Saturday, July 28, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Happy Birthday to the Blog
This little blog is ten years old today. I'm not sure how old that is in human years. I hope to keep it going for a while longer, though now and then I think I ought to get a life.
Rare Book School
Rare Book School at the University of Virginia - NYTimes.com: For five weeks each summer Rare Book School brings some 300 librarians, conservators, scholars, dealers, collectors and random book-mad civilians together for weeklong intensive courses in an atmosphere that combines the intensity of the seminar room, the nerdiness of a “Star Trek” convention and the camaraderie of a summer camp where people come back year after year.
Friday, July 27, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Tracking down a group of organ jackals dealing in the Red Market (organ harvesting), Slade Wilson goes head-to-head with an Asian gang sporting exo-skeletons and fighting to keep a secret agenda hidden from prying eyes. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, driven to succeed, Wilson and his team of specialists keep the pedal to the metal as they race toward doomsday.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Aren McAllister, the Tongue-Tied Witch, is back in A PECK OF PICKLED WARLOCKS. In this sequel to the critically acclaimed WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE, Aren searches for a way to rescue her father from the other-worldly realm of the witches' council. From the sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast to the bright lights of Las Vegas to the dangerous depths of an abandoned silver mine, Aren's quest is filled with adventure, romance, and humor. This is an all-new, fast-moving, 61,000 word novel sure to please fans of urban fantasy.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Tomato Can Comeback (Fight Card): Jack Tunney, Henry Brown, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Tom Garrick had a heart of gold, a jaw of iron, and heavy artillery in both fists. This orphan from the Windy City returned from the Korean War to battle his way up the welterweight ranks, inspiring speculation about a title bid. Then he slugged it out with a top contender who humiliated him over eleven rounds and cut short his victory march.
Popular opinion was he had been exposed as a lucky pretender. The newspapers dubbed him "Tomato Can" after watching the blood splatter around the ring like tomato juice from a tin can being battered by a tire iron.
Now, for some mysterious reason, 'Tomato Can' Garrick is lacing on the gloves again, hoping for a shot at redemption. He has no promoter, no manager, not even a sparring partner. The only one in his corner is a buddy from the war who has never been inside the boxing game before.
Forgotten Books: The Source of Fear -- Bill S. Ballinger
Is this a terrible cover, or what? It wasn't the cover itself that caught my attention, however. It was the blurb. A lost city? A fantastic treasure? I'm there. As for the two men with a beautiful woman, there's no sex in the book, and there's no rivalry for the woman, who certainly never dresses like the one in the photo. The man never dresses like that, either.John Macon has recently retired from one of those super-secret government agencies that no one can talk about. He has $25,000, and he's looking for a way to invest it. He falls in with a disreputable Indiana Jones type named Butcher. Butcher is a guy who takes the Bible literally, and he convinces Macon that they can find the city of Sodom just by following biblical clues. Macon is gradually convinced, and off they go to Israel, where, as usual in these stories, things don't go exactly as planned. Pretty soon Macon, Butcher, and the beautiful woman are on the run from some very bad people. Or maybe on the walk. There's not a lot of running in the desert.
While they're trying to escape, as often happens, they make a discovery. It's a good one, but I'm not telling what it is. After that, things get a little woo-woo, which in a book like this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I got a kick out of it, particularly the final revelation. Those of you who like this kind of thing might want to check it out.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
All Pop Music Too Loud, Sound the Same
All Pop Music Too Loud, Sound the Same: "We found evidence of a progressive homogenization of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."
ArmadilloCon
Judy and I are on our way to Austin for the ArmadilloCon. Once again, the cat is unhappy with us and says he's not going to cooperate with the sitter. And he won't, either.
I'll be on a number of panels, and because last year Joe Lansdale challenged some writers to come up with story based on the legendary "Gorilla of the Gasbags," I'll be reading my story. You should be there.
I won't be paying much attention to the computer for several days, but the usual features will continue, and maybe I can get a few snaps from the convention. Or not. We'll see.
No Comment Department
Albany, CA Patch: A former Albany High student is suing the school district because of the grade his chemistry teacher, Peggy Carlock, gave him last year, in hopes of getting a court order for the district to change the grade to an A
Forgotten Music -- Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was "Miss Rhythm," and that's the title of her excellent autobiography, a book well worth reading. She had a string of hits through out the '50s, and one of them will be my "Song of the Day" today. Others included "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'," which was co-written by Bobby Darin, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean," "Smooth Operator," "Oh, What a Dream," "Mambo Baby," and plenty of others. I can hear them coming out of a lo-fi car speaker now. Brown pretty much left the business in the '60s, but she came back strong in the '70s as both and actress and a singer. She won a Tony Award for her role in Blues on Broadway, and she's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Frank Pierson, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Frank Pierson, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter whose richly textured work included the scripts for “Cool Hand Luke” and “Dog Day Afternoon” and who later became an influential Hollywood leader and mentor, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 87.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Chad Everett, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Chad Everett, the blue-eyed star of the 1970s TV series "Medical Center" who went on to appear in such films and TV shows as “Mulholland Drive” and “Melrose Place,” has died. He was 75.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
This Will Come as No Surprise to Readers of this Blog
NSW Police Online: Drug Squad detectives seized illicit drugs and illegally-kept wildlife - including two turtles, a carpet python and a baby crocodile - during the execution of a search warrant in Sydney's west yesterday.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Sherman Hemsley, R. I. P.
Flavorwire: TMZ is reporting that Sherman Hemsley, who brought to life one of TV’s most important and memorable characters, has died. According to the site, the 74-year-old actor who portrayed George Jefferson on both All in the Family and The Jeffersons passed away of unknown causes at his El Paso home.
Kingdom of the Hill Country -- Henry Melton
This is the second book in Henry Melton's Project Saga, an ambitious series that will span many books and thousands of years. This one picks up about 11 years after a supernova has destroyed pretty much all of earth's technology. In Texas, the central government has all but disappeared, and city states have sprung up. So have roaming bands of outlaws, one of whose leaders wants take over Austin and become King of the Hill Country.There's a big cast in Kingdom of the Hill Country, but the central characters are Helen Black, a young woman who has a herd of horses to sell, and James Fuller, the son of Austin's mayor and most powerful citizen. There are problems aplenty. Besides the outlaws, Houston is trying to expand its already wide borders and take over Austin, which needs fuel to run some of the old vehicles still in working order. Houston has fuel, but Austin prefers independence. There's also a character who can see the future but do nothing to change it. His enigmatic predictions play a part in things, too.
There's a lot of action in the novel, with captures, escapes, and pursuits. There's death and destruction aplenty, too. Not everyone survives. Melton juggles the plot elements like an expert and brings everything to a satisfactory conclusion, though there are many characters readers will want to know more about. Future books in the series will likely bring them back for encore performances.
Melton has another winner here, and it should make new fans for the Project Saga, with a lot of great stories yet to come.
Overlooked Movies -- Panic in Year Zero
Long ago, I read a short story by Ward Moore. "Lot" was the title, and I think it appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Wonderful end-of-the-world stuff. There was a sequel, "Lot's Daughter," which I also read, but I don't remember liking it quite as much. The two stories are the basis for this movie, though it was "novelized" by Dean Owen for book publication under the title The End of the World.I don't know what critics thought of this movie, which came out in 1962, but I remember it as the essence of low-budget film-making. I didn't know at the time that it was Ray Milland's directorial debut, and I probably wouldn't have cared if I'd known. (And Walter Satterthwait has informed me that it wasn't. So that takes care of that.) I did know that Milland had won an Academy Award, though. He's the star, but Frankie Avalon was probably the draw for any teen girls who went to see it. He's not as bad as you might think, but he was no threat to Milland.
The movie itself is a hardboiled tale of one family's search for safety after the collapse of civilization and of Milland's determination to keep them safe. It was pretty shocking in 1962, as I recall. There's rape and killing and a notable lack of sentimentality. Milland is definitely not a likable guy as most protagonists in horror movies were.
Naturally there are others out on the road after the apocalypse, and some of them are typical '50s delinquents. They may seem quaint to an audience today, but they were plenty scary in the long ago. If Milland is full of single-minded selfishness, so are a lot of the people he and his family meet, and their ends are a lot less noble than his.
A lot of people thought Cormac McCarthy's The Road was a wonderful book, as if it had never been done before. Check this movie out and you'll see that it had. Maybe not the same way, this is a road movie with a determined father. So there's that. Have a look at the trailer posted below, then check out the movie if you ever get a chance.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sally Ride, R. I. P.
Sally Ride Is Dead At 61: Ride became the first woman to join a NASA space mission when the Challenger launched in 1983. She died on July 23, after battling pancreatic cancer for a year and a half.
Ride joined NASA in 1978, after responding to a newspaper advertisement. After leaving NASA, she was committed to inspring young people, and young women in particular, to pursue the sciences. In 2010, she founded the Sally Ride Science Institute, an organization committed to that cause.
Ride joined NASA in 1978, after responding to a newspaper advertisement. After leaving NASA, she was committed to inspring young people, and young women in particular, to pursue the sciences. In 2010, she founded the Sally Ride Science Institute, an organization committed to that cause.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
ABC News: A federal grand jury has indicted a topless club owner accused of organizing a failed plot to kill a Texas mayor and city attorney, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Hat tip to Lawrence Person.
Hat tip to Lawrence Person.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Uh-Oh
Announced - The Big Lebowski 2: The Dude Goes To Washington
Hat tip to Angela Crider.
Hat tip to Angela Crider.
Update: But not to worry.
Ba-a-a-a-a-a
‘Goat man’ caught on camera baffles Utah officials NY Daily News: He hasn’t done anything illegal, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. They just don’t want him to be shot by a hunter or get into a fight with a real goat.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Simon Ward, R. I. P.
Simon Ward death: Young Winston actor passes away following a long illness aged 70 | Mail Online: British actor Simon Ward has died following a long illness aged 70-years-old.
A spokesperson for the star, who was known for his roles in The Three Musketeers and Young Winston confirmed the actor died 'peacefully' in his sleep on Friday.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
A spokesperson for the star, who was known for his roles in The Three Musketeers and Young Winston confirmed the actor died 'peacefully' in his sleep on Friday.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Free Today for Kindle
Lone Wolf #1: Night Raider: Mike Barry: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: When a wolf leaves the pack, he lives only as long as he can kill by himself quicker and surer than any pack he runs up against. Meet a man beyond either forgiveness or vengeance. Meet the Man they Call The Lone Wolf. Better meet him now. The way he lives, he can’t live much longer.Burt Wulff was a nice guy, once. A New York cop, narcotics division. But he’s seen too much destruction done by the poison in America’s veins - heroin. Too much corrupted and made foul, and finally one life too many - and too close - destroyed. Burt Wulff has gone beyond fear, beyond love, even beyond hate. He’s simply beyond giving the slightest damn whether he lives or dies, so long as he can kill the killers - thousands of them, all over America and all over the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)