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Saturday, December 20, 2008
Longarm and the Valley of Skulls -- Tabor Evans
It's an open secret that Tabor Evans, in this instance, is James Reasoner. And if you ask me, James is having way too much fun writing these Longarm novels. My theory is that James wants to have written for every western series there is, or ever was. Since some of the series are defunct, he's sneaking them into the Longarm novels. This time it's the gang from Easy Company. Longarm is sent to the titular (no pun intended) Valley of Skulls to help out with some trouble there. Easy Company is having some problems of its own with Indians in the area and with a wagon train of pilgrims headed for the valley. The two stories are told in alternating chapters until they mesh toward the end of the book. Before that happens, though, James has brought in another series western character, but I'll let you find out about that one for yourself. It gave me a grin or two, though. And the plot turns out to be tied to still another series that James had a hand in.
As usual in a book by James, you get full value. Hooded stage robbers, an Indian attack on a town, fistfights, gunplay, ambushes, and sex. And all that's just in the first 75 pages or so. You can't go wrong here. Check it out.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Phantom Returns
The Associated Press: New 'Phantom' movie to be filmed in Australia: "An Australian production company on Monday announced it had secured the rights to 'The Phantom Legacy,' a follow-up to the 1996 film 'The Phantom,' which starred Billy Zane as the masked hero who fights evil from his jungle headquarters."
Thanks to Jeff Segal for the link. Updates say this is not a sequel to the Zane picture.
Thanks to Jeff Segal for the link. Updates say this is not a sequel to the Zane picture.
New Flash Fiction Site
Out of the Gutter is sponsoring a new flash site. It's called The Flash Fiction Offensive and stories published on this site are eligible for publication in OOTG. The editor, Rey Gonzalez, is accepting submissions.
I'm Innocent!
iWon News - Police: Man broke into Paris Hilton's home: "LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles police say they are investigating a burglary at a home owned by socialite Paris Hilton.
Los Angeles Police Officer Julianne Sohn says the break-in occurred around 5 a.m. Friday at a home in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. Sohn says detectives report that a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt broke into the home and ransacked Hilton's bedroom."
Los Angeles Police Officer Julianne Sohn says the break-in occurred around 5 a.m. Friday at a home in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. Sohn says detectives report that a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt broke into the home and ransacked Hilton's bedroom."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Top 50 Movie Fight Scenes
TOP 50 MOVIE FIGHT SCENES Movie Feature at TheShiznit.co.uk: "'How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?' The wise words of one Tyler Durden, and a maxim we live by here at TheShiznit. The fifty scenes celebrated in this article represent the finest fights in cinema history, the almighty showdowns that shook the Earth to its very core. Featuring men, women, dinosaurs, robots and computer viruses, it's an unparalled feast of fist-on-fist action that packs a knockout punch. Enjoy!"
Hat tip to Walter Satterthwait.
Hat tip to Walter Satterthwait.
3 Minutes of Your Life You'll Never Get Back
But now you can skip the movie.
Clip du jour: 'Twilight' the Puppet Saga | PopWatch Blog | EW.com: "Attention Twilight lovers and haters alike: here's something you can all get on board with -- Twilight the Puppet Saga. It's the entire movie in three minutes, as performed by puppets."
Clip du jour: 'Twilight' the Puppet Saga | PopWatch Blog | EW.com: "Attention Twilight lovers and haters alike: here's something you can all get on board with -- Twilight the Puppet Saga. It's the entire movie in three minutes, as performed by puppets."
Forgotten Books: SCI-FI -- William Marshall
Once again, I've picked one of my favorite titles from a series, this time William Marshall's Yellowthread Street police procedurals. Imagine the 87th Precinct taken over by the Groucho, Harpo, and Chico and moved to Hong Kong. That'll give you some idea what this series is like.In Sci-Fi, the officers of the Yellowthread Street station are faced with a science fiction convention, something like a WorldCon, slightly exaggerated. Things, of course, go very, very wrong. And there are, as usual, other cases to be solved, all of them bizarre, like the guy who's incinerating people. Not that a problem like incinerated citizens is all that unusual in Marshall's novels. If you want bizarre cases, just pick up any book in the series. Marshall will knock your socks off.
The cast of characters in the books includes Inspectors Auden and Spencer, Harry Feiffer, and Christopher O'Yee, all of them fun to know. Their adventures are equally hilarious and suspenseful.
William Marshall is an Australian writer from whom I haven't seen anything lately. He did other series, but if you haven't read anything about the gang at Yellowthread Street, you've missed a real treat.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Majel Barrett Roddenberry, R. I. P.
Sci-fi icon Majel Barrett Roddenberry dies at 76 - Yahoo! News: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry and a member of the show's cast, has died. She was 76.
Barrett Roddenberry died of leukemia on Thursday at her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, her family said in a statement.
Her relationship with Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 after the two had been married for 22 years, earned Barrett Roddenberry the nickname 'The First Lady of Star Trek.'"
Hat tip to Mary Ann Melton.
Barrett Roddenberry died of leukemia on Thursday at her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, her family said in a statement.
Her relationship with Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 after the two had been married for 22 years, earned Barrett Roddenberry the nickname 'The First Lady of Star Trek.'"
Hat tip to Mary Ann Melton.
Our Tax Dollars at Work
FBI agents asked for $45k apiece for Iraq OT - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON - Taxpayers were billed an average of $45,000 in overtime and extra pay for each FBI agent temporarily posted to Iraq over the course of four years, according to a new Justice Department report. In some cases, agents were paid to watch movies, exercise and attend parties."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Hat tip to Scott D. Parker
Houston judge's daughter sues driver she hit while drunk | Front page | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Convicted last year of intoxication manslaughter for the death of her boyfriend, the 21-year-old daughter of a state district judge is suing the truck driver she ran into during a drunken driving crash.
Elizabeth Shelton, the daughter of juvenile judge Pat Shelton, is accusing truck driver Lance Bennett of negligence in the Oct. 23, 2007, wreck that killed her boyfriend Matthew McNiece.
Shelton had a blood alcohol concentration more than three times the legal limit, two tests showed. She was sentenced to eight years' probation and had to serve four months in jail.
Shelton, her family and the family of the boyfriend who was killed are suing for $20,000 for the destruction of the Lexus SUV she was driving and an undetermined amount for mental anguish, pain and suffering.
[. . . .]
[Bennett's attorney] noted that Shelton named 16 defendants, including insurance companies and banks.
Houston judge's daughter sues driver she hit while drunk | Front page | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Convicted last year of intoxication manslaughter for the death of her boyfriend, the 21-year-old daughter of a state district judge is suing the truck driver she ran into during a drunken driving crash.
Elizabeth Shelton, the daughter of juvenile judge Pat Shelton, is accusing truck driver Lance Bennett of negligence in the Oct. 23, 2007, wreck that killed her boyfriend Matthew McNiece.
Shelton had a blood alcohol concentration more than three times the legal limit, two tests showed. She was sentenced to eight years' probation and had to serve four months in jail.
Shelton, her family and the family of the boyfriend who was killed are suing for $20,000 for the destruction of the Lexus SUV she was driving and an undetermined amount for mental anguish, pain and suffering.
[. . . .]
[Bennett's attorney] noted that Shelton named 16 defendants, including insurance companies and banks.
Maybe not the Da Vinci Code
Three near-invisible drawings discovered on back of Da Vinci masterpiece - Times Online: "The French art world is in a frenzy of speculation today after the strange discovery of three almost invisible drawings on the back of a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre museum.
The mysterious sketches, which were found when the painting, Virgin and Child With Saint Anne, was taken down for experts to determine whether it could be restored, may be by the Renaissance artist himself, according to the museum in Paris.
Although the discovery is reminiscent of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, art experts said that the drawings would not have contained a hidden message from the painter."
The mysterious sketches, which were found when the painting, Virgin and Child With Saint Anne, was taken down for experts to determine whether it could be restored, may be by the Renaissance artist himself, according to the museum in Paris.
Although the discovery is reminiscent of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, art experts said that the drawings would not have contained a hidden message from the painter."
Croc Update (Tasty Pets Edition)
Video at link.
cbs4.com - Giant Crocodile Which Ate 3 Dogs Relocated, Again: "CORAL GABLES (CBS4) ―
A huge American crocodile, suspected of eating three dogs in a Coral Gables neighborhood, has been caught and relocated for the second time.
Last year, Gables-by-the-Sea residents had wildlife trappers remove the 11-foot croc out of a neighborhood canal after it ate three neighborhood pets.
Despite being relocated, the giant crocodile came back. So did trappers who relocated the animal a second time on Wednesday. Believe it or not, some neighbors actually enjoyed having the 11-foot long croc in their canal but understand that safety comes first."
cbs4.com - Giant Crocodile Which Ate 3 Dogs Relocated, Again: "CORAL GABLES (CBS4) ―
A huge American crocodile, suspected of eating three dogs in a Coral Gables neighborhood, has been caught and relocated for the second time.
Last year, Gables-by-the-Sea residents had wildlife trappers remove the 11-foot croc out of a neighborhood canal after it ate three neighborhood pets.
Despite being relocated, the giant crocodile came back. So did trappers who relocated the animal a second time on Wednesday. Believe it or not, some neighbors actually enjoyed having the 11-foot long croc in their canal but understand that safety comes first."
Dino Update
Fossil-hunters battle Sahara storms to find dinosaur prize - Times Online: "A dinosaur-hunting expedition to the Sahara desert involving British scientists has found the fossilised remains of what are thought to be two new species.
The ancient remains discovered in Morocco belong to a giant flying pterosaur and plant-eating sauropod. Initial examinations suggest that both specimens are unknown to science.
They were unearthed during a month-long quest during which the research team braved floods and storms to reach the dig site and then preserve the fossils. The scientists even feared that they would never get the bones out of the desert because they were so heavy that their Land Rover became stuck in sand."
The ancient remains discovered in Morocco belong to a giant flying pterosaur and plant-eating sauropod. Initial examinations suggest that both specimens are unknown to science.
They were unearthed during a month-long quest during which the research team braved floods and storms to reach the dig site and then preserve the fossils. The scientists even feared that they would never get the bones out of the desert because they were so heavy that their Land Rover became stuck in sand."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
McDonald's Robbery Suspect Gets Laughed At - Irresistible News Story - KSAT San Antonio: "SAN ANTONIO -- A man who attempted to rob a San Antonio McDonald's on Tuesday evening ran into a string of bad luck, police said.
The man approached a cashier at the McDonald's in the northwest part of the city and demanded money, only to be laughed at when the cashier didn't realize he was trying to rob the store, police said."
The man approached a cashier at the McDonald's in the northwest part of the city and demanded money, only to be laughed at when the cashier didn't realize he was trying to rob the store, police said."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Happy Birthday, Scrabble!
I'm a couple of days late on this, but it's worth a mention.
The sublime joy of Scrabble - This Britain, UK - The Independent: "Happy birthday, Scrabble! No, make that Joyous Birthday, because although 'happy' is one of those deceptively high scoring words, what with H and Y being worth 4, and P 3, making 15 in all, 'joyous' has that initial J, worth 8, which lifts it to 16, one point higher."
The sublime joy of Scrabble - This Britain, UK - The Independent: "Happy birthday, Scrabble! No, make that Joyous Birthday, because although 'happy' is one of those deceptively high scoring words, what with H and Y being worth 4, and P 3, making 15 in all, 'joyous' has that initial J, worth 8, which lifts it to 16, one point higher."
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