Saturday Night Music: Cat Powers

Reading as Entertainment?

I am reading STATE OF WONDER by Ann Patchett and the research involved blows me away. In BEL CANTO (one of my all-time favorite books), she learned all about opera and the military and a terrorist group in a South American country. Amazing. And STATE OF WONDER is even more praise-worthy because she has learned about how a primitive tribe lives, how scientific research is conducted, and various related matter. It is also incredibly descriptive--I feel like I am on that river, the mosquitoes that occupy much of the book's themes, buzzing around me, the river snakes slithering by, the tribe engaging in arcane activities considering it is contemporary.

But this book, in particular, is not truly entertaining. It is slow, ponderous, about how people operate in the medical research community, what a primitive tribe might be like, how decisions of youth come back to grab us. All sorts of interesting things, but I am not entertained like I was recently with, for instance, GONE GIRL.

Do you read books that do not entertain you? Since the days when you had to, I mean. Reading such books gives me a certain boost--that I have learned something or read really great writing. But I wouldn't do it for a steady diet. But I also cannot read pure adrenalin rush books all the time either. Do you mix it up too?

Beautiful Women of the Silver Screen: Natalie Wood

The Summing Up, Friday, September 7, 2012

Late summer movies on Crimespree Cinema.

The Summing Up, Friday, September 7, 2012

Patti Abbott, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Judith Rossner (see below)
Sergio Angelini, The Pizza House Crash, Denise Danks
Yvette Banek, Devil May Care, Elizabeth Peters
Brian Busby, In the Darkness, Douglas Sanderson
Bill Crider, Prime Sucker, Harry Whittington
Martin Edwards, My Wife, Melissa, Frances Durbridge
Kurt Evans, The Turret Room, Charlotte Armstrong
Jerry House, Bad Karma, Dave Zeltserman
Nick Jones, Little Tales of Misogyny, Patricia Highsmith
George Kelley, Ipon the Dull Earth, Stories of Philip Dick, Vol. 3
Margot Kinberg, What Was Lost, Catherine O'Flynn
B.V. Lawson, Murder Sails at Midnight, Marian Babson
Evan Lewis, The Mystery of the Smoking Gun, Carrol John Daly
Steve Lewis, Sea Fever, Ann Cleeves
Todd Mason. Suddenly, edited by Marvin Allen Karp and Irving Settel , among other Suspense-Fiction Anthologies
Neer, The Window at the White Cat, Mary Roberts Rinehart
J.F. Norris, The Vampire of N'Gobi, Kidgwell Cullum
James Reasoner, Clayburn, Al Conroy (Marvin H Albert)
Gerard Saylor, The Keep, F. Paul Wilson
Ron Scheer, The Gold Bug Story Book, Dennis H. Stovall
Michael Slind. Relentless, Ed Gorman
Kerrie Smith, Dekok and the Dead Harlequin, A. C. Baantjer
Kevin Tipple, Rogue Island, Bruce De Silva
Prashant Trikannad, Various Ghost Stories

Friday's Forgotten Books, September 7, 2012

Ed is away this week. We will all miss his contribution.









Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Judith Rossner

This was a shocking book when I read it in 1975. It was a best seller then and it would probably be one today. We are still shocked by women who need to take chances, who seek out danger-- for this is a story of a woman's search for the degradation she feels she deserves.

Mr. Goodbar" is based loosely on the actual case of a Roseann Quinn, a quite, rigidly brought-up, Catholic schoolteacher, who was wholly unremarkable except that she sought out her sexual partners in New York singles bars. The last of them bashed in her skull on New Year's Day, 1973.

Roseann Quinn becomes Theresa Dunn in the novel and we follow her from her dreadful childhood into adult life. Her fate is one we can hardly bear to watch yet can't tear our eyes from. She is intelligent, attractive but she still must throw herself at the most disreputable men she attracts in the seediest bar.

It was one of Dianne Keaton's most effective movies a few years later. This is about as noir as it gets. Terrific writing, a compelling plot.

Here are some more suggestions.

Sergio Angelini
Yvette Banek
Brian Busby
Bill Crider
Martin Edwards
Kurt Evans
Jerry House
Nick Jones
George Kelley
Margot Kinberg
B.V. Lawson
Evan Lewis
Steve Lewis
Todd Mason
Neer
J.F. Norris
James Reasoner
Gerard Saylor
Ron Scheer
Michael Slind
Kerrie Smith
Kevin Tipple
Prashant Trikannad

In Loco Parentis Free on Amazon Today

Nigel Bird's IN LOCO PARENTIS is free today on Amazon. Snap it up.

My Life at the Theater: DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER

Yes, he's the guy in BURN NOTICE.

We saw this at the Stoll Moss Theater in London in 1994, I think. It seems to be one of those shows that either delight or appall the audience based on online comments. Not sure where we stood on it because I don't remember it at all. It was a sequel to Boeing, Boeing, by Mark Camoletti.

NOIR MAGAZINE

For more information about being a part of NOIR MAGAZINE, go here.

Opening Credits: Seven

Big Bang Theory

I truly love BIG BANG THEORY but one thing about it annoys me. Why does each character have such a rigid wardrobe? Why must Sheldon always wear a tee shirt; why must Leonard always wear a hoodie; why must Howard always wear matching shirt and pants in bright colors and patterns, why does Rog always wear nerdy sweaters. Penny gets a little more leeway but she flashes boobs a lot. Amy dresses like a sixties school girl most of the time too.

What bothers you about a show you otherwise like?

First Wednesday Book Review Club: CANADA, Richard Ford

WARNING: BLOGGER IS THREATENING TO MAKE US SWITCH OVER TO A NEW FORMAT IMMINENTLY. IF I DISAPPEAR, I AM SORRY.



CANADA, Richard Ford.

I am a big Richard Ford fan. Loved his trilogy about Frank Bascombe beginning with THE SPORTS WRITER. Love his short stories.

CANADA may be his most brilliant work. It is certainly a sharp turn north. The North American experience, the life on the western plains, has never seemed more eloquent.


Dell and Berner Parsons are fraternal twins being raised in Montana. When things get tight, their parents rob a bank. You know this is coming from the first lines of the novel.

"First I'll tell you about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later. The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister's lives on the courses they eventually followed."

And it is this event that drives the first half of the book if not all of it. You may think Dell's parents are kindred souls, but in fact their marriage is awful in the way marriages born of bad decisions were in 1960. But Dell's parents, in a severe economic crisis, rob a bank and come home to almost immediate imprisonment.

Dell is sent to stay with a remote Canadian relative in Saskatchewan and his sister takes off for virtually the remainder of the novel. He is put in the care of Arthur Remlinger, a remote, strange man who basically ignores him with the idea he is teaching him survival skills.

The final part of the book hooks the siblings up fifty years later, but again it is not a happy reunion. These two were doomed from the moment of their birth.

This is a sad book, a strange one. But the experience of Dell is one we want to hear. The writing is exquisite: rough-hewed at times, velvety at others. I highly recommend it to readers who like good writing and are patient with plot.

For more book reviews, see Barrie Summy right here.

Tuesday Night Music: Getz and Gilberto

Forgotten TV: Battle of the Network Stars

The first Battle was broadcast on ABC in November 1976. The program proved popular and continued for an additional eight and a half years, with subsequent episodes airing approximately every six months until May 1985. One final competition aired in December 1988. NBC tried to revive the competition in 2003, but with an intra-network contest consisting of personalities from the NBC family of networks. (from Wikipedia)

Sports broadcaster Howard Cosell hosted or co-hosted almost all of the specials, and commented on the action with a semi-serious version of the style for which he was famous. Each network forked over several stars to compete in a variety of events.

This program followed a series called SUPERSTARS, which ABC used to fill in on Sundays after football season ended. This series featured athletes in a more serious competition.

The reason I watched both series was because it was a show I could share with my son who loved such competitions. Certainly not a highlight of television, but a precursor perhaps to reality TV and maybe no more authentic.

TODD MASON HAS MORE LINKS HERE,

Movie Theme Music: Braveheart

What Book Touched Your Heart?

One vacation that worked.
At President McKinley's house near Columbus.


You know what I mean. What book left you gasping with its insights into the human condition? Or told you something you didn't know.



1) A SENSE OF AN ENDING, Julian Barnes
2) NEVER LET ME GO, Kazuo Ishiguro (Never cried more, I think)
3) A GESTURE LIFE, Chang Rae Lee
4) SONG OF SOLOMON, Toni Morrison
5) DEATH OF THE HEART, Elizabeth Bowen
6) FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, Daniel Keyes

One I would have to include although it is not a novel THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.

None of these are crime novels, I notice. What crime novels have been able to do this--more difficult when you realize the requirements of a crime novel. Closest I can come is MYSTIC RIVER, Dennis Lehane.

Sunday Night Poetry: Theodore Roethke

What do you think?

Saturday Night Music: Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle

Protectors

PROTECTORS is the brainchild of Thomas Pluck. It is available at all the usual places.

From Thomas:

41 writers. One cause. We've rallied a platoon of crime, western, thriller, fantasy, noir, horror and transgressive authors to support PROTECT's important work: lobbying for legislation that protects children from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

Powerful stories from George Pelecanos, Andrew Vachss, Joe R. Lansdale, Charles de Lint, Ken Bruen, Chet Williamson, James Reasoner, Charlie Stella, Michael A. Black, Wayne Dundee, Roxane Gay, Ray Banks, Tony Black, Les Edgerton and 16 more, with 100% of proceeds going to PROTECT.

PROTECTORS includes a foreword by rock critic Dave Marsh, and fiction by Patti Abbott, Ian Ayris, Ray Banks, Nigel Bird, Michael A. Black, Tony Black, R. Thomas Brown, Ken Bruen, Bill Cameron, Jen Conley, Charles de Lint, Wayne D. Dundee, Chad Eagleton, Les Edgerton, Andrew Fader, Matthew C. Funk, Roxane Gay, Edward A. Grainger, Glenn G. Gray, Jane Hammons, Amber Keller, Joe R. Lansdale, Frank Larnerd, Gary Lovisi, Mike Miner, Zak Mucha, Dan O'Shea, George Pelecanos, Thomas Pluck, Richard Prosch, Keith Rawson, James Reasoner, Todd Robinson, Johnny Shaw, Gerald So, Josh Stallings, Charlie Stella, Andrew Vachss, Steve Weddle, Dave White, and Chet Williamson.

Among PROTECT's victories are the Protect Our Children Act of 2008, which mandated that the Justice Department change course and design a new national nerve center for law enforcement to wage a war on child exploitation, the Hero to Hero program, which employs disabled veterans in the battle against child abuse, and Alicia's Law.

Join the fight, with 41 stories by top writers. Be a Protector!

Bloggers

Do you ever run into an ethical or good-manners consideration with your blog. Last week I put up a picture I found on "google images" to inspire stories with my challenge. But in thinking it over, I decided it was not the right thing to do. Why should I steal someone's picture to star in my challenge? Why imply that this guy is the star of our stories?

I also posted a piece about my Dad that when I thought about it was too personal. I took it down.

Do you ever take down a post because something like this comes up? Where is the line in people, topics, events you blog about? I have taken down many posts over time. Some were too angry, some inadvertently were wrong-headed, some too personal. Some might embarrass family members of friends. How about you?

(I just painted my front door this color. Didn't realize where I had seen the color before until I came across this photo from Tucson. Too bright? )

From Deb in Louisiana

Thank you everyone who has asked about my situation here in Slidell. I'm happy to report that after a four-day evacuation to Natchitoches (which was actually quite fun because our oldest daughter goes to school at Northwestern State, plus we were staying at a Bed & Breakfast owned by an old college buddy of my husband's), a neighbor who had stayed called to let us know power was back in our area, so we drove back home today.

Our area did not flood and our home was fine--although the back yard is a shambles, full of fallen tree limbs, and everything in fridge & freezer had to be tossed out due to loss of power. But who cares? Compared to Katrina, when I came back six weeks later my home and everywhere else was still devastated, it was like returning from vacation.

However, many people have not been so fortunate: there was flooding from both the bayous and Lake Pontchartrain, so neighborhoods in two sections of town have major damage. Please think good thoughts for those people--like the teacher I work with who had to be rescued from her attic--both on the Northshore and those in Plaquemines Parish, and those in the coastal areas if Mississippi, which were very hard hit.

If you can manage a donation to the Red Cross, I know that would be appreciated too.

*****

We've spent this morning clearing out fridge and freezer--realizing in the process that we sure do buy a lot of food that we "forget" about--I threw out crawfish, shrimp, talapia, brisket, deer sausage, etc. I'm going to take this opportunity to clean the freezer thoroughly and vow in the future to keep better track of the food I put in it! Tomorrow--yard clean up!

But I do feel so blessed to have made it through with such minimal damage. Based on my Katrina experience, I know that people with major damage have only just begun the clean up process--and processing what happened emotionally and mentally, which is in its own way much harder.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers.



Posted by D