Friday, August 20, 2021

Weekend Links 8-20-21

 Apologies for the lack of a post last weekend. I had the material together but couldn't find the time to compile the post. However, I did save everything I planned to post last week so its a longer than normal post this week. Here's a roundup of interesting stuff I have found over the last couple of weeks.

Here is something I honestly had never thought about: why many restaurants are closed on Mondays.

Last week was the inaugural Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa at the ballpark built adjacent to the ballfield that had been cut out of the cornfield for the movie. Joe Posnanski was at the game and has a few thoughts. 

The death of Edgar Allan Poe is still one of our greatest unsolved mysteries. 

A list of Hitchcock films that every film fan should see. Unfortunately this list omits one of my personal favorites but for the most part is really solid. 

Ever wonder why decks of cards have jokers?

A new book featuring satellite photos of Earth puts our home planet in a whole new perspective. Be sure to check out the photo gallery in this article. 

Mike Rowe is best known as the host of Dirty Jobs, a show created out of a mistake and from inspiration from his grandfather. 

A preview of John Le Carre's last book due to be published in October. 

Want to be a contestant on Jeopardy!? Best to familiarize yourself with the rules contestants must follow.

Olivia Rutigliano analyzes The Natural and finds much deeper meanings that you probably knew existed. 

Otto Penzler is one of the leading authorities on crime fiction. His American Mystery Classics imprint is republishing classic American crime novels of the 20th century. Here is an interview with him in which he talks about what it is like to be a publisher and independent bookseller (he owns The Mysterious Bookshop)

I will be the first to confess I had never heard of Craig Rice at least until a couple weeks ago I found an American Mystery Classics edition of Home Sweet Homicide on a recent book buying trip. Here's why crime fiction fans ought to get acquainted with Rice's work. 

One of the most famous lines in film history was improvised. I'd say it worked out pretty well. 

Podcast of the week: I just started listening to a brand new podcast from Spyscape called The Great James Bond Car Robbery.  This eight part limited series (which premiered this week) focuses on the true story of the 1997 theft of the original Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger. The car has never been recovered and the series will dive into the efforts to find the culprits and recover the iconic automobile. On a related note, here are some fascinating facts about Goldfinger.

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