Crypto-American/3

Holy crap. I had the scare of my life a couple of weeks ago. My hard drive crashed and like a dumb-ass, I had a ton of important stuff I never got around to backing up. Besides a few sentimental items, I had outlines for books I'm working on, film an TV scripts, and a video project. On top of which, I had over 1000 songs on my iTunes. Thankfully the computer repairman was able to install a new hard drive and recover all of the files from the old one. You can bet I'll be backing stuff up like a mofo from now on. So, if you've been wondering why I haven't posted in two weeks it's because my computer was in the shop.

You can now purchase Cryptic Creatures and Man-Made Monsters online at Barnes & Noble. Of course both of these wonderful titles are still available at Amazon as well as this very site you are on now. Truth be told, I make far less from a Barnes & Noble sale than here or on Amazon, but I want to give the consumer as many choices as possible. That's what Amerca is all about, right? Follow the links below to get to the specific product page:

The good people over at Hellnotes have put up not one but two posts about Cryptic Creatures. It is a super-cool level of support for my book that, quite frankly, has me a little misty-eyed. If you are unfamiliar with the site, it it features unique and intelligent commentary on films, fiction, and just about anything related to horror. If you are a fan of the genre, go check 'em out.

Avenged Sevenfold's newest album Nightmare sold 162,500 copies in its first week of release landing it at the top of the charts. It's not just the #1 metal album or #1 debut, it is the de facto #1 album in the country. This marks the band's first trip to the top of the heap. Their previously highest chart position was at #4 with 2007's self-titled album. As an added bonus, Nightmare knocked white rapping curiosity Eminem out of the top position. (read more)

Last week I attended two concerts with two completely different audiences. On Thursday July 29 I saw Aerosmith at the Verizon Ampitheater in Irvine and Saturday July 31 I went to As I Lay Dying at The Paladium in Hollywood. Rather than review the concerts, I've put together a chart to compare and contrast these radically different events. (read more)

Great news! You can now buy my books from Amazon. They have great prices and cheap or free shipping. And the best news of all: I'm an Amazon affiliate. That means I make a little something off of any sale that comes through my website. It's win/win. Just follow the link for either Cryptic Creatures or Man Made Monsters and a soulless machine will take care of the rest.

Hey hey. I just got my first review for Cryptic Creatures. Brian McGackin of the Glendale News-Press gave me a pretty good review. He felt I could have used a little more editing, but I think everyone is going to say that. I want my books to read like I talk so they won't always conform to the stringent rules of the English language. Besides that, he was quite flattering and complimentary. If you'd like to read the full review, click the link below:

Last night I went to see Aerosmith in concert. They were pretty frickin' good for a bunch of old guys, but this isn't really about the show. I'm more concerned with the absurd security at the venue. As I was walking toward the gate some douchebag in a yellow knit shirt informed me that I couldn't get in with my chain wallet. I asked him why and he told me that no chains were allowed inside. It didn't really answer my question, but I figured it would be fruitless to argue. I trudged back to the car and stored my chain. I went back to the gate and to my surprise all they did was scan my ticket. They didn't search me at all. WTF? I could have had a knife or a gun or TNT strapped to my belly, but thank God they stopped me from bringing in 3 ounces of ornamental chain. I'm sure everyone felt safer. (read more)

Last month I wrote an article about the things that scare me. I should have also included my fear that eventually the machines will take over and exterminate us all. Just like the bleak future mapped out in the Terminator films, I feel like technology will advance to the point where it no longer needs humans. I can see the signs everywhere, but a recent errand blew the doors open for me. The other day I was in Fresh And Easy, a new discount grocery store in my area, when I had one of those "oh shit" moments. I just went in for some corn on the cob and beer. Little did I know this shopping experience would open my eyes to the impending downfall of man. (read more)

Betcha didn't even know I was gone. Actually, I know some of you noticed judging by the angry e-mails concerning the inactivity of the site of the last few weeks. Well, I was out of town and I'm not like those idiots that tweet every time they go out so burglars know when to come over and rob them. In any case, I have been on a series of vacations and that's why I haven't posted in a while. I'm also not one of those people that spend their whole vacation working. I like to do things and relax. Not blog and/or work. I finally got my July List up, and boy is it a doozy. Also, I'm working on several articles like: why automated check-outs scare the shit out of me, the joys of traveling with an e-cigarette, and my review of this year's Mayhem-fest. All of that should be up in the next week, so keep checking back.

I will concede that the heavy metal world is by and large a sausage-fest, but this has nothing to do dick size. The list for July is about which band has the longest streak of killer albums in a row. This is based on my opinion, but I think it falls into a generally accepted guideline for which albums are great and which are not. I will only be considering new original studio offerings. Live, best of, covers, and re-issues/special editions don't count for or against. I may include an e.p. if it's particularly awesome. Okay, let's find out who has the longest one. (read more)

I know I had promised to write an article about snuff films, and I was intent on doing that today, but I came across a curious article that has me headed in a different direction. It would seem that an inmate in France was just convicted of killing his cellmate and eating part of his lung. Why am I just learning of this? How could this not be a top news story? Maybe the epic collapse of the French soccer team at the world cup gobbled (pun intended) up all the headlines, but this should have been a bigger story. Come on, it's a French guy eating another French guy. That's news my friends. (read more)

In case you didn't know, Kingdom Of Sorrow is a collaborative side project of Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Crowbar/Down guitarist Kirk Windstein. As much as I love Hatebreed and Crowbar I never got around to checking these guys out. There's just too much music out there and sometimes things fall through the cracks. I am glad I finally took the time to check 'em out because their new album Behind The Blackest Tears is an excellent piece of sludge/doom metal. (read more)