Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Out of bullets, throw the gun | Pablo D'Stair versus Crime/Noir Flash Fiction
Out of bullets, throw the gun | Pablo D'Stair versus Crime/Noir Flash Fiction: …what we have here is a contest pitting author Pablo D’Stair (they say the owl was a baker’s daughter: four existential noirs) against an assortment of the very best Crime/Noir flash fiction authors on the contemporary scene.
Stonehenge Update
The Independent: Scientists have succeeded in locating the exact source of some of the rock believed to have been used 5000 years ago to create Stonehenge's first stone circle.
By comparing fragments of stone found at and around Stonehenge with rocks in south-west Wales, they have been able to identify the original rock outcrop that some of the Stonehenge material came from.
By comparing fragments of stone found at and around Stonehenge with rocks in south-west Wales, they have been able to identify the original rock outcrop that some of the Stonehenge material came from.
Lat Minute Gift Suggestions
These candles don't smell like your favorite writer, exactly. The Whitman candle, for example, smells like grass, thyme, and red clover.
The Library Collection: For all the bibliophiles in our lives, we present the Library Collection. Pairing favorite quotes with exquisite fragrances, we pay homage to the literary greats.
The Library Collection: For all the bibliophiles in our lives, we present the Library Collection. Pairing favorite quotes with exquisite fragrances, we pay homage to the literary greats.
Bargain of the Day
Amazon.com: Hurt Machine (Moe Prager Mystery) eBook: Reed Farrel Coleman: Kindle Store: At a pre-wedding party for his daughter Sarah, Moe Prager is approached by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella Melendez. It seems Carmella's estranged sister Alta has been murdered, but no one in New York City seems to care. Why? Alta, a FDNY EMT, and her partner had months earlier refused to give assistance to a dying man at a fancy downtown eatery. Moe decides to help Carmella as a means to distract himself from his own life-and-death struggle. Making headway on the case is no mean feat as no one, including Alta's partner Maya Watson, wants to cooperate. Moe chips away until he discovers a cancer roiling just below the surface, a cancer whose symptoms include bureaucratic greed, sexual harassment, and blackmail. But is any of it connected to Alta's brutal murder?
Overlooked Movies -- Bronco Billy
Monday, December 19, 2011
Help an Old Guy Have a Happy Holiday -- Buy His Book
DEADMAN'S REVENGE is the third volume in the exciting Rancho Diablo series.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Corpus Man Steals Beer Twice, Gets Beaten Up, All in One Evening - Houston News - Hair Balls: For most people, a single day in which you were beaten badly enough by a group of men at a bus station to require a hospital visit and were caught (allegedly) swiping beer not once but twice would qualify as rock bottom.
For the unidentified 27-year-old man at the heart of this story, we get the feeling he would just call it "Thursday evening."
For the unidentified 27-year-old man at the heart of this story, we get the feeling he would just call it "Thursday evening."
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Amazon.com: One Horse Open Slay (A Crag Banyon Mystery) eBook: James Mullaney: Kindle Store: Dashiell Hammett meets Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town"Hello, you've reached Banyon Investigations...."
Crag Banyon is just your run-of-the-mill P.I. He's got a secretary who loves to hate and hates to love him. His worst enemy in the world is on the local force and relishes the thought of seeing Banyon behind bars. And he's got a knack for attracting all the crazies to his small downtown office above the fish market. So when an elf shows up on a stolen reindeer and hints of foul play at the North Pole, Banyon takes the whole thing in stride, refuses to take the case, and heads off to his favorite saloon. But when the elf turns up dead the next morning, the cops make their least favorite private eye the fall guy.
A hunted man, Banyon lams it to the Arctic Circle to clear his name. He quickly finds that Santa's workshop is a lot more dangerous than even a plucky P.I. with a ready quip and a five-alarm hangover can handle. Between fighting for his life and fending off the advances of a hot-to-trot Mrs. Claus, Banyon uncovers a conspiracy that goes far past December 25. If he can just ring in the New Year without a bullet in his brain, it'll all be just another day's work for Crag Banyon, P.I.
"....he's an SOB, but he's cheap. How may I direct your call?"
Mr. Monk on Patrol -- Lee Goldberg
In Mr. Monk on Patrol, Natalie and Monk go to Summit New, Jersey, to help out their friend Randy Disher, who, as regular readers of the series will recall, left San Francisco to take a job in Summit as Chief of Police. Now, because of rampant corruption in city government there, he's been installed as mayor, and he needs some crime-solving help asap. Monk's former assistant, Sharona, using the direct approach, helps Natalie get Monk across the country without much trouble, but things are different in Summit. There's a series of baffling burglaries, a ghost in a hotel, and finally a murder. Monk eventually wraps up everything, thanks to his unique approach to crime solving. I recognized a couple of familiar names in the story, and that's always fun. There are also a couple of big surprises in the book, and I'm not about to spoil them here. There's even a cliff-hanger ending, but I think I have it figured out. As usual, highly recommended.
Anna Nicole Smith Opera Update
Looking Back at ‘Anna Nicole,’ ‘Griselda’ and ‘Don Giovanni’ - NYTimes.com: The biggest surprise was “Anna Nicole,” the opera by the British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage that had its premiere in February at the Royal Opera in London. When I heard that Mr. Turnage was writing a work about the tawdry life and death of the Playboy Playmate and laughable actress Anna Nicole Smith, I feared the worst: something vulgar, sensational and full of cheap laughs. But “Anna Nicole,” with a witty libretto by Richard Thomas and an eclectic score, is a brilliant, outrageous and, finally, quite moving work that treats Smith as an unlikely tragic heroine. The dazzling production offered a showcase for the charismatic soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, who also impressed New York audiences this year as Sieglinde in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Wagner’s “Walkure.”
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Hat tip to George Kelley.
Here's Your Chance
What's On Your Cult Film List? : NPR: The authors of the upcoming book "100 Cult Films" have put together their list of top cult films, but we think 100 movies aren't enough. Is your cult film favorite missing? Make your pitch for the 101st film in our comment section below, and we may read your pick on air!
Ralph MacDonald, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Ralph MacDonald, the Grammy-winning writer, producer and percussionist who worked with everyone from Luther Vandross to Amy Winehouse and composed the classics, “Where Is the Love” and “Just the Two of Us,” died Sunday morning in Stamford, Conn., after a long illness. He was 67.
Shipwreck Update
Kaiser Willhelm's urinal found at bottom of Baltic - Telegraph: The piece of porcelain history was discovered in the wreck of the Udine, a light-cruiser which was sunk in the First World War by the Royal Navy, that now lies 28 nautical miles off the German island of Rugen.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
The Miracle of Revenge by Robert J. Randisi (eBook) Speaking Volumes, LLC: Liz Archer had an ache inside after the Nolan clan slaughtered her fiance and family. An ache only revenge could heal. She got help from Tate Gilmore who taught her how to shoot like a man and make love like a woman. He called her Angel Eyes because those huge baby blues would be the last thing the Nolans would ever see before she blew them all the way to hell!
Vaclav Havel, R. I. P.
Vaclav Havel, Dissident Playwright Who Led Czechoslovakia, Dead at 75 - NYTimes.com: Vaclav Havel, the writer and dissident whose eloquent dissections of Communist rule helped to destroy it in revolutions that brought down the Berlin Wall and swept Havel himself into power, died on Sunday. He was 75.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Steven Segal Update
Hollywood Reporter: Anchor Bay has acquired the distribution rights to Maximum Conviction, an action movie stawrring Steven Seagal and Steve Austin.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Free Book (if You're a Member of Amazon Prime)
Now in Julius Katz and Archie's first full-length mystery, the stakes have never been higher when a famous Boston mystery writer, Kenneth Kingston, tells Julius he wants to find out who's planning to kill him. The problem is almost everyone in Kingston's life has good reason to want to kill him, and this case soon plunges Julius and Archie deep into the world of murder and publishing.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Back in print at last. Also available for the Kindle.
Amazon.com: The Winning Hand: Tracker (Volume 1) (9781612328041): Robert J. Randisi: Books: "JUST TRACKER, MA'AM" It took just one hard-drinking, high-rolling poker game to make Tracker the owner of one of the fanciest hotels in San Francisco. With his buddy Duke Farrell, one of the West's slickest con men, Tracker took off to see his new merchandise. Tracker barely had time to get used to San Francisco's city ways before he was caught up in a boxing match, a couple of gunfights, too many fistfights, and more pretty women then even he could keep track of. But then, Tracker was always good with his hands.
Amazon.com: The Winning Hand: Tracker (Volume 1) (9781612328041): Robert J. Randisi: Books: "JUST TRACKER, MA'AM" It took just one hard-drinking, high-rolling poker game to make Tracker the owner of one of the fanciest hotels in San Francisco. With his buddy Duke Farrell, one of the West's slickest con men, Tracker took off to see his new merchandise. Tracker barely had time to get used to San Francisco's city ways before he was caught up in a boxing match, a couple of gunfights, too many fistfights, and more pretty women then even he could keep track of. But then, Tracker was always good with his hands.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: The City of Fort Worth has found itself asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’ after one of the city’s street lights fell and damaged a man’s car.
Under Texas law, the city isn’t responsible for the damage. Rather, it’s considered an act of God.
Under Texas law, the city isn’t responsible for the damage. Rather, it’s considered an act of God.
Joe Simon, R. I. P.
latimes.com: Joe Simon, a comic book industry pioneer whose defining career moment came in the dark days of March 1941 when he delivered a star-spangled superhero named Captain America, has died. He was 98.
Simon died Wednesday night in New York City after a brief illness, according to a statement from his family, and his death adds a solemn final note to the 70th anniversary of his greatest creation, Captain America, who leaped across the big screen this summer with the Marvel Studios film "Captain America: The First Avenger." The film grossed $369 million in worldwide box office and earned strong reviews despite early skepticism about the 21st century pop culture potential of a Roosevelt-era character who looks like a walking American flag.
Simon created Captain America with Jack Kirby, a key figure in American comics, and they would work together for various publishers as comic books went from quirky confections to American mythology.
Hat tips to Art Scott and Jeff Meyerson.
Simon died Wednesday night in New York City after a brief illness, according to a statement from his family, and his death adds a solemn final note to the 70th anniversary of his greatest creation, Captain America, who leaped across the big screen this summer with the Marvel Studios film "Captain America: The First Avenger." The film grossed $369 million in worldwide box office and earned strong reviews despite early skepticism about the 21st century pop culture potential of a Roosevelt-era character who looks like a walking American flag.
Simon created Captain America with Jack Kirby, a key figure in American comics, and they would work together for various publishers as comic books went from quirky confections to American mythology.
Hat tips to Art Scott and Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
No, That Cop Does Not Want To Give You A Ticket--Just A Holiday Gift: Drivers in Prosper, TX may not need to suffer that sinking feeling when a cop approaches their car: the North Texas police department has been doling out $10 gift cards this week to recognize good driving, NBC-DFW reports.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
In Case You Were Wondering
Texas Drought Takes Cow Numbers Down By 600K: Since Jan. 1, the number of cows in Texas has dropped by about 600,000, a 12 percent decline from the roughly 5 million cows the state had at the beginning of the year, said David Anderson, who monitors beef markets for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. That’s likely the largest drop in the number of cows any state has ever seen, though Texas had a larger percentage decline from 1934 to 1935, when ranchers were reeling from the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, Anderson said.
Beach Boys Update
Beach Boys and Brian Wilson Reunite for Tour: Here’s a holiday gift you, your dad, and Panda Bear can get excited about: Brian Wilson is reuniting with the Beach Boys — who, let’s face it, were never really the Beach Boys without him. The band, which will now consist of Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston, plans to embark upon a 50-date tour, beginning with April’s New Orleans Jazz Fest. The news comes about six weeks after the release of The Smile Sessions, roughly 45 years after the legendary lost Beach Boys album was recorded.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Amazon.com: HOPE ROAD (LS9 crime mystery) eBook: John Barlow: Kindle Store: You can't change your past. But what about your future?John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio 'Tony' Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father's criminal world. But what does that world want with him?
A young prostitute is found dead in John's car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it's an open and shut case: he's going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.
But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John's car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north's most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.
12 Days of Bookmas -- Day 12 #bookmas
Play to win free books! Go here for an explanation of the contest and for a list of the many blogs where clues can be found.
Clue for Day 12 (posted noon December 16 and written by Jessica Faust):
I had just finished my very first interview in book publishing. I was nervous, excited and overwhelmed by New York City, tall buildings and the prospect that I'd just discovered my dream job. As with any publisher, when walking through the office there were books and posters everywhere and I couldn't get enough of seeing what types of books they published and who they published. Some of the authors I was already a fan of, many I'd never heard of. However, what really made the experience was when I got off the train to head home that afternoon I noticed a gentleman walking next to me carrying a book. A book I had just seen a poster of in the offices where I interviewed. I can remember that moment as vividly as if it were yesterday.
What was the book and who was the author?
My clue: The Mills Brothers would get this one easily.
Pages and Pages of Pop Art
AbeBooks: Pages and Pages of Pop Art: The Pop Art movement took key elements of mass communication and the mass-produced commodities that were shaping the 20th century, and boldly mixed them with fine art. Suddenly ordinary objects were given a colorful, new context and countless memorable images were created, and then embraced by the mass media that had inspired them.
Publishers and writers are still attempting to grasp Pop Art today with frequent retrospectives of the key artists and themes. Andy Warhol appears larger than life more than 20 years after his death. From the late 1960s, books and exhibition catalogs have showcased the finest moments in Pop Art from Warhol and his Campbell’s soup cans (many, many times) to the comic strips of Roy Lichtenstein and Ed Ruscha’s startling mundane images of California.
Publishers and writers are still attempting to grasp Pop Art today with frequent retrospectives of the key artists and themes. Andy Warhol appears larger than life more than 20 years after his death. From the late 1960s, books and exhibition catalogs have showcased the finest moments in Pop Art from Warhol and his Campbell’s soup cans (many, many times) to the comic strips of Roy Lichtenstein and Ed Ruscha’s startling mundane images of California.
Say It Ain't So, Clint!
Clint Eastwood -- Go Ahead Punk, Make My Reality Show | TMZ.com: Clint Eastwood is going the way of the Kardashians ... TMZ has learned his wife and two of his daughters are currently shooting a family reality show intended to air on the E! network.
T.J. Bass, R. I. P.
Locus Online News: Thomas J. Bassler, 79 who wrote SF as T.J. Bass, died December 13, 2011. He began publishing as Bass with “Star Itch” in If (1968), and in addition to several stories, he wrote two novels nominated for Nebula Awards: fix-up Half Past Human (1970) and The Godwhale (1974). He ceased writing SF in the ’70s, though he did co-author a non-fiction book on exercise and nutrition in 1979. A medical doctor, Bassler was an early proponent of running to improve health.
Link via SF Signal.
Link via SF Signal.
Christopher Hitchens, R. I. P.
Christopher Hitchens Is Dead at 62 — Obituary - NYTimes.com: Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa, wrote a best-seller attacking religious belief, and dismayed his former comrades on the left by enthusiastically supporting the American-led war in Iraq, died Thursday at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He was 62.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Forgotten Books: Ghostly by Gaslight -- Edited by Sam Moskowitz & Alden H. Norton
Everybody loves a ghost story, and the Christmas season is traditionally a good time for them. So I've been perusing this little collection that contains a group of stories from the gaslight era, all but one of them written by people I'd never heard of. Even the editors can't tell us much about a couple of them, but don't let that discourage you. These are some creepy tales from a time when the ghost story was held in high regard. The general introduction and the introductions to each story are especially valuable if, like me, you're unfamiliar with most of the authors. If you're interested in this kind of thing, you can find lots of cheap copies on the 'Net.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Billie Jo Spears, R. I. P.
AP Coverage: Singer Billie Jo Spears, whose performance of "Blanket on the Ground" went No. 1 on the country charts in 1975, has died at age 73.
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Interesting Books to Your Attention
Free to Amazon Prime members, 99 cents otherwise.
It all begins with Jack James' uncanny ability to uncover the deepest of secrets, wrongdoing and deceit. He is the John Wayne of news reporting in this novel as he shows true grit in the pursuit of truth and justice. Jack is a successful journalist who fights off his demons of insecurity, and his problems get even bigger when he gets engaged to Alli Wilkshire, the daughter of a powerful Governor. While investigating one of the biggest sex scandals the Presidential race has ever seen, Jack learns the ugly truth about thewoman he is set to marry.
But all is not lost for Jack…. The biggest fork in his road of life becomes his greatest gift - paved with love and happiness. The question is: Will he survive long enough to uncover it?
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