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  • Deep Cuts: Rich Songs

    Okay, here’s the deal:  This playlist was put together as a companion for a piece that I canceled.  I’m sure the backbone of that particular story will make its way into some future manuscript, but for now it’s better just to leave that material alone. Meanwhile, I’m on vacation this week, so I need some…

  • We’ll Meet Again

    Over on The Good Men Project this week I finish the conversation that I started here yesterday. It’s a tough one but a good one, all about saying goodbye to my dying mother:  http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/well-meet-again-saying-goodbye-to-my-mother/. And here’s a little Dame Vera for your travels:

  • Free WIM Bookmarks!

    Damn these books!  Why do they have to be so complicated?  I’m not done reading it, yet I need to stop for now.  How will I ever find the place where I stopped? How many times has this happened to you?  That’s why we created the WIM bookmark, and we’re so committed to the world-changing…

  • I’m the Man in the Box

    I’m on vacation, and between time zone changes, sleepless hotel nights, family issues, and time away from the black book I’m coming up empty.  On top of that, I received a half-dozen rejections last week, which really isn’t so bad considering I also placed three pieces, but it’s so much easier to focus on the…

  • From the Stacks: Jane’s Addiction – Early Symptoms

    This is a cool little two track bootleg from the band’s 1986 studio sessions in Los Angeles.

  • From the Stacks: Nazareth – Expect No Mercy

    Expect No Mercy was Scottish band Nazareth’s ninth album, three removed from their Hair of the Dog peak.  That classic Nazareth line-up  of singer Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton, drummer Darrell Sweet, and bassist Pete Agnew remained intact, and the songs retained their trademark gravelly rock and blues-iness.  Here’s a taste:

  • Deep Cuts, Reader’s Choice: Violet Thunk

    Violet is a world-class musical octopus and one of my favorite readers.  She loves her music, no doubt about that, and her Twitter feed is the business.  Catch her yourself at @VioletThunk. She’s taken a really interesting angle on her playlist, I think you’ll dig it:

  • 139. Thirty Square Feet

    Mark Flowers was SCAD’s star professor in the mid-eighties.  His style both as an artist and teacher was big and playful.  Mark’s oversized canvases dominated the school’s gallery, and no professor’s style was more emulated by the student body.  When SCAD: the Movie is made, Mark will be played by Robin Williams, and not the…

  • Notes on the Law of Unintended Consequences

    This week over on The Good Men Project I babble about those things that happen that we never expected, and not once do I mention getting your face ripped off by your cute pet monkey. http://goodmenproject.com/guy-talk/brand-the-unintended-consequences-are-the-ones-you-never-see-coming/

  • From the Stacks: It’s A Jane’s World

    This is one of my favorite Jane’s Addiction bootleg covers, but the audio isn’t that great.