. . . but close. I've known of three Harry Whittington sleaze titles for nearly 30 years, but I've never been able to find them. Thanks to Lynn Munroe, I've now cut that number to two. I'd never even seen a copy of Nightmare Alibi by "Henry Whittier," but now I own one. There's another title under that name (or possibly "Henri Whittier") that I'm still looking for (Another Man's Claim), and one called The Mexican Connection by "Howard Winslow." There are probably many more under names I don't know, but it's better that I never find out about them since they'd be impossible to find, I'm sure.
I always think of Lauren Bacall in black & white. Dark Passage. To Have and Have Not. The Big Sleep. Come to think of it, I guess I always associate her with Bogart, too. There's a lot more to her than that, of course. She's 82 today.
Blog: Stuck in the '80s | Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times: Top 10 Worst Movies of the 80s (aka Stallone Appreciation Day): "Today's biggest loser: Sylvester Stallone, come on down! With nearly a third of the movies on the top 10 list, you own this list. I'm having all comments forwarded to his agent."
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | The celebrity power of the Hoff: "From leather-clad cop with talking car to hunk in trunks, David Hasselhoff is the most watched television star in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records."
Any list that has Baby Doll on it is all right by me.Entertainment Weekly's EW.com | Feature: Most controversial movies: Nos. 21-25: "The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever
The world's $583 million obsession with ''The Da Vinci Code'' proves it: We're fascinated by what shocks, disgusts, and divides us"
Awwwww. Check out the gallery of Cthulhu Babies.(Link from Neatorama.)
Woman pleads guilty in fake penis case - Yahoo! News: "Woman pleads guilty in fake penis caseFri Sep 15, 6:51 AM ETMCKEESPORT, Pa. - A woman pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with a bizarre incident in February that resulted in a fake penis being microwaved at a convenience store."
One of my favorite writers, teachers, and commentators, Jim Lee, has started a blog. Check out his list of the Top Ten Western movies and argue with him. Also, be sure to scroll down to his lits of favorite B-Westerns.
You gotta like the Sheriff's answer.Sandoval sheriff disputes reports : Local : Albuquerque Tribune: "Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo denies what he calls 'very serious allegations' made about him in two Bernalillo Police Department reports.According to the reports, two officers encountered Trujillo's dark blue SUV on Monday in a Park ?n' Ride lot on U.S. 550, and found 'the vehicle shaking back and forth.'As officers approached, one observed the sheriff crawling 'from the back seat area of the SUV into the front driver-side seat' and 'maneuvering to put his pants on by way of buttoning and zipping.' The officer also observed 'in the back seat area the figure of a female crouching down obviously not wanting to be seen.'According to the report, the officer asked what was going on and Trujillo responded that 'everything was fine.'"
Several people recommended this book, and I'd seen reviews referring to its literary quality its beautiful writing, its wonderful characters, and so on. So I bought it. I have to confess that while I managed to read the whole thing (it's very long), I wasn't as taken with it as others seem to be. I thought it was an attempt to write a modern version of the gothic novel. Having once taken a course in the gothic novel, I remember most of the things one is supposed to contain. Shadow of the Wind has 'em all. Deep, dark secrets? Check. Persecuted maidens? Check and double check. Death, decay, madness, crypts, madhouses? Check again. Old dark houses and dark and stormy nights? Check. Murders and violent confrontations? Check. Hints of the supernatural? Check. Dark figures slinking through the night? Doomed romance? Check. And so on. You get the idea. This kind of thing can be fun, but to tell the truth, after I've read nearly 500 pages of it, I don't want the big revelations to be things I guessed before I'd gotten to page 50. As for the beautiful writing, well, if referring to snow as "God's dandruff" is what constituted good writing for you, then you need to grab this book right now.One of my big disappointments was that the opening pages introduce us to the "Cemetery of Fogotten Books." Now that's a great idea. But it's one that the novel does next to nothing with.All in all, I'm not sorry I read Shadow of the Wind, but I don't plan to read any more books by Sr. Zafon. Should you check it out? If you like the kind of book I described, this is the kind of book you'll like. I report, you decide.
Sandra Ruttan says: "The Fall 2006 Issue of Spinetingler is now available. This is a double issue, in every sense of the word. Nineteen stories. 23 reviews. Profiles and interviews with the de la Crime, Peter Robinson, Reggie Nadelson and Simon Kernick, as well as a special look at joint promotion with Barry Eisler and JA Konrath: find out what they really did at Thrillerfest."You can download it or read it on-line. Check it out.
Weird News at Tampa Bay's 10: "Governor Jeb Bush alongside Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio announced this year's book choice for the state's third annual reading promotion from the West Tampa library.Bush compared “The Zero Game” by Brad Metzler to the “Da Vinci Code.” He said it’s a fast moving thriller about a betting game between politicians in congress. Bush says it's an entertaining way for anyone to better themselves.Governor Jeb Bush, Florida “If you could only do one thing really well to be successful in life it is probably to be really literate because then you can acquire knowledge, be respective of where you are, who you are and with that comes all sorts of other things.”"
Gallatin mayor let 'Thong Girl 3' be filmed in his office - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 09/15/06 - Tennessean.com: "GALLATIN — Mayor Don Wright has raised eyebrows in town by allowing the makers of 'Thong Girl 3' to film in his office on a Sunday.Wright says he supports filmmaking for economic development in town and only knew generally what the movie was about.'They told me it was a film about a superhero woman and there was no nudity or any kind of offensive stuff in the film,' Wright said.In the film series, the risque superheroine dons red underwear and 'polices the skies with an iron fist' to keep Nashville safe, according to the Thong Girl Web site, thonggirlfilms.com.Some say using City Hall for this kind of movie could be offensive."
Another icon of my youth. 62 today.
This is a long (3-page) article. If you're interested in true crime tales, take a look at the whole thing.Anna Nicole Smith tried to revive dead son?|?Entertainment?|?People?|?Reuters.com: "NASSAU, Bahamas (Reuters) - Anna Nicole Smith tried frantically to revive her 20-year-old son even after he had been pronounced dead by officials at the Bahamas hospital where the former Playboy centerfold had given just days before, her attorney said on Wednesday.Moreover, she was so traumatized by the sudden death on Sunday morning of Daniel Smith, which local authorities have termed 'suspicious,' that she experienced memory loss, and had to be reminded of what had happened, according to a statement from Michael Scott.Mother and son, along with her longtime attorney and spokesman Howard Stern, had spent Saturday night together in Smith's room at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, where the reality TV star was recovering from the birth of a daughter last Thursday.When Smith noticed, about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, that Daniel did not appear to be breathing, she awoke Stern, who checked his pulse and immediately summoned hospital personnel.'Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the medical staff was not able to revive Daniel,' Scott said. 'Even after Daniel had been pronounced dead, Anna Nicole and Howard frantically continued resuscitation efforts.'"
I'd read David Dodge's novel a couple of years ago because it was set in Peru. The movie, as it turns out, is set in Mexico, so the Incan ruins of the novel become Aztec ruins in the movie. Sine the movie was filmed in 1953, it's a record of a different time. When Ford and Diana Lynn traipse around the deserted ruins (today, there'd be thousands of tourists swarming over them), he's in a suit and tie; she's wearing a coctail dress and heels. In fact Ford's nearly always in a suit and tie, even when digging up atifacts. Those were the days.The plot from Dodge's novel is pretty much intact, though in a Cliff's Notes version (the screenplay is by Jonathan Latimer): ancient manuscript, treasure, everyone trying to beat everyone else to the treasure, and nobody's motives made clear until the end. Though the movie's short, there's a foot chase near the end that's dragged out for too long. There's some atmospheric B&W photography, but the ruins really aren't done justice. Color would have worked better.Ford is very good as hardboiled Al Colby, and I enjoyed the performance of Sean McClory as the bespectacled villain. Patricia Medina looks great, as always, and Francis Sullivan dies too soon. Overall, about a C+. You could do better, but you could also do worse.
AP Wire | 09/13/2006 | Sports group stops raffle with gun prize: "WEAVERVILLE, N.C. - A youth athletic association stopped the sale of raffle tickets for an Uzi submachine gun after parents complained that the tickets were being sold at a concession stand.Gary Chandler, commissioner of the North Buncombe Youth Athletic Association, said his group didn't approve the raffle tickets, which were sold Saturday during football practice at North Buncombe Park.'It was a parent who was doing soliciting out in the community,' Chandler said. 'This individual or parent did not think it through.'"
John Duke points out that now there's even a website devoted to criticizing Paris Hilton.
