Saturday, January 04, 2014

George Pittman, R. I. P.

www.community-news.com: George Pittman, teacher, mentor, traveler, community volunteer and loving husband and father died Jan 1, 2014 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 76.

George was the chair of the Department of English at Howard Payne University (then Howard Payne College) when I began teaching there in 1971.  He was a friend and colleague for six years before moving back to his alma mater to continue his academic career.  He was the best possible department chair, and I always felt I could go to him for advice not only on school matters but on anything else that was troubling me.  He had a great teaching career and influenced thousands of students.  Maybe he wasn't as famous as some people I mention here, but he was certainly one of the best.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Philly man charged in shoveling fight

William Overstreet, R. I. P.

Neatorama: William Overstreet Jr. died in Roanoke, Virginia at the age of 92. During World War II, he flew a P-51 Mustang fighter plane. During the liberation of France, he performed one of the most daring fighter combat actions ever witnessed.

Archaeology Update

Ancient stone bridge revealed after Chinese lake dries up 

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Brother arrested in fight over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Houston man hospitalized with broken bones after allegedly run over by women for his Jay Z tickets 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Barbara Lawrence, R. I. P.

Mail Online: Actress Barbara Lawrence, who played Gertie Cummings in the 1955 musical Oklahoma!, has died at the age of 83. 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Alicia Rhett, R. I. P.

Hollywood Reporter: Alicia Rhett, who had been one of the oldest surviving cast member of the classic film "Gone With the Wind," died Friday in her longtime hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, a retirement community spokeswoman said. 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and Doc Quatermass.

Saul Zaentz. R. I. P.

The Hollywood Reporter: He won Oscars for producing three best picture winners -- "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," "Amadeus" and "The English Patient" -- after a great career with Fantasy Records and feuds with John Fogerty.  

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Song of the Day

▶ The Everly Brothers ~ Live ~ Bye Bye Love ~ 1957 - YouTube:

5 Authority Figures No One Realized Were Con Artists

5 Authority Figures No One Realized Were Con Artists 

Today's Vintage Ad



8 Books That Will Absolutely Terrify You

8 Books That Will Absolutely Terrify You  

Link via SF Signal.

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Nicholas Blake (C. Day-Lewis), The Case of the Abominable Snowman, White Circle, no date

Police Checking Hospitals for Hernia Patients

Man Steals 250-Pound Safe From Weymouth Restaurant 

Cartoon of the Day

Bound and Gagged

Evolution of Fast Food Logos (Top 10 Burger Chains)

Evolution of Fast Food Logos (Top 10 Burger Chains) 

Link via The Presurfer.

My Favorite Blonde

▶ 1942 MY FAVORITE BLONDE TRAILER BOB HOPE - YouTube:

Friday, January 03, 2014

Phil Everly, R. I. P.

latimes.com: Phil Everly, who with his brother, Don, made up the most revered vocal duo of the rock-music era, their exquisite harmonies profoundly influencing the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and countless younger-generation rock, folk and country singers, died Friday in Burbank of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Patti Everly, told The Times. He was 74.

Suspect of the Week

NY Daily News: A suspect in a bizarre Salem, Ore., rampage that included a house fire, a robbery and stealing elk meat was arrested while hiding fully clothed in a hot tub with a machete, authorities said.

So Now It's Brooklyn

Drug dealers — and their gator — busted in Brooklyn 

This Is Exactly Why We Have 911

Memphis grandmother calls 911 for beer 

And so is this.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I Want to Believe!

Man claims he killed Bigfoot in SA: Video

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

New York News: Bexar County’s BibiloTech is the nation’s only bookless public library, according to the American Library Association.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

The Raw Story: Police used a stun gun to subdue an Oklahoma man wielding a hammer and a Bible during a fight with another man.

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Night Spoor eBook: Wayne D. Dundee: Kindle Store Simon Oakhaven and his granddaughter, Jennifer, have traveled far and long to find and stop Simon's lost love, Lenore. They are willing to do whatever it takes to complete this task, before it's too late.

Lenore works the night as a waitress or a dancer, sometimes even a prostitute – all guises she has assumed in the past to satisfy her craving for life-sustaining blood. Her victims are primarily men, although she has been known to feed on women as well. 

Pitcairn also works the night; an amoral man who kills for money. Can he be persuaded to take on the hunt for the beautiful and deadly Lenore? 

Will any of them survive the lethal cat and mouse that ensues, or will the evils of the night claim them all?

18 Most Remarkable World Records Broken In 2013

18 Most Remarkable World Records Broken In 2013

Song of the Day

▶ Deep Purple - Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond cover) - YouTube:

100 Best Historical Photos of the American West

100 Best Historical Photos of the American West

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien: The Iconic Storyteller’s Little-Known, Gorgeous Art 

Today's Vintage Ad


How We Moved Squirrels Into Our Cities

Of Squirrels and Men: How We Moved Squirrels Into Our Cities  

Link via boingboing.

Elizabeth Jane Howard, R. I. P.

New York Daily News: Novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, best known for “The Cazelet Chronicles,” her series of novels tracing the lives of an English family around World War II, has died at the age of 90, according to multiple reports.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Jay Traynor . R. I. P.

Jay and the Americans Singer Jay Traynor Dead at 69: Jay Traynor, the singer best known for his stint as the original lead vocalist in Jay and the Americans, has passed away at the age of 69 following a struggle with liver cancer.

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Erle Stanley Gardner, The Case of the Baited Hook, Pocket Books, 1955

Top 10 Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right NOW

Top 10 Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right NOW

28 Beautiful Quotes About Libraries

28 Beautiful Quotes About Libraries

When Mystery Authors Become Real-Life Detectives

When Mystery Authors Become Real-Life Detectives: Part 1  

Part 2.  

Part 3.  

Part 4.


Emmy Bait!

‘Community’ Season 5 Finally Doing Dan Harmon’s Nicolas Cage Episode 

Hat tip to Seepy Benton.

The First One Has a Great Title

Books to Genuinely Inspire Your New Year

Warning: annoying slideshow

Gnome Press Calendars 1949-1950

The Golden Age: GNOME PRESS CALENDARS ~ 1949-50 ~ Hannes Bok & Edd Cartier

A Forgotten Series?

'The Amber Chronicles' by Roger Zelazny, a classic fantasy series 

FFB: McQuaid in August -- Shepard Rifkin

More than two years ago, I read this review on Steve Lewis' Mystery*File.  There are two comments on the review, one of them mine, in which I say that I've ordered the book.  The other is Steve's, in which he says he thinks I'll enjoy it.  It's taken me all this time to get to the book, but I did enjoy it, as I have several books by Rifkin over the years.

This is the third book in the series about a New York cop named McQuaid.  I have the paperback edition of the first, and I've never read the second.  I might have to remedy that.

The book opens with McQuaid agreeing, against his better judgment, to do a favor for a woman he doesn't know.  He winds up spending the night in her apartment, and partially because of fatigue and partially because of having had too much to drink, he falls into a deep sleep on her couch.  When he wakes up the next day, the woman has been murdered.  

McQuaid knows nobody's going to believe his story, so he calls in sick and begins to try to solve the case himself.  He figures he has two days before anyone finds the body, so the clock is ticking.  He identifies his primary suspect pretty quickly, and the cover gives you a clue about what's going to happen.  The suspect is an expert chess player.  McQuaid isn't, but he's about to be involved in an intricate game.  All he has to do is stay cool (not easy in New York in August) and not go crazy.  It's not easy.

This is a very different cop novel.  Now I have to look around for the middle book in the series.

Monster from Green Hell

▶ 1957 MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL TRAILER JIM DAVIS - YouTube:

Thursday, January 02, 2014

Any Takers?

Wanted: Caring home for 1,000 crocs: Ferocious reptiles need to be relocated after Israeli tourism farm closes. And they’re still hatching

I Wonder If She's Met the Woman Who Eats Mattress Stuffing

TLC My Strange Addiction: Woman addicted to drinking PAINT 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Patrick Stafford Golden's Photos: Best baby name so far goes to first baby of the year in Lubbock, Texas. 

Hat tip to Patrick Golden.

Only $1.99 for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Crashed (Junior Bender #1) (A Junior Bender Mystery) eBook: Timothy Hallinan: Books  Junior Bender is a Los Angeles burglar with a magic touch. Since he first started breaking into houses when he was fourteen years old, he’s never once been caught. But now, after twenty-two years of an exemplary career, Junior has been blackmailed by Trey Annunziato, one of the most powerful crime bosses in LA, into acting as a private investigator on the set of Trey’s porn movie venture, which someone keeps sabotaging. The star Trey has lined up to do all that’s unwholesome on camera is Thistle Downing, America’s beloved child star, who now lives alone in a drug-induced stupor, destitute and uninsurable. Her starring role will be the scandalous fall-from-grace gossip of rubber-neckers across the country. No wonder Trey needs help keeping the production on track.

Junior knows what that he should do—get Thistle out and find her help—but doing the right thing will land him on the wrong side of LA’s scariest mob boss. With the help of his precocious twelve-year-old daughter, Rina, and his criminal sidekick, Louie the Lost (an ex-getaway driver), Junior has to figure out a miracle solution.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Florida Man Accused of Attacking Girlfriend With Banana 

10 Worst Typos of the Year for 2013

10 Worst Typos of the Year for 2013

It's National Science Fiction Day!

National Science Fiction Day

The Chinese village with the secret to long life

theguardian.com: Famed for centuries for its residents' unusual longevity, it now has 81 centenarians. Proportional to population, that is roughly five times China's average.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

The Most Extreme Explorers of 2013

Song of the Day

▶ Jefferson Airplane - Chauffeur Blues - YouTube:

5 Dates You Won't Find on Your Calendar

5 Dates You Won't Find on Your Calendar 

Today's Vintage Ad


6 Priceless Ancient Artifacts (Destroyed by Idiots)

6 Priceless Ancient Artifacts (Destroyed by Idiots)

That's One Way to Celebrate

Woman tried to run boyfriend over on couple's anniversary, deputies say 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Video of man throwing basketball off 500ft tower and into moving net on the ground: Trick shot specialists Dude Perfect performed the feat at in Dallas

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

PaperBack



George Harmon Coxe, Murder for the Asking, Dell, 1946

Here's the Plot for Your Next Zombie Black Market Thriller

Indiana man accused of stealing brains from a museum and selling them on eBay 

10 Gangsters And Their Unique Nicknames

10 Gangsters And Their Unique Nicknames

Atomic Hollywood posters

Atomic Hollywood posters

The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace

EW.com: For the season premiere of My Strange Addiction, TLC has tracked down an odd duck who likes to munch on mattress stuffing. It’s certainly a testament to the human body and how efficiently it digests foreign matter; a family member comments on how he’ll often find full pieces of padding in the commode. Yowza.

Literally

Meet the most attractive man in the world

Father Time’s Scythe Is Not a Reaper’s Tool

Father Time’s Scythe Is Not a Reaper’s Tool

The Werewolf

▶ 1956 THE WEREWOLF TRAILER STEVEN RICH - YouTube:

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Juanita Moore, R. I. P.

Variety: Juanita Moore, who broke barriers for African-American actors and was Oscar-nommed for 1959′s “Imitation of Life,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. Her step-grandson, actor Kirk Kahn, said she was 99.  

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass

It Really Is Useful for Everything

Barre Police seek robber disguised with duct tape

Woo-Hoo!

The Top 10 Mystery / Thriller Titles eBook / Audio / Print | Gordian Knot BooksTop Ten Mystery / Thriller

The Man – Irving Wallace
The Second Lady – Irving Wallace
The Seventh Secret – Irving Wallace
Too Late to Die – Bill Crider
The Fan Club – Irving Wallace
Harlot’s Moon – Ed Gorman
Small Felonies – Bill Pronzini
D.O.A. – Dave Pedneau
The Weedless Widow – Deborah Lewis
Bohemian Heart – James Dalessandro

James Avery, R. I. P.

CNN.com: Actor James Avery, who played the beloved Uncle Phil on the hit 1990s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," died Tuesday, his publicist confirmed. He was 67.  

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Fireworks blamed in Texas fire that torched hundreds of porta-potties

Hi-Yo Silver, Away!

Hi-Yo Silver, Away!: The creation of The Lone Ranger

Song of the Day

▶ Abba - Happy New Year - YouTube:

Excuse Me While I Take a Selfie of Myself Twerking

Wordpocalypse! ‘Selfie,’ ‘twerk’ top list of most annoying words of 2013 

17 Strange And Creepy Vintage New Years Cards

17 Strange And Creepy Vintage New Years Cards

Today's Vintage Ad


10 Ancient New Year Traditions And Stories

10 Ancient New Year Traditions And Stories 

The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #13: Pseudonyms

The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #13: Pseudonyms | Mike Resnick 

Link via SF Signal.

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Dwight V. Babcock, Gorgeous Ghoul Murder Case, Avon, 1943

I Miss the Old Days

The Beatles audition for Decca this day in 1962

13 Oddee-est Stories of 2013

13 Oddee-est Stories of 2013 

15 Fantastically Artistic Alternate Covers For Famous Books

15 Fantastically Artistic Alternate Covers For Famous Books 

5 Futures for Libraries

5 Futures for Libraries

We Don't Have a Parking Problem in Alvin, Texas

For sale: A three-bedroom Scottish castle and a West London parking space. Guess which costs the most

Paris Hilton Update

Q A: Hyde Bellagio NYE DJ Paris Hilton talks globe trotting, music and marriage - Las Vegas Sun News 

Hat tip to Fred Zackel.

Happy New Year!

This one's for those of you who didn't stay up to read my 12:00 A.M. post but who bounded out of bed bright and early to see what I'd have up this morning.  Have a great 2014!

Where There's Life

▶ 1947 WHERE'S THERE'S LIFE TRAILER BOB HOPE - YouTube:

Happy New Year!

May 2014 be the year when all your wishes come true, when you keep all your resolutions, when you are the happiest that you've ever been, and when everyone you love and care about is healthy and happy, too.

Thanks to all of you who've followed this goofy blog, who've bought my books, and who've "liked" my Facebook author page.  Only 14,700 "likes" to go before I catch up with  Joe Lansdale, which is my only goal for 2014.

And a not-so-fond farewell to 2013, which wasn't a great year around here.  I'm hoping the new year will be a lot better.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

I Miss the Old Days

Sorry, But The Coolest New Years Eve Party Ever Happened In 1977

Happy New Year!


Happy New Year!


First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Man stabbed after giving girlfriend knife for Christmas 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Or Maybe You Did

12 Things You Probably Didn't Know About New Year's Eve In Times Square

I'm Not Bidding

Professed owner says he'll put a curse on any buyer of mystery British portrait in Hampton  

Hat tip to Patrick Golden.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Florida man arrested for assaulting wife with turkey neck

I Don't Even Want to Think about It

The Millions : How Many Novelists are at Work in America?

Yet Another List I'm Not On

Top 10 Millionaires Who Went Missing

Song of the Day

▶ It's Just Another New Year's Eve - Lea Salonga - YouTube:

10 Literary Portraits of a Young Artist

10 Literary Portraits of a Young Artist

Today's Vintage Ad


The Weirdest New Year's Eve Traditions From Around The World

The Weirdest New Year's Eve Traditions From Around The World

Western Comics Focus- Six-Gun Gorilla: Long Days of Vengeance

Western Fictioneers: Western Comics Focus- Six-Gun Gorilla: Long Days of Vengeance

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Francis Iles, Before the Fact, Pocket Books, 1947

Hell Hath No Fury, etc.

floridatoday.com: A 48-year-old woman who police say was scorned by her fiance’s request for her to leave his house by New Year’s, remains jailed on charges she deliberately set off a Christmas Day fire in front of her children that gutted the man’s home.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The 28 Most Memorable Movie Posters Of 2013

The 28 Most Memorable Movie Posters Of 2013

Hint: Texas

Who Is the Only Person to Be Elected Governor of 2 Different US States? 

Blood Bride Of The Cocodile

Blood Bride Of The Cocodile 

So He was Just Doing His Job

PD: Suspect in deadly stabbing claimed to work for Satan

A Literary Review of 2013

AbeBooks: A Literary Review of 2013: Well, it’s another year done and again J.K. Rowling is at the center of one of the top book stories of the year. Rowling made headlines in July when The Sunday Times of London revealed her as the writer behind the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, author of the crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling. The book sold only 1,500 copies between its release in April and when Rowling was outed in July – afterwards, it soared to the top of the bestseller lists and signed first editions are currently selling for over $5,000.

15 Cartoons From The ‘80s You Probably Forgot Existed

15 Cartoons From The ‘80s You Probably Forgot Existed

Overlooked Movies: Flash Gordon (1980)

I like just about everything about this movie, and, yes, even the performance of Sam J. Jones is included in that statement.  Max von Sydow, as Ming the Merciless, is great, but let's not overlook Brian Blessed as Voltan and Melody Anderson as Dale Arden.  What?  You don't think she's great?  Well, you're just wrong, that's all.  Timothy Dalton, Topol, and Ornella Muti hold their own.  We don't get to see Peter Wyngarde's face, but his Klytus is still memorable.  If Dr. Zarkov happens to remind you of Seepy Benton, it's probably just a coincidence.

What else do I like?  The color is superb.  The soundtrack by Queen is classic.  Watch the trailer at the link below and see what I mean.  

Sure, it's campy.  Sure, the special effects are cheesy.  That's all intentional, and it works just fine for me.  And don't try to tell me the writers hadn't seen this digest cover.  I won't believe you.  

I watched this one again on Christmas day.  I'm glad I own the DVD and can watch it anytime at all.

Flash Gordon

▶ Flash Gordon - Official Trailer Movie (1980) HD - YouTube:

Monday, December 30, 2013

This Is Great

If Hallmark Wrote Kafka Fan Fiction

America is in love with its libraries

America is in love with its libraries: Pew report

Don't Bogart that Puffer, Flipper

Puff, puff, pass: Young dolphins deliberately chew puffer fish to get high with each other

The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace

Dating dinner duper getting own reality show

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman Busted For Attacking Live-In Boyfriend When He Refused To "Cuddle" In Bed 

Song of the Day

▶ Bing Crosby - Let's start the new year right - YouTube:

What's In a Name?

A person's surname can influence their career, experts claim

Today's Vintage Ad


Yet Another List I'm Not On

10 People Who Were The Youngest Of Their Kind

PaperBack



Eric Ambler, Background to Danger, Pocket Books, 1945

10 Unsolved Mysteries From London

10 Unsolved Mysteries From London 

100 things we didn't know last year

100 things we didn't know last year

Here's a Plot Device for Your Next CSI Thriller

Researchers cull images reflected in people’s eyes with new forensics technique 

New Poem at The 5-2

The 5-2 | Crime Poetry Weekly, Annual Ebooks - Gerald So, Editor: Steve Peacock 1990, OR A CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE POEM

I For One Welcome Our New Skynet Master

Brainlike Computers, Learning From Experience

Get a Rope!

W. Pa. man charged with stealing cuffs in escape

Unexpected Uncle

▶ 1941 UNEXPECTED UNCLE TRAILER ANNE SHIRLEY - YouTube:

Sunday, December 29, 2013

"Felony Stupid"

"Felony Stupid" 

Here's the Plot for Your Next Espiionage Thriller

 Mail Online: The spying Scotsman who hunted the Nazis of New York: The amazing story of Britain's clandestine war on Hitler's agents... and his big-money backers in the US.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Or Maybe You Do

20 Surprising Facts You Might Not Know About 'Home Alone'

Song of the Day

▶ Dan Fogelberg - Same Auld Lang Syne Lyrics - YouTube:

Waiting for the End

Top 10 Times the World Almost Ended

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texas judge claims he dragged girlfriend by hair, strangled her to ‘save her life’ 

Today's Vintage Ad


Top 10 Medieval News Stories of 2013

Top 10 Medieval News Stories of 2013

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Francis Breeding, Murdered: One by One, Popular Library, 1944

So Go Watch Some Schwartzenegger Movies, You Pinkos!

Sentimental films can influence political attitudes and make you more liberal, scientists say 

Thin Mints Inexplicably Not Included

10 Tiny Things That Caused Huge Riots 

How to Make Your Book a Bestseller

How to Make Your Book a Bestseller 

Wow

On Ice: 100 year-old negatives discovered in Antarctic: Conservators restoring an Antarctic exploration hut recently made a remarkable discovery: a small box of 22 exposed but unprocessed photographic negatives, frozen in a solid block of ice for nearly one hundred years. These negatives were meticulously processed and restored by a Wellington photography conservator.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Friday, December 20, 2013: The holidays got the best of one couple. Sheriff’s deputies were called to a house just south of Paradise after a husband and wife got into a fierce argument over wrapping Christmas presents.

Midnight Mary

▶ 1933 MIDNIGHT MARY TRAILER LORETTA YOUNG PRE-CODE - YouTube: