Laura Lippman

A movie poster for The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3.

But also, FYI, here’s one version of the movie poster.

Sorry, you are being that guy, you can’t have it both ways. The movie is sheer perfection, but am I not.

Just so grateful I grew up in a civilized era when women-in-prison movies were often the “Picture for a Sunday Afternoon.”

A couple of things for people responding to this:
The student in question said they did not watch ANY films or television, only YouTube.
My 15-y-o knows who Cary Grant is and also understands that The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 is sheer perfection.
Teach your children well, y’all.

I had a 20-something student this past January who said in passing: “I have never heard of Cary Grant.” (Elvis is even more extreme, though.)

Domino Sugar plant at sunrise beneath fluffy white clouds, both reflected in the water.

Good morning, Bluesky.

Good news! My trainer told me it’s time to add pairs of 25-pound and 30-pound hand weights to my little home gym & I have procured them.
Bad news: My little home gym is on the 4th floor. (It’s just a corner of my office.)
Photo from a year ago because of $&%^!!!# EDT.

A Snoopy ramen bowl.

#IfIWereYourMom, I might buy you a Snoopy ramen bowl for Christmas and find it hidden in my closet almost 3 months later, which kind of made it cooler?

Money isn’t everything . . .

Fuzzy memories and hard facts: An SC accuser's claims against Epstein, Trump examined An alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein gave FBI agents true accounts of her time growing up in SC. Claims she made about Donald Trump remain unsubstantiated.

Breaking: SC newspaper verifies portions of Trump accuser's story. Textbook journalism. Local journalism. Support your local news outlets. www.postandcourier.com/news/epstein...

Domino Sugar plant at sunrise on a cloudy morning, sky and plant reflected in the water.

Good morning, Bluesky.

As the old saying goes, spring forward, bite me.

Agreed.

Eight books, the titles are in the skeet. The Slicks is a gift for my daughter.

AWP haul

Translation of the Lilies Back Into Lists, Laynie Brown
The Irish Goodbye, Beth Ann Fennelly
The Art of Perspective, Christopher Castelllani
Generic Husbands, @rebeccahazelstaff.bsky.social
The Odeon, Daniel Tobin
Bluets, Maggie Nelson
The Slicks, Maggie Nelson
I’m a Fan, Sheena Patel

The Domino Sugar plant on a foggy morning, reflected in the water. Vivid Cool filter applied.

Good morning, Bluesky.

“Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.”
—Arthur Miller—

(I tried to do due diligence and this quote seems legit, but if I ever find out it’s fake, I’m going to be gutted.)

All Domino photos count!

It was so lovely to meet you!

Old lady in a short dress.

I swear I had a more conservative outfit for my AWP panel today but @rebeccahazelstaff.bsky.social preferred this one.

You were literally 4 when this happened don’t make it weird!

Pretty sure neither one of us have his number!

So, a little nuance: 1) I guess she wasn’t a writer at the time? Because X would clearly consider a poet a writer. 2) We also had a mutual, a lovely woman who was my colleague at the San Antonio Light. We took a selfie. 3) She wanted to be very clear that she and X were not dating, they were just fooling around. 4) I’m not sure she stipulated the time-frame. 5) Hilariously, earlier that day I told my friend who’s staying with me for AWP that when I recently made a list of every man I had ever dated/married, he was one of only two I had deemed a sensible choice. (The other was my second husband.)

Good morning, Bluesky.

I’m not sure what I expected at AWP but it was not meeting a poet who said: “Oh I know you because 45 years ago [X] told me we couldn’t see each other anymore because he had fallen in love with Laura Lippman and SHE’S a writer.”
Photo from 2024, more detail in the alt.

Domino Sugar plant at what would be sunrise, if there was any sun.

Good morning, Bluesky.

I am evolving. I used to be the old lady who stood on my steps and yelled at people who ran the stop sign, but now I also yell at drivers who run red lights.

(Seriously has anyone else in Baltimore noticed how many drivers are running red lights these days?)

I have NOW.

Alas, no, but I so appreciate this photo.

This is what happens when I try to be self-deprecating. <g> Good article and I’m having a lot of fun at AWP.

To be clear — Julie’s good people and an exhaustive list is impossible! Dos Passos lived in Cross Keys! And Lucille Clifton can never get enough attention in my opinion.

I did not make the cut, but then — neither did Edgar Allan Poe, H.L. Mencken, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, William Manchester . . . ah well, the inclusion of Lucille Clifton is what really matters.

I cannot marry you because I am now betrothed to @scottynola.bsky.social (I’m sure Paul will be fine with that).

Of course you knew, but then — we share a brain.

A goose in a harbor, part of a city skyline, Domino Sugar plant in the background.

Good morning, Bluesky.

I have main character energy and I create main characters, but I am not, in fact, a main character. Think: Thelma Ritter, Audrey Meadows, Eve Arden.*

* If you know off the top of your head which actress was in a James Cain adaptation AND a Marx Brothers film: Marry me.

Dang! But, then, as the photos demonstrate, I am a very, shy retiring type.

Mardi Gras U. You live, you learn, you see familiar, um, things from a new angle

It’s the first Tuesday of the month, so I’m nattering again. As always the newsletter is free and almost worth it.

open.substack.com/pub/lauramli...