Short Story Contest: $1,000 Prize
Posted on December 15, 2008
Artists need encouragement. That’s the driving force behind Artists Collective. Now, in partnership with Walkabout Jones, Artists Collective will award $1,000 to the writer who pens the best short story. It’s as simple as that.
Deadline is January 31, 2009. The winning entry will appear in Walkabout Jones in Spring, 2009. Here are the rules:
1. Entry is free and anyone may enter. One entry per writer.
2. Short stories must be no longer than 2,000 words. Any submissions more than 2,000 words will not be considered.
3. Finalists will be chosen by Walkabout Jones. The winner will be selected by a published author, or authors, with no affiliation with Artists Collective or Walkabout Jones.
4. A short story is: A work of fiction. Non-fiction, essays, memoirs, etc. are not eligible.
5. Submissions should be emailed to “Short Story Contest” at artistsforaccess@gmail.com
Artists Collective is a licensed California non-profit delivering medical marijuana to verified patients in Los Angeles. Proceeds go toward creating opportunity grants for artists, writers, performers and musicians. Delivery is free throughout Los Angeles county. For contact information, go to www.artistsforaccess.org
Walkabout Jones is a web magazine, presently giving readers a front row seat to California’s medical marijuana world. Walkabout Jones features art, photography, music, politics, humor and experience-oriented essays.
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Artists Collective Now Open
Posted on November 16, 2008
It began as a seed. Just an idea. Medical marijuana businesses are required under California law to operate as non-profits. So why not launch a service that lives up to the law’s true spirit? We could provide safe access to the sick, and instead of marijuana money going to profiteers, we could take those funds and create opportunity grants for writers, artists, performers, musicians, and others whose work shows bonafide merit.
Californians spend between $870 million and $2 billion on medical marijuana every year. At Walkabout Jones, we think the best way to tell the story is to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. Earlier this year, Dann worked undercover as a medical marijuana delivery driver in San Diego county, one of the most dangerous places to do this sort of work in the state.
Excerpts from his book “I Am the Monster” will appear on Walkabout Jones from time to time. Dann is a deliberate writer, so it won’t be fast. But you’ll appreciate the final result.Â
Now in Hollywood, Artists Collective will continue Walkabout Jones’ exploration into the world of medical marijuana, all while ensuring a significant portion of the proceeds go to creating opportunity grants for deserving artists.
It’s a big undertaking and it’s going to take time, but we know it’s a journey worth completing. And it’s a story that Dann will lead us through with his new weekly department/blog, “Hollywood Reefer.” A little rougher around the edges, it will chronicle the daily travails of a medical marijuana delivery driver in Los Angeles.
If you’re an MMJ patient in the LA area, and you like the idea of marijuana proceeds going to deserving artists, you can reach Artists Collective at 323-979-7822.
Please note: Artists Collective verifies all doctor’s letters and delivers to medical marijuana patients only.
On the philanthropic end, AC’s first giveaway is a short story contest. Artists Collective and Walkabout Jones request your best submissions, no more than two-thousand words. A $1,000 first prize and publication in Walkabout Jones will go to the winner. The entry deadline is January 31st. For additional guidelines, mail Artists Collective at artistsforaccess@gmail.com
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We’re Moving
Posted on November 9, 2008
Walkabout Jones likes to talk in the third person, since this allows us to feel big and powerful and occasionally omnipotent. But the truth is we’re very small, with one full-time guy and family, friends and gracious people volunteering their time and talents to move this project forward. We’re a long way from where we aspire to be, but hopefully you’re beginning to get a taste of the kinds of stories we would like to publish on a regular basis.
But this week….well. I’m relocating from San Diego back to Los Angeles, and there just isn’t time to update the site. In addition to moving, we’re getting ready to launch Artists Collective, a medical marijuana delivery service that will raise money for the arts. More on that later, but sufficed to say, there are many chainsaws being juggled, and since the goal of Walkabout Jones is quality over quantity, I want every story to get the attention it deserves. So bear with me, and us. Let me get unpacked and settled in, and we’ll be back with more original content in the next few days.
Nanu nanu,
Dann
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Voting is for Lovers
Posted on October 21, 2008
With less than two weeks until the election, many of you are yearning for a place to engage in candid conversation. You can visit the usual angry message boards, or you can try something thrillingly out of left field. You can pop the cork on a bottle of wine, smoke a j, and come hang out with us.
Our community is a digital coffeehouse—a place to discuss politics and entertainment, share art, books, travel recommendations, and much more. From now until November 4th, join the election conversation in our political section, Washington Jones.
Vote for your candidate of choice and debate the issues of the day. And the best part about our smaller community? Others will actually listen and thoughtfully respond to what you say. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?
Registration is absolutely free. Just click register and follow the very easy instructions. This is the biggest election of our lives—everybody has an opinion. Come share your thoughts. And while you’re at it, click on MyTunes, and whistle while you work. We now have more than 100 songs instantly available.
Walkabout Jones is the future of the Internet. What we need now is you!
To take a tour of our Digital Coffeehouse, click here.
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New and Fortified
Posted on September 1, 2008
Walkabout Jones doesn’t operate on the clock of a newspaper or magazine. Instead, we’re more like an old friend visiting, popping in every now and then. But that’s about to change.
Our editorial staff has recently doubled, with talented writer and traveler, Katrina Elder, thumbing a ride. In Katrina’s upcoming story, she’ll be taking us to Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Look for “Oops, My Bad” coming soon.
You might also notice a few new bells and whistles. We’ve added a “ShareThis” feature at the bottom of each story. This allows you to email our stories and pictures to family and friends, or post them to two dozen social networking sites. Most exciting is that we’re launching a Walkabout Jones community. We hope you’ll visit our digital coffeehouse, share art, travel stories, politics and culture. We want this to be a smart and passionate place for debate and discussion.
So you see, there’s a lot to do, which explains our disappearance from time to time. But with improved technology and a growing staff of contributors, we’re heading toward our goal of publishing five times a week. In our final form, Walkabout Jones won’t be another blog or magazine, but a gathering place—a portal—for everyone who dreams of a life worth living. Not only will you have a front row seat to our adventures, but you’ll be able to share your own journeys – epic or personal, book recommendations, photography, art, film and more.
Keep an eye out, we’ll keep it interesting.
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Can marijuana save the arts?
Posted on August 4, 2008
This fall Walkabout Jones will take participatory journalism to a new level. With the launch of Artists Collective, a Los Angeles medical marijuana service, we’ll not only take you into the world of medical marijuana, but open a true non-profit corporation with proceeds to support individual artists—thus demonstrating the multi-billion dollar potential cannabis has to bankroll social good. Whether creating opportunity grants for artists, helping the sick, or any number of worthy causes, legalized maryjane has dollars and cents ability to help solve serious social problems where government and big business have failed. There’s a lot of work to do, and for that we need your help. But more than anything, we need your enthusiasm. If you can donate time or money, awesome. If not, we’ll still think you’re fantastic if you just spread the word. Let’s keep marijuana out of the hands of tobacco corporations, and redirect millions to a host of benevolent causes.
To read more about Artists Collective, click here.
Dig our playlist?: How many sites offer a mix of Cab Calloway and Temple of the Dog? Jim Croce and State Radio? Kenny Rogers, Etta James, Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash? Now it’s your turn to play music savant. Send us your top eleven licks, and we’ll start adding your choices to the site. Whether it’s old, new, country, folk, jazz, rock, or straight-up funk, what matters is that it’s musical nirvana from the very first note. So dust off your records, maximize your music files, and send us your picks of legendary licks.
It begins: Ever wonder what it’s like to run drugs near the Mexican border? Walkabout Jones is getting ready to show you. For the past few months, Dann’s been working as a medical marijuana delivery driver in San Diego county. (Did we mention that San Diego has the largest DEA field office in America?) It’s been hard work, exciting and dangerous, sometimes spine-shivering, other times highly satisfying.
The first of these stories, “Will Work For Bud” arrives next week. Keep an eye out for it and others, and let us know what you think.
Making our name, making our fame: Walkabout Jones dreams of becoming a thoughtful media oasis, well-removed from choppy seas besieged by pundits and paparazzi. Art, adventure, politics, and truth stranger than fiction are what get our creative juices flowing, but we’ve learned that spreading the word isn’t easy. Not with millions of websites vying for your precious eyes. To those ends, we’ve launched Myspace, Facebook, Stumbleupon, and Digg pages, with fingers crossed these digital tools will bring more readers into our realm. But we’re always looking for fresh ideas. So if you’re a budding marketeer, and wish to spread word of our mischief, please get in touch. We want you.
Walkabout Jones also welcomes collaboration with artists, writers and adventurous thinkers who want to help create a different kind of website. If interested, contact Dann at walkaboutjones@gmail.com
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“Holla atcha boy…”
Posted on June 24, 2008
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On Vacation
Posted on May 10, 2008
Walkabout Jones is taking a few weeks off to write speeches for Barack Obama. Long speeches, composed on rolls of toilet paper, mailed to his campaign headquarters unsolicited. So far, no luck. But this week we’re switching to paper (blank pages from myriad credit card offers) and hope is running high. If all else fails, we’ll put our message to music with the help of a bluegrass band and yodelers.
However it goes, the work of crafting a vision for America takes time. So the site is taking a siesta for a few weeks. Maybe forever, assuming Obama is so impressed by our masterwork he appoints us Director of Homeland Security or official White House nacho taster. Either job would be a step up.
So chill for a few weeks, Jonesians. Who could have imagined just a few days ago, we’d be in this unique place in history, where we could stalk Barack Obama with rednecks, Ricola, Tostitos, and hope?
In the unlikely event we’re not his running mate, Walkabout Jones will reluctantly return in June.
Check you later,
WJ
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Coming This Week
Posted on April 20, 2008
You’ve been waiting. Too long. So buckle up Jonesians, this week brings Part Two of “Going to Dr. Feelgood.” For those who haven’t read the first, jump in your time capsule and head back to March 6th. Sorry it’s taken time, but such is the downside of being a one man band. Everything you see is done by me—and time (if not money, for once) has been scarce.
In the next week, you’ll have a new “First Person” telling the tale of California’s medical marijuana world. I’ve gotten a huge amount of art submissions and queries. Again, sorry for not getting back sooner, but a boy’s gotta sleep.
Expect to hear from me sometime in the near future.
Here at WJ, everything is going well. Jones is getting a big thumbs-up from readers around the world, our Myspace presence is growing, and there’s plenty more good to come.
So stick in. Turns out we’re not going anywhere.
Peace,
WJ
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Medical Timeout
Posted on March 21, 2008
There is no greater gift in this world than good health. Once you lose it, life ain’t the same. It’s been five years since I was last fully healthy, and while my condition has improved, I’m still prone to the occasional relapse. A change in medication last week has caused things to take a turn for the worse.
My body doesn’t produce enough testosterone. This causes a host of medical problems, among them extreme exhaustion. Rather than risk a full physical crash, I’ve decided to take a brief timeout and give my body the time it needs to rest and properly recover.
It takes an enormous amount of energy to produce this website and I don’t like to half-ass anything. So sit tight for a few days and have a killer weekend.
Walkabout Jones will return with a major announcement on Tuesday, March 25th.
Get ready. We’re about to do something pretty incredible.
Respect,
Dann
Support Freedom. Support the Arts. Support Walkabout Jones.
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