Quotes for Science Fiction Writers…

“Perhaps most famously, Gibson wrote Neuromancer without the aid of a computer, and indeed, without knowing much about computers at all. This ignorance led to a lesson that every scifi writer, fan and everybody else should learn: your knowledge might be crippling your imagination. Gibson was free to imagine virtual social networks and complex visual interfaces primarily because he had no reason to think otherwise.” — Avi Abrams, DarkRoastedBlend

“It’s actually harder to write science fiction, because you have to know more. I’ve never been a hard science fiction writer, but even writing a non-hard science fiction story you have to know a lot more about science and the world and how things work than you do to write a fantasy.” — Veteran SF editor Gardner Dozois, interviewed in Locus.

That’s just al ittle inspiration to get your juices flowing next time you try to put pen to paper.  Actually I would encourage anyone reading this to put pen to paper anyway. Write anything… just write… I’d venture to say it’s good for you and the entire Universe. No shit.  Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

Link

Mos Def- Life in Marvelous Times

Life in Marvelous Times: An ill track I came across features Mos righteously spittin “Whatever you ride, whatever your lane, this thing called life its a beautiful thing. We are alive in Amazing times.” The Brooklyn Mc’s next record will be The Ecstatic with production and features from Madlib, Oh No, Chad Hugo, Slick Rick, Kanye West, Mr. Porter and the late great J.Dilla ( R.I.P). Due out in February of 2009.

East of LA

I’m excited about this… the track is Awesome! Lyrics to move your soul and the beat to make your body bounce… Heavily :)

Bad Marketing Mix: Diddy’s New Fragrance

The new Sean John Fragrance and its accompanying marketing campaign is so saturated with Puff Daddy’s, I mean Diddy’s, I mean… whatever … His new fragrance called “I am King” is a bottle of concentrated Diddy Ego.

I’ve already come across three (1,2,3) accounts of people actually almost barfing after coming into contact with the stuff, some even after coming into contact with the advertising (see above pic, it’s disgustingly narcissistic!).  I can’t believe that this guy can be so full of himself!  No doubt this campaign makes me feel sick, Like most products and brands, they sell an idea.  Diddy’s idea and product are designed to sell him and his overinflated ego.  How a person like this can be a role model to kids, I have no idea.

He should stick to making beats (because his lyrics SUCK!) and so does most of his other products.

#FAIL on this marketing campaign, not on the choice of media or tactics but on the underlying idea and concept.

Holy Marketing

I love this joke… and it drives home a great point about the true essence of marketing, knowing your audience/customer.

Two beggars are sitting side by side on a street in Rome. One has a cross in front of him; the other one the Star of David. Many people go by and look at both beggars, but only put money into the hat of the beggar sitting behind the cross. A priest comes by, stops and watches throngs of people giving money to the beggar behind the cross, but none give to the beggar behind the Star of David. Finally, the priest goes over to the beggar behind the Star of David and says, ‘My poor fellow, don’t you understand? This is a Catholic country, this city is the seat of Catholicism. People aren’t going to give you money if you sit there with a Star of David in front of you, especially when you’re sitting beside a beggar who has a cross. In fact, they would probably give to him just out of spite.’ The beggar behind the Star of David listened to the priest, turned to the other beggar with the cross and said, ‘Moishe, look who’s trying to teach the Goldstein brothers about marketing.’

Courtesy JP Rossouw

Got this from David Donde

The Accolade: Saudi Arabia’s All-Girl Underground Rock Band

As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Group Dares to Rock – NY Times
Taboo breaking takes a new form in Saudi Arabia, something that should be expected in all repressive societies. Human creativity can never be stifled.

The have the lyrics of their first song, “Pinocchio” on their Facebook page and you can hear it on their MySpace Page.  Read below for the story behind their creation. Awesome.

In a country where women are not allowed to drive and rarely appear in public without their faces covered, the band is very different. The prospect of female rockers clutching guitars and belting out angry lyrics about a failed relationship — the theme of “Pinocchio” — would once have been unimaginable here.
…
“The upcoming generation is different from the one before,” said Dina, the Accolade’s 21-year-old guitarist and founder. “Everything is changing. Maybe in 10 years it’s going to be O.K. to have a band with live performances.”

Dina said she first dreamed of starting a band three years ago. In September, she and her sister Dareen, 19, who plays bass, teamed up with Lamia and Amjad, the keyboardist.

They were already iconoclasts: Dina and Dareen wear their hair teased into thick manes and have pierced eyebrows. During an interview at a Starbucks here, they wore black abayas — the flowing gown that is standard attire for women — but the gowns were open, showing their jeans and T-shirts, and their hair and faces were uncovered. Women are more apt to go uncovered in Jidda than in most other parts of the country, though it is still uncommon.

“People always stare at us,” Dareen said, giggling. She and her sister are also avid ice skaters, another unusual habit in Saudi Arabia’s desert.

The band gets together to practice every weekend at the sisters’ house, where their younger brother sometimes fills in on drums. In early November, Dina, who studies art at King Abdulaziz University, began writing a song based on one of her favorite paintings, “The Accolade,” by the English pre-Raphaelite painter Edmund Blair Leighton. The painting depicts a long-haired noblewoman knighting a young warrior with a sword.

“I liked the painting because it shows a woman who is satisfied with a man,” Dina said.
…..
Dina held out her cellphone to show a video of the band practicing at home. It looked like a garage-band jam session anywhere in the world, with the sisters hunching over their instruments, their brother blasting away at the drums and Lamia clutching a microphone.

“We’re looking for a drummer,” Lamia said. “Five guys have offered, but we really want the band to be all female.”

The Accolade Facebook Page
The Accolade MySpace page

Scar 3D

Please don’t waste your time with this movie… to be nice to it would say it’s “fuckin’ retarded.” Which is a quote from the movie itself by the way.  With the advent of the 3D Cinema, some really good movies have been made which fit the new technology brilliantly… this movie is not one of them.

It is one of those really bad horror movies you know is bad when you see the movie poster, but are somehow intrigued to go and watch it anyway because of the “3D” tag to the whole thing.  Please do not be fooled by this.  After going through the whole schpiel and having some gory scenes displayed, in all their 3D glory, by the time you get to the climax of the movie, the 3D doesn’t factor into anything conciously… you’re mostly being gored out of your mind.

The most irritating of all though, is the extremely bad screenplay, predictable story-line and absolutely atrocious acting.

From a 3D Cinema perspective… I learnt something.  I think the technology is just a tool and another cool way to bring the entertainment to life.  The core still matters though, so if the story-line is shit, the rest will not make up for it.  It’s sugar coated excrement.
Link

Craziest/Scariest/Coolest Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin, Ever.

This guy has skill to carve out a Halloween pumpkin to resemble the “Alien”.  Freakin Creepy.  Damn that’s skill.  I don’t want to look at it… but I do.

Link

Moustache Squid Roast What???

This will fall under “Engrish” I suppose but it looks like it comes from Thailand… I don’t think many tourists would stop to eat at a place like this… well the normal one’s anyway.

You can’t afford it…SO DON’T BUY IT! You Idiot.

I think this is a pretty cool reminder from Consumer Reports to all credit card holders over the festive season.  Especially in America… and especially given the trillions already tolled in American debt.

IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT, DON’T BUY IT! YOU BLOODY IDIOT.  I have this deep sadness for people who can’t see past their own short-term actions and then find themselves, over-weight, under-paid, swimming in debt and facing another mid-life crisis.

Big Up to Consumer Reports for the reminder… No Bailouts in the Credit Card Contract… you will be paying ALL OF IT back.

Link

Technorati Tags:
Credit Cards, Consumer Report, Bailout, Holidays, Christmas, Spending, Debt, American

Review: “Behind the Rainbow” Documentary by Jihan El-Tahri

Coming from the World Premiere of “Behind the Rainbow“, which was held last night at Maponya Mall in Soweto, one can’t shake the feeling of how the media has actually shaped the perceptions of the man on the street with regards to South African politics and especially with regard to the personalities behind the politics.

Behind the Rainbow, directed by the seminal Jihan El-Tahri, covers South Africa’s political history focusing on the internal struggles and challenges faced by the ruling party, the ANC.  One can’t help being moved by the understanding of the conflicts within the party as we see very different personalities coming up against each other; each with their own way of working and their own visions of the future of their organisation and their country, even though they subscribe to the same Charter.

Of particular interest to me was the focus on the very recent events in which Thabo Mbeki (ex-President of South Africa) went up against his life-long friend and fellow comrade in the struggle for th ANC, Jacob Zuma.  Two very different personalities by all accounts and the events which lead up to these two going up against each other at the Polokwane conference in 2007 and the recent “re-calling” of Thabo Mbeki by the ANC.  Everything is covered… Corruption, The arms deal, Jacob Zuma’s Rape Accusation, the un-wielding support of Jacob Zuma by ANC members, the mindset behind the ANC Supporters and the Youth of the ANC in general, Black Economic Empowerment, etc. All of which give you a holistic understanding of what the ANC faced as they were put into power.

Many members of the ANC were present at the premiere itself… Mac Maharaj, Andrew Feinstein and some others who were featured in the documentary as well.  The personal interviews with both Mbeki and Zuma, as well as personal perspectives of Members within the ANC make the documentary more personable than any other recent documentary done on the ANC and its internal workings.  The fact that the documentary covers aspects right up until the recent appointment of current President Kgalema Motlanthe (who is also featured prominently in the documentary), shows its relevance to the here and now.

Overall, it was a very well researched documentary on the current state of South African Politics and the direction was nothing short of brilliant.  It doesn’t slow and make you lose interest in any way and keeps you hooked onto pertinent topics without straying or becoming boring.  The points hit home hard, everything we’ve read in newspapers, seen on tV and analysed among friends is covered and criticised by the ANC members themselves.

A definite must-see for any South African interested in the past, present and future of the country they live in.

Directed by: Jihan El-Tahri

Produced by: Steven Markovitz

Behind the Rainbow – Trailer

Technorati Tags:
Jihan el-Tahri, Behind the Rainbow, Documentary, South Africa, Politics, Jacob Zuma, Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Andrew Feinstein, Mac Maharaj, ANC, African National Congress, Polokwane, Steve Markovitz

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