And there's a giveaway. Click here for details.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
The Days of Our Lives -- Ken Corday
A long time ago, my wife was a big fan of The Days of Our Lives. Because I was often home when she watched the show, I became familiar with the cast and the storyline. Judy stopped watching the show when her two favorite characters, Doug and Julie, left, but she and I still have fond memories of it and talk about it now and then. We found this backstage memoir entertaining and full of fun facts about this show and others.There's a lot about the Corday family, too. Ken Corday is the executive producer of the show, which was started by his parents. When his father, Ted, died about a year after the show began, Corday's mother, Betty, took complete control and taught her son all he needed to know to carry on. He'd been a music major and thought he'd have a career in music, maybe even be a star. After all, Lucky Mud, his band, opened Jimi Hendrix's last concert. But things don't always go as planned.
Betty and Ted Corday had careers in radio (Betty worked on The Shadow), so they were well versed in dramatic presentations. And Betty had real knack for titles. When William Bell was thinking of a show called The Young and Impatient, Betty suggested The Young and the Restless. She also suggested that a show tentatively titled As the Earth Turns become As the World Turns and that The Edge of Darkness be changed to The Edge of Night. Corday's book is full of great trivia like that, as well as stories about all the stars. There's a spooky one about MacDonald Carey's ghostly presence on the set, for instance, and a good one about Doug and Julie's real-life marriage. If you're a fan of the show (or of any soap opera), The Days of Our Lives is a must-read book. Even casual viewers will get a kick out of some of the inside stories. Pop culture fans, too. There's a wealth of real TV history here. Not to mention that Ken Corday's had quite a life. Check it out.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
WFAA.com : Graham cracker bonanza fuels frenzy on Dallas freeway: "It was a free-for-all on a Dallas freeway' People flocked to a busy intersection Friday morning to scoop up boxes of graham crackers spilled in an accident Thursday night.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department is trying to determine what caused an 18-wheeler to overturn in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35E at Colorado Boulevard. The wreck snarled traffic for hours overnight. last night.
After the sun came up Friday, rubberneckers turned into cracker collectors.
Deputies had their hands full trying to prevent motorists from rushing in collect hundreds of packages of Honey Maid graham crackers that had been dislodged from the semi-trailer when it turned over."
Dallas County Sheriff's Department is trying to determine what caused an 18-wheeler to overturn in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35E at Colorado Boulevard. The wreck snarled traffic for hours overnight. last night.
After the sun came up Friday, rubberneckers turned into cracker collectors.
Deputies had their hands full trying to prevent motorists from rushing in collect hundreds of packages of Honey Maid graham crackers that had been dislodged from the semi-trailer when it turned over."
Friday, June 04, 2010
Uh-Oh
Brett Ratner Plans to Throw Mud at 'Snow White' - Cinematical: "Or you can just say screw it, add some violence and dirty words, and say you're being 'edgy.' That's what producer Brett Ratner is doing to Snow White following the runaway success of Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The 3D movie will be called The Brothers Grimm: Snow White and written by Melisa Wallack. . . ."
Congratulations to the Anthony Award Nominees!
BEST NOVEL
THE LAST CHILD - John Hart [Minotaur Books]
THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH - Charlie Huston [Ballantine Books]
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE - Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland [Quercus/Knopf]
THE BRUTAL TELLING - Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]
THE SHANGHAI MOON - S.J. Rozan [Minotaur Books]
BEST FIRST NOVEL
THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE - Alan Bradley [Delacorte Press]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
A BAD DAY FOR SORRY - Sophie Littlefield [Minotaur Books]
THE TWELVE/THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST - Stuart Neville [Harvill Secker/Soho Press]
IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM - Stefanie Pintoff [Minotaur Books]
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
BURY ME DEEP - Megan Abbott [Simon & Schuster]
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman [Busted Flush Press]
QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE - Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK - G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
AIR TIME - Hank Phillippi Ryan [Mira]
BEST SHORT STORY
"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" - Ace Atkins, CROSSROAD BLUES [Busted Flush Press]
"Femme Sole" - Dana Cameron, BOSTON NOIR [Akashic Books]
"Animal Rescue" - Dennis Lehane, BOSTON NOIR [Akashic Books]
"On the House" - Hank Phillippi Ryan, QUARRY: Crime Stories by New England Writers [Level Best Books]
"Amapola" - Luis Alberto Urrea, PHOENIX NOIR [Akashic Books]
BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION - P.D. James [Bodleian Library/Knopf]
THE LINE UP: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives - Otto Penzler, ed. [Little, Brown and Co]
HAUNTED HEART: The Life and Times of Stephen King - Lisa Rogak [Thomas Dunne Books]
DAME AGATHA'S SHORTS: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion - Elena Santangelo [Bella Rosa Books]
THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith - Joan Schenkar [St. Martin's Press]
THE LAST CHILD - John Hart [Minotaur Books]
THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH - Charlie Huston [Ballantine Books]
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE - Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland [Quercus/Knopf]
THE BRUTAL TELLING - Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]
THE SHANGHAI MOON - S.J. Rozan [Minotaur Books]
BEST FIRST NOVEL
THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE - Alan Bradley [Delacorte Press]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
A BAD DAY FOR SORRY - Sophie Littlefield [Minotaur Books]
THE TWELVE/THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST - Stuart Neville [Harvill Secker/Soho Press]
IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM - Stefanie Pintoff [Minotaur Books]
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
BURY ME DEEP - Megan Abbott [Simon & Schuster]
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman [Busted Flush Press]
QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE - Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK - G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
AIR TIME - Hank Phillippi Ryan [Mira]
BEST SHORT STORY
"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" - Ace Atkins, CROSSROAD BLUES [Busted Flush Press]
"Femme Sole" - Dana Cameron, BOSTON NOIR [Akashic Books]
"Animal Rescue" - Dennis Lehane, BOSTON NOIR [Akashic Books]
"On the House" - Hank Phillippi Ryan, QUARRY: Crime Stories by New England Writers [Level Best Books]
"Amapola" - Luis Alberto Urrea, PHOENIX NOIR [Akashic Books]
BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION - P.D. James [Bodleian Library/Knopf]
THE LINE UP: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives - Otto Penzler, ed. [Little, Brown and Co]
HAUNTED HEART: The Life and Times of Stephen King - Lisa Rogak [Thomas Dunne Books]
DAME AGATHA'S SHORTS: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion - Elena Santangelo [Bella Rosa Books]
THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith - Joan Schenkar [St. Martin's Press]
Officer of the Year?
FOXNews.com - Conn. Officer Arrested in Genitals Photo Case: "A Connecticut police officer has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge for allegedly showing a female motorist a cell phone picture of his genitals during a traffic stop.
Stamford Officer Paul Mabey, who was named the city's 'Officer of the Year' in 2006, was charged with disorderly conduct Wednesday and released on a promise to appear in Superior Court at a later date. He was suspended with pay on Friday."
Stamford Officer Paul Mabey, who was named the city's 'Officer of the Year' in 2006, was charged with disorderly conduct Wednesday and released on a promise to appear in Superior Court at a later date. He was suspended with pay on Friday."
And Yet People Say Romance is Dead
L.I. Couple Getting Married in a Shark Tank | NBC New York: "It’s difficult enough trying remember your vows during a normal wedding ceremony -- try doing it while surrounded by sharks.
That’s what April Pignataro and Michael Curry will be doing.
The couple is preparing to take their vows this Sunday while in the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Tank at Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead."
That’s what April Pignataro and Michael Curry will be doing.
The couple is preparing to take their vows this Sunday while in the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Tank at Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead."
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
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