Ritz !!!

I got a zero. Or perhaps I am a zero. Hmmmmm gotta think about that.

Okay, well I am a 50 year old jazz musician who lives in Arizona.

Mornin’ ya’ll

Oh I love that movie… what joy!

Shakespeare rocks!

A favorite of mine, always picks me up, is Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt’s The Impostors. Its a big wet kiss to Marx Bros. style comedy, a complete farce, with a great cast. Absolutely ridiculous.

My other fave that way is Happy Texas. If you haven’t seen it, it is a perfect lazy Saturday movie.

My wife (for 22 years so far) is from South America. If things don’t work out for this next election I’m considering leaving the country. Now you know a little about me. More than you wanted I am sure.

Family intrigue AND “the great American novel” = Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey. It is a wonderful read and a fascinating study of the Great Northwest.

I just recently re-read The Kite Runner and House of Sand and Fog. Both heartbreakingly beautiful.

I saw Running Scared the other nite and cannot stop thinking about it.

The one movie that spoke most viscerally to me recently is An Inconvenient Truth– please see it, everybody.

Wallace and Gromit– all of them, Chicken Run, Fahrenheit 9/11, Finding Nemo, Harry Potter, Monty Python, and The Lion King make me sane.

Movies: “Waiting For Guffman” and “Best In Show”.

I read 9 books in June (productive vacation :) ) and think Carl Hiaasan is always good for a quick, funny read - the one I read was “Skinny Dip.” Also liked Ann Tyler’s “Back When We Were Grownups”. I’m impatient Daniel Silva’s next book- all of his stuff is great (read “Prince of Fire” in March) and am reading Joyce Carol Oates “The Falls” currently. It’s a good read.

I wish it was a holiday weekend. Gotta work Monday. Out of town, too. (The company is paying for one night’s room and one meal; I can’t really complain much.)

This weekend: starting to scan and OCR the Civil War letters and journal of my great-grandfather’s older brother; it got typed up by one of my grandmother’s uncles, and lives at UNorth Texas in the oral history collection. I want to put it online with my great-grandfather’s letters: the journal as the frame and the letters linked at the appropriate dates.

Looking at the headlines of what the Israelis are doing: the Syrians should be complaining loudly about the overflights of their country - I doubt that they were asked for permission, and doing it with a fighter is provocation - and we ought to be backing them up. But probably won’t, because the Israelis have bought enough of Congress to get a pass; backing Syria might also make people look closer at our own actions in the Middle East, and Cheney certainly doesn’t want that.

Also one of my fellow commuters wondered the other day if a RICO action could be brought against this maladministration, or at least the GOoP, given that there seems to be a pattern of criminality and corruption. I will admit that an attorney who tried it might wind up in, say, the Aleutians, but it’s a thought.

I liked the film, “Kingdom of Heaven”.

It was about the crusades (the 3rd, I think around 1400 B.C.) and climaxed when Saladhin took Jerusalem back from the Christians.

It had a great overarching peaceful message. In addition, it helps one to broaden the historical perspective and understand the origins of strife in the middle east as witnessed throughout the ages.

I cannot verify the historical accuracy of all of it, but wikipedia helped me determine that it was “directionally correct”.

Anyone else like that one?

I’m a 50 something engineer that lives in Huntsville, AL, for work but my heart and home are in rural Tennessee. And, I’m a a rock ‘n’ roller that’s grown to be a jazz fan, by way of the blues.

Sympathize w the three year old, my three year-old is autistic but plays well w his one year old brother.

This has been a while, but I loved the ensemble cast movie “Crash” in that it made everyone, even villains, seem profoundly human and real.

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. An historical novel of mystery and magic set in 1950s Barcelona. A young boy, living with his widower father, finds and reads a book by a mysterious writer that soon engulfs the boy’s life. Who is this writer? Why did he write this?

Brilliant stuff, and a cracking translation from the Spanish by Lucia Graves (yes, the daughter of the I, Claudius Graves).

BTW my wife has licensed me to be in love with Emma Thompson, it’s only fair.

I like to watch the original JAWS over 4th of July weekend because it’s the 4th in the movie also. Gonna make some peach ice cream and dig up weeds in the backyard. It should be good.

I adore that movie and the sound track is fabulous, too. I was so broken up about Branaugh/Thompson divorce, much more so than about any other celebrity divorce. They were just so - well, perfect - together!

Though it’s not in quite the same league as “Ado”, you may want to see “Casanova”. It’s almost as beautiful and fun, and also has the most divine sound track.

Also, if you’re looking for fun reads, pick up Adam Langer’s two books about Chicago, “Crossing California”, and its sequel, “The Washington Story”. Set on Chicago’s North Side, in the years between 1979 and 1990, they follow a core group of about 10 people, mostly high school kids, through the years. Langer’s writing is wonderful, the characters stick with you forever, and, believe me, you’ll never hear the word “which”, again without associating it with “Crossing”. Langer has the most wicked sense of humor and the books are laugh-out-loud. And, you needn’t be a native of Chicago - which I am - to love the story and characters.

Enjoy.

on Thursday I picked up my paperback copy of “An Inconvenient Truth” — lots of pretty pictures. I’ve just skimmed through it — there are meaty “articles” in it, it seems. Later today I’ll take it downtown to the Circle, sip iced green tea and read through it while checking out cute guys in the sun …

Ooo, I loved that movie! Thompson was never more delicious nor Branagh more engaging (remember his fight with the lawn chair — the kind that my and, I bet, your granny still had? I use one of my granny’s to this day … on those rare moments when I’m not on FDL).

Okay, my recipe theme for today will be Key lime. Back after I do a heap o’ typing (if only *ilson would teach me how to turn it all yellow-green) . . .

As far as books go, “God’s Politics” by Jim Wallis lays out a compelling argument on how to take back the religious high ground from the fundie theocrats.

The top of that hill really is ours for the taking. It starts with the teachings of tolerance, charity and equality.

Any of folks that have been called to serve in the Church have thoughts on it?

Steve Clark at 3, When Stereotypes Collide: I must confess that “a jazz musician who lives in Arizona” caused me some cognitive dissonance. :) But I’m a jazz fan as well - what do you play, may I ask?

Just saw ‘Amadeus’ on vido tape for the first time in a few years. What can one say? The contrast between F. Murray Abraham (Best Actor Oscar) and Tom Hulce, the contributions from Jeffrey Jones (Emperor Franz Joseph) and Elizabeth Berridge (Wolfie’s wife Constanza), the glorious music - Figaro, Don Giovanni, snatches of piano concertos. My only regret is that The Magic Flute didn’t get more time, but that is in keeping with its opening very close to Mozart’s death. The final credits with the slow movement from Piano Concerto no. 26 - sublime.

I cannot recommend it too strongly.

Been reading the site since forever, but rarely post — sometimes under my own name, sometimes under my blogging pseudonym. I’ll try for more consistancy. :) Former lawyer, now software engineer. Former father-of-three-year-old, now father-of-eight-year-old. Former liberal, now angry liberal.

I think I must be getting old, because I find myself re-reading favorite books more than exploring new ones. I find that John LeCarre and Jane Austen are often on the bedside table. (God knows what they’re doing there when I’m not around.)

Christy:”(Ah, the good old days%u2026I still count “Henry V” as one of my favorite movies of all time.)”

I second the emotion. And add Hamlet while your’re at it. The twin peaks of Olivier’s movie career. Not to mention that he directed himself in both.

Leslie, I am a drummer. I lived in California for 18 years until the Northridge earthquake scared the hell out of me. I’ll be in L.A. for the Sweet and Hot Jazz festival over labor day weekend, for whatever that is worth. I play with an eclectic band called Igors’ Jazz Cowboys.

I like to read detective stories that include good food descriptions and take place in well described foreign lands. Death of a Red Heroine by Qui Xiaolong and The Snack Thief, by Andrea Camilleri both fit the bill. I like Bangkok 8 by John Burdett too. For Movies I like a nice ghost story, The Uninvited is one of my favorites, “ahh, the scent of mimosa”

T at 12: 3rd Crusade was 1189-1192

If you want a good novel about that period and place, read Jerusalem by Cecelia Holland.

Steve Clark: Where in S. America will you go?

just wondered.

Listening to Phil and Friends whom we saw in Asheville NC last Tues.
My husbands the Deadhead but these guys are great!
Been working hard all summer, selling at craft shows so not much reading.
I like “The Pickup” by Nadine Gordimer though.

lotus: please go back and look at your comment at # 20 …

I’m reading this great book called Gestures, by H.S. Bhabra, an Indian writer who was born in Bombay in the early part of the 20th century and became an English diplomat. Really well written and intriguing read.

Chisty:

If you’re a Henry V fan, you might like “Fortune Made His Sword” by Martha Rofheart.

Since many here seem interested in the global warming issue, I thought I would pass along athe following. There has been some action (although still somewhat quiet) in the Senate on this topic.

Last year the Senate passed a Sense of the Senate resolution stating that “It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should enact a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives on emissions of greenhouse gases that slow, stop, and reverse the growth of such emissions…”

Bingaman and Domenici (who is serious about doing something on this) have committed to working on a bill together. (Info here).

In short, there is a good chance of getting climate change legislation through the Senate next year.

Oh, and a recent release that is really excellent is Nine Lives. Nine shorts that vaguely overlap, showing slivers of women’s lives. Incredible cast and stories about women you do not see in film basically ever.

Inconvenient Truth finally made it to my town this week, so it is on the agenda (along with Superman).

My wifes family lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I’ll be heading down there maybe opening a jazz club for gringos.I’d rather live under “leftist” Evo Morales, than fascist GW Bush and Co.

mary jane, have you read A Small Death in Lisbon? I read it several years ago and don’t remember how much food was in it, but it was very well written. The author is Robert Wilson.

Oh-ho, the peanut is up and peeing. I’m doomed.

My all-time fav movie for 4th of July viewing is Altman’s “Buffalo Bill and the Indian’s or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson” — there are so many great scenes in it, like the one where Bull circles the show arena silently, the first time to the crowd’s boos, the second to it’s cheers — that provoke so much thought about what’s hiding behind American symbols and the exceptionalist myths they signify.

And that last shot of Paul Newman as Bill in all his heroic glory — with the look of panic in his eyes. Rent it or buy it and watch it often. In my opinion the best commentary on the nexus between entertainment and myth-making ever made. And most of it’s historically true.

JB, 23:”My only regret is that The Magic Flute didn’t get more time,”

You can make it up by getting (if you can) Ingmar Bergman’t movie version of the Magic Flute. Dazzling.

And BTW, as you probably know, Salieri did not poison Mozart. It did give Murray Abraham a good character to play though.

Hulce’s Mozart was over the top, but not entirely. Mozart was a bit of a flake, very scatlogical in his letters to his cousin, and is suspected to have Tourette Syndrome, which goes with the scatology. Worth the price of genius I would say.

Thanks to Christy for the Sat morning Pull up a Chair. It is a great relief to put aside the horrors of the world out there for one thread, and just hang out.

Bill Shakespeare? Truly an artist for the ages. Perhaps you like Will’s predecessor. Geoff Chaucer too. Both these guys have been friends of mine for what seems forever.

Thought I’d take this opportunity to de-lurk and say hi. My favorite book from the last few months of reading is Living Next Door to the God of Love by Justina Robson. a wonderful combination of philosophy, myth, lust, romance, and string theory. It’s what’s known to science fiction insiders as “literary hard SF”. Right now I’m half-way through Pretender, the latest in C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner series which some people, including me, think is the best on-going series in science fiction. It’s as good as always, but it’s number eight in the series and if you want to uinderstand what’s going on you have to start at the beginning with Foreigner.

Okay, be vevvey, vevvey quiet. I think he fell asleep again.

Movies, hhhhmmmmmmmm

Inherit the Wind
(from proverbs, “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind”) May it be so in DC.

King of Hearts–particularly applicable right now, the escapees of the asylum have taken over.

Harold and Maude

and for wished for parallel universe, though it was kind of gushy in a nice way, the American President

Books: anything by Anne Lamott, Annie Dillard, still.

and for those wanting a really good read, an oldie from about 8-9 years ago, The Fourth Procedure. It’s about an anti-choice chief justice of the Supremes who is shown the light in a rather dramatic fashion! The one book in years that I literally couldn’t put down until I finished it.

Well, my unlawfully wedded spouse is reading “Shalimar the Clown” by Salmon Rushdie right now and enjoying it.

I’m really enjoying some of the VOOM network HD films I’m getting off of the DISH HD package.

“The Decline and Fall of the American Empire” (A French Canadian film about enmeshed academics that preceeded the Barbarian Invasions by the same director.) Seijin Suzuki Films like “Tokio Drifter,” “Branded to Kill,” and “Gate of Flesh.” Spanish films like “Nico and Dani” (I think they had a mini-Almodovar festival a few months ago…but that was before we picked up the new HD DVR that lets us time shift films for enjoyment. It also has a “Kung Fu channel that also has some classic Kurosawa as well as staples of HK films like “A Chinese Ghost Story.”

Right now its the best way to enjoy HD movies at home–especially non-blockbuster ones.

Well since you gave me the oppurtunity, I have to pimp my all time favorite movie (and one that I adored LONG before The West Wing appropriated it anonymously as Pres. Bartlett’s favorite), The Lion in Winter.

The movie, though set in the 12th century, manages to be humorous, suspenseful and dramatic. It stars Katherine Hepburn in a role that, at the time, could ONLY have been played by her (and, judging from the attempts made by Glenn Close and Stockard Channing to revive it, may still be the case) and Peter O’Toole in what should have been an Oscar-winning role.

It also features the screen debut of a then-unknown actor named Anthony Hopkins, as well as a young Timothy Dalton.

Trust me, watch it and tell me you don’t laugh out loud when Hepburn says, “A little? How about eternal peace, now THERE’S a thought.”

HinTN @ 8: “Sometimes a Great Notion” is a fantastic work of fiction. I grew up in a Pacific NW logging town, I KNOW those people.

I’m about halfway through Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, still not sure if it’s fiction or fact. Heartbreakingly beautiful stories of the horrors and farces in a ‘Nam grunt’s experiences. As much as I hate war, it makes for some fantastic writing. Mark Helprin’s “A Soldier of the Great War” is one of my all-time favorite novels. I disagree with most of Helprin’s politics, but the man can flat-out write.

Just watched “Syriana” for the second time, I shoulda taken notes, because I’m still confused. Oh, well, it’s a very good movie.

New England comfort food, guaranteed.

large roasting pan

calculate how many pork chops to cover the area
(usually 8 or so)

fry pork chops in cast iron skillet (salt and pepper chops); remove chops and put on a plate. put aside pan (remove excessive drippings, depending upon quality of chops; leave some grease)

peel many potatoes, slice into quarter inch slices

cover bottom of roasting pan with sliced potates to about 1/2 inch from the top

put milk into the frying pan, and warm; stir the drippings into the milk

pour milk over potatoes to cover

place chops on top

cover with tin foal

place in oven at 325 for about an hour to an hour and a half

the potatoes and chops will steam

remove when potatoes are soft

Branagh’s latest offering.

dratty:

Did you see the remake of Lion in Winter with Glen Close and Patrick Stewart? It’s pretty good, except the character of John is all wrong.

The Hero with a Thousand faces by Joseph Campbell is the most influential book in my life. There , I’ve said way too much.

One of my favorite books ever is Derrick Jensen’s The Culture of Make Believe.It’s astonishingly beautiful and haunting.He weaves together his story of childhood abuse and the sickness of our culture,while telling of his own healing and connection with the land,sea and stars,which saved his life.His latest book is called Endgame,which is actually two books,part one is called The Problem of Civilization,part two is called Resistance.I haven’t started to read them yet,but Jensen is a brilliant writer,unlike any other I’ve read in my 46 yrs.

I loved Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees,I don’t read alot of fiction,but this is one I really loved.The Alchemist is another good one,and I loved Under the Tuscan Sun(and the movie isn’t even close to the book,what the hell happened there?)and The Kite Runner.

50 Acres and a Poodle is a cute book,about a lady who buys a farm after living her whole life in a big city.

Rose Madder is my favorite Stephen King book.

The Curious Incident of The Dog at Midnight was a surprise find,my son is autistic,the main character in the book is too.It gave me some insight into how my son thinks.

I watched To Kill a Mockingbird the other night,it’s pretty amazing that movie got made in those times.Old Hitchcock movies are a great way to spend an evening too,IMO.

The best movies of all are the ones that play in my mind. Not that I expect anyone to agree. But isn’t this true if you have to be perfectly honest with yourself?

Rustler’s Rhapsody, a parody western along the lines of Airplane, but a bit more gentle. Tom Berenger is the Good Guy, the white hat cowboy. Andy Griffith plays the gay rancher who runs the town. My favorite movie, along with 2001, A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, and Blade Runner. Oh, my, almost forgot Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Recent wonderful book - Bright Earth (by Philip Ball), about the technology of paint. Artist’s paint that is, but then I’m an artist and was interested to leard how much art criticism over the years is completely senseless bereft as it is of any technical and economic analysis of the times…

Good morning,

My recommended reading is out of the humor section: Barbie Unbound
by Sarah Strohmeyer.

It’s Barbie for grown-ups, and it’s like the Ann Coulter Barbie version! Very funny and fun!! Enjoy!!

Steve Clark at 26 - I just read an article a few days ago that said the southern end of the San Andreas is due, probably overdue, for The Big One. It hasn’t produced an earthquake in 300 years.

I have relatives in the Los Angeles area, including my mother and one of my brothers - so I sent them a link to the article and encouraged them, gently, to think about relocating.

Leslie @ 37 — I loved A Small Death in Lisbon, and I rarely like mystery novels. Perhaps I will re-read it this weekend.

orangejumpsuit40: And BTW, as you probably know, Salieri did not poison Mozart.

That’s the least of its historical innacuracies. First off, I think if you’re going to make a movie about a great genius, said genius should be the protagonist. Seriously, shouldn’t Mozart have at least been the main character?

christy, from a previous thread i got the impression you know northampton, ma…..did you go to school there? an inconvient truth is playing at the academy and i plan on seeing it this weekend…

Haven’t had time to read since going back to school full time at 51 (and for respiratory therapy-not easy for an old libral arts major!)

but
#47 Tim O’brian- GREAT writer. Still has impact altho I read him over 20 yrs ago.

#46 Lion in Winter- AMAZING movie…those who refuse to understand histroy are doomed to repeat it and all that….

Thanks for the great drop in-I am making a list for my next librar trip…..

I LOVE the Lion in Winter (I went through a retro Peter O’Toole phase as a teen), and Joseph Campbell has changed my life too. But lately I spend my time reading this blog! Yeah to the internet and unlimited reading materials, but I do love the feel of a book in my hands. My most recent read was the infamous “Lolita” a very challenging (as a mother of two preteen girls) but masterfully written book. Makes me wish I knew how to read Russian…

Some Like It Hot

The Dresser

A Lion in Winter

The Insider

Gods and Monsters

Nobody’s Fool

Gosford Park

40 Year Old Virgin

I’ll stop for now.

dratty:

What family doesn’t have its ups and down?

Oh snap douglass! Thanks for mentioning probably my favorite movie of all time: Hedwig and the Angry Inch!

Leslie, I go to this web-site first everytime I turn on my computer. http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/ I think I have post traumatic stress disorder from the Northridge quake. I pay very clse attention to these maps, especially when I am going to go play in California (which is fairly frequently)

I’m a 53-year-old resident of northern New Hampshire, a New Jersey transplant.(Surprisingly, plenty of libruls here…)

For true relaxation, when I want to get away from the horror that is American politics, I turn to Bette Davis. There is really no Bette Davis film that I don’t like, but her films from the late 30s (”The Letter”, “Now, Voyager”, and “Jezebel”) are completely wonderful. I’ve seen them each about a million times (my husband thinks I’m insane). For true escapism, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Space Cowboy at 59 — Yes, I attended Smith for my undergrad degree. Ahhh — I miss seeing movies at the Academy. They used to have a movie poster sale there every year at the start of term, and I had the most gorgeous poster from “Out of Africa” in my room for four years. Love Northampton…the whole five-college area, really. From the Albion to the now defunct Black Sheep Deli to the Bread and Circus out by the mall…ah, now you’ve made me homesick for my college days.

Riesz, 58: Agree 100% There is plenty in Mozart’s life to make for interesting drama, not the least of which was his extremely complex relationship with his father (love/hate/jealousy/adoration/etc.) Mozart had the genius his father wished he had himself. On the other hand, his father nurtured Amadeus to become the musical god of his time.

This Mozart was made to play on Broadway.

back to Amadeus : the very name itself means “lover of god” . It was also W.A.Mozart’s middle name. Was his music so great that it showed he glorified God? or was Salieri one who worshipped Mozart as a musical god? Is poisoning another human something that a lover of god should do? The movie wasnt called “Mozart” or “Salieri” but the Latin word for “lover of god” — ambiguity!

jb at 23 loved that movie, named my dog(the fact that she was a she didnt matter, lol) wolfie in his honor

I am still stuck hopelessly on the movie “Crash”. The thing I liked the most about it, the thing that made me feel like maybe there should be some hope, was that the movie made it ever so clear that we all make judgments that impede the valid truths of life. These judgments whether we are black, white, american indian, Israeli, palestinian etc…impede our lives.

I think it can be said with certainty that every war was predicated on judgments about the other side. In most cases those judgments proved to be false after the wars were over. War is an emotion mind job. It requires lots of energy and therefore lots of emotion…that is where the danger lies. The American people are vulnerable to making emotional decisions instead of rational ones. The war mongers use this to their advantage. Fear is an emotion and one that is often fed by theory and judgments that fan it with fuel.

My work allows me to practice a nonjudgmental stance. When we do it at work, we literally call ourselves and each other on our judgments and rephrase them factually. (judgments for humor are treated diffently…this is practiced only when we are making a big decisions, or experiencing misery due to emotion.) The practice has changed my view of life. I thought I was nonjudgmental before but I was so far from being where I wanted to be. It was amazing how my judgments created misery about my boss, my work and yes, the president of the united states.

Interestingly enough…if I write out my judgments of Bush and then a list of facts to counter them…there are amazing facts, that make it clear what the country needs to do. I know that my reality is straight…by confronting my judgments of Bush with the facts, my wise mind seems even more secure. Facts reinforce the truth and blow apart the myths on which we live!!

I am less miserable about Bush when I use facts…why?? because my fears about the future are not facts. Anything could happen (that’s a fact)…I did not expect that Clinton would leave 8 years of office with a surplus. I had felt pretty depressed about the deficit before Clinton came into office. (of course it’s small change now…but my point is that one politician with a little bit of power could make the wealthy share the bills again and we could turn the deficit around quickly). According to Warren Buffet an increase of 1% in taxes for those making more than 250k a year would pay us out of the deficit. (he made this statement on Larry King in October of 2004….the deficit has increased since then).

Anyway, the facts tell me there are solutions and that this president will have consequences at some point because it follows in the laws of nature.

Love to all and happy fourth!!
Katie

The movie crash could change lives…but not because it was pleasant to watch.

George RR Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire now has 4 books and is the best fantasy out there. It has elements of some of the English wars in it (there’s a wall similar to Hadrian’s wall that is keeping out something fearful). Martin, as a warning, has no compunction about killing off the good guys.

And, as far as historical fiction, there is no better writer than Dorothy Dunnett. I cannot recommend her two series (the Lymond Chronicles and Niccolo) more highly.

And for those who love reading, Powell’s Bookstore in Portland (one block of heaven) sends out daily via email, a recommendation of a new book and a recommendation of a book that’s been out for a while. I’ve read a number of books as a result of their recommends. Go to the Powell’s website and sign up. I think it is www.powells.com. You will be glad you did.

sorry christy…..i lived in hamp for a while, my ex is from there and i love to hang around downtown, just watching and enjoying, she is also a graduate of smith, through the ada comstack program

AAOB, I love To Kill a Mockingbird.

popomo at 42 - hi! Glad you delurked. The Robson book sounds fascinating. And I’ve read lots of kudos for the Foreigner series, but haven’t ventured there yet.

OK at 41 - Will and Geoff are good friends of mine as well (as my cat Chaucer can tell you).

As for recent reading, I’ve become quite the fan of another Jeff, Jeffrey Eugenides. I read Middlesex first, and then went back and read The Virgin Suicides, which I read in a single, can’t-put-down sitting. He’s now on my “read anything by this author” list.

Moe99 — I loved all eight books of Niccolo, but I couldn’t finish the first Lymond book. Go figure.

Other great historical fiction writers:

Sharon Kay Penman
Bernard Cornwell
Nigel Tranter
Parke Godwin

I’m not bit on hist. fantasy, but I do like Guy Gavriel Kay.

moe99 — I’ll second that on Martin’s Ice and Fire series. His writing is amazing, and consistently the best there is in fantasy series. I interviewed George for a now defunct British sff magazine some years ago, and he is as amazing an interview as you would expect. (And, like me, he has a certain fondness for Tyrion — although he swore to me that this fondness did not mean safety for the character. Which, I think, is one of the reasons his series is so well done — like real life, no one is safe from harm, not even your very favorite character in all the world.)

I almost forgot: Best historical novel ever — Katherine by Anya Seton. (primarily chick lit., but very accurate 14th century history, i.e., plague, war, religion.)

I recomend (as I always do, the greatest motion picture eer made, Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train.

If you’ve got the onloing Fundamentalist Jihaad on your mind, then take a look at the greatest of all American films, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter (1955) with Robert Mitchum killing for Jesus, and Shelley Winters as one of his many victims.

The above of course is rather heavyweight stuff, so if you’re looking for pure entertainment these old stand-bys are sure to do the trick: Some Like It Hot, Singin’ in the Rain, Good News, The Shop Around the Corner, The Awful Truth, Trouble in Paradise, The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story (Mary Astor in The Palm Beach Story is my role-model), The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, The Harvey Girls, The Band Wagon, Top Hat, Swing Time, A Room with a View, and Shampoo.

If you happen to own a multi-region DVD player (and I hope you do as it’s the only way to travel) then you should know that the British company “Masters of Cinema” has just released a deluxe DVD of F.W.Murnau’s Faust (1926) in the most complete version ever, with a full-length commentary track by yours truly and Bill Krohn. Also in the same series you’ll find Bill and I doing the honors on Nicholas Ray’s The Savage Innocents (we even sing a chorus of “The Mighty Quinn” at the end), and an edition of John Ford’s The Prisoner of Shark Island in which I am interviewed (and thus appear on screen for you home entertainment pleasure.)

These DVDs aren’t for sale in the U.S. so go to on-line sources like “DVD Beaver” to get them.

For pure “lowbrow” fun, I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum series. Wacky cast of characters, great dialogue, guaranteed entertainment.

To Kill a Mockingbird is prolly my all time favorite and I just loved Babette’s Feast, too.

Christy, all other stuff is pushed out of my brain this morning as I go over the archives in my head. Thank you!

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”

There is something terribly terribly punk about drag.

I realized this while forcing my spouse to listen to “Kiko and Herb will Die for You”

Happy Saturday-Holiday weekend. Headed up your way on Monday Christy to see Mom in Princeton. She is recovering well from surgery and a small stroke. Thought I would share a recipe this morning since most of the movies I like will just generate laughter(judging from the list here so far. Reading Jared Diamond’s Collapse right now and have Guns, Germs and Steel waiting. Here is the recipe:

Fallenmonk’s Meatballs

3 lbs. ground beef or better (1# beef, 1# pork, and 1# veal)
1 c. bread crumbs (I use Vigo Golden dried breadcrumbs)
1/2 c. (Reggiano) Parmesan cheese, grated finely
3 large eggs
4 - 6 cloves, finely chopped garlic

2 Tbsp Tomato paste
2 1/2 tsp. basil leaves (rubbed fine)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil (EVOO) to be added last to prevent sticking

Depending on how big you make them this recipe should make a couple of dozen.

In large bowl, combine ground meat, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, tomato paste salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and eggs. Mix and blend thoroughly. Add oil and mix again.

Roll meatballs about the size of a ping-pong or golf ball. To keep them from sticking to your hands, keep hands moist with water. In frying pan, heat 1/2 cup peanut or canola oil. When oil is a very hot, brown meatballs quickly. Don’t crowd the pan so fry in two or three batches. You may have to add additional oil. Make sure they are brown enough, but be careful not to burn them. Set them aside until sauce is ready.

Once cooked and cool some of these can be frozen in zip lock bags into single servings and the rest used immediately with your favorite sauce and pasta.

Better yet warm the meatballs (5 %u2013 6) with some left over pasta sauce and then fill a mini baguette from which you have cut off one end and removed most of the soft inner bread leaving an intact crust as a holder for your hot meatballs. Don’t forget some more grated Reggiano and a bit of grated mozzarella and some chopped fresh basil.

netflix recommendations:

Map of the Human Heart
Washington Square
Lonely are the Brave
Love with the Proper Stranger

I adore progressive labor movies something awful. Comes to mind, “How Green Was My Valley”, “The Devil and Miss Jones”, “On the Waterfront”, “Grapes of Wrath”, and so many others.

My Brilliant Career
Harold & Maude
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Chicken Run
Vanishing Point
Blue Angle
Paper Chase
The Constant Gardner
Duck Soup

Any thing written by Angela Carter

It’s hard to say what books are my favorites … there are so many. Ones I’ve read in recent years that have stuck with me for one reason or another are Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafasi, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Unusual Life of Tristam Smith by Peter Carey, and The Kiterunner by Khaled Hosseini. I totally love films and have gone through periods where I see as many films from the 1930s as I can, all the films of Billy Wilder, etc. If I ever catch Wilder’s “The Apartment” on TV or see it in the video store, I watch it. I love anything with Katherine Hepburn, and I have seen “Amelie” three times in the theater, though Audrey Tatou’s subsequent film, “Dirty Pretty Things” was also excellent. I love little weird quirky films like “Household Saints” with Lili Taylor and Tracey Ullmann or “A Man of No Importance” with Albert Finney. And I may be alone in the group to prefer the post-Branaugh Emma Thompson (ah, Wit). Branaugh’s acting has always distracted me–a little overbearing. Though I do generally like his films overall.

David E at 78–thanks for the tips! I’ve seen most of the “entertainment” films, but the others are new to me.

Thanks to Phoebes (No. 18) for the kind words on the soundtrack of “Casanova.” I adapted, edited and produced that soundtrack. It was great fun.

Christy -

Longtime lurker, first time poster. I have been a huge fan of the site for almost a year now and this warm summer morning, I finally bring myself to post something.

Current Favorite movie/book: Master & Commander - spurred this land-lubber to set sail with the books, which I did from first to last in a matter of a couple of months and I am starting my second trip through O’Brian’s universe. Just bought a flat screen TV last week and it makes watching the movie at home almost as good as the movie theater, if I sit really close.

Riesz Fischer at 58, Amadeus isn’t really about Mozart, which is why he’s not the main character. The movie and original play are about our reaction to the opaque majesty of genius and the brilliance of Peter Schaffer’s script, and this is even more true of the original play because of the nature of live performance, is that because the story is told from an outside agent’s viewpoint the audience has the same experience in the presence of genius, and it reinforces Salieri’s isolation as Mozart’s genius grows. The moments where Salieri curses God for giving him the talent to hear genius but not create it himself is something we all can at least recognize if not sympathize with. Making Mozart the central character would have been a different story.

Thanks again ya’ll at FDL. I click here a couple of times a day. Christy, Jane, TRex and the rest, you have a wonderful community here and I look forward to my visits.

dratty:

What family doesn’t have its ups and down?

Of course he’s got a knife! He’s got a knife, I’ve got knives, we’ve all got knives. The year is 1184 and we are all barbarians!

Some of the best scenery chewing ever filmed. I’ve also got the producers pretty much memorised (the real one, no one can replace Zero Mostel).

We used to have a bumper sticker that read “Honk If You Love Ishtar” — you’d be surprised at how many did. Now my daughters give prospective boyfriends the Ishtar laugh test — those who don’t, don’t get to come back!

How can you not love a film with lyrics like:

Telling the truth can be dangerous business.
Honest and popular don’t go hand in hand.
If you admit that you can play the accordion,
No one’ll hire you in a rock ‘n’ roll band.

But we can siiinnnngggggg . . . our hearts out (all night)
And if we’re lucky, then no neighbors complain.
Nobody knows where the beginning part starts out (sing all right)
But being human we can live with the pain.

Because life is the way we audition for God;
Let us pray that we all get the job.

Great tunes; great buddy flick . . .

Christy, rent A&E’s Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth for hours of fun! also Kung Fu Hustle is a surprise Gem. For reading -nothing beats the Elvis Cole detective series by Robert Crais. Oh and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series (early ones are best!)

lina 83
the last two, really interesting choices. Douglas at this best and McQueen, ah . . . . bells and banjos, if I remember correctly.

Some one mentioned Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd” a few weeks ago on this site- it really is a great watch especially for fans of FDL for it’s sharp political forecast on the power of corporate media in politics and corruption.

I bought a grill !! Ha !! One of those little ones, where you screw in the propane bottle. I’ve discovered new aisles in the grocery store, full of wonderment. I’ve had, so far, steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts.

Meat on the grill, baked potatos wrapped in plastic (toss ‘em in the nuking machine for 8 min - done) a can of baby peas w/butter and sugar, and salad out of a bag with bottled dressing. That’s a darned good imitation of a real meal.

I’ve taken to strolling my “old” haunt, the frozen-food aisle, showing off my real-live adult food, and am mastering my best imperious glances at the poor schlubs who have not attained my gourmet meal-approximation status. I scoff at them.

No way I’m through with my cheese-cake phase yet. I’m very phasey. I’m thinking chocolate cheese-cake tonight.

“Wit” with Emma Thompson was devestating. After you see that, read “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche for contrast.

Hi everyone! I’ve commented a few times (and once I thought I got to be the one to declare the initial “Fitz” on a string, but alas was beaten out by mere milliseconds), but I stop in for a good read at least once a day. I just love the way this community has evolved!

My husband and I have always been liberal-leaning; now we’re both angry liberals and getting very active about things. It feels so good to be taking some (any) action to set things aright.

We’re both psychologists, so books and movies that are psychologically-minded are of greatest interest to us.

A fabulous book to check out is “Gibson’s Decline and Fall” by Sherri Tepper. She’s a sci-fi/fantasy author; this one is about the increasing marginalization and demonization of women in society.

The process starts innocently enough, but becomes truly disturbing and even frightening as it progresses. It’s quite a metaphor for current events, and I guarantee you’ll never look at the hard-right fundies the same again!

Good books lately? Yes. Just finished re-reading the Katharine Hepburn bio. Now there was a progressive giant. Wonder what a Kate Hepburn blog would look like.

Fire —

Loyal & daily! — reader…sometimes a poster. Former Hill staffer and lifelong big D Dem.
Angry? No — Mad as Hell!! at war supporting and now spineless DEMS! Esp. Chuckles the Clown Schumer and Billary — my 2 useless Senators.

But, more to your site, your work — I enjoy it very much and respect the huge amount of LABOR it takes. I have been contributing to your friend NED! as a way to show some gratitude and of course to get rid of JOEmentum.

Anyways, someone early mentioned Stanley Tucci. One of my all time favs — “Big Nite” –excellent and very funny movie. Don’t watch on an empty stomach — or you will run to the nearest Italian restaurant and eat yourself sick!

Thanks again. JBK

Books: I’ve been on a Richard Powers kick for ages. Plowing the Dark is an extraordinary novel. I would say that Powers is probably the best American novelist writing today.

Everyone got a little excited about Annie Proulx because of the movies “The Shipping News” and “Brokeback Mountain,” but an earlier book of hers, Accordian Crimes, is one of my favorites.

Movies: I dunno, but fifteen or so years ago, I started feeling that movies were getting, well, a bit… thin. Maybe I was just getting out of touch, but I tend to revisit old oddball films these days. “Montenegro” is definitely oddball, as is Herzog’s “Stroszek.” If you’ve not seen it, another Herzog film, “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” is worth the view. I’m partial to the old Ealing Studios Alec Guinness films, such as “The Man in the White Suit,” “The Ladykillers,” and, while not one of the Ealing comedies, “The Horse’s Mouth.” The book on which the latter was based, by Joyce Cary, is also quite good.

jayt at 95 — if you want an amazing grilling experience, get yourself some fresh pineapple, slice it thick-ish and grill the slices along with some chicken kebabs that have been marinated in teriyaki, and are threaded onto the skewers with some onion and green or red peppers. Yummy. Also, peaches and nectarines are yummy on the grill as well. (Look, it’s another aisle in the grocery store! Sweet!)

Steve Clark - I meant to say, I love your band’s name!

ppp at 94, I need to put that on my Netflix list.

lurkers’r'us - Mmmm. Colin Firth.

Armadillo Joe, howdy. Good to have you with us. Agreed on Amadeus. Equus is also a very good play.

Not a movie, but the shadowy and mysterious Codename V. has just shared this helpful guide on how to tell if your child is being molested or haunted with me…

I can’t stay long, but everybody must see Night of the Hunter, starring a very creepy Robert Mitchum and a very young and pretty Shelley Winters–and Lillian Gish! It was the only movie that Charles Laughton (Mutiny on the Bounty) directed.

I can’t say enough about it, so I won’t. You watch-y, you likey.