Saturday, June 09, 2012

And Keep Off His Lawn!

WRCBtv.com: A 67-year-old Chattanooga man didn't back down when someone tried to rob him in a grocery store parking lot. His response sent the suspect running, but he didn't make it far.

Song of the Day

Solomon Burke ~ Cry To Me - YouTube:

100 Incredible Views Out Of Airplane Windows

100 Incredible Views Out Of Airplane Windows

Today's Vintage Ad

‘Star Wars’ as a Dr. Seuss Book

‘Star Wars’ as a Dr. Seuss Book

Sweetness and Style: Kate Greenaway's Children

Under the Window -  Pictures and Rhymes for ChildrenSweetness and Style: Kate Greenaway's Children: Kate Greenaway was a late 19th-century author and illustrator. Along with Randolph Caldecott and Walter Crane, she was one of the three most influential, popular and respected English children’s illustrators of the time. Over a century after her death, her work remains sought-after, and The Kate Greenaway Medal, an annual prize (since 1955) awarded for excellence in the field of English children’s illustration, lives on in her honor.

14 Fictional Bookworms We All Looked Up To

14 Fictional Bookworms We All Looked Up To

PaperBack


Sanders Anne Laubenthal, Excalibur, Ballantine, 1973

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 30 Most Iconic Movie Images

Math Profs . . . Is There Anything They Can't Do?

Math professor's side mirror that eliminates 'blind spot' receives US patent

The Most Surprising Movie Cons

The Most Surprising Movie Cons

100 Ideas That Changed Film

100 Ideas That Changed Film

Mutiny on the Bounty

"Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) Trailer - YouTube:

Friday, June 08, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Brothers duke it out using Gatorade, granola as weapons

Watch this student's nerdy typewriter prank

Watch this student's nerdy typewriter prank

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Texas Couple Sues Angel the Psychic, Belo, the Times and CNN Over False Claims Of a Mass Grave at Their House

Song of the Day

Garnet Mimms ft. The Enchanters - Cry Baby - YouTube:

Or Maybe Not

25 Things You Didn't Know About "Mad Men" That Will Blow Your Mind

Today's Vintage Ad

Book Giveaway

Tense Moments: Father's Day giveaway

Some Great Covers Here

5 Things Old Magazines Apparently Believed About Women

On the Road Again

Judy and I are headed up the Interstate for a day or so, leaving our cat and the Internet behind. The cat's in good hands, and, as you know, I'm not addicted to the Internet, so I'll be fine. Just fine. Really. Nothing to worry about. Not a thing. Anyway, I won't be responding to e-mails for a while, but the blog will roll on with some scheduled posts if Blogger's working. I'll be back soon.

PaperBack


H. P. Lovecraft & Others, The Spawn of Cthulhu, Ballantine, 1971

Barry Unsworth, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Barry Unsworth, considered one of the foremost historical novelists in English, who was known for rich, densely textured fiction that conjured lost worlds — those of the Trojan War, medieval Europe and the Napoleonic age, among many others — died on Tuesday in Perugia, Italy. He was 81 and had lived in the Umbria region of Italy for many years.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

13 Weird Facts About Animal Brains

13 Weird Facts About Animal Brains

5 Light-Hearted Movies With Dark Moral Implications

5 Light-Hearted Movies With Dark Moral Implications

Presidential Campaign Posters

Presidential Campaign Posters: Two Hundred Years of Election Art

Celebrating Ray Bradbury's Life With His 10 Best Works

Celebrating Ray Bradbury's Life With His 10 Best Works

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Ray Bradbury Throughout The Years, And A Final Work

Ray Bradbury Throughout The Years, And A Final Work

Forgotten Books: The Run to Morning -- James Graham

Harry Patterson has written under quite a few names other than his own: Hugh Marlow, Martin Fallon, Jack Higgins, and James Graham come to mind. For me, his novels that appeared in the U. S. in the '70s are some of the most entertaining adventure fiction around. I've read many of them at least twice, and I never fail to enjoy them. The books start fast and never slow down, and The Run to Morning is no exception.

Oliver Grant, former Special Forces operative in Viet Nam, is coerced by Dimitri Stavrou into taking on the task of breaking Stavrou's son out of a Lybian prison. Stavrou is holding Grant's blind sister hostage until the job is done. He's also forcing Grant to take along Justin Langley, a dangerous and deadly adversary. We know, of course, that the prison break will succeed, but there are plenty of twists both before and after to keep us guessing. And action. Lots of action on land and sea. Explosions, gunfights, chases, captures, escapes, you name it. It's all here, along with a great collection of bigger-than-life characters and plentiful derring-do.

The story is related in the first person except for one chapter. I found that break a little jarring the first time I read the book, and it strikes me the same way this time. I supposed Graham felt he had to do it, and I can see why. It's not a big deal. What I like is the way Graham breaks the "rules" for writing a thriller. He sprinkles adverbs liberally through out, and they work perfectly well for me. I'm always happy with adverbs, and I've never understood why some people object to them. Graham doesn't mind a cliche or two or three either, though he doesn't sprinkle them as liberally as the adverbs.

I mentioned the bigger-than-life characters, and in this book I got a special kick out of Stavrou, who'd a direct steal of Kasper Gutman. His physical appearance and dialogue are straight out of Hammett.

If you've never tried Graham/Higgins/Patterson/etc., this book is a fine place to start.

Mutiny on the Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty - Trailer [1935] [8th Oscar Best Picture] - YouTube:

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Alvin in the News!

Texas man installed secret camera in ex-wife’s shower for months: cops

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

NBC’s “Mystery Movie” Turns 40: “Madigan”

Jeff Pierce at The Rap Sheet is doing a month-long series of the NBC Mystery Movie.  Today's piece is on Madigan.  Check out the whole series, if you haven't already.

The Rap Sheet: NBC’s “Mystery Movie” Turns 40: “Madigan”

"Return Of The Jedi" Update

7 Minutes Of Unreleased "Return Of The Jedi" Film Surfaces

Algae Update

Huge algae blooms discovered beneath Arctic ice

Bob Welch, R. I. P.

latimes.com: Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and singer Bob Welch has been found dead in Nashville of an apparent suicide, according to the Nashville Police Department. The musician, who worked with the band in the early 1970s and later had hit solo songs such as "Ebony Eyes," was 66 years old.

Radio Free Needle

Radio Free Needle - powered by FeedBurner: The brainchild of Dan O'Shea, Radio Free Needle launches today with a Kieran Shea (no relation) spectacular.


Kieran and Dan talk about writing and, um, other things.


Then Dan reads Kieran's Charlie Byrne story, which appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of NEEDLE: A Magazine of Noir.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Amazon.com: Death in a Wine Dark Sea (9781579622824): Lisa King: Books: Imagine a 32-year old Nancy Drew who's seen a thing or two, has a sophisticated career as a wine magazine writer, is not interested in monogamy, and has the kind of sex appeal only an independent woman can possess.

Though she despises the groom, Jean Applequist boards an elegant yacht in San Francisco Bay for the wedding of her good friend Diane and wealthy real estate developer Martin Wingo. But things go terribly wrong: the evening ends in tragedy, not celebration when, after exchanging vows, Wingo disappears into the bay.

Diane asks Jean to investigate Martin's murder out of fear that the police will uncover too many of his secrets. Jean agrees, but discovers it's not easy to find out who killed a blackmailer and a womanizer. The list of potential suspects is long.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Man arrested after 'knife and soy sauce' incident 

Song of the Day

Janis Joplin - Cry Baby - YouTube:

Chicken Thief

Courant.com: The men who don the chicken suit know the dangers.

Still, Eric Didio was startled Wednesday afternoon by a brazen thief with no respect for feathered advertising. Didio, 23, an employee of Boston Market restaurant, was cavorting in his bright yellow costume, waving a small American flag to passersby on Pleasant Valley Road, when a brazen thief interrupted his chicken-hawking.

Today's Vintage Ad

5 Ways College Accidentally Prepares You for the Real World

5 Ways College Accidentally Prepares You for the Real World

Or Maybe You Will

6 One-of-a-Kind Things You Won't Believe Had Duplicates

PaperBack


Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, Bantam, 1954

Followers of this Blog Have Certainly Heard of It

The extraordinary 2,000-year-old computer that you've never heard of

AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in May 2012

AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in May 2012: The sad death of the author and illustrator Maurice Sendak on May 8 sparked demand for rare copies of his classic children’s picture book, Where the Wild Things Are. The interest culminated with the sale of a $25,000 signed first edition of the book – a record for any Sendak book on AbeBooks.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

First blind contestant on Master Chef is from Houston

The Truth About Gunfights in the Old West

The Truth About Gunfights in the Old West

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

WOAI, San Antionio: The Texas Department of Transportation said today a toll road being built from San Antonio to north of Austin could be the first road in the country to have a posted 85 mile per hour speed limit.

Vampire Update

Bulgarian "Vampire" Skeletons Uncovered In Monastary

One-Eyed Jacks

ONE EYED JACKS - Brando's Masterpiece - Theatrical Trailer - YouTube:

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Ray Bradbury Documentary

Vintage Ray Bradbury documentary.  


Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Vote for The 5-2

The 5-2 : Crime Poetry Weekly: California Casualty Insurance has chosen The 5-2 as a top blog for law enforcement officers. During the month of June, you can vote for The 5-2 in a charity competition with other top blogs. If we win, California Casualty will donate $200 to the the American Red Cross.

Ray Bradbury’s Letter: All My Friends Were On The Shelves Above

Ray Bradbury’s Letter: All My Friends Were On The Shelves Above

Free Today for Kindle

Hoxton Kirby - Vampire Investigators (Book 1)Amazon.com: Hoxton Kirby - Vampire Investigators (Book 1) eBook: Belle Marsh: Kindle Store: Cluedo meets Dracula?


Traditional whodunnit meets the vampire genre. With plenty of bite, a love triangle and a link to the past. Who killed an American business man in his bed with the Sabatier knife?

Ray Bradbury

I don't have anything to add to all the great tributes to Ray Bradbury that have appeared on the Internet already. All I can say is that I remember being 12 or 14 and reading "The Fireman" in a secondhand copy of Galaxy magazine and thinking it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever read or ever would read. Then I found The Martian Chronicles and had the same feeling all over again. Those were the days.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Because this is a family friendly site, there is no way I can link to this site.  It has terrible language in the headline (and elsewhere) and is about a guy with a really bad attitude.  It is definitely NSFW.  Key quote: "They have to take pictures of all their tattoos and he said, 'Make sure you get this one right here,'" Wallace said. "Then they all said, 'Woody, you got to get in here.' I saw it and said, 'Is that real?' and he said 'Yup!'"

He and the Wig Shop Woman Should Get Together

Cannibal Copycat? Police Say Man High On Bath Salts Threatened To Eat Officer 

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Wig Theft Suspect Bit Store Owner, Cops: Police

20 Of Ray Bradbury's Thoughts On Life, Death, And Writing

20 Of Ray Bradbury's Thoughts On Life, Death, And Writing

A Tribute to Ray Bradbury

A Tribute to Ray Bradbury

Song of the Day

The Platters by Herb Reed ''SIXTEEN TONS'' - YouTube: Herb Reed, who passed away yesterday, didn't get many chances to sing lead with the Platters. Here's what he could do when he did get a shot.

Free Today for Kindle

Action: Pulse Pounding Tales Volume 1Amazon.com: Action: Pulse Pounding Tales Volume 1 eBook: Paul D Brazill, James Oliver Hilton, Col Bury, Richard Godwin, Matt Hilton, Zoe Sharp, Stephen Leather, Steven Savile, Adrian Magson: Kindle Store: "This book should not be purchased by asthmatics or heavy smokers as it leaves a fit person breathless with excitement." ***** Crimesquad.com


37 Action-packed Pulse Pounding Tales!


That’s exactly what you get in this collection of action stories from top thriller authors Stephen Leather, Matt Hilton, Zoe Sharp, Adrian Magson, Steven Savile and many more, including stories from exciting up-and-comers.

Dino Update.

Diet season? Dinosaurs weighed 'tens of tons' less than previously thought | Fox News: To come up with their skinny dinosaur suggestion, the researchers analyzed the skeletons of living species and compared the skeletal sizes with those animals' actual weight. Using 3D images made by laser scans of full sets of bones from 14 large mammals, including a polar bear, giraffe and elephant, the researchers calculated the "minimum wrapping volume" needed to cover a skeleton with flesh.

Today's Vintage Ad

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston Mom Escapes Robbery in Getaway Car

Knees Calhoon Update

You're all listening to the daily song posted by Fender Tucker, right? If not, it's time to start. Each song comes with a nice reminiscence, and today's is no exception. Check it out.

Knees Calhoon's Midnight Ramble: Hi Hello Mary

Ray Bradbury, R. I. P.

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles: Ray Bradbury — author of The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and many more literary classics — died this morning in Los Angeles, at the age of 91.

Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

Or Maybe Not

8 Prisons That Might Be Haunted

PaperBack

William Hope Hodgson, The Boats of the Glen Carrig, Ballantine, 1971

[J. Kingston Pierce of the estimable blog The Rap Sheet, has mentioned to me that while the left-hand scan can be enlarged, the right-hand scan can't. I have no idea why this should be so. I blame Blogger. If anybody knows how I can fix this, let me know.]

Huge? I Report, You Decide

Huge alligator seized from New Bedford apartment

Gorgeous Black and White Photos of NYC in the ’30s

Gorgeous Black and White Photos of NYC in the ’30s

Are You Obsessed?

Holmes Obsession: Solving The Mystery Of The Sherlock Craze

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Top 10 Epic eBay Auctions

Top 10 Epic eBay Auctions

32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow

32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Man kills neighbor after complaining about the noise from the neighbor's wife's party but says 'it was self defense' 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Jeremiah Johnson

Jeremiah Johnson - Movie Trailer - YouTube:

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Nook version of War and Peace contains embarrassing search-and-replace error

Nook version of War and Peace contains embarrassing search-and-replace error 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Robin Evans, Texas Woman, To Camp On Church Roof Until City Donates 50,000 Pounds Of Food

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Lambda Awards

The Rap Sheet: Hail the Lammys

Isn't He Just Borrowing It?

CBS New York: Police in New Jersey are looking for a thief with an unusual mode of operation, he has allegedly been stealing and returning the same car.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Crosscut (A Nicholas Colt Thriller)Amazon.com: Crosscut (A Nicholas Colt Thriller) eBook: Jude Hardin: Kindle Store: Things are going pretty well for Nicholas Colt. He has a loving relationship with his wife, his blues band has a house gig at a club in Jacksonville, and his adopted daughter is finishing her senior year in high school. He has no intention of reactivating his PI licensee, and he certainly has no plans to travel to Tennessee to investigate a double homicide and an old girlfriend’s missing brother.


Until she tells him something that makes his heart pause and his jaw drop.


Are the Harvest Angels, the white supremacist militia that Colt shut down three years ago, back in business?


Colt makes the trip to the mountains and soon thinks he has it solved: typical copycat case. Unfortunately, another unimaginable atrocity is waiting for him back home in Florida. Colt walks into a bloodbath, and he soon realizes nothing is typical and nothing is solved.


While relentlessly hunting down those responsible, Colt is abducted, drugged, and brainwashed before he can alert the authorities. Now he is a pawn in a heinous scheme that is bigger, badder, and literally more earth-shattering than he could have possibly anticipated.

Herb Reed, R. I. P.

Platters founder Herb Reed dies at 83 - seattlepi.com: — Herb Reed, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," has died. He was 83.

Song of the Day

Whip it - Devo - YouTube:

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Ice Cap: A Mystery (Jackie Swaitkowski Mysteries)
I've enjoyed the earlier mysteries in this series quite a bit. Check this one out.

Amazon.com: Ice Cap: A Mystery (Jackie Swaitkowski Mysteries) (9781250005175): Chris Knopf: Books: A new addition to Chris Knopf's fun, smartly-plotted series starring Jackie Swaitkowski, Hamptons lawyer to the rich and criminal


It’s the middle of the worst winter on record in the Hamptons, and Jackie Swaitkowski’s client, Franco Raffinni, is headed for a 1st degree murder rap. The case pulls her reluctantly back into her late-husband’s extended, and partly nutty family, entangles her in intrigue both criminal and romantic, and challenges her basic principles of right and wrong. Crazy weather, crazy artists, the uniquely close-knit and colorful Polish-American community in the East End of Long Island, organized crime and digital wizardry all play a role in Ice Cap, a murder mystery that could only happen in the Hamptons.

Today's Vintage Ad

Must-See Movie

'Million-Dollar Crocodile' premieres in Beijing - China.org.cn: The film tells the story of an eight-meter-long crocodile on the rampage in Beijing.

According to Lin, the movie's special effects will offer viewers a vivid experience of the terrifying monster.

5 Famous Movies That Shamelessly Ripped-Off Obscure Ones

5 Famous Movies That Shamelessly Ripped-Off Obscure Ones

Will You Turn into a Hoarder? See What the Stars Have to Say: Astrology Signs, Ranked for Hoardiness

Will You Turn into a Hoarder?

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

abc27 WHTM: A northeastern Pennsylvania man faces charges he assaulted a 9-year-old boy after losing a water balloon fight.

PaperBack

David Lindsay, A Voyage to Arcturus, Ballantine, 1974

10 Most Quotable Movies for Geeks

10 Most Quotable Movies for Geeks (That Aren't Star Wars Films)

Rare Color Footage From The 1939 World Series

Rare Color Footage From The 1939 World Series

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Name the 13 Best-Selling Candies in the U.S.

Name the 13 Best-Selling Candies in the U.S. Online Quiz

Will the Persecution Never End?

10 Most hated people in America

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Paris Hilton Update

NY Daily News: “I love this judge. He’s so old,” Hilton, 31, was overheard telling her legal team as she waited to meet with 78-year-old Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ordered her and Italian lingerie manufacturer LeBonitas to settle their dueling lawsuits.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Overlooked Movies -- Fandango

Okay, you know if you've followed the blog for very long that I'm a sucker for coming-of-age stories, and I love this one. One reason is that a lot of it was filmed in Texas. The director is Kevin Reynolds (it was his first movie), and he's a graduate of Baylor, where his dad was president. The graduates in the movie, however, are supposedly from The University of Texas at Austin.

Besides being a coming-of-age story, it's also a road movie. The year is 1971, and Viet Nam's in full swing. Kevin Costner and four of his fraternity brothers (one of whom remains mostly unconscious for the entire running time) know that their draft numbers are up. They decide to have one last fling before whatever comes next, and they set off in a beautiful blue Cadillac. You can see a little of it in the poster there on the left. They have some amazing and hilarious adventures before the end of the journey, and I got a huge kick out of all of them. You can check the trailer above for some snippets of two of them.

I'm a nostalgic kind of guy, and this movie pushed a lot of the right buttons for me. It was the movie that brought Costner (who's very good) and Kevin Reynolds together, but don't hold that against it. Check it out.

Fandango

Fandango (1985) Original Theatrical Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, June 04, 2012

2012 Shamus Awards Nominees

Best Hardcover Novel

Bye, Bye, Baby by Max Allan Collins / Tom Doherty

1222 by Anne Holt / Scribner

When the Thrill is Gone by Walter Mosley / Riverhead Books

A Bad Night’s Sleep by Michael Wiley / Minotaur

The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line by Richard Yancey / Minotaur

BEST FIRST PI NOVEL

The Plot Against Hip Hop by Nelson George / Akashic

Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran / Houghton Mifflin

The Ocean Forest by Troy D. Nooe / Ingalls

The Shortcut Man by P.G. Sturges / Scribner

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams / Bantam

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL PI NOVEL

Quarry’s Ex by Max Allan Collins / Hard Case Crime

Threat Warning by John Gilstrap / Kensington

Serial by John Lutz / Kensington

Long Pig by James L. Ross / Perfect Crime Books

Fun & Games by Duane Swiercyzinski / Mulholland

BEST PI SHORT STORY

“A Bullet From Yesterday” by Terence Faherty in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Jan.)

“Mr. Monk & The Sunday Paper” by Lee Goldberg in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (July)

“Who I Am” by Michael Z. Lewin in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Dec.)

“Vampire Slayer Murdered in Key West” by Michael West in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Sept. / Oct.)

“Dancer in a Storm” by L. A. Wilson in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (Jan. / Feb.)

PWA was founded in 1981 by Robert J. Randisi to recognize the private eye genre and its writers. P.I. Guy logo by Terry Beatty.

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Pulp of the Week

Return of the Gasbags

Army Readies Its Mammoth Spy Blimp for First Flight

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Florida woman uses nail polish remover to set husband on fire

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Device To Purify Water Led To Terminal Evacuation

Key quote:  No criminal charges were filed.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

 Weird News: Investigators say the 29-year-old man got into a fight with the woman over groceries. That's when the victim says the woman took off her leg and started hitting him.

Canada: Tough on Crime

Murderer's corpse dragged from car, eaten by bear in Canada

Hat tip to Michael Bracken.

An Ace on the Shelf – Pioneering Science Fiction from Ace Books

A Night for Screaming by Harry WhittingtonAbeBooks: An Ace on the Shelf – Pioneering Science Fiction from Ace Books: Fans of science fiction owe a great debt of gratitude to Ace Books. This pioneering publisher helped shape the genre by promoting influential authors and numerous important titles during the 1950s and 1960s.


Ace Books was founded in New York by Aaron Wyn in 1952. The company began as a publisher of mysteries and western novels but quickly branched into science fiction, where it would find great success, including multiple wins at the Hugo and Nebula awards. Ace helped to launch the careers of several noted authors and published the debut novels of Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin and R.A. Lafferty.

And Keep Off His Lawn!

Man, 58, accused of using hatchet to attack, injure brother

The Hammett Prize

Mystery Fanfare: HAMMETT PRIZE

Song of the Day

The Beatles - Mr. Moonlight - YouTube:

Today's Vintage Ad

Or Maybe Not

5 Ridiculous Medical Myths You Probably Believe

10 New Must-Reads for June

10 New Must-Reads for June

The 5 Most Ingenious Worlds Ever Invented by Science Fiction

The 5 Most Ingenious Worlds Ever Invented by Science Fiction

PaperBack

Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast, Ballantine, 1968

Yet Another List I'm Not On

Contemporary Authors We Think We’ll Still Be Reading in 100 Years

Or Maybe You Did

5 More Upbeat Songs You Didn't Realize Are Depressing

Happy Anniversary to Me and Judy!

Or Maybe Not

19 Things That Will Drive Your OCD Self Insane

4 Reasons the Miami Marlins Are the Tackiest Team in Sports

4 Reasons the Miami Marlins Are the Tackiest Team in Sports

6 Fictional Places You Won't Believe Actually Exist (Part 2)

6 Fictional Places You Won't Believe Actually Exist (Part 2)

William Hanley, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: William Hanley, who received critical acclaim as a Broadway and Off Broadway playwright in the 1960s and who later won Emmys for television scripts, died on May 25 at his home in Ridgefield, Conn. He was 80.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Kalifornia

Kalifornia (1993) HD trailer - YouTube:

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Interview with Bruce DeSilva

Murderous Musings: Cliffwalk: Interview with Bruce DeSilva

Nero Award Finalists

2012 NERO AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. The Nero Award celebrates literary excellence in the mystery genre.

  • Guilt by Association, Marcia Clark
  • The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen
  • The House of Silk, Anthony Horowitz
  • Spiral, Paul McEuen
  • Though Not Dead, Dana Stabenow
  • Black Orchid Blues, Persia Walker
Past winners have included Tess Gerritsen, Lee Child, and Martha Grimes, among many others.

The Wolfe Pack, the literary society that celebrates all things Nero Wolfe, also presents the Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA) in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the Novella format popularized by Rex Stout. The BONA is also announced at the Black Orchid Banquet in December.

About the Wolfe Pack

The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has more than 450 members worldwide.

To learn more, visit
www.nerowolfe.org or send mail to Jane K. Cleland at NeroAwardChair@nerowolfe.org.


Free Today for Kindle

The Bastard HandAmazon.com: The Bastard Hand eBook: Heath Lowrance: Kindle Store: Charlie Wesley is not right in the head. He’s escaped from a mental hospital up north and hitchhiked his way south, the voice of his dead brother urging him on. But when Charlie hits Memphis, the fine line between his delusions and reality shift in the form of the Reverend Phineas Childe—a preacher bent on booze and women; a Man of God with a dark agenda. Charlie is the perfect pawn in the Reverend’s game of retribution. And the small North Mississippi town of Cuba Landing will be the setting for the Reverend’s very personal Apocalypse. . . .

Free Today for Kindle

Amazon.com: Monster: Nightrider's Vengeance eBook: J.D. Nixx: Kindle Store: The ultimate terror weapon is alive...and she's out for revenge.


Monster: Nightrider's VengeanceIt was an idea born from the madness of the Colony Wars: create living weapons in the shape of man's ancient nightmares. Vampires. Werewolves. Zombies. They turned the tide of war and broke the back of the rebellion. But no one stopped to ask what they would do with a unit of Special Operations-trained vampires when the war was over. Not until it was too late, and the only solution was to try to wipe them out, using a bioweapon tailored to their unique genetic structure.


One survived.


Now Laura So, the last Nightrider, comes out of the darkness of deep space and sets off across humanity's far-flung settled worlds, seeking vengeance on the ones who ordered the massacre of her people, Along with her lover, the more-than-human medic who saved her life, she confronts not only her enemies, but the question of who she is and her place in the universe. Because beneath the monster's skin there beats a heart that's all too human...

Richard Dawson, R. I. P.

Richard Dawson Dies: ‘Family Feud’ Host Was 79 - ABC News: Richard Dawson known best for hosting the “Family Feud” and starring in “Hogan’s Heroes” has died, ABC News has confirmed.


He was 79. He died Saturday due to complications from cancer.


“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered…,” wrote Dawson’s son Gary in a posting on Facebook early this morning.

Song of the Day

Music Video - Power Station - "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" - YouTube:

Amelia Earhart Update

Amelia Earhart: New evidence tells of her last days on a Pacific atoll

The Desert Demons -- Kenneth Robeson (Will Murray)

I didn't pick up the Doc Savage reprints by Bantam at first, but once I did, I ran through a big stack of them, one after the other. I still have dozens of them around here.

Now The Man of Bronze is back in a new series billed as "The All-New WILD Adventures of Doc Savage," the first of which is The Desert Demons. I'm not sure this story is any wilder than the ones in the original series, but it's wild enough, and it's a lot of fun. What Doc is investigating here is the mystery of strange copper-colored clouds that seem alive. They descend on people and things, and when they're gone, nothing is left but shapes that disintegrate into tiny white particles. Even worse from Doc's point of view, one of the people who's disappeared into a copper cloud is his sister, Pat.

The story's full of action from first to last, with car chases, hand grenades, gun battles, fisticuffs, and everything else you'd expect in a fine pulp adventure. Doc's crew -- Ham, Monk, Renny, Long Tom, and Johnny -- are all here, and all play a part. Monk's pig, Habeus Corpus, and Ham's ape, Chemistry, are here, too. And here's the good part: Gators! Doc versus two of the little snappers! Guess who wins.

Will Murray does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the original Doc Savage novels and also the style. It's been a long time since I read the Bantam editions of Doc's exploits, but I think if you slipped this one into the batch, nobody would know it didn't belong there. In fact, it does belong there. It just continues the series in swell fashion.

If you're a fan of Doc, you'll definitely want this one. If you'd like to get to know him and his crew, this would be a great place to start.


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