What's New Archive (so it ain't so new)

Man there is some serious shite going down in this day and age. It's enough to get this bat lady down, but my eternal optimism apparently knows no bounds because I'm still gonna urge everyone to speak up and out about important things like:

Turns out my Spanish language skills are for shite. And this after three perfectly good years of Spanish class! OK, so I didn't pay as much attention to specifics as I did slang and naughty words, but that's entirely beside the point, yes? But many thanks to Mikhael for setting me straight on the proper way to say "What's New?" as seen above. Perhaps this will lead to a decrease in the amount of laughing aimed in my direction, perhaps not.

That said, there are new things to look at! I'm in the process of totally re-doing and updating the photo gallery so please take a gander. The song list by my alter-ego, DJ Xenophile, grows ever larger. And in the very near future, expect to see two, count 'em two new short stories posted. Also, I've been fortunate enough to hae landed a "gig" as web archiver ace for Rick's Cafe, a local music newspaper, and as a media Gal Friday for newly launched Local Sounds. You should check them both out, as they're equally lovely.

Happy New Year cats and kitties! I hope that everyone is surviving the birth pangs and temper tantrums of 2006 well. Here's hoping we make less a mess of our world this year than last. Is that too much to want? We could certainly use the optimism.

Anyhoo, in honor of new things, I've posted some new things of my own--specifically, "songs," or rather, the products of my most recent spat of self-delusion. I fancy myself a producer/DJ/prat of electrooonic music, see, and so's since I finally got my grubby lil' paws on some programs for doin' such things, I've been toiling away at creating music. A large chunk of it's actually original, too! So waddle on over to the music or mp3 pages and have yerself a listen to the 3 new tracks by DJ Xenophile (err...that's me)!

I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier! (see: The Killers) Hey guess what? My band's new album is recorded and back from the printers! It's wicked awesome, so you should go check it out. For free downloads of 3 of the tracks, go to aporia.agog.net/disco/barebones.html but if you want to buy the dang thing, which you do, oh yes, then go to cdbaby.com and you can pick up your very own copy there for the low low price of $12!

I've also got a new short story posted, "Kuzdu," so feel free to give that a read.

Summer fades, hurricanes bring out the flaws in the system (God that's scary), autumn rolls in all firey red and yellow, and I get to play drums for the upcoming production of the sassy, witty, very biting musical "Wal-martopia" - guess what it's about, I dare you. So things are good. And geezus cripes, my brother is getting married in a month! Eep!

Vacation, it's all we ever wanted. Truer words were never spoken. Yes, dear fictional readers, I'm finally going away on a much-needed week of R&R--to the berg of Getty and the mythical land of Ithaca, NY no less. And when I return, my band will finally be going into a real live studio (somewhere outside of Steven's Point, WI) to record this long languishing album of ours. Three cheers!

Also, there are a couple of new stories coming the way of this website--but first I need to go over them with a fine-toothed comb and some polish. In the meantime, I urge you to eat your peas, enjoy the summer (unless you inhabit the Southern Hemisphere, a fine hemisphere indeed, in which case I urge you to enjoy whatever incarnation of winter you're having), and watch the Tour De France...if only to play spot-the-devil-guy. He's coo'.

P.S. I'm searching for a new DJ name, as I intend to stage my official DJ Coming Out at some point in the near future. Suggestions welcome.

Dreamweaver, dreamweeeeaver, I sing a song of praise to thee! Seriously. After so many years of doing all my website designing by painstaking hand, having this delightful program at my disposal is truly orgasmic. Eventually you'll even be able to tell that I'm using it, but for now I'm learning and therefore we go on with the traditional style of the site.

In the meantime, my band is finally this close to going into the studio to record our full-length album (check out the Aporia website for more) and we're recording a bit of surf music for a short film to be shown at the upcoming Wis-Kino screening). I'm gearing up to submit some poetry to various publications around the nation--ie: preparing for rejection--and looking for a new job. And I never thought I'd say this, but I'm excited about a doctor's appointment today! Insurance is neat. Now if only we could simply get around to getting everyone healthcare in this country....

5/16/05

Time Marches On! I Am Made of Ham! The Bunny Is At One With Foucult!

Oh, honestly, you'd think I'd have more taste than a looping marquee, but no, I don't. But time does march on, or plod, or gallop, or dilly-dally depending on your point of view. Job hunting, album recording, story writing (or many starts with not finishes, anyway), weather cursing, grad-school contemplating, doctor's appointment making (hooray for insurance, however temporary it might be!), shenanigan having days a-plenty. Oh spring. Oh kooky Wisconsin spring.

Y'know, I'm listening to some music composed by Samuel Barber at the moment, and it'd make a really excellent movie soundtrack. I miss that---movies that used symphonies for their soundtracks. I know there are some that still do this, but not nearly enough. If you want a good one, though, rent "The Price of Milk." It's from New Zealand, and thereby inherently good. Anyhoo, nothing terribly new around these parts, except my continual attempts to upgrade and re-design. Oh, but I've renamed the award-winning short story--it's now called "Shelter". You should go read it.

4/1/05

Momentous occassions to be marked by booze, pie, and doin' a jig: I won a short story contest! And, consequently, fifty bucks! At last, I have fame and fortune! Clearly, Idaho has taste. "Madness Flirts Back" miraculously won the University of Idaho's Annual Three Genres Fiction Contest. So I'm on my way, I guess. I also got my first rejection letter the other day, so that was worth celebration as well.

In the meantime, story writing has taken a back seat to music making this week, as my band (aporia.agog.net) is in the passionate throes of recording a demo CD...in the hopes that this will lead to time in a studio to record a full-length. Cross yer appendages for us!

2/26/05

Here I go again on my oo-o-wn *insert power chords here*!!! That's right, the Muse of Short Stories (I like to call her Su-Su) has been very kind to me as of lates. Go to the stories page for TWO NEW tales! I see you holding your shoulder in pain, and barring a heartattack, I'm betting it's just shock over the announcement. And grief over the loss of Hunter S. Thompson. Sigh.
"Madness Flirts Back" (homeless on a cold Chicago night)
"Knife" (a short exercise in noir?)

Lots of good folks are dead. Let's honor 'em by stepping up to the proverbial plate and knocking the shit outta the softballs being lobbed at us by our country.

1/19/05

Happy New Year! Unless you celebrate it in February, and then, I apologize for the early well-wishing. That aside, a new year (for me, anyway) means new content for ye olde site! Yes, that's right, you're not imagining it, I am actually adding new bits of writing to the stories page. Will the wonders never cease? And so, for your reading (dis)pleasure:
"Between Two Points" (a re-tooled version of "Parenthetical")
"Muffins and Motherfuckin' Scones" (a requested piece)
"Light" (a very short story)

Now, go! Enjoy! Or hate them for all I care! They're just my babies, slaved over in the wee hours of the arctic morning over a glass of bad rum, written with my very blood! Err...no, that's not true. Well, the last bit, anyway.

11/30/04

As you can see, there have been some serious changes made to my website. In an effort to simplify (and, God willing, beautify) my web-based existence, I have undertaken the challenge of pimpin' my ride, as it were. Many old things that have simply been taking up space have either been dumped or archived, forever doomed to languish in obscurity. Other things have been promoted to a place of prominence. A few things have been added. In general, my hope is that this re-tooling will serve to downplay the vanity of the personal website (though it certainly still exists in spades), upgrade the usability of it, and give me something to do on a Tuesday.

Now, please, if you happen to notice any broken links, broken pages, or broken limbs, feel free (see: compelled) to drop me an email and let me know. I want nothing more than to please your web browsers.

Cheers,
-Em (aka Batty Von Mills)