Today, a package came in the mail. It was one I was expecting today — Beady Eye’s debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding. A part of me wants to say, of course, that DG,SS is anything but a debut album; Beady Eye is, after all, the final line-up of Oasis minus Noel Gallagher, so they’reContinue reading “On First Albums”
Monthly Archives: February 2011
On Downloading Elbow’s New Single
The spring of Elbow has begun. “Neat Little Rows,” the first single from Build a Rocket, Boys! released today. And, like a crack-addicted monkey, I had to download the song. Oh, I’ve seen the video the band released in January: I’ve even used some audio jiggery-pokery to get a listenable mp3 from the video’s audioContinue reading “On Downloading Elbow’s New Single”
On Unusual Pizza Toppings
Fifteen years ago I knew a woman named Rachel. She was pretty. She wasn't especially tall. She had very straight and very black hair. Her features were somewhat elfen. I sometimes thought that if you slapped a pair of pointed ear appliances on her, she'd have made a decent Vulcan out of the box. SheContinue reading “On Unusual Pizza Toppings”
On Eulogizing a Man I Didn’t Know
Three years ago, I began taking the Baltimore mass transit system to work. There’s a subway station near my house, there’s a light rail stop two blocks from the office that I can see from my sixth floor office. Why drive the Baltimore Beltway, when I can use public transportation? Not only is it theContinue reading “On Eulogizing a Man I Didn’t Know”
On WordPress Upgrades and Errors
As much as I love and use WordPress, it can occasionally be a major pain in the ass. Like whenever upgrade time rolls around. There’s a certain amount of crossing fingers and praying when I upload a new batch of files to the server. Is the theme going to break? Is a plugin going toContinue reading “On WordPress Upgrades and Errors”
On Being Inside Another’s Head
At the subway station tonight, I climbed the six flights of stairs to the Beetle, unlocked the door, sat down, put the key in the ignition, and turned. The radio came on. I heard not a song but a commercial for American Idol. Tonight, the show was in Las Vegas. And the Idolators were goingContinue reading “On Being Inside Another’s Head”
On Peanuts Comic Books
Today, BOOM! Studios made two announcements. One, they are renaming their kids imprint, formerly BOOM Kids!, to Kaboom! Two, they are going to be doing something with Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. What, precisely, BOOM! intends to do with Peanuts is unclear, though the teaser image certainly offers a tantalizing clue. Observe the “Peanuts” logo. It’s notContinue reading “On Peanuts Comic Books”
On Sweetening the Farpoint Rewards Pot
Author extraordinare Dayton Ward can’t be at the Farpoint convention this weekend. He does, however, have a mission for congoers attending. One that, to some small degree, involves me. I’ll let Dayton explain fully, but here’s the gist. There are certain authors, myself among them, that he wants pictures taken of with a sign thatContinue reading “On Sweetening the Farpoint Rewards Pot”
Atonement
Be warned. This post contains spoilers for a three year-old film based on a decade-old book. Tuesday night, I finally saw Expiation. Or, as we say in the English-speaking world, Atonement, the 2007 film that starred James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, based on Ian McEwan’s Booker Prize-nominated novel. Yes, the DVD I own of theContinue reading “Atonement”
On My Desk at the Office
This is what happens when the TARDIS makes an unexpected landing in Gotham City… “What, are you dense? Are you retarded or something? Who the hell do you think I am? I’m not the goddamn Doctor!” Doctor Who, as only Frank Miller could imagine it…