Often been surprised by a movie after what a film critic said about it? Ever felt cheated out of big bucks on the recommendations of a punk 24-year-old? Or really loved the ones they panned? Well, you no longer need to feel out of step with the current movie review band. Different Drummer is for you. Read more about our take on the film world. And get ready to relive your favorite movies with the recipes that follow each review. You can find many other great recipes in Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: a Mystery Lover’s Cookbook, too.
One was a real journalist, the other a depraved opportunist who covered up a famine. Guess which won the Pulitzer Prize?
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The little town of Round Top, Texas, halfway between Houston and Austin, hosts a Country Antiques Show. Its roadside grasslands are piled high in French enamel, stained glass, old time buggies, grandfather clocks, wooden grain buckets and benches, or Chinese wedding baskets painted a festive red, to name but a few of the treasures for sale.
Read MoreThis isn’t just a slap in the face to the glamorized intrigue of the spy world; it’s a punch in the gut, a leveling one that bends you over and leaves you groaning. An unflinching portrait of moral compromise that slowly eats away at a man’s soul, whether he is on the right side or not.
Read MoreTom Clancy. Harrison Ford in his heyday. What’s not to like? Take a trip back a few decades to a world a little more sane. A narrative not preachy, not edgy, and completely devoid of the nihilism that seems to have taken up permanent residence in today’s Hollywood.
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Finally, a love story for grownups. It’s Downton Abbey without all the pomp and circumstance and a heroine who is not afraid to get her hands dirty.
Read MoreIt doesn’t get any better than this! Two “bandits” on the run battling officious bureaucrats, murderous thugs, an armed blind man, and a past that haunts each of them. An excellent ensemble cast keeps it heartfelt without being hackneyed, as they remind us how much we have to fight to keep dreams alive.
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Who knew that Sigmund Freud, or at least one of his fictional pupils, was the first FBI profiler? Well not exactly. It’s not the FBI, but the Vienna Police, and we are way back a century or so as well. But the atmosphere and witty banter are to die for.
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Steven Spielberg again reminds us that one purpose of great drama is to inspire as well as delight. His film does both.
Read MoreIt doesn’t get much better than this. Different Drummer’s Triple Crown: Favorite mystery writer (Agatha Christie), favorite character (Miss Marple) and favorite Miss Marple actress (Joan Hickson).
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Damian talks to dead people. However, his conversations are not with bloody corpses, but with surprisingly engaging and human saints of yore. For a refreshing return to innocence seen through a child’s eyes stream this 2005 British film.
Read MoreMy pretty and perky granddaughter Ava helped me bake these for her 5th birthday way back in June of 2012.. We had a great time. This recipe is well suited for young ones because so much of it is like working with play dough. It’s nice and messy, too.
Read MoreIt’s about hidden ancient treasure, but don’t think Indiana Jones . Neither is this English period drama circa 1938 a Downton Abbey of landed gentry with glittering gowns, uniformed chauffeurs, and a kitchen staffed with a small army of cooks.
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Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook
Also available here
by Kathy Borich
A tantalizing slant on cooking and crime. Relive your favorite classic detective stories and then whip up the food that caught the culprit.
Different Drummer is not the only one noticing the lackluster police response to the now 6 drownings in Lady Bird Lake in the last year. The family of Chris Clark, whose body was found last April (2023), was very upset, too.
Different Drummer herself has noticed the weak city response in terms of safety measures as she and her husband ride past the Rainey Area near Lady Bird Lake. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. What good are some pallid lights and a split rail fence if there are big gaps with only a sign to warn those of danger? Certainly, someone drunk, as may or may not be the case, probably would or could not read it.
February 6, 2024
“A body was found Monday, Feb. 6, 2024, in a Texas lake, the same site where other deceased individuals have been discovered in recent months, authorities said.
“At least five people have been found dead at the lake, which is a portion of the Colorado River running through downtown Austin, since last year.” –Louis Casiano, Fox News
The body is that of a woman, which differs from the previous drownings, all of which were men around age 30. As usual, the police are mum and saying there are no signs of foul play, but what else is new? –DD
Different Drummer will keep you informed as further details emerge. Below is the area where the recent body was found.
In 2023 alone, five bodies have been found in in Lady Bird Lake, and according to local reports, as many as eight in the past 10 months.
Different Drummer and her husband Gary have been biking this trail around the lake for decades. They live in the thick of it, on a quaint tree-lined street across the river from the glittering Austin Skyline.
Follow our two Cycling Sleuths chronicle where their path crosses those who did not return home to their loved ones.
Smiley Face Connection: February 2024 Update: Another Body Found
The Serpent’s Tooth: A Texas Mystery
Austin is now the trendy number one city, but back in the eighties it was more laid back – not so many skyscrapers and urban hipsters. Just outside of town, you'd be likely to run into old cowboys, ranch hands, and a diamondback or two. And just maybe – an accidental death not as accidental as it seems…
Complete with Texas Recipes for the Oktoberfest Dinner where all is revealed.
An Illustrated Introduction to Classical Horsemanship: Concepts and Skills from A to Z
by Gary Borich
A comprehensive resource in a succinct alphabetical format that brings the beginning rider through every aspect of learning to train and ride for show and trail.
