Saturday, February 08, 2014

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Possible Interest

Amazon.com: Turn Left at Paradise eBook: Fred Zackel: Kindle Store: Why would a man, after a massive heart attack, check himself out of the ICU just hours before he was due to be released, and then take off three thousand miles to the city of his birth – without telling his family why? San Francisco Homicide cop Max Kelly chases after his father. Bobbie Kelly hasn’t been back to his hometown for thirty-eight years. After generations of silence, what terrible family secrets will be revealed? Can a father and son find reconciliation after years of distrust and anger? Bobbie and Max have stirred up other troubles, too. After thirty-eight years a cop killer is stepping out of the shadows. Oh, the murders never stopped. And now Max and Bobbie are in the crosshairs. A family saga by the author of COCAINE AND BLUE EYES, MURDER IN WAIKIKI, and TOUGH TOWN COLD CITY. Cover by L. Zackel.

Alvin, Texas, Inexplicably Not Included

U.S. Cities With The Most Pleasant Weather, Ranked

6 More News Stories That Were Just Big Dumb Lies

6 More News Stories That Were Just Big Dumb Lies

Song of the Day

Katmandu - Bob Seger - YouTube:

Makes Sense to Me

Tesla driver blames fatal crash on new-car smell 

Hat tip to Art Scott.

This is Great

Esquire’s record guide for 1971’s incoming college freshmen is brutal, hilarious

Link via Flavorwire.

Today's Vintage Ad


Audible Flatulance WBAGNFARB

11 Fun Facts For Blazing Saddles’ 40th Anniversary

PaperBack



Day Keene, The Brimstone Bed, Avon, 1960

Archaeology Update

Scientists find 800,000-year-old footprints in UK 

A Quiz with Nice Photos

Did This Insane Thing Happen In Florida Or Russia?

Free for Kindle for Sunday and Monday Only! Important Update!

Something went haywire with the big free deal.  Now (supposedly) the book will be free tomorrown and Monday instead of today and Sunday.  My apologies for the mixup.

Amazon.com: Outrage at Blanco (Ellie Taine) eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store: Western action thriller in the tradition of Elmer Kelton and Louis L'Amour. The bank robbers killed Ellie Taine's husband. They didn't kill Ellie. That was their mistake. Now Ellie's going to make them pay.

Sa-loot!

'Hee Haw' Is Broadway Bound: ‘Hee Haw,’ the classic television variety show known for its country music, corn pone humor, rural Southern culture and hilarious sketches, is being crafted into ‘Hee Haw: the Musical,’ the New York Post reports.

ROY KRENKEL ~ 1918-1983 ~ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1965

The Golden Age: ROY KRENKEL ~ 1918-1983 ~ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1965

Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case

▶ 1942 DR. GILLESPIE'S CRIMINAL CASE TRAILER LIONEL BARRYMORE - YouTube:

Friday, February 07, 2014

The 3 Most Perfect Crimes (and How to Commit Them)

The 3 Most Perfect Crimes (and How to Commit Them)

8 of the Best Genre-Busting Books About Writers and Writing

8 of the Best Genre-Busting Books About Writers and Writing

Song of the Day

Rolling Stones - Angie (HQ) - YouTube:

The Beatles' American Television Debut (Or Was It?)

The Beatles' American Television Debut (Or Was It?) 

Today's Vintage Ad


I Miss the Old Days

The '60s at 50: Febuary 7-9, 1964: The Beatles in America

The Real Lives of 21st-Century Cowboys

Peter Byrne photographs modern-day cowboys: The Real Lives of 21st-Century Cowboys

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

And now it's the frozen chicken attack!

Frenchman jailed for frozen chicken attack

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman allegedly assaults husband with toast

PaperBack



Hamlin Daly (E. Hoffman Price), Case of the Cancelled Redhead, Falcon, 1952

Panoramic Tours

This is an amazing site of panoramic tours from all over the world.  You can manipulate the photos, so play with them to figure it out.  You can start with this one: "Grand tour of Manhattan, New York, USA

A Forgotten Classic

In Praise of Little, Big

A Forgotten Magazine

Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1951: A Retro-Review

The Best Classic Fantasy

Strange Shadows: Best Classic Fantasy

A Forgotten Writer?

Pulp Pleasures: Eando Binder

Yet Another Forgotten Book

Vintage Treasures: The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson

Another Forgotten Book

Vintage Treasures: Wolfwinter, by Thomas Burnett Swann

FFB: The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels 1956 -- T. E. Dikty, Editor

I saw this one on the shelves the other day and had a brief but enjoyable frenzy of nostalgia.  It's one of the books that I got from the Science Fiction Book club, and it some how survived my mother's purge when I went away to college.  I've reproduced the contents page and the acknowledgements so you can see where the stories came from.  

Some of the stories are still remembered and talked about, while others have disappeared.  There are a couple of them that I don't remember at all, though I probably read everything in the book at least twice all those years ago.  My two favorites than and now are "The Game of Rat and Dragon" and "A Canticle for Leibowitz."  

I was a great buyer of anthologies from the SF Book Club.  I have four or five other volumes that are "best ofs" from a couple of magazines, and I also have a couple of the massive Grof Conklin anthologies.  Plus the big Astounding collection.  I was a great reader of short stories in those days, and I have collections by Simak and Asimov, as well.  How those all survived the Great Purge, I have no idea, but I'm glad they did.

(Sorry, no Shirley Jackson story in this one.)
 

Apache Trail

▶ 1942 APACHE TRAIL TRAILER LLOYD NOLAN DONNA REED - YouTube:

Thursday, February 06, 2014

Which of Amazon's 10 New Pilots Are Worth Your Time?

Which of Amazon's 10 New Pilots Are Worth Your Time?

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Granny’s got a gun! Elderly Texas woman holds husband hostage  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

ABBA Update

Mama Mia! ABBA among charter members of Swedish Music Hall of Fame

Ralph Kiner, R. I. P.

One of my childhood heroes.

CBSSports.com: “With the passing of Ralph Kiner, the baseball world has lost one of its greatest ambassadors and the Hall of Fame has lost a wonderful friend,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Ralph spent eight decades as a player, executive and broadcaster. He was a man who truly loved our National Pastime and made it better in every way. His legacy will live forever in Cooperstown.”

99-Cent Sale!

 I read this years ago.  Great book, and the price is right!

 Amazon.com: Switch (The Janek Series) eBook: William Bayer: Kindle Store: "He spent hours drawing sketches of how she might be killed. And the more work he put into them the more exciting the idea became. And then he started following her and then he was caught up. And the more caught up he was the more definitely she was doomed, for once an idea took hold in him he felt compelled to carry it out It was the Switch that made his crime a work of art... "

8 Money-Soaked Tales of Wall Street Excess

8 Money-Soaked Tales of Wall Street Excess

Paris Hilton Update

Paris Hilton Channels Barbie In Her Pink Bentley  

Hat tip to George Kelley.

Spoilers Galore!

Change of scenes: The endings to books and films we never got to see 

Song of the Day

Danny & The Juniors - Rock N' Roll Is Here To Stay - YouTube:

Voynich Manuscript Update

New signs of language surface in mystery Voynich text

Today's Vintage Ad


First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Woman 'tasered boyfriend with stun gun for ignoring her phone calls' 

Archaeology Update

Prehistoric village found in downtown Miami 

I Should Have One of These

This Luxurious Stealth Bicycle Is Clad in Crocodile Skin 

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Clyde Allison, The Ice Maiden, Ember Library, 1967

Archaeobunny Update

Rabbits Unearth Ancient Treasures at English Landmark

Phyllis Diller on What a Comedian Needs and How a Great Joke Works

Comedy Godmother Phyllis Diller on What a Comedian Needs and How a Great Joke Works 

I Miss the Old Days

Backstage at the Underwear Show, 1940s

May not be safe for work in some environments.

One of These Episodes Means More to Me than the Others

15 Classic Tales Wishbone Taught Better Than Your English Teacher

Or Maybe You Have (Even I Knew about Five of Them)

Top 10 Influential Scientists You've Probably Never Heard Of 

Flame of the Barbary Coast

▶ 1950 FLAME OF BARBARY COAST RE-ISSUE TRAILER JOHN WAYNE - YouTube:

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Balogun Ojetade on Writing Fight Fiction

BISH'S BEAT: BALOGUN OJETADE ON WRITING FIGHT FICTION!

PimPage: An Occasional Feature in Which I Call Attention to Books of Possible Interest

Amazon.com: FIST OF AFRICA (FIGHT CARD MMA) eBook: Jack Tunney, Balogun Ojetade, Paul Bishop: Kindle Store  Nigeria 2004 ... Nicholas 'New Breed' Steed, a tough teen from the mean streets of Chicago, is sent to his mother’s homeland – a tiny village in Nigeria – to avoid trouble with the law. Unknown to Nick, the tiny village is actually a compound where some of the best fighters in the world are trained. Nick is teased, bullied and subjected to torturous training in a culture so very different from the world where he grew up. 

Atlanta 2014 ... After a decade of training in Nigeria, a tragedy brings Nick back to America. Believing the disaffected youth in his home town sorely need the same self-discipline and strength of character training in the African martial arts gave him, Nick opens an Academy. While the kids are disinterested in the fighting style of the cultural heritage Nick offers, they are enamored with mixed martial arts. Nick decides to enter the world of mixed martial arts to make the world aware of the effectiveness and efficiency of the martial arts of Africa. 

Pursing a professional career in MMA, Nick moves to Atlanta, Georgia, where he runs into his old nemesis – Rico Stokes, the organized crime boss who once employed Nick’s father, wants Nick to replace his father in the Stokes’ protection racket. Will New Breed Steed claim the Light Heavyweight title … Or will the streets of Atlanta claim him?

Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Death of Texas man with slit throat and missing ear ruled ‘accidental overdose’ 

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Amazon.com: Breaking Point eBook: Gerard Brennan: Kindle Store: Brian Morgan's relationship with his weed dealer has moved on to the next level. Stony Tony is a kung fu enthusiast with ambitions to become a master in his own style. But first he needs to establish a loyal following of students. Brian could use some time away from Rachel O'Hare to figure out whether he loves her or is afraid to leave her, although it's hard to focus on anything after a few tokes of Tony's Blueberry Cheesecake. Rachel is as indecisive about their relationship as Brian, but she knows that no good can come of a strange little pot-head getting involved in their lives. Meanwhile, a goon with a bad ear a big grudge also has eyes for Brian...

I Miss the Old Days

39 Jaw-Dropping Vintage Nasa Photographs

Song of the Day

 "Detective of Love" by the Regals.  This one has many references to famous detectives.

“The Kids Are All Right” (by Steve Hockensmith)

“The Kids Are All Right” (by Steve Hockensmith) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN

I For One Welcome Our New Insect Masters

Ants Playing Chess Find New Solutions To Old Problem

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Mail Online: Texas university professor moves into a DUMPSTER on school campus for a year to show students that they can live with less  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson

Dead Sea Scrolls Update

Israel brings Dead Sea scrolls to life with upgrade of digital archive: Website includes 10,000 new images, more manuscript descriptions and translated content, and a faster search engine

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Leslie Charteris, The Saint in Action, Avon, 1952

My Selfie Not Included

12 Amazing Author Selfies 

The Coldest Library in America Is Made of Ice

The Coldest Library in America Is Made of Ice 

Top 10 Historical Unsolved Mysteries

Top 10 Historical Unsolved Mysteries

My Birthday Not Included

10 Literary Holidays 

Croc Update: Once Again Texas Leads the Way

History in the Headlines: They say “everything is bigger in Texas,” and that’s certainly true of the Triassic-Period species of 17-foot-long, crocodile-like creatures that has been discovered by a team of Texas Tech University paleontologists.

The Feminine Touch

1941 THE FEMININE TOUCH TRAILER ROSALIND RUSSELL - YouTube:

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

24 Signs You're A Writer

24 Signs You're A Writer

Richard Bull, R. I. P.

Mail Online: Richard Bull, who is best known for starring on the '70s TV series Little House On The Prairie, has died at age 89.

According to People, the actor passed away on Monday in Calabasas, California but the cause of death has not been revealed.

He played shop owner Nels Oleson on Prairie and appeared for the show's entire run, from 1974 to 1983.

I Found a Penny Last Week

Michigan man finds singer Marvin Gaye’s passport in yard sale haul 

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Florida woman busts into neighbor’s home waving a gun over loud music

In Other Words, It's Just Like Texas

Mail Online: Nasa finds weird, wildly wobbly world where seasons change by the day

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

News from The Associated Press: MAN DIES AFTER FIGHT OVER JUKEBOX MUSIC AT TAVERN

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Lunch Lady Accused Of Threatening To Shoot Up Middle School Because Of Bad Cookies 

Charlie Chaplin Literary Update

Charlie Chaplin's only novel to be released

Croc Update (Bristol Twitter Edition)

@TheBristolCroc: '6ft Crocodile On The Loose In Bristol' Tweet Police

Song of the Day

The Corsairs - I'll Take You Home - YouTube:

10 Stories Behind Dr. Seuss Stories

10 Stories Behind Dr. Seuss Stories

7 Alarming Facts About How British Hitmen Really Work

7 Alarming Facts About How British Hitmen Really Work

Today's Vintage Ad


Prehistoric Creatures That Still Exist

Prehistoric Creatures That Still Exist

Chupacabra Update

Pics show chupacabra in Texas, some believe

PaperBack



Spencer Dean, The Frightened Fingers, Dell, 1954

I Miss the Old Days

60 Adorable Real Vintage Wedding Photos From The '60s

Here's the Plot for Your Next Donkey-Related Thriller

 UPI.com: Texas family claims mayor was killed by attackers, not a donkey

Some Overlooked TV

The Naked City, Season One and Two

Or Maybe You Did

Top 10 Everyday Objects you Didn’t Know Were Invented by Accident

Yes, Flash Gordon Is Included

Top 25 underappreciated comic book movies 

A Forgotten Star?

4 Surprising Facts About Gene Kelly

Overlooked Movies: Prizzi's Honor

I find it hard to believe that this movie is nearly 30 years old.  Seems like only yesterday that Judy and I went to see it in a Loew's theater, but the theater's been gone for 20 years now, so what can I say?  Time flies.

We both enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  I've never read the Richard Condon novel, but the movie is a mafia comedy, a caper film, a romantic comedy, a hit man (and woman) movie, and probably a few other things I'm missing.  Scattered?  Sure, but it worked for me. 

One thing that makes it work so well is the famed Nicholson charisma, even when he's playing a not-too-bright character (just the kind Kathleen Turner said she liked in another good movie).  He's doing a comic turn here, and he's great.  So are a radiant Kathleen Turner and a smoldering Anjelica Houston, and so is the entire cast.  What a great ensemble the casting director put together for this one.

I'm not going to try to describe the plot.  Let's just say that Nicholson falls for Turner, and complications ensue.  Lots of them.  You'll wonder right up to the end if she's playing him or not (well, maybe not you, but I did).  

The worst thing about many of the trailers for this movie (not the one below, however) is that they gave away the climactic scene.  What a misstep that was.  But if you haven't seen the movie before, you won't be bothered by it.  Even having seen it, I had a great time at the movie.

Prizzi's Honor

Trailer Prizzi's Honor - YouTube:

Monday, February 03, 2014

First It Was the Thin Mints Melee

Man's Ear Bitten Off During Super Bowl Party 

Jame Austen Update

Rare Jane Austen Fragment Found 

5 Basic Things You Won't Believe Science Can't Explain

5 Basic Things You Won't Believe Science Can't Explain

This Is Way too Easy

Are You As Smart As An NFL Player?

Song of the Day

Tommy Dee - Three Stars - YouTube:

Bobby Vee Update

Bobby Vee braves Alzheimer's to record once more

Today's Vintage Ad


Once Again Texas Leads the Way

Mattress Mack Refunds More Than $7 Million to Customers for Lost "Super Bowl Bet" Promotion

A Lot of Lists for SF Fans (and I'm Sure You'll All Agree)

Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Experience: BEST SF&F LISTS

6 True Stories from History Creepier Than Any Horror Movie

6 True Stories from History Creepier Than Any Horror Movie 

PaperBack



John Dickson Carr, To Wake the Dead, Berkley, 1956

Happy birthday, Robert McGinnis!

Robert McGinnis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Robert McGinnis (born 1926) is an American artist and illustrator. McGinnis is known for his illustrations of over 1200 paperback book covers,[1] and over 40 movie posters, including Breakfast at Tiffanys (his first film poster assignment),[2] Barbarella, and several James Bond and Matt Helm films.[3]

Top 10 Haunted Train Stations

Top 10 Haunted Train Stations

The Day the Music Died

Welcome to THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED. One moment, please.The day the music died — History.com This Day in History — 2/3/1959: On this day in 1959, rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorehead, Minnesota. Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and pilot error. Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a No. 1 hit with "That'll Be the Day." 

After mechanical difficulties with the tour bus, Holly had chartered a plane for his band to fly between stops on the Winter Dance Party Tour. However, Richardson, who had the flu, convinced Holly's band member Waylon Jennings to give up his seat, and Ritchie Valens won a coin toss for another seat on the plane.

Image via The Fifties Web.

Calvin and Hobbes Update

AFP: US comic artist Watterson wins top French prize: US cartoonist Bill Watterson, author of the worldwide cult series "Calvin and Hobbes", won the top prize Sunday for his craft at France's Angouleme world comic strip festival, organisers said.

New Poem at the 5-2

The 5-2 | Crime Poetry Weekly, Annual Ebooks - Gerald So, Editor: Elizabeth Lash IN MEMORIAM: EX-KGB AGENT COMPLAINS OF MYSTERIOUS TOXIN IN HIS VEINS

The Super Bowl Ad Report Card

The Super Bowl Ad Report Card

I Found a Penny Last Week

But not like this one.

A penny inside man's desk drawer could be worth $250K  

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.

Man's Country

▶ 1938 MAN'S COUNTRY TRAILER JACK RANDALL - YouTube:

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Explaining the Magic Yellow First-Down Line

Explaining the Magic Yellow First-Down Line

Philip Seymour Hoffman, R. I. P.

WSJ.com: Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead Sunday afternoon in his New York City apartment, a law-enforcement official said.

10 Disney Plots That Make No Sense

10 Disney Plots That Make No Sense

New Story at Beat to a Pulp

Life of Salvage | Frank Bill

Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Campbellian anthology: more than 860,000 words of free fiction from new sf/f authors

Song of the Day

Frankie Laine - Mule Train 1949 - YouTube:

Why Does Q (Almost) Always Go With a U?

Why Does Q (Almost) Always Go With a U?

Today's Vintage Ad


Self Publishing 101 - Getting Your Book to Sell

Western Fictioneers: Self Publishing 101 - Getting Your Book to Sell

I Found a Penny Last Week

Legendary Japanese Reverse Blade Sword Found In Storage Locker

PaperBack



William F. Temple, Four Sided Triangle, Galaxy Books, 1951

11 Punxsutawney Phil Facts for Groundhog Day

11 Punxsutawney Phil Facts for Groundhog Day

Harry Potter Update

Hermione should have married Harry Potter, Rowling admits 

Herman Melville’s Daily Routine and Thoughts on the Writing Life

Herman Melville’s Daily Routine and Thoughts on the Writing Life

7 TV Shows That Premiered Immediately After The Super Bowl

7 TV Shows That Premiered Immediately After The Super Bowl 

Grand Slam

▶ 1933 GRAND SLAM TRAILER LORETTA YOUNG - YouTube: