1. China Mieville explains why he strongly dislikes JJ Abrams. (Can't say I agree with the sentiment.)
2. California's Attorney General is going after bouncy houses, saying they're full of toxic chemicals (not to mention poorly coordinated children hurtling at each other).
3. Best possible advice for a new blogger? Be a mommy blogger. For example.
*Previously: Art show based on China Mieville's books.
Showing posts with label china mieville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china mieville. Show all posts
Dispatches from a Troubled City: Art Inspired by the Works of China Mieville
China Mieville, one of my favorite authors, has a brand new book coming out at the end of the month called Kraken. In honor of the book, I invited a few artists to create art based on his novels. But before getting to the art, here's a brief introduction courtesy of Wikipedia:
Obaday Fing sculpture by Paul Pape, who takes commissions as described here.
Spiral Jacobs art show flyer by Steve Thomas, who has art on sale here.
Avanc propaganda leaflet by Steve Thomas.
Human and Khepri couple by Chris Haley on sale here.
Weaver/handlinger box by Myke Amend. The complete "Red Hand Assemblage," as well as prints of "Red Right Hand" and "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" are available here.
Remade militia assault team by Rory Phillips.
Grindylow Idol and alternate cover for The Scar by Jason Chalker, who has art on sale here.
Kraken bookmark by Greg Gilday, who has art on sale here and is selling the bookmarks for $1 each, shipping included.
Armada by Franco Brambilla, who has art on sale here.
Silas Fennec and Uther Doul by M.S. Corley.
Armada, Iron Council, New Crobuzon and Salkrikaltor City posters by Joe D!, who has art on sale here.
Grossbottle by Rick Sardinha, who has art on sale here.
Yagharek by Shane Parker.
The Lovers by Amanda Chronister.
Obaday Fing by JSalvador, who has art on sale here.
If you've enjoyed this terrific artwork and especially if you're tired of the endless 80's nostalgia art shows dominating galleries right now, then please send this link to your friends and support the participating artists. And to show my thanks to you, the reader, I'll give a $50 Threadless credit to a random commenter on this post. For a chance to win, simply comment and tell me which work of art is your favorite. Make sure your comment includes your email so I can get in touch.
If you've been inspired to create your own Mieville fan art, send it to me and I'll post it here.
And of course, please try Mieville's books. They're available at a discount at Amazon.
UPDATE: Here's more.
The Clock and Cockerel by Cormac McEvoy.
Perdido Street Station Memento Box by Jared Axelrod, featuring der Grimnebulin’s notebook, Dreamshit vials, scissors (for the Weaver) and more.
His first novel, King Rat, was nominated for both an International Horror Guild and a Bram Stoker award.You can read substantial excerpts from his novels and full short stories at these links:
His second novel, Perdido Street Station, won the 2001 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2001 British Fantasy Award, and was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus and British Science Fiction awards.
His third novel, The Scar, won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and the 2003 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, was nominated for the Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, World Fantasy, Locus, Philip K. Dick, and British Science Fiction awards, and received a Philip K. Dick Award special citation.
His fourth novel, Iron Council, won the 2005 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2005 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
His short story "Reports of Certain Events in London" (featured in the anthology McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories) was nominated for a 2005 World Fantasy Award and tied for the 2005 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
His fifth novel, Un Lun Dun, won the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book.
The City & the City won the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award and is a 2010 Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominee in the Best Novel category.
Perdido Street StationLike any good art show, there's a giveaway as described below, but first, without further ado, the art:
The Scar
Reports of Certain Events in London
'Tis The Season
Obaday Fing sculpture by Paul Pape, who takes commissions as described here.
Spiral Jacobs art show flyer by Steve Thomas, who has art on sale here.
Avanc propaganda leaflet by Steve Thomas.
Human and Khepri couple by Chris Haley on sale here.
Weaver/handlinger box by Myke Amend. The complete "Red Hand Assemblage," as well as prints of "Red Right Hand" and "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" are available here.
Remade militia assault team by Rory Phillips.
Grindylow Idol and alternate cover for The Scar by Jason Chalker, who has art on sale here.
Kraken bookmark by Greg Gilday, who has art on sale here and is selling the bookmarks for $1 each, shipping included.
Armada by Franco Brambilla, who has art on sale here.
Silas Fennec and Uther Doul by M.S. Corley.
Armada, Iron Council, New Crobuzon and Salkrikaltor City posters by Joe D!, who has art on sale here.
Grossbottle by Rick Sardinha, who has art on sale here.
Yagharek by Shane Parker.
The Lovers by Amanda Chronister.
Obaday Fing by JSalvador, who has art on sale here.
If you've enjoyed this terrific artwork and especially if you're tired of the endless 80's nostalgia art shows dominating galleries right now, then please send this link to your friends and support the participating artists. And to show my thanks to you, the reader, I'll give a $50 Threadless credit to a random commenter on this post. For a chance to win, simply comment and tell me which work of art is your favorite. Make sure your comment includes your email so I can get in touch.
If you've been inspired to create your own Mieville fan art, send it to me and I'll post it here.
And of course, please try Mieville's books. They're available at a discount at Amazon.
UPDATE: Here's more.
The Clock and Cockerel by Cormac McEvoy.
Perdido Street Station Memento Box by Jared Axelrod, featuring der Grimnebulin’s notebook, Dreamshit vials, scissors (for the Weaver) and more.
Highlights from China Mieville's interview at i09
China Mieville answered several questions about his detective novel The City and The City.
Maps of The City and The City exist:
Maps of The City and The City exist:
I did indeed draw them: three maps in fact. One the physical outlines of streets, then two maps that folded down on tape-hinges, drawn on tracing paper, with the environs of Beszel marked on one with lines in red running in one diagonal direction, and on the other Ul Qoma, in the other direction, in green, so when they were both overlaid I could see the separate areas and the overlap - the crosshatching.His vision for the movie version:
Casting? I've had my idle ruminations. My own feeling is that it should be filmed, were it to be so, as absolutely simply as possible. Camera angles focusing on one architectural style in one city, a few fleeting glimpses of foreign passers by; other angles on other styles in the other; and in Breach a long, slow, 'Vertigo'-style panning in and pulling back, so that both styles come into shot at the same time. Keep the (effing) CGI out of it. Keep it super simple.*Buy The City & The City at Amazon.
I think Csanyi is excellent, but a smidge young for Borlú. Honestly I don't know. If we're playing fantasy casting, I might as well go for people I'd like to meet, so let's say Brad Pitt (haggarded up a bit), Christian Bale as Dhatt, and the utterly incomparable Kenneth Cranham as Ashil. Then I can persuade Cranham to be King Rat, as well.
BP skull logo (link roundup)
BP Skull logo t-shirt by Ross Robinson on sale here. Via.
And a few more links:
1. Maybe we want photoshop retouching if the alternative is gazing at a model's prominent sternum.
2. Four types of fear:
When the danger is far away, or at least not immediately imminent, the instinct is to freeze. When danger is approaching, the impulse is to run away. When escape is impossible, the response is to fight back. And when struggling is futile, the animal will become immobilized in the grip of fright.Via.
3. China Mieville talks about his aborted run on Swamp Thing. Via.
*Previously: What if the model for Michelangelo's "David" had a higher BMI?
*Buy The Pop-Up Book of Phobias at Amazon.
Are you afraid of your staircase? (link roundup)
"Are you in love with your home, but afraid of your staircase?" China Mieville's blog posts are like ultra-condensed short stories. See also: Forest spirit sign.
And a few more links:
1. A blogger's ill-advised joke cost his employer $1 million when the target of the joke pulled advertising and got allies to pull advertising.
2. Here's a detailed description of the ARG supporting the JJ Abrams/Spielberg project Super 8 (which had a trailer not remotely justifying the buzz the movie is getting).
3. Cory Doctorow describes what happened when he declined to go through a dehumanizing airport naked scanner.
*Previously: The wit of the staircase.
*Cory Doctorow's new book is 32% off at Amazon.
Standing stones on Orkney (link roundup)
The Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, Northern Scotland. You'll find more photos here, and more photos of other standing stones here.
And a few more links:
1. China Mieville has a blog. Via.
2. "The Justice Department reported Thursday that 12 percent of incarcerated juveniles, or more than 3,200 young people, had been raped or sexually abused in the past year by fellow inmates or prison staff."
3. Cute drawing of classic horror movie monsters.
*Previously: Mieville fan art.
*Buy horror movie poster collections at Amazon.
Kill Zombie Teletubbies (link roundup)
Left 4 Teletubbies: Even the Teletubbies Have Been Infected.
And a few more links:
1. Haven't listened to it yet, but here's a new podcast interview of China Mieville.
2. Gratuitous Space Battles is possibly the best video game name ever.
3. Unicorn with a lightsaber horn.
*Previously: If the Teletubbies dressed like condoms, they'd look like this.
*Don't buy Teletubbies at eBay.
Trivia show where you answer questions while riding a roller coaster (link roundup)
A new live action show on Cartoon Network called Brain Rush features people trying to answer trivia questions while riding a roller coaster.
And a few more links:
1. Recipe for Duck Fried Rice and Corned Beef.
2. It's China Mieville week at Omnivoracious, starting with a long interview. Sample response:
There's a big default notion that "spare," or "precise" prose is somehow better. I keep insisting to [my students] that while such prose is completely legitimate, it's in no way intrinsically more accurate, more relevant, or better than lush prose. That adjective "precise," for example, needs unpicking. If a "minimalist" writer describes a table, and a metaphor-ridden adjective-heavy weird fictioneer describes a table, they are very different, but the former is in absolutely no way closer to the material reality than the latter. Both of them are radically different from that reality. They're just words. A table is a big wooden thing with my tea on it.3. Ice Age Happy Meal Toys.
4. Don't.
*Previously: China Mieville fan art.
*The limited edition of China Mieville's new book is 32% off at Amazon.
Plush cyclops and deep sea diver
Plush cyclops and fish in a diving suit on sale in Trish Tatman's Etsy shop. It's apparently not what she had in mind, but the diver sure looks like a character from China Mieville's wonderful book Un Lun Dun.
*Previously: Deep sea diver paper toy.
*Buy deep sea diver toys at eBay.
Storyladder
I've previously mentioned how much I enjoyed China Mieville's Un Lun Dun. One scene features something called a "storyladder" and the "Wordboard Pit." This photo found at Lifehacker makes a good illustration:
Book Review: China Mieville's Un Lu Dun is outstanding
If you're familiar with China Mieville's books, then Un Lun Dun is very much like Perdido Street Station, but with less challenging language, and a far more likable hero. The world of Un Lun Dun (unLondon) and its inhabitants are just as creative as those in Mieville's other books, albeit somewhat less horrific. (Interestingly, I noticed no obvious pro-communism message in this novel.)
If you've never read a book by Mieville, then Un Lu Dun is like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, as written with the type of wordcraft on display in Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series.
If you've haven't read those books either, well, if you liked Harry Potter or The Golden Compass, you'll like Un Lun Dun.
An all around great book. I don't want to say more because I don't want to spoil a moment of discovery. My only criticisms are that the book too often read as little more than a series of barely connected (but still fascinating) vignettes, and that I wouldn't mind reading a novel where the government is not populated by evil schemers and morons.
Buy Un Lu Dun at Amazon.
Christmas link round up
Christmas tree pop up card.
Santa Claus papercraft.
A Christmas Carol, Star Wars style by Ben Balistreri
Instructions for making stylish paper ornaments.
"Monster Ballads Xmas" - - Xmas Classic performed by your favorite hair bands
1. Jingle Bells - Skid Row
2. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Winger
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Jani Lane
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Twisted Sister
5. White Christmas - Queensryche
6. Run Rudolph Run - L.A. Guns
7. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Firehouse
8. Naughty Naughty Christmas - Danger Danger
9. Blue Christmas - Tom Keifer
10. Jingle Bell Rock - Nelson
11. Silent Night - Faster Pussycat
12. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Dokken
13. Happy Holiday - Enuff Z'nuff
14. Winter Wonderland - Stryper
15. Christmas Love - Billy Idol
Follow the link to sample the tracks:
Monster Ballads Xmas
Pirate Santa Cards.
Jellyfish Christmas Cards.
Santa Cthulhu Needle Felted Figure.
Christmas tree from the future
Plush coal.
Adorable Snowman Desktop Wallpaper
Merry Christmas by ~Lord-Yoda on deviantART
Street Fighting Santa desktop wallpaper
Ho-Ho-Hoorruuukkkenn by ~Lysol-Jones on deviantART
Uncle San by ~noistar on deviantART
:)
Originally uploaded by Dance Groove
Click through for a desktop wallpaper sized version of the gingerbread man.
Jacob Marley desktop wallpaper.
Darth Vader/Santa avatar. (Top left of the page.)
Headbanging Santa animated gif.
Screaming snowman animated gif.
Finally, if you're in the mood for a less materialistic Christmas, try a short story called "Tis The Season" by one of my favorite writers, China Mieville. Here's a sample:
The lad she was with joined in, and then his friend, and then a bunch of people beside them, and in a few seconds everyone was doing it, a mixture of good voices and terrible ones, combining into this godawful loud squeal.
'Weeeeee...' and then, with impeccable timing, all the hundreds of people sort of caught each others' eyes, and their song continued.
'...wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas...'
'Are you mad?' I screamed, but no one could hear me over that bloody illegal rumpty-tum. Oh my god. I knew what was happening.
We were surrounded by radical Christmasarians.
I was spinning around, shouting for Annie, running after her, looking out for police. There was no way the streetcams wouldn't spot this. They'd send in the Yule Squad.
Read the whole thing.
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