Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Wednesday, September 16, 2015

And What's With Amber Heard?

I had commented in earlier posts that Amber Heard seemed to be having more success in Hollywood than Dustin Clare. (I had believed both of these actors were right for the male and female leads in Killer of Killers if it would ever be made into a movie.) But I'm not so sure Amber Heard is really having all that much success. Her biggest success seems to be that she married Johnny Depp.

Okay, Depp is a big movie star. But I was hoping that Amber Heard would become a big movie star, too. She really hasn't. She never gets any big roles in any movies or TV shows. For example, the role of Gannicus in the STARZ show Spartacus that Dustin Clare landed was a bigger role than any role Amber Heard ever had in anything. She's been relegated to small roles and bit parts in low grade movies her entire career. She hasn't made the splash I had thought she would make.

And if marrying a man twice her age is her biggest accomplishment, then I'm a little concerned she has reached her peak. I thought that maybe being Depp's wife might give her an inside route to some significant roles and accelerate her Hollywood career. The opposite seems to be the case. Since marrying Depp, the biggest thing that's happened to Amber Heard is her arrest in Australia as a result of Depp's dogs. It seemed ridiculous, but that's the fact.

I still believe Amber Heard is one of the most beautiful blonde actresses in Hollywood. Apparently Johnny Depp agrees with me. So why don't movie directors or casting directors also agree? What is wrong with this picture? Amber Heard belongs up there with Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, and Sharon Stone. Doesn't she? Apparently, she doesn't. At least, that's what Hollywood seems to think.

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