Last Wednesday
sort of marked the end of an era. I went to the Oklahoma State University library for the
first time in three years, and there wasn't much for me any
more. I'd look for a book but then say, "Hey, I have that now!" Or
"They never had that, or I would have Xeroxed it!" And the
newspapers on microfiche have almost disintegrated. I looked through a
few volumes of Folklore journals -- but I seem to have some book or copy covering almost anything interesting.
It is hard for me to describe how big an impact OSU's Hardesty Library had on my life. Before I started college, I owned maybe 50 paperback books (in pre-Internet days). Once I became a freshman, I wandered in amazement through the five floors of books, journals, maps, and pamphlets of the library. Every rare volume I'd ever heard of seemed to be there, and every rare article or book mentioned in those books was available there. I always thought of myself as a knowledgeable young man, but at OSU, it felt like my head was hollow and empty. Actual yellowing old copies of Blackwood's Magazine that Arthur Conan Doyle might have perused while writing the Sherlock Holmes stories were available . . . The issues of Saturday Evening Post that first printed Stephen Vincent Benet's "Place of the Gods" and Ray Bradbury's "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," with their breathtaking painted illustrations . . . the TV newspaper guides listing when such shows as Tulsa's Fantastic Theater (horror/SF films) and Mr. Zing and Tuffy (classic cartoons) aired (both ran from 1963 to 1968 -- wow, so long ago!).
But all that seems to be in the past, now.
{Actually, the fact that I have 99% of all the books I used to drool over should make me happy. Just have to find the time to read them!)
Also while at Stillwater, OK, my poor old knees almost gave out -- especially when I took a
short cut which left me in a maze of construction/blocked off areas for
half-an-hour. We shall never speak of the short-cut again.
On the other hand, last night I discovered that there existed a hardback
version of Andre Norton's The Crystal Gryphon back in 1972 -- I never knew that. And I
found out about a couple of other Norton titles I've never even heard of.
Since Andre is the one author I truly collect, it looks like there are still a few things out there to seek after.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Well! Let's see if I can get this blog going again -- and make it interesting.
When I was a bit younger, I wanted to collect all the world's ghost stories of legend and supposed reality -- and put them in a book. One book. Actually, one chapter of a book on weird stuff. Needless to say, I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
By now, it feels like I've hunted down every book, magazine, and article on earth about interesting and unusual events. I can pick and choose from a vast field of paranormal reports, fortean phenomena, true crime, historical oddities, and folk tales to put in my hypothetical anthology. Say 10 or 12 interesting tales from each broad category, like Ghost Stories or Urban Legends.
So I started on the category of Stupid Criminals, but -- I came to this story in The World's Stupidest Criminals (edited by the Editors of the Fortean Times) , and I just stopped. This guy was all I needed out of life.
Seems that on the morning of August 14, 1992, in Sunderland, England, a man entered Lloyds Bank. Even though he wore a ski mask and carried a pistol, the tellers flatly refused to give him any money, so he left. Shortly after that, he entered a savings and loan, but the tellers simply ducked under the counter (presumably behind bulletproof glass), so he fled again. Just before noon he tried a savings and loan in Spennymoor, a nearby town. This time he received $300.00. However:
"As he ran off, three men tackled him, ignoring his gun, which turned out to be a water pistol. Apart from recovering the stolen cash, they pulled off his watch, ski mask, gloves, and shirt, which contained $300 of the robber's own money. The bungling bandit dived over a fence with a 20-foot drop on the other side, and was last seen hobbling away."
Well -- he did get away!
When I was a bit younger, I wanted to collect all the world's ghost stories of legend and supposed reality -- and put them in a book. One book. Actually, one chapter of a book on weird stuff. Needless to say, I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
By now, it feels like I've hunted down every book, magazine, and article on earth about interesting and unusual events. I can pick and choose from a vast field of paranormal reports, fortean phenomena, true crime, historical oddities, and folk tales to put in my hypothetical anthology. Say 10 or 12 interesting tales from each broad category, like Ghost Stories or Urban Legends.
So I started on the category of Stupid Criminals, but -- I came to this story in The World's Stupidest Criminals (edited by the Editors of the Fortean Times) , and I just stopped. This guy was all I needed out of life.
Seems that on the morning of August 14, 1992, in Sunderland, England, a man entered Lloyds Bank. Even though he wore a ski mask and carried a pistol, the tellers flatly refused to give him any money, so he left. Shortly after that, he entered a savings and loan, but the tellers simply ducked under the counter (presumably behind bulletproof glass), so he fled again. Just before noon he tried a savings and loan in Spennymoor, a nearby town. This time he received $300.00. However:
"As he ran off, three men tackled him, ignoring his gun, which turned out to be a water pistol. Apart from recovering the stolen cash, they pulled off his watch, ski mask, gloves, and shirt, which contained $300 of the robber's own money. The bungling bandit dived over a fence with a 20-foot drop on the other side, and was last seen hobbling away."
Well -- he did get away!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
The Return of Ambition
Now why did they have to have nice furniture at Sutherland's Home Improvement store? Just when I'd grown used to the idea of living in apartments forever, now I want a house again, just so I can put good furniture in it.
Several pieces caught my eye, but the item that started the dominoes falling was a rustic, wooden, outdoor bench, painted black but artificially weathered so as to have faded, almost white, streaks. I've always wanted a bench for the outdoors, whether on a front porch, patio, or even out in the yard proper. Something to sit on while listening to the birds (or lawn mowers and hedge clippers, which produce their own music), watching sunsets and falling leaves, and feeling cool breezes. Not something to put on the pitiful square concrete apron in front of my apartment, where things occasionally disappear.
Add to that the actual reason I went to Sutherland's (and Lowe's): Buying bricks, planks, and cinder blocks to make real, solid, and cheap bookcases. Too long have I used plastic shelves that bend and even collapse under the weight of hardbacks. Each one, also, being of a different size, width, and height, resulting in a chaotic landscape of printed matter. Boards and cinder blocks may seem sophomoric, but they are of uniform size, and they are sturdy. Looking at them makes me wonder how they would look in a permanent environment -- a house of one's own.
A third boost to determination came when I decided I couldn't go any longer without re-reading one of my favorite books -- The Crystal Gryphon, by Andre Norton. It's the archetypal fantasy, as far as I'm concerned (apologies to Tolkien), and probably the best written of Andre's 200 books. I imagine Crystal -- and the rest of my Norton collection -- and all my other volumes -- sitting on those sturdy (but cheap) shelves among pieces of comfortable (if rustic) furniture, in a home of my own (with a bench just outside on the patio). It's an image to aim for.
Today is Wednesday, June 24, 2015. John Keel, Loren Coleman, and other fortean authors have pointed out that strange things tend to happen on the 24th of the month, especially June 24. (For instance, the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, which gave the world the term "flying saucers," took place on June 24, 1947). Add to that the claim that more UFOs (and other paranormal phenomena) are witnessed on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, and surely something weird ought to happen today.
Is it true? I don''t know. In my wasted youth I did go cruising around the countryside each year on the night of June 24, just to see if anything happened . . . nothing ever did.
Well, I actually went out and looked for a new job today . . . that's pretty unbelievable . . .
Several pieces caught my eye, but the item that started the dominoes falling was a rustic, wooden, outdoor bench, painted black but artificially weathered so as to have faded, almost white, streaks. I've always wanted a bench for the outdoors, whether on a front porch, patio, or even out in the yard proper. Something to sit on while listening to the birds (or lawn mowers and hedge clippers, which produce their own music), watching sunsets and falling leaves, and feeling cool breezes. Not something to put on the pitiful square concrete apron in front of my apartment, where things occasionally disappear.
Add to that the actual reason I went to Sutherland's (and Lowe's): Buying bricks, planks, and cinder blocks to make real, solid, and cheap bookcases. Too long have I used plastic shelves that bend and even collapse under the weight of hardbacks. Each one, also, being of a different size, width, and height, resulting in a chaotic landscape of printed matter. Boards and cinder blocks may seem sophomoric, but they are of uniform size, and they are sturdy. Looking at them makes me wonder how they would look in a permanent environment -- a house of one's own.
A third boost to determination came when I decided I couldn't go any longer without re-reading one of my favorite books -- The Crystal Gryphon, by Andre Norton. It's the archetypal fantasy, as far as I'm concerned (apologies to Tolkien), and probably the best written of Andre's 200 books. I imagine Crystal -- and the rest of my Norton collection -- and all my other volumes -- sitting on those sturdy (but cheap) shelves among pieces of comfortable (if rustic) furniture, in a home of my own (with a bench just outside on the patio). It's an image to aim for.
*****
Today is Wednesday, June 24, 2015. John Keel, Loren Coleman, and other fortean authors have pointed out that strange things tend to happen on the 24th of the month, especially June 24. (For instance, the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, which gave the world the term "flying saucers," took place on June 24, 1947). Add to that the claim that more UFOs (and other paranormal phenomena) are witnessed on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, and surely something weird ought to happen today.
Is it true? I don''t know. In my wasted youth I did go cruising around the countryside each year on the night of June 24, just to see if anything happened . . . nothing ever did.
Well, I actually went out and looked for a new job today . . . that's pretty unbelievable . . .
Sunday, April 26, 2015
THREE YEARS PASS QUICKLY PAST . . .
It seems I all but forgot my blog and web-site over the past three years. I did little of interest in the last few months here when I did remember it, as you can see in previous posts. This may change soon, as I'm likely to have more free time.
Let's just say the environment at work grew steadily worse over the years, a situation which, combined with the long commute there and back, drained my energy to the point that I did little at night beyond goofing off on the Internet for a while then collapsing into sleep -- only to rise a few hours later and go to work again.
But enough of that. I wasn't completely idle during that time. As a matter of fact, thinking back to my teenage years, it seemed like I wrote one page per day (on good days) on "the" story (I only thought up one at a time). Now I have numerous tales floating around, several of novel length, that all clamor for attention. I've written/typed/edited many times the material I produced way back when during these "lost" three years. I guess the key to it all is focusing on one at a time.
Here are a couple of recent ditties: Specklit Stories.
And a longer tale about something lurking in Your Own Back Yard.
Now: back to the old grindstone to produce more tales. At least this is a more fun grindstone than one scribbling down figures and studying car titles and replacement license forms!
Let's just say the environment at work grew steadily worse over the years, a situation which, combined with the long commute there and back, drained my energy to the point that I did little at night beyond goofing off on the Internet for a while then collapsing into sleep -- only to rise a few hours later and go to work again.
But enough of that. I wasn't completely idle during that time. As a matter of fact, thinking back to my teenage years, it seemed like I wrote one page per day (on good days) on "the" story (I only thought up one at a time). Now I have numerous tales floating around, several of novel length, that all clamor for attention. I've written/typed/edited many times the material I produced way back when during these "lost" three years. I guess the key to it all is focusing on one at a time.
Here are a couple of recent ditties: Specklit Stories.
And a longer tale about something lurking in Your Own Back Yard.
Now: back to the old grindstone to produce more tales. At least this is a more fun grindstone than one scribbling down figures and studying car titles and replacement license forms!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Finally! Six Months in!
176th Day (March 24)
“The Monster and the Maiden,” “The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth,” Roger Zelazny (sf ss)
Zodiac, Robert Graysmith (true crime) – frightening account of the Zodiac Killer. A good companion piece to Cops.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “The Ripper” – first actual episode of the series
Son of Frankenstein (1939 horror)
Seventy-Five books = 1/64 of total.
178th Day (March 26)
Duran Duran, “Decade”
Marvel Tales No. 182 (Dec 1985), reprinting Amazing Spider-Man No. 42, circa 1966.
From Russia with Love (1963 thriller) – James Bond #2 plus extras
183rd Day (March 31)
Kolchak, “The Zombie”
Gilligan, “Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet,” “Hi-fi Gilligan”
Danger Man, “The Not-So-Jolly Roger,” “Koroshi”
Monster that Challenged the World (1957 sf), to go with the article about same
Popular Mechanics (April 2012)
Insects, Clarence Cottam and Herbert S. Zim – basic guide to hexapods
Journey to Cubeville, Scott Adams (comic strips) – more Dilbert!
Seventy-seven books read = 1/63 of total
“The Monster and the Maiden,” “The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth,” Roger Zelazny (sf ss)
Zodiac, Robert Graysmith (true crime) – frightening account of the Zodiac Killer. A good companion piece to Cops.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “The Ripper” – first actual episode of the series
Son of Frankenstein (1939 horror)
Seventy-Five books = 1/64 of total.
178th Day (March 26)
Duran Duran, “Decade”
Marvel Tales No. 182 (Dec 1985), reprinting Amazing Spider-Man No. 42, circa 1966.
From Russia with Love (1963 thriller) – James Bond #2 plus extras
183rd Day (March 31)
Kolchak, “The Zombie”
Gilligan, “Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet,” “Hi-fi Gilligan”
Danger Man, “The Not-So-Jolly Roger,” “Koroshi”
Monster that Challenged the World (1957 sf), to go with the article about same
Popular Mechanics (April 2012)
Insects, Clarence Cottam and Herbert S. Zim – basic guide to hexapods
Journey to Cubeville, Scott Adams (comic strips) – more Dilbert!
Seventy-seven books read = 1/63 of total
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Closing in on the Sixth Month
166th Day (March 14 – happy birthday to me!)
Six Million Dollar Man, “Last of the Fourth of Julys”; “Eyewitness to Murder”
Gilligan. “Quick, Before it Sinks”
The Night Strangler (1973 horror) – more of this Kolchak person
169th Day (March 17 – St. Paddy’s Day)
Marvel Tales no. 153 (July 1983) – reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #15. First appearance of Kraven the Hunter. No. 166 (Aug. 1984) – reprint of ASM #28.
“A Matter of Form,” Horace L. Gold (sf novelette); “The Knife,” Robert Arthur (horror ss); “The Real Thing,” Robert Specht (horror ss)
Cyborg, Martin Caidin (sf novel; Steve Austin #1)
Thistle & Shamrock #679, “The Land”
War of the Worlds extras, including the Orson Welles radio broadcast (Oct. 30, 1938)
Village of the Damned (1961 sf)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935 horror)
171st Day (March 19)
Muppets Magic – a video of all the Muppets’ appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1966-1971.
Gilligan, “Castaways Pictures Presents,” “Agonized Labor”
Six Million Dollar Man, “The Coward” and “Run, Steve, Run” end Season One
174th Day (March 22)
Marvel Masterpieces: The Mighty Thor Vol. 1, Stan Lee, et. al – The first comic stories of the Thunder God
Mazeppa, “Toby the Toe-Headed Boy;” “Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever?” – ends Mazeppa Vol. 1. Superman, “The Eleventh Hour”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion: “Last Chapter: Unmasked!”
Six Million Dollar Man, “Last of the Fourth of Julys”; “Eyewitness to Murder”
Gilligan. “Quick, Before it Sinks”
The Night Strangler (1973 horror) – more of this Kolchak person
169th Day (March 17 – St. Paddy’s Day)
Marvel Tales no. 153 (July 1983) – reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #15. First appearance of Kraven the Hunter. No. 166 (Aug. 1984) – reprint of ASM #28.
“A Matter of Form,” Horace L. Gold (sf novelette); “The Knife,” Robert Arthur (horror ss); “The Real Thing,” Robert Specht (horror ss)
Cyborg, Martin Caidin (sf novel; Steve Austin #1)
Thistle & Shamrock #679, “The Land”
War of the Worlds extras, including the Orson Welles radio broadcast (Oct. 30, 1938)
Village of the Damned (1961 sf)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935 horror)
171st Day (March 19)
Muppets Magic – a video of all the Muppets’ appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1966-1971.
Gilligan, “Castaways Pictures Presents,” “Agonized Labor”
Six Million Dollar Man, “The Coward” and “Run, Steve, Run” end Season One
174th Day (March 22)
Marvel Masterpieces: The Mighty Thor Vol. 1, Stan Lee, et. al – The first comic stories of the Thunder God
Mazeppa, “Toby the Toe-Headed Boy;” “Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever?” – ends Mazeppa Vol. 1. Superman, “The Eleventh Hour”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion: “Last Chapter: Unmasked!”
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
. . . And into March
152nd Day (Feb. 29)
Footrot Flats 21, Murray Ball (comic strips)
Superboy 80-Page Giant, No. 147 (2006 reprint of June, 1968 issue)
Gilligan Season Two: “Gilligan’s Mother-in-Law,” “Beauty is as Beauty Does”
The Monkees, “Hitting the High Seas,” “The Frodis Caper,” – in memory of Davy Jones
156th Day (March 4)
Star Trek, “Charlie X”
The Man from Planet X (1951 sf)
Mazeppa, “What Do You Get?”, “Airplane Noise School”; Superman, “The Japoteurs”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Ten: Mystery Wagon”; The Invisible Man (1933 sf)
The Monkees, “Monkee Vs. Machine,” “Fairy Tale”
Thistle & Shamrock #802, “Island Cruise”; Pink Floyd, “Works”
158th Day (March 6)
Excerpts from Ozark Tales and Superstitions by Phillip W. Steele (1985)
Golden Nature Guide to Trees, Herbert S. Zim and Alexander C. Martin
The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 1, Stan Lee, et. al (comic collection)
“Spectre-Dogs”, an excerpt from The Book of Days, Vol. 2, by Robert Chambers (1885)
162nd Day (March 10)
Cops, Mark Baker (true crime) – hard-hitting book on crime and those who combat it, told by real policemen in their own words
“The Beast in the Cave,” “Dagon”, early tales by H. P. Lovecraft
“ALPHAs”, Gregory Benford (sf ss)
Gilligan, “The Little Dictator”, “Smile, You’re on Mars Camera”
Six Million Dollar Man, “Dr. Wells is Missing”
The Lone Ranger, “Cannonball McCade”; Jonny Quest, “The Fraudulent Volcano”
Mazeppa, “The New Contender”; Superman, “Showdown”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Eleven: Face to Face”
War of the Worlds (1953 sf)
Seventy-Two books = 1/67 of the total!
Footrot Flats 21, Murray Ball (comic strips)
Superboy 80-Page Giant, No. 147 (2006 reprint of June, 1968 issue)
Gilligan Season Two: “Gilligan’s Mother-in-Law,” “Beauty is as Beauty Does”
The Monkees, “Hitting the High Seas,” “The Frodis Caper,” – in memory of Davy Jones
156th Day (March 4)
Star Trek, “Charlie X”
The Man from Planet X (1951 sf)
Mazeppa, “What Do You Get?”, “Airplane Noise School”; Superman, “The Japoteurs”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Ten: Mystery Wagon”; The Invisible Man (1933 sf)
The Monkees, “Monkee Vs. Machine,” “Fairy Tale”
Thistle & Shamrock #802, “Island Cruise”; Pink Floyd, “Works”
158th Day (March 6)
Excerpts from Ozark Tales and Superstitions by Phillip W. Steele (1985)
Golden Nature Guide to Trees, Herbert S. Zim and Alexander C. Martin
The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 1, Stan Lee, et. al (comic collection)
“Spectre-Dogs”, an excerpt from The Book of Days, Vol. 2, by Robert Chambers (1885)
162nd Day (March 10)
Cops, Mark Baker (true crime) – hard-hitting book on crime and those who combat it, told by real policemen in their own words
“The Beast in the Cave,” “Dagon”, early tales by H. P. Lovecraft
“ALPHAs”, Gregory Benford (sf ss)
Gilligan, “The Little Dictator”, “Smile, You’re on Mars Camera”
Six Million Dollar Man, “Dr. Wells is Missing”
The Lone Ranger, “Cannonball McCade”; Jonny Quest, “The Fraudulent Volcano”
Mazeppa, “The New Contender”; Superman, “Showdown”; Zorro’s Fighting Legion, “Chapter Eleven: Face to Face”
War of the Worlds (1953 sf)
Seventy-Two books = 1/67 of the total!
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