TV: The Saint (1967)

Roger Moore always seemed more at ease in this series, now being rerun on BBC America, than he did in the role of James Bond. The plot of yesterday’s episode, Simon Templar versus the Loch Ness Monster, had a certain SCOOBY DOO quality (“And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for that meddling international playboy”), but it was still more plausible than MOONRAKER.

The show is so old-fashioned that it seems cutting edge; nothing but character actors and not a CSI tech in sight. It reminded me of an article I read through Lee Goldberg’s website about the changing nature of TV crime dramas that’s worth checking out.

TV: Boohbah

I can only hope that my future cardiologist is not watching this show.

TV Commercial: Godsend, starring Robert DeNiro

“You think you can just open Pandora’s box and then just close it again?” I just decided to skip this movie just because of that line of dialogue.

TV: TV Land Moguls

Quinn Martin was one person? Whenever I heard that name during the credits of THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, I assumed it was two guys. I suppose the next thing this show will try to tell me is that Efram Zimbalist Junior is one person.

Book: The Big Book of Talking Dirty (2003)

Life may have been rougher back in the mid-sixteenth century, but they certainly knew how to use the language. A hanging was known as “blessing the world with one’s heels.” Here’s a late eighteenth century toast I’m trying to bring back: “Both ends of the busk!” A busk is a corset, so its upper end is at the breasts while its lower end ... is not.

I’d share a few more entries, but this book is positively filthy. You should see the cartoons.

Miscellaneous: Links

The preceding strikes even me as a tad superficial, so let me steer you toward the indispensable Arts & Letters Daily. Plenty to read there, including Mother Jones bagging on bloggers. Also, here’s Lawrence Block’s controversial essay on book signings. It’s irritating a lot of people, which can only be a good thing.