Thursday, March 06, 2014
It's Cats! With Jetpacks!
Fur flies over 16th century 'rocket cats' warfare manual: Researcher baffled by document written by artillery master Franz Helm featuring pictures of jetpacks strapped to cats and doves
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
Texas lake welcomes back paddlefish gone for years: UNCERTAIN, Texas (AP) — Deep beneath the surface of Texas' only naturally formed lake there used to swim a massive, open-mouthed dinosaur-era fish with a long snout and prized caviar. Now, decades after the paddlefish was almost completely wiped out, it's coming back to Caddo Lake.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
palmbeachpost.com: West Boca Raton man threw toaster at wife after she refused to have sex
When I Was 13, I was Still Working on How to Tie My Shoes
Jamie Edwards, 13, is youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion: Don't worry, Sir, it's only a nuclear reactor: Boy of 13's record-breaking experiment in school science lab
Geoff Edwards, R. I. P.
ABC News: Geoff Edwards, the hip-looking 1970s and '80s host of TV game shows including "Jackpot!" and two incarnations of "Treasure Hunt," died Wednesday, his agent said. He was 83.
Sean Potts, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Sean Potts, who learned to play the tin whistle from his grandfather in the 1930s and for a time made an international career out of it as a founding member of the traditional Irish band the Chieftains, died on Feb. 11 in Dublin. He was 83.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Hap & Leonard Coming to TV
'Cold in July' Duo Nick Damici, Jim Mickle Developing Private Eye Series for Sundance Channel (Exclusive) - TheWrap: The collaborators are teaming with author Joe Lansdale once again, this time for the small screen
Fresh off the success of their Sundance thriller “Cold in July,” director Jim Mickle and writer/actor Nick Damici are on the verge of teaming with author Joe Lansdale once again, this time for the small screen.
Fresh off the success of their Sundance thriller “Cold in July,” director Jim Mickle and writer/actor Nick Damici are on the verge of teaming with author Joe Lansdale once again, this time for the small screen.
Suzi Quatro, the original Riot grrrl
‘Your Mamma Won’t Like Me’: Suzi Quatro, the original Riot grrrl: In her native America, pioneering female rocker Suzi Quatro is best remembered for her role as “Leather Tuscadero” on Happy Days, but in the rest of the world, Quatro was known—at least for a short time—as a chart-topping bubblegum/glam-rock superstar who sold 50 million records.
Link via Neatorama.
Link via Neatorama.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
There seem to be a lot of melees today. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, once again Texas leads the way.
TX police blockade parking lot at child’s birthday party, tase couple for not leaving
TX police blockade parking lot at child’s birthday party, tase couple for not leaving
Croc Update (Taking It Easy Edition)
Mail Online: The laziest croc in the world: Five-metre maneater waits for teenager to catch a fish... then steals it off the end of the line
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Stephen King: 40 Years of Fear
AbeBooks: Stephen King: The Master of Horror: At the risk of stating the obvious, few authors past or present have achieved the level of success experienced by Stephen King. But then again, few authors are as prolific as Stephen King. With over 350 million copies of more than 70 titles sold worldwide, many adapted to film, television, and even broadway musicals and comic books, King’s impact on popular culture is irrefutable.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
Stonehenge Update
The Independent: The pillars that form Stonehenge may have been chosen because they were like sacred “prehistoric glockenspiels”, according to researchers.
Travis McGee Update
James Mangold To Direct Travis McGee Movie 'Deep Blue Good-By': Script by Dennis Lehane. Not starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Link via Vince Keenan.
Link via Vince Keenan.
Free for Kindle For a Limited Time
Amazon.com: Ratfish (Schlock Zone Drive-In) eBook: Buck Hanno, Donald J. Bingle, Mel Odom, J.E. Mooney, Evili: Kindle Store: Ratfish is a classic tale of sex, violence, and mutated animal parts in a blender.
Now Available for Pre-Order!
My name isn't on the cover, but I do have a story in the collection. So naturally you won't want to miss it.
AUDIBLE TO RELEASE ORIGINAL COLLECTION OF “SOOKIE STACKHOUSE” STORIES, DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, original-to-audio anthology includes new stories by New York Times best-selling authors Rachel Caine, MaryJanice Davidson, Jonathan Maberry and Seanan McGuire
![Dead but Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse | [Charlaine Harris (editor), Toni L. P. Kelner (editor)]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sRBuuLtWyuhU9znSVoPxhes_wR1kYD-_kRKePtQjanGjd4KEq0VEc4ekPgtQtCV7-aiLfL2QBP7FqwsMpaMyC41mCE-Q8AEbLhLWY38p3u3fDoqOMMvFk6sKuWBuVRewI=s0-d)
NEWARK, N.J. – March 4, 2014 – Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, today announced the forthcoming release of Dead But Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse. An audio-original anthology edited by Sookie creator Charlaine Harris along with Toni L. P. Kelner, the collection includes 15 new stories featuring Eric, Pam, Quinn and other characters familiar to fans of Harris’s best-selling novels and True Blood, the HBO series they inspired. Audible will release Dead but Not Forgotten on May 13, 2014; the audiobook is available for pre-order now at www.audible.com/DBNF.
“I’d seen the Sookie Stackhouse novels adapted by others for True Blood, but that was an entirely different medium,” said Harris. “It felt a little like leaping without a net when I embarked on Dead But Not Forgotten, even with getting to hand-pick the contributors and my co-editor Toni L. P. Kelner. But the results have been astonishing, a rich variety of characters and approaches that I can’t wait to share with my readers and listeners.”
Along with Caine, Davidson, Maberry and McGuire, participating writers in Dead but Not Forgotten include Dana Cameron, Bill Crider, Leigh Evans, Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder, Miranda James, Leigh Perry, Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Suzanne McLeod, Nicole Peeler, and Jeanne C. Stein. Dead but Not Forgotten is narrated by Johanna Parker, the longtime voice of the Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks, with introductions read by Charlaine Harris.
“Like all Sookie fans, we can’t get enough of the rich world Charlaine has created,” said Audible’s executive producer for the project, Steve Feldberg. “If Dead but Not Forgotten proves anything it’s that while Sookie’s story may have ended, there are still so many corners to explore and a wealth of memorable characters with their own tales to tell.”
Charlaine Harris first introduced Sookie Stackhouse with the publication in 2001 of the Anthony Award-winning Dead Until Dark. By the time the 13th and final novel, Dead Ever After, was published in 2013, the series had become a mainstay of national best-seller lists, and inspired the hit HBO series True Blood. The Sookie Stackhouse novels have sold more than 29 million copies and have been published in 35 languages.
Dead but Not Forgotten is produced by Audible Studios, the production arm of Audible.com. Audible invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2013, Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of a year.
AUDIBLE TO RELEASE ORIGINAL COLLECTION OF “SOOKIE STACKHOUSE” STORIES, DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, original-to-audio anthology includes new stories by New York Times best-selling authors Rachel Caine, MaryJanice Davidson, Jonathan Maberry and Seanan McGuire
![Dead but Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse | [Charlaine Harris (editor), Toni L. P. Kelner (editor)]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61YBtROsr5L._SL300_.jpg)
NEWARK, N.J. – March 4, 2014 – Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, today announced the forthcoming release of Dead But Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse. An audio-original anthology edited by Sookie creator Charlaine Harris along with Toni L. P. Kelner, the collection includes 15 new stories featuring Eric, Pam, Quinn and other characters familiar to fans of Harris’s best-selling novels and True Blood, the HBO series they inspired. Audible will release Dead but Not Forgotten on May 13, 2014; the audiobook is available for pre-order now at www.audible.com/DBNF.“I’d seen the Sookie Stackhouse novels adapted by others for True Blood, but that was an entirely different medium,” said Harris. “It felt a little like leaping without a net when I embarked on Dead But Not Forgotten, even with getting to hand-pick the contributors and my co-editor Toni L. P. Kelner. But the results have been astonishing, a rich variety of characters and approaches that I can’t wait to share with my readers and listeners.”
Along with Caine, Davidson, Maberry and McGuire, participating writers in Dead but Not Forgotten include Dana Cameron, Bill Crider, Leigh Evans, Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder, Miranda James, Leigh Perry, Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Suzanne McLeod, Nicole Peeler, and Jeanne C. Stein. Dead but Not Forgotten is narrated by Johanna Parker, the longtime voice of the Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks, with introductions read by Charlaine Harris.
“Like all Sookie fans, we can’t get enough of the rich world Charlaine has created,” said Audible’s executive producer for the project, Steve Feldberg. “If Dead but Not Forgotten proves anything it’s that while Sookie’s story may have ended, there are still so many corners to explore and a wealth of memorable characters with their own tales to tell.”
Charlaine Harris first introduced Sookie Stackhouse with the publication in 2001 of the Anthony Award-winning Dead Until Dark. By the time the 13th and final novel, Dead Ever After, was published in 2013, the series had become a mainstay of national best-seller lists, and inspired the hit HBO series True Blood. The Sookie Stackhouse novels have sold more than 29 million copies and have been published in 35 languages.
Dead but Not Forgotten is produced by Audible Studios, the production arm of Audible.com. Audible invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2013, Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of a year.
I Found a Penny Last Week
The Raw Story: An amateur treasure hunter with a hand-held metal detector has turned Canadian history on its head after finding a 16th-century shilling buried in clay on the shores of Vancouver Island.
he 435-year-old coin discovered in western-most Canada has rekindled a theory that a British explorer made a secret voyage here two centuries before it was discovered by Spanish sailors.
he 435-year-old coin discovered in western-most Canada has rekindled a theory that a British explorer made a secret voyage here two centuries before it was discovered by Spanish sailors.
Justin Kaplan, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Justin Kaplan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer renowned for his lives of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Lincoln Steffens, and who was later known as the editor of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations — a job akin to running the admissions committee of the most selective college in the world — died on Sunday in Cambridge, Mass. He was 88.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Bill Adler, R. I. P.
NYTimes.com: Bill Adler, who pursued his goal of being the P. T. Barnum of books by conceptualizing, writing, editing, compiling and hustling hundreds of them — prompting one magazine to anoint him “the most fevered mind” in publishing” — died last Friday in Manhattan. He was 84. . . . One of his more famous tricks — a word he preferred to gimmicks — was the 1983 mystery novel “Who Killed the Robins Family?” by Bill Adler and Thomas Chastain. On the cover was an offer of a $10,000 reward for solving a series of fictional murders.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Overlooked Movies: Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman
I could write about the bad SF movies of the '50s every week here because I saw most of them. Including this one. What's my excuse? Well, I was a teenager, and it's about a very attractive 50 ft. woman wrapped in bed sheets. Need I say more? Okay, I will say more. This is the kind of thing that was often shown on the weekends at the Mexia Theatre, and everybody went to the movies on Saturday night. How bad is Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman? Just watch the trailer below and you'll have a pretty good idea. You'll also have seen most of the movie. Sadly the great scene in the poster to the left doesn't appear in the movie. If it did, the movie would be a lot better. As it is, the special effects are terrible, the acting isn't much better, and the story is goofy. There are continuity errors to match anything in an Ed Wood movie.
But what does any of that matter? It's about a 50 ft. woman! Wrapped in bed sheets! This time it's not an atomic accident that creates her. I'm not sure what does. She meets a giant in a flying saucer, he steals her diamond ring, and she gets really big. This is bad news for her philandering husband, and you guys should take note of what happens to him and his blonde hottie. There's definitely a moral to the story, as there often was in this kind of movie back then.
Some of you might be wondering if I knew this movie was bad when I saw it. Sure I did. But did I care? Nope. It was fun to be a kid and go to the movies, no matter how bad they were, and there was always something to like in even the worst of them. Did I mention the 50 ft. woman wrapped in bed sheets?
Did we laugh at how bad some of the movies were? Yep, we did that, too, and after the movie we'd go to the Dairy Queen or the Dairy King or maybe drive out to the lake and dance to music on the jukebox. I miss the old days.
Monday, March 03, 2014
CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF BERKLEY PRIME CRIME
CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF BERKLEY PRIME CRIME
NEW YORK, NY – March 1, 2014 – Twenty years ago, in March 1994, Berkley Books introduced Berkley Prime Crime, a mass market mystery imprint that included five launch authors. This year, Berkley celebrates the 20th anniversary of Prime Crime with special author events and promotional giveaways.
“When we launched Berkley Prime Crime in March 1994 I believed that the audience for the traditional or ‘cozy’ mystery was still largely underserved and untapped. Twenty years later I can say without reservation that this has proven to be correct and that Berkley Prime Crime has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations,” said Natalee Rosenstein, Vice President and Senior Executive Editor of Berkley.
This spring Berkley Prime Crime is hosting two events at mystery bookstores that have supported Berkley Prime Crime over the years. On March 13, Julie Hyzy, Miranda James, and Rebecca Hale will be at Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas. On March 25 the Poisoned Pen in Phoenix will host Margaret Coel, Carolyn Hart, Earlene Fowler, and Avery Aames.
Throughout the remainder of 2014, more events and promotional giveaways are planned, in addition to Berkley Prime Crime’s annual presence at mystery conventions BoucherCon and Malice Domestic. You can find out more about Berkley Prime Crime titles and authors at The Crime Scene, our cozy mystery Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thecrimescenebooks.
Harmless? Right. Have These People Learned Nothing from '50s SF Movies?
AFP: 30,000-year-old virus from permafrost is reborn: French scientists said Monday they had revived a giant but harmless virus that had been locked in the Siberian permafrost for more than 30,000 years.
Aimee Thurlo, R. I. P.
David Thurlo announced the death of his wife, Aimee, on Facebook today. Their collaborative mystery novels were bestsellers, and I enjoyed several of them. I corresponded with her by e-mail briefly, and we shared spots on our blogs once. She'll be greatly missed by the mystery-writing community and a legion of fans.
MegaPython Wins
I've been out of the house today, so this is a bit late getting posted. You've probably seen it everywhere else on the Internet, though. Snake eats crocodile in Queensland lake
All Of The Most Important Nicolas Cage Facts
Worthwhile video of the day: All Of The Most Important Nicolas Cage Facts
New Poem at the 5-2
The 5-2 | Crime Poetry Weekly, Annual Ebooks - Gerald So, Editor: Charles Rammelkamp
THE ADJUNCT PROFESSOR'S LAMENT
Gator Update (Musical Edition)
Tuba Players Make Alligators Randy With One Very Special Note
Hat tip to Seepy Benton.
Warning: Autoplay video.
Hat tip to Seepy Benton.
Warning: Autoplay video.
Sunday, March 02, 2014
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Possible Interest
Amazon.com: Rise of the Luchadore (Fight Card) eBook: Jack Tunney, Jason Ridler, Paul Bishop: Kindle Store: San Diego 2014 … Carlos may be the deadliest vale tudo street fighter in Brazil, but he’s no match for the drug lord on his tail. Haunted by the death of his best friend and on the run from a Mexican hit squad, Carlos is forced into hiding with a traveling carnival crawling its way from San Diego to LA. Within this world of freaks and con-men, Carlos has no choice but to become the one thing he hates – a masked luchador wrestler. However, once he has donned the mask, Carlos finds there is much more to being a luchador than fake wrestling moves and cheesy showmanship. There is a mystique and a responsibility carried by those who become true luchadors. But will being a fake hero, no matter how inspired or mystical, save him from the drug lord’s henchmen…Can it erase his tortured past…Or will he be forced to once again become the killing machine he has always been?
It's Texas Independence Day!
I Miss the Old Days
The Space Age Never Looked Brighter Than It Did in the Mid-1960s: At the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, everything was Space Age. From the designs and architecture to the machines and rides, it seemed to everybody that the future was in outer space. Here are some incredible pictures that capture the way we imagined tomorrow — in space.
Alain Resnais, R. I. P.
theguardian.com: Alain Resnais, the acclaimed French film director whose 60-year career included such classics as Hiroshima Mon Amour and Last Year in Marienbad, has died aged 91.
First It Was the Thin Mints Melee
Off the Beat with Will Greenlee: A woman accused of cutting up paper with a Swiss Army Knife at a Dunkin' Donuts, building a fire in an ashtray and smacking her knife into a wall got locked up, according to a recently released arrest affidavit.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
How Merv Griffin Came Up With That Weird Question/Answer Format for Jeopardy!
How Merv Griffin Came Up With That Weird Question/Answer Format for Jeopardy! : Champion Ken Jennings delves into what gives the virtually unchanged game show its lasting power
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