Will Self Reads his Roald Dahl Aloud

A while back, I wrote about the importance of reading Zorgamazoo aloud (trust me, it’s the only way).
Then, this week, I read Will Self’s marvellously thoughtful review of Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox. In the course of the article, Self admits that although he hasn’t read every last word Dahl wrote, what he has [...]

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

A friend of mine writes for the blog J-Film Pow-Wow. During last week’s After Dark Festival at the Bloor Cinema, he invited me to see a film with an ominous title: Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl.
I’d been so wrapped up in gutting my second novel (as per my editor’s request, and trust me — it’s [...]

Tickle Monsters Are Robots!

Recently, I did a reading of Zorgamazoo at a Toronto library. When I finished, I overheard a couple kids chanting something over and over:
“Tiiiiiiickle monsters!……Tiiiiiiickle monsters!…..Tiiickle monsters are roooobots!”
This, of course, begged for investigation.
Who are these tickle monsters? Are they traditional flesh-and-blood tickle monsters? Or, as the song seems to imply, do these tickle monsters [...]

Prisoners of Gravity

I was at a birthday party this week (happy birthday, Adrienne!), where I had the pleasure of having a pint with Mark Askwith.
Today, Mark is a producer with Space; but what I didn’t know (perhaps because I’m clueless about a lot of things) is that once upon a time he was the creator of Prisoners [...]

Pueblo’s Moving Wall Project

My friend Mike, a youth librarian at the Pueblo City County Library, also happens to be a fellow eccentric.
Among his many hobbies is an ongoing interest in public domain movies, and his latest brainchild is The Moving Wall Project.
He plans to project public domain films upon the outdoor walls of Pueblo, presenting them to (who [...]

Stephen Fry on Politicians’ Expense Accounts

In light of the recent disclosure of financial impropriety among Members of Parliament, much is being made of the ragged state of British politics.
Yesterday, in a candid clip from the BBC, Stephen Fry argued that in the grand scheme of things expense account records are small potatoes.
I tend to agree with him.

Dust Films (or who’s in for a pipe wrench fight?)

If you haven’t seen them already, filmmaker and muscian Dustin Maclean’s Literal Music Videos are hilarious (or at least they crack me up).
Check them out if you have some free time. The Chilli Peppers’ Under the Bridge is priceless.