• Palmyra, Syria

• Baalbek, Lebanon

• Caesarea, Israel

• Jerash, Jordan

• Bosra, Syria

We’ve had two celebrity deaths the past few days. James Farentino died at age 73 on the 24th. And yesterday Robert Hegyes died at age 60. Farentino was in many shows over the years but Hegyes is best remembered for his role as Juan Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter.

On TV tonight: tonight is the series finale of Chuck which makes me rather sad even though they’ve really taken the show as far as it could go. We also have a new episode of Fringe.

Reading: Now I’m reading Viridis by Calista Taylor. This is a steampunk romance. It’s good, so far.

Anyway… today we’re headed to Central America and the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th Century. It connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, eliminating the need for ships to sail around the southern tip of South America. The canal is currently undergoing expansion to accommodate our mammoth cargo ships (mammoth as in large not cargo ships that carry mammoths ). There are some great pictures and links in the article.

Well, I ordered my new desk calendar today. So we’ll have plenty of new sites to visit next year.

Today in history:

• 1888 – German film director Friedrich Murnau was born. Never heard of him? He’s best known for directing the silent film horror classic Nosferatu which was based on Bram Stoker’s book Dracula.

• 1905 – Actor/comedian Cliff Arquette was born. He was best known for his character Charley Weaver. He’s also the grandfather of Patricia, Rosanna, and David Arquette.

• 1908 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Messina, Sicily killing over 75,000. See? Massive earthquakes are nothing new.

• 1908 – Actor Lew Ayres was born.

• 1912 – The first city-owned streetcars took to the streets in San Francisco, California.

I heard something yesterday that really surprised me. Cheetah, the chimp from the 1930s Tarzan movies, died at age 80. I had no idea he was still living!

On TV tonight: not much except a new episode of Decoded

Reading: Finished up No Rest for the Wiccan last night and now I’m reading Fire Ice by Clive Cussler. I always enjoy his books.

Rest in peace, Harry Morgan. Best known for his roles as Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet and Col. Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H. He was 96.

Today in history:

• 1892 – Actress Fay Bainter was born. Never heard of her? You’re not alone. But she won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1938 for her role in the movie Jezebel.

• 1915- Actor Eli Wallach was born.

• 1930 – W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts broadcasted video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The broadcast also included the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show. (Don’t tell PETA!)

• 1941 – The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing a declaration of war upon Japan by the United States.

On TV tonight: Ghost Hunters, Psych, and Decoded.

Reading: I’m reading You Might As Well Die by J. J. Murphy which I am loving! This is the second book in his Algonquin Round Table Mystery series.

Today we travel to sunny Tuscany. In the city of Siena, we’ll find the Piazza del Campo. It is one of Europe’s best medieval squares. They even hold a biannual horse race around the edge of the square! I really would love to see Italy some day.

Tonight on TV, we have Dancing with the Stars which I may or may not watch and a new episode of Castle.

Got to get back in the writing groove. I’ve been too much of a slacker lately.

Reading: In memory of Diana Wynne Jones who passed away Saturday, I’m continuing to read Howl’s Moving Castle.

I can’t believe I almost forgot to write a blog post today!!!

Today we’re heading to the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari is a desert in southern Africa which covers most of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It’s a different type of desert than the Sahara. Animals in the region include hyenas, lions, meerkats, giraffes, warthogs, jackals, several species of antelope, and many species of birds and reptiles.

We lost screen legend Jane Russell yesterday. She was 89.

Tonight on TV: new episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Top Shot.

Keyed in three pages last night.

Reading: Still have a little bit more to go on 1635: The Dreeson Incident. I haven’t decided what’s next.

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. It’s located in the province of Alberta. From what I’ve read, it’s an amazing park. Glaciers, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls, and, of course, mountains. There are also caves and fossils. It also has a wide range of wildlife: elk, moose, different varieties of deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears, beavers, Rocky Mountain pikas, hoary marmots (whose name makes me laugh!), grey wolves, mountain lions, and wolverines.

Over the weekend, news broke about the death of actress Susannah York who passed away on the 15th.

Today in history:

• 1867 – German-born film executive Carl Laemmle was born. He was a pioneer in Hollywood and the founder of Universal Pictures. He produced, or was otherwise involved in, over 400 films.

• 1880 – Canadian-born film director Mack Sennett was born. He was actually more than just a director. He was involved in every aspect of movie-making. He was an innovator in slapstick comedy. He won an Academy Award in 1932 for his short film Wrestling Swordfish and he won an honorary award in 1937. He launched the careers of such stars as Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, The Keystone Kops, Bing Crosby, and W. C. Fields.

• 1882 – Actor Noah Beery Sr. was born. He was active in movies from 1915 through 1945.

• 1903 – Actor Warren Hull was born. I’ve never personally heard of him, but he was apparently very popular in action/adventure serials in the 1930s and 40s.

• 1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Segar, appeared for the first time in the Thimble Theatre comic strip. Be sure to eat your spinach!

• 1949 – The Goldbergs aired for the first time. It was the first sitcom on American television.

Tonight on TV, we have actual new episodes! Chuck, The Cape, and Hawaii Five-O are all new. Castle, alas, is not.

Got to get back to keying stuff in tonight.

Reading: Finished up A Killer Crop and now I’m reading Now You See Her by Merline Lovelace.

Today we travel to Cordoba, Spain to ogle the Cathedral–Mosque of Córdoba. It’s a gorgeous Moorish building that was begun in AD 600 and completed in 987.

Yet another celebrity death. This time it was singer Gerry Rafferty who passed away yesterday at age 63.

Today in history:

• 1908 – Actor George Dolenz was born. He’s probably best known for being the father of actor/singer Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees.

• 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announced an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day’s labor. Five whole dollars a day!!!

• 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming became the first female governor in the United States. You go, girl!

• 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began in San Francisco. (Note to self: Do not use the Golden Gate as a plot device in my 1920s Hollywood mysteries.)

• 1940 – FM radio was demonstrated to the FCC for the first time. And wouldn’t they be surprised at the concept of digital/satellite radio!

Not a lot on tonight except the return of Ghost Hunters International.

Keyed in 3 pages last night.

Reading: Finished up Killer Sudoku which I enjoyed. Not sure what’s next.

Today we travel to Key West, Florida. I wish I was in Key West today. It’s 74 degrees there. It’s 43 here. I’d love to visit there some day. So many cool things to see!

• Fort Zachary Taylor

• Ernest Hemingway’s House (and the descendants of his polydactyl cats!)

• Old Town

• The funky “buoy” marking the spot of the southernmost spot in the U.S.

• Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

• The Lighthouse

We’ve had a couple of celebrity deaths the last few days.

• Actress Anne Francis died on Sunday from pancreatic cancer. She was 80. She’s probably best known for her roles in the movie Forbidden Planet which is a futuristic retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the TV show Honey West.

• Actor Pete Postlethwaite also died on Sunday. He died from testicular cancer at age 64.

• Actor Bill Erwin died on December 29th. He was 96.

There isn’t much on tonight, so it’s back to recorded shows for me! I’m down to 36 hours of recorded shows. Wow!

Keyed in 2 pages last night, then my hands gave out. Hope I can manage more tonight.

Reading: Now I’m reading Killer Sudoku by Kaye Morgan. Love this series!

Hey, I AM tired!

Good grief. It’s another cold and gloomy day. But at least the heater works today.

We’ve had a couple of Hollywood deaths. Character actress Neva Patterson passed away on the 14th. She was 90. And director/producer Blake Edwards died yesterday at age 88. He was the husband of the legendary Julie Andrews. He directed or produced the Pink Panther movies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Great Race and 10, just to name a few.

Tonight on TV: new episodes of Ancient Aliens, Burn Notice and Brad Meltzer’s Decoded.

Keyed in 7 pages last night.

Reading: Still reading Crossing the Lion which I’m enjoying a lot.

Well, that’s an excuse I could use. *g*

I completely forgot to mention yesterday, the death of actor Leslie Neilsen. He passed away on Sunday, at age 84, from complications of pneumonia. “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”

Today in history:

• 1918 – Actor Efram Zimbalist Jr. was born.

• 1920 – Actress Virginia Mayo was born.

• 1940 – Lucille Ball married Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The only thing on tonight is a new episode of Mysteries at the Museum which I’ll be recording.

So, last night I started keying in old stuff I have written in longhand that I never keyed in. Last night’s total was 16 pages!!! Of course it was on a book idea I haven’t talked about here but maybe I will someday. I’ll just say that the heroine is an archaeologist and the hero is the world’s richest man. *g*

Reading: Still re-reading Dragonsdawn.