Mail Online: For almost 70 years, Glenn Miller's death in a wartime plane crash over the Channel has been a source of fascination and speculation.
Neither the great American bandleader's body nor the wreckage were ever found, leading to countless claims of a cover-up.
But now a previously unreported sighting of the doomed plane has emerged in a teenage planespotter's notebook – and seems to shatter the main theory over Miller's death.
Saturday, January 07, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Weird, Weird West eBook: Harry Shannon: Kindle Store: Weird, Weird West brings you dust cowboys and creatures, devils and demons, strange worlds well beyond sense and sanity. If you enjoy horror, you'll devour these creepily satisfying stories of life and death on an unforgiving desert.
It's been said that there are times and places one shouldn't dream about, much less visit.
Saddle up. These odd tales by Stoker-nominated author Harry Shannon are waiting to take you there.
Don Carter, R. I. P.
Don Carter dies at 85; 'Mr. Bowling' was the sport's original superstar - latimes.com: Don Carter, the bowling great with the unorthodox style who flourished as a genuine sports celebrity during the game's golden age on TV, died Thursday at his Miami home. He was 85.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Actress who sued Amazon over age IDs herself - CBS News: An actress who filed an anonymous lawsuit against Amazon.com and its Internet Movie Database for revealing her age identified herself in a federal court filing Friday.
Huong Hoang of Texas, may be better known by her stage name, Junie Hoang. She has appeared in such films as "Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver" and "Hoodrats 2: Hoodrat Warriors."
Huong Hoang of Texas, may be better known by her stage name, Junie Hoang. She has appeared in such films as "Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver" and "Hoodrats 2: Hoodrat Warriors."
Criminal Genius of the Day
Houston News - Police say the suspect admitted he drove the Charger and told officers he refused to stop because he was carrying marijuana and did not want his car to be towed.
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in December 2011
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in December 2011: December's most expensive list spans from the 15th to the 20th century. The oldest and most expensive item was a single leaf from the first edition of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which sold for $10,529. This fine piece of incunabula is one of the most sought-after works of Middle English writing. It consists of a series of tales ostensibly told by a group of pilgrims, during a story-telling contest on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Squatters In Texas Town Use Arcane Law To Claim Vacant Homes | Fox News: Imagine coming back from an extended stay away from home only to find someone has set up shop in your house, claiming it now belongs to them. That’s just what’s happened in dozens of cases in Tarrant County, Texas, where the District Attorney says crooks are trying to use a decades old law to conduct a new scam.
Bob Weston, R. I. P.
Herald-Dispatch Nation/World: Bob Weston, a British guitarist who played with Fleetwood Mac, has died aged 64.
Friday, January 06, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: The Barber Surgeon's Hairshirt (Barney Thomson series) eBook: Douglas Lindsay: Kindle Store: Barney Thomson is a barber on the run.Notorious throughout Scotland as the most prolific serial killer since the Black Death, he has escaped Glasgow and the long arm of the law by hiding out in a monastery in the frozen far north-west.
However, as the snow descends, and the police slowly close in on his hideout, a new, vicious and altogether more psychotic murderer is wreaking havoc amongst the monks…
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Man Demands Hair Extensions During Robbery | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth: After that, the robber had an even more unusual request -- hair extensions.
According to a police reporter, Jackson told officers the man said, "My b**** needs some hair extensions, which are the best ones?"
According to a police reporter, Jackson told officers the man said, "My b**** needs some hair extensions, which are the best ones?"
Here's the Plot for Your Next Medical Musical Thriller
Courier Mail: MURDERED Gold Coast singer Tony Williams, who once boasted he put the word sex in his band Sex 'N' Chocolate, had hundreds of lovers, many of them nurses with whom he worked, police sources have said.
Williams was found dead in his Mermaid Waters home on Christmas Eve. He had been bashed over the head with a blunt weapon.
Williams was found dead in his Mermaid Waters home on Christmas Eve. He had been bashed over the head with a blunt weapon.
Croc Update (College Edition)
School of Croc: the series: Croc College, the toughest classroom in central Queensland, will soon be featured on ABC as part of a series on Koorana's croc legend John Lever efforts to teach rookies how to control these meat-eating machines.
Read It and Weep, Whippersnappers
The Raw Story: Cognitive skills can start to fall from the age of 45, not from around the age of 60 as is commonly thought, according to research published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
And Who Can Blame Them?
'Depressed' Ferret Flees Siberian Circus: A ferret has escaped a circus in the East Siberian city of Chita along with a monkey and a red-breasted parakeet — apparently because they all were feeling down due to bad weather.
Hat tip to Fred Zackel.
I For One Welcome Our New Myrmidon Overlords
'Supersoldier' ants with gigantic jaws | Mail Online: Welcome to a brave new world: Genetic scientists create freakish man-made monster ants with huge heads and jaws
Forgotten Books: The Fiend in You -- Edited by Charles Beaumont
Quick, who was the first writer to have short fiction published in Playboy? Okay, admit it. The only reason you answered "Charles Beaumont" is that you saw who edited The Fiend in You. Beaumont was a brilliant writer who died far too young and under sad and terrible conditions, but he left behind a body of work that anybody would be proud of.This anthology, as you can see from the Table of Contents, has stories by big name writers and some who aren't quite so well-known. Many of them are stories published within a year or so of the anthology publication, but there are some older ones as well. Richard Matheson, one of several Beaumont friends whose stories are here, gets to open and close the anthology.
Well, sort of. There's something after Matheson's second story that's not mentioned in the ToC. It's a short, uncredited essay titled "The Reason for Ballantine's Chamber of Horrors." It's a rationale for reading horror stories. Was the original title of The Fiend in You" supposed to be "Chamber of Horrors"? I haven't a clue.
Another little curiosity is that Stanley Ellin's story is listed in the "Acknowledgments" as having originally appeared in Stanley Ellin's Mystery Magazine. As far as I know, there was never a magazine by that name. Maybe Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is correct, but that's just a guess.
All that aside, this is a dandy little collection that as far as I know has never been reprinted. If the story titles intrigue you, inexpensive copies are easy to find on the 'Net.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
The Tale of Beatrix Potter
AbeBooks: The Tale of Beatrix Potter: As you all know, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), was an English children’s book author and illustrator, primarily. She was also a farmer, a conservationist, and a natural explorer fascinated by science and the wonders of the natural world around her, be they flora or fauna.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Only 99 cents, or free for Amazon Prime members! You can't go wrong with the combination of Dundee and Grainger.
A fast, hardboiled Western that continues the Cash Laramie legend with swagger and good, solid writing. Wayne Dundee brings his masterful voice to the Western and tells a Cash Laramie story in perfect pitch. Manhunter's Mountain should be on every Western fiction reader's bookshelf.
-- Larry D. Sweazy, Spur Award-winning author of The Coyote Tracker.
Edward A. Grainger's outlaw marshal is on the trail again in this first full-length Cash Laramie novel written by hardboiled veteran Wayne D. Dundee.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Kasey Lansdale Update
Everything Nac: Singer, songwriter Kasey Lansdale will host a three hour workshop designed to give performers, producers, & songwriters a unique learning experience opportunity to work with multiple Grammy Award winner, and the only son of John R. Cash and June Carter Cash, John Carter Cash.
Robert Dickey, R. I. P.
Robert Dickey, soul singer in James & Bobby Purify Duo, 72 -: Robert Dickey, who got his start playing guitar and later sang as half of the soulful James & Bobby Purify duo in the late ’60s, died Dec. 29. He was 72.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . . .
Illinois man accused of gouging out uncle's eyes: A northern Illinois man is accused of gouging his uncle's eyes out during a fight over a remote control.
The Serpent Sea -- Martha Wells
Earlier this year I reviewed Martha Wells' The Cloud Roads. I said at the time I'd be picking up the sequel, and sure enough it arrived the other day. It's another good one.The setting is the Three Worlds, inhabited by humans but also by other races that share some human characteristics but are different in some basic ways, such as having the ability to shift shapes and fly with eagles' wings. Okay, not eagles' wings; check the illustration on the cover. This race is called the Rakusa, and in the first book, Moon, a Rakusa who's been solitary from birth joins a tribe. You can click on the above link for a little more of a summary if you want one. Now he's the consort of a queen and a member of a court that's moving to a new home as a result of events in the previous book. When they arrive, they discover it's a wonderful place . . . but something's missing, something vital that has to be found.
The rest of the book is a quest, and it's a dilly. It takes us to a place even stranger than anywhere we've visited so far, and I'm not going to describe it here. You should find out for yourself. There's some excellent world-building, some fine descriptive writing, and plenty of action. The characters and relationships from the The Cloud Roads develop and deepen. If you haven't read The Cloud Roads, it's probably a good idea to read it first. Do it, because you don't want to miss this one.
The Cloud Roads is showing up on a lot of "year's best" lists, which is no surprise to me. I have a feeling we'll be seeing The Serpent Sea on them, too. Check it out. As for me, I'm ready for the next adventure.
ALA in Dallas -- I'll Be There
Mystery Day at ALA in Dallas
Sat, January 21, 2011 on show floor at PopTop Stage
Each panel is 45 minutes long with a 15 min. signing to follow
9:00-9:45 Don't Mess With Texas: Local authors
Rachel Brady, Robin Allen, Deborah Crombie, Laura Elvebak, moderator Harry Hunsicker
10:00-10:45 Remember the Alibi: Traditional mysteries, a roundtable chat with the Women of Jungle Red, www.jungleredwriters.com
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lucy Burdette, Deborah Crombie, Rosemary Harris, moderator Carol Fitzgerald
11:00-11:45pm My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys...and P.I.s and ex-cops and reporters...
Denise Hamilton, Cara Black, Martin Limon, Laura Elvebak, moderator Bill Crider
12:00- 12:45 Well, Slap My Knee : What's so funny about murder?
Joanna Slan, Rachel Brady, Maria Hudgins, Rosemary Harris , moderator Lucy Burdette
1:00-1:45 Brownbag Interview with Charles (Caroline) Todd with Hank Phillippi Ryan
2:15-3:00 Don't Fence Me In: Mysteries set in foreign countries
Cara Black, Deborah Crombie, Martin Limon, Charles (Caroline) Todd, moderator Maria Hudgins
3:15-4pm Big Roundup: How to find out more about what's happening in the mystery genre, blogs, websites, conferences Joanna Slan, Bill Crider, Harry Hunsicker, Denise Hamilton, Robin Allen, moderator Hank Phillippi Ryan
Robin Allen
Cara Black
Rachel Brady
Lucy Burdette
Bill Crider
Deborah Crombie
Laura Elvebak
Denise Hamilton
Rosemary Harris
Maria Hudgins
Harry Hunsicker
Martin Limon
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Joanna Slan
Charles (Caroline) Todd
Here's the Plot for Your Next Cat Mystery
Yahoo! News: The sudden death of a billionaire in southern China is causing police to ask: Was it murder by cat meat?
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Literary Mixtape: Holly Golightly
Literary Mixtape: Holly Golightly: If you've ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters.
I Suspect that his Diagnosis is Correct
Off the Beat with Will Greenlee: Dispatch officials reported Rosado called and said he had "mental problems."
I For One Welcome Our New Cartilaginous Overlords
The Raw Story: Australian scientists hailed what they described as a world-first discovery of two shark species interbreeding Tuesday, a never-before-seen phenomenon which could help them cope with warmer oceans.
Lead researcher Jess Morgan said the mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world.
Lead researcher Jess Morgan said the mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Typewriter repairman keeps busy in high-tech age - Houston Chronicle: Businesses on Dowling Street in Houston's Third Ward have come and gone over the past four decades, except for the one with the cathedral roof near Wheeling.
The shabby building, sandwiched between overgrown shrubbery and trees from neighboring properties, is hard to spot, but that hasn't kept people in need of a good typewriter repairman from finding the Universal Typewriter Shop.
The shabby building, sandwiched between overgrown shrubbery and trees from neighboring properties, is hard to spot, but that hasn't kept people in need of a good typewriter repairman from finding the Universal Typewriter Shop.
Ronald Searle, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: British cartoonist Ronald Searle, best known for his spiky drawings of the tearaway pupils of the fictional girls school St Trinian's, has died in southern France aged 91, his daughter said on Tuesday.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Overlooked Movies -- No Name on the Bullet
When I was a kid, I went to every Audie Murphy movie that came to town. He was from Texas, and he was the most decorated soldier of WWII, a genuine hero. What more could a kid ask for?Unfortunately most of the movies aren't very good. But this one is. Murphy plays a hired gunslinger whose method is simple. He goads his target into a gunfight, which he always wins. He's never convicted of a crime because the killing is plainly self-defense.
Murphy's really menacing in this role, and it's easy to see why all the townsfolk start wondering who his target is. In fact, they all have so many guilty secrets that each of them thinks s/he might be the one. Murphy lets them stew. Things start to simmer, and then they come to a boil.
If you think Murphy couldn't act, give this movie a try. And if you'd like to read an excellent bio of Murphy, there's one by my old friend Don Graham. The title? No Name on the Bullet.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Fred Milano, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Fred Milano, a city street-corner singer who became part of rock 'n' roll history as second tenor with Dion and the Belmonts, died Sunday. He was 72.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Bob Anderson, R. I. P.
The Washington Post: Olympic fencer and movie sword master Bob Anderson appeared in some of film’s most famous dueling scenes — though few viewers knew it.
Anderson, who has died at age 89, donned Darth Vader’s black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original “Star Wars” films, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
Anderson, who worked with actors from Errol Flynn to Antonio Banderas during five decades as a sword master, fight director and stunt performer, died early New Year’s Day at an English hospital, the British Academy of Fencing said Monday.
Anderson, who has died at age 89, donned Darth Vader’s black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original “Star Wars” films, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
Anderson, who worked with actors from Errol Flynn to Antonio Banderas during five decades as a sword master, fight director and stunt performer, died early New Year’s Day at an English hospital, the British Academy of Fencing said Monday.
Gator Update (Prank Edition)
Digital Spy: An American football coach saw a prank on his team involving a live alligator backfire when the reptile attacked its wrangler.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
CBS Chicago: Illinois motorcycles and bicycles will be allowed to run red lights starting in 2012, but only in certain instances.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
I For One Welcome Our New Simian Overlords
Mail Online: I wanna be like you: Kanzi, the ape who HAS learned the secret of man's red fire and loves nothing more than a good fry-up
No Wonder My Pants Feel a Little Tighter
The Average American Ate (Literally) A Ton This Year : The Salt : NPR: But what are most Americans really eating? A lot of cheese, sweets, and dense potatoes and grains.
So how does it break out? The figure is a little hard to swallow: 1,996 pounds, or nearly one ton. This is an estimate of how much — by weight — the average American eats over the course of one year.
So how does it break out? The figure is a little hard to swallow: 1,996 pounds, or nearly one ton. This is an estimate of how much — by weight — the average American eats over the course of one year.
Happy New Year!
Thanks to everyone who's followed the blog for the past year and especially to those who've read my books. I wish everybody a wonderful 2012. Salud, amor, y pesetas, y tiempo disfrutarlos!The Traditions of New Year: New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year. Celebrated in almost every country today, January 1st has only been recognized as a holiday by Western nations for approximately 400 years. Since earliest times, people have sought to satisfy the deep-rooted longing for recreation by celebrating the New Year. Observed on varying dates in different lands, New Year festivals mark the pivotal point where time is deemed to begin anew...an emergence of the pure and pristine for both the world itself and individuals alike, provided the proper steps are taken. First, celebrants must banish the malicious spirits and accumulated evils of the past in order to prevent infection of the coming year. Next, come rites of purification, followed by positive acts which ensure an auspicious future. Sometimes, participants are unaware that they are following ancient mystical practices. Few Westerners, for example, realize that their New Year horns and fireworks were once used as tools intended to banish evil spirits.
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