Happy mudda-puckin Halloween!

I went to this movie with my wife and another couple. The memory of it is all four of us leaving, getting in the car and driving home with nobody saying a single word. I'm not sure if Se7en is my favorite horror movie, but it's in the top three.

Now, go eat some chocolate.

Friend's crap...er, I mean congrats to the homies

Been a couple of weeks, huh? Well sue me for having the swine flu, bitches. Sorry, still a little cranky...not feeling up to snuff does that to me.

But it's been a busy few weeks for mis compadres. Since I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm not a self-centered prick, I'm going to discuss them.

First, a big congrats to a couple of the Snutch Labs crew. Kurt Dinan and John Mantooth both received honorable mentions from Ellen Datlow in her Best Horror of the Year. See here: Kurt and John are assholes.

Plus, congrats to Kurt and his family on their new son with the awesome name. Sam Dinan is a fine, fine moniker.

A lot of friends, acquaintances and big names on that list...too many to go into, but I'd be an ass if I didn't give the proper recognition to Trish Cacek and Steve Tem. They're both kind of de facto mentors for me, great people as well as uber-talented writers.

Also, another Snutcher, Erik Williams, signed a contract for his novelette, THE REVEREND'S POWDER, and it should be available next summer. He's holding back on all the details until the publisher announces it, but I'm a blabbermouth.

For those interested in free fiction from a titan in the horror genre, the Library of America has posted Thomas Tessier's story, NOCTURNE. Tom is one hell of a nice guy and probably my favorite genre writer. And congrats to him on the recent addition to his family, too.

Finally, Paul Tremblay's new novella, THE HARLEQUIN AND THE TRAIN was reviewed in LOCUS - a pretty big deal:

"Tremblay’s main thrust seems to be that anyone can become evil when subjected to the proper pressures, and that the line between the banal and the monstrous is thin and ever-shifting; the case he makes is compelling, and messy, and creepy as hell. The human potential for monstrous behavior is always scarier than external monsters, anyway. The Harlequin and the Train is a memorable read..."--Tim Pratt, Locus Magazine.

Want more insight into Steve Tem, PD Cacek, Tom Tessier or Paul Tremblay? Check out the Snutch Labs chats we've had with them: Snutch Labs bloggity blog

And to wrap up, let's talk about me - or at least look upon me in all my splendor. Erik's posted the evidence pictures from last month's KillerCon. Awesome effin time!

You know, they're right. Pimpin ain't easy. Posting links is a pain in the ass.

Now, some good news

I'm glad to announce that my previously mentioned collection, POSTCARDS FROM PURGATORY, has been sold (again) to Sideshow Press. Presale begins about January and the collection should finally see the light of day around June of 2010.

The original and reprinted art of Russell Dickerson will still be included, along with new art from Tom Moran, and a new cover - which might be the best news of all. It's been expanded to sixteen stories, including the first three Money Run stories - "Of Lot Lizards, Love and Money," "Degrees of Persuasion" (my personal favorite), and "Tossing Butch, Saving Theodore." I hate to brag, but I think "Tossing Butch..." might be the most important story in the history of the gay midget tossing genre. The collection will also include an updated introduction by Thomas Tessier, which is a huge ego boost for me - like I need that.

More details to follow... (Oh, the drama!)

First, the bad news...

And by saying "first," I mean there's much more news to follow, but none of it would make sense without the bad news first.

My collection, POSTCARDS FROM PURGATORY, is not going to be published by Doorways Publishing after all. I have nothing but nice things to say about Doorways and Brian Yount and their crew, but timing wasn't working on our side. I still talk to Brian every week, mostly to give him crap about how bad the Reds suck, and the decision was mutual and very amicable. But for those of you looking forward to a book with a postman standing next to a trash bin on the cover, I'm afraid I can no longer help you out.

But let's not dwell on the bad news.

Fine! I'm back already - sheesh

Where have I been? Wouldn't you like to know! Actually, probably not.

It's a long story, but...

I'd began on my novel in earnest in April and decided I wasn't doing anything else until I managed to finish it - for good or for bad. So guess what? I'm blogging, huh? So that means...with the novel?

Yeah, that's not done. I anticipated the jump from short stories to novels would be difficult and a long process. I just underestimated the long part. The good news, I'm unusually happy with what I have down so far. Typically, I hate everything I write until like the sixty-fifth draft - then I'm just so tired of it, I have no opinion.

However, I've had another opportunity come up to where I've had to put aside the novel for a bit. I'm back to the usual process of hating the work (being the new project), but slowly it's getting there. I'll update on that in the future.

Anyways, I've found something odd about this blog thing. Sometimes people read these. Imagine that. And I attended KillerCon in Las Vegas this past weekend and got quite a bit of flack for my cyber-absence. All along I've thought I don't have much to say or share, but on the plane ride home, I realized I actually do have quite a bit of news. So, I'll be sharing that over the next week or so. Yeah, I'm a tease.

Creamed Cramer, with a side of pleas.

Last night, the best journalist in the country undressed the feigned outrage of financial clown and scumbag, Jim Cramer. And yes, it's a sad commentary when the best questions we get are from Jon Stewart...he's clearly biased, completely cops to it and usually looks more for laughs than insight. But usually, he gets the insight.

The much-hyped evening turned into a well-thought-out condemnation of the country's financial structure, and more importantly, the media (sensing a theme from me?) who not only ignored the current financial crisis warning signs, but cheered for it and the insanity that led to our current situation.

I can't help but wonder where our country would be right now if two events never occurred: First, when Secretary Paulson, who had kept the company line of "the fundamentals are strong," as his message right up until his act. That act being "the sky is falling, give me seventy billion dollars and look the other way." Then Mr. Cramer going on The Today Show telling his sheep to "sell, sell everything."

And who points this out? The financial gurus of CNBC? Fox and all their financial reporting (funny how the Wall Street Journal missed this)? Bloomberg? No, a comedian who never succeeded until his current format had to expose the "shenanigans."

What happened last night probably ended Cramer's career. It also probably raised Stewart to an entirely different level. Which, on one hand we need, but is a disturbing thought that things have deteriorated to the point that the guy who serves as our best watchdog was the exagerrated stoner guy from Half Baked.

current jam: Ida Maria, I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

Goddamn Bob Dylan...

I hate it when he's right, but the times, they's a changing.

First, Stephen Page leaves the Barenaked Ladies. Okay, BNL will never be accepting an award from the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame, but they've also been severely underrated. Funnest band I've ever seen in concert, and over the last nine years, the only band I've seen everytime they've come through Denver - usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I get it...he effed up. Bad. As a group they'd sold out, made some deal with the devil, er Disney. Released a Christmas album and a children's record with big things on the horizon - possibly millions of dollars lost for the group. And as a band, you can't forgive somebody for that. But god, it sucks. I saw BNL at Fiddlers Green, when it was still Fiddlers Green, with my wife seven months pregnant with our son. I saw them in the theater district when my wife was eight months pregnant with my daughter. And it will never be the same. Change really blows sometimes.

Speaking of change, tomorrow is the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, a Colorado mainstay for 150 years. It was my parent's paper of choice when papers mattered. It was my wife's paper when I met her. It's a stupid thing to think of, but it's played a part in my life since I've been born.

But, more serious than the loss of BNL, the crisis in America's newspapers is a serious issue. Since Reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine and the constriction of media ownership over the last twenty-five years, a vital part of our country has been dying a slow, apparently unnoticed death. An uneducated electorate is a dangerous electorate. I have no doubt Bush won his second term because of the lack of media presence calling him out on the bullshit of the previous four years.

Media today is a joke. It's TMZ. It's Murdoch. It's Disney. If Nixon pulled the shit he did today, he'd get away with it, but we'd sure as shit know which days Brittney decided to leave her undergarments at home.

Undoubtedly, part of the problem is the interwebs. Free information means no advertising dollars for newspapers. The other major issue is the consolidation of media ownership. But the biggest problem is the media consumer - you and me. Mostly you. Just saying

Where's the fucking outrage? Goddamnit people! Our country was started by some pissed off dudes who took on the most powerful empire in the world. Now we're so fat and satisfied, we don't care that our country has been in two wars in a row that were not declared by legal means. No, the president can't declare war - only congress has that power, and even though congress gave Dickhead authority to use military force in Iraq, no declaration of war ever was passed. Shouldn't this bother us somewhat? But so long as we get our Cinemax and American Idol and our iPhones work and the microwave doesn't burn our popcorn, we don't care.

And as long as the media can feed us pablum, we'll eat it up. We'll decide elections on three-word slogans, whomever has the most money to repeat those slogans always winning. We'll ignore important issues, possibly boring issues, to read about Octo-mom. Well, that's not true. Most of us won't read anything.

Change has been a theme this country's heard a lot about the last 18-24 months. Some of it sux.