NaNoWriMo: Done!

 Chegado ao fim do NaNoWriMo de 2011, resta-me fazer o balanço.

 Entrei para o desafio com alguns objectivos em mente, nomeadamente, aproveitar a oportunidade para desenvolver um projecto que tinha vido a adiar e para retomar o ritmo de escrita que perdi enquanto estive no Baixo Sabor.

 Embora tenha conseguido alcançar as 50 mil palavras exigidas, não considero isso uma vitória, muito pelo contrário, acho que devia ter feito muito mais e não me deixado distrair por tantas condicionantes. A verdade é que, a partir do momento em que a experiência com uma narrativa de high fantasy totalmente diferente de “Crónicas Obscuras” deixou de parecer exequível como algo mais do que mero treino literário, perdi grande parte da motivação. Em todo caso, prossegui e embora o texto não vá ter qualquer utilidade para além do próprio exercício que proporcionou, ajudou-me a perceber que os meus tempos de pura escrita livre já lá vão e que mais vale cingir-se ao método de planear cuidadosamente a narrativa. Além de mais, ainda tenho muito para contar com “Crónicas Obscuras”.

 A única coisa que realmente me orgulha no que diz respeito ao que fiz neste NaNoWriMo foi ter escrito 11112 palavras no dia 11 de Novembro.

 Quanto ao NaNoWriMo de 2012, provavelmente participarei, contudo, deverei fazê-lo apenas no âmbito de “Crónicas Obscuras”. E daí, veremos… Muita coisa pode mudar em 11 meses…

The Doll by Daphne du Maurier

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Before she wrote Rebecca, the novel that would cement her reputation as a twentieth-century literary giant, a young Daphne du Maurier penned short fiction in which she explored the images, themes, and concerns that informed her later work.  Originally published in periodicals during the early 1930s, many of these stories never found their way into print again... until now.

Tales of human frailty and obsession, and of romance gone tragically awry, the thirteen stories in The Doll showcase an exciting budding talent before she went on to write of the most beloved novel of all time.  In these pages, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore revealing a dark story of jealousy and obsession, a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman - with each tale demonstrating du Maurier's extraordinary storytelling fits and her deep understand of human nature.

I adore a well written short story more than I do the same writing in novel form.  The skill needed to tell a  finely honed story in such a small amount of space, when down well, never fails to impress me.  This collection of thirteen stories blew me away, every single one of them made me laugh, shudder, and stare in amazement once I was done.

I don't know what to type next or even what to say if someone were to ask me about this one.  I think I would just stand there, tongue-tied, unable to fully express the way these stories made me feel.  I would find myself being both fascinated and horrified at the same time.  I don't even know which story to start with, because for me there wasn't one of them that failed to impress me.

The title story, "The Doll", is one that because of the subject matter will never leave my brain.  Rebecca and her doll will wander the corridors of my brain, doing things that I never even dreamed of, let alone want to do.  The young lady in "The Tame Cat" who comes home after years at school, only to be caught up in a web of jealousy involving her mother and her mother's lover, will find a a few brain cells to move into and set up permanent residency.  "Maize" and her fellow prostitutes forced to live in dreams and get back alley abortions, are frozen in time right behind my optic nerves.  The manipulative harridan of "The Limpet" who just can't seem to understand why nobody loves her, made me pity and hate her at the same time.  She has now whispers in my ear anytime she needs to whine about how unfair life is.

I had only just read Rebecca for the first time a month or so ago, and Daphne du Maurier blew me away with her lushness of style.  With these thirteen short stories, she is cemented in my brain as someone who I need to read more of, and I don't think I'll ever be disappointed.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Ryan McCombs deja Drowning Pool

Ayer, 29 de noviembre, el vocalista Ryan McCombs ha anunciado que abandona Drowning Pool.
McCombs había llegado a la banda de metal alternativo en el año 2005, sustituyendo a Jason Jones que sólo había estado escasos 2 años en el grupo.
Ryan fue el 3º cantante de la banda tras el mencionado Jones y el tristemente fallecido Dave Williams, que murió por problemas cardíacos a los 30 años.
Actualmente Drowning Pool está preparando material para su 5º disco de estudio y buscará lo antes posible un sustituto a McCombs, que al parecer quiere volver a su antigua banda Soil.

Preview The Path of Totality, nuevo disco de KoRn

La discográfica Roadrunner Records ha publicado un vídeo en el que podemos ver como será el nuevo disco de KoRn.
The Path of Totality sale a la venta este próximo 6 de diciembre y muchos seguidores estaban ansiosos por ver el camino que tomaría la banda de Bakersfield para este álbum. Como ya he comentado en publicaciones anteriores me parece un intento desesperado por dar un aire nuevo a su carrera, que estaba cayendo en picado desde la marcha de Brian "Head" Welch y se cayó definitivamente cuando un año más tarde, David Silveria también dejaba el grupo.
Aquí os queda este vídeo con un resumen de lo que será The Path of Totality. Mi opinión la daré una vez escuche el trabajo completo:

Jesper Strömblad cumple 39 años

El ex-guitarrista de In Flames cumple hoy 39 años.
Jesper Strömblad nació el 29 de noviembre de 1972 en Göteborg. En 1989 comenzaba con Ceremonial Oath como bajista pero su mayor éxito lo inició un año más tarde, en 1990, cuando fundó In Flames. Su intención era tocar algo más melódico de lo que hacía en Ceremonial Oath, por eso en 1993 deja la banda para centrarse totalmente en In Flames. También formó parte de Hammerfall y Sinergy.
En 2010, Jesper anunciaría que abandonaba In Flames por sus problemas de alcoholismo, quedándose así el grupo sueco sin el único miembro que permanecía desde los inicios. Tras 20 años en la banda de death metal melódico dejaba así una larga trayectoria compuesta por impresionantes discos y multitud de éxitos.
Actualmente sigue en la banda Dimension Zero.

Mailbox Monday for 11/28/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted all this month by her Mailbox Monday Blog.

I received a trade paperback of Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton for review.

I bought Christmas Cheers, Straight No Chaser's second holiday CD for $6 from Target.

Behind the Scenes - Influências: Anne Rice

 Anne Rice pode ser considerada uma influência em “Crónicas Obscuras”? Sim e não.

 Por um lado, sendo um nome incontornável da dark fantasy, uma das melhores autoras do género a desenvolver os seres sobrenaturais para além do estigma bidimensional de monstros, fornecendo-lhes mais camadas, entre as quais sentimentos similares aos humanos, posso considerar Anne Rice uma influência. Aliás, já o defendi anteriormente, que a considero uma das autoras essenciais para quem pretenda escrever dark fantasy, apenas superada (e muito, não vale a pena estarmos com paninhos quentes) por H. P. Lovecraf e que acho perturbante que ditos “fãs” do género conheçam de cor e salteado livros mais recente e inferiores (sim, estou a falar de Meyer e companhia), ao mesmo tempo que ignoram completamente os trabalhos de Rice. Ela sabe imprimir sentimentos profundos nas personagens, sem os tornar clones lamechas e sonsos uns dos outros.

 Por outro lado, os vampiros de "Crónicas Obscuras" são muito diferentes dos de Rice, embora, verdade seja dita, continuam a ser mais parecidos do que outras criaturas que as novas gerações teimam em denominar como tal… Derradeiramente, a única coisa que a minha escrita e a de Rice têm em comum é o género em que se inserem, contudo, não me parecia justo referir tantas influência e não a mencionar.      

Bucks County Fall

My Thanksgiving trip to PA did not involve all eating. While I dined well from Pudge's cheesesteak to turkey to my sister's meatballs, I fed the mind as well. Dad and I trekked to Doylestown in Bucks County and wandered the halls of the James A. Michener Art Museum . We enjoyed the current exhibit The Painterly Voice

From Edward Hicks to Baum, Redfield, Coppedge, and Daniel Garber (see Tanis above), my eyes delighted in paintings of trees, country barns, meandering rivers, and frozen landscapes. More than two hundred paintings highlighted the style of Bucks County artists and their colleagues in New Hope. Particularly lovely is the use of light and color.

Then outdoors, I could admire the grand finale of fall. (And I didn't have to rake leaves.)

The Michener Museum exhibit proved enlightening and enjoyable. The curator's written commentary was light, amusing, and casual. We dined on a visual treat.

Sunday Funnies

Myles Kennedy cumple 42 años

El vocalista de Alter Bridge cumple hoy 42 años.
Richard Myles Kennedy nació el 29 de noviembre en Spokane, Washington.
En 1993 se aventuró en un proyecto de jazz como cantante y guitarrista en un grupo llamado Citizen Swing. En 1996 dejaría la banda para cambiar de estilo, fundando así el grupo de rock alternativo The Mayfield Four, que se separarían en 2002. Tras esto, Slash le pidió que participara en una audición para ser el cantante de Velvet Revolver, pero Myles rechazó la proposición. Lo que no rechazó fue la invitación de Mark Tremonti, en 2004, para ser el vocalista de Alter Bridge. El grupo estaba siendo formado por ex-integrantes de Creed y necesitaban un cantante. Desde aquel entonces su carrera no para de subir hasta convertirse en uno de los cantantes más importantes del metal alternativo en la actualidad.

Celebrity HD Wallpapers

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Engel entrará en estudio la próxima semana

El grupo sueco de Death metal melódico/metal alternativo Engel ha anunciado que entrará en el estudio la próxima semana para grabar un nuevo disco.
El tercer disco de estudio tendrá el nombre Blood of Saints.
Esperemos que siga la maravillosa línea de los dos discos anteriores.

Behind the Scenes Influências: Marvel

 Sim, sou um fã da Marvel. Acho que já tinham chegado a essa conclusão pelos nomes que escolhi para certas personagens e através de uma ou duas referências escondidas no subtexto de “A Vingança do Lobo”. Todavia, quando indico Marvel como uma influência não me refiro às suas personagens ou histórias, como aconteceu com Nobuhiro Watsuki, mas ao conceito que ela utiliza de um universo povoado por centenas de histórias paralelas, que podem cruzar-se ou não. Essa é uma das ideias basilares por trás de “Crónicas Obscuras”, não simplesmente uma saga sequencial, mas uma realidade literária que permita a ocorrência de várias. Estabelecidas as regras, o número de potenciais histórias apenas é limitado pela imaginação. O trabalho de uma vida, se for bem gerido, e algo que um dia gostaria de partilhar com outros escritores.

Corey Taylor ataca a Rick Rubin

El vocalista de Stone Sour y Slipknot, Corey Taylor, ha hecho unas duras declaraciones sobre el prestigioso productor Rick Rubin.
Slipknot había grabado su disco Vol 3 The Subliminal Verses con Rubin y recientemente Corey Taylor se ha pronunciado sobre como fue el trabajo junto al barbudo.
"Hay alguna gente a la que le encantaría que fuera políticamente correcto y decir que trabajar con Rick Rubin fue una experiencia enriquecedora. Pero os diré la jodida verdad. Rubin aparecía 45 minutos a la semana. Durante esos 45  minutos el se acomodaba en un sofá, ponía un micro cerca de su cara para no tener que hacer ni un jodido movimiento. Y entonces, lo único que decía era `Ponla para mí´ (la canción) y el ingeniero se la ponía. Tenía gafas de sol todo el tiempo. No le importaba el hecho de que no había sol en la habitación, estaba todo oscuro. Parecía un gilipollas. Entonces se cogía la barba y trataba de sacar toda la comida que podía de ella."
Pero Corey aún tenía más que decir...
"Más o menos por la mitad de nuestros preciosos 45 minutos, trajo un plato de mierda. Supongo que sería comida... Era algo verde azulado. Olía como si alguien hubiera tirado de la jodida cadena del baño. Se puso a comerlo tan rápido como pudo, ensuciando todo y cayéndole la comida encima."
Para terminar, Corey puso la guinda al pastel diciendo:
"Voy a decir esto: Respeto lo que Rick Rubin hizo en el pasado para llegar donde está ahora. Pero... el Rick Rubin de hoy es una fina, fina, fina sombra de lo que Rick Rubin fue. Está sobrevalorado, cobra mucho más de lo que merece y yo no volveré a trabajar con él en mi jodida vida."

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving.

Mudvayne seguirá en hiato por un mínimo de 2 años

El grupo de metal alternativo liderado por Chad Gray no volverá a reunirse por al menos 2 años.
El guitarrista Greg Tribbett ha anunciado que tanto él como Chad están centrados en su otro proyecto Hellyeah, junto con Vinnie Paul, Tom Maxwell y Bob Kakaha. Ha dicho que esperan sacar material a principios de 2012 y posteriormente estarían de gira, algo que les hará estar ocupados mínimo hasta finales de 2013.
Hace casi 2 años del último disco de Mudvayne y parece que vamos a tener que esperar unos cuantos más para ver algo nuevo de la banda de Illinois.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Northstar

Growing up I was a comic book junkie, not as bad as a lot of kids my age were, but serious enough.  As I grew older though, my interest died down a bit, but never went away completely.  I still knew what was going on with my favorites, even if I didn't read the books all the time.  So when Northstar came out of the closet, I was thrilled.  I had enjoyed him for a few years and found him to be my favorite of Alpha Flight, so him being gay just topped of my love for him.

Born Jean-Paul Beaubier, Northstar had a rather hard childhood.  Shortly after he was born both of his parents were killed and he was separated from his twin sister.  He was raised by distant relatives until they were both killed when he was six, and he was put into foster care.  As he got older he started to realize that he was both gay and a mutant, he has the ability of super speed and can manipulate his own kinetic energy. He acted out by petty theft until someone took him under his wing and introduced him to skiing, an activity that allowed him to train his powers as well.  He had a brief run as a trapeze artist for a circus but quickly went back to skiing, where he won an Olympic Gold Medal.  A medal he had to give back years later when the public found out he was a mutant.

He eventually joined the Canadian team, Alpha Flight, were he was reunited with his twin sister who went by the codename Aurora.  She shared his same ability and when they touched, their powers were amplified.  Throughout the years he was been killed, turned into a zombie, brainwashed to kill other heroes, and adopted a young baby girl with AIDS who dies shortly after.  Now since this is superhero land, he was done all this in different alternate realities, instead of in the same time and space.

His sexuality has been both ignored and explored, in one reality he dated Colossus.  He has had issues with his sister and the public over it and has even mentored another young hero who was gay.  He was been a role  model for thousands of gay kids who needed a hero they could look up to, and thankfully the Marvel writers (for the most part) have allowed him to do just that.