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July 31, 2008
Richard Morgan's "The Steel Remains" review
Arthur C. Clarke award winner Richard Morgan switches gears from his familiar noir post cyberpunk and ventures into the fantasy genre.
How does he fare?
Where do I begin?
First in the interest of full disclosure I have to say without a doubt Richard Morgan is my favorite author currently and possibly ever. His books hit me in a way that none else do. When he first hit the scene with his dazzling debut "Altered Carbon" I knew this was someone whose voice I wanted to follow. From there we got the biting "Market Forces", the noirish military sci fi "Broken Angels", the concluding Kovacks novel "Woken Furies" and finally the triumphantly challenging and Arthur C. Clarke award winning "Black Man". Richard freely challenges the politics of oppression, bigotry and religious zealotry in his work. It's almost a primal urge to rage against the machine. His characters are either victims of these things or in the case of "Market Forces" willing participants. There is collateral damage and hyper violence, but there is always a message delivered underneath the high tech settings, inventive technology and memorable characters.
So when I first learned Richard planned on taking a break from sci fi to take a crack at writing a fantasy series I wasn't sure what to think. In an interview we did, Richard mentioned applying noir tendencies to this world and characters and I began to perk up.
I'm not a fan of fantasy per se. I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies but found the books a bit tedious. I also freely admit to not liking the way characters stereotypically speak in fantasy novels, the "thee, thine, thou", just not something that works for me. So I wondered how I would find Richard's new novel "The Steel Remains" considering it is in a genre I generally don't care for.
Well I loved it.
In fact I think it may be the best thing Richard has written so far in his young career. It takes fantasy and turns it on it's head. The back cover of my advance review copy says "Fantasy Gets Real" and that's an accurate way of describing it. This isn't Lord of the Rings with happy hobbits. It's a war torn world that is reeling from an epic war, uneasy truces, war heroes forgotten and abandoned to a life of homelessness and generally not a great place. The characters speak with a modern voice that might throw some but worked perfectly for me.
Richard introduces us to his three major characters, Ringil Angeleyes, masterful swordsman, overall hero and a bit of a wildcard. Since the war Ringil now lives in a frontier town and lives above a bar where he regales the crowds with war stories. He's not particularly happy.
Next up is Egar the nomad. Barbarian and tribal leader who got a taste of civilized life and misses it terribly. He doesn't want to be stuck leading a tribe of animal herders. He wants hot coffee, clean sheets and the civilized society of life in a massive city.
Last is Archeth Indamaninarmal, engineer and adviser to the Emperor of Yhelteth Empire. Archeth is also half Kiriath, a technologically advanced race who helped humanity in their great war. Now feeling abandoned by her clan leaving her behind and serving an emperor she doesn't respect Archeth is feeling a bit lost.
While this is certainly set in a world where at least at first glance is normal for a fantasy novel, you get glimpses that there might be going on here, Kiriath fireships that were piloted by Helmsmen, who have also been left behind, Kiriath weaponry that might be supernatural or might just be technologically advanced, reality bending weapons left behind...the nice thing here is you aren't hit over the head with it. As he did in "Altered Carbon" Richard teases you with little details that another author could make an entire book out of.
Once you've met the cast the adventure gets underway where Ringil's mother sends him out to rescue a long forgotten cousin sold into slavery. Along the way you have beings who might be magical, conspiracies, wholesale slaughter and another sinister plot meant to throw this world back into chaos.
Old friends are reunited, blood is spilled and you end on a perfect note. If this wasn't exactly for you there is closure but if you want more you get the distinct feeling Richard knows where he's going with this.
I don't want to go into anymore detail than that since this world and it's characters are best left to discover on your own.
The worst thing for American fans of Richard's work is that this won't be available in the US until Feb. 2009. Yep you read that right. The Steel Remains is released to the UK in August and if ever there was a book worth buying from AmazonUK this is it.
I cannot recomend it strongly enough.
12:14 PM
I Gots Me Some Enthusiasm
Larry Young, the Chief Visionary, Creative Engine, and Marketing Guru for AiT/Planet Lar has got himself some enthusiasm, and isn't exactly shy about sharing it.
So, I gots me some enthusiasm.
Still, even being crazy busy getting ready for San Diego. I've been spending a lot of time in the office in front of the computer. I don't listen to music as I work, as a rule, because I start paying more attention to the lyrics than I do what I'm doing, and that's not good. So I started having DVDs on of movies I love, since I don't have to pay attention to Fletch, say, because I know that movie as well as I do Raiders and Star Wars.
Which I also often have on in the background.
My buddy Rob, a new dad himself, with more than enough time to himself now that he's taking care of a 10-week old, flowed me these hilarious YouTube clips of Jane Pauley interviewing Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill... back in 1980. Check out how innocent and unpolished the presentation of The Today Show is:
and Part Two:
Two things I love about this; Mark Hamill was talking about the prequels in 1980... and when asked about Princess Leia says, "That's like your sister ruining Christmas for you." Ha! Your sister, huh, Luke?
12:12 PM
July 14, 2008
Rob Rogers interview
First time author Rob Rogers drops by for a quick chat about his debut novel "Devil's Cape".
MC: Walk us through the world of Devil's Cape, it's heroes, it's villains, it's origins...
RR: Devil's Cape is a superhero thriller set in the fictional city of Devil's Cape, Louisiana. A masked pirate calling himself St. Diable founded the city in 1727 and his influence is felt even in the 21st century. Devil's Cape occupies the same space that Slidell, Louisiana, occupies in the real world, but sprawling farther, a sister city to New Orleans, but darker and more corrupt. Its streets are twisted in unexpected directions and its architecture is heavily influenced by the pirates who created it--decorated with gaudy, unmatched trimmings (the pirates' bounty); fortified against attack and surveillance; filled with secrets.
Beyond the city itself, there are three main heroes in the book:
Jason Kale is a television crime reporter and an outcast from the powerful Kalodimos crime family. When he and his twin brother Julian were babies, their father baptized both children in water containing threads from the Golden Fleece, hoping to give them an edge to keep them from being drawn into the "family business." That baptism ultimately gave both boys the abilities of the Argonauts of Greek myth, including Heracles' strength, Idmon's visions, and the Boreals' power of flight. Jason has used his abilities rarely, but has distanced himself from the rest of the family, particularly from his corrupt Uncle Costas, one of the top lieutenants of the Robber Baron the crime lord of Devil's Cape. But Julian has begun to use his powers in their uncle's service as a masked criminal called Scion. As the story progresses, Jason realizes he needs to take action and becomes the hero Argonaut, a role that puts further him at odds with the rest of his family.
As a teenager, Cain Ducett was a violent gang leader and drug dealer. He attacked the wrong person and ended up cursed as a result, finding himself transforming into a hideous winged, clawed creature. When he returned to normal, the experience jarred him into changing his life. Today he's a respected psychiatrist and has written his previous metamorphosis off as a hallucination. Events in the book, including the escape of a homicidal superpowered patient of his called Rusalka, force him to reevaluate his interpretation of his past. As he begins to transform again and adopts the identity of the mew superhero Bedlam, Cain struggles to keep his emotions under control.
Kate Brauer is the inheritor of a legacy. Her father was the third superhero to call himself Doctor Camelot. He wore high-tech powered armor that allowed him to fly, enhanced his strength, and included a number of nonlethal weapons. One of the premier heroes of Vanguard City, a gleaming metropolis in Connecticut, he was murdered decades ago by a group of super-powered carnival freaks called the Cirque d'Obscurité. When his killers turn up in Devil's Cape, Kate travels to the city and brings her father's armor with her. A brilliant engineer in her own right, Kate adapts and improves the armor, making it stronger and faster and vastly increasing the capabilities of its communication and sensor systems. As the new Doctor Camelot, she resolves to stop the Cirque d'Obscurité, no matter how dangerous that might be.
I've touched on the villains above: the Robber Baron, the Cirque d'Obscurité, Rusalka, and Scion. They're all important to the development of the story.
MC: I've seen Devil's Cape described as Southern Gothic meets Heroes. Do you think that's an accurate description?
RR: Ah, marketing copy. I'd say it's a fair description. There's certainly a Southern element to the setting and many of the characters, with an appropriate mentality and themes that often pop up in Southern writing, such as the importance of history, reconciling love for home with an understanding of that home's darker moments, and family, of course. And as far as Heroes goes, both my book and the TV show feature superheroics in settings that feel real, exploring what it might be like to live in a world where such strange and wonderful things happen.
MC: In the world you've created you have super heroes and super villains, with advanced technology and supernatural abilities but set in a realistic setting. Why did you decide to go this route? And do you think there's an audience for this type of novel?
RR: I think that Devil's Cape is kind of a meeting ground for people who like to read thrillers and people who like to read comic books. I wanted to explore a genre I love--superheroes--in the medium of prose. I definitely think there's an audience for this type of novel.
MC: Devil's Cape is a fictitious sister city to New Orleans. What are the advantages in going with a created setting rather than a real one?
RR: You get to make up cool stuff! Creating a city of my own let me build on familiar elements--the real-life setting of Louisiana, a New Orleans flavor, etc.,--while adding in other things that worked for my story, such as the strong pirate influence on the city and the historical elements of the various people who have lived there over the years. It's nice being able to part with reality a bit--making the streets run the way I need them to and developing neighborhoods and infrastructures to meet the needs of the story. Of course, once I've created an element, I need to be consistent about it. Here's a tip for anyone trying the same thing: Develop the map early on. Creating a map later in the process and trying to match it to all of your descriptions can be a huge undertaking.
MC: This is your first novel. Can you talk about what this process has been like for you?
RR: After the initial submission for the Wizards of the Coast open call, the primary challenge for me was time. The underlying idea of the call for submissions was that although you were submitting three chapters and an outline for the initial review, you were expected to have the full manuscript available if you made it to the next step. Well, I have a full-time job and two kids and just didn't have the time and energy to pour into completing the book just in case. So when Peter Archer of Wizards' book department contacted me and told me that Wizards liked the submission and wanted to see the whole manuscript, I was simultaneously elated and terrified. I was expected to provide a complete book within 10 days! Wizards was kind enough to extend that to five weeks, but even that was a very, very tight turnaround time, especially since I was in the middle of a huge project at work and couldn't just drop things. My wife and sons were a great support, giving me a lot of extra time on nights and weekends to work on the manuscript, and thanks to a really great team at work, I was able to squeeze in a couple of short-notice vacation days to help get that first draft wrapped up.
I didn't know it for a while, but the book almost died shortly after I sent it off. Peter Archer, the editor at Wizards of the Coast who had liked the submission and who had been my contact there, left the company. I had no way of knowing this, so it seemed to me that Wizards had just decided to pass on the book. I sent Peter a couple of e-mails, which of course never reached him, and assumed that I had been rejected. But about four or five months after I'd sent the completed draft in, I got an e-mail from Phil Athans, senior managing editor at Wizards of the Coast. Phil had been clearing out Peter's office and came across my manuscript--I'd had it printed in Renton, Washington, where Wizards of the Coast is based, and delivered by courier because I was so close to the wire on my deadline. It was in a box and had been stamped "Paid in Full" by the courier and for quite a while Phil thought that that was the title of the book. Phil nearly pitched the manuscript, but he decided to read at least a little bit to see what he thought, and he liked it. His e-mail to me got the book back on the track to being published. After that, there was a lot of revision work to be done. After I sent off the book, I kind of made a mental list of things I'd like to develop further if I ever got the opportunity. My editors at Wizards had their own list of suggestions (and honestly there was a lot of overlap there--we saw eye to eye on nearly everything) and so I went through more drafts of the book, getting it ready for publication.
I guess the most surprising thing for me was the way revising the book often worked in fits and starts. I'd work on it very intensely for weeks, then have a long period where I kind of held off, waiting to see what Wizards thought of the changes. It was a good process, though, and coming back at it fresh always helped me make it better.
MC: What's the response been towards Devil's Cape?
RR: I don't have any sales figures yet, or anything like that, but people I've talked to about the book or who have written about the book have generally been very positive. Superhero fans certainly seem to enjoy it, but I've also been very pleased with the number of people who don't particularly like superheroes, but who have ended up really enjoying the book because of the characters and action and setting. I just want to spread the word about it--I hope that once someone picks it up and reads a few pages, it will stand on its own merits.
MC: What's next for you Rob?
RR: I'm working on a sequel to Devil's Cape. I'm kicking around a couple of other ideas, but that sequel's my main goal.
12:05 PM
July 09, 2008
I Gots Me Some Enthusiasm
Larry Young, the Chief Visionary, Creative Engine, and Marketing Guru for AiT/Planet Lar has got himself some enthusiasm, and isn't exactly shy about sharing it.
This week Larry's talking steampunk...
So, I gots me some enthusiasm.
No, love I love Blade Runner, and I love the steampunk aesthetic. I love Noeland Collins, who combined the two, and made a steampunk version of Deckard's PKD; you remember... the gun from the film with the two triggers?
Now check this brass and wood baby out:
Someday, there's going to be a really good steampunk movie, and this aesthetic will be everywhere. Some guys are already making Jules Verne's lightsaber...
...and fashioning a proper case for a Mac mini:
I wonder if it's too early to get a top hat and goggles for Halloween...?
10:16 PM
RBN Interview: The Heroes Discussion Group
Heroes Aren't Hard To Find, the premier comic book shop in Charlotte, NC and host of this month's Heroes Convention has also been host to something new and different recently: The Heroes Discussion Group. Basically a book group for graphic novel fans, the Heroes Discussion Group meets once a month at the Heroes store to discuss the ins and outs of a selected graphic novel. So far they've analyzed books such as League of Extraordindary Gentlemen, All-Star Superman and Batman Year One.
The Discussion group is the brainchild of Heroes Creative Director Dustin Harbin and longtime customer Andy Mansell, who runs the discussions (a skill he has honed in recent years by moderating various creator panels at Heroes Con).
RBN's Rich Barrett recently spoke with Andy and Dustin about the Discussion Group and how they make it happen.
RBN: How did this whole thing come about? Had you heard of other stores doing this? It seems like such an obvious idea for a comic shop to do yet I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing it before.
ANDY MANSELL: This was an idea rumbling around in Dustin's mind for a while. I was always complaining on Wednesday-- New Releases day, that I didn't have enough time to talk about books that really got my blood up. The staff would be trying to sort thousands of new books, assist dozens of customers and half-listen to me frothing at the mouth.
So an idea was born.
I was thrilled that Dustin asked me to moderate. I have always enjoyed the opportunities that Heroes has provided me by letting me run panels at the last three Heroes Cons.
So Dustin thought I would be a natural.
RBN: When you think about book groups, you generally think of people getting together in someone's living room, drinking tea, discussing Jane Austen or John Steinbeck. What did you picture when you started thinking about this book group for comics? How have the first few meetings turned out in comparison to what you planned it to be?
AM: I disagree with you about the vision of book groups you mentioned. When we have had book groups we have met in local watering holes. A few potent potables make for looser lips. The first one was tricky because I still did not know what I was doing. I was so heck bent on throwing out all my theories regarding League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it became more of a lecture than a discussion group. I worked too hard to try to impress; a tough pill to swallow. However, the last hour really got things going in the right direction.
Fortunately, I took the lessons learned from the first meeting and it turned the next two All Star Superman and Batman Year One into marvelous discussions.
RBN: That's interesting. I noticed at the meeting that I had the pleasure of being present for – the Batman Year One discussion– that you came in with a pile of handwritten notes. You obviously put a lot of work into preparing for these discussions. A lot of people running one of these things might just show up and hope for the discussion to play out naturally but it's really helpful having you generate the talking points to keep the conversation interesting. Walk us through how you prepared for the Batman Year One discussion and what you learned from the previous discussions that helped make this one more interactive?
AM: OKAY--
I read the book 4 times.
Once for pleasure.
Once for themes/structure/narrative.
Once for the art and hidden gems comic or movie allusions.
One last time to finalize the ideas and see what I missed.
I write up all my notes twice and put them into categories. Then, I create at least 10 topics with -- and MOST importantly-- a LEADING question or two for each topic.
I also give myself reminders such as: find the person(s) who did not like the book or does not like superheroes-- and use them as the litmus or devil's advocate.
Another reminder-- if a participant is shy or nervous, I make a point to compliment them for their point.
Another reminder-- no one is wrong; get inside everyone's shoes.
I really write that at the top of every page.
RBN: For the first discussion you chose an Alan Moore book, then Grant Morrison followed by Frank Miller. Obviously you started by hitting all the big names. Talk about how you go about choosing the books.
AM: We fought it out for a few weeks to try to find the right book-- we wanted one that could generate a lot of discussion, so we settled on LoEG.
After that, we spend the last 15 minutes of the discussion time selecting the next book-- we go around the circle twice giving recommendations. Then we put them on the blog and let the conversation and voting begin.
RBN: How do you guys go about promoting this event each month?
DUSTIN HARBIN: The last four months or so we've been trying to dial up the idea of a monthly schedule, i.e., Manga Night, the Discussion Group, and any other events that month, and printing little flyers to give out to customers. The convention kinda screwed that up, just because it's such a vast black hole for time and energy, but we're getting slowly back on track now. And of course we talk it up on our blog, and in our weekly newsletter, the Heroes Hotline. Besides that, we actively push it in the store to people we think we'd like to talk to--for instance, yourself Rich. It's CRIMINAL that you've only been to one! My dream is to get a really great mix of people each month, male, female, young, old, talking about whatever. We're nearing the 10-15 person a month mark, but I'd like to get up around 15-20 ideally, especially since everyone can't come every month.
RBN: Yeah I wish I had been able to make the first few and now, having been to one and enjoyed it thoroughly, I wish there was almost a back issue system for the meetings so that I could go back and review what I missed.
What books would you love to discuss in the future?
AM: I still believe the three best books for discussion would be Ice Haven, Fun Home and Ordinary Victories...
My absolute dream discussion would be if we could get everyone to read Schulz and Peanuts - 1 volume of Peanuts from the late 60s and then Peanuts 2000 (the final year). Then throw in the recent Comics Journal-- the responses to the biography. Now that would be a awesome!!
DH: Well, my tastes are a little different. I would really REALLY love to dig into some challenging stuff, especially highly visible stuff like David B.'s Epileptic or Sammy Harkham's The Poor Sailor. Those are both just pure comic books, saturated with goodness. They're pretty advanced, though, and might be harder for some regular superhero readers to dive right into. Also From Hell, although we'd need a whole weekend to talk about that one. Maybe a Discussion Group retreat?
RBN: Are there any books that you think would not make for a good discussion? What is the criteria that makes a book worthy?
AM: Originally, I would have given the criteria as clarity of vision and consistency of execution. To me the two keys to art, but now in retrospect... it is the story and the characters that are the key. The plot has to grab and challenge. You have to identify or be polarized by the characters.
Here is the best example I can give: Little Lulu - One of my favorites - comic art at it's zenith. We could discuss the pacing, the set up and pacing of the humor, but it would only work as part of a larger discussion-- say comparing Stanley/Tripp to Barks. In order to have a solid discussion, the readers need something to hang their hat on.
One more example: you can look at a Rothko all day, but sit in a group and try discussing one painting. You wouldn't get too far without putting it in context of movements, the times, his contemporaries..etc.
Our next book will be Jeff Smith's Monster Society of Evil-- I do not believe this book works as well as I thought upon first reading... This will make a very challenging and exciting discussion.
DH: I would point out right away that our next book is NOT actually Shazam; we decided to go with Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists instead, mainly because a) it's been requested a LOT, and b) oddly, because neither Andy nor myself particularly like it, which will pose an interesting challenge, and maybe make for even more interesting discussion. I'd rather read and talk about Shazam, but probably more because I'm a big Jeff Smith fan than out of any love for that book. I suspect there's not much to talk about.
RBN: What's the setting and atmosphere like for the discussion? How interactive does the discussion usually get?
AM: Best questions ever! We meet in the store, in the back where it is cool, the chairs are close to each other and uncomfortable. You have to sit up and listen.
If I had my choice I would have it in a local watering hole-- a wee bit of the wet loosens the lips-- but this goes against the feel and the attitude of Heroes Aren't Hard to Find.
I try to sit at the head across from everyone so I can make eye contact with everyone. It really works.
The group is getting more interactive every week. Some of it is a comfort level, most of it is because I am finally figuring out how to do it.
The first meeting was a lecture, the last two have been pure discussion
RBN: Do you have any advice for other stores that would like to start a venture like this?
DH: I would say to just dive right in--that's what we did. I can't overstate how great Andy is at this stuff, so maybe step one is to find an Andy. Step two is to make sure no one is left out or minimalized, so it's a real discussion and not just a couple of people talking. Even when someone comes up with some really oddball left-field observations, we try to welcome all opinions. It also helps that we vote each month on what the next topic will be--I think that helps the group members feel invested in the group's focus and direction.
AM: Start simple.
If your first book Maggots or Screw Style-- it may very well put off a lot of the readers.
Build slowly-- get people involved.
Invite an opposed opinion or two. Some of our best conversation came from one reader who loved Superman but hated All Star and we had at least two participants for Batman Year One that do not read superhero books at all.
Offer water.
Best of all-- have an artist in the group--Andy Smith took about 15 minutes and showed us all the storytelling tricks Mazzuchelli used on Batman Year One. We were dazzled!!!
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More information about The Heroes Discussion Group can be found at the excellent Heroes Online Blog. Photos from each event were taken by Dustin Harbin and can be viewed here.
Anyone in the Charlotte area should check out these lively and informative discussions. The events are monthly and are hosted at the Heroes Aren't Hard To Find store. Look for info on the next event at http://the-heroesonline-blog.blogspot.com/
02:15 PM
July 08, 2008
Weekly Picks
Another week, another batch of solid recommendations from the RBN staff.
Mike's Pick of the Week:Accelerando by Charles Stross
Charles Stross takes the cyberpunk genre and flips it on it's head. Accelerando follows three generations of the Macx clan as they effectively become post human. You have people with amazing implants, lobsters uploaded onto the internet, alien high speed internet routers in deep space and floating cities on gas giants. It's an idea a minute book with some very interesting characters and settings. It's like Neuromancer on steroids.
Julian's Pick of the Week:Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
This summer looks like it will be the summer for comic book movies. Iron Man blew away expectations and The Hulk has gotten very positive response. This week we get another treat as Guillermo Del Toro brings Hellboy to the big screen once more. From what I've seen so far, I'm very excited and looking forward to the movie. I trust Del Toro and I think he's one of the few filmmakers that views his work on a comic book movie not as another job, but as a true labor of love. Not only that, this is most probably the last Del Toro movie we'll see in a couple of years (unless the rumored Dr. Strange happens, but that's highly doubtful) until we finally get to see The Hobbit on screen as made by the mad genius that gave us Pan's Labyrinth.
Erin's Pick of the Week:Text Messaging
I think that most of the people I know use it and love it. I mean, what other device lets you sneakily have entire conversations while you're, in theory, working? How else can you nag from afar, tell secrets without fear of being overheard, ask for on-the-spot analysis of a situation? That's right. Text messaging. Smaller than a computer screen, typically funnier than lengthier conversations due to brevity, portable, easily able to be slid into a pocket should you, perhaps, supposedly be doing other things. How else would I wake up to the cryptic message "panda pants"?
Rich's Pick of the Week:Criminal Vol 3 Dead And Dying TP
I mean, you really should be reading Criminal in floppies to get the interesting guest-written articles on the love of crime films with the beautiful Sean Philips paintings accompanying them. But I can't blame you if you're a trade person - it's generally the way to go - and you won't be disappointed in the latest Criminal volume from Philips and Ed Brubaker. This is a short one, collecting just three issues but they're probably the best three issues of the series so far. The three stories are each done-in-ones but interconnected in the most twisted and interesting ways.
Larry's Pick of the Week:Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley:
RNB e-i-c Mike Collins and I were talking about how I just don't have time to read fiction anymore. My thought was that after producing same all day, the last thing I wanted to do was relax with something made-up, so I'd been reading histories and biographies and such. A day or so after our conversation, it occurred to me that after spending all day producing some fiction for folks to enjoy, I would very much appreciate it if Carl Hiassan or Christopher Buckley sat down and read something of mine.
So I picked up Boomsday, another in Buckley's long line of solid base hits. His style? Pleasing. His observations? Spot-on. This one's about what happens when a blogger accidentally hits on how to make Social Security last through the upcoming retirement of the Baby Boomers: "Voluntary Transitioning," offering tax breaks and incentives to folks who kill themselves at age 70, thereby removing themselves from the rolls. The appeal of this plot is that the deal isn't presented as anything other than a joke to get people talking... the bulk of the novel has the main characters dealing with a crazed and put-upon electorate who take the joke seriously.
An eminently satisfying read, all thanks to Mike Collins.
07:47 PM
July 02, 2008
I Gots Me Some Enthusiasm
Larry Young, the Chief Visionary, Creative Engine, and Marketing Guru for AiT/Planet Lar has got himself some enthusiasm, and isn't exactly shy about sharing it.
This week Larry's talking about storytelling.
I GOTS ME SOME ENTUSIASM #9
So, I gots me some enthusiasm.
And in 1995, I got to meet the King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway.
Sybase, the computer software company which shared its laboratory space with the biotech firm I was then working for, had leased nine Norwegian-made electric vehicles for their programmers to use around town.The idea, back then, thirteen years before the North Pole melted away, was to lessen carbon monoxide pollution by eliminating cold starts of hundreds of vehicles in the mad dash to get errands done during the problematic lunch hour.
As I was walking over to the Emery Bay Public Market to play some mind-clearing pinball at lunch time, I wandered in to the media event surrounding Sybase's use of these vehicles. There were several limos, large black Town Cars, mobile satellite news vans, and the compulsory jack-booted California Highway Patrol. Jauntily approaching one of these mirror-shaded representatives of the local constabulary, I quite innocently inquired as to the nature of all the brouhaha.
"The King and Queen of Norway are here," replied the cop, not so nearly as clipped-sounding as you might think. He was sort of bored.
Just then, The King and Queen burst out of one of the buildings in a frenetic dance of "I'm late for something, and I've very busy, you see," surrounded by huge, hairy, humorless men all dressed like Ellwood Blues.
The King looked straight at me, presumably because I was the only one in a five mile radius wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and thereby looking mighty out of place.
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. King and Queen!" I yelled.
After one of them there "pregnant pauses" you hear so much about nowadays, wherein I started to become convinced one of those Norse Secret Service-equivalent guys or one of the CHP or possibly even an over-enthusiastic news reporteer was going to wrestle me to the ground... said King and Queen broadly smiled and both gave me big waves and got into their fossil fuel-burning limo and sped away into the fog-enshrouded late afternoon.
I, for my part, scored very well on the "Theatre of Magic" pinball game I played immediately afterwards.
What does all this have to do with anything?
Nothing.
But me, I gots me some enthusiasm for storytelling, and that's one of mine.
Come see me at booth #2001 if you're down at San Diego this year, and I'll tell you another one.
11:08 PM
July 01, 2008
Exiled in Suburbia
Just as a disclaimer, I'm 26. That means that when Exile In Guyville came out, I was 11. I know, shameful, right? I wasn't one of those lucky enough to be able to find out about this dirty jewel immediately. No, I came around the slow way. I loved "Supernova" when it hid my local alternative station. I wondered at Liz on the cover of the cassingle. But! She had brown hair! She had on a decent-ish amount of clothing! Whaaaaaat? All right. This might be something we can get behind.
No, it wasn't until I was 16 and a friend of mine, after hearing me riff like so many other overly old 16 year olds about the wit (not) and wonder (lacking) of my opposite numbers. It couldn't be that they were young, I was dating four years older. (Umm, in their defense, I was about two grades more advanced than I should've been. It wasn't that bad, was it? Girls mature faster?) It couldn't be that they were stupid, I was dating engineers. No, the difference had to be more fundamental.
"You're all just dumb."
"Don't I know it, honey. Hey, I have this cd you should go buy."
So, the next day, I made it a point to stroll a few blocks down to the local indie record store and pick up a used copy of Exile In Guyville. The first thing I noticed was that she couldn't really sing. Okay. The next thing I noticed was that the groove was pretty simple. It wasn't anything especially special. So I was pretty surprised when it ended and I hit play again. I'd caught just a little something in the lyrics I could identify with. This was not what I expected from the girl on the cover of the "Supernova" cassingle, but we could work with this.
I'd like to say that I tempered my discovery with some prudence, but, let's face it, I was a pretty brash little thing to begin with and Exile In Guyville became my sourcebook for life as a teenage girl. I knew about "Glory". Surprisingly, I also knew about "Canary", having dating a very definite WASP-y type. In fact, the summer I discovered Liz, I was still dating him. Just not, umm, exclusively. I figured Liz would understand. Girls these days, they do what they have to. They grow up too fast.
The mythology behind the album is a little murky. Rumor has it that it's a response to Exile In Main Street, which I can see, but Ms. Phair has gone on record as saying it's a direct response to the Chicago indie-scene and one member of it in particular. Whatever. It's a common language. I identified with "Divorce Song", having never gone through it (neither had she) but understanding what a miserable breakup can feel like. I hummed "Explain It To Me" under my breath whenever something was being said that I just didn't understand. We can ask all day long and the answers weren't always forthcoming. I put "Mesmerizing" on cds for boys I wanted to think I was intriguing and "Flower" on cds for boys that I just wanted to shock into wanting me and put "Shatter" on the first cd I made for my now-husband.
Oh, yes, most of us have sold out. All the Liz girls I've known, we've gotten our boyfriends and ended up in the suburbs. But what happens to the Liz boys? The aforementioned husband was one of them. Unfortunately, living with someone who can really, truly understand the Exile experience, having loved and lost and fucked her way through a few years (oh, don't purse your lips like that, we've all had "those" years) might have ruined it for him. He now leaves the room when I play this cd, claiming it makes him "nervous".
I've always wondered what he means by that but maybe it doesn't bear introspection.
08:12 PM
Weekly Picks
Another week, another batch of solid recommendations from the RBN staff.
Mike's Pick of the Week:Astonishing X-Men #25
Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi take the helm of the stand along X title with a new homebase(San Francisco), a new team and an entirely new storyline. Ellis alone would have been enough to tempt me. Ellis and Bianchi on an X-Men book? Sold.
Julian's Pick of the Week:Video Games Live
I had heard of Video Games Live before but missed their concerts in the city in the summer of 2005 and early 2008. Enter Future Shop (the canadian Best Buy) and their new, giant shop in downtown Toronto, who sponsored a free, outdoors VGL concert. This one I didn't miss and by God, I'm glad I didn't. I expected a short, entertaining affair with some nostalgia mixed up. Instead of that, I got to enjoy a three-hour burst of creativity and talent, MCed by VGL creator Tommy Tallarico (who did a great job at getting the audience involved and excited and even joined the orchestra for the last few pieces playing electric guitar.)
The concert was exciting, the audience went nuts at just the right moments and, as if that wasn't enough, Martin "The Video Game Pianist" Leung is currently touring with VGL and was a big part of the event.
I loved Video Games Live, I am very glad I got to see them this time and I really hope I get to see it again at some point. Check out their tour dates and see if they're coming to a concert hall near you. I promise you, it's worth it.
Erin's Pick of the Week: The FBI
Stltoday.com, the website of the Post Dispatch is currently reporting that the FBI is on the lookout for an armed and dangerous man that's actually managed to kill eight people through western Illinois and the St. Louis metro area since Sunday. So we love the FBI. Go FBI.
Rich's Pick of the Week:The Sword Volume #1 by the Luna Bros.
I've only read the first issue of the Luna Bros. latest series but it was a pretty brutal beginning that sets up would could be a pretty compelling revenge story. It's about a young paralyzed girl named Dara who sees her family murdered in front of her by a group of mysterious strangers who claim to be seeking a sword that Dara's father supposedly posseses. It seems like a horrible case of mistaken identity until Dara, the only survivor of the bloodbath that claims her parents and sister, finds the sword itself. It's got a lot of Kill Bill to it which isn't a bad thing but mixes in a little bit of the supernatural, which also isn't too bad.
Larry's Pick of the Week: The Tunguska Event
On June 30, 1908, just after seven in the morning, a man sitting on the front porch of a trading post at Vanavara in Siberia is hurled from his chair and the heat will be so intense he will feel as though his shirt is on fire. That's how the Tunguska event felt 40 miles from ground zero. So this week's pick is the anniversary of the explosion and fireball of the only entry of a large meteoroid we have in the modern era with eyewitnesses.
07:55 PM