After yesterday, it’s a heatwave!
2014 Book Challenge
No participation in any formal challenges this year, just 20 books that have been highly recommended to me. As usual, it’s a mix of long and short, old and new, fiction and nonfiction, Dickens and non-Dickens.
1. Mary Beard, The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found 1/8, 360 pp.
2. Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 10/22, 488 pp.
3. Eleanor Cattan, The Luminaries
4. Molly Caldwell Crosby, The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History 2/26, 308 pp.
5. Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit
6. Kevin Fenton, Leaving Rollingstone: A Memoir
7. Paula Fox, Desperate Characters 7/8, 156 pp.
8. Tom Franklin, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter 2/24, 274 pp.
9. Glen David Gold, Carter Beats the Devil 9/14, 662 pp.
10. Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2/9, 226 pp.
11. Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest 1/10, 216 pp.
12. Mark Helprin, Winter’s Tale
13. Shane Jones, Light Boxes ¼, 149 pp.
14. Sara Marcus, Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution 10/30, 384 pp.
15. Louise Meriwether, Daddy Was a Number Runner 9/18, 240 pp.
16. Marlys Millhiser, The Mirror
17. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels 6/20, 182 pp.
18. Michael Pollen, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education 1/21, 258 pp.
19. Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front 7/20, 216 pp.
20. Russ Rymer, Genie: A Scientific Tragedy 3/5, 256 pp.
Alternates: Claire Massud, The Woman Upstairs and Jojo Moyes, Me Before You 10/12, 369 pp.
Image: Olivier Richon
Nice wee tune from Belgian Fog… a mere seven months after he said he’d send me something through once he had something finished to send!
This is charming.
Lizzie Widdicombe gets an inside look at Bustle.com, the controversial new women’s Web site: http://nyr.kr/17DFrgh
Photograph by Pari Dukovic.
Apparently the New Yorker is now repurposing Onion content. Because you could only ever make this kind of shit up, right? Every detail (every one!) is dead on.
“ However, despite a scheduled release date for early Fall 2012, Best Music Writing 2012 has yet to be released, quietly becoming the music writing equivalent of Dr. Dre’s Detox. The Facebook page hasn’t been updated since Jan 29, 2012, the Twitter account has been inactive since October 2012. The website itself has seemingly been abandoned, and repeated inquiries from backers about where the book is have been ignored.
H. Drew Blackburn, “What ever happened to the Best Music Writing series?”
So where’s the tumblr discussion on this, music writers? Does anyone else who gave money to this project want to know what happened to it?
Yes, yes, this is a Vice piece (standard disclaimer). But Daphne Carr put her name (with its associated goodwill and trust) behind the project and solicited the $17,000, so she owes financial contributors substantially more than “no comment.”
(via anythingcouldhappen)
A friend has privately suggested to me that Carr’s friends and cronies in the music writing world have closed ranks because they don’t want to bite the hand that’s fed them. And I’ve seen some stuff online today (not on tumblr) ordering inquiring minds to back off because “Carr’s good people” and/or “hey, it’s only $30!”
Neither of which is relevant.
(via anythingcouldhappen)
I suppose I’m one of the people being obliquely mentioned here, and while I really didn’t want to get involved…. I don’t particularly see myself as anybody’s crony, and I don’t see anything I’ve said as “ordering inquiring minds” so much as “responding to hand-waving freakoutery like ‘laying on a bed of cash Breaking Bad-style in Zuccotti Park’.” That’s not an inquiry, it’s a crass joke.
So, if neither of the above is relevant, try this: The leap from “this did not materialize when it was supposed to” to “deliberate fraud to the tune of $17,000” is at best quite the leap and at worst slander. Because, like, fraud? Fraud. Fraud is a serious accusation, maybe more serious than a Twitter joke or a cab fare. (I realize some people have donated hundreds or more; I’m not talking about them but the ‘where’s my $5?’ crowd. I’m full-time freelance, I have bills, I get budgeting worries, but that’s barely even water under the bridge.)
I guess where I’m coming from is: Have you ever been late on a project? If so, you are probably familiar with how, as time goes by, the thing takes on more and more crushing weight and seems more and more insurmountable, which isn’t that irrational a thing to think because as time whizzes by, because of logistics it gets more and more insurmountable. The very act of thinking about the thing is enough to torch an entire day, and of course you get nothing done then. It builds its own inertia, and few things can make you feel worse, because you know exactly what you’re not doing. Yes, matters are different when you’ve been advanced money — but in a way that’s probably just that much pressure.
I don’t know; while I’d love to see the series and press continued, I think the original piece and many responses to it have a self-satisfied air, something like “look at me, I’m a whistleblower!,” and I really don’t see this as a hill worth dying on.
(via katherinestasaph)
One of the nice things about being a rockcrit hobbyist (these days really more of a bystander) is that I don’t have to worry about who in this cozy corner I piss off–it doesn’t make any difference to my bank account. That’s a big reason why I decided to start this conversation on tumblr. I wasn’t going to seriously suffer from the backlash if I agitated a bit. Also: “Whistleblowing” provides me with an inflated sense of self-importance.
I’m actually something of a financial fraud expert, thanks to almost nine years in my current day job. And I’m certain I never used the “F” word in any discussion about Carr or the Best Music Writing series. I also know something about law, and nothing I’ve posted could possibly be construed as “slander” (or libel, which is what I think was actually meant).
Again, everyone who backed the Best Music Writing Kickstarter has a right to ask questions about what happened to the project and their money. We’re coming up on two years now and backers have been requesting updates since January. If work or personal problems has delayed the book, Carr and whoever else might be involved has had ample time to communicate these things to us. Sure, life gets in the way sometimes! But if you’re entrusted with $17,000 (which is a significant amount), you have certain responsibilities to other people. I don’t think it’s outrageous to ask for some accountability here.
Ok, I’m done.
“ However, despite a scheduled release date for early Fall 2012, Best Music Writing 2012 has yet to be released, quietly becoming the music writing equivalent of Dr. Dre’s Detox. The Facebook page hasn’t been updated since Jan 29, 2012, the Twitter account has been inactive since October 2012. The website itself has seemingly been abandoned, and repeated inquiries from backers about where the book is have been ignored.
H. Drew Blackburn, “What ever happened to the Best Music Writing series?”
So where’s the tumblr discussion on this, music writers? Does anyone else who gave money to this project want to know what happened to it?
Yes, yes, this is a Vice piece (standard disclaimer). But Daphne Carr put her name (with its associated goodwill and trust) behind the project and solicited the $17,000, so she owes financial contributors substantially more than “no comment.”
(via anythingcouldhappen)
A friend has privately suggested to me that Carr’s friends and cronies in the music writing world have closed ranks because they don’t want to bite the hand that’s fed them. And I’ve seen some stuff online today (not on tumblr) ordering inquiring minds to back off because “Carr’s good people” and/or “hey, it’s only $30!”
Neither of which is relevant.
“ However, despite a scheduled release date for early Fall 2012, Best Music Writing 2012 has yet to be released, quietly becoming the music writing equivalent of Dr. Dre’s Detox. The Facebook page hasn’t been updated since Jan 29, 2012, the Twitter account has been inactive since October 2012. The website itself has seemingly been abandoned, and repeated inquiries from backers about where the book is have been ignored.
H. Drew Blackburn, “What ever happened to the Best Music Writing series?”
So where’s the tumblr discussion on this, music writers? Does anyone else who gave money to this project want to know what happened to it?
Yes, yes, this is a Vice piece (standard disclaimer). But Daphne Carr put her name (with its associated goodwill and trust) behind the project and solicited the $17,000, so she owes financial contributors substantially more than “no comment.”
… Anyway, last year I got a message on SoundCloud from Dylan Aycock at Scissor Tail Records saying that he liked my music and was interested in releasing a cassette of the tunes I had uploaded. So I sent Dylan ten or so songs that I thought would work together nicely as an album. Dylan was really into the selection and offered to do a vinyl release (on clear vinyl no less) instead of cassette. Of course I leapt at the opportunity and I’m delighted to say that Foxes in the Foyer will be released on Scissor Tail on October 1.
The songs were recorded at various times and in various locations: ‘M. Laurelle’ was recorded when I was on holiday in Teesdale in 2010 (in breaks from watching the World Cup); ‘Esplanade’ is a recording of a jam with Sean Talbot (aka Landslide Purist); I recorded ‘An Uneven Lie’ in 2006, but put together this looped arrangement in the back of a van on a tour with Gravenhurst in 2008; ‘Bude’ is an early version of the song which I would go on to record with The Allender Band on the Outer Dark album.
Preparing the songs for release has been a real learning experience. I wanted to remix the songs and re-record some guitar parts. But of course, I found that once I’d spent ages reworking a song, I’d go back to the original and realise that it was much better in its rough and ready form. So with the exception of some overdubbed acoustic on ‘M. Laurelle’ and some lovely lapsteel from Dylan on ‘An Uneven Lie’, the songs are pretty much untouched from the day I recorded them…
Clear vinyl! This is going to be really good and should be relevant to the interests of every lover of ruminative avant-garde folk and/or guitar virtuosity.
Pink, white and magenta phlox, daisies and snapdragons.
Sunflowers, green zinnias, ginormous purple and white dahlia, white yarrow.
Catching up on photos of flowers I grew outside and then brought indoors.
Here, red cactus dahlias and white snapdragons.
From Cleveland Scene
Lovely bookshelves! When I buy a house (Jan-April of next year, God willing) I’ll be doing this to one room–or corner of a larger room. Even if the kitchen or roof or plumbing needs work, built-in bookcases will be the priority.
The Internet gave me a call last week. It said it was experiencing a critical dearth of cat videos; had heard of my burgeoning interest in making short movies featuring pets (freaky what the Internet knows about you); would I be able to help out? Believing, as I do, that the Internet could collapse entirely without fresh infusions of cat videos, and having the perfect subject in mind, I assented post-haste and got to filming. The subject? Roux, Jennifer’s cat, a furry little lady who says “meep" instead of “meow" and possesses talents and eccentricities that, if I were to further elaborate, would rather spoil the fun of the video. I’ll conclude by declaring, before friends, family, and PRISM, that Roux is the only cat I’ve ever truly adored. Here’s the video:
NB Even if you have no interest in cats, this video has a rousing yé-yé pop sequence that I believe will go down in history as among the top 10 or so yé-yé moments in cat videos.
This is fantastic.
nybg:
I am terrified of this. Years ago I thought I had wild chervil growing in my yard, but couldn’t understand why it didn’t smell. Finally, one day curiosity got the better of me and I looked it up only to find that, like the Alaskan hikers, it was poison hemlock. I’ve never been so glad to have not eaten something in my whole life!
This all serves as just another reminder to always be incredibly careful when foraging for wild plants. If you are so inclined, please take a class from someone with years of experience. But remember this too: Foraging in New York City’s parks is 100% illegal, the Garden included, though we do offer classes with Leda Meredith where you get to forage in the Garden guilt free! Plus, you never know, it might save your life someday. ~AR
Over the past couple of summers, I’ve become a hard-core gardener–but mostly of ornamentals (flowers), not edibles. I still have a lot to learn, but I can testify to the incredible difficulty of differentiating between good and bad plants, even when you sort of know what you’re doing. I’ve watered, fertilized and nurtured plenty of weeds because they look almost exactly like the plants I’m hoping to encourage.
Obviously, growing weeds doesn’t hurt anyone. But, for example, sweet pea plants can look like edible pea and bean plants, except that they’re toxic. They may not kill you, but eating the seeds could make you sick, and there’s some evidence of long-term health damage. Lots of flowering plants are dangerous to put in your mouth–morning glories, foxgloves and especially datura, to name three (but gorge away on thoroughly edible nasturtiums, marigolds, pansies, chrysanthemums, carnations and roses).
Anyway, based on my gardening experience, I would never go wild foraging for food plants. Period.
This is an eight-day-old giraffe with its parents Buddy and Jacky.
They live at a Buenos Aires zoo. The zoo has launched a contest to find a name for this new baby (male) giraffe.
REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Baby giraffe autoreblog.
