Goodbye, Henry!

Grace Kelly

14 September 2009-Reading List

I just don't seem to have much time for reading these days. Creatively, it is a great thing because that means I have been writing up a storm. Recreationally speaking, I will not mince words: it sucks. It really does. Yet, I understand that it is part of the ebb and flow of the artistic process. This does not mean that I have stopped dreaming of books. Oh, no! In fact, it means that I think about them all of the time. Each new catalogue is greeted like a long lost friend. I have a growing mound of enticing catalogues, from Daedalus to Bas Bleu, almost always at hand. I'm going to share with you a few of the books that are currently intriguing me.

1. Fallen Angels by Harold Bloom, Mark Podwall, illus. (YALE)Written by the reigning Titan of literary criticism, it explores the concept of fallen angels in books, art, and modern society.
2. Affairs and Scandals in Ancient Egypt by Pascal Vernus (CORNELL)Bad behaviour among the ruling classes is definitely not a modern phenomenon. This book is proof that the elite have always engaged in tabloid-worthy shenanigans.
3. Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadors by Frederic L. Cheyette (CORNELL) A life of the female ruler and troubadors' darling.
4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius by Leo Damrosch (MARINER)I appear to be in a biographical mood but this definitely appears to be a tasty read, at least if you are into JJR.
5. Medieval Schools From Roaman Britain to Renaissance England by Nicholas Ormer (YALE) For the Anglophile-History geek residing in me...yes, these are two of my very favourite things.
6. Darwin: The Indelible Stamp The Evolution of an Idea James D. Watson, Ed. (RUNNING PRESS) A collection of the great man's still fascinating and relevant works.
7. Infinite Ascent A Short History of Mathematics by David Berlinski (WEIDENFELD & NICHOLSON) I am a lit-geek. Math has never particularly been my cup of tea. Yet, there is something indescribably alluring about this relatively short volume (a scant 197 pages). Is it high enough on my list to purchase? Probably not. I do see myself checking this out from the library, though.
8. Thoreau and the Art of Life Precepts and Principles Roderick MacIver, Ed. and Illus. (HERON DANCE) Thoreau was a strange man, an individualist of the variety that only 19th-Century America could produce. His words still care the weight and heave of truth.
9. Colette by Julie Kristeva. Jane Marie Todd, Trans. (COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS) Colette remains one of the most engaging and maddening of all literary females. She was resolutely unconventional in most respects--which is quite appealing--and gratingly offensive to modern sensibilities in others. And, always, there is the singular writing.
10. Voices from the World of Jane Austen by Malcolm Day (DAVID & CHARLES) This volume looks into the lives of some of Austen's famous contemporaries, especially those with different experiences and world-views than that of England's most enduring and famous female author.
11. Consequences of Sin by Claire Langley-Hawthorne (VIKING) A period (Edwardian) murder mystery with an appealing-sounding heiress at its heart.
12. My Life in France by Julia Child & Alex Prud'homme (ANCHOR) I am already mildly sick of the 'Julie and Julia' craze. I admit that Julie Powell's writing and flat personality do very little for me. This posthumously published autobiography is more my style: part France, part food, part love-story.
13. Victorian and Edwardian Architecture by Derek Avery (CHAUCER PRESS)I have a slight obsession with decadent, lush coffee table books such as this.
14. Hemingway and Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers by Mark Bailey, Edward Hemingway, illus. (ALGONQUIN) One of my biggest passions is dead writers. I am also a trained bartender (oops, sorry, mixologist) so this book is quite the thing for me. And, yes, Edward is a real Hemingway (Papa's grandson).

'zining Madness

The secret behind the lack of posts recently? I've been 'zining. I am in the closing stages of putting my newest 'zine together. Yes, this is where I bring out the cliched phrases such as "eyes on the prize" and "light at the end of the tunnel". The pace is picking up and I am becoming quite the excited little creator.
1000 Follies' makeover will be up this coming Monday. For real. I promise. As for the 'zine? It will be available in approximately 3 weeks. I will be dropping hints between now and then.
I will also post 2 or 3 regular pieces here, prior to the official Monday unveiling. Deep breath, people. The wait is almost over.

Cameron Mitchell-Hollywood Journeyman

Cameron Mitchell (1918-1994) was a fine and enduring triple-medium actor. His stardom never rose to the upper echelons of the Hollywood firmament, thus denying him status as a true legend. His carelessness in accepting too many film role after the breakdown in the Studio System, most of them in mediocre disaster or action flicks, was a further deterrent. The Seventies alone saw him in such painful fare as 'The Swarm' (1978) and 'Flood!' (1976). Although his roles were limited, from middle-age on, to parts in quickly-forgotten films, his talent and charisma remained strong.

From the boards of Broadway, where he originated the part of 'Happy' in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', to the siren's call of studio-era Hollywood, he re-emerged in the 1960's on the vastest medium of all, television, to become a bona-fide star on 'The High Chaparral'.

During his Hollywood heyday, he starred opposite such diverse talent as Marlon Brando and Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe and James Cagney. For some 5 decades he brought grit, sincerity, and well-modulated ability to a surprising array of roles. Armed with a particularly agreeable macho charm, he was a natural in Westerns and all manner of outdoorsy adventures. Never a one-note actor, he also shone in flimsy comedies (opposite that trio of gold-digging lovelies Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable in 'How to Marry a Millionaire'-1953) and musicals (starring in the classic 'Carousel' opposite Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae-1956). He was even at home in costume dramas ('Desiree' with Brando and Jean Simmons-1954).

From 1967-1971 he starred with Leif Erickson on the immensely popular television series 'The High Chaparral'. A few years later he was back on TV as a castaway on the short-lived 'Swiss Family Robinson' with Martin Milner and future Oscar-winner Helen Hunt.

Like many character actors, he chiseled out a long career in a wide spectrum of films. In later years, production quality was often an issue, as was distribution. (Who today has heard of, much less seen, 'Slavers' or 'Rage to Kill'). He also managed dozens of guest appearances on TV. His talent and obvious dedication to his chosen craft remained strong as he worked, one way or another, until the end. In a sense, as a true journeyman, he went where the work took him.

September's Song

September's Song by amisslis featuring Rick Owens

Progress Report

I realize, my fine readers, that I have been doing more updating than writing recently. Shame on me! I have already pushed back unveiling the new blog once and, alas, I am about to do it a second time. It will now be up on Sunday as, on closer reflection, I realized that I really need to start it at the beginning of a week and not on the first of the month. Sit tight--I promise you it will be worth the wait!