BITS & PIECES

 Openers:  The lights on Woodward Avenue glistened brightly as the evenig breeze blew away the last of the day's stifling heat.  People walked the streets alone and in pairs, savoring relief from the blazing heat that had been their lot earlier in the day when the temperature had reached one hundred and ten in the shade.

The driver of the inconspicuous black Ford drove slowly and carefully.  He didn't want any trouble before reaching his destination.  That was his first mistake:  driving too carefully.  As he pulled towards a green light, he hesitated, then decided to speed up so that he could make the light.  But as he did so, the yellow caution light came on, and again he hesitated, touching the brake, then the gas pedal, letting up to touch the brake again, then changing his mind and stomping on the gas pedal in an attempt to beat the light.  Too lte.  The light turned red before he had reached the center of the intersection.  He cursed, then stiffened when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the patrol car parked thirty feet or so down the cross street.

Before he was completely through the intersection, he saw the squad car's headlights come on and the flashing red light.  He glanced into the rearview mirror and it confirmed what he already knew.  The squad car had turned the corner and was dead on his case.  the thought flashed through his mind that he owed two overdue parking tickets.  If they ran a make on him, he realized that his next stop would be city jail.

-- White Man's Justice, Black Man's Grief by Donald Goines, 1973

From the front cover of the book, you know that Chester Hines' next stop would be jail:  "[A] classic prison novel revealing the bigotry built into our prison system."  The fact that he also had an illegal gun in his car did not help.  And, Chester Hines?  Really?  Giving that name to the protagonist was either a stroke of genius or a paean to lack of immagination.  I'm going for the former.

The book was published by Holloway House, "[T]he uncontested center of the black pulp fiction universe for more than four decades...From the late 1960s until it closed in 2018Holloway House specialized in cheap paperbacks with page turning narratives featuring black protagonists in crime stories, conspiracy thrillers, prison novels, and westerns.  From Iceberg Slim's Pimp to Donald Goines's Never Die Alone, the thread that ties all of this together -- and made them distinct from the majority of American pulp -- was an unfailing veneration of black masculinity."  The two authors most identified with Holloway House were Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines.  Slim was the pen name of Robert Beck (born Robert Lee Maupin or Robert Moppins Jr.), a former pimp who quit the trade when he was 42 and began to write a novel based on his career; his books were soon shelved next to those of Jean Genet and William S. Burroughs and he attracted a large following that still exists to this day.  Goines (1936-1974) was born in Detroit and lied to join the Air Force when he was 15.  He came out of the service addicted to heroin and turned to crime (pimping. larceny, robbery, manufacturing illegal alcohol, and theft) and spent several years in and out of prison.  While in prison, he fell under the spell of Iceberg Slim's Pimp and decided to write "urban fiction."  Among Goines's novels were such titles as Dopefiend, Whoreson, Black Gangster, and Daddy Cool.  Goines created the character of Kenyatta in four novels published under the name of Al C. Clark.  Kenyatta was the leader of a black gang similar to the Black Panthers, using violence to clear the inner city streets of crime.  Goines and his common-law wife were found murdered in his apartment.  He was 37.  The crimes were never solved, the  motive never revealed.

Goines and other Holloway House writers used their talents to highlight the gritty, often dirty, world of the inner city black man.  Goines and Iceberg Slim have entered the mainstream and their books offer a unique (and, to some, a literary) perspective of racism and crime in the twentieth century.  Both authors are revered in France (which also reveres Jerry Lewis -- but that should not turn you off from their writings).  Dark, violent, explicit, the books express black rage and probably should be part of any "critical race theory" course.  (That is, if we are allowed to recognize our shortcomings as a country and to move deliberately to that "more better nation" we all want.)

Incoming:

• J. G. Ballard, Millenium People.  Novel with science fictional trappings.  "When a bomb goes off at Heathrow Airport it looks like another random act of violence to psychologist David Markham.  But then he discovers that his ex-wife Laura is among the victims.  Following a police lead that suggests the explosion was not the work of a foreign terrorist, but instead a shadowy and ruthless group based in the comfortable Thameside estate of Chelsea Marina, Markham begins to infiltrate Kondon's fringe-protest movement.  Led by Richard Gould, a charismatic pediatrician turned cult leader, the clandestine group aims to rouse London's squeezed middle class to anger and violence, to free them from both the self-imposed burdens of civic responsibility and the trappings of a consumer society:  private schools, foreign nannies, health insurance, and overpriced housing.  But when Markham becomes enamored with an exotic film studies professor who moonights as a terrorist cell leader, he too gets caught up in the idealistic campaign spiralling rapidly out of control.  At last succumbing to the irresistable charms of Gould, the group's leader, Markham abandons his original investigation to give his unyielding support to the uprising, becoming an active participant in the process."  This was Ballard's penultimate novel.  It took eight years for an American edition to arrive.  Ballard could be difficult to read at times, but he remains one of the most important writers to come out of Britain during the last half of the twentieth century.
• Peter S. Beagle, Tamsin.  Fantasy novel.  "Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings -- until she find things on the ancient estate with ties to another world, one darker and older than anything she's experienced.  And then she meets Tamsin.  Tamsin died more that 300 years ago.  As ghosts, she and her cat have haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can't remember and a powerful evil the spirits of night cannot name.  To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever..."  Before Neil Gaiman, there was Peter S. Beagle.  Thankfully, both are still writing beautiful and fascinating books.  I'm looking forward to this one.
• Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor, It Devours!  A Welcome to Nightside novel, based on their popular podcast.  "Nilanjana Sikdar is an outsider to the town of Night Vale.  Working for Carlos, the town's top scientist, she relies on fact and logic as her guiding priciples.  But all of that is put into question when Carlos gives her a special assignment investigating a mysterious rumbling in the desert wasteland outside of town.  This investigation leads her to the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and to Darryl, one of its most commited members.  Caught between her beliefs in the ultimate power of science and her growing attraction to Darryl, she begins to suspect the Congregation is planning a ritual that could threaten the lives of everyone in town.  Nilanjana and Darryl must search for common ground between their very different worldviews as they are faced with the Congregation's darkest and most terrible secret."   If you naver never listened to a Night Vale episode or read one of the books, you have a unique and ultra-strange trip ahead of you.
• Carla Jablonski, The Books of Magic #3:  The Children's Crusade.  Young adult novel based on the graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.  "Timothy hunter is jst like any other thirteen-year-old boy in London...except for the tiny fact that he might be the most powerful magician of his timme,  There is a secret world gor childrennin danger, and right now it nees Tim's power to survive.  But how can he help when he is still trying to figure out how to use his magic -- and when certain dark forces seem to have sinister plans of their own?"  This novel is an adaptation of several comic book issues written by John Ney Reiber, after Gaiman stepped down.
• K. D. Wentworth, editor, L. R. Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XXVI and Volume XXVIII.  The 2010 and 2012 editions of the on-going science fiction series honoring the winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest and the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest.  The contests are held quarterly each year and first, second and third place winner in each catagory is selected.  At the end of the year, all twelve winners in each contest will be re-judged to determine a Grand Prize winner.  Previus winners and nominees have included Sean Williams, Dave Wolverton, Patrick Rothfuss, K. D. Wentworth, Eric Flint, Scott Nicholson, James Alan Gardner, Nnedi Okorafor, Shaun Tan, Steven Saville, Ken Scholes, and Jay Lake.  Among the judges have been Vincent de Fate, Leo and Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Stephen Hickman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Todd McCaffrey, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers, Mike Resnick, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, and H. R. Van Dongen.  Don't let the fact that this is a Scientology sponsored  contest deter you; the (ahem**cough,cough**) "religion" has little to do with this, apparently using the contest only as a means to keep Hubbard's name out their and to add some polish to his tarnished name.  (Hubbard, despite being a mythomaniac and self-promoter, could -- and did -- write some pretty decent fiction back in the day.)  Basically everything here is on the up and up, with the dozen winners in each category showcased in each of these volumes, plus there are a number of articles from well-known professionals in the field, including (natch) reprinted one from L. Ron himself.  The problems I have found with these volumes is that the stories are bascially amateurish; in the main, these are first stories after all.   But they can give one a glimpse at the author's future potential and direction.  And that can't be bad.  BTW, of the winners showcased in these volumes from a decade ago (or more), I have only heard of maybe two writers -- just barely -- and none of the artists.  This is more of a comment on how little I have kept up with the field than on the careers of these people.

Tik-Tok:  As many of you know, I am a technological Luddite.  Things with moving parts confuse me.  Computers are a mystery and the fact that I am able to post items is more a matter of luck than skill.  As for social media, I am on facebook, but only becuse my wife has an account and I piggyback on that.  For the Instagrams, Snapchats, Tik-Toks, and Lord knows what else, count me out -- it's all too darned confusing and too darn modern for me.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered as from of Tic-Tok that has been around for over 330 years!  Back then it was known as Tick-Tock and took the form of a grandfather clock.

Here's the tale of William Clements's grandfather clock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpb4CSquncA

Apropos of nothing, here's Johnny Cash singing "Grndfather's Clock"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCFXhn9mMB0

And if you can't remember the lyrics, here they are in a video by Tom Roush:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su7IECXoKLg&list=RDsu7IECXoKLg&start_radio=1

 Asterix:  In a 1999 poll in France, the 1961 book Asterix the Gaul was named the 23rd greatest book of the twentieth century.  Other countries may disagree, but the comic (which originally appeared in serial form in the French-Belgian magazine Pilote) grew into a world-wide phenomenon and has appeared in 40 languages, not including English and the original French.  Written by Rene Goscinny, with art by Albert Uderzo, the comic presents a wacky, pun-laden look at Roman-era Brittany.  The title character was a diminutive warrior, a tad smarter than his fellow villagers and willing to get into a worthy fray.  His best friend and sidekick was Obelix, a fat, not too bright, he-man with incredible strength; Obelix is often seen carrying large menhirs (man-sized standing stones) which he would sculpt.  Other characters include Getafix (a Druid), Vitalstatistix (the village chief), Cacafonix (a musician), Fulliautomatix (a black smith), and Julius Caesar (the villain).

If you have not yet meet up with Asterix.  The link takes you to 33 of the 39 books, along with a complete guide and other information.  enjoy.

https://archive.org/details/Asterixcompleteset/Asterix/00-%20Introduction%20and%20Character%20Information/

Be Nice To Your Fern:  Today is Houseplant Appreciation Day, to be celebrated for those who have never watered a houseplant with hot water from the teakettle (three decades later and I am still getting reminders of that episode).

Perhaps more to your liking is Bittersweet Chocolate Day or National Oysters Rockefeller Day.  

It is also Save the (not the football team) Eagles Day, certainly a worthwhile day to celebrate.  (If you're from Philadelphia we'll give you a pass and let you try to save the football team, especially after Saturday's drubbing ar the hands of the Cowboys.)

Perhaps in an acknowledgement of the Great Resignation, today is also National Clean Off Your Desk Day.

And let's us not forget a nod to my tribe:  National Peculiar People Day.

Today and through the week, we'll be celebrating National Pizza Week.  Yippee!

Fans of Little House on the Prairie can celebrate the birthdays of Charles Ingalls (b. 1836) and his daughter Mary (b. 1865).  

On this day, in 1938. baseball player Willie McCovey entered this world and, in 1917, Buffalo Bill Cody exited.

Rubicon:  Some 2070 years ago Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, setting into motion a civil war.  Outside of Roman history and the modern phrase 'crossing the Rubicon," I realized I knew nothing about the Rubicon and I have never heard it mentioned.  Just what is -- and where is -- the Rubicon?

It turns out the Rubicon is a shallow river to the northeast of Rome, just north of Rimini.  It was the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and Italy.  (The much larger and more important river Arno marked the northwestern border.)  the river got its name from the reddish color of the water, which was caused by iron deposits.

Caesar, had led the Legio XIII Gemina (the 13th Twin Legion) in his conquest of Gaul, under his imperium.  (Imperium was a sort of loose authority given to a citizen to led an army or a government and was given by the Roman Senate.)  The conservative senate under the sway of Caesar's former ally and now political enemy, Pompey. the senate refused Caesar a second consulship (imperium) following the Gallic War and ordered him to give up his command and return to Rome to face prosecution.  (Petty politics has been around for a long, long time.)  Forced with a choice between his political future or civil war, Caesar led his legion across the Rubicon into Italy.  Reportedly Caesar said, "The die is cast," and order his loyal legion to cross the river.  Ans so history is made.

The Rubicon remained an important river to the Roman Empire for about another seven years when Octavian merged Cisalpine Gaul into Italia and the river ceased to be the northernmost border of Italy.  Shorn of its importance, the river still remained but its name gradually disappeared.  Up until 1933, the river was known as the Fiamucino, where it was discovered that this was the famous Rubicon and the name was changed back.

Today the 50-mile river is one of the most polluted in the area and underwater exploitation has reduced its flow and has lost most of its natural route.

Thus the mighty have fallen.

Episodes in the Life of a Gin Bottle:  Here's a quirky little 11-minute film from 1925.  Rex Lease portrays the "spirit" of a gin bottle, tempting various people to take a drink.  Things don't work out too well for those who succumb to the demon gin.  One of the first in a long line of films showing the negative effects of vice, a la Reefer Madness, this movie must have won the approval of the WTCU.  A modern audience must wonder where one gets a gin bottle that constantly refills itself.

https://archive.org/details/silent-episodes-in-the-life-of-a-gin-bottle

Speedy Response:  A personal rant here:  Hurricane Sally came through here about fifteen months ago, tking out the Pensacola Bridge and doing some heavy damage to the area.  We lucked out:  the only damage here was to several pieces of vinyl siding that ripped off the upper part of our apartment building, leaving raw wood exposed.  And it stayed exposed.  And stayed exposed.  This past Saturday, though, the building management sent a ,man with a ladder to fix it.  I saw him working and thought, "At last!"  Yesterday morning I went out to find the siding had not been replaced; a plastic sheathing was placed over the raw wood instead.  Things work slowly in Florida.

Speaking of Florida, Have I Ever Mentioned Florida Man?:

• Florida Man Andre Abrams of Gainesville had a long running dispute with his neighbor over parking, so being a Florida Man, he sprayed the neighbor's car with a flamethrower.  Problem was there were three teenagers in the car at the time.  No one was njured as the teens escaped through the car's side door.  The flamethrower in question was an XM42 Lite Flamethrower, made by X Products LLC of Vancouver.  It sells for about $900 and is legal to own in 48 states, including Florida.  The company also sells T-shirts marked "little terrorist."  They require purchasers of the flamethrower to sign a liability waiver and to affirm they had never been convicted of a felony, domestic abuse, or arson,   Abrams was twice convicted of domestic abuse in 2002 and 2004.
• Florida Man Garrett James Smith, 22, was arrested near a Tampa protest against the arrest of a local Oath Keeper implicated in last year's January 6 insurrection.  Smith was carrying a homemade bomb; another was found during a search of his home.  Smith's intent and any political motivations were unclear.
• Florida Man and Corrections Deputy Amony Robillard was arrested for allegedly holding a naked man at gunpoint, threatening him with death, dismembering, and a gratuitous feeding otosharks, filming him for hours, forcing him to sign a $30,000 contract, and threatened to send incriminating videos to the man's family.  The 34-year-old victim (?) had gone to a rented home in Orlando to have sex with a 19-year-old woman.  The unnamed victim (again, ?) took a shower and when he emerged, Robillard came out from behind a curtain with his gun pointing at the man.  Robillard and the victim (once again -- sheesh! -- ?)  were evidently friends who had fallen out after the man gave Robillard bad investment advice about a cryptocurrency company that later tanked, costing Robillard $2000.
• An unnamed Florida teacher is accused of bullying a 7-year-old delayed girl at the Airbase Elementary School in Homestead.  The girl was then pulled from the class and the teacher decided to retaliate.  The teacher reportedly grabbed the girl roughly from behind as she was boarding a bus, jerking her around and accused her of stealing a cell phone.  There was no cell phone.  The girl suffered a sprained arm.  The Miami-Dade School District have said they investigated the case and found no probable cause.  The family plans to sue.
• Also in Homestead, 42-year-old Florida Woman Adriana Alvarado Gutierrez has been charged with child abuse for repeatedly locking her son in a dog cage in retaliation for his aggressive behavior.  The child suffers from ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder and takes medicine to control the problem.  The boy was found to have multiple bruise marks on his arms and back.  The mother showed officers bruises she said she received from the boy kicking her.  The kid is now in the custody of his father.

Good News:

• New York police officer runs out on thin ice to rescue dog     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/lewiston-ny-officer-rescues-dog-in-frozen-lake/
• Premature baby gorilla is reunited with its parents (cute picture at the link)     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/watch-baby-gorilla-born-prematurely-reunited-with-family/
• A baby donkey was named "Betty White" to honor the late actress who had donated to the Peaceful Valley Donkey Sanctuary for years; the donkey was born on Christmas but remained unnamed until New Year's Day     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/donkey-named-betty-white/
• Shaq brings 2000 Nintendo switches and PS5s to underprivileged kids for Christmas      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/shaq-brings-2000-ps5s-and-nintendo-switches-to-underprivileged-kids-on-christmas/
• Hockey sports fan spots cancerous mole on staffer, gets $10,000 medical school scholarship from grateful NHL team      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/hockey-fan-spots-cancerous-mole-on-brain-hamiltons-neck-gets-10000-scholarship/
• The James Webb telescope is now fully deployed!
• Families spend Christmas Eve rescuing six elk trpped in frozen river     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/families-rescue-6-elk-on-christmas-eve/

Today's Poem Haiku:

Spring is Passing

Spring is passing

The birds cry, and the fishes eyes are

With tears.

-- Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)