Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie, directed by Spike Jonze. The movie is an adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story. Max, a disobedient little boy is sent to bed without his supper. He then creates his own world filled with creatures that make Max their king.
Shimmer is a magazine of contemporary speculative fiction. Kind of a fantasy/sci-fi sort of thing. They are offering their latest issue with 12 stories in it as a free download. Some of the titles included are, The Carnivale of Abandoned Tales, Jaguar Woman, Counting Down to the End of the Universe, and an author interview.
Download the latest issue of Shimmer Magazine.
Kutiman posts video mashups on YouTube that make brand new music. He takes video clips that other people have uploaded and he cuts pieces out of the people playing their instruments and then edits them all together with just the right timing and layering to create a whole new musical mix. This one’s a nice little funk number and the filmmaker/musician creates a lively atmosphere out of his found musical clips.
In China, there’s a revolution in online novels. Writers are uploading their books to be read by millions of Chinese readers who pay a small amount for each book. The leading company offering online novels in China is Shanda Literature. Their site, Qidian.com, is the most popular destination for novel readers. Even regular bookstores are now offering print versions of online novels. Apparently, the online universe is China is relatively free of censorship and authors find themselves with more freedom to criticize.
Here’s a CNN article about the online publishing boom in China.
Here’s an absolutely fascinating film shot from the front of a streetcar in Barcelona, Spain. Look at the way the people in the city of 1908 run along with the streetcar trying to see and be seen by the camera. They seem to be full of joy and excitement. They run along and ride bikes and wave. Can you imagine people acting this openly today? There’s something profound in this little film. It just goes on along the tracks and through the crowds of happy onlookers without trying to make a point of any kind, but it makes a strong impression. Wonderful film. Watch it through to the end. It will make you feel inexplicably happy.
Here’s an illustration from Miguel de Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote. It was done by Gustave Doré. It shows Don Quixote reading a book of chivalry in his library. I love the way Doré shows all the madness of Quixote’s imagination surrounding him in his chair as if his imagination and the book were coming to life. It’s a reminder that the sanest guy in the entire novel is really the Don himself… even though he does go off tilting at windmills as if they were giant monsters.
Click the image to enlarge.
