Sixth Time’s a Charm

Finally have a baby snail after the sixth clutch of eggs was laid. I was determined to keep the water level high so they wouldn’t lay any more eggs, but they snuck this clutch by me. Good thing, too. The baby is so CUTE! She’s camera shy, but definitely a she.

I’ve also decided that between the months of August and June I am entirely useless thanks to the public school system and its schedule which drains the ever living life out of me. All I want to do when I get home is eat Cheetos and play World of Warcraft, and I’m always out of Cheetos.

But you know what would fix that?

Fun Fact

There is a character on World of Warcraft’s Realm Ysera named SpectaclePMG. It’s a gnome.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Empower-the-Creative-Minds-of-Tomorrow

WOW!

When it comes to Spectacle, I’m an avid fan of unconventional marketing. One time I stuck a business card in a fireman’s boot. [He was taking donations on the side of the road. I slipped in the card with my donation.] I left another card in a shop window next to a hand-written note of unknown authorship (presumably one of the store owners?) that stated “this store is great!” All in all, I have presented the world with these random tokens in various cities from Orlando to Savannah. Keep your eyes peeled. You never know where I may pop up next.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Empower-the-Creative-Minds-of-Tomorrow

Networking at its Finest

Interesting fact about Spectacle: we operate remotely from across the continental United States. Our employees range from California to New York, and most of us have never met each other in real life. Our bonds of friendship and belief in our dreams span a continent and bridge time zones. So, what’s your story?

http://www.indiegogo.com/Empower-the-Creative-Minds-of-Tomorrow

All talk?

Today’s Spectacle story comes straight out of the mouth of Eric Staggs.

All talk?

Sit down. Get some coffee and sit down. This is going to be one of those serious and uncomfortable heart-to-heart talks. It’ll be better than when your folks told you about the birds and bees, but only a little.

I’m asking you if you’re all talk. When I say, “Down with corporate control of the world! Free the media! Give artists a break!” you all nod your heads, some of you can even be bothered to click “like.” Thanks.

Right now, however, I’m doing something about it. Together with a dedicated group of individuals, writers and artists all, I founded a small publishing company. We’ve all thrown our blood and sweat, cash and corpses into this thing, in an attempt to change the way publishing works. We publish fiction.

When I talked to many of you about this endeavor, you all said, “Wow, that’s great!”
You’re right. It is great. It’s a chance for my partners and myself to build something greater than ourselves, to start a business from the ground up, to use our talents to actualize our best destinies. It’s a chance to break the chains of corporate slavery – to live the American Dream. It’s a chance to be able to work from home, in our pajamas.

It’s risky. We’ve hired (and fired) a felon (funny story, total accident), been attacked for racism (imagined), been slandered, judged, poked, prodded and worst of all… ignored.

But, seven months into it, we’re still going strong. We’ve held the course and stayed true to our goal – we are NOT like other publishers – we give the lion’s share of our profits to our writers… not vice versa. We edit and consult. We read everything, give personalized rejections. We run workshops with our writers on weekends. We provide art and marketing support. We’ve published more than four books, including a children’s book and we’ve got two full-length novels for release in the first quarter of 2012. We ARE doing everything we promised.

Spectacle Publishing Media Group is not all talk. It’s a real company, with real employees and real products.

So here’s the thing – we’re raising funds through IndieGoGo.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Empower-the-Creative-Minds-of-Tomorrow

Toss us some coin. Spare a penny. Give some alms. Drop ten sovereigns on the table and stalk out like Han Solo (who shot first).

What do we do with this money?

Maintenance (web, software, services, etc.)
Market Authors and Books (swag, gadgets, contests, awards)
Print Books (we love eBooks, but paper makes us Sexy)

And that’s it. SPMG partners do not get paid (other than the smug and overwhelming satisfaction of doing something no one else is doing).

If you can’t donate – and believe me, we’re all over-educated, under-employed artists with debts that would stagger you, so we get it – if you can’t donate – please share the link. Post on your Facebook page. Put your Free Will and Good Intentions where your mouth is and help us spread the word. Prove you’re not all talk.

For more information about Spectacle Publishing Media Group, LLC visit our website. http://www.spectaclepmg.com, follow us on Twitter: @SpectaclePMG or email: info@spectaclepmg.com. If you’re a writer send us a damn submission already.

Make a Wish. It Only Takes a Penny.

I will be posting stories and interesting facts about Spectacle for the next 120 days.

Today we’ll start off with an interesting fact. My mother, Maria Goretti Sanchez, and my father, Freddy Sanchez, recently collaborated on a bilingual childrens’ book about Three Kings Day/ El Dia de los Reyes, a holiday which marks the twelfth day of Christmas. My father, an elementary art teacher, illustrated each scene by hand. My mother jotted down the plot while waiting in the parking lot for my brother to finish classes. I quickly translated her copy into English and then attempted to recreate her Spanish. My computer did not believe Spanish was a language, and many errors were made. My father went through and meticulously corrected the manuscript which will be available for sale soon, at a discounted price. The error-riddled version is still up for sale for any Spanish readers who wish to purchase, read, point and laugh.

Humor is the spice of life. We have it in abundance, so come support our work. From my family to yours!

http://www.indiegogo.com/Empower-the-Creative-Minds-of-Tomorrow

Anorexia is Self-Hate

Loneliness is a palpable thing.
Cry so hard you get chills.
The sorrows lead one after the other,
building a thick wall, stone upon stone,
between me and the Promised Land.
There is no solace in writing.
There is only solace in being nothing,
nothing at all, and I am too much of me.

This is no teen angst,
no eye rolling rebellion.
This is a history without a future,
a widowed newlywed,
a death howl from the womb.
Even these tragedies would be blessings
so far below them do I stand
as a bell jar whistles in my head.

So hollowed, so empty
so devoid of significance
repeating the hymn of self-destruction
that the mark 27 inflicts on the fallen,
the legends thunder into the halls of beyond
while I merely give my quiet thud,
slipping in and out, unnoticed, as before.

Spectacle: Who We Are

Fun facts:

• I filmed this at 2am
• Since I don’t own a tripod, I jammed my camera into a hole in the tennis net and hoped for the best
• I wasn’t listening to the song while I filmed it
• My neighbors probably think I am crazy
• I am not actually crazy, but I like to think I am. Which makes me crazy.
• Okay, I’m not really crazy
• I’m a  co-owner of this company
• I know, right?
• I got permission from the musician to use his song, so no stealing
• Go to his website right now and check it out. There are hearts everywhere and that makes it awesome.
• That was the first time I used periods in this whole entire list.
• I think I’m going to make it a habit.
• So, yes, you can support. the. artist. here.
• Am. I. addicted. to. periods. now?
• No? Question marks?
• Why are you still reading this? Watch the video? Please?

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 21,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

My New Year’s Wish

“You Are Not Still Sadness?”

From John Lennon to Lindy:

[I took this photograph in a Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, FL. We were swiftly chastised for being in that area to begin with.]

Jesus does not tell me jokes, John
he laughs at parents and me with twisted face
fingers, points laughs (at me) you see?
but he points nowhere cos I was not there;;;
not many people as bits of soap around my toes
and bubbles, no i don’t bilge and gruff.
your crimes are bubbles, too, love
and i do love, all love, type you see
freedom winks and back hood sinks
slinks down to the toes ad fingers
i am home with candles and chipper gravy
hugs for you scarred scab
my jokes are better than TV

a likely story

perhaps i take my leave from you
all too often
but it is always only
for the best reasons

Desert Storm

some days
the rain is more welcome
than the shine

Research

experiments found
that hearts are not elastic
they scrape, they callous,
they scar, leap, twitch and shatter
strange little species, indeed.

Life is Not a Simple Word

spinning wishes on
a thread of dwindling hope
phoenix walks the rope

Inner Rebellion

loneliness is an anchor
to uncharted depths

Perfect Feather

the instinct
to pluck you from the cold, lonely ground
as i would have done if this were years ago
removed from me by adult heart, adult mind
knowing the germs are too plentiful
the risks too great
but funny how the adult hearts, adult minds
not knowing the risks
in those ancient days
plucked feathers from the very sky
to adorn their dancing bodies
free in their ability to touch the earth
as a properly programmed adult
can no longer do

[Vaguely inspired by the song "Les Passants" by Zaz.]

Calling All High Teachers

To enjoy the full effect, as I did this morning, read from bottom to top. The “To” and “CC” fields are almost as humorous as the body. All specific names were blacked out for the sake of privacy.

Ruff around the Edges

Dear Diary,
Most of today was pretty boring. I didn’t leave the house all day. You know, the usual. It was a pretty normal day for me until this creepy old geezer came up out of freaking nowhere and grabbed me. I felt so violated, partly because it’s the most excitement I’ve had all day. Why don’t I ever attract the cute guys?
Sincerely,
Doorknob