Wednesday, 01 December 2010
Brad Meltzer's Tv Series on History

altHistory is one of the enduring mysteries. There is so much we don't know about what happened before us -- and, of course, we continue to repeat our mistakes.
Brad Meltzer is a history buff and he's about to take his love of the historical into homes with the new 10-part series Brad Meltzer's Decoded premiering at 10 p.m. Dec. 2 on the History channel. It will continue to air on Thursdays with encores.
Meltzer is known for his meticulous research, which has earned him so much respect that he was part of the Department of Homeland Security's Red Cell program, helping to explore new ways that terrorists may attack the U.S. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush have aided him in his research.
Teaming with a professor/journalist, a mechanical engineer and a trial lawyer, Meltzer will try to unravel some of our most provocative enigmas.
Brad Meltzer's Decoded's first episode investigates the secret presidential codes of Thomas Jefferson and how they may be partially responsible for the death of explorer, Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark. Meltzer finds that the Lewis family has been working for 15 years to exhume his body, but has been thwarted by the National Parks. This episode attempts to answer why the federal government is keeping the body buried against the family’s wishes and what really happened to this iconic explorer.
Meltzer is the author of seven novels, the non-fiction New York Times best-seller Heroes For My Son, and two acclaimed comic books. He is the first author to ever reach the No. 1 spot on both the New York Times and the Diamond comic book bestseller lists simultaneously. His newest thriller, The Inner Circle, will be released in January 2011.
Brad Meltzer's Tv Series on History
Oline Cogdill
brad-meltzers-tv-series-on-history

altHistory is one of the enduring mysteries. There is so much we don't know about what happened before us -- and, of course, we continue to repeat our mistakes.
Brad Meltzer is a history buff and he's about to take his love of the historical into homes with the new 10-part series Brad Meltzer's Decoded premiering at 10 p.m. Dec. 2 on the History channel. It will continue to air on Thursdays with encores.
Meltzer is known for his meticulous research, which has earned him so much respect that he was part of the Department of Homeland Security's Red Cell program, helping to explore new ways that terrorists may attack the U.S. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush have aided him in his research.
Teaming with a professor/journalist, a mechanical engineer and a trial lawyer, Meltzer will try to unravel some of our most provocative enigmas.
Brad Meltzer's Decoded's first episode investigates the secret presidential codes of Thomas Jefferson and how they may be partially responsible for the death of explorer, Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark. Meltzer finds that the Lewis family has been working for 15 years to exhume his body, but has been thwarted by the National Parks. This episode attempts to answer why the federal government is keeping the body buried against the family’s wishes and what really happened to this iconic explorer.
Meltzer is the author of seven novels, the non-fiction New York Times best-seller Heroes For My Son, and two acclaimed comic books. He is the first author to ever reach the No. 1 spot on both the New York Times and the Diamond comic book bestseller lists simultaneously. His newest thriller, The Inner Circle, will be released in January 2011.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Luther on Bbc America
altOne of my new favorite TV shows is old to many viewers.
Luther is one of the grittiest, darkest police dramas to come around in a while. It's also one of the most fascinating.
Luther, now airing on BBC America, stars Idris Elba as Luther, an intelligent detective whose own torments mirror those of the criminals he hunts. Luther is emotional, impulsive and prone to take the law into his own hands. He is both appealing and repulsive and
impossible to resist.
Luther is as much a psychological thriller as it is a police procedural, giving an insider's view to the mean streets of London.
The smart scripts are matched by the insightful performance by Elba, who also was so wonderful as Stringer Bell in HBO's brilliant series The Wire.
Luther airs on BBC America on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 9 p.m. CST.
The finale is tonight, Nov. 28. And judging from last week's amazing, emotional roller coaster, this should be quite an episode. (For those trying to catch up, Luther is available On Demand.)
Luther on Bbc America
Oline Cogdill
luther-on-bbc-america
altOne of my new favorite TV shows is old to many viewers.
Luther is one of the grittiest, darkest police dramas to come around in a while. It's also one of the most fascinating.
Luther, now airing on BBC America, stars Idris Elba as Luther, an intelligent detective whose own torments mirror those of the criminals he hunts. Luther is emotional, impulsive and prone to take the law into his own hands. He is both appealing and repulsive and
impossible to resist.
Luther is as much a psychological thriller as it is a police procedural, giving an insider's view to the mean streets of London.
The smart scripts are matched by the insightful performance by Elba, who also was so wonderful as Stringer Bell in HBO's brilliant series The Wire.
Luther airs on BBC America on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 9 p.m. CST.
The finale is tonight, Nov. 28. And judging from last week's amazing, emotional roller coaster, this should be quite an episode. (For those trying to catch up, Luther is available On Demand.)
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Bruce Desilva's Rogue Island Poetic Turn
titleAs I have written about countless times, I love finding those inside jokes in mysteries. It never fails to make me smile to read about a character reading another author's work. It's a nice homage from one author to another.
Bruce DeSilva's debut novel Rogue Island is loaded with these references. DeSilva's hero is old-school newspaperman Liam Mulligan, who covers Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in the area and knows every inch of his hometown as well as being
on a first-name basis with mobsters, bookies, cops, fire fighters, attorneys and strippers – mainly from his childhood.
Liam also is an avid reader. During the course of Rogue Island, Liam shows his good taste in novels with references to Dennis Lehane, Robert Parker, Ken Bruen and Tim Dorsey.
But tough-guy Liam draws the line at poetry. When a friend begins to read a slim volume of poetry by Boston poet Patricia Smith, Liam calls her "some lame poet." In the next scene balks when his lady friend wants to read aloud some of Smith's work.
But when he hears the poem -- which DeSilva includes -- he quickly changes his mind about poetry. Liam also wants to see the poet's photo and calls Smith "hot."
alt
I doubt that Smith's husband would object to Liam calling her "hot" because she is married to DeSilva. And I am sure that by now Smith has forgiven Liam for calling her lame, because she is anything but. This reference is an amusing way for DeSilva to pay homage to his wife's work and it also fits nicely in the story.
Patricia Smith is an award-winning poet and performance artist and a four-time national individual champion of the notorious Poetry National Slam.
In his debut, DeSilva, former Associated Press reporter, delivers a strong, well-plotted
mystery. Rogue Island looks at organized crime, political conspiracies and the newspaper industry. And a bit of poetry, too.
PHOTO: Patricia Smith and Bruce DeSilva in San Francisco
Bruce Desilva's Rogue Island Poetic Turn
Oline Cogdill
bruce-desilvas-rogue-island-poetic-turn
titleAs I have written about countless times, I love finding those inside jokes in mysteries. It never fails to make me smile to read about a character reading another author's work. It's a nice homage from one author to another.
Bruce DeSilva's debut novel Rogue Island is loaded with these references. DeSilva's hero is old-school newspaperman Liam Mulligan, who covers Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in the area and knows every inch of his hometown as well as being
on a first-name basis with mobsters, bookies, cops, fire fighters, attorneys and strippers – mainly from his childhood.
Liam also is an avid reader. During the course of Rogue Island, Liam shows his good taste in novels with references to Dennis Lehane, Robert Parker, Ken Bruen and Tim Dorsey.
But tough-guy Liam draws the line at poetry. When a friend begins to read a slim volume of poetry by Boston poet Patricia Smith, Liam calls her "some lame poet." In the next scene balks when his lady friend wants to read aloud some of Smith's work.
But when he hears the poem -- which DeSilva includes -- he quickly changes his mind about poetry. Liam also wants to see the poet's photo and calls Smith "hot."
alt
I doubt that Smith's husband would object to Liam calling her "hot" because she is married to DeSilva. And I am sure that by now Smith has forgiven Liam for calling her lame, because she is anything but. This reference is an amusing way for DeSilva to pay homage to his wife's work and it also fits nicely in the story.
Patricia Smith is an award-winning poet and performance artist and a four-time national individual champion of the notorious Poetry National Slam.
In his debut, DeSilva, former Associated Press reporter, delivers a strong, well-plotted
mystery. Rogue Island looks at organized crime, political conspiracies and the newspaper industry. And a bit of poetry, too.
PHOTO: Patricia Smith and Bruce DeSilva in San Francisco