Saturday, January 28, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Airship27: SHERLOCK HOLMES - The Baron's Revenge was written by writer Gary Lovisi and is a sequel to an actual story by Arthur Conan Doyle; "The Case of the Illustrious Client." It is a gripping suspense thriller with a madman out to destroy both the Great Detective and his loyal ally, Dr.Watson. It features a cover by Rob Davis and digital painter Shane Evans, with nine black and white interior illustrations by Rob. [. . . .] You can pick up a copy by clicking on our airship logo to the left of this column. Our Airship 27 Hangar store is selling digital PDF copies you can download on most e-readers for only $3, or you can go to (www.IndyPlanet.com) to purchase a hard copy for only $13.99 (plus shipping & handling).
World Book Night
Welcome to World Book Night: During World Book Night, 50,000 people, named as “book givers,” will each be giving away 20 books from a select list with a goal to have 1,000,000 people across the United States alone celebrating reading en masse. There will be adult books and young adult titles given away. People can sign up athttp://www.us.worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/register-as-a-2012-giver by February 1st to apply to be a “book giver.” You can see the complete list of titles that includes books from authors like Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver and Junot Diaz, among others at: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/wbn2012-the-books .
Dick Kniss, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Dick Kniss, a self-taught musician who for more than 40 years played stand-up bass behind Peter, Paul and Mary, becoming a veritable fourth member of the folk-singing trio, died on Wednesday in Kingston, N.Y. He was 74.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Here's the plot of your next realistically Kafka-esque expose
Mail Online: A man held in solitary confinement for two years and forced to pull his own tooth because he was denied dental care has been awarded $22million for violation of his constitutional rights.
Stephen Slevin, 58, from New Mexico, was given the payout after accusing Dona Ana County jail of essentially forgetting about him after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, not giving him the healthcare he needed and treating him inhumanely.
Stephen Slevin, 58, from New Mexico, was given the payout after accusing Dona Ana County jail of essentially forgetting about him after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, not giving him the healthcare he needed and treating him inhumanely.
Hat tip to Todd Mason.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Crime Factory Issue 9 eBook: Jimmy Callaway, Cameron Ashley, Liam Jose, Andrew Nette: Kindle Store: Your noir journal.Featuring exclusive content from Tom Piccirilli (The Shadow Season; The Cold Spot); Scott Phillips (The Ice Harvest; Cottonwood); Johnny Shaw (Dove Season); Daniel B. O’Shea (Old School); Ray Banks (Dead Money; Beast of Burden); Benjamin Whitmer (Pike; Satan Is Real); Paul D. Brazill (Drunk on the Moon; Brit Grit); exclusive fiction from Kenneth Loosli; Chris Benton and Chris Deal; features by Matthew C. Funk; Peter “Nerd of Noir” Dragovich; Andrew Nette and Noel King.
Robert Hegyes, R. I. P.
NJ.com: Robert Hegyes, the Jersey-born actor who played Jewish Puerto Rican wheeler-dealer Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s classic "Welcome Back Kotter," died from an apparent heart attack after suffering chest pains at his Metuchen home this morning. He was 60.
Forgotten Books: Destinies -- Edited by Jim Baen
The question is, is it a book or a magazine? Pick it up, and it looks like a book. It feels like a book. But it's a "paperback magazine." The back cover, as you can see, tells us that it's "the very first paperback science fiction magazine."
How is it different from an anthology? Well, it has articles, but then so do anthologies. It has illustrations, but so could an anthology. I'd say that the distinguishing feature would be the columns. There's a science column by Jerry Pournelle, and there's a book review column by Spider Robinson. There's also the first part of a five-part article by Poul Anderson.
I think there were eleven issues (or volumes if you still think it's a book) of Destinies. Later on, Baen had his own publishing house and brought out New Destinies. I suspect that there are those among you who have collected all the issues (or volumes). I have most of them, but not all. They used to be fairly easy to find, and I suspect they still are.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wow
Pres. John Tyler's Grandchildren Are Still Alive: Try to do the math on this: John Tyler, born in 1790, became the 10th president of the United States, taking office in 1841 after the death of William Henry Harrison. And two of his grandchildren are still alive!
Of course, not much from Tyler's time is still around. In the year of his birth, President George Washington gave the first State of the Union address and Thomas Jefferson served as his secretary of state.
Of course, not much from Tyler's time is still around. In the year of his birth, President George Washington gave the first State of the Union address and Thomas Jefferson served as his secretary of state.
Here's the Plot for Your Next Neo-Noir Novel
bnd.com: A convict with a conscience helped the feds unravel a murder-for-hire plot that involved a carjacking and electrocution by cat, according to federal court records.
It also included the suspect's ex-stripper wife being used as bait.
It also included the suspect's ex-stripper wife being used as bait.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Cloaking device works in the lab: Reporting in the New Journal of Physics, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin cloaked an 18-centimetre tube from light in the microwave part of the energy spectrum.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
I've read and reviewed several books in the Sam Acquillo series. Highly recommended.Amazon.com: The Last Refuge: Chris Knopf: Books: Sam Acquillo’s at the end of the line. A middle-aged corporate dropout living in his dead parents’ ramshackle cottage in the Hamptons, Sam has abandoned his friends, family and a big-time career to sit on his porch, drink vodka and stare at the Little Peconic Bay. But when the old lady next door ends up floating dead in her bathtub it seems like Sam is the only one who wonders why. Burned-out, busted up and cynical, the ex-engineer, ex-professional boxer, ex-loving father and husband finds himself uncovering secrets no one could have imagined, least of all Sam himself. Meanwhile, a procession of quirky characters intrudes on Sam’s misanthropic ways. A beautiful banker, pot-smoking lawyer, bug-eyed fisherman and gay billionaire join a full complement of cops, thugs and local luminaries in this tale of money and murder.
The Fault in Our Stars -- John Green
As regular visitors here know, I really like the novels of John Green (see here, here, and here). However, I wasn't sure I'd read The Fault in Our Stars. Why? Well, because it's about kids with cancer. I wasn't sure I was ready for a humorous novel on that topic. Why? Again, as regular visitors know, my wife, Judy, has been dealing with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for almost five years now, so I know more about at least one form of cancer than I want to know. The good news is that a couple of weeks ago, after Judy completed her fifth (or is it sixth?) clinical trial, we were told that she's in remission. Nobody knows how long this will last, but it was a great way to start the year. After getting that good news, I figured maybe I was ready to read The Fault in Our Stars, after all.I'm glad I did. It's funny, it's life-affirming, and it's a pleasure to read, even if the subject matter might seem to indicate otherwise. The main characters are Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus (Gus) Waters. Hazel is 16. She has thyroid cancer and has to haul an oxygen bottle along wherever she goes. She still alive thanks only to a miracle drug that's not going to work forever. Gus has osteosarcoma and has had part of one leg amputated. The two of them meet in a cancer support group and fall in love. Talk about your doomed romances!
That aside, I hope there really are kids like this in the world, kids who are clear-eyed realists, kids who can quote Wallace Stevens or William Carlos Williams at the drop of a hat, kids who are familiar with Kierkegaard, kids who see the metaphorical significance in the ordinary events of daily life. I'm not saying these kids don't exist, mind you. I'm just saying I seldom encounter them. I sure like reading about them, though.
Anyway, Hazel and Gus are huge fans of a book written by a reclusive author who lives in Amsterdam. The book has what we literary scholars call an "open ending." They want to know the rest of the story, so they go to Amsterdam (sort of a "Make a Wish" deal) to meet the author, who [HUGE SPOILER] turns out to be a total asshole (unlike any actual authors you might have met) [END OF HUGE SPOILER].
There's a lot more, but that's enough plot summary. Sad and terrible things happen in this book, but it's not sad or terrible. Sure, it might make even a manly man such as myself a little verklempt from time to time, but it's about living, not dying, and I recommend it highly.
P. S. I posted here about Green's signing all 150,000 copies of the first printing of this book, so I have a signed copy. Well, there's something that might be a signature. I can make out the "J."
Well, Duh
Mail Online: A teenage girl who has eaten almost nothing else apart from chicken nuggets for 15 years has been warned by doctors that the junk food is killing her.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
mikemcguff.com blog: Mix 102.9 KDMX in Dallas has just landed a big asset for its mid-day lineup. That's right, new Dallas resident Khloe Kardashian Odom. She's in the Metroplex because her husband, Lamar Odom, is a recently traded Dallas Mavericks player now.
Keep off His Lawn! Really. Keep Off It.
msnbc.com: A 65-year-old man who was knocked off his bicycle by three teenagers on a Pennsylvania trail shot two of them, killing one, police said according to reports.
Omnibus Editions: Three (or More) Titles in One Volume
AbeBooks: Omnibus Editions: Three (or More) Titles in One Volume: Sometimes your desire for the work of a particular writer, or genre, is so strong that only an omnibus edition will suffice. What better than a single volume that contains three novels or perhaps four?
Omnibus editions are common in the mystery and science fiction fields, and Gollancz is probably the publishing king of omnibuses, but this selection of meaty books covers the entire spectrum of reading from golf to sailing to John Steinbeck and Kingsley Amis.
Omnibus editions are common in the mystery and science fiction fields, and Gollancz is probably the publishing king of omnibuses, but this selection of meaty books covers the entire spectrum of reading from golf to sailing to John Steinbeck and Kingsley Amis.
Archaeology Update
BBC News: A mass grave in Dorset containing 54 decapitated skeletons was a burial ground for violent Viking mercenaries, according to a Cambridge archaeologist.
Forgotten Music -- The Sons of the Pioneers
I'm not saying that the Sons of the Pioneers are really forgotten. Heck, there's still a group by that name. But I'm talking about the originals, the ones I listened to as a kid in the late '40s. Even then, Roy Rogers was no longer a member. At any rate, they recorded many great western numbers, and I loved them all. I even had some old 78 rpm records by the group.
Here's a nice tribute video with "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" playing, and here's their fine version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky." The great original of "Cool Water" is hard to beat. And my personal favorite, from the late '40s, the Sons and Roy singing "Blue Shadows on the Trail."
Finally, for those of you who'd like to know more about the history of the group, go to Wikipedia: The Sons of the Pioneers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Sons of the Pioneers are one of America's earliest Western singing groups[1] whose classic recordings set a new standard for performers of Western music.[2] Known for the high quality of their vocal performances, musicianship, and songwriting,[3] they produced finely-crafted and innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music performers and remained popular through the years. Since 1933, through many changes in membership, the Sons of the Pioneers have remained one of the longest-surviving country music vocal groups in history.[4]
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
kvue.com Austin: A Central Texas pastor is being accused of throwing a neighbor's cat off of a bridge.
Rick Bartlett, pastor of the Bastrop Christian Church, is facing animal cruelty charges. Bastrop Police Chief Michael Black said Bartlett admitted that he caught the cat, named Moody, in a trap on Sunday, Jan. 15. Bartlett told them that he was having a problem with feral cats in his garden.
Rick Bartlett, pastor of the Bastrop Christian Church, is facing animal cruelty charges. Bastrop Police Chief Michael Black said Bartlett admitted that he caught the cat, named Moody, in a trap on Sunday, Jan. 15. Bartlett told them that he was having a problem with feral cats in his garden.
Gator Update (Larry the Cable Guy Edition)
jacksonville.com: Larry the Cable Guy took some time to “Git-r-done” with an alligator recently at Ponte Vedra Beach’s Guana Preserve, and his work helping catch, study and release the creature will air at 9 p.m. Wednesday on “Extreme American Critters” on cable’s The History Channel.
Nicol Williamson, R. I. P.
Boston.com: Nicol Williamson, the British actor best known for his role as the wizard Merlin in the 1981 film "Excalibur," has died of esophageal cancer, his son said Wednesday. He was 75.
And Stay off Her Damn Lawn!
News: "I was not going to let him go," said Karen Granville, who lives on Redwood Street. "I just held my gun in my right hand until the police arrested him."
Something to Look Forward To
Sci-Fi Talk Official Blog: Swamp Volcano Stars Rachel Hunter (The Benchwarmers) and Brad Dourif (Lord of the Rings). In Swamp Volcano, premiering Saturday, January 28 at 9PM (ET/PT), oil rig drillers in the Gulf of Mexico hit an underground lava flow, causing a massive volcano to form in Miami.
Actor James Farentino, R. I. P.
CBS News: Actor James Farentino, named Golden Globes' most promising newcomer in 1967, died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital, according to a family spokesman. He was 73.
ShortList's 50 Coolest Albums Of All Time
ShortList's 50 Coolest Albums Of All Time
I'm particularly glad to see JOHN, THE WOLF-KING OF L. A. on this list. It's one of my favorite albums, and I thought nobody else even knew about it.
This is . . . UnTexan.
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: An academically struggling South Texas school district has decided to cancel student sports and use the money for improving education.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
FOX 26: "Well, they asked me, ‘Besides in the office, do you have it anywhere else’?" she said. "Well, they asked me so I told them."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: An Appetite For Murder: A Key West Food Critic Mystery (9780451235510): Lucy Burdette: Books: Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner-the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend! Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get-until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.
Gator Update (Catfight Edition)
Great photos and video at the link.
But when the bold feline decided to take on an alligator in New Orleans, he came out remarkably intact.
He chose to take on the reptile at an wildlife park just as it was trying to eat some chicken, and began raining blows on its snout.
Overlooked Movies -- Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
This was one of the first Cinemascope movies I saw as a kid, and I loved it. I was already a fan of underwater photography and diving, and when you throw in a fight with a giant octopus, all in glorious Technicolor, well, you can't go wrong. Or I can't. The photography in this one is great, by the way, and it's worth watching the movie for that alone. But if that's not enough, you also have Gilbert Roland, Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, J. Carroll Naish, Peter Graves, and Richard Boone. Admittedly the story they're in doesn't give them a lot to work with, but they're all great to look at, especially Terry Moore. Or, if you're more into beefcake, Robert Wagner.
The story isn't all that great, even though the screenplay is by A. I. Bezzerides. It's the Hatfields and McCoys in Florida, with sponge divers. Don't worry about that part. Enjoy those underwater sequences and the great color.
A DVD of this movie was available everywhere for a buck a few years ago. I'd recommend watching it in a better version if you can find one.
Monday, January 23, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
You don't have to buy it, but if you click on the link, you could then click the "Like" button. That's supposed to help. And if you read it, you could review it. That's supposed to help, too. Not that I need the money, being a rich and powerful writer already.Amazon.com: The Blacklin County Files eBook: Bill Crider, Judy Crider: Kindle Store: Sheriff Dan Rhodes tackles five tough cases with compassion and humor. Killers, crooks, cats, cattle, cranks, and ice cream. Plus recipes!
Books of a Feather: The Best Bird Books
AbeBooks: Books of a Feather: The Best Bird Books: Although birds are everywhere, too few people own an ornithological book. This particular genre owes much to The Birds of North America (1827-1839) by John James Audubon. It is the most famous of all ornithological works and in December 2010 a copy sold at auction for $11.5 million - a record price for a single printed book. Audubon’s paintings are considered a high point of book art and yet he also contributed much to the discipline of ornithology by discovering 25 new species.
Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling?
Number of women robbing banks rising: Local 2 Investigates discovered the percentage of bank robberies committed by women in the Houston area shot up from 3 percent in 2010 to 8 percent in 2011.
Is That a Lobster Tail, or are you Just Glad to See Me?
Houston News: And now there's Corpus Christi's Dwayne Porter. Police there say that employees of an HEB watched as the 53-year-old attempted to leave the store without paying for the lobster tail that was, rather unfortunately for Porter's dinner plans, protruding from his pants.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Penny Jordan, R. I. P.
Penny Jordan, author of 200 romance novels, dies at 65 - The Washington Post: Penny Jordan, a British romance novelist whose tales of beguiling women who fell breathlessly in love with handsome sheiks, Sicilian billionaires and Russian oligarchs sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, died Dec. 31 at a hospital in Cheshire, England. She was 65
I Want to Believe
Times Of India: Several objects resembling living beings were detected on photographs taken by a Russian landing probe in 1982 during a Venus mission, says an article published in the Solar System Research magazine.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Read it free if you're an Amazon Prime member!Amazon.com: Stagger Bay eBook: Pearce Hansen: Kindle Store: Markus, Stagger Bay’s protagonist, is a man who overcame a horrendous childhood and criminal youth to go straight and raise a family. His violent past makes him an easy fall guy to frame for a gruesome mass murder and he’s sentenced to life without parole, losing his family in the process.
Exonerated and freed on DNA evidence after seven years, Markus is shortly thrust into a bloody do-or-die fracas during an elementary school hostage situation, becoming an overnight hero. Everyone wants in on the media feeding frenzy; to his dismay, paparazzi and news crews hound him wherever he goes. Unfortunately they’re not the only ones stalking him.
Can Markus find the path back into his estranged son’s heart? What’s Markus supposed to do, when he discovers fifteen minutes of fame is the worst thing that could ever happen to him? What can he do, now that his town is hunting ground to serial killers and rogue cops working together – and the shadowy force behind them is turning its cold, deadly eye straight at him?
Joe Paterno, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Joe Paterno, who won more games than any other major-college football coach, and who became the face of Penn State University and a symbol of integrity in collegiate athletics only to be fired during the 2011 season amid a child sexual-abuse scandal that reverberated throughout the nation, died Sunday. He was 85.
Larry Butler, R. I. P.
The Tennessean: Larry Butler, the only person in Nashville history to win an all-Genre producer of the year Grammy, died of natural causes Friday morning at his home in Pensacola, Fla. He was 69.
Mr. Butler produced works by numerous stars, including Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, John Denver, Bill Anderson, Dottie West and Waylon Jennings, but his biggest impact was on the career of Kenny Rogers. Mr. Butler helmed Rogers’ shift from rock music to country, and he produced major hits including “The Gambler,” “Lucille” and “Coward of the County,” taking care to place Rogers’ vocals front and center in the mix, and accentuating acoustic guitar parts and percussion.
Mr. Butler produced works by numerous stars, including Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, John Denver, Bill Anderson, Dottie West and Waylon Jennings, but his biggest impact was on the career of Kenny Rogers. Mr. Butler helmed Rogers’ shift from rock music to country, and he produced major hits including “The Gambler,” “Lucille” and “Coward of the County,” taking care to place Rogers’ vocals front and center in the mix, and accentuating acoustic guitar parts and percussion.
A Brainy Guy
Chicago Sun-Times: Dante Autullo thought his doctors were joking. The suburban Chicago man was sure he’d merely cut himself with a nail gun while building a shed. But they assured him the X-ray was real: A nail was lodged in the middle of his brain.
Hat tip to Richard Moore.
Sort of Makes me Want to See It
Now I Know Archives: Typical thriller fare.
Typical, except that — excluding some penny-ante films made for a few thousand dollars – Zyzzyx Road is the lowest grossing movie in history, netting a whopping $20.
Typical, except that — excluding some penny-ante films made for a few thousand dollars – Zyzzyx Road is the lowest grossing movie in history, netting a whopping $20.
What was J.D. Salinger working on?
What was J.D. Salinger working on? - J.D. Salinger: The reclusive author died two years ago. We've learned lots about his life since, but one big question remains
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