Sunday, September 25, 2016

Arnold Palmer, R. I. P.

Arnold Palmer: 'The King' of golf dies at 87: Arnold Palmer was the telegenic golfer who took a staid sport to TV and to the masses

Interview with James Reasoner

Faded Trails: Interview with James Reasoner

The Skeleton Haunts a House -- Leigh Perry (Toni L. P. Kelner)

Sid the sentient skeleton detective is back for another adventure.  I reviewed one of his earlier cases here.  Sid can see although he doesn't have eyes, hear although he doesn't have ears, and think although he doesn't have a brain.  He'd be insulted by that last comment, I'm sure, but there it is.  He can also disassemble himself in a trice and various bones can move on their own.  How does this work?  Leigh Perry wisely doesn't try to explain it.  It's just the way it is.

Sid lives in the attic of the Thackery family and is Dr. Georgia Thackery's best friend.  Georgia is an adjunct English prof, and she, her sister, Deborah, and their parents, along with Madison, Georgia's daughter, are the only ones who interact with Sid.  Georgia's parents didn't appear in the earlier book I reviewed, but they're back for this one, and just in the nick of time, too.

This is the season for haunted houses, and billboards have begun to appear on the highways around Houston advertising this year's attractions.  'Tis the season.  The Skeleton Haunts a House was the a natural for me to read now since there's a murder in a haunted house (McHades Hall) at the Halloween Howl at the college where Georgia teaches.  Georgia and Sid, dressed as Scooby Doo and Velma, are at McHades Hall when the murder occurs, and Deborah is in charge of things there.  She's normally not a fan of Georgia and Sid's amateur sleuthing, but this time she asks them to investigate.

There's a lot more than a murder investigation going on here, though.  Perry has a lot to say about family issues, the sad conditions that adjunct faculty suffer under, the lives of college students, relationships, and more.  It's all told with humor in the appropriate places and in lively prose.  Sid (he likes to think of himself as Sherlock Bones) and Georgia come through in the end, of course, and there's a lot of fun (and a bit of romance) to be had along the way.  Check it out.


The Secret Cave in Central Park

The Secret Cave in Central Park—And Why It Was Sealed 

Song of the Day

Chuck Wagon Gang - Heaven's Jubilee - YouTube:

7 Hidden Art Secrets That Were Uncovered With Technology

7 Hidden Art Secrets That Were Uncovered With Technology

Today's Vintage Ad


Roadside Curiosities

Roadside Curiosities: Things That Make You Go “What the Heck?”

Jose Fernandez, R. I. P.

Fox News: Miami Marlins ace pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed Sunday morning after a boat crash in Miami Beach, the team announced.  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

PaperBack



Nigel Balchin, The Small Back Room, Lion Books, 1950

I Want to Believe!

Artist fools tourists with monument to giant-octopus attack on Staten Island Ferry  

Hat tip to Art Scott.

Bill Nunn, R. I. P.

BuzzFeed News: Bill Nunn, a veteran actor best known for his role as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, has died at age 62. The cause of his death is not yet known.

Hat tip to Deb.

Inside the FBI’s Colossal Fingerprint Factory

Inside the FBI’s Colossal Fingerprint Factory

How Cats Conquered the World

How Cats Conquered the World (and a Few Viking Ships)

Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

Feast Your Eyes on Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, R.I. P.

Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, leader of Buckwheat Zydeco, dies at 68: LAFAYETTE, La. -Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr., leader of the Grammy- and Emmy-winning band Buckwheat Zydeco, died Saturday . Dural, who had lung cancer, was 68.

I'm Sure You'll All Agree

100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

The Mystery of New Dimensions 13

The Mystery of New Dimensions 13