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The Last Act
I had an idea for a Dahl-type story last week. Two protagonists; one an up-and-coming aide to a congressman, the other a Cambridge book-store owner. The aide has a criminal record because he damaged...
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Misdirection
Any story with a surprise ending uses misdirection to lead the reader towards one conclusion, then throws another at them. This switch is annoying if it’s not done well. I’ve written a bit about what...
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A Gift
I was reading a story from Bulgakov’s A Country Doctor’s Notebook last night, titled The Embroidered Towel. The stories in this collection are all somewhat autobiographical. Bulgakov was sent to a...
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The Soldier
I grew up calling November 11th “Armistice Day” and buying little paper poppies from elderly ladies. These poppies were in remembrance of WWI, and the proceeds went to wounded vets and war memorials....
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The Strange Story of Mrs Pankhurst
Who owns the copyright? Popular movements so often loose their way. Look at ‘Occupy Wall Street': its original goal was to end government subsidies to corrupt banks ‘too big to fail’. Now, it’s...
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Neck
Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1951 It’s been a while since I’ve written about Roald Dahl. My posts on him have been largely critical and I may, just may, have given the impression that I don’t like...
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Roald Dahl and Current Events Updated
But you knew that already… Thanks Domestic Anarchy. Greetings Readers! For your browsing convenience, I’ve updated the Roald Dahl and Current Events pages (see the bottom of the blog). Links now...
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Throwing Good After Bad
My favorite cooking show is Two Fat Ladies: a pair of elderly British spinsters cook the old-school way, with a sprinkling of history and literature thrown in. In one episode Jennifer Paterson, the...
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Tick Season
Charles E Marsh, easily mistaken for Jesus. If you live near deer, or chipmunks, you’ll be painfully aware that it is now tick season. If you’ve no experience with these insects, I’ll give you a hand:...
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The People Vs. Bob Guccione
In the final chapter of Prof. Alfred McCoy’s The Politics of Heroin, he gives a brief description of the Nugan Hand Bank Scandal. Nugan Hand was an Cayman Islands bank that was intimately involved in...
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Walt and El Grupo
Was Walt Disney the first American victim of FDR’s illegal spy network? Last night I watched an old Disney cartoon called “The Golden Touch,” which is a retelling of the famous Greek myth about King...
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Wormwood Star
Original 2011 cover of Wormwood Star, by Spencer Kansa. Greetings, a.nolen readers! Spencer Kansa contacted me today demanding that this post be removed and threatening me with legal action– I’ve...
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Steal the Mona Lisa?
A few weeks ago, my husband alerted me to an interesting documentary about the 1911 theft of the ‘Mona Lisa’ from Paris’s Louvre Museum by Italian immigrant Pietro ‘Vincenzo’ Peruggia. This 2012...
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A. C. Spectorsky and CCF 2.0
Greetings first-time a.nolen readers! If you are unaware of the IRS evidence suggesting that Hugh Hefner and his Playboy Empire are CIA assets, please see my post Do You Have A Key to the Playboy...
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