6/10/2023 0 Comments The last of us druckmannThe film marked the first major stab at a puzzle that Hollywood has been trying to solve ever since. “I saw this thing jumping up and down,” Hoskins later recalled, in doubtful tones. “This is you!” one said, gesturing to a pixelated mustachioed plumber. Hoskins himself hadn’t even heard of the Nintendo franchise-but when his kids learned that he would be playing Mario they excitedly showed him the game. The movie’s eventual tagline, “This ain’t no game,” reflected a self-conscious distance from its source material: a convoluted parallel-universe plot recast the heroes as Italian American handymen from Brooklyn and the princess they set out to save as an N.Y.U. The year was 1992, and, although the title on which the film was based had sold tens of millions of copies, a feature-length live-action adaptation of a video game had never been attempted. When the British actor Bob Hoskins agreed to star in “Super Mario Bros.,” he had little sense of what he was getting into.
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6/10/2023 0 Comments Amulet the stonekeeper book buyObviously, I kept turning these pages like mad, but when I finished I went back through it all to keep looking at Kibuishi’s art. I was repeatedly torn between staring at each page with its myriad of fantastical characters, and turning the page to see what happens next. The colors are vibrant, the action is fast-paced, and emotions run high from page to page. “Amulet” is so visually stunning it feels like you’re reading a movie. As the kids and their mom, Karen, start to fix up the rundown house, they discover some unwelcome boarders who serve as the catalyst for all three to be catapulted into a new world full of frightening creatures, enchanting robots, and answers as to just what happened to their grandpa. Their new home once belonged to their Great Grandpa Silas, who mysteriously disappeared years ago. It’s two years after their dad passed away in a car accident, and without his support, they’ve fallen on some financial hardships. “Amulet” follows siblings Emily and Navin as they move into a new home. That’s the magnificent conundrum I found myself in when reading Kazu Kibuishi’s “Amulet: The Stonekeeper.” The downside to this is that when that graphic novel is crazy good, and you’re flipping through these pages like your life depends on it, you’re done with that awesome experience in a heartbeat. The beauty of graphic novels is they can be flipped through a lot quicker than your average book, but still be packed with adventure. 6/10/2023 0 Comments The broken shore bookThen Maggie, a friend and former co-worker at the library, wrote to me praising the book. I’ve encountered this stylistic quirk in the procedurals of Bill James, but James uses it to savagely humorous effect, whereas I was finding The Broken Shore anything but humorous. The characters spoke in clipped fragments. Temple’s style seemed deliberately elliptical there were times when I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. I dove right in – and came right back out – at least, on my first attempt. Reviews of this novel were glowing – and accolades flowing! – so naturally I had to read it. Dark Doings Down Under: The Broken Shore, by Peter Temple 6/9/2023 0 Comments Dr seuss sam i amThe Food Network's website is littered with recipes for green eggs and ham. Jesse Jackson's famous recitation on "Saturday Night Live". The book entered the zeitgeist in 1991 with the Rev. presidents and Miss Americas Heisman trophy winners and Hall of Fame baseball players, and by millions of moms and dads. About 200 million copies have been sold, besting "Harry Potter". Since then it has become one of the bestselling children's books of all time. writer and cartoonist, whose full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, won the bet and $50, one dollar for each word. Seuss, using 50 words, write an intelligent, entertaining children's book? In a word, yes (which is one of the 50 words). The Seuss classic, published in 1960, was a result of a wager between the author and his editor at Random House. Seuss's famous book, "Green Eggs and Ham." Watch "World News With Diane Sawyer" tonight for more on Dr. Sam-I-Am encouraging, cajoling, begging his unnamed, put-upon friend to try, just try green eggs and ham. 12, 2010 — - It was 50 years ago today that one of the most beloved and well-read children's books first asked the enduring question: "Do you like green eggs and ham?" The only thing more I could wish for from this book was to actually hear all the many songs sung in it's pages. The only time seriousness comes about is at the end, in the Epilogue, which I loved despite that I cried the whole time I read it. Robin Hood was my favourite Disney movie as a child and the Kostner version is still a guilty pleasure of mine, but little did I know how different the actuall adventures from the book were. I will say that I did not always understand the jokes Robin and his men made, the language is archaic and it was not always easy reading but it was always enjoyable. I found myself laughing and smiling throughout all the many stories. I was always a tenant of "the Land of Fancy" as Pyle calls it, so I was very happy to spend time in between the covers of his book. The prologue itself tells you that if you're a sourpuss and like to take things too seriously, you'd best stay away. While reading this I kept thinking what a shame it was that I hadn't read this as a child because it's just the kind of story I would have loved as a girl. 6/9/2023 0 Comments Gustav floberDespite his private views of artistic freedom, he did not agitate against the laws under which he was prosecuted. Instead, he insisted his book was moral and that he was too bourgeois to be prosecuted. Despite Flaubert’s refusal to alter the book’s content, says Haynes, he did not protest what amounted to government censorship of his book. These legal norms-themselves relics of pre-revolutionary guild codes-were accepted by authors of the day. Our letters are always crossing, and I have now the feeling that if I write to you in the evening I. Authors, printers, and publishers were expected to serve as moral “sentinels,” notes Haynes, and licenses to print required businesspeople to swear they would control content. TO GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, at Croissset Nohant, 29 June, 1870. That subject matter and Flaubert’s refusal to temper it with moral messages were at the heart of the obscenity trial, as were evolving norms in terms of publication and press freedom in France. Though his publisher did dial down a few passages, the author angrily insisted that a disclaimer appear along with the book, which in turn alerted the authorities to its incendiary content. The book hardly reads as scandalous today, but its depiction of a bored housewife who embarks on a life of infidelity was nothing less than revolutionary 200 years ago. Were Flaubert and his contemporaries afraid to stand up to censorship?įlaubert’s refusal to tone down the sexual passages of his book appears to have been his legal downfall. 6/8/2023 0 Comments Archie by Paul KupperbergI like the way Archie Comics is attempting to explore the characters in new ways. In case you are wondering: Archie's friend, potential Senator Kevin Keller, is targeted by an assassin and Archies steps in the way and takes the bullet, dying a very valiant death. I haven't read them all, but from what I understand it got a little silly as the alternate timelines were eventually merged. The comic actually had two storylines, one where he married Betty, another where he married Veronica. The question being, who did he marry: Betty or Veronica? Well in this series, it was both. They all grew up, and Archie got married. Life With Archie was a modern comic series that attempted to take the characters to the next level. I'm not sure how "official" this series is supposed to be, but we have here the death of one of the most beloved characters in comics, Archie Andrews. 6/8/2023 0 Comments Menasse the capitalBut Xenopoulou is unhappy to find herself in this division, which she considers a backwater: One of its main characters, Fenia Xenopoulou, is, like Christophidou, a Greek Cypriot woman working in a senior position at the EU’s department of culture in Brussels. Among the many fine works to have received support from this program is Menasse’s own bestselling novel, The Capital, winner of the German Book Prize. She is in charge, incidentally, of the EU’s program to support the work of literary translation. She is now back in the culture department, but this time at the top of the tree, with the grand title of director-general for education, youth, sport, and culture. Shortly after Menasse met her, she moved up the ladder and went on to be successively head of cabinet for two other commissioners. Christophidou, who is a Greek Cypriot, is a high flyer in the Brussels bureaucracy. She was then deputy head of cabinet of the commissioner in charge of the European Union’s department of culture in Brussels. About eight years ago, the Austrian novelist Robert Menasse managed, with great difficulty, to arrange a meeting with a woman named Themis Christophidou. “The Daring Ladies of Lowell are as complicated and flawed as any contemporary heroines, and they shine in this gripping 19th century tale about a small group of “factory girls” who refuse to be silenced when one of their own is murdered. You’ll find yourself rooting for the protagonist as she boldly begins “The Dressmaker,” the story of a seamstress who survived the sinking of the Titanic, was the first novelĪ tale of scandal, murder, and romance, this novel is set in 19th century Massachusetts. The Daring Ladies of Lowell steps inside the factory floor of one of the cotton mills. A refreshingly old-fashioned heroine, she makes THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL appealing –The New York Times Book Review Offers up a compelling slice of both feminist and Industrial The Daring Ladies of Lowell A Novel (Book) : Alcott, Kate : Alice is cast in the mold of a character created by an earlier Alcott, the passionate and spunky Jo March. Based on the actual murder of a mill girl and the subsequent trial in 1833, THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL brilliantly captures a transitional moment in America’s history while also exploring the complex nature of love, loyalty, and the enduring power of friendship. The two families become further entangled since the Dobbins’ son, LC, is also raising a steer for the 4-H competition. As Sarah struggles with how to be a good mother to Emerson Bridge, she looks to the mother cow, whom she names Mama Red, for guidance and also forms an unlikely friendship with Mildred Dobbins. The young steer, Lucky, is soon joined in the Creamers’ yard by his mother, who broke through the Dobbins’ fences to find her calf. After Sarah reads about a steer winning $680 in a competition, she buys a calf from Luther in hopes that Emerson Bridge will win the championship the next year to raise their family out of poverty-and thinking that the calf would be a friend for her son. Desperate to provide her son, Emerson Bridge, with food, Sarah makes a dress to sell to the wealthy Mildred Dobbins, wife of the cattleman and landowner Luther Dobbins. Nearly seven years later, Sarah’s husband drinks himself to death, leaving her a single mother solely responsible for paying the family’s debts. Sarah Creamer unexpectedly becomes a mother to the baby who resulted from her best friend's affair with her husband after her friend commits suicide following the delivery. A single mother and her son raise a steer with hopes of winning a cash prize in the local 4-H competition.Ĭomplicated relationships layer this story, set in the early 1950s in South Carolina. |