Monday, February 20, 2012

You Really 'Like' Me?

Wanna do your Uncle Jed a big ol' favor? Paul von Stoetzel's short film Viscosity is entered in a contest and it needs your vote... for the trailer. Here's the page I'd like ya to visit and clicky the 'Like' tab for Paul's trailer. Yeah, it's a short film, but Paul's put together a pretty great little trailer for it and if it garners more 'likes' than all the other trailers we'll have us a time. I'm told this 'like'-ing is a thing. All the kids do it.

And I'm not done, not by a sight. Today over at the Crime Factory blog, Cameron Ashley dropped the news that Crime Factory Publishing is a go. That's right, books and eBooks branded by the great and powerful Oz. Further, he announced that they'll be publishing a novella in 2012 by my very own self titled Fierce Bitches, and that friends is why the Mayans gave up.

You know who aint give up? Benjamin Whitmer, that's who. That hard ass has been itchy to do the N@B thing for well over a year now and tomorrow night he'll realize that goal. He'll stand before the semi-literate sloshed of St. Louis and kill a dog. Said he'd do it in every book he wrote back in the interview we had us in 2010. Here, go read it. See? He said he would. My main question for him will be 'how did you get Charlie Louvin to do it? Now, I like dogs, but I do resent their hides for the precious sacred cows they are in film and literature. I do regularly cheer on canine slaughter when it's depicted in fictions (or rather the brass on the film maker or author that portrays it in their work). For instance, A Fish Called Wanda? Loved it. Bravo, Charles Crichton. And Lucky McKee? Loved Red, sir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, what's become of you? Amores Perros was so electrifying,  but you've become nearly as unintentionally self-parodying as M. Night Shamalamdingdong. Why? No more dog killings, that's why. Put a bitch down, sir. For all of us.


Regardless your doggy style you should be at Meshuggah Cafe in the University City Loop tomorrow night at 7pm for Whitmer, Robert Randisi, Jason Makansi and Sonia Coney. I'm gonna predict another Frank Bill slash Matthew McBride slash Malachi Stone lightening in a bottle N@B debut from Sonia. You won't believe the shit she says.

Then come back next week on February 28th, same Bat-Time same Bat-Channel, to hear what Kevin Lynn Helmick, Caleb J. Ross, Mark W. Tiedemann and Gordon Highland (who has no middle name) have got in store for us. What? You won't be there? Well for once, we've got you covered. Or rather Robb Olson and Livius Nedin of the Booked Podcast do. They're making the trek from Chicagoland to document the evening's proceedings for posterity. They've been shining the blacklight on some edgy, subterranean writing from their pods and I applaud them for that. Check out this episode where Nik Korpon edumicates your ignoranus on Hardboiled. Who's he name-check for contemporary writers in that field? Hmmm, HBW pal Kent Gowran and N@B dog slayer Ben Whitmer.

Couple days later, Ima follow Kevin, Gordon, Caleb, Robb and Livius to Chicago for The Wrong Kind of Reading with N@B alum Anthony Neil Smith, Kyle Minor and Pinckney Benedict as well as HBW pals Gowran, Korpon and David James Keaton. Gonna be a blastenahaff. While I'm up there I'm hoping to drop in on Julian Grant and check out a ruff cut of Fuckload of Scotch Tape while he scrambles to have it festival circuit ready.

Speaking of Hardboiled, over at Ransom Notes I'm on about the latest last from the master himself, Donald Westlake. The Comedy is Finished is new after thirty-five years this week from Hard Case Crime.

That is all.

5 comments:

Kent said...

Hey, congrats on the impending novella from Crime Factory! That's great.

Nik was all kinds of way too generous in that podcast.

Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Paul von Stoetzel said...

It's moments like this you realize what pictures of yourself are floating around the internets. But seriously thanks Jed for the major shout out.

Sabrina E. Ogden said...

Wonderful news about Crime Factory! Congrats to you, Jed!

Anonymous said...

There's some dog-killing in my new one.

Tim Hennessy said...

Congrats Jed! Looking forward to reading the novella.