Saturday, May 03, 2014

Agatha Award Winners

Lesa's Book Critiques: Agatha Award Winners

Bid Early and Often

Willie Nelson's Old Tour Bus Is Being Sold on Craigslist

Song of the Day

The Seekers - Morningtown Ride (1968 - Stereo, HQ video) - YouTube:

I Miss the Old Days

Forgotten Hits: The Saturday Surveys (May 3rd)

Today's Vintage Ad


12 Literary Spots In London That Every Book Lover Needs To Visit

12 Literary Spots In London That Every Book Lover Needs To Visit

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Don Pendleton, Chicago Wipe-Out (The Executioner #8), Pinnacle, 1971

10 Best Road Books

10 Best Road Books

Efrem Zimbalist Jr., R. I. P.

Houston Chronicle: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Efrem Zimbalist Jr., the son of famous musical parents who established his own lasting celebrity in two of television's most popular series, "77 Sunset Strip" and "The F.B.I.," died Friday at age 95.

Humanity's future depends upon good grammar

Humanity's future depends upon good grammar

Uh-Oh

Green Acres Feature Film And Broadway Play: Green Acres, the popular 1960s sitcom that starred Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as displaced New Yorkers who try to make a go of it on a farm in the Midwest, is being made into a feature film and is being developed and shopped as a stage play for Broadway.

I Found Stella Parish

1935 I FOUND STELLA PARRISH TRAILER KAY FRANCIS - YouTube:

Friday, May 02, 2014

Brock Brower, R. I. P.

The Washington Post: Brock Brower, a magazine journalist best known for his profiles of White House occupants and aspirants of the 1960s and 1970s, and who had second, third and fourth careers as a novelist, a TV writer, and a speechwriter for the U.S. attorney general, died April 16 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 82.

Neanderthal Update

Researchers say Neanderthals were not our dimwitted inferiors

Song of the Day

The Go Gos- We Got the Beat - YouTube:

10 Fascinating Vehicle Graveyards From Around The World

10 Fascinating Vehicle Graveyards From Around The World

Larry Ramos, R. I. P.

Larry Ramos of the Association (1942 - 2014): Hilario "Larry" Ramos, whose career took him from the New Christy Minstrels to the Association, died on Wednesday from metastatic melanoma at the age of 72.

Today's Vintage Ad


Cartoon of the Day

Link

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Caught on cam: Clumsy robbers bump into each other, fire shots in lingerie store 

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Bill Gault, The Convertible Hearse, Bantam, 1959

You Mean It's Not Ronald?

Who is the McDonald in McDonald's restaurant?

I Miss the Old Days

Forgotten Hits: 50 Years Ago This Weekend

Seeds of Ice and Fire

Seeds of Ice and Fire

The Heyday of A&C Black

The Gold Bat by P.G. WodehouseWodehouse to Who’s Who: The Heyday of A&C Black: Let’s step back in time to the early years of the 20th century. Edward VII is on the throne and a British publisher is producing books with beautifully illustrated boards. That publisher is A&C Black and its books would not look out of place on the set of Downton Abbey.

FFB: The Fugitive Stars -- Daniel Ransom

Okay, I'll say right at the start that I have no idea what the title means.  Sounds good, but I don't see any connection to the story.  But, hey. I don't care.

This is one of those books that I've had for years and had been planning to read for a long time.  Somehow it got stuck back behind some other DAW books and forgotten.  When I came across it recently, I decided it was past time to read it.  

Daniel Ransom is probably best known for his horror novels written for Zebra books back in the Good Old Days, but he also wrote SF for DAW Books (I'll eventually get around to Zone Soldiers).  And you probably know already that Ransom is a pen name used by Ed Gorman.  Gorman says that this particular book could not have been written without extensive help from Larry Segriff.  

I don't know what Segriff's contributions were, but Gorman's style is almost immediately recognizable in The Fugitive Stars.  There's an underlying tone of melancholy leavened with humor that seems typical of a lot of his work to me.  Ransom says that the book owes debts to a lot of old B&W movies from directors Don Siegel, Jack Arnold, and Val Lewton.  SF fans will notice debts to writers like Robert A. Heinlein and Alfred Bester.

Michael Raines is a telepath who's losing his powers.  Once a part of an experimental government program, Raines is now on his own, lonely and getting older.  A mysterious woman leaves a package at his door, and the action begins. It doesn't let up.

It seems that some astronauts visiting a comet in the year 2011 (the book was published in 1995) have been possessed by an alien something, and now the alien something has begun taking over others.  It's up to Raines and the wife of one of the astronauts to stop it and save the world.

The things that happen are like the the things that happen in the old B&W movies, and it doesn't do to think about them too much.  Just go along for the ride and imagine the story unfolding in a theater on a Saturday afternoon in 1957.  Give it a try, and you'll see what I mean.


Gallant Lady

1933 GALLANT LADY TRAILER ANN HARDING CLIVE BROOK - YouTube:

Thursday, May 01, 2014

The Edgar Winners Are . . .

May 1, 2014, New York, NY:  Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the 2014 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2013. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at our 68th Gala Banquet, May 1, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Group USA - Penguin Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower (Minotaur Books)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

America is Elsewhere: The Noir Tradition in the Age of Consumer Culture by Erik Dussere (Oxford University Press)

BEST SHORT STORY

"The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository” – Bibliomysteries by John Connolly (Mysterious Bookshop)

BEST JUVENILE

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” – The Fall, Teleplay by Allan Cubitt (Netflix) 
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"The Wentworth Letter" – Criminal Element’s Malfeasance Occasional By Jeff Soloway (St. Martin’s Press)

GRAND MASTERS

Robert Crais
Carolyn Hart

RAVEN AWARD

Aunt Agatha’s Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Michigan

* * * * * *

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
(Presented at MWA’s Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 30, 2014)

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman (Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books)

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Squirrel attacks teen after he takes selfie 

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Yet Another List I'm Not On

Harris Polls > The Bible Remains America’s Favorite Book

I Miss the Old Days

Tormented And Alone: The Neurotic Dreams Of The Ladies Of Romance Comics

The Comics of Joe R. Lansdale

As Seen on the Rush Limbaugh Show: The Comics of Joe R. Lansdale

Song of the Day

Otis Williams and The Charms - Hearts Of Stone - YouTube:

Nellie Bly’s 1885 Response to a Patronizing Chauvinist

What Girls Are Good For: 20-Year-Old Nellie Bly’s 1885 Response to a Patronizing Chauvinist 

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Man’s Body Found Inside Fortune Cookie Company’s Dough Machine

10 Haunting Unsolved Mass Murders

10 Haunting Unsolved Mass Murders 

A Review of Interest (To Me, Anyway)

Kevin's Corner: Review: "Fast Track" by Bill Crider and Ed Gorman

PaperBack



Isaac Asimov, Pebble in the Sky, Bantam, 1964

F. Scott Fitzgerald Update

Uncensored F. Scott Fitzgerald Work to be Released for the First Time

Why is it Called a "Radio Flyer"?

Why is it Called a "Radio Flyer"? 

The Secret to Moving Huge Pyramid Stones

Scientists Discovered the Egyptian Secret to Moving Huge Pyramid Stones

How Many Of These Thrilling Classic Mystery Novels Have You Read

How Many Of These Thrilling Classic Mystery Novels Have You Read

I Miss the Old Days

Flavorwire: Travel Back in Time With Captivating GIFs of Obsolete Technology

The Many Meanings of May Day

The Many Meanings of May Day 

It's May Day!

What is May Day all about?

Johnny Angel

1945 JOHNNY ANGEL TRAILER GEORGE RAFT - YouTube:

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Television's 75th Birthday

Celebrate Broadcast Television's 75th Birthday by Watching Its First Program 

Al Feldstein, R. I. P.

ABC News: Al Feldstein, whose 28 years at the helm of Mad magazine transformed the satirical publication into a pop culture institution, has died. He was 88.

Sharknado Update

Syfy Orders Third 'Sharknado': The kitschy telepic, which took Twitter by storm in 2014, recently filmed a sequel in New York and will bow on the network on July 30. Such is the confidence in Sharknado: The Second One, the follow-up is being eyed for summer 2015.

How Creativity Works

How Creativity Works: Neil Gaiman on Where Ideas Comes From

“Legal Mysteries: You Can’t Handle the Truth” (by Ted Hertel)

“Legal Mysteries: You Can’t Handle the Truth” (by Ted Hertel) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

10 Facts About Archaeopteryx

10 Facts About Archaeopteryx

Song of the Day

Hearts Made Of Stone The Fontane Sisters 1955 - YouTube:

10 Amazing Stories About 10 Incredible Trees

10 Amazing Stories About 10 Incredible Trees 

Today's Vintage Ad


10 Ancient Origins Of Everyday Things

10 Ancient Origins Of Everyday Things

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Tennessee Williams, The Rose Tattoo, Signet, 1956

Bob Hoskins, R. I. P.

ABC News: British actor Bob Hoskins, whose varied career ranged from noir drama "Mona Lisa" to animated fantasy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" has died aged 71.

I Miss the Old Days

Pages of Polyester: The Sears 1974 Catalog

14 New York City Bookstores You Should Visit Before You Die

14 New York City Bookstores You Should Visit Before You Die

5 Iconic Movie Scenes Almost Cut for Idiotic Reasons

5 Iconic Movie Scenes Almost Cut for Idiotic Reasons

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

The Best Cop Shows Ever Made

6 Products That Were Ahead of Their Time

6 Products That Were Ahead of Their Time 

How's About It

1943 HOW'S ABOUT IT TRAILER THE ANDREWS SISTERS - YouTube:

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Update from Bob Randisi

The word has come down from Speaking Volumes that  the early Gunsmiths AND the Angel Eyes, Mountain Jack Pike and Tracker series have all been reduced to an ebooks price of $4.99. I've been waiting for these books to become more accessible to readers.

Elaine Viets Interview

Low-Wage Feline Wranglers: PW Talks with Elaine Viets

Crimeculture Launches a New Series

And the first contributor is someone we're all familiar with.  So check out A Night for Screaming

How a Donkey and an Elephant Came to Represent Democrats and Republicans

How a Donkey and an Elephant Came to Represent Democrats and Republicans

I Miss the Old Days

‘The World of Tomorrow’: Scenes From the 1939 New York World’s Fair 

Isn't This Exactly Why We Have 911?

Grandpa Calls 911 To Report His "Lazy" Grandson 

Croc Update (Iranian Edition)

Iranian crocodile breeder hailed as a role model for women 

Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.

Song of the Day

The Wilburn Brothers Roll Muddy River.wmv - YouTube:

How About Your State?

Utah named nerdiest state in the nation

Don't Mess with Willie

'Master' Willie Nelson gets 5th-degree black belt: The country music icon who turns 81 this week received his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday night, parking his tour bus outside the Austin studio of his instructor who began teaching him two decades ago.

Today's Vintage Ad


Max Allan Collins Interview

The Rap Sheet: Collins Hammers Out His Legacy

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman charged after case of 'dodgeball rage'

PaperBack



Earl Derr Biggers, Keeper of the Keys, Paperback Library, 1963

6 Connections Between John Wayne & James Arness

6 Connections Between John Wayne & James Arness  

Link via Neatorama.

The Ten Weirdest Terms That Use "Texas" on the Urban Dictionary

The Ten Weirdest Terms That Use "Texas" on the Urban Dictionary 

Unfortunately spread out over numerous pages to get more clicks for the advertisers.

Pterosaur Update (Bonus: Quicksand!)

Rise of the pterodactyls becomes clearer with discovery of China’s ‘Krytopdrakon’

4 Awesome Things Harper Lee Did After 'Mockingbird'

4 Awesome Things Harper Lee Did After 'Mockingbird' 

Soon We'll Have No Freedoms Left at All

Female bikers banned from selling cupcakes at shooting range

Overlooked Movies: Swamp Thing

I could tell you that Swamp Thing is a wonderful movie, one that the whole family will enjoy.  But that would be Wrong.  That would be A Lie.  Probably only a few people, of whom I am one, would enjoy this, mainly because I can't resist swamp movies.  And Adrienne Barbeau.

You might already the story.  A sane scientist (Ray Wise) is trying to combine plant and animal cells to end world hunger.  Barbeau is a government agent (hey, if Denise Richards can be a nuclear physicist, Barbeau can be a government agent) sent to the swamps to investigate.  Louis Jourdan is the villain with his own private army, and he's of course bent on world domination, which he'll achieve if he gets Wise's formula.  But accidents will happen: Wise spills the formula, there's a small explosion, and Wise, engulfed by flames, runs out of the lab and jumps into the waters of the swamp, where he becomes the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock in a rubber suit). 

Barbeau escapes with the notebooks containing the formula, and Jourdan's not-so-well-regulated militia hunts her down. They catch her, and the Swamp Thing rescues her.  This happens several times.  Finally, Jourdan decides that the only way to catch Swamp Thing is to use the formula on himself, which leads to the climactic battle between one guy in a bad rubber suit and another guy in a worse rubber suit.  Guess who wins.

The crappy quality of the trailer posted below doesn't reflect the actual movie very well.  If you watch it, I hope you get a better print.  Barbeau is good, and Jourdan is tops as the villain.  The movie's worth watching just for those two, and it's good cheesy fun if you're in the right mood.   

Swamp Thing

"Swamp Thing" (1982) Theatrical Trailer - YouTube:

Monday, April 28, 2014

Watch the Skies!

Runaway beer blimp loose over New Brunswick  

Hat tip to Art Scott, who says that Runaway Beer Blimp WBAGNFARB.

You Just Never Know . . .

. . . what you'll step on when you get out of your car at the Dairy Queen in Alvin, Texas.

King of the Weeds -- Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins

This is another in the series of posthumous collaborations between Collins and Spillane, and it finds Mike Hammer getting close to Medicare age.  Don't worry, though.  Hammer might be contemplating marriage and retirement, but he's as sharp and as quick as ever when he has to be.  And he has to be right from the start, since the book opens with a bang.

There's a lot going on in the story, which is a sequel to Black Alley (you don't have to have read that book to know what's going on, though).  A man (Rudy Olaf, known in prison as the King of the Weeds) whom Hammer and Pat Chambers nabbed 40 years previously is about to be released because he's now thought to be innocent of the string of murders for which he was sent up.  He's going to get a big sum of money from the city in recompense, and Chambers' career will be ruined into the bargain.  Also, someone's after nearly $90 billion (yes, that's billion) that's buried in an undisclosed location up in the Adirondacks.  As it happens, Hammer knows exactly where the money is because it was buried by an old army buddy who confided the location to Hammer.  If you've read any crime fiction at all, you won't be surprised when Hammer's hunch that the two things are related turns out to be correct.

Fans will be happy to discover that Hammer hasn't mellowed a bit with age, not that anyone would ever have expected such a thing.  He's as tough and resourceful as always, and so is Velda, for that matter.

There's an explosive climactic scene, and a quieter concluding one, with another of those great endings that have always been a Hammer hallmark.  Hammer tells a character that he understands irony and goes on to prove it with a snapper of a closer.  

This is another big winner for the Spillane/Collins team.  Check it out. 

Isaac Asimov on the Thrill of Lifelong Learning

Isaac Asimov on the Thrill of Lifelong Learning, Science vs. Religion, and the Role of Science Fiction in Advancing Society 

Song of the Day

Mitchell Torok Carribean - YouTube:

Ancient Chinese City That Lies Beneath A Lake

Ancient Chinese City That Lies Beneath A Lake 

Today's Vintage Ad


A Brand-New Interview With Me for You to Listen To

Episode Five-Bill Crider | Spreaker - Be Heard: In this episode, I talk with Bill Crider, author of numerous books including the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery Series.

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Graham Greene, This Gun for Hire, Bantam, 1955

Henry James on Aging, Memory, and What Happiness Really Means

Henry James on Aging, Memory, and What Happiness Really Means 

Zelda Fitzgerald’s Little-Known Art

Zelda Fitzgerald’s Little-Known Art

Best sci-fi and fantasy novels of all time

Best sci-fi and fantasy novels of all time - Telegraph: The Telegraph presents the best books from the science fiction and fantasy genres  

Link via SF Signal.

I Miss the Old Days

Lost art of the lurid VHS cover

Or Maybe You Did

12 Things You Didn't Know Were Named After People

New Poem at the 5-2

The 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly: Linda Rodriguez TRICKSTER TIME

Best Poetry Books of All Time

Best Poetry Books of All Time 

Elmer the Great

1933 ELMER THE GREAT TRAILER JOE E. BROWN - YouTube:

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Richard Prosch Interview

FROM DUNDEE'S DESK: Interview: Richard Prosch (author of ONE AGAINST A GUN HORDE)

Frank R. Paul ~ Science Wonder Stories 1929-1930

The Golden Age: Frank R. Paul ~ Science Wonder Stories 1929-1930

Song of the Day

Chuck Wagon Gang - Are you washed in the blood - YouTube:

The Secret Ancient Weapon We Still Don't Know How to Make

The Secret Ancient Weapon We Still Don't Know How to Make

Today's Vintage Ad


The Outrageous Climax Jim

The Outrageous Climax Jim

Then They Weren't Really Priceless, Were They?

7 Priceless Items People Sold on eBay

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George Orwell, 1984, Signet, 1955

I Miss the Old Days

Tapped out? Morse code club finds members hard to come by 

Entire Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series Inexplicably Excluded

The Most Famous Book Set in Each State 

10 Fascinating Tales of Ancient Mayan Civilization

10 Fascinating Tales of Ancient Mayan Civilization

Alvin, Texas, Inexplicably Not Included

These Are The 10 Most Exciting Places In Texas

6 of the Oldest Trees in the World

6 of the Oldest Trees in the World 

Dark Intruder

1965 DARK INTRUDER TRAILER LESLIE NEILSEN - YouTube: