Onward and Sideways


Dear Readers:


What an ordeal. Here I had a great blog, all was going smoothly, when suddenly, for no apparent reason, it vanished in a cloud of digital smoke: poof! Oddly enough, my last blog was titled: The Politics of Pot. Could there be a connection there, somehow? Could those who have attacked and demonized Michael Phelps just for being a normal American kid be on my trail as well?


I was writing about my non-conformist, unorthodox, ex-hippy detective Tony Lowell at the time. Tony Lowell, as it happens, just like probably a hundred million other Americans who remember the Sixties (or at least still listen to the music) has been known to do a Michael Phelps on occasion. They hypocrisy of calling that action a crime is so monumental and sweeping (thanks to the recent powers-that-be of the past decade) that it reminds me of Rush Limbaugh demanding that all "druggies" be put in jail, while snorting Oxycontin between sets. Puhleeze, enough already, and let's hope our almost-too-good-to-be true new Administration will put an end to this nonsense at last and teach the media mavens to focus on what's actually important, what is truly criminal out there (for example, why is Karl Rove still walking around? Or any and all of those mega-thieves on Wall Street?).


I look forward to the day that all crimes are solved, and private investigator Tony Lowell no longer needs to worry about who's profiteering from polluting the Gulf, killing the manatees, shooting the Panthers, and rigging the Supreme Court.


As Buddy Holly once sang (even before the Sixties came along) that'll be the day!


In any case, moving on, I am now back online.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red Tide is Coming

Image
For those of you who once read my blogs, and might read them again, I am back. It has been a year of silence, that happily is about to be broken. I was fighting many battles in my absence, in many ways and at many levels: for my life. I am back, at least for now, because I have won those battles at last, if not the war. As to that, one cannot truly control the outcome of one's life, much as we might wish otherwise. Still, we can try. Imagine, if you will, having to pick up your life and move (we've all done that) but in the process, incurring a grievous injury requiring surgery. Then take it further: that you go to sleep in pain, and wake up a different person. Or two different persons: persons who do not relate to you, who are hostile to you and to each other. One is manic; the other profoundly depressed. So then you reach out for help and are given medications, and the medications trigger a terrible reaction. So then you try, try again, and finally find balance. Imagi...
Read more

Serial Killers: a Troublesome Trend

Image
  As a mystery author ( E.C. Ayres ) I am troubled by a trend in the writing and publication of mystery/suspense thrillers: serial killers have become a near requirement in today's literary fare. Personally, I yearn for the days of Agatha Chrystie, Mickie Spillane, and Sam Spade. It was all about character development, depth of relationship (bright and dark), memory and recollection, illusion and disillusionment. What happened in those novels were vivid reflections of life as it is or was truly lived (and sometimes, ended). They reflected our actual world, albeit focusing on a particular location or aspect. The keys, always, were character and suspense. And when done right, it can be unforgettable. There can be exceptions, of course, to this trend (or any trend) as always. The book that triggered my need to write this blog was this one:  As I delved into the early chapters I was instantly troubled by the opening introduction of a serial killer just getting warmed up, it seemed...
Read more

Films and TV Series of Private Investigators

Image
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's  Sherlock Holmes  stories have been produced in both film and television on numerous occasions. The BBC's recent series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (previously known as Frodo in his impetuous youth) is just the latest example. Well acted and scripted (mostly original material), although I took a strong objection to the final two episodes involving Holmes' evil sister: a character I suspect Doyle would have discarded into the dust bin, and rightfully so. There have been two other series including the recent  Elementary  starring Lucy Lieu, glaring as ever. There have also been at least three movies, with a fourth in development (apparently the producers don't even have a script. Just a name, which is, apparently, sufficient). The most recent two films star  Robert Downey Jr . and  Jude Law , and likewise the third. I recommend both, and hopefully the sequel will meet those standards. I did have trouble,...
Read more