Amusement Mark

I'm reading Dorothy L. Sayers' "Strong Poison" (1930). From 1922-29, she was also an advertising copywriter and actually worked on the Guinness account, so this is very much product placement. She also worked on the Colman's mustard account, so I'm on the lookout for conspicuous condiment content.

Yay! AC makes an appearance.

And, of course, Vassar and Sarah Lawrence (soon-to-be alma mater of Son No. 1 and alma mater of the wife, respectively) make guest appearances. I'm not at all surprised. Son No. 2 applied to Williams and will found out in late March, so maybe we'll hit the trifeceta.

Bunch of degenerates.

For en merkelig overskrift, som å si at «Bob Hope presents the Chrysler Theatre»-stjernen Robert Duvall er død. Teknisk sett riktig, men ...

«Revenge of the nerds» er åpenbart Carradines største prestasjon.

A disclaimer on your books is a good idea. A24 has started adding them to its movies, and more creatives are sure to follow. In addition, disclaimers identifying the USE of AI in consumer cultural products probably should be codified in law.

**No AI was used in the writing of my reply.**

There's definitely going to be BAI & AAI (before & after) times in the creative arts. I am very hesitant to read anything new and take great solace in knowing that there's a great trove of hand-crafted BAI lit to discover. Amongst the AAI slop, Agatha and her ilk will live and be treasured forever.

One of the few bridges I haven't burned.

My monthly reminder that I'm talking to myself.

Hi, Mark.

Back atcha, Mark.

... Will make a snow bunny in honor.

I'm reading Donna Tartt's "The Secret History," which, crucial to the plot (I think; I'm in the middle of what I'm about to describe), features a very warm day followed by a significant overnight snowfall, kind of like our IRL Saturday shorts weather segueing into a Sunday night blizzard. ...

Norway is a Winter Olympic giant. Why isn’t it better at ice hockey? (Gift Article) While Norway rules the 2026 medal table, its hockey teams are at home — a stark difference from its Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland.

Spørsmålet mitt ble besvart.

Bomb cyclone was definitely da bomb.

I think we got a smidgen of snow overnight.

This book is hilarious!

Funniest line from Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" so far:

... 90 percent into the book, Miss Marple finally makes an appearance and quickly solves — something, something, just like so-and-so in St. Mary Mead, knit, knit, murderer — the case. The end. Next!

My least favorite: The Moving Finger (1942). The plot: While shananigans go on in the village of Lymstock, the reader constantly wonders, Is this really a Miss Marple book? The distracted reader repeatedly checks the cover. It says Miss Marple, but where is she? ...

¹ The formula used

Done! I finished "A Pocket Full of Rye," which means I've read all 12 Miss Marple novels (but zero of the short stories). So my completely scientific¹ ranking of the books (top 3):
1. The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side (1962)
2. A Murder is Announced (1950)
3. The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)

Jeg har ingen anelse om hva som skjer, men jeg blir gjerne med.

Emily Shitpost (etikettens dronning)

Wood died Nov. 29, 1981. This episode was released Feb. 9, 1982. According to IMDb trivia: "Powers' partner, actor William Holden, died during production of this episode. His body was found upon Powers' return from location. Wagner's wife, actress Natalie Wood, died a mere two weeks afterwards."

A grainy television still from the 1980s show "Hart to Hart." Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers are smiling and leaning against the polished wooden wheel of a sailboat on a sunny day.

Watching "Hart to Hart." If I’m Stefanie Powers, I am staying strictly on dry land with Robert Wagner.

... Like Jessica Fletcher of "Murder, She Wrote," Miss Marple has an unnaturally large amount of friends across the country. So I'm guessing that she will be invited to spend some time with one of these convenient old ladies who happens to live within spitting distance of the murder.

The biggest mystery of most Miss Marple novels is how Christie is going to work St. Mary Mead's most famous resident into the story. I'm five chapters into "A Pocket Full of Rye," Marple has yet to show up, and I have absolutely no clue how she's going to be shoehorned into the plot. ...

Putting aside Agatha Christie's very occasional use of racial and ethnic slurs, the most scandalous word I've read in an AC book is in this paragraph from 1953's "A Pocket Full of Rye." It caught me by surprise.

Agatha, oh do behave!

Did I get a text message from Sgt. Schultz? The 307 area code is Wyoming. Is that where the Nazis¹ are hiding out (in plain site in Trump's Amerika)? I'm awaiting a text with his catch phrase for confirmation.

¹ Granted, Schultz was a draftee in the Luftwaffe and probably wasn't a party member.

Wasp the cost?

Den ensomme mannen i skogen Mens Henrik Kristoffersen feiret bronse, lå en sønderknust Atle Lie McGrath i snøen. Den ensomme mannen i skogkanten kommer til å bli et av OL-øyeblikkene vi aldri glemmer.

Vi snakker mye om idrettsglede i OL. Men her fikk vi OLs beste bilde på rent, ufiltrert idrettssinne.

www.tv2.no/mening-og-an...

I'm not sure if reading a library book will put any money in Dr. Aldridge's pocket, so, being the committed penny-pincher that I am, I'm gonna offer him some currency-affiliated keyboard characters — $ € ¢ ₱ £ ¥ ₹ — and an emoji gratuity: 💵. Don't spend it all in one place ... and keep swinging!