Will the Persecution Never End?

• Hollywood Elsewhere •: "The ickiest and most ignoble promotion riding the coattails of Sundance '98? How about The Hottie and the Nottie (Regent, 2.8), a seemingly vulgar relationship farce (to go by the trailer) starring Paris Hilton, Joel Moore and Christine Lakin? Moore has always been hot for Hilton, makes a pitch, gets the come-hither (total fantasy), has to deal with Hilton's witch-ugly best friend (Lakin covered with grotesque 'ugly' makeup), etc. Obviously a pathetic Troma-type deal."

Update: Hollywood Elsewhere: "I've said over and over for years that movies like this are a major symbolic reason why Islamic fundamentalists despise Western culture and materialist values, and not without justification.

I have an idea that addresses this. In the same way that primitive South Sea cultures have been known to sacrifice a young girl to the Gods by throwing her into a volcano, we give Paris Hilton to Al Qeada. We deliver her, sedated, bound and blindfolded, to a location of their choosing and let them do whatever they want to her. It would be our way of saying, 'As far as Paris Hilton is concerned, we get where you're coming from. In fact, we sort of agree with you.'"

As for me, I watched the trailer. Paris is a cinch for an Oscar nom.

New Slideshow

Ed Gorman waxes eloquent today on Planet Stories and Leigh Brackett. Hence the new slideshow over on the right.

Happy Birthday, Ray Price!

Ray Price (musician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Ray Price (born January 12, 1926 in Perryville, Texas) is an American country and western singer/songwriter/guitarist. Some of his more famous songs include 'Release Me', 'Crazy Arms', 'Heartaches By the Number', 'City Lights', 'My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You', 'For The Good Times', 'I Won't Mention It Again', 'The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me', and 'Danny Boy.' He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996."

Ricky Van Shelton, no slouch as a singer himself, also has a birthday today. He's 56.

Buddy Holly Update

Buddy Holly's widow steamed over Peggy Sue's book | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "LUBBOCK — Buddy Holly's widow is trying to keep the woman whose name was made famous by the hit song Peggy Sue from selling a book about her friendship with the late rock 'n' roll star.

Maria Elena Holly said Friday that Peggy Sue Gerron's Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? is unauthorized and will harm Holly's name, her reputation and that of her company, Holly Properties.

'It's very interesting that this woman makes up all these stories,' Maria Elena Holly said from her home in Dallas. 'He never, never considered Peggy Sue a friend.'"

We're from the Government, and We're Here to Help You

New ID rules may complicate air travel - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses. By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

If you click through, you can see a photo of the teacher. I particularly like the last sentence of the article. Danbury, by the way, is only a few miles from Alvin.

Teacher Accused Of Giving Teens Beer - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston: "DANBURY, Texas -- An alleged teen drunken driving incident led deputies to a teacher's home, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

Brazoria County sheriff's deputies said two teenagers, who were stopped on suspicion of drunken driving, told them they drank alcohol at teacher Robin Ater's home in Danbury."

Vampira, R. I. P.

LAist: Vampira Goes to the Great Beyond: "Hollywood has lost another legend. Maila Nurmi, who became synonymous with her character, Vampira, passed away in her sleep yesterday at the age of 86."

Unforgettable in Plan Nine from Outer Space.

Sexiest Bond Girl Ever?

I suggest that everyone vote for the nuclear scientist. I did.

Olga Kurylenko cast in Bond 22 | Bond babes | Choose your favourite | The Sun |HomePage|Features: "Ukrainian beauty Olga Kurylenko was this week unveiled as Daniel Craig's latest sexy co-star for the upcoming Bond movie.

But is she your favourite ever? Does she send you to 007 heaven?

Or do you prefer classics like Ursula Andress, who will always be remembered for that scene."

Croc Update (Arctic Edition)

During Ancient Warm Period, Glaciers Might Have Persisted | LiveScience: "Oddly, glaciers might have existed in the Antarctic during a very warm super-greenhouse era more than 90 million years ago, contrary to researchers’ expectations.

Crocodiles roamed the Arctic and sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius), compared to today's 84 F (29 C) during the extremely warm Turonian stage of the late Cretaceous period."

Big Brother Lives in California Now

California wants to control home thermostats - International Herald Tribune: "SAN FRANCISCO: The conceit in the 1960s show 'The Outer Limits' was that outside forces had taken control of your television set.

Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages."

When Bikers Meet Humans: A Review

When Bikers Meet Humans: "Though newly published, J. J. Solari's collection of eighteen stories, When Bikers Meet Humans, has already been marked for public immolation by a variety of civic-minded groups. JJ writes in the Rabelaisian tradition by way of Charles Bukowski, and if you don't find something to offend you in the first few pages, you're probably reading with your eyes closed."

The review is not exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to find on a site devoted to The Mickey Mouse Club, but it's complete and accurate. I've just finished reading the second story in the book, "Dogging It," and if I thought the first story was a test, it was merely part one. "Dogging It" is the tale of a masked (and caped) biker who's killing dogs. The descriptions are graphic. The terrible thing is that I laughed, especially at the end of a comment by a cop about the difference between killing humans and killing dogs and why, while nobody cares about the humans, everybody cares about the dogs. You might be surprised at how the entire comment changes your ideas about the story. I was.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

This time, in ditch surfing.

Hat tip to Dave Barry, not to mention Jeff Meyerson.

Change One Letter in a Movie Title. . .

. . . and create a poster for it. That was the challenge, and here are the results. There are dozens, some of the very clever and funny.

Gator Update (Economic Boon Edition)

Maybe that should be boom. I'm not sure the gators will like the weather in Michigan, though.

Alligator sanctuary approved in Athens Township | Battle Creek Enquirer - www.battlecreekenquirer.com - Battle Creek, Mich.: "ATHENS — Athens Township will have some scaly new residents and a potential economic boon following tonight's approval of an alligator sanctuary site plan.

The Athens Township Planning Commission at its regular meeting unanimously approved the site plan for the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary & Zoological Park."

Uh-Oh

Harris County is next door to those of us who live in Brazoria County. Houston is the county seat.

Attorney General to investigate Harris DA e-mail case | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal will face a state investigation into whether campaign-related e-mails on his government computer warrant removal from office, officials said today.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office informed county officials today that it would try to determine whether Rosenthal's actions were ``official misconduct.'' The process could lead to Rosenthal's removal, and even criminal charges.

Rosenthal's computer also contained some racist jokes and sexually explicit videos, which has fueled outrage from public officials and calls for his resignation in recent days."

Gator Update (Gator People Edition)

Broward-Palm Beach - News - The Gator People!: "In the 1959 movie Alligator People, set in an unnamed Southern wetland that will look familiar to South Floridians, Mrs. Webster, a newlywed, loses her husband. But he's not gone. Mad scientists have turned handsome Paul Webster into a mutant alligator that slithers through swamps, wreaking B-movie havoc. It's the stuff of cheap melodrama — with one caveat:

Alligator people really do inhabit our swamps. They speak gator language, swap gator tales, and collect gator memorabilia. They cook gator chili and barbecue gator ribs. And they keep gators, enormous scaled pets with names such as Rusty, Godzilla, and Rambo, with whom they've developed a deep-swamp symbiosis."

Deceit -- James Siegel

I was less than impressed by Jame Siegel's Derailed, but I thought I'd give him another try, mainly because I was looking for a quick, disposable read. So I picked up Deceit.

One thing that bothered me about the previous book was a huge coincidence. What bothers me about this one is that the whole thing is so preposterous that I can't suspend enough belief to enjoy it.

A California town is wiped out in a flood in 1954. 50 years later, a disgraced reporter starts digging into the story. Massive cover-up. They're out to get him. Paranoia runs rampant. Plot complications abound. Square that. Or cube it. You'd have to be nuts to think a such a complex cover-up would work, or even to consider it. So naturally the book has been sold to the movies and will probably sell a zillion copies, while my simple-minded little novels will be lucky to sell two copies. So who am I to talk?

Here's something that really bothered me, though. From page 141: "She averted my eyes . . . ." It that even physically possible? Maybe it is, and I just don't know the meaning of averted. This is from page 147: "A 3-year-old girl who'd rode out the flood. . . ." That's not dialogue. That's in the narration. Gimme a break. Or not. Remember at movie sale. I'm just bitter.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

The video on the site won't play on my computer. Maybe your luck will be better, or maybe you can find it on YouTube.

Update: Thanks to Brent McKee for this link to the video.

Zoo lets guests play tug of war with lions, tigers | News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | Top Stories: "While visiting the Houston Zoo recently, Ayala, a Houston attorney, recorded a short clip of video which is now posted on YouTube.

It shows caretakers at the Houston Zoo taking a 20-pound chunk of raw meat tied onto a rope and tossing it into a lion’s pen.

Guests then got to tug on the rope."

Why Nobody Likes to Fly Anymore

Reason #4: Security is run by bozos.

Airlines: TSA Detains 5-Year-Old As National Security Risk: "A 5-year-old boy was detained as 'security risk' because he had the same name of someone on the TSA 'No-Fly' list. The TSA had to conduct a full search of their persons and belongings. When his mother went to pick him up and hug him and comfort him during the proceedings, she was told not to touch him because he was a national security risk."

Croc Update (Video Edition)

Crocodilian Pets in Hiroshima : Japan Probe: "A video report from Fuji TV news about a Mr. Murabayashi of Hiroshima Prefecture who keeps a spectacled caiman as a pet:"

Great video. It's in Japanese, but there's a translation provided underneath the video. Hat tip to Boing Boing.