Friday, November 6, 2009

Pettus. Bosworth. New stuff. Life changing stuff.


Hold the presses. Is that the right cliche? Let's say it is. And let's say that Jason Pettus and the crew at CCLaP have a new joint out - The CCLaP 100 - as does the always handsome and bearded Mel Bosworth - When the Cats Razzed the Chickens & other stories - and we are thinking that you may just want to order both. Like right now. Will doing so change your life? Maybe. So why not hit it? There you go.


Thursday, November 5, 2009

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live and full of sunshine. Well that, and Holly Day.

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live and full of sunshine. Or something like that. We have a new poem Hot Sunshine Song by Holly Day, which we are way excited about, and, as always, photo action from Adam Lawrence, a music selection from Jason Behrends and Republican leaning independent prose love from Pete Anderson. We hope you enjoy this edition and we appreciate all shout-outs and links. Finally, please note, that we think you are the bomb, all of you. Big time. Okay, and one more thing, to all of our contributers, please feel free to let us know when you have something new to hype and we will be sure to hype. Cool?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

"Swooned all over again." I am Richard Simmons gets Pete Lit'd. And likes it a lot.

We cannot say that we don't expect, even hope, that the fine crew at Pete Lit, will be somewhat biased when it comes to our work, but we still very much appreciate the kind words they recently had say about our new ml press chapbook I Am Richard Simmons. Many thanks, and drinks for us, for sure, when next we meet. For the rest of you an excerpt:

"
The story's eponymous narrator projects the energy and mania and exuberance and positivity and, yes, also the veiled desperation and sadness and heartbreak that seems to underlie all of that celebrity's public appearances."

Update: We also want to thank the BL Pawelek for some additional Richard Simmons love. Much, much, appreciated.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

More interview. More Michael Kimball. More Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine love. And Lenny Bruce. Sweet.

We are most excited, and a little embarrassed, to share a new interview with you done by none other than the most excellent writer Michael Kimball, author of TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Dear Everybody. The interview appears at The Faster Times and we hope you will take a look. Many thanks to Michael and drinks on us for sure when next we meet. We have also posted a brief excerpt below for your reading pleasure, so please do feel free to pleasure yourselves while you read it.


Kimball: Okay, now I have to ask: What do your characters want?

Tanzer: They want to feel less confused. They want to better understand how they have arrived where they are and how they seem to find themselves in the situations they do. They know on some level that they are complicit in these things, and that they are repeating certain self-destructive behaviors or relationships, but they can’t quite figure out how or what they might have done differently. They also want to know things like how violence can just occur out of nowhere, unprompted, and why a parent might leave a family with no explanation, but they can never quite make sense of this either. Nor can they fully see how the events in one’s life connect, that there are ripple effects, and that if they were a little more curious and reacted a little less reflexively to things the world might make more sense. In all of my work, there is always the hope or the moment when some level of realization is achieved, or could be, but the characters never quite escape the confusion. There will always be new challenges and new relationships, and some things just don’t work or get any better. This is what life is and if you don’t believe me just read Michael Kimball’s excellent life on a postcard series. Now, how’s that for plug?

Monday, November 2, 2009

There they go again. Who you ask? Those crazy kids at the featherproof. And what have they done now? It's called TripleQuick fiction. Check it out.

Weren't you just saying how much you wished you could download and read 333 word stories on your iPhone or iPod touch? Well, now you can via featherproof's latest venture, TripleQuick fiction. Pretty cool, yes, way, no go check it out, it will be fun. For real.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

PRATE interview love. Parker Stevenson. And the Peter Schwartz. Goodness.

As previously mentioned we love you a lot. Well that, and there has been an odd, but much appreciated surge in interest in Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine and TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer. Last week we were happy to share with you the very awesome Mel Bosworth Most Likely video and today we are quite excited to let you know that Ben has been interviewed by the quite cool Peter Schwartz as part of the really stellar Full of Crow PRATE interview series. Previous interviews include rock star writers Michael Kimball and Tim Hall and we are thrilled to be part if that line-up. We also hope you will take a look and as a wee teaser we offer you the following excerpt below:

P.S.: You had me at elaborate lie. Please, tell a lie, a secret, and a little known fact and then we’ll just invite our kind readers to jot down which they think is which. At the end of this interview, we’ll reveal the real answers and those of you with all three correct answers will WIN A FREE PRIZE that will both literally and figuratively blow your mind.

B.T.: Great question, and very Zellweger of you. Here you go:

(1) I once wrote Parker Stevenson a fan letter and asked him his advice on how one goes about becoming an actor. I sent it to Teen Beat where he had a column during the 70’s. He never responded and years later when Kirstie Alley left him I felt vindicated.
(2) I auditioned for the role of the son in The Shining. They told me I didn’t seem creepy enough, something a number of women I dated in high school would later strongly disagree with.
(3) When I was kid my parents would leave my brother and I at movie theaters to watch movies two even three times in a row. Between showings I would eat the popcorn that people left behind and to this day I have an intense craving for stale popcorn every time I watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Friday, October 30, 2009

This Self-Portrait Will Change Your Life, Week Forty-Two - "Meta Plug?"

It is Week Forty-Two of This Self-Portrait Will Change Your Life our terribly self-absorbed effort to post one self-portrait per week for one-year. This week we were thinking why not take this opportunity to further plug the launch of This Book Will Change Your Life? And so we have. Smooth, right? We know. Meanwhile, if you would like to follow this project in its entirety please feel free to do so at the Flickr. And, if you would like to see a self-portrait of you very own posted right here at This Blog Will Change Your Life, well, you can, just hit us with one and we will take it from there. Cool? Cool.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

This Book Will Change Your Life - Conquering Venus by Collin Kelley.

Bam. It took us all month, but we are happy to announce the first edition of This Book Will Change Your Life. Drum roll please. Thanks. And the first edition is...Conquering Venus by Collin Kelley, which we are going to file under books we might not have read, but did because we met the author, were quite taken with him, found ourselves intrigued, started reading and then quickly lost ourselves in this near otherworldly tale of romance, revolution, suicide and Paris. That said, here's the main thing that we want to impart here, Collin Kelley really knows how to spin a story, and we think that maybe you could benefit from being so spinned. So please do take a look, because it just might change your life. And, and, if all this wasn't enough, please feel free to check out this interview with Collin by the crew at the Orange Alert as well. It's all that.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Cover madness.

We have been very excited about the imminent release of Working on a Dream: The Progressive Political Vision of Bruce Springsteen by good friend David Masciotra and now that there is an official, and quite awesome, cover we are doubly so. Meanwhile, and speaking of awesome, while we have not been looking quite as forward to the release of Adam Lambert's debut album, are they still called albums, we are none-the-less quite enjoying the release of the the cover. Nice.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I Am Richard Simmons.

We should begin by saying that TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer's ml press chapbook I am richard simmons has arrived here at headquarters along with more introductions to a book I will never finish by mark baumer and boots walking in america found a trophy by krammer abrahams. We should add that despite the fact that we did not receive a new chapbook by Kendra Grant Malone we are still quite happy. Many thanks to the ml press crew and drinks on us for sure when next we get together.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Virus-induced mass hysteria.Twinkies. And Emm Stone? Zombieland rocks. Said another way, if work travel = reading, then furlough days = matinees.

No one paints ml press in a corner. Or should we say, an homage to the J.A. Tyler via a delayed tribute to Patrick Swayze's artistry and passing.

For real, ml press has released its first novella, We Take Me Apart by Molly Gaudry. Nice.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

This Self-Portrait Will Change Your Life, Week Forty-One - "Fourth Quarter."

It is Week Forty-One of This Self-Portrait Will Change Your Life, which means we are now into the fourth quarter of our self-absorbed effort to post one self-portrait per week for one year. It also means that the completion of this project now looms and sadness reigns here at TBWCYL, Inc. headquarters. Still, we will persevere because we know how important this effort is to you. We also know that you may want to follow the project in its entirety, so please feel free to so at the Flickr. Finally, we suspect that some of you have been wondering what it would take for us to post a self-portrait of your very own right here at This Blog Will Change Your Life? Well, it couldn't be easier, just send one and we will take it from there. Cool?

Friday, October 23, 2009

Tobias Carroll. And The Scowl.

So, we were thinking about how the other night we enjoyed some drinks and most excellent conversation with Brooklyn's own Tobias Carroll, which then got us thinking about his most excellent blog The Scowl, which then got us wondering whether you have ever taken the time to check out The Scowl, which then got us thinking that if you haven't, why haven't you, which got us thinking that maybe you don't know about it, which seems unlikely, but which then got us thinking, that maybe that's possible, but not anymore, right? Right. Enjoy.