My picks and such

Oh yeah - Steiger received an Oscar for his role as Chief of Police Billy Gillespie (reprised by Carroll O'Conner on the TV series).  Shed no tears for Poitier, who after narrowly losing to his co-star, had to settle for a Golden Globe.

I was just watching that as well
I love in the heat of the night, great movie I try to catch anytime it's on
" Keep Cool, Harvey"

Heavy reading in the back yard today waiting for a deer or three that never materialized (I hunt in comfort, thank you) was Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel which won a Pulitzer Prize, which joined the author's MacArthur Fellowship as notable awards.  In this book, Diamond comes up with a nice hypothesis on human history, which he bolsters by extensive research.  It will make you think. It is a tad over 400 pages, but reads fast.  Don't worry, Andy - there are pictures too.

It is available for loan at the Festival.  PM me if interested.

Those desiring to read military history are often faced with the fact tht such prose is usually a dry as overdone toast.  While at University I discovered S.L.A. Marshall (Samuel Lyman Atwood - Slam Marshal for short).  I just picked up Vietnam  Three Battles .  Marshall's writing is informative and lively, always engaging the reader's attention.  He brings things to life - even things I would not normally find interesting.  He is not some armchair historian, but was Brigadier General in our army.  He had 4 tours in Vietnam and wa there when he was 66 years old, to get first hand information.  Somehow, he was still connected well into retirement age.  General Matthew Ridgeway (if you do not recognize the name, that's why God invented Google) had no doubt he was the best author in his genre for at least their generation.

A few pithy quotes and I will let you go.  Considering Low Intensity Conflicts (what ws then called "Irregular Warfare" he says "The sure thing is an empty bag.  The seeming flash-in-the-pan turns into a major explosion.  Elephant guns are used to bang away at rabbits.  Tigers are hunted with popguns."  Succinct, informative, lively.  He does not spare the feelings of those in G2.  Concerning Operation Thayer "Either the enemy was not there, or if present was so clever and adroit that American genius and aggressiveness must be rated as something less than waht we believe." 

The book is borrowable.  LEt me know via PM.

Gran Torino more than lived up to the hype.

Cause it should have been said