abc7ny.com: The surgeon who created the life-saving Heimlich maneuver for choking victims died early Saturday in Cincinnati. Dr. Henry Heimlich was 96.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Free Books for Kindle
In case you missed my earlier post, here it is again. Open Road Media has set the price of 5000 of its books to $0. Fritz Leiber, Harlan Ellison, Richard S. Prather, lots of poetry and nonfiction and classic fiction. You cannot go wrong. Just go to Amazon's Advanced Search for Kindle, type Open Road Media into the publisher blank and sort low to high. I hope your Kindle has lots of memory.
NTTAWWT
Pensioner pleases neighbours with his massive flashing cock
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and Lawrence Person.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson and Lawrence Person.
Paris Hilton Update
Who is the Real Paris Hilton? - Paris Hilton interview: The 35-year-old powerhouse gets honest about her lucrative life in the spotlight.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Free Kindle Books
FFB: A Run in Diamonds -- Alex Saxon (Bill Pronzini)
A Run in Diamonds was published in 1973, and it's very much of its time. Often when people say that, it sounds disparaging and condescending, and I don't mean it that way at all. In this case, it's a compliment. I mean, look at that cover with the guy wearing two-tone shoes, bell-bottom jeans, and a wide white belt. That's the way people should dress. I miss the old days.But enough about the sartorial qualities of the cover. The book's protagonist is a man named Carmody, who appears in several short stories by Pronzini, including the one which was expanded into this novel. I'm not sure why the Alex Saxon name was used here, since the stories are all under Pronzini's own name. Maybe this was intended as the first of a series of men's adventure novels, since it has a lot in common with that genre, including a higher sleaze factor than Pronzini's novels under his own name. Not that the sleaze factor is very high.
Carmody lives on the island of Majorca and is a true tough guy who takes work as a bodyguard and does other jobs that require certain skills. This time he's hired by a woman named Gillian Waltham to guard her while she transports some stolen diamonds from Majorca to Amsterdam. After the transfer of the diamonds, she wants him to help her disappear completely. He has his suspicions about the job, but he takes it, and soon afterward the twists and turns begin. Of course Gillian was lying about almost everything, but that's the least of Carmody's problems. There's a mysterious patrón, a killer who loves his work, and betrayals all around.
Pronzini was at the beginning of his career with this book, but his skill is already evident. The local color is fine throughout, and the plotting is dandy. The characters are colorful, and the action scenes are very good.
A Run in Diamonds was published along with the Carmody stories in a collection called Carmody's Run, published as by Bill Pronzini.
Bonus feature: Since this is Pronzini/Muller day, I thought I'd reprint my account of a visit to Bill and Marcia about a year and a half ago, along with some links to my previous reviews. The links are below the story of the visit.
A Visit with the Mullzinis:
Links:
My review of The Sins of Jordan Wise.
My review of Vixen.
My review of Strangers.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Facebook to Decide What’s Real Vs. Fake News
Actual headline on Infowars: "Company working to censor alternative information from users"
I found this on Infowars, a site I won't link to, but I couldn't resist the great double-speak here. Lies are now "alternative information."
I found this on Infowars, a site I won't link to, but I couldn't resist the great double-speak here. Lies are now "alternative information."
Craig Sager, R. I. P.
abc7ny.com: Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy suits and probing questions, has died after a batter with cancer, Turner Sports announced Thursday. He was 65.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . . .
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Authorities arrested a Florida woman they say cut her boyfriend because he wouldn't pay for her to have her hair and nails done for her birthday.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Texas Doesn't Quite Lead the Way
8-story-tall Carvana car vending machine opens in Houston: Soda, pizza, movies and high-end headphones are just some of the things customers can get from Carvana vending machines. On Wednesday, Houstonians can add cars to that list.
Carvana, an online vehicle retailer, opened its second car vending machine in the United States, located at 10939 Katy Freeway.
Carvana, an online vehicle retailer, opened its second car vending machine in the United States, located at 10939 Katy Freeway.
Bernard Fox, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Fox was best known for playing Dr. Bombay, a womanizing warlock, on “Bewitched" from 1966 to 1972. He also famously appeared as Captain Winston Havlock in the 1999 flick “The Mummy” and in “Titantic” as Col. Archibald Gracie.
Jim Lowe, R. I. P.
Famous radio host, native Springfieldian, Jim Lowe dies at age 93: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KSPR) - Sixty years ago, Jim Lowe’s gold record "Green Door" knocked Elvis Presley out of the top spot on the Billboard charts. After the release of his hit record, Jim Lowe was heard on New York City's flagship radio stations for decades.
James Ellsworth (Jim) Lowe died on Monday morning at his home in East Hampton, on Long Island, New York, after a long illness. The native of Springfield was 93. He was a longtime resident of New York City but lived in East Hampton in recent years.
James Ellsworth (Jim) Lowe died on Monday morning at his home in East Hampton, on Long Island, New York, after a long illness. The native of Springfield was 93. He was a longtime resident of New York City but lived in East Hampton in recent years.
“Of Jigsaws, Roller Coasters, Crosswords, and Mazes” (by A.J. Wright)
“Of Jigsaws, Roller Coasters, Crosswords, and Mazes” (by A.J. Wright) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: Although his work appears in EQMM for the first time in our January/February 2017 issue, on sale December 20, A.J. Wright is a historical mystery novelist who already has three books to his credit, all belonging to a series set in his native Lancashire. The first book, 2010’s Act of Murder, won the Dundee International Book Prize. The second, Striking Murder, was shortlisted for the British Crime Writers’ Association’s award for best historical crime novel. A third book, Elementary Murder, is about to be released. In this post we get a glimpse of what led the former teacher to write fiction, and a hint of what we can expect to find in his novels and stories.—Janet Hutchings
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . . .
Daily Mail Online: An extreme couponer is attacked by a furious customer after holding up the grocery checkout line for 20 minutes
Bruce Arthurs on “Beks and the Second Note”
Bruce Arthurs on “Beks and the Second Note” | Trace Evidence: Bruce Arthurs is a writer in the mystery, science-fiction, and fantasy genres across several different mediums, including television and, occasionally, poetry. Here he talks about his story “Beks and the Second Note” from the December issue [of AHMM]—his first to appear in a mystery-specific publication.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Alan Thicke, R. I. P.
fox8.com: LOS ANGELES, CA – Iconic TV dad Alan Thicke has died at the age of 69. Thicke was known for his role as Jason Seaver, on ABC television series “Growing Pains”. He is also the father of singer Robin Thicke.
According to reports,Thicke was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son Carter when he had a heart attack.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
According to reports,Thicke was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son Carter when he had a heart attack.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
E.R. Braithwaite, R. I. P.
‘To Sir, With Love’ author E.R. Braithwaite dead at 104: New York — E.R. Braithwaite, the Guyanese author, educator and diplomat whose years teaching in the slums of London’s East End inspired the international best-seller “To Sir, With Love” and the popular Sidney Poitier movie of the same name, has died at age 104.
I Miss the Old Days
The Downward Slide of the Seesaw: What they did not know was that they were in one of the last places in New York City where they could seesaw. Once ubiquitous in the city’s hundreds of public playgrounds, as they were around the country, the seesaws adults remember have largely vanished from the city and much of the nation because of safety concerns and changing tastes.
Croc Update (Park Closed Edition)
This dangerous park used to let you feed crocodiles: The Elephant Kingdom Park in Thailand was locally famous for allowing hundreds of visitors annually to go out on the water and feed their crocodiles. As it turned out, though, their safety standards weren’t exactly up to par…
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee. . . .
Sheriff: Man uses front-end loader to repeatedly pick up, drop son's mobile home: PARSONSFIELD, Maine — Authorities say a Maine man used a front-end loader to repeatedly pick up and drop his son's mobile home during a family dispute and only stopped when he learned his 7-year-old grandson was inside.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Overlooked Movies --The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
The best version of The Hound of the Baskervilles is the 1939 version with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, but this version is very good. It's from Hammer Studios, and the plot was changed to make it more of a horror movie, but it works pretty well. Peter Cushing is an excellent Holmes, one of the very best, and André Morell is tops as Watson. Christopher Lee is the romantic lead here, and he's okay. He towers over the rest of the cast, being a head taller than any of the others. I really enjoyed Miles Malleson as the comic relief bishop. The movie's in color, and it looks great for a low-budget production. Plus -- quicksand!
I don't want to spoil too much for you, but the hound in this one is real. Aside from that, I won't say any more about the plot. You should know it well by now, and while it's somewhat different here, it's close enough to the original to be both familiar and new. This version of the story is definitely worth a look.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Kiss the Devil Good Night -- Jonathan Woods
Jonathan Woods writes wild and crazy books, and Kiss the Devil Good Night is no exception, except that it might be even wilder and crazier than his earlier work (see here, here, and here.) Bill Derringer is a veteran if the Iraq (he calls it I-rack) conflict who's spend some time in the mental wing of a VA hospital and who, while maybe not quite crazy, is close enough to do some strange things. The novel opens as he and his wife, Edie, decide on the spur of the moment to drive to Florida with the kids to attend the trial of a woman who killed her child and (maybe) ate it. They plan to stay with Edie's Aunt Ida. They never attend the trial, but they do decide to rob a gun show, which results in a five-year prison sentence for Bill, while Edie and Aunt Ida run off to Mexico together.
And that's just for openers. When Bill gets out of prison, burning for revenge against Edie and Aunt Ida, he winds up in a very odd halfway house where he meets Jane Ryker (who appears as a minor character in A Death in Mexico), and eventually they go to Mexico to find the fugitives.
This brief summary barely hints at the copious amounts of sex, violence, and dark humor in Kiss the Devil Good Night. It's not safe for work, or for your own Aunt Ida, who, I'm positive, is nothing like Aunt Ida in the novel. With a narrator like Bill, we're never quite sure what's real and what's not. Even Bill's not sure. But we know it's a strange and engrossing trip, which eventually involves a locked suitcase that once belonged to William Burroughs, who'd probably appreciate the weirdness of this novel, which is offbeat and wild and crazy (or did I say that already?). Check it out.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
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