Weekly readers, we know the secret envy you have in your hearts for our glamorous lifestyles: our ridiculously high salaries, gold-plated furniture, the scantily clad models all around the office and the free open bar to keep our creative juices flowing. Well, far be it from us to let you stew. We're giving you the chance to play Weekly reporter yourself! Simply cut out the handy press pass below and take it with you to author Anne Perry's talk, along with these "suggested" questions to ask from Perry's very own publicist. In no time at all, you'll be hobnobbing with Steve Wynn and hot-tubbing with Robin Leach.
We tend to think of terrorism as a very contemporary phenomenon. But in Long Spoon Lane, your very vivid backdrop is actual terrorist activity in 1890s London. What compelled you to dramatize these particular events?
How would you characterize the volatile political climate in London at that time, circa 1893?
In Long Spoon Lane, how closely did you adhere to specific events of public anarchy that occurred in that time period? For one example, was there a factual basis for the opening of the novel—the gun battle that culminates in Long Spoon Lane? And which incidents that you describe are pure fiction?
What parallels might be drawn between the events in your novel and the international political unrest of today? What special research was required on your part?
With two successful series already, why did you decide to start a new series set during World War I?
How is the World War I era different from the Victorian period?
Anne Perry
Talk and book-signing
Where: Clark County Library
When: 2 p.m. April 17
Price: Free
Info: 507-3459
DVDs |
Zero Day (NR) (3 stars)
$26.95
In the wake of Columbine and the recent slaughter on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, any film attempting to describe what makes teen killers tick will seem exploitative, especially if those teens are portrayed as being personable and intelligent. Zero Day is the video diary of best friends who spend months planning their "big-ass mission" at their high school. Andre and Cal seem to be normal, if unexceptional teens with all the usual axes to grind about their mistreatment at the hands of bullies and jocks. But that's what makes Zero Day so absolutely stunning and scary.
Suspect Zero (R) (2 stars)
$29.99
The pedigree of this overwrought thriller about a hunt for a serial killer who kills serial killers is far more intriguing than anything that actually made it to the screen. It was directed by E. Elias Merhige (Shadow of the Vampire), written by Zak Penn (Last Action Hero) and Billy Ray (Shattered Glass), produced by Paula Wagner (Mission: Impossible) and, at one time, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck were said to be interested. Despite the best intentions of Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss and Aaron Eckhart, this rarely chilling and thoroughly cliché-ridden movie became a piñata for critics. That said, it plays a lot better on DVD than it did on the big screen.
Dig! (R) (4 stars)
$24.98
Ondi Timoner, director of this cautionary rockumentary, may be one of the luckiest filmmakers on the planet. Ten years ago, when Timoner began her documentation of the divergent paths taken by Portland's Dandy Warhols and San Francisco's Brian Jonestown Massacre, she couldn't possibly have imagined how many rock clichés and psycho-dramas would play out before her eyes. Typically, though, it's the high-octane egos of once-friendly rivals Courtney Taylor and Anton Newcombe that fuel the intrigue and nonsense revealed in Dig!
The Peanut Butter & Jelly Critic |
This month's shipment features Sweet Molasses Peanut Butter and Cheri's Desert Harvest Jelly, made from prickly pears (that's the fruit of the cactus). The Molasses Peanut Butter is sweet but not too sweet, and combined with the slightly tart prickly-pear jelly, makes for a sandwich that tastes like candy. You might not want to eat it every day, but for special occasions, this is a tasty and appealing combination. (3.5 stars)
For more information:
www.lovepbj.com.