Posts tagged `crime`
The Gun Seller The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Year: 1998
Pages: 368

For many people, House might be their first exposure to British actor Hugh Laurie; others, especially if you live on the Isles or have a particular affection for British television, may very well know him from many other things. My first exposure was in Blackadder, with the stupendous Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, for those who don’t know). What I didn’t know, however, was that Laurie had written a book; had written a book, in fact, a very long time ago (1996, to be precise) before he was an international star. Needless to say, I went out right away and picked up the book.

I wasn’t expecting The Gun Seller to be a fine piece of literature; actors aren’t generally known for their fine writing skills. Yet, I found that Laurie’s debut (and currently only) novel was not only tremendously entertaining, but also remarkably well-written, as well. The book is like the sort of BBC dramedy that Laurie has starred in previously: rapier-sharp dialog, peppered with particularly British turns of phrase; one can almost envision Laurie in the role, opposite Stephen Fry as the stoic Solomon, Rowan Atkinson as the foppish O’Neal, and some sprightly English lass as the ravishing Sarah Woolf.

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§2086 · July 7, 2008 · 4 comments · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Wired magazine is running a fascinating article about the plight of Hans Reiser.

Hans Reiser is waiting for me, standing on the other side of an imitation-wood table. The room is small, the concrete walls bare. A guard locks the steel door from the outside. There is no sound. Reiser is wearing the red jumpsuit of a prisoner in solitary confinement, though he has been allowed to meet with me in this chilly visiting room. There was a time when he was known as a cantankerous but visionary open source programmer. His work was funded by the government; he was widely credited (and sometimes reviled) for rethinking the structure of the Linux operating system. Now he is known as prisoner BFP563.

I stick out my hand. It’s an awkward moment — his wrists are chained to his waist. It’s mid-December now, and he’s been in this jail 40 miles east of San Francisco for two months, ever since the Alameda County District Attorney’s office accused him of murdering Nina Reiser, his estranged wife. The police found drops of her blood in Reiser’s house and car, and, when they picked him up on an Oakland street to swab his mouth for DNA, he was carrying his passport and $8,960 in cash in a fanny pack. At the police station, they photographed his body for signs of scratches or bruises. None were found. By this time, though, he had been under surveillance for three weeks. The police had followed him on foot, tailed his car, and even tracked him by airplane. On October 10, he was arrested, locked up, and, days later, charged with murder. (His trial is set to begin in July.) His only visitors have been his lawyers and his parents. I’m the first new face he’s seen from the outside world.

I haven’t heard much about the case since he was arrested several months ago, and all the drama preceding it is brand new to me. Such a sad case—he’s a prick, maybe, but Hans Reiser is a brilliant programmer.

§1861 · June 27, 2007 · (No comments) · Tags: , , ,