14 Days till Halloween

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"trick or treat ... I never drink wine"

16 Days till Halloween

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"trick or ... let's skip this house"

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

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Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

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My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

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He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of the easy wind and downy flake.

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The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

-- Robert Frost

DETECTIVES
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I recently bought the new DVD version of the 1941 movie, The Maltese Falcon. Directed by first-timer John Huston and starring Bogart. This is a totally cool movie. It is one of the rare films that if you’ve seen the movie, you don’t need to read the book. However you’d miss Hammett’s clean and lean prose if you do. While Bogie doesn’t fit Hammett’s description of Sam Spade (He looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan.), he ably fills the shoes of the private detective. The plot has solid twists and turns and the dialogue is sharp and cool. Add memorable characters played Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook, and Ward Bond and you have a great film that has influenced film noir for generations. Trivia: Bogart’s last line is often listed as one of the great closing lines of cinema. When Bond’s policeman asks Bogie what the black bird statue is, Bogie replies cynically, “The stuff dreams are made of.” Actually, Bond has the last word. He says, “Huh?”
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This is my second favorite Bogart film. My top five are:

Casablanca
The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
Sahara
Angels with Dirty Faces (this counts but Cagney is the actual lead)
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There have been a lot of detectives in film and TV. I decided to list my favorite private detectives. No police detectives in this list. Some are former cops however. In alphabetical order:

Nick Charles (William Powell)
Jake Gittes (Chinatown)
Lew Harper (Harper)
Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone)
Thomas Magnum (Magnum, P.I.)
Philip Marlowe (The Big Sleep)
Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files)
Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon)
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Sidebar: I noticed while making my list that there were no female private eyes. Hmmm… Miss Marple from the Agatha Christie novels? Nope. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) from Murder, She Wrote. Naw. Honey West (Anne Francis). No again. Oh, well.

DON'T LIKE

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I should be sleeping. Long day at work. Instead I'm surfing the net. I find myself checking out the list of the 100 Greatest American Movies at the AFI website. There are ten films that I've never seen (Lawrence of Arabia and Midnight Cowboy among them.) But there are also several movies on the list that I don't like. In order by AFI ranking:

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Gone with the Wind (My mother's favorite movie of all time. I frankly don't give a damn who Scarlett ends up with or if she saves the plantation.)

2001: A Space Odyssey (Technically a marvel and HAL is a cool character but this is really a long and boring movie. Kubrick is one of the most over-rated directors ever.)

Raging Bull (Scorsese's movies are always memorable but I can't think of a single one that I'd want to see a second time. Haven't seen The Departed yet.)

Apocalypse Now ( Over-praised Vietnam b.s. like Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket)

The Godfather Part II (The first movie is great. Filled with memorable scenes and dialogue and characters. The second just re-tells the same story without the memorable scenes, dialogue, and characters. I know Michael has lost his soul.)

Doctor Zhivago (Long. Boring. Long. Let's see more snow. Yecch.)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella!!! Get me outta here.)

A Clockwork Orange (Yes, I felt sorry for the creep Alex at the end but this is Kubrick again. Technically a marvel but distant and cold like all his films.)

Taxi Driver (Intriguing storyline, great characters, solid directing. But this film makes me feel like I need a shower afterward. That was probably Scorsese's intent but still...)

Amadeus (Who cares?)

Easy Rider (Definitely a product of its time. Has not aged well.)

Pulp Fiction (Don't care for Tarentino's movies. This one is just too precious for its own good. Has memorable moments but ... come to think of it I'd watch this before I'd watch Jackie Brown again. Couldn't get through Kill Bill. Quentin is the most over-rated director today.)

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I'm done now. Been grumpy lately. Can you tell?

18 Days till Halloween

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"trick or treat ... I get all the black jelly beans"

SOAPBOX

(or, where have I heard this before?)

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From President George W. Bush's press conference yesterday: "That's what they want to do -- they want us to leave. And we're not going to leave. We're going to do the job. And a free Iraq is going to be a major blow to terrorism. It will change the world. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East is vital to future peace and security."

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President Richard Nixon (1969): "In January I could only conclude that the precipitate withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam would be a disaster not only for South Vietnam but for the United States and for the cause of peace."

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President Lyndon Johnson(1965): "We fight because we must fight if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own destiny. And only in such a world will our own freedom be finally secure."

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The more things change, the more the stay the same. I think I'll play some late '60s rock or the new Dixie Chicks CD. I'm done. The soapbox is free.

THE GRIM REAPER IS COMING

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Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die, by Michael Largo. I think I'm going to buy this book. The author has collected stats on how we die.

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Did you know?

*In 2003, 24 people died from a rare lung disease caused by frequent exposure to the fumes from microwave popcorn.

*In 2002, 776 people were killed by accidential discharge of firearms.

*In 2002, 341 people were killed by being hit by a baseball.

*Between 1920 and 2000, 1682 people were killed by grizzlies and polar bears.

*Since 1965, 11556 people died from their dentures becoming lodged in their airway.

*From 1985 to 2004, 224 people were fatally electrocuted by their toaster.

*Since 1965, 265 people were killed while riding roller coasters.

*300 people die annually from chewing gum.

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Yeah, I'm going to be reading this soon.

21 Days till Halloween

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"trick or treat ... no sugar, please"

22 Days till Halloween

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"trick or treat ... it's alive!"

My Writing Résumé
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I’ve hit a downslide in my writing of late. I start far more pieces than I complete. I thought it might be a good idea to list my works including the reprints. Perhaps it’ll get my butt out of neutral.

NOVELS:

The Inheritance (horror -- Zumaya Publications)
Rebel Nation (alternate history/thriller – Zumaya Publications)
To the Mountain of the Beast (science fiction/horror/western – Carnifex Press)
Dark Legend (paranormal horror – Zumaya Publications – not yet released)

SHORT STORIES (Anthologies):

In the Garden on the Far Shore Of the Styx (The Best of Pirate Writings II)
Costa de Malo Muerte (Darkness Rising 7)
Midnight Lover (Deathly Desires, Erotic Fantasy: Tales of the Paranormal)
On Display (Erotic Tales Hosted by Justus Roux)
Melinda (Hauntings)
Blood Alley (Monsters Ink)
The Beast of Lyoness (Clash of Steel 3)
Blood Alley (Pure Fantasy {The Netherlands})

SHORT STORIES (Print/Electronic Magazines):

In the Garden on the Far Shore of the Styx (Crusader tale – Pirate Writings, Electric Wine)
Bagman (noir – Hardboiled)
Death And… (speculative – Lynx Eye, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine {Australia})
At the Dessert Palace (speculative – Outer Darkness)
The Hunters (science fiction/vampire – Burning Sky, Dramaturges of the Yann {Greece})
The Killing Moon (werewolf – Vampire Dan’s Story Emporium, Spin {Finland})
Black Moon Night (horror – Deadbolt)
Blood Hunt (science fiction/horror – Of Unicorns & Space Stations, Axxon {Argentina})
Blood Alley (horror – Mindmares)
The Covenant – (Crusader tale – Parchment Symbols, Flashing Swords)
Sanctuary Defiled at Ananyas (Crusader tale – Fantastic: Stories of the Imagination)
EscapeVision (speculative – Dread)
Midnight Demons (horror – Parchment Symbols)
The Last Gathering (speculative – Parchment Symbols)
Now Playing (speculative – Fantastic: Stories of the Imagination, Ambitions)
Nightbugs (science fiction/horror – Redsine {Australia}, “9” {Greece})
Human Resources (science fiction/horror – The Edge: Tales of Suspense, Electric Wine, Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest)
Jazz & Silk (erotic – All in Your Mind, A Sexy Story, Justus Roux’s Erotic Tales)
…buzzing… (horror – Whispers from the Shattered Forum)
Coming Home Late (erotic – Biblio Eroticus {Australia})
Facing the Man (mainstream – GC Magazine)
Katie’s Nightmare (horror – Vestal Review)
Spun Monkey (horror – Dark Moon {UK})
Midnight Lover (paranormal erotic – Peacock Blue)
Fallen (science fiction – Steel Caves {UK}, Chaos Theory: Tales Askew)
Last Night (vampire – Whispers from the Shattered Forum)
Telling Chloe (mainstream – Virginia Adversaria)
Final Soulcatchers (speculative – Elysian Fiction)
Seeds of Evil (speculative – Story House)
Strickland’s Bones (noir – Underworlds)
Sangre de la Perro Luna (horror – Fangoria)
Week’s End (mainstream – Flash Me)
Immobile (noir – Futures Anthology MagEzine Online)
Summer Vacation Deals (humor – Astounding Tales)
New World, Old World (science fiction – Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest)
Before Me (science fiction/horror – ScienceFictionFantasyHorror.com)
The Gardener (erotic – Midnight Showcase)
Love Letter (horror – Devil’s Work)
The Ice Queen (erotic – Justus Roux’s Erotic Tales)
Waiting… (horror – Bewildering Tales)

NON-FICTION ARTICLES:

The Submission Pile (SF Reader, Preditors & Editors)
The Character Moment (Speculations, Voices in the Dark Newsletter)
The Small Press Print-on-Demand Solution, or Please Order Dozens (Peridot Books)
The Top Ten Movies in Outer Space (From the Asylum)
Villains (SF Reader)

Four stories have been accepted but not yet published. A few others are in the mail.

Also written (some with Mark Sevi, some solo) 14 screenplays and 3 treatments. Two were spec screenplays that producers asked for then changed their minds. One had an exclusive that a producer asked for but couldn’t sell. One was optioned (with 10% payment) but movie not made.

Seems like a lot but I can’t seem to write that one novel, story, or screenplay that “breaks” out. Maybe I should just write the stories I want to write and if the “break-out” happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t then it doesn’t.

Hmmm….

24 Days Left Till Halloween

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"trick or treat ... heh-heh-heh."

HUH?

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There are a 1001 things I should be doing. Instead I'm looking at some stats on the blog site-meter. Some folks find their way to this blog via Google (should the registered trademark symbol go here?). Anyway, I became curious to what they put in the search engine to end up here. Below are some answers:

*from London, England: Zodiac Killer (okay, I did a couple of blogs on unsolved murders)

*from Las Vegas NV: symbolism in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (it's hard to see the symbolism in a movie when you're watching it with your hands over your eyes)

*from Ogdensburg NY: canada murders severed body prostitute (the blog on unsolved murders again -- I hope)

*from Walsall, U.K.: "I want you to squeal like a pig" (line from the movie Deliverance that I've written about)

*from Camp Hill, Penn.: percy garris (the name of the Strother Martin character in one of my fav westerns Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid)

*from Oxford NC: chuck stires campaign slogan (not me and I have no idea what office he was running for but we are probably related somehow)

*from New York City: paddled tush (Huh? I have no idea how that lead to me -- I mean, once, a while back, in a different life ... uh, nevermind)

Interesting. Well, a little bit. All right, I probably won't do this again. Maybe.

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((PS -- What does the picture of Eva Longoria from Desperate Housewives have to do with this topic? Absolutely nothing. But now when someone types her name into the Google search engine -- guess who'll pop up? Hey, Google folks, check out the novel links on the right side of your screen. Really good stuff. )

TAKE the LEAD

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Tonight I watched this movie. Corny premise even if it was inspired by a true story. Whatever "inspired" means. Anyway, a ballroom dancer instructor decides he can help disadvantaged inner-city kids by teaching them dance, courtesty, and manners. A high school principal accepts his offer and assigns him to the teenagers in year-long detention. One reviewer wrote that the whole premise would've crumbled if there had been one hardcore gangbanger in the group. Right, like a hardcore gangbanger would show up for after-school detention.

I'm not a big Antonio Banderas fan. Except for The Mask of Zorro I don't much care for his choice of films. But I bought him in this. I liked this character. All the other characterizations are paper-thin. The plot is by-the-numbers. Still I was engrossed from beginning to fade-out. I'll add that I can not dance a lick. Not joking. My buddy and I took dance lessons back in the day. After the third

or fourth lesson, the instructor offered us a refund. I think the tango is the sexiest, most sensual act a couple can do with their clothes on. Even beats several acts done in the buff. Totally cool. Check out this movie. You'll see what I mean.

THE THIRD MAN

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A classic thriller with one of Orson Wells' most memorable performances. In one scene, Harry Lime (Wells) meets up with his old friend Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten). Author/screenwriter Graham Greene has said that Wells wrote the following lines:

"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful.

Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias

they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed,

but they produced Michelangelo,

Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance.

In Switzerland they had brotherly love -

they had 500 years of democracy and peace,

and what did that produce?

The cuckoo clock."

Cool.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

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Yes, they are talking about you behind your back...

so give them something really juicy to gossip about.

"What we have here is failure to communicate."

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Paul Newman has made some terrific movies during his career: Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Color of Money, Empire Falls, Harper, Hombre, Hud, The Hustler, Nobody's Fool, Slap Shot, The Sting, and The Verdict to name a few. I saw this movie for the first time on the big screen when I was in junior high and we were living in Dallas. It has been a favorite ever since. For my money, this is Newman at his best.

free speech

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Below please find the text from Bob Schieffer's "free speech" segment on the CBS Evening News. I thought it was interesting enough to post:

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(CBS) When Americans go into the military, they take an oath to go wherever the military sends them and to obey all lawful orders. If they don’t, they risk prison. In the military you don’t pick and choose which orders to obey and which promises to keep.

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But what can those who serve their country do, when government breaks its promises to them? Not much apparently. But that’s what happened this week when 4,000 of our soldiers were told they would have to stay in Iraq longer than the government had promised. It has happened over and over. Combat tours have been extended, soldiers have been kept on active duty longer than their term of enlistment, reserves who thought they had completed their combat obligations have been called back. Soldiers told they would get two years at home between combat assignments are going to Iraq every other year — some for the third time.

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The Pentagon claims it has every legal right to do this and it may well be legal. But it is not right break our promises to the very people who are bearing the brunt of this war. Our army is just too small to carry out the mission it has been assigned. We need to fix that or change the mission and find a way out of this war. With an all volunteer force we have no choice.

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If Americans come to believe the Pentagon can’t be trusted to keep its promises to those who join, no one will volunteer. Then where will we be?

FOUR ROMANTIC-COMEDIES THAT I JUST LIKE

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Notting Hill

Working Girl

The American President

Some Like It Hot

"Nobody's perfect."

JACK THE RIPPER 2

The Suspects

Jack was never captured. At least not publicly. Comments like that keep the legend alive. Listed are some of the more popular suspects:

Montague John Druitt – son of a physician. He was a barrister and assistant schoolteacher. Said to have mental problems. Committed suicide by throwing himself in the Thames River shortly after Kelly’s murder.

George Chapman – Polish immigrant known to have had some medical knowledge. A man with a violent reputation. Murdered his three wives with poison.

Aaron Kosminski – Russian immigrant who was known to have had a great hatred of women and strong tendency to violence. Also matched description of man seen near one of the killings. Died in 1919 in mental asylum.

John Pizer – a bootmaker in Whitechapel known as “Leather Apron.” Strong suspect of locals

Dr. Thomas Neill Cream – an abortionist who traveled between England, Canada, and the US. Murdered several in each country. Hanged in London for murder in 1892. Supposedly his last words, before the noose cut him off, were: “I am Jack---.”

Many others came under the umbrella of suspects including author Lewis Carroll, Sir William Gull physician-in-extraordinary to Queen Victoria, Sir John Williams a friend of Queen Victoria and obstetrician to her daughter Princess Beatrice, and Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence.

For me, if I were writing a novel or screenplay about the Ripper, I would conclude with the police closing in on Druitt who kills himself. The murders end so the case is closed. But since there was no confession or solid evidence linking Druit to the murders, the chief detective would wonder if he was the right man. Then we would see, Cream (or perhaps a midwife as Doyle suggested) examining their trophies from the killings. The person would look out a window as the ship he/she were on sailed into New York Harbor.