The Daily Dose/January 6, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Son of Holmes by John Lescroart: There is an element of art known as pastiche, which is a work that imitates the work of another and, as you might expect, Son of Holmes is about the son of fiction’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. And while we’ve read Holmes – all of it – years ago, this wasn’t why we picked up the book.
Dry, Technical, Matter: Fans of the mystery genre know that Sherlock Holmes has long been suspected of being the father of another famous fictional detective, Nero Wolfe. (This is never mentioned in a Wolfe novel, though Wolfe keeps a picture of Holmes in his office.) We’ve been Wolfe fans for ages and picked up the book to see how Wolfe was portrayed.
For The Record: The answer is brilliantly, with mannerisms and traits Wolfe fans will immediately recognize and appreciate. As this was our reason for reading the book, we didn’t even notice any similarities to Holmes.
FunFact: Wolfe is known as Auguste Lupa in the book. Lupa is Italian for wolf.
Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: The setting is France in 1915. World War I has just started and Lupa is spying for the Allies. Someone gets murdered and Lupa solves the case, which isn’t easy because the dumb-dumb constables have tabbed him the prime suspect.
Fly In The Ointment: There is one glaring discrepancy: Lescroart has Lupa born in America and moving to Europe shortly after birth. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and is a naturalized US citizen. It is, however, believable that Wolfe was spying for the Allies in World War I.
Ladies And Gentlemen: Your Daily Dose Rating Scale: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3- Good; 4- OK; 5- A steaming pile.
Final Rating: 3: This is an objective rating. If it weren’t, we would have given it a 1 because of our long fandom of and affection for Nero Wolfe stories. This wasn’t the greatest mystery ever, but it was early in Lescroart’s career. In fact, the international intrigue angle that asserted itself at the end caught us by surprise but, frankly, this is hardly the Upset of the Year for us. Unless you are an ardent Holmes or Wolfe fan, it might not be for you.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow blows off workout. Today’s Diary.
We’re not entirely sure why, but we were exhausted when we woke up this morning…It was as if we’d never gone to bed: we woke up groggy and yawning…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 2005 – Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the murders a Black and two Jewish civil rights workers that occured in 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The three – who’d had the nerve to try and register Black voters – had been abducted, shot, and left in an earthen dam. The state declined criminal prosecution and Killen had no verdict returned in a federal civil rights trial. Killen would be convicted of three counts of manslaughter in June and died in prison in 2018 at age 93. History refers to the killings as the Freedom Summer Murders.
In 1980 – The Philadelphia Flyers win the last of their NHL-record 35-game unbeaten streak in a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers last loss had been to the Atlanta Flames on October 13 and they went 25-0-10 during the streak. They had broken the record of the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens, who went unbeaten in 28 straight games.
In 1990 – Phil Collins is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third of four consecutive weeks with Another Day In Paradise. The song went to #1 in ten other countries, including Zimbabwe and Norway, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 7th-biggest song of the year. It was the 11th of 16 Top 10 hits for Collins as a solo act and was his 5th of seven #1 songs. The song was written by Collins and featured backing vocals by David Crosby.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
He means well for his country, is always an honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes and in some things, absolutely out of his senses.
Benjamin Franklin
Regards John Adams
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Two other Christmas songs have hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (2019-23) and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee (2023/24)
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NHL record the longest winless streak? – Answer next time!
