Born on this day – Thomas Hardy:

Thomas Hardy

Writer

June 2, 1840 – January 11, 1928

Credits:

Books:

A Laodicean (1881); A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873); Desperate Remedies (1871); Far From the Madding Crowd (1874); Fathers: A Literary Anthology (2011); Jude the Obscure (1895); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891); The Hand of Ethelberta (1876); The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886); The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992); The Return of the Native (1878); The Trumpet-Major (1880); The Well-Beloved (1892); The Withered Arm (1888); The Woodlanders (1887); Two on a Tower (1882); Under the Greenwood Tree (1872); Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages (2022); War: An Anthology (1969); World War One British Poets: Brooke, Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg and Others (1997); Writers: Their Lives and Works (2018).

Movies and television:

2nd House (1975); Actor's Studio (1949); And There Was a Great Calm (2017); Boston Blackie (1952–1953); Cheongchun mujeong (1970); Daags na de kermis (1974); Day Out (1985); Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967); Exploits at West Poley (1985); Far from the Madding Crowd (1915 / 1967 / 1998 / 2015); General Electric Theater (1956); Hora once (1970); ITV Play of the Week (1960); Jude (1996); Jude the Obscure (1971); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1959); Man Ki Jeet (1944); Romina (1980); Screen Two (1995); Tajemství dáblovy kapsy (1980); Tess (1979); Tess d'Urberville (1959); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1913 / 1924 / 1952 / 1998 / 2008); The Claim (2000); The Day After the Fair (1986); The Distracted Preacher (1969); The Greenwood Tree (1929); The Mayor of Casterbridge (1921 / 1978 / 2003); The Return of the Native (1994 / 2010); The Scarlet Tunic (1998); The Secret Cave (1953); The Sunday Programme (2002); The Unforeseen (1958); The Woodlanders (1970 / 1997); Thomas Hardy: Fate, Exclusion & Tragedy (2021); Thomas Hardy's the Three Strangers (2014); Trishna (2011); Una romantica avventura (1940); Under the Greenwood Tree (2005); Wessex Tales (1973); Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021); Your Favorite Story (1953).

Recommended reading - The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938):

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

aka The Smell of Murder

By S.S. Van Dine.

Filmed as The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939), directed by Alfred E. Green.

Published by Felony & Mayhem Press.

First published 1938.

ISBN-10: 1631942069

ISBN-13: 9781631942068

Description:

“Mr. Van Dine’s amateur detective is the most gentlemanly, and probably the most scholarly snooper in literature.”

– Chicago Daily Tribune.

Gracie Allen breaks the Philo Phormula in a number of ways. First is its title: this is the only book in the series to modify “Murder Case” with more than one word, much less with the name of a character. And then there’s that character: Gracie Allen was a very real, much-loved comedienne in the 1930s, famous for her double act with George Burns, and in fact the plot revolves around her. Gracie’s centrality is no accident: Van Dine wrote the story as a vehicle for Allen, and actually created the novel only after the film had come out. So, do all these departures pay off? We’d be lying if we said that Gracie hits every single mark, but Van Dine does a surprisingly entertaining job of translating Ms. Allen’s delicious Ditzy Blonde persona to the page, and she makes a charming foil for Philo’s evergreen erudition.

Francine Prose, on reading:

With so much reading ahead of you, the temptation might be to speed up.

But in fact it’s essential to slow down and read every word.

Because one important thing that can be learned by reading slowly is the seemingly obvious but oddly underappreciated fact that language is the medium we use in much the same way a composer uses notes, the way a painter uses paint.

I realize it may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how easily we lose sight of the fact that words are the raw material out of which literature is crafted.

– Francine Prose.

On this day in music history - Chromatones, by Darlene Koldenhoven (2018):

Chromatones

Album by Darlene Koldenhoven,
released June 1, 2018.

Track list:

Golden Dawn; Mourning Doves; Red Savannah; Swans on the Seine; Terra Affirma; Native Bloom; Vibrant Worlds; Chromatones; Prism of Time; Painted Desert; Waltzing in Planetary Time.

On this day in television history - Justified (2010):

Justified

Season 1. Episode 12.
Episode entitled: Fathers and Sons.
Released June 1, 2010.
Directed by Michael Katleman.
Written by Graham Yost, Fred Golan, Dave Andron, Wendy Calhoun and Chris Provenzano.
Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.
Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Raymond J. Barry, Alexandra Barreto, Jordi Caballero, Mo Gaffney, M.C. Gainey, Linda Gehringer, Rick Gomez, William Ragsdale, David Meunier, Ray Porter, Omar Avila, Joshua Bitton, Pat Skipper, Walton Goggins, Lizabeth Allen, John Lee Ames, Ezra Buzzington, Chris Gorbos, Tommy Savas, Ronnie Steadman, Sarah Baldwin, Bill Blair, Matt Leonard.

On this day in music history - Piano Solos, by Laura Sullivan (2003):

Piano Solos

Album by Laura Sullivan,
released June 1, 2003.

Track list:

Hope for the Sun; Dreaming Underwater; Selling Water by the River; Lullaby Wind; Sleepwalking (On a Tightrope); Claire De Lune; Calls to Spirit; Brave Mourning; Of Land & Sea, Of Mortal & Divine; The Voyage Home; In Last Hours.

On this day in movie history - Easy Money (2000):

Easy Money

French title: Argent content,

directed by Philippe Dussol,

was released in France on May 31, 2001.
18-minute short movie, filmed in color and black and white.
Written by Philippe Dussol and Mathias Pothier.

Cast:

Anne Charrier, Fred Dussol, Philippe Dussol.