Today's Dust

Barefoot and sprinting through some desert—
sharpened weeds and cacti and occasional lone flower
go about the business of bending for the wind.
By midday, the body’s chest heaves again, sweat

bursts into the world wherever the body
lets it. How long, how hard the sun hits.
How blistered and torn the feet
on hot sand, how red the face, how tears or sweat

burn eyes in the rush, the speed
of the body and always the wind. The only sound
the rhythmic pounding of feet
against sand. Ahead the illusion of water

or woman, the blurry shaping
a way out, a way into another country
where wind is carnivorous and sand
a puff of smoke. But still the running, still

the subtle grace, an end of knowing. At dusk
a slight ringing in the ear, a sharp
pain in the side, muscles tearing
in the heat of thighs, bloody feet: each a reason

to keep at it, the possibility of what the body
can do. And in the false distance
the focus, unwavering and unconscious—
a lone, withered flower flutters a little.


There are 264 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Looking to Land" Named Track of the Week

"Looking to Land" was selected as the "Track of the Week" in the Spoken Word genre by www.GarageBand.com. It's moving up the charts: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 301 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"One Shot at the President" named Track of the Day by GarageBand.com

The et cetera et cetera track "One Shot at the President" was selected as the "track of the day" on March 2, 2008, by www.GarageBand.com. Check it out here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

Visit www.scottsiders.com to get your grubby little hands on Scott's new spoken word double CD.

There are 319 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

More Recognition for "Tom"

Members of GarageBand.com voted "Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy" as having the best lyrics in the Spoken Word genre last week. So that's nice. Y'all should really buy a copy of the double CD. It's really quite good. I swear. Have I ever lied to you? Be a pal and buy it easily and securely at www.scottsiders.com.

There are 336 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Tom" is Track of the Week

"Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy" was named the "Track of the Week" by www.GarageBand.com. It's moving up the charts: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 336 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

"Looking to Land" named Track of the Day by GarageBand.com

The et cetera et cetera track "Looking to Land" was selected as the "track of the day" today by www.GarageBand.com. Check it out here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 340 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

GarageBand.com Selects "Dis" for Track of the Day

"Dis," a track from et cetera et cetera, was named "track of the day" today by www.garageband.com. You can listen to the track and write a short review at http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders.

There are 355 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Track of the Day

"Thomas Edison Was a Really Cool Guy," a track from et cetera et cetera, was named "track of the day" yesterday by www.garageband.com. If you have a minute, please go to http://www.garageband.com/artist/ScottSiders to post a review.

There are 362 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Farmhouse Magazine

More news on the publishing front: The online literary journal http://www.farmhousemagazine.com just published "Treasure Map 1," a long poem I wrote this year. It will be featured in Farmhouse Magazine's January/February issue. The exact link is http://farmhousemagazine.com/16Psiders.html.

There are 383 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Flask & Pen

Just a quick bit of news: The online literary journal http://www.flaskandpen.com/ published a poem I wrote, called “After the Reception.” Check it out. The exact link is http://flaskandpen.com/?p=113. Leave a positive comment. Leave a negative one. Either way, you’ll be helping out the cause (cause to be named later).

There are 397 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Finally Hits the Streets!

My new spoken world double CD et cetera et cetera featuring Josh Skelton has finally been released. Check it out now at www.scottsiders.com. You can listen to selected tracks, view CD details, and purchase it securely via PayPal on my site.

There are 404 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Update & The Laptop That Did Not Die Gracefully

For my one or two readers . . . Here’s an update on the record: “et cetera et cetera” officially went into production at the duplicator’s yesterday. This means that the release date actually will be in mid-December. For once, I’m not a liar (I’ll be a liar again soon, I promise). Check back for an update on the exact release date next month. You know what this means, folks. Do the math. “et cetera et cetera” will be on sale before the holidays, and it makes a terrific stocking stuffer for little Timmy.

In other news, my laptop shit the bed last week. The hard drive was French fried (I’m convinced the Bush administration had something to do with it—if so, I guess it was freedom fried). I had to replace the hard drive and basically start from scratch. Luckily, I had all of my important files (including confidential documents and secret eye-witness testimony proving who killed JFK) backed up on an external hard drive, so I didn’t lose anything irreplaceable.

I’m thinking about starting up one of those Meetup groups in Long Beach for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the like. Trouble is, I’ve never been very good at organizing things (except for that Million Man March a few years back). Anyhow, it seems like a good way to network and get more exposure for my company, Novo, Inc. In the meantime, I’ll be building my business Web site that will hopefully go-live early next year (I know, I know . . . I’ve predicted things in the past that have turned out to be wildly different from my original estimation, but I think February is a reasonable goal to shoot for).

There are 418 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

“Et Cetera Et Cetera” Shipped & We Moved All Our Crap to Long Beach

The record is officially done. My double spoken word CD “et cetera et cetera” was finally shipped off to the duplicator today. This project began with me recording the spoken word pieces in March 2006. I believe that’s 21 months in the making. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears (and complaining, shouting, and nervous frustration). I’ve been giving people estimated release dates for several months now, but I can now say (with confidence) that “et cetera et cetera” will be released and on sale in the first part of December (I’ll know the exact date soon). You’ll be able to purchase it securely through PayPal by going to scottsiders.com on the day it is released and, alternately, purchase it on cdbaby.com and amazon.com a few weeks later.

In other news, we moved from Huntington Beach to Long Beach this past weekend. It was annoying and exhausting, but at least it’s over. We really dig our new place. We’re three blocks from the beach and it’s just a 10-minute walk downtown. Plus, there’s a little kid here who won’t shut up until you slam the door in her face. Needless to say, we’ve become fast friends and we’re getting along famously.

The best thing I saw this weekend? Half of a pizza just off the sidewalk, soggy and slumped in the grass. It was delicious.

I’ll write again when “et cetera et cetera” hits the streets and my new and improved Web site goes live.

There are 433 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Lots of Talk About Britney, But None About Me

So, yes, it’s been a long time since I posted something on this blog. I’ve been busy.

We were in New York for 10 days in September for a wedding, after which we traveled around visiting friends and family. I could write about all of our exploits but, alas, I’m too tired and you’re not that interested. Suffice to say that it was a whirlwind trip and that Woodstock is a good place to have a wedding. Oh, and I ran into John Lequizamo in NYC. That was cool. He said I have the face of a writer (see: a face for radio), and to never, ever think about being on camera—never, ever.

I turned 31 on October 3. Yip-yaw and who the fuck cares. It’s just one more click on the slow, agonizing march towards 40. Not to sound too morose but, yeah, everything after 30 is just everything you didn’t accomplish in your 20s, and I’m feeling it. Hopefully this will be a productive (meaning what?) decade. It has to be.

We’re moving to Long Beach next month. We loved moving from Colorado to Huntington Beach 14 months ago so much that we decided to do it again—but this time only about 10 miles up the coast. I dig our new place. We’re going to be two blocks from the beach and a half a block from downtown, which is a pretty good scene. Staying focused on work will inevitably be tough—except the part about needing to make money to live and all that BS.

Now, then, on to a subject near and dear to my cacophony heart: et cetera et cetera. Yes, indeed, I finally have a real update. The mixed and mastered CDs are in the mail as I type this. Not to the duplication company. That comes next. These are the (cross your fingers) final versions of both discs minus all of the issues we’ve had (oh yeah, I haven’t blogged in awhile, so suffice to say that there have been some technical difficulties over the past couple of months). Anyhow, hopefully all is well. In which case, I’ll be sending everything off to the duplication company next week and (cross your toes this time) the record will be released sometime around the middle or end of November.

So that’s it for now. That’s as much of an update as I can stomach. There will be more to come when I know more about the exact release of et cetera et cetera.

I’ll be packing and moving in the meantime. Wish me luck.

There are 465 days remaining in Bush’s presidency.

After the Aftermath

First of all, let me apologize to all of you who didn’t get into diPiazza’s due to a long wait in line and the ultimate fire marshal cap of 500 people. That sucked. My entourage noticed at least four midgets—sorry, they told me to say “little people”—so that equals two “real” people, right? So two of my fans didn’t get in? Is that what happened? If so, I apologize, but I had no idea what was going on outside.

For those of you who did get in, you were great! I did a few “oldies” to warm you up, but you responded well to the pieces I did off my new spoken word double CD, et cetera et cetera. I must admit that I did get sick of hearing, “When can we buy it?!” As I’ve said on my Web site and on my MySpace page, it’s coming. It’s being mixed. It’s within six weeks—eight weeks max—of being on the street. That’s all I can say at this point.

Rachel Kann read from her new book of short fiction, and did some spoken word with a musician friend of hers. Her work was solid, regardless of the genre. She performs all over the place, so I hope to meet up with her in the future as I hopefully start doing more shows.

The band that ended the night was a mess of hilarity. Regrettably, I can’t remember the name exactly, but it was something like “Sam Bush and the Track & Field All-Stars.” The “alternative country” (my designation) songs were written by Mark Romer, and he was accompanied by a talented group of musicians who helped wager his hard-luck songs.

I’ll be in touch with news on et cetera et cetera as it warrants. In the meantime, take solace in the bootlegs (you know we saw you recording!).

There are 521 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

Performing Tomorrow Night

I'll be performing at diPiazza's Lava Lounge as part of The Writer's Garage series tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 15, at 8 p.m. I’ll be performing spoken word pieces from my forthcoming spoken word double CD et cetera et cetera, as well as reading a few poems from my books.

diPiazza's is located off PCH at E. Anaheim in Long Beach, CA, and is a great place to see local writers and bands perform, enjoy a meal, and/or a few drinks with friends. Poet Rachel Kann and songwriter Mark Romer will perform at 9:00 and 10:00, respectively. diPiazza's Web site is www.dipiazzas.com. Info on The Writer's Garage can be found at www.myspace.com/thewritersgarage.

I hope to see you there. If not, maybe some other time. Not interested? Not ever? Okay, well, maybe we’re just not that great of friends, now, are we?

Here’s the address:

diPiazza's Lava Lounge

5205 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Long Beach, CA 90804

Time: 8 p.m.

There are 524 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

I've Been Missing

I’ve been missing lately—just busy with work and whatnot. My writing and editing company, Novo, Inc., that I started last year has been doing rather well lately, and I’m doing my best to keep things moving. It often seems to be feast or famine, but I move along. In the meantime, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my new and improved Web site (www.scottsiders.com), and working on new spoken word pieces for a future record.

Now, then: What’s really been going on? Well, since I last wrote we saw Daniel Tosh at the Irvine Improv. He gets better every year. What else can I say? Do yourself a favor and see this hilarious bastard at a comedy club near you.

Oh, and before I forget, there’s still the issue of the Scott Siders impostor. This guy thinks he’s cute. He actually posted a response to my blog about him, so it’s nice to know he’s reading (or is it?), but I also know that I’m giving him some readers by validating his self-righteous existence. I guess you could apply that label to me, but at least I’m not hiding behind a fake ideology invented to calm the fearful.

Great. Uplifting blog number 99, eh? Okay, well, so be it. He’s weighed in, and thinks this is some kind of joke. Well, I’m flat-out embarrassed by the fact that I share my name with this guy. He can believe in the fantasy world in which he believes, of course, but the unfortunate result is that I can be mistaken as him. I had that hilarious “note and identity clarification” on my homepage until I realized that he, of course, had everything to gain from the “advertising,” which he was quick to point out, and I knew very well but hoped I’d get some goddamn (lord’s name in vain!) supporters. Very few people are looking me up, of course, but, for the few that do, I would rather be mistaken as many other things than this other so-called Scott Siders. Don’t trust him. He runs a company called “Wisdom Consulting.” Guess where the wisdom comes from . . . um . . . yeah . . . from sweet baby jesus. Can you really run a business on fantasy, false hope, fear and, based on his distinguished company in Congress, philandering?

But I ramble.

It’s just so frustrating. I’m trying to get my linkedin.com handle recognized by google, but things are quirky. It will be designated at “The Real Scott Siders” on linkedin.com. I think that fits.

I should move on. Since the Scott Siders imposter weighed in, we’ve seen a couple of interesting shows. We saw Jerry Stahl, author of Permanent Midnight and several other novels, read from his new book of short stories. We saw him at diPiazza’s in Long Beach. He was a little bit of an asshole throughout the reading, and was hilariously sarcastic at the reaction (or lack thereof) of the small crowd, considering the crowd he’s used to dealing with is a bookstore audience hanging on his every word, but he did what he does, and I was impressed to see him do his thing.

We saw Astra (Conor Riley (Allison’s cousin) on the keys) perform the Friday before last. It was Prog Rock down to a T, to use a ridiculous and outdated expression. It’s not my favorite genre of music, but Astra does Prog Rock as well as anyone. It was an evening for the band to perform for a semi-local progressive record label, so I hope they get signed and are prosperous beyond their wildest dreams.

As for me, I’m just working and waiting for et cetera et cetera to be mixed and mastered. It gets closer every day, and I have every reason that it will still be released this summer—assuming that you consider September to be summer (you should).

I’m still set to perform at diPiazzas’s in Long Beach this Wednesday, August 15.

There are 526 days remaining in Bush’s presidency.

The Writer's Garage

I confirmed last night that I'll be reading/performing my poetry/spoken word at diPiazza's Lava Lounge on August 15. It will be part of The Writer's Garage, which is a weekly series run by Mike Martt. diPiazza's is located in Long Beach and is a great place to see local writers and bands perform. diPiazza's Web site is www.dipiazzas.com. Info on The Writer's Garage can be found at www.myspace.com/thewritersgarage.


There are 550 days remaining in Bush's presidency.

An Impostor

There appears to be an impostor in our midst—and he goes by the name of Scott Siders. A friend of mine Googled me the other day, and had some disturbing information to report. Following my Web site (www.scottsiders.com) as the number one hit for “scott siders,” there is a listing for Scott Siders on linkedin.com (his LinkedIn Web address is www.linkedin.com/in/scottsiders). Coincidentally, I am also a LinkedIn member (although I haven’t put it to use yet). However, although we have one thing in common—that we both graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder—this Scott Siders is not me. There are, of course, no doubt hundreds of jackasses like me across the globe who share the name Scott Siders, but I want to make it crystal clear that the gentleman with my name in the number two position when you Google my name is not me.

Why have I gone to the trouble to make this distinction? Well, to be blunt, I in no way share the belief system of this impostor. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say that I do not want to be confused with a man of his particular religious affiliation and, further, what one can only logically assume are his oppressive political views. Needless to say, I do not work for his company, Wisdom Consulting Corporation International. You may think I’m ridiculous to have posted this, but I felt that I needed to state that, while we share the name and alma mater, that’s all we share (except, of course, that we are both mammals and undoubtedly enjoy reading, movies, and the beach—to say nothing of watching movies of people reading at the beach).

To be sure, I am quite positive that he wouldn’t want to be confused with me either. Who would?! Oh, and get this: For some reason, he continues to refuse to change his name in spite of numerous cease and desist orders. Can you imagine that?

There are 553 days remaining in Bush’s presidency.

Norm and the Lave Lounge

We had the opportunity to see Norm MacDonald perform last weekend at the Irvine Improv. He’s a hilarious and filthy bastard, but you already know that unless you’ve been living under a bridge for the past 10 years. I highly recommend seeing him live if you haven’t already. I’m not sure if he does much stand-up anymore—or maybe he’s performing more than ever now that he’s not working on any TV shows. Either way, check him out. You won’t be disappointed.

I recently spoke with the founder and organizer of The Writer’s Garage, which takes place every Wednesday night at diPiazza’s Lave Lounge in Long Beach. It sounds like I’m getting on the schedule to read/perform in August. It’s a great little bar/venue, and The Writer’s Garage is always a good time. It usually starts with a writer of poetry, spoken word, or prose reading/performing, and then is followed by a local or touring band. Now that my double CD et cetera et cetera is nearly complete (it’s looking like it will be released in late July or early August at the latest), I’ve been looking for places to perform and promote it.

I actually haven’t given a reading since the release of The Armpit of Desire in November 2005, so I’m a little rusty, to say the least. Aside from that one reading, I haven’t performed on a regular basis since 404 Not Found broke up in the spring of 2004. I plan on hitting OC coffee shops and any other venues to promote et cetera et cetera beginning in July so, if you’re reading this and you’re in the area, come and check me out. I’ll be updating this blog with actual places, dates, and times, including diPiazza’s, in the coming weeks and months. More on et cetera et cetera will follow as the release date draws near. You can check out the cover art at www.myspace.com/scottsiders. You’ll be able to listen to a few tracks on that page as soon as they’re ready.

In the meantime, I’m also updating and redesigning my Web site, www.scottsiders.com, in anticipation of the release of et cetera et cetera. Check back soon for more updates.

There are 569 days remaining in Bush’s presidency.