The Introverted Detective

 I watched the 1925 Ben Hur, a silent film that made me cry a bit. It was good. I'm putting the video link in this blog post. Keep in mind it is about 2.5 hours long. It doesn't feel long, though.  Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival Alright, let's get into plot. This is the story of Judah Ben Hur, paralleled with the story of Jesus. This was remade in 1960. Both chariot scenes were deadly.  1925's scene killed five horses with their trip mechanism (on accident). 1960's movie killed a stuntman in this same scene. Obviously, that scene is hard to film and hard to arrange without accidental death. All that being said, let's jump into Judah Ben Hur's storyline.  Judah Ben Hur, a jew, gets betrayed by a friend who has become a Roman soldier, where he ends up in a ship's galley as a slave. After a scene where an officer takes notice of him and a fight between a Roman ship and a pirate ship, an officer frees him from his slavery. He then goes in sea...

 I finally, FINALLY, got to the last four books of the pile. If you haven't been following the second chance pile read-or-unhaul-it challenge, you won't know, but I've been trying to read something I call the Second Chance pile. This is the last stage of my bookshelf-cleaning journey for the year. Let's get into it.  Courtesy of jooinn.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, but today we have the last of the pile, so we're going for four books. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward!  First The Dead by Tim Downs Courtesy of Ebay.com It started well, with two men trying to get bodies out of the bayou, then transitioned to a bad blind date. It's a series of mur...

 I'm a book dragon. I need help. I am now going through all the bookshelves to get the unwanted out and make space for new books. I only have so much space. This was overdue.  Courtesy of Lithub.com Today you're reading what'll be a lot of work. I went through all the shelves one by one. I took out what I had doubts about and put it in two categories. One stack of books is the donate pile (which I did all at once). The other stack was what I gave a second chance to.  The second chance pile will be addressed later in this post and given a star (1-5) review. Whatever stays will prove itself. The rest of it goes in the donation stack. Some shelves did not change and won't change because they are my Nancy Drew collection or didn't have any books leave the shelf.  The Process This took some time. I started with my bedroom bookshelves, then made my way into the living room bookshelves. Many of these shelves won't change much. I'm working from the most chaotic to t...

I watched The Navigator, starring Buster Keaton. I've got my review of it and I loved it. It's mostly just physical comedy and silly action.  Courtesy of IMDB.com The Navigator, starring Buster Keaton, is about a guy (Rollo) who gets on a boat, after being rejected by a woman. Then someone cuts the boat loose while the other main character (the same woman the guy had asked to marry) jumps on the boat just before a group of spies leave the ship adrift. It's mostly just comic antics with very few dialogue boxes. First, the two on the boat run around looking for help and the source of their voices, each time missing each other narrowly. Next, we have them trying to cook in the kitchen. They use salt water for coffee and can't open cans. The pair even get spooked by "ghosts" which are just the ship rocking and weird accidents. Before long they get used to all this and get the system down pat. They find safe places to sleep, end up working out how to use the kitche...

 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...