Blue Man Group

Have you experienced Blue Man Group lately? If not, make sure to take in a show. There is enough music and controlled mayhem to keep everyone happy.

One nice thing about Blue Man is that not everyone will get every reference or skit -- and that's okay. There was a quick reference to the German phrase "sturm und drang," which means "storm and stress," and only a few people in the audience laughed. That's fine, the rapid-fire delivery of the next funny bit lets you move on without feeling like you might have missed something.

Every drummer you know must see the show. The layers of rhythm present between the three Blue Men and the stage band are a treat to dissect -- especially the effortless use of 3 against 2. Enjoy!

Hard Case Crime

Just received a review copy of The Cutie by Donald E. Westlake -- it's the latest noir release from Hard Case Crime. The paperback is a new edition of his first novel and the first to ever appear under the title he originally intended it to have.

Westlake passed away this past New Year's Eve at the age of 75. The Cutie is the first of his books to be published after his death. Here's the book's description:

"Mavis St. Paul had been a rich man's mistress. Now she was a corpse. And every cop in New York City was hunting for the two-bit punk accused of putting a knife in her. But the punk was innocent. He'd been set up to take the fall by some cutie who was too clever by half. My job? Find that cutie--before the cutie found me."

Westlake was a gifted storyteller, I'm definitely looking forward to diving in and writing the review. If you like crime fiction, especially crime fiction with a noir flavor, check out Hard Case Crime.

Welcome

For those of you who remember my "Leave it to Karen" column in Toy Shop magazine, this blog will be an extension of the concept. It will also include some of the fun elements of my "Babe in Toyland" blog.

Look forward to images and reports from my travels to shows covering everything from farm toys and antique automobiles to comic books, pulp fiction, antique toys, and anything else I can think of.