Saturday, March 10, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Fight night at Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Fistfight breaks out during show 

A Must-Read Essay about Dan J. Marlowe

LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS | The Wrong Marlowe


Hat tip to Vince Keenan.

Yet Another Freebie for the Weekend!

Amazon.com: The Feedstore Chronicles eBook: Travis Erwin: Kindle Store: Welcome to Pearl's Feed and Seed Most coming-of-age stories are fraught with symbolism, hidden metaphors, and a heaping mound of other literary devices. Not this one. Not mine. You see, I came of age while working at a dusty Texas feedstore. A place where To Kill a Mockingbird involved a twelve-year-old and a BB gun. Of Mice and Men was a problem easily solved with rat poison. And David Copperfield was nothing more than a dude that made shit disappear. In the spring of 1989, I went to work at Pearl's Feed and Seed for a man named Doyle Suggs. On the surface Doyle and I had little in common: I was a rosy-cheeked boy of sixteen; he was a twice-divorced, thirty-year-old high school dropout. I had yet to go on my first date; he was trading sex for horse feed in the back room. Sure, Doyle was a lout, a liar, and a lecherous derelict. To this day, he remains the most morally bankrupt man I've ever met, yet my life wouldn't be half as blessed, had I missed out on his misguided education. The Feedstore Chronicles is a mostly true account of those days and when murderous ex-wives, well-hung bulldogs, and feed room fornication were all part of a normal day at Pearl's.

Leonardo Cimino, R. I. P.

Leonardo Cimino, a Distinctive Actor, Dies at 94 - NYTimes.com: Leonardo Cimino, who once thought his singular appearance would make an acting career improbable but who ended up spending more than 60 years as an in-demand character actor whose roles included gangsters, grandfathers, the pope, Vincent van Gogh and “Scary German Guy,” died on March 3 at his home in Woodstock, N.Y. He was 94.

Free for Kindle this Weekend!

Amazon.com: All The Young Warriors eBook: Anthony Neil Smith: Kindle Store: When two of the Twin Cities' “Lost Boys” — young Somali men drafted to fight for terrorists back in the homeland — kill a pair of cops on his home turf, detective Ray Bleeker is left devastated. One of the dead cops was his girlfriend.


The investigation grinds to a halt when he discovers that the young murderers have fled to Somalia to fight in the rebel army. He's at his wits' end when the father of one of the boys, an ex-gang leader named Mustafa, comes looking for answers, wanting to clear his son's name and refusing to take no for an answer.


Bleeker and Mustafa form an uneasy alliance, teaming up to help bring the boys back home to stand trial. But little do they know what Somalia has in store for them.


Murder, warfare, piracy, love, betrayal and revenge. ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS is an epic thriller that will have you white-knuckling your eReader all through the night.

Free for Kindle this Weekend!

Amazon.com: DEVIL WINGS OVER FRANCE (A Dead-Stick Malloy Story) eBook: James Reasoner: Kindle Store: Inspired by the great pulp aviation yarns of the past, "Devil Wings Over France" is a thrilling, fast-paced air-adventure novelette set during World War I, with some horror elements added to the mix for good measure. If you enjoy G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES and WEIRD TALES, check out "Devil Wings Over France" by bestselling author James Reasoner.


8700 words. Originally published in RETRO PULP TALES, Joe Lansdale, ed., Subterranean Press, 2006.

Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only!

Amazon.com: The Bone Polisher (Simeon Grist Mystery) eBook: Timothy Hallinan: Books: 2011 Edgar and Macavity nominee Timothy Hallinan's sixth and final novel featuring erudite Los Angeles private eye Simeon Grist takes place in the West Hollywood of 1995, where the community is shaken bu the brutal killing of an older man who was widely loved for his generosity and kindness. In a time when the police were largely indifferent to crimes against gay people, Simeon is hired to catch the murderer—and finds himself up against the most dangerous adversary of his career, a man who kills his victims one once, but twice: once physically and once in spirit. The story's climax takes place at a memorable Halloween-themed wake, but there's a big plot twist yet to come.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

CBS Detroit: A man was shot and killed Friday night after an apparent dispute over the price of condoms at a Detroit gas station.

Song of the Day

Jean Giraud (aka Moebius), R. I. P.

BBC News - France comics artist Jean Giraud - Moebius - dies at 73: Jean Giraud, one of France's leading comics artists, has died in Paris at the age of 73 after a long illness.


He drew for more than 50 years, under various names, but was most widely known as Moebius.


He was popular in the US and Japan, working with legend Stan Lee and manga artists, as well as in his homeland


He also worked on design concepts and storyboards for a number of top science fiction films, including Alien, Tron, The Abyss and The Fifth Element.

Today's Vintage Ad

This Will Work Best if Cage Does a Cameo as Himself

Theft of Nic Cage's comic will be made into nerdy heist film


Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

PaperBack


Glendon Swarthout, Where the Boys Are, Signet, 1960




4 Hilariously Unexpected Feuds Between Fringe Groups

4 Hilariously Unexpected Feuds Between Fringe Groups

Sci-Fi Songs: The Top 6 Songs of Fantasy Author Stina Leicht

Sci-Fi Songs: The Top 6 Songs of Fantasy Author Stina Leicht

And Keep Off His Lawn!

petoskeynews.com: Elderly farmer near Bois D'Arc pulls gun on 3 thieves who came back for more

Today's Western Movie Poster

Beware of Falling Ballpoints

A penny thrown from a skyscraper WOULDN'T kill you (but a ballpoint pen would)

11 Celebrity Interviews Gone Horribly Bad

11 Celebrity Interviews Gone Horribly Bad

Paul Bishop Two-Fer!

BISH'S BEAT: THROUGH MARCH: BUY HOT PURSUIT GET DEEP WATER FREE!

10 Most Creative Cheaters in College History

10 Most Creative Cheaters in College History

10 Cancelled Sci-Fi TV Shows Netflix Should Bring Back Before Terra Nova

10 Cancelled Sci-Fi TV Shows Netflix Should Bring Back Before Terra Nova 


Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

Bombardier

Friday, March 09, 2012

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Latest entry in a fine series. Pecan Springs is always fun to visit.

Amazon.com: Cat's Claw (A Pecan Springs Mystery) (9780425245279): Susan Wittig Albert: Books: Police Chief Sheila Dawson believes the death of Pecan Spring's computer guru, Larry Kirk, to be a suicide, perhaps triggered by his painful divorce. Further investigation reveals that Kirk's death wasn't self-inflicted. And the truth is reinforced by her friend China Bayles' news-Larry recently asked her for legal advice in regards to a stalker.

As a police chief in a male-dominated force, Sheila meets many challenges, especially when her theories rock the boat in high profile cases like that of George Timms. He was caught breaking into Larry's computer shop to steal his own computer back because of dangerous personal information it contained. Now that Larry is dead, she's sure it's connected to the burglary. And she's also sure she'll get plenty of resistance on her assessment...

Timms's time to turn himself in to the police comes and goes, and he's nowhere to be found. In her investigation, Sheila uncovers secrets, terrible secrets that would drive anyone to kill. So who then? It's up to Sheila to prove she's got what it takes to hunt down the predator that's loose on the streets of Pecan Springs...

James T. Ellis, R. I. P.

James T. Ellis Dead: The Trammps Singer Dies At 74: James T. "Jimmy" Ellis, who belted out the refrain "Burn, baby burn!" in a 1970s-era disco hit that's still replayed in modern sports arenas, has died. He was 74.


David Turner of Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home in Rock Hill, S.C., said the frontman for The Trammps died Thursday at a nursing home in the city. A cause of death was not immediately known.


The Trammps released "Disco Inferno" – the song with the popular refrain – in 1976. The song was featured in the iconic movie "Saturday Night Fever," its soundtrack winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. "Disco Inferno" soared up to No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 on May 27, 1978.

Fight Card Promotion: Buy One, Get One Free

FIGHT CARD: DURING MARCH: BUY ONE FIGHT CARD NOVEL GET ONE FREE!

Peter Bergman, Firesign Theatre founder, dies at 72 | 89.3 KPCC

89.3 KPCC: Peter Bergman, founder of the surreal comedy group Firesign Theatre, died Friday morning. He was 72, and had been suffering from leukemia.


Hat tip to Todd Mason.

John Carter

The reviews I'd read of this movie, some of them by SF fans, had me a little concerned. I needn't have worried. I've never been happier in a theater than I was for the couple of hours of John Carter. I'm not going to look back over the reviews to see what others didn't like or quibbled about. I'm just going to say that the Barsoom I remembered from my reading the Burroughs novels was all right there on the screen in front of me. Tars Tarkus and the Tharks, Woola, Dejah Thoris, Kantos Kan, you name it. I wouldn't have minded if the movie had been a hour longer. If I'd seen it when I was a kid, I'd have just have stayed in my seat to see it again immediately. In fact, I felt for a while as if I were a kid again, and the old Sense of Wonder was tingling through me as it hadn't in a long time. Maybe I'm the only one who was affected this way, but whatever they spent on this movie was worth it as far as I'm concerned. A winner all the way.

In Line . . .

. . . to see JOHN CARTER.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Sci-Fi-Inspired Brothel Near Area 51 Is Out of This World

Song of the Day

New Story at Fires on the Plain

“Pox” by Patti Abbott | Fires on the Plain

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Pop Star Justin Bieber Tweets Out Most Of Phone Number With Dallas Area Code, People With Similar Number Flooded With Calls

This Is Great

You have to sit through a commercial, but it's worth it.


msnbc video: From the Archives: Spring Break 1962

The 10 Best Movies Adapted from Memoirs

The 10 Best Movies Adapted from Memoirs

Today's Vintage Ad

6 Ridiculous First Drafts of Famous Movie Monsters

6 Ridiculous First Drafts of Famous Movie Monsters
Link.

PaperBack


Dan Marlowe, Doorway to Death, Avon, 1959




'90s Middle School Contraband

'90s Middle School Contraband

A Free Lansdale Chapter

Start Reading Joe R. Lansdale’s Edge of Dark Water | Mulholland Books

Sheriff Rhodes Doesn't Have the Fire Power to Do This

AZCentral.com: Deputies suspected that Llovera, who had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of being present at a cockfight, still had roosters and chickens on his property, a violation of his probation. They also suspected he was raising them to fight, a Class 5 felony.
[. . . .]
The Sheriff's Office insists in court documents that the use of a tank, a bomb robot and 40 deputies was part of its normal course of duties.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Ready for Some Real Chuck Norris Facts?

Here they are.

Unmarked

Unmarked: Ordinary Scenes With Unsettling Stories: These seem like perfectly quiet — beautiful, even — landscapes. But read the titles and you might start to second guess how beautiful they are. The images are scenes where disposed bodies were discovered. The titles are the victims' names. That's the unsettling experience Stephen Chalmers is trying to evoke because that's the experience he had.

7 Deadly Things You Won't Believe Most People Survive

7 Deadly Things You Won't Believe Most People Survive

Forgotten Books: The Mammoth Book of New World Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1960s -- Presented by Isaac Asimov

Although the cover says that Isaac Asimov "presents" the contents, there's no evidence of it inside: no to the book itself, no introductions to the stories and no afterwords. Maybe some other edition has them. The copyright page also lists the ubiquitous Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh.

If you're looking for a solid collection of famous novellas from the '60s, here it is. The Zelazny story forms part of My Name is Legion," in which a man who's kept evidence of his existence from being put into the worldwide computer network that tracks everyone. He's sort of a p.i. of the future who can adopt many guises. I'm a Zelazny fan, and I liked this one. But then I'm a fan of all the writers here, and of all the stories. The Farmer tale became part of the first Riverworld novel, and the Laumer is a BOLO story, one of the first, if not the very first. McCaffery's Weyr Search became part of the first Dragonriders book. Silverberg has a good one about a guy who dumps lethe-like drugs in the L. A. water system and about what happens when people begin to forget their pasts. I could go on, but why bother? If you haven't read these and the others before, they're all highly recommended. And they're highly recommended for re-reading, too.

The little snowman on the back cover is a sticker someone put on this used copy that I bought a good while ago, in case you were wondering.

Run of the Arrow

Thursday, March 08, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

CBS Charlotte: Florence police say a 9-year-old girl stabbed her grandmother after they argued about whether she could watch television.

Prologue Author Spotlight – Orrie Hitt

Prologue Author Spotlight – Orrie Hitt

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Texas vulture study upends forensics - Houston Chronicle: What they're finding at the research facility debunks some of what they and other experts believed about estimating time of death for a person whose remains are found outdoors and exposed to the environment.


Link via Jayme Blashke.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Detective Martin Bora is back, this time in Verona, Italy, in 1943. A literary historical mystery worth your time.

10 Short Stores Free for Your Kindle


Amazon.com: Killing Ways: Stories eBook: Steven Torres: Kindle Store

Uh-Oh

First Photo Of Johnny Depp As Tonto Released

Song of the Day

10 of the Best Worst Movies

10 of the Best Worst Movies

Today's Vintage Ad

Comic Strip of the Day

Q and A with Steve Brewer, author of PARTY DOLL

Q. PARTY DOLL is the ninth adventure for private eye Bubba Mabry. Why bring back Bubba now?

Couple of reasons: 1) My wife and I recently moved back to Bubba's stomping grounds -- Albuquerque, NM -- after nine years in Northern California, so it felt good to get back in the swing of things here via a Bubba story, and 2) I wanted to drive traffic to the other Bubba books, which are all now available as e-books.

In PARTY DOLL, Bubba is hired to search for a missing stripper who goes by the stage name Joy Forever. But his investigation uncovers the sort of public corruption which regularly make headlines in New Mexico.

Q. Why a novella?

I set out to write a short story, but the story kept growing and getting more complicated, and it eventually weighed in around 37,000 words. That's about half the length of a regular Bubba novel. Thanks to e-books, there's a market again for novellas, so I published it at a price of $1.99.

Q. You seem to have embraced self-publishing on e-books. Why is that?

My traditional publisher killed its mystery line not long after CUTTHROAT was published in late 2007. After that, it became increasingly difficult for me to find a traditional publishing outlet (though my agent continues to shop manuscripts around New York). I continued writing at my regular pace, and soon had several manuscripts ready to go, including the standalones LOST VEGAS, CALABAMA, FIREPOWER and THE BIG WINK. Meanwhile, I acquired the electronic rights on my backlist books from the original publishers. I self-published all these books (about two dozen!) as e-books over the past year, and they're doing well. The nicest thing about self-publishing, to me, is that I can write the stories I want to write without worrying about impressing some junior editor in New York.

Q. Will we ever see another movie starring Bubba?

While it was great fun (and quite profitable) to see LONELY STREET made into a Hollywood comedy, I doubt that Bubba will make it to the big screen again. However, another of my books remains under film/TV option in Hollywood. That book, BOOST, also is being considered for a Bollywood film in India. I don't know how that would work out -- the book is about car thieves in Albuquerque -- but I'd love to see it made into a movie, one way or the other.

Q. What are you working on now?

I've just started writing a standalone about bank robbers. They knock over an Albuquerque bank and make a huge haul because the bank holds the weekend desposits from an Indian casino. Once word gets out, the robbers are pursued not only by the FBI and the cops, but by other bad guys who want that cash.

Say "Cheese"

ENCORE: Coralville Man Arrested at Grocery Store for "Criminal Mischief With The Cheese"

Okay, but What About the Singer?

Does the Color Pink Exist? Scientists Aren't Sure

PaperBack


James M. Cain, The Root of His Evil, Avon, 1952




And Keep Off His Lawn!

Key West man accused of sitting on his cockatoo: A Key West man has been charged with felony animal cruelty, accused of squeezing, sitting on and flipping the bird.

Police say Douglas Kutney, 67, ripped out several feathers and attempted to sit on his pet cockatoo, shocking more than 20 onlookers near Mallory Square, where tourists gather to watch the sun set each night.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

More Than 15% Obese in Nearly All U.S. Metro Areas

Well, Duh

Heart attacks rise following daylight saving time

Hat tip to Henry Melton.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Ngaio Marsh: New Zealand's Mistress of the Macabre

Ngaio Marsh: New Zealand's Mistress of the Macabre on AbeBooks: Ngaio (pronounced NIGH-oh) Marsh was a woman ahead of her time. Born Edith Ngaio Marsh in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1895, she displayed a fervent love of the arts. She was gifted and passionate with a paintbrush, and intended for sometime to become a professional artist. She also had talent for acting, writing and the theater from early childhood. In fact, at St. Margaret's College, a school in Christchurch she attended from age 15-18, the school put on a production of The Moon Princess, a play Marsh wrote.

Marsh moved to England in her early thirties and had a brief flirtation with interior decorating, but the itch for the arts wouldn't let go. When she moved to New Zealand, her first novel followed soon after - A Man Lay Dead was published in 1934. It was the first step in a long and illustrious career that left Marsh holding her own among the finest mystery writers of all-time, often mentioned in the same breath as fellow female mystery greats such as Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell and Dorothy L. Sayers.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Report: Store owner pulled gun on customer who complained about bedbugs in furniture

Your Job Not Included

The 11 Most Life-Threatening Jobs on the Planet

Manhunt in the African Jungle

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

So It's Okay to Get on Her Lawn

84-Year-Old Fall River Woman Tries To Vote, Told She’s Dead 

Yes, I Believe "Imaginary Banjo" WBAGNFARB

Mail Online: Commuter accused of sex act on train walks free from court after telling court he was strumming an 'imaginary banjo'

PULP BOY on Kickstarter

Victor Gischler's Blogpocalypse: PULP BOY on Kickstarter

No Comment Department

wusa9.com: The State Fire Marshals' Bomb Squad examined the coconut and determined it was safe.

Free Today for Kindle

Amazon.com: Croaker: Tequila Mockingbird eBook: Paul Bishop: Kindle Store: The third Detective Fey Croaker L.A.P.D. novel.

Paul Bishop is one of Los Angeles's most respected cops. For over thirty five years, he has played hardball on the streets for one of the toughest police departments in America. As a result, he brings the kind of authenticity to his Fey Croaker novels only an insider could achieve.

When Croaker: Tequila Mockingbird opens with a blistering start, the murder of a highly decorated detective assigned to the L.A.P.D.'s clandestine Anti-Terrorist Division appears to be an open-and-shut case of domestic violence turned deadly.

However, nothing is what it seems – as Fey Croaker discovers after the chief of police removes responsibility for the investigation from the department's elite Robbery-Homicide Division and assigns it to her. But the price of truth is high – maybe even higher than Fey can pay.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Man Attacked Mom For Using His Taco Sauce

Lloyd Shepherd's top 10 weird histories | Books | guardian.co.uk

Lloyd Shepherd's top 10 weird histories

I For One Welcome Our NewArachnoid Overlords

Thousands of spiders blanket Australian farm after escaping flood

Hat tip to Art Scott

Song of the Day

Another Freebie for your Kindle

Small Crimes: The Hunted: Free!: The Hunted is free for the next 2 days on Amazon. And if you're an Amazon Prime customer you can also borrow The Dame for free.

Maybe They Should Call that Bob Guy

Zoo tries to drum up alligators’ interest in sex | The Raw Story: A Japanese zoo has turned to rhythmical banging on traditional drums in a bid to encourage some enthusiasm for sex among lust-lacking alligators.

And Speaking of Wrong on So Many Levels . . .

'Brosiery' and 'mantyhose' take off as men seek the warmth, comfort... and 'fashion statement' of patterned tights

Wrong on So Many Levels

Captain Marvel Officially Renamed "Shazam" and Given a Totally Rad Badass Makeover!

Today's Vintage Ad

20 Cases Solved By Using Facebook

20 Cases Solved By Using Facebook

Strand Magazine Critics Awards Nominees

Mystery Fanfare: Strand Magazine Critics Awards Nominees

Every Hall of Famer

Every Hall of Famer

What about He & She?

12 TV Shows We Can’t Believe Aren’t on DVD

PaperBack


Asa Drake (C. Dean Anderson), Werebeasts of Hel, Popular Library, 1986



Guest Post by Simone St. James

While writing The Haunting of Maddy Clare, I found plenty of inspiration in real-life ghost stories. It was all in the name of research – though I tried not to do my research while alone in the house at night!

Here are some fascinating tidbits I came across:

In Deane House in Calgary, Canada, there is a bloodstain in the attic that reappears no matter how many times it has been washed. The stain resides in a closet that won’t stay locked, despite the staff’s repeated attempts to lock it.

When centuries-old Leap Castle was renovated in the early 1920s, a walled-up dungeon was discovered, littered with human bones. The castle is not only reportedly haunted by a long list of spirits, but also by a demon-like creature called an elemental that is small, gray, and “smells like a corpse”.

Borley Rectory has been termed “the most haunted house in England.” Until it was destroyed by fire in 1939, the house was subject to a series of paranormal investigations and media stories – which reported ghostly sightings, knockings, writings on the walls, and objects being thrown. It has been hotly debated for decades afterward whether these phenomena were real or fake.


I didn’t use a haunted castle in The Haunting of Maddy Clare – though there is a decidedly creepy barn. But ghosts have always fascinated me. I have never encountered one myself. Is it possible to prove their existence? If so, why would one person remain to haunt after death, and not another person? What makes a ghost wish to haunt a place, and what might make a ghost leave?

Answering these questions is one of the great pleasures of writing ghost stories. I set my heroine, Sarah Piper, a girl working for a temp agency, on an unexpected path to meet a very real ghost – and to learn a lot more than she bargained for. I hope readers enjoy it!

8 Businesses Staffed by Ex-Cons

8 Businesses Staffed by Ex-Cons

Today's Western Movie Poster

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston region is now the most diverse in the U.S.

No Comment Department

12 extremely depressing facts about popular music

Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic

Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic

Link via Neatorama.

The Way We Live Now

CBC News: A man accused of holding Labrador police in a standoff for more than a day asked his friends for advice on Facebook while the confrontation was underway.

Hell and High Water

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

The 'Lipstick Killer,' dead

William Heirens, known as the 'Lipstick Killer,' dead - chicagotribune.com: Heirens, 83, who spent 65 years in custody and was one of Illinois’ longest-serving prisoners, died Monday at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Amazon.com: Party Doll (The Bubba Mabry Mysteries) eBook: Steve Brewer: Kindle Store: Bubba Mabry returns in a new novella guaranteed to thrill and amuse fans of the series featuring the Albuquerque, NM, private eye.

Bubba bumbles back into action when he's hired to find a missing stripper who goes by the stage name Joy Forever. Joy's boss says business has been off since she disappeared, owing him money. He wants Bubba to find Joy and find her fast.

But there's more here than meets the eye. A federal prosecutor is interested in Joy as well, and Bubba's wife, newspaper reporter Felicia Quattlebaum, is working on a crusade that seems to be entangled with the case.

Laced with Steve Brewer's trademark humor, "Party Doll" is chock full of action and plot twists.

Feeling Safer Now?

Woman Detained For More Than 10 Hours For Painting Nails On Southwest Flight

Get a Rope!

The Denver Post: Children who cop an attitude at school might want to think twice. A sixth-grader at Shaw Heights Middle School, was handcuffed and taken to a holding facility for disobeying the orders of an assistant principal during lunch and being "argumentative and extremely rude," 9Wants to Know has learned.

Free Today for Kindle!

Amazon.com: Easy Innocence (Georgia Davis Series) eBook: Libby Fischer Hellmann: Kindle Store: From Booklist: In this fast-paced mystery, the author of the Ellie Forman series introduces suspended cop and now PI Georgia Davis. Georgia is hired to help clear a mentally ill man, Cam Jordan, who is accused of killing a teenage girl, Sara Long, in a local forest preserve.

Question of the Day

What do you call an alligator in a vest?

Interview: Joe R. Lansdale : Under the Moons of Mars

Interview: Joe R. Lansdale : Under the Moons of Mars

INTERVIEW | Martha Wells author of The Serpent Sea

INTERVIEW | Martha Wells author of The Serpent Sea

Chupacabra Update

Chupacabras With Fangs, Wings Blamed For Sheep Deaths In Mexico

Hat tip to Seepy Benton.

Another Reason I'm Glad to Be a Retired English Teacher

Court: Students can carry guns on campus

You Can't Go Wrong with This One

'Casablanca' returning to the big screen - UPI.com: "Casablanca" is returning to 450 U.S. theaters this month to mark the screen classic's 70th anniversary, organizers of the screenings said.

25 Sexy Photos Of Oreos In Honor Of Its 100th Birthday

25 Sexy Photos Of Oreos In Honor Of Its 100th Birthday

Song of the Day

Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only!

Get it free. Bargain of the day!

Amazon.com: Becoming Quinn (A Jonathan Quinn Novel) eBook: Brett Battles: Kindle Store: From award winning author Brett Battles comes the new Jonathan Quinn thriller BECOMING QUINN.

Most careers begin with an interview and a handshake. Others require a little … something more.

Meet Jake Oliver. The day will come when he's one of the best cleaners in the business, a man skilled at making bodies disappear.

At the moment, however, he’s a twenty-two year old rookie cop, unaware his life is about to change.

In a burning barn a body is found—and the fire isn't the cause of death. The detectives working the case have a pretty good idea about what went down.

But Officer Oliver thinks it’s something else entirely, and pursues a truth others would prefer remain hidden—others who will go to extreme lengths to keep him quiet.

Every identity has an origin. This is Quinn’s.


BECOMING QUINN is a 57,000 word novella, and includes the bonus first chapter to WATCH ME DIE by Lee Goldberg.

Today's Vintage Ad

10 of the Most Powerful Female Characters in Literature

10 of the Most Powerful Female Characters in Literature

7 Children’s Books Written in Response to Other Books

7 Children’s Books Written in Response to Other Books

PaperBack



Zelda Popkin, The Journey Home, Pocket Books, 1946

I don't know when or where I picked this book up. I probably bought it because of Popkin's reputation as a crime writer, but this was her must successful book as far as sales go. My copy has obviously never been read. On the flyleaf in neat cursive is the following notation: Olivia L. Wilson, March 30, 1946, Palestine, Texas. I find little things like this interesting. Who was Ms. Wilson, and why didn't she read the book? Was it a gift? Or a purchase that got laid aside for some reason and never picked up? It's possible that she's still alive, and I wonder where she is now. Wherever she is, I'll bet she doesn't remember this book or know that some guy in Alvin, Texas, is thinking about her.


Women At Work During World War II

Women At Work During World War II: March is Women's History Month, so let's celebrate by looking at 30 full color photographs of American women who went to work in factories during World War II.

And Everybody Else, Too

Grammar Lessons All Job Seekers Should Know

The Peculiar Inspirations Behind 10 Cartoon Character Names

The Peculiar Inspirations Behind 10 Cartoon Character Names

Today's Western Movie Poster

The Verb

The Verb: It was early in 1969, and William Morris had a language to fix. On his desk, at 72 West 45th street in New York, was a stack of ballots, letters and interview notes from 104 of America's most important users-of-words. A writer for the New Yorker had written to campaign against the use of "senior citizen." The editor of Harper's magazine was lobbying for the use of "escalate" as a verb. Isaac Asimov had emphatically expressed his deep hatred of "finalize"; David Oglivy, the father of modern advertising, said of "hopefully": "If your dictionary could kill this horror, and do nothing else, it would be worth publishing."

There's more at the link. Check it out.

25 Stupid Newspaper Headlines

25 Stupid Newspaper Headlines

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Fried Red Velvet Cake and Pterodactyl Wings: Over-the-Top Eating at the Rodeo

Robert Sherman, R. I. P.

Mary Poppins songwriter Robert Sherman dies - Telegraph: Songwriter Robert Sherman, who composed classic Disney tunes including "It’s a Small World (After All)" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," died in London yesterday at the age of 86.

Robert Bernard Sherman, who was born in New York on 19 December 1925, won two Oscars, a Grammy and was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976.

Overlooked Movies -- They Might Be Giants

They might be giants. To Don Quixote they were giants, but not to Sancho. So what's real? Yes, I'm familiar with the "I refute it thus" approach to Beelzy, but perception and reality are something to think about when you watch this movie. Our reality is real to us as the reality of others is to them. Who's to say what's really real? By the way, if that's not a misleading poster there on the left, I never saw one.

George C. Scott plays a man who, because of an incomprehensible loss, develops a new way of dealing with the world. He thinks he's Sherlock Holmes, and he collects newspaper clippings that lead him to the conclusion that there is indeed a malevolent force in the world, and that force is Moriarty. Naturally everyone thinks he's nuts, but his analyst, Dr. Watson (Joanne Woodward) is gradually drawn into his world. Scott's character also goes to Randolph Scott movies exclusively because the Good Guy always beats the Bad Guys in the black hats. I can't see anything wrong with that.

I haven't seen this movie in awhile, but I really do like it. Just about everything in it worked for me (I'm in a minority here, so be warned). There's a great cast, and not a weak link in it. The ending really bowled me over. I can still run it in the theater in my head, and I do, now and then.

They Might Be Giants

Couldn't find a trailer for this one, so here's the theme and some stills.

Monday, March 05, 2012

Finding Miss Edna in search of the Chicken Ranch

Finding Miss Edna in search of the Chicken Ranch

They'll Eat Anything

Croc takes chunk of boat motor

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Five Arrested After Brawl At Texas Wedding Reception

The top 25 cult film actors

The top 25 cult film actors

Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Amazon.com: COUNTERPUNCH (Fight Card) eBook: jack tunney, mel odom, paul bishop, wayne d. dundee: Kindle Store: Danny Dugronski has been a fighter all his life.

As an orphan at St. Vincent's Asylum for Boys, he first learned the "sweet science" of boxing from Father Tim, the battling priest. Then the Marine Corps taught him far more lethal fighting tactics before shipping him off to do battle in the hell of the South Pacific.

Now, with World War II over, Danny "The Duke" has returned home and earned a respectable ranking as a regional heavyweight in the Milwaukee area. But his record, free of KO losses, is jeopardized by a mob front man who tries to push him into a series of rigged fights.

When Danny refuses, hard push comes to deadly shove, and he must call upon all his fighting skills to stand his ground. And when Danny comes out swinging, he’s determined to put the mob down for the count.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

NYTimes.com: Machine Guns Vegas — an upscale, indoor shooting range complete with skimpily dressed, gun-toting hostesses — opened last week a half mile from the Strip, with an armory of weapons and a promise to fulfill the desires of anyone wanting to fire off an Uzi or a vintage Thompson submachine gun. With its provocative mix of violent fantasy (think blowing holes through an Osama bin Laden target with an AK-47) and sexual allure, it is the latest example of how the extravagances and excesses that have defined Las Vegas are moving beyond the gaming table.

Song of the Day

Ronnie Montrose, R. I. P.

AP Coverage: Rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, who formed the band that bore his name and performed with some of rock's heavy hitters, has died.

8 Trippy Works Of Psychedelic Art

8 Trippy Works Of Psychedelic Art

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Today's Vintage Ad

Blindside -- Ed Gorman

I'm a big fan of Ed Gorman's work, no matter what the genre, so it's not surprising that I got such a big kick out of Blindside. It's a helluva book.

Dev Conrad's a political consultant, and this is his third appearance. This time an old friend asks him to help out with the campaign of his son, Jeff Ward. Dev is reluctant, but he agrees because he owes the father big-time. Ward's a liberal, running against a staunch conservative, and he's running behind. Dev is even more reluctant to help after he finds out that while Ward believes in the same causes Dev does, Ward is a consummate asshole, with a messier personal life than even Bill Clinton could dream up for himself. And when one of Ward's top people is murdered, Dev discovers that things are even worse than he'd thought.

Like most of Gorman's books, this one is compassionate, funny, suspenseful, and highly readable. It's also biting, bitter, and so cynical that there's practically acid dripping off the pages. Gorman knows politics, and he knows all the tricks that consultants use. He doesn't hold anything back here. You're going to find a lot of characters on both sides that are as amoral as they come.

If you're as old as I am, you'll remember when Charles Colson (I think it was Colson) said he'd walk over his own grandmother to get Richard Nixon re-elected. Well, the characters here would do the same, and kick her teeth in while they were walking. It's a sad commentary, but don't let that stop you from reading the book. It's terrific. Just don't give a copy to your Tea Party friends. They won't thank you for it.

Another Reason I'm Glad to Be a Retired English Teacher

How Do You Cite a Tweet in an Academic Paper?

PaperBack


J. N. Leonard, Flight into Space, Signet Key, 1954





The 10 Best Fictional Bookstores in Pop Culture

The 10 Best Fictional Bookstores in Pop Culture

The 5 Most Insane Rescue Missions That Actually Worked

The 5 Most Insane Rescue Missions That Actually Worked

I Like These Guys

Internet Archive’s Repository Collects Thousands of Books - NYTimes.com: “We want to collect one copy of every book,” said Brewster Kahle, who has spent $3 million to buy and operate this repository situated just north of San Francisco. “You can never tell what is going to paint the portrait of a culture.”

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Today's Western Movie Poster

Western Writers Answer a Question for Steve Hockensmith

More Talk, Less Hock: Wild West Bunch Special Edition

The Top 15 Health Care Websites

Turn Your Browser and Cough: The Top 15 Health Care Websites

Ten strange things people do at night

Segmented sleep: Ten strange things people do at night

Waldo The Movie

Too bad it's only a spoof.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Coming at the end of March. Very funny stuff. Check it out.

Scouts! | Ape Entertainment: What do you do when your parents sign you up as a member of the most unlucky “Shrub Scout” troop on the planet? Well, if you’re Mike Manly you do everything you can to get out! As Mike quickly discovers the only way out of the “Weasel Troop” is to earn all of the merit badges needed to graduate… wish Mike good luck cause he’s gonna need it!

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Dyer :: Richard Thomas

Song of the Day

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

Amazon.com: The Book of Ancient Bastards: 101 of the Worst Miscreants and Misdeeds from Ancient Sumer to the Enlightenment (9781440524882): Brian Thornton: Books: When it comes to bastards, you can't beat the good old days of the Egyptian pharaohs, the Roman Empire, or Europe during the Dark Ages. The bastards of old abound--and they come in every color, creed, gender, and sexual preference.
From the cross-dressing emperor Elagabalus of Rome, who was assassinated by his own grandmother, to the icon-worshipping fanatical Empress Irene of Byzantine, who gouged out her only son's eyes, you'll find the most malevolent malcontents who have truly survived the test of time.

The Book of Ancient Bastards: Because when it comes to bad, it really is ancient history!

Today's Vintage Ad

The Most Divisive Characters in Literary History

The Most Divisive Characters in Literary History

Mark Twain’s Rapturous List of His Favorite American Foods

Mark Twain’s Rapturous List of His Favorite American Foods

PaperBack


Dale Kramer, Violent Streets, Signet, 1955