Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...There have been a number of good movies out lately. LEAP YEAR, starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, looks like it has possibilities. The trailer is here. LEAP YEAR opens next Friday, January 8th.

...The L.A. Times recently ran a fun travel article, Sleuthing After Sherlock Holmes in London. My daughter enjoyed stopping in at the museum at 221-B Baker Street early last year.

...Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy is moving to a new home at Indie Wire. The site isn't as attractive as his previous site, being cluttered with advertising, but a plus is that his reviews will now have individual permalinks, which will make it much easier for bloggers to point readers to specific articles and reviews by Mr. Maltin.

...One of my favorite movies, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), was just added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. I found some choices on the list questionable, given the many alternatives, but cheered for the inclusion of PILLOW TALK (1959) and two William Wyler movies, JEZEBEL (1939) and MRS. MINIVER (1942).

...Here's an interesting article about an unusual Christmas ritual in Sweden: for half a century the country has come to a standstill at 3:00 on Christmas Eve in order to watch Donald Duck cartoons. (Hat tip: The Blog Wore Tennis Shoes.)

...Patterico has posted his annual year in review critiquing the Los Angeles Times.

...The Learning Channel will air an hour-long documentary on the "miracle on the Hudson" next Sunday, January 10th. The program is narrated by Harrison Ford. The anniversary of the plane's safe landing on the Hudson River is January 15th.

...The pre-Code CHILD OF MANHATTAN (1933) sounds very interesting as described in this post at Black and White: Cinema and Chocolate. I'm glad I recorded it a few weeks ago.

...Maureen Dowd's brother Kevin makes her column worth reading...an opinion I don't generally hold. Good for her for letting him post opinions so contrary to her own.

...Classic Movies Digest and Out of the Past took a look back at posts from 2009. This is a great chance for new readers to catch up with some of their old posts.

...Mini political roundup: Ed Lasky at American Thinker on "Obama's Image: What a Difference a Year Makes"...the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama Administration actually "debated over the weekend whether to state publicly that the security system had failed" in the Christmas Day bombing plot, which led to Janet Napolitano's mind-blowing repeated assertions that "the system worked"...the Anchoress has interesting thoughts on the President and whether he actually wants the Presidency and the very hard work that goes with the job.

...Check your local PBS station for a new AMERICAN MASTERS program on LOUISA MAY ALCOTT: THE WOMAN BEHIND LITTLE WOMEN. My DVR somehow failed to record the entire program the night it first aired, but it's going to be on again in a few days.

...I love the header at the blog Where Danger Lives. Classy and colorful, with some of the great faces from film noir.

...It seems like blue screen is out and green screen is in. This video, "The Many Uses of Green Screen," is fascinating. Special effects have sure come a long way from quaint old back projections. (Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hmmmm.)

...Great news that Rush Limbaugh is feeling fine after his recent heart scare. Mark Steyn will guest host Monday and Tuesday, and Rush returns to the air on Wednesday, January 6th.

Happy 2010!