Blog Post
The "Ypsi Flea" is happening this Sunday, Sept 23rd
by prlhw
With television shows such as American Pickers becoming increasingly popular, people across the country are realizing that the old saying is still true, "one man's junk is another man's treasure!" From flea markets to garage sales, thrifting culture is now more popular than ever, and America is on the hunt!
Once every blue moon, it is known that some folks over in Ann Arbor's neighboring city of Ypsilanti throw together a community event - "The Ypsi Flea" - that combines local vendors featuring everything from used clothing and records to crafty things and live music.
The Ypsi Flea will be happening this Sunday, September 23rd from 12pm-8pm, and will be held at Woodruff's at 36 East Cross Street in Ypsilanti.
Come out and hunt for some treasures of your own, or just to enjoy some live local music; either way, the event is free, all ages and held in the name of fun and community expansion!
Blog Post
Stephen Dunham, TV and movie actor, has died
by sernabad
Stephen Dunham, who has starred in several limited-run TV series, and had supporting roles in several movies, died last Friday in Burbank, California.
Dunham, born Stephen Dunham Bowers, had roles in such TV series as Hot Properties (ABC), Oh, Grow Up and DAG (both on NBC), The Bill Engvall Show (TBS) and What I Like About You (WB).
Some of his movie roles included Catch Me if You Can (2002), Traffic (2000) and Monster-in-Law (2005).
In October, he will appear posthumously in Paranormal Activity 4, as husband to his real-life wife, actress Alexondra Lee, who survives.
Dunham, who was just 48, died several days after suffering a heart attack.
Blog Post
It's A Fact...
by jaegerla
Wasn't The Kids in the Hall fantastic? Even thinking about some of their skits is enough to make me laugh. The Headcrusher, Cabbage Head, the Chicken Lady and all the rest are sure to put a smile on anyone's face. Not every act was was great and many people found their show off-putting, but hey, the same can be said of Monty Python's Flying Circus or Saturday Night Live. Being comic geniuses means taking risks, and take risks they did. If you missed out on the first run of The Kids in the Hall, do yourself a favor and put Season One on hold this very instant. Or indulge in some nostalgia and request this for a second viewing. Also, be sure to check out their movie debut Brain Candy.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #353
by muffy
In Benjamin Wood's The Bellwether Revivals * , bright, bookish Oscar Lowe escapes his squalid upbringing and finds new life amid the colleges and spires of Cambridge as a care assistant at a local nursing home. Lured into the chapel at Kings College by the otherworldly organ music, he meets and falls in love with Iris Bellwether, a beautiful and enigmatic medical student, and her brother Eden's exclusive circle of the very wealthy and privileged.
Eden, a charismatic but troubled musical prodigy, believes that music can cure, and convinces their close-knit circle to participate in a series of disturbing experiments, thus putting in motion the devastation foretold in the gripping opener, "two people lie dead, and a third sits nearby, barely breathing".
"A sophisticated debut novel about the hypnotic influence of love, the beguiling allure of money and the haunting power of music".
For fans of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis series created by Colin Dexter, many of which are based on his novels, set in Oxford.
Another great academic mystery set in Cambridge is the second in the Detective Constable Lacey Flint series Dead Scared * * (2012) by S. J. Bolton, a brilliant psychological thriller, and a follow-up to Now You See Me (2011).
British-born Benjamin Wood was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the MFA Creative Writing Programme at the University of British Columbia, Canada, where he was also the fiction editor of the literary journal PRISM international. Wood is now a lecturer in creative writing at Birkbeck, University of London.
* = Starred review
* * = Starred reviews
Blog Post
Phyllis Diller, extravagantly 'out there' comedic genius, has died
by sernabad
Phyllis Diller, one of America's most beloved, goofy comics, died today at her Los Angeles home.
Diller, who had ties to Washtenaw County (she lived in Ypsilanti during World War II), got her show biz start in radio in the 1950s. From there, she started doing stand-up at the famous Purple Onion Comedy Club in San Francisco. In the 1960s, she and Bob Hope teamed up for two dozen TV specials. In addition to her extensive television appearances on dozens of shows, Ms. Diller worked in Hollywood. In a rare out-of-character role, Diller had a walk-on part in Spendor in the Grass (1961).
In addition to her wild platinum blonde hair and her signature guffaw, a cross between fingers scraping a pitted blackboard and a hormonally-challenged cat, Diller's running riff on her unseen, imaginary husband, Fang, entertained her audiences for decades.
In 2005, she somehow found time to pen her autobiography, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My Life in Comedy.
Ms. Diller, who had recently fallen and broken several bones, was 95.
Blog Post
William Windom, great character actor, has died
by sernabad
William Windom, whose television and silver screen acting career spanned decades, died August 16th at his California home.
Best known in more recent years as Dr. Seth Hazlitt in the popular Murder, She Wrote TV series (1984-1996), he also had roles in other hit TV shows, such as the original The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), The Farmer's Daughter (1963-1966), (in which he played a Minnesota congressman based loosely on his real life great-grandfather, William Windom, who was a Minnesota congressman and senator in the 19th century.)
Windom's first movie role was the prosecuting attorney in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), starring Gregory Peck.
Mr. Windom, who was 88, died of congestive heart failure.
Blog Post
Ron Palillo, a.k.a. Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter, has died
by sernabad
Ron Palillo, who played Horshack on the 70s (1975-1979) hit sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter, (season 1 is on order), died unexpectedly today at his West Palm Beach, Florida home.
Palillo's goofy character, Arnold Horshack, whose snorty horse-laugh masked his academic incliniations, was one of The Sweathogs, four rambunctious, lovable students in a remedial Brooklyn High School class taught by the wry Mr. Kotter (himself a former Sweathog), played by Gabe Kaplan. The other three Sweathogs were:
Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino, the requisite heartthrob, played by John Travolta whose career took off with this role.
Freddie "Boom Boom" Percy Washington, brought to life by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, was musical and athletic and somewhat of a peacemaker.
Rounding out the quartet was Epstein (Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein, the short, tough guy Puerto Rican Jew, forever immortalized by Robert Hegyes.
Palillo, who was 63, died of a massive heart attack.
Blog Post
Ghostwriter: Mystery for Kids
by ErinDurrett
Did you grow up in the early 90's? Chances are, if when you grew up you owned an array of scrunchies and jelly shoes or owned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles memorabilia, you remember the PBS broadcast series Ghostwriter. Back then, my mom was trying to find more appropriate mysteries for me and my sister to watch (we had already watched all of The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley), since we caught on to her love of Murder, She Wrote. Ghostwriter fit the criteria. Set in Brooklyn, New York, this three season series (AADL owns the first season) follows five friends on their quest to solve mysteries with the aid of a ghost, named Ghostwriter. This series is most appropriate for the fourth and fifth grade crowd. (Warning: may be disagreeable with adults.)
Unscramble the bold letters for a Summer Game Code!
Blog Post
Chad Everett, hunky 70s TV heartthrob with ties to Michigan, has died
by sernabad
Chad Everett, who played Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s medical drama, Medical Center, died July 24 at his Los Angeles home.
Born in South Bend, IN, he and his family relocated to Dearborn, MI for his father's work (he was an auto parts salesman). Everett was a student at Fordson High and later attended Wayne State University.
Medical Center aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976. In one episode, Everett's character, surgeon Joe Gannon, treated a mentally disturbed football star, played by O.J. Simpson.
In How's Your News?, a 2004 documentary that tracks five charismatic reporters and journalists with mental and physical challenges, one of the principles interviews Everett, his childhood idol.
Mr. Everett went on to other series and acting roles. The last one was in the Castle Season 4 (on order) episode, The Blue Butterfly which aired on February 6th of this year.
Mr. Everett, who suffered from lung cancer, was 75.
Blog Post
Don Grady, a.k.a. Robbie Douglas on "My Three Sons" sitcom, has died
by sernabad
Don Grady, one of the 'sons' in My Three Sons, the popular long-running 1960s sitcom, died yesterday at his home in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Grady was a musical prodigy whose facility with seven musical instruments landed him his first TV role as an original Mouseketeer when the Mickey Mouse Club debuted in 1955. Five years later, he landed the role of Robbie Douglas, one of three boys raised by widower, Steve Douglas, played by Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons which ended in 1972. He also picked up the occasional acting gig on two beloved western series, The Rifleman and WagonTrain.
Grady then devoted his life to his passion -- music.He had a couple of bands (The Greefs and The Yellow Ballon) and composed the songs for the 2008 Disney Princess Party as well as the theme music for The Phil Donahue Show.
Grady, who had just turned 68 on June 8th, had fought cancer for four years.