Various Artists – True Blues (2013)

Various Artists True Blues Telarc, 2013 52 minutes “Blues is the blueprint. It’s the foundation of all contemporary music, no matter where you go.” Corey Harris speaks the truth. On True Blues, Telarc brings together six talented and timeless blues acts: Harris, The Taj Mahal Trio, Shemekia Copeland, Guy Davis, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Phil […]

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TWJ contributor Patrick inadvertently forgot the French on his Joey Votto All-Star/étoile “fun card” yesterday, and quickly corrected it. He also included the “Nestle” version of the Topps card, sans French. According to Wikipedia (and when has Wikipedia ever been wrong?) the Nestle cards were available as a send away premium from the confectioners, and […]

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Were you beginning to wonder where TWJ contributor Patrick had gone? Computer issues had kept him from submitting anything recently, but I was very glad to open my e-mail today and see a message from him. He attached a couple of 1984 O-Pee-Chee “fun cards” of Canadian Joey Votto for our enjoyment, as well as […]

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(February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013)

Keyboardist and co-founder of The Doors, Ray Manzarek passed away today after battling bile duct cancer.
The Doors were a huge influence on me as a teenager and young twenty-something. There was a time when I l…

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Last year, while celebrating the release of Van Halen’s A Different Kind Of Truth, I decided to make a list of my favorite song from each VH album. It was a fun exercise, and one that I had planned to revisit with several other favorite bands…but like many other projects and ideas, it was pushed […]

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The Family Doodle Book illustrations by Melissa Averinos Adams Media, 2013 144 pages A nice balance between writing and drawing, The Family Doodle Book provides dozens of prompts to get children and parents sharing their ideas. Each prompt gives space on the left for the artist to write not only what is going to be […]

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It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when we lost the heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio. On May 16, 2010, he succumbed to stomach cancer. Read this interview with former Dio drummer Simon Wright about Dio. At the time of Ronnie’s passing, I was still hosting the Hard Rock Nights radio program […]

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The Sketchbook Project Journal by Steven Peterman & Shane Zucker Potter Style, 2013 192 pages Do you like to draw? Whether you are a doodler or an aspiring artist looking for inspiration, The Sketchbook Project Journal is a fun way to get your creative juices flowing. Just a few words are shown on each page, […]

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Is this guy getting any attention around the league? In 28 innings, Tony Cingrani has struck out 37 batters and boasts a 2-0 record with a 2.89 ERA. Not bad for a rookie, huh? As I was searching for images to use on the card, I came across a couple of other very nicely done […]

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The Plot Whisperer: Book of Writing Prompts by Martha Alderson Adams Media, 2013 240 pages Sometimes you need a little push to put words down on paper (or on the computer screen). Author Martha Alderson provides 120 affirmation, plot and writing prompts to help stalled writers achieve their goals. The prompts in The Plot Whisperer: […]

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Requested by Coco Crisp’s Afro, here’s Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick in the 1984 Topps style.

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My youngest son has been after me for a few days to make a Shin-Soo Choo card for him, so I used some of my spare time this weekend and slapped the centerfielder on a 1984 Topps design, one of my favorites from the 1980s.

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Kopecky Family Band and He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister are putting on a free show at MOTR Pub tonight in Cincinnati! If you don’t already have plans…you do now! Check out Kopecky Family Band “Heartbeat”: Purchase Kopecky Family Band – Kids Raising Kids. Check out He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister “Same Old Ground” […]

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I’m kinda proud of this one. I took an old black and white photograph and colorized it in Photoshop. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with it. Ted Kluszewski doesn’t get enough respect in my opinion. The dude was a monster. In a four-year span from 1953 through 1956, Big Klu smashed 171 home runs […]

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John Corabi Unplugged Rat Pak Records, 2012 65 minutes Hard rock vocalist John Corabi has released his first solo recording, an acoustic collection of new songs and classics from his former bands. Corabi treats listeners to three songs originally recorded by The Scream (“Father, Mother, Son,” “Man In The Moon,” “I Never Loved Her Anyway”), […]

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There is a lot of hoopla surrounding the duo of Jonathan Broxton and Aroldis Chapman in the Reds’ bullpen, but they are not as exciting as the 1990 “Nasty Boys” bullpen featuring Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble, and Randy Myers. When the Reds traded John Franco in December ’89, I thought all was lost. But Myers’ […]

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The reigning queen of Hard Rock Lita Ford has teamed up with USA TODAY for an exclusive premiere of the new video for her single “Mother”. The song comes from Ford’s latest solo effort Living Like a Runaway that was released last summer on Steamhammer/SPV. The video was directed by former Runaway Victory Tischler-Blue. Head [...]

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An exciting game with two bottom-of-the-ninth homers from pinch hitter Devin Mesoraco and centerfielder Shin-Soo Choo giving the Reds a walk-off victory over the Atlanta Braves. We didn’t get free pizza, but we got a great game. Homer Bailey Brian McCann Shin-Soo Choo Jay Bruce Corky Miller Sam LeCure Jay Bruce (batting) and Joey Votto [...]

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My wife and I took the short trip to Cincinnati yesterday to visit the Reds Hall of Fame and renew our annual membership. It’s a great place to visit, and the perks that the team gives members more than pays for the price of the package. There are two very nice exhibits on display right [...]

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I started the TWJ Cards Tumblr to showcase my original design “fun cards” last year, and over the past couple of months have been posting daily updates in the 2013 style. The focus has been exclusively baseball thus far, featuring stars such as Brandon Phillips and Stephen Strasburg, lesser-known big leaguers like Jayson Nix and [...]

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Last week I traveled to the nation’s capital with my oldest son’s class, and snapped plenty of photographs. I thought I would share a few with The Writer’s Journey readers. Enjoy! GETTYSBURG: AIR & SPACE MUSEUM: THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT (UNDER CONSTRUCTION): MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MEMORIAL: JEFFERSON MEMORIAL: THE WHITE HOUSE: The woman pictured below, [...]

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(January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013)

Guitarist and founding member of thrash metal band Slayer.

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Yu Darvish GIF shows his five-pitch mastery [Big League Stew] Airbourne & American Dog At The Basement – Columbus, Ohio – 4/22/13 [Hard Rock Hideout] 6 Twisted Kids’ Trading Card Sets [mental_floss] Fixed point in time. I am so sorry. [Texts From Superheroes] Steam-Powered AT-AT Enjoys Hunting Rebel Forces, Long Walks On The Beach [Epbot] [...]

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Luke Winslow-King The Coming Tide Bloodshot Records, 2013 35 minutes You don’t hear a new record like this every day. If you are in the mood for something way different, give Luke Winslow-King’s The Coming Tide a listen. A mixture of jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel, the singer has taken the best of New Orleans [...]

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Krokus Dirty Dynamite The End Records, 2013 45 minutes This is the best AC/DC album that AC/DC never released. That was the first thought that ran through my mind as I listened to Dirty Dynamite for the second time last week. Marc Storace’s voice sounds like a cross between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson, and [...]

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Otis Redding Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding Stax Records, 2013 36 minutes A beautiful collection of Otis Redding’s most soulful ballads, Lonely & Blue takes the listener on a rollercoaster of emotion from the very first notes of “I Love You More Than Words Can Say.” The man’s voice is simply [...]

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Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Master Class by Tony Lee Moral Michael Wiese Productions, 2013 240 pages Alfred Hitchcock is perhaps the most influential filmmaker in the history of cinema, enthralling audiences with his tales of suspense and inspiring directors to simply make better movies. In Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Master Class, Tony Lee Moral takes [...]

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(September 11, 1958 – April 27, 2013)

Former Reds pitcher Brad Lesley passed away on Saturday from kidney failure. In addition to playing in the big leagues, Lesley also appeared in a number of films, including Little Big League, Mr. Baseball, and S…

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Late Monday morning, an NBA player named Jason Collins announced to the world that he is a homosexual. It is difficult to say that we didn’t see this coming—not from Collins specifically (I don’t follow basketball at all), but from someone in one of the major sports. I read numerous editorials over the past few [...]

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Nailed! The Improbable Rise and Spectacular Fall of Lenny Dykstra by Christopher Frankie Running Press, 2013 288 pages I was never much of a Lenny Dykstra fan during his baseball career, and knew little about his off-the-field activities following that career. I knew he had gotten into some financial trouble, but had no idea that [...]

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It’s devastating to a team to lose the ace of the staff, especially so early in the season. When Johnny Cueto was placed on the disabled list, the city of Cincinnati was punched in the gut. But young gun Tony Cingrani stepped up to the challenge and handled the Miami Marlins in his first big [...]

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But isn’t it a bit early still? Not even 25 games into the season… If you are so inclined to vote now, you can do so. But if you would rather wait and see how the stats stack up once the season progresses more, the ballots will remain online through July 4. I wonder if [...]

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(September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) One of the greatest country music singers of all-time, George Jones passed away today at the age of 81. If I ranked my favorite country singers of all-time, “No Show” Jones would come in at #2, barely behind Waylon Jennings. He had a distinctive style and will be [...]

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Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage & Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan by Robert K. Fitts University of Nebraska Press, 2013 366 pages A beautiful blending of baseball and history, Banzai Babe Ruth engages the reader in the attempt to forge a friendship using America’s pastime. Author Robert K. Fitts presents the events from [...]

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Journeyman Richie Scheinblum played for six different teams in his 8-year career, including a brief stint in 1973 with the Cincinnati Reds. Scheinblum has been named to the All-Star team in 1972 as a member of the Kansas City Royals, but was never again invited to the midsummer classic. In that ’72 season, he connected [...]

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