Book Review: Devil's Contract by Ed Simon

 

My Goodreads review: As much a philosophy book as a history book, Devil's Contract is a very interesting look at the concept of deals with the Devil in fiction and in history. While informative and very well researched, some of the philosophizing can be a bit wordy and there are also some parts where I feel the analogy was stretched to fit the narrative. But otherwise, I enjoyed this. Fun read.

As much a philosophy book as a history book, Devil's Contract is a very interesting look at the concept of deals with the Devil in fiction and in history. Throughout history, the idea of dealing with the Devil has been a part of the human experience. Author Ed Simon reminds us that the first humans in the Bible, Adam and Eve, dealt with the Devil, exchanging their eternal life for knowledge and an apple.

Needless to say, deals don't often go humans' way. Many times, humans need divine intervention to get out their deals with the Prince of Darkness. Simon discusses examples in which the Virgin Mary helps sinners get out of their hellish predicaments. Sometimes God has to get involved and sometimes the human is damned and has to live with their unfortunate choice.

Devil's Contract definitely made me think. I would never have thought that Satan's meeting with Jesus in the desert in the New Testament was an attempted deal with the Devil. Satan was appealing to Jesus's human side, which is always vulnerable. Simon goes through thousands of years of examples of vulnerable humans, from Marlowe and Goethe's Faust characters to the real Faust, to show this trend. The book is extremely well researched.

But as I mentioned in my Goodreads review, Simon can lose the reader in his philosophical points. There are a few sentences that just didn't make sense, no matter how many times I read them. There were also several sentence fragments that had me scratching my head, thinking I missed a word. Although these grammatical faux pas made me stop, they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. But it means Simon's editor could have used another look through.

Some of Simon's analogies were a stretch. I still don't understand how capitalism is a deal with the Devil and if it is, what about other economic systems? Are they better? And the section on the atomic bomb wasn't very clear. What about other weapons? Does mutually assured destruction mean we have all signed deals with the Devil?

I did however really like Simon's conclusions on "terms of service" and other agreements we automatically sign in exchange for the ability to use our phone and apps. The power of these devices and programs comes with a choice. Usually it means we agree to send our user data and sometimes our personal data to companies that don't have our privacy in mind. Is that a deal with a Devil? Maybe not in the Biblical sense, but maybe in a modern, technology sense.

That's the point Simon wants to leave us with. As we no longer believe in demons and Devils as they did five hundred years ago, are there still Devils in our society and we still dealing with them?

Recommended. 4 Devil horned stars out of 5.

Long live The Mutant

 

This week, my longest e-friend passed away. I never met him, but we conversed on these innerwebs for over 25 years. That's a long time and it deserves a story.

Way back in 1997 or so, when the World Wide Web was more Wild, Wild West, I found a webpage entitled you-suck.com . If I remember correctly, Yahoo! pointed me there from their list of "Cool Links" webpages. Back then Yahoo! tried to categorize the entire web. There wasn't much to visit, so maybe they did a good job.

You-Suck.com wasn't exciting, unless you liked travel pics. But it was subversive and it was edgy. Here is a screen shot from 1998. At different times, there were links to a guy calling himself The Mutant and he traveled around the world.

 

I had no idea who this Mutant was, but I knew he was interesting. So in November 1999 I decided to write him (yes, I still have the email!):

From: Jordi Scrubbings <torgo99 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Hey Mutant
To: root at you-suck.com

Dear Mr. Mutant,
You rule! Me and my friend go to your site daily. How
often do you update it? It needs a Mutant daily diary.
Other than that the site is one of the best on the
net. I am curious though, is there or has anyone ever
proposed a "Mutant" fan-club? I would like to start
one if there isn't one already. Please respond. It
would mean a lot to us.
  Jordi Scrubbings
  torgo99 at yahoo.com

 He wrote me back!

 Hey Guy!

Thanks for the kind words about my site;  it just sorta exists
as a snapshot of my life.  If you poke around enought there are
pages in there from 95 or so.

I don't have the time to update it often or even to create a weblog
due to work and school.  I have negative free time,  if there is
such a thing.

But I *have* thought about the weblog 'thang and moving my root level
page (http://wwww.you-suck.com) to that format in the near future.
I'm working on some Perl scripts that will minimise the amount of
work a weblog takes to maintain,  and when they're finished I'll
change the root page.

I do have a mailing list;  if you're interested send an
email to ListBot at you-suck.com,  with the text 'Info' in the subject
field and you'll get subscription instructions.  You can subscribe
or unsubscribe at will,  so if you just want to see what it's
like feel free to sign up.

WARNING:  we talk about a lot of wild and sick shit,  so if you're
easily offended you won't like it!!!

Hey!  I've got some 'bots that you might like.

http://www.you-suck.com/CtySongBot    Generates the lyrics to country songs
http://www.you-suck.com/ScandalBot    Generates the next Clinton scandal

This isn't a 'bot that I've programmed but a PhotoShop image one
of my buddies did

http://www.you-suck.com/BillGates      The leader of the Evil Empire himself

So what are you up to at Florida State?  If you're ever going to be over
UK  way,  and find yourself in London drop me a line!

Away I went into MutantTawk mailing list. I still have a large collection of the many interesting links and conversations the group provided. Many from The Mutant and dozens from his wide array of eclectic friends. While the threads continued until 2013 or so, the group conversation on 9/11/2001 was the most impactful. The Mutant spent many years working on Wall Street and many of his friends were still living in New York City, and those who weren't there still had fond memories of the City. Their perspectives brought the tragedy to my inbox in a personal way.

MutantTawk eventually died out and was replaced by social media. I eventually followed The Mutant and a few of his friends and his new wife on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram. Along the way, I also discovered who The Mutant was. He was Dr. Dave Coker, International Investment Banker and "pioneer in Fintech" - the space where technology aids finance and transactions. The Mutant was telling us about Bitcoin when it was less than $100 a coin. It is now near $100,000 a coin. When he writes about being financially well-off, there is little doubting him.

The Mutant was also an old punk from the 1980s New York City underground. He had a mohawk, dyed his hair pink, wore tattered clothes and a headpiece with "666" on it, and frequented the London pub and ethnic market scenes. I doubt he fit the mold of international investment banker. But that's what kept me interested. He was an original.

In 2013, I started my journey to get my MBA from the University of South Florida. I had very little background in the numbers side of business. But I did have a great and powerful ally - The Mutant. Early in my studies, when I first enrolled in graduate-level accounting and finance, I messaged Dr Coker and asked if I could pick his brain. Within a few days, we talked via whatsapp or some other app for over an hour. He gave me valuable insight and information, from how to think about accounting to where to find my books cheap. It was a great call and much needed to give me confidence in my new adventure.

Fast-forward a few years, and Dr. Coker put himself out there much more. He became a lecturer at a university in London and was making appearances on BBC and other channels to opine about Brexit and the fintech issues of the day. He was also doing a lot of freelance writing on various websites. As a follower of his work, and as a friend, I tried to watch or read it all. I even watched his financial lessons on his various youtube pages. I learned something new every time.

One of my goals was to eventually go to London and have a pint with the man, the myth, the legend, The Mutant. All I had to do was get my career in order and my finances in order and buy the ticket. If you know me, then you know finding career stability has been a decade-long struggle. 

Although I did follow The Mutant's financial advice and finally got into Bitcoin in 2020. I've tripled my money.

Alas, in late October 2024, I received a direct message from The Mutant on twitter.

Hi there

How are you?

I got diagnosed with terminal cancer, given 18m to live so unlikely to hop on tiktok

Let me know how you're doing!

Still creating

Coker.me

I couldn't believe it. I immediately replied to him on twitter with the hopes of maybe arranging a month to visit. Unfortunately, I didn't get a reply.

On December 6th, 2024, Dave Coker's wife posted on Facebook that he passed away. My longtime e-friend was gone. I'll never have that chance to say hello in person.

As Dave, he taught me about finance, technology, and how to make money. As The Mutant, he taught me that having a career wasn't everything. Being yourself, no matter how different, is important. And there is a way to balance both.

RIP, my friend.

PS: when I received word of his illness, I wrote him into a small scene in the rough draft of my new novel. The final version should be published sometime in 2025. Including him was my way of saying thanks. Long live The Mutant.

Novel number two update number one

 

I haven't mentioned it here yet, but I have mentioned it on my social media. But I should mention it here, because it is a good idea to mention good ideas when there are good ideas to be mentioned.

Novel number 2 is a thing. It's a big mess of a thing that is currently under construction. It is over 64,000 words of a rough draft. It's gonna take some work and some time. I think I am approximately 66% through the plot. Which means it will probably be somewhere around 80,000 words. Which is a lot for a fiction novel. Which means a lot of editing needs to happen. And we need a title and a cover and formatting and printing and publishing.

In time, dear reader. In time. But that's a good thing. We are closer today than we were yesterday. And closer yesterday than we were the day before that.

What is novel number two about? Like novel number one, it is about the Devil. This time however, pro wrestling is involved. And novel number two is darker. Much more evil and bigger in scope. Sprinkle in some occult and some heavy metal and there is something there.

A big mess of something.

Not so Serious Movie Review: Battalion (2018)

 

In a world where CGI space ships destroy Los Angeles, only one team of Australians cosplaying as US Marines can stop the alien invasion.

Why not Australian military? Why make the US military look like idiots in a half-baked low budget snooze fest? The uniforms were bad, the gear was bad, the interactions were bad, the logic was AWOL, and almost everyone spoke with an Australian accent. Whoever the military advisor was for Battalion should be sent to Fort Leavenworth for making the US military look bad.

Other than that .... that's it. It's just bad. I wish I had something positive to say about Battalion. The camera work was shoddy, the dialogue wasn't good, the action scenes were meh at best, the CGI wasn't great, the aliens had no motive other than destruction, and despite CGI scenes showing spaceships blowing up cities, most of the "action scenes" were on a beach or in the woods.

Battalion is easily one of the worst war movies I have watched. When you make a movie with a small group of people, it is a good idea to keep the idea small. Especially if your budget is small.

Grade: 1 CGI star of 5

Would you want to go to war with this motley group of ragbags?

 

Hanging out with Vale Anoa'i at the Lake County Comic Con

 

On November 17th, I was a guest at my first comic con, the Lake County Comic Convention. The LKCC is a nice size comic con, not as big as the Tampa Comic Con, but featured approximately 100 vendors and guests, to include Tommy Timmons from The Sandlot and other artists, writers, and creators.

Among those artists and creators was my friend Vale Anoa'i. Vale has authored nine books and has created an impressive array of art, some of which I own. She is a fantastic creator and a great person. So of course we had to cut a promo video.

You can find Vale's creations at The Art of Vale.

Movie Review: The Unbreakable Bunch (2023)

 

 

Making movies is hard work. There is a lot that goes into filming, acting, lighting, directing, editing, and all the other components that comprise a movie. But sometimes movies are fun. Sometimes the fun actors have making a movie comes out in the final production. The best mainstream example I’ve seen is Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups, where Sandler and several fellow comics looked like they had a blast throughout the movie. The positivity and comradery came through the screen.

The Unbreakable Bunch is a similar movie. Not in plot or in budget, but in the feeling that everyone in the movie enjoyed being part of the project. While watching, I could see the fun they had making it.
Truth be told, there isn’t a giant global market for low budget alien flicks. They are fun, but not for everyone. The same is true for seeing pro wrestling legends. But put low budget aliens and pro wrestling legends together and you could combine the fanbases and double the niche. Like peanut butter and chocolate, or lamb and tuna fish, The Unbreakable Bunch works.

It works because it’s fun and because viewers get to see a bunch of their favorite wrestlers of yesteryear act tough one more time and punch, kick, body slam, and shoot an invading alien horde. Of course, the aliens decided to only invade the streets of Sanford, Florida and the only group who could possibly stop them are former wrestlers. Of course.

The Unbreakable Bunch starts like a wrestling version of The Blues Brothers. In order to raise money, a wrestler gets a bunch of his “unbreakable” buddies together and they cris-cross the United States putting on shows and making money. As their small show with six wrestlers makes the needed money, a group of aliens is slowly taking over small Florida towns. I don’t know which story requires more disbelief. Although the wrestling scenes drag a bit and we don’t see much alien action, it is fun to see Haku, Glacier, Ernest Miller, and Luther Biggs thrown down again. There are also some independent wrestlers taking falls to the legends and they are fun to pick out if you know.

One of the highlights of the movie occurs at a town festival when the wrestlers and the local fire department have a brawl to end all brawls. Fellow legends Stan Hansen and Gangrel just happen to be working for the town’s fire department. Bodies get tossed and pizza gets eaten and everyone looks like they had a good time wreaking havoc.

Finally, the wrestlers and the aliens cross paths and it’s time for the main event. The final 30 minutes of the movie is worth the slow set-up. Sadly, there are a few losses that took me by surprise. But there are some great scenes of alien annihilation. Haku, for example, kicks some major butt, both with his fists and with his pistols. The producers definitely made the toughest man in professional wrestling look good. Not even extra-terrestrials can slow down the world’s toughest Tongan.

Of course, everyone else gets their share of the action, shooting and stomping out the heinous alien threat.

My one critique of The Unbreakable Bunch is that the ending was a little weak. There was no final resolution. No boss alien or final bad guy. Just a montage of the Unbreakable Bunch walking around shooting aliens. Viewers are left to ask if the event actually happened or if it was just a road story from a bunch of legends of the ring. A small twist at the end might have helped stick the landing.

I also have to ask if the aliens act like zombies, why not make them zombies? Instead of low budget sci-fi, the Unbreakable Bunch could have been a low-budget horror. I wonder why they chose aliens. Maybe they didn’t have zombie make-up or maybe the risk of unleashing a Zombie Haku on the world was too dangerous.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Unbreakable Bunch. It was as fun to watch as it looked to make. Definitely for fans of cheesy sci-fi and pro wrestling, both of which I enjoy.

Grade: 5 alien elbow drops out of 5

Curveball at the Crossroads is approved by Tommy 'Repeat' Timmons of The Sandlot

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Shane Obedzinski this weekend at the Lake County Comic Con. Shane is famous for playing Tommy "Repeat" Timmons in the baseball classic "The Sandlot". He was nice enough to give Curveball at the Crossroads a shout out.

Quotes I like

  These are not my quotes, but quotes other people said or wrote that I like.

"Even among men with the most modern arms, time is the hardest thing to kill" - The Musher, newspaper, 1907

"Words win wars or sell soap." - C. Wright Mills

"Not knowing is the ground of mystery, the land of wonder; a haven to be visited daily. It is the source of creativity, inventiveness and tranquility all in one." - Zen saying

"But I like to be surprised, and I like to be proved wrong. Not in public, because that’s humiliating. But in private, I really like to be proved wrong, because that means that afterward, if I come to terms with it when the dust settles, I am ever so slightly smarter than before, and I feel better that way." - Tadashi Tokieda

"The world needs less specialists in force and murder and more generalists in love." - Tuli Kupferberg

"Some people are steak people and some people only like fish, if I am steak and they are fish people, they might not like me very much." - Lorenzen Wright

"A Nation's fun will tell you more about that nation than anything except its jails." - PJ O'Rourke, Holidays in Hell (pg 79)

"The Islamic Jihaad has no relationship to modern warfare, either in its causes or in the way in which it is conducted." - Seyyid Qutb, Milestones

"Difference of opinion in my community is a source of blessing." Muhammad (reportedly)


"There a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one striking at the root, and it maybe be that he who bestows the largest amount of time and money on the needy is doing the most by his mode of life to produce that misery which he strives in vain to relieve." Thoreau, Walden

"If you lose the power to laugh, you lose the power to think." - Charles Darrow

"It was not from want of will that I have refrained from writing you, for truly I wish you all good; but because it seemed to me that enough has been said to effect all that is needed, and that what is wanting (if anything be wanting) is not writing or speaking - where of ordinarily there is more than enough - but silence and work." - St. John of the Cross

"Being drunk is a good disguise, I drink so I can talk to assholes." - Jim Morrison

"You have opened the gates of hell, from which shall flow the curses of the damned which shall sink you to perdition!" - Richard Keith Call, former governor of Florida, to secessionists

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." - Thomas Edison

"Have a mind open to everything; attached to nothing." - Vedantic Scholar Telopa

"Our appetite for discovery slows as our familiarity with the status quo grows." - Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine, September 2010

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.” ― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

"When you meet a beautiful woman who has everything going for herself, but you are not yet ready, admire her from afar. Don't try and spoil greatness just because you aren't quite on that level." - Monica Delgado

"People that are brilliant and successful, we think they’ve just always been that way. That’s not the case. Most of them have had some tough adversity in their life. It’s prepared them. I’ve never felt like you could develop character without adversity. A guy’s who has all the money he needs and never faced any hard times, he won’t have any character. But when you’ve had it tough and you’ve had it rough and you thought you were at the end of the rope and you work your way out of it, that’s the way you build character."  - Bobby Bowden

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops." - A. Bartlett Giamatti, Green Fields of the Mind

My Personal Quotes

"If time equals money, and money buys resources, and time is our most valuable resource, would that make time priceless? Could money buy time? Or would that be like money buying itself?" - Me

"You wake me up - agitated. I try to take a shit - constipated. I go to school - get educated." - Me

"Triceratopian hustle/ Mastadonian wassle" - Me

"I know I am smart because if I asked you if I was smart I would not know something easy to know therefore I would not be smart." - Me

"Everyone who says I need help should get help because I know I don't need help, especially when I know I know what I am doing." - Me

"Stress and panic cause nothing but high blood pressure and a low sperm count." - Me

Not so Serious Movie Review: The Devil's Hand (1961)

 

My latest cinematic adventure was The Devil's Hand, a 1961 independent horror featuring the guy who played Commissioner Gordon in the old Batman TV show.

At only an hour and seven minutes - which is actually sixty-six minutes and sixty-six seconds (wow!) - The Devil's Hand is too short for a movie, but too long for an episode of the Twilight Zone or any other broadcast show, although it does play like a Twilight Zone movie.

Our story begins with a gentleman having vivid dreams about a woman who is not his girlfriend. Somehow his actual girlfriend is ok with this. The dreams lead to him quitting his job and wandering the streets. Again, his girlfriend has no problem with this. The dreams also direct him to visit a small boutique doll store where he finds a doll of the woman in his dreams. After bringing his girlfriend to the store, where she not only sees the doll of the woman, but also the doll of herself, the guy's girlfriend is creeped out, but still not upset with him.

We then learn the dolls are voodoo dolls and the owner of the store stabs the girlfriend-looking doll, causing her to need medical care at the local hospital. How long she is there is not determined, but it is long enough for another woman to swoop in and steal the dude and them to join a satanic cult that holds meetings under the doll store. Good things happen to the guy when he joins the cult. He wins at the track. His stocks go up. Life is good.

He still has feelings for his hospitalized girlfriend, however. He finds the doll they pierced and removes the pin, causing her to miraculously recover. Then after the cult kidnaps her and attempts to sacrifice her to Satan, he rescues her, punches the high priest/doll shop owner, and starts a fire that burns the store down. Of course, his girlfriend is still not upset with him, despite the fact that everything that has happened is his fault.

The Devil's Hand also has a hip surf rock soundtrack, which considering the link between the Beach Boys and the Manson Family, adds a little weirdness to the movie.

Grade: 4 voodoo dolls of 5.

The Fire Burned in the Crossroads

 

"While he slept, the fire burned in the crossroads, first feeding on the alcohol and then on the dirt, as if the earth itself was soaked in moonshine. Within moments, the spark turned into a full blaze. Unlike a usual fire, however, the blaze was contained in the middle of the old intersection.

Before long, a hole grew in the middle of the fire that burned at the crossroads. From the blazing flame and the depths of the earth emerged a figure – a tall, slender, well-dressed man in a black suit, tie, and matching top hat. Once fully risen from the earth, the man spread his arms and extinguished the blaze."
 

- taken at the Bradfordville Blues Club, Bradfordville, FL 2/19/2022

Curveball at the Crossroads Easter Eggs and references

 

Curveball at the Crossroads is full of references and inferences. There are call-backs to famous baseball stories, famous blues legends, and many other items of popular culture.

Did you find the reference to the following?

- a baseball character made famous in Sports Illustrated?
- a famous speech in Field of Dreams?
- Casey at the Bat?
- a famous Jimi Hendrix song?
- a scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure?
- a Snoop Dogg song?
- the Muddy Waters' song "Hoochie Coochie Man"?
- the culinary preference of Elwood Blues?
- the culinary preference of Elvis Presley?
- a food item sang about by blues legend Robert Johnson?
- pro wrestling's Iron Sheik?

Not So Serious Movie Review: Warning From Space (1956)

This is a monster movie without great monsters, an alien invasion movie without great aliens, a disaster movie that glosses over the disaster, a movie about an alien taking over a pop singer's body that barely mentions the pop singer, and movie that warns about atomic energy that doesn't do enough to make it serious.

Overall, the real warning is that this movie is a dud.

Imagine a movie in which an alien species need to send a message to humans. Knowing only one human, they make a clone of Taylor Swift. She infiltrates a nuclear lab to tell a scientist his energy formula is the only thing that can generate enough power to blow up a planet on a trajectory to hit earth. But only the aliens can harness the energy and he has to give it to them. Meanwhile, the people of Earth, led by Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, attempt to knock the runaway planet off course with atomic bombs and mining equipment. And for some reason there is a mob boss is also trying to steal the energy formula. In the end, the aliens take the formula and help the Earthlings by destroying the planet, but not before buildings are wrecked and parts of Japan are flooded.

This movie is what happens when way too many concepts are jammed into a low budget movie. None of the ideas have a chance to breathe and none of the actors have a chance to be relatable.

They should have just called Gamera to destroy the incoming planet. Then they might have had a movie worth watching.

Grade: 1 intergalactic starfish out of 5.

Book Review: My Real Dad Was a Stripper by Angela Scott

Quick interesting autobiography of Angela Scott, aka p*rn star Lexi Stone. Mostly takes places from her teen years to early 20s leading to her decision to get into the adult industry. There is a lot here that she unpacks. Bad relationships, good relationships, love, pain, death, birth, and how she kept a hustler's mentality, trying to make money to survive on her terms.

If I have one critique, it is that it ended abruptly. I would have like to have seen a second-to-last chapter on what her family, etc thought of her success in the industry, career highlights and insights, etc. Also curious if she dealt with the traumas she talks about often. Did she do therapy or is this book her therapy? Maybe there is a sequel coming. Overall, it is an interesting peek into the life of someone in the adult industry.

(Note: I did an interview with Angela way back in 2007 when she was modeling for Playboy before getting into p*rn. I googled her to see what she was doing these days and found her current career and her book. It was very interesting to see where my interview fell in her life.)

Grade: 5 adult stars of 5

Not so Serious Movie Review: Clownado (2019)

 

With a name like "Clownado", you know you are getting something good. Like Joe Dirt's momma said, "When you're down, stare at a clown". In this case, it's when you want something groovy, watch a clown tornado movie.

When watching B-Movies, I don't ask for much. I don't ask for award-winning dialogue. I don't ask for logic. I don't even ask for realistic special effects. But I do ask for originality. Clownado has that. Piles of it. Gooping, bloody, disgusting piles of originality.

Where else can you find a hitchhiking Black Elvis, a girl whose accent changes from New York to Alabama, a clown giving birth to a midget clown, and the legendary Joel D. Wynkoop?

It's not supposed to make sense. It's a movie about a tornado of killer clowns.

Summary: a woman cavorts with a witch who casts a spell trapping a bunch of belligerent clowns - including the woman's ex-lover - in a tornado. Led by the ex-lover, the clowns chase the woman into town and wreak havoc on the townsfolk.

(Disclaimer: I bought the movie from Mr. Wynkoop at an arts and book fair. I've wanted to meet him for a years. He is a good dude. But that's a post for another day.)

Grade: 5 bloody rubber noses of 5

Not so Serious Book Review: The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century by Paul Krugman

 

A clear money grab by Krugman to put all of his columns over 5 years or so in a book. One can only read his thoughts on social security or the California energy crisis so many times. Summaries would be a lot better.

I did find his thoughts on how extreme the Bush Administration was very interesting. The Bush Administration is small potatoes compared to the grift of the Trump Administration. But I have no interest in reading 200 columns from Krugman on that subject.

Started: 9/4/24

Completed: 10/12/24

Grade: 3 unraveled stars of 5

Connect with me on Goodreads for more book reviews and info on my books.

Michael Lortz's books on Goodreads

Curveball at the Crossroads

reviews: 15
ratings: 21 (avg rating 3.95)

The Best of Bus Leagues Baseball: The Collected Writings of Michael Lortz

reviews: 1
ratings: 1 (avg rating 5.00)

The Best of The Serious Tip .com

The Bus Leagues Experience: Minor League Baseball Through The Eyes Of Those Who Live It

reviews: 3
ratings: 9 (avg rating 3.56)

The Man Makes You Work: How the Rich and Powerful Hold Down Everyone

reviews: 4
ratings: 5 (avg rating 4.20)

Not So Serious Movie Review: Black Fist (1974)

 

I love a good blaxploitation film. Especially one that includes the line "All I ever wanted to do in life was not to have to kiss whitey's ass!". I feel that in my bones.

Alas, that's the highlight of this run-of-the-mill mid-70s flick about a street fighter who has to fight the mob and crooked cops. There is a lot of funk, some soul, not a lot of jive, and no turkeys. And it stars Beyonce's future stepdad. But that isn't enough to save the movie from poor production value, clunky dialog, and wooden acting.

Originally intended to be two movies, "Bogard" and "Get Fisk", Black Fist is the result of someone taking the best parts of both and merging them into one funky super movie. But low budget will always be low budget. I blame The Man.

Grade: 4 funky fists of 5

Not So Serious Movie Review: Haxan (1922)

 

 

Where to start with Haxan? It's evil. It's creepy. It's old. It's crass. It's the elderly woman who lives in the old house on the corner who sends chills down your spine when she gives you that look. She is definitely a witch, right?

Haxan is a movie about witchcraft and evil. It is part documentary and part silent film. It is a bit slow, so I watched it in parts, but it is broken down into chapters, which makes for good stop points.

The movie outlines the rise of witchcraft and witch hunts from medieval times to the 20th Century. It gives light to the ridiculousness of the judicial system of the past, which encouraged snitching and false accusations. The point of Haxan is if you were an old, poor woman, maybe one down on your luck, you stood a high chance of being accused of witchcraft and tortured and killed. Along the way, you might want to accuse someone else of witchcraft, because if you are going to die for an untruth, why not bring an enemy down with you?

From a movie perspective, Haxan is fascinating. The costumes and effects are still chilling and spooky one hundred years later. Without the aid of digital effects, Satan still looks like the legit Prince of Darkness. For its day, it was a high budget production. Gotta make the Devil look evil when his butt is getting kissed by wicked nuns.

Most of all, Haxan is an experience. It is a must see for horror fans or anyone interested in the occult. I am surprised it is not more widely known. Maybe torture and hell isn't everyone's favorite subject. 

Grade: 5 Satan butts out of 5

Btw, you can watch it here for free:

 

A Self-Published Author's Guide to Tampa Bay Bookstores (Updated Oct 2024)

Owning an independent bookstore is a monumental challenge. From 2000 to 2005, my mother owned a new and used bookstore in Melbourne, Florida. Although it didn't last, Once and Again Bookstore provided me insight into the workings of bookstores and their battle for existence. Unfortunately, online bookstores and big box stores still have a stranglehold on the book buying market. But in the last 15 years or so, many independent bookstores have carved a niche in their local communities.  

Independent bookstores are not a charity. Selling books is about making money. Bookstores want to make money to stay open. Authors should want to make money on their novel. We have to make our relationship as symbiotic and synergistic as possible.

There are several bookstores in the Tampa Bay area. I have met most of the bookstore owners in the area and several beyond Tampa Bay in an attempt to get my books on their shelves so they can sell my books and we can all make money. Most of them carry my novel. Some bookstores do consignment, some order from Ingram Spark, and some buy directly from me. Some don't carry my books at all. And a few I have yet to meet.

Pro tip number 1: distribute your book via Ingram Spark. Don't self-publish on Amazon if you want to work with bookstores. They won't buy books from the company that is trying to put them out of business. If you want to be Amazon exclusive, be my guest. But you are on your own.

Pro tip number 2: if you are on Ingram Spark, give your book the greatest bookseller discount. I think the discount is 50% off for booksellers. Don't ask questions. Do it.

Pro tip number 3: the best way to meet bookstore owners is to walk in their store. Look around. If your book is a fit for their store, find a book that is not yours that you want. Buy it. Then talk to them about your book. Show that you are willing to support them before you ask them to support you. Also, if you know other authors whose books the bookstore carries, discuss those connections.

This list will be broken down into how the bookstores acquire my books. There is absolutely no preferential order. I have a great relationship with every bookstore I work with. I hope this list comes in handy for other self-published authors in the Tampa Bay area and beyond. This is just my experience. Yours might be different.

Order from Ingram Spark

Oxford Exchange Book Store (Tampa)

Point of contact: Laura Taylor, Bookstore & Programming Director

Best way to contact: visit and email - Laura(@)oxfordexchange.com

The Oxford Exchange is located in downtown Tampa. The bookstore only orders from Ingram Spark and does not do consignment. Hence, they are looking for books that are known or authors that will move product. I was part of the Oxford Exchange Book Fair for two years and did well. Then I approached their front counter and asked how they would carry my novel on their shelves. I emailed Laura Taylor and asked how my book can be on their shelves. Laura ordered two copies. During my next visit, I signed the books and made social media content letting my followers know the book was available at the Oxford Exchange Book Store.

Pro tip number 4: bookstores will almost always let you create content involving your book in their store. At a minimum, every time you visit a local bookstore that carries your book, take a picture of your book on the shelf and a picture of the store. Post both on Facebook or Instagram and be sure to tag the store. You can also do tiktok, youtube, snapchat, twitter, your personal website, or wherever else readers might find out about your book and the store. The more content, the better. This is an easy way to show the bookstore that you are doing your part to sell your book.

 

Tombolo Books (St Pete)

Point of Contact: Alsace - owner

Best way to contact: visit and email - authors(@)tombolobooks.com

Tombolo Books is one of the most high profile bookstores in the Tampa Bay area. If New York Times Bestselling authors are going to visit, they are going to go to Tombolo. While the folks at Tombolo are nice, they are busy. Getting your book approved for their shelves takes time. That said, once I was listed on Ingram Spark, I immediately filled out their local author form. I remember emailing a few times to see if they had reviewed at my book. It took a few months for them to order my novel, even after I was voted "runner-up, best book by a local author" in the local arts and entertainment newspaper and after I received a blurb from a well-known local author.

At the time, the local author form required Ingram Spark, reviews from other local authors, and an active social media presence. I see they now are doing consignment. Whatever the requirement, it is Tombolo, they are busy, and people buy plenty of books there.

Fun story: after I learned Tombolo had two copies of my novel on their shelf, I visited a brewery across the street and talked to people about my book. I mentioned I was going to visit the bookstore and they followed me and bought a copy of my book. I signed it for the buyer right there on the spot. That's how you prove to a bookstore that you can move product. 

BookendsYbor (Tampa)

Point of Contact: Teresa - owner

Best way to contact: visit and email - read(@)bookendsybor.com

BookendsYbor is the newest bookstore in the Tampa Bay area. They are so new, their brick-and-mortar storefront isn't even open (as of June 2023). They do however have a bookmobile they are bringing to local pubs and breweries. They are also planning to be part of the Ybor Saturday Market.

I found BookendsYbor via Bookshop.org. I followed them on social media, dropped them an email, told them how much I am looking forward to their opening, and mentioned my book. They said they would look into ordering it from Ingram. Within two weeks, they had copies in hand. I then visited their next bookmobile event, chatted with a few customers, and their copies of Curveball at the Crossroads were sold. Hopefully this is the start of a great author-bookstore relationship.

Bookstore1 (Sarasota)

Point of contact: Byrn - Director of Programming

Best way to contact: email - bryn(@)sarasotabooks.com

Bookstore1 is located in downtown Sarasota. I have been part of the Bookstore1 Book Fair for the last two years. In preparation for their event, Bookstore1 orders five books per author every book fair via Ingram Spark. If authors don't sell all five, the store will carry the book on their shelves until they sell. Bryn and the team are great and very nice. They do a great job of promoting the book fair and the authors. Bookstore1 is an hour away for me, so it is a little difficult to visit regularly. However, they host author events and book club readings regularly.

The Gilded Page (Tarpon Springs)

Point of contact: Julia - owner

Best way to contact: visit and email - thegildedpagebookstore(@)gmail.com

The Gilded Page is a relatively new bookstore in Tarpon Springs. I visited The Gilded Page first, and while there, I discussed how they carried an author I am friends with. Then I mentioned my book and how it might be a fit on their fiction shelf. Julia agreed and ordered a copy of Curveball at the Crossroads.

The Gilded Page both orders local books on Ingram if possible or they do consignment. If doing consignment, they ask for up to five books from the author. If they order on Ingram, they order one at a time. I prefer the upfront revenue of Ingram so I opted for that. I re-visited The Gilded Page a few weeks later to sign the copy they received as well as to make some social media content of my book at their store.

Book & Bottle (St Pete)

Point of contact: unknown

Best way to contact: visit or website 

Book & Bottle is a bookstore/coffee shop/wine store in downtown St Petersburg. They have a small selection of books on one wall of their store. The few times I have visited, they were nice, and I enjoyed the drink and the ambiance. Due to their limited selection, they are preferential to new books.

However, in researching this blog post, I discovered their author request form. I filled it out and requested them to consider my book for both their inventory and their local author open house. Within a few weeks, they ordered a copy of my novel and it is on their shelves.

Portkey Books (Safety Harbor)

Point of contact: Crystel - owner

Best way to contact: Visit

Portkey Books is a small bookstore in Safety Harbor, Florida and the most recent store to carry my debut novel. As a small store, they are very selective in the books they carry. To echo my pro tip above, you have to be on Ingram and a return policy is recommended.

Portkey Books asks that local authors donate their first book to the store as an act of good faith. After that book sells, they will continue to order the book from Ingram as long as they sell. As my publisher cost is $6, that's worth it to me. Hopefully, after one copy sells, they order more copies and more copies after that and I make the $6 and more via Ingram.

Consignment

Books at Park Place (Gulfport)

Point of contact: Nancy - owner

Best way to contact: visit and phone (727) 388-9093

Books at Park Place is probably the most similar to what my mother's bookstore was. Coincidentally, Books at Park Place was the first bookstore my novel was in. Books at Park Place is consignment only for self-published authors. They have a form for self-published authors to sign that describes the business relationship.

Among the benefits of working with Books at Park Place is that Nancy and her team will promote local authors just as much as well-known authors. Books at Park Place designates an entire side wall to local authors and I have visited and seen my novel among others in the front window display. They also have a great relationship with many authors and Nancy and her team are willing to answer any questions authors may have about working with Ingram and the selling process. Unfortunately, they haven't done as many author events post-pandemic as they did in the past. Perhaps that will change soon.

Wilson's Book World (St Pete)

Point of contact: Michelle - owner

Best way to contact: visit

Wilson's Book World is a family owned and operated, used and antiquarian bookshop in St. Pete. They have a steady and loyal clientele and are very personable. They don't carry new books, but they do carry local authors on consignment. They accept three books per author and they put a copy of the book in the front of the aisle for a month before putting all the copies in their associated section. Lastly, their percentage return on consignment is the best in the area, although they don't provide the money for the books until all the books are sold.

Mojo Books and Records (Tampa)

Point of contact: Melanie - owner

Best way to contact: visit and email - mojotampa(@)comcast.net

Mojo Books and Records is a combination music and book store. They have been around for a long time and have a strong underground following. They mostly carry used books and cater to the University of South Florida market. They do consignment for local authors and will carry two books at a time.

I like Mojo Books and Records. They are nice folks and they are very responsive, but although their store is divided 50/50 between books and music, their focus isn't books. If they can do more for books, and especially local authors, they could become a powerful ally.

 

The Paperback Exchange (New Port Richey)

Point of contact: Joanie - owner

Best way to contact: visit or Instagram - @PaperbackExchangeBookstore

The Paperback Exchange is a classic used bookstore in New Port Richey, Florida. Like Wilson's and Books at Park Place, they mostly carry used books. They also carry a wide selection of new books by local authors. I was surprised how many local authors they carry and honestly, how few I recognized. They do consignment and give 50% on each sale. I left two books there but some authors have left more.

The Paperback Exchange reminds me a lot of my Mother's old store. Rows and rows of used books. They advertise carrying over 150,000 books. That's a lot. As a local author, there is a lot of competition in the store. Creating a desire for your book is essential or else it will get lost in the stacks and no one will buy it. If your book is there, create videos, take pictures, and post about the store on social media. They are great folks and they are doing a great service by carrying your book, but you have to create the demand.

This Bookstore Kills Fascists (Mobile)

Point of contact: Tiffany - owner

Best way to contact: visit or Facebook - @ThisBookStoreKillsFascists

This Bookstore Kills Fascists is a niche pop-up/mobile bookstore run by Tiffany Razzano. Tiffany sets up at street markets and festivals all around Tampa Bay from Sarasota to St Pete to Tampa and anywhere else that will have her. Her selection is very focused on bring attention to marginalized or minority voices. She is an outspoken advocate for freedom of speech and a proponent of provocative media.

This Bookstore Kills Fascists sells both new and used books that fit her niche. Tiffany does consignment for local authors giving 50% on sales. She carries my book The Man Makes You Work among her wares.

Purchase

Tiger Dust (Tampa)

Point of contact: Jason and Laura - owners

Best way to contact: visit or Instagram DM @tigerdustheights

Tiger Dust is not a traditional bookstore. They are an oddities and novelty store in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa. They feature a wall of occult, sci-fi, fantasy, and hard-to-find books. During my first visit there I realized that my book about someone who makes a deal with the Devil would fit their selection of books. They offered to buy three books from me at a 33% discount. I make a few dollars above my distributor cost and they make a $5 profit per book. Tiger Dust is also part of local merchant block party on the last Thursday of every month where authors and other creatives they carry (jewelry, art, etc) are encouraged to mingle and engage with the store patrons. I have sold and signed a few books at the Thursday block party. If your novel fits their store, Tiger Dust is recommended.

Stores that do not yet carry my books

Back in the Day Books (Dunedin)

Point of contact: Boe Rushing - owner

Best way to contact: email (maybe): backinthedaybooks(@)yahoo.com

I visited Back in the Day books recently and talked to one of their employees. I had also contacted them via Facebook Messenger over a year ago. Both times they mentioned they don't carry local authors and they don't do consignment. Following my visit, I emailed the owner explaining that they are on a very short list of regional bookstores that don't carry my book and that I hope they would change their mind. Especially in the case of a local author who is selling copies in other stores. I also mentioned my book is baseball fiction and they are located 1/2 mile from a baseball stadium. Unfortunately, I have not yet received a response.

Black English Bookstore (Tampa)

Point of contact: Gwen Henderson - owner

Best way to contact: Unknown

Black English is the newest bookstore to open in the Tampa Bay area. Owned and operated by Tampa City Councilwoman Gwen Henderson, they opened to much fanfare in early December 2023. They are predominantly focused on African-American authors and books on the African-American experience. They are a small store and are very welcoming but I have not yet discussed my novel with them. If your book is a fit, I encourage you to reach out to them.  

The Book Rescuers (Pinellas Park)

Point of contact: Unknown

Best way to contact: visit or email / phone: thebookrescuers(@)gmail.com / (727) 222-0495

The Book Rescuers is a giant used book warehouse in Pinellas Park. They price most of their books between $1-$3. While their business model is interesting and I applaud their efforts on banned books, my novel is not used, so I haven't worked with them.

Haslem's Bookstore (St Pete)

Point of contact: Unknown

Best way to contact: Unknown

I am listing Haslem's out of respect for one of the area's oldest local bookstores. Unfortunately, they closed during the pandemic and have not been open since. If I had to guess, my book will never be in the store and the property will turn into condos within three years.

Barnes & Noble (various locations)

Point of contact: Unknown

Best way to contact: email - crm3429(@)bn.com

Barnes & Noble is obviously not an independent bookstore. They are however the biggest box bookstore chain in Tampa Bay. That said, they don't carry self-published authors. As a chain, they don't do consignment. They also don't order print-on-demand, which includes Ingram Spark. I recently visited the new location on Westshore Blvd and asked if they would ever do a local author event and I was given a business card with the above email address. As of July 2023, I have not yet emailed.

Again, I hope this helps other self-published authors in Tampa Bay area and beyond. Self-publishing is a hustle and is a lot of work. You are not only an author, but a marketer, an event planner, and a salesperson. But the more places you place your book, the more chances it has to be bought. It is a numbers game, but by working with local bookstores, you increase your chances of success.

Good luck!

(Image from https://www.artstation.com/artwork/JlQV3m)

Meeting Gabino Iglesias at Tombolo Books

 

One of the most important things about being a writer or an author is being a fan of other's writing. No writer lives in a vacuum. We are surrounded by other writers. Some we look up to, some we help up, some we look to as peers. As writers, we are part of a huge community. 

Gabino Iglesias is an author I look up to. He has put out some amazing books and is a fixture of great writing wisdom and encouragement on Twitter. Every Friday, Gabino encourages his followers to retweet about his book and in turn retweets about theirs. That's huge to someone just starting out or someone with far less followers than Gabino. To date, he has retweeted about my novel Curveball at the Crossroads maybe ten times. Although I will RT about his book whenever I can, I save his RT power for times when I have something happening, like an upcoming book signing or a TV appearance.

To boot, Gabino is also a metalhead with similar taste in loud music.

On Tuesday, September 24th, I had the pleasure of meeting Gabino at his book signing at Tombolo Books in St Pete. He was awesome, answering a lot of great questions and doing a brief reading from his latest book, House of Bone and Rain.

After the event, Gabino signed books for the attendees. As he signed mine, I asked if he wanted a copy of Curveball at the Crossroads. He said yes. When I brought him the book and signed it for him, he complimented the cover and said he recognized it from his retweets. That was an awesome feeling. 

You always hope people in real life are as cool as they are online. Gabino Iglesias is the real deal. I'm looking forward to reading House of Bone and Rain and hope to cross paths with him again. Maybe next time, I'll be the one with the new book.

A Week For Dad

 

Earlier this year, I wrote about my Dad’s life and his passing. It was the first time I wrote about my Dad in the past tense. Although he has been gone for nine months, it still seems like he went away yesterday. Or maybe last week. Reality has set in, but the hole is still there. I still miss my Dad.

Whereas I have good memories of my Dad teaching me things as a child and doing things with my Dad like Cub Scouts and making electronic doo-dads and gizmos, my best memories are of us as adults going places together. We went to concerts, ballgames, sports bars, car shows, and other assorted events.

My Dad was a car aficionado, especially of the early Datsun Zs. He owned a 1971 240Z for over 20 years and the car was pretty much a member of the family. Before a bad accident forced him to part ways with the car, his dying wish was for his car to be crushed into a cube, a hole drilled eight inches into the cube, his ashes poured into the hole, and the hole sealed so he would forever be a part of his car. Then the surviving members of the family were to put the crushed car in the living room, purchase a glass table top, and create a memorial coffee table. 

I was looking forward to the day I would tell my future kids to get their shoes off their grandfather.

Alas, his beloved 240Z was totaled and claimed by insurance. He purchased a replacement car for a few years, but like replacement Dukes of Hazzard, it wasn’t the same. His passion for the replacement car wasn’t what it was for his 1971 240Z. As his health diminished, he sold the replacement. He was more depressed about his health and not having a car than he was about parting ways with his replacement Z.

When he had his original 240Z and his health was good, he would often go to the annual Z Car Convention, the national gathering of Z enthusiasts. He went to at least four of them – San Antonio, Savannah, Daytona, and Nashville. Sometimes he would drive his car and sometimes he would tow it. Sometimes he would bring my Mom and sometimes he would go with his friend.

This year, as fate would have it, the Z Car Convention was in Tampa for the first time ever. It is hard for me to articulate the coincidence. It seemed like more than fate, almost like a sign. The convention could have been anywhere in the United States – from Washington to Miami, San Diego to Maine, and anywhere in between. Instead, the event that meant so much to my Dad was scheduled to happen in my backyard. Of course I was going.

Z Car Conventions are week-long events. Attended by Z Car Clubs and fans nationwide, there are opening ceremonies, exhibitions of the latest racing engines, seminars, and guest appearances by celebrities of the Z community. Two car shows are among the highlights of the week - the first, a judged car show on Wednesday, and the second, a public car show on Saturday.

When I told my Mom about the upcoming Z Car Convention, we agreed that while my Dad would have attended all week, we only needed to go to the final public car show. That would be enough, both physically and emotionally. My Mom booked a hotel room for the final Z car weekend and we were ready.

I don’t remember what inspired me to look up the 2024 Z Car Convention. I think perhaps I was looking up Z communities in an attempt to help my Mom sell some of the car parts my Dad never got around to moving out of the garage. But I do remember tearing up a bit thinking that my Dad would have been in Tampa all week. I was missing out on hanging out with my Dad at something that meant a lot to him. I wouldn't have been at every event with him, but I am sure we would have met up a few times during the week for beer and wings and a few Z Car events. It is those missed opportunities that I miss the most.

Although my Mom and I agreed to attend only the public car show on Saturday, I decided to visit the hotel headquarters of the Z Convention on Thursday. I wanted to buy t-shirts and other swag early just in case they ran out the day of the public event. I also wanted to take in the event at my own pace, without anyone else. I didn’t know how emotional seeing all the cars on Saturday would be, so I figured getting some tears out of the way on Thursday might be a good idea.

Pulling in to the parking lot of the Embassy Suites by the University of South Florida in Tampa I immediately saw various types of Z cars. There were modern racers, show cars, and the classic models similar to my Dad’s. I was in the right place.

The impact of being among the community that meant so much to my Dad hit almost immediately. Inside the hotel lobby was a car that looked very similar to my Dad’s in make, model, and color. It had a different design on the side, but was ninety percent the same. I walked into the hotel, saw that car, and had to turn around and walk out to collect myself. I took a deep breath outside the hotel door and walked in again. Seeing that car so soon was a bit of a punch.

Once in the hotel, I found the Z Car people. They had a merch store with various swag and t-shirts. They also had two large banners and were collecting signatures of everyone who registered for the convention. After explaining my reason for being there, they let me sign the banners for my Dad. I put “RIP George Lortz ’71 240Z” on each banner. He was at the Z Convention in spirit and now in name.

I spoke with several volunteers at the hotel in both the merch room and the registration room. Everyone was very nice. They let me place my Dad’s memorial card besides different maps and images and take several pictures. They asked questions about my Dad and his car and they made me feel very welcome. Going by myself that first day was definitely helpful as I process grief better when I am around other people.

I walked out of the hotel with a smile on my face and looked forward to Saturday’s car show. Then I saw a car in the parking lot that looked ninety-nine percent like my Dad’s car. It was a pristine pearl white early ‘70s 240Z. Parked among the other Z Cars, it was sitting where my Dad probably would have parked.

 

 

I had to take a moment and catch my breath. I sat down in the parking lot next to the car for a few minutes and cried a bit. When I composed myself, I thought it might have looked a little weird for any passersby to see a grown man sitting next to a stranger’s car and tearing up in a parking lot, but I didn’t care. In a city of shoe lickers, addicts, and other assorted homeless, I probably had the best reason to be sitting in a parking lot getting emotional.

Saturday morning, I picked up my Mom at her hotel and we went to the Z Car Convention public car show. I was impressed. There were hundreds of Z cars of various makes and models and a crowd of several hundred curious and interested Z fans. There were also various vendors with official shirts and other swag. Unable to refuse a good deal, my Mother stocked up on stuff, some of which she needed, some of which reminded her of my Dad. 

Walking the rows of cars, I saw many of the people I met on Thursday. Again, everyone was really nice and expressed their condolences and their appreciation that we came to honor my Dad. They listened as we told them about his car, his travels to previous conventions, and the awards he won. These were my Dad’s people. As an added bonus, we also made connections that might help us sell the rest of my Dad’s car parts.

Oddly missing from the large expanse of show-quality Zs at the public car show was the pearl white early 70s 204Z I saw in the parking lot the previous Thursday. My mother and I walked the aisles of cars several times thinking I might have missed it, but it wasn’t there. I am not sure who goes to a car convention and doesn’t bring their car to the final big event, but that car was not there.

Like the coincidence of the convention being in my city the year after my Dad’s passing, perhaps the pearl white early 70s 240Z was only in the parking lot for me to see and appreciate. Perhaps it wasn’t supposed to be at the car show for everyone. Perhaps it was a sign that my Dad was there and at the same time not there. I can’t explain it. I just have to accept that I saw that car when I did.

After lunch with my Mom at a local German restaurant that we agreed my Dad would have liked, I dropped my Mom at her hotel and went to the Buddy Guy concert in Clearwater. Buddy Guy is a legend in Blues and a performer my Dad and I had seen in concert several times. Although I have seen Buddy Guy more than a dozen times total, half of those were with my Dad. Seeing Blues legends in concert was one of our things.

Prior to dropping her off, my Mother and I debated whether or not my Dad would have joined me at the concert. She said he probably would have stayed at the Z Car Convention for the closing ceremonies and social hours. I like to think he would have joined me. Or I can think of the events as separate and think of good times with my Dad at each. While his spirit might have remained at the Z Convention, his spirit and memory also came with me to the concert. Both things can be true.

Continuing the tribute to my Dad, I ordered a Jim Beam and coke prior to the concert. Jim Beam was his drink of choice. In yet another weird coincidence, there was one and half pours left in the bottle. The bartender was kind enough to give me that little extra for free so she could finish the bottle. In bourbon lexicon, there is a term called “Angel’s share”, a small amount of the batch that evaporates during the distilling process. I like to think that little bit poured into my glass to kill the bottle was “Dad’s share”.

Overall, it was a great show and one I am sure my Dad would have enjoyed. Time hasn’t stopped Buddy Guy, who at 88 years old, is still at the top of his guitar-playing game. But alas, this might be Buddy’s last time on tour as he is semi-retiring and only scheduling dates at his home bar in Chicago. It was a great run.

 

 

On the way back from the Buddy Guy concert, I pondered going to see my bartending buddy SportsChump at his Irish pub, but my body said no. I was too damn tired. SportChump aka Chris and I have become better friends over the last few months. Not only was he the first person to write a review of my novel, he also wrote about his own Dad’s passing shortly before my Dad passed. We joined that unfortunate club nearly the same time. I knew I could visit his bar and tell him all about my day for my Dad and he would appreciate my story. Chris, consider this shout-out my apology for not visiting. I’ll swing by soon.

Although I didn’t go to a pub or a bar, I did stop by a local liquor store to pick up a nice drink to close the night. I settled on Jim Beam Black, a little less harsh and little smoother than his standard Jim Beam. My Dad would have approved.

While I was perusing the aisles, the store clerk told me they had a discount on top level bourbon. I declined and told him why I turned down the offer. He not only understood, he sympathized. He told me about the last concert he went to with his Dad, Pink Floyd in 1980. Shortly thereafter, he became a member of the club no one wants to join. As I checked out, he told me he applied the discount to the bottle I bought. A really nice gesture and a much needed conversation.

As the night ended and I sipped on a glass of Jim Beam, I reflected on the week. I was happy I could honor my Dad and celebrate his love for his Z during the 2024 Z Car Convention in Tampa. Although it was sad at times, I know he was there in spirit the entire week and especially at the car show and concert. He would have enjoyed his day.

I miss you, Dad.

A Farewell to Pops

A few months ago, I wrote a post entitled “One Last Drive to Minneola” about my trips to see World Xtreme Wrestling, the longtime pro wrestling organization owned and operated by Afa Anoa’i.

Although there has been mention that Afa Jr might one day bring back wXw, the show in April was the end of an era. It marked the last show put on by Afa, his wife Lynn, and their daughter Vale. As I wrote in my post, wXw was ending because Afa’s health was not good. He had been through several scares and there was a need to circle the wagons and focus on recovery and family.

Unfortunately, Afa left us on August 16th, 2024, nearly four months after closing wXw and only six weeks after his brother Sika Anoa’i passed away.

Pops was a lot of things to a lot of people. To those who didn’t know him, he was a wrestling legend, a titan of the ring in his era and the patriarch of generations of champions. To those who knew him, he was a father, a husband, a High Chief, a brother, a friend, a trainer, and a mentor. He was father figure to many, and a “Dad” to many more. He welcomed many into his family and encouraged people to seize their full potential. He gave chances and believed in those he cared about.

I like to always mention that I have only been in a wrestling ring twice in my life. Once was at a training center with my brother Bryan Maddox and the other was helping put together a ring for a theater performance. It is not my place. But Pops still referred to me as one of his kids. He had a lot of kids, and each one was special to him. To be called one of his kids was an honor and not something I took lightly.

For me, Pops was a father figure, a great-uncle figure, and a role model. As a man, you want a lasting impact. You want to treat people with kindness, but have the wisdom and authority to make things happen when they need to happen. Through his kindness, Pops had an unspoken gravity to him. You didn’t want to let him down.

I didn’t have a relationship with Pops when I started attending wXw. For years, I called him “Sir” and said hello only when spoken to. Through the years, however, Pops started to know who I was and I went from “Maddox’s brother” to “Afro” to “Mike”. Eventually, I would talk to him after every show. He would ask how the show was, and I would always answer that I had a great time. That’s the honest truth. Whether the show was a banger with a full crowd or not, whether my brother was wrestling or not, I always enjoyed going to wXw.

Pops also always asked me how I was doing and where my brother was if he wasn’t on the show. Always. Not only did he want Bryan to wrestle in the show, but he genuinely wanted Bryan there. Bryan was one of his kids and he wanted his kids to do what makes them happy. He knew wrestling made Bryan happy. It also helped that Bryan was one of the biggest wrestlers on the wXw roster and a multi-time champion, but that was secondary.

On the rare chance I saw Pops before a show, he often suggested that I would be involved in a run-in or some in-ring action. I am pretty sure he was joking, but if he told me to do something, I would do it. I don’t know how well I would do, and it never progressed more than a suggestion, but he said it enough to get me nervous.

While I was never a wrestler, Pops taught me a valuable lesson about wrestling. During one month in 2010, I had the pleasure of doing a video project with veteran wrestling manager Bill Alfonso. Among the places Fonzie wanted to visit was wXw. That was the first and only time I went in the wXw locker room before a show. While we were getting footage of Fonzie mentoring aspiring wrestlers, Pops pulled me aside and reminded me to make sure I protected his business. That’s a forgotten mantra in today’s social media age, where the behind-the-scenes of wrestling is almost as popular as the in-ring action. But in Pop’s day and era, it was wrestling law. Of course, if someone of Pop’s stature in the business tells you something, you do it. Hence, I protected the business in Fonzie’s video and continue to do so. 

Outside of the wXw shows, Pops made his presence felt in my life. As a longtime government contractor, I’ve often gone overseas for months at a time. During a trip to Qatar in 2018, I included Pops on my monthly email updates to friends and family. Not all my friends and family would respond. As a matter of fact, only a few did. But Pops always replied. Every month for nine months he would send me a short email telling me to stay safe, take care of myself, and that he and everyone missed me. He didn’t have to do that. Of course, when I returned, he told my brother that he knew more about what I was doing overseas than my brother did. That might have been true.

Pops loved having people at his house. I was lucky enough to visit a few times following wXw shows. Pops sat in his chair as a king (or a chief) would on a throne as people mingled and socialized. Before the night was through, he always asked newcomers what wXw meant to them. There are few wrestling organizations that can honestly say they are a family, but wXw could. That was the most common answer. When asked, I remember telling Pops that although I would follow my brother anywhere and cheer and boo him as needed, wXw transcended that. It became more than a wrestling show, it was seeing, supporting, and hanging out with people I cared about.

My brother and I were able to visit Pops one last time a month before he passed and a few days before he went to Pensacola for his final days. It was a sad day, but while we knew it would be the last time we saw him, it was good visit, full of laughs and smiles and stories.

Although he is gone, Pop’s legacy lives on. Just the other day, I spoke with a wrestling friend for three hours on the phone. We talked about Pops a lot. I look forward to seeing other wrestling friends at shows throughout Florida. I might even again chat with one of Pop’s superstar nephews or great nephews. No matter who I meet or see again, I am sure we will reminisce over the common bond that Pops touched our lives.

On the same day I spoke with my friend for a few hours, I texted Pop’s daughter Vale. I sent her some words of comfort during this difficult time. As I mentioned when my own father passed away, the “passing of a parent club” is a club no one wants to join, but as we get older time inevitably makes many of us members. When that happens, it helps to remember that many of our friends might already be in this unfortunate club. As friends, it is our job to be there for new members and give them hope. To let them know their loved one will always be with them in spirit and their friends will always remain by their side here on Earth.

RIP Pops. Your legacy will last forever. #AnoaiStrong