Saturday, August 03, 2013
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Those that survived roamed the landscape for supplies or other people. Some of them discovered that the monsters left behind nests that sit upon the landscape like sunken storm clouds. And something inside is alive.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
The Providence Journal: A man was hospitalized after he was struck with a machete early Saturday during a fight over an alleged insult to a girlfriend, the police said.
New York Led the Way
New York had a rooftop farm in 1904: “The farm on the roof,” Weddie Stokes wrote years later, “included about 500 chicken, many ducks, about six goats and a small bear.” Every day, a bellhop delivered free fresh eggs to all the tenants, and any surplus was sold cheaply to the public in the basement arcade.
Friday, August 02, 2013
PWA Banquet at Bouchercon
The
Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Awards Banquet will be Friday
night, Sept. 20th, starting at 6:30 PM, in Albany, NY the same weekend
as Bouchercon. The event is open to the public. You need not be a PWA
member to attend. Come rub elbows with your favorite writers. For
questions and ticket information email RRandisi@aol.com.
Michael Ansara, R. I. P.
Deadline.com: Veteran actor Michael Ansara, known for his role as Kang the Klingon commander on the Star Trek series, has died. Ansara passed away in his Calabasas, CA home on July 31. He was 91 years old.
Hat tip to Randy Johnson.
Hat tip to Randy Johnson.
Archaeology Update
Ancient 'Halls of the Dead': Archaeologists have unearthed two ancient buildings in England thought to be 6,000 years old—that's 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.
Soon to be a SyFy Movie of the Week
SPIEGEL ONLINE: A 10-year-old German boy was playing in his grandmother's attic when he made a startling discovery: a sarcophagus holding a mummy that had lain undiscovered for decades.
Hat tip to Fred Zackel.
Hat tip to Fred Zackel.
Gone too Soon: Books of Brief, Remarkable Lives
Gone too Soon: Books of Brief, Remarkable Lives on AbeBooks: What do the names Jimi Hendrix, Sylvia Plath, and Terry Fox have in common? Two notable commonalities for which they are all remembered – bright, burning passion, and the fact that they died too young.
Forgotten Books: Past Masters and Other Bookish Natterings-- Bud Webster
Among the writers Webster discusses are Eric Frank Russell, Clifford Simak, Murray Leinster, and Henry Kuttner. That's just for starters. Where else are you going to find reviews of The Gods Hate Kansas or Big Planet Zero? There are a good many more writers discussed, along with a few more generalized pieces of interest. Webster also includes a bibliography for each author he writes about. You just can't go wrong with a book like this.
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Copulating Crocodiles WBAGNFARB
Wagner birthday "Ring" booed: The well-heeled and mostly staid Bayreuth audience, frazzled by the summer heat, was in an uproar after experiencing a staging that retained "the master's" text and music but threw in simulated fellatio, group sex, a Kalashnikov instead of a sword to kill a mythological dragon, and copulating crocodiles.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Or Maybe Not
5 Iconic Scenes from History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly
Yes, I know that some of these aren't even scenes. But, hey, it's Cracked.
Yes, I know that some of these aren't even scenes. But, hey, it's Cracked.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
ABC News: Home Covered in Beer Cans Morphs Into Landmark:
The art center estimates Milkovisch had 50,000 cans that piled up by drinking a six-pack daily over the span of 20 years. For 17 months, working from bottom to top, Milkovisch coated the home with cans of Budweiser, Texas Pride, Shiner — really, whatever brand was on sale. He created long, decorative garlands from beer can tops and hung them along the eaves at the front and sides of his home.
Photo at the link.
The art center estimates Milkovisch had 50,000 cans that piled up by drinking a six-pack daily over the span of 20 years. For 17 months, working from bottom to top, Milkovisch coated the home with cans of Budweiser, Texas Pride, Shiner — really, whatever brand was on sale. He created long, decorative garlands from beer can tops and hung them along the eaves at the front and sides of his home.
Photo at the link.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
Four members of the same family arrested after 'following 70-year-old driver and boxing his car in on intersection in road rage attack'
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: Crucible of Fire (Dead Man #19) eBook: Mel Odom, Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin: Kindle Store: Matt Cahill was an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changed everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that exists within our own. Now he's on a dangerous quest for the answers to who he is and what he has become...and engaged in an epic battle to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil. Matt Cahill is part of a team of smokejumpers who are dropped into the heart of a raging forest fire that is fueled by a flamethrower wielding madman under the sway of Mr. Dark. Almost every living thing in this hellacious inferno, including Matt's fellow firefighters, are falling prey to Mr. Dark's evil touch and bowing to his furious command: Kill the Dead Man!
Think you know gators? Think again.
HLNtv.com: Think you know gators? Think again. One of the stars of Animal Planet's 'Gator Boys' talks the risks and rewards of being a hero for gators.
Interview with Me
Check out this interview, and I guarantee you'll learn something about me that you didn't know.
Overlooked Movies -- That Thing You Do
The movie is the story of a band called the Oneders (a running joke is that nobody can pronounce it, so they're sometimes referred to as the "oh-need-ers"). They're signed by a small regional label (their name is changed to the Wonders) and tour county fairs and such as their recording of the title song rises on the charts. Soon they're getting screaming girls in the crowd and the chance to make an album.
The owner of the label (Hanks) tells them that their contract requires them to record songs owned by the label, not their own music, and the lead singer quits the band. That's the end of the band, and pretty much the end of the story, though there's one of those epilogues that tells what happens to each member of the band.
It seems like a slight plot, but there are some complications (romance!), and it's all handled very well. The cast, most of whom are still not big stars (except for Charlize Theron), is very good, and as I said at the beginning, it's all very pleasant and worth a look.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Bigfoot Update
Hikers capture footage of mysterious 'Bigfoot' figure in the Canadian wildernessHat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Billy Flood was the kind of boxer who had ‘can’t miss’ written all over him. He had the tools and talent to make him a middleweight champion. But a few wrong turns changed everything. Now, after a hard three year stretch inside the Missouri State Penitentiary, Billy is determined to get back in the ring and punch his way to the top. But, while other fighters his age have risen through the ranks, Billy is back where he started – fighting palookas, catchers, and tomato cans.
With his past on his heels and his future filled with obstacles, Billy finds himself backed into a corner by false friends and an unscrupulous promoter. He may get his shot at becoming a contender, but will it cost him his future? Can’t Miss Contender is another hard punching Fight Card tale ...
Gator Update
The Sun |News: DARING Ashley Lawrence earns her living the hard way — wrestling deadly 700lb ALLIGATORS.
The brave 25-year-old is part of a team who rescue the creatures from Florida’s Everglades and safely relocate them.
Great photos at the link.
The brave 25-year-old is part of a team who rescue the creatures from Florida’s Everglades and safely relocate them.
Great photos at the link.
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Ponciano Ponce, R. I. P.
latimes.com: Ponciano "Poncie" Ponce, 80, a Hawaiian-born actor who had a burst of fame in the early 1960s while appearing in the tropical TV detective drama "Hawaiian Eye," died July 19 at his Los Angeles home, his family announced.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Lenore works the night as a waitress or a dancer, sometimes even a prostitute – all guises she has assumed in the past to satisfy her craving for life-sustaining blood. Her victims are primarily men, although she has been known to feed on women as well.
Pitcairn also works the night; an amoral man who kills for money. Can he be persuaded to take on the hunt for the beautiful and deadly Lenore? Will any of them survive the lethal cat and mouse that ensues, or will the evils of the night claim them all?
Col. George "Bud" Day, R. I. P.
CBS News: Retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a Medal of Honor recipient who spent 5.5 years as a POW in Vietnam and was Arizona Sen. John McCain's cellmate, has died at the age of 88, his widow said Sunday.
Mick Farren, R. I. P.
Mick Farren of the Deviants (1943 - 2013): Mick Farren, founder of early punk band the Deviants and prolific writer, collapsed on stage during the band's set at the Atomic Sunshine Festival in London and has died. He was 69.
Leighton Gage, R. I. P.
The Rap Sheet: Gage Passes Away: This comes as a shock: Leighton Gage, the author of half a dozen crime novels (including this year’s Perfect Hatred) starring Mario Silva, a middle-aged chief inspector with Brazil’s Federal Police, has apparently died. He was in his early 70s and had yet another Silva tale, The Ways of Evil Men, scheduled for publication by Soho Crime in January of next year.
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