The Fate of Katherine Carr

The Fate of Katherine Carr is a 2009 mystery by Thomas H. Cook, whose Edgar Award-winning book The Chatham School Affair I read and enjoyed years ago. This is a compelling book. It's not an easy read, but it is absolutely impossible to put it down. It requires attention but rewards it with a story that won't let go.

from the back of the book:

A travel writer becomes obsessed by a strange story written twenty years earlier by a woman who disappeared without a trace, in the latest from the highly acclaimed Thomas Cook.

"Missing Persons," I said. "Did you like that work?"

Arlo's voice suddenly took on a quality I couldn't quite decipher: part gravity, part wistfulness, a nostalgia for the dark. "It's a strange kind of mystery, a missing person. Until that person's found, of course."

The memory of what I'd identified as Teddy flamed up inside me. I doused it with a gulp of scotch. "You must have a few interesting stories," I said.

Arlo nodded.

"Is there one that sticks out?"

"Yeah, there's one." Arlo seemed to sense that my gloomy solitariness was not impenetrable and slid into the booth across from me. "Her name was Katherine Carr."

Reviewing the Evidence says, "Thomas H. Cook knows how to do it and he does it well" and concludes,

Thomas H. Cook is a master storyteller, and this book is one of his best. It is not one that can be easily dismissed. It stays with you till the last page. You will want to know who Katherine Carr is and you will want to know what happened till the very end. THE FATE OF KATHERINE CARR is a powerful work from an outstanding author.

The Guardian calls it "intriguing". Kirkus Reviews has a positive review. The Telegraph says, "this lovely novel leaves you feeling a wiser person even while refusing to answer most of your questions." Publishers Weekly says Cook is "Adept at merging past and present plot lines". January Magazine has an interview with the author.

The River, by John Seyfried

The River

by John Seyfried

1976

steel

This sculpture is on North Main Street in Downtown Memphis. There's a brochure which includes this work here.

The Pie Folks

The Daughter and I were looking for dessert one day, and her google search yielded The Pie Folks as having the best pie in the area. We decided to check it out to see. It's located in Germantown, a Memphis suburb, and wasn't a long drive. It was easy to find and easy to get to.

The Daughter had a chocolate/peanut butter pie, and I had the award-winning strawberry:

We both had coffee. This pie was wonderful! It doesn't surprise me to hear that they've won awards. We'll definitely go back. I want to try the coconut. They have a limited lunch menu available only during lunch time (11-2, maybe?). They also sell cupcakes.

Here's a shot of the inside:

We sat at a table next to a window. The staff was cheerful and friendly, as were other customers who came and went while we were there.

The I Love Memphis blog has a positive review. Yelp gives it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Urban Spoon has a score of 83%. Trip Advisor gives it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Join the fun at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday link-up.

Systematic Collapse

Systematic Collapse (via Memphis Flyer):

by Stephen Chopek, who has recently relocated to Memphis. He has a Facebook page here.

Petit Jean State Park

We spent almost all of this past week at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas, and I wish I had a better camera and was a better photographer because that shot above is the first picture I took. Stunning views! This was taken from the breezeway between the welcome/registration building and the building where the rooms are. There are cabins and a campground, but we stayed in one of the lodge rooms:

The room was very small, but we weren't planning on spending much time there -did I mention the views? These are pictures taken on the drive up to the lodge:

and this is what you see as you go towards the rooms from the parking lot:

We ate several meals in the lodge restaurant, and this was the view from the tables:

There are people on that rock outcropping in the picture directly above. We never did figure out how they got there, but we had fun watching them and trying to get a photo that would show them.

They keep the hummingbirds well fed:

The park has an interesting history. It was the first state park in Arkansas, being formed in 1923. Mather Lodge is named for the first director of the National Park Service, who was the director at the time of the land's acceptance as a state park.

The Civilian Conservation Corps did work there from 1933-1938.

Several structures they built (including the lodge) are still in use. Some structures from the era are still there but no longer in use. This is the original water tower:

and a fireplace from the time:

Here's that view from the lodge again taken at a different time of day:

I just couldn't get enough of it! I walked a few trails, and I'll give each one of those a separate post. We had a wonderful time!

Grate 42

The Daughter and I think Memphis must be a hotbed of people who understand the value of knowing and sharing The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, because we see 42s a lot here but never when we go out of town. We saw the one pictured above on a grate on a sidewalk on Front Street downtown.

The Walking Dead (1936)

The Walking Dead is a 1936 horror/revenge film directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), and starring Boris Karlof and Edmund Gwynne (much better known as Kris Kringle in the original Miracle on 34th Street). This is a good mix of horror/crime/noir and well worth watching.

via Daily Motion:

The Walking Dead (1936) by MargaliMorwentari

1000 Misspent Hours says it's "noteworthy not just for its pioneer status, but for its successful execution of that most difficult of tricks, the melding of two genres which offer no guiding precedent for how they might be combined" and says, "What it offers ... is a seamless fusion of gritty crime drama and thoughtful, sci-fi influenced horror." DVD Beaver says Karlof gives an "outstanding performance". DVD Talk gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "All give good performances and the picture is tautly directed boasting especially effective, stylized lighting."

Mistler's Exit

Mistler's Exit is a 1998 novel by Louis Begley. I didn't like this main character at all, but I enjoyed the book. It's an interesting look at a man coming to terms with his life.

from the back of the book:

A self-made New Yorker well into his middle age, Thomas Mistler has long been a lion of Madison Avenue's powerful advertising world. Now, poised to sell his company for a luxurious sum, Mistler receives alarming news: He has only months to live. But his reaction is not what one would expect. Rather than hysteria, Mistler experiences a sense of clarity and a feeling of being set free. From what, he is unsure. In a decision that breaks the mold of his superbly organized routine, Mistler conceals his illness from his family and seeks a moment of grace to be savored alone in the decadent splendor of Venice. There, he meets a young, lustful photographer and, later, a love from his youth. But his attempts to recapture passion only magnify the reconciliations he has yet to make -with the father to whom he sacrificed his own dreams, the son with whom he has never truly been at ease, and the wife to whom he has given everything but respect.

A startling blend of grace and satire, Mistler's Exit is charged with unexpected moments of beauty and eroticism, pathos and humor. Like the city of Venice itself, it is a creation of timeless appeal.

favorite quotes:

Running a very large business had taught Mistler that decisions on most matters can and should be postponed.

...

Can there be greater pain than remembrance of past sorrow in present misery?

...

If a man such as he, integer vitae scelerisque purus, accustomed to pleasure, has an ugly death, need it be said that he has not had a happy life? For the moment, Mistler inclined to think the opposite. The stuff about not knowing until nightfall whether the day had been beautiful was clever twaddle. You took the day hour by hour and a life day by day. Why should the final passage be all that counts?

The main character explores and comes back to a painting by Titian of The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence:

The New York Times closes by saying, "... the theme of self-deception at the end of life -- when everyman as playwright/audience is pushed to his limit -- may be the supreme test for a novelist with this of all obsessions. Mistler's Exit meets the test, bringing an estimable set of novels to a new pinnacle of darkness." Kirkus Reviews describes it as "The chronicling of a patrician life from the inside". Publishers Weekly ends its review with this: "Begley displays the bitter moral intelligence, the fear of emptiness, that has distinguished his late, extraordinary career from the start. Once again he has created a sinister, highly ambiguous protagonist in a haunting, ambivalent work of art." EW says, "There is a compellingly austere, cut-glass clarity to the book".

Muse

Muse

by John McIntire

1976

concrete

This is located on North Main Street in Downtown Memphis.

Queen Mab, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I don't care for poetry. We'll just get that out there right away. I avoid reading it and always have. There are some exceptions. For example, I like some kinds of epic poetry.

I also like Little Willie poems:

Willie poisoned his father’s tea;
Father died in agony.
Mother came, and looked quite vexed:
“Really, Will,” she said, “what next?!”

I've always enjoyed Nursery rhymes:

Molly, my sister, and I fell out,
And what do you think it was all about?

She loved coffee, and I loved tea,
And that was the reason we couldn't agree!

I get a kick out of comic narratives in verse form (and I hope you're noticing all these tea references):

JIM, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion -by Hillaire Belloc

There was a boy whose name was Jim
His friends were very good to him
They gave him tea and cakes and jam
And slices of delicious ham
And chocolate with pink inside
And little tricycles to ride
They read him stories through and through
And even took him to the zoo
But there it was the awful fate
Befell him, which I now relate.

You know (at least you ought to know
For I have often told you so)
That children never are allowed
To leave their nurses in a crowd
Now this was Jim's especial foible
He ran away when he was able
And on this inauspicious day
He slipped his hand and ran away.

He hadn't gone a yard when BANG
With open jaws a lion sprang
And hungrily began to eat
The boy, beginning at his feet
Now just imagine how it feels
When first your toes and then your heels
And then by varying degrees
Your shins and ankles, calves and knees
Are slowly eaten bit by bit
No wonder Jim detested it.

No wonder that he shouted "Ai"
The honest keeper heard his cry
Though very fat, he almost ran
To help the little gentleman
"Ponto," he ordered as he came
For Ponto was the lion's name
"Ponto," he said with angry frown
"Down sir, let go, put it down!"

The lion made a sudden stop
He let the dainty morsel drop
And slunk reluctant to his cage
Snarling with disappointed rage
But when he bent him over, Jim
The honest keeper's eyes grew dim
The lion having reached his head
The miserable boy was dead.

When nurse informed his parents they
Were more concerned than I can say
His mother as she dried her eyes
Said "It gives me no surprise
He would not do as he was told."
His father who was self-controlled
Bade all the children round attend
To James's miserable end.
And always keep ahold of nurse
For fear of finding something worse.

But here's Queen Mab, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, finding its way into my reading queue somehow. Actually, I know exactly how: I've been working on the Read Harder Book Challenge, and the first challenge listed was "A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25". Queen Mab not only fits the bill but is available free online. I love not having to buy books to meet reading challenges.

It's true that I'm much more likely to stop and read something I run across online than I'd ever be to seek it out and buy it. Especially poetry. Which I don't care for. As I may have mentioned.

Published in 1813, it was his first large poetic work and was written when he was 21. This is from the first of nine sections:

Behold the chariot of the Fairy Queen!
Celestial coursers paw the unyielding air;
Their filmy pennons at her word they furl,
And stop obedient to the reins of light;
These the Queen of Spells drew in;
She spread a charm around the spot,
And, leaning graceful from the ethereal car,
Long did she gaze, and silently,
Upon the slumbering maid.

Oh! not the visioned poet in his dreams,
When silvery clouds float through the wildered brain,
When every sight of lovely, wild and grand
Astonishes, enraptures, elevates,
When fancy at a glance combines
The wondrous and the beautiful,-
So bright, so fair, so wild a shape
Hath ever yet beheld,
As that which reined the coursers of the air
And poured the magic of her gaze
Upon the maiden’s sleep.

from section three:

‘Fairy!’ the Spirit said,
And on the Queen of Spells
Fixed her ethereal eyes,
'I thank thee. Thou hast given
A boon which I will not resign, and taught
A lesson not to be unlearned. I know
The past, and thence I will essay to glean
A warning for the future, so that man
May profit by his errors and derive
Experience from his folly;
For, when the power of imparting joy
Is equal to the will, the human soul
Requires no other heaven.’

It hasn't converted me to a general love of poetry, of course, and it seems a bit preachy. You can read it online for yourself. Most people like poetry, after all, so the chance that others will like this one are good. I did drink a cuppa tea while I read. I looked for a cup that would be suitable, fitting the mood of a poem featuring a fairy queen:

This post has been composed in advance and scheduled to post today. I am away from my computer and unable to link to the T(ea) gathering or to visit. If you happen across this post, please pour yourself a drink and go see what's going on at the T(ea) Party going on over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.

Soul Man

Soul Man (1967):



written by Memphians Isaac Hayes and David Porter and sung here by Sam and Dave, who recorded it at Stax Records here in Memphis.

Lyrics:

I'm coming to you, on a dusty road
Good loving, got a truck load
When you get it, you got something
So don't worry, 'cause I'm coming

Chorus:
I'm a soul man
I'm a soul man
I'm a soul man
I'm a soul man

That ain't all

Got what I got, the hard way
And I'll make it better, each and every day
So honey, don't you fret
Cause you ain't seen nothing yet

[Chorus]

I was brought up on a side street, look!
I learned how to love before I could eat
Educated, of good stock
But when I start lovin' I can't stop

[Chorus]

Well grab the rope,
And I'll pull you in
Give you hope,
And be your only boyfriend yeah yeah yeah yeah

[Chorus]

I Have Been to the Mountaintop Memorial

Dedicated April 4, 1977
Sculptor Richard Hunt
The Monumental Movement For The People Of Memphis A Tribute To The Memory Of The Late, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Born January 15, 1929 Died April 4, 1968

This tribute is located on North Main Street in Downtown Memphis. There is a description here.

The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946)

The Diary of a Chambermaid is a 1946 Jean Renoir film starring Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith, Reginald Owen, [later Dame] Judith Anderson, Irene Ryan, Hurd Hatfield, & Francis Lederer. I enjoyed this. Great characters, and interesting plot and a good balance between the main plot and the sub plots involving the minor characters. Definitely re-watchable.

via Youtube:

Slant Magazine has a positive review. DVD Talk says it "is far from Jean Renoir's best, to be sure, but it's still a Jean Renoir picture and thus still has enough going on to make it worthwhile." TCM has an overview.

I Eat Your Skin

I Eat Your Skin is a 1964 horror film. This one has a tropical island, zombies, voodoo, a mad scientist seeking a way to reverse the aging process, and the obligatory women to provide someone for the male characters to patronize and preen for.

1000 Misspent Hours gives it -2 1/2 stars ("So bad it’s pretty good") and says, "Hiding deep inside these 82 minutes of concentrated foolishness is a pretty decent little voodoo movie, and every once in a while, I Eat Your Skin will make a momentary effort to become the film it might have been." Stomp Tokyo says, "This film goes beyond disposable into the utterly forgettable; there was a reason it wasn't released for seven years". DVD Verdict calls it a "rather lame voodoo fright flick".

The Electric Church

The Electric Church is a 2007 science fiction book by Jeff Somers. First in a series I'd somehow never heard of, I can see many happy hours of reading ahead as I pick up the others. You can read an excerpt here.

from the back of the book:

Avery Cates is a very bad man. Some might call him a criminal. He might even be a killer —for the Right Price. But right now, Avery Cates is scared. He's up against the Monks: cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and a small arsenal of advanced weaponry. Their mission is to convert anyone and everyone to the Electric Church. But there is just one snag: Conversion means death.

SF Signal has a glowing review and calls it "A first-rate piece of science fiction entertainment." The SF Site review says, "Somers writes with assurance and style. This is fun, cyberpunky noir SF with just the right mix of fatalism and attitude, seasoned with plenty of bullets and black comedy." SF Revu highly recommends it saying, "The entire effort is well done and an excellent melding of form and style."

The Sterick Building

image from Wikipedia

The Sterick Building -"the Queen of Memphis"- is an abandoned 29-story office building in downtown Memphis. It opened in 1930 and at the time was the tallest building in the South. It's still one of the tallest around, being the 5th tallest in Memphis today. It's said to be the tallest empty building in the state, vacant since the 1980s. It is currently boarded up and accessible publicly only to urban explorers willing to trespass illegally. That lets me out.

Wikipedia says that it it:

featured a white stone spire topped with a green tile roof; its own bank, pharmacy, barber shop and beauty parlor; and stockbrokers' offices. The first three floors were made from granite and limestone. From the lobby, which was said to “rival[s] the beauty of a Moorish castle,” its eight high-speed elevators ferried the building's 2,000+ workers and guests to the upper floors, including the Regency Room restaurant on the top floor

The Memphis Flyer "Ask Vance" column notes "... a cluster of chandeliers cost more than $1,000 each." Wow!

It's in an odd legal position, as the building is not owned by the same people who own the land under it. The land is on a 99-year lease and is owned by the Grosvenor family. The building itself is owned by a group in Atlanta. The land lease expires in 2028 (or 2025 depending on which website you believe). I've read somewhere that ownership of the building will revert to the land owners at that time and that redevelopment before then would be highly unlikely because of that.

from Wikipedia:

The original lease of land for the property, dating from the late 1920s, required the $1,500 monthly payment to be paid in gold coin “of standard weight and fineness or its equivalent.” An unsuccessful 1975 lawsuit by the land owners sought to recalculate the rent at the then-current price of gold, or roughly $13,500 per month.

When The Daughter and I were downtown recently, she took this photo of the exterior from across the street on the southwest side:

I got some photos of the murals painted on the boards covering the ground floor windows:

This building is such a treasure and such an important part of the skyline that I hope redevelopment efforts will be successful once the ownership issues are resolved. If the Chisca Hotel property and Sears Crosstown can be successful, then surely there's hope for The Queen of Memphis.

Las Delicias Patio

There are two locations for this locally-owned Mexican Restaurant Las Delicias, and we've always eaten at the other one. This one has a patio, though, so we gave it a go recently and loved it. You can see the menu online.

I had my favorite chicken quesadilla and a boring Coke:

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant, and it's nice to see we can get the same great food and decent service at either location.

I'm linking to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Stands for Tuesday party, where diversity in T-related posts is encouraged.

Wang Dang Doodle

Wang Dang Doodle:

written by Willie Dixon and sung here by Koko Taylor, who was born here in Shelby County. She was 80 when she died on June 3, 2009, after complications following surgery. Dixon joins her on the vocals.

Lyrics excerpt:

Tell fats and washboard sam
That everybody's gonna jam
Just shake it boxcar joe
We got sawdust on the floor
Tell chicken head till I die
We're gonna have a time
When the fish head fills the air
Be snuff juice everywhere
We're gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long

House by the River

House by the River is a 1950 film noir directed by Fritz Lang and starring Jane Wyatt (who was Spock's mother in Star Trek: TOS), Howland Chamberland (who had his debut in The Best Years of Their Lives, had an uncredited but memorable role in High Noon and then was blacklisted for 25 years by the House Un-American Activities Committee), Peter Brocco (who also has a role in the original Star Trek series) and Kathleen Freeman (who had a very busy career from 1948-2001). I had never heard of this until I ran across it on Youtube, but it is worth watching. The acting is good, the plot moves steadily with gradually increasing tension... and that river! That sinister river!

trailer:

Slant Magazine gives it 3 out of 4 stars. Senses of Cinema says, "it marshals its limited resources to create a rich and pervasive atmosphere of decay and corruption" and "The film is seldom screened, and any chance to see it should not be missed." DVD Talk says, "this will mostly appeal to people who are already fans of Lang's films." Noir of the Week calls it a "buried jewel" and calls it "a pitch black gothic noir that though modestly budgeted and featuring low-wattage star-power, succeeds on nearly all levels". Rotten Tomatoes has a 62% critics score.

The Pleasure Garden

The Pleasure Garden is a 1925 silent film, Alfred Hitchcock's first film as director. It is about the lives and loves of 2 chorus girls. I'm finding it interesting to see the efforts of major directors before they became major, and it's fun to see elements that appear in later films. There's a spiral staircase in the opening scene, for example, and the Hitchcock blond is featured.

via Youtube:

The Guardian has an article on the history and restoration of the film. SilentFilm.org says, "The Pleasure Garden is a treatise on voyeurism, sexual politics and the gap between romantic dreams and reality." DVD Beaver has some stills.