Saturday, August 22, 2009

Book Signing at Boswell Books


Last Monday I gave a reading and did a book signing at the marvelous Boswell's Books in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was so pleased to be able to speak at Boswells. Good crowd of people and great interest!

A&F on TPT Almanac TV Show


Eric Eskola and Cathy Wurzer invited me back to Twin Cities Public Television show, "Almanac" last night. They are such insightful interviewers -- I really enjoy talking to them.

Here's a clip of the show:
http://www.tpt.org/aatc/videos/2009/08/21/almanac_august_21_2009/the_art_of_living_dangerously

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Throwing Knives

So, you want to learn how to throw knives? It pays to start with good equipment. The most important thing is to use knives made for the purpose. They should be neither too heavy or too light.


Choosing a knife. The type of knife you choose will have an incredible impact on how much you’re able to enjoy knife throwing. Keep in mind that quality throwing knives do not have a handle. The blade is the throwing knife.
▪ Size: Knives that are between 12”-16” are a good size. They aren’t too big and not so small that you’d have to throw harder and strain to watch them in flight.
▪ Weight: Knives of the above size will fly fairly undisturbed from wind and make a satisfying sound when they hit the target.


more at http://www.articlesbase.com/extreme-sports-articles/knife-throwing-so-you-want-to-be-a-knife-thrower-470112.html


I ordered a set of 11 ounce Pro Flight throwing knives from The Great Throwzini and they seem just right. (Earlier, I bought a set of lighter knives from a different vendor and they just didn't have much sticking power and just seemed harder to throw.)

You should spend time thinking about the target. Soft pine works much better than a plywood sheet. The plywood is pretty hard so getting a consistent stick can be difficult.

Twin Cities Business Magazine Interview

The fine people at Twin Cities Business wanted to talk a bit about Absinthe and Flamethrowers. Jack Gordon, a fine writer I've known for a while, called me and we chatted for a while.
What Hunter S. Thompson was to gonzo journalism and Miss Manners is to etiquette, Bill Gurstelle is to suburban dads who think it would be way cool to take some chemicals and PVC pipe out to the garage and construct a cannon that fires a potato with a muzzle velocity of 70 miles per hour.

The full interview is available here: http://www.tcbmag.com/livingwell/afterfive/117967p1.aspx