Friday, February 7, 2014

Our Mothers and The Movies, A Baby Boomer's Perspective - and The Week in Reviews

[I review movies "Labor Day," "Blue Caprice," "Last Vegas" and "Don Jon."]


But first


Our Mothers and the Movies:
A Baby Boomer's Perspective

Today is my mother's birthday.  She would have been 106.
Even at my age, it seems strange to have had a mother born in 1908. 
Her Dad was born in the 1800's. She was 40 when she had me and since I didn't start my family until I was 32 when I had my son, I figured we skipped a whole generation somewhere.

I recently reviewed a book for "Library Journal" called "Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a few you love to hate)" by Turner Classic Movies with critic Richard Corliss.





It's a coffee table book that movie fans will love, but I also couldn't help but think of how these movie Mom images affected me and my view of my own mother. 


Her parents were Swedish immigrants and she strived to better herself.  Though she couldn't go to college, she always revered education.  There was never any doubt in my mind that I would go to college.  She had strong opinions about pretty much everything (must be where I got it from!) and was horrified if someone who was educated used bad English.  She would correct them right to their face! 

As was typical of the times, when my parents had children, my mother stayed at home as a housewife.  Before that, she had been the secretary to the president of the local bank and we never heard the end of that.  Though she was a product of her times, this was a woman who would have had a successful career.

But failing that, she threw herself into being a good housewife.





Monday was washing day, Tuesday ironing day, etc. She hung the wash out on the line so we had fresh smelling sheets, she ironed her sheets and pillow cases, baked pies, produced delicious Sunday suppers, got up every morning to make my Dad's breakfast, was home when I came home from school, catered to my food dislikes, volunteered in the community and kept her house immaculate.

I certainly didn't appreciate her at the time.

I am horrified now at how my brother treated her and I wasn't much better.  My brother called her "Witch Hazel" to her face, "Haze," for short (I think from the Looney Tunes character).  As the younger sister, I thought that was hysterical.  Maybe he called her that because she would chase him with the broom when he was really outrageous. And we both liked to sneak up on her when she was ironing in the basement and scare her.  She would jump a mile and we would laugh hysterically.  It was your typical "wait until your Dad gets home" scenario, but unfortunately, my Dad didn't want to get involved.  Must have been hard for her.

She also personified the Swedish reserve and didn't ascribe to any modern psychological notions such as talking about "feelings."  I can remember saying to her, "Mom, I feel depressed," and she would answer, "What do you have to be depressed about?"  So much for wanting to help your young daughter work through her emotions.  But that was the way it was then.  You didn't complain.  And I learned that if you did, no one wanted to talk about it.

I watched a lot of TV and many movies.  There was June Cleaver, June Lockhart ("Lassie"), Jane Wyatt ("Father Knows Best") and Donna Reed, all understanding, perfect mothers.

No flesh and blood Mom could compete with the Moms and actresses on TV and in the movies. 

I once wrote a letter to Elizabeth Taylor and told her I wished she was my Mom. Not sure now why I equated her with "Mom-dom."  Maybe I just wanted to have a glamorous Hollywood mother I could hang out with.

She sent me this glamour shot.



All of that movie watching I did as a child must have really affected me and my views on motherhood.


Who could be as long suffering as Ma Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath,"

(She would silently put up with whatever I dished out)




or as gallant and "stiff upper lip-ish" as Greer Garson in "Mrs. Miniver
(she was so good she won an Oscar!)"

(Her strength and courage would protect me from everything).




or as comforting as Irene Dunne in "I Remember Mama," 

(I bet SHE would care about my feelings).





or as self-sacrificing as "Stella Dallas?"

(She would step aside so I could marry a rich guy and have everything I ever wanted).





Because of the movies, we expected our mothers to be stoic, gallant, comforting and self-sacrificing.  Our Moms never had a chance.

But on the other side of things,  I am sure our mothers had happy expectations of us, too, but instead sometimes got something quite different.

There might have been days when our mothers thought we were like

murderous Rhoda in "The Bad Seed"



or selfish Veda in "Mildred Pierce."





Or cute but deadly little Damien from "The Omen."


We might not have had a choice who our mothers were, but we also need to remember that they didn't have a choice on how we would turn out either!




"Mom in the Movies" makes the point that even though the financial constraints of the film business dictates a focus on a young male audience, "mother movies" will always be around. 

"Children must be shown where they came from, and from whom...  [Mothers] deserve the affirmation of popular culture for their important, impossible job.  All of us need images in films to reflect and enrich, challenge and validate, the ones in our hearts.  On that screen, we demand to see our better selves: our mothers."

And aging actresses need juicy parts!

Happy Birthday, Mom!


 Who was your favorite on-screen Mom?

The Week in Reviews



***In Theatres Now***
An escaped convict kidnaps a depressed woman and her son and love ensues (naturally).
I so, so wanted to love this movie. 

You know with my penchant for Lifetime Movies, I thought it would be a natural or at least so bad it was goodIt was neither. This was farfetched and laborious.  I mean, he forces the mother and son to take him to their house, and the next day he is changing her oil, scrubbing her floors and teaching them how to make peach pie. And that was just the first day! By the time the Labor Day weekend is over, Winslet and Brolin are in love and running off together.  I guess a lot can happen in a weekend!

Speaking of the pie, it seemed they were going for something like the pottery wheel scene in "Ghost," but if so...nope.
This is based on the book "Labor Day" by Joyce Maynard, who might be more famously known for her controversial 1998 "kiss and tell" book ("At Home in the World") about her love affair, at a young age with J.D. Salinger (he liked them young). Coincidentally, she was featured in the documentary on him "Salinger," which played recently on American Masters on PBS and is available on DVD.

Rosy the Reviewer says...I am a big Kate Winslet fan, but watching this movie, I felt like I was in labor.



***DVDS***
You Might Have Missed
And Some You Should Be Glad You Did
(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)


Blue Caprice (2013)



Dramatization of the lives of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Malvo, also known as the Beltway Snipers (2002).

Isaiah Washington and Tequan Richmond do a good job with what they have to work with, but the film is ultimately disappointing because Muhammad's transition from hard-working, caring father figure to a cold-blooded killer is just not explained.  The title derives from the tricked-out car they used to carry out the attacks undetected for so long.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are expecting to understand these senseless killings, you won't find the answer here.




Last Vegas (2013)


Four childhood friends, now in their 70's, meet up in Las Vegas for a bachelor party.

You would think that with Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline we would be in for a treat. Doesn't always work like that. This is "The Hangover" for the geriatric set, and though there are some laughs to be had, it is ultimately disappointing.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Didn't pass the "Rosy Test."  I didn't laugh.





Don Jon (2013)



A New Jersey player only cares about his pad, his car, his church, his family and... porn.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (my how he has grown since "Third Rock from the Sun!") wrote and directed this film about a guy addicted to porn, to the point that he enjoys that more than sex with a real live girl.  Naturally, he realizes the error of his ways with the help of an older woman, Julianne Moore, in a not quite believable role.  The revelation here is Scarlett Johansson, who plays the gum-chewing love of his life Jersey girl.  Her characterization would do "New Jersey Shore" proud.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a fun 90 minutes, but remember it's about porn so there's lots of porn. So don't say I didn't warn you.


***Book of the Week***

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou (2013)




From the author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and countless other memoirs and books of poetry, Angelou tackles the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother.

Her mother sent her brother and her away when her marriage fell apart, and when they were reunited, Maya was angry and bitter. But her mother patiently worked to win her love.  Angelou's prose is spare and tight, reminiscent of Hemingway.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a slim volume full of the redemptive power of love.  If you are an Angelou fan, this rounds out her story.  If not, it's time you discovered her!






That's it for this week. 
See you Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.


 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Cooking in an Empty Nest



When I am at loose ends, I like to cook.  It relaxes me.

And as a newly retired, "empty nester," I am often at loose ends!

I love reading cookbooks and collecting recipes.  I have a little folder of all of the recipes I have cut out of magazines or printed off the Internet that I want to try, and I probably have over 100 cookbooks.

I even made myself my own cookbook. 
You might try this.  Find a big photo album, one of those with the plastic page covers and instead of putting in photos, add your favorite recipes that you have cut out of magazines or written on cards.  Voila!  Your very own cookbook of favorite recipes.

I am also the "Casserole Queen."  I just love making casseroles. 
Who knew?  I am not sure where that came from since I hated casseroles as a child.  When my mother would make a casserole, if my mother couldn't tell me every single thing in it, I would not eat it.  Sometimes she would try to fool me and not tell me about an ingredient I wouldn't like, but it didn't take me long to sniff it out.  I was a real "fussbudget" as my mother used to call me.  Now I love making and eating casseroles, but the issue with casseroles is that they usually feed 12, which is not a good thing when you are cooking for two.



So the big problem with my need to cook is...when I cook, I REALLY cook!  Like four or five or six dishes at time!

So my weekly routine usually includes my cooking several new recipes from that folder I keep.  I want to see what they taste like!  But then I make the recipe, taste it and move on.  Steam comes out of Hubby's ears and he goes mental when he sees all of the food I have prepared, especially when we can't fit all of the leftovers in the fridge.

"Who is going to eat all of this?" he will shout.

I slink off to the upstairs to watch some cooking shows.

***

There is also the issue of gathering all of the ingredients needed to try these new recipes.  I like to have everything I need on hand at all times, so whenever I find a new recipe, I automatically add the ingredients to my grocery list, even if I am not going to make that recipe in the near future. A friend once housesat for us and later asked me if I was a Mormon, because of all of the food we had stockpiled.  I said, "No, I just like to cook."

I can rationalize that if I spend a few hours cooking on the weekend and make several dishes, then I don't have to cook during the week when I don't want to.  Hubby can find something to eat on his own when he wants some lunch instead of bothering me while I'm getting caught up with "The Housewives" or doing some other important task.
So I know that what I am doing is not a particularly thrifty, healthy or smart thing to do since it's just the two of us.

And it doesn't help in the never-ending quest to lose weight to have all of this food on hand!


***


So what's a budding chef to do with the kids grown and a need to only cook for two?


Here are some ideas I have come up with:

  • Though I think it's a good idea to spend some time on the weekends cooking so that Hubby and I will have leftovers to eat during the week (and I will only have to cook when I want to), if the dish will not be consumed in one sitting, limit myself to one or two of those larger dishes per week.

  • When making a large dish, freeze half of it.

  • Probably should stay away from Costco.

  • Cut the recipe in half

  • Buy a cookbook aimed at cooking for two (just what I need, another cookbook!)

  • Or just forget about it and go out to eat instead


Any other advice?




In the meantime, here are some new cookbooks I have discovered recently and some recipes I plan to try (some habits die hard):



One Good Dish by David Tanis




Written by a New York Times food columnist, this cookbook deconstructs comfort food and elevates it to a gourmet level. 

From "Eggs in a Hole" to "Spaghetti with Bread Crumbs and Pepper," this is the kind of cookbook you will enjoy reading as much as preparing the recipes.  In his "Snacks" chapter, he shares a recipe for "Cucumber Spears with Dill," just small cucumbers, salt and pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme leaves, white wine vinegar, fresh dill and lime juice. Nice snack for those who shun carbs.

TIP:  Speaking of carbs, he recommended using a waffle iron to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  Why didn't I think of that?



Michael Symon's 5 in 5 by Michael Symon





Symons is one of the co-hosts of "The Chew," a cooking show I actually don't like.  It's a bit too frenetic and cutesy for me.  I am much more of a "Top Chef" kind of girl.  I like food competitions better than just watching someone prepare food.

Anyway, this is a fun and easy cookbook in that each recipe only uses five ingredients.

He shows you how to use those five ingredients to make several different recipes, all in just five minutes.  He covers pasta, meat skewers, sandwiches, steaming food in packets, egg dishes, grilling and more.  One recipe that caught my eye was "Pappardelle with Mushroom Cream Sauce."  It's just pappardelle pasta, olive oil, mushrooms, red onions, sour cream and fresh tarragon (I know that's more than five ingredients.  Herbs must not count).  Love pappardelle pasta, love mushrooms, not so sure about the cream sauce. 




What's for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life by Curtis Stone




I am usually not a fan of the celebrity chefs (Except for Tony and Gordon), but this is the first cookbook I have come across in a long time where I want to cook every recipe...so I bought it!

He includes recipes for every day of the week and has divided the cookbook into chapters: Motivating Mondays, Time-Saving Tuesdays, One-Pot Wednesdays, Thrifty Thursdays, Five-Ingredient Fridays, Dinner Party Saturdays and Family Supper Sundays.

It's a beautifully produced book, with wonderful photos of the food (a must!)

Here is a taste:

Grilled Shrimp with Rice Noodle Salad
Seared Ham Steak and Eggs with Smashed Potatoes and Sourdough Toast
Slow-Cooked Pulled Port Sandwiches with "Fireworks" Coleslaw
Banana Cream Parfait with Gingersnap Strusel

Yum!

So I like to cook, I like to eat, I want to lose weight.

I'm doomed.

See you Friday for
"Our Mothers and the Movies"
and The Week in Reviews

Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.

Check your local library for the books mentioned.





Friday, January 31, 2014

Lifetime Movies: A Baby Boomer's Appreciation and The Week in Reviews

[Where I review "Nebraska" and DVDs "Blue Jasmine," "Fruitvale Station," 20 Feet From Stardom" and "In a World" along with the "Book of the Week" and the Judy Collins concert.]

But first


Lifetime Movies: A Baby Boomer's Appreciation


Over the years, I have been known to dabble in the occasional Lifetime Movie.

OK, dabble isn't quite the right word.  They are actually one of my guilty pleasures (and I have many).

I know what you are thinking.  You have probably written them off as fluff at best and a waste of time at worst, but I am here to disabuse you of that notion.

There is nothing to be guilty about!

Yes, many of the movies are ground out in what I have come to see as a Canadian repertory machine, but there are some real gems amongst them. 

If you like campy, there is campy.  If you like women in jeopardy, you got it.  If you like, "kidnap my daughter, and I will hunt you down," check. "Save me from my addiction?"  Yep.  And there are some good true-life biopics, too.

Here are the reasons why I like them:

1. They feature strong women triumphing over adversity. 

I don't like movies that don't have women in them.
 
Films with strong women characters are under represented in general. Sweden, a most forward thinking country, has just instituted a rating system (The Bechdel test) that tests and rates films as to gender bias, and for a good rating the film must have at least two named women and those women must talk about something other than men. Lifetime movies would pass that test!  The women in Lifetime movies not only do more than talk about men, they are usually kicking their butts!

2. Comforting Titles and Plot Devices.

It's always comforting to know what to expect. 

In the case of Lifetime Movies, if the title begins with the word "Perfect," as in "Perfect Teacher," "Perfect Roommate," or "Perfect Husband," you know they are going to be anything but. 

Likewise, you can bet that the movie will start out with something brutal, alarming or tantalizing and then go to a "Three Years Earlier" or "Three Years Later" plot exposition.  And then it will usually end with the bad guy caught, the ghost debunked or the evil doer dead, and our heroine will drive off unharmed thinking she is rid of the problem... and then the last frame will show something that makes us think...OR IS SHE?
All very comforting stuff.

3. They employ Canadian actors.

I love Canadians, so happy that Canadian actors are getting work.

Almost all of the Lifetime movies these days are filmed in Vancouver or Toronto, Canada, and its environs.  They also seem to use the same actors, so it is sort of a repertory company.  I have come to recognize many of them.  It's fun to see an actor star in one film and then play a supporting role in another.  I watch so many Lifetime movies, they are almost like old friends.

4. It's fun to spot the Canadian locations.

The librarian in me really enjoys busting them for trying to substitute Vancouver, BC for San Francisco or Seattle or Toronto for New York City. They sometimes fluff their continuity issues. 

I mean...really one time when they were supposed to be in San Francisco, I noticed an on-ramp sign pointing to Whistler (B.C)!  When the film was supposed to be set in Salem, Oregon, I was able to see a road sign with an unusual French name, so just for the fun of it, I looked up the name and it was in Kowloon, B.C.  I know, it's nerdy, but it's fun.  And it doesn't take any research to know they are in Canada when a character walks into the local Visions Youth CENTRE. 

Vancouver has become the de facto location for Seattle and San Francisco locations, because I believe it's cheaper and there are incentives to film there.  And as I said, many of the movies are filmed in Canada with Canadian actors and then sold to Lifetime.

5. There is usually a nice healthy moral or lesson to be learned.

The bad guy gets his, the addiction is overcome or we learn Mother was right!

6.  And they can be downright (and sometimes unintentionally) fun!


So let me serve as your personal guide to the best (and, sometimes, most hilarious)
Lifetime Movies.


Here then is a list of some of my favorites from someone who has had a "lifetime" of experience watching this genre:

(NOTE: Titles often vary for different markets).



Killer Reality (2013)



This one is brilliant. 

Imagine "The Bachelor," but the girls get their champagne glass filled instead of a rose, and they also get killed off one by one. It is unintentionally hilarious (I think it's unintentional, anyway) with lines like "You signed a full disclosure giving us carte blanche to subject you to whatever emotional distress we want" and while in Mexico, one of the Mexican cameramen says about the reality show, "You Americans really watch this stuff?  It makes our Mexican novelas look like Shakespeare."

Moral: There are consequences for going on "The Bachelor."





Sexting in Suburbia (AKA Shattered Silence) (2012)


A teen commits suicide after her sexting pics are made public (This one is actually quite good).

Moral:  Keep your nude pics to yourself.





Haunting of Sorority Row (2007)



A former (dead) sorority sister haunts the sorority to take revenge. 

I wonder if Leighton Meester is regretting this one.

Moral:  Maybe pledging a sorority isn't such a good idea.





Road Rage (1999)



The title tells it all.

Moral: You know that sign on the back of some trucks that says, "How's my driving?" and gives you a number to call if the driver isn't doing a good job of driving?  Don't.




Terror in the Family (1996)



A teenage Hilary Swank terrorizes her family - the usual teen stuff.  Every dysfunctional family cliché is here.

Moral:  This is what happens when you try to be your child's friend.




Crimes of Silence: She Woke Up Pregnant  (1996)




The title tells it all.

Moral:  Yet another reason to fear your dentist!




A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story (1992)


Biopic of Betty Broderick who murdered her husband and his mistress.  Meredith Baxter was a fixture on Lifetime movies for awhile.

Moral:  Don't marry a psycho.


All time greatest titles ever!
(some of these are not yet available on DVD but look for them)!

My Stepson, My Lover (1997)

You can figure this one outHuge ick factor.

Deadly Spa (2013)

A mother and daughter go to a spa only to discover they can't leave! 
So much for mother/daughter trips. Geez, I just wanted a facial!

Killer Hair (2009)

Murder in a hair salon. 
Who knew hair could kill?

Honeymoon with Mom (2006)

What happens when you get left at the altar? - - Mom!

I Me Wed (2007)

Tired of being asked when she is going to get married, our heroine decides to marry herself (I can't even make this stuff up)!

Forever 16 (2013

Why forever 16? 
Because she's a vampire, silly.
A teenage vampire has to keep changing schools to keep her true identity hidden.  The scenes of her drinking blood in the girls' restroom between classes is classic!

Coed Call Girl (1996)

Tori Spelling stars as the Coed. 
She looks as much like a coed as I do.
Title is self explanatory. 

Here is a bit of a tease, literally.  Priceless.






And, drum roll please, my all-time favorite Lifetime movie title ever:


Mother May I Sleep With Danger?

Laurel (Tori Spelling again) has an abusive boyfriend and her mother must save her.

If my daughter had asked me that I would have said, "Who?  What? Absolutely not! No, no and no and don't ask me again! And by the way, why are you talking like that?  Sleep with 'danger?'  Who's "Danger?"

So I hope I have shed some light on the Lifetime movie phenomenon and perhaps taken some of the shame away from indulging.  Let us not judge lest we be judged!  Now I have to get back to Lifetime's latest "Lizzie Borden Took an Axe."

(Lifetime movies are now coming out on DVD, available via Amazon Instant Video, on the Lifetime website or sometimes available in full on YouTube).

Share your favorite Lifetime Movie moment --
If you dare!



***In Theatres Now***


Affecting tale of a son taking his elderly Dad on a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his imagined winnings from a Publisher's Clearing House-like contest.
Here is another dysfunctional family similar to the family in "August: Osage County," which I reviewed in my Academy Awards blog a few weeks ago, but this is a much sweeter tale. 
In the hands of director Alexander Payne ("The Descendants," "Sideways"), it captures the redemptive power of a son's love.  Children often take their parents at face value and do not know about the experiences that formed them. We may turn into curmudgeons but there is usually a reason why.

The black and white photography captures the bleakness of some Midwestern small towns that have been abandoned by the young and the bleakness of aging.  The film is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as are Bruce Dern and June Squib, an 80+ actress who is finally getting the recognition she deserves, who play the aging husband and wife.  Nominated for Best Original Screenplay is our own local screenwriter, Bob Nelson, who was one of the original cast members of Seattle's late night TV show, "Almost Live," Seattle's version of Saturday Night Live which played from 1984-1999.
Rosy the Reviewer says...Beautiful little film that might be depressing to those of us who see a nursing home in our future.  Go on a road trip with your kids first!




***DVDS***
You Might Have Missed
And Some You Should Be Glad You Did
(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)
Blue Jasmine (2013)
A story reminiscent of the Bernie Madoff scandal, a once wealthy and snobby woman must seek help with her blue collar sister. 
Cate Blanchett gives a stunning and funny performance as a woman grappling with loss and mental illness.
Rosy  the Reviewer says...No matter what you think of Woody Allen's personal life, you can't fault his brilliance as a writer and director.
Cate gives a great performance, but I am still rooting for Meryl ("August: Osage County") to win Best Actress.
A day in the life of Oscar Grant, the day before he was gunned down in an infamous true incident on a BART station platform in Oakland, CA, New Year's Day, 2009.
Michael B. Jordan gives a stunning performance made all of the more poignant as we know he is living out Grant's last day on earth.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Absolutely gut-wrenching, but a must-see.




20 Feet from Stardom (2013)




Documentary about our most famous back-up singers and the road they traveled, featuring Darlene Love and Merry Clayton.

Ever wonder who those singers are doing the "oooh" and "la la la" parts behind your favorite bands?  Well, here they are telling us what it's like to be super talented, but forever upstaged by singers luckier than they were.  Darlene Love fronted The Blossoms who toured with the Beatles when I saw them in 1964.  She was exploited by Phil Spector.  Merry Clayton is the voice singing with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter" and many, many other songs. Well deserved nomination in the Best Documentary category for an Academy Award.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you love music, you will love this. 





In a World (2013)



A glimpse into the male dominated world of movie trailer voice overs.

Can our heroine break into this male dominated world?  Lake Bell wrote, directed and stars.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a fun glimpse into a world most of us know little about.  Lake Bell is someone to watch!



***In Concert***


Judy Collins


We had the pleasure of seeing Judy Collins perform at the Edmonds Center for the Arts

I have been a lifelong fan, and it was wonderful seeing her in this small venue.  She came out all in white - white gown, white hair and sang like an angel.  She paid tribute to Pete Seeger, who was a huge influence on her (we all sang "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?) and who recently died (she was at his bedside).

During the course of the evening, Judy shared career and family anecdotes (she grew up in a musical family with a blind father).  She was warm and carried herself with the ease of someone who has mastered her craft.

Only disappointment was that she didn't sing "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" and "Send in the Clowns."

Rosy the Reviewer says...A beautiful, shining evening.  Upcoming concerts will be in Arizona and Wisconsin.  See her if you can.  You won't be disappointed.






***Book of the Week***


Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn (2013)


Detailed biography of an evil master mind.

I read biographies and true crime, because I am interested in how people get to where they get.  In Manson's case, his unhealthy home life doesn't really explain him. His need to be somebody and lack of empathy for others screams sociopath or worse and led him into an early life of crime culminating in the horrific Manson Murders.  

This picture that appeared in the newspaper upon his capture scared the crap out of the entire country.





I moved to California in 1970 and was already scared of the Zodiac killer and earthquakes so then this. It was a crazy time.

Guinn sets Manson's story in the context of the times.  An unsettling subject,  but wonderfully written.

Rosy the Reviewer says...absolutely riveting look into, not only the mind of a killer, but into the times in which he was able to perpetrate his evil.

That's it for this week. 
See you Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it on FB and your other favorite social media sites and/or email it to your friends.


Check your local library for DVDs and book mentioned.