The Writer's Life 3/6 - Wild Side

There are a number of interesting tidbits to be gleaned from today's NY Post. In her op-ed piece, Peggy Noonan explains Trump's popularity: "His supporters disrespect the system—fair enough, it’s earned disrespect. They see Washington dysfunction and want to break through it—fair enough. In a world of thugs, they say, he will be our thug. Politics is a freak show? He’s our freak. They know they’re lowering standards by giving the top political job in America to a man who never held office. But they feel Washington lowered all standards first. They hate political correctness..."
A new play believed to have been written by Shakespeare is now playing at a small venue in Brooklyn. It's title is Double Falsehood. Researchers claim it was a collaboration between the bard and John Fletcher, based on a part of Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote. It's the stuff "...as dreams are made on" for lovers of classical literature.
From Jonathon Trugman's column: From 2005-'14 health care costs increased 70%, while wages increased only 17%. This should surprise no one. When government becomes involved, costs skyrocket. To paraphrase a recent quote by a pundit: "If you think it's expensive now, wait till it's free."
And on a note trivial to anyone but fans of Rutgers sports teams: after 32 straight losses, the Scarlet Knights have won their first ever Big Ten basketball game. They've been much more competitive in football, where they are at least mediocre.

As a movie buff, I'm sometimes surprised I've not seen certain old films. Last night Movies!, 113 on Cablevision in NYC, ran Walk on the Wild Side (1962), which must have been shocking in its day and would have appealed to my budding hormones. Based on the novel by Nelson Algren, shot in black and white, it stars a Brit, Laurence Harvey, as a Texan tracking down his lost love, played by French beauty Capucine. They were fine, but the most interesting members of the cast were Hollywood legend Barbara Stanwyck and Anne Baxter. Stanwyck played a hard nosed madam with designs on Capucine. Of course, this could only be hinted at back then. Baxter was impressive as a Latino diner owner. Although she had a successful career, she never reached the heights she did when she rocked the cinema world as Bette Davis' duplicitous understudy in All About Eve (1950). It's one of Tinsel town's big mysteries as to why. After seeing her work in Walk..., I'm baffled myself.

RIP former fist lady Nancy Reagan, 91. She has 21 credits listed at IMDb, none of them noteworthy, but she won the role of a lifetime as The Gipper's wife. Here's a quote attributed to her: "What can you say about a man, who on Mother's Day sends flowers to his mother-in-law, with a note thanking her for making him the happiest man on Earth?"

My thanks to the woman who bought Killing today in Park Slope, and the one who purchased a Flea Market book under the name of TV hostess Lara Spencer's, and the one who bought Douglas Corleone's Gone Cold.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

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