Rose Bowl Travel Guide

My friend, Paul Levine, the novelist, TV writer, stand-up funny man, and winner of "The Best Damn Hair Anywhere" award for 2008, has written a travel guide for LA, just in time for the Rose Bowl. His precious Penn State Nittany Lions are playing OJ Simpson and the USC Early Release Felons.


Paul is the one with the 500 dollar haircut.




























In this guide to the cool places around Los Angeles and warnings about the driving habits of LA residents, I gather that LA is a lot like Miami. It's funny. As all Paul's stuff is.




Paul has a new novel coming out soon. You can read an excerpt here.

The End of Something

If you love books, you should read this.

In the thirty years I've been publishing books, starting with small press poetry, and working through four publishers to this place, I've never seen a time when so many in the publishing business were so anxious.

It's Almost Here

No, not Christmas. The paperback of Hell's Bay.

Hot Damn!

Here's a really nice essay a gentleman named Tom Johnson wrote recently on Hot Damn!

Thanks, Tom. Glad you felt the love.

Now This Is The Way It's Done

Here's a couple of shots of Doug Olander, the editor in chief of Sport Fishing magazine, catching marlin at sea level.

Doug reported to me that this was the best time fishing he'd ever had in his life. You can see why.


These shots were taken offshore in Cabo San Lucas.



A flashback to The Old Man And The Sea. You can imagine that fish dragging that kayak way out past the horizon.

Deadline

Some of you may have noticed (or not) that I've not updated things lately. Well, there's a very good reason for that.



I'm trying like hell to finish the new Thorn novel before January 1.









To do that I've had to give up a few other things. So far, not food or drink.







But a lot of other staples. But I promise I'll be back soon with all new stuff. In the meantime, Thorn is in a lot of trouble. A lot.

Later.

Misery

What the big boys lost.


Misery loves company, even if the fat cats are still a few billion ahead of the rest of us.

General Motors, Part 2

This is for Anonymous and anyone else who thinks you have to be in an SUV to be safe.

Stocking Stuffer

Here's the book you got to buy this Christmas.

My buddy Les Standiford scores big.

Saving General Motors

Okay, here's the plan:



Click to enlarge.



As a left wing radical loony anti-capitalist socialism-loving liberal, you might think I'm rooting for nationalizing General Motors. No, that would be incorrect.

I'm all for letting this turkey fail. I know it'll do major damage to the economy. People will lose their jobs. My 401K which is already a 201K will be a 001K. OK. But enough is enough. If the taxpayers must shower cash on some industry, let's pick one that might actually succeed. That might actually build something suitable for the 21st century.




My grandmother drove a Hudson Wasp.



I remember spending a lot of time in the back seat of that car. It felt like riding in a submarine. This week I was in the back seat of a GM product and had flashbacks to that old Hudson. 15 miles per gallon highway, tops.

The Wasp was a dinosaur when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Gas was 22 cents a gallon, and there was an infinite supply of it, or so we thought. The Hudson died and the world moved on. At least most of the world moved on. GM didn't move all that much. Riding in the back seat of that GM SUV this week convinced me. Let these guys go to the same tarpit where the fossilized remains of the Hudson Wasp lies moldering.