Tor.com shows off their free Science Fiction
Tor.com is a great source for news and original stories from the world of Science Fiction. They are loosely affiliated with Tor Books but publish stories online by authors who are not under contract with Tor Books.
That said, they have an awesome list of stories that they have featured on their site this year that are attributed to authors and artists nominated for the 2010 Hugo Awards. You can read these stories online or download them in various e-book formats.
These are amazing reads and if you have ever wanted to see just how wide this genre is then this is the perfect place to start. This list also include graphic novels and art work from the past year.
above image is from Tor.com and it was created by Jillian Tamaki
chocolates and love love love passes
Today's Google Voice-mail transcription:
And those chocolates Tuesday morning and got some major problems with my laptop looks like I can't get it to do that the ghosts of a blue screen of stop windows and even starting stop load stop starting and safe love love love passes for an so give me a call if you let.
UbuWeb the Avant Garde movie and sound repository
I have always been a big fan and collector of Avant Garde film and music but have been disappointed in the lack of great websites dedicated to them. Today I came across UbuWeb an incredible collection of music, movies and poetry.
They have an enormous collection of shorts and documentaries. Some of the fantastic films that I have watched so far are by or about Peter Greenaway, J.G. Ballard, Banksy, Dan Graham, and Jorge Luis Borges. There is tons of music including all of the brilliant Tellus cassette compilations from the 1980's. They also have the entire Aspen magazine collection with its' films and music.
The quality is not always great but there are so many pieces that I have read about but never seen or heard until now.
Prepare to have your time sucked away from you.
cringe at sites
Today's Google Voice-mail transcription:
see if you're good cringe at sites just checking in. I saw that you have a that'll work done wanna make sure your feeling good when you get a moment.
Butt Bongos Anyone? or Skin Texting
Fascinating video on using your arm or hand as an input device.
via: Engaget
Ballard by Mievelle
Over at the Nation, China Mievelle writes about the huge J.G. Ballard collection that was released in September of 2009. It is always nice to see an author who has a real love and appreciation for history and founders of their craft.
Did you get any points for that?
- First and foremost Jesse Schell is a genius.
- Second, this presentation is completely right on.
- Third, this presentation is full of scary ass shit.
- Fourth, watch it until the end. I know is is a bit long but you can skip "2 and 1/2 Men" this week.
Mars : a trailer
I love the spaceships in this trailer.
MARS - The Movie [HD Trailer] from Geoff Marslett on Vimeo.
+ + + + + +
The animation used in this looks great and similar to the Richard Linklater animated films. My biggest problem with Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly" and "Waking Life" was that the acting came across as emotionless. I loved both the story and the look of the films. It will be interesting to see what another director can do with this technique.
New members of the family
I've been working hard on new Mountain Singers songs and it was time the studio had some upgrades. These might be boring but they are much needed.
QSC RMX 850 amplifier replaces a very low end Alesis RA-100. The RA-100 will now go to the garage to power the CD Player.
Ever since we moved into our current house I have had a low hum in my system. I know that I should add a ground rod and tie it to the power panel but it is figgin cold outside. This little box should at least help me eliminate the hum from my computer.
Fake Acorn Pimp now a “Watergate” Protege
“I am a journalist,” and “The truth shall set me free.” - James O'Keefe III tweeted shortly after being arrested for planting bugs in Louisiana Democratic Sen Mary Landrieu's office.
This is the same guy who secretly recorded Acorn employees telling him how to set up a brothel.
Could the Republicans be reopening their "rat-fucking" program from the Nixon era.
Also, there is a local news moment in all of this. Joseph Basel, one of Mr. O'Keefe's co-defendents, went to college at UofM Morris where he started a conservative newsletter in reaction to what he thought was overwhelming liberal presence on campus.
Schwarzenegger wants to build jails in Mexico
So Arnold wants to build jails in Mexico to hold illegal immigrants who commit crimes in California.
Why not? It is a great place to start rebuilding the broken Californian society.
Another thing he could do is privatize the judicial system. Court buildings and employees cost California a hell of a lot of money. He could also bring in private security forces to replace state police. Why should crime cost citizens even a dime? Really when it comes down to it why should society have to get mixed up in crime and justice at all? We are the victims after all.
original article via the Sac Bee
Walking Dead TV Show
One of my favorite comics of the last couple of years has been the Walking Dead. It looks as though AMC is going to make it into a TV series.
DVDs of 2009
The BFI has a great list of peoples favorite DVDs that came out in 2009
Many of these films I have never heard of. The ones that I have seen are brilliant.
New song from former Shins singer and Danger Mouse
I'm not completely sure if the Shins are kaput or just on hiatus. It seems singer James Russell Mercer is teaming up with Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) to form the new band Broken Bells. Here is their first output, The High Road.