Saturday, April 26, 2014
Alistair MacLeod, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Alistair MacLeod, a Canadian writer whose only novel — composed over 13 years and extracted from him only after a campaign by his publisher involving surveillance, subterfuge and outright bribery — brought him literary fame, a lucrative prize and a bottle of Scotch, died on Sunday in Windsor, Ontario. He was 77.
Friday, April 25, 2014
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The Other Six-Gun
The Other Six-Gun: The 1861 Remington New Model Army revolver was an Old West workhorse.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
And once again Texas leads the way: Midland police say knife-wielding Carrollton woman flew into rage over corn dog
FFB: Nelson Algren's Own Book of Lonesome Monsters
Did you ever buy an anthology just for one story? I wouldn't be surprised if some of you had done that very thing. Almost exactly five years ago, Todd Mason wrote about this book, and one story title stuck in my head: "Day of the Alligator." So naturally I got the book; it just took me a while to get around to reading it. That particular story is one that Algren mentions in his preface as being not among the most skilfully written in the book but one of the two he found of most interest. The alligator doesn't really figure into the story much. It's just a catalyst for the action, which takes place in a prison. The book was published in 1962, and if I'd read the story then, I might have had trouble figuring out everything that was going on. Why? Because I was a naive kid, and the author, James Blake, had to approach his material obliquely. There were still some things you couldn't be frank about, and a story about a man who becomes another's punk in prison was one of those things. Todd notes that the book was also published under another title, 13 Masterpieces of Black Humor. There's nothing at all funny about "Day of the Alligator." Trust me.In fact, it's kind of stretching it to find the humor in several of these pieces. Joseph Heller's story of a telegram delivery boy who's been summoned to a fine apartment is another one I didn't find a lot of humor in. There's not a lot of humor in the boy's situation, another sexual one, at least for me. It's a well-done story, but a reader now will catch onto what's happening long before the boy does. Maybe a reader in 1962 would have, too. Probably not me, though, and I might even have been shocked. Not now. The story reminded me a bit of Salinger, and I could see Holden Caulfield stumbling into a similar situation.
I'd read two of these stories before. One is George P. Elliott's "Among the Dangs," which I'd read in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The other is Thomas Pynchon's "Entropy," which I read elsewhere, but I can't recall where. It was originally published in the Kenyon Review, but I'm sure that's not where I read it. Maybe I'm just imagining that I'd read it before.
If you're looking for a slice of '50s nostalgia (the '50s didn't end in 1060) or just some well-written stories, give this book a look. And of course click on the link above to read Todd's comments on it. I lifted the table of contents below from his blog.
7 · Preface · Nelson Algren · pr
11 · A World Full of Great Cities · Joseph Heller · ss Great Tales of City Dwellers, ed. Alex Austin, Lion Library Editions, 1955
24 · Talk to Me, Talk to Me · Joan Kerckhoff · ss, 1962
34 · Show Biz Connections · Bruce Jay Friedman · ss, 1962
44 · Hundred Dollar Eyes · Bernard Farbar · ss, 1962
54 · The Man Who Knew What Ethopia Should Do About Her Water Table · H. E. F. Donohue · ss The Carleton Miscellany, 1961
68 · Among the Dangs · George P. Elliott · nv Esquire Jun ’58
95 · Peacetime · Brock Brower · ss, 1961
111 · The Shores of Schizophrenia · Hughes Rudd · ss, 1961
120 · Day of the Alligator · James Blake · ss The Paris Review #17 ’57
136 · Address of Gooley MacDowell to the Hasbeens Club of Chicago · Saul Bellow · ss The Hudson Review, 1951
143 · The Closing of This Door Must Be Oh, So Gentle · Chandler Brossard · ss The Dial, 1962
157 · Entropy · Thomas Pynchon · ss The Kenyon Review Spr ’60
173 · The House of the Hundred Grassfires · Nelson Algren · ss, 1956
Thursday, April 24, 2014
10 Potentially Career-Wrecking Films by Great Directors
Great Directors’ Biggest Failures: 10 Potentially Career-Wrecking Films by Great Directors
The 10 Most Misheard Song Lyrics
The 10 Most Misheard Song Lyrics: Survey Says…These Are The 10 Most Misheard Song Lyrics Of All Time
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Uh-Oh or OK?
Pulp Hero Flash Gordon May Be Headed Back to the Big Screen: Eighty years after his creation and following multiple television and film adaptations, 20th Century Fox has reportedly scooped up the rights to bring Flash Gordon back to the big screen. Considering the pop culture property land-grab that is Hollywood tentpole filmmaking, it was inevitable that eventually the pulp comic hero would be in the running again, but Gordon’s been done before. A lot. So the inevitable question is: Will this one do it right?
Shakespeare’s Tropes: 7 Phrases and Concepts That Changed Western Culture
Flavorwire: Shakespeare’s Tropes: 7 Phrases and Concepts That Changed Western Culture
Phone Call from Hell and Other Tales of the Damned-- Jonathan Woods
When you're in the mood to travel down some dark paths, really dark, Jonathan Woods is your man. Not that the dark paths aren't lighted with humor. Sure, it's dark humor, but it's there in abundance, particularly in a story like "Lucky Man." Or in "The Other Suitcase," in which a doomed man devotes his energies to finding a lost novel by Franz Kafka. It's a story that ends with a bang. Literally. Then there's "A Bad Day for Barbecue," which has put me off BBQ for a while. The title story is about a man who gets a phone call from Charles Manson. Charlie has a strange request. If you got that call, would you try to carry out the request? This guy does. "A Handgun's Tale" is narrated by a handgun with a literary bent. For an inanimate object, it gets around. "Writer's Block" brings us Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene out on the town. To say it's not a flattering portrait of either man would be to understate the case.Jonathan Woods' work might not be to everyone's taste, but if you're looking for the offbeat, the bizarre, and the downright strange, you owe it to yourself to read these stories.
Uh-Oh
DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG: New research shows middle-age and older adults who take naps may be at an increased risk of dying.
Needle Magazine: Spring 2014 issue available now
Spring 2014 issue available now | Needle: A Magazine of Noir: Needle Magazine is hardboiled, lean and mean. Crime fiction from some of the best — Heath Lowrance, Rob W. Hart, Patti Abbott, Taylor Brown, Jen Conley, Stephen D. Rogers, Court Merrigan, Sandra Seamans, Trent England, Christopher L. Irvin, William Boyle, William Dylan Powell, and Tom Joyce. Cover art by Scott Morse.
Oops
Obese virgin accidentally smashed girlfriend's head through wall during sex
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson, who says he saw Obese Virgin open for Meat Loaf.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson, who says he saw Obese Virgin open for Meat Loaf.
Charting the Unknown: Collectible Maps and Cartography
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Wife tried to run over husband after he complained she was a bad driver: Sarai Longhenry, of Fort Campbell, is accused of trying to drive over her husband on Easter Sunday in the parking lot of a Baptist church.
We Got Shakespeare's Personal Dictionary on eBay
Booksellers: We Got Shakespeare's Personal Dictionary on eBay: Now, two New York City booksellers say they have found one of those books. And it's not just any guide: This is William Shakespeare’s dictionary, owned and annotated by the man himself.
25 Books That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About New York
Best New York Novels: 25 Books That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About New York
Lynn Munroe Books:Cover Art by Tom Miller
Lynn Munroe Books: Lynn Munroe's latest check list includes the works of paperback cover artist Tom Miller. I highly recommend not only the check list but the essays "Tom Miller and Me" and "Tom Miller." Take a look at the link.
Overlooked Movies: Love and Death
Napoleon invades Russia, but never fear. Woody Allen is there to provide a stout defense of his native country. Okay, not his but his character's. If your country is depending on Woody Allen to save it, you're doomed.When people talk about Allen's earlier, funnier movies, this must be the one they mean. It has some of Allen's best slapstick and best one-liners. It's hilarious. Also philosophical. Characters are likely to break into philosophical discussions or monologues at any moment. Most often even these discussions are funny, as they're meant to be, but they're also quite serious. Allen gets into plenty of his main concerns about love and death here.
The movie was made when Allen was still doing anarchic comedy. It's off-the-wall, and it borrows from just about everybody. It was made when Allen could parody Bergman and before he tried to become Bergman. The trailer posted down below gives you some idea of things, but here's a sampler of scenes. If you like what you see, you'll like the movie. If not, forget it. As for me, I love this movie.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Antiques Con -- Barbara Allan
The book begins with Chapter Two, which explains why there's no Chapter One, and I think any crime writer will get a kick out of it. I also got a kick out of their occasional comments about keeping things clean in hopes that the series will make into the nation's Walmarts.
The con's awards are shaped like pens, and it isn't long before Brandy and Vivian, ever the lucky ones, stumble onto the body of the con organizer, who's been stabbed by one of the awards. This leads to investigation and hilarity, not to mention a bit of a coincidence, when the lead detective turns out to be the brother of Brandy's boyfriend, Tony, now in the Witness Protection Program. He's all too familiar with Vivian's love of inserting herself into murder investigations.
This one leads in a surprising direction when it appears that the Mob might be somehow involved, and that leads to some great scenes with Vivian confronting mobsters in a strip club and, best of all, the Big Boss in a nursing home.
You probably know that Barbara Allan is Barbara and Max Allan Collins. I've mentioned several books in this series here on the blog, and if you haven't read it yet, it's about time you started. The mysteries are solid, the characters are the kind you'll like to read about (you might not want to spend much time with them in person), there are lots of laughs, and the writing has pizzazz. Check it out.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Shakespeare and Shatner Go Head-to-Head In Five Minute Lego Film [VIDEO]: Texas-based production company AMAA Productions is the team behind Action Bill. It took them 14 days to shoot the five-minute film, which they animated using only Lego pieces. Check out behind-the-scenes photos on the company's blog, as well as a visual effects breakdown in the clip below.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Road-raging Texas driver shoots 3-year-old girl on Easter: KPRC reported that the suspect fired several rounds into the air as Leah’s father passed the suspicious vehicle. When the suspect’s car caught up to the family at a red light, a person in the car shot “six or seven” more rounds into Leah’s side of the SUV.
San Jacinto Day!
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Battle of San Jacinto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio L�pez de Santa Anna's Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes. About 630 of the Mexican soldiers were killed and 730 captured, while only nine Texans died.[3]
Sunday, April 20, 2014
A Landmark Story's Anniversary
he Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor: It was on this day in 1841 that the first "detective story" was published: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allan Poe (books by this author). In the story, C. August Dupin reads about the murder of a mother and daughter in a Paris street. The police are baffled, and Dupin decides to offer up his services. He finds a hair at the crime scene that he realizes does not belong to a human, and eventually he pieces together enough evidence to solve the case: The murder was committed by an orangutan who had been held in captivity by a sailor and who murdered the first woman with a straight razor and the second by strangling her.
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, R. I. P.
chicagotribune.com: Former professional boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who spent 19 years in prison for murder and then was released after it was determined he did not get a fair trial, died on Sunday at the age of 76, according to reports in the Canadian media.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Possible Interest
Amazon.com: How the West Was Written: Frontier Fiction, 1880-1906 eBook: Ron Scheer: Kindle Store: The chapters of How the West Was Written tell a story of how the western frontier fed the imagination of writers, both men and women. It illustrates how the cowboy is only one small figure in a much larger fictional landscape. There are early frontier novels in which he is the central character, while in others he’s only a two-dimensional, tobacco-chewing caricature, or just an incidental part of the scenery.
Happy Easter!
Easter eggs, bunnies, Peeps: Easter traditions explainedThis picture is from Easter, 1949. I'm on the left, my brother, Bob, is in the center, and my sister, Francelle, is on the right.
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