5/20/26
The show was fantastic. I may do a full write-up of the evening for Sunday’s newsletter, but for now, just know that none — absolutely none — of the footage from this tour circulating on social media do it any justice. The band is tight and phenomenal, and his voice — while aged — is still respectable. More than that, though, he remains a master showman. If you want an evening of remembering and celebrating Eddie Van Halen that’s filled with laughs, some possible tears, high energy, and dancing in the aisles with complete strangers rock and roll, then I recommend you catch him as he comes through your town. Here’s a video I recorded that you can use to judge for yourself.
~
Had to take Dallas to the vet yesterday, and lost a good chunk of writing time. Turns out he has crystals. They gave him several shots — anti inflammatory, painkiller, muscle relaxant, etc, — along with some pills he’s supposed to be taking. Except he was so traumatized by the vet visit that, upon arriving back home, he hid under the couch and refused to come out. Mary said he stayed there most of the night while I was at the concert. So far, this morning, I managed to get him out but have not managed to get him to take his pills. They are now embedded in a small dollop of food that is locked in a room with him. I’ve explained to him that he can’t come out until he cleans his plate.
~
Women In Horror Year: Day 39
Haunt by Laura Lee Bahr
Haunt is a tripping-balls Los Angeles noir, where a mysterious dame drags you through a time-warping Bizarro hall of mirrors.
She's the girl of your dreams. Too bad she's dead. OR IS SHE?
In Haunt, "you" are the hapless corporate tool and rock star wannabe turned private Dick. Here, even your most inconsequential choices can make all the difference between a Hollywood ending on the beach and sucking cock for clues.
This is genial lowbrow high lit weirdness: the funny, punchy cousin of Danielewski's House of Leaves, a Vonnegut and Salinger paté on a choose-your-own cracker, with a lapdance from Nancy Drew. As much fun to make as it is to eat!
Haunt was the first novel by award-winning actor, playwright, and screenwriter Laura Lee Bahr and it made a huge splash at the time — one of the first books to really crossover from readers of Bizarro fiction to readers of Horror fiction and Crime fiction in a big way. It won the 2011 Wonderland Book Award for Best novel, unseating such long-time contenders as Carlton Mellick III and Jeremy Robert Johnson, and earned accolades and cross-genre praise from folks like myself and John Skipp. It’s the closest literary experience to watching a David Lynch film that I have ever known, filled with that similar quirky humor, beautiful surrealism, and genuinely frightening moments.
