The Introverted Detective

 Again, we are back to more film reviews. I have two more left from the 1920s. Stay tuned for those. Today we have The General from 1926, a Buster Keaton film.  moviehousememories.com I know that many of my reviews are already overwhelmingly positive toward Buster Keaton. This is no exception. The main plot of our film is Johnnie Gray and his love for his train (named General) and his love interest, who only had eyes for a soldier at the beginning of the film. This is set in the south, so the south army is actually the side we root for in this film. If you hate that, pass on the film, but it isn't really the point of the film. The train gets taken by the north, along with the love interest who went into her trunk while it was on the train. Johnnie was told no by recruiters and the love interest was lied to. Her family told her he never got in line, but that was a lie. When the train is taken he goes after it, naturally, and ends up saving the love interest from the northern so...

 Round four has begun. I'm nearly through the pile and I'm tempted to finish it off in this blog. We'll see if I can. Here's to cleaning my shelves and finding the diamonds in the rough! Courtesy of Casper As usual, here are the rules.  1. I pick up a book at random from the pile.  2. I read at least 5 chapters.  3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it.  4. I review it.  The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog. If I DNF two in a row, I pick five. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward!  Murder Among Us by Ann Granger Courtesy of amazon.fr It started out pretty good, but not overly compelling. I'm trying to make sure I don't waste time on books I don't love. If that previous sentence sounds harsh, well, welcome to bookshelf cleaning. I have a whole pile to get through. Let's not waste time reading books I'm not compel...

 Molly Stark Sanatorium is a historical landmark in Louisville, Ohio. It may not be around for as long as you think, so I figured a nice history on the place would be worth posting. I'm not dwelling on whether it is haunted or not, because I know it is - from people who went in and from law enforcement who used to have offices in the building. Let's dive into the history.  Courtesy of architecturalafterlife.com What I know of Molly Stark is not good. Let me dump it all here, just so you know my starting point. My Great Grandfather came here for Tuberculosis and never discussed his experiences. One of my extended family (according to my mother) worked there briefly, noting that the vibe was not positive and that several people had been in comas for years in the building. On top of all that, I worked with and made friends with many people who went in (well, snuck in) and can prove it is haunted. Even law enforcement, who briefly had offices there, can confirm it is haunted. I wo...

 Oh boy, I don't know how to describe this one in words, but I can describe it in laughter. Let's talk about the controversial film The Flesh and The Devil, from 1926. It starred Greta Garbo and it was something else.  Courtesy of Fanpop I didn't know I could laugh this hard at a drama. I could see all the plot twists coming a mile away. I was right on the money with each one. This film had kissing and making out in it, which is controversial for 1926. I call it comedy, really, and it's so bad it's good. Watch this for a good laugh at a melodramatic film.  Plot? Right, let's get into it. It comes down to two best friends and starts with introducing their close, blood-brothered friendship. It establishes that they came back from the military in Germany (not Nazis, I promise). Leo (mustache) and Ulrich (clean-shaven) come home via the train. Leo has the bad luck to run into a woman (Felicitas) who is a serial cheater. He ends up getting caught with her, challenged...

 The more I promote my book, the more weird people show up in my DMs. Cold messaging out of the blue is not uncommon for book promoters with legitimate services, but scammers have the same behavior, which is annoying. Let's talk about what to do about all this, and how we can play detective to avoid giving our information to predators and scam artists.  The internet is a scary place. Most child human trafficking starts online, as grooming, when people pretend to be the age of the victim. Either they want to be a lover, a protector or father figure, or promise luxury they don't give. They figure out which by a short conversation that lasts nearly three minutes. This was what a representative from Safe Harbor told us. I will have the website for Safe Harbor right here:  SAFE HARBOR  .  Adults, too, are groomed, but it is easy to get underaged boys and girls (I said boys, you heard me) to interact with a "peer". Given all this information, we need to know if our ch...

 This is going so well that I'm continuing this challenge a third time. The last two had me keeping one book of five - twice. I have less than a dozen books on my second chance pile right now. Let's keep going.  Courtesy of Wallpapers.com As usual, here are the rules.  1. I pick up a book at random from the pile.  2. I read at least 5 chapters.  3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it.  4. I review it.  The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog. If I DNF two in a row, I pick five. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward! Sherlock Holmes and the Egyptian Hall Adventure by Val Andrews Courtesy of bakerstreet.wikia.com This is another Sherlock Holmes. It wasn't Arthur Conan Doyle obnoxious, refreshingly enough, but I wasn't sure of it two chapters in. To clarify, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't screaming "read me" either. By ch...

 Girl Shy, starring Harold Lloyd, is from the year 1924. Right now Beta Reading is in full swing, so I'm back to researching the 1920s again. I just watched Girl Shy and can give you a review. I give it 9/10 stars.  Courtesy of tcm.com The Harold Lloyd films always have a flare for drama in them. Our main character is an underdog and an awkward kid all around. That's what you have to expect in a Harold Lloyd film. We have Harold Meadows working at a tailor shop with a crippling fear of women and a crippling stutter. A whistle will end his stutter for a while, as the film illustrates right from the beginning. He's also writing a book (a serious book in his eyes, comical in others) about women and how to get them to love you. I wouldn't try any of his techniques, solely based on the two chapters we see acted out. That's our main character for you.  Our love interest (the woman) is a rich girl named Mary with a jerk boyfriend she calls a friend - and refused to marry a...