Cloudherder

Sneak preview of the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack…

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:09:00 -0800

Sneak preview of the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack…:

Who is providing a song for the soundtrack of the Scott Pilgrim movie?

Metric.

GOOD.GOD.YES.

Dreaming detectives and more nails in steampunk's coffin.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:34:00 -0800

Dear friends,

Have you noticed any of these books over the last six months? Have their bright covers and intriguing synopses* tempted you as you walk past your local book purveyor? Have you lain awake pondering whether they are worth your precious time and attention? Have countless minutes elapsed while you shifted from foot to foot in the shoppe aisles, hefting one and then the other in hand, comparing their relative densities, paper quality and font choice**? Would you like to know which of these five are nominated for the Nebula award for best novel***?

Friends, I have read all of these books. I am here to assist you.

Read on for scathing criticisms and ranting delight.

*Do not, under pain of death, read the back cover synopsis of The Manual of Detection. It is both factually wrong and riddled with spoilers.

** Boneshaker is printed in brown ink. BROWN.

*** Hint: four out of these five are nominated, all in the same category. Apparently, the nomination committee lives behind my bookshelf.

The City & The City China Mieville. May, 2009.

Nominated for the Nebula award.

The skinny: Those familiar with Mieville were slightly bemused to hear that his 2009 release was not another sprawling epic set in his meticulously built world of New Crobuzon, but instead a pot boiler mystery. City is the story of a fictive Eastern European city that is completely bisected, a world where two cultures and histories live shoulder-to-shoulder without touching. We’re not talking Berlin wall, though: two completely different cities exist on top of each other, one in our mundane world and the other in a different reality. They sit like two threadbare blankets in a stack, realities bleeding into each other at every stoplight. A series of crimes are committed in one city, then the other, and a detective must traverse the two—and what lies between them—to solve them.

The result: With a set-up like that, how could this book lose? Well, in some ways, it manages to. Mystery is far outside the realm of Mieville’s usual oeuvre, and it shows. While the mashed-up cities are wonderfully written, the nitty-gritty of the police procedural is dry and stilted. For a sci-fi/urban fantasy reader, it’s too mundane and procedural. For a mystery reader, it is too weird.

Finch Jeff Vandermeer. November, 2009.

Nominated for the Nebula award.

The skinny: Another detective story by a fantasist. Apparently, this was the year for genre-breaking for established authors. Like Mieville, Vandermeer veers away from his comfort genre of highly-literate new-weird to tackle a detective story. Unlike Mieville, he attempts to wedge it into the site of his previous works, the fungi-clad city of Ambergris. The real skinny is that Finch is the third in a loose trilogy, and shouldn’t be read without the first two books. Oddly enough, that fact is barely acknowledged by the publishers and promoters, and I’m sure there are a host of rather confused readers tackling Finch without prior introduction.

The result: As the final setpiece to the Ambergris city series, Vandermeer undermines the story by sticking to the detective/noir conceits he arbitrarily assigned. As none of the other work set in Ambergris is remotely like Finch it ends up being an awkward coda to an otherwise spectacular cycle. The events set in motion are mind-blowing—the execution is disappointing.

The Manual of Detection Jedediah Berry. Jan, 2010.

The skinny: Yes, it’s a third mystery/fantasy novel. (There was something in the air this year, no doubt.) This debut novel from wonderfully-named Jedediah Berry is—once more—a detective story with fantastical elements. But, stick with me! In a rain-slicked metropolis, an out-of-his-league detective must deal with some very slippery criminals who will stop at nothing to turn the city upside down with some nefariously creative means. Our unhappy protagonist must also decipher the mysteries that run rampant at his own detective agency, a bureaucratic monstrosity whose motto, “Never Sleeping,” hints at some dark secrets of its own. Bonus element: creepy carnival and equally creepy carnies!

The result: With wonderfully arch writing, clear and precise settings and a host of intriguing characters, Detection does what City and Finch did not: successfully combine urban fantasy with mystery tropes. Anyone looking for a straightforward mystery will abandon this book as it becomes increasingly fantastical and relies on dreams, visions and powers; but fantasy readers should adore it. And don’t read the kottamn back cover!

The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi. September, 2009.

Nominated for the Nebula Award (and 99% likely to come home with it.)

The skinny: The seas have risen, the oil is gone, our food is genetically modified and so are the famines that plague our diminishing crops. It’s the future in Thailand, and that future is bleak. Onto this stage come characters from every walk of life: a jack-booted thug in the Thai government whose corruption may be a brand of heroism; a slippery Calorie Man from the American food monopolies; a vulnerable ex-geisha with designer genes; a refugee with one eye on the door and one hand on his boss’ safe. By the end of Windup Girl, a rollercoaster of violence and survival, some will be dead, some victorious and others utterly changed by the events.

The result: Bacigalupi’s debut novel was eagerly anticipated by those who read his superbly dark short stories in Pump Six and Other Stories. He delivers in a huge, punishing, and sometimes disturbing way. In Bacigalupi’s grim future, we waited too long to develop alternative energy sources, forcing a global contraction, and simultaneously didn’t keep a close enough eye on what substances were going into our food (and who controlled them.) The end product is mesmerizingly dark. Readers may find the world easier to comprehend if they pick up Pump Six which includes two stories set there: Windup drops you into this near-future without much explanation before the fireworks begin.

Boneshaker Cherie Priest. September, 2009.

Nominated for the Nebula Award, and god help us if it wins it.

The skinny: Seattle, 1860s. In an attempt to cash in on the Klondike gold rush, an engineer builds a crazy drilling machine which ends up burrowing a giant chasm into downtown Seattle. A strange gas begins to seep from the wreckage, turning folk near it into flesh-craving monsters. A giant wall is built around the downtown core, while the rest of the depressed populace scrapes out a living outside its contours. Also, there are airships.

The result: Maybe it was the excellent cover, maybe it was the tons and tons of hype, maybe it was the fact that it takes place in Seattle, maybe I’ve been huffing chasm gas, but I actually thought there was a chance this zombie-dirigible-steampunk mess would be good. To all of you who laughed at me at dinner last week when I showed you this travesty: you were right. However, the fact that I may or may not have been huffing zombie gas does not explain how someone—anyone—involved with the Nebula awards thought that this was good enough for a nom. I mean, you know, after actually reading the thing. Fun fact: did you know that the 1860s was not the decade of the Klondike gold rush? The author knew, too, but chose to stick with it regardless. Yep.

Antarctic Glacier Has Five-story Blood-red Waterfall of...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:18:09 -0800

Antarctic Glacier Has Five-story Blood-red Waterfall of Primordial Ooze - GOOD Blog

“Murder of Birds” by Jesca Hoop. Hunting My Dress,...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:26:52 -0800

“Murder of Birds” by Jesca Hoop. Hunting My Dress, 2009.

Cause, I’m not a bird / I’m a murder of birds

At the close of last year a little album dropped across the pond in the UK which sent out some very lovely ripples. Hunting My Dress is Jesca Hoop’s second major release, and proves that comparisons to Joanna Newsom and Bat for Lashes (whom she precedes) are entirely justified.

Combining a knack for lush, unique arrangements—often relying on music-box glissandos and bell-like vocal backings—with some gothically delicate lyrics, her work is unforgettable. Earlier songs ran the gamut from glimmery electro-pop to cocktail dress croons to haunting ballads of brittle ballerina bones.

“Murder of Birds,” the only track I have been able to get my ears on (the US release is yet to drop), is a quieter rumination than her usual stuff. Jesca’s clear, lilting voice intertwines beautifully with that of the more gravelly whisper of Elbow’s front man, Guy Garvey. Achingly sweet and spare, this track might fool you into thinking her work is all similarly quiet, but a listen to her first release—Kismet—will cure you of that notion very quickly.

Keep an eye on this California-raised/Manchester-located chanteuse, as she and her midnight music are exploring some wondrous places.

Viacom Will Take ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ Off Hulu - NYTimes.com

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:29:00 -0800

Viacom Will Take ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ Off Hulu - NYTimes.com:

NOOOOOOOOO. Those were the only things I watched on Hulu, after the demise of Dollhouse. Who will entertain me now? Who will make Bender waffles just the way he likes them?

"Yeah, so he was telling me about this movie called “Snow Crash,” and, well, it’s..."

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:39:14 -0800

“

Yeah, so he was telling me about this movie called “Snow Crash,” and, well, it’s not actually a movie yet, but it totally should be. It’s, like, a book right now, but he was telling me about it, and it’s so totally perfect for like a big blockbuster action movie. I don’t remember who wrote it, and I haven’t read it, but he was describing all these scenes that are like perfect for a movie, and we were casting it in our heads. It’s like there are all these people, and they’re all online— like the Matrix—but not. And all of these people are also addicted to this drug. That’s the ‘snow’ reference. And it’s a really good story.

So, we decided that Mark Ruffalo would be perfect for the lead guy. I don’t remember his name. Did you see 13 Going on 30? Mark Ruffalo is the lead in that. He’s so dopey and cute, he’s perfect. Megan Fox would be the main girl. She’s like this really sexy programmer chick, and it would be so awesome. I want Jerry Bruckheimer to make this movie. It’s gonna be so legit.

”

- The girl who is excitedly talking about making Neal Stephenson’s beloved cyberfreakout Snow Crash into a movie is the most normal of college girls. Think the Gap plus a smidge of Columbia sportswear. None of her very normal friends have heard of it. They are Not geeks, Not nerds. They are terrifying.

This unholy union of terrible terrible terrible ideas is simultaneously horrifying and gut-bustingly funny. Mark Ruffalo + Megan Fox + Jerry Bruckheimer + a hilariously awful plot synopsis = me holding my GUFFAWING laughter in, not even able to sip my coffee for fear of snorting through my nose. Oh, so awful.

And yet, it is exactly what would happen should Hollywood ever make Snow Crash into a blockbuster, which, mercifully, has not happened yet. Thank Hiro Protagonist for small miracles.

Beauty in violence | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:17:34 -0800

Beauty in violence | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine:

“So while you gaze at this nebula and wonder at its beauty, remember that in our Universe, beauty is borne by great violence. If there’s a life lesson in there I’m unaware of it. But it is worth pondering.”

This looks amazing. fuckyeaheyegasms: 4.5 million LEDs Dazzle...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:47:54 -0800

This looks amazing.

fuckyeaheyegasms:

4.5 million LEDs Dazzle at Japan Winter Light Show

…4.5 million LEDs lit up the Nabana no Sato theme park of Kuwana, Japan, kicking off their annual Winter Light Show that runs until March 8th. This year’s(2008) theme is one of flowers, illuminated in 64 billion colors that are reported to change color so quickly that they actually resemble a river more than a field of blooming plants.

Other cup sizes should say, “You’re late for...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:24:00 -0800

Other cup sizes should say, “You’re late for work” and “You tip cause she’s hot”. I like the “Don’t leave me here” cup, though.

stepa:

Puccino’s Coffee Shops

Designed by Jim Smith | Country: United Kingdom

It hit 56 degrees in Seattle today, though it often felt more...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:30:21 -0800

Dancers at Gasworks.

Lawn ornament?

Dragon attack.

Boffin' and larpin' on a February day.

It hit 56 degrees in Seattle today, though it often felt more like 60 or higher. Some of Seattle’s more “creative” folk converged upon Gasworks park to fly kites, dance, bike in anachronistic costumes and hit each other horrifically hard with flails and spears. For the record, the anachronistic bikers later rode down the street shouting “Hip hip, cheerio!” for added effect.

Two grocery stores on the same block. Makes you wonder if...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:52:40 -0800

Two grocery stores on the same block. Makes you wonder if there’s a competition going? As a Futurama dork, I’d vote for the Zap drawing, but the Mayer one probably trumps in quality. But, there’s a little groaning Kif at the bottom of the first one! So cute!

This is not a photoshop, this is a metal sculpture by Neil...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:21:00 -0800

This is not a photoshop, this is a metal sculpture by Neil Dawson. See more angles here.

via www.nw32.com

What’s dropping in May? The New Pornographers’ new album is what! To quote...

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:48:11 -0800

What’s dropping in May? The New Pornographers’ new album is what! To quote Home Movies, “Weee-ow!”

Eventually this 8-bit thing is going to be just as played out as...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:54:58 -0800

Eventually this 8-bit thing is going to be just as played out as steampunk. BUT! In the meantime: Someone has put together this fantastic NES-style arrangement of the final track from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, Everything You Ever.

The arranger, on the original post, mentions that he’s actually done the entire thing and plans to release it en masse complete with sprites of the major characters doing their thing. I look forward to it!

How do your hours go?

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:34:54 -0800

Since we’re speaking of webcomics tonight—and, really, when are we not?—I thought I’d mention that February 1st was 2010 Webcomics Hourlies day. Hourlies are journalistic comics drawn every hour to record an artist’s day—no matter how trivial or weird that day was. All over the internet, web comicists recorded every hour of their personal Feb 1st with a mini drawing, then posted them. I’m always amused by how even the most mundane activity (eating cereal! taking a shower! shopping for groceries! inking!) can seem funny and glamorous when depicted via comic.

The most successful are those drawn by artists who excel at dry, observational humor. Which ones stand out this year? Why, John Allison’s of Scary Go Round, Kate Beaton’s of Hark! A Vagrant!, Meredith Gran’s of Octopus Pie and Yuko/Ananth’s of Johnny Wander. Do check out John Allison’s, at the very least—it is excellent. Two hours of his day below:

(Hourlies hourlies hourlies. That just gets weirder and weirder to read and type.)

I always knew crows were up to something...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:32:00 -0800

Do the names Ananth Panagariya and Yuko Ota mean anything to you? They should, if you’ve ever perused the techy happenings of Applegeeks or read the wonderful and varied vignettes presented on Johnny Wander. But everyone—the uninitiated included—should head immediately to Dark Horse Presents, where the comicking duo has just posted a short comic that is by turns mysterious, wry and creepifyingly excellent. (Click the fourth story on the menu, because, surprise!, their handy “link directly to this story!” link doesn’t work. Dark Horse, you fail in some many ways.)

Their combined sense of humor tends to combine the very cutesy with the very morbid, to often hilarious effect. This piece is a bit darker than their usual fare, but ends with a signature twist. Yuko’s artwork seems to have jumped light-years ahead in the past year or so—especially on the stellar “Delilah and the Basilisk” and “Girl with the Skeleton Hand” shorts on Johnny Wander—but this is another level entirely. Do yourself a favor and check out “Callie Eats Feathers” on DHP, since these two are definitely going places!

And, confidential to Dark Horse/MySpace Presents: why on earth would you set your pages to automatically scroll to the bottom when they load? Do you—the self-styled harbingers of new webcomic talent—not understand that the punchline of a comic happens in the last panel? On the bottom of the page? That place where my browser is forced to go when the page loads, thereby previewing the final panel of every new page before I can read the top of it?!

Photos of the Day - CSMonitor.com The cheat sheet of White House...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:10:50 -0800

Photos of the Day - CSMonitor.com

The cheat sheet of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. I enjoy that this administration has a sense of goddamned humor.

Our winter in the Northwest has been incredibly...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:48:10 -0800

Our winter in the Northwest has been incredibly mild—warmest January on record—and so the snow pile-ups in other parts of the country seem hard to imagine. But…this weatherman has convinced me of the severity of weather.

As Nick put it, he is like the Glenn Beck of weather casting. Oh boy. Oh boy.

Museums and the Super Bowl

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:20:00 -0800

Museums and the Super Bowl:

Even museums get involved in the city rivalry of the biggest (yawn) game of the year, trash-talking and staking pieces on the outcome. Also, the SAM director is more then happy to tell other museums just how fat and promiscuous their mommas are, should Seattle ever make it to the Super Bowl again.

unhappyhipsters: “You can come out when you can properly...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

unhappyhipsters:

“You can come out when you can properly explain the differences between Modernist architecture and postmodern ornamentation.”

(Photo: Craig Cutler; Dwell, February/March 2006)

Unhappy Hipsters is my new favorite tumblr site. The photos from architecture and home magazines are unfortunate and desperate on their own, but the pithy statements accompanying them are just hysterical.