2010 (Don't let the door smack you in the ass and cripple you on the way out) a reflection

"Did I ever tell you about Cossack Justice?" asked Gavin. "How the Cossacks used to test young boys they captured in battle? If they couldn't piss over a horse's back, they threw them off a cliff."
"And if they could?"
Gavin leaped down from the trunk. "They threw them off a cliff."
-Jerry Stahl, Cossack Justice

I thought the quote best emphasized my experiences in 2010.
No matter how hard I worked, no matter how much good stuff I put out, the world simply decided to treat me like a little boy captured by the Cossacks.
Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all bad. In fact, most of it was downright great. But for some reason or another, (Okay, there was only one reason) all the good was beaten down with athletic socks stuffed to overflowing with cow flop.
But the major irritant in my life that was causing all this trouble is long gone and I feel nothing short of amazing.
But I'm ready.
I'm ready for this shit hole of a year to be long gone and tonight as I eat elk steaks and drink copious amounts of beer with the wife and our friends the Kerby's, I hope you'll all raise a glass with me and toast the demise of 2010 and welcome 2011 with a sloppy five second frencher.
Happy New Year.

My personal Top Ten

I got the idea for this little list from Anthony Neil Smith over at Day Labor. (Yeah, you know, the official blog of Crimefactory) If you haven’t read the post yet, pop over right HERE and give it a gander. But what Neil did was put together a personal top ten of things he dug through out the year, and I figured, what the hell, maybe it would make a decent post for old Bloody Knucks

So here’s my personal top ten:

10) Writing for Spinetingler

Hard to believe my whole relationship with Lindenmuth started after he completely trashed my first short story in Plots with Guns. It’s been a blast, and it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for this seminal publication

9) Family Guy

This is the rock of my nightly broadcasted entertainment. Peter Griffin never gets old

8) Blue Wasabi

Me and the wife’s favorite restaurant. Awesome fusion sushi place/martini bar a couple of miles from our place. Martini’s and raw fish make an awesome combo.

7) Shock Top

I’m not a huge fan of wheat beer (or anything manufactured by Coors) but damn, on a hot day (which is pretty frequent in Phoenix) nothing tastes better than this crisp brew.

6) My Stromboli

I make it once or twice a month. The very definition of comfort food

5) My iPad

I write, read, game, listen to music, and once I have the keyboard (This is a not so subtle hint to the wife of what I want for Christmas.) it’s going to completely replace the laptop.

4) Getting to meet Cam

It was cool cruising around the desert with Smashley as my co-pilot and getting to map out the direction of Crimefactory for the next year.

3) Getting laid off from my job

It was a shock at first, it threw our lives into turmoil, but now that I’m a couple of weeks removed from the event itself, I’m actually kind of glad it happened. After six years, the truth is I was burnt out and I was on cruise control most days, counting the hours until I could get home so I could write and hang out with my family. It’s true what they say, sometimes things happen for a reason

2) Crimefactory

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m still—yeah even after a year—floored by the response the magazine has received, the quality of work we’ve been publishing and the strides me, Cam, and Liam are trying to make in order to make CF even better than it has been. 2011 is going to be a great year and I hope you all stick around to see what we’re going to do next.

1) My wife and daughter.

Yeah, Mrs. Rawson and our little girl rock.