Caleb J. Ross's Blog, page 59
July 9, 2012
More Perverted Book Covers (Video Blog Ep 017)
A few episodes back I presented some book covers that, through the twisted lens of perversion (is that redundant?), were made to appear more depraved than perhaps they were meant to be. Here, I present three more perverted covers that you won’t be able to unsee. Hey, I didn’t make these book covers to be easily perverted; don’t blame me.
Here I manipulate the intentions of Gordon Highland’s Flashover, Rob Roberge’s Working Backwards from the Worst Moment of My Life, and Paul Bowels’ The Sheltering Sky.
July 6, 2012
Lowercase envelope art, now shipping
The last few book orders that came direct from me included quick doodles on the envelopes. Why? Mainly because I was packaging them while watching TV and then got fidgety after sealing them. Fidgety lead to grabbing a Sharpie (luckily within reaching distance) which lead to doodling.
Why the name lowercase art? From my lowercase art Flickr album:
I feel that Art (with a capital ‘A’) is given the distinction of proper noun-dom because of the artistic intent backing its creation. In other words, true Art has to have some sort of meaning, otherwise it is merely decoration. And that’s just what these pieces are. Aesthetic only; no treatise or manifesto necessary. If you see a message in these pieces, put down the pot.
For as long as I remain bored, orders from my website should remain doodled. If you feel so moved, simply click on a PayPal button on a book page to order. Also, books ordered from me will be signed.
Here’s an example from the I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin page:
$12.95 USD
July 5, 2012
“OK, crow, prepare to be scared.” Another Futurama Literary Reference
(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series)
Stephen King work makes as many cartoon appearances it seems as Stephen King books do bookshelves. This reference, from the Wizard of Oz spoof segment of the Futurama episode Anthology of Interest II (Season 3, episode 21) occurs when Fry, portraying the Scarecrow, attempts to scare a crow by reading a section from Stephen King’s novel, Christine.
Fry: OK, crow, prepare to be scared.
July 4, 2012
The Versatile Blogger Award nominee
A quick thanks to Jennifer over at Donnie Dark Girl for nominating this blog for the Versatile Blogger Award. It means a lot when I learn that people actually read this blog.
July 3, 2012
Blog Tour Stop: Laura Szumowski, illustrator of New York Stories by Ben Tanzer. You’ll love her cartoonish style.
Frequent readers will know that I’m a bit of a Ben Tanzer fan. He simply doesn’t disappoint. So when I was asked to make this World’s First Author Blog a stop on his recent blog tour for his New York Stories collection from CCLaP, I jumped at the chance. Equally, I’m jumping at the chance to host a stop for New York Stories illustrator Laura Szumowski.
Laura has a style that pairs perfectly with the domestic, somewhat detached characters of Ben Tanzer’s work. Smooth lines, intense borders, unabashedly cartoonish, Laura’s work elicits a simple nostalgia, the type of times-remembered that Tanzer’s characters seem to always be chasing.
[image error]
New York Stories isn’t the first book illustrated by Szumowski. She’s the author/illustrator of a lot of cool looking books, my favorite of which is Cycling: A Guide to Menstruation. Though I haven’t read it, I can’t imagine it disappointing.
Head over to Laura Szumowski’s site, take in her offerings, then be sure to swing by CCLaP to pick up a copy of the very limited, very handmade New York Stories.
July 2, 2012
Vertigo Unbalanced is now available to read FOR FREE in the new Nova Parade anthology from Solarcide Magazine
The guys at Solarcide do wonderful work. One could argue that I say this only because they’ve been kind enough to interview me about, among other things, my penchant for domestic grotesque fiction. That One doing the arguing would be wrong, however, as Solarcide has been a refuge for great literary content for long before I tainted them with my talk of familial morbidity.
Solarcide extends their great work into the world of anthologies with the publication of Nova Parade, a FREE .pdf download collection of stories from some fantastic writers, many of whom I shared space with in the Warmed and Bound anthology, in addition to Nova Parade (my story “Vertigo Unbalanced” appears in Nova Parade).
Here’s a table of contents for you. Click over to Solarcide to download the free collection.
Richard Thomas – On A Bent Nail Head
Martin Garrity – Walking On Water
Bryan Howie – Tides
Bradley Sands – Giant Monster Attack!
Nathan Pettigrew – Today Our Future Is Born
Tony Rauch – That’s Where Your Real Parents Live
Rebecca Jones-Howe – Blue Hawaii
Andrez Bergen – An Octopus’ Grotto Is His Castle
Jessica Taylor – Just A Man
Paul D. Brazill – Catch As Catch Can
Chris Lewis Carter – Kill Screen
Amanda Gowin – Charlotte & Jolene: How To Make A Baby
Michael Paul Gonzalez – Ingénue
Jason Lairamore – Jack?
Jay Slayton-Joslin – Awkward Mornings Beat Long Lonely Nights
Chester Pane – Dreadlocks™
Joshua D. Moyes – A Stronger Family
Nikki Guerlain – King Neptune Sucks Off The World’s Largest Potato!
Caleb J. Ross – Vertigo Unbalanced
Phil Jourdan – Vomit As A Talent
Laurance Kitts – Poetry
Clint Rhodes – ATTN: Human Resources
Dakota Taylor – A Day In The Life
Jeremy Robert Johnson – The Brilliant Idea
W. P. Johnson – Cold Heart
July 1, 2012
What do negative reader reviews of my favorite books say about me (or the stupid reviewers)?
House of Leaves is easily one of the most impressive novels, both in terms of story and in terms of execution, that has ever been written, and likely, will ever be written. So when doo-doo heads like this mollyflower Amazon reviewer write things like:
my immediate reaction is to dismiss this person as an impatient moron. However, when I then realize this person gave a glowing review to The Best of Mr. Bean DVD, I go from angry to compassionate. I mean, how could I hate someone with water on the brain?
(all caps courtesy of mollyflower; he/she is damn serious about the perceived hilarity of Mr. Bean)
Like House of Leaves, Blindness by Jose Saramago is simply an excellent piece of literature. It challenges, but also ensures a strong story with interesting characters, while delivering a unique writing style, something wholly unique to Saramago. However, if you only read this review
you might not be willing to give the book the dedication it deserves. But I’m honest enough to entertain the idea that perhaps Geraldine Freeman, “Avid Reader” (quotes being more telling than Geraldine likely meant) and I simply won’t agree on everything. However, then I read this 5-star review
I understand that more likely, Geraldine and I will never agree on anything. Using the powers of deduction, I can only assume she’s my exact opposite: quite racist, lover of deviled eggs, and unwilling to defend the first Limp Bizkit album in a barfight (3 Dollar Bill, Ya’ll is stellar!!!)
Another Blindness hater:
This reviewer actually admits that he/she did not read the book! They why the hell review it?
Even more amazing, this reverto person goes on to hate anther amazing work of art, Regina Spektor’s Soviet Kitsch album, not for it’s musical contributions, but, get this, because the CD case is cardboard! Maybe my ears aren’t highly tuned enough to detect the acoustic shifts due to paper-based packaging. Or, more likely, reverto hates breakfast cereal, saltines, pancake mix, and facial tissues.
If I met mollyflower, Geraldine, or reverto in a bar, we’d having nothing to talk about. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
June 30, 2012
Horton Hears Domestic Violence in the Next Apartment and Doesn’t Call 911
(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series)
In the Family Guy episode titled “Love Blactually” (Season 7, Episode 1, Aired Sep 28, 2008) Stewie picks up a copy of Horton Hears Domestic Violence in the Next Apartment and Doesn’t Call 911, an obvious riff of Dr. Suess’s Horton Hears a Who. Well, the title is a riff, anyway; Horton Hears a Who, content-wise, contains slightly less wife-beating.
This isn’t the first time a Seth McFarlane cartoon has referenced Dr. Suess.
June 29, 2012
Did you know that most prison escapees do it solo?
Just another helpful sliver of information from your good buddy Uncle Caleb.
It’s no secret, I love me an infographic. I love them so much that if I were ever imprisoned for my unnatural love, I’d consider it an honor if I were to be immortalized as a statistic on this super cool Great Escapes infographic. Need to write with some authority about prison escape attempts? This infographic may help.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: eLocalLawyers.com
June 28, 2012
The Lit Pub says about As a Machine and Parts “This is what all great literature does.”
The Lit Pub just posted an amazing write of of As a Machine and Parts (thanks to Eddy Rathke for the kind, kind words). Here’s a bit:
“Something I’ve always loved about Caleb’s writing is how visual and gripping his images are, and, here, he’s married his language to concrete visuals, pushing his storytelling past what I thought it could be.”
Excited? Click over to Amazon (or anywhere else) to purchase a copy of As a Machine and Parts.
