Thursday, June 30, 2011

A big shout out to Rich Osgood and The Flash Factory



I want to give a much deserved thanks to Rich Osgood, (recently guest editor of Smokelong Quarterly), host of the Flash Factory, for not only being such an inspiration to a group of diverse talents, but on a more personal note, for editing and giving advice regarding my own work. Cheers, Rich for doing a great job.

A link to r. kv.ry

A link to my archived story last April in r. kv.ry. Dancing on the Rhythm Bus--One Night After Leaving the Pyramid Club, 1991

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Pigments of Imagination

Found a great new site for art with some excellent down-to-earth tips. It's Melody Maker's Pigments of Imagination. I really dig her work and check out her video on stretching a canvas. http://melodyjmartin.wordpress.com/how-to/

An old poem and some thoughts on past TV shows


The Man with the Yellow Ruler

A desire for forms and limits overwhelms us.

---Garcia Lorca, Ode to Salvidor Dali

The man with the Yellow Ruler

measures my form from a sheet

of cold pressed paper,

cuts me out with

a pair of sharp scissors,

pastes me into his landscape painting

of a winding back road

stretching beyond

the serrated mountains,

a river reflecting tangerine-streaked sky,

goose-feather wings like scars.

There, against the Impressionist shapes

of his painting,

I feel a tingle up my thighs,

a pulse bounding in my chest,

I feel watercolor brilliant.

I turn

and run into the background

wherever the winding road

to his watercolor blueprint

will take me.

Stop, he screams,

Stop.

***

This may or may not have anything to do with the above post. You be the judge. Lately I've been browsing some old YouTube clips from the 60s TV show The Prisoner, even came across a banned episode. Just think about the cultural milieu of the day: an unpopular war, Nixon announcing his enemy list, the hippies and the peace movement, the fight for racial equality, The Chicago Seven, feminism, Timothy Leary, the awakening of self-consciousness, the Kent State Massacres, Sgt. Pepper, you're over the hill after 30 or don't trust anyone after that age. Good-bye Columbus.  Bob, Ted, Carol, and Alice.  Be yourself.

I wasn't a big fan of the show when it first came out. But looking back, it was probably one of the most intelligent shows of that era, along with Secret Agent, Slattery's People, Rt. 66, and a couple of others. (McGoohan, the show's star and creator, wrote most of the scripts, sometimes under a pen name. Jeez, this sounds familiar. He was also the aloof but charismatic John Drake of Secret Agent and Danger Man.)

Although at times, I found the show a bit dogmatic about insisting that one must be an individual, and one must follow one's true self (whatever that is). On some days, I'm just too lazy to fight the system and I feel comfortable in following the crowd. But if you ever have the chance, watch the final episode of The Prisoner. It was pretty amazing, mind-blowing to use a 60's term. And No. 6 came through on his promise: he blew up that island. And in the background, the Beatles were singing All You Need Is Love.

I wonder if there was a message in this somewhere.



And let's not forget this one hot super sexy agent--Miss Emma Peel.

Monday, June 13, 2011

102 Great Stories at Flash Fiction Chronicles

Check out Gay Delani's list of favorite stories nominated by other writers celebrating short story month-May, 2011. A special thanks to Cynthia Litz who nominated my story "Coma," pubbed in Night Train Online, back 2007. Check out Jessie Bradley's "Hemophilia" nominated by Meg Tuite. Lots of great stuff!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

L.A. Review and I'm slacking off on art

L.A. Review took my short story "You Never Die in Wholes." Thanks to the brilliant and talented Stefanie Freele for her suggestions and edits.

I keep going to the book store and buying all these art books but I'm not doing a damn thing as far as practicing. Where's my muse? Where's the art muse? Who do I contact? I'll wing it.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Up at the Short Humour Site

A short sci-fi piece called "Ducky." Started at The Flash Factory about a year or so ago. Glad this found a home: Ducky

Monday, June 6, 2011

Up at Smokelong Weekly

"All My Friends Are a Lot Like Me" Check it out at http://www.smokelong.com/flash/kylehemmings32.asp.

Blue Valentine

I'm always interested in movies about marriages/relationships gone wrong (Two for the Road with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn immediately comes to mind). A good one is Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams (2010). It came out in theaters around the time that Black Swan came out, which I liked alot. Anyway, the director just kind of captures certain "moments" juxtaposed in the lives of his characters and lets the audience figure out what is going on under the surface. What caught my eye was the effect that the dysfunctional families of the two principles had on their lives. I understand that both Gosling and Williams actually lived in the same house for a month, shopping and picking fights with each other, to prepare for their roles. Although kind of loose in structure,

I recommend this one.

Friday, June 3, 2011

"Fly Away" Accepted by Hamilton Stone Review

My flash/prose poem "Fly Away" from the chapbook Cat People has been accepted by Hamilton Stone Review. Meow, baby.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

My picks for favorite top ten albums

As you can see, a heavy preference for 60s and 70s music. This list might change over time. Some albums were unfortunately left out because the artist(s)was already included on the list, eg., Iggy Pop/James Williamson-Kill City or Love--Love Four Sail.





1. Spirit-The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
2. Love-Forever Changes
3. The Blues Project-Projections
4. The Beatles-The White Album
5. The Police-Regatta de Blanc
6. Iggy Pop-Lust for Life
7. Jefferson Airplane-Crown of Creation
8. Buffalo Springfield--Last Time Around
9. Sonic Youth-The Eternal
10. The Beach Boys-Pet Sounds

Up at Gone Lawn

Some pieces from my Cat People chapbook and Michelle Reale has a piece up here too. GONE LAWN