Excerpt from an exchange with a fact checker

Men's Journal interviewed me for an article about West Asheville a few weeks ago. I started off the interview by telling the journalist that I really don't want anybody else to find out about this place, but I would talk to her about it anyway.

A fact checker just called today, to like, check on some facts:

FACT CHECKER: ...and I wanted to verify that you refused to share information about your favorite hiking trails in the area?

ME: Yeah, that sounds about right.

Fell in love again with a once lost treasure.

"...and I can't understand why
something good's got to die
before we miss it."
Shannon Hoon, 1967-1995


behind a truck stop, is thinking
Hoon in the "No Rain" Video, for which Blind Melon is probably best known.

Axl Rose, a friend of Hoon's sister, touches heads with Hoon in a video from the double album, Use Your Illusion, in which Hoon performed backing vocals on several tracks. It was Hoon's first lick of stardom.
Hoon, Stage Right, on "Don't You Cry"

Hoon died on October 21, 1995, leaving behind his 13 week old daughter Nico. The album Nico, a posthumous release of various recordings he left behind, donates its proceeds to both his daughter and to drug abuse programs for musicians.

I am grateful I have Soup in my paws again, having been without it for more than a decade. I am grateful to have known about the album at all, I found it by accident. It's one of those gems that was for the most part, overlooked, and not talked about much. It's as good as it was when I heard it the first time, and there's a lot I loved back then that I just can't hang with these days.

I won't whine about what's been lost. But if I die and don't get to see what all these young and dead musicians have been up to since they'd left, then I must be somewhere besides heaven. I'll leave you with that poem by Blanche Bridge, which Hoon had carved into his arm.


God's Presents was written by Blanche Bridge on February 11, 1884
(Recorded February 11, 1995)

GOD'S PRESENTS

If my path be smooth or rugged
If with thorns or roses strewn
Where I go the Father seeith
And He will leave me not alone

If I take the wings of morning
far within the silent sea
Even there His hand will lead me
Even there my God will be

Though the gloom of night be round me
Though I cannot see my way
Yet the Lord will see and guide me
Because unto Him the night is day

If my thoughts are good or evil
Set me think to hide them not
there is one above all seeing
And He beholdth every thought

And ever more my eyes beholds me
And all my ways to Him are known
And His loving arms enfolds me
He will leave me not alone

Dead astronaut shakes hands with dead poet.

The artist's self portrait.

It's been ten days since my last post. It's been four months since my favorite painter/printmaker's last blog post. She recently shook hands and perhaps flirted with Frank O'Hara and felt compelled to blog about it. You can read more about Gus's artwork in an article about a collaboration between she and I here, and about her current show at Harvest Records here.


Gussin' up for a date with a raging fire in a command module.

From our Rep in San Diego

Worthy project. Please participate, it's easy.

Greetings Valued Retailers, friends, and family,

This is awesome! It's a grassroots stimulus plan for independent brick & mortar retailers.

Have you heard about the recent online campaign that brings together vendors, small business owners and consumers?

It’s called The 3/50 Project. The project is based on the idea that independent specialty stores are important to our economy and can be saved from extinction if consumers take ownership and pledge to shop them!

Consumers are asked to choose their 3 favorite retail stores and spend $50 a month (total) at them. If half of the employed US population did this it would generate 42.6 BILLION dollars in revenue! The best part is that 68% of that money goes back into the local economy.

How you can get involved:
Go to www.the350project.org and pledge your support.

While you are there, check out the Resources page where you can print flyers, signs and request a free store window cling. Please download the pdf file attached, it's the press release for Project 350, and a very interesting read.

Forward this email on to your customers and friends

Creating positive change has never been so easy!

Book-o-philes compare us to our heros!

McSweeney's? For real? Do you not realize that they are gods among men?
All has come full circle, we can now rest easy in our mortal graves.

This came from a newsletter sent by Asheville's most awesome independent bookstore, Malaprops, a place where we have been trying to get our cards in for years now. It took our NC sales rep, Steve, to get our foot in the door, it happened just recently, and Steve reports it is already their best selling card line.

Here it go:

We’re carrying a new line of cards from local letterpress company, Blue Barnhouse. These cards are beautiful, whimsical, and often darkly funny. If you’re a fan of McSweeney’s books, you’ll love the design and sentiments on these cards. Blue Barnhouse has a very strong local following. If you’re not familiar with their work, ask us about them next time you visit and we’ll lead you to them.