I don’t currently have a cubicle in which to post this, so I will merely link to it here and try to look at it five times a week: Trash Talk!
The Dead Man’s Brother Review
The Dead Man’s Brother, Zelazny. Yes. The manuscript for Dead Man’s Brother was discovered by Zelazny’s agent, presumably recently, certainly after Zelazny’s 1995 death. I found it interesting to read a work that is clearly Zelazny, but is not predominately sf (though it certainly bears a distinct trace of sf). It’s a bit preachier than RZ usually was, and I’m not sure a crime fiction devotee would be entirely satisfied, but I was.
I found the publisher’s mission statement charmingly nostalgic:
Hard Case Crime brings you the best in hard-boiled crime fiction, from lost pulp classics to new work by today’s most powerful writers, all in handsome and affordable paperback editions. The yellow ribbon represents your assurance of quality.
Update: Many thanks to Tom Jackson (see the comments) for pointing me to an account of the history of The Dead Man’s Brother.
Probably not what Madonna has
While articles about it don’t show up regularly enough to constitute a category, we do love Foreign Accent Syndrome.
Whose Flag Are You?
I enjoy attending the Seattle Sounders FC games, but flag questions come up a lot: it’s the world’s game, after all, and the world has many a flag (very few with the name conveniently written on). So here’s a flag identifier tool, and another one. I hope they work on cell phones!
Edisonblog!
Woodside Villa July 17 1885
Slept so sound that even Mina didn’t bother me as It would stagger the mind of Raphael in a dream to imagine a being comparable to the Maid of Chataqua so I must have slept very sound — As usual I was the last one up. This is because Im so deaf — found everybody smiling and happy — Read more of Miss Clevelands book, think she is a smart woman — relatively — Damons diary progressing finely —
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CD Club for Nerds: who's with me???
First: read this article about CD Club for Nerds.
Second: send me email telling me you want to DO THIS THING! Let’s work it out, people, I’m totally serious.
Today's Phone Phun
[Phone rings]
Craig [answering phone]: Hello?
Megan: Hi, Craig?
Craig: Yes.
Megan: It’s Megan
[Craig thinks “Do I know a Megan? Megan who? Probably a recruiter.”]
Megan [cont’d]: I just sent you [something or other] from Wells [blah blah blah] and I want us to look at them side by side, because remember when I said my closing costs shouldn’t be more than [some amount]?
Craig: No, I really don’t. What are we talking about?
Megan: Oh, wait. Is this Craig Stark?
Craig: No.
Megan: Is this Craig Sternwood?
Craig: Yep.
Megan: Oh, I hit the wrong Craig S in my phone contacts. Well, you just have a great rest of your day and weekend.
[call ends]
Collected Roger Zelazny Vol. 1 Review
Threshold: Volume 1: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, ed. Grubbs, Kovacs, Crimmins. Yes.
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These Are the People I Serve
This is turning into a regular feature!
Sweet Jesus. Except if this person was really a patron, the note would be laser printed.
The [eastern city] of the Northwest
A new town, called Paradise City, has been started in opposition to Moscow, up in Idaho. The rivalry is said to be very acrimonious. One is the St. Louis and the other the Chicago of the Northwest.
Daily Evening Bulletin, (San Francisco, CA) Wednesday, April 14, 1875