Bruce's Smorsasborg

 By Bruce Shawkey Just bought a copy of Icebound, by Dr. Jerri Nielsen. I read it some years ago, and actually attended a book signing by her. This true story takes place in 1998. She was the resident doctor at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. T he station was physically cut off from the rest of the world for months at a time. During her stay there,  she developed breast cancer. Nielsen teleconferenced with medical personnel in the United States and had to operate on herself in order to extract a biopsy. A military plane was later dispatched to the pole to airdrop equipment and medications. Her condition remained life-threatening, and the first plane to land at the station in the spring was sent several weeks earlier than planned, despite adverse weather conditions, to take her to the U.S. as soon as possible. Her ordeal attracted a great amount of attention from the media, and Nielsen later wrote this book recounting her story. Things at the station are all fi...

 By Bruce Shawkey One of my fave hot breakfast cereals is Malt-O-Meal. It was invented in 1919 by John Campbell. a miller in Owatonna, Minnesota. He invented a combination of farina wheat and malted barley. Campbell intended to compete with Cream of Wheat. I like to make it extra thick and add brown sugar and pecans and/or raisins to make it a little more interesting. There are different flavors of  Malt-O-Meal, including chocolate and maple/brown sugar, but I like the original the best. The company has, over the years, diversified into the cold cereal market and currently manufactures 30 brands, including  Berry Bunch Crunch Berry Colossal Crunch,  Birthday Cake Dyno-Bites, Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys (features real cocoa in the cereal pieces with added marshmallow bits), and Cinnamon Toasters. Many of these are intended for kids and loaded with sugar and are of little interest to me. But I recently bought a big bag of Honey Busters, which are like Honey Comb,...

 By Bruce Shawkey 'Tis the season for Christmas music. Everyone and their brother has recorded a Christmas album at one time or another, and they keep coming. I wondered what some of the weirdest and obscure Christmas Albums are out there, and here's what I found. Christmas with Colonel Sanders. Sanders doesn't actually sing on this album (probably best!).  These are just some of his supposed favorites by Chet Atkins, Lorne Greene and others. It was recorded in 1969. Christmas on Death Row, released 20 years ago, is a compilation of various artists on the Death Row label. The music isn’t the worrisome thing here—it’s the album cover depicting Santa in the electric chair. (Don’t show it to grandma or the kids.) Songs include hits Snoop and Nate Dogg’s "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto" and 6 Feet Deep's cover of “Silent Night.” If you like your holiday tunes filled with curse words, this one’s for you. It's a Waffle House Christmas.   Spending Christ...

 By Bruce Shawkey My favorite James Bond movie, by far, is Goldfinger. The 1964 film stars my favorite Bond actor, Sean Connery. It features the best Bond villains, Auric Goldfinger (played by Gert Frobe) and Odd Job, played by Harold Sakata. It is based on the 1959 novel by Ian Fleming. Also joining the villain cast is Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman. It has one of best lines when Bond asks Goldfinger if he expects him to talk, and divulge secrets of his mission. "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die," replies Goldfinger. Bond manages to "turn" Blackman to the good side during a romp in a hay barn with a passionate kiss. He also turns Blackman from lesbian to straight. Blackman's sexual orientation is never stated, but implied. At one point, she tells Bond, "You can turn off the charm; I'm immune." In the Fleming novel, Pussy was born into poverty in the rural Southern United States and fell into juvenile delinquency. Attempting to go straight...

 By Bruce Shawkey This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I honestly didn't want it to end.  American Ramble is a mixture of travelogue, memoir, and history. At times profound, funny, and heartbreaking. King goes on a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City across some of our oldest common ground.  I identified with much of his walk because I have visited many of the same places that King visited ... the Capitol Mall, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Amish Country, Pennsylvania, and New York City. King's journey began as a whim and soon became an obsession. By the spring of 2021, events had intervened that gave his desire greater urgency. His neighborhood still reeled from the January 6th insurrection. Covid lockdowns and a rancorous election had deepened America’s divides. Neil himself was in remission from a long battle with cancer. Determined to rediscover what matters in life, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and walked 26 da...