Stephen Blumberg and His Stolen Books
Hat tip to Howard Peters.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Novelist W.P. Kinsella, R. I. P.
Novelist W.P. Kinsella, author of 'Shoeless Joe,' dies at 81: Canadian novelist W.P. Kinsella, who blended magical realism and baseball in the book that became the smash hit film "Field of Dreams," has died. He was 81.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Edward Albee, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Edward Albee, widely considered the foremost American playwright of his generation, whose psychologically astute and piercing dramas explored the contentiousness of intimacy, the gap between self-delusion and truth and the roiling desperation beneath the facade of contemporary life, died Friday at his home in Montauk, N.Y. He was 88.
Uh-Oh
'High Noon' Remake in the Works: Based on the 1952 Oscar winner, the new version will be set in the present day along the cartel-controlled U.S.-Mexico border.
Hat tip to Fred Zackel.
Hat tip to Fred Zackel.
Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties
The sexiest knees in America: 1914-1925
Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties
FFB: A Touch of Infinity -- Harlan Ellison
For example, the first one, "Run for the Stars," while a straightforward adventure story full of nonstop action, also features a protagonist who's an admitted coward. He has a bomb planted in his stomach, and it's his job to run from the enemy while the rest of the people on his planet make an escape. He goes through some rapid changes throughout the story, and the ending is a snapper that works pretty well if you accept the rest of it.
"Life Hutch" finds a man who's ship has been wrecked but who makes it to the title spot, a place where he can be healed and signal for a ride home. Or he could if not for the malfunctioning robot that's trying to kill him.
"The Sky is Burning" is supposedly a "different" kind of early story, and I guess it is. I didn't buy it's reason for mass suicide though.
"Final Trophy" is about a Hemingway-esque hunter in the far future and his final trophy. I don't think you'll have much trouble guessing what the trophy is, but the story gives us a logical extension of the big-game hunting philosophy, I think.
"Blind Lightning" has a scientist on an alien world captured by a native who plans to eat him. An amusing problem to be worked out, and a pretty good story.
"Back to the Drawing Board" is another robot story, but with a kind of Ellison social twist. Another one I didn't buy but thought was okay.
TOC:
Introduction by Harlan Ellison
“Run for the Stars” (Science Fiction Adventures, June 1957)
“Back to the Drawing Boards” (Fantastic Universe, August 1958)
“Life Hutch” (If, April 1956)
“The Sky Is Burning” (If, August 1958)
“Final Trophy” (Super-Science Fiction, June 1957)
“Blind Lightning” (Fantastic Universe, June 1956)
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Want to Explore NYC’s Most Secret Spaces?
Want to Explore NYC’s Most Secret Spaces? Join the Club: I‘m wondering how many New Yorkers know about the greatest club in their city. Like many of your reading, I’m the kind of city kid that likes to look under the surface of my urban landscape, open doors I’m not supposed to and see inside spaces you need a special key for. The New York Adventure Club has that key to unlock the city.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
“Carve it in Jade: PWA Turns 35” (by Ted Fitzgerald)
“Carve it in Jade: PWA Turns 35” (by Ted Fitzgerald) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: EQMM is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2016, and the year holds another important milestone for the mystery, the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Private Eye Writers of America. In honor of that organization, which has contributed so much to our genre, we asked Ted Fitzgerald, who recently served a term as vice president of the organization, to do a post for this site about the PWA. For over thirty years, Ted has been a fan, a critic, and a writer of crime fiction. He’s reviewed crime fiction for the Drood Review of Mystery, Deadly Pleasures, Mystery Scene, and the Boston Phoenix, and his short stories have been selected for inclusion in anthologies edited by many well-known people in the field, including Ed Gorman, Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane, Bob Randisi, and Martin Greenberg. Ted is the recipient of the 2004 Don Sandstrom Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mystery Fandom, and for several years he served as chair for the PWA’s Shamus Awards.—Janet Hutchings
Bouchercon Bound
It was about a month and a half ago that a doctor came into my hospital room and told me that they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me other than that I had an andenosarcoma of unknown origin. At that moment, I didn't think I'd be going anywhere ever again.
But things have changed, and now my bag is packed and I'm about to head for the airport to fly to New Orleans and the Bouchercon. I still can't quite believe I'm going to do it. I think I can hold up for the five or six days I'll be there, but I might have to spend a lot of quality time in my room. I'll just play it be ear. I want to be able to do my panel on Thursday, and after that I'm not too worried about what might happen. Angela and Tom will be looking after me.
The usual regular posts should be appearing, along with a few others, so don't forget to stop by.
I hope to see some of you in New Orleans. Stop me and say "hey" if we pass in the halls.
But things have changed, and now my bag is packed and I'm about to head for the airport to fly to New Orleans and the Bouchercon. I still can't quite believe I'm going to do it. I think I can hold up for the five or six days I'll be there, but I might have to spend a lot of quality time in my room. I'll just play it be ear. I want to be able to do my panel on Thursday, and after that I'm not too worried about what might happen. Angela and Tom will be looking after me.
The usual regular posts should be appearing, along with a few others, so don't forget to stop by.
I hope to see some of you in New Orleans. Stop me and say "hey" if we pass in the halls.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Atlas Obscura: The town of Hearne is known as "The Crossroads of Texas" because it sits at the intersection of several highways and railroads. The little town used to be a hub of transport and commerce, but is now fairly sleepy pit stop. Amid the suburban houses and grassy lawns though, there is an unusual sight: a body buried in the middle of the street.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Bouchercon Attendees Beware
New Orleans: Neighborhood held hostage by aggressive raccoons on stretch of Gravier Street
Humans may speak a universal language
Humans may speak a universal language, say scientists: Humans across the globe may be actually speaking the same language after scientists found that the sounds used to make the words of common objects and ideas are strikingly similar.
The discovery challenges the fundamental principles of linguistics, which state that languages grow up independently of each other, with no intrinsic meaning in the noises which form words.
The discovery challenges the fundamental principles of linguistics, which state that languages grow up independently of each other, with no intrinsic meaning in the noises which form words.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . . .
The Smoking Gun: A Florida woman was arrested Saturday night after storming into a Wendy’s and trashing the restaurant because she was unhappy with the food she had received at the drive-thru window, police report.
Overlooked Movies: Forsaken
People say that there aren't many western movies being made these days, but there seem to me to be quite a few of them. They're just coasting below the radar. One of them I hadn't heard about is Forsaken, which stars Kiefer Sutherland as the gunslinger who's given up his guns and Donald Sutherland as his estranged father, a preacher who finds some things hard to forgive.When Sutherland returns to his home after giving up his gunslinging, he finds that the bad guy (Brian Cox) is buying up all farms. If the farmers don't want to sell, Cox has his gunslingers to take care of things.
I've seen movies with this plot a hundred times or more, and Forsaken plays it absolutely straight. There aren't any twists or turns. It goes from point A to Point B just like anything from Monogram ever did. The only difference is that Brian Cox uses the F-word several times, for some reason. There's nothing else in the movie that comes close to getting it rated R, so it's a strange choice.
I liked the scenery in the movie, I liked the soundtrack, and I liked the performances. Demi Moore is playing about 30 years younger than her age, and she does just fine. Donald Sutherland looks like an Old Testament prophet and does a couple of brief sermons very effectively. Kiefer Sutherland is pretty one-note, but he's good at that note. The scenes when he's using an ax should've been cut, though. It's pretty clear that the ax and he aren't very well acquainted.
Maybe I was just in the mood for a movie like this, but I found it quite satisfactory.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Prince Buster, R. I. P.
The New York Times: Prince Buster, a performer and producer who transformed Jamaican music in the 1960s as a trailblazer of the ska beat, died on Thursday in Miami. He was 78.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Evidence Rebuts Chomsky's Theory of Language Learning
Scientific American: The idea that we have brains hardwired with a mental template for learning grammar—famously espoused by Noam Chomsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—has dominated linguistics for almost half a century. Recently, though, cognitive scientists and linguists have abandoned Chomsky’s “universal grammar” theory in droves because of new research examining many different languages—and the way young children learn to understand and speak the tongues of their communities. That work fails to support Chomsky’s assertions.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Take My Advice
Take My Advice Some sage words of counsel from the advice books of yesteryear, courtesy of Uncle John’s Factastic Bathroom Reader.
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