Eight Dogs on YouTube

Check out my new attempt to help move books. Hey, if the dude who sang Chocolate Rain and that Star Wars light saber kid can get "hits", I figure why can't I. To go to YouTube and view the video, please click HERE
Maybe if enough folks view it, I'll be the next Tay Zonday. FYI, the dude who sings Chocolate Rain. His voice makes James Earl Jones' sound like Minnie Mouse

Detroit News' Neal Rubin clears my reputation

I am not a porn freak, OK? So God bless Neal Rubin. Because of him the neighbors in my sub will know it without me having to convince them of it.

CLICK THE HEADLINE ABOVE to get redirected to the online version of the article.

The Detroit News columnist has been a friend to many aspiring artists, musicians and writers over the years by mentioning their efforts to get their work in front of the public. Neal and I became acquainted when I called him out of the blue the day after a Sugar Ray concert. My wife and I had taken my son, Gino and daughter, Marina, to the show, and they made it onstage with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray. He wrote a great article (which you can still find online). Anyway, Neal found the Craigslist article hilarious, and told me he'd try to get it into print. Well into print he did. The article is in today's paper, with primo placement, right next to all the Oscar coverage. He even put the cover in the beginning of the article. What a guy.
Neal also graciously notes that I'm working on a second book, an adaptation of an unsold screenplay. That's The Claw. As a big dreamer, the irony that that appeared next to all those stars with their Oscars wasn't lost on me. I sure hope I get it closer to Hollywood than Neal's article, but if I don't, I'm still so appreciative for the help and support I've received from people all over, and for the few media folks that have used their forums to give me more exposure.

Thanks again, Neal, not only for the support but for clearing my rep. It's much appreciated.

The original Big Joe

I love old photos. Here's one of my father when he worked for the Detroit Police Department. That's him 2nd from the end on the right side. The mustache is not there, which was a rare occurrence. It's almost white now and crawls across his face. Taken in 1968, a year after the riots, he's probably my age in this pic, around 45. Hard to believe that I was 6 at that time and remember how he looked, the smell of his cologne, and the easiness of his laugh. Every day he's here is a gift, and for that I am truly thankful.

Salute Big Joe; the greatest father a man could ask for.

Blood Meridian

I just finished reading an earlier McCarthy book at the urging of my buddy Mike Besch. Mike's one of the best-read men that I know and has turned me on to many great books. After reading The Road, I delved into Blood Meridian and have to say it is a war- and terror-filled tome where Indians certainly are not portrayed with any Hollywood-stereotype nobilities. There are scenes of death and destruction that you simply have to read to believe, and given the strangely unique style McCarthy has, I doubt anyone could make it all sound so poetic. It's like poet apocalyptic scribe sat down to craft a myth based on real events of the early 1800s at the Mexican border area of the West. McCarthy draws a fair amount of criticism from all spectrums. I can't say I agree with any of it. Folks much smarter than me all have their apparently erudite opinions. All I know is that I wish I could write like this man. I thinks he's one of the rare artists of our time.
Apparently the ol' Cormanator is a very private man. You can YouTube his interview on Oprah (she picked The Road as an Oprah Book). But you'll find more on a fan site of his at:



If you want to read up a little on the characters featured in Blood Meridian, at least what I dug up, check out this link:

There Will Be Blood worth the time

I love movies, though I don't get to see them as first-run at the theaters much any more. When I do though, I usually make sure it's a film with actors whose work I respect, am entertained by, and more importantly, inspired by. So when I saw the trailer for There Will Be Blood (TWBB) with Daniel Day Lewis, I earmarked it for a trip to the show. At nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes, I eschewed all beverages and found my seat in the middle of the Star Theater in Southfield. The movie absolutely flew by, and Daniel Day's initials once again could stand for Doesn't Disappoint. The man is simply one of those actors who so immerses himself in character that you feel like a voyeur to the world he lives in at that moment. And I think he makes everyone around him even better than they are. The score by Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead) is reminiscent of John Ford, John Huston (Treasure of the Sierra Madres) and Sergio Leone movies (Spag Westerns like The man with no name trilogy, Once Upon A Time in the West, etc) where Hugo Montenegro's musical hand weighed heavily in the essence of the film. The cinematography borrows the feel of John Ford and Leone with vast landscapes and asymmetrical the film's make up and composition. There is not one false note in this film, and I can't stop thinking about it. You absolutely will be left waiting for DDL's Daniel Plainview to explode at any moment. Plaiview's not a likeable man, but he infuses the character with a driven quality that is nuanced and replete with much under-the-surface rage. I've read reviews where they claim he's bordering on bombastic, and I'm sure these critics know way more than I do about the history of film, but this guy is the real deal. He makes Brando seem as method as Ben Affleck.There's a persistent rumor that Paul Dano (playing a dual role as Paul & Eli Sunday) was a replacement for a more famous actor who couldn't take the intensity of DDL. I don't know if it's true or not, but Dano is wonderful in the role, a fine 180 in his portrayal to the bully of DDL's Daniel Plainview. I can't wait to buy the DVD of this and watch all the behind the scenes extras. Try to catch TWBB on a big screen without any distractions. It's a tremendous film.

NOTE: A much more professional, albeit at times like most critics' work, PERSNICKETY review can be read by going here:



This is a review by David Ansen of Newsweek. He was supposedly on-set and has a lot of inside info. Worth reading.