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HUBRIS IN MOROCCO
Welcome back, old friend.A strong start for Breaking Bad, season 5B. I loved seeing the White house in decay, loved seeing "Heisenberg" spray painted on the wood paneling, loved the way Walt startled...
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PURPLE HAYES
I called my sister and told her I've been watching The Mod Squad."Linc," she said. As in Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, the groovy cop played by Clarence Williams III."Solid," I said. "Far out."I guess you had...
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OZ NEVER DID GIVE NOTHING TO THE THIN MAN
I picked up this Dashiell Hammett the other day.Like many people I know, I like to reacquaint myself with novels from the noir canon every few years. Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain. Lots of...
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THE PIGS, THE FUZZ, THE COPS, THE HEAT
Dragnet Case No. 561 by David Knight (Pocket Books 1120, 1956)You already know the facts. What you may not know is that this Dragnet-inspired novel comes with a handy glossary, so everyday people can...
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DROPPING DIMES
When Tania and Angela got married, they encouraged everyone to take the centerpiece and the decorations from the tables at their reception.I'm getting ahead of myself.First there was the eating and the...
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CRAZY, MAN, CRAZY
While my nephew was picking up records by Jimmy Smith and Milt Jackson at Revolver's Sunday Sale, I was across town browsing bins my own self.Not a bad haul. A little rockabilly, a little "Rock and...
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ODDS & BITTER ENDS
I'm leaving in two weeks, so my to-do list includes signing documents and packing boxes and trying to see friends without really saying goodbye. There are services I need to suspend, and others I need...
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WHAT STINGS LIKE A BEE
Days by Real Estate (Domino DNO 305, 2011)Why is it that Real Estate (the band) has been so good to me, while real estate (the real estate) has been such a bitch?Oh well. I'll take soaring vocals and...
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DAMN IT, HAMMETT
I knew a bookstore guy, a fellow employee in San Francisco, who used to shove a bunch of mass market paperbacks into his coat at the end of each shift. He'd wave goodbye to everyone and walk out with...
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YOU GOT A NOIR FACE? LET ME SEE YOUR NOIR FACE.
Chandler cover art by Whistlin' Dixie.Playback by Raymond Chandler (Ballantine 25169, 1977)Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler (Ballantine 25728, 1977)Trouble is My Business by Raymond Chandler...
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MOVING DAY
He'll Have to Go And Other Favorites by Jim Reeves (RCA Victor LPM-2223, 1960)Vanishing Point (Richard C. Sarafian, dir.), 1971Don't Look Back movie tie-in (Ballantine U7089, 1968)I left Arizona on...
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Sammy started community college a week ago. His English class meets once a week for several hours. The students work at their own terminals and the instructor's notes are visible on a large monitor at...
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FEAR ITSELF
I didn't like Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear (1991) the first time I saw it.Wait--I liked it. I didn't love it. Thought it was just okay. I revisited the film recently and was struck by the...
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CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
I left town with two boxes of books I figured I could trade at any interesting used bookstore I encountered on the road. I found a suitable place in Albuquerque and hauled both boxes to the front...
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STUFF
Okay, so I've been otherwise occupied. Lots of loving, lots of thinking, lots of writing. Good times, yo.The last couple of months have been among the happiest in my life. I've had a lot of...
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PUT A STAMP ON IT
I was in a Nevada City a couple of weeks ago and pulled these postcards from the $1 basket by the door.Mailed 1909Inscibed, but unsentInscribed, but unsentUnused
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NOW, WITHOUT OPIUM
I feel like there should be a recording of this from either Frank Morgan or Pat Buttram, someone of that ilk.A character in a straw hat standing on a fruit crate, a city slicker addressing rubes,...
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MURRAY MOVES ON JAGGER
I didn't know what to expect when I moved, but I knew I would no longer have access to all the old bookstores and thrift stores in my neighborhood. Places I'd spent a decade or more digging in crates,...
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ADDRESSING L' ENFANT IN THE ROOM
I've had pretty good luck lately, finding things of interest. Sometimes I'll see something I already have and wonder if the copy I own is as good as the copy in front of me. It's not easy finding older...
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OBVIOUS APPEAL
I've been eating a lot of fruit lately.I've never been a big apple guy, a big orange guy, a peaches and pears guy. Some fruit, yes. Who doesn't like bananas? Who doesn't eat grapes? When I was working...
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IN WHICH SOVEREIGNTY IS CEDED
The other day I found an interesting book, the kind of book people leave wide open on their coffee table. Not the everyday coffee table in the den or family room. I'm talking about the coffee table in...
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IT'S MY PARTY, I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO
My niece got married a few weeks ago so I flew into Colorado for the occasion. It was my first time back in six months.Sara was a bridesmaid and Sammy was an usher. Sam flew in from Phoenix with his...
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THE LUNAR LANDING OF THE DENTIST CONVENTION
I met Courtney and Roxie for happy hour last Thursday. Work has been crazy and each of us needed to vent, so we made plans before inventory and met up around 7. We ordered drinks, we ordered...
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TATIANNA, THE NOW-PLAYING MANNEQUIN
For the longest time, I wanted a mannequin for The Museum of Stuff.Not a mannequin for dressing up--I couldn't care less about fashion or clothing. I wanted the kind of mannequin you'd see in an indie...
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