John Bellairs
You might recall that a couple of years ago Wendy and I visited Marshall, Michigan, the hometown of my favorite author, John Bellairs. The town has lots of large, old, unique houses which featured prominently in his books. We got to see the Cronin house, which was the basis for his book,The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
Thanks to the fan site Bellairsia, I've learned that a movie of The House with a Clock in Its Walls is currently being filmed! It's directed by Eli Roth and stars Jack Black (as Uncle Jonathan), Cate Blanchett (as Mrs Zimmermann), and Kyle MacLachlan (as the evil sorcerer Isaac Izard). The release date is set for September 21, 2018. I shouldn't get too excited, because the movie might be bad, but I can't help get more excited the more I read about it.
Unrelated to the movie, a writer for Oklahoma's largest newspaper, The Oklahoman, wrote an article today about the creepiest book he's ever read: The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs! It's one of the few books Bellairs wrote for adults. Here's the link: Unsettling fantasy novel still gives reviewer the creeps
I especially enjoyed the last paragraph in the article:
What really makes this book a perfect read for a chilly autumn night is Bellairs' skill in creating a sense of unsettling dread and an uneasiness that can't be readily dismissed by turning on a light or laughing a little too loudly. If you're looking for a prime example of the Halloween spirit, look no further. Grab the book, settle into a comfortable chair and listen to the wind howling outside as the light from your reading lamp casts strange shadows on the wall. And if you start to feel like there's someone behind you, just over your shoulder, and you turn to look ...
In 70 years, The New York Times has never spoken nicely about UFOs. In fact, they were very stodgy about it. Our book rattled them. In fact, something we heard back from a couple media producers was that we caused some shockwaves in the media industry. Much more than we realized.
I first learned about the New York Times article from a UFO blog, and I remember the blogger was stunned that the NYT had published a positive article about UFOs. Among other things, the book has helped dispel the myth that UFO sightings are declining.
The whole interview is really good. Cheryl also points out that Jimmy Kimmel has asked 3 former presidents about UFOs, and she asks: why is a late-night comedian the one asking those questions? Why isn't 60 Minutes or 20/20 doing that? Hopefully the book will help to change the national conversation.
Svalbard
Fall is in full swing, which means winter is right around the corner, and right on cue I started thinking about Svalbard (the group of islands north of Norway), so I created a Google News alert for it. One of the articles it gave me is from a UK newspaper: A song of ice and snow. It's actually about visiting Norway, but it briefly mentions Svalbard. What caught my attention, though, is a paragraph about Norway being a "slow television pioneer". I did some research on the topic, and I found this great TED talk:
The world's most boring television ... and why it's hilariously addictive