Saturday, January 17, 2015
Only 99 Cents for a Limited Time!
Shooter's Cross (Rancho Diablo Book 1) - Kindle edition by Colby Jackson, Bill Crider, James Reasoner, Mel Odom. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: CURSED LAND Army Scout Sam Blaylock rode into the small Texas town of Shooter's Cross looking for deserters, not trouble.
While up in the mountains, he discovered a wilderness plagued by nature and haunted by superstition, but one that he thought he could tame with his experience and strong back.
He didn't know he was going to have to kill to keep the home he planned for his family, but he didn't let that stop him. Sam had been looking for a home for his family for years. That search had been interrupted by the Civil War.
Now Sam is putting down roots, and not even the Devil himself can stand in the way.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Gator Update (Last Meal Edition)
Daily Mail Online: Ringleader of 1993 home invasion that left banker dead is executed in Florida after last meal of fried alligator tail
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
The Case of the Vanishing Private Eyes
The Case of the Vanishing Private Eyes: How 19th-century America's biggest, most dogged detective agency went on to get unceremoniously acquired 100 years later by a Swedish conglomerate
FFB: A Century of Fantasy: 1980-1989 The Greatest Stories of the Decade -- Robert Silverberg, Editor
1 • Introduction (A Century of Fantasy 1980-1989) • (1996) • essay by Robert Silverberg
4 • The George Business • (1980) • shortstory by Roger Zelazny
13 • Lindsay and the Red City Blues • (1980) • shortstory by Joe Haldeman
29 • A Pattern of Silver Strings • [Cerin Songweaver] • (1981) • novelette by Charles de Lint
51 • The Quickening • (1981) • novelette by Michael Bishop
80 • Remembering Melody • (1981) • shortstory by George R. R. Martin
98 • The Unicorn Masque • (1981) • novelette by Ellen Kushner
122 • Instant With Loud Voices • (1982) • shortstory by Alan Dean Foster
133 • Not Our Brother • (1982) • novelette by Robert Silverberg
154 • Beyond the Dead Reef • [Quintana Roo] • (1983) • shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr.
172 • Wong's Lost and Found Emporium • (1996) • shortstory by William F. Wu [as by William Wu ]
186 • Laugh Track • (1984) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison
207 • Dead Run • (1985) • shortstory by Greg Bear
233 • The Boy Who Plaited Manes • (1986) • shortstory by Nancy Springer
247 • Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight • (1987) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
276 • The Dowry of the Rag Picker's Daughter • (1988) • novelette by Andre Norton
294 • The Edge of the World • (1989) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick
310 • Lost Boys • (1989) • shortstory by Orson Scott Card
329 • The Wishing Game • (1989) • shortstory by Larry Niven
So are these really the best of the decade? I'm not going to argue with Robert Silverberg, and many of these received nominations for major awards (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy Award). Some of them won. I'd read some of them before, but those were all worth a second look. "Dead Run" was an episode of the "new" Twilight Zone in the '80s, so maybe some of you saw it there.
There are several types of fantasy represented in the book. Some stories begin in a recognizable world, though the setting might be strange and unfamiliar, and the fantastic element comes in only at or near the end. Some of them are science fantasy, or at least that's what I'd call them. A couple of them are horror stories by my definition. And some of them are just out-and-out fantasies. Those are the ones I preferred.
One thing I didn't like was that the original appearances of the stories weren't noted anywhere. I like to know where a story was published, but you don't learn that in this book. Maybe I'm the only one who cares about that kind of thing.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Kim Fowley. R. I. P.
Flavorwire: Billboard is reporting that Kim Fowley, the legendary record industry impresario and producer who helped put together the Runaways, has died at age 75 after a long battle with bladder cancer.
Paris Hilton Update
Paris Hilton joined by sister Nicky on move-in day in New York City: Welcome to the neighborhood! Paris Hilton is joined by sister Nicky on move-in day at her new $3.9m loft in New York City
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Or She's Just a Party Animal
Kurt Busch testifies ex-girlfriend is trained assassin: Once, he said, they were in El Paso, Texas, where Driscoll had left that night in camouflage and boots. She returned later to the hotel at which he was staying wearing a trench coat. Under it she was wearing an evening gown splattered with blood and other matter, Busch testified.
Here's the Plot for Your Next Prison Break Comedy
Search for inmate escapee leads to alleged smuggling operation run by exotic dancers: "Prison is supposed to be tough," Nocco said. "He was allowing it to be basically a party out there." Nocco described a work detail that was more play than work, including conjugal visits and beer drinking in the woods.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
iHorror: Horror fans are about to give a huge thank you to Roy Rose! Last summer, he became the owner of the Gulf Oil/BBQ joint in the original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He is turning the property into a horror themed restaurant; music venue, stores and you guessed it…overnight cabins.
Yet Another Reason to Dislike DST
Mirror Online: The bug caused smartphone alarm clocks in Queensland to reset to daylight saving time, meaning their morning commute came around a little earlier than expected.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Louie Leads the Way!
Your Houston News: News: Congressman Louie Gohmert was recognized as the “Deep East Texas Legislator of the Year 2015.” The award is given biannually to a legislator that has shown outstanding efforts on behalf of the people of Deep East Texas.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
I Want to Believe!
Fox News: Reston, Va.-based Parabon Nanolabs, with funding from the Department of Defense, has debuted a breakthrough type of analysis called DNA phenotyping which the company says can predict a person's physical appearance from the tiniest DNA samples, like a speck of blood or strand of hair.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Mirror Online: A man furious when a bus stopped a few metres away from his stop tried to blow himself and the driver up with an antique hand grenade.
Robert Kinoshita. R. I. P.
Boing Boing: TV and film art director Robert Kinoshita, best known for creating the "Lost in Space" robot that yelled "Danger, Will Robinson!" on the sixties TV show, has died. In the video below shot on his 95th birthday, he says he hopes to live to 100. He did.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Everything's a Trilogy
Idris Elba Developing Thriller ‘Poe Must Die’ as Trilogy
I read the book in 1978 and have only vague memories of it. I know I liked it, and I'm sure I have a copy around here somewhere. Time to read it again.
I read the book in 1978 and have only vague memories of it. I know I liked it, and I'm sure I have a copy around here somewhere. Time to read it again.
Ouch!
Mirror Online: However, Feng is then reported to have sneaked back into her husband's hospital room and cut off his penis for a second time, this time throwing it out of a window.
The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes – Hard Boiled Holmes
Hard Boiled Holmes: But I believe that I make a more compelling argument than you thought possible at first glance. The roots of the American hard boiled school can be seen in Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian Era. Yes, really.
Overlooked Movies: The Owl and the Pussycat
In talking about What's Up, Doc?, last week's entry in this series, I mentioned somewhere or other that while I wasn't a Streisand fan, there was another movie that I liked her in. That would be The Owl and the Pussycat. Streisand plays a character not unlike the one she plays in What's Up, Doc?, and this time George Segal is excellent as the uptight guy who needs to become a bit livelier, not unlike Ryan O'Neal. Segal is Felix, an aspiring writer who has nothing but rejection slips to show for his attempts to get published. Streisand is Doris, an ill-educated aspiring actress (no more successful than Felix), TV addict, and part-time hooker. They live in the same apartment building, and when Felix complains about the noise from her apartment, she comes to his place and lets him have it. She's loud, foul-mouthed, and obnoxious, and they get into a shouting match that results in Felix being evicted, too. Naturally they had to team up and share an apartment. Naturally, even though Streisand remains (mostly) loud, foul-mouthed, and obnoxious and Felix remains Felix, they're going to fall for each other. It just takes a while.
Buck Henry wrote the script (it's based on a play), and I laughed all the way through. In its own way, this movie is as funny to me as What's Up, Doc? I'm probably in a minority here, as I often am. That's okay. To me, this remains a very funny movie.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Get a Rope
Easter ruined? Creme Egg recipe redo has chocolate lovers hopping mad: Kraft Foods-- which now owns chocolate maker Cadbury -- has stunned consumers by no longer using Cadbury’s Dairy Milk in the recipe for its Creme Eggs. And, there's more: the company also is reducing a package from six eggs to five, without reducing the price. U.S. giant Kraft Foods bought Cadbury in 2010 and its global snacks business under the name of Mondelez International.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Hat tip to Art Scott.
Bryan Woolley, R. I. P.
Dallas Morning News: Bryan Woolley, the Texas-roving journalist and respected novelist, died Friday night in Dallas. He was 77.
Here's the Plot for Your Next Bank Robbery Comedy
Former MIT professor ‘robs bank,’ films ‘heist’: “It’s not a crime; it’s artwork… He’s an intellectual,” Sherrard gushed.
Judith Merril on John D. MacDonald
The Trap of Solid Gold: Judith Merril on JDM: [Merril] was politically active all of her adult life, first as a Zionist, then a Marxist, finally as a Trotskyist. And she loved the works of John D MacDonald.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Blood Feud (Fight Card) - Kindle edition by Jack Tunney, Tim Tresslar, Paul Bishop, David Foster. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.: Dubai, 2015…David Garrett never could walk away from a fight. Even when a covert mission to nab a terrorist went wrong, leaving fellow CIA agents dead and Garrett holding the bag, he had to be forced to stand down.
Angry and disillusioned, he returned to his native Chicago where he engaged in off-the-books bouts for money, settled scores and made new enemies. Still, the unfinished business eats at him. Then Melissa, his former lover and fellow CIA agent, surfaces. She tells him one of the men responsible for the debacle in Iraq has surfaced. Like Garrett, the man is a fighter and on the card for an exhibition bout in Dubai. Would Garrett come back for one last mission? Garrett never could walk away from a fight. Even one that could kill him…
The Art of Making People Go Away
Collectors Weekly: You probably don’t think much about “Do Not Disturb” signs at hotels, unless the maid rudely barges in as you sleep. Then you think, “Hey, didn’t you see the door hanger? What happened to that?” But when you look through Edoardo Flores’ collection of just over 8,700 Do Not Disturb signs from 190 countries around the world—which he documents on Flickr—you’ll find they can be quite beautiful and revelatory. So-called “DND signs” tell you�a lot about the character and mores of the places you find them.
Terry Becker, R. I. P.
The Hollywood Reporter: Terry Becker, who starred on TV’s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and played a condemned man in a memorable episode of The Twilight Zone, has died. He was 93.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Taylor Negron, R. I. P.
Deadline: Sources are confirming that comedian Taylor Negron has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 57. Chuck Negron, Taylor’s cousin, of the ’70s band Three Dog Night, released an online video with the sad news today saying, “I want to inform you that my cousin Taylor Negron just passed away. His mother, his brother Alex and my brother Rene and his wife Julie were all there with him. May he rest in peace.”
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Hat tip to Toby O'Brien.
Robert Stone, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Robert Stone, the naturalist author whose satirical epics explored the underside of American life, died on Saturday at his winter home in Key West, Fla. He was 77.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Anita Ekberg, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: MILAN - Anita Ekberg, the Swedish-born actress and sex-symbol of the 1950s and '60s who was immortalized bathing in the Trevi fountain in "La Dolce Vita," has died. She was 83.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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