"Psych one, psych two. What do you know? All your life is channel 13..."

I saw and read and watched on TV a lot of things as a kid that certainly my parents wouldn't have wanted me to see.  On the down-low, of course.  Nowadays though, the 'rents would be considered downright negligent.  Still, I relate to this, from Michael Sarko on Popdose...

I admit I’m nostalgic for the days of TV’s unbidden bizarreness, but I know each generation has its own thing. Indie theaters, cavernous book stores, random pamphlets, underground newspapers– They’re all sources of weird throughout the history of pop culture. One way or another, a kid needs to have that strange fruit to fuel creativity and open-mindedness.

Mabuhay ng Pilipinas, Motherf--kers! (Part 2)

It's true that a good offense is the best defense.

In Filipino Martial Arts, a good offense sometimes involves taking your attacker and "picking the eyes out, and of course, let him eat it."

Well, of course.  Because why stop at taking out the kidney when you can FEED YOUR ATTACKER HIS OWN EYEBALLS!!

Mabuhay ng Pilipinas, Motherf--kers!

Just three of the reasons I'm proud to be Filipino:

1
Toadies of Filipino martial arts practitioners talk the best smack...

2
We take Good Friday really fucking seriously...

3
We... uhh... apparently also take cosplay really fucking seriously...
(The video's in Tagalog, but you'll get the gist.)

Reminds me of what Dad always used to say: "Aba!"

One of These Is Not Like the Others

I was doing research down a line similar to this--I guess you could call it music video anthropology--and I stumbled on some live performances from the Tower of Power of their classic song "So Very Hard To Go," performed by various line-ups of the band over 35 or so years.

Now, I'm not saying anything about quality.  Just that one of these is not like the others.

"Come have one little warm death with me tonight"

Check out this incredibly awesome book trailer for the upcoming anthology Rigor Amortis, with my story "Sublimation," coming out in October from Absolute XPress. 

"14 karat love, you are my jewel of the Nile"

If I didn't feel guilty enough for not taking the time to spotlight more of my favorite writer-friends, like Regan Leigh, I do now.  Especially since she threw the spotlight on me in her eighth installment of Writer Love!

Her kind words seriously made me blush...

Don is a great friend and very talented, but his dedication is just as impressive. I can’t tell you how many times I see him (via Twitter) writing in his spare minutes, no matter where he might be.

The best part is, she dedicated a song to me.  The other night, for some god unknown reason, I had Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force on the brain.  And Regan made sure they stayed there, with this dope, funky fresh tune from back in the day.



You have my eternal gratitude, Regan. But, it begs the question--were you even alive when this song came out? :D

"Their features are changing. Their bodies dissolve, and I am alone"

My current short story in progress is headed (Elder Gods willing) to Cthulhurotica - An Anthology of Lovecraftian Lust, which will be published by Dagan Books.  I worked out its soundtrack, just like I do for most of my stories, to help me figure out which emotional pulses I want to hit in different scenes.

Take a listen:

• The New Pornographers, "Failsafe"
• Eleni Mandell, "Bigger Burn"
• Manic Street Preachers, "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
• Arcade Fire, "Ocean of Noise"
• Air, "The Word 'Hurricane'"
• Cassandra Wilson, "A Little Warm Death"
• The Blue Nile, "Body and Soul"
• Genesis, "Domino, Pt. 1 - In the Glow of the Night/Pt. 2 - The Last Domino"

The lyrics to "Domino" are about as Lovecraftian as I've ever heard Phil Collins sing, which should be proof that anyone who thought Genesis just plain sucked post-Peter Gabriel wasn't paying enough attention.

Season's Greetings

Where Ideas Come From

In a 1970 interview with Rod Serling by sci-fi author James Gunn, Serling recalls...

...99% of the writing that arrives on the desk of a mass media guy is pretty therapeutic writing. These are people who generally preface by saying, "I ain't such a good writer but I got this real good idea in my dream after eating the rancid mayonaise..."

It's about 8'59" in...

"It doesn't matter what I say/ As long as I sing with inflection"

"If I'm doing my job/ It's your resolve that breaks."

"This is the end of the innocence"

Mr. Spock isn't supposed to say "dickheads!"



If I hadn't already heard Tom Baker refer to "monkey-shaggers," and Peter Davison telling people to sod off, I might be scarred for life.

"I got one thing to say to the fool on the hill"

Finally, one of my favorite bands in the universe gets YouTubed!


Sons of Champlin, "Rooftop"
(x-posted from the Tumblr)

Season's Greetings!

"Reunited, and it feels so good"

I personally would rather show up to a high school reunion and find out that I was remembered like this...



And even if I wasn't, I'd certainly love to tell everyone this...



Everyone should have a dream, right?

What Am I Doing Here?

In 40+ years of Doctor Who, the most often asked question is not, "Doctor, who?"

It's the question I'm asking as I think about exactly what else to do on this site besides cross-posting my tweets.

Chicago--Still Cool!

Yes, that is Tomoyasu Hotei on guitar and yes, it really is the Kill Bill song!

(x-posted to the Tumblr)

Slipped My Mind

Totally forgot there was a video for this song...



I know where the song goes, chronologically, but in terms of theme, it doesn't quite fit in this scheme of things.

The Evolution of a Rock Band

There's a story to be had in this this (not necessarily Chicago-related) about how look and sound evolve--or maybe I should say adapt--over a few decades.

Only the beginning...


Playing free, or in the three, or agreeing to attempt something new...


Disco wasn't quite dead yet...


Synths!


80s hair...


90s hair...


Almost full circle...


Full circle, and going back around...again...

Filed Under: "Can't Make This Up"

WASHINGTON (AP) — Famed chef Julia Child shared a secret with Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg at a time when the Nazis threatened the world. They served in an international spy ring managed by the Office of Strategic Services, an early version of the CIA created in World War II by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Sort of reminds me of this 1980s TV "gem," Masquerade

Ancient Chinese Secret, Huh?

I see stuff like this, and marvel at how the Revolution hasn't happened yet.



Bunch o' crack...what was that? Why yes, I'm married to a white woman. So what? Nope, sorry, can't explain the cognitive disconnects--I gotta go to the Mall. See ya!