Writing, reading, editing, film, comic books, television, music, talk radio, surfing the web, sarcasm, junk food, criticism, being difficult, Disney, the bride (not necessarily in that order) ... just stuff...
Music
Currently listening to on my iPod Shuffle: Robyn, Gil Scott-Heron, Linkin Park, Eurovision 2008, Davy Jones, the Moaning Myrtles, Abney Park, k.d. lang, Ben Folds Five, Kate Bush, Hank Williams, Carpenters, Scissor Sisters, Duran Duran, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Lamb, Harvard Blue, Duffy, Apocalyptica, Spacemak3r, Madonna and the notorious much much more...
Nine Inch Nails, Kate Bush, Prince, David Bowie, the Cure, Limp Bizkit, Philip Glass, Run DMC, Ministry, Sade, Madonna, Eminem, Akira Ifukube, Sinead O'Connor, Eurythmics, Alice Cooper, Duran Duran, Tori Amos, Grace Jones, Motley Crue, Public Enemy, White Zombie, the Clash, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, 50 Cent, the Beatles, Art of Noise, No Doubt, Ennio Morricone, Hole, Johnny Cash, Marilyn Manson, Beastie Boys, Linkin Park, Stanley Jordan, Pink, Guns 'n' Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Evanescence, Sweet, Massive Attack, Journey, Nirvana, Victoria Williams, Steely Dan... just off the top of my head, now wait here while I actually check my music collection...
Movies
I've recently seen or re-seen: Speed Racer, Iron Man, Capricorn One, The Boys from Brazil, BloodRayne: A Fan Film, Drop Dead Gorgeous (2006), The 4th Floor, The Giant Behemoth, Billy Madison, Aztec Rex, Snakes on a Plane, Starter for 10, Mrs. Winterbourne, Superhero Movie, The Great Dictator, Sweet Nothing in My Ear, Infamous, Blackboard Jungle, Fallen, Monster (2007), West Bank Story, At midnight I'll Take Your Soul and The Intended.
The Great Race, Eve's Bayou, Metropolis, The Blues Brothers, Dead End, Bye Bye Birdie, Mommie Dearest, Full Contact, What's Up Doc, Key Largo, Little Big Man, Donnie Darko, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Quiet Man, Free Enterprise, Blade Runner, Shadow of a Doubt, Fantasia, Akira, King Kong, Freaks, The Graduate, The Gold Rush, M, The Big Sleep, Dog Day Afternoon, Pulp Fiction, White Zombie, Citizen Kane, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Arsenic and Old Lace, On Borrowed Time, Titanic, Duel, Big Trouble in Little China, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, The Desperate Hours, The Big Hit, Bonnie and Clyde, Dead Man, Flight of the Phoenix, Barb Wire, The Gift, Heavenly Creatures, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hell in the Pacific, Les Vampires, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Unknown, Lord of the Flies, Office Space, Pootie Tang, Time After Time.
Films by Kevin Smith, M. Night Shaymallon, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, Akira Kurosawa, Inshiro Honda, John Huston, Walt Disney, Kasi Lemmons, Robert Rodriguez, Todd Browning, Martin Scorsese.
Movie serials of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Kaiju eiga especially Godzilla and Gamera, Film noir, superhero movies, James Bond, Matt Helm, Tarzan.
Television
Currently at the top of my list: The Wire (quite possibly one of the coolest shows on TV), Dirt, Eli Stone, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Moonlight, Dexter, Heroes, New Amsterdam, ER, Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares (both British and American versions), In Treatment, Attack of the Show, Pushing Daisies (where'd it go?) and Reaper.
At the moment... in weekly order of airing... Judge Judy, Seinfeld, New Now Next, Family Guy, The Tribe, Eastenders, Nancy Grace, 24, Airline, CourtTV, Unwrapped, Good Eats, Emeril Live, Scrubs, Amazing Race, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, South Park, Survivor, Everybody Hates Chris, Scrubs, ER, Cops, Davey and Goliath, Cheaters, My Hero, In Bed with Butch, The Simpsons, The Sopranos, The 4400, Curb My Enthusiasm, Extras, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Stupid Boston!) Venture Brothers and Doctor Who.
Books
Currently reading, re-reading or read: "Master Detective" by John Reisinger, "Sticky Wicket Vol. 2: Watkins Fights Back" by Ewart Rouse, "Chess Bitch" by Jennifer Shahade, "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman, "No One Heard Her Scream" by Jordan Dane, and "Blaze" by Richard Bachman/Stephen King.
Best comic books on the shelves right now: Gail Simone's Wonder Woman, Dan Dare, the late Steve Gerber's Doctor Fate in Countdown to Mystery, Fantastic Four by Millar and Hitch, Project: Superpowers, Nexus, Godland, Brave and the Bold, Avengers Invaders, Ed Brubaker's Captain America, Doctor Who, Jim Shooter's Legion of Super-Heroes and The Lone Ranger. And remember, kids, friends don't let friends buy Amazing Spider-Man.
"Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell is top of the heap. Other work by him as well as work by Stephen King, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, George Orwell, Ernest Hemmingway, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rudyard Kipling, Hunter Thompson, Harlan Ellison, and lots more I just can't think of right now...
Heroes
My bride, my parents, my brother, my sister, my family, my friends, my teachers, my mentors, my students, survivors, warriors, writers, artists, and anyone with the will to do what it takes to make their dreams come true.
I'm a supposedly professional writer and a reviewer of popular culture in all its forms. I've done stints in radio, journalism, theatre, film and video retail. Ask me anything about movies, television, music or especially comics and you'll be hard pressed to shut me up.
I'm currently forever working on several endless online and offline writing projects, including a cyberpunk thriller that makes Pulp Fiction look like a Care Bear picnic entitled The Beast Without, as well as others too numerous to mention - like the far future epic where sea mammals plot to wipe out what's left of the human race... or the one about the aging ex-rock star who has paranormal vision and knows the Weekly World News is all true... or maybe something completely different.
My baby and dream project is the comic review website Comic Widows (now on MySpace). Comic Widows presents articles, opinions and reviews of comics in all forms of the media: mainstream and independent print, film, television, manga and anime, gaming and on the web. Especially check out my regular opinion column Sweating the Small Stuff. Please also visit the Comic Widows discussion board at Comics Uncovered.
I also write a monthly review of the Marvel comic books, The New Avengers, The Mighty Avengers and The Ultimates 3, for the Avengers Forever website, and am an active participant in the Forum there.
I am also the comics co-host of the All Things Fun! Podcast, available on iTunes, which is based out of the All Things Fun! comics and gaming store in West Berlin, NJ.
I'm also the owner/moderator of the Writer Circle Yahoo Group - voted one of Writer's Digest's 2006 "101 Best Websites for Writers."
Our three major objectives are critique, feedback and support. I'm also the owner and moderator of Poet Circle, Writer Circle's sister group specifically for poets and their work. Check out my poems in the charity anthology In Katrina's Wake, compiled by Michelle Ailene True.
I'm a member of three in-person writers groups, nearly a dozen online writers groups and I post regularly in many interest groups at Yahoo! and occasionally at the seemingly dead Tribe.net.
I am also the Founder and occasional Chat Moderator at the The Writers Chatroom, formerly Milli Thornton's Fear of Writing Chatroom, that features writing guests of all kinds and authors from many genres and more.
A Virgo in my late thirties (or thereabouts), I confess a love for 1980s heavy metal hair bands, trash television, Kate Bush, talk radio, the History Channel, alternative music, chocolate, Hong Kong flicks and Godzilla movies. When I'm not reading comic books or eating French fries, I like to make fun of things I don't understand, as well as things I do understand. Currently I can't seem to get "4 Minutes" by Madonna and Justin Timberlake out of my head and I'm actively stalking Dana Delany. No, not really, but she's still hot.
Penned by myself and my friend Andrea, The Downward Spiral is an ongoing (and currently stalled - but wait until it picks up again!), collaborative, imaginary web blog of a semi-alcoholic twenty-something slacker whose life is in crisis. Also check out Andrea's new Potterdelphia (also here on MySpace) if you're into the whole Harry Potter phenomenon thang.
I'm also a greedy materialist like most human beings. If you want to buy my love, Amazon.com has provided the means with this completely unreasonable list. It's only for silly people who like throwing vast amounts of money at worthless causes like selfish writers obsessed with collecting more and more 'stuff.'
Cool, interesting, creative and out of the box people, as lame as that may sound... how about just new friends? Other writers, comic book geeks, film fanatics and music affectionados welcome as well. Writers are invited to check out Writer Circle, and comic book folks likewise Comic Widows.
But puh-leeze, no webcam girls, okay? I won't bend on this one. Absolutely no webcam girls or dating sites and especially home business scams or overnight money-making schemes.
Bands, please email me before requesting I add you. Seriously. If you don't, you will NOT be added, and I won't even look at your MySpace either.
And also a big no to folks who just want to use my Comments space for their own personal commercials. Just stop. Please.
I've recently changed my settings so contacting me first is a must. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks, Glenn. I'm still in York, but I fly back to Canada tomorrow and expect to spend my birthday with friends, with a little drinking and debauchery!
