The Milk Carton Kids

I went to see The Milk Carton Kids on a recommendation received via my social network. (But no one monetized the connection. No click-throughs, no referrals, and absolutely zero cookies. I simply walked there and bought a ticket.)

Dave Borins & co. opened and were excellent, with folkish country music that made me want to sing along with the hypnotically catchy refrains. They quite unexpectedly mixed a Southern/country-music sound with local Toronto references.

Then, adequately warmed-up and emotionally available, the headliners took the stage. Two unassuming boy-men in full suits, their entire stage presence was based upon understatement. It balanced precisely between hilarious litotes and sad, quiet sentences. "We're from L.A." Beat. No cheers from the Toronto audience. "Uh, okay. Well, we're here now." Laughter.

The Milk Carton Kids' songs were a nice counterpoint to Dave Borins: they were uniformly quiet and sad. At the end of the evening, they thanked the audience for spending a Friday evening listening to their sad songs. (You can listen, too! -- all their music is offered free on their site!)

It was delightful.


This post's theme word is jonquil, "a widely cultivated narcissus."

Hugo nominees 2012

Another year, more delightful fiction to read! As previously, I attempt to read this year's nominees in the major categories. (I actually got through most of the novels before the nominations were announced; I have no regular source for large volumes of short stories, so I'll have to seek those out later.)

Best Novel:

• Among Others by Jo Walton
• A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin
• Deadline by Mira Grant
• Embassytown by China Miéville
• Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Best Novella:

• Countdown by Mira Grant
• “The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman
• “Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal
• “The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson
• “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu
• Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente

Best Novelette:

• “The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell
• “Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky
• “Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen
• “Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders
• “What We Found” by Geoff Ryman

Best Short Story:

• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu
• “The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick
• “Movement” by Nancy Fulda
• “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu
• “Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi

[Update: the winners have been posted.]

This post's theme word is laodicean, "lukewarm or indifferent, esp. concerning religion." Science fiction and fantasy are passionate about some topics (space travel, magic, technology, identity, marginalization, social inequality, education) and laodicean about others.