Big Hollywood links up a couple videos of an interesting interview with Rod Serling talking about TV fiction, television in general, and science fiction. He calls himself “the least adebt of science fiction writers” and that TV fiction is irrelevant overall. Near the end, he says Star Trek was a pretty inconsistent show, sometimes sparkling with ingenuity, sometimes “the carnival that television was.”
Labors of misplaced love
Today’s Word of Wisdom from Walker:
As I look back over my lifetime, I find that I have only two regrets.
The things I’ve done, and the things I haven’t done.
I’m pretty much OK with the rest.
Michael Medved reviewed George Clooney’s new movie, The American, today. He said it’s a beautiful film in which nothing much actually happens.
This reminded me of one of the most surprisingly bad movies I ever saw. My brother and I were in St. Paul one evening a while back with time on our hands, and decided to see a movie. We went to the nearest cinemaplex, and saw it was playing Robert Duvall’s newest film, Assassination Tango. We’re both big admirers of Robert Duvall, so we immediately bought tickets.
It was horrible. Continue reading Labors of misplaced love
This could be a great t-shirt
Great Vocab Didn’t Save The Thesaurus From Extinction. No. No, it didn’t.
The End Is Near; Then the After-End
J. Mark Bertrand gives this bit of advice early in his article on post-apocalyptic literature: “He who stockpiles the ammunition can help himself to the rest of the stockpiles.” He says he isn’t worried about a zombie uprising, which of course is ludicrous. They are coming. Everyone knows it. And here Mr. Bertrand is reading a book called Far North
Old BBC Documentary on Tolkien
Here’s a heart-warming documentary from March 1968 with J.R.R. Tolkien and some Oxford students talking about his epic fantasy. Our friend Bill at Thinklings is rejoicing in part due to his recent to Oxford.
Second breakfast for Second Harvest
Donna Farley, author of Bearing the Saint, which I reviewed below, forwarded a link to a site called Hobbit Meals, which definitely looks worthy of a mention at Brandywine Books.
From their Mission Statement:
Hobbit Meals is dedicated to feeding the hungry in our local communities by hosting “Hobbit Meals,” in which a group gathers to enjoy a hobbit feast, share hobbit recipes, and enjoy all things Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, as well as bring donated food to supply local food banks. Monetary donations are also encouraged to provide local food banks with overhead costs and additional monies for food.
They seem to have a Christian orientation too. God bless ’em. May the hair on their feet never fall out.
Are Kids Getting Dumber Every Year?
Megan Basham reviews an upcoming documentary Waiting for “Superman,” which she calls “a scathing look at the U.S. public-school system and those who stand in the way of reforming it.”
How to Write a Novel
This reminds me a bit of the LifeHacks guy (if that’s the right label for him) who was offered a book contract and spend the whole time designing the cover.
Nathan Fillion
As a tie-in post to Lars’ review of Heat Wave and as a benefit to some of our readers, without whom we could not do, here is a photo of Nathan Fillion. (link defunct)
And here is a photo of Rainn Wilson beating Mr. Fillion up at Comic-Con this year. (link defunct)
Heat Wave, by "Richard Castle"
Television and motion picture tie-in books are always a gamble. Sometimes they’re written on the cheap by newcomers (talented or not), and sometimes hard-working pros (like the late, great Stuart M. Kaminsky) make them a delight… or a disappointment.
I’m happy to report that Heat Wave
One warning—the paperback version has the smallest print I’ve seen in a novel in years. If you’re over 50, you’ll need your bifocals for this one.
For those unfamiliar with the joke, “Richard Castle” is the hero of an ABC television series, “Castle,” in which he’s portrayed by the charismatic actor Nathan Fillion. Castle is a bestselling author who exerts personal leverage to get permission to follow around a New York detective squad led by Det. Kate Beckett (played by the beautiful Stana Katic). Castle falls in love with Beckett, who is attracted but keeps him at an arm’s length. He makes her the heroine (thinly disguised under the name “Nikki Heat”) of a novel called Heat Wave. That book (we are invited to believe) is the one we are reading here. Continue reading Heat Wave, by "Richard Castle"