Pick-Up by Charles Willeford

This novel is one of the best hardboiled crime novels ever written. Gritty, dark and bitter. Charles Willeford was one of the finest writers in this genre, and this novel might well be his best. Similar to the work of Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Horace McCoy; all writers whose work transcends any notion of genre fiction.

I had read this before, but I came across a copy and couldn’t help but pick it up and start reading.

Here’s the first paragraph from the first chapter:

It must have been around a quarter to eleven. A sailor came in and ordered a chili dog and coffee. I sliced a bun, jerked a frank out of the boiling water, nested it, poured a half-dipper of chili over the frank and sprinkled it liberally with chopped onions. I scribbled a check and put it by his plate. I wouldn’t have recommended the unpalatable mess to a starving animal. The sailor was the only customer, and after he ate his dog he left.

That was the exact moment she entered.

Grade: A.

The Jim Thompson house is very famous in Bangkok and attracts hordes of tourists every year. I am not going to give a history lesson here it is not the purpose of this blog but if you want to know more about this fascinating character, his life and his emblematic house just browse the internet or check out any descent guide of Bangkok. There is also a famous brand called Jim Thompson and you can find many Jim Thompson stores in town selling Thai manufactured products, like silk, wooden elephants etc.

They offer high quality products so when the owner of the name Jim Thomson decided to open a restaurant they had no choice but to propose the finest Thai cuisine. There are restaurants in Saladaeng, Isetan in Central World and next to the Jim Thompson house, Soi Kasemsan 2 opposite to MBK. It is the latter I will review as I have never been to the one in Sathorn.
Let’s start with the location. It is obviously a great spot and the restaurant in itself is stunning. You can choose to stay inside if it gets too hot or to stay on the big terrace and enjoy the view over Jim Thompson’s house and a nice pod of water full of Koi fishes. The place is filled with tourists, especially French tourists (don’t ask me why) but you also meet expats who just like the food and who are ready to face the traffic to eat Thai food at Jim Thomson’s and this is obviously a good sign.

The food is mainly Thai and is simply delicious. Top quality products are used, the dishes are well presented, full of colors and savors and you find all the classics of Thai cuisine plus some specialties of the house. There are a few western dishes as well. I didn’t taste them but I did taste the French fries and they are the best I ever had in Bangkok. We are talking about real homemade fries here that can only remind you of Belgium. Don’t forget to order dessert. The ice-cream is fantastic, especially the Thai Tea ice-cream. I just can’t get enough of it. With the Green Tea ice-cream from Vanilla Cafe and the Cashew Nut ice-cream from Jojoe pasta it is my favorite ice-cream in town.

So here you have a beautiful place, next to one of the nicest attraction of the city, serving a fine Thai cuisine in a relaxing atmosphere and that even has some exceptional items to offer, the best French fries, Thai Tea Ice-cream. It’s a unique place and I strongly recommend it.

For more information check out the official website here

It’s one month until I board a plane bound for Bangkok so I thought I should begin the blogging in earnest.

I’ll be posting daily to the site with tidbits about the trip, where I’ll be going and what I’ll be doing, as well as some background about the country and my ideas and trepidations about the experience.

Here’s a basic breakdown of what I know:

Jan. 3: Flight from St. Louis to Chicago and then to Tokyo en route to Bangkok. It will be about 20 hours in the air. Our group arrives in Bangkok at 11:45 p.m. on Jan. 4.

The first week is spent in Bangkok, though we’ll take some day trips to nearby locations for programs and study tours. We will see the Royal Grand Palace in Bangkok, King Prajadhipok’s Institute and the floating market and night bazaar.

About 10 days after we arrive, we’ll go to Khon Kaen Province and learn about hospitals and some volunteer programs there. We’ll also be visiting a university in Khon Kaen.

We head to Chiang Rai in the northern part of Thailand. Bangkok, with a population of about 11 million, is sort of like New York City in the U.S. It has everything imaginable and then more. It’s in the more central  part of the country. While in Chang Rai, we’ll learn about the hill tribes and a little about the other ethnic influences on the country.

We stay with host families in Chiang Rai so we can learn more about Thai culture. We’ll also do some sightseeing there  — and there’s a possibility we’ll get to ride on an elephant.

We head to Chiang Mai Province next for some sightseeing a visit to the Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Study Centre, which helps with reforestation and agricultural development in the region.

We end up back in Bangkok on Jan. 21 to see Jim Thompson’s house. He is the man who helped revive Thailand’s silk weaving industry after World War II. We’ll have a closing ceremony and dinner before boarding our plane to the states.

This itinerary was tentative at our orientation, so I imagine that some details will be finalized or changed according to our group’s needs and interests.

View Larger Map

Coming up: Language lessons.

Hardboiled Wonderland has posted an interview with Scottish writer Allan Guthrie, author of TWO-WAY SPLIT, KISS HER GOODBYE, HARD MAN, SAVAGE NIGHT, and the recent SLAMMER. In the Q & A, Guthrie remarks, “I don’t identify that much with hardboiled character types. I’m much more into noir characteristics: fear, paranoia, anxiety, psychosis…”

Amen! Those unpleasant sensations run rampant throughout SLAMMER, a harsh prison story about a rookie guard bullied beyond endurance by hostile co-workers and blackmailing, drug-smuggling inmates.

Guthrie knows how to put the screws to his characters…and his books don’t shy away from violence. HARD MAN features one of the most memorably hideous, agonizing hallucinogenic trips put to paper, and SAVAGE NIGHT is a massacre of a novel about “blood phobia and blood lust”.

In SLAMMER, the author takes a daring plunge into the darkness of abuse and personality disintegration. The novel hits with the impact of its title, laden with the sort of suffocating doom that fans of David Goodis and Jim Thompson will embrace.

Mr. Guthrie has graciously consented to an original HARD FEELINGS interview in the near future. In the meantime, get the book here.

For more from Allan Guthrie, visit his terrific Noir Originals site at http://www.allanguthrie.co.uk/.

- David Szulkin

now playing: Wo Fat, “The Gathering Dark”

George Pelecanos considers him the leader of Noir’s new school, Bret Easton Ellis is already adapting his Follower into a HBO serie…
Meet Jason Starr, a novelist from Flatbush who sometimes gets like Psycho killa : Norman Bates !

I’ve been living in Flatbush -right in the middle of Brooklyn- until I was 18-19 y.o, then I left to go to college… I’m in Manahttan right now, Upper East Side.

I’ve heard you’ve had a lot of shitty jobs before you blew up.
A lot. I’ve been a dish-washer, a telemarketer, I’ve parked cars, I’ve written for a couple of financial magazines… I even had a job where I was operating pizza vending machines… you know, like they do for drinks, but with pizzas (laughs), that was stupid…

Whats does the expression « New York Minute » mean to you ?
The intensity of the life in Manhattan. Guys laying in the subway, yellow cabs… Wall Street.

Only Manhattan ?
Yeah… Like most people, I identify New york to Manhattan. Nobody don’t really think of all 5 boroughs when you speak about New York.

We do. People say anything can happen in a New York Minute, for better or worse… Do you have a Brooklyn example ?
(Long pause, he tries to remember one) Back In the 1980’s… I’m walking home from school one day, it’s a normal day and then, I see a guy attack this teenager and start slashing his face with a knife. It was brutal, bloody, horrific.

Do you know why he did it, or if the guy has been arrested ?
No, I never heard anything about it. This was in 1984, the height of the crack problem in New York, when violence was rampant. I have no doubt the attacker was high on crack.

Did the kid survive ?
Yes, it was just his face that was slashed and he was running, screaming for help.

You were 18 at the time, and you started writing later… Do you think seeing such a violent act “triggered” something about your imagination ?
I’m not sure, it might have… It was the first time I’d seen brutal violence. This happened right in front of my house, on Bedford Avenue, near the Long Island Railroad train tracks.

You never read crime fiction before going to college, what brought you to it ?
I’ve never been deep into books. When I started writing (in college), my style was already precise, the sentences were shorts, so I started looking for writers who worked like that. I began with Albert Camus, but then I found out he was influenced with James M. Cain, that The Stranger was inspired by The Postman always rings twice… I had started writing « literrature » novels and I realized my style was naturally feeling like Noir, so I got into reading Elmore Leonard’s books, then Jim Thompson’s, then others… and this whole thing became my world.
(end)

Now that you’ve get to know the guy, peep his Top 5 lists for eternity

1st things 1st : The Books.

Crime and Punishment (Fedor Dostoïevsky, 1866)

The Killer Inside Me (Jim Thompson, 1952)

Edith’s Diary (Patricia Highsmith, 1977)

The Rules of Attraction (Bret Easton Ellis, 1987)

Get Shorty (Elmore Leonard, 1990)

Then, the Movies :

The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)

Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

The Comfort of Strangers (Paul Schrader, 1990)

Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)

I’ve been covering this one for quite a while. I posted some photos a few weeks ago and now there is a sales trailer for Michael Winterbottom’s film.

It stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Ned Beatty, Bill Pullman and Elias Koteas.

Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small Texas town, patient and thoughtful. Some people think he’s a little slow and boring but that’s the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his ’sickness’. It nearly got him put away when he was younger, but his adopted brother took the rap for that. Now the sickness that has been lying dormant for a while is about to surface again – and the consequences are brutal and devastating.

The trailer is about 5 minutes long and shows quite a bit of what the story involves. If you should watch it let me know what your impressions of it were. I kind of liked it. Casey Affleck seems pretty solid in the lead.

I don’t have time for a full review, but I want to mention Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson, which I just finished reading about a week ago. It’s not a new book. It was first published in 1995 and won the National Book Award for best critical or biographical work. It deserves to have won.

It’s informative without stooping to dirt slinging sensationalism. It’s very readable. Despite its length, it never feels bloated. It tells Jim Thompson’s life story from birth to death, stopping only for brief critical looks at his work along the way.

It also, perhaps inadvertently, though I doubt it, is a pretty good history of the paperback original Lion/Gold Medal era through the eyes of one of the medium’s best writers.

If you’re interested in Jim Thompson’s life or work, you should read it; if you’re interested in the paperback original era, you should read it; if you’re interested in crime fiction in general, you should read it.

I unreservedly recommend it.

Dave Zeltserman’s PARIAH is my pick for crime novel of the year. Tough, relentless, and packed with blunt force trauma, the book uses a Whitey Bulger-inspired premise as the framework for a disturbing and darkly satirical study of a psychopath.

Kyle Nevin is a former heavy hitter for the South Boston mob. Fresh out of prison, Kyle resumes his hard-ass criminal career with a vengeance. While planning the next big score with his brother, a sad-sack who’s trying to go straight, the voracious and violent bruiser obsessively pursues the underworld boss who sold him out.

Ultimately, Kyle’s misdeeds make him a tabloid star. When he’s courted with an offer to write a fictionalized account of the “alleged” crimes, more trouble follows. Zeltserman pulls off the meta-fiction aspect of the book very well, taking shots at the cult of celebrity and the shark-like mentality of the publishing business.

Like the late noir king Jim Thompson, and contemporary crime lords Jason Starr, Allan Guthrie, and Ken Bruen, Zeltserman takes readers on an uneasy ride inside the mind of a homicidal maniac. The story pummels and stomps its way to a nasty ending, but it’s the amoral, ruthless voice of Kyle that gives the book such outstanding quality.

PARIAH is a real winner, filled with the stuff HARD FEELINGS are made of.

For more about the book and author, visit Small Crimes.

 - David Szulkin

Michael Winterbottom is directing Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Ned Beatty and Jessica Alba in the adaption of Jim Thompson’s noir novel, The Killer Inside Me.

The story follows a West Texas sheriff and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer.

Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small Texas town, patient and thoughtful. Some people think he’s a little slow and boring but that’s the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his ’sickness’. It nearly got him put away when he was younger, but his adopted brother took the rap for that. Now the sickness that has been lying dormant for a while is about to surface again – and the consequences are brutal and devastating.

Stanley Kubrick described the book as “Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered.”

Not sure whether Casey Affleck is the right choice for this one. He is a great actor, but the look of him doesn’t fit the character I have in my mind, but I suppose that is the point isn’t it.

Source: Quiet Earth

    The plot of Stanley Kubrick’s third feature film, the 1956 heist thriller, “The Killing” seems old hat. A criminal just out of prison after serving five years wants to do one more job before settling down and marrying his girl (Colleen Gray). There have been some great heist films prior to this one. In 1950, “The Asphalt Jungle”, in 1955, Jules Dassin’s “Rififi” and Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1956 classic “Bob le flambeur.”  Among these films, made by experienced filmmakers, Kubrick’s third feature film stands tall, though at the time of its release, the film was not warmly received. The New York Times critic A.H .Weiler, was reserved in his response calling it “a fairly diverting melodrama.”

    Since its release, “The Killing” has come to be recognized as one of the most influential crime films of all time. Quentin Tarantino admits the influence Kubrick’s film had on the filming of “Reservoir Dogs.”

    For the first time Kubrick had professional financial backing for a project.  The budget was $320,000 dollars. Yes, still small but compared to the forty thousand he had to film “Killer’s Kiss”, this was astronomical. Additionally, for the first time Kubrick could afford to use experienced actors, including Sterling Hayden (The Asphalt Jungle , Johnny Guitar), Elisha Cook (The Maltese Falcon, Phantom Lady),  Marie Windsor (The Narrow Margin), Jay C. Flippen (The Live By Night)and Vince Edwards (Murder by Contract).

    Kubrick engaged a professional co-writer, in this case Jim Thompson, whose hard-boiled novels were the basis for films like “The Grifters”, “The Getaway”, “The Killer Inside Me” and “After Dark, My Sweet.” Though Thompson wrote most of the screenplay, adapted from a novel called “Clean Break” by Lionel White, Kubrick took most of the credit with Thompson receiving only an additional dialogue credit. Unperturbed, or in need of the money, Thompson would continue to work with Kubrick on his next film, “Paths of Glory” and even on a third script that never was made.

    It is in this film that Kubrick’s visual brilliance shines through for the first time. There were traces of it before in earlier works but here it is turned on full throttle for the first time. True it is not a complex story, but Kubrick’s structure of the entire film is expertly realized.

    Johnny Clay’s (Sterling Hayden) gang are not made up of your usual criminal types. Each man is in if for his own reasons. There is the meekish racetrack window teller George Peatty (Elisha Cook) who is desperate to win some respect from his trampy wife Sherry (Marie Winsor). Then there is Mike O’Reilly (Joe Sawyer), a bartender at the track,  who  needs the money to pay for the medical bills of his bed-ridden wife. A corrupt policeman, Randy Corsain (Ted DeCorsia) who is the getaway guy. Finally, there is Marvin Unger (Jay C. Flippen) an older man who is financing the upfront money.  If all goes well, the gang will get away with two million dollars.

    Unfortunately, a good plan is only as good as its weakest link, and here the weak link is George Peatty.  George’s insecurity, and as we find out he has reason to be insecure about his wife, ignites the fuel that will blow the plan apart. George tells Sherry more than he should about the heist plans and Sherry shares it with her small-time hood boyfriend Val Cannon (Vince Edwards) who has ideas of his own.

    The cinematography, credited to Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch, Will Penny) reflects the hand held style Kubrick favored many times during his extraordinary career. This is displayed during the blood bath toward the end of the film when George surveys the outcome of his violent massacre. Noirish high contrast lighting is also well used in various scenes where a single lamp sometimes is the only light source.

    Kubrick’s most original element here is his use of a nonlinear timeline, jumping back and forth, as we watch each of the gang members’ movements before and leading up to the moment of the heist.  Kubrick was encouraged to abandon this structure during the editing of the film and go for a straighter direct storyline approach, however, after trying various other approaches he wisely decided to leave the film as it is. Finally, there is the ending with Johnny and Fay (Colleen Gray) trying to escape from the airport. There are two plainclothesmen coming toward him. Fay tells him to run and Johnny, looking tired and beat says, “What’s the use?”   

    Seemingly overshadowed by his later works, “The Killing” appears to be looked at as a minor work in the Kubrick filmography.  Certainly not as provoking or intellectually stimulating as his better-known films, “The Killing” remains a visual blueprint on how to make a great crime thriller, the nonlinear storyline, the pacing, and the characters.

    Kubrick spends more time on character development here than he would in later works.  Johnny’s relationship with Unger (Jay C. Flippin), the scenes with the Russian, Maurice are all exceptional. The highlight though is loser George Peatty, who Kubrick films various times from behind bars (ticket window at the track and through the bars of a bed), and is locked up in a loveless marriage to his cheap sultry wife. They are a perfect mismatched married couple, the little emasculated  man with big dreams, and his money hungry two timing wife who is tired of waiting for those dreams to come true. After Kubrick saw Windsor in “The Narrow Margin”, he wanted her for the role. Marie Windsor is sensationally evil in her role.

    Kubrick incorporates some interesting minor touches in the film that add color and depth to the characters. There is Johnny’s attempt to seduce Sherry, the unexpected explosion from Nickki (Timothy Carey), the shooter hired to assassinate the horse, Red Lightening, during the seventh race, who verbally attacks the black racetrack parking attendant with a racial slur.  Finally, the unexpected homosexual insinuation in Marvin Unger’ s suggestion that he and Johnny leave town together, so Johnny would avoid the trappings of marriage.

    There are problems with the film, the use of voice-over, becomes annoying and unnecessary at times. The voice over seems to pander to the audience as if the assumption is we are not bright enough follow what is going on.  This may have been forced upon Kubrick by the studio that may have been nervous about the nonlinear storyline.  Kubrick did use a narrator in his previous film, “Killer’s Kiss” which I found less troublesome. Also, unconvincing the infamous cheap suitcase, Johnny uses and loses the money with. As precisely planned as the heist was you would think Johnny would have purchased a stronger and more secure suitcase.  

    Overall, “The Killing” is an excellent heist film with fine performances by Sterling Hayden, Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook. Personally, this is one of my favorite Kubrick films.

Was this man one of the last people to see Caylee alive?  It sure sounds like it.  Jim Thompson was interviewed by WESH News and according to that interview and his statement to a Maitland police station released by the state in their latest docu-dump, Jim Thompson’s sighting of Caylee with Casey the day after Father’s Day, June 16, 2008, at a Walmart puts the time-line at about lunchtime.

Is he telling the truth?  Unfortunately there’s no way to prove what he said, although he has suggested that someone check the surveillance video from that Walmart.

It’s not hard to imagine that Casey actually might have stuffed  her daughter in the trunk of her car and possibly drugged her when you listen to his description of her treatment of her daughter shortly before Caylee disappeared for good.

Read it and watch the interview with Jim Thompson below:

wesh.com

Wesh video LINK

link to Jim Thompson’s statement to police ( page 2)

This entry is long overdue.

On our last day in Bangkok, Rachel and I visited Jim Thompson House together with my parents in the morning.

What’s so special about this ang moh’s house?

Well, James Harrison Wilson “Jim” Thompson (born March 21, 1906 in Greenville, Delaware – unknown) was an American businessman who helped revitalize the Thai silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s.. A former U.S. military intelligence officer who once worked for the Office of Strategic Services, Thompson mysteriously disappeared while going for a walk on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967, in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. From the latest news report I read, he was apparently killed in a hit-and-run accident by a reckless Malaysian truck driver who had buried him without knowing who he was.

Back to his house which has been converted into a tourist attraction  – we all had a great time there, marveling at the beauty of his house and being enthralled by the tour guide with her tales about Jim Thompson’s adventure in Asia. It’s a great place for photography and we took lots of shots there.

One of my favourite street snack in Bangkok

"Jiu Chai Kuay" for breakfast

Entrance to the Jim Thompson House museum

Waiting for the next session of the guided tour

White orchids

Freckled orchids

Rachel said this is some special kind of leaves

Some plant

More of the same plant

Shoots sprouting from a branch

Exterior of the Jim Thompson house

The pretty Thai guide who showed us around

Inside Jim Thompson's garden

Lush greenery

Enjoying the morning sun

Pretending it's our house

Interior of one of smaller houses

Posing at the door

Rachel besides a large potted plant

The house balcony - photography is not allowed within the house

Enjoying the greenery

Small elephant sculpture

Large porcelain design

A prayer alter

Me, outside one of the smaller houses

Picture perfect

Posing with a large pot

This was one of the Thai silk print designed by Jim Thompson

Rachel grew fond of Thai silk after the visit. She bought a few pieces from the Jim Thompson store and at the airport. If you were to visit, buy the items at the airport as they are cheaper, tax-free.

Rachel bought three scarves and a spectacles holder from Jim Thompson

Rachel and I then headed to Fuji Japanese Restaurant in Siam Paragon to try out Thai-styled Japanese food while my parents ate separately at a traditional Thai restaurant. The food was disappointing . It’s not exacting bad (we still enjoyed our lunch), but rather bland and boring, despite the beautiful menu with hundreds of items on offer. Maybe we just didn’t order the right stuff. We did not like the restaurant’s decor too, finding it too loud and showy.

Fuji Japanese restaurant in Siam Paragon

Inside the lux Fuji restaurant

The decor is too shiny shimmering for my liking

A fried fusion Japanese dish

Asparagus wrapped with beef

Assorted grilled Japanese mushrooms

Pork chop

Rachel enjoying her lunch

After lunch, we headed to Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam to do some shopping. I bought some cargo pants there while Rachel bought a few dresses. We had some donuts and yogurt as light snacks.

At Pratunam

A cat we spotted in the busy Pratunam market

One of the many clothing stores in Platinium mall

This yoghurt store got Rachel excited

Rachel ordered this yoghurt

Snacking on donuts and yoghurt

After Pratunam, we wasted half a day trying to locate some obscure shopping mall called “Playground”, recommended by the Lonely Planet Bangkok guidebook as a great place for Thai-designed items. The hunt got us stuck in the traffic jam for hours and we gave up after three separate cab excursions. Do not always trust what the guide books say, even if it’s the latest edition!

By then, it was almost dinner time and we headed back to Siam Paragon to dine at MK Gold together with my parents. It was raining heavily then and the hot steamboat at MK was just the right soul food we needed. We ordered lots of dishes and ate till we cannot move.

MK Gold restaurant at Siam Paragon

Ingredient to go into the steamboat

Vegetable galore

Thin slices of pork

Beef slices

Green tea and red bean tofu fish cakes

The plain rice comes decorated like this

My favourite MK roast duck

My mom and Rachel, enjoying the steamboat

Rachel and I enjoying the steaming hot soup

Healthy food

After dinner, we bought some tidbits and snacks from the Gourmet Market within Siam Paragon. They are the same stuff that are offered by street vendors outside for less than half the prices, but we still bought them as it was our last day in Bangkok and we really wanted to try out some of these snacks.

Checking out the food stalls at the Siam Paragon Gourmet Market after dinner

We bought some of these for supper

Rachel and I then headed to ZEN department store which was a real delightful find, packed with quite a few Thai designer labels. We regretted not shopping there earlier and wasting time looking for that stupid “Playground”.

Feel tired after all the shopping, we then navigated our way back to our favourite massage parlor located near Ratchathewi BTS station. Rachel had a full body massage while I had a foot massage. That was really heavenly. We went back to our service apartment after that, rejuvenated and happy.

Waiting for the train to bring us to Ratchathewi station

Zen departmental store

A playful stray dog left it's wet paw prints at the store entrance

At the BTS station, waiting for the train to ratchathewi station

Graffitti art

Bangkok traffic is just as busy at night

Our favourite massage house! - cheap and good service

Inside the massage house

We did not get to sleep much that night as we have to check out of our hotel at 4.30am for an early flight. At the airport, we had time for some light shopping and the next thing we know, we are back in Singapore. Till our next trip, it’s bye bye for now to Bangkok!

Large orange sculpture at the airport

A more colourful installation, depicting the battle of the toad prince

Pictures of the Thai royal family at the airport

I presume these are seats for the Thai king and queen

The last two thing we consumed in Thailand

Touch down! Immediately everyone rushed to get their luggage

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Disclaimer: Pictures credits to Polyvore.com except feature product belongs to Cookie-Bomb.

Another original and this time it’s from Jim Thompson. I hope you guys are eager to read on as we have been selling a lot of original branded items at second-hand price. Jim Thompson is a man who teaches etiquettes and also a Thai silk manufacturer and the top we’re selling is a bright blue, turquoise and yellow top with flowers print. The top is size M and made of lycra and cotton.

JIM THOMPSON FLOWER PRINTED 3/4 TOP

Product code : T620004
Price : (MYR) $24 / (SGD) $10
Original price : (USD) $62
Still Available

Here’s our tips. You can go very casual with this top by pairing it with a simple skinny jeans and a pair of flats. Also, a simple tote bag would be strike beautifully. Once set, you can go on a shopping trip with your friends and family as the look is trendy and reserved at the same time. With the bright colors and prints, you will sure stick out of the crowd and we mean in a good way~

For the girls who wish to look fun and flirty and playful at the same time, take your normal denim skirt, you pair of sneakers and some colorful accessories (preferable yellow or turquoise) and you’re good to go. The fun look is suitable if you just want to hang out with your friends anywhere and anytime.

Or perhaps you want to go really simple and more reserved, take a half khakis and a cropped vest and pair it with a pair of classy ankle boots. You’ll define the look of classy and fun. The bright colors of the top can make the whole attire complete. Remember, style is not what you wear, it’s how you wear it.

Okay, so I keep a log of everything I read each year. For 2008-2009, I read exactly 113 books. Here are some of my favourites from the past year:

• Howard Zinn – A People’s History of the American Empire – graphic non-fiction – He doesn’t “blow my mind” like Good Will Hunting suggested, but he does find new ways to present history in two ways: graphically, of course, and “from below.”
• Jim Thompson – The Alcoholics, South of Heaven, The Killer Inside Me, etc – crime fiction – he’s gotten more popular over the years, especially after a series of movie adaptations starting with the Grifters. All in all, his first-person voice is note-perfect whether he writing the psychopath, the thief or the alcoholic.
• Michael Lewis – Moneyball – sport journalism – I’m a tad jealous of this writer because he’s so darn successful, but you can’t deny his wonderful style. Even if you dislike baseball and all corporate cultures, you will find this story of a perpetual underdog competing cleverly with bigger opponents to be an engaging read.
• Joan Didion – Miami – I don’t always follow her tangents, dut Didion’s clear writing is a joy and wonder to follow from page to page. Her sketches of the Cuban community provide more insight than you might find otherwise on television or in print.
• Cory Doctorow – Content – internet journalism – this guy is on the cutting edge of the creative commons, etc. His dissection of the futility of digital rights management and “ownership” in the digital age is food for thought.
• Howard Brenton/David Hare – Pravda – play – I love British drama and I love satire, especially when it turns its attention to the modern media. Great read for a gloomy afternoon!
• The Bill McKibben Reader – environmental journalism – I was pleasantly surprised with McKibben’s mix of environmental activism and sincere spirituality. It’s a great introduction to his work and far more enjoyable than, say, clunky Paul Hawken.
• John Steinbeck – The Long Valley and The Grapes of Wrath – fiction – I came back to Steinbeck after a long break and his work holds up over time. In the short story collection, “The Red Pony” will tug at your heart as strongly as “Old Yeller.” The novel will probably make you want to join the communist party.
• Jock and Andy Diggle – The Losers – graphic novels – this re-vamp of the WWII team is updated for the post-9/11 age. I disliked the conclusion, but the story is a welcome break from the general stupidity of mainstream superhero comics. Note: a film version of this series should be completed next year, directed by Peter Berg and co-starring Idris Elba. It’s going to be great!

Whew! Now, I’m going to have to read through my backlog for 2009-2010. I’ll try to be more regular in my reviews. Smaller is easier than bigger to manage.

Als ich vor vielen Jahren zum ersten Mal nach Bangkok reiste, standen die top Attraktionen für Touristen auf meinem Programm: Tempel, Märkte, Museen und auch das Jim Thompson Haus. Bis zu diesem Tag wußte ich kaum etwas über den Seidenkönig und die sagenhaften Geschichten um ihn. Mein DK Reiseführer sagte “Jim Thomson war ein US-amerikanischer Unternehmer, der wesentlich dazu beitrug, die Seiden- und Textilindustrie Thailands zu revolutionieren. Um sein mysteriöses Verschwinden am Ostersonntag im Jahr 1967 ranken sich bis heute die wildesten Gerüchte: Er sei entführt worden, von einem Tiger gefressen, umgebracht, habe Selbstmord begangen oder sei in ein anderes Leben untergetaucht.”

Inmitten des quirligen Einkaufszentrums in Bangkok, umgeben von den prächtigen Shopping Malls, der moderenen Hochbahn und gegenüber vom Stadion fand ich dann die kleine Gasse, die zu Thompsons Anwesen führt, Soi Kaseman 2. Das Haus ist ein Meisterwerk asiatischer Baukunst, aus unzähligen Bauteilen, die Thompson über Jahre gesammelt hat. Thompson entdeckte einige der fünf Häuser bei Ayutthya und ließ sie in Bangkok wieder aufbauen. Umgeben ist das Haus von einer Oase der Ruhe mit riesigen Bananenpalmen, Brunnen und tropischen Blumen. Thompson hat eine der größten privaten Kunstsammlungen antiker Asiatika und sein Wohnhaus gleicht eher einem Museum, wenngleich es unglaublich lebendig wirkt.

Als ich das Haus zum ersten Mal besichtigte, hatte ich die ganze Zeit eine Gänsehaut vor Aufregung. Thompson war bekannt dafür, ungerne alleine zu sein und gab viele Dinner Parties. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass die letzten Gäste seiner Party gerade erst das Haus verlassen hatten. Dabei wurde bereits 1976 wurde die James H.W. Thompson Foundation gegründet, die sein Erbe verwaltet und auch das Anwesen, das seitdem als Museum dient und öffentlich zugänglich ist. Durch die freundliche Thailänderin, die uns durch das Haus führte, erfuhr ich dann die grundlegenden Fakten über sein Leben:

Geboren am 21. März 1906 in Greenville (Delaware), studierte Thompson Architektur und lebte bis 1940 in New York. Für die OSS (die Vorläuferorganisation des CIA) reiste er nach Europe, Afrika und Asien. So verbrachte er während des zweiten Weltkrieges einige Zeit in Bangkok und kehrte 1946 in die USA zurück. Er hatte jedoch Bangkok lieben gelernt, so trennte er sich von seiner Frau und suchte einen neuen Start in Asien. Die Idee, das alte Oriental Hotel zu übernehmen, scheiterte an der Finanzierung. So gründete Thompson Anfang 1948 ein eigenes Seidengeschäft und Ende 1948 die Thai Silk Company Limited. Zu dieser Zeit war die Seidenproduktion in Thailand kaum erschlossen, Seide wurde nur für den Eigenbedarf der Familien und zur Unterstützung traditioneller Zeremonien genutzt. Durch die Kombination von industriellen Fertigungsstandards und traditioneller Weberei gelang es Thompson, Qualität und Volumen der produzierten Seide überproportional zu erhöhen. Er bediente sich dabei in erster Linie eines Netzwerkes muslimischer Weberfamilien, die er gegenüber seinem Anwesen in der Soi Kaseman in Bangkok ansiedelte. Innerhalb weniger Jahre machte er thailändische Seide populär. Internationale Hotels und Prominenz zählten zu seinen Kunden und Gästen. Am 27. März 1967 verschwand Jim Thompson spurlos während eines Besuches der Cameron Highlands im Dschungel Malaysias. Mehrere Suchaktionen blieben erfolglos. Sein Körper wurde nie gefunden, auch fand man nie irgendwelche anderen Spuren.

Als ich wieder auf der Straße stand, fühlte ich mich wie zurückgeworfen in die reale Welt. Und war sehr gethrillt. Von Thompsons faszinierender Lebensgeschichte, sein mysteriöses Verschwinden in den Cameroon Highlands und von dieser geheimnissenvollen Welt rund um Seide, asiatische Kultur und Kunstgeschichte.

Ich verbrachte den Nachmittag im Bookstore der nächsten Shopping Mall und war enttäuscht, dass es nur wenig Literatur über Thompson gab. So ging ich abends zurück ins Hotel, bepackt mit einer Biografie Thompsons, einem Buch über asiatische Geschichte und über die Seidenindustrie. Und verbrachte den Abend lesend. Fand ein Internet Café um die Ecke vom Hotel und recherchierte so viel ich konnte. Seitdem bin ich immer wieder in das Jim Thompson Haus zurückgekehrt. Habe alle Bücher, die es über ihn gibt, beschafft – Biografien, Prosa und Theorien über sein Verschwinden. Im Sommer 2008 war ich in Malaysia, reiste in die Cameroon Highlands und suchte in der Dämmerung die frühere “Moonlight Cottage”, das Haus in dem Thompson zuletzt gesehen wurde. In Malaysia traf ich einen alten Mann, der mir Bücher schenkte über andere Menschen, die in malayischen Dschungel verschwanden und die Schnittstellen mit Thompson hatten. Meine Faszination für die mysteriösen Geschichten rund um Thompson hat nie nachgelassen. Deswegen möchte ich hier ein Porträt über Thompson teilen.

To be followed…

Dschungel in den Cameroon Highlands

Moonlight Cottage von der Terrasse des Strawberry Hotels aus

J. Kingston Pierce at The Rap Sheet explains why The Grifters, which I have not yet read, is one not to be missed:

I know Jim Thompson is a crime writer, though after re-reading one of his books, you wonder. Most of the requisite ingredients are there–guns and blood, cops and criminals, explications on the social habits of the wicked and dispossessed. But you can’t help thinking that Thompson only picked the genre as the most expedient route to his actual goal, which was to delve unblinkingly into the casual depravity of your everyday sociopath.

Of course, The Grifters (originally published in 1963) is first-rate noir, which is where it clearly fits within the contemporary taxonomy of crime fiction. Darkly engrossing and fast-moving, with writing that lacerates when it isn’t being lyrical. It’s a brief trip into the netherworld of the professional con, where fleecing suckers is less an adventure than a routine occupation, complete with its own operating manual–unwritten–and its own lexicon.

The screenplay for the 1990 movie adaptation, which received four Academy Award nominations and was named best picture of the year by, among others, the Los Angeles Times, was written by Donald E. Westlake.

When a man stops caring what happens, all the strain is lifted from him. Suspicion and worry and fear — all the things that twist his thinking out of focus — are brushed aside. And he can see people as they are, at last. Exactly as they are . . .

Trying to get there. Not sure I ever will.
From Jim Thompson’s After Dark, My Sweet, the book I picked up at Jimmy’s apartment after the Tour this year. I started it in his apartment and finished it on the plane back, and just mailed it back to him. I guess it’s a hardboiled post-noir pre-modern crime novel, but you could also just go ahead and call it a novel if that’s the way you saw life. I guess it became one of those hellaciously wonderful movies that never got seen much. Last year at Jim’s I picked up Fante.

I sommar har jag, som så många andra, roat mig med att läsa deckare. Jag har nämligen lånat hem de exemplar vi har ur Modernistas Pulp-serie. En serie med deckare skrivna av amerikanska författare, utgivna med formgivningar som liknar de klassiska pulptrycken som trycktes efter första världskriget kriget i USA: (”pulped” paper = återanvänt papper). Efter att själva tryckningsmetoden försvann fortsatte ändå begreppet pulp att existera som benämning för den typ av historier som brukade tryckas i pulpböcker och –tidningar. Det handlade mest om genrelitteratur: hårdkokta deckare, dirty realism, sci/fi och westerns. Förlaget Modernista har nu använt sig av begreppet när de själva ger ut ett urval av hallucinogent realistiska deckare och romaner. Om förlaget får beskriva sina böcker själva låter det så här: ”Modernista Pulp är psykotisk läsning i ett noir-land som ibland är Amerika, ibland inte. Det är kanoniserat skräp och smutsig finlitteratur. En serie smarta bladvändare på billigt papper, med en psykologisk undervegetation som brutalt tar sitt fäste i läsarens inre.”

Jag har läst två av böckerna i den här serien En sista riktig kyss av James Crumley och Jesus’ son av Denis Johnson. Jag skall inte gå in för mycket i detalj om vad de handlade om, men kan säga att de väl motsvarade förlagets egen beskrivning av sina Pulpböcker. Speciellt Jesus’ son vill jag rekommendera, som känneteckas av ett drogat och fragmenterat berättande som är rätt tilltalande. Om det är en deckare, så är mysteriet berättarjagets eget psyke. En sista riktig kyss är inte lika mycket ”out there” som Jesus’ son men fascinerande på sitt sätt: huvudpersonen C.W Sughrue är en detektiv som blir indragen i ett fall som drar honom fram och tillbaks över USA. På färden träffar han ett antal trasiga personer och Crumley målar upp en bild av USA som inte direkt är skinande ren. Det är dunkelt, men välskrivet och roligt. Att Crumley är högaktad av de författarkollegor som också skriver hårdkokta kriminalromaner, som George Pelecanos (han lär ha sagt att En sista riktig kyss är “den största detektivroman som skrivits under min livstid”), har jag lätt att förstå.

 Vi har även en tredje bok i serien: Mördaren i mig av Jim Thompson

  Finns Jesus’ son inne på biblioteket?

 Finns En sista riktig kyss inne på biblioteket?

 Finns Mördaren i mig inne på biblioteket?

 /Tobias

 Ps. Tyckte du att pulpgenren verkade rolig och intressant? Då har jag fler tips. William S. Burroughs kultförklarade debutroman Junky (svenska: Tjacket) utkom ursprungligen som pulp, och är väl egentligen ett rätt karaktäristiskt exempel på den typen av berättelser som kom ut i pulp. Charles Bukowski var en annan amerikansk författare som gillade genren, och i slutet av sitt liv gav sig på att skriva en pastich som han kallade just Pulp. Bukowskis försök att skriva en hårdkokt (men humoristisk) deckare är inte högt hållen av hans fans, men jag minns att jag gillade den när jag läste den för en massa år sedan.

 Finns Junky inne på biblioteket?

Finns Pulp inne på biblioteket?

Before you think that this man recently saw Caylee, he didn’t.

Jim Thompson claims that he saw both Caylee and Casey Anthony on the day after Father’s Day, 2008, at a Walmart store, just after George Anthony saw Caylee for the last time.

Click below to read the full story including Thompson’s claim that both Casey and Caylee came into his own store, and he tried to give Caylee a Beanie Baby for being a good girl.

From WESH:

A week later, the day after Father’s Day, Thompson said he saw the same woman coming out of a Casselberry Walmart. He said Caylee was a good 10 feet behind and had to open a heavy door by herself.

“She had better things to do,” Thompson said. “She would almost rather Caylee not be with her. She was in the way.”

Early the afternoon of June 16, George Anthony said he last saw his daughter leaving with Caylee. Thompson estimates he saw Caylee alive at around 4 p.m. Cell phone tower pings show Anthony was at or near her boyfriend’s apartment at around 5 p.m. That’s less than four miles from the Walmart.

Thompson said he is willing to testify in Anthony’s trial. Sources close to the prosecution said it appears Thompson believes what he’s saying, but that doesn’t make all of his claims true.