Saturday, June 08, 2013

Cornelius Harp, R. I. P.

Music News | Noise11: Cornelius “Nini” Harp, the lead singer of the Marcels, died on Wednesday from what was reported to be natural causes. 

The Marcels were formed at Oliver Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh in 1959. The original group was unique in its day as three members were African-Americans (Harp, Ronald Mundy, Fred Johnson) and two were white (Gene Bricker, Richard Knauss). 

In early 1961, the group cut a demo of a 1933 Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart song, Blue Moon. It so impressed the management at Colpix Records that they had a copy run over to disc jockey Murray “The K” Kaufman who aired it numerous times the night it was recorded.

Marshall Sewell, R. I. P.

news obituary | cleveland.com: A typical doo-wop song features a booming bass singer, and few boomed like Marshall Sewell. He was a Cleveland police sergeant and an original member of the Edsels, best known for the number "Rama Lama Ding Dong." The Oakwood man died Wednesday, June 5, at the Hospice of the Western Reserve after a year's struggle with esophageal cancer. He was 75.

James D. Sundquist Sr., R. I. P.

Star Tribune: Sundquist, James D., Sr. Age 75, of Fairfax, MN, formerly of Minneapolis, born Nov. 26, 1937 in Niagara, WI to Edwin & Edith Sundquist, passed away June 4, 2013. Jimmy was one of the original duo from the band, Fendermen with the hit record, "Muleskinner Blues" from 1960.

Making the World Safe for Darth Vader

NYPOST.com: Star Wars' Chewbacca found the farce was with him — when airport staff feared his lightsaber-style walking stick was a weapon.

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Here's the Plot for Your Next Noir Thriller

CSMonitor.com: Suspect buried alive: In a case of vigilante justice, villagers in Bolivia buried alive a suspect in the rape and murder of a woman. They buried the man in the grave of the woman that he allegedly murdered.

Hat tip to Michael Bracken.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: Man collars girlfriend with dog leash in violent argument, cops say

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Man Arrested For Hitting Wife With Cheeseburger, Punching Her Mother

STRAWBERRY YELLOW is today's Nook Daily Find

Top Suspense Group: STRAWBERRY YELLOW is today's Nook Daily Find

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

59-year-old golfer stabs partner with broken club in argument over score

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

10 of the Strangest Celebrity Museums

10 of the Strangest Celebrity Museums 

Song of the Day

The Archies Bang-Shang-A-Lang - YouTube:

10 Transportation Graveyards

Rest in Pieces: 10 Transportation Graveyards

Today's Vintage Ad


10 Incredible Ancient Theaters That You Can Still Visit

10 Incredible Ancient Theaters That You Can Still Visit 

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James T. Farrell, Saturday Night, Signet, 1959

6 Unassuming Animals That Are Secretly Immortal

6 Unassuming Animals That Are Secretly Immortal

15 Surprising Celebrity Marines

15 Surprising Celebrity Marines

10 Incredible Cryptids that Attack from the Air

10 Incredible Cryptids that Attack from the Air

Warning: Annoying slideshow.
Link via mental_floss.

I'll Just Watch

The 5 Best Roller Coasters To Hit This Summer

Link via mental_floss.

Leave Her to Heaven

MOVIE TRAILER -- "LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN" (1945) - YouTube:

Friday, June 07, 2013

Archaeology Update

Tiny Chinese Archicebus fossil is oldest primate yet found

20 Towns Named for Other Towns But Pronounced Differently

20 Towns Named for Other Towns But Pronounced Differently 

Song of the Day

Words of Love Lyrics - YouTube:

Top 10 Shakespearean Pick-Up Lines

Top 10 Shakespearean Pick-Up Lines

Robert Randisi Update

Western Fictioneers: RANDISI GARNERS READWEST PRESIDENT'S AWARD FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE!

Today's Vintage Ad


10 Couples Who Mysteriously Vanished

10 Couples Who Mysteriously Vanished 

Seattle Leads the Way

World's Longest Book Domino Chain at the Seattle Public Library

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Neil MacNeil (W. T. Ballard), Third on a Seesaw, Gold Medal, 1959

Prediction Update

Google Unveils Model to Predict Box Office Success: The company says it can use search data to project a film's opening weekend revenue with 94 percent accuracy.

No Comment Department

Detroit police's simulated purse snatching goes awry 

Uh-Oh

Deadline.com: Archie Comics Movie Deal Set At Warner Bros: High School Comedy With Zombies?

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Three Arrested For Throwing Drinks At Taco Bell Worker

The Kangaroo Was Driving

Wild call for Los Angeles police as they find alligator and kangaroo after pulling over a van

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Ben Tucker, R. I. P.

Mail Online: Legendary jazz bassist Ben Tucker who performed with stars from Quincy Jones to Peggy Lee was killed in a Georgia crash Tuesday at age 82.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Forgotten Magazines -- The Mysterious Traveler, Volume 1, Number 1, November 1951

I posted a while back about Suspense, a magazine connected to the radio show of the same name.  Here's a similar magazine, also connected to a radio show. This one was edited by Robert Arthur, who probably also wrote the brief editorial. 

As you can see from the scan, the idea was to present "Great stories of Mystery, Detection, and Suspense," on in other words, mostly reprints. There's even one story attributed to The Mysterious Traveler himself, but it's also a reprint of a story credited to Albert Fell. Is Fell Robert Arthur?  Maybe. He was also one of the writers and directors of the radio show, which was considerably more successful than the magazine.  The other author and director was David P. Kogan, listed as the publisher on the contents page of the magazine. The radio show had nearly 400 episodes, while the magazine ran for only five issues.  The radio show opened with the sound of a locomotive, and then the Mysterious Traveler intoned the opening.  Like many anthology shows, the stories were often dark and twisted noir tales that didn't end well.

Here's a listing of the contents of the magazine.

And here's a listing of some of the radio stations that carried the show.

The Old Dark House

The Old Dark House - Movie Trailer (1963) - YouTube:

Thursday, June 06, 2013

A New Weird Western in ACTION

A New Weird Western in ACTION

He Eschewed Self-Publishing

Pig in Wheelchair Lands 3-Book Deal - GalleyCat: Chris P. Bacon, the little pig in a wheelchair who dominated YouTube this year, has inked a three-book deal with self-help publisher Hay House.

Hat tip to Fred Zackel.

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texas Says It's OK to Shoot an Escort If She Won't Have Sex With You

Esther Williams, R. I. P.

Technicolor Star Esther Williams Dies at Age 91: Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.

"Pulp Friction with Paul Levine" to Interview Lee Goldberg Sunday Night

Top Suspense Group: "Pulp Friction with Paul Levine" to Interview Lee Goldberg Sunday Night

Why Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion effects were more real than CGI

Why Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion effects were more real than CGI 

Song of the Day

John Mellencamp - Jack & Diane - YouTube:

Founding Father Benjamin Rush on the Pillars of the Good Life

Founding Father Benjamin Rush on the Pillars of the Good Life: 14 Rules for His Young Son, 1796

Today's Vintage Ad


Joey Covington, R. I. P.

Joey Covington, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane Drummer, Dead at 67: Joey Covington, who helped to create Hot Tuna and played drums in Jefferson Airplane for a few years, has died at the age of 67. He passed away on June 4 following a car crash in Palm Springs.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Officers: EM man squeezed cop's testicles

5 Places You'll Recognize from the Background of Every Movie

5 Places You'll Recognize from the Background of Every Movie

9 Books That People Will Judge You For Reading (And Why They're Wrong)

9 Books That People Will Judge You For Reading (And Why They're Wrong)

Warning: Slideshow

PaperBack



Fredric Brown, Martians Go Home, Ballantine, 1976

Texas Almost Leads the Way

Travel: Minute Suites Debut At DFW Airport

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The 17 Best Western Movies

Don't We All Charge Our Batteries This Way?

Drunken swim in spring leads to battery charge

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

15 Popular Movie Poster Cliches

15 Popular Movie Poster Cliches 

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Woman in sumo wrestler suit assaults ex-girlfriend who waved at man dressed as Snickers bar

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

Greatest Ever War Films 

You Never Know When You'll Need One

A $10 plastic key that unlocks any pair of handcuffs and can be hidden in a zipper for sale at Amazon.com 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

D-Day

D-Day - June 6, 1944 - the United States Army: June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

The Spiral Staircase

MOVIE TRAILER -- "THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE" (1946) - YouTube:

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest

The Fever Kill: Tom Piccirilli: 9780985578657: Amazon.com: Books: Crease is going back to his quaint, quiet hometown of Hangtree. It’s where his father, the sheriff, met ruin in the face of a scandal involving the death of a kidnapped little girl and her missing ransom. It’s where Crease was beaten, jailed, and kicked clear of the town line ten years earlier. The town still has a taste for his blood and secrets it wants to keep. Crease has a single hope; a raw and raging fever driving him toward the truth that might just burn him up along the way.

Deacon Jones, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: Deacon Jones, a prototype of the pass-rushing defensive end who became a master of the sack and one of the National Football League’s greatest defensive players with the Los Angeles Rams’ line known as the Fearsome Foursome, died on Monday in Anaheim Hills, Calif. He was 74.

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Naked man asks Casselberry officer if head-butting him will land him in jail 

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Western Fictioneers: Wolf Creek 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop

With a preview from the chapter written by . . . me!

Western Fictioneers: Wolf Creek 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop

Song of the Day

Syndicate of Sound Little Girl - YouTube:

“The Storied South”

“The Storied South” (by Brenda Witchger, aka Brynn Bonner)

Emily Dickinson's Herbarium

Emily Dickinson: Her collection of botanical specimens: Dickinson’s herbarium, held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, has been digitized. The book is searchable by plant name. For each page, the reader can click on the “view text” tab to see transcriptions of Dickinson’s plant identification labels, along with their modern equivalents.

Today's Vintage Ad


Must-Read Books: The Ultimate 2013 Summer Reading Guide

Must-Read Books: The Ultimate 2013 Summer Reading Guide

Link via SF Signal.

You Might Not Want to Click this Link

14 Dark Secrets Of How Your Groceries Are Made

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Ian Gordon, Rebellious Flesh, Domino Books, 1964

10 Beloved Summer Blockbusters the Critics Got Dead Wrong

10 Beloved Summer Blockbusters the Critics Got Dead Wrong 

Prologue Books Is Having a Sale

Whittington_B13-July.inddFor the month of June, Prologue Books is discounting a bunch of their ebooks to 99 cents on Amazon.com. Here is the link: http://amzn.to/17m8eIq. It's a great opportunity to check out some authors you've always wanted to read but couldn't find in reasonably priced editions. 

This is a really great selection.  You can't go wrong!

Happy Birthday, Francelle Crider Bettinger!


First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Man Arrested After Throwing Dentures, Watch At Police 

Archaeology Update

Archaeology | Sci-News.com: Etruscan amphorae and a limestone pressing platform unearthed at the ancient coastal port site of Lattara in southern France provide the earliest known archaeological evidence of grape wine from this country, and point to the origins of French winemaking around 500 – 400 BC.

AbeBooks: Most Expensive Sales in May 2013

AbeBooks: Most Expensive Sales in May 2013: The top sale in May was a precious 1908 edition of Tibet and Lhasa by John Claude White. A remarkable piece of colonial history, the book contains 53 plates taken from glass negatives that White captured during the 1904 British expedition to Tibet. The mission itself was military in nature and designed to prevent Tibet from encroaching on the Sikkim region in the Himalayan mountains. As political officer for Sikkim, White co-led the mission.

Arr!

Arr! Michigan to formally recognize ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day’

Midnight Lace

MOVIE TRAILER -- "MIDNIGHT LACE" (1960) - YouTube:

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Texas banker puts up $1M for tricky math solution 

Go for it, Seepy!

Famous Scifi And Fantasy Authors In Their Workspaces

Famous Scifi And Fantasy Authors In Their Workspaces

Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.

Gator Update (Free at Last Edition)

Alligator tortured by Ohio man is rescued after 15 years in basement captivity

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Robert E. Howard Days Coming This Weekend to Cross Plains

RobertEHowardRobert E. Howard Days Coming This Weekend to Cross Plains: Once again, the Project Pride organization in Cross Plains is playing host to the annual Robert E. Howard Days on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8, celebrating the legacy of the Cross Plains resident during the 20's and 30's. 

Howard may be best known for his Conan the Barbarian character, but he also wrote many other genres. 

Headquartered at the Howard Museum at 625 W. HW 36, this annual gathering of fans of Ol’ Two-Gun Bob Howard is presented by the fine folks of Project Pride of Cross Plains, sponsored by the Robert E. Howard Foundation with the help of the members of REHupa, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association.

Lambda Literary Award Winners 2013

Mystery Fanfare: Lambda Literary Award Winners 2013

48 Years Down the Line


Triceratops Update

Rare, nearly complete skeleton of triceratops unearthed in Wyoming

Song of the Day

The Vogues-You're The One - YouTube:

30 of the Most Beautiful Sci-Fi Book Covers Ever Made

30 of the Most Beautiful Sci-Fi Book Covers Ever Made

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Meet Madison the 15-year-old Houston entrepreneur set to be next teenage millionaire after signing deal with Macy's for her 'fish flops'

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Today's Vintage Ad


Archaeology Update

Eight bronze age boats surface at Fens creek in record find

And Keep Off Her Lawn!

102-year-old woman parachutes from Idaho bridge

PaperBack



Kenneth Robeson (Ron Goulart), The Avenger #27: The Purple Zombie, Warner Books, 1974



Anna Nicole Smith Update

The 12 Most Iconic Shots From Lifetime's Anna Nicole Smith Biopic

6 Dictionary Mysteries You Can Help Solve

6 Dictionary Mysteries You Can Help Solve

48 Years Ago Today . . . .


True for You?

Happiness Index: Americans Are Less Happy in 2013

Only 13?

Cheer For Our National Newts & Meet The 13 State Amphibians!

Overlooked Movies -- Advise and Consent

Back in the days when I read big, thick books, Advise and Consent was one of the big, thick books that I read.  I loved it, and even now, more than 50 years later, I remember it pretty well.  Maybe that's because I also saw the movie version.

If you watched the trailer I posted a bit earlier, you might have noticed that the narrator says, "A word of warning: These people are all fictional, so don't try to guess who they are."  What that means, of course, is that everyone in the movie is based on a real person, not that any of the whippersnappers reading this will remember most of them.  Part of the fun of reading the book was figuring out which actual people Drury was writing about.  The characters may be composites, but some of them seem clearly based on easily recognized people.

Not that it matters now, fifty years on down the line. What matters is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The book and movie are the story of a seriously ill president trying to get his nominee confirmed as secretary of state.  The obstructionists in the senate (notably Charles Laughton in the movie, in a great hammy performance) will do anything to stop the confirmation because they believe nominee is a commie.  The president will do anything, dig up any dirt, to get the confirmation.  And the dirt that's dug is pretty racy for 1962, believe me.  Now?  You decide, but I wonder if things have changed much, if at all.

This is a Big Hollywood Movie, with lots of name stars (well, they were names in 1962). They're uniformly excellent in their roles, with a couple of people having the best parts of their careers (Peter Lawford, for one, who in a smooth casting move plays someone very much like JFK).

Interestingly enough (to me, if not to you) is the fact that as much as I liked the book and movie, I never read one of the several sequels to the novel that Drury wrote.


Advise and Consent

MOVIE TRAILER -- "ADVISE & CONSENT" (1962) - YouTube:

Monday, June 03, 2013

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

Socialite claims she was attacked by 10 prostitutes at South Beach hotel - Miami Beach

Update

15 Inexplicable Omissions from the WGA’s “101 Best Written TV Series of All Time”

So It's Come to This

School says deaf boy's name sign looks too much like a gun

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .

NYPOST.com: Drunken Brooklyn lawyer tossed her panties at cops during berserk rant

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest

Amazon.com: Hard Truths (Hard Truths crime writer interviews) eBook: Tony Black: Kindle Store: Hard Truths is an 85,000-word collection of interviews with the crime genre's most accomplished writers. 

As both an award-winning journalist and one of the most acclaimed crime writers of recent times Tony Black is uniquely placed to cross-examine crime fiction's bestselling authors. Names like Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, Andrew Vachss and William McIlvanney reveal the secrets of their craft in a series of interviews conducted over the last five years. 


Black takes an often no-holds-barred approach and pushes friendships to the limit as he teases out the truth on subjects as diverse as politics, the writing life, popular culture and personal histories. Always entertaining and often heartfelt these exchanges offer an entertaining, humorous and eclectic look at some of the genre's leading lights.

He Forgot to Tie His Kangaroo Down, Sport

Kangaroo leads Florida deputies on 10-hour chase 

Paris Hilton Update

'This is your captain speaking!' Paris Hilton wears a tiny bikini to take charge of a boat as she sets sail off the coast of Hawaii

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

'101 Best Written TV Series Of All Time' From WGA/TV Guide: Complete List 

Song of the Day

"I Only Want to Be with You" Dusty Springfield - YouTube:

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

Top 10 Story Songs All About Death

Under Construction

Photos of Famous Landmarks While They Were Still Under Construction

Today's Vintage Ad


5 Classic Movies That Ruined Their Makers' Careers

5 Classic Movies That Ruined Their Makers' Careers

An Open Letter to Science Students and Science Teachers

An Open Letter to Science Students and Science Teachers 

PaperBack



Brian Lumley, The Burrowers Beneath, DAW, 1974

Maybe You Don't Want to Know

What Happens When You Try And Explain Cricket To Jennifer Lopez

This Is What The FBI Looked Like In The '30s And '40s

This Is What The FBI Looked Like In The '30s And '40s

Top 10 Most Deadly Creatures

Top 10 Most Deadly Creatures

No Smoking, Please

The Daily Beast: Smoking bans have transformed the prison economy, reports Gorilla Convict Seth Ferranti.

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Pia Zadora Update

Actress-singer Pia Zadora arrested on domestic battery charge

Hat tip to Fred Zackel. 

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

CBS Dallas / Fort Worth:- A hive of 40,000 Africanized honey bees, known as “killer bees,” killed a Central Texas man and hurt a woman who came to his aid. It happened in Moody, about thirty minutes south of Waco.

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest

Amazon.com: COLT (Nicholas Colt #1) eBook: Jude Hardin: Kindle Store: October 21: just an ordinary day, unless you’re a former rock star… 

The sole survivor of a plane crash… A private investigator working out of a camper… 

For Nicholas Colt, October 21 is an unlucky day. A day for nightmares. It always has been, and this year is no exception. 

Someone is brutally murdering the offspring of an anonymous sperm donor, and Colt’s missing client is next on the list. With less than four days to find the young man—and, with a pair of drug-addicted study partners, a violent motorcycle gang, a stalker ex-girlfriend, and a host of other obstacles standing in his way—Colt faces the most challenging and deadly case of his life.

The enduring mystery of Nancy Drew

The enduring mystery of Nancy Drew

New Story at BEAT TO A PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Bobby Wycoff Is Dead :: Terrie Farley Moran

Song of the Day

Lloyd Price - I'm Gonna Get Married - YouTube:

Here's the Plot for Your Next Historical Thriller

The Strange Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch: It was a watch so beautiful, so elegant, so precise, that it could only have been meant for royalty. Then it vanished without a trace.

Today's Vintage Ad


7 Bitter Fandom Rivalries From Across Pop Culture

7 Bitter Fandom Rivalries From Across Pop Culture 

Top 10 Most Impressive Magic Acts

Top 10 Most Impressive Magic Acts

PaperBack



Robert H. Prall and Norton Mockridge, This Is Costello, Gold Medal, 1951



William Demby, R. I. P.

NYTimes.com: William Demby, whose novels, written while he was an expatriate in Italy, challenged literary conventions and expectations of what a black writer should write about, died on May 23 at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y. He was 90.

23 Of The Most Amazing Roads On Earth

23 Of The Most Amazing Roads On Earth

24 Great Gatsby Facts

24 Great Gatsby Facts 

Comic Strip of the Day

Link.

Top 10 best vampire books ever

Top 10 best vampire books ever 

Link via SF Signal.

Why is a Face called a "Mug"?

Why is a Face called a "Mug"?

Robert the Bruce Update

Robert the Bruce begged English for peace, letter shows 

The Lost Ranch

1937 LOST RANCH TRAILER TOM TYLER - YouTube:

West Side Story

MOVIE TRAILER -- "WEST SIDE STORY" (1961) - YouTube: