News Desk

BOOK NEWS: EGW Publishing has announced the release of its newest book, “Poets About Poetry: Interviews with Contemporary American Poets” by H. Philip Hsieh. 14 renowned poets, including four Poets Laureate of the United States, a Nobel Prize winner (chemistry), three Pulitzer Prize Winners and other prestigious poetry award recipients are presented in this book of interviews.

Music and Performers NEWS: -- Combining the musical swagger of The Strokes, the DIY ethic of Black Flag, and the manic hair on fire delivery of Talking Heads, Delphino is a gritty indie rock band that just wants to get out of the basement and into your heart. Keeping the punk spirit in mind, over the past year Delphino has gone from playing in friends' basements and house parties to recording, mixing, and self-distributing their debut album, "Funny Cide," across New York.

Music and Performers NEWS: -- Uproar Entertainment is excited to announce the release of "Live From Las Vegas" by Alex Elkin. Comedian Alex Elkin has a comedy style that is unique and true to himself. He is unapologetic, says what he thinks, delivers the unexpected, and knows what funny is.

Film NEWS: -- The Bootleg Files, Phil Hall's celebrated weekly column focusing on classic and offbeat films and television productions that can only be accessed through unauthorized reproductions, is returning to the Internet after a two-year absence. The first new column will be published on Friday, February 10, on Cinema Crazed.

REVIEW: Almost everyone who examines capitalism comes away with finger-and-thumb firmly pinching the nose. Taking a positive approach, Robert Reich exposes the faults but also recommends solutions in his superb "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few" (ISBN: 9780385350570).

REVIEW: David Brock goes after the American Taliban hate machine in 'Killing the Messenger: The Right-Wing Plot to Derail Hillary and Hijack Your Government' (ISBN: 9781455533763). Debunking the anti-Clinton memes and fake scandals is a never-ending job, so let us give thanks that Brock is willing to tackle it.

REVIEW: Jane Mayer will get your blood boiling in her superb 'Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right' (ISBN: 9780385535595). Every chapter reveals monsters who are perverting the ideals of America.

BOOK NEWS: “Breaking Away: Book One of the Rabylon Series” (ISBN: 978-1946029003), the debut, middle grade fiction novel from Cory Groshek, follows two young bunnies, Remy and Rhea, as they attempt to escape from their impoverished village, Rabylon, and its tyrannical, dictator-like Mayor, en route to a mythical carrot paradise and what Groshek calls “a life worth dying for.”

AUTHOR NEWS: ChildVoice has announced that on Saturday, January 28, from 2-4 p.m., "Enduring the Night" (ISBN-13: 978-1938840067) co-author Natalie Committee-Fath will present an Author Talk at The Potter's House, a nonprofit cafe and bookstore in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Committee-Fath will shine light on the issue of human trafficking and the plight of an estimated 250,000 child soldiers involved in conflicts globally.

Film NEWS: -- With Thanksgiving on the near horizon, FilmSnobbery decided to serve up another type of turkey: in this case, the cinematic variety, with a seasonal celebration of the worst films of all time. And in a survey of approximately 100 filmmakers, critics, historians and performers, the choice for the worst film of all time went to Tommy Wiseau's utterly astonishing 2003 production "The Room."

SOFTWARE NEWS: Picas Inc. recently updated its flagship product Picas to 1.0.3 for iOS and 1.0.4 for Android OS. This free photo editor app can turn your photos into artworks with more than 50 filter effects, and each week Picas adds 1-3 new art filters. Due to its good performance, Play Store featured this photo editing app from Sep. 30 as editors' choice, which brought more than 300,000 downloads and 4.5 average ratings just in a week.

MOVIE NEWS: Cameron Baxter Films has announced the premiere of their film "Seeds of Freedom: A Vision for America" which is the inaugural event for the James Phinney Baxter Lecture Series at the Boston Public Library on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at the Central Library in Copley Square. The film is written, directed, and produced by Andrew Cameron Bailey and Connie Baxter Marlow.

MUSIC NEWS: The Texas State Men’s Choir, founded in January of 2015, released its debut record titled “Prayers, Poems & Promises” which reached #39 on iTunes classical charts in April 2016. With the choir’s new treble addition and now renamed The Texas State Men & Boys Choir, they teamed up with The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir to offer a new Christmas album titled “Following The Star; Traditional Carols.”

MOVIE NEWS: (HOLLYWOOD, Calif.) Zak Lee Guarnaccia is a multifaceted actor, Hollywood stuntman, filmmaker, martial artist and fitness expert, whose career has been evolving in film, television, martial arts and fitness for well-over two decades. Guarnaccia is thrilled to join the cast on 'Live by Night' - the upcoming American crime film, written and directed by the Oscar-winning director Ben Affleck, based on the 2012 novel by Dennis Lehane and distributed by Warner Bros.

SOFTWARE NEWS: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Pavaso, a leader in eClosing and Consumer Management technology solutions, announced earlier this year that it has recorded its 2,000th live transaction on the Digital Close platform. In addition, more than 6,500 user accounts have been created in the platform, spanning from mortgage lenders to title/settlement agents to REALTORS and consumers. The announcement was made in conjunction with the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo.

COMEDY NEWS: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Uproar Entertainment recently announced the release of Brett Hamil's first comedy CD 'GROWER.' In his punchy, fast-moving act Hamil talks about sex, psychedelics, his 'dog entourage,' marrying into secular Judaism, and what it means to feel trapped in one's beard.

BOOK NEWS: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Author-filmmaker-musician John Scott G is creating the world's first omnibus novel. Interweaving nine novels, dozens of short stories, numerous comedy routines, and a great deal of political satire, 'Area Code 666' is being serialized on MuseWire.com, an online magazine of the arts (in BETA).

MUSIC NEWS: (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) Released during Spring of 2016, 'The Vault' is the latest release from Bakdraff Entertainment. Seventeen tracks long, it features music that was created by six music producers and 16 artists over the course of several years. It's a provocative collection of music that digs into the Steel City's history. Every street has a vibe and every building has a story.

MOBILE APP NEWS: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) EZER, the app that connects those with trucks to businesses or individuals who need their stuff picked up and delivered, was showcased at Apps World North America in Santa Clara, Calif. During the expo, the company offered live demos of the app that allow users to see the entire EZER process through, from beginning to end.

BOOK NEWS: (WARWICK, N.Y.) -- Leaving her comfort zone, having adventurous fun, and being useful are at the heart of Carole Howard's new travel memoir, "Tales of a Silver-Haired Volunteer: Going Far and Giving Back" (ISBN: 978-1619844568). The book documents the author's and her husband's late-in-life volunteer travels to Africa and Asia. Some are funny. Some are serious. Many are both.