eeknight @ 12:13 pm: Ave atque vale, Mr. Woodward
Edward Woodward is dead at 79.
A classy Brit actor who spent most of his screen time in supporting actor roles, he's probably most famous for
Breaker Morant, which, with
Judgement At Nuremberg, vies for the title of greatest military courtroom drama ever.
I first saw him in the
Callan series in the 70s (which you really had to hunt for on PBS over here), a story of a veteran Cold War agent. It was very film noir meets John le Carré, but I liked Callan. He had a moral code, yet you totally believed his moments (and they did just last a fatal second or two) of cold ruthlessness. It was also hyper-realistic in its depictions of violence, not in a porny "Saw" manner but rather in what it does to people both in the moment and long after.
They adapted Callan (rather less than more) for American TV in the 80s. The series was called
The Equalizer and I watched it religiously, but while it kept some of the cold grimness Robert McCall was a bit of a cross between Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes and they downplayed the violent burn-out aspects that made Callan so fascinating.
Still, it was pretty dark for 80s TV.
He was in some of my favorite movies, including
The Champions,
The Final Option (aka
Who Dares Wins in the UK) and, of course, the great original version of
The Wicker Man.
I did briefly chat with him once. In Marshall Fields Oak Brook, of all places. He gave me a signed photograph, gentleman that he was. I still have it here in my library.
tiny_nomad @ 12:48 pm: Spread The Love - PLEASE HELP!
I spent all of last week getting the paperwork together to establish a charity for my friend Stephanie Little, aka Danger S, and organizing fundraising events to help cover her day-to-day costs.
On October 28th she was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. On Nov 10 she was hospitalized with liver failure. Fortunately they were able to remove the portion of the tumors that were causing a blockage to the liver, and she should be able to begin chemotherapy soon. However, the doctors only expect her to survive for 12 - 18 months.
I would greatly appreciate if any of you could donate to
http://www.stlcharity.org. If anyone can beat this it's a roller derby girl!!!!
theonionfeed @ 02:00 am: Nation's Fast Food Patrons No Longer Trusted To Dispense Own Ketchup
http://feeds.theonion.com/~r/theonion/weekly/~3/b-ZSEY0824I/nations_fast_food_patrons_no
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nations_fast_food_patrons_no?utm_source=onion_rss_daily
WASHINGTON—"We tried to treat our customers like adults, and they took advantage of our generosity," said Burger King CEO Brian Thomas Swette, who was visibly upset after hearing that Americans on average use 14 ounces of ketchup per fast food meal.
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