New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: Tweakers :: Frank Bill

The View from My Garage Right Now

Jody McCrea, R. I. P.

Jody McCrea, Actor in ‘Beach Party’ Films, Is Dead at 74 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com: "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jody McCrea, best known for acting in the “Beach Party” movies in the 1960s, died on April 4 in New Mexico, where he had become a cattle rancher. He was 74.
[. . . .]
Mr. McCrea appeared in a string of “Beach Party” movies, comedies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, including “Muscle Beach Party,” “Bikini Beach,” “Pajama Party,” “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.”"

[. . . .]

Mr. McCrea, originally Joel Dee McCrea, was a son of the movie stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. His wife, Dusty, died in 1996.

Hat tip to Fred Blosser.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Burnt Orange Report::: No Need to Secede, Texas Already a Country: "It looks like there is no need for Governor Rick Perry to entertain ideas of Texas Secession. The U.S. State Department has listed us as one of the foreign countries that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has visited this year."

Copy of document at the link.

How Could I Not Link to This?

A Concise History of Alligator Wrestling - Boing Boing

Some Good News at Last

Worry more, live longer -
Features, Health & Wellbeing - The Independent: "Dr Marios Kyriazis, a GP and expert in geriatric medicine, is among a growing number of health professionals claiming that stress isn't the one-way road to illness and an early grave that most of us assume. In fact, provided it's relatively short-term, it appears that stress can do wonders for the immune system and ageing process, not to mention keeping the likes of Alzheimer's, arthritis and certain cancers at bay."

Top 10 Great Actors as Bad Movie Villains

Topless Robot - 10 Great Actors Who Played Incredibly Crappy Movie Villains: "Below are 10 great, well-known actors who chewed so much scenery as crappy movie villains that they're probably still suffering from lockjaw."

Sexy in SF

io9 - 10 Authors Who Put Sex In Their Science Fiction - Samuel R. Delany: "Sex and science fiction have not always been the most obvious partners; combining the two has occasionally defeated even the genre's greatest luminaries. But here are ten authors who successfully brought sex into the future."

Silks -- Dick Francis & Felix Francis

This is the second collaboration between Dick Francis and his son, Felix, and it's another winner. The narrator is Geoffrey Mason, a barrister and amateur jockey. One of Mason's clients is sent to prison, but the conviction is overturned. Mason begins getting threatening phone calls from the client, but not about the conviction. Mason is supposed to take the case of Steve Mitchell, a jockey accused of murder, and lose the case. You can imagine how a Dick Francis hero would react to that kind of threat.

Or maybe not. Mason turns out not to be the usual Francis hero, at least not quite. He's afraid of being hurt, and he shows fear more than once. Sure, he can (and does) take a tremendous amount of punishment, but only at the end does he fight back. Also, his actions throughout the book are a good bit more morally ambiguous than usual in Francis, especially at the end.

The writing is smooth, the suspense well-maintained, and you get two books for the price of one, a racing thriller and a legal thriller. Judy also read this book and said that there was Too Much Information. Francis has always used plenty of his research in his books, and maybe it shows more here than in earlier novels. You'll find out plenty about the British legal system and about diseases of horses, among other things. None of that slowed the book down for me. I enjoyed it, as I've enjoyed all Francis's work for the past forty-five years or so. Check it out.

Gator Update

Gators and drugs yet again!

Investigation into death yields warrants :
Local : Times Record News: "McGuinn said the need for the search warrant came during the investigation of Steele’s death. “We were going to talk to a person of interest.” While they were there, they noticed several pieces of stolen equipment along with a live alligator, which is illegal to own in Texas.

The searches yielded one arrest, but it was for methamphetamine and unrelated to the death"

The Disassembled Man -- Nate Flexer

New Pulp Press is a new venture by Jon Bassoff (aka Nate Flexer). The books from New Pulp Press "focus on off-center crime fiction and neo-pulp. Veering away from the assumption that a protagonist must be a sympathetic character, our books are centered around con-men, losers, and sociopaths."

Frankie Avicious, the narrator ofThe Disassembled Man, is a far cry from a sympathetic character. He slaughters cattle for a living, and before long he moves on to slaughtering people, maybe at the urging of the enigmatic salesman named Jack Marteau, maybe not. The murders are graphic and bizarre, but then that's the point. By the end, Frankie's narrative turns almost surreal, and the punishment that waits for Frankie is as frightening and disturbing as the rest of the book.

This is strong stuff, definitely not the kind of thing that you're going to find from a mainstream publisher. Besides the mayhem, there's also a good bit of gruesome humor to sort of lighten the proceedings. If you have a taste for the offbeat, out-of-the-mainstream fiction, this might be just what you're looking for. If you're planning to stick to the safe and familiar, it's not. You can read the first two chapters on Al Guthrie's Noir Originals. That might be enough to let you know what you're in for. Check it out.

This is a repost because New Pulp Press is now a going concern.  Check it out at the link above.

Novel Books, Merit Books

Unfortunately, I don't have many Novel Books and Merit Books, the publishers of the estimable Toby Wedge series (not to mention the publishers of the Ennis Willie novels). However, since one or two of you expressed an interest, I've created a little Flickr set of the few I do have. It's here for your edification. They really don't write 'em like that anymore.

Fans of Cap'n Bob Napier's late, lamented MDM, of which I am one, will recognize the name of Arnold Marmor, author of Torrid Wenches.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Top Ten Spaghetti Western Deaths

Alex Cox picks his 10 favourite on-screen exits |
Film |
The Guardian: "Death scenes tell you everything you need to know about spaghetti westerns, the most brutal and inventive of all film genres. Alex Cox picks his 10 favourite on-screen exits"

Link via Ray Banks on Twitter.

Al Capone, Songwriter

News Story - NCBuy: "He never sang to the feds, but it turns out Al Capone had a song in his heart. All it took was a stint in Alcatraz to bring it out.

Now, more than 70 years later, the tender love song that the ruthless crime boss penned while sitting in the pen is being recorded and released on CD. And an inscribed copy of the music and lyrics to 'Madonna Mia' is up for sale at $65,000.

'It's a beautiful song, a tearjerker,' said Rich Larsen of Caponefanclub.com, who helped line up musicians and singers to record it."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Perry Mason imposter arrested for being 'pretend lawyer' | Metro.co.uk: "A man who claimed his name was Perry Mason has been arrested for practicing law without a license.

Texas Bar records showed that no-one sharing their name with the great TV defence attorney was actually authorised to work in the field of law.

The 43-year-old Houston man has been charged with barratry and third-degree felony."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Forgotten Books: MAD FOR KICKS -- Jack Lynn

Fans of Jack Lynn's Tokey Wedge haven't forgotten him, of course.  Wedge, all five feet, six inches of him, is the private-eye who appears in such classicas as Nympho Lodge and Torrid Twins, mentioned on the back cover.  I couldn't resist putting the back cover up because how could anyone resist reading the book after reading a blurb like that one?  (That's Wedge in his Triumph in the picture, in case you were wondering.)  For that matter, how could anybody resist reading a book with a front cover like this one?

Wedge narrates his adventures in the first person, but this time the action begins in a third-person prologue that describes a brutal rape.  Wedge is hired to find the rapists, which is how he gets involved with the syndicate hoods and the thrill-mad beatniks.  It's all pretty complicated, but Wedge's wise-cracking narration carries it right along.

Naturally, there's plenty of sex.  But since the book was published in 1960, it's all very sedate. No descriptions of the act, no dirty words.  There are, however, plenty of descriptions of naked women because women just can't resist Tokey Wedge.

Here's what Men's Digest supposedly said about the book:  "Mad for Kicks outdoes Lady Chatterly's Lover and any book you care to name for the strong stuff that you men like.  Not recommended for women or children.  This Novel Book powerhouse will make you do a double-take every time you pass a beatnik."  

They don't write 'em like this anymore.

Asphalt Jungle

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Video: Man Gets DWI on Steamroller Video: "Last October 32-year-old Ronald Howell was arrested for driving a stolen steamroller while drunk in Pflugerville. Watch the video of the police “chase” and interrogation that police have just released."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Maxine Cooper, R. I. P.

SPILLANE'S SECRETARY IN KISS ME DEADLY DEAD AT 84: "Actress MAXINE COOPER GOMBERG has died at her home in Los Angeles. She was 84.

Best known for playing fictional private eye Mickey Spillane's secretary in 1955 film noir classic Kiss Me Deadly, Gomberg - then known as Maxine Cooper - was also a social activist.

She died of natural causes on 4 April (09)."

Obviously the writer knows nothing at all about the movie.  Mickey Spillane's secretary, indeed.