:: Splattered Gray Matter, With Blood and Bone ::

:: 4.7.2003 ::

I'm the rerun that you always force yourself to sit through.

See, here's the whole conundrum with this blog: I'm a man who measures his words pretty carefully, and the very act of blogging isn't really well-met with that facet of my personality. Sure, there have been times when I wanted to shout and scream something from this particular bully pulpit, but time and consideration proved out my reluctance to do so. The underlying problem with said reluctance is that it just doesn't make for very interesting reading. I'm sorry for that, but that's just the way it is. Occasionally, I'll try to point at something that's a bit more entertaining, a bit more amusing, or even a bit more controversial, but it would seem that-- if you're going to continue checking this particular blog-- you may be in for some rather lackadaisical musings, the occasional reportage, and the far-flung diatribe.

Today, I think I'm mostly doing reportage. Let's begin.

I finally heard back from Blood Rose on my story "The Honesty of Scars." They've accepted the piece for a future issue, and they had some very nice things to say about it, so that's nice. The newest issue, just posted within the last few days, bears news that future issues will contain a "lead" story for which selected author gets paid three cents per word. I wonder if my tale is eligible for that. I suppose I should probably ask.

Lots of my time just lately has been spent on web work in some form or fashion: I've retooled some aspects of the Flesh and Blood web site, so have a look at that. The magazine was just nominated for a Stoker Award, so that's sort of exciting, even if only in a peripheral sense. And now I find myself having to redesign the Twilight Showcase web site-- far earlier than I'd hoped-- for reasons that are best left unsaid. Needless to say, it's quite a task, and one I had not anticipated having to perform prior to getting the zine going again. So the damn thing is late, and I am not at all happy. But this shit happens, you know?

I'm currently reading criticisms and whatnot on Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." It's always enlightening to read such scholastic interpretations of fiction, because the critics read so much into the text that the author never intentionally put there-- and yet their observations often ring true. If I'm ever fortunate enough to have my fiction assigned as course-work, I plan to enroll under an alias just to see what they find out about me-- it's certainly cheaper than therapy.

Other than that, the only thing I've read just lately is the current issue of Cemetery Dance. Allow me to offer a Nutshell Review: CD's interviews over the last few issues have convinced me that I'm tired of the question/answer format; I plan to do something else with interviews at TS, partly because said Q&A allows for far too much self-importance on the part of the interviewer. Pic's story is decent-- ambiguous, yeah, but you expect that from Pic. The Stephen King column is an incredible waste of ink and paper, namely because it's not written by Stephen King, but rather just about him. "Spilt Seed" by Randolph Cirilo is briliiant. Really-- the best thing CD has published in at least a year. The Tessier piece is largely a waste of time, although it does garner my vote for worst adverb of the year: "searchingly." I couldn't make this shit up if I tried. An interview with Nancy Collins-- well, no offense to the lady, but I didn't bother reading the thing because her work falls outside of the realm of things that I enjoy reading. "Smoke" should have disappeared as easily. Marano's column ("Mediadrome") is always a joy, and is one of the things that keeps me reading the magazine (Monteleone's column being another, regardless of the fact that this issue's column strays very far outside the genre boundaries). "Past Tense" by Trish Macomber is capable, and I'm proud of my old buddy for garnering the sale-- but I will say that I'm positive that this story is a reprint, and I'm bothered by the fact that our genre's leading publication is relying so heavily on reprints and novel excerpts as of late. And then another interview, this one even worse than the forebears because it places no sort of importance on anything at all. Charles Grant uses the next bit of space to quit the premises, and then an apparent distant cousin of the publisher offers up some half-baked concept entitled "Our Brother's Keeper." Rounding out the issue are the obligatory capsule reviews and an installment of Pelan's "Collecting Modern Horror" (albeit in reverse order). I tend to buy and read what attracts me, and not what attracts other people, so both pieces here tend to be of little use to me, but I can see that they have their place in a magazine that strives to be something of a full-service genre offering-- and the reader is certainly much better served for not having to flip through another ten pages about Stephen King, so who's to complain?

And that's enough from me.

Out.


:: Gary Conner 4/7/2003 04:01:21 AM [+] ::
...

Standing on Southhampton Dock










This guy? We're beating up on this guy? Jesus, man, let him take off his glasses first. Christ.




:: Gary Conner 3/20/2003 03:33:15 AM [+] ::
...

I've got a little black book with me poems in it.

I've been rather unproductive just lately, and I suspect it's due to a whole number of things that I won't bother you with, but to say that I'm once again very frustrated with the publishing industry-- much like I was back in 1993, when I last quit writing for publication. Take that for what it's worth. Anyway, the only thing remotely useful to come out of the last few weeks writing-wise is the germ of an idea I had while watching a "Cops" rerun the other evening. The cop in question was arresting two "huffers" on public intoxication charges, and I was, well, shocked to see how these people live, and more how they act and interact with the world. Bizarre. I've decided that i want to write a story about huffers-- see, yeah, just the germ of an idea, but more will come, I'm certain. This is how I work.

So what have I been doing while I haven't been writing? Well, I've been playing video games. I got Resident Evil: Veronica X for Christmas the year before last, but I never really played it much because it's very dark, and I couldn't figure out how to brighten the picture on my television. Well, tech wizard that I am, I finally figured it out after over a year, and I've been playing the game a lot. I love that series. That, and Silent Hill.

Also, I got a haircut Saturday, which begs this question: Have the people at Hair Cuttery ever had any sort of formal education as it regards oh, I dunno, cutting hair? I ask because they always ask me the strangest questions before they cut my hair. Once, I asked for a "high and tight" and the lady asked me "Do I use a number one?" Like I know. This time, the woman (a different one) asked me how I wanted my hair cut. I told her that I wanted it, well, shorter than it was-- and get it off the ears. Then she asks me, "Should I use clippers or scissors?" Jesus. Oh, and another thing: Would they get a damn brush already? No, no, not a hair brush-- I mean, like a brush you use to brush things off-- for example, you might brush all the hair off my face after you get done cutting it. This is the third time I go here (the only place in town cutting hair on Saturday), and never have they cleaned my head off after they cut my hair. Christ, wet a towel and rub it over my head if you've not got one of those barber's brushes. Do something besides sending me out into the world looking like a dork.

The big news for today seems to be that I've killed another vehicle. My Thunderbird, aged old dog that it is, has gone and shot another head gasket. (It pulled this routine once before, back in the mid-90s.) So today was mostly spent scrambling to solve immediate transportation issues and the somewhat longer term issues of car repair. I do wish to announce here, though, that I am officially done with Fords. This is the third Ford to burn me in a big way, and I've just had it with Ford. I'm going back to Dodge. You know those new Ford spots, the ones where they ask "Have you looked again at Ford lately?" Yeah, buddy, but it seems I'm looking mostly under the hood. Blech. Anyone got a garage they can lend me for a week or so? Cause I can fix this thing myself if I have a garage-- I've got the tools and the know-how, but I can't exactly perform a top-end overhaul on my engine without a clean, level space in which to do so. Garage space may be sent in care of I Can't Believe Ford Fooled You Again, P.O. Box L7, Dumbass, VA,, 00000.

Ah, enough bitching. Time to go eradicate some zombies.

Out.


:: Gary Conner 3/10/2003 01:43:33 AM [+] ::
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I am calling the state police.

The line-up for Flesh & Blood Press' BEYOND THE DUST anthology was released last week. You'll recall that my bit "In the Garden of Piety" will appear in the book, and it seems that I'm in some rather good company: Stephen Mark Rainey, Charlee Jacob, Mark West, and my pal Michael Kelly, among others. Good times.

The Three-Lobed Burning Eye Issue 12 has finally been posted. This one includes my story "Swim in Sediment." If you've a chance to read it and you're so inclined, I love to hear people bitch about my work.

"In the Derelict House of Lord" got a few more swift rejections, not passing muster at places like CEMETERY DANCE, UNDERWORLDS and the BORDERLANDS 5 anthology, so it's been relegated to The Pile. Rather than spend time once again threatening to revert to writing only for my own amusement, I prefer instead to speak of how elated I am that the Monteleones have seen fit to resurrect the Borderlands anthology series. I own all four of the originals, and they represent some of the finest horror/dark fantasy ever to land on bookstore shelves, in my not-so-humble opinion. I can't wait to get my hands on this newest volume. Of course, it would be sweet if I were included in the volume, but let's not get carried away. I will say, though, that I've had the good fortune to read the progenitor of a story that damned well should be included in the book (in the interest of keeping things on the Q.T., I can't tell you that the author is Mike Kelly).

DENYING DEATH has been pushed back a bit due to an unforeseen cross-country move on the part of one of my co-authors, this being Seth. Brett, meanwhile, is still happily ensconced in the fifty-first state. If I had to guess, I would speculate that the book will be available for purchase right around the holidays. I've been wrong before, though, but the Excel spreadsheet that contains the dates and times is currently offline for massive overhauling.

I guess that's about it from me for this go-round. Until next time, check out this bit of freakishness: an NPR report on a project called The Listening Post. Wild stuff.

Out.


:: Gary Conner 3/6/2003 03:02:23 AM [+] ::
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What you need is someone strong to guide you.

Here is today's quiz: Which one of these is mind control?

www.toolband.com
www.toolband-sucks.com

Out.


:: Gary Conner 2/14/2003 03:45:19 PM [+] ::
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