"In the depths of my heart I can't help being convinced that my dear fellow men, with few exceptions, are worthless." Sigmund Freud

"Humans fear reason when they ought to fear stupidity; for reason can be hard, but stupidity can be fatal." Goethe

"It is extraordinarily dangerous to believe that mankind as a whole will progress and grow stronger if individuals become flabby, equal, average." Frederick Nietzsche, The Will To Power

"I love Deal Niamond!" Rosa Moore

Hey

To quote Johnny Winter, it's nice to be back. Last issue was the Scarefest special, been over a month since our last regular issue. Let's get to it, shall we?

Lots of mail in the old mail bag since issue Scrapyard Thing, I already addressed a lot of them individually, seems like I get a lot more comments on the online issues when there are good visuals as well. To address some of the others, yes, DFZ is a suplexing machine, and yes, he is a muscled up old bastard, except he's not that old, he's only eight-

(I GOT MORE THAN EIGHT)

-I was talking about your age, I'm the poor crippled up motherfucker who's about to turn 52. Also got numerous comments about Bill "working" in a scrapyard, how it could provide the Bill's Dad/crazy ass Al and Robbie type humor that's been missing for a while (I still mss my Dad like fuck).

Maybe, but I'm not getting many hours there at all, only when Phill has to miss for doctor appointments, I've gotten a total of fifteen hours the past three weeks, cos due to this damn economy, the bottom has dropped out of the scrap business. A few examples, when I started two months ago, copper (#1 copper, that is) was $3.20/pound, it's now $1.50, stainless was .75 a pound, it's now .25, aluminum, or aloomeyum, ranged from .63 to .75 depending on the type, it's now .20 to .25, and cars were $10/hundred pounds, they're now $5. That's the non-ferrous metals, the ferrous prices have dropped even worse. Sally's now sitting on a yard full of stuff she paid more for than she can sell it for. Not good. The scrapyards in Lincoln and Jackson counties have already shut down.

Still . . . Ronnie came in the other day I was there-

Ronnie: I took my scription for anti-pression medicine down to K-mark last night, you know how much if cost me?! 
Bill: No, but say that again. 
R: What? I took my scription for anti-pression medicine down to K-Mark? 
B: Thanks.

Later he was talking about television-

R: I was watching that show, "Stars That Like To Dance", man, that one lady on there, Florence Beachum, she's too damn old! 
B: Yes, she is.

Lastly, got another fan letter, always enjoy them, worried that the increasing gaps between issues means the old NL (and its aging writer) are running out of steam. Heaven forfend. How could I let down someone who writes "I love how you often refer to yourself in the third person, and to DFZ as another person entirely"-

(I AM ANOTHER PERSON ENTIRELY)

-hush, and how much he enjoys "your profane exasperation wth the world". Substitute "blinding rage" for "exasperation" (which is a great word, though) and I think you may've hit the nail on the head.

In the time since last real issue, Aline came in for three and a half weeks, always lovely to have her here, beside the fact that I enjoy her company, she does a good job of deflecting my Mom off of my ass. Aline's grieving again cos worthless ass Tracy is back in jail (them fucking drugs, again), I hate it for her, but as far as I'm concerned, it's where the fucker belongs. Some people, no matter how well they were raised, or how much those who love them try to help, are just no good, and he's one. But again, I do hate it for Aline, cos she is as good a soul as you'll ever find.

I met Aline's daughter Teresa (she's not my sweet Denise, but a lovely girl nontheless, and I'll bet Teresa could give a man a good ride, herself)) in Wytheville last Wednesday, passed off Aline AND MY MOM, I'll be going down to Rock Hill the weekend of the 8th to pick her up. Stopped on the way back and saw Rachie, took her out to eat (Chili's, I got the margarita chicken, not bad, she got the buffalo ranch chicken sandwich, it looked realy good- Rach said it was excellent- but not something I could eat unless I was actually sitting on the crapper), and bought her some gas and groceries, I've said it before, but I'm loving how close Rachel is now (in fact, she's about a dozen feet from me as I type this, having come in for the weekend).

It's been really nice having my Mom in South Carolina, I won't lie. She was complainng to Aline while she was here about how I'm always in such a bad mood, and how short I get with her sometimes. Aline suggested maybe she should just leave me the fuck alone some, then (I'm sure those weren't her exact words), saying, "You smother him, Dot," (well put) which got nothing but an angry denial from my Mom. Aline was telling me about the conversation later, saying she had tried, but, "You just can't talk to her, anymore." Tell me something I don't know.

Rosa, who's been around my Mom a lot lately, commented (from her own observation, not from my bitching) since last issue, "Your mother is really manipulative." Yes, she really is. Which is my burden to bear, I understand, but it's nice sometime to get confirmation, that it's not all just Bill being an ill tempered prick, which I certainly can be.

Chris and Debbie went to Okinawa on the third to do some very intense Karate (much respect to them both), I think they came back this week, but I'm not sure. Of course, the way my brain has been, they may have said they were going to Oklahoma to play with Barbie's and will be back for Christmas.

I've really hit the wall with my own workouts. I switch them around a lot anyway, so I don't get bored, and so I can maximize the effort I'm putting in, but lately, I don't want to do ANYTHING. I'm still working out- have to- but I'm hating it like I never have before.

On lift days I usually drink some skim milk with protein powder (vanilla) in it after I work out, for about the past month I've also been adding some orange flavor fiber powder- okay, it's Metamucil, left over from when my Dad was still kicking. I put 24 oz. of milk in the blender, the fiber powder is supposed to be one teaspoon in 8 oz so I've been adding a tablespoon. Earlier this week, Mister Brain Power here, added three tablespoons. Jesus- that shit almost set up in the blender. It wouldn't even pour, I ended up having to eat it out of the blender with a spoon. It was nasty, too. But fibery.

Went down to Joe's that night, drank some Sierra Nevada pale ale and smoked some Cuban rejects, kept waiting for all that fiber to kick in out there on the dock, but it never did.

Spoke to my boy Jason last week, gonna have lunch with him on Monday, looking forward to it.

Two snakes are crawling through the jungle.

First snake: Are we venomous, or constrictors? 
Second snake: Why do you ask? 
First snake: I just bit my lip.

Anyone who calls it "vokka" isn't selling any to me.

What's Bill been reading? Some good stuff, The Sky People by SM Stirling (good SF), Frames by Loren Estelman (good mystery) also a couple Ian Rankins, one of his series mysteries set in Edinburgh (I say this every time, but I've got to get back there) and a thriller, Rankin's stuff is uniformly good, never read a bad one, Resolution (sequel to Appaloosa) and Killstraight (good westerns). Also read Ernest Borgnine's autobiography, he comes across as a very nice guy, no surprise, nor were his takes on lots of the folks he mentions in his book, according to EB, Gary Cooper and Spencer Tracy were both class acts, Lee Marvin was a hard drinking smart ass (Lee latched the screen door Tracy's stunt double was supposed to knock Ernie through in Bad Day at Black Rock- great picture- so Ernie damn near kills himself smashing down this locked door, and Marvin damn near kills himself laughing), but also a genuine hard guy, also legit tough as hell was Charles Bronson, as were Robert Ryan and Ben Johnson. They just don't make 'em like that anymore.

Nor do they make 'em like The Golden Girls of MGM, another on Bill's reading list, I woudn't have minded taking Lana Turner or Ava Gardner out for a spin, probably wouldn't have been that difficult a manuver, if you can believe this book, all them MGM girls liked to do it, seems like all the MGM stars spent most of their time screwing one another, but they don't seem to have had a lot of fun at it.

Let's see, also autobios by Bob Newhart, fluff, but not too bad, and one by Ronnie Wood. I've never seen or read anything by any of the Rolling Stones where they don't come across as self absorbed dicks, and this is more of the same.

Also read a book about making movies, and a workout book by Eric Heiden (he's a doctor now), but I didn't glean anything useful from it, sadly, a bunch of graphic novels, one World of Warcraft one, I couldn't get into it, I'm not big on elves and trolls and shit, some Ultimate FFs that were really good, and a couple Ultimate X-Men that were okay.

"You blithering idiot! It's not time to dance, it's time to destroy!" Dr. Gori

Watched my Spectreman DVDs, he's not as sleek as Ultraman, got sort of a boxy head with a spike on top, and they're WAY too worked up about pollution in this series (although if I lived in Tokyo in 1971 when this was made, I'd probably have been worked up about it as well), but the main villain Dr. Gori is a hoot, he's this blond headed alien ape scientist who looks like Andy Warhol, the episodes have great titles like "Watch the Thunder Gei, the Flying Whale", "Violent Charge Of The Duel Bladed Monster, Gilligand", "The Titanic Monster Dustmaman Appears" and "Stop The Monster Train"-

(STOP IT? I WANT TO RIDE IT)

-ride it hell, you're the conductor. I also have a nostalgic soft spot for this show as I first saw it on TBS around '80 or so, and as we're all told in here far too often, I do so very miss those days. Although on the box it says its the complete series, it's more like 12 out of 63, 12 episodes are still certainly better than none.

Lonliness is a cloak you wear . . .

What's else has Bill been watching? I watch next to no TV anymore, and am completely embarrassed to admit how much you.tube I watch, although all I ever watch on it is wrestling or music. So, along those lines, I recommend you check out the All Japan Champions Carnival 1997 (I'm such a puroreso geek I could name all the teams), and The Walker Brothers quite bizarre black and white video for the excellent "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore."

Reminds me, got a good response to the Tom Jones poll of issue Scrapyard, I'm sure Joe linking the videos to the NL had a lot to do with it, good job Joe, I have to say '69 Tom spanked '65 Tom's ass, 21 votes to 6.

Something else you should all be watching is Johnny Boy, I've got a box of the DVDs at the house, already sold over twenty, got about that many left, so if you want one, get in touch. Rachel watched it with a bunch of her dorm mates and it got unanimous good reviews from all, JB, and BB, were both over as fuck, I got a whole new fan club of college girls in Athens now. Sweet.

I'm told the DFZ book is still at the printers (which I think is in China, legit). I often dream about the Death Falcon-

(I IMAGINE LOTS OF PEOPLE DO)

-had one last week where I was in a book store wth whole racks of DFZ Vs. books, the covers were all insanely great, the two I can still remember were DFZ Vs. the Humbolt Giants, who were these big fuckers with slick gray hides, like whales, and DFZ Vs. Ariel Formaldehyde, who looked like a cross between Dracula and Gorgeous George.

In real world DFZ news, had a decent match with Max Rock (DFZ over with the OD), then the next week, worked a cage match in the fucking dark (more typical XMCW planning) at Camp Virgil Tate for the KC Fair, the lack of lighting especially annoying since the Johnny Boy crew came up to film it. They're coming back to film the Nov 1 show at Ayash, I keep stressing to Allen how he really needs to actually put some thought into it (hard for him I know, and I'm not being deliberately snide) and book a good show, not wait and just throw something together half assed that night, like he normally does.

I'm going to stress the issue with him some more when I see him tomorrow, where he's got us booked to again work outside- on October 25th, again, who's idea was THAT?- which is going to be cold as fuck, even if it's not raining, like Tony Cavalier says it's going to be. THINK, dude, that's all I'm asking.

Also working for someone, I'm not sure who- Brian got us the booking- in Bluefield on the 8th, so my Athens fan club can come out and see the DFZ, then afterward Rach and I can head on down to Rock Hill.

Gonna go, hungover pretty bad (Bombay gin), I feel like if I went to bed now, even though it's early, I could sleep, so I'm going to give it a shot.

"If you want a picture of the future imagine a boot stamping on a human face- forever." George Orwell, 1984

Any closing words from you?

(DO YOU NOT FEAR AN INCINDIERY'S PUNISHMENT?)

Nah.

(ME NEITHER).

Later

Bill