This week I saw the food-horror film, "Food, Inc." (2008).
Every person living in America, especially minorities, people with weight issues, people who care about their children's future, and people fond of fast food, ought to see this film. I already pay attention to the ingredient list on all I buy, but from this point on, I shall scrutinize my food even harder. WATCH THIS FILM, AMERICA. (And all those thinking of visiting this sordid country.)
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Last night, darling, Chris & I went to Rollin' Oats, a local natural/health food store in our city. We found these brownies by Dr. Oetker and had to try 'em.
The ingredients in the brownie mix were grown without man-made pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs (genetically modified organisms.) They are made with melted butter and two eggs (versus oil, or milk, plus eggs), unlike most commercial brownie mixes we've tried in the past. They don't rise quite as much as the "bad" brownie mixes, but they remain staunchly fluffy and moist inside. They taste less sweet than other brownie mixes, and taste... why, better! How odd. Since they are priced roughly the same as commercial brownie mixes, I think we'll stick to this one from now on.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Darling and I are working on a comic book together. One of the protagonists will vaguely resemble my favorite artist, Aubrey Beardsley.
♥Pictured, two great books + one amazing DVD collection♥
This one I gifted myself, and recently finished.
"The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective" by K. Summerscale.
This impressively-researched tome is about the murder of a young boy in 1860, as well as the birth of the detective novel/detective in fiction.
About the murder,
"In June of 1860 three-year old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy, his throat viciously cut."
The murderess was his step-sister, Constance Kent, at that time only sixteen years old.
This photograph of her was taken two years before she committed the grisly crime:
Pretty intense stuff, lots of great material. It chills one to the bone to read about the purported motivation behind the killing. It is highly likely Constance's brother, William, aided her in the deed, but the police could never prove a connection.
The book is also about Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher, "the ideal Victorian detective" and the inspiration for many a fictional ones to come later on. I would have bought the book even if it was solely an examination of the origins of the detective genre, but the account of this notorious Victorian crime is an added bonus.
Great read!~☆
I just got this last night: "Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari" by P. Shipman.
It is, as the name implies,
a biography of Mata Hari (1876 - 1917).
I am on Chapter 5 (out of 23) and thus far it is fannnntastic♥ I love the great deal of attention paid to her life prior to becoming Mata Hari. It's some great food for thought for armchair-psychologists like myself.(＾ε＾)
There are some nice photographs inside:
Before she was Mata Hari, she was simply Margaretha Zelle.
Later, one of the most exotic and desired women in all of Europe,
And last, but not least, darling got me the second volume of TCM's pre-code film collection, "Forbidden Hollywood~!"(-^□^-)
Of course, ever since getting Volume One, I have wanted the rest♥
This one is even better value for one's money, with more films and a bonus documentary of pre-code era movie-making.
The films included in this three-disc set are:
☆ "The Divorcee" (1930) with Norma Shearer.
☆ "A Free Soul" (1931) also with Norma Shearer, and Clark Gable.
☆ "Three on a Match" (1932) with Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, and Bette Davis.
☆ "Female" (1933) with Ruth Chatterton.
☆ "Night Nurse" (1931) with Norma Shearer, and again Clark Gable.
☆ "Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin And Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood"(2008)
I have not yet seen all of the films included, but I must say that a) Norma Shearer is simply the epitome of chic in both of her films included and 2) nurse-uniform Norma Shearer and evil-bishounen Clark Gable are beyond swoon-worthy in "Night Nurse"♥♥♥
Jokes aside, there simply do not exist actors like these any longer.
There are no movie stars - just celebrities.
And films - over-all godawful stuff these days.
It's all about the ooh's and aah's, no plot-lines, no acting ability. Ugh.
