James Reasoner made me buy this when we were at the World Fantasy Convention. The dealer kindly put it in a plain brown bag for me.
James also made me buy a copy of Young and Innocent by "Edwin West," and he tried to talk me into buying Find the Feathered Serpent a Winston SF juvenile by Evan Hunter. I resisted the latter, thanks to the $165 price tag.But, as always, I digress. Queer Pulp is the kind of book I can't resist, being a scholarly sort. The subtitle of the book is "Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback." It's a history of the way gay and lesbian sexuality was presented in mass-market paperbacks, with plenty of covers, including dozens I've never seen, like Hot Pants Homo, Lavender Love Rumble, and so on. Classics all. There's some legit stuff included, too, of course. Other Voices, Other Rooms; End as a Man; The City and the Pillar. It was all enough to make me lament once again that I didn't pick up all those softcore books back in the days when I could've bought them for a quarter or less. Well, you can't buy 'em all, I guess. At least you can buy this book and look at the covers and relish the titles. Check it out.
The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media: "It's the birthday of the novelist and short-story writer Mary Gaitskill, (books by this author) born in Lexington Kentucky (1954). She had a difficult childhood. Her parents moved around a lot, and she never felt like she fit in anywhere. When she was 15, she was kicked out of boarding school. A psychiatrist recommended that her parents have her committed to a mental hospital. She ran away from home, but her parents tracked her down and had her hospitalized anyway. She was released after two months, and at the age of 16 she took off to San Francisco to live on her own."
There's an excerpt from Gaitskill's new novel in Murdaland, reason enough right there for you to get a copy if you haven't already.
Kurt Vonnegut: "American author noted for his pessimistic and satirical novels, best known for SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE (1969), which was based on his experiences in Dresden, Germany, where he was a prisoner-of-war at the destruction of the town in 1945. Vonnegut uses fantasy and science fiction to examine the horrors and absurdities of 20th century civilization. His constant concern about the effects of technology on humanity has led some critics to consider him a science fiction writer, but the author himself has rejected this label."
Back in the '70s I read Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, and probably others that aren't coming to mind. I taught a couple of those in my American Novels class. Great stuff. I hope Vonnegut sticks around for a long time.
I read on Jayme Lee Blaschke's blog that Jack Williamson has died. Williamson was truly one of the greats, a giant in the SF field, and I regret his passing. He published stories in nine different decades, beginning in 1928, and I can't even start to tell you all the ones I've read and enjoyed. Let me just name a few things that really hit me: The Legion of Space, Darker than You Think, With Folded Hands. All quite different, all top shelf. I was lucky enough to meet Williamson at an AggieCon about 25 years ago and tell him how much I'd enjoyed his work. The world is a poorer place without him in it.
Oscar-Winning Actor Jack Palance Dies - New York Times: "Jack Palance, a coal miner’s son who spent most of a long Hollywood career playing memorable heavies in movies like “Shane” and “Sudden Fear,” only to win an Academy Award at 70 for a self-parodying comic performance in “City Slickers,” died yesterday at his home in Montecito, Calif."
When I was a kid and saw Shane for the first time, I was impressed by a lot of things: the Tetons, Alan Ladd, and Jean Arthur come to mind. But most of all I was impressed by Jack Palance. It's probably the first movie I ever saw him in, and he exuded malevolence. The scene where he goads the homesteader into the gunfight was a shocker to me, and the final shoot-out with Alan Ladd stuck with me for many years. I'm glad Palance finally won his Oscar for City Slickers.
The Bunburyist: "The fall 2006 issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection has been published, which is part 1 of a two-part issue on Victorian detective fiction. Articles focus on Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Wilkie Collins, Revelations of a Lady Detective (attributed to W.S. Hayward), Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Machen, Edgar Allan Poe, and 'the detective fiction of female adolescent violence.' The issue's table of contents and more information about the journal may be found here."
Thief tricked by David Copperfield pleads guilty - CNN.com: "WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- One of three teenagers charged with attempting to rob illusionist David Copperfield as he left a performance has pleaded guilty.Terrance Riley, 17, was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for three counts of robbery with a weapon and one count of attempted robbery. He will be housed with other inmates under the age of 21.Circuit Judge Edward Garrison also ordered Riley to testify against his two co-defendants, his brother Dwayne Riley, 18, and Markeith Jones, 17.Copperfield, 50, and two female assistants were walking from the Kravis Center to their tour bus when they were approached by the teens April 23. The assistants handed over money and a cellphone, but the illusionist turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing, although he was carrying his passport, wallet and cell phone.'He said in depositions that he had things on him, but it wasn't difficult to make it seem like there was nothing there,' prosecutor Sherri Collins said."
Banjo Jones over at the Brazosport News has informed me about dotcomedy.com, a new source of comedy videos for you lucky folks with broadband. Tenacious D. Leave it to Beaver. All kinds of other stuff. Check it out.
April Kyle, whom Spenser has rescued a couple of times before, turns up again, and she's got another problem. Only Spenser can help her because he's the last hero left, the smartest man anybody's ever met, etc.
Seems April's opened her own whorehouse, and someone's trying to shake her down. Spenser and Hawk take care of a couple of punks easily, but things get messier. Finally there's a murder. Nothing is what it seems. Everybody's lying.
So what's new? Nothing much, actually. If you've read the last ten or twenty Spenser books, you know what to expect: Pearl the Wonder Dog, gratuitous "Arlo and Janis" references, Spenser saying, "We'd be fools not to" at least once, Spenser and Susan discussing the psychological aspects of the case, lots and lots of snappy dialog and donut eating. Etc.
And you know what? I don't care. I enjoyed every minute of it. I always do. If you're as easy as I am, check it out. Otherwise, forget it.
This morning JJ Solari added a comment to this post. Here's what he had to say: "i been readin' again the whopping three maybe four comments since my last remarks here and of course this is all very thrilling. I am shooting for a fan base of ten. the book is done, the illustrations are done and now it has to jump through ten million government hoops so that everyone will be safe from harm and then i will print ten copies because I am totally optimistic I can with effort sell that many. i have read a lot of funny books. every funny book ever written. and this one will be the funniest. which is not too hard because so far all the funny books have not been very funny."Solari is the author of the incredible "No Class Chick," which appeared in Easyriders. I think his fan base might exceed his expectations, and I'm looking forward to the book.
Anna Nicole Smith discharged from hospital - CNN.com: "NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- Anna Nicole Smith has been discharged from the hospital where she spent a week receiving treatment for pneumonia, an attorney for the reality TV star said Tuesday.Physicians at Doctors Hospital released the 38-year-old former Playboy Playmate on Monday after determining that her collapsed lung had stabilized, attorney Wayne Munroe told The Associated Press.Smith, who checked into the hospital October 30 with pain in her side, was staying at the same facility in September when she gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, and where her adult son died while visiting her three days later.'I think it takes quite some time to recover from a collapsed lung, and you have to keep up the breathing exercises for some time,' Munroe said. 'But she's shown a high threshold for pain, having been through so much recently.'After leaving the hospital, Smith returned to the waterfront home that has been the subject an ownership dispute between her and a South Carolina businessman, Munroe said. G. Ben Thompson has said that Smith has not honored an agreement to pay the mortgage. He is seeking her eviction from the gated mansion known as 'Horizons.'"
Living Single: Shanna Moakler Article on Stuffmagazine.com: "2006 has been a bad year to be a husband. Don't believe us? Check out this list of gorgeous girls who have untied the knot since last December. We're even throwing in some tips about how to land these newly-single beauties on the rebound. "
Ed Bradley of '60 Minutes' Dead at 65 - Forbes.com: "Ed Bradley, the award-winning television journalist who broke racial barriers at CBS News and created a distinctive, powerful body of work during his 26 years on '60 Minutes,' died Thursday. He was 65."
I've been watching him on 60 Minutes for 25 years. Hard to believe he's gone.
Then you probably can hardly wait for the movie.
Video: Rocket man injured firing firework from his bottom | News | This is London: "A soldier is in hospital with severe internal injuries after trying to launch a powerful firework rocket from his backside."
Maxim has the annotated list. I've seen ten of them. I'm sure some of you have seen them all.
Ed Gorman adds this comment: "I'm not a conspiracy of any kind buff but I do believe that Pat Tillman was murdered by his fellows because he spoke up so openly about what a bullshit war this is." New York Post Online Edition: News: "'Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!' the NFL star shouted, again and again.The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 2 1/4 years of investigations - reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case - and uncovered some startling findings."
IOL: OK 2 use SMS lingo in exams: "Wellington - New Zealand high school students will be allowed to use text-speak - the second language teenagers have developed for cellphone messages - in exams, according to news reports on Thursday.The move has divided students and educators amid concerns that it could damage the English language, The Press in Christchurch reported.It said that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority was still encouraging students to use proper English in exam papers but would give credit if an answer written in text-speak 'clearly shows the required understanding'."
The Sun Online - Bizarre online: Paris' parents love her sex vid: "PARIS HILTON's mum and dad are dead proud of her daughter's sex video.That's according to a new biography by Jerry Oppenheimer.Jerry claims that while researching his book House of Hilton he found out that Paris' parents, Rick and Kathy, were not fazed when One Night In Paris was leaked on the internet.He said: 'I have family sources telling me that Rick and Kathy Hilton are proud of everything Paris has done, including the X-rated video that launched her to this international stardom and infamy and fame.'It is a bizarre family. Behind the scenes her parents were not opposed to the video because that totally launched her.'"
She's 70 today. Hard for me to believe. As a child of the "folk revival" that began with the Kingston Trio in 1958, I still think of all these people as being in their 20s. For that matter I still think of myself as being in my 20s. Talk about denial!Swingin' Chicks of the '60s: Along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, she was in one of the biggest, and most durable, folk groups in music history. Addressing their impact, writer John Court wrote this on the back of Movin', their '63 album with "Puff, the Magic Dragon" on it: "While they are already this country's signally important popularizers of folk music, their serious interpretations of folk classics command the respect of the idiom's most inveterate critics." One other way they had an impact on the '60s was to propel the career of a struggling young folkie. Peter, Paul and Mary were discovered in '61 by Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan's manager. In '63 they helped Dylan get some early fame by bringing his "Blowin' in the Wind" to #1 on the charts and "Don't Think Twice" to #9. And you've gotta admit her group's heart was always in the right place throughout their long career: You name the benefit, they probably appeared for it, including the famous '63 March on Washington in which Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I have a dream speech."
James Reasoner made me buy this when we were at the World Fantasy Convention. The dealer kindly put it in a plain brown bag for me.
