Bill Anderson (singer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "James William (Bill) Anderson III (born November 1, 1937 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. In his career, he has released more than forty studio albums, and has reached Number One on the country charts seven times: 'Mama Sang a Song' (1962), 'Still' (1963), 'I Get the Fever' (1966), 'For Loving You' (with Jan Howard, 1967), 'My Life (Throw It Away If I Want To)' (1969), 'World of Make Believe' (1974), and 'Sometimes' (with Mary Lou Turner, 1974). Besides these, twenty-nine more of his singles have reached Top Ten.One of the most successful songwriters in country music history, Bill Anderson was also a hugely popular singer in his own right, earning the nickname 'Whispering Bill' for his soft vocal style and occasional spoken narrations.[1] Artists who have recorded his material include Ray Price, Connie Smith, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait."
Halloween, High School Football Traditions Collide | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth: "Students dressed as Dracula, Batman and even Snow White were turned away at security checkpoints at high school football games Friday night.Some North Texas school districts banned Halloween costumes at the football games."
Eureka! How Archimedes and his 2,000-year-old invention will help provide green energy | Mail Online: "A device invented more than 2,000 years ago by Archimedes has found a 21st century use - generating 'green' electricity.A crumbling 99-year-old hydroelectric plant in the Yorkshire Dales will come out of retirement thanks to the Ancient Greek's genius.Key to the English Heritage project is the adaptation of Archimedean screws to operate turbines."
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Dig finds camp of 'real Crusoe': "Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of the campsite of a marooned sailor who is said to have inspired the fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe.The findings, carried in the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology, follow digs on a Pacific island west of Chile."
Chicago icon Studs Terkel dies :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State: "Studs Terkel turned the voice of average Americans into a font of history.The Pulitzer-Prize winning author, television pioneer, theatrical actor, long-time radio host, unrepentant leftie and friend of the little man, died peacefully at his home on the North Side of Chicago this afternoon.He was 96."
Thanks to Todd Mason for the tip.
SciFi.com: "Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, who also wrote Clint Eastwood's upcoming Changeling, is writing a long-in-the-works update of the SF classic Forbidden Planet for Warner Brothers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Joel Silver is producing via Silver Pictures."
Top 10 Segments From 'The Simpsons' Treehouse Of Horror - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog: "On November 2, FOX will air the newest installment of 'The Simpsons'' annual 'Treehouse of Horror' episode. With this beloved show in its 20th season, and 19 Halloween specials under its belt, we wanted to take a moment to remember some of the best Treehouse tales. It's scary how funny these segments are!"
Texan jailed after 2 ate from 1 plate | ajc.com: "The old two-for-one buffet trick backfired.Dan Linscomb, 40, of Texas City, Texas, ate the buffet at the Iron Skillet restaurant in northwest Atlanta on Oct. 21. He admitted, an Atlanta police report said, that his girlfriend “ate a couple bites from his plate.”When he was charged for two $7 buffet meals, Linscomb refused to pay for one of them. He said that “there were no signs in the restaurant that said someone could not have some food off your plate,” the report said."
Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.
Ghosts in the Library! (The Haunted Library Series is Back) | Britannica Blog: "Last year about this time (just in time for Halloween), George Eberhart of the American Library Association posted on this blog a list of libraries that are said to be haunted. Now the library ghosts are back, by popular demand."
Link via Neatorama.
Who wrote the original Frankenstein? Lynda Pratt TLS: "The novel’s textual instability is explored in the impressive introduction to Charles Robinson’s new edition. His honourable aim is not to give us another text of the novel we know – or think we know – but to strip away nearly two centuries of revision and appropriation in order to return to what he describes as the “original” Frankenstein."
Very interesting review/article on the composition of the novel and Percy Shelley's contributions. Link via The Little Professor.
Military Investigates Amnesia Beams | Danger Room from Wired.com: "A team of scientists from the United States and China announced last week that, for the first time, they had found a means of selectively and safely erasing memories in mice, using the signaling molecule αCaMKII. It's a big step forward, and one that will be of considerable interest to the military, which has devoted efforts to memory manipulation as a means of treating post-traumatic stress disorder. But some military research has moved in another direction entirely."
You can hear Tell Tale Signs for free. Click here.
This is a book that has a lot going for it. You get a sermon, a mystery, poker games and lore, a hero who's a former priest, a corrupt small town in the American southwest, a noirish sensibility, and some darn good writing. So why's the book forgotten? Don't ask me. It's not even available from any of the usual sources on the Internet, though you can pick up copies of Thackrey's nonfiction titles like Gambling Secrets of Nick the Greek and the sequel to Preacher, King of Diamonds (though it's not cheap). If you happen to run across Preacher, it would be well worth your time to pick it up. After you read it, maybe you could sell it on eBay. I'm keeping my copy, though.
There's some very interesting stuff about Thackrey here.
Update: I should have looked more carefully. It's easily available, and it's cheap.
Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for the link.MyFox Dallas | GM: Don't Judge Restaurant because of 'Phlegmburgers': "A teary-eyed restaurant manager pleaded with the public on Wednesday to trust her establishment following the arrest of her cook for deliberately contaminating food with bodily fluids.Andy's Landing general manager Tifanny Tappe said she had fired Jamie Perez after he was charged with soiling burgers with phlegm and saliva, and then wiping the buns on his buttocks before serving the food to Burnet police Chief Paul Nelson."
Archaeologists report finding oldest Hebrew text | Science | Reuters: "JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Israel said on Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrew text ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says David slew Goliath."
