Happy New Year!
[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Horrors
I'm going to be without internet for a few days, so that year-end post that I promised is going to be more like a "Wow, remember 2011?" post in January.
Happy New Year!
[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]
Happy New Year!
[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday Flashback: Rec. #60: The Moving Toyshop
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: Late one night, a poet stumbles upon the dead body of an old woman in a toyshop (as you do). When he returns the next morning with the police, the toyshop has vanished and in its place is a grocery store. (NB: Contrary to all expectation, this is not down to drink.) Mix in Oxford don/amateur detective Gervase Fen, a mysterious will, villains on bicycles, and some Edward Lear limericks, and you have a veritable romp through Oxford. This classic crime novel is much beloved, and with good reason. The first time I read it, I think I actually heard my brain say, "Wheee!"
Comparable to: Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen resembles Margery Allingham's Albert Campion more than he does Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Roderick Alleyn, or Lord Peter Wimsey.
Representative quote: "I repeat --- I am getting old and stale. I act with calculation. I take heed for the morrow. This morning I caught myself paying a bill as soon as it came in. This must all be stopped. In another age I should have devoured the living hearts of children to bring back my lost youth. As it is . . . I shall go to Oxford."
You might not like it if: You are just not a fan of the genre.
How to get it: Oh, mes amis, it is very sad --- The Moving Toyshop is currently out of print. This is library and used book territory.
Connections to previous Wreckage: Another author from the Golden Age of detective fiction is Ngaio Marsh. Her Death and the Dancing Footman was Rec. #37.
[Originally posted 2/28/11.]
What: Late one night, a poet stumbles upon the dead body of an old woman in a toyshop (as you do). When he returns the next morning with the police, the toyshop has vanished and in its place is a grocery store. (NB: Contrary to all expectation, this is not down to drink.) Mix in Oxford don/amateur detective Gervase Fen, a mysterious will, villains on bicycles, and some Edward Lear limericks, and you have a veritable romp through Oxford. This classic crime novel is much beloved, and with good reason. The first time I read it, I think I actually heard my brain say, "Wheee!"
Comparable to: Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen resembles Margery Allingham's Albert Campion more than he does Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Roderick Alleyn, or Lord Peter Wimsey.
Representative quote: "I repeat --- I am getting old and stale. I act with calculation. I take heed for the morrow. This morning I caught myself paying a bill as soon as it came in. This must all be stopped. In another age I should have devoured the living hearts of children to bring back my lost youth. As it is . . . I shall go to Oxford."
You might not like it if: You are just not a fan of the genre.
How to get it: Oh, mes amis, it is very sad --- The Moving Toyshop is currently out of print. This is library and used book territory.
Connections to previous Wreckage: Another author from the Golden Age of detective fiction is Ngaio Marsh. Her Death and the Dancing Footman was Rec. #37.
[Originally posted 2/28/11.]
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday Flashback: Rec. #49: The Fall
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: In The Fall, Lee Pace is a stunt man recovering from a career-killing injury in 1920s Los Angeles. In the hospital, he spends his time doing two things: telling an epic revenge story to a young girl who's lost everything, and planning for his suicide. (The Fall also features personal fave Justine Waddell. Lee Pace is apparently very comfortable working with British brunettes.) The film is absolutely visually stunning, but without the strong plot, dialogue, and acting, it would just have been a series of gorgeous pictures. With them, it's a powerful, moving piece of cinema. With gorgeous pictures.
Comparable to: What was the last dizzying, lush, surreal adventure story you saw? It's like that.
Representative quote: "You always stop at the same part, when it's very beautiful. Interesting."
You might not like it if: You are tortured by the idea that you will probably never get to see this on the big screen. (Unless you did. If you did, don't tell me.)
How to get it: It's available to watch instantly on Netflix and available to buy on demand from Amazon. But, really, watch it on the biggest screen you can.
Connection to previous Wreckage: We love Lee Pace for several things. One of them is that he played Jaye's brother on Wonderfalls (Rec. #2).
[Originally posted 2/17/11. The Fall is not currently available to watch instantly on Netflix. But! I was recently reminded of a very informative interview the A.V. Club did with director Tarsem. Read it here.]
What: In The Fall, Lee Pace is a stunt man recovering from a career-killing injury in 1920s Los Angeles. In the hospital, he spends his time doing two things: telling an epic revenge story to a young girl who's lost everything, and planning for his suicide. (The Fall also features personal fave Justine Waddell. Lee Pace is apparently very comfortable working with British brunettes.) The film is absolutely visually stunning, but without the strong plot, dialogue, and acting, it would just have been a series of gorgeous pictures. With them, it's a powerful, moving piece of cinema. With gorgeous pictures.
Comparable to: What was the last dizzying, lush, surreal adventure story you saw? It's like that.
Representative quote: "You always stop at the same part, when it's very beautiful. Interesting."
You might not like it if: You are tortured by the idea that you will probably never get to see this on the big screen. (Unless you did. If you did, don't tell me.)
How to get it: It's available to watch instantly on Netflix and available to buy on demand from Amazon. But, really, watch it on the biggest screen you can.
Connection to previous Wreckage: We love Lee Pace for several things. One of them is that he played Jaye's brother on Wonderfalls (Rec. #2).
[Originally posted 2/17/11. The Fall is not currently available to watch instantly on Netflix. But! I was recently reminded of a very informative interview the A.V. Club did with director Tarsem. Read it here.]
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday Flashback: Rec. #46: The Bowl Is Already Broken
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: The Bowl Is Already Broken is mostly set in the fictional Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. When the novel opens, one of the curators has just dropped an irreplaceable porcelain bowl, once owned by Thomas Jefferson, down the museum's grand staircase. Another curator is embezzling funds, the previous director is on an archaeological dig in the Taklamakan Desert, and the museum is under constant threat of closure. It all makes for a thoroughly satisfying story.
Comparable to: Author Mary Kay Zuravleff's style is similar to that of Mark Haddon. And the main character, Promise Whittaker, reminds me of Antonia (Tony) Fremont from Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride.
Representative quote: "Really, he did not seem suited for retirement, for he was always waking up thinking himself dead."
You might not like it if: Some people don't want to know what happens in the kitchen of a restaurant, others don't want to know what happens backstage at a theater, and you don't want to know what happens behind the scenes at a museum.
How to get it: Probably at your library, maybe at your bookstore --- just remember you'll have to go all the way to the end of the "Z"s.
Connection to previous Wreckage: I compared the writing style to that of Mark Haddon. Haddon's A Spot of Bother was Rec. #27.
[Originally posted 2/14/11.]
Additional connections to now-previous Wreckage: Mary Kay Zuravleff's debut novel was The Frequency of Souls (Rec. #174). I also make a comparison to The Robber Bride, which was Rec. #105.
What: The Bowl Is Already Broken is mostly set in the fictional Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. When the novel opens, one of the curators has just dropped an irreplaceable porcelain bowl, once owned by Thomas Jefferson, down the museum's grand staircase. Another curator is embezzling funds, the previous director is on an archaeological dig in the Taklamakan Desert, and the museum is under constant threat of closure. It all makes for a thoroughly satisfying story.
Comparable to: Author Mary Kay Zuravleff's style is similar to that of Mark Haddon. And the main character, Promise Whittaker, reminds me of Antonia (Tony) Fremont from Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride.
Representative quote: "Really, he did not seem suited for retirement, for he was always waking up thinking himself dead."
You might not like it if: Some people don't want to know what happens in the kitchen of a restaurant, others don't want to know what happens backstage at a theater, and you don't want to know what happens behind the scenes at a museum.
How to get it: Probably at your library, maybe at your bookstore --- just remember you'll have to go all the way to the end of the "Z"s.
Connection to previous Wreckage: I compared the writing style to that of Mark Haddon. Haddon's A Spot of Bother was Rec. #27.
[Originally posted 2/14/11.]
Additional connections to now-previous Wreckage: Mary Kay Zuravleff's debut novel was The Frequency of Souls (Rec. #174). I also make a comparison to The Robber Bride, which was Rec. #105.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Don't Miss Me Too Much
The (almost) Daily Wreck is going on hiatus for a couple of several weeks. But!
In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the festivities of the season!
- I will still be posting Flashback Fridays.
- I will try to break the hiatus once or twice for new posts, if I can.
- I will have a year-end mega list at the end of the year. (Marvelous timing for that, yes?)
In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the festivities of the season!
[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Gift Idea #5: Parks and Recreation
What: While we wait for the holidays to finish themselves off (and for the reruns and cheesy movies to end), we can at least enjoy watching already-aired episodes of Parks and Recreation over and over and over again. This is a show that rewards multiple viewings, so take advantage of all of the sales going on all over the place to give someone seasons 1 (good), 2 (better), and/or 3 (best) on DVD.
Who to give it to: Someone who has this sense of humor, but just hasn't gotten around to watching the show yet. (Committed fans likely already own at least one season, and non-fans will probably be turned off if you gift this with the sort of zeal more often associated with fans of Community.)
Gifting tip: Pair a DVD set with a copy of Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America, written by Leslie Knope. And throw in a Knope 2012 button or shirt for good measure. Also, these iPhone cases are pretty cool.
Also: I considered including Parks and Recreation on my list of Things That Are Good for Wallowing (part 1, part 2). I've found, however, that the show always, always improves my mood, and one of the foundations of wallowing is that you do not want to be put in a better mood.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Rec. #217 (abbrev.): The Loved One
What: Satire from Evelyn Waugh, funeral business in Los Angeles, pet cemetery, British enclave in Hollywood, housemates, rebranding actresses, suicide, secretaries, Whispering Glades, cosmetician, Joyboy, senior mortician, Tennyson, Poe, Shelley, advice columns, Guru Brahmin, wooing, parrot, Mr. Slump, embalming chemicals, non-sectarian funeral pastor, Happier Hunting Ground
Representative quote: "They are a very decent, generous lot of people out here and they don't expect you to listen. Always remember that, dear boy. It's the secret of social ease in this country. They talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard."
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday Flashback: Rec. #35: Northern Exposure, season 1
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: Remember when TV dramedy was in its heyday, Alaska meant quirky misfits, and John Corbett wasAidan Chris Stevens? It is definitely worth it to revisit Cicely, Alaska. The first season is only eight episodes, but it sets up much of what plays out in the rest of the series: Dr. Joel Fleischman reluctantly relocates to rural Alaska, Maggie reveals the curse that befalls her boyfriends, Chris Stevens meets Bernard, Holling and Shelly almost get married, Ed works on his movie script, and Maurice looks for a son to adopt. No one claims to be able to see Russia or to read all the magazines.
Representative quote: "It's the same with white people. They cleared the forest, they dug up the land, and they gave us the flu. But they also brought power tools and penicillin and Ben and Jerry's ice cream."
Also, lots and lots and lots of stuff that Chris Stevens says. Dude talks a ton.
You might not like it if: As someone who's lived exclusively in places with very cold winters, I yell, "Zip up your coat!" at the TV a lot. If you watched this with me, that would probably annoy you.
How to get it: You'll most likely find it in a set with season 2. Enjoy!
[Originally posted 2/3/11.]
[See also: Northern Exposure, season 2, Rec. #161]
What: Remember when TV dramedy was in its heyday, Alaska meant quirky misfits, and John Corbett was
Representative quote: "It's the same with white people. They cleared the forest, they dug up the land, and they gave us the flu. But they also brought power tools and penicillin and Ben and Jerry's ice cream."
Also, lots and lots and lots of stuff that Chris Stevens says. Dude talks a ton.
You might not like it if: As someone who's lived exclusively in places with very cold winters, I yell, "Zip up your coat!" at the TV a lot. If you watched this with me, that would probably annoy you.
How to get it: You'll most likely find it in a set with season 2. Enjoy!
[Originally posted 2/3/11.]
[See also: Northern Exposure, season 2, Rec. #161]
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Gift Idea #4: Penguin Classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith
One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will! Previously: Gift Idea #1, Gift Idea #2, and Gift Idea #3.
What: Look at these clothbound hardcovers! They are gorgeous. Penguin has presented us with approximately 30 Coralie Bickford-Smith editions of many delightful books, including The Woman in White, Pride and Prejudice, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Tales of the Jazz Age, Oliver Twist, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Middlemarch. And even more are coming in April . . .
Who to give it to: Readers! Or design nerds who want to look like readers. Or people who aren't readers yet, but might be tempted by the pretty colors.
Gifting tip: Sure, yes, you can easily get these from Amazon. If you wanted to splurge, you could even get a boxed set! But, really, isn't this a prime opportunity to throw some cash to your local independent bookshop?
What: Look at these clothbound hardcovers! They are gorgeous. Penguin has presented us with approximately 30 Coralie Bickford-Smith editions of many delightful books, including The Woman in White, Pride and Prejudice, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Tales of the Jazz Age, Oliver Twist, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Middlemarch. And even more are coming in April . . .
Who to give it to: Readers! Or design nerds who want to look like readers. Or people who aren't readers yet, but might be tempted by the pretty colors.
Gifting tip: Sure, yes, you can easily get these from Amazon. If you wanted to splurge, you could even get a boxed set! But, really, isn't this a prime opportunity to throw some cash to your local independent bookshop?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Rec. #216 (abbrev.): The Cabal and Other Stories
What: Ellen Gilchrist, short stories and one novella, town psychiatrist, cousins in exile in San Francisco, thirty-six gold Krugerrands, rugby player, cross-country pilgrimage, Dakota in Kansas City, letters in a safe deposit box, Miss Crystal cleans up, one for Darwin, the surcease of biscuits
Representative quote: "This is the story of a group of people who had a bizarre and unexpected thing happen to them. Their psychiatrist went crazy and started injecting himself with drugs."
Connections to previous Wreckage: I mentioned The Cabal and Other Stories during Personal Wreck Week (List #5). Other Gilchrist collections include Nora Jane: A Life in Stories (Rec. #25) and Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle (Rec. #159).
Monday, December 5, 2011
Gift Idea #3: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition
One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will! Previously: Gift Idea #1 and Gift Idea #2
What: When you give someone The Chicago Manual of Style, you give them the answers to the universe! What's the difference between "toward" and "towards"? When should you hyphenate an adverb? Why do people quietly mock you when you put two spaces after a period? This book knows!
Who to give it to: Grammar geeks or people who would like to become grammar geeks. Or, I suppose, people who want to be thought of as grammar geeks, even if they aren't. Also, people who like the robin egg blue cover of the latest edition.
Gifting tip: You could also purchase an online subscription to the website, which gives the user access to (and searching ability within) both the 15th and 16th editions. The website also features additional subscription-free content, such as the delightful "Chicago Q & A." The voice behind this editorial advice column, Carol Fisher Saller, also has a blog and a book (The Subversive Copy Editor).
Finally, a word of caution. Please tell the recipient of this gift that with great power comes great responsibility, and that the public at large generally does not appreciate uninvited attempts to correct its grammar.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Rec. #215: The Last of Sheila
What: Stephen Sondheim (yes, the composer/lyricist) and Anthony Perkins (yes, from Psycho) co-wrote this 1973 mystery film. In The Last of Sheila, a successful movie producer invites several people aboard his yacht for a one-week cruise that is actually an epic "Sheila Greene Memorial Gossip Game." The unpredictable host's game involves disguises, puzzles, secrets, and nightly scavenger hunts. As anyone who has ever read a mystery novel knows, parlor games inevitably lead to murder, and this game is no exception.
Comparable to: It's a classic Christie set-up with a '70s Hitchcock vibe and a sharp, jabbing streak of cruelty. It's also kind of like Deathtrap.
Representative quote: "Just enough time to get dressed as a Catamite, if I knew what it was."
You might not like it if: The borderline-campy tone means that the genuinely unsettling parts take you by surprise. And you don't appreciate being taken by surprise.
How to get it: Watch it instantly on Amazon, or rent it, or buy it.
Connection to previous Wreckage: James Coburn plays the multimillionaire/movie producer/yacht owner/game master. Coburn's threatening drawl is also a key feature in the Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant film Charade (Rec. #97). Also, when I refer to "a '70s Hitchcock vibe," I basically mean Family Plot (Rec. #120).
Two additional fun facts:
Two additional fun facts:
- The cast also includes Dyan Cannon, James Mason, Ian McShane, and Raquel Welch.
- The plot was inspired by the elaborate scavenger hunts Sondheim and Perkins used to arrange for their friends. (No one was ever murdered during these real-life scavenger hunts. As far as I know.)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday Flashback: Rec. #34: Cold Comfort Farm
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: I am currently snowbound, basically trapped in my apartment post-snowpocalypse. You know what would be worse? Being trapped on a farm with a religious maniac, an oversexed farm hand, a maudlin would-be sprite, and a ghoulish obsessive. Also someone named Urk. Such is the situation of Flora Poste for much of Stella Gibbon's comic novel. Somehow, though, our very modern heroine manages to tidy it all up with firm, calm, undeterred practicality.
Comparable to: It's a little like Mary Poppins walked into a D.H. Lawrence or Thomas Hardy novel and started telling everyone to pull themselves together, for goodness' sake.
Representative quote: "True, in Cheltenham and in Bloomsbury gentlemen did not say in so many words that they ate women in self-defense, but there was no doubt that that was what they meant."
You might not like it if: The whole thing just sounds kind of annoying to you.
How to get it: Penguin has all kinds of editions out there, including one for your Kindle. Oh, yes, there's a movie, too. It is not at all disappointing! You could even watch it first, so you can picture Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkins, Stephen Fry, Rufus Sewell, and the rest in the appropriate roles.
Connection to previous Wreckage: In Rec. #31: Don't Point That Thing at Me, I mentioned a sequel titled Something Nasty in the Woodshed. That phrase comes from, and is repeated often in, Cold Comfort Farm.
[Originally posted 2/2/11.]
What: I am currently snowbound, basically trapped in my apartment post-snowpocalypse. You know what would be worse? Being trapped on a farm with a religious maniac, an oversexed farm hand, a maudlin would-be sprite, and a ghoulish obsessive. Also someone named Urk. Such is the situation of Flora Poste for much of Stella Gibbon's comic novel. Somehow, though, our very modern heroine manages to tidy it all up with firm, calm, undeterred practicality.
Comparable to: It's a little like Mary Poppins walked into a D.H. Lawrence or Thomas Hardy novel and started telling everyone to pull themselves together, for goodness' sake.
Representative quote: "True, in Cheltenham and in Bloomsbury gentlemen did not say in so many words that they ate women in self-defense, but there was no doubt that that was what they meant."
You might not like it if: The whole thing just sounds kind of annoying to you.
How to get it: Penguin has all kinds of editions out there, including one for your Kindle. Oh, yes, there's a movie, too. It is not at all disappointing! You could even watch it first, so you can picture Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkins, Stephen Fry, Rufus Sewell, and the rest in the appropriate roles.
Connection to previous Wreckage: In Rec. #31: Don't Point That Thing at Me, I mentioned a sequel titled Something Nasty in the Woodshed. That phrase comes from, and is repeated often in, Cold Comfort Farm.
[Originally posted 2/2/11.]
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