A rough sketch of my tastes in music by memory. I’m sure I’m leaving out many, but I’m old and this is as good as it gets this fine day.
Al Jolson
Sinatra
The Shangri-las
The Beatles
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
The Temptations
Cream
Led Zeppelin (first 3 albums, couldn’t stand most of their stuff afterward)
Joe Cocker
Jeff Beck
Sinatra (again)
Benny Goodman (and swing in general)
Stevie Ray Vaughan
The Allman Brothers
AWB
Cream (again)/Blind Faith
Italian opera
Classical (Beethoven, Mozart & Mahler)
French opera
German opera
Rap (an appreciation of some of it)
Sinatra (yet again)
Dean Martin
Stevie Ray Vaughan (again)
German opera (for specific writing reasons)
I’ve always been a compulsive-obsessive person … from being a baseball fanatic when I was a kid (playing Strat-O-Matic up to 8 hours a day when it was raining outside and we couldn't play in the streets), to playing in 3 leagues (Canarsie Little League, the PAL and St. Jude's CYO league), to playing drums as a young teen, to weightlifting and running for football as an older teenager, to reading and writing through college and afterward ... the diets, the gambling, the drinking, the eating, the weightlifting meets, the writing, football, and of now hockey (many of my obsessions became wash, rinse, repeats).
These days, as far as music goes, I’ll listen to pretty much anything that feels right, except when I’m searching for something that will directly influence what I’m writing. This month, after finishing a screenplay I’m letting sit before I attack it with edits, I decided it was time to finish my first finished attempt at a literary novel, something with a Liebestod (Love-Death) theme, so I returned to Tristan und Isolde and the Tristan chord that continues to possess my interest.
Wagner was an anti-Semitic, so I don’t have to like him, but for my money he wrote the most beautiful musical passage ever with his prelude to Tristan und Isolde, wherein he introduced the famous Tristan chord. It is a long opera that can wear on one if you’re not into it, for sure. My wife once bought me tickets for Wagner’s, Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) and halfway through it, she said to me, she said, "Never again."
She meant German opera. She's attended a few Italian operas with me since.
I loved it.
Tristan und Isolde, on the other hand, I more than loved and have seen it performed a few times with Jane Eaglen singing Isolde. The Liebesnacht duet is one of my favorites in all of opera … and Liebestod is my single favorite dramatic music. A recent Youtube find from a Munich production featuring Waltraud Meier rocked me with a double casket ending. I suppose some might find it too obvious, but I found/find it haunting (in the best way).
And Waltraud Meier ... wow, just wow ...
SNHU MFA week of stars …
Richard Adams Carey (Booklist *STARRED* review) account of a horrific day of murder in a small town, In the Evil Day: Violence Comes to One Small Town
Human Capital … a
fine eye-talian flick that offers several perspectives of a tragic hit and run.
Is it big money vs. the little guy, greed knowing no bounds, love seeking to
conquer all, the despair of a privileged life … or something else?Hedge funds abound. I enjoyed this one
thoroughly.
The Culling of Democracy … America has reached a point in history where
it can no longer lay claim to being a democracy. The election process itself,
aside from Citizens United and the legal bribery it enhances, has devolved into
the mire of two-party stasis; either you’re with one of the two major parties or you’re outside the
loop.
For those of us
seeking another option, whether it’s an alternate party or alternative
candidate (minus party affiliation), we’re left with a single option: find
ourselves a billionaire.
Trump is proving it
daily over on the GOP end of the very short spectrum that exists between both
parties. The establishment GOP wants him to pledge not to run as a third party
candidate because it would destroy their chance at the White House. He’s built
a coalition of support from disgruntled whites over the loss of their country’s
greatness, or so they believe. Trump assures them with “trust me” and “believe
me” and rhetorical hyperbole so grandiose, one would think he’s the publicist
and not the candidate. He's both. Trump declares he’ll be “the greatest jobs president in
the history of America” and that he’ll be “the greatest president for women’s
health issues.” Did you know he also reads the Bible?
Whether he’s
insulting Mexicans or Chinese, Trump insists that “everybody loves” him.
For the GOP
establishment, it’s quite the conundrum; to Trump or not to Trump. The several other
presidential hopefuls who’ve been given the publicity hook by a corporate controlled
media maintaining focus on all things The Donald are fading fast. Outside of
the non-political GOP candidates, and except for Jeb Bush, it appears as though
the field will be cleared before long. Unless, of course, The Donald pushes the
envelope too far and the GOP establishment can no longer make believe they can
tolerate him.
Personally, I don’t
see Trump staying in for the long haul because it has to be as boring to
perform the same skit nightly as it is to listen to it. If he can make it to
the first few primaries and win them, it’ll be interesting to see what happens
afterwards.
Over on the
Democratic side of the very short distance between the two parties, the DNC is
petrified of a democratic-socialist winning the nomination. They have and will continue
to do everything in their power to make sure Bernie is just another liberal bump
in Hillary’s coronation. The reason is simple: The DNC is as dependent on
corporate coin as the GOP is dependent on 1%’er coin. If Bernie wins and
refuses “big money” … what then?
Yet, while the GOP
is forced to kowtow to a megalomaniac, the DNC has a candidate seriously
wounded from a self-inflicted scandal. Should she attain her coronation, there’s
a good chance Hillary will lose to the GOP finalist because independents don't seem anxious to trust her. Some in the DNC are already looking for another Democrat
(not the one surging in the polls against Hillary) as the emergency replacement
should Hillary’s deleted emails suddenly surface.
The closed primary
system in several states is poison for independents who want to see Bernie
Sanders in the White House. In New Jersey I can’t even vote for Bernie without
pledging my primary electoral allegiance to the Democratic Party. I’ve been at
war with their feckless support of progressive causes since Slick Willy’s
second term (when he went all GOP on the country, repealed Glass-Steagall and
passed NAFTA).
To the Democratic
Party I say: no way.Bernie loses my
vote (and I lose him) because of a system that is so corrupt, it is appalling we even consider America a democracy anymore.
So, I’ll have to sit
back and watch the more than likely inevitable crushing of the left once again
by a Democratic Party that has consistently pledged its allegiance to corporate
America and Wall Street. And of course I'll be expected to vote the lesser of two evils.
I don’t think so …
So, my choice is to
vote for Jill Stein and the Green Party (assuming she wins the nomination)
and/or return the knife-in-the-back favor to the DNC and vote for the
Republican nominee (whichever lunatic that might be). Frankly, I kind of like
the idea of returning the favor, but I’ll only do it if the polls claim it’ll
be close in New Jersey. Why, yous ask, would a progressive vote against his or
her own interests?
Well, progressives
like myself don’t see much of a difference between the two parties at all … and
since the DNC is ignoring what I believe are the policies that are dear to me yet
again, why not play hardball? It’s not like it's been Republicans who championed the free trade agreements that ushered manufacturing and union jobs out of America. Nor was it a Republican who repealed Glass-Steagall.
That was
Clinton, a Democrat, who repealed Glass-Steagall and enacted NAFTA. Obama,
another Democrat, gets credit for TPP legislation that will further harm
working Americans. And since Hillary’s biggest campaign donors come from
corporations and Wall Street, well … lesser of two evils? Really?
But Knucks, yous say, what about the POTUS?Hmmm, it was a GOP majority
appointed court that not only approved the ACA, it went along with marriage
equality.
And does anyone
really trust Hillary Clinton to appoint a judge who proclaims they’ll help to
overturn Citizens United?
I’m tired now … I’m
gonna watch some hockey playoff reruns again.
Go Bolts!
—Knucks
If you haven’t seen
this movie, you should … Gandolfini’s last … Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and
Matthias Schoenaerts were brilliant … everybody was brilliant. The Drop ... all writing credit to Mr. Lehane.
Junkie Love, Joe Clifford, is another of the must reads for anyone curious
and/or naïve about the effects of drugs (to include crack, cocaine, OxyContin and
the star of the show, heroin). I remain as naïve as they come regarding drugs.
This story is a real one about the life of a much celebrated writers these days,
a man who was once a certified heroin addict (the kind that used a needle). Here’s
one of many passages I found to be a great message for those thinking drugs are
cool.
You are not William
Burroughs, and it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference if Kurt Cobain was
slumped over in an alleyway in Seattle the day Bleach came out. There is no
junkie chic. This is not SoHo, and you are not Sid Vicious. You are not a
drugstore cowboy, and you are not spotting trains. You are not part of
anything--no underground sect, no counter-culture movement, no music scene,
nothing. You have just been released from jail and are walking down Mission
Street, alternating between taking a hit off a cigarette and puking, looking
for coins on the ground so you can catch a bus as you shit yourself.
This is the author’s story. The revelations are what you
might expect, except Clifford removes the wrappings and presents a raw insight
daring readers to digest the realities of a drug life. Readers used to a more refined, less graphic narrative beware.
The author doesn’t pull punches. He also persecutes himself in no self-serving
way. He describes himself as a ten-year fuck-up, doing what drug addicts do:
stealing from whomever they could steal from in order to maintain their junkie
health. It is an exceptionally well-written tale that exhibits the kind of
debauchery I suspect the Marquis de Sade his own bad self would cringe from reading.
I tried to read Williams S Burroughs NakedLunch too many times
without getting very far. Eventually I tossed the thing aside and said, “Fuck this
shit. Life is too short.”
I couldn’t put Junkie Love down. FACT.
There’s a movie I’ve always thought should be part of every
high school syllabus--American History X.Junkie Love is a book I’d add to the
list of every high school syllabus.
Pre-ordered …In the
Evil Day: Violence Comes to One Small Town, by Richard Adams Carey.
Rick was my third semester mentor in the SNHU MFA program. A
great guy, the ultimate humanitarian, and a great writer, Rick is also a magnificent
teacher. He's also a devoted Moonachie Blue fan who still revels in the fact that
Eli owns Giselle’s husband (a.k.a. Shady Tom Brady).I heard some of this incredible story when
Rick read for us in the program. It is compelling and heartbreaking.
I just did … Hello Charles Stella, Thank you for shopping with us. You ordered "In the
Evil Day: Violence...".We’ll send
a confirmation when your item ships.
When James Morrow, a social worker, first meets Kevin Flynn,
he suspects the teen is being abused. To learn more about Kevin’s home life, he
gets to know the boy’s father, Tucker, who’s a lobsterman. James is able to put
his suspicions to rest, and the two families begin to form a friendship.
When a kid at the local recreation center dies of an
overdose, Detective Maya Morrow adds the case to the long list related to the
drug problem plaguing the small New Hampshire coastal town of Newborough. But
her investigation gets her much too close to the dangerous players.
Both the Morrows and the Flynns are holding dark secrets,
and when their lives collide, tragedy is inevitable.
Hey, take a look-see … like Bernie, I don’t take coin to
promote … this comes from the heart, amici. I recognize so many fellow-writers in this promo (students and
faculty) … Cindinator!Lil’ Gronk! (she’s
a recently married doll who still owes me a dance!) Mitch Wieland (who
has a drummer son featured down below--a 17-year old me and the Principessa saw
play in Asbury Park a year or so ago--he’s terrific). Bestseller’s Leslie
Jamison and Wiley Cash are in that video … so is the desert father, Craig Childs,
Rick Carey, Diane Les Bequets (Lil Vince) … forgetaboutit … like Craig says
toward the end: “I think people imagine writing and they don’t actually do it.
Or they save it to some other time.”
Amici ... just do it!
—Knucks
Mitch’s son’s band interviewed at a Portland Radio station … check
them out!
Barefoot to Avalon, by David Payne …
A family with a history of mental illness and suicide that rivals, if not
exceeds, the Hemingway family. The issues lurk in the shadows of two brothers struggling
to find their place, their worth, their selves. The themes repeat at just the
right intervals to keep the reader focused on the trial the author gives himself.
At
age 17, the younger brother suffers his first breakdown, and nobody is sure
what the cause might have been. A bad day? A sudden glitch in a system? Bad
weed? The breakdown doesn’t occur again for a few of years, enough years to almost
forget it ever happened, but then it happens again. A few years after that, it
returns … and it doesn’t go away.
Payne
puts himself on trial in a brutally honest attempt to discover what might have happened.
He delves into his and his brother’s past, including the day he first learned
he’d have a sibling … at age 3, the author put a toy gun to his mother’s stomach
… to rid himself of the competition? It’s one of the themes that haunts the
author and ultimately forces him to put down on paper his difficult pursuit of self-discovery.
I
first learned of author David Payne after anxiously watching Book TV a few
months after my first crime novel (Eddie’s
World) was sold. At 44, I was a new kid to the world of publishing and Book
TV was featuring Elmore Leonard. David Payne was another of the authors on the
panel. He discussed how one of his novels was rejected and he was expected to
return the advance. I was going through a similar situation, although my
advance was miniscule by comparison. For me, it had everything to do with a desire
to be published. For Payne, an orphaned book involved substantial dollars—his income.
I
thought: Hey, I should read this guy.
I
don’t make very many great decisions, but that sure was one. I locked onto
Payne’s works and read them in total and absolute awe. He’s a writer’s writer,
someone so skilled and adept at his craft, there’s no way to walk away without
being inspired.
So
I read them, one after another: Confessions
of a Taoist on Wall Street, Early from the Dance, Ruin Creek, Gravesend Light,
and then Back to Wando Passo. They were all brilliant.
And
then there was a break. I remember writing him directly asking if he was
working on anything new, but he wrote back that he was going through some tough
times. Occasionally I’d look up his amazon page, his website, etc., and there
was no news about a work in progress or a new book launch. A few weeks ago, the
good news appeared and I jumped on his new work as soon as I could.
Barefoot to Avalon is a masterful memoir
that deals with the tragic loss of his younger brother, George A, as well as
self-discovery.From his webpage: In 2000, while moving his household from
Vermont to North Carolina, author David Payne watched from his rearview mirror
as his younger brother, George A., driving behind him in a two-man convoy of
rental trucks, lost control of his vehicle, fishtailed and flipped over in the
road. David’s life hit a downward spiral. From a cocktail hour indulgence, his
drinking became a full-blown addiction. His career entered a standstill. His
marriage disintegrated. He found himself haunted not only by George A.’s death,
but also by his brother’s manic depression, a condition that overlaid a dark
family history of mental illness, alcoholism and suicide, an inherited past
that now threatened David’s and his children’s futures. The only way out, he
found, was to write about his brother.
Barefoot to Avalon
is Payne’s earnest and unflinching account of George A. and their boyhood
footrace that lasted long into their adulthood, defining their relationship and
their lives. As universal as it is intimate, this is an exceptional memoir of
brotherhood, of sibling rivalries and sibling love, and of the torments a
family can hold silent and carry across generations. Barefoot to Avalon is a
brave and beautifully wrought gift, a true story of survival in the face of
adversity.
If
you need reviews before plunking down some coin, they have been
magnificent. Payne has been one of my favorite writers since I first read him. I
don’t provide spoilers to novels or memoirs, so I won’t here. Besides, you
already know what happened. It’s the journey Payne paints with beautiful and inspiring
prose that will envelope any reader and inspire any writer. Reading this memoir
has moved me to revisit my own, something I put away since I graduated two
years ago.
I
wrote a fictional memoir for my MFA thesis, so the suggested readings were
many. None thus far can compare to Barefoot
to Avalon. Poignant, heartbreaking, soul-searching and wondrous … Barefoot to Avalon is a masterpiece
memoir by one of the best writers of our time.
All The Major Constellations ... by Pratima Cranse … she was a
classmate in SNHU’s MFA program and had nailed a book contract at her
graduation. Soon the hardcover will be released. I pre-ordered mine today … and
I can’t wait to read it.
From
KIRKUS: Easygoing Vermonter Andrew
discovers the complexities of spirituality and sexuality in this heartfelt
debut.
Andrew has two
best friends in his life—smart, understanding Marcia and vivacious, flirtatious
Sara. The girl he really wants, though, is ever unobtainable Laura, who socializes
only with members of her fundamentalist church. When a tragic accident, just
days before the class of 1995 graduates, leaves one friend incapacitated and
the other helping with round-the-clock care, Laura (perhaps playing on Andrew’s
vulnerability?) invites him to join her evangelical group. Seizing any
opportunity for a chance to be near Laura, he accepts. Andrew’s surprised,
however, when he feels a stirring inside (or is he just hungry and
dehydrated?), when he kind of likes their touchy-feely interactions (but do
guys really touch like that?), and when a seemingly virginal girl makes sexual
advances (but hasn’t he always wanted Laura?). His confusing and overwhelming
emotions ring true as he begins to question a wide range of religious and
sexual experiences. Further complicating Andrew’s transitional summer are an
alcoholic father and star-athlete brother, both prone to violent behavior,
especially toward him. Moments of wry humor compliment Andrew’s subtle changes
as he realizes there are no easy answers, perhaps not even one right answer.
Readers will cheer him on as he makes a path to find his answers.
The
great debate(s) … I didn’t watch it, but the kiddy table round apparently went
to Carly Fiorina … she seems to want to go to war with everybody, especially
Iran, and she isn’t afraid of sending our kids (yours or mine) off to fight another
long and pointless war … the clips I saw of her showed she can be articulate,
but the feeling is she’s running for VP and not the top slot. After last night
top 10 performances, I’m not so sure she won’t wind up head to head vs. the
Queen. Her calling Hillary Clinton a liar gave Chris Matthews conniptions, but
that was fun to watch (I thought she kicked Chris’s Hillary-loving-ass) …
seriously, who doesn’t think Hillary Clinton is a liar?
Sharp
as she was, Fiorina forgot to mention the great Sniper Fire lies …
As
it turned out, the main event was actually pretty funny … showing total and
absolute loyalty to the GOP, FOX went after The Donald with extreme prejudice …
not that The Donald needs any help in making a fool of himself.
How
unfair were their questions to The Donald? They never asked Scott Walker why he
should be trusted in the oval office after having been thrown out of college
for cheating. Then again, Walker is considered one of their outside shots at
regaining the White House. Had they asked any of the war hawks on the stage if
they ever served in the military, and/or if not, why ... that would’ve been a
bit more fair and balanced. We already know The Donald was hiding away in college during
Vietnam (using that great American system that precludes the wealthy from
showing their stones when it counts). Had they asked Rand Paul why two of his PAC
officials were indicted the night before for bribery, that would’ve been more
interesting than anything else discussed. I mean, think of it: “Mr. Paul, as a libertarian, you’re a
champion of minimal government regulation. Is the indictment of your two top PAC
officials any indication of the free market at work?”
Today
conservatives are crazed over the anti-Trump treatment he received at the hands
of FOX, but especially Megyn Kelly (who once insisted that both Santa Claus and
Jesus were white) …
For
all the good one-liners throughout the debate, I thought The Donald missed a
great opportunity when Megyn Kelly asked: “You
once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to
see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we
should elect as president?”
I
don’t know about yous, but I was thinking: Bill Clinton.
My
favorite poster on the boards today had nothing to do with the GOP … unless, of
course, the former Goldwater Girl is posing as a Democrat again …
—Knucks
Every
morning, I write an email to my wife … it has to do with the movie that was a vehicle to our falling in love. The email says:
Buon
Giorno, Principessa!
I
love my wife!!!!!
And
hellooo nurse!!!
Today,
I write: Buon Compleanno, Principessa … mi amore …
The Meursault Investigation, by Kamel Daoud … all I can say thus far about this book I’m reading a second time now (immediately after the first reading) is that it is absolutely brilliant … in fact, it is my favorite read of the year thus far (and that’s saying a lot) … you should be familiar with Camus’ The Stranger before taking on The Meursault Investigation, but understand that even being familiar with the existential classic (I’ve read it several times), I will be going back to read it again after my second read of what is essentially a response to The Stranger and a statement that helps explain why Arab/black/etc. lives matter.
I’m taking my highlighting pen to the second read and will have to constrain myself (there are that many wonderful passages).
So, as a prequel to the review, freshen up on The Stranger … especially the murder Meursault commits – when he shoots and kills “an Arab.”
The Ring Cycle …Oy vey, vey iz mir … where’s Saul Bellow when I need him most? Okay, so as much as I am enthralled (seriously so) with much of Richard Wagner’s works, his ring cycle is as appealing to me as a Marvel Comics movie (i.e., NOT). Yes, there are some brilliant moments throughout the Ring Cycle, but this is my second listening of the entire cycle, one after another. It's a tough go ... Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is. Ask my wife (or kids), I don’t like Hobbits, Harry Potter, Superman, Ant Man, The Hulk or any other fucking cartoon turned movie.I didn’t like comics as a kid and I don’t like them now (except a few from The New Yorker and/or Playboy) … yes, I’m a cultural enigma (and/or moron).
The four operas that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence:
Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold) ... Hotties and dwarfs, Gods and Giants, oh my!
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) ... Wotan's infidelity come home to roost.
Siegfried ... Greed, manipulation, singing birds, a dragon/giant (dopey Wotan) and hope ...
Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) ... the immolation scene (all it needed)
Now, my wife perhaps put it best, at least as regards the times we’re living in … to quote her: “Apocalypse Now did more for that music than anything else.”I was blasting the Flight of the Valkyries scene at the time, but let’s face it, she has a point. To be fair, I’m not a fan of Gods vs. humans, or humans vs. Giants, or birds singing/talking/giving counsel, etc., etc., etc. I can put up with Game of Thrones because there’s enough of politics involved to keep my interest, but when it doesn’t work for me is when the zombies come out to play (the white walkers). Phooey!
But I digress. The music of the cycle has some beautiful and incredible moments, but they are too few and far between. The wife bought me tickets some dozen or so years ago to Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), a 2+ hour one act (no intermission) at the MET. I watched transfixed (I loved it) while my wife watched (and listened) in horror. She is not a fan of German opera.
Imagine trying all four operas of the Ring Cycle back to back to back to back?
Oy vey …
Much of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde remains (for me) the most beautiful music on the planet. The opera itself ranks very high on my list of favorite operas (a top 3 pick—the other two are Mozart operas—Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).
I’ll eventually actually see the entire ring cycle performed, but it won’t be in succession. Most likely, especially due to pricing and my having become a legitimate tax paying citizen of the United State of America for more than 15 years now, I’ll see the cycle, opera by opera, over a four to six year period (assuming I’m still around). It's a challenge to watch it all in four days. Anything more than one a day might damage brain cells, but it's far more pleasant than a challenge I once took from some conservative friends, to read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I did read it ... and shortly thereafter upchucked my last several meals ... in succession.
Tom “Shady” Brady and Hillary Clinton … one destroys cellphones upon learning there will be an investigation and the other scrubs a server upon learning there will be an investigation. Massachusetts sees what it wants to see: Nothing wrong here. Meantime, the rest of the country sees what is obvious: Brady was destroying evidence that would bury him.
Now, what about Hillary? Her campaign sees what it wants: Nothing wrong here. Meantime, the rest of the country sees what is obvious: Clinton destroyed evidence that would bury her.
What happens next? Frankly, I’ve lost too much interest in NFL football to care, but I’m enjoying watching Hillary’s numbers dwindle so fast, the party of coronations is egging Joe Biden and John Kerry to get involved. No matter which issue is of more concern to you, at least in these two cases, schadenfreude rocks.
The Great Debate … I know it’ll be popcorn night at Casa Stella … we’re just as anxious for this fiasco as the rest of the country … will it be reality TV or will it wind up being a disappointment (i.e., will The Donald behave himself?) … it’s usually the audience in wingnut debates that does the most outrageous shit (like booing a gay serviceman, applauding Rick Perry’s lead in convicts put to death (whether they were actually guilty or not) etc.) … it’s a bacchanal of moronic delights and maybe a guilty pleasure we all can’t wait to observe.
Will The Donald say: “Don’t worry how I’ll do it, I’ll get it done. You couldn’t do it. I can. I can build walls like nobody else. You wouldn’t believe the walls I can build.”
Will he say: “Mike is right, this President is feckless. He’s leading Jews to the doors of the ovens. You wanna talk about ovens. You should see the ovens I can build.”
Will he say: “You wanna get rid of ISIS? Bomb the oilfields. Take away their money. I’ll bomb the oilfields. You won’t believe how I’ll bomb the oilfields.”
And so on …
Psycho Rhetoric … a sub-species of human beings hungry for pats on the back about their utter lack of intelligence has reared its ugly head again and again of late … they are morons calling for the end of the Muslim race, the end of social welfare, and a fascist police state (to name a few things) … I’d suggest they read The Meursault Investigation, but that might be asking for too much--an overly enthusiastic assumption they can read.
To be fair, I suspect they can actually read (at least some of them), but the process of reading an entire book, no matter its length, might be too painstaking a chore; an endeavor that would take way too much effort and focus. Attention spans amongst this sub-species doesn’t last very long. They speak and think in bumper sticker logic (why they so LOVED St. Ronald Reagan). What they’ve become, and proudly so, is a new KKK. I’ll leave it for them to guess the acronym. Here's a clue: Kay, Kay, Kay.
They’re great defenders of the nation (whether they served it or not). They claim: it is just fine and dandy when a cop (or cops) go to work on someone for non-compliance during traffic stops (or any other stops). Question a cop (What are you stopping me for?) and you get two choices … 1) a long vicious beating, whether you’re a woman or not, and/or 2) you die.
This same brand of moronic logic gets to complain about immigrants receiving social welfare because they get to see it firsthand--immigrants using food stamps, etc., but they ignore the fact that the same taxes they complain about paying (whether they actually pay them or not) finds its way to corporations in a far greater amount than to those on social welfare. Here’s a news flash: It’s not even close. Corporations pay their investors, boards of directors and CEO’s hundreds of millions of dollars that come with the blessing of government welfare. Far more than the kid foregoing a meal or two (something the moronic geniuses don’t see) so he can wear a pair of Nikes.
Mostly, the new KKK are misinformed and/or willfully ignorant, but it doesn’t help when conservative politicians champion their cause with equally absurd claims (Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, The Donald, et al). Fortunately, at least for the rest of us, the ranks of conservatives willfully following the rhetoric of hate is miniscule by comparison to beings with a functioning thought process. Let’s face it, the Pols (Trump, Cruz, Walker, Huckabee, et al), they don’t believe a word of it. They’re playing their new KKK rank and file like violins. They feed the fires of hatred, then sit back and collect their benefits in the forms of donations from the same corporations receiving government welfare. Or, in the case of The Donald, the deals he gets to make with pols over taxes he won’t have to pay when he builds something.
What I always find amusing is the pride behind the rhetoric of hatred. It’s almost always flown with pride, egging on a following of equally-minded morons chanting/typing: “You tell them!”
Of course the mother tongue they insist everyone speak in their schools, they don’t seem familiar with themselves. How it offends them so much to hear a language other than English is perplexing, since someone somewhere down their ancestral line mostly likely also spoke a foreign language. But why quibble with facts?
To be fair, I’ll never be accused of winning a grammar and/or spelling contest, but if you’re going to flaunt a sign in a public setting, at least ask your mother (or somebody) if you spelled the thing right.
—Knucks
Make no mistake, that scene from the movie is terrorism, whether you can digest it or not.
“This taut, compulsively readable tale of mob life in and around New York City, Stella’s first novel since 2012’s Rough Riders, has the smack of authenticity on every page … Stella serves up a tasty goombah stew with a splash of Guinness, and no one can make this recipe simmer better than he does.” —Publishers Weekly
As usual Stella’s ear for dialogue is amazingly authentic and accurate, which not only lends credibility to each of his characters but also adds to the headlong pace of the narrative. These themes and the way they influence almost every character elevates the novel from a simple story of murder and revenge. At the same time they demonstrate Stella’s familiarity with present-day criminals and cops, and his mastery at presenting tales that illustrate their world and inner emotions. For those who have yet to discover the joy of Stella’s work, TOMMY RED is a good a place start as any. —Alan Cranis (Bookgasm) “Holy crap. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why the hell isn't Stella on every mystery lover's must-read list. . . . This taut, tightly presented story of misplaced loyalties and retribution is nicely tied up in a fast-paced tale that, once you get used to the rhythm of the dialogue, just begs you to turn the next page.” —MenReadingBooks
“Stella was often compared to George V. Higgins and Elmore Leonard at the beginning of his career, but now the world of East Coast gangster fiction is all his.” —Mysterious Bookshop
“Tommy Red by Charlie Stella. Mob hit man gets into a snafu. This novel is only 165 pages long. Since this is a Stella novel you can bet it's 165 pages of greatness.”—Lake Mills Library
“Tommy Red builds to an explosive climax that should satisfy readers looking for action, while at the same time offering complex characterisation and thematic complexity that is beyond the reach of most crime novels.” —Crime Fiction Lover
“Stella reminds the reader of some recent episodes that the police would probably like for us to forget, most prominently the Eric Garner incident. Even the mob guys think it makes the cops look bad. There's a lot going on in Tommy Red, and big props to Stella for wrapping it all up in about 150 trade paperback pages. Good stuff and highly recommended.” —Bill Crider
“There are few writers (except possibly Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins), who can write mob dialogue as well as Charlie Stella … Charlie makes navigating my way though the plot fun. And funny. How can you not laugh at this line. It was a little after one o'clock in the morning when he was thinking he'd like to bite the ass of that Mother of Dragons broad about to take a bath. (Game of Thrones).”—Patti Abbott
“No one writes better dialog, nor allows it to carry the story more than Stella, nor pulls it off better. Tommy Red could deteriorate into a series of scenes of guys bullshitting, but every sentence is an insight into a character’s mind, and one never knows when a prime plot point will emerge from a discussion about the merits of hockey versus football … Tommy Red a riveting tale told in an engaging manner. You know, just as you’d expect from Charlie Stella.” —Dana King (One Bite at a Time)
Stella’s capers are populated with criminals who are more clever than smart and lawmen who get stymied by clever but eventually prevail with smarts. A delight.— Booklist (Wes Lukowsky)
Along the way the reader is treated to some of the finest characterization it’s humanly possible to capture on paper… Stella’s always dark, often violent, occasionally humorous Rough Riders more than stands on its own, and is more than worth your time. — Book Reviews By Elizabeth A. White Sort of like Goodfellas meets Fargo. Check out Eddie’s World and start right in on Rough Riders. You’ll love the ride … Then read everything else he’s done.—East Coast Don (Men Reading Books) Mr Stella makes his story supremely compelling and has certainly made me a believer. I very much look forward to reading his next book – in the meantime, chase this one down, it works like a beaut. —Tipping My Fedora
Let me say right here that I loved this book. Though complex, the plotlines are deftly managed and everything dovetails towards its satisfying conclusion. Stella has a great ear for dialogue, with the New Yorkers clearly speaking a different vernacular to the Dakotans. —Crime Fiction Lover
Stella writes about criminals and cops, killers and cons, as if he knows the territory. This is one of those books that you rip through, eager to see who'll be the last man standing, as you never know who'll get the next bullet. Big, grim, boisterous, funny, and frightening all at once. Check it out.— Bill Crider
Stella’s characters’ voices sound authentic: no macho posturing — just their brutal, hard world. This is one of the leaner crime novels currently out there. For those wanting a serious character piece where the payoffs deliver, reach for ROUGH RIDERS. —Bookasm, Bruce Grossman
Rough Riders has a plethora of characters, many of whom you won't want to like but just might. What seems like true dialogue spews from mouths, FBI and locals alike. I found it very hard to put this book down, even to eat a meal. Author Charlie Stella has a way with words that makes him a master at his craft. Don't miss this one. —Bookloons Reviews (Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth)
This is a fast and furious thriller that brings back the antagonists in Eddie’s World in a good, the bad and the ugly storyline. Rotating between the northern Great Plains and the New York area, fans will enjoy this action-packed noir although the Feds are too scandalously uncaring about collateral damage or simply deadly avarice. –Genre Go Round Reviews (Harriett Klausner)
Johnn Porno Reviews ...
“Mr. Stella is a natural. As soon as I finished Johnny Porno I gave the book to my son so we could both be wiser-guys. Now I’m going to find all his other novels. He’s a true master.”—Dow Mossman, The Stones of Summer
“... Elmore Leonard fans are going to love Stella’s entirely original contribution to the slice-of-criminal-life genre, down-and-dirty division ... This is the seventh novel from Stella (Mafiya, 2008), who has made the underside of the New York underworld his home.”—Elliott Swanson (Booklist)
“Set in New York City in 1973, Stella’s vibrant seventh crime novel catches the cadence and daily grind of organized crime grunts … Stella tosses an eclectic cast of characters into the mix … admirers of Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins will be happy.”—Publishers Weekly
“Johnny Porno is in many ways a master’s class on how to write a novel ... The dialog flows so smooth you’d swear you were over hearing someone’s conversation... He drops you in the middle and lets the reveals of the narrative come naturally through the dialog... Bottom line is that Johnny Porno is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.”>—Brian Lindenmuth (Spinetingler Magazine)
“Stella has fun with DEEP THROAT throughout the book, including the idea to sell fake autographed panties ... the book is so well-crafted and well-paced that it’s going to make more than a few best-of lists when the time comes. Stella never goes for the cheap outs, letting these characters develop over the course of his story ... Not only is it a throwback to the 1970s generation, but one that blows away most set in the present day.”—Bruce Grossman (Bookgasm)
“Based on my experience with Johnny Porno — I haven't read his other books but plan to remedy that soon (Charlie Opera is $2.00 on Smashwords) — I must say that Charlie Stella is one of the best writers the crime genre currently has to offer. He's a natural wordsmith, putting down the way people really talk in a way that still reads smoothly — not an easy task. The fact that Stark House Press, who previously focused on reprinting "lost" pulp novels, chose Stella as their first original author — after author Ed Gorman recommended him upon reading the manuscript — says a lot about his peers' respect for him.”— Craig Clarke (Somebody Dies)
“Psycho cops, bent cops, straight cops, Feds, wiseguys, good women, bad women,really bad women, guys on the make, gamblers, dumbasses, good guys, bad guys. This book's got 'em all (and more), and all so well-drawn that they seem like real people. There are also three or four plots going in, and they all converge in the final pages. I don't know how Stella managed to keep all the balls in the air, but he doesn't drop a one. Stark House's first original is a winner.”—Bill Crider, author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodess series and several other novels
“Stella is of the George V. Higgins school and tells the story through compelling dialogue ... Like Higgins, Stella isn’t afraid to let action occur offstage, to be described by the principals after the fact. In Stella’s hands, this adds to the suspense, as he understands every overt climax lessens tension at its conclusion, while covert climaxes continue to ratchet it up.”>—Dana King, (New Mystery Reader)
“Charlie Stella has a gift for nailing the colorful characters in this seedy little corner of New York. The dialog couldn’t be more authentic, and from page one I was transported to a hot, gritty landscape full of guys who say ‘yous’ and women who are used to being used ... I relished how the focus was on the guys at the bottom of the totem pole, and I got to see what happens to the drivers, runners, and climbers who associate with organized crime. It ain’t pretty.”> —Rebecca Baumann, (Dirty Sexy Books)
A plot whose pacing is as fast as a pack of greyhounds and at the same time, miraculously, as crazily and craftily constructed as a Marx Brothers movie or a Rube Goldberg machine. A hungry menagerie of good guys and bad guys at feeding time. A writing style that’s top-shelf. Some side-orders of Suspense. Romance. Black Humor. All seasoned liberally with Sex, Violence, Drugs, and Rock and Roll. What else will readers find in JOHNNY PORNO? A novel that shouldn’t be this much fun or pleasurable. That’s Charlie Stella’s real crime.—Lynn Kostoff, Author of Late Rain (Tyrus Books 2010), A Choice Of Nightmares (New Pulp Press 2010), The Long Fall (Carroll and Graf 2003)
“This is a hell of a novel. Epic, yet human scale... It s wonderfully fresh and alive.”—Craig McDonald, author of Head Games, Toros and Torsos and Print The Legend
Johnny Porno is a terrific Nixon Era crime caper reminiscent of Elmore Leonard. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action and violence, and stars a seemingly hapless chump struggling to survive in a cesspool. With the fun look at pop culture in circa 1973 enhancing the plot, readers, especially boomers, will enjoy Johnny Porno’s New York joy ride.—Harriet Klausner (The Mystery Gazette)
“... this has all the trappings of classic Stella – decent guys, wise guys of various standing in the mob, good/dirty cops, but most importantly, dialogue that makes you want to stand up and beg for more. Through Stella, you can practically smell the garlic on the breath of the wiseguys trying to intimidate, strain to hear cops jerking each other around through hot dog stuffed faces, wince at the lunacy of an ex-wife going off the deep end, and nod approvingly when someone does a decent thing for Johnny. Why Stella’s books aren’t flying off the main table at the front door of Barnes/Noble and Borders is, in itself, a crime.”—East Coast Don (Men Reading Books)
“Charlie Stella's JOHNNY PORNO: absolutely excellent. Guy does dialogue like no one else.”— Russel D. McLean, Author of The Good Son and The Lost Sister(From an Interview with CRIME SCENE NI (Northern Ireland))
“Johnny Porno is exactly that – a hard man chasing the tail that won’t pay for the tears. By first reminding us of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and then translating its rhetorical question into the vernacular of our romantically challenged times, Stella’s way with words does the near impossible; it finds a way from pornography to romance in the paradox of power and impotence peculiar to all of us: ‘Fuck’s in a name?’”— Len Wanner, University of Edinburgh.
Charlie delivered papers, unloaded watermelons, cooked at McDonalds, cleaned dishes at a catering hall, worked in a cardboard factory, rolled posters, worked in his father’s head shop, was a bouncer, worked security, buffed hallways, cleaned apartments, humped sheetrock, was a ten year union window cleaner atop Manhattan’s skyscrapers, was a word processing operator-supervisor-manager and director, coached football, has had novels published here, Russia, Italy, Poland, Mexico and the UK, and did that knockaround stuff for 18 years before meeting his wife, the woman who straightened him out (in a good way). He earned his MFA degree from Southern New Hampshire University at age 57. He continues to write crime novels and has expanded his horizons to include ghostwriting non-fiction—Dogfella: How an Abandoned Dog Named Bruno Turned This Mobster's Life Around--A Memoir will be published in May of 2015.
