Dorothy Parker Could’ve Come Up With A More Clever Title For This Episode Than We Did (Cool Weird Awesome 832)
Today in 1893, writer Dorothy Parker was born. Those who knew her say nobody had a sharper wit - and we have the one-liners to prove it.
Donald J. Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown Books Taught Young Readers To Solve Mysteries (Cool Weird Awesome 626)
Today's the birthday of a mystery author known to millions of kids, Donald J Sobol. He wrote the Encyclopedia Brown series, about a 10 year old detective who solved cases because he knew, as his nickname suggested, all sorts of unusual and obscure facts in the era way before the internet. Plus: it’s National Taco Day, and here's the story of one of the largest tacos ever made.
When Agatha Christie Wasn’t Writing Mysteries, She Was Surfing (Cool Weird Awesome 613)
Today's the birthday of Agatha Christie, the novelist and playwright who gave us some of the most popular mysteries of all time. But when she wasn't sending Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot out to crack cases, she was often found surfing. Plus: it's the birthday of playwright Jerry Sterner, best known for “Other People’s Money," and for being buried under a headstone that was perfect for someone in his line of work.
How The Baby Sitters Club Became The Book Series All The 80s Kids Were Reading (Cool Weird Awesome 333)
Netflix is about to release a show based on The Baby-Sitters Club I used to re-shelve all the time at the public library where I worked. Here's the story of how the series came to life. Plus: if you could use a little beauty in your world right now, check out the photos of Trung Huy Pham, documenting Vietnam's annual water lily harvest.
Sol Yurick: He could dig it, suckas
Sol Yurick wrote the novel that was eventually adapted into one of my favorite movies, The Warriors- which manages to be totally ridiculous and totally awesome at the same time.