Looking Closer
Thanks, everybody, for making today, Tuesday, December 4, the busiest day ever at this blog! My stat counter just updated, and today’s visitor total is the highest ever (and still counting!) (more…) Read more
Thanks, everybody, for making today, Tuesday, December 4, the busiest day ever at this blog! My stat counter just updated, and today’s visitor total is the highest ever (and still counting!) (more…) Read more
Thanks to Jim Janknegt for sharing this, from paragraph 35 of Pope Benedict’s latest encyclical: “All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action. This is so first of all in the sense that we thereby strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete this or that task which is important for our onward journey, or we work towards a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future. Yet our daily efforts... Read more
Embargo, schembargo… The mainstream critics are signing in: Michelle Orange, Village Voice: In drawing and quartering much of the novel’s intent, Weitz ends up with a film that feels not just unfinished but undone. Nick Schager, Slant Magazine Weitz crams his story full of magical terms and concepts with a rapidity that leaves things confusing and thus meaningless. Stephanie Zacharek, Salon: I can think of no more dispiriting experience this holiday season than seeing the crestfallen faces of several of... Read more
[UPDATE: Bonus… a fourth essential reading. Here’s John C. Wright‘s hilarious summation of the trilogy, via Mark Shea.] I am so glad Peter Chattaway rediscovered this: Alan Jacobs’ thorough, eloquent review of The Amber Spyglass, the last book in the trilogy that The Golden Compass begins. I remember reading this when it was first published, and boy am I glad it’s available again. Jacobs has done an excellent job of illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of Pullman’s work. Also essential... Read more
NME reports on the progress of U2’s next album: “We did some recording in Morocco last year[, said Bono. “All the band went to an amazing religious music festival in Fez with some incredible sufi singers. It was a real humbling thing for a punk rock shouter, listening to these people who just close their eyes for 40 minutes and sing the most sophisticated melodies.” He added: “We got this little riad, a small hotel with a courtyard in the... Read more
Now… this (from TitleTrakk.com). And this from Truer than Truth. The review of Auralia’s Colors at Front Street Reviews says a little more about the conclusion of the story than other reviews. But I’m grateful that Susan Helene Gottfried is so pleased… (more…) Read more
Last night, while the weather outside turned frightful, Mardukas decided to become a lap cat, and well… just look at those eyes… he wasn’t about to be dissuaded from his decision. So I worked on Cyndere’s Midnight, the sequel to Auralia’s Colors, for three hours straight with Mardukas (the inspiration for that big, wild, black cat named “Dukas” in the book) draped over my lap with his paws on the keyboard. Bonus points for anybody who knows where my cat’s... Read more
Yesterday, as the first big snow of the year hit Seattle, I sat in Hotwire Internet Espresso Cafe and listened to the 20th anniversary, re-mastered version of U2’s The Joshua Tree, which my friend Danny Walter had just picked up. And the thing just shines. It sounds better than ever, and the bonus disc of b-sides and rarities has some big surprises. So I’ve been thinking back about just how much inspiration I’ve drawn from their music, and how much... Read more
Apparently, Philip Pullman is shocked that Christians would dare to claim that he is… well… exactly what he himself has said that he is. Jimmy Akin reports. Read more
Fans of Over the Rhine, The Innocence Mission, Mazzy Star, Sixpence None the Richer, 10,000 Maniacs, and The Cranberries will find themselves warmed through the winter by the golden glow of Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden in their new, self-titled release. I’ve been listening to Tucker and Company’s moody pop for several weeks now. This isn’t an album that grabs you and shakes you… it’s one that slips quietly into the back of your mind, and soon you... Read more
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