Mario Acevedo's Blog, page 9

Lists, Trailers, And A Cat Who's Not A Rat

Okay, kids, I promised a regular column this week and here it is. Lots going on in the media world. Most of it is wrap-up for the year like this:
 <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style>  <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Abebooks’ Most expensive Sales in 2012</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RKOyZRGXxWA..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RKOyZRGXxWA..." /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br />An inscribed first edition of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, which sold for more than $46,000, was narrowly beaten by a 1603 celestial atlas ($47,729) on AbeBooks annual list of most expensive sales.<br /><br />Also showcased on the <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBoo... are the most expensive sales in science, mathematics, children's and YA, art, photography, poetry, maps and atlases, ephemera, travel and exploration, medical, science fiction and fantasy, and books written by world leaders.<br /><br />The Most Expensive Sales in 2012:<br />1. Uranometria, Omnium Asterismorum Continens Schemata, Nova Methodo Delineata, Sereis Laminis Expressa by Johann Bayer ($47,729)<br />2. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming ($46,453)<br />3. Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) by Franz Kafka ($30,000)<br />4. A Latin Bible from 1491 ($26,200)<br />5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak ($25,000)<br />6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ($25,000)<br />7. A Polyglot Bible from 1599-1602, edited by Elisa Hutter ($25,000)<br />8. Livre d'Heures (Book of Hours) ($24,680)<br />9. Cosmographia by Petrus Apianus ($23,681)<br />10. Les Ruines de les Splus Beaux Monuments de la Grece by Julien David Le Roy ($23,530)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#  #  #  # </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1hcdwf98rI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1hcdwf98rI..." width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">From <style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.S</style><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.wordandfilm.com/2012/12/th... and Film</a>: Great Gatsby trailer—don’t know about this one</span> </div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HJCz3lMa4Xw?... name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HJCz3lMa4Xw?..." type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#  #  #  # </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_4AAUuRA3w..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_4AAUuRA3w..." width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're tired of lists, skip this one. Best Literary Adaptations of 2012.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>“Literary filmmaking stands out as a particular bright spot," <a href="http://www.wordandfilm.com/2012/12/fr... and Film</a> observed in showcasing its choices for best literary adaptations. Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln are among the works cited.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#  #  #  # </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6qDPAjg_R8..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6qDPAjg_R8..." width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I love stories about indie book stores and their loyal customers.  <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=..., too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tt_3IPHD4KQ?... name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tt_3IPHD4KQ?..." type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />#  #  #  #<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Did you see this?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtSWApLrDn4..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtSWApLrDn4..." width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic... cat’s not talking</a>.. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Prison guards caught a cat carrying a mobile phone and a saw trying to walk through prison gates in north-east Brazil, it has emerged. The guards saw the white cat walking towards them with tape wrapped around its back and stomach. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>When they looked closer they saw the cat was also carrying drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries and a phone charger. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>All 263 detainees in the prison of Arapiraca, a city of 215,000 people in the state of Alagoas, are considered suspects in the plot, which is being investigated by local police. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"It's tough to find out who's responsible for the action as the cat doesn't speak," a prison official told local paper Estado de S Paulo. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The cat was taken to an animal disease centre to receive medical care. The incident took place on New Year's Day but was first reported by national media on Saturday.</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#  #  #  # </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From <a href="http://www.flavorwire.com/283530/the-... 10 Grumpiest Living Writers</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Look who's Numero Uno:</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l19dKLntmWk..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l19dKLntmWk..." /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Bazinga....</div></div></div>

Maximum story rpms

Mario here:


What I'm reading this week: City of Bohane by Kevin Barry











For decades, the television was dismissed as the idiot box and the vast wasteland. Now with HBO and Showtime and all the on-screen nudity, television certainly deserves to be called the "boob" tube.

But truly, modern television programming has decidedly shed the "idiot box" slur. TV programs have never been smarter, better written or more compelling. TV shows can be just as graphic and raw as any big-screen movie.

It's been a long time since I've watched broadcast TV, and years ago we disconnected ourselves from cable. All my TV comes via Netflix's DVDs or its instant queue that I watch on my computer or iPad.
What modern television programming has latched onto and made its own is the continuing series drama that evolved beyond daytime soap operas. This format dispensed with the need to resolve plot questions within one show, in fact, story questions can often span several seasons. Television shows have become deliciously complex and gritty.

The first such program to hook me was The Sopranos. What I admired about that show was its ability to make you root for the bad guys. Tony and his gang starred as psychopathic killers, and yet we were made to cringe whenever the law tired to lasso them. When The Sopranos ended I yearned for another meaty drama to draw me in. Comedic romps like Weeds and Californication didn't work for me. I tried the sci-fi shows, Battlestar Galactica and Fringe, but both became a drag to follow. Then came Breaking Bad and I jonsed for every episode like a trailer-park tweaker. Boardwalk Empire hooked me at first, however it almost lost me at the end of the first season. The plot meandered and the story lost its focus. Reluctantly, I started the second season, and the writers must've heeded the criticism because the show was definitely tighter. I was back on the boardwalk with Nucky Thompson and his shady ways.

 
Spurred by Jeanne's recommendations, I cranked up Sons of Anarchy and have been racing through the episodes. The ensemble cast clicks together with the machined precision of a revolver. The reigning star is Katey Sagal (formerly the frustrated and ditsy housewife from Married with Children), who plays the scheming Gemma Teller Murrow, the ole' lady of the motorcycle club's president, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman).



Charlie Hunnam is Jax Teller, Gemma's son and a young man torn apart by moral conflicts (though that doesn't keep him from doling out the beat downs). The show epitomizes intricate story telling and takes full advantage of the continuing drama format. I'd love to be in on the script-development sessions and see how they can create and weave such complicated marathon plot lines. Conventional serialized-story format states that every episode should end on a cliff-hanger, but SOA often pulls its punch so that the audience fills in the blanks. They know that the train wreck in coming. And can't wait to watch.

Did it again, didn't I

Okay, okay. Yes. I know. It's Thursday. And I'm supposed to post. I forgot. So here is something to entertain you until next week when I'll get my act together.
Maybe.
Oh, and Happy New Year.
Published on Sep 20, 2012 When Tolkien visited a friend in August of 1952 to retrieve a manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, he was shown a "tape recorder". Having never seen one before, he asked how it worked and was then delighted to have his voice recorded and hear himself played back for the first time. His friend then asked him to read from The Hobbit, and Tolkien did so in this one incredible take.

Part One




http://youtu.be/-_XhcY5Hg2E

Part Two

Time for the new

Mario here:

What I'm reading: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi









It's that time of the year. I'm not much on resolutions, believing that if you have to commit to something, then do it now. However, it's good to reflect on what we're doing, measure how well things are going, and if necessary, apply a mid-course correction to the tiller.

One of my ongoing "resolutions" is to read more, and for the last few months I've averaged about a book a week. The books I selected were either recommended to me or I plucked them from those "Best of" lists. Most I enjoyed and cribbed from for my writing classes. Others...I couldn't see what the fuss was about.

This past year we've been bombarded with advice on promoting ourselves and using social media. Twitter and FaceBook yourself to fame and fortune.  Joe Konrath offers a review of his resolutions, starting with 2006, and we can see the evolution of his musings regarding the publishing industry and how to nurture a writing career. He distills his hard-earned advice into this nugget: The best way to find success is to write a good book.

Which begs the question: What is a good book?

Here's my take: One that people want to read.

My reading this past year showed me that there isn't one single key to what makes a good book. No formula. No templates. Some stories were funny and acerbic tirades, lacking in plot but loaded with wit. Others steamrolled you with a plot so engrossing that the lack of lyricism didn't matter. And yet others set up a premise in a setting so compelling that I had to devour every word. If you have any favorite reads, please chime in.

Happy New Year!

Yikes...

It's snowing outside and I'm curled up watching Manhattan Murder Mystery (the second of a Woody Allen marathon-- Annie Hall was first) and suddenly it hit me...It's Thursday. Blog day. And I haven't blogged...

Sorry. But it's been a wonderful holiday and I've done absolutely no work except those end of the year things--sorting, organizing, cleaning out cupboards. The kind of chores that make you look forward to the new year because you're READY for it!

And I am. I love the beginning of the year. It's so full of promise, of adventure, of new horizons. It's what I wish for all of us--the feeling that anything is possible. And for we writers out there, it really is. If you want to reach an audience, now is the time to get out there and do it.

Here's to 2013-- in many respects, Year One!!!

For Xmas--My Next Big Thing

Mario here:


What I'm reading now:

Factotum by Charles Bukowski

I got tagged a couple of weeks back by Scott Browne who was trolling for victims for The Next Big Thing blog meme. I mean, this multi-level marketing approach to pimping our books was certain to go viral and get us scads of publicity. Yes!

My Next Big Thing? The University of Doom.
Where did the idea come from for the book?

Am not sure. Like most of my ideas, it materialized from the fog of a hang-over. Or while I was speaking in tongues.
 
What genre does your book fall under?

YA.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie
rendition?

A cross between an adolescent Boris Karloff and a young Cantinflas.




 
















 What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Young Alfonso Frankenstein battles the evil James Moriarty to save his middle-school ass. And his dad's.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The gods will decide.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Much too long.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Frankenstein (duh!), Lord of the Flies, and anything by Tim Dorsey and Tolstoy.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Utter and complete desperation. That and the voices in my head.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

If you love robots, monsters, and middle-schoolers reanimating the dead, this is the book for you.
 
Below are the people I tagged. All great writers and worthy of gold-plated pimpage.

Aaron Michael Ritchey is a writer and inspirational speaker from Littleton, Colorado. He belongs to several writers organizations and will be the emcee of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in April 2013. Thank you for letting him share his stories.

About Jaye Wells. After several years as a magazine editor and freelance writer, USA TODAY Bestselling author Jaye Wells finally decided to leave the facts behind and make up her own reality. Her overactive imagination and life-long fascination with the arcane and freakish blended nicely with this new career path. Her Sabina Kane urban fantasy series is a blend of dark themes, grave stakes and wicked humor. Jaye lives in Texas with her saintly husband and devilish son.

Rudy Ch. Garcia’s noir detective story LAX Confidential appeared in Latinos in Lotusland, Bilingual Press (’08). His Southwest fantasy, Memorabilia (honorable mention in Writers Digest competition) appeared in Needles & Bones, Drollerie Press. A SF-fantasy flash fiction piece A Grain of Life is viewable at AntiqueChildren.com (’09), and a humor-fantasy-horror, Weird Ronnie, took first place in an AlternateSpecies.com competition in Britain. The fantasy story Mr. Sumac published in AQC’s journal Kingdom Freaks & Other Divine Wonders, Spring 2012. His SF short Last Call for Ice Cream was accepted by Rudy Rucker, Sr., for his Flurb webzine #13, 3/12. Garcia is a quasi-ex-member of the Northern Colorado Writers Workshop, holds a B.A. in writing from the University of Colo.-Denver and works as a Denver-area bilingual elementary teacher. He is a founder-contributor to LaBloga.blogspot.com, a Chicano literary website.

Feliz Navidad, amigos!
 

Regrets...

Well, it's almost here. One day before we all disappear in a ball of cosmic dust. Or not.
If this was your last day on earth, how would you spend it? Would you think of all the things you wished you had done? There was a wonderful series on television a few years ago called Dead Like Me. Wikipedia has a rundown, if you're interested. Anyway, one of the most poignant episodes had to do with the reapers sorting the last thoughts of mortals. Know what most of them were? Regrets. Regret for a love that was never expressed...for a trip that was never taken...for a dream not pursued because of fear.

I don't expect the world will end tomorrow. Or the day after. But maybe it's good to be reminded of the threat every so often. Maybe it's a catalyst to take inventory of what's important in our lives.  To make sure we take that list of things we plan to do and turn them into a list of things we do.

I'm taking my own advice.  I've already started my list. Oh, and on Friday, I'll be spending the evening with my critique group. Our annual holiday get together. If the end does come, I'll be in good company. I hope you are, too.



PS Both graphics are from Facebook - The first,  by Josh Davis via Tea Party Standup.
     The second, a photo shared by Jdc

When life takes the punchline away.

Mario here:

I was planning to post my turn at The Next Big Thing, a Q&A of what's up with my writing. Maybe next week, after the Mayan Apocalypse.

For the last six years I've sent out a special Xmas mailer, and this year I limited myself to this simple card. It was supposed to reflect my disappointment in big projects that still haven't panned out.


But in light of a couple of tragedies, I'd be a callous lout to pretend my little tribulations really matter in the grand scheme of the universe. So except for the few cards that were mailed last week, there will be no Mario Acevedo Xmas card this year.

First, we had the shooting in Newton, CT. That news flattened what was supposed to be an upbeat weekend. My only connection to the place was that long ago I had interviewed for a job in Newton, but this senseless rampage still put a hole in my heart.

I wasn't the only one whose humor backfired. Last week the Onion published an article depicting President Obama as a paranoid gun nut. The story wasn't that funny to begin with, and with the horror at Newton, the joke was bitterly insensitive.

Then I found out that a friend and fellow instructor at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, poet

 
I guess the best we can do is hang the Christmas lights, pay our respects, and continue to count our blessings.

Writerly Curiosities

Seems everyone's in a flux over what to do with their writing careers. Came across a couple of very interesting articles to muddy the waters even more. Well, actually, Mario sent the link for the first one. This is for anyone who has gotten rejected and is feeling alone. The title is Literary Rejections: Best Sellers Initially Rejected from a website called Literary Rejections.

This is the most poignant (and ridiculous):

“The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.” Perhaps the most misguided literary critique in history. With a further 15 rejections, there remained little hope her personal thoughts would see the light of day. Eventually, Doubleday, bring the translation to the world, and The Diary of Anne Frank sells 25 million.

Hard to believe, isn't it? Kind of puts our rejections in perspective.

Then, what's really going on in the publishing world? Should we throw our fate to the wind and take the self-publishing plunge? Or continue to hold out for the traditional route? And what are the pros and cons of each?

Anne R. Allen writes a clear, concise blog entitled: <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} h3 {margin-right:0in; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:3; font-size:13.5pt; font-family:Times;} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Indie Publishing in 2013: Why We Can't Party Like It's 2009  </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">in which she lays it all out. Read it <a href="http://annerallen.blogspot.co.uk/2012... .</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Then be prepared to be as conflicted as before.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Coming up:</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Mario and I are at the Boulder Barnes & Noble on Friday -- noon to 4 PM.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">On Saturday, look for me with Lizzie T. Leaf at the </span>Barnes & Noble at Sheridan and 92nd in Westminster from about noon to 3 PM.<br /><br />To all my Jewish friends, Happy Hanukkah. I think the Festival of Lights is one of the simplest and most beautiful ways to celebrate the holiday season.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrb1Q2jo-2A..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrb1Q2jo-2A..." /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>

Watch your back!

Mario here:

What I'm reading this week: The Gods of Greenwich by Norb Vonnegut.








 

Don't forget. This Friday, Her Highness, Jeanne Stein, and I will be signing at the Boulder Barnes & Noble as a fund raiser for the Longmont Theater Company. Jeanne posted the details last week and you'll find them here.



And this Thursday, it'll be a literary beat down with writer pals, Warren Hammond and Cort McMeel, at Noir@theBar. 8 PM. Juanita's Eat. 32 S Broadway. Pack heat and bring bandages.


It wouldn't be the holiday season without someone playing Grinch. In this case, that shame goes to one of the NY Big Six, Simon & Schuster, who teamed up with the notorious Author Solutions to screw unsuspecting writers. Basically, S&S has gotten into the vanity press business and has hired Author Solutions to fleece the unwary scribe's pockets. Knowing that it's a tough gig to get published and make money at it, Author Solutions dangles the promise of a publishing contract with S&S and then pulls the old bait-and-switch, and you're out thousands of bucks paying for over-priced self-published books no one wants. And worse, they use fake people (via Facebook) to sing the praises of their services. Sad, so sad, that a major player in America publishing stoops to scams that would make a Nigerian banker say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

People are going schizo with this Mayan end-of-the-world paranoia. Believe what you want but at least get the details right.

This is the infamous Mayan calendar.


This is an Aztec calendar.  It looks like a bar coaster. It does not predict the end of the world but it does note the best times for Happy Hour.