Monday, June 16, 2008

News From Around The Interweb

Sure, I'm still firmly entrenched in hibernation mode, watching lots of episodes of The Outer Limits and drinking a responsible amount of absinthe, but that doesn't mean I don't have at least one eye to the cyber playground commonly referred to as "the internet."

  • Spinetingler magazine has just put out its Summer 2008 issue, which of course confuses me and my Antipodean biological clock (it's winter here, dammit!). Still, with fiction of all lengths (as long as they're short) coming from the likes of Patti Abbott, Amra Pajalic, Stephen D. Rogers, Allan Guthrie, Steve Mosby, Tony Black, Brian Lindenmuth, Grant McKenzie, John McFetridge, you're sure to have some chills regardless of climate.
  • Demolition is another fine zine that has the same need for seasonal confusion, but much more in the self-destructive noir mould. Go thou and read now some fine stories from Justin Porter, Stephen Blackmoore, William Dylan Powell and John Kenyon.
  • The Lineup, crime poetry collection extra-ordinaire, is gearing up for launch Real Soon Now. Click away and look forward to some poetry from the likes of Ken Bruen, Patrick Shawn Bagley, Ken Bruen, Sarah Cortez, Graham Everett, Daniel Hatadi, Daniel Thomas Moran, R. Narvaez, Robert Plath, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Stephen D. Rogers, A.E. Roman, Sandra Seamans, Gerald So, and KC Trommer. You saw my name in that list, didn't you? Well, get to it then.
  • I should have blogged about this a tad sooner but winter hibernation kicked in early: For those of you that live in the same sunburnt and overcast country as me, you may want to get your car in order to Rouse Hill Town Centre for An Evening Of Crime with Aussie crime authors Sydney Bauer, Kathryn Fox and Katherine Howell. Details below.
Dymocks Rouse Hill and Vinegar Hill Memorial Library present “An Evening of Crime” with Sydney Bauer, Kathryn Fox and Katherine Howell. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet three successful crime authors face to face and answer those questions you always wanted to ask.

Their books will also be available for purchase and signing.

Sydney Bauer has written 3 riveting legal thrillers –Undertow, Gospel and Alibi. Undertow was recently announced as the winner of the coveted Sisters In Crime Davitt Award under the main category of Best Crime Novel.

Kathryn Fox is the award winning author of internationally acclaimed forensic thrillers, Malicious Intent, Without Consent, and Skin and Bone. “Malicious Intent is the most exciting crime fiction released in Australia for a long time”.

Katherine Howell’s first book Frantic was released in May 2007 to rave reviews and will
be published internationally in 2008/2009. Her second book, The Darkest Hour, has just
been released.

Location: Vinegar Hill Memorial Library
Rouse Hill Town Centre
Rouse Hill, NSW
Date: 17th June,2008
Time: 7.30-9.00pm
Cost: $5
Bookings Essential: (02) 8889 5200

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Hibernating With The Green Fairy

With this blog nearing its fourth birthday, I find myself less and less inclined to post.

Generally when I have an interesting topic of discussion centring around crime fiction, I'd much rather keep the booze flowing over at CrimeSpace by posting it in the forum. So this particular spot on the web has become more of a news list than something with regular meaty content.

Before your heart attacks you, don't worry, I'm not closing the blog down. But I do seem to be shifting into my regular wintry hibernation, just like the big teddy bear that I really am.

To explain further, interests not involving the internet--at least the crime fiction part of it--have been happily taking up brain space over at Casa Hatadi's Cranium Lounge & Bar.

Having recently purchased a respectable amount of camera gear, I've been teaching myself the digital photographic ropes. You can witness the constant fruits of these efforts in the sidebar under Photografia, or go straight to my Flickr account to stalk me over there.

The other interest that has taken up the full services of my liver and brain has been that of The Green Fairy known as absinthe. This has tied in with writing, over at my Absinthe-Minded Journal. Behind the scenes I have also been very slowly working on an absinthe-related crime story, as well as trying my hand at some very melodramatic and purple poetry.

On Sunday, the two of these interests combined to form some kind of pinnacle*.

You see, one night after coming back from a work function more than a little toasted, I received an email that led me to order a very small, sample bottle of approximately 100 year old absinthe. 50mls to be precise. That's two small shots, enough to make two decent glasses of absinthe. I won't share the price of it here, as it made someone at my workplace have a minor choking fit.

This weekend I invited a couple of fellow absintheurs to partake of the extremely aged amber nectar and in between tastes, gasps and giggles I tried my hand at updating a famous absinthe painting.

So, until I blog again with some real news or expand my range of topics for some real content, I leave you all with a taste of my handiwork.



An update of a famous absinthe painting. The newspaper is the Sydney Morning Herald from 8th June, 2008 and the absinthe is a glass of Pernod Fils circa 1910.



The original: Based on a painting by Charles Maire (1845-1919), this ubiquitous print advertising Pernod Fils once hung in almost every bar and cafe in France.

Cheers,
Daniel

* Or possibly just a Voltron-like robot sword.