A Spotlight on Smaller Publishers

Reviews of three new beautifully illustrated picture books for children, all issued by smaller publishing houses
by David McGee
 

 
 

Our Man Flint (1965)

Of all the spy spoofs cashing in on the James Bond craze in the '60s, OUR MAN FLINT, starring a winning JAMES COBURN, is arguably the best. Plus: 'Phony Pharmers' from THE DICK TRACY TV SHOW.
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Indian Wars Are Not Over

The new Indian Wars are coming towards Rice Lake, Minnesota, as tribes rise up in protest against fossil fuel and extractive mining proposals. It's not only Keystone XL anymore.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Listen. Remember.

Canadian-born singer-songwriter ALEJANDRA RIBERA talks about one of this year's most mesmerizing albums, her own 'LA BOCA'
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Haunts of My Childhood

In 1922, fresh off the triumph of 1921's 'The Kid,' CHARLIE CHAPLIN returned to Europe for the first time in seven years. A poignant excerpt from his book MY TRIP ABROAD finds him back to the neighborhood haunts of his youth.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Surf in Verse: Summer’s Last Ride

One last ride on the big waves, in verse, with a soundtrack featuring THE ASTRONAUTS, THE BEACH BOYS, THE G-MEN, THE CHANTAYS and vintage surfing footage by DR. DON JAMES. Plus the earliest known surfing poem, from 1911.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Countdown to Pluto

NASA’s Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has traversed the orbit of Neptune. This is its last major crossing en route to becoming the first probe to make a close encounter with distant Pluto on July 14, 2015.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Last Chants

Hardcore drummer/photographer JASON HAMACHER discusses a journey that took him on a years-long quest to find and record some of the world’s oldest yet least known liturgical music, in a country that eventually devolved into c...
by David McGee
 

 

 

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

Sometimes the viewer comments on YouTube are surprisingly poignant and heartfelt. We found a few when we followed BOBBY VINTON's 'Blue on Blue' deeper into YouTube and deeper into sad songs.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Tribes Nix Nugent

Placing principle above profit, two Native American tribes have cancelled concerts by TED NUGENT at Tribally-owned venues over the washed-up extremist rocker's racist, hate-filled remarks.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Up-and-Coming Illustrator Brooke Boynton Hughes: ‘I Love Residing in Imagined Worlds’

This month JULES interviews a real find in children's books in up-and-coming illustrator BROOKE BOYNTON HUGHES, who tells us she loves 'residing in imagined worlds.'
by David McGee
 

 
 

Hubble Spots Spiral Bridge of Young Stars Linking Two Ancient Galaxies

A Hubble space Telescope photo of an unusual structure 100,000 light years long yields new insights into the formation of stellar superclusters.
by David McGee