Dust & Corruption

Judge Dee: Phantoms, Coffins, and New Year's Eve

2012-01-29T19:12:00.000-05:00

It's 670 AD, and Dee is 40 years old and the magistrate of the desolate province of Lan-Fang. His assignment there was engineered by his enemies at court (possibly an indirect attempt at murder) but once again he conquered adversity and brought order to the town. All this was described in The Chinese Maze Murders, and here's some further adventures in that city. In The Phantom of the Temple, Dee

From the Video Shelf: Four Short Reviews

2012-01-23T23:48:00.000-05:00

We had snow and ice this past weekend, so it was a prime time to be lazy and watch movies. Here's a few from the collection that deserve some mention. Britain's famed Hammer studios have risen from the dead! Still famous for their gothic horror films that starred such luminaries as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Barbara Shelley, Andre Morrell, and others, the studio fell on hard

Monday Night Double Feature

2012-01-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

So it's a holiday weekend, and we're gathering at our usual dinner spot, sharing stories of our adventures and wanderings since last meeting. Tales of rare used books, interesting antiques, trips to museums and historic places, new projects, old friends, the whole gamut. And then...off to our favorite movie theater! Tonight, we're starting off with another early silent classic..."The Merry

Short Bits

2012-01-15T16:34:00.000-05:00

A little this'n'that... Over the holidays I saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Pretty much more a steampunk James Bond film rather than anything from Conan Doyle, but considering how Holmes was the subject of so many pastiches and ripoffs, and how the character was borrowed by Maurice Leblanc for some of the Arsene Lupin novels, it hardly seems the sacrilege some of the pearl-clutching

The Mystery of Elizabeth Canning

2012-01-08T23:30:00.000-05:00

I've written about her a bit before, but here goes again. Elizabeth Canning (1734-1773) was a British servant girl who on 1/1/1753, disappeared while on a visit to some relatives, and showed up at her mother's home several weeks later, claiming to have been held prisoner in a spare room in a house outside London. Bet Canning, as she was known, was a plain yet charming and shy girl, popular in

THE SHANGHAI GESTURE by John Colton

2012-01-07T13:55:00.000-05:00

On a whim, I managed to track down John Colton's original play, The Shanghai Gesture, to read over the holidays. (My recent chatter about Josef von Sternberg brought it to mind.) It was actually a rather controversial play back in 1918, with protests from the Chinese embassy and accusations of morbid racism. It criticizes Western imperialism in Asia, and tackles taboo subjects like prostitution,

Dust & Corruption Calendar: January 2012

2012-01-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a mild season so far, but hope spring eternal. At my parents' place over Christmas break, we reflected that it was more like March than December...until we drove up to the mountains to visit the Flight 93 Memorial and nearly froze. That was a loud-and-clear reminder that it was winter. Now that the dust is settling from all the holiday season bustle, here's some new things to

The Phantom Concert Hall: New Year's Day

2012-01-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

We all slept late, after all the various things we did the night before. Our group meets, hangovers dispelled, for a light supper before taking advantage of a rare opportunity: a lavish concert in a ritzy concert hall! It's a wonderful evening of Strauss and Lehar and other lovely tunes. Of course, during the intermission, there's mysterious goings-on. Was that woman who fainted the victim of a

Some thoughts from Charles Lamb

2011-12-31T15:34:00.000-05:00

I love this 1823 essay by Charles Lamb, so I'm showing it in its entirety. He sums up how New Year's Eve is inescapable. Happy New Year, everyone. Have a safe and happy evening and may the best of the old be the worst of the new! NEW YEAR'S EVE EVERY man hath two birth-days; two days, at least, in every year, which set him upon revolving the lapse of time, as it affects his mortal duration.

FIRE, BURN by John Dickson Carr

2011-12-31T15:26:00.000-05:00

In the first half of the 20th century, Carr was It. He was a bestselling author. He teamed with Adrian Conan Doyle to write The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, one of the most notable early post-Doyle pastiches. And he was a popular writer for radio; he wrote a number of episodes for shows like Suspense! and one of his original shows, "Cabin B-13", ended up being spun off into its own series. His

Judge Dee: Lost in the Maze

2011-12-31T14:41:00.001-05:00

Sorry, folks, I was away for the holidays and didn't have much time for blogging. Now I'm back and getting a few things up before 2012 starts breathing down our collective back... The Chinese Maze Murders was the first Dee book written, but not first in sequence; it's actually mid-way through the series. It opens with the supernatural framing story found in the early novels; in this case, a man

Friday Night Double Feature

2011-12-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

We're taking a break from the holiday rush, and after a filling dinner at our favorite place (and leaving an extra-generous tip for the waiter), we head to that lovely old theater down the street for another double feature. First off is an 1897 gem from George Melies, The Bewitched Inn... Then up is a longer bit of fun, also from Melies: the 1904 An Impossible Voyage, which is rather

Requiem: Susan Gordon, 1949-2011

2011-12-14T21:18:00.000-05:00

The daughter of B-movie director Bert I. Gordon, Susan was an accomplished child actress, appearing in films like her father's ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE, THE BOY AND THE PIRATES, and TORMENTED, as well as other films like THE FIVE PENNIES and THE MAN IN THE NET. She also did much TV work, including episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, 77 SUNSET STRIP, THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR, ROUTE 66, GUNSMOKE,

It's My Own Invention: Have a Gentleman Adventurer!

2011-12-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

I received a good-sized bottle of brandy as a birthday present, and have experimented on and off with it. But then, one night I was doing a free-form cocktail, and I hit upon a happy combination. Pour a finger or two of brandy into an old-fashioned glass (preferably a vintage cut-glass one). Add a splash or two of Gran Gala, a brandy-based orange liqueur. Pop in a couple of ice cubes, and sip

Dust & Corruption Calendar: December 2011

2011-12-07T13:28:00.000-05:00

December is busy for all of us, I think, but here's a few things if you need to slip away from the family...