Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/15/2003 08:36 AM PST

Our favorite mystery is the sweet mystery of life

Posted by Nelson and Jeannette @ 07/15/2003 08:37 AM PST

The last mystery book I read was The G-String Murders by Gypsy Rose Lee.

Posted by Sandra @ 07/15/2003 09:07 AM PST

Rain and more rain today.

What great journal entries. Go, Juliana! It is a terrific and honest account of putting a road tour together. How lucky we are she is writing for us....thanks again to Juliana and BK!!

My mystery training began with the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys novels. And the Hardy Boys on Mickey Mouse Club was terrific, although not very mysterious.

Perry Mason was kind of a mystery. Sometimes I could figure it out, sometimes not...even today if I haven't seen the episode.

I usually read the mystery collections released under Alfred Hitchcock's name. I like a short story more than I like a novel. But I have read some Agatha Christie - Murder With Mirrors -

Movies - Murder in the Blue Room, I imagine DR MBarnum will post about it today, The Mirror Cracked, and all of the Inner Sanctum films from Universal.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/15/2003 09:16 AM PST

Sandra, isn't that a fun book? I read it years ago, don't remember specifics, just that it was very entertaining. It was later made into a film, "Lady of Burlesque," starring Barbara Stanwyck.

Books: As a young reader, I ate these things up with a spoon: Trixie Belden mysteries (especially _The Mysterious Visitor_. Chilling!), Nancy Drew mysteries, and yes, even Encyclopedia Brown.

_A Shilling for Candles_ is a very entertaining and engrossing whodunit that was later made into the early Hitchcock film "Young and Innocent" (a fave of BK's, and one of my faves as well, the movie doesn't have many points of similarity to the novel). Also love _The High Window_ (BK, you and I are on the same wavelength today). Ditto Hammett's _The Thin Man_ and _The Maltese Falcon_. Daphne DuMaurier's _Rebecca_ and _My Cousin Rachel_. Patricia Highsmith's _Strangers on a Train_, though not exactly a mystery, is a ripping good read and quite suspenseful.

Films/TV: Film versions of all of the above. Also "Laura," "Suspicion," the Charlie Chan mysteries (FOX-Movies was going to have a summer-long marathon and show ALL of the movies, but a self-appointed Asian American group protested and FOX pulled them from their schedule!), anything "Columbo," and, for camp value, "McMillan and Wife."

*whew*

Posted by Lulu @ 07/15/2003 10:09 AM PST

Hello All! Just thought I would let everyone know that I just won $10 on a crossword scratcher. Yippee!!

Don't you hate when you spell a word and it looks totally wrong, then you spell check and it is right? Why is that? I just had that experience with "scratcher". It just doesn't look right to me, but it is - go figure.

I also thought I would let everyone know that I am going to Seattle tomorrow, so I will be errant and truant the next few days. Does anyone know what the weather is like in Seattle right now?

Posted by JB aka JK @ 07/15/2003 10:25 AM PST

JBakaJK - Temps in the 70s
all week in the Emerald City.

Posted by Steve Pool @ 07/15/2003 10:38 AM PST

Good day.

Well... my laptop keeps turning off every now and then... I do have a birthday coming up next month.. hmmm...

Well, I guess why my laptop keeps shutting down could be a mystery for today.

As for mystery movies and books, I've never really been into them. Well, I mean just don't look for them - if it's a good book or a good movie, and it turns out to be a mystery, then I'm into mystery.

However, when I was a wee lad - although I was never that "wee" - I did read The Hardy Boys, Enclycopedia Brown, etc. I even remember The Hardy Boys comic strips in the Sunday paper. One book that I still do remember reading was "Alvin's Secret Code". Throughout the book there were all these neat little codes and ciphers. Of course, there was the one major code to break - the mystery - and it's solution still brings a smile to my face when I think about it. It truly is one of those instances where if you look TOO hard, you may just be misssing what's right in front of your eyes.

It's another day off for me, and I think I'm going to take it easy for the most part. I "tried" to go out for a run earlier, but my lower back is acting up. I did get a good mile in, but I could tell my body was telling me to take it easy, so I did. -Ah, another mystery, I guess.

So before my laptop shuts down again...

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 07/15/2003 10:46 AM PST

JB aka JK - The weather here in the Seattle area right now is nearly perfect. Mostly sunshine and blue skies. The temperature should be in the mid-seventies today, and then start moving up toward the eighties for the rest of the week. Please don't let anyone else know, we are trying to get the National Weather Service to put a giant thunder cloud on the map directly over Washington.

Posted by TCB @ 07/15/2003 10:47 AM PST

Good news for all you Judy Garland fans (and who at HHW is not?) --- Warner Home Video which controls the rights to MGM Classic films is releasing DVDs of 4 Judy films towards the beginning of 2004: For Me and My Gal, Ziegfeld Girl, Love Finds Andy Hardy and (at long last) Meet Me In St. Louis!

Later in the year they will be releasing several Fred Astaire DVDs although only Finian's Rainbow has been announced.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/15/2003 11:18 AM PST

Hi all. I've been quite errant and
truant latley and I apologize. I have
been reading, though! We tech'd
"The Sound of Music" on Sunday
and set the record for the company
of tech'ing and running the show
(with costumes) before 11:00pm. I'm
quite ready for the orchestra to come
in this eve, I'm tired of playing
rehearsals alone! Anyhow,
something interesting to share, I
bought a portable DVD player the
other day, and without even knowing
it, I discovered I can play PAL DVD's,
I'm so excited!!

As for mystery's, the only ones I read
as a child was Encyclopedia Brown
and The Great Brain series. As an
adult, I love Mary Higgins Clark and
some Jonathan Kellerman. I know, I
know, trashy mystery!!!

Have a day!

Posted by Matthew @ 07/15/2003 11:19 AM PST

Thanks Steve and TCB for the weather info. Sounds perfect - and don't worry TCB, I won't let anyone in on the secret of Seattle. It just always rains there, right? :)

Ooooh, I am so excited to be visiting my old stomping grounds! My best friend, who lives in Los Angeles, will be there too. Isn't that just too too? That's a lot of toos. :)

Posted by JB aka JK @ 07/15/2003 11:29 AM PST

Hey there everyone!

Wow, I just read Juliana's two latest journal entries, and I think i'm addicted. I cannot wait to hear what it's like for her being on the road.

One thing that she wrote today interested me. She was describing how different the tour would be from the Broadway version.

This surprised me (for a show that is still running with so much choreography).

I mean I always thought that some shows were scaled down for tours. But I never thought of the idea that the staging would be completely reinvented to try to improve on certain aspects.

Very interesting.

It will be especially exciting to hear about her first time going on as Millie.

Posted by Jennifer @ 07/15/2003 11:53 AM PST

Watson, where in tarnation IS
everyone? I need more
postings to read, whilst sitting
at my desk reading scripts. I
did get a laugh today when I
saw that Playbill has a Radio
Playbill - I wonder where they
got that idea? Certainly
sometime after our old radio
show with Donald at the other
joint, eh, and probably even
after Donald's show debuted
here, too. Or, maybe I'm
wrong and they beat us all to
the punch. Not.

I can say that Juliana's Journal
has become an extremely
popular thing here at
haineshisway.com and so we
can probably expect to see
similar journals, perhaps even
Journal Playbill. By the way
(BTW, in Internet lingo) while
yesterday didn't break our best
records, it was one of our
biggest days ever.

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 12:15 PM PST

Right you are DR JRand52...you know me well! I love MURDER IN THE BLUE ROOM and it has been a favorite mystery movie of mine since I was a kid and I think that BK should someday record a rendition of "The Boogie, Woogie, Boogie Man" that the 3 Jazzybelles sing in the film!. Those 1940s Universal films have such a comfy feeling for me and I really enjoy their 1930s and 1940s mysteries. I also like THE CAT CREEPS (1946), AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, and any of the Edna Mae Oliver mysteries such as THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER, MURDER ON A HONEYMOON, and/or MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD.

I also love the TV series PERRY MASON!

For books I have read most of "The Cat Who..." books and also enjoy the Perry Mason books. I have quite a collection of 1940s, 50s paperback mysteries...D.B Olsen (Dolores Hitchens) is one of my favorite authors.

Posted by MBarnum @ 07/15/2003 12:24 PM PST

Mysteries! I love mysteries. I mostly stay with what they call the "cozy" mysteries that are long on off-beat characters and humor and short on violence and bloodshed. I adore the "cat books by Lilian Jackson Braun, the Mark Manning books by Michael Craft, The recipe mysteries of Diane Mott Davidson, and just about everything by Jill Churchill and Dorothy Cannell.

When it comes to movie mysteries, I have a wide range of favorites. Laura has to rank as one of my all-time favorites. But I also love the Basil Rathbone - Sherlock Holmes films, The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man films, the Charlie Chan films, Rear Window, Wait Until Dark, Cape Fear, The Lady from Shanghai, Spellbound, etc., etc., etc.

Posted by TCB @ 07/15/2003 12:40 PM PST

BK - There may not be many posts but what's there is "cherce!" I intend to expand my reading and viewing pleasures as a consequence.

READING MYSTERIES (I definitely gravitate toward the British):
Agatha Christie - fonder of Hercule Poirot than Miss Marple.
ANYTHING by Dick Francis. Do you know him? I'm a huge fan and am currently reading his books in the order he wrote them.
Like JRand I like the short stories in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, too.

VIEWING MYSTERIES
Perry Mason is playing as I speak.
Films from Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, all those episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple on the PBS British series (with its perfect casting).
Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, Foreign Correspondent, and, oh, all of his others.

There are plenty more that I just can't think of at the moment, so this'll have to do for now.

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 07/15/2003 01:01 PM PST

I really have very little to say on the topic du jour (and God it is hard to type with a band-aid on my left index finger). I don't know why, but I've just never been able to get into mysteries, books or film-wise. When I was little I used to read pre-teen suspense books such as those by RL Stine where the killer was always the least obvious choice and thus the easiest to pick. Maybe I just can't get into the somewhat formulaic nature of the mystery novel, although I'm sure there are funny and original ones out there.

BTW--I've never seen the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, and I would like to see it now. The Holmes movie I really want to see though is the Seven Percent Solution if only to see "I Never do Anything Twice."

Posted by Maya @ 07/15/2003 01:29 PM PST

Maya - It's not a very good movie. You're better off listening to the song on one of the various CDs it appears on.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/15/2003 01:36 PM PST

WEL--Thanks for the tip-off...didn't they also try to put Freud in there or something?

I guess I just wanted to see the song in its original context, as it's one of the most savagely funny Sondheims out there, IMO. I have a few recordings of it already including the Millicent Martin one.

Posted by Maya @ 07/15/2003 01:52 PM PST

The Sondheim song is in very
truncated form in the film.

Try one of the Raymond
Chandler books, Maya. The
atmosphere and the writing is
really top-notch. And if you
want one of the greats, get
yourself a copy of Mr. Ira
Levin's debut novel, A Kiss
Before Dying - it's really
brilliant and has one of the
great twists in all of mystery
fiction. Also, I think you'd really
enjoy The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd, even though it's been
ripped off countless number of
times.

Now, let's solve the mystery of
why there are so few posts
(and yes, Virginia and Donna,
what's here is cherce).

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 02:04 PM PST

Since I never much cared for mysteries, I wrote one. It's being produced in the Edinburgh Festival next month and is written entirely in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Murder at the Savoy: http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/listings.cfm?sid=3358

Posted by Noel @ 07/15/2003 02:05 PM PST

I have a mystery for you. Why is it, when I try to get into HHW at work I always get the entry from 27 June? It's turning my working day into Groundhog Day, I tell ya.

This is the reason behind my recent E&Tdom. When I go into Archive I only have entries up to June. Can anyone explain this technical phenomenon? Do you think my company has banned HHW because of explicit content?

Everything is OK on my home computer, I just don't always get the time to visit when I'm home.

Oh, and Maya - have you heard Patti Lupone's 'I Never Do Anything Twice' - she performs it in cabaret superbly. (I know, I know, we're not all fans of La Lupone here, are we?)

Posted by Allan @ 07/15/2003 02:09 PM PST

THE SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION is a well done mystery film from a fascinating book. I recommend both. I have SOLUTION on laserdisc, but wasn't it released on DVD a year or so ago?

I'm a HUGE mystery buff. Have read all of Christie, Doyle, Sayers, some of P.D. James. Also Chandler and Hammett. Enjoy the Sue Grafton alphabet series very much, and M IS FOR MALICE is my favorite of those thus far. The solution/ending actually made me weep.

Favorite mystery films: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, ANOTHER THIN MAN, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, EVIL UNDER THE SUN, THE MALTESE FALCON, PRESUMED INNOCENT. Plus all the Basil Rathbone/Holmes films. Can't wait to see them released this fall in new editions.

All of the Poirot (just got the latest DVD green set of 1 hour episodes) and Marple TV adaptations are in my collection and are great favorites (NEMESIS is my favorite of those).

Ho, boy, see what a Pandora's box you opened with this topic?

Posted by Matt H. @ 07/15/2003 02:11 PM PST

BK--thanks for the advice on mystery books! I have a ton of books to read right now, but if I ever should find myself in a mysterious mood, I shall pick up a good Chandler or Levin!

I remembered also that there are a few mystery stories I've read that I liked, though they were mostly Poe...I liked the Mystery of Marie Roget, The Case of M. Valdemar, The Purloined Letter, and best of all, the Murders in the Rue Morgue!

Allan--no, I've never heard the LuPone rendition! I'd really like to...I do like Patti, albeit in limited doses, and I can see her doing a great job with I Never Do Anything Twice!

Posted by Maya @ 07/15/2003 02:19 PM PST

Allan - several things come to
mind - have you cleared the
cache of your work computer?
If you go into the archives do
you scroll ALL the way past the
months, to the daily listings?
Can any of our computer savvy
folks offer opinions.

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 02:21 PM PST

Mysteries: Another opportunity to mention "Spin & Marty". My favourite childhood books were Enid Blyton's "Mystery of.." series. I also find John le Carre's "Spy" novels mysteries - I love them but usually don't know what is really going on until the last few pages when all the double dealing etc makes sense.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 07/15/2003 02:23 PM PST

Allan: Now I know why work is really getting to you! I sometimes have the "Half a page" problem with HHW and can't post anything as a result. It sometimes takes hours to correct itself! Your work computer network may indeed be the problem.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 07/15/2003 02:29 PM PST

Juliana, I continue to enjoy your delightful journal. I was pleasantly surprised to see you graduated from my alma mater, Hamilton. Where in the area to you live? I was at the far end of the district, behind Hill Crest Country Club.

Mysteries. Growing up I rarely read them. The suspense was too much for me. When reading Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, I had to read the last chapter first. I enjoy reading Tony Hillerman and Nevada Barr. I read the Ellery Queen books after watching the TV show with Jim Hutton. Growing up I watched all of the Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan movies. Favorites include: The Maltese Falcon, Vertigo, And Then There Were None (1945), The Man Who Knew Too Much and Rebecca. Oh, and the Mad Miss Manton. If considered mysteries, include Strangers on a Train,Wait Until Dark and The Haunted House with Ray Milland. Does Sixth Sense count as a mystery? Currently I watch Monk, more for the quirky character than the story line.

Posted by Jane @ 07/15/2003 02:38 PM PST

DR Tom from Oz - I meant to respond last time you mentioned "Spin and Marty". I was also a big fan of that serial, although, for my money, "The Hardy Boys" was better. However, come to think of it, if I had a choice today, I would probably prefer Tim Considine in levis and boots, rather than Tim Considine in slacks and dress shoes.

Posted by TCB @ 07/15/2003 02:53 PM PST

Jane - I think you mean The
Uninvited with Milland, no?

Juliana didn't live near
Hamilton, she just went there.
Hami is now a magnet school
with one of the best arts
programs anywhere. Not like
when Jane and I were there -
no musicals for us - only
SERIOUS plays for us.

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 02:54 PM PST

I just got home from my Communications class. I need to have an outline for a persuasion speech by tomorrow. Can anyone think of a topic?

Teacher fashion accessory report: The fake flowers in the hair were back yesterday. Today she was wearing the kind of necklace you would see on the shopping channel for $99.99, except that this was fake.

Classmate report: The teacher who can no longer teach because of a domestic violence charge has been absent both days so far this week. So she'll probably end up dropping like I thought she would.

Yesterday we had Circle Time. The somewhat overweight teacher with the flowers in her hair put so much consideration and effort into directing us as to how to arrange our desks into a circle. There were 19 students, so we had to make sure we had 19 desks. But the girl who needs two desks, surprisingly, needed another desk to put her purse and water bottle on. So we had to move in another desk for the girl who needs two desks. The first ten minutes of class were spent arranging the circle (which, unfortunately, turned out to be teardrop-shaped) and in discussing that fish from Finding Nemo. Then when we were all settled in our teardrop-shaped circle, we discussed all manner of things. The feng shui girl told everyone how her room was arranged with the black and brown things at the north end. One guy talked about his hair. It's bleached blond and spiked. He's apparently quite fond of it.

Today we continued our discussion of the Nemo fish, and then the somewhat overweight teacher with the flowers in her hair told us all about how she grows African violets. Her mother gave her her first African violet when she was 15, and she's been growing them ever since. She brought some with her when she moved here from Detroit. Then she told us that she used to smoke, but only on "the second Tuesday of every week." Can anyone figure out what that means?

Posted by Sandra @ 07/15/2003 03:30 PM PST

Uninvited, yes thank you Bruce. Thank goodness no musicals. You have never heard me sing and there is a very good reason for that. A comedy might have been fun.

Sandra, this class of yours is truly strange. What is the class again?

Posted by Jane @ 07/15/2003 03:43 PM PST

Sandra---
Why not a speech persuading people to read and post on HHW>

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/15/2003 03:50 PM PST

The class is Communications. And, yes, it is truly strange. Why is it that I always end up taking the strange classes?

Posted by Sandra @ 07/15/2003 03:52 PM PST

That's a good idea, William E. Lurie, but what if some of them sign on and read what I've said about them? They would have me tarred and feathered.

Posted by Sandra @ 07/15/2003 03:56 PM PST

Favourite mystery writers: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich, Fredric Brown, John Evans AKA Howard Browne, S.S. Van Dine, Johnathan Valin, Conan Doyle, Sax Rohmer.

Favourite movie mysteries:

Out of the Past, Maltese Falcon, Thin Man Movies, Body Heat, Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, my own Hound of the Baskervilles, Johnny Eager, Johnny O'Clock, and far, far too many of others to think of...

Bruce, I too think The High Window is one of Chandler's best.

Posted by Charles Pogue @ 07/15/2003 04:04 PM PST

All the High Window lovers
must be right here at
haineshisway.com because
whenever I tell people it's one
of my faves they scoff at me,
oh, yes, they scoff.

Sandra, the reason you always
end up in strange classes is
simple: So you can entertain
us with your humorous posts
about them.

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 04:08 PM PST

My HHW paraphernalia just arrived. I shall be sportin' and doing some silent advertising soon!

Posted by Matthew @ 07/15/2003 04:10 PM PST

All right, we really must solve
the mystery of the errant and
truant, not necessarily in that
order. This is most unseemly,
this rather long lull. I do not
like the long lull - a medium
lull is barely acceptable, but a
long lull make us look lazy and
a lazy lull makes us look long.
I shall be leaving work shortly
and when I arrive home I
should like to think the lull will
have been lost. We simply
must have a lost lull. I then
shall be having drinks with Mr.
David Wechter and a mutual
friend of ours - I should hope
that won't last too too long,
because I must get home and
try to write. Now, let's do
something about the lull that
has occured, shall we?

Posted by bk @ 07/15/2003 05:21 PM PST

Late post about the best thing ever received in the mail!

Today I came back from work to find a copy of "The Inaudible Jason Robert Brown" AND a video of "The Last Five Years" in NYC.

Bestill my heart... new JRB and moving pictures of Norbert Leo Butz. What more can a girl want?

BTW... if any JRB fans are interested in getting this somewhat hard to find cd from me, post away!

Posted by Emily @ 07/15/2003 05:34 PM PST

Here's my idea of a mystery: Neil Simon's Murder by Death. What an amazing cast: everyone from Peter Sellers to Truman Capote, Alec Guinness to Eileen Brennan, James Coco to Maggie Smith and, most unforgettable, the marvelous Nancy Walker as Yetta the deaf-mute maid.

Posted by TorontoDan @ 07/15/2003 05:54 PM PST

Would you consider GASLIGHT a mystery? It's one of my favorite films. Ingrid Bergman's "What knife?" speech is classic.

Posted by Jay @ 07/15/2003 05:56 PM PST

DR Emily - I'm interested in both of your wonderful postal packages today! Info please. Thanks!

OH, and I did/do love the movie, The Usual Suspects. Does that count?

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 07/15/2003 05:58 PM PST

Rebecca...I had forgotten, and Vertigo!

Hmmmm...in the new Scarlet Street lo and behold, an interview with Mr Charles Pogue! The interview here contains new and exciting information, but the SS interview is interesting as well.

Included in SS, an article co-written by DR TD about musicals on DVD and some DVD reviews as well by TD...none by any OTHER DR, but hmmmm...well....oh and a nice ad for BENJAMIN KRITZER and KRITZERLAND!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/15/2003 06:03 PM PST

I don't read very many mystery stories. My ever-lovin' der Brucer, on the other hand, loves the genre. He recommends Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books (and also thought that the television series with Hutton served the books with gourmet style); Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series; Steven Saylor's Roman Empire mysteries; Joseph Hansen's Dave Brandstetter stories; and the Gideon Oliver books by Aaron Elkins (about a forensic anthropologist). And, of course, the day of the Kritzerland signing der Brucer walked out with an armload of Monsieur Pamplemousse stories by Michael Bond, who also created Paddington Bear!

Posted by S. Woody White @ 07/15/2003 06:11 PM PST

Dear esteemed, wiry, inscrutable, and sleuth-like BK,

I will do my best to help prevent "Lull-Blight" from happening here. I will also reveal, I'm afraid, just what a low-brow I am when it comes to what I've read over the years.

My first favorite mystery books were, yes I'm a stereotype, "The Hardy Boys." In later years I became an enormous fan of some of the Oscar Wilde books, and all of the Poirot and Marple books of Miss Agatha Christie.

I like the films that have been done of Christie when they are really accurate to the written characters (like with Joan Hickman and David Suchet), and yes I love the ones that are not at all faithful, like the Margaret Rutherford films.

Other favorites -- Wait Until Dark, When A Stranger Calls, and Vertigo.

Posted by MusicGuy @ 07/15/2003 06:50 PM PST

FLASH -- A Dear Reader Alert ---

If ANY of you ever get asked to do ANY kind of a favor for dear reader Sandra, immediately say YES in your very best stentorian tone. Then just hope that, oh joy of joys (a Rudolph Reisenweber reference) she will reward you with a bag of her HEAVENLY, rich, made-from-scratch, chocolate chip cookies. Dear reader Kerry and I are trying to be very civilized, and not just pig out and scarf the whole bag down at one sitting.

Oh svelte and sinewy BK, you absolutely must throw Chet & Eileen into the nearest culvert if you are presented with these aromatic, still slightly chewy bites from Valhalla!! Of course, DR Sandra COULD make a batch and send you some..I'm sure that packed correctly, they would travel well (next day UPS of course!).

Now of course, I could not say how these cookies would measure up to those of DR Jose...no, I could not say at this time....I suppose if a small package from DR Jose ever showed up in the mail, then I might have a point of reference....yes, I might then be able to have an opinion.. what do I know..?

Posted by MusicGuy @ 07/15/2003 07:00 PM PST

Damn! I hate it when I write a post about food...now I want to eat a backwards dinner....dessert, salad, entree, whole Dungeness crab with Dijon mayonnaisse, I mean appetizer...

Gad!!

Posted by MusicGuy @ 07/15/2003 07:03 PM PST

Bruce, Dan Alvino says Hello! I drove by the bookstore he now works at three and a half days a week and dropped in to see him. He was most complimentary about your many talents and skills.

Posted by Charles Pogue @ 07/15/2003 07:08 PM PST

DR Jane mentioned THE MAD MISS MANTON and I would add that to my favorites list of mystery films...I only saw it for the first time the other month on TCM and loved it! The NANCY DREW films are quite good too, the ones that starred Bonita Granville.

Posted by MBarnum @ 07/15/2003 07:10 PM PST

Emily, add me to the list of JRB wannahaves (though JRB has just taken a RATM-ite to task for trying to find said CD). Email me.

Posted by JMK @ 07/15/2003 07:23 PM PST

BK - you mentioned El Monte! I'm still reading James Ellroy's compelling account of his life and his mother's murder, which took place in and around El Monte! Has the area changed much from the early sixties? Ellroy has some fascinating descriptive powers, and according to MY DARK PLACES, El Monte is not a place I would like to go. . .

MYSTERIES TO DIE FOR:
Ellis Peters' BROTHER CAEDFEL series.
Ellroy's THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Anything by:
Dashiell Hammett
James Cain
Raymond Chandler
(can you tell that I am fascinated by the "hard-boiled" detective novel?)

FILM:
THE LAST OF SHEILA. Love the cast. Love the locations. Love that script!
I'm going out on a limb here and suggesting that THE 6TH SENSE is a mystery film, too, in that it does drop hints all along the way to its stunning conclusion.
DEATH ON THE NILE with its script by Anthony Shaffer, and its magnificent use of its ensemble cast.
Limb time again, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: THE WICKER MAN is not a horror movie, but a finely crafted mystery.

For some reason, the Agatha Christie novels never did much for me.

Oh, and dear reader JRand: that little review of ANGEL THE SERIES that appears in Scarlet Street's issue #48 netted me my FIRST E-FAN-MAIL!

Posted by td @ 07/15/2003 07:41 PM PST

Dear Reader Emily, Jason Robert Brown had quite a few things to say about THE INAUDIBLE JASON ROBERT BROWN on R.A.T.M. the other day. . .I'll see if I can look it up. He has very strong, almost vitriolic thoughts about people having that cd.

Posted by td @ 07/15/2003 07:44 PM PST

Best way to pack cookies for shipping. Put them in a zip lock bag and suck as much air out as possible (a straw works well). Then box them in pop corn. It helps to make fresh pop corn incase the recipient decides to eat that as well.

Posted by Jane @ 07/15/2003 07:44 PM PST

Dear Readers One and All, CLICK my initials to be taken to Jason Robert Brown's post on RATM.

Posted by td @ 07/15/2003 07:47 PM PST

SANDRA - Suggested topic for your persuasion speech:
Make a case for listening to the music of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, The Gershwins and Rodgers and Hart instead of rock and all its offshoots.

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 07/15/2003 08:14 PM PST

Donna--what a great idea for a speech! You are a gal after my own heart.

Emily--please add me to the list of those who would like a copy of the JRB CD and video!

I read the JRB post--that was so rude of him! I can understand how he may have wanted the Inaudible Jason Robert Brown to stay within his immediate circle of friends, but then to insult this guy who seems to be such a big fan of his work. I found it very sad.

TD--I read an interesting (and long) interview with his fiancee Georgia Stitt the other day. I think it was on ShowPeople.com--I've lost the exact link unfortunately.

Posted by Maya @ 07/15/2003 08:52 PM PST

Hello everyone!

Well.. I just wanted to say I am sorry, but it looks as though the pictures will not go up tonight. I have them just about ready to go, but I need Bruce to double check captions, etc. They will either go up tomorrow LATE (I am seeing a show tomorrow night) or Thursday around 9pm e.s.t.

All the best!

Posted by Craig @ 07/15/2003 09:01 PM PST

This is all very exciting! I am participating in the reading of a new musical tomorrow nite. And the producer is going to be taping it! Please, I can use all the break-a-leg vibes you can send my way. Thanks!

Posted by Susan @ 07/15/2003 09:10 PM PST

~~~~~ Sending Break-a-Leg Vibes to Susan!! We want a full report tomorrow!!!!

Posted by Laura @ 07/15/2003 09:12 PM PST

Dear Susan...

All terrific vibes, wishes, and affirmations are being sent to you, via rocket-powered ESP. You'll be wonderful.

When you get a minute, please drop me an email....I'd like to ask you something.

Posted by MusicGuy @ 07/15/2003 09:21 PM PST

Cool Susan! You will do great!!! And here are my positive vibes sent your way!

Posted by MBarnum @ 07/15/2003 09:22 PM PST

Sending even more Break-A-Leg vibes to you Susan. Can't wait to hear the details.

Posted by TCB @ 07/15/2003 09:27 PM PST

DR Jane, Thanks for mentioning the fantastic ELLERY QUEEN mystery series starring Jim Hutton. For TV mysteries, they were superb and done in period! A shame the show only lasted one season.

Posted by Matt H. @ 07/15/2003 09:34 PM PST

Susan--break a leg! Yet more good vibes....

One can never have too many good vibes, can one?

Posted by Maya @ 07/15/2003 09:47 PM PST

The pictures are up! Bruce came home just in the Nick Redman of time!

Here's the direct link:

http://haineshisway.com/jeepers/court1.htm

Posted by Craig @ 07/15/2003 09:52 PM PST

Susan: Vibes from Oz coming your way.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 07/15/2003 10:48 PM PST

Break a leg, Susan!! *Good vibes*

Posted by Sandra @ 07/16/2003 01:14 AM PST

Super musical good vibes to DR Susan. ~~~~~~~~

And thanks for the great pictures, Craig!

DR Susan ready for business...BK with all the stars AND June Wilkinson!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/16/2003 03:30 AM PST

BK mentioned A KISS BEFORE DYING yesterday...the novel by Ira Levin.

It has been filmed a couple of times, the first version is my favorite. Starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward, Virginia Leith and Jeffrey Hunter, with fine support from Mary Astor and George MacCready..I think it is on DVD now. Filmed as an "open" mystery, it still has a few surprises that jolt!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/16/2003 06:38 AM PST

Am I the only person who doubts that that actually was JRB?

Even it if was - I have to remain firm in my belief that if music is good, music should be listened to, regardless of even the artist's thoughts. If JRB wants to come out with any number of commercial realeases, I will buy them the minute they arrive on the shelves of amazon. If he wants to hoard his music from his fans, boo to him. We will find a way. We always do.

The list for the cd (sorry... I can't make copies of the video - I promised my source) is:

Jose
JMK
Maya

Just to let you all know, I didn't even BUY the cd and video. It was an exchange of favours (NO... NOT THOSE TYPE OF FAVOURS). My conscience is perfectly at rest.

Posted by Emily @ 07/16/2003 07:03 AM PST