Monkey Lamp!

Confirmed sighing this weekend of a Monkey Lamp in it's native environment. Though waning in popularity, the monkey lamp remains the true hallmark of consummate good taste and subtle sophistication.

Now Hear This- The 101ers

Back before there was a Clash, before there was even a Joe Strummer, there was a guy named John Mellor, who was calling himself Woody and playing music with a bunch of guys called the 101ers. By the time their first single, Keys to Your Heart, was released, the band was no more, and Woody Mellor had taken on the mantle of Saint Joe.
“I called myself Joe Strummer because I can only play all six strings at once, or none at all.”
The 101ers could easily have been lost in the reverb noise of so many other great but forgotten bands, if it weren’t for the efforts of Joe’s widow, Lucinda Tait. Luckily for us, she has preserved some of these potentially lost gems on the full length album, Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited.
If you have ever wished the Clash had recorded just one more album, one more really good
album, then you need to seek this disc out and give it a listen. From the raucous Letsagetabitarockin’ and 5 Star R’nR to the more melodious Sweet Revenge and Surf City, you can literally drop a needle anywhere on this album and come up a winner. Keep Taking the Tablets and Rabies (From the Dogs of Love), an ode to the perils of venereal disease, shows hints of the sly lyric writing genius that Joe would soon come to be known for.
Junco Partner alone is worth the price of admission.

GIVE A CLICK TO GIVE A LISTEN

Why Isn't Bruce Holwerda World Famous?

Wandering around a local art festival recently, my mind was becoming numbed by paint by numbers watercolors of the beach and sailboats docked at tropic locales. And don't even get me started on the Wylan wannabe dolphin and whale crowd. Then I saw it- a grinning maniac on a unicycle, obviously going full tilt, and obviously not concerned a bit about it, martini glass held high in salute. I was immediately immersed in a world where every picture literally told a story.

Fantastic, ethereal, haunting and beautiful. How could I not be enthralled? This guy's art is amazing. Check out his website for tons more-

http://store.bruceholwerda.com/

I swear that someday, if I can manage it somehow, I will commission this guy to do a book cover for me.

Voodoo Child

What has dreadlocks, dry arms and a nasty temper?
Leon Risotto is about to find out, and so are you.
Loa on the Erie tells the story of what happens when a Cleveland pawnbroker tries to help a down on her luck girl from New Orleans, who just can't seem to escape her past.
Divertir Publishing brings you this tale in the upcoming Noir collection, Strange Case File.
Should be a good one.

From Deep Within the Box

Major Charles Gilroy, of his Majesty's 19th Light Dragoons, has some extra time on his hands.

Alot of extra time. And a five by five foot cell under the Sultan of Mysore's palace to spend it in.

When Wicked East Press releases Charles Day's collection, Tales of Terror and Mayhem from Deep Within the Box, you will be able to find out all about Charles, and his new playmates.

The Sultan's Pet- is, as far as can be determined, the only true and complete account of Major Gilroy's imprisonment. Or at least it better be, or someone stole my story.

Cryptozoowha?

Eddie and Butch are just a couple of guys looking for a good time, listening to some tunes, cruising with the t-tops off, maybe knocking over a gas station or two.
Once they get to Miami, its party time- but first, they need to get through the Everglades.
And, please try to contain your excitement, when Static Movement releases Evolutionary Blueprint, a cryptozoological anthology, you will then own your own copy of my short story Gas & Go, and will finally be able to find out if they make it or not.

Now, Hear this...

Frenetic energy, vibrato guitar, and a bass from space-

if you can resist tapping your toes when this trio takes the stage, then you truly have no soul.

With the titluar Ted on lead guitar and vocals, Charles "Big Kahuna" Nardone on upright bass, and Joe Hendricks on the skins, these guys know what entertaining is all about.

I caught a show recently down at the Old Packinghouse, familair favorites from Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and the Surfaris, liberally spiced with original songs from the band that fit as well as your favorite pair of jeans.

Give a listen to Alison Eastwood, which sounds like it should be coming out of a dash speaker on a '66 thunderbird, or 16 Missed Phone Calls, as instantly likeable as a labrador.

And, if you get the chance to see them live- DO IT.

How about a steaming hot cup of...

At long last, it's here. The Cup of Joe anthology from Wicked East press is now available for purchase.
Over 100 authors contributed this collection. Pick it up, read a few, put it down, and start in a different place the next time. So pick up a coffee (coffee flavored) and a quick read today.

According to Anthony Malone:
It's a chunky volume! It's also a true compendium, the sort of thing you'd come across on holiday and curl up with and as I think we all realised when we saw the eclectic list of story titles there is literally no one I couldn't give this book to.

So pick up yours at the Pill Hill Press Bookstore.
Or
AMAZON

Another Scott I Am Not

Since the name recognition thing is tough for someone with a bland name like Scott Taylor, here is some help sorting through all of the Scott Taylors out there in your internetasphere.

I am not this guy.

This Scott Taylor is a professor of at the University of St Thomas, which- get this- isn't even in the Virgin Islands. It's in Minnesota. And...I'm in Sarasota. So, similar, I guess.

Also, we both wear glasses and part our hair to one side.

But that is where the similarities end.

While I am an interesting, exciting person, this guy is the professor of some thing so boring I fell asleep just trying to read the description of what it is he does.

WARNING- pour yourself a strong cup of coffee before reading any further.

Per the university web site-

Taylor’s scholarship is wide ranging and includes articles on the taxation of captive insurance, integration of the corporate income tax, taxation in Indian Country, taxation of Indian gaming, innovations in legal education, harmonization of consumption taxes, and law and technology. Before joining the are you really still reading this. You really just need to skip to the next blog post now and learn about what the more interesting Scott Taylor is up to. I hear he's got a story coming out in Bete Noire soon, and if you do a Google search for Sevan Taylor, you are likely to run across an airship pirate who bears a strong resemblance to your favorite writer.

So there you have it.
One less Scott Taylor to worry about.

Bete Noire gets a Cold Call

The Winter Issue of Bete Noire, due out January 2012, will include Cold Call. So, only nine months to wait... Yeah, you've got some time to kill.