p.s. Hey. This is a very cool occasion for me. Zach started commenting on this blog when he was in in his mid-teens. I was lucky to be able to include his work in the 'Userlands' anthology I edited and published through my Little House on the Bowery imprint. I've always loved his writing, and it's been great to watch his work develop into the sparkling thing it is today. Zach is a total budding literary lion, and with this long awaited publication of his first novel, a bigger world gets the chance to find that out. Seeing as how Zach is not only an amazing writer and person but also one of this blog' original d.l.s, I think a celebration is in order, and there you have it. Otherwise, I'm a victim of bad sleep and bad jet lag today, so please forgive the space and fog in what follows. ** Uli, Hey. Jet lag's kind of nasty so far, but any night could potentially hold a breakthrough, hopefully tonight. Your cool doctor is a good start. Magnesium, huh? Why it? Interesting. ** Oscar B, Lovely coffeeing with you yesterday. I even remember most of it. I'm gonna check the local cultural listings when I get done with this. Talk to you a little later, I imagine. ** Joseph S. Nockles. Hey, J. Yeah, those were real and fairly representative newspaper items. I hope I'm feeling better soon too, ha ha. How's writing? Are you onto writing poems now as you'd thought/planned? Nice David Cameron tweak. That guy is definitely up there with the scariest, most ominous of politicians, and it does seem like him becoming the next Prime Minister is a done deal. Man oh man. ** Tonyoneill, Speak of the devil, i.e. Zach. Cut your gums open?! Heres a shudder for you, Tony. Yeah, your new novel, very exciting. Michael S. was raving to me about it when I saw him in NYC, no surprise. When is the release? I was telling Carrie that HP has to set up at least one you/ Blake B./ Kevin Sampsell/ Justin T./me group reading gig before the year is out, if not a full-fledged tour. ** Bernard Welt, Things truly are crazier and crazier in the States. Being over there in the middle of both the onslaught and the media onslaught of the onslaught was kind of a punishing experience. ** _Black_Acrylic, Even barely knowing who Cheryl Cole is, I can tell you're on a roll, man. Everyone, go see BA's Cheryl Cole collage. How was the djing gig then? ** Will Decker, I seem to be 'recovering' from jet lag on schedule, which means slowly as molasses as usual. Perkiness by Monday is my new goal. ** Empty Frame, Yeah, my brain should be sparking enough to take process related queries by the beginning of the week, so fire away when ready. I'll skip the new Cave novel then. I probably would have anyway since I wasn't really all that into 'And the Ass ...'. Neil Bartlett's still publishing books? Either I'm out of it or he doesn't have an American publisher these days. Gosh, there are probably numerous ways to create a system and wreck it with tenable authority. It just depends on the specifics of the work. But, yeah, there are ways. I do or at least try to do that sort thing all the time in my work. ** Paul Curran, Hey, Paul. What's the latest on your novel? Yeah, I'm happy to be able help 'Cows' back into print. The o.o.p. version is ridiculously pricey now. ** David Ehrenstein, It was kind of James Benning down there, yeah. I flashed on Benning's films more than once. Very curious of course to see that 'Howl' film. When will you get to see it? The Ian Dury film too. I love Andy Serkis, and I hear he kills as Dury. The new S. Gainsbourg biopic is out here next week. Should be interesting. Oh, great news about Bill's book! Everyone, I think most of you know (of) the writer, music expert, and much more Bill Reed. Well, Bill has a fascinating sounding new book out called 'Hot from Harlem: Twelve African American Entertainers 1890 - 1960', and you can find out more about it here. ** James Greer, Hey, Jim! Awesome that you're finally hitting town. I'll be here while you are, yeah. The Color Design Hotel? That's a new one on me. No, Johnny didn't send me 'The Failure', so, if you can spare one, I'd be in your debt. Oh, I'll email you my French cell phone number today. That should make meeting up easy. Looking very forward to it, man. ** Alan, If I have my story straight, the Miller County Liberal was started and edited by a woman with liberal politics, hence its name. When she died, the editorship was designated to go to a guy who then turned out to be gay, so he was deemed unsuitable, and instead it went to this other racist, reactionary guy who still runs it, and I assume he kept the name due to its recognizability? Jesse is an amazing person, absolutely. Thanks a lot for reposting the Haiti article link. I'll save it for the return of my brain power. Everyone, Alan recommends this article about the situation in Haiti. ** Jose, Hey. Oh, I'll search out that 'Dogtown' book. That sounds extremely up my alley. Yeah, Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' is fantastic, isn't it? I'd like to watch that again soon, come to think of it. ** SYpHA_69, So sorry to hear about your debilitating malady, man. Well, that's a real battery of tests you have scheduled there, and they had better lead straight to the answer and cure. Let me know. ** Bill, Welcome back to there, man. I'm stumbling through my jet lag feeling like half a man basically. I hope you have better luck. ** Killer Luka, Hey. I wrote you an email this morning re: you know what. Let me know what to do. Actually, the swamp in those photos was spookily absent of any life at all, as far the naked eye could tell. Not so much as a pond skater. Weird. ** Pisycaca, Hey, pal. I'm happy to be back in Paris, yeah, I have to admit. Missing my friends, but not the US itself, not after the way it seemed and felt while I was there. Tricky stuff with your dad. I'm sure this must be really scary for him, and hopefully he'll realize he's stressing out unfairly on you right away. 'A Serious Man' opens here soon. I actually do really want to see it, but I am a Coens fan. Have the best weekend you possibly can, P., and give my love to Xet. ** Steevee, Those sound like interesting gigs. I hope the venues bite. I didn't know of the Berlusconi doc. He sure is ripe for the right kind of non-fiction filmic take down. ** Creative Massacre, Hey. I'm really glad what I said helped, pal. You sound better. I have to say I'm pretty jazzed and drooling at the sound of your cemetery. It sounds like it's going to be incredible! Yeah, any pix you could share would be great, great. Thanks a lot. ** Stephen, Hey, S. Cool, yeah, I just found and bookmarked that video of your play yesterday after reading some cool reports about it on a blog or two. I'm going to find a context in which to post it here on the blog, but, in the meantime ... Everyone, the wonderful writer and d.l. Stephen recently wrote a play called 'Life on Mars: The James Bidgood Story', and it was just performed in SF's renowned Poets Theater festival, and the honorable Kevin Killian caught the show on video, and you can and should watch it right here. ** The Dreadful Flying Glove, What happened to Plan A? (If you already said, excuse my poor, poor mind.) I just find it unfathomable that a total scum like Cameron is really going to take over the UK, but there sure doesn't seem to be an escape hatch. You saw the Dury film? I'm watching for it, and no surprise that Serkis is great in it. Kind of a special genius, that guy. ** Jesse Hudson, Hey, Jesse! Thanks for letting me show (off) your abode and its ominous surroundings and, well, for everything else too. No dwindling on the jet lag, but, fuck, it's only a six hour time difference so the lag had better not act like it's too big for my britches. Talk to you pronto. ** Chris, Oh shit, about your murdered friend. Man, I'm so sorry. Wtf! May your music and the Vollman spirit you away. ** Winter Rates, Yeah, I think you can do that from there. I just told Bill welcome home to SF. Although we could both be loons. Akron/ Family show, nice. I need to check my local Paris listings. I need a show. ** Lord_s, Hey, wow, greetings, sir! How very, very nice to see you! Yeah, people who don't know LA well always make the wrongest assumptions about it too. That said, Colquitt did seem maybe like one of those spots that gives its larger context a bad name. Crazy in a good way about the turn in your Black Metal whatever. Italo-disco, interesting. My favorite I-d is Matia Bazar's 'Ti Sento', and I played it for Gisele a while back, and she got all into trying to replicate it in our new piece, but then she spun it for Stephen, and he scrunched up his face was was like, 'I can not work with that', all of which is to say BM + ID sounds like a genius idea to me. Equally if not even more great news about your manuscript. Definitely get it off those blocks, if you ask me. Anyway, yeah, terrific to see you, man. Excuse my fuzzy headed display this morning of my real fondness. ** Justin, I'm almost tall enough to almost try on that Bowery/Pearl outfit, although I think it would go straight into some glass case if it were mine. ** Misanthrope, I don't think the Colquitt paper gets any complaints about its bullshit. It's that kind of town. Although I think Jesse said the editor's house did get an unfortunately unsuccessful drive by shooting by one of the town's non-white residents. ** Chris (British), If I had anywhere close to the money, I'd be in First or Business Class in an eye blink. Oh, I see, about your partner's work. She really got a rounded picture there, didn't she? I loved seeing you talk about the imminent writing project while using the word paper in the same breath. I'm generally a pen and paper writer myself. ** Alec Niedenthal, Hey, Alec! Oh, it was such an honor: the interview and the HTMLG posting. Thank you so much. And it's awesome that you're officially a GIANT now. Your post on young writers was both stellar and quite the comments accruing thing, so greatness all around. You're back home briefly? Then to Florida? It really seems like you're going to end up living in NYC before too long, don't you think? How's writing going and everything else? Barring a worse night tonight than last night, my plan is to crack my novel tomorrow morning, see how it looks after a two week break, and then hopefully dig back into it in as close to a full time way as possible. ** So, have excellent weekends, everyone. Spend some time with the Zach German inauguration fest, if you will. I'll see you back here in a hopefully much more rested and clear-eyed state on Monday.