BOYDIAN ANALYSIS

Do you think about sex all the time? It's okay. That's how you're wired.

This photo shows U.S. actress Tanya Boyd, who was among the best elements of films such as Black Shampoo, Solomon King, Black Heat, and of course, Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, as well as an enhancement to television shows like Good Times, What’s Happening, and the epic mini-series Roots. She’s seen here in a shot from around 1973 that makes us remember, like every good Freudian, that sex is really at the root of everything. Mid-century crime writers understood this, which is why, while all appetites are indulged rampantly, from the craving for drink to the obsession with money, sex is nearly always the catalyst for rash action. In essence: Do this insane thing and you’ll get laid. Accumulate riches and you’ll get a Boyd of your own.

Of course, women could refuse to be impressed. In that way they’re all-powerful, but like the gods of Olympus, rife with human flaws. You’ve surely wondered, if women were able to en masse deny sex to destructive men, whether about 75% of the nonsense that goes on in the world would come to a screeching halt. It’s a trite if enticing thought, but—hah hah—it could never happen because women are voraciously sexual too. It’s a cosmic chicken-egg riddle. Around and around we go, gravitationally locked binary entities, hurtling through a deep void. Amazing, isn’t it, what a single photo of Boyd can make a brain do? Well, the sophomore philosophy discussion group is over for today. We’re out. Feel free to ponder an additional time-stopping image of her here.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1939—Holiday Records Strange Fruit

American blues and jazz singer Billie Holiday records “Strange Fruit”, which is considered to be the first civil rights song. It began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, which he later set to music and performed live with his wife Laura Duncan. The song became a Holiday standard immediately after she recorded it, and it remains one of the most highly regarded pieces of music in American history.

1927—Mae West Sentenced to Jail

American actress and playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity because of the content of her play Sex. The trial occurred even though the play had run for a year and had been seen by 325,000 people. However West’s considerable popularity, already based on her risque image, only increased after the controversy.

1971—Manson Sentenced to Death

In the U.S, cult leader Charles Manson is sentenced to death for inciting the murders of Sharon Tate and several other people. Three accomplices, who had actually done the killing, were also sentenced to death, but the state of California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and neither they nor Manson were ever executed.

1923—Yankee Stadium Opens

In New York City, Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, opens with the Yankees beating their eternal rivals the Boston Red Sox 4 to 1. The stadium, which is nicknamed The House That Ruth Built, sees the Yankees become the most successful franchise in baseball history. It eventually closes in September 2008 upon being replaced by a new Yankee Stadium.

1961—Bay of Pigs Invasion Is Launched

A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. However, the invasion fails badly and the result is embarrassment for U.S. president John F. Kennedy and a major boost in popularity for Fidel Castro, and also has the effect of pushing him toward the Soviet Union for protection.

Edições de Ouro and Editora Tecnoprint published U.S. crime novels for the Brazilian market, with excellent reworked cover art to appeal to local sensibilities. We have a small collection worth seeing.
Walter Popp cover art for Richard Powell's 1954 crime novel Say It with Bullets.
There have been some serious injuries on pulp covers. This one is probably the most severe—at least in our imagination. It was painted for Stanley Morton's 1952 novel Yankee Trader.

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