Ellen Datlow's Blog, page 29
March 19, 2011
movie catch-up
Last weekend I watched L'Avventura, a relatively early Michelangelo Antonioni that helped define the French New Wave of the 60s. I've been wanted to see it for a long time but never got around to it.
Monica Vitti (who is gorgeous) plays the friend of a disaffected well-off young woman who disappears while with a bunch of friends (all seem to be wealthy) on an island in the Mediterranean. Vitti and the woman's boyfriend spend much of the movie searching for the woman, following clues because neither really believe she's dead. They two become lovers and life goes on. Black & white. Disaffection of the young rich? Ennui, existential boredom? The viewer never really gets under the surface of any of the characters, many of whom flirt, seduce, and are sometimes cruel to each other.
Bell, Book and Candle with James Stewart and Kim Novak made two years before L'Avventura and the same year Hitchcock cast them in Vertigo--made a strange contrast to the Antonioni. It's based on a stage play by John Van Druten and takes place in a Greenwich Village as imagined by Hollywood, with Novak as a "bohemian" who incidentally is a witch and sells ethnic masks for a living. Her goffy, mischievous aunt is played by Elsa Lanchester and her bongo playing brother is Jack Lemmon. The Novak character decides she wants Jimmy Stewart, her next door neighbor even though he's about to be married so with the aid of her familiar Pyewacket, she casts a spell on him. Fun, silly, and aggravating when at the end (spoiler, but was there any other conclusion) she wins the guy by falling in love, learning to cry, losing her magic, and becoming all girly. Pooh!
Tonight I watched Leon: The Professional for the third or maybe fourth time. Directed by Luc Bresson (which I never remember) but Jean Reno and Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman as a totally doped up psycho are all great. About a hit man in NYC who takes in a 12 year old after her family's wiped out. Good show. It was Portman's first full length movie and she's good vamping as Madonna and Marilyn Monroe to amuse Reno (who doesn't know who they are).
And because everyone recommended it, I watched On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby, who is pretty stiff (in a bad way ;-)), Diana Rigg, and Telly Savalas. Wonderful ski and toboggan chases. I kept thinking how much better it would have been with ...oh ANY of the other Bonds. Oh well. Glad to have seen it-it's the only one I'd never seen.
Monica Vitti (who is gorgeous) plays the friend of a disaffected well-off young woman who disappears while with a bunch of friends (all seem to be wealthy) on an island in the Mediterranean. Vitti and the woman's boyfriend spend much of the movie searching for the woman, following clues because neither really believe she's dead. They two become lovers and life goes on. Black & white. Disaffection of the young rich? Ennui, existential boredom? The viewer never really gets under the surface of any of the characters, many of whom flirt, seduce, and are sometimes cruel to each other.
Bell, Book and Candle with James Stewart and Kim Novak made two years before L'Avventura and the same year Hitchcock cast them in Vertigo--made a strange contrast to the Antonioni. It's based on a stage play by John Van Druten and takes place in a Greenwich Village as imagined by Hollywood, with Novak as a "bohemian" who incidentally is a witch and sells ethnic masks for a living. Her goffy, mischievous aunt is played by Elsa Lanchester and her bongo playing brother is Jack Lemmon. The Novak character decides she wants Jimmy Stewart, her next door neighbor even though he's about to be married so with the aid of her familiar Pyewacket, she casts a spell on him. Fun, silly, and aggravating when at the end (spoiler, but was there any other conclusion) she wins the guy by falling in love, learning to cry, losing her magic, and becoming all girly. Pooh!
Tonight I watched Leon: The Professional for the third or maybe fourth time. Directed by Luc Bresson (which I never remember) but Jean Reno and Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman as a totally doped up psycho are all great. About a hit man in NYC who takes in a 12 year old after her family's wiped out. Good show. It was Portman's first full length movie and she's good vamping as Madonna and Marilyn Monroe to amuse Reno (who doesn't know who they are).
And because everyone recommended it, I watched On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby, who is pretty stiff (in a bad way ;-)), Diana Rigg, and Telly Savalas. Wonderful ski and toboggan chases. I kept thinking how much better it would have been with ...oh ANY of the other Bonds. Oh well. Glad to have seen it-it's the only one I'd never seen.
March 18, 2011
For your delectation
This is one of the funniest things I've ever read/seen. I laughed until I cried:
Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving
via The Drawing Pad
Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving
via The Drawing Pad
Photos from KGB readings March 16, 2011
Carolyn Turgeon and Genevieve Valentine read at KGB Bar's Fantastic Fiction reading Wednesday March 16th to an appreciative crowd. Here are the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/4dndy5h
http://tinyurl.com/4dndy5h
March 17, 2011
Baby elephants make me happy
Running off to biz drinks and then dinner but wanted to post this before leaving --because it's sooo cute: Baby elephants play in kiddie pool
thanks to jezebel
thanks to jezebel
Kit Reed and Kris Saknussemm at KGB April 20
FANTASTIC FICTION at KGB reading series, hosts
Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel
present:
Kit Reed's recent novels include Enclave, The Baby Merchant and Thinner than Thou, which won an ALA Alex Award. Her new short story collection, What Wolves Know, coming out this month from PS Publishing, includes stories that originally appeared in Asimov's SF, the Datlow/Mamatas anthology, Haunted Legends, the Yale Review and the Kenyon Review, and other venues
&
Kris Saknussemm is the author of the novels Zanesville, Private Midnight, and now Enigmatic Pilot. Sinister Miniatures,
a short story collection and The Colors of Compulsion,
a portfolio book of his paintings are also out now,
with three more books scheduled for 2012.
Wednesday April 20th, 7pm at
KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs.)
www.kgbfantasticfiction.org
Books will be available for purchase thanks to Bluestockings Bookstore
Subscribe to our mailing list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kgbfantasticfiction/
Readings are free
Forward to friends at your own discretion.
Partially supported by Cemetery Dance publications
Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel
present:
Kit Reed's recent novels include Enclave, The Baby Merchant and Thinner than Thou, which won an ALA Alex Award. Her new short story collection, What Wolves Know, coming out this month from PS Publishing, includes stories that originally appeared in Asimov's SF, the Datlow/Mamatas anthology, Haunted Legends, the Yale Review and the Kenyon Review, and other venues
&
Kris Saknussemm is the author of the novels Zanesville, Private Midnight, and now Enigmatic Pilot. Sinister Miniatures,
a short story collection and The Colors of Compulsion,
a portfolio book of his paintings are also out now,
with three more books scheduled for 2012.
Wednesday April 20th, 7pm at
KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs.)
www.kgbfantasticfiction.org
Books will be available for purchase thanks to Bluestockings Bookstore
Subscribe to our mailing list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kgbfantasticfiction/
Readings are free
Forward to friends at your own discretion.
Partially supported by Cemetery Dance publications
Two more pre-reviews of Teeth
A few choice lines from Kirkus:
... a who's who of teen-literature and genre luminaries...these stories largely cast back to the pre-Twilight tradition and are more likely to elicit chills than swoons.
Standout stories include Genevieve Valentine's wonderful Chinese-American "Things to Know About Being Dead," the incredibly creepy "Baby," by Kathe Koja, and Cassandra Clare and Holly Black's "The Perfect Dinner Party," which conveys the horror of being not-even-teenage forever. ...readers interested in vampires as something more than leading men will find plenty that's tragic or scary here, often leavened with a bit of (largely snarky) humor, and lots of thought-provoking material about life and death, friendship and loneliness. Great for diving in and out, although a bit overwhelming cover-to-cover, this collection might even win boys back to vampire lit.
and from Booklist:
...Teens still entranced by vampires will relish the diversity of formats (Gaiman's entry is a song-poem) and tones, which range from darkly humorous to sweetly poignant to flat-out gore. The opening story, by Genevieve Valentine, captures all these moods, as high-schooler Suyin discovers her supposedly senile Chinese grandmother is the only one who knows what to do about her transformation. Clare and Black combine in a cleverly told story, written as an etiquette guide for dinner parties, of two young vamps seeking to ditch their master. ...The editors' witty and fascinating introduction provides a crash course on vampire literature that may well have readers seeking out nineteenth-century classics like Varney the Vampire and Carmilla.
... a who's who of teen-literature and genre luminaries...these stories largely cast back to the pre-Twilight tradition and are more likely to elicit chills than swoons.
Standout stories include Genevieve Valentine's wonderful Chinese-American "Things to Know About Being Dead," the incredibly creepy "Baby," by Kathe Koja, and Cassandra Clare and Holly Black's "The Perfect Dinner Party," which conveys the horror of being not-even-teenage forever. ...readers interested in vampires as something more than leading men will find plenty that's tragic or scary here, often leavened with a bit of (largely snarky) humor, and lots of thought-provoking material about life and death, friendship and loneliness. Great for diving in and out, although a bit overwhelming cover-to-cover, this collection might even win boys back to vampire lit.
and from Booklist:
...Teens still entranced by vampires will relish the diversity of formats (Gaiman's entry is a song-poem) and tones, which range from darkly humorous to sweetly poignant to flat-out gore. The opening story, by Genevieve Valentine, captures all these moods, as high-schooler Suyin discovers her supposedly senile Chinese grandmother is the only one who knows what to do about her transformation. Clare and Black combine in a cleverly told story, written as an etiquette guide for dinner parties, of two young vamps seeking to ditch their master. ...The editors' witty and fascinating introduction provides a crash course on vampire literature that may well have readers seeking out nineteenth-century classics like Varney the Vampire and Carmilla.
March 16, 2011
Donations to Japanese relief--thank you
I'd like to thank those of you who made donations in exchange for galleys/books.
The total amount donated is: $325 unless I counted wrong. One person donated above and beyond the asked for $25 for TEETH.
I'll be getting everything signed tomorrow at the KGB reading and catch one straggler from Naked City on Friday. I'll send everything out some time next week.
I have to find acquire packing envelopes and then hike to the post office.
The total amount donated is: $325 unless I counted wrong. One person donated above and beyond the asked for $25 for TEETH.
I'll be getting everything signed tomorrow at the KGB reading and catch one straggler from Naked City on Friday. I'll send everything out some time next week.
I have to find acquire packing envelopes and then hike to the post office.
March 15, 2011
Another giveaway for donations to Japanese Earthquake Relief
The three galleys of Naked City are gone.
So how about this? To the first three readers who show me proof of donation of $25 or more to the Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief fund of your choice I'll give away three copies of the hardcover of Teeth:Vampire Tales, Terri and my new YA vampire anthology coming out April 5th from HarperCollins. US only.
Signed by
Ellen Datlow
Genevieve Valentine
Delia Sherman
Ellen Kushner
Teeth
Things to Know About Being Dead Genevieve Valentine
All Smiles by Steve Berman
Gap Year by Christopher Barzak
Bloody Sunrise by Neil Gaiman
Flying by Delia Sherman
Vampire Weather by Garth Nix
Late Bloomer by Suzy McKee Charnas
The List of Definite Endings by Kaaron Warren
Best Friends Forever by Cecil Castellucci
Sit the Dead by Jeffrey Ford
Sunbleached by Nathan Ballingrud
Baby by Kathe Koja
In the Future When All's Well by Catherynne M. Valente
Transition by Melissa Marr
History by Ellen Kushner
The Perfect Dinner Party by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Slice of Life by Lucius Shepard
My Generation by Emma Bull
Why Light? by Tanith Lee
So how about this? To the first three readers who show me proof of donation of $25 or more to the Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief fund of your choice I'll give away three copies of the hardcover of Teeth:Vampire Tales, Terri and my new YA vampire anthology coming out April 5th from HarperCollins. US only.
Signed by
Ellen Datlow
Genevieve Valentine
Delia Sherman
Ellen Kushner
Teeth
Things to Know About Being Dead Genevieve Valentine
All Smiles by Steve Berman
Gap Year by Christopher Barzak
Bloody Sunrise by Neil Gaiman
Flying by Delia Sherman
Vampire Weather by Garth Nix
Late Bloomer by Suzy McKee Charnas
The List of Definite Endings by Kaaron Warren
Best Friends Forever by Cecil Castellucci
Sit the Dead by Jeffrey Ford
Sunbleached by Nathan Ballingrud
Baby by Kathe Koja
In the Future When All's Well by Catherynne M. Valente
Transition by Melissa Marr
History by Ellen Kushner
The Perfect Dinner Party by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Slice of Life by Lucius Shepard
My Generation by Emma Bull
Why Light? by Tanith Lee
