Dozing Through "Public Enemies"

My daughter and son-in-law had warned me last year, after they viewed it on the big screen, that this clearly is not intended to be a realistic account of the Dillinger-Purvis record. Surrealism is what the producers/directors were after. The actors aren't realistic (Depp as John Dillinger the gangster, Bale as Melvin Purvis the Bureau of Investigation chief (a South Carolinian)). The facts are toyed with, not much differently than in the 1973 film starring Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson as Purvis.

They gave us the new CD as a Christmas gift. We started it one night over the holidays . . . and all fell asleep after about 15 minutes. Maybe it was the turkey dressing. . . .

I'll get back to it for a serious review later. Maybe in a couple months. . . .

An Old-Fashioned Mystery "Reader" Magazine

Just launched: The Illustrated Harper & MacTavish Reader, a quarterly e-magazette distributed online in .pdf format. Each issue features a story from "The Harper Chronicles" and "The Casebook of MacTavish" plus a classic period mystery, as well as notes on historic crimes and criminals and 19th-Century lifestyles. BONUS: Subscriptions include new, unpublished Harper and MacTavish stories presented in weekly "cliffhanger" format. Visit www.danieleltonharmon.com/h&mreader.htm. Trial issue available.