Susan Sarandon
Birth name: Susan Abigail Tomalin, New York, NY, 10/4/1946
Has won an Oscar and had 37 wins and 23 nominations
We’ve loved Susan Sarandon from day one. While she was on the scene for a while, she came to most people’s attention via the Rocky Horror Picture Show where she played “Janet.”
Trivia below courtesy of imdb:
Her partner is Tim Robbins (1988-present).
Ranked #35 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Attended Catholic University of America Drama School, 1964-1968. Met and married Chris Sarandon there (by priest who was head of Dept.).
Former "Ford" Model.
Has a daughter from relationship with Franco Amurri (Eva Amurri, born 1985).
Has two children by Tim Robbins, Jack Henry Robbins (b. May 1989) and Miles Robbins (b. May 1992).
chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful in the world. [1996]
Landed her first Hollywood role when her then-husband, Chris Sarandon, took her along on one of his auditions.
As co-presenters of the Academy Awards in 1993, Susan and her partner, Tim Robbins, seized a chance to bring public attention to the plight of a few hundred Haitians with Aids who had been interned in Guantanamo Bay.
Is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Supported Ralph Nader during his 2000 Presidential Election campaign.
Was arrested for disorderly conduct during a protest in New York over the unarmed shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo by four policemen (30 March 1999).
Is of Italian and Welsh heritage.
Graduated from Edison High School in Edison, New Jersey where she was a cheerleader.
She keeps her Oscar in the bathroom.
Sang in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975); recorded a duet with Eddie Vedder which played over the end credits of "Cradle Will Rock".
Was involved in the effort to have Laura Schlessinger's television show taken off the air in 2000, because of her disagreement with Schlessinger's conservative views. The effort was successful in leading many sponsors to drop their support of the show, which was ultimately cancelled less than a year after its premiere.
Measurements: 37C-26-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
For the past ten years she has been involved with Heifer International, an organization that donates farm animals to needy families who need the animals for work.
Is one of two actresses who won an Oscar for playing a nun. The first was Jennifer Jones in "The Song Of Bernadette" (1943).
Is listed along with Geena Davis on the 24th place in AFI's Hero Top 50.
Caught pneumonia after they shot the pool scene in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
One of eight women, also among them Sophia Loren and author Isabel Allende, carrying the Olympic flag at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games' opening ceremony in Turin (10 February 2006).
Her grandmother had her mother when she was 13 years old. Her mother grew up in the care of nuns in an institute, abandoned at two.
Father was Philip Leslie Tomalin (of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry). Mother was Lenora Marie Criscione (who was born in Ragusa, Sicily).
Parents separated in 1982, after forty of marriage.
Eldest of nine children.
In 1916, her grandfather Giuseppe Criscione emigrated to the USA from Ragusa in Sicily, where he was born in 1901. Now she is honorary citizen of Ragusa and the city gave her the "Ragusani nel Mondo" award.
Received the "World Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2006 Women's World Award in New York.
Very good friends with fellow actress Julia Roberts.
Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2008 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film Mr. Woodcock (2007). She failed to receive a nomination however.
Has a dog named Penny, a Pomeranian Maltese. The dog appears in the movie, Bernard and Doris (2007), playing a pet of Doris, the character she portrayed.
Our favorite films of hers:
Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975
Bernard and Doris, 2007
June Moon, 1974
The Front Page, 1974
The Other Side of Midnight, 1977
Pretty Baby, 1978
Tempest, 1982
A Dry White Season, 1989
Thelma & Louise, 1991
Lorenzo’s Oil, 1992
Bull durham, 1988
The Witches of Eastwick, 1987
The Hunger, 1983
Ice Bound, 2003
Irresistible, 2006
The Exonerated, 2005
Moonlight Mile, 2002
Enchanted, 2007
Mr. Woodcock, 2007
In the Valley of Elah, 2007
Emotional Arithmetic, 2007
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Amy Winehouse Page
The Amy Winehouse Tribute
Amy Winehouse
Born: 9/14/1983, Southgate, London, England
Genres: Soul, R&B, doo-wop, jazz
Labels: Island and Republis
Website: amywinehouse.co.uk
Amy Winehouse is one of our favorite musicians. Like all creative artists, she’s been plagued by problems both self-made and from outside. But she seems to keep on going.
At a very early age Amy began singing. She received her first guitar around age thirteen after coveting her brother’s instrument. Early on she worked for World Entertainment News Network and sang with several jazz bands. Being from a music-loving family of Jewish extraction Amy evidently got some support from her siblings and parents and actually started a rap group at age ten, even before her guitar.
She was linked early on to Tyler James, her boyfriend and signed first with Island Records. She also won a publishing deal with EMI. Settling in with this under her belt Winehouse added Sharon Jones’s band the Dap-Kings to her group and started touring. The rest is pretty much history as Winehouse’s debut album, Frank, was released in 2003 to critical acclaim. Most of the album is jazz influenced and every song was co-written by Winehouse herself. She has been compared to Sarah Vaughn and Macy Gray just to name a few.
Winehouse has been nominated for a BRIT Award and her albums have achieved platinum status. International success came in the form of “Rehab” which went on to top the charts. “Rehab” was a number seven single in the UK. “Frank” went on to be released in the U.S. in 2007 and debuted at 61 on the Billboard 200 Chart.
Winehouse has won a 2008 Grammy Award for “Record of the Year” and “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.” Many will remember the fiasco with her visa not being updated and Winehouse not being allowed into the U.S. When her visa finally came through, it was too late for her to travel here.
Below are some of her awards:
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Contemporary Song, 2004
South Bank Show Award: Best Pop, 2007
BRIT Awards: British Album 2007
Elle Style Award: Best British Music Act, 2007
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Contemporary Song, 2007
Greatest Britons: Musical Achievement, 2007
Q Awards: Best Album, 2007
MOBO Awards: Best UK Female, 2007
MTV Europe Music Awards: Album of the Year, 2007
Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best new Artist, 2008
NME Awards: Worst Dressed Performer, 2008
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Song Musically and Lyrically, 2008
Amy Winehouse
Born: 9/14/1983, Southgate, London, England
Genres: Soul, R&B, doo-wop, jazz
Labels: Island and Republis
Website: amywinehouse.co.uk
Amy Winehouse is one of our favorite musicians. Like all creative artists, she’s been plagued by problems both self-made and from outside. But she seems to keep on going.
At a very early age Amy began singing. She received her first guitar around age thirteen after coveting her brother’s instrument. Early on she worked for World Entertainment News Network and sang with several jazz bands. Being from a music-loving family of Jewish extraction Amy evidently got some support from her siblings and parents and actually started a rap group at age ten, even before her guitar.
She was linked early on to Tyler James, her boyfriend and signed first with Island Records. She also won a publishing deal with EMI. Settling in with this under her belt Winehouse added Sharon Jones’s band the Dap-Kings to her group and started touring. The rest is pretty much history as Winehouse’s debut album, Frank, was released in 2003 to critical acclaim. Most of the album is jazz influenced and every song was co-written by Winehouse herself. She has been compared to Sarah Vaughn and Macy Gray just to name a few.
Winehouse has been nominated for a BRIT Award and her albums have achieved platinum status. International success came in the form of “Rehab” which went on to top the charts. “Rehab” was a number seven single in the UK. “Frank” went on to be released in the U.S. in 2007 and debuted at 61 on the Billboard 200 Chart.
Winehouse has won a 2008 Grammy Award for “Record of the Year” and “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.” Many will remember the fiasco with her visa not being updated and Winehouse not being allowed into the U.S. When her visa finally came through, it was too late for her to travel here.
Below are some of her awards:
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Contemporary Song, 2004
South Bank Show Award: Best Pop, 2007
BRIT Awards: British Album 2007
Elle Style Award: Best British Music Act, 2007
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Contemporary Song, 2007
Greatest Britons: Musical Achievement, 2007
Q Awards: Best Album, 2007
MOBO Awards: Best UK Female, 2007
MTV Europe Music Awards: Album of the Year, 2007
Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best new Artist, 2008
NME Awards: Worst Dressed Performer, 2008
Ivor Novello Awards: Best Song Musically and Lyrically, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A Keith Prentice Tribute
Keith Prentice--actor who never got the attention he deserved.
By BoaMan
Most of you will know Keith Prentice from one of two places. Either “Dark Shadows” in which he appeared as a couple of people, as did the rest of the cast, or as Larry in “The Boys in the Band” movie.
Prentice was born in 1940 in Ohio. He studied in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he was recognized and given a role in “The Sound of Music.” (I know, can you believe?) This was when Mary Martin was in the cast. He then went on to understudy in Noel Coward’s “Sail Away,” playing opposite Elaine Stritch, another favorite person of the stage who is no longer with us.
Prentice’s other stage credits included: The Kings and I, Paint Your Wagon, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Wish you Were Here, Fiorello, Wildcat, and Irma La Douce. His most memorable role was obviously that of Larry in both the stage and movie version of “The Boys in the Band.” A lot of people might also remember him in the controversial movie “Cruising” which came out in 1980 and caused an uproar for good reasons.
For those “Dark Shadows” nuts, he was in the following episodes:
Episode #1.1245 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1244 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1243 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1242 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1241 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan Collins
Prentice founded the Theatre Under the Stars in his hometown of Kettering, Ohio in 1983 and directed production there for a decade before succumbing to AIDS-related complications in 1992.
I couldn’t find any photos of the guy (man, was he handsome), so if anyone has any or knows where I can get them, let me know.
By BoaMan
Most of you will know Keith Prentice from one of two places. Either “Dark Shadows” in which he appeared as a couple of people, as did the rest of the cast, or as Larry in “The Boys in the Band” movie.
Prentice was born in 1940 in Ohio. He studied in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he was recognized and given a role in “The Sound of Music.” (I know, can you believe?) This was when Mary Martin was in the cast. He then went on to understudy in Noel Coward’s “Sail Away,” playing opposite Elaine Stritch, another favorite person of the stage who is no longer with us.
Prentice’s other stage credits included: The Kings and I, Paint Your Wagon, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Wish you Were Here, Fiorello, Wildcat, and Irma La Douce. His most memorable role was obviously that of Larry in both the stage and movie version of “The Boys in the Band.” A lot of people might also remember him in the controversial movie “Cruising” which came out in 1980 and caused an uproar for good reasons.
For those “Dark Shadows” nuts, he was in the following episodes:
Episode #1.1245 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1244 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1243 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1242 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan CollinsEpisode #1.1241 (1971) TV episode .... Morgan Collins
Prentice founded the Theatre Under the Stars in his hometown of Kettering, Ohio in 1983 and directed production there for a decade before succumbing to AIDS-related complications in 1992.
I couldn’t find any photos of the guy (man, was he handsome), so if anyone has any or knows where I can get them, let me know.
Restaurant Reviews by Gil Weston
Gil Weston does Houston . . .
Hey guys. Restaurant reviews by Gil Weston
Ate at two restaurants in Houston recently on my last visit there and thought I’d let you in on them since I know that BoaMan and Sam head out that way about once a year.
The first was Ruggles Grille 5115 at, you guessed it, 5115 Westheimer Rd. Not a top-top restaurant and nothing overly fancy as it’s in the Galleria, but good solid food, service, and the atmosphere was pleasant. The food is American with a twist and they serve lunch and dinner—no breakfast. Think they’ve been open about ten years now and I may have eaten there once before. Evidently that time did not make an impression on me, but this one did.
What I was most impressed with was the wait staff. They really knew their stuff, especially in the drinks department. This is something I’ve noticed in Texas—something that compares with SF—that people are into the mixed drink categories. You’ll get the occasional Scotch on the rocks, but I found a lot of people ordering White Russians, Manhattans, and other well-known beverages. The cost was not outrageous as it can be in some establishments where they try and make up for the food prices by getting you on the mixed drinks.
For the price of the food, which seemed incredibly inexpensive, this place was a steal. I’d give it high marks in just about every category, so if you’re heading down Texas way, be sure to stop by this place. It’s also great for people watching and you can get your shopping done in the Galleria if you so desire.
Second place on my list, though not second best, was Capital Grille, again on Westheimer. Hey, I spent a lot of time in the district. What can I tell you. Those of you who know me, know why.
Capital Grille is also in the Galleria and this place was even better than Ruggles. It’s basically a steakhouse and nothing too fancy. Just very good food, service, and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Their website is www.Capitalgrille.com if you want more info, and you should. Sorry, dinner only but they accept all major credit cards. This is the perfect place to take business associates or those you’re trying to impress . . . without looking like you’re trying to do just that. I think they’re about ten years old also.
They even have takeout and if you’re staying nearby, this is a great place to dine instead of choosing room service. I had the pan fried calamari with hot cherry peppers for a starter and it was fantastic! The calamari was sautéed in garlic and mixed with peppers and scallions. Incredible. For the main course I had the Filet Oscar—10 oz of Filet Mignon with a Bearnaise sauce and crabmeat. Possibly the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life—second only to the now-defunct and no longer five star Sazarac Room in the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans. For dessert you can’t go wrong with the Chocolate Hazlenut Cake.
Drinks can be pricy but it’s all worth it. They even have some bizarre combos on the menu such as “Lobster mac ‘n Cheese” and “Truffle Fries.” A one-of-a-kind restaurant, though I hear they’re opening up some others in Seattle and another city. This would be THE place to eat in Houston in my opinion.
Hey guys. Restaurant reviews by Gil Weston
Ate at two restaurants in Houston recently on my last visit there and thought I’d let you in on them since I know that BoaMan and Sam head out that way about once a year.
The first was Ruggles Grille 5115 at, you guessed it, 5115 Westheimer Rd. Not a top-top restaurant and nothing overly fancy as it’s in the Galleria, but good solid food, service, and the atmosphere was pleasant. The food is American with a twist and they serve lunch and dinner—no breakfast. Think they’ve been open about ten years now and I may have eaten there once before. Evidently that time did not make an impression on me, but this one did.
What I was most impressed with was the wait staff. They really knew their stuff, especially in the drinks department. This is something I’ve noticed in Texas—something that compares with SF—that people are into the mixed drink categories. You’ll get the occasional Scotch on the rocks, but I found a lot of people ordering White Russians, Manhattans, and other well-known beverages. The cost was not outrageous as it can be in some establishments where they try and make up for the food prices by getting you on the mixed drinks.
For the price of the food, which seemed incredibly inexpensive, this place was a steal. I’d give it high marks in just about every category, so if you’re heading down Texas way, be sure to stop by this place. It’s also great for people watching and you can get your shopping done in the Galleria if you so desire.
Second place on my list, though not second best, was Capital Grille, again on Westheimer. Hey, I spent a lot of time in the district. What can I tell you. Those of you who know me, know why.
Capital Grille is also in the Galleria and this place was even better than Ruggles. It’s basically a steakhouse and nothing too fancy. Just very good food, service, and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Their website is www.Capitalgrille.com if you want more info, and you should. Sorry, dinner only but they accept all major credit cards. This is the perfect place to take business associates or those you’re trying to impress . . . without looking like you’re trying to do just that. I think they’re about ten years old also.
They even have takeout and if you’re staying nearby, this is a great place to dine instead of choosing room service. I had the pan fried calamari with hot cherry peppers for a starter and it was fantastic! The calamari was sautéed in garlic and mixed with peppers and scallions. Incredible. For the main course I had the Filet Oscar—10 oz of Filet Mignon with a Bearnaise sauce and crabmeat. Possibly the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life—second only to the now-defunct and no longer five star Sazarac Room in the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans. For dessert you can’t go wrong with the Chocolate Hazlenut Cake.
Drinks can be pricy but it’s all worth it. They even have some bizarre combos on the menu such as “Lobster mac ‘n Cheese” and “Truffle Fries.” A one-of-a-kind restaurant, though I hear they’re opening up some others in Seattle and another city. This would be THE place to eat in Houston in my opinion.
The Jackson Tippett McCrae Page
By Sam Friedman
Our group just finished reading Jackson McCrae’s latest book and we felt the guy deserved a lengthy commentary.
First, my review of
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident:
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident, the latest novel by McCrae, is as good if not better than his last book, Katzenjammer. I love each of this author’s works and the favorite of ours was The Bark of the Dogwood, but Barring hit a special nerve for me and some others.
I now know of three other book clubs in the area who have taken it on. The writing is much tighter than his previous books, and again he (McCrae) uses an unusual form for the book, though one which smacks of Dogwood: a book within a book. This time it’s a cookbook that several Junior League ladies are slopping together and he’s been asked to oversee the endeavor since he’s a famous Southern author. The women have presumably read his Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, though in reality none of them has.
McCrae puts himself in the novel and the story is told from first person. On his way down South he’s met at a pig farm-turned-air-strip by a sheriff right out of “In the Heat of the Night.” Big cigar, questionable hygiene habits, attitude—you get the picture. While I would love to fill you in on more, I’d give away key parts of the plot and some really funny moments and puns.
At any rate, McCrae meets up with the town’s outcast—a woman with exquisite taste in everything but men as she’s betrothed to the Sheriff. She wants to get into this two-bit Junior League and needs McCrae’s help. He’s met most of the women in the League and can’t stand them. They’re quite an assortment of ladies and one can only hope they’re not based on actual people. If they are, a lot of the world is in trouble.
There are so many examples of misdirection in this novel that you can’t possibly guess where the story is going. In our opinion this is a good thing given the current state of sorry books that pass for literature. I was reminded of Vonnegut at times as McCrae uses absurdism where needed, though he’s more frugal with it than Vonnegut.
The humor is like Woody Allen, only Southern, and the plot is tight. No holes in this story. As with all of the author’s books everything ties together in the end. If for some reason you find yourself asking “Where the heck is this going?” while reading this book, just wait. You’ll get more information than you ever dreamed as it comes crashing down to its final happy-sad conclusion.
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is a fantastic book, full of humor and razor-sharp insight into how we work as humans. It’s scary how dead-on McCrae’s take is on society, social climbing, racism, discrimination, and the world in general. Themes that the author incorporates include hypocrisy in religion, conflict within the self, and a glaring spotlight on personal foibles.
One can only hope McCrae has more books up his sleeve. Next to Ken Follet, David Sedaris, Truman Capote, Thomas Pynchon, and John Updike, he’s probably our favorite. If you took Woody Allen, William Faulkner, Agatha Christie, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mark Twain, and rolled them all together in a modern-day author, this is the guy you’d have. And you’d have one great funny book—which this is.
Here’s the synopsis, which I’ve copied from the back of the book, along with other information I got off the Internet:
Asked to travel back to the South in order to help out a small-town Junior League with the compilation of their cookbook, author Jackson Tippett McCrae finds that he's bitten off more than he can chew in this tale of odd recipes, social climbing, Southern customs, blackmail, murder, and mayhem. This tasty morsel, from the author of The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, will keep you flipping the pages in order to find out what each of the ladies of the Junior League are really up to when it comes to the cookbook they're planning. And the way the town's sheriff and his outcast lady-friend figure into the equation only serves to enhance this feast, as they become more than the side dishes they appear to be, spicing up the plot with more than the expected amount of gusto. With the usual twists and turns found in McCrae's books, Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is sure to please even those with the most discriminating taste.
From the Publisher:
The Recipe for a great book?
1 New York writer, originally from the South
5 Junior League women who want to put together a cookbook
1 Cigar-smoking sheriff with a secret
1 Ostracized newcomer with revenge in mind
Mix with a town of three hundred or so, add one annual chili cook-off, and stir well. The result is a deliciously funny, scrumptiously thought-provoking, and disturbingly tasty journey into small-town Southern America. While there won't be any recipes in this collection that you'll actually want to try (we hope), the antics of one small town should keep you turning the pages in this latest novel by Jackson Tippett McCrae.
When author Jackson Tippett McCrae receives a note requesting his help with a Junior League cookbook, he is hesitant to accept the assignment--that is, until he finds out money is involved. What starts out as an innocent back-to-the-South journey quickly turns into fodder for the new novel his publisher is expecting, complete with the usual quirky and sometimes touching characters that McCrae so often creates. In the same vein as his The Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, Jackson McCrae's fourth book is full of murder, blackmail, small-town antics, and insight into the workings (or not) of the human heart and mind. Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is one concoction of spicy fare that you'll definitely want to devour, any time of the year.
About the AuthorJackson Tippett McCrae has worked for various magazines and publishing companies in New York. His other books include The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, the short story collection The Children's Corner, and his novel Katzenjammer--Soon to be a Major Motion Picture.
Sadly, we no little to nothing about Mr. McCrae as he seems to shy away from the limelight and has stopped giving interviews. Attempts to contact him were futile and we can only hope he’s doing well. If he reads this and would like to contact us, we’d love to have him come visit our way out West.
A list of the author's books:
The Bark of the Dogwood
The Children’s Corner
Katzenjammer: Soon to be a Major Motion Picture
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident
If anyone knows how to contact the author, please let us know! Emails to his publisher have not yielded anything.
Our group just finished reading Jackson McCrae’s latest book and we felt the guy deserved a lengthy commentary.
First, my review of
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident:
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident, the latest novel by McCrae, is as good if not better than his last book, Katzenjammer. I love each of this author’s works and the favorite of ours was The Bark of the Dogwood, but Barring hit a special nerve for me and some others.
I now know of three other book clubs in the area who have taken it on. The writing is much tighter than his previous books, and again he (McCrae) uses an unusual form for the book, though one which smacks of Dogwood: a book within a book. This time it’s a cookbook that several Junior League ladies are slopping together and he’s been asked to oversee the endeavor since he’s a famous Southern author. The women have presumably read his Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, though in reality none of them has.
McCrae puts himself in the novel and the story is told from first person. On his way down South he’s met at a pig farm-turned-air-strip by a sheriff right out of “In the Heat of the Night.” Big cigar, questionable hygiene habits, attitude—you get the picture. While I would love to fill you in on more, I’d give away key parts of the plot and some really funny moments and puns.
At any rate, McCrae meets up with the town’s outcast—a woman with exquisite taste in everything but men as she’s betrothed to the Sheriff. She wants to get into this two-bit Junior League and needs McCrae’s help. He’s met most of the women in the League and can’t stand them. They’re quite an assortment of ladies and one can only hope they’re not based on actual people. If they are, a lot of the world is in trouble.
There are so many examples of misdirection in this novel that you can’t possibly guess where the story is going. In our opinion this is a good thing given the current state of sorry books that pass for literature. I was reminded of Vonnegut at times as McCrae uses absurdism where needed, though he’s more frugal with it than Vonnegut.
The humor is like Woody Allen, only Southern, and the plot is tight. No holes in this story. As with all of the author’s books everything ties together in the end. If for some reason you find yourself asking “Where the heck is this going?” while reading this book, just wait. You’ll get more information than you ever dreamed as it comes crashing down to its final happy-sad conclusion.
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is a fantastic book, full of humor and razor-sharp insight into how we work as humans. It’s scary how dead-on McCrae’s take is on society, social climbing, racism, discrimination, and the world in general. Themes that the author incorporates include hypocrisy in religion, conflict within the self, and a glaring spotlight on personal foibles.
One can only hope McCrae has more books up his sleeve. Next to Ken Follet, David Sedaris, Truman Capote, Thomas Pynchon, and John Updike, he’s probably our favorite. If you took Woody Allen, William Faulkner, Agatha Christie, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mark Twain, and rolled them all together in a modern-day author, this is the guy you’d have. And you’d have one great funny book—which this is.
Here’s the synopsis, which I’ve copied from the back of the book, along with other information I got off the Internet:
Asked to travel back to the South in order to help out a small-town Junior League with the compilation of their cookbook, author Jackson Tippett McCrae finds that he's bitten off more than he can chew in this tale of odd recipes, social climbing, Southern customs, blackmail, murder, and mayhem. This tasty morsel, from the author of The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, will keep you flipping the pages in order to find out what each of the ladies of the Junior League are really up to when it comes to the cookbook they're planning. And the way the town's sheriff and his outcast lady-friend figure into the equation only serves to enhance this feast, as they become more than the side dishes they appear to be, spicing up the plot with more than the expected amount of gusto. With the usual twists and turns found in McCrae's books, Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is sure to please even those with the most discriminating taste.
From the Publisher:
The Recipe for a great book?
1 New York writer, originally from the South
5 Junior League women who want to put together a cookbook
1 Cigar-smoking sheriff with a secret
1 Ostracized newcomer with revenge in mind
Mix with a town of three hundred or so, add one annual chili cook-off, and stir well. The result is a deliciously funny, scrumptiously thought-provoking, and disturbingly tasty journey into small-town Southern America. While there won't be any recipes in this collection that you'll actually want to try (we hope), the antics of one small town should keep you turning the pages in this latest novel by Jackson Tippett McCrae.
When author Jackson Tippett McCrae receives a note requesting his help with a Junior League cookbook, he is hesitant to accept the assignment--that is, until he finds out money is involved. What starts out as an innocent back-to-the-South journey quickly turns into fodder for the new novel his publisher is expecting, complete with the usual quirky and sometimes touching characters that McCrae so often creates. In the same vein as his The Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, Jackson McCrae's fourth book is full of murder, blackmail, small-town antics, and insight into the workings (or not) of the human heart and mind. Barring Some Unforeseen Accident is one concoction of spicy fare that you'll definitely want to devour, any time of the year.
About the AuthorJackson Tippett McCrae has worked for various magazines and publishing companies in New York. His other books include The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, the short story collection The Children's Corner, and his novel Katzenjammer--Soon to be a Major Motion Picture.
Sadly, we no little to nothing about Mr. McCrae as he seems to shy away from the limelight and has stopped giving interviews. Attempts to contact him were futile and we can only hope he’s doing well. If he reads this and would like to contact us, we’d love to have him come visit our way out West.
A list of the author's books:
The Bark of the Dogwood
The Children’s Corner
Katzenjammer: Soon to be a Major Motion Picture
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident
If anyone knows how to contact the author, please let us know! Emails to his publisher have not yielded anything.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A sample of our interests . . .
General:
Stephen Sondheim
Leonard Bernstein
Raul Esparza
Robert Cunningham
Broadway theatre
Elaine Stritch
Barbra Streisand
John Schlesinger
old movies
old movie stars
The Venice Film Festival
world traveling
Details and Esquire magazines
George Clooney
Jackson Tippett McCrae
Ellen DeGeneres
Jackson Pollock
Isamu Noguchi
Mark Rothko
Chuck Palahniuk
David Sedaris
Karl Zerbe
Paul Cadmus
Millard Sheets
Lee Krasner
James Brooks
Willem de Kooning
Arshile Gorky
Mart Crwoley
William Friedkin
Kenneth Nelson
Cliff Gorman
Keith Prentice
Dominick Dunne
Steve Almond
Joan Didion
E.M. Forster
Emma Thompson
Stephen Fry
Will & Grace
Frasier
Scrubs
Shakespeare
Kenneth Branagh
anything erotic
Mike Nichols
Emily Watson
great books
Keats
MacLeish
Brideshead Revisited
Dante
and we could go on and on . . .
Books we like or are getting to:
To Kill A Mockingbird
Auggie March
Berlin Stories
Choke
Fight Club
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Naked
Survivor
Me
A Passage to India
Catcher in the Rye
The Bell Jar
Slaughterhouse-Five
Catch-22
Everything That Rises Must Converge
The Naked and the Dead
The Bark of the Dogwood
On the Road
Gravity's Rainbow
The Crying of Lot 49
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident
Mason & Dixon
Against the Day
Tale of Two Cities
Echo Park
The Castle
The Apes of God
Ulysses
The Human Stain
The Anatomy Lesson
Rabbit is Rich
Welcome to the Monkeyhouse
Middlesex
The Hours
March
Empire Falls
The Known World
A Thousand Acres
Breathing Lessons
Ironweed
A Home at the End of the World
The Way West
The Brief Wondrous Lif of Oscar Wao
The Road
Gilead
House Made of Dawn
The Color Purple
Lonsome Dove
A Confederacy of Dunces
The Fixer
Movies we love:
The Boys in the Band
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Midnight Cowboy
Angels in America
Fanny
The Longest Day
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lillies of the Field
A Thousand Clowns
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Funny Girl
Nashville
Network
Julia
The Turning Point
Coming Home
An Unmarried Woman
All That Jazz
Breaking Away
The Elephant Man
Pulp Fiction
Babe
Il Postino
Scen of a Woman
Howard's End
The Crying Game
As Good as it Gets
The Insider
Gosford Park
A Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
Ben-Hur
Gangs of New York
Chicago
Million Dollar Baby
Seabiscuit
There Will Be Blood
Michael Clayton
Juno
Atonement
Capote
Brokeback Mountain
Munich
Wings
No Such Thing
Widow's Peak
No Country For Old Men
Stephen Sondheim
Leonard Bernstein
Raul Esparza
Robert Cunningham
Broadway theatre
Elaine Stritch
Barbra Streisand
John Schlesinger
old movies
old movie stars
The Venice Film Festival
world traveling
Details and Esquire magazines
George Clooney
Jackson Tippett McCrae
Ellen DeGeneres
Jackson Pollock
Isamu Noguchi
Mark Rothko
Chuck Palahniuk
David Sedaris
Karl Zerbe
Paul Cadmus
Millard Sheets
Lee Krasner
James Brooks
Willem de Kooning
Arshile Gorky
Mart Crwoley
William Friedkin
Kenneth Nelson
Cliff Gorman
Keith Prentice
Dominick Dunne
Steve Almond
Joan Didion
E.M. Forster
Emma Thompson
Stephen Fry
Will & Grace
Frasier
Scrubs
Shakespeare
Kenneth Branagh
anything erotic
Mike Nichols
Emily Watson
great books
Keats
MacLeish
Brideshead Revisited
Dante
and we could go on and on . . .
Books we like or are getting to:
To Kill A Mockingbird
Auggie March
Berlin Stories
Choke
Fight Club
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Naked
Survivor
Me
A Passage to India
Catcher in the Rye
The Bell Jar
Slaughterhouse-Five
Catch-22
Everything That Rises Must Converge
The Naked and the Dead
The Bark of the Dogwood
On the Road
Gravity's Rainbow
The Crying of Lot 49
Barring Some Unforeseen Accident
Mason & Dixon
Against the Day
Tale of Two Cities
Echo Park
The Castle
The Apes of God
Ulysses
The Human Stain
The Anatomy Lesson
Rabbit is Rich
Welcome to the Monkeyhouse
Middlesex
The Hours
March
Empire Falls
The Known World
A Thousand Acres
Breathing Lessons
Ironweed
A Home at the End of the World
The Way West
The Brief Wondrous Lif of Oscar Wao
The Road
Gilead
House Made of Dawn
The Color Purple
Lonsome Dove
A Confederacy of Dunces
The Fixer
Movies we love:
The Boys in the Band
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Midnight Cowboy
Angels in America
Fanny
The Longest Day
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lillies of the Field
A Thousand Clowns
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Funny Girl
Nashville
Network
Julia
The Turning Point
Coming Home
An Unmarried Woman
All That Jazz
Breaking Away
The Elephant Man
Pulp Fiction
Babe
Il Postino
Scen of a Woman
Howard's End
The Crying Game
As Good as it Gets
The Insider
Gosford Park
A Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
Ben-Hur
Gangs of New York
Chicago
Million Dollar Baby
Seabiscuit
There Will Be Blood
Michael Clayton
Juno
Atonement
Capote
Brokeback Mountain
Munich
Wings
No Such Thing
Widow's Peak
No Country For Old Men
Ken Follet Reinventing Himself Once Again
Ken Follett is one of our favorite writers. Here's the scoop . . .
by Bob S.
I was reading Follett back when he wasn’t the powerhouse he is now with his Pillars of the Earth. That’s not to say that he wasn’t well-known or respected, but everything gets blown up nowadays and his latest book has caused quite a sensation and rightly so.
Let’s go back to the beginning. My first Follett book was The Key to Rebecca, a wonderful “anyone can read this novel” type book. The first sentence: “The last camel collapsed at noon.” Rebecca is a suspense thriller and probably his best novel. It truly is a page-turner in every sense.
Set during WWII, the book opens with Rommel winning his battles. The Nazis are about to invade Cairo and the Brits are getting prepared to be wiped out. Most of the novel circles around the Nazis and while you’d think that theme would get old, this is maybe the best treatment book-wise I’ve come across. What is so spellbinding about this book is that it incorporates Daphne Du Maurier’s novel Rebecca and is also filled with sex, lies, spies, and history. The book is like Da Vinci Code should have been.
Fast-forward to his latest works: Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Both are equally fantastic, Pillars being complete different from his Key to Rebecca and other spy novels. The book is set in 12th –century England and centers around three men and the building of a cathedral. These three men are central to the story and how they interact is fascinating to watch over the decades. Follett hasn’t lost his ability to create tension, and while this may not be a spy novel, it’s every bit as “edge of your seat” good. Here’s what Library Journal had to say about it:
A radical departure from Follett's novels of international suspense and intrigue, this chronicles the vicissitudes of a prior, his master builder, and their community as they struggle to build a cathedral and protect themselves during the tumultuous 12th century, when the empress Maud and Stephen are fighting for the crown of England after the death of Henry I. The plot is less tightly controlled than those in Follett's contemporary works, and despite the wealth of historical detail, especially concerning architecture and construction, much of the language as well as the psychology of the characters and their relationships remains firmly rooted in the 20th century. This will appeal more to lovers of exciting adventure stories than true devotees of historical fiction.
Other reviews:
"A novel of majesty and power...Will hold you, fascinate you, surround you." --Chicago Sun-Times "
A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all." --New York Daily News
"Touches all human emotions...truly a novel to get lost in." --Cosmopolitan
World Without End is equally as good, though again, totally different.
Book description:
World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own.
This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.
by Bob S.
I was reading Follett back when he wasn’t the powerhouse he is now with his Pillars of the Earth. That’s not to say that he wasn’t well-known or respected, but everything gets blown up nowadays and his latest book has caused quite a sensation and rightly so.
Let’s go back to the beginning. My first Follett book was The Key to Rebecca, a wonderful “anyone can read this novel” type book. The first sentence: “The last camel collapsed at noon.” Rebecca is a suspense thriller and probably his best novel. It truly is a page-turner in every sense.
Set during WWII, the book opens with Rommel winning his battles. The Nazis are about to invade Cairo and the Brits are getting prepared to be wiped out. Most of the novel circles around the Nazis and while you’d think that theme would get old, this is maybe the best treatment book-wise I’ve come across. What is so spellbinding about this book is that it incorporates Daphne Du Maurier’s novel Rebecca and is also filled with sex, lies, spies, and history. The book is like Da Vinci Code should have been.
Fast-forward to his latest works: Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Both are equally fantastic, Pillars being complete different from his Key to Rebecca and other spy novels. The book is set in 12th –century England and centers around three men and the building of a cathedral. These three men are central to the story and how they interact is fascinating to watch over the decades. Follett hasn’t lost his ability to create tension, and while this may not be a spy novel, it’s every bit as “edge of your seat” good. Here’s what Library Journal had to say about it:
A radical departure from Follett's novels of international suspense and intrigue, this chronicles the vicissitudes of a prior, his master builder, and their community as they struggle to build a cathedral and protect themselves during the tumultuous 12th century, when the empress Maud and Stephen are fighting for the crown of England after the death of Henry I. The plot is less tightly controlled than those in Follett's contemporary works, and despite the wealth of historical detail, especially concerning architecture and construction, much of the language as well as the psychology of the characters and their relationships remains firmly rooted in the 20th century. This will appeal more to lovers of exciting adventure stories than true devotees of historical fiction.
Other reviews:
"A novel of majesty and power...Will hold you, fascinate you, surround you." --Chicago Sun-Times "
A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all." --New York Daily News
"Touches all human emotions...truly a novel to get lost in." --Cosmopolitan
World Without End is equally as good, though again, totally different.
Book description:
World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own.
This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.
Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.
Here are a list of Follett’s works:
World Without End
Whiteout
Hornet Flight
Jackdaws
Code to Zero
The Hammer of Eden
The Third Twin
A Place Called Freedom
A Dangerous Fortune
Night Over Water
The Pillars of the Earth
Lie Down With Lions
On Wings of Eagles
The Man from St. Petersburg
Triple
The Eye of the Needle
Paper Money
The Modigliani Scandal
Bio:
Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales, on the 5th of June, 1949. His father was a tax inspector, and "now that he has retired, he does my tax returns for me". Like many young couples bringing up a family in post-war Britain, Martin Follett and his wife Veenie were not able to provide their children with many luxuries. From a very early age, Ken was creating imaginary worlds for himself.
"My mother told me stories all the time. I don't know whether I inherited it from her or just acquired it under her influence, but by the time I was seven years old I was an imaginative child."
Ken was also reading from a very young age. His parents were devout born-again Christians and would not allow their children to watch television or go to the cinema, and Ken found his escape in books. "With no TV or radio, and no Saturday morning pictures which all the other kids used to go to, reading was my entertainment. I didn't have many books of my own and I've always been grateful for the public library. Without free books I would not have become a voracious reader, and if you are not a reader you are not a writer."
Ken's family moved from Cardiff to London when he was ten years old, and since then he has spent most of his life in London, he speaks with a North London, rather than a Cardiff accent; "I think of myself as a Welsh Londoner".
At school, Ken was bored and badly behaved until the age of 13, but he admits that, "when I got interested in girls, school suddenly became much more fun." Around the same time he began to study seriously, and by revising harder than any of his classmates, he started to come top of the class, and continued to do well into university.
Ken Follett is married to Barbara Follett, the Member of Parliament for Stevenage in Hertfordshire. They live in a rambling rectory in Stevenage, 30 miles north of London, with two Labrador retrievers called Custard and Bess. They also have an eighteenth-century town house in London and a holiday home in Antigua. Ken Follett is a lover of Shakespeare, and is often to be seen at performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. An enthusiastic amateur musician, he plays bass guitar in a band called Damn Right I Got the Blues.
He was Chair of the National Year of Reading 1998-99, a British government initiative to raise literacy levels. He is president of the The Dyslexia Institute, Chair of the advisory committee of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) UK, a council member of the National Literacy Trust, a member of The Welsh Academy, a board director of the National Academy of Writing, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is active in numerous Stevenage charities and is Chair of Governors of Roebuck Primary School.
He became a reporter, first with his home-town newspaper the South Wales Echo and later with the London Evening News. While working on the Evening News he wrote his first novel, which was published but did not become a bestseller. He then went to work for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director. He continued to write novels in his spare time. Eye of the Needle was his eleventh book, and his first success. Around 100 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Raul Esparza Page
Raul Esparza--actor, singer, and probably anything else he want's to be . . .
Raul Esparza is not only one of my favorite actors, he's evidently a lot of other people's also. I first noticed this great guy in the revival of "Company" where he played Bobby. Esparza was nominated for a Tony as best actor in a musical, received a Drama Desk Award for Outstandin Actor in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. All deserved.
Variety said of Mr. Esparza in "Company": Raul Esparza strikes just the right balance of easy charm and circumspect distance, alone even in a crowd of friends. He's a deeply ambiguous mass of swirling contradictions -- confused but self-knowing, seductive but standoffish, vulnerable but heavily armored, open to love but ambivalent.
Bloomberg News said: What makes Raul Esparza the best Bobby I've seen is his ability to turn befuddlement into something quite touching. He is not just amused, bemused or put off by what he sees, he is more: sympathetically stymied, helplessly hamstrung. (Review of "Company")
And The New York Times quoted: Mr. Esparza inflects Bobby's wry considerations of his married friends' emotional dilemmas with slashes of dark humor slung straight at the audience, suggesting at times the mischief-making of Jon Stewart at his most deadpan. But his splendid singing throbs with an ardor that expresses the intense confusion under Bobby's veneer of semi-contented solitude.
Esparza has also appeared in "The Normal Heart," "Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang," and "The Homecoming."
A handfull will remember the musical "Taboo," in which Mr. Esparza appeared in drag. The musical flopped, but Mr. E did not.
Mr. Esparza was born in 1970, in Wilmington, Delaware and attended New York University Tish School of the Arts, receiving his diploma from there (BFA) in 1992. He is of Cuban-American descent and was raised in Miami. Esparza first became known to the general public in 2000 with his role in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which won him the Theatre World Award. The next year he appeared in "Tick, Tick . . BOOM!" Additional roles have included Che in the national touring company of "Evita" and the salesman Alfredo Aldarisio in "Pushing Daisies."
If you did not catch his performance as Bobby in "Company," this is now on DVD and simply fantastic. The staging is excellent and Mr. Esparza has one set of pipes on him. He's able to balance incredible gentleness with outright unabashed bravado.
Visit his website at: www.raulesparza.com A great actor who we hope to see more from
This article by: Ham
Raul Esparza is not only one of my favorite actors, he's evidently a lot of other people's also. I first noticed this great guy in the revival of "Company" where he played Bobby. Esparza was nominated for a Tony as best actor in a musical, received a Drama Desk Award for Outstandin Actor in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. All deserved.
Variety said of Mr. Esparza in "Company": Raul Esparza strikes just the right balance of easy charm and circumspect distance, alone even in a crowd of friends. He's a deeply ambiguous mass of swirling contradictions -- confused but self-knowing, seductive but standoffish, vulnerable but heavily armored, open to love but ambivalent.
Bloomberg News said: What makes Raul Esparza the best Bobby I've seen is his ability to turn befuddlement into something quite touching. He is not just amused, bemused or put off by what he sees, he is more: sympathetically stymied, helplessly hamstrung. (Review of "Company")
And The New York Times quoted: Mr. Esparza inflects Bobby's wry considerations of his married friends' emotional dilemmas with slashes of dark humor slung straight at the audience, suggesting at times the mischief-making of Jon Stewart at his most deadpan. But his splendid singing throbs with an ardor that expresses the intense confusion under Bobby's veneer of semi-contented solitude.
Esparza has also appeared in "The Normal Heart," "Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang," and "The Homecoming."
A handfull will remember the musical "Taboo," in which Mr. Esparza appeared in drag. The musical flopped, but Mr. E did not.
Mr. Esparza was born in 1970, in Wilmington, Delaware and attended New York University Tish School of the Arts, receiving his diploma from there (BFA) in 1992. He is of Cuban-American descent and was raised in Miami. Esparza first became known to the general public in 2000 with his role in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which won him the Theatre World Award. The next year he appeared in "Tick, Tick . . BOOM!" Additional roles have included Che in the national touring company of "Evita" and the salesman Alfredo Aldarisio in "Pushing Daisies."
If you did not catch his performance as Bobby in "Company," this is now on DVD and simply fantastic. The staging is excellent and Mr. Esparza has one set of pipes on him. He's able to balance incredible gentleness with outright unabashed bravado.
Visit his website at: www.raulesparza.com A great actor who we hope to see more from
This article by: Ham
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