I have enjoyed a blog "Maya's Granny" which I discovered via Ronni Bennett's "Time Goes By" Granny lives in Alaska and Maya is her grand daughter who lives in California. Granny writes beautifully about interesting events from the past and present time also.
About a month ago Granny had serious health problems and was hospitalized and later had open heart surgery. Her daughter, Julie, came from California to be with her. The surgery went well but Granny is undergoing a long recuperative period now in an Extended Care Facility..
She has access to a computer for a short time each day. I know she would appreciate any words of encouragement from the blogesphere.
Since I do not know how to include a link to "Maya's Granny" in the body of my post; check out the link by clicking on the title of this post
GET WELL SOON GRANNY
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
What I am reading "The Funny Boys"
I love finding a new book unexpectantly at the library. One I have never heard about. A new (to me) author also. That is what happened on Thursday at my nearby branch library. I browsed the new books on a "special shelf" and came across a book. "The Funny Boys" by Warren Adler. Just by looking at the cover I could tell it was about two bit gangsters, flappers, and an entertainer. The simple black and white silhouettes on the grey and white background cover piqued my interest. I sat down and,as is my custom, read the summary and first few pages and found the book was about the 1930's era in a Catskill Mountain Hotel Casino where New York gangsters and their families spent time in the summers.
After reading the first chapter I decided that I would check it out. A good choice as I was highly entertained and finished "The Funny Boys" in two days.An enjoyable read. Not "War And Peace". Just good escapist reading. Some violence but a lot of humor.
I later found out that the author,Larry Adler,who is also a screen writer,has published several other novels, including one which was made into a movie, "The War Of The Roses" starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
FROM AMAZON
"Mickey Fine---with a promising future in comedy. Attracted to the applause of the crowd at a lavish hotel casino in the Catskills, he gets a job as a tumler--part entertainer, part host, all funny boy. But he is naïve to the more sinister side of his audience. They are mobsters and power players of New York's scandalous underbelly--men with whom Mickey had run-ins during his childhood.
When Mutzie Feder, a Jean Harlow-esque gangster girlfriend, gets into the act with dreams of escaping her brutal reality, sparks fly between her and Mickey. But as their circumstances start to catch up with them--and the body count starts mounting from the rough crowd they're running with--Mickey and Mutzie start angling for a way out. That, of course, isn't as easy as it sounds.
With film rights already optioned to a major producer, Funny Boys is a timeless love story and a sweeping American tale told as only Warren Adler could tell it. Smart, wry, and beautifully written, it's as unforgettable and authentic as anything Damon Runyon or Ring Lardner ever wrote, from a writer with a keen eye, an acute ear, and a very big heart."
After reading the first chapter I decided that I would check it out. A good choice as I was highly entertained and finished "The Funny Boys" in two days.An enjoyable read. Not "War And Peace". Just good escapist reading. Some violence but a lot of humor.
I later found out that the author,Larry Adler,who is also a screen writer,has published several other novels, including one which was made into a movie, "The War Of The Roses" starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
FROM AMAZON
"Mickey Fine---with a promising future in comedy. Attracted to the applause of the crowd at a lavish hotel casino in the Catskills, he gets a job as a tumler--part entertainer, part host, all funny boy. But he is naïve to the more sinister side of his audience. They are mobsters and power players of New York's scandalous underbelly--men with whom Mickey had run-ins during his childhood.
When Mutzie Feder, a Jean Harlow-esque gangster girlfriend, gets into the act with dreams of escaping her brutal reality, sparks fly between her and Mickey. But as their circumstances start to catch up with them--and the body count starts mounting from the rough crowd they're running with--Mickey and Mutzie start angling for a way out. That, of course, isn't as easy as it sounds.
With film rights already optioned to a major producer, Funny Boys is a timeless love story and a sweeping American tale told as only Warren Adler could tell it. Smart, wry, and beautifully written, it's as unforgettable and authentic as anything Damon Runyon or Ring Lardner ever wrote, from a writer with a keen eye, an acute ear, and a very big heart."
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Atlanta tornado missed us
Last Friday night my husband and college age grandson and I were watching the NCAA championship basketball game between Alabama and Mississippi State. Our grandson had stopped for the night on his way home from the University of Alabama to South Carolina for spring break.
It was an exciting, close game and the two guys were glued to the TV hoping for an Alabama win. Suddenly everyone in the stadium of over 20,000 people started looking up toward the ceiling of the dome as the roof started swaying and pieces of the roof tore off. There was a loud noise that was later described as sounding like a freight train. Those seated highest up in the "nose bleed" section started making their way down to safety. The sports announcers and several cameramen were visibly shaken as they recounted what had happened. And one of the cameramen who was perched in a swaying basket like filming structure near the roof said he rushed down a ladder to safety as fast as possible.
No one knew exactly what had happened. The game was delayed for over an hour as the officials accessed the situation. Tornado or high winds they decided.
As it turned out it was indeed a tornado that had struck downtown Atlanta, the CNN Center, Georgia World Congress Center, skimming directly over the Georgia Dome with all those fans inside. What a close call for them. The sports announders said that the security and officials in the Georgia Dome did a great job of maintaining calm; thus avoiding a stampede for the exits.
We live within 5 miles of the area where the tornado hit but we were not directly affected. We did have high winds, heavy rain and lightening and thunder Our weather radio alarm kept going off with tornado warnings but thankfully our area was sparred the direct impact.
"ATLANTA (AP) - Alabama and Mississippi State were locked in a thrilling game at the Southeastern Conference tournament. Suddenly, everyone started looking toward the roof of the Georgia Dome, wondering where that rumbling sound was coming from.
What they saw was terrifying.
Metal scaffolding and a temporary video board swaying back and forth. The huge fabric roof flapping like a flag in a stiff breeze. Two large panels above the upper deck starting to peel away. Small chunks of insulation and debris drifting toward the court."
It was an exciting, close game and the two guys were glued to the TV hoping for an Alabama win. Suddenly everyone in the stadium of over 20,000 people started looking up toward the ceiling of the dome as the roof started swaying and pieces of the roof tore off. There was a loud noise that was later described as sounding like a freight train. Those seated highest up in the "nose bleed" section started making their way down to safety. The sports announcers and several cameramen were visibly shaken as they recounted what had happened. And one of the cameramen who was perched in a swaying basket like filming structure near the roof said he rushed down a ladder to safety as fast as possible.
No one knew exactly what had happened. The game was delayed for over an hour as the officials accessed the situation. Tornado or high winds they decided.
As it turned out it was indeed a tornado that had struck downtown Atlanta, the CNN Center, Georgia World Congress Center, skimming directly over the Georgia Dome with all those fans inside. What a close call for them. The sports announders said that the security and officials in the Georgia Dome did a great job of maintaining calm; thus avoiding a stampede for the exits.
We live within 5 miles of the area where the tornado hit but we were not directly affected. We did have high winds, heavy rain and lightening and thunder Our weather radio alarm kept going off with tornado warnings but thankfully our area was sparred the direct impact.
"ATLANTA (AP) - Alabama and Mississippi State were locked in a thrilling game at the Southeastern Conference tournament. Suddenly, everyone started looking toward the roof of the Georgia Dome, wondering where that rumbling sound was coming from.
What they saw was terrifying.
Metal scaffolding and a temporary video board swaying back and forth. The huge fabric roof flapping like a flag in a stiff breeze. Two large panels above the upper deck starting to peel away. Small chunks of insulation and debris drifting toward the court."
Sunday, March 02, 2008
No Country For Old Men-(-and old women)
We went to the movies on Friday. This was our first one in about a year and we chose the Academy Award Winner, "No Country For Old Men."
We had talked about going earlier since Sam had read the book by Cormac McCarthy and liked it but we delayed and then the film was gone from our neighborhood theater. Lo and behold after the Academy Awards, NCFOM came back so we went.
I cannot say I "enjoyed "No Country." But it was a movie I will never forget as many ot the Coen brothers films like "Fargo" tend to be. Their films have a way of sticking in my mind and they make me think. This one was extremely violent but I soon got used to that aspect of NC and relaxed into the story of a drug sale gone bad in the deserted Texas countryside.
From IMDB:
"Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart"
I was still trying to figure out the ending of this movie after I got home so I finally went to IMDB and read a plot synopsis and then I sorta understood.
I think .:)
.
We had talked about going earlier since Sam had read the book by Cormac McCarthy and liked it but we delayed and then the film was gone from our neighborhood theater. Lo and behold after the Academy Awards, NCFOM came back so we went.
I cannot say I "enjoyed "No Country." But it was a movie I will never forget as many ot the Coen brothers films like "Fargo" tend to be. Their films have a way of sticking in my mind and they make me think. This one was extremely violent but I soon got used to that aspect of NC and relaxed into the story of a drug sale gone bad in the deserted Texas countryside.
From IMDB:
"Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart"
I was still trying to figure out the ending of this movie after I got home so I finally went to IMDB and read a plot synopsis and then I sorta understood.
I think .:)
.
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