I've seen two of these and liked both of them a lot.
10 Surprising Box Office Failures
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Annoying slideshow alert.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Larry Henley, R. I. P.
CMT: Larry Henley, co-writer of the international Grammy-winning hit, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” died Thursday morning (Dec. 18) in Nashville at the age of 77. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Friday, December 19, 2014
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
NewsChannel5.com: NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man was arrested late Thursday night after police said he attacked his roommate with a sword during a fight over a videogame.
Mandy Rice-Davies, R. I. P.
BBC News: Former model Mandy Rice-Davies, one of the main figures in the 1960s Profumo affair, has died from cancer at the age of 70, her publicist has said.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Virna Lisi, R. I. P.
BBC News: Italian screen actress Virna Lisi, famed in the 1960s for appearing opposite stars including Frank Sinatra, has died at the age of 78.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
FFB: Shoot the President? Are You Mad? -- Frank McAuliffe
This is a repost from May 14, 2010. I'm sad to say that what was a new book then is a forgotten book now, and that's a shame.Okay, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, this is a new book. How can it be forgotten? Crider's finally lost it. You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it. But here's my thinking.
Frank McAuliffe wrote some of my favorite crime novels, a three-book series featuring Augustus Mandrell, a professional assassin. When I picked up the first book, Of all the Bloody Cheek back in 1965, I don't know what I expected, but it sure wasn't what I got, which was one of the most original crime novels I'd read up to that time. 45 years later, it still is. (See my earlier post here.) Sort of. In 1968 and 1971 McAuliffe published two sequels. But they're not exactly sequels. All three books are made up of a series of linked novellas that play off each other and intertwine in ways that still amaze me after all these years. Taken together, they're really one big, hilarious, incredible book. You should find all three, which besides Of all the Bloody Cheek include Rather a Vicious Gentleman and For Murder I Charge More.
In 1975, McAuliffe submitted another novel to Ballantine books. The Ballantines thought it was too soon after the Kennedy assassination for a comedy crime caper about presidential assassination, and the book was turned down. It took another 35 years for it to appear in print. So it was forgotten for a long, long time.
I'm afraid it might be forgotten again, since it's been published by a small press called The Outfit, which as far as I can tell doesn't even mention the book on its website. You can order it from Amazon, though.
What you'll get is a book unlike any other you've ever read, unless you've read the earlier three. This one's more conventional than they are. It's not a series of linked novellas, but one caper. It's narrated by Mandrell in his usual style, which, let's say, is a unique form of stream-of-consciousness with snarky asides, comments addressed to the reader, and lots more. It's full of narrow escapes, sometimes one after another, and at times it's almost like watching a Marx Brothers movie. Maybe I'm the only one who likes stuff like this now. Others might not get it at all, but it connects with me just like it did in 1965. It's great to have this book in print. I hope it's not forgotten.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The Blog Will Be Closed Today
The memorial service for Judy will be held today, so the blog will be dark. It will return in a limited way tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all the kind thoughts, prayers, and support over the last several weeks.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Richard C. Hottelet, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Richard C. Hottelet, who covered the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge for CBS and became the last survivor of the “Murrow Boys,” the network’s pioneering World War II radio newsmen who worked under Edward R. Murrow, died on Wednesday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 97.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Goodbye, Columbus
New evidence confirms Vikings beat him to America by 500 years: According to the report, “Although less than 400 km separated the Norse Greenlandic colonies from the coasts of Arctic Canada, and explorations to the west of Greenland are described in Icelandic sagas, surprisingly little is known of ventures to North America. The archaeological site at L’Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland confirms saga accounts that the Norse established a short-lived station in Atlantic Canada at some time around A.D. 1000.”
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
The Name Is Hannibal: (The Joe Hannibal Collection - Volume I) (The Joe Hannibal PI Series) - Kindle edition by Wayne D. Dundee. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: The Name Is Hannibal: (The Joe Hannibal Collection - Volume I) (The Joe Hannibal PI Series) [Kindle Edition] For over three decades, Joe Hannibal has stood tall on the fictional PI landscape. The Hannibal books and stories have been translated into several languages and have been nominated for an Edgar, an Anthony, and a total of six Shamus Awards. Almost from the outset, Hannibal was dubbed "the blue collar PI" due in equal parts to the series' initial smaller-city setting of Rockford, Illinois, and its surrounding rural areas - as well as to the middle class roots and values that his creator brought to the writing. Later, after author and character both moved to the even more rural setting of west central Nebraska, the distinction only deepened.
Hannibal has matured and evolved as a character and the writing has been honed to a finer edge. But the admiration for and love of the PI genre that was always at the core and heart of the series has never changed.
Happy Hanukkah!
What Is Hanukkah?: Chanukah -- the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev -- celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
Norman Birdwell, R. I. P.
Flavorwire: Kids everywhere lost a friend today. 86-year-old Norman Birdwell passed away on Friday in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. He was best known as the author and creator of the Clifford the Big Red Dog series, a Scholastic classic that started in 1962. It’s sold over 60 million copies, and forty different Clifford titles have been released.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
If you like the weird west, you'll want a copy of this collection. I found the introduction especially interesting, as Whalen explains the inspiration for each of the stories collected here. The movies have a lot to do with them, and as a fan of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, I was partial to "Little China," whose title echoes another movie I like. There's even a story named "Rancho Diablo," but it has no relation to the famous series of novels by the great Colby Jackson.
Hunting Monsters Is My Business: The Mordecai Slate Stories: John M. Whalen: 9781503190924: Amazon.com: Books Undead Tlingit tribesmen rise from their graves in the Yukon. Something not of this world stalks Dodge City. A creature emerges from the ocean on the coast of the Monterey Peninsula. These are just some of the monsters bounty hunter Mordecai Slate is hired to eliminate in HUNTING MONSTERS IS MY BUSINESS. Follow Slate through nine tales of horror and wonder, including a brand new novella written specially for this book.
Dino Update
Fully intact dinosaur neck so rare, two years spent to build road in Spain before it can be removed: Paleontologists have extracted an intact neck of a Sauropod, which they estimate to be 68 million years old, from a dig located in the Pyrenees, Archaeology News Network reports.
I Miss the Old Days
You should go immediately and read this essay, and not just because my name is mentioned.
Venture Galleries: In 1973, DAPA-EM (which stood for Elementary, My Dear APA – don’t ask, because I don’t know the origin of the name) became the first and only APA (Amateur Press Association) devoted to the mystery genre.
Venture Galleries: In 1973, DAPA-EM (which stood for Elementary, My Dear APA – don’t ask, because I don’t know the origin of the name) became the first and only APA (Amateur Press Association) devoted to the mystery genre.
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