Postcards From a Dying World
News, views, book reviews and commentary from the Science Fiction and Horror fiction underground. Home of the Wonderland award nominated author of Vegan Revolution...With Zombies and Boot Boys of the Wolf Reich.
Perhaps the biggest collective gang of idiots embarrassing the human race are without any doubt the juggalos. See here:
For a month now Cari has insisted that we go take pictures and witness first hand the juggalos that live in our community. I thought it was good idea, since I have two Jugg-a-characters in my novel in progress. So here are some pictures. We got off the bus at Sixth and Burnside where the Jugg-a-line had been full effect I'm told since around noon. The side walk was sticky from faygo bottles shook and sprayed on fellow juggalos in some form of bonding or mating ritual. not sure which, further study is required.
We cross the street and circled the juggalos from a safe distance. Cari needed to use the bathroom so we choose Ground Kontrol ( classic video game Barcade). The guy checking Id's asked to see in our bags "Because of the juggalos." A gentleman came in behind us in a faded Juggalo T-shirt and I heard the bouncer say "Hey you can't come in here with that Faygo!"
After a game of Galaga, it was back to the line. We saw a group of juggalos who arm in arm posed for our camera. one extremely drunk juggalo missed out as they yelled. "Get in here Razor blades." Cari assured miss blades she would take another with here. "Get on in there Razor blades." that is Blades in the red hat in the top photo.
We saw a enterprising young group of Jugg-a-preneurs selling Faygo.
It wasn't long before we had enough and as we waited we saw a mini-van pulling with full clown painted Juggalos drive by. The line was around the block,insane. They were all chanting "Family" and honestly as stupid as I knew they were it was another thing to see them in person.
What a crazy awesome weekend to be a geek in Portland. Friday night the second to last episode of Battlestar Galattica played at the Baghdad theater. They have shown all 10 of the last episodes but this time Starbuck herself (Katie Sackoff) attended and did a Q and A. It was strange because she sat in the next row over from where Randall, Megan and I sat. Strange watching and like “oh shit there is fracking Starbuck.”
Saturday I had an old friend come into town who is a PHD student in Latin American history. Dude knows his shit about Radicalism everywhere but especially in Latin America. So when I read in the paper that Director Steven Soderberg (Traffic, Ocean’s 11 movies) was personally screening his new Che Bio pic I knew we had to go.
Mind you this is a 4 and half hour movie. Now that I have seen the movie, I can say that it is really two separate movies. Just like Kill Bill the tone of the two parts are so different. The first two hours were an off hook amazing treatment of Che’s struggle in jungles of Cuba and his stunning political show downs at the United Nations in New York.
The first film has some of the most brutal and realistic revolutionary battles scenes seen in a film since the Battle of Algeries. The non linear story structure was done perfectly to explain the man and his motivations at the time.
There was a short intermission and the second film skipped Che’s failed revolutions in Venezuela and Congo and focused his struggle in Bolivia. During the intermission we discussed Che’s crucial error was thinking what worked in Cuba could work everywhere.
In Bolivia his attempt at a Mao style peasant uprising failed to even get off the ground. Coming on the heals of a movie about the Cuba revolution it made a much less exciting of a movie that we all knew was going to end with Che being executed. I am not sure how Soderberg would have felt about this but I am personally glad that the Motorcycle Dairies had already told the story of his young life.
I couldn’t help thinking of that film as he stood at the firing squad. In the Q and A Soderberg said they had been working on the film since Traffic and intended at first just tell the story of Bolivia. That was odd to me since that was the most boring part. What the fuck do I know but everyone I talked to after the film agreed that the first film was perfect and the Boliva stuff while important could have been done in a half hour.
None the less a lot was left out, Che’s role in the post revolution Cuba most glaringly obvious. That is just too bad, the man had a lot of life to tell. Think of it this way the first film was Che’s greatest achievement and the second was his greatest failure.
Here is the real point. Between awesome Battlestar geekery, Che roadshow and our usual amazing vegan food I was reminded what I love about Portland. Even if I rode to the store on bike through hail and super strong gorge wind blowing crazy gales in my face. I feel lucky to be a nerd in this city.
* Note when I went to post the trailer I saw most places are seeing this released as two separate films. I still stand my belief that one three hour film would have been better.
So living in Portland is not perfect, riding the bus is always an adventure because the level of insane methheads that Trimet transports around the area is pretty nuts. It’s one of the reasons why people in Portland ride bikes everywhere even when it’s raining biblical style outside. I digress.
As vegan I have written at length about what a great place this city is to live in, and yes that is true. As a horror geek this is great place thanks to the HP Lovecraft film, as a metal geek we have metal night at the old school arcade ground control. We have cheap seat $3 theaters all over the city. Our theaters play classic movies on the big screen weekly.
One of them is the Baghdad Theater. Historic beautiful theater with a full balcony, yes it’s the one that Chuck Palahniuk wrote about being haunted in fugitives and refugees. Awesome theater. They have provided my inner geek with yet another reason to love living in Portland.
The Baghdad is running the last 10 episodes live on the big screen for free every Friday until it ends. Last Friday’s episode included a Q and A with the writer of the episode. Battlestar with a screaming crowd of over 1,000 dedicated geeks is fracking rad. Hearing the whole crowd yell “So say we all!” tickled my inner geek.
And wow the last episode of Battlestar was amazing. They are really kicking ass as we get to the end.
Lighthouse is a cool little farmed animal Sanctuary here in Oregon. On Saturday members of NW Veg, Try Vegan PDX and viva la vegan went down for a work party. Here are a few of the pictures I took.
Hey best friend Randall turned a quarter of a century last week. We also when to the coast and hung on the beach last week. Here are some pictures of sir Randall and the coast. It was rad you have to hike to the beach. Very cool
Food fight is a Portland based all vegan grocery store located at the Portland Vegan mini-mall. The store is awesome, picture a 7-11 run by super militant vegans. So they had a fifth birthday party last weekend. Food eating contests, a vegan mexican food truck, a velcro wall, karokee and lots of crusties.
They are awesome so go to there website and send someone you love a care package.
http://www.foodfightgrocery.com/
Photo 1: the Lettuce eating contest, they had to slam a cup of coffee first. Brutal.
Photo 2: Yes that man stuffed a whole head of lettuce in his mouth and ate in like three maybe four minutes.
Photo 3: This is super funny look close...be the abuser in the photo.
Photo 4: The woman from the los groditoes Mexican food truck (who is opening an all vegan truck soon!)won the pie eating contest. 4 pies.
Cari and I are reading at a fundraiser event for Try Vegan Week Portland. May 4th 7PM. At the Red and Black Cafe.
Featuring four Vegan authors from the northwest!
Gina Ranalli Author of 13 thorns and Suicide Girls in the Afterlife
“There are some very funny—and sacrilegious—moments (and) the author has serious things to say. But that doesn’t stop a lot of it from being irreverent and tongue-in-cheek…it’s certainly a fascinating—and for this reader, successful—experiment.” Charles De Lint on suicide girls
Kristopher Young author of Click
Click was September 2007’s Book Club Selection on Chuck Palahniuk’s official website, The Cult. “…a rare and amazing literary feat… highly personal and gut-wrenchingly real, yet surreal, dream-like and convincingly fantastic. The novel is both intuitive and masterful in execution…” -Jody Franklin, editor, Mungbeing magazine
David Agranoff author of Screams from a Dying world
"Screams from a Dying World by David Agranoff is a moving reading experience rich with descriptive prose that makes each story come alive and a subtle message that will leave you looking at the world in a whole new way. This is a welcomed addition to the horror genre." – Horrorworld
Cari Beltane Co-author of the Gutter Limits
"Imagine if Satan made a Rubik’s cube... Beltane’s stories are intricately crafted puzzles made to mystify and horrify; filled with shock, splatter and poetry. She’s either bringing art back to horror, or horror back to art." -Paul Stuart, Publisher Punk Horror press.
Sunday May 4th at the Red and Black Café( 12th and Oak) 7 PM
Also Papa G's Grand opening! Papa G's vegan organic deli will have their official grand opening Earth Day Tuesday April 22. We will offer free samples of all kinds of food as well as house made bakery goods and organic fruit. 3pm - 6pm.
1.The where’s waldo zombie. 2.Woman in wedding with pregnant belley where the belly had fingers tearing out of her tummy. 3.Punk zombie bloc interrupting world series by banging on window at sports bar. 4.Two guys came in full umbrella corp riot gear. 5.It stretched at least three city blocks – 600 zombies easy. 6.Mall locked us out. Watching hundreds of zombies pound on the locked doors of the mall was awesome. Some zombies did make it in.
“What do we want?” “Brains!” “When do we want them?” “Brains!”
Hey folks! I have good news. First off I happy to tell you that we were discussing Punk Horror Biz a few weeks ago and decided that do to the excellent critical response to my short story chapbook Screams from a Dying World, we are doubling the length for the second edition and publishing it as a trade paperback.
You can get a preview of the expanded material at the Portland second annual Vegan Holiday Fest. I’ll be reading Value Menu at a special reading during the event. It is one of my favorite vegan themed dark comedy tales. I read it on the Midwest half of the Screams book tour and it went great.
This will also be your last chance to buy the first limited chapbook edition of Screams which will be the only edition to have the story 'Normal' in it. I have only six copies left. Also you can buy the second edition in the fest silent auction and win one of the first five test copies!
The fest will have amazing food, great speakers and I can’t wait. Those of you in the northwest - I hope to see you there!
