Sisters of the Wild Sage by Nicole Givens Kurtz:an advance review.

Full disclosure: I’ve gotten to know Nicole over the last few years. This will not make my review valid in some folk’s eyes, but those folks can think what they like,because I thought she was a good writer before I met her.

Sisters of the Wild Sage:A Weird Western Collection is a new short story collection from her, due out April 25 on Kindle.You can preorder it here: :https://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Wild-Sage-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B07PBP3S7X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3A9D87QFK81OU&keywords=sisters+of+the+wild+sage&qid=1553043753&s=gateway&sprefix=sisters+of+the+wild+sa%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1

Sisters is presented as weird westerns, and it certainly lives up to the name. These are stories that veer from urban fantasy(Unhinged) to science fiction(The Pluviophile) to straight up horror(Trader) in some cases. But besides her evocative writing style, there are a few underlying themes and ideas that tie all these stories together.

The first one, of course, is the West. I capitalized it on purpose, because these stories are all set somewhere or sometime in the American West. She manages to convey a strong sense of place, in that her stories evoke the wide open places, and the dreams that such places bring to folks, and sometimes crushes those same dreams. I could almost feel the sand in my teeth at times.

The second theme that ties several of these stories together is religion, or rather, how religion is used by some to their own ends. From the Deacon in the opening story, Belly Speaker, to the beliefs that get shattered in Rise, there’s many folks using the holy to do the unholy. But Nicole does present some characters with positive religious ideas, so it’s not bashing, just a theme I found in the collection.

Finally, the third theme I found was of escape. People in this collection are either running away from something(Belly Speaker, Los Luna) or trying to run towards a better future(Oni Soars, Sisters of the WIld Sage)

These stories are entertaining, well written and full of surprises. Other than a few layout quibbles, which should be gone by the time you read it,I enjoyed my time with it.
This is a fun read at a great price. It’s a great introduction to the creative talent and writing of Nicole Kurtz, who if the world made sense, would be known to many more people, because she has talent, a unique voice and can write her ass off.

So go buy this, then go to Amazon or her website, https://mochamemoirspress.com/, and buy her stuff. You won’t regret it.

I don’t want new Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.

Yes, that title is meant to get your attention. But before you ignore it, there is a point to this post. Let’s be clear, this isn’t some MRA/Lamer Gate anti-woman rant. If you know me at all, I hate everything with a -Gate ending, unless it’s Stargate. Which I don’t want more of either.

My last post was all about the commodification of fandom, and how we should react to it. Because like it or not, the arts are a business. This is how we’ve gotten franchises over the years. The most succesful are LotR and Star Wars,numbers wise, with Harry Potter a close third.

Now, franchises are fine. They employ people, they have moments of both brilliance(Star Trek II, Empire Strikes Back) and stupidity(Star Trek 5, Revenge of the Sith, the entire Hobbit trilogy). But most of it is bland, puree and non-noteworthy. They’re the singers in your dad’s favorite band after the first lead singer quit. They’re just there.

So while I look forward to Star Wars 9, I’d be happier if it was the end. If at the end of it they said, “Surprise! All those TV series and stand alone movies we’ve told you about? They’re gone!” I would go back and see it twice in 3-D at that point.

Look, I can hear the fanboys yelling about this. I get it. You want comfortable. But the best stuff in your franchises came from when other people worked in that framework. The only reason Empire didn’t suck was Lawrence Kasdan. The only reason Star Trek survived was Gene Rodenberry letting others take it in new directions. If you think we’d still be caring about Trek if not for those sequel movies and Next Gen, you’re delusional.

Even in the current franchises, it’s only by getting new and fresh ideas that they’ve thrived. Rogue One is the best Star Wars movie since Empire, mainly because it was an experiment. Spider-Man:Into the Spider Verse was the best superhero movie of the year(or tied with Black Panther) because it was an experiment. Which is what science fiction and genre fiction used to be about in the movies.

I don’t want a Lord of the Rings tv show. I want fantasy or science fiction movies that are a fully realized vision done well, with heart and excellent storytelling. I don’t want untold stories of Boba Fett, I want a new science fiction universe that was as joyous and deep as that original movie. I don’t need another dark Matrix ripoff, I want a movie that was that good of an action flick that made me think like that one did.

And we won’t get it from franchises. Hollywood will never understand that. As perilous as the movie business and arts are right now, fiscally, it likely never will. I don’t want my daughter to love Star Wars, I want her to have art that makes me feel the way I did when I first saw it.

What should you do about it? Support indie movies, tv and videos. If you’re not busy the next couple of days, go find stuff like Strowlers and Ink on Prime and Netflix. Go try Hulu for a week and watch Sorry to Bother You, the best science fiction movie of the year last year, period. And give your money to those. Go find people doing new and creative stuff, and if you like it, tell them. If you can spare cash, give them some. If you can’t, go tell other people about it.

I’m turning fifty this year. I’m praying by the time my daughter is this age, we won’t be on our sixth Harry Potter reboot, starring nothing but AI’s for actors. So go find some art, ok? Bye.

Punk Rock Fandom

Dear Fandom:

Hi, come on in and sit down. Man, you’ve grown. Seems like yesterday you and me were just hanging out in Red Roof Inns and bingo halls. Now look at you. You’re winning awards, Hollywood is yours, and you’ve converted millions. Congratulations, you’ve hit the big time at last.

But we need to talk. Like it or not, Fandom(or Geekdom), in my opinion, is about to have its bubble burst. Not a big deal. People are fickle, and nobody stays on top forever I expect it to happen after Marvel reboots the universe onscreen and after Game of Thrones ends.It’s happened to bunches of things I like: metal, pro wrestling, hell even the music industry.

What’s got me worried is the folks I see here on the net who seem to think it was always like this. We’ll always have the “spuds” who only care about stuff when it’s popular or “in”. I expect that. They’re like the weather, they’ll be here forever, like roaches.

What ticks me off, however, are the folks in your fandom that profit and make money off of it, and have absolutely no respect for the business, or are faking their respect for the community they claim to be part of in their marketing.

Two things caused me to write this post. The first is the asshole who called the Geek Gala crap on a review. Now, full disclosure, due to a lot of issues, I’ve never attended one. But since they started doing their Muggles Market(Next one at Contagion*plug plug*) I’ve attended and they create a great family friendly atmosphere that can expose people to local artists and authors, and help feed the hungry. And some pendejo had the nerve  to call that “crap?”

My first response to people nervy enough and asshole enough to say shit like this is usually this: you try it. Unless you’ve put on an event, or stood on stage and performed, and done it better, shut the fuck up. Don’t like it? Fine, but shame on you for shitting on people for trying .

I’ve always been annoyed by this type of person. They’re usually new and clueless to the scene, and have been programmed to think that everything good has to be big and costly and impressive. These are the people whose dad and grandads were around in the 70’s, thinking that how big a venue or how much they were on the radio was the only barometer of success.

Those people are fucking clueless. They claim to love an art form, but they only love the most popular, watered down version. They’re the folks who show up to WWE shows but have never been to PWX or Dragon’s Gate or any local promotion. Now some folks not showing up because they didn’t hear about it, or they had to work or something, now that’s understandable. It;s the people who are like”If it isn’t on a major label, they must not be any good”.

These people are how punk rock got started. The pushback against them and the crap music they promoted.The kids back in the late 70’s to even now who saw someone onstage and said”Hey, I can do that, and I don’t need the majors to do it.” The people who put on wrestling shows in gyms, or the bands who book their won tours, taking groups like Black Flag and Fugazi as their inspiration to DIY:Do It Yourself.

The second thing that has been bugging at me are the people who are in an industry and have almost that mentality, but do it by their actions and where those actions take place. I get authors who have social issues, who have to limit their social interactions due to mental health issues or time for the day job. I get that. What I don’t get is when you never,ever use those spoons to do anything local. If you only ever go out of town and never try to build anything close to home, I don’t get it. I know of two local writers who I’ve never even seen talk about attending a local con in the five years I’ve been aware of their existence. Yet both have traveled cross country to big ass conventions. It’s one thing to try the local scene and strike out, and quite another to be dismissive of it by your silence or refusal to even try it.(And no, it’s nobody on any of my social media. And no, I won’t tell you who I’m talking about)

And these people don’t get it. I understand it in some people, who see crap like “Star Search” and think that’s how success works. But to dismiss local fandom just because it’s not San Diego or DragonCon? Dude, that’s just pathetic and snobbery of the highest order.

What Fandom needs is people like Joey Starnes, Michelle Iannantuono, and John Hartness. John is the Henry Rollins and Ian Fugazi of NC publishing. His Falstaff is publishing stuff the majors don’t, he’s got good taste, and he’s brutally honest and decent. Joey’s done so much in fandom I can’t even. Michelle does nifty horror films that should be in the theatres.

These people, in my opinion, are what I call punk rock fandom. John vends at so many damn cons, that he may have to split himself in two next year. Joey is everywhere she can be. They Do It Themselves.

And there’s hundreds out there like them. You’ll see them exhibiting home made shirts and candles, some of which blow the established products out of the water. And musicians like Valentine Wolfe and Mikey Mason might not ever be opening for Weird Al or Nightwish(but they should be), but they’re still out there killing it. whenever life lets them do it.

So do us a favor, Fandom. Love your locals. Go to the local con the library puts on. Show up to a comedy show where there’s only ten people in the bar. Buy that book the guy published himself. Watch those B-movies on Amazon Because chances are,there’s been a lot more love put into that than whatever polished turd Hollywood or the major labels try to jam down your throat. And you’ll see some amazing shit, I damn guarantee.

Or else. I’d like to point out that none of your big guns got there overnight, no matter what their PR people will tell you. But everything you like started out small. My first sci-fi con in 89 was at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant. John Cena worked his ass off in OVW before he ever showed up on Smackdown. If we don’t support the locals and indies, we will suffer.

Don’t believe me? Look at tabletop RPGs. D & D had the world by the balls in the mid 80’s. Shit, we had nerds and geeks who could afford coke habits at that point. TSR got their stuff into every bookstore in America, and they got toys and television shows.

The problem was, there wasn’t enough there to survive a downturn. Everyone can name D & D. The problem is, they went Walmart  and killed all their competition. And when CCG’s came along, the industry damn near died and now the people behind Magic own D and D. Thankfully, when D and D came back the last few years, there’s been a bigger variety that’s gotten attention. More media outlets mean more opportunities for variety.

In the end, fandom is in flux right now. But supporting local authors, artists and cosplayers will always be good for fandom and for you. Shoot, if you’re lucky, you might even get to say”I knew them when…”

 

“Hunt for the Skinwalker”-movie review.

DISCLAIMER: This is a review of a UFO documentary I rented on Amazon. I have been studying the UFO and UAO phenomenon for decades, ever since an encounter I had as a child. I’m not looking to debate the phenomenon. If you think I fell on my head as a kid, or did too many drugs in college, that’s your right, But if you’re here to mock those who are involved or believe, don’t let the door hit you in the ass. Now, let’s continue.

“Hunt for the Skinwalker” is a new documentary available from Orchard productions. It has the same name as a book, done by reporter George Knapp and Dr. Colm Kellher. It’s done by a filmmaker named Jeremy Corbell, who seems to specialize in UFO and conspiracy theory films, judging from his iMDB listings.

For those unfamiliar with the subject matter, Skinwalker Ranch, or Shaw Ranch as it’s legally known, claims to be the “most studied paranormal hotspot” in the world. ” It’s been a source of constant UFO sightings for decades, but has also had documented cattle mutilations,  poltergeists, and strange creature sightings. The term “Skinwalker Ranch” appears to be given due to local Native Americans claiming the ranch land is part of the path of a skinwalker, a creature who exists in numerous legends across North America.  A skinwalker is a shape changing human who can change into any animal shape, generally by covering themselves in its skin.

Skinwalker Ranch really entered the UFO community’s view when George Knapp published the aforementioned book in 2005. Knapp originally rose to UFO stardom by being the first person to talk to Bob Lazar, the man who claimed to help reverse engineer UFO’s at Area 51 back in the late 80’s.

The movie starts off slow, with a problem I’m finding prevalent in UFO and conspiracy  documentaries and books: lack of focus on the subject. The first ten minutes of the movie start in December 2017, with the mass media attention paid to two video recordings of UFO’s made by the military being released to the government. We’re introduced to George Knapp, who is in this movie often, since most of it is based either in his reporting or video footage he shot. Knapp is cagey about why he’s sat on this footage all this time, a question that doesn’t ever get answered.

The connection to be made between this event and the ranch is billionaire Robert Bigelow. Bigelow buys  Skinwalker Ranch in the 90’s, and uses his money to move in scientists to study all the “high weirdness”  going on at the ranch. Bigelow is also involved in To The Stars, the company that helped get the UFO footage released, though that company, and it’s celebrity originator, aren’t ever mentioned in the film.

What follows is a melange of video accounts, mostly eyewitness and  some of George Knapp’s video reports he made when he started investigating the ranch. He’s interviewed repeatedly, as is Colm Kellherd and one other physicist from the ranch.

People expecting a straight forward documentary will be roundly disappointed. It’s as if Corbell was trying to recreate the strangeness of the ranch. Stories are presented with not much attention to detail or time stamps, unless they happen to be on the video. The interviews are well shot, if light on pressing questions. By example, a physicist  talks about two men seeing something crawl out of a wormhole,but never names them. A separate video clip names the men. Why aren’t they ever interviewed?

As a piece of art, this films succeeds. It’s as a journalist that I find fault with the movie. I kept wondering why Robert Bigelow, who owned the ranch for a decade,  was never interviewed during the film. Then he shows up to answer one question, and vanishes. Why? A shadowy figure is seen in footage that was in the film and trailer, and yet is never explained or commented on.

The end part of the movie includes the part I was most excited about, the supposed new footage with the current owner of the ranch, and sadly, it’s rather disappointing. I can understand hiding his identity, but there’s so many questions he should have been asked.

I realize part of the selling point of this movie was the hunt for the truth, and that so far, nobody really has any answers. But I think that Corbell was trying too hard to be mysterious and spooky in tone, and thus got far more sizzle than steak,

I think there’s room for a serious documentary on Skinwalker, and there’s the skeleton of one here. But too much emphasis on style, and not substance, mars the impact of this movie. And the horrible editing does not help matters. The screen goes black at times, right in the middle of interviews. It’s supposed to be dramatic pauses, but it never works right. And there’s so much that could have been asked and answered to make this a compelling documentary. Why does the family leave in the 90’s? Why did Bigelow sell the ranch? Why did the new owner buy it?

In the end, folks who were hoping for a more in depth exploration of the Skinwalker Ranch mystery, or new compelling evidence, will be left wanting. If you want an interesting first take on the mystery, this is the film for you.

Three out of five stars.

On The Rack: A #Hold On To The Light post.

In the movie Conan the Barbarian, Conan spends most of his life chained to a wheel , pushing it around to grind grain for reasons we don’t really know, in a place called the Wheel of Pain. I use it as a metaphor for how depression and low self esteem create circles of reasoning that keep me from doing things and achieving my goals.

Here’s how it works. I’ll think about doing something new, like doing a podcast. Then my brain says: you need a microphone for that. After that, my work ethic will say, you need to earn the money for that. Next, my anxiety pops in, reminding me I haven’t worked in two years, so my chances of getting a job are rough,and I’ll have to fill out paperwork and go on interviews, which gives me hives. In a rush, here comes the low self esteem crew to make the final push of the ring, saying you won’t get a job, so why even bother to try this new thing. Thus, I’m back at zero, ready to start the grind again.

It isn’t just new things. This mental rack keeps me from doing things I’ve already done, like writing. The low self esteem posse has a special tactic for that. It’s called “You’ve already gotten as far as you’re ever going to get, so why even try ?”

It’s almost like a fighting game, and I can feel my self esteem meter drop with every hit. The favorite finishing maneuver is a low self esteem/depression tag team move. That one is “You don’t deserve that.” It’s used more than Hulk Hogan uses a leg drop. It can be applied to your work, your family, hell, even a cookie in the store. When the duo are really playing dirty, they’ll apply it to your life.

That’s what’s led me to where I am now, back in therapy after 7 years. I’m tired. I know the wheel made Conan strong, but I’m not Conan. Conan gets off the wheel by training to be a gladiator. I wish my fight was that simple. But mine’s going to require therapy, medicine and some serious brain retraining.

If you’re out there and struggling, please get help. Part of why I’ve done this is that I’ve lost several friends to this wheel the last couple of years. I’ve watched in horror as it’s ground them and their families to powder. I’m forty nine, I’m tired, and I’m fighting to make it to fifty. If I can change, so can you.

About the campaign:
#HoldOnToTheLight is a blog campaign encompassing blog posts by genre authors around the world in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.
Please consider donating to or volunteering for organizations dedicated to treatment and prevention such as: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Hope for the Warriors (PTSD), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Canadian Mental Health Association, MIND (UK), SANE (UK), BeyondBlue (Australia), To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
To find out more about #HoldOnToTheLight, find a list of participating authors and blog posts, or reach a media contact, go to http://www.HoldOnToTheLight.com and join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WeHoldOnToTheLight

All Superheroes Must Die.

That’s not just an amazingly underrated movie by Jason Trost, with James Remar as the best non-Joker joker, ever. I think it’s a truth that needs to happen, for the geek culture to evolve into maturity.

For better or worse, we’ve hit peak nerd this year. The movies are bigger,the cons are bigger.But there’s a crash coming,and most people in the film/comics industry refuse to see it. But that’s a debate for another time.But for America’s sake,superheroes have to go. And here’s why:America needs to grow up.

Superheroes are all about wish fulfillment. People like Grant Morrison have compared them to modern gods, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. If they are modern gods, someone needs to go throw the priests out of the temple.

Back in the early days of superheroes, they were static.Nothing about Superman changes except for acquiring a dog and a horse(go look it up). The comics industry will tell you that the Comics Code and such were responsible for comics decline, but I’ve read those puppies, and it’s a law of diminishing returns. Superhero comics are circling the drain until one man changes all that.

Spiderman and the rest of the Marvel lineup’s revolution in comics can’t be understated. They had fully fleshed out characters with real issues that people could relate to . And people loved it, to the tune of superheroes becoming popular again.

And what happened once they got popular? They went right back to the same exact thing:nothing ever changing. Franklin Richards, son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, is born in 1968. He disappears and isn’t made into a n actual child until the late 80’s. He should have been going to college.by then. But he didn’t have hair on anything.

And even then, that change was only due to another pair of comics revolutionaries. Frank Miller and Alan Moore turned heroes into dark, serious people. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn them into mature ones. People took what was meant as an indictment of the genre in Moore’s case and turned it into an excuse to turn the violence and sex way up. They entirely missed the point.

This was revolutionary in one way: it flipped the script on changing superheroes. Suddenly, everyone was changing. Spiderman got a new suit! Sales went up. Spider man’s new suit is gone! Sales went up.

I really think this is where superhero comics blew their big chance. They had the worlds attention, and all they had to offer were bruises and boobs. And it set forth a cycle of reboots that the big two of superheroes have never recovered from.

My biggest problem with current super heroes is one that’s lasted since the late 70’s:NOTHING EVER CHANGES, AND YET EVERYTHING CHANGES TOO MUCH. Every year it’s new titles and and variant covers and reboot after reboot after reboot.

Here’s an idea. Don’t reboot anything. Don’t come out with 6 billion new costumes and titles. Play with the toys you already have. Dance with the ones that brought you.

One of the most popular comics of the 30’s and 40’s was called Gasoline Alley. Its characters grew up, married and had kids. Why not superheroes? You want to bring me back to superhero comics? Show me Kitty Pryde having to balance the checkbook after Colossus wrecks another car. Just once I’d like to see a villain defeated because he had to go get the kids from day care early. Make them human again.

And if you don’t think this needs to change, I point you to San Diego this year. The guy who tried to marry off Batman to Catwoman needs protection for making Bruce grow up. I’d like to think it’s just pissed off people who hated the stupid left at the altar trope he used. Again, a symptom of the problem in comics:People want new and shiny, but stockholders don’t want change in the IP.

I grew up on comics, specifically X-men. I loved the family drama.It spoke volumes to have people talk to each other about their problems, living in a house where that didn’t happen. I loved it when characters changed and evolved. Then they showed me they wouldn’t do it.

The pinnacle of non-alternate reality superhero comics of the 80’s, for me, was the Wolverine miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. It  speaks volumes about what it means to be a man, to change and mature.It ends with a invitation to Wolverine, as a character, getting married,

Then came the actual wedding, three years later.And the first comic I ever destroyed was my first copy of the issue where Wolverine gets left at the altar. Because it was so stupid and handled so badly. I mean, Mastermind? After having spent four issues having two other supervillains try and stop the wedding? And lets not even discuss the blatant racism of not having the only Japanese superhero, Sunfire,  not appear at the only supes wedding in Japan.

But why do they need to die, Trevor? Because of what they symbolize now for most people. Powerful, unchanging gods who rule and dispense justice, who never change their minds or evolve. That’s a view of us, as Americans, that needs to go away.

People who know me are probably groaning at my putting politics into this, but hear me out. Why is it when politicians evoke superheroes, it’s never  liberal ones? It’s always conservatives. Because in a genre that uses change every month, nothing ever really changes, except to minor characters. The message is clear:real heroes don’t change. Supes hasn’t in 75 years. Peter Parker is still a whiny teen boy. I’d love a comic where the heroes grow,mature and change. Yes, Virginia, I know stuff like Astro City exists But doing it to those characters won’t change the culture. And comics culture needs to change. We need to stop enabling the toxic masculinity of them. Characters like Spider Gwen and Squirrel Girl, are a step in the right direction, but where’s the equivalent for young men? .What’s the point of inviting girls to the party if we’re still treating it like a boy’s club?

I’d like to say I have the answer,but I think it’s only going to come with someone who’s written outside comics being in charge. There’s a huge uptick in non-comics writers writing superheroes, and it’s been amazing. But until people in charge realize that variety and change are what fuel art, I think the superheroes have to go. The price is too high. We, as geeks/nerds/fans have to accept that things change, that our heroes grow and change, and it can’t just be for sales sake. Ten years ago, I was massively excited for Spiderman’s wedding. Then they shit the bed and reversed it.

So let’s retire some of these supes. Let’s let them train new people to do the job. And let’s let it stick. No more Robins, since Nightwing is out there. And maybe then, superhero comics can be great again.

Powerchords: a review

Full disclosure: I Kickstarted this book. I’ve known the author for over a decade, and we’ve survived cons together. This is going to be a completely biased review.

Powerchords is an RPG book from the madman behind Mage and Deliria, Phil Brucato. I could do an entire blog post just on the trials and tribulations to get this thing done after seven years, but that’s not the point. The better question is:what is it, and is it any good?

Powerchords is subtitled “Music, Magic & Urban Fantasy”. It was origiannly started as a supplement for (IMHO) Phil’s best work, the late lamented Deliria. It became something more, though there are fingerprints of that work all over the work. In short, Powerchords is designed to bring music to your urban fantasy game.

The book contains rules, mostly based on Deliria’s Compact System. That system is designed so you can take your characters anywhere, from table top to LARP to online.You can use either cards or dice to resolve actions. Folks looking for dice crunchy or rules heavy systems should shop elsewhere.

Rules in Powerchords are for making musicians and the various hangers on. You can make them as fantastical or gritty as your campaign needs. Want to play an half-ogre rapper? Or maybe a fae-touched busker? Those rules for those characters are here.

The meat of Powerchords are in its performance rules. There are rules here for any sort of musical performance, mundane or magical. I found them easy to digest, with minimal tables.(Though I do want a Powerchords GM screen now). There’s also rules for that forbidden topic in most RPGs, drugs. Most systems either are too short and heavy handed, or non-existent. Phil’s rules on them are straight up, consistent, and form all I can tell, medically correct.

The special sauce around the meat of those rules is what makes Powerchords so nice in my eyes. There are section dealing with music based magical systems, how to get players together, and how to start campaigns at different points in the characters career. Nice to see something beyond the “young heroes all meet in a bar” trope.There’s also mass amounts of recommendations for supplemental reading,listening and viewing. There are ones I wouldn’t include(Big Hoodoo?), but in general it’s a really tasteful and personal selection.

A big part of this book is the layout and art. From the cover that looks like a road case for speakers, to all the great art by folks like Bryan Syme, this thing is a beauty to behold.

The only flaw I could see in this book are the multiple references to the Deleria RPG and books. I know this started out as being written for that game, I’m worried the references will put off some who don’t wont he game or are familiar with it.

This was originally designed as one book, and is being expanded into several books I, for one, can’t wait for the others.

Four and half stars.

Note:Phil is having some financial issues this month, so if you read this and it sounds like something you might want, please buy from the DriveThruRPG.com link below. I’ll also post the Amazon link as well.

Drive Thru RPG(PDF  & Hardcover)  http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/221813/Powerchords-Music-Magic–Urban-Fantasy

Amazon(Hardcover only):https://www.amazon.com/Powerchords-Music-Magic-Fantasy-Roleplay/dp/0982353278/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524612398&sr=8-1&keywords=powerchords

 

Midnight in the Desert-Farewell, Art Bell

Project Grillflame File #2323: SIGINT

The following is a transcript of a radio signal received from a remote viewing session held at a Grillflame location in Mishwaka, Indiana. Origin is believed to be Reality-2 or Reality-3, but location is undetermined due to interference from viewer’s fillings.

 

Intro music:Coast to Coast AM Intro

Announcer:From somewhere high in the Appalachians, next to a gateway to the Kingdom of Nye, here’s your host, Trevor Curtis.

Trevor: Hello out there, my listeners. Tonight’s guests, Peter Levenda and Stanton Friedman, have been postponed to a later date. I’m sure everyone here has heard the news by now of Art Bell’s passing. We’ll be taking callers all night, but I’m going to talk first.

Other news outlets can go on about Art’s lengthy broadcast career. Naysayers will talk about his unfortunate role in the events surrounding the Heaven’s Gate cult mass suicide. Some will go on about his profound influence on the UFO, conspiracy theory, and NDE communities. The fact there’d be no X-Files without  his show.We’ll get to all that,and to some of my favorite moments, like this one:

Clip:Caller flying over Area 51

I’m going to talk first, however, about Art’s profound effect on my life, long before I was chosen as the fourth host of Coast to Coast. I’ve been so grateful for this gig, coming after Jimmy Church’s unfortunate spontaneous combustion at a 2014 NAMM show. Jimmy had taken over from George Noory, who was unfortunately murdered by a grief stricken fan after Noory bored his wife to death.

I first encountered Art in 1996, while helping my roommate Jason deliver newspapers, Yes, the same Jason who is now Arch Pope of the First Church of Gaia. But back then, we were fresh out of college,trying to survive, living on booze,fast food, and Jolt. Jason was tuning the radio in his mini-van when a smooth, deep voice came out of the speakers.

“Who’s that?” I asked Jason.

“Art Bell. The dude’s crazy.”

Jason liked Art, but I was hooked. That first time, his guest was Father Malachi Martin, the Catholic exorcist, who I’d hear many times over the years. He was just the first of many people I’d discover and come to love over the next years.

Malachi Martin. Terrance McKenna Linda Moulton Howe. Jim Marrs. Celebrities from Merle Haggard to John Voight. My personal favorite was always Stanton Friedman, the best UFOlogist on the planet, period. No disrespect to Tom Delonge, but Stanton was so much fun and so smart.

But as much fun as the guests were, the real meat of Art’s show were the callers. From first timers to Mel from Mel’s Hole, Everyone was welcome to call in. Art didn’t screen calls, and he themed them. Antichrists and Time Travellers.Vampires and UFO Abductees.

The big daddy of them all for me was Area 51 caller night. Art lived and broadcast from Pahrump, Nevada, darn near the place’s front door. In addition to the previous clip, my all time favorite moment happened during one of those Area 51 nights. Imagine you’re in a small apartment in the Chicago suburb. You’re listening to this in a dark living room, lit only by your computer monitor. You’re listening while typing stuff in Yahoo Chat. Go google it if you don’t know what that means. And then this happens.

Clip:Frantic Area 51 caller

After that, Art’s entire radio network went dead. Yahoo Chat’s room exploded with folks wondering what had happened. I went out on my balcony, which opened on to a view of a nearby radio tower, it’s light blinking in the silent dark. I’ve never been more thrilled by a broadcast before or since. People have questioned the truth level of a lot of Art’s callers, but that one scares even me.

Through my bumbling late twenties and thirties,Art was a constant companion. Retail destroys your ability to sleep, so he was something familiar in the dark. No matter how bad the day, no matter the place, if I could find Art, then I could get through to dawn.

And he got me through some very, very dark nights. For every night where I drifted off to peaceful sleep listening to him snuggled in a warm bed in Minnesota, there were also the tense ones in places like St. Louis, where I listened while I debated taking that knife sitting by the bed and going in the bathroom and ending it all.

But my life improved. I met the best woman I’ve ever known. Unfortunately, right about that time, Tragedy entered Art’s life, and he stopped broadcasting. I won’t go into the details, but I hope Art, Art Junior, and Ramona are in a better place. I know this place is lesser without Art, and I will miss him (Pause, with audible crying) You’re going to have to excuse me folks, We’ll be right back after this. Rest in Power, Art.

Music:Cusco-Ghost Dance

 

 

Apology

I am publicly apologizing for my tweet where I asked Seanan McGuire for her opinion on John Ringo being added as a special guest at Concarolinas. I did it out of emotion, and of an ignorance of the issues it might cause her in responding. Please accept my apologies, Seanan, as a fan of your work.

Top 50 signs you might suck as a metal fanboy(or girl)

Since everything on here has been dark, dark, dark, on the few times I do post(SO trying to fix that, top three things I need to do this year.) Now, listicles are aways fun, but it’s also cheap heat. Frankly, I don’t care. This idea has been stuck in my head, but unlike some ideas of mine(too numerous to mention) this one felt it had to come out. This list is completely arbitrary,a complete joke, and meant mostly to make you smile. If it doesn’t or I offend, please leave a comment. At least then I’ll know someone is reading this . Some of this might be obscure, it might not be. But, here goes.

1)Your favorite Van Halen singer is Gary Cherone

2)Your favorite Anthrax disc is Volume 8.

3)You really like the drum sound on St. Anger.

4)Your favorite nu-metal band is Crazy Town.

5)You have to have PBR at every show.

6)You only listen to metal bands mentioned on Pitchfork

7)You think the comments section on any metal news site is intelligent conversation if it lasts longer than twelve entries

8)Your favorite Black Sabbath singer is Dave Donato.

9)Your favorite Anthrax singer is Dan Nelson

10)You think Kid Rock is a metal artist.

11)You think Megadeth is better since Dave quit drugs and found god.

12)You archive and listen to Phil Anselmo interviews.

13)You like Five Finger Death Punch’s cover versions of songs.

14)Your favorite way to listen to metal is on cassette.

15)Your favorite type of metal shows are arena ones.

16)You think Lamb of God was better as an instrumental band.

17)You think Metallica is better since Load.

18)You prefer Sammy over Dave.

19) Your favorite Priest singer is Tim Owens.

20)Your favorite Mayhem singer was Dead.

21)You think Mayhem was better when Varg was in it.

22)Your favorite Celtic Frost CD is Cold Lake.

23)You think Nickelback is the best heavy band to ever come out of Canada.

24)You miss crunkcore and crabcore

25)You’ve lived in Charlotte and don’t miss Amos’s or Tremont.

26)You can’t name a metal band from your hometown, or where you live at.

27)You mosh at a show even when a band isn’t playing.

28)Your favorite Rainbow singer is Ronnie Romero.

29)You don’t listen to any metal made after 1990.

30)You don’t listen to any metal made before 1990.

31)You think WASP is better since Blackie found God.

32)You prefer Thin Lizzy’s version of “Whiskey in the Jar”.

33)You think Johnny Cash ruined both NIN’s Hurt and Soundgarden’s Outshined.

34)Your favorite Led Zeppelin CD is Coda.

35)You thought Anthrax sucked for wearing Jams onstage.

36)You think the worst nu-metal band was Rage Against the Machine.

37)You think Tool can wait a few more years before releasing a new record.

38) Your name is Bill Pitts(just kidding! Bill’s the best metal fan I know)

39)You’re over forty and don’t miss Metal Maniacs.

40)You think Lords of Chaos is a great piece of journalism.

41)You prefer Venom records made without Cronos.

42)You think Motorhead’s best songs are the entrances they did for Triple H.

43)You don’t think punk had any influence on metal.(I’m looking at you, Steve Harris)

44)Your favorite British metal band is Lawnmower Deth.

45)You think Mushroomhead is better than Slipknot.

46) You think Green Jelly is better than Gwar.

47)You think racism, sexism, transphobia or bigotry of any sort has a place in metal.

48) You use the term “female-fronted metal”.

49)You own Rob Zombie solo CD’s after the first two.

50)You get offended by anything on this list.

There you have it!