More and more mainstream authors keep stepping into the comicbook fray. Tamora Pierce announced her intentions for Marvel’s new White Tiger title back in October. Stephen King is enlisting Jae Lee to delve graphically into the origin of Roland Deschain in February. And starting in March, Wonder Woman will be penned by novelist Jodi Picoult. …
I knew this already, but it is nice to see that research backs me up. Shakespeare uses a linguistic technique known as functional shift that involves, for example using a noun to serve as a verb. Researchers found that this technique allows the brain to understand what a word means before it understands the function …
This weekend, we threw a little party for the Drama Club folks. Funny, but it took an email from one of our actors to make us realize that in less than a year, Drama Club has grown from a simple idea to an entity that actually meritted a holiday party. Two shows done, two more …
Got one book today as an early Christmas present. Borrowed another hurriedly from a friend. Thank you, Alyssa, for Barack Obama's latest. And thank you, Dan, for providing me with a gateway novel for Haruki Murakawi. Either one of these might threaten my progress with Robert Rankin, but we'll see … Read and post comments …
This should come as no surprise. 1. St. Elsewhere – Gnarls Barkley. (Previously mentioned here and here and here and here.) Play it cool all you want. Reach for obscurity to establish a proper critic’s credibility. But there is no denying that this album is the best that 2006 had to offer. Its only flaw …
Six down, four to go. Here’s four through two. 4. Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor – Lupe Fiasco. (Previously mentioned.) Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco in 1981, Lupe surfaced first on Kanye’s “Touch The Sky.” He was the kid who name-checked Lupin the 3rd, an admittance of geek-awareness that informed eventually his entire debut album. Don’t …
Witches of Chiswick (Gollancz SF) Robert Rankin Try as I might, I couldn't get a decent foothold on Jeff Shaara's To The Last Man. Tremendously compelling, the book just wasn't the kind of novel that goes well with one's afternoon lunch at the local Arby's Marketplace. Sorry, Jeff. Of course, it dawns on me that …
Another day, another three. 7. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse. Chances are, you’ve not heard of this girl. Or if you have, her reputation has preceded her talent. The British tabloid press can’t stop headlining her, talking about her tendency to drink and raise her own kind of hell, usually with a patronizing attitude …
2006. A decent year for music. In some respects, a damned fine year for it. And not all of the goodness was new for me. My own musical awareness expanded outward and backward, resulting in a new appreciation for Bollywood playback singers and a new interest in a large swath of early seventies soul. But …
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