|
Four years ago this very month a In any case, this fortuitous acquisition has left me with no more excuses to put off creation of this new form of “madness”. So, without further ado I present the inaugural issue of “Mil Mania”, the official newsletter of www.artistinsane.com. As you’ll see, this (for now bi-monthly) journalistic endeavor contains info about goings-on in my artistic life, brief updates on the musicians whose careers my website chronicles, mini-reviews of my latest film, TV and/or book discoveries, etc...and the debut of at least one new creative writing piece in every issue. What’s more, in future editions — assuming you sign up to keep this effort going — I hope to include feedback from you...suggestions as to features you’d like to see added or deleted, your comments about the reviews printed here, and reviews of your own on the stories, poems or drama I come up with under the pressure of this publication’s deadline! |
|
Welcome To Mil Mania! |
|
Volume 1, Issue 1, Oct. 2005 |
|
2005 Key West Indie Fest
Winner “Excellent character dynamics” “Very much liked the song lyrics…fantastic |
|
To remove your name from this mailing list click here and type “Unsubscribe” in the subject line Questions or comments? E-mail : mil@artistinsane.com |
|
Check out the Artist Insane page at...
And, be sure to read the blog explaining “How ‘How We Become’ Became”. |
|
M i l M a n i a The Official Newsletter of WWW.ARTISTINSANE.COM |
|
Newsletter Spotlight |
|
Josh stepped off the plane into a day as gray and gloomy as he felt, as though the sun itself had been plagued by guilt at the thought of shining under such dismal circumstances. Aware of the need to be somewhat in control of his faculties for Brian's sake, Josh had stopped drinking well short of reaching the oblivion he sought. And now that the effect of what he had consumed was beginning to wear off he felt dizzy and sick. But then, perhaps the alcohol had nothing to do with that. The rest of the band piled off behind him and together the group strode silently through the corridor leading into the terminal, all feeling as one the odd sense they were somehow enacting a rehearsal for the funeral procession yet to come. Julie's brother Brian was waiting at the gate when they got inside. He looked somber and sad yet still emanated that curious calm Josh had never been able to comprehend but always found inexplicably comforting. Today, though, overcome with a heightened awareness of his own inadequacy, upon meeting Brian's gaze Josh's eyes brimmed over with tears, and in seemingly one motion he dropped his carry-on bag and folded into Brian's arms. Brian held him silently as the rest of the group assembled in small huddle off to one side, patiently awaiting some signal from their faltering leader as to how they should proceed. At last Josh let go of Brian, brushing hastily at his tears with a self-conscious shrug. And after giving Brian a long look that somehow sought forgiveness and both begged for and offered strength, Josh turned to face his companions. "Tommy, you left your truck here, right? You can drop everybody off? I'm gonna catch a ride with Brian. " "Sure, bro," Tommy answered. "You want us to come over?" Matt asked. "Maybe a little later or whatever…" "I don't know — I'll give you a call, I guess…" "Yeah, okay," Chuck said, giving Josh a firm squeeze on the shoulder, before turning to Brian. "Hey, man, I'm really sorry." "Thanks," Brian answered, embracing Chuck briefly, then each of the others in turn as they likewise offered their condolences. At last they filed out, leaving Josh and Brian alone in the busy terminal. It was Brian who broke the silence. "My car's in short-term parking." Then, gesturing at Josh's carry-on, he continued, "That all you got?" "Yeah," Josh replied, only too aware of the completeness of his answer. Pretending not to read his thoughts, Brian picked up the bag and the two walked off in silence. Brian paid the parking attendant and proceeded out onto the roadway with an uncertain glance at Josh who sat slightly hunched in the passenger seat. It crossed Brian's mind that he looked like a cast-off hand puppet, who bereft of another being's support had somehow crumpled into a shapeless, almost unrecognizable form. Hesitant to intrude on Josh's dark reverie and in truth more than a bit unsettled by his own thoughts Brian drove on in a silence that remained unbroken for several minutes. Finally the car stopped at an intersection and Josh suddenly found himself staring at the diner where Julie worked -- where Julie had worked, he corrected his fumbling mind. Waiting for the light to change, glancing back and forth between the large once-inviting windows of the diner and the ominous stare of the red traffic light, Josh wondered dimly what was going on inside. Did her co-workers know yet? "What day is it," Josh thought. "Saturday." Allison would be working. "Ah, man. Poor Allison." A year ago Julie and Allison had taken an English class together at the local community college. Allison had then recently moved in with her boyfriend after a blowup with her parents who insisted he was trouble and begged her to stop seeing him. Learning too late that they had been correct, Allison had at last confided her troubles to Julie. Always willing to help friends fight their demons despite ongoing battles with her own, she had listened patiently to Allison's tales of her boyfriend's drunken rages and the determined independence that prevented her from returning to her parents. Convinced Allison had to leave somehow, Julie had gone to her boss and talked him into giving Allison a job, then helped her find an apartment, for which Julie also loaned her the money to pay the first month's rent. Allison's boyfriend had been furious and her parents dismayed at being deprived of boasting "I told you so" but Allison had been ecstatic. And, of course, through all of this she and Julie had become the best of friends. Surely this news would break Allison's heart. The light turned green and Brian made a left-hand turn. "She didn't leave a note, right?" Josh asked suddenly. "No. Nothing." A pause. "Did you talk to her at all after you got to San Francisco…call her before your gig or anything?" "No. The guys from the label picked us up and we were with them right up to sound check. I just wanted to wait until I could give her some good news…whatever that means." "I talked to her yesterday after you left." "She called you?" "No. I called her. I wanted to tell her —. Well, these aren't exactly the circumstances I'd hoped for to share my own "good news", but Annie's pregnant. We decided to get married in June and I called to tell Julie and ask if you'd be my best man." "Je--s." "But, I mean, you don't have to worry about that sh-- now… You know…I mean…whatever…" "What did she say? You couldn't tell she was upset or anything." "Not at all. I keep asking myself that — well, you can imagine. But no, she was fine… I mean, she wasn't fine, obviously, but she seemed really…calm. I don't know. Maybe I should've thought that was weird. Maybe she was too calm. I don't know. She just — she just seemed like everything was under control. But, like you said, whatever that means. Josh stared out the window in silence for a moment. Then, suddenly, "Where are you staying," he asked. "I mean, you can stay at our place…uh, the apartment — I mean, you're welcome…" His voice trailed off as he struggled for the words to express the proper sentiment. It wasn't that he meant to be inhospitable, or that he was eager to be alone in a place he knew he'd never again think of as home. Somehow he just couldn't find a way to invite Brian to occupy the space his sister had…(how to say it?)…vacated(?)…only hours before. After all, what is the proper way to ask someone to share a night in Hell? |
|
Writings From The Asylum |
|
Thanks for reading this issue of Mil Mania! And, remember, this is a work in progress, subject to many and varied changes — all adding up to a new and improved publication...so I hope! Please drop me a line to let me know what you think, including any and all suggestions. And, if you’ve enjoyed this bit of e-news madness, please encourage your friends to subscribe today! Thank you!!! |
|
Third Eye Blind chose NJ for one of its October mini-tour stops, a rare opportunity to see Stephan, Brad, Arion and Tony in a non-arena setting. To read my review of this fantastic show,
click here. Also, my latest revision of the 3eb bio for the band’s largest fan website goes up this month, featuring nearly 800 words of new material….watch
Jen’s Stephan Jenkins.com for posting of this update. Brian Fitzpatrick has taken a break from writing and performing to try his hand at producing, currently working with NJ singer/songwriter Carrie Engdahl on her dubut album. October marks his return to the stage, however, as a participant in two very special evenings of music to benefit the victims of the recent Gulf Coast Hurricanes. (The Underpass 10/15,
Felician College 10/16) Michael McDermott is the subject of a new bio recently added to artistinsane.com. Also, be sure to check out Michael’s own
MySpaceMusic page to hear a new song every week as part of his “Monday Morning Musical Madness”. Hmm….from the sound of that title, one can’t help but wonder if my “insanity’s” proved contagious! |
|
Music Mayhem |
|
All Content © Mil Scott www.artistinsane.com |
|
If you’re already a frequent visitor to my website, you know I wrote a screenplay entitled Taking the Fall, which centers around a rock star whose girlfriend committed suicide four years prior to that work’s opening. In hammering out various details of creating that script, I wrote a great deal of backstory for various characters, which resulted in several companion pieces in prose. With this auspicious start already in hand, I therefore decided to combine these into a longer whole that would become my first novel...someday — you guessed it — when I got “around to it”. And, of course, that brings us back to the new beginning this clearly multi-purpose object has provided herein. And, as an added challenge, I’ve decided to borrow from a once-common journalistic tradition by presenting the novel in serial form via this newsletter...picking up in this issue with Chapter 2, “Back In L.A.”. If you’d like to read the Prologue and Chapter 1 (if you haven’t already done so) please visit the “Stories” page of artistinsane.com and scroll down to “Of Julie and Better Men”, and “When Morning Breaks”, respectively. What’s more, as I very much encourage feedback, this is your opportunity to help shape these characters’ future, as I will consider all comments for the directions they take in the next issue. So, without further ado...The Leap to Limbo ……………………………………………… |
|
Critical Praise for Taking the Fall by Mildred Scott |
|
In A Nutshell |
|
Lest you need a brief escape from the “depth” of the Asylum column above, this section is dedicated to a lighter literary side— hmm….a brevity of levity! ……………………….. Are We Not Us? Who am I ? Who are you? You are me, And I’m you, too. Or I could be, And so could you, If I show you me And you show me you… So here I am, Glad you’re here too, Let’s share a while, We one, we two. |
|
This column corresponds with the Mad Ravings On section of artistinsane.com, and is dedicated to selected reviews of movies, television and books… most of which are unlikely to represent “the latest” in any of these categories, but rather a random selection that represents a new and/or noteworthy discovery to me. ……………………….. This month’s feature is the 1990 film, Miller’s Crossing — voted one of the Top 100 Movies of All Time by Time Magazine earlier this year. And, I’ll admit that having first seen State of Grace, another (in my opinion stellar)Irish gangster film (also released in 1990) only months prior to reading this list, and finding it omitted, I decided to look into what made Miller’s Crossing so (apparently) superior. And, having now viewed the film for myself, quite honestly I still don’t know...but I remain both curious about the matter and open to enlightenment from anyone reading this review whose viewpoint differs. While Miller’s Crossing seems to involve a rather complicated plot as the means of carrying its main character from Point A to a Point B that’s both very close to and yet worlds away from back again, the complexities all boil down to the simple phrase, “Cherchez la femme”: Look to the woman. What remains of interest, therefore — aside from an indeed fine performance by Gabriel Byrne, et. al. — is the careful, and arguably distractingly artificial construction of the film overall. A very characteristically Coen Brothers effort, I can easily understand how fans of their work might consider it a masterpiece. Having found their portfolio a bit uneven myself, the dialogue here seems to me effective, but unnatural, leaving one to marvel briefly at individual great lines, but to ultimately realize as well that none of these add up to a satisfying emotional whole. Likewise, the slick choreography of even the most violent scenes detach the viewer from the horror of the film’s darker moments, and the implausible weaknesses so openly displayed by the mob boss played by Jon Polito come off as almost wearying. There are a couple of truly emotion-inspiring moments by the masterful John Turturro, but even these can’t salvage more than the mild enjoyment of watching an imitation modeled after, rather than itself an example of, true greatness. If you want to see greatness itself, skip Miller’s Crossing and seek out State of Grace instead...a film so engrossing you’re likely to still be seeking a way to recapture this “state” for its characters well after the ending credits have long since rolled. |
|
Ravings Of A Mad Woman |
|
Coming To Mil Mania... Pet Peeves And Paranoia |
|
No WAY am I telling you more about that now… What — are you NUTS?!? |