FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"I see dead people."

-Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), The Sixth Sense (1999)

BLOODY HARLAN

FX's Justified is one of the best shows on TV. It's based on a character created by Elmore Leonard, who is one of my favorite writers. The second season will be wrapping next week, and there hasn't been a weak episode yet. Here's the promo for the season finale, "Bloody Harlan." Needless to say, I'm really stoked to see this.

WICKED WEASEL WEDNESDAY

Happy Wicked Weasel Wednesday!

(E)BOOK 'EM, DANNO!

Just for the fun of it, I decided to resurrect a couple of my flash fiction stories as ebooks. "Complications" appeared in the zine Flashing in the Gutters in 2006. "Have Plastic, Will Travel" appeared in DZ Allen's Muzzle Flash in 2008. Both zines have disappeared from the internet, so I figured that it might be fun to turn the stories into ebooks. Both stories are now available in multiple formats, including PDF, at Smashwords. Links to both are in the blog's sidebar under "Stuff I Wrote." Both stories are free. There's no way I'm charging money for stories that short (>1000 words). Especially when they're written by a hack like me.

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is Australian model Miranda Kerr. For all things Miranda, check out MirandaKerr.net.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 24, 1953

On this date in 1953, a crew of robbers held up the Southwest Bank in St. Louis. The robbers didn't get far with their loot; police officers confronted them as they exited the bank. In the ensuing shootout, a police officer and one of the robbers were injured, and two of the robbers wound up dead (one by his own hand). The story attracted national attention and was made into a movie in 1959 starring Steve McQueen. Officer Mel Stein, who shot and killed one of the robbers, played himself in the movie.

Check out this video about the robbery. It includes an interview with Officer Stein.


Hat tip: Living St. Louis


Further reading:

stltoday.com: A Look Back: Fast action foils bank robbery in 1953

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959) at IMDb

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"Sherman Duffy of the NEW YORK HERALD once said, 'A newspaperman is the loneliest guy on earth. Socially he ranks somewhere between a hooker and a bartender. Spiritually he stands with Galileo, because he knows the world is round.' Not that it matters much, when his editor knows it's flat."

-Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), The Night Stalker (1972)

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 22, 1934

On this date in 1934, the FBI went toe to toe with John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and their gang in a shootout that left an FBI agent and a bystander dead.

The gang decided to hide out at the Little Bohemia Lodge in northern Wisconsin. The owner of the lodge managed to get word to the authorities. FBI agents were dispatched to the scene.

As the agents approached the lodge, the owner's dogs began to bark. Since the dogs barked incessantly, their warning was ignored by the gang. A few minutes later, a car approached the agents. Thinking that the gangsters were inside, they opened fire in an attempt to shoot out the tires. Shooting high, which often happens when firing on full auto, they hit all of the occupants of the car, and killed one of them. To make matters worse, they had the wrong guys. Dillinger and his crew were still inside the lodge.

Barking dogs you can ignore, but submachinegun fire will get your attention every time. Dillinger and the boys heard the shots and knew that the heat was on. They opened fire on the agents from the lodge. After throwing some hot lead at the G-men, the gang bolted for the door. Dillinger and two of his guys turned one way and made a clean getaway. Nelson turned the other way, and wound up at a nearby house in a car with the owner of the lodge and a neighbor.

A car containing two of the FBI agents and a local constable approached Nelson. Nelson pointed his gun at them, and ordered them out of the car. When they complied, Nelson shot all three of them. Agent W. Carter Baum was killed; Agent J. C. Newman and local constable Carl Christensen were injured.

The final tally: two dead (one lawman and one innocent bystander), four injured (two lawmen and two bystanders), no gangsters in custody.

Crimelibrary article on the Little Bohemia shootout

FBI History--Famous Cases: John Dillinger

FBI History--Famous Cases: "Baby Face" Nelson

FBI History--Hall of Honor: W. Carter Baum

Website for the Little Bohemia Restaurant (formerly the Little Bohemia Lodge)

WICKED WEASEL WEDNESDAY

After two crime history posts about particularly heinous crimes, I figure it's time to shift gears here. And there's no better way to improve things than a nice scenery change. So we'll go from bloodthirsty weasels to a more acceptable type of weasel: the Wicked Weasel. I'm thinking I'm in need of a double shot of Wicked Weasel about now.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 20, 1999

On this date in 1999, two teenage losers looking for infamy (which I will not contribute to by naming them here) went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Colorado. The attack was originally planned to be a bombing using IEDs made from propane tanks. The killers planned to wait outside and shoot people fleeing after the bombs detonated, but the bombs failed to detonate due to faulty construction. At that point, the killers approached the school and began shooting people. They entered the school where they continued their shooting spree. They eventually committed suicide in the school library after police had surrounded the school. Twelve students and a teacher died in the attack. Twenty-four students were injured.

Further reading:

Wikipedia - Columbine High School massacre

Slate - The Depressive and the Psychopath

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 19, 1995

On this date in 1995, a terrorist bomb was detonated outside the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children under the age of six. Almost 700 people were injured.

An hour and a half after the bombing, an Oklahoma State Trooper pulled over a car that did not have a license plate. The driver, Timothy McVeigh, was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon. McVeigh was soon linked to the bombing by forensic evidence. The investigation led to accomplices Terry Nichols, Michael Fortier, and Fortier's wife Lori. McVeigh, Nichols and Fortier met while they were in the Army. They were motivated by the deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX by the FBI in 1993. The bombing took place on the anniversary of the raid.

McVeigh and Nichols were both convicted of murder and conspiracy. McVeigh was sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. Nichols was sentenced to life without possibility of parole. He is currently housed at the Administrative Maximum (ADX) facility at the Florence Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, CO.

Michael Fortier agreed to testify against McVeigh and Nichols in exchange for immunity for his wife and a lighter sentence for him. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a $75,000 fine. He was released after 10 1/2 years and disappeared into the witness protection program.

Some people believe that there were more people involved with the bombing. Theories include involvement by members of militia groups and middle eastern terrorists. The FBI dismisses these theories and considers the case closed.

Further reading:

Oklahoma City Memorial & Museum

Wikipedia - Oklahoma City bombing

Were There More OKC Conspirators?: The Elohim City Connection (Presents evidence of militia group involvement in the bombing)

JaynaDavis.com - From Middle America To The Middle East (Presents evidence of a middle eastern connection to the bombing)

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is actress Kiele Sanchez, who played Amanda in Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, which aired last night on USA. In case you're curious: Yes, I did watch it. And yes, I did enjoy it. Bruce Campbell cracks me up. And having Kiele Sanchez to look at was an added bonus.

NOW PLAYING

It's been a crappy weekend. Don't ask, I don't want to talk about it. Anyway, I figured maybe it might end on a high note, since Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe is on tonight. For a warmup, I dug deep into my video collection and found a VHS tape (yeah, I still own a VCR or two) of Dirty Harry. If some .44 caliber cinematic mayhem doesn't raise my spirits, nothing will.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 15, 1920

On this date in 1920, an armed robbery in South Braintree, MA resulted in the deaths of a paymaster and a security guard. On May 5th, two men were arrested for the crime: Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. The two men, both Italian-born anarchists, were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. They were executed in the Massachusetts electric chair on August 23, 1927. Controversy still rages to this day as to the guilt of the men, but their conviction has yet to be overturned. Oh yeah, and they're still dead. I guess it's all academic at this point, isn't it?

Further reading:

The Sacco-Vanzetti Case

Wikipedia - Sacco and Vanzetti

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"That's exactly why we want to produce this play. To show the world the true Hitler, the Hitler you loved, the Hitler you knew, the Hitler with a song in his heart."

-Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), The Producers (1968)

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 14, 1943

On this date in 1943, four inmates tried to escape from the Alcatraz federal prison. The men, James Boarman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton, and Fred Hunter, overpowered two guards in the industries area of the prison and tied them up. They climbed out the window and made their way to the water's edge.

While the would-be escapees were entering the water, one of the guards they had tied up managed to alert others of the escape attempt. The alarm was sounded, alerting the tower guards, who opened fire on the men. Boarman was hit. His body sank and was never recovered. Hunter and Brest were rounded up by guards. Hamilton, who was assumed to have died in the escape attempt, hid in a cave on the island until the search was over. Cold and hungry, he was caught three days later hiding in a store room in the prison.

Further reading:

Alcatraz History - Escape Attempts

BoP - Alcatraz

Wikipedia - Alcatraz escape attempts

WICKED WEASEL WEDNESDAY

Seeing as how it's Wednesday, I guess I should be posting another Wicked Weasel.

SHOULDA GIVEN PEACE A CHANCE

I saw this on Facebook today. Good stuff.



h/t: Linda

BONNIE AND CLYDE... NOT!

Take a close look at the photos above. These two individuals may very well be the most pathetic criminals in history. Am I being too harsh? I'll let you be the judge.

Children's Lemonade Stand Robbed

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. -- Thirteen-year-old Chelsea Edwards says last weekend was the first time she ever tried her hand at a money-making venture.

The seventh-grader at Feagin Mill Middle School says it wasn't too long though before a couple showed up and soured her first business experience.

"The man bent down and seen the money jar, and he grabbed it," Edwards says, recalling what happened Saturday.

Edwards says a man and woman had approached the stand she was running with her two friends. She says they started asking questions about the price of lemonade.

That's when Edwards says the man reached down and snatched the jar of money she held between her legs.

"He flew in the car, and the girl was running after the car," Edwards says.

Houston County investigators say the couple is 20-year-old Gage Allen Turner and 21-year-old Amber Umbarger, both of Warner Robins.

Lt. John Holland says Turner got away in a white car that could be a 2010 Hyundai Accent.

He says Umbarger was left behind, and deputies quickly arrested her on the scene.

Just when I thought these two clowns couldn't be more pathetic…

Edwards says the pair made off with $130, but what's worse, she says the money wasn't for her.

"I was going to raise money from Logan Varnadoe, my cousin," she says.

Logan is 2-years-old, developmentally disabled, and has a rare intestinal disorder.

His mother, April Varnadoe, says her son will be sent to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital this week for treatment.

She had been raising money to go with him, and her niece Chelsea was helping.

(h/t: Drudge)

These two dumbasses are the poster children for bringing back the pillory; they're as heartless as they are brainless. Oh, and note to Amber: Time to get a new boyfriend, one who won't leave behind you to get arrested.

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui. Just don't ask me how to pronounce her last name. I have no idea.

FRIGHT NIGHT, 2.0 (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH FRIGHT NIGHT 2)

In the comments on my latest Friday Movie Quote post, I learned from Pat Downey and le0pard13 that the 80s horror classic Fright Night is being remade. Yeah, I know, imagine that, Hollywood ripping itself off. Again.

Being the curious type, I went to IMDb to check out the Fright Night (2011) page. Jerry Dandridge (the vampire) is being played by Colin Farrell. OK, that sounds like a good choice. In the role of Charley, they cast Anton Yelchin (Chekov, from the latest incarnation of Star Trek). That could work too. Playing "Evil" Ed is Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fogell/McLovin from Superbad). I'm less enthusiastic about this choice, but it isn't a deal-breaker. Amy is being played by an actress named Imogen Poots. I don't really have an opinion on this one. The real question for me is who will play aging horror host Peter Vincent, the role made famous by iconic actor Roddy McDowell. Vincent 2.0 will be none other than... David Tennant? OK, I have no idea who this guy is. And on top of that, their choice to play the aging horror host is a guy pushing 40? Are you freaking kidding me? That one might be a deal breaker.

I suppose I'll give the new Fright Night a try. I may wait until it hits cable, as trips to the theater are few and far between for me these days. If it sucks, there's always the original on DVD. That's one movie with a high re-watchability factor.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 9, 1934

On this date in 1934, John Dillinger's girlfriend, Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, was arrested by G-men in Chicago and charged with harboring a fugitive. An angry Dillinger vowed to break her out of jail, but a girlfriend of one of his gang members talked him out of it. He did pay for her legal defense, but she wound up being convicted anyway. Billie Frechette spent two years in federal prison. When she was released in 1936, she toured the country in a theatrical show called Crime Doesn't Pay. Several members of Dillinger's family were also featured in the show. I guess sometimes crime does pay after all.

Further reading:

American Experience: Public Enemy #1 - Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, 1907-1969

Don't Call Us Molls - Evelyn "Billie" Frechette

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

“Apparently your generation doesn't want to see vampire killers anymore, nor vampires either. All they want to see is slashers running around in ski masks, hacking up young virgins.”

-Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), Fright Night (1985)

MUST-SEE TV

The producers of USA network's Burn Notice have filmed a TV-movie prequel to the series called The Fall of Sam Axe, starring Bruce Campbell. Being a die-hard Burn Notice and Bruce Campbell fan, I'm really stoked to see this. The promo looks pretty good.


Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan directed. The movie airs April 7th on USA. Here's another promo:

WICKED WEASEL WEDNESDAY

Hye kids, do you know what day it is? That's right, it'sWicked Weasel Wednesday!

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 6, 1970

On this date in 1970, four California Highway Patrol officers were killed in a shootout with two heavily armed criminals. Officers Walt Frago and Roger Gore initiated a felony traffic stop north of Newhall. The suspect vehicle was reportedly operated by a man who had brandished a gun during an altercation with a motorist earlier in the day. What the officers didn't know was that the two men in the car, Jack Twinning and Bobby Davis, were heavily armed and had just been practicing with their weapons in preparation for a planned robbery.

Officer Frago approached the car with a shotgun as Officer Gore covered Davis while Davis exited the car. Twining flung open the passenger side door and opened fire on Officer Frago with a revolver. When Officer Gore turned to engage Twining, Davis drew a gun and opened fire on Gore. As the two pairs of men exchanged gunfire, CHP Officers George Alleyn and James Pence arrived on the scene and joined the fight. All four officers were mortally wounded. Davis and Twining suffered only minor wounds at the hands of the officers and Gary Kness, a Marine Corps veteran who happened on the scene during the shootout and attempted to assist the officers by firing on the gunmen using one of the fallen officer's guns.

Davis and Twining grabbed some weapons and left the scene on foot as a third CHP cruiser arrived. Davis was arrested shortly afterward in a stolen camper. His ammo supply depleted, he offered minimal resistance to officers. Twining was cornered in a house a few miles from the scene of the shootout. After a standoff that lasted several hours, he took his own life with Officer Frago's shotgun.

Davis was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life in 1972 after a US Supreme Court ruling invalidated death penalties across the country.

Further reading:

LA Times - CHP Honors Slain Officers

Officer.com - April 6, 1970 Police tactics would never be the same

Wikipedia - Newhall massacre

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is model/actress Sheena Lee. I'm a day late with this post, but I think this gal was worth the wait.



For all things Sheena Lee, check out her official website.

THE LINEUP #4

Today, Nobody Move! is stop number 5 on The Lineup 4 blog tour. (Check out Gerald So's blog for information on stops 1-4 and future stops on the tour, which runs until the end of April.)

The Lineup 4 is a book of poetry that features poems about crime. It is, as it's name implies, the fourth in a series of books that are, to the best of my knowledge, the only crime-focused poetry collections in print.

I was fortunate to have received an advance copy of The Lineup 4 to review. There's a lot of good stuff there. One poem in particular has really made an impression on me: "Slider, Part 7", by crime fiction author Reed Farrel Coleman.

"Slider, Part 7" is about a particularly heinous crime, a war crime. It appears to have been inspired by the massacre at Babi Yar, outside Kiev, in World War II. Over thirty thousand Jews were killed by the SS over a period of two days in 1941. Thousands more were murdered in the following months.

Coleman writes from the perspective of a witness to the murders. He manages to capture the almost mechanical process by which the innocent were robbed of their humanity and their lives. The killers committed murder after murder with a detached demeanor more appropriate to killing a fly. Then they disposed of the bodies like yesterday's trash. "Slider, Part 7" has been stuck in my head since I read it, and it'll be there for some time, I think.

The Lineup 4 was edited by Gerald So with Reed Farrel Coleman, Sarah Cortez, and R. Narvaez. Click this link for purchase information.

A PROGRAMMING NOTE

The Babe of the Week post will up tomorrow night. Sorry, Charlie. (I'm referring to this Charlie, not this one.) Tomorrow, Nobody Move! will be the latest stop on The Lineup 4 Blog Tour.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 4, 1968

On this day in 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN. The following June, a fugitive named James Earl Ray was arrested in London and extradited to the United States. Ray would eventually plead guilty to the murder. He later tried unsuccessfully to withdraw the plea. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray died in 1998 at the age of 70.

Further reading:

About.com - Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated

Wikipedia - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 3, 1882

On this date in 1882, legendary outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed in St. Joseph, MO by an outlaw named Bob Ford. Ford and his brother Charley attempted to claim a reward that had been offered for James, but the only reward they received was arrest and indictment for murder. They pled guilty and were sentenced to death, but a pardon from the governor spared them the hangman's noose.

Charley Ford, suffering from tuberculosis, committed suicide in 1884. Bob was killed in 1892, shot in the back by a man named Edward O'Kelley. Sounds like poetic justice to me.

Further reading:

Legends of America: Jesse James - Folklore Hero or Cold-Blooded Killer?

St. Joseph History - Jesse James

Wikipedia - Robert Ford (outlaw)

Here's the trailer for the movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. I watched this recently on DVD and really enjoyed it. Brad Pitt gave a great performance as Jesse James, but Casey Affleck really stole the show as Robert Ford.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: APRIL 2, 1992

On this date in 1992, the teflon had finally worn off the Teflon Don; after several tries, federal prosecutors finally convicted Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Gotti, who was convicted of racketeering and murder charges, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. He died of cancer in June 2002 at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO.

Further reading:

truTV - John Gotti: The Last Mafia Icon

Seize the Night - John Gotti (1940-2002), Former Godfather

Gangsters Inc. - John Gotti Sr.

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pull rank on you. I didn't want to have to do this. I'm with the Mattress Police. There are no tags on these mattresses."

-Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase), Fletch (1985)