#I’ve done some research on 1970’s clothes as well! I think that you’ll like my interpretation

[welcome-to-green-hills]

Do you think that you’ll share more art in the future? I love your stuff

😈😈😈

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Sword and the Sorcerer, Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore, Ian Fleming, Appendix N

Cinema (1000 Misspent Hours): Albert Pyun is another one of my great cinematic nemeses; if you watch anywhere near as many low-budget movies as I do, he’s probably one of yours, too. Pyun’s big claim to fame is his nearly sure-fire touch with what ought to be a categorically impossible subgenre, the action-less action movie. No filmmaker I know of, living or dead, can match Pyun’s ability to drag out a fight scene until the audience loses all interest, or to craft a maddeningly convoluted story that never develops even the faintest hint of forward momentum.

              Pulp Science Fiction (SF Magazines): I suspect that this was a fragment that Moore started and abandoned, and which Kuttner largely or entirely completed (compare the amount of description versus incident in the first quarter against that in the remainder, and you will see what I mean). Whatever, it is the worst thing of theirs I’ve read, and certainly not up to the quality of their other 1943 work. To that latter point—how on Earth did this become a Hugo finalist when Moore’s Judgement Night was overlooked? What on Earth were the Retro Hugo nominators thinking?

  Paperback Science Fiction (Rich Horton): On to Beyond Earth’s Gates. This is bylined “Lewis Padgett and C. L. Moore”, which is curious because “Lewis Padgett” is generally regarded as a collaborative pseudonym for Moore and her husband Henry Kuttner. I do suspect, though, that the Padgett pseudonym was probably more often used for stories in which Kuttner was the primary author (while I suspect “Lawrence O’Donnell” stories were more often primarily by Moore.)

Art (DMR Books): Over the years, Finlay illustrated stories by most of the top writers in the field, including H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Seabury Quinn, Jack Williamson, Carl Jacobi, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, A. Merritt, George Allan England, John Taine, H. Rider Haggard, H. G. Wells, Talbot Mundy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Murray Leinster, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Collier, E.F. Benson, Manly Wade Wellman, Stanley G. Weinbaum, James Blish, Frank Belknap Long. The list is almost endless.

  Robert E. Howard (John C. Wright): This yarn truly merits the nickname later invented by Fritz Leiber for the genre of Sword and Sorcery. There is a more sword and a lot more sorcery than any Conan story to date.

The energy and action, the clash of steel on steel, so evident in his shorter works, here loose no tension on the larger canvass. Some authors who show admirable economy in the short story betray a lack of discipline in their novels, indulging in digression and needless ornament. Not so here. The rapidfire pace the Conan reader has come to expect is maintained.

        Pulp Adventure (DMR Books): The fifth installment in the serialized version of Tros of Samothrace is titled “Admiral of Caesar’s Fleet” and consists of what would become chapters 52 – 66 of the novel published in 1934. Set in the spring of the year 54 B.C., this story tells of the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s first invasion of Britain and was first published in the October 10th 1925 issue of Adventure magazine.  It is available in a number of editions in book form or you can read it here at the invaluable library of Roy Glashan.

Culture Wars (Jon del Arroz): What it comes down to is Wikipedia trying to erase mention of any of its political opponents because of its extreme left-biased agenda. It’s not enough for them to just hate and try to attack us anymore, they’re trying to erase everyone from existing — complete dehumanization — because they’ve lost all semblance of argument for their horrific behavior they’ve foisted upon us for daring disagree with their politics.

  Weird Tales and History (Tellers of Weird Tales): This week, I finished reading D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose (Simon & Schuster, 1994). While reading, I ran across the name of a teller of weird tales, R. Ernest Dupuy (1887-1975), who, as General Eisenhower’s press aide, was first to confirm to the press that the invasion had commenced by reading the following communiqué at about 9:30 a.m. London time: “Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.”

  Reading (Black Gate): It may seem a bit peculiar to write an article about the decline in reading for a site that has done so much to promote the works of writers past and present. Most assuredly, regular visitors to this site are readers. Unfortunately, they are the exception and not the rule in the present day.

During the pulp era, writers were sometimes referred to disparagingly as the Penny-a-Word Brigade. Flash forward to the end of the second decade of the 21st Century and you’ll find far too many pulp writers who would salivate at the thought of earning a penny a word for their efforts. Far too many receive no financial compensation at all, some do not even receive comp copies of their own titles.

  Robert E. Howard (National Review): Cross Plains, Texas — We start where it ended. “The car would have been sitting just about here,” says Jack Baum, a few feet behind the Robert E. Howard Museum. A small group of us take it in. Several of us squirm. This is the spot where the pulp writer put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. When he killed himself in his car in 1936, the creator of Conan the Barbarian — one of the most iconic characters to spring from American fiction — was 30 years old.

  Edgar Rice Burroughs (Erbzine): Of the several books Edgar Rice Burroughs consulted in his research on Apaches, one bore the rather cumbersome and dry sounding title: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1887-’88.  This five-pound plus tome (first published in 1892) was part of an ongoing set of matched volumes bound in dark brown cloth, with gilt spine lettering, bearing the imprint of the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

  RPG (Bloomberg): On a recent Friday evening, Devon Chulick stood in the kitchen of his San Francisco apartment brewing potions. A dry-erase game board with a grid of black squares to assist in drawing maps was laid neatly across the coffee table in the living room, along with a dozen or so miniature elves, wizards, and drow rogues, which had been released from their Tupperware prisons.

  Ian Fleming (Elgin Bleeker): A lot of years have gone by since I last read anything by Ian Fleming. The last was Thrilling Cities, a non-fiction collection of travel essays. I found a paperback copy in a used-book store in the 1990s. But I could not tell you the last time or title of one of Fleming’s James Bond stories.

Something on-line triggered an urge to dig out my paperback copy of From Russia With Love.

  Michael Crichton (Western Genre Musings): Here we have Michael Crichton’s only Western novel published posthumously. The timeline has it written perhaps in the 1970’s and it still has the mark of his trademark blending of science and narrative, here in the form of the Dinosaur Bone Wars of Professors Cope and Marsh, actual feuding personages.

Will follow our naïve young protagonist Westward and watch him mature and learn more than a good deal along the way.

  Appendix N (Ken Lizzi): With few reservations, I applaud the list and recommend at least some of the works by the included authors. Notably excluded is Margaret St. Clair. Others (Gary Gygax, obviously) enjoy her writing. But otherwise, Appendix N gets the Ken Lizzi seal of approval. The material is primarily pulp; a good thing from my perspective. It runs the gamut from rather disposable, light entertainment to quality work of rather high literary value. Let’s call it a Fox to Vance scale, but don’t let that lead you to believe I am disparaging Gardner Fox. I like disposable, light entertainment.

    Sensor Sweep: Sword and the Sorcerer, Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore, Ian Fleming, Appendix N published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[atypical60]

It’s true!  It’s true!!  A scientific study was performed and the consensus is that I, and you, my friends are too old to shop at the fast fashion store, Zara.

There may not be a Zara in my neighborhood, but there is one in Cannes. I hope I’m allowed to shop there this summer. If I’m not it will be because Bonaparte is still holding my credit cards!

Are you familiar with the store Zara?  It’s pretty decent. Unfortunately, there is not a Zara store close by to where I live. If there was one, I would have been there last Spring to make the purchase of their iconic off-the-shoulder denim dress!  Oh. It was a beauty! My daughter, Oona, purchased two of them!

I wanted this dress so badly last year.  I realize I would have needed a bottle of sunscreen on my pasty shoulders but who cares? I loved this dress. Oona bought two–and she looks so damned adorable!

Uh. Oh. Oona’s time shopping at Zara may be limited these days. She’s 27 and I do believe she is at that age where she should be stopping her Zara shopping soon!

Ageism raises its ugly little head in the fashion industry. Again. And the Ageist boundaries seem to be getting younger and younger!

Here’s the article from the site “Who What Wear”.  “Data Says This is When Women Should Stop Shopping at Zara.”  Who What Wear is a site that I love to hate, by the way, because it is so unrealistic in every way.

Who What Wear has articles that are very deep.  The subjects are mainly: Shop. Celebrities. Street Style. Trends.  The only topic that is relatable to me  is “Shop”.  And the stuff they strongly suggest, or rather demand you purchase is way, way out of my pricing comfort zone or affordability.

It’s true. Shopping can be an overwhelming experience for me. And reading about the shopping that is not within my financial reach is even more overwhelming for me. I need to stop reading Who What Wear immediately! Besides, they never have photographs of old ladies!

But let get back to the real meat of this subject. The age at which a woman should stop shopping at Zara.

Have you ever heard of Ed Dilworth?  No. Neither have I.  He is CEO of a company called Insight Rooms.

Here’s Eddie. The mastermind behind Insight Rooms. He looks really insightful.

Insight Rooms claims, on its website, of “Bringing Consumers Into Focus”.

He has very intuitive people working for him.

This is Noah Larsen. He’s the director of UX Strategy and Design. Can I put a “ph” in front of UX? He is a very smart man. He attended two universities but his little bio doesn’t say which ones.  Trump University maybe?

This is Megan O’Conner.  Isn’t she adorbs?  I”m already jealz of her hair. (Hey. I need to sound like I’m under the age of 27!)  She looks to be in her late twenties. Ohhh. She won’t be shopping at Zara anymore!  So cuuuuuuuuuuutttte!!!

Hi! This is me, Catherine. I’m gonna be 62 in less than a month!  Oh shit. My birthday is  three weeks away! Ed would never hire me because in market research, I’m old as dirt. In fact, I AM dirt. I don’t care though. I’ll still shop at stores that aren’t age appropriate for old ladies!

Basically, it is a fancy-ass market research company.

And through research, and surveying social engagement (whatever the hell that means) it was discovered that the age women should stop shopping at Zara is in their late twenties.

This is ageism gone wild. Now we have women just shy of 30 being sent out to pasture like a bunch of cows.

It’s ok girls!  We’ll make lots of cheese and we won’t give it to any of those ageists! Let them eat cake!

What age should a woman stop shopping the brand Zara? What age??  

I gotta be honest, I’m pissed off on so many levels here. First of all, who has the right to tell any women what to put on her body.  It’s bad enough we have spineless male politicians trying to have control over our bodies.  And now we have to be subjected to market research telling us what age to stop shopping certain brands and stores?

I’ll wear what I want to wear. At any time. At any age!

If I wanna wear a shark skin suit. I will. If I wanna wear one of those Happy Hats, I will. 

If I was the CEO of Zara, I would be livid! Livid!! I don’t think Zara’s big guns wants to hear about turning women away from their shop.  And BTW, Zara shops still welcome all women of all ages.

Is market research ever done about just who is paying for the purchase of the clothing for the women younger than their early twenties?  It’s the mommy who is most likely in her forties, fifties and, in some cases older.

I am DYING to see a market research done on the amount of money we older women spend. But “NO”, nothing is ever done.

Let’s see market research about the demographic of the women who have the money to spend. It just happens to be the woman in her thirties and over.

And another thing. Zara has great clothing.  And has great clothing for women of our older woman age.

Let’s have a look at Zara’s recent offerings. Shall we ladies? Let us take a look at the clothing that is made specially for women under 27 years of age.  Take my hand.

This year’s version of the off-the-shoulder chambray frock.  It’s adorable but I like last years’ model better.  I think the age of this model is over 25. Uh oh! Someone’s Zara career is about to end.   I would not wear those boots with dress, I would wear either a pair of Rondini sandals or ballet flats to give it a more “mature” look!

This is interesting. I’m an old hag and I would NEVER wear a dress like this. In all honesty, I don’t think a young woman or teen girl would wear this dress.  I think Mr. Dilworth and team need to reassess their market research! It is not flattering to any body type. It looks baggy and ill fitting. It look like…

…one of my favorite floral tablecloths.  Oh. Maybe I can wrap this around my body and wear it to the office.  

Really?  THIS is a dress that is inclusive for only the under 30 woman? 

Maybe Zara shops are trying to appeal to the Sister Wives crowd. Hey. As long as they are under 30 and not old, wrinkled ladies!

THIS dress really appeals to the youth of the fashion industry. Even the model is looking down at…

..this toile pitcher because it reminds her of the dress she is wearing. I am beginning to be happy that Zara’s offerings are not meant for my raggedy old crepey body!

Here’s an outfit that reminds me of the early 1970’s! Remember the crocheted vests and cardigans and throw blankets? Zara brought ’em back for the younger crowd. I have something to tell you. This look wasn’t great back then and it isn’t great now!

Now here’s a great dress that is appropriate for the woman of any age. I love this dress. I think I want this dress.  Why can’t a woman over 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 wear this? Guess what! She can!

Here’s another cutie of a dress. Unless I had a stellar spray tan on my legs would I wear this bare-legged. I would, however, wear black tights, my black, suede over the knee boots or black pointy booties.  This is a really nice dress. Looks like it travels well and looks very comfy!

Perhaps it may be a bit too short for a woman over a certain age, BUT, with black leggings and ballet flats, any woman could rock this look and rock it well!

The shorts!!!

The shorts!!!!  Remember my post “How to Wear Shorts When You Are Over 40, 50, 60+”? Click to read–you’ll love it! Well, shorts season will be here soon and both these shorts are appropriate for the older, older woman. Just shave your legs. All the way up!

Here is a fabulous coat that is, again, appropriate for women of any age.  My only issue is that the model looks absolutely miserable. Whatever happened to a smile. And whatever happened to standing up straight and not slouching!

Again. This oversized sweater is fantastic. Is it a dress? For a younger woman, yeah!  For the older woman it would great with a cropped just over the ankle legging and ballet flats. Or with skinny jeans!  These models–why can they look just a tad happy?  

So what say you ladies?  What’s your opinion on age-related shopping?  More so, what is your opinion on market research?  I think research like this in the fashion and cosmetics industries is ridiculous.  Women should be able to shop at any store they damned well please.  This “age” business is getting on my last nerve!

Speaking of “industries”, I finished day three of the Revitalift Challenge. Remember? I wrote about it in my last post?  Guess what? It did nothing! Absolutely nothing!

Promises, Promises!  Nothing happened.

My skin was not firmer. It did not look smoother.  In fact, nothing except a face lift or fillers is going to show a visible difference in three days!

This gets an “F”. And not just because the product didn’t deliver within three days, but it’s false advertising. I’ve written about skin care products. And it takes a good 30 days to see a difference.   My recommendations continue to be the old-school Olay lotion, and the lines by Skin Actives and Vivant Skin Care. Both lines offer exceptional products. They aren’t dirt cheap but with a good month of using the products, you will notice a difference.  You just have to find the products that work for you!

I changed my Bitmoji to enhance my age. I added a few lines and I changed the hair do. My hair, both real and fake is getting longer these days!   What do you think?

Well, I think that’s about enough complaining for one evening! Don’t you?

I’ll be 62 in a few weeks, but I still love to think about when I’m 64!  This is not the Beatles version. I guess Sir Paul and Sir Ringo don’t want to give their wares on youtube for free. But this is a great version:

  Ageism Gone Wild! I Am Now Too Old to Shop At Zara—And Is Your Daughter! It’s true!  It’s true!!  A scientific study was performed and the consensus is that I, and you, my friends are too old to shop at the fast fashion store, Zara.

[rfhusnik]

I’ve Been Left Free By The River

                                      Written By: Pierce Gates

              I’m looking out at the river. And I’m looking at a scenic backdrop which seems to be dropping back away from me. But my thoughts aren’t in a constant time zone. They’re being bent forward and backward, or upward or downward depending upon one’s view of them; that is, it depends upon how one views them both physically with one’s eyes, and philosophically with one’s beliefs.  

           And sometimes today those thoughts have been about the past and people I knew there. And I’ve remembered both their closeness and remoteness. But time - time you keep removing the time from our lives. Time – don’t let me forget the good times and the good people!

           But, other times today my thoughts have strayed to the struggling stupidity of current marchers and protesters. And then those thoughts have concentrated upon the people of threats – the people who cause damage to buildings, punch people in the face, and warn that they may bomb national landmarks.

           And those are the impressions concerning time and its passage about which I’m certain today. But here’s an observation. I’ve always imagined that although in this nation’s past many people lived under harsher conditions than do many who are alive here today, those Americans of the past seemed to cope better with the problems of their era than do the Americans of this current time. And thus, today when I see all the trouble generated by certain Americans simply because a non-Democrat was elected president, I’m really concerned about the future of this nation. And what will happen here someday when a Democrat is once more elected to that office? Will Republicans and conservatives then take to the streets as Democrats, liberals and radicals have recently?

           Well, in truth I suppose it wouldn’t really matter that much to me. And besides my thoughts concerning the subjects I’ve already enunciated, today my mind is likewise remembering these words of observation spoken to me by a friend several years ago: “Pierce,” he said, “usually things will work out for the best, even though it may not seem that way just now.” And I think he was correct in regard to me personally. I’m no longer a member of the fray, or of the rat race. I’ve found a new way to live. But sometimes I wonder if he was right in regard to the U.S.A.

           I used to live in San Francisco. But then one day I received a mysterious phone call. A man named Ralph Hawk rang me up and told me he’d been researching my life as I’d lived it up until then. And then he explained something to me which was unbelievable, but which I’ve come to know as true since I’ve accepted his invitation and now live in a more or less communal setting here in this city which is basically controlled by forces from realms unknown to most mortals.

           And I’ve flourished here. And, like all the others who live here in this new development of homes, apartments and duplexes on the north shore of this city’s river, I’m an artist of sorts. But that’s all I’ll tell you about myself. I might be a writer. I might be a musician. I might be an actor - or a painter – or any number of other things which are involved with creative communication; but it’s not really necessary for me to tell you exactly what I do.

           What is necessary however, is that I inform you of the political peril I believe the forces of left wing ideology have foisted upon this nation. Luckily, in the recent presidential election enough level headed Americans chose a new leader who’s vowed to face down this leftist threat. Nonetheless, as can be seen even just now as I’m writing this, a number of malcontents and losers are making spectacles of themselves by disrupting the normal flow of life in a number of large American cities.

           And the fact that what I just described in the last paragraph is actually occurring just now should, I believe, make the general populace of the United States take a good long look at what’s really occurring in this nation’s Democratic Party, as well as in a number of other apparently radical and/or freedom hating groups and cabals. Simply put, it’s time for honest freedom loving Americans to say “no” to these left wing suppressers of individuality.

           And I believe the great masses of America will be able to do it; although you’ll probably not see them congregating on city streets and acting like fools. And, by writing this I’m attempting to help them in that goal, although personally I’ve now entered upon a lifestyle which will no longer permit me to either directly act upon, or be directly acted upon by any other mortal no matter what that mortal’s political views may be. And how fortunate I was to have been invited here where fake news, the hatred of liberals, and the phony accusations of both legal and illegal immigrants can no longer phase me.

           For many years I struggled as a commoner in what I believed was a common land, until one day I learned that because my viewpoints weren’t leftist enough, and because my skin wasn’t dark enough, and because for all my life up until then I’d tried to only take care of myself and my responsibilities, some wealthy haters of the conservative lifestyle had branded me as an enemy of what they believe are America’s true patriots (that is, those who wish to live within the borders of America while they confiscate the hard earned wages of the great American silent majority). But that’s when I was afforded an opportunity to leave all that negativity and blame behind, and join an enclave of individuals who truly are free – and who’ll remain free! And yes, let me say that once more to those of you who write fake news stories, and who complain about elected officials at awards ceremonies where you strut your wealth, fancy clothes, and arrogance before the American people while you tell them how concerned you are about the “little people”:  MY PEOPLE ARE FREE, AND FREE THEY’LL REMAIN!

           But of course the great carers of America have really been showing us who they really care about lately. My God! Not long ago one of the main figures involved in one of this nation’s most brutal murderous rampages needed to be hospitalized! What if he would have died? He’s only been incarcerated, and living off the American taxpayers since the early 1970’s!

           I’ve come to believe that the mass killers of recent times have found some degree of influence in what’s today termed “entertainment.” And a few years ago, before Ralph Hawk invited me to live with his people here in this city of divisions, I knew a good-looking woman named Susan. And, yes, the thought of her as a life’s partner did cross my mind. But then, one day when I couldn’t reach her via telephone, I decided to call her parent’s house. Her mother answered the phone and said “Susan can’t go out with you anymore. She belongs to the great timeless light now. Two days ago she was at the store paying for her groceries when a maniac who apparently needed money for drugs shot her during a robbery.”

           Well, as I’ve already said, I know I’m not well liked. And no, society’s supposed “good guys and gals” don’t like people such as myself who, at first glance might be considered survivors of past lifestyles, but who really, I guess, are the people of tomorrow. And go ahead and chastise me for being boastful if you wish. That won’t change what I believe are certain inevitabilities. That won’t change a change which may soon occur in the relationship between America and Russia; nor will it  thwart what in a few years will likely become America’s second installment of The Roaring Twenties (minus Prohibition of course).

           And yet, with all “hard-core truthfulness” set aside, I know that everything I did before I came to this city was of negligible importance. And everything seemed so much more difficult then. But now, here, in this city, my new friends and leader protect me.

           And sometimes, before I came here, I used to wonder why I was alive amidst so many apparently unanswerable questions. And, oh no, I could never find a synthesis among all those seemingly contradictory beliefs, influences, trends, and evidently random acts and occurrences which must happen only more or less as a result of time’s passage and the changes that passage of time causes and necessitates. Still, I knew then that if mortals believed in an afterlife, then they knew they must follow the dictates of their God in this current existence.

Thus, I was a troubled man before I came to this city. But I guess my greatest problem then was simply that I wasn’t liberal enough. I guess I should have helped organize some protests and marches then. And I guess I should have disrespected the freedoms that many Americans before me fought and died to attain and maintain. Yeah, and I guess I should have done some public cursing and filthy talking then. And, oh yes, I should also have ridiculed innocent children, especially if they were the offspring of national leaders.