Random
Calvin Liu where r u?
This is not a Calvin Liu.
To the old farts like me who ran shit in the olden days and submitted to their e-journals by carrier pigeon, I need your calling ears: What ever happened to Calvin Liu?
More people will remember Bullfight Media than will remember The Glut (which is sadly no longer archived by Google unless you go into one of those time machine databases, which are scary).
I wonder mainly because in retrospect I think Calvin was a freemason. I was looking back through a copy I think the first perfect bound thing I was ever in, Calvin’s MITOCHONDRIA: AN ANTHOLOGY OF LOOSE ENDS, which included stuff from his then several mini mags including The Glut (an online site with fiction about food), Sexy Stranger (a mini pamphlet that you could give to people in the street that you thought were hot, with flash fiction in it), and Mitochondria, another site of short weird shit.
I was pretty amazed to see a list of contributors who, at the time, to me were strangers, and now all seem to be some sort of Childbearer of Planet Cooch (I wanted to say they do good shit and have been successful in their work), including: Mike Topp, Tao Lin, Matthew Simmons, Ryan Boudinot, Darby Larson, Kevin Sampsell, Brandon Shimoda, Christopher Owens, James Grinwis, Jimmy Chen, David Gianatasio, Jensen Whelan, Jonathan Messinger, Mark Cunningham, and several other now widely present faces, including myself.
It was a real trip going through some of that old stuff, and surprising that it was actually mostly really good, even though this was in early 2005 that it came out, which means the work was 2004 or earlier.
I hadn’t even gotten my dick pierced yet back then.
After that he did the Bullfight Review, which managed to put out 3 really killer issues, as well as a mini book contest winner which happened to be Roy Kesey’s NOTHING IN THE WORLD. I still have that Bullfight mini version, before it got picked up by Dzanc and Roy blew up.
So, what I’m wondering is: where the fuck is Calvin Liu?
In like ’05, he and I had talked back then about starting another print mag that we never got around to launching, which he suggested me call Anthology A Trois. Come to think of it, we used the same image from Jodorowsky’s HOLY MOUNTAIN that Ken and I ended up using on the No Colony website 4 years later. I never get tired of repeating myself.
I think I found him on myspace once and sent him a message that never got answered.
I would love to know what he’s doing, if he’s writing, publishing, etc. He also had some great fiction and poetry of his own pen, I recall.
Anybody? Anything?
(All you dudes/dudettes who have that Mitochondria anthology could have a fine time flipping through it again, let me say.)
Tags: bullfight media, calvin liu, the glut
Calvin Liu! That anthology was great and so was Bullfight, despite my presence in both (shameless, I know). Thanks for the memory, Blake. I’m going to take a look at those tomorrow morning.
I think Calvin moved to Cambodia to be a newspaper man or some shit. I’m serious, although I wish I made it up because it sounds awfully fantastical. Calvin is in Cambodia, wearing a white linen suit, working on a newspaper. Or maybe it was Laos. Either way, there was freemasonry and newspapers. And hats. Careers have been made.
Somebody should put out a tiny little mag like the Sexy Stranger. It could be called Tiny Little Mag Full of Tiny but Awesome Stuff.
Calvin Liu! That anthology was great and so was Bullfight, despite my presence in both (shameless, I know). Thanks for the memory, Blake. I’m going to take a look at those tomorrow morning.
I think Calvin moved to Cambodia to be a newspaper man or some shit. I’m serious, although I wish I made it up because it sounds awfully fantastical. Calvin is in Cambodia, wearing a white linen suit, working on a newspaper. Or maybe it was Laos. Either way, there was freemasonry and newspapers. And hats. Careers have been made.
Somebody should put out a tiny little mag like the Sexy Stranger. It could be called Tiny Little Mag Full of Tiny but Awesome Stuff.
Eventually, htmlgiant is going to just be a detective agency that looks for guys who published stuff on the internet in the early 2000s.
I think I’ll really enjoy that.
And you too, LAAAAAAAADIES!
Eventually, htmlgiant is going to just be a detective agency that looks for guys who published stuff on the internet in the early 2000s.
I think I’ll really enjoy that.
And you too, LAAAAAAAADIES!
dude, what’s up jensen? i havent seen you around in a while either. i am adding you to the list. i had no idea u lurked. good to e-see you.
i agree, sexy stranger was awesome. i still have mine
dude, what’s up jensen? i havent seen you around in a while either. i am adding you to the list. i had no idea u lurked. good to e-see you.
i agree, sexy stranger was awesome. i still have mine
last i heard of him he was working at a newspaper in walnut creek, a bay area suburb. he had a bullfight review launch party in SF that i didn’t go to. then he vanished.
jensen is one of hobart’s web editors. hi jensen.
just noticed matt bell is one too.
i had a double oban and i feel better now.
last i heard of him he was working at a newspaper in walnut creek, a bay area suburb. he had a bullfight review launch party in SF that i didn’t go to. then he vanished.
jensen is one of hobart’s web editors. hi jensen.
just noticed matt bell is one too.
i had a double oban and i feel better now.
hm. that is weird. his disappearance
what is a double oban
‘the importance of being ernest hemingway’ i love you
hm. that is weird. his disappearance
what is a double oban
‘the importance of being ernest hemingway’ i love you
not much. it’s nice to be e-seen. and also added to a list.
it’s late and now i all sentimental for the early 00s. surgery, uber, haypenny. the internet is all grown up now.
matthew’s idea is funny. we should track down people! then when we’re all here we can stand around uncomfortably and go, 2004 was dope. remember that?
not much. it’s nice to be e-seen. and also added to a list.
it’s late and now i all sentimental for the early 00s. surgery, uber, haypenny. the internet is all grown up now.
matthew’s idea is funny. we should track down people! then when we’re all here we can stand around uncomfortably and go, 2004 was dope. remember that?
scotch
scotch
hi, jimmy.
that’s the last i saw of calvin too. we ate sushi in san francisco and then he disappeared.
hi, jimmy.
that’s the last i saw of calvin too. we ate sushi in san francisco and then he disappeared.
I am Spartacus.
I am Spartacus.
whoa, this is really weird–i didn’t know liu used ‘the importance of being ernest hemingway’…and what makes it more uncanny is that jensen just took ‘the impotence of reading ernest’ for a forthcoming hobart. what are the odds that this all happened in this comment section?
whoa, this is really weird–i didn’t know liu used ‘the importance of being ernest hemingway’…and what makes it more uncanny is that jensen just took ‘the impotence of reading ernest’ for a forthcoming hobart. what are the odds that this all happened in this comment section?
my last communication with him was 5/10/07, he said he was back in california and working for the san francisco examiner
i don’t have my copy of ‘mitochondria’ anymore
my last communication with him was 5/10/07, he said he was back in california and working for the san francisco examiner
i don’t have my copy of ‘mitochondria’ anymore
i feel like i’m at a high school reunion
ok i dont feel that way anymore
i feel like i’m at a high school reunion
ok i dont feel that way anymore
Calvin was off to some faraway continent for a while (doing some journalism work) and then came back to the U.S. (bay area, like before) a year or so ago. He came to Portland and we watched a football game together at a bar with his girlfriend about 10 months ago. He told me he was opening up a small store that would sell zines and chapbooks and stuff like that. I’m not sure if that lasted long. I know he is on Facebook now and currently he’s been mostly into playing music with a band (I think he plays drums).
I like Calvin a lot. He is a cool dude who put out some really cool books that all had a weird kind of fucked-up vibe to them. I miss his savvy vision.
Calvin was off to some faraway continent for a while (doing some journalism work) and then came back to the U.S. (bay area, like before) a year or so ago. He came to Portland and we watched a football game together at a bar with his girlfriend about 10 months ago. He told me he was opening up a small store that would sell zines and chapbooks and stuff like that. I’m not sure if that lasted long. I know he is on Facebook now and currently he’s been mostly into playing music with a band (I think he plays drums).
I like Calvin a lot. He is a cool dude who put out some really cool books that all had a weird kind of fucked-up vibe to them. I miss his savvy vision.
that is good info thank you Kevin. i am glad he is ok, he indeed was a powerhouse
that is good info thank you Kevin. i am glad he is ok, he indeed was a powerhouse
Cool to see this post. Liu was influential to me when I was barely starting to publish, or gave me a place to send a lot of the unhinged stuff I was writing. To this day the most fucked up obscene thing I ever published was at the glut. I still have that mito anthology. i think what I miss the most actually was the mitochondria website. The idea of it was so simple and it was so perfectly off-the-wall, the blue background. I kept going there everyday wanting something new to be up. I don’t think he put as much effort into it as the bullfight stuff, but I always kind of wished mitochondria the website would’ve lasted.
Cool to see this post. Liu was influential to me when I was barely starting to publish, or gave me a place to send a lot of the unhinged stuff I was writing. To this day the most fucked up obscene thing I ever published was at the glut. I still have that mito anthology. i think what I miss the most actually was the mitochondria website. The idea of it was so simple and it was so perfectly off-the-wall, the blue background. I kept going there everyday wanting something new to be up. I don’t think he put as much effort into it as the bullfight stuff, but I always kind of wished mitochondria the website would’ve lasted.
See, now Calvin we found. But Henry Mansfield, people! Hop to!
Mansfield was, according to his bio, a Portlandian. Kevin?
See, now Calvin we found. But Henry Mansfield, people! Hop to!
Mansfield was, according to his bio, a Portlandian. Kevin?
Every site I make is just a rip-off of mitochondria’s site.
Every site I make is just a rip-off of mitochondria’s site.
Ah. The good ol’ days of the Internet. Calvin did a lot of rad stuff.
Another weird remembrance/coincidence: I’m back at school now. First week, was in my office and got talking to my officemate. Turns out, he did that site Tatlin’s Tower. We spent some good, fun time talking about Surgery, among others…
Ah. The good ol’ days of the Internet. Calvin did a lot of rad stuff.
Another weird remembrance/coincidence: I’m back at school now. First week, was in my office and got talking to my officemate. Turns out, he did that site Tatlin’s Tower. We spent some good, fun time talking about Surgery, among others…
I don’t know a Henry Mansfield. Sounds like a shut-in to me.
I don’t know a Henry Mansfield. Sounds like a shut-in to me.
i loved tatlin’s tower. there was always great stories there.
darby, calvin was the same for me. that guy has such a cool/encouraging energy. he was lots of fun to work with and so generous with his support. mitochondria was awesome.
i loved tatlin’s tower. there was always great stories there.
darby, calvin was the same for me. that guy has such a cool/encouraging energy. he was lots of fun to work with and so generous with his support. mitochondria was awesome.
I remember this story in tatlin’s tower I don’t think I’ll ever forget by I think Kristin Henderson? About a robot in an industrial setting, and she’d created this whole new slang that the robots spoke, kind of childish but with purpose, or something. Are the tatlin tower archives anywhere?
I remember this story in tatlin’s tower I don’t think I’ll ever forget by I think Kristin Henderson? About a robot in an industrial setting, and she’d created this whole new slang that the robots spoke, kind of childish but with purpose, or something. Are the tatlin tower archives anywhere?
I don’t think so. But when, every now and then, I get a hankering for some old Surgery, or somesuch, I use the wayback machine. You can get to the archives here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050825205953/www.tatlinstower.com/Archives.html
I don’t think so. But when, every now and then, I get a hankering for some old Surgery, or somesuch, I use the wayback machine. You can get to the archives here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050825205953/www.tatlinstower.com/Archives.html
wow! thanks aaron. Here it is even: http://web.archive.org/web/20050326081609/www.tatlinstower.com/A_Day_in_the_Life.html
Damn. Speaking of, if I didn’t have other shit I really should be doing, I’d probably be spending a lot of time reading that old stuff. I love seeing 5+ year old online stories by Leary and Ruland and Norman Lock and Thom Didato and Seth Shafer and and adnand!
wow! thanks aaron. Here it is even: http://web.archive.org/web/20050326081609/www.tatlinstower.com/A_Day_in_the_Life.html
Damn. Speaking of, if I didn’t have other shit I really should be doing, I’d probably be spending a lot of time reading that old stuff. I love seeing 5+ year old online stories by Leary and Ruland and Norman Lock and Thom Didato and Seth Shafer and and adnand!
Oh man. That story is badass.
Oh man. That story is badass.
we are old farts
‘the good ol days’
i like it though. i miss haypenny
we are old farts
‘the good ol days’
i like it though. i miss haypenny
yeah, haypenny. I tried so hard to get into haypenny, then I did, then they went under right after.
Darby killed Haypenny!
Boooooo
yeah, haypenny. I tried so hard to get into haypenny, then I did, then they went under right after.
Darby killed Haypenny!
Boooooo
ha ha. I’m a curse.
ha ha. I’m a curse.
I might’ve killed bullfight review too. I barely got into the third issue, then no more.
And NFG. Jesus. Don’t publish me anymore!
I might’ve killed bullfight review too. I barely got into the third issue, then no more.
And NFG. Jesus. Don’t publish me anymore!
Darby = blacklisted
Darby = blacklisted
I just got acceptances from pequin and wigleaf too. Hopefully they will survive. I should really quit writing though, for the sake of humanity. I’ll take up scuba diving. Seems like a fun thing watching fish swim.
I just got acceptances from pequin and wigleaf too. Hopefully they will survive. I should really quit writing though, for the sake of humanity. I’ll take up scuba diving. Seems like a fun thing watching fish swim.
and titular. Oh man.
and titular. Oh man.
calvinhungry@yahoo.com.
Mike Topp lives and works for the FBI in New York City. He celebrates his 75th birthday this Christmas.
calvinhungry@yahoo.com.
Mike Topp lives and works for the FBI in New York City. He celebrates his 75th birthday this Christmas.
titular journal death watch countdown.
mike topp is my uncle.
titular journal death watch countdown.
mike topp is my uncle.
titular is doing just fine. they started a new collaboratives project that they are working on.
titular is doing just fine. they started a new collaboratives project that they are working on.
So weird, I was looking for this guy too. He published some of my first stuff.
BTW the Glut site is back up, all the fiction is still there along with the odd link to a tanning bed locator.
So weird, I was looking for this guy too. He published some of my first stuff.
BTW the Glut site is back up, all the fiction is still there along with the odd link to a tanning bed locator.