BITS & PIECES

Openers:   There was a tap-tapping sound.  That was all.  Was it a clock?  No:  it was too loud, too irregular.  Was it the creaking of an old house?  The ticking of a radiator

The man listened to the sound.  Gradually he became aware of certain things -- or rather, the absence of things.  The absence of light.  Of Sensation.  Of a name.

That was unusual, was it not?  He was a  man with no name.  He had no memory.  He was a tabula rasa, an empty vessel.  And you sensed that he knew many things.  This was a paradox.

The ticking sound grew louder.  The man struggled to understand.  Sensation began to return.  He was blind -- hooded.  His hands and feet were immobilized.  Not bound, but strapped.  He was lying on a bed.  He tried to move.  The restraints were soft, comfortable, and effective.

He was not hungry,  He was not tired,  He was neither hot nor cold.  He was not frightened; he felt calm.

-- "Gaslighted" by R. L. Stine, Douglas Preston, & Lincoln Child  (from the International Thriller Writers anthology Faceoff, edited by David Baldacci, 2014)

The conceit of this anthology is twelve stories pitting some of the most famous characters created by members of the International Thriller Writers group against each other:

• Denis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie vs, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch
• Ian Rankin's John Rebus vs. Peter James's Roy Grace
• M. J. Rose's Malachai Samuels vs. Lisa Gardner's D. D. Warren
• Steve Martini's Paul Madriani vs. Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper
• Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme vs. John Sanford's Lucas Davenport
• Heather Graham's Michael Quinn vs. F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack
• Raymond Khoury's Sean Reilly vs. Lincoln Barlclay's Glen Garber
• John Lescroat's Wyatt Hunt vs. T. Jefferson Parker's Joe Trona
• Steve Berry's Cotton Malone vs. James Rollin's Gray Pierce
• Lee Child's Jack Reacher vs. Joseph Finder's Nick Heller

and, what must be the most unusual pair-off...(drum roll, please):

• R. L. Stine's Slappy the Ventriloquist's Dummy vs. Douslas Preston & Lincold child's Aloysius Pendergast

Pendergast is an FBI agent ("elegant and urbane") who has appeared in nineteen bestselling novels.  He stands out from most other heroes because he is an albino special agent from New Orleans.  "Over the course of many books Agent Pendergast has faced some unusual adversaries, including cannibalistic serial killers, arsonists, a murderous surgeon, a mutant assassin, and even his own mad genius brother.  But never has he confronted an adversary like Slappy the Ventriloquist's Dummy."

Slappy is an evil dummy carved from coffin wood who comes to life with a certain spoken phrase.  He first appeared in Stine's best-selling Goosebump series of scary children's novels in 1993's Night of the Living Dummy, returning to be featured (directly or indirectly) in at least thirty books, a graphic novel, several short stories, television episodes, and at least one movie.  Stine has written a gazillion books and, as of 2008, has sold over 400,000 books; for three consecutive years in the 1990s, Stine was listed by USA Today as America's number one best-selling author.

The man at the opening of "Gaslighted" is Pendergast.  Slowly his memories come back, or do they?  He is told he is in an asylum undergoing treatment for his hallucinations and that his entire FBI career had been an elaborate fantasy he had concocted to avoid the reality of his PTSD from his time in the Special Forces.  Was everything, including the deaths of his murderous brother and of Pendergast's wife, an illusion?  For here in front of him was his brother Diogenes and his wife Helen, both very much alive and both wishing for his full recovery.  Yet, in that same sanitarium room where Pendergast woke up, there is a chair.  And on that chair is a silent ventriloquist's dummy dressed in a doctor's white coat and with a stethoscope hanging from his neck...

The story is framed from Pendergast's viewpoint.  What is interesting is that the opening of the tale consists of short, abrupt, simple sentences and phrases, such as those that might be found in many of R. L. Stine's books.  This adds an otherworldliness in an already bizarre and unusual story.

Incoming:  

• Terry Carr, editor, This Side of Infinity.  SF anthology of eight stories, all reprints.  All but one of the stories are from 1967 to 1970 so they may not have been that familiar to readers when the book was published (1972) -- not necessarily the case today.  Authors are Brian W. Aldiss, R. A. Lafferty, Tom Purdom, David Redd, James H. Schmitz, Robert Silverberg, George H. Smith, and Roger Zelazny.  A great place to start for anyone not familiar with the field.
• Max Ehrlich, Shaitan.  Science fiction/horror/thriller novel.  "The entire world watches a remote corner of northern India as the legendary Shaitan -- the man-eating leopard in whom the Hindus believe dwells the soul of a human demon -- is stalked by British white hunter Dennis Rupert Brooke, drawn back to the Indian sub-continent against his will, seduced once again into an illicit love affair that he had determined to end, finds himself on the most harrowing mission of his life...and for his life...his only defense against the diabolical man-animal an icy courage and a growing belief in the supernatural powers of the Shaitan."   Erhlich was the author of best-selling novels Reincarnation in Venice and The Reincarnation of Peter Proud.
• Graham Masterton, The 5th Witch.  Horror novel.  "A new and powerful crime alliance holds Los Angeles in a grip of terror.  Anyone who opposes it suffers a horrible fate...but not by human hands.  bizarre accidents, sudden illnesses, inexplicable and gruesome deaths, all eliminate the alliance's enemies and render the crime bosses unstoppable.  Every deadly step of the way, their constant companions are four mysterious women, four shadowy figures who wield more power than the crime bosses could ever dream of.  But at the heart of the nightmare lies the final puzzle, the secret of...The 5th Witch."
• Meredith Ann Pierce, Waters Luminous & Deep.  Collection of eight fantasy stories, including the text from her only picture book.  "A true story teller's voice resonates throughout these tales, half of which are published for the first time here...a rich and rewarding collection..."  Although Pierce is best known for her juvenile and young adult fantasies, this book was marketed for adults.
• Paul Tremblay, Survivor Song,  Horror no vel.  "In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva.  Nut unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less.  Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb.  Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold.  To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew.  But society is breaking down and the government's emergency protocols are faltering."  Tremblay always provides a good read.
• H. G. Wells; edited by Patrick Parminder & Robert Philmus, H. G. Wells's Literary Criticism.  Collection of Wells's criticism from early in his career, divided into five parts:  1) drama criticism for the Pall Mall Gazette, 2) literary criticism for the Saturday Review, 3) essays on George Gissing, Stephen Crane, and James Joyce, 4) essays on Henry James, and 5) essays on science fiction, utopian fiction, and fantasy.  Some of the pieces are reprinted for the first time.  An interesting smorgasborg.  I read his review of Rider Haggard's Joan Haste -- a brilliant and biting essay of snark.  I'm going to enjoy this one.

Incoming/Outgoing?:  I picked up four graphic novels this morning at the thrift store.  When I got home, I found out they belonged to our local library and were (probably) mistakenly donated.  After I read them, back they go to the library.

• Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, writer; David Marquez, artist, Fantastic Four, Season One.  A reimaging of the origin of the Fantastic Four.  Here they go against the Mole Man, Sub-Mariner, and more.
• Scott Cawthon & Kira Breed-Wrisley, Five Nights at Freddy's:  The Silver Eyes.  Ya horror tie-in to the video game; the first in a series.  "Ten years after the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza that ripped their town apart, Charlie, whose father owned the restaurant, and the childhood friends reunite on the anniversary of the tragedy and find themselves at the old pizza place,  which had been locked up and abandoned for years.  After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be.  the four adult-sized animatronic mascots have changed.  They now have a dark secret...and a  murderous agenda."
• Gaylord DuBois, writer; Jesse Marsh, artist, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan:  The Jesse Marsh Years, Volume Nine.  From 1953, Tarzan's Jungle Annual No. 2, and the May, June, and July 1953 issues of the Dell comic book (No. 44, 45, and 46).  Part of an ongoing chronological series of Marsh's tenure as the artist for the strip.  He drew 153 issues, stopping in 1965 when he retired (Russ Manning took over the art chores after Marsh).  The Annual has four Tarzan stories, one about Boy, and one about Tantor the elephant; the separate issues contain two Tarzan stories apiece.  Lost kingdoms, the prehistoric land of Pal-Ul-Don, evil game hunters, traders, and fortune hunters -- they're all here, with glorious artwork.
• Chris Grabenstein, Hell for the Holidays.  A Christopher Miller Holiday Thriller.  "Christopher Miller is up against a group of domestic terrorists who are copying Al Qaeda's tactics:  operating in cells, following a twisted fundamentalist doctrine, Targeting public amusements.  A White Supremacist hate group has smuggled in a stinger missile and recruited an army marksman -- a nightmare vision of a new and more talented Timothy McVeigh.  When Miller starts sounding alarm bells about this group and its plans, no one listen's because the FBI's focus has shifted to foreign terrorists, and his home, Jersey City, has the second largest population of Arabs/Muslims in America.  "Saint Chris" comes up against the same sort of bureaucratic resistance encountered by the FBI agent who, pre-9/11, wrote unheeded memos about Arab terrorists flying airplanes into buildings.  The Brotherhood has chosen Thanksgiving as the time to strike, since they feel the holiday commemorates God's giving America to his chosen people:  the white man.  Meanwhile, on the home front, Miller has to cope with his daughter's post-traumatic stress as the anniversary of her Christmas nightmare draws near, and he torn between taking care of her and saving thousands of innocent lives!"  I'm hoping the story is a lot better than the back cover blurb.
• Tim Lebbon, The Folded Land.  Horror thriller, the second in The Relics Trilogy.  "In the dark underbelly of our world, there's a black market in arcane thongs -- living and dead.  Angela Gough has been pulled into this world, making her a criminal on the run.  In London she encountered the Kin -- satyrs and centaurs, Nephilim and wraiths, they are hunted and sold for their body parts.  Fleeing back to the United States, Angela discovers that the Kin are everywhere, and they are tired of being prey.  When her niece Sammi is struck by lightning, she is drawn toward the mysterious Folded Land, and its powerful and deadly ruler.  Helped by her lover Vince, caught in the middle of a Kin uprising, Angela must locate Sammi before the girl is lost forever."
• Jeff Loveness, writer; Brian Kesinger, artist, Groot.  Issues #1-6 of the comic featuring everybody's favorite plant.  Rocket gets raccoon-napped, and we meet the Silver Surfer, the Skrull, and the X-Man, along with a number of other characters from the Marvel Universe.
• Josh O'Neill, Andrew Carl, and Chris Stevens, editors, Little Nemo's Big New Dreams.  An updating of Winsor McCay's classic comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland, with new 26 new adventures by some of the best comic artists in the business.  Also included are single page inspirations, a foreword by Francoise Mouly, a foreword by Art Spiegalman's Maus, and some nifty samples of McCay's original art.   Some deconstruction here:  in Mark Hempel's piece, Nemo wakes up in 2015, having been sleeping for over a hundred years; now it's time for him to be an adult, where "Every horrifically burdensome moment of dulthood is rife with the potential for crushing failure...Time for you to grow up and become a happy adult -- which is impossible -- so just have a horrible life and binge drink like I do."  

Jonco:  I'm a bit late in posting this but Jon Heacock , aka Jonco, the host of the Bits & Pieces blog, died unexpectedly on December 28 at the age of 73.  B&P was a must-go-to blog since Jonco created it many years ago, imbuing it with a distinct humor and an overwhelmingly sense of decency.  It, and he, will be missed

(It should be noted that the title of this blog's Monday posting was not an attempt to rip off Jonco's blog -- I had first used the Bits & Pieces title for a local newspaper column nearly fifty years ago.)

https://www.bitsandpieces.us/2021/12/31/a-modern-day-explorer-the-obituary/

A Science Fiction Library of Yore:  [Note:  This was meant to be a Forgotten Books post until the Word program on my computer went wonky last week.  Needless to say, I hate computers.]

Writer/editor August Derleth polled a dozen knowledgeable persons about what would constitute a "basic science fiction library."  The results were published in the Winter 1949 issue of The Arkham Sampler, a small press magazine geared to the customers of Derleth's Arkham House publishing company.  The results -- summarized below -- were interesting.

Keep in mind several things:

•  The publishing world had not yet woken to a market for books of this type.  Specialist small presses, where stories of this type first were often published in book form, were rare.  It was not until the Fifties that the small presses, major publishers, and the paperback market began to inundate the field.
•  If you ask a dozen persons a question you will get a dozen interpretations of what that question was.  Many of the respondents deliberately chose to include fantasy works while several deliberately avoided fantasy altogether.  Some included "proto-books of fantasy," such as the Utopian work of Thomas More. Francis Bacon, and others.  Some felt that a science fiction library would include non-science fiction books that would interest the serious science-fiction reader.  Others listed "the works of...[name of author here]" without specifically mentioning individual books.   Others pointed out that a selection of recent science fiction magazines were essential.  One even listed a book-length  blank verse poem.  Many titles were repeated.  In other words, everything must be taken with a grain of salt.
• Those polled were writers David H. Keller, P. Schuyler Miller, "Lewis Padgett" [this may have meant Henry Kuttner or C. L. Moore, or both], Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. Van Vogt, and Donald Wandrei, professional editors Sam Merwin, Jr. (Thrilling Wonder Stories) and Paul L. Payne (Planet Stories), "rather special editors" Everett Bleiler (Checklist of Fantastic Literature) and A. Langley Searles (Fantasy Commentator), and well-known fans Forrest J. Ackerman and Sam Moskowitz.  Two other were asked to participate but did not:  John W. Campbell, editor of Astounding Science Fiction, and Raymond a. Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories.  A fairly diverse group.

Anyway, here are the results.  May the arguments begin. 

• Charles Andrews, editor, Ideal Commonwealths, a collection of Utopian literature that incudes The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon. The City of the Sun by Thomas Campanelli, Oceana by James Harrington, and Utopia by Thomas More.

• Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie. After Worlds Collide
• ----------, When Worlds Collide
• Richard A. Barham, The Ingoldsby Legends, published as by "Thomas Ingoldsby."
• Edward Bellemy, Looking Backward
• J. D. Beresford, The Wonder. originally published as The Hampdenshire Wonder.
• Edward Bulwer-Lytton, "The Haunter and the Haunters," also known as "The House and the Brain."
• Samuel Butler, Erewhon
• Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forget
• ----------, The Mastermind of Mars

• James Branch Cabell, The figures of Earth
• John W. Campbell, Jr., Who Goes There? and Other Stories
• Karel Capek, R.U.R.
• ----------, The War with the Newts
• Josephine Young Case, At Midnight on the 31st of March, this is the one written in blank verse.
• G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday
• ----------, The Napoleon of Notting Hill
• Stanton A. Coblentz, When Birds Fly South
• John  Collier, Tom's A-Cold, also published as Full Circle.
• Groff Conklin, editor, The Best of Science Fiction
• Erle Cox, Out of the Silence [Note:  Those who recommended this book eschewed its overt racism. among other things]
• Ray Cummings, The Girl in the Golden Atom
• ----------, The Man who Mastered Time
• ----------, Tarrano the Conqueror

• L. Sprague de Camp, Lest Darkness Fall
• Lester del Rey, "And Some Were Human", includes the short novel "Nerves."
• August Derleth, editor. Strange Ports of Call, includes Philip Wylie's "Blunder"
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World
• ----------, The Maracot Deep, includes "When the Earth Screamed"

• E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros, also published as The Dragon Ouroboros.
• Guy Endore, The Werewolf of Paris
• George Allan England, Darkness and Dawn, Also released in three volumes [Darkness and Dawn, a.k.a. The Vacant World, Beyond the Great Oblivion, a.k.a. The People of the Abyss, and The Afterglow, a.k.a. Out of the Abyss] and in five volumes [Darkness and Dawn, Beyond the Great Oblivion, The People of the Abyss, Out of the Abyss, and The Afterglow].

• C. S. Forester, The Peacemaker
• E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops"

• George Gamow, Mr. Tompkins
• David Garnett, Lady Into Fox
• Hugo Gernsback, Ralph 124C41+
• Hinko Gottlieb, The Key to the Great Gate

• H. Rider Haggard, She
• Edmond Hamilton, The Horror on the Asteroid
• Raymond J. Healy & J. Francis McComas, editors, Adventures in Time and Space
• Robert A. Heinlein, Space Cadet
• Granville Hicks, The First to Awaken
• William Hope Hodgson, The House on the Borderland
• ----------, The Night Land
• L. Ron Hubbard, Final Blackout
• W. H. Hudson, A Crystal Age
• Gardner Hunting, The Vicarion
• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

• David H. Keller, Life Everlasting and Other Tales of Science, Fantasy and Horror

• Alexander Laing, The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck
• E. C. Large, Sugar in the Air
• C. S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet
• ----------, Perelandra. also published as Voyage to Venus 
• ----------, The Screwtape Letters
• H. P. Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror
• ----------, The Outside and Others, includes "At the Mountains of Madness" and 'The Shadow Out of Time"
• Christian Lys, Fortress to Yadasara

• Arthur Machen, Strange Roads
• Peter Martin, Summer in 3000
• A. Merritt, Dwellers in the Mirage
• ----------, The Face in the Abyss
• ----------, The Metal Monster, as yet unpublished
• ----------, The Moon Pool 
• J. A. Mitchell, The Last American
• Talbot Mundy, Jimgrim

• Robert Paltock, The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins
• Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan
• Eden Phillpotts, Saurus

• Herbert Read, The Green Child

• Garrett P. Serviss, Edison's Conquest of Mars
• ----------. The Second Deluge
• Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
• M. P. Shiel, The Purple Cloud
• William M. Sloane, To Walk the Night
• Clark Ashton Smith, Out of Space and Time
• E. E. Smith, Galactic Patrol
• ----------. The Skylark of Space
• ----------, Skylark Three
• ----------, Spacehounds of IPC
• ----------, Triplanetary
• George O. Smith, Venus Equilateral
• Thorne Smith, The Night Life of the Gods
• Olaf Stapledon, Darkness and the Light
• ----------, The Flames
• ----------. Last and First Men
• ----------, Odd John
• ----------, Sirius
• ----------, Star Maker
• Philip Van Doren Stern, editor, Travellers in Time
• Bram Stoker, Dracula
• Eugene Sue, The Wandering Jew
• Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels

• John Taine, Before the Dawn
• ----------, The Iron Star
• ----------, The Time Stream
• Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
• Hal P. Trevathon, World D

• A. E. Van Vogt, Slan
• ----------, The World of Null-A
• Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• ----------, From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon
• ----------, A Journey to the Center of the Earth
• ----------, The Mysterious Island

• Evangeline Walton, The Virgin and the Swine, also published as The Island of the Mighty
• Donald A. Wandrei, The Eye and the Finger
• Stanley G. Weinbaum, The Black Flame, includes "Dawn of Flame"
• ----------, The New Adam
• H. G. Wells, Seven Famous Novels, also published as Seven Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells and as The Scientific Romances of H. G. Wells; includes The First Men in the Moon, The Food of the Gods, The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr. Moreau, In the Days of the Comet, The Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds; the Gollancz edition adds Men Like Gods.
• ----------, The Short Stories of H. G. Wells
• ----------, The Star-Begotten
• ----------, Thirty Strange Stories, most are available in The Short Stories of H. G. Wells.
• ----------, When the Sleeper Wakes
• ----------, The World Set Free
• G. McLeod Winsor, Station X
• Donald A, Wollheim, editor, Portable Novels of Science, includes Lovecraft's The Shadow Out of Time, Olaf Stapledon's Odd John. John Taine's Before the Dawn, and H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon -- all of which have been included under the authors' name in this list.
• S. Fowler Wright, The Adventure of Wyndham Smith
• ----------, The Deluge
• ----------, The World Below
• T. Austin Wright, Islandia
• Philip Wylie, Gladiator

Some pretty creaky books there, but there are some some darned good reading listed, and a few unfamiliar ones, to me at least.  But let's not stop there.  We also have some generic listings for the works of:

• William Hope Hodgson
• M. R. James
• Jack London
• H. P. Lovecraft
• Arthur Machen
• A. Merritt
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Morgan Robertson
• Thorne Smith
• Jules Verne
•  Edward Lucas White
• T. H. White

As well as the omnibuses of Dorothy L. Sayers, sections of the Old Testament, the Frank Reade Library, various "political suggestions on atom control," works about Soviet Darwinism, and various science fiction magazines (Theodore Sturgeon suggests a random sampling of about 20 copies of the half dozen leading magazines of the time, going back four or five years).

And there are the non-fiction recommendations:

• James O. Bailey, Pilgrims Through Time and Space
• Everett Bleiler, Checklist of Fantastic Literature
• John W. Campbell, The Atomic Story
• Arthur Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World
• Albert Einstein, The Theory of Relativity
• Arthur Lloyd Eschbach, editor, Of Worlds Beyond
• Charles Fort, The Books of Charles Fort, includes The Book of the Damned, Lo!, New Lands, and Wild Talents.
• C. C. Furnas, The Next Hundred Years
• James Jeans, Our Mysterious Universe
• H. Spencer-Jones, Life on Other Worlds
• Alfred C. Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
• Alfred Korzybski, Science and Society
• Willy Ley, Rockets
• Lewis Mumford, The Story of Utopia
• H. D. Smyth, Atomic Energy for Military Purposes

To this, one respondent added two current scientific journals of the time:   Journal of the American Philosophical Society and Science Newsletter.

So what do you think?  Does this list seem valid for 1949?  Is there anything you would add or subtract?  If you were a science fiction fan in 1949, would be pleased to have such a library?  Are there any book listed here that you might have read, or want to read today?  Should fantasy be included in your definition of a science fiction library?  Should non-fiction?  And who the hell is Hinko Gottlieb?

Scat:  Have you ever wondered how to recognize animal scat in the wild?  Well, wonder no longer.  Here's some helpful tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6lqGobQJ_0

Perversion for Profit:  Here's an "educational" film from 1965 produced by Citizens for Decent Literature Inc.   Narrator "outstanding news reporter" George Putnam tears into the deleterious effects that newsstand magazines have on the nation's youth, promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, sadism, masochism, child molestation, sex outside of marriage, sexual diseases, child birth out of wedlock, the destruction of our democracy, the rejection of Judeo-Christian values, and the diminishing of parental control.  Luckily our constitution stands clearly against such smut.  (Does it, really?)  And despite the Post Office allowing such filth to travel through our mails, the solid citizen had the power to stand up to this deluge and exercise its community standards.

The entire film is over the top and hilarious to most viewers of today.  It promotes a Judeo-Christian (well, actually a conservative Christian) viewpoint but still allows some mild titillation by displaying many of the covers of the men's magazines found on the newsstands.  They kindly placed dark rectangles over the eyes of the models to protect them, and also blotted out some of the naughty bits (not that well in some cases).  There seems to be more bland nudity in this film than in some of the old stag films played in smokers.  It's interesting to note that there are more than 800 (!) newsstand distributors who deliver this filth...and, it's a 2 billion dollar business!  

And body building magazines promote homosexuality.  And the nudist colony magazines have led to the rape of a five-year-old girl.  The Soviets are laughing at our moral decay.  Between 75 to 90% of these newsstand magazines end up in the hands of kids.  Gee willikers!

No mention is made of the truly hardcore material that was available at the time, nor of the many adult films that were circulating in the mid-Sixties.  Also, no mention of the crimes of poverty, racial injustice, sexual inequality, burgeoning wars, the growing cause of environmentalism, or any of the other problems that really had a negative effect on the country.  But, hey, let's wave the red flag of some minor (or made-up) social issue, blow it out of proportion, and let the people start screaming while they ignore the truly dangerous things around us.  It's a proven winner, and its still going on.  And on.  And on.

Just a couple of cranky notes before we get to the film. The Citizens for Decent Literature Inc. is an organization created by Charles Keating, who serves as the uncredited producer.  This is the same Charles Keating who ended up in prison for fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy, and costing the government over $3 billion when his empire collapsed, and costing many "decent" Americans their life savings.  Keating had close ties to Richard Nixon (which is a red flag all in itself).  George Putnam was a radio and television reporter and talk show host, also with tie to Nixon.  His work in television garnered him three Emmys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Although he claimed to a "lifelong" Democrat, he heavily promoted conservative ideas on his programs.  Putnam is also noted for giving blog reporter Matt Drudge his start.  A well-known horseman, Putnam rode in the Rose Bowl parade for 50 straight years, from 1951 to 2000.

So here it is -- a case study in lies, oversimplification, obfuscation, poor research, dramatic presentation, and shoddy conclusions.  Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49pUZAq0Hz0

Heinrich Kley:  I was reminded this week of my great admiration for the German illustrator Heinrich Kley, so it was time to back back to some of his work.  Not familiar with Kley?  Here's a video that displays some of his greet work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjlUdU7CsuE

Do you have a favorite artist or artists?  For me, Kley is up there with Marc Chagall (another of my favorites).

Willow:  There's a new White House pet:  Willow, a two-year-old gray cat.  Our sixteen-year-old gray cat named Willow has given her nod of approval for the name.

Florida Man:

• Forget about snow cyclones or whatever.  The real danger in Florida is a lizard blizzard.  State-wide warnings have warned residents of iguanas falling from the sky.  With this super cold snap we've been having, iguanas have been taking to the limbs of trees.  The very cold weather then may freeze the cold-blooded cuties, and the frozen lizards will fall off the branches and onto unsuspecting passers-by.  To be honest, however, Floridians have become inured to stranger things than falling lizards so I doubt if we could be called "unsuspecting."  Much stranger things have happened here.  Should one bounce off your head or land by your feet, do not try to pick it up -- the iguana is frozen, not dead.  Once it warms up, the little rascal will revive and scurry away to fall out of a tree another day.
• 18-year-old Florida Man Logan William Smith decided to strangle a jogger.  Why?  Who knows?  It's Chinatown Florida.  Armed with a rubber mallet, an aerosol can of Axe body spray, a belt, and good old-fashioned Florida gumption, Smith hid behind a light post (because no one could possible see you there) and bided his time.  A unsuspecting jogger came by, paying more attention to the music in his ear buds than to light posts, and BLOWIE!, the next thing he knew he was being choked.  The jogger, who had never heard of, seen, or met Smith, just happened to be a marshal arts specialist and things did not go well for Smith.  Smith, who had planned to roll the body in a sheet and put the body in his closet, where he "could have the victim's body all to himself," is wondering what went wrong with this finely-honed plan as he sits in the Brevard County Jail awaiting his February 10 court date.  Smith said he got the idea after watching a violent video; his lawyer said Smith may have a neurological disorder.
• An unnamed, unmasked, shirtless Florida Man entered the Marshall's department store in Homestead and "began smashing everything," while confronting customers.  Using a lot of expletives and some homophobic slurs he ordered customers who do not believe in the Constitution to leave the store.  Supposedly after he reached into a bag for something, some of the customers did.  He also yelled that he would beat the [expletive] out of customers.  Beside yelling about the Constitution, he also yelled about the [expletive] system being corrupt.  Pick a side, sir.  Yes, he was arrested, cursing all the while.
• Hate crimes have risen to the highest they have been since 2008. with 8263 single hate crimes reported in 2020, up from 2019's 7103 crimes.  A hate crime is described as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.  According to FBI statistics, 61.8 percent of the victims were targeted because of their race/ethnicity/ancestry.  It saddens me to say that Florida is helping to uphold this not so pleasant tradition.  Case in point, Florida Man Richard Burnham, 58, of Deland, who was arrested for an unprovoked attack on three Black high school students.  The charges against Burnham -- criminal mischief involving $1000 or more, and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill -- were enhanced as a hate crime due to Burnham's use of racial slurs.  Burnham had approached the teens as they were putting gar in their car at a Circle K gas station and then spouted racial slurs while becoming increasingly hostile.  He then grabbed a pipe from his truck and began smashing the passenger side of the youths' vehicle.  The kids drove away but Burnham followed them for some two miles before turning away.  The students gave police a detailed description of Burnham and his truck, he was easy to identify because video had him buying a case of beer at the gas station.  For his part, Burnham claimed the youths had shot him with an airsoft gun and had threatened to kill him.  Burnham's story fell apart because of inconsistencies and a lack of evidence.
• Some Florida Men are just plain unlucky in their choice of name and/or sex.  Take Leonardo Silva Oliviera, a 26-year-old cook with absolutely no criminal record.  The Coconut Creek police (yes, there is such a thing) mistakenly arrest Oliviera believing him to be the 26-year-old Leonardo Silva Oliviera who was wanted for violating probation charges on grand theft and burglary charges in Boca Raton.   Cook Oliviera was placed on 24-hour lockdown and allowed time ut of his cell for just one hour a day.  It took five days before the police realized they had made a mistake.
• Florida Man Eric Bennett, 30, was detained after police noted he was "visibly intoxicated on an unknown substance."  Bennett was found to have a plastic bag filled with syringes on him.  The syringes, he said, were used for fishing. [??!!??]  He also pulled our a baggie of fenanyl while telling officers he did not want to go to jail.  His plea unheeded, Bennett went to jail.  He had previous convictions of grand theft, DUI, driving without a license, possession of drug paraphemalia, and parole violation.

Good Stuff:

• Scientists achieve milestone in self-sustaining fusion energy   (This could be really big, guys!)  https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/self-sustaining-fusion-milestone-burns-plasma-in-us/
• And it's about time!  A flying car just got certified as airworthy to fly (Bill Crider would have been proud)     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-flying-car-just-got-certified-as-airworthy-to-fly/
• A new study shows that at least 65 different species of animals laugh     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/at-least-65-species-of-animal-laugh-study-finds/
• Young opera fan stands up during soprano's Verdi performance to sing tenor part (You have to see this)       https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/watch-incredible-moment-young-opera-fan-stands-up-and-sings-tenor-part/
• Millions raised for animal shelters in honor of Betty White     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/13-million-raised-for-animals-in-bettywhitechallenge/
• 19-year-old sets record as youngest woman to fly solo around the world     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/19-year-old-zara-rutherford-becomes-youngest-woman-to-fly-solo-around-the-world/
• High school students shovel snow for neighbors as a special weightlifting assignment for football team     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/hs-football-coach-tells-team-to-shovel-snow-for-neighbors/
• Man who tells Queen that he engineers solar panels is stunned when she orders some installed on Balmoral Castle     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/man-tells-queen-he-works-in-solar-is-stunned-with-order/

Today's Poem:

The Snake

On her way to work one morning

Down the path along side the lake

A tender hearted woman saw a poor half frozen snake

His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew

"Poor thing," she cried, "I'll take you in and I'll take care of you"

"Take me in, tender woman

"Take me in, for heaven's sake

"Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake

She wrapped him all cozy in a comforter of silk

And laid him by her fireside with some honey and some milk

She hurried home from work that night and soon as she arrived

She found that pretty snake she'd taken to had been revived

"Take me in, tender woman

"Take me in, for heaven's sake

"Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake

She clutched him to her bosom, "You are beautiful," she cried

"But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died"

She stroked his pretty skin again and kissed and held him  tight

Instead of saying thanks, the snake gave her a vicious bite

"Take me in, tender woman

"Take me in, for heaven's sake

"Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake

"I saved you," cried the woman

"And you've bitten me, but why?

"You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die"

"Oh shut up, silly woman," said the reptile with a grin

"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in

"Take me in, tender woman

"Take me in, for heaven's sake

"Take me in, tender woman," sighed the snake

-- Oscar Brown

Brown (1926-2005) was a civil rights activist and a member of the Communist party.  This song, based on a fable by Aesop, was an R&B hit for Al Green.  Donald Trump would recite the lyrics at his rallies for his rallies while running for president; he repeated it again at his recent rally in Phoenix, using it as an argument against immigration.  Trump has misinterpreted the song, twisting it to suit his own biases.  He always had and always will.  **sigh**

For the record, I like Oscar Brown's music.