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Alex Kapranos recommended Dandruff by Ivor Cutler in Music (curated)

 
Dandruff by Ivor Cutler
Dandruff by Ivor Cutler
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"There’s no performer like Ivor Cutler. This record is a mixture of songs and poetry and stories and the lines between them all aren’t particularly distinct. There’s also a lady who I think was his girlfriend or lover at the time, but she has a couple of short poems on it. The only thing I can think that would be similar would be if you had Philip Larkin and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band on a record together. It manages to capture those two extremes. It’s also a misleading record because when you first listen to it you think its daft nonsense, and it’s not, it’s extremely astute observation that is succinctly delivered. There’s one piece that talks about sex: "I used to lie in bed with women I loved and have sex. With this woman, I lie in bed and have love, whatever we do is love. Even sex." You have that next to a song about a ludicrous fantasy story about someone saving a sparrow from a taxi driver’s boots. The imagery is wonderful and it’s truly absurd but the absurdity can distract you from how observant it really is. It also has a distinct melancholy running through it as well. Even a song like 'I Believe In Bugs' and the last line "I will feel the bugs wriggle as they eat me away" – it’s funny and it’s absurd but he’s talking about mortality and the absurdity of existence. And very Scottish as well!"

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Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
2017 | Biography, Crime, Documentary
Now this one has to be seen to be believed! It is a short documentary film of about 90 minutes, not a series, but it plays like a longer episode of a series – except by the end there is no more to tell. In and out, thankfully! It is the story of Jan Broberg, a relatively successful Hollywood supporting actress, who wrote a book about her abduction by a close family friend when she was a child in the 70s. As the story unfolds, especially if you are a parent yourself, you will be screaming at the screen in total disbelief and indignation every ten minutes, and twice as loud at the end!

I can’t go into the details without ruining it, but suffice to say that the series of events is one of the strangest stories, fact or fiction, that I have ever heard! The audacity and total manipulation of the offender, in conjunction with the insane naivety of Jan and her parents is mind-blowing! How he got away with it in any way for longer than a day is unfathomable enough, but this was abuse that went on unpunished for years. Is it the bible belt attitude to blame? I am… still… scratching my head on this one! How did these events and crimes ever happen? Just, wow! Do yourself a favour if you want to be shocked and have a good rant at the TV, watch this and see for yourself.
  
    Dancing Line

    Dancing Line

    Games

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    Dancing Line combines fast-paced gameplay with a carefully selected soundtrack to create an...

Best Buddies: What's in a Name?
Best Buddies: What's in a Name?
Mother Melania | 2022 | Children
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Are you looking for a cute picture book for your child or children? I may have found one on a homeless person and a little dog. It is called Best Buddies: What's in a Name? It is a short introduction about a homeless person and finding a stray dog. What will they become as they start to bond? Bob decides on a name to call the dog he encounters.

This dog has found a Bob. What is the name for naming a dog? Will he be called Rover or Scruffy or something completely different? You will need to read the book to find out what the name of the dog will be called. Bob seems to struggle one naming his new cute homeless dog.

Children will learn about homelessness and caring for a dog in this sweet, adorable introduction to this book. The pictures are done quite well and are colorful. It is more of an introduction to the series of the main two characters than anything. We are introduced to Bob briefly and to Luke, but this book deals with figuring out what to name the cute little homeless dog Bob found.

What adventures will it hold for them as the stories go on? Children will find this book easy to read and understand as well. Parents will enjoy seeing their children learn about homelessness and other teachable moments. Children may even learn about kindness as well.
  
CB
Crimson Bound
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Amazing worldbuilding (0 more)
Well, Rosamund Hodge has done it again. I think this one was actually better than Cruel Beauty, and about on par with Bright Smoke, Cold Fire. Crimson Bound is billed as Cruel Beauty #2, but it doesn't actually seem to take place in the same world. They're only connected in that they're both dark fantasy retellings of fairy tales. Crimson Bound is loosely (VERY loosely!) based on Little Red Riding Hood. It's amazing.

In Rachelle's world, The Forest is the dominating theme - it encroaches on villages and towns, sending "woodspawn" to attack people, and Forestborn to turn more humans into bloodbound and ultimately Forestborn. Humans are sheep to The Forest; prey to the Forestborn. Once a Forestborn has marked a human, they have three days to kill someone or they will die. If they kill someone, they become bloodbound - an intermediary step before they become completely Forestborn. Bloodbound have increased strength, resilience, and fighting skills, so the King has extended an offer to Bloodbound - even though they are known murderers, since they had to have killed someone to gain their powers - he will grant them clemency in exchange for their service to the realm. Guard the people from the woodspawn, the mindless monsters the Forest sends to attack people, and he'll let you live.

So Rachelle is a Bloodbound, bound to the King. Unlike most, though, she still believes in some of the old pagan stories about The Forest and the Devourer - the ancient evil driving the Forest's predatory ways. The book is about her quest to stop it from coming through into their world and destroying everything. There are twists and reveals that I cannot mention here, but it is an AMAZING piece of world-building and myth and I LOVED IT.

I also discovered she has several short stories post on her website so I'll be binge-reading those for a while!

This book - and anything by Rosamund Hodge - is pure magic. If you like dark fairy tales, you can't do better than this.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
BB
By Blood We Live
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This thing is an <b>enormous</b> tome! I don't know if it has been released in hardback or not, but if it has, that version has to be anchor-worthy. I requested it from the library because Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette had stories in it, and I'll read pretty much anything either of those worthies publish. I didn't expect to care for most of the rest, and didn't plan to do much more than flip through them.

As it happens, I read most of the other stories, and there were many surprises. I did skip some of the reprints, such as the Anne Rice story (I wouldn't have read it the first time it was published, and I wasn't about to read it simply because she was in good company now). I had read Carrie Vaughn's "Life Is the Teacher" before, but for some reason my eyes just fell into reading it again, and I felt well rewarded for doing so. On the other hand, while I had enjoyed "Twilight" by Kelley Armstrong the first time I read it a few years back, I wasn't moved to repeat the experience.

I believe my favorite story may have been "Finders, Keepers" by L.A. Banks, as I still remember it clearly and with pleasure. I've only read one of Banks' Vampire Huntress novels and didn't find it interesting at all, so I haven't read any more of her work, but I may seek out more of her short fiction in the future.

"Mama Gone" by Jane Yolen felt fresh, as Yolen's work so often does. Garth Nix's contribution, "Infestation," was a little bit predictable, but that may be due to overexposure to the genre.

I found myself returning to the cover art by David Palumbo again and again, intrigued by the fascinating faces he gave the figures there. They aren't classically alluring, and most aren't hideous&mdash;most would look perfectly at home on any street. But they also have that, that something, an element you can't quite put your finger on, an element of the other. Take a look and I believe you'll see what I mean.

Have fun!