Saturday, July 07, 2012
Archaeology Update
Ancient Mosaic Depicting Fiery Bible Story Discovered - Yahoo! News: A glittering mosaic of colored stones once decorated an ancient synagogue floor with scenes of the Biblical hero Samson getting revenge on the Philistines.
Free Today and Tomorrow for Kindle
Amazon.com: ILLEGAL eBook: Paul Levine: Kindle Store: A down-and-out L.A. lawyer with nothing to lose...A beautiful Mexican woman who disappears crossing the border...
And the powerful and corrupt rancher who would destroy them both.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
And can anyone vouch for Mark Finn's whereabouts when this happened?
Man Chased by Person in Gorilla Costume Hit by Car
Man Chased by Person in Gorilla Costume Hit by Car
Celebrating The Strand Book Store
AbeBooks: Celebrating The Strand Book Store: The Strand can be found at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street, in the East Village of Manhattan. After decades in the business of bookselling, The Strand remains an iconic bastion of bookselling in downtown New York City. If you have never visited, then you must go.
Friday, July 06, 2012
We're Back!
About an hour ago we pulled into the driveway after our flight from San Francisco and a long drive from the airport. The cat was thrilled to see us. Apparently he and the cat-sitter didn't get along.
We had a great time in San Francisco, and I did manage to sneak a few photos onto the blog. Judging by all the e-mails that I accumulated in my absence, I need to get a life. I'll be a while catching up.
One of the things we did on the trip was drive to Sonoma to attend a meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars, which was held at the Monticello Vineyard and hosted by the genial Bruce Taylor (The Artist Formerly Known as "Mr. B0uchercon"). I'd forgotten that the BSI meetings included a quiz over a Holmes story we'd all read, and I performed shamefully. Daughter Angela did very well, but it was frequent commeter Art Scott who carried the day with a score of 19 correct answers on the 20 questions.
The photo is of Bruce Taylor, me, Art, and Don Yates in the deerstalker.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Texas health care system ranks worst in nation | The Raw Story: Out of all 50 U.S. states, Texas has the worst health care system, the highest percentage of uninsured citizens and the most prostate cancer deaths, according to a federal report on health care quality released this week.
The 2011 State Snapshots report ranked states on a 100-point system based upon measurements of 155 different key indicators of health care quality, and Texas scored the lowest with just 31.61 points.
The 2011 State Snapshots report ranked states on a 100-point system based upon measurements of 155 different key indicators of health care quality, and Texas scored the lowest with just 31.61 points.
Pimpage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Mention Books of Interest
Amazon.com: A Mouth Full Of Blood (Fightcard) eBook: Jack Tunney, Eric Beetner, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom: Kindle Store: A year after the pulse-pounding action of Split Decision, Jimmy Wyler is back in Chicago trying to put his life back together. Working a job washing dishes in a late night diner, Jimmy vows to never get into a boxing ring again.But then, someone needs him. Leo, a teenaged boy who fights hard against the city every day, could use a man like Jimmy. To help save him from his alcoholic father, and to save his only sister from a pimp bent on turning her out.
Forgotten Books: Jack of Shadows -- Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny has a secure spot in my SF Hall of Fame, and I've read all his novels, several of them more than once. I happened to spot this 1971 issue of F&SF not long ago, and I bought it just because the the first half of the serial version of Jack of Shadows was in it. I don't know enough science to explain the planet where Jack lives. It doesn't rotate, so half is always in light (where science and technology are common) and half is always in darkness (where magic holds sway). There's a shadowy border area, and that's where Jack thrives. He has no powers in complete light or darkness, but he draws it from shadow. He's one of the few who can travel between the worlds. As the book opens, he's on the light side, where he's about to steal something. He's a thief, after all. He's caught and executed, but darksiders have serial immortality, and so does Jack. He's tossed into the Dung Pits of Glyve, where he regenerates and gradually makes his way back to the darkside, where he plots his revenge, along with a rescue.
Jack's name (so said Zelazny at one time) is a bow toward Jack Vance, and the "travel through marvels" half of the book (the first half) is Vance-like in some ways. I was reminded a bit of the stories in The Dying Earth, and Jack isn't entirely unlike Cudgel the Clever. The second half is different and darker, and I've heard more than one person express dislike for the book because of it. I liked it, though, and I have nothing against the open ending. I probably thought when I read the book back in the early '70s that Zelazny would write a sequel. I might even have hoped he would. But he never did.
That's okay, though. There's still this one, and it was fun to visit it again.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
Florida man attacks pregnant woman with sword: Mark Miller confronted a small group of women. He poked one, Brandi Bodiford, who is pregnant, with the four-foot blade, and she got it away from him. At some point during the fight, Miller smeared a peanut butter sandwich across the chest of another woman. He was arrested.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Norman Felton, R. I. P.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Co-Creator Norman Felton Dies | Contactmusic: British TV producer Norman Felton, the man behind classic shows The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and DR. Kildare, has died aged 99.
Felton passed away of natural causes in Santa Barbara, California on 25 June (12), but news of his death only emerged after it was confirmed by trade paper Variety.
Felton found success in the 1960s when he worked with James Bond creator Ian Fleming to develop spy thriller The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and he scooped a Golden Globe for the series in 1965. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award the following year (66).
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Felton passed away of natural causes in Santa Barbara, California on 25 June (12), but news of his death only emerged after it was confirmed by trade paper Variety.
Felton found success in the 1960s when he worked with James Bond creator Ian Fleming to develop spy thriller The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and he scooped a Golden Globe for the series in 1965. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award the following year (66).
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Right to Know? Or No Rights?
Passenger could be asked to give drink samples to TSA | News - Home: Passenger could be asked to give drink samples to TSA
The TSA would not say what they are testing for or why they are doing it, but travelers say they have a right to know
The TSA would not say what they are testing for or why they are doing it, but travelers say they have a right to know
No Comment Department
News from The Associated Press: LONDON (AP) -- False alarm: British police said Thursday that reports of suspicious activity on a bus, which set off a massive emergency response and forced the closure of a section of a major highway in central England, were unfounded.
The "culprit"? An electronic cigarette.
The "culprit"? An electronic cigarette.
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Ben Davidson, R. I. P.
Ben Davidson dies at 72; former lineman helped shape Raiders' image - NFL - Sporting News: ALAMEDA, Calif.—Ben Davidson, the hulking defensive end who starred for the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s before becoming a famous television pitch man, has died. He was 72.
Davidson died Monday night. He was being treated for prostate cancer. Former Raiders coach John Madden first reported Davidson's death Tuesday on KCBS radio in San Francisco.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Davidson died Monday night. He was being treated for prostate cancer. Former Raiders coach John Madden first reported Davidson's death Tuesday on KCBS radio in San Francisco.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
"Birth Certificate" Update
500-year-old 'birth certificate of America' discovered - Telegraph: 500-year-old 'birth certificate of America' discovered
A version of a 500-year-old world map that was the first to mention the name "America" has been discovered in a German university library.
A version of a 500-year-old world map that was the first to mention the name "America" has been discovered in a German university library.
Happy 4th of July!
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: Pies and Prejudice (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery) (9780425251409): Ellery Adams: Books: When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren't just delicious. They're having magical effects on the people who eat them--and the public is hungry for more.Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn's fiance is found dead--killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin--it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.
AbeBooks’ Top 10 Most Expensive Sales in June 2012
AbeBooks’ Top 10 Most Expensive Sales in June 2012: Last month AbeBooks sold a limited edition copy of Oscar Wilde’s famous comedic stage play An Ideal Husband for $20,120. The book was published in 1899 by London firm Leonard Smithers, who also published works by Sir Richard Francis Burton, Aubrey Beardsley, Max Beerbohm and other authors associated with the Decadent Movement. In fact after the trials of Wilde in 1895, Smithers was one of the few publishers prepared to handle ‘decadent’ literature. The year following the publication of An Ideal Husband, Smithers went bankrupt, and he eventually died in 1907 from the effects of drink and drug use. His body was found on his 46th birthday, surrounded by empty bottles of ‘Dr J. Collis Browne's Chlorodyne’ - a mixture that contained laudanum, cannabis, and chloroform.
Andy Griffith, R. I. P.
Andy Griffith Dies -- Dead at 86 | TMZ.com: Andy Griffith, an icon of TV, has died ... this according to Andy's close friend, former UNC President Bill Friday.
Griffith, who became famous for "The Andy Griffith Show," passed away at his home in Manteo, North Carolina this morning.
Friday broke the news to WITN News in North Carolina.
In addition to starring in his show and the subsequent "Mayberry R.F.D.," Griffith was a Grammy award-winning southern gospel singer. Of course, Griffith also starred in the long-running series, "Matlock" and often made guest appearances in other shows, including "Dawson's Creek."
Hat tip to Doc Quatermass
Griffith, who became famous for "The Andy Griffith Show," passed away at his home in Manteo, North Carolina this morning.
Friday broke the news to WITN News in North Carolina.
In addition to starring in his show and the subsequent "Mayberry R.F.D.," Griffith was a Grammy award-winning southern gospel singer. Of course, Griffith also starred in the long-running series, "Matlock" and often made guest appearances in other shows, including "Dawson's Creek."
Hat tip to Doc Quatermass
Monday, July 02, 2012
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . . .
Giant Wildfire Started During Bachelor Party | The Smoking Gun: JULY 2---The largest wildfire burning in Arizona was started during a bachelor party when one shotgun-toting celebrant fired a shell that promises to shoot “100 feet of fire, setting everything in its path ablaze,” The Smoking Gun has learned.
The Ten Most Convincing Screen Tests Of All Time
The Ten Most Convincing Screen Tests Of All Time
In #5, Phil Hartman does Chick Hazard, Private Investigator. Brilliant.
In #5, Phil Hartman does Chick Hazard, Private Investigator. Brilliant.
Overlooked Movies -- Jackie Chan's The Myth
Okay, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "How could he call this one overlooked? It has Jackie Chan, it has a big budget, and it received a lot of hype." I know all that, but how many of you saw it? That's what I thought. You overlooked it. So I'll tell you about it.The plot as represented in the poster over there on your left, has to do with reincarnation, the discovery of anti-gravity, and immortality. Yes, it's pretty goofy. Chan plays a contemporary archaeologist named . . . Jack Chan. Not much of a stretch, I guess, especially since Jack Chan happens to have all the martial arts skills that you'd expect a guy with that name to have. He appears to be the reincarnation of a general from the Qin dynasty, and he dreams of having the general's adventures. His friend is interested in anti-gravity and believes the secret is, well, why go on? The plot doesn't matter. What matters is that Jack gets into a lot of fights, many of them sword fights this time, so instead of picking up things lying around to fight with, Jack just uses the sword. He's very good, in case you were wondering.
The best set piece in the movie takes place on a conveyor belt in a rat glue factory. There's some great comic action. Later on, in the anti-gravity underground tomb, there's lots of wire-work and CGI, something new in Jackie Chan movies, I suppose. In the section set in the past, the general has a terrific battle against hundreds of troops, another good set piece.
If you're a Jackie Chan fan, you'll probably get a kick out of this one, and of course you should sit through the credits. For more than one reason. Check it out.
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Researchers hack US Army's flying drone while in flight | GMA News Online: Acting on a $1,000 dare from the US government, a group of Texas researchers managed to seize control of a flying drone, science and news sites reported this week.
Evan Lewis Take Note
Smallest State Park in Texas, Acton, Texas: Acton, Texas
.006 acres. It's the tiny fenced zone around the grave of Elizabeth P. Crockett, Davy's second wife. Elizabeth was granted land in Texas for the bravery shown by Davy Crockett at the Alamo. But she waited 17 years to claim it, and by then all of the good spots in Texas were taken. So she ended up having to give a surveyor half of her savings to find a tract worth claiming. Her grave was declared a state park in 1911, and the Texas Legislature paid $2,000 to erect a tall pillar with her statue on top, looking west, waiting for Davy to come home.
.006 acres. It's the tiny fenced zone around the grave of Elizabeth P. Crockett, Davy's second wife. Elizabeth was granted land in Texas for the bravery shown by Davy Crockett at the Alamo. But she waited 17 years to claim it, and by then all of the good spots in Texas were taken. So she ended up having to give a surveyor half of her savings to find a tract worth claiming. Her grave was declared a state park in 1911, and the Texas Legislature paid $2,000 to erect a tall pillar with her statue on top, looking west, waiting for Davy to come home.
Dibs on Nic Cage
Nicholas Cage And 16 Other Celebrities' Big Plaster Creepy Heads: The Haunted Studios makes and sells geniune life casts of celebrities' faces, taken from a plaster cast and then filled. You can buy these on eBay for around $45, but for free you can imagine celebrities as dead and hairless.
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