Francine Prose, on reading:

With so much reading ahead of you, the temptation might be to speed up.

But in fact it’s essential to slow down and read every word.

Because one important thing that can be learned by reading slowly is the seemingly obvious but oddly underappreciated fact that language is the medium we use in much the same way a composer uses notes, the way a painter uses paint.

I realize it may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how easily we lose sight of the fact that words are the raw material out of which literature is crafted.

– Francine Prose.

Recommended reading - The Gracie Allen Murder Case

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

a.k.a. The Smell of Murder

by S.S. Van Dine.

Filmed as The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939), directed by Alfred E. Green.

Published by Felony & Mayhem Press.
First published 1938.

ISBN-10: 1631942069
ISBN-13: 9781631942068
 
Description:

“Mr. Van Dine’s amateur detective is the most gentlemanly, and probably the most scholarly snooper in literature.” – Chicago Daily Tribune.

Gracie Allen breaks the Philo Phormula in a number of ways. First is its title: this is the only book in the series to modify “Murder Case” with more than one word, much less with the name of a character. And then there’s that character: Gracie Allen was a very real, much-loved comedienne in the 1930s, famous for her double act with George Burns, and in fact the plot revolves around her. Gracie’s centrality is no accident: Van Dine wrote the story as a vehicle for Allen, and actually created the novel only after the film had come out. So, do all these departures pay off? We’d be lying if we said that Gracie hits every single mark, but Van Dine does a surprisingly entertaining job of translating Ms. Allen’s delicious Ditzy Blonde persona to the page, and she makes a charming foil for Philo’s evergreen erudition.

Born on this day – Thomas Hardy:

Thomas Hardy

Writer

June 2, 1840 - January 11, 1928

Credits:

 

A Laodicean (1881); A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873); Desperate Remedies (1871); Far From the Madding Crowd (1874); Fathers: A Literary Anthology (2011); Jude the Obscure (1895); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891); The Hand of Ethelberta (1876); The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886); The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992); The Return of the Native (1878); The Trumpet-Major (1880); The Well-Beloved (1892); The Withered Arm (1888); The Woodlanders (1887); Two on a Tower (1882); Under the Greenwood Tree (1872); Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages (2022); War: An Anthology (1969); World War One British Poets: Brooke, Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg and Others (1997); Writers: Their Lives and Works (2018).

Movies and television:

 

2nd House (1975); Actor's Studio (1949); And There Was a Great Calm (2017); Boston Blackie (1952–1953); Cheongchun mujeong (1970); Daags na de kermis (1974); Day Out (1985); Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967); Exploits at West Poley (1985); Far from the Madding Crowd (1915 / 1967 / 1998 / 2015); General Electric Theater (1956); Hora once (1970); ITV Play of the Week (1960); Jude (1996); Jude the Obscure (1971); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1959); Man Ki Jeet (1944); Romina (1980); Screen Two (1995); Tajemství dáblovy kapsy (1980); Tess (1979); Tess d'Urberville (1959); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1913 / 1924 / 1952 / 1998 / 2008); The Claim (2000); The Day After the Fair (1986); The Distracted Preacher (1969); The Greenwood Tree (1929); The Mayor of Casterbridge (1921 / 1978 / 2003); The Return of the Native (1994 / 2010); The Scarlet Tunic (1998); The Secret Cave (1953); The Sunday Programme (2002); The Unforeseen (1958); The Woodlanders (1970 / 1997); Thomas Hardy: Fate, Exclusion & Tragedy (2021); Thomas Hardy's the Three Strangers (2014); Trishna (2011); Una romantica avventura (1940); Under the Greenwood Tree (2005); Wessex Tales (1973); Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021); Your Favorite Story (1953).

Born on this day – Yolande Donlan:

 

Yolande Donlan

Actress

June 2, 1920 – December 30, 2014

Credits:

80,000 Suspects (1963); Brian Rix Presents ... (1966); Celebrity Squares (1976); Cross-Country Romance (1940); Dark Streets of Cairo (1940); Expresso Bongo (1959); Jigsaw (1962); Larry and Vivien: The Oliviers in Love (2001); Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941); Looks Familiar (1980); Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1949); Mr Drake's Duck (1951); Penny Princess (1952); Psychedelic Cinema (2002); Rheingold Theatre (1956); Road Show (1941); Seven Nights in Japan (1976); Sunday Night Thriller (1981); Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957); The Adventurers (1970); The Blitz Kiss (1941); The Body Said No! (1950); The Devil Bat (1940); Theatre Night (1957–1959); They Can't Hang Me (1955); This Is Your Life (1962); Traveller's Joy (1950); Turnabout (1940); Under Age (1941); Unfinished Business (1941); What's My Line (1955).

Born on this day – Margot Trooger:

 

Margot Trooger

Actress

June 2, 1923 – April 24, 1994

Born on this day – Robert Tessier:

Robert Tessier

Actor

Stuntman

June 2, 1934 – October 11, 1990

Born on this day – Sally Kellerman:

Sally Kellerman

Actress

Singer

June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022

Born on this day – Albert Innaurato:

Albert Innaurato

Writer

Director

June 2, 1947 – September 24, 2017

Credits:

Gemini (1982); Great Performances (1978); Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980); SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground (1997); The 72nd Annual Tony Awards (2018); he Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1989–1990); Trying Times (1989); Verna: USO Girl (1978).

On this day in music history - A Kind of Magic, by Queen (1986)

A Kind of Magic

by Queen

was released on June 2, 1986.

Inspired by the movie Highlander (1986), directed by Russell Mulcahy.

Track list:

One Vision; A Kind of Magic; One Year of Love; Pain Is So Close to Pleasure; Friends Will Be Friends; Who Wants to Live Forever; Gimme the Prize; Don’t Lose Your Head; Princes of the Universe; A Kind of Magic (Highlander Version) Roger Taylor; One Vision (Single Version) Queen; Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (Single Remix) Freddie & John; Forever (Piano Version) Brian May; A Kind of Vision (Demo ‘85) Roger Taylor; One Vision (Live at Wembley ‘86) Queen; Friends Will Be Friends (Freddie Mercury & John Deacon).

On this day in movie history - The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

directed by Alfred E. Green,

written by Nat Perrin, and based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine,

was released in the United States on June 2, 1939.

Music by Gerard Carbonara and Leo Shuken.

Cast:

Gracie Allen, Warren William, Ellen Drew, Kent Taylor, Judith Barrett, Donald MacBride, Jed Prouty, Jerome Cowan, H. B. Warner, William Demarest, Sam Lee, Al Shaw, Richard Denning, Irving Bacon, Lillian Yarbo.

On this day in movie history - Dead Poets Society (1989)

Dead Poets Society

directed by Peter Weir,

written by Tom Schulman,

was released in the United States on June 2, 1989.

Music by Maurice Jarre.

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

To quote from Whitman:

‘O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer: That you are here, that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.’

That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

What will your verse be?”

– Robin Williams, as John Keating.

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately …

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life!

To put to rout all that was not life …

And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived …

– Hand-written quote in this still is modified from the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

Cast:

Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Norman Lloyd, Kurtwood Smith, Dylan Kussman, Allelon Ruggiero, James Waterston, Alexandra Powers, Leon Pownall, George Martin, Carla Belver, Jane Moore, Kevin Cooney, Colin Irving, Matt Carey, John Cunningham, Joe Aufiery, Melora Walters, Welker White, Steve Mathios, Alan Pottinger, Pamela Burrell, Allison Hedges, Christine D’Ercole, Debra Mooney, John Martin Bradley, Charles Lord, Kurt Leitner, Richard Stites, James J. Christy, Catherine Soles, Hoover Sutton, James Donnell Quinn, Simon Mein, Ashton W. Richards, Robert Gleason, Bill Rowe, Robert J. Zigler III, Keith Snyder, Nicholas K. Gilhool, Jonas Stiklorius, Craig Johnson, Chris Hull, Jason Woody, Sam Stegeman, Andrew Hill, Serena Ebhardt, Joel Fogel, Newton Gilchrist, Barry Godin, Kate Kearney-Patch, Jamie Kennedy, Nancy Kirk, Stephen Podolak, Jeffrey Santoro, James R. Stoddard.

On this day in movie history - World War Z (2013)

World War Z

directed by Marc Forster,

screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof,

story by Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski,

based on the novel by Max Brooks,

was released in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2013.

Music by Marco Beltrami.

 

Cast:

Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Matthew Fox, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Elyes Gabel, Peter Capaldi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ruth Negga, Moritz Bleibtreu, Sterling Jerins, Abigail Hargrove, Fabrizio Guido, David Andrews, John Gordon Sinclair, Grégory Fitoussi, Jane Perry, Lucy Russell, Mark Holden, Tim Berrington, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Michiel Huisman, Lee Nicholas Harris, Ann Ogbomo, Jonathan Howard, Mike Noble, Ernesto Cantu, Vicky Araico, Graham Hornsby, Nick Bartlett, Kevin Kiely Jnr, Ruari Cannon, Ryen Perkins-Gangnes, Khalid Laith, Noa Bodner, Assaf Ben-Shimon, Gil Cohen-Alloro, Yaniv Rokah, Shaul Ezer, Linoy Aynesaz, Efrat Avni, Maisam Masri, Renu Setna, Ori Pfeffer, Julia Levy-Boeken, Imran Mraish, Yousef Hayyan Jubeh, Josh Wingate, Troy Glasgow, Richard Thomson, Ewan Ross, Song Xuan Ke, Christian Wong, Denis Ischenko, Nikola Djuricko, Elen Rhys, Paula Videniece, Doron Davidson, Lee Colley, Michael Jenn, Sarah Amankwah, Anna Biczik, Gábor Czap, Kati Dombi, Eniko Fulop, Istvan Karikas, Andrea Meszaros, Gergely Mészáros, Peter Molnár, Lambert Tóth, Roland Tzafetás, Jeno Radi, Adam Zambryzcki, Aggy K. Adams, Andrew Agnew, Lucy Aharish, Tim Ahern, Emmanuel Akintunde, Bethany Apedaile, Lee Asquith-Coe, Féodor Atkine, James Ayling, Mark Badham, Audrey Marie Bartolo, Peter Basham, Péter Behan, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Katia Bokor, Leroy Bonsu, Jerome Boyle, Henrik Brandt, Amanda Brown, Michael Anthony Brown, Paul Burt, Ian James Cameron, Hélène Cardona, Martin Carroll, Raun Carswell, Joe Corrigall, James Cotter, Graham Curry, Kieran-Miguel Diego D'La Vega, Alan Del Castillo, Aren Devlin, Albert Dibben, Michael Dickins, Philipp Lawrence Durand, Katinka Egres, Adam Geddes, Rod Glenn, Hattie Gotobed, John Grady, Roman Green, Mark Hampton, Salem Hanna, John Harding, Daniel Harland, Mustafa Harris, Shane Hart, Ryan Hartwig, Oleg Hill, Pete Buzzsaw Holland, Vera Horton, Alex Humes, Lewis James, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Michio Kaku, Iván Kamarás, Julia Kay, Darren Kendrick, Hrvoje Klecz, Greg Kolpakchi, Michael Lanchbury, Paul Mackie, John Macmillan, Jim Main, Katrina Marston, Colin Matthews, Vander McLeod, Eric Michels, Alastair Thomson Mills, Sandeep Mohan, Jeremiah Molina, Alex Moore, Kiera Morgan, David Morrison, Okezie Morro, Stuart Mower, Taylor Murphy, Eunice Olumide, Jake Pashkin, Freddie Lee Peterkin, Gino Picciano, Faruk Pruti, Evelyn Rei, Alma Rix, Geoffrey Robe, Barnabás Réti, Joe Sandz, Basher Savage, Jurgen Schwarz, Santi Scinelli, Sarah Sharman, Sharon Sheehan, Marcus Sinclair, Lew Smart, Frank Soldato, Lila Sara Tahri, Aaron Tavaler, Ella-Rose Temple, Hugh Terry, Sami Tesfay, Katrina Vasilieva, Alexander Ward, Paul Warren, Eric West, Daniel Westwood, Mark White, Trevor White, Gillean Young, Elena Zoubareva.