10 States Where People Drink The Most Beer
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Saturday, July 06, 2013
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
The Opening Night Murder (A Restoration Mystery): Anne Rutherford: 9780425255865: Amazon.com: Books: At the dawn of the Restoration Period, Suzanne Thornton hopes to find a second life in the theater. But instead, on opening night, she finds a dead body on stage…
The triumphant return of King Charles II in 1660 is occasion for much celebration in London. The Merry Monarch’s unquenchable thirst for entertainment creates opportunities for everyone from tavern keepers to brothel owners to actors.
One of these is Suzanne Thornton. No longer a kept woman since her man has fled, she sees an opportunity to reopen a theater and stage the classics—Shakespeare, Marlowe, and the like. And now, thanks to Royal decree, Juliet can be played by a woman. Suzanne secures financing from an old lover, assembles a troupe, and restores the venue—none other than the historic Globe Theater.
Tragically, during the opening night performance, a dead body lands on the stage.
After the curtain comes down, Suzanne finds herself a suspect. But she also finds that murder is good for business—the next night’s performance is sold out. Wishing to live to enjoy her success, Suzanne undertakes her own investigation to find a killer who may try to close her down for good…
Today in Music History
Rockabilly N Blues Records: Sam Phillips gives Elvis' "That's All Right" to DJ Dewey Phillips: July 6, 1954- Sam Phillips takes an acetate recording of Elvis' "That's All Right" over to Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips to play on his "Red, Hot & Blue" radio show the next day (7th). This was the first time Elvis was played on the air.
Who Said It?
Comedy Is Tragedy Plus Time |: Carol Burnett? Woody Allen? Tig Notaro? Steve Allen? Lenny Bruce? Bob Newhart? Anonymous?
I For One Welcome Our New Crocodilian Masters
Crocodiles Have Newly Discovered Multi-Sensory Organs: Don’t Freak Out Or Anything, But Crocodiles Have Supersenses
Oldest Grave Flowers
Neatorama: The tradition of burying loved ones with grave flowers turns out to be quite an old one. Archaeologists Daniel Nadel and colleagues discovered the oldest example in a grave in Israel's Mount Carmel, dating back 12,000 years ago:
Paging Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor
The Sun |News: BRITAIN is in the grips of a new gull war — as petrified holidaymakers are blitzed by kamikaze birds determined to swipe their food.
Victims have been hospitalised, children left with cut lips and small dogs have even DIED following the attacks.
Victims have been hospitalised, children left with cut lips and small dogs have even DIED following the attacks.
Croc Update (Cane Toad Edtion)
ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): Cane toads have wiped out some populations of dwarf crocodiles in northern Australia.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
. . . and I think we can all agree that Flaming Diapers WBAGNFARB.
Angry Mother of Twins Throws Flaming Diapers at Late Night Firework Shooters
Angry Mother of Twins Throws Flaming Diapers at Late Night Firework Shooters
Friday, July 05, 2013
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
WPBF Home: Martin County deputies took Robert Willmarth, 71, into custody after he allegedly threw a lawn gnome through the window of a neighbor’s house. He was caught on surveillance video.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Dyeing Wishes: A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery (Haunted Yarn Mystery): Molly Macrae: 9780451239563: Amazon.com: Books: Kath Rutledge’s grandmother left her a charming fiber and fabric shop, a close-knit group of needlework lovers, and a television-addicted ghost in the attic. She may also have inherited the special skills required to untangle a murder. Always up for trying something new, Kath and her friends from the fiber and needlework group TGIF—Thank Goodness it’s Fiber—are visiting Cloud Hollow Farm for the day to learn the fine art of dyeing. With spring in the air, the friends head out to greet the sheep.
But the sheep are more interested in something else—two bodies spread under a tall tree. And one of those bodies is someone they know.
Kath’s friends nudge her to investigate, and no one is more adamant than Geneva, the ghost who loves to play assistant sleuth. But when Kath discovers another murder cut from the same cloth, she’s more determined than ever to hang a roving killer out to dry…
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: Guns Of Brixton (Best of British) eBook: Paul D Brazill: Books: When the simple task of collecting a briefcase from a Northern courier in his London lock-up results in a dead Geordie gangster there's only one thing that Kenny Rogan can do...dress up in drag and rob a jewellers with 'Big' Jim and hope everything turns out okay! From the pen of Paul D Brazill comes a whole host of larger-than-life characters, a sharp plot and the kind of humour you wouldn't let your granny read.
Shoes Update
Jezebel Here is a woman loves romance novels so much that she made a pair of shoes out of them.
AbeBooks: Most Expensive Sales in June 2013
AbeBooks: Most Expensive Sales in June 2013: The top 10 most expensive sales for June 2013 include a number of fantastic antiquarian tomes. In top spot, weighing in at nearly $29,000, is a 1731 German translation of the Physica Sacra by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, who was a Swiss scholar, physician, chair of physics and professor in mathematics, as well as credited for being one of the fathers of paleontology.
Forgotten Book: 2 Guns for Hire -- Neil MacNeil (W. T. Ballard)
Costaine and McCall are "business detectives," and they supposedly work cases having to do with business, which the one detailed in 2 Guns for Hire certainly does. But there's usually a murder or two thrown in, along with (in the case of this book at least) lots of sex.
Both men are tough guys, but McCall is sort of the Jack Reacher of the pair. He's huge and indestructible. He also plays the bagpipes, though not in this book. He's proud of being "Scotch," a word that nowadays applies only to tape and whisky, I believe. Costaine is darkly handsome, but not as big as McCall. Both are, naturally, irresistible to women.
In this instance they're hired to look into the death of an automobile manufacturer. Nearly everyone believes it's suicide, but of course it's not. There are family problems among the three sons of the magnate, along with a thuggish businessman who wants to get his hands on their inherited shares in the company, along with a supposed half-brother by way of the bar sinister who's even more thuggish. And did I mention beautiful women?
This is a slick, professional book, pretty much as I remembered it to be. There are several others in the series, and I read them all with enjoyment at one time. I might even reread another one, just for fun.
Thursday, July 04, 2013
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
John Ray is called to the scene of a violent murder. The victim is an old associate of John's dad, local crime boss Tony Ray. There's no obvious motive for the crime, but everybody agrees on one thing: don't tell the police.
John, the Cambridge-educated white sheep of the Ray family, has always refused to be part of his father's business. But he's a bit of a maverick, with a foot in both worlds, and he's not quite as white as he would like: exactly the kind of person you'd want to investigate an underworld murder.
His search for the killer takes him back to events twenty years ago, and to another, even more heinous crime. But he still doesn't really know what he's looking for. Until it's too late.
Plus, he's not the only one looking...
Marinos Vourderis, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Marinos Vourderis, a poor Greek immigrant who became the millionaire king of Italian ices, has died. He was 97.
Vourderis, founder of Marinos Italian Ices, died Tuesday at his home in Jamaica Estates, Queens, his daughter, Margie Hackford, said Wednesday.
“He was amazing,” Hackford said of her father. “He had the Midas touch; everything he touched turned to gold.”
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Vourderis, founder of Marinos Italian Ices, died Tuesday at his home in Jamaica Estates, Queens, his daughter, Margie Hackford, said Wednesday.
“He was amazing,” Hackford said of her father. “He had the Midas touch; everything he touched turned to gold.”
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Happy Independence Day!
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Independence Day (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.[1][2][3]
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Douglas Engelbart, R.I. P.
San Jose Mercury News: Douglas Engelbart, the deep-thinker who invented the computer mouse and who decades ago showed the world what the future of computing would look like, died at 88 Tuesday, ending a seminal Silicon Valley career of nearly boundless innovation.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
James J. Griffin Interview
Fascinated by the Texas Rangers: StoryTeller’s 7: James J. Griffin, Tales of the Texas Rangers
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: Grace Takes Off (A Manor House Mystery) (9780425259665): Julie Hyzy: Books: A trip to Italy’s Tuscan countryside is a dream come true for curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, Grace Wheaton. At least until her boss—and benefactor of this whirlwind excursion—becomes the target of a murderer… When Grace and her boss, Bennett Marshfield, turn up at the Italian villa of one of his oldest friends, they’re troubled to discover that most of his friend’s impressive art collection—including a prized bronze skull crafted by Picasso—is fake. Someone has been selling the real deals and replacing them with skilled forgeries.
Unfortunately, Grace and Bennett have to fly home the next day, so there’s no time to investigate. But their troubles are hardly over. On the plane, Grace catches a woman trying to poison Bennett. The woman, of course, isn’t talking, but by the end of the flight, there are two dead bodies. Now Grace has to wing it to find a mile-high murderer—especially since she suspects Bennett is still in danger…
Buy Early and Often
Amazon.com: Texas Vigilante (Ellie Taine) eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store: In the western tradition of Louis L'Amour and Elmer Kelton, it's the action-packed sequel to OUTRAGE AT BLANCO.
The men broke out of the toughest prison in Texas. They kidnapped a child. They thought they'd get away with it. They didn't reckon on Ellie Taine. That was their mistake.
Bigfoot Update
I had the ‘Bigfoot DNA’ tested in a highly reputable lab. Here’s what I found.Hat tip to Doc Quatermass.
Fascinating First Editions from the 1950s
Fascinating First Editions from the 1950s on AbeBooks: For many collectors, the 1950s represent a golden age of literature full of rich pickings. The decade is famous for producing books that have had a huge impact on readers and society in general.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Latest Fight Card Novel Now Available
Dorothea's brother, Teddy, has fallen under the influence of notorious gangster Duke Williamson – a powerful man who is pressuring Levi to join his stable of fighters or face off against the human killing machine, ‘Deathblow’ Ballantine. A knock-down, drag out, Brooklyn Beatdown is brewing, and Levi will need every ounce of his fighter’s heart if he wants to save not only himself, but the woman he loves ...
Pimpage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Rubbed Out (A Memphis BBQ Mystery): Riley Adams: 9780425259993: Amazon.com: Books: Even Lulu Taylor—proprietress of Aunt Pat’s Barbeque Restaurant in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee—needs to get out of the kitchen now and then. But at the Rock and Ribs festival, she finds more than a taste of trouble… Reuben Shaw rubs a lot of people the wrong way—including Lulu’s best friend, Cherry, who has the misfortune of being in the booth next to his at the festival. The pigheaded pit master thinks he’s a shoo-in to win the barbeque competition, but he spends more time stirring up trouble than seasoning his spare ribs. Hours after she gets into a quarrel with him, Cherry finds Shaw dead with a butcher knife in his chest. Now it’s her turn to get grilled—by the police. Lulu sets out to clear her friend’s name and finds Shaw had more secrets than his BBQ recipe. She’ll need to act fast, because the real killer will spare no one…including Lulu.
Snipers -- Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The investigator in the original case was Johann Runge, the great-grandfather of pianist and composer Anton Runge. Johann wrote his own book on the crimes, and eventually Anton and Sofie combine forces to delve into his records and the past.
When the corpse of one of the victims is disinterred, some amazing clues are discovered, pointing to a seemingly impossible conclusion. The readers know it's the right one, however, as we've gradually become aware that the present of the book's narrative isn't our present. (My favorite hint: Isaac Asimov is a well-known Russian writer.) So the question of how changing the past affects the present becomes prominent.
This is a fast-moving thriller, and the ending implies that a sequel is in the works. I'll be reading it.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Fort Worth | Ne...: In the unlikeliest of finds, a literary treasure by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck was discovered late last year in Fort Worth in — of all places — a storage locker up for auction.
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China Leads the Way
Law demands visits to parents: FROM today, Chinese people will have to visit their elderly parents regularly or at least keep in touch with them in some way. It's the law.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
The Dallas Morning News: After a good long career in education, Dale Irby has retired. And so have his groovy shirt and sweater vest.
In every school picture for the past 40 years, Dale wore the same 1970s-era polyester shirt and coffee-colored sweater.
Forty photos at the link.
In every school picture for the past 40 years, Dale wore the same 1970s-era polyester shirt and coffee-colored sweater.
Forty photos at the link.
Overlooked Movies -- The Mole People
If you watched the trailer below, you saw the great line about how "Here is Terror to Shatter Your Nerves." Let's get something straight right now. This movie wasn't scary when I saw it in the '50s. The audience then got just as big a kick out out how cheesy it was as an audience now would.
One reason I liked this one was that it's a part of the Lost Civilization genre, and I've always been attracted to stories like that. There's a nice little build-up to the discovery of the underground kingdom, including the prologue, a great lecture on the hollow earth by a college English prof.
Once in the underground, Agar and Hugh Beaumont (yes, the Beav's dad) find a race of albinos who use the mole people as their slaves. It's no wonder the Mole People don't like them. They also do away with their older population by sacrificing them to Ishtar (not the movie, the goddess). Alan Napier is their leader, in his pre-Alfred the Butler days.
Yes, it's slow. Yes, the alleged acting is pretty bad. Yes, the Mole People look like guys in rubber masks. Yes, this is what passed for entertainment in the '50s. Count your blessings, whippersnappers.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Me, Too
You Had Me at 'Bigger Alligators': Times Readers Pitch Summer Blockbusters
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Only 99 Cents
Amazon.com: THUGLIT Issue Six eBook: Kieran Shea, BH Shepherd, Rena Robinett, Scott Adlerberg, Jessica Adams, T Fox Dunham, Hugh Lessig, Aaron Fox-Lerner, Todd Robinson: Books: PIN by Hugh Lessig
WHEELS by Rena Robinett
COME ON HOME by Scott Adlerberg
HAVING CHIQUI by Kieran Shea
SOUL COLLECTION by T Fox Dunham
SWEET CAROLINE by Jessica Adams
THE GHOST WIFE by Aaron Fox-Lerner
ROGUES GALLERY by BH Shepherd
Point and Shoot -- Duane Swierczynski
You may remember from Fun & Games and Hell & Gone that Charlie's on the run from the Accident People, who are part of the Cabal, which is the group that really runs this country. They can kill and maim and do pretty much whatever they want to do, and after Charlie escapes from the escape-proof prison in Hell & Gone, they put him in a satellite in low-earth orbit, where he's supposed to spend a year, though they'll probably just try to kill him again when he gets out. If he gets out.
And he's not there for the reason he's been told, as he learns when his perfect double arrives. No one is supposee to be able to get there, much less get inside, but it happens. Then the satellite crashes, and then the chase is on, with one damned thing after another, and plenty of crosses and double crosses and triple crosses thrown in.
It's another wild ride from Swierczynski, and it's also very funny, as if you didn't know that already. We can all sit back now and wait to see what he'll do next.
Jim Kelly, R. I. P.
NextMovie: Jim Kelly, who made his name alongside martial arts legend Bruce Lee in the classic 1973 action film "Enter the Dragon," has died according to Film.com. He was 67.
A football star at the University of Kentucky, Kelly dropped out to pursue martial arts. After winning a championship in 1971 and opening his own dojo, he came to the attention of Hollywood filmmakers and made his debut in "Enter the Dragon," becoming an instant superstar.
A football star at the University of Kentucky, Kelly dropped out to pursue martial arts. After winning a championship in 1971 and opening his own dojo, he came to the attention of Hollywood filmmakers and made his debut in "Enter the Dragon," becoming an instant superstar.
Happy Canada Day!
Canada Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Canada Day (French: F�te du Canada) is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire.[1][2][3] Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confederation), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.
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