What did you find most profitable about Christmas Bible Reading?
It’s an amazing Over view of the Bible. I noticed and learned things that I’d never have learned if I hadn’t had a complete over view from beginning to end in such a short time.
What is your favorite part of this Bible reading?
Reading Chronologically!
What would you suggest to people looking at doing this?
Make sure to spend time with your family and not to over do your self with lack of sleep!
Do you know any trips/strategies to help our Christmas Break Reading?
Get up earlier in the morning and read for awhile. Pace your self and don’t get to far behind, Or you end up feeling over whelmed over the last few days! Remember it’s not a competition! Oh, and if it’s your first time, read in a version you are used to, If you’re used to the version you feel less overwhelmed.
~This is Sara’s second year reading the Bible over Christmas Break. This year she is reading it chronologically using a NIV Bible, but also looking up passages in KJV and The Living translation. She is doing it in 3 weeks, but taking off several days for family.~
Embodying everything we stand for here at The Pursuit, David Dallas is an artist who studied his craft, does what he loves and does it well. Stepping out into the spotlight, his first album Something Awesome took over iTunes and jumped straight to the number one spot. Not slowing down, the man who used to be known as Con Psy has recently toured the States, Austalia and of course New Zealand, so we asked him for a quick minute to see how he’s dealing with people finally recognising his talent. You’ve gotten recognition from one of the biggest rappers and producers alive, Kanye West. How does it feel to have your work recognised by him?
Wicked. I’ve been a big fan of him since the Blueprint. When I first started to write my own raps a lot of the first beats I wrote to were Kanye instrumentals – Scarface – “Guess who’s back”, Kweli – “Good to you” etc. I’m still a big fan of what he’s doing as an artist and I feel like he’s probably the most consistent dude out there, especially as far as hip hop goes. So yeah, it’s great. The Smoking Section is one of the most credible online sites for breaking new artists, and they picked up on you quite quickly. Kanye then followed. How has support from such legitimate hip hop heads helped propel your success overseas?
Support from them and the other blogs is pretty much everything. Without them no-one outside of N.Z and a handful of people in Oz would’ve heard anything I’ve done, we’re so isolated down here. The great thing about those sites is that the music is getting to the sort of people who are receptive to the music I make. It’s way more effective than if i was to get on some big label tryna push to mainstream radio stations who’s listeners don’t even like hip hop. Who influenced you growing up? Is there any artist in particular who influenced your style?
My favourite artists and biggest influences were/are: Snoop, Mobb Deep, Outkast, Jay and Eminem. You used to be known as Con Psy, what was the reason for reverting to your birth name?
I’d just never introduce myself by that name, it felt ridiculous. Whoever I met I’d always be like “hey I’m
David” – so I figured if thats what I’m comfortable with, I might as well run with it. You worked your way up, understudying and supporting other NZ artists and producers such as Scribe and P.Money. How does it feel to now be stepping out of their shadow?
It’s cool. I learnt a lot from them and had a lot of experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise. That time has kinda given me a clear sense of where I want to go with my stuff and things that I’d like to avoid. You’re bringing a lot of attention to NZ music, what is it that sets you apart from other local artists? Indeed, what sets you apart from other rappers worldwide?
I feel like my sound is definitely different to what’s goin on here locally. It’s soulful and organic and not really keepin with the current climate of synthy stuff that’s on the radio. But at the same time I feel like it’s a lot more melodic and poppy in the song structures and arrangement than the more underground stuff is here.
Internationally I’d say the same thing, there’s a handful of acts who are doin similar stuff but what seperates me from them is my voice and my stories/experiences. The success of Something Awesome is going to be a hard act to follow, how do you plan to move forward with your next album?
Creatively I want to stick with the same approach I had when I made that album. Just going with what feels good and not worrying about being cool, how it’s gonna be perceived by critics, what box they’re gonna put it in etc etc. Just making some good songs that are reflective of the stuff I like.
You can keep up with the talented David Dallas here or here, and check out his upcoming shows here. Image courtesy of David Dallas
Live Nude Books: On their surfaces, the stories in Captive Audience focus on the lives of performers. Did you originally set out to write a collection on this subject?
Dave Reidy: I wrote “In Memoriam,” my imagination of a day in the life of a fictional Abe Vigoda, before any of the other stories included in the collection. Then I wrote a couple of other stories that had nothing to do with performers. But the next two stories I wrote—“Captive Audience” and “The Regular”—excited me very much and gave me the idea that my stories might be larger than the sum of their parts if they were collected around this theme of performance. I was more intentional about writing performer stories after that, but I defined “performer” broadly to include a kid who plays guitar for the girl next door and a guy who makes rock posters for an audience of three.
LNB: Do you consider/think about audience when writing a short story?
DR: I do. I find it helpful to keep in mind that the words I’m writing are for readers, and to remember that I owe those readers some challenge and satisfaction in return for the time they are spending with my work. I guess I try to give the people what they want, but I can only give it on my terms. I have to write the stories that I am most moved and best equipped to write, and I have to write them as I see fit. Visiting the imagined, half-understood expectations of an audience on a story in progress is very likely to kill it. In the end, I think a person who buys a book is buying stories, but also an author’s aesthetic. The reader is gambling that the writer will create characters and tell stories in ways that please unexpectedly, ways that the reader might not have been able to order up even if he or she had been given the opportunity to do so. It seems the best that I can do is try to create interesting, honest characters, tell inventive, accessible stories, and hope those characters and stories please and surprise an audience.
LNB: What was your strategy for ordering the stories in this collection?
DR: My editor had some strong feelings on the subject. We both wanted “The Regular” and “Thingless” to be the first two stories in the collection. We thought they set the tone for what follows. My editor insisted that “In Memoriam,” as the collection’s shortest story, should sit right in the middle, and I agreed. And I insisted that “Dancing Man” be the collection’s final story. I suspected that some of the stories in the collection would strike some readers as bleak, and I wanted the collection to end on a note of redemption—whether the redemption at the end of “Dancing Man” is real or imagined is another question.
LNB: What are you working on next?
DR: I’m working on a novel. I’m about three-fourths of the way through a first draft, which means I’ve got a long way to go before I’ve got something finished. But I’m working steadily on it, chipping away each day for an hour or so before heading into work.
LNB: What have you recently read that you’re recommending to friends and other readers?
DR: I’m only halfway through Jonathan Lethem’s Chronic City and I’m already recommending it to people. It’s fantastic. The Manhattan of Lethem’s imagination, inhabited by his exquisitely drawn characters, is even more exciting and more revealing than the Manhattan we know—even as I write this, I can’t wait to crack the book and get back there.
With Shah Rukh Khan and Aziz Mirza in the helm of affairs, it indeed looks like Ghar Ki Baat Hai. Well, we are talking about the new show on NDTV Imagine Ghar Ki Baat Hai (at 9.30 pm, Friday-Sunday), co-produced by Mirza, who’s a part of SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment.
After his stint as a host in Kaun Banega Crorepati-3 and Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain, Shah Rukh has now decided to produce a show with an intension to ‘add cinematic value on television’.
SRK’s association with Mirza dates back to Circus days, a popular show with Shah Rukh in the lead. It aired on Doodarshan almost 20 years ago. Since then the duo has made many films together including Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Yes Boss and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
Coming back to Ghar Ki Baat Hai, it’s a light-hearted show sprinkled with little bit of drama and a pinch of humor, directed by actor-filmmaker Anant Mahadevan.
The show sees Sumeet Raghavan of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai fame as Rajdeep, his wife Juhi Babbar as Radhika and Swapnil Joshi (of Shri Krishna and Tu Tu Main Main fame) as Sumeet’s brother-in-law Kakku. The story revolves around Rajdeep’s family and the situations they face in their day-to-day lives.
The peripheral cast includes Jayati Bhatia and Deven Munjal and Ali Asgar. Sounds familiar? No points for guessing, as SRK himself admits, Ghar Ki Baat Hai is his tribute to Doordarshan’s popular show Yeh jo Hai Zindagi, a big crowd puller in 1984-1985.
Though SRK claims it’s not a remake, the first episode seemed to be an out-and-out rip-off, where the husband pretends to forget their wedding anniversary and the wife files a divorce case on her brother’s provocation. We can’t help recall (at least those who have seen Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi) Shafi Inamdar, Swaroop Sampat and Rakesh Bedi coming alive on screen once again, fighting over a bowl of gulab jamun. Well, here it’s gajar ka halwa, if we can call that being original…
Jokes apart, Ghar Ki Baat Hai has far too many similarities with Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, the hit comedy that marked the debut of actor Satish Shah, who soon became a household name with his different avatar in every episode. Here, Ali Asgar as the lawyer, a watchman or a cook (as we get to see in the promos) looks convincing.
In the second episode (as we gather from the precap), we find Satish Shah, oops! Ali Asgar as the salesman trying to pacify Rajdeep and Radhika fight over a new couch. This one comes across as a frame-to-frame copy of one of the episodes in Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Being inspired is fine, but where is the difference we wonder.
Sumit Raghavan and Swapnil Joshi are good as usual. Juhi Babbar – daughter of Raj Babbar and a prominent theatre artiste – who debuts on TV with this one, also seems to be at ease facing the camera after the debacle of her film Kash Aap Hamare Hote in 2003.
However, if the forthcoming episodes turn out to be half as good as Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, then SRK is sure to hit the jackpot by giving a respite from the regular saas-bahu sob stories.
Surprise, surprise! if sources are to be believed the future episodes may also have special guests like Juhi Chawla, Shreyas Talpade and who knows SRK himself may just pop up one day.
Now up at Broken Frontier is my interview with Steve Mannion, from Asylum Press’ Fearless Dawn series, for which words like “cheesecake,” “romp” and “madcap” would be suitable descriptions. He’s a great artist too.
His The Bomb TPB is out now and the Fearless Dawn mini-series has just begun. If you like Tank Girl-like heroines fighting Nazis with tongue-in-cheek action and humour, then it’s an enjoyable romp.
Jonathan Martin at Politico published an excellent profile piece on former Republican Governor of New Mexico and potential 2012 candidate Gary Johnson:
Former New Mexico Republican Gov. Gary Johnson is a teetotaling triathlete who looks the part of the laid-back Mountain West politician.
But don’t let the jeans and black mock turtleneck he’s sporting on his new website fool you: Johnson is starting to sound like a mad-as-hell populist with an eye cast on 2012 and the building fury aimed at Washington.
“I’m finding myself really angry over spending and the deficit,” he said in an interview with POLITICO this week. “I’m finding myself really angry over what’s happening in the Middle East, the decision to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely. I’m angry about cap and trade. And I’ve been on record for a long time on the failed war on drugs.”
Is that enough to design a presidential campaign around? It might be, at a time of tea parties, rage at bailouts, job loss and general voter discontent. And there is plainly an opportunity for some politician to harness the anti-establishment, populist grass-roots fervor that is right leaning but untethered to any party at the moment.
It’s what Ron Paul tried to do in last year’s presidential campaign, but Johnson may better positioned to ride the populist wave than the longtime Texas GOP congressman. For one thing, the anti-establishment energy was not at the fever pitch then that it’s nearing now. And, unlike the unlikely Paul, a 73-year-old who got interested in elected politics when Richard Nixon abandoned the gold standard in 1971, Johnson is telegenic, is media savvy and, equally important, has twice been easily elected to statewide office.
A libertarian-leaning Republican, Johnson this month launched “Our America,” a group that aims to draw attention to the principles of limited government at home and noninterventionism abroad.
But as the subtitle on the website indicates, “The Gary Johnson Initiative” is also designed to elevate the profile of the ascetic and unconventional former governor, who is known nationally — if at all — for his support of legalizing drugs.
Johnson is doing little to knock down the idea that he may be looking toward a 2012 presidential run.
how would you describe what you do?
I write fiction. Lots of really short fiction (sub 1000 words) although I’m slowly moving into writing longer works. Also this year I’ve started writing comic scripts. I also sit around on my arse colliding ideas together to see what happens. The results of this activity tends to explode out in IRC where I am prone to ranting at other writers and artists.
what are you currently working on?
I’m working on a short story as a Christmas present for a friend’s brother at the moment. I’ve just finished putting together a print on demand book so I’m starting to move into marketing that. Which while this isn’t the fun part of writing; it is part of being an independent writer sadly.
Okay not sadly. It’s rather fun when I get off my backside and do it.
I am also doing some world building for a comic book and novella to come out in the new year.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
At the moment, because this is always liable to change, my biggest influences are probably a combination of music and a collection of authors who I can’t quite pin down specific names of the entire set. Warren Ellis is, for sure, an influence from his comics and the print on demand book he published recently kicked me back into action over my POD book.
William Gibson is a formative influence on my writing in both style and approach. Probably my favorite video on the internet is a reading of Spook Country by him on Fora TV where he then goes onto answer questions. He’s basically the biggest influence.
Cory Doctorow even though I’m not a major fan of his fiction is an influence in terms of online presence and relentless enthusiasm.
Warren Ellis also does this but in terms of getting into the business of writing for a living it is probably Cory Doctorow whose career, if I go onto to make a full time living out of writing, mine will probably model trajectory wise.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
I’m not really self aware enough of myself or my work as it is perceived by people at large to answer this probably. This might work to my advantage. It might not.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
The main strengths of writing fiction, especially short fiction, is that it is a medium about ideas and character. With a high turnover of both which means I’m forced to keep trying out new ideas and techniques to keep things novel.
Those are also weaknesses. If I was writing for television or longer form fiction there’d be less focus on coming up with characters and new ideas. More of a focus on expanding with what already exists and eventually creating a deeper fictional reality.
The other major weakness is that it’s hard to get people to read what I’ve written because everyone who can read and write has pretty much the same level of ability as me to start with. The only way I can get around this is to write better and more interesting material that everyone else. Up my signal to their noise ratio, or something like that.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
It hasn’t impacted me personally since I was born in 86; so I’ve always had computers and the Internet, at least in the period where I’ve been writing. My normal thought process if I don’t know something has always been to look it up online.
But generally I don’t think that technology has changed writing much. It has speeded it up. Finding out information no longer, sadly, means going to the library to find a book. It means using a search engine which is quicker. I’m in contact with about thirty other artists and writers daily via the Internet. But for the last 100 years I could have been in touch with them via the postal system. What I publish on blogs I could have been printing and photocopying into zines just twenty or thirty years ago.
The impact generally has been in speed. Writing is still about having ideas and writing them down one word after another.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Just fucking do it. Seriously there’s no excuses. If you want to write you’ve got to write. And you’ve got to read. And you’ve got to spend inordinate amounts of time thinking about writing as well. You’ve just got to do it.
But you’ve also got to finish what you start. A lot of half finished novels may in terms of words written be higher than a lot of finished short stories of flash fictions but the learning experience from finishing those stories will be higher.
where can we find you online?
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fragmad
Everything: http://www.will-ellwood.com
Captain Space Bastard and Other Stories: http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=25119074
what are you reading at the moment?
Currently I’m reading Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, because somehow I’ve gotten through life without reading it, and two short story collections. The first is Ian Rankin’s “A Good Hanging and Other Stories” and the second is a reread of “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson.
More interesting is what I’m planning to read next because that’s going to colour heavily what I think about going into the start of 2010.
On my bedside cabinet I’ve got a copy of the Maltese Falcon lined up to read and I’ve got the urge to read Spook Country which I still haven’t read yet. In the next week I’ll be getting a book filled with essays about Science Fiction, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, a book on Japanese aesthetics and a book entitled Militant Modernism.
In quiet moments when I just have a few minutes I’m reading Dodgem Logic and the rulebook for a role-playing game called HeroQuest.
what are you listening to at the moment?
Mostly I’m listening to the Royksopp and Daft Punk CDs I bought at the weekend. But I’m really enjoying all of the music put out by the netlabel http://www.blacklanternmusic.com/ so far.
anything else we should know?
My blood is mostly coffee.
Now up at Broken Frontier is my interview with Steve Mannion, from Asylum Press’ Fearless Dawn series, for which words like “cheesecake,” “romp” and “madcap” would be suitable descriptions. He’s a great artist too.