Man claims to have shot Bigfoot in Texas but is holding back the body causing fury among Bigfoot fans who says it's a lie: Tracker claims to have taken this photo moments before he shot dead a Sasquatch in Texas... but surprise, surprise he refuses to show the world the body
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Gator Update (Lenten Edition)
Forget the Friday fish fry, alligator is OK for Lent: "Yes, the alligator is considered in the fish family and I agree with you," said the Archdiocese in the response. "God has created a magnificent creature that is important to the state of Louisiana and it is considered seafood."
Here's the Outline for Your Next Thriller Series
JFK secretly freed rapists, drug dealers and Mafia hitmen to kill Castro and curb the Communist threat, claims explosive new book | Mail Online: 'For over 50 years, the CIA and American government has been systematically releasing dangerous criminals back into society to work for them on secret missions overseas,' said Deane, whose new book Smooth Criminal details the life of alleged CIA operative and 'one-man American crime wave' Dave Riley.
No Comment Department
CBS Boston: Man Tased Outside Target; Allegedly Tried To Steal Bieber Valentines
"Intelligence" Might Not Be the Right Word
Armed police storm Tewkesbury home after spotting toy mortar 'weapon' on Facebook picture: Acting on intelligence, they demanded to see a mortar tube they believed he had in his home in Margaret Road, Prior’s Park.
Archaeology Update
Archeologists find ancient ‘Temple of Fire’ in Peru: Peruvian archeologists have discovered a temple believed to be about 5,000 years old at the ancient El Paraiso archeological site in a valley just north of Lima, the Culture Ministry said.
If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world, comparable to the ancient city of Caral, a coastal city some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north.
If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world, comparable to the ancient city of Caral, a coastal city some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north.
Shadow Morton, R. I. P.
Shadow Morton, Songwriter and Producer, Dies at 71 - NYTimes.com: Shadow Morton, a songwriter and producer who for a brief, luminous period in the 1960s poured the discontents of adolescence into original hit songs, including “Leader of the Pack” and “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” died on Thursday in Laguna Beach, Calif. He was 71.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Klaw, Finn Not Surprised
Chimps beat humans in memory test: Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.
William Watts Biggers, R. I. P.
MSN TV News: William Watts Biggers, the co-creator of the cartoon "Underdog," the mild-mannered canine shoeshine boy who turned into a caped superhero to rescue his girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred, has died. He was 85.
Hat tip to Michael Bracken.
Hat tip to Michael Bracken.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Bar infested by hundreds of thousands of cockroaches, roach eggs, feces and carcasses – even INSIDE the liquor bottles: Headhunters in Austin was unique in its level of sheer filth.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Gator Update
BSO Deputy Reprimanded Over Profanity-Laced Tirade Caught On Camera CBS Miami: “Remember what I told you about the alligators? I’m gonna feed your a– to them. I’m not gonna arrest you. I’m gonna feed you to the f—— alligators. I’m taking you out on the Alley and I’m dumping your a–. So you’re gonna die.”
At Least It's Not "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."
Woman Says She's Had the Same Song Stuck in Her Head for Three Years: Bad: You've got a song stuck in your head. Worse: It's "How Much is that Doggie in the Window." Worst: It's been stuck in your head for the past three years.
Free Today for Kindle
AN IMAGE OF DEATH (The Ellie Foreman Mysteries): Libby Fischer Hellmann: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Who knew that a career in video documentaries could lead to crime? Such is the fate of Chicago's Ellie Foreman whose shoots hook her up with misdeeds past and present. Here she is producing a video about foster children that's being financed by a successful Chicago real estate developer. Her plans get thrown for a loop when a mysterious package appears at her door one winter night. Inside she finds a surveillance video showing the murder of a young woman. Who was this woman and what is her connection to Ellie? The cops shunt her aside, but the urgency she feels to find answers, coupled with her professional knowledge of film, compel her to sleuth despite the difficulties borne from a complex history with her lover, David. A little digging reveals that the murder victim was a courier with a dark history forged in Eastern Europe at the time of the Soviet Union's collapse. And a little more digging reveals dark happenings here at home, money laundering, and the deadly price of dealing in diamonds...
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Bullets and Fire: Joe R. Lansdale: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: "Dad told me once, that if people don't care about where they live, the way they act, people they associate with, they get lost in the dark, can't find their way back cause there's no light left. I had taken a pretty good step into the shadows tonight." It's payback time, in this short story by Joe R. Lansdale.
The 25 Best Books about Abraham Lincoln
The 25 Best Books about Abraham Lincoln | AbeBooks' Reading Copy: At least 15,000 books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. If you wish to learn about the man who led the North during the American Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 then you are not going to be restricted by choice. (AbeBooks alone has more than 67,000 copies of books with ‘Abraham Lincoln’ in the title).
Forgotten Magazine: Guilty Detective Story Magazine, March 1960
Here's the contents list from the Index:
- A Little Creep with Guts · Christopher Mace
- You Don’t Own Me · Dirk Clinton
- Quick Shuffle · Harry Dane
- Blonde in a Jaguar · John R. Pederson
- Death of a Wise Guy · Henry H. Guild
- Thrill Ride to Death · Art Serra
- Dangerous Doll · Ray McKensie
- Kid Killers in Cadillacs · Ron Garret
- Cold, Calculated Murder · Dan Malcolm
It's not hard to determine the audience for the magazine. Almost every story has a beautiful woman with "high breasts," "smooth, tanned thighs," and "thrusting knobs." Okay, the only one with the "thrusting knobs" is "Kid Killers in Cadillacs." Sometimes it's the breasts that are thrusting, but you know what I mean.
I have to admit that "Kid Killers in Cadillacs" is a great title. It's a j.d. story, with tons of embarrassingly "hip" period teen slang. The title's misleading, as the kids aren't really killers in the sense you might expect. Just one person gets killed, and that's pretty much in self-defense. The main reason for the story is the scene in which a young woman is forced to strip, is raped, and then gets thrown naked into a swimming pool.
"Cold, Calculated Murder" is a better story about an escaped convict out for revenge who gets the tables turned on him. He comes to a bad end, which seems to be the main way these stories end. Most of them are really downbeat, including "Dangerous Doll." Femme fatale is literally true in this one, as it is in "You Don't Own Me." If you like stories with really downbeat endings, this is the magazine for you, and the titles of "Thrill Ride to Death" and "Death of a Wise Guy" pretty much let you know what you're going to get.
Literary excellence isn't a qualification that the editor deemed necessary, but these stories are fun to read as artifacts of a time long gone.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Alan Sharp, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Alan Sharp, a screenwriter whose brand of dark, lyrical and densely plotted work, including the screenplay for Arthur Penn’s “Night Moves,” made him a critically admired if largely unknown figure in Hollywood, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 79.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
CBS Minnesota: A number of police cars responded to Minneapolis South High School Thursday after an alleged food fight escalated into a melee involving possibly hundreds of students.
John McPartland
I'm reprinting this post for the second time because Ed Gorman's reprinted a piece about John McPartland from 2007 on his blog. Originally I reprinted it because of a post Duane Swierczynski wrote on his blog. My little essay was published first by Steve Lewis at his Mystery*File. McPartland deserves more attention, so I'm glad to put this out there again.
Gold Medal Corner
by Bill Crider
If people of a certain age (that would be my age) remember John McPartland at all, it’s probably because of his 1957 “breakthrough” novel, No Down Payment. But the truth is hardly anybody remembers even that. (Try a google search if you don’t believe me.) Probably even fewer people remember that both before and after the publication of his “big” book, McPartland published novels with Gold Medal. And they were good ones.
Probably my favorite is The Kingdom of Johnny Cool (1959). Written years before Mario Puzo thought of The Godfather, this is a crackerjack novel about the Mafia (McPartland calls it the Outfit). The title has a couple of meanings, as there are two Johnny Cools in the novel, one young, one old. The young one is the killer, the man who’s going coast-to-coast to kill five men in one day. How he does it, what he becomes in the process, and what happens to him are just a few of the things the book is about. Although there are only 160 pages, this novel has enough details about the Outfit and the way it operates to make even Puzo blink. I seem to recall that Puzo said he made everything up. McPartland may have done the same, but it certainly sounds authentic, as do the all the details of police procedure that are introduced after the murders. The book had at least two Gold Medal printings, and they probably weren’t small ones, but I’m surprised it didn’t do even better.
Maybe it would have, in a different time. McPartland was restricted by publishing conventions of the 1950s, so he couldn’t be nearly as explicit as Puzo was able to be later on. For example, after a young woman with the unlikely name of Dare Guiness is raped, Johnny takes revenge on the killers by stabbing them with a knife from Dare’s kitchen. And then: “There was a tradition for bodies like these two, a tradition that required the use of the knife once more on each of them. Johnny did this and left the bodies where they lay on the gray sidewalk near the garage.” Readers these days (and probably those days, too) knew what it was that Johnny did, but specificity in that sort of thing seems mean bigger sales. McPartland did his best. And even with the restrictions, this is a brutal book, maybe even a little shocking for 1959, and the ending is a real downer.
But there are a couple of lighter moments, including some snappy patter that wouldn’t be out of place in an Arnold Swarzenegger movie of a few years ago. After a couple of killings in Las Vegas, Johnny gets on a package tour bus and sits down next to a guy counting his winnings. The guy wants to talk:
“Boy, I murdered them here,” he said. “How did you do?”
“I did all right,” said Johnny.
McPartland’s books are well worth reading if you like hardboiled action, as I do now and then, and the writing’s fine, too. The Wild Party is another good one, as are the others I’ve read.
If McPartland was so good, why didn’t he make a bigger impact on the crime field? One reason might be that he died at the age of forty-seven. He was already dead by the time The Kingdom of Johnny Cool was published. Too bad he didn’t stick around longer. A lot longer.
Gold Medal Media Bonus: In 1963, The Kingdom of Johnny Cool was made into a movie with the shortened title of Johnny Cool. It starred Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery, and it made a big impression on me and my date (who’s still my date to the movies, by the way). I thought it would make Silva a big star. He was a brat-packer at the time, and Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis, Jr., make cameos in the movie. The real revelation, though, is Montgomery. Wotta performance! After you see her in this movie, you’ll never be able to think of her as that cute Samantha again.
Non-Gold Medal Media Bonus #1: After you see Johnny Cool (which will be next to impossible, as I don’t believe it’s available), you should watch Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai (1999). Supposedly it’s based on some French film, and I might be the only major movie critic who noticed that it’s sort of a remake of Johnny Cool. Forrest Whitaker is the star, but the old Mafia guy is (a great touch) Henry Silva.
Non-Gold Medal Media Bonus #2: And after that, see if you can find the movie version of No Down Payment. I’m betting you can’t, but give it a try. It’s one of the better “lost” movies of the 1950s, with Joanne Woodward and Tony Randall, who proves here that he could do a lot more than just play the comic sidekick in movies with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. This is one of the best portrayals of suburbia ever, or at least of what people thought suburbia was like in the 1950s. I’ve never read the book, but I really should, one of these days.
Update: The DVD of The Kingdom of Johnny Cool can be ordered here.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts: The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
I Report, You Decide
The clearest sighting of a Yeti yet... or an elaborate hoax by some schoolboys? Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Guilt (A Noah Milano novella): Jochem Vandersteen: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Years ago Noah Milano was the son and bodyguard of gangster boss Robert Milano. He was forced to shoot Lisa Waxman's father, turning her into an orphan, saddling him with a lifetime of guilt.
Now, Noah Milano has broken off all ties to his father and tries to make an honest living as a security specialist. He finds out Lisa's stepfather is accused of being one of the vilest, most sadistic serial killers of California. This is Noah's chance to find redemption. He swears to prove his innocence. It seems not everyone agrees with his quest, though. Soon not only Noah but his dearest friends are in mortal danger...
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Fight Card: AGAINST THE ROPES: Jack Tunney, Terrence McCauley, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: NEW YORK CITY - 1925 The boxing ring was the only world Terry Quinn had ever known. He'd entered the hallowed halls of St. Vincent’s Home for Boys in New York City as a fighter and left as a boxer. Years of training and honing his skills finally paid off as he fought his way to the top. Only one more fight stood between Quinn and shot at the heavyweight championship against Jack Dempsey. It was the glory he'd been waiting for all his life.
But things have never gone easy for Terry Quinn. As he starts training for the biggest fight of his career, a crew of Tammany thugs and fix-it men tell him to throw the fight or face dire consequences. Even before he has a chance to consider their offer, those dire consequences come home to roost when one of his long time corner men turns up dead.
New Publisher Seeks Submissions
Adventure Publications, an award-winning publisher of outdoor guides is accepting fiction manuscripts (68,000 – 100,000 words) for its new series of outdoor/wilderness mysteries. (www.adventurepublications.net
Here's the Plot for Your Next Big Credit-Card Scam Thriller
Yahoo! Finance: Many scam artists are looking for ways to get rich quick.
Then there are the 18 people authorities said spent years meticulously creating fake credit cards, building up their credit scores and borrowing money they never repaid in what may be one of the nation's largest credit card fraud rings.
The 18 were charged last week in what authorities said was a sprawling international scam in which at least $200 million was stolen using at least 7,000 identities and 25,000 credit cards. The enterprise spanned eight countries and 28 states, authorities said.
Then there are the 18 people authorities said spent years meticulously creating fake credit cards, building up their credit scores and borrowing money they never repaid in what may be one of the nation's largest credit card fraud rings.
The 18 were charged last week in what authorities said was a sprawling international scam in which at least $200 million was stolen using at least 7,000 identities and 25,000 credit cards. The enterprise spanned eight countries and 28 states, authorities said.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Rick Huxley, R. I. P.
BBC News: Bass player Rick Huxley, one of the founding members of 60s pop group The Dave Clark Five, has died at the age of 72.
He joined the band in 1958 and played on hits including Bits and Pieces and Glad All Over.
OMG!
Local Expert: ‘Sleep Texting’ Is Growing Problem Among Teens: Teenagers are prolific texters. But now’s there’s evidence that they are even doing it in their sleep.
The Apes of Wrath -- Richard Klaw, Editor
Some things you know will be included, like Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and an excerpt from Tarzan of the Apes, but there's a lot more good stuff. In the nonfiction area there's Mark Finn's "The Men in the Monkey Suit," about Hollywood's gorilla men, and Scott Cupp's "The Four-Color Ape," about apes in the comics. And Jess Nevins' "Apes in Literature," which covers a lot of territory in the space of a few pages.
The fiction's all fine, and you'll recognize most of the names: Howard, Cave, Lansdale, Farmer, Waldrop, Flaubert. Yes, Flaubert, the Madame Bovary guy. Kafka and Aesop, too. Apes know no literary boundaries.
If you like apes, this if the book for you. It's also the book for you if you just like good reading. Check it out.
Update: There's a good interview with editor Klaw here.
No Wonder I'm So Productive
NYTimes.com: Paradoxically, the best way to get more done may be to spend more time doing less.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Dispute over mashed potatoes turns dangerous - City & Region - The Buffalo News: A disagreement over mashed potatoes turned dangerous over the weekend when a victim said tempers escalated and a woman came at her with box cutters.
Overlooked Movies: From Here to Eternity
There's a lot more to the movie than that, though. Montgomery Clift is Prewitt, who falls for a prostitute (Donna Reed). Ernest Borgnine is vicious bully who has it in for Maggio (Frank Sinatra, who won an Oscar). Prewitt's a boxer who refuses to box for reasons of his own, though his commanding officer schemes to get him back in the ring. All this happens in the days just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurs near the end of the film.
Like Some Came Running, this movie tells you a lot about the attitudes of the 1950s. In some ways, it's almost a quintessential movie of its era. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot. For us old folks, it's a shot of nostalgia that's hard to beat. For the whippersnappers, it's a time capsule that brings the '50s to life (even if it's set in the '40s).
Monday, February 11, 2013
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Grand Delusion (A Jacob Burns Mystery): Matt Witten: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Jacob Burns is getting used to the good life in Saratoga Springs. With a spot of money in the bank and a loving family at home, he's never been happier. Except that his drug-dealing neighbors' rowdy antics keep him up all night. Complaining to the cops doesn't bring satisfaction - possibly because the dealers' landlord is a cop himself! Jacob and his fellow Saratogians are trying to clean up their down-and-dirty West Side neighborhood. But when the cop landlord - Jacob's personal nemesis - is murdered, Jacob becomes the prime suspect. Jacob ends up on the run from the law, with nobody he can truly count on except his own family - and a homeless nine-year-old boy who may hold the key to solving the murder.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Lolong, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: A Philippine village is shedding crocodile tears for its most famous inhabitant.
Lolong, who earned the title as the world’s largest croc in captivity last year, died Sunday night after he was found flipped over in his cage with a bloated stomach.
Lolong, who earned the title as the world’s largest croc in captivity last year, died Sunday night after he was found flipped over in his cage with a bloated stomach.
Gator/Drugs Update
DailyHerald.com: "He was never able to get (the alligator) returned to him," said defense attorney Dan Hofmann. "We did not get it back."
Matt Hilton
The Hardboiled Collective is promoting its members this week, and it's my pleasure to recommend the work of Matt Hilton. On February 14, his 8th Joe Hunter thriller will be available on Amazon UK, soon to be available in the U.S. Here's the pitch:When Rink's father is brutally murdered, Joe has to stop his friend rushing headlong for vengeance. Because Rink's mother witnessed the crime and Yukiko isn't telling everything she knows.
Her silence is governed by the Japanese tradition of giri, or moral obligation. But when there are more vicious deaths - all of them elderly men known to Yukiko - it becomes a matter of honour to uncover the shameful secret that lies behind the murders.
The killer isn't playing by the rules. But some rules are made to be broken and Joe doesn't care what he breaks to ensure Rink gets his revenge.
Hilton is the author of lots (and lots) of other books that are now available. Click here for 73 examples. If you haven't checked out his work, well, it's time to get started before you get even farther behind.
Launching The Western Fictioneers Library
Western Fictioneers: Launching The Western Fictioneers Library: Introducing the Western Fictioneers Library, new editions of some of the best action-packed Western novels by top authors in the genre. The first entry in the line is RAW DEAL AT PASCO SPRINGS by Clay More, originally published by Robert Hale.
They Wouldn't Have Been Surprised if They Followed this Blog
DNAinfo.com Chicago: Officers with the Chicago Police Department's gang crime unit probably expect to find drugs in Jorge "Lil Man" Carrillo's home, but the alligator may have surprised them.
If You Live in L.A., Just Stay at Home
Police seeking Dorner opened fire in a second case of mistaken identity - latimes.com: Seconds later, Perdue's attorney said, a Torrance police cruiser slammed into his pickup and officers opened fire; none of the bullets struck Perdue.
His pickup, police later explained, matched the description of the one belonging to Christopher Jordan Dorner — the ex-cop who has evaded authorities after allegedly killing three and wounding two more. But the pickups were different makes and colors. And Perdue looks nothing like Dorner: He's several inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter. And Perdue is white; Dorner is black.
His pickup, police later explained, matched the description of the one belonging to Christopher Jordan Dorner — the ex-cop who has evaded authorities after allegedly killing three and wounding two more. But the pickups were different makes and colors. And Perdue looks nothing like Dorner: He's several inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter. And Perdue is white; Dorner is black.
Python Challenge Update
Python Challenge nearly over; where are all the snakes? - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: Fewer than 48 hours remain in the Python Challenge, and the snake kill count is, wait for it, 50. Same as it was Tuesday. State wildlife officials are calling the invasive-snake bounty hunt a success, but for all the pomp and urgency, some hunters are not pleased.
"I don't feel the epidemic is as bad as they're saying," said Mike Singleton, 39, of Tampa, who participated in the hunt the first weekend, but became disillusioned and quit.
"I don't feel the epidemic is as bad as they're saying," said Mike Singleton, 39, of Tampa, who participated in the hunt the first weekend, but became disillusioned and quit.
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