An eclectic blend of a conversational Coffee Klatch with a sense of wonder, discovery, and intellectual playfulness, much like the historical Cabinets of Curiosities that housed rare artifacts, oddities, and treasures.
In this weekly newsletter, each issue opens a drawer to reveal something fascinating, funny, or thought-provoking. It’s part archive, part adventure!
Cabinet Drawer of the Week
B-movies have been a staple of my media consumption for most of my life. In general, B-movies are defined as low-budget movies that are independent (no studio backing). The actual technical definition is that a B-movie was the second movie on a double bill. It was typically a low budget formula type film, which fell somewhere in the suspense, horror, sci-fi, western, exploitation or gangster genres, although there were other genres covered as well.
One major factor has been my love of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). That’s a show where a person and a couple of robots are trapped up in space being forced to watch the worst movies ever made. They’ve launched their own platform for showing their own material and you can see all available episodes from the first ten years: https://www.gizmoplex.com/
So many of the movies I watch in this genre just make me laugh now. Bad acting, bad directing, silly plots, bad special effects, they all make me laugh. The fun of B-movies is riffing on them, making fun of them. It’s not to say we don’t value the movies, just that we pick on them, like we pick on a silly friend.
Here is a link to my collection of tons of B-movie information: https://www.listobsession.com/b-movies/
Thoughts from the Nook
Wealthy Ancient Romans did not use rooms called vomitoria to purge food during meals so they could continue eating and vomiting was not a regular part of Roman dining customs. The vomitorium of an amphitheater or stadium was a passageway allowing quick exit at the end of an event. The relation of the word “vomit” to the word “vomitorium” comes from both deriving from a Latin term meaning “to spew forth”, referring to food in “vomit” and spectators of an event in “vomitorium”.
Trivia Espresso Shot
The first movie made in color was “Visit to the Seaside“, which was made in 1908.
Reference Desk
The Bodleian Library in Oxford is the main research library there. The University of Oxford was established around 1096AD and Sir Thomas Bodley founded the library named after him in 1602. The library is also a member of the Bodleian Libraries, which are 28 libraries that serve the University of Oxford.
The Bodleian Library contains over 13 million printed items!
Dad Joke Cupboard
I gave up my seat on the bus to a blind lady. And that is how I lost my job as a bus driver.
Composer Corner
Vasily Kalinnikov, born 13 January 1866, was a Russian composer who unfortunately died from tuberculosis two days before his 35th birthday. Among his friends were Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Symphony No. 1 | Tsar Boris | The Cedar and the Palm | Symphony No. 2
From the Archives
When I was finishing my master’s degree program in Music Composition in 2010, I had to put together a recital of music I had written. Below is a video of one of the pieces I wrote, called “Snaggleteeth,” for trombone, piano, and two percussionists. This composition used spatial or proportional notation, with each “measure” lasting a set number of seconds and the notes to be played based on their physical location within the measure. It requires timing as well as close coordination between the musicians.
Here’s what the score looks like:
The complete score is available for purchase at SheetMusicPlus. The sound and performance techniques, like the notation, are a bit avant-garde, but fun.
Recipe Card
Louisiana Hot Crab Dip
Ingredients
8 ounces crabmeat
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons minced green onions (white and green parts)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Combine all of the ingredients in a casserole dish and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Adjust seasoning to taste. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until lightly golden on top.
Serve hot with baguettes, pretzels, crackers, chips, celery sticks or other veggies, and hot sauce on the side for those who like it spicy.
Yield: About 1½ cups
Puzzle Pause
I always have a jigsaw puzzle going at home. This new section has a photo of the current state of my current puzzle.
Re-Creating History
This week is the 9th Annual American Heritage Days at South Park in Mansfield, Ohio. It’s a FREE event and here is their event schedule.
The Richland Early American Center for History invites you to discover life in the early America during the 18th and 19th century from living historical re-enactors.
Take a step back in time and experience history as it comes alive! There will be speakers, musket demonstrations, 18th century blanket traders, Indian artifacts and old firearms displays, period dance, blacksmithing and rope making in the blacksmith shop.
https://www.richlandsource.com/2025/09/25/american-heritage-days-returns-to-south-park-on-oct-4/
Voting Brackets
Our current voting bracket is Favorite Beetles and we’re in the semifinals. On Monday we begin the final round and on Wednesday we announce the winner and begin our next topic: a DOUBLE BRACKET of our Favorite Fall Movies! These movies either happen during fall, have a theme of autumn, or are considered good to watch in the fall, and we’ll be voting on which movies are best for fall.
Our Voting Brackets are free and open to anyone in the world and we have a website for it: https://votingbrackets.com/ New rounds begin every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We have completed more than 140 brackets over the last seven years. Here is a full list of all the results back to the beginning.
Marginalia
“The noblest art is that of making others happy.” - P.T. Barnum
Food Holidays This Week
Sun, Sep 28 – National Drink Beer Day, National Strawberry Cream Pie Day
Mon, Sep 29 – National Coffee Day, National Biscotti Day, National Mocha Day
Tue, Sep 30 – National Mulled Cider Day
Wed, Oct 1 – World Vegetarian Day, World Sake Day, International Coffee Day, National Pumpkin Spice Day, National Pumpkin Seed Day, National Kale Day, National Homemade Cookie Day
Thu, Oct 2 – National French Fried Scallops Day
Fri, Oct 3 – World Smoothie Day, International Crumhorn Day, National Caramel Custard Day, National Soft Taco Day
Sat, Oct 4 – International Scottish Gin Day, National Vodka Day, National Taco Day, Cinnamon Roll Day
Sun, Oct 5 – National Apple Betty Day, National Rocky Mountain Oyster Day
The Index
Today’s curated list: Top 10 Mystery Movies!
I found 33 lists online of “best mystery movies of all time” and averaged them all to create a compilation list of the 400 Best Mystery Movies. Here are the top 10:
Se7en (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
Rear Window (1954)
Chinatown (1974)
Psycho (1960)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Memento (2000)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Knives Out (2019)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
What are YOUR favorite mystery movies? Feel free to discuss in the comments.
Next Time in the Klatch
• How I combined my interests of music composition and medieval dance
Until next time, stay curious!