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, May 25, 2016

Banshee Rides Off into the Sunset

I meant to post my final thoughts on the show Banshee, starring Lili Simmons and Antony Starr. The last episode of the series aired last week, and my thoughts were mixed. I really liked the show, so much in fact that I was thinking during the third season it would rank as my all time favorite TV show.

But the fourth and final season shot that notion out of the water. Nevertheless, I still think it's one of my all time favorite shows. The fourth season had a lot of flaws, but that's typical when a show is on its last legs. It happens to almost every TV show.

But the show ended well enough. Once again we got to see the main character ride off into the sunset. It's just what he did, quite literally, on a motorcycle. It was similar to the way Strike Back ended its series. The two guys in Strike Back rode off into the sunset on motorcycles. I wonder if it's just a coincidence that both shows were on TMC.

But whatever, I like happy endings. I don't like seeing a main character that I've grown to like and even admire being killed in the end. I'm still not over seeing Maximus die at the end of the movie Gladiator. He didn't have to die. It did nothing for the story line. It was a waste of time, growing to like the character only to see him die in the end. I hate that crap.

Banshee ended happily enough, although I hated seeing them kill off Lili Simmons' character, Rebecca Bowman. That was dumb. Whatever. It's over now.

So where do we go from here? I'll tell you where. Cast Lili Simmons and Antony Starr in Killer of Killers, that's where. Yeah, I know that Dustin Clare would be perfect as Trent Smith, the world's greatest martial artist. But Starr would be good, too, as would Stephen Amell of Arrow fame.

Any of those actors would be fine by me as Trent Smith. But that's if it hits the small screen. The big screen is preferable, but, hey, I wouldn't argue with STARZ, HBO, or TMC getting the deal done. I'm little more than a beggar at this point, and you know what they say about beggars.

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