Thursday Afternoon Ramblings

I have a couple of new interviews coming up with two vastly different yet equally talented writers, so keep an eye out for those.  Also, once the semester is over, I’m gonna spend a little time updating my website.  It’s overdue a little tweaking and polishing, so I’m gonna try to get that done, as long as this last week and a half of grading doesn’t kill me.

This year has flown by and has seen a lot of positive changes in my life.  I feel happier and healthier than I’ve felt in many, many years.  Hopefully in 2011, I can build on the momentum I’ve gained this year, but as long as I get to be near the sea and sun, I’ll be a happy man.

www.thirdaxe.com

Wednesday Afternoon Ramblings

My buddy, Jim Gavin, just released his first novel.  He’s one helluva writer with a great voice, so check it out.  These are the promotional blurbs for the book, including one by yours truly:

 

Hard Boiled Vampire Killers” is a rip-roaring, gun-slinging, ass kicking, Kung Fu, vampire and ghost extravaganza that does not disappoint and is a welcome addition to the genre. If you are tired of romantic, wimpy, depressing sparkly vampires look no further than Jim Gavin’s exceptional “Hard Boiled Vampire Killers” to get your fill of vampires that are actually vampires…it might just be the most fun I have had reading a book this year.” –Peter Schwotzer, Famous Monsters of Filmland

Hard Boiled Vampire Killers” is about alliances formed under duress, and freaks and geeks uniting for a lofty purpose. Jim Gavin’s spin on the material possesses spunk and Stamina in its verbal vigor, and fun fantastical frays… –Sheila Merritt, Hellnotes

Pulp is alive and well in the heart and fingertips of Jim Gavin, With HBVK, Gavin comes out swinging, delivering a superior first novel. Explosive, demanding, and very rewarding.” –Andersen Prunty, author of Morning is Dead

Jim Gavin’s Hard Boiled Vampire Killers is a welcome change from everything I have come to expect from the modern vampire story. It was also a bloody good time!” –Brian Knight from the introduction of Hard Boiled Vampire Killers

Of all the young writers I’ve read recently, Jim Gavin has my favorite narrative voice. It’s fresh, witty, biting, and moves with a dizzying speed that engage me like few others. His work is gritty and visceral, hearkening back to the detective novels of the 40’s and 50’s. I highly recommend his work to anyone who loves the power and majesty of well-crafted language.”–D.A. Adams, author of The Brotherhood of Dwarves series

Available at Dark Regions Press.

Tuesday Morning Ramblings

Warning: this entry will contain lots of profanity and is not suitable for children, naive idealists, emotionally sensitive precious snowflakes, and most Democrats.

To the cowardly backstabbing Democrats who are now criticizing the president for compromising with Republicans on tax-cuts, let me ask you a few questions?  If this issue was so goddamned important to you, why did you delay voting on it until after the fucking elections?  The answer is because you inaccurately thought that by not taking a stand before the elections you wouldn’t marginalize the electorate and wouldn’t offend voters.  How did that strategy work out for you?  In 2008, you were elected by a populous that expected and demanded a change in how leadership acted, and in 2010, you were kicked out for being spineless wimps with no ability to demonstrate executive-level decision making on tough issues.  No, the compromise the president agreed to is not perfect, but compromises by their very nature are not perfect.  At least the president had the fucking balls to act.  You pathetic sniveling cowards can’t say the same.

I’m as hard and critical of conservatives as anyone.  I have pissed off and alienated friends who can vouch for that, but I’ll give conservatives this much: they know how to draw a line in the sand and say this is our fucking turf.  Democrats cannot say the same.  For two years you controlled House, the Senate, and the White House, and you still couldn’t get your heads out of your asses well enough to pass legislation that you now claim is vital to the survival of the middle class.  If you cared so much about the middle class, maybe, just maybe, you would’ve acted before the elections and shown some goddamned leadership, instead of doing the politically expedient thing and delaying action.  That’s the same old same old that we voted against in 2008 and again in 2010.  Guess what?  We’ll do the same motherfucking thing in 2012, so every single spineless, gutless, wishy-washy motherfucker in Washington had better take notice that we want action, not bullshit.

Also, why the fuck should the president stand with you bastards on anything?  You sure as fuck haven’t stood by him.  How many of you tried to distance yourselves from him leading up to the election because his popularity had waned?  That’s self-interest, not loyalty, so don’t be surprised when the person you turned your back on during a tough fight does the same to you.  You are a disgusting bunch of elitist pricks who maneuver and contort for whatever seems to be the most politically advantageous at that moment.  That’s not leadership.

I applaud the president for working with Republicans to find a solution.  Raising taxes on anyone, right now still asshole deep in a recession, is stupid.  Extending unemployment benefits for people who desperately need to survive until more jobs are created is smart, so the president gave a little to get a little.  See how this works?  Get your fucking self-serving heads out of your liberal-guilt-ridden asses, stop wringing your manicured hands, and get this motherfucking country moving again.  We have real problems that need to be addressed, and we need leaders who are willing to take action, even at the risk of it not being popular. That is leadership.  Get it?