Mirror Online: Blackadder actress Patsy Byrne - who played Nursie to Miranda Richardson’s Queenie - has died at the age of 80.
The actress is best remembered for her Blackadder role in the second series of the much-loved comedy.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Stephanie Kwolek, R. I. P.
The Washington Post: Stephanie L. Kwolek, a chemist credited with developing the ultra-strong Kevlar fiber used in bullet-resistant gear, an innovation that is estimated to have saved hundreds of lives since she created the polymer five decades ago, died June 18 at a hospice in Wilmington, Del. She was 90.
Johnny Mann, R. I. P.
Johnny Mann, composer, voice of 'Chipmunk,' dies in Anderson: ANDERSON, S.C. —Johnny Mann, the Hollywood composer who worked with the likes of Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, died late Wednesday night in Anderson, according to sources close to the family.
Mr. Mercedes -- Stephen King
There was a time when I looked forward to reading Stephen King's books, and I got them as soon after publication as I could. Eventually my affection for his work began to fade. The book that pretty much ended it for me was It, which I didn't like at all and which I thought was bloated in the extreme, even for King. I still read a few of them. I liked The Green Mile and read each volume of the serial as it appeared. I enjoyed the nonfiction books on writing. I really liked Joyland. So I thought I'd take a chance on Mr. Mercedes after reading a few favorable reviews and seeing it referred to as King's "hardboiled detective novel" and as being "lean." Okay, maybe it's lean when compared to the uncut version of The Stand, but that's about the only leanness it has. It's over 400 pages long, and the print isn't large. It's not a hardboiled detective novel, either, though King has fun playing with some of the cliches of the genre. You get your fedora jokes and your Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer references. King's having fun with some of the cliches and going in the opposite direction for his own story and characters for a while, but then he pulls out the biggest cliche of them all. I thought, "Surely he's not doing to do that." But he did. If you read the book, you'll see it coming from a mile away. Maybe he did it on purpose.
This is a Stephen King book all the way, with lengthy backstories, tedious details, and drawn out suspense in the climactic section that gets boring before you finally reach the conclusion. There's one thing I found especially annoying. At several points in the book, the omniscient narrator steps in and says, "Little did he know that tomorrow he would regret that remark." Okay, he doesn't say that, but he says things like it way too often. The first time it happened, I found it really jarring, but the next times I was at least expecting it.
Oh, yeah, the plot. The title character is a guy who has a mom problem and who drives a stolen Mercedes into a crowd, killing a lot of people, a couple of whom we've just gotten really long backstories for. Then he starts taunting (by mail at first) a retired cop who's divorced and bored and overweight and reduced to watching TV all the time. The cop gets interested in life again and teams up with a couple of interesting characters to solve the crime. One of them, Holly, is the most entertaining character (for me) in the book, but she does't show up until well over half the 400 pages are gone.
I know that I'm being a curmudgeon. There are many people who loved It. There are many more who will love this book, but for me the magic is gone. Except now and then. Maybe there'll be another one like Joyland.
I Miss the Old Days
What a great double bill: The Sex Pistols and Merle Haggard at the Longhorn Ballroom
Friday, June 20, 2014
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Gator Update (Once Again Texas Leads the Way Edition)
KSLA: A group of East Texas men officially hold the world record for the largest American alligator harvested legally.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Florida man charged with attempted murder after throwing hot grits
Even worse than the Bacon Grease Assault?
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Even worse than the Bacon Grease Assault?
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
FFB: World's Best Science Fiction: 1966 -- Donald A. Wollheim & Terry Carr, Editors
For a while in the middle 1960s, I was unfaithful to SF. I was reading crime fiction almost exclusively when I wasn't reading the zillions of books required in my grad school classes. I was sharing an office with three other grad students, all women, and the boyfriend of one of them was an SF reader. He left a copy of this book in the office one day, and I picked it up. I immediately recognized every name of the cover, so I opened it up and checked out the table of contents, which I've put down below. I recognized even more names, but a few of them were unfamiliar. The boy friend wasn't around, and neither was anyone else at the moment. So I took the book home with me and started reading the stories. It didn't take me long to realize that I'd been missing some entertaining stuff, so when I took the book back, I asked the guy if he had any others in the series. He had two, the 1965 and 1967 volumes, which he brought to the office for me. I found some more unfamiliar names, and by this time I was hitting the used bookstores picking up novels by both the familiar and unfamiliar folks. Since then, while I've read mostly crime fiction, I've never turned my back on SF again.
The biggest surprise in the book was the Ellison story. I started reading his work with the appearance of his first story in, I believe, Infinity, and I really liked it. This one, however, wasn't like anything of his I'd read before. Something had changed, and it wasn't just Ellison, though I didn't know that until later.
I picked up all the rest of the Year's Best in this series as they appeared, and others, as well. I'm sure that no anthology manages to be filled with only the best, and there are a couple of clunkers in this one, but I owe it a big debt since it got me back into SF in a big way.
ToC:
"Introduction" (Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr)
"Sunjammer" (Arthur C. Clarke)
"Calling Dr. Clockwork" (Ron Goulart)
"Becalmed in Hell" (Larry Niven)
"Apartness" (Vernor Vinge)
"Over the River and Through the Woods" (Clifford D. Simak)
"Planet of Forgetting" (James H. Schmitz)
"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" (Harlan Ellison)
"The Decision Makers" (Joseph L. Green)
"Traveler's Rest" (David I. Masson)
"Uncollected Works" (Lin Carter)
"Vanishing Point" (Jonathan Brand)
"In Our Block" (R. A. Lafferty)
"Masque of the Red Shift" (Fred Saberhagen)
"The Captive Djinn" (Christopher Anvil)
"The Good New Days" (Fritz Leiber)
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Free for Kindle For a Limited Time
Amazon.com: San Francisco Slaughter (HANGMAN Book 1) eBook: Jack Badelaire: Kindle Store: SAN FRANCISCO SLAUGHTER is a hard-edged action-adventure novel. There's drinking, profanity, and sex. There's fast cars and big guns, sharp knives and loose women. Arson, torture, and murder are just tools in the hands of men who’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. And while the good guys aren't so great, the bad guys are even worse.
Gerry Goffin, R. I. P.
Rolling Stone: Lyricist Gerry Goffin, who cowrote the hits "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "The Loco-Motion" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" with his ex-wife Carole King, has died in his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday of natural causes. He was 75. His wife, Michele Goffin, reported his death, according to The New York Times.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Yahoo News: Five members of a Vermont family assaulted police officers during a melee that erupted when security guards at a New Hampshire amusement park told them to leave their knives in the car, police said Tuesday.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
The Most Dangerous Game Of Crocodile Dentist Ever
The Most Dangerous Game Of Crocodile Dentist Ever: Then some Japanese guys came up with the idea to install razorblade teeth in their game of Crocodile Dentist, and they brought that gonzo show grand prize home to Japan once again!
With video!
With video!
I Want to Believe!
There May Be an Ancient Earth Inside Earth, Say Harvard Scientists: A team of Harvard scientists believe the remnants of an ancient Earth, dating to the time another planet collided with ours to produce the moon, may still be lodged deep within the Earth’s mantle
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Local News - WESH Home: DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —A Daytona Beach man was arrested Monday night after police say he choked a 12-year-old boy and chased him around a restaurant.
Older than Goodbye -- Richard Helms
Richard Helms is a Derringer winner (in two categories), a winner of the Thriller award for best short story, and a Shamus nonimee. So you know you're in good hands when you pick up one of his stories or novels to read. Older than Goodbye is Helms' third novel about police chief Judd Wheeler, who works in the small town of Prosperity, North Carolina. It starts off with a bang, and instead of a twist ending, you could say that it has a twist opening. And things get even better after that. There's a murder and a mysterious disappearance, but what really complicates Wheeler's life is a reappearance, that of Shug Burch, once Wheeler's best friend. Friendships can fray when, as in Burch's case, your best friend sends you to prison for rape, but Burch isn't just your run-of-the mill ex-con. He's become a country singing star.
Unfortunately for Shug, his stardom is tarnished by his involvement with some very bad people. This doesn't bode well for either him or his former best friend, and it all leads up to a bloody confrontation in the final chapters.
Older than Goodbye has great characters and atmosphere, along with plenty of action. Check it out.
Yet Another List I'm Not On
Analysis: Sinatra Is Planet's Most Important Person... - ...at least according to Wikipedia ... and its English version: Using methods borrowed from Google, a group of researchers has analyzed all Wikipedia pages and determined that, at least on the English language version of the site, Frank Sinatra is the world's most important person. Second place goes to Michael Jackson, and third to Pope Pius XII. When factoring in all 24 language editions of the online encyclopedia, the team found that Adolf Hitler ranked the most important person, while Michael Jackson was again second and Madonna third, reports the Guardian.
Paperback Parade Has Upped Its Game!
You have to see this all-in-color issue to appreciate it. The Lion Books article is worth the price of admission by itself, with plenty of glorious covers plus a listing of the line's noir titles, along with reviews and ratings. Then there's The Lady from L.U.S.T. And this blog's frequent commenter and contributor Art Scott has a contribution. You can buy this issue or find subscription info here. Highly recommended.
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Once Again Texas Leads the Way
7-Eleven introduces 'Doritos Loaded' to Dallas: 7-Eleven’s hometown is Dallas. The beauty of that is getting the chance at an exclusive first taste, weeks before anyone else in the country.
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's Fiction Podcast
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's Fiction Podcast
I know I've mentioned this before, but some people still don't seem to have heard of it. There are now 58 stories posted, most read by their authors. If you haven't checked it out lately, take a look.
I know I've mentioned this before, but some people still don't seem to have heard of it. There are now 58 stories posted, most read by their authors. If you haven't checked it out lately, take a look.
Earl Emerson Interview
SONS OF SPADE: Q & A with Earl Emerson: Earl Emerson was one of those great PI writers of the nineties that stopped putting out PI books when that genre became less popular. Luckily, Earl and his PI Thomas Black are back now, the self-published way. A good reason to have a talk with him...
Charles Barsotti, R. I. P.
Mystery Fanfare: Charles Barsotti: R.I.P.: From the New Yorker: Charlie Barsotti, one of the great cartoonists, died today. Charlie drew close to fourteen hundred cartoons for The New Yorker over the years, beginning in the nineteen-sixties and continuing right through last week’s issue.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Croc Update (Paging Art Scott Edition)
Crocodile Inferno curry is hot enough to come with a warning: A FEROCIOUS curry twice as powerful as tear gas has been declared one of the world’s hottest dishes.
Daniel Keyes, R. I. P.
RIP: Daniel Keyes (1927 – 2014) - SF Signal: Keyes is best known for his Hugo Award-winning classic story “Flowers for Algernon”, the 1966 Nebula Award-winning novel expansion, and its film adaptation Charly (1968). Other novels included The Touch (1968), The Fifth Sally (1980), and The Asylum Prophecies (2009).
Leather-bound Books from the Franklin Library
Leather-bound Books from the Franklin Library: The Franklin Library, a division of The Franklin Mint, was a publisher of fine collector edition books from the early 1970s until 2000. Known for beautiful leather bindings, Franklin Library books were published in three styles - full genuine leather, imitation leather, and quarter-bound genuine leather. The full leather-bound editions were produced throughout the Library's lifespan but the other two styles (imitation and quarter bound) were only published in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Overlooked Movies: Ladyhawke
It's hard to believe it's been almost 30 years since this movie was released. It's a very good fantasy that sometimes doesn't get the credit it should. As usual, however, I have trouble summarizing the plot. It's a bit more complicated than I'm going to make it sound, but here goes:Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer play lovers separated by the curse of an envious and jealous bishop. The curse is that they are always together but can never touch. Peiffer, during daylight hours is a hawk and human at night. Hauer is a wolf at night and human during the day. Only during a brief instant at sunrise and sunset can they see one another in their human shapes.
Hauer has a plan to kill the bishop, but he needs someone to get him inside the city of Aquila and to the bishop so he can do it. That's where Broderick, who plays a clever thief known as Mouse, comes in. When Hauer kills the bishop, the curse will become complete, and there will be no hope for the lovers to reunite. They think it's that way already, so revenge is their only satisfaction. But of course there's a way to break the curse. Will they be able to do it? Far be it from me to spoil the suspense.
There is suspense in the movie, and it's also pretty funny (depending on your tolerance for Broderick in a role like this; mine is pretty high). The action scenes are very good, and the whole movie looks great. So does Pfeiffer, by the way. The movie's worth seeing for her alone. Check it out.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Tony Gwynn, R. I. P.
Major League Baseball: Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn succumbs to cancer at 54: (Reuters) – Former professional baseball player and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn died at the age of 54, Major League Baseball said on Monday. Gwynn played for the San Diego Padres and was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. He was selected to play in the All-Star Game 15 times and won eight batting titles over his 20-year career, according to his listing in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
This Is Just . . . Wrong
Nobody’s buying sausage pizza anymore in NYC: While pepperoni and cheese remain the most popular, the sausage slice has been replaced by buffalo chicken and pineapples, artichokes and ziti.
Ultra Violet, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Isabelle Collin Dufresne, the French-born artist, actress and author known as Ultra Violet, the beauty among the superstars of Andy Warhol’s glory days at his studio, the Factory, died early Saturday morning at a Manhattan hospital. She was 78 and lived in Manhattan and in Nice, France.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Casey Kasem, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: The popular radio DJ and TV personality was a mainstay on “American Top 40” and similar shows for decades, as well as the voice of well-known cartoon characters, such as Shaggy from ‘Scooby-Doo.’ Kasem, who suffered from Lewy body disease — a progressive form of dementia — had been at the center of a bitter battle between three of his adult children and his second wife, Jean, over his care.
Cross Plains to host Robert E. Howard Days
What I love is the photo chosen to illustrate this article. Google image search gone bad? I report, you decide.
Cross Plains to host Robert E. Howard Days
Cross Plains to host Robert E. Howard Days
Happy Father's Day!
Father’s Day - Holidays - HISTORY.com: On July 19, 1910, the governor of the U.S. state of Washington proclaimed the nation’s first “Father’s Day.” However, it was not until 1972, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official, that the day became a nationwide holiday in the United States.My father had a horse (or horses) for most of his life. He liked to ride around on his land and check the cattle. He looked good in the saddle and could really rock the cowboy hat.
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