James Bacon, R. I. P.

James Bacon, Hollywood columnist, dies at 96: "James Bacon, who began his career at The Associated Press in the 1940s and spent 75 years chronicling Hollywood's biggest stars as a reporter, author and syndicated columnist, has died. He was 96.

Family friend Stan Rosenfield says Bacon died in his sleep of congestive heart failure Saturday at his Northridge home.

As a reporter for the AP and later as columnist for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Bacon had a knack for befriending A-list celebrities. He palled around with John Wayne, shared whisky with Frank Sinatra, was a confidant of Marilyn Monroe and met eight U.S. presidents."

Jeffery Deaver Interview

027 Reading & Writing podcast – Jeffery Deaver interview

Another Fine Mess -- Saul Austerlitz

The subtitle of this book is A History of American Film Comedy, and Saul Austerlitz sets out to tell us about thirty great comic figures, devoting a chapter to each one. Surely there won't be any argument about his choices. Judd Apatow, anyone? Well, before you start, read the book. Austerlitz makes a case for at least a couple of figures that I'm really pleased to see included. Doris Day, for one. And while there's a chapter on Mel Brooks, Austerlitz thinks he's overrated.

The approach is roughly chronological, beginning with Charlie Chaplin and ending with Apatow, and the connections that Austerlitz makes are quite interesting.

But I just lied. The book doesn't end with Apatow. In fact, my favorite part of it comes after Chapter 30. There are almost 100 pages of "Short Entries" on various actors. These entries make for fascinating reading, especially when I agree with it. How could I not love a book whose author says, "Rio Bravo is not only the finest comic western ever made; it might also be the finest western, period." Take that, Brian Garfield!

The book's actual conclusion, and another thing that the docile readers of this blog won't care to argue with, I'm sure, is a list of the "Top 100 American Comedies."

This is a really entertaining and interesting book. If you care about comedy or movies, you'll certainly want to have it in your library.

I Can Hardly Wait

Soon, float unassisted through the sky in 'see-through' passenger planes! - The Economic Times: "Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has come up with the idea of building see-through passenger planes in the future, one that will have a completely transparent fuselage.

The concept works by the captain pushing a button, which in turn sends an electrical pulse through a high-tech ceramic skin, which then makes the main body of the plane see-through."

Hat tip to Art Scott.

PaperBack

Frederick Lorenz, Night Never Ends, Lion Books, 1954.

Get a Rope!

Authorities find 36 dead alligators in truck - Florida AP - MiamiHerald.com: "Two men face poaching charges after deputies found 36 dead alligators and a bag containing 19 live hatchlings in the bed of their truck."

Will the Persecution Never End?

Paris Hilton takes plea deal to avoid jail time on drug charge - gets one year's probation

Hat tip, as usual, to Jeff Meyerson.

Will the Persecution Never End?

Paris Hilton 'rescues' 20 bunnies from snakes; snakes now very hungry: "As per Paris Hilton's Twitter feed, the heiress is now the new mommy to 20 'rescued' bunnies.

'The bunnies were meant to be feeders,' Hilton explained in a reply Tweet to one of her followers. 'I saw them at the petstore & they told me they were for snake food and I had to save them.'

What about the snakes? Will no one think to save them?"

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

And Keep Off His Lawn!

Wesley E. Brown, 103, is Oldest Federal Judge - NYTimes.com: "At 103, Judge Brown, of the United States District Court here, is old enough to have been unusually old when he enlisted during World War II. He is old enough to have witnessed a former law clerk’s appointment to serve beside him as a district judge — and, almost two decades later, the former clerk’s move to senior status. Judge Brown is so old, in fact, that in less than a year, should he survive, he will become the oldest practicing federal judge in the history of the United States."

Today's Western Movie Poster

The Decline of Western Civilization Continues Apace

Will you take this bride, in sickness and with surgery? - Yahoo! News: "Cable network E! has announced a new show 'Bridalplasty' in which 12 engaged women live in a mansion together and compete in 'wedding-themed' challenges to win plastic surgery procedures from each bride's wish list."

Top 10 Pirate Songs

Top 10 Pirate Songs - AOL Radio Blog

Didn't I Read about this in Amazing Stories in 1957?

Spray-on clothing becomes a reality | Science | guardian.co.uk: "A Spanish fashion designer has developed the world's first spray-on clothing that can be worn, washed and worn again.

Manel Torres joined forces with scientists at Imperial College London to invent the spray, which forms a seamless fabric on contact with the body."

Tarzan the Ape Man

Gator Update

Woman Corrals 900-Pound Alligator - Detroit Local News Story - WDIV Detroit: "A Massachusetts woman's day on the lake ended Wednesday with a hefty prize -- a 900-pound alligator.
Mary Ellen Mara-Christian reeled in the 13-foot gator, nearly eight times her own size, while hunting for the reptiles with her husband and some friends on Lake Moultrie in South Carolina. The state has a one-month gator hunting season."

Click on the video link!

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Q&A: Otto Penzler on The Best American Noir of the Century

Q&A: Otto Penzler on The Best American Noir of the Century: "Otto Penzler is a household name to mystery lovers. Editor, publisher, bookshop owner, and mystery aficionado extraordinaire, he is the driving force behind two new volumes, The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories, a collection of vintage hard-boiled mysteries, and The Best American Noir of the Century, coedited with James Ellroy. Most readers mistakenly interchange hard-boiled with noir, but Penzler contends they're different animals."

And They All Stayed Off His Lawn

Henry 'Pop' Brown dies in Fort Lauderdale, leaving 379 grandchildren - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "Henry Brown Sr., who started life in the cotton fields of rural Georgia, came to Fort Lauderdale in 1952 to grow his family, practice various trades and preach the glories of education. He did those things exceedingly well.

By the time 'Pop,' as he was called, died at his home Friday at age 98, he had seen the birth of 10 children and a school's worth of younger offspring: 61 grandchildren, 130 great-grandchildren, 162 great-great-grandchildren, and 26 great-great-great-grandchildren."

Understatement of the Day?

In Professor-Dominatrix Scandal, U. of New Mexico Feels the Pain - Faculty - The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Life has become extremely complex in the University of New Mexico's English department in the three years since Lisa D. Chavez, a tenured associate professor, was discovered moonlighting as the phone-sex dominatrix 'Mistress Jade,' and posing in promotional pictures sexually dominating one of her own graduate students."

Stranglehold -- Ed Gorman

A couple of years ago, I reviewed Ed Gorman's Sleeping Dogs, a crime novel about political consultant Dev Conrad. I commented at the beginning of the review that I seemed to be reviewing the same books as James Reasoner at about the same time and that I often seemed to feel the same way about the books. Well, here we go again.

This time Dev's firm is working for Natalie Byrnes on the campaign of Susan Cooper, Natalie's stepdaughter. Susan's running for reelection to congress, and she's been behaving strangely. Dev's associates call him for help, and when he starts looking into things, he discovers a tangled mess of family secrets that are likely to hurt his client's chances. This could happen to any consultant, I guess, but then people start getting murdered. Something like that can really liven up a campaign.

Stranglehold is cynical about politics and the political process, and it's full of pathetic characters. But it's also very funny at times. Dev's a decent guy who's trying to make a living while working with people who are, shall we say, a bit less than decent. His observations have a lot of bite, and the depressing thing is that they're probably accurate. This isn't the kind of book that's going to make you feel any better about the campaigns that are going on all around us right now, but it's bracing entertainment just the same. Gorman's writing is, as usual, clear, concise, and trenchant. Don't miss this one.

Why We Grieve for Deceased TV Series

Cold Case, Numb3rs - chicagotribune.com: "And of all the abrupt endings in the arts — musicians who disappear after a single hit, novelists who kill off beloved characters, movie stars who nix sequels — none is quite as traumatic as the cancellation of a favorite TV series."