The phenomenon is called Manhattanhenge, after Stonehenge, of course, and I’m bringing it out because Manhattanhenge was visible on May 29 and May 30 this year.

If you missed it this week, catch it in July. Here are the exact times.

So, not quite a baby, but a 6-year-old entertained us today and I thought I’d share the humor.

1. What did the zero say to the 8?
2. Why was 6 afraid of 7?

Here’s where you’re going to have post an answer, or a request for an answer!

I’d like to return the favor to the child, so if you know any good ones, please post!

And if it’s not too late in your time zone, celebrate FAHRENHEIT’s birthday!

If you reading this on May 25, you can celebrate ZEEMAN.

While not a household word like Fahrenheit, Zeeman has an “Effect” named after him— the phenomena produced in spectroscopy by the splitting up of spectral lines in a magnetic field.

Here’s the full list of Anthony Award nominations for Bouchercon 23, San Diego, starting August 30.

There should be enough reading here to keep us busy until then!

In the meantime, I’m reading In Cold Blood, Truman Capote’s spellbinder, preparing to write my monthly column on Books and Their Movies.

What are you reading?

Bringing back the image of LOW DOWN DIRTY VOTE 3, the third volume in the LDDV series.

This time because Volume 3 has been nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Anthology by the Bouchercon 2023 conference.

My story “Vote Early” is one of the 22 stories in the volume.

Here are the other nominees. Congratulations to all.

for books published in 2022.

For the 4th year in a row, I missed wearing my little black dress 😀 to the Edgar Banquet. Here’s what I would have heard — nominees, winners, special awards. Maybe Covid-19 will be over by 2024?

Does it seem I’m always a little (or a lot) behind the news?

Here’s why.

This time I’m almost a month late with news of the death of Virginia Norwood, a pioneer in satellite imaging. Here’s the story.

However, thanks to a large above-the-fold photo of Harry Belafonte, I did not miss the sad news of his passing.

Are you among the people I admire, who read a daily paper, on the day?

My amazing late cousin not only read The Boston Globe cover to cover every day, she did the crossword of the day. I’ve tried to follow in her footsteps, to no avail so far.

Any hints?

Last Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing — April 15, 2013.

The unfinished story here and here.

This seems to be the year, or the quarter, for my backlist. You may remember my short story “The Sodium Arrow” (2013) was included in the Valentine’s Day 2023 issue of the magazine Black Cat Weekly #76.

Today my wonderful editor, formerly of Perseverance Press, alerted me to a review of Mix-Up in Miniature, #6 in the Miniature Mysteries (2012), re-released by Crossroad Press (2021). The new review is in CrimeReads Magazine.

Coming soon from Crossroad Press will be my 2014 Killer in the Cloister.

Watch this spot!

Sorry — but April 6, 1896 marks the opening of the first modern Olympic games, in Athens, Greece.

To me, televised sports are a distraction to take people’s (read, voters’) attention from politics and the importance of staying informed through trusted sources. Why can’t we keep sports in the ring, on the diamond, the court, the course, the field?

OK, I’ll admit it; it also pains me when my favorite dramas are in recess so A Sport, Any Sport can take over the entertainment world.

Who’s with me here?

Apparently tomorrow, March 30, is opening day for baseball.

I know this by accident—my office TV is tuned to CNN, not expecting sports news.

But tonight Anderson Cooper’s guest, Harry Enten, Senior Data Reporter, asked the question:

Is America’s favorite pastime past its prime? His answer was Yes, and he had data to prove it:

• In 1948, 39% of responders chose baseball as their favorite sport.

Now baseball is at 11% for that question.

• Among 18–29-year-olds, baseball ranks lower than basketball and soccer, with 60% choosing football! Football, or what I like to call the Concussion Sport.

Do I care? Well, I used to. But when I learned that the reason my favorite team left Boston those many years ago was because the owner was losing money—what? It’s a business?—I never rooted for a team again.

Still, I’m a little sad that what I think of as a nonviolent sport is losing ground among fans.

Comments?