The Voodoo Experience - Alternative Music Festival

• The Voodoo Experience
• City Park
• New Orleans, LA.
• (October 29^th – 31^st, 2010)

     Back in June my wife and I had the distinct pleasure of attending the very first Verge Alternative Music Festival held at the SummerFest Grounds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had the opportunity on that Saturday to attend concerts performed by Weezer, Geri X, Cold War Kids, Locksley, The Ravonettes, AFI, Invade Rome, and Rogue Wave. We had a great time and decided to branch out. This month we’re taking our concert-going adventures to new levels. We will be attending the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, LA. the weekend of October 29^th, 2010. Four days and nights of music, southern food, and sightseeing will do for me what the peace movement did for Woodstock. I’m really looking forward to this vacation and, since we’ve never been to “Nawlins,” hope to take pleasure in a unique and new experience. Below is a listing of our anticipated agenda (schedule to change at any time) as delivered by the Voodoo Experience iPhone app. Group details are from the Voodoo site. Click on a band name to visit their website.

Friday, October 29^th, 2010

• Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 1:30 PM

• AM -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge)at 2:30 PM

• Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 3:30 PM

• Dead Confederate -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 4:30 PM

     Dead Confederate is an alternative rock band which formed in Athens, Georgia, United States in 2006. The band consists of Hardy Morris (vocals, guitars), Walker Howle (guitar), John Watkins (keyboards), Brantley Senn (bass) and Jason Scarboro (drums). The band released their debut album, "Wrecking Ball" on September 16, 2008 on Razor & Tie and The Artists Organization. The album includes the single "The Rat". Though the band is pinned as producing the same kind of indie rock aesthetic à la My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, Dead Confederate dabbles in darker shades than their compared predecessors. From the raspy, unrestrained shrieks of "The Rat" and the psychedelic guitar wail on the vivid "Tortured Artist Saint" to the intimate acoustic layers of "Memorial Day Night," Dead Confederate echo the Drive-By Truckers' bittersweet southern rock angst with the smoke-heavy swagger of the Black Angels. Although southern Civil War soldiers may remain six feet under, Dead Confederate's sincere versatility drives home that Rock'n'roll is damn well alive and kicking.

• Metric -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 6:30 PM

• Weezer -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 7:45 PM

     Weezer was founded in Los Angeles on February 14, 1992 by Rivers Cuomo, Jason Cropper, Matt Sharp, and Pat Wilson. The band began writing music and playing local clubs. Despite not having much success at first, the band pressed forward. After 16 months together, playing shows and recording demos in Los Angeles, DGC records (Geffen) signed Weezer. The band moved to New York to record at the famed electric lady studios under producer Ric Ocasek (of Cars fame). During the recording of Weezer, Jason left the band to take care of his future wife, who was pregnant with their first child. Jason was replaced by Brian Bell, a then bassist from a band called Carnival Art.

• Muse -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 9:00 PM

• Raphael Saadiq -- Bingo! Stage at 9:15 PM

Saturday, October 30^th, 2010

• Michael Tolcher -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 12:00 PM

• Mia Borders -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 1:00 PM

     Mia Borders is one of those rare young talents that can sing about life, love, and loss and make listeners feel it. With lyrics so personal, so mature, and so direct, she has recently captured both local and national audiences with her energetic blend of funk, soul, and contemporary songwriting. As Offbeat Magazine's Alex Rawls writes, "Note to self: Pay more attention to Mia Borders." USA today named Mia one of the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's “hidden surprises,” and Where Y'at Magazine named Mia "New Orleans' hottest buzz band." The April 2010 release of "Magnolia Blue” garnered her a nomination for “Best Emerging Artist” at the Big Easy Music Awards and a nationally broadcast performance at N.O. Jazz Fest '10 by WWOZ. Mia Borders hit the road in support of "Magnolia Blue" with notable performances at the Mount Helena Music Festival, Taos Mountain Music Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Bonnaroo (VIP pre-party with Big Sam's Funky Nation.) When Borders recently opened for Corinne Bailey Rae at the House of Blues, NewOrleans.com noted that "Borders drew the crowd in and had them cheering for more by the time she announced the last song of her 30-minute set." Mia Borders has secured her role as one of the fastest rising artists in the city and has established herself as an artist to watch.

• The Whigs -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 4:00 PM

• Cage the Elephant -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 5:00 PM

     Music critics who have witnessed the eye-popping spectacle that is Cage the Elephant live performance have likened the band’s singer to many things, among them “a demented Bible Belt preacher,” “a Tasmanian devil whooping and jumping up and down like a frenzied gibbon.” And that’s just frontman Matt Shultz. The verdict? “Exhilarating, 100 mph stuff,” raved British indie music live show — which made this red-hot Kentucky-bred band the talk of this year’s South-by-Southwest music festival, and led USA Today to single them out as a band not to miss at 2009’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival — is the perfect showcase for their buzzed-about self-titled debut album for Jive Records. Recorded over 10 days with Grammy Award-winning producer Jay Joyce, and a Top 40 hit when it was released on British indie label Relentless the U.K. last June, the album is a genre-defying blend of rock n roll and raw youthful punk energy all propelled by Matt’s taunting, Dylan-esque rhythmic vocal delivery, Brad Shultz and Lincoln Parish’s furious twin guitar assault, and bassist Daniel Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion’s rock-funk groves. “The music comes from a pure place,” Matt says. We really like the energy of music that feels passionate, raw, unplanned emotion. That’s what we were really trying to capture.

• Florence And The Machine Florance And The Machine -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 6:00 PM

     Let’s talk about magic. Because music, at its best, is a kind of magic that lifts you up and take's you somewhere else. “I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe,” says Florence Welch. “It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” Florence writes her best songs when she’s drunk or has a hangover, because that’s when the freedom, the feral music comes, creating itself wildly from the fragments gathered in her notebooks and in her head. “You’re lucid,” she explains, “but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.” Florence herself is a mass of contradictions: she’s tough yet she’s terrified, a bundle of nerves and passion, of darkness and pure joy. “I feel things quite intensely, which is why the music has to be so intense. I’m either really sad or really happy; I’m tired or completely manic. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but it’s also dangerous for me. I feel I could write some good songs, or break some hearts, or tables, or glasses.” As a performer she can seem fearless, but she’s also far too quick to pass judgment on herself. This is the woman, after all who got into Camberwell Art College by making a huge floral sign telling herself ‘You are a twat.’ She says she’s a geek, who loses all control when in love. She’s also something increasingly rare and precious in a time of karaoke pop: an artist who has found her own, authentic voice.

• Buckwheat Zydeco -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 6:45 PM

• Jakob Dylan and Three Legs -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 8:30 PM

 

Sunday, October 31^st, 2010

• Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 11:15 AM

• White Rabbits -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 12:15 PM

• Minus the Bear -- Voodoo (LOA Lounge) at 2:15 PM

• The Airborne Toxic Event -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 3:15 PM

     Literary allusions are hardly new territory in rock and roll. The Fall named their sixth record Bend Sinister after Nabokov's infamously dark novel. The Velvet Underground got its name from a certain cult book on sex and bondage given to Lou Reed at a party one night. "Killing an Arab" by the Cure is a reference to the Stranger by Camus -- Robert Smith's favorite book, in fact. The Airborne Toxic Event borrows its name from the novel White Noise by Don Delillo. Published in 1984, the book foresaw a world consumed by media -- radio waves, billboards, television, advertisements -- all crowding waking hours, finding their way into dreams, subconscious thoughts, incoherent bits of static about Toyotas, Pepsi, manic depression, and the president. The Airborne Toxic Event is an enormous dark cloud, created by an explosion at a nearby chemical plant. In addition to the crowded airwaves, the cloud portends death, lingering at the edges of life, giving it meaning, urgency, something to fear. The music press has compared them to the Cure, Modest Mouse, the Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, the Clash and the Arcade Fire. Rolling Stone named them one of the top 25 bands on MySpace. Their live show, in addition to viola, organ, guitars and trumpet, includes the hood of a 1969 Alfa Romeo found at a junkyard one afternoon. It's been a heady few months. And what began with a literary allusion, with a couple of boys alone in a warehouse, has become a kind of sweeping plea - to dance, to sing, to cry, to live - to find something alive and kicking among all the static, death, and white noise.

• Paul Oakenfold -- Le Plur Stage presented by Billboard.com at 4:15 PM

• JP. Chrissie and The Fairground Boys -- Bingo! Stage at 5:45 PM

• Macy Gray -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 5:45 PM

• My Morning Jacket -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 7:00 PM

     There’s a theme of moral confusion that runs through the whole record,” says Jim James, frontman of My Morning Jacket, explaining the title of the band’s new album, Evil Urges. “The world today is such a confused place. Things that people think are good values are obviously twisted, but there are other things considered evil that obviously aren’t. There is real evil out there, but Evil Urges is about how all of these things that you’ve been told are evil really aren’t, unless they’re actually hurting something or somebody.”

     It’s ambitious territory for the group’s fifth full-length studio album, and it’s matched by the most far-ranging, surprising, and satisfying sounds of their career. From the freak-funk electro-slam of “Highly Suspicious” to the contemplative “Sec Walkin’,” which could almost be a Nashville standard, on Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket display the scope and fearlessness that demonstrates their growth into one of the world’s great rock & roll bands.

 

Voodoo Experience Agenda

My agenda was emailed from the official iPhone app of the Voodoo Experience 2010, available here: (Voodoo Experience 2010 iPhone app)

Brought to you by Applitite LLC - Applitite LLC

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Sent from my iPad

Book Review – Out of Whack by Jeff Strand

Out of Whack

Jeff Strand

ISBN 0759945020

Paperback

Note: For those of you with a PG-13 mindset please look away now.

I’ll say this once, and only once. Gratuitous sex. Okay, now that that’s out of the way I can begin my review of Jeff Strand’s Out of Whack. But wait, before you accuse me of stealing Strand’s idea of opening up a work with a sex scene know this – I don’t care if you accuse me of stealing his idea. You see, as far as I’m concerned, gratuitous sex is in the public domain and belongs to everyone. Or, should, at any rate.

Note: For those with a PG-13 mindset who looked away earlier you may now read the remainder of my review without bumping repeatedly into anything R-Rated.

Irreverent by nature Out of Whack can only be described as a semi-autobiographical kick-in-the-pants, coming-of-age, laugh-fest (with lots of words/phrases hyphenated together to sound cooler). No, seriously, I squirted milk out of my nose while reading this. Twice! I guffawed in my sleep dreaming about the humor contained therein. I chuckled uproariously at the oddball antics of the characters and I peed my pants during one hilariously feeble sex scene. And that was just in the first few chapters!

Seriously folks, Out of Whack is a terribly funny read that successfully manages to tap into the raw emotion just about everyone’s felt during those awkward growing up years. The story is truly about friendship and love and humor and doing whatever it takes to attain your goals. It also manages to entertain with both humor and aplomb. I recommend it to anyone that a) likes to laugh, b) is interested in starting a comedy troupe, or c) wants to be entertained but can’t afford that certain magazine wrapped in plain brown paper. Out of Whack is a witty book by a certifiably comical author and well worth your time.

“But don’t read it for the laughs.  And don’t read it for the heartfelt parts.  Read it for the sex scene, which proves that even if you’re filled with ravenous animal passion, trying to dramatically tear off somebody’s underwear can only lead to wedgies.”

This is the first book of Strand’s that I’ve read but I can assure you it won’t be the last.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

1. Author's Blog
2. Google Books Excerpt
3. Jeff Strand Interview
4. Strand's Fantastic Fiction Page

Book Review – Orphanage by Robert Buettner

Orphanage

Robert Buettner

By the author’s own admission Orphanage is a conscious homage to Robert A. Heinlein's classic science-fiction shoot-em-up, Starship Troopers, but it is also much more than that. It is a modern telling of a style that I thought almost gone. Thankfully, the Golden Age of Science Fiction is revived in Buettner’s capable hands. Reminiscent of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War and Mindbridge, Fred Pohl’s Gateway, and Robert H. Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit Will Travel, as well as the above-mention Starship Troopers Buettner certainly reveals his mastery of the military aspect of his stories. The action scenes and sequences are choreographed superbly and the battle scenes compelling and poignant. In addition, Orphanage, as well as all the other books in this series, contains everything that is good about excellent military science fiction. No, let me amend that. Orphanage contains everything that is good about excellent fiction, period. Buettner writes characters that you will care about, plots that are tight, dialogue that flows, and he has a grasp for spinning a tale that is always entertaining. Spending time with these brilliantly written works of mankind at war with a devious alien entity will not disappoint.

Buettner should be honored to be mentioned with the likes of Haldeman, Pohl, and Heinlein. I know I’m privileged to add him to my list of favorites.

Jason Wander Series

1. Orphanage (2004)

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Evil aliens throw rocks at the Earth vaporizing many large cities. The world relies on one counterstrike in space led by soldiers left as orphans by the attack. Using outdated space craft and weapons the Orphans are ordered to invade the enemy on Ganymede.

2. Orphan's Destiny (2005)

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Foot-soldier made General by losses in the Slug War Jason Wander returns home only to find that the real war has just begun. A full armada-sized invasion must be stopped by a single, ancient space craft and a suicide squad led by recently promoted General Wander.

3. Orphan's Journey (2008)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Sent to the resort planet of New Moon Jason and crew are propelled into deep space when the test of a space ship goes wrong. Stranded on an alien planet Jason must save not only his friends but everyone else on the planet.

4. Orphan's Alliance (2008)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Humans have been found in space. Jason Wander is sent as an emissary but finds that politics can be harder than leading men into battle. When mankind battles the Slugs for a strategic pieces of space Jason discovers that the most dangerous enemy is not always the one you expect.

5. Orphan's Triumph (2009)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: General Wander prepares for the final conflict as Earth and her allied forces organize to employ a doomsday weapon that can end the war. When a strategic reversal threatens mankind Jason Wander must confront the demons that turned him to the military in the first place and stripped away the innocence of his youth.

Additional Reading:

Orphanage Artwork

Author Site

Author's Blog

 Internet Speculative Fiction Database

SF World Review

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

 

Book Review - Jesse James' Secret by Ron Pastore and John O'Melveny Woods

• Jesse James' Secret
• Ron Pastore and John O'Melveny Woods
• Intellect Publishing, 2010, Trade Paperback
• ISBN: 0972976167

I have to admit that I felt a certain piqued interest in this book when I first saw it offered for review. New evidence of historical value concerning Jesse James presented with a compelling argument and firm historical research was an exciting thought. The reality, however, was far from the promise I imagined. After reading through the first six or seven chapters my interest gave way to incredulousness and yes, a bit of annoyance. The term Genealogy bug, or the passion for family tree research, came to my mind as I continued reading. Pastore, while quite enthusiastic about the subject and invested in ways ill-defined, provides very little solid evidence to prove his hypothesis which is exactly the trap that many novice genealogist fall into. In plain terms, I don’t think there’s anything new or relevant presented here to change anyone’s mind. As such I’d have to categorize Jesse James’ Secret as pseudo-history at best with an emphasis on the word “pseudo.”

Historical research aside the book itself suffers on many other levels, as well. There is an obvious overuse of idiom and cliché. While I would probably be quite happy to find my way out of a cave after hours of being lost I certainly wouldn’t “kiss the ground” when I did. This was the most blatant and tedious cliché that I found but there are many others and they distracted from the message. That alone made me close this book well before I reached the halfway point. I remember thinking that the author presented the information in this book not so much as to illuminate the reader on a new theory or hypothesis but to win an argument with someone who disagreed with his notions. And while there may have been new information here, in the end, it was presented in such a way as to leave me confused over the point.

Did Jesse James fake his own death? Possibly. Did Jesse James and gang hide treasure in the caves of Missouri and Kansas? Probably. But this book does not present any clear evidence to support either theory.

 

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Music Review – Carney – Mr. Green Volume 1

     Once in a great while a superb record crosses my path and I have to share my find. This year I’ve found two. Last month it was Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown. This month I present, Carney’s Mr. Green Volume 1. I have to admit, this album has it all; great vocals, wonderful guitar work, haunting harmonies, and excellent lyrics. The title track Mr. Green is Beatlesque in both feel and sound and isn’t even the best track on the disc. I’ll leave that choice to you. The rockabilly Amelie has great licks and Reeve Carney’s voice is an instrument in and of itself. There She Goes has a Queen-like feel to the harmonies and vocals. Think of You will appeal to the spiritual side of most listeners but can also instantly take you back to those melancholy days when you lost your first love (whether 4 or 40 years ago.) In the tradition of the Delta Blues Testify will stir your blood. You’ll be bobbing your head and tapping your toes right up until the time it spins down into a psychedelic swirl of guitars and vocals. I’ve enjoyed every song on this album and that is a rare thing indeed these days. Listen to Carney on iTunes and see if I’m not right. Then come back here and tell me how you feel about my pick for a breakout band. Mark my words, and I’ve said it here for the first time… Carney will be around for a very long time to come.

P.S. Reeve Carney is performing the lead role in U2’s Broadway musical Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.

Track List

✓ Love Me Chase Me 4:55

✓ Tomorrow's Another Day 3:43

✓ Mr. Green 5:51

✓ Amelie 3:02

✓ There She Goes 3:05

✓ Nothing Without You 3:41

✓ Think of You 4:47

✓ Testify 7:55

✓ Lavender 3:06

 

Official Website: www.carneyband.com/

Myspace Website: www.myspace.com/carneytheband

2010 Hugo Award Nominees and Winners (with hyperlinks)

Best Fan Artist
Presented by Gina Goddard

•  Brad W Foster (winner)
• Dave Howell
• Sue Mason
• Steve Stiles
• Taral Wayne

Best Fanzine
Presented by James Shields

• StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith (winner)
• Argentus edited by Steven H. Silver
• Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
• Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
• Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
• File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Best Fan Writer
Presented by John Hertz

• Frederik Pohl (winner)
• Claire Brialey
• Christopher J Garcia
• James Nicoll
• Lloyd Penney

Best Semiprozine
Presented by Bruce Gillespie

• Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan (winner)
• Ansible edited by David Langford
• Interzone edited by Andy Cox
• Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
• Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

Best Professional Artist
Presented by Nick Stathopoulos

• Shaun Tan (winner)
• Bob Eggleton
• Stephan Martiniere
• John Picacio
• Daniel Dos Santos

Best Editor, Short Form
Presented by Lucy Sussex

• Ellen Datlow (winner)
• Stanley Schmidt
• Jonathan Strahan
• Gordon Van Gelder
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form
Presented by Robert Silverberg

• Patrick Nielsen Hayden (winner)
• Lou Anders
• Ginjer Buchanan
• Liz Gorinsky
• Juliet Ulman

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Presented by Paul Cornell

• Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars” written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; directed by Graeme Harper (BBC Wales) (winner)
• Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor”, written by Russell T Davies; directed by Andy Goddard (BBC Wales)
• Doctor Who: “Planet of the Dead”, written by Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts; directed by James Strong (BBC Wales)
• Dollhouse: “Epitaph 1”, story by Joss Whedon; written by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon; directed by David Solomon (Mutant Enemy)
• FlashForward: “No More Good Days” written by  Brannon Braga & David S. Goyer; directed by David S. Goyer; based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer (ABC)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Presented by George R. R. Martin

• Moon, screenplay by Nathan Parker; story by Duncan Jones; directed by Duncan Jones (Liberty Films) (winner)
• Avatar, screenplay and directed by James Cameron (Twentieth Century Fox)
• District 9, screenplay by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell; directed by Neill Blomkamp (TriStar Pictures)
• Star Trek, screenplay by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman; directed by J. J. Abrams (Paramount)
• Up, screenplay by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter; story by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, & Thomas McCarthy; directed by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar)

Best Graphic Story
Presented by Shaun Tan

• Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment) (winner)
• Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams (DC Comics)
• Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf (Marvel Comics)
• Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein (Vertigo Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler

Best Related Book
Presented by Cheryl Morgan

• This Is Me, Jack Vance!(Or, More Properly, This is “I”) by Jack Vance (Subterranean Press) (winner)
• Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute (Beacon)
• Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick (Temporary Culture)
• The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn (McFarland)
• On Joanna Russ edited by Farah Mendlesohn(Wesleyan)
• The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms by Helen Merrick Helen Merrick (Aqueduct)

Best Short Story
Presented by Sean Williams

• “Bridesicle,” Will McIntosh (Asimov’s 1/09) (winner)
• “The Bride of Frankenstein,” Mike Resnick (Asimov’s 12/09)
• “The Moment,” Lawrence M. Schoen (Footprints; Hadley Rille Books)
• “Non-Zero Probabilities,” N K Jemisin   (Clarkesworld 9/09)
• “Spar,” Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 10/09)

Best Novelette
Presented by Terry Dowling

• “The Island,” Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2; Eos) (winner)
• “Eros, Philia, Agape,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/09)
• “It Takes Two,” Nicola Griffith Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three; Night Shade Books)
• “One of Our Bastards is Missing,” Paul Cornell Paul Cornell (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three; Solaris)
• “Overtime,” Charles Stross (Tor.com 12/09)
• “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast,” Eugie Foster ( Interzone 2/09)

Best Novella
Presented by Sean McMullen

• “Palimpsest,” Charles Stross (Wireless; Ace, Orbit) (winner)
• “Act One,” Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09)
• The God Engines, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
• Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow (Tachyon)
• “Vishnu at the Cat Circus,” Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days; Pyr, Gollancz)
• The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker (Subterranean Press)

Best Novel
Presented by Kim Stanley Robinson

• The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (tie winner)
• The City & The City, China Miéville(Del Rey; Macmillan UK) (tie winner)
• Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor.com)
• Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor.com)
• Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
• Wake, Robert J. Sawyer (Ace; Penguin; Gollancz; Analog)

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Presented by John Scalzi and Jay Lake

• Seanan McGuire(winner)
• Saladin Ahmed
• Gail Carriger
• Felix Gilman 
• Lezli Robyn

This year’s Hugo Awards trophy was designed by Nick Stathopoulos. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

Complete List of Hugo Awards

Complete List of Nebula Awards

List of Science Fiction Awards

(I’ve been blogging here for a number of years and can honestly say that this post has more links than any year’s worth of prior posts. Almost every name, magazine, story, or novel has a corresponding link. Feel free to visit the other sites. Oh, and please report any broken links.)

Book Review - The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry

The Emperor’s Tomb
Steve Berry
Ballantine Books
2010
Hardcover
464 pages
ISBN: 0345505492

First a word about the main character - Cotton Malone will go down in history as one of the great action characters in literature (Yes, you heard it here first, parenthetically. They say that everything you put out on the Internet is permanent. If that's so then look me up in 20 years so I can tell you that I told you so.) Malone is a thinking man's James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Mack Bolan all rolled into one. Read the entire series just to acquaint yourself with the character. You won't be disappointed.

With that said, The Emperor's Tomb is the sixth book in the series and while not the strongest of the six Berry does not fail to entertain once again. His history (even when slightly exaggerated and stretched) is believable and he has a knack for choosing some great off-beat topics and little-known historical events to conjure with. Fast paced, fun, full of adventure and with the occasional gun-fight Berry's Cotton Malone is sure to entertain for years to come. The series was written, I suspect, for the adrenaline junkie hidden in us all. Thank you, Mr. Berry for filling that need.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Cotton Malone Series
1. The Templar Legacy (2006)
2. The Alexandria Link (2007)
3. The Venetian Betrayal (2007)
4. The Charlemagne Pursuit (2008)
5. The Paris Vendetta (2009)
6. The Emperor's Tomb (2010)

Steve Berry Author Site

Random House Site

Fantastic Fiction Site

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Music Review - Anais Mitchell - Hadestown

Fabulous Record – 5 out of 5 stars

New Orleans/Jazz/Blues/Rock/Pop Opera – Hadestown is a fantastic merge of lyrics, vocals and music while telling a story and is the best concept album I’ve heard in years. With contributions from the likes of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), The Haden Triplets, Greg Brown, Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem), and Ani DiFranco Hadestown is nothing short of awe inspiring.

PLAY LIST:

Wedding Song - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon 3:18

Epic (Part I) - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon 2:22

Way Down Hadestown - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco 3:33

Songbird Intro 0:24

Hey, Little Songbird - Anais Mitchell feat. Greg Brown 3:09

Gone, I’m Gone - Anais Mitchell feat. The Haden Triplets 1:09

When The Chips Are Down - Anais Mitchell feat. The Haden Triplets 2:14

Wait For Me - Anais Mitchell feat. Ben Knox Miller and Justin Vernon   3:06

Why We Build The Wall - Anais Mitchell feat. Greg Brown 4:18

Our Lady Of The Underground - Anais Mitchell feat. Ani DiFranco 4:40

Flowers (Eurydice’s Song) 3:33

Nothing Changes - Anais Mitchell feat. The Haden Triplets 0:52

If It’s True - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon 3:03

Papers (Hades Finds Out) 1:24 Anais

How Long? - Anais Mitchell feat. Ani DiFranco and Greg Brown 3:36

Epic (Part II) - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon 2:55

Lover’s Desire 2:05 Anais

His Kiss, The Riot - Anais Mitchell feat. Greg Brown 4:03

Doubt Comes In - Anais Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon 5:32

I Raise My Cup To Him - Anais Mitchell feat. Ani DiFranco 2:10

Anais Mitchell Home Page

Myspace Hadestown Page

Preview some of the songs by clicking on “The Music” on the Anais Mitchell home page.

My favorites from the album: Why We Build The Wall, Way Down Hadestown, and Our Lady Of The Underground.

Book Review - The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien

The Inheritance
Simon Tolkien
Minotaur Books, 2010
Hardcover
336 pages

How can you review a book by Simon Tolkien without comparing him to his more famous grandfather, J.R.R. Tolkien? You can’t. So I won’t. And now that I’ve got the obligatory reference out of the way and you know of the relationship I can get on with my review.

The Inheritance is, in my estimation, a very good murder mystery. The World War II back story is intriguing and interesting and the characters are, for the most part, believable and worth investing time in. While the mystery, which borders on being a locked-room-murder, is similar to others of the genre and is well-executed Tolkien really shines when he gets into the politics, intrigue, and tension of the court room. The story is a complex mystery filled with courtroom drama and believable well-researched history and I found every aspects of the story truly enjoyable. From the quest for the missing religious artifact to the massacre of an entire village during World War II to the mechanics of corporal punishment in England in 1959 and by combining elements of the classic whodunit with those of the court room thriller I found The Inheritance an entertaining and interesting read.

3 stars out of 5

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Author Page http://www.simontolkien.com/

BookReporter http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews2/9780312539078.asp

Onyx Reviews http://www.bevvincent.com/onyx/tolkien-inheritance.html

Barnes and Nobel http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Inheritance/Simon-Tolkien/e/9780312539078

Book Review – The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage
Justin Cronin
Ballantine Books
2010
Hardcover
784 pages
ISBN 0345504968 / 9780345504968

In my humble estimation Justin Cronin’s “The Passage” qualifies as an Instant Classic. It has all the elements of a great work – brilliantly written characters that are flawed but oh, so very real, a twisting mystery that will keep you immersed in the narrative and engaged by the characters, the promise of a good scare right around the corner, viral vampires, unwitting heroes, and a huge, early following of fans. Do not be swayed by the occasional naysayers who proclaim the book too long or too wordy (whatever that means). It is worthy of your attention and a worthwhile read. The characters are real people, the narrative descriptive, and in some cases bloody, gory, and disturbing. The premise, which is not your average vampire story, is reminiscent of earlier post-apocalyptic literature but with a twist and it has something many of the others do not, a grand epic, fantasy feel to it and not because of its heft but of its engrossing content.

Sweeping across almost one-hundred years in the post-apocalyptic vampire-infested plains of western America “The Passage” is an engrossing and epic tale which begins when a government experiment creates twelve different strains of vampire-zombies that escape and infect the entire world. However, small pockets of humans have survived and while the “virals” stalk the landscape some communities have managed to survive and even thrive in a world swarming with flesh-eaters. “The Passage” is an end-of-the-world road-trip filled with discovery, mystery, pain, and loss. But buried deep underneath all that is the promise of love, new life, and happiness. It’s ours to find.

One of the most compelling elements of this book is that I could sense pieces of similar earlier works buried in the canon. There is, of course, the obvious good versus evil and a government strain that gets loose killing millions of people much like Stephen Kings’ “The Stand.” There are survivors that live on the brink of extinction and could be annihilated at any moment as found in Larry Niven’s “Lucifer’s Hammer” (among many others.) There is an epic battle between surviving factions, although one of them is not quite human, as in David Brin’s “The Postman.” Also, which I found very interesting, were the military factions fighting in the wasted lands of a broken America which is reminiscent of James Axler’s Deathlands series. An element of technology, in both cases, electricity, is isolated for many years like in Jeanne DuPrau’s “The City of Ember.” I am not implying that Cronin borrowed from these works only that he used elements found in all of them. And, since I’m a huge fan of every one of those works it goes without saying that I’d rate this high. And I have.

I heard the other day that this book was the first in a trilogy. One can only hope that Cronin types 5,000 words a minute and that the other two books will be published before the end of the month. I know, he doesn’t and they won’t, but one can wish. I can’t wait to find out what happens next. After a brief Google search it appears that the next two books in the series are “The Twelve” to be published in 2012 and “The City of Mirrors” to be published in 2014. There is also talk of a full-length motion picture based on the novel. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that.

P.S. I love great, sprawling, epic novels. Here’s hoping volumes two and three are as lengthy and well written.

5 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

More on “The Passage”:

“The Passage” Website (includes excerpts, videos, downloads and more)

Huffington Post Review

Laura Miller Book Review

Author’s Wikipedia Page

Book Review – Inverted World by Christopher Priest

Inverted World
Christopher Priest
NYRB Classics
2008
Trade Paperback
336 pages
ISBN: 1590172698
Literary Awards - British Science Fiction Association Award for Novel (1975)

Once upon a time there was a great City known as Earth that constantly, slowly, and persistently moved ever-forward on rails towards its grinding goal to reach, or , at least, pace “Optimum.” Slowly, at a tenth of a mile a day, the City slouched northward toward the horizon. To fall behind was unthinkable and deadly or so the denizens had been taught. Behind this lumbering behemoth, the Traction Guild strained to remove the ties and rails and quickly transport them to the front of the City. The Navigator Guild would send scouts great distances to determine the best routes forward. Rivers, canyons, lakes, and other natural impediments were spanned by the Bridge Guild. Protecting them all from dissident villagers along the way was the Militia Guild. So begins the quirky story of “Inverted World” by Christopher Priest.

Normally, I would label my evaluation of “Inverted World” as a classic book review since this story was first published in 1974. However, and shame on me, I did not read this marvelous work of fiction until recently and therefore I cannot in good conscience label it a classic. However, had I read it twenty or thirty years ago I think I’d have deemed it an instant classic then. The characters are believable and well-written but trapped within the confines of their Guilds. Some search for answers while others, like the City, plod ever-onward without question or purpose. Strange “distortions” follow the City and those who travel too far behind it suffer physical and temporal changes to themselves and their surroundings. The mystery of how this “world” came to be unravels slowly but expertly in Priest’s hands. The main premise of the book consists of pure hard science and while the laws of physics appear to be strained at first, all is explained in the end. And, in my opinion, the wait is definitely worth it. The mysteries of the planet and the city are skillfully, although slowly, unraveled throughout the narrative and kept me interested until the very last page. If there is a flaw with this story it is that it is much too short and the open ending might have been expanded to full closure (which I won’t spoil here with explanation.)

Written with compact and concise detail this too short novel drew me in from the very first paragraph and the themes of respect, responsibility, parity, warped realism, and discovery were woven together in such a way that kept me totally engrossed and my imagination working in hyper-drive. Overall I became lost in the story and its enormous sense of wonder, buildup of mystery, and ever-present suspense as Priest’s portrayal of this interesting society grew. Ah, to become lost in wonder while reading… isn’t that all we ever ask from any intelligent book?

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

More information about Inverted World

Steven Wu’s Book Review

Fantasy Magazine’s Review

NPR Review (with excerpt)

Author Website

Book Review - The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell

The Reapers are the Angels
Alden Bell
(Advance Readers Copy)
Holt Paperbacks 2010
Trade Paperback
240 pages

In light of the wealth of post-apocalyptic stories like The Book of Eli, The Road, and The Passage, now filling book shelves and movie theatres all across America “The Reapers Are the Angels” by Alden Bell turned out to be both a pleasant surprise and a real treat to read and in some ways is better than the others I’ve mentioned above. I had never heard of this book or the author before so had no preconceived notions concerning any hype or advertising that might be attached. I delved into it without pause and found that I literally could not put it down. Perhaps its my penchant towards post-apocalyptic fiction (you’ll notice I used the word “wealth” above for good reason) which goes back to my early readings of book like Deus Irae, A Canticle For Liebowitz, and Dahlgren. So, I knew I had to read this as soon as it appeared in the mailbox.

And I did, and was quite pleased to find what I believe might one of the year’s best sub-genre releases. Remarkably, Reapers fits snuggly into the mold set by the Science Fiction classics mentioned earlier. The character development is extraordinary, the antagonist(s) (and yes there are more than one), and the main characters, and even the zombies, known as meatsacks, are believable and well-written. One character, and I won’t spoil the story here, gets into an almost impossible situation. Later in the story he appears again with no explanation given of his escape. One wonders if another book set in the same universe from this particular characters’ POV isn’t in the making. I’d pay to read that one, too.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin


More on “The Reapers Are the Angels”

AV Club Review

Goodreads Review

Blog Review

Graemes Fantasy Book Review

Author’s Website

Note:
Alden Bell is a pseudonym for Joshua Gaylord, whose first novel, Hummingbirds, was released in Fall '09. He teaches in a New York City prep school and is an adjunct professor at The New School. He lives in New York City with his wife, the Edgar-award-winning mystery writer, Megan Abbott.

Praise for Joshua Gaylord’s HUMMINGBIRDS:
“Hummingbirds is a sly, charming novel about the students at a Manhattan girls' school and the adults who sometimes remember to teach them. Those of us who love Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie will now have to make room next to it on our shelves for Joshua Gaylord's inning debut.”
— Brock Clarke, author of An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

My iPad Home Screen

New Toy... new face... which explains my absence recently. Things will be back to normal soon. I promise.

Book Review - Juliet by Anne Fortier

Juliet

Anne Fortier

Ballantine Books

2010

Hardcover

464 pages

ISBN: 0345516109

I have a passing fascination with William Shakespeare. That is to say I am not a fanatic, nor can I recite long passages from his works. I am not familiar with his cadence or style, know little of his historical references, and am often confused by his phrasing. But I do know what I like and I loved this story. I’m pretty sure the Bard would have approved as well.

The story moves between two points in history in a series of flashbacks prompted by letters, journals, and face-to-face conversations. First to the present day where our modern Juliet learns that a great treasure awaits her in Italy. After the death of her Aunt she is given a letter left by her mother that will make her rich. Her twin sister, it seems, inherited everything but the clue hidden in letter; the name Giulietta Tolomei. Then the author propels us backwards in time to the “real” story of Romeo and Juliet where we learn that the two star-crossed lovers truly did exist and that their love did indeed come to a tragic end. Not quite like Shakespeare wrote it but close enough to make this story worthwhile.

Fortier’s strong suit, in my estimation, is the fleshing out of the historical scenes and the story of the two lovers, the monk who brought them together, and the evil man that came between them and then separated them unto death. The 14^th Century characters, sequences, and tragedies are highly believable and were, without a doubt, heavily researched. This was a fun, quick, and entertaining read and while this type of story is generally outside my favorite genre I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m glad I took the time and you will to. Recommended read!

4 out of 5 stars

The author’s official website:

http://www.annefortier.com/

Random House Author Page:

http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/anne_fortier/

(Check out the interactive map of Sienna and the Photo Gallery under the Extras Tab while you’re there.)

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Book Review – He Walked Among Us by Norman Spinrad

He Walked Among Us

Norman Spinrad

Tor Books – 2010 – Hardcover - 540 pages - ISBN: 0765325845

“The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.”
-Robert A. Heinlein

     Imagine for a moment that the future existence of the planet balanced on your ability to travel back in time and explain the costs and concepts of the depletion of the ozone layer to a subsistence farmer in rural Mesopotamia. Could you do it? Enter Ralf, stand-up comic from about as far up the time-line as you can get. And he comes bearing terrifying news. The future planet is in disarray, biodiversity is as extinct as the carrier pigeon, the air is thick and un-breathable, almost unusable without heavy filtration scrubbers and to make matters worse, the last generations of humankind have taken refuge in pressurized shopping mall domes. Humanity clings to the last remnants of life on a scourged planet that could not be saved.

     Now take an aging Science Fiction writer named Dexter D. Lampkins who is a flawed but intelligent individual (and Spinrad’s pseudo- literary double) with designs of writing the next great social Science Fiction Transformation of mankind, mingle with Amanda Robins, a New Age Wunderkinds seeking total Zen spiritualism, and mix in a whole lot of Ralf “the comic from the future.” Blend them all together on the same late-night television show and what do you get? Well, Monkey-Men, let’s just say that you may want to read this one yourself to discover all the gory details.

     Ralf’s message is simple but crude. Start cleaning up the environment right now or the future world is going to suffer. Quit mucking up Mother Habitat so the deprived people of the future can take a break from living in constant fear of complete extinction.

     Whether by accident or design Spinrad does reveal a plethora of Science Fiction Convention lore, anecdotes, behavior, and attitudes. And surprise, the Sci-Fi geeks are no less real than you or I. For some reason the Cons were the most enjoyable scenes in the book for me. Though Spinrad served up many unflattering and sometimes harsh depictions of Science Fiction conventioneers his descriptions lent realism to the story that may have otherwise been lost. Perhaps I felt so close to those scenes because, like Lampkin, I too identify with the weird and geeky, slightly askew, adoring, star-struck fans. I’m one of them!

     Spinrad’s prose and dialogue is superb, humorous, enticing, and real and scans with perfect pace. If there is any real flaw with the story it is with the character known as Loxy Foxy and her strange companion the “machine-rat- from-the-depths-of-the -subway. Not so much the content itself but how long and drawn out it became in the middle of the book. It seemed like we revisited the same scenes over and over again which cluttered up the story line and served no real purpose. I suspect the novel would have stood well on its own in the absence of those characters. [I’m still unsure of what the confrontation between Loxy, the rat, and Ralf meant! Perhaps someone would care to enlighten me?]

     Much like James Cameron’s “Avatar” Spinrad’s “He Walked Among Us” is social commentary with a message concerning the current state of our eroding world and until we can, as Heinlein eschewed, figure out a way to distribute our eggs more evenly someone up the stream of time is going to suffer. We need to learn to sustain what we have and become more pro-environmental. Stories like “He Walked Among Us” and “Avatar” can only make us more socially aware of our actions and surroundings. If civilization collapses due to resource depletion we’ll have only ourselves to blame for it and our children’s children will be made to suffer. Can our collective conscience survive that burden?

3 ½ out of 5 Stars

More about Norman Spinrad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Spinrad

http://www.sff.net/people/normanspinrad/

http://www.youtube.com/user/normanspinrad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=656hOsSJ9rk&feature=player_embedded

He Walked Among Us

http://www.horrordrive-in.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/415-Norman-Spinrads-He-Walked-Among-Us.html

http://americareads.blogspot.com/2010/04/pg-69-norman-spinrads-he-walked-among.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=8dSPcD7MeLYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=norman+spinrad+he+walked+among+us&source=bl&ots=Tw58fi0tzA&sig=JOE5NxOoOh1hIdjPYej0a7LJHf8&hl=en&ei=iOT1S-D_E4SglAfWoqH1Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=story&id=59347

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fantasy-Science-Fiction/MAY-FEATURE-1-He-Walked-Among-Us-by-Norman-Spinrad/m-p/523964

http://warren-ellis.livejournal.com/790296.html

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780765325846

A downloadable version of the book can be found here:

http://www.scifidimensions.com/Oct05/hewalked.htm

Or if you prefer .lrf, .lit, or .epub versions drop me an e-mail and I’ll forward it on to you. (Note: Click on my profile above for the e-mail address.)

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Book Review – The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

Jesse Bullington

Orbit

2009

Trade Paperback

464 pages

ISBN: 0316049344

     Its 14^th century Medieval Europe and the most despicable human beings to have ever graced the pages of historical fiction are given life and a certain morbid sense of humor by debut author Jesse Bullington. Manfried and Hegel Grossbart are far and away the most evil-incarnate and foul-mouthed creatures to have ever spilled from a pen. Base, sacrilegious, and merciless these men are destined to go down in history as more loathsome than any modern day serial killer, tougher than Vlad the Impaler or a Tarantino character, and in possession of more cons than a flat-broke hustler just before the weekend. And if that alone isn't enough incentive to immediately go out and buy this book then how about this? The story overflows with well-written scenes of abject brutality, acts of unimaginable inhumanity, ill-reasoned religious doggerel, heavy-handed gratuitous violence, demonic possession, blood and guts, gore and grey matter, vengeance, retribution, indifference to the suffering of others, and a smattering of the European countryside which would, under normal circumstances, keep one interested in the exploits of the twin Grossbart's throughout an entire novel. But get this… everything I just mentioned occurs in the first few chapters!!

     The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart is a quick and enjoyable read, full of wonderfully creative exposition, humorous banter, and dialogue loaded with swearing and cursing, both profane and blasphemous. But it also has a feel for the medieval way of life, how people lived and spoke and worshipped and is unlike any other historical fiction I've ever read. The Grossbart's tale will keep you turning pages and will make you miss a lot of sleep. Not only from reading late into the night to find out where the brothers quest next (and who or what they kill) but frightened by the shadows that the story conjures too.

     Plague survivors, pocket philosophers, demon killers, grave robbers, mad monks, demons, witches, and more join the Brothers Grossbart on their quest to “Gyptland” and the fabled graves of kings rumored to be held by their grandfather. But forewarned is forearmed, keep an eye on your purse and a hand on your dagger. Now that I've told you this much here's the kicker... As savage and inhumane as the Grossbart’s are what pursues them is much, much worse. And in the end while we are not told of the Grossbart’s demise we are left with the feeling that they get what’s coming to them. Or so we would like to think.

     Truly inspired The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart is just that, a sad and cautionary story of evil, vengeance, cruelty, and gore and, in my opinion, definitely worth every minute of your time. Mr. Bullington? I’d stand in line for more. (And yes, that’s a hint.)

More about this unique writer can be found at his website:

http://jessebullington.com/

An interview with Manfried and Hegel Grossbart (and Jesse Bullington):

http://www.bscreview.com/2009/11/coffee-and-conversation-with-hegel-and-manfried-grossbart-by-jesse-bullington/

4 1/2 stars out of 5

Also, the cover art, a facsimile of a medieval woodcut by Hungarian artist Orosz István, is brilliant.

István’s website is here:

http://www.gallerydiabolus.com/gallery/artist.php?id=utisz&page=133

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin