Blog – Page 131 – John Joseph Adams

Free Music

samplers

Originally uploaded by slushgod.

I know, I know, it’s going to seem like I hate music. First, I’m giving away a piano, and now a couple of CDs. The thing is, I’ve already got these. When you order stuff from Century Media’s online store, they often give you free stuff, usually in the form of CD samplers. In fact, I’ve already gotten three sets of these; I’ve given one set away, but I don’t know who’d be interested in this other set, so it’s up for grabs.

Click here for a larger version of the image, on which you can probably read the track listing.

They’re both damn good compilations; I count about a dozen tracks between the two discs that I thought were very good or great; the others I mostly didn’t care for, or thought were decent, but nothing to get excited about. These two samplers resulted in me buying at least five albums (and might have resulted in more, except that I was already familiar with [and had the albums of] some of the bands who happen to have kick-ass tracks on the discs).

So anyway, first person to post a comment gets it. Be sure to include your email address in your post, so that I can contact you for your mailing address.

Update: CDs have been claimed (via LiveJournal comments).

Death and The Family Guy

Seeing as I recently read A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and I’ve been watching all the Family Guy re-runs that I’d previously missed, I can’t help but think that it would be totally awesome if Seth MacFarlane did a spin-off of Family Guy that revolved around Death. I mean, the one where Peter helps Death get a girlfriend is pure comic genius.

piano

Originally uploaded by slushgod.

I’ve been trying to get rid of this piano for a while now, without luck. You want it? It’s yours. Just come get it. Location is Perth Amboy, NJ (08861). I recently tried posting a notice via Freecycle.org, but have been frustrated by the lack of communication with my local group moderator. I haven’t given up on it yet, but hey, might as well cast my net as far as possible. I just want to get rid of this thing.

It’s in fine working order, except that one key seems to be disconnected from its hammer. Easy enough to repair, I’d think. There’s no bench either, but other than that, it should be a fine addition to any music lover’s home.

Why do I want to get rid of it? Dude, because it’s in my library. I want to put books there.

Gully update

As I mentioned previously, Gully was a bit listless at first, but he’s come around. He’s bonded with me now, trusts me and all that. Still doesn’t play with toys or anything, or have any interest in fetching, but he likes hanging around me, and is always looking for me when I’m not around (so I’m told).

He’s very quiet; I’ve barely heard him make a noise. When a series of emergency vehicles went by one night, he howled along with them, which was kind of amusing. Other than that, the only noise I’ve heard him make happened the other night; I was petting him, and apparently he was full of energy or something, because he launched himself into some kind of game, which entailed him spreading his front paws out in front of him as if it pounce mode, barking, then taking off running away from me, at which point he’d stop, turn around, get into pounce mode again, bark, and run back toward me. He did this a couple times, then must have got tired out and went and layed down. This is apparently known as a “play bow.” I don’t know how to trigger it, but I’d love to capture it on film, because, man, it was *weird.*

Speaking of dogs, check out this blog post by Jonathan Carroll.

New Paltz

Originally uploaded by slushgod.

This weekend, I attended the Fantastic Genres II, a very small academic conference held at SUNY New Paltz, in New Paltz, NY. The con director was John Langan, a semi-regular F&SF contributor, and a friend of mine. The conference was held once before, two years ago. The first one was really great; this one was good too, though not quite as well-organized. Apparently they received a grant to put on the first one, but this time they did not, so there weren’t as many resources at their disposal.

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Spellbinder Is A Love Story

SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about Melanie Rawn’s new novel, Spellbinder.

Read the story!

STRONG MEDICINE book reviews: October 2006

Intergalactic Medicine Show published my October book reviews today. This month, I review Wings to the Kingdom by Cherie Priest, The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld, and Majestrum by Matthew Hughes.

[Excerpt:] Although billed as the second book of a trilogy (following the excellent Four and Twenty Blackbirds), Wings to the Kingdom stands completely on its own. You should read Four and Twenty Blackbirds first, but only because it’s a great book; you don’t need to have read it to enjoy Wings. One unusual thing about Wings, as the second book of a trilogy, is how different in tone it is to Blackbirds; whereas Blackbirds felt like a modern take on classic gothic horror, Wings feels much more like a contemporary horror novel. Or a better way to put it might be to say that Blackbirds was more of a literary horror novel, while Wings is more of a fun and Buffyesque one. Which is not to say it is in any way inferior; Priest somehow manages both modes with equal skill.

Go read the whole thing and tell me what you think!