Saturday, December 06, 2014
Uh-Oh
TVWeek: A drama series that aired for four years in the 1960s is the latest classic show to get the reboot treatment. Deadline.com reports that “Route 66,” a CBS action show that aired from 1960-1964, is in development by David Ellender’s Slingshot Global Media.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Why did Stokes abandon his wife? What possible significance could the long extinct Pugilistic Club have in the matter? Who is behind the fire that almost took the lives of Holmes and Watson? Joining forces with Eby Stokes, Holmes and Watson are determined to find the answers.
The kaleidoscope lights of the carnival hide many secrets, including a threat to the foundation of the British Empire. The game's afoot and, this time, it's a matter of life and death in and out of the ring…
Brooklyn Leads the Way
American mortgage payments now cost 98% of average income in Brooklyn
Hat tip to Brooklynite Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Brooklynite Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, December 05, 2014
J.K. Rowling Update
J.K. Rowling Is Releasing New Harry Potter Writing For Christmas: In the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve, new Harry Potter content will be released daily on Pottermore, including brand new writing from J.K. Rowling.
FFB: 13 Above the Night -- Groff Conklin, Editor
I don't know how Groff Conklin came up with the title for this anthology. It does have 13 stories in it, but as far as the "above the night" part, your guess is as good as mine. It must have impressed somebody, however, because a group called My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult used it as the title of an album. You can listen to it here.As for the collection (you can see the ToC below), it's a pretty good one, with some authors I like and a good many stories that I remember from the old days. "Prone" by Mack Reynolds is one of those. It's just sort of a joke, but it's still amusing. In fact, several of these stories are humorous. "The Education of Tigress McCardle" is, but in a dark way. In it, C. M. Kornbluth presents an answer to the overpopulation problem that would likely work very well. "Now Inhale" is one of Eric Frank Russell's "one man against a planet" stories in a way. A Terran is captured and accused of being a spy. The sentence is death. He can prolong his life by playing a game of his own choosing, but whether he wins or loses, he'll still be executed. So he has to choose very carefully. "The Kappa Nu Nexus" by Avram Davidson and Morton Klass is another humorous story, but I have a feeling it would have been considered a lot more humorous in 1961 than it will in 2014. Sexism runs rampant. Gordon R. Dickson's "Idiot Solvant" is a kind of "superman" story, also humorous, and in this one the humor still works very well. Not that some of the humor in the Davidson/Klass story doesn't work. Just not all of it.
Overall this is a solid anthology, and I plan to read, or in most cases reread, some more of the stories. They're the "old-fashioned" kind of SF that nobody writes anymore and is only read by geezers like me. If you like that kind of thing, cheap copies of the book abound on the Internet.
Table of Contents:
9 · Introduction · Groff Conklin · in
11 · Founding Father · J. F. Bone · na Galaxy Apr ’62
65 · Mating Call · Frank Herbert · ss Galaxy Oct ’61
82 · Nice Girl with Five Husbands · Fritz Leiber · ss Galaxy Apr ’51
96 · Prone · Mack Reynolds · ss F&SF Sep ’54
104 · The Education of Tigress McCardle · C. M. Kornbluth · ss Venture Jul ’57
116 · Now Inhale · Eric Frank Russell · nv Astounding Apr ’59
145 · The Back of Our Heads · Stephen Barr · nv Galaxy Jul ’58
189 · Button, Button · Isaac Asimov · ss Startling Stories Jan ’53
205 · The Deep Down Dragon · Judith Merril · ss Galaxy Aug ’61
218 · The Kappa Nu Nexus · Avram Davidson & Morton Klass · ss F&SF Aug ’61
236 · Idiot Solvant · Gordon R. Dickson · ss Analog Jan ’62
256 · Counter Security · James White · nv F&SF Feb ’63
282 · The Dreistein Case · J. Lincoln Paine · ss Washington Star; F&SF Jun ’58
Source: Glactic Central.
Thursday, December 04, 2014
Megan Fox Wants to Believe!
And there is nothing paranormal about Bigfoot!
5 Seemingly Sane Celebrities With Bizarre Paranormal Beliefs
5 Seemingly Sane Celebrities With Bizarre Paranormal Beliefs
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Ian McLagan, R. I. P.
Ian McLagan Dies at Age 69: Ian McLagan, the legendary keyboardist who was a member of the Small Faces and the Faces, has died. He was 69 years old.
Yet Another List I'm Not On
But McKenna Jordan is (#26): Houston's 50 Most Fascinating People of 2014
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Now, after more than a decade, Silas is leading a decent life as the sheriff of a small town in western Nebraska, when he receives word through an unlikely source that his sons have grown into young men headed down the wrong path. Lured on by a no-account uncle, their jump to the wrong side of the law seems inevitable … unless Silas is willing and able to intervene in time.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
WDRB 41 Louisville News: Confrontation over phone use in Louisville movie theater leads to tazing, court documents state
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Bobby Keys, R. I. P.
Rolling Stones Saxophonist Bobby Keys Dies at 70: Bobby Keys, the saxophonist who played on some of the Rolling Stones‘ biggest and best songs, has died. He was 70 years old. He had been fighting cirrhosis, according to the Nashville Scene.
Overlooked Movie: Anaconda
The title pretty much tells you all you need to know. Jaws with snakes is what this is. Okay, not exactly, but you get the idea. An expedition travelling up the Amazon to film a lost tribe for National Geographic makes the blunder of saving Jon Voight, a Paraguayan snake hunter, and he promises to lead them to the tribe. What he's really after is a giant anaconda from the Planet of Cheap Special Effects or maybe an escapee from a SyFy Channel movie. After that it's mostly a "who's going to die next?" movie. Owen Wilson? Ice Cube? Eric Stoltz? Jennifer Lopez? Jon Voight? One of the others?Shamefully denied an Oscar nomination for his performance, Voight goes all out with the wacky accent and wild looks. Jennifer Lopez looks great, and is of course totally believable as a movie director for National Geographic. She doesn't look bad in a wet t-shirt, either. Eric Stoltz is in a coma for most of the movie, and he does very well in the role. The others are all okay, but it's the snake that's the star. [Spoiler Alert] A snake like this is never dead until it's dead. [End Spoiler Alert]
If you like bad movies with a fine hammy performance at the center, you might get a kick out of Anaconda. Someone did because there are several sequels, none of which I've seen. I know they couldn't top this one.
Monday, December 01, 2014
Frank Yablans, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Frank Yablans, a blunt-spoken filmmaker and studio executive who oversaw the release of the first two “Godfather” films while president of Paramount Pictures and later was both a producer and a writer of “Mommie Dearest” and “North Dallas Forty,” died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79.
Kent Haruf, R. I. P.
The Washington Post: Novelist Kent Haruf has died, his editor at Knopf, Gary Fisketjon, confirmed Sunday evening.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Hot Tub Frolic Ends In Arrest Of Gay Threesome: Assault prompted by argument over who was higher paid escort
Podcast of "Merciless" by David Cranmer, writing as Edward A. Grainger
Episode 17: Merciless | Title18: “Merciless” by David Cranmer, writing as Edward A. Grainger, is available in FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CASH LARAMIE AND GIDEON MILES, a collection of nine short stories. It was originally featured in PULP MODERN Issue #4. Read by Scott Detrow.
So It's Come to This
Girl, 9, arrested for punching sister: Police arrested a nine-year-old girl in the US after her mother reported her for punching her six-year-old sister.
The youngster was charged with battery following the incident, in which the younger girl was punched in the head, in Indianapolis.
The youngster was charged with battery following the incident, in which the younger girl was punched in the head, in Indianapolis.
BookEnds Literary Agency Blog
The BookEnds Literary Agency has an interesting blog, especially if you're interested in the writing game. Today's post is on query letters.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Yet Another List I'm Not On
But you might be surprised at who's the Texas pick: The Most Famous Author From Each State
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