Warren Ellis's Blog, page 167
January 22, 2011
Bookmarks for 2011-01-21
"A quick plug, courtesy of digital comics distributor Comixology, to remind folk here that Paul Grist's wonderful Jack Staff is available on iPhone and more."
(tags:comics )
Silicon Roundabout T-shirts and Hoodies | Blog | Really Interesting Group
"…lots of people seemed to like them, and kept asking us where they could get them. Well, ask no more!"
(tags:tshirts )
Found Objects: Landscape and Perception
"A research project investigating the sonic properties of the rock outcrops at Preseli in SW Wales, source of the original bluestones transported to Stonehenge."
(tags:history archaeoacoustics geo )
Navigating The Twitterverse of Apps [Interactive Infographic]
"Simply click anywhere on the image to get started and a full-size, interactive image will open in a new window"
(tags:net )
January 21, 2011
Been busy doing media interviews and slumping in my chair...
Been busy doing media interviews and slumping in my chair from ridiculous tiredness. Six Red Bulls later, I can at least type again. While I get back to speed for a couple of hours, look at what Siege found:
Bookmarks for 2011-01-20
"When we are wandering the deserted wastelands, on occasion upon the back of a pterosaur, I imagine these will be the bags of choice."
(tags:fashion crashsite )
NanoSail-D ejects: NASA seeks amateur radio operators' aid to listen for beacon signal
"…engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. The ejection event occurred spontaneously and was identified this morning when engineers at the center analyzed onboard FASTSAT telemetry. The ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by ground-based satellite tracking assets…"
(tags:space )
The Atavist – About The Atavist
"The Atavist is a boutique publishing house producing original nonfiction stories for digital, mobile reading devices. We like to think of Atavist pieces as a new genre of nonfiction, a digital form that lies in the space between long narrative magazine articles and traditional books and e-books. Publishing them digitally and offering them individually — a bit like music singles in iTunes — allows us to present stories longer and in more depth than typical magazines, less expensive and more dynamic than traditional books. Most importantly, it gives us new ways to tell some inventive, captivating, cinematic journalism — and new ways for you to experience it…"
(tags:ebook magazine journalism app kindle )
Nasienie – Blackwood EP [wh157] : Nasienie : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
"Despite its brevity, this trio of ambient compositions seems to expand the experience of time itself." Russia, 2010
(tags:music )
January 20, 2011
FAQ: Naming Characters
When you're starting a new story how do you decide on what to name the characters? #
That is so complex, for me, as to be almost unanswerable. Weirdly overdeveloped instinct, if you like. Sounds. Character background. That which evokes. While trying not to end up with character names that'd make even Don McGregor throw up in his mouth. (Don McGregor's a comics writer who did groundbreaking work in the 1970s, and also did some of the most overcooked captionwork and character naming ever.) I do sometimes overdo it.
For instance: I'm working on something right now where I think I've nailed the character name finally. Birch. Birch = wood = connotes a degree of strength and basic groundedness. But also birching = flagellation. Also, "John Birch Society," skeevy and untrustworthy. And it's a hard, sharp word. There's a lot about the character that unpacks out of the name. I tend to look for a name, particularly with protagonists, that somehow strikes sparks off elements of the character.
Or not. You can easily reverse that out. Michael Jones, in DESOLATION JONES: as ordinary a name as you can get. Which — at least in my head — indicates that what happened to him could have happened to anyone, given the right chain of rotten luck. (And also, in my head, a good name for a confused detective, because something is happening here, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?)
(Yeah, I know. These things only have to happen in my head. The flow of notions and themes around a name only have to be visible to me, to give colour and direction to the writing.)
Related articles
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Brief Drive-By Bits
This and that:
Katie West's photobook BLACK AND WHITE is back on sale after some weirdness at Lulu.com.
[image error]
Patton Oswalt is still out on tour with his fine new book ZOMBIE SPACESHIP WASTELAND which you should all already own. I mention it mostly as an excuse to post this:
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Just landed in Orlando. Woman next to me made cell phone call, said "The virus is spreading in the lab," then laughed. #theFUCKThu Jan 20 21:45:30 via Twitter for BlackBerry®
Patton Oswalt
pattonoswalt
So that's going well, then.
Spoke to Dean Trippe about a little internet game thing he wants to try, that should be fun for people to watch.
Tomorrow I have to do a few hours' worth of phone interviews in support of the RED DVD, which hits over here on February 14. Because it's romantic. I guess.
What happened to the Comics Journal website? I go to the...
What happened to the Comics Journal website? I go to the front page, I get a bunch of fucking comics bloggers (currently talking in multiple posts about "Best Online Comics Criticism," which looks like an infinitely recursive circle jerk). I click on Print, to find the actual magazine, and get a "Coming Soon" message. That ain't right.
Another massive tranche of pages from comics creator Jame...
Another massive tranche of pages from comics creator James Stokoe: there's a complete comic and a huge chunk of a graphic novel in there for your free reading pleasure. A better way to start the day.
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