Longarm

When I was in Texas, I purchased Longarm and the Pine Box Payoff at Waldenbooks. I was looking forward to reading it, knowing that it was written by James Reasoner (under the pen name Tabor Evans like all Longarm novels), and I wasn’t disappointed… the story was skillfully told and a joy to read. It encouraged me to look for more, and recently when I was at a used bookstore, I found a stash of old Longarm paperbacks (along with a bunch of Luke Short, Jon Sharpe, Max Brand, etc). I bought ten books for about fifty cents apiece and so far I’ve read two others that I would recommend with The Pine Box Payoff…

Longarm in the Indian Nation (1979) is the fifth in the series and I’m assuming written by Lou Cameron who helped create the character, and, according to Wikipedia, wrote a number of the early books in the series. The back cover of my dog eared copy reads: "One Nation, Under Greed… It was bank robbery and murder that brought Longarm to the wild-spirited borders of Oklahoma, Land of the Redman-and anyone after a quick, illegal fortune… It was cattle-rustling that kept him there. Gold-grubbing Indian agents. Gunslingers. And a beautiful bounty hunter, with a sharpshooter’s eyes-and away of flashing them at the least convenient times."

Longarm and the Dragon Hunters (1980) is #26 (unsure who wrote this): "What Kind Of Buried Treasure Could Drive Men To Murder? At Dragon Bluff, rival archaeologists warred for a cache of priceless dinosaur fossils… angry Arapahoes rose up to protect their land andits riches… and hired guns were primed and ready, for sale to the highest bidder. Longarm rides into the 'Great Dinosaur War' to put an end to the violence -and enjoy the favors of a fiery teamster who claimed to be more woman than any man could handle!"

And here’s the blurb from the aforementioned Longarm and the Pine Box Payoff, which is #352 in the series: "Coffin Up The Dough. Some dame with expensive tastes and many names hasn’t left any tracks, but she has left a pattern. Seems she shacks up with rich hombres, then takes off with lotsa loot-and it’s up to Longarm to find her. But when he catches up with the mysterious lady, Longarm hears her side of the story. And when a scuffle with a posse leaves men dead, he finds himself owing her his life. But a treacherous uncle -an undertaker- ain’t happy, and he hopes Longarm and his woman wind up as his next clients…"

Is anyone prepared?

Republicans are making fun of Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer and Democrats are questioning Sarah Palin's lack of foreign policy experience. It made me think of a passage from a book that’s always within my grasp, The Education of Henry Adams (1918).

In the following excerpt, Adams reflects on the pivotal year of 1861, bemoaning the fact that no one wanted the Civil War nor were they prepared for it, including the newly elected President Lincoln:

Had young Adams been told that his life was to hang on the correctness of his estimate of the new President, he would have lost. He saw Mr. Lincoln but once; at the melancholy function called an Inaugural Ball. Of course he looked anxiously for a sign of character. He saw a long, awkward figure; a plain, ploughed face; a mind, absent in part, and in part evidently worried by white kid gloves; features that expressed neither self -satisfaction nor any other familiar Americanism, but rather the same painful sense of becoming educated and of needing education that tormented a private secretary, above all a lack of apparent force. Any private secretary in the least fit for his business would have thought, as Adams did, that no man living needed so much education as the new President but that all the education he could get would not be enough.

My Town Monday: Life in West Africa

Some African Proverbs and their meanings : Mr. Boh sent some humorous and poignant proverbs for this My Town Monday...

He who brings kolanut, brings life --- It is a showing of gratitude because kolanuts are considered a very big gift, and where one brings out a kolanut to a stranger, it is considered as a source of life.

The one who swallows an odala seed must consider the size of his anus --- Do not attempt doing what is above you.

He who brings home ant infested faggots (a bundle of sticks) must expect the visit of lizards --- If you call for trouble, expect its consequences.

A person who has never submitted himself to anything would soon submit himself to the burial mat --- Even if you are as strong as a lion, you will still die one day.

We shouldn't bother throwing stones at a tree that has no fruits --- No use seeking help where it will never come.

That which the dog sees and barks, the sheep sees and keeps quiet - threats like those of a toothless dog ---

No matter how it rains on a tiger, the spots on its skin would not be washed away ---

The stubborn grasshopper will finally end up in the gizzard of a fowl --- If you don't heed to advice, you would end up in trouble.

One who refuses to listen to the voice of thunder would soon be soaked in rain --- If you refuse to heed to advice, you would soon find yourself in trouble.

One who listens to elders is like one who goes to the diviners --- The voice of the elders is the voice of wisdom.

No one can steal the drum and beat it without being caught --- If you commit a crime and go into hiding, you will soon be exposed.

The rock that is in the middle of the sea does not fear rain --- It is just like a corpse never refuses to be put in the coffin.

Click here for more My Town Monday courtesy of Travis Erwin...

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem

The US audience has long identified Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. He made an indelible impression that has lasted sixty plus years. In the mid-eighties, I heard about Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Holmes, and critics were saying that Brett had made the role his own, becoming the definitive version of the master sleuth. At that time, my family was renting a VCR along with two VHS tapes for $20 at the local video shop, and selections were scarce, so it was difficult to get my hands on copies of the Brett movies. It was almost ten years later (about a year before his death) when I finally was able to watch these films.

I’m posting here one of my favorite stories, The Final Problem, starring Brett as Holmes and David Burke as Dr. Watson.



Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

I know... the part where Holmes and Moriarty are struggling on top of Reichenbach Falls looks stagey but the fall itself gets me everytime.

The producer intended to film all sixty stories, but Brett had only filmed forty-one before his unfortunate passing. These movies are without a doubt the most faithful rendering of Doyle’s original yarns.

According to Wikipedia, Doyle ranked The Adventure of the Final Problem fourth on his personal list of the twelve best Holmes stories.

Oops, we're doing it again!

For the second time in two weeks, Denise and I are on the run from another hurricane. For a couple of New Yorkers, this is definitely an adventure. This time instead of running to Texas as we did for Gustav, we are in Mississippi to wait out Ike. We stopped in a little town called Kentwood, Louisiana for gas and, knowing Britney Spears is from the area, we drove around a bit. Sure enough, we found this welcome sign...

DIY: HHO

I’m not mechanically inclined like my father or most of my uncles who all had the gift. I do, however, appreciate ingenuity when I see it. Over the past few weeks, with everyone talking about soaring gas prices, a coworker of mine decided to do something about it and built his own hydrogen fuel generator.

The picture to the right shows a regular Mason jar with plexi-glass inside wrapped with a stainless steel coil. The wires go to the battery and the vent hose runs to the intake of the vehicle.

Basically it works by breaking down molecules in water to produce hydrogen gas.

The mixture in the jar is roughly two tablespoons of baking soda and filled with water.

Disclaimer: I don’t recommend doing this and I jokingly told this country boy that if he blows up his truck, I'll be thinking of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..."



The joke appears to be on me. My Jeep Wrangler continues to guzzle gas and according to this mechanically inclined southern gentleman with his new 'hybrid' pick-up truck, he has seen a 30% increase in savings.

For both sides of the 'does it work' debate:
The-Shocking-Truth-About-a-Hydrogen-Car-Kit, ezinearticles.com

Water-Powered Cars: Hydrogen Electrolyzer Mod Can't Up MPGs, Popular Mechanics

Tales from the Crypt #4

I never read the original 1950s EC comics Tales from the Crypt, but I was a fan of the 1989-1996 HBO series. Crypt, like other anthology series (The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits), has embedded itself in my noggin. One episode, in particular, where a woman’s corpse in various stages of decay continues to haunt the man that (I believe) killed her with the final scene of a snake-like tongue coming outta her skull, is seared in my memory.

In the graphic section of my local Books A Million, I spotted an affordable hard cover of Tales From The Crypt #4. It features the work of Joe R. Lansdale who along with John L.Lansdale (writers), Chris Noeth (artist), and Bryan Senka (letterer) created "Moonlight Sonata" about a mugger who kills a wealthy man in a dark alley with the intention of robbing his house. The thief finds he has bitten off more than he can chew when he encounters two caged werewolves at the eccentric man’s house.

"Jumping the Shark" by Arie Kaplan (writer), Mr. Exes (artist) and Mark Lerer (letterer) is an enjoyably dark tale about a producer’s assistant who gets in over his head after he kills his ruthless boss out of anger and then is given the producers job on a reality show only to discover what it takes to remain #1.

I enjoyed all the stories and artwork in this collection enough that I just may hunt down some of the original comics to see how it all started.