Take the Test...

Merriam-Webster has a ten question vocabulary quiz. The faster you answer, the higher the score. My best score? 3320. Only tried it twice.

About the Sandusky Thing...

Here's what I don't get - supposedly one of the flunkies at Penn State caught Sandusky in flagrante delicto with a ten year old (who couldn't possibly, therefore, be confused with a consenting adult). He says he shut the door on them then opened it some time later, and Sandusky and the boy were now standing apart. That ended the matter as far as I can tell - that is the flunky didn't say anything to Sandusky at the moment or do anything else.

Why didn't the flunky (who appears to be a large man) go into the locker room, get a helmet and beat Sandusky until he stopped moving?

He says he didn't use the word "intercourse" with Joe Paterno because that would have been too rude a word for Paterno's ears... Not too rude for the boy to be forced to endure, mind you.

I'm no fan of football and certainly no fan of amateur football, but from this example (and apparently there are other examples waiting to be discussed at Syracuse, no?) I would tend to think that while college football might turn out fine young men of good character, it is run by weasels.

Maybe I'm Next...?

Steve Guttenberg is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Not sure how to feel about that. Loved Short Circuit. Boys from Brazil. Police Academy (the original, not the sequels which all seemed to lack the spark of wit and invention that... Oh, never mind.) But I have to say I would not have guessed he was due for a star. I guess this would have made more sense to me twenty-five years ago.

Anyway, congrats.

La Lohan

Wait. She says her purse went missing and when returned, it didn't have the 10k she was carrying around in it. So... Why is she carrying ten grand? That should probably be a parole violation right there, no? Something like "solicitation of trouble".

Or is this how movie stars make their drug transactions nowadays? Since it's going to be in the papers anyway, might as well make it a real story.

Mean spirited of me? Well, yes. But then, on the other hand, no. I'm not the one leaving a purse with ten grand in it unattended. Believe me, if I had to carry $10,000 in cash, no one would be getting that from me without a weapon or a pair of bloody fists.

Crimespree and Me

Being published in CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE has always been a thrill for me. The editors there take mystery quite seriously and if they give you the thumbs up, then you've really done good.

Well, I've done good again. This time, it's an article on Kindle's impact on the short story market called "Kindle Shorts." In it I interview Jonathan Santlofer and Iain Rowan and have a few (kind) words to say about Steve Hockensmith's collection of stories and articles called "My Dog Needs Surgery."

Will there be more articles of this type in the future? Apparently. Jon Jordan more or less gave me carte blanche in this regard during the last Bouchercon. Of course, the party was pretty loud so it's possible one of us misheard...


Oh, and I'm listed as the fiction editor now which is cool. Stories I'm selecting will start appearing in the March issue (if I understand correctly).

More articles to come...

The Pujols Move

I love Albert Pujols - think he's a monster hitter, great player all around. But a 10 year contract for a quarter of a billion dollars? No. Why not? Not because that money is ridiculous for a guy to play a game. I think there are players who might be worth it. I just think Pujols is probably not one of them. My guess is that his ten best years are behind him, not ahead. They're in St. Louis, not Los Angeles.

Don't get me wrong. He's worth a lot. But would the Angels have ponied up that cash if they thought he'd do what he did last year (.299 / 37 / 99) for the next ten years? Those are great numbers, but not Pujols of old. And speaking of old... At his age, they're basically paying him for the next five years of production and would have to consider anything beyond that as gravy.


Of course, if he rebounds and gift wraps a couple of playoff appearances in the next couple of years, that mighht satisfy, no? I'll be interesting to watch. I'd love to see him return to form.

Crocs and Nukes...

If there's not a story here, then I just don't know stories. And let me tell you, I know stories...