We Know You're Out There, 'Cause We Can Smell Your BRAINS!!!

The sophomore issue of Baltimore-based zombie zine Rigor Mortis is coming soon...

THE RAMONES - "We Want the Airwaves"

This afternoon I plan to record a brand-new piece for WYPR-FM's (88.1) local arts program The Signal; details to follow.

And now, The Ramones...

Too Long in the Wasteland

If John Mellencamp is the American heartland’s Jackson Browne, singer/songwriter James McMurtry - son of novelist Larry McMurtry, of Lonesome Dove and Terms of Endearment fame - is surely its Warren Zevon. Last night, I had a golden opportunity to see McMurtry live – a friend with the Right Connections scored us complimentary tickets. And to boot, we got to shake hands with the man himself.

Being the marketing whore that I am, I naturally took advantage of the opportunity to give Mr. McMurtry a copy of the latest issue of Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!, as well as a Smile, Hon t-shirt and stickers. With these I included a hand-written note:

Dear Mr. McMurtry,

I was a month or two into chemotherapy, for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, when I discovered your music in spring 2007. With the doc pumping $8,000 worth of high-caliber poison into my veins every three weeks, your mordant humor and smart lyrics (which remind me quite a bit, if you will, of the late Warren Zevon) provided a welcome addition to my then-steady diet of prednisone, film noir, and Boost energy drinks. Indeed, hardly a day went by in the ensuing months that your “Lobo Town” refrain didn’t echo in my head: “You’re goddamned right, you got no clue, so don’t tell me I’m dying…”

Your gift for creating vivid characters and stories rivals that of the finest novelist – and in a sense is that much more impressive, as you can pack more of the human condition into a single song than many published writers can over the course of an entire book. (Striving for such efficiency is my publication, Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!, a copy of which I’ve included herewith, should you be in want of something to read while on the road. It collects Baltimore-related stories, photos, poetry and other artwork – good, bad, and ugly.) I should also note that, Buddy Holly and Terry Southern notwithstanding, Texas never held much interest for me prior to discovering your work, as well as Cormac McCarthy’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN; I hope the local tourism bureau is paying you both a commission.

Today, I’m two-and-a-half years out from cancer diagnosis and – knock wood – remain in the clear. But my very life aside, your music, for me, remains one of the precious few rays of light from my otherwise darkest days…

And for that, I thank you.

Best,

William P. Tandy

Here’s James McMurtry performing “Choctaw Bingo”, a crowd-pleaser sung from the perspective of a man attending a family reunion for dubious reasons…

SMILE, HON: Down to the Underwire

BALTIMORE – For the third straight year, SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE! Editor/Publisher William P. Tandy will participate in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which raises funds to combat breast cancer. This year’s event will be held Sunday, October 18, in Hunt Valley, Maryland. A cancer survivor himself, Tandy will once again represent the Oncology Center of Central Baltimore, where he took treatment. To support the cause, please visit Tandy’s fundraising homepage.

In related news, SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE! is accepting submissions of your Mobtown-related stories, essays, poetry, photography and other artwork for the forthcoming SMILE, HON No. 12 through Saturday, October 31, 2009. Creative non-fiction is preferred, though all submissions will be considered. Articles (100 – 2,000 words) are preferably received via e-mail (wpt@eightstonepress.com) as attached Word documents. Image files should be approximately 5” x 7”, 300+ dpi (.JPG or .TIF format). All contributors will receive a byline/artist credit for their work as well as two (2) complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears.

From the harbor to the hills, SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE! collects the tales of those on whom Mobtown has left her indelible mark. Polished, professional essays; barroom sermons delivered from the sanctity of a favorite stool; the poet’s fleeting sentiment, captured in both word and snapshot – SMILE, HON offers a slice of Baltimore as told by Baltimore, presented with the time-honored DIY accessibility of a limited-run, handcrafted zine.

An Eight-Stone Press production, SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Hampden); Cyclops Books & Music (Station North); and Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse (Mt. Vernon). For more information, contact:

William P. Tandy, Editor
Eight-Stone Press
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
E-mail: Wpt@eightstonepress.com
Website: http://www.eightstonepress.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eightstonepress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: EightStonePress


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SMILE, HON: The Gambler

This one goes out to the pudgy middle-aged guy in the M&T Bank t-shirt at the Toys R Us who so patiently stood in line at Toys R Us yesterday afternoon to buy poker chips and playing cards...

Battle Front

If you love the ladies (and boobs) as much as I do, why not put your money where your - er, well, you get the picture.

A. AUBREY BODINE Slideshow/Lecture October 18 at the Pratt Main Branch

BALTIMORE - Jennifer Bodine, daughter of legendary Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine and proprietor of AAubreyBodine.com, will present a slide-illustrated talk about the life and work of her father, whose photographs captured the essence of life in Baltimore and Maryland from the 1930s and beyond, beginning at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, October 18, in the Poe Room of the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. (Copies of Bodine’s Chesapeake Bay Country will be on sale following the program.) Jeff Korman, Manager of the Central Library’s Maryland Department, will also talk about the work of the Federal Writers Project in Maryland and Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State.

PRESS RELEASE: CAmm Fellowship at Creative Alliance

CAmm Fellowship
Jan ‘10-Dec ‘10

The purpose of the CAmm Fellowship is to promote growth and expertise in filmmaking and time based media arts of all genres and to support the development of finished, professional film, video and media arts projects. Each year CAmm awards one Fellowship to a filmmaker or artist working in time-based media living and working in Maryland, for a specific film/video project planned for completion in that year. Fellows receive extended free use of CAmm Cage gear and the CAmm Media Lab and editing suite, for a specified time period. The Fellowship also includes a work-in-progress critique with established members of the film community (determined by the subject and format of the project) and concludes with a screening opportunity at The Patterson. Applications are evaluated on the strength of the proposed project and quality of past work. Works in progress are encouraged.

To Apply:
Submit the following materials by Fri Oct 16:
• Project description, including treatment, length of proposed work, budget and production timeline.
• List of gear and/or facilities you would like to access from CAmm. A complete list is available here www.cammcage.blogspot.com
• Reel of previous work, and/or excerpts from proposed work in progress (short films or clips from longer work, not to exceed 30 minutes total). DVD or Quicktime files are preferred.
• Written description of previous work, including title, date, media and running time.
• Resume, including contact information
• Three personal references, their relation to you and their phone number.

CAmm Fellowship Timeline:
Fri Oct 16 CAmm Fellowship Applications Due
Nov 2009 Selection Process (Strength of proposal and quality of past work evaluated by Jury)
Dec 2009 2010 CAmm Fellowship award announced
Jan-Dec 2010 2010 CAmm Fellowship (access to equipment scheduled, mid project critique, work completed and screening opportunity scheduled based on project timeline and description).

Applicants are encouraged to contact CAmm Director, Kristen Anchor with questions and to discuss your proposal. 410-276-1651, kristen@creativealliance.org

About Creative Alliance MovieMakers (CAmm):
The Creative Alliance is a dynamic artists’ organization based at The Patterson, a multi-art center in a former 1930’s movie theater in Highlandtown. Creative Alliance MovieMakers is a programming division of CA, created by artists working in film, video, and digital media with the goal of establishing Baltimore as a national center for film and new media. CAmm currently presents approximately 40 screenings and 50 professional programs annually. CAmm Cage and Media Lab offers film, video, sound and photo gear rental, a digital editing suite, DVD duplication, an iMac Lab, and a flexible classroom/screening room.

PRESS RELEASE: Baltimore Women's Film Festival (10/23-25/09) Announces Schedule

Contact: Baltimore Women's Film Festival Press
Email: getinvolved@bwfilmfestival.com
Phone: 410-982-6648

THE BALTIMORE WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER EVENT AT LANDMARK'S HARBOR EAST CINEMA

(Baltimore, Maryland) Sept 10, 2009—Today, The Baltimore Women’s Film Festival (The BWFF) announced the schedule for its third annual event, which takes place Friday-Sunday, October 23rd-25th at Landmark's Harbor East Cinema. The 2009 line-up includes a variety of shorts, documentaries, animation, music videos, and feature-length films. BWFF 2009 will be an interactive event, as a variety of filmmakers will be in attendance to discuss their work. Filmmakers in attendance include Baltimore and DC locals, as well as those from across the continent and the globe. The Baltimore Women’s Film Festival is dedicated to and focused on seeking out the very finest independent cinema created by and for women.

BWFF 2009 will showcases features, documentaries, animations, music videos, and short films in which women play significant roles in the direction, production, and completion. For full schedule of films, please visit baltimorewomens.bside.com/2009/schedule. The BWFF 2009 is pleased to announce that for the third year in a row the festival will donate 50% of all ticket sale proceeds to the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center, which provides innovative, integrated, high-quality and cost-effective care for breast cancer patients.

BALTIMORE WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

- "Not Dead Yet" directed by Sam Hull. In the film, three female actresses, frustrated by the lack of roles for women over 40, decide to create their own film, starring themselves. The film's writer and producer Susan Hess Logeais stated, “We may be over 40, but we’re not dead yet. We’re not invisible; we’re vibrant and alive. We may be changing, but we embrace that change as opposed to mourning it and withdrawing.” (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER IN ATTENDANCE)

-“Pip and Zastrow: An American Friendship” directed by Karin Hayes and Victoria Bruce, This documentary is the story of two men, Simms and former Annapolis mayor “Pip” Moyer who cross racial boundaries during segregation in Maryland in the 1940s. (DIRECTORS//PRODUCERS IN ATTENDANCE)

- "Two Fireflies" directed by Adam Meyer and produced by Dani Englander. Two Fireflies is a love story shot in the Washington DC area about an older man and a young woman determined not to pick up any commitments or baggage and end up forming a friendship which helps both individuals move themselves back on to the stage of life. (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER IN ATTENDANCE)

- "Autism: Made in the USA" In this film, award winning producer and director Gary Null is on a quest to reveal the true causes and promising solutions for the recent dramatic increase in autism in our children. (GARY NULL IN ATTENDANCE)

- "Voices from the Inside: Israelis Speak” directed by Lucy Martens, In this documentary, 16 Jewish Israeli voices of conscience, each representing a different facet of the peace movement inside Israel. (PRODUCER IN ATTENDANCE)

-Plan B, Single Women Choosing Motherhood directed by Beth Cramer, This documentary film explores the new social picture single motherhood presents and the reasons this trend is snowballing among women in their thirties to mid forties. (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER IN ATTENDANCE)

-Straightlaced--How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up directed by Academy-award winning documentary filmmaker Debra Chasnoff. Straightlaced includes the perspectives of teens who self-identify as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning and represent all points of the gender spectrum. (DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE)

This year, the Baltimore Women's Film Festival will be participating in Free Fall Baltimore Sunday October 25th from 12pm-2pm. Free tickets to these events are available through advance registration at www.bwfilmfestival.com. Free Fall Baltimore is made possible by a grant from Mayor Sheila Dixon and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts.

The Free Fall Baltimore events include “She Should Have Gone to the Moon,” directed by Ulrike Kubatta. This feature documentary is about Jerri Truhill, who was trained in 1961, as part of NASA's top-secret Mercury 13 program, to become one of the First Lady Astronauts.

BWFF SHORT FILM SEQUENCES AND LOCAL FILMS
The festival will feature several collections of short films in the following showcases “Films Set in Baltimore,” “Documentary Shorts,” “Short Films about Love,” “Films about Magical Realism and Dreams,” “Animated Shorts,” and “Dramatic Shorts.”

The festival will be screening a wide array of films by Maryland locals including “The Mystery Date” by Arlette Thomas-Fletcher, “Swim Lessons: The Nick Irons Story,” directed by Alex Houston and produced by Kendra Gahagan, “Life After Lisa,” directed by Palmer Enfield and produced by Elena Moscatt, “Out of the Darkness”, directed and produced by local filmmaker Nikki V. Roberts, and many other film selections created by Maryland and DC area filmmakers. The festival will also present films from Baltimore organizations Wide Angle Youth Media and The Megaphone Project.

OVERVIEW
The 2009 Baltimore Women's Film Festival will be taking place at Landmark's Harbor East Cinema located at 645 S. President Street. Tickets to all regular screening sessions are $10. Half of all ticket sale proceeds will benefit the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center. To learn more about The Baltimore Women's Film Festival or to purchase tickets online, visit www.bwfilmfestival.com or email getinvolved@bwfilmfestival.com.

Sponsors of The Baltimore Women's Film Festival event include Harbor East and Landmark Theatres. To read about or donate directly to the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center, please visit www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org.

Eight-Stone Press Fights Cancer, Provides Breast Support

BALTIMORE – Because I love boobies (and their owners) so much, Eight-Stone Press will participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, for the third consecutive year, on Sunday, October 18, 2009, in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Once again, I will be a part of the Oncology Center of Central Baltimore team – the people who, quite literally, saved my life.

Two years ago this month, I wrapped up six months of intensive chemotherapy for a particularly aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that could have well otherwise killed me. To date, the cancer remains in remission, and I feel as healthy as I ever did (if not better), and I wholly attribute this fact to the professionalism and compassion of Dr. Stanley Walker and his top-notch team of nurses and office staff at the Oncology Center of Central Baltimore.

The Komen Race for the Cure is the Oncology Center’s main fundraising event of the year. As such, I feel it is nothing short of my duty to help those who helped me and, in so doing, help others battling any manifestation of this terrible disease. I participated in my first Komen Race about one month after my final round of chemo. Three years later, I’m back at it, still going strong.

These are tough, lean times for everyone, to be sure. But as any who has ever suffered this disease firsthand – be it themselves, family or friends – will attest, things can get awfully tougher. It is for them that I ask you to join me on Race day (10/18) – or, if you are unable to attend, to kindly make a donation on my fundraising page below (and remember, no amount is too small, or too arbitrary):

http://tinyurl.com/ldgwlo

Where do the funds go, you ask? Well, “at least 25 percent of net proceeds are used to support the Komen Award and Research Grant Program. Funding national research is vital as this is where we believe the cures for breast cancer will be found. Since Maryland is home to many prestigious research institutions, Komen funding often goes to cutting-edge research happening right here in Maryland.

“Up to 75 percent of net proceeds stay in Maryland to fund grants that provide transportation to appointments, financial support, appropriate diagnostic testing, and a comprehensive range of follow-up services. Because early detection is the best protection for breast cancer, Komen Maryland sponsors grants that increase the number of women who have annual mammograms and clinical breast exam screenings. Komen grants continue to focus on recruiting patients for clinical trials.

“The programs we fund help to overcome the cultural, social, educational and financial barriers that prevent people from receiving life saving treatment right now.”

For more information on the Komen Race for the Cure, visit www.komenmd.org. And thank you all for your kindness and support over the years.

Stay healthy,

WP Tandy, Editor
Eight-Stone Press
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
E-mail: wpt@eightstonepress.com
Website: http://www.eightstonepress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eightstonepress
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eightstonepress


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RAMMSTEIN - "Du Hast"

The summer this was all over the radio I worked for the DPW in a small Jersey shore town. We'd ride the municipal trucks all around the borough, and every time "Du Hast" came on we would key the CB mic up to the speaker and broadcast the song to all the other vehicles. And headquarters. And the superintendent's office. And town hall...

Late for Work

I arrived at work late this morning, having paid a visit to the oncology center for my regular checkup. Since undergoing chemotherapy, the frequency of such visits has gone from once a week to once every other month.

Today was the first day for the temp nurse who drew my blood. She’s filling in for one of the regular nurses while she’s out on maternity leave.

“I used to have great veins before I started coming here,” I warned her.

She spent a minute or two trying to spike the chemo-scarred vein inside my left elbow without striking paydirt. “Try somewhere else?” she asked after noticing my obvious discomfort.

“Please.” She had better luck with the back of my hand.

“That one just kept rolling out of the way,” she said, indicating the fruitless vein near my elbow. “If I were you, I’d tell everyone to just stay away from that one, as it’s basically kaput.”

The subsequent checkup went off without a hitch. Blood counts were good – or good for me, anyway. No signs, no symptoms. My doctor asked if I’d be participating in the Komen Race for the Cure again this year. I’ve walked with his team for the big annual fundraiser, geared specifically toward breast cancer (though I had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), every year since I finished treatment.

“Absolutely,” I said. This year will be my third walking with them.

“Great,” he said. “We need your support, not to mention that picture of you jumping through the fire.” He grinned at the mention of the profile picture I use on my fundraising homepage. He likes the picture, and from what he’s said, I gather there are few pix of his “alumni” leaping over bonfires.



On my way out of the office, I stopped by the front desk to schedule an appointment for my quarterly CT scan. I didn’t even recognize my friend Jeff nearby; rather, it was he who noticed me.

“There’s my friend!” he said with a big smile. I turned and smiled, and nearly at once realized who it was.

“Jeff!” I said, and we shook hands. I’d venture to guess Jeff is in his early 40s, and I’m ashamed to admit I don’t recall the exact type of cancer he was facing treatment for. For some reason, lung cancer comes to mind. We first met around the time I was finishing my treatment. We’d pass each other in the waiting area, or in the hospital hallways outside the oncology center. When I’d last seen him, nearly a year earlier, he was lean (though not alarmingly so), and his hair had just started falling out from a new treatment he had started.

But this morning he looked different. His head was topped with the soft, fine, wispy hair of a cancer patient, but his face and body were extraordinarily bloated – likely the product of steroids that comprise part of his treatment. He looked tired, though his expression suggested that seeing me had mustered within him genuine enthusiasm.

But the most notable difference this morning was that Jeff was in a wheelchair.

The receptionist called his name, indicating that it was his turn to head back to see the doctor. A young woman stood up from one of the nearby chairs and walked over to wheel him back. Jeff introduced her as his wife, and we shook hands and exchanged a few more words.

“Stay strong, Jeff,” I said, “and I will see you soon again.”

He smiled as his wife took the handles on his chair. “You…you have kids, don’t you?” he asked.

I nodded. “One,” I said. “He’s three.”

“Oh,” Jeff’s wife said, kindly. “We have a 3-year-old, too.”

I smiled. “They’re a handful.” We all laughed, and with that they disappeared down the long, bright hallway that leads to the nurses’ station – and the infusion room.

I was 31 at the time of my diagnosis, my son, just 13-months-old. When the word “cancer” was first suggested to me, it drove everything else in the world from my mind – everything, except for him. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of that, and I hope he was young enough at the time that he will have no memories of the whole ordeal.

My next CT scan is scheduled for five weeks from now – just before my next oncology checkup. I picked up the appointment form, put on my sunglasses and walked out into the warm morning light.

I was 90 minutes late for work.

And when I got there, I cried.

HOWLIN' WOLF - "Spoonful"

SMILE, HON: "Completely DIY"

BALTIMORE – Long-running punk zine MaximumRocknRoll calls the latest issue of Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! “one of the best things I’ve read in quite some time” in its September 2009 (#316) issue.

“In these pages you’ll find no dreary and pretentious poetry, no rants on anarchist activism, and no lackluster interview questions with bands you never heard of before (and will break up in a month),” reviewer Bob Goldie says of Smile, Hon No. 11. “But…the whole mood and attitude is ‘punk’ in a non-mainstream sort of way, and the entire effort is completely DIY. Recommended!”

In related news, Smile, Hon publisher Eight-Stone Press is accepting submissions of Mobtown-related stories, essays, poetry, photography and other artwork for the forthcoming Smile, Hon No. 12 through Saturday, October 31, 2009. Creative non-fiction is preferred, though all submissions will be considered. Articles (100 – 2,000 words) are preferably received via e-mail (wpt@eightstonepress.com) as attached Word documents. Image files should be approximately 5” x 7”, 300+ dpi (.JPG or .TIF format). All contributors will receive a byline/artist credit for their work as well as two (2) complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears.

From the harbor to the hills, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! collects the tales of those on whom Mobtown has left her indelible mark. Polished, professional essays; barroom sermons delivered from the sanctity of a favorite stool; the poet’s fleeting sentiment, captured in both word and snapshot – Smile, Hon offers a slice of Baltimore as told by Baltimore, presented with the time-honored DIY accessibility of a limited-run, handcrafted zine.

An Eight-Stone Press production, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Hampden); Cyclops Books & Music (Station North); and Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse (Mt. Vernon). For more information, contact:

William P. Tandy, Editor
Eight-Stone Press
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
E-mail: Wpt@eightstonepress.com
Website: http://www.eightstonepress.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eightstonepress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: EightStonePress


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Two Days in Cayo Hueso

I spent this past weekend in Key West, Florida, and in the course of two-and-a-half days there I a) saw actressKelly McGillis (who, I might note, looks much better in person than she does in her more recent made-for-SyFy flicks) at a drag show, b) drank with the forensic artist for the sheriff's department of a major Florida county, and c) swam with a shark for the first time in my life.

I can only imagine what could be seen or done there with an entire week...

SMILE, HON Wants You to Submit!

BALTIMORE – Eight-Stone Press (ESP) – publisher of the award-winning Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series – is accepting submissions of Mobtown-related stories, essays, poetry, photography and other artwork for the forthcoming Smile, Hon No. 12 through Saturday, October 31, 2009.

Creative non-fiction is preferred, though all submissions will be considered. Articles (100 – 2,000 words) are preferably received via e-mail (wpt@eightstonepress.com) as attached Word documents. Image files should be approximately 5” x 7”, 300+ dpi (.JPG or .TIF format). All contributors will receive a byline/artist credit for their work as well as two (2) complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears.

From the harbor to the hills, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! collects the tales of those on whom Mobtown has left her indelible mark. Polished, professional essays; barroom sermons delivered from the sanctity of a favorite stool; the poet’s fleeting sentiment, captured in both word and snapshot – Smile, Hon offers a slice of Baltimore as told by Baltimore, presented with the time-honored DIY accessibility of a limited-run, handcrafted zine.

In March 2009, ESP published the transit-themed Intersections, the latest in a series of Smile, Hon special issues that have addressed topics such as rats, tattoos, crime and scars. Utne Reader called Intersections “a really fun read." Smile, Hon has also been named the city’s “Best Zine” by both Baltimore City Paper (2004) and Baltimore Magazine (2008).

An Eight-Stone Press production, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Hampden); Cyclops Books & Music (Station North); and Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse (Mt. Vernon). For more information, contact:


William P. Tandy, Editor
Eight-Stone Press
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
E-mail: Wpt@eightstonepress.com
Website: http://www.eightstonepress.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eightstonepress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: EightStonePress


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LIBRARY JOURNAL Reviews SKIN DEEP, Local Zines

Here's a nice write-up of Skin Deep - the special "tattoo" edition of Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! - in Library Journal. Also, kudos to local zines Xerography Debt and Leeking Ink for garnering positive reviews...

And They Said Horizontal Stripes Could Never Work with Technicolor Polka-Dots...

BtheSite.com Launches SMILE, HON Contributor's New Weekly Strip

Be sure to check out regular Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! contributor Benn Ray's new strip, "Said What?: Overheards", every Thursday at bthesite.com...

Go On - Pull My Finger...

And since you evidently have time to waste reading this blog, check out JoeWilsonIsYourPreexistingCondition...

Aloha from Mobtown...

Some nights, when insomnia gains the upper hand, I find myself staring at the computer screen into the wee hours of the night, reading user-reviews for sundry brands of pomade...

(Photo by William P. Tandy)

Locally-produced Zombie-Comedy LIVELIHOOD Now Available on Netflix

The following dispatch comes from Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! contributor Ryan Graham, whose feature-length directorial debut, Livelihood, is now available from Netflix:

Some very exciting news regarding Livelihood: we’re on Netflix! If you have a Netflix account, please put the movie into your queue and also rate it and write a short review if you have time. The more positive remarks it has, the more likely people will be to give it a chance and put it in their queue!

Since a lot more people now have easy access to the film via Netflix, more reviews are starting to pop up online, and they’re still universally positive. Here’s a recent example:

"…most of these zombie comedies suck. But, every so often, there’s a hidden gem in the sub-genre among all the crap. Livelihood is one of those hidden gems."

Baltimore Insider's Guide: Question #6

Following the success of Criminally Yours, a collection of entertaining Baltimore-area crime experiences, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore is once again collaborating with The Mobtown Shank, this time in putting together a Baltimore Insider's Guide. Over the next few weeks, we'll be asking various questions and compiling the results. (The more the merrier, so please tell your friends to answer, too!)

Today's question:

What is your top source (blog, paper, radio station, magazine) for Baltimore-related news? Why?

Please provide 2-3 sentences regarding why/what makes this place so special. Submit your answers to wpt@eightstonepress.com. If we use your answers/submissions, you'll receive a free copy when the issue is published.

Baltimore Insider's Guide: Question #5

Following the success of Criminally Yours, a collection of entertaining Baltimore-area crime experiences, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore is once again collaborating with The Mobtown Shank, this time in putting together a Baltimore Insider's Guide. Over the next few weeks, we'll be asking various questions and compiling the results. (The more the merrier, so please tell your friends to answer, too!)

Today's question:

Where in Baltimore do you go to check out art? Why there?

Please provide 2-3 sentences regarding why/what makes this place so special. Submit your answers to wpt@eightstonepress.com. If we use your answers/submissions, you'll receive a free copy when the issue is published.

THE DUBLINERS - "Weile Weile Waile"

Pssst!

Before you get your knickers in a twist, rest assured that, according to Beverly Quinones, despite The Mount Royal Garden Club's name, a good number of its members actually reside in Guilford.

Whew! (I mean, that was close.)