Saturday, May 23, 2015

Me and My Good Buddy Chuck

At the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Kayo Books Purchases


The 10 Most Beautiful Churches In Texas Will Take Your Breath Away

The 10 Most Beautiful Churches In Texas Will Take Your Breath Away  

Link via Kevin's Corner.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

What could possibly go wrong?  Laboratory-Made Fungus Is Part Human 

Song of the Day

Johnny Preston ~ Charming Billy - YouTube:

11 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

11 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

Today's Vintage Ad


The Weird Week in Review

The Weird Week in Review

PaperBack



Roy Sheldon, Phantom Moon, Hamiltons Books Science Fiction Fortnightly, 1951

The Six Most Terrifying Serial Killer Families In History

The Six Most Terrifying Serial Killer Families In History

Friday, May 22, 2015

Angela and Tom Took Don Heron's Dashiell Hammett Walking Tour of San Francisco

Here's the report:  Tour: Sons and Daughters | Up and Down These Mean Streets

Soon We'll Have No Personal Freedoms Left

And, as usual, Texas leads the way.

Entertainment' sonograms at San Antonio flea market violated health and safety codes, state says

Song of the Day

Chains of Love - YouTube:

The Age of Trading Stamps

Free with Purchase: The Age of Trading Stamps

Today's Vintage Ad


A Double Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Kevin's Corner: Double Take FFB Review: "Outrage At Blanco" by Bill Crider

PaperBack



Mary Clare, White Man's Slave, Leisure Library, 1953

John D. MacDonald's Clemmie

A lengthy analysis and an interesting discover.

The Trap of Solid Gold: Clemmie

10 Films Featuring Fantastic Female-Led Casts

10 Films Featuring Fantastic Female-Led Casts 

A Forgotten Book

Into the Wastelands: Enchanted Pilgrimage by Clifford D. Simak

FFB: Earth's Last Citadel -- C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner

A while back I linked to this "Vintage Treasures" post on about Earth's Last Citadel on Black Gate.  After reading the post, I felt the need to read the book again, not having read it in a long, long time. 

The premise is goofy enough to entice anybody.  In the midst of WWII (The Big One) an American agent is rescuing a famous Scottish scientist in North Africa. They're being pursued by a couple of Nazi agents, one of them a beautiful woman, when they find themselves transferred a billion years into the future, at just about the end of time on Earth.  What's left of the human race is doomed unless the four time-travelers can save it.  

There's a lot of the old sense-of-wonder pulpiness here, including an alien villain who's made of pure energy and who's a psychic vampire, an amazing city at the end of time, an underground civilization of primitive types, and more.  There's purple prose.  There's a stalwart hero.  There's a lot of action.  If you're looking for character development and subtlety, you're in the wrong place.  It's all good, pulpy fun, though, if you're in the right mood for that kind of entertainment, and sometimes i am.  It's also very short, which is another virtue I appreciate.

Here's a description that I found interesting.  Mike is one of the Nazis, and here's how he looks at one point. "Mike's [clothing] had not been mended at all.  He stood there straddle-legged, a figure of strong bronze, his blunt features restrained to an impassivity more revealing than any scowl."  Is it just me, or does this remind anybody else of a famous pulp figure?  Probably just me, and a coincidence to boot.


Thursday, May 21, 2015

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Whitehouse PD chief made sexual advances on officer's wife   

Hat tip to Deb.

10 Places to Go Before They're Gone

10 Places to Go Before They're Gone 

Song of the Day

Blondie- Call me - YouTube:

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texas Teacher Eats Worms After Losing State-Test Bet to Students

Today's Vintage Ad


PaperBack



Edward Ronns (Edward S. Aarons), Passage to Terror, Gold Medal, 1952

“The Series P.I.—Some Pros and a Con”

“The Series P.I.—Some Pros and a Con” (by Harley Mazuk) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

Classic Gunfights

Blood on the Tracks...Wyatt Earp vs Frank Stilwell

Vintage Treasures: Clockwork’s Pirates/Ghost Breaker by Ron Goulart

Vintage Treasures: Clockwork’s Pirates/Ghost Breaker by Ron Goulart

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Police say woman assaulted elderly man with hacksaw, model airplane

I Miss the Old Days

1975 McDonalds Commercial Two All Beef Patties Special Sauce Lettuce.... - YouTube:

Will the Persecution Never End?

Leonardo DiCaprio Outbid Paris Hilton For A Chanel Bag He Was Getting For His Mom

This Is What William Shakespeare May Have Actually Looked Like

This Is What William Shakespeare May Have Actually Looked Like

5 Ways The Grimms Fairytales Changed After the First Edition

5 Ways The Grimms Fairytales Changed After the First Edition

Song of the Day

Sailcat - Motorcycle Mama - YouTube:

15 Actors Who Tried To Become Action Stars And Failed Miserably

15 Actors Who Tried To Become Action Stars And Failed Miserably

Today's Vintage Ad


How much taller buildings have gotten, charted

How much taller buildings have gotten, charted

PaperBack



Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker), The Thrill Kids, Gold Medal, 1955

TCM Is Presenting a Free Online Summer Course in Film Noir

TCM Is Presenting a Free Online Summer Course in Film Noir 

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

West Texas country music festival Crude Fest leads to drunk man stabbed in butt 

15 Celebrities Who Were Once Cheerleaders

vintage everyday: Before They Were Stars: 15 Celebrities Who Were Once Cheerleaders

Off the Grid

I'm going to be pretty much off the grid for the next week.  Thanks to the magic of blogger, the regular features with continue, although I might have screwed up some of the times when I scheduled them, and there'll be some new stuff, too.  However, I probably won't be responding to comments here or to e-mails.  Things should return to what passes for normal here sometime around the 28th.  Carry on without me as best you can.

CDC map reveals the ‘most distinctive’ cause of death in your state

CDC map reveals that the ‘most distinctive’ cause of death in your state may surprise you

Suspicions Confirmed

6 Bizarre Statistics That Prove Math Is Black Magic

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Dime Crimes #34

Dime Crimes #34  is the title of a short noir movie from Ed Hellman and writer John Michael Wagner.  A young woman who's a reader of comics and men's sweat mags (or maybe her live-in reads those) is reading a copy of Dime Crimes #34 when a man shows up at the door.  He's there because he's going to share the apartment, and as you might expect, complications ensue pretty quickly.  It's a very well done, entertaining, and suspenseful movie.  I've put some links below.  They'll let you know more about the movie, and there are a lot of stills from it, plus some nice artwork, one example of which I've put to the left.  If you get a chance to see the movie, you certainly should.  Meanwhile, "like" the Facebook page and watch the trailer to get yourself ready.

website: www.dimecrimes34.com (with publicity stills)
facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelrebelproductions

trailer: https://vimeo.com/122945899

Gator Update ('Fox & Friends' Edition)

Annoyed alligator pees all over 'Fox & Friends' set because he can 

See the New McGinnis Covers for Max Allan Collins' Quarry Novels

New Cinemax Series Prompts Gorgeous Line Of QUARRY Reprints 

See a blue sunset on Mars

See a blue sunset on Mars  

Link via mental_floss.

Song of the Day

The Turtles- Some Girls - YouTube:

The Beatles' Album Artwork Secrets: Each Sleeve's Story Revealed

The Beatles' Album Artwork Secrets: Each Sleeve's Story Revealed  

Link via mental_floss.

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Daily Mail Online: America's biggest ranch, which is larger than New York City, goes on sale for $713million in Texas 

The Waggoner Ranch is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States spanning six counties in Northern Texas 

The estate includes the 510,000-acre ranch with two main compounds, hundreds of homes and 20 cowboy camps 

Also included are hundreds of quarter-horses, thousands of cattle, 1,200 oil wells and 30,000 acres of cultivated land 

It reportedly falls within 'super asset class', akin to selling the 'Statue of Liberty' of cowboy culture, it has been said

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

10 Best Dark Books

PaperBack



Whit Harrison (Harry Whittington), Dear Deadly Past (Body and Passion), Phantom Classics (Australia)

Or Maybe You Do

20 Things You Didn't Know About Dairy Queen

Soon to Be Featured on Jerry House's "Bad Joke Wednesday"

Terrible Jokes from an 1886 Handwritten Gag Book

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Naked, Machete-Wielding Man Threatens Long Island Costco Customers

Two Reviews of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Outrage at Blanco and Texas Vigilante.

Overlooked Movies: Mr. Brooks

A repeat from 11-5-2011.  This movie seems even more obscure now than ever.  Too bad.

Here's another one of those movies that nobody seemed to like except me, but I liked it a lot.

Kevin Costner is Mr. Brooks, his town's Citizen of the Year. Little does everyone know that while his presents an outward facade of good will and friendliness, he harbors a dark side, a really dark side, represented my William Hurt as Marshall. Soon enough, the killings begin, and if you don't think Demi Moore can act, take a look at her performance as a cop in this one. Excellent work, but then Kostner and Hurt are just as good, and so is Dane Cook as a guy who would like to be Mr. Brooks. Not the good one. The other one.

Some great dialogue, some amusing moments, and an entertaining picture as a whole. It was clearly set up to be the first of a series, but like some other movies I've enjoyed, it didn't make enough money to interest anyone in a follow-up. Too bad, from my point of view.

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks Official Trailer #1 - Kevin Costner, Dane Cook Movie (2007) HD - YouTube:

Monday, May 18, 2015

Scribe Award Nominees for 2015

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is pleased to announce the Scribe Award Nominees for 2015. 

Acknowledging excellence in this very competitive field, IAMTW's Scribe Awards honor licensed works that tie in with other media such as television, movies, gaming, or comic books.  They include original works set in established universes, and adaptations of stories that have appeared in other formats and cross all genres.  Tie-in works run the gamut from westerns to mysteries to procedurals, from science fiction to fantasy to horror, from action and adventure to superheroes.  Gunsmoke, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Star Trek, Star Wars, Shadowrun, Underworld, Man from UNCLE, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these represent just a few.

The Scribe Award winners will be announced at ComicCon San Diego in July.  The exact day, time and location of the Scribes Panel including the award ceremony will be announced shortly.

IAMTW congratulates the following nominees:

BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – GENERAL
24: Deadline by James Swallow
Murder She Wrote:  Death of a Blue Blood by Don Bain
Mike Hammer: King of the Weeds by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Homeland:  Saul’s Game by Andrew Kaplan
The Killing:  Uncommon Denominator by Karen Dionne

BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – SPECULATIVE
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Grimm: Chopping Block by John Passarella
Star Trek: Disavowed by David Mack
Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox
Grimm: The Killing Time by Tim Waggoner
Pathfinder: The Redemption Engine by James Sutter
Fringe: Sins of the Father by Christa Faust

ADAPTED NOVEL – GENERAL AND SPECULATIVE
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by Alex Irvine
Noah by Mark Morris
War of the Worlds: Goliath by Adam Whitlach

YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES, ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED
Spirit Animals: Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident by Jennifer Brozak
Penguins of Madagascar by Tracey West

SHORT STORIES
Pathfinder:  Hunter's Folly by Josh Vogt
Mike Hammer:  It's in the Book by Max Collins and Mickey Spillane
Stargate:  Perceptions by Diana Botsford
Pathfinder:  Queen Sacrifice by Steven Savile
Tales of Valdemar:  Written in the Wind by Jennifer Brozek 

AUDIO 
Dark Shadows:  The Darkest Shadow by Nev Fountain
Dark Shadows:  The Devil Cat by Mark Thomas Passmore
Blake’s 7:  Fortuitis by George Mann
Doctor Who:  Iterations of I by John Dorney
Pathfinder Legends:  The Skinsaw Murders by Cavan Scott

Proof That Hay-On-Wye Is Where Book Lovers Go When They Die

Proof That Hay-On-Wye Is Where Book Lovers Go When They Die

Pop Culture’s Most Famous and Fabulous Cape-Wearers

Pop Culture’s Most Famous and Fabulous Cape-Wearers

Song of the Day

Brownsville Station-Smokin in the Boys room - YouTube:

Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - May 18th, 1965

Forgotten Hits: 50 Year Flashback - May 18th, 1965

Today's Vintage Ad




New Poem at the Five-Two

The Five-Two: Matthew Wilson: GHOUL IN THE CROWD

That Guitar in Fury Road Is Nothing Compared to This

And of course Texas leads the way. 
UT Student Invents A Trombone That Shoots Frickin' Flames

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Metro News: Traffic warden attacks pedestrian with hammer because ‘she crossed road when the light was red’  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

PaperBack



Sam Merwin, Jr., The Creeping Shadow, Gold Medal, 1952

Yes, Manimal Is Included

7 of the Worst Shows of the 1980s

Croc Update (Royals Edition)

Harry the royal CROCODILE wrestler: Amazing pictures of daredevil Harry catching a 3m maneater emerge... as rangers tell how Prince stayed 'really calm' 

I Want to Believe!

Comet 'wiped out highly advanced ancient civilisation after smashing into Earth nearly 13,000 years ago'

Classy Guy of the Day

Murder suspect gave plagiarized eulogy at wife's funeral

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road

I really enjoyed Mad Max: Fury Road.  I don't have much to add to all the reviews I've seen, so here's my little observation.  The Road Warrior was a western -- cavalry outpost holding out against the Indians.  This one is also a western.  It's Stagecoach.

Elisabeth Bing, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Elisabeth Bing, who helped lead a natural childbirth movement that revolutionized how babies were born in the United States, died on Friday at her home in Manhattan. She was 100.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Devil Be Damned: Jack Nicholson Westerns

Devil Be Damned: Jack Nicholson Westerns by Edward A. Grainger

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Nine killed in fight between bikers in Waco, Texas

First It was the Thin Mints Melee

Man Smashes Wrong Car As Life Imitates 'The Big Lebowski'

Or Maybe You Do

15 Things You Might Not Know About ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ 

Song of the Day

Life Is Like a Mountain Railway - YouTube:

John D. MacDonald on his First Novel

The Trap of Solid Gold: JDM on His First Novel

Today's Vintage Ad




9 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

9 Celebrity #TBT Photos You May Have Missed This Week

PaperBack



Rex Stout, Double for Death, Dell, 1943

Uh-Oh

Here's the Trailer for the TV Adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's CHILDHOOD'S END

10 Real-Life Detectives Who Were Better Than Fiction

10 Real-Life Detectives Who Were Better Than Fiction

The Strange Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe’s Hair

The Strange Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe’s Hair