Nuclear Rays From My Halogen Haze

music, politics, art, Elvis apologism

Coming up on April 28 – Rrose in a Prose: AUH! April 22, 2013

Filed under: Fiction,Folk,L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Performers,Poetry,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 1:43 pm

This month’s Rrose in a Prose is coming up! Once again, it’s at the Hedgehog Coffee Shop in Echo Park, so you can wash the whole thing down with coffee and one helluva sandwich.



The line-up this time has some really great authors and poets, including a return visit from the wonderful Jessica Ceballos, who wowed us a few short months ago. But it also has my old band mate, Asa Ferry, one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with and a man who really captures reality in a way not all of us catch or perceive–even if he just reads a sentence, it’ll make you float away later, looking at cumulus clouds and wondering why you’ve never seen the little shimmers that cascade from puff-pocket to puff-pocket before.

We also have Ryan Fuller from Fort King, and … goddam, there are too many people to talk about! Just read the list and kick yourself if you’re unable to attend:

Jessica Ceballos (Bluebird Readings)
Roy Rogers Oldencamp (Bluefat)
Beverly M. Collins (Quiet Observations)
Daniel Austin Warren (Black Hand)
Asa Ferry (Kind Hearts & Coronets)
Ryan Fuller (Fort King)

As always, this event is “hosted” by the not-ready-for-print-time player, L.A. RECORD’s D. M. Collins. That’s me!

A Rrose in a Prose
@the Hedgehog
2201 W. Sunset Blvd
(same side o’ the street as Mohawk Bend)
in Echo Park
April 28th @ 3 p.m.

 

A Rrose in a Prose is tomorrow! March 24, 2013

Filed under: L.A. Record,Lit Events,Movies,Performers,Poetry,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 1:04 am
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The good news is, we’ve added Drew Denny to the bill! You may remember Drew from such media as print, film, and the fine art world–she’s exhibited ecology-minded art environments in multiple continents, has been an editor and frequent contributor to L.A. RECORD, and has recently been going around promoting her very amazing independent film, The Most Fun I Ever Had With My Pants On, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. Oh, and somehow she’s also in the band Bon Bon.

The bad news is, due to health concerns, Allison Anders will not be joining us. We should compose an Exquisite Corpse poem for her to help her feel better! As long as things go well, and they seem to be doing so, she’ll likely be on her feet for next month, or in the months to come. Luckily, we do have a representative from her camp, as Flannery Lunsford, the star of her film Strutter, will be reading with us.

It’s at the Hedgehog in Echo Park, 2201 W. Sunset Blvd, at 3 p.m. See you there!

P.S. More info at the Facebook invite HERE.

 

Coming up on March 24: A Rrose in a Prose: MAH! March 2, 2013

Filed under: Celebrities,Comics,Fiction,Film,L.A. Record,Lit Events,Performers,Poetry — D. M. Collins @ 11:32 pm
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After taking a hiatus in February due to Zine Fest and utter exhaustion, we’re back with a vengeance for March.

March 24, we’re bringing a huge crew of awesome authors, poets, essays, and artists of the printed page, including graphic novelist/comic book genius Tom Neely, of The Blot, The Wolf, and of course, the famed fan-fiction erotica Henry & Glenn Forever.

We’re also having a poem/performance from Ian MacKinnon! If you haven’t heard him or heard of him (e.g. from Ian MacKinnon’s Gay Hist-Orgy), then you must not have eyes or ears.

And don’t forget Allison Anders, who will be reading from her tumblr blog about owning Greta Garbo’s record collection.

And we’ve got Flannery Lunsford from Allison and Kurt Voss’ film Strutter, and a return visit from Justin Maurer, author of Seventeen Television (and, oh, like about a thousand awesome bands including Maniac, Clorox Girls, and L.A. Drugz). Don’t miss this one!

A Rrose in a Prose: MAH!

 

DUM DUM Issue No. 3 party this Saturday … February 6, 2013

Filed under: Bands,Blogs,Fiction,Lit Events,Los Angeles,Other Stuff,Poetry,Shows — D. M. Collins @ 1:10 am
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… and I am the DJ. Or, at least a DJ (there are a couple DJs, it seems, and 100 bands and 10,000 readers/performers).

You should come party, because if you don’t, it means you hate community and hate literature. It means you wish people would stop reading and start shooting each other with guns. It means you are flippant and vile. It means you’re a bigot. You’re a sad, petty, bourgeois blight upon the world, and the only value you have to anyone is as a dire warning, or maybe as future compost, a chunk of organic offal to insert into the ground to counteract the garbage you strew–though then again the chemicals you fill your mind and body with may very well poison our dwindling water supplies and make some poor crawdad somewhere die.

What a scumbag you are… but it’s not too late to change the course of your life and ATTEND this event!

ATTEND!

ATTEND! Make a last stand against the wretchedness and the filth that gurgles sick words of childish love to you when you look in the mirror.

ATTEND! Listen to readings by authors, real authors, people souls haven’t left their bodies and swum down the snaky pipe at the base of their own toilets rather than cling to the monster who birthed them.

ATTEND! Soyez présent!

DO IT IN FRENCH IF YOU HAVE TO! Take an Echinacea pill if you have to! For what better cure than a placebo for the world’s biggest lie?

ATTEND! ATTEND ATTEND ATTEND!

And stay until the end so you can dance!

 

Stephen Kalinich at A Rrose in a Prose – December 16 December 28, 2012

Filed under: Bobb Bruno,Literature,Los Angeles,Poems,Poetry,Songwriters,The Beach Boys — D. M. Collins @ 1:33 pm
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I first learned about Stephen Kalinich from a bootleg Brian Wilson CD that Bobb Bruno loaned to me years ago. I never imagined that the unknown man behind this strange, disembodied, beautiful voice would someday be a friend. This is a guy who writes poetry that feels like warm sunshine coming into your kitchen window in the morning. As a poet, he’s graced the steps of our nation’s capitol and the grooves of my favorite Beach Boys albums.  I’m so happy that he’s now graced our presence twice at A Rrose in a Prose.

This time, he could only stay briefly: he was on his way from a recording studio and on his way to another reading, or vice versa, or something–I can’t keep up with the guy! I hope once I’ve lived as long and as thoughtful a life as Stevie has that I’ll still have this kind of enthusiasm and joy in sharing my work with others.

 

Lina in L.A.: A Rrose in a Prose October 1, 2012

Filed under: Lit Events,Los Angeles,Performers,Poetry — D. M. Collins @ 10:12 pm
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Lina Lecaro put some sweet photos of A Rrose in a Prose up at the L.A. Weekly. Thanks, Lina!

 

Stephen Kalinich interview September 28, 2012

Filed under: Interviews,L.A. Record,Performers,Poetry — D. M. Collins @ 4:23 am
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This was already posted in issue 108 of L.A. RECORD, but now it’s on the website. It was quite a joy to interview someone of his light, enthusiasm, and history. He’s a true American poet, and I love him to death. So glad he’s back and doing more poetry, as well as a little music of his own as “Stevie Nobody.”

So much of your work is about peace. You knew even then?
Yes—at 12 or 13 I was writing about world peace and believing I could help bring it about. I’ve had different experiences with that now. We have to fight as aggressively for peace as we do for war. I don’t mean necessarily with guns, but we have to be strong because the forces of evil against us are very organized and very strong. And good has a tendency to be nice and sweet and not as organized. We gotta organize goodness! Without making it cultish or dictatorial. I’ve never seen anyone really do it. The way I think now—sometimes if evil comes into your house, you gotta defend it. And I mean defend it. Not just wish good thoughts. Good thoughts will get you killed. You understand the difference? I’ve grown to realizing peace needs a physicality in this world.

I also wrote an expanded review of the Stephen Kalinich/Jon Tiven album and posted it. Unfortunately I can’t be at Kalinich’s show tonight, because I’m DJ’in.

 

thank you all so much for coming to A Rrose in a Prose September 23, 2012

Filed under: L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Performers,Poetry,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 10:28 pm
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This month’s A Rrose in a Prose event was so well attended, and it had such amazing readers! If you were in either category today, I feel honored. I’ll post more photos as they come in. Here’s me, Lina, Nocando, and Jean-Paul:

Thanks to Lainna Fader for being first to chronicle the moment!

 

I didn’t do this interview myself…

Filed under: L.A. Record,Poetry — D. M. Collins @ 3:00 am
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Check out this rerun of a fantastic interview with Nocando, as done by Chris Ziegler, at L.A. RECORD. I’m so excited to have Nocando as a part of this month’s Rrose in a Prose event!

 

a new time, a new day for A Rrose Is a Rrose… September 13, 2012

Filed under: Celebrities,Fiction,Film,Hip Hop,L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Los Angeles,Performers,Poetry,Politics,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 10:09 pm
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… and a new name!

Someone (not our group, that’s for sure) put some posters on some light poles downtown a couple months ago–at least FOUR of them! That’s completely illegal, and I say that anyone who does it should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, far more than a mere $312.

Yet the name in the city officials’ misspelled documents was so wonderful, I had to steal it. Serves those vandals right!

So, compelled by the spirit of Dadaism, our literature/poetry/memoir/erotica/essay/rant event is now called:

The next one is September 23. Please come.

 

 
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