Recommended reading - Golden Age Detective Stories (2021):

Golden Age Detective Stories

Edited by Otto Penzler.

Published by American Mystery Classics.

Published 2021.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1613162162

ISBN-13: 978-1613162163

Description:

"In addition to well-known contributors, such as Ellery Queen and Erle Stanley Gardner, Penzler presents memorable tales from the lesser-known [...] This sampler is an easy gateway to other volumes in this high-quality series." – Publishers Weekly.

"For some readers, the book will be a walk down memory lane, or a way to reconnect with writers they haven’t visited in a while; for others, it’s a wonderful introduction to some new writers―people who not only excelled at mystery fiction, but who also helped create and define the genre. The book belongs on the shelf of any true mystery fan, and in the collection of every library’s mystery section." – Booklist.

"Exemplary." – Kirkus.

The greatest detectives of the Golden Age investigate the most puzzling crimes of the era.

Sometimes, the police aren’t the best suited to solve a crime. Depending on the case, you may find that a retired magician, a schoolteacher, a Broadway producer, or a nun have the necessary skills to suss out a killer. Or, in other cases, a blind veteran, or a publisher, or a hard-drinking attorney, or a mostly-sober attorney… or, indeed, any sort of detective you could think of might be able to best the professionals when it comes to comprehending strange and puzzling murders.

At least, that’s what the authors from the Golden Age of American mystery fiction would have you think. For decades in the middle of the twentieth century, the country’s best-selling authors produced delightful tales in which all types of eccentrics used rarified knowledge to interpret confounding clues. And for even longer, in the decades that have followed, these characters have continued to entertain new audiences with every new generation that discovers them.

Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler selects some of the greatest American short stories from era. With authors including Ellery Queen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Anthony Boucher, this collection is a treat for those who know and love this celebrated period in literary history, and a great introduction to its best writers for the uninitiated. Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.

On this day in movie history - The Survivor (2021):

The Survivor

directed by Barry Levinson,

written by Justine Juel Gillmer,

was released in the United States on April 27, 2022.
Based on the book Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano, by Alan Scott Haft.
Also, the graphic novel The Boxer: The True Story of Holocaust Survivor Harry Haft, by Reinhard Kleist.
Music by Hans Zimmer.

Cast:

Ben Foster, Billy Magnussen, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, Saro Emirze, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Dar Zuzovsky, Laurent Papot, Paul Bates, Svetlana Kundish, Sonya Cullingford, Michael Epp, Erik Contzius, Kingston Vernes, Sophie Knapp, Zachary Golinger, Charles Brice, Scott Alexander Young, John Guerrasio, Pablo Raybould, Amalina Ace, Bálint Magyar, Márk Szekulesz, Aaron Serotsky, Miklós Kapácsy, Andrew Hefler, Kristóf Widder, Patrick McCullough, Peter Linka, Hans Peterson, Katia Bokor, Stephen Saracco, Björn Freiberg, Nikos Brisco, Alan Jouban, Adam Zambryzcki, András Kovács, Gábor Czap, Anthony Molinari, Zsolt Erdei, Zach Anderson, Árpád Antolik, Attila Arpa, Marc Alan Austen, Jeff Burhans, Sandy Burhans, Christian Carrigan, Jim Cleary, Karim Ghajji, Emerson Henley, Roderick Hill, Ken Holmes, Zámbó István, Colton Langan, Perla Middleton, Robert Myers, Cailyn Peddle, Peter Schueller, Marc Schöttner, Ferenc Iván Szabó, Balázs Veres, Conor William Wright, Lauren Yaffe.

On this day in music history - Lord of Light, by Fiona Joy Hawkins (2021):

Lord of Light

Song by Fiona Joy Hawkins,
released March 19, 2021.

On this day in movie history – Violet (2021):

Violet

directed and written by Justine Bateman,

was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the United States on March 18, 2021.
Music by Vum.

Cast:

Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, Justin Theroux, Dennis Boutsikaris, Erica Ash, Zachary Gordon, Todd Stashwick, Bonnie Bedelia, Peter Jacobson, Jim O'Heir, Simon Quarterman, Laura San Giacomo, Rob Benedict, Keith Powers, Cassandra Cardenes, Al Madrigal, Rain Phoenix, Steve Agee, Anne Ramsay, Colleen Camp, Jason Dohring, Jordan Belfi, Federico Dordei, James C. Victor, Matt Ingebretson, Liliana Mijangos, Brooklynn MacKinzie, Jakari Fraser, Mason Wells, Kathleen Wilhoite, Annica Liljeblad, Joe D'Angerio, W. Tré Davis, Erin Cantelo, Jack Nicholls, Antonio Raul Corbo, Nicole Gabriella Scipione.

On this day in music history - The Long Goodbye, by Laura Sullivan (2021):

The Long Goodbye

Instrumental track by Laura Sullivan,
released March 11, 2021.

On this day in movie history - Land (2021):

Land

directed by Robin Wright,

written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam,

was released in the United States on February 12, 2021.
Music by Ben Sollee and Time for Three.

Cast:

Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge, Kim Dickens, Warren Christie, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Brad Leland, Jordan Bullchild, Dave Trimble, Rikki-Lynn Ward, Mia McDonald, Barb Mitchell, Dennis Corrie, Valerie Planche, Laura Yenga, Randolph West, Darin Grisdale, Darren Poirier, Thomas Komarniski, Shawn Loo, Edmund Gee, Maureen Bronner, Matthew Godden, Jordan Gooden, Vattanak Khun, Bud Klasky, Faith Louissaint, Travis Gordon Phillips, Mike Richards, Jill Maria Robinson, Daniel D'Angelo Sparks, Steve Tsang, Travis Willier.

Recommended reading - Street with No Name (2021)

Street with No Name

A History of the Classic American Film Noir

By Andrew Dickos.

Published by The University Press of Kentucky.

Published 2021.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0813152194

ISBN-13: 978-0813152196

Description:

"The best book available on the genre of movies set in the dark, wet streets of the urban US." – Choice.

"A concrete, concise study of noir against an impressive historical vista that brings to light the complex relation between alienation and obsession that makes up these films." – Rain Taxi Review.

"Dickos provides a sharp critical and psychological evaluation of a genre that continues to mutate long after many pronounced it dead." – Shepherd Express.

Andrew Dickos's Street with No Name traces the film noir genre back to its roots in German expressionist cinema and the French cinema of the interwar years. Dickos describes the development of the film noir in America from 1941 through the 1970s and examines how this development expresses a modern cinema. He argues that, in its most satisfying form, the film noir exists as a series of conventions with an iconography and characters of distinctive significance. Featuring stylized lighting and urban settings, these films tell melodramatic narratives involving characters who commit crimes predicated on destructive passions, corruption, and a submission to human weakness and fate.

Unlike other studies of the noir, Street with No Name follows its development in a loosely historical style that associates certain noir directors with those features in their films that helped define the scope of the genre. Dickos examines notable directors such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, and Robert Siodmak. He also charts the genre's influence on such celebrated postwar French filmmakers as Jean-Pierre Melville, Francois Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard.

Addressing the aesthetic, cultural, political, and social concerns depicted in the genre, Street with No Name demonstrates how the film noir generates a highly expressive, raw, and violent mood as it exposes the ambiguities of modern postwar society.

On this day in television history - The Stand (2020–2021):

The Stand

9-episode mini-series.

Directed by Josh Boone, Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy, Chris Fisher, Vincenzo Natali and Tucker Gates.

Written by Stephen King, Josh Boone, Benjamin Cavell, Jill Killington, Owen King, Knate Lee, Eric Dickinson, Taylor Elmore.

Based on the novel by Stephen King.

Released in the United States on December 17, 2020 – February 11, 2021.

Music by Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott.

Cast:

James Marsden, Odessa Young, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Gordon Cormier, Amber Heard, Jovan Adepo, Owen Teague, Irene Bedard, Brad William Henke, Nat Wolff, Henrique Zaga, Greg Kinnear, Nicholas Lea, Eion Bailey, Katherine McNamara, Olivia Cheng, Fiona Dourif, Tarun Keram, Ezra Miller, Gabrielle Rose, Natalie Martinez, Jason Burkart, Paul Jarrett, Mark Gibbon, Sunita Prasad, Seth Whittaker, Hamish Linklater, Kendall Joy Hall, Daniel Sunjata, Cameron McDonald, Luis Javier, J.K. Simmons, Kristy Dawn Dinsmore, Jennifer-Juniper Angeli, Curtiss Cook Jr., Angus Sampson, Heather Graham, Spencer Drever, Reese Alexander, M.J. Kokolis, Primo Allon, Harrison MacDonald, Nyla Alleyne, Clifton Collins Jr., Ariana Nica, Todd Matthews, Isla Crerar, Peter Anderson, Rob McEachern, Troy Mundle, Jagua Arneja, Briar Diallo, Tim Carlson, Tebo Nzeku, Alexis Paige Dixon, Shadi Janho, Bruce Blain, David Parent, Miles Chalmers, Brandyn Eddy, Lisa Chandler, Arkie Kandola, Darren Dolynski, TJ Kayama, Mariessa Portelance, Angela Moore, Joe Costa, Fletcher Donovan, Donald Sales, Liza Huget, Lissa Neptuno, Veena Sood, Kim Kondrashoff, Eddie Flake, Hugo Raymundo, Jesse Stanley, Camden Filtness, Jasmine Lukuku, Mike Wasko, J. Douglas Stewart, Shishy Gebru, Myles McCarthy, Leah Hennessey, Jeremy Jones, Richard Meen, Sean Millington, Jenny Mitchell, Iris Paluly, Luvia Petersen, Lisa Renee Pitts, Michel Issa Rubio, Eric Ruggieri, Carolyn Tinglin, Danny Wattley, Bryan Cranston, Steve Ellis, Stephen King, Mick Garris, Jeremy Angel.

On this day in music history - Home, by Michele McLaughlin (2021):

The album Home,

by Michele McLaughlin,

was released on December 3, 2021.

On this day in music history - Heavenly Voices, by Fiona Joy Hawkins & Rebecca Daniel (2021):

The album Heavenly Voices,

by Fiona Joy Hawkins & Rebecca Daniel,

was released on November 12, 2021.

On this day in movie history - Beat the Devil (2021):

Beat the Devil

directed and written by David Hare,

based on the monologue play by David Hare,

was released in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2021.
Music by George Fenton.

Cast:

Ralph Fiennes.

On this day in music history – Pinky's Blues, by Sue Foley (2021):

The album Pinky's Blues,

by Sue Foley,

was released on October 22, 2021.

On this day in movie history - Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021):

Film: The Living Record of Our Memory

a documentary directed and written by Inés Toharia Terán,

was released at the São Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil on October 21, 2021.
Narrated by Joseph Bohbot.
Music by Robert Marcel Lepage.

Cast:

Ann Adachi-Tasch, Laure Adler, Benjamin Chowkwan Ado, Janice Allen, Tina Anckarman, Peter Bagrov, Peter Becker, Steve Bloom, Margaret Bodde, Joseph Bohbot, Frédéric Bonnaud, Serge Bromberg, Kevin Brownlow, Jared Case, Luciano Castillo, Cecilia Cenciarelli, Te-Ling Chen, Bede Cheng, Paolo Cherchi Usai, Costa-Gavras, Grover Crisp, Rachel del Gaudio, Paula Felix Didier, Bryony Dixon, Dennis Doros, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Ray Edmondson, Lotte Eisner, Awad Eldaw, Dino Everett, Simon Fisher-Turner, Giovanna Fossati, David Francis, Mercedes de la Fuente, Lars Gaustad, Julia Gouin, Todd Gustavson, Sam Gustman, Patricio Guzmán, Mariano Gómez, Amy A. Heller, Jan-Christopher Horak, Anne Hubbell, Rob Hummel, Tessa Idlewine, Andrea Kalas, Ahmad Kiarostami, Anthony L'Abbate, Emmanuel Lefrant, Emily Leproust, Josef Lindner, Ken Loach, Patrick Loughney, Frédéric Maire, Ben Mankiewicz, Laurent Mannoni, Juan Mariné, Mike Mashon, Bob Mastronardi, Brian Meacham, Jonas Mekas, Bill Morrison, Jan Müller, Lourdes Odriozola, Hisashi Okajima, Maung Okkar, Bono Olgado, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Michael Pogorzelski, John Polito, Chema Prado, Rick Prelinger, Daniel Pérez, Javier Rellán, Nicolas Rey, Esteve Riambau, Ramón Rubio, Celine Ruivo, Aboubakar Sanogo, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Deborah Stoiber, Jeffrey Stoiber, Rob Stone, Vittorio Storaro, Ed Stratmann, Dan Streible, Linda Tadic, Mark Toscano, Katie Trainor, Fernando Trueba, Iván Trujillo, Benjamin Tucker, Chalida Uabumrungjit, Patricia Ubeda, Ernst van Velzen, Wim Wenders, Geo. Willeman, Adrian Wood, Caroline Yeager, Ishumael Zinyengere.

On this day in music history - Desert Suite, by Greg Maroney & Sherry Finzer (2021):

The album Desert Suite,

by Greg Maroney & Sherry Finzer,

was released on October 15, 2021.

On this day in movie history - Warning (2021):

Warning

directed by Agata Alexander,

written by Agata Alexander, Rob Michaelson and Jason Kaye,

was released at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain on October 13, 2021.

Music by Gregory Tripi.

Cast:

Thomas Jane, Tomasz Kot, Toni Garrn, Rupert Everett, Przemyslaw Wyszynski, Alice Eve, James D'Arcy, Aleksandra Zagrodzka, Billy Howerdel, Kylie Bunbury, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jakub Wypler, Annabelle Wallis, Alex Pettyfer, Annabel Mullion, Richard Pettyfer, Garance Marillier, Izabela Kuna, Izabela Perez, Sebastian Perdek, Karolina Adamczyk, Benedict Samuel, Blu Mantic, Olga Boladz, Alma Asuai, Charlotte Le Bon, Janina Pruszkowska, Piotr Polak, Stephen Mao, Cybill Lui Eppich.

On this day in music history: Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, by Renée Fleming and Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2021):

The album Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene,

by Renée Fleming and Yannick Nézet-Séguin,

was released on October 8, 2021.

On this day in music history: Tempting Fate, by Carolyn Wonderland (2021):

The album Tempting Fate,

by Carolyn Wonderland,

was released on October 8, 2021.

On this day in music history - Sol Novo, by Olivia Belli (2021):

The album Sol Novo,

by Olivia Belli,

was released on October 1, 2021.

On this day in movie history - Old Henry (2021):

Old Henry

directed and written by Potsy Ponciroli,

was released in the United States on October 1, 2021.
Music by Jordan Lehning.

Cast:

Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Haze, Gavin Lewis, Trace Adkins, Stephen Dorff, Richard Speight Jr., Max Arciniega, Brad Carter, Kent Shelton.