Thunder Road

Don S. Davis, R. I. P.

GateWorld - Don S. Davis: 1942-2008: "With great sadness we must report that veteran actor Don S. Davis passed away on June 29, 2008. He was 65 years old.

Don co-starred on Stargate SG-1 for the show's first seven years, helping to launch the enduring science fiction franchise. Davis played Major General George Hammond, base commander and a father figure to many of the show's characters.

He is also well-known for his portrayal of Major Garland Briggs in Twin Peaks."

Thanks to Mary Ann Melton for the link.

12 Film Directors Who are Waiting by the Phone

12 film directors who don't seem to get the call - Den of Geek: "Hollywood can be a brutal place to work. Even if you have a string of hits as long as your arm, one flop can get you yanked off the rolodex in double quick time. Here are some previously proficient high profile directors, who seem to struggle to get the gigs that in the most part they deserve to get…"

Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian Readers

Canada Day: "On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st.

The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day."

Macworld | Laptops lost like hot cakes at US airports

Macworld | Laptops lost like hot cakes at US airports: "Keep laptops close at airports, because they have a startling tendency to disappear in the blink of an eye, according to a new survey.

Some of the largest and medium-sized U.S. airports report close to 637,000 laptops lost each year, according to the Ponemon Institute survey released Monday. Laptops are most commonly lost at security checkpoints, according to the survey."

Key quote: "Travelers seem to lack confidence that they will recover lost laptops."

Gee, I wonder why.

Hat tip to Dwight Silverman's Techblog.

The Most Unhealthy Carnival Foods

A slideshow guaranteed to make you hungry. When you start with deep-fried Oreos, you can't go wrong.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Purer than the Driven Snow

'Pure' Paris Banned From Tattoos - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog: "Paris Hilton has been banned from getting a tattoo by her rocker boyfriend Benji Madden, because he wants her to remain 'pure.'"

10 SF Novels (or stories) that Were Better Off Unfilmed

Failures Of Cinema: 10 Books That Were Better Off on Paper: "It's happened to all of us. We read a novel that blows us away, and a few years later its title appears on posters underneath the face of Harrison Ford or Natalie Portman. But at some inevitable point in that darkened theater, the movie takes a turn we didn't expect. Our eyebrows go up, our lips turn down, and the disappointment begins. Maybe the wrong director or writer can curse an otherwise excellent project — or maybe some things were just never meant to be filmed. Here are 10 books that we think should never have been committed to celluloid."

Hat tip to Gerard Saylor.

Hollywood Star Makes Comeback!

And without even going to rehab!

Tarzan Chimp Makes Hollywood Comeback: "The chimpanzee star of movies Tarzan and Bedtime For Bonzo is making his return to Hollywood after a four decade-long hiatus - the ape's handlers have signed a record and DVD deal and announced plans to publish a memoir on his behalf.

The 76-year-old chimp, Cheeta, starred in his last feature film Doctor Dolittle opposite Rex Harrison in 1967, and has been hailed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living monkey.

And now his owner, Dan Westfall, is looking to capitalise on the Liberian-born chimp's unusual life, publishing details in a memoir entitled Me Cheeta, slated for release next year."

This is the Kind of Coincidence . . .

. . . that an editor would never let you get away with in a novel. Check it out.

More Bananas

ApolloCon

We're back from ApolloCon, where a good time was had by all, or at least by us. It's always fun to see friends from other conventions and to be on panels or attend them. I was a bit disappointed in the dealers' room, so Scott Cupp and I sneaked off one afternoon to Ye Old Bookstore. It looked great from the outside, a shabby building with windows you couldn't see through because of the books piled in them. Inside, it smelled great. Nothing beats the scent of the oxidizing pages of paperbacks. Unfortunately, the store didn't live up to its appearance or smell. 99% of the books were far too recent to be of any interest to either me or Scott, though Scott, as usual, found more stuff to buy than I did.

We had a couple of great meals. One was on Friday afternoon when we took George, Diane, and Katie Kelly to Taste of Texas, where they got to visit an authentic Texas salad bar. Well, Diane, Katie, and Judy did. George and I had more substantial meals. Afterward, George was photographed with the giant stuffed bear, and we all had our photo made in front of the gun cabinet.

Saturday night, Judy and I went with Scott Cupp to Tony's, a Mexican food place that Judy and I hadn't tried. It was great. And we could even watch the Astros on TV while we ate.

Jayme Blaschke was lurking around with his camera most of the weekend, and when he posts his photos, I'll provide a link.

All in all, a very good weekend. Maybe the ApolloCon folks will invite me back next year.

A Dog Among Diplomats -- J. F. Englert

This is the kind of book you're either going to like or not. I mean, it's narrated by a dog who reads Proust and surfs the 'Net, so there you go.

I liked it, which I'm sure destroys whatever street cred I had left, but let me tell you some of its good qualities. It's well written, it's funny, and it has a good fair-play mystery plot. These are all things I like.

Randolph, the Labrador narrator, gives us a dog's-eye view (and smell; Randolph is very good at smells) of things, and it's a refreshing change. This is a sequel to Randolph's first novel, A Dog about Town. In that one, Imogen, Randolph's human companion goes missing. She still hasn't been found, but in this new book, Randolph and Harry (his current human companion) get word that she's still around town. Unfortunately, she's been seen leaving the scene of a murder. More murders follow, and it's up to Randolph and Harry to prove Imogen's innocence. If they can. Luckily Randolph is pretty much Holmes, Watson, and Poirot all in one.

Even if you don't like dogs, you'll like get some fun from this book. If you're a dog fan, you'll love it.
he follow-up to last year's A Dog About Town comes out of the gate running. And it's a winner! Like the first book in the series (review here), this one is written in the first person from Randolph's point of view. But I was now used to seeing through the eyes (and nose) of a dog by this time! :P

In this installment, Randolph and Harry are still pining after the missing Imogen, but now there's been evidence that she's still alive and in New York City. Though why she was last seen fleeing the scene of a murder, and is now nowhere to be found again, has the police, as well as Harry and Randolph, a bit baffled. Randolph has even been asked to play a part, by playing the role of "therapy dog" to a visiting diplomat who will be staying at the Bed & Breakfast from which Imogen recently fled. Now as a few more dead bodies turn up, Imogen's involvement in this string of murders is questioned, though she still can't be found and brought in for questioning herself. Is this just some elaborate hoax someone is trying to pull? Or is there a reason for Harry and Randolph to be worried?

These Kids Would Get on Your Lawn

Revealed after 50 years: The secret of the greatest-ever student prank | Mail Online: "It was probably the most ingenious student prank of all time.

In June 1958, Cambridge awoke to see a car perched at the apex of an inaccessible rooftop, looking as if it were driving across the skyline.

The spectacle made headlines around the world and left police, firefighters and civil defence units battling for nearly a week to hoist the vehicle back down before giving in and taking it to pieces with blowtorches."

Photo at link. Hat tip to Art Scott.

Attack of the Giant Leeches

New Issue of Misterical-E Now On-Line

Click here for the summer issue.

Coming in September from Stark House

You don't want to miss this one!

The Dawn Patrol -- Don Winslow

You never know what to expect from Don Winslow. This time it's a fine novel about San Diego and the city's surf culture, with a couple of mysteries thrown in. Boone Daniels is an ex-cop, now a part-time p.i., who's devoted to surfing. A beautiful lawyer wants to hire Daniels just at the time a big surge is going to bring the best waves ever. Daniels doesn't want to take the job, but of course he needs the money. Besides, the job seems simple enough. It isn't, however, and the next thing Daniels knows he's involved in a murder case. After that, things get complicated, and before it's all over, we've entered some dark territory, indeed.

The plot, however, isn't really what The Dawn Patrol is all about. It's about friendship, history, growing up, and the way the world changes. It has as many backstories and asides as any John D. MacDonald novel about Florida, and Winslow's wistful descriptions of the history and changes in San Diego reminded me a little of MacDonald's writing. If you've never read Winslow before, you're missing a treat, and this is as good a place as any to begin.

Attack of the 50-Foot Woman