And With the Dots Connected

Vonnegut's *

It's not often that someone asks you to send them an illustration of what you imagine your asshole looks like (unless your social circle is a lot more interesting than mine). Just such a thing happened a few weeks ago and it actually made some sense. The story begins with the late Kurt Vonnegut and "Breakfast of Champions." In the novel Vonnegut draws simple illustrations of all manner of things, one of which is his asshole. It is represented as an asterisk. This got Eric Spitznagel (of Salon, The Believer, McSweeney's, Maxim and the Ron Jeremy bio) thinking and here's what he came up with:

"Not long ago, I was enjoying a post-book reading cocktail with a few writing friends in San Francisco when Vonnegut's asshole (for reasons that still confound me) became a topic of conversation. It was suggested that it might be interesting to find out how other authors would've illustrated their own sphincters. Would it, they wondered, resemble Vonnegut's crudely drawn asterisk, or would they take more creative license and draw something a bit more unique?

Well, word began to spread, and much to my surprise, dozens of authors (some of whom I've never even met) began sending me drawings of their assholes. No two are exactly the same, and some are downright fascinating. It seems that at least one author (who shall, for the time being, remain nameless) believes that her asshole is best represented as a blossoming flower, and another semi-famous author's asshole has an eye, not unlike the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill, that I swear is winking at me.

I've decided to post the entire collection on Vonnegut's Asshole, and I wonder if you'd like to participate. It would require very little time or commitment. Just take out a piece of paper and a handful of pens and draw what YOU think is an accurate portrayal of your asshole. Feel free to be as conceptual and unrealistic as you like. Is your asshole happy or sad? Angry or carefree? What is your asshole's personality?"

So, I drew one and I sent it to Eric and it will up online April 29th at Vonnegut's Asshole. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Wild Swans - Bible Dreams

1988. Liverpool. From the album, "Music and Talk from Liverpool." Beaut.*

* Jonathan Lethem gave a reading here in Denver a few nights ago. Great performer. I now find myself talking like his character Fancher Autumnbreast (an improbably named L.A. DJ legend who speaks in halting Shatner-ish bullets) from the new novel "You Don't Love Me Yet".

Anyway, Wild Swans were from Liverpool and had a really nice Echo and the Bunnymen-like sound. A lot of fans didn't like the second incarnation of the band (this song is from that era) calling it "hit-minded." Ah, it's still got a good - if slick - sound to it.

Cheers to Brambo for this vidclip.

Vision

I threw Vision's 1982 video for "Lucifer's Friend" on GoogleVideo for your viewing pleasure. They had a few U.K. hits and recorded an album that was never released. Lead singer died in 2000. It's all sorts of Goth/Depeche Mode-styled new romanticism. Dig the Flock styled hair and the groovy ghoulie lyrics. (By the by, they were called U.K. Vision here in the states.)

Batcave

Here's the Riverside Batcave doc, enhanced by h808. Essential viewing.