10 Obscure Christmas Carols You Should Listen to Instead of Jingle Bells Yet Again
And of course there are also these forgotten classics.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Beyonce's Dad Had A Garage Sale To Sell Her Old Stuff
This was a couple of blocks from Angela's place in Houston. I don't think she and Tom bought anything.
Beyonce's Dad Had A Garage Sale To Sell Her Old Stuff
Beyonce's Dad Had A Garage Sale To Sell Her Old Stuff
Brandon Stoddard, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Brandon Stoddard, a television executive at ABC who shepherded the production of multipart dramas like “Roots” and “The Winds of War” that helped popularize the mini-series, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 77.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Joseph Sargent, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Joseph Sargent, a director who won four Primetime Emmy Awards for television movies but whose best-known work was the 1974 thriller “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” which chillingly presented the embattled New York City of the 1970s, died on Monday at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 89.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Easy Death -- Daniel Boyd
I've known "Daniel Boyd" for a while under another name. In fact, he even comments on this blog from time to time. This is his second novel, and I'm happy to report that it's a good one. It's from Hard Case Crime, so what else would you expect?The setting, December, 1951, harks back to the beginning of the grand old Gold Medal days, and the subject matter is something that might have appealed to Lionel White a bit later in the decade: an armored car robbery. As in most stories of armored car robberies, even the most carefully planned ones, things go wrong. It's not necessarily the fault of the robbers, who turn out to be fairly likable guys. It's the weather. The big snowstorm becomes almost like another character in the book because Boyd does the weather so well.
There are complications aplenty aside from the weather, and Boyd guides the reader smoothly through all of them. He led me down the garden path once, but maybe he won't fool you. Ms. Nixon, a park ranger who's related to a more famous Nixon, isn't fooled.
If found myself wanting things to work out for most of the characters, except for one particularly despicable one, and I suspect you will, too. It's the Christmas season, after all.
Knowing the author, I'd have been disappointed if there hadn't been a Hamlet allusion or two. There's also some social commentary, some humor, and plenty of action. Far be it from me to reveal more. Read the book, and you may find yourself thinking of what a fine movie it would make or how it might become a Christmas perennial. It's good stuff.
Overlooked Movies: The Dead
If you've never read James Joyce's "The Dead," which is one of the world's great short stories, you can still enjoy this great movie. But if you haven't read the story, your life is the poorer. The same is true if you've read the story and haven't seen the movie. If you've done both already, then you know what I'm talking about.The setting is a dinner party on the evening epiphany, Twelfth Night. The guests arrive and talk, and we see and hear them. We see other things in the house, and it's all warm and sad and amusing. Virtually plotless, but still engrossing.
The party leads up to the concluding part of the story, when Gabriel Conroy (Donal McCann) and his wife, Gretta (Anjelica Huston) return to their hotel. Gretta tells Gabriel a story she's kept from him for all their married lives. It's about a boy named Michael Furey, who might have died for his love of her. The conclusion of the movie is pretty much straight of of the story as we hear Gabriel's thoughts (the final paragraph of the story). It's as moving and effective as anything you'll see (or hear).
I've thought about this movie a good bit over the last few weeks, and I hope that Judy knew she'd married her Michael Furey. I think she did.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Billie Whitelaw, R. I. P.
The Guardian: “I could have easily have become a nun, or a prostitute, or both,” said Billie Whitelaw, who has died aged 82. Instead, she claimed that acting had allowed her to use both these sides of herself in a career that included theatre, films, television – and a special place in the affection and inspiration of Samuel Beckett.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Joe Cocker, R. I. P.
BBC News: Singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends," has died aged 70.
The singer song-writer from Sheffield had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including "You Are So Beautiful" and "Up Where We Belong."
The singer song-writer from Sheffield had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including "You Are So Beautiful" and "Up Where We Belong."
The Hunter, The Hoaxer, And The Battle Over Bigfoot
The Hunter, The Hoaxer, And The Battle Over Bigfoot: Jeffrey Meldrum is a respected anthropologist risking his reputation to prove Sasquatch is real; Rick Dyer is a self-described “entertainer” unapologetically capitalizing off it. Their rivalry represents two sides of the fractious but booming subculture.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Boing Boing: Residents of Street, England, have been urged not to panic after a man, holding a rubber chicken, threatened to eat a local woman. The Central Somerset Gazette reports that the man is still at large.
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Sunday, December 21, 2014
Show Me Your Badge, Ranger
Western Fictioneers: Show Me Your Badge, Ranger: Texas Ranger badges are a hot commodity in the collectibles market, but the caveat “buyer beware” applies in a big way.
PaperBack
John Wyndham (John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris), Revolt of the Triffids (The Day of the Triffids), Popular Library, 1952
The Truth about "Jingle Bells"
CBC News: Here’s the truth about Jingle Bells. It’s not a Christmas song—it’s a Thanksgiving song. It’s not a jolly family song—it’s a drinking song. It’s at the centre of a nasty dispute, and it was written by a 'jerk'.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
10 Surprising Box Office Failures
I've seen two of these and liked both of them a lot.
10 Surprising Box Office Failures
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Annoying slideshow alert.
10 Surprising Box Office Failures
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Annoying slideshow alert.
Larry Henley, R. I. P.
CMT: Larry Henley, co-writer of the international Grammy-winning hit, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” died Thursday morning (Dec. 18) in Nashville at the age of 77. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Friday, December 19, 2014
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
NewsChannel5.com: NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man was arrested late Thursday night after police said he attacked his roommate with a sword during a fight over a videogame.
Mandy Rice-Davies, R. I. P.
BBC News: Former model Mandy Rice-Davies, one of the main figures in the 1960s Profumo affair, has died from cancer at the age of 70, her publicist has said.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Virna Lisi, R. I. P.
BBC News: Italian screen actress Virna Lisi, famed in the 1960s for appearing opposite stars including Frank Sinatra, has died at the age of 78.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
FFB: Shoot the President? Are You Mad? -- Frank McAuliffe
This is a repost from May 14, 2010. I'm sad to say that what was a new book then is a forgotten book now, and that's a shame.Okay, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, this is a new book. How can it be forgotten? Crider's finally lost it. You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it. But here's my thinking.
Frank McAuliffe wrote some of my favorite crime novels, a three-book series featuring Augustus Mandrell, a professional assassin. When I picked up the first book, Of all the Bloody Cheek back in 1965, I don't know what I expected, but it sure wasn't what I got, which was one of the most original crime novels I'd read up to that time. 45 years later, it still is. (See my earlier post here.) Sort of. In 1968 and 1971 McAuliffe published two sequels. But they're not exactly sequels. All three books are made up of a series of linked novellas that play off each other and intertwine in ways that still amaze me after all these years. Taken together, they're really one big, hilarious, incredible book. You should find all three, which besides Of all the Bloody Cheek include Rather a Vicious Gentleman and For Murder I Charge More.
In 1975, McAuliffe submitted another novel to Ballantine books. The Ballantines thought it was too soon after the Kennedy assassination for a comedy crime caper about presidential assassination, and the book was turned down. It took another 35 years for it to appear in print. So it was forgotten for a long, long time.
I'm afraid it might be forgotten again, since it's been published by a small press called The Outfit, which as far as I can tell doesn't even mention the book on its website. You can order it from Amazon, though.
What you'll get is a book unlike any other you've ever read, unless you've read the earlier three. This one's more conventional than they are. It's not a series of linked novellas, but one caper. It's narrated by Mandrell in his usual style, which, let's say, is a unique form of stream-of-consciousness with snarky asides, comments addressed to the reader, and lots more. It's full of narrow escapes, sometimes one after another, and at times it's almost like watching a Marx Brothers movie. Maybe I'm the only one who likes stuff like this now. Others might not get it at all, but it connects with me just like it did in 1965. It's great to have this book in print. I hope it's not forgotten.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The Blog Will Be Closed Today
The memorial service for Judy will be held today, so the blog will be dark. It will return in a limited way tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all the kind thoughts, prayers, and support over the last several weeks.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Richard C. Hottelet, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Richard C. Hottelet, who covered the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge for CBS and became the last survivor of the “Murrow Boys,” the network’s pioneering World War II radio newsmen who worked under Edward R. Murrow, died on Wednesday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 97.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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