A Picture is worth 100 words

This one might be worth 2000.



NOTE: This sculpture was created by Kris Kuksi. This image, and others can be found here on the ever-cool sci-fi blog, i09.


Leave some of your words in the comments section. And don't forget to subscribe!


cheers,


[love is the thing, this time, I'm sure.]

Stephen Hawking is Wrong

According to Mr. Hawking, life does exist on other planets... but we should do our best to avoid contact. He makes the claim that the landing of an alien presence on Earth would be akin to Columbus' landing in the new world, "which didn't turn out well for the Native[s]". Essentially, Hawking fears "aliens might simply raid Earth for resources, then move on."

Well, Mr. Stephen "Rainycloud", what if the aliens really aren't the Cold War Era monsters that dominated the silver screen of the 1950s? What if they're more like the aliens that started showing up in the late 70s? What if they're super-cool and we become best friends? Why you so negative?

"Surely you jest," you may say, "How can Man ever be friends with extra-terrestrial beings?". You laugh. Then, my alien wingman comes in from the other room. He puts a hand on my shoulder, and snarls something in his native tongue, something like, "This chap bothering you, Captain?"

You pale, and extend your hand to me. A shocked expression splashed across your face. "I was so wrong," you say as you glance at my intergalactic friend, then, back to me, "please, forgive me."

And I'll say, "no".

Then, the last thing you see would probably look like this.


[he sees angels in the architecture, spinning in infinity, he says, "Hey, hallelujah"]

An Ode to Springtime and bicycles

Oh, you ladies of Spring that ride your bikes about the town, how I adore thee. You are Grace. Elegance. Hair floating in the air, catching the breeze and the bright golden beams of the sun in such a perfect way -- you put the moon to shame.

Do you realize it's you that keeps this crazy world turning? The birds singing? The trees budding?

And like the multitude of angels from long ago, you bring glad tidings of great joy: Spring is here, finally, and Summer is right on its coattails. Dear ladies, may God bless you, and may you forever ride.


cheers,
Stephen


[The sky could be blue, I don't mind, without you, it's a waste of time]

SHATNER!

If you have any interest in the man, the legend, William Shatner, I recommend you read this article from GQ magazine. You won't be sorry you did.


[And I think it's gonna be a long, long time]

The Perfect Road Trip Songs, pt. 2

Indiana is "Let it Bleed" country.

It was Sunday afternoon that my Brother and I decided on an impromptu Road Trip to Hersher, IL to spend Easter with family. Of course, to get to Illinois from Michigan, a stretch through Indiana is inevitable (Unless you're a stupid and you decide to go through Wisconsin, but that doesn't make sense, bimbo).

As we made our way through the tiny towns of Indiana, each with a charming, one-stoplight main streets and signs comprised of chain-link proudly displaying the emblems of local churches, the vintage country twang of 'Let it Bleed' just seemed to fit like a glove, specifically the title track.

I used to hold the misconception that the Rolling Stones were just 'Gimme Shelter' and 'Jumpin' Jack Flash', that is, until someone bought me Let It Bleed. Very dusty, very country, in fact, 'Gimme Shelter' sounds too produced and rock 'n' roll for the rest of the album. I guess that's ok, but just remember, if you're driving through Indiana, you'd be better off starting on 'Country Honk', then just put the cruise control on and let the album spool out.


cheers


[She said "this one will bring you love", and I don't know if it's true, but I keep it for good luck]

Herscher

I walk in the dark.

The air is crisp.

The storm has passed now.

The fresh grass sings.

Windmills on the horizon pierce the night.

pulsating in red unison.

A heartbeat.

'We're out here'.



Coyotes cackle in the distance.

Danger looms.

Still, I walk in the dark.



[They spun a web for me]

The Perfect Road Trip Songs

Yesterday, I was making my way home from a show in Ravenna, MI, which is essentially in the middle of nowhere. Mind you, I use the phrase "middle of nowhere" not as a sleight against the fine town of Ravenna, but merely as means of description. In fact, it's almost a complement. Many times, I find myself driving to work or a friend's house, staring down the highway, lusting for the "Nowhere" it leads to. Too often, I'm tempted to neglect all of my responsibilities for the day in order to serve my desires to explore the unknown that lies just over the next hill, but I digress...

The point of the story is this: The trip from Ravenna to Grand Rapids is decent enough, about 45 minutes. Not enough to be considered a "Road Trip" per se, but at a certain state of drowsiness, the crooked country roads wrapped on all sides by the furrowed cornfields of Spring create the illusion that I'm really very far away from home. On my own. A pioneer.

So, I started the trip out with "Golden Age" by Beck, which appears as the first track on the album Sea Change. It matched the situation perfectly, and I'll go so far as to say, if you're setting off during the afternoon or early evening (when the sun is not yet orange), and you're in the farmlands of the Midwest, you want "Golden Age" to be that first track of the journey.

It's a perfect Road Trip song.

In fact, the entire Sea Change album is excellent, especially in the car.

But we're not talking about albums, are we? We're talking about songs, and my pick for this week is "Golden Age".

What's your pick?



[Put your hands on the wheel. Let the Golden Age begin]

Straighforward Writing advice from David Mamet

Want to be a screenwriter? Here's a memo from David Mamet laying out a no-nonsense guide to writing good dramatic television.

It is totally kick-ass.

My favorite passages:

IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT *WILL* BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.

ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.

ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.




And there's plenty more where that came from. Please read, and enjoy.

THE MEMO


cheers,



[Let's fly away. If you could use some exotic booze there's a bar in far bombay]

Whoring Out your Art pt. 2

Going back to the whole George Lucas post from last week:

I suppose it's easy for us to heap all the blame on him. After all, he's the "mastermind" behind it all. He's the one selling out the galaxy for some extra green.

But who's putting all that green in his pockets?

It's us.

I went to see all the prequels in theaters, several times, knowing full well that they weren't great films. Then I bought the subsequent video games, and those weren't great either, but I played them 'till I beat them. Then there's the books, some of them are great, some are decent, and some a re just plain terrible, but I don't apply the same judgement to SW related things that I do with everything else. Because the original Star Wars holds such a place in my heart, I'm willing to accept a lot of mediocre crap just because it carries the SW banner.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one out there who feels the same way, and as much as I hate to admit it, we're part of the problem...



[Wild horses couldn't drag me away]

Site Updates

Lend me your ears....

So, you may have noticed a few changes around here. Let me give you the nickel tour.

1.) The url has officially changed from stephenpellmell.blogspot.com to the new, streamlined pellmellblog.blogspot.com. Why the change? I just like it better, and since I'm the master of this domain, I can do whatever I feel like. Well, maybe I'm more of a benevolent dictator.

2.) I've started a twitter account (this was covered in an earlier post), and if you've got a twitter account as well, you can sign up. Just click on the little twitter widget over there in the right column, and it's easy as that!

**UPDATE**
3.) Lastly, YOU CAN NOW SUBSCRIBE TO GET BLOG UPDATES VIA EMAIL. This is also easy as that. See that little silver box over there near the top right corner? Yeah, just type in your email address there and hit "submit", and every day, if there's a new post or two, they'll be sent straight to your email account. Convenient, no?


That's about it. Sorry for this little business related post, I've never been a fan of posts like these (They're like "clip show" episodes), but they are necessary to keep you up to date on all the new happenings 'round the blog. So, I thank you for your time and hope these new features will help you in your attempts to stay better connected with the site.


Keep reading, there's more non-boring posts. I promise.


[I heard your record on the telephone. It was my cousin, Joan, she picked it up on the top 40 rack and then...]