Saturday

Let’s hope this is a good sign, headline from foxnews.com: “Children of Russian elites are taking a stand against war in Ukraine.”

Also from FN: “Russian oligarch yachts, luxury coastal properties seized by Italy.” Bravo!

RIP actor/comedian Johnny Brown, 84. There are 56 titles under his name at IMDb in a career that spanned 1966–2013. That number doesn’t tell the full story, as he did 58 episodes alone of Good Times and 52 of Laugh-In. He also did voice-overs for Alvin and the Chipmunks and Plastic Man. Always a positive, sunny presence, he did impressions, stage work and cut some music albums. He appeared on talk, variety and game shows. Well done, sir. Thank you.

RIP actor Mitchell Ryan, 88, a constant presence on TV in a career spanning 1958 to the present, his final work to be released posthumously. There are 136 titles under his name at IMDb. As with Johnny Brown, that number merely scratches the surface. He was in 107 episodes alone of Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse, 119 of Dharma and Greg and 36 of the Santa Barbara soap opera. He made at least six appearances on several other prime time shows, including several series that were cancelled in their first season. Here are several significant films in which he had a role: Monte Walsh (1970), High Plains Drifter (1973), Magnum Force (1973), Lethal Weapon (1987), Judge Dredd (1995) and Liar Liar (1997). Great run, sir. Thank you.

After almost a two-week wait, The Green Knight (2021) arrived from Netflix. Unfortunately, I experienced one of those nights when nodding off prevailed, so it wouldn’t be fair to comment on the movie. One aspect did catch my attention, the color schemes in those parts where darkness did not prevail. The narrative’s focus is Sir Gawain, nephew of King Arthur, who takes on the titular character. 83,000+ folks at IMDb have rated The Green Knight, forging to a consensus of 6.6 on a scale of ten. Despite the pandemic, it was profitable, returning almost $19 million on a budget of a bit more than $17 million. Add DVD sales, rentals and streaming, and it’s a success in these trying times. From what I saw, I doubt I’ll go back to it down the line. Maybe if it ever airs on TV.

Although the temperature was higher, it was still cold, as the sun was obscured. Still, it was fun setting up shop curbside. My thanks to the gentleman who bought 14 works of science fiction in Russian, and to the sweet elderly woman who did her customary weekend swap and buy of titles in that language; and to the young man who took home five thrillers: Live To Tell by Wendi Corsi Staub, Viral by Robin Cook, Highgate Rise by Anne Perry, Charm School by Nelson DeMille and Tom Clancy Firing Point (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel) by Mike Maden; and to Mr. Conspiracy, aka Steve, who was responsible for the most satisfying sale of the session: Construction Superintendent’s Operating Manual; and to whoever purchased Curious Sicilian at Amazon.

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