The winning numbers in yesterday’s MegaMillions lottery, with a $355 million jackpot, are:

Now, if you’re a fan of the TV show Lost, you are familiar with the mythology of the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, which (among other things) were the winning lottery numbers for Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, netting him $114 million.

As a result, a lot of people play those numbers. And if you picked those numbers last night, you would have had 4 out of 6 numbers, netting you $150… almost the exact price to pick up Lost: The Complete Collection
on DVD. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

The odds of picking those numbers are 1 in 13,781, (or (56!/(3!(56-3)!))46 out of (56!/(5!(56-5)!))46 if you want to do the math). The question arises, however: how many players play the Lost numbers? 1 out of 10000? 1 out of 5000? 1 out of 1000?

Based on 25,587 reported winners last night, it turns out that payout for that combination was about 42% (there’s that number again… surely another coincidence) higher than expected, or around 7200 extra winning tickets, for a total of… $1.08 million.

108? All right, now it’s getting a bit weird.

Yep.  It’s time to roust the roosters and the wrens a bit.  We’re going to have a contest, kiddoes! 

The discussions I’ve had with people about my IDEAS LIKE BULLETS columns have been great and of the four posted, two have already moved on to become actual projects with writers and that is the whole purpose of doing this!  So, with that said, I thought it might be time to take one of the other four ideas and see if we can get some interest in it.  And what better way to do that then to HOST A CONTEST! So, here goes!

IDEAS LIKE BULLETS CONTEST-DAYDREAMING

It’s simple.   The first column I posted introduced the world to a concept of mine about a heroine named Daydream.  That column can be found here- http://allpulp.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-column-ideas-like-bullets-take-one.html.  Daydream could be taken any number of directions with the way I left it in the column and I hope many of you who are writers will do just that.  The rules are as follows- Write a minimum of a 3,000 word story starring Daydream.  It can be fleshing out the work I put in the column, it can be pre-Daydream days, it can be with her as a full fledged heroine or whatever you make her, but it has to be the character as introduced in the first ILB column.  Now, more words would be fine and it can be a novel if you want it to, but that won’t necessarily earn you extra points.  The story must have a beginning, middle, and end and must be pulp in nature.  Your first submission is your only submission, we won’t be editing and sending back for improvement.  At least not until a winner is chosen.

What do you win, may you ask? Well, first is publication of your winning entry in Pro Se Production’s PRO SE PRESENTS magazine line.  Secondly, a complimentary copy of said magazine your story appears in.  Thirdly, a slot as co-writer or possibly even as full writer on a DAYDREAM series of recurring stories to appear in Pro Se publications if you so choose to accept it.  Is it a lot? No, not at all.  But it’s something.

Now, if you decide you’re going to take up this challenge, then you have to email me at allpulp@yahoo.com and notify me of such BEFORE you start writing.  If I receive an entry without having been notified prior to receiving it, it will be disqualified.  I want to  know who’s working on what.   today is January 5th, 2011.  All entries must be in to me by February 5th, 2011. And just in case you missed it, here’s the link to the original ILB about Daydream- http://allpulp.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-column-ideas-like-bullets-take-one.html

 OK, guys and gals, the gun’s loaded…FIRE AWAY!

PARKER, Part 1: First Impressions
Van Allen Plexico

In this series of articles, Van Allen Plexico explores the history of Richard Stark’s (Donald E. Westlake’s) criminal pulp noir character, “Parker,” in his many appearances across various media. In this first installment, we discover Parker’s origins and earliest appearances.

When we first meet Parker, we see him as a big, hulking man, stomping his way automaton-like across the George Washington Bridge. All who gaze upon him feel a vague sense of dread or at least unease. He looks somehow dangerous, but also extremely focused.

On what exactly he’s focused, no one can guess—or really wants to guess.

That sums Parker up in a nutshell: Extremely dangerous and extremely focused. And, to a large degree, that’s pretty much all we know about him today—even after all these years.

Few main protagonist characters in all of literature, if any, have been the subject of so many stories—appearing in dozens of books, movies, and comics—with the audience still knowing so little about them afterward. Time after time we see Parker being pulled into a criminal enterprise, planning it, executing it, carrying out the inevitable damage control when things go bad, and then sorting out matters at the end. And every single time we learn little more about him by the end than we knew going in.

That’s perfectly fine, though, because the fun of a Parker story, in any medium, is not learning about the depths of Parker’s character. The fun is in seeing a consummate professional doing his job, exhibiting the ultimate in competence along the way, and in dealing out… not true and high justice, per se—not from a career criminal like Parker—but a sort of street-level justice where those who play fair and obey the rules get their promised rewards, and those who double-deal and back-stab get what they have coming, too.

Parker first made his appearance in 1963’s The Hunter, a novel by Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark. (That book has been filmed as at least two movies in the years since; more about those in an upcoming installment of this series.) Westlake later claimed he got the idea for Parker while he himself was walking across the George Washington Bridge and feeling its seemingly solid form vibrating from all the wind and traffic; he began to imagine the kind of character who would feel at home in such a setting. Indeed, Parker does come across often as a human equivalent of a massive, concrete-and-steel suspension bridge, solid as stone on the surface but concealing an ocean of tightly controlled tension (and, when necessary, violence) on the inside.

“He had big hands, Mal,” is the way one character who has encountered Parker describes the man in The Hunter—and that’s just the way Parker wants it. He likes appearing sort of “gray” and blending into the background; he never does anything to call attention to himself. He appears almost to have been hewn from solid rock, or roughly molded from raw clay.

Westlake claimed that one of his goals in writing Parker’s books was to challenge himself as a writer by using a protagonist who has almost no internal voice. With Parker, everything is right there in the open. He has a job to do, and that is all that he thinks about for the duration of the operation. While Parker is on a job, he has no room in his heart or in his mind for compassion, humor, or any other human emotion or consideration. Some might describe him as “amoral,” but that’s not entirely true. When it comes to dealing fairly with his accomplices, he is utterly and completely fair, following his own internal code of morality and justice—at least, as such things are to him. He is the definition of the term, “all business.”

That being the case, it’s not hard to see that the one thing guaranteed to set Parker’s teeth on edge is a co-conspirator who exhibits anything less than total dedication to the job and complete professionalism. Nothing will cause Parker to back away from a prospective job faster than a whiff of amateurism from one of his potential accomplices. He has a small circle of men (and a woman or two) that he trusts to work with him. Anyone else must be carefully scrutinized.

Inevitably, in almost every Parker tale, an amateur approaches Parker (or one of his friends) with a “brilliant idea” for a heist and, almost every time, Parker goes along despite his many misgivings. Again, almost every time, something goes horribly wrong and Parker is left to pick up the pieces, sort out his accomplices, deal retribution on the person who caused the problem, and get away with whatever loot is left.

This simple formula led to Westlake creating sixteen Parker novels between 1963 and 1974, and then returning to the character with a run of eight more between 1997 and his death in 2008.

In the installments to come, we’ll look at some of what makes Parker such an enduring and popular character (for such a mean SOB!), and the ways in which he and his heists (one hesitates to use the more lighthearted term “capers” when referring to the dour Parker) have been depicted in various media.

So—fill your shot glass, light up a smoke, lock the hotel room door, and get ready to explore the career of the greatest pulp noir criminal of all: Parker!

Coming in Part 2: An in-depth look at the first string of Parker novels, 1963-1974.

Back in the 1980s, as the emphasis switched from characters and editors to creators, it was inevitable that agents would arrive to help the new super-stars cut favorable deals. As a result, its a little surprising it took this long for a marketing agency to arrive to service the “geek culture”. The principals involved are certainly industry-tested and both are well liked. We wish them and their new endeavor well.
 
NEW YORK, N.Y. (Jan. 3, 2011) – Two veteran New York marketing executives are joining forces to open a new full-service advertising and marketing firm, Bonfire Agency, LLC, specializing in helping brands target highly influential but difficult to engage pop culture consumers.  This demo, labeled by some as geek or comic culture, is comprised of incredibly passionate and highly influential fans of everything from comic books, video games and action films to underground music, sci-fi inspired television and cutting edge adult comedy.

“We’re calling them ‘firestarters,’” said Steve Rotterdam, former Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for TimeWarner’s DC Comics and co-founder of Bonfire Agency.  “These are hyper-networked consumers that film studios strive to connect with through events like the San Diego Comic-Con because their endorsement of a project, especially in its early stages, can generate serious heat that can propel a film to box office success or green light a second season for a TV series on the bubble.”

“They’re evangelists for everything ‘awesome,’” said co-founder Ed Catto, former Senior Vice President at Reed Exhibitions and a specialist in uniting brands with pop culture icons.  “They’re the first in line and the first to pass judgment as to whether something is authentic or not – and because of their intense, passionate engagement, they’ll go to incredible extremes to let others know exactly what they think.”

“These are the guys that, in 2009, made Paranormal Activity a surprise hit and sank Brüno,” added Rotterdam.

Industry figures indicate that this core group spends $400 million annually on comics, graphic novels, toys and other pop culture collectibles.  “But the degree to which they influence movies, television, gaming, music, fashion, even food, is immeasurable,” noted Rotterdam.

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