Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine

Nom Nom Nom

2012-02-01T15:47:00.001-06:00

64-year-old tub of lard found in Germany — still edible

Or Are You Just Glad to See Me?

2012-02-01T15:46:00.000-06:00

Man Allegedly Stuffs Tarantulas in His Pants

Another Freebie for your Kindle

2012-02-01T15:05:00.001-06:00

Amazon.com: Hot Pursuit eBook: Paul Bishop: Kindle Store: A Calico Jack Walker / Tina Tamiko L.A.P.D. novel . . .

It’s 1977 and veteran L.A.P.D. cop Calico Jack Walker and his rookie partner, Tina Tamiko, are planning to make Calico’s last shift on the job something special – but plans, as they do, come apart because Walker and Tamiko are good cops no matter what the cost . . . even if they're L.A. cops, in uniform, in their patrol car, on duty, and way out of their jurisdiction on the Las Vegas Strip.

When a major crime is going down, good cops never hesitate.

PW Reports, You Decide

2012-02-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

The Worst Book Ever is ‘Moon People’

Probably Looking for One of My Books

2012-02-01T13:47:00.000-06:00

Deer smashes through D.C. library window

Fortunately We Geezers Are Immune

2012-02-01T13:12:00.000-06:00

Study: Internet addiction a growing problem among youth

Freebie February

2012-02-01T13:10:00.000-06:00

Hawaiian Eye: Mark Troy on Crime Fiction: Freebie February

Don't Click the Link. I'm Warning You.

2012-02-01T12:01:00.000-06:00

The Vampire Woman Of Mexico

Uh-Oh

2012-02-01T12:00:00.000-06:00

Diet soda linked to stroke, heart attack - UPI.com: Drinking diet soft drinks on a daily basis might increase the risk stroke, heart attack and vascular death, U.S. researchers said.

What It Was -- George Pelecanos

2012-02-01T11:29:00.002-06:00

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear (1972) that some of us remember well. It was the time of blaxploitation, Plymouth Furies, Isaac Hayes (and Roberta Flack), Kool cigarettes, and just plain cool.

George Pelecanos knows the territory -- the music, the styles, the attitudes -- and they're all on display here as private-eye Derek Strange and his former partner, Frank Vaughn, go after a stone killer known as Red Fury (like the car). Red even has a soundtrack: "Red Fury, he's the man/Try and stop him if you can." If Red were into country music, he'd be singing, "Life fast, love hard, die young."

Readers familiar with Strange from previous books will be glad to meet his youthful self again. The novel is framed by the present-day Strange telling his tale to Nick Stafanos, and other familiar character, and it's a fast, lean story that moves like a Plymouth Fury peeling away from a stoplight. Check it out.

Cartoon of the Day

2012-02-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

Link

Commercial of the Day

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

Ardath Mayhar, R. I. P.

2012-02-01T10:07:00.004-06:00

Joe Lansdale reported the passing of Ardath Mayhar on his Twitter feed. Judy and I met Ardath more than 30 years ago at AggieCon, and I still have many of her books that I read and enjoyed. She'll be missed.

Update: There's a fine tribute here by Jayme Blaschke.

Today's Vintage Ad

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

Apocalypse Now

2012-02-01T09:53:00.000-06:00

Adam Sandler to write and star in Candyland movie

Teach 'em the Alphabet!

2012-02-01T09:44:00.000-06:00

CBS Boston: It’s going to be a while before things get back to normal for Judy Sanchez and her three-year-old daughter.

Last Thursday, a team of FBI agents swarmed her apartment building as part of a massive citywide drug and weapons gang raid.

Trouble is, Sanchez lives in apartment 2R.

The suspect they were after is in 2F.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

2012-02-01T09:36:00.000-06:00

22 Incredibly Old Living Things

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

2012-02-01T09:13:00.000-06:00

Half Moon Bay Review : News:A National Parks ranger subdued a Montara resident with a Taser Sunday afternoon, arresting the man after an argument unfolded about walking his dog without a leash at the Rancho Corral de Tierra open space.

Don Cornelius, R. I. P.

2012-02-01T09:06:00.000-06:00

latimes.com: "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius was found dead at his Sherman Oaks on home Wednesday morning.

Law enforcement sources said police arrived at Cornelius' home around 4 a.m. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

PaperBack

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

Jack Finney, The House of Numbers, Dell, 1957

New Mural Puts a Face to Famous Authors

2012-02-01T08:45:00.000-06:00

New Mural Puts a Face to Famous Authors

Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only

2012-02-01T08:15:00.001-06:00

If you have a Kindle, please grab it. You don't even have to read it. Just help me improve my numbers. I thank you, my family thanks you, and the publisher thanks you.

Amazon.com: The Prairie Chicken Kill (Truman Smith Mystery Series) eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store:Booklist says: For pure fun and sheer entertainment, it doesn't get much better than Crider's Tru Smith stories. Highly recommended.

Today's Western Movie Poster

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

You Should Definitely Check This Out

2012-02-01T07:45:00.000-06:00

Blood and Tacos

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World

2012-02-01T07:30:00.001-06:00

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World

The Worst Career Moves in Sports History

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000-06:00

The Worst Career Moves in Sports History

10 Crazy College Secret Societies

2012-02-01T07:15:00.001-06:00

10 Crazy College Secret Societies

Underground Houston

2012-02-01T07:15:00.000-06:00

Buffalo Bayou's dark secret

The Spanish Main

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

UFO Update

2012-01-31T15:30:00.000-06:00

UFO Found In Baltic Sea?: A team of shipwreck hunters that found a strange circular object on the floor of the Baltic Sea in 2011 now says they have discovered visual evidence of a second "disc-like shape" some 200 meters from the original find, CNN reports.

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

2012-01-31T14:03:00.000-06:00

Amazon.com: Call Me Cupid: Six Screwball Stories of Love eBook: Gerald So: Kindle Store: Gerald So brings you six flash fiction stories of off-the-wall romance: "Call Me Cupid", "Connect the Dots", "Every Man for Himself", "Sweet Child O' Mine", "Rocky Road", and "Once Upon a Wedding Cake". Includes work originally published in POWDER BURN FLASH and ZYGOTE IN MY COFFEE.

Deadline Extended!

2012-01-31T11:06:00.003-06:00

Click here to go to sign-up page.

Song of the Day

2012-01-31T11:00:00.000-06:00

Dust of the Damned -- Peter Brandvold

2012-01-31T10:30:00.001-06:00

This is a real rip-snorter of a weird western, set in an alternate America in which Abraham Lincoln had to resort to bringing in werewolves from Europe to win the Civil War. The werewolves were supposed to go home after the war, but you just can't trust a werewolf. They didn't go, and now the frontier is overrun with werewolves, swillers, and hobgobbies. Instead of the traditional bounty hunters, there are ghoul hunters, chief among them being Uriah Zane. When Charlie Hondo, the worst werewolf of them all, breaks out of Hellsgarde prison, assisted by a couple of other werewolves and a Mexican witch, it's up to Zane and beautiful U. S. Marshal Angel Coffin to track them down before they wreak real havoc.

This is one of those books where the action never lets up. Heads roll, supernatural creatures die by the dozens (humans do, too), and there's lots of sex. There's humor, too, and I got a kick out of noticing that an undertaker was named Hank DeRosso. If you're looking for a horror novel crossed with a spaghetti western, this is the one to try. Check it out.

Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments for Writing

2012-01-31T10:14:00.001-06:00

Henry Miller's 11 Commandments for Writing

"And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, So I had one more for dessert"

2012-01-31T10:12:00.000-06:00

Bacon Flavored Beer

Today's Vintage Ad

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

Maybe They'll Ask Me to Star in the American Version

2012-01-31T09:50:00.000-06:00

Televisual: Spun Gold TV is making its first wildlife programming with the commission of Swimming with Crocodiles for BBC Two.

The two hour-long shows will follow presenter and World Wildlife Fund ambassador Ben Fogle as he travels across the world to discover more about the behaviour of wild crocodiles and to dive with them.

Gotta Love #1!

2012-01-31T09:36:00.000-06:00

8 Most Extreme Tourist Attractions

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

2012-01-31T09:10:00.000-06:00

Vero wife upset at hubby's request to 'use the bed' with another woman - Off the Beat with Will Greenlee: Marian Searchwell's husband said his wife grew enraged after he decided to bring home a "female visitor."

PaperBack

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Roger Dee (Roger D. Aycock), Let the Sky Fall, Popular Library, 1957

Yet Another List I'm Not On

2012-01-31T08:45:00.000-06:00

16 Of The Smartest Children In History

Top 10 Suicidal Writers

2012-01-31T08:30:00.000-06:00

Top 10 Suicidal Writers

Coming Soon....more adventures of The Dead Man

2012-01-31T08:15:00.000-06:00

Coming Soon....more adventures of The Dead Man

Today's Western Movie Poster

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

Rare Color Photos from the Depression Era

2012-01-31T07:45:00.000-06:00

Rare Color Photos from the Depression Era

Part 2 at this link.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

2012-01-31T07:30:00.000-06:00

Fisticuffs at Cowboy BBQ: Deputy Jeff Stoltz said that the argument began over whether food was done cooking, with the cook Harvey Smith, 34, of Helena, saying it wasn’t done and that he would cook it until it was. As the discussion escalated, the restaurant owner, Jimmy Russell, 67, of Wolf Creek, fired Smith.

6 Painful Things Nobody Tells You About Fighting

2012-01-31T07:15:00.000-06:00

6 Painful Things Nobody Tells You About Fighting

Chris Knopf Interview

2012-01-31T06:55:00.000-06:00

You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?

Overlooked Movies -- Stealing Home

2012-01-31T06:30:00.000-06:00

You regular readers know that I'm a sucker for coming-of-age stories, and this movie is a good one. I saw it more than 20 years ago and still remember how it made me feel.

Mark Harmon is a talented baseball player who's never lived up to expectations, his own or those of others. The movie opens when he's called to come back to his home after the death of his childhood friend, played by Jodie Foster, who was the "older woman" when he was a teen. She was a free spirit who lived life her own way, and she was someone he could always talk to when he needed a sympathetic ear. The rest of the story is told mostly in flashbacks to that earlier time in Harmon's life, and it's all about friendship and love and loyalty and such. Great stuff.

The ending is a little sentimental, or maybe a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way. There's another of those great soundtracks with several songs that you'll recognize instantly if you grew up in the late '50s and early '60s. If you're a sucker for this kind of thing, as I am, and if you haven't see this movie, check it out.

Stealing Home

2012-01-31T06:00:00.001-06:00

The Dead Man Has a Theme Song

2012-01-30T19:57:00.001-06:00

Go to the Amazon page and look to the right. You'll find the link to the song there. Give it a listen.

John Rich, R. I. P.

2012-01-30T16:05:00.000-06:00

John Rich obituary: Emmy-winning director of landmark sitcoms dies at 86 - latimes.com: John Rich followed his acclaimed work on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' with 'All in the Family.' His credits over an almost 50-year career also included 'Gunsmoke,' 'The Twilight Zone' and 'MacGyver.'

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Gator Update (Blind Hunter Edition)

2012-01-30T14:28:00.000-06:00

Lind: Blind Fargo hunter bags alligator in Florida Everglades

I Don't Know about You, but I Think Gelatinous Balls WBAGNFARB

2012-01-30T13:25:00.001-06:00

Strange blue gelatinous balls fall from sky

Song of the Day

2012-01-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

That Flying Car You've Been Waiting For?

2012-01-30T10:53:00.000-06:00

Here it is.

An airplane in your garage?

Left Coast Crime Award Nominations

2012-01-30T10:24:00.000-06:00

Left Coast Crime Award Nominations

Your Tax Dollars at Work . . . or Play . . . or Something

2012-01-30T10:09:00.000-06:00

CNBC: The Pentagon doesn’t know what happened to more than $100 million in cash held at Saddam Hussein’s palace in Baghdad during the Iraq war, according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

What’s more, the Pentagon can’t find documents to explain what it spent as much as $1.7 billion on from funds held on behalf of the Iraqi government by the New York Federal Reserve, the report says.

Today's Vintage Ad

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

A Misleading Headline In Many Ways, but Still. . . .

2012-01-30T09:36:00.000-06:00

Designing Pulp Fiction

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Your Favorite Authors’ Favorite Books of All Time

2012-01-30T09:13:00.000-06:00

Your Favorite Authors’ Favorite Books of All Time

PaperBack

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Richard Glendinning, Who Evil Thinks, Gold Medal, 1952

The 10 Most Iconic Accessories of Famous Authors

2012-01-30T08:45:00.000-06:00

The 10 Most Iconic Accessories of Famous Authors

6 Myths Everyone Believes about Space (Thanks to Movies)

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000-06:00

6 Myths Everyone Believes about Space (Thanks to Movies)

6 Hit Songs Written By the Last Person You'd Expect

2012-01-30T08:15:00.000-06:00

6 Hit Songs Written By the Last Person You'd Expect

Today's Western Movie Poster

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Or Maybe You Have

2012-01-30T07:30:00.000-06:00

The Ten Best Sherlocks (That You’ve Probably Never Seen)

Ian Abercrombie, R. I. P.

2012-01-30T07:17:00.000-06:00

Ian Abercrombie Dead: 'Seinfeld' Actor Dies At 77: After nearly 50 years in the business, "Seinfeld" actor Ian Abercrombie died on Thursday at 77 years old. The TV icon who played Elaine Benes' (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) boss on Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom, passed away in Hollywood. He is survived by three brothers.

Although Abercrombie made a name for himself as Elaine's quirky boss, who cut his candy bars with a knife and fork and was more than a little particular about his socks, his most recent television run was on the Disney channel hit "Wizards of Waverly Place," playing three-thousand-year-old wizard school headmaster, Professor Crumbs.

The 6 Loneliest Places On Earth

2012-01-30T07:15:00.000-06:00

The 6 Loneliest Places On Earth

Valley of the Kings

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

Click the Link for Details

2012-01-29T18:24:00.001-06:00

Five Bestselling Authors. Ten Free Kindle Fires. 75 Free Kindle Thrillers.

Dick Tufeld, R. I. P.

2012-01-29T13:41:00.001-06:00

NYTimes.com: Dick Tufeld, who possessed one of Hollywood’s most often-heard disembodied voices, especially from the 1950s through the 1970s, announcing or narrating television shows like “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and commercials for products like Mr. Bubble bubble bath and Gallo wine, but who was best known for his electronic intonations as the robot in the loopy science-fiction series “Lost in Space,” died on Sunday at his home in the Studio City section of Los Angeles. He was 85.

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Song of the Day

2012-01-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

Today's Vintage Ad

2012-01-29T10:00:00.000-06:00

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

2012-01-29T09:36:00.000-06:00

Inmate attacks jailers with pepper spray

10 Moving Movies About the Creative Process

2012-01-29T09:13:00.000-06:00

10 Moving Movies About the Creative Process

PaperBack

2012-01-29T09:00:00.000-06:00

Jack Allan, Good Time Girl, Newsstand Library, 1961

Soon to Be a SyFy Movie!

2012-01-29T08:45:00.000-06:00

The Capitol architect wanted to reanimate George Washington's dead body: George Washington may have been America's first president, but was he nearly America's first zombie-in-chief? If William Thornton, physician and designer of the US Capitol, had had his way, Washington's body would have been subjected a scientific experiment designed to bring the deceased former president back to life.

In Case You Were Wondering, . . .

2012-01-29T08:30:00.000-06:00

What are the 15 most expensive sci-fi, fantasy and horror books?

And Keep Off His Lawn!

2012-01-29T08:15:00.000-06:00

Gordon King, 88, takes on armed robbers using his walking stick

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Today's Western Movie Poster

2012-01-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ansel Adams’ Street Photography of 1940s Los Angeles

2012-01-29T07:36:00.001-06:00

Ansel Adams’ Street Photography of 1940s Los Angeles

Opposites Attract: Odd Couples on Film

2012-01-29T07:30:00.000-06:00

Opposites Attract: Odd Couples on Film

The 6 Stupidest Things We Use to Judge People We Don't Know

2012-01-29T07:15:00.000-06:00

The 6 Stupidest Things We Use to Judge People We Don't Know

Treasure of Pancho Villa

2012-01-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

Paris Hilton Update

2012-01-28T17:44:00.000-06:00

Paris Hilton to collaborate with Snoop Dogg on new album

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

2012-01-28T11:48:00.001-06:00

Airship27: SHERLOCK HOLMES - The Baron's Revenge was written by writer Gary Lovisi and is a sequel to an actual story by Arthur Conan Doyle; "The Case of the Illustrious Client." It is a gripping suspense thriller with a madman out to destroy both the Great Detective and his loyal ally, Dr.Watson. It features a cover by Rob Davis and digital painter Shane Evans, with nine black and white interior illustrations by Rob. [. . . .] You can pick up a copy by clicking on our airship logo to the left of this column. Our Airship 27 Hangar store is selling digital PDF copies you can download on most e-readers for only $3, or you can go to (www.IndyPlanet.com) to purchase a hard copy for only $13.99 (plus shipping & handling).

Commercial of the Day

2012-01-28T11:00:00.001-06:00

Late Starters

2012-01-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

5 Famous People Who Succeeded Long After They Should've Quit

Today's Vintage Ad

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

DB Cooper Update

2012-01-28T09:50:00.000-06:00

Local Musician Says He Knew DB Cooper

R. J. Ellory Signs a Book for Joe Lansdale at Murder by the Book

2012-01-28T09:36:00.001-06:00

World Book Night

2012-01-28T09:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to World Book Night: During World Book Night, 50,000 people, named as “book givers,” will each be giving away 20 books from a select list with a goal to have 1,000,000 people across the United States alone celebrating reading en masse. There will be adult books and young adult titles given away. People can sign up athttp://www.us.worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/register-as-a-2012-giver by February 1st to apply to be a “book giver.” You can see the complete list of titles that includes books from authors like Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver and Junot Diaz, among others at: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/wbn2012-the-books.

PaperBack

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

Dan Brennan, Doomed Sinner, Newsstand Library, 1961

And Your Point Is . . . ?

2012-01-28T08:45:00.001-06:00

These 24 Books Have Actually Been Published

Get a Rope!

2012-01-28T08:30:00.000-06:00

Hastings woman reports someone stole her chips, ate her cookies and drank her Pepsi

The Most Dangerous Novels of All Time

2012-01-28T08:15:00.000-06:00

The Most Dangerous Novels of All Time

Today's Western Movie Poster

2012-01-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

15 Famous Thinkers Who Couldn't Spell

2012-01-28T07:45:00.000-06:00

15 Famous Thinkers Who Couldn't Spell