| Doctor Who! | Mar. 2nd, 2005 @ 04:49 pm |
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The latest issue of Doctor Who magazine has a cover image of one of the monsters from the new series:
Hot damn, they've spent some MONEY!
No official announcement yet, but rumor has it that the series premieres at the end of March in the UK.
Which, of course, means that I'll be watching it soon afterwards, hot off the download presses, so to speak. (Still no US broadcast deal)Current Mood:  geeky Current Music: Cream - "Tales of Brave Ulysses" |
| Student Arrested For Writing Horror Fiction | Mar. 2nd, 2005 @ 01:19 pm |
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Click the link, read the story, and get angry.
Short version: A Kentucky high school student has been arrested (For real--in jail, multi-thousand dollar bail set) for writing a horror story about zombies overrunning a high school. The police allege that because "a school" was mentioned in the story (not the school the kid goes to, though, or any faculty, or any of his fellow students), the kid was making a TERRORST THREAT.
A felony.
For writing a story.
I urge everyone reading this to spread the word about it. Call the Winchester, Kentucky Police Department ((859)745-7403) and log complaints. Contact the SFWA and the HWA and get them involved. Call the ACLU (Kentucky office: 502-581-1181, director Beth Wilson ) and point it out to them. Contact the Kentucky Governor's office ( Phone: 502) 564-2611 Fax:(502) 564-2517 or via the web) and let him know how you feel about writers being jailed by the government for FICTION.
Every day, this country scares the shit out of me just a little bit more.
(Thanks to Greg Basich for pointing me to this story)Current Mood:  OUTRAGED. |
| Ring....Ring....Ring....Ring... | Feb. 27th, 2005 @ 05:57 pm |
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In December of this last year, Mediaweek reported that 99 percent of the complaints to the FCC that have led to the new fine structures, legislation moving through Congress regarding "decency", etc., have been coming from the members of one conservative Christian media watchdog group: The Parent's Television Council.
One group of puritanical fuckwits, attempting to dictate our culture....and succeeding, because of a sympathetic administration.
So, I figure, why not give 'em a taste of their own medicine?
Checking out the PTC website, I found their contact information. Including this phone number: 213.629.9255
Imagine what would happen if each of us decided to call that number, once a day, and politely request that they stop their efforts to move our nation further down the road to Theocracy.
Now imagine that this became a meme....spreading via the internet to thousands of people, all of whom called, once a day.....
It's gotta start somewhere, people. |
| Three Strikes? | Feb. 26th, 2005 @ 11:58 am |
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This week, I may have made things a bit more difficult in my life at the KCRF.
I told the E.D. "No", again.
This time, he contacted me on Thursday, telling me that his tonsils were swelling, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle the MC duties for the "Sweethearts of Swing" USO show that he's put together for his church. "I'm looking for a really funny guy who can easily handle MCing the show," sez he.
"I really don't think I can do that," sez I.
Several reasons, really. One, I don't have anything resembling appropriate 1940s costuming at hand. Two, my daughter has rehearsal for her play, which meant that she wouldn't be getting home until 5:30, making the likelihood that I could make it to fucking INDEPENDENCE, MO in time for a 7 p.m. performance iffy at best.
Oh, and I forgot the biggie: YOU'VE GIVEN ME LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE AND ZERO REHEARSALS.
Slight problem, there.
I recognize what I've done. The E.D. went to me as a "go-to guy", and I turned him down. I know that I'll never get a chance for anything like it again, and most likely this will also bleed into how he treats me from now on.
Ah well.Current Mood:  annoyed Current Music: Velvet Revolver - "You Got No Right" |
| Friday Music | Feb. 25th, 2005 @ 10:54 am |
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Here we go again: Another weekly installment of my internet mixtape.
Vibralux - "Single": The appropriately-named single from Lawrence's very own Vibralux, a band that does tone-perfect early-70s "androgynous aliens" drag-glam. If you like early Bowie, Brian Eno, T-Rex, or the soundtrack from the movie Velvet Goldmine, this is for you.
Here's one for ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20050303030540im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) chernobylred, who asked for cover tunes today: Swing Out Sister - "Am I the Same Girl". Originally a 1960s soul song by Barbara Acklin--Most people are more familiar with the instrumental version, called "Soulful Strut" by Young Holt Unlimited, which is a regularly-played darling of oldies radio stations, and has been used in advertising, movies, etc. You'll recognize it once the horn hook starts. This excellent cover is by Swing Out Sister, who were a New Romantic/Blue-eyed Soul group in the late 80s/early 90s, best known for their single "Breakout."
I'm a huge fan of downtempo electronica (Zero 7, Thievery Corporation, Spylab, etc.). Mawglee - "Dreaming" is a nice bit of it, which I think is worth sharing. This is the kind of stuff that I prefer to listen to while writing.
Royalvisionairies - "Back to Yazoo (Digital Explosion Mix)": a tribute to the synthpop of the 80s, referencing New Order, Pet Shop Boys, and, of course, Yazoo (known simply as Yaz in the US).
That song got me in the mood for some *real* 80s stuff, but not the same old "YOU'RE LISTENING TO KRAP'S 80S WEEKEND" bullshit, which plays the same stuff, off the same compilation CDs, over and over. So, first up, we have Blancmange - "Lose Your Love". I loved this band when I was in High School, primarily because they were named after a type of pudding that had been used on "Monty Python." (Evil alien invaders were turning people into blancmanges.) The fact that the music was good was a bonus.
Some of you probably know this one, for the famous lyrical hook: "I might like you better if we slept together." Romeo Void - "Never Say Never" An early-80s New Wave band that MTV was probably responsible for killing....the videos clearly showed that lead singer Debora Iyall was not a stereotypical video waif sexpot, but a well-proportioned Native American woman. Can't have that on our televisions, after all.
This last one isn't obscure at all. I just like it. Ben Folds Five - "Underground": The first single from the now-defunct Ben Folds Five, which immediately grabbed me for two reasons. One: the lyrics are hilarious, especially when contrasted with the music. Teenage alienation set to bouncy piano-driven pop. Two: There's a piano solo where Ben Folds shows off some serious jazz chops. I'm always a sucker for virtuosity.
There you go, kids. More next week. |
| » Writing |
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A nice quote from game designer Gareth Hanrahan (mytholder):
Writing: "the process of turning guilt and tea into words."
Feb. 22nd, 2005 @ 06:55 pm
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| » Constantine |
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the_themiscyran and I went to see Constantine this weekend, and it was another instance of my expectations working in my favor.
I was expecting the film to be mediocre at best, and, as a result, I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it. I've been a fan of the character since he first appeared in "Swamp Thing" in the 80s, and was a devoted reader of "Hellblazer" for its first few years of production. Sure, there were elements of the comic missing or changed for the film, but all in all, I was pleased to see how close the final result actually managed to be---in fact, I think that if they had cast somebody like Paul Bettany or Jude Law as Constantine, you wouldn't hear nearly as much bitching about the film from Geek circles as you currently do.
This is not to say that Reeves does a bad job--I think he manages to bring across the important bits of the character just fine--but, unfortunately, he is hampered by his very "Keanu-ness." He's reached the point where, no matter what role he's playing, all you can see is him (very similar to the problems with casting Jack Nicholson in anything: you're gonna get Jack, not the character).
It was pretty cool, though. Heck--if nothing else, it made me go home and dust off the old notes for a proposed series of noir-ish horror fiction I had worked on a while back, featuring a priest who wanders around the secret occult subculture of NYC, combatting the forces of evil while being tainted by it.
Feb. 21st, 2005 @ 02:43 pm
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| » Friday Music |
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Here we go again, kids--the second installment of my "internet mix tape"--a handful of mp3 links of nifty stuff that I like, and hope that you like too.
We'll get the obligatory "I made this!" self-promotion out of the way first: Al-Azif is a recent bit of my work as "@nubis"--this time around, built around Lovecraft-inspired samples. Teach them Shoggoths to dance, baby.
UPDATE: Rassa-frassa yahoo. The link appears to be all discombobulated. So, instead of direct linking it, I'll just direct you to my yahoo briefcase. Just click on the "Music" folder, and the file's in there, where you can download it.
Ugress is a Norway-based, trip-hop-ish electronica outfit. They've got a number of free downloads on their site, but my favorite is Cowboy Desperado, which is a nice bit of cinematic bombast, including some nifty rhythmical use of Merlin's "dragon" speech from Excalibur later in the track. (As a brief note: I just noticed that their site is crawling today. Since I had no problems with it yesterday, I'm assuming this is a temporary problem. If you can't grab the song, check back again later. It's worth it.)
The Dresden Dolls - "Bad Habit": If you haven't gotten this album yet, go get it now. Seriously. Self-described "Brechtian Cabaret Punk", and not too far off the mark. "Coin-operated Boy" was a radio darling, but the rest of the album is deeper and more satisfying. Any band comprised of a woman playing piano and a guy playing drums, done up in white-face and 1930's Wiemar Republic cabaret costumes is just too nifty to ignore.
Spillsbury Raus - "Schlagziele": German electro-pop from the band Spillsbury Raus. Babel @ altavista translates the title as "Impact Goals"....which makes no sense to me, but whaddaya want: it's in German. Imagine Nena ("99 Luftballons") meets Interpol.
As the lads from Python once said, Now for something completely different. 19th-century opera different. Leo Delibes - "Duo De Flores" You all know this song, but you don't know you know it. It's been used in movies, and for most of British Airways advertising campaigns since the 90s. The "Duo for Flowers" is from the 1883 opera Lakmé. It never fails to affect me every time I listen to it.
...and, last but not least, Cibo Matto - "Sci-fi Wasabi". Because if you heard Japanese women performing an electronica/hip-hop track with references to Obi-wan Kenobi, wouldn't you want to share it?
That's it for this week. Back again in 7.
Feb. 18th, 2005 @ 11:48 am
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| » Scenario |
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Went to the KCRF kick-off party thingummy.
They announced the scenario.
Based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I will not go into a long reaction post to this, suffice to provide an appropriate, phonetically-rendered Looney-Tunes-esque sound effect:
Wobbidy-wobbidy-wobbidy...Buh?
Feb. 17th, 2005 @ 11:22 am
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| » Mind-shattering Horror of Synchronicity.... |
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In a strange coincidence, Salon lead with a Lovecraft story today--supposedly coverage of the release of "H.P. Lovecraft: Tales" from the Library of America...but naturally, Salon instead takes the usual opportunity to regale us with the usual "why is he famous? He's awful...oh, and a repressed racist", etc. etc.
After reading it, I was irritated enough to fire off a letter to the editor, which I present here:
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"It would have been nice if Laura Miller's piece on Lovecraft had presented any quotes or arguments from the opposing side of the issue, rather than her fixation on the "Lovecraft-as-hack-racist-or-at-best-campy-oddity" angle.
Some might even say that it would have been professional, rather than this example of High School journalism-class mediocrity.
It should have been a clue that her juiciest quotes to back her angle came from Edmund Wilson, a long-dead critic....oh, and her nameless writer pal who supposedly ashamedly denies that his award bust is a likeness of Lovecraft.
In the end, I suppose it is a tribute to Lovecraft's enduring nature that now, some 70-odd years after his works were originally published, it's still fashionable for hipper-than-thou, self-declared intelligensia to write hatchet-jobs about him and his work."
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You don't fuck with my Providence Homie, Yo.
Feb. 12th, 2005 @ 10:46 am
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| » Lovecraftian Goodness |
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For those of you who don't read cavalorn's journal:
The HP Lovecraft Historical Society are putting together a film of Lovecraft's most famous tale, "The Call of Cthulhu."
They've put up a nifty trailer for the project, done to look like a 1930s film, on their site.
...
Yet again, I find myself wanting to make a movie.
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In related news, it occurred to me earlier this week that given the fact that Lovecraft's work is in the public domain, and the proliferation of horror rules for the D20 system released as Open Content under the OGL, I could easily capitalize on the fact that Chaosium has (stupidly) chosen to abandon all support of the D20 version of the Call of Cthulhu RPG, by producing my own material under the title Lovecraft D20. Possibly worth doing. I shall think upon it.
...
Oh, and be sure to check out the music that I posted in the last entry. It didn't generate as many comments as I expected...I suspect because of the time I posted it, which meant that by the time most of you read your LJ "Friends" pages, it had been bumped by various Quizillas and Memes.
Either that, or you thought it was all crap, and you're just being polite.
Feb. 12th, 2005 @ 09:47 am
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| » Friday Music |
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I'm gonna give a shot at actually producing non-meme CONTENT on this thing (*gasp!* Shock! Horror!).
Anybody who knows me knows that I'm really into music. I produce my own stuff (of the electronic variety), and listen to a wide array--most of it fairly obscure. One of the things that I love doing is sharing discoveries with others. So, every Friday, I'm going to link to thinks I like....and I'm not talking aboutinfo about the artists or albums. I'm going to link to mp3 files, so you can listen, save it, what have you. Think of it as a weekly mixtape, from me to you.
This week's offerings:
@nubis - Martinette Swing. @nubis is the name under which I compose electronic music. This is a track from my earliest effort, 1999's Initial Eyes. (The file is hosted by iuma, and will take FOREVER to download. Sorry about that...but please give it a listen anyway.)
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). A track from Montreal-based Next Big Thing. Their shows are getting some serious attention from folks like Bowie and Byrne, and they've been recently name-checked on "Gilmore Girls," so it's looking like break-big time for them. What makes them different is that they actually deserve the attention.
Michael J. Sheehy - Just Love Me. This one hooked me as soon as I heard it. Minimal instrumentation (guitar, piano, tamborine), a great voice, and some great lyrics about the perils of being a guy with a bisexual SO.
Chiba-Ken - The Distance From Here. For those of you who like stuff leaning more into the harder, sorta-emo stuff...a demo single from one of the guys who I used to work with in the game biz, Josh Jaffe, whose band Chiba-Ken is looking like it might be on the verge of discovery, given how many gigs they're playing at places like CBGBs and The Continental in NYC, and now they're touring out of the city as well.
Jill Tracy - The Fine Art of Poisoning: Imagine jazzy parlour music which fuses together Tom Waites and Cruella DeVille. Jill Tracy has the femme fatale purr down pat, and this song, which features her backed up by a strings group called The Malcontent Orchestra, slinks along deliciously.
I think that's it for this week, cats and kittens. Enjoy.
Feb. 11th, 2005 @ 11:37 am
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| » Four ?uestions. |
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Shamelessly horked from thedarkbear:
I want everyone who reads this to ask me 4 questions. Any 4, no matter how personal, dirty, private, or random. I have to answer them honestly. In turn, you have to post this message in your own journal, and you have to answer the questions that are asked of you.
Feb. 3rd, 2005 @ 02:30 pm
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| » High School Meme-thingy |
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Nabbed from tfbretz, among others:
( Nostalgia is Latin for 'Our Pain' )
Back to work.
Jan. 26th, 2005 @ 11:37 am
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| » Oh Joy. |
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So, Jason Lira, the designer of PIMP, has decided to pop in to my LJ and express his outrage over my public posting of his address. He apparently missed the fact that it's available to anyone via people.yahoo.com.
Anyway, take a look at his comments, if you feel like playing whack-a-mole. Personally, I don't.
Jan. 24th, 2005 @ 02:17 pm
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| » EXTERMINATE!!! |
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The Army will be sending these to Iraq in April or May of this year:
It's a robot. An armed robot.
It's called the SWORDS, short for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System, and (get this) was a joint development project between the Army and Foster-Miller, a robotics firm bought in November by QinetiQ Group PLC---which is a partnership between the British Ministry of Defence and the Washington holding company The Carlyle Group.
Yes, that's right: this Carlyle Group, the subject of a number of particularly juicy conspiracy theories, with the verifiable membership of George Bush Sr., James Baker, John Major, and some fairly disturbing connections to the Bin Laden family.
Anyone else scared yet?
Jan. 23rd, 2005 @ 12:04 pm
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| » Gearing up.... |
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So thedarkbear and I had our meeting with the E.D. yesterday, and it went phenominally well. We were expecting a long series of hoops to jump through, but Himself was so excited by the pitch we gave him that before we had even sat down for lunch, he was asking us for our preferences of stages at the site.
w00t, as the hip kids say.
We still need to perform the first 10 minutes of it during the auditions, so he can, in his words, "gauge groundling reactions"--and I suspect so that he can confirm that the performance is as good as the pitch was, but even through the cloud of pessimism through which I was viewing the entire proceedings, the whole thing very much had the ring of inevitability to it. Crossed fingers and all that.
We're not actually doing the "Men of the Free Companies" concept that I had originally spoken of....we had two cast members flake, replaced them, and then had another two flake as well. Grr. Rather than go into this meeting pitching a show that I wasn't 100% sure would come together, thedarkbear, the_themiscyran and myself decided to go with a small (4-piece) show. We invited malinear to join as our fourth, and I dug up a pre-existing show that had run at the NJ Faire. I'm very pleased with the current group, and the show, quite simply, ROCKS ON TOAST.
The Men of the Free Companies are Dead....Long Live BARD'S BOUTS.
Jan. 21st, 2005 @ 02:19 pm
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| » More on (or is that Moron?) Pimp... |
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b3zsgirl and friends have set up this Cafepress site, selling T-Shirts protesting PIMP: THE BACKHANDING. All proceeds go to hips.org. This organization helps prostitues in the Washington DC area and also lobbies for their rights. The profit on each shirt is $3, and all of it will go to the organization.
The shirt has a nifty graphic on front, declaring "Bite me, White Wolf," and is emblazoned across the back with a full acceptance of White Wolf's 'clever' ad copy: "I am Politically Correct and I Never Laugh."
Buy a bunch. Hell, send a few to the game's designer, Jason Lira, at (Address removed. That was wrong, and I should not have done it, especially given my own history with stalkers.)
Jan. 19th, 2005 @ 09:27 pm
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