Wednesday, September 11, 2019


The Loved One, 1965 film  *  Director of Photography Haskell Wexler was dissatisfied with some of the outdoor Whispering Glades scenes because they were being filmed at noon, and the trees were not casting significant shadows, which he felt was necessary to give the shot proper depth.  To compensate, he had the crew paint tree "shadows" on the ground.  This is plainly visible in some scenes, as the trees' "shadows" are entirely dissimilar from those of the actors standing next to them.  *  Evelyn Waugh disowned this movie of his famous novella, and tried unsuccessfully to get his name taken off of the credits.  *  This is Liberace's only movie in which he does not play the piano on-screen.  *  Screenwriter Terry Southern gave the name "Maxwell Kenton" to Milton Berle's character in the movie, who does not appear in the Evelyn Waugh novel.  "Maxwell Kenton" was a pseudonym Southern had used in real-life when his controversial and outrageous satirical novel "Candy" (co-written with Mason Hoffenberg) was published in Paris in the 1950s.  *  One of this movie's few off-the-lot filming locations was Beverly Hills' Graystone Mansion.   Shortly after this filming, Graystone was purchased by the city of Beverly Hills, and later converted into a public park.  *  This movie was advertised on its initial release as "the movie with something to offend everyone".  Among those offended rather than amused were the owners of the real-life Hollywood cemetery Forrest Lawn, who specifically found this movie's suggestion that certain burial grounds engaged in anti-Semitic practices cause for legal action.  This movie's release was held up while the lawsuit was adjudicated.  The fact that it was eventually released implies that the case was decided in favor of the filmmakers.  *  Near the beginning, Jamie Farr has a quick cameo as the restaurant busboy who replaces the portrait of President Johnson with a painting of Queen Elizabeth II.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059410/trivia  See full cast and crew at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059410/fullcredits



Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury, a novel based on his own short story "The Fireman" (originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction Vol. 1 No. 5 in February 1951), follows the exploits and self-examination of fireman Guy Montag in a dystopian society where books are banned and firemen create fires rather than put them out in order to protect society from the supposed dangers of reading.  "Do you ever read any of the books you burn?"   He laughed. "That's against the law!"  "Oh. Of course."  See other quotes at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451



The Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg  Cover eggs with cold water by 1 inch.  Bring water to a boil.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let stand 13 minutes.  Drain and run under cold water.  To spice it up, cut the egg in half and top with a dash of salt mixed with paprika; pepper and lemon zest; or chili flakes. https://www.marthastewart.com/1156000/perfect-hard-boiled-egg          



boondocks  "remote and wild place," 1910s, from Tagalog bundok "mountain."  Adopted by occupying American soldiers in the Philippines for "remote and wild place."  Reinforced or re-adopted during World War II.  Hence, also boondockers "shoes suited for rough terrain," originally (1944) U.S. services slang word for field boots.  https://www.etymonline.com/word/boondocks



Hen and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) date back to ancient times.  European peasants planted hen and chicks among the reeds on their thatched roof homes, creating a plant-based fire retardant.  Succulents such as hens and chicks cactus plants retain water in their leaves.  They catch fire at a slower rate than dried thatch, thus creating a natural firebreak.  Succulents do best in a sunny position although many of them can adapt to semi shade with greener leaves and suppressed flowering.  Too little light will result in weak stems that stretch too much.  Six hours of direct sunlight is ideal. 

Succulents do not enjoy dead and decaying vegetation around them as much as other plants do.  Try to remove all debris from the base of the plant.  Non-organic mulching with gravel and pebbles is preferable to tree bark and other organic mulches.  Succulents do not need as much water as most other plants.  Since they can store water, it is better to water them deeply, but occasionally.   https://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Hen_and_Chicks_Cactus_Plants



Vertigo is a sensation of spinning dizziness.  It is not, as many people maintain, a fear of heights.  It is often associated with looking down from a great height but can refer to any temporary or ongoing spells of dizziness caused by problems in the inner ear or brain.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/knowledge/160900/vertigo-causes-symptoms-treatments



Eric Asimov (born July 17, 1957) is an American wine critic and food critic for The New York Times.  Asimov was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Stanley Asimov, former vice-president for editorial administration at Newsday, and Ruth Asimov, a ceramic artist.  He is a nephew of author Isaac Asimov and brother of San Francisco Chronicle writer Nanette Asimov.  In 1992, Asimov conceived and wrote the "$25 and Under" column, dedicated to "restaurants where people can eat lavishly for $25 and under."  After several years of penning the column, the term "$25 and under" became less literal and more suggestive of inexpensive fare.  Until 1997, the column appeared in the Weekend Section.  It then moved to Wednesdays in the "Dining In, Dining Out" section.  From 1995 to 1998 Asimov published yearly compilations of the $25 and Under columns as books.  From 2000 to 2004, Asimov co-authored the annual New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City with Ruth Reichl and William GrimesAsimov became the chief wine critic of The New York Times in 2004, and the "$25 and Under" column was assigned to other critics.  As chief wine critic, he writes two columns, "The Pour" and "Wines of the Times" (or occasionally "Beers of the Times"), both of which appear in the paper on an alternating bi-weekly schedule.  In March 2006, Asimov began writing a wine blog, also titled "The Pour".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Asimov



For years, Google News has put a category "For you"(under Top stories) on my screen.  In September 2019, they sent me an unsolicited email offering to send me a compilation of stories on a regular basis.  YouTube and Amazon list recommended items for me.  Some people might find these things flattering, but not me.



S GROUP, a Finnish retail co-operative, has pledged to reduce the food loss arising from its operations by 15 per cent by 2020.  “Our happy-hour prices for the evening hours will be adopted on a nationwide scale.  During these hours, customers will get a 60 per cent discount on products whose expiration dates are approaching,” the retail giant said in a press release in July 2019.  The products eligible for the discount are marked with red, 30 per cent-off sticker already before the evening sale.  The idea of offering the so-called red-sticker products at a 60 per cent-discount after 9pm has been trialled at the Alepa corner shops of HOK-Elanto since 2015.  The same practice has now been in use for almost 18 months at Prisma hypermarkets.  https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/16575-s-group-to-adopt-grocery-happy-hour-on-a-nationwide-scale.html 



http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2151  September 11, 2019 

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