Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Overlooked Movies: Soldier in the Rain
While on my military comedy theme, here's one that I really liked, though it probably wasn't as good as I thought. It's also as much a drama as a comedy, with a sentimental ending.The casting of the top-billed McQueen and Gleason is interesting, since McQueen plays the exuberant balls-to-the wall guy and Gleason underplays his own role. McQueen is the not-too-bright hick, a schemer who hates the army and can't wait to get out. Gleason's the staid career guy. The movie's really a buddy film about their relationship as much as it's about anything. The wild plotting of a military comedy like Wake Me When It's Over is absent. There's not much of a plot at all.
And speaking of casting, Tuesday Weld is really good in this, as she was in a lot of things. Her relationship with Gleason is very well done.
I don't know how well the ending would work now, but I thought it was pretty cool 50-something years ago. I bought the book shortly after seeing the movie and immediately became a William Goldman fan. I checked Netflix, and the movie's not available through that service. Too bad, as it's another one I'd really like to see again.
Monday, December 03, 2012
Borrow My Books!
If you have a Kindle and are a member of Amazon Prime, you can borrow my books for free. You don't have to read them. Just borrow them. Amazon wants to make me rich by paying me for this!
Ethan Iverson's Lengthy Essay on Charles Willeford
It's well worth your time. Plus there are interviews with Don Herron and Ray Banks.
Nothing is Inchoate, or, "When Did You Get Interested in Abused Children, Helen?" - Do The Math
Nothing is Inchoate, or, "When Did You Get Interested in Abused Children, Helen?" - Do The Math
Uh-Oh
The Guardian: Former OED editor covertly deleted thousands of words, book claims
Efforts to rewrite the dictionary in the 70s and 80s to omit entries with foreign origins described as 'really shocking' by author
Sunday, December 02, 2012
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
The Knockout (Fight Card): Jack Tunney, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom, Robert J. Randisi: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Brooklyn, 1954
Frankie ‘The Piston’ Corleone was an up-and-coming light heavyweight fighter until a broken hand took him out of contention. Now, Frankie works as a private eye, occasionally taking sparring work to stay in shape make ends meet. Cappy O’Brien has trained a lot of fighters, including Frankie. But Cappy has never had a real contender until now ... Candy Marquez is the real deal, and after being battered by Marquez during several rounds of sparring, Frankie has to agree. But the fight game is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, and other trainers and the mob all want a piece of Cappy’s best prospect.
When Cappy winds up dead, it’s time for Frankie to take off the gloves and take The Piston’s punching power to the street to knockout a killer ...
Nero Award
The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. The "Nero" is considered one of the premier awards granted to authors of crime fiction.
This year, the winner is Dana Stabenow for Though Not Dead (Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group). Her award was presented by Jane K. Cleland, chair of the Wolfe Pack's literary awards.
The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack andAlfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the Novella format popularized by Rex Stout. This year's winner is Robert Lopresti for "The Red Envelope."
About the Wolfe Pack
The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has more than 500 members worldwide.
Free Today for Kindle
To the Devil, My Regards: Anthony Neil Smith, Victor Gischler: Amazon.com: Kindle Store: Z.Z. DelPresto is a ne'er-do-well private eye who stumbles into trouble along the beaches of Alabama and Florida. But this time he may have waded out too far. The evidence appears to show him killing the seventeen-year-old girl he'd fallen for. But Z.Z. knows good and well he didn't do it, and now he's in the fight of his life to prove it. Throw in the girl's rich and ruthless parents, some cops who have been trying to put DelPresto away for years, a topless tourist and a stuttering psychic who knows all of tomorrow's sports scores today, and you have a story you just can't put down. Combine Gischler's colorful eccentricity with Smith's grinding noir, and you end up with this unique novella: To the Devil, My Regards. Originally published in 2001, Gischler and Smith now bring this crazy tale to Kindle, with a new cover by "Pokerben" Springer.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
Free Through Wednesday
I read this in its original edition, and I recommend it. Good stuff.
Synopsis: Jacob Burns - husband, father, and frustrated writer - has finally sold a screenplay. To a major Hollywood studio, no less. But success isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now he has writer's block and spends his days drinking coffee at his favorite cafe, Madeline's. That is, until one warm autumn morning when Donald Penn, an eccentric Madeline's regular, hands Jacob a key and drops dead at his feet. Soon Jacob's home is burglarized is burglarized and his family threatened, and he becomes involved in a puzzling mystery that exposes him to some of the finest families in Saratoga Springs, New York - and some of the worst in human behavior.
Here's Some Video of that Giant Gator Head
Sentinel.com: Nobody has ever tried to float a 100-foot-long head of an alligator through downtown Fort Lauderdale and down the Intracoastal Waterway.
That's going to change Sunday.
Math: Is There Anything It Can't Do?
Roger Williams: Founding father's mystery code cracked after 250 years: Researchers unlock religious writings of Rhode Island founder after centuries
Robotic Fish WBAGNFARB
Mail Online: Meet Robocod, the latest weapon in Homeland Security's increasingly high-tech underwater arsenal, a robotic fish designed to safeguard the coastline of America and bring justice to the deep.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Hat tip to Jeff Segal.
Friday, November 30, 2012
I'm Sure You'll All Agree
Top Ten Television Detectives: The television detectives who are on this list are ones that have in some way blazed a new path for their archetype.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
The Dallas Morning News: The longest serving judge on Texas’ highest criminal court has a warrant out for his arrest, issued by an Austin municipal court judge, for failure to pay a 2008 speeding ticket, the American-Statesman has found.
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