Happy Days in Coughing Hills

 

Ovidia-every other Tuesday

I live on the Western side of Singapore, in Bukit (hill) Batok (cough) so literally, 'Coughing Hills'. And yes, it was a very good district to spend the Covid shut down!

In the old days pre-World War 2, this place was known as 'Sleepy Valley': more peaceful but less interesting... and I must confess I only learned this recently, when I was scouting it out as a potential history mystery murder site! And yes, it certainly looks a good place to hide a body or two...

It seems there's no consensus on how the name came about. 

I've been told the colder air here (we're on the edge of the central mountainous area) makes people prone to coughs and colds. Personally I don't believe this--we've definitely become healthier since moving here because it's possible to walk and walk outdoors without seeing office blocks or housing estates!

Another explanation is that in the old days, dynamite blasts in nearby quarries made it sound as though the hills were coughing. 

The lake in the photo above is 'Little Guilin' a former granite quarry.

Gombak Norite was mined here. This norite tests as over ten times stronger than concrete and in the old days there were nine quarries in the area.

Mostly, the Gombak norite rests on top of Singapore's granite core though in places the granite has pushed up into the norite formation. Some of the these rock formations are millions of years old. 

Photo (without me) of the top of the rock.

Little Guilin is 133m tall--making it our second tallest hill after Bukit Timah Hill (another huge block of granite) at 163m.

There are stories about these quarries being haunted, either by the spirits of minors who died working there (mining was a risky business with rock falls and dynamite blasts...) or by the nature spirits who were discombobulated by humans moving in. 

Stones from these quarries were used for public housing, to stabilise roads and canals and even to build the Istana (the president's official residence) and the old airport. Fancier stones were reserved for grave stones and cemetery markers because they would last 'forever'. 

But this being Singapore, even the old graveyards have since been dug up and the dead relocated in government managed multi-storey columbaria! 

Walking around the area you'll often see offerings of flowers, sweets, fruit or rice. Growing up, I remember being told these makeshift shrines with offerings 'means that something bad happened here'. It's hoped the food will comfort the wandering spirits till they are ready to move on. 

The birds, bugs, bats and monkeys take care of any leftovers!

This is the quarry in the Bukit Batok Nature Reserve, just across the road from where I live.  

 

I love the greenery that still flourishes here, along with the wildlife it attracts and supports.

But though it looks peaceful now, some of the fiercest fighting (that resulted in the British surrendering us to the Japanese) took place near here. And the Japanese Army's headquarters was located in the Ford Motor Company Factory (now an exhibition gallery showcasing life in Singapore under the Japanese) just down the hill and to the left. 

During the Japanese Occupation, a 40 foot tall Syonan Chureito was erected here to commemorate the Japanese soldiers who died. This memorial was destroyed by the Japanese before they surrendered, to prevent it from being desecrated. 

Today all that remains is 120 steps leading up to the red and white transmission tower that stands where the shrine once was.

This place makes me think about ugliness morphing into lush greenery and vegetation and how the apparently ephemeral seems to survive manmade monuments designed to last 'forever'.

Like the jungle fowl and the mushrooms--it's always a joy to spot new mushrooms obviously related to some you've seen weeks or months ago!

The oldest rocks here, at Pulau Tekong’s Sajahat Formation, are an estimated 300 million years old. Compared to that, we with our wars and memorials are as evanescent as the angsana tree blossoms that last only one day.

Yes, I was trying to anchor the setting for my next history mystery but now I'd really like to research and write something about the trees and plants and fish and bugs here--along with the spirits trapped in the quarry lakes! 

Madrid: First Glance

Annamaria on Monday

These five days in Madrid were inspired by an opportunity to meet up with my life-long friends Francoise and Jean-Claude, who planned to be here to attend a contemporary art fair.  My friend Nicoletta and I jumped on the band wagon.  

We are enjoying cold, but sunny weather.  With lots of long walks to admire the grand and glorious architecture.  Here are some highlights of our first couple of days.

Many European churches have bronze doors, but these on

the main cathedral of Madrid were not created until the 

1980s, the the finishing touches were added to the structure.

I loved the bronze image of the Bishop in his specs

Some of the stained glass is ancient and some is very 80s!

\

Two of my top picks from the Thyssen Collection:

Caravaggio!

Thyssen owned his own Bernini!?!?

Blue skies, smiling on me!  More Madrid next week!

Zao Onsen: Tasty Ramen, Ancient Ryokan, and Monsters Made of Snow

 -- Susan, every other Sunday

Last weekend, my friend (fellow author Jonelle Patrick) and I hopped a train to Yamagata Prefecture, three hours north of Tokyo, in the hope of seeing the famous "snow monsters" of Mt. Zao--a forest of heavily corniced trees created by freezing winds blowing down from Siberia and across the sea to Japan.

The monsters only exist for a few weeks each year, and between the screaming winds and winter storms (which sometimes shut down the gondolas you ride to the top, where the monsters are) it isn't always possible to see them, even if you make the trip.

The entrance to Takamiya Ryokan Miyamaso

Although the forecast looked promising when we booked the trip, Jonelle and I arrived at our traditional inn--Takamiya Ryokan Miyamaso--in the midst of a freezing rainstorm that had shut the gondolas down for the day, and it looked as if we weren't going to see them at all this trip.

We were both pretty bummed, but Miyamaso turned out to be an excellent "consolation prize." The inn has been in operation since 1716, and its hot spring baths are fed by a volcanic spring that comes up underneath the inn itself.

The volcanic hot spring that feeds the baths at Miyamaso

Our room was really three rooms, including a main room, a Japanese-style sitting room, and a funky step-down "lounge" with post-war couches--along with a separate en-suite toilet and bath, an entry hall, and a changing room.    

It was so large, we looked at one another and asked "how many people do they think we brought with us??"

The private sitting room (one of two)

Since the snow monsters were "no monsters" for the day, we wandered back through the little town (which was established during the second century (around 110)) and renovated after Zao Onsen became a popular retreat and resort during the 1950s, had excellent ramen at a local restaurant, and shot some pictures of the steaming hot spring rivers that run through town.

We also stopped in a local sake shop and bought a bottle of umeshu (Japanese plum liquor), which we brought back to the room and mixed with hot water for a delightful cocktail, before heading to try out the famous hot spring baths.

Umeshu - a great way to warm up on a chilly day.

The town was covered in snow (the freezing rain didn't make a dent in the snowbanks).  Steaming rivers run through Zao Onsen, fed by the many volcanic springs for which the town is famous. 

Steaming hot-spring river

Dinner was a many-coursed feast, accompanied by a tasting flight of local sake.

Local Yamagata Sake - every one, delicious!

The first of many beautiful and tasty courses

That night, the rain turned to snow, and we woke to a fresh, clean blanket of beautiful white, with more flakes falling all around. The innkeeper said the gondolas still weren't running, so we left our heavy gear at the inn and walked through town to take a few last photos before departing.  

Except, when we reached the gondola, we learned it WAS running after all! We didn't want to risk returning to the inn for our gear, so we stood in line in our standard winter outerwear--a two hour wait, outside, in the snow--and rode the gondolas up the snowy slopes to the summit, where we faced -15 temperatures (below -25 with wind chill) . . . and saw the monsters, after all.

The frosty beech-covered slopes of Mt. Zao

Snow monsters! At last!

A fabulous end to an already amazing winter trip - and another item checked off my (admittedly, pages long) "must-do" list for Japan.

It's the Dog Days of Winter

 

02252023 MIE It’s the Dog Days of Winter

 

Jeff––Saturday

 

It’s been an exhausting but beautiful week.  My soon-to-be-ten granddaughter and her mother (aka my daughter) spent the week with us at our farm.   We were prepared for very bad weather here in the US Northeast, but aside from one rainy day, we missed the bad weather… though a few harsh bursts of wind brought down a large spruce tree along the driveway. But I have a new chainsaw and got to use it to the delight of my granddaughter. She liked it so much that if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she willed the tree to fall just so that we could get to remove it!

 

Happily, we didn’t catch extremely cold weather, but unhappily my granddaughter did catch a bad cold that kept us indoors on otherwise perfect hiking days.  A couple of days of bed rest, reading, painting, chicken soup, and marathon Monopoly games, had her back to normal. 

 

Is this a Unicorn!

And pining to resume her avowed mission for the week of finding the perfect puppy; a journey that began on our first full day together.

 

Puppy searches are complicated explorations. Especially when one family member adores Golden Retrievers, Jack Russell terriers are a second’s favorite, and another adores the Yorkie size.  It’s not just a matter of the size or temperament of the grown-up pup, but of the lifestyle changes each choice will bring to the family.

 

And yes, it’s been suggested, “Grandpa has a farm, so why don’t we get all three!”

 

With Barbara being the dog-portrait artist and lover of all breeds that she is, I shouldn’t have been surprised at that suggestion getting as much traction as it did. Indeed, the jury is still out on that proposal.

 

There is another proposal circulating, one that I find particularly appealing.  My granddaughter will head off with her parents to their hometown rescue shelter in search of the perfect puppy possessing the traits of all the breeds the family favors. Barbara has volunteered to go with them…for purposes I dare not venture to presume.

 

After all, barking up the wrong tree—chainsaw in hand or not––can be hazardous to one’s bliss.

 

––Jeff

 

Jeff’s Appearance Schedule

 

Friday, March 17 @ 9:00AM

Left Coast Crime

Tucson, AZ – El Conquistador, Turquoise 1

Participating in Panel moderated by Alice Volpe titled, “Crimes Around the World,” with co-panelists Connie Berry, Juliet Grames, Carlene O’Connor.

 

Saturday, March 18 @ 9:00AM

Left Coast Crime

Tucson, AZ –  El Conquistador, Presidio 1-2

Moderating Panel titled, “Both Sides of the Law,” with panelists Curtis Ippolito, Margaret Morse, Karen Odden, Michael Sears

Abbey Books

This is a guest post today as I was doing my bit on Wednesday instead of Friday. And it's Friday again, so this is going out before  we head of to the airport.

This blog is all about bookshop life.

If I wasn't doing what I was doing and I still hadn't won the lottery to open my rest home for disabled donkeys, I thought that I'd like to open a bookshop. Or a coffee shop. Or a bookshop that sells coffee and muffins, because that must be a great job.

Then I meet people who say 'Oh it must be so relaxing to run a therapy centre, so Zen and calming,' while I'm on the betablockers and the Pinot because the council are taking three years to do something that should take 10 minutes.

So meanwhile, here's Brian at the bookshop!

 

                                                                           A happy camper

 

Brian, you are a sucessful editor and non fiction writer, why have you decided to start running a book shop?

I’ve not had what you’d call  traditional career. There’s probably a link between being a journalist, editor, magazine editor and PR but it’s a fairly big leap to events management, running a hotel, setting up an association for chefs and owning a cookery school. After I retired I had started working a day a week in the bookshop. I was a regular customer and the owner was short-staffed. Last August, he decided to retire and asked if I wanted to take on the job full-time. It’s not quite full-time as I have someone else working one of the five days we open. It wasn’t exactly a conscious decision but it probably helped that I’d been bedded in by the part-time work, knew my way around the shop, and, more importantly, enjoyed it.

 

                                                           

                                                                           Books and more books

                                                                                

 How does the day to day running work? Or do you find yourself not pulling the shutters up because you're reading something interesting?

It’s hard to resist the siren call of the books. Usually, I’m too busy shelving or re-shelving books, or answering the phone, unpacking boxes of new stock, dealing with customers, organising a window display, or posting on Instagram to have much time left for reading. We have 40,000 books and no computerised stock system so sometimes I’m annoyed to discover a customer has found a book that I would have loved to read. But I get first dibs on anything that comes in, so I’ve been recently reading a booking on the 'Indian' Wars in America and I’ve plundered the art section for anything on William Turner, a recent passion.

 

It's a treasure of pre-loved books. How does that differ from running a shop selling new books?

Well, we don’t usually know what we’ve got whereas the other kind of bookstore has a massive computer system to keep them posted. But it does mean we can’t dictate to our customers what books we’ll stock. We stock what we’re given, not what head office dictates. Which does mean – never mind the number of books in stock – that we have a far wider range than most bookshops. At last count we had over 120 categories. And we’ve got signs up – “shelf talkers” in bookshop parlance – to point people in the right direction. We do, however have a small stock, of new books - classic novels and modern classics and some philosophy – that we sell at half-price.  We've got some new books at full price written by local historians. And we’re just launching a range of dual language books for primary school children in Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian because customers asked us to get them in.

 

Who are the best characters that come in to your shop?

There’s no shortage of fascinating customers. Harry used to be a coal merchant and retails us with stories of working with horse and cart and selling eggs alongside coal. Philippa is an artist with a particular interest in sheep. Jim used to work in the museum and can generally be counted on to tell me anything I need to know about local history. Some people are known by their interest, always buying books on aircraft or buses or World War Two or religion or art. We have one guy who collects Folio Books, of which we have a small collection. If someone buys a lot of books or an interesting item they end up on our Instagram page. I wouldn’t be running an Instagram page if it wasn’t for Felicity and Hameedat, two young customers, who encouraged me to try it and taught me how to work it.

                                                   

                                                              A very happy customer from Sri Lanka, who facetimed his family in Oz

                                                            about the great bookshop he'd found.

What future plans do you have for the book shop?

We started a Readers Club. Not a Book Group. In a book group you get told what to read like you’re still at school, in a readers club you tell us what book you’re reading, so it’s an evening full of people bursting with enthusiasm and still enthralled by books rather than people moaning about a book they didn’t like but had to read. I’d like to get better at doing the window displays. But mostly I’d like more customers, thank you very much, and with such a tiny enterprise we don’t have the budget for the marketing we would need to get the word out that Paisley has a second-hand bookshop that’s the match of any in Scotland and well worth a visit.

                                                           

 

Do you have a best find you can tell us about?

Too many. Commercially, the best we had so far was signed copies of the four Douglas Adams books. They went to auction on ebay and did very well. But now I’m so excited about a notebook of the playwright and artist John Byrne (The Slab Boys) that I’m trying to work out how to best use – not for sale, I’m afraid. We’ve got a Bayeux Tapestry in a slipcase and a giant book from 1860 with engravings by famed Scottish artist Joseph Paton, a Debretts from 1837, a Walter Scott first edition from 1827 and an Uncorrected Proof of A Plague of Sailors by Brian Callison. Also, I’m fascinated by what drops out of books, postcards, letters, evidence of lives – and sometimes loves – lived. We are often donated books in a will, by a former customer or someone who knows their collection will be well looked after. We had to find two extra bookcases to take care of the collection of books by a professor from Strathclyde University and a noted classics lecturer at Edinburgh University.

 

Does it serve any social purpose? - refugees, information point etc?

Yes, we get a lot of customers from Eastern Europe who are trying to make a new life. They are trying to improve their English and meet people who have a fellow enjoyment of reading. The Dual Language books are an attempt to help improve language skills. If we don’t have a book in stock we will generally be able to help source it or offer an alternative. Local libraries are running down their stock and charity shops have nothing like our range so we fill a vital role in providing access, and cheap at that, to books. Recently, there was a dyslexic customer who bought plays that we were able to direct to screenplays as an alternative. It’s quite different to a new bookshop. There’s a big sense of adventure. You never know what you’re going to find, some fabulous treasure, a long-lost book that a Waterstones would not stock and so long out of print you can’t find it on ebay. There’s a fabulous bustle on a busy day and on a quiet day you get the chance to chat to customers. Win-win.

                                                      

It is harder or easier than writing a book?

Nothing is harder than writing a book and writing a book affords you little simple pleasures like the look on someone’s face when they espy a book they know they are going to enjoy or can walk out of the shop with a dozen books that cost them less than £30 - around 98% of our stock is in the £2-£2.50 range.  

 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I’m looking no further ahead than next year when we celebrate our 40^th anniversary. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover we were the oldest retailer in Paisley and certainly one of the oldest bookshops in the country. Hopefully, by then we’ll have run down our stocks because we’ll have a lot more customers.

Cheers Brian, every success with the venture!

Ps, Abbey Book Shop has a very large crime section!

And now, the why?

Some of today's headlines.... Or they were the headlines in the airport on Friday morning when I scrambled the blog together....it was all moving too fast. Unlike our plane.

We did, Sujata and I, what we call swappsies, or maybe keepsies. Such matters are still to be decided. So here's the thing, with a wee bit added on! 

SNP leadership election: Joanna Cherry rules herself out, taking aim at Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘messianic’ reign

Nicola Sturgeon resignation: ‘Divisive’ policies have left SNP in a ‘shambles’, insiders claim

Nicola Sturgeon dodges question on ‘missing’ £600,000 campaign funds

Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell under pressure to quit as SNP chief executive amid police inquiry

SNP at war as party blocks Nicola Sturgeon's trans critics from voting for successor

In the words of a famous comedy, listen carefully as I’ll say this only once.

My life has changed.

The date; Wednesday morning, 15th Feb.

The time; 10.25am.

The location; No 12 coffee shop waiting for the wee angry Shetland pony to come out his stable and start his daily fight with the other two perfectly charming Shetland ponies. It's become an event. He charges out like a rebel without a clue, mane and tail flying, then stops as he realises how wee he actually is.

There's not a lot on the Tv  over here.

Then, the phones started pinging. Ours. My sister's. My mum's. The waitress's. The old guy sitting in the corner. The young woman with the baby. Everybody's. I’m sure the Shetland pony's phones would have pinged. Alan got a simple message ‘she’s going, leaked emails'.

There was a strange atmosphere, 45% looked shocked as if Rangers had been denied their usual last minute penalty. 55% went very quiet and looked at each other, smiled slightly.

For some it was the end of a reign. For others it was the end of the rain. The sunshine was going to come out. 

It’s a hard thing to describe, there’s passion and there’s patriotism. I think I’m a very patriotic Scot ( you might have noticed!) I live in the greatest country in the world, we really do have it all. But, there are those who view our ruling party almost as a cult, you cannot speak out against them.

I think I’m going to steal the South African joke about living in the country where God gave us the best scenery, the greatest animals. Why do we deserve all this? And God says, well just wait to see the Government you’re getting. 

I did write a blog about the why now and what was it all about, then I read it back and thought I'll probably be arrested for that.

So we shall wait and see how it pans out. Let's see what history says.

And I added.

The thing is that, until 14 years ago, the SNP were known  as the Tartan Tories, ie a tad right wing. Salmond and Sturgeon,  took the party more to the left, but with an increasing lack of understanding ( in my mind) that a truely socialist country needs a solid economy.  Anyway, the party now faces a crisis.

Sturgeon, in my mind (??) has left because nobody can fix what has been broken, the unity has gone. One goal, independance,  will only hold people together for so long.

We have two front runners now. One  doesn't believe in gay marriage or having children out of wedlock. She's a member of the Free Kirk ( as was my grandad), work hard, no  drinking, don't laugh on a Sunday. It's her faith and it's her belief so fair play to her. She has stated she doesn't expect those not of her faith to agree with her - we all have freedom of belief surely. Well, it seems we don't and her support has plummeted, her church has come out and accused those who have attacked her as bigots. We are still very big on bigotry here.

Meanwhile, the other chappie, the self  proclaimed man of the people, went to the big posh private school in Glasgow, and that costs a fortune. 

Time will tell.

Thanks Sujata, I've now  totally bamboozled every body on MIE!

Caro

BHM: Opportunities given and 'risks' taken

Two-time Super Bowl champions: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs

Craig, every second Tuesday. 

Kia ora and gidday everyone.

I hope you're all having a good week as we hurtle towards Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Before I dive into today's topic, I want to pause for a moment to send some kind thoughts, aroha and virtual hugs to my compatriots back home in Aotearoa New Zealand who've been dealing with some very unseasonable weather including destructive flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle as summer wanes. Thanks to everyone helping those in need in the aftermath of what's been called a 'once in a century' weather disaster. (Though there are fears these kinds of things will become more common all over the world given climate change.) It's surreal to think I was there on the ground in New Zealand last month, but am now watching from half a world away. Kia ora to all the helpers.

Flooding in Wairoa on Valentine's Day (cr: Wairoa Civil Defence)

Another thing that happened earlier this month was the Super Bowl, one of the world's biggest sporting events. The Kansas City Chiefs, who you'd probably have to say have been the best team overall over the past five years (five straight AFC Championship appearances, three Super Bowl appearances, two wins), won their second Super Bowl of the Patrick Mahomes era, in a comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, who had a tremendous season too.

One historical note: it was actually the first time two black quarterbacks had faced off against each other in the Super Bowl, with Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs vs Jalen Hurts for the Eagles. While this may not seem like a big deal in a sport where at any time 60-70% of the players are black, and given all the other storylines this year it wasn't talked about as much as it might have been otherwise, despite it being Black History Month, it was historic. 

For while this was Super Bowl 57, meaning there have been 114 opportunities in history for quarterbacks to start in the Super Bowl, Hurts became only the eighth black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl (11 total Super Bowl starts by black quarterbacks, with Russell Wilson making two appearances and Patrick Mahomes three, so far). 

Doug Williams was not only the first black quarterback to play in or win a Super Bowl (and the only one for the first 30+ years of the modern NFL), but the first black QB to ever be drafted in the first round, the 17th overall pick by Tampa Bay

And while Doug Williams quarterbacked the then-Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII back in 1988, for a long while he was a solitary figure, until Russell Wilson won in 2014 (Steve McNair and Donovan McNabb started in Super Bowls and lost in the 2000s). So most of the history of black quarterbacks in Super Bowls, and in the NFL more generally, has been fairly recent, with five of those eight QBs - Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Wilson, Mahomes, and Hurts - making a total of eight Super Bowl starts just in the past decade, 2013-2023. 

Also, after McNair was the sole black quarterback to win NFL MVP in the first 49 years of the Super Bowl era, four of the last eight NFL MVPs have been black quarterbacks (Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes twice) 

So things are changing, increasingly rapidly, which is great to see but there's a long, many-decades history of black football players being told they were amazing athletes but not really suited to be NFL quarterbacks. Some were told they needed to change positions to succeed at the highest level. Even those that were successful at college or in the pros were often praised for their athleticism while lesser white quarterbacks were described as more cerebral or having more leadership skills or 'being able to understand the offensive schemes well'. Lots of coding there. 

Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Jalen Hurts of the Eagles are among a new generation of black quarterbacks leading their franchises in the NFL

So why am I talking about this, when it seems that things have improved a lot, with many NFL teams now having black quarterbacks on their rosters, starting, getting big contracts, and leading them to the playoffs and beyond? 

Well, for two reasons. Three, I guess, if you include that it's Black History Month so some of these issues are on my mind, eg how black people (as well as other people of colour or underrepresented or historically oppressed groups) are often in many fields historically and still given far less opportunities, are less likely to have 'risks' taken on them by decisionmakers and those in power compared to other people, or get less second/third/fourth etc chances if they stumble or initially fail. 

First, Eric Bieinemy. 

Running back turned coach Eric Bieniemy pictured with one of the two Super Bowl trophies he helped the Kansas City Chiefs win as Offensive Coordinator

While the long-held fallacy that 'black players just aren't as suited to be NFL quarterbacks' seems to have withered, it hasn't completely died - it seems it's just been transferred to black coaches, particularly offensive coaches. Sadly, many of the same archaic notions seem in place - 'sure, black guys can play football at an elite level, but can they coach'? Or maybe they can be defensive coaches or running backs coaches, 'but can they be the offensive wizards with amazing schemes the modern NFL needs?' Even if they're successful OCs, can they lead an entire team? 

It's the old athlete vs thinker/leader thing again, in a different guise. 

Eric Bieniemy, who has been offensive coordinator during the entirety of the Kansas City Chiefs most successful era ever (Two Super Bowl wins, three appearances, and five straight home AFC Championship games in a five-year period), seems like one of the most qualified, best head coaching candidates in football - and has been for years - and yet still hasn't gotten a head coaching job, despite numerous interviews. None of the NFL owners who've been looking for new coaches, sometimes repeatedly, in recent years have been willing to 'take a risk' on him to lead their team, despite all his achievements. The goal posts of what gets someone a head coaching opportunity seem to be continually shifting, and it seems again and again black head coaches like Bieniemy are the ones missing out. 

Jim Caldwell inherited a moribund Detroit Lions team and went 36-28 in four seasons, the best record of any Lions coach in the Super Bowl era, yet was fired. His replacements went 17-46-2 over the next four seasons. 

This week Bieniemy took a job as OC/Assistant Coach with Doug Williams' old franchise, the re-skinned Washington Commanders, seemingly as a way to prove he could completely run an offense rather than doing so under the guidance of 'offensive guru' Andy Reid, the Kansas City head coach who seems to get the bulk of the coaching credit for Kansas City's success from media and fans, even though he and Mahomes praise Bieniemy. 

So Bieniemy has had to go from about the best OC job you could have (coaching Patrick Mahomes) to a mess of a franchise, under Daniel Snyder, in order to prove the doubters wrong. While many other coaches haven't been held to remotely the same standards before getting head coaching opportunities, often repeatedly. And Bieniemy is only one of many black coaches that seem to be getting similar treatment nowadays to the black quarterbacks of the past - 'not quite suited for the top role', rarely given opportunities, quickly discarded, and fewer second/third chances. 

For those who say Bieniemy doesn't completely run the Kansas City offense because of Reid's involvement, Reid's past offensive coordinators Brad Childress, Matt Nagy, and Doug Pederson were all hired to be head coaches - learning under Reid was seen in their case to be a benefit, an asset, not something that held them back. And none of them had close to the success as offensive coordinators for the Eagles or Chiefs under Reid that Bieniemy has had. They were all white though. 

Reid has even had his special teams coordinators, like John Harbaugh, hired to head coaching jobs. 

Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen was hired as Indianapolis Colts head coach after making it to this year's Super Bowl, losing to Eric Bieniemy's Chiefs. 

Most recently, just before he took the Washington OC/Assistant Coach job, Bieniemy had apparently been interviewed for the vacant Indianapolis Colts head coaching position. Frank Reich had been fired mid-season, replaced by former Colts player and TV analyst Jeff Saturday. Immediately after this year's Super Bowl, the job went to Shane Steichen, a three-year OC who'd worked with Justin Herbert in LA and Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, putting up good offensive numbers, schemes and performances in each case - but not better than Bieniemy's over those same three years. Steichen seems touted as a 'young guru' for his work elevating Jalen Hurts.

And for those who say it's just bad luck, Bieniemy was beaten out by better/more suitable candidates each time, fewer than half of the head coaches hired for the 16 or so head coaching jobs Bieniemy has interviewed for and not been given in recent years have subsequently made the playoffs, and several have already been fired. But the owners who hired them felt they had something Bieniemy didn't. Maybe not success, maybe not resume, but something else.

Why does this matter, some may ask? 

Because Bieniemy's situation is a symptom of a much bigger issue, not just in the NFL coaching carousel, but beyond. Where certain people are given opportunities and risks are taken on their behalf, and others are not. Regardless of resume. Even where people are given chances, some are given many more opportunities to fail, learn, and grow, whereas others are quickly discarded. And in the books world we've seen similar trends historically, though thankfully like the black quarterback situation in the NFL, it's improving.

Crime Writers of Color co-founders Kellye Garrett, Walter Mosley, and Gigi Pandian at Malice Domestic in 2022 (cr: CWoC)

Which was one of the reasons I was so stoked to see the news earlier this year that not only was one of my favourite crime writers, Michael Connelly, going to receive the MWA Grand Master accolade at this year's Edgar Awards, but that the fabulous Crime Writers of Color (CWoC) organisation, founded in June 2018, was to receive the prestigious Raven Award for "outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing". 

Speaking for CWoC, cofounders Gigi Pandian, Kellye Garrett, and Walter Mosley wrote: 

“When we first started talking about the idea that became Crime Writers of Color, we never imagined the small informal group would become such a big and thriving community in just a few years. Our goal was always to create a safe and supportive space for fellow writers of color to network and thrive. So, to know that the group is making a positive impact in the mystery community as a whole is so gratifying, and to be recognized by MWA in our fifth year is such an honor! We thank you on behalf of all our 350-plus members who are in all stages of their career.”

As a reviewer, awards judge, features writer, event chair, and just long-time lover of great crime, mystery, and thriller storytelling, it's been absolutely fabulous to see the rise and rise of more and more diverse voices in our genre in recent years. For a long time our genre was a little too like the NFL quarterback situation, with writers such as Chester Himes or Walter Mosley or Barbara Neely being like Doug Williams, the rare exceptions. 

It was great to see a new Penguin Classics reissue in 2021 of five Chester Himes' hardboiled Harlem Detective novels from the 1950s-1960s 

It's terrific that those pioneers have now been followed by hundreds of BIPOC crime writers penning tales all across the various sub-genres of crime, mystery, and thriller writing, from rural noir to cosy mysteries to psychological thrillers to horror-crime to legal thrillers and more. I had intended to do a wee 'Ten Black Authors to Try' listicle given it was Black History Month, but the sports part of my 'sports loving book nerd' Twitter bio took over more here today, and this post has already gotten far longer than I'd originally intended. So I'll just say check out the Crime Writers of Color website for lots of fabulous authors, and when you're browsing online or instore or at your local library, keep an eye out for some of the fabulous diverse voices that are refreshing and elevating our genre. 

For me personally, many of my favourite reads of recent years have been from black authors like Attica Locke, Kellye Garrett, SA Cosby, Walter Mosley, John Vercher, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Femi Kayode, and Stephen Mack Jones, along with other crime writers of color like Steph Cha, JP Pomare, Naomi Hirahara, Michael Bennett, Vaseem Khan, Renee, Tariq Ashkanani, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden, among others. 

You really can't go wrong. We're blessed with so much talent in crime, mystery, and thriller writing. Dive in. 

Until next time. Ka kite anō. 

Whakataukī of the fortnight: 

Inspired by Zoe and her 'word of the week', I'll be ending my fortnightly posts by sharing a whakataukī (Māori proverb), a pithy and poetic thought to mull on as we go through life. 

He kai kei aku ringa

(There is food at the end of my hands, ie a person can use their abilities and resources to create success.)