Mitch Rapp and the book ‘Total Power’ by Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills continues the Mitch Rapp series of books (book sequence here) created by Vince Flynn with the nineteenth (19th) book in the series, the sixth written by Mills. With Total Power, we see a threat to the United States power grid from ISIS (sometimes called ISIL, Daesh, or more simply, IS). The book unfolds with traditional terrorist suspense and a splash of the typical lack of political will, with a stronger bit of terrorism skill baked in.

(Kyle Mills, shown here, wrote Total Power as his sixth book in the Mitch Rapp series created by Vince Flynn).

The first movements of the story within Total Power introduce the political intrigue associated with the cost of infrastructure updates to the power grid in the United States, along with the vulnerability of the network if a knowledgeable actor with evil intent along with the proper knowledge planned to exploit what weaknesses exist in the system. The underlying issue of coordinated attacks of strategic execution could plunge the United States in darkness for well beyond days, weeks or months before an effective government or free market response could be forthcoming.

(Alternative covers for Total Power as written by Kyle Mills. Total Power is the 19th book in the Mitch Rapp series as created by Vince Flynn).

The second movements of the story bring Mitch Rapp, the force of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a US president nearing the end of his presidential leadership to bear on an imminent attack staged at the moment the issue is under attack. The attack, though led by ISIS, actually has a bite beyond the jihadist skill to deploy the attack. Despite an explicit effort led by Rapp and a capable team of counter-terrorists, the attempt to thwart the attack is detected ahead of the CIA trap that had been laid. The attack that both infiltrated ISIS and the United States power grid, plunged the mainland into darkness that would last for weeks or months. Effectively, the United States had been crippled with no effective ability to recover.

(Vince Flynn, shown here, created the Mitch Rapp series of books. Flynn wrote the first thirteen books in the series).

With the skills of Mitch Rapp and his team now tactically eliminated, the investigate, infiltrate and get to the knowledgeable few became the third movement of Total Power. The world of malfunctioning infrastructure, computers and communication systems down, and starvation, death and inevitable rioting with little capacity for countering the chaos became the name of the response. The means for getting to a legitimate solution that addressed the infrastructure, and those who damaged it were the odds that needed to be addressed. Would those odds be overcome? You know it would be.

That the narrative telling of Mitch Rapp moved almost strictly into ways to address a power grid attack where powerlessness to respond was at stake was unique and appreciated. This change worked for me more at a high level, though the bigger issue that I found was that there really was only one plausible way that the solution to the problem of that powerlessness was going to be resolved. That I was in tune with how things worked out earlier in the book than I wanted to know proved disappointing. As for Total Power written by Kyle Mills, I give the book 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, March 20, 2023

James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight and Paul Walker in the Brian Robbins movie ‘Varsity Blues’

A coming-of-age sports dramatic comedy with the brand of football popular in the North American countries of the United States and Canada is on our minds this weekend. A high school brand of the sport based in the fictional town of West Canaan, Texas with the Brian Robbins directed Varsity Blues (1999), as written by W. Peter Iliff, brings this to life difficulties of being adolescents, a community passionate about the sport, and a coach with priorities pointed in an overbearing direction.

(From left, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan Moxon and Jon Voight as Coach Bud Kilmer in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).

Jonathan Moxon, as portrayed by James Van Der Beek, serves as the early focus of the Varsity Blues as the backup quarterback of the West Canaan Coyotes. Moxon is shown as to be popular among his classmates and in a committed relationship with girlfriend Julie Harbor, the younger sister of starting quarterback of the Coyotes Lance Harbor. Moxon would rather focus on academics and getting into Brown University rather than play under verbally insulting and abusive coach Bud Kilmer or the expectations of a father trying to live vicariously through his father. Julie Harbor, Lance Harbor, Coach Bud Kilmer and Jonathan’s father, Sam Moxon, were portrayed by Amy Smart, Paul Walker, Jon Voight and Thomas F. Duffy, respectively.

(From left, Paul Walker as Lance Harbor and Ron Lester as Billy Bob in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).

Lance Harbor is shown to be pressured by the team’s coach to take painkilling shots to continue playing. Kilmer pressures offensive lineman Billy Bob, as portrayed by Ron Lester, to continue playing in the face of clear symptoms of concussion. When the effects of the concussion in Billy Bob led to a further knee injury for Lance Harbor, both adolescent and football realities would escalate for Jonathan Moxon as his team’s new starting quarterback and freshly minted team captain, both roles previously filled by Lance, were Jonathan’s for the taking.

(From left, Amy Smart as Julie Harbor, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan Moxon and Ali Larter as Darcy Sears in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).

A boon of unexpected social opportunity presents itself, first in the form of Darcy Sears as portrayed by Ali Larter. Sears, in aiming for the help of a husband with the wherewithal to leave West Canaan for bigger and better opportunities outside the town, attempts to seduce Jonathan Moxon sexually in a direct manner. Gently redirecting this while selectively rebelling against his father and coach on the football field, Coach Kilmer applies inappropriate threats against Johnathan to get him to cooperate with the on-field directives Kilmer appropriately expects of his second starting quarterback.

(Scott Caan as Charlie Tweeder in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).

Further disregard for the well-being of players continues, specifically with star running back Wendell Brown and previously concussed lineman Billy Bob suffering at the hands of this. A club mutiny led by Jonathan Moxon when Moxon refuses to play if Brown is compelled to take a painkilling shot in order to continue playing as the injured Lance Harbor has earlier. When star receiver Charlie Tweeder declines to take over as quarterback, or play, if Coach Bud Kilmer remains in charge for the game in question, the main drama of the movie reaches its full expression with this moment of choice. Eliel Swinton and Scott Caan portrayed Wendell Brown and Charlie Tweeder, respectively.

(Eliel Swinton as Wendell Brown in the Brian Robbins movie Varsity Blues).

It was through much of these and some other events, with football as the vehicle for the storytelling, that we see the dominant story of Jonathan Moxon having come-of-age in Varsity Blues. The storyline along with Moxon’s character remain internally consistent and true through the course of his story, with the internal strength for action in the face of a largely unsupportive system of family, coaches and on-field opponents set against him. One wish I had for the movie was that the defense of what’s right wasn’t so singularly focused on one character until that final moment of decision. I grant the movie Varsity Blues as directed by Brian Robbins 3.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, February 10, 2024

Christopher Cross and the self-titled album ‘Christopher Cross’

The self-titled album Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross of San Antonio, Texas was reportedly released on December 20th, 1979. To recognize the artistry of this pop/rock, adult contemporary and soft rock album, let’s have a look back and listen to the songs of this debut effort.

(Shown here is the album cover for Christopher Cross‘ self-titled album. Christopher Cross was released on December 20th, 1979).

Say You’ll Be Mine opens the album with an uplifting, harmonizing upbeat expression of romantic love interest. A clear attraction exists from the outset of the song, with Cross offering a common sense and heartfelt invitation to engage more fully.

I Really Don’t Know Anymore mediates on the nature of romantic love. The meditation reveals a man who has lost confidence in the possibility and promise of love following an experience that has left him lonely and alone.

(Christopher Cross as seen performing in the early 1980s).

Spinning flips the script on the preceding two songs. Cross finds himself reluctant in love yet suddenly awash in the passionate possibility of a new beginning. The point-of-view advances a narrative that to find himself here must be to doubt himself and the romantic love interest with suspicion in the face of opportunity.

Never Be the Same takes another bite of the apple of love. As singer, Christopher Cross feels the sting of lost love in coming to terms with emotionally moving on. The sweetness of the song rests in that effort while Cross still bringing balance to a viewpoint of seeing the optimism and beauty present from the beginning of the romance.

(Never Be the Same was the third single released in support of Christopher Cross‘ debut album, Christopher Cross).

Poor Shirley takes the notion of moving on from romance to the feminine perspective, with demands to hold back tears being heard sympathetically by Christopher Cross. The nature of the pain is compared, darkly, to the experience of soldiers losing friends to the hostilities of warfare. The depth of the feeling is clear, if the metaphor seemingly harsh.

A condemned man on the run to Mexico from the United States brings us to Ride Like the Wind. Per the link here that seems to reference LSD, “Christopher Cross was on acid when he wrote the lyrics.”

(The debut single Ride Like the Wind by Christopher Cross was released in February 1980 as the debut single from the album named Christopher Cross).

The central metaphor of The Light Is On is the consolation offered a friend and potential romantic love interest who fears the risk of engaging in love. The consoling wisdom of this song is pointing out the safety of home, indoors, where the light is on and separate from the storm of lost love.

As quoted here, the song Sailing “evokes sailing on the open sea, leaving any troubles on the shore.” Cross would go on to explain of the writing for the song that “[i]t took about two years before [he] came up with the bridge that changes all the keys to where [the song] lifts, but it was a pretty special moment.”

(Released in June 1980, Sailing was the second single released in support of Christopher Cross‘ self-titled debut album).

Minstrel Gigolo closes the album with a semi-autobiographical sense for what performing is like for some ladies in the audience and the performer. The sense of traveling from one place to another in performance leads to the temporary intimacy of the stage performance followed by a separate temporary intimacy for women wishing to feel love. The feeling is sad yet introspective at the same time.

Musicians who performed on the Christopher Cross album include Andy Salmon on bass, Chuck Findley on trumpet, flugelhorn and horn, Don Henley on vocals, Don Roberts on saxophone, Eric Johnson on guitar, J.D. Souther on vocals, Jackie Kelso on saxophone, Jay Graydon on guitar, Jim Horn on saxophone, Larry Carlton on guitar, Lenny Castro on percussion, Lew McCreary on trombone, Marti McCall on vocals, Marty McCall on vocals, Michael McDonald on vocals, Michael Omartian on keyboards, piano, synthesizer, and vocals, Myrna Matthews on vocals, Nicolette Larson on vocals, Rob Meurer on celeste, keyboards, organ, piano and synthesizer, Stormie Omartian on vocals, Tommy Taylor on drums, Tomás Ramírez on saxophone, Valerie Carter on vocals and Victor Feldman on percussion and vibraphone.

Matt – Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Set primarily in Osage County, Oklahoma, the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) is based largely on the David Grann book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. That intrigue around the murders of a Native American tribe relocated to Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas with negotiated mineral rights led to government sanctioned theft, racism, and at least tacit sanctioning of murder against Osage Indians generally is where the book and the movie begin to intersect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, as a growing investigative service, provides another intersection point.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William King Hale, Katherine Willis as Myrtle Hale and Delani Chambers as Willie Hale in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

With movie writing credits to Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, the murdering of Osage people for oil rights on a one-by-one basis is the focus. Prior to the realization of this, the introduction of a modicum of Osage cultural tradition with the burial of the a ceremonial pipe, mourning their descendants’ assimilation into white American society. Sharing the yearly “flower moon” phenomenon of Oklahoma fields of bloom, we soon see several Osage dancing among oil gushing from the ground in their territory. Assuming the Osage “incompetent” to manage money in the American sense of it, Osage are assigned allotments of money in full and half-blood members headrights, which cannot be sold and transfer through inheritance to relatives upon death. In addition to graft that is addressed yet is not central to the movie, an incentive for untimely deaths had been created for unscrupulous whites.

(From left, Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

It is with this background that we meet Ernest Burkhart, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Having returned from World War One service unintelligent and greedy, Ernest moves in with his brother, Byron Burkhart as portrayed by Scott Shepherd, and his uncle William King Hale as portrayed by Robert De Niro. It’s on the family ranch that we learn of Hale‘s giving gifts to the Osage and speaking their language while serving in a neglectful law enforcement capacity. The depths of Hale‘s conniving against that proposed interest includes suggesting to Ernest Burhart‘s that his nephew strike up a romance with Mollie Kyle, who takes the Burkhart surname when Ernest and Molly marry in a ceremony with Osage and Roman Catholic elements. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie Kyle Burkhart, with Mollie’s relationship with Ernest Burkhart becoming a central focus of the movie.

(From left, Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q, Jillian Dion as Minnie Smith and Janae Collins as Reta Smith in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The criminal enterprise elements of the movie grow from here into what we see to be patterns of attack on the wealth and people of the Osage nation in general and Mollie Kyle Burkhart‘s family specifically. The patterns of attack on Lizzie Q, Anna Brown, Minnie Smith and Reta Smith, as portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion and Janae Collins, respectively, being front and center in the murderous plots. It is the escalating plot geared at Bill Smith‘s two wives (Minnie and Reta) and Ernest‘s wife (Molly), in addition to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot that occurred with an arguably equivalent impunity, led to the Osage tribe’s council seeking reprieve in Washington DC against the corrupt forces in play on the Osage reservation, including a direct appeal to United States president Calvin Coolidge. Jason Isbell portrayed Bill Smith.

(From left, Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr., Tatanka Means as John Wren, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

Despite of and in the face of these developments, William King Hale escalates his criminality further with the killing of Henry Roan, Mollie‘s first husband as portrayed by William Belleau, the ordering of the murdering of his own hired killers, and unsuccessfully attempting to murder Ernest after he testifies against his uncle. The Bureau of Investigation inquest by agents Thomas Bruce White Sr. and John Wren leads to a trial litigated by Prosecutor Peter Leaward. W.S. Hamilton defends William King Hale and Ernest Burkhart. Jesse Plemons, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser portrayed White Sr., Wren, Leaward and Hamilton, respectively.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on set for the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The means of bringing together the larger questions of the fates of William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart, Molly Kyle Burkhart and Anna Brown through a dramatized radio program intermixed with flashback provided an unexpected and dramatically cinematic flare to the movie’s resolution. The movie reels of the Tulsa Race Riots in addition to the opening storytelling tributes to the silent movie era of cinema were appreciated artful touches at earlier parts of the movie. These elevation points raised the bar for me on what quality filmmaking truly can be. It is with these points as backdrops to the story told that I grant Killers of the Flower Moon as directed by Martin Scorsese with a highly accomplished cast 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 4, 2023

Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid and Clancy Brown in the Gary Fleder movie ‘The Express’

The 1983 Robert C. Gallagher book Ernie Davis, The Elmira Express: The Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner tells the story of multiple firsts in the impressive college career and illness shortened life of national champion, Heisman Trophy winner and Syracuse University football player Ernie Davis. We look at the Charles Leavitt screenplay for the Gary Fleder movie The Express (2008) that came from that book.

(From left, Rob Brown as Ernie Davis and Charles S. Dutton as Willie ‘Pop’ Davis in the Gary Fleder movie The Express).

The story of Ernie Davis begins with Davis growing up first in Pennsylvania and, in later in Elmira, New York. It is in Elmira that a young Ernie Davis first plays runningback in an organized youth football league. A number of years later, Ben Schwartzwalder of Syracuse University recruits Davis with the support of the graduating Jim Brown, who would go on to excel with the Cleveland Browns. Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid and Darrin Dewitt Henson would portray Ernie Davis as an adult, Ben Schwartzwalder and Jim Brown.

(Coaches from left, Dennis Quaid as Ben Schwartzwalder and Clancy Brown as Roy Simmons in the Gary Fleder movie The Express).

The sport of college football, a legacy of racism in Dallas, Texas made tangible through threats, and the effort to play The University of Texas at the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas for the 1959 championship on January 1, 1960 unfolds in the telling of The Express. An injured leg and biased officiating interject, as does further insult at the recognition banquet following the game. The outcome of both the game and the follow-up indicates something uplifting in the face of ugliness.

(From left, Rob Brown as Ernie Davis, Omar Benson Miller as Jack Buckley, Nicole Beharie as Sarah Ward and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Marie Davis in the Gary Fleder movie The Express).

The story of Davis getting drafted by the Cleveland Browns, then of the National Football League (NFL), leads to the revelation of a life threatening disease during preseason efforts to get into condition for the coming season. The formal revelation by then owner Art Modell that the disease would keep Davis from formally fulfilling his professional dream happened matter-of-factly in the middle of practice. The formal announcement of the outcome was addressed with more class. Davis‘ recruiting of Floyd Little to Syracuse mirrors his own recruitment there with the aid of Jim Brown. Saul Rubinek and Chadwick Boseman portrayed Modell and Little, respectively.

(From left, Dennis Quaid as Ben Schwartzwalder and Darrin Dewitt Henson as Jim Brown in the Gary Fleder movie The Express).

As presented in passing in the movie, former United States President John F. Kennedy offered praise for Davis after the football player as a player and citizen following Davis‘ death. The tribute gave dignity to the sympathetic portrayal of Ernie Davis. I give The Express as directed by Gary Fleder 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, September 2, 2023

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘Lethal Agent’ by Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills continues the Mitch Rapp series of books (book sequence here) created by Vince Flynn with the eighteenth (18th) book in the series, the fifth written by Mills. With Lethal Agent, we see a familiar Mitch Rapp book focusing on the man, the myth and the legend of combatting terrorism while facing corrupt politicians bent on fighting the apparatus intent on fighting it.

(Kyle Mills succeeded Vince Flynn in writing books with Mitch Rapp as a central character. Mills wrote Lethal Agent, his fifth foray into the Mitch Rapp series).

Lethal Agent cleverly plays upon two concepts in speaking to the subject matter addressed with plot points based in Iraq and Yemen. The threat placed in front on the good people of the world and the folks fighting terrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was of a biological nature; using the fear of unleashing chemical warfare was a first concept of a lethal agent used in this story.

(Alternative book covers for Lethal Agent as written by Kyle Mills).

The second involved Mitch Rapp, continuing his role as a contractor for the CIA while at odds with himself and his current love interest over what his future is as a fighter of terrorism. When the odds get heavy during a United States presidential election season, the nature of the threat includes a drug trafficking pipeline from Mexico to the United States that overlaps with the biological terror storyline. The means for fighting the biological threat offers a latitude to Rapp not seen at the level presented in the Lethal Agent novel.

(Vince Flynn created the Mitch Rapp series of books, writing the first 13 books in the series).

Mitch acts with explicit and lethal authority in fighting a bioterrorism theater in Mexico that is brand new; the beauty of the approach is that old style Rapp appears again. That we’ve been here and done this, for the individual reader, is either great in getting to see this again or awful for seeing this again. Invoking foreign scientists was a positive turn for Lethal Agent written by Kyle Mills, thus helping me to rate the book 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, July 22, 2023

Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘The Aviator’

An epic biographical drama of United States business magnate Howard Hughes as directed by Martin Scorsese captures our attention today. Starring an ensemble cast portraying the business, government and movie star classes throughout Hughes‘ life, The Aviator (2004) was written by John Logan for the movies to dramatize a view of Howard Hughes from the late 1920s through the middle 1940s.

(From left, John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich and Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Starting with a foreshadowing for the path the Hughes story will take, The Aviator begins in 1913 Houston, Texas with 9-year-old Howard taught to fear the germs of of a cholera outbreak while bathed by his mother. Portrayed by Jacob Davich and Amy Sloan respectively, Howard‘s mother would have him spell quarantine. The stage was being set for the forming personality that would begin to be revealed to the audience with the 1927 film Hell’s Angels (1930) that Howard Hughes, now portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, was directing.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, Adam Scott as Johnny Meyer, Jude Law as Errol Flynn and Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Noah Dietrich would begin managing the day-to-day business of the business empire that was growing for Hughes. It was upon seeing the movie The Jazz Singer (1927), a movie partially including sound, that Howard Hughes would begin reworking his movie to also include sound. Despite positive reviews without the sound, Hughes insisted upon bringing sound and realism to the movie in a manner that indicated an obsessive need to get there. Hughes became romantically involved with Katharine Hepburn during this period. Hepburn, as portrayed by Cate Blanchett, helped Hughes keep the symptoms of his obsessive-compulsive disorder in check.

(From left, Danny Huston as Jack Frye, Kelli Garner as Faith Domergue, Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe, Emma Campbell as Helen Frye and Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

It was in 1935 that we are introduced to the Hughes H-1 Racer. The introduction comes with Hughes setting a speed record and crash-landing the plane when it runs out of gas. On the heals of flying around the world in four days in 1938, we learn of Hughes purchasing the controlling interest of Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), later renamed to Trans World Airlines. A rivalry develops from here with Pan Am (Pan American World Airways), Juan Trippe, and Maine Senator Ralph Owen Brewster. With Hepburn having moved on, Hughes would date Faith Domergue and Ava Gardner while maintaining feelings for Katharine Hepburn.

(From left, Ian Holm as Professor Fitz, Alan Alda as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

With a series of new construction contracts for the American military in the works, with the Hughes XF-11 reconnaissance plane and the Hughes H-4 Hercules / Spruce Goose flying boat converging into false arguments against the Hughes companies. A crash in Beverly Hills, California and the expense of the other plane converge with the airline industry inquiries and fundamental issue in Howard Hughes‘ personal life that speak largely to the true partner Hughes had in Noah Dietrich.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actress Kate Beckinsale in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator).

Five Academy Award wins would be granted to The Aviator, which was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Received well by critics and moviegoers alike, the movie was based on the book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham. The sets felt period appropriate with excellent flourishes of cinematography include. I grant The Aviator as directed by Martin Scorsese 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Lynyrd Skynyrd and the album ‘Second Helping’

The band Lynyrd Skynyrd debuted their second album on April 15th, 1974. With four members of the band writing for the album with J.J. Cale of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma writing the final song for the album, a truly remarkable album came out of the sessions resulting in Second Helping.

(The cover art for the second album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is named Second Helping).

The core band of Lynyrd Skynyrd for Second Helping included Ronnie Van Zant of Jacksonville, Florida on lead vocals, Gary Rossington of Jacksonville, Florida on guitar, Allen Collins of Jacksonville, Florida on guitar, Ed King of Glendale, California on guitar, backing vocals and bass, Leon Wilkeson of Jacksonville, Florida on bass, Bob Burns of Jacksonville, Florida on drums and Billy Powell of Corpus Christi, Texas on keyboards.

Sweet Home Alabama would rank 21st in the United Kingdom and 8th in the United States. Lynyrd Skynyrd “wrote this song about their impressions of Alabama and as a tribute to the studio musicians at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where they recorded from 1970-1972.” Producer Denny Cordell of Dublin, Ireland is credited with calling the musicians at Muscle Shoals “the Swampers,” which is referenced in the song.

(Sweet Home Alabama was released as a single in support of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s 1974 album named Second Helping).

I Need You presents a heaviness driven by the loneliness of being on the road and away from the person missed the most.

Don’t Ask Me No Questions makes me giggle for being so direct with the ways of the music business. As quoted here, this song “was a message to the people who wanted a piece of the band when they became famous. They were largely ignored for about 6 years while they were struggling, but when their first album was a hit in 1973, they faced huge demands on their time.”

As quoted here, “MCA was Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s record company. This song is based on how they were signed. The “Yankee Slicker” is Al Kooper. They actually were signed for $9,000.” The quote adds that Workin’ for MCA was written specifically for a press party and attracted the attention of many executives for what had been at that time an unknown band.

The Ballad of Curtis Loew is one of my all time favorite songs. As quoted from here in getting into the underpinning story of the song, “Curtis Loew is not the name of an actual person from Ronnie Van Zant‘s life. Rather, Curtis Loew is a composite of different people, including Skynyrd lead guitarist Rickey Medlocke‘s grandfather, Shorty Medlocke. Contrary to the song’s lyrics, Shorty was not black.”

Swamp Music offers as playful a musical feeling as any song on Second Helping. Getting into descriptions of a bayou lifestyle with a hound dog out in the sun, I feel the leisure of a way of life.

The Needle and the Spoon, as quoted here, “was [a] warning about the dangers of hardcore drugs, which the band was just learning about.” The opening guitar riff is a serious attention getter. The song offers a foretelling of music that would follow for Lynyrd Skynyrd on subsequent albums.

Call Me the Breeze, as quoted here, “was written and originally recorded by the Oklahoma guitarist J.J. Cale. The song is about a guy who can go where the weather takes him, unburdened by the weight of the world. It was a fitting statement for Cale, who went out of his way to keep things simple and stay out of the spotlight (his photo didn’t appear on his first seven albums). The concept of savoring simplicity and going where the wind takes you is also a theme of many Skynyrd songs.” The upbeat quality lends an air of ease that balances some of the more complex, sad feelings present with the Second Helping album, in particular.

Additional musicians on the album included Mike Porter on drums, Merry Clayton of New Orleans, Louisiana, Clydie King of Dallas, Texas, and Sherlie Matthews of Los Angeles, California on backing vocals, Bobby Keys of Slaton, Texas, Steve Madaio of Brooklyn, New York and Trevor Lawrence on horns, and Al Kooper of Brooklyn, New York on backing vocals and piano.

Matt – Saturday, April 15, 2023

Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Lewis Black in the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie ‘Inside Out’

Imagine yourself as an 11-year-old girl from Minnesota asked to move to San Francisco, California as your belongings get misdirected to Texas. Imagine missing your friends, having your father disappear emotionally because the family moved to pursue his job, and learning that the pizza place down the street serves all pizza with broccoli, a vegetable you detest. The Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen directed movie Inside Out (2015) begins in this fashion. Blog namesake Lynn enjoys this animated action and adventure movie.

(From left, Diane Lane as Mom (Jill Andersen), Kaitlyn Dias as Riley Andersen and Kyle MacLachlan as Dad (Bill Andersen) in the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie Inside Out).

The Andersen family reflect our family, with the internal life of 11-year-old Riley at the center of our tale. Kaitlyn Dias voiced Riley Andersen, with voice credits for mother Jill Andersen and father Bill Andersen going to Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan. The interaction amongst the three drives the internal lives for each, with the majority of the adventure resting with the life of the pre-teen Riley getting turned inside out.

(From left, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Bill Hader as Fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust and Amy Poehler as Joy in the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie Inside Out).

Central to the internal life of Riley, especially in the face of the stress that has been introduced to an already trying age for many, is the transition among five central emotions. With the feelings embodied as characters named Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, we are introduced to those characters as voice respectively by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black and Mindy Kaling. The move begins with Joy aiming to keep an upbeat perspective to the series of early setbacks experienced by Riley as the other feelings, quite naturally, present themselves.

(From left, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Amy Poehler as Joy and Richard Kind as Bing Bong in the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie Inside Out).

When Sadness and Joy get separated from the rest of the group in the central nerve center of Riley’s experience, the true adventure of the story takes a fascinating turn that brings in long term memories for the girl. School proves difficult while the chance to play her beloved hockey begins calling into question other core memories. The meaning of beloved Bing Bong, as portrayed by Richard Kind, helps bring a tenderness to internal emotional extremes that lead to external actions that bring the larger story to actions that are both relatable for adults and pre-teens alike.

(From left, writer and director Ronnie Del Carmen, writer and director Pete Docter and writer Meg LaFauve in the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie Inside Out).

The female protagonist with male and female antagonists proves a nice touch for Inside Out, with writing credits resting with Meg LeFauve and the directors, Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen. I grant the film definite props for entertainment value and a compelling jaunt back into the period before some of the more serious questions of senior high school really begin. I grant the Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen movie Inside Out 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett and Mason Alexander Park in Season One of the continued ‘Quantum Leap’

When bringing back a previous television show as the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) did with Quantum Leap (1989-1993), a central decision is to continue the original storyline or create a new world for the show. In a move that many thought they didn’t want, Quantum Leap (2022- ) returned with storylines that extended the universe of the original series with really good results.

(Raymond Lee as Ben Song in the television reboot of Quantum Leap).

The original Quantum Leap series ran for five seasons with Dr. Sam Beckett having never returned home after a series of leaps into the lives of people, aiming to turn right what once had been wrong. 30 years after Beckett had vanished after stepping into the Quantum Leap accelerator for the last time. We are introduced to the story of Dr. Ben Song and Addison Augustine, Song’s fiancé. We see Song breach protocol and initiate a leap in Augustine’s place with no planning for such a turn. Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett portrayed Song and Augustine, respectively.

(From left, Nanrisa Lee as Jenn Chou, Ernie Hudson as Herbert ‘Magic’ Williams, Mason Alexander Park as Ian Wright and Caitlin Bassett as Addison Augustine in the television reboot of Quantum Leap).

Ernie Hudson, in a reprisal of the role of Herbert ‘Magic’ Williams from the third season of the original series, heads the team left behind. Jenn Chou and Ian Wright, as portrayed by Nanrisa Lee and Mason Alexander Park, support the Quantum Leap project with the wife and daughter of Sam Beckett’s observer, Al Calavicci, playing recurring roles. Susan Diol and Georgina Reilly portrayed Beth Calavicci and Janis Calavicci, respectively. Twists in the larger unfolding story of the 18 episodes of this first season back rested with Walter Perez, who portrayed the mysterious Richard Martinez.

(From left, Walter Perez as Richard Martinez, Susan Diol as Beth Calavicci and Georgina Reilly as Janis Calavicci in the television reboot of Quantum Leap).

Executive producer credit for the new season rests with Donald P. Bellisario as Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, having developed the new series, also served as executive producers. The core sensibilities of the original series remain with this reboot, though ways in which the universe exists for the audience are appreciated extensions into the current world. The world for next season and beyond is well open for Quantum Leap, which leads to my rating of 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars for the opening season.

Matt – Saturday, April 8, 2023