investigator George

Bill Clinton and George Stephanopoulos / TIME Cover: April 04, 1994, Art Poster by TIME Magazine
$19.95
The most eagerly awaited event in the editorial cycle at TIME Magazine is always the selection of the cover. The best covers capture the zeitgeist of the week while surviving the judgment of history. As browsing this collection of TIME cover art prints shows, TIME is as good a record as any of who and what mattered over the past 80-plus years. And so when TIME captures a person, an event or a trend within its iconic red borders, the magazine is adding that extra dose of significance that no other publication can quite match. That is one reason why the original artwork for more than 800 TIME covers now resides in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. Thanks to an amazing roster of artists, photographers and graphic designers, from TIME's earliest charcoal drawings of cover subjects to its later black-and-white photography to the more recent paintings and stunning color photography, TIME covers have always been, sometimes quite literally, works of great art. And, while the times may change, the TIME cover, with its iconic red border, has never lost its power to immediately send the signal that this person or event or idea is important to our lives, that in some way history is being made before our eyes.

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
$14.98
These Sidney Toler "Monogram" Chan films, the last in the series, don't measure up to Warner Oland's earlier efforts but they are still very entertaining to me. Even with Mantan Moreland, who probably offends the sensibilities of a lot of people with his scared black-man routine. I can see where that's offensive, but if you just take him as a comedian and let it go, you can enjoy and even laugh with him.

The only thing I did NOT find amusing in here, but I normally do, is Charlie's insults to his kid. In this film, Tolder insults "Number Three Son" (Benson Fong) so many times that it borders on downright mean-spiritedness.

Anyway, it was still a "decent" combination of mystery and comedy and the ending was cool, with Chan and his assistants chasing the bad guys around a "fun house." All the Charlie Chan movies are entertaining.

Soul Circus
$24.95
George Pelecanos is an exceptional writer, but Soul Circus is the most powerful novel of his that I have yet read. The third novel in his Derek Strange series, it concerns the jockeying for position of two small-time drug dealers and their mutual interactions with a P.G. County arms dealer. The arms dealer, Strange, and his associate, a white man named Quinn, are all ex-cops. While the story is straightforward, the narrative is multi-layered and richly textured. This is, as always with Pelecanos, a gritty and often grim book, the last possible book desired by the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce. I love its simplicity and clarity. The characters are carefully etched and the ending is as satisfying as it is inevitable. Note to hardcover buyers: this book may still be available on your local remainder shelf.

Photoshop CS3 for Forensics Professionals: A Complete Digital Imaging Course for Investigators
$59.99
This book is a must have for any analyst or examiner new to the role that needs to have a reference for best practices while using photoshop in the forensic world. George Reis has an uncanny ability to decipher the differences between what can be done and what should be done during a forensic examination. In other words, just because photoshop does it, doesn't mean that an analyst should use that tool or technique. George has a lengthy history in the law enforcement world. I can't wait until his next book of wisdom is released!