February 2012
22 posts
As Daniel did for me... →
sophiebiblio.tumblr.com
…let me do for my friend Sophie. Her tumblr has been languishing, neglected and forgotten, since JULY! Any tips or enthusiasm you guys have, send them her way! Perhaps some followers will help get her started!
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Thinkin’ About Adaptations →
sarahreesbrennan.tumblr.com
This is absolutely the most thoughtful writing I’ve encountered on the subject of Lucy Liu’s casting in Elementary, and a thoughtful perspective on adaptations in general to boot. Definitely take a minute to read it.
Because I am a writer, and because I am a ferocious reader who goes loopy and starts reading cereal packets without regular books, I think about story a lot—and a lot of stories are riffs off ideas, themes, tropes, and sometimes riffs off specific stories. I generally go to see movies adapted from books because I’m curious about what they’re going to do with them. It’s fun to see different imaginations shaping a story.
Tiny snippet from the fantastic Sarah Rees Brennan’s defense of CBS’s new Sherlock series. Read the whole thing, but basically she goes into why we shouldn’t discount (let alone judge negatively) new stories we haven’t even seen yet.
I’m with Sarah on this point. I may be wary of new stories that sound particularly interesting (because you can have a good idea and terrible execution), but that doesn’t stop me from getting excited too. You can’t judge a show until you’ve seen the story in action.
So, yeah, I was annoyed when I first heard that CBS was making a Sherlock adaptation because at first it sounded like another case of American TV ripping off British TV in a way that wouldn’t add anything new. But after hearing about Lucy Liu being cast as Dr. Watson—I’m intrigued again. That’s new and noteworthy and I’m definitely willing to give it a try to see what they do with this.
Lists of Note: The 23 Types of Vagabond →
listsofnote.com
These categories for vagabondery are very specific. My favorites are “hookers or anglers” (thieves who steal through windows with hooks), “priggers of prancers” (horse thieves), “fresh-water mariners or whipjakcs” (beggars pretending shipwreck), “demanders for glimmer or fire” (female beggars pretending loss of fire), and “dells” (young girls, incipient doxies).
In other news, I now also want to front an all-girl band called The Incipient Doxies.
Lists of Note: 10 Commandments for Con Men →
listsofnote.com
I just want a con man to mistake me for a wealthy heiress, woo me for my fortune, and then accidentally fall in love with me for real, while still fleecing others to provide a wealthy lifestyle for us both. Is that really too much to ask of the world?
Letters of Note: Will you please have his place raided? →
lettersofnote.com
WIVES, they ruin all the fun.
“Emma wished to go to work directly, and therefore produced the portfolio containing her various attempts at portraits, for not one of them had ever been finished, that they might decide together on the best size for Harriet. Her many beginnings were displayed. Miniatures, half-lengths, whole-lengths, pencil, crayon, and water-colours had been all tried in turn. She had always wanted to do every thing, and had made more progress both in drawing and music than many might have done with so little labour as she would ever submit to. She played and sang;—and drew in almost every style; but steadiness had always been wanting; and in nothing had she approached the degree of excellence which she would have been glad to command, and ought not to have failed of. She was not much deceived as to her own skill either as an artist or a musician, but she was not unwilling to have others deceived, or sorry to know her reputation for accomplishment often higher than it deserved.”
—
(I never encounter this description of Emma Woodhouse without feeling abashed at how similar she and I are. I am never sorry to have a reputation for accomplishment often higher than it deserves.)
A new-- and pretty great-- song by Regina Spektor. →
vulture.com
My friend Todd and I have recently developed a new game where we try to guess each others’ favorite songs from a given year or mutually adored album. I imagine we’ll be playing it until we die. Point is, it wasn’t until guessing his Bests of 2006 that I even remembered Regina Spektor’s existence, despite the fact that I own three of her albums. The last one just lost me, I guess. This song, however, seems like a return to form.
If your afternoon needs a pick-me-up... →
sidewalkdriver.bandcamp.com
Let me recommend to you my very favorite local band, Sidewalk Driver. It is a source of continual astonishment to me that they aren’t yet international superstars. The glitter and bombast of their live shows can’t be replicated through the internet, nor can the internet place the requisite confetti in your bra that attending said show reliably leaves behind, but the charms of this album are still just about impossible to resist.
It’s also worth noting that the album is up on Spotify.
