April 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

The Company You Keep – So, we got the will they/won’t they find out.  Now, we’ve got the will they/won’t they get back together.  I like that they are slow playing things right now.  Makes for a very interesting storyline.  I have no idea where they are going to go with things.  I also like that they are doing with the ex.  Everyone has made some poor decisions in the past.

Race to Survive: Alaska – I hope they didn’t think they were being dramatic with the no elimination reveal.  I had that figured out last week.  I think the shock would have been if they had eliminated another team.  I think I’ve got the rhythm of the show down now that we’ve made it through one leg.  We’ll see if that holds true going forward.  Interested to see them doing something different next week.

Night Court – All the characters still aren’t working quite as well as they should, but overall, this was a fun episode.  I’m surprised they revealed the secret love thing already.  I wonder if the writers wrote all of season 1 before they knew season 2 was going to happen, so they didn’t drag out things they might normally drag out, like that storyline.

Superman & Lois – I was glad to see Lois finally yield at the end.  And that moment with Clark?  Again, it is why I love this show so much.  I also like Lana’s speech at the end.  Revealing the truth would hurt more than help, and since the man is dead, there is nothing to be gained.  You can always print something later, but once it is out there, there is no going back.  Also, I like what they are doing with Sam this season – more so than previous seasons, they are trying to humanize him.  I hope it lasts.

Gotham Knights – Yep, they are definitely going there with Harvey Dent.  Not surprised, I mean, if you have him in the show, you pretty much have to, right?  I’ll be interested to see how they develop it.  Otherwise, I feel like this was more stand alone than some of the others, but with plenty of action to keep me interested and a little bit of the next step there at the end.

The Weakest Link – For some reason, I thought this had been cancelled.  Obivously, not.  Fun to see them switch things up with twins this time around.

The Mandalorian – They set things up for an interesting season finale, but the pacing was once again an issue for me.  So much that was just there for a few minutes and didn’t seem to actually go anywhere.  I just don’t get why I don’t connect with the show like others seem to.

Survivor – Such a bummer.  I was rooting for Matt and Frannie.  I figured the tribe would split them up at some point, and I get why he was voted out.  But still, that one hurt.  Poor guy only got to vote once, too.  Definitely and interesting twist to the game.  I did like it.

True Lies – Some good lines and a good story.  But seriously, can the personal stories get a little more creative?  They are easily the worst part of each episode since they telegraph things so early and often.

April 14th's Friday Post

Welcome to Friday.  Time for another Friday Post, where I will link up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, I will be featuring teasers from Curds of Prey, the third Cheese Shop Mystery from Korina Moss.

I'm in the middle of this one right now, and I'm enjoying it.  However, the opening isn't the most attention grabbing:

"Alp Blossom."  I showed Olivia Harrington and her two grown daughters the beautiful cheese wheel coated in colorful trimmings of dried grasses and flowers.

As I said, the first line isn't an attention grabber, but it does help that Olivia and her daughters are suspects, and we get conflict within just a few pages.  It doesn't make for an exciting teaser, but the opening chapter is still a good introduction to the book.

In fact, by the time we've reached page 56, we are in the thick of things, as you can tell by this teaser.  For a little context, Roman is the main character's potential love interest.  She is currently talking to the police after having found the book's murder victim.

"Roman's not guilty of anything," I added hastily.  "I only called and texted him because I was worried about him.  I thought something bad had happened to him."  It registered that my voice was raised, but I couldn't help it.
"Because his car was still on the property?"
"Yes!"

Is Roman safe?  Or is he the killer?

As I said, I'm reading this one now, but the plan is to finish it up on Friday and review it next Thursday.  Of course, I have two other book reviews to write.  I've got to get busy this weekend.

Let's finish things off with this week's Book Blogger Hop.  This question is:

What is your go-to website to check out book reviews?

If I'm looking for thoughts on a particular book, I usually go to Amazon or Goodreads.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Knot on Her Life by Mary Marks (Quilting Mysteries #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, unique mystery

Cons: One major why never explains; another aspect near the end

The Bottom Line:

A girl in trouble

With Martha trying to help

Unique mystery

Is There Danger in the Neighborhood?

I always enjoy it when an author finds a unique mystery plot.  We’ve gotten that with several of the books in the Quilting Mysteries from Mary Marks, and Knot on Her Life is another one.

If you are new to the series, this is book seven, and if featuring Martha Rose and her family and friends.  Naturally, given the hook for this series, Martha is a quilter, a hobby she has picked up after an early retirement due to health issues.  While you could definitely jump in here, you might not get all the connections between the characters if you do.  While some of the previous cases Martha has solved are mentioned, they are done without any spoilers.

Martha’s current quilting project is a baby blanket for her first grandchild, a girl due in a few weeks.  However, she gets distracted when a little girl, Poppy, comes to the door.  It turns out that Poppy is the new foster daughter of Martha’s neighbor, Sonia.  Poppy is there because Sonia is seriously sick.  She appears to have slipped into a diabetic coma despite how careful she is with her monitoring her health.

While Sonia recovers in the hospital, Poppy stays temporarily with Martha.  As Martha gets to know the girl, she discovers that Poppy’s parents were murdered and the killer hasn’t been caught.  Whilch makes Martha wonder if the killer might want to go after Poppy.  If that’s the case, was Sonia’s health crisis an accident?  Or is something more sinister going on?

See what I mean?  We’ve got a strong mystery, but the setup is unique.  Martha also gets involved in trying to find a permanent home for Poppy, meeting the girl’s family in the process.  With all that story, there was plenty going on to keep my attention, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.  I did figure out what was going on a little before Martha did, but I missed some of the clues she used to solve the case.

Unfortunately, the book does stumble a little at the end.  There is a pretty big why that is never addressed.  And there is one aspect of the ending that seems a bit harsh.  It’s hard to explain without giving away spoilers, but I just didn’t feel like it needed to be there, or handled the way it was if it did need to be included.  But maybe that’s just me.

Obviously, with this being book seven, I love the characters, and it was great to spend time with them again.  One of the original characters is absent from this book, but we’ve met some new characters who are around to help fill in the gap.  I was hoping one of them would be toned down a little, but I did like seeing her again anyway.  The new characters and suspects are all strong and interesting as well.

Knot on Her Life is an entertaining mystery that should keep readers old and new turning pages until they find out exactly what is going on.  If you haven’t read this book yet, you’ll be glad you picked it up.

Curl up with the rest of the Quilting Mysteries.

Movie Review: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some genuine laughs from a talented cast

Cons: Feels like it is trying too hard; cuts out many songs from the stage version

The Bottom Line:

Farce plus musical

Doesn’t quite deliver fun

Feels like should be more

Looking for a Comedy Tonight?  You’ve Come to the Right Place

I’ve long heard of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  It’s always been on my “I’ll watch it someday list,” but when TCM movies decided to air it, I figured that was a great chance to catch the film.

As you might have suspected from the title, this musical takes place in ancient Rome.  We are introduced to Pseudolous (Zero Mostel) a slave who is constantly in trouble for trying to run away.  However, he gets a chance to earn his freedom when his master’s son, Hero (Michael Crawford) falls in love with a beautiful Virgin he sees in the window of the brothel next door.  Unfortunately, this woman (Annette Andre) has been sold to another man who is on his way there in just a couple of hours to claim her.  Can Pseudolous figure out a way to get her for his master and win his freedom?

This movie is really something you don’t see very often, a farce and a musical.  Now, I enjoy a good farce, so when I realized what this movie was, I was hoping I was in for a treat.  Instead, I found the movie uneven.  At times, I was laughing at some of the lines and the events as they unfolded.  At others, however, I felt like the movie was trying too hard.  A perfect example of this is the chariot chase scene at the end.  I’m sure it was added for the movie, but it doesn’t quite work.

I was actually surprised at how few songs there are in the movie.  Apparently, afraid that audience were tiring of big screen musicals, the studio demanded most of the songs from the Broadway show be cut.  I know, right?  The movie clocks in at just under 1 hour 40 minutes as a result.  Since the music was written by Stephen Sondheim, I would love to hear more of it here.

The cast certainly does well with what they have to work with.  In case you are wondering, yes, this is THAT Michael Crawford in the very supporting role of Hero here.  Comedy legends Bustor Keaton and Phil Silvers are also in the cast.

Since part of the plot revolves around the brothel and the goings on there, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn part of my problem involved some humor that I didn’t appreciate.  I’m sure it was quite risqué for 1966, but even though it is tame by today’s standards, I could have done without it.

Still, I’m actually very curious to see the stage production.  I have a feeling the story will flow better with all the songs included.  And I’ve often found that farces in particular and comedies in general don’t translate well from the stage to the screen.  I think I might like it better if I can see it on stage sometime.

I’m not sure if my expectations were too high or if the movie missed the mark that much.  Maybe both.  A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be either.  I know the movie has its fans, and I can see why, but I don’t think I’ll be watching this one again.

Book Review: The Truth We Hide by Liz Milliron (Homefront Mysteries #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery, Betty, settings

Cons: I would have liked more of the supporting characters (but it’s minor)

The Bottom Line:

When new client dies

What was motive for murder?

Betty’s next great case

Betty Searches for the Truth About Her New Client

I admire when an author changes up the premise of her series, especially after only three books.  But Liz Milliron did just that with The Truth We Hide, the fourth in her Homefront Mysteries.

This series follows Betty Ahern in World War II Buffalo, New York.  When we first met her, she was working at Bell Aircraft, doing her part for the war.  That’s behind her now, and she is attempting to follow her dream of becoming a private investigator, an ambition that is being encouraged by her father.  She’s still studying for her license when this book opens in May of 1943, but she’s landed herself a new client.

Edward Kettle worked at American Shipbuilding Company.  He’s been accused of giving secrets to a reporter, who then wrote a story about it, but Edward denies it.  He wants Betty to clear his name, but he gets evasive when Betty asks why anyone would want to get Edward in trouble.

Betty decides to press Edward on this the next day only to discover that someone brutally murdered Edward during the night.  It’s only then that Betty learns the truth – Edward was a homosexual.  Edward’s sister wants Betty to finish the job and find Edward’s killer.  Will Betty continue on with the case?  If she does, what was the motive for Edward’s murder?

Betty quitting her job and working full time to become a PI makes sense given what we’ve seen in the first three books in the series.  I enjoyed seeing Betty get more confident about her goals while also worrying about what her fiancé, who is serving somewhere in Africa, will think.  Of course, the practical reason is that it allows Betty to devote more time to detecting, something she couldn’t do with all the hours she had to be at work in the past.

This means the plot is strong.  Betty is focused on proving her client innocent and finding out who killed him.  There are a number of suspects, and they keep her guessing until we hit the logical climax.  I figured it out a bit before Betty did, but not that long before.

I will admit, I almost didn’t pick up this book despite enjoying the previous three books in the series.  When I learned that Edward was a homosexual, I was expecting a book that would turn into a lecture.  I couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Don’t get me wrong, we see just what being homosexual in that time period met, and we see plenty of hateful comments from people we meet about Edward.  And these are also clearly presented as wrong.  While Betty is uncomfortable when she learns about Edward, she also doesn’t agree with the attitudes she runs across.  But she does it without getting into a lecture at all.  The focus of the book is on the mystery, and this is just one aspect of the case.  And all of the attitudes expressed by characters in the book feel realistic for the time, even those that aren’t negative.  I’d been worried about running into modern views in this book, but none of them feel anachronistic.

I will say, we didn’t see enough of the supporting players for me.  I love Betty’s friends and family, and they were definitely background players this time around.  But I did enjoy our time with them.  The suspects were good, some were developed a bit more than others, but we got clear views of each of them and clear motives for them potentially having committed the murder.

There were some interesting threads introduced in this book, and I’m curious if any of them will come into play in the next in the series.

Once again, I was back in 1943 as I was reading.  It was easy to get lost in the time period as Betty tried to find the killer.

If you are looking for a strong historical series that looks at World War II through the lens of life for those left behind, I highly recommend this series.  If you are already a fan, you’ll enjoy The Truth We Hide.

Be sure to read the rest of the Homefront Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Ornament Review: Gaston - 2022 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Perfect representation of Gaston

Cons: Very small tilt, but only if you look for it

The Bottom Line:

Arrogant Gaston

Is perfectly captured here

Decorate with him

No One Decorates Your Tree Like Gaston

Hallmark has been releasing ornaments of the Disney villains the last few years as limited-edition ornaments.  While I don’t collect a lot of villain stuff as a general rule, I’ve been having fun adding these to my ornament collection.  As a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast, I had to get Gaston.

This is Gaston from the animated movie, not the live action remake.  He’s flexing with his left arm and looking over at it.  His right arm is on his waist.  He’s wearing his burgundy tunic, grey tights, and brown shoes.  On his back is his quiver holding some arrows.

Given Gaston’s overwhelming arrogance, this pose for the ornament is absolutely wonderful.  You can almost hear him saying, “Just look at me and how awesome I am.”  The sculpt is perfect and captures the way he looks exactly as he appears in the movie.

With the way he is posing, his feet don’t quite balance him, so you can’t stand him up to be displayed.  But he’s an ornament; he’s supposed to go on your tree.

When you put Gaston on your tree, you’ll find he tips a little to the right.  But with the Christmas tree branches around him, you’ll never notice.  And part of that is the pose – he’s supposed to be standing mainly on his left foot.  He just tips a little beyond that, and I didn’t notice last December.  You really have to be looking for it to see it.

Fans of Disney villains and Beauty and the Beast will be thrilled to add Gaston to their tree each year.  It’s hard to imagine a better ornament of the character.

Music Review: Heaven & Earth by Aaron Shust

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: 10 strong tracks turning Psalms into modern songs

Cons: “Forsaken” takes a few listens to appreciate

The Bottom Line:

Songs taken from Psalms

New worship, meditation

Filled with all new songs

A New Collection of Timeless Psalms

When Aaron Shust announced that his next project was going to be a collection of Psalms, I was excited.  I enjoy it when people write songs based on the Psalms, and I love his music, so I figured the two would be a great match.  Heaven & Earth: The Psalms Project is exactly what I was hoping for.

The lyrics are taken directly from the Psalms themselves as much as possible.  Yes, wording has been changed here and there to better reflect today’s English and song writing techniques, but if you are familiar with the Scriptures chosen here, you’ll feel like you listening to someone sing the Psalms.

These songs are all new as well.  While we’ve seen some of these Psalms turned into songs many times before, we haven’t heard them done this way.

And yes, the track list does hit many of the familiar, most well-known, and loved Psalms.  We got “Majestic” taken from Psalm 8, “My Shepherd” from Psalm 23, and “Be Gracious” from Psalm 51 for example.  But, as I just said, these are fresh new songs.  “My Shepherd” is quickly becoming my favorite version of this Psalm, in fact.

There are some other, less obvious choices on here, like “Even in My Old Age” from Psalm 71.  Probably the oddest choice, in my opinion, is “Forsaken” taken from Psalm 22.  This is the Psalm that Jesus quotes when on the cross.  I don’t think it’s one I’ve seen turned into a song before.  It feels a little out of place with the rest of the disc, but it is growing on me the more I hear it.

There is plenty of variety when it comes to these songs, although, overall, they tend to be a bit more meditative rather than high energy songs.  Having said that, “My Shepherd” is on the upbeat side of things, and it’s one reason I love it since it is something different for the Psalm.  Overall, these songs are beautiful to listen to with a simplicity that allows you to focus on the Scripture being sung.

Many of the tracks have an Israeli music flavor.  It’s most obvious on “My Help,” which is taken from Psalm 121, but you can hear it in several of the other tracks.  Meanwhile, “Hallelujah,” the final track taken from the final Psalm, is sung in both English and Hebrew.

There really isn’t a bad track in this disc.  I am going to be enjoying Heaven & Earth for a long time to come.  And I’m already hoping for a second volume with more Psalms.

CD Length: 39:00

Tracks:

1. Majestic (Psalm 8)

2. Forsaken (Psalm 22)

3. My Shepherd (Psalm 23) (Featuring Joshua Aaron)

4. Be Gracious (Psalm 51)

5. Even in My Old Age (Psalm 71)

6. Shadow of Shaddai (Psalm 91)

7. Steadfast Love (Psalm 103)

8. My Help (Psalm 121) (Featuring Yaron Cherniak)

9. Hold Me Fast (Psalm 139)

10. Hallelujah (Psalm 150)

April 8th's Weekly TV Thoughts

My first season finale aired this past week.  Kind of hard to believe we are there already, isn't it?

The Company You Keep – They ended up where I was expecting, Emma and Charlie working together to take down Daphne.  But I figured we’d team up in the first few minutes of this episode.  Shows why I’m not a writer, right?  This episode made that journey much more interesting and raised the stakes while doing it.

Quantum Leap – What a ride!  I knew he wouldn’t leap home or the show would end, and it’s going to be a long wait until September to find out what happens next.  But in the meantime, so many twists and turns and moments that kept me glued to my seat in this one.  Definitely well worth the journey for the first season.

Race to Survive: Alaska – I could have done without the throw up.  Seriously, just tell us about it later, don’t show it to us.  I wish they had told us what happened to the contestant who had to be evacuated so early.  But yes, I will definitely be watching this show to the end.  It’s a cross of Survivor and The Amazing Race, and it looks like it is going to be interesting as it goes along.  I am curious to see what all they have to do.

Night Court – Yes, I do find Abby’s soft on crime approach off putting at times.  But overall, this episode was still very fun.  The non-blackmail blackmail and Neal’s stuff were cracking me up.

Superman & Lois – When this show is at its best, it’s presents conflicts where both sides are wrong or someone is really trying to do the right thing.  I’m glad that Sarah’s behavior was addressed in this episode as well as Lana’s.  Both were wrong.  Neither was justified in what they did.  Meanwhile, Clark had the best of intentions, and I’m thankful Lois saw that.  Meanwhile, the main story took some interesting steps forward.

Gotham Knights – Obviously, Harvey Dent’s identity as Two Face is going to come into play at some point because they are clearly setting up that he works with/for the Owls.  Does this mean he gave his opponent for mayor the coin?  And they didn’t keep Cressida’s connection secret for very long either.  My station was having some issues, so I think I missed a couple of things, but I got the overall picture.  Hope that happy with the supernatural element they introduced there at the end.  Yes, yes, I know, this is a comic book story.  But still, it felt weird given what’s come before in the series.

The Mandalorian – A pretty good episode.  Impressive guest cast, too.  The story of the week was interesting, which is more than we can saw for some of the episodes so far this season.

The Flash – Not a bad episode.  I figured we would undo everything as soon as Barry announced to the strangers that he was The Flash.  Fun, although I don’t know that I have too much more than that to say about it.

Survivor – I can certainly identify with Caroline – I hate it when I’m trying to share something I know is true and everyone is ignoring me.  But I had to laugh at Jeff because I can’t keep track of what has what between idols and fake idols.  Glad they didn’t have the “twist” of sending the other half to tribal this time around.  It is interesting when everyone is voting but only half the people are in danger.  I wonder if Yam Yam is as vulnerable as he appears, or if, with everyone a potential target next time, he will be safer.

True Lies – A fun episode overall.  And is that a new romance in the air?  Probably not since she was a guest star.  I get that Helen is new to everything, but can we stop having her make very stupid mistakes just annoying Harry.  I’m a little over it already.  Can’t they come up with some fun storylines that give us some different conflicts to explore?  I did like all the various places the characters went to protect the innocent.  Those were some cool sub-plots.

Movie Review: Love in the Maldives

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun romance

Cons: A few low budget production issues

The Bottom Line:

A tropical trip

Leads to adventure of love

In this cute movie

Diving, Shipwreck, and Romance

For a couple of years, I resisted Hallmark’s movies other than their mystery movies.  But seeing the ads has slowly worn me down, and I have started watching a few of the others.  I was drawn to Love in the Maldives due to the tropical setting.  It’s hard to resist a couple of hours of beach time, right?  It’s also hard to resist the charms of this movie.

Rae (Jocelyn Hudon) is a travel writer who writes a monthly column about the thrills of traveling solo.  And thrills is the name of the game since she seeks out exotic and heart pounding trips to write about.  So when her editor, Shelley (Patricia McKenzie), sends her to Maldives to an underwater resort, Rae is less than enthused since it seems more relaxing than she normally write about.  But she sets about finding her usual dangerous activities like trekking through the nearby jungle or searching for a shipwreck.

While there, Rae meets Jared (Jake Manley), the recreation director of the resort who is more interested in teaching yoga than in helping Rae find her next thrill.  He was planning to take his program international, but that seems to have stalled.  While he tries to convince Rae to try to relax a bit more, he also begins to show her some of the more exciting things in the island.  What will happen next?

No, there aren’t really any surprises along the way.  I will admit to being impressed with how some of the obstacles Jared and Rae faced were dealt with.  Yes, there was a bit of assuming happening, but it was dealt with fairly quickly.  Considering some of the things I’ve read or watched where a simple misunderstand drags on forever, I found this refreshing and mature.

And the location?  Absolutely beautiful.  I’m ready to book a trip myself, especially to the resort.  As a lover of water, I absolutely want to stay in a place like that.

There is a sub-plot with a fellow guest that Rae befriends that I really enjoyed.  She also acts as a confidante for Rae, which I found fun.  The two of them were pushing each other to accept change.

Yes, this is a Hallmark production, so it has a bit of that low budget element to it.  I found this most obvious in some of the diving scenes – some looked good and some looked fake.  That might be equipment issues more than anything else.

A couple of the supporting players weren’t the best actors, but the majority of the cast were great.  They really helped pull me into the story.  And the chemistry between the stars is outstanding.  It helps that they are married in real life.

If you’re looking for a cute, light romantic comedy, Love in the Maldives will fit the bill.  Along the way, you’ll get to enjoy some gorgeous scenery.

Book Review: On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry (By the Book Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters, plots, laughs

Cons: One plot point seemed off

The Bottom Line:

Old bones in basement

Reheat a very cold case

Wacky, twisty fun

Bones Under the Floorboard

One of the unexpected surprises in my reading last year was the first in the By the Book Mysteries from Tamara Berry.  Naturally, that meant I rushed out and bought On Spine of Death, and then let it sit for a few months on my to be read pile.  But, with the third due out at the end of next month, I decided it was time to go back.  I found the second just as delightful as the first.

In the first book, we met bestselling thriller writer Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter, Gertrude.  They’d taken what was supposed to be a short trip to the small town of Winthrop, Washington, to stay in a remote cabin that Tess had just inherited from her grandfather.  However, they wound up falling in love with the area and deciding to move there permanently.

It’s now about nine months later, and Tess is working on turning her grandfather’s old hardware store into a bookstore.  That requires quite a bit of renovation.  In the process, two sets of bones are dislodged and fall directly into the basement.

The bones are identified as two women who went missing in the area, decades apart.  Tess is worried that their discovery will lead people to think that her grandfather had something to do with their disappearance.  Can she figure out what happened with these former cold cases?

Honestly, this just scratches the surface of the book.  There is a whole lot more going on than I touched on in my teaser.  Trust me, I wasn’t bored, but I was turning pages as quickly as I could to see what was happening.  There was one plot point in the middle of the book that I thought stretched credibility (even for this series), but it was minor.  There were some very creative twists, and they all made sense by the end.  In fact, I was impressed with how the climax brought everything together.

As I hinted at above, this series is wacky.  Oh, don’t worry, it all seems logical in the world that the series is building, but wacky is really the only word to describe it.  Needless to say, I laughed many times as I was reading, especially at some of the witty dialogue in the book.  The jokes did slow down as we entered the second half of the book, but it was a gradual transition that worked as we got into more serious territory.

What really helps hold this all together are the characters.  Again, they are a little odd, even for a cozy, but they feel real as we are reading.  We care for them and want to see them succeed.

While I will always recommend reading a series in order, I was very impressed with how the author danced around some things from the first book without spoiling anything.

I turned the final page thrilled that the next book is coming soon.  I can’t wait to see what happens next to Tess and the rest of the characters.  If you are in the mood for something light, fun, and twisty, you’ll be happy you picked up On Spine of Death.