My book pile at home shrunk by two this past weekend, as I had the chance to read remarkably different selections. I picked The Goose Girl up at a rummage sale because I like the cover. The gift inscription reads "Merry Christmas To Clarence From Mabel & Bob, Dec, 25, 1910."

The charming, but predictable story, focuses on the kidnap, and mistaken identity of a princess from a picturesque German town in the 1800's. I could easily see how pre-pubescent, turn of the century girls would enjoy this grown-up fairy tale filled with all the right components: romance, mystery, and disguise. I couldn't help but wonder if Clarence, the recipient of the book, enjoyed it. But who wouldn't love a book with powerful lines like "Why couldn't I have fallen in loved with some one like this?" he cogitated. ?

Besides the occasional cogitation, a whole slew of fun awaited me after the story ended. The publishers, Grosset & Dunlap, provided me with a complete list of reading selections guaranteed to be "brilliant," "spirited" and "fascinating", not to mention "popular priced." The Six-Cylinder Courtship is "...full of interesting folks, " and even though The Secret Orchard is set in Paris "most of the characters are English speaking."

Nedra, by George Barr McCutcheon, sounds like a fine read. - "The story of an elopement of a young couple from Chicago who decide to go to London travelling as brother and sister. Their difficulties commence in New York and become equally exaggerated when they are shipwrecked in mid-ocean. The new husband finds himself on an island with a strange, beautiful woman, resulting in unmentionable circumstances."

My favorite title - 'Red Fox: the Story of His Adventurous Career in the Ringwaak Wilds, and his Triumphs over the Enemies of his Kind. How could anyone resist reading a book with a title that compelling? I do own one other book on this extensive list, and have seen a movie version - The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Reinhart. The edition promoted has illustrations - not something we see in murder mysteries with any frequency these days.

John Strausbaugh's Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture took me in a totally different direction. The author, a regular contributor to the New York Times uses remarkable common sense and condor to illuminate realities about race that are rarely discussed in polite conversation. I'm not quite finished, but what I'm taking from it so far is the idea that no matter how uncomfortable it may be to face certain aspects of our country's history, or our personal history, no history is better or useful, if forgotten. I know the book sounds dry, and I put off reading it for a long time because I figured ti would read like someone's doctoral dissertaiton. Just the opposite is true. Strausbaugh makes this readable, and -odd to say- enjoyable. I'm thinking about suggesting it as a title for my book group to read.

That's it for now. We're getting into the thick of Heart-A-Rama so I may skip a post now and again. Keep checking back. Maybe I can get the dog to ante up with a few words.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sorry about the lack of spaces between paragraphs. This blog generator get persnickity from time to time. Today is one of those days.! If you're reading this Blogspot monitors...fix it, please.

I Wonder

What goes on in Tim Burton's mind? That question popped up time and time again as I watched his revisionist take on "Alice In Wonderland." Burton's new interpretation got mixed reviews, but the reality is that Lewis Carroll's book is filled with ambiguities, and that is a huge part of it's appeal. Some people see it as silly, others - menacing. Is Alice dreaming, or can we suspend disbelief and tumble down the rabbit hole with her, enjoying every odd moment, and wishing we could be her for just one day?

What I really enjoyed was that the 3D did not own the story, but enhanced it. This is great 3D - not the little paper glasses with one blue lens and one red lens. This new development is so effective that, at the point when Alice is being flown to the Red Queen's castle, I got that love it-hate it roller coaster stomach churn. Mia Wasikowski, the relative unknown playing Alice, surely has a nice career ahead of her.

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? It works. The character is mad, as his name implies, and Depp's versatility has him bouncing from the depths of wounded darkness, to teasing repartee. Depp pays homage to some of his other equally bizarre characters including Edwad Scissorhands, Sweeny Todd, and Willie Wonka, with subtle, but detectable winks and smiles.

Despite the annoyingly puzzling crush I have on this guy, he was not my favorite character. That distinction goes to Matt Lucas playing both Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Lucas has been on my radar since I first discovered him in a sketch comedy show on BBC called "Little Britain." He has range, impeccable timing, and plays each character with reckless abandon. Loved him in this movie!

I wish I could have seen the movie in my own town, but we didn't get it in 3D. But going to the Sheboygan theatre reminded me going to the movies as a kid. The packed movie house, in addition to being spiffy clean, was filled with activity. Kids skipped and giggled as they hustled to their respective theatres. They were jumping up and down, applauding, and calling out instructions to help Alice avoid trouble. For me, the best part of the entire experience was when the little girl behind me whacked me in the head at the very end. She was reaching out to catch the luminous, blue butterfly flitting above our heads. Good times.

Now, for a minor rant. Outside the theatre door was a box instructing us to recycle our 3D glasses to be sterilized and repackaged and reused. A mom came out right after me with three kids, and she told them to keep their glasses. The kids questioned her about it and she said it was "Optional." Way to go mom. You know the glasses are worthless on rental movies and TV shows, and you have given your kids a solid lesson in dishonesty. And, if in the future, I have to buy 3D glasses instead of having them loaned to me as a courtesy, I will blame you and others like you who can't respect simple rules. GRRRRR.

On to sillier thoughts....here's a little glimpse of the foolishness we're preparing for you for this year's Heart-A-Rama. Gary stopped by for a costume fitting last week and graciously posed for this picture. He'll be singing a lovely rendition of "I'm Called Little Buttercup" in a sketch entitled "Ain't that Sumthin' - 40 Year in 4 Minutes."

Hope to see you there. Get your tickets at Piggly Wiggly in Manitowoc or at Inman Jewelers in Two Rivers.

SPRING SPRING SPRING

*****Check out guest blogger Steve's post right after this one. I told you there was a sighting a few weeks ago, but some of you didn't beleive me. Some of you still think he doesn't exist, don't you?

Whether it's the first robin sighting, the first day over 45 degrees, or the small trickles across our sidewalks telling us that the snow piles will soon be gone, everyone has a personal line of demarcation that indicates that spring is imminent. For me, it's the first day without mittens, and my first Heart-A-Rama rehearsal for the year. This year, those two anticipated promises that my favorite season will truly arrive happened on the same day...Saturday. Oh joy!

All mittens aside, I have the best, the very best HAR cast this year...the very,very best! Keep in mind that I work with three different casts, and only one has begun rehearsing. I am sure the additional two groups will also be the very, very best! We're working on a little musical parody called "The Yellow Brick Road to Fame and Shame," which we wrote and included in the show about eight years ago. Reprising it gives me a chance to tidy up underdeveloped scenes, and add new flips and tricks!

What I'm enjoying most is the bravado and creativity of this group. Jokingly, I commented to our pianist Connie Dorner, "They have no respect for us, Connie." She agreed. But that is exactly what makes them so much fun. They take my suggestions, and play, and twist, and build, and end up with a scene that is more fun than I had envisioned. This is going to be a good year.

Be sure to get your tickets. They will go on sale soon...sometime next week...at the Piggly Wiggly and at Inman Jewelers in Two Rivers.

*****I'm still plugging away at The Monfils Conspiracy. I don't read much true crime, and am not quite sure about the style. However, the book is fascinating, and the authors have more than thoroughly examined all aspects. If you recall, in 1995, six co-workers at the James River paper plant in Green Bay were found guilty of the murder of Tom Monfils. Monfils had tipped the GB police off to a potential theft, with the understanding that his identity would not be revealed. Not only did the police, reveal his identity, with the DA's blessing they gave a cassette copy of the tip line tape to one of the suspects. Monfils was confronted by three employees of the plant who played the tape for him. He owned up to making the call. Shortly after that, he went missing; his body was subsequently found at the bottom of a paper vat.

One of the six men has been totally cleared of all charges. The book asserts that all six men were the victims of shoddy police work, supposition, and a desire to give the people of Green Bay some closure on this disturbing occurrence. Although I am only about half way through the book, much troubles me. My biggest problem is this: how does a group of six men, with no ties socially, and with only a casual work relationship suddenly band together to commit a murder? Is it logical to believe that there was not one among them who would have said, "This is not the way to handle this?" Why would all six observe some twisted code of silence knowing that doing so would mean the loss of their freedom perhaps for life?

When I couple those questions with the ambiguity of the facts, and the "creative" detective work (as least as it is reported by these authors) I am leaning toward accepting most of the writers' thesis. Without a doubt, some bullying occurred. Prior to their arrest, nearly two years after the murder, some of the accused showed bad judgement, and could have used an editor to step in to clean up comments made publicly in fear, anger or frustration. I also don't understand why all six were tried together in an all or nothing situation, but that will certainly be discussed in coming chapters.

Manitowoc residents know all too well how such an event can shake people to their very core. We know all too well that the residue from those incidents becomes part of the stained tapestry of our culture. Perhaps it is time to change our paradigm, and work to permanently etch the strengths of our community into our collective history. What better time than spring to look to the good, the positive, the possibilities? So, let the spring cleaning begin!

Hard-boiled by guest blogger Steven Head

Jan. 22nd was the final day of the liquidation of my favorite local independent bookstore. I had to go, not because of the 75% discount, but for the same reason as visiting a terminally ill close friend near the end. I left with 2 remembrances, the last book by author Donald Westlake before his recent death and a paperback of Andrew Vachss titled Strega. I had sampled Vachss before but never returned.

My recent flight to Wisconsin seemed the perfect time to read the Vachss book and it filled my time in both directions. I have wondered what became of the hard-boiled detective novel. The style started by Dashell Hammett in the 1930's involving the stand-up guy against evil forces. Based upon Strega I nominate Vachss as the person keeping that flame alive with his Burke series.

While Hammett's detective was a product of his 'continenal op' pulp fiction pieces, the Burke character has a more checkered past. A ward of the state as a child and no stranger to jail or prison as an adult. He operates as an unlicensed private detective, taking the sort of jobs the Pinkerton's would never be presented. Through his extensive criminal world contacts he can navigate where others are excluded. And his reputation as a straight shooter is an asset, although he continually expects to be double crossed and set-up by all but his close friends.

Like most detective novels there is a supporting cast of characters from the shady side of the street. A Chinese restaurant owner who signals her clients when law enforcement is on the premises, a reclusive tech and explosives genius with his own subterranean connections, a street walker in the process of gender change, a deaf mute martial artist, and Pansy, a Neapolitan mastiff. Complementing this group are players from the relatively straight world, attorneys, counselors, and a free clinic physician, who collide with Burke's world on a regular basis.

In Strega we find Burke on an assignment involving child pornography. True to hard-boiled form by the end a sense of balance is restored, although we are taken on a guided tour of alleys, dark rooms, and sewers to reach it. Along the way we are exposed to the mechanics and dynamics of victim treatment and psychiatric thinking regarding the perpetrators. A real world problem given more than a cardboard cutout examination.

This book, and no doubt the series, depends entirely upon the connection between reader and narrator, Burke. While we all think we have a little bit of outlaw in us, can we really be expected to make the leap to identify with this convicted felon? This is where the mastery of Vachss is revealed. The recollections, lessons learned, and thought process of the narrator expose the reader to a fundamentally good person who has done some bad things. A person who tries to do the right thing, often in a compassionate and inventive way. But also a person who can administer street justice with force and no regret. "A crook with a conscious" is too simplistic but points in the right direction.

Here's an example of a Burke insight. "But when you spend your life lying to everyone from streetside suckers all the way to the Parole Board, you learn that lying to yourself is a self-inflicted wound." Lying to yourself. Who cannot identify with that?

Strega is a early book in the Burke series. Vachss recently released Another Life, the 18th and final book of the series. I look forward to reading of his adventures while waiting for the new Craig Johnson mystery. But given the gritty world where Burke prowls I'll have to space them out, going to lighter and brighter spaces between visits.

Shutter Island and The Queen

Last weekend, I went to see "Shutter Island". How can you go wrong with a powerhouse team including director, Martin Scorsese, original work and screenplay by Dennis LaHane, and Leonardo DiCaprio starring? Well, something just did not work for me, and from the overheard conversations in the lobby, something did not work for lots of people.

The story? A federal agent is called to a prison island for the criminally insane to investigate the escape of an inmate. He reluctantly surrenders his gun at the gate, and the chaos begins. I won't tell you any more, except that I thought the plot was messy, and reminded me of those old black and white, cheesy rainy Sunday afternoon movies that fascinated me as a teenager. How I looked forward to those days when the weather kept me indoors, and while channel flipping, I'd come across a movie where someone was wrongly accused of a crime and imprisoned, or worse, put into an asylum in which the patients were indistinguishable from the staff. Oh, those movies were so very contrived and melodramatic, but I loved them. Occasionally, I"d stumble across a fine piece like "The Grapes of Wrath' or "The Greatest Show on Earth," both starring Henry Fonda.

Well, "Shutter Island" got mixed reviews. Those reviews that tried hard to convince me that this was a tribute to Scorsese's most admired directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, and the one that worked to explain how the symbolism of the title brought significance to the overall effect failed. I just didn't like the movie.

But, when I got home, I switched on the TV just in time to see the opening credits for "The Queen" with Helen Miron in the defining role of her career. I was hooked, and committed to another two and half hours of movie watching. This one is not to be missed. The reaction to Princess Diana's death took took on a tabloid feel for many Americans, but having been to England a few times, I understood the impact it had on the British people. The last time I went to visit friends of my parents in a little village outside of London, my plane landed the evening before Charles and Diana's wedding. Their wedding date had not been set when I bought my tickets, and I had no choice but to brave the throngs of admirers swarming Victoria station where I had to catch a train.

The little garden is in my friend Margaret's backyard at 84 Watson Road, Sittingbourne, Kent. Nearly everyone lives in connected row houses. Thank goodness each household painted their front door a different color, or I'm sure I would have let myself into a few stranger's living rooms. There's a corner pub complete with pickled eggs and plowman's lunches, Mr. Mockett's grocery store with shelves and shelves of oxtail soup (and the best burnt sugar pie), and a Boots Apothecary. That's about all, really. Every Saturday, the gypsies show up in the center of town, and you can get just about anything from them....clothes, bicycles, umbrellas, toys. I will confess that the meat auction was downright creepy, though. Huge chunks of meat where lifted high above the auctioneer's hear, and everyone started hollering bids. The available meat sold quickly, which was a blessing, since I never saw any type of refrigeration in the vicinity of the auction tent.

On the morning of the wedding, after a restless night in an unfamiliar and oddly short bed, I was awakened at 6 A.M. by disturbingly peculiar sounds. Investigating, I discovered that Gwen, the elderly woman I was staying with, had invited her cronies in to watch the festivities, which began with them singing a spirited, albeit gooselike, rendition of "God Save the Queen." Could those women wail! I didn't stand a chance of getting back to sleep, so I grabbed a cup of tea, some Peek Freens Digestive Biscuits (which have devastating repercussions for inexperienced consumers) and settled in to watch the wedding. I am not kidding when I tell you that the first three hours of coverage consisted of four designers guessing what Diana's dress would look like.

OOPS! Looks like I wandered just a little. "Shutter Island"...NO. "The Queen"...YES.

*****We had a nice night on Saturday with singer-songwriter, Adam Morantez. The small but appreciative crowd was treated to a evening of song by a cool guy with hot pipes and tons of talent. We'll keep you posted on his upcoming shows. You should see this guy if you can.

*****What am I reading? Still working on The Monfils Conspiracy.

*****Emily Update....our sure to be famous Emily will again be doing summer stock with the award winning Utah Shakespeare Company. She has the lead in a world premier musical version of Dickens' Great Expectations. She will also be playing one of Shakespeare's most significant female characters - the feisty, flirty, justice seeking, Portia in the Merchant of Venice. She recently earned rave reviews playing all three witches in Macbeth at Yale University Theatre. Even with all that going on, ET finds time to phone home. Gotta love that girl!

If you've been reading my HTR column, the next one should be this coming Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by.