Okay, I admit I can seem rather ghoulish at times. I mean, I have a small collection of animal skulls and bones (even a few animal penis bones) in a lighted, glassed-in cabinet in our house. The collection also includes fossils and teeth. I often carve images of death and decay, and I work in the dark fiction field, reading, editing, illustrating and laying out some things that the squeamish of mind can’t even ponder. That stuff doesn’t affect me much. I do find it rather creepy, however, that a growing stash of human and animal remains has begun to form in our home.

Read the rest of this entry »

Do most people work only one job in their lives? Or just a handful? Seems I’ve flitted all about the place.
Jobs I have held (as many as I can currently remember that actually paid something):

• Delivering newspapers (a traditional beginning).
• Clearing Fields, picking thorns, herding cattle, baling hay, etc. on farms/ ranches.
• Planting potatoes.
• Greenhouse flunky.
• Janitor in elementary schools.
• Assistant Librarian.
• Photographer/ writer / layout artists/ ad sales rep at various newspapers and magazines.
• Janitor at a Christian Book Store.
• Apprentice Carpet Layer.
• Picking trash from the side of the road.
• Pump Jockey at full-service (no self-service) gas stations.
• Janitor at a college gymnasium.
• College Tutor/ editor of graduate student papers.
• Cook/ Dishwasher/ Counter server at a College Cafeteria.
• Swedish Translator.
• Security at an Amphiteatre.
• Knocking on doors/ writing speeches for political campaigns.
• Army Linguist (Arabic).
• Menu design/ food delivery for a hole-in-the-wall Gyro place.
• Personal Assistant/ Secretary (for Army Captain)
• Writer – Fiction, non-fiction and plays.
• Construction grunt – restoring old houses.
• Delivering Newspapers (again).
• Home Care Assistant for Physically and/ or mentally handicapped persons.
• Teacher’s Assistant – Middle School.
• Actor – Stage and Commercial.
• Managing Comic Book/ Collectable stores.
• Nanny
• Comic Book Creator (admittedly, one and very small, but it did pay).
• VP of Manufacturing & Design for an independent record label – Layout/ Design/ Publicity/ Organizing/ Manufacture, etc.
• Recording/ Mixing/ Producing music.
• Web Designer.
• Freelance design for the music industry/publishing/local businesses, et al.
• Ramp Rat at a small airport.
• Illustrator.
• Editor/ Designer/ Layout artist of Books and magazines.

Read the rest of this entry »

[This review originally appeared in Shroud Magazine Issue #10]
Tiffany Aching refuses to wear midnight—the dark colors traditional for witches. And though she is growing older, she also refuses to give up the seemingly innocent ways of her people. But when evil looms, she is forced to don the mantle of her craft and stand against the darkness.

The fourth and final book of Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series leads the young witch through physical and personal mine fields, accompanied by the loyal and obstinate Nac Mac Feegle—an army of tiny blue, rowdy, drunken pixies. Not yet 16 years old, Tiffany is now the official witch of the Chalk, her pastoral home region, and must uphold the duties expected of any adult witch. She understands the vagaries of her people, but lacks many of the experiences of her older sister witches.

Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote the following for the blog of Maurice Broaddus in the Run-Up to Mo*Con VI, and its theme of homosexuality and Religion, at which I’ll be the Artist Guest of Honor next week. I was (and am) very nervous about this being posted, as I’m a pretty introverted guy. Sharing my personal history is uncomfortable for me, as I feel I’m giving something away I can never get back. But the following is a small piece of my life.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is something about singing, especially in a group, that sets one free.

At one point in time, I was in the University of Oregon’s Men’s Chorus. I was (and am) a solid baritone (and with practice a 2nd tenor or bass). I’ve never excelled at solo singing, and have never felt the need to be at the forefront. I like being part of a successful ensemble. I don’t have perfect pitch, and have to work for my harmonies. But the music of the masses is something I can get lost in. Something I can feel pride in. Men’s choruses are often stuck with the traditional pop or classical claptrap. The filling noise. Our director, to his credit, tried to grow beyond that. In this chorus, we performed the traditional christmas dribble, as well as more obscure folk music. We performed in competitions and with tunes such as “In the jungle” (I played flute accompaniment for that one, as we had no oboe), alongside of pieces from Bizet’s “Carmen,” et al.

Read the rest of this entry »