Long before Louis L'Amour, Max Brand, or Zane Grey thought about swinging up into a saddle, women were blazing a trail for the Western story. Even prior to 1902 with Owen Wister’s The Virginian which is widely respected as the novel that put the genre on the map, female authors were far ahead on the…
TV’s Gunsmoke ran over twenty years, 635 episodes (1955-1975), and five television movies (1987-1994). Given such a popular, high-quality series it would be foolish—darn near impossible—to say these are definitively its greatest adventures. So I’ll call them almost two fists’ worth of the most memorable tales, and, please, challenge me in the comments with your…
Undoubtedly it’s a fool’s errand to single out a ‘greatest’ lone installment from a television show that ran twenty years, racking up 635 episodes. So, I’m not going to box myself into a corner by saying it’s the greatest but, when I reflect on Gunsmoke and its stunning number of quality adventures, “Mannon” is a…
Lurid & Cute by Adam Thirlwell is about a neurotic narrator who wakes up one morning in a seedy motel next to a woman who isn't his wife, and the chaotic path that ensues (available April 14, 2015). The narrator wakes confused in a seedy hotel room. He has had the good education, and also…
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Border War by Lou Dobbs and James O. Born is the suspenseful thriller about the struggles of FBI Special Agent Tom Erikson after a questionable shootout on the Mexican border leads to his reassignment to an office known as “the Island of Misfit Cops” (available May 6, 2014). The action which kicks off with a…
Holy Smoke will place the ashes of your deceased loved ones inside live shotgun shells that you can “fire when ready” for a suitable send-off. (We’ve resisted making a “going out with a bang” remark here. Aren’t you proud of us?) Founded by two Alabama game wardens, Holy Smoke was born from a conversation between…
Anton Chekhov is famously said to have decreed that “One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.” This edict has been reported by a number of his contemporaries, and it is found in one of his letters. Admirably, Chekov adhered to his own rule when…
Slate's crime blog has dubbed a bat-wielding thief who tried to rob a gun store “dumbest of all the the dumb criminals,” pointing out that “Mosley could’ve made things easier on himself by picking an easier target, like a Jo-Ann Fabrics, or the Good Ship Lollipop.” According to KATU.com: …Sheriff's deputies say Mosley walked into…
The exhibition called “Shoe Obsession” at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology (through April 13; admission free) showcases some memorable footwear of recent vintage, including these high-caliber Chanel sandals. Dubbed “Miami Vice,” they sauntered down the runway at Chanel’s 2009 Cruisewear show. They also caused Madonna no end of grief from anti-gun-violence groups when…
