Sir Christopher Lee has died at age 93. He played Dracula, Fu Manchu, Saruman, Count Dooku, Bond villain Scaramanga, and Frankenstein’s monsters – among many other roles – in a career that spanned over 250 movies. He could trace his lineage back to Charlemagne, he released a heavy metal album at 92, and he seems to have been respected and loved by many who worked with him. He never retired; he went on acting right up till the end.
You Are Not Dr. Seuss. A good analysis of why so many Dr. Seuss imitators fail so badly. (Answer: among other virtues, Dr. Seuss commanded not only excellent rhyme but also excellent meter. Most people only get the rhyme.) My own poetry is far from perfect, but I have long prided myself on sterling meter.
Astounding scientific fact: this weekend, our planet will make two complete rotations. Don’t miss it! See you Monday.
Brian D. Buckley 
When I heard of Christopher Lee’s death, I thought for some reason of the movie Hugo. Chloe Moretz’s character takes Hugo to a bookstore, which is to her the most magical place in the universe, and we hear the bookseller’s voice before we see him, and it’s That Voice, and you know she’s right. I didn’t even know he was in the picture, so it was a particular pleasure.
And there’s Alice in Wonderland, where Christopher Lee did the voice of the Jabberwocky. The Jabberwocky only has two lines of dialogue, but they’re very memorable. 🙂
Haven’t seen either of those, but they both intrigued me when they came out.
So I guess we can add “being in a Scorsese film” to his long list of accomplishments.
I like Alice a lot, but a lot of people seem to dislike it, so my recommendation is always qualified.
Hugo is just wonderful. The more you love movies, the better it is. I had the great experience of seeing it with my mother, who was in her nineties and who remembered when movies were still a fairly new thing.
It’s not perfect (Scorsese is many things, but he’s not a comedy director — the movie’s few attempts at slapstick are all duds), but well worth seeing.