CONTINUITY by Steven Steinbock Continuity (noun) con·ti·nu·i·ty. 1. logical sequence, cohesion, or connection; 2. a continuous or connected whole; 3. an uninterrupted succession or flow; a coherent whole. Last week I was reading selections from volume one of The Grand Game: A Celebration of Sherlockian Scholarship (available from The Baker Street Irregulars). It’s a fantastic […]
CURRYING FLAVOR by Steven Steinbock Words intrigue me. Food sustains me. Words about food take me to the supernal heights. The word “epicurean” has become synonymous with food, which is unfortunate. “Epicurean” has a long history that I won’t go into, but for more than two millennia it implied hedonistic gluttony. That’s also unfortunate, since […]
MR. FORTUNE BLOGGING by Steven Steinbock Most subscribers to EQMM (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine) should by now have received their June issue. Mine arrived last week, and I was giddy as I opened it to find my first “Jury Box” column. One of the great advantages of reviewing is the exposure to new material and […]
THE IDEA by Steven Steinbock “Dad, is that the column we were talking about?” “What column?” “The Criminal Brief column. The one when you had the idea in the car that you told me to write down.” “What?” “Dad. The day before yesterday. You were driving me home from Cam’s house and you said, Sam, […]
FACTS, FICTIONS, AND OTHER BUBBE MAISAS by Steven Steinbock Spring is nearly upon us. Where I live, that means that I can see my driveway and the rooftop of my house, but my lawn is still enshrouded in a cocoon of snow. I’ve kept myself in a similar cocoon these last few months. Fortunately there […]
WORDS AND PICTURES by Steven Steinbock Welcome to my Two-Hundredth column on Criminal Brief. They say picture is worth a thousand words. Or maybe it’s ten-thousand words. Or so they say. Says who? According to one source, the ancient adage is Japanese in origin. According to another, it’s Chinese. Then again, it’s probably early 20th […]
ELEMENTARY by Steven Steinbock Last week I made a passing reference in my column to a newsletter that I wrote and edited for the last dozen years. The newsletter was called “The Vorpal Blade.” The name came to me from Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky via the indirect route of Fredric Brown’s delightful thriller Night of […]