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Book Review: The Perfect Paragon by M. C. Beaton (2005)

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Synopsis: Agatha Raisin is in a bit of a rut. Business has slowed down at her detective agency, forcing her to downsize her staff and the few cases she does get are barely enough to pay the bills. Even though she hates divorce cases, she reluctantly agrees to let Robert Smedley hire her to spy on his wife, Mabel, only to find Mabel is both smart enough to know she is being followed and might be the most perfect wife ever. Things take an unexpected turn soon when Agatha and her new photographer, Phil, discover the body of missing teenager Jessica Bradley. For publicity, Agatha vows to find Jessica's killer free of charge but when Robert Smedley is also murdered, just hours after un-hiring Agatha and claiming he made up with his wife, Agatha soon finds evidence suggesting the murders might be related. Review:   I misjudged how long it would take me to read the stack of books I checked out from our library prior to its temporary closure for renovation and finished the last one, The P...
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Movie Review: River of Blood (2024)

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Synopsis: Long-time friends Ajay and Ritchie are vacationing in Southeast Asia with their wives, Jasmine and Maya and decide to take a 2-day kayaking tour. Things become strained when Ritchie learns Ajay and Jasmine have been having an affair and she is pregnant with Ajay's child. Things turn even worse when they enter a restricted part of the river and anger an indigenous cannibal tribe that kills their guide then begins hunting them down. Who's in it? The movie stars Joseph Millson, Sarah Alexandra Marks , Ella Starbuck, David Wayman and Louis James. Review: I gifted my wife a day at the nail salon as one of her Mother's Day presents and, when she got home, let her pick out a movie for us to watch. After scrolling through Amazon Prime, she selected River of Blood . It had been a long time since we watched a cannibal movie and, based on the description and the jungle setting, I hoped this would be one of the better ones. Unfortunately, while it wasn't the worst can...
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Movie Review: The Sheep Detectives (2026)

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Synopsis: Shepherd George Hardy is a loner who treats his sheep like his family, making sure to give them all names and taking the time to read them murder mysteries every evening. When George is murdered and his lawyer reveals he was a millionaire, his smartest sheep, Lily, becomes determined to find his killer and later learns she and the rest of her flock are also in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Hugh Jackman , Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patrick Stewart , Tobin Cole, Nicholas Braun and Molly Gordon. Review: Since it was Mother's Day weekend, I decided to have some family time last night and because it was less expensive than going out to dinner, took them to the movie theater. Since it was the only film we hadn't seen that looked reasonably interesting, we saw The Sheep Detectives . It ended up being a great choice. I'll start out with a word of caution for parents of young kids - pay attention to the PG rating. While I would still describe this as a family film...
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Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/8/2026)

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There was a bit more activity when I went back out to the park earlier today. It's still kind of cold at night but the temperatures during the day were warm enough for some additional critters to show themselves. I was, unfortunately, unable to get a good photo of the garter snake and frogs before they scurried away. Here are some of the photos I was able to take: _____________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my other nature photos: Morning Walk Photos 7/6/2017 Dragonfly Photo Lunchtime Walk Photos 9/15/2017 One of My All-Time Favorite Photos
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Location: Edgewater Park, McKinley Beach Rd, Beaver Dam, WI 53916, USA
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Movie Review: Don Ricardo Returns (1946)

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Synopsis: Years after being Shanghaied and held prisoner on a ship, Don Ricardo returns to 1830s California and learns his cousin, Jose, arranged for him to be both kidnapped and murdered. Believing Ricardo is dead, Jose has laid claim to Ricardo's ranch and has his eyes set on Ricardo's love, Dorothea. With his skills with a sword deteriorated and needing proof of his cousin's deception, Ricardo disguises himself as a peasant and pairs up with another man, Lugo, who once saved him when he was a boy. Who's in it? The movie stars Fred Coby, Lita Baron, Paul Newlan, Anthony Warde, David Leonard and Martin Garralaga. Review: I added Don Ricardo Returns to my library a few weeks ago because I am a big Zorro fan and this movie was written by Zorro author Johnston McCulley. Unfortunately, while there were some similarities to The Mark of Zorro and other Zorro-related films, this did fall a bit short of my expectations. I am going to start out by saying there were things ...
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Movie Review: Flying Blind (1941)

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Synopsis: After falsely being accused and disciplined for a bad landing, pilot Jim Clark goes into business for himself, shuttling couples to Las Vegas to be married. Honeymoon Air is a success, thanks mostly to Jim's stewardess girlfriend, Shirley. However, their relationship becomes strained when Shirley realizes Jim is reluctant to marry her because he thinks she won't want work anymore. Adding to their problems is Jim's former co-pilot, Rocky Drake, who is now working for a spy ring attempting to steal a top-secret military transformer and, along with help from his partner, hijacks one of Jim's flights in an attempt to get out of the country and to Mexico. Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Arlen, Jean Parker , Roger Pryor, Nils Asther , Eddie Quillan , Dick Purcell and Marie Wilson . Review: I didn't have any clear idea about what movie I wanted to watch this morning and mostly picked Flying Blind because it was the first film I came across that soun...
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Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/6/2026)

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I guess I wouldn't describe the weather outside as cold, at least not compared to how it can get in Wisconsin, but it certainly isn't as warm as I would prefer either. However, I stopped letting weather be an excuse and finally got out for a walk with my camera for the first time this year.  I am more than a little rusty (though also in a bit better shape than expected after not being out of breath walking up that hill) so the photos I was able to get aren't among my best. There are a few OK ones though and here are some of them. ___________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my past photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (4/30/2025) You Can't See Me, I'm Hiding Another Deer Photo Lunchtime Walk Photos (10/9/2024)
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Location: Edgewater Park, McKinley Beach Rd, Beaver Dam, WI 53916, USA
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