Ode To Guitar Center West Los Angeles

This past Thursday, the 23rd of January 2025, was an end of an era as they say for the Guitar Center in West Los Angeles at the corner of Pico and Westwood Boulevard. I managed and did corporate sales at a Borders Bookstore years ago Read More …

Pit – A Leo Van Cleef Novel is Available Everywhere and in Hardcover

Pit – A Leo Van Cleef detective novel is now available in hardcover   Canine homicide is not the best way to kick off the New Year for Los Angeles Homicide Detective Leo “Lee” Van Cleef, especially after the recent loss of his own 18 Read More …

The Day Brando Died (Ode to the Apocalyptic Godfather) A Poem by Michael P. Naughton

The Day Brando Died (Ode to the Apocalyptic Godfather) I was with my then friend Michael Madsen the day Marlon Brando died.  I wanted to help him out as a poet when I once worked for a place called Borders —             Will anyone remember Read More …

How “They Only Kill Their Masters” Inspired “Pit”

  The ‘70s were all about dangerous Dobermans. “The Amazing Dobermans,” “The Doberman Gang” “Daring Dobermans,” “Trapped,” even one of my favorite Columbo episodes, “How to Dial a Murder” featured a pair of trained, or reconditioned, Doberman killers. They Only Kill Their Masters, released in Read More …

Why “Not Dead and Not for Sale” is this Generation’s “No One Here Gets Out Alive”

No lack of substance here (literally). True, some readers, reviewers and fans might be disappointed by the terse, tenuous and to-the-point chapters of Scott Weiland’s autobiography. However, I found his memoir insightful and edifying. I think he was wise to say just enough and the Read More …

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM AND A BIG CORNER TURNED FOR STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (REVISITING TINY MUSIC 20 YEARS LATER)

“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel… just steal the hubcaps.” – Michael P. Naughton From the moment you “Press Play” literally, you are a passenger in a different car on this new highway of STP’s career. The grunge of Core and Purple is supplanted Read More …

Agatha Christie and the Mystery of Mindfulness

“The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. ” – Agatha Christie Years ago I read a book by Thich Nhat Hanh entitled the “Miracle of Mindfulness.” As someone who has had the humbling task of washing dishes domestically without Read More …

5 POETS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR PERCEPTION & OUTLOOK ON LIFE

You might have spent time with Homer, Poe, Plath, Ginsberg or Gibran and I personally applaud you if you are conversant with their work. Great poets should inspire us to reach deeper within ourselves and seek the mystery of the words behind their words, so Read More …