Saturday, October 15, 2011
So Much for the FTL Neutrino
Technology Review: Today, Ronald van Elburg at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands makes a convincing argument that he has found the error.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Good, The Bad and The Murderous (9780984604449): Chester D. Campbell: Books: Medicare fraud, drug trafficking, a hired killer, a crooked cop, it's a nightmare scenario PI Sid Chance finds himself in when he takes a tough assignment-prove a young man just out of prison for murder when he was twelve did not commit a new homicide. Everything is thrown upside down when Jaz LeMieux, the wealthy ex-cop working with him on the case, finds herself accused of a despicable crime, and the evidence is damning. When a hit man comes after Sid, all hell breaks loose.
Paris Hilton Update
Paris Hilton's career is really booming: Boy, Paris Hilton's career is really taking off. That's her on Tuesday in Katowice, Poland receiving a star on the new "Walk of Fame" at the Silesia City Centre mall.
Rise of the Man Purse
The Daily Beast: Lil Wayne recently appeared at a basketball game carrying a Louis Vuitton murse. Seen on stars from Jude Law to Jay-Z, and on the Burberry runway, the man-bag is having its moment.
Ralph Steadman: Gonzo Art & Much More
Ralph Steadman: Gonzo Art & Much More on AbeBooks: How would you describe the artwork of Ralph Steadman? Exaggerated, distorted, splattered, gritty? Of course, Steadman will always be famous for his partnership with American author Hunter S Thompson, and together they created ‘Gonzo Journalism.’
An Englishman who lives in Kent, Steadman is a political and social caricaturist. He helped give chaotic texture to the chaotic text produced by Thompson. He has illustrated more than 20 books, including children’s books, and written a few as well.
An Englishman who lives in Kent, Steadman is a political and social caricaturist. He helped give chaotic texture to the chaotic text produced by Thompson. He has illustrated more than 20 books, including children’s books, and written a few as well.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Investigators seek the public’s help in find a man who used a lasso to steal three surveillance cameras from the City of Corpus Christi/Nueces County Health Department last week.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, October 14, 2011
See, Honey? Nothing to Worry About
Local News - 101one WJRR: According to an incident report, 24-year-old Naomi Ensell told her boyfriend to put the gun away about 2 a.m. Thursday. But he told her it was safe and put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire.
Deputies say he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger again. This time, it went off.
Deputies say he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger again. This time, it went off.
Forgotten Books: Hunter and Hunted -- Fredric Brown
Some of you may recall that this volume was introduced at the Bouchercon in Austin in 2002. It comes in a nice slipcase, and it contains the first four Ed and Am Hunter mysteries by Fredric Brown: The Fabulous Clipjoint, The Dead Ringer, The Bloody Moonlight, and Compliments of a Fiend.The good news was that this was merely volume 1. Volume 2 would supposedly continue the reprints, but the bad news is that as far as I know, it never appeared. Maybe this volume didn't sell well enough. It's still available, however, and maybe if it ever sells out the printing, Volume 2 will appear. Or not.
At any rate, this is a handsome volume that I'm happy to have on my shelves. If you want some good reading at a decent price, look around for this on Amazon. You can't go wrong with Fredric Brown.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Death Gods (A Shell Scott Mystery) eBook: Richard S. Prather : Kindle Store: In “The Death Gods,” happy-go-lucky, Los Angeles Private Eye, Shell Scott, bulldozes his way thru thugs, often with light-hearted humor, and with a beauty or two along the way, in this final novel of the long-running Shell Scott Series by Richard S. Prather, published for the first time.Shell Scott is hired to locate a lost dog belonging to a local physician, Henry Hernandez, M.D. But Scott soon discovers the needs of Dr. Hernandez go far beyond his missing dog. There has been an attempt on the doctor’s life and Dr. Hernandez believes it is due to his knowing too much about a deadly virus that appears to be taking hold in the country. Dr. Hernandez sets out to not only prove to Shell Scott, but to the world, that the IFAI virus and the vaccine being developed by a well-known local medical researcher and his wealthy business partner, is a complete fraud. Shell Scott finds himself in deep and getting deeper by the hour in this battle of good against evil, life against death, and medical “quackery” against allopathic medicine. Can Scott convince a beautiful female medical author that the medical researcher she admires may not be all he claims to be? And what about Scott’s client, Dr. Henry Hernandez: is he a nut-case, a quack, as some claim? Shell Scott finds he is in the battle of his life and chances are he may not come out alive.
Uh-Oh
News from The Associated Press: P.D. James could hold back no longer.
The 91-year-old detective novelist said Wednesday she was glad to finally complete a long-desired project - a sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."
The 91-year-old detective novelist said Wednesday she was glad to finally complete a long-desired project - a sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Blurbed and recommended by yours truly.Amazon.com: How Do Private Eyes Do That? eBook: Colleen Collins: Kindle Store: How Do Private Eyes Do That? is a compilation of articles about private investigations written by Colleen Collins, a professional private investigator. Its topics are geared to readers interested in the world of PIs, including fiction writers, researchers, investigators and those simply curious about the profession.
A supplement to the book is a chapter from How to Write a Dick: A Guide to Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths, co-authored by Colleen Collins. This chapter describes numerous specializations in the field of private investigations, including legal investigations, infidelity investigations, pet detection, insurance investigations, personal injury investigations, executive protection and more.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Crooked Road: Ellery Queen Presents Stories of Grifters, Gangsters, Hit Men, and Other Career Crooks eBook: Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Doug Allyn, Clark Howard, Susan B. Kelly, Liza Cody, Therese Greenwood, Barbara Paul, Florence V. Mayberry, Gary Phillips: Kindle Store: The Crooked Road: Ellery Queen Presents Stories of Grifters, Gangsters, Hit Men, and Other Career CrooksA story in the famous Keller series by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block provides the first stop in this anthology’s journey along the road taken by professional criminals of mystery fiction. It’s a road that leads back to the gangster’s heyday of Prohibition in stories by multiple Edgar Allan Poe Award winner Doug Allyn, Canadian writer Therese Greenwood, and one of EQMM’s classic contributors, Florence Mayberry. The road also takes some forward turns in time: There’s a thriller by New York Times Editor’s Choice List author Olen Steinhauer about Internet-generated crime and a thoroughly modern grifter’s tale by Gary Phillips. Readers won’t want to miss the humorous byways of the genre either, in stories by Liza Cody, Tom Tolnay, and Helen Tucker; or the rough alleys of a port city in the action-packed cliff-hanger by Barbara Paul. Finally, there’s the dark end of the street, represented by Susan B. Kelly’s third-place winning story from MWA’s Golden Anniversary Contest and Raymond Steiber’s 2003 Edgar Allan Poe Award winner for Best Short Story. Last but certainly not the least of the noir selections is a story from Ireland’s celebrated Ken Bruen. The journey comes to an end with Edgar Allan Poe Award winner Clark Howard’s story of a crook who lives and dies on the back roads of his own hometown.
First it Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
30 girls assault another girl in Jersey City park | NJ.com: A 15-year-old Hoboken girl was assaulted in a Downtown Jersey City park Friday night by a group of roughly 30 girls who stole her cellphone, police reports said.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Woman accused of calling ex 1,001 times in 3 months - Houston Chronicle: In the span of 24 hours, she allegedly called her ex-lover 146 times.
Police said she shattered several of the windows of his west Houston home, first with a tire iron, and then with a 5-foot sword.
She is accused of egging his house on several occasions, and posting pictures of herself bragging about it on her Facebook page.
Police said she shattered several of the windows of his west Houston home, first with a tire iron, and then with a 5-foot sword.
She is accused of egging his house on several occasions, and posting pictures of herself bragging about it on her Facebook page.
T. rex Update
T. rex was bigger than thought: study: The iconic T. rex dinosaur grew bigger and faster than previously estimated, according to new methods based on actual skeletons instead of scale models, British and US scientists said Wednesday.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
KSLA News 12: A Marshall, Texas student says the administration at Marshall Junior High School used a permanent marker to fill in lines shaved into his hair. Sheldon Williams said he's had his hair styled like that for a long time and never had any problems.
Supernatural Ink FREE!
Adventures In Writing: Supernatural Ink FREE!: October 12, 2011: Internationally bestselling writers Jon F. Merz, Joseph Nassise, Steve Savile, and Mel Odom announced today the formation of Supernatural Ink, an authors’ collective designed to bring quality SF, horror, and fantasy fiction to readers in the digital marketplace.
All four are veteran writers, each of them having penned more than a dozen novels for major NY publishers over the last few years. Between them they have written for some of the most popular genre franchises on the market today, including Buffy, Primeval, Stargate, Torchwood and Rogue Angel. Their original fiction includes the Lawson Vampire series, the Templar Chronicles series, and the Ogmios Team adventures, to name just a few.
All four are veteran writers, each of them having penned more than a dozen novels for major NY publishers over the last few years. Between them they have written for some of the most popular genre franchises on the market today, including Buffy, Primeval, Stargate, Torchwood and Rogue Angel. Their original fiction includes the Lawson Vampire series, the Templar Chronicles series, and the Ogmios Team adventures, to name just a few.
Much more info at the link.
Paris Hilton is Psychic
Paris Hilton predicted her own legal troubles: 'Celebrity Nightmares Decoded' host Lauren Lawrence: Paris Hilton dreamt about her legal troubles years before they became a reality. At the party for Lauren Lawrence's Bio TV show, "Celebrity Nightmares Decoded," the Daily News' dreams columnist related that in 2001 Hilton told her about a dream she'd had in which cops pulled her over for driving without a license. Hilton fans will remember her 2007 jail stint stemmed from driving with a suspended license.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Dear Mr. Holmes: Seven Holmes on the Range Mysteries eBook: Steve Hockensmith: Kindle Store: Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer have starred in five "Holmes on the Range" novels, rustling up award nominations and fans aplenty as they cracked mysteries using the methods of their hero, Sherlock Holmes. How did these Old West drifters first discover Holmes, though? What were they doing before their novel adventures began? And how did their early, awkward stabs at "deducifying" turn out? These seven short stories provide the answers.In "Dear Mr. Holmes," Old Red first gets the itch to turn detective -- and just in time, too, because a killer's stalking him and his brother along a Kansas cattle trail. In "Gustav Amlingmeyer, Holmes of the Range," Old Red's attempt to settle down and open his own "cafay" goes haywire when one of the customers gets a side order of arsenic with his steak and potatoes. In "Wolves in Winter," Big Red and Old Red go up against deadly predators of both the two- and four-legged variety. And the adventure continues in four more stories (most of them originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine).
Oops
abc7chicago.com: Tennessee state Rep. Curry Todd, a lead sponsor of a law allowing handgun carry permit holders to bring guns into bars, has been arrested on charges of drunken driving and possession of a gun while under the influence.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Monkey Justice: Stories eBook: Patti Abbott: Kindle Store: "Patricia Abbott proves that there are many shades of noir as she expertly layers her stories with melancholy, loss and the frailness of the human psyche" – Dave Zeltserman“Patti Abbott is a master when it comes to short stories.” -- Anne Frasier
“In this collection of short contemporary noir fiction, Patti Abbott distinguishes herself as an extraordinary storyteller of the dark recesses of the human heart. Abbott’s characters hit hard, fight dirty, and seek a brand of hardscrabble justice that will leave you both wincing and wishing for more.” – Sophie Littlefield
Children of the Corn
BostonHerald.com: Getting lost in a corn maze is supposed to be fun.
But it turned into a nightmare for a Massachusetts couple who got so turned around that they had to be rescued by the police.
But it turned into a nightmare for a Massachusetts couple who got so turned around that they had to be rescued by the police.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Fox News: A Texas woman is suing Continental Airlines and three other carriers over mental trauma she says was caused by a turbulent flight, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Philly Leads the Way
13 Charged During Prostitution Raid At Downtowners Mummers Club: Authorities allege it was every second Tuesday of the month that the Mummers club became a sex club with hookers, hard liquor and hardly any discretion inside, Fox 29's Steve Keeley reported live from South Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.
Creepy Photos at the Link
TechCrunch: If you’ve ever dreamed of getting a super-realistic replica of your face for whatever reason, here’s your chance: a Japanese company called REAL-f [JP] is creating so-called 3DPFs (“3 Dimension Photo Forms”), copies of human faces “in 3D”. The startup offers two versions, a mask type replica and the so-called mannequin type, a replica of the head.
Link via Neatorama.
Wha' Hoppen?
About 20 minutes ago the electricity went off in this part of town. Don't know about the rest of the world. Our generator is on, so we have power, but we don't have Internet. There's street construction nearby, so I suspect that someone might have cut a cable. Could be an interesting day.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"I Have a Gub"
6abc.com: Police say a would-be bank robber fled empty-handed because of bad handwriting.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
NBC Los Angeles: Tired of his "lazy" son not performing his chores, a Ventura father allegedly attacked the teen with a four-foot-long sword, according to police.
Fascinating First Editions from the 1950s
Fascinating First Editions from the 1950s on AbeBooks: For many collectors, the 1950s represent a golden age of literature full of rich pickings. The decade is famous for producing books that have had a huge impact on readers and society in general.
The Chronicles of Narnia series began in 1950. The Catcher in the Rye was issued in 1951 and people are still carrying around battered copies of J.D. Salinger's novel. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man came out a year later. Ian Fleming published Casino Royale in 1953 and that spy franchise is still going strong. William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and illustrated the frail nature of civilization. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Jack Kerouac's On the Road and The Cat in the Hat were printed in 1957 – and all three have been tremendously influential in different ways. And as the decade ended, William Burroughs gave us Naked Lunch and ensured literary boundaries were being pushed further than ever before.
The Chronicles of Narnia series began in 1950. The Catcher in the Rye was issued in 1951 and people are still carrying around battered copies of J.D. Salinger's novel. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man came out a year later. Ian Fleming published Casino Royale in 1953 and that spy franchise is still going strong. William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and illustrated the frail nature of civilization. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Jack Kerouac's On the Road and The Cat in the Hat were printed in 1957 – and all three have been tremendously influential in different ways. And as the decade ended, William Burroughs gave us Naked Lunch and ensured literary boundaries were being pushed further than ever before.
Fetch Me that Ball, Caddie
Fox News: Members of a golf club in Australia have something more to worry about than just their swing, playing on what is thought to be the world's first shark-infested course.
Six man-eating bull sharks live in the lake in the center of the course at Brisbane's Carbrook Golf Club, where their fins poking through the water has become a regular sight.
Six man-eating bull sharks live in the lake in the center of the course at Brisbane's Carbrook Golf Club, where their fins poking through the water has become a regular sight.
Hat tip to Art Scott and Mel Odom.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Skeleton in a Dead Space (A Kelly O'Connell Mystery) eBook: Judy Alter: Kindle Store: Kelly O’Connell never thought real estate was a dangerous profession, until she stumbled over a skeleton in a dead space in an early-twentieth-century Craftsman house she was transforming into a coveted modern home in an older urban neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas.From that moment, she runs into teen-age gang members, a manipulative ex-husband, a needy and single pregnant friend, a cold-blooded murderer, and a policeman who wants to be more than her protector. As free-spirited as the chocolate-peanut-jalape�o candy she craves, Kelly barges through life trying to keep from angering her policeman-boyfriend, protect her two young daughters, pacify her worried mother a thousand miles away, and keep her real estate business afloat. Too often she puts herself in danger, and sometimes it’s the girls, not Mike, who come to Kelly’s rescue.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Baddest of the Bad eBook: Matthew Louis: Kindle Store: The Very Worst of the First Three Issues of the Underground Pulp Zine, Out of the Gutter
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
The Smoking Gun: In the month’s most wince-producing assault, a Kansas man was stabbed in the scrotum with a hypodermic needle, which broke off inside the 39-year-old victim’s body.
According to a Wichita Police Department report, the victim told cops that the stabbing occurred during an argument with the needle wielder. Cops believe that the attacker is a female acquaintance--or girlfriend--of the man with the punctured scrotum.
According to a Wichita Police Department report, the victim told cops that the stabbing occurred during an argument with the needle wielder. Cops believe that the attacker is a female acquaintance--or girlfriend--of the man with the punctured scrotum.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Woman wanted for plowing over jogger with her vehicle | abc13.com: On May 7, a 32-year-old male victim was out on a jog when Kimberly Nicole Lee called him on his mobile and asked for money. Lee then drove to the victim's location. When he gave her the cash he had on him, she became upset because it was not enough.
As the victim jogged away, Lee reportedly drove up beside him and struck him, causing him to roll on top of the vehicle's hood. Lee then slammed on the brakes, causing him to fall off. While on the ground, Lee intentionally ran over his legs and foot. Lee fled the scene prior to police arrival.
As the victim jogged away, Lee reportedly drove up beside him and struck him, causing him to roll on top of the vehicle's hood. Lee then slammed on the brakes, causing him to fall off. While on the ground, Lee intentionally ran over his legs and foot. Lee fled the scene prior to police arrival.
There Will Always Be an England
Eating Puppy Meat Is the Same as Eating Pork, British TV Chef Says: British TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall claimed that eating puppy meat is no more morally objectionable than consuming pork.
The celebrity chef previously shocked viewers by eating placenta pate, curried fruit bat, giraffe and calf testicles and now claims that he would not be against a "high-welfare organic puppy farm."
The celebrity chef previously shocked viewers by eating placenta pate, curried fruit bat, giraffe and calf testicles and now claims that he would not be against a "high-welfare organic puppy farm."
Happy Birthday, Elmore Leonard!
It's the birthday of novelist Elmore Leonard (books by this author), born in New Orleans in 1925. He learned to write by reading, especially Hemingway and Steinbeck. He still keeps a portrait of Hemingway in his office. He said: "I feel that I learned to write Westerns by reading and rereading For Whom the Bell Tolls. [...] But I was not influenced by his attitude, thank God. My attitude is much less serious. I see absurdities in serious situations, influenced in this regard by Vonnegut, Richard Bissell, and Mark Harris, and this shows in my writing. It's your attitude that determines your sound, not style."
Dennis Lehane Update
iWon News: Dennis Lehane is the latest brand-name publisher.
The author of "Mystic River,""Moonlight Mile" and other thrillers is overseeing a new imprint at HarperCollins.
The publisher announced Monday that Dennis Lehane Books will issue "a select" number of literary fiction works each year that have "a dark urban edge." The author himself said in a statement that he was hoping to help "worthy writers" in need of more attention. No release date has been set for the first book.
The author of "Mystic River,""Moonlight Mile" and other thrillers is overseeing a new imprint at HarperCollins.
The publisher announced Monday that Dennis Lehane Books will issue "a select" number of literary fiction works each year that have "a dark urban edge." The author himself said in a statement that he was hoping to help "worthy writers" in need of more attention. No release date has been set for the first book.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Forgotten Films: Barbarella
Before she was a Monster-in-Law, before she married Ted Turner, before she was a workout guru, before she was an Oscar™-winning actress, and before she was Hanoi Jane, Jane Fonda was what Old Hollywood liked to call a "sex kitten." That's when she made Barbarella, a movie that shows just how dumb, silly, and fun the '60s really were.There's a plot of sorts, but it doesn't really matter. Fonda is like Candide, an innocent wandering through a world of wonders, though what we're really wondering is what creative way the filmmakers will come up with to have her remove her clothes, something that happens with gratifying frequency, starting with the opening credits, as the letters move about and try to cover her body parts.
Anita Pallenberg plays The Great Tyrant and Milo O'Shea plays the villain, Durand Durand (a group that didn't like the letter D got its name from this movie). John Phillip Law plays an angel. Marcel Marceau is in it, too, for those of you who love mimes.
Just watch the trailer in the previous post. Irresistible.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Needle Magazine - Fall 2011 Issue Now Ready for Your Purchase
Needle Magazine - Fall 2011 by Steve Weddle in Mystery & Crime: Needle Magazine is hardboiled, lean and mean. No silly reviews. No poetry. No advertising. Nothing but hard hitting stories. In your face and busting up your kiss-maker. Kapow.
Yeti Update
ShortList Magazine: Today, the local administration of the Kemerovo region confirmed on its website that "indisputable proof" has been found that confirms the Yeti, also known as Abominable Snowman, exists. What's prompted this? Well, they found footprints, his alleged bed and possible hair samples.
3.2 Million Words (So Far)
SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia: Welcome to the beta text of the third edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Some sample entries are below. Alternatively, you can browse the Encyclopedia through the search box above or the categories in the grey bar above.
So It's Come To This
Children to be banned from blowing up balloons, under EU safety rules - Telegraph: The EU toy safety directive, agreed and implemented by Government, states that balloons must not be blown up by unsupervised children under the age of eight, in case they accidentally swallow them and choke.
[. . . .]
Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14.
[. . . .]
Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14.
Thieves Getting Brazen
Yahoo! News: Authorities in the San Francisco Bay area town of Novato are flapping about the theft of a park statue — a 700-pound bronze pelican.
Well, He's Played Hunter S. Thompson Twice
Johnny Depp Will Star As Dr. Seuss: Do you love Johnny Depp movies? Do you love Dr. Seuss? Well then, I assume you’ll be lining up to go see the new Seuss biopic being produced by Mr. Depp that will also star -Johnny Depp.
Columbus Day
Columbus Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in 1937. However, people have celebrated Columbus's voyage since the colonial period. In 1792, New York City and other U.S. cities celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event. During the four hundredth anniversary, in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used Columbus Day rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These patriotic rituals were framed around themes such as support for war, citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and celebrating social progress.[1]
Sunday, October 09, 2011
The iDurante
The Raw Story: Three materials science researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a means of harvesting energy from the human nose that could potentially power small electronic devices.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
Sacramento Bee: ARBUTUS, Md. -- Authorities in Maryland say two women threw bleach and another chemical on each other during a fight at a Walmart, prompting officials to evacuate the store for two hours and call in a hazardous materials team.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Suspected smugglers unleash bees on police | News.com.au: A TURKISH news agency says suspected smugglers set loose a swarm of bees on 15 police officers searching for contraband cigarettes hidden among a truckload of hives.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
4 arrested in Ohio Amish attack: Four Ohio men believed to be members of a breakaway Amish group have been arrested for allegedly going into the home of an Amish man and cutting his hair and beard with scissors.
Hat tips to Art Scott & Jeff Meyerson.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Real-life "Minority Report" program gets a try-out - CBS News: An internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security document indicates that a controversial program designed to predict whether a person will commit a crime is already being tested on some members of the public voluntarily, CNET has learned.
If this sounds a bit like the Tom Cruise movie called "Minority Report," or the CBS drama "Person of Interest," it is. But where "Minority Report" author Philip K. Dick enlisted psychics to predict crimes, DHS is betting on algorithms: it's building a "prototype screening facility" that it hopes will use factors such as ethnicity, gender, breathing, and heart rate to "detect cues indicative of mal-intent."
If this sounds a bit like the Tom Cruise movie called "Minority Report," or the CBS drama "Person of Interest," it is. But where "Minority Report" author Philip K. Dick enlisted psychics to predict crimes, DHS is betting on algorithms: it's building a "prototype screening facility" that it hopes will use factors such as ethnicity, gender, breathing, and heart rate to "detect cues indicative of mal-intent."
December 1980
Judy Crider is flanked by Jack Davis and Bill Crider, the proud co-authors of The Coyote Connection.
David Hess, R. I. P.
David Hess, American Horror Film Actor and Songwriter, Dead at 69 [VIDEO] - International Business Times: American horror film actor and songwriter, David Hess, 69, died Saturday of a heart attack.
Hess is best remembered as Krug Stilo, the leader of a gang that kidnaps, rapes, and tortures two teenage girls in Wes Craven's classic slasher film "Last House on the Left" (1972). The actor's intense performance as an unrepentant serial killer in a small, idyllic town shocked audiences with gory, on-screen violence.
Hess is best remembered as Krug Stilo, the leader of a gang that kidnaps, rapes, and tortures two teenage girls in Wes Craven's classic slasher film "Last House on the Left" (1972). The actor's intense performance as an unrepentant serial killer in a small, idyllic town shocked audiences with gory, on-screen violence.
[. . . .]
Hess was born in New York City on Sept. 19, 1942. He began his professional career as a songwriter for Shalimar Music in 1957, using the pseudonym of David Hill. He composed "Start Movin'" for Sal Mineo and "Rockin' Shoes" for the Ames Brothers. He continued to write songs for Elvis Presley through the 1950s and 1960s, including hits "Come Along" and "Sand Castles." In 1963, Hess wrote and recorded "Speedy Gonzalez" for Pat Boone, which became a #6 hit single in the U.S. and a #2 hit in the UK.
An Interesting Post on "Best Books for Children"
The Little Professor: A "best books for children" list, ca. 1900: At the turn of the twentieth century, the Daily Mail polled readers to find the one hundred most-recommended books for children. On January 25, 1900 (iss. 16798, p. 6), they ran the results, from votes by 987 respondents. Here are the top ten:
7 Sexy Crime Book Covers
Charles Ardai: Design Friday: 7 Sexy Crime Book Covers: Back in the 1940s and 50s, there was an explosion in the popularity of paperback crime novels, triggered mainly by the success of Mickey Spillane's first Mike Hammer opus, "I, The Jury" (You think Harry Potter's huge, or "The Da Vinci Code?" Hammer had them both beat. At one point, seven of the 15 best-selling books of all time were Spillane novels). To cash in on Spillane's success, competing paperback lines sprang up, each trying to outdo the others with lurid, sexy, painted covers and titles like "Say It With Bullets" or "Kiss My Fist!" The pulp fiction style sold millions of books and remained popular for several decades before finally petering out from a glut of material and the changing tastes of readers.
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Not Bad for a Used Car
PennLive.com: When the world’s oldest driveable car crossed the auction stage Friday night at the Hershey Lodge, it was expected to fetch between $2 million and $2.5 million.
But with the final gavel pound — after 15 minutes of tense back-and-forth bidding — the 127-year-old, steam-powered vehicle belonged to its fifth owner.
But with the final gavel pound — after 15 minutes of tense back-and-forth bidding — the 127-year-old, steam-powered vehicle belonged to its fifth owner.
A Collection of Incredibly Bizarre Pop-Culture Paper Dolls
A Collection of Incredibly Bizarre Pop-Culture Paper Dolls: hese aren’t the paper dolls you remember from childhood. Ranging from morbid (headless historic figures) to creepy (childhood classics go steampunk) to just plain ol’ strange, these paper dolls put a unique spin on cultural icons and famous works of art. You’ll see Princess Leia on Spring Break, a date-ready Michelangelo’s David, Lady Gaga with a wig of spilled lo mein, and notorious 19th-century New England murderer Lizzie Borden, with that infamous ax in hand — not even Betty White is safe.
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