Saturday, July 08, 2017
Nelsan Ellis, R. I. P.
'True Blood' Star Nelsan Ellis Dies at 39: Nelsan Ellis, the actor who starred in HBO's True Blood as Lafayette Reynolds, has died, his manager Emily Gerson Saines, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
![Ghost of the Karankawa (The Bill Travis Mysteries Book 10) by [Wier, George]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519O3QCI5SL.jpg)
Ghost of the Karankawa (The Bill Travis Mysteries Book 10) - Kindle edition by George Wier. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. What are these shrieks in the night in the small, historic Texas Gulf Coast town of Anahuac, and what is the Ghost-killer? Worse yet, why is the last person to hear the shriek dead, his body now as devoid of moisture as a 3,000 year-old mummy? Sometimes doing a favor for a friend and client can wind Bill Travis hip-deep in trouble, and this time is no exception. To get to the heart of the matter, Bill must take his wife and his dog along for the trip and make contact with Wolf Dillard, a self-styled Sasquatch hunter who has a story to tell that is beyond belief.
Shel Silverstein's Adults-Only Children's Book
A Look Back at Shel Silverstein's Adults-Only Children's Book: Uncle Shelby’s ABZs teach a lot more than the alphabet.
The Man Behind Herman Munster Wrote Some Puntastic Children's Books
The Man Behind Herman Munster Wrote Some Puntastic Children's Books: Fred Gwynne left a wonderfully goofy literary legacy.
Hotter Than a Burnin' Stump (It's a Texas Thing)
Hotter Than a Burnin' Stump (It's a Texas Thing): Whether five-alarm or just smoke-alarm, there's nothing like a bowl of Texas chili to fill a belly up.
Friday, July 07, 2017
I Miss the Old Days
How the Bronx brought breaking to the world: Breaking, aka breakdancing or B-boying, was created in the Bronx in New York City during 1970s and flourished in popular culture in the 80s. This Vox video by Gina Barton and Camila Cibils chronicles that rise, the dance elements that go into breaking, and the traditions that were at the core of its original form: How the Bronx brought breaking to the world.
FFB: Desert Stake-Out -- Harry Whittington
One thing the book does is show how well Whittington could handle a small cast. For most of the book, there are only six characters, one of whom is Blade Merrick, who's driving a wagon-load of of medicine through the Arizona badlands to a mission where there's an epidemic of sickness. Merrick comes upon five people who've been attacked by Apaches. Their horses have been killed, and Merrick says he'll take the stranded people to Patchee Wells, the only waterhole anywhere around. Three of the people are bank robbers, and the other two are a beautiful woman and her weakling husband, who's been wounded. They were trying to get to Tucson and got lost.
The tension mounts when they arrive at the waterhole. The bank robbers want to go north to the fort that Merrick came from, and so do the husband and wife. Merrick refuses. His job is to go south with the medicine. And the Apaches are lurking.
Whittington doesn't waste a word in this one. It's terse and tough, and when it comes to Apache tortures, he doesn't just tell about them. He shows them. You probably know about how things are going to work out, but Whittington manages to put in a twist or two. He even manages to humanize the bank robbers, although we know they're stone-cold killers.
The Stark House edition pictured here is a bargain. It has a great introduction by David Laurence Wilson, and you can read my review of one of the other included novels here. If you like westerns grab a copy of this triple-decker. You won't be sorry.
Thursday, July 06, 2017
8 Famous Authors Who Painted
8 Famous Authors Who Painted: Did you know some of the 20th century's finest writers were also painters? It is not unusual for writing and art to go hand-in-hand, but these authors are primarily known for their skills with a pen, or typewriter, rather than a paint brush. The abstract art movement was clearly influential on many of these writers whose work emerged from numerous counter-cultures and the turmoil of two world wars. Several of these writers produced thousands of paintings in their lifetime, while other dabbled in watercolor and oil between books. Could they have carved out careers as artists? You decide.
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Bonus FFB on Wednesday: Another Man's Claim -- Henry Whittier (Harry Whittington)
Another Man's Claim is one of the hardest Harry Whittington books to find. I've known about it for around 40 years and have only recently found a copy. That's the only reason I'm commenting on it here. If you took the sex scenes out of this book, it would be only 10 or 12 pages long, 15 tops. I can't even show the cover, since I maintain that this is a more or less family friendly blog.
The story's a variation on James M. Cain: A named Joel needs money to keep his ranch going. The man Joel is going to talk to about investing in the ranch turns out to be married to Joel's old girlfriend. She married the guy on the rebound and hates him. She wants Joel to help her kill him. Joel is no dummy, so he's not going to get involved in any such scheme.
The guy does get killed, and it appears that his wife is to blame. But through a complicated set of circumstances, she's proven innocent by someone Joel hired, a guy who's introduced to us while he's having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl.
There's a line in William Faulkner's Light in August where Faulkner describes Joe Christmas' sexual relationship with Joanna Burden. I'm quoting from a very old memory here, but this is close: "It was as if he'd fallen into a sewer." That's sort of how I felt when reading Another Man's Claim.
The story's a variation on James M. Cain: A named Joel needs money to keep his ranch going. The man Joel is going to talk to about investing in the ranch turns out to be married to Joel's old girlfriend. She married the guy on the rebound and hates him. She wants Joel to help her kill him. Joel is no dummy, so he's not going to get involved in any such scheme.
The guy does get killed, and it appears that his wife is to blame. But through a complicated set of circumstances, she's proven innocent by someone Joel hired, a guy who's introduced to us while he's having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl.
There's a line in William Faulkner's Light in August where Faulkner describes Joe Christmas' sexual relationship with Joanna Burden. I'm quoting from a very old memory here, but this is close: "It was as if he'd fallen into a sewer." That's sort of how I felt when reading Another Man's Claim.
Tuesday, July 04, 2017
Have a Great Fourth of July!
Fourth of July - Holidays: The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.
Overlooked Movies: The Face of Fu Manchu
The Face of Fu Manchu was the first in a series of Fu Manchu movies starring Christopher Lee as the insidious doctor. It's also supposed to be the best of them, which doesn't encourage me to see any of the others. There are quite a few dumb things in the movie, including some bad continuity and things that don't make much sense. The plot's a standard one about one of Fu Manchu's attempts to take over the world, this time with a deadly poison, a small amount of which can kill millions. Can he be stopped in time? [SPOILER ALERT] Of course he can, but it's a near thing. [END OF SPOILER ALERT] There are as many fistfights as in a Republic serial, but they're not done as well as William Whitney directed for that studio.
Nigel Green makes a dandy Nayland Smith, and Howard Marion-Crawford is an adequate Dr. Petrie. Lee is his usual imposing self, but he doesn't really have much to do and isn't around much. The color is nice. I don't recommend going out of your way to see this. It's okay, but that's about all.
Monday, July 03, 2017
Sunday, July 02, 2017
Mini Meeting of Dapa-em
Getting together in Sonoma. Back row: Bruce Taylor, Art Scott, me. Janet Rudolph in front.
A Garbage Man in Colombia Has Made a Community Library From Discarded Books
Mental Floss: Jose Alberto Gutierrez doesn’t just turn trash into treasure—he transforms it into a free education for neighbors. As The Telegraph reports, the middle-aged garbage collector in Colombia has spent the past two decades collecting discarded books he finds while on the job in Bogota, the country’s capital city. Thousands of titles later, Gutierrez has an enormous library, which he and his family lend out to the community for free.
It Was All a Dream!?!?
It Was All a Dream!?!?: In 1997, when Roseanne viewers learned the ninth and final season was a fictional account of the family written by Roseanne, they were fuming mad. Why even tell a story if it never happened? More often than not, there’s a real-world explanation for why shows pull this stunt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)