Catherine Keener
Mais sugestões?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Casting: Candidatos - Carol Midwaay
Até agora a única candidata ao papel da melhor amiga de Isabel Martínez e dona da livraria Footnotes foi:
A Demon Inside by Rick R. Reed
Synopsis From Back Cover:
Hunter Beaumont doesn't understand hi grandmother's deathbed wish: "Destroy Beaumont House." He'd never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother's will, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.
But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he man not be alone. And with whom - or what - he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he many never escape. sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, a caretaker for the estate next door, but is the man salvation... or is he the source of Hunter's terror?
I've been a sucker for haunted house stories my entire life, I can never get enough of them. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite are two of my all time favorite books, and while A Demon Inside may not be comparable to the first, it definitely fits in with the second book. Both books take a young gay man and force him to deal with family secrets in such a way that they put their lives in jeopardy. The difference though is that while Trevor in Drawing Blood knows what he is getting himself into, Hunter doesn't, which makes the story even more compelling.
Hunter is a shy, naive young man who was raised by his grandmother after his parents were brutally murdered, an event that Hunter was present for. He grows up sheltered and hidden away from most of the world, a move that his grandmother took to try and protect him, but left him a little vulnerable and easily influenced.
Once his grandmother passes and asks him to destroy Beaumont House, that vulnerability and naiveness gets quickly tested. His first love affair ends horribly but it was one that if Hunter had been less trusting and more socially developed, he could have avoided it all together. This is what send him packing to Beaumont House despite the misgivings he felt the first time he was there.
This is where the book really takes off and the action starts. I won't go into too much detail of what Hunter has to deal with while living in the house, though I will say if I woke up the first morning in a new house and had the same experience Hunter did, I wouldn't bother packing, I would walk right out the front door and never look back.
The author does a wonderful job of setting the right notes of fear and stubbornness that Hunter feels throughout the book. There aren't a lot of authors who can write a convincingly haunted house story without coming across as cheesy or trying to hard. This author has it nailed down. The atmosphere he invokes works perfectly with the storyline and never gets in the way of the plot. He methodically creates the perfect sense of terror that leads to a wonderful thought out climax that left me wishing there was more to the story.
The other aspect I loved was the lack of sex, though there was a strong desire for it, between Hunter and his quite attractive neighbor. The author lets their friendship and trust build first and it's only towards the end that you realize they may have something real they can fall back on once the horror of the house is finally over.
This was my second book from this author and I'm falling more in love with his writing style. I can't wait to read the next one.
This will qualify for the GLBT Reading Challenge 2010.
New books, MORE new things to learn
I've been rather frustrated with my inability to ID shorebirds with any kind of confidence, so I finally knuckled down and got a couple of new books: The Shorebird Guide, by Michael O'Brien, Richard Crossley, and Kevin Karlson -- the shorebird bible! -- and (finally!) the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, and (just for my masochistic side) Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World by James Cowan Greenway (books like this always just make me sad and angry). That last one hasn't arrived yet, but the first two arrived yesterday and I am THRILLED so far with what I've seen!
First, I dove into the shorebird guide. From the Introduction on, I was learning new things, like the fact that woodcocks and snipe are shorebirds. Yeah, I didn't know that. Still don't really get it, either. But when I read the section on woodcocks and snipe, I'm hoping to understand more!
Both books, especially the shorebird book, stress shape as a critically important aspect of identification. The best part? I went to the CMBO View from the Cape site and just clicked on some shorebird photos they had without looking at the ID info. Two straight birds, I only looked at the silhouettes on the back flap, and I ID'd them both! Granted, they weren't peeps--one was a Marbled Godwit and the other was a Willet; both have distinctive shapes. Still, it was a thrill for a dummy like me!
I'm getting to the Sibley, but probably not until the weekend. AB will be in Baltimore visiting our new niece, so I'll just basically be birding my little heart out and studying my books!
I'm really looking forward to studying hard and taking notes, especially with the Cape May Autumn Weekend coming up. I'm hoping to do a little ID on my own, instead of just following the guides around and letting them do all the work. Plus the big bunker pond at the lighthouse is always a great place to look for peeps and other shorebirds, and I really want to be able to be more than just a beginning birder.
First, I dove into the shorebird guide. From the Introduction on, I was learning new things, like the fact that woodcocks and snipe are shorebirds. Yeah, I didn't know that. Still don't really get it, either. But when I read the section on woodcocks and snipe, I'm hoping to understand more!
Both books, especially the shorebird book, stress shape as a critically important aspect of identification. The best part? I went to the CMBO View from the Cape site and just clicked on some shorebird photos they had without looking at the ID info. Two straight birds, I only looked at the silhouettes on the back flap, and I ID'd them both! Granted, they weren't peeps--one was a Marbled Godwit and the other was a Willet; both have distinctive shapes. Still, it was a thrill for a dummy like me!
I'm getting to the Sibley, but probably not until the weekend. AB will be in Baltimore visiting our new niece, so I'll just basically be birding my little heart out and studying my books!
I'm really looking forward to studying hard and taking notes, especially with the Cape May Autumn Weekend coming up. I'm hoping to do a little ID on my own, instead of just following the guides around and letting them do all the work. Plus the big bunker pond at the lighthouse is always a great place to look for peeps and other shorebirds, and I really want to be able to be more than just a beginning birder.
New camera, new things to learn
I'd been thinking about getting a new camera for a while now, after noticing that the auto-focus on my Kodak was just not that sharp anymore, nor was the color so crisp and wonderful, and after getting tired of not having the LCD (it took some sort of impact in CA and went black).
So after asking around, and pricing things on Amazon, and trying some cameras in the stores, I ended up with a Nikon Coolpix 100. I like it so far! The macro mode is pretty awesome:
The macro mode on my Kodak never worked well at all. With this camera, like my old Nikon Coolpix 4800, the macro lets you get right up in the nostrils of your subject.
It also has (get this) 26x zoom!!!! Holy hand grenade, I was zooming all over the place on Saturday morning when I went birding! I got a photo of this Red-eyed Vireo who was wwaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy up there in a tree but unfortunately half-hidden behind a branch:
But I would've gotten him had he not hidden!
I didn't see too many other birds that day; that's what happens when you go looking for warblers at around 11 a.m. Seems I recall something about an "early bird," but whatever. Tra la la!
I also saw this little damselfly:
Looks a lot like that slenderwing I snapped a couple of weeks ago.
I also took a photo of the tiniest little cicada EVER:
At least I think it's a cicada. It could just be some sort of fly. But it looks cicada-like!
Speaking of cool-looking bugs, look at this one:
That's some very vivid coloring!
Now the focus on these macro shots is not as tack-sharp as I'd like; I think I need a little more practice on that. Plus I find that as I get older, I'm a lot shakier than I used to be. Maybe I should use a tripod for these kinds of shots?
Here's another macro shot: a photo of a daisy from the courtyard garden at our apartments. The gardener is a crazy lady who lives in the next apartment; she's one of those 70-ish "spinster" women who never got married and have no friends and who's been alone wwwaaaaayyyyy too long and thus cannot interact with others in anything resembling culturally accepted ways.
She once asked me why I was picking dandelions out of the yard; I told her they were for my rabbit. That evening, we got a note taped to the door, stating unequivocally that rabbits in the yard were completely forbidden according to our lease -- which she then quoted extensively!-- despite the fact that Niblet NEVER leaves the apartment, much less wanders around the yard eating Crazy-Lady's plantings. The next day, she accused me of breaking her morning glory vines, claiming she'd "seen me" in the yard. Well, you know what a plant-hating vagrant I am! I told her I didn't touch her vine, wouldn't break her vine ever, etc.--she said, "Oh I know it was you! I saw you!" Wow. So I just said, "hey, think what you like. It wasn't me," and walked off.
FREAK!
She also plays her TV at FULL VOLUME every single morning from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sometimes, I just want to leave her a note quoting our lease and stating that I'm legally allowed to kill her if she doesn't turn down that damned TV. I figure if I put it in quotes, she'll take it seriously.
Anyway -- sorry to get off on a tangent! Back to the camera. I'm not sure whether I like the quality of the autofocus. Is is me, or is the focus on this shot of mallards a bit soft?.jpg)
I wasn't zooming much at all here. This is cropped but not otherwise edited. The focus looks a little soft to me. Or am I just going blind? It's also possible that the focal point (which you can set on this camera) was just too small or whatever. Or too big.
I need to shoot some more tomorrow (somewhere in there between working and working) and make a final decision on whether I want to keep the camera. The place where I bought it has a 14-day return policy as long as nothing is wrong with the camera, so I've been very careful during my testing process.
If this one doesn't suit me, I will probably just buy one like Mary's. Her photos are always incredible, and I'm hoping some of her magic will rub off on me.
If anyone else can suggest a good medium-priced ($250-400) point-and-shoot that (1)isn't just one of those little snappy brick-looking ones (i.e., this) and that (2)has a manual mode so I can pretend I know something about f-stop, etc. -- please suggest in the comments! And it's (3)gotta have good zoom and macro modes!
So after asking around, and pricing things on Amazon, and trying some cameras in the stores, I ended up with a Nikon Coolpix 100. I like it so far! The macro mode is pretty awesome:
The macro mode on my Kodak never worked well at all. With this camera, like my old Nikon Coolpix 4800, the macro lets you get right up in the nostrils of your subject.It also has (get this) 26x zoom!!!! Holy hand grenade, I was zooming all over the place on Saturday morning when I went birding! I got a photo of this Red-eyed Vireo who was wwaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy up there in a tree but unfortunately half-hidden behind a branch:
But I would've gotten him had he not hidden!I didn't see too many other birds that day; that's what happens when you go looking for warblers at around 11 a.m. Seems I recall something about an "early bird," but whatever. Tra la la!
I also saw this little damselfly:
Looks a lot like that slenderwing I snapped a couple of weeks ago.I also took a photo of the tiniest little cicada EVER:
At least I think it's a cicada. It could just be some sort of fly. But it looks cicada-like!Speaking of cool-looking bugs, look at this one:
That's some very vivid coloring! Now the focus on these macro shots is not as tack-sharp as I'd like; I think I need a little more practice on that. Plus I find that as I get older, I'm a lot shakier than I used to be. Maybe I should use a tripod for these kinds of shots?
Here's another macro shot: a photo of a daisy from the courtyard garden at our apartments. The gardener is a crazy lady who lives in the next apartment; she's one of those 70-ish "spinster" women who never got married and have no friends and who's been alone wwwaaaaayyyyy too long and thus cannot interact with others in anything resembling culturally accepted ways.
She once asked me why I was picking dandelions out of the yard; I told her they were for my rabbit. That evening, we got a note taped to the door, stating unequivocally that rabbits in the yard were completely forbidden according to our lease -- which she then quoted extensively!-- despite the fact that Niblet NEVER leaves the apartment, much less wanders around the yard eating Crazy-Lady's plantings. The next day, she accused me of breaking her morning glory vines, claiming she'd "seen me" in the yard. Well, you know what a plant-hating vagrant I am! I told her I didn't touch her vine, wouldn't break her vine ever, etc.--she said, "Oh I know it was you! I saw you!" Wow. So I just said, "hey, think what you like. It wasn't me," and walked off.FREAK!
She also plays her TV at FULL VOLUME every single morning from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sometimes, I just want to leave her a note quoting our lease and stating that I'm legally allowed to kill her if she doesn't turn down that damned TV. I figure if I put it in quotes, she'll take it seriously.
Anyway -- sorry to get off on a tangent! Back to the camera. I'm not sure whether I like the quality of the autofocus. Is is me, or is the focus on this shot of mallards a bit soft?
.jpg)
I wasn't zooming much at all here. This is cropped but not otherwise edited. The focus looks a little soft to me. Or am I just going blind? It's also possible that the focal point (which you can set on this camera) was just too small or whatever. Or too big. I need to shoot some more tomorrow (somewhere in there between working and working) and make a final decision on whether I want to keep the camera. The place where I bought it has a 14-day return policy as long as nothing is wrong with the camera, so I've been very careful during my testing process.
If this one doesn't suit me, I will probably just buy one like Mary's. Her photos are always incredible, and I'm hoping some of her magic will rub off on me.
If anyone else can suggest a good medium-priced ($250-400) point-and-shoot that (1)isn't just one of those little snappy brick-looking ones (i.e., this) and that (2)has a manual mode so I can pretend I know something about f-stop, etc. -- please suggest in the comments! And it's (3)gotta have good zoom and macro modes!
Roadrunner Records da la bienvenida a Alter Bridge
La importante discográfica de origen holandés Roadrunner Records ha firmado un acuerdo con Alter Bridge para representarles por todo el mundo a excepción de Norte América.
El hecho de que el grupo de Orlando se haya abierto paso poco a poco en la escena del rock y metal alternativo mundial ha producido que la discográfica se interesara en firmarles.
Mark Tremonti, guitarrista líder de Alter Bridge ha comentado que se encuentran muy excitados por este nuevo acuerdo y que cree que van a formar una combinación perfecta.
Wally van Middendorp por su parte, ha manifestado su alegría por haber añadido a Alter Bridge a su lista de grupos internacionales y que espera que para el grupo sea un nuevo paso hacia arriba en su carrera.
El hecho de que el grupo de Orlando se haya abierto paso poco a poco en la escena del rock y metal alternativo mundial ha producido que la discográfica se interesara en firmarles.
Mark Tremonti, guitarrista líder de Alter Bridge ha comentado que se encuentran muy excitados por este nuevo acuerdo y que cree que van a formar una combinación perfecta.
Wally van Middendorp por su parte, ha manifestado su alegría por haber añadido a Alter Bridge a su lista de grupos internacionales y que espera que para el grupo sea un nuevo paso hacia arriba en su carrera.
Debemos recordar que Roadrunner Records es, posiblemente, la discográfica más importante en el mundo del metal y que ya maneja a grupos como Caliban, Cavalera Conspiracy, Devildriver, Dream Theater, Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, KoRn, Lamb of God, Machine Head, Madina Lake, Nickelback, Opeth, Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Stone Sour o Trivium entre otros muchos.
Asylum y Feeding The Wolves se publican hoy
Hoy es la fecha de dos lanzamientos importantes.
El grupo de nu-metal Disturbed publica su 5º álbum de estudio titulado "Asylum". Se espera que sigan en su línea como uno de los últimos grupos de nu-metal que se mantienen todavía vivos.
Además, el grupo de Knoxville de metal alternativo 10 Years saca hoy a la venta su también 5º disco de estudio llamado "Feeding The Wolves". Se espera algo de cambio en la música debido a que su guitarrista Matt Wantland abandonó el grupo el pasado año, sustituyéndolo el batería del mismo grupo Brian Vodinh.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Synopsis From Back Cover:
Meet Princess Cimorene - a princess who refuses to be proper. She is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart...
And bored.
So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon. And not just any dragon, but Kazul - one of the most powerful and dangerous dragons around. Of course, Cimorene has a way of hooking up with dangerous characters, and soon she's coping with a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, a stone prince, and some very oily wizards.
If this princess ran away to find some excitement, it looks like she's found plenty.
Dealing with Dragons is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and before Celia of Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia made it part of a giveaway, I had never heard of it before. So needless to say I was super excited to win the giveaway and get a chance to read something she obviously cares so much about.
I'm not sure what I expected or thought I would get from this book, I think I went into it with a pretty open mind actually, but I can honestly say I wasn't expecting the wit and humor that is found throughout the book. Cimorene is a princess who knows her own mind and rebels against what is normal for princesses to do. She would rather learn how to fence or magic than sewing and dancing. She would rather use her brains then bat her lashes to get what she wants.
I had a blast with this book and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series to see how the author expands the world that she created in this book. It's a world full of kingdoms, dragons, magic, and rigid social structures that are just begging to be broken. It's a world that I'm looking forward to visiting again in the near future.
Brian "Head" Welch - Money
Hoy publico esta entrada con una canción que me encanta de un talentoso artista. Muchos conocereis a Brian Welch como "Head", el guitarrista de KoRn. Pero desde su marcha de la banda cara a su retiro espiritual ha iniciado este proyecto en solitario, que iniciara con unas canciones realmente extrañas, con sonidos de órganos de iglesia acompañado por sus susurros. Afortunadamente dejó eso atrás y publicó el álbum "Save Me From Myself" en 2008. El disco se caracteriza por un sonido muy "KoRn" que me cautivó. Sinceramente prefiero este cd a cualquiera de los que KoRn sacó desde su marcha y la de David Silveria. Me parece que la esencia de KoRn se fué con Brian, igual que la de System of a Down se fué con Serj Tankian. Riffs sencillos pero potentes acompañados de su ruda voz hacen de su música algo muy interesante y que os recomiendo.
No me decidía si mostraros su único videoclip hasta la fecha, de la magnífica canción "Flush", o este de "Money", con imágenes divertidas de su vida, sobre todo de su estancia en KoRn. Escogí este porque me pareció una buena forma de recordar sus buenos momentos, en los que se divertía con el grupo, aunque él diga que su felicidad la encontró ahora en Dios y su hija.
Aquí queda el vídeo de "Money", una de mis canciones favoritas de este fantástico músico:
No me decidía si mostraros su único videoclip hasta la fecha, de la magnífica canción "Flush", o este de "Money", con imágenes divertidas de su vida, sobre todo de su estancia en KoRn. Escogí este porque me pareció una buena forma de recordar sus buenos momentos, en los que se divertía con el grupo, aunque él diga que su felicidad la encontró ahora en Dios y su hija.
Aquí queda el vídeo de "Money", una de mis canciones favoritas de este fantástico músico:
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Mailbox Monday for 8/30/10
Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at The Printed Page and is being hosted by Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit for the entire month of August.
I didn't have anything come in the mail this week but I did end up buying 6 books, 3 DVDs, and 2 CDs. All of it for around $22.
As I do every week I stopped by the Friends of the Library Bookstore and ended up walking out with some books. Six of them actually, 2 in hardcover and 4 in paperback. The hardcovers were The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Wicked Flea by Susan Conant, both of which were $1 a piece. The four paperbacks were only $.50 a piece and they were, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Games Killers Play edited by Alfred Hitchcock, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, and V: Death Tide by A.C. Crispin and Deborah A. Marshall.
On my trip to Wal-Mart I found two Disney movies for $6 a piece so I picked up The Black Hole and The Love Bug.
My last stop of my shopping spree was Buy Back Entertainment and there I bought two CDs and one DVD for $1.99 a piece. I picked up Bare and Medusa from Annie Lennox and the DVD of Christmas With The Kranks.
Dioses del metal (Parte 2): Richard Zven Kruspe
Publico hoy, con algo de retraso, esta segunda entrega semanal de Dioses del metal. Hoy haré un repaso a la vida personal y profesional del guitarrista de metal industrial alemán Richard Zven Kruspe.
Nació el 24 de junio de 1967 en Wittemburg, Alemania Oriental. Vivió allí hasta que sus padres se separaron y se fué a vivir con su padre a Weisen. Algo que caracteriza su infancia es su afición al grupo Kiss, una importante influencia para él. Según él mismo contara, tenía un gran póster en su habitación de Kiss, pero su padre un día se lo arrancó y rompió en pedazos. Se pasó toda esa noche intentando recuperar cada trozo para pegarlos de nuevo.
Richard fué desde joven una persona bastante agresiva y con repentinos y constantes cambios de humor. Es por eso que se inició en la lucha, que practicó durante 7 años.
No cree en Dios ni en la religión y dice que todo lo que logras es por tu trabajo diario. Es una persona distraída que suele despistarse con facilidad.
La vida del guitarrista alemán posiblemente cambiara en una visita a la República Checa (antigua Checoslovaquia), ya que vió una guitarra a muy buen precio y decidió comprársela para luego revenderla más cara en Alemania. Pero esa idea cambió cuando estando con una chica, ésta le pidió que tocara algo, a lo que Richard respondió que no podía tocarle nada porque no sabía. Por eso decidió aprender. Este paso fué muy importante para él, ya que a partir de ahí, la música se convirtió en lo más importante en su vida. Suele decir que si no fuera por la música, posiblemente continuara luchando.
Durante años intentó abandonar la ciudad y la presión parental porque se sentía atrapado. En 1989 lo hizo, cruzando el muro de Berlín, siendo capturado. Le tuvieron arrestado durante 3 días en los que le interrogaron y agredieron físicamente. Cuenta que tenía que estar pegado a una pared durante 6 horas, y si se movía era golpeado. A pesar de ello no se arrepiente, ya que dice que se debe arriesgar si se quiere ganar.
Luego de llegar a Berlín Occidental forma su primer grupo, Orgasm Death Gimmicks, en donde tocaba la guitarra y cantaba. Por aquel entonces, Richard vivía con Oliver Riedel (bajista de The Inchtabokatables) y con Christoph Schneider (batería de Die Firma). Ellos tres iniciaron Rammstein y poco después, convenció a Till Lindemann (que estaba en First Arch) para que se uniera a la banda.
Éstos cuatro se presentaron en 1994 a un concurso de bandas amateur en Berlín en donde llamaron la atención de Paul Landers (ex Feeling B). Con Landers también en el grupo el último en ser reclutado fué Christian Lorenz (también ex Feeling B), quién más trabas puso para su incorporación pero que finalmente aceptó bajo la condición de que el grupo cantara en alemán. Fué así como Richard completó la formación de Rammstein.
Más tarde, en 2005, el grupo se tomaría un descanso que Richard aprovechó para empezar con un nuevo proyecto, Emigrate, donde además de ser el guitarra solista también canta en inglés. Publicó su único cd en 2007 bajo el título homónimo "Emigrate".
Richard Zven Kruspe ha grabado, por lo tanto, 6 discos de estudio con Rammstein y 1 con Emigrate.
Concluyo así este repaso por la vida profesional de este gran guitarrista, creador de los riffs más pegadizos del metal industrial. Aquí os queda un vídeo suyo con sus mejores solos:
Nació el 24 de junio de 1967 en Wittemburg, Alemania Oriental. Vivió allí hasta que sus padres se separaron y se fué a vivir con su padre a Weisen. Algo que caracteriza su infancia es su afición al grupo Kiss, una importante influencia para él. Según él mismo contara, tenía un gran póster en su habitación de Kiss, pero su padre un día se lo arrancó y rompió en pedazos. Se pasó toda esa noche intentando recuperar cada trozo para pegarlos de nuevo.
Richard fué desde joven una persona bastante agresiva y con repentinos y constantes cambios de humor. Es por eso que se inició en la lucha, que practicó durante 7 años.
No cree en Dios ni en la religión y dice que todo lo que logras es por tu trabajo diario. Es una persona distraída que suele despistarse con facilidad.
La vida del guitarrista alemán posiblemente cambiara en una visita a la República Checa (antigua Checoslovaquia), ya que vió una guitarra a muy buen precio y decidió comprársela para luego revenderla más cara en Alemania. Pero esa idea cambió cuando estando con una chica, ésta le pidió que tocara algo, a lo que Richard respondió que no podía tocarle nada porque no sabía. Por eso decidió aprender. Este paso fué muy importante para él, ya que a partir de ahí, la música se convirtió en lo más importante en su vida. Suele decir que si no fuera por la música, posiblemente continuara luchando.
Durante años intentó abandonar la ciudad y la presión parental porque se sentía atrapado. En 1989 lo hizo, cruzando el muro de Berlín, siendo capturado. Le tuvieron arrestado durante 3 días en los que le interrogaron y agredieron físicamente. Cuenta que tenía que estar pegado a una pared durante 6 horas, y si se movía era golpeado. A pesar de ello no se arrepiente, ya que dice que se debe arriesgar si se quiere ganar.
Luego de llegar a Berlín Occidental forma su primer grupo, Orgasm Death Gimmicks, en donde tocaba la guitarra y cantaba. Por aquel entonces, Richard vivía con Oliver Riedel (bajista de The Inchtabokatables) y con Christoph Schneider (batería de Die Firma). Ellos tres iniciaron Rammstein y poco después, convenció a Till Lindemann (que estaba en First Arch) para que se uniera a la banda.
Éstos cuatro se presentaron en 1994 a un concurso de bandas amateur en Berlín en donde llamaron la atención de Paul Landers (ex Feeling B). Con Landers también en el grupo el último en ser reclutado fué Christian Lorenz (también ex Feeling B), quién más trabas puso para su incorporación pero que finalmente aceptó bajo la condición de que el grupo cantara en alemán. Fué así como Richard completó la formación de Rammstein.
Más tarde, en 2005, el grupo se tomaría un descanso que Richard aprovechó para empezar con un nuevo proyecto, Emigrate, donde además de ser el guitarra solista también canta en inglés. Publicó su único cd en 2007 bajo el título homónimo "Emigrate".
Richard Zven Kruspe ha grabado, por lo tanto, 6 discos de estudio con Rammstein y 1 con Emigrate.
Concluyo así este repaso por la vida profesional de este gran guitarrista, creador de los riffs más pegadizos del metal industrial. Aquí os queda un vídeo suyo con sus mejores solos:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
NYC Variety
The Campbell Apartment is the coolest bar you could never find. This is tucked in a far corner at Grand Central Station. Very nifty history and a speakeasy atmosphere. Did not have a drink here. Don't think I could afford a drink here. But walk in, play tourist, and soak up the effect.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Awesome. The entrance fee is actually at your discretion. "Suggested fee - $20 for an adult." I truly have no problem with museum fees if I'm spending all day. However, I paid $5 that Sunday. We caught a nifty exhibit on the American Woman - fashion from 1890 to present day. And then we zoomed to the Egyptian wing and marveled at the Temple of Dendur. This is fabulous plunder from Egypt. Allegedly we saved this temple from drowning due to a dam and water re-route. Whatever occurred, it is an excellent wing of the museum.
Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a must-see. My friend, Joan, recommended this and she was spot-on. Amazing history in regards to our immigrant ancestors. We did the garment worker tour and this encompassed one hour of immersion in a 325 ft.square apartment that originally had no heat, no air, no plumbing, etc in 1890. A family with a few kids plus a few worker bees were cranking out fine laced garments in this wretched condition. Definitely makes you think - and at the time, those folks had it "good". It was better than the old world, and they could progress ... ultimately create their own businesses and move upward. Talk about tenacious.
The Staten Island Ferry is THE bargain of NYC. Yep - hop aboard for a one hour round trip. Over to Staten Island and then back to Manhattan. Why? The view. The scenery. The Statue of Liberty. And it's FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eating pizza at Vezzo's on Lexington and 31st. These signs were posted around the area. Film shoot - streets closed. Very cool - looks like it was going to be a Volkswagon Commercial. NYC is the place to be.
God Sandbags Beck
THAT explains a lot!
It was built as an event “Restoring Honor” -- but where is the honor in using divisive language to describe members of Congress and really any American with whom they disagree?
Americans United says it best:
In reality, a major goal of Beck’s rallies is to undermine the Founding Fathers’ vision of a nation where government and religion are kept separate. Beck propagates a revisionist historical perspective that says America is an officially religious state. Mainline Christians, Muslims, non-believers and other Americans who fail to meet Beck’s religious test are often maligned.
“Our nation’s destiny will be disastrous, not divine, if Glenn Beck has his way,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “The message Beck and his cronies want to send is clear: if you don’t believe in a government based on his religious vision, you should expect to be treated like a second-class citizen. Beck has made it clear that he has no respect for our Constitution’s promise of religious liberty for all.”
Pain - Same Old Song
Os muestro hoy a este "grupo" sueco de metal industrial llamado Pain. He puesto grupo entre comillas porque sólo está formado por un miembro, el polifacético Peter Tägtgren.
Peter fundó el grupo en el año 1996 y desde entonces lo saca adelante él sólo, contando eso si, con ayudas para sus conciertos. Él se encarga de tocar todos los instrumentos en estudio, y los resultados son excelentes. Posiblemente conozcais mejor a este sueco como el cantante del grupo de Death metal Hypocrisy.
Pain ha sacado hasta el momento 7 discos de estudio, siendo para mí, el más notable, el llamado "Dancing With The Dead", de 2005.
La canción que hoy os ofrezco es "Same Old Song", que pertenece precisamente al disco anteriormente citado. Me llama la atención por su magnífica letra y por su excelente uso del teclado (algo que casi nadie consigue al utilizarlo en el metal). Destaco también ese increíble grito que emite en el minuto 3:18, uno de los gritos más desgarradores que he escuchado.
Pues aquí os queda la canción, espero que os guste y os recomiendo que investigueis un poco más acerca de este gran músico, el nacido en Estocolmo, Peter Tägtgren:
Peter fundó el grupo en el año 1996 y desde entonces lo saca adelante él sólo, contando eso si, con ayudas para sus conciertos. Él se encarga de tocar todos los instrumentos en estudio, y los resultados son excelentes. Posiblemente conozcais mejor a este sueco como el cantante del grupo de Death metal Hypocrisy.
Pain ha sacado hasta el momento 7 discos de estudio, siendo para mí, el más notable, el llamado "Dancing With The Dead", de 2005.
La canción que hoy os ofrezco es "Same Old Song", que pertenece precisamente al disco anteriormente citado. Me llama la atención por su magnífica letra y por su excelente uso del teclado (algo que casi nadie consigue al utilizarlo en el metal). Destaco también ese increíble grito que emite en el minuto 3:18, uno de los gritos más desgarradores que he escuchado.
Pues aquí os queda la canción, espero que os guste y os recomiendo que investigueis un poco más acerca de este gran músico, el nacido en Estocolmo, Peter Tägtgren:
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Really Old Classics Challenge
Well it's that time of year again, the Really Old Classics Challenge is getting ready to start (in 4 days) and I couldn't be more excited about it. Now you may want to know what a really old classic is, so I'll tell you. A really old classic, at least for this challenge, is anything written prior to 1600 AD. I'm going to be honest with you, I haven't really read a lot from that time period, but what I have read I've liked and I'm thrilled to discover even more works of literature that weren't on my radar before.
What I'm really excited about is that I'm one of the co-hosts for this challenge and since this is my first time hosting one, I'm looking forward to interacting with everyone who participates and seeing what it is they choose to read. My two co-hosts are Heather J of Age 30+ ...A Lifetime of books and Michelle of Literarily Speaking. A few months ago, early Spring I think, Heather had asked on Twitter if anyone was interested in helping her out with it this year and I jumped at the chance. So I would like to thank her for the opportunity.
The best part of this challenge is you only have to read 1 qualifying work between Sept. 1st through Dec. 31st. How easy is that! Now there are other options as well as extra credit that I know all of you will do. So go on over to the sign up page and join us on our journey into Really Old Classics.
KoRnstein - Sonne Undone
Os traigo hoy un vídeo curioso que aparece en Youtube. Lo había encontrado hace ya mucho tiempo, pero no puedo parar de escuchar esta canción.
Alguien tuvo la brillante idea de mezclar los temas "Coming Undone" de KoRn con "Sonne" de Rammstein y el resultado es increíble. La música es la de Sonne, y la voz, de Jonathan Davis. Los vocales cuadran a la perfección con la melodía de la canción hasta el punto de que si alguno no conociera estos dos grupos podría pensar que la canción es original.
Repito que este remix no lo he hecho yo, sino un usuario de Youtube. Aquí os queda esta magnífica obra de arte en donde se ve como sería Rammstein con Jonathan Davis como cantante:
Alguien tuvo la brillante idea de mezclar los temas "Coming Undone" de KoRn con "Sonne" de Rammstein y el resultado es increíble. La música es la de Sonne, y la voz, de Jonathan Davis. Los vocales cuadran a la perfección con la melodía de la canción hasta el punto de que si alguno no conociera estos dos grupos podría pensar que la canción es original.
Repito que este remix no lo he hecho yo, sino un usuario de Youtube. Aquí os queda esta magnífica obra de arte en donde se ve como sería Rammstein con Jonathan Davis como cantante:
Thursday, August 26, 2010
20 Questions Over at Lost In Books
I just wanted to let everyone know that Rebecca at Lost In Books asked me to participate in her 20 Questions meme and she has it posted today. Please stop by and let me know what you think of my oh so provocative answers.
Linkin Park - The Catalyst
El nuevo grupo de pop Linkin Park publicó hoy en VH1 y la MTV su nuevo vídeo de "The Catalyst". Ya sé que esto no tiene nada que ver con el metal, pero algún día lo tuvo. Debemos recordar que este grupo fué el que hizo el disco más exitoso de la historia del nu-metal y el más vendido del siglo XXI, "Hybrid Theory". Claro que... eran otros tiempos. Ahora estos 6 han preferido vender a sus fans por unos miserables dólares más. Parece que prefieren que las niñas de 15 años les escuchen en las discotecas a que sus viejos fans de toda la vida disfruten con ellos.
Quería también criticar el hecho de que en el vídeo salgan Rob Bourdon (batería), Dave Farrell (bajista) y Brad Delson (guitarrista) haciendo la pantomima de que tocan porque en la canción la única batería y el único sonido de bajo o guitarra que se escucha está creado por la dichosa maquinita. Por lo tanto lo lógico es que sólo salieran los que tienen participación en la canción, Chester y Mike (cantantes) y el dj Joe Hahn.
Aquí os queda su vídeo recién publicado:
Quería también criticar el hecho de que en el vídeo salgan Rob Bourdon (batería), Dave Farrell (bajista) y Brad Delson (guitarrista) haciendo la pantomima de que tocan porque en la canción la única batería y el único sonido de bajo o guitarra que se escucha está creado por la dichosa maquinita. Por lo tanto lo lógico es que sólo salieran los que tienen participación en la canción, Chester y Mike (cantantes) y el dj Joe Hahn.
Aquí os queda su vídeo recién publicado:
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey
Magic's Price is the third and final volume in The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, and it's the one that breaks my heart every time I read it. This one will be a bit rambling and maybe even have a few spoilers in it so I apologize before hand.
The story takes place a few years after the events in Magic's Promise and Kind Randale is dying a horrible death that nobody is able to cure or even relief the pain he lives in every day of his life. Every day for him is a struggle and with no hope in site is wearing everyone around him down. When Medren, Vanyel's Bardic gifted nephew, brings an idea to him about easing the pain the King is suffering, Vanyel is a little more than dubious. When that idea proves to be another young bardic trainee who can sing pain away, it seems to be a blessing in a time of great sorrow.
Nobody know how or why Stefan has this gift but the crown is quick to jump on it as it allows the King to function for periods of time. The fact that the same young bard is gay and that Medren has been trying to figure out a way to get his Uncle and his roommate together, doesn't hurt either.
This is where the love story takes over and one that is sweet to read about. Vanyel still feels a lot of guilt and remorse about what happened to Tylendel when they were together and he feels that he is betraying that memory if he allows anything else to come close to that relationship. The fact that Stefan is quite a bit younger than him doesn't help either. Of course what Vanyel doesn't know is that Stef is way more experienced then him and isn't in a state of hero worship that Vanyel suspects. Their relationship starts of slowly, building a wonderful friendship, one of mutual respect and admiration. The fact that they are both frustrated because they each want it to go further but both are too scared, for different reasons, to do anything about it, is wonderfully written and fully believable.
Thankfully for us (the readers) and them (the characters), Vanyel's parents invite them both to come home for a visit and actually put them in the same room. This is the catalyst that finally puts them right where they need to be, which is a good thing because for the rest of the book they will need each other in ways they never imagined. I do want to make a quick comment about something before I continue with the story. The way the author explores Vanyel's relationship with his parents and the circumstances of how they finally are able to heal the hurts that have been between them, move me every time. It's wonderfully done and from personal experience, very believable.
The rest of the story is fast paced thrill ride that will test the strength and courage of almost every single character and will push Vanyel, Stef, and Yfandes to their limits. This is the book that takes all the foreshadowing, including some horrific dreams Vanyel had in the first one, and brings the story to it's logical conclusion. This is where we find out how and why Vanyel becomes the last Herald Mage and what it takes in courage and sacrifice to protect the Kingdom he serves and the people he loves. The journey the three of them take and the climax of the story will leave you feeling so many emotions you won't know what to think by the time it's all over. What you will know is what a brilliant author Mercedes Lackey is and how wonderful Vanyel is as a character.
I want to leave you with a song that Bard Stefan wrote a year after the climax of the story. It's called "Magic's Price" and I think it sums up the emotions and the story in a way I could never duplicate.
This will qualify for the GLBT Reading Challenge 2010.
Broadway Baby - Lights
Times Square has to be seen to be believed. Video advertisements are way cool. Aeropostale spent a ton of bucks to catch my eye.
I saw the Lion King back in 2007 or so. Awesome production. Julie Taymor's costumes and creations are genius.
Come Fly Away is Twyla Tharp amazing. The blend of choreography and Frank Sinatra tunes is two hours of entertainment and wow! factor. The dancers work hard for the money and their skill is par excellence. Huge thumbs up on this show.
Yep, Me and Linda shlepping in NY. We saw a matinee of Promises, Promises and it was sheer joy. Kristin Chenoweth is a tiny thing with a HUGE voice and she delivered. Lovely performance. Sean Hayes, new to Broadway, is charming, funny, and talented with a pleasant singing voice. Together, the song "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" proved charming. Other Burt Bacharach/Hal David winners are "Say a Little Prayer" and " A House is Not a Home". The whole production was A-1 fantastic.
Friday night - caught A Little Night Music recasted. Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch totally kick butt. Bernadette is a national treasure. I can't exclaim enough over her acting, singing, and stage presence. Elaine milked her role and so she should - she's been around a zillion years and has the ooomph. Kudos to Steven Sondheim for wordplay, thought, and calculating lyrics. Excellent revival and a total holy cow! experience. Dinner at Sangria's on 48th St (between 8th and 9th avenue) was a treat.
Gotta love NY theater and dinner.
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