Chris Christie won Saturday’s GOP debate.: . . . Rubio said after making passing reference to his own time in the Senate and the Florida House. Christie seized on the non sequester.
Maybe the copyeditor will spot this soon, but it was too good to pass up for the blog.
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Edgar Mitchell, R. I. P.
NASA: Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, passed away Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla., on the eve of the 45th anniversary of his lunar landing.
Hat tip to Deb.
Hat tip to Deb.
Alice Denham, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Alice Denham, a writer and former Playboy centerfold who left a vivid chronicle of her literary and sexual adventures in her 2006 memoir, “Sleeping With Bad Boys: A Juicy Tell-All of Literary New York in the Fifties and Sixties,” died on Jan. 27 at her home in Manhattan. She was 89.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Newly promoted agent Kyler Knightly teams up with his uncle, Damon Cole, to stop unscrupulous developers from exploiting the Late Cretaceous. A luxury subdivision smack-dab in the middle of dinosaur country threatens not only the present, but super-rich homeowners looking for the ultimate getaway.
PaperBack
Patrick Quentin (Richard Wilson Webb & Hugh Wheeler), The Fate of the Immodest Blonde (Puzzle for Pligrims), Pocket Books, 1950
Here They Come
Hey hey, The Monkees announced a 50th anniversary album and tour: The Monkees — the greatest fake band ever assembled for a madcap TV show — will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series this summer with a new album, titled Good Times!, and a lengthy North American tour kicking off May 18 in Fort Myers, Florida, Rolling Stone reported Friday.
Friday, February 05, 2016
David J. Lake, R. I. P.
David Lake (writer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: David John Lake (26 March 1929 - 31 January 2016) was an Indian-born Australian science fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. He moved to Australia in 1967.
Jon Tuska, R. I. P.
I received the following information from Bill Pronzini, and I'm posting it with his permission.
Just received the sad news that Jon Tuska has died [on January 18] in Portland, OR at age 73. Author of numerous books on Hollywood film and the western fiction genre; co-founder of the Golden West Literary Agency and editor for many years of Five Star Press's line of western novels. Don't know if you had any dealings with him, but I sold him several collections of my western stories and edited a number of other single-author collections for him and his wife, Vicki Piekarski. WWA's best short fiction Spur Award that Marcia and I received in 2008 was for a novella he commissioned and published.
Just received the sad news that Jon Tuska has died [on January 18] in Portland, OR at age 73. Author of numerous books on Hollywood film and the western fiction genre; co-founder of the Golden West Literary Agency and editor for many years of Five Star Press's line of western novels. Don't know if you had any dealings with him, but I sold him several collections of my western stories and edited a number of other single-author collections for him and his wife, Vicki Piekarski. WWA's best short fiction Spur Award that Marcia and I received in 2008 was for a novella he commissioned and published.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
The Guardian: A bookshop in Texas is offering a 10% discount to customers who are legally “open carrying” a handgun while shopping for new reading material.
Joe Dowell, R. I. P.
StarTribune.com: NEW YORK — Joe Dowell, a singer briefly popular in the early 1960s who had a No. 1 hit with the ballad "Wooden Heart," has died. He was 76.
FFB: Hail Storme (Dreamsicle) -- W. L. Ripley
What we have here is both an old and a new book. In 1993 W. L. Ripley published Dreamsicle, which has become a sort of forgotten book. Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman remembered it, though, and they've brought it back as Hail Storme, giving it a new title that fits with others in the series, including the most recent one, Storme Warning, which I reviewed here. When I read that one, I enjoyed it so much that I knew I'd have to go back and read the others in the series. So I started with the first one, which is another winner.As I mentioned, the original title of the book was Dreamsicle, and I thought it might have something to do with a tasty treat I remember fondly from my childhood, but that wasn't the case.
Wyatt Storme is a former star wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys who's quit football at the peak of his fame because he doesn't like the invasion of his privacy that comes with being a star. He wants to live an uncluttered life away from too much civilization. The book opens with Storme doing a bit of bow-hunting in the Ozarks and discovering a huge marijuana field. He has to kill a vicious guard dog and wound a man to get away.
Storme has a well-developed moral code, so he reports the events to the local sheriff, who's killed almost immediately thereafter. Storme can't let something like that pass, and before long he's hooked up with Chick Easton, a bounty hunter who becomes his psycho sidekick. Storme is tough, but Chick might be even tougher, and he has a backstory that explains why he's a little bit crazy. Chick is after a rogue chemist, and of course that ties in with the death of the sheriff and the marijuana field.
Turns out there's a brand new drug, and it's called Dreamsicle. Powerful people are behind it, and they don't want any interference from outsiders like Storme and Easton. Before long, it's two men against municipal corruption (crooked cops, crooked lawyers, crooked everybody), and Chick is arrested for the murder of the sheriff. Storme's lawyer gets Chick released, and it's pretty much all-out war. There's lots of shooting, lots of action, lots of dying, and lots of wisecracking before things are settled down.
In my earlier review, I said I was reminded of Spenser and Travis McGee by Ripley's book. That's still true. Entertaining macho stuff, slick writing, and great characters. I'll be visiting this series again for sure.
Thursday, February 04, 2016
Maurice White, R. I. P.
TMZ.com: Maurice White, co-founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, died in his sleep Thursday morning ... TMZ has learned.
Maurice died in L.A. after a long battle with Parkinson's. He was diagnosed in 1992 and his condition deteriorated in recent months. The disease had progressed to the point he was forced to stop touring with the band 1994.
Maurice died in L.A. after a long battle with Parkinson's. He was diagnosed in 1992 and his condition deteriorated in recent months. The disease had progressed to the point he was forced to stop touring with the band 1994.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Blanche on the Lam (Blanche White series Book 1) - Kindle edition by Barbara Neely. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Barbara Neely’s Smart, Sassy and Groundbreaking Crime NovelWINNER OF THE AGATHA, ANTHONY & MACAVITY AWARDS
Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her checks bounce, she goes on the lam, hiding out as a maid for a wealthy family at their summer home. That plan goes awry when there’s a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she’s forced to use her savvy, her sharp wit, and her old-girl network of domestic workers to discover the truth and save her own skin. Along the way, she lays bare the quirks of southern society with humor, irony, and a biting commentary that makes her one of the most memorable and original characters ever to appear in mystery fiction.
Okay, I'll Watch
CMT wants to cast a young Elvis, Johnny Cash for new TV series: Million Dollar Quartet, the show's working title, is adapted from the Tony-Award winning musical of the same name and will be set in Memphis during the early days of the civil rights movement and tell the story of the "rise of modern music," according to the network.
Wednesday, February 03, 2016
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Harvesting The Hummingbird (Providence in Ecuador Book 1) - Kindle edition by Scarlett Braden. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Abby never thought she'd have the strength, or the nerve, to get out. An abusive husband, a suffocating marriage, and a decade-long fight with PTSD conspired to trap her in that life. Now living in Ecuador amid the Andes Mountain Range, she enjoys a new life and a new relationship with an old friend. Her former troubles seem a world away. But that all changes when her new love confronts her ex back in North Carolina. If he becomes the next victim of the man she left behind, will it lead the violence of her past to her doorstep?
Bob Elliott, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Bob Elliott, who as half of the comedy team Bob and Ray purveyed a distinctively low-key brand of humor on radio and television for more than 40 years, died on Tuesday at his home in Cundy’s Harbor, Me. He was 92.
Art Scott's review of Bob & Ray: Keener than Most Persons, appeared on this blog a couple of years ago, and it's well worth taking another look at now. Here's the link.
And here's a link to 500 or so Bob & Ray shows you can listen to.
Art Scott's review of Bob & Ray: Keener than Most Persons, appeared on this blog a couple of years ago, and it's well worth taking another look at now. Here's the link.
And here's a link to 500 or so Bob & Ray shows you can listen to.
MYSTERY ART
MYSTERY ART | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: I spent part of this week looking over comments on the Readers Award ballots EQMM received for the 2015 awards. One reader suggested that we institute an award for artwork—covers, interiors, or both.
Happy Birthday, Robert McGinnis!
Robert McGinnis (born February 3, 1926)[1] is an American artist and illustrator. McGinnis is known for his illustrations of more than 1,200 paperback book covers,[2] and over 40 movie posters, including Breakfast at Tiffanys (his first film poster assignment),[3] Barbarella, and several James Bond and Matt Helm films.[4]Check out his website here: Robert McGinnis Gallery — Images from the Artist
Have a look at some great movie posters here: American Art Archives.
Buy a copy of the excellent The Art of Robert McGinnis here.
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
Criders around the World
On his blog, John Scalzi mentioned a website, Forebears.io, where you can see how many people share your surname and how they're distributed around the world. Naturally I had to give it a try. It turns out that there are about 11,938 Criders in the world and that 11,892 of them live in the United States. There's one Crider in Bangladesh, and there are 14 in Canada, with 9 in Australia and 7 in Argentina. And that's the story of the Criders around the World.
Judy's surname, Stutts, is far less common. Only 4363 of those, and all but 5 live in the U.S. The outliers are in Canada.
Judy's surname, Stutts, is far less common. Only 4363 of those, and all but 5 live in the U.S. The outliers are in Canada.
Overlooked Movies: Buck and the Preacher
I don't think of Buck and the Preacher as a blaxploitation picture, myself, though obviously whoever did the trailer below does. I think of it as a western, because that's what it is. There are a couple of plots, and the poster gives you a good idea of one of them that's not obvious at all in the trailer. And speaking of the poster, note Sidney Poitier's cool pistols that fire shotgun shells. He can shoot both at once without the trace of a kick, as you can see in the trailer.Poitier plays Buck, a wagon master who's leading feed slaves from Louisiana to a better life in the west. After an attack on the wagon train by men hired by plantation owners to bring back the former slaves, Poitier's on the run from the villainous DeShay (Cameron Mitchell). That's plot #1.
While he's running, Poitier comes across Belafonte, the Preacher, and takes his horse. At that point, Belafonte is chasing Buck for the reward money, which is substantial. That's plot #2.
I probably don't even have to tell you that after a while, Belafonte realizes that he and Buck are really on the same side and that they need to stick together. And I probably don't have to tell you that DeShay is going to come to a well-deserved end. But I will, so consider yourselves told.
There's some comedy in the movie, and there's some action, too. It's pretty much a traditional western in most ways, aside from the actors cast in the leads. You can imagine John Wayne and Dean Martin in these roles, for example. Putting Poitier and Belafonte in them was groundbreaking in its day (1972). The movie's a little slow in spots, but it's still fun. Good nontraditional score, too.
Monday, February 01, 2016
First It Was the Thin Mint Melee
Crime | alligator.org: Gainesville Police arrested James Donald Robertson Jr., 61, on Wednesday morning after they said he attacked someone with a bag of potato chips.
This Year’s Most Outrageous Excuses for Being Late to Work
CareerBuilder: My favorite is this one: "My lizard had to have emergency surgery in the morning and died during surgery. I had to mourn while deciding whether to have the lizard disposed of by the vet or bring the lizard corpse with me to work."
Sunday, January 31, 2016
12 Facts About Carol Channing For Her 95th Birthday
12 Facts About Carol Channing For Her 95th Birthday: Carol Channing turns 95 today, and the actress, singer, dancer, and funny woman has a lot to celebrate. Her long, storied career includes her hit Broadway shows Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Hello, Dolly!, and her lovably wacky roles in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Alice in Wonderland. Her 70 year entertainment presence has garnered a Tony (plus two honorary ones), a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award nomination.
Signe Toly Anderson, R. I. P.
Examiner.com: Fans of the Jefferson Airplane, already sad over the death of Paul Kantner, were dealt a second blow Saturday as it was revealed that Signe Toly Anderson, who was the group's original vocalist and sang on their debut album, had died on Jan. 28, the very same day as fellow Airplane member Paul Kantner.
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