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.




Thursday, July 1, 2021

Black Sabbath Albums from best to worst


 I had rated every song on every Ozzy era Black Sabbath album, which brings me to the concluding post on the matter, which is ranking the albums from best to worst. (Worst being a relative term, as the word implies not good, which is not the case. They are all good.)

So we have a three way tie for first place. Black Sabbath, their debut album, Paranoid, their second effort, and Master of Reality, their third, all rate a ten, which is because every song on all three of these albums rate a full ten out of ten. Meaning every song is a great song. Note that I do not include that one song that was added to their debut album when it became a CD. I don't like that song much, but since it wasn't on there for the first twenty plus years, I won't consider it for THIS ranking.

The listing is as follows, with the overall rating in parentheses:

Album Title                            Rating        Ranking

Black Sabbath                     (10/10)        Tied 1st     

Paranoid                              (10/10)        Tied 1st       

Master of Reality                (10/10)         Tied 1st      

Vol 4                                      (9/10)            4th             

Never Say Die                     (8.5/10)           5th              

Sabotage                             (8.25/10)       Tied 6th     

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath  (8.25/10)       Tied 6th

13                                          (8/10)             8th

Technical Ecstasy               (7/10)            9th

So in conclusion, my favorite albums are the first three. Interesting to note is that all three of those albums were released within one year of each other. Black Sabbath and Paranoid both came out in 1970 and Master of Reality came out in 1971. So they must have had the songs written and compiled long before they made it big. Then, starting with Vol 4, they had to start writing songs to meet contractual deadlines. So that could be why the ratings are lower. Remember, these rankings reflect my preference after listening to these albums for close to fifty years now. Time has passed, the band is done, and that's what happens to everyone sooner or later. Too bad they were having problems with Ozzy during the recording of Never Say Die, and then with Bill for 13. But problems seem to happen with every band sooner or later. Such is life.

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