Saturday, August 01, 2015

Florida Man!

Man tries to chew off fingerprints after arrest

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

THERE ARE ALIENS BEHIND URANUS, MR. PRESIDENT, Emerson LaSalle - Amazon.com:  This is a NOVELLA from pulp, sci-fi master Emerson LaSalle and includes the short story "Harry Truman vs The Aliens" which acts as a prologue.

It is the atomic age of sci-fi in the rip-roaring 1950s! 

WARNING: This work of fiction contains plenty of SEX and VIOLENCE.

14 Out-Of-This-World Photos Of Friday's Blue Moon

14 Out-Of-This-World Photos Of Friday's Blue Moon

The Rumor That Paul McCartney Died in 1966 and Was Secretly Replaced by a Look-Alike

How the Rumor That Paul McCartney Died in 1966 and Was Secretly Replaced by a Look-Alike Got Started

Song of the Day

MISERY LOVES COMPANY - YouTube:

The Weird Week in Review

The Weird Week in Review

Today's Vintage Ad


I'm Sure You'll All Agree

BBC - Culture - The 100 greatest American films

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Jim Hollis, The Case of the Bludgeoned Teacher, Avon, 1956

Or Maybe You Do

10 Things You Might Not Know About the Ford Mustang 

This Weekend in History (August 1 & 2)

This Weekend in History (August 1 & 2) 

How the Very Special Episode Defined Morality for a Generation

From 'Diff'rent Strokes' to 'Family Ties,' How the Very Special Episode Defined Morality for a Generation  

Link via mental_floss.

I Miss the Old Days

Kids used to cuddle alligators at this wacky LA zoo: One of the most novel and interesting sights in the world. Most stupendous aggregation ever exhibited.  

Link via The Presurfer.

I Found a Penny Last Week

10 Incredible Pop Culture Items Found in Unexpected Places

Friday, July 31, 2015

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Gary man cuts off his fingers in alleged sword attack on girlfriend

Roddy Piper, R. I. P.

NY Daily News: Legendary wrestling champion "Rowdy" Roddy Piper has died at the age of 61, World Wrestling Entertainment has confirmed.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Harper Lee, Dr. Seuss, and now . . .

Long-lost Fitzgerald story finally published

Lynn Anderson, R. I. P.

'Rose Garden' singer Lynn Anderson dies at 67: Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for her classic recording “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died Thursday night of a heart attack at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Stark House: Great New Peter Rabe Trio

Ed Gorman's blog: Stark House: Great New Peter Rabe Trio, super intro by Rick Ollerman

PAPERBACK PARADE #89 New Issue Out!

PAPERBACK PARADE #89 New Issue Out!

9 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

9 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week  

Naturally #9 is my fave.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

50 Greatest Kids' Movies of All Time  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson for this annoying slideshow.

Baseball's Greatest Deaf Player

William Ellsworth “Dummy" Hoy: Baseball's Greatest Deaf Player

Song of the Day

Big Jay McNeely-There Is Something On Your Mind - YouTube:

I Miss the Old Days

Meet the Original “Victoria’s Secret” Beauties of the 1920s 

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Phoenix Breaking News, Weather, Sport: ODESSA, TX (KOSA/CNN) – Witnesses say three people performed an exorcism at a public park in Texas on Thursday morning.

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C. S. Lewis, Perelandra, Avon, 1950

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

He don't want no ricochet romance: Texas man shot after bullet richocets off armadillo  

And where is the proofreader?

So It's Come to This

Everything Is Problematic, University Explains: The University of New Hampshire has a “Bias-Free Language Guide.” As the document assures its readers, it “is not meant to represent absolute requirements of language use.” (Universities have tried imposing absolute requirements of language use, only to be struck down on First Amendment grounds.) So the guide should be understood not as an attempt at censorship, which would be illegal, but as a cutting-edge statement of p.c. language norms. It indicates that the list of terms that can give offense has grown quite long indeed.

I For One Welcome Or New Scaly Reptilian Overlords

ALLIGATORS USE TOOLS TO HUNT BIRDS - YouTube: Alligators Use Tools to Hunt Birds. Alligators and crocodiles are believed to lure in birds with the aid of sticks which they balance on their snouts. The birds are attracted to the sticks for use in their nest, so this behavior is witnessed significantly more often during the breeding season. This is the first time tool use has ever been documented in any reptile.  

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Because They Are There?

Why Two Men Are Walking Every Block of New York City

The Magical Illustration of Arthur Rackham

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur RackhamThe Magical Illustration of Arthur Rackham: Arthur Rackham was an illustrator in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was born in London in 1867. He began studying at the Lambeth School of Art at the age of 18, and soon found his passion and calling. The first of Rackham's illustrations to be published in a book were in 1893, in The Dolly Dialogues. Rackham never looked back. From that first publication, illustration was his career until the day he died at age 72, of cancer.

Forgotten Books: The Card Turner -- Louis Sachar

This post first appeared on the blog on July 27, 2010.

Everyone told Louis Sachar that he shouldn't write a YA novel about bridge. His agent, his wife, and his publisher all warned against it. He did it anyway because he loved bridge and because he'd like to see young people learn the game. I don't know that the book will achieve that purpose, but I liked it a lot. In fact, although it's over 300 pages, I read it in one sitting.

It's the story of Alton Richards, who's hired one summer to be his uncle's cardturner. His uncle is a great bridge player, but he's gone blind. That's no obstacle to his playing in one way, since he can remember all the cards without having to see them. He just needs someone to handle them. That's Alton's job.

Alton knows nothing about the game, so that gives Sachar a chance to explain things to the reader. But he warns you every time something technical is coming up and even puts a whale in the middle of the page so you can skip it if you want to. (I didn't skip.) Things move along about as you'd expect until suddenly there's a big twist that I won't reveal. I know I wasn't expecting it, though maybe I should have been.

Besides being a bridge novel, this is a coming-of-age story, and I'm a sucker for those. It's also very funny at times, and I'm a sucker for that, too. I bought the book for Judy, who loves bridge, but I'm glad I read it, myself. Great fun.

But about that cover, which appears to show a guy asleep in a train station. What does that have to do with bridge? Or this book? Nothing whatsoever, as far as I can tell. Sachar's a big-time bestselling writer, though, and he must have had cover approval. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I just don't get it. Read the book and see if you can figure it out. And let me know if you do.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Buddy Emmons, R. I. P.

Rolling Stone: Musician Buddy Emmons, widely regarded as the world's foremost steel guitarist, hailed for his unique playing style and innovations with regard to tuning, has died at age 78.

Charles Dickens, a.k.a. “The Unparalleled Necromancer”

Charles Dickens, a.k.a. “The Unparalleled Necromancer” 

Jailbait jamboree

Jailbait jamboree: Creepy countdown of the top ten ‘inappropriate’ songs that were somehow hits   

Link via Neatorama.

Song of the Day

CHRIS KENNER - ''I LIKE IT LIKE THAT'' (1961) - YouTube:

I Hunt Serial Killers: 6 Facts You Thought Movies Made Up

I Hunt Serial Killers: 6 Facts You Thought Movies Made Up

Today's Vintage Ad


I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The Best Song Ever By 203 Famous Rock Bands

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John Fante, Ask the Dust, Bantam, 1954

13 Stunningly Sexist Ads from the '50s

Purple Clover: 13 STUNNINGLY SEXIST ADS FROM THE FIFTIES  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

11 Mischievous Facts About Bugs Bunny

11 Mischievous Facts About Bugs Bunny

I'm All a-Tingle with Anticipation

Syfy achieves its highest self, orders show about blood-drinking cars 

Jamestown Update

A Skeleton, a Catholic Relic, and a Mystery About American Origins

Uh-Oh

Nosferatu Remake in the Works

A Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Kevin's Corner: Review: "Between the Living and the Dead: A Dan Rhodes Mystery" by Bill Crider

Forgotten Music: The British Are Coming: Early Bands of the British Invasion

The British Are Coming: Early Bands of the British Invasion

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Uh-Oh

Mental Floss: According to Deadline, “disparate half-sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy band together in order to survive the dystopic streets of Philadelphia and unravel a conspiracy that stretches far beyond anything they have ever imagined—all while trying not to kill each other in the process.”

From Sarah Weinman

Copies of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 1950s are shipping this week (in advance of the September 1 publication date) and in tandem is the launch of the 2-volume set's companion website! Here is what you'll find there:
Going in order of the books' original publication date the appreciations include: Sara Paretsky on Laura; Charles Finch on The Horizontal Man; Megan Abbott on In A Lonely Place; Lisa Scottoline on The Blank Wall; Lisa Unger on Mischief; Karin Slaughter on The Blunderer; Laura Lippman on Beast in View; and Duane Swierczynski on Fool's Gold

Roger Corman on Feminism, Poe, and the State of Independent Filmmaking

Flavorwire Interview: Legendary Filmmaker and “King of the B’s” Roger Corman on Feminism, Poe, and the State of Independent Filmmaking

Soon We Old Guys Will Have No Rights Left at All

Naked Connecticut Man, 81, Arrested For Illegally Communing With Nature 

When to Give Up on a Story

True Detective to Henry James: When to Give Up on a Story 

Let Joy Be Unconfined

‘Lavalantula’ Sequel Greenlighted By Syfy

“A Long Time Ago in an Emirate Far, Far Away . . .” (by Josh Pachter)

“A Long Time Ago in an Emirate Far, Far Away . . .” (by Josh Pachter) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN  The author of more than four dozen published short stories and numerous translations, Josh Pachter has long been a valued contributor to EQMM. His stories typically have interesting settings, a result of his wide-ranging travels. In this post, he talks about the genesis of a series of stories he wrote for EQMM and AHMM several decades ago, featuring Mahboob Chaudri, a policeman in Bahrain. In addition to providing a look at how a fine series took shape, Josh’s post provides a fascinating glimpse of a country little known to many in the U.S. This month a collection of the Chaudri stories was released by Wildside in a print edition entitled The Tree of Life and as an e-book entitled The Mahboob Chaudri Mystery Megapack. Both editions are available from Amazon and from the publisher’s Web site.—Janet Hutchings

Song of the Day

Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group Freight Train CHIC 1008 - YouTube:

Weird Library Facts From History

Weird Library Facts From History

Today's Vintage Ad


The Enduring Charm of Advertising Characters

Mr. Clean and Tony the Tiger: The Enduring Charm of Advertising Characters   

Link via Neatorama.

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C. S. Forester, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Bantam, 1951

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 56 Greatest Musical Moments in Guitar History 

Link via the Presurfer.

The Biggest, Most Insane List Of Fair Foods You'll Ever Read

The Biggest, Most Insane List Of Fair Foods You'll Ever Read

I Miss the Old Days

Retrospace: The Vintage Home #19: Better Homes and Gardens (1972)

The 10 Companies with the Worst Customer Service

Customer Service Hall of Shame 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

This Is Great. Just Great.

Key & Peele - TeachingCenter - YouTube:

Peg Lynch, R. I. P.

The New York Times: Ms. Lynch, who wrote nearly 11,000 scripts for radio and television without the benefit of a writer’s room committee (or even a co-writer), was a pioneering woman in broadcast entertainment. As a creator of original characters and a performer of her own written work — every bit of it live! — she might be said to have created the mold that decades later produced the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Schumer.

Or Maybe You Do

15 Things You Might Not Know About Yellowstone National Park 

I Found a Penny Last Week

Florida man discovers $1 million shipwrecked treasure  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Where Is The Outrage?

The Story Behind The Newly Discovered Dr. Seuss Book

Song of the Day

The Coasters - That Is Rock & Roll - YouTube:

The five key traits common in serial killers

Criminologists reveal the five key traits common in serial killers

Today's Vintage Ad


The Nakedness Didn't Bother Them

Naked, banjo-playing Washington man taken into custody after two-hour standoff with police

19 Unmissable Second-Hand Bookshops For Every British Bookworm

19 Unmissable Second-Hand Bookshops For Every British Bookworm

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C. S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet, Avon, 1949

I For One Welcome Our New Scaly Reptilian Overlords

Video: Alligator with Ninja Skills Deftly Climbs Fence

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

Past time?
Every Major League Baseball Stadium, Ranked

Bugs Bunny: Ten Great Episodes

Bugs Bunny: Ten Great Episodes 

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Man, 25, stabbed twice over seat on Bronx subway  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Overlooked Movies: The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

A classic reprint from 12-06-2004. 

Last night there were several original movies on TV. HBO had the classy and well-reviewed Peter Sellers biopic. The Hallmark Channel had a comforting middlebrow fantasy called The Five People You Meet in Heaven with Jon Voigt. And TNT had the cheesy Da Vinci Code/Raiders of the Lost Ark rip-off, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. Anyone who knows me will know immediately that I went for the cheesey rip-off. 

And I even watched all of it, though I was thinking all the time, "This is what we've come to. Starting with National Treasure, and now this, every movie made for the next ten years will be the same." And I was also thinking, "What a piece of crap." 

But, as I said, I watched it. 

There's no need to summarize the plot, since it makes very little (if any) sense. I kept watching mainly, I think, in hopes to see the rest of Kelly Hu's Serpent Brotherhood tattoo. (Ms. Hu, by the way, was seriously under-used in the movie. She was great in her few scenes.) 

There's no need to comment on the special effects. I've already said, "cheesey." That about covers it. If you could, for even a second or two, have believed that the stars (Noah Wyle and Sonya Walger, who has the best line in the movie) were walking over an actual bridge anywhere near an actual waterfall in one of the big scenes, you might have bought into the movie. But you couldn't believe it. Not even for a second or two. 

There was one point, however, at which I was willing to suspend my disbelief. Almost. The big martial-arts scene at the movie's climax features some of the lamest fighting I've seen since Diana Rigg turned in her leather suit. But even at that, to see Bob Newhart as a martial artist was worth sitting through the other two hours of the movie. Almost. 

Actually, if you can overlook the ridiculous plot and the cheesey effects, the cast is pretty good. Wyle is appealing as a geeky librarian, and Walger is aces as his hardboiled protector. I've mentioned Kelly Hu. Newhart is fine, as always. Jane Curtin has a small but entertaining role. Poor Kyle MacLachlan, though, must have needed the money. Desperately. Or maybe he just enjoyed being pure Virginia ham. 

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss two hours good-bye. 

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear - Official Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, July 27, 2015

Paul D. Marks Interview

Interrogation: Paul D. Marks

Link via Kevin's Corner.

Ann Rule, R. I. P.

The Washington Post: SEATTLE — True-crime writer Ann Rule, who wrote more than 30 books, including a profile of her former co-worker, serial killer Ted Bundy, has died at age 83.

Feeling Safer Now?

And of course Texas leads the way!

CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: GRAPEVINE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) – Police have arrested a man who never had a ticket but allegedly got through security at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and boarded a plane.

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Man accused of swinging bat at Palm Coast Wal-Mart workers  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The Sinister Shadow -- Will Murray

As I mentioned last Friday, I prepared myself for reading The Sinister Shadow by first giving myself a refresher course in the history of The Shadow by reading Will Murray's nonfiction book on the subject, The Duende History of The Shadow Magazine.  That was a wise move on my part because in The Sinister Shadow, Murray brings in a lot of Shadow material that I wouldn't otherwise have been aware of.  In fact, I'd have missed the significance of the book's last line if I hadn't prepared myself.  Devotees of The Shadow will catch it, of course, with no trouble.

In The Sinister Shadow, Doc Savage and The Shadow are after a criminal mastermind known as The Undertaker.  They're not teamed up at first, but they both have the same goal.  The setting is the early 1930s, so The Shadow isn't quite as well known as he would become.  The cops aren't even sure, in fact, whether he's real or just a voice on the radio.

As I've mentioned before, Murray captures Lester Dent's style perfectly, and in the chapters involving The Shadow, he proves equally adept at channeling Walter B. Gibson.  There's everything you could be hoping for here, I think: the known associates (not including Margo Lane, who wasn't part of the pulp Shadow stories for a long time), the twin .45s, the laugh, the almost supernatural abilities (not including the power to cloud men's minds, which was a radio thing).

The Sinister Shadow is based in part on an outline and some chapters written by Lester Dent, but I suspect that most of it is the work of Murray.  It's nonstop fun with plenty of action, as Doc and his associates interact with the characters from the world of The Shadow and vice-versa.  Fans of both series will love this one.

The Story of "Hey Jude"

The Story of "Hey Jude" 

Song of the Day

Ramblin' Rose - Nat King Cole - YouTube:

Life on Pluto, Circa 1959

Life on Pluto, Circa 1959 

Today's Vintage Ad


Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - July 27th, 1965

Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - July 27th, 1965

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WESTERN FICTIONEERS CONVENTION 2015!

Western Fictioneers: WESTERN FICTIONEERS CONVENTION 2015!: Pack your saddlebags and shine up your boots for the first ever WESTERN FICTIONEERS CONVENTION! We’ll be rendezvousing near beautiful historic St. Louis, Missouri––the Gateway to the West––on October 30, 31, and November 1, 2015. Many WF members will be meeting each other for the first time and we have crammed as many fascinating workshops, panels and meet-and-greets as two and a half days will possibly hold!

10 Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed In Famous Crime Films

There are some spoilers in these.

10 Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed In Famous Crime Films   

Update: Art Scott points out in his comment that one of these is flat-out wrong.  Please take a minute to read his comment.


Novels by Jack MacLane Inexplicably Not Included

23 Underrated Books Every Horror Fan Needs To Read ASAP

New Poem at the Five-Two

The Five-Two: Joseph D'Agnese: PREDATOR AND PREY

Vintage Treasures: The Best of Frank Herbert

Vintage Treasures: The Best of Frank Herbert

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Jeff Rice, R. I. P.

Demons haunted ‘Night Stalker’ creator Jeff Rice: Rice, who a close friend says suffered from severe depression throughout much of his adult life, died July 1 in Las Vegas. He was 71. In an eerie tribute to the mysteries that surrounded his fiction and life in Las Vegas, the cause and manner of death is pending the results of a toxicology test by the Clark County coroner’s office.

I Know, but I'm a Geezer

Who Was Sadie Hawkins and Why Does She Have a Dance Named After Her?

Song of the Day

WINK MARTINDALE '1959' - Deck Of Cards - YouTube:

Fahrenheit Is a Better Temperature Scale Than Celsius

Fahrenheit Is a Better Temperature Scale Than Celsius

Today's Vintage Ad


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Jack Baynes, Morocco Jones in The Case of the Golden Angel, Crest, 1959

5 Times Crayola Retired Its Crayons

5 Times Crayola Retired Its Crayons 

14 Nostalgic Facts About ‘Happy Days'

14 Nostalgic Facts About ‘Happy Days’