Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Can Your Best Friends Be Books?
Can Your Best Friends Be Books?: Recently, reading a Mary Oliver essay collection, I stumbled across a piece called “My Friend Walt Whitman.” In it, she admits she had merely a few friends as a child in 1950s Ohio, and they were all dead. They were her favorite books.
Bouns FFM for Wednesday -- Espionage Volume 1, Number 1
As you can see from the contests list below, there are a few familiar names. There are also a few names I never heard of before, nor have I heard of them since. The magazine didn't last long, and I can see why. I read every story in the issue, and most of them have already slipped from my mind. Jack Ritchie's story is a reprint, but I believe it's the only one in the issue. It's not bad. The Asimov story really strains to explain its not-quite-dying message. The Hoch story is one of the okay ones. The Goulart tale is a "Odd Jobs, Inc." story and not intended to be taken seriously. It's amusing, but not one of his better ones. Ardath Mayhar's story is in the form of a letter, and it's printed in italics. It's not long, but I found the italics annoying. The story was okay, though. Some of the others seemed to have no point, like "The Hurricane Courier." I think the less said about most of them, the better. So I won't say any more. Well, I will say that the magazine improved, but not enough to save itself. It's an interesting curiosity from another time.
3 · Editorial · [The Editor] · ed
6 · Time to Kill · Tony Wilmot · ss
16 · The Queen and King · Isaac Asimov · ss;
24 · The President’s Brain Is Missing · Ron Goulart · ss
39 · The Purist · Edward Wellen · ss
48 · The Hurricane Courier · P. E. Halycon · ss
58 · The Foreign Minister’s Brother · Stuart Symons · ss
69 · The Commissar · Jack Ritchie · ss
78 · Historically Spying... · Joe Lewis · nonfiction
81 · A Boy and His Camera · Jery Tillotson · ss
92 · Breakfast at the Kawnbawza · Isak Romun · ss
100 · The Hatchtree Assignment · Edward D. Hoch · ss
115 · The Knack · Percy Spurlark Parker ·
118 · The Intelligence Process [Part 1 of 3] · Ernest Volkman · ar
128 · Winds of Change · John Lutz · ss
134 · A Cameo Disappearance · E. Brooks Peters · ss
152 · You Can’t Fool a Wife · Ardath Mayhar · ss
158 · Game Pages
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
The Agony and the Ecstasy of the State Fair Food Finalists: Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger Included
Harvey Update
Harvey Update for early Tuesday: The rain stopped sometime last night, and I got only 4-1/2 inches. That makes 28-1/2 inches at least, but since the rain stopped, the ditches carried the water away, and I'm still dry. Not high yet, but the day is young. The wind is a good big higher than it's been, but a little wind is nothing to worry about. Maybe this is the tail end of Harvey, and if so, I'm glad to see it go.
Too many others haven't been as lucky as I am, and the Texas Gulf Coast won't recover for a long time. Texans are a resilient bunch, but this is a true catastrophe, maybe on the level with Katrina and Sandy. It's going to take quite a while just to evaluate the damage to property and to know how many lives have been lost. I've made a donation to my favorite disaster relief organization, but that seems a small thing. At least it's doing a little something, even if very little, to help.
Too many others haven't been as lucky as I am, and the Texas Gulf Coast won't recover for a long time. Texans are a resilient bunch, but this is a true catastrophe, maybe on the level with Katrina and Sandy. It's going to take quite a while just to evaluate the damage to property and to know how many lives have been lost. I've made a donation to my favorite disaster relief organization, but that seems a small thing. At least it's doing a little something, even if very little, to help.
Overlooked Movies -- Phantom Lady
I believe this movie is considered a classic, so it's not really overlooked by anyone other than me. I'd never seen it before, but when it turned up on TCM, complete with an introductory discussion hosted by Eddie Muller and featuring Vince and Rosemarie Keenan, I couldn't resist.Let me say right up front that I wasn't all that taken with the movie. It's wonderful too look at, with great B&W photography, but the plot is all too simple, unlike the book it's based on. Ella Raines is great as the loyal secretary trying to free the boss she secretly loves from prison as she searches for the "phantom lady" of the title, but Alan Curtis as the boss made me wonder why she'd bother. And Franchot Tone just didn't work for me at all. Thomas Gomez as the police inspector is very good, but the real star of the show is Elisha Cook, Jr., who was cruelly ignored by the Academy when it came time to nominate for the Oscars. His drumming scene is the most amazing thing in the movie (and Raines contributes, too). Don't ask me how they got away with it. As Vince Kennan said, there's no subtext in this scene. It's all text. In case you've never seen it, here's a link.
A lot of people like this movie more than I do, so give it a try if you've never seen it. Or let me know why I should have liked it better.
Monday, August 28, 2017
The Last Adventure of Richard Halliburton
The Last Adventure of Richard Halliburton, the Forgotten Hero of 1930s America
Judy loved Halliburton's books that she read as a kid.
Judy loved Halliburton's books that she read as a kid.
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