Celebrating Flag Day!

I would guess that many of us do not know that today is Flag Day here in the United States.  Established by Congress in 1949, it commemorates the adoption of our national flag by the Second Continental Congress on this date in 1777.  And it’s an opportunity to show our patriotism – if you have an American flag and the weather permits, please display it for all to see.  I think it’s more important now than it has been for a long time, considering the events of the past year.  And if you don’t have a flag, please consider buying one.

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

The Bryant Park Summer Film Festival is Back!

Each year, Summer Mondays happen in Bryant Park, showing some classic films outdoors.  The lawn opens at 5:00 pm, and you can bring your own blanket and picnic dinner to enjoy while watching.  The films in this year’s schedule are:

√ June 10: Big (1988)
√ June 17: Big Daddy (1999)
√ July 1: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
√ July 8: Carrie (1976)
√ July 15: Bad Boys (1995)
√ July 22: Coming To America (1988)
√ July 29: Goodfellas (1990)
√ August 5: Anchorman (2004)

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

It’s Memorial Day – A Time to Remember Those Who Sacrificed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of us think of Memorial Day as another Monday holiday, another day off from work, and baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie.  But the real purpose, as the name implies, is in memory of our men and women who died while in the military service.

On this day, I remember three people.  The first is Jonathan C. Shine, who was in my company at West Point and graduated 2 years before me.  He was killed in action on October 15, 1970.  He was 23.  The second is Michael J. Callahan, a friend and neighbor when I was growing up in New City, New York.  He was killed in action on November 8, 1967.  He was 18.  The third is my 6^th great grandfather Jan Van Dyke.  He was killed in action at the Battle of Monmouth on December 4, 1777.  He was 68.  Please take time to remember those who have given their lives for our country.

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Broadway Bound” I posted last week:

1. In 188 this “Material Girl” decided to “Take a Bow” in “Speed the Plow” on Broadway. – Who is Madonna?
2. Songs in this show include “Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop” & “Where Did We Go Right?”  – What is “The Producers?”
3. “A divine musical comedy” boasted the Broadway show based on this movie in which Whoopi Goldberg donned a nun’s habit.   – What is “Sister Act?”
4. In 1992, after a long run as a sexy villain on TV’s “Dynasty,” she made her Broadway debut in a Noel Coward play. – Who is Joan Collins?
5. In 1966 this writer had 4 shows running simultaneously on Broadway, including “Barefoot in the Park.”  – Who is Neil Simon?

I surprised myself again, getting all five correct; how did you do?

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

How Well Do You Know Broadway?

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “Broadway Bound.”  Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each.  I’ll give those questions in a future post:

1. In 188 this “Material Girl” decided to “Take a Bow” in “Speed the Plow” on Broadway.
2. Songs in this show include “Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop” & “Where Did We Go Right?”
3. “A divine musical comedy” boasted the Broadway show based on this movie in which Whoopi Goldberg donned a nun’s habit.
4. In 1992, after a long run as a sexy villain on TV’s “Dynasty,” she made her Broadway debut in a Noel Coward play.
5. In 1966 this writer had 4 shows running simultaneously on Broadway, including “Barefoot in the Park.”

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Happy Mother’s Day!

Each year, we celebrate Mother’s Day here in the United States (and Canada as well) on the second Sunday in May.  But do you know the history of this holiday?  Actually, it depends on the country.  For example, the United Kingdom’s version called Mothering Sunday actually started in the 16^th century, and occurs on the fourth Sunday in Lent.  In South Korea, they celebrate Parents’ Day each year on May 8 (did you also know that we also have a Parents’ Day here in the US, signed into law in 1994 by President Clinton and observed on the fourth Sunday of July?).  The Mother’s Day as we celebrate it in the US today was officially recognized in 1914 after years of effort by activist Anna Jarvis.  And it’s observed by about 70 countries around the world.  Although it is highly commercialized today (lots and lots of cards and flowers and meals), the original intent was to honor our mothers, living or not.  This photo is my mother, taken shortly before I was born.  To all mothers out there, I hope your special day is indeed special.

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Celebrating May Day

When I was growing up, I never thought there was anything special about May 1, other than we had less than 2 months until summer vacation.  But in many cultures, particularly those in the Northern Hemisphere, do in fact celebrate it, and the day is a declared holiday in many of those cultures.  Many pre-Christian cultures regarded February 1 as the beginning of Spring, and May 1 then became the beginning of Summer, with cause to celebrate. In other cultures, it was regarded as the end of the unfarmable winter season, another cause for celebration.

What it seems to have become now is a celebration of culture.  Here in the United States, it’s known as Lei Day in Hawaii, where it is now a celebration of the island culture and Spring.

Whether it’s a holiday or not where you are, enjoy Spring!

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Broadway Musicals” I posted a couple of weeks ago:

1. In the roles of Diva Donna, Disco Donna, and Duckling Donna, 3 actresses played this 1970s singer in a 2018 show. – Who is Donna Summer?
2. For this show Dustin Collette took the role Dewey Finn, played by Jack Black in a 2003 movie.  – What is “School of Rock?”
3. In 1973 [Christopher Plummer] sang the closing number “I Never Loved You,” playing with panache, this heroic Frenchman in Anthony Burgess’s musical of the famous play.   – Who is Cyrano de Bergerac?
4. “The Morning of the Dragon” was one of the songs from this Puccini-based Broadway musical. – What is “Miss Saigon?”
5. Set in a royal castle, “Once Upon a Mattress” is a musical based on this fairy tale.  – What is “The Princess and the Pea?”

Typical of my Broadway knowledge, I only got four correct; how did you do?

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Living in a Thermos?

On St. Marks Avenue in Brooklyn is an ordinary looking 80-year old apartment building complete with red bricks, fire escapes, and currently undergoing renovations, a common sight in New York.  But the building is anything but ordinary.

The refinished building is airtight – like a Thermos – with extra insulation and triple-glazed windows, resulting in about 70 percent less energy usage than other comparable buildings.  And it has become quite trendy, with dozens of airtight buildings around the city.

It sounds very eco-friendly in terms of energy conservation.  But I guess the days of opening the windows to let in some fresh Spring air are gone…

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale

How Well Do You Know Broadway?

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “Broadway Musicals.”  Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each.  I’ll give those questions in a future post:

1. In the roles of Diva Donna, Disco Donna, and Duckling Donna, 3 actresses played this 1970s singer in a 2018 show.
2. For this show Dustin Collette took the role Dewey Finn, played by Jack Black in a 2003 movie.
3. In 1973 [Christopher Plummer] sang the closing number “I Never Loved You,” playing with panache, this heroic Frenchman in Anthony Burgess’s musical of the famous play.
4. “The Morning of the Dragon” was one of the songs from this Puccini-based Broadway musical.
5. Set in a royal castle, “Once Upon a Mattress” is a musical based on this fairy tale.

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale