That’s right, on The Farm, my developer blog — the blog I’m paid to write — I posted one dozen articles. Click the link below to read them all!
I’m going to a launch party at the Drake Hotel for my friend Chris “Turner” Turner’s first book, Planet Simpson.
Chris is a friend of mine back from our days at Crazy Go Nuts University, where he and I were both DJs at the engineering student-run Clark Hall Pub. He later went to become a freelance writer, submitting some of the best pieces for the late great Shift magazine (a creation of Canadian Gen-X pundit and CBC fixture Evan Solomon) and later, Time magazine. Wendy and I attended his wedding in January.
I have no idea if the party is an open or closed one; if you’re in the neighbourhood, drop by and check it out!
As for the book, it’s quite thick (450 pages!) and attempts to balance popular appeal with scholarly rigor.
Booklsut has this to say:
While the book will hold on to every reader, Turner’s dense academic
feel towards the end may feel like homework, and will definitely place it in
university bookstores for next semester. Some of the chapter subtitles have
a textbook feel, for example: “Journey to the Center of the Simpsons:
Self-Awareness, Self-Reference, Self-Parody, and the perfection of the Postmodern
Aesthetic.” But there is so much to this book that everyone will love
it.
The cultural studies canon has recently expanded to include dissections of
tv shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sopranos and
Sex and the City. But Planet Simpson trumps them all.
Turner scored a coup (hah!) by landing Douglas (“Generation X“) Coupland to write the foreword. An excerpt:
If this book were to have an alternative title, it would most likely
be, How to Cook for Forty Humans. If that makes no sense to you,
chances are you probably haven’t read this far anyway. If it does make
sense, you’ll understand the treat that’s coming your way just a few
pages from here.
I’m looking forward to sharing a Guinness with Turner tonight. Congrats on getting published, dude!
From Express India: Arnold snubbed by wife for praising Bush.
ABC News: Bush Has Hurt My Sex Life
Philippine Inquirer: Schwarzenegger sex life suffers over Bush support
Cape Times: No more Bush, Democrat wife tells Schwarzenegger
Categories
The Bulge Under George Bush’s Suit…
…is most likely a natural phenomenon in clothing. Take a look at
these photos of random people in Manhattan. They have the bukge too.
Click the picture to see the photo at full size:
Third from the left, top row: the dreaded Volvo ass!
The Hill has a story featuring the president’s tailor showing how suit naturally get a bulge when its wearer crosses his arms and leans forward:
Okay, buddy. Now explain your hair.
Finally, there’s the matter of receiving devices. If Bush were wired and getting cues from Karl Rove or some other coach:
- He wouldn’t have been so damned inarticulate.
- He’d
have used a smaller device. We’re in the age of teeny cellphones; “spy
tech” stores in major cities sell much tinier walkie-talkies.
Of course, without this flap, we wouldn’t have gotten fun “remixes” like this one:
Warpjam mentioned to me that Gizmodo pointed to the Topaz-1, an old Soviet electronic accordion, pictured below. I love the styling, which is reminiscent of the original Star Trek series’ design aesthetic:
Here in North America, electronic accordions have been marketed by
Iorio (sometimes under the name Elkavox). Here’s a top-of-the-line
model (taken from this selection), currently selling new for about US$6000. Note the touch-pad button control panel!
There are also MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) accordions,
which can be used to control one or more synthesizers, samplers and
even drum machines Here’s the ultra-fancy Excelsior MIDI accordion:
And let’s not forget the premier make of accordion, Hohner, who haven’t forgotten that we’re living the 21st century now.
[via Feeling Listless] Being Charlie Kaufman is a blog that is about Charlie Kaufman by not written by him. It’s also the home of the first draft of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
in which the story starts 50 years in the future. Here’s the first bit,
which if you’ve seen the movie is drastically different…
INT. PUBLISHING HOUSE RECEPTION AREA - DAY
It's grand and modern. Random House-Knopf-Taschen is etched
on the wall in large gold letters. An old woman enters
carrying a tattered manuscript, maybe a thousand pages. She
seems haunted, hollow-eyed, sickly. The young receptionist,
dressed in a shiny, stretchy one-piece pantsuit, looks up.
RECEPTIONIST
Oh, hi.
OLD WOMAN
(apologetically)
Hi, I was in the neighborhood and thought
I'd see --
RECEPTIONIST
I think he's in a conference.
Unfortunately. I'm really sorry.
OLD WOMAN
Would you just try him? You never know.
As long as I'm here. You never know.
RECEPTIONIST
Of course. Please have a seat.
The old woman smiles and sits, the bulky manuscript on her
lap. She stares politely straight ahead.
RECEPTIONIST (CONT'D)
(quietly into headset)
It's her -- I know, but couldn't you just
-- Yes, I know, but -- I know, but she's
old and it would be a nice -- Yes, sorry.
(to old woman)
I'm sorry, ma'am, he's not in right now.
It's a crazy time of year for us.
The receptionist gestures toward a Christmas tree in the
corner. Its ornaments are holograms.
OLD WOMAN
This book -- It's essential that people
read it because --
(gravely, patting the
manuscript)
-- It's the truth. And only I know it.
RECEPTIONIST
(nodding sympathetically)
Maybe after the holidays then.
INT. TILED HALLWAY - DAY
The old woman carries her manuscript haltingly down a subway
hall. She stops to catch her breath, then continues and
passes several archway with letters printed above them. When
she arrives at one topped by an LL, she slips a card in a
slot. A plastic molded chair drops into the archway. She
sits in the chair; it rises.
INT. TUBE -DAY
The woman is still in the chair as it slips gracefully into a
line of chairs shooting through a glass tube. The other
chairs are peopled with commuters. We stay with the woman as
she and the others travel over New York City in the tube.
There are hundreds of these commuter tubes crisscrossing the
skyline. The woman glances at the manuscript in her lap.
It's called:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This serves as the movie's opening title. The other credits
follow, as the old woman studies commuters in passing tubes.
Their faces are variously harsh and sad and lonely and blank.
INT. WAITING ROOM - DAY
SUBTITLED: FIFTY YEARS EARLIER
Every doctor's office waiting room: chairs against the wall,
magazines on end tables, a sad-looking potted plant, generic
seascape paintings on the walls. The receptionist, Mary, 25,
can be seen typing in the reception area. Behind her are
shelves and shelves of medical files. The door opens and
Clementine enters. She's in her early thirties, zaftig in a
faux fur winter coat over an orange hooded sweatshirt. She's
decidedly funky and has blue hair. Mary looks up.
MARY
May I help you?
CLEMENTINE
(approaching reception area)
Yeah, hi, I have a one o'clock with Dr.
Mierzwiak. Clementine Kruczynski.
MARY
Yes, please have a seat. He'll be right
with you.
Categories
The Astonishing X-Men
I haven’t been by Accordion City’s best-known comic book store, The Silver Snail, in months (despite living a couple of blocks away), so I’ve been unaware of the Marvel effort called “X-Men Reload“. They’re working on revitalizing the X-Men titles, and the most buzzworthy one is Astonishing X-Men, for which they hired Joss Whedon, the creative mind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly.
With Whedon, you get the best of both worlds: a guy who understands the
long and complicated history of Marvel’s mighty mutants and a guy who
can tell a story and write dialogue, especially bitchy dialogue. He
uses this to great effect with Kitty Pryde’s and Emma Frost’s clashes (When did the White Queen join the X-Men? When did she get involved with Scott Summers? They’re running Xavier’s now? When did Jean Grey die? What the hell is going on?).
You can read Astonishing X-Men #1 online at Marvel’s DotComics site (you’ll need Flash installed).
Wolverine: “Time to make nice with the public, eh, Summers?”
Scott: We have to do more than that, Logan. We have to astonish them.