Saturday, August 08, 2015

NYC Leads the Way

NYC sought to fire man for missing work — but he’d died

Semper Fi!

Siwash, The Duck Who Fought with the Marines during World War II 

Song of the Day

Broken Hearted Melody -- Sarah Vaughan (in HD) - YouTube:

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 10 Funniest Sci-Fi Comedies 

Link via SF Signal.

Today's Vintage Ad


#16 -- There Is No Basement in the Alamo

15 Fun Facts About 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' 

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Mary S. Gooch, Included Out, Vega, 1960

The Weird Week in Review

The Weird Week in Review

Ursula K. Le Guin Interview

Ursula K. Le Guin: By the Book 

This Weekend in History (August 8 and 9)

This Weekend in History (August 8 and 9)

The Beatles Walk Across Abbey Road

Neatorama: It was Friday, August 8, 1969, around 11:30 in the morning. The Beatles had wrapped up recording what was to be their 12th and final album a few days previously. Although it wasn't opened stated, all four pretty much knew and realized this would be the final-ever Beatle product.

Cats -- Is There Anything They Can't Do?

Cats Find Homes in Prisons—and Reform Inmates 

Friday, August 07, 2015

I Want to Believe!

SASQUATCH SPOTTED DOWN SOUTH  

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

I For One Welcome Our New Arachnid Overlords

And Texas leads the way.
Gigantic 40-feet-tall spiderwebs found in Dallas: Any driver curious enough to step out of their car will see thousands of spiders working together to create this web. Of course this is highly unusual, since spiders are known to normally work alone.

Cold Iron -- Stina Leicht

Most of you know that I don't ordinarily read long books.  So why did I read Cold Iron, which is 650 pages long and is only the first volume in an epic fantasy series?  Because I make exceptions.  In this case, I've known Stina Leicht for a while, and I enjoyed both her first two novels.  So I had a feeling that I'd like this one, too, and I did.

I've heard the book described as "flintlock fantasy," whatever that is.  I'm not as familiar with fantasy sub-genres as I used to be.  What we have is two kingdoms at war.  One of them, Eledore, is peopled by the kainen race, who seem to me to be humans with magical powers.  Maybe they're elves.  The Acrasian kingdom is populated by humans. They don't have magic, but they have the aforementioned flintlocks, which the Eledoreans look down upon.  They prefer magic.  This might be a mistake.

The principal characters are Nels, Suvi, and Itla.  Nels and Suvi are Eledorean royalty, twins born to the queen, whose husband . . . I'll leave that for you to find out.  Nels seems at times to have no magic at all, which causes him a great many problems.  He becomes a soldier, which is a very low position, indeed, for Eledorean royalty.  His sister, who does have magic, is destined to become the ruler.  That's a good thing, since she's much more suited to the position than Nels.  Itla is a healer, and she's Nels' love interest.  All these characters are flawed in some way, and because they're stubborn or because others are stubborn, things don't go well for them or for the kingdom.  

All the trappings of epic fantasy are in play: There are battles on land and sea, explosions, hand-to-hand combat, traitorous villains, alliances with others, threats from fearsome creatures.  But the way Leicht handles things is very different from what you might expect.  The roles of women are quite interesting, as are the ways sex is handled in the societies.  The world-building is intriguing, and the story moves right along.  If you like epic fantasy, with or without flintlocks, this is one you need to check out soon.  Bring on the sequel.

Moe Berg, Major League Baseball Catcher and Spy

Moe Berg, Major League Baseball Catcher and Spy

Song of the Day

Johnny Cash - The One On The Right Is On The Left - YouTube:

10 Creepy Hotel Mysteries That Are Still Unsolved

10 Creepy Hotel Mysteries That Are Still Unsolved 

Today's Vintage Ad


10 Of The Oldest Discoveries Of Their Kind

10 Of The Oldest Discoveries Of Their Kind 

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Theodore Sturgeon, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Pyramid, 1961



13 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

13 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

How "Ghost" Became A Modern Classic

How "Ghost" Became A Modern Classic

Or Maybe You Have

Francisco Hernandez: The Coolest Explorer You've Never Heard Of 

Peculiar Professions: Forks in the Career Path

A Ball Player's Career Peculiar Professions: Forks in the Career Path: Let's take a look at a selection of books dedicated to some of the more unusual career choices out there, and the experiences people have with them.

FFB: Gun the Dame Down -- Gil Brewer

Gun the Dame Down is just one of three novels included in a new Stark House triple-decker, although to call it a novel is a stretch, as it's only about 60 pages long.  If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know that's not a complaint.  James Reasoner mentions in his review that it would have made a nice half of an Ace Double, and I agree.  I can't imagine what other market Brewer could have been shooting for.

William Death, private-eye (Brewer didn't write many p.i. novels that I'm aware of), takes on the case of a woman whose husband has been murdered.  It's a weird household if there ever was one.  The wife and her lover tell Death (okay, I wouldn't have named him that) that they'd planned to kill the guy, but they didn't.  The husband's former wife is also living in the house, along with her sex-crazed teenage daughter and her son, who's mentally challenged to say the least.

Death has never worked on a murder case before.  He's just a guy who does ordinary p.i. work, someone who's never had any kind of complicated case.  He takes this one, however, but I doubt he'll ever take another one because in the course of 60 pages he takes more punishment that most tough guys take in an entire career.  He's beaten (numerous times) slugged in the head with fists and pistols (too many times to count), shot, knocked out, and a few other things that I won't mention because at least one of them is too spoilery.  He also meets a woman named Cadillac Smith, so if you thought William Death was too cute, you might really be upset by that one.

For such a short book, the plot is quite complex.  I'm not sure I figured it all out.  Or if I did, I'm not sure I got it all right.  Doesn't matter.  Things are moving so fast that you won't care.  The action never slows down for a minute.  As for the title, I have no idea how it fits the book. But it's a good one, so who cares?

There are two other formerly unpublished Gil Brewer novels in this package, so what are you waiting for?  Get your order in now.

Thursday, August 06, 2015

George Cole, R. I. P.

The New York Times: George Cole, a British actor who as the young Scrooge foreshadowed Alastair Sim’s aging, coldhearted moneylender in a celebrated film version of “A Christmas Carol,” and who later developed a following as British television’s favorite rogue, died on Wednesday in Reading, England. He was 90.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Tampa Leads the Way!

NewsFix: HOUSTON, TX – Many know Houston as the “Bayou City”. But we might need to start calling it the “Bug City” after reading this. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (yeah, guess they count bugs too!) H-Town came in second, after Tampa, for the city with the most cockroaches! But why are these creepy crawlies calling Houston home?

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Man Defies Death And Repeatedly Rolls Under Moving Train

Kasey Lansdale Update

Kasey Lansdale captivates Twin Cities Sisters in Crime

Dry Stone Walls -- Robert J. Randisi

The protagonist of Robert J. Randsisi's new novel (the first in a series) is Truxton Lewis, a retired Captain of Detectives in the New York City Police Department.  His wife having died, he's decided to travel around the country as a housesitter.  His first job takes him to a small town in Kentucky, where he meets Max Beasley, a man who practices the dying art of building mortarless rock fences -- dry stone walls.

Lewis is interested in the wall-building process and asks Lewis to let him help with the wall and learn how the work is done.  Beasley is a curmudgeonly sort, but he agrees.  It's not long, however, before a real estate developer is murdered, and Beasley is arrested for the crime. Lewis doesn't believe Beasley is guilty and decides to put his detective skills to use by investigating.

Randisi is a master at telling a fast-moving story, and he throws in several twists along the way to keep readers off balance.   The investigative details all ring true, and Lewis is an intriguing new character.  I'm sure he'll soon find another housesitting job, another body will turn up, and another adventure will begin.  Check it out.

The Guest Poster Is Me!

Where Does a Writer Get Ideas? - A Guest Post

Maj. Bambi

Maj. Bambi: Meet The Marine Who Was Disney's Famous Fawn 

Song of the Day

LEFTY FRIZZELL Cigatettes and Coffee Blues - YouTube:

How Much High School Chemistry Do You Remember

How Much High School Chemistry Do You Remember  

I don't even remember having some of this stuff, but I still got 7 right.

Today's Vintage Ad


I Miss the Old Days

Ice Capades 1978

PaperBack



Jim Thompson, A Hell of a Woman, Pyramid, 1964

I Want to Believe!

Crab-like 'alien facehugger' in a cave is spotted on Mars by conspiracy theorists

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

The 10 Richest People of All Time  

Link via The Presurfer.

Team Writing a Novel in 75 Minutes

Team Writing a Novel in 75 Minutes

First It was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

. . . and now it's the Chelsea gym assault: Busta Rhymes arrested, charged with assault after throwing protein drink at Chelsea gym worker  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

“From Page to Screen” (by John M. Floyd)

“From Page to Screen” (by John M. Floyd) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

A Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Kevin's Corner: Review: "Ryan Rides Back: A Wild West Story" by Bill Crider

Next: Flying Cars?

Take a Look at the Lexus Hoverboard in Action

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Who Says Hollywood Is Out of Ideas?

'A Nightmare On Elm Street' Is Getting Remade... Again -

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

The Lawyer: Stay of Execution 1, Wayne D. Dundee - Amazon.com  In the Old West, J.D. Miller had been an attorney at law. A respected and successful one. Until the horrific, soul-scarring day when he returned home to find his entire family slaughtered—the charred remains scarcely recognizable in the smoldering ruins of what had once been their house. Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, The Lawyer—a killing machine—was born, and he’s leaving a blood-splattered revenge trail as he searches out those who murdered his family. 

STAY OF EXECUTION is the first novella in a thrilling new hard-boiledWestern series by bestselling Amazon author Wayne D. Dundee (Manhunter’s Mountain, The Empty Badge) and BEAT to a PULP books. Based on characters created by Edward A. Grainger, author of the Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles adventures.

Coen Brothers To Write, Possibly Direct Adaptation of Ross Macdonald’s ‘Black Money’

Coen Brothers To Write, Possibly Direct Adaptation of Ross Macdonald’s ‘Black Money’

Read Chapter One of Between the Living and the Dead For Free

Between the Living and the Dead: New Excerpt by Bill Crider

Or Maybe You Do

Ack! 12 Things You Might Not Know About 'Bloom County'

Song of the Day

Chuck Willis - Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes.wmv - YouTube:

Croc Update (Dangling Modifier Edition)

Rare crocodile nest discovered on Virginia Key: After incubating for 84 days, a team from the University of Florida and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science helped tag 13 crocs on July 26.

Today's Vintage Ad


Famous Hollywood Audio Recordings

Famous Hollywood Audio Recordings

Billy Sherrill, R. I. P.

Legendary producer Billy Sherrill dies: Legendary producer, songwriter, arranger and Country Music Hall of Famer Billy Sherrill died in his home late Tuesday morning after a short illness. He was 78. 

Mr. Sherrill's contributions to country music were numerous, and his impact on the genre was immeasurable. He was a pioneer of the smooth "countrypolitan" sound and its lush, layered musical arrangements that drew comparisons to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound." Mr. Sherrill worked with artists ranging from Ray Charles to Jim and Jesse to Elvis Costello, but he is perhaps best known for producing hits such as Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" (which they co-wrote), Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors," Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It" and George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," considered by many to be the greatest country song of all time.

PaperBack



Jim Thompson, A Hell of a Woman, Lion Books, 1956

First It was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

. . . and now it's the Car-ramming, bird-flipping flap at Popeye's!  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Gravetapping: Interview: Bill Crider

Gravetapping: Interview: Bill Crider

Even Better than Buc-ee's?

The Secrets of America's Best Rest Stop: Free Ice Water, Donuts, the Cutest Jackalopes in Town

The History (and Many Looks) of the Penguin Books Logo

The History (and Many Looks) of the Penguin Books Logo

Vintage Treasures: Lyrec by Gregory Frost

Vintage Treasures: Lyrec by Gregory Frost

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Elderly couple, cab driver trade blows on Brooklyn Bridge   

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.  

Robert Conquest, R. I. P.

The New York Times: Robert Conquest, a historian whose landmark studies of the Stalinist purges and the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s documented the horrors perpetrated by the Soviet regime against its own citizens, died on Monday in Stanford, Calif. He was 98.

Paging Ed Gorman

Iowa men busted for making meth inside a Taco BellAuthorities are investigating a meth lab in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Taco Bell, according to KCRG, the local ABC affiliate. Two men have been taken into custody, one of whom is a Taco Bell employee. 

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest

I did a blurb for this book, so I'll just repeat it here:  It’s 1988, and when p.i.  Eliot Cross finds out that his father didn’t die the way Cross had been told  long ago, Cross decides to find out the truth.  He winds up in Cuba where nobody wants him to be, and he discovers not only the truth about his father but about secrets that others would rather have hidden.  It’s a fast-moving tale of mystery and espionage that will engage you right from the start.  Check it out. 

Tripl3 Cross: An Eliot Cross Adventure, John Hegenberger - Amazon.com

Comic Strip of the Day

Link

First It was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

. . . and now it's the Roswell man arrested after throwing spaghetti tantrum

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The first one is a classic!

Pictures of the day: 4 August 2015   

Hat tip to Fred Zackel

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: The Neon Boneyard eBook: Paul D. Brazill: Kindle Store:  'In the neon-soaked, blood-spattered hell-hole they call The City, Roman Dalton struggles to fight the forces of darkness, even when he becomes a creature of the night. Werewolves, vampires, zombies: they’re all just amateurs when it come to the real menace who haunts the streets. Let Brazill take you on a grim dark journey to hell and back. Bring lots of whisky: it’s a rough ride.' K A Laity, author of White Rabbit.

Yes

Can You Pass A Basic Spelling Test

Song of the Day

Hank Snow - I've Been Everywhere - YouTube:

Of Top 25 Films on IMDB, Most Involve Crime

Of Top 25 Films on IMDB, Most Involve Crime 

Today's Vintage Ad


And You Thought Math Class Wasn't Useful

Agatha Christie's whodunnits mystery's can be solved with maths: The daunting mathematical formula is k r, δ, θ, c=f{rk δ θP,M, c(3≤4.5}  

And an English class might've been useful for the headline writer.

PaperBack

Jim Thompson, A Hell of a Woman, Lion Books, 1954.

I Want to Believe!

Existence of ghosts proven

Sheriff Dan Rhodes doesn't, however.  Be sure to read Between the Living and the Dead to learn all about it.

I Want to Believe!

Has Lee County's mythical Lizard Man returned?  

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass. 

Big Little Books

The Golden Age: Big Little Books

Who Says Hollywood Is Out of Ideas?

Pez Candy movie adaptation announced

14 Blockbuster Facts About the Summer Movies of 1985

14 Blockbuster Facts About the Summer Movies of 1985

Overlooked Movies: Dirty Little Billy

Back in the '70s the revisionist western was a thing, so a revisionist Billy the Kid movie was a natural. And if you're going to revise Billy the Kid, who'd been played in th past by, among others, Paul Newman, Robert Taylor, and Roy Rogers, why not cast Michael J. Pollard?  I can't think of a more unlikely leading man in any role, much less Billy the Kid.

The movie is what we now call an origin story. Pollard plays Billy Bonney, who arrives in Coffeyville, Kansas, with his mother and stepfather, whose plan is to become a farmer and make Billy one, too.  Coffeyville is one of the muddiest towns ever put on film, and nobody there ever takes a bath.  The actors spend most of the film covered in grime.  Pollard is a wimp and a weasel who falls in with a bad crowd and loves it.  He gives a truly creepy performance, but then what would you expect?  He's Michael J. Pollard.

A lot of time is spent in a nasty-looking saloon, but there are occasional outbursts of violence, including the one at the end, where Billy comes into his own.  In fact, I guess we could call this a coming-of-age movie, too, since Billy gets initiated into sex and killing.  At the end we can see where he's headed.

My feeling is that this version of Billy the Kid isn't any more true than others we've seen on film.  It's a very different version, though, and nowhere nearly as romantic as the earlier ones.  There's nobody in the movie to like very much, certainly not Billy, but if you're looking for a western that's far from run-of-the-mill, here it is.


Dirty Little Billy

DIRTY_LITTLE_BILLY.mp4 - YouTube:

Monday, August 03, 2015

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Making Machine-Gun Bacon With Ted Cruz

First It was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

. . .  and now it's the Facebook Feud: Nickeous Lamont Jenkins arrested after pointing revolver at family over Facebook feud  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

50 greatest monster movies of all time  

Link via SF Signal.
Annoying slideshow alert.

Song of the Day

Ike & Tina Turner Fool in love - YouTube:

I Miss the Old Days

Retrospace: Vintage Scan #37: Variety (January 11, 1984)

Today's Vintage Ad


Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - August 3rd, 1965

Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - August 3rd, 1965

PaperBack



Jim Thompson, A Hell of a Woman, Black Lizard, 1984

Album Covers: Awkward Vinyl

Retrospace: Album Covers #43: Awkward Vinyl

John Wayne Movie Posters ~ 1930-39

The Golden Age: John Wayne Movie Posters ~ 1930-39

Edgar Wallace, the Man Who Created King Kong

Stranger Than Fiction: The Life of Edgar Wallace, the Man Who Created King Kong by Neil Clark – review

Publicity Push: Robert J. Randisi's Joe Keough Novels

Gravetapping: Publicity Push: Robert J. Randisi's Joe Keough Novels

New Poem at the Five-Two

The Five-Two: Catherine Wald: BITE

Vintage Treasures: The Books of Outremer by Chaz Brenchley

Vintage Treasures: The Books of Outremer by Chaz Brenchley

Sunday, August 02, 2015

Cilla Black, R. I. P.

NY Daily News: LONDON — Big-voiced British singer Cilla Black, a product of Beatles-era Liverpool who became a national treasure over a 50-year music and television career, has died. She was 72. 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

How Shakespeare Changed America’s Wildlife

How Shakespeare Changed America’s Wildlife

Song of the Day

Emmylou Harris - Wayfaring Stranger - YouTube:

6 Historical Heads Stolen From Their Graves

6 Historical Heads Stolen From Their Graves 

Today's Vintage Ad


6 Hilariously Stupid Early Personas Of Wrestling Superstars

6 Hilariously Stupid Early Personas Of Wrestling Superstars

PaperBack



Belli Luigi, The Metal Monster, World Distributors, 1950

Or Maybe You Do

28 Facts You Might Not Know about The Munsters

EQMM Podcast with Josh Pachter

PodOmatic: Join us this month for a story set in 1980s Bahrain. Part of a series begun in EQMM in 1984, "The Night of Power" (EQMM September 1986) has recently been republished in the collection The Tree of Life (Wildside Press). It is read for us here by the author, Josh Pachter, a frequent contributor of fiction and translations to our magazine.

Authors Reflect on Part 1 of the World's Largest Sherlock Holmes Collection

Authors Reflect on Part 1 of the World's Largest Sherlock Holmes Collection - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texas couple adds 80th Dodge Viper to their world-record collection of cars