The Stories of DTS

The Klan Unmasked

I finally finished Stetson Kennedy's The Klan Unmasked.  The story is incredible.  Back just after WWII the KKK was again gaining a stronghold in the U.S.  Stetson Kennedy went undercover, infiltrated the Klan, and brought it to its knees.  Mr. Kennedy publicized the inner-workings of the Klan which brought embarrassment to the secretive group.  He exposed many public officials with Klan ties.  He thwarted many violent plots and saved lives.  He was a hero.  Well, sort of. 

First, the book.

Dancing with Whom?

I must admit that I didn't see a single moment of Dancing with the Stars until tonight's finale.  I'd heard of it, of course, as it's a part of pop culture and although I'm not as tuned in as I used to be, I do know what's going on.  Anywho, I never once wondered who the stars were, but I sort of assumed they were, you know, stars.  During the episode tonight there was a flashback to prior episodes and for nearly every couple (I knew Jerry Rice and Nick's brother) I had to ask my wife which dancer was the "star."  Dancing with the Wannabe Stars.  Dancing with the Hangers On.  Dancing with Girl on Bus or Inmate #2.  Something like that might be a little more appropriate.

By the way, RIP to Mr. Furley and the dad from A Christmas Story.

You Should Listen to your Mother

Twenty or so years ago my mother said to me "son, you should read the Fletch books."  I didn't.  I don't know why -- I loved the movie Fletch and generally enjoyed the books my mom recommended.  But, I guess I chose this refusal as my way to rebel.  And rebel I did!  I did not read Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch series until now, as a thirty-four year old who has sown his wild oats.  And, oh what wild oats they were!  I was freaking crazy.

I was hanging out at 1/2 Price Books trying to save a buck when I happened by the "M" section of the old paperbacks.  The Fletch books called out to me and I finally gave in.  One of the great things about buying old books at this store is that they really stick to the 1/2 price idea.  Back in the '70s and '80s these books were going for $3.50, so I walked out of there paying just $1.75 each.  I bought the only three they had (while the stories are the same, I did not buy those sleek reissues shown on the right.  Amazon.com doesn't offer pictures of my copies and I like pictures....).

100,000

This morning my '97 Saturn exceeded the 100,000 mile mark.  No marching band, no parade, no confetti, just a simple turn from 0 to 1 and from 9s to 0s.  Now I expect it to deteriorate rapidly. 

Another Book

One Man's Castle, by Phyllis Vine.  I figure I should strike while the iron's not cold and write about another of my recent reads.  One Man's Castle chronicles an event not often discussed in civil rights discussions:  Dr.Ossian Sweet's fight for his right to live whereever the hell he chooses.  It was 1925, not long after the exodus of blacks from the south to the "more tolerant" north.  Dr. Sweet and his wife bought a house in a white Detroit neighborhood.  Basically the day he moved in an angry white mob showed, threatened him and his family, ultimately resulting in the death of a white man, presumably at the hands of someone in the house.  All eleven in the house were tried for murder.  Clarence Darrow took the case on behalf of the still new NAACP and was brilliant in the Sweets' defense. 

A Couple Books

I'm going to try to comment on a few of the books to the right.   I read them over the course of the last few months but have written nary a word about them.  So it goes. 

If Chins Could Kill, by Bruce Campbell.  A good time.  Bruce is a B movie star who starred in Bubba Ho Tep, a great film based on a short story by Joe Lansdale.  This book is the story of his life.  It starts off kind of slowly, but picks up when Bruce hits his late teens.  The recounting of his experiences filming Evil Dead was outstanding -- no money, uncomfortable contact lenses, actors quitting....  His buddy, Sam Raimi, has gone on to success in Hollywood -- making A movies, even, yet Bruce seems pretty content in his role.  He's written another book, a novel this time, entitled Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.   I bought it.  With a title like that, I had to.

The Day After Tomorrow

Over the course of the day I watched this movie.  Standard disaster fare, no worse or better than all the others really.  There's always something in these movies that bugs me and keeps me from liking it -- in The Day After Tomorrow the fact that Dennis Quaid was risking life and limb to get his son, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, felt wrong to me.  Jake was playing a 17 year old, but he was 24 at the time and looked every bit the 24 year old.  If the kid was ten or something I'd understand the trek -- but it was nonsensical.  I especially don't understand Sela Ward not objecting to Quaid going on the death journey.  Jake is a man, for Godsake.  He doesn't need to be rescued.

Kids Love Reservoir Dogs!

Before anyone calls DFS, my wife already told me that I couldn't let our kids watch the movie until they're ten or so.  That's pretty harsh, but I've agreed to obey her wishes (Pulp Fiction comes a little earlier, I think). 

We have several CDs with kids' music, and they must be good because our kids love listening to them.  Recently it got to the point that the boy was demanding Dino-songs every time it was meal-time.  I dreaded those times because that music is so ... I don't know ... insipid.  It makes my head hurt.  I scoured our CD collection to find anything remotely child-appropriate but not so damn stupid.  Surprisingly, the search ended with Reservoir Dogs.