Saturday, June 16, 2012

Oops

I don't recommend that any guys click this link.  It's just too painful.

A Review of Interest (to Me, Anyway)

A GHOST OF A CHANCE by Bill Crider - BookHound

Song of the Day

Wimoweh - YouTube:

San Diego Leads the Way

Deep-Fried Breakfast Cereal Debuted at San Diego County Fair

Today's Vintage Ad

Patti Abbott's Drabble Challenge

Patti Abbott has challenged readers of her blog to write a Drabble (a story of exactly 100 words). Links to the stories will appear on her blog. Some of the stories will be there, too. Check it out. pattinase: Drabble Challenge

A Review of Interest (to Me, Anyway)

Ed Gorman's blog: Forgotten Books: Blood Marks by Bill Crider

30 Very Sound Pieces Of Advice

30 Very Sound Pieces Of Advice

Astronomy Update

A moon of Saturn may have 'tropical' lakes – Light Years - CNN.com Blogs: They might not be fit for humans to swim in, but "tropical" lakes may exist on one of Saturn's moons that could harbor tiny organisms.


Scientists report Wednesday in the journal Nature that the moon Titan may have methane lakes among the dunes that pervade the tropics, the region of the moon between 20 degrees of latitude north and 20 degrees of latitude south.

PaperBack

If, 11/53

Top 10 On-Screen Performances That Made The Actor’s Life Hell (Killed Their Career)

Top 10 On-Screen Performances That Made The Actor’s Life Hell (Killed Their Career)

I Miss the Old Days

The 10 Sexiest Shirt Ads From The 1970s

And Keep Off His Lawn!

ABC News: From the moment 73-year-old Carl Ericsson rang his old high school classmate's doorbell in January, verified the man's identity and then shot him dead, the question had been what prompted him to confront a man he hadn't even spoken to in years.


The startling answer, a prosecutor said Friday, was a 1950s locker room humiliation that festered in Ericsson's mind for a half-century.

For the First Time I Can Sympathize with the Newt

Looks like my signing line at Bouchercon.

A Very Sad Picture Of Newt Gingrich

10 Famous Directors’ Biggest Missteps

10 Famous Directors’ Biggest Missteps

The 6 Most Adorable Stories in the History of War

The 6 Most Adorable Stories in the History of War

Hangman's Knot

HANGMAN'S KNOT TRAILER 1952 RANDOLPH SCOTT - YouTube:

Friday, June 15, 2012

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

ABC News: A Texas teacher will lose her job after ordering more than 20 kindergartners to line up and hit a classmate accused of being a bully, a district spokesman said Friday.

And Keep Off His Lawn!

 The News Herald: A 67-year-old Southport man was jailed Wednesday after he allegedly held six children at gunpoint when they used his driveway to turn their off-road vehicle around.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Braidwood burglars bite off victim's ear

A Blog Post of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Ed Gorman's blog: New Books

Song of the Day

I Can`t Stop - The Honeycombs - YouTube:

10 Amazing Contemporary Comic Book Covers

10 Amazing Contemporary Comic Book Covers

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Today's Vintage Ad

Interview with Colby Jackson (Among Others)

Last night's interview with me, James Reasoner, and Mel Odom can be found here if you happened to miss it: Authors Corner Review with Host Elaine Raco Chase 06/14 by Triangle Variety Radio

5 Real People Who Got Screwed by Famous Movies Based on Them

5 Real People Who Got Screwed by Famous Movies Based on Them

40 Of The Best Summers Anyone Ever Had

40 Of The Best Summers Anyone Ever Had

PaperBack


Donald Henderson Clarke, Impatient Virgin, Avon, 1951





10 Best Modern Political Speeches

10 Best Modern Political Speeches

Benjamin Harrison Update

Michigan State University Libraries: This is believed to be the oldest known recording of any U.S. President. It was recorded on an Edison wax cylinder sometime around 1889.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Finish him! Parents turn Pre-K graduation into fight

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

You Know You're Going to Watch

SyFy's 'Bigfoot' movie pics

Welcome to London

Welcome to London 2012: Tourist has illegally parked car BLOWN UP...and then (naturally) he's given a ticket

The 10 Biggest Research Scandals in Academic History

The 10 Biggest Research Scandals in Academic History

And Keep Off Her Lawn!

72-year-old Metairie woman helps son pummel burglar

Forgotten Books: The Midnight Lady and the Mourning Man -- David Anthony (William Dale Smith)

This is the British movie edition of The Midnight Lady and the Mourning Man, which was filmed as The Midnight Man with Burt Lancaster. I talked about the movie on Tuesday.

The book, as you might guess, is somewhat different from the movie. In the movie Lancaster's character, Jim Slade, is a nightwatchman at a college. See Tuesday's post for more details. In the novel, the character's name is Morgan Butler, and he's a part-time constable and a full-time farmer. He's also a former private-investigator for a big firm. P. I. work is now his avocation, as he calls it, and he takes on high-paying, dangerous jobs to support his farming.

As in the film, there's a murder on a college campus, and Butler investigates. The murdered girl's father, a senator in the movie, is a business tycoon in the book. He wants the crime solved, and he hires Butler to investigate privately after the local sheriff closes the books on the crime, convinced that he has the killer safely locked in jail. The book's plot is quite convoluted, and it's a bit reminiscent of something Ross Macdonald might do. I remember being surprised at the outcome when I read the book 40 years ago, but not this time. Maybe I remembered it, since I did remember quite a bit of the plot, more than I thought I would. I'm not sure how a reader today would react to the story and the style, but I enjoyed reading this one again.

William Dale Smith wrote a number of books as David Anthony, and I've read three or four of them. I liked them all, but Anthony seems entirely forgotten now. I checked the Thrilling Detective website, and Anthony's not mentioned there, though Butler is clearly operating as a private-eye in this novel. Anthony's other series character is Stan Bass, and I liked Stud Game, one of the novels he appears in. He's a p.i. who works to support his gambling habit. If you like private-eye fiction, Anthony's books are worth a look.

The James Brothers of Missouri

The James Brothers of Missouri - Serial Trailer - YouTube:

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Cave Painting Update #2

Discovery News: Stone Age artists used‭ ‬cartoon-like techniques to give the impression that wild beasts were trotting or running across cave walls,‭ ‬a new study‭ has suggested.


‭Reporting in ‬ the June issue of Antiquity, archaeologist Marc Az�ma of the University of Toulouse–Le Mirail in France and independent French artist Florent Rivere argued that by about‭ ‬30,000‭ ‬years ago Paleolithic artists used "animation effects" in their paintings. To render the movement, they deconstructed it in successive images.

All the Comforts of Home

The Raw Story: An Argentine widow was spending days in the tomb of her husband who died two years ago, having set up a bed, Internet access and even a small cooker next to his coffin, officials told AFP Thursday.


“Police found Adriana Villareal had carried out some work in the tomb where her husband’s coffin was. She had a radio, a computer, Internet, a chair and a small cooker,” said local police commissioner Gustavo Braganza.

Cave Painting Update

Yahoo! News: New tests show that crude Spanish cave paintings of a red sphere and handprints are the oldest in the world, so ancient they may not have been by modern man.

So? 911 is for Emergencies, Isn't It?

Man Calls 911 for Over Sandwich Order

Soon to be an HBO Series

NY Daily News: A GANGLAND WAR nearly erupted over pizza — but luckily, cooler heads prevailed during a sitdown at a Panera Bread cafe, a mob turncoat told Brooklyn jurors Wednesday.


Ex-Colombo capo Anthony Russo delivered delicious testimony about a former mob pal whose blood boiled like a simmering red sauce when he heard a Bonanno associate had stolen a family recipe.

Macavity Award Nominees

Mystery Fanfare: Macavity Award Nominees

Now Available for Kindle!

Blood MarksAmazon.com: Blood Marks eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store: He's smart, he's attractive, and he has a special vision: whenever he sees the blood marks on a woman--marks only he can see--he knows what he must do.

Kill her. Brutally. And not leave a trace of himself behind.

Nine women have died so far. And pretty Casey Buckner may be next. A young divorcee who's recently moved into an apartment complex near the Astrodome, Casey's already met three men in the building: a married accountant, a single writer, and a psychologist.

One of them is a serial killer. But which one...?

"...Not for gentle tastes, but a striking addition to the serial- killer subgenre--gory, repugnant, and gripping to its last ugly reverberation." - Kirkus Reviews

Free Today for Kindle

Razzamatazz (A Crime Novel)Amazon.com: Razzamatazz (A Crime Novel) eBook: Sandra Scoppettone: Kindle Store: The last thing veteran reporter Colin McGuire , fleeing his job on a big-city newspaper in the wake numbing personal tragedy, expects to find in sleepy little Seaville on Long Island’s North Fork is murder. In a few short weeks Seaville has brought him friends, some comfort and perhaps more in the person of Annie Winters, who is also trying to build a new life. But as the murders multiply, so, too, do the questions and the doubts. Friends suspect friends, lovers suspect lovers and sooner or later a lot of people begin to suspect Colin.

The Most Ironic Crocs Photo You'll Ever See

The Most Ironic Crocs Photo You'll Ever See

Rancho Diablo On the Air!

Tonight James Reasoner, Mel Odom, and I will be on Internet radio to talk about our books and our Rancho Diablo series. You can listen to the show here: www.trianglevarietyradio.com Click on blog talk radio silver bar and thatbrings you into the outer studio and a red lite says ON THE AIR – do this at 8:05 PM Eastern, 7:00 PM Central, and so on. You don't want to miss a minute of this thrilling show.

Dave Boswell, R. I. P.

Dave Boswell, Pitcher Who Tussled With Billy Martin, Is Dead at 67 - NYTimes.com: Dave Boswell won 20 games to help take the Minnesota Twins to an American League division championship in 1969. He pitched in a World Series when he was only 20. But for many he is most remembered as a combatant on the list of Billy Martin’s greatest fights.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

At Least the Aliens Aren't Mutilating Them

Farmer blames heat rays for cows' deaths

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Song of the Day

Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour - YouTube:

That's Why God Made the Radio -- The Beach Boys

It's been a while since I said anything about a new album, but this one deserves a mention. The Beach Boys are celebrating 50 years of music. They haven't always been together during that time, but there's always been a Beach Boys keeping the name and the music alive. Now the remaining original members have recorded together for the first time in a lot of years, and I really do like the result.

Being a geezer, I can remember the excitement generated when the group's first recordings came out of the tiny radio speakers. What great songs those were, especially if you were the right age. They were about what many great songs are about: cars and girls, the summer and the beach. And the group had a great sound. What's scary about this new album is that the sound is exactly the same. These guys are as old as I am, but it's as if they haven't aged a day. Their voices haven't aged, and the music hasn't aged, either. There's nostalgia, sure, but this is timeless stuff. The songs now are more self-aware the the early ones, and don't let that great summer sound fool you: some of them are pretty dark, especially "Summer's Gone" and "Pacific Coast Highway."

If you think the Beach Boys are something from the past, you should give this album a try. I don't know where they'll go from here, but if this is their last recording (and I hope it's not), it's a great one to go out on. Cowabunga!

Today's Vintage Ad

Top 10 Obscure Wars

Top 10 Obscure Wars

12 Most Amazing Secluded Houses

12 Most Amazing Secluded Houses

PaperBack


Jack Woodford, Grounds for Divorce, Novel Library, 1948




Chuck Norris The Movie Trailer

Chuck Norris The Movie Trailer

7 Horror Movies That Will Teach You to Never Drive at Night

7 Horror Movies That Will Teach You to Never Drive at Night

No Comment Department

Hollywood Reporter: 'Lone Ranger' Budget Back Up to $250 Million
Insiders say the Johnny Depp Western, which was cut to $215 million, is well over its revised budget -- in addition to possibly being weeks behind its filming schedule.

Philly Leads the Way

Most Bed-Bug Infested Cities 2012

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

I Miss the Old Days

Awkward family photos, the 80s edition

Spoilers Galore if You Haven't Seen the Shows

The 30 Saddest Television Deaths

The Real Fast and Furious

Incredible video shows Romanian gang robbing truck from bonnet of car as they hurtle along a motorway

For Flag Day: America's 10 Best State Flags

For Flag Day: America's 10 Best State Flags

Flag Day (United States)

U.S. Flag DayFlag Day (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: In the United States Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.[1] The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.[2][3]


In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

The Lone Ranger

Lone Ranger, The - Trailer (1956) - YouTube:

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Pizza vending machines are headed for the U.S. later this year

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

The Storm WithoutAmazon.com: The Storm Without eBook: Tony Black: Kindle Store: Still recovering from the harrowing case that ended his police career, Doug Michie returns to his boyhood home of Ayr on Scotland’s wind-scarred west coast. He hopes to rebuild his shattered life, get over the recent failure of his marriage and shed his demons, but the years have changed the birthplace of the poet Robert Burns.

When Doug meets an old school-days flame, Lyn, he feels his past may offer the salvation of a future. But Lyn’s son has been accused of murder and she begs Doug to find the truth.

Soon Doug is tangled in a complicated crimeweb of corrupt politicians, frightened journalists and a police force in cahoots with criminals. As he uncovers illicit smuggling activities at the town’s port and falls firmly on the wrong side of eastern European ganglords, the problems he left behind in Ulster are now the least of his worries. Only Burns’ philosophical musings offer Doug some shelter as he wanders the streets of Auld Ayr battling The Storm Without.

Out of the Gutter Update

If you haven't heard, Out of the Gutter, "The Modern Journal of Pulp Fiction and Degenerate Literature," is back in action, live online, and taking submissions!

That's right, I said online, meaning that we're publishing direct to the Web, and the best address to catch us at these days iswww.outofthegutteronline.com, although we will still answer your clicks at the original address.

And don’t worry, we will be turning out print editions of Out of the Gutter just like in the bad old days, but the material will now be gleaned exclusively from our regular online publication. That means that if we put your story, interview, rant or what-have-you on our website, you may very well wind up in the print journal (which will also be an ebook journal, because we had to move into the digital age sooner or later) and get yourself a little $ and/or an Out of the Gutter Online T-shirt.

In the meantime, we need your comments and shares to kick things off in world-class fashion. Under the editorship of Joe Clifford we have new flash fiction going up twice a week, the latest being "Time Bomb" by Dana C. Kabel, and we have a new BAREKNUCKLES PULP FICTION DEPT. about to launch, with stories going up every Monday, edited by Court Merrigan and taking submissionsnow.

There are also, either up now or coming soon, reviews, noir news pieces, and author interviews. And if you want to go Gutter on issues of the day, check out the "Opinion Pages," where the views don't necessarily reflect anything any good American is allowed to think about or discuss.

At present there are openings for nonfiction contributors of all kinds, and even more openings for up-and-coming and established pulp writers who would like get their work into circulation and reach our ever-growing audience. If you want to get in on the action, it all starts with visiting www.outofthegutteronline.com.

Paris Hilton Update

Paris Hilton's muscular physique down to new bodybuilder's diet

Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.

Gator Update (Airboat Captain Edition)

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: The hand of a southwest Florida airboat captain was bitten off by an alligator Tuesday but wildlife officials were later able to find the gator and retrieve the hand from its stomach.


Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Texas town decides election by roll of the dice

Amazon.com: Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film Adaptations (9780786465781): Max Allan Collins, James L. Traylor: Books

Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film AdaptationsAmazon.com: Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film Adaptations (9780786465781): Max Allan Collins, James L. Traylor: Books: In the mid-20th century, Mickey Spillane was the sensation of not just mystery fiction but publishing itself. The level of sex and violence in his Mike Hammer thrillers (starting with I, The Jury in 1947) broke down long-held taboos and engendered a near hysterical critical backlash. Nonetheless, Spillane's influence has been felt--reflections of Hammer are visible in nearly every subsequent tough guy of fiction and film, including James Bond, Dirty Harry, Shaft, Billy Jack, and Jack Bauer. Spillane's fiction came to the screen in a series of films that include Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and The Girl Hunters (1963) with the author himself playing his private eye. These films, and television series starring Darren McGavin and Stacy Keach respectively, are examined in a lively, knowledgeable fashion by Spillane experts. Included are cast and crew listings, brief biographical entries on key persons, and a lengthy interview with Spillane.

I've been reading this one over the course of several days. It's packed with great info, and it's a must for fans of Spillane and Mike Hammer. It's pricey but it's the kind of thing that some of us find irresistible.

Song of the Day

Ray Awalt Matilda - YouTube: Yesterday I posted the version of this song by Cookie and the Cupcakes. Here's the version by Ray Awalt from Mexia, Texas, one of the writers.

Write a Novel, Win Big Prizes!

Top Suspense Group: You Can Write a DEAD MAN Novel: How would you like to become a PUBLISHED AUTHOR...and win $1000 in cash and prizes?


Now's your chance to win a $500 advance, a $500 Amazon gift card, and a publishing contract to write your own tale in the hugely popular DEAD MAN saga...to be published in early 2013 by Amazon's 47North imprint.

This Is Kinda Fun

Museum of Endangered Sounds

Today's Vintage Ad

22 Of The Most Shoplifted Items In America

22 Of The Most Shoplifted Items In America

Second Exemplar of East Texas Tattoo Artistry to Hit Jails This Week

Second Exemplar of East Texas Tattoo Artistry to Hit Jails This Week

The Greatest, Craziest Time Travelers in Pop Culture

The Greatest, Craziest Time Travelers in Pop Culture

PaperBack


Harvey Kurtzman, editor, The Humbug Digest, Ballantine, 1957




Top 10 Famously Bizarre Robberies

Top 10 Famously Bizarre Robberies

Honda Leads the Way

Top 10 most stolen vehicles list May 2012

I Dare You to Watch the Whole Thing

Oh god, did you put something in my drink

Link via Boing Boing.

7 People Who Need to Get Out of the Freaking Way

7 People Who Need to Get Out of the Freaking Way

22 Facts About Coffee: The World's Most Important Beverage

22 Facts About Coffee: The World's Most Important Beverage

In the Garden: Let Your Book Collection Bloom

The Century Book of Gardening by E.T. CookAbeBooks: In the Garden: Let Your Book Collection Bloom: The sun is out (hopefully) and gardeners (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) have put away their winter reading and picked up a shovel. A bookshelf filled with gardening books is almost an essential requirement for anyone serious about petunias or potatoes, and gardeners have a wealth of literature to choose from.


Modern garden design dates to the 18th century, when Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (designer of Kew Gardens) and his early 19th century successor, Humphry Repton, introduced a more relaxed and natural style to the formal English garden. In the United States, Frederick Law Olmsted was the greatest influence with his design for New York City’s Central Park.

Henry Hill, R. I. P.

NY Daily News: Mob rat Henry Hill — who was immortalized in the movie “Goodfellas” and booted from the witness protection program — died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a long illness, TMZ reported. He was 69.

Adventures of Red Ryder

ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER SERIAL TRAILER 1941 DON "RED" BARRY - YouTube:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Holmes Told Watson Essentially the Same Thing More than 100 Years Ago

You Can Judge 90 Percent of a Stranger's Personal Characteristics Just by Looking at Their Shoes

Another Contest at The Rap Sheet

The Rap Sheet: A Monster in Paris: This time, though, we’re going to give away copies of a true-crime book, Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris, by David King, which was just released in a Broadway Paperbacks edition.

Is it Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Part 1

Is it Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Part 1 | Prologue Books

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Barnstable man accused of wasabi sauce assault

Ann Rutherford, R. I. P.

ABC News: Ann Rutherford, the demure brunette actress who played the sweetheart in the long-running Andy Hardy series and Scarlett O'Hara's youngest sister in "Gone With the Wind," has died. She was 94.

Gator Update

 Gainesville.com: 9-foot alligator attacks man going for dip in creek near homeless camp

Free Today for Kindle

Big Pulp Winter 2010: Ted Bundy's BeetleAmazon.com: Big Pulp Winter 2010: Ted Bundy's Beetle eBook: Marina Julia Neary, Jason Ridler, Tracie McBride, Tim Lieder, Steve Bennett, Michael Bracken, Betsy Dornbusch, E.A. Manning, Jarrid Deaton, Bill Olver: Kindle Store: A modern amalgam of the classic newsstand of the golden age of pulp and popular fiction, Big Pulp publishes exciting and thought-provoking fiction and poetry by the best new and emerging genre writers from around the world. Our cover feature this issue is "Ted Bundy's Beetle," a taut psychological horror tale by Jarrid Deaton. When a used car dealer acquires the infamous Volkswagen owned by serial killer Ted Bundy, his business booms, but with unintended consequences.

Song of the Day

Cookie and the Cupcakes ~ Mathilda - YouTube: When I was visiting in my hometown last weekend, I found out that one of its residents, a guy who had a band called the Bi-Stone Playboys when I was in high school and college, wrote this song.

Mr. Monk Is a Mess -- Lee Goldberg

Mr. Monk Is a Mess is the next-to-last Monk novel that Lee Goldberg plans to write. I've mentioned time and again how much I've enjoyed these books, and this one's no exception. It's very funny, and it marks another step in the changes that have been occurring as the series progresses.

At the end of the previous novel, Mr. Monk on Patrol, Monk and his assistant, Natalie Teeger, had become police officers in Summit, New Jersey. Now they've returned to San Francisco to get things in order there before returning to Summit. Or will they return? Can Natalie leave her San Francisco life behind? Could Monk ever be comfortable outside his own environment? Not easy decisions, and they're complicated by the fact that when Natalie arrives home, there's a dead body in her bathtub. Not to mention money stolen from the FBI's evidence room. Besides that, Yuki, the love of Monk's brother, Ambrose, has disappeared, and some very bad people are after her. So there's a lot to be wrapped up before any final decisions are made.

The ending is entirely satisfactory, as you'd expect from Goldberg, and it looks as if the next novel will be taking a somewhat new direction. Don't wait for that one, though. Get this one. You'll thank me later. It has laughs, heart, mysteries, and deft plotting, all the things that have made reading the series such a pleasure.

Today's Vintage Ad

6 Mind Blowing Special Effects You Won't Believe Aren't CGI

Note to Art Scott: Don't click this link.

6 Mind Blowing Special Effects You Won't Believe Aren't CGI

Need a Job?

Wanted: Florida Keys crocodile ‘response agents’ - Florida Keys - MiamiHerald.com: A new part-time job in the Florida Keys offers the chance to wrangle a toothy reptile that can grow to 15 feet and weigh a ton.

"Experience handling crocodilians preferred," says the notice from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — but the agency will train.

#8: Chasing Those Damn Kids off their Lawns

7 Important Exercises for the Elderly

PaperBack


Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book, Ballantine, 1959



Genius Idea of the Day

DNA testing is used to curb those who fail to clean up their dog's poo

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

TDCJ's 10 Most Terminally Ill Inmates Cost $2 Million a Year to Treat

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Man Smacks Wife "Upside The Head" After She Uses Lord's Name In Vain During Argument

O. M. G.

The A.V. Club: Adam Sandler, Sony, Hasbro, and Sandler's Happy Madison company have announced plans to also team on a Tonka Trucks movie, because that is the level of discourse of modern filmmaking.

And Keep Off Her Lawn!

Ernestine Shepherd: The 75-year-old bodybuilding grandma

You Know You Want It!

Bigfoot - Air Freshener

Too Late for Me, I'm Afraid

But I did read a lot of them before I turned 30.

30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Turning 30

14-plus movies improved by directors’ cuts

The kindest cut: 14-plus movies improved by directors’ cuts

Overlooked Movies -- The Midnight Man

This movie appears to have been a personal project for Burt Lancaster. He's listed as one of the directors and one of the screenwriters. His son has a role in it, and of course he's the star. It's based on a novel by David Anthony (William Dale Smith) called The Midnight Lady and the Mourning Man. As you can see, Lancaster changed the title. I guess he didn't want second billing.

Lancaster plays a former cop just out of prison for the killing of his wife and her lover. He takes a nightwatchman job at a small college, and sure enough there's a murder. A co-ed who seems to have had some big secrets has made a tape of them, and the tape is missing. As for the murder, not to worry. The local sheriff wraps it all up in record time. Except that Lancaster's sure the sheriff has the wrong man, and he's determined to find the real killer. He does, but it takes a while.

Lancaster has a great cast with him in this one. Susan Clark, Cameron Mitchell, Ed Lauter, Harris Yulin, the inevitable Nick Cravat, and, briefly, Catherine Bach. Among others. The movie's a little slow, but Lancaster's excellent. So's everybody else.

I'll be talking about the book the movie's based on in Friday's post.

The Midnight Man

The Midnight Man (1972 TV spot) Burt Lancaster - YouTube:

Monday, June 11, 2012

Beat to a Pulp: Round Two eBook

The Education of a Pulp Writer: Round Two eBook: BEAT to a PULP: ROUND TWO is now available on Amazon for $5.99.

Blacklin County Skewed These Stats, I'm Afraid

FBI — Crimes Rates Are Down: There was, however, an increase in murder in the Midwest (0.6 percent) and an 18.3 percent jump in murder in cities with populations of less than 10,000.

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

Amazon.com: Sad Jingo eBook: Ron Dionne: Kindle Store: SAD JINGO is a modern noir set in the New York City jazz scene of the 1990s.

Jingo Dalhousie -- a frustrated piano player working as a janitor in his cousin's Greenwich Village night club, a misfit, a man who is just not all there. The kind you can find on any NYC street corner. Jingo harbors impossible dreams of playing the piano like his idol, Thelonious Monk. When a blockbuster debut novel features a character with his own unusual name, Jingo believes it can't be mere coincidence, and he decides to track down the author. If only he can meet her, and play for her, then maybe -- just maybe -- he'll be able to finally free the music trapped inside his head. But unknown to Jingo, the author has a secret of her own that she is desperate to protect . . .

What is the human soul capable of when afflicted by ambition without talent? The haunting answer to that question echoes through the pages of SAD JINGO.

Terracotta Warriors Update

AFP: China unearths over 100 new terracotta warriors

The 7 Most Terrifying Mouths in Nature

The 7 Most Terrifying Mouths in Nature

Song of the Day

Johnny Thunder - Loop de Loop - YouTube:

Coming in August!

Publishers Weekly likes Sheriff Rhodes (and I guess the even like Seepy):

"In Crider’s enjoyable 19th Dan Rhodes mystery (after 2011’s The Wild Hog Murders), the Clearview, Tex., sheriff with a fondness for barbecue and Dr. Pepper investigates the murder of hair stylist Lynn Ashton, killed by a blow to the head with her hair dryer. . . . Rhodes’s encounters with the overly enthusiastic amateur sleuth Seepy Benton and his inability to persuade his colleagues and neighbors that he bears no resemblance to fictional crime-busting sheriff Sage Barton (featured in the memorably titled work Terrorist Terror) are continuing sources of fun."

If There Was Ever a Bargain, This Is It

Get Nic-Cagified For $12: Want to look like Nic Cage but lack the photoshop skills required to swap in his face in all the photos from your wedding album

Today's Vintage Ad

Top ten list of Ray Bradbury's best short stories

Top ten list of Ray Bradbury's best short stories

Robert E. Howard Days Update

Robert E. Howard Days, Barbarian Festival celebrates Conan the Barbarian creator

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Bride punched, lobster thrown at ex-Newcastle star’s £40,000 wedding

PaperBack


H. P. Lovecraft and Others, Volume I, Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Beagle Books, 1971




23 Vintage Bad Girl Mugshots

23 Vintage Bad Girl Mugshots

Hard Case Crime Update

Harlan Ellison’s First Novel —

Returning to Bookstores After 30 Years!

HARD CASE CRIME to publish definitive edition of WEB OF THE CITY

New York, NY; London, UK (June 11, 2012) – Acclaimed author Harlan Ellison has authorized the publication of a new edition of his first novel, Web of the City, by Hard Case Crime, the award-winning line of mystery novels from editor Charles Ardai and publisher Titan Books. The new edition, which will feature not just the definitive text of the book but also three thematically related short stories Ellison wrote for the pulp crime magazines of the 1950s, will mark the book’s first appearance in stores in three decades.

Harlan Ellison is one of the most renowned authors of the past 60 years. Although best known for his fantasy and science fiction and his always controversial essays, Ellison has also won the Edgar Allan Poe Award twice for his crime fiction. Other honors he has received include a record 10 Hugo Awards, 5 Nebulas (including the lifetime Grand Master Award), 6 Bram Stoker Awards (including their lifetime Grand Master Award), 4 Writers Guild of America Awards, and 2 World Fantasy Awards, as well as multiple other lifetime achievement awards. He has also been a finalist for the Emmy and twice for the Grammy. The film made of his life, Dreams with Sharp Teeth, starring Ellison, took 21 years to make, and is one of the most award-winning documentaries of the past five years.

Written in 1957 while Ellison was enduring Army Ranger basic training in Georgia, Web of the City tells the story of a teenager who sets out to leave the New York City street gang he runs with, putting his family in grave danger. Ellison wrote the book after going undercover for ten weeks as a member of an actual Brooklyn street gang, the Barons, an experience that also inspired him to write the famous “Memo From Purgatory” episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour starring James Caan (The Godfather) and Walter Koenig (Star Trek).

Hard Case Crime will bring the book out in April 2013, in paperback and e-book editions, with a new cover painting in the classic pulp style by Glen Orbik.

Obviously I Need One

Alligator Guitar

A Collection of Incredibly Gorgeous Comic Book Art

A Collection of Incredibly Gorgeous Comic Book Art

Top 15 Crime Bosses and Drug Lords in 2012

Top 15 Crime Bosses and Drug Lords in 2012

10 Voice Actors Who Look Like Their Characters

10 Voice Actors Who Look Like Their Characters

Now Available as an e-Book!

Blood Marks [BCrider] : Crossroad Press, The Leading Genre Online BookstoreBlood Marks - Click Image to Close

Anthony Award Nominations

Mystery Fanfare: Anthony Award Nominations

Riders of the Whistling Pine

RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES 1949 TRAILER GENE AUTRY - YouTube:

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Frank Cady, R. I. P.

latimes.com: Frank Cady, 96, a character actor who played Hooterville general-store proprietor Sam Drucker on the TV sitcoms “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction,” died Friday at his home in Wilsonville, Ore., said his daughter, Catherine Turk. No specific cause was given.


Like Mr. Haney, Eb Dawson, Hank Kimball and Arnold the Pig, Cady’s Sam Drucker was a supporting cast member on “Green Acres” to lawyer Oliver Wendell Douglas and his socialite wife, Lisa, played by Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, who had ditched the high life in New York City for the charms of a farm in Hooterville.

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Kiss It Goodbye :: Anita Page

Song of the Day

The Righteous Brothers - In That Great Gettin' Up Morning (Shindig! 1965) - YouTube:

4 Things You Shouldn't Do with the Internet

4 Things You Shouldn't Do with the Internet

Today's Vintage Ad

And Keep Off His, er . . . um . . . Oh, Just Forget It

Pensioner cut free from sex aid by fire crews after 36-hour ordeal

See It to Believe It

The Most Awesome Finnish Disco Video

PaperBack


Lin Carter, editor, Golden Cities, Far, Ballantine, 1970

And Keep Off Her Lawn!

a Chron.com blog: A Galveston woman used a paintball gun to detain an intruder long enough Friday for police to arrest him, according to the Galveston County Daily News.

When officers arrived about 10:30 a.m., they heard the sound of the paint ball impacts and found the man inside covered with yellow paint, the Daily News reported.

Uh-Oh

he Seattle Times: Producers are looking for actors, singers and dancers who stand no more than 4-foot-11 to fill the shoes of Ralphie and his friends as they prepare a musical version of the classic film "A Christmas Story" for Broadway.

Anniversary of a Mystery at Alcatraz

NYTimes.com: Fifty years ago, on the night of June 11, 1962, the three convicts were locked down as usual. Guards walking the tier outside their cells saw them at 9:30 and checked on them periodically all night, looking in at the sleeping faces, hearing nothing strange. But by morning, the inmates had vanished, Houdini-like.

10 Ill-Advised Movie Prequels

10 Ill-Advised Movie Prequels

The Best Athlete Actors

The Best Athlete Actors

Million Dollar Crocodile