***: David's Packing For The Apocalypse Mix

This mixtape was created for you by the amazing Mr. David Hickox, who just happens to be one half of the Birmingham musical duo, Broken Letters (the other being last week's mix-maker, Brad Davis )... You'd think that we'd planned it out for them to do mixes a week apart, but NO! it was actually pure coincidence! Seriously!

David's awesome mix (dig that cover up there!) stands out to me especially because it is the very 1st ALL VINYL mix to hit the Psychic Tuesday airwaves ... congrats, David! I now feel very inspired to follow his lead and dig through all of my LPs and 7 inches ... you just can't replace the exquisite sound of a needle touching grooves on wax ... I've always had a soft spot for those good ole record crackles, too ...

Here's David himself with some words on the creation of this fine mix:

I started this mix with the idea of using tracks exclusively from my neglected record collection. There are so many songs in those stacks that I never take the time to hear because my listening patterns have shifted to the computer and I don't own digital versions. I started pulling records, choosing songs that meant a lot to me and that I thought others wouldn't really have heard. The resulting mess was incoherent and made no sense to me initially, but as I started to arrange the tracks a story began to emerge that matched pretty perfectly with a confusing week full of twisted and conflicting emotions--the sort of dichotomies that work well in the religious narrative. Looking back on it, this mix tells it so well.

May I now present to you a 100% VINYL experience! Cheers, David!

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Okay okay, I did say last week that THIS week I would have Chris Lawson and I's new "Nowhere Trip" movie ready for yer viewing pleasure ... well, I LIED!

I decided that it would be more appropriate to "release" it on the 1st Tuesday of June because that in fact will be Chris' BIRTHDAY! Ha!

So, for anyone who's very eager to see just where we ended up on this particular Nowhere Trip, here's a little teaser trailer:

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Speaking of movies, I finally got around to finishing the new Bad News Bearons softball promo! It's the 5th one I've made and probably the most ridiculous ... because we're a pretty ridiculous team if you wanna know the truth ... but ridiculous is FUN! Just see for yourself:

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Remember way back at the start of the year when Danny Gamble told me that my portrait of Alabama author Albert Murray would be presented to the president of the Alabama State Council On The Arts, Al Head? Well that happened! Word has it that he was rather pleased with it:

The Alabama Writer's Forum wrote a News Flash about the event:

The Alabama Writers’ Forum celebrated Al Head’s 25th anniversary as executive director of the Alabama State Council on the Arts at its May 14 Board of Directors meeting by presenting him with a portrait of Alabama author Albert Murray by Birmingham artist Paul Cordes Wilm and a framed broadside of an excerpt from Murray’s 1971 book South to a Very Old Place. “These gifts are very meaningful to me,” said Head. “Albert Murray is an important artist from Alabama…. As I travel around the country, I’m often asked about the Forum. In many ways, this program is a model which other states envy.” (photo by Steve Grauberger)

On that note, my very good friend John Wendel, who's been teaching English in Korea sent me the following in an email:

My Dear Friend,

I just noticed that you've done a portrait of Albert Murray.

His book "The Omni Americans" and a couple of essays I've read of his on aesthetics, related to notions of jazz, have been greatly influential to my thinking. Art is not sociology, especially not on a base statistical level.

A great American voice.

OK he convinced me ... Now I have to actually READ some of Albert Murray's literature ... thanks, John! I'm already a big fan of Southern literature in general, so I'm very eager to dig into this.

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This past Friday was the opening reception for a group art show ALIAS (in which I had 2 new pieces) at Litebox Gallery, and a ton of folks came out! Laura Ledbetter had 3 very wonderful photographs in the show, too ... It was great hanging out with friends on the lawn furniture at the closed interior design store next door ... it was almost like a secret hide out!

Hey look! that's David Hickox down there (next to Brad Davis) on the right at the opening! Brad was serving some of his and Kate's tasty "black ale" that they home-brewed!

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On a slightly sad note, remember back some months ago when the city chopped down the huge shade tree in front of Peter & I's apartment? Well, after that Peter had planted a rosemary bush in the center of the hollow stump that was left there and, in time it grew to be a very full and beautiful plant ... Life was growing out of Death, so to speak

Until now ... the other morning I awoke to the grating sounds of machinery and looked outside to find that the city was now destroying the stump as well and the rosemary bush had vanished ... presumably tossed into the trash somewhere ... UGH ....

Witness below the end of our beloved stump ... R.I.P.