I left three of these books at the ARC last week because they didn’t have the half-price color… they were still there this week! It’s always nice when that happens!

Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944 • Anything by Max Hastings is gold… but the topic of this book is one of my favorites. Interesting, is the retreat of the Germans late in the war.

A Question of Honor: Forgotten Heroes of World War II • First-hand accounts, another of my favorite topics.

Bitter Glory: Poland and It’s Fate 1918-1939 • It’s no surprise why Poland is currently on it’s way to having the biggest military in Europe, and is one of the biggest backers of Ukraine against the Russian Federation.

Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons and Aggression • As I always say to those people who are perplexed as to why I read so much about military history; there are so many ways to look at it, and this is the logistical side. There’s the personal, empathecial, political, humanitarian, what-if, etc.

One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa • I read about this in the books that The Pacific were based on. It will be nice to have another take on it.

Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler’s Rise to Power 1919-1933 • One of the often overlooked topics regarding Hitler.

Clues to America’s Past / The Vikings / The Wild Shores America’s Beginnings • These are three of the National Geographic books that I have a lot of already, but they are so good, and cheap! Also interesting in that they were published around the time I was born.

I never get this many DVDs or Blu-rays, but that’s the way it goes. And if the ones I puchased to simply try out don’t work out, they can go back without an issue since I didn’t pay more than a buck-fifty for any of these! No subscriptions, nothing that disappears from a service, and all for the price of one month of any given streaming service!

Also: Over the past few years, there are more and more movies that I would usually watch, just because of the franchise, character, or actor. But now, with the way things are goign in the movie industry, I have learned to only see movies that I know are going to be good. That don’t ruin classic characters, overuse Member-Berries, etc. So, I’ll never see the new Indiana Jones, most of the newer Marvel movies, etc.

Also, this is because I’ve seen enough movies by now to just naturally have a lower tolerance for bad stories as I’ve seen so many. It’s way past time to start being more selective. Even Action Jackson below is a better watch than something like The Last Jedi or the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, Predators, The Eternals, etc. A comprehensive list would be long and not worth putting together, but you get the idea.

Action Jackson • I haven’t seen this since it first hit video in… the late 1980s? I don’t think it was that good, but I want to see Carl Weathers in what would have been his franchise character.

052223 • Just tried to watch this. Not a good movie, which is too bad, because I like Carl Weathers. This DVD actually sells pretty high online, and the Blu-ray is far more expensive. Which is now, not an issue because it isn’t worth having.

Fargo • They’ve done such a great job with the series, I need to see the original again, and I didn’t own it.

Good Will Hunting • Always hear about how good this one is… I watched this when I got home, and it I really is well-written. It is even better when you consider the level of quality stories that aren’t told these days. It actually deserves the awards that it won, and it’s neat to see these actors in their prime.

Creed / Rocky Balboa • I almost have all the Rocky movies on Blu-ray now.

The Jackal • Like Action Jackson, something to watch, but not a top-quality movie. Interesting to see Bruce Willis when he was so young, and Richard Gere try to pull off an Irish accent. Or Scottish. Same thing. Also, one of Jack Black’s early roles. He was also in some Will Smith movie around this time as some minor character.

The Greater Glory • Just a risk that it is any good, it was like brand-new, and I like the actors in it.

The Manchurian Candidate • I have always read about how great this movie is, and since it was like-new, I’m going to give it a try.

Amazing War Machines / Legends of Air Combat: Jets Over Vietnam • War Machines was still in it’s wrapper… these things are hit-or-miss (no pun intended), either cheaply put together, or well-done.

Mad Men: Season One • I re-watched this show a year or two ago, it holds up well. By the creators of The Sopranos. I have Season Two on Blu-ray, but the rest are on DVD still.

House: Seasons Two through Seven • Thanks to clips off of YouTube, I bought Good Will Hunting, and now House (Suits is next, but I doubt I’ll see that at a thrift). It’s a shame that the first and last seasons were missing, I really looked for them but they weren’t there. No matter, the rest of them were only a buck-fifty, so I can deal with it. Most series can still be enjoyed even if one doesn’t start at the beginning. I remember getting into 24 in season four, it was still great, and it was neat going back to the earlier seasons… like actual, well-done prequels when watched this way.

The Vivaldi Album • I have a lot of Cecilia Bartoli, and I had to check my list several times to make sure I didn’t have this one. I’d be more familiar with this if I didn’t listen to Magdalena Kozená as my primary female vocalist.

J.S. Bach: 3 Concerti After • I have been listening to a lot of organ music over the past few years, and I listened to this one right away; although I have a lot of albums like this, this one was really easy to get into.

Denon: New releases: Classical Sampler 1995-1996 • I left this one last week, because the line was so long. Still there! I like mixes like this and don’t see them that often.

On To Berlin • Turns out, I already have this one. Forgot to check my list.

The Other Victions / The Unforgiving Minute • Two books with first-hand accounts, my favorite!

The Legacy of Conquest • What I read of this before purchasing, the author was making examples of perspectives in history, such as the Indians vs settlers, and why they each thought the way they did. This makes the argument of simple conquest much more difficult to explain. So many details to simple assumptions about controversial historical events.

Post War: A History of Europe Since 1945 • A topic that is under recognized; what happened within Europe after the war ended; a big book, and from the short amount I read before purchasing impressed on me, a bargain.

Battles That Changed History • One of those big, well-illustrated books that I used to buy at Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks, when they had discount sections of great books. They don’t do that anymore.

Beethoven: String Quartets – Takács Quartet • All three of these multi-disc sets were in perfect condition, the best deal of the day!

One of my favorite topics is first-hand accounts, especially regarding The Great War. To go into a thrift and find a book like this, a book I was totally unaware of, and in great shape and on sale? it is comparable to the Gulag book I bought last week! And, it turns out that I have the same authors’ book on World War II already!

Surviving Hitler • Amazing that I didn’t have this book already.

To the Shores of Tripoli • Again, amazing how I didn’t have this book already.

The Life of Andrew Jackson • I like older books, in both good shape, and bad. This one is in great shape, but I really don’t like the way thrift stores just slap their super-sticky price stickers on old books. I was able to get the sticker off with no problem this time, luckily.

I’m a big fan of audio drama and used to listen to a ton of it back in the day. I found the below Ray Bradbury Science Fiction Theatre set on cassette, for a buck-fifty (Half-price Saturday). What a deal! I just have to record it into my computer (I’m no stranger to doing this).

We went to the new ARC on 44th and Wadsworth. Just what we need, another one to visit!

Putin’s World was published recently, right before the current war escalated last year. I bought another recent book on Putin just a week or two ago as well. I’m surprised people aren’t reading these.

Public Enemies: Mobsters. Interesting stuff.

Can’t have enough Ninth Symphony. Beethoven.

Berlioz in Paris is part of a series (Residence) that, back in 1990, I started buying brand-new with Albinoni in Venice. It looks like there are eighteen of these, and I have nine.

The Mozart Divertimenti is a double-disc for the price of one, in perfect shape.

Point of No Return Soundtrack: I am a fan of this movie and the movie it is based on, La Femme Nikita, and the first series from the early 2000’s (Not the second series that ran on network television; awful in comparison). I didn’t remember much about the music, but Hans Zimmer was involved and I had been listening to the Christopher Nolan Batman soundtracks all week, and I had actually come across this Point of No Return Soundtrack when I was looking up other things he’d composed. And, that same week, I find it at a thrift store. Wow! But, unfortunately, there are only a few good tracks on it, the rest are all vocals in a style I don’t care for. At least I only paid a buck-fifty for it.

Grieg: Symphony in C minor: Everything Grieg is good; however I haven’t really connected with his symphony. but I won’t stop trying.

Pearl Harbor: The Story of the Secret War • This was published in 1947, so not that long after the actual event, and before so much more had been known. Books like this are interesting in part because they are fresh from the incident.

Herbert von Karajan: New Year’s Concert Vienna 1987 (DVD) • I don’t find these very often, but this is the third dvd like this and quite a good buy!

Civilisation • Looks like a National Geographic book, but it isn’t… always an interesting subject.

Above and Beyond • Accounts of heroism that most of us can’t comprehend.

The American Heritage History of the Making of the Nation • I keep passing on this, and the Book of Indians, but finally I bought them, in part to my growing interest in the old west and the American Revolution. I also purchased a great set of around twenty books on the American Indians about five years ago (It wasn’t easy to do, and I never saw this set complete, ever) for only twenty dollars, and these in addition to my Time/Life Old West set make for a great addition to my library.

Brassey’s Modern Fighters • I didn’t need this one, I have the older, out-of-date books on “Modern Fighters” everywhere! But it looks pretty good inside, so hey.

The Death of Hitler • A fairly recent book, so it was nice to find this one as I’ve read a lot on the topic, and actually started reading the well-regarded epic biography by John Toland last night.

Modern Air-Launched Weapons • Turns out, I already had this one. Grr.

History Channel: Civil War Combat • I’m going to watch this after I watch the Grant mini-series again.

Japan 1941 • Always an interesting topic.

Brandenburg Concertos • I easily have twenty or thirty different renditions of these concertos… but there is a reason it is such a staple of classical music. This two-disc set was in perfect condition, down to the booklet, and only a buck-fifty. It’s sad to me that nobody even knows what this is, and what is considered good music anymore.

Great American Showpieces • This is a timely find as I’ve been listening to a lot of American composers lately.

Not I • This author has written other books on the war, I’d thought he was just another historian, but rather, he’s a survivor of it. I’ve read another first-hand account from a young person’s perspective, it is a part of the war most people don’t even consider.

Mozart / Salieri Concertos • I used to not like the flute in orchestral or small group performances, but after John Williams’ “Rey’s Theme” from The Force Awakens (Never watching that movie again), that one piece changed everything for me. It’s amazing, the power one piece of music can have on one’s view of things.