Saturday, May 21, 2016
CrimeFest Awards
The Rap Sheet: Thanks to the indefatigable Ali Karim, we can now bring you the winners of five different awards given out this evening at CrimeFest.
NTTAWWT
Daily Mail Online: Secret life of the 'human pups': Weird world of the grown men who enjoy dressing up as DOGS in roleplay craze sweeping the nation
Friday, May 20, 2016
Alan Young, R. I. P.
Variety: Alan Young, who gamely played straight man to a talking horse for five years in classic sitcom “Mr. Ed,” died Thursday at the Motion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 96.
John Berry, R. I. P.
Original Beastie Boy John Berry Dies at Age 52: One of the original Beastie Boys—and the one said to have coined the hip-hop band's name—has died at the age of 52, Rolling Stone reports.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and Deb.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and Deb.
FFB: The Man Inside -- W. Watts Biggers
It's finally happened. I plucked this book off my shelves the other day, and I realized that I have no idea why I bought it. Someone must have mentioned it on a blog or in a group that I belong to, but I can't remember. I find that sad and disturbing.Maybe I bought it because of the author. Who's W. Watts Biggers? Well, for one thing, he's the co-creator of the beloved TV series Underdog, among many others. He wrote the theme song, too. You can read all about him here. This book is nothing at all like Underdog, however. It's very strange.
A young boy (about 12 years old) with no memory of his past and no ability to remember anything that he's told or that happens to him is dropped off at a boy's school by a man who refuses to answer any questions. The boy is given the name of Caro. He gets some odd therapy and improves a bit, but because he's developing sexual feelings for his therapist, he leaves the school, after which time he appears to have no trouble remembering things, although he never recalls his past prior to his time in the school. He begins a picaresque journey as he searches for his purpose in life, which he believes can be discovered through books and through studying the life of General Douglas MacArthur. Bad things happen.
In the end Caro learns . . . something. I'm not sure what. The book is short, however, and Caro's adventures held my interest, so there's that.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
In That Case, Ma'am, You Are Free to Go
The Smoking Gun: Instead, the “crying and angry” Turner, 26, was miffed because, as she told police, “Everyone steals from this store. Why are you picking on me?”
Morley Safer, R. I. P.
Morley Safer Dead at 84: Just days after retiring from 60 Minutes, Morley Safer is dead at age 84, reports CBS News. No word yet on a cause of death for Safer, who had worked on the show about half a century. His retirement, however, was attributed to unspecified health issues, notes CNN Money.
Hat tip to Deb.
Hat tip to Deb.
PaperBack
Delmar Kingsland, Hoyden of the Mountains (Mountain Sinner), Croydon, 1954
From the swamps to the hills to the mountains. This completes the hoyden trifecta.
Pitmaster has wild plans for barbecue festival
For the event, Pinkerton's BBQ will be smoking a whole alligator: "It tastes like a chicken and a shrimp had a baby," Grant Pinkerton said, "or as I say 'swamp chicken.' "
Excellent photos at the link.
Excellent photos at the link.
Wow.
A Look Inside Florence's Strangest Archive: For six centuries, the Corsini Family has recorded everything that's ever happened to them.
Julia Meade, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Ms. Meade became a household name to Americans as a pitchwoman — as the elegant public face of Lincoln beginning in 1953 and as the promoter of a range of other products, including gas-powered appliances, Hudnut hair products, Life magazine and Kodak cameras.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
The Lawyer: The Retributioners -- Wayne Dundee
Wayne Dundee has become a reliably entertaining western writer, and I recently read The Lawyer: The Retributioners. Sounds kind of like a title in the Matt Helm series, right? But it’s a western, for sure. The titular lawyer is J. D. Miller, a respectable and respected man until some outlaws kill his wife and daughter. Now he’s tracking the baddies down and getting his revenge. I haven’t read any of the other novellas (not novels) in this series produced by David Cranmer at Beat to a Pulp press, but I know that not all of them are written by Dundee, not that it matters. In this one The Lawyer finds himself in a small town just as a jailbreak occurs. The sheriff is killed, but The Lawyer kills one of the baddies, which causes to the town’s civic leaders to ask him to be the new sheriff. He’s not interested because one member of the gang the broke their compadre out of the jail is a guy The Lawyer is looking for.
Besides, he doesn’t like the leaders because they won’t promote one of the deputies, a black man named Ernest Tell, to the sheriff’s position. The Lawyer goes after the gang after refusing Tell’s offer to accompany him. However, he and Tell eventually join forces for the big shootout. Dundee has a clean hardboiled style, and he knows how to keep things moving. Good stuff for us western fans.
“Ballet, Law, and Mystery” (by V.S. Kemanis)
“Ballet, Law, and Mystery” (by V.S. Kemanis) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: V.S. Kemanis’s first story for EQMM appeared in our September/October 2013 issue. At that time she was already the author of many published short stories and the first novel in her Dana Hargrove legal-mystery series had appeared to strong reviews. Her third Hargrove novel, Forsaken Oath, was released this past spring. The series was inspired by her own career as a lawyer. She is also a ballet dancer en pointe, however, and she drew upon her dance experience for her upcoming EQMM story, “Journal Entry, Franklin DeWitt,” which will appear in the August 2016 issue. For this new post, she has creatively fused her experiences as writer, lawyer, and dancer.—Janet Hutchings
I Miss the Old Days
Lost Facades of the 1970s Anti-Walmart: Their Houston store, dubbed the ‘Indeterminate Facade’ with its crumbling bricks, is said to have appeared in more books on 20th-century architecture than photographs of any other modern structure.
Judy and I shopped there many times when we first moved to Alvin, as it wasn't too far away.
Judy and I shopped there many times when we first moved to Alvin, as it wasn't too far away.
This Explains a Lot
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Accuses Kim Kardashian of Being a Secret Agent: A spokesman for the group’s Organized Cyberspace Crimes Unit accused Kardashian of working for Instagram as part of a complicated ploy to “target young people and women,” ostensibly corrupting them with aspirational photos depicting a lifestyle that’s at odds with Islam.
Dick McAuliffe,R. I. P.
Dick McAuliffe, from 1968 champion Detroit Tigers, dies at 76: Dick McAuliffe, an infielder for the 1968 World Series champion Detroit Tigers, died on Friday. He was 76.
The Tigers confirmed McAuliffe’s passing and held a moment of silence before Monday’s game for him and former first-round pick John Young.
A three-time All-Star, McAuliffe was known for his unique batting stance and 1968 fight with Tommy John. Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Paris Hilton Update
Paris Hilton stuns in risque plunging white gown with brother Byron in Cannes
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
In That Case, Ma'am, You Are Free to Go
Walmart Theft Suspect Told Cops She Was "Too Lazy" To Pay For Stolen Sex Toys
And you have to admit that she does look lazy.
And you have to admit that she does look lazy.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Southsiders:That's All Right - Kindle edition by Nigel Bird. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Ray Spalding's had enough of his wife, Paula. He's left his home in Edinburgh's Southside and headed for Belfast. It's safer there.Unknown to Ray, Paula's also had enough of him. She's not going back home. Not now, not ever.
Bill Backer, R. I. P.
Bill Backer, Man Behind World's 'Most Famous Ad,' Dead at 89: If you were alive in the early '70s, you knew the ad. Even if you weren't, you probably do: "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" was such a hit upon its Feb. 12, 1971, debut that radio DJs were flooded with calls to play it, "as if it were a song by The Doors or the Jackson 5," notes the Washington Post. It was the brainchild of Bill Backer, who died Friday in Warrenton, Va., at age 89. The tributes are pouring in for the man whose most famous ad featured into the final scene in the series finale of Mad Men.
Hat tip to Deb.
Hat tip to Deb.
Guy Clark, R. I. P.
Guy Clark dead at 74: Guy Charles Clark, the gravel-voiced troubadour who crafted a vast catalog of emotionally charged, intricately detailed works that illuminated and expanded the literary possibilities of popular song, died in Nashville Tuesday morning after a long illness.
Another Great Book from Stark House
STARK HOUSE PRESS: Ancient Egyptian Supernatural Tales
978-1-944520-05-2
A superb collection of stories in which ancient Egyptian mysticism, mummies, and other supernatural occurrences play a significant role, including tales by Edgar Allan Poe, Louisa May Alcott, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tennessee Williams, H. Rider Haggard, Algernon Blackwood, Sax Rohmer and more. July 2016.
Overlooked Movies -- Trancers
Tagline: Jack Deth is back -- and he hasn't even been here before.
The plot? Okay, here we go. Thomerson is Jack Deth (great name, right?), a police trooper in the far future (2247) who's after a guy named Whistler, who uses the power of his mind to turn people into zombies who serve him. He evades capture by means of a drug that enables him to travel back to 1985 and inhabit the body of one of his ancestors, leaving his 2247 body behind (hey, it could work). Deth finds out what's happened and destroys Whistler's body so he can't return to it. Then Deth goes to 1985 to get Whistler. Many complications ensue, including the fact that Whistler's ancestor happens to be a high-ranking cop and that Deth's ancestor is a reporter whose girlfriend is Helen Hunt. Who'd go back to the future if his girlfriend was Helen Hunt?
If you watched the trailer posted below, you know that the special effects are cheap, and in fact the whole production is cheap, but Trancers is one of those B-movies that overcomes its flaws and brings the fun. There's a reason there are so many sequels (which, let's face it, aren't as good as this one, although Trancers III isn't bad). Check it out.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Night Shift -- Charlaine Harris
This is the third and supposedly final book in Charlaine Harris' series about Midnight, Texas. I wonder if that's true, now that NBC has announced a TV series based on the books. Certainly, Harris has left just enough loose ends here to carry on if she wants to, and the characters could easily provide a lot more stories. After all, living in Crossroads are a vampire, a contract killer, some weretigers, some angels, a witch, a psychic, a talking cat, and even a few normal folks. I've enjoyed all three books in this series (I talked about the first one here), and it would be fine with me if more books came along. If not, that's okay, since the ending of this one wraps things up nicely.In the first two books, the question of why certain kinds of people were drawn to Midnight, located at a crossroad, wasn't answered. We find out here, however. There's a demon that's been buried under the crossroad for 250 years, and it's waking up. It will take a powerful witch and others with supernatural powers to prevent it from emerging for another 250 years. It's not an easy job, but there are plenty of other things going on in Midnight, too. People are coming there and committing suicide, for instance. And some of the residents just don't fit in, although nobody's quite sure what's up with them. And the love live of Fiji, the witch, is getting complicated, not to mention the fact that her sister, who's not a nice person, has showed up and moved in with her.
The trilogy, and this book in particular, shows Harris' masterful storytelling ability as well as anything she's written. She's in complete control of the narrative, taking her time, planting hints, developing characters, providing suspense and some laughs along the way. I'm not sure I'll watch the TV series, but I'm sure glad I read the books. Check 'em out.
Sylvia Lewis danced with the stars
Sylvia Lewis danced with the stars: The stages of early Hollywood studios are littered with the broken hearts of chorus dancers who failed to professionally transition beyond the dance floor. But Sylvia Lewis, who turns 85 on April 22, was not one of them.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
I Missed an Anniversary
Here's a link to the post I wrote on the 30th anniversary of the book's publication.
Here's the picture of me and Jack and Judy at our publication party.
And finally, here's a link to a little walk down Memory Lane.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Julius La Rosa, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Julius La Rosa, the celebrated 1950s singer who reinvented himself as a television, stage and nightclub performer after his young career was thrown into turmoil by a bizarre and humiliating on-the-air firing by Arthur Godfrey before a national audience, died on Thursday at his home in Crivitz, Wis. He was 86.
Johnny Sea, R. I. P.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Johnny Sea, Johnny Seay born John Allan Seay, Jr., July 15, 1940 [Gulfport, Mississippi] died May 14, 2016 (West, TX) was an American country singer. His first hits came in the late 1950s, and his career saw a resurgence in the mid-1960s, particularly with the release of his spoken word single "Day For Decision".
Will the Persecution Never End?
AOL: But while some stars like Kristen Stewart hit high note after high note, others like Paris Hilton totally flopped.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Madeleine LeBeau, R. I. P.
The Washington Post: Madeleine LeBeau, a French actress who fled Nazi-occupied Europe for Hollywood, where she made the best of a small role as the scorned girlfriend of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine in “Casablanca,” died May 1 in Estepona, Spain. She was widely reported to be 92.
Hat tip to John Duke.
Hat tip to John Duke.
Missouri's Great Snake Scare of 1953
Missouri's Great Escaped Snake Scare of 1953: Between August and October, residents of Springfield fought off cobras with garden hoes.
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