Santa Anita icon Trevor Denman wins Eclipse Award

Trevor Denman, the long-time voice of Santa Anita Racetrack (along with other Southern Cal tracks) has been awarded an Eclipse Award for Career Excellence. If you don't know, the Eclipse is horse racing's version of the Academy Award.

 

From the linked article:

 

“I am so honored to receive this award and will treasure it forever. I wish to thank Alan Balch of Santa Anita and Joe Harper of Del Mar for giving an unknown kid a chance to call at such prestigious tracks back in 1983. I also thank all the fans for their tremendous support over the years. Thank you all!”

 

Notwithstanding his distinctive accent, Denman broke the mold of traditional race callers with a welcoming and innovative style. While most American announcers stuck to the basics of calling the specific order of the races and lengths in front or behind horses during points of call, Denman incorporated commentary and analysis into his race calls...

 

And he created a signature stamp at the gate break for each race with “And away they go.” 

 

At one time, Denman was calling the races at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar, and Pomona (Fairplex) during a prolific annual schedule.

 

Denman called races for more than 50 years. Besides his extensive Southern California stint, he worked at tracks in the Bay Area and on the East Coast, as well as calling the Breeders’ Cup races when ESPN had the TV rights to the championship event. Additionally, he provided the calls in several racing movies and dozens of television shows.

 

Yep, he has an imdb entry! 

 

Born in South Africa, Denman made his Southern California debut at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet in 1983. He retired from Santa Anita in 2015. He continued calling at Del Mar until announcing his retirement from racing in 2025.  

 

Here's a great example of Denman's calling ability - the 1988 Santa Anita Derby, won by future Kentucky Derby champion Winning Colors (one of only three fillies to ever win the Run for the Roses):

 

 

Someone on YouTube put together a collection of forty of Denman's calls.

 

Congratulations to Trevor Denman!

 

Recent reading: "Future Boy"

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum

by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry

 

This slim (150 pages) volume is a brief but exciting memoir of how Michael J. Fox famously juggled two full-time acting jobs and ended up as the star of one of the most beloved films of all time. By day he portrayed Alex P. Keaton on the hit TV show Family Ties, while by night he was Marty McFly, the time-traveling teen of Back to the Future. 

 

Fox goes briefly into how his early Canadian acting success led him to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen and how a few years later, when he was on the verge of having to give up on Hollywood and return to Canada, he scored the role that made him famous. Family Ties was filming its third season when his boss, the show's creator, Gary David Goldberg, refused to make him available for BTTF because Fox couldn't be spared...without informing Fox of the offer. Some months later the film's producers tried again when Eric Stoltz as Marty wasn't working out. This time Goldberg was ready to work with them and a crazy plan to replace Stoltz and reshoot the film with Fox while he continued his work on Family Ties was hatched.

 

Fox was twenty-three at the time, so a lot of what got him through the punishing schedule was both youthful energy and an intense dedication to both projects. A driver would pick him up in the morning and deliver him to Paramount for Family Ties. Once he was done for the day, another driver would pick him up at Paramount and deliver him to Universal Studios (or filming locations, including the Puente Hills Mall) where he would work through most of the night. His driver would then drop him off at home for a few hours sleep, then it was rinse and repeat. 

 

Some interesting points:

• Per Lea Thompson, Stoltz viewed Marty's return to 1985 as having a tragic quality - although things had turned out so much better for his family, there was now an entire, revised family history that Marty had no memory of. Interesting take, but the Bobs (writer Bob Gale and writer/director Bob Zemeckis) wanted a comedy, not a tragedy. Fox had high praise for Thompson in their first scene together, the one where Marty wakes up in 1955 and meets his mother as a teenager, especially because of how well she adjusted to the difference between how he played the role compared to Stoltz.
• Crispin Glover had made a guest appearance in an earlier episode of Family Ties. He played one of two friends who take Alex out to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. Fox has high praise for Glover's comedic ability.
• Because of how he was thrown into production without any rehearsal time with his castmates, Fox says he didn't really get to know Christopher Lloyd until the sequel, making the onscreen bond between Marty and Doc Brown all the more impressive. 
• The story of how Fox's stunt double got his job on the film is insane. It sounds like something out of a movie. Just read the book.
• The guitar Fox played in the "Johnny B. Good" performance at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance went missing and hasn't been seen since. Fox estimates that if it were to resurface, it "...could easily fetch in excess of seven figures."
• In preparation for the book Fox contacted Eric Stoltz, who has always maintained complete silence on the subject of his tenure as Marty McFly. The two got together and seem to have bonded, although at Stoltz's request whatever was discussed about the film stays private. I would love for Stoltz to someday write a book about his BTTF experience - I don't know if it's a sore spot he won't revisit, but if he did I would buy that book.

This was a quick, energetic read but if you want an extremely comprehensive look at the making of BTTF, I highly recommend We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy by Caseen Gaines. 

 

From the book:

Any awkwardness in this meeting was immediately dispelled by Eric's grace. He entered with a smile, and we quickly acknowledged that neither of us had an issue with the other. What transpired on Back to the Future had not made us enemies or fated rivals; we were just two dedicated actors who had poured equal amounts of energy into the same role.  

 

Happy Inception Day, Roy Batty!!!

The eloquent replicant turns 10 years old today.

 

Recent reading (Book Clubs): "The Body in the Library" and OMG "Lonesome Dove"

 The Body in the Library: A Miss Marple Mystery 

by Agatha Christie

 

I have to confess that I didn't enjoy this Miss Marple story anywhere near how much I did the first one, A Murder at the Vicarage (although I was happy that the Vicar and his wife made a brief appearance in this one). The ending felt rushed to me and how Jane Marple foresaw the second murder and figured it out seemed too much of a stretch. If I were to go back and re-read it I might find a few clues, but on the first reading there were few if any. Also, the police seemed a bit too fatuous and reliant when it came to Miss Marple.

 

Christie gets the action going right out of the gate. Colonel and Mrs. Bantry awake to the news that the body of a young woman has been found in their library. The victim sports heavy makeup and dyed platinum blonde hair, is dressed for a party, and is completely unknown to the Bantrys or any of their staff. 

 

The strangulation of Ruby Keene leads the police and Miss Marple, who is immediately summoned by Mrs. Bantry, to a local hotel where Ruby was a dancer, and to a wealthy old man who took a fatherly interest in her. There's the obvious suspect, a local louse with a penchant for bottle blondes. But how Miss Marple wrapped up the case, including discovering not one, but two secret marriages among the cast of characters, just seemed too much for me, unless Miss Marple is psychic. 

 

The good news was that up until the end, the story was a fast read as the investigation propelled forward. I started it in the afternoon and finished it that later that night. That's how good it was until the end, which is why I was so disappointed.

 

The theme for Read Christie this year is Biggest, Best, Beloved, and The Body in the Library was picked as Best Opening. Next month: Beloved Character (s) and the Poirot novel Mrs McGinty's Dead.

 

And then my copy of Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning Lonesome Dove arrived today and holy moly, I had no idea what I was getting into. Lonesome Dove is the January/February "Big Read" for the Hardcore Literature Book Club, emphasis on "Big Read". This baby is 858 pages. It's a brick. I could hurt someone with this book, just chuck it at their head in self-defense. Good thing I got the Christie reading done early, because I'll need to spend some serious time on Lonesome Dove. Wish me luck!

FYI, "Metropolis" was set in 2026

I wasn't previously aware of this, but now that we're in 2026 it keeps popping up on my social media: The dystopian future portrayed in Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece Metropolis was set in 2026.

 

You can read whatever you want into that.

 

Amazing film, BTW. Lang was a genius. The script was by his then-wife, Thea von Harbou.

 

Poster from the Wikipedia link, other photos from the film's imdb page.

 

And just like that...

The storms that plagued Southern California's Christmas and New Year's have finally departed and today, the sun is back out and the skies are blue again.

 

You'd never know it was pouring rain less than 24 hours ago. Amazeballs.

 

Reading resolutions on steroids

One thing I've been wanting to do is stop the time-wasting activities (looking at you internet and my personal laziness) and more time reading. With that in mind I've made a couple of big commitments this year. First up: taking another shot at Read Christie. I tried this in 2024 but didn't make it all the way through, but I'm hoping for better results this time around. 

The 2026 theme is "Biggest, Best, Beloved" and here is the monthly schedule:

 

January (Best Opening): The Body in the Library (Marple)

 

February (Beloved Character/s): Mrs McGinty's Dead (Poirot)

 

March (Biggest Impact on You as a Young Reader): Murder on the Orient Express (Poirot)

 

April (Beloved in Your Collection): A Caribbean Mystery (Marple)

 

May (Best Short Story Collection): The Labours of Hercules (Poirot)

 

June (Best Read in One Sitting): The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot)

 

July (Best-Kept Secret): The Rose and the Yew Tree (Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott)

 

August (Beloved Duo): By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Tommy and Tuppence)

 

September (Best According to Agatha): Endless Night (Stand alone)

 

October (Best Cold Case): Sleeping Murder (Marple)

 

November (Biggest Inspiration): And Then There Were None (Stand alone)

 

December (Best Seasonal Read): Hercule Poirot's Christmas

 

2026 (Best Book About Agatha Christie): An Autobiography     

 

This means we have five Hercule Poirots, three Miss Marples, one Tommy/Tuppence, two stand alones, one of the novels Christie wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and her autobiography. Of all of these, I've only read Roger Ackroyd and And Then There Were None, so this year promises lots of new experiences.

 

As if that wasn't enough, I also recently discovered the Hardcore Literature Book Club when the video announcing their 2026 schedule popped up on my YouTube feed. I was blown away by the sheer depth of materials they read and although it's hideously overambitious, I just couldn't help signing up.  

 

For January/February we're reading Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and some ancient Greek tragedies, most of which I already covered in my Mythology class earlier this year. So that will involve revisiting material I've already read including Oedipus Rex, which was my favorite out of everything we read (which was saying a lot - I loved pretty much everything in that class). 

 

Just some of the works on the 2026 schedule are The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, along with The Bhagavad Gita and Beowulf. There will also be short stories and poetry, and a TBA surprise Dickens novel for the holidays. 

 

Wish me luck. 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Mom would be 84 today if she was still with us. 

 

 

Okay, Sophie - Challenge accepted?

I marvel that Sophie has made it to the age of twenty, then this pops up:

 

 

You can read all about thirty year old Flossie here. 

 

All joking aside, I honestly don't think for a second that Sophie has another ten years on her. I'm just grateful that at her age, she has the quality of life that she does. Other than being much thinner than in her earlier years, she's pretty much the same Sophie as always. She's still strong enough to jump up on my bed and my desk, so she's still got enough strength to carry on.

 

Oh, and there's also this from the same article:

 

 

Thirty-eight? Holy cats!

 

Only time will tell how Sophie does in comparison to Flossie and Creme Puff. In the meantime, I'll appreciate every day she does have.

 

 

Happy New Year's and Happy Public Domain Day!

2026 is upon us! 

One thing that has become a NY tradition for me is checking out the works entering the public domain. You can find the complete list here, but here are a few that jumped out at me: 

 

Books:

• The Maltese Falcon (full book version) (Dashiell Hammett)
• The Murder at the Vicarage (The first Miss Marple story) (Agatha Christie) 
• The first four Nancy Drew books.
• As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
• Private Lives (Noel Coward) 
• Are you old? Would you like to feel older? The debut of Dick and Jane is now in the public domain: Elson Basic Readers (William H. Elson) 

Films:

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Director: Lewis Milestone, winner of the Oscar for Best Picture) 
• Animal Crackers (Director: Victor Heerman, starring the Marx Brothers)
• The Blue Angel (Director: Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich)
• Anna Christie (Director: Clarence Brown, starring Greta Garbo)
• Hell's Angels (Director: Howard Hughes, film debut of Jean Harlow) 

Music:

• Four songs by George and Ira Gershwin: I Got Rhythm, I've Got a Crush on You, But Not for Me, Embraceable You
• Dream a Little Dream of Me (Gus Kahn/Fabian Andre/Wilbur Schwandt)
• Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight (Al Lewis/Al Sherman)
• Just a Gigolo (first English translation by Irving Caeser) 

Characters/Comics/Cartoons: various Betty Boop, Pluto, Blondie and Dagwood cartoons and comics, along with some more Mickey Mouse cartoons and comic strips, and ten more of Disney's Silly Symphonies.

 

Some interesting stuff this year. 

Here comes 2026!!!

I know I probably say this every year, but 2026...sooooo futuristic!

 

Here's a wild thought: we're now closer to 2030 than 2020.  SOOOOO FUTURISTIC!

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

 

 

December Words of Wisdom

I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a horse. (John Galsworthy) 

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

 

Don't waste time on anything that doesn't thrill you or bring you love. (Gil Gerard, RIP) 

 

I still remember the days of sitting at book signings, playing with my pen when no one would come, and still I even then thought I was living the dream, because I had a book out. (Harlan Coben) 

 

The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest imaginable thing, and you work off the resonance. (Richard Price)