Saturday, December 10, 2011

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

WCVB Boston: A Holden man has been charged with pulling a gun on another man in a dispute that began over Silly String.

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

This is a free short story for the Kindle if you're an Amazon Prime member. If you're not, it's 99 cents. I read it last night. Gideon Miles is a great character, and his attempt to fetch a fugitive in Little Ridge is great entertainment. Check it out.

Amazon.com: Miles to Little Ridge eBook: Heath Lowrance: Kindle Store: Edward A.Grainger's Gideon Miles hits the trail in this fast-clip western novella written by Heath Lowrance. The U.S. Marshal finds himself in the sleepy town of Little Ridge, Montana, on the search for a wanted man. But just as Miles enters town, he's spotted by a hard case who recognizes Miles as the lawman that killed his friend. Now Miles must face the wanted man, who claims his innocence and is raising a daughter on his own, while the hard case and a ne'er-do-well partner are gunning for him.

Cartoon of the Day

Reality Check

Today's Vintage Ad

It Must Have Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Hitler, One Night Only

5 Terrible Things You Can't Stop Your Children From Doing

5 Terrible Things You Can't Stop Your Children From Doing

AbeBooks: The Best Book and Booze Pairings

AbeBooks: The Best Book and Booze Pairings: This list is designed to wet your whistle and boost your bookshelf. But please remember to drink responsibly (and we are kidding about absinthe).

Morton Cooper, The Private Live of a Strip-Tease Artist, Belmont, 1962




Song of the Day

Hot, Hot Christmas: Nine Erotic Novels About The Holiday Season (Semi-NSFW)

Hot, Hot Christmas: Nine Erotic Novels About The Holiday Season (Semi-NSFW)

Bob Burnett, R. I. P.

- NYTimes.com: Bob Burnett, who blended his smooth tenor tones into the harmonies of the original folk-revival group the Highwaymen (“original” because another group later, somewhat contentiously, adopted the name), died on Wednesday at his home in East Providence, R.I. He was 71.

10 People Who Did Not Board the Titanic

10 People Who Did Not Board the Titanic

And No One Ever Expects the Spaniel Inquisition!

Criggo

Today's Western Movie Poster

Or Maybe Not

10 Internet Easter Eggs That Are Completely Awesome

Alligator Violations WBAGNFARB

62-year-old Franklin man pleads guilty to alligator violations dating back to 2006

Dan “Bee” Spears, R. I. P.

KUT News: Dan “Bee” Spears, Willie Nelson’s bass player for more than four decades, has died at the age of 62. Spears’ girlfriend Dee Pearce said Spears slipped and fell while exiting his motor home near Nashville on Thursday night and died from exposure to the elements, KXAN reported.

Christmas is Coming

Cold-War Era Missile Silo Luxury Home For Sale Is The Ultimate Secret Lair (VIDEO, PHOTOS): Whether you're an evil mastermind, doomsday believer, or Batman himself, this just might be the house for you. Welcome to your new nuclear-and biochemical warfare-proof lodge complete with underground cold-war era missile silo.

Lake Placid 3

Friday, December 09, 2011

Well, Duh

CDC: Castrating Lambs With Your Teeth May Make You Sick

Hat tips to Art Scott and Jeff Meyerson.

Cap'n Bob?

Two new Alligators are Napier's newest residents

Yet Another List I'm Not On

10 Best Books of 2011 - NYTimes.com

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

CBS Tampa: A Vero Beach woman is getting squeezed by police after allegedly grabbing her husband’s left testicle and refusing to let go.

Free eBook Today Only!

Friday Freebie – Beat On The Brat: Friday Freebie – Beat On The Brat

New Western by Wayne D. Dundee

O’DOUL by Wayne D. Dundee BookHound: For the price of a soft drink (not the over-priced hotel fare, I’m talking about a coke for a buck), you can enjoy Wayne D. Dundee’s novella, O’Doul, and you can read it over lunch on your phone or e-reader. Dundee, like many other Western/mystery writers, produces good stories in both genres. His Joe Hannibal novels belong on every private eye reader’s shelves.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

KLTV 7 News: An East Texas woman was arrested on arson charges, police say she and another person threw a bottle filled with flammable liquids into someone's home.

Song of the Day

12 Days of Bookmas -- Day 6 #bookmas

Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.

Clues for Day 7 -- written by Lauren

Working in publishing means I read all day, in one form or another. If I’m not reading queries, a client’s new contract or industry blogs, I’m reading exciting requested material from an author I’m planning to offer representation. When I’m not reading all of that, I’m reading something new to review on my blog. I used to read a book or two a week for pleasure, even all through college. Now, I’ve had to cut out almost all pleasure reading—I watch TV instead as a way to turn off my brain for a while. But when vacations come around, I plan my reading list like a new bride plans her honeymoon wardrobe. And then I tell all my friends and colleagues about what I just can’t wait to read and not criticize. This Christmas break, I’m planning to read three books I just can’t wait to get my hands on. I’ve spent extra time picking them out because I can’t risk choosing something I’ll regret. Which three books are my Christmas selections for 2011?

My clues: Book 1: T. S. Eliot's merchant hatches one. Book 2: Rio has Carnival. This similar event is from Ireland (in a manner of speaking). Book 3: The numbers add up to 15.

Living Legend: A Talk With Richard Matheson

Living Legend: A Talk With Richard Matheson

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

LaDondrell Montgomery: Life Sentence for Robbery Thrown Out Because He Was in Jail at the Time

Today's Vintage Ad

Fashion Flash

You have to sit through a short commercial. It's worth it. Trust me.

JC Penny's Amazing '80s Denim Fashion Show

Uh-Oh

The Raw Story: An independent US filmmaker has made what is believed to be the first feature-length movie shot with a smartphone, to be released next week — with actress Gena Rowlands in the starring role.

PaperBack


M. S. Marble, Die by Night, Graphic, 1955




And Keep Off Her Lawn!

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): A 90-year-old woman has been put on a good behaviour bond after allegedly being caught driving while more than four times the legal blood-alcohol limit.

Tulsa Leads the Way

Woman caught making meth inside S. Tulsa Walmart

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

New Hampshire NEWS03: Mayhem erupted when a man ran through the Fox Run Mall Thursday, smashing display cases and glass storefronts with a hammer as he babbled incoherently, police and witnesses said.

Uh-Oh

‘American Psycho’ remake in the works from Lionsgate

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Cap'n Bob Might Want These

Army Men: Technically not all these guys are Army men, some are Soldiers and Marines. And they're true to the original Vietnam era Louis Marx & Co. toys you grew up with... with a couple differences. Their heads have been substituted for a Jack Skull and these ones are solid Sterling Silver. They'll capture the imagination and rekindle that urge to play. A drop of crazy glue on the base and you can keep your own security force perched atop your monitor and looking over your shoulder.

More photos (and prices) at the link.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Couple marries in Dunkin Donuts

Today's Western Movie Poster

Great Gift Idea

Bustles And Spurs: Christmas Campfire Companion

11 Anachronistic Photos From Behind The Scenes

11 Anachronistic Photos From Behind The Scenes

Or Maybe Not

10 Food Industry Fads You Probably Forgot About

Forgotten Books: A Memory of Murder -- Ray Bradbury

Yeah, I know. You remember this one, too, but it's been out of print since 1984, so I figure it qualifies. If there's a more recent edition, let us know in the comments.

This is a collection of Bradbury's very early crime stories, some of his first fiction sales. It comes complete with a short but revealing introduction that explains why the book is dedicated to Leigh Brackett.

One of the stories in the book, "Small Assassin," is likely to be familiar to a lot of readers, but that's the only one. The others, from places like Dime Mystery Magazine and Detective Tales, probably aren't. These aren't great stories, but they're interesting if you care about the development of a young writer who really hit his stride a few years after their publication. Not essential, but certainly worth a little of your time.

Lake Placid 2

Thursday, December 08, 2011

It Must Have Taken Some Magic Just to Create this Chart

The Rules of Magic, According to the Greatest Fantasy Sagas of All Time

Well, Duh

Better Than Best: The year's best novel is about alligator wrestlers

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Uh-Oh

Tom Cruise confirms return in ‘Top Gun’ sequel, reuniting him with Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Jerry Robinson, R. I. P.

NY Daily News: Jerry Robinson, the pioneering comic book artist credited with creating Batman’s archnemesis, the Joker, and later a crusading hero for cartoonists in his own right who helped restore “Superman’s” creators’ rights in a single bound, died in his sleep Wednesday night. He was 89.

Croc Update brought to You by People Who Don't Have a Clue about Gator Habitat

ABC4.com - Salt Lake City, Utah News: Josh Groban say he is still in pain after he was slapped in the face by an alligator's tail during a trip to South Africa last week.

Now Available as an e-Book!


Dead on the Island: Truman Smith Private Eye Audio Book | Bill Crider | Download Dead on the Island: Truman Smith Private Eye: Nominated for the Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel.

PI Truman Smith has become a loner after failing to find his sister Jan during a recent search of Galveston Island. He jogs on the Seawall, plays with his cat, and reads lots of Faulkner books. He is pulled from his self-imposed retirement when his old high-school football buddy Dino asks him to find a young girl named Sharon. As Tru begins his investigation, dead bodies begin to appear and Tru himself is attacked. His search for Sharon takes him to all sorts of interesting places on and near the Island.

Bill Crider spins a good mystery tale in a wonderful setting with interesting characters and enough plot twists to keep listeners guessing until the last few chapters.

Astros Can't Escape Pujos Even by Moving to American League

Angels Land Pujols with 10-Year, $250M Pact

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Weekly Punch

If You've Wondered about the Sequel to Drive . . . .

EXCLUSIVE: Far Beyond Driven—The Sequel to Drive to be released in April

Song of the Day

12 Days of Bookmas -- Day 6 #bookmas

Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.

Clues and Question for Day 6 (posted noon December 9 and written by Kim Lionetti):
What works were Kim's wall art excerpted from and who were their authors?

My clues: 1. Japan? Really, Kenneth? 2. A whole lot of light bulbs. I could tell you the precise number, but I won't.

10 Genre-Changing Sci-Fi Films

10 Genre-Changing Sci-Fi Films

Today's Vintage Ad

7 Brilliant Movie Lawyers (Who Suck at Their Job)

7 Brilliant Movie Lawyers (Who Suck at Their Job)

Archaeology Update

The Raw Story: Australian scientists on Thursday hailed the discovery of a pair of insect-like eyes belonging to a freakish prehistoric super-predator which trawled the seas more than 500 million years ago.

Howard Tate, R. I. P.

NPR: Soul music lost one of its great voices last week. Singer Howard Tate died Friday after a battle with cancer at the age of 72. Tate had made his name with a string of classic records including "Get It While You Can," before sliding into obscurity and addiction. But Tate got sober, found religion and he enjoyed a successful encore career over the past decade.

A Christmas Gift

You can go to this link for a .pdf copy of a wonderful coloring book that you can print and share with all your close friends. Or enemies.

Hat tip to Cullen Gallagher.

PaperBack


Hallam Whitney (Harry Whittington), Backwoods Hussy ["slightly revised"], Star Novels, 1956.





DB Cooper Update

Mail Online: The Northwest Airlines notorious skyjacking saga that has baffled authorities for 40 years may have finally been solved.

An Oregon woman who claims her uncle was the elusive criminal known only as DB Cooper says she has been told by the FBI that her evidence is enough for them to close the file on the case.

Check it Out!

Vintage Men's Mags #20: 100 Pages of Pulp

45 Things We Should Forget About 2011

45 Things We Should Forget About 2011

The 7 Most Hilariously Badass Magazine Covers Ever

The 7 Most Hilariously Badass Magazine Covers Ever

Today's Western Movie Poster

Some Fun

Paris Review – Document: The Symbolism Survey, Sarah Funke Butler: In 1963, a sixteen-year-old San Diego high school student named Bruce McAllister sent a four-question mimeographed survey to 150 well-known authors of literary, commercial, and science fiction. Did they consciously plant symbols in their work? he asked. Who noticed symbols appearing from their subconscious, and who saw them arrive in their text, unbidden, created in the minds of their readers? When this happened, did the authors mind?

McAllister had just published his first story, “The Faces Outside,” in both IF magazine and Simon and Schuster’s 1964 roundup of the best science fiction of the year. Confident, if not downright cocky, he thought the surveys could settle a conflict with his English teacher by proving that symbols weren’t lying beneath the texts they read like buried treasure awaiting discovery.

Justice Is Served

Wash. Man Acquitted In Mistaken Marten Assault: A jury has acquitted a Washington man accused of breaking into a home and throwing a dead mink at another man during a confrontation that made weasel headlines across the country.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

My Guess Would be "No"

Yahoo! News: Is a giant, cloaked spaceship orbiting around Mercury?

Yet Another List I'm Not On

50 Teachers Who Are Social Media Stars

Lake Placid

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

I'd Pay To See This

Guterson’s Oedipus Redux Wins Bad Sex in Fiction Prize in U.K.

Guterson’s Oedipus Redux Wins Bad Sex in Fiction Prize in U.K.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

My Way News: British police have arrested a man after a parent's finger was bitten off during a fight before a school's Nativity play.

Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.

Get a Rope!

80-Year-Old Woman Criminally Charged For Feeding Ducks

Harry Morgan, R. I. P.

Harry Morgan, 'M*A*S*H*' Star, Dies at 96 - The Hollywood Reporter: Harry Morgan, who was best known for his long-running portrayal of the fatherly Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H*, died at his Los Angeles home Wednesday morning at 96 years old. Morgan won an Emmy in 1980 for his performance as the unflappable medic.

A veteran of more than 50 years in films and TV, Morgan starred or co-starred in 11 TV series. He was an appealing Everyman whose calm manner and wry delivery were widely popular. In M*A*S*H*, his steady ways and wry humor tempered the more high-keyed natures of his co-star’s characters, Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John. He went on to co-star in its spin-off, AfterMASH (1984-85).

12 Days of Bookmas Day 5

Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.

Clues and question for Day 5 by Jessica Alvarez:
Day 5: Q- What was the first book Jessica A found for Harlequin Historical? And the first book she found for Love Inspired?

My clues: 1. She still loved Peter even though he didn't remain a boy forever and refused to use Grecian Formula. 2. The young horse knew it would spring eternal.

Song of the Day

First It Was the ThinMints Melee . . . .

Mom throws out their beer, so kids beat her up, police say

And Keep Off Thier Lawns!

Lake Helen grandmothers go from bake sales to pinup girls

Today's Vintage Ad

Something to Think About

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids

I'd Apply, but I Don't Want to Move to Florida

Seeking work? Alligator hunters wanted

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Virginia Leads the Way

Slate Magazine: It seems that since 1986, a Virginia law has barred schools from opening before Labor Day because it’s bad for the amusement park industry.

PaperBack


Hallam Whitney (Harry Whittington), Backwoods Hussy, Original Novels, 1952





12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music

12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music

AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in November 2011

AbeBooks: If he were alive today Karl Heinrich Marx would probably have something to say after learning that AbeBooks had sold a very rare copy of Das Kapital, in three volumes, for $51,739.

Uh-Oh

My post on Dark City inspired Walter Satterthwait to alert me to the fact that Alex Proyas is filming Paradise Lost. And Rufus Sewell is in it. Casey Affleck is playing Gabriel. It's in 3-D. No word on whether the actors will be speaking Milton's glorious iambic pentameter, but I certainly hope so.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Retro SF Art

Here's a slideshow of cover art from the Yugoslavian magazine Galaksija. Some nice stuff.

Link via Neatorama.

Dobie Gray, R. I. P.

The Hollywood Reporter: Singer and songwriter Dobie Gray, who had a top 5 hit in 1973 with the song “Drift Away,” has died. The news came on the evening of Dec. 6 via his official website, although no cause of death was listed.

Croc Update (Nuclear Edition)

Endangered crocodile finds new life at nuclear power plant

Hat tips to Jeff Meyerson and Art Scott.

Barry Manilow Snubbed Again

Beastie Boys, Guns N Roses, Laura Nyro, Donovan tapped for Rock's Hall of Fame

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Barbara Orbison, R. I. P.

USATODAY.com: Barbara Orbison, the widow of rock 'n' roll pioneer Roy Orbison, has died in Los Angeles. She was 60.

Hat tip to Scott Cupp.

12-7-41

Attack on Pearl Harbor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The attack on Pearl Harbor (called Hawaii Operation or Operation AI[6][7] by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (Operation Z in planning)[8] and the Battle of Pearl Harbor[9]) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Anaconda

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

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

Great concept, great list of contributors. Check it out.

Amazon.com: Tales From The Fathomless Abyss eBook: Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, Mel Odom, J.M. McDermott, Brad Torgersen, Philip Athans: Kindle Store: Combine six of the finest fantasy authors working in the genre today: Mike Resnick & Brad R. Torgersen, Jay Lake, Mel Odom, J.M. McDermott, and Cat Rambo, and mix in veteran editor and New York Times best-selling author Philip Athans, and what comes out is the Fathomless Abyss: a wild new fantasy world where the laws of physics only work against you, there’s no way out, and time means nothing.

This is the world of the Fathomless Abyss, a bottomless pit that opens who-knows-when onto who-knows-where, just long enough for new people from a thousand different worlds and a million different times to fall in and join the fight for survival in place where the slightest misstep means an everlasting fall into eternity.

Tales from the Fathomless Abyss features six new short stories, and it’s only the beginning. From here, each author will branch out to spin a series of new books sharing this impossible, explosive, infinite setting.

Your fall into the Fathomless Abyss begins here.

And Stay off Her Damn Lawn!

84-year-old woman chases off fake fire marshals with hatchet

Hat tip to Scott Cupp.

12 Days of Bookmas -- Day 4 #bookmas

Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.

Day 4 (Posted December 6, 2011 - Lauren) :

When I first started out in the publishing world, I interned at two different companies. My first internship was a bold introduction to commercial publishing where I learned my first two valuable lessons in publishing: 1. Publishing is about art and money, but rarely only one or the other. All books are art. All books need to make money. The best, most successful books are those that blend these elements well. 2. Just because I wouldn’t personally read a book for pleasure doesn’t mean there isn’t a healthy audience of those who would.

My second internship was where I fell in love with publishing and learned the ropes as completely as I could. I find that I still learn things—daily.

At which companies did I complete these two internships?

My clues: The first company is in the bag ; the second one is a giveaway.

Song of the Day

Today's Vintage Ad

Fast Five

Fast Five, in case you don't know, stars both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, the artist formerly known as The Rock. After Judy and I watched this movie, I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning testosterone residue out of the DVD player and off the TV screen. It was worth it, though, because this movie has everything you could possibly want except gratuitous nudity.

Let's start with the script. It makes absolutely no sense at all. But who cares, right? Does anybody actually watch a movie like this because of the script? Of course not. You watch if for fast cars, explosions, lots of shooting, goofy stunts, and guys who stand around and bulge their muscles at each other. And that's what you get.

Now, about those stunts. Does anybody watch a movie like this for realistic action sequences. Of course not. You watch it for stuff that clearly impossible anywhere outside of the imagination of a screenwriter desperate to come up with something even more preposterous than he did the last time he wrote an action movie. Stuff you can laugh at rather than believe in. And that's what you get.

As for acting, we already know nobody watches movies like this for the acting. If they did, Laurence Olivier might have become an action star. What you want is snappy patter in something more or less resembling English. And that's what you get, except for the snappy patter in something more or less resembling other languages.

Bromance? You got it. Romance? A little. Happy ending (except for the guy with the "I Am Going to Get Killed" sign hanging around his neck)? You got it.

In other words, highly recommended.

Not Such a Wonderful Life

he Washington Post: “My life has never been wonderful,” she offered quietly. “Maybe when I was a child, but not after age 15.”

PaperBack


Hallam Whitney (Harry Whittington), Lisa (Backwoods Hussy), Paperback Library, 1965





Paging Dan Brown

The Sun |News: AN artist claims to have cracked a 500-year-old mystery of the Mona Lisa after spotting secret images hidden in the famous painting.

Famous Album Cover Locations found on Google Streetview

Famous Album Cover Locations found on Google Streetview

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

CBS Baltimore: According to a police report, the unidentified victim says she and Nicholson had gotten into an argument “because [Nicholson] was not taking care of her cat.”

5 Insane Doctors From History Who Put House to Shame

5 Insane Doctors From History Who Put House to Shame

Today's Western Movie Poster

Gator Update (#5 Edition)

9 Most Dangerous Zoo Escapees

Criminal Geniuses of the Day

Houston News: . . . these two geniuses swiped the digital camera on which these photos were taken (along with a laptop, TV, and a Wii) and then pawned it in Houston. Unfortunately for these two brainboxes, they forgot to delete the candid headshots they took with the camera before they hocked it.

7 Ways to Fix Your Haunted House

7 Ways to Fix Your Haunted House

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Overlooked Movies -- Dark City

I was lucky enough to see Dark City in the theater when it first opened. I loved it. I thought at the time that it was the best P. K. Dick movie around, even if it wasn't based on a P. K. Dick story. Apparently not many people agreed with me, as the movie wasn't a hit. I thought it would be, which proves once again that my powers of prediction are negligible.

The story opens in the way of so many paperback originals that I can't count them. A man wakes up with no memory of who he is or how he came to be where he is (in a bathtub). He has blood on him, and, sure enough, there's a dead body nearby. And then things get really weird. No one knows what's real and what's not real because The Strangers are implanting people with false memories. Perception and reality are twisted so that it seems as if nobody really knows what's going on.

Nice performances from Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly. Nice visuals, too, in a dark way.

If you like SF/crime mash-ups and you haven't seen this one, you've missed a real treat.

Dark City

Monday, December 05, 2011

Darrell K. Sweet, R. I. P.

Darrell K. Sweet, 1934-2011 | Tor.com: It is with tremendous sadness that I report that Darrell K. Sweet passed away this morning. Since the mid 1970s, Darrell’s illustrations defined many of fantasy’s most beloved series—including Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time—among literally thousands of genre book covers. An avid history buff, Darrell also spent much of his time painting frontiersmen and the American West. His paintings evoked the classic storytelling narration of the Golden Age illustrators. A Sweet cover promised an adventure to be had.�

Buy My Book!

Amazon.com: The Nighttime is the Righttime eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store: The Nighttime is the Right Time is a collection of short fiction from the author of the popular Sheriff Dan Rhodes series. In these 11 previously published tales, we meet a detective who also happens to be a werewolf; investigate two separate missing-animal cases; tag along with series characters Carl Burns (the amateur-sleuth English teacher) and Dan Rhodes; watch Elvis Presley hunting a vampire; and check out a handful of other interesting puzzles. Crider is a very smooth writer: his prose is always lively, and his characters are always fun to hang around with. (His fans will notice that a couple of the stories here are much harder-edged than usual; he can be quite dark, when he wants to be.) A must read for fans of mystery, and darker fantasy tales. There will even be a few stories for fans of a certain Jack MacLane, whose work Bill Crider is intimately familiar with...

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Woman Accused Of Leaving Dead Friend’s Body Under Christmas Presents

James Gunn's Ad Astra! |

AboutSF: The Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF), in association with the University of Kansas, announces the launch of James Gunn’s Ad Astra, an online resource for authors, scholars and all those who are interested in speculative fiction at http://adastra.ku.edu/.

Link via SF Signal.

NASA Update

NASA: NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.

Richard Kadrey Interview

Richard Kadrey – interview

12 Days of Bookmas -- Day 3 #bookmas

Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.

Today's Question: What piece did Kim have to memorize in her 10th grade English class and who wrote it? And what author did Kim do her 11th-grade presentation on and what’s the title of that author's most famous work?

My clues: You're dreaming if you think the answers have anything to do with going house to house and singing Christmas songs.

Song of the Day

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

BBC News: A woman was shot with an electric stun gun, bound and gagged and then buried alive in a box after her partner got "bored" with her, a jury has been told.

The Strangest Alien Planets

The Strangest Alien Planets

Great photos!
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

Hubert Sumlin, R. I. P.

Bluesman Hubert Sumlin, guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf, dies at 80

The most shoplifted items of the season

The most shoplifted items of the season

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Today's Vintage Ad

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Officers Arrest Woman on 5-Yr-Old Truancy Warrant: The 22-year-old mother of two was arrested for failure to attend school back in 2006.

Croc Update (Kissing Edition)

Watching A Man Kiss A Crocodile On The Lips Is As Scary As It Sounds

Photo at the link.

And Stay off Her Damn Lawn!

Mail Online: A 69-year-old Palm Springs woman has been arrested after allegedly trying to cut off her husband's penis with a pair of scissors.

PaperBack


Matthew Blood (Davis Dresser & Reyerson Johnson) Death is a Lovely Dame, Gold Medal, 1954

The Best Music Books of 2011

The Best Music Books of 2011

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The Top 10 Best Opening Lines Of Novels

New George Ziel Checklist and Much More

Lynn Munroe Books

Today's Western Movie Poster

The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011

The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011

Top 10 Predictions For 2012

Top 10 Predictions For 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Jesua Tatad 'poured boiling water over sleeping ex-husband for dating woman'

Jim Thompson: An Appreciation by Joe Lansdale

Jim Thompson: An Appreciation | Mulholland Books

The Anderson Tapes

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Buy My Book!

Amazon.com: Just Before Dark eBook: Jack MacLane: Kindle Store: It’s just an old junkyard, a place where Lane Hamner loved to play among the rusty old car bodies. But you never know what you might find in a junkyard, especially when your uncle isn’t the kindly old gentleman you think he is. He’s actually the kind of man who would put someone into a car that’s about to be run through the crusher, just to get rid of him.

Frank Castella isn’t so easy to get rid of, however. When his spirit takes over the junkyard, bent on revenge, a lot of people are going to die, and Frank isn’t going to make it easy on them.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Woolly mammoth to be brought back to life from cloned bone marrow 'within five years'

The Nero Award

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American 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" is considered one of the premier awards granted to authors of crime fiction.

This year, the winner is
Louise Penny for Bury Your Dead (Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group). Her award was presented by Jane K. Cleland, chair of the Wolfe Pack's literary awards.

The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack andAlfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the Novella format popularized by Rex Stout. This year's winner
is James Lincoln Warren for "Inner Fire."

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 500 members worldwide.

To learn more, visit www.nerowolfe.org or send mail toWerowance@nerowolfe.org.

Song of the Day

Today's Vintage Ad

Why Is Mom Calling?

Why Is Mom Calling?

PaperBack


Robert D. Abrahams, Death in 1-2-3, Hangman's House, 1946




First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Local news: EVERETT -- Police believe an Everett woman bought plastic sheets, bleach and garbage bags before attacking her husband with a Sawzall power tool in October.

Jeff Meyerson Can

How many short stories can you read in one year? Can you read a story a day for one year?

Check it out and take the challenge.

Today's Western Movie Poster

4 Celebrity Workout Videos That Should Not Have Been

4 Celebrity Workout Videos That Should Not Have Been

No Comment Department

French company opening headquarters in Sugar Land will do away with inter-office email | abc13.com: CEO Thierry Breton says email is pollution plain and simple and he hasn't sent an email in the last 3 years. He says only 10 percent of company messages workers receive everyday are useful, and 18 percent of employee email is spam.

Christmas is Coming

Diesel superpowers your crotch with color-changing DC Comics underwear

Son of Frankenstein