NEW FICTION: Bourbon & Blondes has arrived!

From the bus stations of Rt. 66 to the smoky, neon-tinged jazz dives of the big cities, these wanton tales of longing introduce us to vixens on the fringe and those shifty men that drove them there.

Subscribe for the latest updates

Sign up to get Anthony's newsletter featuring news on his new books, stories, events and pop culture musings

Watch: The 'Bourbon & Blondes' Book Trailer

Get your shot glass ready because you're about to enter a retro world of showgirls, drifters, barmaids and thieves.

The eternal question for scribes?

In this new social media landscape, the question becomes: Is blogging dead? It just may be...

Watch: The 'Front Page Palooka' Book Trailer

Read the pulp novella that one reviewer called 'A potboiler in the style of old school writers like Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler...'

Friday, March 11, 2011

BUBBLES McCOY: WOMAN OF ILL REPUTE (#fridayflash)


Press play for some mood music


She was supposed to arrive at 8. At least that's what Mitchell told Brian.

Mitchell had an "in" with some of the guys at the Fillmore Hotel who often dealt with these ladies of ill repute and seventy-five beans was all it took. Actually, it was five for Mitchell, ten for his "in" (his bellhop brother) and sixty more for the chick. Any way you slice it, Brian was going to get it done. Tonight.

Understandably, he was nervous and made Mitchell stay until she arrived. Plus, if the 'lady' didn't show Brian would march Mitchell down to the Fillmore and get his money back.

Then the harsh knock. Brian immediately straightened his bow tie. "She's here..."

"You look like a dweeb with that Howdy Doody getup" Mitchell said.

"I wearing a tie. Nothing wrong with that. And besides, Howdy Doody doesn't wear a tie."

Mitchell held the doorknob. "There's a hooker in the hallway and you're debating a marionette's wardrobe?"

A harsher knock. "Hel-looooooooo. Is there a 'Brian' in there?"

Brian turned red. "Open that fucking door, Mitchell! The neighbors are gonna go apeshit and tell my folks. That's all we need."

Mitchell flung open the door and there she was.

"Well, aren't you cute?" she said rubbing her hand along Mitchell's belly as she strolled in.

"Thanks... " Mitchell said blushing.

Her eyebrows went up. "... But I didn't get paid for a gangbang."

Brian smiled nervously and asked her to come inside. "Oh no ... I'm leaving. You're here for Brian," Mitchell said waving his friend over, who, by now, was already in his boxers.

"He's a little overzealous..." Mitchell said, fishing for her name.

"Bubbles," she answered. "Bubbles McCoy."

"Excuse me, Bubbles?" Brian interjected holding a new Instamatic camera. "Can we take a picture?"

She smirked. "Sure, honeypie..."

"Mitchell, can you do the honors?" Brian asked handing over the camera.

Mitchell obliged as he whispered to himself, "What-in-the-fuck..."

As Mitchell prepped to get the snapshot, Bubbles said, "Wait a sec. This is all wrong..."

Stepping out of her skirt she muttered more to herself than the two boys, "Now ... That's a bit better. We match."

Brian tried to get a peak at her breasts but her white blouse was too bulky.

Mitchell squatted and looked into the camera. "Alright, say cheeeeeeeese."

Bubbles put her head on Brian's shoulder while he took in the smell of her hair. It reminded him of the cosmetics section at Bloomingdale's and after a few seconds, had to shift those boxers a bit.

Click. It was a keeper. "Well, I best be getting out of your hair," Mitchell said handing over the camera.

Bubbles smiled some more, took a swig of Brian's beer and said "Ah, what the hell, kid... Stick around. No need to rush off."

The two boys watched her saunter into the bedroom unsure of their next move.

"I'm waitttting...." was all they heard.

Music: The Supersonics - Guitar Boogie 1960. It can be downloaded HERE.


Monday, March 7, 2011

WAY LATE (#poetry)

Press play for some mood music


WAY LATE
Nothing safe comes after midnight.
At least that's how
I've always seen it.
Useless alley cats howl
like a dying infant,
haunting your dreams.

The phone rings.
It's the death call
--the one we
all dread getting.
Mom's dead.
Dad fell.
All at night,
and way late.

And then there's our ailments
The tooth hurts more;
Fever rages;
Pain throbs
and throbs
and throbs
and all way,
way late.

And that dude driving late
at night? Couldn't say no
to just one more.

And what about that car next
door that just parked?
Blowjob? Meth?
Your shady neighbor,
the one who looks down as
you pass him, keeps looking
out that broken window.
Up and down, slammin’ it shut.
Way late.

Oh, and then there's the
white trash down the way.
Bottles clankin' as
broken glass scatters.
A scream.
A slap.

Siren light revolves
through your bedroom.
It reflects odd colors,
multiplying in the mirror.
You’re groggy, half awake;
The image of a faded
memory gives you
a mini nightmare.
Way late.

But then
the birds chirp,
and chirp
some more
In bed, you mellow.
An early jogger;
the pitter-patter
of expensive kicks;
Someone takes out the trash;
An engine starting;
A door slams a quick,
responsible slam;
Someone far sayin', “Morning.”
The alarm darts alive.

Fuck.

Another day.

MUSIC: 'Round Midnight' courtesy of the Internet Archive. It can be downloaded HERE.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

DON'T DO IT! VINTAGE MICKEY TRIES SUICIDE

Click the pic to enlarge to hi-res and then click on it again.

In yet another indication that times have indeed f#@king changed, check out this vintage comic strip where Mickey Mouse attempts suicide after his beloved Minnie leaves him.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

R.I.P: THE ORIGINAL BRUNETTE JANE RUSSELL



Jane Russell, the voluptuous pin-up who set millions of G.I. hearts' on fire during WW II has died at 89. Her death from respiratory failure came 70 years after billionaire Howard Hughes had put her on the road to stardom with his edgy Western "The Outlaw."

Although her sultry, sensual look and her hourglass figure made her the subject of numerous nightclub jokes, unlike Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and other pinup queens of the era, Russell was untouched by scandal in her personal life.

She'll be missed.



Friday, February 25, 2011

THE BEACH GIRL (#fridayflash)

Press play for some mood music

Being that this is Oscar weekend, I'm once again dusting off an old piece that I feel is appropriate for the event (I know, how lame am I?). Some of my Six Sentence friends may recognize this picture (and this expanded flash for that matter) since it was the subject of a photo challenge many moons ago. In any case, I hope you enjoy.


The night Davina Haven waited her entire life for was over. Thank God.

Somewhere around 5 a.m. her Tequila and wine buzz reached it zenith and all she saw was a dizzy blur of tuxedos and gowns. She wanted to hurl. She decided to ditch that dipshit model and leave the Vanity Fair party.

On the way to Elton's bash something didn't feel quite right. Even with her unsteady buzz. So she ditched that one too and decided to pull a 'Hilary Swank' and told the limo driver to head up the Pacific Coast Highway until he saw Paco's Taco's -- an all-night gourmet stand smack dab in the middle of Malibu.

On the way inside, a biker, one of the weekend wannabees, recognized the actress and said he admired her work, especially "the early stuff." Davina, even with the buzz, thought she heard the undertone of a snicker in his compliment. Still, she politely thanked him and went inside.

# # #

For all the hoopla of winning her first Oscar - which she aptly tossed later into the early morning tide - she knew deep down nothing would change. Not really. The award would only magnify only what was.

Sure, the phone will ring louder and more often and those meatier roles will come. And with them, a better class of men -- both leading and loving. But for all those absolutes, the only thing Davina questioned slumped at 6 a.m. in the sand was:

'When will they stop remembering that god damned sex tape?'

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

THE BARE BACKS OF VINTAGE PULP

... Clearly a thing of beauty. A tip of the hat to Bish at Bish's Beat where a plethora of pulp pleasures preside and prevail.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

THE MOST REPRODUCED PIC IN HISTORY



The above rah-rah World War II propaganda tune was "There'll Be A Little Smokio in Tokio" by Don Baker and it can be downloaded HERE.

On this weekend in 1945 at the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines (from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division) took the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and raised the American flag.

Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. Soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.

Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize.

Regarding Rosenthal's other two photos: The second was similar to the first but less affecting and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

Friday, February 18, 2011

STARING AT HER STARING AT HIM (#fridayflash)


Please click play for some mood music


He went everyday to the museum to see those dark beaming eyes, that long lustrous hair and her half unsure smile. On or off his meds, this manic routine had by now had become a fixture of his life.

Oh sure, there was always some artsy liberal couple with their backpacks on a first date talking about such nonsense as Warhol and color blocking to ruin his time with her. He wanted the slap the lattes out of their hands.

They were so superficial. They weren't seeing the art he saw.

Someday somehow he knew he'd meet his exotic beauty and take her here -- but not to utter Warhol. Or to drink fucking latte.

Until then, though, he'd be content and diligent just staring at her staring back at him.

Music: "Terror (July 7, 2005)" by Fudgdubnofunk can be downloaded here.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

AN ARGUMENT FOR PIRATING WORKS ONLINE

Neil Gaiman is a prolific British scribe of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, comic books and films. His notable works include the comic book series "The Sandman" and novels "Stardust," "American Gods," "Coraline," and "The Graveyard Book."

Gaiman's writing has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker, as well as the 2009 Newbery Medal and 2010 Carnegie Medal in Literature. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work.

Here's why Gaiman doesn't mind you pirating his work online...



Sunday, February 13, 2011

MAD MEN MOMENT No. 11

Meet Sammy Davis, Jr... Pitchman extraordinaire.

Whiskey production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1924 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, the style of Japanese whisky is more akin to that of Scotch than Irish whiskey. and thus the spelling typically follows the Scottish convention (omitting the letter "e").

There are several companies producing the stuff in Japan with the most well known being Suntory and Nikka. Both produce blended as well as single malt whiskies.

Enjoy this fab spot of Sammy doing his thing for the Suntory hooch.



Also enjoy these other cool Sammy Davis, Jr. commercials:









Wednesday, February 9, 2011

'LIGHTS OUT': THE BEST SHOW YOU'RE PROLLY NOT WATCHING


With good reason, HBO went out of its way to deliver its awesome series "Boardwalk Empire" with an amazing amount of ballyhoo. Obviously, direct comparisons to "The Sopranos" were easy to make. After all, much of the 'Sopranos' creative team were a huge part of 'Empire,' and proverbial New Jersey organized crime connection.

That all being said, the new FX boxing drama "Lights Out" is more 'Soprano-esque' than 'Empire' by far. Spend an episode or two with it's protagonist Patrick 'Lights' Leary and you'll understand why.

It centers on an aging former heavyweight boxing champion Patrick "Lights" Leary (Holt McCallany - the best leading man on network TV since Ken Wahl) as he tries to find his identity after retiring from the sport he loved so much. After years of wear and tear in the ring, he is diagnosed with pugilistic dementia, a neurological disorder that affects fighters who've suffered too many blows to the head. It gradually causes memory loss and constant headaches.

Throughout each episode and on the gritty streets of Bayonne, Lights struggles to support his wife and three daughters -- especially when his dwindling finances have him on shaky ground.

He must decide whether to accept the brutal and intimidating job of a debt collector or return to the ring for a comeback to become the champ once again.

If you have On Demand check it out. You can also watch it on Hulu and at FX.

There's lots vested in this show -- Take a look at a stupendous (and fake) documentary made by the folks at FX about Lights Leary.


Monday, February 7, 2011

FORTHCOMING E-TITLES...


Like many of my online comrades, I've decided to throw my hat into the Kindle/Nook ring with a few titles. Details to be forthcoming. I also want to apologize for my absence of late in keeping up with my blog reading. I've been keeping busy designing these covers and finding art, etc. I'm a fanatic when it comes to art. If there are 1000 pics of any given subject, I will look at each and every one of them... I hope to be back reading everyone's blogs very soon.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

IF ONLY...


For those that want this on a T-shirt, click HERE.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

PULP PLEASURES: ART IMITATES LIFE


Am I crazy or is the beauty in the beret Lauren Bacall? Gorgeous... More pulpy delights at Bish's Beat.