Janet Rudolph tagged me with this, which I think I've already done for Facebook. So I'm reprinting that one here if I can find it. . . . Ah-ha! Here goes with 16 Random Things About Me (in which you discover how boring I really am):
1. I don't like cold weather.
2. I'm not that fond of hot weather, either.
3. My favorite soft drink is Dr Pepper.
4. If I drink a diet drink, I go for Pepsi One.
5. I have a large collection of paperback books.
6. I rent two large air-conditioned storage units for the overflow books.
7. I should be writing a book instead of doing this.
8. I got too much candy for Christmas.
9. I'll eat all the candy I got for Christmas.
10. I drive a Toyota.
11. I jog 6 days a week.
12. I jog veeeeerrrrrry slooooooooowly.
13. I love to read.
14. I love to write, but I think I like reading better.
15. I don't watch enough movies.
16. Unlike Janet, I've never met Janis Joplin, much less shared a slug of Southern Comfort with her. I did meet Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio backstage, though, and even sang along when the trio warmed up.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
You Too Can Hallucinate
Boston.com - Ideas - Globe: "DO YOU EVER want to change the way you see the world? Wouldn't it be fun to hallucinate on your lunch break? Although we typically associate such phenomena with powerful drugs like LSD or mescaline, it's easy to fling open the doors of perception without them: All it takes is a basic understanding of how the mind works."
Gran Torino
Probably you already know as much as you need to know about this one. It's directed by Clint Eastwood, and he also stars as Walt Kowalski, a gruff Korean War vet grown old in a neighborhood where he's surrounded by Hmong immigrants whom he doesn't like and with whom he believed he has absolutely nothing in common. His wife has just died, his sons and their families don't much like him, and he's pretty much alone except for his dog.Then things start to happen. Walt breaks up a fight that involves one of his neighbors, a boy named Thao. Gang members trying to recruit Thao tell him that his initiation will be to steal Walt's Gran Torino. Walt stops him, of course, and the boy's family makes him agree to work for Walt in compensation. Thao's sister, spunky and a match for Walt's grumpiness, persaudes Walt that he has to go along. Eventually Walt gets pulled out of his shell a bit by the Hmong family, especially Thao and his sister. There's a certain point about halfway through the movie where you'll probably know exactly where everything is heading, but that's okay. It all plays out so well that you won't mind.
The movie gets a little heavy-handed now and then, but there's plenty of humor to lighten things up. Eastwood is just about perfect as Walt Kowalski, and while the rest of the cast isn't up to his standards, it doesn't really matter. This is a movie about Kowalski, and I can't think of anybody other than Eastwood who could have pulled it off. Because of my age, I've been around ever since Eastwood started in movies and TV, and I've seen his whole career. That's not supposed to influence your reaction toward a character on the screen, but it does, and it all works in Eastwood's favor in this one. He may not get the Oscar, but he puts on a fine show.
Spade & Archer -- Joe Gores
I'll bet this book gets a lot of ink before long, and probably a lot of love, too. I liked it a lot, myself.What we have here is the "prequel" to The Maltese Falcon. Though Joe Gores is the author, he's channeling Hammett so well that after a couple of pages, you'll forget the book wasn't written in 1925. It's done as if it were one of Hammett's fix-ups, based on three novellas from Black Mask. The three separate sections of the book are all connected, though, and they're all tied together in the end.
Along the way we meet Sam Spade at the beginning of his career as the owner of his own agency. We see him hire Effie Perine. We find out how he started an affair with Miles Archer's wife. Other characters and hints from the Falcon are fleshed out, along with some stories from Hammett's own Pinkerton career.
Don't let the title fool you. Archer does only cameo appearances in parts I and II of the novel. When he takes on his role as Spade's partner in part III, he turns out to be just about what you'd have expected. Spade might not be exactly what you expected, however. He has hidden depths.
Spade & Archer is prime stuff, with pretty much everything. Mysterious women, hidden treasure (sort of), lots of tough guys, and even a dying message. It's a don't-miss for any fan of the hardboiled. I just hope nobody films it. Sam Spade is pretty much Bogart to me. Nobody can fill those shoes.
Want to Visit the Pardo but Can't Afford It?
Now you can.
Jewels of the Prado go under Google Earth's microscope - News, Art - The Independent: "No image can match the real thing, but Madrid's Prado museum has edged closer to that ideal by teaming up with Google Earth in a pioneering project that allows art lovers to zoom in on some of the gallery's best loved masterpieces.
Fourteen of the museum's finest works, including Velazquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Third of May and Rubens' The Three Graces have been photographed to such a high resolution that details barely discernible to the naked eye become visible online."
[. . . .]
To see the digital reproductions, download the Google Earth program, activate three-dimensional view and click on Prado Museum. Depending on how the pilot is received, Google may extend the initiative to other paintings and other galleries.
Update: I just tried this. It works.
Jewels of the Prado go under Google Earth's microscope - News, Art - The Independent: "No image can match the real thing, but Madrid's Prado museum has edged closer to that ideal by teaming up with Google Earth in a pioneering project that allows art lovers to zoom in on some of the gallery's best loved masterpieces.
Fourteen of the museum's finest works, including Velazquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Third of May and Rubens' The Three Graces have been photographed to such a high resolution that details barely discernible to the naked eye become visible online."
[. . . .]
To see the digital reproductions, download the Google Earth program, activate three-dimensional view and click on Prado Museum. Depending on how the pilot is received, Google may extend the initiative to other paintings and other galleries.
Update: I just tried this. It works.
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
30-pound marijuana brick delivered to wrong address in Denton |
News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
| Dallas News on Yahoo! | The Dallas Morning News: "UPS delivers, but not always to the right address, a Denton man discovered Monday when he found a lot of green inside a package dropped on his porch by the men in brown.
The man took the package to Denton police later that night, police spokesman Officer Ryan Grelle said. It contained a 30-pound brick of compressed marijuana with a street value of $10,500.
UPS mistakenly delivered it to the Denton house about 8 p.m., Grelle said. The resident was not at home at the time and opened it when he returned."
News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
| Dallas News on Yahoo! | The Dallas Morning News: "UPS delivers, but not always to the right address, a Denton man discovered Monday when he found a lot of green inside a package dropped on his porch by the men in brown.
The man took the package to Denton police later that night, police spokesman Officer Ryan Grelle said. It contained a 30-pound brick of compressed marijuana with a street value of $10,500.
UPS mistakenly delivered it to the Denton house about 8 p.m., Grelle said. The resident was not at home at the time and opened it when he returned."
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Uh-Oh
Roland Emmerich finds 'Foundation' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety: "Columbia won an auction late Thursday for screen rights to 'Foundation,' Isaac Asimov's ground breaking science fiction trilogy. The film will be developed as a directing vehicle for Roland Emmerich.
Emmerich and his Centropolis partner Michael Wimer will produce the film. The deal was mid six-figures against low seven figures.
Originally published as a series of eight short stories in Astounding Magazine beginning in 1942, 'Foundation' is a complex saga about humans who are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, living under the rule of the Galactic Empire."
Hat tip to Thomas Miller.
Emmerich and his Centropolis partner Michael Wimer will produce the film. The deal was mid six-figures against low seven figures.
Originally published as a series of eight short stories in Astounding Magazine beginning in 1942, 'Foundation' is a complex saga about humans who are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, living under the rule of the Galactic Empire."
Hat tip to Thomas Miller.
Andrew Wyeth, R. I. P.
American Painter Andrew Wyeth Dies at 91 - washingtonpost.com: "Andrew Wyeth, the popular American painter of rustic landscapes, farmhouses and plain country folk whose pictures evoked a range of feelings and emotions and a nostalgic vision of times past, died at home early Jan. 16 at age 91. No cause of death was reported, according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Wyeth sketched, painted and drew the people and places of Pennsylvania's Brandywine River Valley and the rugged Maine coastal region near Cushing, where he had lived all his life. He died at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Chadds Ford, according to Hillary Holland, a spokeswoman for the Brandywine River Museum, the AP reported."
Mr. Wyeth sketched, painted and drew the people and places of Pennsylvania's Brandywine River Valley and the rugged Maine coastal region near Cushing, where he had lived all his life. He died at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Chadds Ford, according to Hillary Holland, a spokeswoman for the Brandywine River Museum, the AP reported."
So It's My Finger's Fault I'm not Rich?
Ring finger length linked to City stockbrokers' success, claim scientists - Telegraph: "A study of highly pressured London traders, whose jobs requires risk taking and quick responses, found the most successful had long ring fingers in relation to their index fingers.
The trait - which is associated with higher exposure to testosterone in the womb - is thought to be linked to attributes such as confidence, risk-taking ability, extra vigilance and quick reactions.
Such qualities could provide traders making snap decisions on high-risk deals with a competitive edge, the research suggests."
The trait - which is associated with higher exposure to testosterone in the womb - is thought to be linked to attributes such as confidence, risk-taking ability, extra vigilance and quick reactions.
Such qualities could provide traders making snap decisions on high-risk deals with a competitive edge, the research suggests."
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
A tip of the old white Stetson to Ivan at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, who scooped me on this one.
Welcome to Charter.net - News: "FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Better known for portraying on-screen cowboys, Tommy Lee Jones and Barry Corbin were among six people inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame on Thursday night.
'By God, y'all are cowboys too,' Gov. Rick Perry told the actors as the crowd of about 600 laughed.
Jones, an eighth-generation Texan who raises cattle and polo ponies on his 3,000-acre ranch, said he had won many awards but had never felt they were about him.
'This might be the first time that I've taken an award personally,' Jones said. 'This is the first time in all my long years of award-winning that I wish my granddad could be here.'"
Welcome to Charter.net - News: "FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Better known for portraying on-screen cowboys, Tommy Lee Jones and Barry Corbin were among six people inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame on Thursday night.
'By God, y'all are cowboys too,' Gov. Rick Perry told the actors as the crowd of about 600 laughed.
Jones, an eighth-generation Texan who raises cattle and polo ponies on his 3,000-acre ranch, said he had won many awards but had never felt they were about him.
'This might be the first time that I've taken an award personally,' Jones said. 'This is the first time in all my long years of award-winning that I wish my granddad could be here.'"
But Will It Want In and Out All the Time?
Robo-cat: The purrfect pet for the allergy-prone owner | Mail Online: "It's the perfect pet for owners who have allergies and don't want the hassle of clearing out a litter tray.
The 'Yume-Neko Venus', or 'Dream Cat Venus', is a robotic feline that is equipped with touch sensors that help it react like a real cat.
Made by Sega Toys, it moves its head, closes its eyes and purrs as you stroke it and can sit up and lie down. Like most moggies it will curl up and go into 'sleep' mode if left alone for long."
The 'Yume-Neko Venus', or 'Dream Cat Venus', is a robotic feline that is equipped with touch sensors that help it react like a real cat.
Made by Sega Toys, it moves its head, closes its eyes and purrs as you stroke it and can sit up and lie down. Like most moggies it will curl up and go into 'sleep' mode if left alone for long."
I'm a Winner!
Okay, so I didn't get nominated for an Edgar this year, and I wasn't even considered for a Weblog Award. But by golly that doesn't mean I'm not getting plenty of recognition. I've just been informed that I'm one of the winners of the coveted Dardos Award. Sort of. Kinda. I'm not sure when the parade will be, but I'll keep you informed.
Congratulations to the Edgar Nominees!
The 2009 Edgar® Award Nominees are...
Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce, as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2008. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the winners at our 63rd Gala Banquet, April 30, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.
BEST NOVEL
Missing by Karin Alvtegen (Felony & Mayhem Press)
Blue Heaven by C.J. Box (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)
The Price of Blood by Declan Hughes (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Night Following by Morag Joss (Random House – Delacorte Press)
Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Kind One by Tom Epperson (Five Star, div of Cengage)
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller (Hyperion)
The Foreigner by Francie Lin (Picador)
Calumet City by Charlie Newton (Simon & Schuster - Touchstone)
A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock (Random House - Doubleday)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Prince of Bagram by Alex Carr (Random House Trade)
Money Shot by Christa Faust (Hard Case Crime)
Enemy Combatant by Ed Gaffney (Random House - Dell)
China Lake by Meg Gardiner (New American Library – Obsidian Mysteries)
The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli (Random House - Bantam)
BEST FACT CRIME
For The Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder that Shocked Chicago by Simon Baatz (HarperCollins)
American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers)
Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It To The Revolution by T.J. English (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Hans van Meegeren by Jonathan Lopez (Harcourt)
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Walker & Company)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland & Company)
Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto (Columbia University Press)
Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin (McFarland & Company)
The Rise of True Crime by Jean Murley (Greenwood Publishing – Praeger)
Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr. Harry Lee Poe (Sterling Publishing – Metro Books)
BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Hardcore Hardboiled by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" - Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" - Paris Noir by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books
"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
BEST JUVENILE
The Postcard by Tony Abbott (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Enigma: A Magical Mystery by Graeme Base (Abrams Books for Young Readers)
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff (Random House Children's Books – Wendy Lamb Books)
The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow by Riford McKenzie (Marshall Cavendish Children's Books)
Cemetary Street by Brenda Seabrooke (Holiday House)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (Random House Children's Books – David Fickling Books)
The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo (Harry N. Abrams Books – Amulet Books)
Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dutton Children's Books)
Getting the Girl by Susan Juby (HarperCollins Children's Books - HarperTeen)
Torn to Pieces by Margo McDonnell (Random House Children's Books – Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
BEST PLAY
The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the story by Robert Lewis Stevenson (Arizona Theatre Company)
Cell by Judy Klass (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
"Streetwise" – Law & Order: SVU, Teleplay by Paul Grellong (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
"Prayer of the Bone" – Wire in the Blood, Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (BBC America)
"Signature" – Law & Order: SVU, Teleplay by Judith McCreary (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
"You May Now Kill the Bride" – CSI: Miami, Teleplay by Barry O'Brien (CBS)
"Burn Card" – Law & Order, Teleplay by David Wilcox (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
The Bank Job, Screenplay by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (Lionsgate)
Burn After Reading, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (Focus Features)
In Bruges, Screenplay by Martin McDonagh (Focus Features)
Tell No One, Screenplay by Guillaume Canet, based on the book by Harlan Coben (Music Box Films)
Transsiberian, Screenplay by Brad Anderson & Will Conroy (First Look International)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)
GRAND MASTERS
James Lee Burke
Sue Grafton
RAVEN AWARDS
Edgar Allan Poe Society, Baltimore, Maryland
Poe House, Baltimore, Maryland
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer (Random House - Doubleday)
A Song for You by Betsy Thornton (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Fault Tree by Louise Ure (St. Martin's Minotaur)
# # # #
The EDGAR (and logo) are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.
Forgotten Books: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY -- Will Cuppy
Okay, in case you're asking yourself what the connection to mysteries is, I'll tell you right off the bat: for many years Will Cuppy reviewed crime fiction for the New York Herald Tribune. I wonder how many people besides me know that. Anyway, you can read his review of a mystery by David Dodge on this page (scroll down).And there's plenty of criminality in The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, though it's certainly not a mystery. It's a wonderful, hilarious book, though, and I love it. I've read it two or three times over the years. It's history, and probably fairly accurate history, filtered through Cuppy's unique sensibility. You should read the introduction. You'll discover that Cuppy was the kind of guy who had to know everything about whatever he wrote about. He'd read 25 thick volumes before writing a 1000 word piece. That might explain why this book wasn't finished at his death, though he'd been working on it, off and on, for 16 years.
What's here, though, is great stuff. Chapters on all kinds of historical figures, from Lady Godiva (the cover girl, natch) to Charlemagne to Columbus. And more. Much more.
Cuppy loved footnotes, which you might find irritating. So would I, if the footnotes weren't hilarious, as all of Cuppy's are. You need a laugh? Read this book. You want to know about Catherine the Great? Read this book. Would I steer you wrong?
John Mortimer, R. I. P.
Bloomberg.com: Arts and Culture: "Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- John Mortimer, the creator of the humorous Rumpole series about an attorney, has died at the age of 85 after a long illness, the BBC reported on its Web site.
Mortimer combined his careers as a barrister and dramatist for several decades after writing his first radio play in 1957, the BBC said. As an attorney, he appeared for the defense in the obscenity trial over ``Lady Chatterley's Lover'' in the 1960s, according to the U.K. broadcaster."
Via Sarah Weinman on Twitter.
Mortimer combined his careers as a barrister and dramatist for several decades after writing his first radio play in 1957, the BBC said. As an attorney, he appeared for the defense in the obscenity trial over ``Lady Chatterley's Lover'' in the 1960s, according to the U.K. broadcaster."
Via Sarah Weinman on Twitter.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty
PETA fishing for sympathy for 'sea kittens': "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched a marketing campaign to rebrand fish as 'sea kittens,' a name the organization hopes will increase awareness and make the vertebrates more endearing to those who would eat them."
Hat top to Richard Wheeler.
Hat top to Richard Wheeler.
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