Saturday, May 28, 2011
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Naples Daily News: "A 25-year-old Naples woman was arrested Friday morning after biting her roommate when the two were arguing about a dog, police reported."
Something to Look Forward To
Telegraph: "Happiness comes with a 75th birthday card
People become less lonely and more happy with their local neighbourhood as they grow older, government research has suggested."
People become less lonely and more happy with their local neighbourhood as they grow older, government research has suggested."
The best science fiction books
The best science fiction books
Readers choose and give their reasons. Interesting stuff.
Link via SF Signal.
Pyramid Update
NYTimes.com: "The Obama administration is about to ditch the food pyramid, that symbol of healthy eating for the last two decades. In its place officials are dishing up a simple, plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for the basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables."
Grandma Bandit Update
ajc.com: "Authorities were however able to make another determination about the bandit later Friday. In a tersely worded statement, DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish wrote
Greetings,
Positive identification has been made on the person involved in todays incident on North Druid Hills. After further investigation detectives have determined the person believed to be a female suspect in fact is a male.
His name is Roxanne Taylor, a 57 year old man.
No additional information is available."
Greetings,
Positive identification has been made on the person involved in todays incident on North Druid Hills. After further investigation detectives have determined the person believed to be a female suspect in fact is a male.
His name is Roxanne Taylor, a 57 year old man.
No additional information is available."
Hat tip to MP.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Gil Scott-Heron, R. I. P.
Gil Scott-Heron, Poet And Musician, Has Died : The Record : NPR: "Gil Scott-Heron died Friday afternoon in New York, his book publisher reported. He was 62. The influential poet and musician is often credited with being one of the progenitors of hip-hop, and is best known for the spoken-word piece 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.'"
Leonora Carrington, R. I. P.
Leonora Carrington obituary: Artist Leonora Carrington dies at 94 - chicagotribune.com: "Leonora Carrington painted, drew, made sculptures, and wrote fiction and plays over a career that spanned much of the 20th century. She was part of the vibrant artist community of Mexico City in the 1940s and 1950s."
Hat tip to Scott Cupp.
Jeff Conaway, R. I. P.
'Grease' actor Jeff Conaway has died - CNN.com: "Actor Jeff Conaway, who was in the TV series 'Taxi' and the movie 'Grease,' died Friday morning from pneumonia, his manager said.
Conaway, 60, suffered from pneumonia and sepsis in recent weeks and had been in a medically-induced coma in an Encino, California, hospital for two weeks, manager Phil Brock said."
Conaway, 60, suffered from pneumonia and sepsis in recent weeks and had been in a medically-induced coma in an Encino, California, hospital for two weeks, manager Phil Brock said."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
‘Grandma Bandit' Update
ajc.com: "An Atlanta woman suspected of being the 'Grandma Bandit' died Friday morning after being shot multiple times at the end of a police chase on North Druid Hill Road, DeKalb police said.
The woman, identified in an arrest warrant as Roxanne Taylor, 58, of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta, was spotted in the drive-through at a Wendy's on Piedmont Road by someone who noticed that she matched the description of the bandit who has robbed several metro area drugstores in the past two weeks."
The woman, identified in an arrest warrant as Roxanne Taylor, 58, of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta, was spotted in the drive-through at a Wendy's on Piedmont Road by someone who noticed that she matched the description of the bandit who has robbed several metro area drugstores in the past two weeks."
Arrrrrrrr......
Blackbeard's anchor recovered off NC coast - Yahoo! News: "An anchor from what's believed to be the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard's flagship has been raised from the ocean floor off the North Carolina coast.
Archaeologists believe the anchor recovered Friday is from the Queen Anne's Revenge, which sank in 1718. That was five months before Blackbeard was killed in a battle."
Archaeologists believe the anchor recovered Friday is from the Queen Anne's Revenge, which sank in 1718. That was five months before Blackbeard was killed in a battle."
this letter to Norman Court Update
Sorry, but my vainglory dicated I had to send out an e-mail buggin everyone that the new section of this letter to Norman Court is live today and along with the text features an audio recording of me reading it. Brad at Indiebook man also just has a great site all aroud, figured I could pretend this note isn't just vainglory but is also me letting people know to check him out, generally...but it's pretty much the vainglory thing.
It's at http://indiebookman.com/2011/05/this-letter-to-norman-court-by-pablo-dstair-part-13.html just so you don;t need to go hunting.
PaperBack
Shep Shepard (aka Harry Whittington[?]), Naked Lust, Macfadden, no date.
James Reasoner and I were talking about this book, which I'd never seen in this edition, and he was kind enough to send me these scans.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Northeast Tarrant | News from ...: "TinValencic, a seventh-grader at Colleyville Middle School, won the 2011 National Geographic Bee on Wednesday.
The 13-year-old beat 53 other contestants -- representing each state, plus the District of Columbia, Defense Department schools and U.S. territories -- to win the grand prize: a $25,000 scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands."
The 13-year-old beat 53 other contestants -- representing each state, plus the District of Columbia, Defense Department schools and U.S. territories -- to win the grand prize: a $25,000 scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands."
The 15 Biggest Box Office Bombs
The 15 Biggest Box Office Bombs - CNBC
#1 happens to be a personal favorite. I like the others I've seen, too.
Forgotten Books: Eternal Fire -- Calder Willingham
In 1964 I picked this off the spinner rack for some reason or other. Maybe I liked the title. Anyway, I'm sure I didn't know what a treat I was in for. It's a long and complicated tale of murder, love, sex, and treachery in the deep south. Randolph Sudderland Shepherdson III is rich, happy, and engaged to Laurie Mae Lytle, a beautiful schoolteacher. Well, Randy isn't really rich. He hasn't yet come into his full inheritance, which is due on his marriage. Unfortunately, his guardian, Judge Ball, has already spent most of the money, so he has to come up with a way to prevent the marriage.
The way he decides upon involves a man named Harry Diadem. Harry is 25 years old and has had his way with (so far) 603 women (Harry keeps good records). The judge wants him to make Laurie number 604.
Throw into this mix a religious, alcoholic, incestuous cop, a dwarf with super strength, a blackmailer, a woman named Sugar Dolly, and a great courtroom scene. The result is a hilarious send-up of Southern Gothic fiction by a masterly writer. Willingham might be better known for his Oscar nominations as a scriptwriter (The Graduate, Little Big Man), but nobody interested in good fiction should pass up his novels.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Paging Steve Martin
Researchers Grow a Brain In a Dish - Slashdot: "'Dr. Jeffrey H. Toney writes that a team of biomedical engineers at the University of Pittsburgh led by Henry Zeringue have managed to grow an active brain in a dish, complete with memories by culturing brain cells capable of forming networks, complete with biological signals."
Here's the Plot for Your Next Professional Thief Story
FOX41.com : "Police have arrested a man they say had his shoplifting technique so down pat, he actually had customers placing orders for various items via text message."
The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace
Deadline.com: "After exploring pot-dealing in suburbia in its dark comedy Weeds, Lionsgate Television is taking on another suburban taboo in a new reality series. Certain to create controversy, Bedroom Community revolves around a group of swingers - suburban couples who swap partners. Lionsgate shot a presentation for the project, which is now being shopped to cable networks."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
msnbc.com: "A Florida Keys man was arrested for attacking his roommate with a machete when he was asked to leave the mobile home they shared, authorities said Wednesday."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Yahoo! News: "Authorities in Washington state say they're arrested a teenage girl for allegedly shooting her dad with an arrow after he took her cell phone away."
It Followed Me Home. Can I Keep It?
MiamiHerald.com: "Florida wildlife officials say a 10-year-old boy dragged a nearly 6-foot alligator home from a nearby canal."
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn Report Shows Taxpayer Money Spent on Robots That Fold Laundry, Shrimp on Treadmills
Not to mention gelatin wrestling in Antarctica.
England Cracks Down on Crime
swns.com: "A schoolboy faces a lifelong criminal record after a police helicopter and riot van were scrambled to hunt him down – when he accidentally kicked a football at a greenhouse."
Paging Cordwainer Smith
TIME: In his new book Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities, Cardiff University historian Jan Bondeson mines obscure German periodicals to reveal the Nazis' failed attempt to
breed an army of educated dogs that could read, write and talk.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal and David Cranmer.
Gator Update (Faraday Waves Edition)
Wired.com: "Alligators flirt with physics. When males attract attention by quivering their spiky backs underwater, they create Faraday waves, researchers reported May 23 in Seattle at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. These sophisticated patterns are usually seen only in man-made devices.
“Faraday waves haven’t really been seen in nature before,” says John Allen, an acoustician at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who was not involved with the research."
“Faraday waves haven’t really been seen in nature before,” says John Allen, an acoustician at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who was not involved with the research."
Video at the link.
Forgotten Music -- Jimmie Rodgers
Jimmie Rodgers, the pop singer, is no relation to Jimmie Rodgers, the Singin' Brakeman. The pop Rodgers hit the top of the Billboard charts in 1957 with his recording of "Honeycomb," a neat bit of folk-pop that I found very appealing.
I liked Rodgers' voice, and I enjoyed any number of his follow-up hits in the same vein, songs like "Kisses Sweeter than Wine."
But the song that really endeared Rodgers to me is this one, which comes from an album and was never released as a single:
Rodgers had a TV show in the late '50s, and I tuned in just about every week. He continued having hits into the '60s when a curious incident occurred. It would, in fact, make a good plot for a crime novel. Nobody, not even Rodgers knows for sure what happened. He says he was pulled over for speeding, and the next thing he knew, he awakened from a savage beating. He didn't perform for a long time afterward, but he eventually began recording again, never reaching his former level of success. As far as I know, he hasn't performed in many years, but I still listen to his songs now and then.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
The Smoking Gun: "A Florida dentist is facing assault and battery charges after he allegedly tussled yesterday with an 85-year-old patient over her dentures, police report."
Paging Pvt. Will Stockdale
NBC Connecticut: "A Hartford teacher accused of forcing students to clean the classroom toilet with paper towels and a cleaner with bleach is on administrative leave."
Pyramid Update
BBC News: "Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt.
More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings."
More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings."
No Comment Department
BBC News: "Tests given to an Amazonian tribe called the Mundurucu suggest that our intuitions about geometry are innate.
Researchers examined how the Mundurucu think about lines, points and angles, comparing the results with equivalent tests on French and US schoolchildren.
The Mundurucu showed comparable understanding, and even outperformed the students on tasks that asked about forms on spherical surfaces."
Researchers examined how the Mundurucu think about lines, points and angles, comparing the results with equivalent tests on French and US schoolchildren.
The Mundurucu showed comparable understanding, and even outperformed the students on tasks that asked about forms on spherical surfaces."
Hey, the Airlines Don't Serve Meals Anymore, so a Guy Has to Do Something
The Washington Post: "Nearly 90 pounds of cooked sheep’s meat was seized from an Ethiopian traveler at Dulles International Airport last week, according to customs officials.
The passenger had 15 bags of the meat, which was cooked in a red gravy, stuffed in his six suitcases, officials said. The man was en route to Seattle."
The passenger had 15 bags of the meat, which was cooked in a red gravy, stuffed in his six suitcases, officials said. The man was en route to Seattle."
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Blogger Problems
I've heard from several people that they've been unable to post comments on the blog. I checked the Known Issues blog, and blogger's aware of the problem. They say it'll be fixed "shortly," whatever that means.
Block/Silverberg Conversation
The first of a series of videos of a recent conversation between Lawrence Block and Robert Silverberg has been posted on YouTube.
It was Only 51 Miles
CBS San Francisco: "A San Joaquin County man who drove 51 miles with his wife clinging to the hood of his minivan has pleaded guilty and agreed to be sentenced to five years in prison."
70 Dylan Covers
Bob Dylan Turns 70: Celebrate With 70 Dylan Covers: "As an artist so often replicated but never duplicated, Dylan's catalogue will certainly win the hearts of many for years to come. To celebrate more than five decades of timeless Dylan tunes, here are 70 cover tracks of some Dylan classics."
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Because I Care about My Readers . . .
. . . I'm posting the inside of the front cover of The Stone of Chastity. Now Deb won't have to worry about it anymore.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
I'm a fan of Gail Fashingbauer's blog, so I'm happy that she and her coauthor have published this book. I'll be getting a copy for myself, and I thought some of you might be interested.
Generation X has been called an alienated and lonely generation, but if there’s one thing that brings them together, it’s a shared love of the pop culture memories of their childhood. In that nostalgic spirit, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PUDDING POPS? takes a look back at the iconic events and products that shaped their unique generation. Authors Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont, college friends and adamant pop culture enthusiasts, have mined the battlefields of discarded paraphernalia to provide the ultimate trip down memory lane from the days when MTV played music videos and Quisp and Quake duked it out for cereal supremacy.
Covering everything from after school specials to Benji, Pepsi Light to “Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces,” WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PUDDING POPS? lovingly and wistfully revisits the past, offering facts and “x-tinction ratings” for those lost gems highlighted by Cooper and Bellmont.
You might have seen it featured in the June Issue of Real Simple, but if not, check out this trailer which gives you a taste of POPS(http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Couldn't They Have Just Left Them Undiscovered?
Yahoo! News: "A jumping cockroach, a glow-in-the-dark fungus, a rust-eating bacterium and a leech named 'T-rex' were among the top 10 new species discovered in the world last year, US scientists said Monday."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Now the west coast donut shops are getting in on the action.
New York Leads the Way
Panhandling Pooch Probed | NBC New York: "An animal welfare group is investigating the treatment of a panhandling dog often seen holding a pipe in its mouth for hours outside New York City's professional baseball stadiums. "
I'm glad it's not my job to probe him.
Forgotten Films: Maniac
I first saw Maniac as part of a double bill (remember those?) nearly 50 years ago. I probably went because one of the stars was Kerwin Mathews, a guy I liked because of his work in several Ray Harryhausen films I'd seen and also because he was a high school English teacher (as I was at the time) before he'd found fame as an actor. I don't know what I expected when I went to see this movie, but it was a far cry from the swashbuckling Harryhausen films.Mathews plays Paul Farrell, who's going out with a young woman whose father is in an asylum, having killed the man who tried to rape her. He used an acetylene torch in the murder. Then Farrell falls for the girl's mother, and they hatch a plan to help her husband escape. Things go wrong.
Maniac was filmed in atmospheric black and white and written by Jimmy Sangster, who throws in any number of good twists. Even though I'm telling you right now that there's a twist ending, you might not figure it out while you watch the movie. Back in 1963, it was a real stunner.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Who Says Texting Isn't Useful?
Mail Online: "A Missouri man was pulled from the rubble of the deadly tornado after he sent a text message to his best friend calling for help."
The Original Spiderman
Now I Know: Spider in the Attic
If you want to subscribe to the Now I Know newsletter, by the way, here's the handy link.
Innocents Lost
In my previous post I forgot to mention something that I should have. If you came to this movie without having seen the commercials for it, you'd probably have figured out where it was going pretty quickly. If you'd seen the commercials, you wouldn't have to. The commercials were the movie. They showed every crucial scene, including the two final ones. No wonder I don't watch much TV these days.
NY Public Library turns 100
msnbc.com: "At 100, the New York Public Library's landmark Fifth Avenue building has nurtured generations of scholars and boasts treasures like a Gutenberg Bible and an early copy of the Declaration of Independence."
The Gator Was on His Lawn
FoxNews.com: "A Florida dog owner launched a daring attack on a 6-foot alligator that had the man's canine companion between its jaws, The Palm Beach Post reports.
Gary Murphy, 72, was at his home in Palm City, about 80 miles north of Miami, on Thursday evening when he heard his West Highland terrier named 'Doogie' making noise in the backyard.
Murphy found his beloved pet in the mouth of an alligator that had entered the yard from marshland behind the property, and launched a rescue bid by jumping on the reptile's backing and hitting it on the head."
Gary Murphy, 72, was at his home in Palm City, about 80 miles north of Miami, on Thursday evening when he heard his West Highland terrier named 'Doogie' making noise in the backyard.
Murphy found his beloved pet in the mouth of an alligator that had entered the yard from marshland behind the property, and launched a rescue bid by jumping on the reptile's backing and hitting it on the head."
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Innocents Lost
Just watched the new Jesse Stone movie, Innocents Lost. Lots of brooding. Then mulling. Then more brooding. Even the dog gets some brooding in. More shots of coffee cups than I've ever seen in a movie. More brooding. This is what happens when you have 30 minutes of plot and two hours to fill. Well, not two hours. Maybe only an hour when you figure in all the commercials. I used to like these movies. This one, not so much.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: "Annette Escamilla says a miracle happened overnight Thursday in her kitchen.
Her 23-year-old son woke her about 4:15 a.m. after finding an image of Jesus in one of her homemade flour tortillas."
Her 23-year-old son woke her about 4:15 a.m. after finding an image of Jesus in one of her homemade flour tortillas."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
At Least It Wasn't a Gator
BBC News: "Police are trying to trace the owner of a life-sized tiger toy which sparked a major police alert in Hampshire over fears a real animal was on the loose."
Hat tip to Jim Cameron.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Rough Edges: Another Spur Finalist Now Available for the Kindle: "[James Reasoner's] historical novel COSSACK THREE PONIES, which was a finalist for the Spur Award the year before UNDER OUTLAW FLAGS was also a finalist, is now available on Amazon for the Kindle."
Mr. Monk on the Couch -- Lee Goldberg
Last Thursday Judy had a full day of miserable tests at M. D. Anderson (no results yet), and I had a long day of waiting rooms. I knew exactly what to take with me: the new Monk book by Lee Goldberg. Based on past experience with the novels in this series, I knew it would be funny, well written, and well researched. I knew it would have a clever plot and interesting characters. And I hoped I'd find some interesting developments in Natalie Teeger's life. I wasn't disappointed. It had all this and more. As a bonus, there's also a quite interesting change in the life of Monk's brother, Ambrose, one that added a good many laughs to the book.The plot? It appears that a serial killer is on the loose in San Francisco, and as the victims pile up, it turns out that they're all in Natalie's neighborhood. There's a mcguffin, too, giving the title a double meaning. While that's going on, Natalie's making an investigation of her own, into the life of a man who's died of natural causes in a seedy hotel. Who was he? Why was he there. Natalie wants to know.
That's enough said. If you like the other Monk books, you'll like this one. If you've never read the other Monk books, what are you waiting for? This is one of the most entertaining series around. Highly recommended.
this letter to Norman Court Update
After the serialization of this letter to Norman Court is complete, there will be an e-book made available (for free) as well as a print edition (4.25x6.75--pocketbook size, high quality paperback) available for $3.95.
Additional, the second novella in the series of five featuring this protagonist called Mister Trot from Tin Street (each novella is fully self contained, but they are also part of a larger arc, for those of you I haven't mentioned this to) will also be made available as an e-book (for free) as well as a print edition for $3.95.
For those of you who'd like to read the sections of the book published so far, here's the link to the hub site.
Hard Bargain -- Emmylou Harris
Back in 1975 when I bought an LP called Elite Hotel, I fell for Emmylou Harris's voice. I never imagined that all these years later I'd be listening to a new album by her, but here I am, and believe me, the voice is still just as wonderful to hear as ever. One of the striking things about Harris's career is how consistent she's been. She knows how to pick a song, she knows how to sing it, she knows how to put it across.Harris is known as a interpreter of other people's songs, but on this album, most of the songs are her own, which is a good thing because she's also a fine songwriter. I can't pick a favorite yet. They're all too good. I'm looking forward to many more.
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