GLAMOUR
I’VE BEEN ENJOYING lots of Turner Classic Movies lately and have become something of a connoisseur of glamor, or as our Brit friends spell it glamour. It probably comes as … Continue reading
PROKOFIEV, THE SOVIETS, AND PLAYBILL
THE WORD “PLAYBILL” is both a generic, an information-filled giveaway to theatergoers, and also Playbill, the monthly magazine, most copies of which are theater- and production-specific. Background. As described in … Continue reading
BOND’S ’49 FORD AT 48,000
YOUNGER READERS: BE AWARE that this particular Bond car wasn’t 007’s. Rather, it belonged to John R. Bond, Technical Editor, when his article appeared in Road and Track, March, 1951. … Continue reading
CONFITTED DUCKS I HAVE KNOWN
CONFIT DE CANARD, duck that’s salt-cured and then poached in its own fat, is a French culinary delight. There are several confitted ducks I have known, and here are tidbits … Continue reading
A META REVIEW—THE WOMEN PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN our meta study of a movie review, followed today in Part 2 by a review of a book citing the movie, plus a review of that review. … Continue reading
A META REVIEW—THE WOMEN PART 1
THE FOLLOWING IS A META REVIEW: a multilevel review of a movie, a book reviewing the movie, and a particular review in the book. Talk about a varied focus. On … Continue reading
KITSUNE TALES
THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE IS RICH in puns. Indeed, entire narratives are written with nested multiple meanings. And today’s title, Kitsune Tales, fits this idea: Kitsune, 狐, is the Japanese word … Continue reading
HOLLYWOOD STUNT FLYING IN THE TWENTIES
BY THE 1920S, FILMMAKERS recognized Southern California as an excellent place for filming outdoors year around. Movie goers had fallen in love with aviation flicks. And the First World War … Continue reading
DRAGONS BE HERE AND THERE PART 2
YESTERDAY, LRB REVIEWER Tom Shippey shared Dragon lore gleaned from Daniel Ogden’s The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend. Here in Part 2, tidbits are about … Continue reading
DRAGONS BE HERE AND THERE PART 1
TOM SHIPPEY SUMMARIZES it well in “Don’t Lie on Your Gold,” the London Review of Books, June 9, 2022: “Who wouldn’t want a friend that could hoard treasure, breathe fire, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 