Podcastapalooza!

At my house it is suddenly raining iPods. After years of unsuccessfully entering sweepstakes to win an iPod, in the past month I've had 2 of them show up. Since I am slightly (ahem) past the demographic that uses iPods for music, I have become addicted to podcasts. I was already a huge fan of the Ray Peacock and This Week in London podcasts, but recently I've discovered even more informative and entertaining podcasts. Here, then, are some of my favorites...

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Apropos of nothing

Not that this has anything to do with anything really, but I just noticed this sign on the sidewalk on my way home from work, and found it incredibly sad:Not that we're a terribly shallow country or anything . ....

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The Wicked Stepmother Strikes Again

The book The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale deals with the shocking 1860 murder of a 3 year old boy, and the efforts of a determined detective to solve the case. The murder took place in the English village of Road (now Rode), in Somerset. The young boy was discovered in the privy with his throat cut. The household was typically Victorian middle-class and...

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Little Raji James miraculously hasn't ruined this (yet)

Last week was finally the return of the Ray Peacock Podcast. Hooray! It had been on hiatus over the summer, and I had anxiously checked the website (warning! Parts of previous podcasts automatically start playing, and some are definitely not suitable for work!) faithfully hoping for a new series, and I my patience was finally rewarded. Series 4 and earlier episodes are available...

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Stories your high school English teacher never told you

Did you know that Ernest Hemingway's transsexual son Gloria died of a heart attack at the Miami-Dade Women's Detention Center? Or that Louisa May Alcott was an opium addict? Or that Charles Dickens horribly dissed his house guest Hans Christen Andersen? These are just some of the startling facts presented in the book Secret Lives of Great Authors by Robert Schnakenberg. Aside...

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Tidying up loose ends

The audio version of This Charming Man by Marian Keyes was a wonderfully entertaining way to spend a long commute. The story of the four women (Grace, Lola, Marnie and Alicia) was so engrossing that I really hated for the book to end. The four women (and others, as it turns out) were all entangled in romances with the charming but despicable Paddy de Coursy. They were all...

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Headhunting runs in the family

I've become aware of several upcoming genealogy workshops, and suddenly it's seeming like a good idea to find out about my family tree. My Anglo-obsession has to come from somewhere, and with family names like Hopkins, Montgomery, Arnett and Kennard, I think it must be in the blood. Speaking of blood, I was quite interested to find the Montgomery family crest pictured here,...

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No, I can't see you now!

Most professions require good vision, but in the case of police officers, being able to identify suspects and monitor their expression is vitally important. So it is with great alarm that DCI Ross Tanner (played by Clive Owen) receives the news that he is losing his sight in the crime drama Second Sight. He is determined to hide his affliction from his co-workers (as in the...

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I still don't know who done it!

This past weekend marked the annual Jack the Ripper Conference, held for the first time in Knoxville, TN. As someone with a casual interest in the topic, I wasn't sure what to expect from the conference. I was amazed by all of the scholarly, in depth research and presentations that I was exposed to during the conference. There were talks on the misunderstood Dr. Tumblety,...

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In the middle of things, but libraries rule!

Against my better judgment, I started listening to the audio book of This Charming Man, by Marian Keyes. Her books are always very entertaining, and usually hilarious. However, the main theme of this book (as far as I had been able to determine) is domestic violence. Hardly a subject that lends itself easily to amusing anecdotes. The story is indeed difficult to listen to at times, but the characters and situations are all so engaging, that you...

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Being royal ain't all it's cracked up to be

I'm sure Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire would agree with me. Keira Knightely portrays "G" in the new film The Duchess. The Duchess lived from 1757-1806. In the film, she is shown to be a lively, cheerful, fun-loving girl who married into royalty and high society. Unfortunately, her husband (Ralph Fiennes) was a dull and boring man who only really loved his dogs. Being...

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Chicago vs. The Gherkin

I enjoy Simon Pegg movies, so it was with great anticipation that I got ready to watch Run Fatboy Run. The film concerns a loser, Dennis, who 5 years previously had left his pregnant fiancee at the alter. Now that she has a rich, successful, hunky boyfriend, Dennis decides that he wants her back. Hunky boyfriend, played by Hank Azaria, also runs marathons, so Dennis, not...

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In the kingdom of craziness

Stephen Fry stars as solicitor Peter Kingdom in the lovely British series Kingdom. The series, shot in Norfolk, includes beautiful scenery, eccentric townspeople and and a wise, gentle main character. Peter is ably assisted by his efficient secretary Gloria, portrayed by the wonderful Celia Imrie. He is happily settled with his classic car, model trains, and little yappy dog,...

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We ARE TOO amused

Earlier this week I went to a sneak preview of the film Flash of Genius, starring Greg Kinnear. It is the story of the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper in his basement. The major U.S. auto companies had been working on the idea, without success, for many years. He took his design to the Ford Motor Company, which was extremely interested, but they convinced...

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