Ellen Datlow's Blog, page 31
March 6, 2011
Lazy days
The nice thing about visiting my mom in Florida is that I don't generally have to get up early and as there's not much to do (I don't drive) we only go out and do something maybe once or at most twice a day--yesterday we met my dad's family for lunch at the Peter Pan Diner, our usual hangout halfway between (they live in Miami).
Because we had a huge lunch (I couldn't even finish my half a duck) we barely ate before going to see The Platters at the clubhouse. I've just googled to find out who the actual contemporary "Platters" are but apparently there are no less than 4 groups using the The Platters name. In any case, they were fantastic, playing many of the original groups' hits like "The Great Pretender" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," Chubby Checker's "The Twist", plus some motown. The entire band and four singers were excellent and were each given a solo number. They regularly induced the audience to sing along when they knew the words or at least clap in time to the music.
The original band was started in 1953, when I was too young to be aware of musical groups and the lineup that recorded most of their songs lasted until 1960. It was never my music but I was surprised that my mom and her generation would be interested. The theater was almost sold out and the audience --of 65-90 year olds--was enthusiastic.
Then we came home and watched tv. (something I never do at home, as most of you know).
Today we're having lunch with my cousin and his wife and we're thinking of going to the movie at the Clubhouse t his evening, Get Low.
Because we had a huge lunch (I couldn't even finish my half a duck) we barely ate before going to see The Platters at the clubhouse. I've just googled to find out who the actual contemporary "Platters" are but apparently there are no less than 4 groups using the The Platters name. In any case, they were fantastic, playing many of the original groups' hits like "The Great Pretender" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," Chubby Checker's "The Twist", plus some motown. The entire band and four singers were excellent and were each given a solo number. They regularly induced the audience to sing along when they knew the words or at least clap in time to the music.
The original band was started in 1953, when I was too young to be aware of musical groups and the lineup that recorded most of their songs lasted until 1960. It was never my music but I was surprised that my mom and her generation would be interested. The theater was almost sold out and the audience --of 65-90 year olds--was enthusiastic.
Then we came home and watched tv. (something I never do at home, as most of you know).
Today we're having lunch with my cousin and his wife and we're thinking of going to the movie at the Clubhouse t his evening, Get Low.
March 5, 2011
a couple more movies
Last night we watched Quantum of Solace, the second James Bond movie with Daniel Craig. My second time, my mom's first and she hadn't seen Casino Royale so it wasn't till the end and she asked me what Vesper was that I realized she'd probably didn't really comprehend the whole guilty/anger/solace etc thing. Oh well. This one wasn't half as good as Casino Royale--too many and too long chases, but it was still enjoyable, even the second time. But that might be because I love the eye candy mix of Daniel Craig and the women plus some of the cinematography. As per my usual, I couldn't remember what the bad guys were after so that aspect was like new to me :-).
Tonight we watched Never Let Me Go with Keira Knightly, Carrie Mulligan, and Daniel Garfield (who I recognized from The Social Network. I haven't read the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro so don't know how it stacks up but it was better than I expected. Moving and depressing movie about
Spoiler for those who aren't aware------------
clones who are raised as organ donors. The movie opens with a few lines of information showing that: 1) it takes place in an alternate reality and 2) that there's something fishy everything from the first scene on. That scene if of 28 year old Cathy watching an operation on a young man. Her words give away more about what ensues but for those who know nothing in advance they might just breed confusion.
Next scene is around fifteen years earlier, taking place in a seemingly idyllic private school where three children meet and become close. There are hints very early on as to what their fate is. I've read some viewer comments on IMdb about why didn't they try to escape (something that quickly came into and out of my mind while watching). There IS no escape. This system is endemic in their society (we don't know what's going on outside of England). They are closely monitored and have no where to run.
I did have my own questions. If one volunteers to be a "caregiver" (I don't recall if that's the correct term) what happens if your "original" needs a donation while you're a caregiver? I forget at what age donors are farmed but what happens if the original needs a donation before they're "ripe" --for use of a better word. Also, what if the original dies--is the donor killed or released? I doubt the latter, as it's obvious that the Hailsham was considered a "failed" experiment --or inconvenience--and that donors are now indeed "bred" on, if not exactly factory farms, certainly not given the care they were when the Hailsham school was attempting to prove that the children had souls. I can unfortunately see that the expedience of saving lives by using "soulless" clones is something that once begun, would be very difficult to stop.
Anyway, I do recommend it.
Tonight we watched Never Let Me Go with Keira Knightly, Carrie Mulligan, and Daniel Garfield (who I recognized from The Social Network. I haven't read the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro so don't know how it stacks up but it was better than I expected. Moving and depressing movie about
Spoiler for those who aren't aware------------
clones who are raised as organ donors. The movie opens with a few lines of information showing that: 1) it takes place in an alternate reality and 2) that there's something fishy everything from the first scene on. That scene if of 28 year old Cathy watching an operation on a young man. Her words give away more about what ensues but for those who know nothing in advance they might just breed confusion.
Next scene is around fifteen years earlier, taking place in a seemingly idyllic private school where three children meet and become close. There are hints very early on as to what their fate is. I've read some viewer comments on IMdb about why didn't they try to escape (something that quickly came into and out of my mind while watching). There IS no escape. This system is endemic in their society (we don't know what's going on outside of England). They are closely monitored and have no where to run.
I did have my own questions. If one volunteers to be a "caregiver" (I don't recall if that's the correct term) what happens if your "original" needs a donation while you're a caregiver? I forget at what age donors are farmed but what happens if the original needs a donation before they're "ripe" --for use of a better word. Also, what if the original dies--is the donor killed or released? I doubt the latter, as it's obvious that the Hailsham was considered a "failed" experiment --or inconvenience--and that donors are now indeed "bred" on, if not exactly factory farms, certainly not given the care they were when the Hailsham school was attempting to prove that the children had souls. I can unfortunately see that the expedience of saving lives by using "soulless" clones is something that once begun, would be very difficult to stop.
Anyway, I do recommend it.
A Bridge's Odyssey
Time Lapse Video made by Stephen Mallon of the Willetts Avenue Bridge replacement. I found the music annoying so muted it.
via New York Magazine
via New York Magazine
March 3, 2011
Movies
And what movies? A series of truly depressing films about nasty people who mostly deserve what they get.
Stone with a fantastic cast of Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovavich, and Frances Conroy is very well acted but....the story is very slow, very muddled, and ultimately not all that satisfying. After a quick scene about a young married couple who stay together when they shouldn't, we see that couple (Conroy and DeNiro) decades later in a claustrophobic horribly miserable relationship. Jack Mabry assesses convicts for parole and is about to retire. Edward Norton is a convict who's been in prison 8 years and just can't wait to finish his time. In fact, he's having a nervous breakdown. Milla J is Lucetta, Stone's gorgeous wife who says she's willing to do anything to get him out of prison asap. About halfway through the movie something really weird happened. I became much more sympathetic toward Stone that Mabry-despite the fact that Stone seems to be a con artist of the first order.
Motives are muddled, themes are muddled (strains of religiosity and mysticism through the film), and relationships are hinted at rather than fully drawn.
Barney's Version stars the fabulous Paul Giametti as the utter prick Barney, who from the minute we meet him in 1974, betrays every woman he's ever met and is pretty repulsive throughout. Dustin Hoffman is also great playing his dad. The book is by Mordecai Richler, who seems to have been expert at creating despicable characters (eg. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravetz). What's incomprehensible to my mother and myself is why three attractive, intelligent women (the first we don't know enough about to judge her intelligence) he married would possibly have married him? He's charmless, unattractive, and downright mean. ick ick ick.
Solitary Man with Michael Douglas is also about a womanizing liar but Douglas's Ben is much smoother than Barney and this viewer could at least see why women were attracted to Ben. The insufficiently convincing reason for Ben to have suddenly gone into major mid-life crisis mode (stealing, in addition to compulsively cheating on his wife Susan Sarandon with very young women)is that 6 1/2 years earlier he's told by his physician that he needs an MRI for something. Ben refuses to follow up and becomes a total creep. I'd just assumed he'd always been a disgusting creep, but nope--it started overnight. (I don't buy it). ick ick ick.
Ok. If we pick up another movie at Publix, it's going to be a comedy, romantic or not. That's a promise.
Stone with a fantastic cast of Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovavich, and Frances Conroy is very well acted but....the story is very slow, very muddled, and ultimately not all that satisfying. After a quick scene about a young married couple who stay together when they shouldn't, we see that couple (Conroy and DeNiro) decades later in a claustrophobic horribly miserable relationship. Jack Mabry assesses convicts for parole and is about to retire. Edward Norton is a convict who's been in prison 8 years and just can't wait to finish his time. In fact, he's having a nervous breakdown. Milla J is Lucetta, Stone's gorgeous wife who says she's willing to do anything to get him out of prison asap. About halfway through the movie something really weird happened. I became much more sympathetic toward Stone that Mabry-despite the fact that Stone seems to be a con artist of the first order.
Motives are muddled, themes are muddled (strains of religiosity and mysticism through the film), and relationships are hinted at rather than fully drawn.
Barney's Version stars the fabulous Paul Giametti as the utter prick Barney, who from the minute we meet him in 1974, betrays every woman he's ever met and is pretty repulsive throughout. Dustin Hoffman is also great playing his dad. The book is by Mordecai Richler, who seems to have been expert at creating despicable characters (eg. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravetz). What's incomprehensible to my mother and myself is why three attractive, intelligent women (the first we don't know enough about to judge her intelligence) he married would possibly have married him? He's charmless, unattractive, and downright mean. ick ick ick.
Solitary Man with Michael Douglas is also about a womanizing liar but Douglas's Ben is much smoother than Barney and this viewer could at least see why women were attracted to Ben. The insufficiently convincing reason for Ben to have suddenly gone into major mid-life crisis mode (stealing, in addition to compulsively cheating on his wife Susan Sarandon with very young women)is that 6 1/2 years earlier he's told by his physician that he needs an MRI for something. Ben refuses to follow up and becomes a total creep. I'd just assumed he'd always been a disgusting creep, but nope--it started overnight. (I don't buy it). ick ick ick.
Ok. If we pick up another movie at Publix, it's going to be a comedy, romantic or not. That's a promise.
March 2, 2011
Where's Ellen?
Florida visiting my mom for a week. Will be online-but just got here this afternoon and now that we've eaten our fill at the Chinese buffet (that has sushi and many other delights) we're going to watch a rented DVD. Back later.
February 28, 2011
2010 FINAL STOKER NOMINEES
I've just discovered that not only is the antho on the final ballot, but two of the stories also made it. Also, congrats to Laird for the nomination of his collection.
Congratulations everyone and good luck
2010 FINAL STOKER NOMINEES
Superior Achievement in a NOVEL
HORNS by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)
DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)
APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)
DWELLER by Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)
A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (DoubleDay)
Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL
BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)
A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files (Chizine Publications)
CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)
SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder (Del Rey)
Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION
THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman (Cemetery Dance)
DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti (Deathwatch)
MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears)
THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)
Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION
RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck (Haunted Legends)
THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale (Haunted Legends)
1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti (Shroud Magazine #10)
IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard (Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology)
FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen (Horror Library IV)
Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY
DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex Publications)
HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and, Boyd E. Harris (Cutting Block Press)
MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA'S DARKEST FEARS edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young (Brimstone Press)
HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)
THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin's Griffin)
Superior Achievement in a COLLECTION
OCCULTATION by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)
FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)
A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press)
Superior Achievement in NONFICTION
TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)
THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Hippocampus Press)
WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (Citadel)
LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller (Melville House Publications)
Superior Achievement in a POETRY collection
DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)
WILD HUNT OF THE STARS by Ann K. Schwader (Sam's Dot)
DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN DIABOLIST by Robin Spriggs (Anomalous Books)
VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White (Bandersnatch Books)
Congratulations everyone and good luck
2010 FINAL STOKER NOMINEES
Superior Achievement in a NOVEL
HORNS by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)
DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)
APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)
DWELLER by Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)
A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (DoubleDay)
Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL
BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)
A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files (Chizine Publications)
CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)
SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder (Del Rey)
Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION
THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman (Cemetery Dance)
DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti (Deathwatch)
MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears)
THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)
Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION
RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck (Haunted Legends)
THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale (Haunted Legends)
1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti (Shroud Magazine #10)
IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard (Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology)
FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen (Horror Library IV)
Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY
DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex Publications)
HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and, Boyd E. Harris (Cutting Block Press)
MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA'S DARKEST FEARS edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young (Brimstone Press)
HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)
THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin's Griffin)
Superior Achievement in a COLLECTION
OCCULTATION by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)
FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)
A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press)
Superior Achievement in NONFICTION
TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)
THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Hippocampus Press)
WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (Citadel)
LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller (Melville House Publications)
Superior Achievement in a POETRY collection
DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)
WILD HUNT OF THE STARS by Ann K. Schwader (Sam's Dot)
DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN DIABOLIST by Robin Spriggs (Anomalous Books)
VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White (Bandersnatch Books)
Congratulations to Shaun Tan
I'm so pleased that The Lost Thing won the Oscar for best short animated film. Bravo!
February 27, 2011
theater and movies
I went to Play Dead, a modern spook show created by Teller and Todd Robbins on Thursday. Based on the midnight spook shows that played throughout the US from the 1930s to the 1970s.
From the program: The shows all followed the same business plan and performance pattern. A magician would book a movie theater after the last feature on a Saturday night. He'd stick skulls all over his magic props, dress his assistants as sexy vampires, and give creepy themes to all his "patter." In the finale, somebody dressed as a mummy or werewolf would dash into the audience as all the light went out."
Todd Robbins is a charming, convincing magician-host. He tells stories about real people, he re-enacts horrific events, and as a mentalist he "brings to life" dead friends and relatives to some audience members. I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil it but I loved it and thank Neil Gaiman for reccing it on his blog.
If you're interested, don't read about it beforehand. I knew nothing about it and that's the way to go.
I watched The Uninvited Friday night with Shawna and I really hated it. I hadn't realized it was based on the Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters, which I've read about. Maybe I'll check out the original. A young teenager is institutionalized for 10 months after trying to commit suicide upon the death by fire of her sickly mother. She returns home to discover her mother's nurse is now her dad's lover. The girl and her older sister come to suspect that the nurse was responsible for the mother's death and gather evidence.
I found the story preposterous and the always wide-eyed main character annoying. So sue me. ;-)
Last night I watched The Social Network, which ultimately made me want to quit FB because I found the character of Mark Zuckerberg such a loathsome human being. I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for him by the end, but I didn't. For anyone living under a rock, it's about the founding of facebook. Good movie, not a particularly great one. The problem is that the way Zuckerberg is portrayed, he's so lacking of empathy that you (or I anyway) couldn't give a damned about him, only about the people all around him that he betrayed.
Waltz With Bashir is a soul-searching animated documentary (mixed with dreams and visions) about Israeli writer/director Ari Folman's attempts to reconstruct--20 years later-- what he can't remember from his military reserve service in the 1982 Lebanon war.
He begins having nightmares related to that period of his life, and, after speaking with a psychologist friend, tracks down friends and acquaintances with whom he served plus the Israeli journalist who broke the news of the massacre in two Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila. Excellent and highly recommended.
From the program: The shows all followed the same business plan and performance pattern. A magician would book a movie theater after the last feature on a Saturday night. He'd stick skulls all over his magic props, dress his assistants as sexy vampires, and give creepy themes to all his "patter." In the finale, somebody dressed as a mummy or werewolf would dash into the audience as all the light went out."
Todd Robbins is a charming, convincing magician-host. He tells stories about real people, he re-enacts horrific events, and as a mentalist he "brings to life" dead friends and relatives to some audience members. I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil it but I loved it and thank Neil Gaiman for reccing it on his blog.
If you're interested, don't read about it beforehand. I knew nothing about it and that's the way to go.
I watched The Uninvited Friday night with Shawna and I really hated it. I hadn't realized it was based on the Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters, which I've read about. Maybe I'll check out the original. A young teenager is institutionalized for 10 months after trying to commit suicide upon the death by fire of her sickly mother. She returns home to discover her mother's nurse is now her dad's lover. The girl and her older sister come to suspect that the nurse was responsible for the mother's death and gather evidence.
I found the story preposterous and the always wide-eyed main character annoying. So sue me. ;-)
Last night I watched The Social Network, which ultimately made me want to quit FB because I found the character of Mark Zuckerberg such a loathsome human being. I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for him by the end, but I didn't. For anyone living under a rock, it's about the founding of facebook. Good movie, not a particularly great one. The problem is that the way Zuckerberg is portrayed, he's so lacking of empathy that you (or I anyway) couldn't give a damned about him, only about the people all around him that he betrayed.
Waltz With Bashir is a soul-searching animated documentary (mixed with dreams and visions) about Israeli writer/director Ari Folman's attempts to reconstruct--20 years later-- what he can't remember from his military reserve service in the 1982 Lebanon war.
He begins having nightmares related to that period of his life, and, after speaking with a psychologist friend, tracks down friends and acquaintances with whom he served plus the Israeli journalist who broke the news of the massacre in two Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila. Excellent and highly recommended.
some links tonight
I'm home from New Jersey safe and sound after doing some antiquing yesterday, having a fantastic dinner at Shawna McCarthy's house, and then doing the outlets today. Exhausting but fun. Wiped out but watched a couple of movies this evening which I'll mention tomorrow.
An interview with author Richard Bowes about his forthcoming novel Dust Devil: My Life in Speculative Fiction is on the Mermaniac site Dancing the Dance: An Interview with Richard Bowes
and Andy Porter has posted photos of the sf community at Historical photos of science fiction fandom from Andy Porter's collection --you might recognize more than a few faces.
An interview with author Richard Bowes about his forthcoming novel Dust Devil: My Life in Speculative Fiction is on the Mermaniac site Dancing the Dance: An Interview with Richard Bowes
and Andy Porter has posted photos of the sf community at Historical photos of science fiction fandom from Andy Porter's collection --you might recognize more than a few faces.
