81-year-old Bank Robber in UP

An 81-year-old man arrested Thursday in connection with a bank robbery was arrested in a bank heist once before – 40 years ago. “He’s probably our oldest bank robber to date,” Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. “The economy forced him out of retirement.” via thenewstribune.com At City Club earlier this month, Sheriff Paul Pastor suggested we might see the economy continue to drive people to desperate measures. This story would seem to confirm that. How sad.

The World of Doormen in NYC

It’s not a difficult profession to qualify for. There are few prerequisites and no real training required. And yet it’s a job that can seem impossible to get. via nytimes.com I thought this was a pretty interesting article. Apparently there’s a whole doormen’s union representing 10,000 doormen that almost went on strike yesterday.

Join me next Wednesday night at the Downtown Library to talk about The Maltese Falcon as part of Tacoma Reads

I'm going to be moderating a panel on Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon" as part of Tacoma Reads on Wednesday, April 28, at 7:00 at the downtown library. Panelists include County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, Architect and Tacoma Councilmember David Boe, and Hans Ostrom, Professor of English at UPS. If you haven't read the book, you can get it at Kings Books. It's a great noir read (and a quick one too). Join us!

A Kiss With A Fist

Mary doesn't think I selected a representative song on my blog. Plus the video, as I noted, doesn't work well. So, here's a more representative song, with a lot more of the indie feel of Florence. This was on the Jennifer's Body soundtrack last year. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpsDegqioVA?wmode=transparent]