"Thought that I could decipher your message. There's no one here dear. No one at all." --Tori Amos

"I take pills that make everything Orange." --The Invention of The Lie

Apollo's Flock

The Chinese babe
Doesn't have too much hair
Just not enough head.
Least that's what I told
my Coors Light Silver Bullet comrades...
in between Budweisers
That sexy beast's name: Apollo.

[Makes guys "bahhh." Enamored sheep.
Real man I am. A man of men.
Muscles and all.
'round our office,
Just one of the girls.
It's a little embarrassing,
Need bumpers TO WII BOWL.]

She won the war that killed Achilles.
She watched him die through nail holes.
Watched him through her hands.

And to me Apollo's satin spoke,
"You remind me of an old, dear friend."

"Who?"

"Went by the name of God."

This world's lost track of
TruTH
and
mYth.

"Children waiting 'till they feel good. Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday." --Gary Jules

"I'm sitting here resting my bones and this loneliness won't leave me alone." --Otis Redding

a Judas Contract Signed

We all Mirrors
looking into mirrors
looking back at us
and looking
looking
looking...

I give you my Judas Kiss (lovely)
--The color of drowning--
stamped approval on your promising new career

as Alice.

signed, sealed, almost delivered
a Rabbit is late/
Neutron bomb.
One hundred seeds
breathe long each comma.

I don't believe it.
I'm in love again.

In front of this
keyboard I will dissolve
into words.

"Rise and see. It's the dawn of insanity." --W.A.S.P.

Saving Mr. Tortellini

The meat of this poem
Is in the title.
It's been a good run boys.
A damn good run.
Now find your cause
And save me.

"Behind the eyes, I hear it screaming." --Judas Priest

Military Alphabet

Living martyr
Southward attraction
Mushroom clouds us ever closer
To Angels.

My mood ring is black. Like my last name. Here's a little song that matches how I feel, W.A.S.P.'s The Heretic:

"These fits of depression are torturing me
The lives that I seen won't breathe again
A sad child of madness, they'll never be free
Born again to die, the agonies begin." --W.A.S.P.

Not to be left out my personal blog White Rabbit - *BLACK HOLE* is now available for Amazon Kindle.

Love this new desk like Jeopardy calendar my wife got me.

Warren Ellis: Notebook 22jan10

I'll let you know how the book is when I'm done but it's obvious I've got plans afoot.

Seth Godin: Unrealized Projects. Talking about Tim Burton: Every year, he spent an enormous amount of time on failed projects.

An update on Warren's Shivering Sands published via the same way Calliope Nerve Media publishes.

Again the doctor wants to put me back on mood stabilizers again. They think I'm bi-polar again. Maybe this time, the medicine won't make me grow tits.

No, really, maybe this time it won't.

I'm alive and crazy as ever evidently.

Meanwhile, in Gotham City... I'm going to have to turn Calliope Nerve dark for a few weeks while I work on some high profile editing projects. Or maybe I could get someone to run the site for me...

"You can not kill, what doesn't die." --Anthrax

"The odds are against you or so you assume." --Metal Church

What Doesn't Die Anthrax

The Fight Song Metal Church

Prison Sex Tool

Wicked Ways Life of Agony

Mr. Crowley Ripper Owens w/Yngwie Malsteem

Spanish Eyes Madonna

The Unforgiven III Metallica

House Of The Rising Sun The Animals

I Believe In Me The Scream

House of The Rising Sun Muse

Better Off Dead Tuff

Gotta go Agnostic Front

Stay Hungry Twisted Sister

Your In Love Ratt

Lay It Down Ratt

Charisma W.A.S.P.

For Victory Bolt Thrower

Asylum #9 W.A.S.P.

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'" –-Martin Luther King Junior

Here's the book I'm reading:



And here's the newsletter I just wrote: What Are You Saying?

I finished, printed, and mailed off my revamped White Rabbit Fall! zine called This Is Nobius Black. As the title implies, it's a brief introduction of me to the un-initiated (I hope they're ready) and it also contains a some well rounded examples of my body of poetry work.

Favorite quote from the zine, "I've seen a Superman die and Secret Wars. I know Who Watches the Watchmen and why Morpheus sent his lover to hell. There are Crisis on Infinite Earths, A Doom Patrol Crawling From the Wreckage, and a Justice League in a New Frontier. I witnessed Kraven's Last Hunt and The Dark Knight Return."

Like a comic, I think the next several issues of White Rabbit Fall! will create the overall arc of my mostly auto-biographical Me, In Ten Parts.

Mailed out several small type publications for Connie to review:
Duende by Love Beth Drew
888 by J.D. Nelson
a field of colors by charles lennox
xiii by J.D. Nelson
The Three Burglars (A One Act Play) by Scott Marshall
Photoshop Time (A Play) by Scott Marshall
Dirt Issue #2 from Perestencia*Press/P.R. Primeau, editor
Lara by Jesse Crockett/P.R. Primeau
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MIND CONTROL by J.D. Nelson
Works and Plays I: Doomed Love and other stories by Scott Marshall
Over the Transom Issue #16 edited by Jonathan Hayes
Over the Transom Issues #17 edited by Jonathan Hayes

And I have a few more I'm gathering that Felino will be taking a gander at for me.

Editing a chap and a book over the next couple of weeks, both to be released early February by my Calliope Nerve Media. And then I have two more books and another possible chap on the docket for the rest of the winter.

Nice to see Vertigo offering a free downloadable first issue again. I read several issues of Peter Milligan's Human target and loved it. We'll see if the upcoming FOX television series even compares.

Also, got out my interview to Keith Pascal today. Can't wait fro him to get it back so I can run it over at the Interview Series. Gathering up a list of possible future interviewees now.

This blog will be available for Amazon Kindle in just within three days. Been meaning to get that done.

Martial Arts was good today, small class. Just Drake, Steve, Michael, my son Jake, and myself. Got a nice bruise on my right shin from practicing X blocks.

Was good to hear Matt Patrick and Jim Traficant (the greatest Ohio politico ever) on WTAM this weekend. I was a little surprised to hear Patrick at another NE Ohio area Clear Channel station so soon... but hey, all power to him. He's probably the best radio host Akron's seen in fifty years.

Church was cool today too.

Got some more topics to talk about too but my ass is telling me it's time to get away from the computer screen so I'll type at you all later.

LULU is running a 20% off special. Now's a good time to check out Calliope Nerve's original book offerings. Use coupon code: CABIN at checkout. Offer good through January 18th site wide.

Warren Ellis: The Rust of Broadcasting.

"What Russell and his crew at Really Interesting Group have done is wrangle deals with newspaper printers. Whose business, in an emergent post-industrial age, is certainly a bit broken. Huge fucking machines designed only to print newspapers, in a time when newspaper publishers are printing fewer newspapers. RIG set up Newspaper Club, that allows people to print their own short-run newspapers using these big lonely machines that are not running the volume they used to but still need to pay for themselves."

"The reason that most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." --Denis Watley

Though I know there are more important news stories right now, I did want to cheer Google for standing up to China.

From my Calliope Nerve Interview Series:

Scott, in the time I've known you've clearly mixed your creativity with entrepeneurialism. Tell us about Omikase Design.

Omakase is the Japanese word for "entrust." If you go into a sushi restaurant and order omakase, you are entrusting the chef to use his judgement to create something for you. In the context of my business, it means that I try to be an expert in my field that a client can trust to create a good product.

Tell us about being a Buddhist? Does your faith inform your creativity?

Like a lot of Buddhists in the West, it's not about faith for me; Buddhism has no articles of faith. Quite the opposite, it is about seeing and dealing with what is real here and now. I wouldn't say it informs my creativity exactly but it certainly shapes my outlook on life and as a result, the content of the work I tend to produce.

We met through the Amateur Publishing Association APA Centauri. Can you tell us about some of the zines and small press comics you've produced over the years?

I joined AC when I was 15, and at that time it was largely an outlet for fan fiction and personal zines and such. It was thanks to AC that I started to draw and write more seriously, starting to draw comics when I was 20, publishing mini-comics in the early to late 90s, still mostly personal stuff. I had some scripts for comics that never got drawn that wound up being reworked as scripts for plays after I got involved with local theatre about ten years ago. Not long after that my son was born and my publishing output was reduced sharply. Since then I have done some web-based stuff, mainly blogging and some little comics projects; the most significant lately being a movie review blog called Sunday Night in Cinema 3 which I still plan to collect as a book.

What type of education background do you have? (Formal or informal.)

I have an MA in English literature from Acadia, a small university in Nova Scotia. In the late 90s I took a course in graphic design in order to change careers and give me more skills for publishing and comics.

What's on your recommended reading list?

My favourite writers tend to be genre guys, like Philip K. Dick, John Wyndham, Richard Matheson, Robert Cormier. Lately I have been enjoying Douglas Coupland, Ian Rankin, Kenneth Oppel, and William Gibson's recent stuff. And of course a bunch of comics people, especially Kirby, Moore, Morrison, Kurtzman, McCloud, Cooke, et al. All time favourite books include The D Case by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini; Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith; Confessions of a Crap Artist by Phil Dick; High Fidelity by Nick Hornby; Lone Wolf and Cub by Koike and Kojima. If people are interested in reading Buddhist books, I enjoy Brad Warner's stuff and a book called The Diamond Cutter.

You are also a playwright and actor, we'd like to know more.

I would not say I am not much of either, but I have enjoyed being on stage with some friends and learning more about it. If nothing else I have discovered that I don't have the need or passion to be on stage that some people do, so after doing a lot of plays in a short period of time a few years ago, I have since only gone out for roles that I really want to do, if I really have the time. There is a local event every summer where teams of performers write and perform a short play in 24 hours, and in many ways that is more fun for me than being in more serious productions was.

How has technology affected you over the years?

The big difference is just that it allows me to save and perpetuate and revisit my work, I guess. I started writing on a manual typewriter, and drawing on bristol board with technical pens. Now I can create anything I care to on my MacBook, in Word or Manga Studio with a graphics tablet. And of course the internet has pretty much put APAs out of business. Those who want feedback on their creative work can create a blog or webcomic or whatever and get advice from people around the world.

Do you consider yourself prolific?

No. Not as much as I would like to be. But I think the quality of what I manage to produce now is higher than when I used to crank out New Mutants fan fiction. :) I sure hope it is anyway.

You also have done technical writing What types of projects have you worked on. How is technical writing different and alike to more traditional creative styles?

Technical writing is not exactly creative, it is more about distilling information down to its most essential form so that a target audience can understand it. I have worked for the nuclear industry, writing operation and training manuals; and for various e-learning companies, creating courses that people take online or in their workplace. It's useful experience for writers in that it teaches you to be brief, organized, and to keep the reader in mind.

Tell us about illustrating. What tools do you prefer to draw?

It varies. I have always loved the traditional tools for creating comics, brush and ink, but I also enjoy using a graphics tablet to draw straight to the computer screen. These days I mostly just draw in a sketchbook when I can grab a moment, using pencils and brush pens.

What does the future hold for Scott Marshall?

Hopefully another 50 years or so. :)

You can find out more about Scott Marshall by going to his blog located here which includes links to some of his comics and plays. Calliope Nerve recommends Scott's play Photoshop Time and Comics for Coalfish--look for Abe Lincoln and The Twin Towers at the end of the PDF.

"I'm quite sure that you'll tell me just how I should feel today." --New Order

Someone has a man crush on Warren Ellis.

See what you miss if you don't read the only official e-newsletter of Calliope Nerve: The Blacklist?

Hurry, subscribe, Jesus is watching.

...and he'll know.

Click to join CalliopeNerve

This piece from buffettologist.com sums it up.

"On the side of a country road a few months ago stood a young farmer with a sign advertising apples he had grown that were for sale for a mere five dollars a bushel. To the casual passer-by this young farmer might have gone un-noticed, just another person trying to make his way through the turbulent economic times of the last few years, but—in my mind at least—what this farmer really represents is a businessman at the most basic level. This young farmer is a person who created (grew) something that people want, and is now directly selling the fruits of his labors—at a great price too—directly to his customers. Not only is this what the exchange of goods is really about, but, in my opinion, this farmer should also be viewed as a classic entrepreneur."

The answer to most American problems (if not most world problems) are six: education, entrepreneurialism, caring, sharing, self responsibility/determination, and small government. A government has never created wealth or liberty... only free people can do that.

And no, I'm not a Republican. The Party of Lincoln ceased to exist years ago.

Until my own Death Metal/Hardcore/Punk band Straight Jacket Sister hits the big time, enjoy this very cool cover of House of the Rising Sun:



And here's a book I'm reading:



Quickly now, I'll give you a few updates and then I got to go.

Just scored another huge project to be published via Calliope with a returning author. Tentative release date is Feb 1st but could be sooner. Also, started planning out our first intended money maker. The Nerve needs a cash infusion in a big way. Don't we all?

Also, working on a BIG BIG interview with a published author and successful martial artist which will appear at the Calliope Nerve Interview Series.

Yesterday, was my first official day as a regular employee at the new place. I'm going to delve into this in the future but I work with a large group of the self employed. Very inspiring to my own work.

Nice piece from Warren Ellis again, this one on Notebook Notes.

Told you'd I'd be quick.

Muse Thing: The Calliope Nerve weblog is now available for Amazon Kindle.

We're taking over.

Everything...

How appropriate my oldest daughter Kayla should digitally ink a picture themed for my website. The Cards Are Off Again.

Okay, no official announcement until I'm sure it's up there, but I just made the Calliope Nerve BLOG available on Kindle.

Most important, Lacey's out of the I.C.U. and back home with us. Poor baby.

As I mentioned, my biggest resolution of this year is to spend my personal time first on increasing my earning potential and on revenue/potential revenue generating projects.

I plan to have a large presence on E-bay this year. Here's a listing I did today. I really like how professional it looks. I'm diversifying the product line a bit as well though the mainstay will still be books, comics, and toys. And time to experiment with BUY IT NOW.

Jake and I enjoyed watching the first collection of the re-vamped He-Man from a few years ago:



Finally saw District 9. Solid science fiction story telling. It's re-telling of Apartheid is very timely and situations from the movie can easily be applied to the quagmire of America's own occupation in Iraq and some the atrocities of both sides in the Israeli-Gaza conflict.



And Michael got all The Preacher and Transmetropolitan trades for Christmas. It's great to have a family member with the same taste in books. More importantly, one who lets you borrow them.

Not much of a post tonight, but unfortunately it's late and I still have things to do. But I do have some more dialogue from my new story, The City, Itself.

"When they come for you. They will come for you all."

She clenched Midas to her chest and into the cold night air she expelled, "I know."
The cloud of her whisper and it's words hung in the night for what seemed eternity.