to clinch a win. Jameis Winston Jameis Winstoned making both key and disastrous throws. Where was the running game?  Reinder: Cam Skataboo is not an every down back. We don't know if the Giants are a good team. We don't believe they are. But we know the Giants aren't a bad team. The Giants are 3-1, after having beaten only one decent team. 

So we're going to go there, that is, to Cornell. We've seen a lot of sex/rape scandals in our life. Some very big ones turned out to be hoaxes; Tuwana Brawly, Duke Lacross, UVA. So we when news of the Cornell scandal broke, we didn't say much and waited for facts. 

We've actually been sitting on another fraternity scandal story. We're Greek as we used to say. Just last week we dug out a couple of old AXP t-shirts for our daughter's 'Frat-Bro' day at school. But idiot fraternity behavior annoys us greatly. What the Cornell-7 did, even if consensual* was dumb. 

We'll end by quoting the great John Nolte. 'Part of me just wants to point and laugh at the blue on blue circular firing squad…. The local DA is a Democrat, Cornell is a far-left college. Hochul threw both under the bus.' This scandal is bad for Cornell, and that is good. 

It's Cornell Week here at Stroock's Books, where we'll be talking about the case, the issue, and our old fraternity days. Here's a good primer on our old fraternity days. See also this. Do click through. We'd be delighted. 

Polling gut check times: do you really think that weirdo Talarico is up 6 points in Texas?

DOGE report.

The Dublin aftermath chapter is looking much better. We will probably delete a planning scene. 

The DEW Line story is almost done. Sometimes everything falls into place. We did have to go back and strengthen a character's character. 

*This blog is skeptical of the accuser and her claims but awaits more facts. See, one can choose not to join a digital lynch mob before one knows all the facts. Just saying, 'I don't know,' can be so liberating.

Saturday Updates

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

We should be more ebullient about our test results. Oh well. 

The weightlifting is going quite well. We've put on five pounds in the last few weeks we think and can physically feel our muscles growing. We've enjoyed the regimen so far. We've a bout of bursitis in our left knee, so no cardio lately.

We are growing our autumn beard. 

The Things.

We slugged on through World War 1990: Ireland. The last few chapters need a lot of work. Frankly, we're dismayed. We shall press onward, ever onward. But not this weekend.  World War 1990: Ireland is...80,000 words. 

We finally had a breakthrough on our DEW line nuclear war story. We've got it! We've got it!

Diagnose This

Good morning, Stroock's Books kibbutzim and shabbat shalom. 

We'll have unusually warm weather today with temps topping 80. 

After the Nor Easter, New Jersey's water situation is shiny. Most reservoirs are well above their seasonal averages. 

So after blood tests, an MRI and a biopsy...we don't have prostate cancer. There is a clump of cells the doctor wants to keep an eye on, with a further blood test in a few months. But overall we are in the clear. 

So endith a season of medical tests which we've been poked, prodded, stabbed and put under anesthesia. Sometimes in that order. We shall commemorate the moment by adding whisky to ice.

The price of oil per barrel is falling again. We've seen it here in northern New Jersey. Meanwhile a third carrier is heading for the gulf and the US is boosting air defenses in the Gulf Arab states. Doings are transpiring. 

This blog once again calls attention to Captain Smit Machchhar, the brave Indian pilot who opened the cockpit door. The Hindu is a friend to the Jew. Gentile saint.* 

Related...now this poll is interesting, from The Times of Israel, a publication that is no friend to Netanyahu. 'The survey was the latest in recent weeks to show Netanyahu’s presumed bloc pulling ahead, after months in which nearly every poll showed his supporters trailing the presumed opposition bloc.' Note, the Bibi bloc does not have a majority. To our mind, the oppo bloc has not made the case against Bibi or for an Eisenkot lead government. This blog is open to persuasion. Exit question: might this be simply a post hijacking bump?

Ugh, October 7th is next week. Do we have to revive Operation Hatikva?

What Will's Watching, The Pitt S1 E9. Lots of sucker punches last night. Why? These are poisoning a really good show. 

Also, The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlyn. Through four episodes the show is holding up for us. This is a very Christian show in an interesting way. One feels as if one is reading Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Ultimately, The Pendragon Cycle is about early Anglo-Saxon England, and many of the kings named we remember from our reading of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Halfdan, Vortigern.... 

Speaking of Anglo-Saxon England....do click over. That was a fun article to write. Some of that text is 25 years old now. Alfred eventually found its way into this. 

DOGE report.

We read a couple of the latter chapters of Thatcher's War and weren't pleased. Weren't pleased at all. Back to work today. 

LE Sive's last stand is totally inadequate. Get ready for 85,000 words. 

*When we take over, his name will be on the protected scrolls. 

Airplane III: The Israelis

Middle Daughter got back late last night from her Harry Styles concert and we had to pick her up at a friend's house at 12:45 AM or so. 

Happy Thursday everyone. 

What Will's Watching: While we waited for Middle Daughter to get back to her friend's house we watched Eastern Promises, the 2007 Viggo Mortensen Russian gangster film. Eastern Promises has mood, heart, and soul. There's a lot going on there. Mortensen brilliantly plays a driver and foot soldier in the Russian mob. Lots of Russian culture everywhere. A clever, but not too clever, film. Plot twists and turns abound. Highly recommended 4/4.

So the Israeli passengers overpowered the hijacker and took control of the plane. And let us tip our cap to the Hindu pilot who, strength failing him, unlocked the cockpit door so the Israelis could rush inside and pummel the hijacker.  

There remained the problem of who was going to fly the plane. 

'Is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?'

IYKYK and you better know.

Fortunately two replacement pilots were aboard and took control of the aircraft. They didn't have the fish for dinner, that's for sure. 

We had fun with that all day yesterday and are chortling about it as we write. 

The FlyDubai episode was like the Battle of Macho Grande all over again. 

Netanyahu met the plane when it landed at Ben Gurion and congratulated the heroes, because of course he did. Netanyahu is a political Jedi master and we are mere padawan apprentices fumbling with our lightsaber with those stupid helmets on our head. 

Political note, national: we've now seen two polls in which Maine Senator Susan Collins is leading by 3 points. We're going to stop worrying. 

DOGE report.

We read the Battle for Dublin Airport and then we read it again. 

We read the Battle for Howth. And then we read it again. 

Both scenes are better than they were before. But are they good enough? This is not an easy question. Not for us. Not for any man.

It's October. Is World War 1990: Thatcher's War done? No. But the rough draft is nearly complete. 

The reader will kindly excuse us, as we're off to the doctor to see if we have prostate cancer.

Blue and Orange are Blue While Blue and White are not

For reasons that need not concern the readership (such as it is) our morning was all discombobulated. 

Good afternoon, Stroock's Books midweekers, and happy Wednesday. 

Israeli passengers on a Fly Dubai jetliner prevented a hijacking, they say. We await facts.

From The Times of Israel, a good analyses on the Israeli election. Nut graph, as the J-school losers would say, nobody knows nuthin' and the most likely outcome is a hung parliament. Bibi loves political maneuvering and at his best when under pressure. In the negotiations following a hung parliament, Bibi would have the advantage.  

Beat the Mets, cheat the Mets...letting Pete Alonso go is the worst Mets personnel decision of this century. But we recall some other doozies. 

In 1989 the Mets traded tough guy Len Dykstra and prankster Roger McDowell to the Phillies for the-past-his-prime Juan Samuel. Going back a decade, in1972 the Mets traded future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan for journeyman outfielder Jim Fregosi. 

In some ways the Mets are just unlucky. 

The Mets lost Daryl Strawberry in 1991 (a good thing) and replaced him with base stealer Vince Coleman (a bad thing). Coleman never equaled the success he had in St. Louis and against the Mets. They didn't catch him stealing till 1990.

In 2002 the Mets brought in half a dozen stars, and everyone of them slumped. Slugging first basemen Mo Vaughn ate his way to a .250 batting average. Jeromy Burnitz stopped hitting homeruns. Speedster Roger Cedeno stopped stealing bases. hall-of-famer Roberto Alomar entered the hall-of-average when he joined the Mets. 

See also outfielder Jason Bay, a consistent 30/100 hitter till the Mets signed him in 2009. 

What Will's Watching, The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlyn ep-2. Better than episode-1 by a grade level. We had a visceral, emotional reaction to this episode's final few minutes. Which means producer/director Jeremy Boreing knew what he was doing. Episode-2 has some GoT level plot twists. Episode-2 also had a little too much talking. But overall, nicely done, 3/4,

DOGE report.

We realized this morning we still have to read the Howth landing, son-of-a-mother!@#$@!#. Wait, no! The airport and minehunter scenes come first. Thank the Lords of Kobol. 

But things are going pretty well. 

The Post Office is the Mets of Federal Agencies

Arrrgh, the pain in the ankle persists. It's not gout. Probably tendonitis. Great, another thing. We're a bit miffed. 

By order of Mrs. Stroock (whose word is law) on this morning the game of football shall not mentioned in the Stroock House. 

Good morning, Stroock's Books associates and happy Tuesday. 

We had our routine heart appointment this morning. The doctor says everything is fine. We asked what he thought about a GLP-1. That is, would going on one of them drugs make our heart explode or anything like that? Our weight fluctuates between 235 and 250 - American. While we could always do more to lose weight, we didn't need that piece of challah bread last night, we've come to believe we've hit our weight lose ceiling [And what do you think you do when you lift, knobhead, you put on weight, only in this case it's muscle-Ed]. The doctor said a GLP-1 wouldn't be a bad thing, but be careful, his exact words. So we're thinking no. Is this drug really worth losing 25-30 pounds? 

Will goes postal: yesterday at the post office the woman behind the counter (also behind one of those gay and retarded covid era screens) insisted we hand her the envelope and money around the right side of the screen. She did so by holding out her hand. We inquired as to the necessity of transacting business this way, 'What's wrong with this side? Over here but not over there?', but were so offput and frankly, flabbergasted by the encounter, we don't remember what she said. But her reasoning was lame, we guarantee that. Anywho, we got out of there without further escalation. But we'll be back. 

Beat the Mets, cheat the Mets...a lot of Mets fans are calling this season the worst in Mets history. It was bad, given the player moves and expectations. And Pete Alonso leading the AL in homeruns and RBIs is like a kick in the nuts. But the worst? C'mon.  

We'll set the Mets' legendarily and comic early 60s seasons aside. They're a thing all their own. The Mets were next terrible in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During the late 2000s and first half of the teens the Mets were tediously bad but not bad enough to be fun in their ineptitude. 

The first truly terrible Mets team we saw were the 1993 Mets who lost 103 games. See also the plight of Mets pitcher Anthony Young. In 2002 the Mets brought a bunch of expensive all-stars (Jeromy Burnitz, Mo Vaughn, Robby Alomar...). They played .500 ball till the All Star break and collapsed in August, finishing 73-86 and finishing manage Bobby Valentine's stint with the team. In 2007 the Mets were 7 games up with 17 left to play and still managed to lose the division to the Phillies. During the last game of the season the hapless Marlins, whom the Mets antagonized, blew them out. Starting pitcher Tom Glavine didn't even get out of the 1st inning. 

So no, 2026 wasn't the worst season in Mets history. But it was pretty bad. 

DOGE report. 

We went through a chapter of World War 1990: Thatcher's War yesterday and made it much better. This included the assault on Dublin airport. For some reason we're having a devil of a time describing battle areas; Dublin Airport, Howth, etc etc....

Monday Blue and White Blew up, Blue and Orange is blue, Big Blue Blowed

A rare miss from Stroock's Books yesterday. We didn't have much to say. It happens. 

Good morning, people of the Book Stroock [The heck?-Ed].

Bah! Our right ankle is kinda sore. Feels like more gout. We are dehydrated this morning. Son of a.....

The Nor Easter gave us plenty of rain over the weekend, from a drizzle to a steady pitter-patter. The wind has knocked several small dead branches from the tree out front. The rain should subside in a few hours. 

Political note, local: New Jersey's governor, who's name we didn't know (Caldwell?), has resigned over sexual harassment allegations. We don't care.  Governor Mikie Sherrill has yet to do anything to piss us off.

Israel wrap...Various media entities are reporting that both Egypt and the UAE warned Israel that Hamas was planning to attack on 10/7. This information just happens to come out during election season...  JNS reports: 'IDF kills terrorist filmed abducting Noa Argamani, Avinatan Or'...Cue John Deacon: and another one bites the dust. Wretchard calls participating in 10/7 'A mortal curse', ROFL... Irish football players refused to shake hands with the Jews. Which brings us to...

Sports!

Mrs. Stroock's Nittany Lions blew a 17-0 lead 24-20. This is what happens when your coach decides you don't need to score anymore points. Coaches can be very dumb. 

The Giants are a bad football team which beat an even worse football team. A win's a win, though and the Giants are 2-1. Just maybe they won't have a lost season. The Giants should draft a QB. Mister we could use a man like Eli Manning again...What's Arch doing?

Despite the refs breaking out all the stops in Brazil yesterday, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Dallas Cowboys on a last second field goal. Reminder, when you play the Cowboys, you also play the refs. Ravens 34, Cowboys/Refs 31. And the Cowboys' defense is trash. 

And there it is. The Mets refused to bring back Pete Alonso, who went to the AL and lead the league in homers and RBIs. Letting Alonso go is one of the two or three worst personnel decisions the Mets have ever made.* It's the Mets Suck Week all week here at Stroock's Books. [Don't you like the Yankees?-Ed] Meh, haven't given a damn in at least a decade. 

The Grognard read Thatcher's War. We will look at his notes today. We read through a couple more chapters. And on Sunday we read through the Battle of Ardee which looked...decent. We're entering the 'Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good' phase of the process. 

You know, on Friday we couldn't remember at least half the stories in the 5th nuke novel. 'I wrote this?' we thought to ourselves as we read a short story about an Egyptian army officer on the Suez Canal. Anywho, we got two short stories to finish and one to write. 

*People will point to trading Tom Seaver to the Reds in 1977 as the worst Mets move ever. But Seaver was great and the Mets were terrible. The trade made sense. 

Saturday Updates

Happy Saturday, brave reader(s) of Stroock's Books. 

At the moment the Nor'easter has brought some wind and light rain here. But certain areas on the shore are without power. 

The gout persists. 

LOL Mets. Pete Alonso clubbed two homers yesterday. At 43/113 Alonso leads the American League in homeruns and RBIs. We once again remind the readership that the Mets could have had Alonso back for 5/155. Beat the Mets, cheat the Mets. 

Political note, nation: there's a 50/50 chance polls are right. 

DOGE report. 

The American Expeditionary Force began the Meuse-Argonne campaign 108 years ago today. Here's an article we wrote on the offensive for Military Heritage Magazine.  Here's our history of Pershing and the AEF.  Ten chapters; from a frontier constabulary to a modern army. Plenty of personalities, Pershing the bully, a young Douglas MacArthur, Colonel George Marshall toiling away at HQ, Patton forming the Tank Corps.

We are halfway done with the last read through of World War 1990: Thatcher's War. It's getting repetitive. 

So we looked into doing a short story imagining the Japanese landed at Midway. We found their plan. Even for the Japanese, this is something. Suicidal. It's like they wanted all their troops to die in a lagoon or something. The plan shows the Japanese learned nothing from the attack on Wake. Pro-tip, never assault an island full of pissed off Marines armed with Springfield Model 1903's. Those guys can shoot. Such a story would have zero drama whatsoever. So yeah, no. Hard pass on that story idea. 

We shall cast about for other ideas. 

F for Friday

Good morning, Stroock's Books Kibbutzim and shabbat shalom. 

Our foot remains sore with localized pain in the toe joint. This must be gout. Bastards.  

We hit the gym yesterday for some cardio. What can we say, we like the gym. And the good thing about cardio is you can always do more cardio. 

The weight lifting feels good but is leaving us sore. We are 53 after all. 

We await the Nor Easter. Looks like we'll get steady but not heavy rain. New Jersey's water and rain stats are looking good. Here's the state's 90 day rain fall total, well above average for the whole state. Reservoir levels are all shiny.  

So we watched Netanyahu's speech at the UN. It was fine. Bibi hit all the points and said all the things. But we've seen this from Bibi before and agree with Ynet's headline: 'Netanyahu fought Israel’s case at the UN, but spoke to a world no longer listening...' Did the world ever really listen though? 

What Will's Watching: we're making our way through HBO's The Pitt. This is a medical drama with each episode covering one hour in a Pittsburgh ER. We see the usual cavalcade of medical cases, typical, horrible, tragic, farcical, funny. 

Noah Wyle plays Doctor Robby Robinovitch, attending doctor in charge of the ER, a stone-cold expert with ice in his veins, saving lives every hour. He's also fatigued and spiritually exhausted. Dr. Robby is works with a host of doctors and nurses each with their own skills and quirks, each memorable. We also see a quartet of young, ambitious doctors on their first day, learning as they go. The Pitt is a masterclass on good characterization. 

Do note, The Pitt's world view is certainly left tilted, though not obnoxiously so. Seven episodes in we've yet to be sucker punched or even sucker-slapped. Maybe we've been sucker arm-flicked. 

Nevertheless, we are entertained, 4/4.

DOGE report.

Writing is hard. 

'Fuck it,' we said and sent the Thatcher's War MS to the grognard. So far so Mustaine. IYKYK. He said he liked all the sectarian violence. [He's just telling the author what the author want's to hear-Ed]. Cynic. 

We remain ghosted by REDACTED Magazine. Maybe they just don't like us [Now how can that be possible?-Ed].

Various on the 24th

Our foot hurts. We don't know why. Could be gout, but it's not in the right place for gout. We proceed cautiously. 

Good morning, reader(s) and happy Thursday. 

We await our glasses. 

A nor' easter is all the talk here, but it looks like the storm will mostly be coastal and concentrate east of New York. Long Island is in for it, it seems. 

Every morning now we check in to see what ex-Mets' slugger Pete Alonso is doing for the Orioles. LOL, 41/110 and leading the league in both. Remember, the Mets could have resigned Alonso for 5/$155. Beat the Mets. Cheat the Mets. Step right up and defeat the Mets. Bring your kiddies. Bring your dog. Come on out and eat like a hog. 

Netanyahu will address the UN today. So speaks the leader of the Jewish state. 

Related...the last Israeli poll we saw showed....a hung Knesset. We're a month out and nothing has changed. Eisenkot is leading FWIW. We'd be fine with Prime Minister Eisenkot. Exit question, if Netanyahu and the right bloc are so unpopular, why can't the left bloc take him out?*

DOGE report.

We are 1/3rd of the way through World War 1990: Thatcher's War. So far we see only tweaks and corrections. The reading is awkward, like a bad date. This is bog standard. 

The sub story continues improving. Do note that writing is hard. 

We have a gig to write two short stories for next year now. One will be For Want of an Arrow, in which Harold wins the Battle of Hastings. 

*Ch14, the Fox News of Israel, consistently shows the right bloc winning, like 64 seats. 

Midweek Mellow (need to)

Autumn is here in full effect. Temps are in the mid-50s right now. The sky is overcast. The leaves remain green, though.  

Aye, a busy day yesterday. Among writing, taxiing and household chores we got glasses. Mrs. Stroock has advised one that one must needs stop driving oneself crazy about paperwork and waiting room times, etc, etc. Mrs. Stroock is always right. 

We've taken to posting, beneath local stories of ICE roundups on FB, 'I voted for this'. We enjoy the angry comments. When someone calls us stupid we reply, 'I have an MA, sir.' When someone spits invective, 'Madam, might I suggest you switch to decaf?' [Really, this is what you're doing with your time? -Ed]. Helps us warm up in the morning. 

Pete Alonzo has hit 40 + homers for the fourth time in his career, but the Mets didn't want him at 5/$155. Beat the Mets, cheat the Mets. 

Thank you, New York Giants, for your participation in the 2026 football season. We've seen this injury prone quarterback movie before. The Giants should draft a QB. 

DOGE Report.

Same. Things are moving along. The sub story is getting cleaner and better. 

We still need one more story in the 5th nuke novel. 

We are reading through Thatcher's War. So far, so good...so what, as Dave Mustaigne would say. 

We discussed with the Grognard the Marines' defense of Iceland in a possible GIUK Gap novel. But one must needs not get ahead of oneself.  Damn you, Tom Clancy. And damn you, Harpoon for all those scenarios where the Soviets controlled Iceland. 

Note: this post is this blog's 6500th post.

Wither Blue and Orange, Blue

Baaah, for some reason we're up at 0530....We're tired with a dull headache. We know, more coffee

Autumn has arrived. We wore a pair of blue jeans yesterday for the first time since...May, we guess. We always approach these moments with a bit of hesitation. [Not great fear and trepidation? -Ed]. No.  But the jeans buttoned just fine and required a belt. Phew. 

We lifted yesterday. The back is a little tight but we are otherwise okay. 

Jaxon Dart is out. Jameis Winston sucks. And the Giants are not in the Rams' league. 

Beat the Mets, cheat the Mets...In baseball news, Baltimore's Pete Alonso clubbed his 39th and 40th homeruns last night, seemingly to stick it to the Mets. Lol Mets. The Mets also suck.

We filled out paperwork for an eye exam last night but left much of it blank. These people don't need to know or hobbies or 'social history' to check our eyes. 

Kurt Schlichter (the colonel is always right) vivisects Karl Rove and what's left of the establishment GOP for supporting Democrat weirdo James Talarico in Texas. Okay we don't quite agree with the unnecessary swipes at W. But this, 'We had his back even when he wouldn’t defend himself because he was too much of a gentleman to respond to them calling him Chimpy McBu$hitlerburton.' W never did fight back.

Election night 2004 was a great night, 22 years on now. Whoa. But W's second term led to...not very much. No governmental reforms. No reduced federal workforce. An attempt at amnesty (defeated by the senate GOP). Profligate spending (he promised $60 billion to New Orleans after Katrina), etc, etc... 

This blog has no use for the GOP-e. Losers. You see, Karl, there's more to politics than winning elections. You've got to get stuff done.

Trump is getting stuff done.

DOGE report.

More good work on the Soviet sub story.

We began the next and last read through of World War 1990: Ireland. 

The Grognard grognarded The Managua Campaign. We'll review his notes later. 

Yom Kippur Interrupted

We got in a Judaism last night for Yom Kippur. Circumstances being what they are, we most likely won't be able to get in a Judaism this morning. 

Israel is shut down and we shouldn't even be blogging, oh well. 

There is talk of a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza to disarm what's left of Hamas. This strikes us as not worth the negative PR. 

NFL wrap: the Cowboys beat the Redskins. That's a game where whoever loses, we win. The Colts were surpisingly good in their loss to the Chiefs, especially given that when one plays the Chiefs, one also plays the refs. We counted three Taylor Swift sitings. Mrs. Stroock's Eagles won in the last minute against the hapless Titans. There are no style points in football. 

Political report, local: Tom Kean's campaign is getting signs out. But lots of people are putting Rebecca Bennett signs in their front yard. 

DOGE report. 

Lots of good work yesterday on the 5th nuke novel. The sub story is really coming along. 

Because we were feeling whacky, we sent World War 1990: The Managua Campaign to the Grognard, who, being a weirdo, read the 52,000 words in a few hours. The Grognard was pleased, he told us. 

We actually don't think we need a final White House scene in World War 1990: Thatcher's War. It's fine the way it is. 

We did some thinking about World War 1990: Battle of the GIUK Gap. Reminder, naval stuff is our weak point. Who's the guy in the corner manning the thing that tells the captain about the contact? 

Anyway, we'd need a US sub, a Soviet Sub, a Canuck P3 Orion, a Brit hunter-killer group, POV for the Soviet invasion of Iceland, POV for the US defense of Iceland, a Danish frigate patrolling Greenland.

Yes, we feel some ju-ju.

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 9/20/26

Ah, Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. We wouldn't even know where to begin. We'll be hitting schul at 6. Then the big one comes tomorrow morning. First Yom Kippur at the new synagogue. 

Saturday wasn't too bad. 

We went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and walked the shelves looking for, we dunno. Whatever we were looking for, we didn't find it. 

We were bored with our workout. So for the first time in more than a year we lifted weights yesterday. We can still bench 300. 

We finally broke down and made an appointment with the eye doctor. 

We sent World War 1990: The Managua Campaign to the grognard. Why not? Soon it must needs be time to get back to work on TMC. Soon.

Which summons Will's Good Idea for the Week of 9/20/26.

Write now our work in progress release order is World War 1990: Thatcher's War, the 5th nuke novel, and finally World War 1990: The Managua Campaign. It's very possible all three roughs will be completed by 1 January. 

Which would clear the decks for a new project. One supposes one could spend December researching and then come into the new knew year ready to write Battle of the GIUK Gap, one supposes. Or something completely different. 

Oh, and we promised James Young a Medieval alternate history story. What if King Harold took one step to the right?

Saturday Updates

Baaaah! Another bad day. We're not optimistic about today.

Political note, national: we'd much rather be the Dems. 

The Things.

We've, we think, like, one more scene to write for World War 1990: Thatcher's War. This scene should end with White House political machinations, no? Ireland's been invaded. Certain objectives achieved. But the Irish problem is not resolved. No, there will not be a third Ireland novel. However Ireland will simmer in the background of upcoming novels. Thatcher's War is 79,000 words.

The Soviet sub story advanced a bit.

Almost There...

Baah. Another bad day, also largely self-inflicted. We had a rough night too. 

It's 9 AM here at the Donut, and we've been coming here so often the kid behind the counter knows out drink. 'Norm!' he shouts as we walk in. The one morning we thought we might like a muffin they don't got nun. 

Thomas Crowne Affair...we forgot to mention that Renee Russo has a couple of topless scenes in the 1999 version. We apologize for the oversight. This blog still prefers Faye Dunaway. Also, we learned that a new take starring Michael B. Jordan will be in theatres next year. One might be annoyed at the race swapping, but race never really mattered to the character. Why not a black version of Thomas Crowne? And Michael B Jordan is an excellent choice. 

More apologies....we were remiss yesterday in not marking the 2nd anniversary of Operation Grim Beeper. 

ME observances...Reports of Iran 'rebuilding' nuclear sights...Parts delivered to US missile assembly plant...Military heads hold secret meeting in Germany...Saudis ask Israel for help against Houthis...US admits it has weapons in space...Trump openly wonders if he should 'annihilate' the Iranians. Exit question: Rods from God at Pick Axe Mountain?

Political note, local: Rebecca Bennett is touting her independence from any party. Which is interesting. She's hammering Keane on TV and YouTube right now.

DOGE report. 

Nevertheless we did some excellent work on World War 1990: Thatcher's War. We still haven't figured out Captain Liam Cox's final scene. He's the hero of Derry but led the unit which arrested Gerry Adams. Ah there we go. Got it. 

We remain ghosted by REDACTED Magazine. 

Wednesday Aftermath

Good morning, Stroock's Books people, and happy Thursday. 

Arrrr, just a bad day yesterday, mostly self-inflicted. It happens. But we don't feel good about it. We don't feel good about it at all. How about turning off the fire hose of news, eh? Also, a post-surgery thing? This was a Thursday downer mini-post. 

Jews-n-News: Israel is still heading for a hung Knesset. Ch14's poll is the outlier showing the Netanyahu bloc with 66 seats. But...most polls show Eisenkot's party gaining on Bibi's party. One supposes President Herzog would have to give Eisenkot the first crack at forming a government. Exit question: what if Ch14 is right?

Political note, national: the 'While Trump builds his ballroom....' ads write themselves. 

This blog endorses, without hesitation, independence referendums for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. 

What Will's Watching: The Thomas Crown affair, 1999. So they left off the 'e'. Piers Brosnan plays Thomas Crown and Rene Russo plays his antagonist, insurance investigator Catherine Banning. Dennis Leary is the cop on the case. This time the film opens with a guns-free art heist. We like it better than the bank heist in the original TTCA. The 1999 version has more or less the same plot, beats and turns as the 1968 version. Crown and Banning meet, pursue, fall in love. There are some excellent plot twists to distinguish this from the 1968 version. 

While Dennis Leary is not as interesting as the police detective as Paul Blake was, he's not bad either. Leary's detective Mike McCann  hits on Banning, and misses. But he's a sympathetic character with a troubled past (cop problems). He ultimately a good cop with a redemption arc.

This time TTCA takes place in New York City. This is the late 90s New York, turned around, cleaned up, and whimsical. The score, interesting and mature modern jazz, lends itself to a city on the make. This is another film one watches for time and place, for style. The late 90's were quite the time, the nation had not a care in the world. And that comes through here. 

Is the Brosnan version better than the McQueen version? Is it worse? We don't know. We can say Brosnan is his own version of the self assured business tycoon. Oh, and Faye Dunaway returns, this time as Crown's shrink, a very 90s affectation. Were we not entertained? We were. 3/4.

DOGE Report.

We advanced the plot. We can see the end of World War 1990: Thatcher's War. It's there. 

We tidied up the sub story. The tidying up will continue until the story is tidied up. 

Despite everything we had a pretty good day. 

Our editors at REDACTED Magazine refuse to respond to our emails. 

Will Gets Crowned

The procedure went just fine yesterday. We'll have results in a few weeks.

We really need to figure out how to stop getting so worked up about things [Meh, it was their screw up-Ed].

What Will's Watching...As ordered we took it easy yesterday. So we watched The Thomas Crowne Affair (1968) and (1999). We'll review the original today. TTCA is a love story about two good looking people wrapped around a bank heist. The 1968 version is a time capsule, 1968 - as experienced by grownups. There's no hippies here. No rock. The score is modern jazz. People dress up to go out. Men wear fedoras. Smoking is still cool.

Steve McQueen plays Crowne as a successful, self-assured, and stylish businessman. When Crowne takes his stolen two million bucks to Switzerland, the bank president is at first reluctant. 'It's all there,' Crowne assures him. When the president balks Crowne says, 'But you will do it.' And finally, 'Enjoy my money.'

Crowne flies gliders, plays polo and drive's dune buggies for fun. He places thousand dollar bets on golf shots out of boredom. 

Faye Dunaway is Vicki Anderson, a brilliant insurance investigator. Anderson is beautiful, stylish, curious, playful and every bit Crowne's match. She's been sent by the insurance company to bust Crowne and tells him so. How does Dunaway do that with her eyes? My word. 

After they meet at an art auction (of course) Crowne and Anderson go about Massachusetts being cool fabulous together.  

There's lots of great supporting performances here. Jack Weston (readers will recognize him) is great as the driver and the fink. 'I'm in' he says when Crowne offers him the job in the movie's first scene in a darkened hotel room. Paul Blake is detective Eddie Malone, at once resentful and intrigued by Vicki Anderson. Anderson likes Malone and even respects him and spends several scenes on his arm. Why in another world the two might even be a couple. To Malone's credit he never hits on Anderson. 

TTCA is a 'look at me!' film with lots of out of focus and split screen shots which some viewers may find annoying. We enjoyed them as a part of time and place. 

All these elements come together in a movie that shows us late-stage middle-brow cool. 4/4

Political note, general: we looked at RCP polls and we see a sea of blue. Here in NJ07, Rebecca Bennett has a five point lead on Tom Kean, which is unchanged from June.  We've seen this movie before, in 2018 when Dem challenger Tom Malinowski beat GOP incumbent Leonard Lance. The ingredients are mixed. Exit question, has the cake baked?  

Yes, we're feeling doomy. 

DOGE report.

We read over a few scenes. Nothing more. 

9/11 Week...Interrupted*

'Please stop yelling at me,' the schedular said.

'What the hell for?' we replied. 

Devotees will recall the battery of tests we've had this summer, colonoscopy, endoscopy, MRI, etc etc...We're supposed to get another test today. 

Honestly, yesterday did not start off well. The doctor's office called and asked a series of weird and increasingly annoying questions, many of which we felt were irrelevant.  'I don't know,' we often answered. They pressed. They pressed. 'Yes, I would say I could nap in the afternoon', we replied to one dumbass question. 

The call took ten minutes and left us in a foul mood. We were already cranky for, after all, we were getting ready for something we don't really want to do. 

An hour later, maybe, the scheduler called and said we had to reschedule. Would October 8th work? The anesthesiologist was worried about putting us under given all the blood pressure meds we take.

We explained that we have already been under anesthesia once this summer. 

Didn't matter, the anesthesiologist would need our last echocardiogram and visit notes from the cardiologist. 

This appointment had been scheduled for a couple of months now. Needless to say we let the schedular know our feelings on the matter, hence, 'Please stop yelling at me.' 

So we called the cardiologist, explained the situation, and they faxed over a note saying all was well. 

But that wasn't enough. 

The anesthesiologist needed the charts and visit notes. As it is the cardiologist's office is five minutes away so we drove over there, got the notes, and had them faxed over to the hospital. 

We waited.

It gets better. About an hour later billing called and wanted the copay before our appointment. We explained what had been happening the last few ours and told them, directly, that they would get no money from us until we had a time for our procedure. Billing hung up. 

At this point we were asking our Fellow North American to sign us up for MAID. 

An hour later scheduling called back. A different scheduler was on the line. We were not optimistic. But, we have an appointment for 9:30 this morning. Which we are leaving for now. 

Wish us luck. 

*By bureaucratic incompetence and mendacity. Fuckwits.   

Bright Blue on a Monday

Good morning, Stroock's Books, and happy Monday. 

Tonight, Dance Taxi begins in earnest. 

NFL notes.

What a football day in casa de Stroock! Mrs. Stroock's Eagles took care of business in a hard-fought game against the Redskins and...

How 'bout them Giants! The Giants haven't looks that good in years. They beat Dallas in prime time, two of the team's bugaboos. Their second biggest win since Tom Coughlin left. Ole Miss' Jackson Dart looked poised. The Giants rushed for 165 yards and dominated the second half. We haven't felt this good about the Giants in...a long time. We're actually getting...emotional.  There's a lot of work to do. But for now, enjoy the moment Giants. Enjoy the moment. God bless John Harbaugh.*

So far, we like Steeler ex-coach Mike Tomlin in his NFL analyst roll.  

9/11 Week....the next few days were weird. On Wednesday 9/12 the skies were just as clear and sunny as the day before. At 8:46 we were in a field hitting baseballs just as we were Tuesday morning. 

Most people were glued to the TV.  The internet was not yet a great way to get breaking news.  9/11 was the beginning of that news crawl across the bottom of your screen. Pundits at this point were still talking about tens of thousands of casualties. 

American airspace was closed for next 48 hours or so. The FAA reopened the airspace despite fears other hijackers might be waiting to strike. The first night ABC News thought the FAA new about a potential high jacking in progress or intel that a high jacking was in the offing. Nothing came of it, obviously. The airlines took it on the chin financially, congress bailed them out that fall. 

Powerline reports on the Fed's investigation of Somalia's finest, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Hey remember all those investigations, impeachments, state and federal prosecutions of Trump? Yeah, good times. The GOP has finally learned to fight back and play dirty. 

Political note, local: Rebbecca Bennett (Gabby Giffords' PAC, really) is still hammering Tom Kean on the gun issue. They're using imagery from Kean's own ads too. Clever. For a guy who checked himself into the nuthouse and disappeared for a couple of months, Kean's doing well. 

DOGE report.

The epilogue chapter will begin with Murphy in his cell reading newspaper headlines describing what's happened. 

*As we joked last February, 'Mr. Harbaugh, a John Mara is on the phone he says he sent you a signed check and you should just fill in whatever amount you think is fair.