The Hazards of Early Success

I just read about Harper Lee suing to have the copyright and royalties on “To Kill a Mockingbird” restored to her.  She’s 87, dwells in an assisted-living facility, can’t see or hear well, and admits to “memory problems”.  Since I don’t know Miz Lee and am not a lawyer, of course I can’t resist stubbornly trying to read between the lines of this news story.  That’s my specialty, in case you hadn’t noticed.

A Perfect Day Out

It was time to shake up my routine.  I decided to take a half-day off to do fun, unusual things my wife would also enjoy.  We began by arriving for the Grand Opening ceremony of our little town’s Farmers Market.  All the newspaper said was “9am Goat Parade”

Review: 10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place

(The BOOK)

 (The cover has an inviting painting of a happy place.)

Into Sure Wood

(The best Robin Hood in movies was Errol Flynn’s, performed in 1938.)

I grew up loving stories about Robin Hood.  Were these tales based on the exploits of a real outlaw?  There might have been a number of Robin Hoods in the original region, including some women.  It’s an open question if he really lived or not, but what an inspiring symbol.

Word Salad Sandwich

Obsession likability paranoia.

Kibble-reinforced, bio-degradable op-ed.

Review – “I Am Jennie”

This is an irritatingly difficult challenge.  Since I began blogging, I’ve asserted that you can’t write about yourself with complete accuracy, no matter how hard you try.  When we tell our own life stories, we portray ourselves as we imagine we are and have been, and it’s inevitably subject to all our biases, the self-protective and the self-destructive ones.  No one is merciless and/or fearless enough to do it.  That’s why I’ve always said I’m writing here about a character based on me.

The Best of Mikey (so far)

Since I’m nearing 300 posts, it’s time for another retrospective.  These articles were among those most viewed, but more importantly, I thought they were good even when re-read.

The Avengers Disassembled

I didn’t see any of the past superhero movies based on Marvel Comics characters in theaters.  It takes a lot to get me to go to movie theaters so I can listen to strangers eat like cows in order to view a screen larger than my TV.

My Wonderful, Hideous, Golden Opportunity

No one suspected that cuddly, lovable Spice was also…

THE HELLHOUND

Page to Screen

Books and movies aren’t the same thing.  That should be obvious on the face of it, but I’ve read hundreds of articles here and in all kinds of publications that miss that central, inescapable point.  A film adaptation will never, can never and shouldn’t be evaluated on the basis of being “like the book”.

Thanks for Writing

… and for reading.

A very poetic and concise writer, whose name I assume is Trish (http://actionfiguretrish.com/) “liked” my last post.  When I went over to her space, she had posted a reminder of an incredibly gracious and meaningful speech I read a long time ago and had forgotten.

Small Town Free Press

For a couple of years before we moved from Los Angeles County (pop. gazillions) to Port Townsend, WA (pop. 9k), I read the weekly newspaper online as a way to familiarize myself with Washington’s issues and interests.

Awards, Schmords (Pt. 2)

My 7 Links

I.K. Brunel (1857), and his set of impressive links

This self-congratulatory award nomination was more fun than the usual “tell me secrets and nominate others” routine, because it requires you to mull things over a little in order to make choices based on their criteria.

Old Guys Who Made Good

My son wrote me an email in which he suggested I not call myself old, so I thought about some of the many men who produced significant work in my areas of interest when they were at least a decade older than me.

What, Me Stylish?

No one epitomized stylish more than Fred Astaire.  If you say that word, I think of him.  And don’t give me the “Ginger Rogers did it backwards and in heels” line.  Fred and Hermes Pan made up the routines.  Ginger only learned them

Deluxe Gift Baskets (#4)

“There is only one disease – congestion,

and only one cure – circulation”

— Chinese proverb

Here are some blogs I read for body health info.  I want to be healthy for whatever time I’m going to live inside this bottle

Deluxe Gift Baskets (#2)

Tragedy Tomorrow, Comedy Tonight!

detail from the Universal Comedy Flow Chart, care of the Ministry of Secret Jokes http://www.ministryofsecretjokes.com/

There’s nothing I like better than a good laugh.  It’s better than a good meal.  A unique gift of the human species is the ability to observe tragic circumstances and see humor in it. There’s nothing we can’t find funny; funerals, starvation, alcoholism, bad smells and bankruptcy.

Deluxe Gift Baskets (#1)

Partially sage, I rose merrily, on time.  Fluffy snowflakes have erased the borders between roads and yards.  The coffee’s warm, and the fireplace glows.  What a fine time for reading.  In addition to my regular peeps (they’re on the Blogroll), here are some blogs that I’ve been enjoying lately.

Carpe Deum

“The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between this profusion of matter and the stars, but that within this prison we can draw from ourselves images powerful enough to deny our nothingness.”

— Andre Malraux, from Les Noyers de l’Altenburg

Technical Difficulties

The world’s most famous television test pattern was introduced by RCA in 1939 and was still in use until the 1970s.