Monday, October 8, 2012

For mystery writer Barbara Mertz’s 85th birthday, friends bring Egypt to her

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For mystery writer Barbara Mertz’s 85th birthday, friends bring Egypt to herSmaller TextLarger TextText SizePrintE-mailReprints By , The Washington Post

Barbara Mertz couldn’t make it to Cairo for her 85th birthday, so Cairo came to her in Frederick. On Sept. 29, the queen of Egyptian mysteries, known to her legion of fans as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, enjoyed a celebration fit for ancient royalty — with a very good sense of humor.

More than a hundred of Mertz’s friends and colleagues, some costumed as pharaohs, traveled from as far away as Chicago, Texas and Maine to pay tribute to an author who has published more than 60 books. Wearing a long black gown and jet-black wig, Mertz sat in a rattan throne, sipping a drink and smoking from a silver hookah like a character from “Alice in Wonderland.”

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Saturday, October 6, 2012

International arms race takes a hopless turn

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota


Two canine-themed breweries, including Frederick’s Flying Dog, battle for top dog of the zero IBU IPA.Two centuries after the War of 1812, the United States and Britain are at it again. Their weapon of choice this time: IPAs. Sort of.

International Arms Race Zero IBU IPA is a collaboration between two canine-themed breweries, Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick and BrewDog in Fraserburgh, Scotland. Actually, it’s more of a competition.

Both breweries agreed to do its own version of a hopless India pale ale (a veritable contradiction in terms, since the style is defined by its in-your-face hop content). Both would use alternative flavorings to duplicate the aroma and flavor of hops — bay leaves, elderflower, juniper berries, rosemary, spearmint, and lemon and orange peel. Each brewery, however, was free to vary the proportions in formulating its own recipe.

The two versions are entering the market now, in draft and 12-ounce bottles. Both measure 7.5 percent alcohol by volume. The Flying Dog version, however, is easily the drier of the two, with a savory quality from the bay leaves and rosemary (it would make a terrific marinade) and a tart, lemony backdrop that mimics the citrusy notes of Pacific Northwest hops. The beer almost succeeds in duplicating that prickly sensation that rises in the back of your throat as you down a well-hopped IPA.

BrewDog’s Zero IBU IPA is interesting in its own right, but sweeter, with the spearmint more dominant.

Matt Brophy, Flying Dog’s brewmaster, confesses that he cheated a bit, adding a minimal amount of hops. The federal government defines beer as a fermented grain beverage seasoned with hops, and would not have allowed Flying Dog to label the product “beer” in the complete absence of the bitter brewing herb. But it was a tiny amount, below the threshold of taste — one-tenth of a pound of Cascade hops diluted among 1,900 gallons.

“That wouldn’t be enough to bitter a homebrewer’s five-gallon batch,” says Brophy.

In August, the two breweries conducted blind taste-offs of their individual beers at five BrewDog-affiliated pubs in England and Scotland. Flying Dog emerged the winner, 3-2.

The war comes to the United States the third week in October at three pubs in the Baltimore-Washington area. You’ll be able to sample the hopless IPAs side-by-side and vote on your favorite at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore on Oct. 15; at R.F.D. Washington on Oct. 16; and at the Frisco Taphouse & Brewery in Columbia on Oct. 17. In each case, the festivities begin at 6 p.m.

Flying Dog has also released the 2012 edition of Secret Stash, a hoppy pale ale made with mostly Maryland-grown ingredients, including Frederick County hops and locally harvested wheat. (A pinch of rye from Flying Dog’s malt providers renders the ale even drier.) If the stars align, Brophy says that he, BrewDog owner James Watt and the Frisco brew crew might team up for yet another collaborative beer. Details forthcoming.


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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Ethel Kennedy, star of new documentary ‘Ethel,’ gives high marks to director — her daughter, Rory


Ethel and Bobby Kennedy playing with two of their children. (Paul Schutzer/Time & Life Pictures via Getty Images)


Rory Kennedy and her 10 siblings never thought it was fair when people would say, “You’re Bobby Kennedy’s kid.” Certainly, they loved and were proud of their father, but it was mostly their mother, Ethel, who raised and nurtured them.


So the documentary filmmaker, born six months after her father was killed in 1968, turned the spotlight on her mother. “Ethel” looks at a very public life through a very private lens — candid interviews with her brothers and sisters, family and historical photos, home movies and a one-on-one interview with her mother, who has always pulled a curtain around her family life.


“I anticipated that my mother would not want to do it, because she’s never really told her life story,” Rory told us at a screening Thursday at the Motion Picture Association of America. “The truth is, I called and asked her, and she said yes immediately.”


“It’s very hard to say no to Rory,” her mother said.



Rory and Ethel Kennedy at the MPAA screening Thursday. (Photo by Ralph Alswang ) Ethel, 84, was not the most forthcoming of subjects: “Why should I answer all these questions?” she tells Rory as the film begins. But with gentle probing, she opens up about her childhood as a member of the wealthy Skakel family, her romance with Bobby (he dated her sister first), their 18-year marriage, all those babies, politics (she grew up as a Republican) and life as the sister-in-law of the president and wife of an attorney general, senator and presidential candidate.


What emerges is a surprisingly compelling portrait of a lively, spirited woman with a fierce sense of loyalty, deep religious beliefs, a boundless sense of fun and little fear of authority. (Ethel was arrested for stealing a neighbor’s mistreated horses; she won the case.) The family tragedies are there but — following Ethel’s example — not lingered on.


That’s the woman HBO executive Sheila Nevins met 12 years ago in Cuba, when she came up with the idea for the documentary, which debuts on the cable channel later this month. Nevins thought it would be a mother/daughter story; instead, it has touched a political nerve. At the Sundance movie festival, there were lines around the block.


Part of it is the Kennedy magic, but part is nostalgia for a time when people weren’t cynical about politics and politicians. “I thought it was past history; it turned out to be present history,” Nevins said. “I thought it was a small film with a big heart about a time that was. I didn’t know it was a bigger film about a time that isn’t and that it would attract young people.”


Ethel’s take? “I think it’s a tribute to Rory’s talent. She’s amazing. She can make a lot of very little, and she did.”


Spoken like a proud mom. “It’s true, I am,” she said with a broad smile.


Also in The Reliable Source:


Rupert Everett on gay marriage: ‘Waste of time,’ ‘beyond tragic’


Love, etc.: David Paterson and wife separate; Anne Hathaway weds


Obama, Romney repeat favorite jokes and one-liners on presidential campaign trail


Donald Trump buys Patricia Kluge’s mansion for a $6.5 million bargain; now owns her entire estate


Celebrity campaign contributions: How much did convention stars give the candidates?


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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

‘Avengers’ Blu-ray: Tom Hiddleston hopes for redemption in Loki

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Tom Hiddleston plays the villainous Loki in "The Avengers." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston attends the premiere of "The Avengers" during the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28 in New York. (Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images)

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/09/24/avengers-blu-ray-tom-hiddleston-hopes-for-redemption-in-loki/the-avengers-premiere-closing-night-of-the-tribeca-film-festival-sponsored-by-bombay-sapphire-2/

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Link Tom Hiddleston as Loki, left, and Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding title hero in "Thor." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston plays Loki in the movie "Thor." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston as Loki, left, and Chris Hemsworth as the title hero in "Thor." (Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston plays Loki in the movie "Thor." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston, left, Robert Downey Jr. and Joss Whedon on the set of "The Avengers." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki in "The Avengers." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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Link Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki in "The Avengers." (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

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How could Loki, a villain who was defeated by a single superhero in “Thor,” become a believably formidable foe for a team of six superheroes backed by S.H.I.E.L.D.? The question plagued Loki actor Tom Hiddleston, 31, when he was preparing for “The Avengers,” out on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday.

“That was what I was so terrified I would fail to do,” Hiddleston said. “It’s a big old movie.”

Big it certainly is. “The Avengers,” which cost $220 million to make, was a popular and critical hit, earning more than $1.5 billion worldwide and making director Joss Whedon a household name. The film unites a team of A-list muscle men, many of them already stars of their own Marvel movies, including Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2?), Chris Evans (“Captain America”), Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”), Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as recurring character Nick Fury and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.

Tom Hiddleston attends the premiere of “The Avengers” during the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28 in New York. (Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images)

Initially, Hiddleston — whose previous work included “War Horse,” “Midnight in Paris” and quite a few stage productions — was intimidated by the prospect of being the lone counterweight for a team of good-guy “movie stars,” he said. But once he was in the thick of it, he found his footing.

“All of those actors playing the Avengers are so collaborative. Like the code name for the film was called ‘Group Hug,’ which is so sweet,” Hiddleston said with a chuckle earlier this year. “I wasn’t at all excluded from the group hug. I honestly felt like I was part of the team. I always feel like acting is like playing tennis. It’s not a sport that you can play on your own. And if I’m any good in this film, it’s because I was playing with Scarlett and playing with Robert and playing with the Chrises and Sam Jackson. It’s about what happens in the rally between you.”

The “rally” between actors in “The Avengers” is perhaps at its best between Hiddleston and Hemsworth. The pair began developing their characters’ relationship as foils to each other before 2011's “Thor” — the bright, brash golden child and the shadowy, silver-tongued second son. They even worked on developing antithetical fighting styles; Hemsworth modeled his moves on boxer Mike Tyson, using his hammer like Tyson uses his fists, Hiddleston said, while Loki’s fighting was more inspired by wushu martial arts and dance choreography. Everything pointed back to Thor’s granite sense of right and wrong and Loki’s more fluid morality.

By the time “The Avengers” rolled around, it was a dance that Hiddleston and Hemsworth knew well.

“That was probably my favorite stuff,” Hemsworth said. “I’d had a relationship with Tom and that character previously. And that was where the most heart and soul in my story was.”

Director Joss Whedon said the actors playing the Asgardian brothers at odds (and at arms) could not have been better cast.

“[Hiddleston] will explore,” Whedon said. “He’ll always want another take. He’ll always want to take it further. It’s interesting to watch him and Chris together, because Chris is much more instinctual, and Tom is very thoughtful. It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh Thor’s a jock,’ and you know, he’s not that. He’s a really thoughtful actor. But he has this athletic thing of, ‘It’s gonna come now. Let’s do this.’ And then Tom’s like, ‘I want to think my way around this.’ And I’m like, ‘You guys are Thor and Loki, man!’ It’s fun, and they enjoy each other so much.”

Hiddleston was known on set for being “enormously kind and gregarious,” Whedon said, and his theater experience made him a good fit for his character.

Tom Hiddleston, left, Robert Downey Jr. and Joss Whedon on the set of “The Avengers.” (Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)

“He’s very different than a lot of the other guys,” Whedon said. “A lot of the actors would come at it from, ‘Let’s do some scene work and shape the script,’ which I’m very comfortable with. Tom, I think possibly with all the Shakespearean training, he takes what he has, and says, ‘Well, how do I make this work,’ and is so gracious about it, and so inventive. I remember that we were doing this scene with Natasha [Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow], which is maybe my favorite scene in the movie. I just mentioned to him that he was killing it, and I was lovin’ his work, and all he said was, ‘Mighty words, mighty words.’ And that’s very gratifying.”

Hiddleston said he worked closely with Whedon to shape the character he built with “Thor” director Kenneth Branagh into a villain evil and deadly enough to pose a serious threat to Nick Fury’s super squad.

“Joss and I talked about dialing up the menace and his extraordinary danger, that Loki is an incredibly dangerous, feral, anarchic and chaotic personality,” Hiddleston said. “I just had to go there and try and find a place in my headspace when I went to work that was really nasty — and enjoy it. Joss kept saying, ‘Look, enjoy it. You’ve got it. You look great. The costume’s fantastic. More feral, more dark and enjoy yourself, ’cause Loki’s having a such a good time.’”

A good time, indeed. Loki takes pleasure in executing his plan to enslave the planet, manipulating Earth’s defenders and making a show of his conquest. In “The Avengers,” Loki is no longer just a younger brother with a jealous streak.

“I think every human being is capable of extreme virtue and extreme vice, and most of us live within quite a narrow range on a really broad scale,” Hiddleston said. “The biggest thrill for me about playing big characters is that they exist at the extremity of the scale. And the heroes end up saving the world, and the villains are trying to destroy it. … [Loki] just seems like a lost, damaged soul who was brought up believing in a particular truth, which is that he was entitled to rule. He was a born prince, and that one day he would be a king. And then he finds out that the entire narrative of his life is a lie, that he was adopted by Odin as the neglected, abandoned bastard son of their mortal enemies. And he feels so betrayed and so hurt by that, and that’s a very relatable thing. I think that’s a very easy thing to find the truth of.

“And then what he does, rather than getting some therapy, he gives way to his anger. He gives way to all of the feelings that are conjured up by his pain, basically hate and pride and vanity. It’s motivated by loneliness. His destructiveness is motivated entirely by his spiritual desolation and the fact that he has nowhere to belong. And because he doesn’t belong anywhere, he’s trying to make the earth belong to him. And I hope you can still see that somehow, even though he basically is hateful in this film.”

Hiddleston will reprise the role for next year’s sequel, “Thor: The Dark World,” directed by Alan Taylor (“Game of Thrones”). Will Loki finally find redemption?

“I hope so, I really hope so,” Hiddleston said. “I hope you can see glimmers of it in ‘The Avengers.’ There’s a bit where we’re on the tower and Thor’s like, ‘Look around. You don’t have to do this.’ I think he’s probably going to get a hiding when he goes back home. I think his father’s going to have a few things to say. … Grounded for a long time. I haven’t read a script yet, but I know that we certainly can’t recycle what we’ve done. Loki, I think, has been about as bad as he can be.”

– Noelene Clark

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