Bad Blood is to be published in the Czech Republic (by Mlada Fronta) and in Japan (by Shogakukan). Both editions have new covers – as different from each other as they are from the UK edition.

Yesterday I made my first video. I’ve had all sorts of software to help me do this for years and years but I’ve only just managed to make something with it. The Bad Blood short film is only 33 seconds long but I made it all myself.

The voice effect is me reading the Bad Blood poem, adjusting the pitch of my voice for each character, adding an echo effect and layering the sound so that the last two lines are spoken by all three voices. I created this in GarageBand and saved the sound file. The video is a piece of film I took of the real house in the Lake District, filtered to make it look more threatening. I cut and spliced this with the sound file and the photographic images using iMovie. The images that appear are photoshopped image files, mostly taken by me but a few from copyright free images on the internet, all heavily photoshopped, filtered and then added with a ‘ken burns’ effect into the iMovie video. Finally I exported the whole thing and put the video on YouTube. The images (if anyone would like to see them as single shots) are available on Flickr here.

I’ve rated the video PG13 because it is scary. It scared me and the sound file alone scared my sister! Don’t watch it if you think you might find it too much for you.

Here’s a link to the interview I did with Polish website Carpe Noctem. There’s also to be a competition to win some of my books in Polish coming up soon.

And here’s the text for English readers:

Even though “Bad Blood” is your latest book, it was the first one that has been published in Poland. Can you say something about your other works? Which one would you recommend for someone who liked “Bad Blood”?

I write in a wide range of genres. My first books were science fiction but since then I’ve written fantasy, horror and contemporary fiction novels. Readers who liked Bad Blood might also enjoy Waking Dream, a tale of three cousins who enter a landscape of dreams, or my series that starts with Borderland, about a group of teenagers who travel between worlds.

In 2011 my next horror novel will be published in the UK and perhaps in Poland as well. It is called Ghost of a Chance and is a ghost story and detective story set in an English country house.

Why did you decide to write literature for children and young adults?

I fell into writing almost accidentally. I was writing stories for years before I realised I was a writer.  I wrote the kind of books I wanted to read and fortunately for me there were publishers who liked them as well. It wasn’t until I’d written several books that I started to write more deliberately for young adults. I still write for the kind of reader I was as a teenager and the kind of reader I am now. I like stories about change and becoming and identity: all themes that are very appropriate for teenagers.

What was it like to send a sample of your first book, “Hex”, to your mother’s agent as a seventeen years old girl and later get it accepted for publishing? How did you feel while waiting for the feedback? Were you confident or rather nervous and hopeless?

I was sending material to my mother’s agent for advice about whether to try submitting professionally, so I was hopeful that she’d find something to like. I don’t know what I expected but it came as a HUGE surprise when she offered to represent me. Then, later, Douglas Hill suggested I send my book to his editor Marion Lloyd. She was the first editor it was sent to so I wasn’t expecting much – most books have to be submitted to lots of publishers. It was wonderful when Macmillan took the book and gave me a contract for a second book as well. I had just started at university so I was very young to get a first contract straight away like that.

Did your mother encourage you to write and was she helpful? Did she give you any advice on writing?

My mother has always been very helpful and supportive. We talk to each other about our ideas and discuss tricky bits of narrative. She also gives me advice about the industry and we discuss what ideas are popular and what might be new and exciting.

Why did you decide to turn to darker fiction and write “Bad Blood”?

I like to move forward in my writing and experiment with new ideas and new styles. Bad Blood was a challenge for me. I wanted to see if I could write something frightening and bring a darker atmosphere into my work.

Is there anything particular that inspired you to write “Bad Blood”?

I went to stay in a house in the Lake District in England and was inspired by the architecture and ambiance of the house as well as by the surrounding scenery. I was staying with my family which might have inspired my use of a family as the central characters in the book.

I was really impressed by the way you used the abandoned house and eerie dolls to create dark atmosphere in “Bad Blood”. Have you ever thought about writing a full-blooded horror for adults?

I would like to write an adult novel, which might have horror elements, but I haven’t had quite the right idea yet. I have lots of notes and some text fragments for an adult novel but right now I’m having too many young adult novel ideas to work on!

Who are your favourite writers and did their works have influence on your writing?

I have definitely been inspired by Diana Wynne Jones (A Tale of Time City, Fire and Hemlock and others) and Margaret Mahy (The Changeover and The Tricksters). Another favourite author is Ursula Le Guin.  I’ve also been influenced by Alan Garner, Annie Dalton, and John Wyndam. I read so much and enjoy so many different authors that I could list hundreds of books here, so I’d better leave it at that for now. If anyone would like to know more about my influences and the writers I admire, I sometimes recommend books on my blog which can be found on my website: www.rhannonlassiter.com

A couple of weeks ago I did an essay piece and an interview with Polish website Crime in the Library.
Essay is here
Interview is here

I’ve since also been interviewed by another Polish website called Carpe Noctem. I’ll publish the details when I have them. It’s great that Bad Blood (Wykreślone imię in Polish) seems to be doing so well. This is the first time I’ve been published in Poland. If you’re a Polish visitor to my blog or website let me hear from you.

Here’s the short essay and the questions I was asked, in English, for English readers who’d like to see them.

How I wrote Bad Blood

I was staying in the Lake District in a house that belonged to a friend of the family. It was an old house with narrow staircases leading up to attic rooms with sloping walls and everywhere, against every wall and piled up in the corner of the staircases, were books. There was also a door that led into an unexpectedly large playroom. I started thinking about story ideas with hidden rooms and long buried secrets.

The story is about a blended family, two children from the mother’s side and two from the father’s. I was trying to think of names for them and came up with very similar names for the two girls: Catriona and Katherine. I thought I would have to change one of those names because readers might be confused and then I realised that in a real family there might be exactly the same confusion, especially if the two girls had very similar nicknames: Cat and Kat. I’d already been thinking about names in a more sinister context and this idea made the family dynamics come to life for me.

This is a book about the power of the imagination and about the ways in which your own mind can trick you. Each of the characters has cause to doubt themselves and to doubt each other. One is afraid she might lose her mind, another is afraid of losing her place in the family. Roland, the oldest boy, is trying to find some kind of balance for himself in a tempestuous quarrelsome group of people. Romance also plays a part in my story but I wanted to show that romantic idealism can be more romantic in the imagination than when it comes to life in reality and that love and obsession are very different emotions.

Bad Blood is a multi-layered narrative. It draws from fiction and myth and the landscape of imagination but also from a contemporary situation, modern experiences and real emotions. It’s about make-believe games but also about the beliefs we make true.

It took about two years for me to write and it wasn’t an easy book for me. There was so much I wanted to put into it and so many ways to tell the stories I wanted to tell. I think that it’s the book that’s come the closest to my ambition for it, to expressing the story I wanted to tell. It has some of the magical realism of my fantasy novels but is rooted in a real place like my contemporary fiction. Ultimately I was very pleased with how it turned out and with the critical reception it has received.

Questions and answers

Your mother is a writer. Did she make you write too?

Both my parents read to me and talked about books for as long as I can remember. Having a mother who is a writer certainly made me aware of the life of a professional writer but it wasn’t just because my mother is a writer that made me a writer too. I have two sisters and one is an architect and the other works in the theatre and although we’re all interested in books we’re not all writers.

You were very young when your first novel “Hex” was published. When did you decide to become a writer? And why?

I was just starting at university when Hex was accepted for publication. At that time I wasn’t planning to be a writer. I wrote because I enjoyed it and I submitted the book for publication because I thought it might be good enough to get published. I didn’t actually decide to be a writer until I’d been writing for over a decade – by then I couldn’t deny that I was a writer.

You live and work in Oxford. Is this town a good place for writers?

Oxford is a wonderful place to live. It’s a small city so I’m near to the countryside and it has a strong cultural, political and social life. I have friends here and my current publishing company, Oxford University Press, has offices here. There are lots of active writing and writers groups, schools and libraries to visit and two universities.

But I think that any place is good for writers. I have been inspired by all sorts of places. Bad Blood is set in the Lake District and the book is full of imagery inspired by the place I stayed and places I visited there.

You’re the author of many books (9 novels?). But we know only “Bad Blood”. Could you tell us shortly about your novels and short stories, please.

My first books were the Hex trilogy, that’s a science-fiction series about humans with a mutant ability to interface with computers. It’s a very action-based trilogy with gun fights, kidnappings, political protests and dramatic chases and escapes. In these books the hero is a young girl called Raven who is isolated from other people because of her abilities and her personality which makes her reluctant to trust anyone.

Since those books, I’ve written several different kinds of novels. My Rights of Passage series (Borderland, Outland and Shadowland) is a blend of science-fiction and fantasy about a group of teenagers who find a way to travel to other worlds. It’s in some ways a response to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series because my characters are much less honourable and self-sacrificing. Many of them see other worlds as opportunities to be exploited.

I’ve also written a magical realism novel called Waking Dream about three cousins who enter the landscape of dreams and are called on a mysterious quest which, like much of what happens in dreams, isn’t quite what it seems.

I’ve written one very contemporary fiction novel called Roundabout, set in a Traveller community which is threatened by the local government’s plans to build a roundabout where they live.

I’ve also written two shorter novels for younger readers (Super Zeroes and Super Zeroes on Planet X) about the children of a team of superheroes – and super villains. In these books the children are the real secret heroes, solving problems behind the back of their more glamorous parents.

I’ve had three short stories published in anthologies, the third anthology was Lines in the Sand: New Writing on War and Peace, a collection I co-edited with my mother Mary Hoffman. I’ve also written a non-fiction book about the supernatural.

Why do you write books for young readers? Is it more difficult to write for them than for adults?

I write the books I want to write. They’re mostly sold as young adult titles because that’s the age of the characters but I write for anyone who enjoys reading. Adults also read my books and tell me how much they’ve enjoyed them. I remember what it was like to be a teenager and I don’t think I’ve changed all that much so it’s not too difficult for me to imagine stories from the point of view of a child or teenager and to think about what might appeal to a reader that age.

I’ve not yet written a novel aimed primarily at adult readers or with completely adult characters. I’m sure I will someday, but I have to find the right story first. I don’t want to write just another book – I want to find something new to write about.

You are a professional writer now. Could you describe how is your workday looking like? Do you work every day? How long? Etc.

I currently have another job as well as writing and that’s changed the shape of my working day. But there are certain days I set aside to write. I have my own study room which I designed myself and that’s where I’m sitting now and answering these questions.

When I’m writing there are no strict rules. I might write for a couple of hours or all day and into the night. When I’m inspired with an idea it’s hard to stop writing but sometimes I don’t feel as inspired and then I might stare at a blank page of my notebook or at an empty screen for a long time, trying to find the right words.

As a writer do you have any habits/rituals? (e.g. a glass of wine for the end of work?)

I have some little rituals. One is that I always start a new novel in a different font – one that feels right for the kind of book. So sci-fi novels have sans serif fonts and fantasy ones have serif fonts. I know that sounds a little strange.

I enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a working day! I also like to phone my friends or my mother and discuss ideas with them.

What’s the quality most important to your success as a writer?

I think that what has made my books successful is that I try very hard to write characters who behave like real people, who talk to their friends or their families in a believable way. My characters aren’t natural heroes, they have doubts and fears, When they succeed it’s as much in spire of themselves as because of the qualities they possess. I think that makes them feel more real.

Do you like it when your readers are scared?

If the book is supposed to be frightening then I’m pleased that readers are scared. It’s a wonderful and terrible power to be able to frighten people with a story you’ve invented. I like it when my words achieve what I intend.

How did you get the idea for “Bad Blood”?

It was a combination of visiting an old house in the Lake District which was full of books and the surrounding scenery of the hills and fields that started me thinking of a story. I think of story ideas all the time but this one kept growing the more I thought about it.

What do you think are the basic ingredients of this story?

It’s a story about families and about identity, about claiming your own name and your own vision of yourself. It’s also a story about books and about imagination and ideas that you can get carried away with, frightening thoughts and nightmares that you can’t let go of.

Do you like the cover of “Bad Blood”?

I do. I think it’s a very dark strong cover that makes people want to find out more about the book.

What do you like to read? What is your favorite genre? What are your favorite books? Which authors dominate your bookshelves?

I will read almost anything but my favorite genre is science fiction. I like writing which stretches the imagination and explores the boundaries of possibility. One of my favorite books is The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. It’s a complex story of science and politics and war told in an unusual way. I admire Le Guin very much and have lots of her books. I also enjoy Diana Wynne Jones and own almost all the books she’s written. A Tale of Time City is one of my favorites; it’s full of imagination and humor and drama all at once. I have many books by Isaac Asimov, Stephen Brust, Alan Garner, Tanith Lee, Terry Pratchett, Melanie Rawn, Neal Stephenson, Joan D. Vinge and Vernor Vinge and John Wyndam.

I list books I own on the website Library Thing. You can see more about my favorite authors and how I’ve rated books there.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

I probably admire really good literary fiction (of any genre) the most. I’ve been inspired by books like The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

What are you working on now? What’s your writers plan?

I’m revising a book called Ghost of a Chance, a ghost story for Oxford University Press and I’m deciding what type of book to work on next. I have ideas for a book about an ecological community and for one about princesses.

What do you do when you don’t write?

When I’m not writing I like to read! I also play computer games: everything from The Sims to Unreal Tournament.

Do you like to meet with readers of yours books? Does reader feedback help you?

Of course! I love to hear from readers. People can contact me through my web page, my Facebook or on other social network sites. I like to know what people thought of my books and the particular parts they enjoyed. I find criticism helpful too when it comes from someone who has really thought about the book.

When will you arrive to Poland?

When I’m invited! I’d love to visit Poland and perhaps if I’m lucky my publishing company will be able to organize a visit.

“The Cisco Kid” (1972) by War. No sure why this song gets on my nerves, but every time I hear it, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.

I haven’t heard this song in awhile, but it was one of the songs that a team danced to on Dancing with the Stars. I was searching for my remote to mute the TV, but I was to late, it was already stick in my head!

The Cisco Kid was a friend of mine
The Cisco Kid was a friend of mine
He drink whiskey, Poncho drink the wine
He drink whiskey, Poncho drink the wine

Those words have been stuck in my head! Over and over again!

What is strange about this is that I like War song “Summer” (1976). Can you like and dislike songs from the same group?

Since I’m naming songs that get on my nerves, here are a couple of more songs that have the same effect on my as “Cisco Kid”:

• “Bad Blood” (1975) by Neil Sedaka and Elton John

• “Follow Me” (2000) by Uncle Kracker

• “Cotton Eye Joe” 1994 by Rednex

• “Swingin’” (1982) by John Anderson

• “The Lady in Red” by Chris DeBurgh (my friend Rita and I feel the same way about this song!)

• And here is another song by War — “Spill The Wine” (1970)

(Click on the song title so you can “enjoy” these songs as much as I do.)

I have to stop now because I have had this song stuck in my head!

Talk about tawdry! This is one of Hitt’s “amoral women” novels (like Burlesque Girl, Teaser, Carny Honey, Campus Tramp, Gang-up, Ex-Virgin), and the young lady, Joy, is one soul-less, greedy little tramp/bitch/slut…although, is it really her fault or her step (or adopted) father’s doing after raping her?

Joy Flame is from “bad blood” — her father Sam married her mother, but her mother was pregnant with another man’s child, and when Joy was two, she took off with yet another man who later murdered her.  Joy is left in the care of Sam Flame, her “father” but not biologically…

When she was 16, Sam tried to have sex with her but fights him off. He says he’ll never do it again although he lusts for her and tells other people he has had her, which is untrue…  

Joy is dating Bill, who works with Sam in construction in the small town Croton.  Bill has been giving her $10 a week to put in the bank, money for when they’ll get married.  She refuses to sleep with Bill until they are married.  She is 21 now.

One night, taking a long sensual bath, Joy steps out of the tub and Sam comes in, drunk, determined to have her.  They debate the issue for pages, which is a strange read, and then he takes her.  The first time is rape. A fire boils inside her, fire and desire, a need for more sex, and they fuck all night at her instigation.  Have they really committed incest when he’s not a blood relation?  But he did raise her alone…

Joy goes to see the doctor to find out if she’s pregnant.  The doctor tells her she has a physical issue and cannot have babies.

Then she finds out that the man she wanted to marry, Bill, has been seeing a teenager girl on the side and has knocked her up.  The girl wants Joy to take their savings — $250 — out and pay for an abortion.  She refuses. She tells Sam he will have to marry the girl. Bill claims it’s her fault for not giving him sex and that pisses her off.

Joy feels betrayed — betrayed by men for her father taking her virginity and Bill cheating on her, betrayed by God for being unable to get pregnant.  She figures if she never has to worry about getting in the family way, she will have as much sex as with as many men as she can, and she will make them pay for it all.  She desires to ruin and destroy all men for their lust over her body.  She also decides she has her mother’s bad woman blood in her and will be true to her genetics.

Sam gets in a car crash and is paralyzed, his legs useless.  She figures this is divine karma for what he did to her.  Not only did he rape her, he set her off on her desire for sex.  She becomes promiscuous — she seduces the man who owns the diner she works with, convincing him to give her $2,000 in the safe for a real estate scheme Bill has cooked up, although she intends to double-cross both men and take off with the money.  She robs a drunk trucker who picks her up for a ride, only to later make him her lover because he’s a “big stud” and can satisfy her sexual needs, unlike her boss or Bill or any other men she seduces.

She is on a rampage using and ruining men, feeling justified because their view of her as a sex object is, in her mind, vile, so she has simply turned the table.

She gets hers in the end, so this is a moral tale…it’s much more “sleaze” factor than other Hitt books.  We have so sympathy for  Joy — she’s a heartless strumpet who deserves bad things coming to her.

Saber Books tended to publish books with incest themes. I wonder if this one is a Beacon/Kozy reject, if even Chariot or Novel Books didn’t want to publish it, so Hitt turned to Saber… or if he knew Saber would let him push the envelope so he gave it a whirl. Hitt only did one book with Sanford Aday’s Saber.   From what I have read, Saber didn’t pay much to writers, and their product was cheap and shabby: tiny print, thin paper, weak spine. The tiny tiny print of this 145 page is annoying and hard to read — surely Saber could have spent some extra for bigger type and a 180 page book.

Also, I would like to think Hitt wrote this as dark comedy, as pastiche of the genre of the “bad wanton,”  because at times it’s a bit over-the-top and ridiculous. The characters are not as developed as in some Hitt books, but Hitt does let us listen to Joy’s inner monologues as she justifies her bad actions.

Interesting book, nonetheless.

Bad Blood: Polish cover

Bad Blood was published in Poland by W.A.B. Publishers. The title is Wykreślone imię (Crossed Out Name). The publication date is 23 September 2009.

Leos Carax, a director I’ve been interested in looking into for a while now, has crafted a rather bizarre film with Mauvais sang. Being my first Carax film, I didn’t know what to expect of his style, so I was all the more shaken and pleasantly stirred by this amalgam of stylistic flourishes. The film combines elements of a few different genres, most surprisingly of which includes sci-fi, to elevate and complicate its seemingly simple central love triangle. Carax conjures a bleak looking portrait, replete with many blacks, blues and reds across a dystopian cityscape. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of work went into building, painting and decorating the sets for this, so the film not only appeals technically, the two lead females, played by the beautiful Julie Delpy, and the gorgeous Juliette Binoche, carry plenty of appeal themselves. There’s something Tarantino-esque about this film as it seems to carry its influences on its sleeve, and how Carax managed to pull all of the stylistic interjections off without making them feel too contrived and amateurish is quite the feat.

In July we introduced Bad Blood by The Wiitala Brothers, an emerging lo-fi outfit from Chicago. “Lo-fi” is a pretty good description of their promotional efforts as well: we linked to their Myspace page, their Pure Volume page , and their Second Wave Music page, none of which editorialize very much. When the band submitted us a copy of their LP for a full tMiM review, the press kit and conversation that followed went down a similar path.

To distill their off-camera message into a single sentence is easy: we let the music do the talking.

We certainly appreciate the sentiment. Taylor Swift’s microphone is safe around these guys, and that’s a good thing. Yet it would be an impressive task indeed for a music review to let the music do all the talking.

Instead, let’s begin with a list of what their music does not. It does not come with a free molotov cocktail with every purchase. It does not require its own technical support manual. It does not necessitate putting together eleven musicians to perform live. Quite the contrary: the name of the band is literal (Christopher and Trevor are twin brothers). The name of the the LP just might be literal, too. Just take a look at the album cover, or the lyrics sheet:

I’m tired of living
I don’t have the strength to live
I’m tired of holding on
By a single thread
Empty words are all I have

So while Bad Blood won’t incite civil disobedience or answer the question of mind-body dualism, it just might break your heart. And isn’t that why we listen to music in the first place?

As for the present reviewer, his favorite track is “Hold Tight,” quoted above, and we probably have the video to thank for that. The clip, embedded below, shows just how deeply the brothers have pared it all down: Christopher on vocals. Guitar. Tambourine. Trevor on drums. Sparse, aching vocals. Minimal instrumentation. In this setting, the simple drum lick seems relentless. Among all this, the lyrics and the phrasing are actually quite chilling:

One first thing you notice about Hey Rosetta! are Tim Baker’s everyman vocals. The impression is probably wrong, but the perception is difficult to push aside: Baker sounds as if he discovered one morning he could really, really sing, and then went straight to the studio, formed a band, and started recording. Christopher Wiitala’s vocals are familiar in quite the same way: accessible, credible, not for sale. “Face the Wind” reveals an anxious and curious narrator; the title track, a genuinely sad one. And although they are far too young to remember Motown — they’re barely old enough to remember President Reagan, for that matter — “Nothing Left To Say” is peppered with old soul, subtle and restrained.

That is probably the best word to use to describe The Wiitala Brothers: restrained. They are experienced and talented musicians, no question, and Christopher’s angst becomes our angst, his sadness becomes ours. But they don’t overseason the recipe, they season just the right amount. Bad Blood is another example of how the windy city doesn’t just produce a lot of hot air.

* * *

Do you remember your best moment musically? If you were to ask me the same question, I could tell you without a moment’s hesitation. One night after a sunset hike in Africa, my then-fiancée and I came upon a campfire and a local family. The little girl was dancing, the father was drumming, and the mother was playing some kind of homemade stringed instrument. My old lady and I were exhausted by every measure: physically, mentally, psychologically. We were ten time zones away from home and roasting in our own skin in late December. Our day packs weighed as much as any of these players, so we put the packs down for a time and just listened. Watched. After taking it in for a beat too long we left some local currency in the tip jar, and it no doubt fed the three of them for a day. I hated to leave.

After hearing this story you would never think of asking me the genre of music, or asking me to list some of their musical influences or comparisons. Minimalist? Absolutely. Indie? Sure. Alternative. Certainly. Rock? Not really. Experimental? That all depends. Lo-fi? Most certainly. But you would never ask to begin with. You would just listen, and let the music do the talking.

BAD BLOOD
DAVILA 666 (from Puerto Rico, on In the Red)
MIDNITE SONS

Wednesday, September 23
Skull Alley
1017 E. Broadway
7 PM
$6, all ages

(Bad Blood photo by Darren Rappa.)
BAD BLOOD is one of Louisville’s finest rock combos, rocking a fertile mix of garage rock n’ blues to acclaim all over this fine city. BAD BLOOD features Dave Bird (of Rude Weirdo and the Health and Happiness Family Gospel Band), and The Hort, among other fantastically rockin’ fellas. They self-released an excellent four-song EP earlier this spring, available now at ear X-tacy.

Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, DAVILA 666 is one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll attractions in the country. Over the past two years, they have amassed a large local following and their shows have a reputation as must-see spectaculars. A DAVILA 666 set functions almost like a theatrical event, as the band presents a thematic environment in which viewers are called to interact with props and exotic dancers. According to singer Carlitos, “Davila is a living homage to the sex, drugs, and good times of rock ‘n’ roll we all idolize.” Their sound is the combination of obvious rock ‘n’ roll classics like the Stones, Stooges, Velvets, and Dolls, along with less likely influences such as Mazzy Star, Li’l Wayne, and Plan B. “We are like Menudo (the group– not the soup) on lots of drugs,” says Carlitos. DAVILA 666, whose name combines references to a notorious Bayomon city slum with the number of the beast, recently toured the West Coast, where they made fans in every town they played and alliances with like-minded bands such as The Spits, Black Lips, and The King Khan & BBQ Show. All of their songs are sung in their native Spanish but that doesn’t stop English-speaking audiences from dancing on tables and going crazy at their shows.

MIDNITE SONS are a new trio featuring Evan Blesset, Joey Mudd (ex-Crain, Crawdad, Spot, Cerebellum, Pale Blue Star), and Matt Sturgis. MIDNITE SONS had their debut at the Fright Night Film Fest in Louisville in August 2009, and word-of-mouth about their primal blues-rock roar is steadily growing around town.

Check out the Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267385660787.

For more information, check http://othersideoflife.wordpress.com/upcoming-events. To join our email list, send an email to hstencil@gmail.com.

Sachin Tendulkar is not fit for Twenty20 cricket since he is neither inventive nor fearless, according to former Australia coach John Buchanan. Buchanan does not doubt the Mumbaikar’s greatness in Test and ODI formats but the former Kolkata Knight Riders coach insists Twenty20 is just not Tendulkar’s cup of tea.

“Tendulkar has been lauded, and rightly so, as one of the very top batsmen in the history of cricket…But is he an effective T20 player at this stage of his career?” questioned the former Australia coach in his latest book ‘The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20′.

“In the position he plays — as an opener of No. 3 – the T20 game requires not only the finesse and skills he has, but also the power and domination, an ability to take the bowlers on while being creative.

“You have to be inventive and fearless. And I don’t see those qualities as part of Sachin’s make-up at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player but not in this arena of T20,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan felt the performance of Tendulkar and a few other senior players in this format has been rather “subdued”. “…homegrown heroes such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman…were expected to influence, and on some occasions single-handedly win, IPL matches,” Buchanan said.

“Yet their subdued performances highlight that Test match temperament does not necessarily ensure prolonged success in the T20 game,” Buchanan said.He in fact went on to say that the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman were unfit for cricket’s shortest format.

“I was constantly battling with the fact that I believed he (Ganguly) along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman was not suited to T20 cricket,” he said. “The same could be said about Rahul Dravid. Dravid is a great representative of Indian cricket, a team man, humble, a well-spoken gentleman.

“But unfortunately he could not score a single run in the early rounds of the IPL, and in my opinion, is not suited to this form of the game.

About Laxman, Buchanan said “he is not up to pace”. Buchanan likened Ganguly to Australian great Ian Chappell and said, “Ganguly was the model for the new breed of confident and combative Indian cricketers. Ganguly showed that Indian cricket could stand up for itself. He is similar in that way to Ian Chappell who stood up for what he believed and was not afraid to take on the administration,” he said.

On the other hand, Buchanan felt Ganguly was always comparing himself with Australian greats like Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

“He has an inquisitive mind and wanted to know all about Ponting, Warne and McGrath. I sensed he was measuring himself against them, checking to make sure that his methods were comparable to that of the greats of the game,” he noted.

Even though his multiple-captaincy idea at Knight Riders created bad blood and Ganguly was eventually sacked form the captain’s job, Buchanan described their relationship as cordial.

“How did I perceive him? Well, we never had any major disagreements. I think our relationship was extremely cordial…I enjoyed working with him, even though I believed all along that he was not the right person to be captain,” he said.

I’ve got my hands full with a finicky interweb and work deadlines, so here’s your no-frills recommendation for the day: Bad Blood by The Wiitala Brothers. Their Myspace page is here, Pure Volume page here, and Second Wave Music page here. And how sounds this twosome? Czech it out yourself:

That’s “Hold Tight” from the new LP.

Claim to fame: Dorchester Publishing has included part of my review on their page for A. J. Menden’s Tekgrrl. Only a few words, but I’m credited for them

New book deal: From here: Erica Hayes’s Shadowsong, in which a knife-wielding banshee gangster’s quest for revenge on the assassin who ruined her life is interrupted when a deluded fairy sorceress steals her magical song, again to Rose Hilliard at St. Martin’s, in a two-book deal, by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency (World). And I’m happy to announced I received an ARC of Erica’s first novel, Shadowfae, during the week. I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing it soon

Cover art: I’ve fallen drastically behind on posting covers. For now, I’m only posting the ones I HAVEN’T seen plastered everywhere, but I don’t follow as many other book blogs as I used to. Sorry in advance if you’ve already seen these, and I’m clogging up your blog feed.

Covers
Kelley Armstrong: Stolen (US)
Anya Bast: Wicked Enchantment
Lexxie Couper: Death, the Vamp and His Brother
Jeaniene Frost: One Foot in the Grave (UK)
Nancy Holzner: Deadtown
Stacey Jay: My So-Called Death
Mari Mancusi: Bad Blood
Liz Maverick: Crimson & Steam
Cheyenne McCray: No Werewolves Allowed
Alexander Gordon Smith: Lockdown (US)
Maria V. Snyder: Poison Study (AU)
Laurie Faria Stolarz: Black Is for Beginnings
Skyler White: And Falling, Fly

At this time I will share with you the quintessential 15 X-Files episodes that you must see, and are my favorites (in order of season within which they appear). Note: none of these are part of the overarching conspiracy storyline(which is summed up by Chris Carter in this illegal copy of the hidden track from the x-files album), which I do like, but don’t think it constitutes the shows best episodes. You can probably enjoy these at this website, until it gets taken down:

1. Squeeze and Tooms (2 part series): These two episodes track a genetically mutated man who can eat livers, use some kind of bodily substance to build a cocoon, and extend his life by 30 years at a time (if I remember correctly). It’s super creepy, and when I was a kid, I found it quite (pleasantly, upon reflection) disturbing. Note: the man can squeeze through things like an octopus; in other words, be afraid of your toilet. There are plenty of other good moments in season 1, but I think (besides the Jersey Devil one, where the sexual tension is at high, and the Pilot where Skully gets naked for Mulder) it’s my favorite.
2. War of the Coprophages (Also Season 3): This is underrated in my opinion. I love it because of the sexual tension. Basically, Mulder investigates something and Skully decides not to come, but when Mulder finds an attractive girl who likes cockroaches more than humans, Skully gets jealous. It’s pretty brilliant. I won’t spoil the ending, but it does involve an eccentric and secluded old cranky mechanical engineer turned inventor.
3. Jose Chung’s From Outer Space (Season 3): This is an instant classic. It’s unbelievably meta. It’s a story about a man investigating a UFO abduction for a book and trying to decide on the story for it. In the process we even get to hear the story from the aliens perspective (sorta), there is a second alien race that lives at the center of the earth and has massive orgies, there are men in black, and Mulder eats like an entire pie at a diner. It’s so crucial. If you only watch one, I’d suggest this one.
4. Home (Season 4): If you haven’t heard about this episode, then you probably haven’t heard much about the X-Files. It always comes up. The show was aired only twice on fox, once when in its normal slot, and another time during a special Halloween showing where it was given a TV-MA rating (and no doubt Fox had to pay a bunch of money to the FCC). It’s about an imbred family, and rivals the original “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in horror. I won’t spoil it, but if you want to be freaking creeped, check it.
5. Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (Season 4): I sure wish they kept his name as “cancer man,” it sounds way more bad-ass. Anyway, this is another one I think is pretty underrated. It’s told as a story from two of the Lone Gunman (hackers and engineers who distribute a subversive magazine about conspiracies as a hobby), which already gets it high up on my list of favorites. It reveals a lot of awesome back story that involved the background mythology of the television show; like for instance, the Cancer Man is responsible for several nationally recognized assassinations of major American public figures.
6. The Usual Suspects (Season 5): I really only included this because it explains Mulder’s association with the Lone Gunman, a group of individuals who eventually got their own spin off show.
7. The Post-Modern Prometheus (Season 5): In all black in white, this is a TV replica of David Lynch’s Elephant Man (which I recently watch and enjoyed very much). In fact, until today when I looked it up on the internet, I was convinced it was co-directed by him (it wasn’t to my research, and makes much more sense because it’s too funny to be D.L.). Also, it takes place in Bloomington, Indiana—home of Indiana University (holler). That, and it’s got a great song by Cher in it, and a cameo by Jerry Springer.
8. Pusher and Kitsunegari (Season 3 and Season 5): I included these two episodes because they are some of the cooler psychological-thriller, real FBI, type episodes. Just really enjoyable stuff, quite suspenseful.
9. Bad Blood (Season 5): This another one of my favorites. It’s a comedy one, and features Luke Wilson. The story is told from several perspectives (similar to Jose Chung’s), which is where a lot of the comedy comes from. Hands down, another brilliant one. If you don’t want to be scared, and just want to have fun, then watch this one and Jose Chung’s first (though there are a couple other funny ones, too). This is Gillian Anderson’s favorite, too, in case you were wondering.
10. Dreamland (Season 6, two part series): Another funny, and quite genius, set of episodes. In these Mulder switches bodies with a middle-aged man having a mid-life crisis. Another comedic one, maybe not the best, but certainly a couple more of my favorites, no less.
11. Arcadia (Season 6): Another funny one (you can see where my favorites lie). The comedy is quite absurd. Mulder and Skully must pretend to be suburban newlyweds in a planned community. Need I say more? My favorite line: “Woman! Get back in the kitchen and make me a samwich!” Too bad about Skully’s lab equipment, and Mulder get’s in trouble for playing basketball at night.
12. The Unnatural (Season 6): This was the hardest one for me to choose because I was debating about two other episodes in the season that I also enjoy (the Christmas episode “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas,” and “Monday,” which would have been self-indulgent because its about time travel). But, this one is crucial. It marks DD’s (David Duchovny’s) director and writer debut. It’s funny, and also has a warm feeling to it. It’s a real nice story about some aliens who just want to play baseball, and there’s a little bit of old-fashioned cinematic time travel in there, too.
13. Field Trip (Season 6): Ever wonder about the mysterious power of mushrooms? Well, Mulder and Skully found out just what they can do. They end up hallucinating, I’ll say that much.
14. X-Cops (season 7): I almost didn’t include this one, because I haven’t seen it in a ridiculously long time. However, a friend (Liz) told me it was good, and I love the creative use of the reality-TV aesthetic. Anyway, I threw this one in, obviously.
15. Je Souhaite (Season 7): Mulder finds a genie in a carpet and gets three wishes. Believe it! Well, he wishes for world peace. But in the end, the episode has a tight philosophical punch. A great one to end my favorites with. The title is French for “I Wish.” (Edit: Liz specified, this one is WAY cheesey, you should be warned)

So, that’s the fruit of years of television research. I’ve got two more posts in the works, and a lot of time to work on them, so expect them soon.

I want to believe.

I’m so thankful that Middle Tennessee made it through the monsoon today without anybody getting seriously hurt.

Whenever it rains like this, I always think of this lovely memory by the great Neil Sedaka…

As I was scrolling through the Sedaka videos on YouTube, I came across this gem.  It is Neil and Andy Gibb singing “Bad Blood” on a Dick Clark special.  If you young whippersnappers want to see why some of us had such a huge crush on Andy back in the day, just forward this clip to approx. 1:20 and feast your eyes.  Yes, the audio and video are completely out of sync, but who cares?  lol  It is also amazing how much Andy looks and sounds like Barry here, too!  Ah, memories…

More Feel Good Friday with jane q. public, Ron, monstermash40, Miss Sharon Cobb, Holly, Newscoma, Jim Voorhies, Mack, KristenT, Cabbage Babble, GoldnI, Nashvillest, Nashville is Talking, and many more!

With the SXSW having showcased a billion bands, with just about every new band from both sides of the Atlantic, plus a few from further afield, the blogs are queueing up to jump on the following wave of hype. A decent showcase at the Austin party can bring a tsunami of interest, so we at The Recommender are poised to find plenty of great new acts in the coming weeks and months. In the mean time we’ve a trio of new bands listed below to slide under your radar… 

BEAR HANDS
Since the prolific and massive impact of the band MGMT there was bound to be plenty of pretenders to the sound. It would be too easy to shelve Bear Hands under that same shelf and swiftly dismiss them, but with a little patience you will find that their inventive and creative music has plenty tucked away inside it that you will enjoy. The Brooklyn 4-piece chime out positively charged and tuneful Indie Pop. Delicately lo-fi and melodic, it’s  full of funky breaks and bass. We have totally fallen for them here at The Recommender. It’s catchy, yet rammed with quality and light lyrics. Songs build and burst into great choruses. Their live set is supposed to be great too, so no doubt they’ll return from the American SXSW Festival with plenty of chatter behind them. If MGMT are indeed their marker, then the blogs are sure to get whipped up. Thanks for the heads up has to go to Storme WG  for this…

Find them here:       Myspace

Hear them here:      BEAR HANDS – BAD BLOOD         (ysi)

CUBA CUBA
This is the finest act to appear from ‘across the bridge’ in bloody ages! The Welsh 5-piece have been together since 2007 and are now starting to rightfully get some national notice. In no small part thanks to fellow Welshman Huw Stephens Radio One showgiving them a thumbs up. Still unsigned, although that’s bound to soon change, they are planning to commit to a debut release later on in 2009. Their sound is all lively guitar riffs and a whirlwind of drums. Packed full of bright energy with verses that often come with just the bass and beat, before crashing into a packed-out sound. They’re not re-inventing the rock wheel here, sounding perhaps uncomfortably close to The Automatic, (yuck!), but also bringing us that American influence to the UK sound in the same way Maximo Park or The Futureheads have done in recent years. There’s still lots to enjoy here, with a flick of some keys and an echoing vocal layer that brings plenty to the table. Sit up and take note.

Find them here:      Myspace

Hear them here:      CUBA CUBA – FOUNTAINS         (ysi)

THE LAUGHING
With one EP, Jungle, already released they are due to complete their debut album in 2009. Any triumphant return from a showcase at the SXSW Festival, to add to their Ear Farm Blog tip for a ‘break through 2009′, and this 4-piece could be set for good things this year. With Austin being such a famous host to the biggest new music festival the world has to offer it should come as no surprise that a batch of bands should emerge from the Texan city. The Laughing are proudly one that cities exports. They bring us a magical jangle of sounds, with rattling tom toms and pitched guitars, amongst echoing vocals and strange tempo’s. They are original and experimental, or should that just be -mental. Either way there’s plenty of melody and choruses amongst the madness for you to fall for and that makes them worthy of a Recommender posting. See what you think…

Find them here:        Myspace

Hear them here:       THE LAUGHING – PARADISE         (ysi)

As the SXSW fallout continues to reach our nets at The Recommender we will be sure to lovingly point you in the right direction. Check back here real soon for loads more magical new sounds…
Mike

Just like last month’s dust up this one was brewing for many a year.  But this dust up is different in the sense that it involves one of the holy grails of bigfootery, dermal ridges.  Those second and higher level “Bigfooter Researchers” should be aware of the concept of dermal ridges, Chilcutt found them on casts and pointed to them as a characteristic that is not hoaxable, little known (at the time) and indicative of the real deal – a primate’s footprint.  Bigfootery was stirred to amazing heights with this news, a science based finding by a trained individual, it was one of the holy grails that was sought to legitimize bigfoot as a living, breathing, track-laying, moon-braying, sand bar sashaying, WOOOOOOO!!   Sorry, I think I was channeling the Nature Boy Ric Flair there for a moment.  Anyways, the discovery of dermal ridges was big news, finally another small slice  of science had dribbled into bigfootery.

But then came along a guy name Crowley…Mr. Crowley, dun, din, din, dun,  Opps, now channeling Ozzy.  Matt Crowley did some experimentation  and came to a different conclusion that was viewed by some as heresy, that the casting process could at times leave an artifact that looked surprisingly like said dermal ridges.  His conclusion was that a process called desiccation could create voids and cause the substrate supporting  the track to pull casting materials into ridges.  In the simplest terms, desiccation is the process where water is wicked out of a substance, in this case casting materials, compacts the remaining solids in the casting material, and thus creates a ridge like effect.

And now cue  Mellissa Hovey, a gal set on rising to the heights of bigfootery in the fastest of ways.  Some called her a groupie, she seemed to gravitate to fourth level “Bigfoot Researchers” and attempt to wow them in various ways.  Readers may remember Hovey from her involvement in the 2008 Top Bigfootery stories, especially the one entitled SEX.   In my opinion, Hovey set out to use the dermal issue as a notch in her bigfoot belt, after all discrediting someone who had brought doubt to one of the holy grails of bigfootery would be quite an accomplishment.    Good for bigfootery street cred, raise her visibility and popularity, a triple threat.  Her spin on this is that she wanted to learn and do the science, but experiments with an agenda, a desired conclusion and lack of direct replication is not science.

Hovey began posting a series of articles on her findings, parts of which no longer see the light of day in the internet world, even when various cache and archiving sites are referenced to dig them up.  For example, the links in the italics section below do not work, and that particular website blocks archiving bots.  Her conclusions were that she could not replicate the same artifacts of Crowley, therefore his methodology must have been flawed.  Certain tribes of bigfootery celebrated her pseudoscience and conclusion as taking the tarnish off the grail and restoring it to grandeur.   Squatchapedia, a so-so attempt to do a wiki for sasquatch, heralded: AIBR/TBRC member Melissa Hovey endeavored to replicate Crowley’s described procedures, but was unable to obtain the same results, as described in brief articles here and here. 

Crowley countered pointing out deficiencies in her methodology, logic  and conclusions.  Others attempted his experiment and replicated the results, one even found the features in other casts.  Others found artifacts in casts she claimed did  not have them.  Uh oh, the plan to remove the tarnish had not worked, in fact it had attracted others to do replication and study casts,  instead of “casting”  aside doubts they were growing deeper and wider.

And then things got strange, even for the world of bigfootery.  Hovey resulted to accusations of dishonesty against Crowley, par bigfootery spin when on the attack.  There was even questions of how Crowley acquired volcanic materials and if he had violated law by collecting those materials.  Crowley put an end to the latter accusation by producing sales receipts, catalogs and the like.  The hissing continued, with Hovey first attempting to clarify and claim the high ground, then vowing she was done with the subject, attempting to throw the victim card on the table, and then returning to the debate on her own forum in a matter of  a day or two. 

Has the dust settled?  Nope, sides are being picked.  Name calling has escalated, at least among the Hoveyites, and mud (not sure if it is made of authentic onion mountain soil)  is fully being slung.  

My bottom line on dermal ridges, Crowley and others have demonstrated a problem with the casting process.  This problem can be overcome with a sealant spray.  My perspective on the science aspect is that saying artifacts that look like dermal ridges and dermal ridges can exist on the same cast, while possible, will be torn to shreds by critical thinkers.  After all, is there an expert who can tell the difference and want to defend their ability to make that distinction? 

And that is February’s dust up.  Bigfootery gold already, and it is not played out (a prospector term) yet.

Here’s Crowley’s articles.

Here’s Hovey’s articles.

Discussion posts from Crowley are here.

Hovey’s bigfootery gold posts are here, read deep and into the second page for the good stuff. 

… here is what I have uncovered.

Littleberry Adkins the son of Parker Adkins and his wife Nancy Adkins daughter of Mary Adkins and (Jacob Harley) were married on 29 May 1790 in Franklin, Virginia. Together they had 9 children. One of which; a daughter named Christena Adkins (1805-1884 VA) married David Daniel Fry (1801-1884) son of Peter and Mary Ann Johnston Fry. And together, they had 6 known children. One Mary aka Polly 1836 married late, if at all. She was still living at home at the age of 44. I don’t have a marriage license yet for her nor found a document that said, Parker had a son named Parker. Their two older children Andrew Jackson Adkins and Hezekiah Fry Adkins are believed to be from a previous marriage. No documents found to support that.

I have read many books with references to them and thousands of documents from Virginia and I haven’t found one that shows Parker son of William having a son Parker Adkins. As a result of this; on my family tree, I’ve never married him off to either sister. I have a lot of notes on them. But until I get the documents, a will or census, tax records something, I don’t add them.

Also, I did email the other tree owners about removing the Fry from Mary Alexander’s last name. I have hyphenated it on mine, due to a possible second marriage reference I found. On my tree it will stay that way; since I have found the wills. I try to put a copy of my findings on this blog as they appear with the reference they were placed.

Now for Tecumseh Peekishnoah And Margurette Ice Tecumseh he married 3^rd wife White Wing Nancy “Big Nancy” Cornstalk (daughter of father Nenpemeshequa-Wneypuechsika-Stout Man-Young Chief Cornstalk son of Keigh-taugh-quah Hokoleskwa Cornstalk and 1^st wife Helizikinopo and mother Elizabeth Catherine See) after she ran off with him. This is Ohio and we have a lot of material on Tecumseh. Did I get anything wrong here?

We welcome all facts, opinions, reference articles and documents (even rumors at this point) as I’m sure if you have read “ALL” of the Adkins’ and Parker’ posts on this blog, you already know. We’re all just searching for the facts here.

Bring it!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am addicted to e-mail. Is there a support group for people like me?” …Sound familiar?