#burnside review

[mywifeleftme]

309: Junior Kimbrough // All Night Long

All Night Long Junior Kimbrough 1993, Demon Records (Bandcamp)

“Crawling around in the dirt. Crawling around in the dirt between the rows of blooming, blinding white cotton in the field to the side of Junior’s old country juke, and this woman, Lord she must have been sixty, she was out there crawling around in the dirt, with me, I’m not lyin’! Both of us out there in the sun, drunk on white lightnin’ in the middle of the day! And it was a Sunday! Amps turned up all the way inside the shack, drums making the floorboards boom, you could hear it fine. Yeah out there in the dirt.”

That’s how Robert Palmer, an eminent rock critic turned filmmaker and music producer whose 1992 documentary Deep Blues sped along the rediscovery of Junior Kimbrough, opens his liner notes for All Night Long. It reads like a white New York Times writer trying to summarize a scene from True Detective in the voice of Toni Morrison, but there’s nearly always some degree of authenticity fetishism in prose about the blues. Palmer describes Kimbrough’s juke joint performances as orgiastic rituals, a head full of voodoo and a belly full of moonshine, sweaty, droning, folks drawn to the shack like moths to a light that could destroy them. It’s that thing that whites have found alluring and repellant about Black music since they first encountered it, the way it seems to provide something people desire in their gut without asking moral permission to do so.

Not having been by Junior’s place, I can’t really speak to Palmer’s assessment of the scenes (maybe he’d’ve described a college club in Provincetown called Hedonism in similar terms, who knows), but he made the right decision “producing” these recordings as little as possible. Kimbrough’s music does feel like something completely unreconstructed, these endless trudging jams with their reptilian pulses closer to African trance music than the tidy verse-chorus structures imposed by physical singles. He plays at ear-bleeding volume, unmindful of feedback, with a bone-dry tone that wouldn’t be out of place on a noise rock record. These are horny moan-songs about feeling good (often in the near-abstract way you get to drinking right before the spins hit) and staying out, though there’s a throbbing vein of violence and despair at the bottom of it.

Chances are my local Blues Society parents would have some trouble with his “You Better Run,” a bleak-humoured seven-and-a-half-minute nightmare about a woman pursued by a knife-wielding rapist. Kimbrough delivers it like one of those brimstone sermons about the perils of sin, only here there’s no sin implied, no God or Devil present, just this stalking, inevitable wraith, this thing that desires you as hungrily as a yawning grave. Kimbrough rescues the woman in his car towards the end of the song, but as he drives her home he drily warns her he might decide to rape her himself, only for her to reply that he won’t have to because she loves him. It’s a grim joke, but one that no doubt got a huge reaction from his regulars the same way the nastiest shit talk in a diss track gets people going—it’s the daring they applaud, the swagger of being badder than a bad world.

309/365

[birdsofpvey]

they really ended up shelving the upcoming batgirl movie…. what the fuck bro

[heidismagblog]

[bookerplays]

Agenda turns a new page

I’m thrilled have two poems in the final issue of Agenda edited by the legendary Patricia McCarthy. Stepping Stones (or Volume 55, Nos 3-4 to those of a bibliographic mind!) is a beauty in both form and content, and a fine finish after two decades of Patricia’s curatorship. “Agenda is being taken over by the University of St Andrews, with the illustrious poet and Professor John Burnside as the…

[professoruber]

Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi Reading List

Last Updated: 24/4/2024

A list I have decided to make for the purpose of compiling the various appearances so far of Maps Mizoguchi; since she is a character I like whom has also been receiving some focus as of late. I will also provide some brief description/thoughts for each one.

Gotham Academy (2014-2016) - All Issues

Maps of course first made her original appearance in the first run of Gotham Academy.

Gotham Academy: Endgame (2015) - #1

A one-shot comic which was one of several tie-ins made for the Endgame event which was going on at the time. Basically just shows what Maps and the GA crew were up to while Gotham was being overrun by Joker zombies.

Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) - All Issues

The continuation of the Gotham Academy storyline, with of course has Maps in a major role.

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy (2016-2017)

A crossover between Gotham Academy and the Lumberjanes, which I'm pretty sure is non-canon but still probably worth checking out. I have not read it, nor the Lumberjanes comics yet, although I do intend to do both as some point (due in part to ND Stevenson being one of the authors of Lumberjanes, and me really liking the She-Ra reboot and Nimona)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016) - #1

Maps, alongside other Gotham Academy students (including Olive, Kyle, Colton and Pom) have a brief cameo in this first issue of this run. Maps and Olive each get one line each.

Batgirl (2011—2016) - #51, #52, & Annual 4

Maps (along with Olive) also showed up briefly during the Batgirl of Burnside run. My assumption is this is due to them sharing an artist and being published concurrently. I do know what Burnside!Babs isn't everyone's cup of tea so keep that in mind, I suppose.

My Video Game Ate my Homework (2020) - #1

Maps and Olive show up behind the main characters in the first page as a cameo... and that's about it. The comic seems fun though, for the record. Mostly including this because I'm just going through the list of Maps' appearances on the DC wiki.

Batman: Black and White (2021) - #4

One of the stories in this issue has Maps appear as Robin. Non-canon but still a very neat and fun appearance by her.

Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121

Probably Maps' first major appearance since the end of the Gotham Academy: Second Semester. These give some additional exploration of her home life and relationship with her parents. Has her dressing up as Robin to investigation the disappearance of another student.

Batgirls (2022-2023) - #11

Maps shows up here and has an adventure with Cass. This also means that Maps knows Babs, Cass and Steph. Which is neat. I do know that the portrayal of the Batgirls in Batgirls isn't everyone's cup of tea (namely portraying them as younger / less mature than they have been in the past) so that that's worth keeping in mind. Interestly, Maps' big brother Kyle has a larger role; appearing in #10, #11, #17, #18, #19 and the Annual as a possible love interest for Steph.

DC's Saved by the Belle Reve (2022) - #1 

A one-shot with several stories, including one which returns to the Gotham Academy crew and gives some information on what's happened since the end of Gotham Academy: Second Semester, along with a fun adventure.

Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery (2023) - #1

A one-shot which acts a compilation of Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121, as well as Maps appearances in Batman: Black and White, and DC's Saved by the Belle Reve.

Birds of Prey (2023-) - All Issues

The newest Birds of Prey run has a surprise appearance by Maps. Which I think is a neat sign of her receiving some increased focus as of late. To get into some mild-ish spoilers... the Maps who appears is a Maps from the future. I have made a few posts/reviews of this run, which you can find on this blog, and I guess personally I am not the biggest fan of her portrayal in this comic. Still is neat to see her receive more focus. Do kinda also think it could've been neat if Present!Maps had shown up instead of Future!Maps.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) - #10, #11, #12

Gotham Academy returns! As does Present!Maps. A fun ongoing story of Maps getting to team up with Batman once more.

[adleryoung]

"Oh," Barkingthwaite replied. "Well, if it's a matter of honor, I suppose we have no choice but to accept. Terribly sorry, old bean. Meant no disrespect."

"Please accept my apologies, my lord," Venatrix apologized. "I certainly wouldn't want to put you out by refusing a gift. This rule wasn't mentioned in any of the lore."

"Just take it," I snapped, as I apported a sack of gold and held it out to them.

"My word," Barkingthwaite exclaimed whe he saw it.

"Are you quite sure?" Venatrix inquired. "That seems a bit -"

"TAKE IT!" I ordered. "If you successfully complete this mission then I will have more work for you. Consider the surplus a retainer for future assignments."

They took the gold and scampered away into the woods.

LOWFOLK! By Fuma, they were every bit as exasperating as I remembered. I massaged my temples and tried to remain positive about the prospect of working with them. They were my only option at present, so I would have to make the best of it.

While I waited, I reviewed what else I would need done.

If even half of Lana's information about Zandar was accurate, she was dangerously Unseelie and quite powerful. Her failure to return to Faerie at the same time as the other changelings indicated a rebellious spirit. I would need a way to restrain her so that she would be unable to escape my agents once they found her.

Zandar's decision to shut herself up in a cellar for centuries showed an exceptionally grim determination. I wasn't sure exactly what crime she was avoiding the consequences of by doing this, but it indicated that we had something in common. It also showed that she had a familiarity with potent preservation spells. My research into the subject had revealed that a counterspell would be required to revive her. I would need to have my servants gather ingredients so I could prepare an elixir. Then I would have to carefully instruct them how to use it.

I also wanted to know more about the exact state of the rabbit settlement. Where were my Ixies? Why had they not returned? What happened to Rebecca and Burnside? It would be nice if they were available to help me, and I didn't have to rely entirely on bumbling lowfolk.

I was still musing on these topics when Barkingthwaite and Venatrix returned, laden with a smallish chest full of clothes.

"I didn't request an entire wardrobe," I protested.

"This is a single outfit," Venatrix explained. "The outer skirts and jacket were bought, as well as the shoes and a few of the structural elements, but much of the foundation I made myself."

"What in Fuma's name?" I asked as I held up a diabolical-looking restraint covered with straps and laces.

"The corset," Venatrix beamed, as Barkingthwaite bashfully turned away. "A wonderful invention that helps ensure a proper fit for the outer dress."

"You seem to have anticipated my needs far beyond what I told you," I admitted as I examined a flexible cage made from lashed-together hoops of a strange material that flexed like a bow but didn't seem to be wood. "Are you planning to trap her in this? Not a bad idea. My only objection is that it seems a bit small."

"Oh no, my lord," Venatrix chuckled. "That's the bustle. It goes underneath the outer skirt, to fill it out and give a stylish profile. Remember, as I explained, these fashions were invented by a spider. It is all the rage among vertebrate femmes to simulate the appearance of a plump arachnid abdomen."

Barkingthwaite began coughing violently. He gasped out something incoherent about his blasted pipe as he excused himself and staggered over to the other side of one of the menhirs.

"She will definitely have trouble fighting in this getup," I surmised with a smile as I looked over the assortment of clothing. "I need to place some enchantments on it to further limit her capacity for mischief. While I am busy doing that, I have another assignment for you. This one will not be as easy."

[bermudianabroad]

2023 Reading Roundup

Everything what I read in 2023

I read a whole bunch.

Heartily Recommend Visceral Bleh Reread *Audiobook*

Fiction

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (where is the fucking humidity in your swamp, Delia??)

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Lot by Bryan Washington

Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell (but everyone is called Thomas)

Verity by Colleen Hoover (awful but wacky and hilariously awful)

Katalin Street by Magda Szabo

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Animorphs #24 The Suspicion by KA Applegate (a trip)

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

The Island of Forgetting by Jasmine Sealy

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

The Trio by Johanna Hedman

At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Silence by Shusaku Endo

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Babel by RF Kuang (was so disappointed by this one)

The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

Island by Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen

The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani

Must I Go by Yiyun Li

The 1,000 Year Old Boy by Ross Welford

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow

The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno

Yellowface by RF Kuang

The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani

The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Game Misconduct by Ari Baran

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (sorry Naomi :/ )

The Foot of the Cherry Tree by Ali Parker

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Matrix by Lauren Groff

The Twilight World by Werner Herzog

Wild by Kristen Hannah

*The Fraud by Zadie Smith*

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (weirdly, one of the best depictions of a marriage I’ve read)

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abdulhawa

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht

Animorphs: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles by KA Applegate

Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Animorphs #13 The Change by KA Applegate

Animorphs #14 The Unknown by KA Applegate

Animorphs #20 The Discovery by KA Applegate (snuck in two more under the wire… #20 is when shit REALLY kicks off. From there it gets darker and darker).

Poetry

Black Cat Bone by John Burnside

Women of the Harlen Renaissance (Anthology) by Various

The Analog Sea Review no. 4 by Various

The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Non-Fiction

Besieged: Life Under Fire on a Sarajevo Street by Barbara Demick

Atlas of Abandoned Places by Oliver Smith

Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews

City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth Century London by Vic Gatrell

The Lazarus Heist: From Hollywood to High Finance by Geoff White (fully available as a podcast)

The Entangling Net: Alaska’s Commercial Fishing Women Tell Their Stories by Leslie Leyland Fields (very niche but fascinating. Transcribed interviews)

Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi

Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H.

Freedom by Margaret Atwood (just excerpts from novels repackaged)

*Born a Crime by Trevor Noah* (Noah’s narration is superb)

The Slavic Myths by Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak (was expecting stories, but it was mostly academic essays)

Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels

Safe Area Goražde by Joe Sacco

The Way of the House-Husband, vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono

SAGA vol. 1-6 by Fiona Staples and Brian K Vaughan

Top of the Top:

Born a Crime was probably my favourite non ficition, and most of that probably is due to Trevor Noah's narration skills. It was very entertaining and heartfelt.

Less uplifting but just as gripping in a different way was Empire of Pain. Excellent book that went deep into the why and what and hows of Purdue Pharma. Anger inducing.

Lazarus Heist is great and available as a podcast. The book is more or less the podcast word for word.

Fictionwise: I read Trust at the start of the year and it was a bit soon to declare as favourite of the year, but it's stil made the final cut. Just very imaginative and intriguing. Just my kind of MetaFiction. Clever without being cleverclever.

Demon Copperhead I read right off the back of Empire of Pain so maybe that coloured my experience. I've not read any Dickens so loads of references no doubt flew past me, but the language was acrobatic and zingy. I loved it.

Wrapped up the year on a high with North Woods. That was so unexpected and entertaining. Again with the playful language, memorable characters and a unique approach to tying all the various stories together. One that sticks in the mind and makes the writer in me wonder how I can replicate his style (with my own personal twist of course.)

[therogerclarkfanclub]

"Night Train"

Author: Ted Tayler Narrated by: Roger Clark Book Series: "The Freeman Files", Book #9 Release Date: March 28, 2023 Length: 6 hours, 23 minutes

👇 Care to listen to a sample of this audiobook? Click on the media player below 👇

Overview:

Ivan Kendall died in a train station restroom eighty miles from home in March, 2014. Why did the quiet family man travel to Westbury from South Wales so late at night? The Crime Review Team, headed by formerly retired policeman Gus Freeman to investigate cold cases in Wiltshire, England, now must tackle another cold case besides that of Ivan Kendall. As the team closes in on an assassin, from the previous cold case involving Grant Burnside’s death, an old adversary stands in their way. In lighter moments, Suzie Ferris moves in with Gus, and Lydia Logan Barre finds her father. ©2020 Ted Tayler (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Night Train is available from:

Audible ✰ Audiobooks.com ✰ AudiobooksNow.com ✰ AudiobookStore.com ✰ Barnes & Noble ✰ Google Play ✰ Hoopla ✰ Overdrive + Libby ✰ Rakuten Kobo ✰ Scribd

[the-mechanized-crossover-event]

Hi! This looks really fun, but I’ve never done anything like this before. Could I get a run down of how it works?

Absolutely! (And I am going to over-explain everything because I know that helps a lot of people!)

This is a gift exchange. That means that when a person signs up, they request work to be written for them and offer to write for another person’s requests.

Requests are what you want written for you (only one of your requests will be written). Offers are what you are offering to write (only writing for one request for their recipient).

A person can offer and request only what is in the tag set. This is a selection of fandoms and characters. Nominations is how stuff gets added to the tag set. Here is the link to the tagset. To nominate, go to the tagset and click “Nominate” or “My Nominations” at the top. This will take you to a page where you can type in fandoms and characters. Once you hit submit (at the bottom of the page), the nominations come to me for review. Once I approve them (I go through and approve at least once a day), they appear in the tagset.

Those who sign up will make at least three requests and at least three offers. They will be matched with someone to write for, and someone will be matched to write for them.

In this exchange, every work is a crossover with the Mechanisms. The Mechanisms characters are built into the exchange as “Additional Tags”. When signing up, everyone must select at least one “Additional Tag”, at least one fandom, and at least one character per request/offer.

Do Not Wants (this is what will wreck this fic for you, your hard lines, which must be respected by your writer) are put in the Optional Details.

Example: Person A makes three requests -

1. Fandom: “The Magnus Archives”.

Characters: Jonathan Sims, Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood.

Additional Tags: Jonny d’Ville, The Aurora, The Bifrost Incident - CHARACTERS.

Optional Details: DNWs: Explicit sex, romance, permenant major character death, and animal death. Likes: Friendship, angst, hurt/comfort

2. Fandom: “Wooden Overcoats”.

Characters: Rudyard Funn, Antigone Funn.

Additional Tags: Jonny d’Ville, Nastya Rasputina, Ashes O’Reilly.

Optional Details: DNWs: Explicit sex, romance, permenant major character death, and animal death. Likes: Friendship, angst, hurt/comfort

3. Fandom: “The Adventure Zone”.

Characters: Magnus Burnsides, Lup, Taako, Maureen Miller.

Additional Tags: The Aurora, Dr. Carmilla, The Toy Soldier, Gunpowder Tim.

Optional Details: DNWs: Explicit sex, romance, permenant major character death, and animal death. Likes: Friendship, angst, hurt/comfort 

Person A makes 3 offers -

1. Fandom: “The Murderbot Diaries”.

Characters: Murderbot, ART.

Additional Tags: Jonny d’Ville, Nastya Rasputina, The Toy Soldier, The Aurora, Dr. Carmilla.

2. Fandom: “The Magnus Archives”

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan Sims, Tim Stoker

Additional Tags: Any

3. Fandom: “Wooden Overcoats”

Characters: Any

Additional Tags: Any

Checking “Any” for a category means you are offering any character for the selected fandom in the tagset or any additional tag in the tagset.

Person A can be matched with someone who requested any one of those fandoms and characters. And Person B can be matched with Person A if they offered any one of Person A’s requested fandoms and characters.

Here are the gift exchange FAQs from Ao3

Let me know if you need anything else!

[biohazard2017]

steve burnside . unfortunately from recv. do you know him what are your opinions on him

i am Neutral on steve im so sorry. i dont know anything abt cv in general and i dont think ill ever play it so my only perception of steve is in those youtube review videos where everyones like steves so WHINY he SUCKS so my perception is definitely stewed. screwed? whats the word. anyway i know u didnt ask for this but i dont like steve/claire either considering their age gap isnt steve like 16? 17? im not too sure. i like his outfit though. if anything capcom knows how to costume their little guys

[robertconnelyfarr]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Robert Connely Farr (@robertconnelyfarr)

“…a gritty, distortion-fueled adrenaline rush of an album that’s also a mood-enhancer… hits particularly well when you feel like you’ve had enough… reminiscent of early Black Keys, Tab Benoit & R.L. Burnside.”

Read the review here:

https://americanahighways.org/2022/10/31/review-robert-connely-farr-shake-it/amp/

Hear #shakeIT

robertconnelyfarr.Bandcamp.com

robertconnelyfarr.com

[claudia1829things]

"GODS AND GENERALS" (2003) Review

"GODS AND GENERALS" (2003) Review In 1993, producer Ted Turner and director Ronald Maxwell released "GETTYSBURG", a film adaptation of Michael Shaara's 1974 novel, "The Killer Angels". Shaara's son, Jeffrey, wrote a prequel to his novel called "Gods and Generals" in 1996. Both Turner and Maxwell teamed up again in 2002-2003 to make a film adaptation of the latter novel.

Set between April 1861 and May 1863, "GODS AND GENERALS" related the American Civil War events leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg. Although the movie began with Virginia-born Robert E. Lee's resignation from the U.S. Army, following his home state's secession from the Union; the meat of the film focused on the personal and professional life of Confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson during those two years. It also touched on how Bowdoin College professor Joshua L. Chamberlain became second-in-command of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, his military training and his experiences during the Battle of Fredricksburg. But trust me . . . most of the movie is about Jackson. It covered his departure from the Virginia Military Institute; his experiences with the famous "Stonewall Brigade"; his experiences at the Battle of Bull Run; his relationships with both his wife Mary Anna, his servant Jim Lewis and a five-year-old girl from an old Virginia family; and his experiences at the Battle Chancelorville. "GODS AND GENERALS" had its virtues. One of them turned out to be Michael Z. Hanan's production designs. Hanan and his team did a superb job in re-creating Virginia of the early 1860s. I was especially impressed by their recreation of mid-19th century Fredricksburg during that famous battle in December 1862. I wonder who had the bright idea of using Harper's Ferry, West Virgina for that particular setting. Hanan's work was ably supported by Kees Van Oostrum's photography and Gregory Bolton's art direction. Oostrum's photography and Corky Ehlers' editing was also put to good use during the Fredricksburg battle sequence. And I really enjoyed the costumes designed by Richard La Motte, Maurice Whitlock and Gamila Smith. All three did their homework in re-creating the fashions and uniforms of the period. Unlike "GETTYSBURG", "GODS AND GENERALS" featured major female characters. I suspect this gave the trio the opportunity to indulge their romantic streak with crinolines and hoop skirts galore. There were some admirable performances in "GODS AND GENERALS". Frankie Faison gave a warm performance as Thomas Jackson's freedman cook, Jim Lewis. I was also impressed by Brian Mallon's subtle portrayal of the concerned Major General Winfield Hancock, a role he had first portrayed in the 1993 film. It is a pity that Bruce Boxleitner did not receive more screen time for his role as Lieutenant General James Longstreet. He had taken over the role from Tom Berenger and gave a pretty solid performance. But alas, he did not receive enough time to do anything with the role. Alex Hyde-White gave an interesting portrayal of Major General Ambrose Burnside, whose decisions led the Union Army to disaster at Fredricksburg. Matt Letscher was very memorable as the 20th Maine's founder and first regimental commander, Colonel Adelbert Ames. I could also say the same for Mira Sorvino's portrayal of Frances "Fanny" Chamberlain, Colonel Chamberlain's passionate and pessimistic wife. In fact, I believe she had the good luck to portray the most interesting female character in the movie. So . . . what about the other performances? What about the stars Stephen Lang, Jeff Daniels and Robert Duvall? I am not claiming that they gave bad performances. Honestly, they did the best they could. Unfortunately, all three and most of the other cast members had the bad luck to be saddled with very uninteresting characterizations, bad dialogue and self-righteous speeches. In other words, I found them a little BORING!!! I am sorry, but I truly did. First of all, Lang's Thomas Jackson dominated the film just a little too much. Why bother calling this movie "GODS AND GENERALS"? Why not call it "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF STONEWALL JACKSON"? Even worse, Jackson is portrayed in such an unrelenting positive light that by the time the movie came around to his fate after the Battle of Chancelorville, I practically sighed with relief. Jeff Daniels' Joshua Chamberlain did nothing to rouse my interest in his story. In fact, he disappeared for a long period of time before he made his reappearance during the Battle of Fredricksburg sequence. And his appearance in that particular sequence was completely marred by him and other members of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment quoting William Shakespeare's "JULIUS CAESAR", while marching toward Marye's Heights. Oh God, I hate that scene so much! As for Robert Duvall's Robert Lee . . . what a waste of his time. Ronald Maxwell's script did not allow the actor any opportunity to explore Lee's character during those two years leading to Gettysburg. I realize this is not Duvall's fault, but I found myself longing for Martin Sheen's portrayal of the Confederate general in "GETTYSBURG". There is so much about this movie that I dislike. One, Maxwell's portrayal of the movie's two main African American characters - Jim Lewis and a Fredricksburg slave named Martha, as portrayed by actress/historian Donzaleigh Abernathy - struck me as completely lightweight. Now, I realized that there were black slaves and paid employees who managed to maintain a friendly or close relationship with their owner or employer. But in "GODS AND GENERALS", Lewis seemed quite friendly with his employer Jackson and Martha seemed obviously close to the family that owned her, the Beales. I could have tolerated if Lewis or Martha had been friendly toward those for whom they worked. But both of them? I get the feeling that Maxwell was determined to avoid any of the racial and class tensions between the slave/owner relationship . . . or in Lewis' case, the employee/employer relationship. How cowardly. In fact, this lack of tension seemed to permeate all of the relationships featured in "GODS AND GENERALS". Aside from one Union commander who berated his men for looting in Fredricksburg, I can barely recall any scenes featuring some form of anger or tension between the major characters. Everyone either seemed to be on his or her best behavior. And could someone please explain why every other sentence that came out of the mouths of most characters seemed to be a damn speech? I realize that Maxwell was trying to re-create the semi-formality of 19th century American dialogue. Well . . . he failed. Miserably. The overindulgence of speeches reminded me of the dialogue from the second NORTH AND SOUTH miniseries, 1986's "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II". But the biggest problem of "GODS AND GENERALS" was that it lacked a central theme. The majority of the movie seemed to be about the Civil War history of Thomas Jackson. But the title and Shaara's novel told a different story. However, I do not believe a detailed adaptation of the novel would have done the trick. Like the movie, it lacked a central theme or topic. Perhaps I am being too arrogant in believing I know what would have made the story worked. After all, it is not my story. Jeff Shaara was entitled to write it the way he wanted. And Ronald Maxwell was entitled to adapt Shaara's story the way he wanted. But I do know that if I had written "GODS AND GENERALS", it would have been about the Battle of Fredricksburg. It turned out to be the only part of the movie that I found interesting.

[dustedmagazine]

Crestfallen Dusk—S/T (Moonlight Cypress Archetypes)

Crestfallen Dusk by Crestfallen Dusk

Given the state of contemporary culture, a project fusing black metal with traditional blues is likely not the most hare-brained musical idea you’ve heard this year, let alone this week. Depending on how broadly you define “traditional blues,” Crestfallen Dusk’s sonic venture might not even sound all that original to you. But when speaking of landscapes as diverse (ecologically, ethnologically, geologically) as the Appalachian and Delta regions in which blues thrived, locality makes a real difference, and it’s best to work in specifics. Ryan Clackner, driving intelligence and talent of Crestfallen Dusk, takes locality quite seriously. Some of Clackner’s other bands focus on the folklore of the Blue Ridge Mountains (Primeval Well) and of Western Tennessee (Vile Haint). Crestfallen Dusk drifts farther south, to Mississippi’s deep well of blues, which is possessed of its own singular strangeness. Stranger still, perhaps, this is a very good record.

It may not be so surprising that black metal and Appalachian blues are such a generative match. The first cut on Crestfallen Dusk is titled “Beneath the Cool, Calm Soil”; we might note that the Scandi second-wave bands that provided the long-running model for how black metal should sound were significantly invested in place and soil. For some of those bands and their problematic progeny, those emphases cultivated a noxious “blood and soil” political sensibility. If this reviewer is hearing Crestfallen Dusk with the right set of ears, Clackner and his bandmates Zac Ormerod (who contributed lyrics) and Sean Meyers (who drums) are interested in the experiences and expressiveness of all the folks who have walked the southern dirt. Clackner has credited R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough as principal influences on the guitar style of Crestfallen Dusk. The playing sounds as laudatory as it is innovative. 

“Fuse,” as used above, might overstate. On two long, back-to-back tracks, “The Blackness Come Creepin’ In” and “Burn in Hell,” Clackner’s blues-influenced playing is quite prominent, but those portions of the songs alternate with scorching runs of metallic intensity. The modes dance with each other, by turns exchanging moves and staring each other down. The resulting songs are quite effective—but neither matches the transporting weirdness of album closer “My Clouds Have Not a Silver Lining” (great title), which is a sort of deconstruction of song-forms generally. Its disorienting passages of collapse and tangle somehow tap into the blues, that music’s expressions of suffering and impulses toward disorderly conduct. The song is far and away the most compelling thing on Crestfallen Dusk, which may in turn be a suggestion for Clackner’s idiosyncratic talent. He’s best when he lets himself be most himself. 

Jonathan Shaw

[geryone]

7,15,19! For the ask!

Hello!! Thanks for asking!

7. Is there a series/book that got you into reading?

If I’m thinking about when I got back into reading in earnest I would say in high school I read Till We Have Faces by C.S Lewis which started a love of reading & then I started picking up Murakami books & since then I’ve been reading fiction at a regular rate. Poetry I didn’t start reading a ridiculous amount of until the last couple years but I started out reading Crush by Richard Siken when I was a sophomore in college!

15. Recommend and review a book.

I suck at writing reviews honestly but I highly recommend The Dumb House by John Burnside! It’s about a man who tries to recreate a story his mother told him about an emperor who locks babies in a house and orders no one speak to or in front of them to discover the origins of language. The narrator tries to recreate this & things don’t go the way he imagines!! Really really love reading about characters that are awful terrible people and I really enjoyed the way this book was written!!

19. Most disliked popular books?

I don’t like The Great Gatsby!! Just not a fan. I also am not a fan of Colleen Hoover books or Sarah J Maas books but that’s mostly because I work in a bookstore and I’m tired of hearing about those authors.

[matthewburnside]

SELECTED WORK OR INTERVIEWS APPEARING IN LITERARY MAGAZINES:

2023

“Fable” Prose Poem, Nurture Literary Journal. Forthcoming. 

2022 

“A Tooth is a Tree” Poem, The Meadow. “Perpetuum’s Sonata” Fiction. Cream City Review. “No Exit: A Gallery of Existential Horrors” Nonfiction, Post Road. “Here is a Little Book to Comfort You During These Unusually Dark Times” Chapbook, Poems, Selcouth Station Press. “Transmigration of the Soul: a Cheat Sheet” Story, Phantom Drift Limited. “Hungers | Hunches| Hunts | Haunts” + “True Story” Stories, The Pinch.

2021 

“An Advent Calendar to Assay the Dolorously Heartsick” Hybrid, Meow Meow Pow Pow. “Technologies of Sorrow” Poem, The Shore. “Attention All Poets!!!” + “Can You Just Be Serious Already, Please?” Prose Poems, Sledgehammer. 3 “The Artist of the Ugly” Story, Contrary. “Not a Prose Poem” Prose Poem, Unbroken Journal. “Ramshackle Heavens” Prose Poem, Ice Floe Press: Pandemic Anthology. “Reliquaries of the Loveless” Story, Hominum. “Ghost Story” Story, Hobart After Dark. “Encore” Story, BULL. “Infinity Paradise Oblivion Cubicle” Story, Trampset “Digital Dreaming in Analog” Story, Heavy Feather Review. “Starskins” Story, Hobart. “Caustics: A Love Story” Story, Always Crashing. 

2020 

“Three Prayers” Poems, Rejection Letters “I cut my hand on a flower sharp with absurdity” Prose Poem, Giallo Lit “¤ Clockwork Melancholies ¤” Flash Fairy Tale, GASHER Journal “Young Escher Reconsiders the Human Heart as a Series of Tessellations Unspooling Toward Eternity” + “All of Tomorrow’s Rust is Electric,” Prose Poems, No Contact “∂ Tetherlings ∂”, “₾ Pilgrimage ₾,” Flash Fairy Tales, Lammergeier “Postlunar Lovesong” Poem, Pithead Chapel “The Prognosticators” Short Story, Okay Donkey “Meditations on an Echo in a Cave – Part I: A Brief History of the Coffee / Tea Break in Nintendo’s Mother Series, Writing as Getting Lost, Bombs, Wolves, Wax Jesus, & The Art of Pretending to Pray” Nonfiction, Grimoire “Wiki of Infinite Sorrows” Novel, KERNPUNKT. Forthcoming “13 objects of obscure power” Digital Chapbook (poetry, hybrid) – [https://matthewkburnside.wixsite.com/13objects] “Dear Wolfmother – Part 3, Serialized Digital Novel, Heavy Feather Review. Forthcoming 

2019 

“Secondhand Heavens,” Story, Cartridge Lit “Moments After My Wife Informs Me from the Passenger Seat That Lightning is Merely a Bundle of Negatively Charged Ions but What We Famously Know as Lightning Is Actually Just the Positive Flash of Afterlight Crawling Its Way Wounded Back Up the Sky,” Prose Poem, The Hunger “Story of a Dollhouse,” Poem, 8 Poems “There,” Poem, The Stay Project “Dear Wolfmother - PARTS I&II: Allegro/Summer”+”Adagio/Autumn” Serialized Digital Novel, Heavy Feather Review “Interview with Josh Denslow,” Interview, Lit Reactor “Parting Letter,” Nonfiction, Brevity blog 

2018 

“Rules to Win the Game,” Novel, Spuyten Duyvil “Meditations of the Nameless Infinite,” Poetry Collection, Robocup Press. 

2017 

“A Topography for Cataclysmic Dreamers,” Mixed Media Collaboration, 7X7 “The Architecture of Emotion,” Interview with A.A. Balaskovits, Cartridge Lit “Band-Aids are Some Bull,” Poem, Lit.Cat “Brief Index of All My Past Lives Leading Up to You,” Poem, Maudlin House “Postludes: An Interview with Matthew Burnside,” Interview with Koh Xin Tian, Ploughshares blog “On Postludes,” Interview with Lauren Prastien, Michigan Quarterly Review “An Interview with Matthew Burnside,” Interview with Patrick Font, Arcadia 4 “An(other) Interview…,” Interview with Sarena Ulibarri. Spec Fiction blog 

2016 

“The World is Flat” Poem, JMWW, Exquisite Duet “Spies” Story, Day One “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost” Poem, Cartridge Lit “Totidem Verbis” Digital Poem, Permafrost 

2015 

“In Search Of: A Sandbox Novel” Interactive Novel-in-Progress, Best American Experimental Writing  “Six Books to Light the Way Through the Darkest Night(s) of Your Soul” Blog post, Ploughshares “Reading as Intoxicant, Part II: Ten Books That Are Basically Drugs” Blog post, Ploughshares. “Reading as Intoxicant, Part I: Neurochemical Qualities of the Modern Manic Page Peeler” Blog post, Ploughshares “Carefully Curated Catastrophes” Blog post, PANK “In Search Of: A New Media Crash Course” Blog post. PANK “My Literary Zombie Apocalypse Dream Team” Blog post, Ploughshares. “Interactivity and the Game-ification of Books” Blog post, Ploughshares. “Stories You Can Touch” Blog post, Ploughshares “Bestiary” Fiction, Los Angeles Review “Postludes” Fiction, Gingerbread House “The Devil (and God) in the Details” Nonfiction, Passages North Blog “Rules to Win the Game” Fiction, MARY: A Journal of New Writing [reprint] “Five Literary Games” Blog post, Ploughshares “The Virtue of Stillness” Blog post, Ploughshares “An Incredibly Brief Introduction to New Media Lit” Blog Post, Ploughshares “Is Anyone Reading Your Blog Posts?: Building a Literary Community in the Age of Facebook” Blog post, Ploughshares 

2014 

“On Bitterness” Nonfiction, Passages North Blog. July 25 “I’m Sorry Princess But Your Plumber Is In Another Castle,” Nonfiction, Entropy. July 13. “As We Speak Pink is Pissing in the Mouth of Tyranny,” Poetry, Black Heart Magazine. June “I am a Quantum Wizard,” Poetry. Literary Orphans “Twelve Classic Poems Rewritten By Twelve Classic Video Games,” Poetry, Cartridge Lit. "Directing James Franco," Nonfiction, DIAGRAM. Issue 14.2. “The Root to Heel is Peeved with Ghoul Intestines," Poetry, The Electric Encyclopedia of Experimental Literature/The NewerYork “Anti-Midnight in the Kingdom of Yes” + “Consequence of Splitting the Atom,” Poetry, OmniVerse [reprint]. ZombieVerse: Resurrection Issue 

2013 

“Oblivion’s Fugue,” Fiction, Revolution House [reprint]. Volume 3.3. December “Questionable Lessons on the Craft of Writing Deciphered from Some Shitty Translations of My ‘What Would I Say’ Results,” Nonfiction, Sundog Lit Blog “Novel Excerpt from In Search Of” + “Interview with Matthew Burnside,” Fiction, Interview, Squalorly “My Kingdom for a Placebo,” Fiction, Schlock Magazine “Mow a Field of Flux” + “Iguana Ambulance,” Poetry, The Electric Encyclopedia of Experimental Literature/ The NewerYork “Preludes,” Fiction, Prick of the Spindle. Vol. 7.2 “The Zombie Apocalypse Will Be Televised?” + “Anatomy of a Clockwork Cock” + “Four 5 Ways to Drown a Cloud,” Poetry, Literary Orphans "In Japan There Are Crows as Big as Bicycles: An American’s Brief but Indispensable Guide to the World at Large," Nonfiction, The Molotov Cocktail “J Franco Uploads a Video of Himself Singing Ke$ha to YouTube,” Nonfiction, Defenestration. April 17 “Index of Humilities: a Self-Study (of Sorts),” Nonfiction, Sundog Lit Blog. March 11 "Careening Down the Highway in a Stolen Bumper Car, Slappy Sullivan Has His Last Laugh" + "The Puppy Apocalypse Will Not Be Televised" + "At the Sour Patch Kids' Birthday Party," Fiction, Black Heart Magazine. February 19 "note found on vanity mirror one hour after your melting away," Poetry, Interrobang Magazine "For Kevin," Fiction, Apt "For Mom," Fiction, Necessary Fiction "For Dad," Fiction, Monkeybicycle "On the Benefits of a Lego Heart, Which Unlike Human Hearts Can Be Rebuilt Again and Again Knowing the Resilience of Their Delicate Construction Even as They're Being Smashed Against Something like a House or Tree Trunk or Even Your Daddy's Old Pickup Truck With the Missing Left Rearview Mirror and Faulty Cab Lights," Fiction, Hobart. January 30 "Horoscapes," Poetry, Menacing Hedge 

2012 

"Chronology of a Black Hole,” Poetry, Ilk. Issue 6 "11 More Inflexible Rules for Upstart Writers," Nonfiction, PANK Blog. December 3. "For Heather," Fiction, Bartleby Snopes. Issue 9 "Romance: Beyond Thunderdome," + "Death Metal Music Box," Poetry, Used Gravitrons. Issue 9 "Cosmonauts/nots/knots," Fiction, Ninth Letter. Debut Online Issue. "Primer for Imaginary Theft," Poetry, Unshod Quills. October 10. "Into the Purple," Poetry, Photography, Extracts. October 3 "Only the Gods Know What Steve Buscemi is Capable Of," Fiction, Untoward. Volume 2, Issue 12 "Totems for New Combustible Life," Poetry, OF ZOOS. Issue 1.2 "The Internet Brushes Her Teeth With Candy Skulls," Poetry Collaboration, co-written with Nathan Blake, OF ZOOS. Issue 1.2 "Poem from the Cobbled-Together Statuses of Mom's Facebook Friends," Poetry, Rorschach Occasional "Futures," Fiction, LITnIMAGE "On the Failure of Language to Comfort You Following the Death of Your Pet Rock, Pebble Without a Cause," Poetry, The Northville Review. September 4 "This Poem is a Legitimate Threat," Poetry, Banango Street. Issue 2 "Manifesto in Autopilot," Nonfiction, The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review. August 6. "Nineteen Uses for a Room Its Walls Perfumed With Kerosene," Poetry, Radioactive Moat "For Kylie," Fiction, Jersey Devil Press "A Brief/Infinite Summer of Playing House," Poetry, Gargoyle "The City She Sings Noir, Softly First & Then Without Mercy," Poetry, A-Minor. July 30. "Dear Poem," Poetry, The Fiddleback "11 Inflexible Rules for Upstart Writers," Nonfiction, PANK Blog. July 3. "Concerning the Sad Magician," Poetry, Word Riot "Sunken Dreamers' Almanac," Fiction, Pear Noir! Issue 8. "Escapology," Fiction, NAP. 2.10 "Oblivion's Fugue," Fiction, The Stone Hobo "A Good Mandible is Hard to Find," Poetry, Birdfeast. Issue 3. Summer 6 "Karma Sutra” + "Trading Cards for the Legally Paranoid" Poetry, Dirtflask. Issue 3 "Anti-Midnight in the Kingdom of Yes" + "Consequence of Splitting the Atom" Poetry, > kill author. Issue 18 "Ahmed Builds a Miniature Trebuchet Out of Milk Cartons and Popsicle Sticks, Aims it at Nobody," Poetry, elimae "Yul Brynner Doesn't Give a Motherfuck" + "No Orgasm Will Ever Make Me Feel the Way Morgan Freeman's Voice Sounds" + "Trapped in Gary Busey's House, One Text Left" Poetry, Dinosaur Bees. Issue 4 "How to Build a Human Child From Spare Parts," Poetry, Used Furniture Review. February 3. 

2011 

"Revival," Fiction, Juked. November 15 "This Poem Will Not Save You," + "Romance like a Pneumatic Hiss" + "Tao of Right Now" Poetry, The Chaffey Review. Issue 7 "Literary Short Story: A Mad Lib," Fiction, PANK. Issue 6 "Robots in Tokyo," Pale Horse Review, Poetry "Emily on Fire, Waltzing, Waiting for the Rain," Poetry, Ginosko, Issue 11. "Rules to Win the Game," Poetry, Zahir "21st Century Postmodern Love Song" + "Scenes From a Fractious Lucid Dream," Poetry, Psychic Meatloaf "Moon on Fire," Fiction, Revolution House. Issue 2. "Biography," Fiction, decomP "Ballad of a Wingless Butterfly, Torn Asunder By Unforeseen Windstorms," Fiction, The Dirty Napkin. Volume 4.4. "Promethean Proclamation," Poetry, Danse Macabre. Poésie D'été: Summer Issue "Procession of the Dogface Lepers," Fiction, Gloom Cupboard. Issue 128. "Pan's Lobotomy," Fiction, State of Imagination "Ballad of a Bumblebee Trapped in Honey," Fiction, Contrary, Summer Issue. "Splinter," Fiction, Short, Fast, and Deadly. Issue 81 "Hey, got a light?" Fiction, Pulp Metal Magazine. May 29 

2010 

"Cautionary Notes on a Blood-Splashed Sneaker Sole, Size 6½," Poetry, PANK. November "Headline," Fiction, The Cynic Online Magazine. Volume 12, Issue 9. September "Adrift," Fiction, Barrier Islands Review, Issue 4 "Be a Minecatcher" + "Meditations of the Nameless Infinite" Poetry, Neon Magazine, UK. Issue 23, Spring 

2009 

"Dog Death Requiem," Fiction, Concho River Review. Vol. XXIII, Spring

[adleryoung]

I would have to seriously ponder the Gramarye involved, but the physical component of the far-speaking device seemed simple enough; just a cup with a string attached to the bottom. I apported some bark and fibrous vines from the forest and quickly fashioned a pair of adequate (if rustic looking) handsets.

"What do you think?" I asked the witches as I turned and displayed my handiwork. "A matching pair of mugs! And that's what I shall call them! A truly elfly name for this invention: Mumble-Mugs! Has a nice ring to it, eh?"

"Meh," Gretchen shrugged. "The alliteration is nice, but…"

"Tell-O-Cup is easier to say," Petunia insisted.

"The name 'Mumble-Mug' makes me think the message will be garbled and indecipherable," Chloe pointed out.

"It's appropriate, I guess," Rebecca admitted. "The message usually WAS garbled and indecipherable."

"Well the name isn't final," I scowled. "What I wanted you to notice was my creativity and industriousness. These are made from all natural materials! It's more sustainable than metal or ceramic."

"Cheaper, you mean," Burnside quipped.

"Cost is not the issue," I retorted. "But never mind. I can see that the niceties of manufacturing are lost on you. Now, I need to try and recreate the Gramarye on these things. Ash said it was simple when he gave the first one to me. I just have to magickally connect the two strings together … oh! Speaking of Ash, I should call him and find out what he's doing. Perhaps he could explain the enchantment to me. Or if he's not busy, he could report on the trial and I wouldn't have to enchant these at all!"

I picked up the original Mumble-Mug, pulled the string taut, and yelled into it: "Ash! Ash Marten!" I turned my head and pressed the cup to my ear, but heard only silence. "Dr. Cesawonki!" I yelled into it again. "Answer! Hey! Hello! Blast it, he's not answering."

"Ash is too busy to answer his Tongue-Waggin-Flagon right now, Sire," an Ixie informed me as she flitted up and saluted. "He hath much to do, reviewing briefs and selecting jurors."

"What??" I declared, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

"Ash Marten is a Prominent Citizen, much respected in the local community," the Ixie explained.

"That scoundrel?" I scoffed. "Prominent? RESPECTED??"

"Thou knowest how cunning he is," she reminded me. "How perfidious, how sly. He masterfully manipulateth public perception of himself, and, to come to the point, the townsfolk and the rabbits have agreed to appoint Ash as judge in the witch trial."

I blinked for a few seconds, then said: "Kindly inform Judge Marten that I wish to speak to him. Immediately."

"I bear other news, Sire," the Ixie continued. "Concerning the Reverend O'Hoppity, our findings are very dark indeed."

"That was quick," I remarked. "It would have been nice if all of you had been this efficient before now. But all right, what did you discover? I knew he couldn't possibly be untouchable. Everyone has dark secrets. Everyone is guilty of something, you just have to dig around to find it."

"Oh yes, Sire, he doth indeed have a secret. But … the Parson's sin is far darker than we ever imagined. I shudder to recount it."

"What," I asked, my mouth suddenly dry, "is it?"

"Reverend O'Hoppity's clandestine depravity would shame a mel of the cloth from any faith," the Ixie intoned dramatically.

"Tell me!" I shrieked, unable to bear the suspense.

"Very well, Sire," the Ixie declared. "Reverend O'Hoppity … believe it or not … is a partaker in, and practitioner of … I cannot say it …"

"SAY IT!" I yelled in chorus with the witches, who had gathered closer to listen.

The Ixie took a deep breath and uttered so quietly it was almost inaudible: "Shadow Puppet Shows."

Everyone stepped back and gasped in shock.

"That's dadgum disgustin," Burnside spat.

"By Fuma!" I declared, and then, because I could think of nothing else to say, I repeated it. "By Fuma! By Fuma! How can this be?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Rebecca moaned. "How do you know this? It can't be true! The noble, upstanding Parson who has been preaching to us my entire life was partaking in … those … unspeakable Shows the whole time?? No! It just doesn't make sense!"

"It seems the stakes have been raised," I muttered, after I'd had a moment to collect my wits. "As a Seelie elf sworn to the service of Lady Fuma, I cannot allow this decadent rot to continue and spread. For the good of everyone, and especially for the good of my witch cult, Reverend O'Hoppity must be taken down."