Outrage at Blanco: An Ellie Taine Thriller - Kindle edition by Bill Crider. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#6 in�Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime Fiction
#8 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Women Sleuths
#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Women Sleuths
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A Podcast of Interest to Geezers
Utterly Immortal Billboard Hits From 1965
The good stuff starts around 2:50 and lasts about 12 minutes.
The good stuff starts around 2:50 and lasts about 12 minutes.
Croc Update (Bubblegum Edition)
Maurizio Savini - Philadelphia Zoo: A jaw dropping 8-foot long crocodile made of chewing gum stretches the boundaries of repurposing. Chewing gum is a worldwide problem, costing businesses and taxpayers millions of dollars per year to clean up if not properly disposed. These sticky sculptures have been exhibited all over the world, including London, Edinburgh, Rome and Berlin, demonstrating a creative way to repurpose a material that cannot typically be recycled or composted.
Photo at the link.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Photo at the link.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Friday, April 17, 2015
FFB: Death on the Cheap: The Lost B Movies of Film Noir -- Arthur Lyons
This is a rerun from July 12, 2004. I thought that after more than 10 years, it might be time for another look at it.
Lately I've been browsing the capsule movie summaries in Arthur Lyons' book called Death on the Cheap: The Lost B Movies of Film Noir, and I find them highly entertaining.
But here's something that's really bothering me. It has nothing to do with the movies or the book itself. It's a sentence in the blurb from Robert Crais in the front of the book. Here it is: "Written with the sure hand of a gifted novelist, Arthur Lyons has opened an entertaining treasure chest that will have you racing to your local video rental joint." As a former English teacher, all I can say is, "Arrrgggghhhh!" And to think that Crais out-sells me about a million to one.
Since I'm far from a film noir geek, or even a film geek of any kind, I don't have too many nits to pick with Lyons himself. However (you knew there was going to be a "however," right?) there's this on page 122 in Lyons' comment on THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE (1946): "This film was a new kind of role for Linda Stirling, who up to this time had spend most of her time at Republic dressed in a leopard cat suit and beating up bad guys in THE TIGER WOMAN serials (sic). Tristram Coffin, in contrast, was right at home, having been a staple minor villain in many a Republic feature. In 1951, he finally got a taste of what it was to play a good guy when he starred as Commando Cody in LOST PLANET AIRMEN, Republic's feature release of its serial KING OF THE ROCKETMEN."
As I said, I'm no expert, but this wrong on so many levels.
As far as I know, for example, there was only one TIGER WOMAN serial (Lyons is right about the leopard costume, though. Why they didn't call her the Leopard Woman is a still-unanswered question.) She certainly hadn't spent all her time at Republic in that one serial, either. How can one forget her sparkling performance in another serial, ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP? (Alas, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Linda wielding the whip in several scenes, which sort of takes away the fun of it if you know what I mean, and I think you do.) Or THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES, for that matter?
And if Tristam Coffin played Commando Cody in the feature release of KING OF THE ROCKETMEN, wouldn't he have played good-guy Cody in the serial itself? (You'd think so.) But wait. Since the title of the serial is KING OF THE ROCKETMEN, wouldn't Coffin have played a guy named "King"? (Darned right. Jeff King.) And wasn't Commando Cody in a completely different serial? (Darned right: RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON. He was played by George Wallace [not the Governor of Alabama]. And by some other guy in COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE.)
Sort of makes a fella wonder about the rest of Lyons' commentary.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Archaeology Update
Egypt archaeologists find pharaoh chapel: Archaeologists excavating an ancient temple site in Cairo have discovered part of a chapel used by a pharaoh about 2,300 years ago, Egypt's antiquities ministry said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Criminal Genius of the Day
And once again Texas leads the way: Suspected Burglar Accidentally Shoots Self with Stolen Gun in Texarkana
Hat tip to John Duke.
Hat tip to John Duke.
Forgotten Hits: April 1979
Forgotten Hits: It's Time For Another Edition Of Our New Record Research Monthly Play List Feature: This month we venture back to 1979 ... when THESE 25 songs were the most popular tunes throughout the land ...
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Magnolia
Judy's sense of smell was pretty much destroyed by her years of chemo, but for some reason she could still enjoy the scent of magnolia blossoms. There's a huge magnolia tree in the front yard (it was tiny when we moved here, a scary thought), so from the first bloom in the spring until the last one in the summer, there was usually a blossom in a vase in our living room. When I went outside today, I saw the first new blooms on the tree, and now one of them is in the usual vase on the usual table. There it is on the left. I wish Judy were here to enjoy it with me, sentimental old guy that I am.
Milton Delugg, R. I. P.
NOLA.com: Milton Delugg, an accordionist and composer who conducted the "Tonight Show" band for a year when Johnny Carson was its host, died April 6 of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, The New York Times reported. He was 96.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Percy Sledge, R. I. P.
CNN.com: (CNN)Percy Sledge, the R&B belter whose biggest hit, "When a Man Loves a Woman," became a cornerstone of soul music, died Tuesday. He was 73.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Motivating Yourself To Write, No Matter What
Flavorwire: 20 Great Writers on Motivating Yourself To Write, No Matter What
Overlooked Movies -- Cellular
A couple of weeks ago, I repeated my review of Red Eye, and frequent commenter Dan mentioned Cellular. Since I'm seem to be on a Kim Basinger kick for these posts and since i reviewed Cellular way back in 2004, I thought I'd repeat that short review here, with a slight alteration.Vince Keenan and I don't agree on Sky Captain, but we do on Cellular. (Vince's review is here. You may have to scroll down to find it.) Judy and I went this afternoon (that is to say back in 2004), and we both enjoyed it. I must admit that you have to be willing to say to yourself, "It's only a movie" and not ask for logic and/or common sense, but after you do that, you should have a great time. Chris Evans is appealing in the lead, Kim Basinger is, well, Kim Basinger, and William H. Macy plays the cop who's about to retire a little bit differently from everyone else who's done it before him. Jason Statham makes an effective villain.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Bill Arhos, R. I. P.
Rolling Stone: Bill Arhos, the founder of the long-running PBS performance series Austin City Limits and the inspiration behind the Texas capital's now-annual music festival, passed away April 11th at the age of 80, the Austin City Limits site reports. A longtime executive at Austin's KLRU, Arhos helped create the Austin City Limits concept in 1974. That same year, the show's debut episode, featuring a performance by Willie Nelson, aired on the public television station.
GBH -- Ted Lewis
GBH is one of those books that I'd heard about for a long time but didn't think I'd get a chance to read. It was published in Britain in paperback and Internet prices were, to say the least, scary. There was no U. S. edition. Until now. Soho Press has put out a nice hardcover, and I've finally gotten to read it. The question is, does it live up to its reputation? The answer: Absolutely.It's the end of the '70s, and George Fowler is a wealthy man. He makes and distributes porn films. He also distributes the occasional snuff film, though he doesn't make them, which is surprising, given the kind of man he is, the kind who can (and does) torture and kill without giving it a second thought. He's living the good life until it appears that someone in his organization is ripping him off. Naturally he has to find out who it is. He uses very direct methods but doesn't get anywhere. He becomes more and more paranoid, and bad things happen. Very bad things. GBH stands for "grievous bodily harm," so you can't say you weren't warned.
The book is told in alternating sections, "The Sea" and "The Smoke." The Sea sections take place in the present and are narrated by Fowler in present tense. He's hiding out near a seaside town as a result of the bad things I mentioned and waiting for . . . something. He drinks heavily and grows more and more paranoid. The Smoke sections take place in the city, and Fowler narrates these in the past tense. Did I mention that bad things happen? These sections let you know what those things were. This is where I warn you that this is not a book for the faint of heart. It's also where I direct you to Otto Penzler's definition of noir fiction and films (which not everyone agrees with, although I do) because this novel is noir of the darkest hue. There's no one in it to admire or even like, and nothing uplifting or hopeful happens in the end. It's also a mystery novel, though not one with a lot of clues. You might be able to guess some things, but probably not all of them. And some mysteries are more than just the ordinary kind.
I found GBH compulsively readable, and it's a book I'm not likely to forget for a long time.
Galveston Island Tree Sculpture Tour
Readerbuzz: Galveston Island Tree Sculpture Tour: During Hurricane Ike in 2008, lots of old trees in Galveston were inundated with salt water or were uprooted and died. Artists have taken the dead trees and carved them into fabulous art.
Richard L. Bare, R. I. P.
Variety: Richard L. Bare, who wrote and directed hundreds of episodes of classic TV shows including “Green Acres” and “Twilight Zone,” died March 28 in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 101.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Günter Grass, R. I. P.
CNN.com: (CNN)Nobel literature laureate Günter Grass, best known for his novel "The Tin Drum," has died, his publisher said Monday. He was 87.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
What do American Pie's lyrics mean?
BBC News: When people ask Don McLean what does American Pie really mean, he likes to reply: "It means I never have to work again."
Sunday, April 12, 2015
A Monumental Day in the Fight Against Polio
Neatorama: Sixty years ago today, April 12, 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis of the University of Michigan made the announcement that a polio vaccine had been created. The nation immediately celebrated the life-changing news.
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
And keep off her lawn!
Woman, 87, arrested after allegedly biting flight attendant
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Woman, 87, arrested after allegedly biting flight attendant
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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