Saturday, March 15, 2014

David Brenner, R. I. P.

Yahoo News: David Brenner, the gangly, toothy-grinned "Tonight Show" favorite whose brand of observational comedy became a staple for other standup comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Reiser, died Saturday. He was 78.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Florida Man Fatally Stabs Boss Over Photo Taken Without Permission 

New Pulp Awards.

The Rap Sheet: Pulp by the Dozen: the actual commendations won’t be handed out until Sunday, March 23, during MidSouth Con in Memphis, Tennessee. However, the 12 winners have already been announced.

That First Western Novel

Western Fictioneers: That First Western Novel

19 Awe-Inspiringly Perfect Moments Of Historical Sass

19 Awe-Inspiringly Perfect Moments Of Historical Sass

Song of the Day

Etta James - Smokestack Lightnin' - YouTube:

Birding Update

Long-extinct heath hen comes to life in archival film: The film, circa 1918, is the birding equivalent of an Elvis sighting, said Wayne Petersen of Mass Audubon — mind-blowing and transfixing to people who care. It will premier Saturday at a birding conference in Waltham.

Today's Vintage Ad


Top Ten Greatest Swords of All Time

Top Ten Greatest Swords of All Time 

PaperBack



Bill Gault, Murder in the Raw (Ring Around Rosa), Dell, 1959

Why Do We Say “the Plot Thickens”?

“The plot thickens”:  Why Do We Say “the Plot Thickens”? Is It a Soup Metaphor?

I Miss the Old Days

Alexis Di Biasio photographs 1980s and ’90s New York club culture

Live From Space

Live From SpaceThe International Space Station (ISS) orbits the earth at over 17,000 mph. See the world from the perspective of its astronauts and discover what's happening on the ground right now.

Important Research Results

Scientific Research Shows The Five Second Rule Is True 

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 10 Best Robert Frost Poems  

The most famous and anthologized ones are missing, but a couple of my own favorites are there.

Target Earth

▶ 1954 TARGET EARTH TRAILER SCI-FI RICHARD DENNING - YouTube:

Friday, March 14, 2014

Here's the Plot for Your Next Hollywood Skin-Care Guru Thriller

West Hollywood skin-care guru wanted to kill rival, officials say: Dawn DaLuise, well-known as the skin-care guru of the stars, is charged in a murder-for-hire case. Aesthetician Gabriel Suarez was the target, authorities say.

2014 Spur Awards -- Western Writers of America

Spur Awards-- Western Writers of America

Dead Sea Scrolls Update

Nine unopened Dead Sea Scrolls found: Nine newfound penny-sized pieces of parchment belonging to the Dead Sea Scrolls laid unopened for nearly six decades before they were rediscovered in Israel.  

Grammar note: The battle is lost.  Give it up.  Nobody can get it right.  Except you and me, of course.

J.K. Rowling Update

J.K. Rowling Posts Part 1 Of Her 'History Of The Quidditch World Cup' 

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Student, 15, Arrested For Squirting Hand Sanitizer In Teacher's Diet Coke

Or Maybe You Do

Godzilla Facts: TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT GODZILLA

Song of the Day

409-the Beach Boys - YouTube: )

World's 20 Most Stunning Libraries

World's 20 Most Stunning Libraries  

Yes, it's an annoying slideshow, but please whisper your complaints.

Today's Vintage Ad


Mark Twain: The author's recommendations for young readers.

Mark Twain: The author's recommendations for young readers.  

For those who can't read cursive, there's a transcript.

PaperBack



Felice Swados, House of Fury, Avon, 1950

Why is the 'mor' in 'Voldemort' so evil-sounding?

Why is the 'mor' in 'Voldemort' so evil-sounding?

Happy Birthday, Einstein

Happy Birthday, Einstein: The Celebrated Scientist on Fairy Tales and Education: If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be very intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

Nearly 4,000 WWI diaries made available online

The Raw Story: First-hand accounts of trench warfare, gas attacks and battles involving horses and machine guns, are contained in nearly 4,000 diaries released online on Thursday to mark the centenary of the 1914-18 world war.

What Was He Thinking?

Suspected bank robber caught hiding in doughnut shop

Friday is Pi Day

Friday is Pi Day: On Friday, millions of people worldwide will celebrate both a mathematical constant and a sweet filling in a wheaten crust. In other words—Pi Day.

FFB: The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology -- John W. Campbell, Editor

A few weeks ago I wrote about one of the books I got in my first order from the Science Fiction Book Club.  This was another, and it had just as big an impact on me as Conklin's Omnibus of Science Fiction.  All you have to to is look at the stories that are included to see why.  Here they are: "Blowups Happen" by Robert A. Heinlein, "Hindsight" by Jack Williamson, "Vault Of The Beast" by A. E. van Vogt, "The Exalted" by L. Sprague De Camp, "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov, "When The Bough Breaks" by Lewis Padgett, "Clash By Night" by Lawrence O'Donnell, "Invariant" by John R. Pierce, "First Contact" by Murray Leinster, "Meihem In Ce Klasrum" by Dolton Edwards, "Hobbyist" by Eric Frank Russell, "E For Effort" by T. L. Sherred, "Child's Play" by William Tenn, "Thunder And Roses" by Theodore Sturgeon, "Late Night Final" by Eric Frank Russell", "Cold War" by Kris Neville, "Eternity Lost" by Clifford D. Simak, "The Witches Of Karres" by James H. Schmitz, "Over The Top" by Lester del Rey, "Meteor" by William T. Powers, "Last Enemy" by H. Beam Piper, "Historical Note" by Murray Leinster, and "Protected Species" by H. B. Fyfe.

It's a book full of classics.  My favorite might or might not surprise you.  It's the Sherred story, one I've read again and again, and always with pleasure.  One of my very favorite time-travel stories.  "Blowups Happen" was one of the first (maybe the first) stories about a nuclear reactor, written before such things existed.  "Vault of the Beast" is one of those Van Vogt stories that's hard to describe but fun to read, totally implausible, but who cares?  Asimov's "Nightfall" is the one about the stars coming out.  Tenn's "Child's Play" is about the build-a-man kit.  Simak's "Eternity Lost" is about immortality and the serum that provides it -- for a few.  You might see the twist ending coming, but I didn't when I first read it.  Hey, I was just a kid.   

And there's so much more, but there's really no need for me to go on.  You probably remember some of these as well or better than I do.  Was "Thunder and Roses" the first story to predict the CD?  I remember something in there that sure seemed like it, but it's been so long since I read the story that I need to read it again.  I might be recalling a different story entirely, or I might have made the whole thing up.  Anyway, this is a great anthology, and every story is highly readable and worth reading.  It's a classic anthology in the SF field.

I Cover the War

▶ 1937 I COVER THE WAR TRAILER JOHN WAYNE - YouTube:

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Debbie Harry as paperback cover model

Debbie Harry as paperback cover model 

Paperback cover model Steve Holland

Paperback cover model Steve Holland: mercenary, cop, crook, and hot nerd 

Uh-Oh

 theguardian.com: Michael Bay to produce remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds The horror returns as Transformers director revealed as man behind new take on Hitchcock's 1963 frightener, with Naomi Watts set to take Tippi Hedren role  

Hat tip to Fred Zackel.

Stephen King Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know about the King of Horror on Film -- Scott Von Doviak

Stephen King Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Horror on Film
This is an amazing compendium of information about the films based on the work of Stephen King, including, of course, the films that spun off the films based on King's work.  I mean, when it comes to things like Children of the Corn, this book has it covered.  Oh, sure, it covers the big-time stuff, too.  The Shining is here.  Everything is here.  And it's not even just movies. The Rock Bottom Remainders are covered.  Plus you get quotable quotes, a list of King's cameos, plenty of info on other movies (the first 40 or so pages cover "precursors and influences"), and lots more.  

And it's not just the information that matters.  Von Doviak writes well, he can be funny, and he's opinionated.  If you like movies based on King's work, or if you hate them, this is the book for you.  It really does have everything, and it's fun to read.  Check it out.

7 Unsolved Murder Mysteries To Keep You Up At Night

7 Unsolved Murder Mysteries To Keep You Up At Night

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Man wearing dress throws concrete at car  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I Miss the Old Days

16 Vintage Underwear Ads That Will Give You Nightmares

Song of the Day

Johnny Cash - Busted - YouTube: )

Uh-Oh

Disney, Seth Grahame- Smith Making New Film Of Ray Bradbury's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'

Top 10 Overlooked Dystopian Novels

Top 10 Overlooked Dystopian Novels

Today's Vintage Ad


They Weren't Offering These When I Was a Kid

The Stevens Bicycle Rifle 

Hal Douglas, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Hal Douglas, a voice-over artist who narrated thousands of movie trailers in a gravelly baritone heard by “audiences everywhere,” as he might have put it, “thrilled by images never before seen ... until now!,” died on Friday at his home in Lovettsville, Va. He was 89.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

Top 20 movies made in and about Los Angeles

PaperBack



Jack Vance, Eyes of the Overworld, Ace, 1966

Gator Update (Camouflage Edition)

Photographer Mark Conlin captures camouflaged American alligator  

Great photos at the link.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

9 Tiny Mistakes With Monumental Historical Consequences

9 Tiny Mistakes With Monumental Historical Consequences 

What It's Like To Live At A Bookstore In Paris

What It's Like To Live At A Bookstore In Paris

19 Writing Tips From Writers And Editors For The New Yorker

19 Writing Tips From Writers And Editors For The New Yorker

Croc Update

New species of tiny crocodile that roamed Earth 126m years ago discovered 

I Miss the Old Days

11 Gas Station Premiums of Yesteryear: It’s probably difficult to fathom now, but there was a time when the price of gasoline was pretty static for long periods and oil companies battled one another for the consumer dollar by attempting to instill some level of brand loyalty. How many of us today specifically seek out a Chevron station versus any other vendor when our gas tank needles are hovering just above “E”? That wasn’t the case some 40 or so years ago, when gas stations sought repeat business via Any Means Necessary. And among those Means were a variety of premiums or promotional giveaways.

Here's the Plot for Your Next Fruitcake-Related Thriller

A tale of trust betrayed at landmark Corsicana bakery  

I taught high school in Corsicana for two years.  Great little town with some great people.  And one embezzler.


Comanche Station

▶ 1960 COMANCHE STATION TRAILER RANDOLPH SCOTT - YouTube:

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Free for Kindle For a Limited Time

Amazon.com: A Rip Through Time: The Dame, the Doctor, and the Device eBook: Chris F. Holm, Charles A. Gramlich, Garnett Elliott, Chad Eagleton, Ron Scheer, David Cranmer: Kindle Store  Dr. Robert Berlin has created The Baryon Core, a powerful device with the ability to predict the future and retrodict the past by tracking the position and vector of every particle in the universe. Berlin swipes his own creation from The Company and disappears into history. The Company’s time-cop Simon Rip and the sexy, brilliant Dr. Serena Ludwig join together to track Berlin and return the device. Their pursuit will take them back to the ice age and forward to the end of time. 

A RIP THROUGH TIME follows the time-cop’s travels in a series of five short stories and a bonus flash piece written by several of today’s top pulp writers. Chris F. Holm opens the collection with the fast-paced “The Dame, the Doctor, and the Device.” Charles A. Gramlich’s “Battles, Broadswords, and Bad Girls” and Garnett Elliott’s “Chaos in the Stream” breathe new life into the time travel story. Bringing the saga to a gripping climax in “Darkling in the Eternal Space” is Chad Eagleton, who then takes it a step further with a mesmerizing coda, “The Final Painting of Hawley Exton.” And for all the time-traveling enthusiasts, Ron Scheer provides an insightful essay, “Are We Then Yet,” which explores the mechanics of time travel in popular fiction.

Free for Kindle For a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Understrike eBook: John Gardner: Kindle Store: Boysie Oakes is back. 

The suave, womanising special agent for British Intelligence returns in his second thrilling adventure. 

At the height of the Cold War, Boysie is sent on a routine mission to America. 

In San Diego, he will be the official British observer for the test-fire of America’s latest nuclear missile: The Trepholite. 

But the Soviets have other plans. 

A double of Boysie has been sent into the field. 

And very soon Boysie is embroiled in a game of bluff and double-bluff involving a holocaustic missile, a slick con man - and Vladimir Solev, an deadly opponent and yet also a man in whom Boysie sees something of himself. 

Something about Comments

You bloggers might know about things like this, and I'm just writing about it because I think it's kind of interesting.  For the last month or so, I've been getting a couple of spam comments every day.  Sometimes three or four.  Nothing unusual about that, and blogger nearly always catches them and puts them into the spam folder instead of publishing them.  What's interesting is that they're always on the same two posts.  This one and this one.   The second one of those is going on two years old now.  I have no idea why those two posts seem to attract all the spam.  Maybe some spammer has them bookmarked and posts to them every day.  Just one more mystery of the Internet, I suppose.

Happy Birthday, Jack Kerouac

Happy Birthday, Jack Kerouac: The Beat Icon on Kindness, the Self Illusion, and the “Golden Eternity”

Every U.S. President and The Actors Who Portrayed Them

Every U.S. President and The Actors Who Portrayed Them

Yet Another List I'm Not On

Lindsay Lohan Reportedly Wrote This List Of Famous Men She's Slept With

9 Novels Based On Extraordinary True Stories

9 Novels Based On Extraordinary True Stories  


Warning: Annoying Slideshow

Song of the Day

Emmylou Harris - I Still Miss Someone - with Hot Band - YouTube: )

Or Maybe You Don't

You Need To Look At This Amazingly Tiny Almanac From 1790

Today's Vintage Ad


Exceptional British Scifi Artwork from the 1950s

Exceptional British Scifi Artwork from the 1950s  

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Man wearing Cookie Monster onesie arrested on theft charge

Paperback Fantasy Covers

Retrospace: Vintage Reads #51: Fantasy Covers & Vocabulary

PaperBack



Errol  Flynn, Showdown, Cardinal, 1960

The Most Downloaded Books In Each State

The Most Downloaded Books In Each State

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 50 Greatest British Novels of the 19th Century

The Evolution Of The Typewriter

This Beautiful Illustration Shows The Evolution Of The Typewriter

Uh-Oh or OK?

Frederik Pohl's Sci-Fi Classic 'Gateway' To Become TV Series

Listen to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Read SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE

Listen to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Read SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE

Cynthia Lynn, R. I. P.

Variety: Cynthia Lynn, who played Colonel Klink’s secretary Fraulein Helga on “Hogan’s Heroes” during the first season, died Monday in Los Angeles. She was 76 and had been suffering from hepatitis. She was among the last surviving cast members of the 1960s military comedy.

Hand Me Down My Walking Cane

50 Things That Turn 50 in 2014

Surfer, Dude (McConaughey & Harrelson, Together Again [with Willie Nelson])

"Surfer, Dude" Official Trailer - YouTube:

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

News from Robert J. Randisi

It’s all about BROOKLYN
Robert J. Randisi

In 2011 my novel, THE END OF BROOKLYN, was published. It was meant as the third and final entry in what turned out to be a “Nick Delvecchio” trilogy.  Why it came 20 years after the second nook is a mystery, even to me. but because it did it had to be written that way. In parts of the book, Nick had to be 20 years older.  It was a joy to write, mainly because I was able to go back to Nick and Brooklyn 20 years after I, myself, had left them.
This was what my Booklist review looked like
* Starred Review Booklist. "The final entry in Randisi's Brooklyn trilogy is dark, brooding, and thoroughly compelling [with] . . . clever plotting and an engaging narrative voice. Randisi has written hundreds of crime stories and earned numerous awards. This is among his finest efforts." (Wes Lukowsky, Booklist, May 2011).

It was very gratifying for two reasons. One, I wasn’t sure how Nick and Brooklyn would sound 20 years later and two, We Lukoswksy had reviewed a lot of my work over the years, so his opinion in very informed.

END was published by Perfect Crime in 2011, and now, in 2014, they are bringing back the first two books, NO EXIT FROM BROOKLYN, and THE DEAD OF BROOKLYN.  So for the first time all three “Delvecchio” novels are available at the same time from the same place. “Nick Delvecchio” is one my my best, my favorite, and my most fully realized characters. (Available from Amazon, B&N, the PerfectCrime website, and many mystery bookstores).

Archaeology Update

Ancient Egyptian Soldier's Letter Home Deciphered

Uh-Oh

Jason Sudeikis in Talks to Star in Fletch Reboot   

Hat tip to Fred Zackel.

Top 10 Ways NASA Has Revolutionized Healthcare

Top 10 Ways NASA Has Revolutionized Healthcare

Song of the Day

Cigarettes and Coffee Blues - Lefty Frizzell - YouTube:

I Wanted to Believe!

No, "Planet X" does not exist: There's a going theory out there that an undiscovered planet resides in our solar system somewhere beyond the orbit of Pluto. But NASA just finished an exhaustive survey — and it completely failed to turn up any evidence that "Planet X" exists.

Today's Vintage Ad


First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Brothers duke it out with garbage cans, shovels and knives at trailer park  

Hat ti to Jeff Meyerson.

10 Amazing Women Who Fought The Nazis

10 Amazing Women Who Fought The Nazis

PaperBack



Elliott Chaze, Black Wings Has My Angel, Gold Medal, 1953

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Michigan woman bites off boyfriend's ear in late-night fight

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Yes. Yes, It Is.

People Holding Baby Nic Cage Is The Most Frightening Tumblr Ever Created

This Was Definitely an Emergency

Family calls 911 to report their cat ‘went over the edge,’ is attacking them

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Drunken groom fights with bride on jet, forces emergency landing

The first American mystery novelist.

Metta Fuller Victor: A Sensational Life: Metta Fuller Victor (1831–1885) was a writer, editor, abolitionist, moral reformer—and the first American mystery novelist.

Rise and Shine


Croc Update (I Am a Camera Edition)

Mail Online: A 50-second video shows five-metre saltwater crocodile attack a camera  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Wendy Hughes, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Wendy Hughes, an Australian actress known internationally for her roles in “My Brilliant Career” and other movies, died on Saturday in Sydney. She was 61.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Joe McGinniss, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Joe McGinniss, the author who reported on political campaigns and murder cases in the books “The Selling of the President” and “Fatal Vision,” died on Monday. He was 71.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Corpus A&M first in US to offer sleep pod for students

10 Criminally Overlooked Movies by Great Filmmakers

10 Criminally Overlooked Movies by Great Filmmakers

Overlooked Movies: Robinson Crusoe on Mars

I've been hearing good things about a new book called The Martian, and I was reminded of this movie, which I saw in the theater long ago.  We've learned a lot about Mars since then, and we know that nearly nothing in this movie is possible. That doesn't mean it's not still fun, though.

Paul Mantee plays Draper, the survivor of a space accident.  Adam West plays the other astronaut, but he's in the movie only briefly.  He doesn't survive.  A monkey named Mona does, though, and makes the movie more fun.  

Draper learns how to survive on Mars and eventually finds himself a man Friday, an alien enslaved by other aliens.  There's some cat-and-mousing as the masters try to retrieve their slave, and the canals of Mars come into play.  

I can't guarantee you'll like this movie as much as I did when I first saw it, but you might if you can put aside your disbelief for a while.  It has a very high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, if that matters to you.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Robinson Crusoe on Mars - YouTube:

Monday, March 10, 2014

Alan Rodgers, R. I. P.

Alan Rodgers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Alan Rodgers (1959 - 8 March 2014) was a science fiction and horror writer, editor, and poet. In the mid-eighties he was the editor for Night Cry. His short stories have been published in a number of venues, including Weird Tales, Twilight Zone and a number of anthologies, such as Darker Masques, Prom Night, and Vengeance Fantastic. His novelette "The Boy Who Came Back From the Dead" won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction in 1987 and was nominated for the World Fantasy Award.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Reefer Badness: Teen Torched Mom's Clothes After She Refused To Give Him Money To Buy Pot

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Space debris orbiting Earth to be targeted with giant lasers fired from Australia 

PULP FICTION: Embracing the Inner Smart-Aleck

PULP FICTION: Embracing the Inner Smart-Aleck by Evan Lewis

I Miss the Old Days

Retronaut: c. 1950s-1960s: Children’s records

Song of the Day

The Lovin' Spoonful - "Six O'Clock" - YouTube:

Uh-Oh

The Star Wars Trilogy: Then, a couple of weeks ago an OriginalTrilogy.com member calling him (or her) self "Tasjo" picked up an original first generation VHS recording of the Star Wars Holiday Special from WHIO in Dayton Ohio.

Today's Vintage Ad


Cue Ray Stevens

Machu Picchu streakers at rock bottom as authorities enforce cover-up 

Bouchercon Memories

The other day I was trying to clear away some of the clutter in my office, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but the program from the first Bouchercon I ever attended.  It was number XI, and it was held in Washington, D. C.  I thought some of you might like to have a look at the program, too, especially those of you who've attended a Bouchercon in recent years.  There's a difference.  If size matters, the current Bouchercons are so much bigger that it's hard to explain.  So I'll let the program speak for itself.

Look at the guest list first.  There are familiar names there, and some of the people represented are no longer among us.  I miss them all.  The good news is that a lot of them are still around.  A little older, perhaps.  Okay, a lot older.  But still here and still going to Bouchercon.  

Then look at the program.  Yes, that's all of it, right there on two uncrowded pages.  In those days, it was easy to go to everything on the program, and I'm pretty sure I did.

The highlight of the convention for me, however, was meeting the DAPA-Em gang in person for the first time.  You know who you are.  I didn't have a camera with me on the trip, so I don't have a record of it.  A physical record, that is.  A lot of it is in memory yet green.  Besides the convention, Judy and I toured the White House, the Smithsonian, and the Washington Monument.  

And then there was that great trip to the bookstore in a station wagon piloted by Art Scott.  What was the name of that place?   Chaos Unlimited?  I remember finding Roughneck by Jim Thompson there, and a second printing of John D. MacDonald's  Weep for Me.  Probably paid a quarter for them.  On the way back to the convention we were treated to a dramatic reading of selected passages from Michael Avallone's The Bouncing Betty by the inimitable John Nimienski.  I miss the old days.


 


PaperBack



John Jakes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Award Books, 1974

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Teased about clothes, Jersey City man whacks friend across face with beer bottle

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman’s Finger Bitten, Severely Severed During Parking Dispute

On the Trail of Florida's Bigfoot—the Skunk Ape

On the Trail of Florida's Bigfoot—the Skunk Ape

Stumpthulhu

In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming:  Stumpthulhu

Link via Neatorama.

You Mean These Aren't the Very Reasons 911 Was Created?

10 Ridiculous Reasons to Call 911

Archaeology Update

Prehistoric grave-site could challenge our assumptions about the history of Bronze Age 

New Poem at the 5-2

The 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly: Catherine Wald: Catherine Wald TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME

5 Tips for Napping Your Way to Success

5 Tips for Napping Your Way to Success

The Constant Nymph

The Constant Nymph (Original Theatrical Trailer) - YouTube:

Sunday, March 09, 2014

William Clay Ford Sr., R. I. P.

NY Daily News: William Clay Ford, the owner of the Detroit Lions and last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford, has died. He was 88.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Homeless woman attacks and stomps on elderly man's head at Port Authority Bus Terminal  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Watch all About It

writer Rod Miller: Rawhide Robinson Rides onto the Tiny Screen.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Big Gym Fight Has Police Hoping LA Fitness Beefs Up Security : It started all on the basketball court over a call and escalated, moving into the main fitness area. 

“People were actually throwing two and a half, five, 10 pound weights within the building,” said Police Lt. Lorne Rosand.

Ken Bruen -- Purgatory

I've read all Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor novels, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that being Jack's friend is possibly more dangerous than being Travis McGee's girlfriend.  This book really doubles down on that.  While Jack is personally doing pretty well, especially financially, you can't say the same for anyone he knows.  

Jack's clean and sober (some of the time), and a serial killer known as C33 wants him to play. Jack's not interested, so C33 has fun without him.  And with him, too.  There's a slight attempt at misdirection, but I don't think anybody's going to be surprised at C33's identity.  

Galway is depicted vividly and sadly here, as it often is, with priests and coppers figuring in.  There are references to past novels that long-time readers of the series (like me) will appreciate.  And there's one passage that's so meta that I have to quote it here.  Mr. Westbury, a lawyer, says to Jack, "'What a turn of phrase you have.  Have you ever considered writing?  They tell me mystery is the money spinner these days and Lord knows, you talk in a disjointed fashion that might even pass for style."  Any fan of Bruen's work will get a laugh out of that.  Check it out.

This Warms an Old English Teacher's Heart

25 Literary Opening Lines Diagrammed on One Giant Poster 

Song of the Day

Elvis Presley - Swing Down Sweet Chariot (with Lyrics) - YouTube:

5 Famous Filmmakers Whose Dream Projects Were Disasters

5 Famous Filmmakers Whose Dream Projects Were Disasters 

Today's Vintage Ad