The Sad Deline of Luby's Cafeterias

When I was a kid, I went to San Antonio to visit my aunt. She took me to Luby's Cafeteria. I was an instant Luby's fan.

A couple of years before she died, when I was on another visit, we went to Luby's again. That was at least 50 years after the original visit. I could be wrong, but I believe the cafeteria was in the same building as it was when I first went. It was for sure pretty much the same menu, served in pretty much the same way.

But something happened. The Pappas brothers have bought an interest in the old cafeteria chain, and they've started doing things differently. Naturally the prices went up. They've kept going up, in fact, that that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about changes.

The first insidious change was to the menu. My favorite dish (and, I thought, the favorite of many), the cheese enchilada platter, was dropped.

After a while, the warming trays disappeared. Yes, "presentation" has become important even in cafeterias, so the food is in platters and bowls now. It's not as warm as it was when it came from the trays, but the presentation is classier.

More recently, the little carts with coffee and ice water and tea disappeared, too. Instead, a person in a red coat rushes up to your table and says, "I'll be your waiter today." Waiters? In a cafeteria?

A geezer such as myself can accept one change. With bad grace, naturally, but still . . . Two changes is pushing it. The third one's the charm. After more than 50 years as a Luby's customer, I won't be going back. There's only so much an old guy can stand.

A Dirty Job -- Christopher Moore

Charlie Asher is a Beta Male, and he knows it. He deals in secondhand goods and feels lucky to be married the the lovely Rachel. Unfortunately, Rachel dies in childbirth, leaving Charlie to bring up their daughter, Sophie. Sounds hilarious, right? Well, believe it or not, it is. Christopher Moore can make even death funny, which is a good thing since that's what the whole book is about. After his wife's death, Charlie discovers that not only does have have a daughter to raise but that he's a Death Merchant, a person who gathers the souls of the recently deceased so that they (the souls, not the deceased) don't fall into the wrong hands. Those hands would belong to the Morrigan and to Orcus, who are living in the sewers of San Francisco, waiting to return to power and take over the world. Charlie believes that only he can stop them. (If the plot sounds a little similar to the one of Gil's All Fright Diner, well, it is.) I've enjoyed all Christopher Moore's novels, and this one's no exception, though it did seem a little bit long. If you're in the mood for something really strange, but hilarious, check it out.

Star Bikinis

In Style | Trends | Summer Trends 2006 | Star Bikinis: "Star Bikinis
Yes, celebrities look great in bathing suits, but why, exactly? It’s not just because of their perfect bodies. We asked swimsuit designer Malia Mills why these bikinis work for each individual star’s shape and style."

Paris Hilton: "The fabric and flirty cut are so Paris Hilton. She doesn’t shy away from bright colors or fun prints, and with the big glasses, it’s a great head-to-toe look."

John Duke, after agreeing with Jeff Meyerson about my unhealthy obsession with P.H. and suggesting professional help, sent this link. (Other stars [Lindsay Lohan! Jessica Simpson!] in bikinis can be found if you click it.)

Texas Leads the Way

cbs2chicago.com - Texas School District Bans Cleavage: "Texas School District Bans Cleavage
(CBS) ARLINGTON, Texas With a new school year about to begin, some female students in one Texas school district may have to rethink their wardrobes.

Teen fashions often leave parents a little disgruntled. Arlington Independent School District parent Frances Henson said, "I'm thinking that our daughters are growing up a little bit too fast these days."

Arlington School Board members agree with parents and this summer, they adopted an unusual amendment to the student dress code.

The new dress code reads, in part, "The display of cleavage is unacceptable. Low cut blouses, tops, sweaters, etc. with plunging necklines are not allowed."

"It's gotten bad enough that, unfortunately, our young males are looking at more than their English book, their speech book, their science book," says school board president Sherri Wade. "And it's kind of nice to have something left to the imagination."

The Hottest Billionaire Heiresses

The Hottest Billionaire Heiresses - Forbes.com: "The Hottest Billionaire Heiresses
Luisa Kroll and Chaniga Vorasarun 07.27.06, 6:00 PM ET

Fortune has long conferred fame. But recently, our obsession with the fabulously wealthy has spawned a new breed of celebrity: the beautiful and stylish billionaire heiresses. Sometimes called 'celebutantes,' these much-photographed trendsetters sit front row at fashion shows, take the most spectacular vacations, frequent the hippest nightclubs like Bungalow 8 (where a few rowdy ones have been known to get into cat fights) and regularly land in the tabloids.

The best-known celebutante is Paris Hilton, who ranked number 56 on our annual ranking of the world's 100 most powerful celebrities. Paris is the gold standard, flaunting her Hilton (nyse: HLT - news - people ) dollars with aplomb on her Simple Life reality show. Great-granddaughter of the hotel chain's founder, Conrad Hilton, she has managed to upstage the family's hotels with her regular appearances in the celebrity gossip rags and occasional stints as an actress and singer."

Check out the slideshow.

Fireball over Texas

local6.com - Local News - Fireball Over Texas 'Turned Night Into Day': "A fireball seen streaking through the sky in Lakeway, Texas, 'turned night to day,' according to a police officer who witnessed the event.

SLIDESHOW: Fireball Images

A police cruiser dashcam videotaped the streak at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Hundreds of residents who witnessed the bright light in the sky called police and media, KNBC-TV reported.

'A police officer who captured the video said the light turned night into day,' Local 6's Jacqueline London said.

Astronomers said the light was either a meteor fireball or space junk entering the atmosphere, according to the report."

Books by John D. MacDonald

Well, it turns out that I couldn't resist doing one more flickr slideshow. This one features my John D. MacDonald paperbacks, and you can see it here.

Happy Birthday, Dennis Lehane!

From The Writer's Almanac:

It's the birthday of the crime writer Dennis Lehane, (books by this author) born in Dorchester, Massachusetts (1965). He grew up in a poor Irish neighborhood in Boston that he once described as "[a place] cramped with corner stores, small playgrounds, and butcher shops ... [where] days, the mothers searched the papers for coupons. Nights, the fathers went to bars. You knew everyone; nobody ever left."

Lehane was one of the few kids from the neighborhood who went to college. He got a master's degree in a creative writing program, and moved back to Boston, where he took a job as a valet in a parking garage. He started writing detective novels, the first of which came out in 1994: A Drink before the War. He supported himself as a chauffeur, and wrote most of his next two books on a yellow legal pad while sitting in the front seat of a limousine. The fifth book in the series, Prayers for Rain, was successful enough that Lehane was able to quit his job and write full time.

Earl Kemp's Latest e-Zine

As usual, there's so much information crammed into an issue of Earl Kemp's e-fanzine that I can't remember all of it. The latest includes a long article on Fantasy Press, with cover scans; and article on Maurice Girodias and Olympia Press, an article on British SF comics, and more. Lots more. Check it out.

Happy Birthday, P. D. James!

The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media: "It's the birthday of mystery author P D (Phyllis Dorothy) James, (books by this author) born in Oxford, England (1920). She's known for her novels starring Detective Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, who first appears about fifty pages into her first novel when he is sent out by Scotland Yard to investigate a death among the gentry at a remote country estate. He's a dedicated, hard-working policeman who is also a sensitive and successful poet.

She said, 'The classical detective story affirms our belief that we live in a rational and generally benevolent universe.'"

Well, Who Can Blame Her?

Paris: 'Who's Tony Blair?' This is London: "Celebrity rich girl Paris Hilton has demonstrated her grasp of world affairs by asking: 'Who's Tony Blair?'

The hotel heiress said she would not recognise the British Prime Minister. Asked by GQ magazine if she fancied Tony Blair, a confused Hilton replied: 'Who?'

After giving it some thought she said: 'Oh yeah... he's like your president?' Then she admitted: 'I don't know what he looks like.'"

Screaming Memes

Jayme Lynn Blaschke tagged me with this, and I decided to go along with the gag. Partly, at least.

1. One book that changed your life?
There have been many. One would be the first paperback printing of John D. MacDonald’s Murder for the Bride. I was holding it in my hand one day, looking at the cover, and I thought, “This was printed only in paperback. There are a lot of books like that. I think I’ll collect some of them.” Thousands of paperback originals later, here I am.

2. One book you have read more than once?
Again, there have been many. All of Chandler, all of Ross Macdonald, all of Hammett. Those guys are my idols. I’ve read Clifford Simak’s City several times. One story in it, “Desertion,” may be my favorite short story.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. I’ve read some of the plays so many times that I practically have them memorized, but I figure they’re good for a few more rounds.

4. One book that made you laugh?
Yet again, there have been many. I just finished Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job. I laughed a lot.

5. One book that made you cry?
Jayme mentioned On the Beach. That one made me cry when I read it 45 years or so ago. But I’m a sucker for sentimentality. Just anything works. Dickens can get me going easily.

6. One book you wish had been written?
A Black Shroud for McGee. For years it was rumored that John D. MacDonald had written a final novel in the Travis McGee series, one in which McGee died. The rumor’s been pretty well proven false, but I wish it had turned out to be true. I’d like to have seen what kind of send-off JDM would have given old Trav.

7. One book you wish had never been written?
The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein.

8. One book you are currently reading?
Blue Screen by Robert B. Parker.

9.. One book you have been meaning to read?
As usual, there are many. I don’t have a TBR stack. I have two six-foot bookcases, double stacked. So I’m passing on this one.

10. Now tag five people.
I don’t want to bother anybody.

Snakes on a Plane

Okay, you know you want to do it. Send a personal message in the voice of Samuel L. Jackson to someone special.

Anna Nicole Smith Update

MSNBC: "Anna Nicole Smith is reaching out to Britney Spears. “If you wanted to be friends, I would so much love to hang out with you,” the six-months-pregnant former Playboy pinup says in a video on her Web site — even though she spells Spears' first name “Brittany.” She goes on to say “I think you’re totally cool and I think we’re going to have our babies about the same time.” On another video, Smith treats viewers to the sight of her frying up a peanut butter, cheese and mayonnaise sandwich. The merry widow, however, had better hope that some of the money from her late billionaire hubby comes through, because she’s not getting rich off this venture. The members-only video site charges $4.99 per member, so with 183 members, she has raked in a whopping $913.17."

Sadly, my devotion to blogging about my homie doesn't extend to paying the $4.99.

Ed Gorman on Harry Whittington

The other day I mentioned a new Stark House edition of two Harry Whittington novels. Ed Gorman's comments on the same edtion are at Mystery*File. Click the link for the whole thing.

Ed Gorman Rambles: 01 August 2006. Harry Whittington.: "Back in the 1950s you could run but you couldn’t hide from Harry Whittington. Those were the days when many if not most paperbacks were sold in wire racks found in drug stores, grocery stores and what were then called dime stores.

Harry told me that he’d once seen five books of his displayed on the same rack, all published that month. He worked for everybody, from Gold Medal all the way down to Carnival. He did westerns, nurse romances, tie-ins, war stories and of course crime novels. The last was his true calling. There there was no sub-genre of suspense/mystery he didn’t like. Or apply himself to."

Today's Gator Update: They're in Montana!

The Daily Inter Lake: "Boys reel in 5-foot, 60-pound alligator in Kalispell pond

Some birthdays stand out as exceptionally memorable; 16 and 21 usually make the list.

Josh Bryant will never forget his 11th birthday, when he came nose to snout with a 5-foot alligator in Kalispell.

On Monday afternoon, Josh and his mother, Lynn, were trying out the new fishing pole she’d given him for his birthday. The Shady Lane fishing pond near the old Steel Bridge, where he spends three or four days a week during the summer, seemed the perfect place to test the rod.

It was about 4 p.m. when Lynn Bryant spotted something swimming toward them.

“I thought it was a muskrat,” she said.

Then she took a closer look. Muskrats didn’t swim with just their eyes and back ridges sticking out of the water."

Stark House Strikes Again

I was going to blog this later this week, but Bookgasm beat me to it. Check out the whole post at the link. Then order the book. Or vice-versa.

Bookgasm: "How about a taste of Canadian noir? One really has to thank Stark House Press for such, in putting out Douglas Sanderson’s THE DEADLY DAMES / A DUM-DUM FOR THE PRESIDENT as part of its “Mystery Classics” two-fer line instead of just reissuing some safe bet with built-in name recognition. Stark House goes above and beyond by finding authors that need to be reintroduced to a new generation. A case in point is Sanderson, who does something I did not think was possible: He outdoes Mickey Spillane. Yep, I said it, and you can believe it."

Gil's All Fright Diner -- A. Lee Martinez

Duke and Earl are good old boys who just happen to be a werewolf and a vampire, respectively. They find themselves at Gil's Diner, which is under nightly attack by zombies. But the zombies aren't the worst of it. Someone's trying to disrupt the fabric of the universe and bring about the return of the Elder Gods. If you like Joe Lansdale or Christopher Moore, this one will have some laughs for you. Check it out.

Okay, Who's Been Messing with Wikipedia?

Paris Hilton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Because of recent vandalism or other disruption, editing of this article by anonymous or newly registered users is disabled (see semi-protection policy). Such users may discuss changes, request unprotection, or create an account."

Thanks to John Duke for the tip. Naturally I'd never look up P. H., myself.

Today's Gator Update

Lexington woman, dog find baby gator hissing on front porch

By Cassondra Kirby

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Matt Goins

An alligator that was captured yesterday at an apartment complex in Lexington.

A long snout. Small, needle-like teeth. Round, beady eyes.

It was a different kind of visitor that greeted a Lexington woman and her dog Sunday as they opened their front door on the way for an afternoon walk -- a baby alligator.

"It opened its mouth and hissed at the dog," said Nathan Bowling, Lexington-Fayette Animal Care and Control chief. The alligator was about a foot and a half long and resting on the woman's ground-level front porch, he said.

It Was 40 Years Ago Today . . .

. . . on August 1, 1966, that Charles Whitman, Eagle Scout, All-American Boy, and former Marine ascended the Tower at The University of Texas at Austin and started killing people. Actually, he'd started a bit earlier, killing his mother and his wife at their homes. He killed several people inside the tower, and he killed and wouunded a lot more outside. Judy and I lived in Denton at the time. We listened to the whole thing unfold on the radio as we packed our cars for the move we were going to make the next day, to Austin. I don't remember that we ever questioned the wisdom of going to a place where someone could do what Charles Whitman had done. Our decision had been made, we'd rented an apartment, and I was eager to start work on my Ph.D.

I've talked to people who were there that day and heard their stories. The current issue of Texas Monthly is full of personal accounts by survivors and people who were close by. It's a powerful article, but it's not available on-line.

When I was an undergrad, I loved to go up on the Tower observation deck and look out over the city. The observation deck was more than twenty-seven stories off the ground, and the tallest building in my hometown was the high school: two stories. No wonder I was impressed. After the shootings, the Tower was closed for a while, but as soon as it re-opened, I went up. There were still bullet holes in the walls, though I believe most of them have been plastered over now.

To a some of you reading this, 1966 will seem as distant as the dinosaurs, but to the people who were there that day, and to at least one person who was moving to Austin the next day, it's as immediate as the news in this morning's paper. Like the Kennedy assassination of a few years earlier, it's one of those terrible moments in history that we'll never forget.

Something to Look Forward To

Stark House will be publishing this one in September. You don't want to miss it. In addition to a couple of great novels, it has a fine introduction by David Laurence Wilson, full of biographical detail, that (really, no kidding) is worth the cover price. There's also a Whittington bibliography. Not to mention a closing (reprint) essay by me. A Night for Screaming was originally published by Ace Books, but it's almost impossible to find a copy now. is a sequel to Any Woman he Wanted is a sequel to Brute in Brass, a Gold Medal novel that's one of my favorites. This is essential stuff.

Texas, My Texas

Gov stops making ASS of Texans: "Gov stops making ASS of Texans

July 31, 2006

AUSTIN -- Texans who make mocking donations to Gov. Rick Perry's campaign no longer have to worry about how their canceled checks will be labeled. Perry's campaign said it will likely stop using the code 'ASS 06' -- short for 'A Small Supporter' -- on the canceled checks of small-change contributors who donated pennies in protest of the governor's support for a new business tax."

The Next Time You Die -- Harry Hunsicker

Lee Henry (Hank) Oswald is back on a case, and bodies are falling all over Dallas. Not to mention other parts of East Texas. There's never a dull moment in this one, and you won't need a testosterone injection for months. This time the McGuffin is a missing file that Hank's asked to find by an alcoholic preacher. Mix in the East Texas Mafia, the crazed ex-boyfriend of Hank's partner, a prison break, an indestructible villain, and enough firepower to secure Baghad, and you've got another fine reading experience from Harry Hunsicker. Check it out. 

To Protect and Serve, Without Pants

Thanks to John Duke for the link.

Local & State News - Tampa Bay's 10 - tampabays10.com: "PLANTATION, Florida - A Plantation, Florida Police Academy DUI instructor was charged with drunken driving after she was clocked doing 90 mph and found to be lacking any pants.

The Plantation Police Internal Affairs report released this week says Officer Laurie Primeau had an open bottle of Southern Comfort in her car when she was arrested on Dec. 9. But her lawyer said the booze was merely a training device for cadets, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

The Orange County Sheriff's deputy who pulled Primeau over for speeding after she nearly collided with his cruiser said he was “kinda shocked” to realize the woman flying down the highway with two dogs in her car was naked from the waist down, the report said."

You Know What I Hate?

Starting a book on the same day that James Reasoner starts one, that's what I hate. Why? Because James will finish his in two weeks, and it will take me months and months to finish mine. That's not just a guess. It's already happened once this year. Maybe I should just hire James to write my book. Hmmmm.

Mystery*File Update

MYSTERY*FILE ON-LINE: "July 28. FATAL KISS. Most of my time this week has been on adding a wealth of information to the Murder Clinic page, thanks to Karl Schadow, and we’re not done yet. To take a break from the major action, I’ve added several reviews of books I read not too long ago:
Michael Kurland, The Empress of India. [This includes an annotated bibliography of all of the author’s crime-related fiction.]
Brian Augustyn, Gotham by Gaslight. [A graphic novel in which Batman meets Jack the Ripper.]
Hugh Clevely, The Case of the Criminal’s Daughter. [A Sexton Blake novel from 1954.]"

The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time

filmcritic.com: The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time: "I've seen Chinatown a dozen times, and while it's a great movie, two specific things about it stick in my mind: Jack Nicholson's bandaged nose and the final line of dialogue. Acting, directing, a great script… these are essential to any film. But a classic ending, now that can really make a movie.

We spent literally months brainstorming and corralling the 50 films with the absolute best endings we've ever seen. We're not talking about the last half hour. We mean the last minute of movie. You know, the ending."

New Crimespree

The latest issue of the Jordans' Crimespree arrived today, and it's a great issue. Hard to list all the highlights, but there's a long interview with Bill Pronzini, fiction from Sandra Ruttan and others, a good article on "How the West was Lost" by Steve Hockensmith, lots of reviews, Bob Randisi's column, and on and on. Too many good things to list. Get yourself a copy.

Scoop

We went to see Scoop, Woody Allen's new movie, yesterday. It's light and insubstantial. Very old- fashioned in some ways, almost like a color version of some old b&w comedy/mystery from the '40s. The plot is kind of silly, an amiable shaggy dog story, and any mystery fan is going to be onto it almost instantly. It relies on a non-scary ghost to kick it off, and I can't even begin to tell you the number of flaws in it. We liked it anyway. That's because Woody Allen's humor has always connected with me, and Judy gets it, too. Heck, we're still laughing about lines from Take the Money and Run, which we saw 40 years ago. ("I have a gub.") Hugh Jackman is appealing, and Woody's great at playing the old magician, Splendini, who poses as the father of Scarlett Johansson. His jokes are even older than the ones from Take the Money and Run, but some of them are very funny. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Johansson has finally won me over. She's much more interesting to me as a nerdy college journalism student than when she's tarted up the way she is for The Black Dahlia. I can't recommend Scoop, and I can see why it hasn't gotten great reviews. All I can say is that it made me smile and that I enjoyed it.

Art Buchwald Update

Registration probably required for the whole article. Again, thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.

A Defiant Jester, Laughing Best - New York Times: "THINGS are casual in the vacation home of Art Buchwald. One leg — the one that is attached to Mr. Buchwald — is propped up on a lounge chair on the back porch. The other, complete with white sock and sneaker, stands, quite independently, in front of a canvas director’s chair in the den."

Mickey Spillane - A Few Choice Words

Registration required to read the entire article, I think. Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.

Mickey Spillane - Books - New York Times: "MICKEY SPILLANE, who died last week at 88, was recognized as a master of the postwar private-eye potboiler. Certainly he was among the most successful practitioners of the genre; he sold more than 200 million books, many of them featuring his signature detective, Mike Hammer.

The critics, however, were not kind to Mr. Spillane’s particular blend of sex, violence, and vigilante justice. Malcolm Cowley called him “a homicidal paranoiac”; even his father described his output as “crud.” But Mr. Spillane was unfazed. “I don’t give a hoot about reading reviews,” he once said. “What I want to read is the royalty checks.”

Here is a sampling of Mr. Spillane’s unmistakable prose."

Jack Carson Tribute Page

As I've said on this blog before, I'm an admirer of Jack Carson's movie work, and it was nice to discover a page devoted to him. There's a bio, a filmography, and lots of good stuff.

Jack Carson - Tribute to one of the great character actors: "From 'The NEW Biographical Dictionary of Film' by David Thomson, on actor Jack Carson :

'Never nominated or celebrated, never given lead roles in front-rank pictures, Jack Carson could be stupid, vacant, coarse, vain, amiable, decent, touching, nasty, hateful...even ordinary. Somehow one doubts that he ever got, or needed, much direction. Instead he understood story and character. He was cast and he was relied on, and let us say that one in ten times he was indelible... Apart from that, he was only perfect.'"

Not a Paris Hilton Post

Hollywood Big Blasts Lohan - July 28, 2006: "Lindsay Lohan's hard-partying antics and recent bout of 'heat exhaustion' has left one Hollywood big shot steamed, The Smoking Gun has learned. In a blistering July 26 letter to the 20-year-old actress, James G. Robinson, who heads the L.A. firm producing Lohan's current movie, calls her recent erratic behavior 'discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional.'"

Twelve Miles from Alvin, Texas

nbc5i.com - News - Texas Doctor Charged In Drive-By Shooting: "DICKINSON, Texas -- Police have charged a Texas doctor in the drive-by shooting of a bicyclist, who was hit in the chest and shoulder and is now recovering at the same hospital where the physician works.

Wameeth Fadhli, a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch hospital in Galveston, was jailed Thursday on $60,000 bond after being accused of firing numerous shots at the 22-year-old man on Tuesday.

According to witnesses, the victim was riding his bicycle when a sport utility vehicle pulled alongside and began firing what they described as a pistol. The witnesses told police the shooter was alone and wearing what appeared to be surgical scrubs, said Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo."

Kerouac Manuscript Update #2

Click the link for the whole story and a nice photo of the scroll.

Kerouac's original `On the Road' will be published - The Boston Globe: "Now, in time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the novel's publication, the version of ``On the Road' that Kerouac wrote on the scroll will be published next year in book form for the first time, said John Sampas of Lowell, the executor of the writer's literary estate and the brother of his third wife, Stella. It will include some sections that had been cut from the novel because of references to sex or drugs."

Happy Birthday to the Blog!

And to me. The blog is four years old. I'm a little bit older. Sixty-five, to be exact. Officially a ward of the state. It's hard for me to believe I'm this old. I never really thought about what it would be like, but I suppose it was inevitable that I'd get here, barring catastrophic accidents or illnesses. All you youngsters will be here sooner than you think, considering it's only been about two weeks since I turned thirty. And you damned kids get off my lawn!

Fun While It Lasted

ComMisterio Bids Farewell To Mystery Community

ConMisterio, the recent mystery convention held in Austin, Texas, in July
2005 and July 2006, will not have an encore performance in 2007.
Organizer Karen Meschke reports that although ConMisterio II showed
increased attendance, and attendees enthusiastically received both years,
the convention still has not shown a profit. The staff has decided they
cannot continue at this time, and is regretfully retiring the name
"ConMisterio." The entire staff of volunteers of would like to thank the
mystery community for their gracious support and encouragement the past
two years.

Here We Go Again

Since several people seem interested, here's another Flicker set of action series pb covers.

Some of you who read the comments might have doubted Jeff Meyerson's memory of Pepperoni Hero. Doubt no more. Actually, this is an interesting and well-done series, a Travis McGee pastiche. There were at least three of them, all well worth looking for.

Warren Murphy's "Digger" series is a heck of a lot of fun, and Trace is just Digger with a different name. Murphy was, of course, half of the team that created the Destroyer series. The first book wasn't much, but the series subsequently went on to become one of the best of the bunch. My favorite, however, is Murphy's Razoni & Jackson series. The makers of Lethal Weapon liked it even more than I did.

I included three books that Steve Mertz and I had a hand in. Couldn't resist.

I also couldn't resist including some John Whitlatch covers, just because I like them. You can see, however, that they sadly degenerated before Whitlatch's career ended.

The Executioner is sort of the granddaddy of them all. The cover art wasn't so hot to begin with, but it improved. I threw in one of the "Jim Peterson" covers just for fun. That was the name used on the books during a contract dispute when Pendleton wasn't doing them.

Finally, I'm pretty sure "Robert Novak" is Nelson DeMille, but I'm too lazy to check.

Happy Birthday, Bugs Bunny!

From The Writer's Almanac: It was on this day in 1940 that Bugs Bunny made his debut in a short animated film called "A Wild Hare". He was modeled on Groucho Marx, with a carrot rather than a cigar. Mel Blanc gave him a Brooklyn accent. The story line of the cartoon involved Elmer Fudd hunting rabbits, only to have Bugs thwart him at every turn. Bugs Bunny's first line in the cartoon, when he meets Elmer Fudd, is, "What's up, doc?" It was a phrase that one of the writers remembered people saying where he grew up in Texas.

Gator Update

Man to pet: 'Later alligator' - Newsday.com: "Man to pet: 'Later alligator'
BY JULIA NEYMAN
Newsday Staff Writer

July 26, 2006, 12:37 AM EDT

Kevin Semeran enjoyed walking his 3-year-old alligator on a leash in the backyard of his Bay Shore home. She responded to her name -- 'Caution' -- and ate fish, mice, crickets and grasshoppers. Semeran once took Caution to a block party, and brought her to Gatorland in Kissimmee, Fla., last September so he could be trained in how to care for her.

On Friday, however, agents from the state Department of Environmental Conservation confiscated Caution, citing a state law prohibiting residents from owning alligators. Semeran said he did not know of the law, which was passed last year.

'I was heartbroken,' said Semeran, 24. 'That was my baby. She was a sweetheart.'"

Thanks to Ted Fitzgerald for the link.

Zombies are Big in Minneapolis

Why hasn't Steve Stilwell ever mentioned this? Thanks to Anne for the link (in her comment on the previous zombie article).

Zombies Just Wanna Have Fun

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 07/25/2006 | Party's over for these 'zombies': "Six Minneapolis revelers jailed on suspicion of carrying fake bombs
BY DAVID HAWLEY
Pioneer Press

'Zombies' lurching along a downtown street tend to cause a stir. When the living dead carry duffel bags and backpacks with what look like wires sticking out, the cops step in.

This horror show unfolded Saturday evening in Minneapolis, where officers arrested six ghoulish revelers in thick makeup who police said were staggering along like zombies near Sixth Street and Hennepin Avenue.

'They were arrested for behavior that was suspicious and disturbing,' said Lt. Gregory Reinhardt, a police spokesman.

All six were booked into the Hennepin County jail under a post-9/11 Minnesota statute making it a felony to 'simulate weapons of mass destruction.'

Dressing up like characters from the movie 'Night of the Living Dead' might have been OK, but toting bags with what police said appeared to be protruding wires apparently crossed a line.

A friend of the group said the arrests were overkill and that the suspicious devices were homemade stereos.

'This was just kids trying to have some fun,' said Helen Hicks, who said she has attended similar 'zombie' gatherings in the past."

Men's Action Series

You can blame this on Vince Keenan if you want to. He's the one who brought up The Liquidator. So the other day I started scanning some covers from the old men's action series books. I don't have my copies in any particular order. I don't even have the series together, so what I scanned is just a random sampling. The results are here, and you can watch a slideshow if you're so inclined. You've got your Stryker, your Striker, your Ryker, and even a vengeful merman. One of these days, if I get inspired again, I'll scan some more. And believe me, there are many more. Whatever happened to the guys who bought these things by the truckload?

Update: I've added about 20 more.

Bob Dylan on XM

Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio
July 26, 2006
Theme: Rich Man, Poor Man








The Rich Man and the Poor Man, Bob Miller
Rags to Riches, Tony Bennett
Get Rich Quick, Little Richard
Charming Betsy, The Farmer Boys
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime, Bing Crosby
On the Nickel, Tom Waits
Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Them All, Fiddlin’ John Carson (with Moonshine Kate)
Hobo, You Can’t Ride this Train, Louis Armstrong
Do Re Mi, Woody Guthrie
Rich Woman, Lil Millet and his Creoles
Poor Side of Town, Johnny Rivers
(Whatcha Gonna Do) When the Welfare Turns its Back on You, Freddie King
If You’re So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich, Louis Jordan
Hobo’s Lullaby, Emmylou Harris

Geckoman

Scotsman.com News - Weird, odd and quirky stories - 'Synthetic Gecko' material paves the way for real-life Spider-Men: "Story in full SOLDIERS and spies of the future could be given special 'Spider-Man' suits, enabling them to climb up sheer surfaces and even stick to the ceiling, according to a leading British engineering firm.

BAE Systems has developed a material that closely mimics the feet of a gecko lizard, which can scale vertical glass and other slippery surfaces with ease.

The research is still at an early stage but the firm said 'infantry climbing suits' could be made out of the material, giving the troops gecko-like abilities."

The Daily Hoff

A cool commercial with The Hoff. Click here.

Feds Just Wanna Have Fun

FED HAS SMASHING TIME IN MIDTOWN By ERIN CALABRESE and LAUREN ELKIES - New York Post Online Edition: News: "July 22, 2006 -- A State Department worker cruising down 34th Street with three scantily clad women in what appeared to be a government car with flashing lights collided with a yellow cab last night after allegedly running a red light, police said.

The unnamed fed - who was armed according to witnesses - was shouting at other motorists through a public address loudspeaker in the car as he maneuvered his Buick LeSabre westbound in the eastbound lane on East 34th Street at about 11:30 p.m.

He allegedly ran a red light at Lexington Avenue and was broadsided by the cab, cops said.

'He was yelling, stay to the right, stay to the right, on his loudspeaker with his red light running. And that's when he went through the red light and hit the cab,' said Erin Melius, 25. 'We were like, 'What is this guy doing?' And then it was like, 'Boom!' '

The witnesses spotted the three young women in the car - as well as a cooler in the backseat and a case of Heineken in the trunk."

Murder Clinic at Mystery*File

OTR Log: Murder Clinic: "MURDER CLINIC: Radio’s Golden Age of Detection

by Victor A. Berch & Steve Lewis

Whatever the laws of physics and probability are as they relate to research on matters relating to detective fiction, they invariably lead investigators into bypaths and side journeys that lead them into areas which were totally unanticipated beforehand. While working on the tribute page to author John Godey after his death, we came across a radio play written by Morton Freedgood (Godey’s real name) entitled “Let Me Tell You About Manhattan,” which was broadcast on July 12, 1942, as part of the CBS series, Columbia Workshop. "

Ed Gorman Rambles at Mystery*File

Ed Gorman Rambles: 24 July 2006. Jack Warden & more.: "Back in the days when I had my own blog, I noted the deaths of actors who’d given me hours of particular pleasure. Ted Knight, Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright were among my favorites. We need all the momentary pleasures we can find in this vale of tears. And even though I didn’t know any of the people I bade goodbye, I felt the loss on an almost personal level."

War of the Worlds

So I saw the Stephen Spielberg version of War of the Worlds the other day. I didn' t like it much. Probably I'm just a crochety old man. The special effects were fine, but I was bothered by the script. Here's an example. In the beginning of the movie, when the tripods start to emerge from underground, Tom Cruise goes to the edge of one of the holes and picks up a piece of the asphalt from the street. Someone says, "Is it hot?" and Tom says, "No, it's cold as ice." Then he sticks it in the pocket of his jacket. I thought, "A clue!" And I waited for the rest of the movie for him to pull out that piece of asphalt and explain why it was cold, not hot, and why that was an important plot point. Guess what? It was never mentioned again. Somehow that kind of sums up the whole script for me.

The History of Sanitary Sewers

The History of Sanitary Sewers: "Over the past ten years, Jon Schladweiler, the Historian of the Arizona Water & Pollution Control Association, has researched and collected materials related to the history of sewage conveyance systems. Many of these have been displayed in a traveling exhibit entitled 'The Collection Systems Historical Photo and Artifacts Display.' "

Who would have guessed that there was a website devoted to the history of sewers? I like it mainly for this photo. Link via Incoming Signals.

Murdaland

Murdaland now has a website. They've posted the contents of their first issue, and wow! Wotta line-up. Should be a dilly.

Anthony Nominations

Sarah Weinman has them here. Congratulations to all the nominees.

The Long Wait -- Mickey Spillane

I don't know when I first read The Long Wait. Let's just say it was a long time ago. The last time I read it was around 1985, when I was writing the entry for it in Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller's 1001 Midnights. After Spillane's death last week, I decided to read it again. Spillane's blue-collar style for blue-collar guys is crude but effective. Which is to say, it works for me. It's harder to write than you might think. An example of an attempt to do the same thing and failing utterly would be the Rocky Steele novels of John B. West, who seems to have wanted nothing more than to be Mickey Spillane. If Mark Twain had read the books, he might have said, "You have the words, but not the tune." Here's what I said in 1001 Midnights. I don't see any reason to change my mind. "And speaking frankly of crediblity, it must be admitted that The Long Wait has enough coincidence and enough improbable, even downright incredible, plot devices for four or five books. There is violence galore, too, and a lot of voyueristic sex (the final scene is a rewrite of the striptease that concludes I, the Jury). None of this affects the story adversely, however. Typically, Spillane pulls it off. . . . Spillane seems to have had a high old time writing The Long Wait, and the reader who is willing to grin, plant his tongue firmly in his cheek, and go along with him, is in for a hell of a ride."

Now It Can Be Told

The Daily Record - NEWS - MAN ON MOON: WE SAW A UFO: "MAN ON MOON: WE SAW A UFO
Astronauts' close encounter
By Mike Swain

THE first men to walk on the Moon reported seeing a UFO, a new TV documentary reveals.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon's surface after Neil Armstrong, says space agency bosses covered up their sighting.

And the Apollo 11 astronauts were also careful not to talk ab out it openly.

He said: 'There was something out there, close enough to be observed, and what could it be?

'Now, obviously the three of us weren't going to blurt out, 'Hey, Houston, we've got something moving alongside of us and we don't know what it is, you know?

'Can you tell us what it is?'

'We weren't about to do that, because we knew that that those transmissions would be heard by all sorts of people and somebody might have demanded we turn back because of aliens or whatever the reason is.'"

Gator Update

DELAND, Fla. -- A 16-year-old being dragged into a Central Florida lake by an 11-foot alligator used a tip he watched on a Discovery Channel show to break free and save his life, according to a Local 6 News report.Corey Workman was in a remote area of the St. John's River in Volusia County, Fla., just before midnight Saturday, throwing rocks and sticks into the water when he was attacked.Authorities said an alligator jumped out of the water, grabbed Workman's left foot and dragged him into the lake."He struggled with the alligator but could not get free until he remembered something he saw on the Discovery Channel about what to do if you are getting attacked by an alligator," Local 6 reporter Deborah Garcia said."For some reason, I remembered a couple of months ago I was watching the television show and they were saying in certain situations whenever you are in, you have to put your thumb in its eye since it is the most sensitive part on the alligator," Workman told Local 6 News Monday. "It was the first thing I did."

Workman poked the alligator in the eye with his thumb as he was told to do on the television show.

Happy Birthday, John D. McDonald!

John D. MacDonald: "American mystery writer, one of the great names of the genre, who establish his name in the pulps. MacDonald created his famous series character Travis McGee in his forty-fourth novel The Deep Blue Good-By in 1964, and went on to write twenty-one books about the most 'colorful' of all unlicensed private detectives - each novel in the McGee series contains a color in the title. The awarded mystery writer and critic H.R.F. Keating selected MacDonald's The Green Ripper (1979) in 1987 for his list of the one hundred best crime novels."

It would be impossible to overestimate what John D. MacDonald means in my life. His books are what set me on the road to collecting paperback originals, more than 40 years ago. It was through The JDM Bibliophile, published by Len and June Moffatt that I was introduced to mystery fandom. That's where my first fannish writing appeared. Some aspects of JDM's work doesn't hold up as well as I might hope. I cringe sometimes when reading the dialogue between Tavis McGee and some of his female friends. But for sheer story-telliing ability, JDM is still hard to beat. I wish he were still around, and still writing.

Demolition is Live

The Summer 2006 issue of DEMOLITION is now live featuring stories
from: Jeff Shelby, Stephen Blackmoore, Gerald So, Paul Guyot, Todd Robinson, Justin Porter, Steven Torres, and Stephen D. Rogers.

Check it out or we'll blow your shit up.

http://www.demolitionmag.com

Gator Update

Pet Alligator Attacks Drunk Russian Owner - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM: "Pet Alligator Attacks Drunk Russian Owner

A pet alligator nearly bit his Russian owner’s hand off, when the man tried to give him a special treat of a sausage for a holiday dinner, the Zhizn daily said.

The alligator called Musya has lived in the office of a Moscow company for eight years, and no incidents ever occurred.

However at a corporate party dedicated to Fatherland Defenders’ Day, celebrated on February, 23, the company’s director decided to give Musya his share of the celebration.

“I thought — Musya should have a holiday, too,” says Anton Skvortsov, 35.

“I gathered some food from the dinner, and went to feed my handsome.”"

Happy Birthday, Raymond Chandler!

Raymond Chandler was born on this date in 1888. He went on to write some of my favorite mystery novels, one of which (The Big Sleep) was later made into one of my favorite movies with Humphrey Bogart. His influence on the mystery field was powerful and is still being felt today.

For more on Chandler, see this excellent tribute at The Rap Sheet.

Will the Persecution Never End?

iWon News - Family Vows to Battle Anna Nicole Smith: "DALLAS (AP) - A month after the death of E. Pierce Marshall, who feuded for years with Anna Nicole Smith over his father's oil fortune, his family says they are more committed than ever in their legal battle against the former Playboy playmate.

'Nothing has changed from the family's standpoint as to how this case should end up and we will handle it as Pierce did, in his honor,' the family told The Dallas Morning News in a written statement."

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link!

Double Jeopardy

Surely you wouldn't expect me to ignore an important breaking news story that features both Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

HILTON DENIES LOHAN BLACKBERRY HACKING: "PARIS HILTON has hit out at reports she hacked into LINDSAY LOHAN's BlackBerry and sent offensive messages to her friends from it. The blonde socialite, who suffered a similar ignominy in 2004 when private text messages on her mobile phone were leaked onto the internet, insists the accusations are 'silly'."

The Crimedog Talks to an Old Friend

Anthony Neil Smith catches us up on Bob Skinner and talks a little about Bob's fine novels. Check it out right here.

Two More Stories

I read a couple more stories from Damn Near Dead last night. Reed Farrel Coleman's "Requiem for Moe" is subtitled "A Moe Prager and Jack Taylor Variation." It imagines the end of Moe's life and a visit from a certain Irish guy. Fans of Moe, Jack, Bruen, Taylor, and Coleman will get a kick out of this one. That includes everybody, right? Megan Abbott's "Policy" is a historical like her fine first novel, Die a Little. Like the novel, it's tough, tender, and terrific. The more I read in this anthology, the better I like it.

To Protect and Service. Er, Serve. British Style

The Sun Online - News: 'Mistress attacked cop': "A POLICEWOMAN was pushed through a plate glass door after a three-in-a-bed romp, a court heard yesterday.

Louise Flanagan, 22, was said to have been attacked by Kim Tempest, 27, after the pair stripped to their underwear with playboy doctor Matthew Hunter, 33."

Mickey Spillane Interview on NPR's Fresh Air Today

NPR : Fresh Air from WHYY for Thursday, July 20, 2006: "Mickey Spillane

July 21: The hardboiled crime writer died this week at age 88. We'll listen back to a 1989 interview."

Thanks to Todd Mason for the link and info.

Happy Birthday, Ernest Hemingway

When I discovered Hemingway's work back in my high school days, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. I read as many of the short stories as I could find. Later on I read the novels. The Sun Also Rises is probably my favorite. By the time I reached grad school, Hemingway was falling out of fashion. Too macho for the times, or something like that. Having left BTA (big-time academia) long ago, I don't know if his rep has recovered. I hope it has. When he was good, he was about as good as they come.

Final ConMisterio Update

I had a great time in Austin, as I hope everyone did. On the first day of the convention, we had an unexpected visitor: Kinky Friedman. Well, he didn't actually visit the convention, but he was right there with us. He was attending some kind of early morning gathering with the other candidates for governor, so I took a few seconds of video. I don't know if the Kinkster will win the election, but he's sure won the press.

Happy Birthday, Diana Rigg!

Mrs. Peel is 68 today.

You, the Jury

MICKEY SPILLANE, by Steve Holland: "He's been slated for his use of sex and violence, condemned for his right-wing politics... What is it about this guy that critics so loath and Joe Q. Citizen loves? You, the jury, preside over the case of the most vilified author ever to sell 200 million copies of his books around God's green earth. With Judge Steve Holland presiding, would the clerk of the court please read out the charges..."

Ed Gorman Reviews a Movie

Ed Gorman Rambles: 20 July 2006. Mary Astor in ACT OF VIOLENCE.: " I usually eat lunch around twelve thirty, catch the news and then go back upstairs to my office to write again.

Yesterday I happened to be channel surfing when I saw the billboard for a Turner movie called ACT OF VIOLENCE. I’d never seen it but as soon as I saw Robert Ryan (my favorite noir actor) l knew I’d watch the whole thing."

The Little Professor: Reviews a Couple of Year's Best SF Collections

The Little Professor: Year's Best SF 11 and Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection: "Year's Best SF 11 and Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection

I don't normally read these two 'year's best' SF anthologies back-to-back, so this year's installments certainly highlighted how editorial preferences define 'the best' that has been known and thought in the genre world of 2005. Gardner Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection reprints thirty stories; David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer's Year's Best SF 11 reprints thirty-one stories. "

To Protect and Service. Er, Serve.

iWon News: "WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A woman police officer moonlighting as a prostitute has got off with a caution, New Zealand police said Thursday.

The unidentified officer, stationed in the country's biggest city Auckland, was discovered last year to have been a prostitute for a short time.

'The officer concerned has been counseled. Under police procedures this amounts to a censure,' Deputy Police Commissioner Lyn Provost said in a statement.

The police officer, who was understood to be having financial difficulties, had not sought permission to have a second job. Such applications are considered on a case-by-case basis."

Damn Near Dead, Again

Copies of this fine anthology are available from David Thompson at Murder by the Book in Houston. He has copies signed by Duane Swierczynski, Jeff Abbott, Megan Abbott, Reed Farrel Coleman, Sean Doolittle, Victor Gischler, and me.

I've been reading it, and the stories by Duane, Sean, Jeff, Victor, and Ken Bruen are worth the admission price. I'll be reading Reed's and Megan's stories today or this evening, along with some of the others, and I'm really looking forward to them. Check it out for yourself.

Man on the Moon

This was a great day back in 1969. Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. I remember it well. I watched all the TV coverage I could because I was so excited by the very thought of the entire mission. It's hard to believe our space program has fallen on such hard times that I'll probably never see the like of this again. I wonder if even my kids will. Makes me a little melancholy to think about it.

A Heart-Warming Tale

Python that swallowed electric blanket saved in sugery: "It took surgery to save a 12-foot Burmese python in Ketchum, Idaho, after it swallowed an entire queen-size electric blanket -- complete with electrical cord and control box.

The blanket must have gotten tangled up in the snake's rabbit dinner, owner Karl Beznoska said. He said he kept the blanket in the 60-pound reptile's cage for warmth."

Thanks to Scott Cupp for the tip.

Yeah, Yeah. But We're all Much Safer Now

Report: DHS workers wasted thousands - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars last year on iPods, dog booties, beer-making equipment and designer jackets, congressional investigators have concluded.

More than 100 laptop computers and a dozen boats also bought by Homeland Security employees are missing, the investigators found."

I'm Not in the Least Surprised

Holy gator! Pet is no crock: SouthFlorida.com: "SALEM, Wis. -- Michael Wilk was tossing back a few beers with friends when he saw God on the side of his 4-foot-long pet alligator.

Without even squinting, Wilk noticed white markings pop out against a backdrop of black scales to form the letters G-O-D.

'When I first saw it, my jaw dropped,' said Wilk, 25. 'It's just sort of like a phenomenon on it.'"

Bob Dylan on XM

Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio
July 19, 2006
Theme: Cars

Rocket 88, Jackie Brenston
Hudson Marquez discussed “Cadillac Ranch”
Cadillac Ranch, Bruce Springsteen
Bob tells about a great mondegreen – the first time he heard Bruce sing, “tearing up the road like a dinosaur,” he thought it was “tearing up the road like Dinah Shore.”
Dinah Shore’s Chevy commercial
Every Woman I Know, Billy “The Kid” Emmerson
Me and My Chauffeur Blues, Memphis Minnie
My Automobile, Parliament
Christian Automobile, Dixie Hummingbirds
Car on a Hill, Joni Mitchell
Peter Epstein Pontiac commercial
Pontiac Blues, Sonny Boy Williams
Big Green Car, Jimmy Caroll
Get out of the Car, Richard Berry
Mercury Blues, David Lindley
Mercury commercial
Too Many Drivers, Smiley Lewis
1963 Corvette Stingray commercial
Little Red Corvette, Prince
No Money Down, Chuck Berry

Two Dicks for Danger

If you watched this video, you know that Fender Tucker is a fine guitar player. You can read about his music and his bands here, and you can listen to some music, too. But Fender's real claim to fame is Ramble House, a publishing venture dedicated mainly (at first) to reprinting every novel ever written by Harry Stephen Keeler. Inevitably, thanks to his dedication to preserving only the finest literature, Fender branched out. Now he's reprinting the complete works of Ed Wood, Jr. Each volume from Ramble House contains two classic novels. You might need to click on the pictures to enlarge them and see Fender's current offerings. Fender has given each volume a title, of which my favorite is the one that heads this post. Check 'em out.

We'll Always Have Paris [Hilton]

We'll always have Paris - Style - Times Online: "We meet again on a balcony at the Sanderson hotel, surrounded by fashion shrubbery, with [Paris] Hilton, 25, in a floor-length ball gown and outsize white-rimmed sunglasses. My first question is, what happened? “I know, right?” she giggles. “Things got, huge.” And you let them? “Yes, I did.” But why? “Because there’s nobody in the world like me,” she says, smiling lazily. “I think every decade has an iconic blonde — like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana — and right now, I’m that icon.”

For better or worse, she is right. Last year, the author Naomi Wolf was quoted as saying Hilton is “an empty signifier you can project anything onto” — but she was wrong. To fans and haters alike, Hilton signifies the base desires of the age: money, sex and low body fat."

This article is actually worth a look. Thanks to Todd Mason for the link.

Happy Birthday, Dion!

Dion Dimucci, first with the Belmonts and later on his own, was part of the soundtrack of my life. "I Wonder Why" is one of the great white doo-wop numbers, and Dion's "Runaround Sue" is of course a classic. I can still listen with pleasure to him, to him with the Belmonts, or just the Belmonts without him. Wonderful stuff. Dion's latest CD is Bronx in Blue, and on it he accompanies himself on guitar. That's about the only instrument in the mix, if you don't count his voice. You might not think of Dion as a blues singer (or a guitarist, for that matter), but he pulls it off with aplomb. He's 67 today, but he's still going strong.

Old. Bold. Uncontrolled.

New promotion for a fine anthology.

Ed Gorman's Tribute to Spillane and More at Mystery*File

MYSTERY*FILE ON-LINE: "July 17. GORMANIA. The Mick Is Dead.

July 17. MICKEY SPILLANE (1918-2006). One of the giants of mystery and detective fiction has left us. If you were reading private eye stories in the 1950s, as I was, you probably remember exactly when and where it was when you had your first dose of Mike Hammer and mystery fiction changed forever. (The eighth grade cloakroom of McKinley School. I was twelve, and the memory is as clear to me as though it were yesterday.) I’m not sure how long the first link I found will stay online, but here on M*F, the early works of Mickey Spillane were covered briefly in the checklist of Dutton’s line of Guilt Edged mysteries. The rest of the covers can be found here."

Geezer Taunting

This is why Duane Swierczynski is going to hell.

Not That There's Anything Wrong with That

Ancient strippers still spreading their butterfly wings at prestigious university - MSN-Mainichi Daily News:

"From the land of panty vending machines and a thriving business in soiled knickers comes the news that a museum run by Japan's most prestigious private university has a collection of female stripper's undies dating back more than half a century, according to Shukan Asahi."

"A Gathering-of-Sorts"? That's a New Name for It

Bandera Bulletin: "Deputies terminated after scandalous acts
By Jessica Hawley - Lifestyles Editor

After behaving in a manner deemed intolerable by the Bandera County Sheriff's Office, a deputy has been terminated and may face criminal charges.

Deputy Amy Price was relieved of her duties June 27, following a complaint filed against her by Bandera County resident Brett Day. On June 25, Day arrived at his Lakehills home to find his wife, sheriff's dispatcher Kimberly Day, hosting a gathering-of-sorts with sheriff's deputy David Moore, Price, another sheriff's dispatcher and her husband, and Texas Ranger Lance Coleman.

According to Chief Deputy Don Berger, Day found his wife in a 'compromising position' with another individual present. After taking photographs, a disturbance reportedly broke out between Brett and Kimberly Day, Moore and Price. Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call issued by Day at approximately 2:30 a.m.

'He said that he was being attacked and chased through the brush,' Berger said, . . ."

Criminal Genius of the Day

Local & State News - Tampa Bay's 10 - tampabays10.com: "Largo, Florida - Kim Starks was arrested on Saturday for grand theft, forgery and fraudulent driver's license when she tried to withdraw over $5,000 from her mother's savings account, six months after her mom's death.

Police say Starks entered the Wachovia Bank at Largo Mall and filled out a withdrawal slip for $5,577.88, signed a name and approached the teller.

The teller noticed something wrong with the ID and called police. The woman identified herself, however the name was not the same as on the ID given to the teller.

Investigators say the ID had a taped-on photo of Starks over that of her dead mother's picture, and a pen was used to change the DOB."

Mickey Spillane, R. I. P.

Mike Hammer creator Mickey Spillane dies - Yahoo! News: "CHARLESTON, S.C. - Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died Monday. He was 88.

Spillane's death was confirmed by Brad Stephens of Goldfinch Funeral Home in his hometown of Murrells Inlet. Details about his death were not immediately available."

Back in March, I wished Mickey Spillane a happy birthday. I loved his books (I know not everyone does), and they were a huge influence on my even if it doesn't show in my own writing. He was a Guest of Honor at the Milwaukee Bouchercon in 1981, which is where the photo at the link was taken, and meeting him was one of the highlights of my life. I'm truly sorry he's gone. As far as I'm concerned, the world was a better place when he was in it.

Gator Update

Fla. authorities begin gator-feeding sting - Yahoo! News: "IN THE EVERGLADES, Fla. - Crusty's days are numbered. The well-known 8-foot alligator has become so accustomed to people feeding him that his demise is certain. Because state wildlife managers worry all his snacks will make him aggressive, they will have to remove him from a canal along Florida's Alligator Alley in the Everglades and euthanize him.

To keep from having to kill even more alligators, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched a three-day undercover sting operation in Broward County on Friday aimed at catching gator feeders in the act."

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link!

ConMisterio Update

Jesse Sublett plays and sings.

ConMisterio Update

Dennis McMillan, flamenco guitarist.

ConMisterio Update

Fender Tucker plays the blues.

ConMisterio Update

Fender Tucker, Jesse Sublett, Dennis McMillan jamming.

ConMisterio Update

Steven Torres.

ConMisterio Update

Lono Waiwaiole.

ConMisterio Update

David & McKenna from Houston's Murder by the Book.