September 3, 2012
Even with the best contract in the world, if the people on the other side of the agreement are crooks or jerks, you’re going to have a difficult time.
When publishing goes wrong. Mandy DeGeit was a first time author submitting to a horror anthology by Undead Press. The contract included a line that they had the right to edit the story -- standard operating procedure. But when she got a copy of the book, they'd drastically changed the story: "They turned a non-gendered character into a boy, they named the best friend, they created a memory for the main character about animal abuse. They added a suggestion of rape at the end…" [more inside]
Starring Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks and Tom Hanks.
Andy agreed. “ ‘Cloud Atlas’ is our getting back to the spectacle of the sixties and seventies, the touchstone movies,” he said, rubbing his bald dome like a magic lantern.
The model for their vision, they explained, was Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which the Wachowskis had first seen when Lana, then Larry, was ten and Andy seven.
(Previously and Previously)
Escape the Room For Reals
Michael Clarke Duncan, 1957-2012
Michael Clarke Duncan has died at 54 from a heart attack, following recent heart problems. After working as a bodyguard for the Notorious B.I.G. he landed his first major role in Armageddon (1998) which led to his Oscar-nominated performance in The Green Mile (1999). He is also known for prominent roles in The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Daredevil (2003), and Sin City (2005).
Crossing streams in the '80s
What do the '80s, Michael Jackson, The Greg Kihn Band and Orcs have a in common? A video.
Guilty until proven innocent
How copyright enforcement robots killed the hugo awards Ustream's automated copyright takedown bots killed the legitimate coverage from the Hugo Awards ceremony.
J'akuze
Photographs of a Yakuza gang and a description of their way of life in an interview with Anton Kusters. Includes the photography advice: "To not take photos was a sign of weakness."
The group has fully realized a record of astounding ambition and scope.
In 1995, The Mommyheads released the now out-of-print Bingham's Hole. Far and away the Mommyheads' best album, Bingham's Hole also may win the title for "least heard best record of the mid-'90s." [more inside]
What are the forces that prevent you from doing so?
Is there a man (or woman) among us with pluck enough to wear Big Bill Haywood's workingman's pants? [more inside]
Going off the rails on a Gravy Train
Don't look now, but Toronto mayor (and perennial Metafilter favourite) Rob Ford may be kicked out of office due to a conflict of interest charge. [more inside]
The Woman in 606
Canadian? Have The Day Off? Thank Some Toronto Typographers.
South Wales, and Beyond the Infinite
What I wrote was unquestionably fiction — was fantasy. Among Others has magic and fairies. But I was writing fantasy about a science fiction reader who had a lot of the same things happen to her that happened to me. It’s set at the end of 1979 and the beginning of 1980, and it’s about a fifteen year old just when I was fifteen, and from a family like mine and in the time and place and context where I was. I was using a lot of my own experience and memories. But this is Mori, not me, and she lives in a world where magic is real. Jo Walton, who as editor for tor.com revisisted the Hugos 1953-2000, now has one of her own, taking home the 2012 Best Novel Award for Among Others. Other winners include Kij Johnson for her Novella The Man who Bridged the Mist (excerpt) and io9 regular Charlie Jane Anders for her novellete Six Months, Three Days. The Best Graphic Story award went to the webcomic Digger by Ursula Vernon. E Lily Yu took home the Bets New Writer award (technically not a Hugo) and was also nominated for her short story The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees. A couple of TV shows you have heard of also got awards. Links to many of the nominated stories here.
Microscope phakomètre; brass; part silvered; instrument is fixed to column by an assembly consisting of a central ball moving within split socket and two clamps
This complicated "instrument" does not perform any useful purpose and was presumably made as a spoof.
My So-Called Life
There are some TV shows that last for years and years, and when they finally go away, they're barely missed. And then there is the phenomenon of the TV show that dies quickly but leaves an indelible mark. Ten years ago, ABC fielded such a show: My So-Called Life, produced by the thirtysomething team of Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, premiered on Thursday, August 25, 1994 -- and was quickly reduced to ratings rubble by another new 8 p.m. series, NBC's Friends. But in 19 sublime episodes, Life left a lasting pop-culture legacy. Not only did it launch the careers of Claire Danes and Jared Leto, it defined the modern family drama -- and has influenced an entire generation of television writers. Says Greg Berlanti, the creator of The WB's Everwood and Jack & Bobby, ''It's the most painfully honest portrayal of adolescence ever on television.''
"...the 2012 campaign still looks like a titanic collision between the economy and demography."
In 2008, the National Journal released The Hidden History of the American Electorate, an analysis of exit poll demographics conducted by multiple news organizations from US presidential elections between 1988 and 2004. The study looked for "pressure points in the electorate": trends which were likely to decide the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. They've released an update for 2012, by adding exit poll results from the 1980, 1984, and 2008 presidential elections. It gives a more comprehensive look at voting trends over a 32 year period of the groups whom they believe are likely to influence the outcome in November. Charts: Voting Preferences of the American Electorate, 1980-2008
"modern masterpiece"
RJ Ellory's secret Amazon reviews anger rivals. [guardian.co.uk] "Crime bestseller caught using sock puppets to trash colleagues and hymn his own 'magnificent' work." Under the pseudonym "Nicodemus Jones":
"All I will say is that there are paragraphs and chapters that just stopped me dead in my tracks," he wrote. "Some of it was chilling, some of it raced along, some of it was poetic and langorous and had to be read twice and three times to really appreciate the depth of the prose … it really is a magnificent book."
Sticky Fingers
Last week, authorities discovered over 10 million pounds of maple syrup (1/4 of provincial reserves) missing from a Quebec warehouse. It is valued at over $30 million dollars.
Call me Maybe, Geordie
Call me maybe, Geordie version.
Careful who you call a Geordie though; there's Sandancers, Mackems and Pit Yakkars all within a 5 mile radius. They may all speak Geordie though.
Injury and the Ethics of Reading
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