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Pat Maginess: Private-Eye

Hard Shelled Detective Fiction by Edward Piercy

STICKY POST

P.M.P.I. Contents and Updates

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"I would never shoot a cat. Unless they really had it coming to 'em."

-- "All My Todays"



It was a long, dark, quiet drive back to Los Angeles.

-- from That Killer Smile



SHORT STORIES:

"Those Songs We Sing to Ourselves" -- NEW!
"Remember Me"
"Hello, Robert"
"All My Todays"
"The Salesman"
"It's a Dog's Life"


NOVELS:

That Killer Smile (Complete Novella).


Click on the book cover to go to the novel.


HISTORICAL:

Nick Carter: The Crime of the French Cafe (Anon/Piercy)

COVER ART MINI-STORIES:

As a service to my readers who might only have about two minutes
between Point A and Point B, I decided to post humorous bits using
the covers of old pulp magazines. Here's the link.

The Complete Cover Art Mini-Stories

REVIEWS:

Hollywood Confidential (Movie Review) -- NEW!
Margin for Murder (Movie Review)
The Proposal (Movie Review)
Best Detective Movies
Kiss Me, Deadly (Movie Review)
Attack of the Sabretooth (Movie Review)
Savior (Movie Review).
Bare Trap by Frank Kane (Book Review).
I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane (Review-Essay).
DaVinci's Inquest (TV Series Review).
The Snarl of the Beast by Carroll John Daly (Book Review).
Poisons Unknown by Frank Kane (Book Review).
V. I. Warshawski (Movie Review).

MISCELLANEOUS:

CSI: Noir
Survivor China Episode 2 (Parody)
The Jungle Book Revisited (Parody)
The Black Dahlia Revisted (Parody)
The Nazi Bastard Diaries
Einstein On Lunch (Tiny Tale #1)
Robespierre's Doll (Tiny Tale #2)
The White Book (Tiny Tale #3)
Curse of the Body Snatchers (Tiny Tale #4)
Bruce's Enormous Penis (Tiny Tale #5)
Red Rock (Tiny Tale #6)
The Gentlemen's Club (Tiny Tale #7)
Rising (Tiny Tale #8) -- NEW!
Barbershop Quartet #1
Barbershop Quartet #2
Barbershop Quartet #3
Barbershop Quartet #4

Check out what you've missed in the Archive.

Plus: Turtle Live Cam! (North Carolina (UTC -5) daylight hours)

NOVEMBER UPDATE:

October will be known – at least to myself known – as being
the month I got my new laptop computer. Considering that both
my old laptop and my old desktop were about 8 years old, you
can imagine what an upgrade this new HP Pavilion is in terms
of speed and space. Now all I have to do is fill in that space. p:
Also, Fall is here and the weather has been deliciously cold.
I would say “cool” but in all honestly it's just been downright
cold on most days. So that is another blessing. Also went to
my first concert in years – Gordon Lightfoot. And then there
was Halloween. I actually got some Trick 'R Treaters at the
door for the first time in about 5 years. I think it's great
that parents are getting more out of the protective mode and
letting their kids go door-to-door again. Well that's about
all for now. By the time I write the next update we will no
doubt have had some snow here already. “Ho ho ho, I love the
snow!” Have a great month and a happy Thanksgiving.


Best wishes to all,
Edward Piercy



That I have made all transformations
According to the dictates of my heart
In all places that have desired my ka



STICKY POST

P.M.P.I. Theme Music





To play the music, click on George or Glenn's picture.

(Please be patient. It will take a minute to connect with your media player.)


George Friedrich Handel
Suite in D minor HWV 447
Courante
Artist: Keith Jarrett
Format (MP3) / Timing (02:31)

Light and dark combined.



J.S. Bach
Partita in G Major BWV 829
Praeambulum
Artist: Glenn Gould
Format (MP3) / Timing (01:47)

Now playing in a galaxy near you...





Didn't know where to put this map, so I'm putting it here.


Locations of visitors to this page







New U.S. Flag Idea



You know I have a great love and respect for our U.S.
flag -- the Stars N' Stripes. But let's face it, it
gets kind of boring seeing the same old flag hanging
from every pole in the country day after day after day.

So I came up with a new one. Sort of an "alternative"
flag that they could fly every Friday or whatever. You
know, when people get off work and are looking forward
to the weekend.




"The United States of Groove."

We could shine ultraviolet blacklight searchlights on it
at night and it would look really bitchin'.



(And my thanks to Gavin for suggesting that his own
country's flag might be made out of velvet, which
gave me the idea.)



Our Dear Departed




Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio.



I finally saw Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006)
the other night. Yeah, I know it's three years old --
it takes me a while sometimes. The fast skinny is that
as soon as I get around to it I'm going to add it to
my list of Best Detective Movies.

The movie is a remake of 2002's Internal Affairs
from Hong Kong. It really didn't surprise me then that
the movie was excellent -- Hong Kong has had the "gangster"
flicks down pat for decades now.

Leonardo DiCaprio just keeps getting better and better.
Especially with his beard and the little bit of extra
weight he's put on he reminds me so much of the young
Orsen Welles both in looks and in acting ability.






Flame Was Too Hot to Handle!






"He figured she must be bad -- and he was right!"


LMAO.


But when she was bad she was very, very good.



The 25th Hour

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Manhauling a wounded friend outside the
New York Public Library.




I watched The Day After Tomorrow the other
night. The movie portrays quick and massive
environmental disaster on a world scale.
It snows in New Dehli, multiple tornadoes
hit Los Angeles, there is 12 feet of snow
in most of Europe. And as if that is not
bad enough, 3 mega-storm centers merge to
bring the Earth back to a new Ice Age. Jeez,
and I thought I was pessimistic.

As far as I know the science was completely
exaggerated. Not that any of that stuff couldn't
happen, but it wouldn't happen within the short
time period portrayed by the movie. It was a
movie, after all, and certain things were needed
to keep a story together. But nevertheless
that kind of thing could occur -- not in months
but quite possibly in the span of a century.

I think the damage is currently too great. That
there is simply not enough time, given our nature
as human beings, to turn things around to prevent
major disaster. Already we are in the 25th hour.
I guess that's one thing about the movie that I do
think was accurate.


Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.



-- William Shakespeare, The Tempest.



Eiffel Tower Gilded

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I just happened to notice that the Eiffel Tower
is decked out in gold today.

Very beautiful!



Really Kinda Sorta Happy Music

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Happy music? I guess I'll find out.



Yesterday I grabbed a bottle of Amstel Light and my smokes and went back
into The Cave to listen to some music. Once I got back there, though, I
had a hard time deciding what music to listen to. I had been listening
to the Chopin nocturnes like hell over the past week. So the last thing
I wanted was more piano music. So I went through my albums. What I
wanted was something not depressing. Something uplifting. And while
there was certainly some music in my stacks that had this affect on me
they were Bach for the most part and on piano. And in any case there's
just something about the formality of Bach that doesn't quite say "let's
party!" As for my popular music any album that I went through had it's
downer side -- even the Moby instrumental stuff. And as far as trying to
find anything suitable on youTube, I can't get that back in The Cave
anyway.

So finally I did something I hadn't done in years -- I turned on the
radio. The first station I settled on was a type of Indie rock channel.
But it quickly became apparent that I knew none of the songs or any of
the artists. I had totally lost touch with stuff like that. And that
after a while became depressing in itself.

So I turned the dial and then settled on a Top Country station. While
Bluegrass and Alt Country might be some of the saddest stuff around,
there's something about mainstream country that is more uplifting. Even
though a guy's girlfriend might have run off with another man and even
though his truck won't start, there is a kind of stoicism to it all, as
if to say that yeah things are tough but you'll get through it so why
worry about it -- so just write a song about it.

In any case it was apparent that I need some new music in my collection.
I started thinking for some reason about Debussy. I was never a big
Debussy person, but I did know that he wrote a good number of songs for
voice and piano and that maybe there was some of that stuff that would
be good for moods like yesterday. As such I contacted Richard, whose
knowledge when it comes to music is broad and substantial, and asked him
for some suggestions. And he came back with one by Dawn Upshaw that looks
very promising. I also found a few more branching out from that which
look good.

So as soon as I scrape up the money, which will probably be January, I'll
try them. But I wonder if going that route will be worth the expense. How
many times would I really listen to them?

Because you know usually I am quite content with my dark gray skies and
my cold weather. It isn't usually any problem. Even if my girl really did
run away with another guy. And even if my truck -- if I had one -- probably
wouldn't start either.