Edgar Nominees

Congratulations to all. Glad to see Al Guthrie up for his Hard Case Crime book!

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce its Nominees for the 2006 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2005. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 60th Gala Banquet, April 27, 2006 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook (Harcourt)
Vanish by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine Books)
Drama City by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Regan Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Die A Little by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Immoral by Brian Freeman (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Run the Risk by Scott Frost (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Hide Your Eyes by Alison Gaylin (Signet)
Officer Down by Theresa Schwegel (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Homicide My Own by Anne Argula (Pleasure Boat Studio)
The James Deans by Reed Farrel Coleman (Penguin - Plume)
Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (Dark Alley)
Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie (Hard Case Crime)
Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece by Edward Dolnick (HarperCollins)
The Elements of Murder: The History of Poison by John Emsley (Oxford University Press)
Written in Blood by Diane Fanning (St. Martin's True Crime)
True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel (HarperCollins)
Desire Street: A True Story of Death and Deliverance in New Orleans by Jed Horne (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock 'em Dead with Style by Hallie Ephron (Writer's Digest Books)
Behind the Mystery: Top Mystery Writers Interviewed by Stuart Kaminsky, photos by Laurie Roberts (Hot House Press)
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels edited by Leslie S. Klinger (W.W. Norton)
Discovering the Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade: The Evolution of Dashiell Hammett's Masterpiece, Including John Huston's Movie with Humphrey Bogart edited by Richard Layman (Vince Emery Productions)
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak (Harcourt)

BEST SHORT STORY

"Born Bad" – Dangerous Women by Jeffery Deaver (Mysterious Press)
"The Catch' – Greatest Hits by James W. Hall (Carroll & Graf)
"Her Lord and Master" – Dangerous Women by Andrew Klavan (Mysterious Press)
"Misdirection" – Greatest Hits by Barbara Seranella (Carroll & Graf)
"Welcome to Monroe" – A Kudzu Christmas by David Wallace (River City Publishing)

BEST JUVENILE

Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Wright & Wong: The Case of the Nana-Napper by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz (Penguin Young Readers – Sleuth/Razorbill)
The Missing Manatee by Cynthia DeFelice (Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers)
Flush by Carl Hiassen (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
The Boys of San Joaquin by D. James Smith (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins – Laura Geringer Books)
Last Shot by John Feinstein (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Quid Pro Quo by Vicki Grant (Orca Book Publishers)
Young Bond, Book One: Silverfin by Charlie Higson (Hyperion/Miramax Books)
Spy Goddess, Book One: Live & Let Shop by Michael Spradlin (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

BEST PLAY
River's End by Cheryl Coons (Book and Lyrics), Chuck Larkin (Music) (Marin Theatre Company)
Safe House by Paul Leeper (Tennessee Stage Company)
Matter of Intent by Gary Earl Ross (Theater Loft)
Mating Dance of the Werewolf by Mark Stein (Rubicon Theatre)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

CSI – "A Bullet Runs Through It, Parts 1 and 2", Teleplay by Richard Catalani & Carol Mendelsohn
CSI – "Grave Danger", Teleplay by Anthony Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, Naren Shankar. Story by Quentin Tarantino
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – "911", Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson
Sea of Souls – "Amulet", Teleplay by Ed Whitmore
Wire in the Blood – "Redemption", Teleplay by Guy Burt

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY

Crash - Story by Paul Haggis; Screenplay by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (Lions Gate Films)
A History of Violence - Screenplay by Josh Olson, based on the Graphic Novel by John Wagner & Vince Locke (New Line Productions)
The Ice Harvest - Screenplay by Richard Russo & Robert Benton, based on the Novel by Scott Phillips (Focus Features)
Match Point - Screenplay by Woody Allen (BBC)
Syriana – Screenplay by Stephen Gaghan, based on the book by Robert Baer (Warner Brothers)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

Eddie Newton
"Home" – EQMM May 2005 (Dell Magazine)

GRAND MASTER

Stuart Kaminsky

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

Brian Skupin and Kate Stine, Co-Publishers of Mystery Scene Magazine

RAVEN AWARDS

Black Orchid Bookshop (Bonnie Claeson & Joe Gugliemelli, owners)
Men of Mystery Conference (Joan Hansen, creator)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER-MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Breaking Faith by Jo Bannister (Allison & Busby Ltd.)
Dark Angel by Karen Harper (MIRA Books)
Shadow Valley by Gwen Hunter (MIRA Books)

New Website for Kasey Lansdale

Kasey Lansdale and Daletones East Texas country music

You can listen to the music, and you can even look at the pictures, but don't get any ideas. Her daddy can kick your ass.

This Is Just, well, Wrong

Digital Spy: Paris Hilton signs recording contract:
Thursday, January 26 2006, 10:16 GMT -- by Fiona Edwards

"Paris Hilton has reportedly signed a recording contract with Hollywood's Warner Brothers Records.

Hilton was photographed by The Sun leaving the Warner Brothers Records studio after a meeting with executives where she has apparently signed a contract to record an album with the company.

Earlier this month The Sun’s Victoria Newton singled out Paris to be the new Britney Spears."

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody -- Will Cuppy

Back in 2004 I wrote about one of my favorite books, Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver. Yesterday someone commented on that post and mentioned another of my favorites, Will Cuppy's The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody. I've had this little jewel on my shelves for about 43 years if the printing information is accurate, and I re-read parts of it all the time. To me it remains hilarious, no matter how many times I read it. Cuppy's sense of humor fits perfectly with mine. Even his footnotes are funny (if you're a person addicted to footnotes, this is the book for you). As far as I know, the history in the book is accurate, or as accurate as Cuppy could make it when the book was first published back in 1950. It's not the history that's funny; it's Cuppy's take on things. I was happy to be reminded of the book again, and I'll be browsing it with pleasure for a while. (For those of you looking for a mystery tie-in [not that I have one very often these days], Cuppy was a long-time reviewer of mystery novels for the old New York Herald-Tribune.)

Pat Novak for Hire

Thrilling Days of Yesteryear : "Nostalgia isn't what it used to be." -- Peter DeVries: "I almost forgot—I received a great e-mail from Derek Steffen who alerted me that he has a web page devoted to Pat Novak for Hire and that he was inspired by a blog entry here at TDOY. (I won’t stop until I corrupt the minds of every single person on the Internet—bwhahahahahahahahaha!!!) Stop by and check it out—any Pat Novak fan is a friend of mine."

In Case You Were Wondering . . .

. . . Blogger appears to have gone totally nuts.

Update: Seems okay now.

Steve Lewis Reviews Detour (the Novel) at Mystery*File

FATAL KISS - Reviews by Steve Lewis: " The people behind O’Bryan House, and that includes Richard Doody who wrote the introduction, have done the fans of noir fiction a tremendous favor in reprinting this book. If you are thinking, “What book?” and I imagine many of you are, you are in exactly the same position I was when I first heard about it.
Now of course there is The Movie Version, which perhaps you have heard of. If there ever were a poll of noir film fans, the film that is based on this book would have to rank in the top two or three of all time. Forgive me, though, if I don’t review the movie, although I will have to admit that it was the rhinoceros in my head when I was reading the book. I’ll review the book, though, if you so allow, and whatever movie you’re thinking of, I never heard of it."

Croc News

Fossil Yields Surprise Kin of Crocodiles - New York Times: "Fossil Yields Surprise Kin of Crocodile

By CARL ZIMMER
Published: January 26, 2006

Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History have discovered a fossil in New Mexico that looks like a six-foot-long, two-legged dinosaur along the lines of a tyrannosaur or a velociraptor. But it is actually an ancient relative of today's alligators and crocodiles."

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson, who knows I can't resist a good story about crocs and/or gators.

Ray Banks Scoops Me

The Saturday Boy: Pulp Art Documentary: "Pulp Fiction Art: Cheap Thrills And Painted Nightmares is a new documentary from Jamie McDonald, chronicling those artists whose oils made the front covers of countless pulp magazines including Norman Saunders, Ernest Chiriacka and Everett Raymond Kinstler, as well as the collectors who love 'em so. Currently waiting for a distributor, the documentary is more than likely going to appear on DVD at some point."

Dope -- Sara Gran

I've already mentioned one thing about this book set in May 1950 that struck me as a false note. Here's another one. At one point the narrator mentions someone's 45 rpm records as if they're quite common. The fact is that RCA didn't introduce 45s until 1949, and it took quite a while for them to catch on. Folks in 1950 didn't latch onto new technology the way they do now. Things like that don't mean the novel's not good. They just mean that I'm jerked out of the story when I read them, but then I'm an old fart. Probably nobody else who reads the book will even notice.

As for the book itself, it's narrated by Josphine (Joe) Flannigan. She's supposedly hired to look for a missing daughter, and one way to look at the book is as a variation on the paperback p.i. novel of the '50s since Joe certainly functions pretty much as a p.i. in the story. But she's not. She's a former hooker and cleaned-up junkie who knows her way around the seamy side of New York. As it turns out, the missing daughter gig isn't what it seemed, so the p.i. aspect of the book is probably canceled out by that, I suppose.

What I liked most about the book is the unsentimental view of all the people in The Life, whores, pimps, thieves, junkies. I also liked the straighforward narrative and the idea of a noir novel being told by a woman instead of a man. If I knew where the story was headed long before Joe, maybe that's because I've read a lot of old Gold Medal books. It's still a good story, well told.

Paging Burke and Hare

local6.com - Health - Patients Nationwide May Have Received Stolen Tissue: "Patricia Battisti had thought her back surgery in early 2005 was routine. A letter from her hospital nearly a year later made it clear she was wrong.

Battisti was informed that the cadaver bone that was implanted in her back may have been infected with various viruses -- the result of what investigators say was a large-scale scheme in which corpses were cut up and body parts illegally sold."

Isn't there a Scrooge McDuck Adventure about This?

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza: An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall.

Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up."

Mystery*File Update

Edward S. Aarons' Assignment Series, by Doug Bassett.: "An Introduction to Edward S. Aarons’ Assignment Series, by Doug Bassett"

Good commentary and some nice cover photos. Check it out.

Horror Times Ten -- Alden H. Norton, Editor

I was in a short-story reading mood a while back and picked up this little volume. It had some stories I wasn't familiar with, and I thought I'd enjoy the "chilling tales of horror." Maybe I'm old and jaded, but I didn't have as much fun with them as I'd hoped.

One that disappointed me was Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Captian of the 'Pole Star.'" I knew where this one was going long before the end, and it was far from chilling. The same goes for H. P. Lovecraft's "Cool Air." Maybe there was a time when these would have been shocking or surprising, but no longer.

Robert E. Howard's "The Dead Remember" was another "surprise ending" story that didn't work so well, but I liked it anyway, maybe because Howard wrote it.

I didn't know Max Brand wrote horror, but I should have suspected it. He wrote just about everything else. However, "His Receding Brow" isn't exactly a horror story. And once again, I didn't find a single surprising thing about it. Still, no story about apes can be all bad.

The most bizarre story in the book is "His Unconquerable Enemy" by W. C. Morrow. If you can overlook the fact that it's kind of ridiculous, this story of revenge by a legless and armless man is pretty effective.

No doubt that when I was a kid, I'd have enjoyed these stories more than I did now. I've read too much to be easily surprised, and some of the effects the writers are going for just don't work for me. Still, I'm not sorry I read the book, and I'm sure I'll try some similar anthologies in the future.

John Wesley Carr, R. I. P.

My sister just called to say that John Carr had committed suicide. You didn't know John, and I can't say that I did, either. I haven't seen him in nearly 40 years. But I remember when he was born because I was friends with his brother and sisters, and his mother as well. He was one of those babies who came along as a kind of surprise, I think, so his siblings were much older. I used to visit them, and when John was old enough, I'd play games with him: Cootie and jacks, mostly. I used to be pretty good at jacks. After he started reading, I let him borrow one of my Bomba the Jungle Boy books. That was about the time I was going away to college, and I didn't think about the book again until it arrived here in Alvin a few years ago with a short note from John, thanking me for letting him borrow it. I wonder if even then he was thinking about tying up some loose ends. He suffered from severe depression, and I believe that medication would have helped him, but he refused to take it. Now he's dead, and all I can think of is the little tow-headed boy I used to play jacks with. Damn.

The Ink Slinger Shuts it Down

Ink Slinger: "This is the last post of this weblog.

It was an experiment started last April, and while it has been fun at times, and I've learned a little, in the end it was just like most other weblogs - worthless."

Maybe It's Just Me

Sara Gran's Dope has been getting great notices, so I thought I'd read the ARC that's been lying around here. But I was having problems by the time I got to page 12. Two of the problems are just copy-editing things. Doesn't anybody read the manuscripts before the ARCs go out? I'm sure those things will be fixed, or at least I hope so. The other problem is a little more serious from my point of view. The book is very specific about the date: May 14, 1950, and on page 12 the narrator says this: "And the paperback novels were full of them--kids who started off popping a benny and ended up on heroin, murdering a dozen of their neighbors with their bare hands. Kids from nice families who got lured in by evil pushers. On the book covers, the pushers always had mustaches."

Well, I don't think so. I have plenty of paperbacks, and I'd guess that the publishers didn't really discover the teen dope fiends until a few years later than May 1950. Maybe someone can come up with a few examples before that time, but I'd say 1953 was more like it. That's when Ace published Junkie, Harry Whittington published Rapture Alley, and John D. MacDonald came out with The Neon Jungle. Some of the digest publishers could have done dope books a little earlier.

Of couse it could be I'm all wrong about this, and if I am, I expect you to let me know.

The Latest from Mystery*File

MYSTERY*FILE ON-LINE: "Jan 22. FUNERAL HOMES & UNDERTAKERS. Prompted by my review of Stanton Forbes’ A Business of Bodies, I began a checklist of other mysteries taking place in and around funeral homes. Many new entries have been added in the last two or three days, including two of Robert Martin’s Jim Bennett PI novels, thanks to the suggestion of Jim Felton."

Okay, This is Really Scary

WFTV.com - News - Woman Becomes Quadruple Amputee After Giving Birth:
POSTED: 5:59 pm EST January 19, 2006
UPDATED: 4:06 pm EST January 20, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Sanford mother says she will never be able to hold her newborn because an Orlando hospital performed a life-altering surgery and, she claims, the hospital refuses to explain why they left her as a multiple amputee.

The woman filed a complaint against Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems, she said, because they won't tell her exactly what happened. The hospital maintains the woman wants to know information that would violate other patients' rights."

It's Alive!

Want to know what's going on with all your favorite blogs? Check out crimespot.net and find out. It's a great site. Check it out now.

Say It Ain't So!

Surely they wouldn't dare do this. (And thanks [I guess] to Ivan over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear for the link.)

Happy Birthday, Robert E. Howard

It's the one hundredth anniversary of REH's birth. Read James Reasoner's account of one celebration here. And congratulations to James on his 500th blog post.

What's Up with the Inkslinger?

For some reason I can no longer read Paul Guyot's blog. It's password protected, like a high-security document, and I don't have clearance. Maybe he's posting nuclear secrets now.

Update: He's back. Link is on the right if you want to check.

A Night for Screaming -- Harry Whittington

Ed Gorman has some fine comments about Harry Whittington's A Night for Screaming today, and he mentions the gerat cover. But he doesn't have a picture of it. You can see one here.

I Just Don't Know What to Say about This

From Hollywood Elsewhere.

Happy Birthday, Slim Whitma!

Slim Whitman is 82 today. Lots of people my age have memories of having been at Woodstock or having seen the Beatles. Who did I see? Slim Whitman. I've seen him in concert three times. What does that tell you about me? (That's a rhetorical question, folks.)

End of an Era

US News Article | Reuters.com: "NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - The Connecticut factory that produced the Winchester rifle, celebrated in cowboy movies as the gun frontiersmen used to settle the American West, is shutting down after 140 years in New Haven.

Belgian-based Herstal Group told its 186 workers this week it plans to shutter the U.S. Repeating Arms plant, formerly known as Winchester Rifle Company, on March 31 due to slow sales.

That would end production of the Model 70 bolt-action rifle and the Model 94 lever-action rifle, known as 'The Gun that Won the West' because of its use by frontiersmen in the late 19th century.

Newer models carrying the Winchester name still will be produced in Belgium, Japan and Portugal, the company said."

Somehow, having all the Winchesters made in Japan (and Belgium and Portugal) just doesn't seem right.

Official Site of Bettie Page

Official Site of Bettie Page

Graham Powell has reminded me that in talking about the resemblance of a certain cover model to Bettie Page, I neglected to mention Bettie Page's website. The link above will take you there, and it's well worth the trip.

Mystery*File Update

MYSTERY*FILE ON-LINE: "GUILT EDGED MYSTERIES. Between 1947 and 1956, E. P. Dutton published most of their detective fiction under a single imprint, that of “Guilt Edged” mysteries. Steve Lewis, Victor Berch and Bill Pronzini have combined resources to come up with a complete checklist of the books in this series, including many cover images."

The Bottle on Poe's Grave

CNN.com - Decades-old mystery: Who visits Poe's grave? - Jan 19, 2006: "BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Continuing a decades-old tradition, a mystery man paid tribute to Edgar Allan Poe by placing roses and a bottle of cognac on the writer's grave to mark his January 19 birthday.

Some of the 25 spectators drawn to a tiny, locked graveyard in downtown Baltimore for the ceremony climbed over the walls of the site and were 'running all over the place trying to find out how the guy gets in,' according to Jeff Jerome, the most faithful viewer of the event."

I wrote a story that explained who the mystery person is. You probably never read the story, and you're not the only one. Be that as it may, I'm not telling the answer.

Kerouac Manuscript Update

Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection: Indianapolis Colt's Owner Jim Irsay Doesn't Want to Share Jack Kerouac's Classic On the Road Manuscript

The link above comes from the comments section. Check it out.

First draft of Kerouac's Beat bible, 'On the Road,' arrives in San Francisco, the very city it sanctified

First draft of Kerouac's Beat bible, 'On the Road,' arrives in San Francisco, the very city it sanctified: "Last week, an airtight black suitcase passed through a security checkpoint at the Indianapolis International Airport on its way to San Francisco. A guard ordered the case opened and found inside a tattered and frayed scroll of yellowed paper 119 feet and 8 inches long.

'Oh I know what this is,' the baggage screener said to Jim Canary, a conservator who was accompanying the artifact. 'This is one of them religious scrolls, ain't it?'

Not a bad observation. The scroll was in fact the manuscript of one of the most famous and iconic novels of the 20th century, Jack Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness Beat generation bible, 'On the Road,' which is on exhibit for the next three months at the San Francisco Public Library."

I'll never forget reading On The Road back in about 1958. I checked the book out of the Gibbs Memorial Library in Mexia, Texas, and I felt so hip I could hardly stand myself. I thought then that I'd be another Kerouac, going down Route 66 to the promised land. Didn't happen, but I loved the book anyway.

Speaking of the Zombie Apocalpyse . . .

. . . my story is here.

Vampyre Update

kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - News Article Girlfriend of 'vampyre' gubernatorial candidate is fired: "The partner of the new gubernatorial candidate, Jonathon 'The Impaler' Sharkey, says she's been unjustly fired from her job.

News traveled fast Friday when Sharkey announced he was a vampyre and he wants to be Minnesota's next governor. Just hours after the Friday news conference, Sharkey's girlfriend learned she was losing her job as a school bus driver."

Tomorrow Times Seven -- Frederik Pohl

Fred Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth wrote one of my favorite SF novels, The Space Merchants. By himself, Pohl's written a number of novels I've enjoyed, and dozens of short stories. Included in the book to the left is one of my favorites, "The Day of the Boomer Dukes," which was New Wave before there was such a thing. The story was published in 1956, and not in one of the more prestigious magazines. It was in Future, one of the Columbia House publications. I suspect it was written for a higher-paying market, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it's a good story, and a funny one, too. I also enjoyed "The Knights of Arthur," dated though it may be. The other stories, while fun to read, didn't seem to me as good, but I was perfectly happy to be reading all of them. The '50s were a good decade for magazine SF, at least to those of us who were at the right age to be reading it at the time.

New Author Website

Crimedog One

Anthony Neil Smith's new website is live. It's not a blog, and he threathened to cut off my fingers and stuff them into a convenient orifice if I called it one. After seeing his author photo, I believe him.

Fish-End Press

Fish-End Press

This is the place to go if you've been wanting to write that story about the zombie apocalypse. Western short stories and others will be solicited later.

Hummmmmm, One More Time

OK, sure, you're tired of hearing about James Frey. So am I, but this long book review, written back in 2003, is pretty funny. The author, John Dolan, begins by saying "This is the worst thing I've ever read," and he concludes that the book is "self-aggrandizing, simple-minded, poorly observed, repetitious, maudlin drivel." Unlike a few million other readers, Dolan wasn't fooled.

Art Scott Sez . . .

Art Scott, for my money, is the expert on paperback cover art. (He's a driving force behind this book.)

Of the post immediately below, he has this to say: "Vince has a sharp eye. I think it's a fact that the inspiration for Twilight Women / Aphrodite's Lover WAS Bettie Page. See attached, artist just mirror flipped her head the other way. Perhaps you can work this into the display somehow with a NSFW disclaimer."

I've included the "safe for work" version here, this being a family blog, but you can see the two pictures together here, at least temporarily, in the NSFW version and make your own decision. Art Scott reports, you decide.

Paperback Covers!

Well, I've wasted plenty of time, and there are now 176 scans of the covers of my old paperbacks. I probably won't be adding any more for a while, but if you want to catch the slideshow and waste some of your time, you can see it here.

The covers here are two of my favorites in the "conveniently located limbs and foliage" category. I should say "two of my favorites," however, since they're obviously the same cover with a couple of little additions and subtractions.

Jesse Stone: Night Passage

Tony Bray Interviews Tom Selleck and Robert B. Parker in January 2006: "CBS has struck gold with the Jesse Stone mystery franchise that features Selleck in a complex role that is so anti-Magnum that it surprises his fans. It also delights mystery lovers who enjoy a good yarn."

The link is to a review of the movie and a long interview with Parker and Selleck. I watched the movie last night and enjoyed it. The plot's kind of thin (why are you not surprised?), but Selleck's good at brooding, and he delivers Parker's lines the way I think they should be delivered. There's another Jesse Stone movie coming up, and I'm looking forward to it.

If you haven't gotten enough of Parker and Selleck, there's another interview here.

Hustle

I watched Hustle on AMC last night and enjoyed it. It's about a team of grifters who do long cons on greedy people, and it's also about the cops who are trying to catch them. It was nice to see Robert Vaughan again, looking just like a somewhat older Napoleon Solo, and the whole team did a good job. The style is sort of retro '70s, which was fine with me. Plenty of plot holes,and the big "twist" was obvious to me from the git-go, but certainly good enough to encourage me to watch again.

Best Noir Novel of 2005?

Steve Lewis says the best one he read was Megan Abbott's Die a Little. Check out his review here.

How Tall Is Anna Nicole Smith?

Yes, how tall is Anna Nicole Smith (known as Vicki when she lived in my hometown of Mexia, Texas)? That's the question that's on everyone's mind these days. Interestingly enough, nobody knows that answer. Check out the bizarre details at this website devoted to letting the public know the heights of its favorite celebs.

Bond is Back

In print, that is. Thanks to Frank Denton over at The Rogue Raven for alerting me to these new paperback editions of Ian Fleming's Bond novels. Just as Sean Connery is the "real" Bond on film, Fleming's Bond is the "real" one in print.

I Don't Know Much about Art . . .

. . . but I love old paperback covers. So in my neverending quest to avoid making constructive use of my time, I've started scanning and putting together a little slideshow of some of the covers on the books I own. I have no idea how many covers I'll actually include, but the ones I've done so far can be found here.

Case Histories -- Kate Atkinson

Three cold cases form the basis for this novel. The cases and their roots in the past are laid out in the beginning, and then in the present a private-eye named Jackson Brodie is hired to look into them. Brodie, a former police inspector, has a number of problems of his own. His wife has left him and married another man, and he's started smoking again. His cases aren't very interesting. For example, one of them involves looking for an old woman's cats. Then the three cold cases come into his life, and things perk up considerably for him.

As he begins his investigations, the lives of the principals in the cases intersect occasionally, but only coincidentally. What really interests Atkinson, it seems, is the lives of all the characters. On rara-avis, the hard-boiled list, a couple of people are discussing one of Elmore Leonard's "rules," the one about leaving out "the part that readers tend to skip" -- detailed descriptions of weather, place, things, characters, and so on. Atkinson doesn't follow this rule. In fact, most of the book is made up of those things.

There's another rule that every writer or would-be writer has heard a million times: "show, don't tell." Atkinson flouts that one, too. Probably 80% of this book is telling. And I don't see a thing wrong with that. When did the "show, don't tell" rule come along, anyway? With Hammett and Hemingway? Case Histories is a throwback to a different kind of writing, and obviously a lot of people like it. I generally prefer leaner stuff, but now and then something like Case Histories is kind of fun.

My main problem with the intertwined stories is that I knew almost from the beginning where two of them were going. There was no way to know about the third because the information wasn't there. I also knew just about exactly what was going on with the Cat Lady and how that tale would turn out. I didn't really mind. Sometimes the trip is more important than the destination. The next time you want a change of pace from the lean and mean (if you ever do), you might give Case Histories a try.

Already Dead -- Charlie Huston

Joe Pitt (not his real name) is a Vampyre (no realtion, as far as I know, to this one). He lives in a Manhattan where there are lots of Vampyres (whose clans have divided the island into territories), not to mention a few shamblers (zombies to you). Joe's a sort of private-eye, an independent sort who does favors for the Coalition now and then. This time he's doing two, one of them involving a shambler and one involving a missing daughter. It will come as no surprise to anybody who's read a few p.i. tales that these favors are connected. Just how and why might be a surprise, however.

This is a violent, noirish novel. I thought Lennon in Duane Swierczynski's The Wheelman took a lot of punishment, but Lennon's a wuss compared to Pitt. (Pitt, being a Vampyre, can be expected to be a little tougher, though, I guess.) I was reminded, too, of Andrew Vachss's novels, if Burke were a Vampyre. If you're in the mood for something a little different, give this one a try.

Our Tax Dollars at Work

The Seattle Times: Local News: Couple orders IRS booklet, gets 24,000 copies of Wrong version: By The Associated Press

CHIMACUM, Jeffereson County — Brian Lawson, a self-employed market analyst, and his wife Jackie got both more and less than they expected when they ordered an Internal Revenue Service instruction booklet by telephone.

What the Lawsons wanted was a single copy of the Form 1040 instructions for 2003 to help fix them a numerical error on their returns that has resulted in them having to pay $300 a month in back taxes since they filed their return for that year.

What they got on Wednesday evening, three weeks after their call, was a UPS Inc. delivery of 12 boxes containing 2,000 copies each — 24,000 booklets in all — of the Form 1040 instructions for 2005.

The wrong booklets were sent from Bloomington, Ill., and arrived at the right place despite being addressed to Chimacum, D.C., instead of Chimacum, Wash.

******
He said he was unable to get the IRS to return his calls, and the newspaper also was unable to get a return call from the agency's media relations office in Seattle.

Hmmmmmm Update #3

NPR : Frey's 'Pieces' and Truth in Publishing: "Frey's 'Pieces' and Truth in Publishing

Morning Edition, January 13, 2006: James Frey's popular drug-addiction memoir A Million Little Pieces has been alleged to contain falsehoods. However, the publisher and Frey have stood by the account, even while admitting the facts were not necessarily hard and fast."

You can listen to the commentary at the link if you're not already tired of this story.

The Thrilling Detective

In his new blog, Kevin Burton Smith announces that there's a new issue of The Thrilling Detective on view, with stories by Sarah Weinman and Mike MacLean, among other things. Check it out.

Hmmmmmm Update #2

The Smoking Gun: A Million Little Lies

Now the lawyers are getting involved.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck -- Don Rosa

Carl Barks's stories about Scrooge McDuck were one of the things I discovered on my own as a kid. Nobody had to tell me they were something special. I just knew it, and they were among my favorite comics. Later on (years later on) I found out that plenty of other people loved Scrooge and had continued reading the comics about him for a lot longer than I had. I never became fanatical about Scrooge, but even now I enjoy reading one of the old comics if I run across it, and I was happy to hear from Rick Robinson about Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, which won the Will Eisner award for "Best Serialized Story" in 1995. (Yes, I'm ten years behind. For me that's about normal.)

Don Rosa has done a lot of Uncle Scrooge stories, but this is a little different. It's a 12-part serial based on the "facts" of Scrooge's life as discovered in Carl Barks' classic stories. Rosa says that every fact about Scrooge's early life, "no matter how minute or obscurely buried the morsel of history might have been" is included in his serial, each chapter of which is followed by Rosa's comments on the story and the facts therein (where they came from, any inconsistencies, and so on). I have to say that I enjoyed this "graphic novel" about as much as any book I've read lately. It made me feel a little like a kid again, waiting at the door for the postman to show up with the latest issue of Walt Disney's Comics & Stories. Check it out.

This Vampyre is Running for Governor of Minnesota

And in 2008, he's running for president. His qualifications: He's a "Satanic Dark Priest, a Sanguinarian Vampyre, and a Hecate Witch." (I have no idea if he knows Steve Stilwell.) Vote early and often.

Page Title: "During my time as governor, drug dealers and users will live in fear. I will introduce extremely harsh punishment for those who not only use illegal drugs, I will fight to make dealers serve life in prison, or better yet, Impalement.

Any Terrorist who is caught in Minnesota while I am governor, will find out what the true meaning of my nickname: “The Impaler!” I will impale them right in front of our State Capital. Then Fed’s can take the terrorist’s body from the impaling stake. If the US Department of Justice (DOJ) wants to charge me with brutally murdering a terrorist, they may do so. I do not see an American Jury convicting me."

Hmmmmmm Update

New York Daily News - Home - Oprah true believer in best seller: "Oprah Winfrey came to the rescue last night.

The talk show queen declared that allegations James Frey fabricated parts of his best-selling book 'A Million Little Pieces' were 'much ado about nothing.'

Winfrey, whose recommendation helped rocket the 'memoir' to the top of the best-seller lists, said she still stands behind the book."

Out West is Accepting Contributions

A Blog of James: Out West: "Out West is interested in creative portrayals of the American West in all of its permutations. From short stories to plays, illustration to song, Out West is fascinated by the world’s ongoing relationship with this enduring genre. Contributors are encouraged to go beyond “cowboy with a gun” and bring the Western’s continually evolving form into the 21st Century."

Click the link for more. Payment is a copy of the magazine.

Thrill Seeker Comics

Jayme Lynn Blaschke has a post on Scott McCullar's on-line comic strip featuring a masked pulp-type hero named Yellow Jacket. I took a look and it's well worth checking out. I like the art, and the story starts off well. If you like the pulps or just a good comic with good art, see for yourself.

A New E-Zine You Should Check Out

Bryon Quertermous has started a new e-zine called Demolition. It's along the lines of the late lamented Plots with Guns, and it has new fiction by Anthony Neil Smith, Victor Gischler, Pat Lambe, and Mike Maclean. It needs your support, so check it out, read the stories, tell your friends.

Follow-up Post on A Million Little Pieces

CNN.com - 'Pieces' buyers offered refund - Jan 11, 2006: "NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Random House will refund readers who bought James Frey's drug and alcohol memoir 'A Million Little Pieces' directly from the publisher, a move believed to be unprecedented, after the author was accused of exaggerating his story."

My short post with a link to the long article on the Smoking Gun article on the book is here.

Say It Ain't So!

MATT DAMON - DAMON AND AFFLECK TO REMAKE CLASSIC WESTERN: "Best pals MATT DAMON and BEN AFFLECK are teaming up on the big screen again to remake BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.

The actors will take on the roles made famous by PAUL NEWMAN and ROBERT REDFORD in the 1969 classic.

Damon will reportedly play the Sundance Kid, while Affleck will recreate Newman's role as Butch Cassidy, according to America's OK! magazine."

Another Fine Stark House Edition

I've written about Stephen Marlowe before, so you know I like his books if you've been reading this blog for a while. Now Stark House is publishing a double volume with two of his out-of-print novels. Violence is my Business is a reprint of a Gold Medal in the Chester Drum series, which was a sort of p.i./spy hybrid. This book is the only one in the series set entirely in the U.S., and it's one of the best. Turn Left for Murder was originally published as half of an Ace Double, and it's a tight little noir that's quite a bit different from the Drum series. Both titles are highly recommended.

But wait! There's more! Marlowe has written a special introduction for this volume that makes the package even more enticing. Better get your order in today so you can start reading.

At Least the Commercials Didn't Bother Her

Woman sat dead at home 2? years: "MADISONVILLE - Johannas Pope didn't want to be buried, believing that she would come back to life.

Pope died at her home here at age 61 on Aug. 29, 2003. A towel had been placed around her neck to keep her cool on that 87-degree summer day. She wore a white gown while sitting in a chair in an upstairs room, in front of a television that played as family members went about their lives downstairs.

She remained there, according to her wishes, for almost 2? years.

'Don't show my body when I'm dead,' Hamilton County's coroner, Dr. O'dell Owens, said Monday when explaining Pope's wishes. 'Don't bury me. I'm coming back.'"

Could This Happen to Me?

Art Scott sent me this news item. I think he must have seen the photos of my office.

local6.com - News - Woman Suffocates Under Piles Of Clutter In Home: "A woman in Shelton, Wash., who was reported missing by her husband, was found dead under piles of clutter in their home, where she suffocated to death, according to police.

Shelton Police Chief Terry Davenport said the home was so cluttered that police officers' heads touched the ceiling as they climbed over the clutter.

Authorities found the body of 62-year-old Marie Rose buried under clothes after 10 hours of searching. She reportedly suffered from a condition known as hoarding."

Hummmmmm, Again

A Million Little Lies - January 8, 2006: "The Predator
'Book Club' author's best-selling nonfiction memoir filled with fabrications, falsehoods, other fakery, TSG probe finds"

This is a long but interesting article. I haven't read the book.

South by Java Head -- Alistair MacLean

On the left there is a cover scan of the first paperback printing (1958) of Alistair MacLean's South by Java Head. When Walter Satterthwait mentioned to me the other day that he was re-reading it, I couldn't resist doing the same, so I went over to one of my shelves (you've seen some of my my shelves) and pulled it down. (Actually, I had to locate it behind the row of books stacked in front of it before I pulled it down.)

In the late '50s and for most of the 1960s, MacLean was one of my favorite writers. When it came to adventure, he couldn't be topped, and South by Java Head is a fine example of why. As usual, the good guys are a calm, courageous bunch. They face adversity without flinching, and, believe me, there's plenty of adversity to face. MacLean was a master of putting his characters into impossible situations, and then making things worse. And when they manage to escape, it's never to something better except for a moment. Then things go downhill again, and things are worse than before. Just when you think things couldn't possibly get any more difficult and dangerous, they do. Talk about one damned thing after another! MacLean can really pile it on. He does it all with a such zest and humor that you can't help but enjoy it. I think I might have to pull another MacLean book off that shelf for re-reading before very long.

Could MacLean find a publisher today? I'm not sure. Not long ago I read a review of Warren Murphy and Molly Cochran's 1984 Edgar-winning Grandmaster, which has recently been reprinted. The reviewer seemed to think the book was a relic of a distant time rather than being much of a thriller. Maybe people would think the same of MacLean. Not me, though.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

It would be impossible to overestimate the importance of Elvis Presley to people of my generation. One of my fond memories is of the time John Marion Black slipped into the office of the principal at our high school and played Elvis' Christmas Album over the speaker system during lunch. From the reaction of the teachers, you would have thought that obscenities were being broadcast. We kids loved it. Great days.

So, Private Collectors, Any of These on Your Shelves?

Some of nation's best libraries have books bound in human skin - Boston.com: "The best libraries then belonged to private collectors. Some were doctors who had access to skin from amputated parts and patients whose bodies were not claimed. They found human leather to be relatively cheap, durable and waterproof, Hartman said.

In other cases, wealthy bibliophiles may have acquired the skin from criminals who were executed, cadavers used in medical schools and people who died in the poor house, said Sam Streit, director of Brown's John Hay Library.

The library has three books bound in human skin -- the anatomy text and two 19th century editions of 'The Dance of Death,' a medieval morality tale.

One copy of 'The Dance of Death' dates to 1816 but was rebound in 1893 by Joseph Zaehnsdorf, a master binder in London. A note to his client reports that he did not have enough skin and had to split it. The front cover, bound in the outer layer of the epidermis, has a slightly bumpy texture, like soft sandpaper. The spine and back cover, made from the inner layer of skin, feels like suede."

What's Up with these Irish Guys?

They were already importing cosmetic from France 2300 years ago!

Top News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - The preserved remains of two prehistoric men discovered in an Irish bog have revealed a couple of surprises --- one used hair gel and the other stood 6 foot 6 inches high, the tallest Iron Age body discovered.

'He would have been a giant...the other man was quite short, about 5 foot 2 inches,' said Ned Kelly, head of antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland.

'The shorter man appeared to attempt to give himself greater stature by a rather curious headdress which was a bit like a Mohican-style with the hair gel, which was a resin imported from France,' Kelly told BBC radio."

The Wizard of Oil

Usually I don't link to political sites, but I thought the pictures on this one were hilarious. Some people have a lot of time on their hands.

Robert E. Howard's Grave

Not so very long ago, on May 18, 1980, to be exact, James Reasoner paid us a visit in Brownwood, Texas. There's not a lot to do in Brownwood, so we took James out to Greenleaf Cemetery for a look at Robert E. Howard's grave. That's James on the left of the headstone. Angela and Allen are behind the stone, and I'm on the right. James and I look pretty much the same, but Angela and Allen look a lot older. (Click on the picture for a better look.)

And check out James's blog for some information on a big REH event on January 21.

Best and Worst List from the Arkansas Times

Arkansas Times: "Best tallywhacker
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette began a feature story in April about a Red Cross blood drive in Searcy with this lead: “With a small prick, Three Rivers residents are asked to save a life.”

Worst tallywhacker
It was reported in November that the prude editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette had discouraged headlines that included the last name of the Razorback quarterback Casey Dick. "

The Doo-Doo Man

Lucky for you, I'm far too classy to link to an item like this:

dallasobserver.com | News | The Poop | 2006-01-05 | Printable: "He said in a written statement to police that he sprinkled his own dried feces on the doughnuts at the Fiesta Mart as a kind of practical joke in retaliation for unfriendly treatment: 'They made me very angry that they showed me no respect,' he wrote. 'I decided I would play a joke on them.'"

The Cap Cod Lighter -- John O'Hara

When I was in high school, I developed a real interest in reading John O'Hara. At this late date, I have no idea why. Maybe it had something to do with the movie version of Butterfield 8. Elizabeth Taylor never looked better, believe me. At any rate, I consumed a lot of O'Hara's books, including Appointment in Samarra, Butterfield 8, and From the Terrace, along with some of the short stories. It's impossible for me to explain how excited I was when I read about the publication of Sermons and Soda Water, and I rushed to the library to be the first one in town to read it. The collection was published as three slim volumes in a slipcase, which I thought was the ultimate in coolness. I hoped that if I lived long enough and was very, very good, God would let me publish a book like that someday.

Didn't happen, of course, but that's not the point. The point is that the collection was a best seller, as was The Cape Cod Lighter, which I've been reading for a couple of days. It's a collection of stories published in 1962. The copy I have is the Bantam paperback edition, the third printing from 1969. The Random House hardcover went through five printings between November 1962 and February 1963. A short story collection. Hard to believe, right? And these aren't just short stories. They're New Yorker short stories. What in God's name was the reading public thinking? I'm sure this couldn't happen now. Tastes have changed, and hardly anybody reads O'Hara anymore. He's out of favor with the people who decide on the literary canon, and that's a shame, because he was a heck of a writer. Great insight into characters, great ear for dialogue, and he knew how to put together a story.

Even more entertaining than the stories is the introduction. O'Hara clobbers critics and talks about the importance of fiction. Great stuff.

New Blogger on the Block

The mild-mannered Kevin Burton Smith has started blogging, and I'm sure the blogoverse will never be the same. Check him out. Anybody who quotes Lou Reed is bound to be worth reading.

Candy Barr -- R. I. P.

Abilene Reporter News: Obituaries: "Candy Barr, famous exotic dancer, dies at age of 70

By Celinda Emison / Reporter-News Staff Writer
January 1, 2006

Candy Barr, who made headlines as a burlesque dancer and for her drug arrests before living quietly near Brownwood, died of pneumonia Friday at a Victoria hospital. She was 70.

Barr was born Juanita Dale Slusher, on July 6, 1935, in Edna.

She rose to fame in the late 1950s as a burlesque dancer at The Colony Club in Dallas. She also performed Los Angeles and Las Vegas, making her one of the most well-known exotic dancers in the country. At one point, Barr earned $2,000 a week.

Her sister, Kay Slusher Anderson, 77, of Houston, said Barr had been a recluse for the past three years, living in a small house in Morales, 11 miles north of her hometown of Edna.

''I am proud to be her sister,'' she said. ''She deserves the recognition. She was the most famous dancer ever.''

Gloria Carver (formerly Gloria Orr) was Barr's friend for more than 40 years and helped her after she moved to Brownwood.

''There will never be another one,'' she said of her friend. ''She was beautiful.''"

I lived in Brownwood when Candy Barr moved there, and I drove by her house at Lake Brownwood several times, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Never did. She wrote poetry and self-published a collection of her work. She did a signing at the Walgreen's drugstore, and I got to see here then. She was a Texas original.

My Office

Okay, so Lee Goldberg wants to know what my office looks like. Here's what I see when I enter the room (the books, as you've probably guessed, are double-stacked). You can get a better look by clicking on the pic.


This is what I see when I look to my left when I'm sitting at the computer. More double-stacked books. I just hope Judy never finds out I posted these pics. She's embarrassed by my clutter.

This is the secondary computer, which is to my back as I write. More books (double-stacked) are on the left (or my right if I'm sitting at the primary computer).

Zane Grey -- Swinger

Ed Gorman has the details.

Gmail Accounts

I have invitation to gmail accounts if anybody wants one. Just send an e-mail to me here , and I'll send out the invitation.

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane -- Robert E. Howard

This year is the centenary of Robert E. Howard's birth, and the World Fantasy Convention in Austin will have a strong REH flavor. I plan to be there, and I'm thinking about the possibility of self-publishing a novel featuring Howard that a friend and I wrote about 25 years ago. I'm not sure I'll do it, but it might be fun.

At any rate, what better time to be reading some of Howard's stories than this year? I believe some people like the Solomon Kane stories better than the ones about Conan. I'm not one of those people, but I like some of the Kane tales quite a bit, including "The Moon of Skulls" and "The Hills of the Dead." Great titles!

This volume is supposed to be as close to Howard's original words as possible. Where typescripts weren't available, the texts from Weird Tales were used. The book includes all the Kane material, including unpublished fragments. Some of that material isn't top-notch Howard, if you ask me, which nobody did, and I could have done without it. But for Howard fans, it's a must.

Deadville -- Robert F. Jones

Thirty or so years ago I bought a book strictly because of its cover. The book was Blood Sport by Robert F. Jones. I wasn't sure the contents could live up to the cover, but wow. I was bowled over. If you haven't read Blood Sport, you should give it a try. It's a sort of like Hemingway on crack, the ultimate macho surreal fantasy. I went on to read Jones's next novel, The Diamond Bogo, and then I lost track of him. I didn't forget him. I don't think that would be possible. I just didn't keep up with his career. Then, a few years ago, I spotted a couple of his novels on a remainder stack and grabbed them. Now I've finally read one.

Deadville is a western, or a historical novel, or a mountain-man book. Take your pick. It's about two brothers who seek their fortunes in the West in the 1830s. They begin by trapping beaver but soon discover a gold mine. And then things start going bad. After that the book becomes a novel of revenge and reconciliation, and the final battle is worth waiting for. If you're looking for something a little different in the western line, I highly recommend that you give Deadville a try.

Flipper in Love

I wouldn't want you to think that I'm so perverted that I'd blog about a woman marrying a dolphin. I'm only doing it because someone (*kaf* Paul Guyot *kaf*) who was ashamed to do it himself sent me the link.

Key Quote: "It's not a perverted thing. I do love this dolphin. He's the love of my life," she said Saturday, upon her return to London.

Challenge to the Reader

No, not from me. From Mystery*File. You can bet I wouldn't mention this if I hadn't met the challenge and come up with the right answer.

This Side of Parodies

Via The Little Professor, here's a link to a wonderful anthology of parodies. The writer begins with an anagram of the author's name. The anagram is used as a title, and the author then produces a work in the author's style, based on the anagram. As for the titles themselves, I'm partial to "Hen Gonads," derived from Ogden Nash.

I Dreamed I Saw Dick Clark Last Night

We got in about 11:30, and I turned on the TV set to see if I could catch a glimpse. But surely that wasn't Dick Clark I saw. Give the guy credit for guts and gumption, more than I'll ever have, but I wish he'd stayed off the air. I don't want to think of Dick Clark like that. In fact, I'm going to pretend I didn't see anything and that I was just having a bad dream.

Cross Plains, Texas

The drought in Texas has caused a lot of problems, and wildfires are likely to cause even more if it doesn't rain soon. The little town of Cross Plains, birthplace of Robert E. Howard, was just about wiped out by fire the other day. The Howard house and museum escaped damage, but over a hundred homes were burned to ash. The REHUPA site has information on the fires and on how you can contribute money to help.

Octavus Roy Cohen

Check out the latest edition to Mystery*File for the most entertaining review of the novels of Octavus Roy Cohen you'll find on the 'net today. And probably the only review of the novels of Octavus Roy Cohen you'll find on the 'net today.

Happy Gnu Year!

Yes, it's that time of year again, the time when we celebrate the noble wildebeest, also called gnu (pronounced /nu/ or /nju/), a large ungulate of the genus Connochaetes.

During this time we often reflect on the past and wonder about the future. As for the past, I'd like to thank everyone who's read the blog this year. I truly appreciate your support. I realize that my traffic on a good day doesn't equal what some of the more presitigious blogs have over the course of, say, 15 minutes, but (as in everything) it's quality that counts, not quantity. Or so I keep telling myself.

I have no idea about the future, or at least my particular future. Since my agent "retired" a while back, I haven't done much fiction writing, and I still haven't looked for another agent. Maybe I'll do that in the coming year. Or not. I'm still waffling.

I do know that I wish the best for all of you during 2006: health, wealth, and happiness. Let's hope it's a wonderful year for everybody.

Rumor Has It

Being in the mood for light entertainment, Judy and I went to see Rumor Has It this afternoon. The audience looked about like what you'd expect: a bunch of old ginks who'd all seen The Graduate 40 years or so ago and wanted to see what this new riff on it was like. I think they all went away happy, or at least smiling.

Kevin Costner is fine, and I'm glad to see that he appears to have given up being the savior of various post-apocalyptic worlds, Shirley MacLaine is just about perfect as the even older Mrs. Robinson, and Jennifer Anniston does a good job of playing the confused young woman who might nor might not be the daughter of Benjamin Braddock (or Beau Burroughs, or whoever). I have to admit that I do find it a little hard to belive that it's never occurred to her Sarah Huttinger character that her birth occurred a little too soon after her parents' marriage. Kids wonder about stuff like that, don't they?

This isn't the kind of movie that's going to change anybody's life or make anyone's "Ten Best" list, but it's fun and it's nostalgic for those of us who remember seeing The Graduate on the big screen in its first release. There are lots worse things you could spend your money on.

Cool Dinosaur News (that has nothing to do with the item about Rockin' New Year's Eve that follows it)

Near-complete titanosaurus unearthed. 27/12/2005. ABC News Online: "Argentine palaeontologists have discovered the largely intact skeleton of a young titanosaurus that lived 71 million years ago, local media reports.

'What's extraordinary about this is that the remains were articulated, as if the animal had fallen or lain down and remained that way,' geologist and palaeontologist Bernardo Gonzalez Riga said.

'There were no signs that it was preyed on.'"

The Return of Dick Clark

ABC.com: "For the 34th consecutive year, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve will lead America into the New Year when Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host specials starting at 10:00 p.m. (ET & PT) on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31. In all there will be three-and-a-half hours of special New Year's Eve programming. This marks Dick Clark's first television appearance in over a year and Ryan Seacrest's debut as co-host of the program."

I've written before about my affection for Dick Clark. (Click here, here, or here for examples.) I hope he does appear on the show and that he's doing well.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Today Judy and I met some friends at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (names and photos of friends here). One of the friends, Sara Jane Boyers, was in town to do some workshops related to the exhibit of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat. As you can probably guess just be looking at the example on the left, Basquiat's work has inspired some widely (and wildly) divergent opinions about his talent (or lack of it).

I found the exhibit fascinating, especially with Sara Jane there to make a few salient points. One telling thing was the guest book. I've never seen a guest book with comments quite like those in this one. Some people made drawings, and many people were clearly inspired by what they'd seen. My favorites: "Okay, I finally get it -- 43-year-old white woman." Beside it, in another hand, with an arrow pointing to it: "You'll never get it -- trust me." I'm not sure I got it, but I did enjoy it.

If -- Worlds of Science Fiction, January 1954

I won this issue of If on eBay the other day. If was probably never thought of as one of the major SF magazines of the '50s, but it was a favorite of mine. After reading this issue, I can't see why it wasn't more highly regarded. The lead "short novel" is "Malice in Wonderland" by Evan Hunter, and it's a dilly. It's almost as if Hunter had been been reading Alfred Bester. The ending is weak, but maybe Hunter fixed that when he expanded the story into a novel called Tomorrow and Tomorrow, published under the Hunt Collins name. I have two or three copies of the novel, but I've never read it. The narrator of the story is a literary agent, which made it interesting right off the bat. His society is divided between the Vikes and the Rees, and the Vikes are required to shoot up with dope on a regular schedule, wear as little clothing as possible, and avoid marriage and having children. The Rees are opposed to the Vike way of life. It's a fast-moving, interesting story, and I guess I'll have to read the novel.

The issue also contains Damon Knight's "Anachron," which has become something of a classic time-travel story. I'd almost be willing to bet that no SF magazine that appeared in January 1954 had two stories of equal quality.

Admittedly, however, the Mack Reynolds story, "Off Course," is minor. Very minor. It's one of those stories that you read and say, "I could write a better story than that." Maybe you couldn't, but you'd like to think you could. It's supposed to be humorous, but it's only trite.

James E. Gunn's "A Word for Freedom" is a little preachy, and it has a basic idea very similar to "Malice in Wonderland." It suffers a little by comparison, but it's still not bad.

Harry Harrison contributed a very short story called "Navy Day," which is not much more than a shaggy dog story. The best thing about it is that it's funnier and better written that the one by Reynolds.

Richard Wilson's "Double Take" is another story that reminded me a little of "Malice in Wonderland." Maybe it's just me. It also reminded me of a far superior story, "Spectator Sport," by John D. MacDonald. It has a twist ending that you might not see coming if you've never read an SF story before.

Alan E. Nourse has the third-best story, "Letter of the Law," which reads like a story written for, and rejected by, John W. Campbell. It's about a trader on an alien world where all the natives are accomplished liars. The trader has violated their laws and is on trial for his life. He can survive only by astounding them with a bigger lie than they've ever heard before. He does, of course, but there are consequences.

The cover is by Ken Fagg (I'm not making that up).

All in all, this issue of If was a lot of fun to read. I miss the days when I could go to the Corner Bookstore in Mexia, Texas, and find a new batch of SF digests every month. Those were the days.

George Bush Loves Anna Nicole Smith

Some of you probably think this has become the Anna Nicole Smith Update Report. Can I help it if she's constantly in the news? She does the old hometown proud. I'm glad to see she has friends in high places.

"White House Aids Playboy Playmate in Court

By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer Mon Dec 26, 6:05 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Playboy playmate
Anna Nicole Smith has an unusual bedfellow in the Supreme Court fight over her late husband's fortune: the Bush administration.

The administration's top Supreme Court lawyer filed arguments on Smith's behalf and wants to take part when the case is argued before the justices.

The court will decide early next year whether to let the U.S. solicitor general share time with Smith's attorney during the one hour argument on Feb. 28.

Smith, a television reality star and native Texan, plans to attend the court argument."

Anna Nicole Smith

Every year Texas Monthly announces its "Bum Steer Awards." This year there's a "Hall of Fame," and guess who's a member. That's right, my hometown's pride and joy, Anna Nicole Smith.

Here's what the magazine has to say: IF BUM STEERS didn’t exist, they’d have to be invented for her. Two-time Bum Steer of the Year and perennial finalist. As a 26-year-old model, married octogenarian oil tycoon Howard Marshall; showed up at his funeral, according to People, in “a white gown with its neckline at half mast”; feuded with his family for a share of his fortune. Featured on the cover of New York magazine’s “White Trash Nation” issue gobbling junk food; sued and won a settlement. “Host” of abominable cable TV reality show (see Anna Nicole cuddle her late husband’s urn!). Ashes to ashes, dust to bust.

Cool Christmas Discovery

BBC News: "Scientists have discovered the beautifully preserved bones of about 20 dodos at a dig site in Mauritius.

Little is known about the dodo, a famous flightless bird thought to have become extinct in the 17th century.

No complete skeleton has ever been found in Mauritius, and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755."

Ho Ho Ho

Santa has come to Alvin, and I did all right. I got the third Looney Tunes DVD set (I got the previous two for Christmas the last two years) and the King Kong "collector's edition." That's the old Kong, of course, not the new one. I got a Jackie Chan collection, too, all movies over 30 years old. I have no idea what these will be like. Also got shirts, books, and a "hot-swappable" hard drive to play with. So it was a good day for me. I think everyone in the family was happy with the gifts they received. For our Christmas dinner last night we had Virginia ham and cajun-smoked turkey, along with twice-baked potatoes, homemade stuffing, green beans, and fruit salad. Two kinds of pie for dessert, but I passed and ate peanut brittle instead. Lunch today was leftovers. Now comes the bad part: After the kids leave, we'll be taking down the tree, putting all the decorations away, and getting the house back in some kind of order. Disposing of all the trash we generated will be my job.

More photos on the photoblog for the morbidly courious.