I have to note this one: Kathryn Popper has passed away at the age of 100.
Ms. Popper had a very small, almost microscopic, role in “Citizen Kane
According to the NYT, she was the last surviving person to have appeared in the film: Jean Forward Baker, who dubbed Susan Alexander’s voice, is still alive.
I’m guessing this
Also among the dead: George Martin, noted record producer, perhaps most famous for his work producing an overrated mediocre band with a few toe-tappers.
I know I keep using this excuse, but it really was a busy weekend. I spent a large chunk of Saturday babysitting children, away from a computer I could use. I may write some later on about how I spent my Sunday, but not right now; also, I wanted to let the Nancy Reagan obits sit for a day.
Catching up from the weekend and for the historical record: Pat Conroy. NYT. WP. A/V Club. Charleston Post and Courier.
I’ve read very little of Conroy’s work: The Prince of Tides
And I have to confess: I’m a sucker for crap like this
They did things differently there.
The San Francisco Chronicle used to give out firearms as subscription premiums.
You could also get a Colt rifle plus a one-year subscription to the paper for $14.50. (“$15 of 1887 dollars would be worth: $362.50 in 2015.”)
Peter Hartlaub for the win:
(Hattip: Jimbo.)
The HouChron ran an article about the various official state weapons, tied to Tennessee naming the Barrett M82 as the official state rifle.
Problem is, as part of the continuing creeping BuzzFeedification of the HouChron, it was a shallow slideshow. So instead I’ll link to Wikipedia’s list. Thoughts:
In other news, Lawrence’s review of “Hail, Caeser!” is up. I think he liked it more that I did, but I also don’t think we’re all that far apart on it. Elaborating on a couple of Lawrence’s points (some spoilers):
George Kennedy. NYT. A/V Club.
Yes, yes, Naked Gun. But also “Cool Hand Luke”.
And this thought isn’t original to me, though I don’t remember where I first encountered it: Joe Patroni had a rather interesting aviation career. He started out as a mechanic in “Airport“, and wound up pilot in command (?) of the Concorde nine years later. (I honestly don’t remember what he did in the other two “Airport” movies, but he was in them, and was the only actor to appear in all four.)
(Interestingly, Wikipedia says Kennedy was a pilot in real life.)
Edited to add: I intended to also mention (but ran out of time) Kennedy’s two police series:
…When I was but a wee lad, one of my uncles came down to Houston for a visit and brought along a copy of SOF. I think he may have picked it up on at an airport newsstand to read on the flight, and since he was finished with it, he passed it along to me.
I devoured it like a fat man attacking an all-you-can-eat buffet, and spent a lot of time and effort after that seeking out the latest issues. I would buy copies from the newsstand in the shopping mall. Or I’d ride my moped over the back roads to the closest Walden Books, which had SOF in their magazine rack. Later on, SOF even managed to penetrate the suburban Houston grocery stores.
But at some point, after I went to college – I think around the time they eliminated the classified ads, too – SOF changed. I felt it was for the worse. They used to run practical articles on subjects of interest to a younger me (for example, the best places to shoot someone holding a gun to a hostage’s head, in order to insure instant incapacitation). The newer SOF seemed to be more interested in geopolitics, and less interested in the “how-to” side of things.
I eventually stopped purchasing it. I’d still glance at copies when I saw them, but I grew up, got a job that didn’t involve being a mercenary, and didn’t really need it in my life any longer.
The teenage boy left inside me will miss it, and might pick up a copy of the last print issue because nostalgia is a moron. The adult me isn’t terribly surprised, and shan’t mourn for too long.
One more quick Leland “Uncle” Yee thought that I didn’t have time for in the previous entry:
Yes, folks, you read that correctly. Campaign finance reform is the only thing standing between you and your elected state senator smuggling guns to Islamic terrorists and rebel groups in the Philippines.
Convicted former California Democratic State Senator Leland “Uncle” Yee was sentenced today.
As you may recall, convicted former California Democratic State Senator Leland “Uncle” Yee pled guilty to one count of racketeering:
And what did he get for all this?
Five years in prison and a $20,000 fine. He’s also apparently going to have to give up $33,000, at least some of which will come out of his political campaign accounts.
Speaking of “his past record of public service”, as a convicted felon, convicted former California Democratic State Senator Leland “Uncle” Yee, who was a prominent advocate of gun control and received an award from the Brady Campaign, will no longer be allowed to own firearms. Legally, anyway.
Edited to add: more from the SF Examiner.
According to the same article, Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow’s sentencing is scheduled for March 23rd.
SFGate:
We’re coming up on at least two significant anniversaries this year.
One of those is the 100th birthday of John D. MacDonald on July 24th. I plan to write more about this closer to the event. In the meantime, here are a couple of links I like:
From the “National Post”: “Sunbelt Baroque: How John D. MacDonald invented a subgenre that’s no longer his own”.
(Well, of course it’s no longer his own. He died almost 30 years ago.)
Stephen King’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune essay about MacDonald. I think Big Steve and I first encountered John D. at about the same age. This may explain some things.
(I really wish the Herald-Tribune would make it easier to find these columns. It looks like this link will bring them up, along with some unrelated stuff.)
And the other significant anniversary? June 25th will mark the 110th anniversary of the murder of Stanford White by Harry Kendall Thaw. That’s something I want to write more about as well, but it needs research. I’d appreciate book recommendations, if folks have them.
(You know, you would think you could find this on the Internet, but I’ve had no luck: what was the weapon Thaw used? The only description I’ve been able to find is that it was a “pistol”.)
(Teaser.)
Attention must be paid!
And now I’ll wait for Mike the Musicologist to jump all over me.
(One criticism I anticipate that he might make: it isn’t just metal that corresponds to economic development. Which is a valid point. Generally economic development = more leisure time = more time to make music for fun and profit, as well as more places to do so. It’s hard to make music, be it metal, punk, rock, soul, or folk, if you’re spending all your time sunup to sundown trying to scratch a bare subsistence living out of the earth. I think what the author is trying to say, though, is that it takes more resources to support a metal band than it does two folksingers with acoustic guitars in a coffee house.)
NYT obit for Eric Brown, legendary British pilot.
I linked to Borepatch’s post about him yesterday, but thought I would include the NYT obit just for the historical record.
Two from the NYT:
Save the endangered Long Island skeet!
Harper Lee was a big fan of Opus. Yes, the penguin, from “Bloom County”.
Borepatch left a most gracious note on the last obit watch, which was much appreciated. I’ve been feeling like all I do is write obit watches these days. It also feels kind of lazy sometimes; but I like to think that there’s some historical value, if not now perhaps in the next few years, in noting these deaths and how they were covered.
And every once in a while you find an obit for someone who didn’t get the attention that Harper Lee or Scalia got, but deserves some attention. Speaking of that…
And speaking of lazy, I do have some longer pieces I want to write. Some of them are still in draft status, waiting for things to come together. Then there are some things that I expected to be able to write longer form entries about that just haven’t materialized yet.
I’d love to be able to write about my ongoing experiences with the Austin Police Department Citizen’s Police Academy, for example. But we’re only two sessions in and the first one was mostly back-patting. I’m hoping that there will be things that are worth writing about (and that I can write about without breaking any rules) soon. (If you’re really interested in the actual police academy and the training process, there’s a set of videos up on YouTube.)
Quick movie note: Lawrence and I went to see “Hail, Caesar!” yesterday. Lawrence liked it more than I did. I don’t think it is a bad movie, but it seemed slight and insubstantial.
We watched “Burn After Reading” a few weeks ago, and I liked that a little more: it may have something to do with almost everyone in “Burn” being utterly insane. (Especially John Malkovich’s character; but then, Malkovich adds that extra special touch to everything he’s in. I’m still not going to see “Zoolander 2”, though.)
TL,DR: wait for “Hail, Ceaser!” on streaming.
I wonder what’s going to happen to that. Did he leave it to some institution, or is there going to be a massive auction?
Short shameful confession: For reasons I don’t recall, I saw (and liked!) the film version of “The Name of the Rose”, but I haven’t gotten around to reading the book, or any other Eco. I keep meaning to fix that…