User:	norda
	Date:	2008-05-18 12:58
	Subject:	Reflections at mid-day.
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

It's an odd thing to be frozen in one's tracks by simple questions.

From The Esteemed FRM, yesterday: "How are you?"

From dr_p_venkman early this morning: "Do you ever sleep?"

From my semi-daughter later this morning: "Can I give you a hug?"

I find it easy to talk about all that I do, but not all that I am.

Most peculiar.

	User:	sillysarasue
	Date:	2008-05-18 10:53
	Subject:	Birthday
	Security:	Public

I love birthdays.

After going over to a friends house, we went and sang karaoke at Austin Karaoke. I really can't sing, but is that really singing or it is just yelling at the top of your lungs?

Fun times.

	User:	jaylake
	Date:	2008-05-18 08:34
	Subject:	[contest] kenscholes has a contest about me
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	amused
	Music:	the_child reciting Norse myth to lasirenadolce

Check it out, give him some love.

	User:	norda
	Date:	2008-05-18 10:21
	Subject:	[DRACULA] Jonathan Harker's Journal, 18 May.
	Security:	Public

Jonathan Harker's Journal

18 May. – ( I have been down to look at that room again in daylight... )

====================================

This is an experiment in posting Bram Stoker's novel DRACULA in "real time". Feel free to comment, or to read along at your own pace.

All entries will be tagged. You can link to any and all entries by clicking on "blog-stoker's-dracula" or on "haunted-summer".

Thanks for joining me!

User:	theinferior4 (posted by lizhand)
Date:	2008-05-18 08:46
Subject:	We do it so as not to become mad
Security:	Public

A great article on why Iceland may be the best place on Earth:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/18/iceland

Short answer: strong women and lots of artists, who constantly produce work to "keep the Beast at bay."  No mention of the country's high rate of depression or alcoholism, other costs of living with the Beast — darkness and an environment so harsh it makes Mordor look like a stop on the Carnival Cruise Line.  That was my experience, anyway, though I'd go back in a heartbeat.  Why hasn't Reyjavik put in a bid for Worldcon?

User:	jeffvandermeer
Date:	2008-05-18 13:28
Subject:	John Coulthart on Ian Miller
Security:	Public

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/05/18/john-coulthart-on-ian-miller/

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1098

Following on the io9 feature, John Coulthart provides his own take on Ian Miller’s work, including some amazing book cover. (If you don’t follow John’s blog, btw, you’re missing out on some great stuff.)

User:	jeffvandermeer
Date:	2008-05-18 04:31
Subject:	Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy
Security:	Public

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/05/17/dedalus-book-of-finnish-fantasy/

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1082

Previous Dedalus coverage from the old blog, following on my post this past week.

	User:	cgronlund
	Date:	2008-05-17 22:39
	Subject:	A Goofy Adventure
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	sleepy
	Music:	Nothing

So my friend Dave painted his BMW recently. He loves his little car; I must agree, it's a fun little vehicle, and I'm glad he's back on the road with it.

Dave called this afternoon and said, "Hey, wanna go watch some old cars race?"

Dave used to have an open-wheeled race car and he's a member at a nearby track. Today was a vintage car day and I was happy to go for a ride in Dave's car and see even older cars on a track.

Dave got here and noticed a screw in his driver side tire. But he's driven with screws and nails in tires before and felt all would be cool. (See where this is going?)

We bought some Fix-a-Flat...just in case...

( The rest of the adventure here... )

( Further Proof that Karma's a Sham... )

( Behold, Drunk Tomato Juggling! )

It was a fun day despite the flat. I would have liked seeing the old cars, but I got to hang with a friend on the side of I-35, and I haven't done that since hanging with mfelps on the side of I-35 after curtishart got married. And I got to see Jeremy, and that's always cool.

I'm a lucky guy to have the friends I have, and I should get some sleep now because tomorrow's a long walk with friends.

Can't complain about weekends like this one bit!

They're the best!

User:	theinferior4 (posted by lizhand)
Date:	2008-05-17 19:32
Subject:	"Courtly & polite as befits poets"
Security:	Public

Earlier today I read that Robert Frank's 1959 classic Pull My Daisy has been rereleased in NYC — this is the 26-minute film based on Jack Kerouac's one-act "The Beat Generation," notable for a cast that includes Alice Neel, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Larry Rivers and Peter Orlovsky, among others, with Kerouc narrating.  I'd never  seen it until I found it online tonight.  Best entrance: Corso and Ginsberg, looking like the Kramdens' neighbors dropping by after work with a bottle of beer and a jug of  wine.  Best line: "The Lower East Side has produced all these gum-chewing poets."  Was this actually being made at the same moment as Godard's Breathless?

21st Century Beat:  "Dang!" Brand new music video from Buck 65, the Mount Uniacke, Nova Scotia golden boy who blew everyone away at the Airwaves Festival when I was in Reykjavik last fall.  Gotta love a rapper who works Glenn Gould and the penultimate line of Breathless into his act. 

	User:	renegade500
	Date:	2008-05-17 19:08
	Subject:	BB Rover's
	Security:	Public

Okay you Austin wankers you, anyone who may be interested, I'm leaving in 5 to go meet reanimated at BB Rover's. I'm told they have food, and of course they have beerage.

If you don't show up, well, we'll just talk about you. ;-p

	User:	deannahoak
	Date:	2008-05-17 17:29
	Subject:	A mother’s pride
	Security:	Public

Originally published at Deanna Hoak. Please leave any comments there.

Evan’s school photo came this year with a note attached saying that the school was sure I’d want the photo retaken, because it hadn’t come out well.

Here it is:

So…yeah, the photographer didn’t do the best job cropping; and yeah, Evan is squinting in the sun. But all I can think of when I look at that photo is, “Damn, my son is gorgeous!”

I kept it. :-)

	User:	renegade500
	Date:	2008-05-17 15:42
	Subject:	Saturday funnage
	Security:	Public

Would anyone be up for some Saturday funnage? reanimated seems to be feeling restless and unmotivated, and I made some funnage suggestions to her, one of which she doesn't seem too adverse to (playing pool). She's going to be up near Slick Willie's on Burnet for dinner, and is not against the idea of going there after dinner for pool and beer.

Anyone want to join in as well?

Pool, beer, smart-@$$ me. What could be more fun?

	User:	renegade500
	Date:	2008-05-17 15:39
	Subject:	Just to prove what you have all known all along
	Security:	Public

Yes, I'm not quite altogether there.

I found out yesterday that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds added a second concert in Chicago, on the night before the concert for which I have a ticket (Sunday, Sept. 28).

And I am really, seriously considering changing my hotel reservation and buying a ticket to the second show. (See, I don't actually have to pay for the hotel on the 29th because it's a business trip, going out the day early I'd have to pay for that).

	User:	jlassen
	Date:	2008-05-17 12:41
	Subject:	Sale: 50% off all in-stock and forthcoming Night Shade titles
	Security:	Public

t’s sale time again at Night Shade Books. We’ve got a few big titles coming in, and we need to clear space in a big way! So until midnight on Sunday, May 25th, we’re offering 50% off all in-stock and forthcoming Night Shade books. Use the coupon code 50NSB2008, and there is a four book minimum order.

Not only do we have some great books, including Harry Turtledove’s After the Downfall, Tim Lebbon’s Bar None, Jay Lake’s Madness of Flowers, Graham Joyce’s How to Make Friends with Demons, and Glen Cook’s An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat, coming in the next few months, but we’ve also added, for the first time, the infamous Night Shade Books Posse T-Shirts. These are printed on American Apparel sweat shop-free high quality shirts and Made in the U.S.A., and will feature a clever quote from a well-known genre personality (T-Shirts will be shipping on approximately June 15, 2008). We’ve also uncovered a handful of slip cases, for our Lord Dunsany and Manly Wade Wellman collections, that we’re making available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

And don’t forget our forthcoming anthologies: The Living Dead, Fast Ships, Black Sails, and Eclipse 2.

	User:	jaylake
	Date:	2008-05-17 10:21
	Subject:	[personal] Important safety tip
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	awake
	Music:	house noises

When idly scratching one's belly during sleep, it is best not to get a fingernail snagged in a surgical staple.

That will wake one up, even through the drug fog.

Imagine a few dozen nails dragged across a blackboard at once. There ought to be a word for that sensation.

Any suggestions?

	User:	renegade500
	Date:	2008-05-17 09:26
	Subject:	Awake, need coffee
	Security:	Public

But before I stumble around like a crazy woman in search of a refreshing caffeineted beverage, I'd like to say the following to one of my best gal pals in the world:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sillysarasue!!

I hope you are planning to have yourself a damn good day today. Maybe once I managed to stumble off somewhere in search of coffee I'll call you (cuz I'm willing to bet you are still asleep).

	User:	norda
	Date:	2008-05-17 09:54
	Subject:	[DRACULA] Lucy to Mina, 17 May.
	Security:	Public

Letter, Lucy Westenra to Mina Murray

17, Chatham Street
Wednesday.

My dearest Mina, -

I must say you tax me very unfairly with being a bad correspondent. ( I wrote to you twice since we parted... )

====================================

This is an experiment in posting Bram Stoker's novel DRACULA in "real time". Feel free to comment, or to read along at your own pace.

All entries will be tagged. You can link to any and all entries by clicking on "blog-stoker's-dracula" or on "haunted-summer".

Thanks for joining me!

User:	jeffvandermeer
Date:	2008-05-17 12:34
Subject:	Are Editors Responsible for Who Sends Submissions? (Alternatively: What the F— is Homeland Security
Security:	Public

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/05/17/are-editors-responsible-for-who-sends-submissions-alternatively-what-the-f-is-homeland-security-doing-calling-us/

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1097

So you may remember this post, in which I said one of Ann’s submissions had been opened by Homeland Security.

Well, this morning Ann got a purported call from Homeland Security trying to verify her name and social security number. They asked for Ann “Kennedy,” not only her ex-husband’s name but the name on the envelope of the submission HS had opened. The person had the wrong social and Ann didn’t volunteer the right one.

If this call was legitimate, and we think it might have been because no one calls us asking for Ann “Kennedy”–they either call asking for her under her maiden name or VanderMeer–it does raise an interesting question: Can magazine editors be held responsible for who sends submissions to them? The sensible answer is, of course, NO. But Ann’s still going to follow up on this to try to verify the legitimacy of the call, etc.

	User:	jlassen
	Date:	2008-05-17 00:04
	Subject:	The worm has turned...
	Security:	Public

So, its not like Chris Matthews hasn't spent the last 8 years lambasting liberals and democrats. But proof that he is a showman who easily shifts with the prevailing wind is evidence in the following video. It's really funny. I guess when the president is facing historically low favorability ratings, even a hack like Matthews doesn't need a weatherman...

User:	theinferior4 (posted by lucius_t)
Date:	2008-05-16 18:02
Subject:	Tribute Albums
Security:	Public

Tribute albums are generally a mixed bag, but I can think of a few that may have escaped general notice and are pretty incredible track by track. The uniquely eccentric tribute to Jimi Hendrix, If Six Was Nine, sagely didn't focus on the guitar but recreated Hendrix for the Nineties. If not every track is to your taste, you'll at least find them all interesting. Here's the track list:


1. May This Be Love - Thin White Rope
2. Wind Cries Mary - Scott Mathews, Chuck Prophet
3. Fire - Trick Bag
4. Third Stone from the Sun - David Dreams
5. Spanish Castle Magic - Monks of Doom
6. I Don't Live Today - Corn Dollies
7. Can You See Me - Thee Hypnotics
8. Who Knows? - The Bevis Frond
9. Purple Haze - The Shamen, The Shamen
10. Spanish Castle Magic - Stretch Heads
11. Foxey Lady - Giant Sand
12. You Got Me Floatin' - Styler & Baldwin
13. If 6 Was 9 - Obsequious Cheesecake
14. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - The Membranes
15. Ain't No Tellin' - Five Hundred and One Spanish Verbs
16. Are You Experienced? - The Mock Turtles

Doc Pomus was one of the great popular songwriters of the 50s and 60s, and there's not a bad track on this album. It gets my vote as the most perfect tribute album of all time. I love John Hiatt's Mess of Blues is amazing, but the revelation here is Shawn Colvin's sultry, half-time treatment of Viva Las Vegas, which reveals, as Elvis's version did not, what a great song it is.

1. Lonely Avenue - Los Lobos
2. Boogie Woogie Country Girl - Bob Dylan
3. Viva Las Vegas - Shawn Colvin
4. A Mess Of Blues - John Hiatt
5. This Magic Moment - Lou Reed
6. Blinded By Love - B.B. King
7. Young Blood - The Band
8. There Must Be A Better World Somewhere - Irma Thomas
9. Turn Me Loose - Dion
10. I Count The Tears - Roseanne Cas
11. I'm On A Roll - Dr. John
12. Still In Love - Solomon Burke
13. Sweets For My Sweet - Brian Wilson
14. Save The Last Dance For Me - Aaron Neville

More widely known is the Roky Ericson tribute, When the Pyramid Meets the Eye, featuring a great version of Two-headed Dog by the San Franciscan band, Sister Double Happiness. Another amazing tribute album is the Otis Blackwell Tribute. Blackwell was Elvis's chief Songwriter, as can be seen by the play list, and wrote some legendaty songs for others folks, inlcuding "Great Balls Of Fire." The Jon Spencer version of "All Shook Up" and the great Willie Deviille's "Daddy Rolling Stone are my favorites, running just ahead of the Paul Rodgers cut.

1. Paralyzed Graham Parker
2. Hey Little Boy (Little Girl) Chrissie Hynde & Chris Spedding
3. Home In Your Heart Paul Rodgers
4. Breathless Frank Black & The Stax Pistols
5. Let's Talk About Us The Smithereens
6. Fever Tom Verlaine
7. On That Power Line Joe Louis Walker
8. Don't Be Cruel Deborah Harry
9. All Shook Up Jon Spencer
10. Handyman Frank Black
11. Great Balls Of Fire Joe Ely & Sue Foley
12. Brace Yourself Ronnie Spector
13. Daddy Rolling Stone Willie Deville
14. Return To Sender Dave Edmunds
15. All Shook Up Kris Kristofferson

So, got any suggestiions? What's your favorite tribute album?