Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 114

The perfect song for a particular kind of mood

I almost never praise the Rolling Stones, which is a mistake on my part.  This song hits absolutely the right feeling for a particular kind of dark mood.



Plus, you get to see that amazing 1973 hair!

1973 is 41 years ago, and yet it often seems so close.

Yup, I'm old as hell, and still I'm 16 inside, always 16.

You missed a great show

if you weren't among the sixty or so folks watching Stephen Kellogg perform earlier tonight in The Back Room of the Cat's Cradle.  Kellogg played songs from many different albums, added a few new ones, told a few stories, and generally put on a wonderful show.  With a drummer whose name I did not catch (but whom Kellogg nicknamed "Suitcase") backing him on most songs, Kellogg's show was not quite a solo performance but still far simpler than his concerts with the Sixers. 

Click the image to see a larger version.
I'd never been to The Back Room before, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it a much nicer, albeit smaller, venue than the main Cat's Cradle stage.  With a new sound system and new lights and a nicer finish than the older space, The Back Room was a great place for a show.  The speakers were clear, the mix just about perfect, and the resulting sound lovely.  I never had a problem understanding Kellogg; every phrase was perfectly clear.

His show ranged from humorous to genuinely touching.  I was pleased that he played one of my favorites, a song I've linked to before:



As I wrote in

The next new movie I'm actually excited about seeing

I fear it may end up disappointing me, but right now, I can't wait to see it.



Oh, yeah.

When am I going to tell another story at The Monti's StorySlam?

Enough folks have asked me this question that I decided to answer it here:

I have no clue. 

Seriously, I don't.  I would have applied to the December 11 show, but I'll be out of town then.  I don't know when the next show after that is, or what my January will look like, so for now, I have no clue when I'll try another story there.

The next time I plan to go, I'll try to remember to post it here.

Time for a little lift from Richard Curtis

Courtesy of a song I love from a movie I love, despite its flaws.



Starting a holiday season with love is a good thing.

Support the artists whose work you love

As we head into the season of gift-buying, consider allocating some of your budget to artists whose works you love.  Many of them are probably doing just fine, some may even be incredibly wealthy, but it's just as likely that many of them are barely making ends meet.  Art, in whatever forms one practices it, rarely pays all that well.

I once had a client and friend say that he and his colleagues were wondering why I was still working at PT and with them when I was clearly making millions from my novels.  I assured him that if I was making millions from my novels, I would be writing full-time, but instead my sales are a couple of orders of magnitude lower.

I'm fortunate, though, to have a great job at a great company that treats me well.  Many artists are hustling all the time to make their art, and if you love their work, you should support them.

Consider, for example, Stephen Kellogg, a musician whose work I quite love.  I don't know him at all, though I've been to a few of his shows.  Perhaps he is making money hand over fist; I hope so.  The facts that he's doing a PledgeMusic drive to fund his next albums and that he's playing in the back room of Cat's Cradle this coming Tuesday suggest that he's working hard to make a good living.  If you like his music, support him.  Buy his CDs, or pick up some merch.  Come to the show Tuesday night; I'll be there. 

Or check out the work of Jain Faries, who works in fabric and found objects and other areas that rarely excite me, but who manages to produce strange, wonderful creations.  I do know Jain--she's part of my extended family--but that knowledge does not affect my opinion of her art.  She's working all day each day right now at a craft show in Greensboro, hustling with many other artists.  As far as I'm concerned, her work deserves to be in fine galleries drawing big bucks, but that's not how it's worked out for her, at least not so far. 

Aaron Vandemark, the chef and owner of Panciuto, one of my favorite restaurants, is another artist who deserves your support.  (Yes, if you haven't been paying attention to food, chefs are artists, too.)  As near as I can tell, Aaron and Panciuto are doing just fine, but at the risk of making it harder for me and my friends to get reservations, I would love more people to know and enjoy his delicious creations.  (Disclosure:  I know Aaron a tiny bit, but it's not like we hang out together.) 

I could go on and on with examples, but you get the point.  If you love an artist and want her/him to keep creating great works, support her/him as you plan your holiday spending. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you celebrate this holiday, I hope the celebration is good.

If you don't celebrate it, I still hope your day is good.

I am thankful for all the good I've experienced so far in my life, and most of all, I am thankful for my family, biological and extended, and for all the people who have loved me or been my friend or bought my books.

Thank you, all.

On the eve of Thanksgiving

with so much bad in the news, despair and anger are tempting companions.  Fortunately, Louis Armstrong and some footage from Good Morning, Vietnam are always ready to remind us that this world is also indeed a wonderful one.



Peace out.

A bit of trivia about my fiction

My first sale was at a low word rate (I've forgotten how much) to a semi-pro, feminist, SF/F magazine, Pandora .  The story, "Back Again", appeared in the ninth issue of that magazine.

No one has ever reprinted it.

Another reason some small press should do a lovely collection of all my short fiction. 

An oldie for a gentle rainy night

Ah, I sometimes miss Annie Lennox's voice and performances.

This song is just right for a gentle, rainy fall night.



Enjoy.