Carpe Libra

Charles Chaplin …. Director
Charles Chaplin ….  The Lone Prospector
Mack Swain ….  Big Jim McKay
Tom Murray ….  Black Larsen
Henry Bergman ….  Hank Curtis
Malcolm Waite ….  Jack Cameron
Georgia Hale ….  Georgia
Plot in a Nutshell
The Little Tramp, a character Chaplin plays in several of his films, searches for gold in the Klondike.
Fun Facts to Know and Tell

The Gold [...]

There was a lot going on this week in Carp 500 history, and there were a number of birthdays, so I’ll get right to it.
On January 23, 1941, Charles Lindbergh urged Congress to negotiate a neutrality pact with Hitler.  Oops.  This, along with other revelations about his thoughts about Jews, nearly destroyed a once sterling reputation.  Subsequent events, [...]

GITMO — The US military’s shorthand for a base in Cuba drives a wedge wider than a split infinitive.
“When did the notorious Guantanamo Bay Naval Base change to ‘Gitmo,’ a word that conjures up an image of a fluffy and sweet character from a Japanese anime show?” — Marcus W., St. Louis, Missouri.
COMBINED CELEBRITY NAMES [...]

Hey – my review on A&E's A Nero Wolfe Mystery on December 6th on Carp has been linked to on IMDB here. (I have no idea how? Somebody told me about it.) Just thought that was cool that Carp is linked to from IMDB.

Finally, after a couple boring weeks, there are some interesting things to talk about this week in Carp 500 history.  At least I thought these things were interesting.  Hopefully, you’ll feel the same way.
On January 14, 1894, Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness) returned to London to take up writing after a long career at sea.
January 15, 1831: [...]

Director …. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Graham Chapman …. King Arthur/Voice of God/Middle Head/Hiccoughing Guard
John Cleese …. Second Swallow-Savvy Guard/The Black Knight/Peasant #3/Sir Lancelot, the Brave/Taunting French Guard/Tim the Enchanter
Eric Idle …. Dead Collector/Peasant #1/Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Launcelot/First Swamp Castle Guard/Concorde/Roger the Shrubber/Brother Maynard
Terry Gilliam …. Patsy/Green Knight/Old Man/Sir Bors/Animator
Terry Jones …. Dennis’s Mother/Sir [...]

Either cold weather is bad for writing or all our authors were watching the NFL playoffs, because almost nothing happened this week in Carp 500 history.  But one of the things that did happen was, many argue, the main factor in building momentum for the American Revolution – no small thing.
On January 9, 1776, Thomas [...]

My pick for January is “Edward the Emu” by Sheena Knowles and illustrated by Rod Clement.  Edward, zoo resident, decides his life as an emu is boring.  He decides the seals next door are more exciting, so he moves to their place and becomes a seal, until he hears a visitor say the lions are [...]

Today's Final Jeopardy! was Literary Titles. Do you know the answer (Question, really!)? This 1954 book title refers to an impaled sow's head, an offering to "the beast."

We read, not just for entertainment, but to learn stuff, right? Let’s see how we do. Here is a list of famous quotes in U.S. history. Can you identify the person who said each of them and, to impress the rest of us even more, give the circumstances. (Please, no cheating!)

The only thing we have [...]