living read girl

The Lace Reader reveals a stunning Salem tale of inner and outer suspense

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:11:00 +0000

The first narrator that we meet in The Lace Reader lets us know right from the start that her point of view is suspect with these opening sentences:"My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time."

Towner Whitney grew up in Salem, MA,but left there many years ago after several family tragedies,thinking she would never return. Just days into her recovery from surgery,she receives news that her great aunt Eva has gone missing and is feared to be dead. Since May,Towner's agoraphobic mother,refuses to leave the small island she lives on(which is also a sanctuary for abused women),Towner goes home to see if she can find Eva herself.

It soon becomes clear that Eva is dead,presumably a victim of drowning. Many of the longtime Salem residents suspect foul play,with one major suspect in mind;Cal Boynton, a violent former alcoholic who was once married to Eva's daughter Emma and physically abused her over the years to the point where Emma's injuries left her with brain damage. Cal now calls himself a Reverend and leads a small but fervent religious cult group who hassles the local witchcraft tourist trade and practicing Wiccans,making the Whitney women the frequent targets of their wrath.

The Whitney women have a long tradition of mind reading and fortune telling,using lace as the focusing object of their psychic abilities. Eva ran a tea room out of her home and used locally made bobbin lace(some of which was made by the battered women residents staying with May)and while Towner has inherited these gifts,she refuses to read lace any more. The last time that she did, the images that she saw didn't seem to help her prevent the tragedy that was to come.

During Towner's stay,she meets Rafferty,a police detective who has moved to Salem to get over his past troubles and was a good friend of Eva's. He's investigating her death along with the disappearance of Angela Rickey,a young woman who was mixed up with Cal's flock of followers and has recently gone missing. Angela was also having a secret affair with Cal and a victim of his abuse who has left him before. However,this time she's pregnant,most likely by Cal, and it looks as if her vanishing act and Eva's death may be connected.

That's not the only set of mysteries to be solved here. Towner's memories of her past were severely affected by trauma and shock treatments given to her as part of the treatment for a nervous breakdown. Even with intimate family members aiding her in piercing most of those experiences back together,she still has some gaps and a few flashbacks about her twin sister Lyndley,another casualty of Cal Boynton's cruelty.

As Towner and Raffety come closer together to answer these questions,more crop up and lead to revelations that not even lace reading could predict,or rather be properly interpreted by it's seeker.

The author of this book,Brunonia Barry,is a resident of Salem and her love for the area shines through out the pages,bringing her version of the town to vivid life. Barry weaves several threads of plot points that slowly but surely come together to form a intricate journey of one woman longing to see the truth about her past and needing it to bring her towards the path to a better future.

The Lace Reader is one of those perfect books that saves you from the dullness of TV reruns and overrated blockbuster movies,one that's great for curling up with in your favorite chair and just devouring over the course of a weekend. It's also an excellent pick for reading groups,looking for a story that keeps you guessing and filled with lively characters to discuss over a cup of tea or two.

The book will be out and about by July 29,so make your plans to see Salem thru the eyes of Brunonia Barry and rejoice in the magic of her words:

Design Star's kitchen nightmare,Shear Genius plays musical chairs and Project Runway's new season starts off with something old

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Season 5 of Project Runway began last night,with a salute to challenges past. Tim Gunn took the new flock of designers to Gristedes,the supermarket where the very first challenge was given,to do their own version of choosing items from that store to make an outfit from. They even had a special guest judge,Austin Scarlett,from Season 1 who was the winner of that original challenge.

I didn't get into PR until the middle of Season Two,but did recently catch an episode from S1 with Austin Scarlett,so I at least know who he was(it was the Emmy dress episode)and was thrilled to see him here.

There were a lot of interesting choices made and quite a few safe ones,too. A good number of folks went for the tablecloths,which caused Tim Gunn to warn them about appearing to be "slackers" in the front of the judges.

Despite that blunder,we did see some cool outfits;Daniel Wilde made his dress out of Dixie drinking cups that he melted together with an iron,with muslin as the background material. I really liked that one,plus his model had a bit of a Betty Boop look to her,which enhanced the whole outfit. The judges really were impressed with it as well.

What won the challenge(and immunity for the next round)was Kelli's two piece skirt and top that showed off her creativity big time. The skirt was made from vacuum cleaner bags that she used bleach and dye on,to make those marbleized patterns and the top was coffee filters that had been strategically singed.

Kelli even whipped up a closure in the back that was made from the coils of a spiral notebook,nice! She really put a ton of effort into this piece and rightfully deserved the win,altho I did think that Daniel's drink cup dress would get it instead. The judges' impressions of that number appeared to be quite high.

One of the low points was Stella's trash bag dress that Heidi properly pointed out did look like something she felt that she had to throw together. Stella,who specializes in making denim and leather ensembles for rock 'n' roll clients(and in her words,"hookers,pimps,anyone who's tough enough to wear them"),kept whining about how her "fabric" was so flimsy. That's because you bought the cheap brand of garbage bags there,honey!

I'm sorry,but with a budget of $75,there is no excuse for her to have snapped up the inexpensive brand,none whatsoever. If she had invested in some Hefty bags and maybe added some twist ties,that outfit wouldn't have looked like something even a seasoned dumpster diver would turn her nose up at.

I had to feature Blaine's outfit here because no words in any language can truly describe this bizarre thing. "What the hell is that?!" just keeps running thru my head every time I look at it.

Blaine insisted on calling that outfit "girlicious" but no female in her right mind would want to wear that monstrosity in public unless she was given some sort of compensation for it,or in this case,trying to win a competition. As hideous as "Girlicious" and Stella's Garbage Bag Gown were,they still managed to stay on the show because something even worse loomed on the horizon.

The first PR designer sent home this season was Jerry Kim,for his shower curtain/raincoat number that was both weird and creepy,not in a good way either.

That whole get-up was very sinister looking;I would not have been surprised if Jerry's model had asked folks at one point, "Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?" That's how serial killer chic that sucker was. Even Nina Garcia said it looked like the perfect out fit to kill someone in,while Michael Kors quipped that the dress underneath the jacket resembled a "Handi-Wipe gone wrong". Should be quite a season here,with a start like this!

On Shear Genius,the hard as hell Shortcut challenges continued as the stylists were given clients to start on and then as the rounds went on,had their person go from one stylist to the other. It was pretty hectic,for both the stylists and the ladies getting their hair done. Dee won the challenge,which earned her not only first choice in the Elimination challenge but the wrath of Charlie,who was not pleased about losing out here. Dude,you won two in a row,let the others have time to exhibit!

That bout of ill will came quickly back to haunt him,as Dee was allowed to assign models to each stylist for the Elimination challenge and he was dead last. The assignment was to give the client a hairstyle that she could easily maintain on her own and to prove that she could,the judging was done the day after. The models were given a half hour to recreate their new look,with no help from the stylist allowed.

Charlie didn't bother to add any color changes(which was also part of the challenge) or give his gal a better cut. Her hair was shorter,that's it. Even Jaclyn Smith sniped at Charlie about being lucky to have immunity this week.

Even tho Nicole had given her client a look that she was able to restyle in eight minutes,the winner of this challenge was Glenn. Glenn did do a nice job and was overwhelmed by her victory,mainly due to the special prize for this round is a photo spread Nexxus ad for both stylist and model in Allure magazine.

Meredith was shipped home,for her heavy hairstyle that one of the judges said looked like a squid. I totally agree,it weighed down the model's face and was not something you would want to maintain on a daily basis. Meredith didn't take her dismissal well,claiming the judges were prejudiced against curly haired people. Uh,no,I think they're prejudiced against people who give others crappy hair-dos because it suits their odd little agenda,dear.

The gang on Design Star this week had to face the dreaded kitchen remodeling challenge,which has been one of the biggest hurdles for past contenders. Things were even made harder,with a double elimination to worry about and the annoying Tracee being made the team leader.

The good news was that the kitchen was finished on time(a first for this challenge)but the bad news was that the results were blander than mayonnaise spread on white bread. Tracee spent so much time shopping on day two for supplies that she didn't get back in time for the back splash to be tiled(and why did she buy those throw pillows,for a kitchen/dining room makeover? I didn't see them represented in either room after they were done!)and everyone else was so focused on getting the kitchen completed that they didn't add much color or creativity to the end results.

Tracee was booted out(hurrah!)and Mikey V. was sent home,too,for his lackluster hosting skills. He seemed like a good guy but Matt does have more personality on camera than him:

RANDOM NOTES:

THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR: The Final Four went to Vegas and met up with Paula Deen for a Bobby Flay "Throwdown" challenge. The cooks were paired to make their own signature dishes as well as the signature dish of their partner. During the prep time,the cooks had to answer questions from the judging panel and do an interview with Dayna from Extra.

The only person who seemed to get the challenge was Aaron,he made a better chicken parm than Kelsey did(very exceptional,since he nearly forgot to make the dish!)and his own offering of stuffed pork loin earned the praise of Paula. I was hoping that Lisa would be sent home but Kelsey got the boot instead. She did impress me with her very gracious acceptance of that news and should be a role model for other reality competition competitors to follow:

THE MIDDLEMAN: This show keeps getting more offbeat and funnier with each episode. If you haven't checked it out yet,maybe this reel of clever quips and creative versions of expletives will lure you in to the goofy gravy goodness:

Open Letter to Steven Spielberg,Re: The Talisman movie

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Dear Mr. Spielberg,

First off,congrats on the new Indy Jones flick-while I didn't see it myself,it does look as if Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a decent entry in the series. Usually by the time someone makes Hit Movie Part Four,it's the beginning of the end of any quality that the original film had from the start.

Speaking of quality,I've heard that you and Kathleen Kennedy intend to make The Talisman as a mini-series for TNT that's due to air sometime in 2009. Glad to hear that the book may finally get it's due on film but if you're in search of a good director for this project(or not thrilled with whoever is attached to it now),you need to watch a couple of clips.

A Canadian fellow by the name of Matthieu Ratthe has recently placed a demo video of one of the scenes from the book(which I believed he personally financed himself)on YouTube,which is making the rounds with those of us who like the book and film fans in general.

Ratthe made this demo as an audition tape for you and Ms. Kennedy to give him a shot at directing the film adaptation and as you can see in the clip,it's very professional looking and showcases his deft hand at sustaining suspense. Don't just take my word for it,please watch this for yourself:

Ratthe also has another short film online,called Lovefield. I won't give anything away except to say that things aren't always what they seem:

Now,Steven,you've owned the rights to The Talisman for about twenty five years(long enough time that Stephen King and Peter Straub have written and published a sequel to it several years ago)and making it into a miniseries is a fine idea.

TNT did very well with Nightmares and Dreamscapes(their Salem's Lot remake had a few good moments but still didn't do the source material justice,in my opinion)and this could be an excellent entertainment for both fans of the book and the regular TV watcher who would be pleasantly surprised to find a cool fantasy epic that they don't have to truck out to the multiplex for or figure out a bunch of overly elaborate mythology to enjoy.

It's clear as crystal that Matthieu Ratthe is dedicated to making The Talisman into a good film and I sincerely believe that you should give him the chance to do so. Either hook him up with the folks at TNT for the miniseries or,if that project is a bust(I know that it's been delayed more than once due to budget and other problems),then just sell him the rights to it for a dollar and help him get some independent financing for it.

Not only would it be the right thing to do and a great way to be seen as someone who's willing to give a fellow filmmaker a break, you could really re-establish your street cred with the folks as well. To tell the truth and shame the devil,plenty of people out there see you and your good buddy George Lucas as a couple of corporate fat cats selling out your original visions with pointless technical tinkering of your older films for quick cash via re-releases. By helping Matthieu Ratthe out,you could put all of that behind you:

Or,if you don't give a damn about those guys say,just think back to your early days as a struggling film maker and then as a starting to be successful one. Ratthe seems to share your love of film and was perhaps influenced by some of your movies. The both of you also appear to have a burning need to make films with heart and a sense of wonder,which is a rare commodity these days. Wouldn't you like to be the one who gets to introduce the next great cinematic talent to the world? Audiences would really appreciate such generosity and respect your body of work even more for it:

So,Steve,think it over and please,please give Matthieu Ratthe his golden ticket to Hollywood. After all,you can't really be considered a master of your craft if you don't accept any apprentices to mentor.

Sincerely,

Lady T and the rest of the red hot cinema lovers

p.s. Thanks for bringing Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood,it's the one thing that makes me want to check out Indiana Jones & KOTCS(plus,it makes up for casting Shia Lebouf,seriously).

What a pop culture pack of Jokers!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Okay,kids,we all know what the big weekend movie is-Batman: The Dark Knight(Mamma Mia! will just have to wait,alas)and part of the big reason for that is Heath Ledger's last completed on screen performance as the Joker.

Playing the Joker is no simple task;the character is a classic villain not only in comic book lore but in the all time pantheon of fictional foes. Sure,you can compare him to Lex Luthor and The Green Goblin but you could make a strong case for the Joker as the inspiration for such nasty charmers as Hannibal Lector,Mr. Blonde or most of Joe Pesci's mob roles in Scorsese movies.

As a warm-up to the latest representation of the Clown Prince of Crime,I thought it would be a hoot to look over the past versions of the Joker in films and on TV. So,without further delay,here are the laughing boys:

CESAR ROMERO

Many of us were first introduced to the Joker on the old school Batman TV show via
Cesar Romero. Romero fit right into the hokey cartoon vibe of the show and while there was more than one actress that played Catwoman(the best being Julie Newmar),Romero was always the Joker.

He appeared in the based on the television program's full length Batman movie,along with original bad guys performers Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshim(Penguin and The Riddler)with Lee Meriweather as Catwoman. A good solid bit of ensemble work there.

Romero pretty much created the template on which other actors in the role were to follow. Mark Hamill cites him as his muse for doing voice work as the Joker for the Batman: Animated Series(more about that later). Out of all the actors who went up against Adam West's Batman,Romero was the most beloved:

JACK NICHOLSON

There were numerous doubts about how Tim Burton's take on Batman would go over with audiences but the one sure thing that lured the uncertain into the theaters was Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Nicholson brought his full arsenal of menace,charisma and willingness to go over the top and beyond to the role,making it a truly iconic performance.

One of the cleverest touches of the screenplay and/or the director was to slowly build up the reemergence of the character after his infamous Axis chemical encounter with Batman. The suspense created for what mob henchman Jack Napier now looked like as the reborn rogue,Joker is just as tense as those tricks used to make the fake shark in Jaws so terrifying a little more than a decade before:

There are so many great scenes with Nicholson in this movie,but one of my true favorites is this courtship clash at Vicki Vale's apartment,where Bruce Wayne is about to make a major revelation but not before the Joker arrives to renew his advances to Vicki. Watching Keaton and Nicholson play off each in this unexpected meeting between the two characters is crackling good fun,not to mention the odd sidebar of Basinger nervously nibbling on popcorn during the highpoint of the scene:

MARK HAMILL

Batman:The Animated Series had a great cast of actors lending their voices to folks like Catwoman(Adrienne Barbeau),The Penguin(Paul Williams),Batgirl(Melissa Gilbert)and The Mad Hatter(Roddy McDowell),their best casting coup was having Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker.

Hamill,best known now and forever as Luke Skywalker,was really able to stretch his range and showcase his considerable talents as an actor via his vocal stylings,adding more mirth and menace to the role.

He also voiced the Joker in guest appearances on Justice League Unlimited,Superman:The Animated Series and a couple of B:TAS movies as well. The character of the Joker was written for many episodes of the series but in my opinion,Paul Dini was the best writer for any Joker storyline and combined with Hamill's voice work,they helped to raise the playing field for what could be done on children's animated shows:

JOKER'S FAVOR

JOKER'S WILD

AND NOW A WORD ABOUT HARLEY QUINN

Another boon that Batman: The Animated Series gave us was the introduction to a spunky and silly sidekick to the Joker who is nearly as dangerous as the man himself. I'm talking about Harley Quinn,aka Harleen Quinzel,who made her first appearance as a hench woman on the "Joker's Favor" episode and kept coming back on the series to do all she could for her darling "Mr. J"(who could care less about her but found her to be pretty handy backup during fights with Batman and his allies).

Harley(voiced by Arleen Sorkin,who I remember as Calliope on Days Of Our Lives) also teamed up with Poison Ivy on occasion,usually after a spat with Mr. J but always returned to his side in the end. Harley has grown from a bit player to a full fledged villianess in her own right,with several comic book appearances,plus her own line of books and tie-in toys to boot.

She's so iconic that director Kevin Smith named his daughter after her(better than naming a kid Kal-el,if you ask me)and while she hasn't been included in the new Batman films,perhaps in time,she will make her big screen debut:

MAD LOVE

HARLEY AND IVY

So far,the only live action version that we've gotten of Harley was on the short lived Birds of Prey series(which has just released on DVD),with Mia Sara strutting her stuff but not putting on the make-up or the diamond designed outfit.

Sherrilyn Fenn was set to play Dr. Quinzel in an early pilot episode but then there was a switch and I have to say that Mia Sara was certainly sinister enough as a solo Harley out for evil hijinks and payback plans for Gotham City:

HYPNO HARLEY

BATTLE ROYALE

While it's too soon to tell if Ledger's turn as the Joker will live up to the hype surrounding it, one thing is for certain;the character will still live on for many other generations to come. New interpretations will cause some debate amongst true believers but the Joker's niche in the Arkham Asylum archives is too firmly etched to ever fade away:

Join The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for a thumping good read

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:48:00 +0000

You might be daunted by the lengthy title of this book,or that it is a novel told entirely thru the old fashioned version of e-mail or even that there are two authors credited for it(some folks can be fussy about the oddest things)but if you do pass by a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society(which will be on sale by the end of July),you will be only depriving yourself of one of the most charming books of the season.

The leading lady of this multi-character tale is Juliet Ashton,a writer living in London during 1946 who has just finished an exhausting book tour. Her collection of wartime newspaper columns,Izzy Bickerstaff Goes To War,did very well(much better than her biography of Anne Bronte did)and her success has also attracted an very wealthy suitor,Markham V. Reynolds,who would like to be her new publisher as well.

Juliet is pleased with the attention,but is more concerned about finding a new subject to write about. An unexpected letter in the mail from a resident of the island of Guernsey gives her plenty of inspiration. Dawsey Adams found her name and former address(destroyed by air raids during the War) in a book of Charles Lamb and wrote to Juliet to ask for help in finding more of Lamb's works. Guernsey is still recovering from the many years of being occupied by German forces and is in the midst of playing catch-up in all resources.

She does help him and learns more about his developing interest in reading and those of his neighbors who formed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The group was started impromptu,to give credibility to a quick thought up excuse for folks stopped by German troops after curfew(they were leaving a secretly held roast pig dinner)told by the spunky Elizabeth McKenna. However,as time went on,those who gathered together once a month to talk about books and share what food they were able to get(hence the title pie,which used potato peels as the crust)grew to be the basis of support and strength during those troubling times.

Juliet begins to correspond with other members of the Society,such as Isola Pribby,a good hearted portion maker and fan of the Bronte sisters,John Booker,a valet who pretended to be his aristocratic boss to avoid being targeted as Jewish by the Germans,Eben Ramsey,a fisherman recently reunited with his grandson who was evacuated from the island just before the Occupation and Amelia Maugery,who hosted the infamous roast pig dinner that started the group up in the first place.

As several long distance friendships develop,Juliet becomes more and more interested in Guernsey and what life was like for them during the War. She's also growing very fond of Dawsey,who shares many of her tastes in books and the living definition of "still waters run deep". Despite the protests of Markam,who insists upon Juliet accepting his marriage proposal(after a rather brief courtship),Juliet decides that she must visit Guernsey in order to write about it properly.

Juliet is warmly welcomed by all of her new friends and makes a new one in Kit,the four year old daughter of Elizabeth McKenna,who had fallen in love with a German officer and was later sent to a labor camp for harboring an escaped Polish prisoner,a starving young boy of sixteen. The members of the Society take turns in raising Kit until news of her mother and/or her return to Guernsey happens.

Juliet's inspiration to write about Elizabeth and the Society grows,along with her affections towards life on the island and most strongly,to Dawsey. As she makes a number of life changing decisions during her stay,Juliet's most important ones hinge on whether or not her love for Dawsey is hopeless or a true exchange of two hearts.

This novel was first started by Mary Ann Shaffer,who worked with literature all of her life as a librarian,editor and in bookstores. She visited Guernsey in 1976 and become fascinated with the history of the Channel islands during the Occupation.

She worked on the book for several years and asked her niece,Annie Barrows(a children's book author),to collaborate on it with her when Ms. Shaffer's health problems interfered with her writing. Unfortunately,Mary Ann Shaffer passed away and can not receive in person all of the praise that her first novel is getting,both before and after it's debut. I am in no doubt that her family,especially Annie Barrows,is pleased to have their aunt's talents as a wordsmith preserved here and to be shared and enjoyed by fellow readers the world over.

It's a credit to the skills of both ladies that the narrative flow of the book is seamless,giving the reader no reason to wonder where one of them stopped and the other one started. Who cares about that,anyway-it's the characters that we become fully invested in and another check in the plus column is the successful blend of the quaint,oftentimes humorous charms of English country life with the harsh realities of the German Occupation and WWII.

Even the German soldiers are given a fair shake by several of the characters and while there are some sad moments,they serve to firmly cement the story in the reality of that time period while giving proper nuance and balance to the characters. It would be cheating both the reader and the fictional folks of the Society to not do so.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will be in bookstores soon and not only will reading groups be blessed with such a joy,fans of Helene Hanff and her famous collection of letters to Marks and Co. will be delighted as well. Many of the books and authors that Helene loved are well appreciated here and she and Juliet Ashton would get along like gangbusters. Hopefully,Helene and Mary Ann run into each other in the next world to swap British book loving stories-now that would make an excellent book!:

Forever Amber and other red hot historical reads

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:01:00 +0000

I noticed quite a bit of buzz lately about Sourcebooks putting out a good number of reprints of Georgette Heyer titles,with some lovely covers that tempt even an overloaded reader like me to scoop some of those stories. I've never had the pleasure of reading Heyer but it did get me to thinking about Forever Amber,which I may give a reread this summer.

The first copy of Forever Amber that I owned was a mass market paperback with the front cover neatly torn off(this was before my book selling days,so I didn't recognize the numerous salvaged from a book store's trash copies of books that popped up at a dozen yard sales in my neighborhood at the time)and while I throughly enjoyed the story,I did long for a proper edition of the adventures of Amber St. Clare(is that a great name for a historical heroine or what?). A couple of years ago,I was able to get myself a nice British reissue(which was also released in the US)with an introduction by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Forever Amber may seem to be pretty tame now,but it was the literary Basic Instinct of it's day. The book was banned in several states when it first came out in 1944 and condemned by religious groups for discussing such topics as illegitimate pregnancy,abortion and "women undressing in front of men"(how did they think those ladies got pregnant in the first place,thru osmosis?). That didn't stop the sales of the book,Forever Amber was one of the biggest bestsellers of the 1940s.

Hollywood made a film version of it that was released in 1947 but it's a very watered down depiction of the book,with numerous changes to make Amber look more a nice girl as appeasement to straight laced folks in the audience.

One of the reasons that I liked Amber St. Clare so much is that she reminded me a lot of Scarlett O'Hara;both of them do have much in common. They are women who are torn between fitting into the cultural cookie cutter place that society insists upon them and yet wind up defying all of those social conventions when it suits them.

Both of them fall in love with unavailable men(for Amber,it's more of an emotional abandonment combined with social snobbery while Scarlett's in full pursuit of a married man)and soundly reject those who can really return their love.

Scarlett and Amber also have to flee from fires(Amber,The Great Fire of London,Scarlett,the burning of Atlanta)with the help of their men of the moment. Another major connection between the ladies is their unflagging selfishness and willingness to go to any means to achieve their goals in life. You could debate which one is worse and the circumstances that each one had to deal with(Restoration England,The American Civil War)but both of these gals have blood on their hands and would need a good defense lawyer if caught.

Scarlett would have a better chance of getting off,due to being able to declare self defense, but Amber's street savvy might lead her to finding a way out of such a mess.

The likability factor for both of them is pretty sketchy; after my second reading of GWTW,I couldn't help but think that Scarlett was a total bitch. A third reading helped me to gain a little more perspective and appreciate that some of her over the top attitude was necessary to survive the aftermath of the war and the changing new world around her. Amber was a hardy little survivor,too,but not so much concerned with being perceived as a "great lady" like Scarlett was,which may have given her a few less complexes and a sturdier backbone.

I don't know if any of Heyer's heroines are as spicy as Amber and Scarlett(her books have been recommended as appropriate for Jane Austen fans) but there is a huge novel set during the battle of Waterloo that looks enticing,An Infamous Army. The leading lady here is a widow,Lady Barbara Childe,who has flung off the traditions of mourning and has become quite the party girl,since she never loved her arranged marriage husband in the first place.

A member of the Duke of Wellington's staff falls madly in love with her and impulsively asks her to marry him,even tho he's well aware of her bad reputation. Lady Barbara says yes(mainly because she finds his attentions amusing)to his proposal but still keeps up her wild ways. Sounds like Amber and Scarlett would fit right with Lady Barbara to me. Now,if they could all team up with one more deviously like minded gal(Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park,perhaps?),I bet they would give those Sex and the City chicks a real run for their money.

Well,whether I get my hands on An Infamous Army or plunge like a low cut neckline into Forever Amber,one thing is for certain: when it comes to gorgeous guilty pleasure reads,the British are the best. I know that the author of Forever Amber was an American but you wouldn't know it from reading that book,folks. Maybe it's just my own personal preference but there's just a special spark that English writers have for certain genres that make them much more fun. I don't think I'm alone in this,I really don't:

Shear Genius rolls out the red carpet,Design star gets a suite deal and the winner of Hell's Kitchen is..

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:41:00 +0000

The stylists on this season's Shear Genius are certainly getting really hard Shortcut challenges-first,they had to cut hair blindfolded and this week,each one was given a person with very long hair to style and add accessories to,but were not allowed to cut any of the hair off. Meredith had to work with a gal who had hair that was 68 inches long(she had to separate it with her hands and feet!)and did a good job there.

Matthew took the Shortcut win and was given first choice for the Elimination challenge,plus getting to decide in what order his fellow stylists would go in(they do that a lot on this show-pretty crafty advantage,I must say). Matthew then began the first in a series of mentions about his wife,comparing the win to the time she told him she loved him for the first time.

That's nice,(I guess)but he kept going on and on about how much he loved her and how he misses her and they worked together at the same salon...yadda,yadda,yadda! All I can say is that if Matthew received a dollar for every time that he mentioned his wife,that cash prize Shear Genius hands over to the winner would look like chump change to him.

Anyway,on to the challenge which was to style hair worthy of the infamous Red Carpet. Two guest judges were appointed for this round,celeb stylist Mark Townsend and Days of Our Lives actress Alison Sweeney. Each person had to choose a dress before seeing their client to inspire their look and Matthew took his time,saying that he wanted to pick one suitable for his wife. "Your wife's not here" Rene Fris reminded him(Rene is the Tim Gunn of this show)and got a big laugh for that.

There were several good styles but Charlie won yet again,for his sleek retro waves that he gave a nice coloring to and all within two hours. That's some damn fast work there and it's a popular red carpet look(I remember seeing Cate Blanchett at the Oscars one time with a similar hairdo)as well. Keep it going,Charlie!

Matthew made the mistake of not listening to his client and was sent home for it. Despite the fact that she told him that her hair didn't curl,he attempted to make her locks do so and gave her what Alison Sweeney called a "My Little Pony" look. Dum,de dum,dumb! Well,I'm sure that Matthew is happy to be reuniting with his wife so he's not walking away empty handed there.

Design Star had a celebrity client this week,country music singer Sara Evans,and were given a team challenge to create a suite in the Opryland Hotel based on her personal tastes. Each team had a one on one session with Sara to talk about what styles she likes-her preference was for shabby chic.

The annoying Tracee worked with Trish and Mikey V and shockingly enough,managed to make a couple of good choices,including picking weathered old doors as headboards,that helped her team to win. Sadly,Stephanie was sent home for choosing a sofa at the last minute that was too big to go upstairs into the suite,leaving a big hole in the floor plan. At least her team mates didn't throw her under the bus and seemed rather reluctant to do so:

The winner of Hell's Kitchen for season four was Christina,which disappointed some folks(including my mom),and while I do like Petrozza,he wasn't as focused as she was in the leadership position. Petrozza had Jen on his team which left Matt to Christina,a plague on both of their houses.

Christina did her best to coax a good work effort out of him that bore mixed results;Jen kept sulking and even hit up Ramsey for a letter of recommendation at one point(talk about nerve!). I haven't liked or trusted Corey at all but one thing in her favor that I can truly say about her is that she did give Christina some good support in the kitchen and was a real help to her:

Petrozza's first sign of trouble was when his kitchen started to run out of key ingredients like the blue cheese for the salad and lobster for the ap. Not only was he at fault for that but so were the chefs in charge of those stations,in my opinion. Louross got backed up and Christina sent Matt over to help,which wasn't a bad idea except that Matt was more of a hindrance. I swear,Louross was this close to using flash cards to instruct Matt on how to make the salad!:

Jen was no joy to work with either;she took forever and a New Year's Day to make a decent onion ring for an order that was waiting to go out. Hell,even I could cook a crispy onion ring and I don't eat those things. Matt had monkfish troubles combined with mumbling "shut up" to everyone during service. I think Ramsey was tempted to clock him one and I don't care how big Matt is,Ramsey could knock him down quicker than you can sneeze:

So,while Petrozza did a good job and is a nice guy to work with,he's not the strongest guy to work for. No doubt that being on this show will give him enough good PR to do well in the restaurant business and best of luck to him. Congratulations to Christina and I hope that the next season of Hell's Kitchen is just as entertaining to watch as this one was. Onward to Kitchen Nightmares this fall!:

RANDOM NOTES:

THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR:

The Final Five had a big challenge this week,giving a cooking demonstration on Rachel Ray's talk show with a Girl Scout as their partner. The dish was supposed to be healthy and based on what the little girl liked to eat and could cook. Lisa was super snotty,hoping that her partner would have a "sophisticated palate" and whipped up a steak with horseradish,not very kid friendly to me. She also froze up during the demo,leaving Rachel to fill up the dead air.

Shane failed to connect with his partner,which cost him a plane ticket to Vegas and a place amongst the Final Four. I would've given him another chance. Aaron and Adam were the best presenters in this challenge and that helped them out a lot here. Those guys have been in last place quite a bit:

Project Runway: The Season 5 premiere is next week and since this will be the last time the series is on Bravo(so far),we might as well make the most out of it. When the show moves to Lifetime,it will be a horse of a different color:

Hellacious heroes on the silver screen

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:55:00 +0000

One of the big movies opening up this week is a sequel that will be just as worth watching as The Dark Knight is,only with a little less hype.

That's a shame because Hellboy II: The Golden Army showcases the amazing imaginative visual talents of director Guillermo del Toro(who also directed the original Hellboy movie)and brings back the full set of actors that made the first movie so good. That's not always easy to do there,especially for a movie that has done well but not become a major household name.

Hellboy does have a strong following due to it's comic book origins and even a nifty line of action figures to boot but he doesn't seem to have the same superhero recognizability as even Hancock(which just came out and is a strictly made for the big screen story)outside of a Comic Con.

I'm wondering if part of that could be the "hero from hell" factor-as the tagline for Hellboy II says,believe or not,he's the good guy. I suspect that some folks might have a wee bit of a problem rooting for a demon with shaved off horns to save the day,despite the fact that he's just a big lug with a soft spot for cats and in love with a mortal woman,who happens to have psychic fire starter powers that keep her at bay from the rest of human male population. What's not to like,I ask you?

Hellboy isn't the first hero to deal with demoniac backstory issues but when Spawn hit the theaters in 1997,one of the setbacks wasn't lack of hype,it was overkill. Todd McFarlane has been both praised and jeered for his relentless promotion of his comic book creations and tie-in products and while you could argue about that until the cows come home,you certainly can agree that Spawn movie was not hiding from publicity.

Another big problem with Spawn was the high expectations that many of the die hard fans brought to it;having an animated HBO version of the character still fresh in the minds of those both inside and outside of comic book circles wasn't a check mark in the plus column for the film. The mixed reviews from critics didn't help either and reflected the assorted bag of goodies that the movie ultimately was:

While Constantine had a more human hero fighting the forces of evil,he wasn't quite on the side of the angels either. Tough talking,bitter to the enth degree and with darkly selfish motives,John Constantine follows in the tradition of 1940's film noir detectives,only armed with magic instead of a gun but still hitting the bottle and smoking like a fiend.

I knew the studio had doubts about the movie when they released it in the midwinter months of 2005. That's one of the prime Hollywood dumping grounds for genre movies and it deserved much better.

The film had a richly abundant blend of mythos and dark humor,matched by it's excellent cast that included Rachel Weisz,Djimon Hounsou,Tilda Swinton and Peter Stormare in a show stealing performance as Lucifer. For some reason,Keanu Reeves does his best work as a leading man in films with totally out of this world themes(The Matrix,Devil's Advocate)-he seems to bring forth a solidly grounded central character in the midst of the chaos all about him:

Perhaps Hellboy II will do better than expected,leading the way for more brimstone bound heroes to grace the silver screen. To those who have some lingering reluctance for such unlikely saviors of humanity,try to keep in mind that saying about not judging books by their covers. That applies to comics,too.

Speaking of comics,I just hope that if and when a live action version of Lady Death is made,they put more focus on the characters and the plot than the skimpy outfit Her Evilness wears. Come on,Hollywood, keep your eye on the prize and not the cleavage for once:

On The Shelf with Michael Ian Black

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Michael Ian Black is one of the funniest people in America,bar none. If you only know him as the guy who shows up on those VH-1 "I Love The(insert decade of your choice)" shows or the occasional soda commercial,you haven't even scratched the surface of his comic genius.

Black splashed onto the pop culture scene years ago,with the too good for school MTV skit series The State,along with other talented friends such as Kerri Kenney and Thomas Lennon who he later teamed up with for Viva Variety along with Michael Showalter and David Wain,who later formed the comic troupe Stella,which had a brief run on Comedy Central.

He's also appeared in films like the cult classic "Wet Hot American Summer","The Baxter" and "The Ten" and several TV shows,this year doing a stint on Reaper with fellow State player Ken Marino(who is also a Veronica Mars alumnus). Black also has written both for film and TV,with his most recent screenplay being for "Run,FatBoy ,Run" that starred Simon Pegg this past spring.

About to hit bookstores everywhere this month is his first collection of essays entitled "My Custom Van:And 50 Other Mind Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face",which should surely give current best-selling essayist David Sedaris a real run for his money. I consider myself most fortunate to have been able to ask Michael Ian Black a few questions regarding his new book,Reaper and the fate of the much anticipated DVD set of The State:

1) Were the challenges you faced in writing this book different or similar to the ones you've dealt with when writing for film or TV?

The book was actually considerably easier, if only because there was no bureaucracy involved. With TV and film, you write something, then fifteen people have to approve it - which is also a reason why so much of television and film is bad. On the other hand, I'm not used to writing all by myself, so I had to invent an imaginary friend to help get me through the day. His name was Reggie, and he was a very pleasant man from Alberta, Canada.

2)If a person was allowed to only read one of the essays in your new book,My Custom Van,which one would you choose for them and why?

Maybe the essay, "What I Would Be Thinking About If I Were Billy Joel Driving To A Holiday Party Where I Knew There Was Going To Be A Piano." Not only is it funny, but it's extremely educational. After all, this is probably the only essay published this year that gives you Billy Joel's thoughts as they happen. You can't get much more educational than that.

3)Who are your favorite writers,both in the field of humor and other genres as well?

I'm not a big fan of humor writing in general. That may sound odd coming from somebody who writes it for a living, but I rarely look to books for funny. In general, I've read a lot of John Irving, David McCullough, and David Halberstam.

4)Will die hard fans of The State have much longer to wait for the official DVD set?

I have no idea. The DVDs exist, they are finished, but they haven't been released. The State is reforming to do a special for Comedy Central, so they might release all of it at once. Or they might not.

5)You teamed with one of your former State co-stars,Ken Marino,for several episodes of Reaper this year. Were the two of you cast at the same time or was it just a lucky coincidence?

No, the casting people knew we were friends and thought it would be fun to cast us together as gay demons. It was great fun working with Ken, except for his habit of constantly exfoliating wherever we went. He exfoliates a lot.

6) Despite what ultimately happened to your character on the show,is there any chance of you appearing on Reaper next season?

I'm not sure. They killed me, then brought me back for an episode, so it's possible they might be bring me back again. I don't know. If they do, great. If not, I'll just starve to death.

7)How do you feel about your book going up against the new David Sedaris essay collection?

Sedaris (or "Spedaris" as I call him to get under his skin) has an obvious advantage over me: he has consistently been on the best-seller lists for years, he has won tons of awards, he lives a glamorous life in France, and his frequent appearances on NPR make him the darling of the intelligencia. On the other hand, I can barely string a sentence together and spend my off-hours doing soda pop commercials. I think I will kick his ass.

My heartfelt thanks to Michael Ian Black for sharing his thoughts with us and to everyone else out there,My Custom Van will be on sale July 15,only a couple of days before The Dark Knight hits theaters which should give you plenty of time to buy as many copies as you can carry with you to read while waiting for your ticket at the multiplex(pass them out to your fellow movie-goers as a public service!).

To whet your appetite for My Custom Van,here's a sample of what's in store for your reading pleasure:

Pop Culture Puppet Show

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:47:00 +0000

What is it about puppets that enchants us so,even as adults? Sure,the youngest member of any audience for the modern equivalent of a Punch and Judy show knows that those creatures are made of cloth and stuffing,with a hidden human speaking it's lines and yanking those thin metal wires(and not so thin ones)to move around,but still those artificial characters seem just as real as any actor on stage. Perhaps even more talented at times.

Probably because puppets are first introduced to us as children,it's the reason that they are perfect props for adult humor(which offends quite a few folk,making the jokes all the funnier for it). The latest venue for grown up puppet shows has been the Internet(mainly YouTube),showcasing plenty of creativity and possibly introducing the world to the next Jim Henson. A bold statement,perhaps,but take a look at some of these video clips and see for yourself the future of felt creations:

Most people are familiar with Potter Puppet Pals,those rowdy versions of J. K. Rowling's beloved wizard school alumni. Like the books,the PPP videos have been steadily developing an interesting dark side with songs to boot. Here's a fun example of the rivalry between Harry and Ron in "The Vortex":

An amusing look at bad language and who knows the best use of it can be found in "Wizard Swears"(warning,it does have a PG-13 rating):

Sock Tube Presents has a small resume of movie parodies but watch just one and you'll be clamoring for more. Yes,they have spoilers galore but they also have tons of spot on gags and pointed satire of cinematic cliches. Here's the STP version of "Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull" and while I didn't see the movie,I'm sure this one is just as good:

While It's Just Some Random Guy is best known for his "I'm a DC and I'm a Marvel" parody clips,that's not all that he does. Random Guy also has a series called "After Hours" which matches up the DC and Marvel characters in clever story lines that reflect a store of strong comic book fan knowledge with a tongue in cheek approach:

Random Guy also spoofs video blogging by giving Spiderman's main nemesis his very own channel for "Goblin Bloggin":

Random Guy works with Random Gal and Season Two of After Hours(called "Happy Hour")is under way as we speak. Technically,this is more of a Mr. Bill style than a real old school puppet theater but whatever you call it,this is good stuff:

Over the weekend,I was introduced to GGuider's array of videos featuring puppets singing pop music hits from the likes of Oasis,Madonna,Coolio and ELO,for starters. The sweet simplicity of these clips,plus the novelty of hearing songs like "Gangsta's Paradise" out of a puppet's mouth,make Puppets In Motion one to watch:

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW

RICKROLL!

Well,as long as there are socks,dolls and other means of making inanimate objects entertain the masses,puppet shows will always be with us. It does seem like the art form will evolve and grow out of it's "just for kids" niche,which is a good thing,and also proves the point that the internet is not only a place to purchase more mature adult content:

Shear Genius goes Orange,Design Star goes solo and Hell's Kitchen begins it's finale descent

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:31:00 +0000

I was able to catch up with the first episode of Shear Genius' second season and was pretty impressed by the challenges the stylists faced. Cutting hair while blindfolded is a scary proposition for both them and the clients! I did adore the cartoon hair Elimination challenge,especially since one of the cartoon gals in question was Betty Boop,my mom's favorite.

I was glad to see Oshun go,since his main talents seemed to be bragging about being an Emmy nominee and saying lame lines like"I'm Oshun and I'm deep!" Yeah,about as deep as a kiddie wading pool there,buddy. Plus,his version of Lucy Van Pelt's hair was terrible and not flattering to his model's face. I knew that he was clueless when he said during the Judging that Lucy was "delicate". Uh,have you never read Peanuts in your life or at least watch one of the specials on TV? Lucy is the complete opposite of delicate,dude!

Anyway,on to episode two,which had a very special guest judge-Tabatha,from Season one. She was my favorite stylist(and the fan favorite as well)and the bitchiest to boot. She started off strong by judging the Shortcut Challenge,which was to give a client a short and sassy haircut. Nekisa gave Tabatha some sass,as Tabatha looked over her bleached blonde client's hair and asked if she tried to combine the damaged parts(from previous overbleaching)with the healthy and Nekisa replied,"I didn't try,I did!"

That response didn't impress Tabatha,who gave the win to Charlie for his Mia Farrow inspired cut for his client that looked lovely and showcased the nice butterfly tattoo on the back of her neck. Charlie received an advantage for the Elimination challenge as his reward which was to switch clients after everyone had made their selection. The model clients were The Real Housewives of Orange County(and their daughters),which thrilled most of the stylists but made Charlie nervous since he had talked smack about them somewhere.

He didn't have to worry;his switched model was one of the daughters and he gave her a very chic cut with great bangs(Tabatha thought the bangs were a little too long but I think they worked on her)and won the Elim,two for two on one episode,sweet!

Parker,who had given his last model a charming Betty Boop look last week,wound up being sent home this time for making his model look like Morticia Addams(and not in a sexy Anjelica Huston way either). I've never watched any of the Real Housewives shows but I did feel bad for a lot of the stylists here. A good number of the Orange County ladies wouldn't allow anything major to be done with their dos and they really could've used a few touch ups,believe you me!

Hell's Kitchen started off their finale by having Christina and Petrozza start to make their plans to turn their side of HK into a mini version of their ideal restaurant. Christina appeared to be overly confident in her menu and her choices for the interior design and uniforms for her wait staff(don't think John Phillippe approves of her all black attire idea)while Petrozza seemed to be dazzled by the whole process:

Christina's confidence was put in check during her and Petrozza's road trip to NYC(as a neat way to get the two of them out of the way during the heavy lifting portion of the HK makeover)when her signature dish went up against his,for a special advantage as the prize. The dishes were judged by five of Ramsey's executive chefs from his restaurants both overseas and in the States. Petrozza didn't use a pumpkin,alas,but he did make onion paintbrushes for that extra touch of whimsy:

Petrozza finally won a challenge(and got to meet Whoopi Goldberg,who I can totally see digging this show)and was given first pick of former fellow chefs to work with. Christina wasn't thrilled about that or having stripes in her dining room. I don't know what her problem was,she picked stripes in the first place and they looked nice to me. The tough part was having both Jen and Matt as the final picks for the kitchen crew. I pity anyone who has to deal with Jen,who is out to screw over who ever is running the team she's on. Nice,Jen-way to not be a sore loser!:

Design Star had their "design your own white space" challenge this week and the theme was international inspiration. Stephanie took a chance on her outdoor Mexican resort style while Tracee's vision of Italy was mainly a disaster of epic proportions. The cramped look of the gondola bed,the berry colored walls with the painted on chandelier that had glass beads pasted on it...too sad for words.

I loved what Jennifer did with her Italian room,by painting the walls in a gorgeous buttery yellow with pottery designs. Trish's take on Mexico was okay but a little generic. Jennifer did accidentally knock over some of Trish's glass votives(why she had those things on the floor in the first place is beyond me)but I don't think that even if Trish had all of the candle holders that she intended to use that it would have made a major difference.

Michael was sent home,for his Spain/Barcelona nightclub room that didn't look very Spanish or set in Barcelona. Since he was given free reign to pick any country as his theme,I think the judges were a bit harder on him for that. Tracee's room was much more hideous,in my opinion:(sorry for the sound going out on this recap video but it's something YouTube or HGTV needs to fix,not me!):

RANDOM NOTES

THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR:

Jennifer's performance grew worse this week,as her food description video showed her lack of food knowledge and the Elimination challenge with Lisa to make a easier version of turducken had her screwing up left and right.

Jennifer went home while Shane and Kelsey did well together with their "No Nightmare" recipe for beef Wellington that will be in the August edition of Bon Appetit magazine-very nice,guys! Shane did really well during his food description video,too-the kid's a real contender:

THE MIDDLEMAN: I've watched three episodes of this new ABC Family series and it's pretty cute. Not as edgy as it would be on another network perhaps,but The Middle Man does a nice balancing act between psuedo-serious and tongue in cheek fun.

This week's episode had a interesting crossover,as the Chairman from Iron Chef America played a famed kung fu master sent to train Wendy in marital arts who was also the target of a vendetta by a clan of lucha libre wrestlers. Weirdly amusing to say the least:

I'll be taking the Fourth of July off,so have a good Independence Day,folks. Here's a little song to keeping your toes tapping during the fireworks this weekend(not a family friendly video to some,you have been warned):