Chupacabra Update

DangerousNews: "In Russia the first evidence has appeared of a half mythical creature which sucks blood from animals, even large ones.

Abroad it is known under the name Chupacabra. No one knows for certain what it looks like, but in 2005 a farmer in Texas caught in a trap something looking like a cross between a bald dog, a rat and a kangaroo, which was sucking blood out of his chickens and turkeys.

And now a mystery bloodsucker has appeared around Orenburg. The worries began at the end of March 2005 not far from the regional centre of Saraktash. On the Sapreka farm two farming families suddenly lost 32 turkeys. The bodies of the birds, found in the morning, had been completely drained of blood. None of the farmers either saw or heard the beast that killed them."

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Wrap up: Glock offer targets police homebuyers | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Pearland-area real estate agent Julie Upton has decided to throw down on the competition.

Like any good salesperson, Upton is always looking for new ways to attract customers. Recently, she struck upon what she thinks is some tantalizing bait — at least when it comes to police officers.

Instead of a free toaster, TV or a stay at a luxury hotel, Upton, of Realty Associates, is offering officers a free Glock pistol with any home purchase of at least $150,000.

'It's attracted a lot of attention,' she said of her ads in Badge & Gun, the monthly publication of the Houston Police Officers' Union. She said she came up with the idea with help from Blue Cat Creative Consulting and Design.

Upton has given away two Glocks. 'So (the ad) has already paid for itself,' she said. But not all of her law enforcement customers have been interested in another gun.

'So I just give a $500 American Express gift check,' said Upton, whose husband, officer Randy Upton, is a 15-year Houston police veteran."

The First Star Wars Trilogy as a Silent Movie

Stephen King's Top Music Picks for 2006

Entertainment Weekly's EW.com | Feature: Stephen King's top music picks for 2006: Stephen King says: "Between Chuck Berry and Nirvana, I had a passionate 40-year love affair with the kind of music my mother called ''hard swing.'' I fell out of touch for a while, during that time when all the pop singers on the radio — female as well as male — had started to sound like Michael Jackson, and guitars were banished in favor of synthesizers.

What brought me back were two radical innovations: satellite radio (my brand happens to be XM) and iTunes (also my iPod, but for me that came later still). These were digital honky-tonks where I found — to my joy — that hard swing was alive and well. I've been listening, usually with the volume turned up to 11, ever since. These are the tracks that moved me in 2006...quite often enough to get up and shake my increasingly elderly ass."

Stephen King and I don't have the same musical tastes, but this year he has some great items on his list. I particularly recommend "Snake Farm" by Ray Wylie Hubbard, my favorite song of the year.

Word of the Year

`Truthiness' Is Named Word of the Year | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited: "SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - After 12 months of naked partisanship on Capitol Hill, on cable TV and in the blogosphere, the word of the year for 2006 is ... ``truthiness.''

The word - if one can call it that - best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

``Truthiness'' was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as ``truth that comes from the gut, not books.''

``We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs,'' said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. ```Truthiness' is a playful way for us to think about a very important issue.''

Other Top 10 finishers included ``war,'' ``insurgent,'' ``sectarian'' and ``corruption.'' But ``truthiness'' won by a 5-to-1 margin, Morse said."

I Just Hope It's Not Too Late

Thanks to Jeff Meyerson for this timely fashion update.

Paris to Makeover Britney in Her Image - TMZ.com: "Paris to Makeover Britney in Her Image

Paris Hilton's tutelage of new pal Britney Spears is entering the graduate phase. Mazel tov!

While on a retail romp through her favorite Melrose Avenue boutique, trendy Sielian's Vintage Apparel, Hilton revealed that she would be bringing new BFF Britney on her next charge-a-thon."

What I'm Listening To

The Wailin' Jennys. George Kelly sent me a link to NPR : Folk Alleys Top 10 CDs of 2006, and so far I haven't gotten past this group. Good group, good songs. And a great name. Check 'em out.

American before Pearl Harbor (in Kodachrome Color)

Daily Kos is a political site, but these photos aren't really political, and they give a wonderful look at an America that's long gone now. Check 'em out.

Will the Persecution Never End?

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY - McCONAUGHEY TOPS PARTY PEOPLE POLL: "MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY has stunned Hollywood by beating PARIS HILTON to the top of a new party animals poll. MCConaughey, dubbed The Life Of The Party, is the unlikely choice to lead In Touch magazine's new Hollywood's Biggest Party Animals list. Editors insist the SAHARA star has 'perfected sexy socialising'. Party girl Hilton, nicknamed The Social Secretary by the US magazine, comes in second, while Irish wildman COLIN FARRELL's rehab stint last Christmas (05) hasn't kept him from enjoying life in 2006 - he makes the list at number three. "

Where Are They Now?

Rudolph, the red-nosed puppet, returns | ajc.com: "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. And you know the most famous reindeer of all.

But you don't know the story of this Rudolph — a 5-inch-high little guy made of wood, wool and wire. Once a star, then forgotten for decades, he's making an unusual comeback starting today at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts.

The Rudolph scheduled to go on display at the center today is the well-known figure used in making the 42-year-old animated TV special 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' which airs at 8 tonight on CBS. The Santa puppet from the same show will join his lead reindeer at the center."

Waterloo Bridge

I watched the 1931 "pre-code" version of Waterloo Bridge on TCM the other night. (The movie was remade around 1940 with Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh; it was made again 1956 with Leslie Caron and John Kerr. I've never seen those versions.) I thought that because the movie was pre-code, it might be pretty racy. I was wrong. Sure Mae Clark plays a prostitute, and the movie is pretty frank, for the time, about her profession. But that's it. No nudity, no actual immoral acts, and *SPOILER ALERT* Mae certainly gets punished for her sins. In fact, to me, at least, the punishment came more or less abruptly out of left field, just as it would have in a movie after the Production Code was created *END SPOILER ALERT*.

Mae Clark's performance is wonderful. I've seen her in is the famous "grapefruit scene" with Cagney in The Public Enemy and in Frankenstein but she later was doing things like the great Republic serial King of the Rocketmen. She proves here that she could've been a contender. Hell, she was a contender. I guess she never got another role like this one.

Kent Douglass plays the naive young soldier who falls for Mae without ever figuring out her profession, and he's also good. He's believable in a role that's hard to believe in, in these more enlightened times. I enjoyed the performance of Frederick Kerr as Douglass' hearing-impaired stepfather, and seeing Bette Davis in a small role was a treat.

The movie was directed by James Whale, who's better known as the director of a couple of Universal horror classics. The B&W; photography is beautiful. I don't usually watch movies like this one, but I'm glad I took the time for Waterloo Bridge.

Bette Midler Slams 'wild and woolly slut' Britney

Wild? Maybe. Woolly? Obviously Bette hasn't seen the photos.

Bette Midler slams 'wild and woolly slut' Britney | the Daily Mail: "After fifty years in showbusiness, Bette Midler probably felt that she had seen and done it all.

Until, that is, she was confronted with the brazenly obscene antics of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

So, in a scathing, no holds barred attack, the 61-year-old actress has branded the pair 'wild and woolly sluts'."

Ramble House Update from Fender Tucker

The Ramble House Rambler #50
December 6, 2006

Newsletter of Ramble House, publisher of Harry Stephen Keeler and other loons, produced by Fender Tucker (fendertucker@sport.rr.com), mailed whenever something happens. To be removed from this list, please respond to this message and ask, or go to the RH website and unsubscribe. Fender Tucker, 443 Gladstone Blvd. Shreveport LA 71104, 318-868-8727.

The headlines:

~ Gwine to Colorado

~ Many New Titles at Lulu.com

~ Marblehead: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft by Richard A. Lupoff

~ The Ramble House Lulu Store is Open

And now, the details:

~ I am planning on driving this Saturday to Pagosa Springs Colorado where I'll visit some friends and my brother, John, who is in the States for a while. He lives in Thailand and I haven't seen him in years. I'll have access to a computer so I can check e-mail and process orders for books with Lulu.com -- but then, so can anyone. I'll be back in Shreveport the following weekend.

~ Many New Titles from Ramble House Available at www.lulu.com/ramblehouse

THE SKULL IN THE BOX by Harry Stephen Keeler. Our best deal yet. All four novels of the series in one volume. THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC EARDRUMS, THE MAN WITH THE CRIMSON BOX, THE MAN WITH THE WOODEN SPECTACLES, and THE CASE OF THE LAVENDER GRIPSACK. $25 in trade paperback. A huge collection of Keeler words and one of the most amazing courtroom trials ever.

GREY SHAPES by Jack Mann. The werewolf novel of the Gees series.

DR. SCARLETT by Alexander Laing. A terrific medical adventure thriller set in the Tibetan jungles.

BLOOD ON HIS HANDS by Australia's Max Afford. Classic locked room mystery.

NIGHT OF HORROR a collection of short stories by Joel Townsley Rogers, edited and introduced by Barry Warren. This is the first collection of stories by the author of THE RED RIGHT HAND ever published.

DOPE TALES #1 the first in a new series by Ramble House. It's a double book with two classic tales of drugs and murder from the 30s: DOPE RUNNERS by Gerald Grantham and DEATH TAKES THE JOYSTICK by Phillip Conde. As often as we can we plan to bring back two enjoyable dope novels from the days when our grandparents were doing all the snorting and puffing -- and I'm not talking about the 60s. Both novels are available separately, but you'll like the price and cover of the exciting new DOPE TALES series.

~ But the piece de resistance of 2006 is the brand new mainstream novel by Richard A. Lupoff, whom we are privileged to publish -- MARBLEHEAD: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft. It's a huge chronicle of the year 1927 in the life of the budding author, H.P. Lovecraft, as he tries to get published and is both aided and thwarted by proto-Nazis, mafiosa, other authors of the day, anarchists and his lovely wife, Sonia. Lupoff has done extensive research into the Providence/Boston area of the time and into Lovecraft's life and has written previously about him. This is a major new novel and you can place an order for it with me immediately. If you catch me before I leave this Saturday, you may even get it by Christmas. It has a mapback cover by Gavin O'Keefe. $24

~ The best way to keep up with our new titles is to bookmark the Ramble House Lulu store and visit often. I always put new books on the first page of the store, near the top of the page. It's easy to find the store; just click here.

No Comment Department

There are some stories about Paris Hilton that this blog just won't link to. This is one of them.

Happy Birthday, Tom Waits!

Tom Waits: Biographical Details
Thomas Alan Waits was born on the eighth anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was born on December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California. He and his two sisters grew up moving around from city to city in California. His parents who are both school teachers divorced when he was 10. They then moved to National City. Tom's grandfather was christened Jesse Frank Waits and his father Frank Waits. Tom is Scottish and Irish from his father's side of the family and Norwegian from his mother's side.

I've been a fan of Tom Waits since the days of Fernwood2Nite. Hard to believe that was 30 years ago. Anyway, if you haven't heard any of Waits' work, you're missing something different from pretty much anything else out there. There's a new box set called Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. Check it out.

Top 5 Werewolf Movies?

Check the list here and see if you agree.

This Is What the World Has Been Waiting For!

Popcorn Junkies: Another 80s Classic Gets The Remake Treatment: "If there was any doubt that the 80s were back in vogue, look no further than the news that Short Circuit will soon be remade. After years of trying to get Short Circuit 3 made, it looks as if the folks with the rights to Johnny 5 will instead do a remake. It also looks as if some of the original group involved in the first film will be involved in the remake as well. One person who definitely will not be involved in the remake is the film's director, John Badham."

Badham directed last night's episode of Heroes, I believe.

Only Number Four?

Photos at link.

The Sun Online: YAHOO! It's time to gaze at the celeb girls who put the "ogle" into Google.

A list of the babes who web users most often searched for in 2006 has been released.

And the internet's most popular honey is… Britney Spears.

Remarkably, it's the fifth time in six years that the pants-spurning star has topped the list by Yahoo.

Runner-up was Hips Don't Lie singer Shakira, followed in the top five by Jessica Simpson, Britney's new partner-in-crime Paris Hilton and Beyoncé Knowles.

Croc Update

Human body parts found inside croc - CNN.com: "JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Villagers discovered two human hands, a leg and a T-shirt inside a 500-kilogram (1,000-pound) crocodile they trapped and killed in eastern Indonesia, a media report said Wednesday.

The five-meter long reptile, suspected of eating a 59-year-old fisherman last seen a week ago near a river in East Nusa Tenggara province, was hacked open by residents after it got caught Monday in a nylon snare, The Jakarta Post said.

When the villagers got over the shock of finding human body parts inside its abdomen -- together with skull fragments, strands of hair and a pair of shorts -- they cut the beast into pieces and divided up the meat.

It was unclear how many people the crocodile had eaten, but the paper said at least three have disappeared in recent months, all while fishing at the mouth of the Dusan II River."

Your Tax Dollars at Work

It's things like this that make me look forward to April 15.

Audit Says FEMA Squanders Katrina Aid | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited: "WASHINGTON (AP) - One year after Katrina, the government is still squandering tens of millions of dollars in wasted disaster aid, including $17 million in bogus rental payments to people who had already received free trailers and apartments, federal investigators said Wednesday.

At the same time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recovered less than 1 percent of the $1 billion it wasted on fraudulent hurricane assistance after the August 2005 storm, highlighting a need for stronger controls the next time a major hurricane strikes.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, set to be released later Wednesday, paints a picture of an agency still struggling - at substantial taxpayer expense - to find the balance between distributing quick aid to those in need while guarding against substantial abuse."

Happy Birthday, Dave Brubeck!

Dave Brubeck, 86 today. I saw his quartet in concert long, long ago, when he had a song called "Take Five" on the charts. That was the first jazz recording to sell a million copies, I think, and the melody's still haunting today.

No Comment Department

E Canada Now - Breaking News ? Paris Hilton Wants To Be A Mom: "Los Angeles (eCanadaNow) - Paris Hilton is desperate to have a baby after befriending young mum Britney Spears.

The hotel heiress - who has been introducing Britney to the Los Angeles party circuit since she split from husband Kevin Federline - has become broody after helping look after the singer’s two sons, 15-month-old Sean Preston and three-month-old Jayden James.

Paris is convinced she would be a good mother because she has so many pets.

Paris told Life and Style Weekly magazine: “It’s been my dream to have four babies by 30. I look after animals, so I’d have a lot to give my kids.”"

New Horror Film from Disney

Experiment #214

The Diet Coke and Mentos guys are at it again. This one is their masterpiece (so far), and if you watch the video all the way through and wait a second, they issue a challenge to anyone wanting to create a video fountain. It's a contest you might want to consider.

Thanks to Neatorama for the link.

Otto Penzler Reviews Mystery Muses

And of course I'm linking to this because my contribution is mentioned in the review.

Small Treasures - December 6, 2006 - The New York Sun: "A bit of an oddity is 'Mystery Muses' (Crum Creek Press, 212 pages, $15.00), edited by Jim Huang and Austin Lugar. The entire book is devoted to the ubiquitous question asked in every interview with a mystery writer: Was there a mystery story that influenced you to become a writer or to write the way you do today? One hundred crime writers answer in these pages."

Last Minute Shopping?

Stark House has you covered with their December release from Peter Rabe. Check it out.

New Issue of Crime and Suspense Now On-Line

There are a lot of e-zines that have new issues lately. Here's another one to check out. There's even a download of "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."

Our authors this month are Charles Schaeffer, Steve Haberlin, Jan Christensen, Nicole Alexander, Peggy Ehrhart, Stephen D. Rogers, Dan Devine and Jeremy Schneider. You can read more about all these authors in the Rogues' Gallery on the Crime and Suspense website. Almost everyone in the list is making their Crime and Suspense ezine debut in this issue, too!

Tony Burton tells his readers about the enjoyable Death Comes Too Soon by Patricia Harrington and Diane Grace delivers the deadly news about C.V. Herst's Dead Certain. And a new feature by Sunny Frazier starts this month, Coming Attractions!

As an added fillip to the mix this month, there is a radio episode of "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" available for download.

Quote of the Day

From the google homepage:

To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser.
- Robertson Davies

Happy Birthday, James Lee Burke!

My sentiments from last year still apply.

James Lee Burke - About the Author: "James Lee Burke was born in Houston, Texas, in 1936 and grew up on the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast. He attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute and later received a B. A. Degree in English and an M. A. from the University of Missouri in 1958 and 1960 respectively. Over the years he worked as a landman for Sinclair Oil Company, pipeliner, land surveyor, newspaper reporter, college English professor, social worker on Skid Row in Los Angeles, clerk for the Louisiana Employment Service, and instructor in the U. S. Job Corps."

A Special Welcome!

Will the Persecution Never End?

Top 10 Most Annoying Pop Songs 2006: "Successful pop music is not always good pop music. Many of us know that intuitively, but it doesn't really sink in until there is a particular song we wish would go away. Here are 10 that I have chosen (with the indispensable assistance of Daniel Wolfe) as the songs I think we've heard enough times already. Without further adieu...the 10 most annoying pop songs of 2006:
1) Paris Hilton - Stars Are Blind

The only justification for this song's presence on pop radio in the summer of 2006 that I heard was that it didn't turn out as badly as expected. That is no reason to turn a song into a hit. Thankfully, it seems that Paris Hilton has moved on from her dreams of being a pop star. She has moved on to befriending the post-K-Fed Britney Spears."

David Goodis Update

From Aaron Finestone:

I have updated my David Goodis webpages with an interview of Len Cobrin,
long time friend of David Goodis. Parts of the interview appear at the
following pages:

Death of David Goodis
Mystery of David Goodis