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Charles Kaisin creates 2500 miniature origami pieces for Rolls Royce.

The Belgian designer Charles Kaisin is the latest figure to join the Rolls-Royce Art Programme and will create an origami installation for the motoring marque’s London showroom.

The Rolls-Royce Art Programme counts a diverse roster of artists among its alumni, including Angela Bulloch, Ugo Rondinone and Isaac Julien.

do-origamiNow, the latest creative luminary to be called upon by the British motoring marque is Belgian designer Charles Kaisin, who enters the fold with an intricate installation for Rolls-Royce’s London showroom in Berkeley Square.

The artwork – due to be unveiled tomorrow – will be suspended from the ceiling and comprises more than 2,500 miniature origami pieces. Kaisin graduated from the Royal College of Arts in 2001 but it was his spell at Kyoto University of Arts that kindled his interest in the Japanese art of origami.

Each individual piece has been folded into the shape of the Spirit of Ecstasy, and once pieced together will recall Rolls-Royce’s iconic bonnet ornament on a larger scale. Some 500 hours were needed to craft and assemble the delicate artwork, which is made from silver paper that will reflect light back into the space.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Kaisin will extend his creative reach beyond the Rolls-Royce showroom for a surrealist dinner celebrating the new commission – his first in London following similar concept events across the world. The designer has masterminded the entire multi-sensory concept, from costumes through to music and table settings.

Opera singers and a pianist are just some of the theatrics that lie in store for guests, who will enjoy a five-course meal concocted by French Michelin-starred chef David Martin. Each course is served by performers wearing uniforms specially made to complement the dishes; and guests will receive their very own piece of Kaisin origami to remember the evening by.

Source: wallpaper-com
Information: The installation is on view from 28 September – 16 October. For more information, visit the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars website Address: Rolls-Royce 15 Berkeley Square London, W1J 6EG

Pteron by Charles Kaisin

With Pteron Charles Kaisin offers us an image of a soaring flight of no less than 2000 paper origamis, in the shape of golden doves. All hand-folded by inmates of St Gilles’ prison in Bruxelles. While motion blows life in this installation, it is the light that transforms it into a sort of fragmented, abstract landscape, which flickers to the slightest rush of air like a huge golden chandelier, the symbol of the sponsors’ dinner. The opera stage is magically filled with the guilded reflexion of little doves, a game of shadows occurs that enwraps he spectator, who cannot but liaise with this symbolism of freedom, peace and luxury.

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A Brief Review of Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996)

To paraphrase the popular colloquial lingo: I’m no film critic, but I know what I like. To match that phrase against Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film Hamlet is to say, “Finally! Shakespeare on film done right!” The uncut script, rich settings and well-delivered acting provide a refreshing boon amongst the surfeit of abridged, revised and heavily altered incarnations of Shakespeare’s work that seem to dominate the film market. Of course, rendering a full text retelling on screen is no meager feat, for both film producers and their audience. Given that the movie spans a whole four hours, I suddenly became quite thankful that I live in a society and an era where technology and comfort have evolved to provide such creature comforts like pause buttons, coffee machines and portable screens across from comfy beds; unlike back in the old days…

The acting, while not necessarily perfect throughout, is more than convincing enough to connect the audience to the characters. Indeed, there are numerous places where I find the both the screenplay and score clarify and enrich the emotion and pace of the script. Select scenes include Hamlet’s maniacal conversion to vengeance after speaking with his father’s ghost; the double-standard hypocrisy of Polonius, deceptively seeking information on his son’s moral character while a prostitute leaves his room; the extent of Hamlet’s “tenders” towards Ophelia; and many more.

Two jobs, band gigs, university applications and 8 essays this month... I'm gonna look like this guy soon...

Two jobs, band gigs, university applications and 8 essays this month… I’m gonna look like this guy soon…

Most notably, in Act 5, Scene 1, Queen Gertrude enters upon Claudius and Laertes to deliver the news of Ophelia’s death. What may be flat and enigmatic on the page is suddenly transformed by Gertrude’s marvelous delivery. Her delay of the word “drowned” in her opening address to Laertes adds a poignant sobriety to the matter at hand, yet her following words serve as a sort of happy eulogy – as though she were trying to soften the emotional blow (the line, “mermaid-like,” is excellently delivered). Finally at the end of the scene, we see Claudius once again for the self-centric monster he is. Rather than sharing in the grief of Laertes and his queen, he acts with an utmost irritation and disdain. “How much I had to do to calm his rage!” and “Let’s follow!” sound an undertone of sheer ego and annoyance.

Late nights and messy desks.

Late nights and messy desks.

A Formulated Argumentation on Argument Formulation… Catchy…

One of the great dangers of self-analysis is that it is inevitably biased. Our own self-views judge our own self worth by our own personal experiences. It is rather natural for us to view ourselves with lenience, to rationalize away the very shortcomings we critically denounce in others, to see the speck in another’s eye while ignorant of the plank in our own. In many ways, this serves as a sort of evidence for why we should invest ourselves in others – to learn about them and to understand their perspectives, to use sober discrimination (note: not the stereotypical connotation of irrational, bigoted discrimination) about the choices and actions in their lives as a mirror to our own. For only by broadening ourselves in the lives and light of others can we truly begin to see ourselves for who we are. All this is to say that self-analysis is a business that should be conducted with particular attention and delicacy. In that respect, once again I tread into those perilous waters of self-examination to explore, and judge the worth of, my processes in critical thinking and argument formulation. In an ironic sense, I relish the challenge of presenting evidence to formulate and support an argument in defense of how I present evidence to formulate and support an argument. It is a kind of “chicken and egg” situation that suddenly reminds me of a humorous (albeit loquaciously obtuse) anecdote between Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij1pZvv9m0g

The first step to argument formulation is, logically, to know about what it is you intend to argue. In one’s journey for knowledge, Research is the vessel. If I know little to nothing of the subject I will invest time in gathering a broad array of reputable source material (i.e.: evidence-based, fact-supported, bibliographically referenced, etc.). Gathering as many facts and perspectives as possible is a necessary beginning to any formidable argument. Upon first contact with the informative medium, be it literature, video, speech, or any other form, I will simply observe it for what it is. No note taking, no highlighters, just a focused attention to appreciate the source material for what it is. Upon completing a first read/viewing/listening, then will come a second and subsequent reviews. With any hope, something worthwhile was remembered from the first encounter and in light of the recently gained knowledge I can locate topics of importance more easily.

The caveat to this method may be if the “research” to be gleaned comes from a live source, such as a lecture or a field trip. In cases where it is not possible to repeat the informative experience (as one could with a book or film), one must find a safe division in their attention so as to capture important moments from the experience, but not to become lost by stepping out of its context for too long by busily notating fleeting thoughts. My philosophy is this: Let memory be your page and focused attention be your quill. The mind must be allowed to be open and receptive to what it is being presented. These are skills I find sorely lacking in the general population of the “internet generation” of today… Hey Facebook, stop telling me that breakfast cereal and artisan coffees are trending. I don’t care. Unless “Focused Attention” starts trending, stop distracting me with your pointless e-mails. Please. Seriously, the rise in ADHD in the last ten years has very little to do with drugs or diet by comparison to the outrageous fact that children are being conditioned to perpetually divide their attention to all things at all times, rendering their attempts at concentration (if indeed they can even concentrate) ineffective. But I digress…

Babysitter? I’m sure there’s an app for that…

Perhaps in more ways than you know…

The next step in the argument formulation process is what one might call “brainstorming”, though I prefer “pensive reflection”. What information did the source material convey? How do you feel about it? What are your views toward the material and why? Are there any counter arguments? Could you construe the information in a different way? By playing the devil’s advocate with yourself a great deal of perspective and balanced rationale can be gleaned, along with defensive rebuttals to those who will inevitably attempt to poke holes in the bubble of your logic.

One must always be well prepared!

One must always be well prepared!

Following this critical analysis of the facts, I will at last take to the page. Sometimes at this stage my words flow like a fountain – a stream of prose (or sometimes poetry) may come coursing out of me and I’ll scarcely look back to read my rhetoric until paragraphs or pages have been compiled, my brain paused to recollect itself (I confess, that is the case in this instance). Other times, the topic will be broad and evasive. Then, with nothing more than a general idea of some points I’d like to touch upon, the document I begin to compose is a Frankenstein monster of disparate, disproportioned parts, barely held together by coherent grammatical seams. But slowly, as words are set to the page, ideas begin to congeal. Thoughts become sentences, sentences paragraphs. It is here that the initial writing process begins to marry with editing. In truth, I edit constantly. For me, editing is a stream of consciousness that manifests even as I think and speak. As new ideas flow, after a section is finished, after a rough draft, and a second draft, and a third and fourth – as long as there are ideas to be shared and words to share them there are edits to be made.

Of course, one cannot revise indefinitely. To quote Leonardo da Vinci (if I correctly recall): “A work of art is never finished, only abandoned.” One can only ever hope to reach a state of relative satisfaction with their work. Yet with every work attempted, one sets their own standard. While there may be other standards to appeal to, such as the expectations of an audience or the critical eye of a grading professor, the highest standard is the one you set for yourself. In that regard, with continual practice, your work should continually push new boundaries. However, the new heights are rarely achieved by some magical transformation. Much more often they are the byproduct of a fundamental technique, honed to an immaculate precision. But again, the practice is, in itself, a work of art never finished.

How then shall I give an example of this process by way of actions from my own history? Should I speak of the many times I have sat in theaters, reviewing and analyzing concerts, operas, and ballets? Should I address the countless hours spent in libraries, classrooms and quiet spaces where I would read and research for thesis papers while many a tree was sacrificed in the name of note paper? Or should I simply reminisce of the night where more than ten hours were happily whiled away with a friend in a discourse about the Wizard of Oz – of how the book differs from the 1939 MGM film, the Broadway musical Wicked and the terrifying 1985 “Return to Oz”; of how the storied locales and characters would make a fine setting for an adventure/survival horror video game? It was an evening where we used each other’s knowledge, creative ideas, counter arguments and the source material at hand to build upon and further a common topic, ridiculous as the topic may have been…

Alas, like Mercutio, I talk of nothing. Indeed, to craft a well-pointed argument does not necessarily correlate to a point of discussion worth arguing. Or to put it another way, you can shout all you want, but who cares? Certainly, it is the mantra of many activist groups. “We want our voice to be heard!” But is your voice saying anything meaningful? Truly? In the grand scheme of this ball of rock hurtling around a nuclear fireball in the sky, amongst a universe of nature and the billions of other, equal voices of your human race, where we all long for meaning and truth to our existence, are your self-serving, ignorant, divisive by diversity propaganda tirades really worth speaking? Worth hearing? Social media would certainly like us to believe so. And yet how ironic that the “social” aspect of the media creates a unilateral field of anonymity and ignorance – where experts are replaced by individuals’ unsupported opinions; where facts are replaced by 140 character sound bites; where character (new context) is overshadowed by charisma; and where a general lack of communication skills is not only tolerated, but is indeed catered to.

Social media, if we were honest about it.

Social media, if we were honest about it.

So to answer the original question, and to all that has followed here, I say: let this account, this rant, this spilling-of-the-guts stand as an argument and as evidence unto itself. Let these words, so carefully chosen, be a monolith, stalwart against the ignorance, deviance, condescendence and obscenities that are wantonly and irreverently cast out to the masses by the very same minds that have drank such intellectual poison. To those that are still reading these words: I thank you for you attention. I could not ask for a greater honor. Now take these words and judge the truth of them for yourselves. Take note of the world around you, the messages that impact, that bombard you. Take note first with your brain, and with your spirit, before with a pen.

“And whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is noble, whatever is admirable, whatever is true; if anything is worthwhile or praiseworthy, think upon such things…”

…Whew! Got a little carried away there…!

Images sourced from Google.ca

A Film Review of Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. That is no new news, and yet the statement gains a fresh connotation when it is made in light of (or indeed, when it is making light of) the 1996 Hollywood retelling: Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet. Taken out of its original Renaissance setting, modernization has not been kind to fair Verona. The once bustling Italian city-state now becomes a southwestern coastal American metropolis where dreamboats and freak-shows intermingle in a bizarre symbiosis (not unlike the general Hollywood area). Unfortunately, the newfound cultural setting does nothing to enhance, or even justify the use of Shakespeare’s anachronistic poetry, and any merit that may be gleaned from the modern revision is quickly diminished by the confused and uninspired performances of the title characters. This review briefly examines the first half hour of “the two hours traffic of [the] stage” (1.0.12). Personally, I would rather be stuck in traffic for two hours than endure this film.

Gregory eagerly welcomes you! Get used to men of his ilk...

Unless, of course, I’m stuck in traffic with Gregory and the men of his ilk…

On a broad scope, Lurhmann has made some distinct and deviating interpretive choices from his source material. For the setting, the “two distinguished houses” of Capulet and Montague are now represented as powerful mega-corporations that dominate the city of Verona. There is an interesting element of racism now squeezed into the drama; the Montagues are predominantly Caucasian while the Capulets seem to have a mixed Hispanic background (as evidenced by Lord Capulet’s accent, along with Tybalt and his posse).

John Woo is not impressed.

Enter Tybalt.  John Woo is not impressed.

With respect to the text, ironically, it seems as though there is indeed little respect to the text. Substantial portions of the lines are cut (as may be expected for a film adaptation), but there are numerous other liberalities taken that are more jarring. Lines may be switched from one character to another (Capulet’s line “Give me my longsword, ho” [1.1.61] is given instead to Montague, the Servant with the party invite from 1.2 is now delivered via a TV news broadcast), settings may be altogether changed (Prince’s chastisement of Capulet and Montague occurs in a private police office, away from the battleground), and extra-textual lines may be added in (Abra[ham] quotes from Macbeth in the opening scene with “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble”, Rosaline’s name is specifically introduced by a TV news broadcast and boy who writes her name in chalk at the pool hall).

We must also regard Lurhmann’s camerawork. We see every sweaty, freckled, eye-twitching detail of actors’ faces through the use of plenty of close-up shots. Actions are exaggerated with sudden and sporadic transitions between regular and fast-motion sequences. Like the frantic characters onscreen, the camera jerks back and forth wildly on tracking shots, cuts are rapid enough to induce seizures and a yellow gradient basks every moment with a vibrant, unnatural brightness that distorts the grim reality of the feudal conflict.

The costuming choices seem equally invested in draping the film in the surreal. The Montague Boys (as they are referred to) set the stage with busy-patterned, unbuttoned beach shirts, while the Capulets follow with snakeskin boots and leather jackets. Tattoos and shaved heads bear crosses and corporate logos. Mercutio arrives in drag at the Capulet party. The world Lurhmann has fashioned is one of shock value, iconography and overkill.

As for the score, it is soundly cliché. Bullets zip and ping as though Yosemite Sam were firing them, the camera cuts and heads turn with a comedic “whoosh” effect. The music ranges from gaudy and self-referential (the Montague Boys delivering their lines by rapping along to the music in their car in Act 1.1), to goofy (a Mexican-style shootout theme, also 1.1), to flamboyant and exaggerated (Mercutio’s entrance and subsequent dance routine 1.4 and 1.5).

It is the prerogative of the film director to shape his movie according to his own artistic tastes, however, in many ways this attempt seems to use its Shakespearean source material as nothing more than a thin veneer for what is otherwise intended as a sexy, summer romance flick for teenage girls. I use the words “attempt” and “intended” deliberately as they indicate an effort or endeavor but not necessarily a success.

Hey Baz! Let's do ALL the crack!

Hey Baz! Let’s do ALL the crack!

The first few moments of the movie appear promising – a television news broadcast serves as the Chorus, delivering the prologue in a modern, yet unobtrusive style. Unfortunately, the boon of revision ends there as the prologue is then unnecessarily repeated, with a flurry of quick camera cuts giving lightning-fast glimpses at the setting of this new Verona, along with dramatic flashes of things yet to come further in the script. The entire prologue essentially serves then, as a commercial for a movie the viewer is already watching – a pointless and irritating redundancy (unless the point is to irritate, in which case, well done).

The title splash screen flashes and cuts away to the representation of Act 1.1. What was originally a clever, pun-filled repartee between Sampson and Gregory is now discarded in place of a frenetic shouting match with the servants of Capulet. Shakespeare’s quiet asides between the “Montague Boys” along with the feigned and fatuous honorifics passed in the dialogue with Abraham, once served to build a growing tension between the two warring factions. Now, the tension is permanently set at maximum as though the entire cast is high on methamphetamines, screaming at friend and foe alike, delivering some of the most confused lines ever inflected in the history of English drama. Adding to the disaster are bizarre, extra-textual attempts at physical comedy (Sampson being repeated hit on the head by a lady’s purse, or his shooting the gas station sign), along with a grievously outlandish gun battle that aims for “cool” and hits upon “cringe-worthy”. This scene also causes one to wonder why the two most powerful business magistrates in the city have characters as bizarre as these Sampson, Gregory, Benvolio, Abraham and Tybalt as hired help (though perhaps we may excuse Tybalt’s narcissism under the pretense of his privileged nepotism).

Benvolio, the "Voice of Reason." Heaven help us all...

Benvolio, the “Voice of Reason.” Heaven help us all…

Now, enter Leonardo DiCaprio, assuming the role of Romeo – though more accurately, serving as the eye-candy for all female viewers in the audience; because a sexy lead can compel an audience to stay for a full duration of a film that lacks any other redeeming qualities. His opening reveal casts him as a silhouetted figure on a beach, dressed in a casual black suit that, rather than signifying his melancholy, serves more to set him apart as an attractive figure by comparison to the gaudy fashions of all the other characters. We see his face, flawless and perfectly obscured by a golden sunset from behind.

The real reason girls came to the theater.

The real reason all the girls came to the theater.

Sadly, those baby blues and wavy golden locks are the only charming things about this Romeo. The moment DiCaprio delivers his first line of dialogue it will likely make the objective viewer cry “Aye me,” as well, and cause them to wish instead for more cocaine-induced antics with the strung-out Sampson and Gregory. In his discourse with Benvolio, covering material from Act 1.2, it causes on to question if DiCaprio can even act, let alone do adequate justice to Shakespeare’s language. Emphases on important words are skimmed over, unimportant words are stressed, and iambic rhythm is altogether forgotten. The rushed pace of verbiage along with DiCaprio’s wry smile and aloof behavior all betray the melancholy that is meant to loom over him. Indeed, Shakespeare’s intended Romeo was already a trying character to like but DiCaprio’s delivery borders on insufferable.

Sure, he's dashing... Until he starts to speak.

Sure, he’s dashing… Until he starts to speak.

This unconvincing display from DiCaprio’s Romeo is matched equally by the bored and homely Juliet of Claire Danes. In the scene immediately following Romeo’s debut we are introduced (as per Act 1.3) to Juliet, alas, not before enduring her shrieking, frenetic mother calling her name (again, an extra-textual decision). By comparison to the way the camera casts Romeo as rival to Adonis, Juliet is presented as rather plain or average. Her stark white gown, in contrast to the sharp black suit of Romeo, may have a symbolic reference, though functionally, it frames Juliet in a sort of blemished purity. Her freckles and moles are shot in close-up for all to see, her hair unkempt. I’m sure the underlying message here is that “she’s beautiful on the inside,” but there is nothing on screen that visually suggests that her beauty might “teach the torches to burn bright” (1.5.42), especially when her dialogue is delivered with the same unconvincing ennui as her Romeo.

It's okay, Juliet. I'd want to drown myself too.

It’s okay, Juliet. I feel like drowning myself too.

Lurhmann has attempted in this film to combine rich, historic poetry and a well-known, sordid love story with a modernized twist. Sadly, he has, I submit, failed on every count. There is nothing wrong with a uniquely outlandish setting, but here it is too unbelievable. His directorial vision has derailed the spirit of the original script and his casting choices leave much to be desired. In a sea of buffoonery and poor acting, the title characters take center stage – a demigod “man of wax” falls madly in love with an “average Jane” and together they deliver such underwhelming lines that Shakespeare himself is liable to turn in his grave. All these elements combine to create a whole that could arguably be rationalized as nothing more than a film designed to realize the pubescent sexual fantasies of teenage girls whilst attempting to add enough machismo to fool a few sorry males into the theater.

N'Sync covers the Village People! ...Or is it the other way around?

N’Sync covers the Village People! …Or is it the other way around?

Oh, wait, they're pulling an "Abbey Road".

Wait, I was wrong.  It’s the Beatles’ “Abbey Road”.  Is that Pete Best??

Film watched at http://niter.co/all/movies/1263521-romeo-juliet on June 5, 2016.

Text referenced from “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. Ed. Daniel Fischlin, Oxford University Press, 2013.

Images sourced from Google Images, s.v. “Lurhmann Romeo and Juliet”.

Q: What's the difference between Sampson and Blue Stahli?

Q: What’s the difference between Sampson and Blue Stahli?

A: One of them knows how to manically scream with a sense of rhythm.

A: One of them knows how to maniacally scream with a sense of rhythm.

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N.Korea Lays Train Tracks to New Missile Site

      July 25, 2011 11:23

      North Korea has been laying train tracks between a new missile test site in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province and a nearby railroad station.

      In October last year before it shelled Yeonpyeong Island, the regime reportedly conducted an engine combustion test for the Taepodong-2 or an improved version of a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile in Tongchang-ri.

      A South Korean government source said the North is laying the tracks at the Tonchang-ri site, which is believed to have been completed early this year. The site is five times the size of the existing Taepodong missile test site in Musudan-ri in North Hamgyong Province.

      "We believe that the train tracks will be used to transport long-range missiles from a missile plant in Pyongyang to the missile assembly facility in Tongchang-ri and to carry materials to the site for various kinds of facilities," the source added.

      According to intelligence agencies, the North conducted a similar engine test in 2008 and in late October last year at the Tongchang-ri site. Similar tests have been conducted often at the Taepodong site as well.

      But intelligence agencies say there are no indications that the North plans to launch a long-range missile from Tongchang-ri anytime soon.

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Spice Girls

Spice Girls

Spice Girls can be booked through this site. Spice Girls entertainment booking site. Spice Girls is available for public concerts and events. Spice Girls can be booked for private events and Spice Girls can be booked for corporate events and meetings through this Spice Girls booking page.

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Spice Girls Biography

Spice Girls were the first major British pop music phenomenon of the mid-'90s to not have a debt to independent pop/rock. Instead, the all-female quintet derived from the dance-pop tradition that made Take That the most popular British group of the early '90s, but there was one crucial difference. Spice Girls use dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture. Their proud, all-girl image and catchy dance-pop appealed to younger listeners, while their colorful, sexy personalities and sense of humor appealed to older music fans, making Spice Girls a cross-generational success. The group also became chart-toppers throughout Europe in 1996, before concentrating in America in early 1997.
Every member of Spice Girls was given a specific identity by the British press from the outset, and each label was as much an extension of their own personality as it was a marketing tool, since each name derived from their debut single and video, Wannabe. Geri Estelle Halliwell was the sexy Spice ; Melanie Janine Brown was the scary Spice ; Victoria Adams was the posh Spice ; Melanie Jayne Chisholm was the sporty Spice ; Emma Lee Bunton was the baby Spice. Each one of these personas were exploited in the group's press articles and videos, which helped send Wannabe to the top of the charts upon its summer release in 1996. If all of the invented personalities makes Spice Girls seem manufactured, that's because they are to a certain extent. Every member of the group was active in England's theatrical, film, and modeling circuit, and they all responded to an advertisement requesting five lively girls for a musical group in the summer of 1993. The manager who placed the ad chose all five members of Spice Girls, yet the women rejected his plans for their career and set out on their own two months after forming. For the next two years, the Girls fought to get a record contract, since most record labels insisted that the band pick one member as a clear leader, which is something the group refused.

Eventually, Spice Girls signed a contract to Virgin Records, but they were without a manager, which made recording a debut album nearly impossible. All five members moved into a house and went on the dole as they searched for a manager. By the end of 1995, the group had signed with Annie Lennox's manager Simon Fuller, and began writing songs with Elliot Kennedy. Wannabe, Spice Girls' first single, was released in the summer of 1996, and it became the first debut single by an all-female band to enter the charts at number one in England. It remained at number one for seven weeks, and by the end of the year, Wannabe had hit number one in 21 other countries. Immediately following the success of Wannabe, Spice Girls became media icons in Britain as stories of their encounters with other celebrities became fodder for numerous tabloids, as did nude photos of Halliwell that she posed for earlier in her career. All of this added to the group's momentum, and their second single, Say You'll Be There, entered the charts at number one in the fall, selling 200,000 copies a week. Spice, their debut album, was released at the end of the year, accompanied by their first ballad, 2 Become 1. Both the album and single went directly to number one, staying there for several weeks; both records were at number one over the Christmas week, making Spice Girls one of three artists to achieve that feat.

Having topped the charts in virtually every other country in the Western world, Spice Girls concentrated on America in early 1997, releasing Wannabe in January and Spice in February.

They became massive stars in the U.S. as well, also scoring the hits Say You'll Be There and 2 Become 1 ; Spiceworld, their second LP, appeared later in the year in conjunction with their feature film of the same name. In May 1998, Geri Halliwell departed from the band, not citing major reasons for leaving the group. She did release a solo album, Schizophonic, a year later, but nothing chart-topping to match the success of her former band. Still not deterred by the absence of Ginger Spice, Spice Girls trudged on -- Melanie B. married Spice Girls dancer Jimmy Gulzar and released the solo single, a duet with Missy Misdemeanor Elliot called I Want You Back. By Christmas, Spice Girls scored a number one hit with Goodbye and with a career floating high, their personal lives were moving as well. Melanie B. gave birth to a daughter named Phoenix Chi in February 1999, and Adams followed a month later with a son, Brooklyn Joseph. And now only known as Victoria Beckham, Posh Spice married Manchester United soccer star David Beckham later that summer. Becoming now more noticeable for their social status than their singing, Spice Girls took a well-deserved break while Melanie C. took over the English charts with her successful solo effort Northern Star, which was released in the U.S. in fall 1999. The following year, the girls headed back into the studio with high-profile producers Rodney Jerkins, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam (Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige) to record a follow-up to their pop-friendly Spiceworld.

In the middle of recording, Melanie B. divorced Gulzar and endured a bitter custody battle throughout the remainder of 2000. Spice Girls' creative power overruled media scrutiny so that they could fully focus on the new R&B sound they were trying for and a the new collaboration united the foursome once again to release the third album Forever, which hit American shores in fall 2000.

The group began to splinter not long after the release of Forever, which made little impact outside of the UK where it only had one hit single - the chart-topping double-sided single “Holler”/”Let Love Lead the Way” - before the Spice Girls stopped promoting the album. Just three months after the album's November 2000 release, the band announced that they were separating in February of 2001.

Over the next few years, the Spice Girls may not have existed as a group but they were never out of various taboild headlines in the UK and the US. As the wife of football superstar David Beckham, Victoria got the most attention, but Mel B wasn't far behind thanks to her ill-fated romance with actor Eddie Murphy which resulted in an out-of-wedlock child. Mel Chisholm had a steady career as a pop singer while Emma Bunton had some chart success of her own with her 2001 album A Girl Like Me and its 2004 successor, Free Me. Meanwhile, Geri Halliwell split her time between recording and TV projects.

After years of persistent rumors of a reunion - peaking heavily yet never materializing for Bob Geldolf's 2005 charity event Live 8 -- the Spice Girls announced in June 2007 that they would be reuniting for an eleven-concert tour beginning that December, which would be accompanied by a new greatest hits album and documentary. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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Drapes/Curtains/Window Treatments

For me, curtains are the home decorating equivalent of a good t-shirt or an eyebrow wax.  The former because I never think to buy (or spend money on) them and the latter because they can be so transformative.  They also seem to be a sign of a "grown-up" home.  Pottery Barn is currently running a promotion where drapes are 15% off.  Since I haven't had much luck recently with my old standby, Country Curtains, I may have to give these a try:

A lot of aquaintances on Facebook seem to have custom drapes, but I am really not there yet- baby steps!

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Environmental Ethics: Academic Requirements, Professional Outlook

Environmental Ethics:  Academic Requirements, Professional Outlook

Environmental Ethics

Environmental Ethics is the study of the values and moral status of human-environment interactions. Ethicists in the field have several goals; a)to challenge human-centered ways of thinking; b)to explore eco-feminism and social ecology; c)to integrate traditional philosophical models with current environmental issues; and d)to promote an ethical (or at least thoughtful) approach to the environment.

Environmental Ethics is a relatively young field. Since around the 1930's, scientists and other observant people began to seriously worry about the impacts of human activities on the Earth. Interest in these issues became widespread in the 1960's, and in the '70's, Environmental Ethics emerged as an academic field. This is why it's relatively difficult to find an academic program devoted exclusively to Environmental Ethics. Many environmental degree programs, however, offer (or require) classes in the field.

Environmental Ethics is important because its study forces people to consider how their actions affect others and the environment. When people realize their effect, they are more likely to take steps to change uncomfortable behaviors; for instance, they may decide to recycle, to be compassionate towards animals, or to be an advocate for wilderness preservation.

The Academic Requirements

Environmental Ethics is usually a certificate or study area within another academic program, rather than a stand-alone degree. It is usually interdisciplinary in nature, seeking to unify a diversity of viewpoints about environmental issues that involve competing values. An important aspect of your studies would be devoted to defining and defending these values. Students also learn to create solutions that are agreeable to people with different values.

Graduates of Ethics programs should be able to identify and succinctly argue topics in Environmental Ethics; to interpret and criticize the arguments of others; and to analyze problems in the environmental field and be able to propose solutions. Programs in Environmental Ethics usually involve a good deal of writing, editing and reading. Good communications skills are important, as are mediation skills.

Here are some courses that we've seen:

  • Introduction to Environmental Philosophy
  • Ecofeminism: Women's Studies and Environmental Ethics
  • Comparative Environmental Ethics
  • Western Religion and the Environment
  • Ecological Values
  • Environmental Economics
  • Environmental and Public Health Law
  • Cultural Ecology
  • Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues
  • Environmental Policy
  • Environmental Dispute Resolution
  • Conservation Ecology and Resource Management
  • American Environmental History

Professional Outlook

Knowledge of environmental ethics issues can be useful in many fields. Academia is one area where it is especially useful. Other job possibilities include being an author, an editor, a journalist, or an activist. Environmental ethics is important for planners, scientists, and politicians, too. Anyone who influences environmental policy or the implementation of environmental programs should have an understanding of the field.

Here are some job titles that we've seen, including some of the organizations that offer them, all of which included a requirement for experience in Environmental Ethics:

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Project Manager

Join the Summer Team

Project Manager

The Project Manager Role

Our Project Managers are key to the success of our summer programme. They are responsible for ensuring our projects run smoothly, supporting our volunteers, and managing the rest of the Summer Team. The role offers a great opportunity to gain leadership experience in the early stage of your career.

Role Outline

Project Managers have the following responsibilities:

Managing our volunteers

This position involves pastoral duties such as visiting project workers in schools and accompanying volunteers to hospital when needed, providing advice on school-related issues, and ensuring that our code of conduct is adhered to.

Managing the Summer Team

As part of this role you will need to make sure that our Project Coordinators are briefed upon arrival in East Africa; hold regular meetings with the team to plan, support, and monitor their work; and ensure that our code of conduct is adhered to.

Managing project delivery

The job requires you to: ensure that all volunteers complete their projects where able; deliver training on site; manage and support the implementation of our programme; collaborate with the Pre-summer Team to ensure that all necessary information is given to our volunteers; prepare and organise meetings such as the HT Conference, Mid-summer Meeting, and HT Debrief; manage the summer budget; and update all incident logs.

Managing communications within EPAfrica

Project Managers will act as the principal point of contact between our sites in East Africa and the charity in the UK. The role, also, involves sending weekly updates to both Project Workers and Coordinators.

Managing relationships with our East African contacts

As part of this position you may have to: make official visits to NGOs and government offices; work with local friends of the charity; and distribute our Annual Report to the charity’s stakeholders.

Managing School Selection and Progression

When in East Africa our Project Managers will visit potential and past partner schools to assess their suitability to work with EPAfrica in the future and update stakeholders on changes within the charity.

Application Deadline: Friday 30th March 2018

Important Dates

 Application deadline  Until Filled
 Training  Summer Team Training

 Crisis Management Training

 Project Manager Training

 Project Dates  30th June - 8th September 2018 (Provisional)
 Summer Team Debrief  TBC

Other Summer Team Roles


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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Writers With Day Jobs: Nik Korpon

Nik Korpon teaches writing. Automatically he knows more than I ever will about writing. Want to see for yourself? Check out his work from Snubnose Press, the novella Old Ghosts and the upcoming story collection Bar Scars. Or maybe his novel Stay God. And there's more. The man writes a lot.

Not enough for you? He works at a motherfuckin' tattoo shop. Checkmate. He's already won the sweepstakes, but read on anyway for more about Nik Korpon and his job(s).

What do you do as your day job?
I teach writing at a community college and create ridiculous lesson plans tying together narrative essay structure and Back to the Future. Weekends, I work at a tattoo shop and tell college girls that Beatles lyrics on the ribs aren’t as original as they think. Both groups usually give me blank stares. You know half of my students have never even heard of, never mind memorized, Back to the Future? I’m frightened for the coming generation.

Since you teach writing, do you ever get any derisive scoffs at your choice to write dark crime or "genre" stories?
No particularly. Most of my classes are either Comp 1 or 2, or developmental. If I can get them the least bit invested in English and writing, it’s a win for me. A fair amount of my students are marginally interested because I’m not writing boring books, and I talk about Star Wars and films noir in class and all. I had one student who called me a hipster because all I talked about were noir films and I dress like Hank Moody. I’m still not quite sure how to respond to that.

As far as the staff goes, the ones who actually write think it’s cool that I’m publishing books, though I don’t think they’ve ever read any of them. The others give me that grandmotherly pursed lip smile, pat my cheek and say That’s very nice, Nik. You’re late for class.

When do you find time to write?
I don’t have a lot of time to write because I have a toddler and two jobs, so I write half the stories in my head as I’m walking around, at the grocery store, going for a run. Once I get the ideas pretty sorted, I wait til my son goes down for a nap then type as fast as I can for those two hours. I tried writing at night after he goes down but then I never saw my wife. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and have time between classes or when the shop is slow.

When my son was born I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to write but I’ve been finding that I probably write more, or at least more efficiently, since he came round. I think something clicked inside my head and realized that I only had that little section of time to write, so it just switches on.

Has your job or coworkers ever influenced a story?
Totally. I meet all kinds of crazy people at the shop and walking around the city, see weird tattoos that give me ideas for stories, hear random stories from my students. Some of the guys at the shop have led interesting lives—MCs and sketchy conventions and other assorted debauchery—so I get little snippets from their accounts and turn them into stories.

What would it take for you to quit and write full time?
Money, unfortunately. Made more unfortunate because I don’t have any.

Do your coworkers know you write? Do they know you write dark crime fiction?
Some do. Some at the college think it’s cool, though we have very different frames of reference for cool. I don’t go into detail about the novels because they write a lot of poetry and I don’t want them to hear about my characters enacting foreplay with straight razors. The guys at the shop are supportive of it. Some of them have read my stuff, but mostly I just tell them when I put one of their anecdotes into a story.

What do they say about it?
Either, ‘I read your book. You’re not as smart as I thought,’ or, ‘I read your book. You’re smarter than you look.’

Do you think people respect writing as a job, or does it come off as less “work” than a labor or office job?
Other artists respect it as a job because they understand the process. Or rather, people who do similar things (like English teachers) appreciate it. The people who don’t respect it, I don’t really care about. There are plenty of reruns of The Bachelor for them.

I'll ignore the fact you insulted The Bachelor, which pays my mortgage, and ask if you would ever consider writing for TV, or is that like asking you to start eating meat again?
I don’t have anything against The Bachelor particularly, just all of those TV shows in general. Which is probably a pretty backhanded faux-compliment. The need for artificial reality and mental laziness of the general public just bums me out. That being said, if they called and asked if I wanted a job, I’d trample whoever was in front of me to snatch it. Being paid to write? I’m down. I don’t really care what it is. I’ve written a couple screenplays, only one of which was ever made, but I think the idea of television writing, of hitting these plot points within a certain number of pages while still making it interesting, it’s an interesting idea. I’d definitely like to try my hand at it (as I clear my throat, looking expectantly for TV producers to jump out of my refrigerator with a contract and pen.)

I became really interested in the novelization field, or film tie-ins or whatever they’re called, after reading an interview with Christa Faust and hearing Tod Goldberg on a panel. From what  understand, it’s a tough field to get into, but that seems like such a great gig. I’m probably romanticizing it with cigarette smoke and an Underwood and two empty pots of coffee, but it seems like it would really help you hone your craft and figure out how to turn on that creative switch, you know? I’d love to do it but have zero-idea how to find it.

I don’t have a problem with meat anymore, either. That vegan-warrior phase passed in my early 20s when I started getting sick. People should understand the connection between their hamburger and the cow in the field next door, but outside of that I don’t care. I still won’t eat it, though. Shit grosses me out.

Be honest, if you wrote full time, do you think you’d be disciplined about it?
I’d love the opportunity to find out.

I think I would. I juggle a ton of stuff now and still make time to write, so if all the other bullshit disappeared, I’d like to think I’d be disciplined.

What job, other than writing, would you most like to have?
Be paid to free-surf, play soccer or be a travel guide, like those Contiki people. Growing up, I always wanted to be a marine biologist and swim with sharks. I’d be down with that still. Shark Week is one of the only things I miss from having TV.

What has been your best job? Your worst?
Honestly, my favorite job was working in the bulk food section at Whole Foods when I lived in Western Massachusetts. I was active all day, talked to tons of random people and learned a lot about foods I’d never heard of. It gave me a lot of time to daydream and I probably wrote most of a novel and a number of short stories (half of which are in my upcoming collection, Bar Scars) during the downtime there. I love working at the shop too, but I’m way more sedentary here than at the grocery store.

Worst job? Most of them. I worked in Boston Market marinating dead chickens (and went vegan shortly after.) I worked at the Renaissance Festival when I was 14, cutting up steaks and grilling ribs. I delivered phone books. I ran part of a hotel for a couple years and worked 100 hours a week. I waited tables at Pizza Hut for a while. I’ve bartended. Boston Market was probably the worst.

When do you find time to read?
Because I don’t have much time, I usually have to choose between writing or reading, and most times writing wins, so I don’t read as much as I’d like. I do read almost every night for a bit before bed. That new Kindle cover with the light has stopped my wife from suffocating me with her pillow a number of times.

Have you ever, or maybe how often, have you considered quitting and shacking up to write novels, money issues be damned?
Every day. A couple years ago it was a possibility. From time to time now I’ll think about it for longer, but it always comes down to my son. My wife makes a fair bit more than I do (meaning: She got a degree in something useful) but it’s not enough to support the family. If I was ever fortunate enough to make a decent income with words, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

What is your ultimate goal with writing? Full time journeyman or millionaire? Or are you satisfied doing it part time?
Millionaire. I mean, really, who doesn’t want a ton of people to read their books?

Realistically speaking, I don’t much care. Even if I sold two books for the rest of my life, it’s something I enjoy doing and it makes the rest of my life make more sense. I make time to write now with all the other crap going on and I’m as satisfied as I can be without being complacent. I expect to write part-time for the rest of my life. Anything more than that is awesome. This is where an agent swoops in with a contract, in case you were wondering.

Given what you've earned writing, dividing it by the hours spent, what would you say is your hourly wage as a writer?
Numbers and I are mortal enemies. That aside, my books are depressing enough. I don’t want to make it worse.

Do you have a spouse/partner that would support you writing full time?
If it was financially possible, without a doubt. I’m much less moody after a long day of writing and I’m sure she’d love me to be like that more often. I’m married to a fantastic woman who only wants to see me happy, and I her. Both of us have gone through grad school, so we’ve spent a lot of time eating rice and beans. We can survive on next to nothing, but have to look out for the wee one.

How old will your son have to be before he can read any of your work?
Can’t say. Some of it depends on what he reads. Warpriest, I’d be okay with him reading when he’s a young teen. I don’t want him to read Stay God because he’ll just look at me and go, Dad, you’re such a dork. What’s wrong with you? Some of the other more sexual and violent and sexually violent stuff I think I’d hide from him for a while. By the time he’s a teenager we’ll probably have microchips to download things directly into our brains so I won’t be able to do much about it.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Quick Notes

Before you look below to Steve Weddle's interview, a few things.

My newest Revival House post is up at Criminal Element taking a look at the film Flesh and Bone.

My fist two novels (cowritten with JB Kohl) One Too Many Blows To The Head and Borrowed Trouble are on sale for the next few days, including the weekend. Only 1.99 for Kindle.

And the Snubnose Press sale continues until the end of June. All Snubnose titles only .99 including Dig Two Graves.

And in DTG news, we are prepping the print version right now so you can hold it in your hot little hands in a few weeks. It will include a preview of my story collection, A Bouquet of Bullets.

Writers With Day Jobs: Steve Weddle

You'd think, from his answers below, Steve Weddle is a man of few words. (except for the one rant) But Steve puts out not only a steady stream of high quality fiction, but also acts as editor of Needle magazine, keeps one of the more active and sarcastic Twitter feeds, and dishes out advice and rants over at Do some damage along with a host of talented crime writers.

Steve brings his typically blunt and funny demeanor to his answers here, so let's not delay and hear what Steve Weddle has to say about Day Jobs, writing, and the billion dollars it would take for him to quit.

-What do you do as your day job?
I work at a newspaper

-When do you find time to write?
When I’m deep into a book, I get up a couple hours earlier than usual.
Also, weekends. Notes in moleskines, backs of envelopes. Whenever and wherever I can.

-Has your job or coworkers ever influenced a story?
I’ve used work knowledge for characters, building up a backstory.

-What would it take for you to quit and write full time?
One billion dollars.

-Do your coworkers know you write? Do they know you write dark crime fiction?
I don’t know.

-What do they say about it?
Not a damn thing.

-Do you think people respect writing as a job, or does it come off as less "work" than a labor or office job?
I think, like most anything, people tend to have less respect for what YOU do and expect you to have more respect for what THEY do.
You write? Feh. That’s easy. I work at a dry cleaner. You work at a dry cleaner? Feh. I work at a restaurant.
No one really has any idea how tough things can be for other people.

-Be honest, if you wrote full time, do you think you'd be disciplined about it?

-What job, other than writing, would you most like to have?
I’d be pretty good playing second base for the Nationals. I just don’t care much for the travel schedule, so that’s out.

-What has been your best job? Your worst?
The job I have right now is the greatest job anyone could ever have ever.
By the way, on my first day as a Walmart employee, my supervisor gave me a twenty-five cent raise. That was pretty cool.
When I was in high school, I mowed yards and rake leaves. That wasn’t much fun. I also worked at a convenience store. My hours were five in the morning until 11 at night. Those made for long days. I didn’t much care for that.

-When do you find time to read?
In the mornings, before work. Also, in the evenings after work. Also,the weekend.
Michael Dirda of the Washington Post said folks would ask him when he found time to read. His response, “When you’re watching TV.”

-Have you ever, or maybe how often, have you considered quitting and shacking up to write novels, money issues be damned?

-What is your ultimate goal with writing?
I have to have a goal? Crap.

-Given what you've earned writing, dividing it by the hours spent, what would you say is your hourly wage as a writer?

I don’t consider it work. This isn’t my job. I don’t take a wage from writing.

 You have become quite the fixture in crime fiction circles with Needle and Do Some Damage, editing anthologies, doing interviews. Does this all fall into that "not work" category? Or do you see promoting yourself and other writers as part of the job of being a writer?
I don't know about this "fixture" thing. If that means I plan to be around for a while, then that's fine.

Anything I do with other writers is because I think more folks should read their work. We're doing Tom Piccirilli's new on in the DSD book club. I love his books and think this one is great. Is it work getting that set up and wrangling folks? Nah.

And NEEDLE exists so more folks can read stories by more folks. What is super cool is that agents will email me saying they read so-and-so in NEEDLE and do I have that writer's email address. Happens quite a bit, lately. And that's fantastic. That's better than what I ever could have hoped for. That sure as hell doesn't feel like work.

And having been able to work with so many talented folks with the magazine is amazing. I don't mean John Hornor Jacobs's art work alone. Or just the reading and editing from Matt Funk and Stephen Blackmoore and Dan O'Shea and Naomi Johnson. Those folks are amazing and top notch. What's really amazing, as well, is the writing we've had. From
the first issue, which had that cool short from you, to all those you can find listed on the website and all those upcoming.

Look, Chris F. Holm makes a big deal out of the fact that he asked me something about "The Hitter" and we talked about it and it ran in NEEDLE and a little while later was selected for BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2010. That was all Chris. He says "Steve Weddle did" this and
that. Look. Steve Weddle didn't do jackshit. Just like the stories in NEEDLE are all the work of the authors. I just try my best to help folks get these stories to a wider audience, if I can. This isn't anywhere close to what I would consider work. People send in stories and we share them with more people? Hell, that's what I ought to be doing, isn't it? Isn't that what we all should do more of? Promote stuff we like? Try to help deserving folks out? Speaking of which, John's THIS DARK EARTH hits shelves soon. It's my favorite of his books.

I don't see promoting other writers as being part of the job of being a writer. I see it as part of the requirement for being human, you know? You care about something, you let people know. You tell them to read Holly West's DIARY OF BEDLAM and Stephen Blackmoore's CITY OF THE LOST and Chris F. Holm's WRONG GOODBYE and Hilary Davidson's NEXT ONE TO FALL and Frank Wheeler's THE WOWZER and Chad Rohrbacher's AZREAL DECEPTION and on and on.

Oh, and as for, I get to share blog space with people who have talent. How cool is that? And sometimes I get to follow instructions from The Doctor, who said in some episode or another of Doctor Who, "There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick." So I get to do that, poke things that don't make sense. Which I quite enjoy.

- Now that you've had a taste of it with Needle, would you ever make publishing a full time pursuit if you could make it work financially?
Well, now that's starting to sound like work, isn't it?

-Do you have a spouse/partner that would support you writing full time?
My spouse has supported much dumber ideas of mine, yeah.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Writers With Day Jobs: Matthew Funk

Matt Funk is everywhere these days. He manages to churn out a steady stream of top notch stories with his own unique blend of darkness and deep emotional, um, darkness. His stories go down some scary rabbit holes.

Matt is also among the best dressed of all us crime fiction scribes. Shameful, really, the way the rest of us just go about our lives like unemployed frat boys. Yes, Matthew Funk is a man with focus, drive, and writing chops to spare. Now that he has signed onto the illustrious Team Decker, you will be seeing more of him very soon.

Before we begin let me remind y'all that June is almost over and so is your time to get ALL of the Snubnose Press titles for only .99 on Kindle. Join in our anniversary sale!

Now then, please welcome Matt to tell us a bit about his job and his process, his hopes and dreams and his time as a graveyard shift gas station attendant.

What do you do as your day job?

I'm a digital marketing consultant. The official job title is Social Media Marketer, but expertise in social media is only one cog in the machine. As my Air Force general grandfather used to say when giving cause for a second glass of Dewar's, you can't fly on one wing. Marketing over social media effectively also demands savvy with Search Engine Optimization, site design and copy writing, not to mention an aptitude for reaching customers offline and hauling them onto the Web. Wrap that all up into a single sheet and it comes out to digital marketing.

It has to be a flexible definition. Success in that field requires that one be dynamic, shifting with the tides of user trends, staying on top while the MySpaces topple and the Pinterests rise. Yesterday's proven formula for success is tomorrow's dud. It's a thrill living on the frontier.

When do you find time to write?

Whenever the phone quits ringing. As soon as I'm off the clock, even for an hour, I'll slam words onto blank pages as fast and best as I can. Exact hours depend on the season. I'm a Valley Boy, so cold weather mornings don't suit me, making winter a fallow time for 5am writing. Evenings and weekends suit me best, until the skies warm and I settle into a green steel chair at Starbucks before the world has woken up.

Sometimes I just have to switch the phone off. I may not be living with my parents and roaming the corn fields with a sword in hand like Robert Howard, but I'm not notorious for being a social butterfly. Writing always takes priority. It's an easy choice, considering I was always more disposed to crawling into a corner to daydream than I was to hanging around, flapping my gums.

Has your job or coworkers ever influenced a story?

Rarely. They say that one should write what they know, but when what I know mostly boils down to stupid cat videos on YouTube and superficial gasps for Facebook fame, I bore easy. My job influences how I understand effective marketing of my writing's message, not the writing itself.

There happens to be an exception coming down the pike, though: Crime Factory accepted a ghastly short I recently wrote for their upcoming Horror Factory issue, and social media features prominently in it. I fuse toxic waste, Twitter and teen cruelty into a single murderous flow. That was a delight to write. Still, I think much of what I write is an escape attempt from the superficial world of marketing.

What would it take for you to quit and write full time?

Dr. Evil's answer comes to mind: One million dollars. In other words, a financial platform I could survive comfortably on for an extended period of time. And by "extended," I don't mean, "halfway through a car payment on a Chevy Volt." I would need a sum of money solid and rich enough to grow a future from on its own.

Part of that is because I really love my day job - love its protean nature, love the war stories, love how it weaves into my overall vocation of storytelling. The other part has been ingrained in me since I was a teen. For as long as I knew I wanted to be a writer, I knew I would need a paycheck coming in from elsewhere. It would take a hefty sum to keep me sleeping soundly. Considering I've always been able to produce work despite a day job, and that I suspect professional pressures might add to a feeling of artistic foment, it would take quite a bit to get me out of the saddle.

Do your coworkers know you write? Do they know you write dark crime fiction?

Many of my co-workers know that I write professionally and that I write dark crime fiction. My immediate bosses, JD Rucker and Ron Fortier, both took an interest immediately. They have backgrounds in creative work and staunch love for the craft. And I've been told on a few occasions that I have loyal fans in the guys like Robert Moronez and Kelvin Cruz who've risked reading my work. One close co-worker, Erin Ryan, is going to be in the Acknowledgments of my first novel given her support.

This is all to say that I make no secret of what I do, and for the most part, folks around the office are supportive of it.

What do they say about it?

I've yet to receive a bad review. Most tell me that they liked whatever story they read, want to know when the next one's out and would appreciate a signed copy of any novel that sees print. Bear in mind, I work with people who have 12-inch Jason Vorhees models in their cubicles and game design gigs like Fallout on their resume. This is an easy crowd.
Matt reading at Noir At The Bar

Do you think people respect writing as a job, or does it come off as less "work" than a labor or office job?

They respect it, but seem to apply the same outlook I do: That it's hip, it's wondrous, it's a raison d'etre and all that, but day-to-day comes down to paying the bills. I've never had anyone assume what I do is easy, even in the case of getting a story up on some friendly blog. In that sense, they see it as even more "work" than our daily grind, given that the whole effort has an air of mystery and glamour around it. But they also know, as I do, that whatever work it takes is done on my own time.

Be honest, if you wrote full time, do you think you'd be disciplined about it?

Absolutely. Writing is a physical urge for me at this point. It's my chief entertainment, my favorite escape hatch, my leading sense of validation. I don't devote so much time to it because I have to, but because I want to. The time I devote, I organize. Scheduling helps me reduce stress and pander to whatever control freak element I have in my bones.

In short, writing and discipline are two of my favorite things. They're my steak and potatoes. How could I not enjoy them together as much as possible?

What job, other than writing, would you most like to have?

And other than marketing? Slotted right below "full time writer" and my current day job would be a game theorist. I'd enjoy working for the RAND Corporation analyzing international relations, particularly in the Middle East and Central Asia, and deriving game theory from the data. I relish all study of human behavior, from the deeply, immediately personal up to the level of national destinies. That's my principal academic background and it would be a lark applying it toward an influential end.

I'm disillusioned with politics these days, but I adore political science. Being able to bottle the human hysteria into predictable modes of interaction is a blast. I'm not vain enough - almost - to presume I'd be comfortable as a puppet master, trying to pull strings from a basement in Langley or some sweaty, partisan war room. I wouldn't mind lending the decision makers some critical food for thought, though.

What has been your best job? Your worst?

I am now in my best job. Considering the positions I've had before - Editor and Tutor - that's saying something. I love writing and teaching, but nothing quite beats learning how to sell at a time when my fiction career is getting traction.

As for my worst job, I didn't feel terribly fulfilled as a tutor at times, but it still wasn't so shabby. I preferred my job as a graveyard shift gas station attendant - there was more time to kick back and absorb stories from the road and the night, and I always enjoyed seeing the dawn. Still, tutoring was a pretty keen gig for a "worst job."

When do you find time to read?

Unfortunately, on the list of things I love that get wedged into the crannies of my life, reading is a low entry. It hovers just above exercise. Often, it's the same process - I read while on a stationary bike. I also tote a book to most meals I take alone, grab glimpses while walking from one place to another, bookend my meals with a chapter or two. Occasionally, I'll get into a rhythm with reading that finds me filling my off-time with it. I usually don't do that unless I'm researching a writing project or have become obsessed with an author or oeuvre, though.

Have you ever, or maybe how often, have you considered quitting and shacking up to write novels, money issues be damned?

No. Only some of that denial is due to the money. A large part is because I know I'd want to be doing something else - other kinds of writing, other sources of income, other artistic pursuits outside the artistic medium. There's so much in the professional sector that inspires me outside the realm of novel writing, or even fiction writing. I'd love more time to write long-form fiction, but if it becomes the sole source of my professional focus, it loses its luster. It becomes less special. It risks changing from "what I most want to do," into "all I do."

What is your ultimate goal with writing? Full time journeyman or millionaire? Or are you satisfied doing it part time?

My ultimate goal is to write a novel-length work that is regarded as a major artistic installment in the genre or literary canon. I'd like to achieve other benchmarks of success - I'd enjoy evolving a series of published works, a fan base would be keen, and money would certainly be welcome - but so long as I hit the mark on artistic contribution, I would be pleased as can be.

Given what you've earned writing, dividing it by the hours spent, what would you say is your hourly wage as a writer?

As a fiction writer, nada. And that's all according to plan. As a professional marketing writer, about $31.

Do you have a spouse/partner that would support you writing full time?

I do indeed - Gina Marie, a long-time fan of my work who became a stalwart friend and then a lover. She supplies fodder for my stories, fiercely candid criticism and unflagging support. She is almost as in love with writing as I am, and enjoys every aspect of editing, craft and planning that I share with her. Like me, she has a lot of day job taking up her time. But also like me, she views writing not just as a passion, but as a privilege. Storytelling brought us together. Supporting it is an integral part of supporting us.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Writers With Day Jobs: Chris F. Holm

Chris F. Holm is the author of the widely praised (even by your truly) Dead Harvest, a wildly inventive urban fantasy/crime/horror novel and book 1 of The Collector series.
Book #2, The Wrong Goodbye, is out in a few months.
(As an aside, these books have some of my favorite covers of anything recently, and maybe ever. As I delve deeper into this cover design thing I have the utmost respect for good cover design and artistry. These things are frame-worthy things of beauty.)

That's not to mention his collection 8 Pounds, and his work in the anthologies Crime Factory: The First Shift, Beat To A Pulp: Round One and Round Two, and I'm proud to share the page with him in Pulp Ink.

His life in between pumping out these Anthony Award nominated, Derringer-nominated and Spinetingler-Winning  stories was so interesting there are a few follow-up questions in here, including two cents from his wife, Katrina. Hmmm . . . I sense a new series of questions here. Spouses of Writers Get Their Say.

What do you do as your day job?
I'm a research associate at a large biotech company, which is a fancy way of saying I'm a lab rat. Once upon a time, I was enrolled in an Infectious Disease PhD program; I thought I'd work for the CDC, chasing nasty microbes around the globe. Turns out, it wasn't quite my cup of tea. So I quit. Got a job. And started writing.
Your job and background sound ripe for a thriller set in the CDC world or with bioterrorism and other "high concept" stories. Have you ever been tempted to "write what you know" and sell yourself as one of those "expert" authors that publishers seem to love so much? Lawyers writing legal thrillers, Barry Eisler's CIA experience, etc.
Honestly, I've got no interest in selling myself as an "expert" author, because a) I'm more dilettante than expert, really, and b) microbe-centric-thriller-author sounds a hell of a lot more restrictive than either of the examples you mentioned; I'd be repeating myself by book three. That said, I've had an idea for a weird little wrong-man conspiracy/global pandemic tale bouncing around my head for years that no one's scooped me on yet, so maybe one day I'll get around to writing it.

When do you find time to write?
I've worked hard to carve out a few hours a week -- eight till noon, Saturday and Sunday -- during which I write no matter what. Friends and family know not to call then, because I won't answer. Weekdays, I'm far less strict, but I try to open up my WIP once a day at least, because even a few minutes spent writing gets me a little closer to the finish line.
Has your job or coworkers ever influenced a story?
Absolutely. My short story "The Big Score," which featured prominently a lobsterman, was influenced by the view at my last day job; we were a scrappy little marine bio startup, and our (shabby, shabby) offices overlooked Portland, Maine's working waterfront. I'm talking bait trucks and the like. I wrote a short called "A Native Problem" that hearkened back to my infectious disease research days. And I've got one coming out later this year influenced by my layoff a couple years back, and the sort of existential emptiness of modern cubicle culture. (Not that I'm complaining, work-folk. I'm very happy for the job. And the paycheck. And the benefits.)

Now that you have a high-profile book out, do those co-workers who are supportive ever think they've found themselves in Dead Harvest or anything else you've written? Are they right?
You know, no one has! And I tend not to base characters on folks I know, so even if they thought they were in there, they'd be wrong. Every once and a while, I'll borrow a friend's last name for a minor character or street name or whatever, just to make 'em smile, but that's about the extent of it.
What would it take for you to quit and write full time?
That's a question I've often asked myself, and the answer I always seem to circle back to is, "A deal big enough I don't have to worry about how I'm gonna keep the lights on." Which is to say, at least a couple years' salary. Because one big sale is no guarantee you'll make another anytime soon.
Do your coworkers know you write? Do they know you write dark crime fiction? What do they say about it?
They do. As I mentioned, I was laid off a couple years back. It occurred to me that most potential employers Google folks they're interviewing, and in my case, that meant they'd stumble across my blog, my Twitter profile, even a number of my online short stories. So I was up-front about it. Explained that I wasn't exactly making a mint at the writing gig. Emphasized strong writing skills, and downplayed my penchant for killing people messy on the page. Much to my surprise, it worked.
Don't get me wrong -- most of my coworkers thought my writing an eccentricity. Then I got a book deal, and something shifted. Many of them have really embraced -- even championed -- my writing, for which I'm very grateful. And if I've creeped any of 'em out, they've been too spooked to say so.
Do you think people respect writing as a job, or does it come off as less "work" than a labor or office job?
A bit of both, I think. Most folks seem to respect the time and effort that goes into it, if only because they can't imagine writing anything for fun, much less thousands upon thousands of pages worth of material. But on the other hand, I think writing's sometimes viewed as a natural talent, a facility, rather than something that requires exercise to maintain. And unless you've been in the submission trenches, taking rejections left and right, you've no concept of how daunting the actual business aspect of writing can be. God knows I didn't, starting out.
Be honest, if you wrote full time, do you think you'd be disciplined about it?
If you'd asked me that a year ago, I would have said no. But lately, I've been on a tear, forcing myself to put ass-in-chair every chance I get, to write even when I'm not feeling it at all. This past month alone, I wrote a hundred prose pages. Plus my promotional duties. Plus my day job. And hell, I even managed to fit in a road trip for a good friend's wedding. I used to think, "A book a year would be a breeze if I were writing full-time -- imagine how much time I'd have for other stuff." Now, I think, "If I were writing full-time, to hell with one a year: I could probably fit in three."
What job, other than writing, would you most like to have?
Bookstore owner. Rock star. Covert agent. Iron Chef. Sommelier. (Note your question never states I'm required to be remotely qualified.)
What has been your best job? Your worst?
Best job (no offense to my current one, which I quite enjoy and also please don't fire me) would have to be driving a shuttle van in college. Radio on, windows down, brain wandering; it was a writer's dream. My friends would come hang out while I was on shift, and if nobody showed up looking for a ride, we'd go grab a bite to eat, or play PlayStation for free at Toys R' Us, or whatever. Good gig for a kid on scholarship, too poor to own a car.
Worst was hands-down the summer I spent running a drill press in a rural upstate New York factory that built forklifts. It was hot, hard, brutal work, and it didn't help that I was a rail-thin, multiply earring'd college kid in a building full of grizzled lifers. By summer's end, me and those guys got on okay, but it was rocky getting there.
When do you find time to read?
Uh. Um. Remember when I said I've been on a writing tear? Yeah, a lot of that's been at the expense of reading time. I bring a book to work so I can read during lunch. Some days, that's the only time I find.
Have you ever, or maybe how often, have you considered quitting and shacking up to write novels, money issues be damned?
I haven't. My wife's been insanely supportive of my writing, but I don't think I could ask her to be sole breadwinner while I slogged away in penniless obscurity. She and I've been broke before, and I'm not about to volunteer us to wind up that way again. Poor's only romantic to folks who haven't had the displeasure.
What is your ultimate goal with writing? Full time journeyman or millionaire? Or are you satisfied doing it part time?
Writing's the only thing I've ever done I thought was worth a damn. I'd love to make a go of it full-time. Whether I'm lucky enough to hit it big, or just scrappy enough to make enough to keep the lights on, that's what I aim to do. Lord knows how long it'll take to get there.
Given what you've earned writing, dividing it by the hours spent, what would you say is your hourly wage as a writer?
I don't think my calculator goes that low. Is it too late to reconsider on that whole full-time/part-time thing?
Do you have a spouse/partner that would support you writing full time?
Very much so, though as I said, Katrina and I are of a mind about making sure doing so's financially tenable first. It was my wife who encouraged me to try my hand at writing in the first place, and she's not only read but edited every story I've ever written. The world doesn't see it without me first getting her thumbs-up, and her input's been vital to my career. Of course, it's worth noting she's a book blogger and reviewer who's read more mysteries than any ten other people I know, so the opinions she's offering aren't simply of the blandly supportive variety.

And as long as you brought her in, do you mind if I ask your wife what she thinks of what your imagination is capable of? Does she sleep with the lights on?
Katrina Niidas Holm:
Chris’ madness knows no bounds. It’s really quite terrifying.  Please send help.
Seriously, though – I’ve always been impressed at Chris’ ability to craft a story, but I don’t think I was ever really caught off guard by the scope of his imagination until I read the second Collector novel (THE WRONG GOODBYE, due out this September).  That book knocked me back.  I can’t count the number of times I came across something in the text – some creature, some concept, some set piece, some sequence of events – that caused my jaw to drop.  I must have sounded like a broken record, so often did I turn to him and demand to know how in the hell he’d come up with something.  I’m now fairly convinced I’m married to a literary Willy Wonka.  Or maybe a noir-ish, pulpy Jasper Fforde (that’s high praise, coming from me!).  And I can’t wait to see what crazy shit he comes up with next.


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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Interview on Zemekis decision to replace Eric Stoltz

The movie filmed for 3-5 weeks with Eric Stoltz as the star. According to screenwriter Bob Gale, "There was about 40 minutes worth of cut footage." Unfortunately, Eric Stoltz was simply miscast. "And he is intense, and he’s more of the method school of acting, and he’s a very internal actor, as opposed to a guy who has a lot of physicality to him." said, Bob Gale.

In an interview with BoxOfficeMojo Bob Gale explains, "Gale: Bob [Zemeckis] was cutting the movie as he shot it, and he said to [producer] Neil Canton and me, after he screened forty minutes of cut footage [with Stoltz as Marty]: "I think we've got a problem—I want you guys to look at it and tell me what you think." So we looked at it and said, yeah. Then he screened it for [producers] Frank Marshall and Kathy Kennedy and later Steven Spielberg and everybody agreed it just wasn't working. We had wanted Michael J. Fox to begin with but [Fox was committed to playing Alex P. Keaton on NBC's Family Ties]

BOM: Who made the call to Eric Stoltz?

Gale: Bob Z. He just sat Eric down in the trailer and gave him the bad news."

Which probably isn't the worst news you could hear in a trailer, but still. What's the worst you've heard?

Ms. Baxter Birney (The Mom) was back to work at Family Ties, and the more animated Michael J. Fox was brought in to replace Eric Stoltz. The Robert Zemeckis production went back in time and the 22-year old shot around Family Ties' schedule. The bold move paid off for all involved and Stoltz has no regrets (publicly). Though I bet he's a bit wary of trailers.

The major visual differences between the two Marty McFlys involve wardrobe. Stoltz's McFly tried to get by wearing two layers (T-Shirt & Jacket), which was obviously not enough, because Michael J. Fox's McFly stacks on four layers (T-Shirt, Long Sleeve Shirt, Jeans Jacket, Vest). The more layers you wear, the warmer your performance. Also, Michael J. Fox looks infinitely more confused than Eric Stoltz. Perhaps some day we'll get to see and hear Eric Stoltz's 40 min. serious interpretation of Back to the Future.,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.&fp=265f5e3edf2ec82b&biw=1366&bih=643

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ESA Foundation News Releases

CONTACT: Dan Hewitt – or 202-223-2400

ESA Foundation Raises More Than $800,000 at 15th Annual "Nite To Unite - For Kids"

Funds Will Support Children’s Charities and College Scholarships

October 29, 2012 – WASHINGTON, DC – The Entertainment Software Association Foundation (ESAF) today announced that it raised $822,000 at its 15th annual “Nite to Unite – for Kids” black-tie gala. The funds will support ESAF’s grant-making activities and scholarship program, which enhance educational opportunities and make a difference in the lives of America’s youth. ESAF has raised more than $12 million since its founding in 2000.

“Nite to Unite’s success is due to the video game industry’s generosity, leadership and commitment to children,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association that represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Our industry once again came together to support programs and initiatives that equip America’s young adults with the skills they need for academic and workforce success.”

The “Nite to Unite – For Kids” was attended by industry leaders and luminaries on October 18 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. They celebrated Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve Corporation, who was the 2012 ESA Champion Honoree. A pioneer in the entertainment software industry who developed multiple award-winning games including Portal, Newell was recognized for using his technological creativity in interactive entertainment to help teachers utilize new learning software and to develop critical problem-solving skills in students. His work enhanced learning in the areas of physics, mathematics and language arts.

The “Nite to Unite – For Kids” co-chairs were Kazuhiko Abe, president and CEO of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.; John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive; and Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. International Data Group (IDG) and IDG World Expo sponsored the casino night portion of the gala.

At the event, ESAF highlighted its new partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) to aid nonprofit children’s hospitals across North America. The organizations are collaborating on Extra Life, an annual 24-hour video game marathon that taps into the philanthropic spirit of the video game community by enabling players to raise money for a CMN Hospital of their choice. Since launching in 2008, Extra Life has raised more than $2 million to provide life-saving medical treatment, equipment, research and care to millions of children. In addition, ESAF announced its 2013 beneficiaries:

  • Federation of American Scientists, which will distribute a game to enhance high school level science instruction and deepen students’ understanding of biology.
  • George Mason University Foundation, which will provide underserved middle and high school students with the chance to participate in after-school game design classes.
  • HopeLab Foundation, which will use technology and video games to improve the health of youth, especially those with cancer.
  • Lewis and Clark Foundation, which will support the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, focusing on education and children’s programs.
  • National Conference of State Legislatures, which will develop and implement interactive games to teach students about lawmaking and democracy.
  • Parents’ Choice Foundation, which will develop a resource for parents, educators and healthcare professionals that will provide uniform testing, certification and identification of digital games for children of all abilities, including those with special needs.
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum, which opened “The Art of Video Games” exhibition this year highlighting the 40-year evolution of video games,will provide electronic resources to schools and the public.
  • ThanksUSA,a non-partisan charitable organization, which will provide scholarships and education resources to the children of those serving in the U.S. armed forces.
  • University of Texas at Austin, which will support an immersive science learning program for middle school students, developed by its College of Education.
  • World Wide Workshop Foundation, which will harness the potential of computer games to improve learning, leadership and livelihood skills of underserved children and youth.

The ESAF was created by the American entertainment software industry to provide opportunities that can make a difference in the lives of America’s youth. The Foundation is fully supported by proceeds from its limited edition charity game pack’s sales and "Nite to Unite - for Kids," its annual fundraiser. For more information about the ESAF, please visit

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The 'Internet of Things'

Esmeralda Swartz

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Re-inventing the Enterprise in the Cloud

How do you achieve a silver lining?

Why should enterprises move data and applications into the cloud? The discussion on cloud strategy is still to this day focused on cost-reduction, primarily featuring economies achieved in infrastructure, platform and even applications. Certainly no one is going to argue that this is all worth thinking about; every business needs to be aware of cost reduction opportunities.

However a complete cloud strategy for an enterprise needs to be a whole lot more comprehensive than that. Enterprises, big and smaller, need to stretch their minds to take in the business opportunities that emerge from a cloud way of working, opportunities that are difficult or impossible to achieve in an environment of discrete platforms and applications.

The cloud starts to grow a broader silver lining as we move up from storage and simple application hosting to embrace business models and processes that have been re-engineered for a cloud environment, especially when those processes span the boundaries from one enterprise to another, providing the binding that links manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and customers.

For example, a service provider can multiply its channels to market and expand its market reach by embracing - in the cloud - complementary service providers who can create new service mashups that will attract customers in new niches. Multiple partners collaborate via a coherent cloud-based infrastructure to combine and integrate those services, deliver them to customers and bill for them. Customers for these services use the same cloud collaboration infrastructure to compare offerings, place orders, analyze performance and usage, and manage their accounts.

This is quite a different concept from simply saving dollars on storage. The cloud, of course, enables both, and it's not surprising that early adopters go for the type of gains that involve a simple cost-comparison and easy transition. But as the market matures, along with our understanding of all the good things cloud can deliver, we see more and more companies planning for more sophisticated business-oriented cloud projects, in addition to the simpler infrastructure based initiatives.

We've had discussions with several enterprise service providers about ways in which they can implement such business-transformational projects, with MetraTech working behind the scenes to ensure that all that effort can be monetized successfully.

Let's be realistic: real effort is involved here. Consider the analysis needed to decide whether to buy one brand of server against another: this needs access to information, and undoubtedly some expertise. However re-engineering a department or a product line needs all of that expertise and more. Similarly, the decision to use cloud as an infrastructure cost-reduction tool is (relatively) straightforward; evaluating the use of the cloud for business transformation is much more complicated.

However, the pay-off from this effort will, in suitable cases, be substantial. Every company does the easy stuff. Initiatives that require thought and careful planning provide opportunities for differentiation only to those few enterprises that have the requisite expertise, talent and discipline.

Here at MetraTech, we have always been aware that there are multiple perspectives on what cloud is for, and what it can do, and that all of those have some validity. We also believe that the true worth of cloud will not be realized until it is seen as providing a way of fundamentally changing how we do business. However we're a specialist monetization company that knows how to ensure that such transformations are able to earn real money, so we would think that, wouldn't we?

It's therefore been reassuring for us to read a recent report from Gartner [1] that supports this MetraTech perspective. The Gartner analyst, Gregor Petri, reminds us that the way forward is through tactical business solutions rather than infrastructure replacements, and that it is essential to re-engineer business processes to reap the full potential of cloud. Exactly.

One of the ways to move in the direction suggested in the report, we suggest, is to work with application and platform vendors who have already worked out much of the detail of how to support a cloud-based business solution that is usable, flexible, secure and future-proof. That still leaves you with the non-trivial task of designing a customized environment to meet your exact business needs. So, there's no need to re-invent the cloud, but you probably do need to think about re-inventing your business for the cloud.

1. "Three Factors Will Significantly Impact Enterprise Cloud Use in the Near to Midterm Future", August, 2013. You can read the Gartner report at http://www.gartner.com/id=2568317, no registration required.

More Stories By Esmeralda Swartz

Esmeralda Swartz is VP, Marketing Enterprise and Cloud, BUSS. She has spent 15 years as a marketing, product management, and business development technology executive bringing disruptive technologies and companies to market. Esmeralda was CMO of MetraTech, now part of Ericsson. At MetraTech, Esmeralda was responsible for go-to-market strategy and execution for enterprise and SaaS products, product management, business development and partner programs. Prior to MetraTech, Esmeralda was co-founder, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Lightwolf Technologies, a big data management startup. She was previously co-founder and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development of Soapstone Networks, a developer of resource and service control software, now part of Extreme Networks.

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