New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: The Killing on Sutter Street :: Paul S. Powers

This one's special. Check out the author's name. More on Powers at the link in case you don't already know who he is.

Will the Persecution Never End

Slideshow: Celebrities Famous For No Reason - Starpulse Entertainment News: "Slideshow: Celebrities Famous For No Reason"

This Video Explains a Lot

YouTube - The Internet Is Made Of Cats

Three minutes of your life you'll never get back, a moment of which may not be safe for work.

Serial Vigilantes of Paperback Fiction: An Encyclopedia from Able Team to Z-Comm -- Bradley Mengel

I couldn't resist buying this book. I was a bit taken aback by the price, but then I saw that the Kindle edition was a lot less. So it became my first purchase of any Kindle book. (Others I've picked up for free.) It's exactly what it says on the cover there to the left: an encyclopedia of "serial vigilante" novels a sub-genre that began with The Executioner series.

So why couldn't I resist? Well, I have shelves full of serial vigilante novels, so why not find out something about the people who wrote them? And for that matter, since I've never read most of them, why not find out something about the series characters themselves? This book has most of the information I was looking for, from Able Team to Z-Comm, and I find it fascinating reading. I'm still working my way through it, but so far it's great stuff.

I have a couple of things to warn you about. First, the author offers no opinions about quality. He reports on the books and gives a good overview of the series, but there's no way to distinguish the better ones. You might not think there are none that are worth your time, but you'd be wrong. The Destroyer series, for one, has some wonderful books in it. Black Samurai is a cut above most others, and then there's the M.I.A. Hunter. You wouldn't know that by reading Serial Vigilantes, however. Second, I was hoping that I could find out who wrote all the books. The series originator is given, and there's often good material about that person. At the end of each section, there's a list of all the books in the series. So far, so good. The bad news is that while in some cases the author of each book is identified, in others, only some authors are named for specific books. And in other cases, no author is given at all. (The M.I.A. Hunter series being a prime example.)

Those quibbles aside, I recommend this to anybody who's interested in the serial vigilante novels that were so popular at one time. Now I wish someone would find out what happened to the audience for those books. Did it move on to reading other stuff? James Patterson, maybe, or Dan Brown? Or did it quit reading and start playing video games and watching DVDs? Inquiring minds want to know.

Planning to Watch the Play-Offs?

Football Games Have 11 Minutes of Action - WSJ.com: "According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

In other words, if you tally up everything that happens between the time the ball is snapped and the play is whistled dead by the officials, there's barely enough time to prepare a hard-boiled egg. In fact, the average telecast devotes 56% more time to showing replays."

Hat tip to Art Scott.

The Story With No Name Comes to a Close

The Culbin Trail: The Story With No Name

Yes, There Really Is an Internet Site for Everything

BirdSend.com | Send Someone The Bird!

You Probably Think I'm Linking to This Because of the Advice

But I'm really linking because of the picture.
Hat tip to Maurice Powell.

Bookgasm — reading material to get excited about: "20 Creative Ways to Become a Published Author"

Super Snake!

'Super snake' fears on the rise in Florida - latimes.com: "Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - Fears of a new 'super snake' emerging in the Everglades grew this week during a hunt to track South Florida's invasive python population.
[. . . .]
In addition, state environmental officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python, which already has an established foothold in the Everglades. That could lead to a new 'super snake,' said George Horne, the water district's deputy executive director."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Hunters spark lockdown of Texas nuclear weapons plant: "A pair of fowl hunters sparked a brief lockdown of a Texas nuclear weapons plant Friday, officials said.
[. . . .]
The sheriff's office got a call around 7:20 am from an employee of B&W Pantex who saw two men getting out a vehicle dressed in camouflage and carrying guns a couple miles from the plant.

The men were soon found in a nearby field setting up goose decoys and a blind."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Dallas cop fired over nude photos sent to student - washingtonpost.com: "A 30-year-old Dallas police officer has been fired after an internal investigation revealed he sent nude photos of himself to a high school student.

Police Chief David Kunkle on Thursday fired Officer Bryan Crews. The officer's attorney says Crews will appeal and criticized the investigation."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Book 'Em

CBS rides with 'Hawaii Five-O' - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety: "Book 'em, CBS: Net has given a pilot order to its new take on 'Hawaii Five-O.'

Peter Lenkov is writing and exec producing a modern retelling of the classic 1970s crime drama. Also on board as exec producers ate Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

CBS TV Studios produces the project, which once again revolves around Steve McGarrett, the head of an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police."

Five Gates to Hell

William J. Lederer, R. I. P.

William J. Lederer, Author of ‘The Ugly American,’ Dies - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com: "William J. Lederer, a writer and career naval officer who, with Eugene Burdick, wrote “The Ugly American,” a novel that was among the first books to deal with American involvement in Southeast Asia and that barely veiled a blistering critique of the nation’s foreign policy there, died on Dec. 5 in Baltimore. He was 97."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Friday at the Improv

The Top Seven Classic Movie Moments You Didn't Know Were Improv | SPIKE

Somehow I Missed This

But since this is a family blog, I can't link to it.

Thanks to Linda Richards at The Rap Sheet for calling it to my attention.

"Billy Goat Bandit" Update

"Billy Goat Bandit" suspected in at least 11 Houston area bank robberies - 1/14/10 - Houston News - abc13.com: "The Houston FBI Bank Robbery Task Force is seeking the public's assistance in identifying a man who is now suspected in at least 6 Houston area bank robberies.

The latest occurred at the Wells Fargo located inside the Randall's grocery store located at 12860 Memorial Thursday. In previous robberies, the robber sported a unique straggly beard with extra long chin hair, earning him the nickname of the 'Billy Goat Bandit.' During some recent robberies, the robber's chin whiskers were more neatly trimmed."

GaGa Barbie

In case you're wondering, Barbie is on the left in each shot.

Forgotten Books: STONE M.I.A. HUNTER: MIAMI WAR ZONE -- Jack Buchanan

Okay, the truth is that this book's not entirely forgotten, and that's why I'm writing about it. I ran across a reference to it an another book. Almost as soon as I started reading the reference work, I ran across this comment: ". . . the MIA Hunter and his team do more damage to the drug trade in a week than the DEA had done in many years."

Indeed. And I'm proud to have had a part in doing that damage. Back in the late '80s, Steve Mertz invited me to write a few of the M.I.A. Hunter books based on his outlines. One of them was Miami War Zone, and seeing it mentioned in print reminded me of just how much fun it was to write those fast-moving tales of rugged adventure. Lots of action, shooting, and explosions. I wrote several in the series, and it would be hard to pick a favorite, though this one stands out in my memory.

Joe Lansdale wrote a couple of these books, too, as did Mike Newton. They turn up in used-book stores quite often, and you can buy them on-line for a buck.

My review of Serial Vigilantes, the reference work cited above, will be posted in a day or so.

Sheena