Flashback: Alzo Boszormenyi and the Acid Achievers show at Galaxy Hut 1997

Satan joins Alzo Boszormenyi and the Acid Achivers live on stage!

One song excerpt from a “legendary” Alzo gig at Galaxy Hut (Arlington, VA) on November 16, 1997. The one where Satan plays guitar with a copper pipe. Costumes, props, improvised rock jam, a horn section…a sample of the chaos of a typical Alzo show. Galaxy Hut was kind of our HQ, as it was the only place that would let us play regularly. We played all over the DC area, even the Black Cat, but only once at each venue. For the record, I’m the bass player in the far right corner, wearing a kachina mask hood. Well, it was supposed to be a kachina mask. Love how Alzo strolls through the door in Kerouac drag.

Watching this recently I noticed the paintings on the wall above the window. The one most clearly in evidence is part of my own collection of thrift store art, a piece I call “Two Indians Sneezing on Each Other.” So this video represents two flashbacks in one, as it also documents the Thrift Store Art show I curated at the bar, mostly featuring paintings from my collection. It took a long time for the “signature scent” of the Galaxy Hut (cigarette smoke and French fry grease) to dissipate from the art.

“Earth Remains Flat” video removed from YouTube

While reviewing my YouTube channel yesterday, I discovered that one of my earliest videos had been removed for “violating YouTube’s Terms of Service.” I never received prior notification of this removal, so I’m not sure when this actually happened. Checking out the video, I noticed it does include swastikas among the imagery, before they are mirrored and distorted into abstract, “asemic” shapes. I assume the appearance of swastikas alone was enough to justify the removal, because there’s nothing about the video that engages or discusses Nazis or fascism. Or “flat earth theory” for that matter.

The source for “Earth Remains Flat” is newsreel footage from WWII which represents Nazi war efforts, taken from a video series about the history of the war. Neither the original newsreel nor the video program were promoting fascism or Nazism. Likewise, my video was not promoting or glorifying any ideology or theory–neither Nazism or “flat earth theory.” Instead, “Earth Remains Flat” deconstructs–or detournes–the original newsreel footage using various video effects (including glitching and mirroring) to demonstrate the warping of truth and fact that accompanies the downfall of nations and cultures. Overlaying the imagery is an excerpt from a longer poem, also titled “Earth Remains Flat”: “earth remains flat/at the edge–as if/land ends/here.”

Here’s the complete poem:

“Earth Remains Flat” is part of a series of poems called “Civilization’s Lost,” which explores the fragility of nations, cultures and languages by examining lost cities and civilizations around the world. The poems in the series were published in a variety of literary journals, including Empty Mirror, BlazeVox, Futures Trading, Word 4/Word, Streetcake and Yggdrasil. Both the poem and the video for “Earth Remains Flat” were published in Otoliths #45, from 2017, along with several still images taken from the film. Neither the editor or anyone else has ever alerted me to an issue with the appearance of swastikas in the video.

YouTube cites their “Hate speech policy” as the reason for the removal of the “Earth Remains Flat” video: “Content that incites hatred against individuals or groups based on their protected group status isn’t allowed on YouTube. This may include inferiority claims and/or conspiracy theories. We review educational, documentary, artistic, and scientific content on a case-by-case basis. Limited exceptions are made for content with sufficient and appropriate context.” The video includes no “inferiority claims” or racism, and no “conspiracy theories” and has no content to “incite hatred” against anyone.

I initiated a “review” with YouTube, so we’ll see what comes from that. I suspect that there may not have been a complaint about the video, but that some AI may have detected the swastika and flagged the whole video.

Poem in Best of Mad Swirl Anthology #8

Recently received a nice email from Mad Swirl literary magazine announcing that my poem “Free Trip” will be included in their annual Best of Mad Swirl anthology for 2024. This anthology will present the best of 2024’s works posted on MadSwirl.com: art (4 artists, the best of each quarter), short stories (12 stories, the best of each month), and poetry (52 poems, the best of each week). The anthology is issued in print and digital versions; these have yet to be released, so stay tuned!

Video published in Ranger magazine #9

Ranger literary magazine released two issues this winter (!). I had poetry in issue #8. In issue #9, one of my glitch videos is included “That’s Edutainment.” Possibly could be filed under “video poetry”? You can check it out here. The video features music from Hearasay in Paradox Lust, a project which has a brand new Bandcamp page here.

Ranger literary magazine picks up where Angry Old Man (aka, Son of Angry Old Man) left off. It picks up the avant garde literary baton recently passed on by the now defunct Otoliths. Highly recommended.

Long poem excerpt published in Ranger magazine

I’ve been working on a long poem for a while now, a “sequel” to my earlier book And the Trillions. For those eagerly anticipating the release of And the Trillions Part 2, an excerpt has been published in Ranger magazine #8. The poem has certain distinct sections, and this one is called the “rag doll” section. You can check it out here. Here’s an excerpt of the excerpt:

Ranger literary magazine is the follow up to Angry Old Man (then Son of Angry Old Man), and is picking up where Otoliths left off as a kind of encyclopedic treatment of the international literary avant garde. Highly recommended.

Poems published in Ranger #7

A literary magazine for extreme experimental work, Ranger #7 was recently issued in September (alongside issue #6). Large eclectic roundup of interesting text, visual, video and musical work. I’m pleased to be represented in this issue by ten poems: “brass spittoons once so public,” “when you’re looking for answers,” “You’re trying to make, even if it’s just to have,” “There’s this way,” “tandem align,” “spatter. bits,” “Wooden Lightbulb,” “mass calculus,” “obligation,” and “window on the world to nowhere.” You can read them here.

Music video “Technobabylon” published in Ranger magazine

Ranger literary magazine released Issue #6 last month featuring a wide array of experimental text, visuals, video and music. I’m pleased to be represented with a glitch video with music by Hearasay in Paradox Lust, which includes “asemic” vocalizations. You can watch it here.