Often been surprised by a movie after what a film critic said about it? Ever felt cheated out of big bucks on the recommendations of a punk 24-year-old? Or really loved the ones they panned? Well, you no longer need to feel out of step with the current movie review band. Different Drummer is for you. Read more about our take on the film world. And get ready to relive your favorite movies with the recipes that follow each review. You can find many other great recipes in Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook.
Daniel Craig takes his final bow as the inimitable James Bond, pulled back into the spy game just as Michael Corleone was pulled back into the mafia in The Godfather Trilogy.
Read MoreSandra Bullock glows as the lovelorn CTA ticket taker hopelessly in love with a regular commuter, but the whole cast is tremendous as well. She is the shimmering star atop the Christmas tree, but the others are the lights and ornaments that make this film sparkle.
Read More
This 1975 thriller has aged well. The classic paranoia and suspicion of government agencies seem particularly appropriate today. And while it still keeps you riveted to your seat, this thriller actually takes time for character development and great dialogue, unlike the frenetic features Hollywood currently puts out.
Read MoreRattlesnakes, arrows dipped in manure, cattle rustlers, drunken rapists, tornadoes, and a group of hard-headed humans at each other’s throats. Sit back and enjoy the mayhem as you count your blessings.
Read More
If you’d like to time warp to wintry Victorian London this weekend, see this gem of film about the early adventures of Holmes and Watson. Long before Harry Potter and his assorted school chums treated us to mystery and mayhem, Young Sherlock Holmes was up to his eyeballs in adventure at his boarding school as well. Only it’s not magic that the precocious teenager has up his sleeve -- just the mandates of cold, hard logic.
Read MoreAustin is the kind of laid-back city where even Hollywood stars and music legends can abandon their dark glasses and be themselves. Its sophisticated skyline is reflected in the tranquil waters of Lady Bird Lake, but you can eat even the most haute cuisine in your boots and blue jeans here.
Read MoreA world of wet feet and maimed bodies, rotting corpses and rotting souls fueled only by the will to survive just one more day. It is set during the waning days of The Great War – maybe the most dangerous of times, when easy victory appeals to ambitious officers restless in their trenches.
Read MoreThis great series has it all. Brutal battle sequences, excellent character development, nuanced themes reminiscent of both Greek and Shakespearean tragedy, and of course, some pretty great romance, albeit on the graphic side.
Read MoreIn what is arguably the most romantic film ever made, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr exchange witty and self-effacing banter on the long way to love, their airy chitchat hiding two vulnerable hearts.
Read More
Indiana’s version of Dazed and Confused. But it is also very Greek, too, since it asks the question, “Who Am I?” Except we are not talking about kings and queens, but four Bloomington, Indiana, townies trying to find their way in life the year after high school.
Read MoreThey finally get the story straight and the lawmen – not the thuggish criminals – are the real heroes.
Read MoreNew Zealand’s version of Midsomer Murders , but a lot more fun. Replace the rather stuffy and happily married chief inspectors of that English series with Detective Mike Shepherd, who has an indeterminate number of ex wives and a passion for muscle cars and country music, New Zealand style.
Read MoreSeason 4 does not disappoint. It is even more complex and far reaching than the previous series. Instead of self-contained episodes, we have a continuous string of events that test the characters as never before.
Read MoreSecrets. We all Have them. Some we hide them from our parents. But a parent might hide secrets, too. And this one’s a doozy.
Read MoreSam Sade living out his golden years in the South of France. Who would have thunk it? And it’s surprisingly, good, too.
Read MoreWho am I? That question reverberates throughout great literature, including Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye. And it just what JD Vance is asking in Hillbilly Elegy.
Read MoreIt’s witty and sophisticated, with light touches that lure us in. But’s its more like tragedy’s comic relief, which these Shakespearean trained leads wield with terrible ferocity when we least expect it.
Read More
Her Name was Emily. And she is the “ghost” that some say still haunts The Tavern, right here in the heart of Austin, Texas;
During Prohibition, the Enfield Grocery Store assumed an especially important social role in Austin, serving as a nightlife hub. Even though it, on the surface, still operated as a supermarket, rumors suggested that when the sun went down, the upstairs area turned out quite the exhibition.
From a hidden bar to a casino and a brothel, there was nothing that the underbelly of Austin could want that the Enfield couldn’t provide. These underground activities soon took over, and the tavern became more known for its nightlife rather than its produce prices. –Austin Ghost Tours
According to local legend, the second floor of The Tavern (then known as Enfield Grocery) was not only home to illegal booze and a secret brothel in the early 1920s, but also a murder scene. A politician and customer of the clandestine operation was allegedly caught visiting the bordello one evening, and in retribution, murdered the head madam’s young daughter, Emily—whom he hid in a crawl space on the third floor. – Rosie Ninesling, Texas Monthly
Below are images of the stairs to the 2nd floor, the second floor itself, and the infamous crawl space up there where Emily was hidden.
Read more at this link:
Drugged man who plummeted 25ft off bridge believes 'serial killer' stalking Austin tried to drown him.” Daily Mail
Twelve bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake and Colorado River since 2022
Police insist there is no serial killer but the mounting bodies sees rumor persist
Jeff Jones survived falling off bridge near river, thinks he may have been pushed
“New report dismantles viral rumors about serial killer in Austin.
Social media hype fueled panic over a serial killer that didn't exist.”
The new study involved 22 years while the body count has increased drastically in the last 3 years.
In the past three years, the causes of death have been mainly attributed to accidental drownings. Second is suicide, as well as drug overdoses, and natural causes.
By using a longer period of time, the average deaths obscure the more recent uptick in deaths. And buried in the report is the fact that of the recent deaths, “About half a dozen called “unknown.” The link below features facts, interviews, and family members who are not content with the Austin Police Department’s dismissive views on the drownings.
Read more at this link:
This one appears to be an accident, but what about the “Over 3 Dozen Bodies Found in or around Lady Bird Lake since 2022.
Read more here https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
For a more complete summary of events read more here: https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/rainey-street-drownings-the-smiley-face-killer-connection?rq=Petition%20Demands
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
A petition calls out the Austin Police and City officials for what it terms “a miscarriage of Justice,” hinting that there is something “darker at play” here, and accuses officials of treating the victims’ families “callously and without empathy.”
The Serpent’s Tooth: A Texas Mystery
Austin is now the trendy number one city, but back in the eighties it was more laid back – not so many skyscrapers and urban hipsters. Just outside of town, you'd be likely to run into old cowboys, ranch hands, and a diamondback or two. And just maybe – an accidental death not as accidental as it seems…
Complete with Texas Recipes for the Oktoberfest Dinner where all is revealed.
An Illustrated Introduction to Classical Horsemanship: Concepts and Skills from A to Z
by Gary Borich
A comprehensive resource in a succinct alphabetical format that brings the beginning rider through every aspect of learning to train and ride for show and trail.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
