Marc Fiszman: Coffee

Coffee, by Marc Fiszman, is a sort of hip, spiritual and surreal Zen like kind of graphic novel. It kept me laughing and continually surprised.  Each page reveals a simply placed graphic with a deceptively simple line or two of text, (until it doesn't) and each page builds on the previous page.A journey through the usual crap: work, and ennui, and purpose, and . .  little poems, almost, but not pretty ones about trees more like Bukowski, maybe. As a reviewer wrote on the Coffee site linked to on this blog:

Fans of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson will love Fiszman's disjointed narrative, inspired philosophies and sinister, disembodied entities. ~ Shelf Abuse

I suppose a warning should be given for those offended by language and scatological humor, so here it is: there's "bad" language in Coffee. Funny and apt but if you're offended by naughty words, well, then you'll be missing out on a good book.


Coffee is the first in a series of books, and, very nifty, Coffee is available as a free download. Which is very lovely and generous, seeing as how Fiszman has put a lot of work and care into the creation of this book.

Ida Craddock: 'Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic'

Reviews of: Vere Chappell's<u> Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock.

A skeptic view (fantasy prone, sexual abuse, etc.) on the following but still interesting: THE MAGONIA BLOG: Sexual Outlaw , on the story of Ida Craddock. Craddock (1857-1902) was a sexologist, who learned about sexual pleasures from 'Soph' a ghost. Parallels to Mary, to contactees, succubi and incubus, and to all those sexual-supernatural unions are obvious. I haven't read the book; I'm not familiar with Craddock but  I'm looking forward to reading this book.

I notice that the forward was written by Mary K. Greer, the Tarot author and scholar.

Craddock was the victim of her times; the moral setting she lived in would have put her in prison for her attitudes, (she was the target of<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> "<span style="font-size: small;">Anthony Comstock and his Society for the Suppression of Vice . . ." according to <a href="http://redwheelweiser.com/detail.html?id=9781578634767">this review on Vere Chappell's bio page.</a></span>)&nbsp;</span></span> Instead, she committed suicide.

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The Interstellar Housewife: Paratopia Magazine: Preview

Deidre O'Lavery reviews Jeremy Vaeni and Jeff Ritzman's new Paratopia magazine preview: The Interstellar Housewife: Paratopia Magazine: Preview Deirdre comments:

 Paratopia pulls no punches with this puppy, building ever further on their case against hypnotic regression as a useful tool for abduction research and the lack of accountability by it's major players, namely Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs.

The Priests of High Strangeness, Carol Rainey's article on her close experiences with Budd Hopkins and his alien abduction research, starts things off -- and let me tell you, it's quite a powerful piece. If it doesn't get more of you looking at this area of Ufology with a more skeptical eye, I'm not sure anything will.

I agree with O'Lavery; Carol Rainey's The Priests of High Strangeness is an excellent article that has already ticked off many... as they did with Emma Woods, who labeled her as "crazy," "unbalanced" "trouble maker" and worse, attacks have begun on Rainey: "jilted," "scorned woman," and so on. Rainey was married to Budd Hopkins, close friend of David Jacobs and UFO researcher in his own right. She discusses many individual cases researched by Hopkins, and herself, during their marriage, and there is much there about the role of researcher, and the researcher/witness dynamic.

On UFOs, et al: Review of 'Journal of a UFO Investigator'

I'm still reading my copy of David Halperin's new book Journal of a UFO Investigator, so cannot review it yet. So far however, I am enjoying it -- I was surprised, right away, at how quickly Halperin brings you into the story. But here is a review you can read in the meantime, over on the UFOs, et all blog:UFOs, et al: DAVID HALPERIN & LORALEIGH

And here's more about the book on Halperin's site.

Nick Redfern: The Real Men in Black, coming in May!

Nick Redfern has a new book coming out in May of 2011: The Real Men in Black. I love anything to do with MIBS, so I'm looking forward to this one for sure. New Page Books

Ken Hudnall Show Site: Three Free e-books

 If you visit the Ken Hudnall website, you can download three e-books for free; Secrets of the Nazi Space Program, Visits From the Dead, and Another Look at the Assassination of President JFK. I've downloaded the books but haven't had time to read them. I'm a Nazi UFO junkie, so looking forward to that.

Ken Hudnall Show

Interview With Cliff Pickover: Mainstream/Indie Author | www.publetariat.com

Via Cliff Pickover's Twitter page, found this link to the Publetariat: people who publish blog, with an interview with Pickover on writing and publishing, and so much more. . .

Interview With Cliff Pickover: Mainstream/Indie Author | www.publetariat.com

Neil Gaiman Quote

Lesley Gunter at The Debris Field posted this quote from Neil Gaiman. I love it; it's  supportive and insightful.

We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living.  But they're good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can.  Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story.  Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person.  And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. ~ Neil Gaiman

Tessa Dick Presents: It's a Philip K. Dick World!: Quachi - a story from the ancient past

Tessa Dick offers a story from her collection Quachi and Other Stories and Poems, which you can find on Amazon.

Quachi
Note: This story was inspired by a documentary about the ancient monuments of Peru. The archaeologists could not understand why the people simply abandoned their great cities and religious centers. They offered several possible answers, and this story is my answer.

Tessa Dick Presents: It's a Philip K. Dick World!: Quachi - a story from the ancient past

Amazon's Book Buy Back Program

Amazon.com has a book buy-back program. Books must be in good condition. Print out the shipping label, ship it back to Amazon (free shipping) and the money will be deposited in your account in gift card form. For more info go to amazon's site.