Randoms
Love! Ladies and gentlemen, the future Mrs. Neil Gaiman:
(Photo by Allan Amato, via Zoetica)
Or maybe it's the future Mr. Amanda Palmer. I don't know how it works anymore. These kids and their modern relationships. From Coilhouse:
So far, 2010 has indeed been a happy nude year for musician Amanda Palmer and her beau, author Neil Gaiman. On New Year’s Eve, Amanda joined the Boston Pops Orchestra for the second year running to perform both Dresden Dolls and solo material (as well as passionately ravish Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1), and at some point during the course of the night, Neil proposed. They publicly announced their engagement on January 15th.
Now, I don't need to tell any of you just how awesome Neil Gaiman is, right? Right. And I've heard a bit of Dresden Dolls, but little more than in passing. But Tchaikovsky? Really? Well ...
If nothing else, she certainly knows how to play to her audience, which is a skill that not all performers appreciate. It's also refreshing to see someone taking the piss out of Classical music and the modern concert-going experience. Bonus points there.
She has also had a moment or two of controversy, in particular for a song called 'Oasis', which deals with rape and abortion, but not in a way that you might expect:
I would have to say that the above borders on sheer genius. I wonder what would happen if you put her in the same room with Ani DiFrano? Books! If you've perused the Romance section of your local bookstore, you might have noticed that Supernatural Romance, and - *ahem* - Vampire Romance in particular are very popular, and have been for a couple of years now. Ridiculously so, in fact. Looking at the number of books out there, you'd almost think that this is the only genre of literature being explored these days. Well, get ready for the next step: Steampunk Romance.
That's right, it's the latest genre getting ready to be exploited and strip-mined by the mass market publishers in attempt to remain relevant and try to prop up sagging sales. From the author's web site:
Computer technician Jack Fletcher is no hero, despite his unwelcome reputation as one. In fact, he's just been the victim of bizarre circumstances. Like now. His sister happens to disturb one of his nanoelectromechanical system experiments, and now they aren't where they're supposed to be. In fact, they're not sure where they are when…
…they wake up to see a woman with the reddest hair Jack has ever seen-and a gun. Octavia Pye is an Aerocorps captain with a whole lot of secrets, and she's not about to see her maiden voyage ruined by stowaways. But the sparks flying between her and Jack just may cause her airship to combust and ignite a passion that will forever change the world as she knows it…
I like Steampunk; in particular, I've been following Girl Genius almost religiously for the past several years. But this just smacks of desperation on the part of the publisher. You want a decent Steampunk story? Read Kenneth Oppel or Scott Westerfeld. One of my co-workers perused through 'Steamed' briefly, after which she said, "Do these people even know what Steampunk is?" I couldn't be more succinct if I tried, so I won't.
*sigh* Okay, okay: the opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer. Happy now, Chapters? Television! PBS is airing a show this month called digital_nation, which explores our wired world and how this technology is affecting our modern world, for better and/or for worse. Of course, the show is also available on their website. I hope the irony of this isn't lost on anybody. Especially PBS.
(Photo by Allan Amato, via Zoetica)
Or maybe it's the future Mr. Amanda Palmer. I don't know how it works anymore. These kids and their modern relationships. From Coilhouse:
So far, 2010 has indeed been a happy nude year for musician Amanda Palmer and her beau, author Neil Gaiman. On New Year’s Eve, Amanda joined the Boston Pops Orchestra for the second year running to perform both Dresden Dolls and solo material (as well as passionately ravish Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1), and at some point during the course of the night, Neil proposed. They publicly announced their engagement on January 15th.
Now, I don't need to tell any of you just how awesome Neil Gaiman is, right? Right. And I've heard a bit of Dresden Dolls, but little more than in passing. But Tchaikovsky? Really? Well ...
Click to viewIf nothing else, she certainly knows how to play to her audience, which is a skill that not all performers appreciate. It's also refreshing to see someone taking the piss out of Classical music and the modern concert-going experience. Bonus points there.
She has also had a moment or two of controversy, in particular for a song called 'Oasis', which deals with rape and abortion, but not in a way that you might expect:
I would have to say that the above borders on sheer genius. I wonder what would happen if you put her in the same room with Ani DiFrano? Books! If you've perused the Romance section of your local bookstore, you might have noticed that Supernatural Romance, and - *ahem* - Vampire Romance in particular are very popular, and have been for a couple of years now. Ridiculously so, in fact. Looking at the number of books out there, you'd almost think that this is the only genre of literature being explored these days. Well, get ready for the next step: Steampunk Romance.
That's right, it's the latest genre getting ready to be exploited and strip-mined by the mass market publishers in attempt to remain relevant and try to prop up sagging sales. From the author's web site:
Computer technician Jack Fletcher is no hero, despite his unwelcome reputation as one. In fact, he's just been the victim of bizarre circumstances. Like now. His sister happens to disturb one of his nanoelectromechanical system experiments, and now they aren't where they're supposed to be. In fact, they're not sure where they are when…
…they wake up to see a woman with the reddest hair Jack has ever seen-and a gun. Octavia Pye is an Aerocorps captain with a whole lot of secrets, and she's not about to see her maiden voyage ruined by stowaways. But the sparks flying between her and Jack just may cause her airship to combust and ignite a passion that will forever change the world as she knows it…
I like Steampunk; in particular, I've been following Girl Genius almost religiously for the past several years. But this just smacks of desperation on the part of the publisher. You want a decent Steampunk story? Read Kenneth Oppel or Scott Westerfeld. One of my co-workers perused through 'Steamed' briefly, after which she said, "Do these people even know what Steampunk is?" I couldn't be more succinct if I tried, so I won't.
*sigh* Okay, okay: the opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer. Happy now, Chapters? Television! PBS is airing a show this month called digital_nation, which explores our wired world and how this technology is affecting our modern world, for better and/or for worse. Of course, the show is also available on their website. I hope the irony of this isn't lost on anybody. Especially PBS.