Pascal Marco - Identity: Lost

How cool is this? I just received a phone call from thriller writer Pascal Marco. The author of the acclaimed Identity: Lost called me on my cell phone to give me words of encouragement and ideas pertaining to getting my manuscripts published. He gave me some great advice and generally just inspired the hell out of me.

Now, you may ask how it is he came to A) know of my existence, and B) had my phone number. Well, a friend of my Father - who is a big fan of Mr. Marco's - is a friend of the author's. He passed on my info on and asked if he'd be up for a cold call to an inspiring writer. I'm thinking a lot of folks would have blown such a favor off. After all, it's not easy to just call someone you have never met before, especially when you are in a position they aspire to. Things could be... weird. But Mr. Marco did indeed call and talked to me for about fifteen minutes. I may be weird, but I'm not the kind of weird that impositions folks who lend a hand. I asked questions and took his advice and as I said earlier, was inspired by hearing another author talk about "his path".

I've always had faith that my manuscripts will be published, this just serves as a reminder.

Godflesh - Mighty Trust Krusher (Live @ Roadburn, April 14th, 2011)

They never lose it.

How To Destroy Angels - How Long?

I'm liking this new record more and more. The surging, glitchy rhythm section we've come to recognize as Reznor's recent muse but with a - dare I say it - almost Justin Timberlake-esque pop approach to vox. Interesting

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages

Back in '05 or so my wife bought me the Criterion Edition of this marvelously produced documentary about Witchcraft. William S. Burroughs does narration.

My Bloody Valentine New Album

Within just the last moments this album apparently began streaming/went up for sale on the band's website, however the mad rush of fans seems to have caused the site to crash. I'll post something else when I can. Brooklyn Vegan has a nice screen shot of the art, track listing and online shop/format options here.

I Love Brooklyn Vegan.

Eli Roth's Goretorium

So December 21st is my anniversary (8 years!) and this year we drove out to Las Vegas. My wife is on some magic list to get suites at Luxor a couple of times a year for like thirty-eight bucks or something and we love to drive in for two days and then drive out. I always make an attempt to procure mushrooms for the journey but failed this time, which was a bit of a let down but hey, I was with my baby AND we got my good friend Mr. Brown to meet us out there, so I was in the best of company. Probably the best thing we did this time was the above - Mr. Roth's Goretorium is fantastic and well worth the price of admission (somewhere around thirty bucks). It's basically a haunted house with Hollywood-grade special effects and I loved every minute of it despite being a fan of pretty much only one movie by Mr. Roth to date - Cabin Fever. Hostel was, simply put, one of the worst movies I've ever seen. AT one point it had made me seriously dislike Mr. Roth (how do you apprentice/intern to David Lynch and then make a movie that bad?) but I have high hopes for Thanksgiving and just the amount of time, money and effort the guy puts into undiscovered talent and producing worthwhile projects shows he's a stand up guy.

Next time you go to Vegas, Mr. Roth's Goretorium really is worth a visit.

Peter V. Brett's The Daylight War

Will be released on February 12!!! Nice. I've fallen behind a bit in my reading. It's funny how no longer working at a bookstore impedes my knowledge of what's going on with my favorite authors (not that I miss retail - I DO NOT). I knew the third book in Brett's quintet was coming out in 2013, I just wasn't sure when. Imagine my surprise to look it up and find it's in a little over a week! Soooo cool. You can pre-order a copy here, or you can go to your local bookstore and buy it (if you're in the Southern Los Angeles area I recommend The Book Frog).

I talk about how I met Mr. Brett here - he actually gave me a copy of the first book in this series, The Warded Man and I am forever grateful to him for it.