Saturday, December 14, 2013

Wanting to Write Full Time?

Book Dirt: Wanting to Write Full Time? Take Linda Formichelli’s Advice (And Mine, Too)

The Human Division -- John Scalzi

John Scalzi originally published The Human Division as a series of 13 inter-related episodes in electronic format.  Soon afterward it was released in hardcover, which is the edition I read, with two additional episodes.  Each episode is designed to stand alone, but there's an overall plot that ties them together.

Since this book is set in what's called "The Old Man's War Universe," it helps to have read the previous novels in the series, but it's not necessary.  What you need to know is that there's a Colonial Union (humanity) that's been keeping a lot of secrets from Earth.  There's the Conclave (every other race in the universe) that's not happy with the CU and is trying to get Earth to join it.  The Human Division is primarily about a diplomatic team that's working with alien races to make them allies of the CU or at least make them lean in that direction.

I quite enjoyed this book.  It's what I think of as being a lot like the Good Old Stuff, and I also like to think that John W. Campbell would have published each of the stories in Astounding in the '50s.  It has a lot of the things Campbell liked: smart, competent humans who usually come off well in their encounters with aliens; attractive, courageous, quick-witted characters (aliens and humans alike); a readable style; humor and sentiment.  Some of the stories play out familiar tropes (single combat, for example, in the first coda), but they're well done and fun.  Here's my only caveat.  This seems never to have been designed as a standalone novel.  The overarching mystery behind the attacks on the CU ships is never resolved.  Scalzi says he's writing another book to follow this one, and I think that was his secret plan all along.  If you don't like books that leave you hanging, then you might want to skip The Human Division, but you'll be missing out on some good reading if you do.

12 Must-Read Collections of Famous Authors’ Letters

12 Must-Read Collections of Famous Authors’ Letters

Song of the Day

▶ Dion - Christmas (baby please come home) 1993.wmv - YouTube:

When Nerf Guns Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Nerf Guns

Missouri State Considers Banning Nerf Guns After Lockdown 

The Origins of 15 Delightful Carnival Rides

The Origins of 15 Delightful Carnival Rides

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Mail Online: Two 107-old-year WWII veterans meet for the first time to have lunch and discuss fighting in the Pacific. 

Richard Overton and Elmer Hill, both 107 and from Texas, met for lunch on Friday. 

Hill is just three months younger than the older man Overton and Hill fought in the Pacific during World War II, but hadn't met.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Or Maybe You Do

20 Surprising Facts You Might Not Know About 'Die Hard'

Uh-Oh

Matthew Perry To Star As Oscar In 'Odd Couple' Sitcom In Works At CBS

PaperBack



Vernon Lee, The Virgin of the Seven Daggers, Corgi, 1972

4 Surefire Ways to Never Get a Book Deal Ever

4 Surefire Ways to Never Get a Book Deal Ever

10 Movies You’ve Been Watching in Altered Versions

10 Movies You’ve Been Watching in Altered Versions

But Soylent Green is . . .

. . . oh, wait, you mean this isn't green?  Could Soylent solve world hunger?

Alvin, Texas, Not Included

10 Cool Places You Are Not Allowed to Visit 

Mac McGarry, R. I. P.

TV quiz show host Mac McGarry dies at 87: The 'It's Academic' host appeared on the Saturday morning show from 1961 to 2011, asking more than 200,000 questions of students throughout his career.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Well, Gomer Pyle Can

Can Anyone Just Make a Citizen’s Arrest?

Frosty the Salesman

Frosty the Salesman 

The Secret Code

▶ 1952 THE SECRET CODE RE-ISSUE SERIAL TRAILER PAUL KELLY - YouTube:

Friday, December 13, 2013

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

Stuff.co.nz: A chainsaw-wielding man wearing fishnet stockings chased a Mr Whippy van down the street after a stag party got out of hand.

Michael Connelly - By the Book

Michael Connelly - By the Book 

Uh-Oh

‘Naked Gun’: Ed Helms to Star in Reboot for Paramount 

Free for Kindle for One Day Only

Amazon.com: Salechii: A Shark Park that is a fun, safe environment to learn about sharks, what could go wrong? (Book 1 in the Apex Predator Thriller Series) eBook: Carolyn McCray: Kindle Store: **Warning, if you ever hope to swim in the ocean again, this book is NOT for you! 

From the #1 bestselling author in Action/Adventure, Men's Adventure, Techno-thrillers, War, And Thrillers, Carolyn McCray comes the next greatest thing since Jaws! 

A shark-fest for all of you Jaws, Jurassic Park, Shark Week and Sharknado lovers!

Who Was Heisman and Why Does He Have a Trophy?

Who Was Heisman and Why Does He Have a Trophy?

Short, Sharp Interview: Steve Weddle

Short, Sharp Interview: Steve Weddle

Song of the Day

▶ The Crystals - Santa Claus is coming to ..... - YouTube:

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Houston Leads the Nation in Armored-Car Robberies

A Whole Bunch of Lists I'm Not On

Who is Bigger?: We have developed computational methods to measure historical significance through analysis of Wikipedia and other data sources. We rank historical figures just as Google ranks webpages, by integrating a diverse set of measurements about their reputation (including PageRank, article length, and readership) into estimates of their fame, explained by a combination of achievement (gravitas) and celebrity. We correct for the passage of time in a principled way, so we can fairly compare the significance of historical figures of different eras.

Today's Vintage Ad


11 Rare Children's Books from the Library of Congress

11 Rare Children's Books from the Library of Congress

10 of the Greatest Essays on Writing Ever Written

10 of the Greatest Essays on Writing Ever Written

Croc Update (Leaping Impalas Edition)

Incredibly tense images show impala escaping a crocodile attack

PaperBack



Bryan Berry, Born in Captivity, Hamilton, 1952

The 20 Worst People of 2013

The 20 Worst People of 2013

The Secret of Writing Great Science Fiction

The Secret of Writing Great Science Fiction  

Link via SF Signal.

Simulated Gophers WBAGNFARB

Simulated Gophers Explain Mysterious Mima Mounds

A Forgotten Imprint

A Fond Look Back at Bluejay Books

Another Forgotten Book

 Vintage Treasures: The Unknown, edited by D.R. Bensen

FFB: The Unauthorized Lord of the Rings

The Unauthorized Lord of the Rings 

The essay at the link above does a nice job of telling the story of how Ace came to publish the first U. S. paperbacks of the LOTR trilogy and of how Ballantine came to take over the market with its own editions.

Back in 1965, I knew nothing about this controversy.  One day when I was standing in a supermarket checkout line in Denton, Texas, I spotted the second volume of the Ace edition in a little rack of paperbacks intended to entice impulse shoppers.  When it comes to books, I'm one of those.  I know you're surprised to hear that.
Anyway, the Jack Gaughan cover of The Two Towers called out to me.  I wasn't a kid anymore, but that cover bypassed any adult parts of my brain and went straight to the old "sense of wonder" portion of it that remained.  I grabbed the book and bought it even though it wasn't the first volume in the series.  I figured I'd find the first one soon enough.  I did, and I found the third one, too.  That's how I came to read the unauthorized edition of the trilogy.  


No matter what you think of the Ace editions otherwise, I think we can all admit that the covers are far superior to those on the Ballantine paperbacks.  I still have those Ace editions today, and I still love the covers.

Youth Aflame!

▶ 1944 YOUTH AFLAME TRAILER BAD GIRLS - YouTube:

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Mr. Teeth Update

Jail time for man with pot-guarding croc: Castro Valley man who kept a 5-foot-long reptile named "Mr. Teeth" to guard his stash of marijuana has been sentenced to four months in jail, authorities said Thursday.  

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Vintage Greenleaf Classics Books



Vintage Greenleaf Classics: This on-line checklist is based on an almost complete collection of Greenleaf Classics vintage paperback books. The physical collection is maintained by Bob Speray, with Bruce Brenner, as photographer and cataloger. Find out more about the 30 year history of building the collection and creating the data set - it's a great story over on the History of the Greenleaf Classics Book Collection page.

This is a great new website that has pretty much everything about vintage Greenleaf Classics imprints that you ever wanted to know. It's searchable, too.  And the covers, well, they're great. They're also Not Safe for Work.  Take a look at the site and you might find yourself spending a lot of time there, searching for books your favorite authors wrote under pseudonyms.  I'm not guaranteeing the accuracy of all of them, but it's great fun to try to decide about them.

Vicki Hendricks and her new book FUR PEOPLE

Ed Gorman's blog: Pro-File: Vicki Hendricks and her new book FUR PEOPLE

Kurt Vonnegut: A Rare 1974 WNYC Interview

Kurt Vonnegut on the Writer’s Responsibility, the Limitations of the Brain, and Why the Universe Exists: A Rare 1974 WNYC Interview

Song of the Day (a personal favorite because it surprised me)

▶ Funny Xmas Song - Town of Bethlehem.wmv - YouTube:

Or Maybe You Do (be dooby do that voodoo that you do so well)

10 Things You Didn't Know About Voodoo

Today's Vintage Ad


Flannery O’Connor’s Cartoons

Flannery O’Connor’s Cartoons 

PaperBack



Mike Jahn, Switch, Star Books, 1976

Why We Need the Oxford Comma

Why We Need the Oxford Comma

The Meaning of Libraries

The Meaning of Libraries 

Link via SF Signal.

I Miss the Old Days

Read All About It: 1942 Paul di Filippo posted this (click on the photo to enlarge) to a list I'm on, and oh to be standing there with a hundred bucks in my hand!

Men: Avoid Using the Toilet in Ghana

Man's penis bitten by snake: Toilet user claims 'big, black snake' bit tip of his manhood

I'll Stick with the Quarter-Pounder

The Grass-Whopper: A Burger Made with Crickets

Top Suspense Group: Ripper Street

Top Suspense Group: Ripper Street

1200-Year-Old Phone

There’s a 1,200-year-old Phone in the Smithsonian Collections

Link via Boing Boing.

The Leopard Man

▶ 1952 THE LEOPARD MAN RE-ISSUE TRAILER VAL LEWTON - YouTube:

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

. . . and, as usual, Texas leads the way.

Texas man: My roommate beat me up and left me naked in a ditch: A Texas man told authorities he was left naked in a ditch for hours after being ambushed by his roommate and co-worker following an argument over their neighbor’s dog.

An Offer You Can't Refuse?

the cockeyed pessimist: AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE (I hope)

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Gumshoe eBook: Paul D. Brazill: Kindle Store: Gumshoe is a gritty and blackly comic novella from Paul D. Brazill, author of Guns Of Brixton and Roman - Dalton - Werewolf PI. 

Gumshoe is the short, sharp story of Peter Ord, a divorced teacher who decides to become a private detective in fading 'one-whore-town' somewhere in the north-east of England. Dark farce and tragicomedy ensue.

New Story by Lew Shiner

Read it for free (and I like the name of the illustrator, too).

Friedrich the Snow Man by Lewis Shiner

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

. . . and now it's the Figure Skating Feud!

Bunny butchered in cut-throat figure skating feud  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Vicki Hendricks on Giving Up Noir

Vicki Hendricks on Giving Up Noir | Lee Goldberg

Will the Persecution Never End?

Ray LaMoine says 'the Hiltons represent everything that sucks about America'  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Book Trailer for Vicki Hendricks' Fur People

▶ Cornish Rex Cat Gets in a Few words - YouTube:

Pimpage: An Occasional Feature in Which I call Attention to Books of Interest

Amazon.com: Home For the Haunting: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery eBook: Juliet Blackwell: Kindle Store   No good deed goes unpunished.

San Francisco contractor Mel Turner is leading a volunteer home renovation project, and while she expects lots of questions from her inexperienced crew, she can’t help asking a few of her own—especially about the haunted house next door…the place local kids call the Murder House.
But when volunteers discover a body while cleaning out a shed, questions pile up faster than discarded lumber. Mel notices signs of ghostly activity next door and she wonders: Are the Murder House ghosts reaching out to her for help, or has the house claimed another victim?

Now, surprised to find herself as the SFPD’s unofficial “ghost consultant,” Mel must investigate murders both past and present before a spooky killer finishes another job. 

Cry in the Night -- Carolyn Hart

I didn't know when I picked this one up to read it that Carolyn Hart was about to be named a Grand Master by MWA.  It was a great choice, and it was a nice coincidence that I  happened to be reading A Cry in the Night.  

Sheila Ramsay is an Egyptologist, but when the museum she works for gives her an opportunity to return a valuable Aztec to a family in Mexico City, she jumps at the chance.  Not because she wants to study the Mexican pyramids but because she met an angry but fascinating young man at a conference and hopes to see him again.  

You won't be surprised to learn that when she arrives in Mexico City, she discovers that things are not what they had seemed.  The family she stays with has secrets (there's that cry in the night), but there's worse.  Someone's threatened to kill her, and she has no idea why.  All she's done is deliver the manuscript, even the family doesn't seem much interested in it, nor does anyone else.

Throw in lots of local color, a generous helping of romance, and a twisty plot that involves a hugely valuable treasure.  Hart mixes them all into a fast-moving story that shows her mastery.  If you're thinking it's a cozy, you're thinking wrong.  Check it out.


Susan Sontag on the Glory of Books and Reading in the Age of “Bookscreens”

Letter to Borges: Susan Sontag on the Glory of Books and Reading in the Age of “Bookscreens” 

Song of the Day

▶ Walking around in womens underwear by Bob Rivers (1993) - YouTube:

What Are the Most Important Libraries in the World?

What Are the Most Important Libraries in the World? 

Today's Vintage Ad


Something Is Going to Happen

“Discovery” (by Mike Cooper) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

PaperBack



Robin Turner, Outrageous Fortune, Star Books, 1987

Uh-Oh

NBC plans TV mini-series remake of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’

Weird Baby Names of 2013

Unusual Baby Names of 2013 Include Cheese, Danish and More 

Cage? Surely They Jest.

Adam Sandler is 'Most Overpaid,' But List Includes Cage, Carell

The 10 worst-reviewed movies of 2013

The 10 worst-reviewed movies of 2013

Or Maybe You Do

12 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Story (Even Though You've Seen It 90 Times) 

Now This Is a Fragrance

Demeter Fragrance Library -- Paperback: A trip to your favorite library or used bookstore. Sweet and lovely with just a touch of the musty smell of aged paper, Demeter's Paperback harnesses that scent with a sprinkling of violets and a dash of tasteful potpourri.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Seeking Closure

Woman sets fire to ex-boyfriend's home while seeking 'closure'  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

50 Essential Historical Fiction Books

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa CatherAbeBooks: 50 Essential Historical Fiction Books: With Eleanor Catton's 2013 Booker Prize for The Luminaries falling so closely on the heels of Hilary Mantel's wins in 2009 and 2012, for Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies respectively, interest historical fiction has never been higher. No longer dismissed as bodice-rippers rife with anachronisms or dreary textbooks dressed up in barely discernible plots, historical fiction is gaining the respect of critics and readers alike, regularly appearing on shortlists for major literary awards and on bestseller lists around the world.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Video captures avalanche of snow that CRUSHES Jaguar under sheets of ice   

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Creature with the Atom Brain

▶ crea - YouTube:

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Stephen Mertz Interview

FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Interview: Stephen Mertz (author of THE CASTRO DIRECTIVE)

Exploding Toilets WBAGNFARB, as would Killer Staircases

10 dangerous things in Victorian/Edwardian homes  

Hat tip to Richard Prosch.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

Police: Backseat driving son bit off dad’s eyebrow

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

Police Called To Home To Break Up Family Fight Over Decorating Of Christmas Tree

If This Isn't an Emergency, What Is?

Couple calls 911 over forgotten McDonald's hash browns  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Both Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Loss (Gus Dury 3) eBook: Tony Black: Kindle Store: Gus Dury is a changed man. He is off the Edinburgh streets and back with estranged wife, Debs. He has promised her that he won't get involved in any more dodgy cases which the police can't or won't solve. And above all, he's off the drink. In his pocket at all times is a half bottle of Scotch, but although the label is worn to shreds, he has never so much as loosened the cap. Then his brother Michael is found dead with a bullet in his heart and Gus's life begins to unravel all over again. How can he keep the promises he has made and still avenge his brother's murder? 

Tony Black's third novel about washed-up hack turned private investigator, Gus Dury, is absolutely gripping - a labyrinth of violence, secrets and emotion.

 http://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Dead-Gus-Dury-ebook/dp/B00H7YFT58/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&tag=ama-prod-id-20&ie=UTF8&qid=1386697888&sr=1-1&keywords=tony+black+gus+dury+long+time+dead:  Gus Dury is back on the drink. While in hospital after a hit-and-run accident, his best friend, Hod, asks him to investigate the ritual, on-campus hanging of an Edinburgh University student. The murder victim's mother is a high-profile actress, who has promised a big-money reward. Gus, desperate for money, goes undercover at the university, taking a janitor's job, and soon uncovers a similar ritualistic hanging which took place in the '70s. Few of the students are prepared to talk about it - until another one of their group turns up dead by the same method. But Gus now moves into very dangerous waters as he begins to discover what and who is really behind it all - and he becomes the next target for the executioner.

LONG TIME DEAD is the fourth novel in the Gus Dury series, crime writing that hits you like a shot of whisky and aims straight for the gut...

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

Police: Seattle barber stabs customer in testicles  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

10 Real-Life Murders Sung About By The Last People You'd Expect

10 Real-Life Murders Sung About By The Last People You'd Expect 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texan Allegedly Pulls Sword & Demands Tacos

Song of the Day

▶ John Prine - The Sins of Memphisto - YouTube:

Velvet Underdogs

Velvet Underdogs: In Praise of the Paintings the Art World Loves to Hate

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

. . . And once again Texas leads the way:

3 Hurt In Hatchet Attack At East Texas Wal-Mart

Today's Vintage Ad


The Near-Perfect Murder Weapon

Arsenic -- The Near-Perfect Murder Weapon 

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

All Rise - 10 best courtroom dramas in film history

PaperBack



John W. Campbell, The Thing From Outer Space, Tandem, 1966

Laurel and Hardy: it's still comedy genius

Laurel and Hardy: it's still comedy genius

You Know You Want It!

Sharknado 2014 Wall Calendar: SyFy: 9781449456627: Amazon.com: Books 

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Villainous Vixens

VILLANOUS VIXENS 

Link via The Presurfer.

Comic Strip of the Day

Calvin and Hobbes.

I Want to Believe!

Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?

Eleanor Parker, R. I. P.

RealClear: Oscar-nominated actress Eleanor Parker, best known today for her role as the Baroness, the lady friend of Captain Von Trapp who loses out to Julie Andrews' Maria in 1966 film "The Sound of Music," died Monday morning due to complications from pneumonia at a medical facility near Palm Springs, Calif. She was 91.

Overlooked Movies: Carry On Nurse

Does anyone else remember the "Carry On" movies?  I don't know how many of them there were, but this was the first one I ever saw.  It was showing at the Texas Theater, the "art" theater across Guadalupe street from the campus of The University of Texas at Austin my freshman year.  Being from a small town in Central Texas, I hadn't seen many British movies.  I thought this one was hilarious, and I feel in love with Shirley Eaton, who later showed up in two other movies I like, Goldfinger (her most memorable role, probably, thanks to some gold paint) and The Girl Hunters, in which she played opposite Mickey Spillane.

The setting of the movie is a hospital, as you might have surmised, and it's mostly set in one ward of the hospital.  We learn the stories and problems of the various patients, one of whom is a newspaper reporter who agrees to write an article about his experiences and who falls (as who wouldn't) for Shirley Eaton.  There's a Matron (sort of Nurse Ratched lite) who causes problems for everyone.  

I remember two main things about the movie, the big scene where the men on the ward get drunk and decide to remove a bunion from one of the patients when his doctor fails to do so, and the final scene of the movie, which was unforgettable mainly because I'd never seen anything like it in an American movie.  I can still see it, plain as day.  I don't know how the movie would hold up today, but I suspect I'd still get a kick out of it.  It's slapsticky, but, after all, I still laugh at The Good Humor Man.

Carry On Nurse

Carry On Nurse - UK Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, December 09, 2013

The First One Must Have Done Better Than I Thought

Tom Cruise Developing Jack Reacher Sequel at Paramount 

Pimpage: An Occasional Feature in Which I call Attention to Books of Interest

Webb’s Weird Wild West cover - click to view full size
Weightless Books: “In Don Webb’s “”Weird Wild West,”" Henry James avenges his brother Jesse, Robert E. Howard’s serpent people are a modern gang, Satan flies a Zeppelin, and hobos liberate a zebra from a stolen train. Great weird fiction set in the west! 

No Comment Department

Man commits suicide after girlfriend refuses to quit shopping

The 14 Greatest Science Fiction Books Of The Year

The 14 Greatest Science Fiction Books Of The Year

My Birthday Wishes | Kirk Douglas

My Birthday Wishes | Kirk Douglas

I Want to Believe!

‘All the ingredients are there for life’: NASA rover uncovers ancient fresh water lake on Mars 

The Wrong Quarry -- Max Allan Collins

I haven't been reading Max Allan Collins' books as long as I have those of Lawrence Block, but it's close.  I read Bait Money back in 1973 when it came out in paperback from Curtis Books, and I've been reading right along ever since.  While I enjoyed Bait Money and its sequel, Blood Money, I thought Collins really hit his stride with the Quarry series, the first three books of which appeared in 1976, with the fourth to follow in 1977.  The next one didn't come out until ten years later, and it was almost twenty years before Quarry was revived for Hard Case Crime in The Last Quarry.  I was happy to see it, but I hoped the title didn't prove prophetic.  It didn't, and there have been four more since then.  (I'm not counting the collection of short stories.)  We might even be seeing a Cinemax series based on the novels.

Which brings us to The Wrong Quarry, the latest novel to feature the Viet Nam vet and professional hit man.  If you've been keeping up with the books, you know that Quarry is no longer employed by the Broker and is now on his own with a new venture.  Instead of hitting people on whom there's a contract, Quarry now cuts a deal with the target and will, for a fee, hit the hitters.  This time he's in a small town in Missouri, where someone has put out a contract on a dance instructor.  Quarry makes his usual deal, but something doesn't seem right about it.  And something isn't, but it's not my job to tell you what.  That's for you to find out.

Quarry's his usual self, irresistible to women (there's a good bit of sex in this one), and he even hooks up with an aspiring writer who's very affectionate.  Quarry's the consummate professional for the most part (I got a good laugh out of the last line of Chapter 13) and as cold-blooded as ever.  You could say I'm a fan of the series, since I've read all the preceding books, so naturally I enjoyed this one.  But I think that you could pick up this book even without having read any of the others and find yourself right up to speed within a few pages.  After that, strap in and enjoy the ride.  It's a good one.

Ships That Sail Through The Clouds

Luigi Prina: The Ships That Sail Through The Clouds

Song of the Day

▶ Fats Domino "Blue Monday" - YouTube:

Or Maybe You Do

20 Surprising Things You Might Not Know about 'Christmas Vacation'

Today's Vintage Ad


I Miss the Old Days

Photos That Capture the Heyday of New York City’s Iconic Music Venues 

PaperBack



Joanna Russ, The Female Man, Star Books, 1977

Top 10 Failed Products

Top 10 Failed Products

Ellery Queen’s chain letter

Ellery Queen’s chain letter

Edouard Molinaro, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Edouard Molinaro, who received an Oscar nomination for directing the 1978 French film “La Cage aux Folles,” which was remade in the United States as “The Birdcage” and as a Broadway musical, died on Saturday in Paris. He was 85.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Famous Novelists on Symbolism in Their Work

Famous Novelists on Symbolism in Their Work

New Poem at The 5-2

The 5-2 | Crime Poetry Weekly, Annual Ebooks - Gerald So, Editor: Kathleen Shaw STRANGER

Classic Gunfights

Geronimo!: Tombstone Posse vs San Carlos Apaches

8 Hilariously Misleading Covers Slapped on Classic Books

8 Hilariously Misleading Covers Slapped on Classic Books

Holiday Greetings

▶ 1954 MOVIE THEATRE HOLIDAY GREETINGS - YouTube:

Blessed Event

▶ 1932 BLESSED EVENT TRAILER LEE TRACY - YouTube:

Sunday, December 08, 2013

I'm Supporting This One

"The Wrecking Crew" The Untold Story of Rock & Roll Heroes by Denny Tedesco — Kickstarter

The Blacklin County Files

The Blacklin County Files is being featured at The Fussy Librarian, a new website that offers personalized ebook recommendations. You choose from 40 genres and indicate preferences about content and then the computers work their magic. It's pretty cool -- check it out! www.TheFussyLibrarian.com

An Obituary for the Letter E

An Obituary for the Letter E

Recording of the Day

▶ STAN FREBERG - Green Christmas (1958) - A Classic! - YouTube:

Short, Sharp Interview: Jon Bassoff

Short, Sharp Interview: Jon Bassoff

I Miss the Old Days

Cinerama: "The Next Big Thing That Was"

Link via Neatorama.

Today's Vintage Ad


12 Obvious Things Confirmed By Science

12 Obvious Things Confirmed By Science 

A Toast to Rex Stout

A Toast to Rex Stout | Lawrence Block

PaperBack



P. C. Wren, Beau Sabreur, John Murray, 1961

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . .

Man accused of vandalizing business, trying to fight cop after being refused alcohol

How To Write a Book Review

How To Write a Book Review

15 Fun Phrases That Were Popularized During Prohibition

15 Fun Phrases That Were Popularized During Prohibition

You Know You Want It!

Kitchen Kong - Gorilla Whisk

And Keep off His Lawn!

Oklahoma man shoots great granddaughter for ‘carrying on:’ police  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The Parakeet Was Asking for It

NYPD cops beat up my loved ones, killed my parakeet  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

It's On!

Not, not Paris vs. Lindsay.  This time it's Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark 

It's On!

Paris Hilton threatens Lindsay Lohan on Instagram after brother Barron Hilton is attacked  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Photos show breathtaking river of fog fill the Grand Canyon

Photos show breathtaking river of fog fill the Grand Canyon 

Missile to the Moon

▶ Missile to the Moon (1958) trailer - YouTube: