Stay of Sexecution....I mean, Execution

Okay, I'm over yesterday's angst. The blog lives on. Long live the blog!

Wow. I'm really overwhelmed by the tons of emails I received yesterday urging me to "stay open". I heard from total strangers and a couple of emails really blew me away altogether -- like those from Cindy and Luis Urrea. Luis is a writer, Cindy is his wife -- and in a Twilight Zone moment, they have a son also named Eric who is 17 years old and plays the drums. It was just so, so cool to learn that they enjoy reading my blog every day. The emails were written by Cindy and it was a lot of fun to meet a kindred spirit...she's a writer, too (former newspaper woman, now research assistant, scheduling person, all around right hand woman to Luis) and a groupie mom for her son who seems to have the same intensity about his music that my son has. I laughed at her tale of driving all over the place to see her boy play. Oh, what the parents of drummers really have to endure. Contrary to popular belief, we love the drums and the "noise" doesn't bother us...but think about it. Every time our kids play a show, we have to transport those things and they aren't exactly small and light. Eric's dad had to get a big, ugly, yuppie gas guzzling SUV just for drum chauffeur duties. The minute the lease is up next year, if I know Gary, he'll be at the car dealership at 9:00 a.m. that morning so he can trade it in for a mid-life crisis two seater convertible because by then Eric will have his own wheels.

And while I'm on the subject of drummers, they're always the most wiped out after a performance but always the last to leave the venue...the drums have to be taken apart, stacked, carefully arranged in the car...arghhh....back in the old days, when Eric was younger, the other Rock School parents with their wussy guitar playing kids were already home asleep in bed before I'd even left the club. My standard line to Eric: "Why couldn't you have played the flute?"

The best was when he would pull this one: After a show, he'd want to go out with his friends. So he'd look at me all doe-eyed.

"Can you take my drums home for me?"

Yeah, like that was easy. Load the car, unload the car. Double park outside, take them in, one piece at a time; bass drum, snare, etc., cymbals, cymbal stands, double bass pedal...up the steps, down the steps. By the time I was done, I'd have to pass out on the sofa for an hour before I could make my way back upstairs.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

And like I said, if I could get to every city he's playing on the Project Object tour this April/May, I would. And might!

Anyway, back to Cindy and Luis. Naturally after getting their email, I immediately went to Luis' website and what's the first thing I read:

"Luis Alberto Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph..."

I almost fell off my chair.

Wow. And Luis and Cindy like the way I write. I seriously blushed all afternoon.

I've put an Amazon link to his book, The Hummingbird's Daughter, on the right under the lovely Susan Henderson's Motorhead, and hope that you'll check it out.

And please notice I've also placed an Amazon link for David Niall Wilson's "Deep Blue" on the right hand side, too. This was a great read, especially for music lovers with a dark side. Wait. What music lover doesn't have a dark side? Of course I'm talking real music lovers here, not Jesus Take the Wheel pop crap fans.

You know, I don't think that I've ever loved anyone who isn't a music lover with a dark side.

I'm sure that will come as a big surprise to all of you.

So again, thanks for the kind words and encouragement yesterday and yeah, yeah, I'll keep this journal going after all. I mean, come on, if I delete it, I'll lose Neil Gaiman's post where he gives me fountain pen recommendations and we can't have that!

Hmmm, speaking of Neil, I could use a twisted moment. Susan of Motorhead fame, which one do you prefer -- what I now refer to as the "classic" with the blue glasses or the new one with the beard? Or the one at the desk in the writing cabin? Or, as I am adding now as per your post in today's comment section, Neil in glasses?

Damn if I can decide. I know, let's have an orgy...I mean, let's have a vote in the comments section or something. Here are the candidates:





Yeah, cast your vote and maybe we'll email him the results. I'm not digging the one on his journal now and it's on every page of his newly designed website, which I really love other than that photo. He's so much better looking than that in real life.

Ha ha - speaking of a real life, I should get one, huh.

Right.

In other news, it pays to be a friend of Playgirl Magazine. As I broadcasted all over the universe, I was in their December, 2005 issue and I've got an interview coming up in a future issue as well as an excerpt from my novel. In today's mail I received an interesting looking padded envelope addressed to me from Trans Digital Media. Hmmm, what was this? It felt like a DVD and I knew I didn't order any DVDs but ooh, ooh, maybe someone sent me a gift?

Yep. And it was a DVD alright.

The promo lines on the cover say "Private Pleasures. Every Woman Has Them. Maybe You'll See Yours In...PLAYGIRL PRIVATE PLEASURES."

It came with a note:

Dear Robin:
Please enclosed find a note from your friends at Playgirl. Private Pleasures is the first Playgirl TV DVD available for home use. I hope you enjoy this complimentary copy and....

Yep, you guessed it. I got a free DVD called PLAYGIRL PRIVATE PLEASURES (and by the way, the guy on the front cover looks like Johnny Depp) and they want me to watch it and write a review.

Oh, I think that can be arranged.

My son saw it on the coffee table and said "Ewwwwwwwwww"

I took it away from him and just put it upstairs next to my bed where it belongs.

(Now you can really say "Ewwwwwwwwww", Eric)

Ha ha.

Love,
Mom

What day is it...

This is a painting by Alonso Cano and it's called "Descent into Limbo" which is exactly how I feel right now.

Quick art history lesson: Cano was a Spanish sculptor, painter, architect, and draughtsman, sometimes called "the Spanish Michelangelo" because of the diversity of his talents.

He was born and died in Granada, and worked there and in Seville and Madrid. His movements were partly dictated by his tempestuous character -- he either fled or was expelled from the city he was working in (once for the suspected murder of his wife). In spite of his violent temperament, his work tends to be serene and often sweet.

Interesting, huh.

Yeah, so anyway, I'm in limbo and I hate it. I have stories, essays, and a novel out there in waiting to be published land and I know the only way to get over the agony of waiting is to keep writing and finish my new book.

So that's what I'm doing.

I'm on temporary hiatus from everything.

To be honest, I'm even thinking of putting this blog on hiatus permanently. When I first started it in 2004, it was used as a vehicle for National Novel Writing Month - I wrote a 50,000 word novel in thirty days (since deleted; don't bother looking for it). Then I realized it was a great way to promote my writing, and my friends' writing, and especially my kids and their music. And then, interestingly enough, because I am such a private (and happily reclusive) person in the real world, it morphed into a personal diary of sorts which was really a great outlet for me.

Only one problem. I underestimated the power of Google.

Ha - but I know me -- all I have to do is get one acceptance letter today or get any good news at all and I'll be back with a much more animated post. Actually, I might be back this afternoon when I talk to Eric because he's in heavy rehearsal mode now for his tour with Project Object - he didn't get in until well after midnight last night and I know he's got another lengthy rehearsal tonight so I'll probably report on that when I finally get a chance to sit down and talk with him.

So I'm obviously very conflicted about this blog thing. Another option would be to delete this one and start another which is not published...meaning, Google won't pick it up...and I'll only furnish the address to a chosen few. And then maybe start a new, published blog which just concentrates on my writing and gives out no personal information at all.

I dunno. Like I said, I'm feeling extremely frustrated at the moment.

So right now I'm just going to concentrate on my finishing my novel.

Later,
xo

Oh the things I miss when I'm asleep.

Eric Slick drinking a milkshake made for him by his sister Julie and served in one of my new expensive champagne glasses...with a straw.

Oh, the things I miss when I'm asleep.

And not only do they leave the evidence in the sink for me to find the next morning...i.e., the dirty glass..grrr...they took a picture with my camera.

So I'm sharing it with you.

I'm so fucking happy today. I hate using terms like this, but I had a breakthrough with my novel yesterday thanks to my pal, Ellen. I won't bore you with the details only to say that I've been miserable for months because I wasn't happy with the first chapter...I didn't feel it was strong enough and yet it was necessary to lay down certain groundwork since this is the type of book which needed to be written in linear fashion. Obviously it's not exactly a good thing to lack confidence in your opener and it was messing with my head bigtime. Ellen suggested something in the nature of a prologue, and while I didn't use her exact idea per se, she pointed me in the right direction and after mulling it over a couple of hours, I had a whole new beginning which has me so excited I pounded out 4,000 words yesterday.

Okay, by the time I edit this morning it will be more like 2,000 but still. Yay!

And now everything else is falling into place because the book is basically written...all I have to do is go in and fine tune. Or something like that. It's only the book I've wanted to write for the past five years but didn't have the guts until now.

In other news...

Every once in a while, I google myself. Oh okay, I'm an obsessive compulsive dork (yes, Lori, you were right) who googles herself. This is because of the Oh Great My Story Is Appearing Simultaneously In Two Magazines Which Do Not Take Previously Published Work incident. A couple of years ago, I simul-subbed a story to two well-respected magazines and much to my shock/joy, they both accepted it -- only one of them had a computer melt down and the acceptance letter never went out. The result was that the story appeared simultaneously in both magazines, which did not make the editors happy and left me with the world's reddest face. Sooo...I google myself from time to time as a precautionary thing.

Right.

Anyway, the reason I mention this is that I just found two new entries when googling my name in quotes like this "Robin Slick" (in case you are technically challenged and do not know this, using quotes prevents you from getting anything other than exactly what you want...i.e., Robin Slick, not Robin's wet slick...ahem....having this last name...you have no idea what happens when I don't use quotes).

Well, apparently the quotes didn't make a difference this time. I once wrote a story for Smokelong Quarterly called "Picnic" which mentioned a "pretty plump wife". Today I see under my name "Robin Slick: Pretty Plump Girls Fucked The Python's Wife".

Okay, explain something to me. Obviously this is a story about lesbians...but the python's wife? Is this the female spouse of a snake? The mate of a member of Monty Python? I wish I could give you the answer to this, but when I clicked on the link, I immediately got this:

"Big and wet and ready to roll these beautiful Faties!"

What the hell is a Fatie?

I can't tell you because the page was so pornographic I had to close the screen at once, only you know what happens with those freaking sites, another one popped up, and this one said "Join Real Big Nudes" and it wasn't pretty. Arghh...I think I've been temporarily blinded.

However, failing to be daunted by this experience at 5:00 a.m. this morning, I continued on and blinked twice when I came upon the entry "Robin Slick and Jessica Biel's pussy".

Who is Jessica Biel and what would I be doing with her cat?

Oh why oh why did I click on that one. First of all, it comes with a video. Now even I'm not crazy enough to download that. But how do you like the review this film gets?

"Robin Slick -- Cozy moon things next station jessica biel pussy. Sisters has our wanted lot nord jessica biel pussy pierre only gone. Wanted younger jessica biel pussy as slightly book about sisters early knows. Small jessica biel pussy since cast or the late. Danzig mustache night run wanted jessica biel pussy gare even. Waited is school reading events jessica biel pussy vision internet lodging directory."

Okay....if you say so. I googled Jessica Biel and at least now I know who she is. Yawn. Anyway, here's the funny part. In the last sentence, the word "internet lodging directory" is a link.

I can't bring myself to click on it. The options are too mind boggling in my current state.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, I did watch the Olympic ice skating finals last night on television with the sound turned off so that I could live out my warped fantasy of choosing their music for them and giving them rock instead of Send in the Clowns or Memories. But before each girl skated, I did give them the benefit of the doubt before making my selection. Yikes, it was totally appalling...freaking circus music. Anyway, just so you know, I had the first one skating to vintage Zombies...but the obscure stuff, like "I Love You" and "I Want You Back Again" though I did throw in "She's Not There"...but then much to my shock, the chick from Finland, I could not believe, skated to blues guitar...and I'm pretty sure it was B.B. King. I almost had heart failure I was so excited.

(Be quiet, Lori...I've already admitted I'm a dork)

Anyway, then I cranked out Blondie, Joe Jackson (Look Sharp - awesome), Kinks (the Percy soundtrack - if you don't have it, buy it immediately. Don't even ask questions.)...and I really think I've missed my calling in life. Those skaters never looked better.

Finally, this should be another good writing weekend. Julie and Eric are doing some recording tonight; Julie works the weekend and Eric has Project Object rehearsals and I'm thinking marathon, baby...where I start writing like now and don't stop until Sunday night. I've done it before and it's the world's greatest high.

And for further inspiration, today's twisted Neil Gaiman moment:


Yep, I'm inspired alright.

And I made Gaiman a link because you should really click on his latest post today. I bet the lucky bastard gets himself one of those. A quick glance around my house tells me there are no viable rooms for this, but I could be wrong. I must check into it further because I WANT ONE! (But the question is, how to keep it secret from the rest of the family. Because if they knew about it, it would defeat the whole purpose. Ah...the fantasy of actually being able to disappear at will...)

Oh...one more thing. Eric just got some more confirmed dates for his tour with Project Object:

April 23 St. Louis, MO -- Cicero's
April 24 Detroit, MI -- Magic Bag
April 25 Milwaukee, WI -- Shank Hall
April 28 Asheville, NC -- Stella Blue

And the show on April 13 will be in Sayreville, NJ at the Starland Ballroom featuring the Mahavishnu Project.

Screw it. I'm flying out to every show.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Thursday, February 23

Eric Slick sitting in with Project Object during their tour last April...before he was their "official drummer". I guess he passed the audition, huh.

So the Project Object tour is shaping up nicely and Eric just got word of some venues for the first leg - the tour actually ends May 14, I believe, and you can check for updates daily at Pollstar, and yeah, yeah, I know...I've just introduced you all to another very cool site. Nah, you knew about Pollstar already, didn't you?

Wed 04/12/06 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
Thu 04/13/06 Sayreville, NJ TBA
Fri 04/14/06 Albany, NY Valentine's
Sat 04/15/06 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Sun 04/16/06 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall
Mon 04/17/06 Providence, RI Century Lounge
Tue 04/18/06 Allston, MA Harpers Ferry
Wed 04/19/06 New Haven, CT Toad's Place
Fri 04/21/06 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Sat 04/22/06 Chicago, IL Martyrs'
Sun 04/23/06 Saint Louis, MO TBA
Mon 04/24/06 Milwaukee, WI TBA
Tue 04/25/06 Detroit, MI TBA
Wed 04/26/06 Cincinnati, OH TBA
Thu 04/27/06 Louisville, KY Headliners

Just off the top of my head, I can see a bunch of cities I've never visited, particularly those in New England, so I'm going to try and make as many of those shows as I can, and damn, I have friends in Wisconsin, Cincinatti, Detroit and Kentucky...arghh...already I want to be at every show and I don't even have the whole list yet.

Robin Slick, groupie mom. Oh right, I'm working on a novel about that as we speak. Sort of, anyway. Anyway, in truth there's no way I'll be able to make every concert, but I will try to hit as many as possible.

So I'm sure you all know about this by now: Bush Was Unaware of Ports Deal Before Approval.

Oh my god. I can't even comment on it.

And here's something else I just can't bear to think about...and who in their right mind would give a shit let alone want to watch something as repulsive as this?

For me, it would be a dietary aid. If unable to resist having a peek, I wouldn't be able to eat for a month. But there's really no danger of that. I find all parties involved repulsive, both physically and musically. In fact, just using the word music with those two is a sacrilege.

Anyway, Eric will is off to New York and Julie has class and then jets right over to work until late tonight. So in a perfect world, I can make up for a lot of lost time in the writing department today.

Later,
xo

Happy Hump Day

Ah, remember this one? (Blurry) Joey Randazzo, Eric Slick, and Branden King sharing percussion duties on the final evening of the west coast tour at that condemned transvestite truck stop hotel in Las Vegas -- when they played what had to be the world's greatest version of Black Magic Woman.

I'll never forget that night. For some reason, two images come to mind. Everyone jumping in the pool fully clothed after the show...and cake. Didn't we have like seventeen congratulation cakes?

Oh okay, I remember lots of alcohol, too, but I'm still pretty sure we had an excess of cake.

So Eric's show with the Shannon Penn Band this Friday night at World Cafe Live has been postponed, however, while checking out their site I discovered that Eric kicks off his U.S. tour with Project Object on April 12 at World Cafe Live, and here's the information regarding the concert and tickets.

Eric's in full madman musician mode right now -- tomorrow he heads to New York City for his Rock School Zappa gig -- the weekend will be spent rehearsing for the tour. Last night Eric and Julie jammed here and they sounded so tight I had the shivers -- she's also going to be recording him playing the mandolin (yeah, he plays that, too) in the next day or two so that she can add it to a track she's recording for a local band. Of course as mother hen of this family this makes me very happy. I also learned that Eric's going to be singing a couple of Zappa tunes on the Project Object tour and I'm pretty psyched about that, too. When he sang The Band's "The Weight" with Rock School I could never make it through the entire song without bursting into tears. Though singing drummers...err...Ringo and Phil Collins come to mind and I'd better quit while I'm ahead.

Just kidding, just kidding. Eric's the man.

And while I'm talking about Eric and music for a change, Eric saw Heart of Gold yesterday and told me I have to immediately go see it because it's incredible. So maybe I will.

Finally, it's well known that I despise the Bush Administration and basically every individual who supports him. But his latest fucked up act of dictatorship has me repeatedly banging my head on my desk. Want to know the real reason our ports are going to be managed by a Dubai company? Here ya go...

W AIDES' BIZ TIES TO ARAB FIRM

BY MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Breaking news update: Bush shrugs off objections to port deal

WASHINGTON - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

The ties raised more concerns about the decision to give port control to a company owned by a nation linked to the 9/11 hijackers.

"The more you look at this deal, the more the deal is called into question," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said the deal was rubber-stamped in advance - even before DP World formally agreed to buy London's P&O port company.

Besides operations in New York and Jersey, Dubai would also run port facilities in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore and Miami.

The political fallout over the deal only grows.

"It's particularly troubling that the United States would turn over its port security not only to a foreign company, but a state-owned one," said western New York's Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee. Reynolds is responsible for helping Republicans keep their majority in the House.

Snow's Treasury Department runs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which includes 11 other agencies.

"It always raises flags" when administration officials have ties to a firm, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) said, but insisted that stopping the deal was more important.

The Daily News has learned that lawmakers also want to know if a detailed 45-day probe should have been conducted instead of one that lasted no more than 25 days.

According to a 1993 congressional measure, the longer review is mandated when the company is owned by a foreign government and the purchase "could result in control of a person engaged in interstate commerce in the U.S. that could affect the national security of the U.S."

Congressional sources said the President has until March 2 to trigger that harder look.

"The most important thing is for someone to explain how this is consistent with our national security," Fossella said.

Snort.

Oh well. Today is full of fun things like Eric and I getting our long locks trimmed (but only an inch, don't worry), a visit to the bank, druggist, etc. and then maybe a nice lunch out. We're out of here in another hour and will be gone until the afternoon so I guess writing is out the window until tomorrow but that's cool, I could use a day off.

To quote Porky Pig --

That's all, folks
xo

Julie gets some press

Julie Slick on stage

Hey, Julie gets a mention in the City Paper this week which is way cool:

"But what of the evening's playmate, Space 1026's head-banded Thom Lessner and his rudely lyrical, aerobic-synth act Sweatheart, who drop their nards-dangling debut, So Cherri (produced by 19-year-old Julie Slick!) that night? "We wanna put on shows that make people cherish life," says Lessner before shooting a video for "Fingerbangin'" with Spankrock gal pal Amanda Blank. "We wanna make everybody horny, happy and wanna look good doing so."

I'm usually so busy giving our Eric's performance schedules that I neglect to mention that Julie's a music industry major at Drexel University, which means she's doing everything from producing to performing to -- bleh -- studying contracts. She's really an awesome producer which is why Thom Lessner chose her to record his CD. But as far as her other courses at Drexel go, this semester (she's in her third/junior year) she had to take a statistics class and an ethics class. And I do believe it's the ethics class which is the source of her recent switch to quasi-vegetarianism. (She still eats seafood, has given up beef and pork, but is presently undecided about poultry.) The professor had them watch a movie about slaughterhouses or something...I dunno...when she started telling me about it I tuned her out because in theory, I could be a vegetarian because I love animals so much...in reality...oh man, I adore steak and barbecued hamburgers and roasted chicken with oranges and fresh rosemary...

But yeah, if I allow myself to think about it, I'll not only go vegetarian, I'll be a total vegan, and then I'll only eat stuff like hummus and cous cous and greens and be completely miserable. Though of course for once in my life I'd also extremely be healthy...but since when do I care about stuff like that?

Sigh...

Julie (who is no longer 19 as stated in the article -- she turned 20 three weeks ago) and Eric also sit in on bass and drums respectively with Sweatheart from time to time. I wasn't aware that they were out there making people horny, but oh well, here's a test of whether I'm as liberal as I say. Okay, deep breath. Concerned parent moment here.

Ha! Tricked you. Like I'm really worried. I think it's hilarious.

Anyway, I'm only popping online today to occasionally check e-mail because I'm in full writing mode, but if anything interesting occurs, I'll be back to edit this post and add whatever.

Have fun,
xo

Tagged again?!

Yours truly in black and the usual dark glasses at brunch with my gal pals from Zoetrope writers' workshop (and one of their husbands)...and those usually responsible for these tags.

I wasn't going to blog today; I really need to finish my novel so I can get back to a few agents who are querying me. But my good friend Myfanwy (who is not in the above photo, damn it, because she was unavailable that day) tagged me and I couldn't resist.

So once again, some fun facts about me that you probably already know if we're friends or if you are a regular reader here (is there such a thing?)...

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Write at least ten more novels which are not considered mainstream but are financially successful nonetheless;
2. Go back to England for an extended period of time;
3. Learn how to update my website myself;
4. Visit Italy;
5. Learn how to throw a pot (meaning, I’d like to take a pottery class);
6. Have all the rooms in my house clean at the same time (yeah, like that’ll happen any time soon);
7. Be around long enough to see how my kids turn out as adults.

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Go on amusement rides;
2. Be in the presence of religious zealot right-winger/Republicans;
3. Drive without hitting something or being pulled over by a cop. (So I don’t have a license. And the world is a much safer place)
4. Listen to rap music;
5. Sing on key; (or so I’m told by my kids. I personally think I sound great. Just this morning I wailed (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman in the shower and I made all the neighborhood dogs bark in utter joy.)
6. Stop worrying;
7. Respect anyone who watches/enjoys American Idol.

Seven things I say:
1. Does anyone need anything at the store?
2. Why didn’t you tell me you needed that when I asked if you needed anything before I went to the store?
3. I seriously wish you’d leave me alone;
4. I’m sooo hungry;
5. Bush is a dickhead;
6. Please don’t try and censor me;
7. Yeah, okay, I’ll do it. (When I really mean no and won’t)

Seven books I love:
1. Catcher in the Rye;
2. A Clockwork Orange;
3. A Prayer for Owen Meany;
4. High Fidelity;
5. Ham on Rye;
6. Fear of Flying;
7. Smoke and Mirrors (which is of course by Neil Gaiman, and here’s today’s twisted moment…though it’s not twisted at all, only if you are me and planning on printing it out, making a mask, and super-glue-ing it to your significant other's face while he’s asleep.)

(That's a photo of Neil in his bedroom, by the way...which he posted on his own blog yesterday, really to show us his new painting but I think it's more like to torture us with that new sexy beard)

Seven movies that I've loved:
1. Rock School;
2. A Clockwork Orange;
3. A Hard Days Night;
4. King of Hearts;
5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail;
6. Sideways;
7. The Last Waltz.

It appears that I am the last of my “group” to be tagged and I have no idea which seven people I should hit next, so if you want to play on your own blog, feel free. Just remember to give me credit. Wait, this isn't like a chain letter where I'm going to die in a horrific accident if I don't send it on, is it?

Oh well. Hope not.

Later..
xo

Dark side of the moon...

Robin Trower

Lawrence Welk

So, class...today's question is: What do Robin Trower and Lawrence Welk have in common?

Answer: Absolutely nothing.

In my world, however, they represent a true Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz moment.

Last night, I was working on my novel. Okay, I wasn't writing in my journal or sitting at the computer, I was basically writing in my head. Every author has their own way of doing things, and I've never been one for outlines or anything structured at all, really. I'm jealous of people so organized, but it just doesn't work that way for me. I daydream and get an idea for a story, let my mind wander and flesh out the characters, and by the time I sit down and write, I've got it all pretty much figured out. And because I'm a music nut, while I'm doing this "head writing", I always have something inspiring on in the background, which really helps my thought process further.

I was in a Robin Trower mood last night, bigtime. Quick music history lesson: Trower was the original guitarist for Procol Harum. (Meanwhile, I cannot believe how cheesy Procol Harum's website is...what's up with that?) If you want to hear some really interesting stuff, check out their early albums with Trower on guitar. Of course, A Salty Dog is a fucking classic, but listen to the Broken Barricades CD, particularly the cut Song for a Dreamer...and I dunno, maybe it's just me, but his guitar playing makes my soul rise and it bothers me that he's never mentioned in the Guitar Gods discussions/articles I come across.

Trower left Procol Harum and went solo. He's amazing, though I guess, yeah, I know, it's stoner music -- very spacey -- I can't listen to it without smelling pot smoke in the basement -- but anyway, that's what I was listening to last night and at the same time, I had the television on with the sound off. It was the PBS channel, and on Saturday nights, they broadcast reruns of the old Lawrence Welk show. Terrible, terrible stuff. Accordian players, tap dancers, and gruesome late sixties-early seventies hair and fashion horrors. You can tell that blow dryers were new on the scene - the men are wearing their hair like Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits...poufy and cut over their ears...and the women all look like they're part of some weird Florence Henderson/Mary Tyler Moore cult in pastel mini-dresses and glazed over eyes which give out those "I HAVE BEEN SAVED!" vibes.

Just as Trower launches into this totally psychedelic guitar solo, I look at the t.v. and there's a whole choir of Welk people, men dressed in pink tuxedos with pink ruffly shirts and the aforesaid poufy hair. And they're singing and swaying in perfect synchronicity to the Trower solo with the aforesaid glazed over eyes. Trower starts shredding and out comes the accordian player, and he's really into it, he's shaking his heiney with that thing and tossing his helmet hair and I start giggling because he's wiggling that butt in perfect time with Trower, too, and then, the tap dancer comes out and I swear to god, that's when Trower's drummer went into a solo.

Total Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz moment. If you don't know what I mean, look it up. Oh hell, here's a link for you.

So after I stopped laughing, I shut off the television, continued listening to Trower, and actually thought out a couple more chapters which I'm busy typing up now. Okay, so I'm taking a break to write this, but I'm going back to my novel in a minute.

Give Trower a listen if you're not already hip to him, okay?

In other news, I just learned that my publisher has sent Three Days in New York City, Leigh Ellwood's Truth or Dare and Devi Sparks' Fairy Godlover to the acquisitions department at Borders Books for consideration. Three Days in NYC is available at some brick and mortar stores, but not Borders, and it would be great if this happens, especially with the sequel coming out. So that's pretty cool.

And I got an invitation to join something called Philly Writers. So I did.

Finally, the moment you are all waiting for -- today's twisted Neil Gaiman fact: He wears black long underwear. Says so in his journal post of February 18. Thanks for sharing, Neil.

I mean that sincerely.

Later,
xo

Whew....

Photo of Eric taken in LA last month at the Mark and Brian Show, KLOS Radio. I don't remember if I posted this pic before or not, but wtf, I love it so here it is again.

ETA: I'm such a dork. I had the wrong link for my favorite new "brilliant" place on the web. I've corrected it below. No wonder the website looked so nondescript...it was the wrong freaking one! If you visited this blog earlier, I apologize...I'm making this correction at 5:35 p.m. Now go click on the link...here...I'll put one up now and you will realize I haven't lost my mind altogether.

Wow. What a crazy couple of days. I'm sort of glad to have the house to myself this weekend and am happy to say I'm progressing nicely with the new novel. Finally. Both Eric and Julie will be at Downingtown Rock School tonight to see Eric's girlfriend, Carolyn, perform in her last D-team show so if you're looking for something cool to do this evening, I highly recommend that concert - you can find details here; Julie as usual is working at Rembrandts during the day today and all day/early evening tomorrow; Eric then begins rehearsals on Monday for his up-coming tour with Project Object, and then on February 24 (which I cannot believe is six days from now -- where the hell is time going?), he'll be behind the drums with the Shannon Penn Band at World Cafe Life (click here to buy tickets). This is an all ages show so it would be cool if Eric's friends would come to the concert this Friday night and support him.

Okay, enough about the kiddies -- I'm going upstairs to write.

Oh wait, I know what else. A story of mine is nominated for a Million Writers Award. I don't know the guy who nominated me so Ken Tritoni, whoever you are, thank you! I spent this morning reading some of the other nominations and man, I'd hate to be a judge in this contest. There's some remarkable short fiction on that list, and if you want to spend a few totally enjoyable hours, click on the links provided on the Million Writers site.

One more thing. Hopefully by now, you've all discovered and are in love with this website. If you haven't, don't be fooled by its non-descript appearance. It's one of the most brilliant finds of 2006 for me, anyway, other than what's become my own private radio station. Ha ha. If the government is keeping tabs on the music I select and the websites I visit each day, I am in BIG TROUBLE.

Like I give a shit.

Later...
xo

Odds and Sods for Friday, February 17

Yeah! Ellen Meister got her ARCS (advance review copies) of her book yesterday! Aren't they gorgeous?

So also yesterday I got an e-mail from my agent, Britta Steiner Alexander, who has "decided to leave the agenting business". She wrote me a dear and generous note which made me feel really great about my writing and well, myself in general. So I'm considering other agents at the moment and wish Britta the best in her new endeavors.

Then I got the exciting news that Ellen has received her ARCS...and I'm so thrilled for her, it's almost like I wrote the book. Ha! I wish! It's an amazing novel, and though I did get a chance to read the original manuscript, it was so incredible I opted not to finish it and instead wait for the HARDCOVER -- yep, hardcover, version to come out this August. It almost killed me, it was impossible to put down, and then it got even more difficult when Ellen read a chapter I hadn't read yet at a party last June thrown in her honor by her fabulous husband Mike. I was dying to find out what happened next, but there's something about getting a brand new book...and the fact that it's written by one of my closest writer pals...well, I had to exercise uncharacteristic restraint but I managed. At least I have so far...

Well, anyway, that's all for now. I'm determined to have a productive day writing, and I'm starting out by listening to some Patti Smith on my iPod.

But I'm thinking I could also use something really pretty to look at right now, too, so I give up, I admit it, here it is -- my daily twisted tribute to Neil Gaiman:


Ah, all better now.

Just kidding. But hey, he posts these photos on his blog, nine million people read it per day, so I'm guessing he won't mind if I steal them. Tsk tsk...he's trying to kill all of us poor women, isn't he?

Later,
xo