Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Walt WhitmanToday is the birth date of Walt Whitman, poet. He was born in Huntington, Long Island in 1819 and is remembered today as the most American of poets. His magnum opus: the expansive and emotion-rich LEAVES OF GRASS, which he went on revising and editing until the end of his life.The literary critic, Harold Bloom wrote, as the introduction for the 150th  anniversary edition of LEAVES OF GRASS:If you are American, then Walt Whitman is...

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Tuesday's Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film (or Whatnot): Hercule Poirot Gets A Toothache and the Sniffles.

Today is Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film (or Whatnot) Day. I add the 'whatnot' because today I don't have a film, I have 'whatnot'. Two episodes of the Agatha Christie Poirot PBS series from the 80's which are actually (dare I say it?) better than the short stories on which they were based. Of course this very rarely happens with Christie and you know how I feel about altering Dame Agatha's work. But every rule was made to be broken so here we are.Oh,...

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Memorial Day Good Wishes

I spotted this gorgeous vintage Memorial Day postcard at Rosemary's blog, Content in a Cottage, and loved the look of it so much I decided to post it here as well. Have a good one. (I'm waiting for the parade to begin in tow...

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Saturday Salon: Art of Remembrance

'Gassed' by John Singer Sargent. SourceFor Memorial Day Weekend, I'm featuring several artists who painted the horrors of WWI.  A war in which much of the death and destruction appears to have been caused by the callous blundering of generals - old men still living in the past, World War One strikes a particular note with me because so many millions of valiant young men were apparently slaughtered for very little reason.And in its end, this...

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Horse-A-Thon: THE BLACK STALLION (1979) starring Kelly Reno, Terri Garr and Mickey Rooney

The gorgeous film poster.This is my entry in the first film Horse-A-Thon (first I ever heard of, anyway) hosted by Page over at her blog, MY LOVE OF OLD HOLLYWOOD. Many movie mavens will be contributing over the next three days to this unique blog-a-thon, so please check in and see what other terrific 'horse movies' other participating bloggers will be lovingly showcasing.Going in, I admit that my post today is nothing less than an unabashed...

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Bob Tarte Revisited

Since Kathy is SO enthusiastic about my Bob Tarte recommendation, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone about Bob's often hilarious, often touching and altogether enchanting books.Bob Tarte chronicles the life he and his wife lead with their battalion of quirky animals, all of whom have their own various personalities (well, maybe except for the turkeys) and eccentricities, not to mention, being possessed of very demanding natures....

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Happy Birthday, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

Today is the birth date of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930), creator of Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective the world has ever known (sorry Nero Wolfe).  Of course Doyle created other characters and other stories, but it's for giving birth (literary-ly speaking) to Holmes, that he is remembered most today - something which might or might not have pleased him.Though generally regarded as an English writer, Doyle was born, spent his...

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