Quote on My Mind

“Probably human cruelty is fixed and eternal. Only styles change."
―from TIME'S ARROW

John le Carré - Where Alec Leamas Came From - The Spy Who Came in From t...

Clear-Headed Act

“However great a man’s fear of life,” Doctor Magiot said, “suicide remains the courageous act, the clear-headed act of a mathematician. The suicide has judged by the laws of chance—so many odds against one that to live will be more miserable than to die. His sense of mathematics is greater than his sense of survival. But think how a sense of survival must clamour to be heard at the last moment, what excuses it must present of a totally unscientific nature.” —Graham Greene's The Comedians (1966)

Beach Essentials

We were at Colonial Beach, Virginia yesterday. These were my beach essentials.

No Room For Prejudice

Seven Words For David

I carry this blue notebook around, filling it up with words and definitions that I've never heard before or want to use in a story or article. Once the book is bursting with knowledge, I buy a new one. All definitions come from Merriam Webster except convivial that I found at Dictionary.

Arbitrage - the nearly simultaneous purchase and sale of securities or foreign exchange in different markets in order to profit from price discrepancies. First known use: 1875.

Rive - to wrench open or tear apart or to pieces. First known use: 14th century. Just used this palabra in my latest article at LitReactor.

En prise - of a chess piece; exposed to capture. First known use 1825.

Triumphalism - an attitude or feeling of victory or superiority. First known use 1964.

Convivial - friendly; agreeable. First known use 1660-1670.

Abrogate - to abolish by authoritative action. First known use circa 1520.

Specious - having deceptive attraction or allure; having a false look of truth or genuineness. First known use: 1513.

I May Get Some Flak...

I may get some flak for this one but its an issue that has been needling me for a while:
Book vs. Television: What TV's Sheriff Longmire Is Doing Wrong article is live at LitReactor.

Don't Try This At The Gas Station

Man fueling his car on the other side of the pump climbed back inside his vehicle and began to text. He finished what he was writing and forgot what he was doing there in the first place and pulled away ripping the hose clean off the pump. He jumped out, startled, asking me, "should I tell somebody?" I looked at him with narrowed eyes (yes, those narrowed eyes) and said, "yeah, good idea." Darndest thing.

Transgemination

I had such a kick working with Glenn on Transgemination. The kind of book still giving me chuckles on the third pass. Science fiction, horror, thrills, and lots of humor. It is now available in print and for the kindle. Here's what its all about:

What would YOU do if you stumbled upon a mysterious simmering gooey thing in your backyard? Farm boys Karl and Stew are forced to answer this question when they happen upon an otherworldly blob thing in their cornfield. Before they know it, their normally tranquil farm is transformed into a chaotic, surreal nightmare of sorts, and quickly becomes the epicenter of national attention. Follow Karl and Stew as they struggle to maintain their sanity in this humorous, sometimes outlandish but thought provoking sci-fi novella, replete with bizarre creatures, explosions and even a love story. A must read for fans of retro sci-fi/horror B movies, woven with real science, as only Glenn Gray can do. Buckle up for a fun, yet harrowing ride.

Robert Mitchum at 100

Mitch would have turned 100 today. I've written three articles for Criminal Element celebrating the actor's centennial. In the first, I take a look at his Westerns. A sample:

Innovative Western artfully directed by Raoul Walsh that noir historian Jake Hinkson (The Big Ugly, The Posthumous Man) calls, “… one of the premier examples of Neurosis In The West.” Controversial topics like repressed memory, hallucinations, and a passing hint of incest are broached in this cutting-edge production. 

Both Montgomery Cliff and Kirk Douglas were considered and rejected for the role. Mitchum, known as “the soul of film noir” for classics like Out of the Past (1947), took the dark, tortured outsider and easily adapted it to the Old West while hardly missing his fedora and trench coat.

Damn Good Coffee

I'm enjoying a "damn good" cup of coffee (bypassing usual morning tea) as I prepare tomorrow's Twin Peaks 11-13 episode recap for Criminal Element. Check here for my last write up on the offbeat, subversive revival.

Angel Luis Colón at BEAT to a PULP

"Last Call" by Angel Luis Colón at the BEAT to a PULP webzine.

Making Old New

Scene: a few days ago at a hotel in Virginia. Me: ridiculously happy contemplating how to best preserve this forty-year-old backgammon board my sister Sharon gave to me. It's in rather good condition though needs some glue in a few spots where the felt is coming undone but what should I use for the latches that are rusty and worn with age?

The End Has Arrived

After ten months of journeying toward The Dark Tower, I have reached the pinnacle with a small but loyal ka-tet. I originally started my read of King's magnum opus in the 1980's, broke off for a couple of decades, and have now finished it. Here's my last dispatch from on top and what we found behind that final door. Spoilers, my friends, spoilers.