Book Review: Jean Harlow

Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow by David Stenn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


 A fair and balanced overview of her life, the book was not a tell all (in order to harm the star) book.   The book also shared with the reader the age, the star and the sine from all of her abuse.  She was a star looking for someone to admire her for her true Missouri self.  She acted in order to support her dysfunctional mother.  The pressure of her life mounted, from no true father, an overbearing mother, and a sense of being an underdog a midst rabid dobermans.   And in the end she was left alone, a damaged platinum blonde.  She was the sepia goddess in an age of fear. The great depressions was a time when America was waking from the first world war and maturing from a time of magical innocence.

Jean Harlow's life seems to be summed up in the one-hundredth and tenth line of T.S. Eliot's the Wasteland: Footsteps shuffled on the stair Under the firelight under the brush her hair, Spread out in fiery points, Glowed into words, then would be savagely still.

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Funny Funny Funny

Haiku Review of the Wasteland by Stephen King

Haiku Summary of the Wasteland by Stephen King:

Choo Choo Engine,
stood before Roland the Brave
asking mean riddles.

Believe me there is more to this book than that, because there is nothing quit like Stephen King. He grabs a hold of you and will never let go. He uses the mythic structure of the Heroes Quest, while keeping the form current by not letting the work go into the drawers of cliche.
The dark tower is the subterranean river that flows beneath all of his books. When we jump into the adventure of the Ka-tet, we are seeing the strands of King's other works being tied up and completed. He has created a universe that will keep you awake at night.

Coming Up: Yiddish Traditions

March-April were my favorite months growing up, as I loved spring, and spring brought me Passover.  My grandparents Pearl and Alex Rothbard made Passover special to me.   I loved opening the door for Elijah, and finding that the wine had indeed been drunk by a ghostly visitor.  Grandfather hid the matzoh under his chair.  I would search and search until finally I would find it in the last place I looked. April has been dedicated to Yiddish Stories on Tending Turnips and Yiddish Words on Words People Use.  I hope you enjoy.  Mozol Tov.  and of Course Shalom Alechiem, Gregory D. Rothbard      

Quoted on Food

“There’s an organic grocery store just off the highway exit. I can’t remember the last time I went
shopping for food.” A smile glittered in his eyes. “I might have gone overboard.”
I walked into the kitchen, with gleaming stainless-steel appliances, black granite countertops, and
walnut cabinetry. Very masculine, very sleek. I went for the fridge first. Water bottles, spinach and
arugula, mushrooms, gingerroot, Gorgonzola and feta cheeses, natural peanut butter, and milk on
one side. Hot dogs, cold cuts, Coke, chocolate pudding cups, and canned whipped cream on the
other. I tried to picture Patch pushing a shopping cart down the aisle, tossing in food as it pleased
him. It was all I could do to keep a straight face.”
― Becca Fitzpatrick, Silence

The Masculine Principle (1950)

The Plain Facts

1. Length:15 pages


2. Genre:Irish Literature




3. Characters:
   
   
   
   • Myles Reilly: a building contractor who wants to discuss things instead of work.
   
   
   
   
   • .




4. Setting:County Cork Ireland

So, what's It About Man?

We find a schism between religion, Catholic v. Protestant.  The story is a love story between Catholics and Protestants.  O'Connor examines what religion can do to a girl and a boy when the schism lands them in no man's land.  Also shows that religion with out the gospel are Sunday Morning Arguments.


Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Dubliners and Wee Folk 7:31

My First Protestant by Frank O'Connor

“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.” ― Garrison Keillor


The Plain Facts

1. Length:8 pages.
   
2. Genre:Irish Literature


3. Characters:
   
   
   • Winifried Jackson Protestant Girl
   • Dan Daly: Winifried's Catholic Boyfriend.
   • The Narrator Mr. Hogan (The Active Observer).


4. Setting:County Cork Ireland

So, what's It About Man?

We find a schism between religion, Catholic v. Protestant. The story is a love story between Catholics and Protestants. O'Connor examines what religion can do to a girl and a boy when the schism lands them in no man's land. Also shows that religion with out the gospel are Sunday Morning Arguments.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Dubliners and Wee Folk 6:31

Don Juan's Temptation (1948)

“Good sex is like good bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.” ― Mae West


The Plain Facts

1. Length:8 pages/li>
   
2. Genre:Irish Literature


3. Characters:
   
   
   • Gussie Leonards
   • Helen


4. Setting:County Cork Ireland

So, what's It About Man?

We find a battle between school girl romance and Don Juan seduction; as told by a lady of the night.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Dubliners and Wee Folk 5:31

The Man of the House(1949 first published in The New Yorker)

“I don't want tea," said Clary, with muffled force. "I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them."
"Unfortunately," said Hodge, "we're all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it's either tea or nothing.”
― Cassandra Clare, City of Bones 



The Plain Facts

1. Length:7 pages


2. Genre:Irish Literature


3. Characters:
   
   
   • Mother:
   
   
   • Son: Gus
   
   
   • The Fire and smoke in the fireplace
   • The Daughter of the Pharmacist.
   
   


4. Setting:County Cork Ireland

So, what's It About Man?

An araby-esque type story, where the young lad goes out, finds a fantastic place for ventures, and then comes back to a house returned to normal.

Book Review: Washington's Crossing

Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




"Washington came like the bad weather."



Why study history? What does it matter to me?  Because it shows the contingency in events that unfold in time and place.  The book explores the author's viewpoint on a contingency in history; "people making choices, and choices making a difference in the world."363.   The choices were made from what the participants felt about the events that were unfolding.   The Brits viewed the rebels as a bunch of yeoman farmers.  The Americans viewed the British as an enormous dinosaur that did not know its tail from its nose.  

Had Washington not been General? Had General Charles Lee not been captured? (Lee would have stalled Washington from crossing the river, as he was the typical overcautious general.) Had the Hessian Forces and Brits not been overconfident? Had a woman not kept the Hessian General at home, instead of in his key position on the battle front? Then the American Story would have been quit different.

The book was great in displaying the way that Washington's Story was told by different authors with different purposes.   He shows with honesty how the facts can be skewed to prove the point of any political platform.  Before reading this book I always believed that the Hessian Army was drunk when Washington attacked it.   From the facts assembled this has proven to be not true.  But somewhere the myth has replaced the facts.  We now believe that the Hessian Army was a bunch of drunken dolts.  

I loved this book.  I discovered a lot about this event that I did not know before.  He writes in a way that is truly a pleasure to read. 

The only draw back was that on my kindle the maps were hard to read.  But that is what they created magnifying glass for.


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Books that Inspire Us

Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer

Notice in the picture, Colonel Rall lays back in his chair surprised by his visitors. Washington stands
tall and composed. Colonel Rall on the other hand looks like he might be saying:

"Why? What did I do?  Why are you ruining my Christmas, esquire?? Don't you know what day it is?"

As the good Irish Proverb says, "Washington came like the bad weather."


Why study history? What does it matter to me?  Because it shows how providential God has been in putting us where we are currently as a nation.
Had Washington not been General? Had General Charles Lee not been captured? (Lee would have stalled Washington from crossing the river, as he was the typical overcautious general.) Had the Hessian Forces and Brits not been overconfident? Had a woman not kept the Hessian General at home, instead of in his key position on the battle front? Then the American Story would have been quit different.
Let us not loose hope when the odds seem to be stacked up against us! For that is when the American Character shines best. For this nation was created by just a few farmers, fishermen, and good old boys from humble beginnings. At times it looked like the American Revolution would be a losing cause, but by faith and a reliance on the providential hand of God, we were able to wear down the bigger-richer Europeans? The Europeans looked down on the American Yeomen. Colonel Rall  said,: "Fiddlesticks! These clodhoppers will not attack us, and should they do so, we will simply fall on them and rout them.”
Rall said these words on December 23rd 1776, two days later Washington had surprised the superior forces and took back the most important Delaware River.

Dubliners and Wee Folk 4:31

The Luceys

by Frank O'Connor 1931

“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”
― George Burns

The Plain Facts

1. Length:13 pages
2. Genre:Irish Literature
3. Characters:
   • Tom Lucey:Catholic Priest
   • Ben Lucey:Brother to Tom Lucey
   • CHarley Lucey:Son of Ben Lucey
   • Peter Lucey:son of Tom Lucey
4. Setting:County Cork Ireland

So, what's It About Man?

The crazy dichotomy that separates a family and the children that unite them.

Movie Preview: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Looking forward to this one.  I think it will be fun to go to.  And if I can get to Gettysburg and watch it there that would be awesome!!!!  I am currently listening to the audio c.d. of the book and find it one that is incredibly rewarding.  

Dubliners and Wee Folk 3:31

Song without Words  by Frank O'Connor 1931

“No man is as anti-feminist as a really feminine woman.”
― Frank O'Connor

The Plain Facts

1. Length:7 pages 
2. Genre:Irish Literature
3. Characters:Brother ARnold, Brother Michael,
4. Setting:Monastery

So, what's It About Man?

“I suppose we all have our little hiding-hole if the truth was known, but as small as it is, the whole world is in it, and bit by bit grows on us again till the day You find us out.”
The monks show what happens when their secret passions are hidden from each other. The passions grow and grow and soon they rule our day. This story tells much more than this, but the moral is one about authenticity between believers.

Dubliners and Wee Folk 2:31

The Late Henry Conran

by Frank O'Connor 1931

“Why does a woman work ten years to change a man, then complain he's not the man she married?” ― Barbra Streisand

The Plain Facts

1. Length:6 Pages
2. Genre:Irish Literature
3. Characters:Henry, His Wife, and Son
4. Setting:A Little Lane in Ireland, and America

So, what's It About Man?

The nagging wife sends Prosperity Henry Conran to America. Mrs. Conran thinks Henry is dead, until one day he shows up to clear his character.

Dubliners and Wee Folk 1:31

Guests of the Nation by Frank O'Connor 1931

“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”
― Iris Murdoch

The Plain Facts

1. Length:9 Pages
2. Genre:Irish Literature
3. Characters:Brits: Awkins, Belcher Irish Nationals: Noble, Jeremiah Donovan, Awkins, Bonaparte.
4. Setting:A Dark Bog

So, what's It About Man?

Two Brits are caught in the war between Ireland and England.  The terrorists that hold the English Captive will be affected by the summation of the lives of the two Brits. War in a bog is hell.