Gabe Durham's Blog, page 24
September 13, 2010
New Fun Camp Short Up at Wigleaf + Dear Wigleaf: Special Edition
A new Fun Camp short, Perk, is up at Wigleaf alongside my own Dear Wigleaf, a postcard I drafted before noticing the part in Scott's email that said to keep it under 250 words. So I cut the postcard down to comply but was sad to let go of the chattier elements. So here I give you the indulgently long Director's Cut of of my postcard:
Dear Wigleaf,
Nashville's still hot. This dog keeps barking. My new job has Fridays off. This evening, I almost got caught in traffic for the Titans game. "And...
September 7, 2010
More of a Real Post about The Illustrator by James Robison and then also Legacy and Fame and Word-Spreading
I ended last week's Internet/Franzen smackdown post with a bit about James Robison's The Illustrator, knowing already I wanted to talk about the book outside the context of "good books that don't get as much attention as The Corrections." Which is really almost any good book. So let's back up.
A few weeks ago, I had my first visit to the fiction stacks of the downtown Nashville Public Library, a big impressive room where Dawn Raffel graces the new releases shelf and where people actually seem ...
September 2, 2010
Incredulous America: Things We Can't Believe Nobody Has Mentioned (Part One)
Culled from the web. Unedited for spelling, grammar, syntax, or taste.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Eddie Murphy. Back when he did Raw, nobody could touch him.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned "Pet Rocks". What a stupid craze that was. I was not alive at the time it occurred, but I did read about it.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Scorpions – Rock You Like a Hurricane.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned the chopped off feet yet!
I can't believe nobody has mentioned your...
August 30, 2010
The Time I Tried to Defend Jonathan Franzen to the Internet
One sunny happy day one time, I was walking down the street doin my thing (probably whistling!) when I was accosted by the internet. Or not accosted, exactly. I guess I was the one who initiated. But it was so easy to do, less decision than a part of my day, so you maybe could say it was LIKE the internet had accosted me. With its ubiquity. I was also not on a street, nor was I walking, nor have I been able to whistle ever since the accident.
August 23, 2010
THE2NDHAND Broadsheet + Sept 10 Reading
I will never run out of google images of wacky campers to pair with Fun Camp-related posts.
Thanks to Todd Dills of The2ndHand for putting out five new Fun Camp shorts in a mini-broadsheet alongside selections from Jamie Iredell's The Book of Freaks! Todd is great guy whose house I often jog by.
Also, I'm going to get to read alongside Chicago writers Jacob Knabb and Fred Sasaki at the Brick Reading Series at Portland Brew in East Nashville on Friday, September 10, at 7 pm. Calendars, folks...
August 18, 2010
Deals & Steals
On Keyhole's main page for a limited time: Burch and Bell combo for $20, free shipping.
Also, good news: Nick Kocz joined Keyhole Magazine as an Associate Editor!
Big sale at The Cupboard. Little books for very cheap. (via J.A. Tyler)
Jensen Beach at 52 Stories this week. It's a good one.
August 6, 2010
Orange Alert Podcast #22 – I Went to the Woods
Jason Behrends kindly invited me to take part in the Orange Alert podcast series, which just went up today. At about 5:30, I read a few shorts. You can download the episode here or subscribe to the podcasts through the iTunes store.
The episode also has music and lit from:
* Gord Mackenzie: Excerpt from Walden
* Fops: Maple Mountain
* Moby: The Rain Falls And The Sky Shudders
* Cheyenne Marie Mize: Path
* Like Bells: Follow The Birds
* Mark R. Brand live from the Orange Alert Reading Series
* Soft...
If Evil Exists, It's a Pair of Train Tracks: The Many Harrisburgs of Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter put on an amazing show at the Cannery Ballroom last night. It was the rare 2-hour concert that never lagged. I can't remember the last time I've seen a musician have so much fun onstage. See him. And buy any of his five albums, especially his last three.
Late in the set, Ritter sneaked Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" in after the second chorus of "Harrisburg." This morning, I tried to find him doing it on YouTube. It's not up there (yet), but I did discover that he's got a...
August 3, 2010
Mr. August
Computer rendering of me in 80 years.
American Short Fiction just published three Fun Camp shorts on their website, making me Mr. August in their monthly Pinup Series. The shorts concern the procedure for politely blowing off trespassing dads, the history of the campfire as used in summer camps (mostly true!), and sexy teen love gone stale.
Check out the archives, too, which has stuff by John Maradik, Matt Salesses, BJ Hollars, and many other fine people with straightforward first names and...
