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| Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 |
maiac
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7:36a |
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filkertom
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6:16a |
Bunches Of Stuff
Today is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. Here is how cool they are: They make me like Elmo and Adam Sandler... together, even. If you want to link up to any particular favorite video clips, go for it; I'll start with " Rubber Duckie, " Bein' Green", and " Batty Bat". The big video release today is Pixar's Up ( Two-Disc Deluxe Edition + Digital Copy and 4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD [Blu-ray] Anti-Planned-Obsolescence Edition). There's also Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days and, if you haven't got a version already, Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (integrating Tales from the Black Freighter, Under the Hood, and possibly some other live-action footage). Anything else just released we need to know about? Happy Birthday, Neil Gaiman! My Friday concert at WindyCon was going to be TomBoat, i.e., me and Toyboat. Reasons of time and practicality deep-sixed that for this weekend, although we really, really want to do it soon (I hope CapriCon, possibly not till DucKon). So, I was gonna drag out a bunch of stuff I don't usually do. Any requests? ("Heat of the Blood" is excluded from this offer.) Dragon Age: Origins rocks really hard. It's funny: the forums are filled with people who can't get it to load, patch, work, nothin' (I've had no problems, apart from a single crash to Desktop); they complain because it's too hard, too easy, too old-school, too innovative, they hate that it's party-based, they want multiplayer and MMO; they say that the graphics are dated, and point to the game being in development for years. But BioWare did what they wanted to -- they created a new game world, which I think looks very good, with a superb, detailed story filled with rich characters and cool plot twists and astonishing detail. It's not a loot-fest, a click-fest, a FPS with orcs, or anything besides what it is. It's tough, at least to a duffer gamer like me; I set it to Easy, and I'm still getting slaughtered in some fights, the first or second time through. But dang is it rewarding, shocking, and fun. If you're interested, I think you will like it a lot. If not, no big. What's goin' on in your quadrant? |
supergee
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6:36a |
Emma Thompson has taken her name off the petition that the cheese-eating postmodernism monkeys put up to support Roman Polanski. Thanx to Shakesville. |
s00j
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6:29a |
Lady Vagabond checks in - FaerieCon afterglow
Sitting in the Orlando airport right now, waiting to catch a plane to Denver. Wrote this earlier, and since we were driving all day, this is the first chance I've had to post. Yay for free airport wifi. K and I are driving down from Maryland through Virginia as I type, listening to music gifted to us by Amal. We're going to see more of I-77 than I've ever seen before in my life today, in the same week as seeing the end of I-70. I'm thinking Golde might need new tires again soon. Consistently, I look around me and am happily surprised to find dream after dream coming true. There were several this weekend at FaerieCon, of different sizes. Reconnecting with Scott and Sam, the Gypsy Nomads, was so good. Getting true and undeniable confirmation that Mark Lewis and Billy Scudder are friends of ours for life, getting good and genuine hugs and stories from exhausted Kelly, Lio, Silver (who's starting his own clothing line soon! More on that when the website is ready), Willow, Kimmy, and of course Betsy did me a world of good. Actually having conversations with Oliver of Faun (I love what he had to say in our shared panel about modern faerie music) and Priscilla Hernandez (what an angel she is, so very sweet and open) was just amazing. The sweetness and magic of new friendships sparking to life was offset by the warm ache of missing loves and other friends not present in the east-coast, indoor Faerie realm, but as a certain Baltimore icon says, there were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine. Being contained, FaerieCon is less frenetic than FaerieWorlds, though the sense of chaos is present in its beauty, just like the outdoor event. Enough of the west coast faerie phamily was there for it to feel wonderfully like home, while making me homesick at the same time. And of course, K and Betsy were amazing, without fail, all weekend. We are the ultimate team, you guys. You know this, and you know all the reasons why. Love you. The crown jewels of the weekend for me: -having the rock-solid help of our brother Kevin West at our CD table (and they gave us a table! So awesome). All. Weekend. Love you, bro, and thank you. -getting an encore at the Good Faeries ball on Friday night. Never let it be said that Tough Titty isn't there when we need her. -sweet conversations with the gents who wrangle the Maryland Faerie Festival--looking at 2011. -Moresca garb for me at last, and wait until you see it. (Thank you, Johanna.) - spinning poi for the Gypsy Nomads set with my love---ANY TIME, you guys. I mean it. Future seeds are planted! -dancing to Faun with K ("Zeitgeist" back to back with "Iyansa"....I was flying on the ground) and on my own -later, hearing Oliver say that they love doing acoustic shows just as much as the rock shows, because the period instruments really have their own voice when they're unamplified. YES. THIS. Also, he gave me encouragement for learning my way around a fujara someday, as well as touring Europe. -hearing my fellow panelists' stories of how they got started in music at the faerie music panel, and 100% unintentionally moving Priscilla to tears with what I had to say about the faerie community. -blowing Lio and Kelly's minds at just the right time with our "Tam Lin," and getting attention for it from Steve, Jennifer, Oliver, and Priscilla at the faerie music panel--and that was a fun panel, despite how tired we all clearly were. I learned more than a couple of things. -Betsy and I got a standing ovation after our Sunday morning concert. I didn't know what to expect, as we played at 11am the morning after the Bad Faeries concert (Mark and Billy at the doors letting people in and saying "BAD, faeries! BAD BAD BAD!" So cute). Honestly, I never would have banked on a full room of awake fans, old and new, who were unhesitatingly on their feet when we ended the show...but that was just what we got. I'm so full of joy. -Charles de Lint and MaryAnn Harris are warm and wonderful people, just as I've been told they are. I enjoyed their concert on Saturday afternoon, wherein, among other things, they transformed Terri Windling into even more of a Folk Hero than she already was in my mind. They both were happy to meet me when I introduced myself on Saturday, and I got to thank Charles in person for giving a story to Ravens in the Library--one of my highest goals for the weekend was thanking him. MaryAnn and Charles came to the Sunday morning show, and later Charles complimented me and said he'd had a great time-- "you inhabit those songs!" Last night, the three of us sat together in the lobby lounge and swapped songs in strong and silly voices (a highlight was trading "Snake Farm" for "Salad of Doom"), entertaining whoever wandered in (exhausted Faerie folk mostly, which was just fine with us) until sometime after midnight, when the front desk staff asked us gently to stop so that the carpet cleaning crew could come in. I am a lucky, lucky girl, in that sitting and singing to and with my favorite authors is starting to feel like the norm. Never shall I ever complain of this. Thank you, MaryAnn; thank you, Charles. Please let's do this again, a lot. Thank you, FaerieCon. Driving back out into the default world feels rich and strange, and only a little sad. I carry you with me, as ever, down along the continent and away. We are music, we are Faerie, we are such stuff as dreams are made on. Creatures of the Wood and Daughters of the Glade, all. And Alec, I did NOT forget your birthday! We got you a standing ovation, you just weren't on the same coast with us. **LOVE** Current Mood:  accomplishedCurrent Music: Mozart |
supergee
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5:38a |
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blueraccoon
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12:04a |
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partiallyclips
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2:44a |
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| Monday, November 9th, 2009 |
hsifyppah
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10:01p |
Ahhhh, life at the Abbey resort is pretty swank. I just helped myself to a cider, a chocolate bar, and a pickle from the fridge - my parents know me so well. Mom made lamb stew with rosemary dumplings for dinner, after serving me a tuna melt when Dad and I got in from the ferry. Their new place is HUGE - 3 levels, 3 or 4 bedrooms, giant kitchen - and beautiful and has a gorgeous view of the water and the trail islands. And apparently costs the same to rent as a one bedroom in Yaletown. Heh. (Partly because dad smooth-talked the landlord, mind you. In his itinerant youth dad had a business buying puzzle rings from turkish merchants and reselling them. He seems so mild-mannered, but the man can negotiate.) My mother has seemingly excavated every picture of me ever taken. Me: "Jesus christ! Is there any wall in this house that doesn't have a picture of me on it?" Mom: "I hope not!" Hee. I practiced my banjo at length, and then gave a short concert to my number one fans. Now they've gone to bed and I'm spending some quality time doing frivolous things on the internet in a room with a light fixture that looks like a bizarre sea creature. Happy sigh! This place is so totally the perfect antidote to the week I just had. On the ferry, the giftshop had a new display: fill a plastic tube with tiny Wild Republic plastic figurines for $6.99! I spent most of the trip on my knees cherry-picking all the octopus figurines. There were exactly 8! Sorry kids on the ferry, but they're all mine now! I still had some room in my tube, so I filled it in with dinosaurs and a giraffe. I just arranged them in a strange octopus cult diorama in the guest bathroom (which has a heated floor! <3) and yes, I am terribly, terribly pleased with myself. |
spiritdance
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10:44p |
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filk
[ musicahumana ]
|
10:07p |
Looking for Video Footage of Filk Circles
Hello, everyone. You haven’t heard from me in a while, but I’m still lurking on the sidelines of fandom and filkdom as I try to fulfill some difficult requirements for my graduate degree. As some of you know (and, perhaps, more of you don’t, since I haven't been able to attend many conventions over the past year), I’m a PhD student in musicology at the U of M Ann Arbor, and I’ve been working in baby steps with filk from an ethnomusicological perspective. I’m hoping that, though filk must remain somewhat of a “minor” in my degree (my “major," at this point, dealing with 18th century French parody song and comic opera), I can also be involved in documenting and educating the world about filk and it’s unique status as a postmodern folk music. As such, I’ve been presented with a useful opportunity in my current U.S. Music course: I and my team have been asked to create a short (5-10 min.) educational video about a topic in American music that will then be posted on the American Music Channel in YouTube. (See http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanMusicTeam for examples of previous videos posted on this channel.) My team (Ryan, Hannah, and I) have decided to make a quick informative film about filk. Don’t worry—I do realize that I need to have any video footage or audio clips we use authorized by those involved in said video or audio, and I have waivers for most of the video I currently possess. I plan to contact anyone whose image, voice or music we’d like to use regardless. Here’s where we need help, though: because I didn’t want to videotape anyone for whom I didn’t have a video release, I did not videotape any live filking at the conferences I have attended. I have concerts, but not filk circles. Does anyone have video footage of filk circles that would be usable for this purpose? It would be best, I think, to use footage for which it would be easy to gain permission from everyone included in the film—so, footage in which we know the names and contact information for everyone whose face or music shows up. Or, if someone has footage for which they have already been given permission to use in this manner (i.e., posting online) by all involved, that should work as well. My team and I would be grateful for your help, and we do hope to put together something that the community will be proud of. This isn’t a study so much as it is a beginner’s guide to filk, and we want to make sure that we represent you well. Thanks! I’m looking forward to your video footage suggestions if you have them, as well as your thoughts on the project as a whole. All the best, Jessica Getman
(musicahumana)
jessgetman@gmail.com |
filkertom
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9:17p |
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andpuff
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8:29p |
Does this make me famous? Infamous? Weird?
So just for the hell of it -- and because I was having trouble figuring out just what exactly Vicki was thinking when she... um, never mind, that would be telling -- I just googled myself. Quel surprise: I'm on Facebook. In Spanish. Right here.If this is a fansite, yay. I'm all for fansites. The google quote however is: "Welcome to the official Facebook Page of Tanya Huff. Get exclusive content and interact with Tanya Huff right from Facebook." NOT my official facebook page. Don't have one. Not getting one. NOT a way to get exclusive content and interaction. Just thought y'all ought to know. Spread the word. Also, I hate the photo. ETA from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) maribou: OTOH, they are also saying (as far as I can make out, and someone else's Spanish might be better), that if anyone wants to read one of your books online, they should post the title they are interested in on the "wall" page and then the person will post a link to that book. Which, unless you are offering your books free online and I just don't know about it, might be a very good reason to not like the person behind this.Can anyone confirm this? Because this is something I'll have to stop. Current Music: Kane - Kane - Middle America |
supergee
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7:53p |
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supergee
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7:46p |
Going Rouge
Carl Hiaasen has the editorial comments on Sarah Palin's manuscript, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Thanx to Joel Zakem on Facebook. |
folkmew
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7:41p |
A milestone today! Yay!
(cross-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) healthy_fen) Today I hit the 50 pound milestone. Hooray!! I feel a lot better. My life is a bit out of control in lots of ways (economic that is) but at least my health is taking an upward turn. :-D It is also nice to be below 225. I'm about half way there now. Keep on going - "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming..." Somehow the fact that I got to this point a few days before my birthday feels somehow significant. *editor's note: If you happen to notice the icon, yes - some things DO taste as good. But they don't taste *better* so I just try to keep them in balance. :-D Current Mood:  happy |
seanan_mcguire
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3:30p |
Good cover models gone bad.
Back in May, I posted about the damage that a bad cover can do to a good book. You can view the original post (and ensuing discussion) here. The consensus at the time was that having a bad cover sucks, and that if your book's cover is bad, it will probably impact the sales of the book. Not exactly rocket science, but still, it's a good thing to think about, especially since—as authors—very few of us have control over our own book covers, so it's good to be prepared to do damage control. Recently, I got a look at the cover for an upcoming book in an urban fantasy/paranormal romance series That Shall Not Be Named, because I try to be polite like that. For purposes of discussion, we're going to call it An Armchair to Remember, book three in the Ikeamancer series. Our main character, Casey Carpenter, has inherited the family gift for communicating with furniture. Naturally, she uses this power to fight crime, since she doesn't really have anything else to do with her time. On the cover of the first book, Cushioning the Blow, Casey was pictured as described in the text: reasonably pretty but not going to be anybody's new super-model, with dark hair that needs styling, a wardrobe that looks like it could handle her daily duties as a general manager at Ikea, and a few iconic items in the background. On the cover of the second book, From Desk 'Til Dawn, she was drawn slightly differently, but still believably the same character. Same basic styling, attitude, etc. On the cover of An Armchair to Remember, she looks like a seventeen-year-old Goth hooker. Please join me in saying, um, what the hell? Now, I understand that characters will look slightly different from cover to cover. Toby looks a little bit different on the covers of Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, and An Artificial Night...but these differences are, at least from my perspective, still allowably within the range of "this character is Toby." It's the variance between a picture of Alice drawn by Mimi and a picture of Alice drawn by Bill—they look different, but she's still clearly Alice Price-Healy, getting ready to kick your ass. You can draw the same character within a range and still have it believably stand for the same individual. The cover for An Armchair to Remember isn't doing that. In fact, if I didn't know the book (the theoretical book), I'd guess that we were looking at the first in a spin-off series starring Casey's ironically trampy-campy younger sister, Carrie, who communicates with clothing and manages a Hot Topic in the mall. It doesn't look a thing like Casey. Casey wouldn't be caught dead in that outfit. It is, essentially, the equivalent of sticking Toby in a mini-skirt and push-up bra for the cover of Late Eclipses, after giving her a bleach job and some serious makeup. How jarring is this for you? How likely are you to pick up An Armchair to Remember when it looks so different from the other books in the series—when the main character looks so different? Is this going to make you look elsewhere, or do you not care by the time you get to the third book in a series? What about new readers? If this was the first volume you'd seen, would you buy book one after digging it out of the back catalog? Inquiring minds (namely, me) want to know. Current Mood:  thoughtfulCurrent Music: Girlyman, "Hold It All At Bay." |
vixyish
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3:18p |
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ladymondegreen
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4:12p |
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bedlamhouse
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2:26p |
Geekdom Good, Schedule Bad
In the Good category, I can haz D-Link DSM-510 Media Player. It isn't anywhere near top of the line - at this point I'm not expecting to watch much video using it, should that change I'll either have to upgrade my receiver to one with more HDMI inputs or else change this to a media player with Component Video Output. However, it works well using wireless if you (that would be I) obliterate the useless, slow, idiotic CD-RW managing, many-other-things-that-can't-be-said-pol itely Nero media software and change over to Twonky. With appropriate updates to my Logitech remote, I have put away the original remote and everything works swimmingly. Glee! In the Bad category, November has hit with a vengeance and a couple of can't-miss situations have come up for Windycon weekend. That means we won't make it to Windy this year. *sigh* Current Mood:  geeky |
hsifyppah
|
10:52a |
I've been listening to the nordic roots cd Merav gave me a lot lately, and man, so many of the fiddle tunes sound like "I AM STRIPTEASE MUSIC FOR THE END OF WINTER!" Under her sexy parka, Blossom O'Titsy is wearing only body paint depicting leaves and flowers! I am projecting a bit maybe. Winter is just starting to sail in to town and while I enjoy the autumn leaves, and the mist, and the winter constellations, and... wait, actually I'm not sure why I was going to qualify that sentence. I love summer, which is full of warmth and light and sunburns and amusement parks and sand in my socks and did I mention how I hate being cold and summer is warm? But winter is convention season and eggnog season and the trees dress up like traffic cones and your hat gets so wet that the canvas goes rock hard and you can throw it like a frisbee and the manholes downtown and the mushrooms at UBC spew out steam. Winter is pretty awesome too, even if it is cold and dark. Besides, summer wouldn't be as nice without the anticipation. I actually made it in the door at Skank this time! I only stayed for like half an hour before it was time to go home and have a gin-induced nap, but hush. I'm heading to Sechelt to see Mom & Dad in their new house. (I give them three months before they go stir-crazy and move back to Vancouver. Or Paris.) My ferry is pulling in - the Queen of Surrey! John had a temp job for a while working on her gut-n-remodel. "I have become more intimate than I ever wanted to be with the Queen of Surrey," he drily proclaimed. That was the job where he had to shave his beard off for the safety mask to fit, which was a pretty terrible fashion move for him. I miss him a lot this week - I keep wishing I could tell him about the robbery. He would have had some bizarre turn of phrase to sum it up, or at least some inappropriately violent advice. Ah well. I'll make do with my boss's reaction: "I hope he wasn't our November secret shopper." |
| Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 |
drzarron
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10:29a |
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| Monday, November 9th, 2009 |
supergee
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9:05a |
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filkertom
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8:10a |
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filkertom
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7:29a |
Okay, I'm A Rachael Ray Fan
I admit it. I think she's sexy as hell. Sometimes she goes overboard on the perky, and sometimes her voice grates; she's freakin' ubiquitous in the book and magazine sections of the grocery store, and damn near it on food packages. But. This is just being a good human being. Even if they're getting TV footage out of it. Today's a really good day to kick in something to your local food bank. If you don't know where it is, visit your grocery or supermarket -- they should have some information at least, if not a full-blown donation program. Or visit Feeding America. Or some other place, which I'm sure you'll mention in comments. ;) |
maiac
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7:10a |
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