J.K. Rowling, on reading and imagination:

I don't believe in the kind of magic in my books.

But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.

- J.K. Rowling.

Recommended reading – Christine

 

Christine

by Stephen King.
 
Published by Viking Press.
First published 1983.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0670220264
ISBN-13: 978-0670220267
 
Description:
 
It was love at first sight. From the moment seventeen-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her.

Arnie’s best friend, Dennis, distrusts her – immediately.

Arnie’s teen-queen girlfriend, Leigh, fears her the moment she senses her power.

Arnie’s parents, teachers, and enemies soon learn what happens when you cross her.

Because Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King’s ultimate, blackly evil vehicle of terror…

Christine, blood-red, fat and finned, was twenty. Her promise lay all in her past. Greedy and big, she was Arnie’s obsession, a ’58 Plymouth Fury. Broken down but not finished. There was still power in her – a frightening power that leaked like sump oil, staining and corrupting. A malign power that corroded the mind and turned ownership into Possession.

Recommended reading – 300

300

by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley.

 

Published 1999.

Published by Dark Horse Books.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1569714029

ISBN-13: 978-1569714027

 

Description:

The armies of Persia – a vast horde greater than any the world has ever known – are poised to crush Greece, an island of reason and freedom in a sea of madness and tyranny. Standing between Greece and this tidal wave of destruction are a tiny detachment of but three hundred warriors. Frank Miller's epic retelling of history's supreme moment of battlefield valor is finally collected in its intended format – each two-page spread from the original comics is presented as a single undivided page.

Born on this day – Carol Dempster:

Carol Dempster

Actress

December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991

Credits:

A Romance of Happy Valley (1919); America (1924); Dream Street (1921); Intolerance (1916); Isn't Life Wonderful (1924); Liberty Loan Appeal (1918); One Exciting Night (1922); Sally of the Sawdust (1925); Scarlet Days (1919); Sherlock Holmes (1922); That Royle Girl (1925); The Girl Who Stayed at Home (1919); The Greatest Thing in Life (1918); The Hope Chest (1918); The Love Flower (1920); The Sorrows of Satan (1926); The White Rose (1923); True Heart Susie (1919); Way Down East (1920).

Born on this day – Margaret Hamilton:

Margaret Hamilton

Actress

Teacher

December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985

Credits:

13 Ghosts (1960); A Slight Case of Murder (1938); A String of Blue Beads (1953); ABC News Breakfast (2024); Angel in My Pocket (1969); Angels Wash Their Faces (1939); Another Language (1933); As the World Turns (1956–2010); Babes in Arms (1939); Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz (2005); Bicentennial Minutes (1976); Breaking the Ice (1938); Brewster McCloud (1970); Broadway Bill (1934); Bungalow 13 (1948); By Your Leave (1934); Camera Three (1956–1961); Campbell Summer Soundstage (1954); Car 54, Where Are You? (1963); Center Stage (1954); Chatterbox (1936); Childhood Thoughts (2016); City Without Men (1943); Comin' Round the Mountain (1951); Discovery '70 (1964); Dishonored Lady (1947); Donahue (1975); Double Toasted (2022); Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960); Driftwood (1947); Ethel and Albert (1953–1955); Faithful in My Fashion (1946); Ford Star Jubilee (1956); Four's a Crowd (1938); George White's Scandals (1945); Ghostbreakers (1967); Goodyear Playhouse (1955); Great Performances (1996); Guest in the House (1944); Gunsmoke (1973); Hat, Coat, and Glove (1934); Here's Boomer (1980); Here's Hollywood (1962); Hollywood Horrors (2018); Hollywood Insider (2021); Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972); Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982); Horrible Horror (1986); Ichabod and Me (1961); I'll Take Romance (1937); I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940); Is There a Doctor in the House (1971); I've Got a Secret (1957); Janie Gets Married (1946); Johnny Come Lately (1943); Journey Back to Oz (1972); Kraft Theatre (1954–1956); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1954–1961); Lamp Unto My Feet (1955); Laramie (1962); Laughing at Trouble (1936); Letters from Frank (1979); Lou Grant (1979–1982); Lux Video Theatre (1953); Mack & Myer for Hire (1963); Main Street Lawyer (1939); Man Against Crime (1953); Medallion Theatre (1953); Meet the Stewarts (1942); Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975–1976); Mister Rogers: It's You I Like (2018); Modern Romances (1954–1955); Mother Carey's Chickens (1938); Mountain Justice (1937); Movietown USA (1950); My Hero (1952); My Little Chickadee (1940); Night of 100 Stars (1982); Nothing Sacred (1937); Nurse (1981); Off to See the Wizard (1967); Omnibus / Segments: The Trial of Lizzie Borden; A Different Drummer; Figgerin' of Aunt Wilma (1953–1957); On Borrowed Time (1957); Once Upon a Christmas Time (1959); Paradise Alley (1962); Pardon Me for Living (1982); People Will Talk (1951); Pet Peeves (1947); Play Girl (1941); Play of the Week (1960); Playhouse 90 (1959); Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz (2005); Reaching from Heaven (1948); Remembering Gene Wilder (2023); Rendezvous (1958); Riding High (1950); Rock Legends (2016); Rosie! (1967); Saratoga (1937); Sesame Street (1976); Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973); Stablemates (1938); Startime (1960); State of the Union (1948); Studio One (1953–1957); Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948); That Was the Week That Was (1963–1985); The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003); The Addams Family (1965–1966); The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938); The Affairs of Martha (1942); The Alcoa Hour (1956); The Anderson Tapes (1971); The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949); The Best of Broadway (1954–1955); The Bigelow Theatre (1950–1951); The Bob Braun Show (1973); The Christmas Tree (1958);  The Comedy Spot (1962); The Danny Thomas Show (1962); The Dark Side of the Rainbow (2000); The David Frost Show (1970); The Daydreamer (1966); The Devil's Disciple (1955); The Elgin Hour (1954); The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935); The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna (1958); The Gay Vagabond (1941); The Good Old Soak (1937); The Good Years (1962); The Great Plane Robbery (1950); The Gulf Playhouse (1952); The Invisible Woman (1940 / 1966); The Jackie Gleason Show (1954); The Making of 'the Wizard of Oz' (1979); The Merv Griffin Show (1969); The Mike Douglas Show (1970–1977); The Moon's Our Home (1936); The Night Strangler (1973); The Ox-Bow Incident (1942); The Partridge Family (1973); The Patty Duke Show (1963–1964); The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976); The Paul Winchell Show (1954); The Phil Silvers Show (1957); The Project (2024); The Red Buttons Show (1954); The Red Pony (1949); The Secret Storm (1954–1974); The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960); The Shari Lewis Show (1963); The Silver Theatre (1950); The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947); The Stu Erwin Show (1950); The Sun Comes Up (1949); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1968); The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009); The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940); The Way of the World (1955); The Witness Chair (1936); The Wizard of Oz (1939); The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic (1990); The World of Abbott and Costello (1965); The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond (2009); There's Always Tomorrow (1934); These Amazing Shadows (2011); These Three (1936); This Side of Heaven (1934); To Oz! The Making of a Classic (2009); Today Tonight (2009); Twin Beds (1942); Valiant Lady (1953–1957); Wabash Avenue (1950); Way Down East (1935); We Haven't Really Met Properly...: Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Gulch (2005); When's Your Birthday? (1937); You Only Live Once (1937); Zoo in Budapest (1933).

Born on this day – Sarah Ferrati:

Sarah Ferrati

Actress

Director

December 9, 1909 – March 3, 1982

Born on this day – Frances Reid:

Frances Reid

Actress

December 9, 1914 – February 3, 2010

Born on this day – Kirk Douglas:

Kirk Douglas

Actor

Director

December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020

Born on this day – John Cassavetes:

John Cassavetes

Actor

Director

Writer

December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989

Credits:

A Woman Under the Influence (1974); Affair in Havana (1957); Alcoa Theatre (1958); Alexander the Great (1963); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956); Appointment with Adventure (1956); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1955); Bandits in Rome (1968); Before Opening Night (2010); Big Trouble (1986); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1965–1967); Brass Target (1978); Breaking Point (1963); Burke's Law (1964–1965); Capone (1975); Channing (1963); Climax! (1956); Columbo (1972); Combat! (1965); Crime in the Streets (1956); Danger (1954–1955); Devil's Angels (1967); A Child Is Waiting (1963); Dr. Kildare (1962); Edge of the City (1957); Faces (1968); Flesh & Blood (1979); General Electric Theater (1959); Gloria (1980); Gloria (1999); Goodyear Playhouse (1955); Heroes (1977); Husbands (1970); Johnny Staccato (1959–1960); If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969); King Kongs Faust (1985); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1965); Kraft Theatre (1955–1956); Love Streams (1984); Lux Playhouse (1959); Lux Video Theatre (1951); Machine Gun McCain (1969); Minnie and Moskowitz (1971); Marvin & Tige (1983); Mikey and Nicky (1976); NBC Television Opera Theatre (1954); Nightside (1973); Off to See the Wizard (1968); Omnibus (1954); Opening Night (1977); Our Virgin Island (1958); Playhouse 90 (1957); Ponds Theater (1955); Profiles in Courage (1965); Pursuit (1958); Rawhide (1961); Robert Montgomery Presents (1954); Rosemary's Baby (1968); Saddle the Wind (1958); Shadows (1958); She's So Lovely (1997); Studio One (1958); Taxi (1953); Tempest (1982); The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1956); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964); The Dirty Dozen (1967); The Elgin Hour (1955); The Fury (1978); The Haircut (1982); The Incubus (1981); The Killers (1964); The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976); The Legend of Jesse James (1965); The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962–1963); The Long, Hot Summer (1966); The Night Holds Terror (1955); The Virginian (1966); The Webster Boy (1962); Too Late Blues (1961); Two-Minute Warning (1976); Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1965); Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981); Woman Under the Influence (2017); You Are There (1953).

Born on this day – Hilary Harris:

Hilary Harris

Director

Cinematographer

December 9, 1929 – October 26, 1999

 

Born on this day – Buck Henry:

Buck Henry

Actor

Writer

Director

December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020

Born on this day – Darwin Joston:

Darwin Joston

Actor

December 9, 1937 – June 1, 1998

Born on this day – C.J. Sansom:

C.J. Sansom

Writer

December 9, 1952 – April 27, 2024

Credits:

Books:

Dark Fire (2004); Dissolution (2003); Dominion (2012); Heartstone (2010); Hill of Bones (2011); House of Shadows (2007); King Arthur's Bones (2009); Lamentation (2014); Revelation (2008); Shardlake Books 1-3 (2014); Sovereign (2006); Sword of Shame (2006); The Deadliest Sin (2014); The False Virgin (2013); The First Murder (2012); The Lost Prophecies (2008); The Sacred Stone (2010); The Tainted Relic (2005); Tombland (2018); Winter in Madrid (2006).

Television:

Shardlake (2024).
 

On this day in movie history - Love and Bullets (1979)

Love and Bullets

directed by Stuart Rosenberg,

written by Wendell Mayes and John Melson,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1979.

Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger, Henry Silva, Strother Martin, Bradford Dillman, Michael V. Gazzo, Paul Koslo, Val Avery, Sam Chew Jr., Billy Gray, Jerome Thor, Joseph Roman, Albert Salmi, John Hallam, Sidney Kean, Richard Graydon, Alan Bryce, Robin Clarke, Andy Romano, Lorraine Chase, Raynold Gideon, Ramon Chavez, Rik Colitti, Joe Bellucci, Ray Le Fre, Richard Brose, Lon Carli, Karen Wyeth, James Keane, J. Kenneth Campbell, Michael L. Cooley, Alex Donnelley, Gene Earl, Sapp Gruber, Hans Kronig, Marco Lopez, Charles Lucia, Michael Parrent, Clifford A. Pellow, Josef Rainer, Earl W. Smith.

On this day in movie history - Christine (1983)

Christine

directed by John Carpenter,

written by Bill Phillips,

based on the novel by Stephen King,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1983.

Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth.

Cast:

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert Darnell, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston, William Ostrander, Steven Tash, Stuart Charno, Malcolm Danare, David Spielberg.

On this day in movie history - Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek: Nemesis

directed by Stuart Baird,

written by John Logan,

based on a story by John Logan, Rick Berman and Brent Spiner,

was released in the United States on December 9, 2002.

Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Tom Hardy, Ron Perlman, Dina Meyer, John Berg, Kate Mulgrew, Shannon Cochran, Jude Ciccolella, Alan Dale, Wil Wheaton, Majel Barrett, Stuart Baird, Bryan Singer, Whoopi Goldberg.

On this day in movie history - 300 (2006)

300

directed by Zack Snyder,

written by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon,

based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley,

was released in the United States on December 9, 2006.

Music by Tyler Bates.

Cast:

Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Michael Fassbender, Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, Andrew Tiernan, Rodrigo Santoro, Giovani Cimmino, Stephen McHattie, Greg Kramer, Alex Ivanovici, Kelly Craig, Eli Snyder, Tyler Neitzel, Tim Connolly, Marie-Julie Rivest, Sebastian St. Germain, Peter Mensah, Arthur Holden, Michael Sinelnikoff, John Dunn-Hill, Dennis St John, Neil Napier, Dylan Smith, Maurizio Terrazzano, Robert Paradis, Kwasi Songui, Alexandra Beaton, Frédéric Smith, Loucas Minchillo, Nicholas Minchillo, Tom Rack, David Francis, James Bradford, Andrew Shaver, Robin Wilcock, Kent McQuaid, Marcel Jeannin, Jere Gillis, J. Thibodeau, Tyrone Benskin, Robert Maillet, Patrick Sabongui, Leon Laderach, Dave Lapommeray, Vervi Mauricio, Charles Papasoff, Isabelle Champeau, Veronique-Natale Szalankiewicz, Maéva Nadon, David Thibodeau, David Schaap, Jean Michel Paré, Stewart Myiow, Andreanne Ross, Sara Giacalone, Ariadne Bourbonnière, Isabelle Fournel, Sandrine Merette-Attiow, Elisabeth Etienne, Danielle Hubbard, Ruan Vibegaard, Genevieve Guilbault, Bonnie Mak, Amélie Sorel, Caroline Aspirot, Gina Gagnon, Tania Trudell, Stéphanie Aubry, Mercedes Leggett, Stephania Gambaroff, Chanelle Lamothe, Sabrina-Jasmine Guilbault, Manny Cortez Tuazon, Cindy, Atif Siddiqi, Camille Rizkallah, Trudi Hanley, Neon Cobran, Gary A. Hecker, Martin Blais, Devin Delorme, David Leitch, Deke Richards, Darren Shahlavi, Marc Trottier, Duy Vo Van, Agnieshka Wnorowska.