art is for people who aren't worried about zombies

I walked over to Oxford St tonight and saw Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. I think it's extraordinary.

I don't want to give too much away, because the delicate way the plot unfolds is one of the joys of this film, but I found everything about the plot surprising yet inevitable in hindsight. It's beautifully filmed, tender and gory, serious with unexpected touches of black humour.

But for all the magnificent production, this film would be nothing without the two young actors who play Oskar and Eli. There's a remarkable innocence in their relationship that meant I enjoyed Let the Right One In, rather than just admiring it. Plus, let me just say that this is an unconventional romance, and leave it at that. *grin*

It is violent, in keeping with its subject matter and themes, but I was able to get through it by judiciously closing my eyes.

I'm not sure that Let the Right One In is going to be for everyone, but I really liked it. Definitely the best film I have seen so far this year.

Serious thing: I have been watching RaceFail09 unfold over the past few months, and it has by turns horrified and saddened me. But I've also been challenged and inspired by people's responses.

Let's face it, I've benefited from privilege in many areas of my life. But I've been trying to learn about how to recognise and counteract this privilege, and I try to be a white ally for PoCs (people of colour). I'm not saying that I have the answers -- I haven't managed to contribute anything to this current round of discussion about race, for instance, because I haven't been able to work out how to contribute in a meaningful way. And there are definitely times when I get it wrong. But I am trying.

I think I'm getting a better handle on some of the issues now, after reading the various incarnations of this discussion over the past few years. There are lots of posts that I want to remember, but I read this one tonight and it really struck a chord with me: synecdochic's What I Have Learned Through These Conversations About Race.

---

Okay! Frivolous thing: if I ever open a carpentry shop, it will be called 'I Wish I Knew How To Quit Yew'. It will be opposite my brother's bakery, 'Because I Knead The Dough'.

This is, of course, my backup if the 1337 Foxes plan doesn't work out.

Nothing to see here, moving on.

The universe is a magnificent source of things that amuse me.

Exhibit A, courtesy kopernik: Periodic Table of Cupcakes.

Exhibit B: ANOTHER ONE.

Except they were totally cheating in Exhibit B by omitting the transition metals. Not to mention the lanthanides and actinides. Won't somebody think of the children thorium?

I have this strange obsession with the periodic table -- I guess because I was equal parts Science and Humanities nerd for a while, before I specialised in the Humanities side. (After a certain point, bad at maths = SCIENCE FAIL.) One of my awesome colleagues even bought me a periodic table mug a couple of years ago, which I use with pride to this day. Best workmates ever.

I also adore cupcakes. So you can see how I find the above delightful.

Other things what I likes. Hmm. Well, I've been listening to the lush melodies of Andrew Bird's new album over and over, but I had no idea how he performs those songs solo. Turns out he creates live violin loops, which is kind of awesome. So here's my favourite song from the album. It's a bit rough around the edges, particularly tempo-wise, but I can't stop watching the layering process (starts around 0.45). 'Oh No' (live)

The only thing I miss from the studio recording of that song is the triplet in the chorus -- there are examples here at 0.27 and 1.20. I've only recently realised that lots of my obsesso-songs have that kind of tripping hiatus. Not sure what that's about.

And in conclusion: Stephen Colbert on old-school Whose Line Is It, Anyway?. As an overly dramatic Shakespearian actor.



THANK YOU, UNIVERSE.

ph8 made my bro and me very happy today when she passed on the Jack of All Trades DVDs. If -- through some hideous oversight -- you have never encountered this fine example of the televisual arts, allow me to show you the credits.



Yes, that is BRUCE CAMPBELL. In a wildly anachronistic, nonsensical historical action comedy. IT IS AMAZING. The first 4 minutes and 38 seconds made me CRY WITH LAUGHTER.

One of the second season episodes is called 'Hamnesia', and the DVD case features a parrot in a hat. This tells you everything you need to know about Jack of All Trades. (Although it does force me to ask: second season?!)

If you also wish to partake of the glory (and you live somewhere that Hulu doesn't block) you can watch full episodes here: http://www.hulu.com/jack-of-all-trades.

Time for another episode! They are only 22 minutes long, which is kind of a relief because after two minutes the only reaction available to me is 'What?'

I don't always agree 100% with Lawrence Lessig, but he is my favourite intellectual property commentator. Even if I only know enough about copyright to make a semi-public fool of myself from time to time!

So, how did I miss his appearance on The Colbert Report a couple of weeks ago? It must have been while I was on holidays, hence not streaming the show from www.colbertnation.com every night.

How outdated copyright laws are making kids into criminals

A number of vidders have taken up the 'superliminal challenge' to remix the interview, and this one is the best I've seen so far.



So catchy!

Also effective, because seeing both of these videos reminded me of Lessig's new book Remix and I went to see if it was available as an ebook. I read non-fiction about business and culture when I'm suffering fiction burnout, so I like to have some on hand for emergencies. (For example, I read a chapter of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point on my iPhone on the train home tonight -- you never know when fiction burnout will strike.)

Lessig's publicist would be happy that the interview sent me to purchase his book, but I'm afraid that I've already bought one two USD$25 ebooks this month, which is at least one too many (given the exchange rate). Maybe I should wait for the 'paperback' release of this particular collection of electrons.

But why is this not out until APRIL?

I'm listening to the Hottest 100, my only Australia Day tradition. I like and/or own a much higher percentage of the top 100 songs than in previous years, strangely enough.

Here's how I voted:

Dukes of Windsor, 'It's A War'
Fleet Foxes, 'He Doesn't Know Why'
Flight of the Conchords, 'Hiphopopotamus v Rhymenoceros'
Josh Pyke, 'Make You Happy'
Kings of Leon, 'Sex on Fire'
Little Red, 'Misty, I'
The Presets, 'Talk Like That'
Vampire Weekend, 'Oxford Comma'

They've nearly all appeared on the list so far, including in the prestigious #100 slot. I suspect 'Sex on Fire' will be in the top three, but am not sure if it will beat the Presets or MGMT's 'Electric Feel'. I do think it's got a very good chance of winning the whole thing, but we will see.

---

As of yesterday I have a new obsesso-album, thanks to NPR's All Songs Considered. The podcast previewed Andrew Bird's Noble Bird last week and I couldn't get the twenty-second snippets out of my head -- walked around singing 'naa, na na na nana sociopaths' because I couldn't remember the lyrics, which proved a little disturbing to the people around me -- so I took a punt on the whole album.

What a lovely piece of work it is, too. The vibe is honest, rural and secluded. It's similar to Bon Iver in that way, but it also strikes me as a little bit Shins with a tiny dash of Radiohead, if Radiohead combined their unexpected melodic twists with plinky folk. Bird's violin-playing and whistling hold the whole endeavour together. (The things he can do with those instruments, honestly.)

---

My latest crazy plan is as follows.

Step 1: Form a geek-rock/electro Fleet Foxes tribute band called '1337 Foxes'.
Step 2: ????
Step 3: PROFIT.

Please note that this supercedes my previous crazy plan, to run away to New Zealand and join the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. I figure it can always be my backup.

I've been on holidays, and thus on internet hiatus. I spent time outside! I exercised! I spent time with friends and family! I didn't do any work! It was amazing.

I also read a bazillion ebooks on my shiny new iPhone. I LOVE EBOOKS. I love reading them on my iPhone -- so much more awesome than carting around my crappy old laptop! In the words of the wise Jonathan Coulton, 'it's hard to overstate my satisfaction.'

Things I read on holiday:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which was as good as I'd hoped but stops rather than ends. (I can has sequel nao, plz?)
• Nine Suzanne Brockmann military romantic suspense novels in a row -- just what I was in the mood to read.
• Airhead by Meg Cabot, which is on crack (in a good way).
• Rereads of the kickarse Mercy Thompson novels by Patricia Briggs in anticipation of Bone Crossed. (Is it 3 February yet?)
• As You Do ..., a behind-the-scenes adventure non-fiction book by Richard Hammond. He has an unexpectedly amazing voice -- maybe it's because I've watched so many hours of Top Gear, but it was as if he was standing in front of me reading the book aloud.
• A reread of Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie, my undisputed favourite beach-book writer. She is magnficent. I'm going to have to reread Faking It, too, when I next have a couple of hours spare.
• Some Wodehouse, for when I felt like becoming drunk on language.
• 1.2 manuscripts for work
• The newspaper, every single day.

Things I listened to: the Wicked soundtrack (I'm so obsessed with this that I might have to go to Melbourne to see the stage version), podcasts (Slate's Culture Gabfest, NPR's All Songs Considered, various ABC Radio National programmes), the deadly Fleet Foxes/Josh Pyke combo (still), The Kooks (courtesy of my youngest brother).

Things I watched: season one of 30 Rock, with which I fell instantly and desperately in love. Even if it has made me afraid of choking to death, alone in my apartment. I also saw Australia, and I'm sad to say that I laughed at all the wrong bits.

I'm trying to post here more regularly this year. We will see how that goes.

In conclusion: happy Obama Day. \o/

With only a fortnight left, I am pretty confident in naming The Knife of Never Letting Go my book of the year.

One of my favourite booksellers handsold it to me about four months ago -- she knows that I like YA novels about post-apocalyptic telepaths, so it was an obvious choice -- and I got forty-nine good pages in before I had to put it down to read something else. Little did I know that it gets a serious case of the awesomes about two pages later! I wouldn't have waited twelve weeks to finish it, in that case. In the interim it won the Booktrust and the Guardian, plus kept turning up on my RSS feed (including via the awesome Centre for Youth Literature). And an ex-colleague recommended it to me on Facebook. I find that kind of word-of-mouth and critical mass happens for a reason.

Things to love about this book:

* AMAZING voice, holy wow
* Paced to within an inch of its life (in the good way)
* Deals with big, crunchy themes, but not at the expense of big, crunchy, delightfully infuriating characters
* EPIC MANPAIN (well, ANGST, because it's not gender-specific -- but there is a hefty MANPAIN component, too)
* Made me cry as well as laugh, often on the same page.

My only caveat is that this is a WIP -- and there's a serious cliffhanger. So if that's going to bother you, consider waiting for Book 2 in the Chaos Walking trilogy. Walker/Candlewick say it's due July 09. (More here -- beware, massive spoilers!)

Special bonus points for the production and design -- the insanely expensive overprinted transparent jacket makes so much sense when you read the book! Also, magnificent text design.

... I know I've been spending too much time at work when I dream about typesetting. Last night, my dream-self kicked up a huge stink because I came across a sign with bad tracking. While on an epic quest.

Dear self

Perhaps you should consider adding to your store of Real-Life Wacky Adventures, so you can stop dreaming about typography?

Best wishes
me

... I would love to see the style sheet for the Chaos Walking trilogy. It would be INSANE. Imagine the non-standard spellings, not to mention all the things associated with worldbuilding ... the author says Book 2 has just gone to the printer, so imagine all the things the style sheet would cover that we haven't even seen yet! *boggles*

(That last paragraph suggests that dreaming about letter-spacing is probably the least of my worries. I'm too far gone! Save yourselves!)

What was my point? Oh, yeah. Read The Knife of Never Letting Go, because it is MADE OF WIN.

Camp Rock is amazing. I can't remember the last time I saw something with such paper-thin characterisation and unwavering committment to formula. I would have loved it to bits when I was ten.

Hilarious subplot: 'oh noes, the record label will not let me sing the song I have written that sounds exactly like the other songs in this movie'. Feigning resistance to the commercial side of the business when this is the most commercial thing that ever commercialled?* Stay classy, Disney!

However, Camp Rock doesn't bring me out in hives like High School Musical does. Possibly because it has the decency to include the narrative climax. (I will never forgive HSM for omitting the part where they are ACTUALLY IN THE MUSICAL.)

---

Further to my post about the Winner's Edit, I heard an interesting interview with a reality TV producer on the ABC's Media Report podcast. I particularly like the bit where he talks about how much raw footage goes into 30 minutes of reality TV (100 hours) and how many story editors he needs to pull a narrative out of that footage (four or five).

* I don't mean commercial in a perjorative sense -- I have a deep appreciation for this kind of stuff, when it is done right.

Ah, what a crazy week. It started with two fifteen-hour work days and didn't get much easier. But I made good progress, even on my book that is Not Behaving. (I keep telling myself that I've got a long break over Christmas, so I can sleep then. Also, I may go outside!)

Nevertheless, I owe my smalldog some really long walks this weekend. I haven't been back to yoga since my latest cold, either. That would be a nice thing to do tomorrow. Along with checking two sets of proofs and making progress on an edit, all of which are urgent.

There. A plan!

Anyway. Things that are good:

1. This evening started very nicely when I met up with ph8 for red wine and conversation. SRS BIZNS.



2. I bought my mum's Christmas present on the way to Wine Time and the shop accidentally gave me a 50% discount. Clearly I will have to do something useful with the money I saved, to pass on the awesome.



3. I just saw this amazing Baltar vid by bop_radar, and I have to agree with Luminosity that it is hilarious and terrifying. (Spoilers through BSG 4x01.) I admit I'm still only officially up to season 2. That did not impede my enjoyment of this vid.



4. On Monday, my favourite coffee place gave me two stamps on my buy-nine-get-one-free card when I asked if their muffins were made from crack (compliment). They gave me another two stamps the next day when we realised we are all fans of The Mighty Boosh, and I demonstrated a working knowledge of the Bob Fossil dance. We discussed our favourite moves -- mine is the turning-in-a-circle arse-slap. Ah, my people.



5. Even better, their coffee is fantastic. ♥ ♥ ♥


I would have used the ~*~sparkle~*~ tag on those hearts, but I think I need to keep it in reserve in case I ever talk at length about Edward from Twilight. With his sparkly sparkliness. Also, my HTML skillz aren't yet l33t enough for me to achieve that.

The smalldog ate the first strawberry before I could pick it. BAD DOG. I'm impatient! How will I wait until the next one is ripe? (It's probably character-building.)

To console myself, I had scrambled eggs and avocado on turkish toast for dinner, with mango and pear with lime juice for dessert. OM NOM NOM.

---

I'm watching the Australian Idol final at the moment, and I find myself in the strange position of actually caring.

The last few seasons have left me cold, so I think it's a combination of more appealing contestants and taking part in the work tipping competition for the first time. I'm, um, a bit competitive.

The organiser made us pick a winner before the final twelve started, and I picked Wes. I stand by that choice -- I think he's fantastic, and even better, has a good chance of surviving the bizarre pressures of the post-Idol environment. (Unlike Casey Donovan, notoriously dumped by her label for gaining weight.)

But after the first few rounds, when everyone left is (usually) a fairly competent singer, I think the stories are what matter.

I'm an editor at heart, and I've loved story all my life. How it works, how tiny changes in emphasis can affect the audience's response. I'm fascinated by the concept of the Winner's Edit -- showrunners' choices in framing events creating expectations. (Omissions are really important, too, but that's a whole other post.) I think framing is a crucial part of building a satisfying reality TV narrative -- making the viewer feel that the winner deserves to triumph, by virtue of their superior journey. And narrative doesn't just happen on its own, people! In this case, it's a collaborative effort between the contestants, the people who work on the show and the viewers. Of course, each viewer makes his or her own, slightly different narrative ...

By the final stages of Idol, I think the audience engages as much with the stories as with Teh Hotness (musical and otherwise) of each competitor. It's so obvious in the advertising for this year's final. Country versus city! Trained, dedicated musician versus savant shearer! Michael Jackson versus Cold Chisel!

Anyway, I also get a squillion bonus points in the tipping competition if Wes wins, so fingers crossed. (Did I mention I'm competitive?)

ETA at 9:37 PM BOOYAH! Yay Wes!!

So, remember how I was worried about all my new plants dying? I am stoked to report that everything I planted that afternoon is still alive, three weeks later -- even the stuff I inexpertly repotted. \o/

My first strawberries might be ready to eat in a week or so, if the smalldog doesn't suddenly decide to branch out from broccoli. Loves gnawing on the raw vegies, does my dog.

. . . Aww, she's so useful. As I type this, she is hunting down a cockroach. Every other place I have lived in this city has had a bug problem, but not this one since I got the dog. It's kind of revolting, but convenient! Also, it makes her happy.

The only thing she can't help with is the ant problem in the kitchen. I guess ants are too small for even a smalldog to notice. If only I could find the nest myself . . .

I think some of the success (so far) of my gardening can be put down to the folktacular magic of Fleet Foxes, which I listened to a million times while planting. It was my dad's birthday on the weekend so I got him a copy of the album, too, taking a punt that it would accord with his tastes. Luckily he likes it! Phew.

I recently saw Josh Pyke on a highbrow TV program -- er, Video Hits -- and it turns out he is also a fan of the swift vulpines. I don't know why I'm surprised by this. I have Fleet Foxes and Josh's brilliant new album, Chimney's Afire, on my high-rotation playlist and they sit very well together.

It is a world of yay.

All the advertising for Australia makes me want to watch Paperback Hero again.

I had an epic week at work (yes, even by my standards), so it was lovely to chill out today. The smalldog and I walked to Newtown – about 5 km </virtuous> – and had lunch in a café.

The smalldog had a nap while I went to the nursery, then she lay just inside the back door and supervised me flailing around in potting mix. That kind of companionship was exactly what I wanted today, because I did not in any way feel like talking to human people.

My courtyard is a strange place to try growing things – it has different sun/moisture/heat conditions every thirty centimetres, and those conditions change almost daily with the sun's relative position. Also, I tend to forget to water. In many ways, my backyard is the plant version of Survivor.

The latest crop of contestants include daisies, strawberries, lavender and various herbs (lemon thyme, rosemary, majoram, garlic chives). I also got a hanging basket of bougainvillea, because I've heard people complain about how vigorous it is – maybe it will be hard for me to kill. These join previous seasons' survivors – mint, a dwarf lemon tree, some kind of enigmatic stonefruit tree, a camellia that miraculously hung on through the seedling stage. And catgrass for the dog.

It will be interesting to see if any of the new plants avoid being, er, voted off the island.

During all of this, I discovered that the album I've been listening to on endless repeat for the past fortnight, Fleet Foxes, is perfect for gardening. For some reason, their particular type of soaring baroque folk-pop feels right for messing around in the earth. You can download some free mp3s from their website if they sound like your kind of thing.



In conclusion: GOATS.

Sign me up as Rachel Maddow's newest fan. I've been hearing a lot about her in the past couple of weeks, and I recently saw some of her MSNBC commentary. She's just as funny and smart as everyone said. The legends were true!

You can't see me*, but I'm gazing adoringly towards Rachel's take on politics and current affairs. Pretty much the same pose as my icon, actually. ::happy sigh::


* At least, I hope you can't see me. If you can, you're probably as cold as I am. Would you mind pulling my heater out of storage while you're over there and bringing me a blanket? Now we can watch Rachel Maddow videos together I can edit in relative comfort. Thanks, Crazy Stalker!

Are we in Bizarro World? I am really enjoying the ARIA Awards this year. Not sure why. I have a lot of time for hosts Hamish and Andy, which helps. And there isn't any arseing about, unlike this year's Emmy's.

I also know most of the songs and artists for a change -- even in categories like Urban and Dance. The one exception? Gabriella Cilmi, whose songs I had never heard before. Ha, I've got my finger right on the throbbing pulse of pop culture. *cough*

Wait, someone is knocking on the door. One sec.

...

Okay, it was my brother, clawing at the plexiglass of the door and moaning for brains. I refused to let him in until he ceased to be a zombie, so we have agreed that he will eat a Maxibon instead of my tasty brains.

(He's been doing this on and off since we were little kids, and it never stops freaking me out. Is it any wonder that I remain terrified by, and also fascinated with, zombies?)

Anyway.

Random observations about the 2008 ARIAs by me, hereandnow

• Sam Sparro and Vince Noir: separated at birth? (Sam Sparro wears a cape, pulls shapes and sings electro. Case closed!)
• Josh Pyke is made from awesome. That's not news, but I thought it was worth reiterating.
• That toy the Presets man is wearing as a headdress? I think I used to own it.

---

Some other stuff.

Angela at Literary Minded is looking for information about what it was like to be a regional Australian teenager in the mid-nineties. My embarrassingly long braindump is sitting there all by itself, so please go over and reminisce if you've got something to add.

I was meant to work on an edit this weekend, but didn't get as much done as I'd planned. However, it's partially due to the beautiful weather -- I spent heaps of time outside with the smalldog. Walking is good for both of us. So I'm not all that sad about it. *grin*

I freaking loved this week's episode of Supernatural (4x03). Tomorrow's ep looks like MANPAIN CENTRAL. Season four, you are so good to me.

I bought four ebooks on Friday, which brings my yearly total up to seventeen. This from a girl who hadn't even considered ebooks as a reading option until recently. I'm with ph8, though: I really wish The Hunger Games was available in e, because it sounds like my kind of book. Also The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, which I am even keener to read now that it's been shortlisted for the National Book Award. (Please feel free to correct me if either of these are available in ebook, by the way.)

Buying the pbook from a US retailer (and paying postage) is so 2006, OMG.

I spent the weekend in Canberra at Conflux. Thanks in large part to ph8 et al., my first con was a great experience. I met great people, I attended interesting panels, and then when it all became overwhelming I ran away to check the smalldog was okay at my relatives' house and/or get coffee. (The start of daylight savings wasn't much fun, particularly after Saturday's 5 AM start. Ew.)

I learned quite a lot, particularly from the publishers/editors in attendance -- most of the panels I chose to attend were editorially focused, and thus relevant to my work. Also, I don't think I did too many embarrassing n00b things. Yay!

Then the new Josh Pyke album was waiting for me when I got home, through the magic of internet preorders. I have so much love for his music and had been hardcore hanging out for the new album. (He's great live, too.)

Other current musical obsessions: while driving to and from Canberra, I listened to Wicked all the way through -- twice -- plus the Urinetown soundtrack, the two new Augie March songs on endless repeat, The Ditty Bops, Vampire Weekend, the latest Grammar Girl podcast, a strings-only cover of 'Knights of Cydonia', Radiohead, and 'Dust in the Wind' by Kansas (because I am just that cool).

. . . No, I am not avoiding unpacking. Why do you ask?

There is very little I don't love about this show. Thank you kindly, multi-region DVD player.

In conclusion: THEY FIGHT CRIME!