Brad C. Hodson
A writer who still thinks the word "blog" sounds like something dirty.
They Just Don’t Riot Like They Used To
I remember watching the Los Angeles Riots in the early nineties. As a kid in East Tennessee, it might as well have been footage from Mars. I’d never seen anything like the bubbling anger and resentment that poured into the streets and erupted in fire. Years later, I’d see old footage of the Watts riot. I’d see news coverage of protesters in Egypt and Libya march for freedom on their capitals. I’d see people buckling under oppression and refusing to take it anymore.
Now those were some riots.
But these kids today…
Wednesday night there was supposed to be a concert in Hollywood. DJ Kaskade was supposed to show. Thousands of teenagers turned out only to find that the show had been cancelled.
And they rioted.
Nazi-Butt Kicking: A Review of Captain America
When I was kid growing up in the eighties, there were two things I knew with absolute certainty:
(1) I was fat and awkward
(2) America was the good guys in the world
405 – A Story for Carmageddon
In honor of Carmageddon and the closing of the 405, I’ve dug out an old story. This was originally published in CHIMERAWORLD 4 in 2006. While I’d had a few magazine articles published and some short films made before this, “405” is the first piece of fiction I’d ever sold. While I’d like to think I’ve become a much better writer since then, I still think this story is fun and sums up how most of us feel when stuck in gridlock traffic.
And for a real horror story on the Los Angeles freeway system, read about the time a lunatic pulled a pistol on me in traffic: LOS ANGELES AND ROAD RAGE ARE LIKE PB&J.
Here’s the story. Hope you enjoy!
The Ludus
Anyone interested in unconventional diet and exercise advise (or who is in the Los Angeles area and looking for an effective, fun, and challenging workout) should head over to THE LUDUS. I just posted an article there on fat loss titled SCREW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. Enjoy!
http://theludus.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/screw-conventional-wisdom/
There’s also two additional articles answering a reader email:
http://gladiatorconditioning.com/2011/08/14/a-weighty-question/
Lady Haverley’s Peculiar Musings on the Tribulations of Common Happenstance
Lady Haverley’s Peculiar Musings on the Tribulations of Common Happenstance
by
The Honorable Lady Haverley, Sixteenth Baroness Dunberry
(The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author, who writes from the 19th century and leaves her manuscripts in a mystical mailbox on Highgate Street that then delivers them to the present day P.O. Box of the New York Times. Scientists are still attempting to discover how, but believe it has to do with either wormholes or Faeries.)
Summer Makes Me Think of Cold War Propaganda
On the 4th of July, several of us got together to grill out. We took it as a “cheat day” and sat aside our healthy eating plans for a day of chili dogs and pie. And more chili dogs. And more pie.
And yet, as fun as it was, it didn’t quite feel like Independence Day. Sure, this was how most of America celebrated the 4th, but we needed more. We needed something to put us in the spirit. We needed some goddamned patriotism.
We needed Rocky IV.
Los Angeles and Road Rage Are Like PB&J
Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter.
-Dante Alighieri’s proposal for a freeway entrance sign
I’m sitting in traffic on the 101 trying to get to work. “Traffic” isn’t really the right word. “Traffic” implies some type of locomotion. I am instead parked on the world’s largest used car lot.
The man in the pickup truck next to me is blaring that type of Mexican music with horns and accordions that restaurants are required by law to play while the woman behind me is on her phone as she applies lipstick. She a typical Beverly Hills trophy wife, more plastic than flesh, likely yammering away to her lawyer about how legitimate her prenup is since her husband hasn’t had an erection without chemical aid since the Carter administration.
I Need a Throne of Skulls
I need a throne of skulls. It’s that obvious. How is a man of my temperament supposed to operate in this day and age without a throne of skulls? It’s ridiculous to think that I could be the successful freelance writer that I am without having a throne of skulls, but somehow I’ve done it. The question is: how long can I keep this up without a throne of skulls?
The author contemplating what to have for lunch. Read More
The 2011 Bram Stoker Awards
The 2011 Bram Stoker Awards were held recently by the Horror Writers Association. Several close friends of mine won awards and I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate them. Here is a list of winners from the HWA’s site (www.horror.org):
HWA Announces 2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners
Superior Achievement in a NOVEL
A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub
Superior Achievement in a First Novel (tie)
BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas
Superior Achievement in a Collection
FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)
Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck
Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston
HWA 2010 SPECIALTY PRESS AWARD GOES TO DARK REGIONS PRESS
ANGEL LEIGH McCOY AWARDED 2010 SILVER HAMMER AWARD
MICHAEL COLANGELO AWARDED 2010 RICHARD LAYMON AWARD
I highly recommend checking out any of these books. While I haven’t yet made the complete rounds through them myself, I can vouch for many of them. My friend and mentor Lisa Morton is among the best writers working in the field today and her CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES is one of those rare books that you find yourself having a difficult time putting down. Gary Braunbeck is also a master of the genre and TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS ranks up there with King’s DANSE MACABRE as an in-depth analysis of what not only makes horror tick but also what makes it so appealing. Benjamin Kane Ethridge is also proving himself to be a force to be reckoned with and, aside from just being a damn nice guy, writes like a demon. HAUNTED LEGENDS is filled great stories if you’re looking for some shorter work.
As much as I love King and Straub, do yourself a favor and check out some of the other authors on this list. You can find them on Amazon.
Brad C. Hodson is a writer living in Los Angeles. His stories have appeared in anthologies alongside Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk, George RR Martin, and many more of his literary heroes. For a listing of his literary and film work, please check out his Bibliography at https://brad-hodson.com/bibliography/
Working for David Lynch
I work for David Lynch.
Like faith in God or the existence of UFO’s, I believe this to be true despite the lack of any evidence.
Let me describe my work week to you.
Brad C. Hodson 