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Charlie Huston - We Have a Problem!
Monday, May 15, 2006 5:12 PM
I discovered Charlie
Huston's work a month ago when I read his first
novel, Caught
Stealing. Last night I finished Huston's
second novel,
Six Bad Things. Both books
are among the best that I've read in the last year and both tell
the tale of Hank Thompson.
Ten years ago Hank was a hot prospect to
play some college baseball. A broken leg and some bad choices
killed any shot of college ball and so Hank drifted up
to New York where he found work as a bartender.
Things were going smoothly untl one night when two
guys pulled him over the bar and beat him nearly to death. The
next thing Hank knew he was on the run from the Russian
mob, two Black cowboys, and a dirty cop. If Hank can
figure out what's going on, he just might get out of this alive
and with some of the $4.5 million that everyone thinks
that he has!
On the strength of Caught
Stealing, Charlie Huston jumped onto my
"Author's to Watch for List." Seeing that Six
Bad Things was just as good, he's now on my "Buy
It Now List."
I'm putting in my pre-order for the final book in
the Hank Thompson trilogy, A
Dangerous Man, and also ordering
Already Dead, Huston's
novel about a detective who happens to be a vampire!
That means that I'll have all of his novels. He's
just going to have to start writing faster.
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The End of a Great Season
Sunday, May 14, 2006 9:52 AM
I guess that maybe a picture of the cast of The
West Wing would have been a more appropriate banner for today's
post, but I just couldn't not use that great shot of the
entire cast of Lost.
I really hate that this tv season is winding down.
The West Wing is ending for good. I've tuned
in since the first episode and think that it's pretty sad that
President Bartlett and crew aren't getting a bigger send
off.
What may have been the best seasons ever on
American Idol and 24 are almost over. Medium,
Lost
and Survivor
are also getting ready to pack it in for the summer. The
Shield,
Wanted,
Thief and Over There already ended their seasons.
There's always the chance that a summer replacement
show will end up being as good as Over There [Bring
it back, FX] was or as fun as So You Think You Can Dance.
But even if that's not the case, I still have a ton of novels
that I'm dying to get the time to read.
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And Then There Were Three - Shocking!
Thursday, May 11, 2006 6:42 PM
Remember when I posted here
about the shocking
ending on Lost
and how surprised I was, especially since it wasn't the season
finale?
Well, last night American
Idol had an equally surprising ending. Chris
Daughtry, who many thought would BE the next winner,
was sent packing. Everyone was shocked.
And. I. Mean. Everyone.
Look at Chris' face
in the banner above and you can see even he
was stunned.
So what happened?
My guess is that everyone
thought that Chris was such a shoe-in to reach the finals
that many folks decided to vote to keep in their 2nd favorite
contestant. The strange thing is that before the show started
my wife predicted that it could be Chris' night
to leave for just that reason. I thought that either Elliot
or Katherine would get the axe.
So, who's going to win now
that Chris is gone?
I'd predicted a showdown between
Chris and Taylor [with Chris winning], so
I'll stick with Taylor as the next American Idol.
[Of course, my wife may have a more accurate prediction...]
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Big Beatty Says, "Come On In!"
Monday, May 8, 2006 5:55 PM
My best buddy, John Beatty
has started a second blog. [Don't worry, his art
blog isn't going anywhere!] His new on-line
journal will look at his personal life, past, present
and dreams of the future.
It's a side of the big guy that
most folks don't get to see. So what are you waiting for? Click
HERE
to get there!
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Heroes Won't Be Hard to Find
Sunday, May 7, 2006 11:55 AM
This year's Heroes
Convention is going to be the best in its 25
year history. At this point there are over 300 guests
scheduled to attend. The convention has been a part of our family's
vacation for years and this year will be no exception. At Heroes,
there's something for everyone.
Artist's
Alley and and Indie
Island will be filled to the brim
with artists sketching, signing autographs
and hanging out with fans. Dealers will fill the convention
hall selling everything from vintage toys, comics and
magazines to the latest games, t-shirts, and dvds.
Comic book writers, horror novelists, publishers and
editors will also be on hand. There will be a ton of
informative [and fun] panels where creators will discuss
everything from how to get into comics, to self-publishing
to what's next for them. Gaming tournaments will run
almost non-stop. And of course there is the traditional art
auction.
I can't wait. If you
can make it, you should. I can guarantee you'll have a blast!
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So You Think You Know John Beatty
Saturday, May 6, 2006 8:59 AM
Today happens to be the birthday
of my best buddy, John Beatty.
Most ZONERs know "Big"
John from his appearances on the SZ message boards,
but in honor of his birthday, here are:
Some things about John Beatty that you might not know:
- John Beatty was quite an accomplished
break dancer in his youth. Rumors abound to this
day that he was the first choice to play the role
of "Rerun" on "What's Happening?"
- John Beatty invented the "spoiler
alert" used on the internet to let folks not that
plot points and surprise endings are forthcoming.
- John Beatty is quite a singer.
Perhaps most famous for his cover of Elvis
tunes, Jim Ivey [noted raconteur, in the Who's
Who of the World] continues to say, "It's not Christmas
season until Big John sings 'Blue Christmas.'
- John Beatty
is an accomplished actor. He appeared as the evil
"Patch" in "Nightveil: Witch War"
[available on dvd from accomics.com].
Rumors of an action figure are too scary to think about.
- John Beatty is an accomplished
pool player. He has been known to repeatedly spot
an opponent every ball on the table and still win!
- John Beatty is an accomplished
poker player. He's been known to go both ways
in a game of high-low five card stud having nothing
but an Ace High and a ten low and beat
the table where players had better lows and better highs!
- John Beatty was ahead of the curve
when it came to home computers. While still in his
teens he had work published in several books on computer
use!
- John Beatty's comic career is
full of highlights: he worked on the first Secret
Wars series [which spawned the popularity of the mini-series];
he worked on the first Punisher mini-series [which
kicked the backup character to leading man status]; he worked
on the first new Batman book in 50 years [which was
also the first comic to start the trend of multple covers].
It is also rumored that Big John, while still a child,
was the first to utter Alfred E. Neuman's famous,
"What, Me Worry?" line.
- Although unconfirmed, it is believed
that John Beatty was the first to wear the haircut
made famous by the lead singer of Flock of Seagals,
that Beatty encouraged Brian Setzer to give
up glam rock and try something with a rock-a-billy style,
that Beatty suggested that James Cameron follow
up "Terminator 2" with something "Titanic,"
that Beatty was the first to suggest the ideas
for "American Idol," "Survivor,"
and "What's Happening Now?"
- Many people find it hard to believe that
Big John has done so much in just 45 years
on this planet. Speculation abounds that he is much older
than that. Unverified pictures of someone looking like
John Beatty from the civil war era are rampant
in conspiracy circles.
Happy, Happy, Big J!
And It Ain't Even the Season
Finale
Thursday, May 4, 2006 4:50 PM
If you haven't seen last night's episode
of LOST yet, then you may not want to read any farther.....
SPOILERS are coming!
*
*
*
*
Still here? Ok... Whoa! What a great
surprise ending!
I know my jaw hit the floor when Michael
blasted Ana-Lucia in the chest from point blank range.
My eyes were probably still buggin' out when he then popped
a couple of caps in Libby!
If that had been the season finale,
I would have applauded. With a few episodes still to
come, I believe that a standing ovation is in order.
I knew that Michelle Rodriguez [Ana-Lucia] and
Cynthia Watros [Libby] were supposed to be leaving
the show. Still, ya gotta give big props for the shocking
way that they went.
So, where does that leave Michael?
Has he been brain-washed? Is he fully aware of what
he's doing? Is Libby really dead? [Poor, poor Hurley!]
And did you know about the novel [Bad
Twin] that's referenced in the show
and written by one of the passengers... but was just
released in real life?
Talk to me, folks!
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