Today…
New Potty Mouth this afternoon…
Person(s) of Interest: Harlan Ellison
I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream. Jeffty Is Five. A Boy And His Dog. The City On The Edge Of Forever. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman.
And, in September 2024, The Last Dangerous Visions.
There haven’t been many other writers that have dominated my reading time like Harlan Ellison. When I discovered his work in the early 80’s, the drug-like effect of his prose was indescribable, and quite nearly addictive. I have nearly every short story collection, most of the novels, adaptations of his work in graphic novel form and soon, all of us will finally get our hands on the final collection of his editorial series, Dangerous Visions. I’m not going to get into the delays and startstops of this volume, but thanks to J. Michael Straczynski, it’ll arrive this fall.
I am very much not looking forward to the online discussions about his life and works that will inevitably bubble forth. It’s gonna be a bit of a clusterf*ck. Mark my words.
Check out his work - It’s worth your time.
Cool Thing: The Masters
Golf is in a weird place. The PGA and the LIV and the Saudis and gambling and new golf balls and all manner of controversies and nonsense gobble up all the headlines now, and it’s exhausting. And I really don’t care.
20 years ago today, I was in Augusta with my brother Rob, and we had the pleasure of hanging out in town, eating and drinking at excellent restaurants, soaking up the Goergia blueblood vibes. We attended the practice round and were astonished by the stunning landscapes of the course and the very surprisingly cheap food/drinks/merch. Every moment of the week was happy and fun and relaxed and unforgettable.
I’m not a bad golfer, but certainly not a good one. I’m not a golf freak, and I only play about 4-5 times per year. It’s expensive, a timesuck and can be miserable if the weather does not cooperate.
Regardless, I love the freaking Masters.
Band o’the day: Black Sabbath - (click for the artist’s main online hub)
Ozzy and Co. scared the hell out of me when I first encountered them. An old friend’s older brother played the first album a LOT when I’d sleep over, and to a 9-year-old, the title track off the debut sounded like a horror movie soundtrack. So I avoided them until mid-high school. Then Ozzy leaves/gets kicked out, and in comes a dude with possibly the best voice I’d ever heard. Ronnie James Dio took over on 1980’s Heaven and Hell, and I never looked back. It was only recently when I finally dug into the Ozzy Sabbath catalog, and holy shit, that is some wild stuff. I saw Sabbath live, as well as Dio, and my ears are still ringing (seriously - it was either Sabbath or Judas Priest at Maple Leaf Gardens that gave me tinnitus). I’m gonna go with a Dio Sabbath track here. The two albums they did together are epic and heavy and awesome, and I never ever tire of them. Here’s Die Young - a perfect example of what I’m talking about. And I do mean perfect:
If you’re new here, welcome! Here at Permanent Waves, I write a little blurb about every single band and solo artist in my Spotify Artist list. This newsletter will also serve as a journal, documenting each step of creating a more purposeful life with commitments to ideas and projects I have bored all of my friends with over the past half decade. The last few years have been a blur, and I’m starting this year by working on the discipline to make the things in my head real, or at least attempt to see if they can eventually walk on their own.
See you soon!