Saturday, August 18, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Is this a great cover, or what? A cat, an albino alligator, and the Golden Gate Bridge. What more could you want? I gotta get this one.
Amazon.com: How to Tail a Cat (Cats and Curios Mystery) (9780425251294): Rebecca M. Hale: Books: Okay, granted, an albino alligator on the loose in San Francisco is pretty darn exciting. But my two cats, Rupert and Isabella, and I have better things to do than tail a reptile from Nob Hill to Fisherman’s Wharf. We’re investigating the mysterious Steinhart brothers, the 1900s-era benefactors who provided the original funding for Clive the alligator’s aquarium. Follow the money, as my uncle Oscar used to say…
In the media circus surrounding Clive, one clown gets a little too close to the renegade gator—our very own aspiring mayor, Montgomery Carmichael. We’d hate to see Monty meet an undignified end, but we’re on a hunt of our own—for Uncle Oscar’s latest treasure. Of course, that’s assuming the whole thing isn’t a crock…
Free Today for Kindle
Croaker: Kill Me Again: Paul Bishop: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Los Angeles homicide detective Fey Croaker must solve the recent murder of a pretty, forty-something woman whose fingerprints surprisingly identify her as a previous murder victim from eighteen years earlier. At 43, Fey Croaker has survived three dead-end marriages, a severely abusive upbringing, and the relentless resentment of her male colleagues on the force. Now, because of a streak of unsolved murders, she feels extra pressure to solve the murder of a mysterious woman who had multiple IDs in different names, a million dollars in cash, and only new clothing and furniture in her equally new condo at the time of her death.
The top 50 underrated films of the 90s
I've seen a lot of these, and I liked most of them quite a bit. I'm glad to know that Vince Keenan and I aren't the only defenders of #27.
The top 50 underrated films of the 90s
The top 50 underrated films of the 90s
Available in 3 More Days! Pre-Order Now!
Amazon.com: Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen: A Dan Rhodes Mystery (Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries) (9780312640170): Bill Crider: Books: Dan Rhodes, sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas, is called to the Beauty Shack, where the young and pretty Lynn Ashton has been found dead, bashed over the head with a hairdryer. The owner said Lynn had gone to the salon late to meet an unknown client. There was a lot of gossip going on about Lynn before her death, but no one seems to really know much about her, or they’re not telling Rhodes. Lynn was known to flirt, and it’s possible an angry wife or jilted lover had something to do with her death. The salon owner suspects two outsiders who have been staying in an abandoned building across the street. While he investigates the murder, Rhodes must also deal with the theft of copper and car batteries, not to mention a pregnant nanny goat that is terrorizing the town.
Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen is a wonderful entry in this always delightful series by award-winning author Bill Crider.
Friday, August 17, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: The Boss of Hampton Beach (9780985861711): Jed Power: Books: Cocaine. Dan Marlowe is doing his damnedest to stay away from the stuff. It’s already cost him his family and his business, The High Tide Restaurant & Saloon. Now a bartender at the Tide, Dan’s life is slowly stabilizing. That is until a boat with two dead bodies on board is found wrecked on the jetty at Hampton Beach. The hunt for its missing cargo, 200 pounds of cocaine, is on. Dan is forced into the search and realizes that the drug that stole everything short of his life might be the one thing that can give it all back. He’s not the only one seeking the fortune in white powder. Others, on both sides of the law, are after it too, including a Boston mob boss and his right-hand man; a New Hampshire seacoast drug dealer/informer, his smokin’ hot girlfriend, and his dim-witted muscle; a crooked D.E.A. agent and his junkie sidekick; two New Hampshire State policemen; and an Irish handyman. It’s a violent, back-stabbing race to the end of the rainbow. May the best man win.
It's Not Mine, In Case You Were Wondering
Or I don't think it is. Mine's right around here somewhere, I'm pretty sure.
Prehistoric Human Brain Found Pickled in Bog
Prehistoric Human Brain Found Pickled in Bog
Forgotten Books: Manhattan Is My Beat -- Jeffery Wilds Deaver
There's one customer who particularly interests Rune, and guy who rents the same movie all the time. Its title is Manhattan Is My Beat, and when the customer is murdered, Rune thinks there might be a connection to the movie. She also suspects there might be big bucks involved for her if she can find them. So she becomes an amateur sleuth and meets a young man who needs to be taught to embrace life, or at least to embrace it in a new way.
Before long Rune's involved in some serious doings and being pursued by killers, though not for the reasons she suspects. In fact, she hardly suspects she's being pursued. This being a Deaver novel, albeit an early one, there are several twists and turns in the narrative. It all moves along pretty well, if not as smoothly as some of Deaver's later work, and it makes for a nice evening's entertainment. Copies of the original edition might be a little pricey, but there are cheap reprints available all around.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
A terrific private-eye novel, highly recommended.
Amazon.com: A Cup Full of Midnight (Jared Mckean) (9781579622251): Jaden Terrell: Books: At thirty-six, private detective Jared McKean is coming to terms with his unjust dismissal from the Nashville Murder Squad and an unwanted divorce from a woman he still loves. Jared is a natural horseman and horse rescuer whose son has Down Syndrome, whose best friend is dying of AIDS, and whose teenage nephew, Josh, has fallen under the influence of a dangerous fringe of the Goth subculture. When the fringe group's leader - a mind-manipulating sociopath who consideres himself a vampire - is found butchered and posed across a pentagram, Josh is the number one suspect. Jared will need all his skills as a private investigator and former homicide detective to match wits with the most terrifying killer he has ever seen. When he learns that Josh is next on the killer's list, Jared will risk his reputation, his family, and his life in a desperate attempt to save the boy he loves like a son.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Fireproof: Gerard Brennan: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Hell hath no fury for Mike Rocks. He's fireproof; an anomaly caused by a slip-up in afterlife bureaucracy. Lucifer bundles him off as an embarrassing problem with a mission to introduce Satanism to Northern Ireland. And while he's at it, Mike can exact revenge on the men who took his life.FIREPROOF is equal parts crime fiction, dark urban fantasy and black comedy. For fans of Colin Bateman, Charlie Huston and Duane Swierczynski.
"scintillating, hilarious, surreal … a total blast" Ken Bruen, author of HEADSTONE
A Review of Interest (to Me, Anyway)
Fresh Meat: Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen by Bill Crider
The book goes on sale on the 21st. You can order it here or buy it at fine bookstores every where. The sheriff and I thank you for your support.
The book goes on sale on the 21st. You can order it here or buy it at fine bookstores every where. The sheriff and I thank you for your support.
Battle of the Alamo Continues
Houston Chronicle: In the competitive, sometimes cutthroat world of Alamo mania, a historical relic collector is claiming that artifacts stolen from him appear in a book written by musician and Alamo devotee Phil Collins.
Now It's Official
WSJ.com: The term "F-bomb" first surfaced in newspapers more than 20 years ago but only landed in the mainstream Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary on Tuesday, along with sexting, flexitarian, obesogenic, energy drink and life coach.
From Topaz to Psycho: top 52 Hitchock films
A very long slideshow: From Topaz to Psycho: top 52 Hitchock films
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
New Story at BEAT to a PULP
BEAT to a PULP :: Pulp of the Week: Fourth Time Lucky for Mickey Loew
Jay Stringer
KISS FAQ -- Dale Sherman
You want to know about The Phantom of the Park? There's plenty of info here. The best album covers? Yep. The most influential concerts? Sure. And a ton more. Lots of B&W illustrations, too.
This isn't a book to read from cover to cover at one sitting. It's a book to keep nearby so you can dip into it when you need something to cheer you up. It's so entertaining that even non-fans should get a kick out of it. Check it out.
Free Today for Kindle
AN EYE FOR MURDER (The Ellie Foreman Suspense Mysteries): Libby Fischer Hellmann: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: AN EYE FOR MURDER is the sequel to the author's award-winning short story "The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared." EYE was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First when it was released; it also won the Best First Readers' Choice Award.
Haven't We All Done This at One Time or Another?
rgj.com: Sparks moviegoer shoots himself in buttocks, apologizes, leaves theater
A Guide to Collecting Cookbooks
AbeBooks: A Guide to Collecting Cookbooks: Move over Hemingway, Steinbeck and Twain.
Humble cookbooks have become highly desirable in the book collecting world.
The American cookbook genre truly began in the 1700s with two titles that can claim to be America’s first cookbook – The Compleat Housewife by William Parks (1742) and American Cookery by Amelia Simmons (1796). The Compleat Housewife was derived from an English book, while American Cookery - which is still in print today - features recipes using solely American produce.
Humble cookbooks have become highly desirable in the book collecting world.
The American cookbook genre truly began in the 1700s with two titles that can claim to be America’s first cookbook – The Compleat Housewife by William Parks (1742) and American Cookery by Amelia Simmons (1796). The Compleat Housewife was derived from an English book, while American Cookery - which is still in print today - features recipes using solely American produce.
Harry Harrison, R. I. P.
io9: If Harry Harrison had only created "Slippery" Jim DiGriz, the roguish hero of the Stainless Steel Rat books, he would deserve a high place in science fiction history. But he also wrote dozens of other novels, including the hilarious Bill the Galactic Hero saga, the proto-Steampunk classic A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!, and the novel that became the movie Soylent Green, Make Room! Make Room!.
Amazingly, Harrison kept writing great novels, with the last Stainless Steel Rat book coming out just two years ago. He died today, aged 87, according to his official website. No details are yet known.
Link via SFSignal.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Johnny Pesky, R. I. P.
Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky 'touched all of us': Major League Baseball lost a legend Monday with the passing of Johnny Pesky. He was a baseball icon that truly loved the game and a fixture in Boston. Pesky spent more than 70 years in professional baseball and will forever be immortalized as one of the "nicest guys" in the sport.
Ron Palillo, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Actor Ron Palillo, who played Arnold Horshack on the '70s sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter," died Tuesday morning in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 63.
On-Line Update
The crack Comcast tech, who really did know his business, has come and gone. The problem was not just mine but also affected the neighborhood, and it might be 72 hours before all is well again. However, he also found a problem with the outside connections for both TV and Internet, and he fixed that. Maybe I'll be able to have a connection without interruption. I hope so, not that I need to be connected. It's just a convenience, that's all. Trust me.
I'm Back . . .
. . . at least for now. My Internet connection's been going off and coming back on for weeks now, but yesterday around 9:30 A. M. it gave up the ghost. Now it's working again, and the Comcast techs haven't even come to work their magic yet. My feeling is that they'll show up, find nothing's wrong, and leave. At which time the connection will again disappear. Isn't that what always happens?
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
wtsp.com: A southwest Florida man has been arrested after authorities say he shoved a woman to the ground over a show dog.
No Internet
At the moment I have no Internet connection. Not that I am bothered by this. The crack technicians from Comcast should arrive this afternoon and set things right. Perhaps I can hold out, or maybe I'll seek out some WiFi. Not that I'm feeling desperate.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Overlooked Movies -- Wild Bill
If you haven't watched the trailer posted above, you should do that before you read what I have to say here. Why? Well, the movie itself is nothing like the trailer, which makes it seem like a rootin', tootin', lotsa shootin' show. This is definitely not a typical western film.Some of it is based on what you might know or might have heard about Wild Bill Hickok. He's in Deadwood, his eyesight is failing, and Jack McCall's there to do him in. Aside from that, probably not much else is like you've heard it. Not that something like that matters if you have a good story to tell.
Walter Hill directed this one, and he had a good story. I just didn't think he told it well. There are a lot of flashbacks, but that's not the problem. The problem, at least for me, is that this short movie seemed four hours long. The opium den seen itself seemed almost that long, in fact.
The casting was okay. Bridges is very good. John Hurt, as the narrator, is a fictional character, but he's okay. Ellen Barkin as Calamity Jane is . . . well, I really like Ellen Barkin, but here she's far to clean and cute. She's not as clean and cute as Doris Day was in Calamity Jane (and there's a movie I should talk about someday), and she's foulmouthed and tough, but I think she was miscast.
Let's put it this way. I thought this was an interesting movie, and I'm glad I saw it, but it's never going on any list of my favorites.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/19/owner-of-breastaurant-chain-buys-texas-town-changes-its-name-to-bikinis/
The owner of the popular “breastaurant” chain Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill has appointed himself mayor of Bankersmith, Texas —– and has changed the town’s name to, natch, Bikinis.
The owner of the popular “breastaurant” chain Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill has appointed himself mayor of Bankersmith, Texas —– and has changed the town’s name to, natch, Bikinis.
Conspiracy Alert
Marilyn Monroe mystery: Missing FBI files: As the 50th anniversary of her death approaches, there is a growing mystery over the FBI files on Marilyn Monroe.
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Feeling Safer Now?
NBC New York: A jet-skier who became stranded in Jamaica Bay easily breached JFK's security system by walking undetected through two runways and into a terminal.
Daniel Castillo of Queens swam to shore and then walked past motion sensors and closed-circuit cameras of the airport's state-of--the art Perimeter Intrusion Detection System.
The $100 million system is meant to safeguard against terrorists.
Daniel Castillo of Queens swam to shore and then walked past motion sensors and closed-circuit cameras of the airport's state-of--the art Perimeter Intrusion Detection System.
The $100 million system is meant to safeguard against terrorists.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Joe Kubert, R. I. P.
Boing Boing: Sgt. Rock and Easy Company are saluting comic book legend Joe Kubert, who passed away today at the age of 85.
A Blog Post of Interest (To Me, Anyway)
Meanderings and Muses: Bill Crider and Sheriff Dan Rhodes - Two of the best guys in the mystery world
Al Freeman Jr., R. I. P.
Pioneering actor Al Freeman Jr. dies, aged 78 - chicagotribune.com: Actor Al Freeman Jr., perhaps best known for his portrayal of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee's 1992 film "Malcolm X," has died, Howard University said on Friday.
"It is with tremendous sadness that the passing of our beloved Professor Al Freeman, Jr. is confirmed," Kim James Bey, chair of the university's theater department said in a statement. Freeman was a faculty member at the university.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
"It is with tremendous sadness that the passing of our beloved Professor Al Freeman, Jr. is confirmed," Kim James Bey, chair of the university's theater department said in a statement. Freeman was a faculty member at the university.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
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