Category Archives: General

Teaser Tuesday

Posted on May 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday Shortly after one-thirty, he was informed by his military aide, Brigadier General Robert Schulz, that President Kennedy had been shot. There was still something about General Eisenhower, now seventy-three, that made people turn to him for reassurance. A … Continue reading →

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Ike and Dick

Posted on May 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

I increasingly find Richard Nixon a fascinating personality, and stumbled onto this while looking for Nixon books: I’ve been reading it along with Being Nixon the last week or so. Ike and Dick focuses on the relationship between these two … Continue reading →

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Moviewatch, April 2026

Posted on April 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Paul Blart: Mall Cop,  2009. This is an….action-comedy somewhere on the level of Home Alone 3.   It’s fairly moronic, with lots of “Kevin James is fat” esque physical comedy. The plot concerns a security guard at a mall (remember … Continue reading →

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April 2026 in Review

Posted on April 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

What a month! Despite April being peak tornado season in Alabama, this year the skies were perfectly clement. Not until this past week, in fact, did we have any rumblings of tornadoes at all — seemingly all of our rain … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday and celebrities

Posted on April 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “A Celebrity We’d Like to Meet”. Interestingly, one of my favorite authors (Rod Dreher) recently announced he’s returning to the United States, and has chosen Birmingham as his new residence for the … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday:

Posted on April 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble T is a freebie, and my initial impulse was to highlight some booktubers I enjoy. However, embedding videos is always hit and miss with youtube, so I’m going to highlight recent books in my browsing history. But first, … Continue reading →

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Author in Chief

Posted on April 24, 2026 by smellincoffee

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it,” said Winston Churchill, and write it he did – histories of the World Wars and the Anglo-American people. Across the pond, American executives were also doing their writing. … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday & Memories

Posted on April 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “A few happy memories from my life”. But first. WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday WHAT have you finished reading recently? Magna Carta, Dan Jones. WHAT are you reading now? Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier. … Continue reading →

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Tuesday Teases

Posted on April 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is ‘April showers’, which a challenging one. One obvious approach that comes to mind is books in which rain is a major element, either in shaping the plot or in creating an atmosphere. The problem is that I … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Odd Hobbies

Posted on April 15, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short reviews is….odd hobbies! I think the best I can think of is my penchant for memorizing poetry and Anglo-American folk songs. Other hobbies like photography, hiking, PC modding, gaming, etc. are fairly pedestrian. I … Continue reading →

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