Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Fort Worth dad deploying to country that took his son | Top Stories | Star-Telegram.com: "FORT WORTH — In a few days, Francisco Martinez will land in Iraq.

He is one of tens of thousands of men and women who, with various motivations, enlisted in the armed forces, knowing that they’d someday end up there. . . .

When Martinez steps off the airplane, he will be in the country that took his only son, a 20-year-old skateboarder and budding graphic artist whose loss is felt every single day of his father’s life."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

I think this place must have been inspired by a Republic serial.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas/Southwest: "A hidden door in a structure in Red Oak led officers to an underground marijuana operation and more than 150 flourishing plants.

Ellis County Sheriff's deputies say it appears 46-year-old Dwayne Nielsen had a sophisticated hydroponics farm. . . .

KTVT television reports officers searched a detached garage and found a bookcase that hid a secret door.

Capt. Danny Williams says deputies located a key, which released a magnet behind the door that opened to a stairwell leading to underground rooms."

Devlish New Tunes on the Jukebox

Check 'em out over on the right.

Croc Update ('Cage of Death' Edition)

Probably not my next vacation stop, but still. . . .

FOXNews.com - Theme Park's 'Cage of Death' Drops Tourists Into Crocodile Tank - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "A new Australian theme park hopes to lure tourists into their 'Cage of Death' for a close encounter with an 18-foot crocodile, the Northern Territory News reported.

Just 1.6 inches of acrylic will separate thrill seekers from the jaws of Choppa – a saltwater crocodile.

Brave tourists will climb into a clear box before being lowered into Choppa's lair.

They will then spend 15 minutes inside the 9-foot-high cage and watch Choppa, who lost both front feet while fighting other crocodiles, trying to take a bite out of them."

Flash Gordon

Roger Ebert on the Films of our Lives

Roger Ebert's Journal is always worth a read for me, but this entry really hit home. And the story about Marcello Mastroianni that follows is a real classic.

Caiman Update

The original post is here.

Search for caiman in Fremont suspended - Inside Bay Area: "FREMONT — Sgt. John Dauzat has a fishing pole and he's ready to hook into the catch of a lifetime.

But unless someone again reports seeing his target — a 3-foot-long caiman spotted this week at the Fremont Park Golf and Practice Center — he won't get a chance to reel it in.

A day after announcing that he'd likely use a fishing pole and half a chicken breast to catch the reptile, Dauzat, who heads the Tri-City Animal Control, called off all efforts Thursday amid hoards of onlookers and a reported third sighting of a caiman at a different body of water earlier in the week."

I Know I Shouldn't Post This. . .

. . . but if I don't, people will keep sending me this link. My advice: do not click on it.

Hat tip to Boing Boing.

Paging John Steed

Unbreakable Fighting Umbrella Splits Watermelons, Defends Presidents | Gadget Lab from Wired.com: "The entourage of the Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has an unusual secret weapon. Her security team defends the head of the government with umbrellas. Not ordinary umbrellas, but unbreakable fighting umbrellas."

Thanks to Doc Quatermass for the link (where you can see a video if you'd like to).

And So I Think I'll Travel On to . . . .

News from The Associated Press: "AVALON, Calif. (AP) -- It seems even 22 miles of open ocean might not be keeping gangs off Catalina Island, a mist-shrouded outpost of Los Angeles County best known for its Hollywood history and crystal-clear harbors.

Deputies on the isle say a fledgling gang called the Brown Pride Locos has gotten a foothold among the beaches, coves and tourist shops. A stabbing, burglaries and graffiti are being blamed on the gang, and deputies last month surprised teenagers practicing moves with knives on a dark bluff above Avalon's crescent-shaped bay."

Shakespeare Update

William Shakespeare folio worth �15m recovered 10 years after being stolen - Times Online: "An edition of Shakespeare’s first folio stolen 10 years ago has been recovered after a British man took it into an American library to have it valued.

The folio, printed in 1623 and valued at up to 15million pounds, was among a number of valuable books and manuscripts taken from the Durham University Library in December 1998."

Gator Update (Wrestling Edition)

Local News: Florida man wrestles alligators at fair | florida, fair, alligators : TheTelegraph: "JERSEYVILLE - One brave alligator wrestler has ventured from the Florida swamps to astound Jersey County Fair audiences with his nationally recognized reptile-handling skills.

Kachunga is an all-American 'bushman,' decked out in khaki and sporting an Indiana Jones-style hat with alligator teeth around the hatband. He is 35 years old, hails from Tampa and, when he isn't wrestling a 300-pound American alligator, goes by the name of Bert Lucas."

Oops!

Police answer call of family fight, find marital bliss instead | thestarpress.com | The Star Press: "NEW CASTLE — A report of a family fight Wednesday afternoon in New Castle didn't turn out to be what police expected.
Advertisement

A nine-year-old girl called 911 after she awoke from a nap and heard her mother screaming. She went to her mother's bedroom and thought her mother was being attacked.

Turns out, her parents were just enjoying marital relations."

The 20 Best Movie Endings

The End: the best movie endings ever, from E.T. to Casablanca - Times Online: "Is it E.T. leaving in a spaceship or Butch and Sundance going down in a hail of bullets? Here Times critics choose their Top 20 film endings. But be warned: it does contain spoilers."

From Richard Helms

The Back Alley Webzine, the online home to hardboiled and noir fiction which snagged two Derringer Awards this year, has a new issue going live tomorrow, Friday July 11!

This is great lineup, featuring Derringer Award winner Patricia Abbott, Shamus and Anthony Award nominee Jack Bludis, Spinetingler Award winner Chris F. Holm, acclaimed breakout Scottish author Tony Black, and a newcomer with a very strong voice named Greg Lee.

In addition, we will continue with our ongoing serialization of Frank Norris's nineteenth century noir novel McTEAGUE, and will feature a eulogy to Norris written by W. D. Howells.

Keep an eye peeled in September for our All-Canada Issue!

You can catch all the action at www.backalleywebzine.com , beginning tomorrow!

Richard Helms
The Back Alley Webzine
www.backalleywebzine.com

Forgotten Books: DEATH TOUR -- David J. Michael

This 1979 novel is a classic of the "alligators in the sewers" genre. Sample dialog:

"I guess there are some down there."

"Alligators? In the sewers?"

"In the old pipe sections," she said. "Not in the plant. Down under."

"Alligators?" I repeated, like a halfwit. "In the pipes?"

"I guess people flush them down the toilet," she said.

Naturally the intrepid investigative team of five college students who call themselves Five Star can't resist seeing for themselves, and who can blame them? Do they find gators? Oh, yeah. But they find other things, too, things that are much, much worse. Do all five emerge from the underground? Of course not. And that's all I'm going to tell you. If you want more, you'll just have to find your own copy of Death Tour. I have three or four copies, myself.

Kronos

Gator Update (Mythical Beast Edition)

KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |Biologist Searching For Thousand Pound Gator Nicknamed 'Goliath' In Wood County: "A wildlife biologist is searching a private lake in southern Wood county for a reported 16 foot long giant alligator. KLTV 7's Bob Hallmark has more on a community that's a little nervous over an unwelcome resident.
Cruising under the calm waters is not a mythical beast.

But then again, an alligator that has been named Goliath is nothing to shake a stick at.

'They consider it to be 12 to 16 feet long, the gentleman saying it's close to 16 has seen a lot of alligators,' said Mark McDonald, the wildlife biologist searching for Goliath."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

MyFox Dallas | Commissioner Defends Position That 'Black Hole' is Racist Term: "Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price is sticking to his comments that the term 'black hole,' which a colleague used, is racist.Price also says language such as 'angel food cake' and 'devil's food cake' are also racially insensitive."

This is an update of this post.  Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker are reportedly changing the packaging of their cake mixes even now.

Art Garfunkel 's Library

Art Garfunkel - Official Website: "Since the 1960's, Art Garfunkel has been a voracious reader. We are pleased to present a listing of every book Art has read over the last 40 years. To view a list of Art Garfunkel's favorite books, go to Favorites. This book list has been divided into several pages to allow easy downloading."

Link via Boing Boing.

Gator Update (Bay Area Edition)

Thanks to Angela Crider for the link.

Alligator-like creature spotted in a pond at Fremont golf course - San Jose Mercury News: "Talk about a water hazard.

A creature that looked like an alligator but could be a caiman has been spotted in a large pond beyond the third green of the Fremont Park Golf Center.

'It's larger than anything that should be out there,' said Ken Powell, general manager of the golf course. 'Turtles don't create wakes that big.'"

Art vs. Life

Mobster caught playing mobster in film | Metro.co.uk: "A real-life mobster in Italy has been arrested after he was spotted playing a Godfather-style killer in a Mafia movie."

Why Everyone Loves Abba

Abba - the music: why everyone loves Abba - Telegraph Abba - the music: why everyone loves Abba - Telegraph: "Twenty-six years after Abba hung up their white cowboy boots and pink hotpants and retired, their songs are more popular than ever.

Every year about three million Abba CDs are sold, and the stage musical based on their songs, Mamma Mia!, has been a smash hit worldwide. Today, the release of the movie of the musical, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosman, will no doubt give another boost to Abba-mania."

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.

Sherlock Holmes Update

Downey Jr. set for 'Sherlock Holmes' - Entertainment News, Front Page, Media - Variety: "In what will be his first job since the blockbuster 'Iron Man,' Robert Downey Jr. is set to star in 'Sherlock Holmes,' the drama that Guy Ritchie will direct for Warner Bros.

Downey committed to the pic, which begins shooting in October, after Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest version of the script, written by Anthony Peckham."

Historic Photos of Chicago Crime: the Capone Era -- John Russick

This stunning coffee-table book of B&W photographs of Chicago's Capone era has some great shots.  I think my favorite is the one of the Birger Gang, a cheerful group of bootleggers posed on and around a car and holding a wide variety of firearms, including pistols, rifles, and Tommy guns, though there are many others of equal interest.  Gangsters, both alive and dead (the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is of course represented), cops, molls (Hymie Weiss' widow looks pretty happy about things), Feds, old buildings, sporting events.  All of them are captured in fine and sometimes surprising detail.  There's just enough text by John Russick, from Chicago's History Museum, to let you know what each picture's about, but for the most part the photos speak for themselves.  This kind of book is wonderful for browsing, and it's the kind of thing you'll find yourself returning to often.

Gator Update (Hardware Shopping Edition)

Officers capture 6-foot gator at Williamsville near Lowe's: "Law enforcement officials had quite an aggressive suspect on their hands last week after a six-foot alligator was spotted in a field near Lowe's.

A motorist called the police department and reported seeing the alligator last Wednesday afternoon about 4 p.m., in a field north of Frog Level Road near the bypass or Veterans Drive."

As Dave Barry would say, Frog Level Road would be a good name for a rock band.

Frankenstein Created Woman

Crystal Skull Update (Another One)

Crystal skulls: Fact or Fiction? | HoumaToday.com | The Courier | Houma, LA: "WASHINGTON - Some mysteries are such fun you almost don't want to know the truth. That may help explain why people are fascinated with crystal skulls.

Happy to share the spotlight with the latest Indiana Jones movie, the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History is putting its crystal skull on display starting Thursday."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston man gets 35 years in killing over foot odor | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A Houston man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday after prosecutors said he fatally stabbed his roommate during an argument about foot odor."

Crystal Skull Update

Art of deception: Crystal skulls in British, US museums were fakes - Yahoo! News: "PARIS (AFP) - How about this for the next instalment of the Indy franchise: 'Indiana Jones and the Dodgy Antiques Dealer'?

Less than three months after the Quai Branly Museum in Paris discovered that a crystal skull once proclaimed as a mystical Aztec masterpiece was a fake, it is now the turn of the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution to find they were victims of skull-duggery.

Scientists from those two prestigious institutions on Wednesday said their crystal skulls were cut, honed and polished by tools of the industrial age, not by Mesoamerican craftsmen of yore."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

In ignorance, maybe. You'd have to read the article to decide.

Dallas City Hall Blog | The Dallas Morning News: "A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind - USATODAY.com: "SWEETWATER, Texas — Get ready, America, T. Boone Pickens is coming to your living room.

The legendary Texas oilman, corporate raider, shareholder-rights crusader, philanthropist and deep-pocketed moneyman for conservative politicians and causes, wants to drive the USA's political and economic agenda."

Blimp Update

'Blimp on steroids' designed to fly through remote skies: "A Calgary company is spearheading development of a new aircraft, filled with helium and powered by four rotors, which will be used to move materials in remote areas including the Canadian North.

SkyHook International announced Tuesday that it will build the Jess Heavy Lifter (JHL-40) in conjunction with aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co."

Great illustration at link.

A Fine Night for Dying -- Jack Higgins

Back in 1966, I bought an Avon paperback called Passage by Night by Hugh Marlowe. I thought maybe it was by the movie guy, but it wasn't. It was by the same guy who's written as Jack Higgins, Harry Patterson, James Graham, Martin Fallon, and maybe others. At the time I bought the book, I never would have guessed that 42 years later, I'd still be reading books by the author.

As it happens, A Fine Night for Dying was published only a few years after Passage by Night, but it only in Britain. It didn't appear in the U. S. until last year. It's one of a series of books that feature Paul Chavasse, a hardboiled British spy. Fawcett published a few of them in the '70s, but not this one for some reason.

It's good stuff, with one of Higgins' enigmatic villains, a former priest who's now working for the commies and is involved with smuggling people into England from France. Chevasse gets into the act, and there's lots of shooting, plenty of explosions, and action all the time. Higgins tells the story in his usual economical prose, and I always admire his ability to sketch a scene or a character in only a few words.

I haven't read many of Higgins' books from the last twenty years, but his earlier ones continue to entertain me. I've read some of the several times, and they never let me down.

The Cyclops

Gator Update (Eggs and Drugs Edition)

Fort Myers man accused of taking 'gator eggs in Collier : Lee : Naples Daily News: "Clemons was arrested and charged with possession of 133 American alligator eggs and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia."

Diana Rigg: the Spirith of Emma Peel Lives On

Diana Rigg: her story - Telegraph Diana Rigg: her story - Telegraph: "Dame Diana Rigg may be 70 this month but she still drives a Mercedes sports car, smokes 20 a day and swears by a bottle of Merlot before bedtime. The spirit of Emma Peel lives on, finds Nigel Farndale."

This Looks Like a Case for Sheriff Rhodes

The Associated Press: Ala. police nab Mercedes-climbing goat: "CAPSHAW, Ala. (AP) — The goat was arrested, the Mercedes-Benz was assaulted and the dog came along for the ride."

Superman

The Scariest Thing You'll Read Today

Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News - "Want some torture with your peanuts?" by Aviation Security: "A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser�. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers.

This bracelet would:

• take the place of an airline boarding pass

• contain personal information about the traveler

• be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage

• shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to as, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.” Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and that it would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if he/she got out of line?"

Happy Birthday, Pinetop Perkins!

Pinetop is 95 today.  He still sits in occasionally with the Cornell Hurd Band, for which my son does the sound work.  Or at least he was sitting in with them a couple of years ago because that's when Judy and I heard him play.  He even has a MySpace page.

Happy Birthday, Robert A. Heinlein!

From Writer's Almanac: "It's the birthday of Robert Heinlein, born in Butler, Missouri (1907). He wrote more than 50 novels and many collections of short stories. Heinlein is best known for his novel Stranger in a Strange Land, about a boy born during the first manned mission to Mars.

He called his books 'speculative fiction' rather than 'science fiction.' He was trying to write about events that could actually happen, taking into consideration the natural laws of the universe."

You Might Be a Redneck If . . . .

Mudhole photo at link.

Reunited couple's nuptials highlights 13th annual Redneck Games in Dublin: "EAST DUBLIN --

The redneck couple made it official Saturday.

Rawni and Rob, aka 'Robo,' tied the knot.

A judge from Perry handled the nuptials before offering to read the newlyweds their rights.

Rob tossed his bride's Dixie flag garter belt into a crowd of clinking beer cans. The pair had their first dance to 'Hold My Beer,' performed live by Lance Stinson Band. Then they dove into the mudhole, hand in hand."

The Fall of the House of Usher

Croc Update (Doll Edition)

TDS - News: "CLEVELAND (AP) — The Emmy-winning daughter of the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin is getting her own doll.

The 10-inch Bindi Irwin doll sports khakis, puffy pigtails and hiking boots, and comes with binoculars, a camera and other outback gear, as well as a cockatoo, wombat and python. [What? No croc?]

A talking version of the Bindi doll uses such phrases as, 'Crikey! Let's go help wildlife,' and 'You can make the world a better place.'"

Thanks to Doc Quatermass for the link.

Archaeological Update

Ancient royal burial ground found in Egypt: report - Yahoo! News: "CAIRO (AFP) - Archaeologists have uncovered ancient wooden coffins in what appears to be a royal burial ground near the necropolis of Abydos in southern Egypt, the state-run MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

The agency said that the discovery, made by a team from the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities, could be dated back to the Old Kingdom (3,000 B.C.) -- the golden age of pyramid building in ancient times."

Thomas M. Disch, R. I. P.

This was reported on the fictionmags yahoo group. No real details yet on the death of this fine SF writer other than that he took his own life. Very sad.

Send Your Name to the Moon

When I was a kid, reading the SF digests and Ace Doubles, I believed there'd be a colony on the moon by now. I thought for sure I'd get to vacation there. Well, it's not gonna happen, so I'm sending my name, instead.

Send Your Name to the Moon: "Sign up to send your name to the moon. Names will be collected and placed onboard the LRO spacecraft for its historic mission bringing NASA back to the moon. You will also receive a certificate showcasing your support of the mission.

The deadline is July 25, 2008 for the submission of names.

LRO's objectives are to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology."

Eastern Promises

I'd heard a lot of good things about this movie, but I was a little disappointed.  A midwife (Naomi Watts) gets involved with a baby she helps deliver when the mother dies.  The mother leaves behind a diary written in Russian, and Watts's uncle (who's Russian) refuses to translate it.  Watts takes it to a restaurant where the kindly owner agrees to do the job.  I knew instantly that the kindly owner was the typical cliched mob godfather.  He plays the violin (not very well) and seems to be a sweet old man, but he's really a cold-blooded killer and gangster.  His son is the typical nutty incompetent.  The movie plays out pretty much as I expected it to, but I won't tell you what else I knew instantly lest I spoil things for you.  I liked Viggo Mortensen's performance, and while Judy no doubt appreciated the frontal nudity of the bathhouse beat-down, she found the movie too violent for her tastes (she won't be reading Savage Night; see below).  While I thought the movie was okay, I wouldn't recommend that you see it immediately (which is what someone recommended to me).  



Have I used my weekly allotment of parentheses yet?

Peru Update

BBC NEWS | Americas | Ancient Peruvian tomb unearthed: "Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient tomb in northern Peru that could throw light on the pre-Columbian Moche Indian culture.

The tomb in Ucupe, 670km (416 miles) from the capital Lima, contained well-preserved human remains along with jewellery and ceramics."

Savage Night

If you read the papers or watch the news, you know there are bad people out there, people who'll kill you and not think twice about it. That's the kind of people Al Guthrie's writing about in Savage Night. It begins with a horrific scene and then builds from there, but to the people involved in all the violence (and believe me, there's a lot) it's just business as usual.

The plot has to do with revenge, one family striking back at another because, well, that's what you do. Somebody screws you around, you kill them, or somebody close to them. Guthrie tells it in a straightforward style but not in a straightforward way. There are lots of flashbacks and tricks with time, and there are plenty of twists and turns so that you'll never be quite sure what's coming next (or at least I wasn't).

And the horrible thing about all this is that it's also funny, in a dark and gruesome way, of course, but funny nevertheless. I found myself horrified and laughing at the same time. You might want to look away, but I doubt that you'll be able to. Potent stuff.

The Terror