Saturday, January 21, 2017

Maggie Roche, R. I. P.

Maggie Roche of The Roches sister vocal trio dies at 65: NEW YORK (AP) — Maggie Roche, the folk-rock singer-songwriter who since the mid-1970s had performed and recorded as a trio and in pairs with her two sisters, has died.

It's the Little Things

Now and then I wonder how I got from there to here, there being where I started in life and here being, well, here, and I got to thinking about Bobby Gene Tyus.  It all started when we were in the first grade.

We probably called him Bobby Gene in those days because it's Texas, after all, but he's Bob now and has been for a long, long time.  We started first grade together and became fast friends.  When we were in second grade, he moved away.  I didn't forget him, though, and when he moved back when we were in the eighth grade, we were instant friends again.  And that's when the first life-changing event happened.

In eighth grade I'd fallen in with a kind of smart-aleck crowd, the kind that sits on the back row of the class and makes clever remarks and annoys the teachers no end.  In those days we got grades for "Attitude" and "Conduct."  Let's just say that I wasn't doing well at all in those areas.

It took Bob about two days to figure this out.  He took me aside and told me that I was acting like an idiot.  I knew he was right, but I didn't know what to do about it.  He did.  He told me that I wasn't the person I was pretending to be and that he wanted me to move to the front row and sit by him.  So I did.  All my grades improved, and I felt a lot better about myself.  Lesson learned.

I learned a lot of other lessons from Bob, too, but here's the one I want to mention.  It happened when we were juniors, probably the spring of 1958.  We were talking about English class, and Bob mentioned that he couldn't remember the author of a story we'd read.  I told him the name.  "That was quick," he said.  "I know who wrote everything in the book," I told him.

I didn't think anything of it.  Maybe I thought everybody knew who wrote everything in the book.  Not everything had been assigned, of course, but I'd read everything anyway.  Didn't everybody?

Apparently not.  Bob got out his English book and started going through the table of contents, skipping around, asking me who wrote this or that.  Now and then he'd switch off and give me the author's name and ask what he or she'd written.  I always got it right.  Bob was amazed.

I have to say this about Bob.  He was a guy who was a math whiz.  Give him a problem, and he could solve it for x, y, and z while I was still agonizing over where the equal sign went.  He could explain the binomial theorem if you asked him.  I thought that was a special talent.  Bob pointed out that I had a talent, too, although it had never occurred to me.  It might've been that day that I decided on my college major.

Bob and I went on to The University of Texas at Austin, where we remained friends.  He majored in math.  I majored in English.  He taught math in community college in California and Washington.  I taught English in Texas.  We're still in touch.  He's still my friend.  And it all started in first grade.

I'm still not sure how I got from there to here, but I know it would've been a different journey if it hadn't been for Bobby Gene.

Welcome to the Big House

Welcome to the Big House: A somewhat random collection of interesting facts and statistics about prisons and jails. Just in case you ever need to know…

Song of the Day

Coven - One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) Lyrics - YouTube:

The Best of Weird Florida

The Best of Weird Florida

Today's Vintage Ad


Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum – North Tonawanda, New York

Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum – North Tonawanda, New York 

PaperBack



Mel Colton, Double Take, Phantom Books (Australia), 1955

Everything Old Is New Again

A Rediscovered Mark Twain Fairy Tale Is Coming Soon

Ayelet Waldman: By the Book

Ayelet Waldman: By the Book

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Cops: Pregnant Woman Beaten In Weave Beef: Victim's sister sought return of hairpiece given as Xmas gift

Friday, January 20, 2017

Martha Matilda Harper, the Greatest Businesswoman You’ve Never Heard Of

Martha Matilda Harper, the Greatest Businesswoman You’ve Never Heard Of 

Song of the Day

The Morning After by Maureen McGovern - YouTube:

Forgotten Hits: January 20th

Forgotten Hits: January 20th

Today's Vintage Ad


Selling Rare Books on NYC Sidewalks (Video)

Selling Rare Books on NYC Sidewalks: Bookseller Ed Smith (Ed Smith Books) interviewed Kurt Brokaw, a professor and film critic, who likes to moonlight as a rare bookseller (specializing in noir paperback originals) on the streets of Manhattan.

PaperBack



Arnold Kummer, Ladies in Hades,  Dell, 1950

Rediscovering the Wonderful World of Weepuls

Rediscovering the Wonderful World of Weepuls

Roberta Peters, R. I. P.

OPERA NEWS: ROBERTA PETERS'S overnight ascent to Met stardom at twenty combined with her uncommonly attractive face and form to suggest a sort of fairy-tale figure. But Peters’s early years were spent absorbed in arduous study, devoid of many of the diversions taken for granted by the average teenager. Although in later life the soprano spoke about tears shed under the pressure of trying to live up to the expectations of those who believed in her, she maintained that young people should be urged to fulfill their potential. It was, in fact, this seriousness of purpose and artistic integrity that carried Peters through a five-decade career in which she racked up 512 Met performances of twenty-four roles during thirty-four seasons.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Roll Models

Roll Models: Something everyone thinks about as they get close to retiring is “What am I going to do with all that free time?” Some people move to the country, others travel the world. Still others make a difference right where they are.

FFB: Deadhead -- Carleton Carpenter

Well, not every FFB can be a winner.  I picked this one up to read because of my affection for the Carleton Carpenter duet on "Aba Daba Honeymoon" in the movie Two Weeks with Love.  I've had this and several other mystery novels by Carpenter on my shelves for many years, but I'd never looked inside them.  It's just as well.  

Check out the description on the cover: "Death was a superstar in a Broadway horror show.   A novel of shattering suspense!"  I beg to differ.

The only suspense here is when someone will finally murder the execrable "producer" who's trying to mount a Broadway show.  And after the murder, amateur sleuth and Hairdresser to the Stars Chester Long does precious little sleuthing.  Like almost none.  This is one of those novels in which the crime is solved in the in with a big coincidence and everything gets blurted out.  As an aside, the cover doesn't represent anything in the book.  The producer's strangled (and maybe ODs), but he's not shot.

That being said, the writing is breezy throughout, and there's plenty of backstage stuff about mounting a show, the kind of thing that makes for appealing reading.  I'm glad I read it, but I won't be picking up any more Carpenter books to read, I'm afraid.  

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Miguel Ferrer, R. I. P.

'NCIS: LA' actor Miguel Ferrer dies at 61: Miguel Ferrer, the actor known best for television roles on NCIS: Los Angeles and Crossing Jordan, has passed away from cancer at the age of 61, per Associated Press.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and to Deb.

Bargain of the Day

Free eBook: The Digest Enthusiast #1 | Digest Magazines: Get a free copy of The Digest Enthusiast #1 on Magzter when you sign-up for updates about the series and other Larque Press projects.

Blaze! 15: Red Rock Rampage -- Ben Boulden

The latest entry in the Blaze! adult western series is set in Utah, where J.D. and Kate Blaze (two of the deadliest gunfighters the Old West has ever seen) are hunting a couple of train robbers for the bounty.  They trail them to a town named Small Basin, and that's where the troubles really begin.

The town has a corrupt sheriff, who's also one of the train robbers, and it's under the control of a renegade Mormon patriarch who has a yen for young wives.  He already has twenty wives, but they keep getting older.  When he kidnaps a young girl from town, J.D. and Kate decide to help out, with the aid of an interesting priest who knows a lot about cussing and shooting.  They have a plan, but of course things get complicated.  J.D. takes a whale of a beating, and there are several surprises along the way.  The book has some of my favorite things in it, a secret way into a hidden valley and a cave.  No quicksand, though.

This is a fine debut for Ben Boulden, with sharp action and well-observed descriptions.  I expect his name will become much more familiar to readers as he extends his writing career.

The First Truly Blockbuster Audiobook?

The First Truly Blockbuster Audiobook? 

Song of the Day

We're Not Gonna Take It - YouTube:

A History of Pepsi Cola

A History of Pepsi Cola 

Today's Vintage Ad


I'm Doomed

Sitting down for hours a day speeds up ageing

PaperBack



William Beyer, Murder by Arrangement, Phantom Books (Australia), 1955

Marilyn Monroe's Forgotten Hollywood Sorority

Marilyn Monroe's Forgotten Hollywood Sorority

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Stu Palmer’s and Craig Rice’s Withers/Malone Team-Ups in EQMM”

“Collaborative Sleuthing: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Stu Palmer’s and Craig Rice’s Withers/Malone Team-Ups in EQMM”

Silent Film GIFs Reveal the Special Effects Tricks of Early Cinema

Silent Film GIFs Reveal the Special Effects Tricks of Early Cinema

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

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

The Communion of Saints (John Ray / LS9 crime thrillers Book 3) by [Barlow, John]The Communion of Saints (John Ray / LS9 crime thrillers Book 3) - Kindle edition by John Barlow. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.  Following the violent murder of his father, John Ray is getting his life back on track, and putting the criminal past of his family behind him. But when Shirley Kirk of the West Yorkshire Police asks him for a favour, he’s sucked into a mystery that is as confusing as it is devastating.

Allegations of historical abuse have emerged at a Catholic Boys’ Home in the city. They involve a prominent businessman who is keen to get to the bottom of who is making the accusations. And he wants John Ray to do the looking. Discreetly.

John soon begins to uncover a more complex mystery involving blackmail, kidnap and murder. But why are the police really asking for his help? There are people on the Force still out to get John Ray for his past misdemeanours. And they are not the only ones who know about his family's past.

A novel set in Leeds, THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS is novel about innocence, vengeance, and the power of good and evil. It is the third crime thriller in the John Ray / LS9 series.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

SF woman arrested in stabbing over parking place

Death and the Naked Lady -- John Flagg (John Gearon)

Sad to think that I've neglected to read John Flagg all these years.  Stark House has been publishing some new editions of his Gold Medal novels, though, and I've been catching up.  The latest from Stark House is a sort of Triple-Decker, two novels and a short story, with an introduction by none other than James Reasoner.

I chose to read Death and the Naked Lady not just because of the title but because of the intriguing setting.  The entire book is set on an ocean liner traveling from France to the U.S. in 1950.  Aboard is Mac McLean, a nightclub singer who's suddenly had a big success in France and is now set up for his debut in New York.  Also on board are spies, counterspies, crossers, doublecrossers, and killers.  Not to mention a MacGuffin, a case of jade pieces.  And of course the famous Naked Lady.  

McLean finds himself involved with all of these, and he also learns that maybe his sudden career boost hasn't come about solely because of his own efforts and talent. 

The setting of the ocean voyage (no place to run, no escaping the villains) adds a lot to the interest of the book, and the complex plotting kept me guessing.  It's no wonder that Flagg was the first author to published by Gold Medal, and it's great to have these books back in print.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman stabbed man 9 times: Woman stabbed man 9 times after he wouldn't commit to relationship

The Best Cookbook to Come out of the 80s

Get in the Mood for Lurve with the Best Cookbook to Come out of the 80s

Song of the Day

The Delfonics - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) - 1970 - YouTube:

Top 10 Biggest Thefts In The History Of Entertainment

Top 10 Biggest Thefts In The History Of Entertainment

Today's Vintage Ad


I Want to Believe!

Daily Mail Online: Elvis in disguise? Conspiracy fans claim the King is ALIVE and visited Graceland on his 82nd birthday

PaperBack



George Worthing Yates, The Body that Wasn't Uncle, Dell, 1944

I Miss the Old Days

Mother Road Revisited  

This is a great site.

Forgotten Hits: January 18th

Forgotten Hits: January 18th

The Pioneering Female Sci-Fi Writer Whose Identity Was Kept Secret for 50 Years

The Pioneering Female Sci-Fi Writer Whose Identity Was Kept Secret for 50 Years

D.B. Cooper Update

New Evidence Suggests D.B. Cooper's Tie May Help Solve a 45-Year Mystery

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Bargain of the Century

3-disc set, $5.  It's out of stock, but they promise delivery at that price when they get more in. 

Amazon.com: Woodstock 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Revisited (BD) [Blu-ray]: Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, The Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Santana, John Sebastian, Sly & the Family Stone, Ten Years After, The Who, Michael Wadleigh, Bob Maurice

Neon Beauty of Times Square at Night

A Photographer Reflects on the Neon Beauty of Times Square at Night

Song of the Day

"Fourteen Carat Mind" By Gene Watson - YouTube:

Forgotten Hits: January 17th

Forgotten Hits: January 17th

Today's Vintage Ad


Shanthi Sekaran Returns to Haunt Her Childhood Library

Shanthi Sekaran Returns to Haunt Her Childhood Library

PaperBack



Ledru Baker, The Preying Streets, Phantom Books (Australia), 1956

35 Things Turning 35 in 2017

35 Things Turning 35 in 2017 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Atlas Obscura: An old abandoned pharmacy building in Texas is brimming with collectibles and images of the little tuxedoed bulldog.

Overlooked Movies -- Scaramouche

After reading Scaramouche, nothing would do but that I see the movie again.  As I mentioned in my comments on the book, I loved the movie when I was a kid, and no wonder.  It had one of my favorite actors, Stewart Granger, a beautiful redhead, Eleanor Parker, a beautiful blonde, Janet Leigh, a villainous villain (Mel Ferrer), and one of the great movie sword fights of all time.  In fact, it was at one time the longest of all movie sword fights.  Maybe it still is.  Plus it's in glorious Technicolor.  You have to see it to realize how great it looks, that's all there is to it.  And there's a great score.

What's even better, the screenwriters took Elmore Leonard's famous advice years before he gave it and left out all the parts of the book that readers tend to skip.  Then they added almost nonstop action, a ton of witty banter, and tightened the plot to fit into two hours.  Scaramouche, the movie, is a lot faster and more fun than the book (and I say that having enjoyed the book).  If you like old Hollywood glamour, this movie has just about everything you could ask for.  I loved it when I was a kid, and I love it now.  You want entertainment?  That's what Scaramouche provides, and plenty of it.  You cannot go wrong.  Check out the trailer embedded below if you don't believe me.  That should convince anybody.

Scaramouche

Scaramouche (1952) Official Trailer - Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh Swashbuckler Movie HD - YouTube:

Monday, January 16, 2017

Gene Cernan, R. I. P.

Astronaut Gene Cernan, last person to walk on the moon, dies at 82: Former U.S. astronaut Eugene Cernan, who became the last astronaut to walk on the moon in an experience that he said made him one with the universe, died on Monday at 82, the U.S. space agency said.

Angel's Flight -- Lou Cameron

I've had the Gold Medal edition of Angel's Flight on my shelves for probably 50 years and never read it.  Laziness, I guess, and it's too bad I didn't get to it earlier because it's really good.  Now Black Gat books has reprinted it in a fine new paperback edition, and everybody has a chance to find out just how good it is.  You don't have to take my word for it.  If you read Gary Lovisi's enthusiastic introduction, you won't be able to resist.

Angel's Flight is a decades-spanning novel, ranging from the late 1930s to the late 1950s, from the era of small jazz bands to the time of payola and industry-wide corruption in the recording business.  It's mainly about Ben Parker, a mostly honest guy, who begins his career in one of those small jazz bands and winds up owning his own record company and in trouble with the Mob, and in particular with a guy who calls himself Johnny Angel, who's the opposite of Parker, and certainly the opposite of an Angel (as is made all too obvious in what I thought was the book's only real flaw).

There's a lot to like here: sweeping storytelling that never forgets the personal, music history that seems real and accurate, characters who meet and part and meet again, colorful writing -- great stuff, and highly recommended. 

Lost in the Great Fire

Lost in the Great Fire: which London buildings disappeared in the 1666 blaze?

Song of the Day

Don Ho - Tiny Bubbles Original.wmv - YouTube:

Forgotten Hits: January 16th

Forgotten Hits: January 16th

Today's Vintage Ad


What you can find Mudlarking on the Thames Foreshore in London

What you can find Mudlarking on the Thames Foreshore in London

PaperBack



Will Daemer (Bob Wade & Bill Miller), Murder Bait, Phantom Books (Australia), 1956

Why Were Comics So Weird In The 50s And 60s?

Why Were Comics So Weird In The 50s And 60s? 

W.S. Merwin: On Reading What You Want

W.S. Merwin: On Reading What You Want, Reading It Slowly, and the Beauty of Trees 

When Bond Battled Bond at the 1983 Box Office

When Bond Battled Bond at the 1983 Box Office

Paul Auster: By the Book

Paul Auster: By the Book 

Sunday, January 15, 2017

10 Smart Facts About 'Idiocracy'

10 Smart Facts About 'Idiocracy' 

Song of the Day

Gospel - Jim Reeves - Where We'll Never Grow Old - YouTube:

Virgil’s Sixgun

True West Magazine: At the Old West’s best-known gunfight, Virgil Earp may have used this state-of-the-art sixgun.

Today's Vintage Ad


I Found a Penny in the Walmart Parking Lot Last Week

Top 10 Astonishing Lost And Found Objects

PaperBack



H. W. Roden, You Only Hang Once, Dell, 1944

End of an Era

Ringling Bros. circus folding its tent after nearly 150 years: The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus said on Saturday it will cease performances after 146 years in business, owing to what it said were declining tickets sales and high operating costs.

5 Strange News Stories From This Week

5 Strange News Stories From This Week

Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Pellucidar Saga: Pellucidar

Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Pellucidar Saga: Pellucidar