The birdcage

"There is something about the newspaper business that teaches you some humility - you are so used to having something you wrote today winding up in someone's birdcage tomorrow..." - CARL HIAASEN, whose latest novel, STAR ISLAND, was released Tuesday, July 27.

BALTIMORE SUN calls WASTE "shocking...hilarious"

The Baltimore Sun calls Waste, the latest issue in the long-running Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series from Eight-Stone Press, "as consistently shocking and hilarious as ever." Moreover, here is your chance to win your very own copy of Waste!

Here, kitty-kitty!

BALTIMORE, Md. - Frequent Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! contributor Rahne Alexander has posted a call for submissions for the forthcoming MEOWPOLIS, a cat-themed art show to open October 19, 2010, at the Whole Gallery in the H&H building in Baltimore. Curated by cat ladies Rahne Alexander and Freda Mohr, MEOWPOLIS seeks an extreme variety of cat-inspired paintings, drawings, videos, performances, sculptures and whatever else might be out there. Any media will be considered, but must be by, for, or about cats. (No dogs allowed!) Our hopes and dreams are the following:

1) Some work that actually involves real cats (in humane ways)
2) A ridiculous cat condo, and
3) Art by cats.

The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2010. To submit, please send the following to meowpolisATgmailDOTcom:

a) Photos/documentation of the piece, or if it is yet to be created, a description
b) Dimensions of the work, and any requirements for exhibition of the work, and
c) Contact information (name, email, phone number).


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SMILE, HON release party this Friday!

WASTE RELEASE PARTY!
Join Eight-Stone Press (ESP) for a release party celebrating Waste, the latest theme issue in ESP's long-running, award-winning Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., this Friday, July 30, 2010, at Atomic Books in Baltimore. The evening's festivities will include readings by:

- Sharon Goldner
- Sarah Jane Miller
- Fernando Quijano III
- Timmy Reed
- Ben Shaberman
- William P. Tandy
- Lisa Wiseman

Visit the official event page on Facebook, or for more information, e-mail wpt@eightstonepress.com.

***

SMILE, HON SEEKING SUBMISSIONS!
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. 13 through Friday, August 13, 2010. 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. A two-time Utne Independent Press Award Nominee, Smile, Hon has also been dubbed "Best Zine" by Baltimore Magazine (2008) and Baltimore City Paper (2004).

An Eight-Stone Press production, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Baltimore, MD); City Lights Books (San Francisco, CA) Cyclops Books & Music (Baltimore, MD); Microcosm Publishing (Bloomington, IN, and Portland, OR); Quimby's (Chicago, IL); Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse (Baltimore, MD) and Ukazoo Books (Towson, MD).

***

HELP EIGHT-STONE PRESS SUPPORT LOW-INCOME CANCER PATIENTS
It is important to me, as a cancer survivor, to do what I can to help others who have been diagnosed with/are fighting this terrible disease.

Every August since finishing chemotherapy (in September 2007), I have participated in the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation's "Swim Across the Sound", a daylong relay race that begins in Port Jefferson, NY, crosses Long Island Sound and finishes in Bridgeport, CT. I do not actually swim in the race – the thousands of jellyfish that drifted through the Sound my first year quickly cured me of any such motivation. Rather, I drive one of the boats that escort each team across the water, providing respite, refreshment and shade to the swimmers. Each year, I've been fortunate enough to work with the same team, a dedicated group of young ladies – led by team captain Kimberly Russo – who have now volunteered their efforts for this event for several years running, and I look forward to working with them again for this year's event on Saturday, August 7, 2010.

The particularly cool thing about the St. Vincent's Foundation is that all of the money raised, rather than going to research, directly benefits lower-income cancer patients (whose diagnosis may have left them unable to work, or otherwise hindered their ability to work) by helping them with regular household expenses such as groceries, utility bills, rent or even mortgage payments. To these ends, last year's Swim Across the Sound raised approximately $2.5 million.

Indeed, we are all feeling the effects of these hard economic times. But imagine, for a moment, the unspeakable difficulty of facing a cancer diagnosis on top of those day-to-day challenges. Bearing that in mind, I humbly appeal to you to help our team help the St. Vincent's Foundation in supporting those unfortunate enough to be experiencing that very scenario. Donations may be made here (and remember, no amount is too small).


For more information on any of the above announcements, contact:

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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eightstonepress


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Keep your manhole covered

"We get people in here almost every two days with manhole covers," Harmon said. "We can't take them unless they have papers, so we turn them away."

From the article "Bulky manhole covers yield thieves little payoff", by Kate Smith, The Baltimore Sun, July 22, 2010.

Let the healing begin...

A press conference has been scheduled for 3:00 p.m. today to announce that musician and humanitarian Bob Geldof plans to cut a charity single to benefit the victims of the Gaithersburg earthquake. Alas, rebuilding is the easy part - it's the human toll that weighs so heavily upon the soul. Let the healing begin...

Whine and cheese

I've never seen as much press coverage of a child seat recall as has been given to iPhone 4 "problems".

SMILE, HON Release Party & More!

WASTE RELEASE PARTY!
Join Eight-Stone Press (ESP) for a release party celebrating Waste, the latest theme issue in ESP's long-running, award-winning Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday, July 30, 2010, at Atomic Books in Baltimore. The evening's festivities will include readings by:

- Sharon Goldner
- Sarah Jane Miller
- Fernando Quijano III
- Timmy Reed
- Ben Shaberman
- William P. Tandy
- Lisa Wiseman

Visit the official event page on Facebook, or for more information, e-mail wpt@eightstonepress.com.

***

PRAISE FOR SMILE, HON SEX ISSUE!
In related news, former Tower Records distributor Clint Johns praises the sex-soaked Smile, Hon, You're in Flagrante! in the brand-new Xerography Debt #27, out now from Leeking Inc. and Microcosm Publishing. Johns calls Flagrante "sophisticated...the authors are almost evenly distributed by sex, and the overall tone is Anais Nin rather than Penthouse Letters. I can't recommend this highly enough." Read his complete review and those for many other fine zines in Xerography Debt #27, now available from Atomic Books, Microcosm and Leeking Inc.

***

SMILE, HON SEEKING SUBMISSIONS!
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. 13 through Friday, August 13, 2010. 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. A two-time Utne Independent Press Award Nominee, Smile, Hon has also been dubbed "Best Zine" by Baltimore Magazine (2008) and Baltimore City Paper (2004).

An Eight-Stone Press production, Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! is available locally for purchase at Atomic Books (Baltimore, MD); City Lights Books (San Francisco, CA) Cyclops Books & Music (Baltimore, MD); Microcosm Publishing (Bloomington, IN, and Portland, OR); Quimby's (Chicago, IL); Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse (Baltimore, MD) and Ukazoo Books (Towson, MD).

***

HELP EIGHT-STONE PRESS SUPPORT LOW-INCOME CANCER PATIENTS
It is important to me, as a cancer survivor, to do what I can to help others who have been diagnosed with/are fighting this terrible disease.

Every August since finishing chemotherapy (in September 2007), I have participated in the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation's "Swim Across the Sound", a daylong relay race that begins in Port Jefferson, NY, crosses Long Island Sound and finishes in Bridgeport, CT. I do not actually swim in the race – the thousands of jellyfish that drifted through the Sound my first year quickly cured me of any such motivation. Rather, I drive one of the boats that escort each team across the water, providing respite, refreshment and shade to the swimmers. Each year, I've been fortunate enough to work with the same team, a dedicated group of young ladies – led by team captain Kimberly Russo – who have now volunteered their efforts for this event for several years running, and I look forward to working with them again for this year's event on Saturday, August 7, 2010.

The particularly cool thing about the St. Vincent's Foundation is that all of the money raised, rather than going to research, directly benefits lower-income cancer patients (whose diagnosis may have left them unable to work, or otherwise hindered their ability to work) by helping them with regular household expenses such as groceries, utility bills, rent or even mortgage payments. To these ends, last year's Swim Across the Sound raised approximately $2.5 million.

Indeed, we are all feeling the effects of these hard economic times. But imagine, for a moment, the unspeakable difficulty of facing a cancer diagnosis on top of those day-to-day challenges. Bearing that in mind, I humbly appeal to you to help our team help the St. Vincent's Foundation in supporting those unfortunate enough to be experiencing that very scenario. Donations may be made here (and remember, no amount is too small).


For more information on any of the above announcements, contact:

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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wptandy
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eightstonepress


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WASTE Release Party!

BALTIMORE, Md. - That's right - the long-awaited release party for Waste, the latest theme issue in the award-winning Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series, has finally been scheduled for 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday, July 30, 2010, at Atomic Books. The evening's festivities will include readings by:

- SHARON GOLDNER
- SARAH JANE MILLER
- FERNANDO QUIJANO III
- TIMMY REED
- BEN SHABERMAN
- WILLIAM P. TANDY
- LISA WISEMAN

So mark your calendars! More details as they become available...