. . . and now it's the mascot melee!
Mascot melee: Angry Boeing worker punches the Mariner Moose
Saturday, July 27, 2013
JJ Cale, R. I. P.
Musician JJ Cale dies: Grammy-winning musician JJ Cale, whose best known songs became hits for Eric Clapton with "After Midnight" and Lynyrd Skynyrd with "Call Me the Breeze," has died. He was 74.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: Dirt Rich eBook: Clark Howard: Kindle Store: The Sheridans . . . they had nothing, they wanted everything, and they got more than they ever bargained for. Dirt Rich is a stunning evocation of a Texas where proud men and women stop at nothing to get what they want--whether it's riches, romance, or revenge!
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Friday, July 26, 2013
Shipwreck Update
khou.com Houston: Breaking news from the briny deep. Underwater archeologists searching a shipwreck site off the coast of Galveston report they’ve made another surprise discovery: Sunken debris from two more ships dating back two centuries.
Forgotten Books: I Was a Teenage Dwarf -- Max
This book is supposedly a novel, but it's a novel only in the sense that a series of connected short stories is a novel. The stories are narrated by Dobie Gillis (memorably portrayed on TV by Dwayne Hickman), who at the age of 13 is dismayed by the fact that all the girls in his class are taller than he is. Dismayed, maybe, but indefatigable in his pursuit of them, and all the girls he loves and loses through the years, up until the age of 30, where the book ends. Interestingly enough, many of the girls live next door to him. There's a big turnover in the inhabitants, as most people find that they can't live there very long. (This is not Dobie's fault and indeed has nothing to do with him.)
Reading Shulman's books now, I wonder if anyone younger than about 60 would find them funny. I can read them again with the same sensibility that I did when I was a kid (which probably means I've never grown up), and I still find them hilarious. The Dedini illustrations probably help, but I marvel at the clarity and humor of Shulman's prose. Subtle? Maybe not. But funny (to me)? Very.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Virginia Johnson, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Virginia E. Johnson, a writer, researcher and sex therapist who with her longtime collaborator, William H. Masters, helped make the frank discussion of sex in postwar America possible if not downright acceptable, died on Wednesday in St. Louis at an assisted living center. She was 88.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Mel Smith, R. I. P.
Mel Smith, TV Actor, Director and Producer, Dies at 60 - NYTimes.com: Mel Smith, an English comedian, actor, director and producer who parodied his country’s pub crawlers, politicians and pretensions on television, notably on a series often cited as a precursor of “The Daily Show,” died on Friday at his home in London. He was 60.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Paris Hilton Update
Contactmusic.com: Paris Hilton insists her boyfriend River Viiperi isn't ''insecure'' about her success and looks up to her because of her hard-working ways.
Steampunk 101
Steampunk 101: From Sci-Fi Sub-genre to Cultural Phenomenon on AbeBooks: From humble beginnings as a loosely defined sub-genre of science fiction, steampunk has evolved into a cultural phenomenon that combines ‘a Victorian aesthetic and a punk-rock attitude’; one that has come to influence more than just literature. The creation of the ‘steampunk’ term is usually attributed to the science fiction author K.W. Jeter, who used it in a letter to Locus Magazine. He was trying to find a way to describe Victorian fantasy novels like those written by himself (Morlock Night and Infernal Devices), Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates) and James Blaylock (Homunculus).
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Photos of Queen Elizabeth Before She Was a Great-Grandmother
When I was but a child, I watched Queen Elizabeth's coronation on TV. This was a very big deal, because my family didn't have a TV set. My cousin did, however, so we went to his house to watch on his little black and white set. In those days, TV reception was pretty iffy, and I remember that there was a lot of interference ("snow" we called it) on the screen. But we watched the whole ceremony, and still remember parts of it. This was a bit more than 61 years ago. Both she and I look a little different now, but once upon a time we were young and looking forward to what the years would bring.
Photos of Queen Elizabeth Before She Was a Great-Grandmother
Photos of Queen Elizabeth Before She Was a Great-Grandmother
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Shipwreck Update
abc13.com: On Monday scientists found artifacts such as muskets, pistols, swords, cannons and even clothing. They still have no idea what the ship is, its name or country, but date the artifacts to between 1800 and 1830. It seems to be a warship, possibly pirate or a ship transporting arms and soldiers, authorities suggest
Emile Griffith, R. I. P.
Emile Griffith, Boxer Who Unleashed a Fatal Barrage, Dies at 75 - NYTimes.com: Emile Griffith, who won the welterweight and middleweight boxing titles and fought professionally for 20 years, but who was most remembered for a fatal barrage of punches in a championship bout at Madison Square Garden, died on Tuesday in Hempstead, N.Y. He was 75.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Ann Rule Update
Mail Online: A true crime author is suing a paper over a damning review of her book about a woman who killed her husband - after it emerged the man who wrote it was engaged to the killer.
Ann Rule launched legal proceedings against the Seattle Weekly after it ran an article accusing her of 'sloppy storytelling' in her book Heart Full of Lies, which is based on the story of Liysa Northon, who was jailed for the manslaughter of her husband.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Ann Rule launched legal proceedings against the Seattle Weekly after it ran an article accusing her of 'sloppy storytelling' in her book Heart Full of Lies, which is based on the story of Liysa Northon, who was jailed for the manslaughter of her husband.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
The Son -- Phillip Meyer
There are three narrators. Eli McCullough, the first child born in the Republic of Texas narrates his story as part of a WPA project as he approaches 100 years of age. Kidnapped by the Comanches, he survives to become one of them, then to leave them and hunt them down as a Texas Ranger, then to become one of the most powerful men in Texas. His story was, for me, by far the most entertaining in the book even though Eli is far from being an admirable person.
Peter McCullough, Eli's son, is the second narrator. He lacks many of his father's qualities, and he's morally conflicted about many of the old man's actions. About the whole family, for that matter, and he struggles to make sense of what's happening to him and to them all. He's weaker than is father, but he has enough steel in him to stand up now and then.
The third narrator is J. A. (Jeanne Anne) McCullough, Peter's granddaughter. Her story unfolds in her memory as she lies paralyzed on the floor of her house. We don't find out why she's in this situation until very near the end of the book. She brings the family line down almost to the present day.
We're tipped off by the quotation that opens the book that this is a story of decline and fall. There are plenty of declines and falls here, and the family is in a way the least of them. The author's research is impressive, though I think I caught a few mistakes of fauna and weaponry. Not too many, considering the length. If you're into this kind of book, you'll definitely want to check it out.
Man Booker fiction prize nominees span the globe
chicagotribune.com: "This is surely the most diverse longlist in Man Booker history: wonderfully various in terms of geography, form, length and subject," said Robert Macfarlane, a writer and Cambridge University academic who chairs the panel of five judges.
"These 13 outstanding novels range from the traditional to the experimental, from the first century AD to the present day, from 100 pages to 1,000 and from Shanghai to Hendon," he said in a statement announcing the list.
"These 13 outstanding novels range from the traditional to the experimental, from the first century AD to the present day, from 100 pages to 1,000 and from Shanghai to Hendon," he said in a statement announcing the list.
Keep off Her Driveway!
The Raw Story: A Tennessee woman is facing felony reckless endangerment charges after she allegedly fired multiple times and hit a car full of children that she thought was going to turn around in her driveway.
Uh-Oh
'Wizard Of Oz' Syfy Miniseries: Timur Bekmambetov To Reimagine ‘Wizard Of Oz’ As Fantasy-Action Miniseries For Syfy
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Why Austin's the Reason 7-Eleven Stays Open Around the Clock: In its corporate history, the Dallas-based chain writes that in 1963 “one 7-Eleven store in Austin, Texas, located close to the University of Texas, stayed so busy after a football game, it couldn’t close. The store just remained open.” That night’s success kept the store open 24 hours from there on out - inspiring other locations to do the same.
Page Morton Black, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Page Morton Black, the cabaret singer whose sprightly rendition of that song [the Chock Full o'Nuts jingle] in radio and television ads was indelibly engraved on New Yorkers’ brains at midcentury, died on Sunday at her home in the Premium Point enclave of New Rochelle, N.Y. She was 97.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Overlooked Movies -- The Hound of the Baskervilles
Hammer Films always looked good, and this is a wonderful color version of the Baskerville story. I'm a big fan of the earlier B&W version with Basil Rathbone, and I own it on DVD, but I have to admit that I like the color in the Hammer version a little better than the B&W.
Cushing is an excellent Holmes, and some of you may remember him from the BBC TV series, in which he did yet another version of the Hound. Morrell is nothing like the Dr. Watson played by Nigel Bruce in the Rathbone film. He's much more like the Watson of the stories, or so it seems to me.
And finally: Great use of quicksand!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Amazon.com: Suspicious Minds eBook: Paul Bishop: Kindle Store: 1977, the one and only king of rock-n-roll, Elvis Presley, is taken from the world far too soon, but the legend will never die. 1996, Elvis impersonator Cole Ramsey, a young man with enough voice and a style to take him to the top, receives a very odd phone call from an Icon dead for almost twenty years . . . Cole has heard all the Elvis conspiracy rumors, but . . . it couldn’t be . . .
Before he knows it, however, Cole’s life is turned upside down. He’s on the run and up to his ears in Elvises . . . are they all impersonators or is one of them hiding from deadly suspicious minds . . .
Dennis Farina. R. I. P.
TMZ.com: Dennis Farina -- who starred as Det. Joe Fontana on "Law & Order" -- died today in Scottsdale, Arizona after suffering a blood clot in his lung. He was 69.
Farina is a Hollywood legend -- who appeared in tons of classic films and TV shows including "Get Shorty," "Snatch" and "Midnight Run." He also appeared in HBO's series "Luck."
Farina is a Hollywood legend -- who appeared in tons of classic films and TV shows including "Get Shorty," "Snatch" and "Midnight Run." He also appeared in HBO's series "Luck."
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
The Cuckoo's Calling -- Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)
Cormoran Strike is a seedy London p. i. reduced to sleeping on a cot in his office after an unpleasant breakup with his fiancee. When the temp service sends around a secretary, Strike's first impulse is to send her way because he can't afford her, but he doesn't. Then a client shows up, claiming that his sister (not by blood but by adoption), a supermodel whose death has been declared a suicide, was murdered. Strike's first impulse is to send the client away, too, but he doesn't. A good thing, because as any reader knows immediately, it was indeed murder.
Strike is a meticulous note-taker and filer, and Rowling chronicles his every move through London's high society and low for over 450 pages. I'm not a fan of long books, and I think this one could easily have lost a hundred pages or so without anybody noticing. However, Strike is an interesting character with an interesting backstory, and his Watson (the secretary, Robin) has a way about her. The book is full of oddball characters, and the mystery and its solution will please anyone who likes the complexity of the Golden Age. Which I do, now and then. The solution requires many pages of explanation, but it all hangs together. I believe that Rowling has said that the sequel is already written and ready to go.
I didn't notice any peculiarities that would give away who the writer is, though Galbraith does share Rowling's tendency to give adverbial tags to speakers' words ("she said intelligently" or "she said aggressively"). Plenty of other adverbs, too. No one has explained about adverbs to Rowling. Either that or she's ignored them. Good for her.
The Chicken Who Lived Without His Head for 18 Months
The Chicken Who Lived Without His Head for 18 Months: It turns out it’s not just politicians that can live without brains, a chicken named Mike lived without his entire head for 18 months!
Well, It's Obviously No Sharknado
Movie Review: The story goes as the couple happen to get stranded in a remote island, with a crocodile keeping vigil, ready to pounce upon them at any moment - what gives the film the curious the name 'Crocodile Lovestory'.
Archaeology Update
SFGate: A team of Israeli archaeologists believes it has discovered the ruins of a palace belonging to the biblical King David, but other Israeli experts dispute the claim.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Briony McRoberts, R. I. P.
Mail Online: Actress Briony McRoberts has died at the age of 56 after being hit by a Tube train near her home, her agent confirmed today.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Jack MacLane Not Included
AbeBooks: Who Wrote it? Pen Names in Literature: Pseudonym, pen name or alias - authors have been writing under names other than their own for centuries, and their reasons for doing so differ from writer to writer.
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