Lots 'o Links (and Burl Ives, too)

For some of the best posts of the week, visit Maggie's Farm and Liz Sheld's Morning Greatness; and if you can stomach it, read "What Happened to Our Country?" by Mike Miller.

One of the most powerful acting performances I've ever seen is that of Burl Ives as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Even with the presence of the gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, he dominates every scene and you are held spellbound. I read that Tennessee Williams wrote the part with him in mind, and he was criticized for putting a folk singer/non-actor in that crucial role. But the electrifying results and the mastery of the language show he made the right decision.

Here are just two of many scenes you can watch and listen to over and over again, the first with the great Judith Anderson, who was also a perfect Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca"; and the second about mendacity.