Friday, January 02, 2015
Vintage Treasures: The House in the High Wood by Jeffrey E. Barlough
Vintage Treasures: The House in the High Wood by Jeffrey E. Barlough: The House in the High Wood
FFB: Renegade Posse -- Marvin H. Albert
Another fine job from Mavin H. Albert, with more plot in the first 25 pages that most novels have in 400. That makes it pretty hard to summarize the book, but here's the gist of it is right there on the cover: "The hunted man was not as guilty as the lawmen who were hunting him down." Okay, that's not true. It's a great blurb, but there's not a single real lawman in the posse, and one of them is Keliher, the protagonist. Also, the guy they're chasing is quite guilty of a number of things. However, he has the loot from a bank robbery, and most of the posse members think killing him and taking the money for themselves is a great idea.
Keliher has to stop them, for a lot of reasons, including the fact that the bank robber was formerly his best friend. Furthermore, Keliher is married to the bank robber's ex-wife and is raising his son. Add to that mixture a lot of well-written scenes: the bank robbery itself, an epic gunfight against hostile Indians, a fist fight, a number of escapes and pursuits, and in interesting dynamic between the outlaw and his ex. It's all great stuff, and it's all pulled of as smoothly as usual by Albert. I've long been a fan of his crime novels, but I'm only now catching up on the westerns. I'm sorry I waited so long.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Mario Cuomo, R. I. P.
Former N.Y. governor Mario Cuomo dies at 82: Cuomo is among the most iconic New York governors of the 20th century, known for his liberal views, soaring speeches and deeply held beliefs that made him among the most prominent Democrats of his time. His death came the same day as his son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was inaugurated for a second term.
Brief Political Rant
Bloomberg Politics: While the next election may seem distant, it really isn't. The Iowa caucuses, the voting that starts the nomination process, are only about 13 months away, and some lesser-important events like candidate debates and straw polls will arrive much sooner. The legwork the prospective candidates do during the first quarter of 2015 will include trying to line up endorsements, recruiting staff and volunteers, and raising money.
I don't say much about politics because that's not what this blog is about. But reading this article gave me the fantods. Two years until the elections, and we're going to have to endure more than 20 months of political campaigns. Okay, I say "we" but I'm not sure I will. I think that for the first time in 50 years I'll just pay no attention. I've just gotten fed up. I don't think I'm the only one, considering the historically low turnout in the mid-terms. There's a limit to what I can put up with, and although there's no limit on how long someone can campaign or how many thousands of hours the TV news channels report the shenanigans or how many millions the candidates can spend, they can do it all without me this time around. A pox on all their houses.
I don't say much about politics because that's not what this blog is about. But reading this article gave me the fantods. Two years until the elections, and we're going to have to endure more than 20 months of political campaigns. Okay, I say "we" but I'm not sure I will. I think that for the first time in 50 years I'll just pay no attention. I've just gotten fed up. I don't think I'm the only one, considering the historically low turnout in the mid-terms. There's a limit to what I can put up with, and although there's no limit on how long someone can campaign or how many thousands of hours the TV news channels report the shenanigans or how many millions the candidates can spend, they can do it all without me this time around. A pox on all their houses.
Once Again Texas Leads the Way
‘Little old lady’ Arrested for Making Fur Coats with Neighbor’s Cats
Hat tip to Francelle Bettinger.
Hat tip to Francelle Bettinger.
That Was the Year that Was (And More)
I don't usually do year-end wrap-up posts, and I'm not going to start now. I don't have much that's good to say about 2014 now that it's history, even though it started off pretty well. Later on, maybe, I'll be able to look back on the first 8 months of it and reflect on some of the times that are worth remembering. There are a lot of them, I know, but right now everything is overshadowed by the one big event of the year, Judy's death. I can't quite get past that one, although I'm trying to. People keep telling me that it will take time for me to get better, probably a long time, so we'll see how that works out. Now that it's 2015 I'll see if I can do the Janus thing and look backward and forward at the same time. At the moment I'm doing too much of the backward looking and not enough for the forward looking. I don't make resolutions, but if I did, I'd put Look Forward at the top of the list. So here's to 2015. May it be a better year for me and for everyone who reads this blog. Thanks for sticking with it and thanks for all your support in recent months. It's meant a lot to me.
And now, on a more cheerful note, I'll share a little New Year's memory with you. On December 30, 1958, the Mexia Blackcat Band traveled to Dallas to march at halftime in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day. We went a couple of days early to practice and to see the sights in the big city. Little did we realize that it would be one of the coldest weekends in many years and that the cold would be accompanied by ice and snow. It was so cold, in fact, that instead of practicing on the field, we had to practice in an airplane hangar (I don't recall where it was located). The show was to feature several bands, performing together. I don't think the practice went well.
At night boys were housed in some kind of dormitory in the livestock area, and there was no heat in the place. I nearly froze to death and didn't sleep much on the nights we were there.
We did get to see a performance by Roger Williams, so that was nice. I'd never seen a big star in person. And he was indeed a big star in 1958. (You youngsters might need to do a search for his name. He's not the one from Providence Plantation that you read about in history class. I'm old, but I'm not that old.)
I don't recall much about the halftime except that it wasn't a complete disaster, which was quite an accomplishment under the circumstances (chaotic practices, terrible weather). I do know that everyone in Mexia was watching on TV, and, sure enough, as they've done ever since when given the chance, the announcers pronounces the name of the town wrong. Everyone knew it was going to happen.
As for the football game, TCU played Air Force. More or less. It was frigid, and sitting in the stands I thought I might turn into an icicle. The game was a mess, and while I don't remember much about it, I do remember that neither team could do anything right. Lots of fumbles and missed field goals and terrible offensive displays. The final score was 0 - 0, which gives you some idea.
What I remember most of all is that the Air Force mascot, a Falcon was released at halftime. It was supposed to swoop around and return to the cadet who loosed it, I suppose, but instead it flew right to the top of the Automobile Building on the State Fairgrounds and perched there for the rest of the game. For all I know, it's sitting there still.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Edward Herrmann, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Edward Herrmann, an actor best known for his role on the television show “Gilmore Girls,” has died at age 71.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
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