At the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
Soon We'll Have No Personal Freedoms Left
And, as usual, Texas leads the way.
Entertainment' sonograms at San Antonio flea market violated health and safety codes, state says
Entertainment' sonograms at San Antonio flea market violated health and safety codes, state says
FFB: Earth's Last Citadel -- C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner
A while back I linked to this "Vintage Treasures" post on about Earth's Last Citadel on Black Gate. After reading the post, I felt the need to read the book again, not having read it in a long, long time. The premise is goofy enough to entice anybody. In the midst of WWII (The Big One) an American agent is rescuing a famous Scottish scientist in North Africa. They're being pursued by a couple of Nazi agents, one of them a beautiful woman, when they find themselves transferred a billion years into the future, at just about the end of time on Earth. What's left of the human race is doomed unless the four time-travelers can save it.
There's a lot of the old sense-of-wonder pulpiness here, including an alien villain who's made of pure energy and who's a psychic vampire, an amazing city at the end of time, an underground civilization of primitive types, and more. There's purple prose. There's a stalwart hero. There's a lot of action. If you're looking for character development and subtlety, you're in the wrong place. It's all good, pulpy fun, though, if you're in the right mood for that kind of entertainment, and sometimes i am. It's also very short, which is another virtue I appreciate.
Here's a description that I found interesting. Mike is one of the Nazis, and here's how he looks at one point. "Mike's [clothing] had not been mended at all. He stood there straddle-legged, a figure of strong bronze, his blunt features restrained to an impassivity more revealing than any scowl." Is it just me, or does this remind anybody else of a famous pulp figure? Probably just me, and a coincidence to boot.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
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Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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Off the Grid
I'm going to be pretty much off the grid for the next week. Thanks to the magic of blogger, the regular features with continue, although I might have screwed up some of the times when I scheduled them, and there'll be some new stuff, too. However, I probably won't be responding to comments here or to e-mails. Things should return to what passes for normal here sometime around the 28th. Carry on without me as best you can.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Dime Crimes #34
Dime Crimes #34 is the title of a short noir movie from Ed Hellman and writer John Michael Wagner. A young woman who's a reader of comics and men's sweat mags (or maybe her live-in reads those) is reading a copy of Dime Crimes #34 when a man shows up at the door. He's there because he's going to share the apartment, and as you might expect, complications ensue pretty quickly. It's a very well done, entertaining, and suspenseful movie. I've put some links below. They'll let you know more about the movie, and there are a lot of stills from it, plus some nice artwork, one example of which I've put to the left. If you get a chance to see the movie, you certainly should. Meanwhile, "like" the Facebook page and watch the trailer to get yourself ready.website: www.dimecrimes34.com (with publicity stills)
facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelrebelproductions
trailer: https://vimeo.com/122945899
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Daily Mail Online: America's biggest ranch, which is larger than New York City, goes on sale for $713million in Texas
The Waggoner Ranch is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States spanning six counties in Northern Texas
The estate includes the 510,000-acre ranch with two main compounds, hundreds of homes and 20 cowboy camps
Also included are hundreds of quarter-horses, thousands of cattle, 1,200 oil wells and 30,000 acres of cultivated land
It reportedly falls within 'super asset class', akin to selling the 'Statue of Liberty' of cowboy culture, it has been said
The Waggoner Ranch is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States spanning six counties in Northern Texas
The estate includes the 510,000-acre ranch with two main compounds, hundreds of homes and 20 cowboy camps
Also included are hundreds of quarter-horses, thousands of cattle, 1,200 oil wells and 30,000 acres of cultivated land
It reportedly falls within 'super asset class', akin to selling the 'Statue of Liberty' of cowboy culture, it has been said
PaperBack
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Whit Harrison (Harry Whittington), Dear Deadly Past (Body and Passion), Phantom Classics (Australia)
Overlooked Movies: Mr. Brooks
A repeat from 11-5-2011. This movie seems even more obscure now than ever. Too bad.Here's another one of those movies that nobody seemed to like except me, but I liked it a lot.
Kevin Costner is Mr. Brooks, his town's Citizen of the Year. Little does everyone know that while his presents an outward facade of good will and friendliness, he harbors a dark side, a really dark side, represented my William Hurt as Marshall. Soon enough, the killings begin, and if you don't think Demi Moore can act, take a look at her performance as a cop in this one. Excellent work, but then Kostner and Hurt are just as good, and so is Dane Cook as a guy who would like to be Mr. Brooks. Not the good one. The other one.
Some great dialogue, some amusing moments, and an entertaining picture as a whole. It was clearly set up to be the first of a series, but like some other movies I've enjoyed, it didn't make enough money to interest anyone in a follow-up. Too bad, from my point of view.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Scribe Award Nominees for 2015
The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is pleased to announce the Scribe Award Nominees for 2015.
Acknowledging excellence in this very competitive field, IAMTW's Scribe Awards honor licensed works that tie in with other media such as television, movies, gaming, or comic books. They include original works set in established universes, and adaptations of stories that have appeared in other formats and cross all genres. Tie-in works run the gamut from westerns to mysteries to procedurals, from science fiction to fantasy to horror, from action and adventure to superheroes. Gunsmoke, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Star Trek, Star Wars, Shadowrun, Underworld, Man from UNCLE, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these represent just a few.
The Scribe Award winners will be announced at ComicCon San Diego in July. The exact day, time and location of the Scribes Panel including the award ceremony will be announced shortly.
IAMTW congratulates the following nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – GENERAL
24: Deadline by James Swallow
Murder She Wrote: Death of a Blue Blood by Don Bain
Mike Hammer: King of the Weeds by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Homeland: Saul’s Game by Andrew Kaplan
The Killing: Uncommon Denominator by Karen Dionne
BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – SPECULATIVE
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Grimm: Chopping Block by John Passarella
Star Trek: Disavowed by David Mack
Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox
Grimm: The Killing Time by Tim Waggoner
Pathfinder: The Redemption Engine by James Sutter
Fringe: Sins of the Father by Christa Faust
ADAPTED NOVEL – GENERAL AND SPECULATIVE
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by Alex Irvine
Noah by Mark Morris
War of the Worlds: Goliath by Adam Whitlach
YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES, ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED
Spirit Animals: Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident by Jennifer Brozak
Penguins of Madagascar by Tracey West
SHORT STORIES
Pathfinder: Hunter's Folly by Josh Vogt
Mike Hammer: It's in the Book by Max Collins and Mickey Spillane
Stargate: Perceptions by Diana Botsford
Pathfinder: Queen Sacrifice by Steven Savile
Tales of Valdemar: Written in the Wind by Jennifer Brozek
AUDIO
Dark Shadows: The Darkest Shadow by Nev Fountain
Dark Shadows: The Devil Cat by Mark Thomas Passmore
Blake’s 7: Fortuitis by George Mann
Doctor Who: Iterations of I by John Dorney
Pathfinder Legends: The Skinsaw Murders by Cavan Scott
Acknowledging excellence in this very competitive field, IAMTW's Scribe Awards honor licensed works that tie in with other media such as television, movies, gaming, or comic books. They include original works set in established universes, and adaptations of stories that have appeared in other formats and cross all genres. Tie-in works run the gamut from westerns to mysteries to procedurals, from science fiction to fantasy to horror, from action and adventure to superheroes. Gunsmoke, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Star Trek, Star Wars, Shadowrun, Underworld, Man from UNCLE, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these represent just a few.
The Scribe Award winners will be announced at ComicCon San Diego in July. The exact day, time and location of the Scribes Panel including the award ceremony will be announced shortly.
IAMTW congratulates the following nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – GENERAL
24: Deadline by James Swallow
Murder She Wrote: Death of a Blue Blood by Don Bain
Mike Hammer: King of the Weeds by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Homeland: Saul’s Game by Andrew Kaplan
The Killing: Uncommon Denominator by Karen Dionne
BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – SPECULATIVE
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Grimm: Chopping Block by John Passarella
Star Trek: Disavowed by David Mack
Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox
Grimm: The Killing Time by Tim Waggoner
Pathfinder: The Redemption Engine by James Sutter
Fringe: Sins of the Father by Christa Faust
ADAPTED NOVEL – GENERAL AND SPECULATIVE
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by Alex Irvine
Noah by Mark Morris
War of the Worlds: Goliath by Adam Whitlach
YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES, ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED
Spirit Animals: Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident by Jennifer Brozak
Penguins of Madagascar by Tracey West
SHORT STORIES
Pathfinder: Hunter's Folly by Josh Vogt
Mike Hammer: It's in the Book by Max Collins and Mickey Spillane
Stargate: Perceptions by Diana Botsford
Pathfinder: Queen Sacrifice by Steven Savile
Tales of Valdemar: Written in the Wind by Jennifer Brozek
AUDIO
Dark Shadows: The Darkest Shadow by Nev Fountain
Dark Shadows: The Devil Cat by Mark Thomas Passmore
Blake’s 7: Fortuitis by George Mann
Doctor Who: Iterations of I by John Dorney
Pathfinder Legends: The Skinsaw Murders by Cavan Scott
That Guitar in Fury Road Is Nothing Compared to This
And of course Texas leads the way.
UT Student Invents A Trombone That Shoots Frickin' Flames
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
UT Student Invents A Trombone That Shoots Frickin' Flames
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
Metro News: Traffic warden attacks pedestrian with hammer because ‘she crossed road when the light was red’
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Mad Max: Fury Road
Elisabeth Bing, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Elisabeth Bing, who helped lead a natural childbirth movement that revolutionized how babies were born in the United States, died on Friday at her home in Manhattan. She was 100.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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