Saturday, September 24, 2016
The Strangest Adoption in the History of the West
The Strangest Adoption in the History of the West: The little-known and bizarre border saga of Santa Anna’s gringo son.
Instant Karma
Cinnamon Roll Can Explodes Inside Man’s Butt During Shoplifting Incident
Excellent mugshot included.
Hat tip to Scott Cupp.
Excellent mugshot included.
Hat tip to Scott Cupp.
Friday, September 23, 2016
The Revolutionary Concept of Standard Sizes
Atlas Obscura: Almost every kitchen counter in the United States is 36 inches tall. And 25 inches deep. Eighteen inches above the counters are the cabinets, which are 16 inches deep.
Paris Hilton Update
Paris Hilton says she is 'finally an adult' ten years after infamous sex tape scandal
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Beautiful Vintage Annuals for Children
AbeBooks: Beautiful Vintage Annuals for Children: In the late 1800s, children's stories were published in periodicals and distributed weekly or monthly to readers. To further capitalize on their market, publishing houses put together annuals filled with the best stories, illustrations and games from the year. The book was released for Christmas, and marketed as the perfect gift (both entertaining and educational) for children. The annuals were generally distributed in Britain and its colonies such as Canada and Australia, although sometimes also in the United States.
FFB: The Man with Nine Lives -- Harlan Ellison
The Man with Nine Lives is the other half of the Ace Double Book I mentioned last week. When I was a youth, I followed two young SF writers in particular. Robert Silverberg was one. Harlan Ellison was the other. Silverberg was selling everywhere, from the low-paying digests to the top ones. Ellison was mostly stuck in the lower- to middle-paying ones, but for some reason, maybe because he was just starting out, his work had a lot of appeal to me. I shudder to admit this, but I once listed The Man with Nine Lives as one of my favorite SF novels. Rereading it now, I can see that it's a pretty bad book.Ellison isn't a novelist. He's best at shorter lengths, and that's what he's stuck to for most of his career. This book isn't actually a novel. It's a sort of a fixup of a previously published novelette and short story with a couple of more related stories and a framework tossed in. A man named Cal Emory is seeking revenge against a powerful guy, Paul Lederman, and to get it he has to undergo the "nine lives" of the title. Lots of adventures ensue.
The good news is that Ellison is Ellison, so nothing is exactly standard. As in "Run for the Stars," which I discussed last week, the protagonist is a coward. He doesn't undergo the changes that the previous one does, but he does learn and change. So the ending might not be the one you expect.
The Man with Nine Lives is a minor book by a major writer. Not anything to go out of the way to find, but an interesting historical document and fun in its own way. Certainly not one of my favorite SF novels now, though.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Here's the Plot for Your Next Novel of High Adventure
Why the Soviets Sponsored a Doomed Expedition to a Hollow Earth Kingdom: In December of 1923, two unlikely travelers arrived in Darjeeling, India intent on finding what could not possibly exist: Shambhala, a kingdom located inside a hollow earth. Along them trailed Soviet spies, Western occultists and Mongolian rebels, all serving their own agendas. Even with so many eyes on them, their expedition still managed to disappear from the face of the earth for months; when they finally emerged, they had a fascinating story to tell and even more secrets to hide.
John D. Loudermilk, R. I. P.
Songwriter John D. Loudermilk dead at 82: John D. Loudermilk, 82, a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the author of songs like "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," "Tobacco Road" and "Indian Reservation," has died, according to a tribute that his friend, songwriter Bobby Braddock, posted on Facebook.
“The Magical Mystery Book Tour” (by Jenny Milchman)
“The Magical Mystery Book Tour” (by Jenny Milchman) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: Jenny Milchman’s first professional publication was in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in November 2012, just months before her first novel, Cover of Snow, was released by Ballantine Books; the book received its year’s Mary Higgins Clark Award. Two more books, Ruin Falls and As Night Falls, soon followed, with As Night Falls winning Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award in 2016. Jenny had been active in the literary community long before her own work saw print. She is the founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which is now celebrated by more than 700 bookstores. As you’ll see from the following post, she has also made many personal connections with bookstores through the book tours that followed the publication of her novels.—Janet Hutchings
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Susan Oleksiw on “Variable Winds”
Susan Oleksiw on “Variable Winds” | Trace Evidence: Susan Oleksiw is an author, photographer, and publisher. Here she writes about her story “Variable Winds,” AHMM‘s October cover story. She also writes about sailing in Come About for Murder: A Mellingham Mystery (2016). Her most recent book is When Krishna Calls: An Anita Ray Mystery (Five Star/Gale, Cengage, 2016).
D. Keith Mano, R. I. P.
The New York Times: D. Keith Mano, whose teeming, rollicking novels explored the problems and passions of Christianity in the modern world, to remarkable effect in the capacious, Rabelaisian black comedy “Take Five,” died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 74.
Struggling for a Dream
Struggling for a Dream: Looking back at The Outlaw Josey Wales on the iconic Western’s 40th anniversary.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Curtis Hanson, R. I. P.
Deadline: Curtis Hanson, who shared an Adapted Screenplay Oscar for L.A. Confidential and also helmed such films as Eminem starrer 8 Mile, Wonder Boys, The River Wild, In Her Shoes and HBO’s Too Big to Fail, died today of natural causes at his Hollywood Hills home. He was 71.
Shockingly delicious mid-century treats
This is an excellent companion piece to a post from yesterday: Gelatin, mayonnaise and other shockingly delicious mid-century treats
Overlooked Movies --Django
This isn't really an overlooked movie, but have you seen it? Or have you seen it lately? The reason I can't call it overlooked is because it inspired so many unofficial sequels, ripoffs, remakes, and homages that nobody seems to know how many of them there are. I've seen estimates ranging from 30 to 100. And of course Tarantino's Django Unchained drew a lot of attention a few years ago. Franco Nero, the original Django, had a cameo in that one.I think the movie's beyond criticism. It's the kind of thing where the only street in the ghost town that's the setting for most of it is a loblolly, even though it never rains, and everything beyond the ghost town looks like Death Valley. There's a weird religious sect run by a man who likes to kill people for sport. There's a lot of gold, and there's a force of Mexicans equal to the force of the religious sect. Django is out for revenge on the leader of the sect, and like Clint Eastwood, he plays the Mexicans against the sect. Many people die. Hundreds, would be my guess. It didn't really make a lot of sense to me, but what the heck. I enjoyed it quite a bit, anyway. Because -- quicksand! You cannot go wrong with lots of shooting and fighting and quicksand. It's not really the plot that matters in movies like this. It's the choreographed gunplay, the little touches with the main character, the soundtrack (this has a good one), and other things that keep me watching.
Django is regarded as a classic spaghetti western. If you like those films, this is one you have to see. If you don't like them, this probably won't convert you.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
The True History of Lonesome Dove
The True History of Lonesome Dove: A closer look at the history behind one of the best Westerns, ever.
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