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(no subject) [Dec. 1st, 2009|07:52 pm]

composers_forum
[masaccio]

CANTIO SARMATICA CXII
per liuto 

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ca337 - Post Human Era - To Build A Fire [Dec. 1st, 2009|11:09 pm]

idm_making
[clncl]


Artist: Post Human Era
Title: To Build A Fire
#ca337
Date: 2009-11-30
Keywords: electro-pop; post pop; indie-electro
(320 kbps)

Post Human Era is the work of multi-instrumentalist Daniel Finfer. With the help of brother Michael Finfer, the duo utilize electronic beats, ambient synths, and transcendent lyrics to construct a colorful palette of sounds and textures similar to The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, The Notwist, and Nine Inch Nails.
Contact:
http://www.posthumanera.com

DL:
http://www.archive.org/details/ca337_phe
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Post_Human_Era
http://www.clinicalarchives.spyw.com
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ca337 - Post Human Era - To Build A Fire [Dec. 1st, 2009|11:08 pm]

hear_it_here
[clncl]


Artist: Post Human Era
Title: To Build A Fire
#ca337
Date: 2009-11-30
Keywords: electro-pop; post pop; indie-electro
(320 kbps)

Post Human Era is the work of multi-instrumentalist Daniel Finfer. With the help of brother Michael Finfer, the duo utilize electronic beats, ambient synths, and transcendent lyrics to construct a colorful palette of sounds and textures similar to The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, The Notwist, and Nine Inch Nails.
Contact:
http://www.posthumanera.com

DL:
http://www.archive.org/details/ca337_phe
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Post_Human_Era
http://www.clinicalarchives.spyw.com
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The Seven Essentials To Writing A Press Release [Dec. 1st, 2009|02:43 pm]

hear_it_here
[musicdish]

By Michele Wilson-Morris
(more articles from this author)
2009-11-29

Working in the music industry has its perks, privileges, and pains as anyone who works in it knows. No matter what your genre is, one thing remains the same for all artists: You need to bring attention to yourself, your music, and your events. And while there are several ways to do so, few are as effective (in terms of cost or exposure) as a well written press release.

Writing a press release may prove to be a challenge to those whose focus is solely on their musical ability and efforts, but it doesn't have to be. There's an art to writing a good press release just like there's an art to making good music. In fact, a well written press release is simply you on paper. There are many tricks to the trade, and I'm going to share some of several of them with you: The Seven Essentials of Press Release Writing.

Read a full article @ http://musicdish.livejournal.com/186554.html or http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=12524

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Talk about Quantum Jumping [Dec. 1st, 2009|07:30 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Talk_about_Quantum_Jumping

LSD is so much more cost effective.
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who who, who who... [Dec. 1st, 2009|10:25 am]

gushgush
So, I got my hair cut yesterday and subsequently I had to spend some time looking at myself. Not the introspective where-I'm-at/what-my-life's-been stuff, I wallow in enough of that shit from time-to-time. I mean I was just looking at my visage in a mirror, both while getting the haircut and afterward as I checked it out to see just how badly I'd been chopped-up. The feeling I got is the same as when I see pictures of myself in a suit at a wedding or some other type of dress-up affair: who the fuck is that?

Part of my surprise at looking at myself comes from the fact that I'm not a huge fan of mirrors, in-general; I frequently leave the house with some fashion faux pas that would have been easily remedied had I spent a minute looking at myself after getting dressed. I can live with that and I guess the rest of the world can too. Part of the surprise comes from a generally negative self-esteem that constantly criticizes most af what I do as well as who I am. My physical appearance gets the same negative auto-once-over as the rest of me. Another part of my surprise at seeing what I look like comes from the fact that I've never actually seen anybody who looks like me grow up and become a middle-aged adult. As an adopted person, I have no genetic link to the people with whom I grew up, so for better or worse, I look nothing like anybody in my family.

I am a 6-foot tall, fair-skinned Redhead from Irish/Scottish and French Canadian lineage. I was adopted as an infant and raised by dark-haired, Eastern European Jews, few of whom ever grew taller than 5'8". To say I've always stood out in a crowd is understating the obvious. I can remember always other people's lack of belief at me saying who my parents are: "you're his/her kid... really?!!?". In later life I would look at people who "looked like me" and try to see if there's maybe some resemblance, if there's some indicator of what a brother or sister might have looked like. Or maybe if in a random crowd there's an aunt or uncle or cousin that has a gene that is the same as mine and therefore shares an innate instinct with me. I guess this is all stuff an adult should have sorted out sometime in childhood and I guess I have dealt with most of it. But it still surprises me when I take a picture or get a haircut and take a good look at myself and see who I am.
The unfortunate part is that not only am I not familiar with the being I see when I look at myself, but I really don't care too much for his look either.
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2009-12-01 [Dec. 1st, 2009|01:44 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/2009-12-01

* ''[[Worldnet Daily]]'' whines about being kicked out of the climate-change convention in Copenhagen: . . .
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World AIDS Day roundup [Dec. 1st, 2009|01:18 pm]
paganprattle

http://www.prattle.net/2009/12/world-aids-day-roundup.html

In the UK, there is still some stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, but it's nothing like the scale we see in other parts of the world. HelpAge International, noting an increase in HIV infection amongst older heterosexual couples in sub-Saharan Africa, draws our attention to what that stigma can mean:

In Tanzania, older women are accused of witchcraft if a member of their family has HIV. These women are ostracised from their communities and subjected to violence and even death.

Superstition still plays a part in shaping people's attitudes to the condition, and has provided some novel preventatives and "cures". In her entry to the The Guardian International Development Journalism Competition, Kirsty Taylor looked at the situation in Kenya:

I went to very many herbalists to try and find a cure, but they didn't know what was wrong with me, [Damaris Cagina] explains. They told me my mother-in-law had bewitched me. They told me to buy special fabric - a white cloth with red stripes - and to put soil in a basket to stop the spell. I tried it all but nothing helped. It was only after very many visits to herbalists that I decided to come to hospital.

Cagina is one of the estimated 1.4 million people living with HIV/Aids in Kenya today. But like many of them, she first refused tests to discover her status, viewing a positive result as an immediate death sentence and spiritual curse.

The role of religion in promoting superstition, stigmatising people with HIV/AIDS and getting in the way of preventative efforts is well-known, and doesn't just affect Africa. Even in the relatively godless UK, it's regarded as a problem.

Religions are often credited as the means by which moral values, such as care for others, are reinforced and passed on.

But some charities and anti-HIV groups claim religion is helping to breed the very stigma that the UN says has helped give the UK twice as many new cases of infection each year as any other country in western Europe....

In denouncing the behaviour that allows the virus to spread, religious leaders sometimes drive HIV-positive people underground.

That same story contains an interesting profile of an HIV-positive imam, originally from the Ivory Coast, but now resident in the UK, and afraid to let his family know of his condition because he would be ostracised. Another African Muslim explained the problem from his point of view:

Along with a conservative African culture, religion has played a significant role in creating this taboo. Ismael is 40 and originally from Sudan.

The imams don't talk too much about it, but they start off by saying 'this is a taboo, this is a sin, a punishment from Allah'.

"When you disclose it, straight away they think you are gay, or maybe you got it from a prostitute or you did something bad and Allah is punishing you. That is why it has to be kept secret.

Over in Indonesia, we see a fine example of exactly that problem:

The image of a giant condom draped in Indonesia's national red and white colors towered over the opening ceremonies of National Condom Week in Jakarta. To coincide with World AIDS Day, the National AIDS Commission crafted the message, Use Condoms, Celebrate Life. But some hardline religious groups don't believe condom use should be promoted, let alone celebrated.

The Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir held banners during a demonstration on Sunday aimed at urging the government to end programs that provide free condoms to male and female sex workers, based on the argument that condoms encourage sex outside of marriage.

Because humans always need to be encouraged to have sex, right?

Rise in HIV and AIDS cases among older Africans—HelpAge International, 1st December 2009; Truth is the first casualty—The Guardian, 25th November 2009; Imam aims to break Aids taboo—BBC News, 1st December 2009; Condom friction in pious Indonesia—Asia Times, 1st December 2009.

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Bowling Ball Books [Nov. 30th, 2009|11:57 pm]

spectralbovine
[Tags|, , , , ]
[Feeling kinda | sad]
[Now playing .. |Leilujh - Sleeping Passenger]

My company recently acquired another company, and when two companies come together, people get laid off. I was not one of those people, but my co-worker of three years (who had been there two years before me) was. I didn't even get to say goodbye; I arrived after she had cleared out. I could barely think straight, I was so sad. I seriously couldn't remember one of my co-worker's names at one point; I just pointed futilely at his cube, completely blanking on his name. This is my first experience dealing with something like this, and I know it won't be the last (and I know one day I may get the shaft myself), but I don't know whether it gets any easier.


For my birthday this year, [info]jeeperstseepers got me what she referred to as "bowling ball" gifts. You know the stereotypical husband who gives his wife a bowling ball as a present? (Does that really happen?) A bowling ball gift is one you want someone to have whether they want it or not. She set me up for disappointment so I was instead quite pleased to receive my gifts, as I intended to enjoy them quite heartily.

She gave me Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones since I had liked the movie. Many, many people recommended I read the book, which I had previously assumed was a children's book with pictures, but, no, it was a real book with words. Luckily, I never did get around to reading it before I received it as a gift!

Howl's Moving Castle is about Sophie, the eldest of three daughters, who becomes even elder when she's turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste. She takes refuge in the titular moving castle, where she meets the wizard Howl and his fire demon, Calcifer. Somebody ought to be able to turn her back into a teenage girl, right? Problem is, she can't tell anyone she's under a spell. Oops.

I already knew I would like the book when I saw that Diana Wynne Jones was using one of my favorite chapter-naming conventions, leading to chapters called "In which Sophie expresses her feelings with weed-killer" and "Which is far too full of washing." That sense of humor carries into the prose as well, which is light and clever, especially when it comes to Sophie's inner monologue, which is very amusing. She is entirely too adjusted to being an old woman, but it's just that kind of book.

There is a lot going on in the book, and about halfway through, it becomes apparent that it's not all just there for flavor! Every fucking thing is important. EVERY FUCKING LITTLE THING. I don't even think I'm kidding. Every single little throwaway detail ends up mattering. It's pretty amazing and very impressive how well constructed the plot is. There are like fifteen thousand plot twists at the end; my head was spinning.

I can definitely see why fans of the book may have disliked the movie, which took out many key aspects of the book and cut out major characters and gave other characters complete personality transplants and added in all this weird mumbo-jumbo bullshit until it became a rather loose adaptation indeed. I enjoyed the movie, but the book makes way more sense and is totally better. Best bowling ball gift ever!

I also received the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy by Terry Pratchett, three short young adult novels about the adventures of Johnny Maxwell. Each book is self-contained and can be enjoyed individually and in any order, really, but there's just the slightest hint of continuity and there are recurring characters.

In Only You Can Save Mankind, Johnny is playing a computer game in which the object is to kill a lot of aliens...except the aliens try to surrender. For them, it's not a game! Johnny dreams himself into gamespace and tries to save the aliens in the game from being obliterated by human players hungry for killin'. It's a neat premise, even though it's fairly heavy-handed with its anti-war message: the book was inspired by the Gulf War, when war started to look like a videogame and videogames looked like war and maybe things began to blur a bit.

In Johnny and the Dead, Johnny sees dead people! He begins communicating with the inhabitants of the Blackbury Cemetery, which is about to be razed and built upon by a faceless corporation that does...whatever it does. It's no Graveyard Book; the dead bear some resemblance to the ghosts in that book, but that's probably because Gaiman and Pratchett clearly share similar senses of humor when it comes to the talking dead.

In Johnny and the Bomb, Johnny and his friends time travel to a day in 1941 when bombs destroy Paradise Street and kill nineteen people. Should they change history and save them or let the past take its course? Time travel mayhem ensues! It's basically an episode of Doctor Who where the TARDIS is a shopping cart.

The books are quite enjoyable but clearly geared toward a younger audience than the Discworld novels. Johnny himself is terribly endearing, so idealistic and hopeful about the world, and he comes to several great Truths that I appreciated. His group of friends is also entertaining. Kirsty is a hyperintelligent—nah, just very intelligent girl who is always right, even when she's wrong. Wobbler is a l33t hacker. Bigmac is a skinhead with a penchant for stealing cars. Yo-less is a decidedly unstereotypical black kid, a trait Pratchett milks a lot of humor from.

The books are very short (each clocks in at about 200 pages), entertaining, and amusing. Because it's Pratchett, they can be LOLarious at times. They don't always make a whole lot of sense, but that's okay. They still make you think about the world in different ways. Probably moreso if you're thirteen, but even now, they have something to say.
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From Twitter 11-30-2009 [Dec. 1st, 2009|02:12 am]

derekfz

  • 06:54:05: i kind of feel like crap, prob from eating so much last night. i'll take it easy food-wise the rest of the week.
  • 07:23:42: working 12 hours today and the rest of the week. back to thee olde grinde. i would think this won't last *too* much longer, but who knows.
  • 22:23:44: RT: @bearbait: I just learned out to snap like a diva. thank you internet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjdcpmWyOA
  • 22:27:10: most of the first hour after i got home was spent giving my mom tech support over the phone again for their desktop pc.
  • 22:27:49: after that i went to Dollar General, then got food from Taco Bell cuz it's right next to DG and my time was limited.
  • 22:28:56: my Damien Jurado cd collection is now complete! i got a copy of "Caught in the Trees" in the mail today.
  • 22:29:39: i also got the Watson Twins "Fire Songs" and the Restless reissue of the Dickies "Stukas Over Disneyland", maybe my favorite Dickies album.
  • 22:31:07: i have a special fondness for the "Simpsons Bible Stories" episode because it was the only new ep that ever aired on my birthday.
  • 23:15:08: one of these days, i need to get my hands on "Fate's Got A Driver", the Split Lip version, *not* the Chamberlain version.

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

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Amazing Audio Things, and Pictures. No Blood Anywhere. [Dec. 1st, 2009|04:31 am]
officialgaiman

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/amazing-audio-things-and-pictures-no.html

posted by Neil
For those of you who missed it, here's the NPR "Open Mike" piece I did on audiobooks... You can listen to it here, or download it, or email it...



And here, at closer to full length, are the interviews I did with Martin Jarvis and David Sedaris. If you enjoyed the piece, they are filled with wonderful bits that didn't make it in. And the Martin Jarvis interview is practically a masterclass in how to approach doing Audiobooks.



(The strangest moment for me in the Martin Jarvis interview is when he talks about remembering the voices of teachers, and names John Branston and Dick Glynne Jones. I went to Whitgift School in Croydon, which Martin had also attended twenty years before me, and I was taught by both of them. I was in John Branston's production of Julius Caesar at the Fairfield Halls -- and was taught O-level English by Dick Glynne Jones. As he said their names, I thought "He can't be talking about the same people..." but of course, he was.)



There's a sort of interview with me, and a gallery of snapshots, over at http://www.lomography.com/magazine/lomoamigos/2009/11/30/neil-gaiman-shoots-with-the-lc-a-plus. I love the low-tech magic of the camera, and the wonderful hodgepodge nature of the shots, particularly the ones that are a mixture of art and documentary, such as the moment when a collapsing shelf deposited the contents of a make-up bag into a toilet, Amanda's doomed attempts to make friends with sheep, or a photo that should not have come out (given the amount of available light) of my goddaughters watching the DVD of Coraline with their 3D specs on...

For me, the most exciting bit is that they gave Dave McKean a camera to play with. I can't wait to see what he did.

I've grabbed a few more shots from their gallery. Here's the Queen of Sheep herself...


Maddy's friend Claire, at San Diego airport...


And here's Ivy McCloud (almost invisible, far right) and my goddaughters and their friend...



...

I was reading the book "Coraline". I finished then told my parents about it. I was wondering if this book has any religouiseness to it. I tried, but only found what you've writen so i'm hoping you can tell. Just curiose

I don't think so. Although I think people bring religious points of view to books, and read them from those perspectives.

You sounded good on NPR this morning, so good you need your own radio show.

If I sound good, it's because Maeve McGoran, my producer, and Barry Gordemer, the editor, did such a sterling job. Finding the time to make this, to do the interviews and put it all together, took months. I'd love to do more radio, for NPR or for Radio Four in the UK, but I think it will always be little one-off projects. But I loved doing it.

...

Here's one that contains a Graveyard Book spoiler:

Dear Mr. Gaiman:

How is Silas erasing Scarlett’s memory of events preceding justified in The Graveyard Book? When the reason given isn’t satisfactory, and is it?, doesn’t it become the Problem of Scarlett? You know what I mean. I've just about read the Problem of Susan from Fragile Things which was so brave of you to write or, rather, re-write.

I thought it was so god-like of Silas to do what he did at the same time so unnatural of him to. It meant a reasonably strong character like her couldn't stare reality in its face bravely and overcome it which is what fairy-tales are about, be it children's, YA's, or adult's.

Your Sandman fan,
Ahimaz.

Silas did what he did because he thought it was for the best. Whether it was the wisest thing he could have done, in the circumstances, remains to be seen.

....

Hi Neil,
I live in Naperville, IL, and I just heard about your appearance in February for the Naperville Reads program. No one around town seems to have a whole lot of information about the events so far though. I was wondering if you had more information about what you'll be doing here, and if any of the events will be open to the public? Thanks!

I don't know yet. When I get a schedule, I'll put it here, and at Where's Neil.

Hi,
Before I book flights I was wondering if you could let us know if you're doing a signing at the NZ talk, or if you plan on doing a signing elsewhere in Wellington that weekend? I'd hate to have to get back on the plane only to discover later that I'd missed out on a signing op at Arty Bees Books by mere hours...
And your Captcha anti-spam thing just asked me to write down "$2-mil manistee". I thought you should know.

Mike

I think there's a signing or two involved, but it'll be organised by the Festival (tickets to the main event at http://www.nzfestival.nzpost.co.nz/writers-and-readers/town-hall-talk-neil-gaiman (The signings normally follow the events.) I plan to go to Amanda's gig, and will probably sign afterwards to keep her company.

Hi, Neil! Are going to sign any books at UCLA on February 4th, 2010? If so,before or after the discussion? Or do can we buy signed books?

I don't believe there are signings at the UCSB or the UCLA talks. I know I've been asked to sign sheets to stick in books (or perhaps to presign books), so there will definitely be something available.

Hi Neil,

Don't know if anyone's pointed it out to you, but the postscript at the end of your article in The Writer's and Artist's Year Book has the films of Beowulf and Stardust being released in 1987!

Ooops!

Regards,

Mark

Yup. And the wonderful Chris Riddell is Paul Riddell in the text as well. Ah well. Mysterious goofs happen.

...

Finally, a message from Beth at Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs:

Would you please put up a little plug for the current Vampire sets and tees? I'd like people's winter money to go to a good cause, and we're getting to our cutoff date on orders that we can get out to people in time for Christmas. The perfume plus tarot card sets are at:

 http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/vampiretarot.html

And the tees are at:

 http://www.blackphoenixtradingpost.com/vampiretarot-bptp.html

The Snow, Glass, Apples locket is at:

 http://www.blackphoenixtradingpost.com/neilgaiman.html

We still have a few sets of Sunbird left:

 http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/sunbird.html

I'm happy to plug them here. They'll make great gifts. The Sunbird scent is amazing, comes with a chapbook, and is almost gone. The proceeds from the scents and tee shirts go to the CBLDF. The proceeds from the lockets and medallion go to Alzheimer's Research.
Labels:  lomography, BPAL, audio books, Where's Neil, David Sedaris, Whitgift, NPR, Martin Jarvis, the queen of sheep, old teachers
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(no subject) [Nov. 30th, 2009|11:26 pm]

revme
New! A (real!) review of Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut! http://ping.fm/DuyAi
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Lisa Gerrard - The Black Opal (2009) [Dec. 1st, 2009|11:13 am]

hear_it_here
[miilofon]

Artist | Title | Year : Lisa Gerrard | The Black Opal | 2009
Genre : new age, ethereal, gothic, world
Bitrate | Size : CBR 320 | 148 mb


( tracklist + links )
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...What A Day [Nov. 30th, 2009|10:43 pm]

isik
[Tags|]
[Feeling kinda | bouncy]
[Now playing .. |Garbage - Stupid Girls]

Heyla

Almost a day off, I ended up working for 2 hours gratis since I arrived later than I thought I would.

The morning went well save that I discovered the closer local branch of one of my banks had closed down before Halloween, three weeks after I pulled out a roll of quarters and I have seen nothing by mail or email regarding it. -shakes head- Good going, Whitney Bank.

Afternoon... well... I will share a couple of online statements I made... -g-

I... am a silly, silly girl. -hangs head-

I am, however, a silly, silly girl who has $500 less, $17,000 in debt and the keys to a 2006 Silverado. -giggle-

Yes, pending final approval in the next 24 to 48 hours from my insurance company and their finance office... I will be the proud (but poor) owner of a used truck. -draws a breath- I am still giddy about it even as I can only marvel at my foolishness. I.... really miss driving at will and that contributed to this. -sheep-

-r


RETURNED
Netflix
1. "Greatest American Hero" season 3, disc 2
2. "Greatest American Hero" season 3, disc 3

OTHER
1. "New Moon" (Hammond Palace Theatre)
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Get Crazy Free Album Download by Me [Nov. 30th, 2009|09:15 pm]

idm_making
[atomwestmusic]
Get crazy the Album

by Atom West

free download

www.mediafire.com/=Click here for free album



2009 came with lots of changes for me. I took a break from the crazy amount of shows i played the previous year. I perfected the wild and crazy garage/breakbeat style I was workin on since late 2007 and was pretty happy with it. I tested it out the tracks from this album live on a few shows in Austin and Houston and people loved it.
Upon completion of the 12 tracks I choose for the album I realized something. There is not much call or interest these days from record labels on the sort of fast style I made. Not to mention I used too many bootlegged acapellas because i was hungry for high quality samples and too impatient to find other artists to get vocals from.
So I have decided to tone it down, make fidget/bassline and say no to the bootlegs for a bit. Its already paying off. And with this decision I am making these tracks available for free download.
please spread the love download this and let me know how you liked it. Thanks!

-AW
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Death Dancer [Nov. 30th, 2009|09:28 pm]

onezumi
I did a quick sketch that I am going to turn into a mixed media piece. I just started going over it with Prismacolor. Very unfinished.

death-dancer
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Linoleum = LSD for Amazon my kitten [Nov. 30th, 2009|06:23 pm]

chish_and_fips
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Quantum Jumping [Nov. 30th, 2009|10:45 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Quantum_Jumping

'''http://www.quantumjumping.com''' Some [[New Age Crap|New Age]] gurus want to sell you the secrets of astral projection or soul travel, but . . .
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Pseudo-Scientific Wackos [Nov. 30th, 2009|10:44 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Pseudo-Scientific_Wackos

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Worth the Wait [Nov. 30th, 2009|06:08 pm]

peteralway
Thanks to everyone who posted this last week. I just got to view it, and it is as wonderful as it should have been.

Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody:

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(no subject) [Nov. 30th, 2009|04:08 pm]

the_dark_snack
[Tags|, , , , , ]
[Feeling kinda | drained]

Well, I passed my final. I missed one question (out of 66) but it was because I had written down the wrong threshold amount in my notes and failed to check the chart. Still, it's pretty freaking good. Now I start training classes next week. The schedule is pretty strange and random but at least it's something.

As for the weekend, I think theater is ruined for me now. I couldn't laugh out loud at any of the shows I saw over the weekend and that really detracted from my enjoyment of them. I just feel that it's dead to me. I'm hoping that tomorrow night's Kid's Play show will fix some of this but I really don't know.

One highlight of the weekend was that [info]beldar wore his MoveOn sponsored Obama shirt to a gun show on Saturday. Not too many people noticed or said anything (one woman did comment on the size of his balls for doing such a thing). I think the whole thing would have been funnier if he had been handing out acorns.

As for my opinions of the weekend's theater, "The Beef & Boards Christmas" was pretty darn good. However, "A Very Phoenix Xmas" was a rollicking great time. Whatever you do, do not miss this show if you can help it. It's a warm and witty look at all things Holiday and a wonderful showcase of a number of spectacular local talents.

Yeah, so that's my life. I've got a few other things to rant about and maybe I'll get to them this week. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving (or Thursday for those of you not in the US) and I will talk to you again soon.

TTFN!
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(no subject) [Nov. 30th, 2009|07:27 pm]

pete_wisdom
( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )
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(no subject) [Nov. 30th, 2009|12:55 pm]

composers_forum
[masaccio]

COURANTE D'OUCRAINE

аж з трьомa (!!!) гемiолами.

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Failure Bowls [Nov. 30th, 2009|04:34 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Failure_Bowls

A simple recipe inspired by comedian Patton Oswalt and his ode to KFC's Famous Bowls: : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANqe3DTDg8M YouTube: . . .
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SubGenius Food Pr0n [Nov. 30th, 2009|04:34 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/SubGenius_Food_Pr0n

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2009-11-30 [Nov. 30th, 2009|02:54 pm]
modemac_rss

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/2009-11-30

* The Patriot Act is set to expire on December4 31, 2009; but no one in the news seems to be talking about it: . . .
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Public Appearances [Nov. 30th, 2009|10:08 am]

arhyalon
I have been invited to sign books with other local authors at some kind of a charity function in Georgetown.

Date: Saturday, December 5th (this Saturday)

Time: 11:00

Place: St. John's Church Georgetown
3240 O St. NW
Washington D.C. 20007
1-202-338-1796

Event: Greens Sale (a fundraiser for charity, I believe)

A bunch of local writers will be signing, writers of all kinds: political, children's books, biographies, art books, novels, coloring books about DC, etc.
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Update: Relate vs. Gary McFarlane [Nov. 30th, 2009|12:22 pm]
paganprattle

http://www.prattle.net/2009/11/update-relate-vs-gary-mcfarlan.html

England: Almost a year ago, we mentioned the case of Gary McFarlane, an alleged Christian who had been sacked from his counselling job because he claimed that doing it without discrimination was against his religion. Well, the case went to an employment tribunal, and McFarlane (or MacFarlane - I've seen both spellings) lost. He appealed, and lost again.

Christian loses sex therapy case—BBC News, 30th November 2009.

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A bit sad. But it ends with Toast. [Nov. 30th, 2009|06:51 am]
officialgaiman

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/bit-sad-but-it-ends-with-toast.html

posted by Neil
I went to Boston and spent Thanksgiving with Amanda and her family. It was wonderful. I spent any spare moments reading comics for a book I am guest editing next year. (This is a photo of us on the pavement outside her house.)

Now I'm home. Typing a blog entry, listening to TV Smith's Live CD.

...

The saddest moment of the trip was lunchtime today, and a call from Roz Kaveney to let me know that our friend Rob Holdstock had died, of an e.coli infection. He was only 61. When I stumbled into the world of SF and Fantasy, over 25 years ago, as a young journalist, Rob, already a successful and award-winning author, was absolutely friendly, welcoming and encouraging. A big, affable man, with a knack for putting people at their ease, he was always one of the Good Things about the British SF world. His book Mythago Wood was one of my favourite novels of the 1980s. I saw him less and less since I've lived in the US; like too many UK friends, I'd see him mostly at publishing parties and book launches. He died too early. My condolences to Sarah, his partner.

...

Two NPR pieces I should point people to. One is my guest-spot on "Morning Edition", talking about, and interviewing people about, Audio Books, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120769925.

The other is "On The Media" , at http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2009/11/27. I'm one of several people talking about the future of the book (or The Future of The Book).

Big congratulations to Henry Selick, to all at Laika and to Focus for the Coraline Film, which won the Children's Feature Film award at the BAFTAs last night (http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens).

...
Tickets to the 14th Dec Decatur GA Little Shop of Stories event - reading, Q&A and signing - are available from tomorrow: details at http://littleshopofstories.blogspot.com/2009/11/details-of-neil-gaiman-event.html (basically, from Monday Nov 30th, you can pick up the tickets in Person; from Monday Dec 7th, you can reserve tickets over the phone.)


...

The Green Goddess restaurant in New Orleans gets reviewed in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Note that they do not tell you that if you oh-so-casually ask for the Meze of Destruction, they will make a fuss of you and bring you Something Nice, for this is something you would only learn here.

...
And finally, over at http://twitpic.com/rhg4t, @heydeletethat does portraits of me and Amanda. On Toast. I mean, that's art on Toast.



Labels:  TV Smith, Henry Selick's Coraline, thanksgiving, NPR, toast, Rob Holdstock
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What's! On! My! DVR! [Nov. 29th, 2009|11:23 pm]

spectralbovine
[Tags|, , ]
[Feeling kinda | satisfied]
[Now playing .. |Filter - God Damn Me]

Almost five months after my last batch of capsule movie reviews, I have finished watching the next batch. As before, you guys voted on your favorites, so it's time to hear what I think of them!

( Shoot 'Em Up: A+++ )

( A Fish Called Wanda: B+ )

( Black Sheep: B/B+ )

( Shadow of the Vampire: B-/B )

( The Omen: B+ )

( 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days: B+/A- )

( Michael Clayton: C+/B- )

( The Night of the Hunter: A- )

( Be Kind Rewind: A- )

( Edward Scissorhands: A )

( The Deer Hunter: C+/B- )

( Almost Famous: A )

I'm sorry if I hated something you loved or loved something you hated! Here is what the future holds. I should note that I get the majority of my recommendations from Jandy's Film on TV alerts, which I highly recommend. What should I look forward to most?

( Allen, Wilder, Hitchcock, Linklater, Leone, and some other dudes )
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