Around the Blogosphere This Week

Random news and musings from the Internet...

...This weekend is the annual Hallmark Ornament Premiere. I'm delighted they've started a series of ornaments based on Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). The first ornament in the series features Mickey as Bob Cratchit.

...DVD collectors such as myself look forward to the twice-a-year big sale at Deep Discount. A thread at Home Theater Forum says this year's summer sale will start July 17th.

...I saw a listing for MacMurray Ranch Winery at the recent Food & Wine Festival at Disney's California Adventure. The name "MacMurray" in conjunction with Disney got me to wondering, and sure enough, this is the ranch once owned by Fred MacMurray and June Haver, now run by their daughter Kate. The website has a few nice photos.

...Pride and Prejudice Gilmore Girls Style mixes the soundtrack of the trailer for the last film version of P&P with clips from GILMORE GIRLS. It's pure silliness, but fans of P&P or GG will laugh anyway, as we did. Thanks to Missy for passing it on.

...Cookies made with ginger and molasses are just about my favorites. Here's a good-looking recipe from the Model Bakery in St. Helena, Napa Valley, as printed in the L.A. Times Food section.

...A review by an Orange County Register intern led me to add this book to my future reading list: FDR'S FOLLY: HOW ROOSEVELT AND HIS NEW DEAL PROLONGED THE GREAT DEPRESSION by Jim Powell. I concur with a comment by the reviewer, "I had never been taught a dissenting view of FDR or his policies through all my years in public school. Never."

...Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, has a new book, HOME TO ROOST. "Debo," the last surviving Mitford sister, has led a fascinating life. The London Times recently published a profile. The book was reviewed by the London Telegraph.

...Disney is planning a major expansion of their Hong Kong park.

...John Wayne's grandson, Brendan, recently costarred in a TV remake of Wayne's ANGEL AND THE BADMAN which aired on Hallmark Channel. It's a movie that didn't need a remake -- and they changed Penny's name to Temperance?! -- but that's an interesting little bit of movie trivia. An interview with the younger Wayne was published by COWBOYS & INDIANS magazine. And speaking of John Wayne, I just came across a tribute to Wayne posted last month, on the 30th anniversary of the Duke's passing, at National Review Online.

...And speaking of National Review, NR's Jonah Goldberg recently wrote a sobering column on our current President: Spread Freedom? Not So Much.

...The L.A. Times reviewed the new book GOLDEN DREAMS: CALIFORNIA IN AN AGE OF ABUNDANCE 1950-1963, by eminent historian Kevin Starr. Our daughter is fortunate to be taking a class from Starr next year. (Sadly, our state is no longer doing as well as in the era chronicled in the book, what with the legislature having chosen reckless high spending over a responsible budget.)

...Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 as Home: You may recognize the house, which seems to hang suspended over Los Angeles, in the well-known photo accompanying this article. The article provides interesting background.

...The BBC has announced a new version of Jane Austen's EMMA.

...If you live in Southern California, keep an eye out for the Sprinkles Cupcakes van. One of these days I'm going to try the Sprinkles store in Newport Beach.

Have a good weekend, all!