“The party jolted into focus.”
Oh dear. I’m doing that thing again where I got so busy planning an event that I failed to leave time to actually tell people about it. Luckily, word has gotten around enough that most of you probably already know about it... but you still gotta post about it on LJ, right? Right.
For those of you who aren’t up to speed: last year I edited Jeff VanderMeer's most recent opus Shriek: An Afterword, which I’d think was brilliant even if I hadn’t worked on it. Jeff’s a mega-ambitious and very creative self-promoter, so when he realized that he wouldn’t be in the US for the release of his own book, he decided to commission a short film based on plot elements from the book in order to get people excited about it in his absence. Then he hit on the idea of getting people all over the countrythe world, evento throw parties in their cities to promote the film and get the word out about the book’s release. Although one of Jeff’s New York friends is throwing a private party, I figured that NYCbeing the greatest city in the world, and allneeded a really big party. And since I’m a giant dork who loves planning events, I figured I should give it one.
We’re calling it “FROM UNDERGROUND: A night of strange and varied entertainments centered around Jeff VanderMeer’s ‘Shriek: The Movie’,” and with that pretentious title comes an even more pretentious event listing:
In honor of the release of Jeff VanderMeer's groundbreaking, mind-bending novel Shriek: An Afterword... a multidisciplinary event centered around the Brooklyn debut of “Shriek: The Movie,” a short film based on the novel of the same name, directed by Juha Lindroos and with an original soundtrack by legendary art-rock band The Church. Before and after the screening, a full slate of fantastical acts including readings by Catherynne M. Valente, Ellen Kushner, and Scott Westerfeld; burlesque by Jo Boobs and Bambi the Mermaid; rap by Schäffer The Darklord; and visual art by Hawk Alfredson. MCed by ¡Jeff! the Clown, with interstitial music by Nick Lesley. August 20, 2006, 7-11 p.m. at Galapagos Art Space [70 North 6th Street between Kent and Wythe, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718 782-5188). Subway: L to Bedford Ave.]. $7.
(More info here.)
As I said when I spammed my friends about it: “If making me smile isn't justification enough, I could also take the guilt approach, which (depending on who you are) goes something like "Hey, guys, it's the first event I’ve planned at a bar in Brooklyn, so please show up so I don't look like a dumbass," or, "Hey, guys, a major art space is letting me do an event centered around science fiction and fantasy, so please show up so we can prove there's an audience for this sort of thing." I think it’s gonna be swell, and I hope you can make it.
And in order to justify not putting this under some kind of friends lock, here are some other contributors to the absurd busy-ness that’s been consuming me lately:
- Work is, well, awesome (duh). And while I’m gloating, I may as well mention that both of my books this summer (the other being Dave Duncan’s tremendously fun Children of Chaos) got starred PW reviews. And Shriek is the first Tor book ever to get a Believer review (the secret hipster part of me is thrilled). And I’m walking around with the manuscript of Not Flesh Nor Feathers in my bag. So all in all I’m pretty darn self-satisfied, I’ll tell you what.
- Seattle was grand. I only had two-and-a-half days to play around after PNWA , but I think I made a pretty good showing of it, thanks in part to some suggestions from you lovely folks: a brief jaunt to the university district, the Bastille Day Celebration at the Seattle Center, ”Game On” at PacSci, Fêtes de la Nuit (a Charles Mee play) at Re-Bar, the Pike Place Market, Archie McPhee, the underground tour, the Central branch of the Seattle Public Library, the Elliott Bay Book Company (and lunch there with Vlad Verano, who is awesome), Ellen Datlow’s Clarion West Q&A with Eileen Gunn, and quality time with captaincrax0rz, wicked_wish, and moriarty6 at Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen and Espresso Vivace Roasteria. And. Um. I think that’s it.
Needless to say, I was pretty exhausted when I got home, and promptly exclaimed that I was done traveling for the summer; for as much as I would have liked to be at WorldCon, I like my sanity better, and I’m also don’t like being completely broke. Then pnh realized that Tor needed someone other than senior staff there to run the Tor party, so I’m going after all. But I am notI repeat, notthere to have fun, so don’t go trying to suck me into any, okay? - And, finally, lest you think it’s all smooth sailing, this month we got evicted, or, at least, were denied the opportunity to re-sign the lease on our dearly beloved apartment in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. It took us nearly a third of the month to find out that what was happening and decipher the mixed messages we were getting from our landlady (who, while we’ve been living there, has gone from sweet and accomodating, to a little bit crazy, to actually crazy and kind of conniving to boot). And if you think looking for an apartment in NYC is fun, try starting your search a week-and-a-half into the month. Luckily, after about five days of hellish, non-stop searching, darkling1 and musetoself and I happened onto a place that we think will be absurdly fabulous. I’m not going to jinx it by talking about it before we’ve moved in, so for now I’ll just say that we’ve somehow preformed the rare feat of getting priced out of Brooklyn and into the East Village. Also, that thing I said about not liking being completely broke? I’m going to need to get over that in a hurry.
- Okay, wait, un-finally, because I must add that Pinchbottom’s superhero burlesque was every bit as fabulous as it sounded. Maybe about 3% less perfect than their sci-fi burlesque, but I spent so much of the show laughing until I was crying that you could have fooled me. Megan was entirely when she said I need a shirt that says “My Heart Belongs To Nasty,” but, then again, don’t we all?