Pull the other one. No, I mean the third from the left.

The number one threat in Dunedin: bears.

Polar

Smarter than the average beer?

oh poohpooh!
That is a boo-boo!
(oops double-pundipping,
sorry ref!)

Now can we have coffins
that are bier-crates?

Gaylene ... She's a very solid person

She is more than solid; she is stupendous. I rang her a couple of nights ago, seeking to set up an interview for the Australian media mag Metro (I have recently done such an interview with Taika Waititi). I rang her cell-phone, assuming…

Danica McKellar's Theorem

Please excuse these showbiz digressions... but another little known (and equally little-believed) fact:
Hedy Lamarr was one of the inventors of frequency hopping spread-sprectrum communications.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDb88zEeHDI&NR=1

...which used to be a sleazy, bear soaked dive

the perils of boo-boutique "bruin" ?
;- )

bear soaked

The number one threat in Dunedin: bears.

Probably the best thing musically to happen over the past year here in Napier has been the re-emergence of the Cabana hotel as a live music venue.

We have a similar story over the past 18 months in Dunedin with Chicks Hotel, which used to be a sleazy, bear soaked…

I think the urban myth was about Kevin's best friend from The Wonder Years, that kid who looks like Milhouse. He *does* look rather like Marilyn Manson.

Yes, my mistake. It was Kevin's best mate Paul who is/was the subject of the urban myth.

I'm a hopeless moviegoer but must get to this. I loved War Stories: Our Mothers Never Told Us and I am grateful that these stories are being told so well.

Indeed — along with Titless Wonders, I'm amazed at the very high level of intimacy and trust Preston has with…

isnt closely edited any more

they really need to fully get with the times and crowdsource that part, wider than book reviewers

Movie wise I have to say Gaelene Preston's Home By Christmas is something that grabbed me recently. It has a very local connection though which adds to it's appeal.

I'm a hopeless moviegoer but must get to this. I loved War Stories: Our Mothers Never Told Us and I am…

Huh, well you just have to look at the faces, Marilyn Manson and that kid don't look much alike.

I think the urban myth was about Kevin's best friend from The Wonder Years, that kid who looks like Milhouse. He *does* look rather like Marilyn Manson.

Now the kid from…

Are we retro, ironic, or just too old to keep up?

I object. Now, could someone remind me what I'm objecting to.

In my defence, it was in conjunction with some brand spanking new music that is pretty much hot off the press. Anyway, we should always honour our forebears,…

the Amis men have the opposite problem. Even as cherubic toddlers, there was something of the night about Marty and Kingers. :)

They do indeed.

I used to have this fascinating book of photographs of famous people as children, called As They Were and it was surprising who looked like…

Craig, have you ever seen the film A High Wind in Jamaica ? There are a few scenes featuring writer Martin Amis as a little kid about 7 or 8 years old.

I've never been able to track it down, but after seeing the picutres in his autobiography and his…

And Dead Kennedys without Jello Biafra? Not the Dead Kennedys

Well, he does seem to have spent most of the last 15-odd years fighting some sort of brush war with the rest of the band (an urban guerrilla conflict?)

Dead Can Dance's album The Serpent's Egg, which was one my…

And Dead Kennedys without Jello Biafra? Not the Dead Kennedys (takes elitist music nazi hat off)

Well ol' Jello is musically promiscuous himself.

Jello Biafra with NoMeansNo

My big sister Shirl produced NoMeansNo's first single Here Come the Wormies and was a deeply unlikely fixture at many hardcore punk parties.…

Just a wee note further to Jolisa's post too... *coughs*

You've made something rather clear to me: Penguin's fiction list isn't closely edited any more, because all the fictive creativity goes into the press releases. :)

I may have drunk too deep at the well of dislocation/identity confusion fiction

and who's at the bottom of your well?
dip into the Lost Literary Links
and here's the bucket list!

Just got Band of Horses, The National (iTunes), Phoenix Foundation (much discussed) and Kirsten Morrell's on CD.

For train spotters like me I also got a 180gsm release of Dead Can Dance's album The Serpent's Egg, which was one my favourite…

unrelated:

farewell album

wtf?

Yep. James Murphy has apparently said this will be the third and last LCD album.

farewell album

wtf?

It's been weird waiting for three particular albums to be officially released, because they've been so extensively leaked it's almost a spoiler.

They are:

Damian Marley and Nas, Distant Relatives : On leaked tracks so far, a mostly stormingly great…

Mourning the great Hank Jones by listening to him on Artie Shaw's Last Recordings of 1954:…

And Dead Kennedys without Jello Biafra? Not the Dead Kennedys (takes elitist music nazi hat off)

While I did enjoy the production I do think it has lost a little in the effort to modernise it for current political realities.

I think a bigger problem is that no matter how good Henry Goodman and David Haig are (and they're very good actors indeed), they're not going…

. . . ask if it was really true that Kevin from 'The Wonder Years' grew up to be Marylin Manson.

Jeezus. I thought he grew up to be Lockwood Smith.

Now the kid from Freaks and Geeks is instantly recognisable, despite being so much larger, in his role on Bones.

I suspect John Francis Daley is going to be one of those weird people (like Matt Smith, Michael J. Fox and Matthew Broderick) who will look like a twelve year…

Now the kid from Freaks and Geeks is instantly recognisable, despite being so much larger, in his role on Bones.

That's where I know him from!

Had to wiki that show. Never heard of it before.

I guess it never aired here. It was huge in North America (it was a cute, clever show – that defined 60s & 70s childhood in North America). There are clips of Jodie Foster at about 6 in a guest spot…

Can you believe that incredibly cute little kid from the 60s tv show The Courtship of Eddie's Father grew up to sing in that band?

Had to wiki that show. Never heard of it before.

But on the same theme, a few years ago, a really good way to wind…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqbid4dYmwA

While I did enjoy the production I do think it has lost a little…

A shame. I was rather fond of their cover version of the Dead Kennedys 'too drunk to f***'.

The Dead Kennedys had a few good songs. Can you believe that incredibly cute little kid from the 60s tv show The Courtship of Eddie's Father grew up to sing in that…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo6EkXHu5AI

(via @jackelder)

Has anyone read Roberto Bolaño?

I did try and around the fifty page mark decided that life is too short to read fiction I'm not actually enjoying unless there's a cheque or academic credit at the end. To be fair, it might actually mean more to folks who read Spanish,…

Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 is an obsessive and world-shifting epic. When I read it, I will be completely absorbed by…

That doesn't mean I can't point out that being unable to lock down a 600 page book in 5 years on themes and characters already established (when an author is not on hiatus) does not bode well for the quality of the remainder of the series.

As Gaiman pointed out,…

To quote Neil Gaiman: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch. — and every syllable of his reality check for fans with inflamed entitleitis is quotable for truth.

I'm not complaining out of a sense of entitlement, believe me. That doesn't mean I can't point out that being unable to…

New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.

Wait, this is based on fact, right? The question is, how…

Anderson Lake is a company man,…

I was quite underwhelmed by Moon, actually.

+1

Great soundtrack, though, courtesy of Clint Mansell (ex frontman of the Pop Will Eat Itself).

Now, that little factoid has enlivened my morning.

Goodbye city, hello moon!
Hands up! Vote Dr Doom!

Gimme big mac gimme fries to go!

If you are looking for another thoughtful movie which explores the dislocation and uncertainty of identity in a scifi settimng, I highly recommend the 2009 movie Moon (directed by Duncan Jones, David Bowie's son).

I was quite underwhelmed by Moon, actually. Virtually everyone I know raved about it, but I…

George R.R. Martin still hasn't turned in another __Game of Thrones_ book though. Come on George, you've had five years now.

To quote Neil Gaiman: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch. — and every syllable of his reality check for fans with inflamed entitleitis is quotable for truth.

Seriously,…

China Mieville's The City & the City is a great book, well worth…

I'm glad The Hurt Locker won the Best Picture award.

The real world is full of amazing stories and if we're talking sci fi and…

Lifestyle Superpower

I couldn't think what Seinfeld thought he was doing, other than dancing on television's grave.

Cashing an obscenely large cheque, I suspect.

I saw a Newsweek cover in a bookstand – Roger Ebert asserting that 3D was bad for films

I defer to nobody in my respect for Ebert, but…

I couldn't think what Seinfeld thought he was doing, other than dancing on television's grave.

I'm reading a Jasper Fforde. The Eyre Affair.

Yes madcap, but entertaining. I'm three Murakamis in so far, so that was a great tip, thanks. Even the autobiographical marathon book was sort of compelling, and strangely philosophical.

And on a more general note: this morning on Kim Hill – two wonderful…

Just saw Hurt Locker

Saw it on a plane last week, and it even withstood a small screen and average sound quality. Hardly what you'd call glorifying war. Well, don't imagine they'll be using it as a recruitment video.

Que sera sera.

Film critics. They'll put Hitchcock quotations everywhere.

Speaking of, Philip also recently put us all on to the mp3 stash of Hitchcock's conversations with Truffaut. One of my finds of 2010 so far.

I haven't mentioned Crystal Castles have I?

Found them recently too. Also loving School of Seven Bells.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1An2pjS4mKE

Your saying Jessica doesn't have a PhD or you wrote an indepth analysis?

It's standard practice to cite academic titles in stories. Your beef seems to be that I named Jacky Bowring as an associate professor of landscape architecture at Lincoln University but did not say that Jessica Halliday has…

Todays puff piece by Philip Matthews in the Weekend Press,
takes up no less than 3 pages, but exposes nothing of interest or value.

He celebrates position over qualifications and expertise. That is an Ass Prof with an intrest in but no expertise of Heritage or local Councillors have titles…

For me it started about 8months ago with being sworn to secrecy, which was broken by the would be developers without agreement or…

Movie – "Boy", by Taika Waititi.

I'm enjoying Bruce Sterling's The Caryatids*

So am I — even though it doesn't have the sheer mind-shredding WTF-ness of reading Schismatrix and his Shaper/Mechanist stories twenty years back (BTW, you ever going to get around to reading the copy I loaned you, Mister Brown?), Sterling's still got serious writing…

I was in the car yesterday when Mr Havoc dropped this little number at the top of his show:

Miike Snow – 'Black & Blue' (Netsky Remix)

Choice.

To be fair, how many interesting stories can you come up with in a galaxy-spanning post-scarcity society where death is a (reversible) lifestyle choice? It would be a nice place to live in, but hellishly dull. :)

We're limited only by our imagination. Seems that the limit is not as…

though their latest video is a tad derivative:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPjDgGnioAM

After that, not so much.....

Awww. No love for Private Eyes? (This is a perfect opportunity for someone to say 'I can't go for that. No can do'.)

Hall-and-fucking-Oates cover.

As a nerd I'd would like to say that first two albums on Atlantic were shit hot. After that, not so much.....

Wiggling my arse in public to a Hall-and-fucking-Oates cover. Bah... what is wrong with me?

You're fine. The Bird and the Bee are cool. At such point as they cease to be so, I'll forward you the memo, to save embarrassment.

I love the way he's made – irresolution manifest-

Reading: currently working through Banks' "The Steep Approach to Garbadale", which is good so far. But the jacket copy saying "as good as anything he's ever written" does rather sound like it's damning with faint praise... Didn't like Dead Air, though Transition was great fun.

Yes, enjoyed Transition, but Garbadale…

Being in Marbecks (the real one) and finding myself enjoying The Bird and The Bee's unironically titled Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates chugging away in the background.

Wiggling my arse in public to a…

Not fond of Iain M. Banks (prefer China M. or Justina Robson – both of whom are rumoured to have…

would it be too impolitic to express a little less than unfettered enthusiasm at Poi E threatening to become the song of 2010?

Yes, you durned furriner, it would. :) I just watched that new video and am filled with tender fondness for my grey, stalinist childhood with its limited…

To be fair, how many interesting stories can you come up with in a galaxy-spanning post-scarcity society where death is a (reversible) lifestyle choice? It would be a nice place to live in, but hellishly dull. :)

I thought there might be the merest soupçon of a hint in 'look…

Will be a hard album to beat for the year

I'd throw into the happy mix: José James, Phoenix Foundation, Caribou, Ikonika, Paul Weller, Panthu Du Prince and Four Tet

We old folks and our albums......

get with the programme fullas...Iain M is yesterday's man.

To be fair, how many interesting stories can you come up with in a galaxy-spanning post-scarcity society where death is a (reversible) lifestyle choice? It would be a nice place to live in, but hellishly dull. :)

we're all about China…

we're all about China Mieville these days. Buy yourselves The City & The City and get learned up.

just grabbed Nick Kent's new one as well...hoorah. And not a moment too soon. You could even say it's a few too late, but…

Will be a hard album to beat for the year

the utter, utter failure of the space race to have enabled casual space flights to the moon, let alone a manned flight to Jupiter

We're still not even close to just talking to our computers to get stuff done. Just getting them to type up what we're saying is hard…

Speaking of Boy, would it be too impolitic to express a little less than unfettered enthusiasm at Poi E threatening to become the song of 2010?

Boy(le) E?

Well, I'm sincerely hoping Iain M. Banks provides us with another Culture novel this year so I'm still in a holding pattern until then.

Indeed. Although as Rich suggests I am hoping at least for something better than Matter; otherwise some non-Culture scifi along Algebraist lines would be much better.…

Today's response from Air New Zealand to a Listener editorial (flagged in full-page ads in the papers) is brilliant:

Oh, thank you_ for that. I love that they used their taxing music as the soundtrack – I could almost smell the fumigant.

Looking back on 2009, I do find it…

Will be remembered by me as 'the year we made contact'.

Heh, yup. Both 2001 and 2010 came up for me as sober reflections on how far out popular scientific imagination is from actual scientific reality. Not just the utter, utter failure of the space race to have enabled casual…

Looking back on 2009, I do find it a little disturbing that…

Taika Waititi's Boy.

OK, I'll have to own up to approaching this with some caution after finding Eagle vs. Shark toxic levels of mumblecore twee eminently resistible. But it was toe-curling, in a good way — ah, weird awkward school days just up the road.

Will be remembered by me…

2010: The Cultural YTD

Will be remembered by me as 'the year we made contact'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfxP2Ct9aYs

Today's response from Air New Zealand to a Listener editorial (flagged in full-page ads in the papers) is brilliant:

That IS clever – we wondered what the full-page ads were this morning, my wife managing to decipher "Dear Listener" at the top, but it was too early in the morning…

Sometimes it is Ok to just feel good about our…

And the remix version of "I Feel Better', I Feel Bonnie Feat. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is just bloody fantastic.

And…

Today's response from Air New Zealand to a Listener editorial (flagged in full-page ads in the papers) is brilliant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQibHeMCkK4&feature=player_embedded

Went to a concert (Joanna Newsom) this year for the first time in aaaaaaages, and it's made me want more. Pity the interesting bands (interesting to me anyway) tend to avoid Christchurch.

Ditto Iain M Banks -…

Penguin's 3rd strike. Are they out yet?

They can't be sentenced...
they don't acknowledge words
...or is that a stretch?

Curious Orange...
The Penguincubator is...
novel...

I wonder how the Penguincinerator
is going with those earlier books...?

Hipster-groupie wise, this year's really shaping up to be quite a good one. Passion Pit, Temper…

In book news, I'm still reeling from what others in the book biz are calling Penguin's 3rd strike. Are they out yet?

Seriously though, I'm waiting for the announcement that henceforth Penguin's books will be edited by people…

Did I mention the Pixies?