Saturday, August 30, 2014

A Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Reviewed by Marvin Lachman: BILL CRIDER – Too Late to Die.

I Miss the Old Days

Space Shuttle Discovery First Launched 30 Years Ago

10 Incredible Facts About Ernest Hemingway

10 Incredible Facts About Ernest Hemingway

Song of the Day

Jungle Love- Steve Miller Band - YouTube:

Lost chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory published

Lost chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory published

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Houston the Top City for Rising Credit Card Debt

Today's Vintage Ad


I Want to Believe!

First-ever Yeti footprint photos could fetch almost $5000 at London auction  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

What Does Your State Buy the Most of on eBay?

What Does Your State Buy the Most of on eBay?

Will the Persecution Never End?

Paris Hilton Uses The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge To Further Awareness Of Her Existence  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

PaperBack



Damon Drake, Seduced!, Merit Books, 1960

This Isn't about Those Twinkies from 1968 that You Found in the Back of Your Cupboard

11 of the Oldest Snack Foods We're Still Eating

Forgotten Hits: The Saturday Surveys (August 30th)

Forgotten Hits: The Saturday Surveys (August 30th)

Professor to Students: Don't Email Me!

Professor to Students: Don't Email Me! 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

We Take it All Back, THIS is the Worst First Pitch of the Season 

Happy Birthday to Allen Crider!

I'll bet that truck is in our attic even now.

Friday, August 29, 2014

I Want to Believe!

Pennsylvania woman sees UFO — cops see it too

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Moorhead machete, baseball bat attack linked to eBay sale

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Mind Prison - Kindle edition by Dave Zeltserman. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: Do you think you'll be able to guess the shocking ending of MIND PRISON? 

In this mind-bending mix of science fiction and noir, a renowned scientist, Dr. Graham Winston, is developing an ingenious and, some might say, horrifying technology that will revolutionize prison. He's close to a breakthrough, except that he finds himself distracted by his beautiful mistress... and thoughts of murder.

Did Game of Thrones Author George R.R. Martin Have a Hand in Creating Chewbacca?

Did Game of Thrones Author George R.R. Martin Have a Hand in Creating Chewbacca?

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

And keep off her lawn!

85-Year-Old Woman, aka "No Soul", Pleads Guilty to Ordering Hit on Prosecutors

Song of the Day

merle haggard - are the good times really over Lyrics - YouTube:

Forgotten Hits: 50 Years Ago This Weekend (August 29 - 30 - 31)

Forgotten Hits: 50 Years Ago This Weekend (August 29 - 30 - 31)

Today's Vintage Ad


Frankenstein exhibition: how the monster changed shape

Frankenstein exhibition: how the monster changed shape

PaperBack



Andrew Shaw (Lawrence Block), $20 Lust, Nightstand, 1961

Lefty Unavailable for Comment

MiamiHerald.com: Pancho — a 12-foot, 300-pound American crocodile that has made its home in the backyard waters of the exclusive Gables by the Sea community— is on the run.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Fort Mill woman accuses boyfriend of assault with watermelon   

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Did You Know? 25 Tidbits from Vintage Cigarette Cards

Did You Know? 25 Tidbits from Vintage Cigarette Cards 

I Miss the Old Days

Paper Dresses and Psychedelic Catsuits: When Airline Fashion Was Flying High  

Link via Boing Boing.

Library Cake: Literature Has Never Been So Delicious

Library Cake: Literature Has Never Been So Delicious 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

The One and Only Jeopardy Contestant to Truly Understand the Internet

Vintage Treasures: Horrors Unknown, edited by Sam Moskowitz

Vintage Treasures: Horrors Unknown, edited by Sam Moskowitz

Vintage Treasures: Big Planet by Jack Vance

 Vintage Treasures: Big Planet by Jack Vance

Forgotten Books: My Gun, Her Body (Dinah for Danger) -- Jeff Bogar (Leslie Bernard)

This is one of the books I bought at Kayo Books when I was in San Francisco.  I bought it because I liked the title and the cover, and I should have known better than to read it.  But I couldn't resist.

Jeff Bogar is a house name used by several of the residents of the Mushroom Jungle.  In this case, it's being used by Leslie Barnard, according to this website.  

Jeff Bogar is also the name of the detective in this novel, which is set in Florida.  I don't know if Leslie Barnard was ever in Florida, and the setting is indeed a lot like Florida as imagined by someone in Britain.  There are occasional Britishisms throughout the text, so I suppose the editors at Lion Books didn't really do much editing but instead just reprinted the British edition just as it appeared when it was called Dinah for Danger.  I have to admit that I like the U.S. title better.  

The story's nothing special.  A private-eye's looking for a reporter who's disappeared while working on a big story.  Bogar gets beaten up and dragged to the swamps. Or maybe he gets dragged to the swamps and beaten up.  I forget the order.  He vows revenge.  He gets it.  Dinah finally shows up, and there's a bit of a twist, but nothing surprising.  I wish I could say the book was fun in its goofy way, but it wasn't.  Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but for now I'm pretty well convinced that it deserves to be forgotten.  Except for the title and the cover, of course.  Those are great.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Movie Novelizations: They Still Exist

Movie Novelizations: They Still Exist, and With Good Reason: Studio interference, zero royalties, a lack of acclaim. Adapting books based on movies can be thankless work, but the authors who write them deserve your respect.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Mom Clobbers Man In Iowa Following Toaster Pastry Incident 

The Perfect Coed -- Judy Alter

We all know that nobody's perfect.  Sometimes even the people who look perfect or who their parents think are perfect are the ones who wind up dead in the trunk of someone's car.  That's what happens to Missy Jackson in The Perfect Coed.  The car belongs to Susan Hogan, who teaches in the English Department at Oak Grove University.  Susan would much rather be working on her proposed book about Zane Grey than having to deal with being accused of murder, but things get worse: someone tries to kill her.  Amateur sleuthing ensues.

So does professional sleuthing, and since Susan is involved with Jake Phillips, the chief of the campus police, there's a certain amount of conflict about her trying to solve the mystery.  Another complication is the arrival of Susan's Aunt Jenny, who's confident from the first that she knows who the killer is.  There are other coeds who are in the mix, too, because something's going on, something slightly sinister that the women won't talk about to anyone.

I mentioned that I got a kick out of the academic hijinks in The Skeleton Takes a Bow, and the same is true here.  The shenanigans and maneuvers involving tenure are all too realistic (and funny if you're not involved in them), and some of the things about the students reminded me very much of my classroom days.

Susan is a prickly character, and she doesn't put up with any guff from her male colleagues, the cops, or even Jake.  Aunt Jenny is funny and a great cook.  I have a feeling all these characters will be returning for a sequel, so you'll want to pick this one up now before you get behind.  You won't regret it.

Back to School: The 70s vs. Today

Back to School: The 70s vs. Today  

Link via Boing Boing.

Song of the Day

The Crest - Sixteen Candles - YouTube:

Talmadge Gough, R. I. P.

WJRT – Flint, MI: FLINT (WJRT) - (08/27/14) - An original member of the doo-wop group the Crests has died in Mid-Michigan.  

Talmadge Gough was part of one of the first interracial singing groups of the '50's. 

The Crests' "Sixteen Candles" sold more than 1 million copies and climbed to the number two spot on the charts.

10 Forgotten Battles That Shaped History

10 Forgotten Battles That Shaped History 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Is that you, Sid?

Human Skull Donated to Goodwill Store in Texas

Today's Vintage Ad


A Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Ed Gorman's blog: HALF IN LOVE WITH ARTFUL DEATH by Bill Crider

The Ghost Hotels of the Catskills

The Ghost Hotels of the Catskills

PaperBack



Don Elliott (Robert Silvergerg), Expense Account Sinners, Nightstand, 1961

Why Do We Have Middle Names?

Why Do We Have Middle Names?

Bigfoot Update

Bigfoot turns angry in new trailer for 'EXISTS'

50 Awesome Facts (About Everything) -- And More

50 Awesome Facts (About Everything)

And more:  50 More Awesome Facts (About Everything)

Hadrian Unavailable for Comment

Roman toilet seat unearthed near Hadrian's Wall

Forgotten Music

10 Artists You Didn't Realize Were One-Hit Wonders

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Soon All Our Precious Freedoms Will Be Taken Away

Teen Charged In Rubber Penis Waving Incident

The Skeleton Takes a Bow -- Leigh Perry

This is the second adventure of Sid, the sentient skeleton (that's not the author's phrase; it's mine.  I liked its hissability).  I like Sid.  He's the most unusual amateur sleuth around.  Sid lives in the Thackery family attic, and his existence is known to only a few.  In this book, he interacts with Georgia Thackery, an adjunct English prof, her daughter, Madison, and her sister, Deborah.  

As you can imagine, Sid doesn't get out much, so he's really happy when he gets the part of Yorick in Hamlet at Madison's school.  Well, okay, not all of him. Just the skull, which Madison takes to school in a bowling bag.  Things get complicated when she forgets him one night, because while he's bagged up in the theater, he overhears a murder.

Georgia believes him, but she can't very well go to the police and tell them how she knows about the murder.  She makes an anonymous call, but there's no sign of a body, so the cops don't investigate any further.  Complications ensue.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the academic stuff about the lot of adjunct faculty and the importance of the SATs.  The book is also very funny, and Sid is a great character.  Not to slight the humans.  Georgia, Madison, and Deb are fun, too, but it's Sid who steals the show.  If you like a good cozy, this is one to look for.  

How William Gibson Coined “Cyberspace”

How William Gibson Coined “Cyberspace” 

Song of the Day

Dr Feelgood & The Interns - Doctor Feel-good - 1962 45rpm - YouTube:

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Houston Chronicle: Federal authorities say an East Texas man has admitted to deliberately driving his $1 million car into Gulf waters so that he could collect insurance on the vehicle.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

From Texas, where everything is bigger, the 99-pack of beer   

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

At Last, Some Good News

How the Internet Could Protect Your Memory

Today's Vintage Ad


The Camels of Texas, 1856

The Camels of Texas, 1856

There's a Trailsman novel about these camels.

PaperBack



Don Holliday (Hal Dresner), The Wild Night, Nightstand, 1960

“Clayton Rawson, a.k.a. The Great Merlini” (by Clayton Rawson Jr.)

“Clayton Rawson, a.k.a. The Great Merlini” (by Clayton Rawson Jr.) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

21 Assumptions You Should Never Make About Texans

21 Assumptions You Should Never Make About Texans

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Saw blade impales Houston construction worker

Exploding Toads WBAGNFARB

Exploding Toads: The Storied Remains

Beautiful Rare Bibles

Holy Bible, photographs by Francis Firth
AbeBooks: Beautiful Rare Bibles: It is the bestselling book of all time. Editions range from dollar paperbacks in nightstand drawers to rare and collectible treasures kept in fine museums. While the bible is valued first and foremost for its content and its influence on art, literature and history, many editions are prized for their ornate beauty. Illustrations, etchings, paintings, and even embroidery and photography have adorned the bible for centuries.

Amazing 1960s Predictions About Satellites, Email, and the Internet

Amazing 1960s Predictions About Satellites, Email, and the Internet

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Bullets and Fire - Kindle edition by Joe R. Lansdale. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: "Dad told me once, that if people don't care about where they live, the way they act, people they associate with, they get lost in the dark, can't find their way back cause there's no light left.  I had taken a pretty good step into the shadows tonight." It's payback time, in this short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

At Last They're Taking Action Against those Fraud Stars. And I'm Gonna be Rich.

To. Beneficiary.

This is Agent David Jackson and we are here in Nigeria as an FBI/ UNITED NATION delegate that have been delegated to investigate these fraudsters who are in the business of swindling Foreigners that came for transaction in Nigeria .

Please be informed that during our investigation,we found out that there is a total sum amount of money $12.5million that has been assigned in your name as the beneficiary and these fraudsters are busy swindling you without any hope of receiving your fund.

These are the works of the fraud stars who needed to extort money from you in the name of this transfer.We have to inform you that we have made some arrested in respect of this delayed over due fund. I have a very limited time to stay in Nigeria here so I advise you urgently respond to this message .

These criminals will be caught unaware and we don't want them to know this new development  to avoid jeopardizing our investigation,you need to conceal anything that has to do with this exercise to enable us get all the necessary information we required.

I shall be expecting  your swift response as soon as you receive this email.

(1) Your full name.
(2) Phone, fax and mobile #.
3) Home address/ Country
4) Profession, age and marital status.

Best Regard,
AGENT DAVID JACKSON
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION VISIT IN NIGERIA

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Island of Bones (Louis Kincaid Book 5) - Kindle edition by P.J. Parrish. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: Publishers Weekly Book of the Year! Shamus Award finalist!

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

All The Young Warriors (Mustafa and Adem 1) - Kindle edition by Anthony Neil Smith. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: 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 until the father of one of the boys, an ex-gang leader called Mustafa, comes looking for answers. Bleeker and Mustafa form an uneasy alliance, teaming up to help bring the boys back home. But little do they know what Somalia has in store for them.

I Shall Wear the Bottoms of my Trousers Rolled

How the growing generation gap is changing the face of fandom: “Worldcon is like a family reunion,” said longtime convention-goer and fanzine writer Curt Phillips, at a panel about the history of Worldcon. After a few days, I could only agree. It was indeed like being at a family reunion, in that it felt like you were spending your time with elderly relatives. You might want to talk to them and listen to their stories, but you’ll have to tolerate some offensive and outdated opinions along the way.

Ice bucket challenge

Ice bucket challenge - YouTube:

Croc Update (Florida First Edition)

A Florida first: Crocodile attacks couple during late-night dip

We Do Have Some Rights Left, After All. At Least in Topeka.

Why He's Naked And Unafraid In Topeka: . . .it turns out walking naked in Kansas is actually not against the law.

Eulogy for Hardboiled

FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Goodbye to Another Old Friend (Hardboiled Magazine 1985 - 2014 R.I.P.)

10 Weird Things You Need To Know About Traffic

10 Weird Things You Need To Know About Traffic

Song of the Day

The Glencoves - "Hootenanny" - YouTube:

Glamorous Women with Surprising Hobbies

Glamorous Women with Surprising Hobbies

Today's Vintage Ad


I Want to Believe!

And it's proved by math!

Mathematicians Say It's Probable That Alien Probes Have Reached Earth

PaperBack



John Dexter (Robert Silverberg, according to some sources), The Bra Peddlers, Nightstand, 1961

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Men arrested after pants-down shouting match  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Cops called after fliers fight over seat recline

United Sweets of America map

United Sweets of America map: A dessert for every state in the country.: If every state had an official dessert, what would it be? (Montana gets S’mores.)

I Want to Believe!

Teenage girl changes into crocodile like creature

Help!: The Beatles' Second Movie

Help!: The Beatles' Second Movie  

I remember seeing this one very well.  Judy and I had been married a couple of months, and we'd moved to Denton, Texas, where I was going to finish up my work on my M.A.  We saw the movie in a theater on the courthouse square.  I don't remember the name of the theater, though.

26 Hard-To-Find Movies

26 Hard-To-Find Movies That Remind Us Why VHS, DVD, And LaserDisc Still Matter

Overlooked Movies: Robin and Marian

I get all verklempt just thinking about this movie.  It's not the Robin Hood of Errol Flynn at all.  Or maybe it is.  The thing is that Robin (Sean Connery) and Marian (Audrey Hepburn) and the Merry Men are much older now.  Everyone else is, too, but they're still around, including King John (Ian Holm) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw).

The movie opens with a scene that's quite unflattering to Richard the Lionheart (Richard Harris).  When Robin and Little John (Nicol Williamson) refuse his orders to take a castle that's home to some women and children and one old man, Richard has the inhabitants killed and orders the execution of Robin and Little John.  It doesn't happen, though, and Richard himself dies.  Robin and Little John go home to England, where King John is still causing problems and where Marian has become an abbess.  Naturally there is trouble, and naturally Robin is caught up in it.  

[SPOILER ALERT]  Robin and the sheriff eventually engage in single combat.  Robin is wounded and taken to the abbey where Marian takes poison and gives him some to drink as well. [END OF SPOILER ALERT]

You probably all read the spoiler, or maybe you've seen the movie.  If so, you know why the movie wasn't a huge hit.  It has just about everything it needs -- fine performances from all concerned, action, a good story -- but the ending is not the kind of thing guaranteed to get people into the theater  It's a fine, elegiac conclusion, but it didn't send people out with a song in their hearts.  Really good movie, though. 

Robin and Marian

Robin and Marian (1976) Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, August 25, 2014

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Death Turns A Trick : A Romantic and Humorous San Francisco Cozy (Rebecca Schwartz Mystery Series Book 1) (The Rebecca Schwartz Series) - Kindle edition by Julie Smith. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Nearly Every Marvel Movie Easter Egg Explained

Nearly Every Marvel Movie Easter Egg Explained 

Action Comics #1 Sells For $3,207,852 on eBay

Action Comics #1 Sells For $3,207,852 on eBay

Men -- Who Needs 'Em?

Flavorwire: 15 Pithy Kiss-Offs From Famous Feminists

Today's Vintage Ad


The Complete List Of Star Wars Changes

Who Shot First? The Complete List Of Star Wars Changes: An exhaustive chronology of George Lucas' post-release tinkering

PaperBack



F. M. Rossiter, M. D., Bride and Groom, Banner, 1961

Rare intact mammoth skeleton is donated to Perot Museum


I think I've mentioned before that my brother and one of his daughters were part of the team engaged in excavating the remains of an intact mammoth skeleton.  The team leader was Tom Vance, who's tuckerized in the book to the left, which was inspired by and earlier excavation of a much less interesting specimen.  You can read all about the latest one and see a video (auto-start warning) at this link:

The Greatest Ray Bradbury Adaptations

The Greatest Ray Bradbury Adaptations

So It's Come to This

Most Americans Want to Criminalize Pre-Teens Playing Unsupervised  

Link via Boing Boing.

Carole King on Inspiration vs. Perspiration

Legendary Songwriter Carole King on Inspiration vs. Perspiration and How to Overcome Creative Block 

New Poem at the Five-Two

The Five-Two: Tom Brzezina: Tom Brzezina THE MORNING OF

Top 10 Prisons It Would Totally Suck To Be Sentenced To

Top 10 Prisons It Would Totally Suck To Be Sentenced To

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Richard Attenborough, R. I. P.

LA Times: Lord Richard Attenborough, the respected British actor and Academy Award-winning director of “Gandhi,” the multiple-Oscar-winning best picture of 1982, has died. He was 90.

25 Best and Worst TV Show Spin-offs

25 Best and Worst TV Show Spin-offs

Song of the Day

The Virgin Mary By The Chad Mitchell Trio - YouTube:

4 Famous People Who Accidentally Created Classic Movies

4 Famous People Who Accidentally Created Classic Movies

Today's Vintage Ad





64 People and Their Famous Last Words

64 People and Their Famous Last Words 

PaperBack



David V. Reed, The Thing that Made Love (The Metal Monster Murders), Uni Books, 1951

Besides being retitled, this book was "specially adapted for your reading pleasure."  I don't know what that means.

These Magical Worlds Are Even Better Than 'Harry Potter'

These Magical Worlds Are Even Better Than 'Harry Potter'

Cursive Update

Sharpen your pencils: Tennessee revives cursive handwriting teaching

Archaeology Update

Oldest Metal Ever Discovered In Middle East Found In A Woman’s Grave In Israel

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

MainStreet: Let the worker beware: in Texas it is now entirely legal to lie to your staff.