Saturday, May 26, 2012

Free for Kindle this Weekend!

THE CASE OF THE PINK LADY (Short Story)
Richard Nixon, P. I.  I've read this one, and it's a kick.  Check it out.

Amazon.com: THE CASE OF THE PINK LADY (Short Story) eBook: Casper Bogart: Kindle Store: When Richard Nixon loses the race for Governor of California in 1962, he thinks his life is over. Depressed and unhappy, he stumbles head on into a murder mystery--with him as the P.I.


This short piece of mystery fiction is Nixon like you've never seen him before--hilarious, profane, brilliant--and a great detective.


If you like your P.I.s Hard Boiled, try THE CASE OF THE PINK LADY: A Dick Nixon Mystery.

Free Today for Kindle

Incinerator (Simeon Grist #4)Amazon.com: Incinerator (Simeon Grist #4) eBook: Timothy Hallinan: Kindle Store: 2011 Edgar and Macavity nominee Timothy Hallinan's six novels featuring erudite Los Angeles private eye Simeon Grist have become cult favorites and are now available for the first time since the 1990s. In the fourth book, INCINERATOR, Grist comes up against his most terrifying adversary, a madman who's setting fire to the homeless. As Simeon is drawn into the case – very much against his will – he realizes that the Incinerator has a huge advantage. Somewhere, years ago, the two of them met, and the Incinerator has been nursing hatred and resentment for years. Now, as helpless people burst into flame on Skid Row, Simeon has to scour the wastelands of Los Angeles, and his own past, looking for the face of a killer.

Astronomy Update

Astronomers seize last chance in lifetime to see alignment of Earth, Venus and the Sun 

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Driver Arrested For Pulling Gun To Cut Line At McDonald's Drive-Thru

Free Today for Kindle

The Precinct Puerto Rico FilesAmazon.com: The Precinct Puerto Rico Files eBook: Steven Torres: Kindle Store: Ten tales featuring heroes from the Precinct Puerto Rico series of novels.

Free Today for Kindle

A Flash of Noir: Flash Fiction & Very Short Stories with a TwistAmazon.com: A Flash of Noir: Flash Fiction & Very Short Stories with a Twist eBook: Christopher Pinto: Kindle Store: A Flash of Noir is a collection of flash fiction and short, short stories, laid down old-school style by master mystery writer Christopher Pinto. Writing in the genre of gumshoe detectives and sultry dames, creepy horror and hep cat jive, Pinto has put together a series of mostly one-page, 60-second reads that will transport you to another time...a darker, more sinister time.

Song of the Day

Elmore James - Shake Your Money Maker. - YouTube:

Dropped Names -- Frank Langella

The subtitle of Frank Langella's memoir is Famous Men and Women as I Knew Them. There are over 60 chapters here, each one about a celebrity that Langella has encountered in one way or another during his lengthy career on the stage and in movies. It's gossipy, insightful, funny, sad, and hugely entertaining if, like me, you're a sucker for reading the intimate details of the lives of glamorous people whose lives are so different from your own that they might as well be living on Mars.

The book might have been subtitled First and Last Words, as that's what we get quite often. All the people Langella talks about are deceased except for one, Bunny Mellon, who gets the final chapter in the book. Mellon is one of the people for whom Langella has deep affection, and there are plenty of those here, including Raul Julia, Noel Coward, and Jackie Kennedy Onasis. He didn't like everyone, though, and his portraits of people like Lee Strassberg and Charlton Heston are hilariously bitchy.

Sex? Oh, yeah, and lots of it. Langella tells about many of his own affairs, naming names often enough, but many times simply referring to his "female companion." He mentions his wives, too, though only briefly. But then the book's not supposed to be about him. Even at that, plenty of things about him come through, including his devotion to his craft and his respect for those who practice it well. He doesn't mind revealing his own darker side now and then, either.

I found the book entertaining and downright irresistible. Check it out.

Will the Persecution Never End?

Paris Hilton tries, and fails, to channel French icon Brigitte Bardot in cheesy photo shoot... and spells her name wrong

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Today's Vintage Ad

25 Things To Do With Your Books When You Get A Kindle

25 Things To Do With Your Books When You Get A Kindle

10 Worst Bits of Advice That Boomers Gave Us

10 Worst Bits of Advice That Boomers Gave Us

PaperBack


Hannes Bok, Beyond the Golden Stair, Ballantine, 1970

You Can Stop Wondering about how Ozzie Nelson Made a Living

30 Famous People With Law Degrees

10 Most Bizarre Hiding Spots for Criminals

10 Most Bizarre Hiding Spots for Criminals

Why are locked room mysteries so popular?

Why are locked room mysteries so popular?

8 Books That Shaped American Industry

8 Books That Shaped American Industry

The Most Notorious Actor/Director Feuds in Movie History

The Most Notorious Actor/Director Feuds in Movie History

5 Iconic Pop Culture Moments Improvised at the L/ast Second

5 Iconic Pop Culture Moments Improvised at the Last Second

Pirates of the High Seas

PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS SERIAL TRAILER 1950 - YouTube:

Friday, May 25, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Bacon Lover In Piggly Wiggly Rampage

Robert E. Howard Days

Robert E. Howard Days Coming June 8 & 9 in Cross Plains

Full article and schedule of events at the link.

2012 Scribe Nominees

2012 Scribe Nominees Announced 

The American West as you've never seen it before

The American West as you've never seen it before: Amazing 19th century pictures show the landscape as it was chartered for the first time

Al Gordon, R. I. P.

latimes.com: Al Gordon, an Emmy Award-winning comedy writer who spent much of his more than 40-year career writing for Jack Benny's penny-pinching, vain and perennially 39-year-old persona, has died. He was 89.


Gordon died Wednesday of age-related causes at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his son, Neil.


In a career that began after World War II and included writing for Eddie Cantor's radio show, Gordon soon teamed with comedy writer Hal Goldman.


Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Lee Goldberg Talks about King City

Meet Sgt. Tom Wade, a Western Character in an Industrial Wasteland

Song of the Day

Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (Best Quality) - YouTube:

Uh-Oh

'The Exorcist' to be remade as a TV miniseries

Today's Vintage Ad

The 11 Worst Fast Food Restaurant Names

The 11 Worst Fast Food Restaurant Names

The 1980s’ Most Gloriously Absurd Song Lyrics

The 1980s’ Most Gloriously Absurd Song Lyrics

PaperBack

William Morris, The Wood Beyond the World, Ballantine, 1969

6 Insane Pet Journeys That Put Disney Movies to Shame

6 Insane Pet Journeys That Put Disney Movies to Shame

And Keep Off His Lawn!

Online Athens: A man rode his wheelchair from his home on Winterville Road Tuesday afternoon to confront another man living in a trailer park nearby about $5 that was owed to him, Athens-Clarke police said.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

56-Pound Tumor Removed From Garland Woman

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Teen assaulted Tuesday after canceling order at taco stand

The 36 Absolute Best Things In The World

The 36 Absolute Best Things In The World

6 Absurd Movie Plots You Won't Believe Are Based on Reality

6 Absurd Movie Plots You Won't Believe Are Based on Reality

Archaeology Update

The Raw Story: Argentine experts have discovered the near-complete remains of a new species of Jurassic-era dinosaur that stood on its rear legs and had tiny arms, according to a leading paleontologist.


The find belongs to the Abelisaurus family, “the most common carnivorous species in the southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous Period,” some 70 to 100 million years ago, paleontologist Diego Pol told AFP on Thursday.

Forgotten Books: The Best of Damon Runyon -- Damon Runyon, Edited by E. C. Bentley

I first learned about Damon Runyon from radio and a series called The Damon Runyon Theater. It wasn't like anything else we listened to back in 1949, and I thought it was great, not because of the stories themselves but because of the language. I guess that even as a grade-schooler, I was already aware of such things on some level, because the unique narration has stuck with me through many years. The radio show was just being true to the stories from which it was derived, though I didn't find that out until years later.

Here's an example of that narration, picked at random from a story called "Blood Pressure." The stories are all narrated in the first person by the same (I suppose) unnamed character. Sometimes he's just reporting; sometimes he has a role in the action, as in this case: "Now of course I do not wish to go to Nathan Detroit's crap game; and if I do wish to go there I do not wish to go with Rusty Charley, because a guy is sometimes judged by the company he keeps, especially around crap games, and Rusty Charley is apt to be considered bad company. Anyway, I do not have any dough to shoot craps with, and if I do have dough to shoot craps with, I will not shoot craps with it at all, but will bet it on Sun Beau, or maybe take it home and pay off some of the overhead around my joint, such as rent."

Great stuff, right? Well, I think so.

The collection of stories pictured here is a well-worn Armed Services Edition with a fine introduction by E. C. Bentley of Trent's Last Case fame. It contains at least one of the stories I remember from the radio show, "The Brain Goes Home." There might well be more. Doesn't matter, they're still fun and fresh and a pleasure for me to read. You might give one a try and see what you think, or you could go here and listen to one of the radio shows. Maybe you'll get as big a kick out of it as I did all those years ago.

Paths of Glory

Paths of Glory - Trailer - YouTube:

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Manson Family Update

Exclusive: New Evidence Possible in Manson Family Murders

Peru Update

Temple of Doom: Scientists Discover Peruvian Tomb Filled with Mummies, Infants

Hal Jackson, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Hal Jackson, a veteran broadcaster who broke down racial barriers, becoming one of the first black disc jockeys to reach a large white audience and an omnipresent voice on New York City radio for more than 50 years, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 96.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I Do NOT Recommend Clicking on the Link

Mao Sugiyama Cooks, Serves Own Genitals At Banquet In Tokyo (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

Hat tip to the thoughtful Walter Satterthwait.

FINALISTS: 2012 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards

FINALISTS: 2012 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards 

How Did He Beat Seepy Benton to the Solution?

The Local: Shouryya Ray, who moved to Germany from India with his family at the age of 12, has baffled scientists and mathematicians by solving two fundamental particle dynamics problems posed by Sir Isaac Newton over 350 years ago, Die Welt newspaper reported on Monday.


Ray’s solutions make it possible to now calculate not only the flight path of a ball, but also predict how it will hit and bounce off a wall. Previously it had only been possible to estimate this using a computer, wrote the paper.

The Happiest Countries in the World

The Happiest Countries in the World 

Free Today for Kindle

Amazon.com: The Harrowing eBook: Alexandra Sokoloff: Kindle Store: Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it's only gathering itself for the coming weekend.

As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal themselves: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.

Song of the Day

The Kalin Twins- Forget Me Not (Doo wop) - YouTube:

7 People Who Risked It All to Achieve (Very Stupid) Goals

7 People Who Risked It All to Achieve (Very Stupid) Goals

Where the Successful Mystery Writer Gets His Ideas

Davy Crockett's Almanack of Mystery, Adventure and The Wild West: Where the Successful Mystery Writer Gets His Ideas

Today's Vintage Ad

13 Old War Photographs You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped

13 Old War Photographs You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped

Readers of this Blog Will Not Be Surprised

Mt. Auburn drug raid nets alligators. Yes, alligators

20 Awesome Photos Of Money That Was Drawn On

20 Awesome Photos Of Money That Was Drawn On

PaperBack


Larry Niven, The Shape of Space, Ballantine, 1969




Bad to the Bone

The children from The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham The Worst Children in Literature on AbeBooks: Children can be innocent, inquisitive and the embodiment of hope. But those characteristics make for boring stories. Sometimes authors enjoy creating a fictional child that is just plain nasty. Draco Malfoy might be a bigot and a bully, but he’s rarely dull and is a vital ingredient in the Harry Potter novels. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would not be such a tasty read without greedy Augustus Gloop, bratty Violet Beauregarde and the spoiled Veruca Salt.

Mugshot Hall of Famers?

ETX Family (Allegedly) Peddles Drugs Together and Goes to Jail Together

Or Maybe You Did

9 Classic Songs You Didn’t Know Were Covers

The 9 Worst Employee Freak-Outs in History

The 9 Worst Employee Freak-Outs in History

The 7 Hardest Languages to Master

The 7 Hardest Languages to Master

Paul Fussell, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Paul Fussell, the wide-ranging, stingingly opinionated literary scholar and cultural critic whose admiration for Samuel Johnson, Kingsley Amis and the Boy Scout Handbook and his withering scorn for the romanticization of war, the predominance of television and much of American society were dispensed in more than 20 books, died on Wednesday in Medford, Ore. He was 88.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Paris Hilton Update

Paris and Nicky Hilton choose entirely different looks to party together in Cannes 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Archaeology Update

The Raw Story: Archaeologists have uncovered a tiny clay seal inscribed with the word “Bethlehem” in what is believed to be the earliest evidence for the existence of the ancient biblical city.

Honolulu Leads the Way

The Raw Story: Los Angeles has something of a bad reputation for traffic jams, with its perennially snarled freeways. But, surprisingly, it’s not the worst US city for gridlock, says a new study.


That dubious honor goes to .. Honolulu.


Commuters in the Hawaiian paradise capital spent some 58 hours not moving in their cars last year, said the study which nevertheless put LA in second place, with San Francisco and New York not far behind in the traffic nightmare stakes.

Thieves' Highway

Thieves' Highway (1949) Theatrical Trailer - YouTube:

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Janet Carroll. R. I. P.

People.com: Janet Carroll, who played Tom Cruise's oblivious mother in the movie Risky Business, died Tuesday at 71.


The Chicago-born actress, who had a long career in movies and television, died in New York after a lengthy illness, Variety reports.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Check with Sheriff Rhodes

Oxford University looks for Yeti DNA 

Henry Denker, R. I. P.

Henry Denker, Author in Many Genres, Dies at 99 - NYTimes.com: In a 1949 press release sent out after the publication of his first novel, “I’ll Be Right Home, Ma,” about a light-heavyweight fighter with “a sweet right-hand sock,” Henry Denker declared his belief that “a writer should be active in several forms of his trade.” He added: “Writing is a business and should be practiced as such. On days when you think you can’t possibly write a line you do it anyhow.”


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Eddie Blazonczyk, R. I. P.

 Spinner: Grammy Award-winning polka great Eddie Blazonczyk, who began playing the lively music in the 1950s and went on to earn the nickname "Polka King" after starting his own band and label, has died. He was 70.


His record label, Bel-Aire Recordings, and his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr., said Tuesday that Blazonczyk died of natural causes Monday at a hospital in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Bluto Blutarsky Sought for Questioning

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge: Burning text books may have been the cause of the fire that burned down the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house at Louisiana Tech in Ruston Saturday afternoon.


"I think some of the guys that were maybe doing an end of year celebration and burning some books or whatever, so we'll look into that," says Sophomore and Pi Kappa Alpha president John Chestnut.


Link via Neatorama.

Where Were Klaw and Finn on Monday?

Corpus Christi Caller-Times: CORPUS CHRISTI — A giant gorilla on the loose Monday in Corpus Christi may have been found.

No Comment Department

Couple splits over 550 house cats

Song of the Day

Gombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica - YouTube:

Where There Are Wills

The Raw Story: The wills of famous Britons such as Winston Churchill are among those of six million people being published online for the first time Wednesday.


The massive collection of documents, which also includes the wills of Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale and Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, has been made availabe by family history website ancestry.co.uk.

Today's Vintage Ad

Top Ten Signs You Are Not a City Person

Top Ten Signs You Are Not a City Person

6 Terrifying Creatures That Keep Going After They're Dead

6 Terrifying Creatures That Keep Going After They're Dead

PaperBack

James Branch Cabell, Figures of Earth, Ballantine, 1969

Seepy Benton Knew this Already

CNN.com Blogs: Saddle up for maximum snack satisfaction (mathematically speaking)

Too Late for Me, I'm Afraid

Hang On. Immortality 33 Years Away

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Prosecutors: Man Shot Wife To Death After Argument About New Car

35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects

35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects

15 Famous Companies That Started As Something Much Different

15 Famous Companies That Started As Something Much Different

Authors Who Went to War

The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLeanAbeBooks: Authors Who Went to War: Many young men with a talent for writing have gone off to war. Some did not return but many did and went on to enjoy illustrious literary careers. Their experiences often inspired books with lasting legacies - Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut are three famous examples.

Get a Rope!

Silicon Valley exec charged with Lego thefts 

Hat tip to Art Scott.

The Lair of The White Worm

The Lair of The White Worm - Trailer - YouTube:

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Free for Kindle -- 3 Days Only!

Trial Junkies (A Thriller)Amazon.com: Trial Junkies (A Thriller) eBook: Robert Gregory Browne: Kindle Store: FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME (Ends 5/24/12)


The first book in a new series from ITW Thriller Award nominee, Robert Gregory Browne:


Ethan "Hutch" Hutchinson hasn't seen his old college pals in nearly ten years. Now fate has brought them together again as one of the gang is put on trial for a brutal, senseless murder.


The Chicago police and prosecutor think they have their perp, but Hutch isn't about to sit silently in a courtroom as someone he cares about is wrongfully convicted.

Why Does It Always Have to be Snakes?

Very large snake slithering through Columbia neighborhood

And Why Not?

Kansas City man wants to bring alligators to court 

Play with Tomorrow’s Amazing Moog Google Doodle Today

 Play with Tomorrow’s Amazing Moog Google Doodle Today

Just a Few Friends Out for a Drive

Man Arrested for OWI with Zebra, Parrot in Front Seat of Truck

Me, Me, Me

Book Blog – Likely Stories, from Booklist Online:  Bill Crider and His Popular Culture Magazine: If You Don’t Know Him, It’s a Crime

Timothy Hallinan Interviews Bruce de Silva

Timothy Hallinan - The Blog Cabin

I'm Not Surprised

25,000% increase in website traffic leads to 0.048% increase in e-book sales

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Drunk Driving? That Gets One Texas Man 45 Years in Prison 

Song of the Day

Bobby Edwards - You're The Reason (1961) - YouTube:

Today's Vintage Ad

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Son wields nerf sword to defend mother from brother

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Ferndale man punches fiancee after she kisses another woman, setting off backyard brawl

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Readers' Poll: Best Beards in Rock

5 Nazi Plans That Prove They Were Dumber Than You Think

5 Nazi Plans That Prove They Were Dumber Than You Think

PaperBack


James Branch Cabell, The High Place, Ballantine, 1970

I Miss the Old Days

When Manly Men Wore Questionable Slacks

The Aggies Gotta Love This

University of Texas apologizes for ‘pubic affairs’ commencement typo

With the Inevitable #1

20 Best TV Series Finales Ever

27 Photographs Of Turn Of The Century Boston Baseball

27 Photographs Of Turn Of The Century Boston Baseball

The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects

10 YA Books That Scarred Us For Life

10 YA Books That Scarred Us For Life

Overlooked Movies -- La fille de d'Artagnan

La fille de d'Artagnan is available via Netflix streaming as Revenge of the Musketeers. It's subtitled, and as far as I know, there's no dubbed version. This one was recommended by Walter Satterthwait, who likes a good Musketeers movie as much as I do.

Eloise, the daughter of d'Artagnan, is in a convent when a runaway slave appears, looking for safety. He doesn't find it, as his pursuers arrive and kill the mother superior. Eloise finds a piece of paper that the slave has used to cover a wound and believes that it's the coded key to a conspiracy (it's a laundry list). She's a spirited young woman, so she goes off to find her father, who, she's sure, will break the conspiracy and save the king.

The movie's a comedy, by the way. There's lots of stuff about the supposed code, and the evil Cardinal Rochefort is involved in so many conspiracies, he's perfectly willing to believe that he's involved in this one. Or another one, since a poet in love with Eloise has written a poem ("Dance, butterfly, dance") that's fallen into the cardinal's hands. And, sure enough, there's a real conspiracy, as the evil Duke Crassac and his beautiful (but evil) paramour are out to kill the king.

There are lots of sword fights, and while Eloise isn't skilled, she's very enthusiastic. The Musketeers, having grown old, aren't enthusiastic, but they're still skilled enough to defeat any number of villains.

You probably have to be in the right mood for this one. It's the kind of movie in which a man believed to have been dead for many years turns out to be alive. "I can explain," he says, but he never does. I thought it was funny, and I enjoyed the geezerly action. Check it out.

La fille de d'Artagnan

Trailer La fille de d'Artagnan - YouTube:

Monday, May 21, 2012

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention

King of the Outback (Fight Card)Amazon.com: King of the Outback (Fight Card) eBook: Jack Tunney, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom, David Foster: Kindle Store: Outback Australia 1954

Two rival tent boxing troupes clash over a territorial dispute in the Outback town of Birdsville. In the sweltering heat, tensions simmer, tempers flare, and as things reach boiling point, a boxing tent is burned to the ground.

Fighting men know only one way to solve their disputes, and that’s in the ring. The solution, a show-down, smack-down, winner take all bout between the two rival outfits.

In the blue corner, representing ‘Walter Wheeler’s Boxing Sideshow’ is Tommy King, a young aboriginal boxer with a big heart and iron fists.

In the red corner, representing ‘Arnold Sanderson’s Boxing Show’, is ‘Jumpin’ Jack Douglas, a monstrous wrecking machine from the city – a man who’ll do anything to win.

The fight – brutal. In the world of Tent Boxing, in the harsh Australian Outback, weight divisions and rules don’t count for much. It’s a fight to decide, who is indeed, King of the Outback!

Hard Country -- Michael McGarrity

Hard Country is probably going to be sold as a historical novel, since it's over 600 pages long, but it's a western. And a family saga. It begins with John Kerney, an Irish immigrant and former Union solider. He's settled in Texas, but his luck is bad. His wife dies in childbirth, and on the same day his brother and his brother's son are murdered. Kerney has to give up his own son, Patrick, to be cared for by others while he tries to make a life for himself, not in Texas but in the New Mexico Territory.

The novel takes us through Kerney's life and adventures and then follows Patrick Kerney into the 20th century. Along with the Kerneys, there's Cal Doran, who's handy with a gun and who's a good friend to both John, Patrick, and Emma, Patrick's wife. There's a lot going on in the novel, and the Kerneys are involved in both the Spanish American War and WWI. They meet and get involved with historical figures like Billy the Kid, Albert Fall, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, and a lot of others. There are fights with the Apaches, roundups and brandings, gunfights and crime investigations. The history of New Mexico and the history of the Kerneys play out together. New Mexico is the hard country of the title, and the land itself plays a big role in the story.

There's a lot going on, but it's all easy to follow thanks to McGarrity's writing. His style is perfect for the story, and it carries everything along at a brisk pace, making the book seem much shorter than it is.

If you're familiar with McGarrity's crime novels, you know that they feature a character named Kevin Kerney. It's his ancestors that we meet in Hard Country. They're quite a crew, though for me Cal Doran was by far the most likable character in the book. Patrick Kerney, to tell the truth, is pretty hard to take.

It's great to see a big, sweeping western like this one from a major publisher, and I expect it to be a contender for a Spur award, and probably a winner. Check it out.

Song of the Day

13th Floor Elevators - Your Gonna Miss Me - YouTube:

‘Esquire’ to Publish E-Book Series Devoted to “Fiction for Men”

 ‘Esquire’ to Publish E-Book Series Devoted to “Fiction for Men”

Today's Vintage Ad

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Ferndale man punches fiancee after she kisses another woman, setting off backyard brawl 

20 Famous Rejection Letters We Can All Learn From

20 Famous Rejection Letters We Can All Learn From

Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life: Ray Bradbury on Creative Purpose in the Face of Rejection

Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life: Ray Bradbury on Creative Purpose in the Face of Rejection

100 Things That Will Not Exist In 1000 Years

100 Things That Will Not Exist In 1,000 Years

PaperBack


Fletcher Pratt, The Blue Star, Ballantine, 1969

The Strangest Source Material in Movie History

The Strangest Source Material in Movie History

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Hair Balls: A former Texas high school student has filed a federal lawsuit saying he was injured while portraying a Jew during a Panhandle school's traditional day of Nazi roleplay.

The San Antonio Bat House

The San Antonio Bat House

And the steel rails still ain't heard the news

Beautiful Abandoned Train Stations From All Over the World

15 Current Technologies A Child Born Today Will Never Use

15 Current Technologies A Child Born Today Will Never Use

Top 10 Successful Comedians That Were SNL Flops | Top 10 Lists | TopTenz.net

Top 10 Successful Comedians That Were SNL Flops

The Rare Breed

The Rare Breed - Trailer - YouTube:

Sunday, May 20, 2012

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Half-naked woman in hot pink duct tape attacks, injures 3 cops

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Dream come true! Two 'mad scientists' create sleep mask that lets people CONTROL their dreams 

Robin Gibb, R. I. P.

Music News | Rolling Stone: Gibb was born in Manchester, England, in 1949, along with twin brother Maurice. (Maurice died in 2003 of complications from a twisted intestine; eerily, Robin had surgery for the same medical issue in 2010.) Along with their older brother Barry, the brothers began harmonizing as a trio in Australia, where the family moved in 1958. Although the Bee Gees had some success in Australia – they hosted a weekly variety show there – they didn't truly arrive until they returned to England and signed with manager Robert Stigwood. Robin's quivering, vulnerable voice was featured prominently on several of the group's earliest and most Beatles-eque hits, including "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "I Started a Joke," "Massachusetts," and "I've Gotta Get a Message to You."

Free Today for Kindle!

Amazon.com: The Twisted Ones eBook: Vin Packer: Kindle Store: WHY DID THEY KILL?
The Twisted OnesThese were nice kids, model kids. They didn’t wear leather jackets and roam the streets in “wolf packs”; they didn’t steal and mug for dope. For kids, they were well mannered and quiet. They were attractive and nicely dressed. You’d have welcomed them as next-door neighbors.


Yet...


one raped


one murdered


one killed by fire


What got into them? What dark thoughts tormented them when they were alone at night?

The 10 Most Glorious Unibrows In Sports History

The 10 Most Glorious Unibrows In Sports History

Song of the Day

Mouse & the Traps - Maid of Sugar -Maid of Spice - YouTube:

10 Best Time Travel Movies of All Timelines

10 Best Time Travel Movies of All Timelines

Today's Vintage Ad

What's Baffling? He Was on Her Lawn!

Mail Online: Why did she do it? Grandmother, 74, 'shoots teenage grandson dead' on lawn of her upmarket home in killing that has left police baffled

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World

The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Dozens Of Racoons Invade A Neighborhood, Eat Doritos

PaperBack

Edmund Cooper & Roger Lancelyn Green, Double Phoenix, Ballantine, 1971

Will the Persecution Never End?

Mail Online: Hang on, she's not a movie star! Paris Hilton enjoys being mobbed by fans in Cannes (despite having only reality shows to her name)

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

10 of the Weirdest Children’s Book Authors of All Time

10 of the Weirdest Children’s Book Authors of All Time

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Police: Man robs grocery store clerk at gunpoint, flees with cake

Rocketman

Rocketman

WINNERS: 2011 Nebula Awards

WINNERS: 2011 Nebula Awards - SF Signal 

As If You Needed the Reminder

48 Things That Will Make You Feel Old

5 Terrifying Secrets About Riding in an Ambulance

5 Terrifying Secrets About Riding in an Ambulance

21 Weirdest Things About Old-School Baseball

21 Weirdest Things About Old-School Baseball

The Far Country

The Far Country (1954) Trailer - YouTube: