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    Saturday, May 26, 2007

    On The Web: The Rap Sheet

    The crime fiction blog’s One Book Project has been running all week, and what a treat it’s been. I imagine that none of the overlooked titles mentioned by the participants will be overlooked any more. I’ve got some reading to do.

    My nomination appears in the series’ last installment. I’d like to thank Rap Sheet editor J. Kingston Pierce both for asking me to play, and for referring to me as a “culture critic.” The description has gone right to my head and my business card. Other answers we would have accepted include gadabout, curmudgeon, and force for good in his time.

    Head over to The Rap Sheet. You’ll enjoy yourself.

    Anniversary: John Wayne

    Today is the centenary of Marion Morrison’s birth. A war movie, not a western, was my introduction to one of the greatest of film stars. The Duke received his first Academy Award nomination for 1949’s Sands of Iwo Jima, playing a hard-bitten Marine sergeant prepping raw recruits for battle even as his personal life falls apart. It’s a well-made film that hits all the standard war movie notes – it may well have invented some of them – but I didn’t know those notes, so Sands made a vivid impression. Particularly Wayne’s final scene. Now I’d see it coming a mile off. Then, I was shattered for the rest of the day. It’s the strength of Wayne’s onscreen presence that gives the moment its impact.

    Wayne was honored at Grauman’s Chinese Theater after the success of the movie. The cement in which he left his footprints and his fist print was mixed with sand from Iwo Jima.

    GreenCine Daily rounds up tributes to the actor. James Reasoner lists his favorite John Wayne films. I second ‘em all.

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    Tuesday, April 17, 2007

    Miscellaneous: Links

    Normally, I’m thrilled when people agree with me. But finding out that Steve Lewis had the same reaction to Boston Blackie that I did kinda bums me out.

    David Thomson on the ten extraordinary minutes of film for which the late Barry Nelson should be remembered.

    Because Rosemarie can’t get enough of him, I give you MC Nuts.

    Miscellaneous: Another Year, Another Blogiversary

    Wednesday marks three, count ‘em, three years of what a friend of mine has shorthanded to VK-dot-C. Not bad, considering the average lifespan of a blog. (Starting one and then neglecting it? Who would do such a thing?)

    The site has evolved over that time. I don’t post every day, or even every other day, any more. And believe it or not, I don’t post about every book I read or movie I see, either. It only seems that way. Somehow, though, I find enough to blather about.

    Occasionally I’ll tell myself that it’s time to mix it up. Change the layout of the site, or at least the photos on each page. But life and work intrude, and I never seem to get around to it. The look of the page hasn’t changed in three years, and it may not for three more.

    Speaking of work, I’ve got some I should be doing. So I’m going to steal a bit from Ken Levine and ask you to do a little writing. If you’re a regular or semi-regular reader, leave a comment. Say who you are and where you’re from, what you like or what you don’t like about the place. Or you can just say “Hi” to let me know you’re there. (NOTE: Family and friends are not exempt from this request. In fact, I’m relying on you to do your part. You don’t want me to be embarrassed, do you?)

    As always, thanks for stopping by. I’ll do what I can to keep it interesting around here.

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    Movie stills from The Prelinger Archives