Missing alligator returned to Pine Bluff nature center more than a week after escaping: "The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says a 9-foot alligator that was missing for more than a week has been returned to a nature center in Pine Bluff.
Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says authorities received a call Friday evening that the missing gator was trying to cross a road near the Gov. Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center. Several wildlife biologists captured the gator and returned it to the nature center."
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A Review of Interest (To Me, At Least)
Someone bought one of my e-books! Hooray!
Fun & Games -- Duane Swierczynski
Five years ago, I reviewed Duane Swierczynski's Secret Dead Men. When I heard the premise of that one, I didn't think anybody could pull it off, but Swiercyznski did, and he's gone on to write a number of books with equally outrageous premises that in his hands become (almost) believable. The latest is Fun and Games, coming soon, and it's the first book in a trilogy.Here's the deal: Assume to begin with that the "star whackers" that Randy Quaid went on and on about are real, that they're called the Accident People, and that they've been killing people for years. They're organized and financed by someone who must have billions of dollars, considering their numbers and their equipment. Now they're after Lane Madden a former star who knows too much. But their first attempt at killing her fails, and Lane escapes to a house being looked after by housesitter Charlie Hardie.
If Lane is hard to kill, Charlie is even hardier (har-de-har-har). You think Yosemite Sam had problems with Bugs Bunny? That's nothing to the problems the Accident People have with Lane and Hardie. The book takes place over the course one one day, and it's a really bad one. I lost count of the attempts on Hardie's life.
If you're looking for character development and deep philosophy, this isn't the book for you. What it does is slam you with one damned thing after another after another after another. It never slows down, not even for a second. As I said, it's the first book of a trilogy. I have no idea where it's going, but I'm looking forward to finding out. I'm sure you will, too.
There's an afterword in which Swierczynski thanks several people, one of whom is David Thompson. Well done, Duane.
And Stay off Her Damn Lawn!
swns.com: "An heroic disabled grandmother bravely fought off three muggers who tipped her out of her mobility scooter – by HEAD-BUTTING one of the culprits."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
HeraldTribune.com: "According to reports, at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Shannon Hall, 29, who was eating at Denny's at 512 Cortez Road, became offended when a man in another booth answered his cell phone and started talking loudly and using profanities. She reportedly argued with the man and intentionally threw a utensil at him. He was not injured."
Mars Update
International Business Times: "NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found a giant buried deposit of dry ice, which could be evidence that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere and was able to support more water on its surface."
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee . . .
wtsp.com: "Police say a shortage of scantily clad women led a 51-year-old man to attack a Girls Gone Wild bus outside a Saginaw-area bar."
Criminal Genius 0f the Day
NYPOST.com: "'I am gonna rob the bank,' he allegedly yelled. 'I have a gun, but I'm gonna wait on line.'
True to his word, Luken patiently waited for his turn at the teller window. Once there, he allegedly said, 'I'm gonna rob the bank.'
He added, 'First, I'm gonna pass you a note . . .', police sources said."
True to his word, Luken patiently waited for his turn at the teller window. Once there, he allegedly said, 'I'm gonna rob the bank.'
He added, 'First, I'm gonna pass you a note . . .', police sources said."
I Knew I Should Have Paid More Attention in Math Class
Washington Times: "Will Foreman has beaten the speed cameras.
Five times and counting before three different judges, the Prince George’s County business owner has used a computer and a calculation to cast reasonable doubt on the reliability of the soulless traffic enforcers."
Five times and counting before three different judges, the Prince George’s County business owner has used a computer and a calculation to cast reasonable doubt on the reliability of the soulless traffic enforcers."
Museum Update
Las Vegas Mob Exhibit Gets Whacked by Critics: "The Las Vegas Mob Experience, which opened in early April at the Tropicana Hotel, has on display 1,500 artifacts purchased from the estates of Meyer Lansky, Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, Sam Giancana and other mobsters who gained notoriety in Las Vegas.
During the interactive portion, patrons are given credentials with a new mob nickname and spirited through a series of role plays where they become low-level bag men entrusted to deliver cash to an underboss."
During the interactive portion, patrons are given credentials with a new mob nickname and spirited through a series of role plays where they become low-level bag men entrusted to deliver cash to an underboss."
Family Reunion
As you read this, I'm at a family reunion at the former site of the Jackson Plantation near Tennessee Colony, TX. My great-great grandfather, Frederick Stith Jackson owned the plantation. At one time he was one of the richest men in Texas, but he died in 1863 and his fortune was destroyed by the Civil War. My brother now owns a small portion of the land where the plantation was located, and around 75 Jackson descendants will be there for the reunion.
The building in the photo was built in the first decade of the 20th century. The photo was taken a few years ago, but the building's still there. That's my brother, Bob, with his grandson, Boone, on the porch.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Hazel Dickens, R. I. P.
Hazel Dickens, Bluegrass And Folk Singer, Has Died : The Record : NPR: "Hazel Dickens wrote and sang songs about West Virginia coal-mining towns and working-class women. She influenced bluegrass, folk and country singers like Emmylou Harris and Allison Krauss, who inducted her into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. She died Friday at the age of 75."
Link via Jerry House.
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