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Five Hundred Eighty-Six Days, Fourteen Hours, Forty-Six Minutes, Eleven Seconds
Michael Louie
09.05.08
Quitting an addiction, any addiction, is no easy matter. Whether it's crack, meth, heroin, or an MMO, the longer one pursues a dragon (or maybe an Orc in this case), the harder it is to give up the chase. But Michael Louie's on the wagon now, from a video game. And after his time given over to a Final Fantasy (FFXI to be precise), Louie looks back at his lost weekend that turned into, added up to, well...the game runs the numbers for you.
Holy Man: Dennis Wilson Revived
Andy Beta
07.30.08
It's been about 25 years since Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson drowned in the waters of the Pacific - the muse for his masterful one solo record Pacific Ocean Blue. But Wilson, had he lived, had much more on the way, such as the legendary unfinished Bambu, now offered along with POB as a Sony double cd. Also now available is the Criterion DVD version of Two-Lane Blacktop, a classic road race movie which stars Wilson, James Taylor (yes the James Taylor) and Warren Oates in one of his most bizarre characterizations on film (which, as Andy Beta writes, "is really saying something.") Under the shadow of elder bro Brian critically for years, the young lost Dennis is finally getting his due.
And Where Might That Be Now, Tom?
Scott Bradfield
07.12.08
Writer Thomas M. Disch died from his own hand last week in New York. Proudly obstreperous and uncouth towards his many (and unfortunately often he felt insipid) genre fans and critics of the SF and fantasy variety, Disch was misunderstood in his time. We'll see how the bulk of history remembers him, while here friend and fellow novelist Scott Bradfield remembers Disch with admiration, sadness, and love.
The Zoo
Amy Gerstler
05.19.08
Amy Gerstler takes us to the zoo. A strange temple to some, where the gaze is exchanged inconspicuously between one species of animal captivated in reposing gawks and a variety of others held in captivity. No tiger attacks here on this day, but, careful there, don't lean too close... Art by Danny Jock.
Sarkozy's Soap Operetta: Eight Months in Office With the French President
Devon Magee
01.12.08
Nicolas Sarkozy has yet to complete a full year in office as French President, and yet he's generated much media copy from French tabloids keeping tabs on his recent divorce and wooing of singer/songwriter, former model, and Italian, Carla Bruni, to The Economist watching his moves closely as he battles the intransigent poverty and rapidly approaching problem of Baby Boomer-age retirement. Devon Magee brings his insight back to Fanzine with his second piece on Sarkozy.