FLYMF alum J.D. Smith has an excellent poem, “Two Capitals,” in American Arts Quarterly!
J.D.’s stories for FLYMF included The Great Tuvalu Liquidation Sale, My Fetishist Things and As a Matter of Fact, I Am the Person You Have to Blow to Get a Table Around Here. You can follow all of J.D.’s updates on his blog, Smitroverse.
Longtime friends and FLYMF co-creators Nick Holle and Michael Zimmer have spent several years creating The Entertainers, a documentary exploring Peoria’s World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. This annual event brings together piano players and music lovers from throughout the country to crown the year’s top ragtime musician.
Beyond fast hands and outsized personalities, the movie offers a thoughtful look at ragtime itself, exploring how the style still captivates, even as it’s become a niche in the musical landscape. They’ve just released a new trailer for the movie, which is definitely worth watching.
Both published in FLYMF’s Greatest Hits, Nick and Michael wrote more funny stuff than I can list here. Nick’s highlights include Catch Up, Cool Male, Nice Joe Nagelberg, Cellular Copperfield, Mother Loves One of These, Bob, Muzak My Eyes Out, eBay Feedback, My Lord and Savior, Salve the Savior, Anatomy of a Submission, and I Fly Delta. Michael’s all-time greats include The Future Is Now? and Uncle Donny and the Bear.
I’ve been meaning to mention this for a long time, but FLYMF alum Angela Lovell has published a young-adult vampire novel, “Blood Drunk.”
As she describes it on her website:
With summer waning quickly before the start of his senior year, a family emergency forces Blue Knightly to leave his small Midwest town and travel to New York City to locate his rebellious sister. From the morgue to Central Park to the underbelly of New York, he quickly discovers the big city is the least of his concerns as he reluctantly takes sides within a warring faction of vampires to unravel the mystery of his sister’s disappearance. In their underground world of abandoned subway tunnels, Blue finds himself falling for a femme fatale vampire whose vibe is seldom clear. Not knowing who to trust, Blue finds himself battling not only the undead, but his own heart, as the family crisis escalates and every decision could be his last.
I picked up a copy for my cousin for Christmas, and I look forward to ordering my own as soon as I can shake a few bucks together. I’m sure it’s extremely creative, dark and hilarious.
Angela’s very funny story, “I’ll Have My Rapist with a Side of Cranberry Sauce” was published in FLYMF’s Greatest Hits. Her other contributions to FLYMF include The Lawnballers, Never Judge An Artist By Her Vagina Dress (Or Lack Thereof), The Troll Made Me Do It and her excellent Whorescopes series.
FLYMF alum Ralph Gamelli has a nice humor piece in the Bygone Bureau: Dry Lightning FAQ.
Ralph’s story, Rocky Balboa Launches Into Inspirational Speeches Too Frequently, was published in FLYMF’s Greatest Hits. He also contributed How Long Before I Use My Ejector Seat? and Twilight Zone Episodes For the Internet Age.
FLYMF alum Angela Lovell has released an ebook of essays detailing the absurdity of a summer job at Disney World. As she says, “Mouseschawitz – My Summer Job of Concentrated Fun is Part 1 of a short collection of true stories from an ex theme park employee and the unbelievable feats she witnessed one summer. From deadly wildlife to celebrity encounters, to guests attempting makeshift abortions on rides, these tales cover all kinds of thrills in the happiest place on earth.”
Angela’s very funny story, “I’ll Have My Rapist with a Side of Cranberry Sauce” was published in FLYMF’s Greatest Hits. Her other contributions to FLYMF include The Lawnballers, September Whorescopes (2005) , October Whorescopes (2005) , December Whorescopes (2005), January Whorescopes (2006), February Whorescopes (2006) , March Whorescopes (2006) , April Whorescopes (2006), Never Judge An Artist By Her Vagina Dress (Or Lack Thereof), May Whorescopes (2006), The Troll Made Me Do It, June Whorescopes (2006) , July Whorescopes (2006) , August Whorescopes (2006), September Whorescopes (2006) , October Whorescopes (2006) , November Whorescopes (2006) , December Whorescopes (2006), January Whorescopes (2007), February Whorescopes (2007), March Whorescopes (2007), April Whorescopes (2007), May Whorescopes (2007) and June Whorescopes (2007).