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.

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....).

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.

DTS Update...

Whoa, it's been a long time.  Before I disappeared I was getting about 50 hits a day to this here blog where I write of everything and nothing at the same time.  I don't know if that's a lot or a little, but it seemed pretty good to me.   During baseball playoffs, I was seeing about 80 folks here a day.  Then, I vanished like a fart in the wind -- that's what the warden said when Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank.  Of course, my disappearance didn't involve Rita Hayworth or a sewer of crap. 

No, I disappeared because my job changed and I got really busy.  A good kind of busy.  Very rewarding.  I was working more which cut into my leisure time, which is what Stories is.  Leisure.  I'm here to fill you in on what I didn't write. 

Dia De Los Muertos, by Kent Harrington

Raw, dark, urgent, and trippy; it takes just those four words to describe this book.  I could end this now, but I feel obligated to write a few more words praising Harrington for giving me such a good time.  The story is told in the span of 24 hours, on the Day of the Dead appropriately enough, in Tijuana.  The hero, a crooked DEA Agent, is suffering from dengue fever making his every action ooze with urgency.  Act now, die later. 

Hollywood's Savior?

I've written about the health of Hollywood.  I've directed readers to Slate's piece on the health of Hollywood.  The continued success of Hollywood as we know it is in question, I chicken littled.  Alas, all those concerns have been swept away by the announcement that Jose Canseco's tell-all book will be adapted for the big screen.  I can't wait.  Here's the info:

Title:        Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big
Log Line:  Details Canseco's use of performance-enhancing drugs and accuses some of the biggest names in baseball of cheating.
Writer:      Jose Canseco (author)
Agent:      n/a
Buyer:      Canterbury Films
Price:       n/a
Genre:      Drama
Logged:    8/2/05
More:       Book. Published in February by ReganBooks.  Canterbury Films' Bob DeBrino will produce.

My Sister's Keeper

  Jodi Picoult's book, My Sister's Keeper, was one of the ten worst books I've ever read.  Painful.  Do not read it.  I should just end this review now so as not to have to relive it, but I feel the need to explain myself.  After all, this is a bestselling book written by a popular author.  How could it be so bad? 

I read it because of the premise.  A thirteen-year-old girl, born out of the necessity to have a donor for her leukemia-riddled sister, decides she's had enough and hires a lawyer to obtain her medical emancipation so she will not have to donate her kidney to her sister.  Great stuff wrought with moral dilemmas, family conflict, and the delicate sister relationship.  Great stuff, until, Picoult screwed everything up.

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

  The Princess Bride is my wife’s favorite movie.  It’s always been one of my favorites too.  After all, it’s a tale of high adventure.  Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles.  As Fred Savage said, “It doesn’t sound too bad.”  Ah, what a freakin’ great movie.  So, after all these years, I finally sat down with the book.  Ah, what a freakin’ great book.  It’s not a book you compare to the movie; instead, it’s more like a perfect companion for the film.

AFI anointed its top 100 movie quotes the other day.  Among those nominated was Inigo’s famous line:  “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoyo.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.”  Given the nature of the quotes up for consideration, those having infiltrated popular culture, I was surprised there was only one nominated from The Princess Bride.  “Have fun storming the castle,” “As you wish,” “Anybody want a peanut?” are also fairly popular.  Alas, not a single one made the list.  Shows you what I know. 

Now, on to the book.

How Unfortunate

I'm a big Jim Carrey fan so when Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was released last year I really wanted to see it.  However, I subsequently read that the movie is based on a book and I got it in my mind that I couldn't see the movie until after I read the book (of which I'd never heard before).  I bought the first three of the "Series of Unfortunate Events" and decided this weekend that I'd read the first one.  The books are short, written for kids, and are the kind of low commitment reading upon which I thrive. 

The first one is called "The Bad Beginning."  It came in a nice package with books two and three of the series -- slim hardback, classic spine, rough cut pages.  Very nice.  What wasn't very nice and was in fact very bad and very unfortunate, is that when I got to page 56, the book started over again at page one, and went through page 24, before getting to page 87.  Pages 57 to 86 were not included in my copy.  Makes it hard to read.  I bought them last December from Amazon, so returning it isn't really an option.  I've read thousands of books and this is the first time I've come across this. 

Fortunately, my nine year old neighbor has all the books and today let me borrow his copy of "The Bad Beginning."  I swapped him an agate shooter and my '85 Buddy Biancalana for it.  He's a shrewd little negotiator.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to pages 57 to 86.