So is technology moving too fast or are we moving too slowly?

Mitchell: You can't slow down innovation. I think what designers and writers need to do is paint really compelling pictures of possible futures in very human terms so that the public debate can really evolve at a high level in a sophisticated way. We must understand the relationship between these rather abstract technologies and our everyday lives. We need to ask ourselves how we want to live our lives and how we can organize our technological capabilities to fulfill those ideals. Public debate is critical. And you can only have that debate if you engage the public's imagination.

More in link.

Leather spats from Elizabeth Melinek.

Thanks, Bria.

"The first time I heard about the Ballet Russe's Le Train Bleu my jaw dropped. Named after a speed train which carried rich Londoners to the French Riviera, the ballet was based on a Cocteau story, featuring costumes by Chanel and a backdrop painted by Pablo Picasso. The surviving photos show dancers flirting in the sun, pantomiming swimming and tennis movements while wearing the boldly striped wool jerseys which were becoming a signature of Chanel's designs — she got the idea from her then-boyfriend, the Prince of Wales.

The French Riviera at the time was an art incubator (maybe it was all that absinthe?). Picasso and Matisse painted it, Hemingway and Agatha Christy wrote about it, while Segovia and Satie supplied the soundtrack. A creative and carefree style of dress arose as well. The quintessential outfit would probably include a pair of fisherman's trousers cut off and cinched in with a piece of rope, espadrilles (obligatory), and an old sweater worn with a pearl necklace (fake — as Chanel herself wore). Is it just me, or does that still sound like the end in cool?"

Anyone know where I can lay my hands on a rough/fan translation of Aoi Haru?

I got a Japanese copy back in February and it's KILLING ME that I can't read it.

Did enjoy the film, though.

I've raved about these chocolates before, but I just read an article on this guy last night. Now I'm dying to try the Chinese Five Spice bonbon.

This one's Earl Grey Tea:

Thanks, Mark.

Applejack got neutered yesterday. Apparently the anesthesia upset his tummy a bit. Today, he's a noxious fart machine.

I'm so proud.

Photo by xtop.

I have no call for a clutch, but this one's cute.

So.

The dog is off getting neutered and I have the house to myself. I have crazy amounts of work to do, but I decide that I'm going to go ahead and put the fertilizer on the lawn because it'll take five minutes and I won't have the dog underfoot. Yay. Okay! Let's go!

I read the directions. Twice. Never had a lawn, never done this before, want to get it right. So. Directions? Check, check. Sounds pretty easy. I take the bag and the broadcaster out to the front porch load them up and I immediately start getting fertilizer/weed killer everywhere. Ooops. But, I decide I've done well enough and I take it to the backyard...

...where everything goes horribly wrong.

I get it on the lawn well enough, but when I'm at the point in the yard that is farthest from where the bag is on the deck -- the bag tips over. I FLY from my position, but by the time I right the bag, a mountain of fertilizer has spilled on the tiny bit of sidewalk we've got just inside our gate. To add insult, as I'm righting the bag, I notice something that I somehow missed when I was double-checking the directions before: I was supposed to have done it on wet grass. Oops. How did I miss that?! Too late now. Can't reapply it for 2 months, either. Well, shit.

Okay. So I've got a small mountain of magic lawn granuals on the sidewalk. I don't want to haul the shop*vac up from the basement, so I figure I'll try the Shark handheld vacuum thingie. I dig around in the basement and find that, take it outside, find a place to plug it in and...it's not gonna do. Not enough suction and not nearly enough space in the bag. Next.

I take the Shark to the trash in the kitchen so that I can empty it. In the process, I spill granuals all over the kitchen floor. AWESOME. Now I have to vacuum in here, too. Great. Okay. So I vacuum. The Eureka Whirlwind does a fantastic job, so I figure I'll take it outside and give it a go at my white moutain.

Nope. Better than the Shark, but it's not going to do.

Okay. So, I bring the shop*vac up from the basement. We've blocked the diningroom off so that Pablo can't keep taunting Applejack, which means I can't get through there. I can't lift the shop*vac as high as Fraction can, so I can't get it through the kitchen. So, I'm going to need to move the cabinet out of the kitchen first.

Fine. 20 minutes later: done.

FINALLY get the shop*vac outside and I'm on my hands and knees sucking up the white mountain and various sticks and I realize that we have the perfect tool for this job and I hadn't even considered it. It's called a "broom."

(Anybody else find the mannequin disturbing?)

Interesting thread on comics reviewing on Steve Niles' board.

Smarty Jones has won his first eight starts, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and is trying to become the first 3-year-old to go through the Triple Crown undefeated since Seattle Slew in 1977.

"Seattle Slew used to get hot if somebody got too close to him," Frankel said. "This colt, nothing bothers him. Secretariat, he didn't like an off track, he got beat a couple of times on an off track. The horse he reminds me the most of is Spectacular Bid, because Spectacular Bid was like that: he'd rate, he'd go to the lead, he'd handle any surface."

More in link.

Hot Decor and Lube Job.

Hot Decor and Lube Job.

For those of you keeping track, I currently write the English adaptations of Sensual Phrase (Viz), Girl Got Game (Tokyopop) and the Slayers Novelizations (Tokyopop). To that list, add Yami No Matsuei -- or, as it will appear in English, Descendants of Darkness (Viz).

There are a couple other titles, but I can't announce them yet. Stay tuned, as they say.

For those of you keeping track, I currently write the English adaptations of Sensual Phrase (Viz), Girl Got Game (Tokyopop) and the Slayers Novelizations (Tokyopop). To that list, add Yami No Matsuei -- or, as it will appear in English, Descendants of Darkness (Viz).

There are a couple other titles, but I can't announce them yet. Stay tuned, as they say.

Mobile Phones = Death of Manga in Tokyo?

Not much more than an observation, but interesting.

...from Ella Moss. This one wouldn't look good on me, either.

In the spirit of Candyfreak (I haven't read it, but I very much enjoyed the radio interview with the author. I know, I know. But I have a stack of books to make it through first) I tried one of these today. I had a bite. It was very, very tasty. And richer than Paul McCartney.

I'm going back to writing down my Weight Watchers POINTS tomorrow.

Those two facts are not unrelated.

Oh hey -- what do Tina Fey and I have in common? Well yes, we're both sexy and hilarious and Fraction adores us both, but c'mon, those are easy. What else?

That's right! We're both Lifetime Members of Weight Watchers. Who knew? [Link is to New Yorker, but I actually read the Lifetime bit in Bust.]

The Cherry Mash was good, but I think it might have been the packaging that got me. I'm a sucker for the Candy Cop. I think I saw Candyfreak at Half Price Books ...

Which reminds me, I want to do something about getting Carrie Wilson and Jane Almirall sites.

Save the carb.

Thanks, Patience.

...but I like it. The bag and the hair and the tan are dreadful. But I confess I like the weirdo-80s-stretchy-dress.

...his site is broken.

We're done. The apartment? Empty. Re-painted. Clean. It took two weeks, but we're done. Our thanks to Beck, Steven, Dawn and Baker. Jacob? We owe you our first-born, I think.

My feet hurt. Fraction's hands are bleeding. We'll be living out of boxes for months, but as of today we officially live in our house. Only our house. At last.

Apropos of nothing, my husband does an eerily good Tavis Smiley impression.

Also apropos of nothing, I unsubbed to the Moveon.org mailing list today (As ever, you lead the way, Gus). The "Petition Kerry To Go Big" craptacular waste of time was more than I could bear. I think Kerry's running a smart campaign. I think he's conducting himself with dignity. I will enthusiastically support Kerry in November. Moveon.org, however, does not equal Kerry. If Moveon.org was my boyfriend, I'd have just dumped him. Because he's an asshole.

Click for full article.

... To accompany the video, Japanese comics company Tokyo Pop will release a manga book of the full story line of the clip, which will come out this summer. Hahn and singer Mike Shinoda are also considering releasing a DVD with the manga book, Delson said.

The manga release isn't the only Linkin Park book that'll come out this year. In the fall, the band's coffee-table book, "From the Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora," will hit shelves. The tome will feature exclusive photos by Greg Waterman, who traveled with the band over the last two years. "We wanted to give the fans a really intimate glimpse into what our world is like when we're on the road," Delson said. "So we brought Greg out with us and really allowed him full access behind the stage, in our dressing room, on our bus and on the stage. And he did an amazing job."

create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide

Aw, yeah.

I've got a wee piece up at Ellis' Fast Fiction Friday stunt. See also: Fraction, Breslin and Kadrey. Hell, read them all; they're fast.

Four years clean and sober: nothing short of miraculous.

Thanks for the flowers, babe.

Jamie reviews Sensual Phrase on artbomb.net: here.

The field for the Preakness Stakes, in post position order with morning-line
odds (from bloodhorse.com via Cheryl):

1 -- Lion Heart, Mike Smith, 3-1
2 -- Borrego, Victor Espinoza, 15-1
3 -- Little Matth Man, Richard Migliore, 50-1
4 -- The Cliff's Edge, Shane Sellers, 8-1
5 -- Song of the Sword, Jorge Chavez, 30-1
6 -- Sir Shackleton, Rafael Bejerano, 30-1
7 -- Smarty Jones, Stewart Elliott, 8-5
8 -- Imperialism, Kent Desormeaux, 5-1
9 -- Eddington, Jerry Bailey, 8-1
10 -- Rock Hard Ten, Gary Sevens, 6-1
11 -- Water Cannon, Ryan Foglesonger, 30-1

The author of Candyfreak is on The Walt Bodine Show this morning and he's utterly charming. I wish I could go see him read at the Rainy Day Books event tonight, but alas, we're still painting the old apartment and -- if you can believe it -- moving. Still.

Here's a nifty independent booksellers' link.

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

Finally, my stat reports show this link http://www.xanga.com/skin.asp eating up a decent percentage of my bandwidth.

Anybody know what that's about? William...?

Everybody know Bill Morton's strip THE ADVENTURES OF SKULLY? Here's an example. Here's another.

Anyway, SKULLY's wrapping up after I-don't-know-how-many-years and about 200 strips. In farewell, Bill makes the following offer:

A few years back in response to requests from Skully readers for original art, I offered a series of 100 Skully watercolor "portraits" for sale. These were a limited run with images of Skully as The Devil, Elvis, in a fez, with an Afro, With a martini, as T.V.'s Larry Tate, etc.

As The Adventures of Skully winds down it occurred to me that before the old boy leaves my system completely now would be the last time to offer similar works to anyone who was interested. This time however, I'm taking requests.

IF you would like a lovely Skully Watercolor Portrait of your very own, featuring Skully as or doing anything your little heart can imagine just send your request along via email and within two weeks you can receive a fine commissioned piece of art in the mail for the cost of $20 (postpaid)

Portraits measure 5x7 inches on quality Watercolor paper and are created with watercolor or mixed media.

Look an example:

Contact Bill at mortco@mindspring.com.

(If you have my business card, or an invoice of mine, you are already in possession of a little of Bill Morton's work. We also collaborated on the Star & Garter mag strip.)

Okay, I screwed this one up. Scott O'Connor sent me this last month:

Every weekday, from April 26th to May 7th, Swannigan &
Wright will be presenting a new and/or unusual poem by
Mr. Pritts (designed by Mr. Scott O'Connor) on our
website: www.swanniganandwright.com

It ended on the 7th. So, um, oops.

Anyway, check out Swannigan and Wright.

Caveat: Honestly, I haven't read the poetry. I've been swamped and, frankly, having done my time at open mics, I don't run screaming into the arms of poetry. I know this makes me shallow. Do I look like I care? Anyway, the poetry might be very good. I don't know. What do you want from me? My wrists hurt from housepainting and I've got a new puppy and I'm grumpy. So, in summation: the poetry? I have no idea. The site design however, I enthusiastically endorse. The design of Scott's own book made me gasp aloud.

Craig and I worked together years ago in
sketch comedy troupe that Dave Holmes
founded called "Dottie Danger."

Isn't he dashing? Dashing, I say.

Clearing out my folder of Things Other People Have Asked Me To Blog.

First up:

The Bancroft Syndicate.

You guys know Allen. He's the vector artist out of Modesto, CA, who sends me photo manipulations (I think they're photo manipulations. I could be wrong.) based on futurephone pics every once in a while. (He also sent some fantastic guerilla journalism photos of a street fight not too long ago. My favorite below.)

Anyway, he's put together a little salon of artists in Modesto. It looks like a pretty informal 'let's get together and paint' sort of thing, if I'm reading it right. So if you want to get your art on in that part of the world check out the link.

I've seen a few of her shots before (atomic magazine, maybe?) but I hadn't seen the site. Preeeettty.