J.D. Salinger, R. I. P.

Not everyone likes Catcher as much as I do, but I read it at the right time in my life and the right time in history. I've read it a number of times since, and I like it just as much as ever. I love the Nine Stories, too.

'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger dies - washingtonpost.com: "J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose 'The Catcher in the Rye' shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.

Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.

'The Catcher in the Rye,' with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made 'Catcher' a featured selection, advised that for 'anyone who has ever brought up a son' the novel will be 'a source of wonder and delight - and concern.'"

Anna Nicole Smith Update

Anna Nicole Smith Bankruptcy Details Revealed - Bankruptcy Beat - WSJ: "There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer, and diamonds are no longer her best friend. What’s a gal to do? Well, she could take comfort in her Russian lynx coat, 500-carat sapphire necklace, six potbellied pigs and $12,000 doll collection - that is, until those assets are subject to a bankruptcy proceeding.

We’re not just talking about any gal, but Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playmate model who filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996 following the death of her billionaire husband. Documents obtained by the Associated Press reveal new details about her case, including the assets the late Smith had on hand, the assets she was missing and her confusion about her financial woes."

Texas Woman Leads the Way in Chase

Deputies: Female carjacker wrecks several vehicles during chase |
khou.com
| News: "Deputies said the woman stole a pickup truck on Steubner and then crashed into another car almost immediately. She got out the vehicle and ran into a subdivision where she carjacked another vehicle, deputies said.

Then, at the North Freeway and Highway 242, she hit another car and drove back onto the freeway, deputies said.

At the 336 Loop she rear-ended a pickup and then ran to a nearby gas station where she told a driver she needed a ride, investigators said.

The man gave her a ride, but they didn't get far, deputies said."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Embalming fluid stolen from Hempstead funeral home - 1/27/10 - Houston News - abc13.com: "Authorities are issuing a warning after a funeral home in Hempstead was burglarized.
[. . . .]
Embalming fluid is used to dip cigarettes or marijuana cigarettes, commonly referred to as 'wet' or 'fry', and then smoked. The following symptoms and/or side effects of consuming or ingesting these poisonous chemicals are said to be; irritation and inflammation of the mouth, throat and stomach. Severe stomach pains followed with possible loss of consciousness, blindness and even death."

Big News from the Pulp Boys!

Pulp Boy - The Story of Emerson LaSalle - Home

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Texas could be the pond scum capitol of the world | 6abc.com - 1/25/10 - Philadelphia News - 6abc.com

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

FBCSO: Coffee Used To Hide $100K - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston: "A group of men who allegedly wanted to purchase a large amount of narcotics used coffee grounds to hide more than $100,000, officials told KPRC Local 2 Wednesday.

[. . . .]

The group used two vehicles and investigators found a hidden compartment inside one of them, officials said. They had $101,400 cash that was bundled in sealed plastic wrappers that contained coffee grounds as a masking agent, investigators said."

Shack Out on 101

Vince Keenan reviewed this movie, and I knew that sooner or later I'd have to watch it. Sure enough, it's everything he says it is, and more. Or make that Moore, as I have a lot more affection for Terry Moore and her performance than he does.

The first thing about the movie you'll notice is that the budget must have been about fifty bucks. There's one set, a diner (the shack of the title) that has only about four customers, most of whom are spies. There's a small cast of characters, and you have to wonder why some of them are in the movie. Maybe they needed the work. Lee Marvin, on the other hand, must have jumped at the chance to play Slob. He's young, lean, mean, and crazy. He and Keenan Wynn (the owner of the diner) almost appear to be competing to see who can chew the most scenery. I think Marvin wins, but it's a close call. They're both having a great time, especially in the weight-lifting scene when they compare pecs and then ask Terry Moore to decide who has the best legs.

In the opening scene, Terry Moore is sunbathing on the beach. The camera lingers on her, and who can blame it. Down the beach is Marvin, who picks up a shell and puts it to his ear. I had a momentary disconnect here, because it looks exactly as if he's talking on a cell phone. He's much more interested in Moore than the shell, however, and he shows it in a way that you'd expect from somebody called Slob.

As for the plot, well, it involves Frank Lovejoy as a seashell collecting professor, spies, commies, a WWII vet who's lost his nerve, skin diving (sort of), and some of the most obvious foreshadowing ever put on film. It makes little, if any, sense. Many of the scenes are extended dialogs that occasionally seem as if they're going to last forever. There are many unintended laughs, and the intended comedy pretty much falls flat. Except for that weight-lifting scene. Yikes. I mean would you eat in a diner where the owner does bench presses on the counter?

I'm glad I finally got around to seeing Shack Out on 101. It was worth it just for Marvin's performance. He pretty much owns the screen in every scene he's in. And Terry Moore's not bad in a couple of scenes, either. Wynn gives it all he's got, which is considerable, but Lovejoy is a bit stolid.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Man Accused Of Murdering Brother In Court. - KRGV CHANNEL 5 NEWS - The Rio Grande Valley's News Channel - Breaking News, Breaking Stories - RGV News: "nvestigators tell us the two argued over who would use the restroom first. Zachariah Hooper allegedly grabbed a gun and shot his brother in the neck. Jeremiah Hooper later died at the hospital."

New Jersey Leads the Way

Lt. Andriani, commander in Hoboken SWAT scandal, causes 'disturbance' at Tampa airport | Hoboken Now - - Hoboken Now - NJ.com: "Lt. Angelo Andriani of the Hoboken Police Department, who is currently on a two-year paid suspension from the force following the 2007 SWAT team scandal in Hoboken, caused a disturbance at Tampa International Airport in Florida on Jan. 18, police reported.

According to a Tampa police log, two TIA police officers responded to a disturbance call at 9:15 a.m. when Andriani, 56, who was in line for a flight to New Jersey, became irate when airline flight crew members were permitted to pass him in line at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint. He took pictures of TSA agents' badges, police said.
[. . . .]
Andriani and other members of the city's SWAT team had gone on a supposed mission of mercy to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Photos and videos, though, showed them in police-issued gear posing with bare-breasted women at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, letting Hooters girls hold their weapons in Alabama and downing Jello shots in a Louisiana bar. They also show him posing in a Confederate cap and pretending to be a Ku Klux Klan member at a restaurant."

And Now What You've All Been Waiting For . . .

. . . my magnum opus!

Foreign Correspondent

Louis Auchincloss, R. I. P.

Louis Auchincloss, Chronicler of New York’s Upper Crust, Dies at 92 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com: "Louis Auchincloss, a Wall Street lawyer from a prominent New York family who became a widely read author of dozens of books that plumbed the world of Manhattan’s old-money elite, died Tuesday night in Manhattan. He was 92.

The cause was complications of a stroke, his son Andrew said. Mr. Auchincloss lived in Manhattan.

Although he also wrote distinguished short stories, criticism and social history, Mr. Auchincloss (pronounced AW-kin-kloss) was mainly regarded as one of America’s pre-eminent novelists of manners and a portraitist of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant upper crust."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Howard Zinn, R. I. P.

'People's History' author Howard Zinn dies at 87 | Top AP Stories | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Howard Zinn, an author, teacher and political activist whose leftist 'A People's History of the United States' became a million-selling alternative to mainstream texts and a favorite of such celebrities as Bruce Springsteen and Ben Affleck, died Wednesday. He was 87."

Zelda Rubinstein, R. I. P.

Zelda Rubinstein, who played psychic in 'Poltergeist,' dies at 76 - latimes.com: "Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive character actress with the childlike voice who was best known as the psychic called in to rid a suburban home of demonic forces in the 1982 horror movie 'Poltergeist,' has died. She was 76."

Happy Birthday, Bobby “Blue” Bland!

Bobby “Blue” Bland: "Born on January 27, 1930, in the nearby town of Rosemark, Bobby “Blue” Bland had moved to Memphis by age seventeen. He worked in a garage during the week and sang spirituals on weekends. At various times, he also served as a chauffeur for B.B. King and Roscoe Gordon and a valet for Junior Parker. In the beginning, he styled himself after the likes of Roy Brown. After serving a stint in the army, however, Bland spent the latter half of the Fifties maturing into a masterful singer and assured entertainer. His hallmark was his supple, confidential soul-blues delivery. As a singer, Bland projected a grainy, down-to-earth quality, punctuated with guttural growls and snorts that would come to be known as the “chicken-bone sound.” Yet his voice was simultaneously smooth as velvet, allowing Bland to bring audiences under his hypnotic spell as he walked a fine line between passionate expression and exquisite self-control."

And Happy Birthday to Angela Crider, too!

No Comment Department

White House insiders say Obama budget axes Constellation program, plan to return astronauts to the moon - OrlandoSentinel.com: "NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way."

Ghosts on the Island

Spooky search: Paranormal investigators hunt for Galveston's ghosts |
khou.com
| News: "People visit Galveston for the salty surf, hot spots along the Great Texas Birding Trail and for one of the country’s largest collections of historic architecture.

But one group says this island city also could conjure tourists with something less tangible than beaches, birds and bricks.

Members of Southern Paranormal Investigations, equipped with an array of gadgets, went ghost hunting Saturday night in the J.D. Rogers building, 2021 The Strand, which houses Bistro Le Croy."

Peru Update

Aguas Calientes is the small town where we stayed when we visited Machu Picchu. The weather was great when we were there, thank goodness.

AFP: Thousands of tourists stranded at Machu Picchu: "Peru used helicopters to airlift foreign tourists trapped by rain and mudslides that killed seven people in and around its famed Machu Picchu ruins, but frustrations grew among the more than 2,500 still stranded.

The operation, which began Monday, by late Tuesday had rescued 125 of the foreigners, most of whom were waiting by a helipad near the ruins themselves, emergency services said.

But another 1,900 were stranded in nearby Aguas Calientes and 670 more on the Inca Trail, a narrow Andean pathway up to Machu Picchu that takes four days to complete and which was cut in several places by landslides."

Here We Go Again: Yet Another Drugs and Gators Bust

Not-guilty plea entered on weapons, drug charges - San Jose Mercury News: "A South San Francisco man has pleaded not guilty to a list of felony charges after police discovered a cache of weapons, drugs, alligators and possibly explosives in his home, a prosecutor said Tuesday."

Apparently I've Written Another Book

And this one has the best cover ever!

Even More about Me, Me, Me

My guest blog on Tim Hallinan's The Blog Cabin has been posted. Check it out!

There Will Always Be an England

Employer told they can't advertise for 'reliable' workers... because it discriminates against 'unreliable applicants | Mail Online: "A job centre has been slammed for refusing to display an advert for a 'reliable workers' - because it discriminated against unreliable applicants."

Top 100 Movies by Number of Tickets Sold

Here's the list.

Colorado Territory

More News about Me, Me, Me

Timothy Hallinan - The Blog Cabin: "If you haven’t gotten in yet on the discussion kicked off by Stephen Jay Schwartz (an outliner/advance plotter with a screenwriting background), go to the post directly beneath this one and weigh in. Coming this Wednesday is our second guest, pantser deluxe Bill Crider."

ABBAWORLD!

The Canadian Press: New ABBAWORLD exhibition in London lets music fans unleash inner dancing queen: "Is it possible to have too much ABBA?

Knowing me, knowing you, the answer is no. The spangly Swedish quartet that gave the world 'Waterloo' and 'Dancing Queen' has sold 400 million records since its 1970s heyday and spawned the hugely successful stage and film musical 'Mamma Mia!'

And now there's ABBAWORLD - a new museum-theme park in London with enough music, mementoes and memory-lane appeal to satisfy even the most fervent ABBA fan."

Hat tip to Scott Cupp.

Mona Lisa Update

Is Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa a Self-Portrait? - ABC News: "Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous portrait in the world, but now some are speculating that the woman with the inscrutable smile may not be a woman after all. They are suggesting that the Mona Lisa may be a self-portrait, da Vinci in drag."

Top 25 Blockbuster Sequels

The 25 best blockbuster sequels of all time - Den of Geek: "The 25 best blockbuster sequels of all time"

Follow that Dream

Twenty-four crocodiles in Witney home (From The Oxford Times): "THE UK’s first crocodile zoo could be built in West Oxfordshire.

Shaun Foggett — who keeps 24 crocodiles and alligators, which grow up to 4m long, at his Witney home — is looking to buy enough land to fulfil his dream.

He has set up website crocodilesoftheworld.co.uk to help with his search."

I recommend the website highly.

The History Channel Classes up its Act

Punchline Magazine Blog � Larry the Cable Guy to host History Channel show - Comedy Blog, Comedy News, and all things in Stand Up Comedy.: "Dan Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy, will be filming episodes for a new History Channel show during his current five-month national tour. Tentatively titled, The United States of Larry, the show will find the hugely successful blue collar comedian criss-crossing the nation interviewing folks with interesting jobs, hobbies and ways of life."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

** Texas Hogwallow **

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Colorado Leads the Way

TBO.com - News From AP: "It's like a beer competition for marijuana.

A cannabis festival in Aspen this spring will be the first in the state for approved growers to put their strains in a contest."

The Monstrumologist -- Rick Yancey

A monstrumologist is one who studies and hunts monsters. Dr. Pellionre Warthrop fits the description. His assistant is 12-year-old William James Henry, whose parents are dead and whose father died (horribly) while working with Dr. Warthrop, who plies his trade in New Jerusalem, a New England town not found on any map (but then true places, as we all know, never are).

Author Rick Yancey is given a series of bound volumes of handwritten memoirs written by Will Henry, the first three of which form The Monstrumologist and prove once again how much YA writing has changed since my own youth. Blood, entrails, maggots, violent deaths, dissections, madness, grave-robbings, and , of course monsters fill the pages. But then, what would you expect when New Jerusalem is beset by a bunch of anthropophagi? Yes, those creatures whose heads lie beneath their shoulders, as do their terrible shark-like teeth that allow them to rend the flesh of their only prey: us.

The book began fast, slowed down, and then careened to a finish. Things really picked up when John Kearns arrives. He's a monster hunter as horrible as the things he hunts and the most fascinating character in the book. It doesn't appear likely that he'll be in the sequel, more's the pity.

If you have a strong stomach and a liking for the outré, this might be just the thing you're looking for.

China Leads the Way

Avatar inspires China province to rename mountain: "A craggy peak in a scenic part of southern China has been renamed after floating mountains featured in Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, with the province hoping to cash in on the movie's massive success."

Just What You Wanted to Hear

Vulture Exclusive: Fox’s Planet of the Apes Reboot of the Reboot Is Back On -- Vulture: "Twentieth Century Fox has not given up on rebooting Planet of the Apes. In fact, insiders familiar with the situation insist the studio is now more determined than ever to make the film, . . ."

It's Even Scarier than I Thought It Would Be

Davy Crockett's Almanack of Mystery, Adventure and The Wild West: Once Again, Texas Leads the Way - THE BOOK by Bill Crider!

Vertigo

Pernell Roberts, R. I. P.

Pernell Roberts, 'Bonanza' and 'Trapper John' star, dies - CNN.com: "Actor Pernell Roberts, who played the eldest Cartwright brother in TV's 'Bonanza,' died at his Malibu, California, home Sunday at 81, his lawyer said.

Younger TV viewers may remember Roberts from the lead role in 'Trapper John, M.D.,' a medical drama that aired on CBS for seven years, ending in 1986."

The U. K. Leads the Way

Ultimate gadget: Mouse-operated coffee table: "But what if your clock could catch the fly and digest it into fuel to power itself? Would that be cool? Efficient? Or just plain disgusting?

The carnivorous clock exists. It was created by U.K.-based designers Jimmy Loizeau and James Auger. And while it hasn't created the same kind of buzz as this week's expected unveiling of a tablet device by Apple Computer, it uses some pretty edgy technology."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Dallas News - Better Off Deadbeat: Craig Cunningham Has a Simple Solution for Getting Bill Collectors Off His Back. He Sues Them. - page 1: "While most Americans with unpaid bills dread the collector's call, Cunningham sees them as lucrative opportunities. Many collection and credit card companies, intentionally or not, violate little-known consumer rights laws, and Cunningham's favorite pastime is catching them doing so and then suing them. In fact, it's a profitable side job."

California Leads the Way

SoCal district pulls dictionaries over sex term: "A Southern California school district has pulled dictionaries from classrooms because a parent complained when a child came across the term 'oral sex.'

District officials said Friday that the Menifee Union School District — which serves 9,000 kindergartners through eight graders in Riverside County — is forming a committee to consider a permanent classroom ban of the Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary."

A tip of the old Stetson to Rusty Burke.

From Jim Huang's Blog

Jim Huang's blog: One door closes ...: "The Mystery Company is closing its doors. The store that my wife, my staff, and all our customers and friends built here in Carmel, Indiana, and have struggled to sustain for nearly seven years will shut down in the next week or so."

More at the link.

Marinate, Urinate, What's the Diff?

Ohio Man Arrested on Charges of Urinating on $600-Worth of Steaks - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "An Ohio man is in jail after police arrested him on charges of urinating on a meat counter at a Wal-Mart store, Cleveland's Fox8.com reported."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Exclusive: Perry voter turnout project signs up felons |
News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
| Texas Regional News: "Gov. Rick Perry's campaign has unknowingly paid convicted felons as part-time workers under its incentive program to turn out voters for the Republican primary."

Sherlock Holmes

I'd read enough about Sherlock Holmes to know that it wasn't exactly canonical and that some Holmes fans weren't pleased with it. I went, anyway, because it looked like fun. Having seen it, I can say that I had a pretty good time. Judy, on the other hand, didn't. She thought it was "slow," and the herky-jerky action sequences gave her a headache.

The biggest problem the movie has is the plot. It's ridiculous. Mainly it's and excuse to hang a lot of action scenes on, and there are plenty of those. I don't think you can find their equivalent in any of Doyle's stories, which are a good bit quieter and more contemplative. Not that they lack action. There's action in plenty of them. It's just not the kind of action that's in this movie. At least one of the scenes (in a smoke-filled room) was completely unnecessary. Holmes "learns" something that he already knew. We see a nice cat-and-mouse game and a cool escape, but the scene does nothing at all to further the story.

As for the characters, it seemed to me that the writers and director took things that were mentioned in passing in the stories and exaggerated them considerably (Holmes's boxing skills, his martial arts ability, his untidiness, etc.). I suppose this was necessary to ramp up the action, but it wasn't true to the spirit of the stories. That being said, I thought Robert Downey, Jr., was terrific as Holmes, as was Jude Law as Dr. Watson. Rachel McAdams was very pretty as Irene Adler. The CGI version of Victorian London looked great.

Guy Ritchie likes the kind of ending where things are summed up with flashbacks to the action, showing us things we might have noticed and explaining them. the technique worked pretty well in Sherlock Holmes context, I thought.

If there's a sequel, I'll probably be there. Judy probably won't.

I Don't Know about You, . . . .

. . . but this has me pretty scared.

Davy Crockett's Almanack of Mystery, Adventure and The Wild West: Coming Tomorrow: Big, Big, REALLY BIG News for Bill Crider Fans!

If You're in a Giving Mood, . . .

. . .read this:

The Outfit: A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers: Eleanor

Crimefactory is Live!

Crimefactory is live!

There are still some minor design flaws in the web site and the Kindle download won't be available until Tuesday,

But you can read the whole issue in PDF at:

www.crimefactoryzine.com

Issue #1 has new fiction from Ken Bruen, Frank Bill, Hilary Davidson (The Damage Done), Steve Weddle, Dave White (When One Man Dies and The Evil that Men Do) and features by Scott Phillips (The Ice Harvest, The Walkaway, and Cottonwood) Adrian McKinty (Fifty Grand), Gordon Harries, and the Nerd of Noir.

Winchester '73

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Houston #1 for Dog Bites - KIAH: "Houston ranks number one in the nation for the most dog bite attacks to our mail carriers but the new general manager of BARC is hoping for big changes."

No Comment Department

James Patterson Inc. - NYTimes.com: "There are many different ways to catalog Patterson’s staggering success. Here are just a few: Since 2006, one out of every 17 novels bought in the United States was written by James Patterson."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

No Sleep Till Wonderland -- Paul Tremblay

It's been about a year since I commented on Tremblay's first novel about Mark Genevich, Narcoleptic Detective. Genevich is still narcoleptic (and occasionally cataleptic) in this sequel. He's in therapy, but he's not entirely cooperative, and he's on another case. This one starts with a woman whom he's supposed to follow, but apparently he follows the wrong person, and that causes some real problems for his client, not to mention Genevich himself.

Things don't get any better when a guy named Gus befriends Genevich and takes him out for a drink. Or two. Two days later, Genevich is recovering from his bender gets involved in what appears to be a case of arson. Yes, of course the two are connected. After that, things get very complicated, and not just because Genevich keeps drifting off, something that prevents him from knowing exactly what's going on a lot of the time. Does get to Wonderland, though, and that's when he begins to wrap things up, but not before some final revelations, one of which has nothing to do with the cases but which provides and excellent noir twist.

There's no detective out there like Mark Genevich, and if you're looking for something different and darkly funny, you should check out Tremblay's books ASAP.

Washington Leads the Way

Firefighter admits to leaving feces package: "Prosecutors say a suspicious package left outside the city hall of a small southwestern Washington town that contained feces was left by a disgruntled former firefighter.

When the package was found November 6 outside the Woodland City hall addressed to Mayor Chuck Blum, local police called in the Portland bomb squad to investigate.

It wasn't until the bomb squad destroyed the package that they found out the content inside."

This Woman Was Not My Wife

Clearwater woman called 911 saying she was tired of her husband, officials say - St. Petersburg Times: "A woman called 911 complaining of exhaustion. Turns out she was just 'tired of her husband,' an arrest report says."

It Just Never Ends

Zombie Austen author moves on to Abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter | Books | guardian.co.uk: "The author currently enjoying a surprise hit with the new literary genre of monster remix, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies writer Seth Grahame-Smith, has landed a rumoured $575,000 (�390,000) deal with a major US publisher that will entail writing the life of Abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter.
[. . . .]
Now Grand Central, part of the publishing conglomerate Hachette, has pounced on Grahame-Smith, signing him up for a two-book deal reported to be worth more than half-a-million dollars.
[. . . .]
The first book, said Greenberg, will be Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, "a presidential biography in the vein of a Doris Kearns Goodwin or David McCullough, but repositioning the president as the greatest vampire hunter to walk the earth". Unlike Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, there is no source material, so the novel will be all original writing. "But rather than just toss vampires in wherever he feels, Seth is doing a lot of research to see where they could fit in properly to the actual events of Lincoln's life – from childhood on," said Greenberg. Grahame-Smith's next book is as yet undetermined, but will also be fiction."

Here's the Plot of Your Next Dan Brown Rip-Off

The lost script - The Boston Globe: "It’s a writing system called Ajami, it’s a thousand years old, and a Boston University professor thinks it could help unlock the story of a continent."

I Can't Even Run 40 Miles a Week

Humans May Be Biologically Able to Run 40 MPH, New Study Shows | Popular Science: "Human running speeds top out near 28 mph, if the record-breaking feats of Jamaican speed demon Usain Bolt prove anything. But scientists say that the biological limits of human running could theoretically reach 35 or even 40 mph -- assuming that human muscle fibers could contract faster and allow people to pick up their pace."

The Tiger's Claw

Fright Night

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Waking Up from the Big Sleep :: Paul Newman

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

4 Houston-area prisons ban weekend visitors after virus | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A highly contagious stomach virus is sweeping through at least 16 state prisons, including Rosharon's Terrell Unit, where more than a third of inmates are reported ill.

State prison spokesman Jason Clark on Friday said Terrell is among four prisons in the Greater Houston area closed to weekend visitors."

James Mitchell, R. I. P.

Actor and Dancer James Mitchell Dead at 89 2010/01/23: "Actor and dancer James Mitchell who most notably played tycoon Palmer Cortlandt on the daytime soap opera 'All My Children' for more than 30 years has passed away at the age of 89.

While TV audiences will most likely associate Mitchell with his role on 'All My Children', Mitchell was also a professional dancer who danced in film musicals and acted in a slew of Broadway and regional productions. Mitchell's performing career began with the American Ballet Theatre. Mitchell had a long-standing collaboration with renowned choreographer Agnes de Mille working with her as dancer and assistant choreographer in various film and stage productions, including the Broadway productions of 'Bloomer Girl', 'Brigadoon' (for which he won the Theatre World Award), 'Paint your Wagon', 'Come Summer', and perhaps most notably in the 1955 film 'Oklahoma' where Mitchell starred as Dream Curly."

I, for One, Welcome Our New Canine Overlords

Moscow's Stray Dogs Evolving Greater Intelligence, Including a Mastery of the Subway | Popular Science: "For every 300 Muscovites, there's a stray dog wandering the streets of Russia's capital. And according to Andrei Poyarkov, a researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, the fierce pressure of urban living has driven the dogs to evolve wolf-like traits, increased intelligence, and even the ability to navigate the subway."

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

This isn't a review of the new mini-series, just a couple of comments that will tell you more about me than about the series. The reason it's not a review is that I didn't watch the show. Well, not all of it.

I'd been looking forward to this because I figured it had been too long since I'd seen a good sword-and-sandal epic, and this looked to be the real thing. Good advance reviews and such. So I tuned in. I knew I was in trouble right away because a notice flashed on the screen to let me know that the language, sensuality, and brutality I was about to see were simply a reflection of the times in which the show was set. I knew immediately that what the notice really meant was that I was about to see a whole lot of cussing, sex, and violence.

Sure enough, that's what I saw. Aside from one of the cheesiest farewell scenes ever filmed, that's all there was: blood, cussing, and sex. Since there wasn't much sex, it was mostly blood and cussing. I've never seen so much blood in such a short time. Sure, it was just CGI blood, but there was an ocean of it.

I'd read about the great "production values" of the series. My reaction to that was: "Huh?" How could anybody watch the first scene and talk about production values? Yikes. And then there's that farewell scene. See it to believe it.

I won't be seeing any more. After fifteen boring minutes, I turned off the set and picked up a book. The beautiful and classy Jean Simmons starred in the movie version of the Spartacus story, with Kirk Douglas and a host of others. I would have been better off to rent the DVD of that one than to watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

It's a Don's Life -- Mary Beard

Mary Beard is a professor of classics at Newham College, Cambridge, and she has a blog. Where she finds time to maintain it, I have no idea, since she's a very busy woman, considering all her academic responsibilities, not to mention that she's the classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement and does a lot of travel for research. The blog is full of interesting things related to the classics but also to modern life. So interesting, in fact that about three years worth of blog entries have been published in book for in It's a Don's Life.

Since I hadn't been keeping up with the blog, everything in the book was new to me, and it's all highly entertaining. It's the perfect book to have around when you want to read something short and interesting. A few examples: Was there a St. Valentine? What made the Romans laugh? (This entry includes jokes, of course.) Ten things you thought you know about the Romans, but didn't. And so on. Beard also includes some of the comments left on the blog.

As soon as you read the book, you'll most likely want to follow the blog. Check them both out.

I, for One, Welcome Our New Dwarf Croc Overloards

BBC News - Dwarf crocodiles in name training at Cheshire aquarium: "A pair of dwarf crocodiles can recognise their own names after training, a Cheshire aquarium claims.

The tiny reptiles, called Paleo and Suchus, are even learning when they are allowed to open their mouths, the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port says.

The programme has been successful with mammals but it is one of the first times it will be used on reptiles."

Top 10 Passions of Ancient Rome

"Top ten passions of Ancient Rome"

Jean Simmons, R. I. P.

Jean Simmons dies at 80; radiant beauty was known for stunning versatility - latimes.com: "Jean Simmons, a radiant British actress who as a teenager appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in 'Hamlet' and emerged a star whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s in such films as 'Guys and Dolls, 'Elmer Gantry' and 'Spartacus,' has died. She was 80.

Simmons, who won an Emmy Award for her role in the 1980s miniseries 'The Thorn Birds,' died Friday evening at her home in Santa Monica, said Judy Page, her agent. She had lung cancer."

Terror is a Man

I've Been Needing Some New Clothes

Rick Owens delivers apocalypse-ready collection - Yahoo! News: "American designer Rick Owens continued to plumb the depths of the dark side Friday, with a fall-winter 2010-2011 menswear collection of gender-bending, space age-y designs ready for the apocalypse.

Androgynous models with enviable cheekbones skulked down the catwalk in bulky, tie-waisted trenches in lacquered microfiber or wrinkly microfiber with stiff, standup necklines and drop-crotched harem pants. Some wore ribbed turtlenecks with knee-length flaps in the front and back, while others sported leather tank tops that left their backs bare."

Chupacabra Update

Positive ID for strange creature in Wise County |
Dallas - Fort Worth News | wfaa.com
| Local News: "The hairless creature was identified as a raccoon with a congenital defect."

Photos at the link. Sure doesn't look like a raccoon.

No Comment Department

Spice Girls: The Musical planned by creator of Mamma Mia! - Telegraph: "The creator of Mamma Mia! is developing a new musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls.

Viva Forever will feature the band's greatest hits and 'harness the distinct personality of the Spice Girls', according to Judy Craymer, the woman who turned Abba's back catalogue into an entertainment phenomenon."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Senior class photo prank spells trouble - Yahoo! News: "A spelling prank in a class photo for more than 600 seniors in the Houston area led to suspension of three students. Some students wore T-shirts spelling out 'CLASS' as part of 'Class of 2010' in a formal shot. But KHOU-TV reported in a later informal shot, students representing 'C' and 'L' moved from the front row, leaving behind an offensive three-letter word."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Gator Update (Bungee Edition)

Conan Update

Momoa set for 'Conan' - Entertainment News, Players, Media - Variety: "Jason Momoa ('Stargate Atlantis') has been tapped to star in the reboot of 'Conan' for Nu Image/Millenium, Lionsgate and Paradox.

Production on the remake is expected to start in March in Bulgaria. Marcus Nispel will direct."

Florida Gothic Stories -- Vicki Hendricks

Is there any need for me to tell you that Vicki Hendricks had me at the cover of this collection of her stories? I didn't think so. But wait! There's more! Florida Gothic Stories includes the irresistible (for me) "Gators," with this great opening line: "It was a goddamned one-armed alligator put me over the line." Here's what I said about the story in my column for Mystery Scene: "It involves a one-armed gator and a one-armed woman, but they’re just for starters. The plot concerns a woman who wants to get rid of her good-for-nothing lout of a husband, permanently. She devises a clever plan for doing so, but things gang aft agley with plans like that, as we all know. I shall say no more except that this is a clever variation on a theme and that I didn’t know where it was going."

And speaking of great beginnings, the first page of "Stormy, Mon Amour" is guaranteed to grab your attention. Two words from me: Interspecies sex. I can say no more for fear of spoiling it for you.

"Sinny and the Prince" has identical twins and a femme very much fatale. A good twist, too. "The Big O" might not be what you're thinking, but it's got a heck of a storm and another good twist or two. And that's just, what? Four stories? There are seven other good ones in the book, some of which I'd read before but was happy to read again. Not that everybody in the stories is happy. Hardly anyone is. Hendricks writes about the doomed, the damned, and the despairing., and she does it wonderfully well. Sometimes, yes, sometimes she even gives a little glimmer of hope at the end.

Add to the stories a fine introductory essay by Megan Abbott and a nice closer by Michael Connelly, and you have a book that's more than worthy of your attention. Check it out.

Update: I should have mentioned that the book I have is an ARC. The book comes out in May. So check your local bookstores then. Or Amazon.

Old Salt :: Cover Story :: Philadelphia City Paper :: Philadelphia Events, Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs: "The crystals and cinder-block-sized chunks of rock dug out of a cavernous salt mine in Michigan were really, really ancient, part of one of the oldest salt formations in the world. And Russell Vreeland knew that if those rocks contained any DNA, it too would be really, really old. What he found when he brought them back to the laboratory at West Chester University wasn't just old DNA; it was the oldest DNA ever discovered, clocking in at about 419 million years."

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Top Twelve Brainy Dogs

Plus the bottom five.

THE INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS

15 Fabulous Books about Books

15 Fabulous Books about Books: "Is there anything better than to read a book… about a book, or books, or bookshops, or authors, or the pleasure and processes of reading, or collecting, or being addicted to books? The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett, one of AbeBooks’ bestsellers in 2009, was the latest addition to a long list of books about books (or in this case a book thief) to capture the attention of bibliophiles. With classics like Fahrenheit 451, The Haunted Bookshop, and 84, Charing Cross Road on this list, you cannot go wrong."

LCC Awards Nominees

Left Coast Crime announced the nominees for awards that will be given out at Left Coast Crime 2010: Booked in L.A. Left Coast Crime 20 will be held March 11-14 at the Omni Hotel.

The Lefty Award for Humorous Mystery:

Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews
Living With Your Kids Is Murder by Mike Befeler
Strangle a Loaf of Italian Bread by Denise Dietz
Getting Old Is a Disaster by Rita Lakin
High Crimes on the Magical Plane by Kris Neri

The Bruce Alexander Award for Historical Mystery:

Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander
In a Gilded Cage by Rhys Bowen
Freedom’s Fight by Gary Phillips
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson

The Panik Award for LA Noir (in honor of the late Paul Anik, Chair of LCC20, to be given this year only):

Cemetery Road Gar Anthony Haywood
Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz
Death Was in the Picture by Linda Richards
Boulevard by Stephen J. Schwartz

Hat tip to Janet Rudolph at Mystery Fanfare.

Forgotten Music -- Nervous Norvus

Back in the ancient days when I was a youth, we all wore gray flannel suits to school, spent most of the day learning to duck and cover, and then went home afterwards to our little houses made of ticky-tacky. It was a drag, man. But now and then something would break through the universal gloom. Mad Magazine. The Catcher in the Rye. And Nervous Norvus.

It may be that hardly anyone remembers him now, but in 1956, every kid in my school could quote the tags from his classic "Transfusion": "Shoot me the juice, Bruce." "Shoot the claret to me, Barrett." And so on. If you're just a little bit older, you may remember the sound of the car crash in Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve." It was lifted from "Transfusion." Have a listen.

And then came "Ape Call." Sort of the era in a song. Things are sliding by in pure pop mode, and then . . . "Ape call!" Check it out.

Life was good.

Route 666

Another Taco Crime

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Taco toss puts Fairbanks man in jail: "Three tacos cost a Fairbanks man $100 in fines, one day in jail and one year probation.

Warren E. Strickland, 31, of Fairbanks, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct Tuesday for throwing a double-decker taco at a manager of the Taco Bell restaurant on University Avenue.

Strickland said he was upset during the Jan. 14 incident because a taco contained spit after he had been through the drive-thru twice to correct his order."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Shots fired at Texas Capitol; no injuries reported: "A man with a handgun fired several shots Thursday on the Texas Capitol's south steps, but state troopers quickly tackled him and there were no reports of injuries, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

The Capitol was on lockdown as officials searched as a precaution. The south steps were secured by yellow police tape.

The shots rang out just after noon, and officers with rifles quickly swarmed the scene. More than a half dozen Department of Public Safety cars quickly appeared, and troopers quickly surrounded the building."

On the Other Hand, I'm Doomed

Experts: Sitting too much could be deadly - Yahoo! News: "Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs.

Research is preliminary, but several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or even die."

No Wonder I'm a Genius!

How running can jog your memory by creating new brain cells
| Mail Online: "We all know running is good for your body.

But it can also do wonders for the mind, according to Cambridge University scientists

A regular jog leads to the growth of new cells in the area of the brain which boosts your memory, a study has found."

The God Engines -- John Scalzi

The God Engines is a story of the far future when science has been displaced by religion. The gods live and breathe. They can be hurt, killed, and enslaved. That's where the title comes from. Gods are the engines that drive ships through the vast distances of interstellar space. In this future, faith and belief matter. So does the lack of them, and when a god's power begins to wane, he needs new believers.

This science fantasy is very different from John Scalzi's other work. It starts out dark and gets darker as it goes along. Some of his readers might be so surprised that they won't like the book (it's not a novel; it's a novella). Others will love the new direction and want to see more. You'll have to read it to see which camp you fall into.

As for me, I enjoyed it, but my pleasure was marred by the kinds of things that don't bother anybody other than old English teachers. Things like the use of aide as a verb, or a sentence that begins, "Whomever he was, . . ." Or the misuse of lay when lie would be correct. There are a few other little things like that. Maybe Subterranean needs a better proofreader, but I make so many errors myself that I really shouldn't complain. But I will, just a little.

Joe R. Lansdale Talks about Poe

Features > Dark Inspiration by Joe R. Lansdale - - The Texas Observer

Another List I'm not On

Which is okay.

Houston News - Houston's Craziest: The 30 Worst - page 1

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Man who swamped Bugatti in La Marque buys another | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A Texan who last year accidentally turned his Bugatti Veyron into a swamp buggy has bought another of the rare million-dollar cars."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

$523,000 seized from truck near Rosenberg | Ultimate Fort Bend: "More than half a million dollars was seized from a tractor-trailer pulled over Monday afternoon in Fort Bend County.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's spokeswoman Terriann Carlson said the $523,145 in cash was discovered in the truck after it had been pulled over in the southbound lanes of the highway at 4 p.m. near Spur 10 in the Rosenberg area."

Croc Update (Use Your Thumbs Edition)

NST Online Man uses thumbs to escape crocodile attack: "At the Semada River in Balai Ringin yesterday, a man battled for dear life with his bare hands when he was attacked by a six-metre long crocodile.

Mathias Winston would have become crocodile fodder - had it not been for his quick-thinking to use his thumbs to jab at the man-eater's eyes!"

Eaten Alive

Headline of the Day

'Terror-pisser' killed neighbour's garden with night-time golden showers - The Local: "A couple in Hamburg have finally got to the bottom of why the plants in their front garden keep turning brown and dying – their neighbour has been urinating on them at night."

Pennsylvania Leads the Way

Pennsylvania Couple Charged After Stealing ATM Card From Dead Friend - cbs3.com: "A northeastern Pennsylvania couple is charged with stealing a bank card from a friend who died on their couch and running up more than $1,000 in charges."

Archaeology Update

Experts may have found bones of English princess: "More than 1,000 years after she was carted off to Germany to marry an ambitious Saxon duke, experts believe they have identified the body of Princess Eadgyth.
[. . . .]
Eadgyth was born at the dawn of the 10th century, when England was still divided into a patchwork of Anglo-Saxon and Viking fiefdoms. Her brother King Athelstan kicked the Vikings out of York and routed the Scots and Irish in a massive battle around 937."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Man Posed as Female Model to Lure Wealthy Men: "A conman posed as a gorgeous female model on the internet to trick male admirers into sending him gifts and money, police in Texas said Tuesday.

Justin Brown, 24, masqueraded as Californian Guess Jeans and Maxim swimwear model Bree Condon, 23, for two years."

Archaeology Update

Please don't mention this to my cats. They have enough self-esteem already.

BBC News - Temple to cat god found in Egypt: "Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,000-year-old temple in Alexandria dedicated to a cat goddess.

The temple is the first trace of the royal quarters of the Ptolemaic dynasty to be revealed in Alexandria.

The find confirms the Greek dynasty of Egyptians continued the worship of ancient animal deities."

If Only This Were True of My Brain

Monkey Brain 'Hardwired' for Simple Math - Yahoo! News: "Monkey see, monkey do simple math?

A German team of neurobiologists has found that rhesus macaques can engage in abstract mathematical reasoning using specific brain cells dedicated to the comprehension of math rules and relationships."

Hat tip to Seepy Benton.