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.




Saturday, October 23, 2021

Blacklist Slumping

 This 8th season of Blacklist, although I'm watching belatedly, started so badly with episodes 1 - 4 that I quit watching it altogether. But when I heard that Keene was killed at the end of the season, I had a renewed interest and picked up where I left off which was episode 5. And sure enough it became interesting again, as was episode 6. But then with episodes 7 through 10, it has slumped, and I'm thinking it isn't going to be worth watchin again. Why?  Well after watching episodes 7 - 10 I have determined they were just fillers. The plots don't contribute to the storyline, which, btw, is lousy. 

Elizabeth Keene is a horrible character. She wasn't always. I thought she was a pretty good character when she was a rookie FBI agent learning the ropes with more than a little help from the mysterious Red Reddington. And as the years went by, she became a better agent. Of course, with experience, that's usually the case. But focusing the storyline on her now as a super villain is painful to watch, and it's why I stopped watching after the start of this season. 

I had hopes that it would be good again without her, and with episodes 5 and 6, that seemed to be happening. But this slump better stop with episode 11 which I plan on watching tonight. And by the way, the whole show will be bullshit if they don't finally give a good reason why Red was so obsessed with her in the first place. The only reason that can make sense is if he is really her biological father. Nothing else will make sense. But I heard him say, again, that he is not her father. So do we have a show that is based on bullshit? It is appearing that way.

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