Saturday, March 07, 2009
Latest Acquisition
Today I was browsing the Clearance shelves at Half-Price Books, and I saw the two enormous volumes of Leslie Klinger's Annotated Sherlock Holmes. I've owned the William Baring-Gould edition for many years, and I certainly didn't need another edition. Also, there's simply no room for those hefty books on my shelves. But I couldn't resist sneaking a peek at the price tag. $3.00 each. Wow. That's like giving them away. A friend was with me. I tried to convince him to buy them. No dice. I walked away. I walked back. I hefted the books again. Very heavy, very big. No room. $3.00. Why go on? You know what happened. I sure hope I can find a spot for them somewhere.
Hmmmmmmmmm
Salacious content driving the adoption of ebooks? | ITworld: "Barnes & Noble abandoned ebooks once, so why are they coming back to them now? Because the format is starting to take off. Why is that? What's popular on Fictionwise? Well, once again it seems like porn is blazing a path to a new media format. Of the top 10 bestsellers under the 'Multiformat' category, nine are tagged 'erotica' amd the last is 'dark fantasy'."
D. B. Cooper Update. Yes, Another One.
Sleuths seek D.B. Cooper clues - UPI.com: "VANCOUVER, Wash., March 6 (UPI) -- A team of amateur sleuths say they are scouring Oregon and Washington state for clues to the fate of a 1971 airline hijacker who jumped from a plane.
Retired businessman and amateur scientist Tom Kaye said his team of amateur investigators have conducted experiments with money in the Columbia River to try to reconstruct the path taken by some of the cash taken by the hijacker, who called himself D.B. Cooper, The Oregonian reported Friday.
'The money is the only path to what happened to him after he left the plane,' he said.
Cooper hijacked a 1971 Northwest Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle. He released the plane's passengers in Seattle, demanded $200,000 and ordered the plane to fly to Mexico City. The hijacker jumped out with the money and two parachutes somewhere over southwest Washington."
Retired businessman and amateur scientist Tom Kaye said his team of amateur investigators have conducted experiments with money in the Columbia River to try to reconstruct the path taken by some of the cash taken by the hijacker, who called himself D.B. Cooper, The Oregonian reported Friday.
'The money is the only path to what happened to him after he left the plane,' he said.
Cooper hijacked a 1971 Northwest Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle. He released the plane's passengers in Seattle, demanded $200,000 and ordered the plane to fly to Mexico City. The hijacker jumped out with the money and two parachutes somewhere over southwest Washington."
First, I Need a Yacht
Winged luxury submarines 'fly' underwater - CNN.com: "What better toy to have on the end of your 200-foot yacht than a submarine capable of diving to 1,500 feet below the sea's surface?
Whoops. Did we say submarine? It's a submersible that can 'fly' underwater."
Video at the link.
Whoops. Did we say submarine? It's a submersible that can 'fly' underwater."
Video at the link.
Singing in the Saddle -- Douglas B. Green
Douglas B. Green (aka Ranger Doug, aka The Idol of American Youth) of Riders in the Sky has written the definitive book on singing cowboys. I loved it. There's great information on every page about singing cowboys, singing groups that appeared in cowboy movies, and much more. In fact, there's more in this book about the Durango Kid movies that I've ever seen before. From the obscure to the famous, Green covers them all.For example, did you know that Bob Steele sang in several cowboy movies three years before John Wayne appeared as Singin' Sandy? And did you know that Steele's twin brother dubbed Wayne's singing in that movie? (Others may tell you differently, but I trust Green.)
The Sons of the Pioneers are covered in depth, and Green devotes seven pages to a timeline with the group's different configurations.
Tex Ritter, Monte Hale, Rex Allen, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Dick Foran, Bob Baker, Vaughn Monroe (yes, Vaughn Monroe), Whip Wilson (you didn't know Whip was a singing cowboy?), and on and on. If you, like me, spent many of your Saturday afternoons in a crowded theater listening to singing cowboys, you can't go wrong with this book. And did I mention the great illustrations? Check it out.
Will Texas Lead the Way?
LEGISLATURE '09 EDUCATION | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | News: Education: "AUSTIN – Advocates for more technology in the classroom – and fewer textbooks – are stepping up their arguments for change this year, trying to convince Texas lawmakers that the future of electronic textbooks is now.
The technology push is getting a boost from a special House committee that warned about the consequences if Texas is stuck in the past when it comes to classroom materials. Among the reasons: the higher cost of printed books, the expense of transporting and storing them, and the fact that they can be outdated before students get them."
The technology push is getting a boost from a special House committee that warned about the consequences if Texas is stuck in the past when it comes to classroom materials. Among the reasons: the higher cost of printed books, the expense of transporting and storing them, and the fact that they can be outdated before students get them."
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
"Marmaduke" heading to the big screen: "LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – 20th Century Fox must disagree with W.C. Fields' admonition never to work with animals. It's a veritable zoo at the Hollywood studio.
In its latest animal-central project, Fox has signed director Tom Dey to develop a big-screen adaptation of 'Marmaduke.'"
In its latest animal-central project, Fox has signed director Tom Dey to develop a big-screen adaptation of 'Marmaduke.'"
Friday, March 06, 2009
15 Incredible Library Special Collections
And look who heads the list! Way to go, George!
15 Incredible Library Special Collections | Online Courses: "Large libraries, be they university or city, aren’t just good for research and circulation. They also often have amazing special collections centered around singular, often esoteric, topics. These collections are often donated via will by individuals who collected the items over a lifetime of obsession. Many library patrons may not realize it, but often these special collections are surprisingly accessible. The items usually don’t circulate, but libraries often put on exhibits or provide special reading rooms for people who want to take in the collection. There are many, many special collections around the world worthy of discussion, but here are 15 that we found particularly interesting."
Link via Neatorama.
15 Incredible Library Special Collections | Online Courses: "Large libraries, be they university or city, aren’t just good for research and circulation. They also often have amazing special collections centered around singular, often esoteric, topics. These collections are often donated via will by individuals who collected the items over a lifetime of obsession. Many library patrons may not realize it, but often these special collections are surprisingly accessible. The items usually don’t circulate, but libraries often put on exhibits or provide special reading rooms for people who want to take in the collection. There are many, many special collections around the world worthy of discussion, but here are 15 that we found particularly interesting."
Link via Neatorama.
Croc Update (From the Penthouse to the Outhouse Edition)
Bloomington man escapes crocodile that bit his head | WSBT South Bend - Your Local News Leader | Local News: "It was near dusk at the end of a lazy day in Guatemala and Chris Waggoner was taking a relaxing swim in the national park lake where the locals gather.
“I was doing the backstroke, looking up at the trees and the birds. I remember seeing white egrets and hearing the howler monkeys in the trees,” Waggoner recalled. “I remember thinking, this is paradise. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
That was, literally, an instant before a crocodile’s powerful jaws clamped down on his head and pulled him forcefully under water."
There's a link to photos of Waggoner's surgery. Parental discretion advised.
“I was doing the backstroke, looking up at the trees and the birds. I remember seeing white egrets and hearing the howler monkeys in the trees,” Waggoner recalled. “I remember thinking, this is paradise. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
That was, literally, an instant before a crocodile’s powerful jaws clamped down on his head and pulled him forcefully under water."
There's a link to photos of Waggoner's surgery. Parental discretion advised.
Gator Update (They're Everywhere Edition)
Alligator Sanctuary: "David Critchlow, owner, first envisioned a reptile park in the mid 80's, beginning with a small habitat for small cold-blooded animals indigenous toMichigan as entertainment for his two growing children."
Hat tip to Mike Galbreath.
Hat tip to Mike Galbreath.
Uh-Huh
A handy little guide to small talk in the Stone Age - Times Online: "A “time traveller’s phrasebook” that could allow basic communication between modern English speakers and Stone Age cavemen is being compiled by scientists studying the evolution of language.
Research has identified a handful of modern words that have changed so little in tens of thousands of years that ancient hunter-gatherers would probably have been able to understand them.
Anybody who was catapulted back in time to Ice Age Europe would stand a good chance of being intelligible to the locals by using words such as “I”, “who” and “thou” and the numbers “two”, “three” and “five”, the work suggests."
Research has identified a handful of modern words that have changed so little in tens of thousands of years that ancient hunter-gatherers would probably have been able to understand them.
Anybody who was catapulted back in time to Ice Age Europe would stand a good chance of being intelligible to the locals by using words such as “I”, “who” and “thou” and the numbers “two”, “three” and “five”, the work suggests."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo, TX: newschannel10.com - Alligators in Spearman are Living Large!: "The Texas Alligator Ranch, an established highlight in Spearman is expanding to add a small bed and breakfast.
The ranch is home to 18 foot alligators and you are welcome anytime. 'Well we don't have to many hotels in town when we have a celebration or when people come in for a funeral, not to many places to stay,' said Dean Coates, Owner."
The ranch is home to 18 foot alligators and you are welcome anytime. 'Well we don't have to many hotels in town when we have a celebration or when people come in for a funeral, not to many places to stay,' said Dean Coates, Owner."
Forgotten Books: NOTHING BURNS IN HELL -- Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer, who passed away recently, is widely known as the author of any number of innovative and ground-breaking SF novels and stories. No need for me to list them here. What's not so well known is that he also wrote a private-eye novel, and this is it. Since it's by Farmer, maybe I don't need to tell you what it's crude, rude, lewd, funny, violent, and decidedly odd. To begin with, it's set in Farmer's native Peoria. Is there another p.i. novel set there? If there is, I've never read it. Tom Corbie is the detective's name. His wife is Glinna, and she's a wiccan. They live in an apartment where they're plagued by noisy redneck neighbors. One of the extended subplots deals with Corbie's war with these neighbors, but the first case that Corbie's called to deal with has to do with extortion, and that leads to his capture by the lowest of the backwoods low. Later, he's hired to work for one of the wealthiest families in Peoria. And -- you guessed it -- the cases turn out to be related. But it's how they're related that'll get you. Nothing Burns in Hell is one of the most labrynthine tales I've read in many a year. Raymond Chandler's plot in The Big Sleep is simple compared to this one.
Along the way, Farmer gives you details of Peoria's history, talks about native American myths, tosses in seemingly unrelated stories that turn out to be important to the plot, and generally has a great time. I think I can safely say you'll never read another p.i. novel like this one, should you be brave enough to give it a try.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Make My Day
CLINT EASTWOOD - MAGNUM FORCE THE MUSICAL?: "CLINT EASTWOOD's classic action film MAGNUM FORCE is set to be given an unlikely musical makeover. The Dirty Harry sequel, released in 1973, featured Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan, and now cult singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock is planning to produce an off-Broadway musical based on the film."
Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.
Hat tip to Steve Stilwell.
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