And now it's the stapler attack!
Jackson Woman Accused Of Stapler Attack
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Jeff Golub, R. I. P.
Rolling Stone: Jeff Golub, the longtime jazz, blues and rock guitarist who played on albums by Rod Stewart and Billy Squier alongside his own solo work, died on Thursday at the age of 59, according to Jazz Times.
And You Thought Your Handwriting Was Bad
The Coolest Signatures In History
Aside: I suppose that within a couple of generations signatures will disappear along with cursive writing. The signature cards at banks and the spaces for signatures on the backs of credit cards will be gone, too.
Aside: I suppose that within a couple of generations signatures will disappear along with cursive writing. The signature cards at banks and the spaces for signatures on the backs of credit cards will be gone, too.
Phoenix Press
Phoenix Press on AbeBooks: New York’s Phoenix Press was a publisher of mysteries, westerns, and other light fiction in the 1930s and 1940s. We were alerted to this company’s literary history by a loyal AbeBooks customer called Paul Rollinson, who encouraged us to feature Phoenix’s fantastic Depression-era pulp, if only for the amazing dust jackets. Phoenix was one of many lending-library publishers of the era, and fought to rise above the others of its ilk to make a name for itself in the tough economic climate.
Friday, January 02, 2015
These Two Guys Are from Alvin, Texas
"Crazy" father and son charged in crime spree; couple dead, cops shot: A father and son from Brazoria County now face charges in connection with a violent interstate crime spree, in which a husband and wife were killed during a home invasion and two police officers were wounded during a shootout.
Little Jimmy Dickens, R. I. P.
Grand Ole Opry | The Show That Made Country Music Famous: Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens passed away this afternoon at a Nashville area hospital at the age of 94. Jimmy died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day. He is survived by his wife Mona Dickens, married since 1971, and two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King. Jimmy was the longest running member of the Opry, joining in 1948, and last performed at the Opry on Dec. 20, 2014, singing “Out Behind The Barn” and delivering his trademark comedy. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time however a public visitation and a public service is being planned.
Donna Douglas, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Donna Douglas, the Louisiana belle known for her role as Elly May Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” died Friday at age 81.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
DNAinfo.com New York: EAST HARLEM — A man threw hot coffee at a police officer and punched the officer, then bit another officer's hand while resisting arrest in a Lexington Avenue deli, police said.
FFB: Renegade Posse -- Marvin H. Albert
Another fine job from Mavin H. Albert, with more plot in the first 25 pages that most novels have in 400. That makes it pretty hard to summarize the book, but here's the gist of it is right there on the cover: "The hunted man was not as guilty as the lawmen who were hunting him down." Okay, that's not true. It's a great blurb, but there's not a single real lawman in the posse, and one of them is Keliher, the protagonist. Also, the guy they're chasing is quite guilty of a number of things. However, he has the loot from a bank robbery, and most of the posse members think killing him and taking the money for themselves is a great idea.
Keliher has to stop them, for a lot of reasons, including the fact that the bank robber was formerly his best friend. Furthermore, Keliher is married to the bank robber's ex-wife and is raising his son. Add to that mixture a lot of well-written scenes: the bank robbery itself, an epic gunfight against hostile Indians, a fist fight, a number of escapes and pursuits, and in interesting dynamic between the outlaw and his ex. It's all great stuff, and it's all pulled of as smoothly as usual by Albert. I've long been a fan of his crime novels, but I'm only now catching up on the westerns. I'm sorry I waited so long.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Mario Cuomo, R. I. P.
Former N.Y. governor Mario Cuomo dies at 82: Cuomo is among the most iconic New York governors of the 20th century, known for his liberal views, soaring speeches and deeply held beliefs that made him among the most prominent Democrats of his time. His death came the same day as his son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was inaugurated for a second term.
Brief Political Rant
Bloomberg Politics: While the next election may seem distant, it really isn't. The Iowa caucuses, the voting that starts the nomination process, are only about 13 months away, and some lesser-important events like candidate debates and straw polls will arrive much sooner. The legwork the prospective candidates do during the first quarter of 2015 will include trying to line up endorsements, recruiting staff and volunteers, and raising money.
I don't say much about politics because that's not what this blog is about. But reading this article gave me the fantods. Two years until the elections, and we're going to have to endure more than 20 months of political campaigns. Okay, I say "we" but I'm not sure I will. I think that for the first time in 50 years I'll just pay no attention. I've just gotten fed up. I don't think I'm the only one, considering the historically low turnout in the mid-terms. There's a limit to what I can put up with, and although there's no limit on how long someone can campaign or how many thousands of hours the TV news channels report the shenanigans or how many millions the candidates can spend, they can do it all without me this time around. A pox on all their houses.
I don't say much about politics because that's not what this blog is about. But reading this article gave me the fantods. Two years until the elections, and we're going to have to endure more than 20 months of political campaigns. Okay, I say "we" but I'm not sure I will. I think that for the first time in 50 years I'll just pay no attention. I've just gotten fed up. I don't think I'm the only one, considering the historically low turnout in the mid-terms. There's a limit to what I can put up with, and although there's no limit on how long someone can campaign or how many thousands of hours the TV news channels report the shenanigans or how many millions the candidates can spend, they can do it all without me this time around. A pox on all their houses.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
‘Little old lady’ Arrested for Making Fur Coats with Neighbor’s Cats
Hat tip to Francelle Bettinger.
Hat tip to Francelle Bettinger.
That Was the Year that Was (And More)
I don't usually do year-end wrap-up posts, and I'm not going to start now. I don't have much that's good to say about 2014 now that it's history, even though it started off pretty well. Later on, maybe, I'll be able to look back on the first 8 months of it and reflect on some of the times that are worth remembering. There are a lot of them, I know, but right now everything is overshadowed by the one big event of the year, Judy's death. I can't quite get past that one, although I'm trying to. People keep telling me that it will take time for me to get better, probably a long time, so we'll see how that works out. Now that it's 2015 I'll see if I can do the Janus thing and look backward and forward at the same time. At the moment I'm doing too much of the backward looking and not enough for the forward looking. I don't make resolutions, but if I did, I'd put Look Forward at the top of the list. So here's to 2015. May it be a better year for me and for everyone who reads this blog. Thanks for sticking with it and thanks for all your support in recent months. It's meant a lot to me.
And now, on a more cheerful note, I'll share a little New Year's memory with you. On December 30, 1958, the Mexia Blackcat Band traveled to Dallas to march at halftime in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day. We went a couple of days early to practice and to see the sights in the big city. Little did we realize that it would be one of the coldest weekends in many years and that the cold would be accompanied by ice and snow. It was so cold, in fact, that instead of practicing on the field, we had to practice in an airplane hangar (I don't recall where it was located). The show was to feature several bands, performing together. I don't think the practice went well.
At night boys were housed in some kind of dormitory in the livestock area, and there was no heat in the place. I nearly froze to death and didn't sleep much on the nights we were there.
We did get to see a performance by Roger Williams, so that was nice. I'd never seen a big star in person. And he was indeed a big star in 1958. (You youngsters might need to do a search for his name. He's not the one from Providence Plantation that you read about in history class. I'm old, but I'm not that old.)
I don't recall much about the halftime except that it wasn't a complete disaster, which was quite an accomplishment under the circumstances (chaotic practices, terrible weather). I do know that everyone in Mexia was watching on TV, and, sure enough, as they've done ever since when given the chance, the announcers pronounces the name of the town wrong. Everyone knew it was going to happen.
As for the football game, TCU played Air Force. More or less. It was frigid, and sitting in the stands I thought I might turn into an icicle. The game was a mess, and while I don't remember much about it, I do remember that neither team could do anything right. Lots of fumbles and missed field goals and terrible offensive displays. The final score was 0 - 0, which gives you some idea.
What I remember most of all is that the Air Force mascot, a Falcon was released at halftime. It was supposed to swoop around and return to the cadet who loosed it, I suppose, but instead it flew right to the top of the Automobile Building on the State Fairgrounds and perched there for the rest of the game. For all I know, it's sitting there still.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Edward Herrmann, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Edward Herrmann, an actor best known for his role on the television show “Gilmore Girls,” has died at age 71.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
New Year’s Eve Netflix Streaming Guide
Flavorwire: Flavorwire’s Guide to (Expiring) Movies to Stream This New Year’s Eve
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Christine Cavanaugh, R. I. P.
AOL.com: The actress, who voiced the original "Babe" the pig in the 1995 film and Chuckie from "Rugrats," died on December 22.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
The Campaign to Prove Shakespeare Didn't Exist
The Campaign to Prove Shakespeare Didn't Exist: The greatest ongoing investigation in literary history has been caused entirely by William Shakespeare’s thoughtlessness.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The Job -- Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
Kate O'Hare and Nick Fox are back, which is good news for anybody who wants to read a light-hearted, fast-moving caper novel. I'm one of those people. I can always use a good laugh, particularly now, and this book provided some fine escape reading.As you'll recall if you've read previous books, Fox is the world's greatest conman and thief, while O'Hare is the FBI agent who finally managed to catch him. Now Fox is secretly working for the FBI, and he and O'Hare are unofficially teamed up to bring down the world's biggest criminals.
The book opens with Fox being accused of a series of art thefts. The evidence that he's guilty seems overwhelming, but O'Hare doesn't believe it for a second. She's right, of course, but I won't give any details except to say that the thefts lead them to devise an elaborate con game to capture a zillionaire drug dealer. Setting up the con with their usual team is a large and enjoyable part of the book. Along the way there are some fights, some escapes, and some romance. Not to mention a lot of laughs. The Job is another fine job (couldn't resist) by a top-notch writing team. Check it out.
Luise Rainer, R. I. P.
Flavorwire: Luise Rainer, the first-ever performer to win back-to-back Oscars, passed today. Over a century old, the German-born Rainer retired from major motion pictures in 1943. In a career spanning just eight years—she made her Hollywood debut at MGM in 1935—Rainer won Best Actress for her roles in The Great Ziegfeld, in 1936, and an adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth, in 1937.
The Trap of Solid Gold: The Executioners
Long, excellent essay: The Trap of Solid Gold: The Executioners
Overlooked Movies: The Beast of Hollow Mountain
As I've mentioned numerous times before, I was a big fan of 3-D movies when I was a youngster. When The Beast of Hollow Mountain was announced as a forthcoming 3-D feature, I was eager to see it. Unfortunately, somebody got cold feet, or maybe the budget couldn't handle it. Or maybe 3-D was dying. For whatever reason, the movie was released in the old flat-screen format. In something called Regiscope. I have no idea what that is. Maybe Mr. Philbin could help us out. As you can see on the poster to the left, the movie was based on a story by Willis O'Brien of King Kong fame. This movie is no King Kong, but it is the first movie to feature cowboys and dinosaurs (or a dinosaur), so there's that. There's also the key ingredient necessary to make any movie successful -- quicksand. Or a tar pit, but it's still quicksand to me.
The star is Guy Madison, who was just about always good in westerns and did make one in 3-D, The Charge at Feather River, in which the famous "Wilhelm scream" originated. Madison was also the star of TV's Wild Bill Hickok. Too bad they didn't get Jingles to be in The Beast from Hollow Mountain, too. They did get Patricia Medina, and that was a great decision. You can't go wrong with Patricia Medina.
Madison is in Mexico to start a cattle ranch, and the locals don't want him there. They think he should go back where he came from. He doesn't, even though there are mysterious doings. Something is eating the local ranchers' cattle. There's romance between Madison and Medina, who's already pledged to one of the locals. Naturally there's conflict, but it's mostly boring because we're all waiting for the beast to show up. It takes a long time. It's not a bad beast by '50s standards, though it's laughable by today's. And it's not a realistic dinosaur, not unless dinosaurs had really, really long tongues. Maybe they did. Anyway, the method by which Madison disposes of the beast is pretty clever.
I'm not exactly recommending this movie. It's a good example of how little it took to make us happy back in the old days, however, so it's worth a look for historical purposes.
Monday, December 29, 2014
‘It’s the holy grail of ship wrecks’
Fox17: MICHIGAN — Le Griffon, a well known ship that sunk in Lake Michigan during the 17th century, has been hiding at the depths of the lake for more than 300 years. Now, treasure hunters who believe they found it, said to have stumbled upon it by accident.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
The Star Telegram: A motorist who said he saw a man in another car beating a woman forced the man out of the car at gunpoint Friday and held him until officers arrived, Southlake police reported.
Forgotten Hits: December 29th
Forgotten Hits: December 29th Top hits on this date from various years.
Nostalgia Time
Judy and I met on December 29, 1960, on a blind date arranged by her friend Loibeth Black and my friend Fred Williams. On the left you can read what Judy wrote in our wedding book about that night. I remember exactly what she was wearing, and though she doesn't mention it, she also wore what was then called a mouton coat. Just about every girl had one of those back then. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were in a closet somewhere in this house. I don't know if she was impressed by me, but I was certainly impressed by her. She was a senior in high school, and I was a freshman in college. She was black-haired beauty. I was a short-haired, four-eyed geek. It didn't take me long to learn that she was also very smart, and if I didn't fall for her on that date, it wasn't long before I did. After a few dates I could tell that she liked me, too, for reasons I'll never understand.We always celebrated December 29 as an anniversary and gave each other a gift every year. This is the first time since 1960 that we won't be together on this date. I miss the old days.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
David Ryall. R. I. P.
BBC News: Actor David Ryall, known for playing Elphias Doge in the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows film, has died aged 79.
50 Great Pre-Fame Performances by Famous Actors
Flavorwire: 50 Great Pre-Fame Performances by Famous Actors
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