Is that blogging?

kfan: distorte: Also, knowing that I’m publicising my reading list also keeps me away from...

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:26:42 +0100

distorte:

Also, knowing that I’m publicising my reading list also keeps me away from complete dreck. Because what would I write after reading it?

And about a public reading list keeping you from reading complete dreck, that’s a bunch of crap, and that way lies the False Cult of the Guilty Pleasure. Enjoy what you want to enjoy, irrespective of what Harold Bloom or Pitchfork or the girl in your English class (with the softest hair ever but who doesn’t even know you exist but maybe if she spotted you reading that book she loves she would suddenly notice you and have to kiss you) say.

Massively concerned with what that girl in class sees me reading but also perversely inclined to hide the book cover from her, especially if it’s something cool or respectable.

Maybe this is a balance that comes with age, or something, but if I followed the route of least resistance to enjoying myself I’d probably spend all my days lying on my bed surrounded by American sitcoms and spent tissues.

It’s not just about what’s enjoyable. It’s also about what’s good for you. And sometimes a guy like me needs Harold Bloom to tell him what’s good for him.

Maybe it’s because unlike everyone I have this argument with, I never studied literature at university. I spent 4 years learning compiler theory and trying to ignore where I was. I feel like I’m playing catchup. I may always feel that way. But I was being facetious. It’s not so much about other people’s image of me as it is about my ridiculous image of myself.

But I was talking about Battlestar Galactica the other day in case no one noticed.

I’ve just gotten to the end of my...

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:25:05 +0100

I’ve just gotten to the end of my first year’s documented reading on Goodreads. I made a reasonable effort to write something about every novel and book I’ve read in these twelve months.

Got into a looong conversation last week about the value of reading, perceived and actual. I think my final position (we meandered) came down to: Leaving aside any question of the enjoyment of reading as a past-time, I believe that reading novels leads, over a long time, to cumulative intellectual growth in ways that consumption of other media does not. This is my reason that reading novels is better for you than watching television, although it’s good to question assumptions like that sometimes.

We can’t really see this growth happening, it’s not like we can say “I read x, y and z this year, and now I’m this much smarter.” But I can say with some certainty that I am more historically, geographically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually aware than I would be had I never cracked a book. And in the short term it’s okay to derive some satisfaction from the novels I’ve tackled and beaten, because at the end of the day they are part of this process of slow, indirect learning.

The reason I like goodreads is not so much for its social aspects (although they’re okay), but because it makes me, knowing I’ll have to jot something down afterwards, think actual thoughts about books rather than just churning through without any real analysis. It makes me critical.

It’s also a bit like writing online. You could be doing it in a notebook, but the online thing gives you a framework. Keeps you honest.

Also, knowing that I’m publicising my reading list also keeps me away from complete dreck. Because what would I write after reading it?

"Don’t waste any time with this rubbish—the guy in the story is named “K” and..."

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:04:00 +0100

“Don’t waste any time with this rubbish—the guy in the story is named “K” and it doesn’t even have an ending, I guess if Kafka had lived to finish it he might have given the main character a real name, but the whole rest of the book is so disjointed and random that it’s hard to figure out what’s going on, also the sentences are too long, and the puctuation is all screwy (where did Kafka learn to write—pre school?) and there are no pictures either, except on the cover, and my cover was torn, goodbooks wants to know what I learned but I didn’t learn anything from this hemorrhage of ink, except how NOT to write a book; so yeah, this review is a spoiler, and once you figure out—”

- Some guy on goodreads.

Is there a word for the thing that happens all the time on the Internet now, where you think someone is making a joke but you’re just not sure? Because you’ve been very wrong before. I kind of love it.

"Factoids from the latest Billboard Boxscore: * That weird Kenny Chesney-Keith Urban-Sammy Hagar..."

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:44:42 +0100

“Factoids from the latest Billboard Boxscore:
* That weird Kenny Chesney-Keith Urban-Sammy Hagar tour grossed $3.2 million from a single show at LP Field in Nashville. It’s not a small place—50,000 capacity—but the total gross shows that ticket prices for country shows (traditionally reasonable) are heading into the stratosphere. Seventy bucks a ticket for a stadium show for a hat act!”

- Hitsville » Those poor starving artists (One in an ongoing series)

You know, I never really did the math in my head, but looking at this, all I can say is holy shit. Brilliant wife and I were at Hollywood Bowl last night to see Feist and Sharon Jones […] 18,000 seats (sure looked like a sellout), at, I think, about $30-$75 a seat. So that’s something like $700,000-$1,000,000 to split between the three acts that played that night. Not a bad haul no matter how you slice it.

(via pgwp)

—-

Just wanted to add that I’ve seen some spectacularly high ticket prices in Ireland this year. The one that hurt most was Tom Waits, at €130 per ticket (that’s $207 folks). Three shows. Small-ish venue (6000 capacity I’m told), but gawd.

If I’m allowed get melodramatic about this for a moment, it’s a ticket price based on the assumption that his original listeners have matured into a well-off, middle-class group, and damn the rest. It cuts away any possibility of his younger and/or less moneyed fanbase getting to see him on his first visit to the country in 20 years and as a result seals him into a bubble of historical interest.

I’m just angry because this is too expensive for normal people. It will sell out to people who can afford it, but want it less. (Not all of them want it less. But some of them.)

But, you know, hooray for artists making a living and all that.

Guys, you’ve got to warn us upfront if you’re saying anything about the new Batman...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:04:47 +0100

Guys, you’ve got to warn us upfront if you’re saying anything about the new Batman movie. Seriously. It’s not out here til this weekend. Have some pity on your more remote Internet buddies.

So I got to watching some Battlestar Galactica when I was a little under the weather last week....

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:26:00 +0100

So I got to watching some Battlestar Galactica when I was a little under the weather last week. I’ve been making fun of people for watching it for years. Because, you know, it has the taint of crappy science fiction all over it. Guilt by association.

Anyway, I discover it’s not that bad. Good, in fact. It’s smart, the way they’ve conceived of decent reasons for certain technologies like AI to have been held in check. It gives nice, believable explanation why in the future we might all be flying around in spaceships pulling big levers and doing maths by hand.

My one criticism, I suppose, is that it very much feels like the future of the United States, rather than the future of the planet Earth. In the bearing of the military, but more in later politically-driven episodes, the pomp and regalia associated with the elections. The… what do you call it when two people pretend they are reporters but are just arguing really loudly in an empty, staged fashion? That too.

Which is fine, of course. It’s an American show. But Star Trek: The Next Generation, for example, always felt like the future of a cohesive planetary society. Although that’s betraying my pinko liberal leanings, maybe.

If we want to look at it another way: if extra-terrestrial colonisation ever takes place, the people who will leave this planet will be overwhelmingly first-world inhabitants. Perhaps Battlestar Galactica have it right, it certainly explains all the whities.

Read this small piece about floating cities in the Irish Times...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:50:00 +0100

Read this small piece about floating cities in the Irish Times today, which leads me to look up the Freedom Ship (most terrible name ever). I find a Wikipedia article suggesting the project is pretty much dead in the water (pun absolutely intended).

But I also find the official Freedom Ship website, with a front-page letter from designer Norman Nixon. Here are some choice quotes.

We have also been contacted by a group of people who we thought in the beginning had a serious interest in the ship, but this was an even bigger “learning experience” for us. A number of these people that came from most every country on earth wanted nothing more than to use us for a “scam.” We spent a lot of our time with several groups of these con men. In the beginning, we thought they were “for real” when they were promising us financing for the ship. I have heard of such “scams” all of my life but I never expected to personally meet such a criminal in person. However, I have now met with more than two hundred of them. And we wasted a lot of valuable time meeting with them and checking them out.

…

But we did run into a little bump in the road. I set up, as our President, a man who had the “Financial Experience” we “engineers” do not have. His education and Financial Experience, as well as his personality, seemed to make him the perfect person we needed to move forward on the project. And he assured us he had found our financing, so we were all excited. But then I discovered that our $400,000 bank account (which we were using to do a public IPO so we could sell Freedom Ship stock to the general public) abruptly went down to nothing. It appears he turned over our entire bank account to a man who promised him a “Peruvian Gold certificate” worth a billion dollars. Before this we could not believe that anyone (especially a well educated and successful person) could believe something like this.

The website also links prominently to Norman Nixon’s campaign for presidency.

Down the rabbit hole again, dear Internet? Let’s.

I’m going to stop wearing a watch just so I can say “Look at my wrist, I really must be...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:16:02 +0100

I’m going to stop wearing a watch just so I can say “Look at my wrist, I really must be going.”

The Case for the Setup

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:32:00 +0100

To everyone who read (and laughed) at Josh’s Twitter post yesterday, you might enjoy the original. The original is maybe one of my top-ten favourite things I ever read online. The original made me realise I want to be a better man.

(I’m not giving out about taking stuff from past writing and introducing it to a new/bigger audience. I just wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on the real deal.)

Are you interested in stories? Are you interested in literary...

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:08:00 +0100

Are you interested in stories? Are you interested in literary fiction and its transposition to the web? Are you interested in the new forms of literature the Internet is making possible? These are rhetorical questions. The implicit suggestion here is that any reasonable person is interested in these things.

Fiction Volante completed its run yesterday. For one year, a new shortform story was posted every weekday. A blog format was used to contain the stories. They are of exceptional quality.

I am going to give you a gift. I have hand-selected five of my favourite pieces for you to read. This was not an easy task. Once you read these you will get a sense (I hope) of the value of this website.

There are dozens more. I will not offer another recommendation so unequivocally this year.

It saddens me that people are more interested in talking about computer products and Gawker celebrities than the incredibly exciting artistic avenues that the web is opening up. Perhaps it’s the standard blog format, perhaps it’s that people aren’t really as interested in creativity on the web as they claim, but the site passed its year in relative obscurity. Hopefully that doesn’t mean it can’t become famous after it’s dead.

catbird: Insound 20: Small Stakes Tees, Hoodies and Posters...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:11:48 +0100

catbird:

Insound 20: Small Stakes Tees, Hoodies and Posters The independent online music retailer Insound joined forces with designer Jason Munn, of Small Stakes fame, to create iconic designs for 20 of Insound’s favorite bands. The images are silk-screened onto American Apparel t-shirts and hoodies, as well as limited-edition, hand-numbered posters. This year’s bands are: Beirut, Black Heart Procession, Built to Spill, Calexico, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Death Cab for Cutie, Department of Eagles, Grizzly Bear, Jose Gonzalez, Magnolia Electric Co., New Pornographers, Okkervil River, Peter Bjorn & John, She & Him, Spoon, The Constantines, The Decemberists, The Hold Steady, The National, and The Thermals.
What??? No branded baseball caps, stickers, refrigerator magnets, coasters, duffel bags, wristbands, headbands, or jumpsuits?

Wow, I find myself suddenly feeling very positive towards the Insound brand! WAIT A MINUTE. Wasn’t Jason Munn already making posters for all my favourite bands? That I can just buy from his website? That are also limited edition and hand-numbered? I’m almost sure he was. Anyway, thanks Insound.

Daytime Prize Winner » A Good Fight

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:55:57 +0100

Daytime Prize Winner » A Good Fight:

meghanagain:

Yesterday I gave myself a challenge. This is the result. I am not going to tell you what the challenge was, though. I bet you’re so mad you don’t know!

When I read these stories now I hear them in Meghan’s voice.

P.S. This is better than the things you are filling your blog with. You should read this and then consider maybe giving up? I’m just asking you to think about it.

I am Banksy.

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:26:10 +0100

The Kasper Hauser group perform Spicy Pony Head. Found at...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:42:45 +0100

The Kasper Hauser group perform Spicy Pony Head. Found at Maximum Fun, which is amazing.

http://mills.tumblr.com/

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:35:00 +0100

http://mills.tumblr.com/: Slowly beginning to discover people who take tumblr seriously. Which is interesting, and disconcerting. Because for so many of the people I follow, it is just their side-act. A dump for their non-serious Internet activities. But of course there would appear real sites using tumblr, as it matures. It’s a publishing tool much like any other. I’m still finding it odd plugging into quality content on this high-fructose network. It’s like discovering carrot cake in a plate of donuts. Undeniably more delicious but what are you doing here?

I was (and am) a big Narnia fan. I was also raised relatively loosely when it came to religion. It...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:41:36 +0100

I was (and am) a big Narnia fan. I was also raised relatively loosely when it came to religion. It pains me somewhat to see the books being reinterpreted as Christian propaganda now that the movies are bringing the stories back into the limelight. Even if this is reasonable interpretation of the stories. Do we have to talk about it?

Because honestly, at the time I was blissfully unaware of any connection. And now it feels like the overly-sensitive are shitting all over one of my greatest childhood memories. I guess that makes me the overly-sensitive one.

If you’d told me, aged seven, that Aslan was a representation of Jesus Christ, I would have looked at you crooked and said: “No. Aslan is a lion.”

I’m watching A Very Brady Sequel on television right now and Pavement’s Cut Your Hair is...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:26:10 +0100

I’m watching A Very Brady Sequel on television right now and Pavement’s Cut Your Hair is on the soundtrack.

A Hypothetical Question About Beverages

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:49:02 +0100

perpetua:

You get to have a fountain in your home that will dispense three beverages. You will have an unlimited supply of this beverage, and it will just magically appear there for you, you never have to deal with maintenance. The beverages will be of an ideal quality when they come out of the fountain, so if, for example, you pick a particular wine, it will not be damaged by the whole “coming out of a tap” thing.

What three beverages do you choose?

Cold clean water, with a little hardness in it. Not very cold.
Strong Indian tea, made with leaves rather than a bag. You might call this breakfast tea where you’re from. No milk or sugar, as my preferences here change daily.
Sorry to be a fucking cliche over here but good Guinness. Which is slightly warmer than you’d expect. Very creamy. The way it is pulled in the West. Almost everywhere else now serves it too cold.

I was thinking of a good red wine but really my enjoyment of wine is based on variance, whereas the three I’ve listed I only ever want one, perfect way.

I was looking for that supposed Natalie Portman quote about The Shins having saved her life...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:06:00 +0100

I was looking for that supposed Natalie Portman quote about The Shins having saved her life (don’t ask me why, it’s easier that way), which actually turned out to be about The Shins changing her life, which is better I guess.

In the process I discovered a wonderful, endlessly rewarding game.

The Shins saved my life
Radiohead saved my life
Sigur Ros saved my life
Smashing Pumpkins saved my life
Coldplay saved my life
Nickelback saved my life
Joanna Newsom saved my life

You probably didn’t see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and...

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:53:19 +0100

You probably didn’t see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and that’s okay. But if you did you’ll remember the best thing in it: Dracula’s Lament, written and performed by Jason Segel.

And here it is set to some footage of Sesame Street’s Count. You’re welcome.