New Story at Beat to a Pulp

Glenn Gray's "Disimpaction."

BEAT to a PULP

Jib-Jab's Year in Review (NSFW)

Gator Update

Great photo at link.

White alligator spotted west of Vero Beach : Treasure Coast : TCPalm: "INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — It looks like a rare albino alligator.

In early December, residents of Vista Plantation began seeing an unusually large white-colored alligator in the community’s lakes west of the Indian River Mall, said subdivision manager Charles Smith."

Edd Cartier, R. I. P.

I remember his many distinctive interior illos. He was a favorite of mine.

Edd Cartier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Edd Cartier (born Edward Daniel Cartier[1], 1914 in North Bergen, New Jersey - December 25, 2008) was an American pulp magazine illustrator. He studied at the Pratt Institute, his illustrations began to appear following his graduation in 1936 in Street and Smith publications, including The Shadow, to which he contributed many interior illustrations, and the John W. Campbell, Jr.-edited magazines Astounding Science Fiction, Doc Savage Magazine, and Unknown.[1] His work later appeared in other magazines, including Planet Stories, Fantastic Adventures, and other pulps.[1]"

So It's Come to This

Disco fever is back - Times Online: "After years of being relegated to the office party and hen nights, disco has shimmied her way back up to the top of the cool kids’ party playlist. Blanketed in glitzy memories of Studio 54, disco provides the perfect antidote to the all-pervading grimness of the life ahead. “When times are good, you could argue that people get turned on by darker, edgier music, such as drum’n’bass or electro,” says Jim Stanton, who started the iconic Horse Meat Disco in Vauxhall, south London. “As soon as life gets harder, people look for something more uplifting, which is where disco comes in — it’s an escape. The first big-haired disco moments happened in America during the 1970s, when there was a depression caused by an oil crisis.”"

You Know You'll Have to Own This

Dames, Dolls, and Gun Molls TPB :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics: "In the course of his long and illustrious career, renowned illustrator/painter Robert A. Maguire created gorgeous cover images for more than a thousand books and worked for virtually every mainstream publisher in the U.S. Best known for his incomparably sexy 'femme fatale' images for pulp paperbacks in the 1950s and 1960s, Maguire built a long and legendary career showcasing character portraits that were iconic and beautiful, painting subjects that felt simultaneously real and sensually compelling. Now, art historian and living pinup legend Jim Silke casts his curatorial eye toward Maguire's long and fascinating career in his first art collection/artist biography, Dames, Dolls, and Gun Molls. With a keen eye for criticism and his trademark style and wit, Silke explores the legacy of an artist whose work is known by millions the world over."

The Neddiad -- Daniel Pinkwater

I'm a big fan of the works of Daniel Pinkwater. His books are supposedly for kids, but that doesn't matter to me. I read 'em anyway, and I'm rarely disappointed. Among my favorites: The Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Lizard Music, Slaves of Spiegel, and Alan Mendelson, Boy from Mars. These aren't like anyone else's books for kids, or for anybody.

But I was going to write about The Neddiad. Ned Wentworthstein is the narrator, and the setting is the late 1940s. Ned's father has made a fortune in the shoelace business, and one day he decides more or less on a whim to move the family from Chicago to Los Angeles, mainly so he and Ned can eat in the Brown Derby.

So the adventure begins. It involves travel on the Super Chief, a visit to the Grand Canyon, meeting movie star Aaron Finn and his son, travelling with the ghost of a bellboy, going to military school, a circus, and more. Along the way, Ned is given a sacred turtle by an Indian shaman named Melvin, who's everywhere. There's an evil minion with the wonderful name of Sandor Eucalyptus and a girl named Iggy. There's even a cameo appearance by the Fat Men from Space. And more, much more. I may not be nine years old anymore, but I laughed a lot. Maybe it's not for everybody, it it sure works for me.

The Brain that Wouldn't Die

Hillary Waugh, R. I. P.

Hillary Waugh, a Pioneer of the Police Procedural, Dies at 88 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com: "Hillary Waugh, who helped pioneer the police procedural novel in dozens of mysteries, notably “Last Seen Wearing” (1952), died on Dec. 8 in Torrington, Conn. He was 88 and had lived in Guilford, Conn., until illness put him in a nursing home.

His death was confirmed by his son, Lawrence.

Mr. Waugh started out writing private-detective mysteries before he tried his hand at writing a novel that focused on the details of an unfolding police investigation. “I was tired of reading about these superdetectives and a police force composed of a bunch of bumbling idiots,” he told an interviewer in 1990. “I wanted to get away from the neat little corpses with the perfect bullet through the head and instead write a story as it really happened.”"

Direct from the Pages of an Ed McBain Novel

I can't remember which 87th Precinct novel a similar situation was used. It was years ago.

Phila. man shot because family talked during movie | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/26/2008: "A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.

James Joseph Cialella Jr., 29, of the 1900 block of Hollywood Street is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons violations."

The Best Crime Capers of 2008

The Seven Best Capers of 2008 | Threat Level from Wired.com: "It was a bad year for the economy, the Republican party and gay rights. But 2008 was a banner year for technology-aided crime. Competition was tough, but after an exhaustive search, Threat Level has produced this authoritative list of the best capers of the year."

Didn't Murray Leinster Write this Story?

Little Blue Pills Among the Ways CIA Wins Friends in Afghanistan - washingtonpost.com: "The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

'Take one of these. You'll love it,' the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills."

Big Box Office

2008: The Year Science Fiction Became Science Culture: "This year, the top twenty movies in the US grossed 3.7 billion dollars. Science fiction movies accounted for 2.5 billion of that. In 2008, scifi rocketed out of the basement to become scicult."

Croc Update (They're Everywhere!)

Ananova - Crocodile found in Peckham: "A crocodile has been found living in Peckham.

The two-foot long reptile was found in a bath in a flat.

Pest controller Steve North discovered the animal while making a routine call about the council's pest control services."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Featured Article - Psychologist identifies area of brain key to choosing words: "New research by a Rice University psychologist clearly identifies the parts of the brain involved in the process of choosing appropriate words during speech.

The study, published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help researchers better understand the speech problems that stroke patients experience."

People are no Damn Good

Basics - A Highly Evolved Propensity for Deceit - NYTimes.com: "When considering the behavior of putative scam operators like Bernard “Ponzi scheme” Madoff or Rod “Potty Mouth” Blagojevich, feel free to express a sense of outrage, indignation, disgust, despair, amusement, schadenfreude. But surprise? Don’t make me laugh."

Green Mansions

Christmas at the Criders' House

There's a pause in the action as Allen, Angela, and Tom rest between gift openings. It was great to have them here, and although they left only a short time ago, we miss them already. We had a great day, ate too much, laughed a lot, watched A Christmas Story over and over, and had a generally good time. It's quiet now, too quiet. Soon ma in her kerchief and I in my cap will settle down for a long winter's nap. Or maybe just a short one. Tomorrow I have a lot to do. I've already done a little (very little) writing today, with more to do tomorrow. Just how much will get done is an open question. I hope everyone had a great day, and that there'll be smooth sailing as we drift into the new year.

Eartha Kitt, R. I. P.

Eartha Kitt, sultry singer and dancer, dies at 81: "NEW YORK (AP) - A family friend says Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died. She was 81.

Andrew Freedman says Kitt died Thursday of colon cancer and was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed 'sex kitten' famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and getting a third nomination. She also was nominated for two Tony Awards and a Grammy."

Harold Pinter, R. I. P.

Harold Pinter, Nobel-Winning Playwright, Dies at 78 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com: "Harold Pinter, the British playwright whose gifts for finding the ominous in the everyday and the noise within silence made him the most influential and imitated dramatist of his generation, died on Wednesday. He was 78 and lived in London."