As the sole son and eldest of four children of best-selling novelists Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Jesse has the pedigree, the academic credentials (B.S. from Harvard, M.F.A. from Brandeis) and the winning combination of self-confidence and self-deprecating humor not only to create memorable fiction in his own right, but also to handle with ease the lofty expectations that come from being one of “those” Kellermans.  Jesse’s mystery debut, Sunstroke, is a quirky noir tale in the Jim Thompson tradition about Gloria Mendez, a middle-aged Los Angeles secretary who has grown dependent over the years on her secret unrequited love for her older boss, Carl, a congenial if clueless toy importer.  When Carl fails to return from one of his usual Mexican vacations (authorities claim he died in a fiery car crash), Gloria reluctantly heads south to retrieve his body. In the process, she encounters a handsome young Mexican claiming to be Carl’s son who offers a dramatically different version of her boss’ life.  The more she learns about his secret past, the less she trusts Carl, his son or the official version of his death.  While Kellerman adheres to most noir conventions, his kinetic narrative voice separates Sunstroke from the pack.  His omniscient storyteller is a sardonic, wisecracking mischief-maker whose droll asides lend real snap and menace to the proceedings, giving the book a playfulness similar to The Usual Suspects or Pulp Fiction. “To me, drama without comedy is just dead and soulless, and comedy without any sense of gravitas is just idiotic,” he says.  “So when I’m writing more serious stuff, the way I avoid melodrama is by making sure that my sense of humor comes through.”  One might expect the natural heir to the Kellerman franchise to be an avid mystery fan, right?  Not quite.  Though he admires a handful of mystery writers (“My parents, Elmore Leonard, Ruth Rendell, Jim Thompson”), he rarely reads crime fiction.  Instead, Jesse aspires to become that rarest of rare birds, a popular literary writer in the vein of his top five:  Vladimir Nabokov, David Mamet, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and John Fowles. In fact, writing crime fiction was not Plan A or even Plan B.  He entered Harvard as a film and photography major, then switched to psychology, his father’s discipline, to broaden his experience.  Although Harvard does not have a theater department per se, its affiliation with the American Repertory Theater proved fruitful; Kellerman won the 2003 Princess Grace Award as the country’s most promising playwright and had his plays produced throughout the United States and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Whatever course his muse may take him, Jesse is certain that family revelry, not rivalry, will follow.  BookPage interview by Jay MacDonald  https://bookpage.com/interviews/8331-jesse-kellerman-mystery-suspense#.X1d6gnlKiUk 

Atlanta is one of the greenest cities in the United States.  Many of the greenspaces around the city receive resources, but not all communities receive equal resources.  As development continues to increase across Atlanta, urban planners and tree experts have agreed to protect some of the forested areas that already exist.  Thomasville Heights residents have endured environmental degradation, disinvestment and are now experiencing displacement.  Through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy, HABESHA, Inc., has worked with Thomasville Heights Civic League, Purpose Built Schools, AVLF, Atlanta Audubon, Park Pride, Trees Atlanta, Trust for Public Land and many others to offer two solid years of training, exposure and career opportunities to residents of South and Southwest Atlanta, The Nature Conservancy is coordinating the development of a plan to better care for the South River Forest in SE Atlanta and South DeKalb.  The goal of the project in Thomasville Heights is to work with residents to prepare for green careers while also improving the look and feel of the community.  This project is complemented by restoration efforts in a nearby wetland forest, Constitution Lakes and stream restoration at McDaniel Wetlands and along the South River.  https://habeshainc.org/urban-green-jobs/ 

Loving monster movies began with my family, with searching for the zipper on Godzilla’s rubber suit, and watching a terrible yet somehow lovable creature wreak havoc on an unsuspecting Tokyo.  For me, Godzilla is intertwined with the faded haze of childhood, with a TV that changed channels via clunky plastic dial, with a green-and-blue-flowered quilt, and with the savory-sweet smell of corn fritters for breakfast.  Cuddled on a bed, we laughed as on-screen scientists pondered how to communicate with and control a lumbering metaphor for nuclear apocalypse.  Monster movies are a kind of fear that’s as safe and sanitized as my memories of childhood Saturdays.  My first space monster was HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, a psychotic computer made by humans.  It mixed fear of the future with our fear of technology and the control we allow it.  Soon came Alien’s Xenomorphs, which combined a contemporary fear of the other with the fear of the future.  Erika Swyler  Read how to survive monsters including mummies and vampires at https://lithub.com/are-we-running-out-of-monster-metaphors-for-the-disasters-of-the-real-world/  

Louis Bromfield was a successful author and strong advocate of scientific agriculture and soil conservation.  Bromfield was born on December 27, 1896, near Mansfield, Ohio.  He attended Cornell Agricultural College from 1914 to 1916, and then transferred to Columbia University to earn a degree in journalism.  Bromfield left Columbia before graduating.  During World War I, he joined the American Ambulance Corps with the French Army and served until 1919.  After the end of World War I, Broomfield began a journalism career.  He lived in New York City and wrote articles for several magazines.  In 1924, Bromfield wrote his first novel, The Green Bay Tree.  Soon after completing this book, Bromfield moved to France, where he was acquainted with Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, and Sinclair Lewis.  In 1926, Bromfield won the Pulitzer Price for a novel called Early Autumn.  He continued to write fiction throughout the 1920s and early 1930s.  In 1939, Bromfield returned to Ohio and purchased Malabar Farm, near Mansfield.   Bromfield died on March 18, 1956.  One of his daughters, Ellen Bromfield Carson, continued her father's conservation efforts.  Malabar Farm is now a state park.  https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Louis_Bromfield

Theme from The Blob - The Five Blobs by Bacharach and David, 1958.  (The film billed the composer as Carmichael.)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcsG57QoPuU  3:16   The theme from The Blob was actually sung by one singer, Bernie Nee, and multi-tracked to sound like five singers.  With music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Mack David, brother of Hal (Bacharach's future songwriting partner in the 1960s), this song became a hit and rose to #33 on the Billboard Top 40 Chart.  Though it has silly lyrics, it's hard to hear this song which begins "Beware of the Blob," and not have it stick in your memory bank, like many bubble-gum songs of that era.  http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/TheBlob.htm 

In the heart of Rome, the Roma Termini station is home to two McDonald’s, one on the ground floor and another located on the basement floor.  If you stop in for an order of McNuggets at the latter, you can’t help but notice their unusual decorations:  the ruins of an ancient Roman wall.  The Servian Wall was constructed around the city of Rome during the 4th century B.C.  The outline of the wall possibly dates back to the times of King Servius Tullius, for which it garnered its namesake.  The wall stood for generations as the first line of defense against the Gauls and Carthaginians.  By the early Imperial age, the wall became unnecessary as the Roman army grew in number and power.  Eventually, it was superseded by the Aurelian Wall constructed by Emperor Aurelian in 275.  The remains of the Servian Wall can be spotted at numerous locations throughout today’s Rome, the most notable and largest section is located right outside the Termini station.  A smaller section of the wall was unearthed during the construction of the station’s underground shopping mall, and was thus integrated into the dining area of McDonald’s.  See pictures at https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/servian-wall-at-mcdonalds

October 4, 2020  For half a century, PBS programs have let us traverse with the wildlife of the Okavango Delta, solve mysteries, cook alongside culinary artists, fall in love and ask a million questions.  PBS has educated, engaged and inspired viewers across America, one program at a time.  As PBS celebrates its 50th anniversary, take a look at some of our classic content.  Madisson Haynes  https://www.pbs.org/articles/2020/10/pbs-50th-anniversary/ 

THOUGHT FOR OCTOBER 14  The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. - E.E. Cummings, poet (14 Oct 1894-1962)

WORD FOR OCTOBER 14  in-joke  noun Synonym of inside joke (“a joke that is understood or meant to be understood only by certain people who are aware of the details”)  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in-joke#English 

WORDS FOR THESE TIMES  fake Twitter accounts, touch deprivation, hiring paid crowds, astroturfing (masking the sponsors of a message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants.)

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2271  October 14, 2020