Seminal novelists of the genre such as Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour had already idealized the American Frontier in hundreds of best-selling books and stories. But Williams, a University of Denver professor for 30 years, took a darker view of U.S. expansion, one that dissected the heroic myths of archetypal cowboys, ranch hands and outlaws.

Director Gabe Polsky, who fought for more than a decade to turn “Butcher’s Crossing” into a movie, said he “never really connected with the genre.”

“Never. I tried to watch (Westerns) a little bit and just kind of disconnected because it was about searching for the Indians and bank robberies and revenge and all of that.”

In 2022, Polsky’s cinematic version, which stars Nicholas Cage, debuted on the film festival circuit, and is now in theaters.

As a novel, the coming-of-age story was arguably the first Western to subvert the genre’s morally certain, decades-old formulas. Williams preceded giants of the revisionist and anti-Western such as Cormac McCarthy (“No Country for Old Men”) and Larry McMurtry (“Lonesome Dove”), although his influence is only lately appreciated by critics and readers.

Williams, who also wrote 1965’s literary masterpiece “Stoner,” invests in the emotional lives of his characters as “Butcher’s Crossing” depicts a thrilling, stomach-churning buffalo hunt. Harvard dropout — and naive Ralph Waldo Emerson devotee — William Andrews trades Boston for the Kansas frontier in an effort to expand his horizons. There he joins buffalo hunter Miller (just one name), whose epic, money-making quest involves finding and skinning a legendary herd of Colorado buffalo to secure his biggest payout yet.

Like the book, the film — which stars Fred Hechinger (“The White Lotus”) as Andrews, and a fearsome Cage as Miller — is set in the early 1870s when Colorado was still a territory riven by murderous land grabs and precious-metal rushes.

“They’re hunting buffalo, but they’re also going out on this crazy sort of ‘Moby Dick’ search,” Polsky said of the movie, which was shot in the Blackfoot Nation in Northwest Montana due to the size and availability of the tribe’s buffalo herd.

In addition to Moby Dick, reviews have likened it to “Apocalypse Now” as it traces Miller’s mental unraveling on the cursed trek to claim and offload more buffalo hides than anyone actually wanted. “It’s an American tragedy, almost like ‘Death of a Salesman’ in a way,” Polsky said.

The movie hit theaters on Oct. 20, less than a week after the release of the new Ken Burns documentary, “The American Buffalo.” They cover roughly the time period in U.S. history, when the American bison population plummeted from about 60 million in 1860 to fewer than 300 in the span of just 20 years, Polsky said. The movie doesn’t shy from the horror, eschewing special effects and showing real animal skinning on screen.

“It was shot on Blackfeet land near Glacier National Park, and we promised we’d show them the movie before it came out,” said Polsky, whose team made good on the promise. “To do it with them really made a lot of sense because of their history with the animal and how important the animal is to them. We did a lot of ceremony with them before we shot, and they gave us lessons on skinning. Everything was real.”

Blackfeet representatives “loved the movie and were profusely thankful and talked a lot about it,” added Polsky, who pointed out that there are no Indigenous people on screen. “They understood right away you don’t need Native Americans to have these clichéd scenes in there with them. It says everything you need to say with what the hunters did. The (Indigenous people) are lurking. They’re watching. These hunters are self-destructive. Nature will correct you.”

Like Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a historically based feature about the racist savagery and murder of Indigenous people (in this case, 1920s Osage people whose land contained oil), it’s part of a re-examination of the evil wrought by ambitious men.

Despite its Montana shooting location, Polsky said the film remains rooted in Colorado.

“Montana had better (production) incentives, but the story is based here and I wrote it here,” he said. “I rented an apartment and mainly wrote the film at the Basalt Library. It was the first draft, so I took the book and started page by page trying to mold it into something cinematic. The novel has so much detail.”

Securing Cage to star afforded it Hollywood appeal. Polsky and his brother/business partner Alan first met Cage while producing 2009’s wild “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” which starred Cage as an amoral police officer with severe substance use disorders.

“I don’t know many A-list people on a first-name basis, but (Cage) was the first guy I thought of,” Polsky said. “He’s got that mysterious intensity, and believe me, on set he was even more intense. No one wanted to get near him. I don’t want to say he was a dark force, but he had electricity going through him at all times and everyone was just like ‘Ah! I don’t want to get shot.’”

Cage’s version of Method acting paid off in his performance, but he was also a consummate professional whose deep knowledge of the script and creative ideas during filming helped Polsky see it in a different way.

“He actually brought that buffalo coat he’s wearing on screen,” Polsky said. “He got it online. The glasses, the shaving-his-head thing — those were his ideas, too. He understands that the drive and ambition that created this country were also very destructive. It’s not a happy story all the time, and these real-life guys were individual forces of nature themselves.”

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Seminal novelists of the genre such as Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour had already idealized the American Frontier in hundreds of best-selling books and stories. But Williams, a University of Denver professor for 30 years, took a darker view of U.S. expansion, one that dissected the heroic myths of archetypal cowboys, ranch hands and outlaws.

Director Gabe Polsky, who fought for more than a decade to turn “Butcher’s Crossing” into a movie, said he “never really connected with the genre.”

“Never. I tried to watch (Westerns) a little bit and just kind of disconnected because it was about searching for the Indians and bank robberies and revenge and all of that.”

In 2022, Polsky’s cinematic version, which stars Nicholas Cage, debuted on the film festival circuit, and is now in theaters.

As a novel, the coming-of-age story was arguably the first Western to subvert the genre’s morally certain, decades-old formulas. Williams preceded giants of the revisionist and anti-Western such as Cormac McCarthy (“No Country for Old Men”) and Larry McMurtry (“Lonesome Dove”), although his influence is only lately appreciated by critics and readers.

Williams, who also wrote 1965’s literary masterpiece “Stoner,” invests in the emotional lives of his characters as “Butcher’s Crossing” depicts a thrilling, stomach-churning buffalo hunt. Harvard dropout — and naive Ralph Waldo Emerson devotee — William Andrews trades Boston for the Kansas frontier in an effort to expand his horizons. There he joins buffalo hunter Miller (just one name), whose epic, money-making quest involves finding and skinning a legendary herd of Colorado buffalo to secure his biggest payout yet.

Like the book, the film — which stars Fred Hechinger (“The White Lotus”) as Andrews, and a fearsome Cage as Miller — is set in the early 1870s when Colorado was still a territory riven by murderous land grabs and precious-metal rushes.

“They’re hunting buffalo, but they’re also going out on this crazy sort of ‘Moby Dick’ search,” Polsky said of the movie, which was shot in the Blackfoot Nation in Northwest Montana due to the size and availability of the tribe’s buffalo herd.

In addition to Moby Dick, reviews have likened it to “Apocalypse Now” as it traces Miller’s mental unraveling on the cursed trek to claim and offload more buffalo hides than anyone actually wanted. “It’s an American tragedy, almost like ‘Death of a Salesman’ in a way,” Polsky said.

The movie hit theaters on Oct. 20, less than a week after the release of the new Ken Burns documentary, “The American Buffalo.” They cover roughly the time period in U.S. history, when the American bison population plummeted from about 60 million in 1860 to fewer than 300 in the span of just 20 years, Polsky said. The movie doesn’t shy from the horror, eschewing special effects and showing real animal skinning on screen.

“It was shot on Blackfeet land near Glacier National Park, and we promised we’d show them the movie before it came out,” said Polsky, whose team made good on the promise. “To do it with them really made a lot of sense because of their history with the animal and how important the animal is to them. We did a lot of ceremony with them before we shot, and they gave us lessons on skinning. Everything was real.”

Blackfeet representatives “loved the movie and were profusely thankful and talked a lot about it,” added Polsky, who pointed out that there are no Indigenous people on screen. “They understood right away you don’t need Native Americans to have these clichéd scenes in there with them. It says everything you need to say with what the hunters did. The (Indigenous people) are lurking. They’re watching. These hunters are self-destructive. Nature will correct you.”

Like Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a historically based feature about the racist savagery and murder of Indigenous people (in this case, 1920s Osage people whose land contained oil), it’s part of a re-examination of the evil wrought by ambitious men.

Despite its Montana shooting location, Polsky said the film remains rooted in Colorado.

“Montana had better (production) incentives, but the story is based here and I wrote it here,” he said. “I rented an apartment and mainly wrote the film at the Basalt Library. It was the first draft, so I took the book and started page by page trying to mold it into something cinematic. The novel has so much detail.”

Securing Cage to star afforded it Hollywood appeal. Polsky and his brother/business partner Alan first met Cage while producing 2009’s wild “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” which starred Cage as an amoral police officer with severe substance use disorders.

“I don’t know many A-list people on a first-name basis, but (Cage) was the first guy I thought of,” Polsky said. “He’s got that mysterious intensity, and believe me, on set he was even more intense. No one wanted to get near him. I don’t want to say he was a dark force, but he had electricity going through him at all times and everyone was just like ‘Ah! I don’t want to get shot.’”

Cage’s version of Method acting paid off in his performance, but he was also a consummate professional whose deep knowledge of the script and creative ideas during filming helped Polsky see it in a different way.

“He actually brought that buffalo coat he’s wearing on screen,” Polsky said. “He got it online. The glasses, the shaving-his-head thing — those were his ideas, too. He understands that the drive and ambition that created this country were also very destructive. It’s not a happy story all the time, and these real-life guys were individual forces of nature themselves.”

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

NEW YORK — Cher will come out of “retirement” to perform in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, appearing in the lineup just before the only star big enough to have the “Believe” singer as an opener: Santa Claus.

The Grammy-, Emmy- and Oscar-winner will perform at the end of the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, thrilling the audience before the man of the hour closes the festivities.

Timing will be perfect for the 77-year-old superstar, who just released her first new album in five years, “Christmas.” She’s also expected to drop a 25th anniversary edition of 1998’s “Believe” on Friday.

This year’s parade will begin 30 minutes earlier than usual, at 8:30 a.m., to accommodate a packed schedule of performers and celebrities, Macy’s announced Wednesday.

“Our talented team of Macy’s Studios artisans and production specialists work year-round to deliver the nation’s most beloved holiday event, live on Thanksgiving morning,” parade producer Will Cross said in a statement.

Grammy winner Jon Batiste will open the parade. Other performers include Pentatonix, Manuel Turizo, Chicago, Brandy and Jessie James Decker, among many more.

This year’s parade will include 5,000 volunteers, 16 featured character balloons, 26 floats, 32 heritage and novelty balloons, 12 marching bands and nine performance groups. One of the marching bands will come from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, site of a mass shooting in 2018.

Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Jordan Chiles, Paralympic swimming gold medalist Jessica Long and 2023 Miss America Grace Stanke will be in attendance, with parade organizers teasing “additional stars to be announced.”

There will be seven new massive balloons this year, including Po from “Kung Fu Panda” and the Pillsbury Doughboy. Classics including SpongeBob, Ronald McDonald and Pikachu will return as well.

Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from the “Today” show will host the festivities on NBC.

In recent years, Macy’s has sought to have superstars perform near the end of the parade to signal Santa’s entrance. The “Queen of Christmas,” Mariah Carey, got the honor last year.

©2023 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

There’s the time in 1968 when blues legend Muddy Waters declared Ivers – who sat in and played with Waters while still a student at Harvard University – to be the greatest living harmonica player.

Or maybe you start in the mid-’70s, when Ivers, now living in Los Angeles, dipped into film music with works such as co-writing and singing “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” for David Lynch’s “Eraserhead.”

Around that same time, he recorded several avant-garde pop albums, such as 1974’s “Terminal Love.” Ivers even opened for Fleetwood Mac at Universal Amphitheatre in 1976, but bombed. (Could it have been that he took the stage wearing only a diaper? Perhaps!)

Jump ahead to the early ’80s, and Ivers was the host of “New Wave Theatre,” the first show to put L.A. punk bands such as Fear, 45 Grave, Suburban Lawns, Angry Samoans, Grey Factor and Bad Religion on TV.

But all that crazy, beautiful, now mostly forgotten creativity ended up overshadowed by his death.

On March 3, 1983, Ivers was found bludgeoned to death in his apartment. Four decades later, the crime remains unsolved.

“I mean, all of us thought Peter Ivers was going to go to the top of the charts, and then everything flopped,” says filmmaker Penelope Spheeris, a friend of Ivers through the punk rock scene she chronicled in the 1981 documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization.”

Spheeris, whose films include “Wayne’s World” and “Suburbia,” is the host of “Peter and the Acid King,” a new podcast about Ivers’s life and death from iHeartPodcasts and Imagine Audio.

However, given all the mystery and menace that still swirls around the circumstances of his death, at first she wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved.

Spheeris signs on

TV producer Alan Sachs, the co-creator of “Welcome Back, Kotter,” was a close friend of Ivers. He’s also the creator of “Peter and the Acid King,” an outgrowth of his years of looking for the truth about Ivers’ death.

“I knew Alan Sachs from back in what I call the punk rock days,” Spheeris says. “So that would be right around ’79, ’80 through ’84. I knew him very well back then because we were at clubs together all the time.

“I hadn’t seen him for a long time, and I ran into him in a parking lot and he asked me I would do an interview about Peter, our mutual friend,” she says. “And I said, ‘Only if so-and-so is not alive anymore.”

Sachs told her that so-and-so, the person Spheeris had long thought might have killed Ivers, was dead. She did the interview, and that was that for a little while.

“A couple of years later – that’s how long Alan’s been working on this – I get a call,” Spheeris says. “And he said, ‘Can you maybe think about being the host for a podcast based on Peter’s life and that period of time?’

“I said, ‘I don’t know, I make movies, I’m not a podcast person,’” she says.

Eventually, and only after she was comfortable the podcast wouldn’t focus too much on the grim, grisly details of Ivers’s death, Spheeris was in.

“It was a concern, which has dissipated as I’ve gone through it and done narration,” she says. “I think the team over there at Imagine has done an amazing job at respecting Peter and the request I made about not getting into anything too graphic. I did have some apprehension about sensationalizing someone’s murder, you know.

“It’s a thin line; it’s like a tightrope here,” Spheeris says. “We’re trying to give respect to him and remember his legacy, and then not be too exploitive.”

An instant appeal

Spheeris isn’t quite sure when she first met Ivers. She thinks it was probably at the Zero Club, the notorious after-hours punk club at the time.

“He just sort of made you want to know him,” Spheeris says.

Before long, they were fellow travelers of the nightlife of Hollywood bars, punk circles, and house parties in Laurel Canyon.

“I bought a house in Laurel Canyon in 1974, which I still own, thank god,” Spheeris says. “So I know all the back roads here, and we used to have these lines of cars following each other, going to parties. So I would go to parties with him, and we’d see each other and got to know each other pretty well by hanging out.”

Ivers, who was born in 1946, was a decade or so older than most of the kids in the punk scene spun out of the Masque in Hollywood into clubs from the San Fernando Valley to Chinatown and the South Bay.

“He was so charismatic. It didn’t matter if he was really a punk or not,” she says. “He emitted this vibe like he was a star already. But he wasn’t. I think that’s what kind of drew everybody to him.

“Plus, you know, if you’re really a punk you’re not going to be judgmental about somebody. You’re just gonna let them be who they are.”

Trainwreck TV

“New Wave Theatre” was created by David Jove, a British expat in L.A. with musical aspirations, and Ed Ochs, a former Billboard editor. The show, which aired weekly on a little-viewed UHF channel, was only reluctantly embraced by punk bands such as the Dead Kennedys, the Plugz, and Ivy and the Eaters.

Part of that was the name – few self-respecting punks wanted to be called New Wave – and part of that was Ivers, who as host, wearing a sparkly pink jacket and rambling in a rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness patter about life, art and music made them cringe.

“It was actually brutal to watch,” Spheeris says. “Because it was so bad – in my opinion. I’m sorry. I don’t want that to be a negative reflection on Peter, but it was really bad.

“I mean, the original, real deal punk groups had great objections to the show because it seemed like they were trying to out-weird the real punk scene,” she says. “And I think that’s what they were doing, and that’s why it was a bit offensive.”

Still, people watched it enough that the fledgling USA Network eventually picked it up as part of its “Night Flight” late-night arts and variety show. And the bands kept going on to perform.

“It was a train wreck, that’s a good way to put it,” Spheeris says. “The fact is there were no outlets for the music back then, visual outlets. The reason the DIY concept came about was because punk bands couldn’t get record deals. And punk bands certainly could not get TV broadcast time. There was no place to be seen other than that show.”

So who done it?

“New Wave Theatre” ended with Ivers’ death. For Spheeris, the L.A. party scene ended for her that day too.

“I remember the fear of thinking that there was somebody that we all knew that probably did it,” she says. “I remember being afraid. And even though there were other serial killers and all that around that time, to have someone so close get murdered was really shocking.

“It did change things,” Spheeris says. “It was a big wake-up call. Let me tell you, we were partying back then. I mean, I can’t believe I lived through it. Every single night and a lot of times every weekend during the day and night.

“But when he got killed, it was like a screeching halt. I didn’t want to go out. I was convinced that whoever killed him was in the room.”

Spheeris, who knows how “Peter and the Acid King” ends, says she did not expect the story to go where it did. She had her own suspicions about who murdered her friend.

“Here’s what has really surprised me,” she says. “Back in the day, after Peter died, if was going into a room and that person was there, in a party situation, I would turn around and leave. I remember going back to my house and my heart was beating so fast because I even laid eyes on that guy.”

“But now that people have done all this research, I have to say I’m not convinced anymore that who I thought did it did,” Spheeris says. “So it’s a little unnerving. I’ve learned that person could still be alive and still be dangerous.”

Even with that undercurrent of dread in the story the podcast tells, Spheeris says she’s glad that her friend is getting recognized for what he created during his life, even if it was just a bit too far outside the mainstream for his rock star dreams to have succeeded.

“It had a certain performance art aspect to it, ‘New Wave Theatre,’ and all of his work, really,” she says. “And that’s the thing about good art, you know. It breaks the rules. And good rock and roll, it breaks the rules.

“And Peter was always breaking the rules.”

The author was inspired to write her new picture book, “See You On the Other Side,” after she dreamt about it while pregnant with her daughter. Exploring grief as a universal human emotion, the children’s book is an ode to loved ones who have died, with the message that love will be cherished and carried on forever, Minor said.

“It’s a heart-opener. And the words are soothing, like a hug or a blanket. They’re so melodic – you can kind of tell it came from the dream space,” said the author, who lives in the Hollywood Hills.

Featuring evocative, detailed illustrations by artist Mariyah Rahman, the new book aims to be a comforting resource to children who may be grieving a death or who are learning about or coming to terms with the idea of loss.

Because the book itself is the result of loss.

Losing a friend

In 2020, she read an early version of what would become “See You On the Other Side” at the funeral of her friend, Broadway star Nick Cordero, who died during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cordero was married to Minor’s best friend, Amanda Kloots.

“A lot of people’s hearts were opened; there were a lot of tears,” she said. “It felt like it was for Elvis, their son, and for Nick.”

Seeing how people were moved at the funeral, Minor realized her words could provide solace to others – particularly young ones and families – experiencing feelings of loss. She wanted to write a book that would feel inclusive, comforting and uplifting.

Minor, whose debut, “The Sun, Moon and Stars,” was published in 2021, hopes “See You On the Other Side” reframes loss and brings families together to heal, especially in challenging times.

Minor collaborated with illustrator Mariyah Rahman who created the illustrations to pair with her words on grief and comfort.

Rahman, who is from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, got into “kid lit” illustration after going to the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. With “See You On the Other Side” her second picture book, Rahman said that her art style is a reflection of her diverse background, growing up in a mixed family from India, Venezuela and China. Her first book, “Plátanos Are Love,” explores Afro-Latine culture.

“I want any kids who read books that I illustrate to know there are so many kids who look like them,” Rahman said, “especially in a book about grief, to know that they’re not alone.”

She illustrated her deceased dog, Sunshine, in the book as a way to honor him, and dedicated the book to other pets who have passed away. Even her grandmother is reflected in one of the pages.

Reflecting a diverse world

Of the book’s illustrations, Rahman said it was “fun to research different cultures.” Included in the images, there’s a girl placing a letter on the family ofrenda, an altar for Día De Los Muertos, surrounded by orange jacaranda flowers, marigolds and plates of pan dulce; a same-sex couple plays with their child; an Indian family makes traditional bread together.

There’s even a spread about anger, because “it’s very natural to be angry when there’s a big change; something that’s hard to wrap your head around,” Minor said. “After the anger, the storm’s gonna blow over, we can get to the other side.

“You see the things, the shared experiences, the grief, that links us all together. There are feelings of grief coming from kids all over the world.”

Minor agreed that when she was growing up it was hard to find books with people of color in them, so she’s made a mission to make her books more inclusive.

“There’s a (drawing) that looks like my daughter, and she’s like, hey, that’s me,” she said. “I just think it’s so helpful for children to be able to see a reflection back – it lets them relate to it more, and to open their hearts more.”

Minor hopes the book will remind readers young and old of “the truth: that we are all one.”

“We want everyone to feel at home, and to see other cultures and families on the pages,” she said. “One thing that’s always constant is change – and we’re not immune to loss. So I think it is a gift to be able to introduce these topics with children, even in difficult times. We can get to the other side of it if we stay connected to our hearts and to each other. We will see the other side of it.”

“See You On The Other Side” is available online and in stores now. 

From peacocks and astronauts to artists and comic book characters, get a glimpse inside Heidi Klum’s 22nd annual Halloween Party presented by Patron El Alto at Marquee on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, in New York City.

What took so long?

“We’ve been trying,” Alamo CEO Tim League explained in a phone interview. “These things just move at a bit of a glacial pace. I think we’ve been actively looking in Boston for eight years.

“For us at least there’s a little bit of a COVID silver lining because theaters after a couple of years became available and we really fell in love with this location.”

The Drafthouse, with 10 screens, is located at 60 Seaport Blvd. All provide dine-in service brought to seats by Alamo Drafthouse’s wait staff.  All seating is assigned. Reservations may be made in person, online or a mobile app purchase. Those under 18 cannot come in alone; they must be with an adult.

What stands out about Alamo Drafthouse theaters is the full food and drink menus with all courses — appetizer, entree, dessert — and full bar options including cocktails, spirits, award-winning milkshakes and a huge local draft beer selection.

Menus are available at each seat, where guests can order.  Call buttons offer quick access to a server.

Drafthouse asks that all guests arrive 30 minutes prior to a show for a specially crafted pre-show program unique to each film, and to allow for the full service experience.

That translates as its famous and strict “No Talking/No Texting” policy. Young children are not allowed (except for special kids’ events).

With Boston the 40th Drafthouse in an expanding nationwide chain, what decides, ‘This is where our next Alamo Drafthouse goes’?

“A complicated question,” League, 53, allowed. “For this particular one, since it was an existing theater, this is where it was going to be.

“We come here and spend a good bit of time in the area to see what it feels like nights. I really liked the breweries, the restaurants and just the entertainment scene around sports and the liveliness of people that are walking around, day and night.”

The chain scoffs at the notion that people don’t want to go see movies in movie theaters anymore.

“That same argument happened with the advent of streaming and streaming content. It’s available – but that doesn’t matter if you want to get out of the house! Restaurants are doing this right”.

And, League added, with blockbusters like “Barbie” “It’s been an incredible year for people to understand again how amazing it is to sit in a theater and experience great movies.”

During my time at the health care facility, I became acquainted with an elderly gentleman. We became good friends, and remain good friends to this day. I visit with him several times a week, when time allows, and we talk on the telephone.

The problem is, his family doesn’t like that I am a homosexual male and that I have such a close relationship with him. He does not want me to stop visiting, nor do I want to. What can I do to make everyone relax, so he and I can still remain good friends without someone disapproving? — Unappreciated Friend

Dear Friend: I wish I understood exactly what the family’s objection is to your friendship with this person. Are they afraid you are after his money? Or are they incapable of understanding that homosexuals can (and do!) have platonic friendships with straight folks?

If you and that gentleman want to remain friends, you may have to grow a thicker skin. You cannot please everyone, and whether his family “approves” is beside the point. I hope you will keep doing what you have been doing because it is beneficial for that man to have a friend he can count on.

Dear Abby: My sister, who is quite a bit older than me, was married to a man for more than 20 years. He was a part of my family from the time I was 3. When I was a teenager, he made a “move” on me, which was disgusting because I trusted him. My family swept it under the rug and downplays it to this day. If that wasn’t enough, I twice caught him cheating on my sister. They eventually divorced.

As an adult, I want nothing to do with him. However, my sister and mother insist on him being involved in our important gatherings. I feel they completely disregard my feelings, and I have since removed myself from those gatherings. I feel cheated, but they say it’s “necessary” for him to be around their shared children, and they keep trying to make me feel like I am being unreasonable. Am I? — Little Sister in Tennessee

Dear Sister: You are not unreasonable; you are pragmatic. You come from a family that prefers to ignore misbehavior rather than confront and deal with it. I don’t know if you have had psychotherapy, but from what you have written you might have — and with a very competent therapist.
Enforcing boundaries is not unreasonable. While your sister and mother may prefer hiding their heads in the sand “for the sake of the children,” who by now should be pretty close to adulthood, you have every right to keep your distance. From my perspective, what you are doing is healthy.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

The 71-year-old scatters the walkway to her house on Denver’s Northside with the rich, orange petals of the cempasúchil — marigold — flowers. The blossoms, grown by Salazar, are synonymous with the traditional Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos as they are thought to be fragrant enough to attract the spirits of deceased loved ones to their family’s homes and altars.

On Thursday, Day of the Dead, Salazar’s family will pack the matriarch’s home and gather around a sacred altar overflowing with photos of the dead and ofrendas — offerings — made up of the departed’s favorite earthly delights. The day serves as a reunion between the living and the dead when the veil between realms is considered thinnest.

“It is really peaceful,” Salazar said. “I am happy to know that when you’re gone, there is a beyond, and that beyond is powerful. It is a nostalgic day to remember where you came from and who you came from.”

Lit candles guide the path to Salazar’s front door. Garlands of marigolds and papel picado — colorful, decorative paper cutouts — line Salazar’s porch, letting passersby in this realm and the next know that a celebration of life, death and remembrance is brewing inside.

Salazar — a storied artist and former director of Santa Fe Art District’s Latin American art museum Museo de las Americas —  helped popularize Day of the Dead in Denver during the burgeoning Chicano movement in the 1970s. Even though the celebration is more widely recognized today, Salazar still enjoys teaching new celebrants the ancient ways of Día de los Muertos — the rites and rituals her grandmother passed to her that she passed to her daughter who now teaches her granddaughter.

While Día de los Muertos iconography like sugar skulls can often be found alongside witch hats and fun-sized candy bars at the grocery store, Day of the Dead is not simply a Mexican version of Halloween, Salazar said. The holiday, a blend of Indigenous and Latino cultural traditions dating back thousands of years, focuses on honoring ancestry and commemorating death as a part of life by building altars that serve as shrines to memorialize lost loved ones.

“I want people to remember me when I am gone, so I remember those I have lost,” she said.

Loss is universal

The leaders of the Latino Cultural Arts Center know the value of passing traditions on to youth, which is why the center brought Día de los Muertos programming to three Denver schools this year.

The art classroom at Denver’s Valverde Elementary School hummed on Tuesday with an excitement only attainable by a group of children given craft supplies at 9:30 a.m. As the arts center’s Mandy Medrano and Valverde art teacher Kristina Barboza passed out light-up butterfly replicas, faux marigolds and miniature clay pan de muerto — a type of Mexican bread baked for Day of the Dead — the fourth-graders squealed with delight.

Barboza has been teaching Día de los Muertos for six years at Valverde, where a majority of the student body is Hispanic.

“It started off small,” Barboza said. “We’d put an altar together, but post-COVID, it turned into a bigger family celebration because of the needs of our community. Because there was so much loss. Our parents asked for this, and it’s brought our whole community together.”

The students make art to display at a big altar honoring the school community’s lost loved ones. With the help of Latino Cultural Arts Center funding, families will be welcomed on Thursday for food, drinks and mental health resources.

Melissa Roybal, a Denver Public Schools social worker and trauma-informed therapist, volunteers with the arts center to provide mental health services at its Day of the Dead programming.

“We’re trying to destigmatize talking about mental health in the Latino community,” Roybal said. “That’s why it’s so important to have practitioners who look like the communities they’re serving.”

Normalizing mental health can be as simple as word reframing, Roybal said. Instead of using words like “therapy,” Roybal tells people she’s there to help talk things out.

“Everyone has loss,” Medrano said. “It’s universal. I’m never afraid to talk to kids about loss. It’s better to not sugarcoat things and be real about it. It’s a part of who we are as a people.”

Yulissa Robles, 9, was happy to share as she glued pink ribbon to her altar, which she was making to honor her uncle and aunt who passed away.

“My favorite part has been making something that represents my family,” Yulissa said. “At home, we make our altar, too, because we like to represent our culture.”

“A beautiful tapestry”

On Thursday, Salazar prepped her altar-making supplies in her santos — saints — room, a striking part of her home with walls the color of butter and covered from top to bottom in artwork spanning various religions, from crosses to New Mexican saints to tapestries and her own woodwork.

She blessed the offerings before placing them on the altar, bathing them in incense from burning palo santo.

Her fingers brushed the frames and delicate edges of generations-old photographs awaiting their time on the altar. As the day gets closer and Salazar’s preparations head into overdrive, she said she begins dreaming of her deceased family members and knows they are close. She awaits their reunion at the altar with a soft smile.

“Life and death is with you constantly,” Salazar said. “If you ignore that, you only live but half your life.”

Renee Fajardo, coordinator of the Journey Through Our Heritage program at Metropolitan State University of Denver, described typical altar components as elements of the earth: fire in the form of candlelight, water and air represented by feathers or the paper cutouts. Altars often offer salt to protect the body from breaking down as it travels from the world of the dead to the world of the living, Fajardo said. The marigold flowers, pictures of the deceased and sugar skulls are key components, as well.

“It’s a beautiful tapestry — a weaving of people and communities and a particular area coming together to say, ‘This is the way we are going to love and honor our departed loved ones,’” Fajardo said. “It’s really about our humanity as a people that live on the same planet with each other, that we all have families we love and communities, and we all have departed loved ones.”

Family members also add personal touches to the altars reflecting the visitors’ personalities.

Salazar, for example, would like her family to leave her favorite molé at her altar when she dies.

Thanks to Colorado’s Latino and Chicano leaders throughout the years, Day of the Dead celebrations can be found throughout the state, from Westwood’s street festival to the parade along Santa Fe Drive to live dancing and music at the Longmont Museum.

Fajardo, a Denver native with Chicana and Native American roots, said when she thinks about Día de los Muertos, she imagines a future where the sacred remembrance of one’s ancestors lasts longer than the holiday.

“Once you have these pictures and stories of people and ancestors who built the community, we want to encourage people to begin a repository, a history telling,” Fajardo said. “We want it to be more than just looking at the parade and building of altars. How do we collect these stories and make sure the people who come after us recognize who we are in Colorado is a big, historic tradition of people weaving in and out of each other for hundreds of years.”

Both my parents died last year. I was walking on eggshells the entire time. My brothers and sisters seemed to think that I was now a member of the family. They included me in events and told me they loved me. I was so hopeful.

After my mother’s death, I was cut out of the family again. I’m no longer invited to family celebrations or holidays. I am heartbroken and lonely. I have no one left. Family is so important to me. I am embarrassed to admit I am now estranged from everyone. Can you help? — Black Sheep in Kentucky

Dear Black Sheep: Unfortunately, your experience is not unique. I hear it more and more, in one variation or another. It is now time for you to build a family of your own, comprised of friendships with people you can trust. Many people do this, and when they do, find themselves happier and more rewarded than they felt with their relatives.

As you do this, do not look back. Begin not by asking for friendship, but by being honest and befriending others. Look around, and you will see them everywhere. There’s no shame in reaching out, so please do not feel embarrassed about being a member of a very large “club.”

Dear Abby: I’m a Realtor and managing broker helping my fiance’s son, “Mark,” buy a new home. We’re set to close next month. Tonight, my fiance, “Simon,” told me I am not to keep any of my commission — that Mark expects me to give it all to him. Granted, I was planning to give Mark a token of appreciation — a few hundred dollars, perhaps — but not my entire commission!

I told Simon he must have misunderstood, that this is my JOB, my work. No one gives someone their entire paycheck, do they? I don’t think there’s any way Mark would expect 100% of my commission, but Simon says if I don’t agree, there will be “consequences.”

Our relationship is already strained, and I feel this is not only over the top but also completely disrespectful. I’m trying not to rock the boat with the holidays coming up. Please help me. — On the Spot in Illinois

Dear On the Spot: Sometimes it’s better to confront a problem than to ignore it for fear of what you might find out. This is one of those times. Tell your fiance to explain EXACTLY what he meant by “consequences” if you don’t agree to his son’s unreasonable demand. Listen carefully to what he has to say.

If you give in to emotional blackmail this time, it’s only a taste of what you will receive from him and his son in the future. If there is a wedding planned anytime soon, I urge you to slam on the brakes until this matter is ironed out to your satisfaction.

A GENTLE REMINDER TO PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN: Tonight, wee witches and goblins will be out trick-or-treating. Please supervise them closely so they’ll be safe. Happy Halloween, everyone! — Love, ABBY

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

LOS ANGLES — The youth of America have spoken, and when it comes to sex onscreen, they say “ewwwww.”

The new UCLA “Teens and Screens” study, conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers, found that across 1,500 members of Gen Z, ages 10 to 24, young people wanted to see platonic relationships between onscreen characters, and many felt sex wasn’t necessary for story plot. (Only the respondents ages 13 to 24 were asked about sexual content.)

“While it’s true that teens want less sex on TV and in movies, what the survey is really saying is that teens want more and different kinds of relationships reflected in the media they watch,” said Yalda T. Uhls, founder and director of CSS, co-author of the study and adjunct professor in UCLA’s Department of Psychology.

The survey found that adolescents want to see “lives like (their) own” depicted onscreen and crave “authenticity.” Teens, plus the 18- to 24-year-old demographic predominantly desired by advertisers, think that sex and romance are too prominent in TV shows and movies.

Among those 13-24, 44.3% felt that romance is overused in media, and 47.5% agreed that sex isn’t needed for the plots of most TV shows and movies. More than half of Gen Z wants to see more content focused on friendships and platonic relationships, with 39% saying they’re especially interested in aromantic and/or asexual characters depicted in film and television.

On a list of stereotypes that irked Gen Z, romantic tropes ranked fourth. This included a dislike of relationships being necessary for happiness, male and female leads always having to end up together romantically, and love triangles.

“We know that young people are suffering an epidemic of loneliness and they’re seeking modeling in the art they consume. While some storytellers use sex and romance as a shortcut to character connection, it’s important for Hollywood to recognize that adolescents want stories that reflect the full spectrum of relationships,” Uhls said, adding that recent studies show young people are having less sex than their parents did at the same age and more are choosing to be single.

Survey results say that Gen Z’s values and desires “reach depths beyond what society has typically explored.” It suggests teens and young adults have grown tired of “stereotypical, heteronormative storytelling that valorizes romantic and/or sexual relationships,” particularly depictions of toxic romance.

While the survey’s findings might appear cut and dried, it can’t be ignored that sex-heavy shows often outperform the rest by staggering margins. According to HBO, “Euphoria” Season 2 episodes averaged 16.3 million viewers. That’s the highest viewership for any season of an HBO series over the last 18 years aside from “Game of Thrones,” which pulled in an average of 46 million viewers across its eighth and final season in 2019.

Both shows were known for their gratuitous sex scenes, and the sexual content often played a key role in the plot. (Spoiler examples: Tyrion Lannister kills his father Tywin with a crossbow for sleeping with his girlfriend. Also, would King Joffrey Baratheon have been such a monster had he not been conceived by two siblings?)

In “Euphoria,” one of the main antagonist characters (Nate Jacobs’ dad, Cal) is a sexual deviant. Entire plot points revolve around Cal, and his sexual proclivities create problems for several of the main characters.

And “Bridgerton,” the Regency-era high-society drama filled with angst, sexual tension and an increasingly risqué honeymoon? In 2021, Deadline reported that Season 1 of “Bridgerton” was watched (partially or in its entirety) by a record 82 million households around the world and at the time quickly became Netflix’s biggest series by a wide margin.

While UCLA’s “Teens and Screens” survey might have studios considering giving Gen Z what it wants, it may be hard to ignore the success of those steamy sex scenes saturating both the big and small screen.

©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

My nephew doesn’t want to invite these family members to his wedding. My brother-in-law says he will speak to them beforehand to warn them about their alcohol intake, but he insists he won’t attend the wedding if these family members aren’t invited. Neither one is budging, and what is supposed to be a happy occasion is becoming a battleground. Please offer some words of advice that will work for all. — Anti-Alcohol Auntie

Dear Auntie: I’ll try. A wedding celebrates more than the joining of two people in matrimony, it is also the joining together of TWO FAMILIES. Sooner or later, your nephew’s wife and in-laws are going to be exposed to these relatives. Because Dad feels so strongly about them being included, and is willing to talk to them about this beforehand, HE should be put in charge of evicting anyone who acts out because they had too much to drink. This solution isn’t perfect, but it may defuse the situation.

Dear Abby: Why is it, as a man who is capable of going to the symphony as well as watching “The Bachelor,” spending a day shooting rifles or sipping wine, having silly conversations or those where I listen (compared to providing feedback), and is an animal lover (but allergic to some), I cannot attract the women I want? What do you think? — Confused in Tennessee

Dear Confused: If you start looking for candidates who enjoy the symphony and/or watching “The Bachelor,” shooting rifles and sipping wine, enjoy conversation and have a particular affinity for an animal to which you are NOT allergic, you may find someone who thinks you are interesting and attractive.

Although you listed the various interests YOU have, not once did you mention any qualities you would like a prospective mate to have. You might find it helpful to concentrate on that for a while. Emotional compatibility should be at the top of the list.

Dear Abby: We lost our daughter to gun violence, horribly, publicly and violently. We were the subject of news, speculation and gossip. It was several years ago, but people still ask for “details” and ask intrusive questions. It drives me up the wall and hurts my heart. I still struggle with how to respond to these people. What should I say? — Don’t Want to Talk About It

Dear Don’t: Please accept my sympathy for your tragic loss. Consider responding this way: “I’m sure you mean well, but I do not want to discuss this with you, now or ever. Please don’t ask again.”

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

I planned to surprise her with a ring this year, but things changed around my birthday. She spent that weekend away with co-workers (I agreed she should go because she doesn’t normally have time to hang out), but when she came back, things were different.

We didn’t talk for two weeks, and when we did, she gave me this crazy story about taking in a friend who had been abused by her husband and sheltering her and their two kids. Then she told me she took in her biological father, with whom she had spoken only once in 30 years.
After that wild story, we didn’t speak for three months. When we did, I asked her what we’re doing and what she wants. She said she wanted to break up, but didn’t want to lose me, so we agreed to meet at a hotel to decide how we’d go forward.

Abby, she never showed up, and she has stopped communicating altogether. She still follows me on social media, so she isn’t mad at me, but I have been depressed ever since. What do I do? — Ghosted in New York

Dear Ghosted: I am a firm believer in patterns of behavior. Your girlfriend’s behavior changed when she chose to spend your birthday weekend with her co-workers. (I will assume they were girlfriends.) Whatever happened that weekend, she had a change of heart about her romance with you, but rather than own up to it, she wasn’t honest.
What you must do is admit to yourself that this person is not who you thought she was, and recognize that you will spare yourself more pain and anxiety if you block her on your social media. She may not want to “lose” you, but from where I sit, she ditched you when she stood you up at the hotel. Please accept my sympathy.

Dear Abby: My wife and I have been happily married for 33 years. We have always enjoyed a good sex life, which continues to this day. The problem is our libidos are going in different directions — and probably not the direction most would assume. While mine is beginning to diminish as I age, my wife’s is increasing. Where our previous frequency was every other day, my wife now wants to have sex every day. I just do not have it in me anymore! I’m 61, and she is 59. Any suggestions? — Diminished in Minnesota

Dear Diminished: I am glad you asked, because I do have one. Ask your doctor to refer you and your wife to a licensed sex therapist. Couples can pleasure one another in ways other than sexual intercourse, and a sex therapist can explain to both of you what your options are.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

She offered — I didn’t ask — to make me a quilt from T-shirts I had collected over the years from various places I had been. So I cut the logos/graphics off the shirts and mailed them to her. She told me it would take her only a week to make the quilt. That was two years ago. It has been a year since I drove six hours each way to deliver my cross-stitch gift to her, and she still hasn’t made the quilt.

I have since moved even farther away. I miss home, and I really want the quilt. I have asked her about it several times. The quilt would mean so much to me, especially now that I’m more than 1,000 miles away, but she keeps making empty promises about finishing it. Meanwhile, she has found the time to create crochet and cross-stitch items for her extended family and remodel her kitchen.

I’m so hurt about the whole thing that I’d like to ask her to return the T-shirt pieces to me. At least that way I could hire someone to make me the quilt. Am I being unreasonable? — Waiting in the South

Dear Waiting: What you are considering is not only reasonable, but also rational. The next time you and your friend chat, tell her you understand what a busy person she is. Explain that you would like her to find the time to return the fabric you sent so you can make other arrangements to have the quilt made. Smile when you say it so your tone will be “warm and friendly.” That way, the friendship can continue if you wish.

Dear Abby: At the beginning of the year, I broke up with my boyfriend. I went to a clinic to get tested for STDs, and everything turned out fine. A few months later, I started dating another guy I’d met last year. Everything was great until I realized he is HIV-positive. When I asked him, he denied it.

When I returned to the clinic to get tested again, I was told I am now HIV-positive. We had been using protection, but stopped. I haven’t told my family yet, but he knows. How can I give my family this news? — Loved But Confused

Dear Loved: Before you make any announcements to your family, schedule an appointment with your physician to discuss this diagnosis. You need to be put on antiviral medication as soon as possible. If you are still with this loser, he should be put on medication as well. Not only does his life depend on it, but he could infect many more partners.
Once you have begun the treatment your doctor prescribes, inform your family. Do not be shocked if they want you to put the person who failed to mention he is HIV-positive and then infected you in the rear-view mirror.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

Fred is a 12-foot-tall Home Depot skeleton — and he’s a hot commodity. The metal-framed monsters can be spotted this time of year towering over Colorado neighborhoods, from cityscapes to rural farmland.

Halloween fiends lucky enough to get their hands on the coveted décor can consider themselves members of an exclusive club; Home Depot won’t say how many of the skeletons it has sold, but Tyler Pelfrey, brand communications manager for the home-improvement giant, confirmed the behemoth box of bones has sold out every year since its 2020 debut.

Calls to Home Depot stores in Glendale, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Fort Collins this week confirmed — occasionally with a harumph of incredulous laughter from a sales associate for even deigning to hope — that the 12-foot-tall skeleton was out of stock.

On Facebook Marketplace, price gougers across the metropolitan area were peddling the bipedal set of bones, which retails for $299, at prices between $350 and $599.

Has fame gone straight to the skeletons’ giant, plastic heads? Erin Moriarty-Siler doesn’t think so. Instead, Fred the Dead has brought residents of the Berkeley neighborhood in northwest Denver together, she said.

All Moriarty-Siler wanted for her and her husband’s eight-year anniversary this year was one of the 12-foot skeletons. The size and splendor were too much for a Halloween fanatic to pass up. The Denverite had been eyeing the big guy since he first went on sale three years ago, but the stars never aligned on securing one.

Moriarty-Siler thought her family missed the orthopedic opportunity again this year — until her husband came home with the huge box in the back of his car after striking a deal with a Facebook Marketplace reseller in Centennial.

The eighth anniversary is henceforth the bones anniversary in the Moriarty-Siler household.

“I immediately started sobbing,” said Moriarty-Siler, who happened to be wearing a skeleton shirt on the fateful day of Fred’s arrival. “It’s the best gift ever. It was kismet.”

Fred the Dead — Moriarty-Siler’s name for her bony buddy — was born that day with a crowd of awed neighbors assembled around the skeleton as it was erected into the sky, joining other holiday ornaments including more minuscule bony figurines, pumpkins and witch hats scattered around their yard.

Like many who manage to nab the giant skeleton, Moriarty-Siler plans to leave Fred up year-round, theming him in seasonally appropriate ways with Santa hats, Valentine hearts and the like.

“I’ll reach out and high-five him”

Loveland’s Kerri Sewolt is another skeleton year-rounder — mostly because Sewolt doesn’t know how else to store the heavyweight Halloween decoration.

“I don’t have an HOA, and I’m known as the Halloween Lady in my neighborhood anyway, so it’s fitting,” she said.

Sewolt has been the proud owner of a giant Home Depot skeleton since 2021 after being beguiled by its stature the first time she laid eyes on one a year prior.

Last summer, Sewolt received a complaint from a neighbor who was trying to sell their home, she said, and asked Sewolt to take the skeleton down.

“My snarky neighbor moved away and, luckily, the people who bought her house love my year-round décor enough that they thought it was a sign to buy the house,” Sewolt said. “I love my skeleton. He makes me so happy. I’ll reach out to high-five him as I’m walking into the house and tell him, ‘Hey, stay sexy.’”

Sewolt had seen other giant skeleton displays where homeowners had dressed their Halloween centerpieces like oversized dolls. Determined, she purchased a 4XL-sized Hawaiian shirt and pantsuit for the summer months, but “failed miserably” when it came to figuring out how to get the fabric over the massive prop.

Nevertheless, Sewolt credits her skeleton for inspiring others in the neighborhood to go hard on their Halloween décor. Fellow giant skeletons have appeared in her ‘hood, much to Sewolt’s delight.

“I don’t think it’s a competition,” Sewolt said. “I think of it more as, like, a skeleton community, if you will.”

“No good place to store him”

Grand Junction’s Deb Kennard also believes it takes a village to raise a skeleton.

Someone in Kennard’s community — Kennard may or may not be privy as to who — purchased a hulking skeleton and has been moving the thing around the neighborhood at night to surprise the kids.

The skeleton in Kennard’s neighborhood — named Bob the Bones by the local children — is a cousin of the Home Depot variety; it’s 10 feet tall and hails from Walmart, where it was actually in stock as opposed to its taller Home Depot counterpart.

The network of neighbors toting Bob from yard to yard is tight-lipped to preserve the sanctity of the myth of the mobile skeleton, but Bob’s lore is growing taller than his frame.

One family somehow hauled Bob onto the roof and arranged him to appear like he was headed down the chimney. Another home gave Bob the garden hose to test out his green thumb. Another family popped a second skeleton on Bob’s shoulders.

“I don’t even know whose house he’s at now, and that’s great,” Kennard said. “It’s turned into a good thing. There’s no good place to store him, so he can just stay out forever.”

Paul has been different since Bruiser’s death. He has zero interest in anything physical. To me, touch is important — not just sex. There’s shared intimacy in holding someone’s hand or kissing. I feel like a plant that’s wilting with no sun. I know Paul is struggling, but I don’t know how to help him through. We talked about it once, but other than acknowledging he’s struggling, he has done nothing further.

I don’t want to force the issue, but time is precious. I know what it’s like to struggle with depression, and I recognize the signs, but he won’t get help. How can I support him through this and get over my selfishness? — In the Dark in New York

Dear In the Dark:  Tell Paul you know he is hurting because since Bruiser’s death, his behavior has changed. Explain that he may be depressed — AND WITH GOOD REASON — and that it might help him to contact his veterinarian and ask if there are grief support groups for pet owners who have lost their furry family member. His vet may be able to suggest one or more. However, if that doesn’t appeal to Paul, he should consider talking to his doctor because he is exhibiting some classic signs of depression. After that, the ball’s in hiscourt.

Dear Abby: I am one of nine children who all still get along. One sibling belongs to a religious order. At least one (for sure) is not a Christian. One is a born-again Christian. One of us is gay and married. We are not all of the same political persuasion. Yet somehow, after all these years, we have managed to get along and still gather for family fun, whether it’s a holiday or just a cookout. We don’t all live in the same state, but more often than not, most of us are there.

There’s no secret to us still loving as well as liking each other. We simply respect each other’s opinions and realize that although we don’t always agree, it’s not worth cutting out of our lives someone we have known “forever.” I can’t imagine losing even one sibling over a silly disagreement. That’s not to say we haven’t had arguments, because we have certainly had our share, but we simply take the high road and agree to disagree. I love my siblings with all my heart. Just wanted to share an uplifting note with you. — No Problems Here

Dear No Problems: Most of the mail I receive concerns relationships that fractured because of a lack of respect for someone’s feelings. Thank you for your, frankly, refreshing letter. If more people emulated your family’s example, this world would be a happier, less complicated place in which to live. I wish your attitude were contagious.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

It quickly becomes clear that what that means in this case is the movie, though largely entertaining, is not telling a dramatized true tale set within the country’s opioid crisis.

Its characters — including those played by appealing leads Emily Blunt and Chris Evans — never feel all that authentic. And as for what transpires … let’s just say “Pain Hustlers” isn’t afraid to lay it on a little thick now and then.

That said, does this story of ambitious folks getting caught up in pushing doctors to prescribe a potentially harmful drug in the hopes of lining their pockets ring true at various points? Oh, sure.

Its genesis was screenwriter Wells Tower being sent journalist Evan Hughes’ 2018 New York Times article “The Pain Hustlers,” about the scandal surrounding the company Insys Therapeutics. Furthermore, the book Hughes would later write, eventually titled “Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup” and developed alongside the movie, serves very loosely as its basis.

However, “Pain Hustlers” — helmed by David Yates, the director of seven movies in the “Harry Potter” universe — is more interested in being engaging than it is in hitting hard.

It wants us to invest in Blunt’s Liza Blake, a scrappy if not always reliable single mom whom Evans’ Pete Brenner meets at the exotic dance club where she works.

Looking to do the best she can for teen daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman, “Gunpowder Milkshake”) and needing to move out of her judgemental sister’s garage, Liza takes Pete up on an offer for a sales position at Zanna, the failing Florida-based pharmaceutical company where he’s in management and works with people he despises.

She is given just one week to hook a “whale” — a doctor who will prescribe the company’s fentanyl-based drug, Lonafen, intended to relieve pain in cancer patients. With much effort, she finds that whale, Brian d’Arcy James’ Dr. Lydell, whom Chloe refers to at one point as “Doctor Sketchball.”

Soon, more prescriptions are being written by more doctors, money is flowing into Zanna and rules increasingly are being bent and broken by drug reps and docs alike.

While Liz and Pete are making the highly profitable moves, the puppetmaster is Zanna head Dr. Jack Neel (Andy Garcia). He talks of creating the drug because the idea of his wife being in pain while she died of cancer broke his heart but is obsessed with the company maintaining its incredible growth rate.

Yates and Tower want us to have someone to root for, so Emily — after buying an incredible home and paying “enhanced tuition” at her daughter’s exclusive private school — develops a conscience. She worries about what doctors agreeing to prescribe Lonafen for not-FDA-approved uses will mean for patients and wants to take steps to make Zanna less of a target for the feds. However, Jack — an increasingly paranoid germaphobe who has worked to isolate himself from the actions of his employees — isn’t interested.

Thanks to the almost always compelling Blunt (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “A Quiet Place”), it is, in fact, pretty easy to care about what happens to Liza, whose motivation for (eventually) doing the right thing includes her daughter’s need for a pricy medical procedure. She’s no angel, Blunt is so good that we forget that for big stretches of “Pain Hustlers.”

It’s a little harder to worry about what will become of Pete, a character given little dimension by Tower and Yates and who, for some reason, has been provided with a distracting Boston accent by Beantown native Evans (“Avengers: Endgame,” “Knives Out”).

We wouldn’t have minded a bit more screen time for Garcia (“Expend4bles”), who adds a little color to “Pain Hustlers” as the eccentric if ultimately loathsome Jack.

Likewise, the film doesn’t find quite enough for the talented Catherine O’Hara (“Best in Show,” “Schitt’s Creek”) to do as Jackie, Liza’s loose-cannon mother, whom she hires to be a sales representative. (What could go wrong there?)

“Pain Hustlers” doesn’t ignore the damage the drug is doing to the people taking it and their loved ones, but that isn’t where its focus lies. The movie wants to be “The Wolf of Wall Street” rather than something akin to the excellent Hulu limited series “Dopesick.” As a result, it feels a bit slight, short story writer Tower’s lack of screenwriting experience perhaps showing a bit.

On the other hand, in Yates’ hands, it’s brisk and punchy. There’s simply something to be said from any streaming offering that doesn’t stagnate.

“Pain Hustlers” shines more light on a shady and dangerous world, one in which doctors are incentivized to write prescriptions and where profit can be more important to some than quality health care. It isn’t the first work to do that, and it isn’t the best.

But at least it has Emily Blunt.

‘Pain Hustlers’

Where: Netflix.

When: Oct. 27.

Rated: R for language throughout, some sexual content, nudity and drug use.

Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Stars (of four): 2.5.

It was gorgeous, goth and moody. It was grand, with color you could taste — burgundy, raspberry, chocolate — hues well suited for the crushed velvet drapes of a vampire’s Victorian parlor. And you Freddy Krueger fans will appreciate this: It gave me serious “chest of souls” vibes.

I had to make it. The power of pumpkins compelled me. So much so, that I made it almost immediately. Even though it was only August.

If you’re going to season creep, creep big.

The pignoli cookie is a sweet, simple way to time travel

Ghoul at Heart is a second home and handle for cooking blogger Laurie Castellon, whose love of Halloween eventually prompted her to branch out from her Castellon’s Kitchen site with year-round recipe posts featuring creations campy, cute, gory and great. I mean really great. Just check out this near-literal crime scene of a cheese course, the Amputated Appetizer, (instagram.com/p/CwfsM1Sp-Ry)  if you need further proof. Her Instagram account is a frighteningly fun rabbit hole in which to descend, but I digress…

Because it was the galette that grabbed me at the outset.

This terrifying tart features the flavor trifecta of pear, raspberry and chocolate. One can go all-in and make the jam from scratch or cheat a little with something from a jar, but the fun is undeniable. It’s an artsy-craftsy creation you can eat, and really, based on how I felt when I saw it, it’s all but guaranteed that if you’re throwing some sort of Halloween bash, your guests are going to go ga-ga when they see it.

To be upfront, the Grim Reaper Galette is a two-day project.

That’s because of the “boos.”(See what I did there?) For those of you who love cooking with wine — and sometimes even put it in the food — the dramatic color on these pear skulls comes from a mixture of dry red vino and Chambord, a divine black raspberry liqueur that’s as enjoyable by the spoonful over good vanilla ice cream as it is by the splash in good vodka or bubbly.

But first, you’ll have to carve them.

Castellon’s recipe calls for various tools to get the job done, but I had neither a corer nor a cookie cutter, so I did it all by hand. Are the skulls pastry-pro perfect? Perhaps not, but I think they look cute enough. So, if you don’t have these items in your kitchen drawer already, don’t feel like they’re must-haves you need to spend money on.

Once peeled and carved, the pears will require an overnight soak to get that beautiful red color. I flipped them a few times throughout the process to ensure an even red. And since they need the overnight, I suggest making the jam and dough the day before, too, which will make your second day’s work an easier cleanup.

Making the dough was far more straightforward than I expected. To a layperson like me, pastries are high-level baking. And though I probably could have done a better job in rolling it out into a thinner sheet, the flavor — a buttery-rich chocolate that’s not at all sweet — balanced very nicely with the sugary-tart combo of jam and fruit. Almond slivers, along with the seeds in the jam, add some crunch, though you avid bakers out there might have an additional suggestion for more.

One thing I can say is that those privy to my pastry ahead of time were duly impressed with this thing, in both looks and taste. You’ll probably want something a little less sophisticated on hand for your table, as well, whether for the kids or those who aren’t fans of a fruity finish.

For those of you who are, however, the scratch-made raspberry jam is a nice bonus. The recipe made far more than the tart required and so even now, months later, the spirit of my dearly departed dessert lives on in a jar in my fridge, destined to haunt dozens of toasted bagels in the months to come.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Grim Reaper Galette

Recipe Courtesy Ghoul at Heart; (ghoulatheart.com/grim-reaper-galette)

Equipment*

• 1 pastry blender
• 1 apple corer
• 1 mini heart cookie cutter

*I carved the pears and made the pastry by hand; equipment not mandatory. 

Ingredients

Chocolate Galette Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch slices
• 6-8 tablespoons ice water

Macerated Pears

• 3-4 pears, cored, peeled and halved
• 2 cups Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
• 1 cup dry red wine (for color)

Raspberry Jam Filling

• 2½ cups raspberries
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions

Pear Skulls

1. Pour Chambord  and wine into medium-sized bowl. Working one at a time so pears don’t brown, core and peel pears, then cut it in half lengthwise. With the larger end of the pear on top, use the apple corer to cut out two holes for the eyes and then cut out the nose with the heart-shaped cookie cutter. Use a paring knife to score the smaller end to create teeth, and then add a skull crack if desired. Place pears in Chambord/wine mixture and allow to soak overnight.
2. When ready to assemble tart, remove pears from macerating liquid and place on plate. Reduce macerating liquid over medium-high heat until syrupy, 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Galette Dough

1. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugars and salt into large bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Add cold butter slices and, using pastry blender or fork, work in butter until it looks like pea-sized crumbles.
3. Stir in ice water, two tablespoons at a time, until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a round disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Raspberry Jam

1. Combine raspberries, sugar, water and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Mash with potato masher and over medium heat as you bring to a boil. Stir frequently until mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside or refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer dough to parchment-lined baking sheet. Fill center of dough with jam leaving about 3 inch border. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
3. Place macerated pears on jam. Fold dough over to encase  jam and pears. Brush dough with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the Chambord syrup, and enjoy!

Individual grim reaper tartlets: Divide dough evenly into 6 or 8 rounds and assemble as instructed above. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Again.

Hey — some people don’t get it right the first time.

So, these masked men of rock ‘n’ roll mayhem have hit the road with their second farewell trek, dubbed the End of the Road World Tour.

It’s a mammoth road show that has already stretched more than four years (minus the COVID shutdown, of course) and looks to finish up in December.

Along the way, the band is set to play Acrisure Arena at Greater Palm Springs on Nov. 1 and the Hollywood Bowl on Nov. 3, which will be the final KISS shows ever played in California.

Well, at least until the band adds more dates or announces a third farewell tour.

After all, pretty much nothing is off the table when it comes to KISS and making money.

To commemorate these closing shows of this long goodbye, we decided to take a look back in KISStory at some of the big moments in the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career.

Since the band is (allegedly) wrapping up its storied, groundbreaking career in 2023, here are 23 KISS milestones, ranging from landmark album releases to a performance witnessed by billions.

1. First KISS

Bassist Gene Simmons, vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss perform the first-ever KISS show on Jan. 30, 1973. A crowd of roughly 10 people witness the gig at a small club called Popcorn in Queens.

2. Debut album

The band’s eponymous debut hits shelves on Feb. 18, 1974, offering up such key cuts as “Strutter,” “Deuce” and “Black Diamond.” It didn’t make much of a mark out of the gate, initially selling only 75,000 copies, but was finally certified gold a little over 3 years later.

3. “All Nite” long

KISS finds its signature song with the release of “Rock and Roll All Nite” from their third album, 1975’s “Dressed to Kill.” The hit is released as a single on April 2, 1975. Nearly a half century later, it’s still a tune that KISS turns to for nearly every  encore.

4. KISS comes ‘Alive!’

Although KISS’ studio albums continue to struggle on the charts, the band’s fortunes change dramatically with the release of “Alive!” on Sept. 10, 1975. The live double album proves to be the breakthrough hit that sets the band up for everything to come.

5. Slowing it down

It’s a bit ironic that a band that loves to “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout It Loud” scores its biggest hit with the ballad “Beth,” released on the “Destroyer” album on March 15, 1976.

6. A different fantastic four

The band gets its own comic when A Marvel Comics Super Special!: KISS is released on June 30, 1977. The four musicians do more than just star in the comic — they also add their own blood to the ink at the printing press.

7. Alive, too

The band returns to the well that has served them so nicely and releases arguably its most powerful album — “Alive II” — on Oct. 14, 1977, a two-LP offering recorded mainly during a run of shows earlier in the year at the Forum in Inglewood.

8. Going solo (kinda)

All four members release eponymous solo albums on Sept. 18, 1978. None of the four reach the top 20 on the album charts, yet all of them still go platinum.

9. ‘Phantom’ menace

The feature-length TV film, “KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park,” is aired by NBC on Oct. 28, 1978. The movie — filmed mainly at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia — is widely panned, especially by the band. Simmons reportedly once compared it to Ed Wood’s cult classic, “Plan 9 from Outer Space.”

10. Disco inferno

Hard-rocking KISS fans cringe a bit when the disco-happy “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” is released on the “Dynasty” album on May 23, 1979. Everybody else just dances and sings along to what is surely one of the best KISS songs of all time.

11. Criss to Carr

Original drummer Criss leaves the band not long after “Unmasked” is released on May 20, 1980. Eric Carr quickly takes over on the kit, making his concert debut with the band on July 25, 1980.

12. The big reveal

Known at least as much for their makeup as their music, the KISS guys finally show their faces on MTV on Sept. 18, 1983. Once the novelty fades, basically everyone agrees that they like the band better in makeup.

13. Wait .. who?

Released as a single on Jan. 5, 1990, the power ballad “Forever” becomes the band’s second top 10 hit (after “Beth”). Stanley co-wrote the song with — get ready for this — Michael Bolton.

14. R.I.P. Carr

The amazingly talented drummer dies from heart cancer at age 41 on Nov. 24, 1991.

15. The big four

The original members of KISS embark on a reunion tour on June 28, 1996 in Detroit. (And, equally important, they are all back in makeup!) The trek — which marks the first tour with Frehley and Criss since 1979’s Dynasty Tour — is a massive success.

16. Goodbye (take 1)

The group launches its first farewell tour on March 11, 2000 in Phoenix. By late 2002, however, KISS announces that the retirement is, um, well, not really happening. (Sorry about that!)

17. Gold medal performance

In a move that probably only Gene and Paul would have predicted, KISS is chosen to perform during the closing ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 24, 2002. The band’s high-octane take on “Rock and Roll All Nite” is seen by some three billion TV viewers.

18. Thayer on guitar

Guitarist Tommy Thayer fills in for Frehley and makes his live KISS debut during a private concert in Jamaica on March 6, 2002. Not long after, he officially gets the gig as the band’s lead guitarist.

19. Super ‘Sonic’

After more than a decade without putting out a new studio album, KISS finally releases No. 10 — “Sonic Boom” — on Oct. 6, 2009. The album reaches No. 2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting effort of the band’s career.

20. Rock Hall

After years of eligibility and countless cries from KISS Army, the band’s original lineup — Simmons, Stanley, Criss and Frehley — is finally (and rightfully) inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a ceremony on April 10, 2014 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

21. It’s a long Road

The band launches its mammoth End of the Road World Tour on Jan. 31, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. More than four years later, it’s still going.

22. Going to California

Fans from around the Golden State and beyond will gather at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on Nov. 3 for what is increasingly looking like the final KISS show in California.

23. If you can make it there

A little less than a month after the Hollywood date, KISS is set to bring its End of the Road World Tour to a conclusion with two shows (Dec. 1-2) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Note: Sources include kissonline.com.

As WWI raged Chaplin’s Tramp made him famous in every country of the world and wildly wealthy. Yet as post-WWII America went through political convulsions with anti-Communist conspiracies and purges born out of moral indignation, Chaplin in the late 1940s became a target of the FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover’s obsession with his sexual life and his liberal politics.

But Eyman, the best-selling biographer of John Wayne and Cary Grant, doesn’t confine himself to just that chapter of Chaplin’s extraordinary life.

“My intent was to narrow it to 12 years,” Eyman. 72, said in a phone interview. “Then I thought, I can’t assume 21st century readers know anything about Charlie Chaplin, about his childhood and all that. And if you don’t understand about his childhood, you don’t understand about his career. If you don’t understand about his career, you don’t understand about what happened in the ‘40s. So I had to introduce the Tramp to get into the story.”

Born into poverty in 1889 London, Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977. Eyman’s Chaplin is forever stunted by the horrors of his youth.

“That was the source of the Tramp’s attitude towards the world. And to a great extent it was also the source of Chaplin’s attitude towards women,” Eyman said. “Because of his childhood he had an inbred distrust of society. He simply didn’t believe that society had any interest in the individual. Not out of cruelty but basic indifference.

“He thought it was just a question of inbred selfishness really. So the Tramp has to always depend upon himself.

“And Chaplin, in his own mind, had the same quality.  He trusted (the silent movie star) Douglas Fairbanks, who was his best friend, but Fairbanks died young. He trusted his brother Sydney and he trusted his wife Oona. And that’s about it.”

As to where you go after being immersed for years in this titan of world cinema, “I’m not 100% sure, but it’s going to be a woman,” Eyman promised.

“I need to write about someone who is slightly more emotionally accessible. And I haven’t written about a woman in 30 years. So I’m way, way, way overdue.”

I chose to forgive Trey because we were starting a family and I felt I owed it to my baby to at least try. But I constantly think about the things I saw on his phone, and I don’t trust him. If I even think about him going out somewhere without me, I get terribly anxious.

I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t a saint throughout our relationship, but when I got pregnant, I was all about Trey and our family. I love him, but I can’t seem to be happy. We are polar opposites. I’m affectionate and love my family. He’s dry and doesn’t care for my family or his. I also feel we resent each other. Sometimes, I want to break up with him so I can find someone I can trust and have peace with, but then I feel guilty.

Our son is a daddy’s boy. He loves Trey and is always asking for Daddy when his father is out or at work. It would break my heart for my son not to see him as often as he does with us living together. My parents were never together, and I always said if I had a child, I’d make sure that child had their mom and dad together. But I’m not happy with my relationship. Please give me some advice. — Failing in New Jersey

Dear Failing: Talk to Trey. Tell him how you feel and why. Has he continued to see other women? How does he feel about the status of your relationship? How important is it to him to be front and center in his son’s life?

The two of you are not married, thank heavens, so separating would not be complicated or costly from a legal perspective. Of course, he would have to support his child financially, and so would you. You both deserve to be happy, and don’t be surprised if you learn that Trey feels the same way about your relationship.

Dear Abby: I have a daughter and two granddaughters, 16 and 24. I live with my daughter, her boyfriend and my younger granddaughter. My daughter and my oldest granddaughter got into a heated argument over the phone about something the boyfriend posted on social media. They are no longer speaking and have blocked each other’s phone calls.
I feel lost. We used to all three spend one Saturday a month together, go on vacations and have family dinners on holidays. How do I get over this? — Missing It in Maryland

Dear Missing It: A way to get past this would be to extend your social life beyond your immediate family. If you do, you will have more distraction and less time to brood about something that you cannot control. You can still see your older granddaughter separately if you wish, just not under the same circumstances as before until this blows over.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

“I’m pretty much black and blue from pinching myself and you can quote me on that!” said the former Shelby Township resident, laughing. “I have a fair number of writer friends whose books have been optioned. It’s not as rare as you think, but of those whose materials have been optioned and have been made (into a movie) – whether it’s in the theaters or went straight to streaming – is small. The number who have had it made (into a movie) for a theatrical release is smaller yet. I have no idea what the numbers are, but it’s definitely pinchworthy.”

In “The Marsh King’s Daughter,” Helena Pelletier is happily married with a loving husband and two beautiful daughters. But she has a dark past she hoped would stay buried. Her father, Jacob Holbrook, alias the Marsh King, abducted her mother and she was born two years later. Helena was raised in captivity in the marshlands of the Upper Peninsula. Eventually, Helena escaped her father’s thrall and Jacob went to prison.

More than 20 years pass and Jacob escapes from prison. After murdering two guards, he’s disappeared into the marshlands. The police launch a manhunt, but Helena knows they haven’t a prayer since that is his domain. The only person who can bring down Jacob is the one person trained by him: Helena.

“Every once in a while you read a book that’s so good, you can’t look up until you finish. It’s so clear and specific and moving that you know it’s the book the author was meant to write. (The book), set in the U.P., is indelible in every way: setting, story, and character,” said Robin Agnew, former owner of Aunt Agatha’s bookstore in Ann Arbor.

Opening Friday, Nov. 3, “The Marsh King’s Daughter” stars Daisy Ridley (Rey in the 2015-19 “Star Wars” sequel trilogy) and Ben Mendelsohn (“Captain Marvel”). Adapted for the screen by Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant”), “Daughter” is directed by Neil Burger (“Divergent”).

Dionne’s involvement in the movie has been “pretty close to zero,” in her own words.

“When my literary agent sent (the ‘Daughter’) manuscript around to editors to see if anyone wanted to publish the book, he sent me an email, ‘By the way, you also have a film agent.’ Honestly, my first thought was, ‘I guess it could be a movie.’ I did not think movie for one second when I was writing the book because I was writing the book!” she explained.

Dionne praised Ridley, Mendelsohn, and Smith.

“I have zero screenwriting experience and didn’t even picture my book as a movie, whereas (Smith) is super-talented. I was more than happy to hand off the adaptation to him,” she said. “I’ve seen an early version of the movie and (Ridley) is fantastic. I had no idea she could deliver such a nuanced performance and I really think she captures Helena’s push-pull relationship with father. I’m very impressed. … (Mendelsohn) is so creepy. He’s fantastic. He epitomizes Jacob.”

A Grosse Pointe North High School alumna, Dionne attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She wrote three novels – 2008’s “Freezing Point,” 2011’s “Boiling Point,” and 2014’s “The Killing: Uncommon Denominator” – before breaking out with “The Marsh King’s Daughter” six years ago.

The book has earned many awards and accolades. It won the Barry Award for Best Novel. It’s been translated into 27 languages. Not only was it a best-seller in the United States, but also in Germany, Sweden, and Iceland. The New York Times and People Magazine gave it rave reviews.

“My first three books had modest success. (Regarding the book’s reception), I often say that you’d have to take all of my previous publishing experience, combine it, and then supersize it to equal what’s happened to me with ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter,’” Dionne said. “On my website, if you go to the ‘about’ page and click on my ‘awards’ tab, it’s crazy how many booksellers, newspapers, bloggers and authors chose it as one of their best books of the year the year it came out. There’s a long list there. Those are just some of the highlights that distinguish (‘Daughter’) from my early novels.”

Her first two novels were science-based thrillers and the third was based on the 2011-14 AMC series “The Killing.”

“What I discovered after ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ is psychological suspense is my forte and this is what I should’ve been writing all along,” Dionne said. “Just because an author begins their career writing a certain kind of book, it doesn’t mean that’s where their strengths lie. I’m fortunate to discover the kind of fiction I happen to be very good at. … By pushing myself to do something different, I discovered I was a better writer than I realized.”

To date, Dionne has penned five novels. “The Wicked Sister,” which also occurs in Michigan, came out in 2020. She is in the finishing stages of her sixth novel, which is set primarily in Grand Marais and has a climatic fight scene on Lake Superior in a fishing boat during a storm.

“‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ uses the marshland as its main setting. ‘Wicked Sister’ takes place in the forest. The Great Lakes are such a huge part of Michigan, particularly in the U.P., so I wanted to use that as the main setting of the third book,” she explained.

“‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ could be set nowhere else but the U.P., and Dionne is an amazingly evocative and vivid writer describing her setting,” Agnew said. “While I grew up in Michigan and spent my summers ‘up north,’ entering the U.P. always felt like I was going to a different country, and Dionne is (an) expert in portraying that feeling.”

Alongside New York Times best-selling author Hank Phillippi Ryan, Dionne co-hosts The Back Room, an online conversation from 7-9 p.m. Sundays. Started in 2020, it features four authors who discuss their books. Ryan and Dionne do a brief interview with the authors, who are then divided into four breakout rooms for 15 minutes, giving the audience the opportunity to have a discussion with their favorite authors.

Dionne and Ryan have hosted best-selling authors Linwood Barclay, Jeff Abbott, May Cobb, Don Bentley, Kathy Reichs, Samantha Downing, Michael Koryta, Mark Greaney, Yasmin Angoe, Brian Freeman, Gregg Hurwitz, Paula Munier and more. The Nov. 5 event will feature Tess Gerritsen. The Nov. 12 event – the last for the fall – will feature Jacquelyn Mitchard and Farmington Hills author Stephen Mack Jones.

“Karen is a treasure,” Ryan said. “She is brilliantly, amazingly, consistently generous and thoughtful, and absolutely one of the most humble and respectful people I have ever met. Karen somehow manages to be completely confident while being supremely grateful. Her joy and love for life and family is unmatched – and so is her talent for her beloved writing craft. Diligent, hard-working, and the authentic real deal. I am so thrilled with all the amazing buzz about the movie.”

Dionne has a message for those who’ve read the book and plan to see the movie.

“When fans see the movie, I hope they realize it’s (an) adaptation of my book, not a recreation,” she said. “I’d like them and sit back and enjoy (the) movie for what it is. They can go back later and compare the movie to the book.”

Visit Dionne at karen-dionne.com. For more information about The Back Room, visit the-back-room.org.

The shoemaker announced its release earlier this month – which it deems Croctober – attributing the boots’ development to demand from fans. Based on the number of people complaining online about the Crocs website going down Monday morning, it seems they’re poised to be a fan favorite.

A Crocs spokesperson declined to say how many pairs of the limited edition style are available, saying only that they are expected to sell out. By midday Monday, several sizes listed “only a few left” while larger sizes were listed as “coming soon.” By late afternoon, several sizes appeared to be sold out.

Despite that, reviews began pouring in several weeks ago on Crocs’ website. While it’s unclear how they were tried so soon (we’ve asked), the reviews are endlessly entertaining, with at least one citing the Crocs cowboy boots as the impetus for a divorce.

Here are the funniest reviews of the Crocs cowboy boots from the website.

Crocs? Boots? Croots

“Nothing says ‘yeehaw’ like having a pair of spiky wheels attached to your feet,” wrote reviewer sniktak from Atlanta. “Forget about subtlety – with these boots, you can jingle your way through life like a walking wind chime, ensuring that everyone within a ten-mile radius is well aware of your presence.”

Soon, soon

“Automatic Texan purchase,” said Texas-based reviewer They’ll Be Mine.

I would buy these again even though I was divorced

“When I first laid eyes on this I felt an immediate spark and pleasure staring at them. When I showed my boring old ass wife she side-eyed and told me she would divorce me if I bought a pair. Well guess what? She was not kidding. I bought a pair on a Sunday after church and my wife instantly handed me the house key and left,” reviewer Tucker Wilson of Montana wrote, in part. “The price is worth it but expensive if it causes a divorce. Attorneys are a pretty penny. When I walked into court everyone’s eyes fell upon my shoes. I graced that crowd with godly shoes. The Judge was deeply impressed and I knew I won the case.”

Fire drop

“These boots are like the love child of John Wayne and the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. They’re so confused about their identity that they’ve become the fashion equivalent of an existential crisis,” said reviewer StylishGambino of Los Angeles. “They’re the fashion equivalent of a plot twist in a telenovela – utterly unexpected, yet strangely captivating. But here’s the kicker: They’ll hug your feet like a country love song.”

Yee Haw Croc Cowboys

“These are great to rustle up some cattle and gather my horses for a train robbery. Feel fancy, and they are 4-wheel drive so I can run fast,” wrote reviewer Cowboy Rick of The Pasture.

But in the meantime, the TV landscape is hardly a desert. There are new shows about Iron Chef-quality sushi, José Andrés and his family touring Spain, a five-star luxury hotel’s fancy kitchen and so much more.

In no particular order, here are seven shows about food you might want to start watching tonight.

Searching for Soul Food, Hulu

There’s no tireder food trope than calling soul food simple. It’s a complicated cuisine with a history spanning generations and continents. Here to unravel it is Alisa Reynolds, a classically trained chef from L.A. on a quest to investigate the “trauma and drama” of soul food.

The results are more upbeat than that sounds, thanks to Reynolds’ effervescent personality and comedic timing. The first season starts in Mississippi, where we learn how slaves transformed “elevated pet food, the scraps” into scrumptious recipes that persist to this day. The show’s interspersed with interviews, animations and historical reenactments – we meet James Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s ex-slave chef, who put French fries on the American menu. And things literally take off when Reynolds gets in a jet to hunt for international soul food such as pizza in Naples, jerk in Jamaica and native-Japanese fusion Nikkei in Peru.

Morimoto’s Sushi Master, Roku

Do you have what it takes to serve delicious sushi to the Iron Chef himself? That’s the challenge on this new show in which Masaharu Morimoto, writer and chef Kenji López-Alt and Top Chef’s Dakota Weiss judge the sushi mastery of contestants vying for a $25,000 prize. (Tip: When serving raw fish, remove the scales first.)

Knives fly and sweat pours as contestants butcher fish, season rice and arrange plates of oceanic delights, all under Morimoto’s clucking supervision. Viewers might pick up handy tips – like how to open a live urchin with scissors – or recipes for kelp-cured kampachi and chirashi with hay-smoked aji.

“Sushi Master” is a visual delight for those who love Japanese cuisine. At one point, a chef holds a fat hunk of fish to his cheek and announces, “I love ahi tuna!” After watching all the close-up shots of glistening, artfully cut sushi, you will, too.

Lessons in Chemistry, Apple TV+

Oh, the indignity of being a female chemist in the 1950s. When your male colleagues aren’t calling you “sweetie” or mistaking you for a secretary, they’re suggesting you drop your life’s work to enter a beauty pageant. But scientist Elizabeth Zott has another future in store – one in which she’ll use her knowledge of amino acids and the Maillard reaction to helm a TV-cooking show, in this adaptation of Bonnie Garmus’ popular 2022 novel.

To say that “Lessons in Chemistry” takes a turn after its initial setup is an extreme understatement. There’s a descending stairway of head-spinning twists — and to go any farther would be spoiler territory. Let’s just say, Brie Larson nails her character of a quirky savant fighting the patriarchy, one who at home puts 70-plus experimental trials into baking the perfect lasagna. Oh, and there’s also a tear-jerker episode told from the perspective of the family dog, played by B.J. Novak. (You read that right.)

The Great British Baking Show, Netflix

Now in its fourteenth season, “The Great British Baking Show” isn’t new. But it does have a new host this season – Alison Hammond. A presenter on the UK’s “This Morning,” Hammond is the first person of color to host or judge the show. She replaces former host and comedian Matt Lucas.

Judging by the first several episodes of the season aired so far, Hammond is a supportive and calming presence in the notoriously stressful bakers’ tent. She appears to have restored the show’s hallmark friendliness and warmth, which has been noticeably absent in recent seasons. Last season drew widespread criticism on points that ranged from non-baking challenges to tone-deaf episodes such as last year’s controversial “Mexico Week.” Showrunners have announced they’re dropping nation-themed episodes and going back to basics.

Three episodes in, the bakers — who include early leaders Tasha Stones, the show’s first deaf baker, and engineer Dan Cazador — have baked cakes shaped like animals, illusion biscuits and complex braided breads for their showstopper challenges.

Five Star Chef, Netflix

The Langham is a five-star luxury hotel in London and, by George, guests must have the fanciest of foodstuffs! Enter seven contestants vying for head chef at the hotel’s Palm Court restaurant – but first they must impress Michel Roux, a two Michelin-starred chef. He’s a stickler for classical technique and prone to ding a bad dish by lamenting, “It pains me.”

Sometimes, he’s right to be pained. Each chef has a unique vision for the restaurant, whether it be Caribbean, Nordic or “Theatrical Dining Experience.” The latter chef serves things like Bondage Lobster (with tied-up claws and seaweed blindfolds) accompanied by gesticulating circus performers, mortifying every judge at the table.

The show’s a bit like “Top Chef,” but the focus is luxury food. Americans will learn a lot about British food and dining traditions, and by the end might agree with one judge that “this is not a Battenberg!”

Restaurants at the End of the World, National Geographic/Disney+

Want to learn more about Kristen Kish, the new “Top Chef”‘ judge? Check out “Restaurants at the End of the World,” a four-part series hosted by Kish that’s part adventure travel and part culinary spotlight with all the gorgeous visuals you expect from NatGeo. Each episode highlights a different restaurant and the remarkable lengths their chefs must go to as they source local ingredients in very remote locations.

How remote? The restaurants include Panama’s Hacienda Mamecillo, a hike-up restaurant which sits high atop a mountain in a cloud forest. Svalbard’s Isfjord Radio is perched on an island in the Arctic reaches northwest of Norway. Maine’s Turner Farm sits in the middle of Penobscot Bay, reachable only by boat. And Brazil’s Sem Pressa is a boat.

Kish rappels down a waterfall in Panama to source fresh watercress and digs in Brazilian mangrove muck for sururu, a bivalve mollusk, to make the perfect seafood meal. In Svalbard, she snorkels in freezing water for sea urchins and snags fresh ice from a glacier, before getting to work in the chefs’ kitchen making reindeer tongue and melon appetizers and passion fruit-kimchi sorbet.

José Andrés and Family in Spain, Discovery Plus, Max and weekly on CNN

You may know José Andrés as the visionary chef who popularized Spanish cuisine in the U.S. through restaurants like Zaytinya (which is expected to open a location in Palo Alto in 2024), or perhaps as the philanthropist whose nonprofit World Central Kitchen provides meals to people amid global disasters.

What the six-part “José Andrés in Spain with Family” shows is that he’s also a pretty goofy dad, whose knowledge and enthusiasm for Spain and its food is infectious even to his toughest critics: his daughters. As he gushes over each bite at the world-class eateries the trio visits – many at establishments operated by his friends – Andrés’ adult daughters, Inés and Carlota, respond with the occasional good-natured eye roll or “OK, Dad,” although they’re clearly having fun, too.

Seeing how this family travels together is almost as inspirational as the meals themselves. The Andres family seems to float seamlessly from one stop to the next, powered by tapas and Cava.

Each episode highlights regional dishes, including Pastas del Consejo, cookies invented for a young prince at a royal bakery in Madrid; a fine-dining spread for the ages at Disfrutar, a restaurant by chefs who, like Andrés, previously worked at El Bulli; and a calcot (a vegetable that’s a mix between a spring onion and a leek) barbecue at a vineyard belonging to one of Andrés’ friends. Father and daughters also explore local nonfood traditions on their travels, from human tower-building in Catalonia to flamenco dancing in Andalusia.

This show might just make you want to eat your way through Spain alongside family, too.

“The Rocky Horror Show”

Now through Nov. 26, Central Square Theater, Cambridge

This is the ultimate Halloween-ish horror musical comedy satire. It may also be the only Halloween-ish horror musical comedy satire. Mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter goes all Dr. Frankenstein looking to create a hunk. Hyjinks and songs about sexual repression ensue. Centralsquaretheater.org

Pumpkintown

Now through Oct. 31, East Hampton, CT

Looking for a wholesome Halloween? It’s no tricks and all treats at Pumpkintown. A family-friendly outing featuring a village of over 100 Pumpkinhead people and their pets. Come to see these whimsical Pumpkinheads, stay for the apple cider donuts. pumpkintown.com

Doggone Halloween

Oct. 28, Downtown Crossing

People that look like their dogs are great. But people that dress like their dogs are even better. Boston’s biggest annual Halloween-themed pet costume returns with this contest for pups and people. Humans don’t have to dress up but there is a Best Human & Dog Duo prize. Other categories include Best Costume, Spookiest Costume and Cutest Costume. Like your dog in just a leash and collar? Show up for the pet-focused vendor village. Downtownboston.org

Day of the Dead

Oct. 29 – Nov. 2, ICA Watershed

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the largest Day of the Dead festival and parade in New England, the Verónica Robles Cultural Center and the Institute of Contemporary Art team up for a unique exhibition of Day of the Dead altars. A score of local artists come together for an immersive Altar Exhibition at the ICA Watershed. icaboston.org

5th Annual Silent Halloween Skate Party

Oct. 29, Chez Vous Roller Skating Rink

At a silent skate… no one can hear you scream!!! Of course, that’s because you’ll be wearing headphones. This rolling party will feature three channels of music provided by DJ MannyReese, DJ Jammin, DJ Dex, DJ Big Papa and others. Soul Food, beer, wine and both skate and costume contests. facebook.com/bostonswerve

“The Howling”

Oct. 30, Brattle Theater, Cambridge

A free screening of a horror classic – this one has it all from a cult to the occult, sex to serial killers, and, of course, werewolves. Beyond the bonus of being free, the film comes with a discussion lead by Brandon Callender, an assistant professor of English at Brandeis University who specializes in Black queer and Black horror studies. Brattlefilm.org

Skalloween

Oct. 31, The Rockwell, Somerville

If your two favorite dances are skanking and the monster mash, we have a party for you. Dance the night away to all your favorite ska classics with locals putting on musical costumes. The New Limits as the Pietasters, Sorry, Ma! as The Clash, Battlemode as Gorillaz, and Pink Slip as No Doubt — “Spiderwebs” is a perfect Halloween song already. Therockwell.org

“Young Frankenstein” & “An American Werewolf in London”

Oct. 31, Coolidge Corner Theatre

Scary funny and scary scary. Epic and outrageous twists on Frankenstein and the Wolfman come to life from directors Mel Brooks and John Landis. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll never think about “Bad Moon Rising” the same way again. Wear a costume for a chance to win a door prize! Coolidge.org

I went for the physical exam. I was not asked to undress as I have been with all my previous doctors. The doctor seemed nice, but I found it strange that I wasn’t examined physically. I find it hard to understand how a doctor could properly examine me without me undressing. The doctor should be used to seeing bodies, and I cannot understand why the doctor or staff were reluctant to ask me to undress.

I found this all very confusing. Perhaps there was some miscommunication? I don’t know if this is unusual, temporary or a new normal that I haven’t heard about. Next time, should I be more clear about wanting to be examined thoroughly, or should I change doctors? — Covered Up in Virginia

Dear Covered Up: Contact the doctor, explain that in the past you have always had a complete physical which involved you disrobing and ask why it didn’t happen during your last visit. If the answer you receive is unsatisfactory, change doctors.

Dear Abby: My husband and I have been married nine years. We are active in our church. I am very involved with our women’s ministry, but my husband has an issue with our leader, “Nedra.” Nedra has bad-mouthed my husband to my face. I went to my pastor with the issue, and I am, basically, waiting on God to fix it.

Our WM team meets multiple times a week, which means I leave my husband home alone for dinner on those nights. (I always make sure he has dinner when I’m not home.) Our meetings can go on for an hour and a half to two hours, and my husband is always upset when I get home from them.

I don’t know what to do. He’s not upset that I’m going to the meetings; he’s upset at how long they last. Nedra doesn’t like him, and he doesn’t like her, especially since he knows what she said about him. I feel stuck in the middle. What do I do? — Lady of Faith in Texas

Dear Lady: If these meetings occur more than twice a week, your husband may have a point. Whether he and Nedra like each other is beside the point, unless what he resents is that you are with that “witch.” He may feel it encroaches on time you should be spending together. It’s time you and your husband have a calm discussion about the frequency and length of those meetings so an acceptable compromise can be reached. Start now.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

I have had many conversations with him about this, begging him not to do it and telling him if he wants to cook, he should make something for himself. His reply is always, “I’m not forcing you guys to eat my food. You are welcome to eat something else.” But when we do that, he sulks and ruins everyone’s day, so we end up giving in. I don’t know how to get through to him about this. — Tastes Bad in the East

Dear Tastes Bad: You can talk till you’re blue in the face, and your husband still won’t get the message because he doesn’t want to hear it. He doesn’t CARE about the waste.

Of course, you and the kids could explain EXACTLY what you don’t like about what he has prepared, and offer suggestions about the seasoning, etc., which might help him. And perhaps you could all cook together from time to time.

In the future, when your children achieve independence and the family gathers, each family member may want to bring their food with them. However, while they live under your roof, they’ll have to accept what their father insists on giving them.

Dear Abby: My son is getting married in Mexico in six months. I would like to take a special friend with me as my plus-one. My wife has dementia. It is quite severe, and she has been in a care facility for two years. She no longer recognizes anyone, including me. Would it be wrong to take my lady friend to Mexico? We haven’t been intimate yet, but romance at the beach in Mexico is very possible. What do I do? — Uncertain in Iowa

Dear Uncertain: Your son’s wedding is not the time to “surprise” anyone with this lady’s presence. Depending upon how large your family is and how close you all are, some people may already be aware that you’re involved with someone and why. But ask your son and his fiancee if bringing her would be disruptive, and gracefully base your decision on their response. A wedding is supposed to be about the bride and groom on their special day with no distractions.

Dear Abby: I heard my old high school boyfriend was arrested. It made the news. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in more than a decade. While I’m relieved that I dodged a bullet (I am happily married to someone else now), I feel terrible for his mom. We are still friends on social media and keep up with each other. Should I reach out to her in what must be a humiliating and concerning time, or should I keep to myself? — Hesitant in Texas

Dear Hesitant: Because you and this woman have a relationship that extended beyond the one between you and her son, by all means reach out. Tell her you heard what happened, and that you care about her and want to be supportive. She may or may not contact you, but she’ll know you care about her. Knowing someone cares could make all the difference for her.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

On Ziwe’s eponymous late-night talk show, which Showtime tragically canceled earlier this year, everything was carefully curated: the cartoonish graphics, the confrontational style, the contrast of the gaudy pink set with Ziwe Fumudoh’s knack for leaping into cringe and controversy with questions like: How many Black friends do you have?

But in her first book of essays, “ Black Friend,” out this week, the writer-comedian plays Bad Cop with herself on topics ranging from her Nigerian immigrant upbringing to the impact of fame on body image, and the result feels unrehearsed. Though her terse acknowledgments section (in its entirety: “Thank you”) feels very Ziwe, an essay titled “ Wikifeet” veers from jokes about foot fetishists to memories of growing up “an ugly duckling.” Throughout, Ziwe toggles between sincerity and absurdity, personal anecdotes and ample footnotes, in search of a subject much harder to pin down than dumbfounded Chet Hanks or blasé Julia Fox.

“It’s not in my impulse to share things with strangers,” she told The Times during a Zoom interview from New York earlier this month. “The editing process for me was excavating where I personally stood and what my perspective was.”

The title of her book is a nod to the viral Instagram Live interviews that inspired her talk show, in which her “Black friends” question played on the clichéd defense of white people called out for racism. But it’s also a reclamation of her own centrality in the narrative, as she tells the story of how she went from sidekick to star.

Our conversation — about her foray into books, how she differs from her persona and what it means to be a “Black friend” — has been edited for clarity and length.

A lot of celebrities turn to memoirs to shape their public narrative. What makes your book of essays different?

I’ve been a professional writer for most of my career. I started in college when I was freelancing at the Onion, and I’ve been doing that still to this day. So I don’t know if I am necessarily your typical celebrity essayist. As far as my audience is concerned, I can’t control what people take away from my writing. I hope that they find it funny, I hope that they get a sense of the the work I put into the stories. Really, all I can do as a writer is sit down and bleed out on the text, and hope my vulnerability is enough to move my audience.

How did you decide on the title of your book?

I think there are many essays that circle around being a Black friend, and Black friendship, and [also] being part of like a community of Black friends. … [And] in the introduction, I write about the Black friend being the omnipresent figure in American media who never has a chance to explore their own journey. In this Black friend’s world they are the protagonists, but they always appear like a sidekick.

There is obviously a connection to the question I asked on Instagram Live. I had no idea that that would be the breakout question of the show. I don’t even think that was the funniest question. But it somehow became a calling card, which I found to be very interesting. Like, nobody knows my name. I am the Black friend brought to this WNBA game being misidentified, and the Black friend being [briefly] barred from a screening of “ If Beale Street Could Talk.”

You — or your character — ask some hilariously inappropriate personal questions in the show. What was it like to ask yourself the uncomfortable questions?

I didn’t want to share one iota about myself. I don’t want people to know where I live, what I eat, that I have a pet. That is not my instinct from a cultural perspective. And also from an artistic perspective, I find that there is more freedom and being able to hide behind a character — and then they have a really clear point of view. When you’re just yourself, you don’t want to offend anyone. I don’t want to misspeak. But comedy lives on that dangerous ledge.

In your book, you compare your performance on your show to drag. Can you talk more about how you craft your persona?

The space of late-night television and broadcast news is really masculine. It’s a lot of suits. And I was thinking, what is the antithetical to that? Mind you, women’s talk shows are packaged so differently: they’re daytime, there’s a cooking segment and there’s fashion shows at lunch. So I pulled from the daytime world. I also played with Barbies and Bratz dolls as a kid. I was attracted to that world as a child because that’s what I saw as the emblem of femininity. I wanted to have this plastic toy in my hand even, though it couldn’t breath and it didn’t have any genitals.

I wonder about that persona and how much it’s bled into your personal life. You’ve said that when strangers meet you, they expect you to be aggressive and mean.

I think people are terrified of me. That’s just the truth. I hate it. I was about to say that nobody wants people to be afraid of them. But there’s obviously that famous quote, “it’s better to be feared than loved.” But I would rather be loved. I don’t love that at all.

You insert a lot of sidebars and footnotes to add context to the narrative. Why did you choose that format?

I think my mind is sort of manic the way that I wrote my book. And so in “ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, which is probably my biggest influence as far as the footnotes go,, [Junot Diaz] told multiple stories concurrently over the course of his book. And similarly, I was interested in having people follow my train of thought, but also including like, Okay, this is the historical context as I talk about how I’m the Rosa Parks of a free screening of a movie. So it was just part of it was just like, yeah, it was an artistic choice that I, that reflects how my mind works.

You’ve been characterized before as an agent of chaos, do you identify with that?

No, I don’t have it on my CV, although maybe I should add it. Honestly, I thrive much like Bane. I thrive in the chaos. It’s something that I am really comfortable with. I did an episode of [Andy Cohen’s] “ Watch What Happens Live” yesterday with Mary Cosby, this famously chaotic character in “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” And unfortunately, or fortunately, I found myself really at peace. So I just take chaos — better than the average duck. But I wouldn’t say that’s my job.

What do you consider the responsibility of your platform then? In your book you cite the work of a lot of thinkers, including James Baldwin and W.E.B. Du Bois. But of yourself you write, “I am a well-spoken, attractive person so my job is to be hot and loudly repeat things that smarter people say.”

I think my only responsibility is to be funny. That’s my job. I’m a comedian and the reaction I’m supposed to get is, “Ha ha ha, ha ha, ha.” Everything else is gravy, it is an elective surgery. I’m not an activist, I cannot speak to the proper ways to mobilize. I create entertaining content that makes people think. My impact is Ziwe. My title is Ziwe. My job is Ziwe and I’m really good at it.

____

Black Friend: Essays

By Ziwe

Abrams: 192 pages, $26

©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

My wife knows I enjoy dressing up and tolerates it. But she’s unwilling to let me express myself out of the house or help me with the process. How can I get her to help me get dolled up and experience being a woman for one night? I feel so deprived not being able to be who I want to be. — Dressed and Ready

Dear Dressed: Halloween is the one night of the year when many people, yourself included, can decide to dress up and become who they really are (or would like to be). Because your wife won’t assist you, consider visiting a makeup counter and asking one of the salespeople to help with your makeup that night. And, if nothing in your closet suits the real you, rent or buy an outfit for the occasion. You do not need anyone’s “permission.”

Dear Abby: A very good friend and neighbor sold a Taylor Swift ticket to my 15-year-old daughter for $900. I should mention, my daughter would have given her right arm for the chance to go to the show. The original ticket was purchased for $300, including fees. Initially, my friend wanted to sell it for $1,000, but she offered a “discount” because my daughter’s 16th birthday was coming up.

I can appreciate the value of the hottest ticket in town and that it comes with an inflated price tag. However, from my point of view, it was merely a transaction meant for my friend to make a handsome profit off of my kid. I’m extremely disappointed at the price gouging, and now I think of the woman differently. I have been avoiding her because she will likely become defensive. Am I wrong in thinking her actions were not that of a good friend after all? — Feeling Swindled in the West

Dear Feeling Swindled: Because your neighbor sold the ticket to your daughter at three times what she paid for it, I would have to agree; she acted more like a ticket broker than a good friend. I see no reason why you should cut her off completely, but now you know she’s a shark when it comes to “business,” so keep your eyes open. On the upside, your daughter got to live her dream that night, and many of the fans who saw Taylor Swift in action have said it was the best show of their lives.

Dear Abby: What’s the best way to tell your siblings you think it’s time to stop exchanging Christmas gifts? We’re all in our 60s, and, frankly, I don’t feel they are ever very enthused about what we get them. It just seems like it’s time, anyway. — Done in New York

Dear Done: The best way to convey that message would be verbally, so you can explain that you are all long past childhood and feel a cheery Christmas greeting would suffice. And the best TIME to give them the news would be well before the Christmas holidays.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

Harry Bosch is currently on view in two different guises: The Freevee series “Bosch: Legacy S2” began with Bosch, now a private investigator, trying to save his kidnapped daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz).

A very different, older Bosch — a 73-year-old cancer patient undergoing an experimental nuclear medicine trial – costars in Connelly’s new Lincoln Lawyer novel “Resurrection Walk” alongside his half-brother Mickey Haller. Bosch is driving the Lincoln for his sibling in order to qualify for the medical trial.

Bosch inhabits these two different spheres because they have always been thus. The Bosch books now number 24 and began in 1992.  “Bosch,” the hit Amazon series, ran seven seasons (2014-2021) followed in 2022 by the “Bosch: Legacy” spin-off.

These different arenas work because, Connelly, 67, said in a Zoom interview, “of the characters. People are loyal to the characters.

“So, we always started with the idea that just really captured the essence of Harry Bosch: Take anything you need from the books, big plot, small plots, little moments. It’s all there for the taking.

“But the key is: Maintain loyalty to the character! That has worked for us. Some seasons we took from three different books, sometimes just one. Then we got a big pivot with ‘Bosch: Legacy.’ Harry Bosch is still the center of the wheel, but we really want to amp up, enlarge, the storytelling around ‘Money’ Chandler (Mimi Rogers) a lawyer who employs Bosch and his daughter Maddie Bosch. That is where we really go off into unexplored territory. And that makes it fun.

“In fact, in my books, Maddie wasn’t a cop —  until she was a cop on the TV show.”

Agatha Christie famously killed off her beloved detective Hercule Poirot.  Could Connelly ever kill Harry Bosch? Is that possible? Or unimaginable?

“Somewhere in the middle,” he answered. “I mean, it’s definitely possible. I’ve been given this amazing opportunity that I can write about this character evolving over decades against the city and a society that’s evolving over decades. It almost feels like a duty that I should end it at some point.

“You know, just have him like disappear when I disappear from the planet. I don’t know if it means he dies or not, but I want it to be tied up. I don’t think it should be a thing like, whenever I’m gone somebody else takes up the Harry Bosch story.”

“Resurrection Walk” will be released in print, eBook, and audiobook on Nov. 7, 2023. The audiobook will be read by Peter Giles (Mickey Haller) and Titus Welliver (Harry Bosch). “Bosch: Legacy S2” is now streaming on Freevee.