The last couple of weeks have been filled with many gigs and so posting here has been a wee bit slow. I’ll be taking a break over the holiday season, putting the finishing touches to my book which will be ready for agents in January, and getting a lot of rest!
To all the Multiverse readers, have a wonderful Christmas and a great 2014. I’ll see you back here in January but in the meantime here are some links to keep you occupied if you have a spare moment/are bored/need time out from your family before you lose it.
1. If you’ve ever wanted a drag queen make-up tutorial (No? Just me?) I have sourced it. Watch Raven from Season Two of Rupaul’s Drag Race transform club kid legend James St. James into a fierce queen.
2. Sometimes when work isn’t going as well as one had hoped, it’s encouraging to know that even the most successful writers can often feel like failures!
3. The Toast did a very funny article on popular posters from the past and what they say about you now. I had the Reservoir Dogs poster on my wall for years which apparently means, “You refer to everyone that you have ever dated as ‘crazy’ without exception.”
4. Katy and Katie are two girls who have taken it upon themselves to test out various pieces of advice found on the Intenet with varying results. Their tagline is, “Dumb enough to try anything. Smart enough to warn against it.” The videos on their site are very funny and it’s well worth checking out. Start with the DIY GOOP sweatshirt which you can watch on their Tumblr or on their Youtube channel.
5. Anyone who has ever worked in marketing or dealt with an ad agency will get a HUGE laugh out of these Santa Brand Guidelines. “Santa winds infinite possibilities around finite limitations to invoke the essence of invention and odour of nostalgia…”
6. Interesting and informative Salon article for the Spicolis amongst us.
7. Being a DJ means sometimes you get bizarre requests, and of course someone has started a blog on this very subject called “No Breasts, No Requests” which sounds sexist but isn’t. The blog owner explains: “No Breasts, No Requests isn’t my policy as a dj, but a quote from one of the first signs I found and posted.” (I really wish he’d change the name.) Some classics on the site such as this one!
8. My current favourite fashion blog is Atlantic Pacific by Blair Eadie Bee, a visual merchandiser living in New York. Her style is different from my own – much more chic and polished – but I think she’s a fashion icon in the making.
9. As I’ve said before, I listen to a lot of jazz at home as I crave different music to the stuff I play when I’m working. Anita O’Day is one of my favourite jazz singers and this song isn’t strictly speaking a Christmas song but I think it was used in a holiday ad (M&S?) a few years ago. Aaaanyway, her voice is sublime so listen and let it thrill you!
10. I’ve written before about the entertainment to be found in misheard lyrics. Here’s a stomach-achingly hysterical animated video for “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana. “SALSA COOKIES!!!”
11. I often love the villains in TV shows (e.g. Karen in Will and Grace. Seriously. Watch that link. She’s awesome!) and Cartman is one of my favourites. Watch his profanity get rewarded with electric shocks in this seasonal South Park clip.
12. This footage of Earth from the International Space Station is a wondrous and humbling look at our planet. The cinematography in Gravity may have been amazing, but the real thing is a hundred times more beautiful.
Alex Donald's Multiverse 