From the bus stations of Rt. 66 to the smoky, neon-tinged jazz dives of the big cities, these wanton tales of longing introduce us to vixens on the fringe and those shifty men that drove them there.
Read the pulp novella that one reviewer called 'A potboiler in the style of old school writers like Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler...'
While it has nothing realllllly to do with what we now consider boxing, celebrate Boxing Day with these two stupendous ring documentaries and a link to "Felony Fists," a fabulous e-book by my friend and fellow scribe Paul Bishop (written under the pseudonym Jack Tunney).
In fact, the whole Fight Card series (with one coming from me soon), is a fun throwback to the days of dimestore boxing pulps and noir. Check out Bishop's entry and then purchase the rest of the books in the line: "The Cutman" (Eric Beetner) and "Split Decision" (Mel Odom).
Brilliant ... Just brilliant. Is there a better reason now to drink the spirit. Admitted scotch drinker Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men") is the new face for Johnnie Walker. She revealed that it was her husband Geoffrey Arend who got her interested in the hooch. "I always thought it was sexy when he ordered scotch and I'd take little sips of his drink,' she told Men's Health in October. That interview (and photo spread) prompted the booze company to contact the actress to endorse their product.
Every awards season, The Hollywood Reporter gathers the screenwriters of the year’s best films for an informal roundtable.
For this year's chat, they assembled Moneyball‘s Steve Zaillan and Aaron Sorkin, The Skin I Live In‘s Pedro Almodovar, J. Edgar‘s Dustin Lance Black, Rampart‘s Oren Moverman and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close‘s Eric Roth to discuss their own, and each others’, scripts, all of which have a shot at multiple awards and nominations.
"BOARDWALK EMPIRE" RECAP SEASON TWO, EPISODE TEN "UNDER GOD'S POWER SHE FLOURISHES"
This week:Written by Howard Korder and directed by Allen Coulter, "Under God's Power She Flourishes" wrapped up only a minor bit of business leftover from last week. Still, the last five-minutes made up for it. While the situation with Jimmy and the fallout from Angela being murdered wasn't emotionally explored to the fullest, a few key events at the end of the episode will surely have consequences and/or repercussions.
Some key events:
•With Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) pondering the consequences of sin, Nucky (Steve Buscemi) prepares her for a worst-case scenario as Esther Randolph (Julianne Nicholson) plays out her trump cards -- or at least what she THINKS are trump cards.
• In a stupor, Jimmy (Michael Pitt) revisits his college days when the lines of his wife-to-be Angela (Aleksa Palladino) and Gillian (Gretchen Mol) first became blurred.
• Ever the odd man out, a slightly toughened-up Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks) chafes at sharing his liquor profits.
•Sheriff Eli Thompson (Shea Whigham) refuses to cop a plea. Or will he?
• Nelson Van Alden's (Michael Shannon) past comes back to haunt him and, lo and behold, tips the scale in Nuckyʼs favor.
For my full scene-by-scene annotated recap, historical footnotes, episode videos, tunes from the era and other thoughts, visit NJ.com.
The version of this post that I published last year was so popular that it warrants an update. And honestly, what a difference a year ...
BUKOWSKI'S BASEMENT
Welcome to Bukowski's Basement and the blog of Anthony Venutolo. It's primarily a showcase for nuggets that can range from anywhere from Skid Row to the Savoy in the form of poems, flash fiction, noir or pop culture musings.
Feel free to pour some cheap hooch and settle in because this is a place to celebrate all things wondrous in the whiskey-soaked literary landscape of Chuck Buk, Jack Kerouac, Tom Waits and Raymond Carver.
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