BITS & PIECES

EDITORIAL:  This seems appropriate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj9KVSB5Ii0

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Openers:  Joe Lang, squatting on his heels by the small fire with the tin cup of coffee in his hands, tensed as the sound reached him through the darkness.  Swiftly, but with a smoothness that made the motion seem unhurried, he set the cup on the ground, reached for his carbine and cocked it,  He turned his head to squint into the blackness beyond beyond the glow of the small, lingering flames, his lean, strong-boned, weathered face wary. 

The sound came again, more distinctly, nearer.  A single gorse, approaching through the night at a walk,  Catlike, Joe Lang's tall, powerful figure rose from the ground and faded back into the darkness enclosing the small pocket of firelight.  He waited, the barrel of his carbine resting in the crook of his left elbow, his right forefinger just touching the trigger guard.  This part of Montana was full of mining activity.  Riding down to Beaver Head V alley earlier, Lang had spotted a number of miners' shacks and mineshafts along the new, isolated little farms springing up.  and wherever there was gold, there's be the men who came to prey on those who struck it. 

The sound of the horse's hoofs stopped abruptly in the blackness on the other side of the cookfire.  Lang's two horses, tethered to graze on the fringe of the firelight, raised their heads in that direction, nostrils flaring as they caught the scent.

Land shifted sideways, began circling the fire soundlessly.  As he neared the other side of the fire, he swung deeper into the darkness.  When  he judged he had reached the right place, he swung back toward the fire.  The carbine was ready in his taut hands.  Crouching, he moved in till he could see the dark shape of a horse and rider silhouetted against the stars.

Lang spoke softly to the mounted man's back, "Move on into the light."

-- Rider from Wind River by Marvin Albert (1959)

Lang's caution was justified.  The stranger managed to pull a gu on him and take his two horse, leaving behind the stolen one he had come in with.  The stolen horse that Lang was left with had belonged to a miner who was killed for a bag of gold nuggets, and now Lang is accused of the murder.  The real murderer was Ed Stone, of the Stone gang, one of the most vicious, bloodthirsty gangs in the West.  To save himself, Lang must go after Ed Stone.

Marvin H. Albert was a prolific writer -- usually of paperbacks -- of mystery, crime, western, and adventure novels, and of many film novelizations. He was noted for his mystery novels featuring ex-pat Pete Sawyer.  His 1975 suspense thriller The Gargoyle Conspiracy was nominated for an Edgar Award.  He also used the pseudonyms Al (or Albert) Conroy, Ian McAlister, Nick Quarry, J. D. Christilion, and Anthony Rome.  At least eleven of his novels were adapted as films, including The Law and Jake Wade, Dual at Diablo, Bullet for a Badman, Rough Night in Jericho, Tony Rome, and Lady in Cement.  Albert was one of those rare authors who could always be counted on as being entertaining.

Incoming:

• Mike Ashley, King Arthur.  Nonfiction.  "The story of Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table has been handed on by medieval poets and mythical stories -- but what f he did indeed reign as a great king in the early years of Britain's story?  If so, who was he?  And what do the historical documents tell us about him?  This lively brief history re-examines the source material and finds clear evidence that the Arthurian legends arose from the exploits of at least three men, originating in Wales, Scotland, and Brittany.  Historian Mike Ashley, author of the best-selling Brief History of British Kings and Queens, establishes that the rue historical Arthur did exist, and is distantly related to the British royal family.  Ashley's fascinating account provides unexpected, detailed insight into an otherwise mythical figure, often dismissed as a chivalric fantasy.  Protector, war lord, legend -- the true history of King Arthur is more revealing than the fables."  Ashley is also a well-known editor; among his compilations are The Pendragon Chronicles, The Camelot Chronicles, The Merlin Chronicles, The Chronicles of the Holy Grail, The Chronicles of the Round Table, The Mammoth Book pf Arthurian Legends, and The Mammoth Book of King Arthur.
• Robert Michael "Bobb" Cotter, A History of the Doc Savage Adventures in Pulps, Paperbacks, Comics, Fanzines, Radio and Film.  Blame George the Tempter for this one.  "The adventure series is examined in relation to historical events and the changing tastes of readers, with special attention paid to the horror and science fiction elements.  The artwork features illustrations, covers, and original art.  Chapters cover Doc Savage paperbacks, pulp magazines, comic books, and fanzines, and an appendix offers biographies of all major contributors to the series."  Cotter was the author of The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography, Caroline Munro, First Lady of Fantasy:  A Complete Annotated Record of Film and Television Appearances, Ingrid Pitt, Queen of Horror:  The Complete Career, and The great Monster Magazines:  A Critical Study of the Black and White Publications of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
• Greg Cox, Countdown.  Tie-in novel to the Dc Comics series.  "Cosmic legend has it that when the primordial gods of antiquity perished in some bygone cataclysm, the universe gave birth to a new breed of gods who reigned from two eternally warring worlds. the heavenly New Genesis and the hellish Apokolips.  Now a vast conspiracy of evil is determined to eradicate the New Gods and steal their souls to obtain universal power that can destroy all of reality.  Jimmy Olsen, Superman's pal and redheaded photographer for the Daily Planet, exhibits powers of his own and, with them, has the opportunity to become a hero,  Meanwhile, Mary Marvel awakens from a coma to discover that she's been abandoned by her family and friends -- and her magical ability to wield the thunderbolt.  Donna Troy, Jason Todd, and Holly Robinson, once super heroes, were forced to retire and rejoin the ranks of humanity.  until the Earth calls upon Wonder Girl, Robin, and Catwoman once more to prevent a crisis beyond all imagination.  At the end of an age where time, space, and reality may bow before unseen forces, the fate of the Earth lies in the hands of five unlikely super heroes who have one destiny to fulfill:  save the world at all costs..."   DC Comics has changed since I was a kid.
• [Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine], July/August 2023.  Cost me a quarter at a thrift table.  Among the authors are Brendan DuBois, John M. Floyd, Michael Z. Lewin, Marilyn Todd, Dave Zeltserman, and Peter Turnbull, plus a newly translated story from Marcel Ayme.  How can you go wrong?
• Richard Kadrey, Kill City Blues.  A sandman Slim novel, the fifth in the series.  "James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, has managed to get out of Hell, renounce his title as the new Lucifer, and settle back into life in L.A.  But he also lost the Qomrama Om Ya, an all-powerful weapon from the banished older gods.  Older gods who are returning and searching for their lost power.  The hunt leads Stark to an abandoned shopping mall -- a global shipping paradise infested with Lurkers and wretched bottom-feeding Sub Rosa families, squatters who have formed tight tribes to guard their tiny patches of retail wasteland.  Somewhere in this kill zone is a dead man with the answers Stark needs.  All Stark has to do is find the dead man, recover the artifact,  and outwit and outrun the angry old gods -- and natural-born killers -- on his tail.  But not even Sandman Slim  is infallible, and any mistakes will cost him dearly."
• Joe R. Lansdale, Blood in the Gears, Cosmic Interruptions, and Gothic Wounds.  Three major retrospective collections from hisownself.  Blood in the Gears contains 26 crime suspense, and mystery stories; Cosmic Interruptions has 28 science fiction. offbeat fantasy, and speculative fiction tales; while Gothic Wounds gives us 20 of Lansdale's special stories of East Texas and other strange places.  Also, Moon Lake, a suspense novel.  "Daniel Russell was only thirteen years old when his father tried to kill them both by driving their /Buick into Moon Lake.  Miraculously surviving the crash, Daniel returns to the site of this traumatic incident in the hopes of recovering his father's car and remains.  But as he attempts to finally pout to rest the memories that have plagued him for years, Daniel discovers inconsistencies amid the Buick's wreckage, minor at first, and them utterly shocking.  Still reeling, he diligently follows where the mysterious trail leads, colliding head-on with a twisted web of small-town politics in the process,  And he'll need to untangle himself if he has any hope of learning the truth.  With the help of his old flame, Ronnie -- the only Black woman police officer intown and the best person to navigate the town's complicated power imbalances and racial dynamics -- Daniel gains access to their hometown's secret history, each sordid detail more surprising than the last.  As the two grapple with the consequences of their findings, they unveil the grimmest revelation of them all."
• Billee J. Stallings & Jo-An J. Evans, Murray Leinster:  The Life and Works.  A biography/memoir/appreciation of the prolific pulp writer and novelist, written by his two youngest daughters.   Leinster fans (such as I) will be grateful for this inside look.
• Charles Stross, The Apocalypse Codex and The Annihilation Score.  Two more cases for the Laundry Files, the fourth and sixth in the series, respectively.  First, "for outstanding heroism in the field (despite himself) computational demonologist Bob Howard is on the fast track for promotion to management within the Laundry, the supersecret British government agency tasked with defending the realm from occult threats.  Assigned to External Assets, Bob discovers the company (unofficially) employs freelance agents to deal with sensitive situations that may embarrass Queen and Country.  So when Ray schiller -- an American televangelist with the uncanny ability to miraculously heal the ill -- becomes uncomfortably close to the Prime Minister. External Assets dispatches the brilliant, beautiful, and extremely unpredictable Persephone Hazard to infiltrate the Golden Promise Ministries and discover why the preacher is so interested in British politics.  And it's Bob's job to make sure Persephone doesn't cause an international incident.  But it's a supernatural incident that Bob needs to worry about -- a global threat that even the Laundry my be unable to clean up..."  Then, in Annihilation, "Dominique O'Brien -- her friends call her Mo -- lives a curious double life with her husband, Bob Howard.  To the average civilian, they're boring middle-aged civil servants.  But within the labyrinthine secret circles of Her Majesty's Government, they're operatives for the nation's occult security service known as the Laundry, charged with defending Britain against dark supernatural forces threatening humanity.  Unfortunately, one of those supernatural threats has come between Mo and Bob.  An antique violin, and Erich Zahn original, made of white human bone, was designed to produce music capable of slaughtering demons.  Mo is the custodian of this unholy instrument.  It invades her dreams and yearn for the blood of her colleagues -- and he husband.  And despite Mo's proficiency as a world-class violinist, it cannot be controlled..."  This series cleverly combines Lovecraftian lore with spy-guy fantasy action.

The Anti-Climax:  Will F. Jenkins (a.k.a. Murray Leinster, began his writing career in 1915 with short pieces and poems published in The Smart Set, some of which were published as by "Jean Farquar."  Despite it's brevity, "The Anti-Climax" can be viewed as a novel in just six paragraphs.  this was Jenkins's seventh published piece and it's a wickedly sly one.

(Apropos of nothing, my wife often remarked that the name Kitty was used only to reference a harlot with a heart of gold, or the upstairs maid.  This tale proves that she was wrong.)

THE ANTI-CLIMAX

by Will F. Jenkiins

(from The Smart Set, July 1916)

Johnny is the sort of person who does physical culture exercises before he goes to bed.  Kitty is the sort of person you find being interviewed for newspaper and magazines by sob-sisters and elderly maiden ladies with Victorian sentimentality and very slight penetration.  She has a genius for a press-agent.  His name, by the way, was Bill.  She was known to the public because of the fact that she was one of the most accomplished snifflers on the American stage and from the efforts of the press-agent aforesaid.

How Johnny met her is immaterial.  He considered her interesting however, because she was doubtful how to talk to him and hit on the subject of woman suffrage.  Johnny was opposed to woman suffrage, but thought women should be interested in such things, and promptly asked if he might call to talk it over.  He was no gilded youth, though he had the gilt, and she said he might.  Kitty's interest in suffrage had led her to read two magazine articles on it and announce her conversion to the cause.  It was good for three interviews.  When Johnny did call, he had a small volume of Rabindranath Tagore in his pocket, and during the afternoon he read to her from the poem beginning, "On the slope of the desolate river among the tall grasses. ***" and so on.  It is a beautiful thing and Johnny read it well.  When he finished she strangled her fifth yawn just in time.  During the afternoon he also read her a n umber of other poems.

I decline to attempt to write a love story, and therefore I shall carefully omit an analysis of the motives which prompted her to make Johnny fall in love with her.  I shall also not describe the means.  But fall in love with her he did, and thoroughly.  He had been in love with her for quite three weeks before she remarked that as soon as her husband got his decree she intended to marry Bill, her press-agent.  The Johnny identified her with the dubious Kitty Malone, whose matrimonial and other adventures were beloved of small-town sports, revivalists, and magazine section editors.  Before, he had idealized her unmercifully and had quite decided to marry her.  But now -- Marriage with Kitty was really out of the question for him.  He had always had an abhorrence for second-hand objects, and Kitty had already had four husbands, and apparently contemplated a fifth.

He took it very much to heart.  For a while he meditated upon the dramatic charm of permitting the experience to embitter him, and becoming thenceforth a cynic.  Had he dined decently the night before and his mental attitude that morning been one of irritati0on, this is undoubtedly what would have happened.  But Johnny, like most stupid folk, was very virtuous, and had dine not well but too wisely.  The penalty of his virtue was an excellent appetite which he had sated with waffles.  Some day an enterprising psychologist will prepare a brochure upon the effect of foods on the emotions.  Not having the leisure to discuss this at length, I merely pause to point out that waffles, eaten in sufficient quantities, produce a mental attitude of noble, gentle, melancholy.  There are two sorts of melancholy.  Johnny's fastened upon his convictions and he decided that the world held nothing more for him.  Believing firmly in a future life and having incompletely having digested the waffles, he determined upon suicide.  He made his plans with care.  He had no immediate family and his business affairs were at the time under his control, and would consequently not be affected by his untimely demise, so he prepared for euthanasia.  He arranged an elaborate story and went to a drug-store to buy cyanide.  To his relief, a preparation was sold him without question.  He returned to his rooms, poured out a stiff dose, and copied out in a fair hand the Tagore poem, "I have got my leave, Bid me farewell, my brothers.  I bow to you and take my leave, **"  He sat beside the telephone, swallowed the concoction, and called up Kitty.

To my great regret I am unable to relate the conversation.  From Johnny I can learn nothing, while Kitty will not bear that subject be mentioned.  All that can be definitely said is that Kitty made him ring off, called up four newspapers, announced that she was prostrated with grief over the death of her admirer, wo had expired at her feet, swearing he could not live without her love, and the arranged for six new gowns of very subdued design.

Really, it was very careless of Johnny.  Her beautiful publicity campaign was spoiled, her six gowns rendered utterly useless, and a properly melodramatic finish to this story prevented by his lack of care.  He hung up the 'phone, leaned back in his chair, and lit a cigarette.  He felt himself turning pale, and cold sweat upon his brow.  He felt slightly ill.  He glanced at the bottle from which he had taken his fatal drink, and them he realized; that with his farewell written, Kitty's picture by his side and the evening papers notified; that he was not going to die.  The bottle was not labeled cyanide -- it was labeled germicide.  He examined hi symptoms and new what he was going to do.  He was going to be seasick.

Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition:  At least not after July 15, 1834 when the Spanish Inquisition was officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.  Sorry, Monty Python.

Rosetta:  Today marks the 225th anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.  The Rosetta Stone is a stele inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy IV Euphrates of Egypt.  The decree is issued ion three languages:  Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic scripts, Ancient Egyptian using Demotic Scripts (a form of "document" writing that was used increasingly during this period for literary and religious texts; it was considered to be a higher class of writing), and Ancient Greek. The stone eventually led scholars to be able to read and translate the Ancient Egyptian texts.

The Rosetta Stone was most likely first displayed in a temple, possibly in Sais, a city in the Western Nile Delta.  It was probably then moved before or during the Mamluk period (1250-1517), and eventually was used as material by the Mamluks in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Valley (around 1470, or perhaps during renovations in 1516).  The fort had fallen into disrepair by July 1799 when the French took possession it.  While working to repair the fort's defenses one of Napoleon's aides-de-camp, Lieutenant Pierre-Francois Bouchard, uncovered the stone.

Almost immediately, scholars were eager to use the Stone in an attempt to decipher this previously untranslatable hieroglyphic text.  With the defeat of the French, the British took to Stone to England in 1801, where it has been on display since 1802.  Final translations took a while and there were four major steps over the years:

Fist, recognizing the the Stone offer three versions of the same text (1799).

Second, learning that the Demotic Text used phonetic characters to spell foreign names (1802).

Third, discovering that the hieroglyphic text did so as well, and that it had striking similarities to the Domotic (1814).

Fourth, the realization that phonetic characters were also used to spell native Egyptian words (1822-1324).

In case you are wondering, the decree was meant to establish Ptolemaic rule over Egypt.

The importance of the Rosetta Stone cannot be understated.  It allowed man a glimpse into something that was long thought unobtainable, and the ingenuity used to translate it was remarkable.  Today, the term Rosetta Stone is used to describe anything that can open a door to wider study and knowledge in various fields.  In the end, the Rosetta Stone gives us hope that we can overcome burdensome obstacles on the way to greater knowledge.

 Hi Yo, Silver:   Here's an undated cartoon from the 1930s featuring the Lone Ranger and Tonto.  This may have been the very first Lone Ranger film.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto foil a band of cattle rustlers and save the life of a rancher.  As one commentator noted, after the bad guys surrendered, they were not taken into custody, and the Lone Ranger and Tonto ride off without the cattle.  Hmm.  Perhaps you should suspend your disbelief as you watch this.

https://archive.org/details/1930sLoneRangerCartoon

CelebrateAnd July 15 is also St. Swithin's Day.  Tradition has it that :

• Today is Orange Chicken Day!  To celebrate, here's a recipe for Panda Express-style Chinese orange chicken.  Yum!      https://www.cookinwithmima.com/easy-orange-chicken-recipe/
• Today is also National Tapioca Pudding Day.  Here's a recipe to get you started:      https://www.bing.com/images/searchview=detailv2&iss=sbi&FORM=recidp&sbisrc=ImgDropper&q=tapioca+pudding&imgurl=https://bing.com/thid=OSK.25943ad0327893c1308229df147082c7&idpbck=1&sim=4&pageurl=bd655ce8c4ba2a1c8c7c9dd87436e29d&idpp=recipe&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0  (Yeah, you're going top have to work to pull that one up online.)
• And it's Global Hug Your Kid Day -- presumably you ignore your kid for the rest of the year.
• Not to be outdone, it's Be a Dork Day, in honor, I believe, of those who only hug their kid only today.
• Also, it's National Respect Canada Day,  Celebrate by eating poutine, I guess.
• And July 15 is St. Swithin's Day.  Tradition has it that whatever the weather is like on St. Swithin's Day, it will continue so for the next forty days.  Kind of a scary thought i this age of global warming.

Cowboy Copas:  Today would have been the 11th birthday of Lloyd Estel ("Cowboy") Copas, the legendary country singer who lost his life in the 1963 plane crash that also took Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins.  Enjoy some of his songs:

The original "Tennessee Waltz"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XG6tlIqeYc

"A Satisfied Mind"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVE0XyBy0SA

"Sunny Tennessee"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=188eIpFdoUI

"Alabam"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7uPwrKKsGQ

"Filipino Baby"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuYYoQEBkW4

"I'm Hogtied Over You"  with Patsy Cline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fow1uJltwXs

"Circle Rock"

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

"Cope's Wildflower"

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

"Candy Kisses"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6x9_itOeCc

"South Pacific Shore"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP7WKLTIIPc

"Feelin' Low"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_esNDABJ53s

"I Dreamed of a Hillbilly heaven"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIrW5AiODAg

Ha Ha:  A musician once told me he was going to hit me with the neck of his guitar.  "Oh yeah?"  I said, "Is that a fret?"

No Florida Man This Week:  I'm just not in the mood for people doing stupid things, often with guns.

Good News:

• If you build it, they will come.     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/dad-attracts-diners-from-across-the-globe-after-building-22k-greek-taverna-in-his-backyard/
• The essentials:  WD-20. duct tap[e, and now baking soda.     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/woman-who-nearly-died-after-bacteria-ate-her-nose-says-baking-soda-saved-her-life/
• Eagles take parenting to heart.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/eagle-parents-spend-year-nursing-chick-who-fell-out-of-a-tree-forsaking-the-new-nesting-season/
• The importance of meadowlands.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/meadowmaker-flowers-herald-return-of-rare-bumblebee-in-england-after-scenic-meadows-restored/
• An idea whose time has come:  pick up litter and get free stuff.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/pick-up-litter-and-get-free-stuff-in-copenhagen-this-summer-through-eco-conscious-rewards-program/
• Rescuing wild  mustangs.     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/she-rescues-wild-mustangs-rounded-up-across-the-west-and-reunites-their-herds-on-her-ranch/
• Double good luck, and we wish her well.      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/pennsylvania-lottery-75-year-old-woman-wins-5-million-scratch-off-after-beating-breast-cancer/
• Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/free-computer-game-based-on-h-p-lovecraft-books-raises-thousands-for-polish-red-cross/

Something to Remember:  "May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right." -- Peter Marshall

Today's Poem:

Baseball's Sad Lexicon

These are the saddest of possible words:

Tinker to Evers to Chance.

Trio of Bear-cubs, fleeter than birds,

Tinker to Evers to Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,

Making a Giant hit into a double --

:Words that are weighty with nothing but trouble:

Tinkers to Evers to Chance.

-- FPA (Franklin Pierce Adams)

who was a Giants fan