Hanging on the Porch October 17, 2005 – Posted in: Aberrant Normalcy, Sybil's Garage

From the reading pile: About 100 Submissions so far, 89 rejections mailed out, and about 14 maybes. If that doesn’t add up, then perhaps it means someone is sneaking stories into the pile. Who is it? You? You?

Is it me, or is there a whole lot of new publications springing up recently? I remember perhaps a year or two ago when sending out stories I said, nope, sent to that one already, nope, there are no markets for this story. And now, when I look at Ralan.com I see dozens of new publications all the time. I believe this is a good thing, however, let’s hope that most of them stick around. It’s very easy to start a magazine. It’s much harder to finish.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Hans at his home. Jim was the creator of a magazine in the 70s called Time Machine, not to mention a talented artist and avid collector. I sat with him for an hour asking him about his life and experiences creating a magazine in Hoboken, but I felt I could have been there for a week and still missed out on things.

Jim founded the Hoboken Historical Museum, and his house is the only one in Hoboken, NJ with a porch (because his wife is from Georgia.) Here you can see the morning glories running up the side. (PS, these pics will be in the next issue of Sybil’s Garage, but because you’re such a faithful reader of my blog I’m giving you an advanced viewing.) The full interview will be available in issue number 3.

On Friday my sister was “revealed” for her stint on “What Not To Wear” and my family and I all met her in a bar called Sutra, which is located at First Ave and First Street in Manhattan (the Nexus of the Universe.) She came out to much applause, twirled flamboyantly, then smiled as everyone crowded around her to compliment her. My cousin and other sister prodded me to get in from of the camera to say something about my sister, but I hid. Yet, the producer heard, “The brother is here? We were looking for you.” I know, I thought. That’s why I was laying low. They pulled me in front of the camera. “Free Tibet!” I should have shouted or “Peace on Earth!” Instead I just praised my sister and told the world how good she looks.

And, at the risk of repeating myself, I’m really digging the Maximo Park CD, A Certain Trigger. Think Rush meets Bloc Party, meets Sex Pistols meets Devo. English new punk emo techno pop math rock blah blah blah. It’s good, so listen to it. And leave me a comment if you like it. I know nothing about them either, but I have a feeling I will soon.