Saturday, May 19, 2012
Modern Minimalist Covers
AbeBooks: The Bare Essentials - Modern Minimalist Covers: It should come as no surprise that we love beautifully designed books at AbeBooks. The books highlighted on this page all share the same cover characteristics: minimal usage of fonts, images and graphics. Minimalism is popular in the design world and has definitely made its mark on countless book covers. Each one of these books is simple in layout but extremely effective in capturing the eye.
Archaeology Update
If the Christian Science Monitor uses "humongous" in a headline for a serious article, it must be a real word, right? As for me, I'm worried about the tiny Volkswagen-sized turtles.
Humongous Volkswagen-sized turtle fossils discovered
Humongous Volkswagen-sized turtle fossils discovered
Heinlein Update
SF Signal – A Speculative Fiction Blog: Variety is reporting that a film adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “All You Zombies” will begin production early next year. Predestination stars Ethan Hawke and is being written and directed by written and will be directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (Daybreakers).
Friday, May 18, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
I loved the Lone Ranger show on radio when I was a kid, and I still have my Lone Ranger Silver Saddle Ring that I got by sending in box tops and a quarter. So it was a real pleasure to be invited to write a story for this collection. I've read only two others, the ones by Mel Odom and James Reasoner, and they're both absolutely top-notch. The collection is worth buying for those two stories alone. Highly recommended!
Amazon.com: The Lone Ranger Chronicles Limited Hardcover Edition (9781936814220): James Reasoner, Johnny D. Boggs, Ruben Procopio: Books: The First Ever Collection of New Lone Ranger Prose Stories! The masked ex-Texas Ranger and his Native American companion Tonto fight injustice in the Wild West! Stories include meetings with The Cisco Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, as well as the origin of Tonto and the origin of Silver! Authors include Spur Award-winner Johnny D Boggs, James Reasoner, Alex Award-winner Mel Odom, Anthony Award-winner Bill Crider, Matthew Baugh, Tim Lasiuta, Joe Gentile, Paul Kupperberg, Denny O''Neil, Kent Conwell, David McDonald, Thom Brannon, Troy D. Smith, Chick Dixon, and Richard Dean Starr. This limited edition hardcover includes an exclusive bonus: "75 years of the Lone Ranger"
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
And get a rope!
MyFoxHouston: The mother of a 13-year-old Ortiz Middle School student said her daughter was arrested for having half of a prescription ibuprofen tablet.
MyFoxHouston: The mother of a 13-year-old Ortiz Middle School student said her daughter was arrested for having half of a prescription ibuprofen tablet.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
abc13.com: Houston has been named the most frugal city in the country, thanks to coupon-savvy Houstonians.
New Blog of Note
Knees Calhoon's Midnight Ramble is the latest from Fender Tucker, publisher, writer, raconteur, and musician (among other things). The blog features a new song by Knees Calhoon each day, and all you have to do is click on the title of the song to hear it. Each one will put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Or a song on your face and a smile in your heart. Take your pick. Highly recommended.
Seepy Benton Might Disagree
1 1 = 3: Ken Burns on What Makes a Great Story: How stories keep the wolf from the door and why math has no place in storytelling.
Forgotten Books: The Tough Die Hard aka The Echoing Shore -- Robert Martin
Robert Martin wrote some fine medium-boiled private-eye novels early in his career, and though the later ones weren't as good (at least to me), I read them all. I'd never read this book, however. It's a mystery, but not a p.i. novel. As you can see from the cover blurb, it has one of those women that you find in noir tales, the kind that no man can resist, even a nice guy like Nick, the narrator of this novel. The woman's name is Ann, and she soon dumps Nick for a very rich man, the kind she's really interested in. She marries the rich guy. Later on, Nick goes to a lake cabin to fish. Who should be staying in another cabin not too far away but Ann and her husband? And who winds up dead the next morning? I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you it's hubby.
But Nick didn't kill him, even though he was killed by Nick's fishing knife. Nick's arrested and tossed in jail. The frame is tight, but the tough die hard. See how I worked that in? Clever, right? Anyway, it really has little to do with the book, but it's probably more likely to encourage an impulse buy than The Echoing Shore. It's well written, but not overly suspenseful. I think most of you will know very well who the killer is. Still, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I got around to reading it after all these years.
There's a fine, touching essay on Martin and his work by Bill Pronzini here. Two other excellent essays, one by Jim Felton and one by Gary Warren Niebuhr, are here. Jeff Pierce of The Rap Sheet weighs in here. All four essays are highly recommended.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Check out the ToC. A great lineup of authors.
Amazon.com: Crime Square (9781936467303): Robert J. Randisi: Books: They call it the “crossroads of the world,” and from its inception Times Square has been the pulsing heartbeat of a city filled with life. Now, in this eclectic and electrifying collection, twenty acclaimed mystery writers take readers into the past history of Times Square, where danger lurked around every corner, and where characters walked its streets with the easy confidence of a con man. Spanning over one hundred years—from its christening on April 19, 1904 to the contemporary “Disney-ized” version, Crime Square is filled with guys, dolls, booze, and bullets. With contributions by such award-winning authors like Parnell Hall, John Lutz--and a host of others--CRIME SQUARE is the ultimate collection of crime stories, set in the world’s ultimate destination.
Donna Summer, R. I. P.
Donna Summer Dead -- Disco Legend Dies After Battle with Cancer | TMZ.com: Donna Summer -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.
We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old.
We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old.
Here's the Plot for Your Next Mysterious Skulls Thriller
Mail Online: Skulls found buried in a Florida back yard have been dated to 1200-1400 AD, authorities said today.
The skulls, of a man and ten-year-old boy, were believed to be from Peru or another region of South America almost 900 years ago.
The skulls, of a man and ten-year-old boy, were believed to be from Peru or another region of South America almost 900 years ago.
Doug Dillard, R. I. P.
Doug Dillard Dead: Bluegrass Banjo Great Dies at 75 - The Boot: Banjo player and TV performer Doug Dillard, who gained fame for his appearances on "The Andy Griffith Show" with musical group the Dillards (known on the TV series as the "Darlings") has died following a lengthy illness. A family spokesperson tells The Boot that Dillard was taken to a Nashville emergency room on Wednesday night (May 16) and died shortly thereafter.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Have we fallen out of love with John Updike?
guardian.co.uk: Three years after John Updike's death, his reputation appears to be on the wane. But who else can match his deftness and grace?
PaperBack
James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Hastings Bradley Sheldon), Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home, Ace, 1973
Jean Craighead George, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Jean Craighead George, a Newbery Award-winning writer for young people whose books brought the natural world from the Catskill Mountains to the Alaskan tundra to wild, luminous life, died on Tuesday in Mount Kisco, N.Y. She was 92.
Paging Dan Brown
The Daily Beast: Searching for the remains of a teenager missing for three decades, Italian police opened the Vatican-owned tomb of mobster Enrico De Pedis, but the boxes of bones they found interred with his corpse only deepen the mystery, . . .
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Oops
Minnesota hunter near Junction City mistakes buddy for turkey, shoots him - twice
Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.
Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.
Chuck Brown, R. I. P.
ABC News: Chuck Brown, who styled a unique mix of funk, soul and Latin party sounds to create go-go music in the nation's capital, has died after suffering from pneumonia. He was 75.
Brown, widely acclaimed as the "Godfather of go-go" for his pioneering sound, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Hospital spokesman Gary Stephenson confirmed Brown had died after a hospital stay that began April 18.
Brown, widely acclaimed as the "Godfather of go-go" for his pioneering sound, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Hospital spokesman Gary Stephenson confirmed Brown had died after a hospital stay that began April 18.
Another Contest!
May 31 is the
Submission Deadline
for
The Black Orchid Novella Award
Call for novellas! Please submit your novella for the sixth annual Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA). We are looking for original works of fiction in the tradition of the ratiocinative detective, as exemplified by Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe. Your entry must:
- Emphasize the deductive skills of the sleuth
- Contain no overt sex or violence
- Not include characters from the original series
Entries must be 15,000 to 20,000 words in length, and must be postmarked by May 31, 2012. The winner will be announced at The Wolfe Pack’s Annual Black Orchid Banquet in New York City, December 1, 2012.*
Please visit www.nerowolfe.org for official rules and procedures to submit your novella. For questions, contact the Awards Chair, Jane K. Cleland, jane@janecleland.net.
* If no acceptable candidates are received, AHMM and The Wolfe Pack reserve the right to declare no winner in any given year.
Win Big Bucks by Writing Fiction and Poetry
The New Guard - Literary Review: THE NEW GUARD 2012 CONTESTS
Our 2012 contests are open! Entry period is March 1-June 18, 2012 (postmark). Entries are $15.
Our 2012 contests are open! Entry period is March 1-June 18, 2012 (postmark). Entries are $15.
And Keep Off Her Lawn!
indystar.com: How does a daring woman with a taste for adventure beat turning a couple of hot laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when she is 96 years old?
For Muncie resident Edith Pittenger, by going parasailing at age 100.
For Muncie resident Edith Pittenger, by going parasailing at age 100.
Free this Week for Kindle
Amazon.com: The Grass is Always Greener and other stories eBook: Sandra Balzo: Kindle Store: The Grass is Always Greener•Thou shall love thy neighbor . . . or not
Viscery
•Where abduction meets obsession
My Best Friend's Funeral
•Joe Cardigan plants people--he's the funeral planner
The Grass is Always Greener was the first short story ever written by Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries and Running on Empty), yet it was picked up by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (March 2003) and won both the Robert L. Fish and Macavity awards for Best Short Story.
Balzo's second story, Viscery, was also published in EQMM (December 2004) and went on to win the Derringer Award and a nomination for the Macavity.
Now those edgy stories by this award-winning author, best known for her regional mysteries, are available for the first time since their original publication, bundled with an original short story, My Best Friend's Funeral.
Mike McGrady, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Mike McGrady, a prizewinning reporter for Newsday who to his chagrin was best known as the mastermind of one of the juiciest literary hoaxes in America — the best-selling collaborative novel “Naked Came the Stranger,” whose publication in 1969 made “Peyton Place” look like a church picnic — died on Sunday in Shelton, Wash. He was 78 and lived in Lilliwaup, Wash.
Problem Solved
News - Home: The Board of Education decided in an emergency meeting Tuesday to lower the passing grade on the writing portion of Florida's standardized test after preliminary results showed a drastic drop in student passing scores.
39 Books for a John Buchan Collection
AbeBooks: 39 Books for a John Buchan Collection: John Buchan is best known for his iconic novel The Thirty-Nine Steps. Frequently appearing in lists of the top 100 books of the 20th century, it is widely regarded as the starting point for espionage fiction and yet the novel was written to pass the time while Buchan recovered from illness.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Carlos Fuentes, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Carlos Fuentes, Mexico’s elegant public intellectual and grand man of letters, whose panoramic novels captured the complicated essence of his country’s history for readers around the world, died on Tuesday in Mexico City. He was 83.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: Lucy Cruz and the Chupacabra Killings eBook: Steven Torres: Kindle Store: Photojournalist Lucy Cruz, young, beautiful, talented, and poor, spends her nights sitting outside a farm waiting for El Chupacabra - Puerto Rico's legendary livestock killing beast. The group that hired her want only one clear photo of the animal, but what her camera captures is not one animal killing another - it's murder. When she hands police her photos, she's thrown into a fight for her life against a killer who's only getting started.When the man she loves is nearly murdered, Lucy races to piece together the clues before the killer's aim improves...
Free Today for Kindle!
Amazon.com: Once A Lawman (Ben Stillman) eBook: Peter Brandvold: Kindle Store: Sheriff Ben Stillman thought he'd finished dispensing hard justice in the town of Clantick in the Montana Territory. Then a courtesan and her latest client are found dead with their throats slit, and the citizenry demand immediate action. With a rising body count and no headway in the investigation, the townsfolk are ready to take the law into their own hands...In his career as a lawman, Stillman is used to the sudden violence of the frontier. But now he'll have to implement his detective skills from his years as a Pinkerton to determine the link between the victims, uncover the motive--and identify the killer...
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
TPMMuckraker: There’s a new entrant in the burgeoning concealed-weapon fashion industry. American Tactical Apparel, out of Houston, Texas, makes clothing for “professional door kickers, special responders, and everyday superheroes.”
Guile and Mischief: Tricksters in Literature
AbeBooks: Tricksters - so often featured in a wide variety of literature - are intriguing because they can be good or evil, or both. In many tales, the trickster is cast as the hero who uses their wits and guile to out fox the stronger and faster foe. A classic example would be Odysseus, the ancient Greek who used cunning and trickery to fool his enemies and conquer Troy with his wooden horse. Another example comes in Watership Down where Richard Adams describes rabbit folklore centered on El-ahrairah – a clever rabbit devoted to trickery who infuriates his enemies but repeatedly saves his warren.
Wall Art Update
The Raw Story: A massive block of limestone in France contains what scientists believe are the earliest known engravings of wall art dating back some 37,000 years, according to a study published Monday.
Overlooked Movies -- Gator
Nobody would call Gator a great movie, but it's everything a B-movie should be and a favorite of mine. The title alone would do the trick. Burt Reynolds is Gator McKlusky, the same character he played in another good B-movie, White Lightning. This time he's kicking back after being released from prison, trying to keep things simple and stay out of trouble. Fat chance. He's a moonshiner, after all.The plot has been used many times. Feds are onto Gator and his pappy, and they give him a choice. He either has to help them bring down his old friend Bama (Jerry Reed) or go back to prison. You know what Gator's gonna do, and we're off and running. Reed is great as the villain with a sawed-off, and the Reynolds has a lot of fun as Gator. There's a lot of hardcore violence, but there's also a lot of comedy. That's the way they did it in the '70s.
Reynolds isn't the only one having fun. Jack Weston, Lauren Hutton, Alice Ghostley, Mike Douglas (the talk-show host and singer), and Dub Taylor join in. The drive-ins were nearly all gone by the time this movie came out, but it was perfect drive-in entertainment. Check it out.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Criminal Genius of the Day
The Salt Lake Tribune: Orem teen busted after homework left at scene of crime
Mitchell Guist, R. I. P.
‘Swamp People’ star Mitchell Guist dead�after collapsing on boat: reports� - NY Daily News: "Swamp People" star Mitchell Guist died as he lived: plying his trade on the alligator-infested waters of the bayou.
The reality TV show star collapsed on his boat of an apparent seizure while navigating Louisiana’s Belle River and died Monday morning, WBRZ-TV in Baron Rouge reported.
The reality TV show star collapsed on his boat of an apparent seizure while navigating Louisiana’s Belle River and died Monday morning, WBRZ-TV in Baron Rouge reported.
Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only!
Amazon.com: Lawyers, Guns and Money eBook: J.D. Rhoades: Kindle Store: Andy Cole has a problem. Local crime boss Voit Fairgreen has just dropped a bag full of cash on his desk and hired him to defend Voit's brother Danny on a murder charge. Andy's one of the movers and shakers in the small southern town of Blainesville, and Voit figures Andy's the kind of inside guy that can cut a deal to get his baby brother out of the jam.The problem is that Danny just might be innocent. But someone powerful needs this case buried, and if an innocent man dies for that, so be it.
Andy Cole is a guy who's made a good living by going along to get along. He's been willing to bend every rule, except Rule One--always get paid. But this case will cause him to re-examine his life and push him and his lover, beautiful newspaper editor Elizabeth Sinclair, to risk everything--including their lives-- for the truth.
Unscrewed
Alert reader Dan Read told me that I might fix the problem by removing the Mystery Scene favicon from the blog. I removed the MS link from my blog list, and that seems to have done the trick. I hope all is now well and that you Chrome users aren't being blocked.
Free Today for Kindle
Amazon.com: Killing Ways: Stories eBook: Steven Torres: Kindle Store: From the award-winning author of the PRECINCT PUERTO RICO series...
Screwed Over by Google
Because I had a link on this blog to Mystery Scene magazine, Google is now putting up a roadblock to the blog for Chrome users and claiming there's malware here. This is, of course, total baloney, but apparently there's nothing I can do about it. If there's anybody who still believes Google isn't evil, this should disabuse them of that notion. If you're reading this, it's because you didn't let Google's warning bother you, but I have a feeling my traffic's going to drop like a rock. I'll keep posting for my own amusement, though. If you're not using Chrome, apparently you don't see the warning. I'd suggest using Firefox.
Isadore Haiblum, The Tsaddik of the Seven Wonders, Ballantine, 1971
And Keep Off His Lawn!
NYTimes.com: Today, the persistent British again own the [land speed] record — now at 763 m.p.h. — and [Craig] Breedlove, at age 75, is organizing a team for an attempt to recapture it, with a goal of 800 m.p.h.
Graduate of the Day
The Washington Post: For years, Gac Filipaj mopped floors, cleaned toilets and took out trash at Columbia University.
A refugee from war-torn Yugoslavia, he eked out a living working for the Ivy League school. But Sunday was payback time: The 52-year-old janitor donned a cap and gown to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in classics.
A refugee from war-torn Yugoslavia, he eked out a living working for the Ivy League school. But Sunday was payback time: The 52-year-old janitor donned a cap and gown to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in classics.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
"The Last Book Sale"
Archer County News: On August 10th and 11th of this year, Larry McMurtry will sell hundreds of thousands of books by the shelf lot in an auction from his Archer City bookstore, Booked Up, one of the world’s largest antiquarian book stores in the world.
McMurtry wants to stress that Booked Up will be downsizing but not closing its doors. He will continue to operate Booked Up No. 1 which holds approximately 125,000-130,000 books.
McMurtry wants to stress that Booked Up will be downsizing but not closing its doors. He will continue to operate Booked Up No. 1 which holds approximately 125,000-130,000 books.
H. P. Lovecraft, Donald ‘Duck’ Dun, R. I. P.
Legendary Bassist Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn Passes Away At Age 70: Donald “Duck” Dunn, who played on hundreds of rock and soul classics as the bassist for Booker T. and the MGs, and later as a session player, passed away Sunday morning at the age of 70. Steve Cropper, the MGs guitarist, broke the news on his Facebook page at approximately 12:30AM Eastern time.
“Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live,” Cropper, his lifelong friend, wrote. “Duck Dunn died in his sleep Sunday morning May 13 in Tokyo Japan after finishing 2 shows at the Blue Note Night Club.”
Born in Memphis in November 24, 1941, Dunn started playing bass at the age of 16. “I tried the guitar but it had two strings too many,” he wrote on his website. “It was just too complicated, man! Plus, I grew up with Steve Cropper. There were so many good guitar players another one wasn’t needed. What was needed was a bass.”
Hat tip to jeff Meyerson.
“Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live,” Cropper, his lifelong friend, wrote. “Duck Dunn died in his sleep Sunday morning May 13 in Tokyo Japan after finishing 2 shows at the Blue Note Night Club.”
Born in Memphis in November 24, 1941, Dunn started playing bass at the age of 16. “I tried the guitar but it had two strings too many,” he wrote on his website. “It was just too complicated, man! Plus, I grew up with Steve Cropper. There were so many good guitar players another one wasn’t needed. What was needed was a bass.”
Hat tip to jeff Meyerson.
Happy Mother's Day!
My mother and her mother on Galveston Island, early 1950s. They loved the beach and the waves and the clouds.
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