048: ....pation! A BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT!

February 21, 2025

Breaking from format today because it is a momentous day here at Muppet Labs. I am officially releasing THE FAILURE EXPERIMENT on March 21st! You wanna see...

047: Give Me Back My Phone

January 21, 2025

First, Tha NEWS. In an attempt to stay sane, I'm going to just... go to work, I guess. In a manner of speaking. David Lynch died. To say he was an influence...

046: Drawing His Finger's Light Across Our Blood

December 27, 2024

First, Tha NEWS. Back on format today. It's that week in the US, I've heard it called "Liminal Week," where everything seems a little off. Between Christmas...

045: If You Ever Need a Drummer

November 14, 2024

This one is off the cuff, today. It’s been a while. A lot seems to have happened, huh? I’m still kinda trying to avoid thinking, but I’m also not...

044: I'm at the Combination Pink Pony Club and Taco Bell

September 5, 2024

First, Tha NEWS. On the FAILURE EXPERIMENT front, the cover art is done. If you want to see the cover before anyone else, support my Patreon, where I'll be...

043: None More Midwestern

July 12, 2024

AN EMAIL LIKE A GUNDAM MODEL, IN MANY PARTS First, Tha NEWS. I finished THE FAILURE EXPERIMENT. I finished THE FAILURE EXPERIMENT. It's done. ...mostly. The...

042: Why Don't "Travelogue" and "Vogue" Rhyme?

June 25, 2024

First, Tha NEWS. Hello friends. I'm in North Dakota now. It's That Time of Year. The trip itself was "fine" in that my flights all took off and landed on...

041: Blanche, Honey, I'm Back With Your Lemon Coke

April 18, 2024

First, Tha NEWS. I got to take part in the opening of a new reading series in Chicago, Written on a Napkin. Monthly poetry (and more) at the Oromo Cafe in...

040: The Penultimate Cruellest Month

March 1, 2024

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS, LIKE THE BODY OF AN INSECT First, Tha NEWS. What a year, eh? Lemon, it's March. Two months already? Well, technically two months...

039: A Fraction of a Degree is a Minute

December 31, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEPARATED INTO SEVERAL PARTS LIKE THE HUMAN DEMARCATION OF TIME First, Tha NEWS. Welcome to the first ish of SROF courtesy of ButtonDown. We'll...

038: A Dude Playing a Dude Disguised as Another Dude

November 30, 2023

AN EMAIL LIKE A LEMON, IN SEVERAL SECTIONS First, Tha NEWS. I'm in Poetry again! You can get an issue here, or read my poem here, or listen to ME READ IT...

037: Above the Bridge

October 20, 2023

AN EMAIL LIKE A PLAY (IT HAS SEVERAL PARTS) First, Tha NEWS. This email is largely adapted from my most recent Patreon blog post. Been a while. As you might...

036: A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING YOUR EMAIL

September 14, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS, FRAGMENTARY First, Tha NEWS. What I consider the "initial" marketing push for confessions from a drainage ditch is over, which is...

035: CONFESSIONS FROM A DRAINAGE DITCH

August 31, 2023

It's live! The paperback and ebook versions of confessions from a drainage ditch are available from that river website! Linky link! This one is a HUGE DEAL...

034: A New Book?? A New Book!!

August 26, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS, CURIOSLY SENT ON A SATURDAY EVENING First, Tha NEWS. "I would like to come home, but you do not remember what you created."...

033: Burying the Lede in Parentheticals

July 31, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS, THIS TIME WITH A SPECIAL PRESENT KINDA IN THE BACK HALF First, Tha NEWS. Back in Chicago. It's been both stiflingly hot and...

032: I'm Just Trying to Stay Sane

July 19, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS, ONE AFTER ANOTHER First, Tha NEWS. Plans have been made for my return to Chicago. Travel is always in flux with me (some might...

031: Only Happy When It Rains

June 27, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS RESEMBLING THE LAYERS THAT BOTH ONIONS AND OGRES HAVE First, THA NEWS. Okay, okay. It's barely news. I was gifted a massage this...

030: GLYNDON, MINNESOTA (by way of ENDERLIN, ND and PARTS EAST AND WEST)

June 18, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS WITH SOME UPDATES ABOUT WORK AND SUCH First, THA NEWS. I spent the larger part of this past couple weeks working on layout for...

029: How to Talk Minnesotan (unaffiliated with that franchise)

June 5, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS WHEREIN THE LONG STRETCH OF SUMMER BEGINS First, THA NEWS. I have successfully made it to North Dakota (I saw the Chicago Fire FC...

028: A Body Without Organs

May 11, 2023

AN EMAIL IN SEVERAL PARTS WHICH MAKE UP THE DISJOINTED WHOLE First, THA NEWS. Thanks to everyone who filled out the Subscriber Survey. All three of you. This...

027: The First Biannual Spurious Reality Reader Survey!

April 27, 2023

Another combo breaker this week! Could you do me a solid and go fill out this survey? I'm at a bit of a crossroads, y'see, and I'm trying to figure out what...

026: Ach, I'm Bad at This

April 11, 2023

PROLOGUE Be silent in that solitude Which is not loneliness-- ~ Edgar Allen Poe, "Spirits of the Dead" First, COMPILATION. Ptooooo. Into the void. x5 (yes,...

025b: Just an Hour and a Half to Go!

March 12, 2023

Hey frans! 7pm Central! For those not on Facebook, the stream will be over on Youtube. Hope you all get a chance to check it out! Crossing fingers that...

025a: Repeatedly Mashing that Button

March 1, 2023

Hello frans! This is the follow-up email I mentioned in the last one for the two readings I have planned this month, as there are now Facebook event...

025: Pushing the Big Red Button

February 28, 2023

PROLOGUE Beyond the void there is a screen Voices I don't know speak for me ~ Screaming Females, "Beyond the Void" First, COMPILATION. Reading glasses age:...

024:

February 6, 2023

PROLOGUE Whereas the velocity of the spinning vinyl, cross-faded, spun backwards, and re-released at the same given moment of recorded history , yet at a...

023: Every Day, Once a Day, Give Yourself a Present

January 15, 2023

Prologue I'm not gonna watch the news. But I will stay informed, okay? I'll... read a scroll." ~ Charlie James aka nonbinarycowboy First, COMPILATION. Elgorp...

022: A Suture Wriggling to the Surface

December 6, 2022

PROLOGUE Yeah, but at Level Three, that little devil's a little bit bigger. And he's buying. And you're saying to yourself, "C'mon now. As long as I get......

021: One Cubic Foot of Snow is Two to Three Gallons of Dirty Water

November 12, 2022

Normally these things are very structured, but I've decided to, as you've guessed, do something a little different today, which is just sort of writing off...

020: Nights of Blood and Fire

October 30, 2022

PROLOGUE For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the...

Interlude 001: Marketing is a Mug's Game

October 10, 2022

Hey folks, just a short one today. We launched the first two episodes of our podcast yesterday, you can check it out here, or wherever you get your podcasts....

019: Come into My Parlor

September 30, 2022

A Newsletter in Five Parts Prologue COMPILATION UPDATES CONSUMPTION PROMOTION OUTRO Prologue "What does this monster have to mourn?" ~ Avengers: Infinity War...

018: I Can't Dance

July 25, 2022

Prologue Monsters cannot be announced. One cannot say: 'Here are our monsters,' without immediately turning the monsters into pets. ― Jacques Derrida First,...

017: Wading Through the Rubble of Ideologies

July 6, 2022

PROLOGUE I was going to die, if not sooner then later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not...

016: I've Never Been Sued by a Door

June 2, 2022

Prologue He said "you need to be fed" "But keep an eye on your waistline" and "Look good but don't be obsessed" Keep thinking over, over I try ~ CHVRCHES,...

015: I Wouldn't Last a Week in Seattle

March 23, 2022

Prologue Your search for god is over. God is in the machine. ~ Grant Morrison, The Invisibles First, COMPILATION. February didn't happen. This is an...

014: Who Wants to Dance with Baby '37?

January 26, 2022

Prologue Sometimes everything seems normal, but other times I feel some slow, faint alarm come over me. This isn't the way the world felt before. It has...

013: Wintery Mix

November 27, 2021

Prologue But we're here now, so tell us what's so important. ~ Lysistrata, Aristophenes, tr. Jeffery Henderson First, COMPILATION. Remember that like 6-month...

012: A Short One

October 28, 2021

As the title says, this week is breaking format and contains just one thing: a link to a State of the Patreon note. I very much appreciate you being here....

011: House in Blue, Minotaur in Red

October 9, 2021

Prologue I'm on your side Nowhere to hide Trapdoors that open I spiral down ~ "In Limbo", Radiohead First, COMPILATION. Finally getting around to reading...

010: Residual Self Image

September 13, 2021

Prologue Cause everyday she falls in love And every night she falls when she does ~ "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" Lou Reed/The Velvet Underground First, COMPILATION....

009: Inside Baseball

August 30, 2021

Prologue For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul 'Cause I can't say no, no, I can't say no Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won't close And I can't say no,...

008: SYNCHRONICITY (not the Police album)

August 12, 2021

Prologue Llora flecha sin blanco, la tarde sin mañana, y el primer pájaro muerto sobre la rama. ~ Federico Garcia Lorca, "The Guitar" First, COMPILATION....

007: In Your Blue Dream

August 4, 2021

Prologue I wonder what happens to that much love if it curdles. ~ Kieron Gillen, Phonogram First, COMPILATION. Bow Wow Kung Pao Chicken Baby Meow Meow (aka...

006: Martian Time-Slip

July 22, 2021

Prologue "God hates a coward." ~ Mike Patton First, COMPILATION. My ADHD ass thought today was WEDNESDAY. People, uh, like me! Because I force them to! WITH...

005: Sweet Home Chicago (is a Cliché I am not Above Making)

July 13, 2021

Prologue "The difference between the witch and the layperson is that the witch already knows that they are powerful." ~ Katie West, Becoming Dangerous First,...

004: BUTTZVILLE

July 5, 2021

Prologue First, COMPILATION. Small-town all-school reunions: for when your normal summer festival just won't do. The credit union sponsors a free lunch, but...

003: Cut-up is Fun, but Burroughs Still Murdered His Wife

June 23, 2021

Prologue There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater First, COMPILATION....

002: Continental Divide

June 16, 2021

Prologue I nod as I write down good evening, lonely and sick for home. ~ James Wright, "Outside Fargo, North Dakota" First, COMPILATION. Right when a certain...