From Tom Rush's latest newsletter:
"...A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year, while a different study revealed that americans drink an average of 22 gallons of alcohol annually...(I)f you do the math you will see that Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon. Just an average, mind you, actual results may vary, but I thought you should know."
Here is where I say something snarky about Detroit if I were the snarky type.
Small House of Everything
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
OVERLOOKED TELEVISION: 1984
When I was a kid, like many a geezer, 1984 was a far-off destination. 1984 finally came and went and somewhere along the line doublespeak became a reality. Still, the book remains as urgent today as when it was first published.
The first adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 was arguably the best. In 1954, as part of their BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, the network presented a televised version written by Nigel Kneale, the creator of the science fictional hero Quatermass. Four days later, on December 16, a live repeat of the show drew the country's largest television audience since the Coronation.
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre ran from 1950 to 1959, showing over 500 programs. 1984 was directed by Rudolph Cartier, who would eventually direct 30 episodes of the show. (Cartier, incidentally, directed all three BBC Quatermass programs.) Peter Cushing, then one of England's most famous television actor, starred as Winston Smith. Andre Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, and a young Donald Pleasance were also featured.
Comments on IMDB and on Internet Archive indicate that this has been a hard-to-find program. You can catch it at the link below.
The budget was low (and it shows), but the performances are excellent.
http://www.archive.org/details/Meatpies_1984
Todd Mason, as usual, will have the links to all of today's Overlooked Films and/or A/V at his blog, Sweet Freedom.
The first adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 was arguably the best. In 1954, as part of their BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, the network presented a televised version written by Nigel Kneale, the creator of the science fictional hero Quatermass. Four days later, on December 16, a live repeat of the show drew the country's largest television audience since the Coronation.
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre ran from 1950 to 1959, showing over 500 programs. 1984 was directed by Rudolph Cartier, who would eventually direct 30 episodes of the show. (Cartier, incidentally, directed all three BBC Quatermass programs.) Peter Cushing, then one of England's most famous television actor, starred as Winston Smith. Andre Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, and a young Donald Pleasance were also featured.
Comments on IMDB and on Internet Archive indicate that this has been a hard-to-find program. You can catch it at the link below.
The budget was low (and it shows), but the performances are excellent.
http://www.archive.org/details/Meatpies_1984
Todd Mason, as usual, will have the links to all of today's Overlooked Films and/or A/V at his blog, Sweet Freedom.
Monday, February 6, 2012
INCOMING
I got up Thursday. Saw my shadow. So I bought some books.
- Baantjer, deKok and the Dead Lovers. (ARC) Mystery. Translated from the Dutch by H. G. Smittenaar.
- David Brin, Kiln People and The Practice Effect. SF novels.
- Terry Brooks, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara. Fantasy. Boxed set containing Isle Witch, Antrax, and Morgawr.
- Humphrey Carpenter, The Inklings: J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Their Friends. Nonfiction.
- Mary Higgins Clark, editor, The Night Awakens. A Mystery Writers of America anthology with ten stories.
- Ralph Compton, The California Trail, The Oregon Trail, and The Old Spanish Trail. Westerns. Books 5, 9, and 11 in the Trail Drive Series.
- "Ralph Compton," The Alamosa Trail and The Convict Trail. Two westerns not by Ralph Compton; each is labeled as "a Ralph Compton novel by..." The first is by Robert Vaughn and is Book 15 in the series, the second by Joseph A. West.and, despite its title, is not part of the Trail Drive series.
- "Brian Craig" (Brian Stableford), Plague Daemon and Storm Warriors. Warhammer gaming tie-in novels. Books 2 and 3 in the Orfeo Trilogy.
- Al Dempsey, What Law There Was. Western.
- Gordon R. Dickson, Wolf and Iron. SF.
- Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 2008
- Timothy Ferris, editor, The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathemathics. Nonfiction. Clifton Fadiman, general editor.
- Christopher Fowler, Rune. Horror.
- Alan Furst, Blood of Victory. Spy thriller.
- George G. Gilman, Edge #40: Montana Melodrama. Adult western.
- Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, editors, Stagecoach. Western anthology with eight stories.
- Alexander Irvine, Iron Man 2. Movie tie-in novel.
- Louis L'Amour, The Daybreakers. Western. A Sacketts novel.
- Richard Laymon, After Midnight. Horror.
- Bentley Little, The Store. Horror.
- David Morrell, Black Evening. Horror collection with sixteen stories.
- Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, The Burning City. Fantasy, set in world created by Niven in The Magic Goes Away.
- David Pringle, editor, Red Thirst. Warhammer gaming tie-in anthology with six stories.
- Fred Saberhagen, The Lost Swords: The First Triad. Omnibus of three fantasy novels: The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story, The Second Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story, and The Third Book of Lost Swords: Stonecutter's Story.
- Florence Stevenson, Household. Horror.
- S. M. Stirling, T2: Infiltrator. Movie tie-in novel.
- Carten Stroud, Sniper's Moon. Suspense.
- John Whitman, 24 Declassified: Chaos Theory. TV tie-in novel.
- John Wooley and Ron Wolfe, Old Fears. Horror.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
DIAL H FOR CHINA
I know I'm late in discovering this, but China Mieville is writing a reboot of DC Comics Dial H for Hero. The series has been rebooted a couple of times already and this latest effort will be part of the "New 52" line, which reboots many of DC's superhero comics.
I remember the original 1960s Dial H for Hero fondly. A kid finds a magic dial (remember, this was back when rotary phones were the norm), dials in the word H-E-R-O, and transforms into a superhero. Trouble was there was no controlling what kind of superhero he would turn into, and he could not (usually) transform into the same superhero twice. This glitch in the dial offered a lot of play with the story -- often the superhero would seem unequal to whatever task it had ahead of it. Sometimes the superhero would be cool, sometimes not. I remember one time the kid turned into a giant bouncy ball -- I mean, what kind of superhero is that?
Many of the DC Comics when I was a kid were just this side of terrible. Superman was a soap opera. Batman always battled (place villain name here) in some museum exhibit consisting of giant-sized ordinary objects, such as a pencil or a spool of thread. Wonder Woman was fighting a giant egg (you don't have to be Freud to figure that one out). Plots were weak and contrived; some were just plain silly. I learned early to avoid most of these comics.
And the there was Dial H for Hero, which I believe was a feature in House of Mystery -- one of the few comics I felt worth my time and/or money. This, along with American Comics Group's Herbie, showed imagination and creativity. You never really knew what was going to happen and how issues would be resolved. It helped spark a sense of wonder. It may have also done the same to those of you old enough to remember it.
Now China Mieville -- China Flippin' Mieville!!! -- has control of the dial! Talk about your sense of wonder. It will be great to see what he can do with the title.
I remember the original 1960s Dial H for Hero fondly. A kid finds a magic dial (remember, this was back when rotary phones were the norm), dials in the word H-E-R-O, and transforms into a superhero. Trouble was there was no controlling what kind of superhero he would turn into, and he could not (usually) transform into the same superhero twice. This glitch in the dial offered a lot of play with the story -- often the superhero would seem unequal to whatever task it had ahead of it. Sometimes the superhero would be cool, sometimes not. I remember one time the kid turned into a giant bouncy ball -- I mean, what kind of superhero is that?
Many of the DC Comics when I was a kid were just this side of terrible. Superman was a soap opera. Batman always battled (place villain name here) in some museum exhibit consisting of giant-sized ordinary objects, such as a pencil or a spool of thread. Wonder Woman was fighting a giant egg (you don't have to be Freud to figure that one out). Plots were weak and contrived; some were just plain silly. I learned early to avoid most of these comics.
And the there was Dial H for Hero, which I believe was a feature in House of Mystery -- one of the few comics I felt worth my time and/or money. This, along with American Comics Group's Herbie, showed imagination and creativity. You never really knew what was going to happen and how issues would be resolved. It helped spark a sense of wonder. It may have also done the same to those of you old enough to remember it.
Now China Mieville -- China Flippin' Mieville!!! -- has control of the dial! Talk about your sense of wonder. It will be great to see what he can do with the title.
Friday, February 3, 2012
FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE FLOOD
The Flood by John Creasey (1956)
John Creasey was an amazingly prolific writer with over 550 novels (under two dozen pseudonyms), more than a dozen nonfiction books, at least four plays, and eight anthologies to his credit. He churned out romances, westerns, juveniles, sports stories, and a handful of Sexton Blake thrillers, but is most well-known for his mysteries. I have found his work to be highly readable (and sometimes excellent). Of his many characters, I am particularly fond of George Gidean (under his "J. J. Marric" pseudomyn), followed closely by the adventures of Roger "Handsome" West.
Creasey was a co-founder of the Crime Writers Association. He also served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and has been named one of their Grand Masters. The annual CWA award for Best First Novel was for many years named in honor of him; alas, no longer. Once one of the most popular writers in the mystery field, Creasey is, if not forgotten, then considered by many as a dusty page from the past.
One of Creasey's most popular creation was Dr. Palfry, the tall, blond head of Z-5, an international association dedicated to stopping world threats. At first these threats were from Nazis, then after the war, Z-5 was chartered to deal with individuals and private organizations bent on world domination. The books drifted into the science fiction/mad scientist realm From their titles alone, you could almost taste the melodrama: The Drought, The Inferno, The Sleep, The Famine, The Plague, The Smog, among others; there were about two dozen books in the series. In the Seventies, Berkley Book issued a number of them in paperback.
As you would expect from the title, the world is threatened by inundation in The Flood. It starts in Scotland, where a strange rain, one that starts at the ground and moves up with great power, pulls down mountains and destroys a village. Bob Woburn, visiting his sister and her family, witnesses this and narrowly escapes the danger, saving also the beautiful Eve Davos. Eve lives with her father on a large estate nearby.
Enter Dr. Palfrey. This strange phenomenon has already destroyed a Pacific island as well as places in America and Canada. Palfrey has good reason to suspect Eve's father is behind all of this. He's right, of course, Davos wants to eliminate the inperfect human race and start anew with a selected people, a race to be begin with his daughter Eve, whom he wants to mate with a very masculine (seemingly dim-witted) guy named Adam. Within days, he plans to release the flood world-wide.
The flood is caused by rapidly multiplying life forms called octi -- kind of a cross between a crab and a jellyfish; one they reach maturity they explode and release a large volume of hydrogen which mixes immeditely with the oxygen in the air to create highly pressurized water. Davos has planted these creatures in certain fissures in the earth. If all this sounds silly, it is; but we willingly suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the ride.
Bob discovers a way to stop the octi, but his message to Palfrey is garbled. Has Palfrey received enough information to figure out what Bob wanted to say? (Spoiler Alert!) Of course he does, but not before East Anglia, the Netherlands, and a few other locations are (sorta) destroyed.
A good old fashioned thriller. Fun.
John Creasey was an amazingly prolific writer with over 550 novels (under two dozen pseudonyms), more than a dozen nonfiction books, at least four plays, and eight anthologies to his credit. He churned out romances, westerns, juveniles, sports stories, and a handful of Sexton Blake thrillers, but is most well-known for his mysteries. I have found his work to be highly readable (and sometimes excellent). Of his many characters, I am particularly fond of George Gidean (under his "J. J. Marric" pseudomyn), followed closely by the adventures of Roger "Handsome" West.
Creasey was a co-founder of the Crime Writers Association. He also served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and has been named one of their Grand Masters. The annual CWA award for Best First Novel was for many years named in honor of him; alas, no longer. Once one of the most popular writers in the mystery field, Creasey is, if not forgotten, then considered by many as a dusty page from the past.
One of Creasey's most popular creation was Dr. Palfry, the tall, blond head of Z-5, an international association dedicated to stopping world threats. At first these threats were from Nazis, then after the war, Z-5 was chartered to deal with individuals and private organizations bent on world domination. The books drifted into the science fiction/mad scientist realm From their titles alone, you could almost taste the melodrama: The Drought, The Inferno, The Sleep, The Famine, The Plague, The Smog, among others; there were about two dozen books in the series. In the Seventies, Berkley Book issued a number of them in paperback.
As you would expect from the title, the world is threatened by inundation in The Flood. It starts in Scotland, where a strange rain, one that starts at the ground and moves up with great power, pulls down mountains and destroys a village. Bob Woburn, visiting his sister and her family, witnesses this and narrowly escapes the danger, saving also the beautiful Eve Davos. Eve lives with her father on a large estate nearby.
Enter Dr. Palfrey. This strange phenomenon has already destroyed a Pacific island as well as places in America and Canada. Palfrey has good reason to suspect Eve's father is behind all of this. He's right, of course, Davos wants to eliminate the inperfect human race and start anew with a selected people, a race to be begin with his daughter Eve, whom he wants to mate with a very masculine (seemingly dim-witted) guy named Adam. Within days, he plans to release the flood world-wide.
The flood is caused by rapidly multiplying life forms called octi -- kind of a cross between a crab and a jellyfish; one they reach maturity they explode and release a large volume of hydrogen which mixes immeditely with the oxygen in the air to create highly pressurized water. Davos has planted these creatures in certain fissures in the earth. If all this sounds silly, it is; but we willingly suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the ride.
Bob discovers a way to stop the octi, but his message to Palfrey is garbled. Has Palfrey received enough information to figure out what Bob wanted to say? (Spoiler Alert!) Of course he does, but not before East Anglia, the Netherlands, and a few other locations are (sorta) destroyed.
A good old fashioned thriller. Fun.
ERIN IS IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS!
As of today, there is an opening for the Most Beautiful, Smartest Nine-Year-Old Girl in the World. The title of Most Beautiful, Smartest Ten-Year-Old Girl in the World, however, has just been captured by Erin.
Nine was a great age for her. She came into her own in soccer, playing many positions and scoring goals and running her little heart out; she has a little skip in her run that is precious. She was one of the fastest girls on her team. She's developing into a strong swimmer and will soon be a great asset for that team. School is still fun and she aces everything, adding flair and imagination to all her projects. She's a voracious reader and reads at least two grade levels ahead. She was accepted (through a competition) to an elite math club at school. For the second year in a row, she placed second in her school spelling bee. This was the year that she started playing the flute; she loves to practice and is far ahead of the rest of her class. This week, she got a professional keyboard and has been learning it on her own and has already mastered several songs.
Born with medically short stature, for the past few years Erin has had to inject herself with medicine six days a week for the last few years. She started out at the bottom of the growth chart and has been working her way up to the fifth percentile, to the ninth percentile. Last week we found out she reached the thirteenth percentile on the growth chart. (Double digits again! -- Woot!)
But above all, Erin is a wonderful girl. She has a kind heart. She empathises. She's patient. She loves animals. She has a great sense of humor, peppered with whimsey and irony. She has many friends. She laughs a lot. She giggles a lot. Her smile melts my heart.
And ten is going to be a fantastic age for her.
Happy birthday, Sweetie! We love you.
Nine was a great age for her. She came into her own in soccer, playing many positions and scoring goals and running her little heart out; she has a little skip in her run that is precious. She was one of the fastest girls on her team. She's developing into a strong swimmer and will soon be a great asset for that team. School is still fun and she aces everything, adding flair and imagination to all her projects. She's a voracious reader and reads at least two grade levels ahead. She was accepted (through a competition) to an elite math club at school. For the second year in a row, she placed second in her school spelling bee. This was the year that she started playing the flute; she loves to practice and is far ahead of the rest of her class. This week, she got a professional keyboard and has been learning it on her own and has already mastered several songs.
Born with medically short stature, for the past few years Erin has had to inject herself with medicine six days a week for the last few years. She started out at the bottom of the growth chart and has been working her way up to the fifth percentile, to the ninth percentile. Last week we found out she reached the thirteenth percentile on the growth chart. (Double digits again! -- Woot!)
But above all, Erin is a wonderful girl. She has a kind heart. She empathises. She's patient. She loves animals. She has a great sense of humor, peppered with whimsey and irony. She has many friends. She laughs a lot. She giggles a lot. Her smile melts my heart.
And ten is going to be a fantastic age for her.
Happy birthday, Sweetie! We love you.
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