"Rise Above" CD Produced by Rollins to Benefit WM3

Check out this list of vocalists performing Black Flag songs backed by the Rollins Band.

WM3 Finally Released!

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Big congrats to the WM3 on their new found freedom!  We all know their incarceration was a travesty based on the chaos resulting from a stupid “Satanic Panic.” Of course the WM3’s convictions were falsely based and blind to the facts, now hopefully the truth of their innocence will spread like wildfire.  For more info about the case check www.wm3.org.  And remember, everyone needs to own the WM3 fundraising CD that Rollins produced way back in 2002.  The appropriately named Rise Above contains a wide variety of all-star vocalists covering a multitude of Black Flag songs.  

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Bogosian’s "Wasted Beauty" Clashes Jet Setting Model With Desperate Doctor

Wasted Beauty, the second novel by master satirist Eric Bogosian, tells the story of Reba, a lonely farm girl who barely scrapes by selling apples at a farmers’ market until she catches the eye of a shady photographer from New York City.  Reba is quickly lured to the sprawling urban metropolis by his rather unsavory charm.  Soon Reba changes her name to Rena and becomes involved in the world of high fashion modeling and is subsequently dragged down into the surrounding scum and muck, overabundance of drugs, and obsessive competitiveness for glory.

            Simultaneously, Rick, a doctor with a thriving practice, can’t stop fantasizing about his secretary.  Rick is caught up in a marriage so boring it practically stuns him comatose, making him an everyday walking zombie.  From the moment he wakes up in the morning to the moment he lies down at night, Rick remains desperately unsatisfied, yearning for any spark of vibrant life to light his extinguished flame.  Seemingly, Rick has everything he could ever want, money, a family, security, the American Dream, yet still he feels empty as a bottomless well. 

By sheer chance, while working one of his infrequent mandatory night shifts (which are always boring as a corporate tax law seminar) at the hospital, Rick meets Rena when she comes in looking for her renegade, racist brother who recently got slashed down the face in a street fight.   When Rick and Rena cross paths sparks fly.  It’s like the Macy’s fireworks show on the 4^th of July.  Both of them are so desperate to transform their lives into something more vital and soul satisfying, they’re willing to push themselves to the brink of insanity.

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As Rena and Rick’s relationship develops a time bomb is set into motion.  Will Rena get used and abused or will Rick swoop in and rescue her from impending doom?  Will the fashion industry chew Rena up or is she on a collision course with dirty needles and an overdose?  Is Rick ready to abandon his entire family on what essentially could wind up as a mere fling born out of confusion?  Could Rick escape with Rena to a tropical island or are they both just fooling themselves on what is surely recognizable to a clear thinking person as nothing but a complete and total fantasy?   

Throughout Wasted Beauty, Bogosian writes with such a sharp eye for detail and with such a precise sardonic wit, the pages of my book became razor sharp, so sharp at times it was almost dangerous just to handle them.  Bogosian’s ability to pick up and absorb the everyday patterns and routines of certain people’s lives and then transform them into literary visions for his audience is extraordinary.  It’s like when you read something and then say, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”  At times Bogosian’s sense of perception and communication through language is so acute I’m reminded of Fitzgerald, although coming from a much more lurid, seedy angle.

If you’re familiar at all with Bogosian’s one man live performance shows then you’ll have a little bit of an advantage ahead of time when it comes to recognizing his brand of comedy and tragedy.  For new initiates to Bogosian’s twisted universe, it won’t take long to pick up on and become ensnared by Wasted Beauty’s story of two individuals standing at the edge of a cliff, about to fall off, performing a high wire act without a net.