Saturday, August 09, 2014

Free for Kindle Saturday & Sunday

Adventures In Writing: Free Sat & Sun! Pulpsmith #1.  Don't pass it up!

Amazon and Hatchette

If you're interested in the ongoing Amazon/Hatchette imbroglio, you might also be interested in this little essay, written long, long ago, which I think shows a few parallels.

Allan Guthrie's NOIR ORIGINALS: PAPERBACK ORIGINALS by Bill Crider

Forgotten Hits: The Saturday Surveys (August 9th)

Forgotten Hits: The Saturday Surveys (August 9th)

Texas Tick Leads the Way

Tick spreading red-meat allergy through bites  

Hat tip to  Art Scott.

Song of the Day

The Chipmunks- Ragtime Cowboy Joe - YouTube:

The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland

The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland 

Today's Vintage Ad


Or Maybe Not

13 Scientific Terms You Might Be Using Wrong 

PaperBack



Hunter Adams (Jim Lawrence), The Man from Planet X #1: The She-Beast, Pinnacle, 1975

10 Bone-Chilling Urban Legends

10 Bone-Chilling Urban Legends

A Guy's Gotta Eat

Sun Sentinel: Man told officials he hunted gator because he was hungry

The Daily Routines Of Famous Creatives

The Daily Routines Of Famous Creatives 

Say It Ain't So

Kim Kardashian Is Publishing a Book of Selfies 

Friday, August 08, 2014

I For One Welcome the Return of Our Gelatinous Masters

Giant jellyfish spotted in the Adriatic for first time since Second World War 

Menahem (Menachem) Golan, R. I. P.

Variety: Menachem Golan, the colorful, free-spending Israeli-born producer and director whose Cannon Films yielded hundreds of productions starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris before going bust, died Friday in Israel, according to Haaretz. He was 85.

Make Your Offer Soon

Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale 

I For One Welcome Our New Gelatinous Masters

Giant new species of lethal jellyfish discovered in Australian waters

These 21 Songs Are Now 30 Years Old

These 21 Songs Are Now 30 Years Old And It Is Just Unbearable

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Bradenton woman charged with battery after chucking bowl of Ramen noodles, fork at victim   

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Kayo Purchases

I have The Desperado, but I couldn't pass up a spare copy.  Since I have Reform School Girl, I figured I needed House of Fury, too, and the price was right.

Imagination ~ 1950-54 ~ cover art by Hannes Bok, H. W. MCCauley & Malcolm Smith

The Golden Age: Imagination ~ 1950-54 ~ cover art by Hannes Bok, H. W. MCCauley & Malcolm Smith

Song of the Day

The Dave Clark Five - Glad All Over - YouTube:

Lawrence Block on The Old Days

Mystery Writer Evokes The Sights, Sound And Grime Of 1970s New York 

Link via Mystery Fanfare.

10 Essential Comedies From The Early Days Of Cinema

10 Essential Comedies From The Early Days Of Cinema

Today's Vintage Ad


The New Sheriff Rhodes Book -- August 12 -- Order Yours Now!

You can read the first chapter here: 
Half in Love with Arftul Death: New Excerpt by Bill Crider

PaperBack



James Atlee Phillips, Pagoda, Bantam, 1952



Nazca Lines Update

New geoglyphs found in Nazca desert after sandstorm

Neanderthal Update

Charred bones unearthed in cave suggest Neanderthals ate barbecued pigeon

Or Maybe You Did

15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About 'Conan the Destroyer' 

Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1952: A Retro-Review

Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1952: A Retro-Review

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz

Vintage Treasures: Starlight: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester

Vintage Treasures: Starlight: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester  

Key passage that makes me sad:  "I know. You’ve never heard of Alfred Bester. Perhaps his greatest novel — The Stars My Destination (1956) — is in print only in an expensive trade paperback edition from a small press, and his classic The Demolished Man (1952), the first novel to win a Hugo Award, is out of print altogether."

FFB: Shoot the President, Are You Mad? -- Frank McAuliffe


This post appeared in slightly different form back on May 14, 2010.  

Frank McAuliffe wrote some of my favorite crime novels, a three-book series featuring Augustus Mandrell, a professional assassin. When I picked up the first book, Of all the Bloody Cheek back in 1965, I don't know what I expected, but it sure wasn't what I got, which was one of the most original crime novels I'd read up to that time. 45 years later, it still is. (See my earlier post here.) Sort of. In 1968 and 1971 McAuliffe published two sequels. But they're not exactly sequels. All three books are made up of a series of linked novellas that play off each other and intertwine in ways that still amaze me after all these years. Taken together, they're really one big, hilarious, incredible book. You should find all three, which besides Of all the Bloody Cheek include Rather a Vicious Gentleman and For Murder I Charge More.

In 1975, McAuliffe submitted another novel to Ballantine books. The Ballantines thought it was too soon after the Kennedy assassination for a comedy crime caper about presidential assassination, and the book was turned down. It took another 35 years for it to appear in print. So it was forgotten for a long, long time.

I'm afraid it might be forgotten again, since it's been published by a small press called The Outfit Now defunct). You can still order the book from Amazon, though.

What you'll get is a book unlike any other you've ever read, unless you've read the earlier three. This one's more conventional than they are. It's not a series of linked novellas, but one caper. It's narrated by Mandrell in his usual style, which, let's say, is a unique form of stream-of-consciousness with snarky asides, comments addressed to the reader, and lots more. It's full of narrow escapes, sometimes one after another, and at times it's almost like watching a Marx Brothers movie. Maybe I'm the only one who likes stuff like this now. Others might not get it at all, but it connects with me just like it did in 1965. It's great to have this book in print. I hope it's not forgotten.

Thursday, August 07, 2014

Kayo Books -- The Kid Is in the Picture


I've Read 3 of Them

Dirty American Fiction 

Soon We'll Have No More Rights Left

Man Armed With Leaf Blower Arrested For Doing Yard Work In The Nude 

Free eBook! Dinero Del Mar by Garnett Elliott

The Education of a Pulp Writer: Free eBook! Dinero Del Mar by Garnett Elliott

Here I Am


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

The Cowboys and the Indians: A Wildean Odyssey - Kindle edition by T. Notch Thomas. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: Unrefined. Uncivilized. This is the American West poet laureate Oscar Wilde finds himself coping with when his train breaks down in the untamed, dusty Leadville, Colorado of 1882. But he is not alone, joined by firebrand champion of women’s rights Susan B. Anthony, a Hopaho Indian shaman, and a stuttering New Yorker with Tourette’s. Wilde has just the company to keep his sanity as he whiles away the days and weeks, sipping his dwindling supply of absinthe, the “green fairy”, and planning a grand performance to leave the town with a bit of culture in his wake. 

But counter forces are at work. A psychotic gunman known as the Salt Lake City Kid has stolen the Mormon holy golden plates and is leaving a trail of corpses and bullet-ridden artifacts on his way to Leadville. Even worse, Wilde has acquired an enemy not of his choosing. A crude and violent buffalo hunter has taken a dislike to him, and the corrupt law of Leadville appears to be of no help.

Short Answer: Nobody Knows for Sure

Why Do We Stretch During the Seventh Inning? 

Song of the Day

BOBBY DARIN ~ Lazy River ~.wmv - YouTube:

25 Of The Most Underrated Horror Films From The 1980s

25 Of The Most Underrated Horror Films From The 1980s 

Today's Vintage Ad


Was Dave Barry in the Vicinity?

Reward offered for man in viral video shown kicking squirrel into Grand Canyon

Why Do Stop Signs Have Eight Sides?

Why Do Stop Signs Have Eight Sides? 

He Misses the Old Days

The End of New York: How One Blog Tracks the Disappearance of a Vibrant City 

PaperBack



Rex Stout, Over My Dead Body, Pyramid, 1970

Top Ten Obscure Golden Age novels that deserve to be better known

'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?': Top Ten Obscure Golden Age novels that deserve to be better known

I've Missed Two of Them

Midwestern Novels You May Have Missed 

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Roaming alligator sparks man versus beast battle in LaPlace parking lot

Marilyn Burns, R. I. P.

CNN.com: (CNN) -- Actress Marilyn Burns, a "scream queen" in the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," died Tuesday, her manager said. She was 64.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Artists & Saints

ARTISTS AND SAINTS | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

Hey, I'm from Alvin, Texas, so How Would I Know"\?

33 Facts About The New York City Subway That You Probably Didn't Know

New Blog on Lost & Forgotten Films

Film Dirt

Song of the Day

Ray Price- Crazy Arms/ With Lyrics - YouTube:

10 Baffling Scientific Mysteries Of Everyday Things

10 Baffling Scientific Mysteries Of Everyday Things

Croc Update (Shark Edition)

Giant Crocodile Snacks On Bull Shark  

(Great photos!)

Today's Vintage Ad


I Miss the Old Days

11 Ways Kids Used to Soup-Up Their Bikes

PaperBack



Richard Foster (Kendall Foster Crossen), Bier for a Chaser, Gold Medal, 1959

10 Pieces Of Valuable Art Found In Unusual Places

10 Pieces Of Valuable Art Found In Unusual Places

Small World

This Bride Photobombed Her Groom In Childhood Photo 11 Years Before They Met

Because It Is

Why Does the Other Line Always Seem to Be Moving Faster? 

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

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

Trail Justice (The Westward Tide Book 1) - Kindle edition by Jack Tyree, Wayne D. Dundee, Mel Odom. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: In the spring of 1848, the Culbertson-Barkley company, so named for the Illinois and Missouri counties from which most of its members came, heads out for the promise of new beginnings and new lives in the Oregon Territory. 52 wagons, 233 men, women, and children who have been battered by a seemingly endless string of devastating winters and destructive spring floods. Battered maybe, but not defeated. Instead, toughened and filled with a collective iron resolve to change their fate and their future. 

But the Oregon Trail is a challenge, even for the toughest and most strong-willed. It starts out hard and gets progressively harder, every inch of the way. It is a foregone conclusion that not everyone who is there at the beginning will make it to the end. It will take men like Wagon Master Eugene Healy, trail scout Basil St. Irons, and former mountain man Elwood Blake to get as many through as possible. And it will take determined women like Ingrid Healy and Evelyn Harmony to nurture and encourage their men in order to help them find the strength and courage to endure. From within and without, they will be tested. By the elements, by the threat of Indians, by betrayal … and by secrets from the past.

James Thompson, R. I. P.

The Rap Sheet: James Thompson, the Kentucky-born crime-fictionist who over the last half-decade composed four novels starring Finnish homicide inspector Kari Vaara (including 2012’s Helsinki Blood), died unexpectedly on August 2 in his hometown of Lahti, Finland. Either 49 or 50 years old (he was born sometime in 1964), Thompson was married and had resided in Finland for about 15 years.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Man attacked with medieval weapon in Patterson Park 

Sir Mansfield Cumming? Really?

British spies used semen as invisible ink during WWI

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

World's First Commercial Launchpad Coming To Texas

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Sports Spurs Hire First-Ever Full-Time Female Assistant Coach In NBA History 

Angela & Judy & a Eucalyptus Tree at the Sonoma Town Square


Quake rattles nerves and bottles in Wine Country

Quake rattles nerves and bottles in Wine Country | www.ktvu.com: NAPA, Calif. — A 3.2 magnitude earthquake rattled through California’s Wine Country early Tuesday, jolting residents awake and sending out a loud rumble close to the quake’s epicenter near Napa.

Epicenter was 7 miles from where we are.  We didn't wake up, which is just as well.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Women attacked each other with deer head, state police say

Song of the Day

The Lovin' Spoonful - Nashville Cats - YouTube:

10 Terrifying Employees Of Murder, Inc.

10 Terrifying Employees Of Murder, Inc.

Four Questions for Lawrence Block

Four Questions for Lawrence Block 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

News - Home: Thief steals nearly $1 million worth of items from Woodlands woman's closet -- Closet is 3 stories, 3,000 square feet

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Today's Vintage Ad


Texas Doesn't Lead the Way

The 5 best and worst states for a well-lived life

PaperBack



Richard Condon, The Manchurian Candidate, Signet

Where the Dollar Sign Comes From

Where the Dollar Sign Comes From

Overlooked Movies: $


First, a little personal reminiscence.  When Judy and I moved to Brownwood, Texas, for my first teaching gig after grad school, it was quite a culture shock to go from a place like Austin, with lots of movie theaters, to a place that had only one.  This explains how we came to see The Legend of Boggy Creek, but that's another story.  Not too long after our move, a new duplex theater opened at a little shopping center, and $ was the first film show in one half of the duplex.  We were looking forward to the movie, but we didn't see it.  The theater flooded.  A problem with the air-conditioning, I believe.  

That struck me as an interesting coincidence because it was the second time I'd been to opening night when the theater flooded.  The first was many years before, when the new theater in my hometown had opened.  The a/c was the problem then, too.  

And at yet another time I was in a theater that flooded.  It was a fairly new one, though I don't believe this was opening night.  It was my freshman year in college, and the student union theater flooded because of flash flooding all over the city.  What is it with me and flooding in theaters, anyway?

Now to our regularly scheduled feature.  You can see the problem with this movie immediately, right?  Who names a movie $?  Maybe back in the early '70s when this movie came out, the studio thought that a movie starring Goldie Hawn and Warren Beatty didn't even need a title to be a hit.  They were wrong, though.

Not that Beatty and Hawn (both with wonderful '70s haircuts) aren't a delight.  They are, and so are Scott Brady and Gert Frobe (with lots of little Goldfinger in-jokes).  The plot's not bad.  It's a caper, with Beatty stealing from criminals, aided by Hawn's hooker with a heart of gold.  Naturally the crooks aren't happy, and complications ensue. The film's finale is one really long chase scene, followed by a double twist.  Or is it a triple twist?  I don't remember.  

This is one of those movies that didn't do well at the time, or at least not nearly as well as expected.  But it's fun and worth a look if you need some lighthearted entertainment, as who doesn't now and then? 


$

$ aka Dollars (1971) Original Theatrical Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, August 04, 2014

I Think It's a Chupacabra

California community stumped by mystery animal caught on videotape 

Jim Brady, R. I. P.

Jim Brady dead at age 73: Ex-press secretary survived devastating head wound in Reagan assassination attempt 

Dorothy Salisbury Davis: R.I.P.

Mystery Fanfare: Dorothy Salisbury Davis: R.I.P.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Police: Fight Over Golf Rules Sends 2 To Hospital

Wally Wood with Dan Adkins ~ art for IF ~ circa 1959-1968

The Golden Age: Wally Wood with Dan Adkins ~ art for IF ~ circa 1959-1968

Song of the Day

The Little Blue man by Betty Johnson - YouTube:

Yet Another List I'm Not On

This Interactive Map Shows The Wealthiest Person In Each State

10 Bizarre Stories of Transportation

10 Bizarre Stories of Transportation

Today's Vintage Ad


The Gator Boys Deliver Tips on Surviving an Attack

The Gator Boys Deliver Tips on Surviving an Attack 

PaperBack



Anthony Rome (Marvin H. Albert), My Kind of Game, Dell, 1962

Paris Hilton Update

Has Kim Kardashian And Paris Hilton's Long-Rumored Feud Finally Come To An End

Ridiculous Action Movie Moments

Ridiculous Action Movie Moments 

I Miss the Old Days

The 21 Most Embarrassing Pages Of The 1993 J.C. Penney Fall Catalog

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Gator Update (Knock-Knock Edition)

Florida couple shocked by huge gator at front door 

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman accused of slapping Scottsdale police horse

Martha Wells - Autographed Book Giveaway to Mark Two Occasions

Martha Wells - Autographed Book Giveaway to Mark Two Occasions

Song of the Day

Ray Stevens - The Mississippi Squirrel Revival - YouTube:

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Missouri teen faces felony charge after 'covering car in mascara' 

Come for the melee, stay for the poorly parked mascara.

10 Fascinating Stories Of Mythological Kings

10 Fascinating Stories Of Mythological Kings 

Today's Vintage Ad


First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Dispute over Chips Ahoy sends Illinois man into a frenzy 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Hewitt police firearms instructor shoots himself in hand 

PaperBack



Mickey Spillane, The Body Lovers, Signet 1973

Well, Sure, the Pythagorean Theorum Is a Legend, but the Alphabet?

How many Greek legends were really true?

New From Rough Edges Press: Last Stagecoach to Hell! - James Reasoner

Rough Edges: New From Rough Edges Press: Last Stagecoach to Hell! - James Reasoner