WELCOME TO ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE

I’ve never been into what “everybody”—you know, the “cool” people like. You should have seen the looks I’d get in my Nixon administration high school years when someone one works ask what music I like, to size me up, and I’d say “Cab Calloway, Spike Jones, Frank Zappa . . .”

These days, I’d have to lead with Acid Mothers Temple.

I’d probably get the same looks, only more so. They would probably be accompanied by facial tics, twitching limbs, foaming at the mouth. Maybe they’ll just scream and run. And that's just in reaction to their name.

I like to describe their music as what the Establishment (remember them?) was afraid acid rock would be, only more so. There’s a definite psychedelic vibe, also electronic wailing that gets downright stark, raving sci-fi, complex structures that kick the guts out of the traditional rock’n’roll two and a half minute attention span, and on the rare incidents where there are vocals, they usually aren’t in English. Most of the time, there aren’t even words.

We’re talking music to write sci-fi by. A lot of my latest novel was written with it blasting away in the background.

They probably won’t become top 40 hits on anybody’s charts, win any awards, or even get played on the radio—as far as I know—but, oh baby, what they do to my brains and body! Language fails here. Invite the more adventurous to give them a listen. The rest of you can retreat to a safe place.

CHICANONAUTICA ON DONALD TRUMP, JOHN WAYNE, MEXICAN FOOD, AND THE IMPENDING ELECTION YEAR

Yup, all this in Chicanonautica, over at La Bloga:

Donald Trump:

John Wayne:

Mexican food:

And the impending election year:

SLICES OF FLEETING REALITY

 

It is a time of demolition, reconstruction, and deception.

More than ever, sometimes the static is the signal.

The reptile goddess wants you to go for a ride.

Do you have enough eyes to see true beauty?

All landscapes become post-apocalyptic as time goes by.

Let’s go thataway and take care of business.

CHICANONAUTICA BEHOLDS A MEXICAN HEADLESS HORSEMAN

It's a classic of Cinema Mexicana, in Chicanonautica, over at La Bloga.

Watch it if you want:

Not to be confused with the Texan headless horseman:

Directed by Chano Urueta:

He also directed this one:

PAPĺ SCI-FI VERSUS WRITING GURU

Hey, all you Latinoid writers, in order to be inspire you to get out there and tackle the science fiction/fantasy/horror megagenre, Somos en escrito and MeXicanos 2070 has asked me to teach a class at their 2023 Palabras del Pueblo Writing Workshop, and I’ve agreed to take the job. 

 

Yeah, those of you who have been following me know I've shot my mouth off a lot about how much I hate workshops and didn’t want to be a teacher because me and school got along so good. Here’s an example:

I really don’t want to give advice on how to be a writer. Most of the advice that has been passed on over the last few decades was muddle-headed to begin with, and now it’s just plain obsolete, except for maybe the writing section of Paul Riddell’s Greasing the Pan. And the last thing I want to be is somekinda guru – what I’m trying to be is an anti-guru.

 

Unfortunately, I am a writer in a way that most wannabes can’t imagine. I have a lot experiences bashing my brains out against the stonewall of the writing life. They may not be very educational, but they may have entertainment value.

 

What makes some misguided folks think I may be qualified is that I’ve managed to publish enough to earn me a reputation as an International Cult Author. Just ask those people who’ve said nice things about me in Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Greek. Now, if I could just get them to send me some money . . .

 

It hasn’t made me rich. Then, to be honest, it’s rare for a writer to get rich. If you know of any writers who have achieved a comfortable retirement because of their writing, let me know. Don’t be insulted if I don’t hold my breath.

 

I have known, and greatly admired, a number of people who have been able to make a living by writing. This is usually done by writing dull, routine stuff – formula fiction, nonfiction that a particular market demands. I wish I could do that, but my perceptions are so twisted that straight reportage comes out like surrealistic constructions, and when I try to hack genre stuff I get called avant garde! This does not get you regular, paying writing gigs.

 

I used to fret over the fact that I had to get a day job, and was denied the life of a true professional, but as the years went by, to my horror, I noticed my friends who made money as writers were subjected to hard times, health problems (without insurance), and never seemed to get ahead enough to get comfortable. I’d think someone was a prime example of a solid pro writer, then discover that they were practically homeless.

 

Also, as bizarre as it may seem, what’s always been the easiest thing for me to sell is the weirdest, most offbeat stuff. No one has ever told me, "If you could just tone it down a little." It’s more like, "Hey, Ernest, ya got anything really sicko?"

 

This is because writing is a crazy business. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is some kind of civilized activity.

 

I once heard Kristine Kathryn Rusch mention "scary Zen writing stuff" that she didn’t want to talk about. Actually, it’s more like voodoo, but only if you’re doing it right. I’m willing to talk about it. It’ll be scary, but good for some laughs.

 

Come to think of it, except for the typos I corrected, I still stand by that. I don’t wanna be a writing guru. I don’t believe in gurus of any kind.

 

So why am doing this?

 

If you haven’t noticed, the world, especially when it comes to writing, has undergone some radical changes.

 

Also, one of the cold, hard facts of this brave new world is that you can make more money from talking to people about writing than writing.

 

Feel free to gasp here.

 

That and my getting old have me yearning for the day when I can retire from my day job and spend the rest of my life writing the books I want to write, and otherwise running amok.

 

It’s either that or make sacrifices to Tezcatlipoca, Xochiquetzal, and whatever other Aztec deities have been watching over me to arrange for my next novel to be a worldwide bestseller and get a great deal for the film and/or TV rights. 

 

I’m also brimming over with the Ancient Chicano Sci-Fi Wisdom that I’m willing to share. And l’m funny. I determined to give the students their hard-earned money's worth.

 

So sign up for Papí Sci-Fi’s Ancient Chicano Sci-Fi Wisdom, my fellow imaginative Latinoids. Let’s not just intrude into the fantastic genre, let’s take over!