It is the feast of St. Michael, and in honour, I give you Raphael’s 1504 St. Michael, also known as “Little St. Michael” (to distinguish it from another St. Michael painted by Raphael years later). I love this. Slay those demons, friends!
Monthly Archives: September 2019
Welcome, Scandinavian Press Readers
I’m going to post more later about my piece in Scandinavian Press, but right now I just want to quickly welcome any readers of the magazine to this site, and also direct them to the website where I am posting my uncle’s letters and poems. You can find it here.
“There Won’t Be a Return Match Next Year”
On the 18th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I cannot think of a better film from which to show a scene than the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, and I’m hard-pressed to think of a more appropriate scene than this one. Extraordinary film, and rarely shown, even on TCM. Interestingly, they aired it today (and yes, we taped it).
Productive Till the End
Andrea Camilleri and Howard Engel died within a day of each other. They were both talented writers; both more successful in their careers later in life (Camilleri much later); both created loved detective characters (Camilleri created Inspector Montalbano, Engel Benny Cooperman).
Howard was a dear friend of ours – he was very kind and personally autographed several books for my mother, who was a big fan. Camilleri’s books have been turned into a popular television series in Italy, one that I watch because a) it’s terrific and b) it helps me keep up my Italian.
May their memories not only be blessings, but a reminder to never stop working!
Joe Longthorne, RIP
The Cat Man of Aleppo
I’ve posted about this man before. He and his team do the work of the angels. Give, if you can.
A Quacking Good Story
Beryl O’Links
Some links from far and wide for y’all. Some are serious, some are fun.
Lionel Shriver continues to be awesome.
Man who lived 1,300 years ago had amazing teeth.
Snowball the Parrot loves to dance.
Holocaust survivor buys hospital bed for oldest Righteous Among Nations.
September 1st, 1939
Today is the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War. On my other site, I posted a bit about Vera Lynn and my mother’s love of two of her songs of the era. Please take a look, and if you are interested in knowing more about the song itself, check out Mark Steyn’s column here.