It’s the return of Magpie Monday! Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
♦ I’ve written about her before, but she bears repeating: photographer/model Ellie Lane (you can follow her on Facebook). I really like her work, whether she’s photographing herself or other models or being photographed by other photographers. Her images are just what I’m drawn to: weird, strange, sometimes creepy, always beautiful. Take these two recent photographs, for example. The first, a self-portrait, is titled I Speak Coldly of Her Now, and I love the story that the image brings to mind, the tangling or separation of selves (click both images to embiggen).
I Speak Coldly of Her Now (2013) by Ellie Lane
Here’s another photograph of Lane, Prestidigitation, taken by DividingME Photography. I love the use of multiple images of Lane, the poses of each character, the setting, and the distance of the shot.
Prestidigitation (2013) by DividingME Photography
♦ Turn the Page.
I’ve been remiss—May is Short Story Month! Do check out the website, which has some great short-story resources. Here are my contributions to getting people to read more short stories!
Edward & Amelia vs The Vampire King, Chapter 14: The Roost by Russell Hinson
The Bacchae by Elizabeth Hand at Nightmare Magazine
The Siren by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam at Strange Horizons
From Electric Velocipede: Paradigm Shift by my friend Julie C. Day and The Entomologist’s Three Ballgowns by Brooke Wonders
From Daily Science Fiction: Forgiving Dead by Jeff Stehman; The Troll (A Tale Told Collectively) by Marissa Lingen; and Puppet Man by Cate Gardner
From Tor.com: Shall We Gather by Alex Bledsoe; The Button Man and the Murder Tree by Cherie Priest; Skin Like Porcelain Death by Daniel José Older; and Super Bass by Kai Ashante Wilson
From Weird Fiction Review: an excerpt from Nick Mamatas‘ Move Under Ground. My friend Adam also interviews Nick at WFR.
From Enchanted Conversation: The Curious Tale of Mr. Fox by Lissa Sloan (I love finding new adaptations of Mr. Fox!) and The Three Sisters and the Dragon of the North by Laura Beasley
Flax-golden tales by Erin Morgenstern: Encounter with My Younger Self at an Intersection of Paths Taken and Not; Not a Real Dog; and Lonely Ghosts in the Machine
Much was made last week of the deleted Cumberbatch shower scene in Star Trek into Darkness, so I humbly offer this appeasement from Awesome People Reading. Enjoy!
♦ The Horns of Elfland.
I recently finished watching the first season of Game of Thrones (I have some issues with its—and I assume the novels’—presentation of gender, but the last scene of the first season got me, people, got me good), so please enjoy this cello cover of the theme song by Break of Reality:
Jim Moray‘s song Lord Douglas made me swoon so much after my first listen I immediately bought the album, which I pretty much had to after I discovered it was titled Skulk (as in, a skulk of foxes). I really love what he does with this ballad. Many thanks to Terri Windling for sharing this video on her blog!
Enjoy “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams—I just don’t know how you can be down after listening to it.
As usual, I’m a bit late discovering songs like this one. Kylie Minogue makes me so happy with “Timebomb,” I can’t even tell you. The official video is fun and ridiculous, but it breaks up the song too much, and you don’t want this song interrupted, trust me! Instead, enjoy this fan video with the lyrics and rock out this morning.
Check out Gossip‘s “Move in the Right Direction” from the album A Joyful Noise—what an apt title!
My dear friend Molly turned me on to Janelle Monáe‘s video for “Q.U.E.E.N.” and I love the whole thing—the song, the video, the fashion. The bootie don’t lie, people. C’est magnifique! And check out this piece on Monáe at Radio Free Other!
Wow—I really had a lot of music waiting for y’all! Here’s Lana Del Rey‘s “Young and Beuatiful” from The Great Gatsby soundtrack:
♦ Heaven Is a Kind of Library.
Juristische Bibliotek, Munich’s municipal law library, is perhaps one of the most gorgeous libraries I’ve ever seen. Just look at this! Click over to Book Riot, where you can see a few more pictures.
Juristische Bibliotek, Munich. Photo from knstrct.com
You can also check out Book Riot for some jaw-dropping photos of the Admont Benedictine Monastery library in Austria! Click to embiggen the sample below. It hardly seems real!
The library at the Admont Benedictine Monastery, Austria
Flavorwire shares the 20 most beautiful libraries on film and TV—it’s quite a good list!
La Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève in Paris has amazing ceilings!
Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève, Paris – photo by Edward Klister
♦ Book Nook.
The Japanese have a word for everything. The Japanese can see into my very soul. Via.
This too is what I’d do with a walk-in closet. Via.
Richard Tuttle makes one-of-a-kind bindings for classic novels that are quite clever. He says,
“I make literary artifacts. They are designed to pull books down off the shelf and display them in the salon, gallery or home as if they were works of art, which, of course, they are. Whether binding books with leather, paper, paint, wood, and found artifacts or building sculptures to encase the volumes, I seek to find a perspective that shouts out a piece of the essence of the literary work. I try to put myself in the author’s or character’s mind to say something about the time it was written in; the attitude that is explored and expressed; the magic that makes it a work of art.”
Flavorwire has a nice gallery of Tuttle’s work, so please do go check it out. One of my favorites is Tuttle’s work on The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe:
The Raven, binding by Richard Tuttle
Check out this slideshow of reading nooks, including this one below—ah, heaven!
♦ The Ninth Art.
The Worm Troll by Sam Alden is told in a series of circular frames and is weird and wonderful. Via.
I didn’t follow Allie Brosh‘s Hyperbole and a Half before she went on a long hiatus, but when she came back with Depression Part Two, everyone was talking about it. And everyone really should be talking about it, as it offers a very clear insight into what depression feels like.
The X-Men, Brian Wood‘s all-female team, has apparently been getting some backlash, but I say give the babies their bottles and let ’em cry it out. I’m looking forward to seeing what Brian does with this team. The art I already know is fantastic. Look at this variant cover by Skottie Young (via). Just look at it!
The X-Men by Skottie Young
Also, check out some preview pages of Oliver Coipel‘s art in the first issue of The X-Men.
One reason and one reason only I wish I was at San Diego Comic-Con: exclusive Super Best Friends statuettes.Thanks, Jonte, for breaking my heart.
I love mash-ups between fine and pop art! Check out these pieces by Rey Taira mashing Georges Seurat and DC Comics for the Arch Nemesis art show at the Hero Complex Gallery. Via.
Saturday Morning in Front of La Salle De Justice by Rey Taira
Sunday Evening by the Legion of Doom by Rey Taira
♦ Viewers’ Paradise.
People, I cannot tell you how excited I was to see this image on Facebook (click to embiggen). That’s right, the third series of Luther is coming this summer! If you’re not familiar with this show, you should be. Idris Elba is fantastic! Now if only they’d bring back Alice….
This 60-second retelling of Aliens is hilarious! Via.
I’ve been on a big movie kick lately, now that the semester’s over. I watched the Marvel movies over several days: Iron Man (I know, I’m really behind), Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. All I thoroughly enjoyed. Several people have told me I can skip Iron Man II, and I wonder if the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World will suffer similarly from second-movie-itis? I’m certainly down with this poster for the Thor sequel, though:
And it’s not just the poster. Truth be told, I’m digging the trailer for Thor: The Dark World.
Speaking of The Avengers, this PBS: The Movie (PBS Meets The Avengers) trailer is priceless! “Some men just want to watch the world learn.” Ha! Via.
Speaking of trailers, here are two that caught my eye. I think About Time could be quite a lot of fun.
I’m a little less sure about Riddick, but, man, does Vin Diesel look cool.
Speaking of sequels, I was excited to hear that Michelle Yeoh will star in the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Green Destiny. But Ang Lee‘s not involved, which makes me fret a little.
I should save this for Hallowe’en, but this video just kills me. Teddy Has an Operation is Zefrank‘s little bit of inspired madness that might not be for the faint of heart, so that’s your warning about what’s to invade your eye jellies!
♦ The Writing Desk.
Reminds me of a writing activity I assign in Fiction class…
I really loved Erin Morgenstern‘s writing analogy in cocktail party form!
Top 10 storytelling clichés writers need to stop using.
Wondering where to send your work? Here are ten ways to evaluate fiction markets (I use almost all ten of these evaluation methods myself). Caroline, check out this link!
If any of you are selling your books on your website, I offer this link not as an endorsement but for information purposes only: MyBookTable—A Better Way to Sell Your Books.
James Patrick Kelly has some thoughts on what counts.
Chuck Wendig on 25 things writers should know about traveling and 25 things your should know about outlining. He also wrote about how to maximize your word count and write more every day.
Elizabeth Spann Craig on writers and journals—and online journals. I’ve never had much success in keeping a journal, despite diligently recording for several years during college and a few spotty years afterward (though I am fond of my English Patient-inspired journal). I wonder if I’d be better at with an online journal?
Elizabeth also shared What If? A Method for Developing Ideas.
Secondary-world and epic fantasists, take note: It’s time to retire “boob plate” armor. Because it would kill you.
I like seeing how writers keep their own books. Below is a picture Erin Morgenstern took of her shelf with all the editions of The Night Circus.
Erin Morgenstern’s Night Circus shelf
♦ I’ll have some special posts this week—be sure to check out tomorrow!
