Printers take skill out of counterfeiting - UPI.com: "Funny money is turning up in record amounts now that computers and high-tech printers have taken the skill out of counterfeiting, the U.S. Secret Service says.
The agency said that in 2009 more than 60 percent of counterfeit bills were created on digital printers. In 1995 only 1 percent were.
'There really is no craftsmanship or workmanship in this anymore,' Special Agent Scott Vogel, a 20-year veteran, told the Detroit Free Press. 'If you're able to put a piece of paper in a copy machine and push a button, that's pretty much all it takes.'"
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Concord Free Press
Concord Free Press - Home: "We publish great books and give them away. All we ask is that you make a voluntary donation to a charity or someone in need. Tell us about it. Then pass your book along so others can give. It’s a new kind of publishing, one based purely on generosity, and it’s changing the way people think about books."I'll be reviewing Scott Phillips' Rut from Concord Free Press in a day or so. Meanwhile, if you want to get a free copy for yourself, you can click the link and sign up. They'll send one right to your door.
Worth Dying For -- Lee Child
By now you know what to expect. Jack Reacher arrives somewhere and gets involved in the kind of situation that only Jack Reacher could handle. This time he's fresh from his experience in 61 Hours, which a cortisone shot pretty much takes care of. (If you're wondering how he escaped that situation, it's all covered in about four sentences.) He's hitchhiking to Virginia to see the woman he talked with on the phone in 61 Hours when he's dropped in Nowhere, Nebraska. An entire corner of a county has been taken over by the Duncan family, and people do as they're told. They don't call the cops because the cops are far away and not too interested. They don't resist because they know they'd lose. After all, the Duncans have 10 former University of Nebraska football players to do their dirty work. The Duncans have a dark secret, and they don't make all their money hauling farm crops. And then Reacher shows up.Reacher by now is like an implacable force of nature. The ungodly don't stand a chance against him. It's merely a question of how he's going to deal with them. In this book it's like he's channeling Mack Bolan. Not that the baddies don't deserve that they get. Reacher is the judge, jury, and The Executioner.
Clean writing, slick suspense, the usual extended descriptions of just about everything, and Jack Reacher. That's the package, and if it's not #1 on the bestseller lists, I'm sure it soon will be.
Heart Attack Grill Update
At 600 pounds, man's a good fit for promoting Heart Attack Grill: "Blair River stands 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 600 pounds. His weight and his enthusiasm for the food at Chandler's Heart Attack Grill have won him a $100-an-hour modeling contract.
This week he shot a YouTube video commercial to promote the grill, which invites anyone over 350 pounds to eat for free."
This week he shot a YouTube video commercial to promote the grill, which invites anyone over 350 pounds to eat for free."
Photo of the happy model at the link.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Here's the Plot for Your Next Techno Thriller
Northrop’s Huge Army Spy Blimp Floats On | Danger Room | Wired.com: "The Army awarded Northrop a $517 million contract in June to develop a trio of unmanned, seven-story, football-field sized mega-blimps called Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicles. If successful, the blimp will stay in the air for up to three weeks at a time, using 2500 pounds’ worth of “sensors, antennas, data links and signals intelligence equipment” to capture still and video images of civilians and adversaries below and send the pictures to troops’ bases. It should work with the Army’s standard drone-controlling system, called the Universal Ground Control Station. And it’s a hybrid, lifted into the air by helium and propelled by four diesel engines."
If You're a Long-Time Reader of this Blog . . .
. . . then you already know my answer.
The Doctor Is In... Literature
AbeBooks: The Doctor Is In... Literature: "Doctors of one kind or another have often been portrayed in many ways through fictional literature over the years, including the evil doctor, the mad scientist, the quack and the idealistic doc. Whether good or evil, stories about medical practitioners have always grabbed the attention of the reader."
Jess Nevins' New Column
Where did science fiction come from? A primer on the pulps.: "Pulp historian Jess Nevins, author of Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana, takes you deep into the weird history of the scifi pulps, 1900-1950. Get ready for amazing science and astounding adventure! This is the first in a series on the pulps."
Gator Update (Terrier Edition)
Man shoots to free dog from alligator: "A Hillsborough County man had to open fire to free his dog from the jaws of an alligator.
Tom Martino said he was walking his Jack Russell terrier, named Lizabeth, along the Hillsborough River Thursday when the gator grabbed the dog, dragging her underwater.
Martino started shooting into the water until the alligator released the dog, and he was able to pull Lizabeth out. Martino does have a concealed weapons permit.
He then performed CPR on the dog until it began breathing again. Lizabeth, who has an auto-immune disease that is making it difficult for veterinarians to treat her, is struggling to recover from the alligator bites and lung injuries."
Tom Martino said he was walking his Jack Russell terrier, named Lizabeth, along the Hillsborough River Thursday when the gator grabbed the dog, dragging her underwater.
Martino started shooting into the water until the alligator released the dog, and he was able to pull Lizabeth out. Martino does have a concealed weapons permit.
He then performed CPR on the dog until it began breathing again. Lizabeth, who has an auto-immune disease that is making it difficult for veterinarians to treat her, is struggling to recover from the alligator bites and lung injuries."
This Sounds Like a Nice Place
Unique Hotel Manhattan | The Library Hotel | New York City: "The Library Hotel NY near Grand Central Station in New York City is the first unique hotel in Manhattan ever to offer its guests over 6,000 volumes of books organized throughout the hotel by the Dewey Decimal System. Each of the 10 guestroom floors honor one of the 10 categories of the DDC, and each of the 60 rooms are uniquely adorned with a collection of books and art exploring a distinctive topic within the category it belongs to."
Hat tip to The List Universe.
Jill Clayburgh, R. I. P.
Jill Clayburgh, Oscar-Nominated Actress, Dies at 66 - NYTimes.com: "Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar-nominated actress known for portraying strong, independent women, died on Friday at her home in Lakeville, Conn. She was 66.The cause was chronic leukemia, with which she had lived for 21 years, her husband, the playwright David Rabe, said."
It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas
Programming : Programming & Music : AC's 100 Most Played Holiday Songs | Radio-Info.com: "As holiday programming gears up around the country, Radio-Info.com and Nielsen BDSradio, in conjunction with Billboard, are pleased to provide readers with the 100 most played holiday songs on AC [Adult Contemporary] radio in 2009 as monitored between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. While the number of stations monitored fluctuated through the holiday period depending on when stations changed, there were 95 stations reporting to the AC chart on Dec. 25."
Endangered Feces Would Be a Good Name for a Rock Band
Topeka Zoo Turns Endangered Feces Into Unique Art: "Through a collaboration between Friends of the Topeka Zoo and the Topeka Zoo, staff and volunteers are becoming “manurologists” by taking “endangered feces” and turning it into unique art pieces called “My Pet Pooh”. After collecting the perfect specimens, the dung is allowed to fully dry. Following the proper curing, the dung is created into art using paint, beads, buttons and more! The artwork comes with a special certificate of authenticity including the name of the piece, its personality, and more!"
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Croc Update (Urkel Edition)
Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus vs. Mega Python vs. Gatoroid vs. L.A.liens vs. Almighty Thor | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central: "December 21st is the release date for Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, the super-sized sequel to The Asylum's kitsch hit Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. Directed by Chris Ray, son of b-movie kingpin Fred Olen Ray, this time the fate of the world trapped between the jaws of a megalodon shark and a prehistoric crocodile falls into the capable hands of Jaleel 'Urkel' White and Robert Picardo of 'Star Trek: Voyager' and The Howling fame."
I May Have To Watch This
Into the Dragon's Layer | Animal Planent | Electronic Press Kit: "COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH KILLER CROCS IN ANIMAL PLANET’S INTO THE DRAGON’S LAIR
--Two Underwater Adventurers Risk Their Lives to Capture the Mysterious, Dark World of Nile Crocodiles --"
--Two Underwater Adventurers Risk Their Lives to Capture the Mysterious, Dark World of Nile Crocodiles --"
Hat tip to Todd Mason.
Soon to Be a SyFy Movie!
Local News | Radioactive rabbit trapped at Hanford | Seattle Times Newspaper: "A radioactive rabbit was trapped on the Hanford nuclear reservation, but there is no sign any people were exposed to the animal.
Washington state Health Department workers with the Office of Radiation Protection have been searching for contaminated rabbit droppings. None have been found in areas accessible to the public, regional director Earl Fordham said Thursday."
Washington state Health Department workers with the Office of Radiation Protection have been searching for contaminated rabbit droppings. None have been found in areas accessible to the public, regional director Earl Fordham said Thursday."
Hat tip to Vince Keenan.
Gator Update (Corndog Edition)
The 72 Inch Burrito : Outrageous Food : Food Network: "Next stop: Chicago's Dog House in Chicago, a hot dog joint that redefines this classic with an alligator corn dog for the truly adventurous type."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Muffin exchange leads to assault, arrest: "An angry dispute that ended with a local man being charged with a felony aggravated assault began when he and the woman he was with threw a muffin at each other, San Antonio police said."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
They Caught Him Because He Wasn't Worried about His Lawn
Great photos at the link.
Hat tip to Walter Satterthwait.
The incident occurred on October 29 on Air Canada flight AC018 to Vancouver originating in Hong Kong. An intelligence alert from the Canada Border Services Agency describes the incident as an 'unbelievable case of concealment.'"
Remember Remember the Fifth of November
Remember Remember the Fifth of November rhyme: "Words of 'Remember Remember' refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason."
Time to Vote!
A Thriller a Day...: Thriller Your-Way: It's Time to Vote: "Now that we've gotten past what is all but universally agreed upon as Thriller's last class act, we thought it was a safe time to ask you all to vote for your top ten favorite Thrillers (and order is important). If you have a different list of the best, or most important Thrillers, tuck that away for a rainy day. We're looking for your favorites to compile the results of the Thriller community's votes for the best of the best."
Jerry Bock, R. I. P.
OBITUARY: Jerry Bock, composer of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' is dead at 81 - latimes.com: "When composer Jerry Bock started work on a musical about a rural Jewish community at the turn of the century, few expected the show to have much commercial appeal. But Mr. Bock was penning a score that became, arguably, the most broadly popular theatrical score ever written.
'Fiddler on the Roof' opened on Broadway in 1964 and has been revived there several times. Its tours have crisscrossed the globe for decades and countless parents of brides and grooms have lamented the too-rapid passing of time by crying over Bock's 'Sunrise, Sunset' at generations of bittersweet weddings."
'Fiddler on the Roof' opened on Broadway in 1964 and has been revived there several times. Its tours have crisscrossed the globe for decades and countless parents of brides and grooms have lamented the too-rapid passing of time by crying over Bock's 'Sunrise, Sunset' at generations of bittersweet weddings."
Forgotten Books: THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT -- Robert B. Parker
It's Robert B. Parker's first novel, the one that introduces Spenser. What? You haven't forgotten this one? Okay, but when's the last time you read it? I hadn't read it since it first appeared in 1973, so when I saw this recent reprint the other day, I picked it up to see what had changed.Do you remember that Spenser's hobby was woodcarving? He's been working on his current project for six months. He's quite the horndog, too, bedding both a mother and her daughter. Susan Silverman wasn't on the scene yet, of course.
Then there's the drinking. Spenser's a bourbon and bitters guy in this book, but he drinks a lot of cheap bourbon right out of the bottle, too. A couple of gallons, at least.
Oh, and the text. This book is 204 pages of densely packed type. Almost no white space. Very unlike the Spenser novels we currently know and love.
Some things are pretty much the same. Spenser's a smartass and a quick man with a quip, and he's tougher than anybody around. He slaps people around a lot more than he does in the later books, though. Quirk, Belson, and Joe Broz are here, and they continue to show up throughout the series.
At one point, Spenser thinks he might be too old for the work he's doing. He's around 37 or 38. I guess he didn't know he'd still be doing it 37 years later.
Reading the book with a more critical eye than I did in 1973, I can see more wrong with it than I did then. The title manuscript, for example, is nothing more than a device to start the plot in motion. As far as I can see, the theft was incredibly stupid, and Parker resolves it in seconds about halfway through the book, having figured out a different plot, one that won't surprise anybody who's read a book from this era. The theme is one every Parker fan will recognize, that of the young woman whose parents don't get it and who needs someone to help out. Spenser's always going to be there for someone like that.
The best thing about the book, for me, is the descriptions of the college campus and the students. Parker was great at description, but he stripped most of it out of his later dialogue-driven books. Too bad. Reading this one was like time traveling for me. I spent most of my life on college campuses, and Parker's right on the money. I loved it.
And here's the thing. After reading this book, I'm not at all sure it's any better than some of the more recent ones. Maybe not even as good. Read it yourself and let me know what you think.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Sparky Anderson, R. I. P.
Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson dies – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs: "Sparky Anderson who managed three teams to World Series championships died today at the age of 76.
A family spokesman said Anderson died from complications from dementia at a hospice in Thousand Oaks, California.
Anderson managed the famed “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds teams to World Championships in 1975 and ’76 and the Detroit Tigers to a title in 1984."
A family spokesman said Anderson died from complications from dementia at a hospice in Thousand Oaks, California.
Anderson managed the famed “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds teams to World Championships in 1975 and ’76 and the Detroit Tigers to a title in 1984."
Seepy Benton's Secret Revealed!
Electric Brain Stimulation Can Improve Math Skills - ABC News: "LONDON (Reuters) - Stimulating the brain with a very low electric current can enhance a person's maths ability for up to six months, British neuroscientists said on Thursday."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Houston rapper sent to federal prison for wire fraud | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A Houston rapper who was part of the group Geto Boys was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for wire fraud in a case where he offered for sale electronics he did not have.
William James Dennis, aka Willie D, was accused of defrauding 35 people that bought electronics from him of $194,087 between September 2008 and April 2009."
William James Dennis, aka Willie D, was accused of defrauding 35 people that bought electronics from him of $194,087 between September 2008 and April 2009."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Sugar Land Peeping Tom: Intruder Watches Women Sleep - KIAH: "Women in one Sugar Land community are not sleeping so well. Police said a peeping tom has been sneaking into condominiums late at night and watching women sleep."
She Should Have Bought Him a CPAP Machine
Duncan Woman Calls Deputies on Snoring Husband | WSPA: "A Duncan woman called deputies because her husband was snoring too loudly.
[. . . .]
According to a police report, the woman and her husband both work third shift. She says she was trying to sleep but he was snoring too loudly so she asked him to go to another room.
She couldn't go back to sleep and when she got up, she called him a 'bastard' and the two began arguing."
[. . . .]
According to a police report, the woman and her husband both work third shift. She says she was trying to sleep but he was snoring too loudly so she asked him to go to another room.
She couldn't go back to sleep and when she got up, she called him a 'bastard' and the two began arguing."
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Gator Update
Alligator trapped in Orlando breaks state record for length: "An alligator trapped Sunday by an Orlando man in a Brevard County lake broke the official state record for length.
Tres Ammerman, who traps gators as a hobby, caught the 14-foot, 3 1/2-inch male alligator in Lake Washington.
The previous official state record for length, set in 1997, was a 14-foot, 5/8-inch male alligator from Lake Monroe in Seminole County."
Tres Ammerman, who traps gators as a hobby, caught the 14-foot, 3 1/2-inch male alligator in Lake Washington.
The previous official state record for length, set in 1997, was a 14-foot, 5/8-inch male alligator from Lake Monroe in Seminole County."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
And Keep Off His Lawn!
Sydney Invalid pins burglar to wall with stick: "An invalid pinned a burglar to the wall at his home in south-western NSW while his wife called police early today.
The burglar forced his way into the house in Elizabeth Street, Narrandera, about 2am, as the 61-year-old man and two women, aged 58 and 80, were sleeping.
When the younger woman, woken by a noise, found the burglar ransacking the home she woke her husband who confronted him and pinned him to the wall with his walking stick until police arrived."
The burglar forced his way into the house in Elizabeth Street, Narrandera, about 2am, as the 61-year-old man and two women, aged 58 and 80, were sleeping.
When the younger woman, woken by a noise, found the burglar ransacking the home she woke her husband who confronted him and pinned him to the wall with his walking stick until police arrived."
Texas Doesn't Lead the Way
This light bulb in the Stockyards museum in Ft. Worth has been burning since 1908. But Art Scott will point out that the one in Livermore, California, has been on longer.
Feeling Safer Now?
Memos Detail TSA Officer's Cocaine Pranks | The Smoking Gun: "The Transportation Security Administration worker who earlier this year was canned for falsely claiming to have discovered cocaine in the luggage of travelers was a bomb appraisal officer who was supposed to be evaluating new screening equipment at the time he was pranking his unsuspecting targets, records show."
Never Assume
I was a member of the Hard Case Crime Book Club at Dorchester. I joined up at the beginning so I could get each Hard Case Crime book as it was published. I assumed that the book club would come to an end since Hard Case was no longer with Dorchester. I was wrong.
In yesterday's mail I received a package just like those I'd been getting, except that the return address says "Hardboiled Book Club" instead of "Hard Case Crime." What was inside the package? A paperback copy of Robert B. Parker's Perish Twice, a Sunny Randall paperback from 2001. Not only did Dorchester switch me to a new club without asking, but I was sent a paperback that's nine years old.
To Dorchester's credit, canceling the membership was easy.
Bigfoot Update
BIGFOOT SIGHTING: Man Claims He Caught Bigfoot on Video - WGHP: "After seeing the video, Greene was convinced he had captured video of the much-discussed creature Bigfoot."
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Battle of the Superheroes
Cops: 'Superheroes' brawl at Conn. parking garage: "It is assault charges for Spider-Man and Captain America, and breach of peace for Poison Ivy. Police in Connecticut said a man dressed as Captain America and another as Spider-Man have been arrested after getting into a fight in Stamford over the Halloween weekend."
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Catch of the Day
Toddler survives seven-floor fall in France - Yahoo! News: "An 18-month-old boy survived after falling seven floors and bouncing off a Paris cafe awning into the arms of a passer-by, witnesses said Tuesday.
'My son saw a little boy on a balcony. He had gone right outside the railing... I said to myself I mustn't miss him,' the toddler's saviour, local doctor Philippe Bensignor, told AFP, recounting Monday's drama."
'My son saw a little boy on a balcony. He had gone right outside the railing... I said to myself I mustn't miss him,' the toddler's saviour, local doctor Philippe Bensignor, told AFP, recounting Monday's drama."
Want a Spotless Mind?
Eternal sunshine? Scientists find technique to delete traumatic memories for good | Mail Online: "Researchers have found a way of permanently deleting painful memories, which they say could lead to drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder."
La Ronde, part 5
The View from the Blue House: "Here is Part 5 of the La Ronde being run by Patti Abbott. We left Part 4 with India Hamilton, wife of James Preston, framing his PA, Jeanette Campbell, for his murder. Here, we find India contemplating her actions and future. Parts 1-4 can be accessed here."
No Comment Department
Caine, Winstone, Jones, Depardieu and Jacobi set for sci-fi Henry V | Hollywood News: "Production Weekly are reporting that Michael Caine, Ray Winstone, Vinnie Jones, Gerard Depardieu and Derek Jacobi have been cast in HENRY5, a sci-fi thriller based on Shakespeare’s Henry V."
+Brother+and+Sister+Monarch061.jpg)
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Suit centers on silhouette cowboy: "BOERNE — A Comfort photographer is suing the state over roughly 4.5 million vehicle inspection stickers that appear to incorporate, without his authorization, an image of a saddle-toting cowboy he created in 1984.
[. . . .]
The stickers were produced by state prison inmates under a Texas Department of Criminal Justice contract with the DPS. Both agencies, which are named as defendants, declined comment Friday.
The suit says Langford's photo was illegally appropriated by an inmate who scanned it from a copy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine in 1998."
[. . . .]
The stickers were produced by state prison inmates under a Texas Department of Criminal Justice contract with the DPS. Both agencies, which are named as defendants, declined comment Friday.
The suit says Langford's photo was illegally appropriated by an inmate who scanned it from a copy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine in 1998."
And Stay off Her Damn Lawn!
Semenovich bought incinerator to burn husband: witness: "EDMONTON — A 74-year-old woman accused of killing her husband and disposing of his remains in an incinerator told a combustion expert months before the body was found that she wanted an incinerator in which to burn her husband."
Here's the Plot for Your Next Confusing Thriller
Cross-dress 'killer' having sex change | The Sun |News: "A PERSON accused of murdering a cross-dressing human rights lawyer is a man undergoing a sex change, it was revealed today."
Here's the Plot for Your Next Kidnap Thriller
Tortured Scot on the mend after having body parts severed during kidnap ordeal - The Daily Record: "TORTURED Scot James Ross has told pals he is on the mend and desperate for a pint after his 13-day ordeal in Portugal.
Ross, 26, is understood to have had a testicle, his wedding finger, an ear and two toes sliced off by his kidnappers."
Ross, 26, is understood to have had a testicle, his wedding finger, an ear and two toes sliced off by his kidnappers."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Texas Supreme Court Cites The Wisdom Of Spock On Star Trek | Techdirt: "NSILMike points us to an amusing bit of news concerning a recent ruling in the Texas Supreme Court, where the court cited Star Trek's Spock (though, it's mostly hidden in a footnote)."
For the footnote, click the link.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Unpublished Authors, Take Note
The kind of story you'd have to write is explained at the link.
Let me repeat, I'm looking for submissions from UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS. For my purposes here, I mean that you have not previously sold a short story (or novel) in a professional paying market, as defined by SFWA."
Criminal Mastermind of the Week
Body Found During Bomb Search - News Story - KRDO Colorado Springs: "LITTLETON, Colo. -- Deputies in suburban Denver found a dead body in the trunk of a car parked outside the jail and arrested the driver on a murder charge, officials said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department said Robert L. Johnson, 40, of Byers went to the jail Saturday to surrender on an outstanding warrant from another, unspecified incident."
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department said Robert L. Johnson, 40, of Byers went to the jail Saturday to surrender on an outstanding warrant from another, unspecified incident."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
And keep off his lawn.
Gideon's Sword -- Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
I got an ARC of this book at Bouchercon. Gideon Crew is a rocket scientist. Okay, maybe not, but he works at Los Alamos, and that's close enough for me. He's also a Ph. D. who was for a long time a professional thief, but then after he avenged the death of his father, he decided it was time to settle down. Before he can relax, he's recruited by a super-secret organization to do a little job for them. He decides to do it only after he discovers that he's going to die within a couple of years because of a rare medical condition.
If you think Crew sounds like a character in a lot of other bestsellers, well, you're probably right, and this book's probably headed for that list as soon as it hits the street. Even though it won't be published until February, Michael Bay has already bought it for the movies and commissioned a script.
I'm not sure what the title of the book means, but then I'm not a biblical scholar. I remember that Gideon's sword is metaphorical, or at least that's what I think I remember. As far as I can tell there's no sword, literal or metaphorical, in this novel. Crew is after a mcguffin. Nobody knows what it is, but then it doesn't really matter, does it? Nodding Crane, a Chinese assassin who plays a mean blues guitar and kills people with his special finger picks (again, a bestseller character if there ever was one), is out to prevent him. There are no prizes if you guess who wins.
I've read only one other book by Preston and Child. I thought it suffered from the "extended climax syndrome," which means that the climactic scene goes on and on. And on. That's true here, too. I admit that I skimmed a lot of pages toward the end. Compared to the other book by the pair that I read, though, this one's pretty short, a mere 342 pages of decent-sized print. It reads fast. If you like this kind of stuff, this is exactly the kind of stuff you'll like.
Did Texas Lead the Way?
Hallowe'en was different when I was a kid. For one thing, it wasn't Halloween. I don't know when the apostrophe disappeared, but I know it was after I got out of the public schools. I learned to put the apostrophe in, but now the spellchecker doesn't like it.
But I digress. What I meant to talk about was what kids did when I was one of them. Life then was more like a Peanuts comic strip. You know the ones, where the kids are out roaming the streets, trick-or-treating with their paper bags and not an adult in sight. About sundown, off we'd go. The most elaborate costume I remember wearing is a Lone Ranger mask. I thought those were cool. A couple of friends and I would walk all over town, knocking on doors and ringing doorbells, and it was all great fun. When we'd gotten enough candy, we'd go to the community Hallowe'en carnival and try our luck at bingo or the cakewalk. When the booths started to shut down, we'd walk home.
Nobody worried that the candy we'd scored would poison us. Nobody worried that we'd be stolen off the streets and assaulted or killed. I'm not sure anybody was ever poisoned by Hallowe'en candy except for one kid in Texas, and he was poisoned by his own father, who wanted to collect the insurance money. Aside from that one incident, Hallowe'en candy's pretty safe as far as I know. Maybe it's all that guy's fault that things have changed. The assaults and the murders might be happening, but I lived in a small town, and that kind of thing never happened in the old days. Maybe it does now.
I still remember those October nights and how much fun they were. I guess kids still have fun, just not the way we used to do. I'm fine with that, as long as they keep off my lawn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)