The Writer's Life 10/4 - Wizards

In today's NY Post,  an article attributed to "Staff Report" highlights sections from Sean Naylor's Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command. Here are the three instances I enjoyed most, in my own words: Taking enemy IEDs apart and rebuilding them, Special Forces came up with a device used to target terrorists in southern Iraq. It was remote-controlled, which enabled our guys to wait on detonation until civilians were out of range. They called it Xbox... In the early days of the Afghan war, military leaders created the illusion of GI presence by dropping parachutes to which blocks of ice were attached into the desert. When the ice melted, the chutes blew into populated areas and had the enemy thinking an attack was imminent... When Special Forces posed as farmers to capture a high level target, the guy said: "I should have known it was Americans. Iraqis never work that hard."...

An article on the music industry by Larry Getlen cites an astonishing fact: In 2014 one-quarter of the Top 100 songs of the year on the Billboard pop chart were attributable to Swedish producers and writers. Through the years they've been responsible for hits by Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and others. Their success is detailed in a new book, The Song Machine by John Seabrook.

Kudos to Max Scherzer, who pitched his second no-hitter of the season last night against the Mets. Bottom line, however -- the Mets are in the playoffs, the Nationals are not.

Last night Channel 13 ran Bullitt (1968), starring Steve McQueen at the height of his career. It still holds up, although I'm still rankled by how the gunman, a hired pro, botches the hotel room hit. All he has to do is walk up to the target and pump another round into him. Anyway, the film boasts an unbelievable cast: Jacqueline Bisset, Simon Oakland, Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Don Gordan, Norman Fell and Georg Stafford Brown. However, the actor that sent me to IMDb is legendary stunt driver, the late Bill Hickman, who was at the wheel of the Charger in that fantastic chase scene through San Francisco in which, according to Cinema 13 host Neil Gabler, speeds of up to 120 mph were reached. While Hickman logged 65 credits as an actor, his biggest contributions to film were in stunts, especially those involving vehicles. He also drove in the classic scenes through the streets of Bensonhurst in The French Connection (1971) and Manhattan in the under-rated The Seven-Ups (1973). He was a friend of James Dean, and taught him about race driving. He was first on the scene on that tragic day in 1955. Here's a pic:

My thanks to whomever downloaded Exchanges to Kindle. Unfortunately, it is unlikely I will ever receive a royalty for it. It's sold more than 20 copies at Amazon and I haven't seen a dime. I sent a couple of emails to the publisher, who is wheelchair bound. He hasn't replied. Although it's disappointing, I won't push it. At most it amounts to $40. I tell myself to be grateful the book is available...My thanks also to the woman who purchased L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for her son.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/