30.9.09
28.9.09
27.9.09
26.9.09
24.9.09
Does absurdist literature make you smarter? Giraffe carpet cleaner, it does!
So it appears Viktor Frankl was right: Man is perpetually in search of meaning, and if a Kafkaesque work of literature seems strange on the surface, our brains amp up to dig deeper and discover its underlying design. Which, all things considered, is a hell of a lot better than waking up and discovering you've turned into a giant cockroach.
http://www.miller-mccune.com/news/this-is-your-brain-on-kafka-1474
http://www.miller-mccune.com/news/this-is-your-brain-on-kafka-1474
23.9.09
Genre Fiction Generator 2000
In a post-apocalyptic Aztec empire a young wisecracking mercenary stumbles across an alien artifact which spurs him into conflict with a megalomaniacal dictator
with the help of a leather-clad female in shades and her closet full of assault rifles
culminating in a cliffhanger for the sake of prompting a series
Your title is: The Blackmancers
Genre Fiction Generator 2000
with the help of a leather-clad female in shades and her closet full of assault rifles
culminating in a cliffhanger for the sake of prompting a series
Your title is: The Blackmancers
Genre Fiction Generator 2000
20.9.09
June and Jennifer Gibbons
June and Jennifer Gibbons (born April 11, 1963; Jennifer died in 1993), identical twins who grew up in Britain, are a curious case involving psychology and language.
When they were reunited, the two spent a couple of years isolating themselves in their bedroom, engaged in elaborate play with dolls. They created many plays and stories in a sort of soap opera style, reading some of them aloud on tape as gifts for their little sister. Inspired by a pair of gift diaries at Christmas 1979, they began their writing careers. They sent away for a mail order course in creative writing, and each wrote several novels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_and_Jennifer_Gibbons
Ever since I first heard about their novels (The Pepsi-Cola Addict; The Pugilist and Discomania) they have fascinated me. Unfortunately they are virtually impossible to track down. Over the years I've ransacked second-hand bookshops and charity outlets in search of them but to no avail. Even the internet has drawn a blank - these books are cult-fictional gold-dust.
http://babylonwales.blogspot.com/2007/02/pepsi-cola-addict.html
When they were reunited, the two spent a couple of years isolating themselves in their bedroom, engaged in elaborate play with dolls. They created many plays and stories in a sort of soap opera style, reading some of them aloud on tape as gifts for their little sister. Inspired by a pair of gift diaries at Christmas 1979, they began their writing careers. They sent away for a mail order course in creative writing, and each wrote several novels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_and_Jennifer_Gibbons
Ever since I first heard about their novels (The Pepsi-Cola Addict; The Pugilist and Discomania) they have fascinated me. Unfortunately they are virtually impossible to track down. Over the years I've ransacked second-hand bookshops and charity outlets in search of them but to no avail. Even the internet has drawn a blank - these books are cult-fictional gold-dust.
http://babylonwales.blogspot.com/2007/02/pepsi-cola-addict.html
19.9.09
The Jet-Propelled Couch
There also were a glossary of names and terms that ran to more than 100 pages; 82 full-color maps carefully drawn to scale, 23 of planetary bodies in four projections, 31 of land masses on these planets, 14 labeled “Kirk Allen’s Expedition to —,” the remainder of cities on the various planets; 161 architectural sketches and elevations, all carefully scaled and annotated; 12 genealogical tables; an 18-page description of the galactic system in which Kirk Allen’s home planet was contained, with four astronomical charts, one for each of the seasons, and nine star-maps of the skies from observatories on other planets in the system; a 200-page history of the empire Kirk Allen ruled, with a three-page table of dates and names of battles or outstanding historical events; a series of 44 folders containing from 2 to 20 pages apiece, each dealing with some aspect–social, economic, or scientific–of the planet over which Kirk Allen ruled. Finally, there were 306 drawings of people, animals, plants, insects, weapons, utensils, machines, articles of clothing, vehicles, instruments, and furniture.
The Jet-Propelled Couch: true story of a physicist who thought he was a science fiction hero on another planet
The Jet-Propelled Couch: true story of a physicist who thought he was a science fiction hero on another planet
18.9.09
StarShipSofa Stories Volume 1
StarShipSofa-podcastin valituista ääninovelleista koottu antologia.Ilmainen ebook tai print on demand Lulun tai Blurbin kautta.
16.9.09
Atom & His Package
Yhden miehen synthpunkyhtye.
"I'm Downright Amazed (At What I Can Destroy With Just a Hammer)"
"I'm Downright Amazed (At What I Can Destroy With Just a Hammer)"
15.9.09
Facts, Errors and Kindle
It would be impossible to quantify the extent of error in books—indeed, unhinged even to try. Suffice it to say that “Unfortunately, the work is marred by several factual mistakes” is probably the most frequently used sentence in book reviews. Every scholar has a list of his favourite printed bloopers, and even fans of “Harry Potter” can find many websites listing narrative inconsistencies in the works of J.K. Rowling. In 2001 an analysis of the physical-science textbooks most commonly used in American middle-schools found that they were riddled with errors.
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/anthony-gottlieb/facts-errors-and-kindle
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/anthony-gottlieb/facts-errors-and-kindle
14.9.09
13.9.09
House of Leaves
House of Leaves is the debut novel by the American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published by Pantheon Books. The novel quickly became a bestseller following its March 7, 2000 release, having already developed a cult following through gradual release over the Internet. It was followed by a companion piece, The Whalestoe Letters.One feature of some paperback editions of the book is that the cover of the book is slightly smaller than the pages themselves, causing the edges of the pages to peek out of the side of the black cover.
While characters are navigating claustrophobic labyrinthine sections of the house's interior, the text is densely, confusingly packed into small corners of each page; later, while a character is running desperately from an unseen enemy, there are only a few words on each page for almost 25 pages, causing the reader's pace to quicken as he flips page after page to learn what will happen next.
Continuing the ergodic nature of text-reflecting-tale, the chapter in which Navidson, Karen, and Reston hear a knocking from somewhere deep inside the house, a knocking patterned after the Morse code emergency signal SOS - three short, three long, three short - the text itself is broken into a similar pattern. The breaks are often arbitrary, sometimes even in mid-sentence, and done seemingly for the sole purpose of imitating the SOS signal.It has been noted that the font used for the narratives of different people is relevant. Johnny's font is Courier, Zampanò's font is Times, the Editors' font is Bookman, and Pelafina's font is Dante.
Throughout the entirety of House of Leaves (even including the cover and publishing information), the word house is colored blue (grey for non-color editions of the book and light grey for red editions)
12.9.09
Why He Will Not Read Your Fucking Script
So. I read the thing. And it hurt, man. It really hurt. I was dying to find something positive to say, and there was nothing. And the truth is, saying something positive about this thing would be the nastiest, meanest and most dishonest thing I could do. Because here's the thing: not only is it cruel to encourage the hopeless, but you cannot discourage a writer. If someone can talk you out of being a writer, you're not a writer. If I can talk you out of being a writer, I've done you a favor, because now you'll be free to pursue your real talent, whatever that may be. And, for the record, everybody has one. The lucky ones figure out what that is. The unlucky ones keep on writing shitty screenplays and asking me to read them. I will not read your fucking script.
11.9.09
Self Publishing 2.0: Viral Book Promotion
The funny thing is that I launched my viral book promotion blitz SIX YEARS AGO, in 2003! And over the last six years, around 200,000 people downloaded that poster, and I don’t know how many printed it. But it didn’t become “news” until September 1st, 2009, when Steve Leckart included a miniature image of the poster in a BoingBoing post about the collection of flowcharts on my website. And ironically, Steve’s original source for the story wasn’t my website at all, but another blog that had made pretty free with the graphics, though I can’t get too angry with them after the unexpected publicity.
Viral Book Promotion Is Eye Catching
Viral Book Promotion Is Eye Catching
10.9.09
Tulevaisuuden työelämä -kirjoituskilpailu
Tulevaisuuden työelämä -kirjoituskilpailu "Kerro oma näkemyksiesi siitä millaista on tulevaisuuden työelämä Suomessa vuonna 2030."
Olin juuri kirjoittamassa fantasianovellia avolouhoksella työskentelevistä orjista, pitäisiköhän lähettää se kilpailuun.
Olin juuri kirjoittamassa fantasianovellia avolouhoksella työskentelevistä orjista, pitäisiköhän lähettää se kilpailuun.
Archive Binge
At Archive Binge you can create a custom RSS news feed for a webcomic, which will take you through the archive, at a rate faster than the new comics update.
9.9.09
8.9.09
7.9.09
Uni-idis
Näin unta, että harvinaisia kirjoja myyvä antikvariaatti oli naamioitu kampaamoksi.
Koska silloin sisään tulee vain oikeita asiakkaita.
Unessa se tuntui jostain syystä toimivalta bisnesidealta.
Koska silloin sisään tulee vain oikeita asiakkaita.
Unessa se tuntui jostain syystä toimivalta bisnesidealta.
6.9.09
5.9.09
Cory Doctorow: Special Pleading
The Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom experiment really pissed people off. It was denounced as a breaking of ranks with authors as a class, and as a stunt that I could only afford because I had so little to lose, being such a nobody in the field with my handful of short story sales and my tiny print run — at least when compared to the big guys. Free samples were good news if no one had heard of you, but for successful writers, free downloads were poison.
Now, I'm too successful, someone whose name is so widely known that I am uniquely situated to benefit from open publishing, since the micro net-fame I enjoy provides the vital push necessary to wrest sales from freebies. Hilariously, some of the people who say this go back in time and revise history, claiming that I was only able to sell as many copies of Down and Out as I have over the years (nine printings and still selling great!) because I was such a big shot famous writer in 2003, on the strength of a dozen short story sales.
Cory Doctorow: Special Pleading
Now, I'm too successful, someone whose name is so widely known that I am uniquely situated to benefit from open publishing, since the micro net-fame I enjoy provides the vital push necessary to wrest sales from freebies. Hilariously, some of the people who say this go back in time and revise history, claiming that I was only able to sell as many copies of Down and Out as I have over the years (nine printings and still selling great!) because I was such a big shot famous writer in 2003, on the strength of a dozen short story sales.
Cory Doctorow: Special Pleading
3.9.09
Oulun Muusajuhlat 2009
Huutomerkki-kirjoittajayhdistyksen vuotuiset Muusajuhlat ovat menossa Oulussa nyt kuudetta kertaa.Ohjelmanumerot ovat aina hälläväliä-osastoa, mutta jos pari-kolme yllättävää runoa taikka laulua tulee vastaan niin sitä voi sanoa jo riehakkaaksi festariksi sanataiteen asteikolla.
2.9.09
Writing for a living: a joy or a chore?
Will Self: I even enjoy the mechanics of writing, the dull timpani of the typewriter keys, the making of notes – many notes – and most seducttive of all: the buying of stationery. That the transmogrification of my beautiful thoughts into a grossly imperfect prose is always the end result doesn't faze me: all novels are only a version- there is no Platonic ideal.
Writing for a living: a joy or a chore?
Writing for a living: a joy or a chore?
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