NY Daily News: Gary Collins, an actor, television show host and former master of ceremonies for the Miss America Pageant, has died. He was 74.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
The Spider Tribe: Heath Lowrance: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: The Iktomi are an ancient evil that feed on the fear and hate of generations, and when the Black Hills run red with the blood of the Lakota, they return to sow death.
The mysterious gunslinger called Hawthorne is fueled also by hatred -- hatred of evil. But is his hate strong enough to destroy the Iktomi?
Phantoms of the Bookshelves -- Jacques Bonnet
Mixing literature and film at Frankfurt Book Fair
Mixing literature and film at Frankfurt Book Fair - The Local: Oscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry, most of whose films have been based on well-known books, said at the Frankfurt Book Fair that he believes novelists now more readily embrace the adaptation of their works onto the big screen.
I Miss the Old Days
But at least I still have a copy of this: Mighty Mouse: The first 3D comic, 1953
Friday, October 12, 2012
Deborah Chessler, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Deborah Chessler, whose song “It’s Too Soon To Know” became a touchstone and launching pad for the rhythm and blues explosion of the late 1940s and 1950s, died Wednesday in Florida. She was 89.
Chessler, the pen name for Shirley Reingold, had been suffering from heart problems.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s
The Barnes & Noble Review: American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s
Edited by GARY K. WOLFE
Reviewed by Paul Di Filippo
+Sons+of+Texas+Berkley089.jpg)
+Sons+of+Texas+Berkley090.jpg)
Forgotten Books: A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie -- Robert Barnard
Barnard meets some of the usual objections to Christie (her characters are wooden stereotypes, her writing is bland and uninteresting) and shows that while there's a bit of truth in them, the characters and writing serve her purposes well. Writing that does that shouldn't be undervalued even if the prose doesn't rise to the level of Joyce's.
I read quite a few of Christie's books at one time, and I still read one now and then, if only to marvel at her ability to fool me completely. Her plotting is second to none. There's also a bit more humor and wit in her books than most people seem to realize. If you're like me, then you're the audience for this book. Barnard assumes a certain amount of familiarity with the novels, and he works hard not to give away the solutions to Christie's puzzles, especially in his capsule summaries. If, on the other hand, you've never read much of Christie, I suspect you'd want to after seeing what Barnard has to say in this book. Check it out.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Eda Mirsky Mann, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Eda Mirsky Mann, a painter and designer and the mother of "Fear of Flying" novelist Erica Jong, has died.
Jong's office announced that Mann died at her Manhattan home on Monday at age 100.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Jong's office announced that Mann died at her Manhattan home on Monday at age 100.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: A Texas man is in hot water with the law after cooking and eating a dove that had flown against the side of his home, broke its neck and died.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Nelly Busted For Heroin, Pot, And Gun Possession: Cops in Texas found a huge amount of drugs and a loaded gun on the R&B singer's tour bus. He's off the hook now, but a member of his entourage is in deep trouble.
J. K. Rowling Interview
J. K. Rowling - By the Book - NYTimes.com: The author of Harry Potter and, now, “The Casual Vacancy,” says her favorite literary character is Jo March: “It is hard to overstate what she meant to a small, plain girl called Jo.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Dacula, GA Patch: A Dacula man was charged with simple battery after a disagreement over the use of a designated parking space turned violent.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
If you think Led Zepplin is the greatest rock band in the world, then you've probably already got this book. If you're uncommitted, here's the place to look for all kinds of interesting and entertaining related stuff that will lead you in some unexpected directions.
If You Like Led Zeppelin... Here Are Over 200 Bands,Films,Records,and Other Oddities That You Will Love: Dave Thompson: 9781617130854: Amazon.com: Books: (If You Like). It was, and it remains, the greatest rock band the world has ever seen, a giant from the moment of its inception until long after its demise. Even today, more than 30 years after its final flight, Led Zeppelin offers the final word in rock innovation the one band that so many try to emulate and so few come even close to catching. If You Like Led Zeppelin... is the unique story of how Led Zeppelin came together not as players, but as influences and ideas. It unearths the music that the musicians themselves were listening to, to open up an entire new world of experience and excitement for both casual and committed fans. It then travels beyond Led Zeppelin, to the bands and artists who in turn took their own lead from the Zep. Packed with exclusive comments from friends, contemporaries, and peers, If You Like Led Zeppelin... is a unique window into the world from which Led Zeppelin was born, and the one it created in its wake. From blues and beat bands to California, Morocco, Mali, and beyond, this is the ultimate guidebook for anyone who likes Led Zeppelin.
Beano Cook, R. I. P.
Beano Cook - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Carroll Hoff "Beano" Cook (born September 1, 1931 - October 11, 2012) was an American television personality who worked for ESPN. He was a college football historian and commentator. He received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1954.
PimPage
The Next Draft with Johnny Shaw | LitReactor: JOHNNY SHAW is the author of DOVE SEASON and BIG MARIA. He received his MFA in screenwriting from UCLA and has lectured at both Santa Barbara City College and UC Santa Barbara. He and his wife, the artist Roxanne Patruznick, now live in Portland, Oregon.
Uh-Oh
Hollywood Reporter: Universal Studios Home Entertainment is bringing back The Little Rascals, the adventures of misfit kids who first took the world by storm in the 1920s and ‘30s with black and white shorts produced by Hal Roach.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
PimPage Update
I read this one tonight, and I can now recommend it wholeheartedly. A tough western novella that Harry Whittington himself might have been proud to have written. Check it out.
Savage Blood: James Reasoner: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: The Civil War took nearly everything from Brodie. A beautiful redhead named Eva took what was left. When she turned to him for help, he had every reason in the world to tell her to go to hell.
Instead he strapped on his gun and walked right into a blazing hell himself.
SAVAGE BLOOD is a brand-new hardboiled Western novella from James Reasoner, bestselling author of the Wind River series, the Judge Earl Stark series, and co-author of the Rancho Diablo series. It's 16,000 words of action and excitement from a master storyteller.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Mind Slices: A Collection of New and Previously Published Stories: Kevin Tipple: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Mind Slices: A Collection of New and Previously Published Stories features 16 short stories in a variety of genres. Some tales lean towards the science fiction side, some lean towards mystery, and most lean towards suspense. Most stories also contain more than one genre.
Tolkien Update
'New' JRR Tolkien epic due out next year: Lord of the Rings author's previously unseen 200-page poem of Arthurian legend draws on tales of ancient Britain rather than Middle-earth
Archaeology Update
The Raw Story: Archaeologists said Wednesday they believe they have found the exact spot in Rome where Julius Caesar was stabbed to death on March 15, 44 BC.
Sven Hassel, R. I. P.
guardian.co.uk: Sven Hassel, who has died aged 95, wrote 14 massively popular novels about life in the wartime German army. His books – including Legion of the Damned, Monte Cassino and Liquidate Paris – have been translated into 25 languages and Hassel found his biggest success in the UK, where readers consumed 15m of his worldwide total of 53m books sold.
Turhan Bey, R. I. P.
1940s Hollywood Actor Dies In Austria At 90: Turhan Bey, an actor whose exotic good looks earned him the nickname of "Turkish Delight" in films with Errol Flynn and Katherine Hepburn before he left Hollywood for a quieter life in Vienna, has died. He was 90.
Alex Karras, R. I. P.
freep.com: Alex Karras was a giant in football, and a mean one at that. But off the field, he was an bigger presence.
Funny, flawed, durable, direct, bitter, brave and talented, Karras was all these things during 12 seasons as a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions in 1958-70 -- and during a successful film and television career that followed.
Karras, 77, died about 3 a.m. today, surrounded by his family at his home in Los Angeles, after suffering from dementia and kidney failure. He was part of a large group of former players suing the NFL for head trauma.
Funny, flawed, durable, direct, bitter, brave and talented, Karras was all these things during 12 seasons as a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions in 1958-70 -- and during a successful film and television career that followed.
Karras, 77, died about 3 a.m. today, surrounded by his family at his home in Los Angeles, after suffering from dementia and kidney failure. He was part of a large group of former players suing the NFL for head trauma.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Associated Press: Argument over length of a shower leads to stabbing
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Woman Arrested for Pepper Spraying 12-Year-Old: Police say Linda Hall Jones sprayed the 12-year-old in the face with pepper spray when the young girl laughed at her.
First It Was the Hot Sauce Tantrum . . . .
chicagotribune.com: A Chuck E. Cheese's employee is accused of stabbing a woman with a box cutter after an argument about a salad plate, police said.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Uh-Oh
CW, Reese Witherspoon Reimagining 'Great Expectations' - Hollywood Reporter: The CW is going to back to the classics. The youth-skewing network has given script orders for Expectations, described as a modern reimagining of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Brooklyn Leads the Way
Beardwatching in Brooklyn - Storyboard: Enter Mckenzie Santiago and Alfredo Catedral, the duo behind Brooklyn Grooming, the borough’s premiere small-batch, hand-made, all-natural, organic, artisanal, very Brooklyn men’s (and women’s) grooming line. With a choice of three neighborhood scents — Williamsburg, Red Hook, and Fort Greene (as well as the all-natural scent, Commando) — facial hair aficionados will find everything from beard oil to mustache wax to gentleman’s facial serum.
The Zombie Apocalypse Draws Closer
News from The Associated Press: 'BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA' KILLS 10 IN PAKISTAN
Overlooked Movies: Next of Kin
Neeson goes to Chicago, explains The Code of the Hills to the mob chief: Give up the killer (the mob chief's nephew), and all will be okay. It's an offer the MC can refuse. Swayze finds out that the MC's son (Ben Stiller; yes, that Ben Stiller) is an eyewitness to the murder, but Stiller is tortured and killed before he gives out any info. Then Neeson gets killed. Swayze quits the cops and goes after the killer on his own.
But not to worry. The clan back in the hills finds out what's going on and heads for Chicago. It's the mob versus the hillbillies, and I'll bet you can guess who wins.
Not a bad movie, but not as good as it could've been. The pacing's off, or so it seems to me, and the movie slows down at times. However, if you've ever wanted to see Ben Stiller get what's coming to him, you'll definitely want to see it.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Houston - News: A man police found early Thursday outside Shamrocks Pub in Humble was so drunk, police had to hold his head up for his mugshot.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Nothing Matters: A Noir Love Story: Steve Finbow: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Written in prose that’s as projective as a hollow-point bullet, Nothing Matters explores the dark side of desire, the surreal side of sex, and the horror that humanity witnesses. Man and woman. Love and hate. Sex and violence. A road trip to the end of the world. On the way—murder, torture, lust, and despair. Shadowy figures haunt the anti-couple. As does their past... and their present.
From the deserts of Nevada and California to the gargoyle-sentried skyscrapers of New Babylon, X and Z will stop at nothing to be together. But will they kill for it? If you loved Romeo and Juliet, you’ll hate this.
Miniatur Wunderland
Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg - model building - model railway Hamburg: The largest model railway in the world, and one of the most successful permanent exhibitions in Northern Germany.
Cool video at the link.
Hat tip to Stan Burns.
Cool video at the link.
Hat tip to Stan Burns.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Uh-Oh
MarketWatch: Tucked into the U.S. Supreme Court’s busy agenda this fall is a little-known case that could upend your ability to resell everything from your grandmother’s antique furniture to your iPhone 4.
At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.
Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.
Put simply, though Apple has the copyright on the iPhone and Mark Owen does on the book “No Easy Day,” you can still sell your copies to whomever you please whenever you want without retribution.
At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.
Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.
Put simply, though Apple has the copyright on the iPhone and Mark Owen does on the book “No Easy Day,” you can still sell your copies to whomever you please whenever you want without retribution.
+The+Don+is+Dead+GM+072.jpg)
+The+Don+is+Dead+GM+073.jpg)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)