Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

In no particular order and off the top of my head, these are some of the things I'm working on for the future, goals for the next few years:

First and foremost, more books. Lots of them. Over the last year, the requests I've received for e-books has increased exponentially. I've not been a fan of e-books myself, but there's no denying that this is the way things are headed. And though I lament the death of paper, if people tell me they want e-books, I listen. I'm talking to several different publishers right now, assessing my options, trying to decide if I want to go through them or if there's any reason not to just start my own e-publishing imprint and cut out the middlemen. I continue to welcome your opinions on the subject of e-books and e-readers.

There are a lot of writing projects cluttering up my desk these days - a couple of crime-detective-noir novels I've been working on, plus projects devoted to specific local subjects like Springheel Jack, The Pope Lick Monster, and Kentucky artists. Theoretically Weird Cemeteries for Sterling is still a go, but it seems to be held up in Development Hell for reasons known only to my editors and publisher. My cemeteries book will see the light of day, however, in the next two years one way or another.

I'm still very excited about working for KyForward, a news website focusing on the Bluegrass area (Lexington and surrounding counties) with a consciously positive, upward-toned sense of civil discourse. Which, as you must know, is all too rare on the internet these days. If you'd like to support such a venture, potential advertisers, please contact them and inquire about ad rates! We're also kicking around the idea of doing video content, including an interview show hosted by yours truly.

And I still love Kentucky Monthly magazine! You can find my column, Commonwealth Curiosities in each issue. If you don't see it at your local newstand or bookstore, bug 'em till they stock it! (Having said that, though, it's a hugely popular magazine and getting more popular all the time; I don't think I've ever seen a reputable store that didn't carry it.)


I'm still a painter first and foremost, although hyping my primitive neo-expressionist outsider-folk-art flavored canvases has taken a back seat in the last couple years to everything else. I aim to rectify that in the weeks and months ahead, with a renewed drive to get these paintings in the hands of as many people as possible, by any means necessary. Do you want a JSH original in your home or office? Talk to me. It's so doable. I offer interest-free payment plans for every budget. (And my Happy & Froggie painting that was featured in the film When Happy Met Froggie is still available, although its price has gone up since the movie was released.)

Something else I've been slowly putting together over the years is material for an Unusual Kentucky museum - something that would be not only a legitimate educational and historical museum, but also take a truly "Weird Kentucky" spin on the whole thing, showing cultural artifacts of the Commonwealth that might be a little - okay, a lot - fringier than what you might see at the Frazier. There have been some nibbles of interest in the concept from parties in both Louisville and Lexington, but I'm holding out until I get a guaranteed deal that gives me control over the place if it's going to be using my name. There are some recent rumblings that give me hope this thing will actually happen, and sooner than later. Keep your fingers crossed with me; it's gonna be a lot of fun.


Those are the primary projects on my front burners, but there's plenty more still bubbling under. My interest in Kentucky's horse industry is going to manifest in some way sooner or later, we'll see. A couple more goals I have: I intend to operate a Steampunk-themed bar and a hillbilly/exotica miniature golf course (the crazy over-the-top kind with giant statues and weird gimmicks like you see down in Pigeon Forge) before I die. All in time. Wait and see. (And when that retro bar does come to life, my bartending blog Transmissions from Agent J will be pressed back into service.)

There's still more. A lot more. This'll do for now though. Stay tuned to JSH News for the latest updates on my dreams and schemes! And remember, I can always be reached, by anyone on the planet, at jshpaint@gmail.com. You can also text me on Twitter or just pick up the phone and call me at 502.649.3378. Find me.

That Was Then, This Is Now

Tomorrow, July 4th, will be my last post on most of my blogs, for some time to come. I'm increasingly busy with a lot of exciting real-world projects that demand my full attention, and I just don't have as much time to devote to the internet.

That may sound odd, since my internet presence has always been rather over-the-top. But the fact is, this is not the same Internet I originally signed on for. I won't bore you with the details and you'll find I've belabored the point suitably elsewhere, but suffice it to say I'm bored with the internet and I don't like the direction it's going - and by extension, the direction it's taking most of us.

In 1993 I was introduced to the internet by my friend JLK. I was skeptical about the whole idea of it, and the luddite in me was fundamentally opposed to it. However, he was quite persuasive and pointed out to me several key points that the net had to offer. In just a couple of short years I went from being a total noob to being someone whose whole life was represented online - I was also one of the first bloggers, although nobody called it that back in 1994. By 2003 I had a website called Unusual Kentucky, which first had a dot com and then moved to Geocities (which is now archived by Oocities.) The website moved to this blogspot location in 2008 to tie in with the release of my book Weird Kentucky. And I'm sure it will have yet another incarnation down the road; we haven't heard the last of it. But for now, I'm going to spend more time in the real world, not the electronic world.

I'll still be online plenty, of course, checking email and doing research. But as of tomorrow, my contribution to Victorian Squares will diminish severely but not entirely. My blogs Unusual Kentucky, Voraxical Theatre, Revelation Awaits An Appointed Time, Krampus the Cat, Whitewashed Windows and Vacant Stores, Creeps Records, Transmissions from Agent J, and JSHNYC are going into cryogenic sleep.

The JSH Combo blog will probably return if and when that twice-aborted musical project reaches fruition. The Catclaw Theatre Diaries will also be updated when there's relevant news to report. Transylvania Gentlemen will eventually be retooled for the purposes of that organization, but by someone other than myself. I'm still looking forward to cranking out more fiber batts for the Etsy crowd soon, but the exploits will probably not be followed on my Appalachian Voodoo Fibers blog in the foreseeable.

Rebecca and friends over at the Telecrylic Foundation will continue operating my official JSH News blog (with my direct input, of course. I'm too much of a control freak), so that is now more than ever the place to go for the latest "News flash! JSH eats a turkey sandwich!" breaking news. I'm not sure what's up with the actual Telecrylic International blog, but I suspect it's dead in the water since it's going to be superceded by another online archive of my paintings and comics.

I already saw all this writing on the wall back in the winter, when I got rid of all my dot-com websites, including jeffreyscottholland.com, jshnyc.com, jshdc.com, jshla.com, superfrothco.com, catclawtheatre.com, voraxica.com, voraxium.com, and more that I'm probably forgetting. I thought I would miss them all dearly the moment they went offline. I don't.

So what is surviving the purge? After tomorrow, other than JSH News, the best place to keep up with what I'm up to will be:

* My Twitter feed (I don't use it as a social network and you don't have to be a member; in fact, 99.9% of my friends are not on it, they just read it directly on the web same as any other of my blogs)

* My photo blog will also continue for the time being. The mundane details of my day-to-day life will still be over-exposed amply for the handful of people on Earth who care, so between this and my Twitter feed, my stalkers shouldn't feel shut out in the cold.

* My writing blog will still continue to exist. More details about this tomorrow.

Tomorrow, on the fourth of July, we'll get into the good news - all the fun things that I'm working on that'll be better than blogging, and things that I want you, dear reader, to feel free to get involved in! As Jack Lord used to say, "Be here! Aloha!"

Celebrity Numerology

One from the Victorian Squares blog:

Okay, now this is creepy: I just found a "Celebrity Numerology" site that has a page about me, breaking down my personal numerology profile, astrological info, and biorhythm charts.

Even though I think it's all a buncha fried baloney, I have to say some of their observations about me are fascinating. Check out their "Soul Urge" page about me:

Jeffrey Scott Holland wants success in its fullest meaning - wealth, power, and material comforts. He has an enormous ambition. Jeffrey dreams of big projects, great undertakings, and rewards.

Holland is a visionary. He sees the horizon and the promise. In general, Jeffrey Scott Holland also sees the methods necessary to fulfill that promise. But he is not especially good with details; Jeffrey needs others to help him deal with the smaller parts of the picture. His challenge is to make full use of the full spectrum of his abilities, as indicated by his other core numbers. In the same way, Holland must bring forth the best from others and orchestrate their talents toward the realization of his vision. In short, Jeffrey Scott Holland must lead by example, demonstrating the standard for commitment, determination, and excellence.

Pretty wacky, eh? Wait, it gets wackier. This is from their numerological personality profile of me:

He is hard to get to know, and is often withdrawn. It is common for people to see Jeffrey Scott Holland's focus turn inside of himself in the middle of a conversation. Jeffrey has the makings of an intellectual and an aristocrat but he has to guard against arrogance and an attitude of "I have got it all figured out". There have been periods in Jeffrey Scott Holland's life when he had little concern for his clothing or fashion, while at other times he is very aware of his clothing and uses it to make a specific impression. Jeffrey appears dignified no matter how he dresses, but a well groomed seven with a touch of dash definitely has an advantage. Holland's confidence increases when he knows he is well dressed.

Jeffrey Scott Holland is recognized as spiritual and religious, with his very own ideas regarding the purpose of life and the Creator. He is an inspired speaker, but only when discussing subjects that really interest him. Otherwise, Jeffrey is not one for chatter. His love of knowledge and wisdom shows.

Wow, that's actually hitting a little too close to home. In fact, I had some trepidation about next clicking their "Destiny" page about me. Turns out I'm an "11", which it says here is "the most highly charged destiny number" of them all (say it like Jim Morrison):

Jeffrey Scott Holland has always sensed that he is different, but it was an indefinable feeling. Jeffrey is enormously sensitive and aware, especially as a child. This made Holland vulnerable to all conflicts and painful situations. For most of his upbringing, however, Jeffrey Scott Holland did not realize that other people did not possess the same sensitivity, nor did they see the same things he was seeing.

Holland compensated for his sense of separation in childhood by creating an elaborate fantasy world. He daydreamed more than other children. He had a lively imagination and even in adulthood has a hard time separating reality from fantasy.

Jeffrey Scott Holland's challenge is to bring forth his primitive, earthy strength. He needs to be grounded in order to deal with his lightning bolts. The more Jeffrey is able to call upon his inherent human strength, the greater his capacity to take advantage of his extremely sensitive awareness. Once this is accomplished, Holland's antagonist becomes his benefactor.

Jeffrey is highly emotional and dependent upon relationships. Emotionally, he goes up and down with the fortunes of his love life.

He is idealistic, impractical, and at times disorderly. Holland is often unrealistic in his expectations.

His reasons for doing things are usually born of a mixture of logic, emotion, and intuition, which can rarely be explained satisfactorily to his more rational associates.

I don't know whether to be insulted because the unflattering parts are absolutely spot-on, or to be pleased about the hyper-mystical stroking it's giving me at the same time. I think I'm just gonna try to forget about the whole thing and go lay down and listen to The Monkees some more.

Localocracy

My new column for KyForward, Jeffrey Scott Holland's Kentucky, can be found every Friday on their Localocracy section (look for it in the upper right corner of their index page). The first entry is a bit about the Hunt-Morgan House and some of the folks who have dwelt there.

Forward is This Way

There's still a few formatting tweaks forthcoming (the paragraphing is unintentionally oddly spaced out) but my first piece for KyForward is live on the web now! Woo-hoo!

I'm excited to be on board as a part of the KyForward team, because their positive, constructive outlook meshes well with my own stubborn views on newsmedia sensationalism and real winning (as opposed to Charlie Sheen's hijacking of the word.)

KyForward is a brand new site - so new, in fact, it's still under construction and beta as all get out, but come along for the ride with me and watch it continue to grow and flourish in the days and weeks ahead.


I'll be doing a weekly column for KyForward doing my usual unusual thing, as well as spotlight features on notable Kentuckians who are out there achieving, accomplishing, and acting rather than doing nothing. If that sounds like somebody you know - heck, maybe it sounds like you! - call me, email me, send me smoke signals.

Four Leaf Vinca

I was taking photos of various flowers, blooms and buds on my property today and happened to notice that a couple of the flowers on the Vinca growing around the edge of the house had only four leaves and a square-shaped center (above), as opposed to the standard blooms with five leaves and star-shaped center (below).


I did a quick glance at Google and neither a web nor an image search for "four leaf Vinca" brings up a damn thing about this being normal. It would seem that what we have here is a mutation. Though the radioactive particles wafting across the nation from Fukushima were naturally the first thing that entered my mind, it must be said that the four-leaf clover is an example of an occasional mutation that's been happening as long as there's been clover - no radiation needed. Still though, I wonder, hmmmmm, yes, I wonder....

(And if you have any interest in seeing my other pitchers o' purty flars, the rest of what I took today will soon end up at my new blog Visual Slushpile, an abyss where my photos for which I have no purpose will be indiscriminately hurled. Unlike our friend JLK's Image of the Week, which has a modicum of effort and forethought in its selection, my blog will be more of a random literal photo-dump of whatever, whenever, no rhyme, no reason.)

The Invisible Barrier

One from my writing blog:


There seems to be a weird psychological barrier that keeps Kentuckians from exploring the vast majority of their state - especially between Louisvillians and Lexingtonians. In this month's issue of Kentucky Monthly, I address this mental block and exhort you and yours to get off the internet and acquaint yourself with the 120 counties of Kentucky, most of which I bet dollars to donuts you ain't been in.

Kentucky Monthly is available at fine and discerning bookstores and newsstands everywhere!

The Browning Boys

One from my writing blog:

This month's installment of Commonwealth Curiosities: did you know that the original "Louisville Slugger" Pete Browning and the pioneering Hollywood director Tod Browning (the man who brought us Freaks and the original Bela Lugosi Dracula) were related? And did you know that both these Kentuckians led extremely eccentric lives? Just how eccentric? Pick up the latest copy of Kentucky Monthly and find out!

Krampus the Cat!

Here's a shout out for the original lolcat! Don't forget to check out the official blog of Krampus, the world's best cat. Of course, I could be said to be biased since the aforementioned pet is mine. (Or am I his?) Krampo's blog is updated daily most of the time, with sexy color pictures of his majesty suitable for framing.

Statistics

I've been studying the blog stats that Blogspot so handily provides, and the data is rather interesting.

For starters, here's just a random sampling of some of the odd search-engine queries that brought people to this blog:

concrete pig

derby pie blah blah blah

miss tater day

ghost janitor kentucky

mothman kentucky

satan cave

blue people

passenger trains in the 1920's

branch davidians in kentucky

crypt bardstown

kfc secret location

kentucky nudist

festival of sacrifice lexington

unusual swimming pools

dog kidnaps baby

unusual mosque kentucky

hallowed by usage and consecrated by time

white castle wedding

tough guy in campbell county

I suppose by listing them here, I'm reinforcing their search-engine stick-icity by feeding them back into Google's crawlers for another go-round, aren't I?


According to the stats, 80% of my visitors are from the USA, which doesn't really surprise me given the focus of the blog. (By contrast, another blog of mine, Revelation Awaits an Appointed Time, gets almost as many European visitors as American, and also has a large readership in Middle Eastern countries.)

The vast majority of UnK readers are running IE and Windows, which also is no shocker - Firefox is a close second though.

Less than 1% visited UnK using iPhones, however, which I found a bit unexpected.


And in case you care, the ten most-clicked-on UnK articles of all time (well, since last summer anyway, when Blogger started keeping stats):

Blue People of Kentucky
Shirley Ardell Mason
Mothman Sighting in Russell
Carrie Nation
Stringbean's Hidden Treasure
Tom Cruise Climbs Burj Khalifa
The Erica Fraysure Case
Bobby Mackey's Music World
Reclining Figure on Grave
Miss Elizabeth

Now see, before I saw the stats I would have conjectured that surely Tombstone Junction, or one of my Bill Sparkman or Edward W. Edwards posts, would make the top ten most viewed.

But "Reclining Figure on Grave"? Really? Huh.

I suppose I should listen to what the market demands, and make my next novel "Stringbean and the Blue People Vs. Mothman".

Kangaroos in Kentucky?

One from my writing blog:


Readers of my Unusual Kentucky blog and my Weird Kentucky book already know the lowdown on anomalous Kangaroo sightings in the Commonwealth, but now I've hipped the Kentucky Monthly crowd to the concept in the latest installment of my Commonwealth Curiosities column! Check it out at your local newsstand or bookstore!

Ashland and the Paramount Ghost

One from my writing blog:


Ashland, Kentucky - especially the legendary spirit said to haunt its Paramount Arts Center - is the topic this time in my monthly column Commonwealth Curiosities. Pick up your copy of Kentucky Monthly magazine at reputable newsstands and bookstores everywhere!

Orientation

Doing an "FAQ" of sorts for Unusual Kentucky is something I've been mulling over for quite some time now, and I reckon it's fully mulled. Here's a few handy-dandy tips on how best to utilize this blog to its optimum potential, and some background exposition to help put all this in context.

First, and perhaps foremost, you should know that although I am a writer and journalist, I do not consider blogging to be journalism per se. When blogging, I pretty much type whatever pops into my cabeza in personal-editorial mode. Virtually everything you will read here consists of just what you would expect from the world of UFOs, paranormal, ghosts, conspiracy theory, etc. - vague rumor, hearsay, anecdotal evidence, folklore, legend, and myth. It just comes with the territory. There's already more than enough of that online, so I try to avoid unsourced falsehoods and Junk Data whenever possible, but hey, this is the internet, so caveat emptor, Jack. If you use my blog - or anything else from the internet, for that matter - as a primary source for your doctoral thesis, well, that's your misfortune.

Updating this silly blog takes up less than 1 percent of what I do in life, and the reader is cautioned to keep that in mind. I rarely spend more than a few minutes on a post, and am as often as not typing under the influence of coffee, bourbon, European snuff, or sleep deprivation. This blog is supposed to be a thought-provoking and fun clearinghouse for weird Kentucky memes, usually reported off the top of my head with very little effort (I charge money for that) - if you take it seriously at all, you're taking it way too seriously.


Which brings us to the second point: comment moderation. With the blog's growing popularity, I now get hundreds of spam comments which I must tediously wade through to pick out the real ones. And among those real ones, I tend to leave out the ones that are insulting and wanting to pick a fight. If you have a beef with something I say here, e-mail me directly. I rarely bother to get into prolonged debates with anyone about anything, but I never do with anonymous internet jerks.

I also tend to ignore comments that are non-sequiturs, that are questions or conversation that would be better off addressed to me via e-mail, or that exist only to post a link.


Now, some tips on some features of Blogger itself you may not be aware of. I get a lot of questions asking things like "Where is your post on such-and-such? I can't find it." Even without doing a Google search for your query, you can cross-search this blog in two ways - by the labels (the keyword links at the bottom of each post) which might assist you in your quest, or by the search box in the upper left corner of every Blogger site.


This blog is not optimized for viewing on RSS, or via any other method or device than actually directly viewing the blog at the source and on a regular computer's web browser.

And finally, I get a lot of confused queries from folks who mistakenly believe that I am from NYC or Los Angeles and am writing about Kentucky from a distance and out of ridicule (One nut even sent me a hate letter once that started out "You big city people come to Kentucky just to laugh at us".) To set the record straight, I am a farmboy from Waco, KY on the Madison/Estill County border, and though I maintain painting/photography studios and branch offices in several cities, my home base is still Kentucky and always will be. My entire purpose in this blog is to highlight what a wondrous and exciting place Kentucky really is, and that it is a key part of those things in Heaven and Earth undreamt of in your imagination, Horatio.

And finally finally: I welcome your input and contributions. Send me pics! Send me reports! Not enough stuff here from Calloway County? Rectify that and help me out! Tell me what's good in your neck of the woods.

Alrighty then, agents of Interzone, consider yourselves briefed. Now get out there and file those reports. Go go go. Oo-rah. Semper Fi.

For the Love of Beer Cheese

One from my writing blog:

Brillat-Savarin once wrote, "A dinner which ends without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye." And that's doubly so when it comes to my favorite Kentucky delicacy, Beer Cheese. My regular readers already know what lengths of fanaticism my love for Beer Cheese can reach, and now I'm droppin' that knowledge for the Kentucky Monthly crowd in this month's installment of Commonwealth Curiosities! Scope out the October issue at your favorite bookstore or newsstand.

A Jug's Life

One from my JSH Combo music blog:


Some crappy old recordings of Holland's Jug Stompers (my abysmally inept jug band from 1998-1999) are now resurrected for the 21st century via the blessing/curse that is YouTube. You needn't actually listen to them; just know that they exist and that we had a really good time torturing our hippie audiences at Berea College with our slovenly, spontaneous and unrehearsed avant-garde hi-jinks. But if you insist, you may find four of them online so far: "Hello Josephine", "Come Back to your Kentucky", "Naked on the Railroad Tracks", and "Rainstorm Creeps".

And if that doesn't completely kill any curiosity you may have had about this band, you can also read some recollections and reminiscences about those grand productive days here and also here.

("Yeah, but... but... what about the JSH Combo, JSH?", I hear you cry. Well, be warned: our latest relaunch of ourselves is underway, please stand by. "Hold on", as Paul Stanley once said, "the roller coaster is about to begin.")

Mystery Bottle?

From my writing blog:


Readers of my column Commonwealth Curiosities in the September issue of Kentucky Monthly will get an early report about a very special and very mysterious bottle in my possession; one that I plan to open at a special event soon. More details to be announced.

Check it out!

Commonwealth Curiosities

From my writing blog:


My new column, Commonwealth Curiosities, debuts in the current August issue of Kentucky Monthly magazine! More of my musings on what's weird, wild, wondrous and worthy in our fair state; you know the drill.

In this issue, the "back to school" special, I examine points of interest to be found on college campuses and universities around Kentucky.

Look for Kentucky Monthly magazine at your local bookstore or newsstand, and if they don't have it, ask!

Thanks, Costco!

Thanks to all my pals who came out to keep me company at Costco during my book-signing today!

Honestly, I hadn't expected much enthusiasm from Costco's grocery-shoppin' clientele - especially when I found out this was their first-ever author signing event - but the response turned out to be spectacular.

I met a lot of wonderful people, many of whom already had my book and were buying more copies for friends and relatives. Swapped stories, anecdotes and info with lots of folks. And the Costco employees were all really great too, and I was surprised how many of them were thoroughly familiar with the book.

It especially did my heart good to see a lot of youngsters interested in reading. A very young strawberry-blonde girl - maybe 9 years old - tentatively approached the table and asked what the book was about. "Oh, It's all about ghosts and UFOs and fun crazy things," I said in that annoyingly patronizing way that grownups often talk to kids.

"You know, I think one of the most interesting things about Kentucky is that it is bordered by so many other states and therefore is influenced by many different regional cultures", she replied.

D'oh! She probably should have written the book instead of me!

"Weird Kentucky" Book Signing at Costco!

I thought I was done with book-signing appearances for my book Weird Kentucky, but like Al Pacino, they keep pulling me back in.

I've been asked to make a personal appearance at Costco after strong holiday-season sales, signing copies for one and all. That's the Costco on Norton Healthcare Blvd, from noon to 3pm on February 20th.

Book signings are so weird; you just never know how they'll turn out. Sometimes people are lined up and shaking my hand and saying such nice and flattering things that I get a swelled head and need a bigger hat. Other times, you sit alone at a table with a stack of books and a sharpie, looking like a total fool - "but... but... doesn't anyone want my autograph?" Really dreadful.

And this being at a Costco rather than a bookstore proper, I'm assuming a lot of folks are there to buy macaroni and cheese dinners by the pallet-load, and containers of mayonnaise the size of anti-freeze jugs, not to see some weirdo from Estill County who paints scary clowns.

So, friends and allies, come on out and keep me company and give me some moral support here, k? I could probably use it.

(Media inquiries: contact my publicist at Sterling Publishing, Leigh Ann Ambrosi, at (646) 688-2503. Or my agent, Rebecca Quartieri of Telecrylic International, at telecrylic@gmail.com.)

Telecrylic

One from our Transylvania Gentlemen blog:


More JSH than you can shake a stick at, you stick-shakers. Those obsessive folks at Telecrylic, who have apparently made it their life's work to be monks in endlessly recapitulative study of my droppings, have a new blog that promotes me better than any of my own ever could. Click here to check it out.