The Venus Aperture
Art by Jared Sylvia
We’re swimming in the deep end of Venus retrograde and alien disclosures seem to be continuously being rolled out. A former intelligence officer David Grusch claims “non-human biological pilots” were recovered from crashed spacecraft. It’s weird because no one seems to care and it makes me wonder if this is a planned psyop. Is the early stages of Project Blue Beam, soft conditioning or am I overthinking it?
I’ve been reevaluating my concept of love and my needs surrounding love/romance. You know Venus Retrograde things. I don’t know why this is a quasi journal of sorts, but it helps me think some things out. Let’s just say I need a certain amount of freedom in the early stages.
I thought about scrapping this newsletter, but I made a commitment to put one out every week even though this might be on the short end of the spectrum. So bear with me…
Melancholy’s Finest got an in-depth review from Matt Serafini at
. You can read it here.“Melancholy’s Finest is a speedball of low-level crime and high concept sci-fi, all of it cut with horrific delirium. For me, it’s the book of the summer.”
I attended an open mic at the Sugar Bank in LA to link up with a new friend and show support earlier this week and she encouraged me to perform. I debated between reading poetry, a piece of Melancholy’s Finest or potentially rapping some old songs. It was an artist only event and everyone was a music artist. So I knew I was taking a bit of a risk reading a chapter from MF, but I knew this would sharpen my skills and brush the dirt off my vocal cords.
I read Chapter 4 of MF since there’s more of performance element with multiple characters arguing. Someone said I must be pretty confident since I passed on sound check. I stepped on stage and started reading, leaning into the sentences. This guy up front with a horn beanie started laughing hysterically. I pushed through but paused and asked if it was too much. Thankfully, I’m a seasoned performer and this didn’t really affect me negatively.
People encouraged me to go on and I continued reading. The crowd laughed at the appropriate parts and was pretty engaging. I got some fist bumps and some compliments from a few different people I stuck around to support the rest of the performers since some people had left and numbers were dwindling. The drunken heckler legs buckled and a few people had to help him leave the venue. The host who invited me said she wants me to perform at some other events so it was a good night all in all.
In other news, the Broken River Books collective aka my literary brother dropped some books recently. First up is Iron Wolf by e. rathke.
This is book 2 in The Howling Earth series. Howl was one of my top reads from last year. Rathke is a master at combining dark fantasy and cyberpunk elements in the book. And don’t get me started on the giantess Lady Agova—one of my favorite characters of all time. I can’t wait to dive into Iron Wolf.
Ghosts of West Baltimore is a an amazing ass book. You have no idea. David Simmons was throwing some crazy combos in book 1. But in book 2 you can feel his confidence growing. I mean there’s Jewish mysticism, gimps, golems, etc. One of my favorite books of 2023.
Also, don’t forget to read
’s new short story Chicken and Waffles here. It’s a certified banger with bars on bars.Currently Watching: Love, Death & Robots Season 3 & Lost Season 1
Currently Reading: Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei & Full Throttle by Joe Hill & Cosmic Horror Monthly #2 & An Altar of Stories to Liminal Saints by Rios de la Luz & Alive Undead by Brian Bowyer
Currently Smoking: Packwoods
Listening: Black Tapes Podcast, The Danny Brown Podcast, The Higherside Chats
It makes sense that Kenny Mason is opening up for Danny Brown and JPEG Mafia on the Scaring the Hoes tour. He’s one of the few young rappers that seem to actually care about his craft. Soulful production, a pretty black vampire, and catchy ass bars. What more can you ask for from the young upstart?
This electronic-tinged drill beat feels like a fire alarm going off in NYC. I have to admit I wasn’t sure about the staying power of Ice Spice, but she stays in her lane, and her unshakeable confidence is on full display on “Deli.” Twerking in the deli with a bunch of her friends and a down to earth works too well.
2023 has been a terrible year for rap music. It’s time A$AP Rocky comes back and drops some fire. A giant tank, a literal riot, production from Skateboard P, and choice bars that seem to be aimed at Travis Scott? It seems like the perfect recipe for a banger. I need an album with Rocky operating at this level on every song.
I’m a sucker for raps songs with la la la in the production, but this bass is godly. I’m thankful Kanye let Travis have this record because it’s a beauty. Amazing album that’s worth the wait.
Until next time…
Cop my books here or cop signed copies here.
For business inquiries email grantwamack@gmail.com
You can download Melancholy’s Finest and some other Broken River titles for FREE for a limited time in these bundles below.
Dark Was The Night (June 15 - August 15)
Sci-fi Freebies (July 15 - August 15)