Blog Profile / Vestige
| URL : | http://www.vestige.org/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Entertainment / Books | |
| Posts on Regator: | 182 | |
| Posts / Week: | 0.7 | |
| Archived Since: | March 2, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
I Write Terrible Poems
Don't you just hate really earnest poetry? I don't mean the seriousness and melodrama of the Victorians, or the obliqueness of the Modernists, or even the loony bullshit of sound poets (well, okay, maybe I mean the loony bullshit ofShow More Summary
A Bit of News
It's been a long time since I've updated. Some things have happened that have kept this blog a low priority: I did some freelance work, switched jobs a couple of times, and have gone through some personal issues. I've taken on a newShow More Summary
Friday Reads: Blueprints of the Afterlife, by Ryan Boudinot
"Friday Reads," if you're not familiar with the phrase, is a phenomenon on Twitter where folks use the #FridayReads hashtag to talk about, and usually recommend, the books they happen to be reading (you know, on Friday). It doesn't sound like much, but it's kind of fun and cute and whatever, the way Twitter hashtags are. Show More Summary
Godblog, by Laurie Channer
Godblog wasn't a bad book, but there were some structural problems that kept it from being a really good one. Most of the first hundred pages could have been cut without damaging the plot, and it would have given the book a tighter, more focused feel. Show More Summary
The Complete Lockpick Pornography, by Joey Comeau
So here's the deal: The Complete Lockpick Pornography is actually two short novels, Lockpick Pornography and We All Got It Coming, which has been described as its "thematic sequel." I picked it up at Indie Lit Night at the Starlight Lounge this past Tuesday, where Joey gave a hilarious reading, and we had a great chat. Show More Summary
Community Without Dan Harmon
As a fan of Community, it's been a week of ups and downs. First there were rumours of cancelation, trotted out like the reliable workhorses they proved to be when the show was put on mid-season hiatus. And then we got the reprieve; thirteen more episodes, but getting moved to Fridays starting in June of all months. Show More Summary
Biographemes and A.S. Byatt's The Biographer's Tale
This paper was researched and written over the course of almost a year, starting in May 2002 and ending in April 2003, under the direction of the amazing Dr. Sarah Tolmie, at the University of Waterloo. Many things have changed since then, and I would not come to all the same conclusions today. Show More Summary
Exit, by Nelly Arcan
This piece originally appeared in issue 83 of Canadian Notes & Queries under the title "Half In Love With Death."
Viktor Frankl, founder of the Viennese school of existential psychotherapy called "logotherapy," wrote that
happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. Show More Summary
Walk Like A Man, by Robert J. Wiersema
Full disclosure: I consider Rob a friend, though I by no means claim membership in the Circle, and Rob knows that I have enough respect for him to be unflinchingly honest in my assessment of this book—indeed, because I respect him, I could not behave otherwise. Show More Summary
Community, 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, and Rumours
Here's the deal, kids. Nobody's been cancelled yet, except 30 Rock. Here's what went down: There has been talk on Twitter and blogs and whatnot that 30 Rock was getting a 13 episode season for next year, which would be its last. That...Show More Summary
Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' Roll, by Nick Tosches
One of the things I like about good music writing is, somewhat surprisingly, something it has in common with good sports writing: you don't have to be a fan of the subject matter to enjoy it. For the most part, I don't care for country music. Show More Summary
The Maladjusted, by Derek Hayes
Appropriately titled, the common denominator across nearly all of the stories in Toronto-based author Derek Hayes' first collection is a character who is so wrapped up in themselves, has internalized their neuroses to such a degree,Show More Summary
Soon This Will All Be Gone, by catl
Full disclosure: I was the copyeditor for the cover art of Soon This Will All Be Gone, but I had no involvement with the music; indeed, I haven't even met the band in person.
I went to see catl with a friend of mine a little over a year ago. Show More Summary
Steampunk 101
I mentioned in an earlier post that this year I'm going to make an effort to reacquaint myself with my nerdy roots, and true to my word I've already begun in earnest. I've finished the first book from my three-volume H.P. Lovecraft collection,...Show More Summary
Music to Read By
So last night's post about the blues was sort of accidental. I had intended to write about what I listen to when I read. For years I was the sort of person who could read anywhere, regardless of what was going on around me. In university,...Show More Summary
Drinking, Fighting, and Fucking: Lessons in the Real Folk Blues
It's no secret that I'm a huge blues fan. An argument could be made that the blues, as a genre, is at the core of all modern Western popular music, from jazz, rock 'n' roll, and country, right up to dubstep and digital hardcore. But that's not why I love it. Show More Summary
The Whole of A.S. Byatt's Oeuvre, Briefly Stated
I've been reading The Children's Book recently, and came across a passage that struck me as important. If you want to understand A.S. Byatt's work, not the whole of it, of course (post title notwithstanding), but the catalyst, the detonator,...Show More Summary
The Good Wife: Season One
I'm a newcomer to the CBS legal drama The Good Wife, now in its third season. I've spent the last day and a half watching the first season from my sick bed. It was a combination of things that made me finally give in, despite the fact that a new network legal drama wasn't particularly high up on my priorities. Show More Summary
Looking Ahead to 2012
I don't do resolutions. Not because it's a cliché; I sometimes think those are all right. Rather it's because I just don't ever stick to them. Things happen, blah blah blah. I could give you excuses, but that's how things wind up going. Show More Summary
Triptych, by J.M. Frey
Please note that this review may include spoilers. As a general rule I do not share the SF/F community's aversion to that sort of thing (it quite frankly gets in the way of a critic being able to give a full and honest assessment), so I'm not going to be careful about it. Show More Summary