Once again, I want to thank you for your role in making this blog what it is today. I appreciate your insightful comments, humor, and knowledge. I appreciate Patti, Jeff, Deb, Rick, Beth, Todd, Art, Bill, Bob, Prashant, Sergio, Carl, Lauren, Steve, Jerry, Stan, Dan, Kelly, Scott, Jim, John, and all of you who make this blog part of your day. Cicero once wrote: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others.” Or as Elvis said: “Thank you, thank you very much.”
Scarlett Johansson is the best thing about Her, but you only get to hear her voice. The premise of this Spike Jonze movie is that Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his cell phone’s operating system. Of course, Theodore is a goofy guy (he writes letters for other people in this future world) who divorces Rooney Mara and has Amy Adams as a neighbor. I was annoyed at the tedious patches in this 2-hour movie. And, I’m still bothered by the ending. Still, if you’re in the mood for something very different, give Her a try. GRADE: B
I’ve been reading the Pushcart Prize series since it started in 1976. As the years went by, the volume grew and grew. This 2014 edition is 653 pages! As usual, I found the poetry awful. I can’t recommend any of the poems. The fiction in this volume is mediocre. But the essays are great! I loved “Human Snowball” by Davy Rothbart where Rothbart travels to Buffalo, NY to try to reconnect with his high school sweetheart. Charles Baxter’s “What Happens in Hell” tells the disasterous story of Baxter’s trip to L.A. “The Healing” by Howard Norman centers around the murder/suicide that occurred in Norman’s house. “Father of Disorder” by Jessica Wilbanks interweaves entropy with the author’s dysfunctional family. Andre Dubus III’s “Writing & Publishing a Memoir: What the Hell Have I Done?” relates what happens on Dubus’ book tour (it isn’t pretty). Hal Crowther writes “Out of Date: The Joys of Obsolescence” that captures what every 60-year-old feels. Finally, “The Gentleman’s Library, A Nowaday Redux” by Bill Cotter describes a dream job: building a private reading library for a patron. Marvelous! So I can only recommend about a third of this collection. But, your mileage may vary.
The Niners are favored by 2 points, but this game could go to Overtime. Cam Newton and the Panthers are red-hot. But the Niners have the edge in Playoff experience (and it isn’t 20 degrees below zero for this game). I’m going with the Niners in a squeaker. Peyton Manning struggles in the Playoffs. The Broncos are favored by 10 points. The Chargers beat the Broncos a few weeks ago, but I suspect some of the starters were being rested. I’m sorry to say the Chargers’ dreams come to an end in Mile High Stadium. What do you think of today’s games?
Sorry, Deb, but I have to go with the Seahawks at home. The Seahawks are favored by 8 points, but I think the final score will be closer than that. In the second Playoff game, the Past and the Future collide. Tom Brady faces the QB phenom Andrew Luck. Last year in the Playoffs, the Patriots beat Luck and the Colts 59-24. But that was then and this is NOW. I know New England is favored by 7 1/2 points, but I’m going with the Colts in an upset. Who do you think will win?
Fans of Ed Hoch’s thief, Nick Velvet, will enjoy Gerald Kersh’s tales of Karmesin, who is either the world’s greatest criminal–or most outrageous liar. All of these 17 short stories in Karmesin have been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine but it took Crippin & Landru to collect them in one nice volume. Karmesin claims he’s a genius and after reading these crime stories I’m willing to believe it. Blackmail, art fraud, impossible thefts, and trickery feature prominently in these stories. I’m a big fan of Gerald Kersh’s work. If you’re in the mood for some clever storytelling, pick up a copy of Karmesin. You’ll have a couple hours of great entertainment!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction By Paul Duncan
Karmesin
Karmesin and the Meter
Karmesin and Human Vanity
Karmesin and the Tailor’s Dummy
Karmesin and the Big Flea
Karmesin and the Raving Lunatic
Karmesin and the Unbeliever
Inscrutable Providence
Karmesin and the Invisible Millionaire
Karmesin and the Gorgeous Robes
Chickenfeed for Karmesin
The Thief Who Played Dead
The Conscience of Karmesin
Karmesin and the Royalties
Skate’s Eyeball
Oalamaoa
The Karmesin Affair
Bibliography
It’s the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War. Margaret MacMillan’s masterful story of the slow-motion slide into that stupid and deadly war is full of gems like this one:
One of the leading beauties in Europe, the Empress Elisabeth, wife of Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, exercised and dieted fantically to keep her looks. …In 1898 an anarchist stabbed her in the heart but her corsets were so tight that she did not die at once. (p. 222)
The absurd military build-ups, the nasty war in the Balkans, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the secret treaties among the Great Powers all led to a war most people thought was unthinkable. New technology–submarines, planes dropping bombs, machine guns, tanks, and poison gas–made warfare much more deadly. My optimism in humanity took a big hit when I finished reading The War That Ended Peace. But I do want to read more of Margaret MacMillan. She made 739 pages fly by! If you’re going to read one book on the causes of World War I, this is the one to choose! GRADE: A
I was unaware of the story behind the Disney movie, Mary Poppins. Walt Disney had been trying to get the rights to make the movie for 20 years. It was only when the author of the Mary Poppins series, P.L. Travers (played wonderfully by Emma Thompson), finds herself in financial difficulties that the sale of the rights to Mary Poppins becomes a possibility. P. L. Travers is a bitter woman, difficult in all respects. Walt Disney (played convincingly by Tom Hanks) and his staff cater to Travers’ moods and whims. But a mystery remains. Using a series of flashbacks, we discover why P. L. Travers was transformed from a dreamy child to a cantankerous adult. GRADE: A
The temperatures here are flirting with zero (wind chill -30). So I thought it would be the right time for a review of the new Disney animated movie, Frozen. In a vaguely Scandinavian country, young Princess Elsa has cyrokinetic powers. But after an accident that almost kills her sister, Princess Anna, Elsa withdraws to her room at the castle. Years later, at the Coronation, Elsa freezes EVERYTHING and flees. Anna chases after her. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “The Snow Queen,” there’s plenty of action, music, and clever animation to hold the attention of little kids and adults. Many of my friends who saw Frozen before I did claimed this was their favorite Disney movie. GRADE: A
It’s been a long time since a cable series captured the spirit of another era. MAD MEN gets the Sixties right. And now Masters of Sex does the same thing for its time period. This drama about the Masters & Johnson sex research that led to the ground-breaking Human Sexual Response. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan are wonderful as the lead characters, Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the two pioneering researchers of human sexuality. I had low expectations for this series, but the writing and acting are strong. I’ll proclaim Masters of Sex my surprise series of 2013. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.