TV'S JAZZ DETECTIVE ON DVD - FINALLY!

I'm sorta stoked for this one. Years ago, I bought bootleg copies of the TV series "Johnny Staccato" on DVD so when I saw the announcement that it was going to be officially released October 12, I was ecstatic.It centered on Johnny Staccato, (played by legendary actor and director John Cassavetes) an ex-jazz pianist/private detective who finds himself drawn into cases where his distaste for crime, criminals and injustice is put to test. The setting...

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DOES IT GET ANY COOLER THAN THIS??

Lord... What happened to these vintage-looking ads? Where have all the cool dudes gone? The year was 1966 and Connery was also promoting his film "A Fine Madnes...

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THE HOUSE OF CARDS (#spokensunday)

Yup, I went back to that damned proverbial well again. "The House of Cards," my entry for this week's #SpokenSunday, can be found HERE.And don't forget to join all the fun on Twitter below...

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TEARS FROM THE SECOND LINE (#friday flash)

Click play for some mood music Music: "The Rebirth Marching Jazz Band - When the Saints Go Marching in" Download it HERE.Note: Five years after Hurricane Katrina, this is my requiem.Antoine polished his bone, pointed it to the sky and blew. It had been rough five years since the levees broke and there wasn't a single solitary day that went by that he didn't think about it. Or feel the aftermath. But they say the show -- or parade -- must go on. So...

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WE'RE SSOOOOOOOOOO CREEPY (WITH A TWIST)

The eclectic Deanna Schrayer at the wonderful blog The Other Side of Deanna has bestowed us with the Creative Writer Blogger Award -- With a Creepy Twist. I humbly accept and thank her. I also want to apologize for getting to this so late.Here are the rules to accepting the award:1. Thank the person who gave this to you.2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.3. Link to the person who nominated you.4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself,...

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OVER A HAMBURGER (#spokensunday)

"Over a Hamburger," my #SpokenSunday entry for this week can be found HERE. Some have already seen this already when I posted it last year.As always, thanks for listening and join the rest of the Spoken Sunday fun on Twitter bel...

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SEVEN MEALS FROM ANARCHY (#fridayflash)

Click play for some mood music WEEK ONEWe've been worried all this time about 'The End.' We've fucking endured everything from Reagan's Cold War paranoia to crazy Arabs blowing everything to bits - including themselves. As I write this, I find funny that 'The End' probably doesn't come from a war or a bomb. It very well may have started out as a pig virus in Mexico.Last Summer, The CDC said it would be here by October and they were right. I don't...

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14 FAMOUS MAN CAVES OF WRITERS AND LEADERS

Hemingway's writing room.Ah, the man cave...We creative types all need one (even of you're a chick). It's a place where we feel at ease. At home. Calm. A place where we can kick up our feet. We throw around ideas. Pace the room. Have a drink. Maybe watch a little TV, read a book or in modern times, peruse our favorite blogs.In the past, some dudes may have had a workshop or exiled to the garage (poor SOBs). At the end of the day, though, the man...

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BUK BITS: 'THE HAUNTED VAGINA,' FAMOUS LAST LINES and ELAINE KOSTER RIP

IS THERE A CREAM FOR THAT?: You know how they say there's a book out there for everyone?Try this one on for size: "The Haunted Vagina"?It centers on some dude named Steve and his girlfriend, Stacy — who has a haunted vagina. Apparently it doesn’t seem to bother Stacy, but Steve can’t get over the odd noises and zombies coming out of her vagina, so he crawls inside to check it out. Bizarro Fiction at its most... uh .... bizarre. Check out more ridiculous...

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ELVIS PRESLEY DEAD 33 YEARS TODAY

'Thank-you very much...'As we celebrate the birthday of Bukowski, today also marks the 33rd anniversary of the death of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley.The King was larger than life and even in death, millions of Presley fans worldwide will pay respects today to one of true innovators in rock.Rocker Bruce Springsteen said, "There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king."Perhaps,...

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HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, BUK!!

Henry Charles Bukowski would have been 90 today. Born in Andernach, Germany, Buk was raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for 50 years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was twenty-four, and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five.During his lifetime, he published more than forty-five books of poetry and prose, including the novels Post Office, Factotum, Women, Ham on Rye, and Hollywood. The Poet Laureate of Skid Row, died in...

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CARNY FREAKS: PIP AND FLIP (#fridayflash)

Click play for some mood music They worked the freaks like Georgia mules. Don't get me wrong, they worked me just as hard, but you see, I was fueled with spit and spite. When the cops are after you, the best place to be was the sideshow. After all, when you're sluggin' a broom around, you tend to blend. No one looks at the measly janitor when there are swallowed swords to be seen. It was perks aplenty. I got to travel the States and live rent...

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UNDISCOVERED 'RAT PACK' PHOTOS RELEASED

Sinatra and gang take a stroll through the kitchen towards the stage at Miami's Eden Roc resort.If you're a Rat Pack fan then this is a gift from above. I'm a sucker for candid photos and whenever I see a new picture of Sinatra and the gang that I've never seen, it feels like Christmas morning.On the 50th anniversary of the original Rat Pack flick "Ocean's 11," Life.com has put together a stupendous gallery of never-before-seen pics of Frank Sinatra,...

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WHAT'S WITH ALL THE DOPEY PEN NAMES?

'Call me Jay Morris, dammit!'I don't get this and think it’s just plain gimmicky.Persnickety tough guy scribe Richard Price doesn't have a title yet for his next work -- but he does have a name for the author. And it ain't Richard Price.The "Clockers," "Lush Life" and "Freedomland" writer will publish his next book under the pseudonym "Jay Morris" for a planned series of detective thrillers set in New York City.Publisher Henry Holt and Company announced...

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THE TINY TERROR

What a great pic of Capote. What was going through his mind?Over the weekend, I caught a documentary about Truman Capote on Ovation (a great channel). It was part of Ovation's American Revolutionaries series and will be shown again on Sunday, August 15, 2010 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.The infamous American novelist, short story writer and social commentator projected a compelling and often controversial public image right up until his death, from drugs...

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LOTTERY MAN (#spokensunday)

I went to the vault again for "Lottery Man," this week's #SpokenSunday piece. Too find it, click HERE. Listen and enjoy... Also, feel free to join the #SpokenSunday fun on Twitter below...

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PRETTY GIRLS TRY THE HARDEST (flash fiction)

Click for some mood music When he sat down at the lunch counter in the Woolworth, Beth thought he reeked of regret. And she felt sorry for him.Beth kept staring into her soup, trying not to turn and just working the reflection of the bowl just enough to catch of glimpse of his profile.He saved her the trouble. "I'm Frank..."She smiled, still peering into the goodness that was her Cream of Turnip."Hi Frank," she answered through her smile."I'm new...

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'MAX PERKINS: EDITOR OF GENIUS' COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN

Now this film vehicle sounds way interesting...Sean Penn is currently in talks to star in "Genius," a film about the eccentric literary editor who oversaw the release of works by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.The property is based on A. Scott Berg's National Book Award-winning 2008 biography, "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius." It centers on the relationship between the fedora-wearing editor-in-chief at New York publishing house Scribner...

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