Congratulations to Mary Eagan of Alpena, Mich. She’s the winner of Robert Ferrigno’s contest for NRO readers, announced yesterday morning on our podcast. On page 135 of Robert’s new thriller, Heart of the Assassin, there’s a reference to Jonah Goldberg. It’s sorta funny. I’d reproduce it here, except that it includes a little adult language. Besides, you should just read the book. It’s good.

Two fun facts about Alpena, Mich. 1) The pair of glasses sitting on my face at this very moment were purchased there. 2) Albert Jay Nock, a writer close to Jonah’s heart, lived in Alpena when he was 11 or 12 years old. Back then, it was a brand-new lumber town. Nock’s father helped build Trinity Episcopal Church, which still stands. Nock has a paragraph about Alpena in his autobiography, Memoirs of a Superfluous Man, though he doesn’t actually give the town’s name.

UPDATE: I knew this would happen. More fun facts about Alpena!

the Alpena airport was used for one of Bruce Willis’ Die Hard movies. It is still remembered here.

It’s Die Hard 2, according to Wikipedia.

Also:

The local community college has one of the best cement programs in the nation, due to a large cement factory located in Alpena.