RAD THINGS OF OCTOBER

I've been meaning to do a monthly series of things I dug over and over or bought or was given or dig or laughed about or etcetera in the previous month, mainly as a reminder to myself, but I haven't done it (OBVIOUSLY). I'm a week late on the first one, which seems appropriate.


Deep Shit by Stale Champagne
No sucky sad face here. Sure, not as good as Stale Champagne, but daammmmnnnn this album wins the raucous award, dark dark in its clang. I'm sure "The Basement" slithered itself onto my favorite song list so so fast. "I've been livin' in the basement of the world. Sleepin' under a table and worshippin' Satan 'cause of a girl."

Sleeping Bag LP by Sleeping Bag
Took way long to buy this album why? Oh well, wore it out on Bandcamp, HERE LISTEN. Friend said, he mumbles a lot, and yes he does, but it's lovely. They play songs at their own pace and THAT IS SO PERFECT. I like to listen to this in the shower.

Hank by Abraham Smith
I'm stlll figuring out how to talk about this album (something I hope to do in a long essay DO IT soon) but for now, I'll post this video of Abe getting his Hank on (I know I know done that before or twice):


Cowboy Maloney's Electric City by Michael Bible
Here's my Single-Sentence Review. If I ever get my own Vouched Books table, this is one of the first fiction books I'm ordering.

Editing Stoked
We had a busy past month: finishing Volume III (see you in December sucka!), already got a few pieces for Volume IV, assembling our next chapbook (Travis Macdonald's erasure of the Wartime chapter of The 9/11 Commission Report, called "The O Mission Repo: Time"), and accepting our first full-length book for publication (more on this soonsoonsoon). DUH I'M STOKED.

Dating Sara Again
After almost 6 months of being broken up and a few months after our divorce, we decided to try dating again. People say weirdos; we say hey. It's slow and paced and cautious and loving and somehowsafe and FUN. I'm done being an idiot (I hope).

Half Moon Brewery in Kokomo, Indiana
One of our first dates this time around, Sara and I dug this place bunches. MORE THAN OUR WALLETS; too be fair, it's actually priced aightly, four bucks for a pint of beer, 10-15 bucks for an entree. We just drink a lot. Sursly yummy Jack Daniels Steak Marinade and Honey Rye Beerz.

Savage's Ale House
I can't go to Muncie nowadays without checking up on my favorite bar. Fine by me.

A Real Rad Bloomington Trip With My Parents
A two-day trip with my parents and beloved relatives at Oliver Winery, an apple orchard, a drive through the park, Apples To Apples (I WON FOOL), free beer, rad time with my dear cousinpal Darrin, MOTHER BEAR'S, Upland Brewhouse. 'NOUGH SAID:)

The World's Most Dangerous Drug
I can't stop thinking about meth and this documentary didn't help. THANKS NETFLIX.

Season 3 of Parks And Recreation
I don't know when Netflix put this up, but AGAIN THANKS NETFLIX. Burned through it in like a week and I DON'T REGRET IT. I might put my "favorite funny tv shows that I've seen all the seasons of" list as 1) Arrested Development 2) Parks and Rec 3) Seinfeld and 4) The Office. DISCUSS?!

My Job As A First Grade Teacher's Aide
Two and a half months in and I'm like okay okay I could do this another year or two. It's like being the fun goofy uncle; I get to do fun things like PE and field trips and see the neat stuff like learning to read but when the major wacky happens, I just hand them back.

Some Things Going On

I asked some alright questions and Riley Michael Parker of HOUSEFIRE Publishing completely ruled the answers over at Smalldoggies for the Vouched Satellite column. People have seemed to enjoy it and that makes me happy.

*****

Layne and I were featured on Six Questions For... today about Stoked. Also, bonus material for Volume II of Stoked Journal have started and I must say, they're quite fabulous.

*****

The WCWPCCS put out two chapbooks recently and were nice enough to send me some copies. I'd bought their awesome release, The Feeling Is Mutual, awhile back. That book was pure fantastic, collaborative goodness. Though not quite that polished and hard-hitting, the two new ones are quite entertaining and most importantly a cool testament to the power of collaboration.



Exquisite Craps was my favorite of the two. The WCWPCCS gals are so into this writing poems together thing that they've admittedly forgotten who wrote what. That's just great! I'm a big time advocate, fan of, and yearner for collaborations and from my experiences, I know how difficult it can be to get people involved and stick with it, not to mention to produce something that is a solid representation of all involved's skill levels and the strength of the relationship. Whether or not these poems are skyrocket gut punches, it's quite clear these poems are results of meaningful relationships and a fun experience. AND FOR THAT I'M LIKE HELLYEAH.

This from "When The Horse Fell Into The Canal:"

Really, what's more repetitive than a fence?
Marsh birds stating blankly ahead, standing on one foot.
The eyes of animals we had never seen
Flashed above the brown water.

******

LIVE

Stoked: Volume II is live! Check it out here and below.

Add it on Goodreads!

Volume II of Stoked Journal features poems and prose by:
Matt Hart
Daniela Olszewska & Carol Guess
Nate Pritts
Adam Moorad
Joshua Helms
Thomas Patrick Levy
Christopher Newgent
xTx
Len Kuntz
Parker Tettleton
Nick Ripatrazone
Ryan Rader
Ashley Farmer

Also, the issue features the first installment of "What Are You Stoked About?" where our past contributors shout and stomp about what they are digging at the moment. The first installment includes:
An Interview with Peter Markus by J.A. Tyler
"Stoked On Slinky Storytelling" by Mike Young

Please spread the word.

Open publication - Free publishing - More adam moorad

Stoked Volume II

Hey writer pals,

In case you missed it, we at Stoked Press/Journal started taking submissions today for our second issue. You can find more guidelines in our call for submissions below or at our blog: stokedstokedstoked.blogspot.com. We'll be reading in June and July for this issue. Hope your writing is going well and hope we get to see some of your work in the inbox soon.

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HEY HEY. Stoked Journal wants to see your coolest work for Volume II between June 1st and July 31st. Please check out the first issue before submitting: here. Volume II, which will be out in September, will be a leap forward from this issue, increasing the amount of content and including reviews, interviews, and possibly other artwork, while maintaining the focus on stoke-worthy writing and crisp design.

To submit poetry, fiction, or nonfiction: send 3-5 poems, one essay, one short story, or 2-3 short shorts or flash fiction/nonfiction pieces to tylerisstoked@gmail.com.

To submit art: send a .JPG of your work to tylerisstoked@gmail.com

To submit an interview or book review: send an e-mail including either who you want to interview or the book you want to review, along with links to your writing, such as a blog or published pieces/interviews/reviews.

Sure you can do that: send submission in body of email or as a single Word Document, iinclude a bio (third person, short, etc.), send us simultaneous submissions, be nice.

We look forward to seeing your work.

STOKED ROUND II

YOU ARE COOL? YOU WRITE? GREAT. SUBMIT WORK TO STOKED JOURNAL.

I've been telling you for years to get stoked...

We are proud to announce the release of our first issue of Stoked Journal. The issue features new work from Amber Sparks, Brian Oliu, Daniel Bailey, J.A. Tyler, Mike Young, Ryan Ridge, and Sarah Carson, as well as reprinting of stories by Roxane Gay (originally published in Gargoyle 56) and Matt Bell (originally in Drexel Online Journal). Big thanks to all these authors for making this first issue such an excellent and enjoyable one. Please check it out and spread the word; we are sure you'll be just as stoked as we are.

READ THE FIRST ISSUE HERE