Quote of the day: How can they tell?—Dorothy Parker, on being told Calvin Coolidge was dead Here are two awkward scenes from the fourth episode of The Gilded Age. In the first one, Marian and Peggy stop in at the Bloomingdale Brothers store, much against the better judgment of Peggy. In the second, even more awkward … Continue reading Two Awkward Moments
Books
Have You Read These?
Once again I’m stealing from electoral-vote.com. On Saturday they had their usual Q&A along with their Reader Question of the Week which involved historical fiction. A lot of the Q’s and A’s are worth a read, if you have the time, so click here, but I want to concentrate on the some of the readers’ … Continue reading Have You Read These?
Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That
Larry Charles, who wrote many of the most memorable episodes of Seinfeld, has a new memoir out: Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter. He is also interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air: 'Seinfeld' Writer & 'Borat' Director Larry Charles. In his new memoir, Comedy Samurai, Larry Charles reflects on his career in … Continue reading Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That
Every Day a Little Death
Now comes word of a new anthology of crime fiction inspired by the songs of Stephen Sondheim entitled Every Day a Little Death. Sounds like it’s right up my alley as I like Sondheim and I like crime fiction. But I’m so swamped with other things right now and I’m backlogged with reading material that … Continue reading Every Day a Little Death
Engine
As I was reading Asimov’s New Guide to Science, I came across this passage: The first person to translate this idea into a practical working device, however, was an English military engineer named Thomas Savery. His steam engine (the word engine originally denoted any ingenious device and comes from the same Greek root as ingenious) could … Continue reading Engine
Influential Books and Historical Figures
Saturday’s Q&A at the electoral-vote site had some interesting Q’s and A’s and once again I’m stealing some of their content. But in the hope that you might decide to visit them, I’ll mention that some of the questions that I’m not stealing have to do with fighting Elon Musk, what’s wrong with the nytimes, … Continue reading Influential Books and Historical Figures
Lost in Translation
On the off chance that I’ve managed to inspire someone to try to read my favorite 19th century novel, the question arises, assuming one does not read French: which translation? There is a discussion of the various translations currently available at the WeLoveTranslations site. But it basically comes down to an anonymous 1846 translation, which … Continue reading Lost in Translation
My Time with the Count
On the other hand, there are not many children’s books, even in our own time, that involve a female serial poisoner, two cases of infanticide, a stabbing and three suicides; an extended scene of torture and execution; drug-induced sexual fantasies, illegitimacy, transvestism and lesbianism; a display of the author’s classical learning, and his knowledge of … Continue reading My Time with the Count
Alexandre’s Count
“I swear, you are frightening me!” said Dantès. “Is the world full of tigers and crocodiles, then?” “Yes, except that the tigers and crocodiles with two legs are more dangerous than the rest.” — The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas When I went to Eastern Lebanon County High School (Elco) each year we were … Continue reading Alexandre’s Count
The Caves of Steel
So the word is coming down that there might be a movie version of Isaac Asimov’s novel The Caves of Steel. I would probably have been excited to hear that, say, oh, maybe 40 years ago, when there was a chance, a slim one, but still a chance, that there might be a reasonably faithful adaptation … Continue reading The Caves of Steel