Thursday, April 07, 2011
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
ksl.com: "Police say an inmate at the Utah State Hospital may have killed another prisoner over his snoring."
Will the Persecution Never End?
Paris Hilton won't return borrowed jewels-lawsuit | Reuters: "Paris Hilton is holding $60,000 of jewelry that does not belong to her and should give it back, a new lawsuit contends.
A German insurer, Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), has sued the celebrity socialite and heiress to the Hilton Hotels fortune, saying she has ignored several attempts to recover the borrowed jewels."
A German insurer, Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), has sued the celebrity socialite and heiress to the Hilton Hotels fortune, saying she has ignored several attempts to recover the borrowed jewels."
Hat tip to John Duke.
Everything Old is New Again
Top Gun Returning To Theaters - CinemaBlend.com: "Maverick and his buddy Goose are flying back into theaters for two nights only on April 30th and May 2nd in AMC Theaters. You’ll be able to ride into the Danger Zone with your friends all over again, or if you’re under thirty then probably for your first time in theaters, in hundreds of different locations around Canada and the United States listed right here."
Worse Than a Bite?
Ruff Life: "Police say an Ohio man has been charged with a misdemeanor for barking at a police dog."
Spring Issue of Mysterical-E Is Now On-Line
Mysterical-E has lots of new stories by writers you know. Check it out.
Michael Connelly Interview
Judy and I will be driving over to Houston a little later this morning for the luncheon sponsored by Murder by the Book. The guest is Michael Connelly, and I'll have the pleasure of interviewing him. I have plenty of questions to ask him, but I'll probably forget half of them. I suspect he's there to plug The Fifth Witness and the new movie of The Lincoln Lawyer, and while I'm interested in those things, there are a lot of other things that I'd rather ask about. Should be fun.
Croc Update (Meat Smuggling Edition)
WTOP.com: "Customs agents at Dulles International Airport had a strange find over the weekend.
Agents found 7 pounds of cooked antelope and a whole cooked crocodile in the luggage of a woman arriving on a flight from Ethiopia."
Agents found 7 pounds of cooked antelope and a whole cooked crocodile in the luggage of a woman arriving on a flight from Ethiopia."
National Recording Registry Update
Library of Congress Adds Tammy Wynette, De La Soul to Registry | .Politics: "The Library of Congress this week added 25 recordings for preservation in its National Recording Registry. They’re diverse and interesting. Here’s the list and the Library of Congress descriptions of the significance of each recording:"
Gator Update (Baggy Pants Edition)
Lake Charles, Louisiana: "Baggy pants saved a Florida teen after he was attacked by an alligator while walking through an apartment complex."
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Stephen Unger's In the Footsteps of Dracula is a different kind of travel book. It has everything you need to know if you're planning to take a trip to the land of Vlad the Impaler, including a sample itinerary, a practical guide to the Dracula trail, and a whole lot more. If you're like me and don't plan to make the trip, there are over 185 great photos, most of them in color. For twenty bucks, this might be the best trip you ever took while sitting at home. Check it out.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
This is a good new p.i. novel from Perfect Crime Books. It's about Hayes Rutherford (not Rutherford Hayes). Hayes is an ex-con turned off-the-books p.i. on a case that begins in Hollywood and ends in D. C. You can read more about it on Ed Gorman's blog. Perfect Crime Books publishes some good stuff, and all their books are worth your attention.
Antiques Knock-Off -- Barbara Allan (Barbara and Max Allan Collins)
Brandy Borne, seven months pregnant with a child that isn't hers, and Vivian, her mother, who is really her grandmother, are back on the scene, and sure enough, there's another murder. This time it involves Brandy's sister, who is really her mother. If you think that sounds confusing, it's not, and it's all actually very funny. In fact, the first page of this book is so funny and so well done that I just had to stop reading for a while and admire it. I enjoy Brandy's narrative voice, and Vivian's, too, though she gets short shrift, only one chapter per book, or one-and-a-half in this case (and two in the previous book). This time, both Brandy and Vivian are off their meds for most of the book, and that makes things just that much more entertaining.
I mentioned the murder, right? Okay, Vivian immediately confesses to it, and her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. Her time in jail is great reading, and it provides a nice coda for the whole book. This one is highly recommended.
A Reminder
My contribution to the Rancho Diablo series is now live on Amazon. Sam Blaylock just wants to establish his ranch and get his family settled in, but someone, or something, doesn't like that idea. This time even the law doesn't seem to be on Sam's side. A mere $2.99. Check it out. Kindle only right now. Nook to come later, assuming I can figure out how.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Man Arrested in Paper Towel Dispute at MARTA Station: "A man police say grabbed paper towels from a maintenance cart at a rail station in Atlanta and used them to blow his nose wound up in jail."
Feeling Safer Now?
My Way News - Boeing didn't expect 737 cracks so soon: "Boeing engineers figured the joints holding the skin in place on their older 737 jetliners would begin to wear, but only as the planes neared retirement. They never expected it to happen in middle age."
Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.
And They Still Make These, Too
Commodore USA: "It's back... and better than ever! The new Commodore 64 is a modern functional PC as close to the original in design as humanly possible. It houses a modern mini-ITX PC motherboard featuring a Dual Core 525 Atom processor and the latest Nvidia Ion2 graphics chipset. It comes in the original taupe brown/beige color, with other colors to follow."
Yes, You Can Still Buy One
The Classic Manual Typewriter - Hammacher Schlemmer: "This is the classic manual typewriter, the indispensable tool used by celebrated 20th Century authors Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, and Jack Kerouac. Though supplanted by computers, the mechanical typewriter still has its devotees (authors Larry McMurtry and David McCullough among them), many who claim the click-clacking of its keys inspires creative thinking. This typewriter also proves invaluable for addressing envelopes, creating labels, or filling out forms--simple tasks that can be confounding with a computer printer. Not a reconditioned model, it comes from the ever-dwindling reserve of new manuals
still being manufactured."
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Return of the Western?
Warner Bros. To Make Their Own Wyatt Earp Movie, Wild Guns - CinemaBlend.com: "In December, True Grit made over $240 million, and kicked off what appears to be the rebirth of the western, which is the only explanation for two Wyatt Earp movies to be in development since Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner went head-to-head in the early 90s.
THR reports that Warner Bros. has picked up a spec script called Wild Guns, a project described as having 'shades of Tombstone and Sherlock Holmes.' The project, which centers on the legendary Earp as well as Doc Holliday, is the second to be set up with the characters to in the last month, The First Ride of Wyatt Earp having been announced last month. In the story, written by T.S. Nowlin for Gianni Nunnari, Earp and Holliday are hired to rescue the daughter of Sitting Bull after she is kidnapped by a powerful Shaman."
THR reports that Warner Bros. has picked up a spec script called Wild Guns, a project described as having 'shades of Tombstone and Sherlock Holmes.' The project, which centers on the legendary Earp as well as Doc Holliday, is the second to be set up with the characters to in the last month, The First Ride of Wyatt Earp having been announced last month. In the story, written by T.S. Nowlin for Gianni Nunnari, Earp and Holliday are hired to rescue the daughter of Sitting Bull after she is kidnapped by a powerful Shaman."
Blood Crimes -- Dave Zeltserman
Okay, let's say you're a vampire with conscience. Let's say you decide that since you can't live without blood, you'll take it, but only from the worst of the worst. Dexter with a vampire? Not exactly. Zeltserman's e-book is more intense and even bloodier. I'd call it the anti-Twilight, and in my book that's a good thing. Jim and and his so-far non-vampire partner, Carol, are on a road trip hunting killers to kill. But someone's after them, too. This is Book One in a planned series of five, so get in on it now.
Criminal Geniuses of the Day
Cops: Perp Left T-Shirt With His Mug Shot at Crime Scene: "Police in Charlotte, N.C., say they arrested a home invasion suspect who accidentally left a T-shirt featuring his own face -- in the form of a mug shot -- at the scene of the crime."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
The Newspaper of Cleveland County: "A mother accused her son of punching her out after she took a bite of his Dairy Queen Blizzard, according to a Gastonia police report."
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Mike Nevins, who wrote the introduction to this collection of two novels by William Ard, is a convincing guy. After hearing his presentation on Ard at a long-ago Bouchercon, I rushed into the dealers' room and bought a bunch of Ard novels. Now you can get a couple of them (The Perfect Frame and .38 aka You Can't Stop Me) by mail, both in one volume from Ramble House, with a classic Nevins intro thrown into the mix. "In 1951 William Ard, in response to the wave of sadism and cruelty that was personified in the novels of Mickey Spillane, introduced Timothy Dane, a kinder, gentler PI. He set the tone for a series of Timothy Dane mysteries and Ramble House is proud to be bringing them back, two at a time, for all the young readers who may have missed the great William Ard. It's also for us oldsters who remember reading Ard the first time but can't easily find the rare Monarch and Popular Library vintage paperbacks.
Read Francis M. Nevins' informative introduction to see why William Ard matters and why all of his books need to be brought back into print."
Evil at a New Low Price
For two weeks you can get the first book in the Dead Man series for your Kindle at the low, low price of 99 cents. Check it out. And while you're at it, you might also want to readthis interview with Lee Goldberg, who talks about the series.
New Round Robin Story and New Contest Begin at Top Suspense
Top Suspense Group: Lauren's Run -- A New Round Robin Story from TSG: "As a way to celebrate the official release date of our Top Suspense Anthology (and wouldn't today be a perfect day to pick up our anthology for $2.99 for either the Kindle or Nook?), here's the first part of the sequel to The Chase, Lauren's Run. The same rules have been in effect for Lauren's Run--no planning, no safety nets, the only difference is we have a new set of players. While the original six members of Top Suspense (Max Allan Collins, Bill Crider, Ed Gorman, Vicki Hendricks, Harry Shannon and myself) wrote The Chase, the new six (Stephen Gallagher, Lee Goldberg, Joel Goldman, Libby Hellmann, Naomi Hirahara and Paul Levine) decided to strut their stuff and write the sequel. Over the next 12 days, I'll be posting a new part of the story with the author's name removed, so you can have fun trying to guess who wrote what (hint. buy our anthology! if you read it you'll be able to figure it out). And anyone who guesses all 12 story parts correctly will win free e-books from each of these six!"
Just in Time for Easter
Supersized Superbunny - Science News: "It may not be Harvey (it’s visible), but paleontologists have found fossils of a giant rabbit — the largest ever described — on the Mediterranean island of Minorca.
Three to 5 million years ago, a rabbit species there grew about half a meter high with an estimated weight of 12 kilograms (about 26 pounds), researchers report in the March Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology."
Three to 5 million years ago, a rabbit species there grew about half a meter high with an estimated weight of 12 kilograms (about 26 pounds), researchers report in the March Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology."
It's What You've been Waiting for, Folks!
'Bill And Ted 3': Keanu Reeves Says Third Film Coming: "Party on, dudes: Bill and Ted are coming back!
Twenty years after the Wyld Stallions played hero and became the biggest band in the universe, the boys from San Dimas will be coming back to the big screen."
Twenty years after the Wyld Stallions played hero and became the biggest band in the universe, the boys from San Dimas will be coming back to the big screen."
Forgotten Films: Undersea Kingdom
Undersea Kingdom is the second serial from Republic Studios, not a "film." Still, it's one of my favorites, so I thought I'd give it a mention. If you watched the trailer (see previous post), you know that this serial has "everything you want: mechanical men, . . rocket submarines, rocket aeroplanes, earthquakes!" It also has disintegrator rays. And, speaking of rays, it has Ray "Crash" Corrigan, too. Plus Lon Chaney, Jr., and the alleged comedy of Smiley Burnett, of which the less said, the better. You have your super-weapons and robots in the same society with guys riding horses and having sword fights. What's not to like?It's all quite similar to the first Flash Gordon serial (which is certainly deliberate), and I like it just as much (no matter what MST3K) might do to it. There's no need to describe the plot, which is just about like any other serial. You either go for this kind of thing or you don't. I do.
Monday, April 04, 2011
2011 Scribe Nominees
GENERAL ORIGINAL
CSI: SHOCK TREATMENT by Greg Cox
BURN NOTICE: The Giveaway by Tod Goldberg
MIKE HAMMER: THE BIG BANG by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane
MURDER SHE WROTE: The Queen's Jewels by Donald Bain
PSYCH: The Call of the Mild by William Rabkin
SAVING GRACE: TOUGH LOVE by Nancy Holder
SPECULATIVE ORIGINAL
GUILD WARS: GHOSTS OF ASCALON by Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb
STAR TREK: MIRROR UNIVERSE: THE SORROWS OF THE EMPIRE by David Mack
STAR WARS: FORCE UNLEASHED II by Sean Williams
SUPERNATURAL: HEART OF THE DRAGON by Keith R. A. DeCandido
WARHAMMER: BLOODBORN: ULRIKA THE VAMPIRE by Nathan Long
BEST ADAPTATION
FINAL CRISIS by Greg Cox
GOD OF WAR by Matthew Stover & Robert E. Vardeman
THE WOLFMAN by Jonathan Maberry
BEST YOUNG ADULT
ALPHA & OMEGA: THE JUNIOR NOVEL by Aaron Rosenberg
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: ALDWYNS ACADEMY by Nathan Meyer
THUNDERBIRDS: SITUATION CRITICAL by Joan Marie Yerba
The Fifth Annual Scribe Awards will be given at a ceremony and panel discussion held during Comic Con International in San Diego in July 2011. Details will be announced soon.
For more information contact
Max Allan Collins (macphilms@hotmail.com)
Lee Goldberg (lee@leegoldberg.com)
Have They Never Heard of Gozilla?
FoxNews.com: "'We have no choice but to release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure,' Yukio Edano, the government’s chief spokesman told a new conference."
And Who Can Blame Him?
Bad Case of the Munchies: "Cops in Ocala, Fla., arrested a 20-year-old for allegedly stealing a truck loaded with 338 boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts."
Here's the Plot for Your Next Big Caper Novel
And I do mean BIG. There's even an Alvin connection!
Hat tip to Jay Rogers.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Texas Tales Illustrated by Mike Kearby and Mack White: "'In the grand tradition of Rosenfield and Patton's Texas History Movies and the wonderful graphic novels of Jack Jackson, we now have Mike Kearby and Mack White's marvelous Texas Tales illustrated. Clear writing, great art, and solid history make for a winning combination that will delight and educate readers both young and old.'--Paul Andrew Hutton, University of New Mexico
“…Texas Tales is a historically accurate and refreshing approach to educating and entertaining readers of all ages on the Texas Revolution ...”
--Stephen Moore, author of Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto
and the Texas Independence Campaign."
And check out the website for a neat video.
Naked Cheetos Would Be an Excellent Name for a Rock Band
NYTimes.com: "Naked Cheetos would not seem to have much commercial future. Nor might some brands of pickles. The pickling process turns them an unappetizing gray. Dye is responsible for their robust green. Gummi worms without artificial coloring would look, like, well, muddily translucent worms. Jell-O would emerge out of the refrigerator a watery tan.
No doubt the world would be a considerably duller place without artificial food coloring. But might it also be a safer place? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, asked the government last week to ban artificial coloring because the dyes that are used in some foods might worsen hyperactivity in some children."
No doubt the world would be a considerably duller place without artificial food coloring. But might it also be a safer place? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, asked the government last week to ban artificial coloring because the dyes that are used in some foods might worsen hyperactivity in some children."
The Top Suspense Group on Creating & Sustaining Suspense
Booklife: "In the Hands of a Master: The Top Suspense Group on Creating & Sustaining Suspense"
It's a Good Thing She Didn't Have Access to Duct Tape
The Smoking Gun: "Drunk Teacher Who Allegedly Flapped Arms And Made Chicken Noises Removed From Classroom"
All Righty, Then
thetelegraph.com.au: "Scientists say it's impossible, but Chinese farmer Liu Naiying believes he is the proud owner of a miracle - a sheep that has given birth to a dog.
The 'puppy' has wool like a lamb but its mouth, nose, eyes, paws and tail look more like those of a dog. Thousands of people have visited Mr Liu's Shaanxi province farm to see for themselves."
The 'puppy' has wool like a lamb but its mouth, nose, eyes, paws and tail look more like those of a dog. Thousands of people have visited Mr Liu's Shaanxi province farm to see for themselves."
Photographic proof at the link.
No Comment Department
WSVN-TV - Mother angry after teacher tapes student's mouth: "Jazlyn Freel attends New Renaissance Middle School. She said on Thursday her teacher placed tape over her mouth. 'She asked me to stop talking, and then a couple minutes went by, and I started to talk again, and she came to me and put it on my mouth,' Jazlyn said. 'I had to cough, so I took the first piece off, so she went into her desk, and she took another piece out, and she put it on my mouth again.'"
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Gator Update (Judicial Edition)
WSAV TV: "A divided Georgia Court of Appeals panel has ruled that a golf club and homeowners association may be held liable for damage inflicted by alligators that patrol a system of lagoons."
The First Time Ever
CNN.com: "On this day in 1973 -- on April 3 of that year -- a man did something no one had ever done before.
You may bless him for it or curse him for it. At this juncture, it hardly matters. The impact of what he did is so enormous that judging it now is almost beside the point.
The man's name was Martin Cooper. He was 44 at the time.
He made a cell phone call."
You may bless him for it or curse him for it. At this juncture, it hardly matters. The impact of what he did is so enormous that judging it now is almost beside the point.
The man's name was Martin Cooper. He was 44 at the time.
He made a cell phone call."
UFO Update
UFO sighting in Chicago? | abc7chicago.com: "An unusual sight was reported by some residents on Chicago's South Side. They say something in the sky looked like UFOs were flying over Chicago."
Gone Phishing
Houston Chronicle: "An Irving, Texas-based firm that handles email marketing for a lot of big-name companies has been hacked, and there's a good chance you do business with someone on its client list.
The result: You may be the target of phishing attempts that feature names you'd normally trust."
The result: You may be the target of phishing attempts that feature names you'd normally trust."
Details at the link.
Lake Charles -- Ed Lynskey
You think you have troubles? Just be glad you're not Brendan Fishback, who's accused of the murder of the daughter of one of the most powerful me in Yellow Snake, Tennessee. Brendan's not entirely sure he didn't kill Ashleigh Sizemore because after they smoked a little pot and had sex, he passed out. When he work up, she was dead.Now out on bail, Brendan goes fishing at Lake Charles (not the one in Louisiana) with his twin sister, Edna, and her husband. Edna disappears, and Brendan and her husband go looking for her. Before long, Brendan has two dead bodies on his hands, and he still hasn't found Edna. He enlists the help of his brother-in-law's father, a guy with a secret past and an arsenal that a Bond villain would admire.
The setting in this one is different and well drawn, and you'll be drawn into the story as Brendan tries to find out what really happened to Ashleigh Sizemore and to his sister. Good stuff from Ed Lynskey, and recommended hardboiled reading.
Gator Update (Cutting Tail Edition)
FloriDUH: "Jason Arnold Brewer, of Orlando, is accused of illegally cutting off a 50-inch alligator tail. He reportedly told deputies he used a knife he kept in his Taco Bell pants to kill the gator along the banks of the St. Johns River, reports the Orlando Sentinel."
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Thieves steal $85,000 worth of hair extensions stolen from Missouri City store | abc13.com: "Many women know beauty comes at a price, and it's seems criminals are quickly learning that as well.
I'm Shocked -- Shocked!
Charlie Sheen's Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour -- Bombed in Detroit | TMZ.com: "Charlie Sheen got heavily booed and people walked out of his show in Detroit tonight."
No Comment Department
Cecylia Opilka, Dead Since Christmas, Found Amid Trash in Home: "For three months, the adult son of Cecylia Opilka lived in their Chicago townhouse with her corpse. Her decomposing body was entombed within the garbage that filled the home almost to the ceiling, police said."
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Lead Books Update
Derren Brown Blog: "Peter Thonemann at Oxford has staked his career on the conclusion that the lead codices being discussed recently are forgeries executed within the last 50 years."
Antikythera Mechanism Update
Ancient Greek Computer Had Surprising Sun Tracker | Wired Science | Wired.com: "The world’s oldest astronomical calculator is famous for having intricate gear systems centuries ahead of their time. But new work shows the Antikythera mechanism used pure geometry, as well as flashy gears to track celestial bodies’ motion through the heavens."
Return of the Typers
The Digital Generation Rediscovers the Magic of Manual Typewriters - NYTimes.com: "Manual typewriters aren’t going gently into the good night of the digital era. The machines have been attracting fresh converts, many too young to be nostalgic for spooled ribbons, ink-smudged fingers and corrective fluid. And unlike the typists of yore, these folks aren’t clacking away in solitude.
They’re fetishizing old Underwoods, Smith Coronas and Remingtons, recognizing them as well designed, functional and beautiful machines, swapping them and showing them off to friends. At a series of events called “type-ins,” they’ve been gathering in bars and bookstores to flaunt a sort of post-digital style and gravitas, tapping out letters to send via snail mail and competing to see who can bang away the fastest."
They’re fetishizing old Underwoods, Smith Coronas and Remingtons, recognizing them as well designed, functional and beautiful machines, swapping them and showing them off to friends. At a series of events called “type-ins,” they’ve been gathering in bars and bookstores to flaunt a sort of post-digital style and gravitas, tapping out letters to send via snail mail and competing to see who can bang away the fastest."
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Meanwhile, Back at the Snake Farm . . . .
Miami News - Riptide 2.0: "The Miami-Dade Police Department's Special Response Team responded to the Tom Crutchfield Reptile Farm at 35000 SW 212th Avenue shortly before noon yesterday after an argument between Crutchfield and Stephenson escalated to gun fire."
Well, 911 Is for Emergencies, Isn't It?
Man calls 911 when strippers don't show - UPI.com: "Police in Wisconsin said a man who visited a gentlemen's club called 911 to report a pair of strippers had failed to show up at his motel room as promised."
Adam Sandler + Vanilla Ice = Instant Classic
Contactmusic: "Country Strong star Leighton Meester and Vanilla Ice are in talks to play supporting roles in Adam Sandler's new comedy I Hate You, Dad.
Meester is slated to play Sandler's daughter-in-law-to-be in the film, which also stars comedian Andy Samberg, and Ice Ice Baby star Vanilla Ice is tipped to play a gay wedding planner."
Meester is slated to play Sandler's daughter-in-law-to-be in the film, which also stars comedian Andy Samberg, and Ice Ice Baby star Vanilla Ice is tipped to play a gay wedding planner."
THE LINEUP #4
When Gerald So asked if I'd like to do a blog post about my favorite poem in The Lineup #4, I said I'd be happy to. I should have thought twice about that because that was before I'd read any of the poems. So here's the problem: How do you pick a favorite when all the poems are so good? I'll bet you hear that line from just about everybody on this blog tour. Some people might even cheat and pick more than one poem, but not me. I'm going to stick with the program because that's just the way I roll, dudes. So let me say a few words about "Houston Oil Man Missing" by Germaine Welch.First of all, there there's the obvious Texas connection, but what makes the poem is the narration, and the narrator. Who is the narrator, anyway? It's someone who knows the missing oil man intimately, but that's all we learn. After the oil man's remains turn up and his killers are tried, the narrator meets the man's ex-wife while buying produce. "Carrots, I believe." ("I remember the hole in her red sweater.") The death means nothing to the public. "No reporter covers the trial." Who cares after you're gone? Only someone who can "remember the mysteries you read." "Houston Oil Man Missing" is a miniature crime story that you'll remember for a long time. Just like all the other poems in The Lineup #4. Get a copy and read 'em all.
And if you're wondering why so many mystery writers also write poetry, you might be interested in this blog post by Janet Hutchings of EQMM. Just a little bonus for you.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Gator Update (Hissing and Hungry Edition)
UPI.com: "A 3-foot-long alligator, apparently left alone for days, wasn't in a good mood when found by an apartment manager, police in West St. Paul, Minn., say.
'The alligator was hissing,' city police Chief Bud Shaver said. 'It was probably cold, and it was probably hungry.'"
'The alligator was hissing,' city police Chief Bud Shaver said. 'It was probably cold, and it was probably hungry.'"
Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.
They Can Probably Do More with One Than I Could
The Sun |News: "A GORILLA prods the new toy which scientists hope will transform the way primates are kept alert and happy in zoos - an iPad.
Animal behaviour experts handed out the gadgets to five apes in an experiment.
The super-smart gorillas quickly learned to turn the screens on and off and seem fascinated by the colours and pictures."
Animal behaviour experts handed out the gadgets to five apes in an experiment.
The super-smart gorillas quickly learned to turn the screens on and off and seem fascinated by the colours and pictures."
Great photo at the link.
Groucho, Harpo, and Chico Unavailable for Comment
Police: Highly Intoxicated Judge Found Wrapped Only In Bed Sheet - The Susquehanna Valley News Story - WGAL The Susquehanna Valley: "Douglas Gummo, a magisterial district judge in Huntingdon County, is charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness."
New Jersey Leads the Way
The Canadian Press: "A New Jersey school district suspended a first-grade teacher after parents complained that she had posted derogatory comments about her students on her Facebook page.
The Record newspaper reports that the teacher wrote about feeling like 'a warden' and referred to her 6-year-old and 7-year-old students as future criminals."
The Record newspaper reports that the teacher wrote about feeling like 'a warden' and referred to her 6-year-old and 7-year-old students as future criminals."
Mel McDaniel, R. I. P.
News from The Associated Press: "Mel McDaniel, a husky-voiced country music singer-songwriter with hits like 'Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On' and 'Louisiana Saturday Night' has died. He was 68."
Saving the Card Catalog Cabinets
Library Card Catalog Cabinets Used for eReader Storage - eBookNewser: "Rather than throw the old cabinets away, one middle school librarian has figured out a new use for them. She’s using them to store her library’s eReader collection. It turns out that the drawers were just the right size for most of the common eReaders. All the case needed was a few holes drilled in the back, and then running some power cables."
Why April Fool's Day? Nobody Knows.
April Fools' Day Mystery: How Did It Originate?: "The origins of April Fools' Day are shrouded in mystery, experts say."
Forgotten Books: The Eleventh Hour -- Graeme Base
This is a picture book with a solve-it-yourself mystery that proceeds in rhyme. The solution to the mystery is available in a sealed section in the back of the book, but of course you wouldn't want to cheat and look at it. After all, this is a kid's book, so you should be able to figure it out. Right?As you can probably tell from the cover, Base presents some wonderful illustrations to accompany the verse, and you don't have to look too carefully to see the picture in the center left that attracted me to the book in the first place. The gator judge gets some nice face time inside, too.
The story? Horace the Elephant throws himself a birthday party, but someone steals the feast he's prepared. The clues appear in the illustrations, which were inspired by Base's travels through Africa, Asia, and Europe. Cathedrals, palaces, stone carvings, and so on all have hidden messages in the form of anagrams, heiroglyphics, and even Morse code. It takes a smart kid (or codger) to figure everything out. Trust me. But even if you can't figure things out, the pictures are great and worth having the book for all by themselves.
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