Saturday, November 21, 2015
Rex Reason, R. I. P.
Examiner.com: Rex Reason, the leading man in such films as “This Island Earth” and “The Creature Walks Among Us” has died according to his official Facebook page. He was 86.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Amazon.com: The Boss of Hampton Beach (9780985861711): Jed Power: Books Cocaine. Dan Marlowe is doing his damnedest to stay away from the stuff. It’s already cost him his family and his business, The High Tide Restaurant & Saloon. Now a bartender at the Tide, Dan’s life is slowly stabilizing. That is until a boat with two dead bodies on board is found wrecked on the jetty at Hampton Beach. The hunt for its missing cargo, 200 pounds of cocaine, is on. Dan is forced into the search and realizes that the drug that stole everything short of his life might be the one thing that can give it all back. He’s not the only one seeking the fortune in white powder. Others, on both sides of the law, are after it too, including a Boston mob boss and his right-hand man; a New Hampshire seacoast drug dealer/informer, his smokin’ hot girlfriend, and his dim-witted muscle; a crooked D.E.A. agent and his junkie sidekick; two New Hampshire State policemen; and an Irish handyman. It’s a violent, back-stabbing race to the end of the rainbow. May the best man win.
Here's Looking at You, Kid
MNN - Mother Nature Network: If you’ve ever felt like someone was watching you, you may have attributed that awareness to a sense of unease or a prickling on the back of your neck. But there’s nothing psychic about it; your brain was simply picking up on cues. In fact, your brain is wired to inform you that someone is looking at you — even when they’re not.
Jim Perry, R. I. P.
Hollywood Reporter: Jim Perry, who hosted the popular NBC game shows Card Sharks and Sale of the Century in the 1970s and ’80s, has died. He was 82.
Edwardian First Editions
Edwardian First Editions: The Edwardian era began with Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 and stretched until 1910 when Edward VII died. A mere nine years hardly constitutes anything worthwhile but it was a period of immense change and memorable literature.
First editions from this era are plentiful and easy to find. First editions, complete with dust jackets, from this era are scarce and more expensive.
I Found a Penny in the Walmart Parking Lot Last Week
SWI swissinfo.ch: A Swiss farmer has unearthed 4,000 bronze coins from the Roman period – one of the largest hoards ever excavated in Switzerland. Archaeologists say they date back to AD 295.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Henri Arnold, R. I. P.
HeraldTribune.com: A cartoonist who hated puzzles only to illustrate for one of the most successful syndicated daily strips in America died Tuesday in Sarasota at age 97.
Henri Arnold, who enjoyed a 48-year run with "Jumble: That Scrambled Word Game," was lauded online by Tribune Content Agency as "its greatest contributor," along with a farewell he wouldn't have bothered to solve: "ESTR NI EACEP, HENRI."
Henri Arnold, who enjoyed a 48-year run with "Jumble: That Scrambled Word Game," was lauded online by Tribune Content Agency as "its greatest contributor," along with a farewell he wouldn't have bothered to solve: "ESTR NI EACEP, HENRI."
Where It Hurts -- Reed Farrel Coleman
Gus Murphy is the narrator of Reed Farrel Coleman's new novel, and his life is a mess. The sudden and unexpected death of Murphy's son has led to a divorce and his retirement from the police force. He's lost his religious faith and his faith in life. His daughter is "troubled." He spends his time as a van driver and house detective for a Suffolk County hotel. When Tommy Delcamino comes to Murphy to ask him to look into the death of his own son, Murphy's not interested. Delcamino's a local lowlife who says that Murphy is the only cop who ever treated him decently. He says the cops won't investigate his son's death because his son wasn't much better than he is. Not long afterward, just as Murphy has decided to apologize to Delcamino for brushing him off, Delcamino is murdered. This murder is a mistake, as it energizes Murphy, who begins an investigation. All his old friends on the force start warning him off. If you've read any crime novels, you know that something like that just makes investigators more determined to get to the truth.
Murphy does find the truth, and it's an ugly one. The case takes on implications way beyond the deaths of two small-time criminals, and it has its roots far back in the past. Gus Murphy is a complicated character, torn by doubt and self pity, sunk in depression so deep that it doesn't seem likely he'll pull out. But he does, at least part of the way, and it's obvious that he'll be taking on other cases in the future. This is good news because Where It Hurts also has some interesting secondary characters, particularly Slava, another hotel employee, whose mysterious past is never revealed. Slava has talents that prove very useful to Murphy.
If you've read any of Coleman's Moe Prager novels or other books, you know he's an expert storyteller and stylist. Where It Hurts shows off those strengths, and it's a fine start for a new series. It hits the stands in January, so be watching for it.
Mal Whitfield, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Mal Whitfield, a sleek middle-distance runner who won three Olympic gold medals for the United States, at one point as a Tuskegee Airman, and later became an American good-will ambassador promoting athletics abroad, died on Thursday in Washington. He was 91.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
A Brief But Complete History of Sherlock Holmes
Flavorwire: A Brief But Complete History of Sherlock Holmes
FFB: Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver -- Jack Douglas
This post originally appeared in November 2004. It's been somewhat revised for this posting.When my bookshelves collapsed the other day, I found my copies of three books by Jack Douglas that I'd been looking for. I discovered Douglas's books back in 1959 or 1960, and at the time I thought they were hilarious. So last night I decided to see if they were still funny after 45 years or so and picked up Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver. The title is either funny or sage advice. Or both. (The other two books I located are My Brother Was an Only Child and The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf.)
The cover has a pretty good likeness of Douglas on it. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show back when Jack Parr was the host, so I remember what he looked like. And the book is just as strange as I remembered. It's very short, only 116 pages, and some of the pages have very little written on them. Chapter 42, for example, is nothing more than a sign that says, "This is your Submarine. Keep It Tidy." And in fact, chapter might be the wrong word, as it implies some kind of continuity. There's no continuity in the book. Each "chapter" is a separate entity containing things like notes, playbills, diary entries, reminiscences, one-liners, and so on. My favorite chapter begins with another sign: "Kick the Happiness Habit -- Become a Writer."
So does the book still make me laugh? Sure, in places. It's not as funny to me as it was long ago, however, which is a shame. I figure the book hasn't changed. So it must be me.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Michael Gross, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Michael C. Gross, a graphic designer and film producer who created the logo for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters” and a series of unforgettable parody covers for National Lampoon magazine, where he was an art director in the early 1970s, died on Monday at his home in Oceanside, Calif. He was 70.
Art Fitzpatrick, R. I. P.
Autoweek: Art Fitzpatrick, one half of the team that created some of the most eye-catching advertising artwork for General Motors from 1959 to 1971, passed away this week in Carlsbad, Calif., at age 96.
Behind Those Awful Album Covers
Behind Those Awful Album Covers: Lists of the worst album covers ever have been around forever, but often it's the images that spread—not the stories behind the albums. Let's fix that.
Stephen Birmingham, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Stephen Birmingham, the prolific novelist, purveyor of popular sociology and raconteur of the rich and famous in best-selling books like “‘Our Crowd’: The Great Jewish Families of New York” and “The Right People: A Portrait of the American Social Establishment,” died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. He was 86.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Gator Update (Golf Edition)
Houston Chronicle: On Wednesday, Houston's most popular gator wranglers were summoned to the River Pointe Golf Club in nearby Richmond to snare Chubbs, a 12-foot, 600-pound gator that was recently hanging out on one of the greens at that golf course.
Hat tip to Art Scott. Excellent slideshow at the link.
Hat tip to Art Scott. Excellent slideshow at the link.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
www.actionnewsjax.com: Woman says man attacked her with pillow inside a St. Augustine Walmart
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
Man assaulted girlfriend for refusing to smell his armpit
Hatto at link for those wn.
Helpful armpit photo at link for those who might not know what one looks like.
Hatto at link for those wn.
Helpful armpit photo at link for those who might not know what one looks like.
Fate of the Union -- Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens
Fate of the Union is the sequel to Collins and Clemens' bestselling Supreme Justice, in which FBI agent Patti Rogers and security consultant Joe Reeder went after a killer who was targeting Supreme Court justices. In this one, Rogers is working on a case involving what appears to be a serial killer, while Reeder is looking into the supposed suicide (but suspected murder) of an old friend. I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that the cases turn out to be related. And also that they turn out to involve politics. Considering the title and the cover, you'd be expecting that.This series is set in the near future, 2020, so things are a little different from our own time. The surveillance state is in full swing, for one thing, and hackers are even better at what they're doing than they are now. That doesn't always make it easier to find someone, but it does make it a lot easier (for both sides) to get certain kinds of information. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean you can get that information instantaneously, so finding and catching the bad guys still involves footwork, fisticuffs, and firearms. Not to mention a really big explosion.
There's some interesting character development along with the main plot, and all I'll mention is that it concerns Rogers and an intriguing person she meets in the course of the investigation. It will be fun to see how things work out, and in addition to that relationship, there's a loose end or two that seems to point to a direct sequel before too long.
Collins and Clemens know what they're doing when it comes to this kind of thriller. You get suspense, forensics, computer hacking, fast action, the whole package. And the whole package is a real page-turner. The book's 300 pages fly right by. Check it out and see for yourself.
Croc Update ("Just Say 'No'" Edition)
Joss Stone painted as a crocodile for new advert as she urges you to say NO to exotic skins
Possibly NSFW, depending on your workplace's view of naked crocs.
Possibly NSFW, depending on your workplace's view of naked crocs.
“Dem Bones, Dem Bones . . .” (by Marilyn Todd)
“Dem Bones, Dem Bones . . .” (by Marilyn Todd) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: Marilyn Todd is the author of sixteen historical novels and dozens of short stories, many of the latter for EQMM. Two recent collections of her tales are worth mentioning. Swords, Sandals and Sirens (Crippen and Landru Publishers) gathers, in print, primarily stories from her Ancient Roman series starring wine merchant Claudia Seferius. Untreed Reads will be bringing out a separate e-collection of the British author’s historical stories (title yet to be determined) in the spring of 2016. Marilyn’s fiction is often filled with the romance of adventure. But come to that, so is her life. She and her husband travel extensively, and they could hardly have chosen a more romantic place to call home—as you’ll see in this post. —Janet Hutchings
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Overlooked Movies: The Adventures of Don Juan
A repeat from 4/14/07Errol Flynn was a notorious Don Juan, so it must have seemed only natural to cast him in that role. I’m glad someone decided to do it because this movie’s right up there with The Adventures of Robin Hood. Not quite as good, but certainly close enough, filmed in glorious Technicolor, with great costumes and a fine cast, including Alan Hale as the sidekick, Viveca Lindfors as the queen of Spain, Robert Douglas as a villainous duke, Jerry Austin as the King’s dwarf, and Raymond Burr (one of his early roles) as a minor villain.
Flynn plays the lead with a panache unmatched in swashbucklers of the era (I’m a fan of both Stewart Granger and Burt Lancaster’s work as well), and though he was already looking somewhat too old for the part at 38, if any man was born to play Don Juan, it must have been Flynn. It’s not hard to imagine that Flynn used some of Juan’s lines for his own conquests. Flynn can deliver those lines and make them believable, and he can be quite witty when the occasion calls for it. He might not have been a great dramatic actor, but in this kind of role he excelled.
There’s a lot of humor throughout the film, but for my money the opening scene is the best. The bit with the grouse is hilarious. And the action scenes are clear and easy to follow. None of that MTV quick-cutting that (for me) ruins so many current action thrillers. The fencing is athletic and exciting, especially the climactic duel on a wonderful staircase. There’s a leap that only one man in Hollywood could have done, or so the commentary track tells us. They called in Jock Mahoney, and he pulled it off.
I have a powerful personal connection to The Adventures of Don Juan. When I was seven or eight years old, I visited my aunt in San Antonio, Texas. She took me to the drive-in to see this movie. Even at that age, I was under the spell of the movies, and San Antonio holds some wonderful memories for me. On other trips, my aunt took me to the Aztec Theater and to the Josephine (where we saw Kon Tiki). But I digress. When we went to see The Adventures of Don Juan, I had a fever, a fact I concealed from my aunt. She found out, however, and we left right after the opening scene, which was burned into my memory. I’ve never forgotten it, and I was thrilled when I finally got to see the rest of the movie years later. I was thrilled again by this newly remastered version on DVD. Check it out.
Update. Harry Whittington scholar David Laurence Wilson has provided the following information:
Yes, that absolutely was Jock Mahoney doubling for Flynn.
Mahoney didn't spend much time at the trade, moving on to
acting, but he was well respected by the pros. At the
time the studio was having trouble finding someone to
make the jump. Production was held up for three days.
Flynn's regular doubles, Don Turner and Saul Gorss,
weren't up to the jump and Mahoney, who had set records
as a long jumper, was suggested. He was working at
Columbia, where he'd been doubling and playing parts
on the Durango Kid series. He was allowed over to Warner
Brothers during his lunch hour.
It was a great stunt, a featured stunt, but the hardest
part, according to stuntman Paul Baxley, was to be the
man on the bottom. Baxley saw the stunt close up ..
he was doubling the villain, Robert Douglas.
"I'd watch these guys come in and try it and I'd wince,"
Baxley recalled. "I wasn't going to let them dive on me.
They might have killed me.
"It wasn't dangerous but it was really a very spectacular
physical feat," Baxley said. "Most guys would try to do
a jump like that upright. Jock realized that he had to go
head first, in a dive to keep his feet up. When he hit me
I didn't even feel it. He was like a bird, he was that
good. The funny part is that I made more money on it
than he did. He said he'd do it for $350. I said, 'I
don't care what he gets, I want $50O. Get somebody
else if you don't want me!"
Monday, November 16, 2015
P.F. Sloan, R. I. P.
Rolling Stone: P.F. Sloan, the songwriting great behind classic singles like Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" and Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man," passed away Monday night after a short bout with pancreatic cancer, the musician's representative confirmed to Rolling Stone. Sloan, who was born Philip Schlein, was 70.
Hat tip to Deb.
Hat tip to Deb.
Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year Is an Emoji
Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year Is an Emoji: The selection for Oxford Dictionaries word of the year is meant to reflect the current cultural landscape and what we've been talking about lately. The choices of the past few years—GIF, selfie, vape—were relative newcomers that described practices we hadn't needed words for before. This year's choice takes that idea a step further, summing up a practice that takes us beyond words. The word of the year is the "Face with Tears of Joy" emoji:
10 Cinematic Radio Performances You Can Listen to Right Now
Flavorwire: Radio drama adaptations of popular films were all the rage during the 1930s, ‘40s, and into the 1950s — until Americans started to replace their radio sets with televisions. Many of the adaptations even featured the films’ original stars, which made them enticing to audiences hanging on every happening in Hollywood.
Top Greatest Billboard 200 Albums & Artists of All Time
Billboard: Adele's '21' is the top Billboard 200 album, while The Beatles are the biggest act. Plus: 'The Sound of Music' soundtrack is the runner-up title, and Taylor Swift sizzles on the all-time artist list.
I'm Sure You'll All Agree
The 10 Best Genre-Bending Books
Headline is contradicted by the writer, who says he won't claim they are the best.
Headline is contradicted by the writer, who says he won't claim they are the best.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
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