Photoalphabetical

Whenever I'm writing, I'm an utter jackdaw when it comes to pictures. I collect photographs and artwork and all manner of other files and stockpile them in esoteric folder arrangements all over my hard drive. They might be the perfect setting for a specific scene; they might have the right pair of shoes for a character to steal in a cat burglary; they might have nothing to do with the subject, but capture a mood perfectly.

Daily Coyote has just come to my attention. It stars a young coyote named Charlie who was found by a woman in Wyoming at a scant ten days old, both his parents dead at the hands of hunters. Physically, she reminds me of Ruby, a character in the third season of Supernatural. She sure has a talent for capturing unexpected and surreal moments, in addition to the too-easy "baby coyote is beautiful and cute!" stills.

If you live in the Washington, DC metro area, I'm envious -- there's a free exhibit through December 31st at the National Gallery about the evolution of snapshot photography, and the strangely marvelous images collectors have found amid all the new cars and prom dresses and poolside gags. It reminds me of perennial favorite Accidental Mysteries. I love the phrase that goes with pictures like this -- "vernacular photography."

While I combing Google, trying to determine whether American Apocalyptic was as "already taken" as American Gothic, I stumbled on Wink, what seems to be a mostly constant stream of images alternately impish and arresting. Comb through this and see if you get any ideas. All of the above are fantastic mood-setters.

Haunted by American dreams

Dear readers, you may have noticed that Unlined failed to happen in the second half of 2007. For that, I sincerely apologize. But, to look on the bright side, all this time off has given me a chance to collect my thoughts about how I'd like the litrag to progress. We'll probably be moving to a bi-annual release schedule, just to keep sanity and quality at fighting weight. Which leads me to my next announcement!

Sound the kazoos! The third issue of Unlined is officially opening up for submissions. The theme and title of the volume is American Apocalyptic. As with all issues of Unlined, I urge you not to take that prompt too literally: twist it around a little bit, play with it. I'm not explicitly looking for end of days disaster scenarios, but rather the strangenesses that become ordinary afterward.

There's a genre I've been noticing gaining popularity in the last few years: I call it post-apocalyptic Americana. In books, you have Neil Gaiman's American Gods, or Stephen King's Dark Tower series. In music, you have the rise of artists like Neko Case, Calexico, Iron & Wine, M. Ward and The Black Keys (and these are just a few of my favorites -- I promise I have more, if you need the inspiration!). In movies, you have O Brother, Where Art Thou?, as well as a growing number of Westerns coming back into vogue. My two favorite examples in television are Firefly and Supernatural. Getting ideas? I hope so! This blog will continue to feature examples of the genre, as well as discussions on the theme, for some time to come. Submissions are due Tuesday, January 29th, 2008. We want everything, so sock it to us, writers, artists, essayists, photographers, playwrights, videographers, poets, humorists, and postmodern multi-format defiers of description!