Friday, August 25, 2017
Bite Into the Whys Behind State Fair Food
Bite Into the Whys Behind State Fair Food: This American institution has changed a lot, but some things remain just the same
The City of Literature: 40 Books Set in Paris
The City of Literature: 40 Books Set in Paris: Hemingway wrote, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."It's a book lover's dream to wander the very streets that inspired Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Samuel Beckett, Albert Camus, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and so many others. You might step into the Salon at 27 rue de Fleurus where Gertrude Stein mentored Ernest Hemingway, or have a drink at the café littéraires Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, the long-ago haunts of James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and their fellow The Lost Generation writers.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Rafferty's Rules - Kindle edition by W. Glenn Duncan. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. First book in a terrific series. Grab it while you can.
Forgotten Hits: August 25th
Forgotten Hits: August 25th: Some interesting debuts on the chart this week.
Harvey
The rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Harvey has already begun here in Alvin. It appears that this area isn't likely to suffer too much from the winds, although they'll be high tomorrow morning. It's the rain that will be a problem. My house is supposedly safe from flooding, but there's going to be a heck of a lot of rain here, maybe up to 25 inches if the forecasts are correct. It's raining heavily now, and this is just the beginning. It should be an interesting four or five days for me and the cats. I have plenty of supplies, so I'm hunkering down. I have a whole-house generator powered by natural gas, so if the power goes out, I'll still be fine. The people down the coast near Corpus Christi are the ones who'll suffer most from the hurricane, but a lot of the state will be devastated by the floods. This is going to be a major disaster for thousands.
FFB: What's New Pussycat -- Marvin H. Albert
Marvin H. Albert did a ton of movie novelizations, but this is the only one I've read. I read it for the first time when it originally appeared back in 1965 after Judy and I saw the movie. I was already a big fan of Woody Allen's comedy albums, and I was curious to see what he'd be like in a movie. He was just like he was on the comedy albums. It may be the only character he can play. So I was then curious to see how that would translate into fiction written by someone else. The answer: good but not great. The fact of the matter is that I reread this book mainly because I've remembered one particular line in it for more than 50 years. I thought it was hilarious the first time I read it (I don't remember if it's in the movie), but this time it wasn't as funny. Oh, well. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
The plot? Michael James is irresistible to women. He's in love with Carol, but he can't commit to her because he can't resist the other women. Victor is in love with Carol, too, and she tries to carry on with him but can't because she loves Michael, who's going to a sex-crazed psychiatrist to get help. Believe me, the psychiatrist isn't much help at all. Many sex-farcical complications ensue.
Like the movie, the book is a product of its time, a time long gone, or so we'd like to think. It doesn't hold up too well, although there are some funny scenes. I haven't seen the movie since 1965. It probably doesn't hold up, either, but I remember it fondly, especially the performance of Peter Sellers as the sex-crazed psychiatrist. Maybe I'll look for the movie and see it again. Or maybe not.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Jay Thomas, R. I. P.
Variety: Actor Jay Thomas, best known for his roles in the classic sitcoms “Murphy Brown” and “Cheers,” has died, Variety has confirmed. He was 69.
“Doing the Twist” (by Laura Pigott) |
“Doing the Twist” (by Laura Pigott) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: With our September/October issue just on sale, this morning we introduce a writer whose Department of First Stories debut appears in that issue. Laura Pigott works in the field of corporate communications, but she has been interested in mysteries since childhood. She has won the Golden Pen Award for best writer from UnitedHealth Group twice, and now she has turned her hand to fiction writing. We’re anticipating that her debut story,�“Therapy Dog,”�will soon be followed by other published fiction, as she tells EQMM she is working on a collection of short stories. In the following post, she shares some insights into the type of short story she favors.—Janet Hutchings
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Thomas Meehan, R. I. P.
Playbill: He is the only creative to have written the books for three shows that ran more than 2,000 performances on Broadway: the aforementioned Annie (2,377 performances), The Producers in 2001 alongside Mel Brooks (2,502 performances), and Hairspray in 2002, which he wrote with the late Mark O’Donnell (2,642 performances). He earned Tonys for all three shows.
Bonus FFB for Wednesday: The Body Beautiful -- Bill S. Ballinger
I'm a big fan of two Bill S. Ballinger books, Portrait in Smoke and The Tooth and the Nail. The Body Beautiful isn't like either of those. It's a hard-boiled p.i. novel, sort of, but it has elements of the cozy, too.The p.i. on the case is Barr Breed, and the murder is of a beautiful chorus girl whom Breed has been dating. Someone throws a knife and kills her during the performance of a show. There's a knife thrower in the show, and one of his knives is missing. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he's not the killer. Later someone else is also killed with one of his knives. He should have kept them in a more secure place.
Breed naturally tangles with the cops, as most private-eyes do, and he's really under pressure to get the case solved. It's pretty complicated, and the solution takes a good many pages to explain. It involves a gathering of all the suspects and a staged explanation from Breed. I was surprised at a couple of things, though, which was fun. Another good thing about the book is the authenticity of all the show business material, and there's quite a bit of it. This won't ever be my favorite Ballinger book, but it's worth a look.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Time Traveler by Merriam-Webster
Time Traveler by Merriam-Webster: When was a word first used in print? You may be surprised! Enter a date below to see the words first recorded on that year.
Chemo #2, New Series
I'm getting ready to head to M.D. Anderson to receive the second chemo infusion in the new series of treatments. I sure hope this one is the magic bullet because I'm getting tired of all this stuff.
Overlooked Movies -- This Is Elvis
Last week TCM went all out for Elvis Presley on the 40th anniversary of his death. One movie that I hadn't seen, although I'd heard a bit about it, was This Is Elvis, a sort of documentary. I say "sort of" because while there's a lot of great archival footage, mixed in with it are a number of reenactments. And while it's supposedly Elvis narrating the film, it's actually Ral Donner doing his best Elvis speaking voice. Sometimes the reenactments are obvious, as with the three different actors playing Elvis at various stages of his career, but sometimes they're not quite so obvious, as with some of the interviews supposedly conducted at various times. I'm assuming that the B&W segments aren't reenactments, or that most of them aren't. I could be wrong, however.The film worked pretty well overall, I thought, and it didn't flinch from the downfall at the end of Elvis' life. Okay, maybe it did flinch a little in not spending much time on it, but it presented it honestly. It shows a segment of the 1968 TV special, which Judy and I watched live back then. Both of us thought that the real Elvis was back, and I know I, for one, thought it would be a turning point in his career and life. It was, all right, but not in the way I thought. He managed to sustain the quality for a short while, but it was all downhill after that. I'd recommend this film for anybody who's too young to remember Elvis and the impact he had and for nostalgic old folks like me.
***And now for a personal aside. The only time that Judy and I saw Elvis in person was when he appeared in Abilene, Texas, on March 27, 1977. We didn't have great seats, but I had a pair of binoculars that we shared throughout the show. It was a great show, but afterward I told Judy that Elvis didn't look good at all. She got upset with me because Elvis, to her, always looked good. I was right, however. Only a few months later he was dead.
The day the Elvis died, Judy and I were eating dinner with the kids when the news came on TV. Judy started to cry as soon as she heard it. I'll bet the kids still remember this, though they were small at the time. It was a shocker, for sure.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Two New Ones from Stark House
Stark House and its Black Gat imprint have two great new publications, both from Clifton Adams. Here's my review, from Steve Lewis's Mystery*File of Never Say No to a Killer, which originally appeared as by Jonathan Gant: "Adams also wrote a paperback original for the Ace Double line. He used the name Jonathan Gant, and the book is one half of D-157, Never Say No to a Killer."It seems to have been influenced by Horace McCoy’s Kiss Tomorrow Good-Bye, as it’s narrated by an intellectual killer and begins with an escape from a prison work gang. Roy Surratt deludes himself in much the same way that Joe Hooper and Roy Foley do, though he’s well aware that he’s far from the innocent they think themselves to be before they begin their crime sprees.
"This book has a nice twist in that it doesn’t appear to be a mystery novel until the very end, when it’s revealed that one character was indeed doing some detecting and putting the clues together. Maybe this one’s not quite in the league with the two Gold Medals, but it’s worth a read."
And here's what I added about The Desperado and A Noose for the Desperado: "If you’re curious about Adams’s westerns, I highly recommend two of his earliest, The Desperado and A Noose for the Desperado.
"These are dandy noir westerns with a protagonist worthy of Jim Thompson. They’re hard to find, though. They hardly ever turn up even on eBay."
But now they're available in one handy volume, and they're top-notch reading.
Brian Aldiss, R. I. P.
Brian Aldiss - Wikipedia: Brian Wilson Aldiss, OBE (/ˈɔːldɪs/; 18 August 1925 – 18 August 2017[1]) was an English writer and anthologies editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s.
18 space suits from science fiction, from worst to best
18 space suits from science fiction, from worst to best: When has Hollywood actually gotten it (somewhat) right?
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Jerry Lewis, R. I. P.
Hollywood Reporter: Jerry Lewis, whose irrepressible zaniness and frantic creativity vaulted him to stardom as a comic movie star who wielded unparalleled green-light power at Paramount in the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 91.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
‘Casey at the Bat’ Leaves a Lot of Unanswered Questions
‘Casey at the Bat’ Leaves a Lot of Unanswered Questions: Was there a Casey? Where did he strike out? Does it really matter?
Colt vs. Schofield
Colt vs. Schofield: During much of the Indian Wars era, the U.S. Cavalry relied primarily on these two revolvers—each with its own peculiarities. Which one would you prefer?
Dick Gregory, R. I. P.
Dick Gregory, civil rights activist and comedian, dead at 84: (CNN)Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, who broke barriers in the 1960s and became one of the first African-Americans to perform at white clubs, died Saturday.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
I Found a Penny in the Walmart Parking Lot Last Week
Part of Henry VIII's Birthplace Discovered: Workers at London’s Old Royal Naval College were prepping the site of a new visitors center for the Painted Hall, considered the Sistine Chapel of England, when they unearthed something equally incredible: two rooms from the Palace of Placentia, reports Giles Broadbent at The Wharf.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
![The Lone Star Express (The Bill Travis Mysteries Book 13) by [Wier, George]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rhha0vQuL.jpg)
The Lone Star Express (The Bill Travis Mysteries Book 13) - Kindle edition by George Wier. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. In the aftermath of the death of former Texas Governor, Richard Sawyer, Bill Travis must accompany the body to its final resting place in West Texas...by train. The deadline is tight, the Old '19 is an ancient steam train that drives at a ponderously slow pace, and a quarry of ruthless and determined men are out to stop Bill and the steam-driven crew of the newly re-dubbed Lone Star Express at any and all costs. But who are they, and what do they want? It's Bill Travis in his most dangerous adventure of all time, along with a team of aging misfits who refuse to see history die and the last of the great steam behemoths of old stopped in its tracks.
“Plans and Revisions” by Steve Liskow
“Plans and Revisions” by Steve Liskow | Trace Evidence: Steve Liskow is the author of three mystery series, and his latest book is Hit Somebody. In 2016 he became the Black Orchid Novella Award‘s first repeat winner. You can read his winning story “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma” in the current July/August 2017 issue. Here, he talks about the evolution of this story, his previous winner, and the Woody Guthrie series.
This week’s tabloids
Earth faces comet catastrophe, in this week’s tabloids: J. Edgar Hoover killed President Kennedy, O.J. Simpson aims to murder Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner, and JonBenet Ramsey’s babysitter tells all, in this week’s reality-divorced tabloids.
Remembering Sci-Fi Pioneer Hugo Gernsback
Fifty Years Later, Remembering Sci-Fi Pioneer Hugo Gernsback: Looking Back on a Man Who Was Always Looking Forward
Karl Ove Knausgaard: By the Book
Karl Ove Knausgaard: By the Book: The author of the six-volume autobiographical novel “My Struggle” and, most recently, “Autumn” steers clear of crime fiction: “I only read crime novels when I’m depressed, so I try to avoid them.”
Will the Persecution Never End?
Remembering Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton’s Reign of Hollywood Terror: The dream of the aughts is alive at a new art exhibit in Brooklyn. Behold the boozy, breakdown-fueled world of “Nicole Richie’s 2007 Memorial Day BBQ.”
Friday, August 18, 2017
I Miss the Old Days
The Body Beautiful – 47 Glamorous Photos of Marie McDonald in the 1940s: Marie McDonald (1923-1965) was a leggy, voluptuous blonde starlet who pursued her career with a vengeance but found little reward in the end. Her parents divorced when Marie was just 6 years old. Marie's mother remarried and the new family moved to Yonkers, New York, where she attended Roosevelt High School and excelled in piano and wrote for the school newspaper.
FFB: Turn on the Heat -- Erle Stanley Gardner
The plot's almost impossible for me to lay out in simple form, but I can say that it begins with the disappearance of a woman twenty years before the action starts. Now a lot of people want to find her, and one of them hires Cool and Lam to do the work for him. The search takes Donald to the small town from which the woman disappeared, where he meets an attractive young woman, tangles with a crooked (and tough and mean) cop, gets mixed up in a lot of local politics, and generally stirs things up. Murder ensues.
As usual, people and things are not always what they seem, and Lam put himself in and Cool in some tricky legal situations, or maybe I should say near-illegal situations, with Cool worrying about jail but liking the idea of a big payoff so much that the risks are worth it.
And the payoff does come, both figuratively and literally, as Lam ties everything together, and you see that Cool, who reminds us every twenty pages or so how smart he is, is right.
I hope Hard Case plans to reissue more of the Cool and Lam books, as they've as much fun as ever.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
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