Saturday, March 28, 2015
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
Charlotte, NC: Woman attempts to hit man with car over cinnamon bun argument
I Want to Believe!
Metro News: A veteran NASA employee says he saw a nine-foot-tall alien hitch a ride on the space shuttle – and watched the creature have a quiet chat with astronauts when it thought no one was looking.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sally Forrest, R. I. P.
Daily Mail Online: Sally Forrest, an actress-dancer who graced the silver screen throughout the '40s and '50s in MGM musicals and films such as the 1956 noir While the City Sleeps died on March 15 at her home in Beverly Hills, California.
FFB: The Year's Best Science Fiction Fifth Annual Collection -- Gardner Dozois, Editor
The Dozois anthologies are massive, probably 200,000 to 250,000 words, and I pick them up when I see them at Half-Price Books for a buck or two. I figure I'm sure to find something worthwhile in that many words. This doorstop contains stories from 1987, and here's what I've read so far:"Perpetuity Blues" by Neal Barrett, Jr., is one of two Barrett stories in the volume. Like a lot of his work, it's hard to describe. It involves time travel, family, and a young woman who wants to write plays. It's also hilarious.
"Diner" is the other Barrett story. Not as funny, but it has its moments. Set in Galveston after the U.S. has lost a war to China. Things are not going well for the survivors under the new rulers.
"Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Ursula K. LeGuin was also in another FFB I mentioned recently. A well-known story (Hugo and World Fantasy Award winner) about a girl who winds up among talking animals, including Coyote, and is surrounded by earth magic but who eventually returns to civilization. (Does growing up mean you can't see the magic anymore?)
"The Pardoner's Tale" by Robert Silverberg is old-fashioned SF in the best sense of the word. The earth has been invaded and humans are enslaved. A few hackers can take advantage of the system and remain free. They can also "pardon" others. Getting caught means big trouble, however.
"Night of the Cooters" by Howard Waldrop is another well-known story. It's about what happens to some of H. G. Wells' Martian invaders who get lost and land in West Texas. You think the Martians stand a chance? No way.
"The Faithful Companion at Forty" by Karen Joy Fowler is funny story about a certain faithful companion and the masked man he worked with.
"For Thus Do I Remember Carthage" by Michael Bishop is set in an alternative world where St. Augustine's long-lost son returns to him from China and tells him of all kinds of magic and wonders, many of which are modern inventions that didn't exist in our world at that time. The dying Augustine doesn't like these ideas or wish to accept them. I'm not sure I got the point of this story.
"Dinosaurs" by Walter Jon Williams is set six million years in the future. Humanity has evolved into a kind of creature that's very different physically from us. It's also pretty much conquered the universe. A human diplomat is trying to explain that resistance is futile to a race of dog-like creatures. The satire is hard to miss, but most of it is amusing.
There are plenty of other stories here, and maybe I'll get around to some of them eventually.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
John Renbourn, R. I. P.
Billboard: British folk guitarist John Renbourn, a founding member of Pentangle whose solo career stretched for more than 50 years, was found dead at his home in Hawick, Scotland, on March 25. He was 70.
2015 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Rolling Stone: Harmony was a key element of the 2015 Country Music Hall of Fame induction press conference Wednesday morning. Special guests and invited media were on hand when emcee and fellow Hall of Fame member Brenda Lee announced gospel, country and pop crossover quartet the Oak Ridge Boys, family act Jim Ed Brown and the Browns, and innovative guitarist Grady Martin as the newest members of the Hall of Fame.
Criminal Genius of the Day
Maine police track suspect through social media messages: While they were searching with permission of the resident, they were tipped off that Wallace had posted a new Snapchat message saying police were in the house looking for him and he was hiding in a cabinet. He was found in the cabinet.
He's the lead story here, too, but there are other stories of a similar nature to enjoy.
He's the lead story here, too, but there are other stories of a similar nature to enjoy.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Artists Added to National Recording Registry
The Doors, Ben E. King, Righteous Brothers & More Added to National Recording Registry: Classic recordings by The Doors, Ben E. King, The Righteous Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone and Joan Baez are among the latest additions to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
Boing Boing: The Grand Rapids, Michigan jury deciding her case took just one hour to conclude that Torres was guilty of charges resulting from her shooting into a McDonald's after employees there failed--two times--to put bacon on her burger as requested.
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Tuesday, March 24, 2015
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
PennLive.com: It started as an incident involving oil and satellite dishes, then a man took his pants off and tried to bite a state trooper, according state police in Lykens.
Who Says TV Is Out of Ideas?
BuzzFeed News: More than a decade after going off the air, Fox has ordered another chapter of the Emmy-winning show, The X-Files. The new six-episode event series, which was announced on Tuesday, will be created and produced by Chris Carter, who also created the original series. It will also see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising their roles as FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively. Production is set to begin this summer with an air date yet to be announced.
Jørgen Ingmann, R. I. P.
News | Eurovision Song Contest: Copenhagen, Denmark - Guitarist Jørgen Ingmann passed away yesterday, the 21st of March 2015, at the age of 89. He will be most remembered in the Eurovision family for having won the Song Contest on behalf of Denmark in 1963 alongside his wife back then, Grethe, and the song "Dansevise."
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished in Norway
The Local: A man in Norway faces jail after cutting off his own hair and beard and then gluing it to another man’s head in an apparent attempt to create a toupee.
La-la-la-la. I can't hear you
Your stuff can kill you: How hoarding creates death traps: There is no material difference between you and a clinically diagnosed hoarder, you see. It is a difference of degree.
I Miss the Old Days
The most amazing week of the 1960s: Bob Dylan, MLK, the pill, Vietnam, and more.: You could argue that the 1960s as we know them started during one single week—an eight-day week, befitting the Beatles song that topped the charts—exactly 50 years ago.
Alberta Watson, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Alberta Watson, a Canadian actress who carved a niche below the 49th parallel with major roles in "24" and the "La Femme Nikita" TV series, passed away Sunday at a Toronto hospice.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Overlooked Movies: Blind Date
Here we go again, another movie the critics hated but one that made me and Judy laugh a lot when we saw it in the theater the day it opened. I still smile when I think about Basinger tearing off shirt and coat pockets. Hard to believe I saw this movie almost 30 years ago. Did I mention that I miss the old days?The story is pretty goofy. Kim Basinger, a real beauty, seems to be a calm, soft-spoken woman, but when she drinks she becomes a crazed hellcat. Phil Hartman, who plays Willis' brother, sets Willis up with Basinger on a blind date. The date doesn't go well, since Basinger drinks. Even worse, her ex, played by John Larrouquette, shows up. He's crazier than she is, and he's intent on destroying any relationship she develops. Murder doesn't seem to be out of the question for him. He's great, but so is everybody in the cast. Aces all the way.
Naturally everybody in the audience knows that Kim and Bruce are made for each other, even if he does wind up in jail because she drives him almost literally insane.
Maybe you agree with the critics on this one, but I still think it's mostly hilarious.
Monday, March 23, 2015
eBay Bargain of the Day
These guys seem to have a nice supply of this book, as they offer it fairly often. If you don't have a copy, it's definitely worth the dough.
Hunter and Hunted The Ed and Am Hunter Novels by Fredric Brown 2002 0971818517 | eBay
Hunter and Hunted The Ed and Am Hunter Novels by Fredric Brown 2002 0971818517 | eBay
Richard III Update
Huge crowds salute coffin of English ‘car park king’ Richard III: Tens of thousands lined the streets on Sunday to see the coffin of England’s Richard III taken in procession to his final burial, five centuries after his battlefield death.
Gregory Walcott, R. I. P.
Gregory Walcott, Reluctant Star of 'Plan 9 From Outer Space,' Dies at 87: Gregory Walcott, an admired actor who appeared in such memorable films as Mister Roberts,The Eiger Sanction, Norma Rae and, unfortunately for him, Ed Wood’s lamentable Plan 9 From Outer Space, has died. He was 87.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
They're not so nice in Niceville. Cue Little Willie John's "Talk to Me."
Northwest Florida Daily News: NICEVILLE - A 40-year-old woman allegedly went after another woman with a baseball bat after breaking in the victim’s bedroom door in an effort to “talk.”
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Northwest Florida Daily News: NICEVILLE - A 40-year-old woman allegedly went after another woman with a baseball bat after breaking in the victim’s bedroom door in an effort to “talk.”
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Chuck Bednarik, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Chuck Bednarik, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Hall of Fame center and linebacker, one of the last N.F.L. players to commonly play on both offense and defense and a legendary football tough guy, died Saturday in Richland, Pa. He was 89.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Houston Press: The Fort Bend Sheriff's Office just sent a press release to news outlets all over Texas that revealed the credit card, checking account, Social Security, and driver's license numbers of hundreds of people. You see, the email contained a photo of these items that were kept in a lost and found room at the Santikos Palladium theaters in Richmond.
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