Saturday, September 27, 2014
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Hawthorne: Tales of a Weirder West - Kindle edition by Heath Lowrance. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: There are monsters in the West. There is evil, lurking in the blood-soaked hills and bone-strewn plains. But there is also Hawthorne-scarred, enigmatic, deadly, driven by an all-consuming rage to seek out and destroy evil wherever he finds it. Without mercy. But how long can one man fight the demons before becoming one himself?
HAWTHORNE: TALES OF A WEIRDER WEST features the stories "That Damned Coyote Hill," "The Long Black Train," "The Spider Tribe," "Bad Sanctuary," and "The Unholy" as well as an introduction by Western fiction legend James Reasoner.
Wanna Get Dawn Wells' Shorts?
'Gilligan's Island' star Dawn Wells: Short shorts gave Mary Ann sex appeal: The famous shorts will be auctioned by Profiles in History from October 17 to 19.
Don Keefer, R. I. P.
Don Keefer, Who Was Turned Into a Jack-in-the-Box on 'The Twilight Zone,' Dies at 98: Don Keefer, a versatile character actor for six decades who starred in the original 1949 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman and made an indelible impression as “a bad man, a very bad man” on The Twilight Zone, has died. He was 98.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, September 26, 2014
I Want to Believe!
Complex organic molecule found in interstellar space: Scientists have found the beginnings of life-bearing chemistry at the centre of the galaxy.
I Want to Believe!
Marco Polo may have discovered America in 13th century, map shows: Authenticity has yet to be determined
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
WKRN News 2: A woman was arrested Thursday for theft and vandalism after she allegedly stole a baseball bat from a Walmart and used it to attack a car in the parking lot.
New Western Fiction E-Zine
And It's Not Past Its Expiration Date?
The Washington Post: When you take a sip from your water bottle, you just might be swallowing molecules older than the sun itself. And this new discovery won't just make you think twice about the wonders of hydration -- it actually bolsters our hopes of finding life on other planets.
FFB: Baseball Stars of 1960 -- edited by Ray Robinson
George Kelley sent me this one, knowing that I miss the old days. It's a collecton of "thrilling inside stories" written by writers, some of whose names you might recognize (Arnold Hano, Dick Schaap), about players I remember well (Mickey Mantle, Hoyt Wilhelm) and about some I hardly recall (Frank Malzone). About Mickey Mantle, Arnold Hano asks the musical question, "Can he come back?" You see, in 1959, Mantle hit only .285 and knocked only 31 home runs (with 94 RBIs) and the Yankees didn't win the pennant. Some of you are smiling, and so am I. A guy with those numbers would be paid a bazillion dollars today. And I'd say he came back. In 1960, although his average was a mere .275, he hit 40 home runs and had 94 RBIs.
The final story in the book, by Ray Robinson, is about the question of comebacks, as well. Stan Musial and Ted Williams both had down years in 1959. They were over the hill in the eyes of a lot of fans. Musial hit only .255 with 14 home runs. Again, these days he'd be making big bucks, but (and this is unheard of now) Musial took a salary cut from $100,000 in 1959 to $80,000 in 1960, when he hit .275 , with 17 homers. Williams had 10 home runs and hit .254 in 1959, a bad year for him, indeed. 1960 was his final season, but it was a good one. He hit for a .316 average with 29 home runs.
There are lots of other good stories in this book, and it was great to take a trip back to a time when I followed baseball more closely than I do now. No wonder I miss the old days.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Outlaw Ranger - Kindle edition by James Reasoner. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: G.W. Braddock was raised to be a Texas Ranger and never wanted anything else. But when he's stripped of his badge through no fault of his own and a corrupt system turns the vicious killer Tull Coleman loose on the people of the Lone Star State, Braddock has to decide if he's going to follow the law—or carry out the job he was born to do, even if it means becoming an outlaw himself! Never before published, OUTLAW RANGER is the first book in an exciting new Western series by best-selling author and legendary storyteller James Reasoner. Based on actual incidents, this action-packed novel is the stirring tale of a little-known era in Old West history. Rough Edges Press is proud to present this compelling saga of a man haunted by the past and fighting to make a place for himself in the violent world of the Texas frontier.
Deborah Cavendish, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Deborah Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and the last of the six eccentric Mitford sisters, who turned her husband’s ancestral estate into one of England’s grand country houses and wrote books about it and her own fairy-tale life, died on Wednesday. She was 94.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
I'll Just Have a Veggie Burger, Thanks
British chef creates burgers that taste like human flesh
Hat tip to Art Scott, who suggests serving them with fava beans and a nice chianti.
Hat tip to Art Scott, who suggests serving them with fava beans and a nice chianti.
“Happy National Punctuation Day!”
“Happy National Punctuation Day!” ;): To celebrate this annual recognition of commas and periods, TIME explores some ways that punctuation just "aint" the same as it used to be
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
And now it's the ketchup dispute!
Suspects shot at McDonald's after ketchup dispute
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Suspects shot at McDonald's after ketchup dispute
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
To promote this new title, Book One is currently on sale for a mere 99 cents. Trail Revenge (The Westward Tide Book 2) - Kindle edition by Jack Tyree, Wayne D. Dundee, Mel Odom. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: Embarked on the Oregon Trail, the Culbertson-Barkley wagon train has already endured danger, hardship, and betrayal from within their own ranks. But driven by dreams of the promising new lives that await them in Oregon, they press on—even knowing that the distance still to be covered will only get harder as their route transitions from the high plains into the mountainous regions.
Braced for what lies ahead, what the emigrants are unaware of and unprepared for is the menace that is closing on them from behind. Dangerous, determined vengeance-seekers have their sights set on certain members of the Culbertson-Barkley party. But what the vengeance seekers, in turn, are unprepared for is the extent to which other members of the company will go to protect their own.
When the forces clash, the result is bitter and bloody. The journey toward Oregon will continue, but those who forge on will be forever marked by the violence and startling revelations they have experienced.
Audrey Long, R. I. P.
Audrey Long, Film Noir Star of the 1940s, Dies at 92: Audrey Long, who starred opposite John Wayne in the 1944 Western Tall in the Saddle and in a pair of film noir favorites directed by Anthony Mann and Robert Wise three years later, has died. She was 92.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: The Silence of the Library (Cat in the Stacks Mystery) (9780425257289): Miranda James: Books Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel. He’s returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but a celebrated author’s visit draws an unruly swarm of fanatic mystery buffs…and one devious killer.Judy and I have known Miranda James (under a slightly different name) for about 30 years now. Judy says that this is the best book yet in the "Cat in the Stacks" series.
A Little Story from my Life
The title of today's PaperBack reminds me of something that happened a long time ago, the summer of 1966. I'd finished up my work on my M.A. at what was then called North Texas State University, and we were planning to move to Austin. One weekend we drove to Austin and met a friend of ours, a very strait-laced guy, who was going to help us look for an apartment. At the first place we looked, the apartment manager was a young woman, probably even younger than we were, and we were very young. She took us into a one-bedroom apartment about which I remember nothing at all except for the bedroom, and the reason I remember that is because of what the young woman said when she took us into it. She said, "It's a queen-size bed, and I'm sure it's big enough for all three of you."
For me, that moment marked the beginning the official beginning of that era known as "the '60s." I knew for sure that I'd come a long way from my little old hometown, and even a long way from North Texas State. I thought our friend was going to faint. I still remember how red his face was. I was laughing, and I think Judy was too. We didn't rent that apartment, but I'll always remember that little episode fondly.
For me, that moment marked the beginning the official beginning of that era known as "the '60s." I knew for sure that I'd come a long way from my little old hometown, and even a long way from North Texas State. I thought our friend was going to faint. I still remember how red his face was. I was laughing, and I think Judy was too. We didn't rent that apartment, but I'll always remember that little episode fondly.
Dino Update (with bonus Cretaceous Croc illo)
New Hadrosaur Noses into Spotlight: Call it the Jimmy Durante of dinosaurs – a newly discovered hadrosaur with a truly distinctive nasal profile. The new dinosaur, named Rhinorex condrupus by paleontologists from North Carolina State University and Brigham Young University, lived in what is now Utah approximately 75 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.
A Long-Forgotten Film
Coming Soon, a Century Late: A Black Film Gem: Now, after years of research, a historic find has emerged: what MoMA curators say is the earliest surviving footage for a feature film with a black cast.
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