I Just Peed My Pants

Okay, so remember a while ago when I told you that two of my photographs were selected to be in the Seattle Erotic Art Festival? Of course you do. Well, I have news. Today the Seattle Times reviewed the show and they said something nice about my work. Specifically, they compared it to the work of Cindy Sherman.

Here's what they said:

As for the visual arts, there's too much to cover, but special mention should go to photographers Tony Labadie (whose digitally altered man-animal hybrids prowl Parisian alleyways), Robert Cazares (petal-soft close-ups of flowers in a Mapplethorpe vein), Michael Thomas Ford and Draga Jovanovic (both doing Cindy Sherman-like dress-up) and Vicki Marie Stolsen (whose "That Ain't Right" series discreetly puts G.I. Joe and Barbie into poses more carnal and fluid than you'd ever guess plastic could be).

This could not possibly thrill me any more. Cindy Sherman is my favorite photographer. Her Untitled Film Stills series is absolutely wonderful, and has been a huge inspiration for me. So thank you, Michael Upchurch. And for those of you in the Seattle area, get yourselves to the show.

But that's not all!

In other good news, What We Remember received a nice review in Booklist.

“No secret stays buried forever,” says one character, wielding a knife and summing up the action ignited when the nine-year belief that Sheriff Dan McCloud committed suicide is exploded. His uniformed body is accidentally found, shot twice and shoved into a trunk, which also contains his eldest son James’ class ring. Skeletons tumble from family closets in a small town where everyone seems to knows everyone else’s business as James, the family’s pride, returns home, and the legal investigation ensues. None of this is easy on James’ mom, junkie kid-brother Billy, or sister Celeste, now married to Cold Falls’ current sheriff, Nate, stepson of A. J., Sheriff Dan’s friend and partner. Twists, surprises, and cover-ups abound, as Ford reveals the truth about A. J. and Dan and the complex secrets linking their families, including substance abuse, forgery, rape, illegitimate birth—and yes, murder. The reappearance of A. J.’s daughter, Nancy, James’ high-school flame, brings new shock waves of revelation in Ford’s fast-moving yet thoughtful exploration of family love and the things we do in its name.

You may recall that I was not as pleased with an earlier review the book received. Well, we shall no long speak of that. This one makes up for it. Well, almost. I don't let go easily.

They say things come in threes, so hopefully I can report back with some additional good news by the end of the day. And speaking of good news, yesterday the new baby spiders arrived. More on them later. But here's a pic. The species is Grammostola pulchra, the Brazilian Black tarantula. There are six of them, named Mungo 01 - 06 (thanks to Corin for the name suggestion). This is Mungo 03.