#untitled wednesday library series

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-10-16

Another year older. Stealing the Untitled Wednesday Library Series format from Morrak for an open Reading section and then we'll get to the normal post.

Reading:

Untitled Monday Wednesday Library Entry No. 0

Do you like a recipe book? Do you like an unbearably comprehensive and frequently incorrect recipe book? Well boy do I have an item for you:

It's Indian Delights, the de facto standard book of South African Indian cooking. Assembled in the 60's by the Durban Women's Cultural Group and in print ever since then.

The How

A birthday gift from my parents, who sent it from South Africa.

There are apparently places that carry this book outside of South Africa but I do not know what those are.

The Text

Dubious, but useful despite this. It was written in the 60's by a bunch of people who had never and would never again write a recipe book. You may note from the frontmatter that while it has had sixteen impressions since its first publication in 1961, there has only ever been a single revision of the book. There are numerous errors, omissions, and flaws. Recipes may list ingredients that are not used, call for ingredients in the method not given before, begin preparing components and never use them, or outright lie about the quantities of ingredients you need. A challenging exercise.

Any given individual's copy of this book is full of little pen notes, slips of paper, and scratched out experiments. I have a blank canvas.

It is absolutely stuffed to the brim with recipes from the then-almost-century of South African development on South Asian cuisine. It is intended as a one-stop-shop for cooking from a diaspora of extremely wide origins.

South African Indians arrived in South Africa as indentured labour for British sugar farms and could just as easily be from the relatively cold and mountainous North Indian regions or the low, rainy, hot coastal areas of South India. As a result you've had almost a hundred years of adapting to the locally available ingredients, intermarriages across wide geographic origins, and failing memories. There are frequently many duplicates of any given recipe, each with some unique variation of note.

It is also extremely dated. It still lives in an era where "adding an elachi (cardamom) pod to your rice" is a luxurious choice that requires financial considerations, and where meat was still expensive. It also has a delightful section on mass cooking, such as the above "Biryani for 100 people" which has an additional note on the ingredients for a "Biryani for 800 people" on the opposite leaf. These things come up sometimes, although the largest biryani I've ever been involved in was for about 60 people.

It is not really for beginners but it does have a lot of introductory matter, in part because it has to contend with the mishmash of languages and loanwords that exist. You don't know if the reader uses the hindi word for cumin, or the tamil word for cumin, or makes a formal distinction between roti and chapati. As a result, there are extensive opening tables of translations.

The Object

Big, blocky hardcover recipe book. Cheap but hardwearing coated pages. I have seen these in every imaginable state of disrepair, unfortunately I do not have a photo on hand of my mother's which is completely beat to hell.

I mentioned that there have not been many updates, and this continues to the outside. Not a single impression has, for example, corrected the misalignment of the spine and the cover that means it stands out on any book storage system.

Some damage to the cover from the rigours of air travel. It'll recover, or rather, it'll get beat up in ways that make that negligible.

The photography is antiquated, having been taken by a photographer who was certainly good but was operating a) with 1961 camera technology, b) 1961 photographic sensibilities, and c) no real experience in food photography. As a result the images can look somewhat alien if you're familiar with more modern food photograpy. Colours are not accurate, framing is flat, and composition is often packed.

In addition to the colour glamour plates, there are black and white instructional photos, which are much more timeless.

The Why, Though?

Indian Delights is a very important cultural reference for the South African Indian population, and it's a pretty standard leaving home/getting married/leaving home and getting married gift. I've bought a copy for many friends and now this one is mine.

Will I actually use this much? Certainly not that often. My mother and her sisters learned to cook from this book, so it is the root of my personal culinary tradition. That means I already know a lot of what can be distilled from this for day-to-day recipes. Where it is handy is for more technical dishes, which require some guidance, or as an ingredient reference for something new you want to try.

In particular Diwali is coming up and while both my mother and I are staunch atheists, we will also take any excuse to make a ton of sweets for friends. If you are in Prague in the week of the 12th of November you can probably hit me up for something.

Listening: Acheney is a shockingly talented synth designer for the niche softsynth tracker sunvox, available now on windows, mac, linux, windows CE, android, and iOS. I was tooling around with their Guitar synths and decided to check out their music, which is a couple albums of very high concept EDM inspired ambient and/or noise stuff. Here's Euler Characteristic Zero

Watching: @humansbgone is an animated sci-fi series about intelligent giant arthropods and their attempts to deal with invasions of pesky little humans

Big spec-bio focus with a lot of end notes on the arthropods in question.

Playing: Played the Trans Siberian Railway Simulator demo, which I recorded and put up here, with crap audio because it's authentic to what I had lying around after I forgot my headphones at work.

Also: the digital version of the D&D themed agent placement game Lord of Waterdeep with my family, which works quite well. It's weird to have the game handling the admin of moving points around and automatically deducting resources, but it does make the game go very quickly, even if your parents are still figuring out the interface.

Making: Big cooking experiment with a slow roast lamb shank. Came out very well. Lamb shank definitely one of the more animal parts of an animal you can cook. Smells intensely of lanolin and other hair smells. Real greasy. Big honkin' bone. Smooth and fine but sturdy musculature. This thing used to be a very specific part of something alive and that thing lived the kind of life that develops the very particular smells of the insides of a sheep that are very close to the outside of a sheep. You will find some wool fibers in your pan from where the follicles reach down close to the bone and sinew.

Tools and Equipment: Easyeffects is the successor to PulseEffects and is a very complete set of audio tuning and manipulation tools for Linux. You can use it to process incoming and outgoing audio with basically any plugin you care to imagine.

[smaller-comfort]

It is WIP Wednesday, my dudes!

I need to work on necron stuff, but instead I've been kicking away at actually fluffy SoS things. Palate cleansers, now that Save Scumming is done.

A little bit of Outshine the Sun, Etudes, and Modern AU.

Untitled Aephorul/Resh'an, the extremely silly, porny sequel to Save Scumming.

--

“Let me look at you,” Resh'an said at last.

“Hmph.” He didn't want to. It didn't matter what Resh'an said; there was always that moment when he could see the pity in Resh'an's eyes. And then the disgust. Resh'an was good at hiding it- but he'd always been an open book to Aephorul.

Still. They were trying something new. He let go of Resh'an. “I'll show you mine if you show me yours.”

For a moment Resh'an just stared at him with narrowed eyes, but then he shrugged. “On three?” Resh'an tucked his fingers under the edge of his mask.

“One.” Aephorul rearranged the flesh beneath his hood into something vaguely face-like.

“Two.” Resh'an's eyes glowed a little brighter.

“Three.” In unison, Aephorul pulled back his hood and Resh'an pulled down his mask, and they both dispelled the illusions that hid their faces.

He hissed again, this time in sympathy; when they'd last met, Resh'an hadn't looked good, but he'd at least been relatively whole. Now, half his face was missing, the skin torn away to reveal the skull beneath. The lower mandibular angle was crazed with hairline fractures.

----

Etudes: Beginnings (B'st/Resh'an). I'm still going to finish Glass Harp first, but now this series has over 15k words and at least five separate stories in it and I've clearly lost control of my life. Resh'an is such an unmitigated disaster in this series, but he's trying so hard.

----

He rarely used his bedroom in the tower; on the rare occasions that he actually slept, he usually just put his head down at his desk. The actual bedroom and living quarters had become a secondary storage space for his research notes. The first time B'st had found an entrance to the Archives, Resh'an had thrown him into a time loop in a mild state of panic, and then hucked everything in the bedroom into an extradimensional storage closet. 

He'd gotten so used to solitude- but that was no excuse for poor hospitality. When he released B'st from the time loop (hopefully none the wiser, but he wasn't going to ask) the bedroom was sparsely furnished, but clean. In the end, it didn't matter; they hadn't spent any time there that first visit. He gave B'st the tour of the tower, such as it was- the library and the reading room at the heart of the Archives, the laboratory, the living quarters- and then they'd spent the rest of their time on the observation deck.

It took considerable effort to unmoor his tower from its physical anchorage, but he did it anyway. It let him relocate the observation deck anywhere he liked, so they could look at the stars from new vantages. Resh'an had, quite frankly, been showing off.

And it had been worth it, to see B'st's eyes- already so bright- light up when Resh'an transported them into the center of a meteor shower.

----

Alternative Sleeping Arrangements (working title), Aephorul/Resh'an, college students au. Aephorul goes home with Resh'an over spring break; he meets Resh'an's aunt; a pillow fort gets built. I'm not sure if this one will ever really get finished, but I like fleshing out some of the background for this AU.

This is a non-magical AU; it literally takes place in New Jersey. But Anais and her partner Estelle are still also Guardian Gods, despite that.

--

He was surprised by how much she looked like Resh'an; she was nearly as tall as Aephorul, with the same long-limbed, willowy silhouette. But on her it looked graceful, where Resh'an always looked like he was surprised he had elbows. Her hair was a frizzy cloud of strawberry blonde to Resh'an's dead straight auburn, but they had the same eyes and the same smile. 

She drifted in on a cloud of sandalwood, peasant skirts swirling above her bare feet and silver bracelets jangling down her arms. “Darling boy!”

Resh'an looked slightly pained at his aunt's endearment. “Hi auntie. This is Aephorul.”

She kissed Resh'an on both cheeks despite the way he rolled his eyes, and then she turned to Aephorul.

He understood what Resh'an had meant when he said his aunt was a lot, now. Anais looked at him like he was a bug caught under a glass. For a moment, her face was as still and cold as a marble statue, unsmiling and distant. Then she smiled at him, the same radiantly beautiful smile that Resh'an used when he was genuinely happy. 

It took considerable effort not to flinch when she offered her hand to shake. Her grip was surprisingly firm. “It's nice to finally meet you,” she said warmly. “Resh'an can show you around the place- Essie's out getting groceries, but when she gets back we'll start on dinner.”

Resh'an rescued Aephorul from his aunt's handshake and tugged him away, down the hallway. “Come on, my room's this way.”

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again no problem 7/25/2023

still apartmentless (upside down smiley face emoji). six sentences or less per section, except when it's not

listening

it's goofy poppy dance music for the duration baybee. Bye Bye by Haiku Hands and Ribongia is a stompy, bird-flipping breakup song with a chorus of "see you later/bye bye/alligator/don't cry". spotify

-

reading

stealing the Untitled Wednesday Library Series from @morrak mostly to show him this book but you all can look at it too i guess

The How: fifty cents at a religious thrift store whose vibes gave me the ick

The Text: it's one of these, yanno? a reference book that doesn't quite feel like a real book? put together by a team of "thirty anonymous experts in the field" which does not lend confidence. the absolutely gobsmacking number of images and illustrations and charts and graphs are similarly uncredited. god help whoever typeset this monstrosity.

many many many cutaways. lotta stuff you gotta do to the air and/or gas to compress it

a charming number of action shots in the field

and of course some BEEFY reference appendices.

The Object: faintly musty, some rather extreme acid? glue? yellowing on the endpapers. idk what horses they were using for glue in the sixties but this paper did Not like it.

The Why, Though: do we even have to ask this question

-

watching

i watched all the twilight movies this weekend bc they are vitally important to my best friend, and it was fun to shriek "EXPLAIN???" at her every ninety seconds. i am fully an alice/bella truther now.

i was not allowed to read these books growing up, and by the time the movies rolled around i was thoroughly uninterested bc i had a nearly-lethal Not Like Other Girls!!! period.

i don't know that i have much to say about them. i feel like i missed a crucial window of development here? like how the first time i went to disney (i have been twice for free bc several dear friends work there, not as cast members) i was twenty. it hit different, yanno?

it was SUCH a fun stupid two nights with my best friend, though. i remain fucking furious on bella's behalf bc she deserved SO so much better.

will i read the books? absolutely not.

-

playing

i'm going to stop trying to explain what the fuck genshin is about and silently deliver an out of context screencap every week. this one made me force quit the game and go for a walk.

i will say that this game has gotten better at creating fun little vignettes, even if it has to railroad you along to create it Just So. look at this fun temple!!! look at that big weird fuckin vulture thing posing in the sunlight!!! how droll!!!

-

making

fallow week. maybe things will percolate in time for yeehawgust, maybe not. we shall see.

[jrtnotes]

Butterflies and Other Bits of Nabokov's Life, Dispersed to the Wind

May 6, 2004

To Vladimir Nabokov's favorite translator and only son, the thought of selling the books his father so intricately annotated with fantasy butterflies and personal asides was distressing, but it had to be done. That son, Dmitri Nabokov, who turns 70 on Monday, felt his own death approaching, he said in an interview, and he wanted to leave no loose ends.

So he decided to sell his father's memorabilia collection, which included an elaborate sketch on the flyleaf of a book showing the imaginary ''Verina raduga Nab.,'' with its dappled wings of violet and blue, blood-orange glimmers and iridescent greens. It was auctioned in Geneva on Wednesday.

''Of course it tugs at the heartstrings to let go of these lovely butterflies,'' Dmitri Nabokov said at his home in Montreux, Switzerland. ''The little, simple ones are so touching. But I would rather do a thing like this lucidly,'' he said. ''Having seen death close up on three occasions, it's frightening to think you might leave such precious loose ends.''

Dmitri has no direct heirs, so when his parents were still alive, it was decided that the books would be auctioned before his death. The collection, a few items excepted, sold on Wednesday for nearly $750,000, a lower price than anticipated. Various private collections, most from France and Switzerland, bought parts of the collection, which will now be scattered to the breeze.

Vladimir Nabokov died near Montreux in 1977. Dmitri Nabokov's library consisted of a wide array of his father's novels, short stories, poems and translations, as well as a small set of critical studies. Dedicated for the most part to Dmitri and his mother, Véra, the books were often autographed and annotated. Many are deftly adorned with butterflies, drawn in ink or color pencils on the first page of every work.

Putting a Price Tag on Art

Hot commodities. Paintings and other art pieces are regularly sold at auctions around the world. Here are some of the most expensive works to be sold in recent years:

“Untitled” by Jean-Michel Basquiat. A 1982 Basquiat painting of a horned devil sold for $85 million with fees in May 2022. It was the third-highest price paid for a Basquiat work; the highest price was recorded in 2017, when one of Basquiat’s coveted large-scale skull paintings sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s.

The first major series of Vladimir Nabokov archives and manuscripts was acquired in 1991 by the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. This second series, and perhaps the last, constitutes more than 100 volumes and 30 titles, a remarkable medley of Russian and American literature.

''I am an American author, born in Russia, educated in England, where I studied French texts,'' Nabokov once noted. After publishing eight novels in Russian, he began a flamboyant writing career in English with ''The Real Life of Sebastian Knight,'' written in 1941 when he was 42. ''Lolita'' came 14 years later, and Nabokov called it ''the record of my love affair with the English language.''

Others read ''Lolita'' as a record of a more scandalous sort of affair, which brought that novel and its author international notoriety, along with immense critical acclaim.

From then on Nabokov endured ceaseless scrutiny. Who was this man who could write with such heart-rending poignancy about the ever-crafty charms of a nymphet?

In this light the books of Dmitri's library each offer a particular insight into the private Vladimir Nabokov, whose psyche was a far cry from the myriad personas of his characters. Nabokov was deeply in love with his wife, who died in 1991, and was a tender and attentive father. In a collection of short stories that sold on Wednesday, Nabokov wrote: ''For Véra. Adorata adorata. From V. Jan. 5, 1970. Montreux.'' In ''Despair'' he jotted for his Mitioucha, the diminutive for Dmitri: ''For Dmitri. From translator to translator. With love. Vladimir Nabokov. Papa. Montreux. 1966.''

The collection also presents ample handwritten notes. On opening pages or in the margins Nabokov points out plentiful misprints and errata, revealing unusual concern for minute revisions and retranslations. The first page of an early edition of ''Ada, or Ardor'' reads, among a web of other notes: ''p. 257 last line should be 'he was pregnant' (not 'she'!).'' Occasionally other hands, namely Véra's and Dmitri's, make cameo appearances.

Perhaps the most original piece is a book of expenses (1949-1952), which provides an endearingly scrupulous shopping list: ''New Yorker $00.40, Coca-Cola $00.10, movies $1.80, groceries $4.80, April rent $125.''

Then there are the fantastical butterflies, each selling for anywhere from $1,500 to $25,000. Those intended for Véra are perhaps the most resplendent and sold for the highest prices.

They have variegated colors, delicate artistry and fanciful names. Only on these pages appear the blue ''Colias verae,'' the dark ''Maculinea aurora Nab.'' and the translucent ''Parnassins concinnus Nab.''

Aside from his writing, Nabokov was a world-class lepidopterist who became the curator of the butterfly collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard in the late 1940's. He discovered numerous real species, which bear his name, and created a revolutionary taxonomy still used today.

Nature, Nabokov once said, conjures up the same sort of mystification and magical spell as art. And like so many diaphanous signposts of Nabokov's celebrated ''other worlds,'' these ''pretty insects'' inhabit his prose: ''A butterfly in the Park, an orchid in a shop window, would revive everything with a dazzling inward shock of despair,'' utters Van Veen in ''Ada''

Dmitri Nabokov observed that there is a tiny consolation to selling these books now. ''Today it is possible to scan and preserve superb copies of all the graphic materials,'' he explained. As for the near future, he said that the earnings from the sale have not been earmarked for a specific project. In time they will probably contribute to the PEN Nabokov literary award, a literary foundation and the Nabokov Museum in St. Petersburg, which the Russian government has threatened to close. Dmitri said he harbored the hope of buying the museum, his family's former home, which is estimated to be worth about $18 million without its contents.

Jacques Tajan, a well-known auctioneer, presided over the sale. ''People who buy these books need to pay a significant amount of money,'' he said. ''Only then will they conserve them adequately.'' Mr. Tajan emphasized the sentimental value of the auction: ''It is bliss for me to do this. It will be a terrific memory in my career.''

No matter, Nabokov's butterflies were separated. And the distant echo of his ''Speak, Memory'' seemed to be touching them with its fragile grace: ''To love with all one's soul and leave the rest to fate.''

[gabfmp]

Reflection 7th March

1) Describe what has been completed in the week, lectures, studio session, workshops research and out of hours things?

Monday- CYMK screenprinting all day

Tuesday- made 4 canvases

Wednesday- Emily Hawes meet the artist, how to pursue career in art and how fits into her life. Then tried making Spark AR filter all day

Thursday- how to build a wall induction, then I started a painting on one of the canvases I made, testing out Oils for one of the first times.

Friday- Harry Meadows Untitled workshop and then I finished my painting

Saturday- I went to the Arnolfini in Bristol and enjoyed the immersive/ video installation piece called Assembly

2) What have I learned from the week? what has been achieved/ completed and has it been successful?

I need to write things down in organised way because I forgot so many things including my careers appointment and returning a laptop to the library so I had to pay a fine :( 

I really enjoyed screen printing, there were so many colour combinations that I loved exploring, I want to go back with perhaps some of my final images and screenprint those for the show so that it is not just a series of paintings but a culmination of processes I’ve explored starting with photography. I made 4 canvases with variations, 2 of them are canvas and the other 2 are linen so I will see which surface I prefer to work with. I followed Emily’s advice about sanding the gesso and it really worked! I am so happy with my first painting from the week but I am scared I have already peaked! Also I may have use too abrasive sand paper because you can clearly see the scratches where the paint has seemed into? Maybe it is a good thing. Anyway canvas worked really well, I am going to try linen but I have a feeling that canvas is the way to go. Harry Meadow’s workshop about finding a title was great, I loved Damien Hirst’s title ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ because it is so ridiculous. I loved the installation at the arnolfini and coming up to my proposal panel and reflecting on Tim Walker’s piece at V&A it is making me want to make something immersive for the show....

3) How will this reflection influence my actions later? What’s the plan now? How will I take forward my successes to develop the work and improve?

Try out painting on linen, which do I prefer canvas or linen? Need to work on my images and developing photos from the photoshoot the other week. Also just paint more.. make progress on face filter too. ON tuesday is my proposal panel so I need to have my proposals sorted by then.

[torontotravelblog]

Things to do this week in Toronto

What's happening in Toronto April 22-26, 2019

MONDAY, APRIL 22 (EASTER MONDAY)

Spring into Easter at the Toronto Zoo: Join for special on-site animal encounters, daily Meet the Keeper Talks, the chance of catching a glimpse of our Veterinarians at work in the Wildlife Health Centre.

Easter Lunch at Miku Toronto: Celebrate Easter with a special menu only available for Monday.

Easter Day at MARBL: Celebrate this Easter weekend with family and friends. We'll be offering Easter exclusive menu items, as well as perfecting your dinner with a bottle of wine, hand picked by our sommelier.

The Best of The Second City: The Second City’s Touring Company comes home to Toronto for an unforgettable night of classic and original sketch comedy, along with hilarious unscripted improvisation.

Queer and Present Danger Collective: Spring Queening: Hosted by Bethany Daniels featuring Sam Sferrazza, Amethyst Barron and Jade Niles Craig. Headlined by Al Val.

Cher at Scotiabank Arena: Cher performs in Toronto with special guests Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Humber Valley Art Exhibition: This guild from Neilson Park Creative Centre presents an exciting juried art exhibition with a mix of subjects, styles, and media by their highly talented member artists.

The Wow: Fax My Life: The Wow returns for April for an office themed comedy spectacular. Toronto's all-star sketch comedy collective gives you a uniquely themed full-blown spectacle every single month..

TUESDAY, APRIL 23

Gene Domagala's Toronto Places, People and Buildings, Including the Beach: Local historian Gene Domagala reviews Toronto places, people and buildings of interest, including those in the Beach.

The Bourbon Excursion at Jump: Kick off the evening with a welcome cocktail before tucking in to a four-course dinner paired with J.B.’s finest bourbons. Featuring homestyle fare such as Mortadella Lasagna, Tamarack Farm Lamb Shoulder, and Peanut Butter Baked Alaska.

#PitchItYork at Seneca College Newnham Campus: Showcasing York Regions brightest entrepreneurs, Open People Network has partnered with Seneca HELIX for #PitchItYORK! Pitchit is an interactive and fun pitch event to help entrepreneurs showcase their company to potential clients and angel investors.

RSI Leadership Dinner & Dialogue Series: To explore how trusted AI can advance and sustain the competitive advantage of your business and the markets you serve, join our AI-focused dinner and dialogue for C-suite executives.

Caméra Stylo Launch Party! The Cinema Studies Student Union's Undergraduate Journal Caméra Stylo is having their annual launch party.

Kelvin Wetherell at Cafe Mirage: Cafe Mirage Grill and Lounge presents Kelvin Wetherell on Nov 6. The performance runs between 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm in the evenings with a 15 minutes break in between. Cafe Mirage is one of the leading restaurants in Scarborough.

101: Cannabis: Canna-Curious? Learn your CBD’s from your THC’s and join us for a conversation on all things cannabis. Our panelists will be able to answer all of your burning questions: from wellness to entrepreneurship, to education and responsible use.

Hot Breath Karaoke at The Handlebar: Ridiculous game show style karaoke, with prizes.

Westway Christian Church Food Bank: The Westway Christian Church Community Food Bank is open for clients to receive food on Tuesday evenings from 5-7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24

Fashion Art Toronto at Daniels Spectrum

Fashion Art Toronto is a showcase of contemporary and experimental fashion and arts The five-day multi-arts experience will inspire and intrigue guests through runway shows, photography exhibits, art installations, live performances and short films.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY

Once Upon a Refugee: Chapter II - The Unrehearsed Plan: Once Upon a Refugee is a community education event celebrating the experience and contributions of refugees, hosted by North York Community House. The evening will have music, storytelling, food, and theatre.

Etobicoke Voters: Claim Your Right To A Vote That Counts! Fair Vote Toronto presents an information session on voting reform and Proportional Representation.

City of Toronto information session on aerial spray program for Gypsy Moth: The City of Toronto will implement an aerial spray program this spring in seven Toronto wards to protect the tree canopy and vulnerable trees from European Gypsy Moth infestation.

Blockchain Revolution Global: The first truly worldwide conference for blockchain in enterprise. Speakers include Imogen Heap, music maker & founder of Mycelia, who will also perform live at the EBA gala.

An Evening of Poetry Readings with Toronto's New Poet Laureate: Join Toronto's new Poet Laureate for a thought-provoking night of spoken word. In the first public appearance of his laureateship, Toronto's literary ambassador A.F. Moritz will be reading alongside three young poets at The Poet Presentation Centre.

Showtime! Disney Edition at The Drink: A live music showcase featuring performances by Aaron Bell, Michala Todd and Charlotte Ferrarei. This time they'll be serving you live Disney music.

Who run the world? QTBIPOC: A free drop-in workshop series on relationships for youth. Learn skills and connect with other 2SLGBTQ Black, Indigenous and youth of colour (16-29) at this Beyonce-themed workshop series on relationships-- with pals, family, partners and yourself.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

In Her Voice: Amy Spurway Crow Launch

Please join Amy Spurway in conversation with author Emily Saso at Ben McNally Books as part of the 'In Her Voice' event series. They will be discussing Amy’s debut book Crow, followed by a signing. Books will be available for sale.

ALSO ON THURSDAY

Digifest 2019: Digifest is a three-day design and tech festival as well as a startup event, organized annually by the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at George Brown College.

Leadership & Social Entrepreneur Knowledge Cafe 2019: Seminar of interest to entrepreneurs, professionals, activists and mentors for the next generation of leaders.

16th Albert Lahmer Memorial Lecture: Andrew Larsen: Join Toronto children's writer Andrew Larsen, author of The Man Who Loved Libraries: the Story of Andrew Carnegie, for the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books' 16th Albert Lahmer Memorial Lecture.

Art-Bound at Camp Tech: Have you heard about art journaling? Come and find out what the fuss is all about. The Art-Bound workshop is an introduction and exploration of art journaling.

Coco & Cowe presents Coco Con: Media: The second event of the Coco Con series. Catriona Smart and Halla Rafati will be joined by Vanessa Craft, Editor-In-Chief for Elle Canada.

Moonstruck at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre: By way of inspiration, its cast will take the details of one audience member’s dream to create a hilarious and magical show. Completely made up on the spot and never to be repeated, this show is sorta like a dream (no, better).

Cozy Fun Comedy Show at 120 Diner: Featuring: Velvet Wells, Sarah Ashby, Luba Magnus, Jesse Singh, Honey Bennett, Freddie Rivas, Desirée Walsh

RuPaul's Drag Race Viewing Parties: Fans of the hit reality television series can watch new episodes every Thursday at several spots around the city, including Apt 200, The Gladstone Hotel, The Beaver and Striker.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

András Keller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra at Koerner Hall

Hungarian violinist, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and founder of the Keller Quartet András Keller leads The Glenn Gould School’s Royal Conservatory Orchestra.

ALSO ON FRIDAY

Metric with July Talk at Scotiabank Arena: Toronto-based rock bands Metric and July Talk perform in Toronto.

Fairlawn Avenue United Church's 58th Annual Book Sale: Shop for gently used books, DVDs, CDs, and LPs.

David Newland CD Release: Newland's CD release party will take place at Hugh's Room Live.

Toronto Lit Up: Mike Barnes: Join Biblioasis and the Toronto International Festival of Authors in celebrating the release of Mike Barnes’ Braille Rainbow: Poems through Toronto Lit Up!

Dinner for Vegetarians in High Park: Join us to check out the all-vegan restaurant The Goods. Everyone welcome. RSVP via email.

Acid x Untitled presents Justin Cudmore at Black Eagle: Brooklyn's rising star of the Queer techno scene Justin Cudmore joins Aeryn Pfaff and Ceremonial at The Black Eagle. Hosted by Miss Moço. All genders welcome. No room for discrimination.

Flashback Friday: A Time Travel Cabaret: Come witness the past, present and future like you've never seen them before through some of the cities best burlesque, drag and gender performers.

Redwood Comedy Cafe: A weekly comedy showcase featuring Canada's top comedians at the intimate Redwood Cafe in Little India.

ONGOING

Jude Ifesieh presents: 'Beauty in Lines' at Visions Gallery: Jude Ifesieh has developed a unique style, building complex images from a myriad of simple, colourful strokes and dots. His resulting works express the innate beauty of life and nature, bursting with healing energy, fertility and fresh possibilities. Runs until May 12.

Art Show & Sale by Marley Berot at Starving Artist Restaurant: Trini-Ja Canadian Marley Berot is opening her first show at the Starving Artist Restaurant and Gallery at 467 Danforth Avenue. Her acrylic paintings will stay on the walls until May 18.

VideoCabaret: Too Good To Be True: A dark comedy by the marvelous playwright Cliff Cardinal, who recently won Double-Doras, and an Edinburgh festival award for writing and performing Huff. Runs until May 19.

Next to Normal at CAA Theatre: Winner of three Tony Awards, Next to Normal explores a suburban household affected by mental illness. With a gripping story and a surging contemporary rock score, Next to Normal is a raw depiction of a family in crisis trying to overcome the past. In production until May 19.

PRECIOUS: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art and Jewellery: By creating precious artwork and art jewellery from everyday and discarded items, Micah Adams, Christine Dwane and Lawrence Woodford remind us that our world is shaped by the decisions we make. Whether disposable or sustainable, beauty is everywhere. On display through May 23.

Being Japanese Canadian: Reflections on a Broken World at the ROM: Explore the original exhibition through the eyes of curators Bryce Kanbara and Katherine Yamashita. Runs until May 25.

The post “  Things to do this week in Toronto “ was originally seen on toronto.com by Whatson

IV Vitamin Drip Therapy Toronto Clinic - The IV Lounge

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Art Movements

John Baldessari, “NUMAN’S MORTUARY MEYER Your big ideas bug me.” (2017), varnished inkjet print on canvas with acrylic paint, 62 1/2 x 54 x 1 1/2 in (© John Baldessari, courtesy the artist, Marian Goodman Gallery and Sprueth Magers; photo by Joshua White)

Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.

Knight Landesman resigned as co-publisher of Artforum hours after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of groping and sexually harassing nine women. Amanda Schmitt, a curator and the director of programming and development for the UNTITLED art fair, filed a claim for $500,000 in damages with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. In an earlier report published by artnet, several men and women voiced complaints “regarding unwanted touching, groping, and other inappropriate behavior, including requests for massages.” The same report indicated that a former employee had filed a claim for damages with Artforum. In response, Artforum stated that the former employee’s “close friendship” with Landesman “took place well after she left Artforum in 2012,” a claim that is directly contradicted by Schmitt’s subsequent lawsuit, which alleges that Landesman’s harassment first began after she was hired as a circulation assistant in 2009. On Wednesday evening, Artnews reported that Michelle Kuo, Artforum‘s editor-in-chief, had handed in her resignation a week prior on October 18.

A local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy sued the city of San Antonio and several City Council members over the removal of a statue memorializing Confederate soldiers in Travis Park.

A 1908 bust of Napoleon by Rodin is to go on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, three years after Mallory Mortillaro, a then newly hired archivist at the borough hall of Madison, New Jersey, noticed it in a meeting room and correctly attributed it to the artist.

In an internal email, Condé Nast International, the publisher of titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Glamour, announced that it will no longer commission work from Terry Richardson. The photographer, who is known for his lurid and sexually explicit work, has faced a stream of allegations regarding sexual misconduct and exploitation since the early 2000s.

The Nordic Museum in Stockholm began collecting stories of sexual harassment and abuse shared online with the viral hashtag #MeToo.

John Baldessari‘s second solo show with Sprüth Magers opened at the gallery’s Los Angeles location. The exhibition includes the artist’s emoji paintings, a new series of inkjet prints in which emojis are juxtaposed with snippets of seemingly random film dialogue.

Thomas Vonier, the president of the American Institute of Architects, issued a statement urging the US to continue working with UNESCO.

Auguste Rodin, A bust of Napoleon Bonaparte, engraved “Napoleon enveloppé dans ses réves” (“Napoleon wrapped in his dreams”) (via Flickr/enalnomis)

A group calling itself the Monument Removal Brigade claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Theodore Roosevelt monument outside the American Museum of Natural History.

Following a public hearing, the Pittsburgh Art Commission recommended the public removal of Giuseppe Moretti’s controversial statue of American songwriter Stephen Foster. The sculpture is to be relocated to a private and “properly contextualized” location.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a proposal to overhaul the city’s Loft Law.

Mayor de Blasio’s Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers launched an online public survey to review possible public symbols of hate across the five boroughs.

Two members and one former member of the Berkshire Museum filed a lawsuit against the museum’s decision to deaccession works from its collection. Earlier in the week the museum announced that Van Shields, the museum’s executive director, would undergo surgery for an undisclosed health issue, transferring leadership to co-directors Nina Garlington and Craig Langlois. Twenty-one of the 40 collection works consigned to Sotheby’s have been deleted from the auction’s online catalogue.

Herman Leonard’s black-and-white photograph of Dizzy Gillespie went on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to mark the centennial of the jazz musician’s birth.

The Mugrabi family sued Mana Contemporary, alleging that the company damaged works from the family’s art collection while also withholding access to 1,389 works of art. The suit centers on a dispute over a storage bill for $500,000. The Mugrabi family claims that the art center agreed to store its collection for free.

A petition was launched calling for the preservation of the Cinema Museum in London. In a Facebook post, the museum revealed that its landlord, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, is planning the sell the building on the open market.

Michelangelo Pistoletto will roll a new version of “Sfera di Giornali (Newspaper Sphere)” along the streets of Cold Spring, New York on Saturday, November 4. The event is a recreation of the artist’s 1967 performance in Turin, Italy.

Transactions

Marcel Dunchamp “L.H.O.O.Q.” (1964), pencil and white gouache over a color reproduction of the Mona Lisa, moustache and goatee added in pencil, edition 25/35, 11 7/8 x 9 in (courtesy Sotheby’s/Art Digital Studio)

A print from the 1964 edition of Marcel Duchamp’s “L.H.O.O.Q” was sold at Sotheby’s for €631,500 (~$743,162).

Britain announced that it will transfer ownership of the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror — the ships of the ill-fated Franklin expedition — to Canada.

The Gambrell Foundation donated a $10 million lead gift toward a major renovation of the Queens University of Charlotte’s fine arts building.

The Seattle Art Museum received a $3.5 million challenge grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The gift will be used to establish and endow the museum’s Asian Paintings Conservation Center.

The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art received a bequest of $2.5 million from the late Gerald E. Buck through the Buck Family Trust. The gift will endow the Archives’ collecting program on the West Coast.

The J.M. Smucker Company donated $1.1 million to the Akron Art Museum.

The Block Museum of Art acquired a suite of works by photographer Tseng Kwong Chi (1950–1990).

Crozier acquired the Los Angeles-based art shippers Fine Art Shipping.

The Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library received a $215,800 federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

A black marker drawing of the Empire State building by Donald Trump was sold at Julien’s Auctions for $16,000.

Bhupen Khakhar’s “De-luxe Tailors” (1972) was sold at Sotheby’s for £1,112,750 (~$1,468,719), a record for the artist at auction.

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin acquired the Dean F. Echenberg War Poetry Collection.

Saul Leiter’s “Waiter, Paris” (1959) was sold for $25,000 at Swann Auction Galleries, a record for the work.

Saul Leiter, “Waiter, Paris” (1959, printed 1990s), chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2×13 in (courtesy Swann Auction Galleries)

Transitions

Jan Willem Sieburgh was appointed interim business director of the Stedelijk Museum following the resignation of Beatrix Ruf.

Nato Thompson was appointed artistic director of the Philadelphia Contemporary.

Ido Bruno was appointed director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Heidi Reitmaier was appointed executive director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada.

Gabriel de Guzman was appointed curator and director of exhibitions at Smack Mellon.

Tracy Bonfitto was appointed curator of art at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Rozalia Jovanovic was appointed director of New York’s Collective Design fair.

The Boca Raton Museum announced plans for a $1.5 million renovation.

Aspect/Ratio will reopen at its new space at 864 North Ashland in Chicago on November 3.

Gallery Wendi Morris will relocate to 8 Octavia Street in San Francisco later this year [via email announcement].

Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Enoura Observatory was opened to the public in Odawara, Japan.

Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects, and landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman were selected to design the UK’s new Holocaust memorial and learning centre in London.

The Norton Museum of Art revealed its plans for a new public garden designed by Lord Norman Foster. Bloomberg‘s new £1 billion (~$1.3 billion) London headquarters, designed by Foster + Partners, opened on Tuesday.

The Pamela and Robert B. Goergen Garden, as seen from the west, Norton Museum of Art, designed by Foster + Partners (courtesy Foster + Partners)

Accolades

Agnieszka Polska was awarded Germany’s National Gallery Prize for young artists.

Emanulee Outspoken Bean, Eepi Chaad, and Phillip Pyle were appointed the resident artists of Houston’s Resident Artist Program.

The Saint Louis Art Museum and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis selected Jennifer Bornstein as their 2017–18 Teaching Fellow.

Ursula Johnson was awarded the 2017 Sobey Art Award.

Ursula Johnson, “Hot Looking” (2014), durational performance-based installation with delegated performer and looped audio, variable dimensions (photo by Michael Wasnidge)

Obituaries

Fats Domino (1928–2017), singer, songwriter, and pianist.

Al Hurricane (1936–2017), balladeer.

Rita Henley Jensen (1947–2017), journalist. Founder of Women’s eNews.

Hugh Kearney (1924–2017), historian. Best known for The British Isles: A History of Four Nations (1989).

Walter Lassally (1926–2017), cinematographer. Awarded an Oscar for his work on Zorba the Greek (1964).

Iona Opie (1923–2017), folklorist.

Paul Vogt (1926–2017), art historian. Former director of the Museum Folkwang.

Dennis Wayne (1945–2017), dancer.

The post Art Movements appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[foryourart]

Josely Carvalho (Brazilian, b. 1942),  Waiting, 1982Silkscreen and crayon on paper (diptych). 30 1/8 x 22 1/4 (76.5 × 56.5 cm) each. Courtesy of Josely Carvalho. Artwork © the artist. Image courtesy of the Hammer Museum. 

Thursday, September 21–Wednesday, September 27

Thursday, September 21

Special: Signal Tide, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 9:29am.

African Masks from June Harwood Collection (Silent auction) and "Sharpener" (Faculty Exhibition), Pasadena City College Art Galleries (Pasadena), 12–1pm. Also October 13.

Artist talk: Jaime Guerrero, Skidmore Contemporary Art (Santa Monica), 4pm.

Talk: Meditation and Art—Dutch Paintings, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 4pm.

Historia Plantarum, The Huntington (San Marino), 4:30–6pm.

Dialogue: Leonard Koren and Mário Ramiro on Zines, University of San Diego (San Diego), 5:30pm.

Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait by Steve Parke, Mouche Gallery (Beverly Hills), 6–8pm.

Radical Women Walk-through: Beatriz Cortez, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 6pm.

Hot is Cool Summer Film Series, Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs), 6pm.

BORDERS, Self Help Graphics & Art (Downtown), 7pm.

Film Night: The Mahabharata, Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach), 7pm.

THE PAWNBROKER / MUDHONEY, Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles (Downtown), 8–10pm.

Sorry, Atlantis: Eden’s Achin’ Organ Seeks Revenge by Asher Hartman, Machine Project (Echo Park), 8:30pm. $20–40.

Charlotte Dos Santos, Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock (Eagle Rock), 9pm. $10–15.

Art Matters Fall 2017, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara), $60–75. Also September 28 and October 5, 12, 19.

Friday, September 22

The Artist Business, The Mistake Room (Downtown), 3–5pm. RSVP recommended.

Educator Open House: The Scratch and Sniff Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara), 4–6pm.

Ism, Ism, Ism: Experimental Cinema in Latin America, REDCAT (Downtown), 7pm. $8–10. Through September 24.

Mercado Los Olvidados, pskaufman... gallery (Downtown), 7pm. Through September 24. $10–35.

Facing, BBQLA (Downtown), 7–11pm.

Cool World, Previously Invisible To Me, and YIELD: Poems and Drawin's, Club Pro Los Angeles (Downtown), 7–11pm.

Latinas Out Loud: ¡Pa’rriba!, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30–10:30pm.

Saturday, September 23

Around the Table, Long Beach Museum of Art (Long Beach), 8:30–10:30am.

Dino Fest, Museum of Natural History (Downtown), 9:30am–5pm. Continues September 24.

Flower Arranging: Succulent Wreaths, The Huntington (San Marino), 10am–12pm.

Latin American and Latinx Art Via South Bay/Long Beach Shuttle Art Tour, various locations (throughout Los Angeles and beyond), 10am–5pm. Continues September 24.

Workshop: Feeling One Self (a relational practice) with Melanie Maar, Pieter (Lincoln Heights), 11am–3pm. $30.

unDocumenta, Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) (Oceanside), 11am–5pm.

¡Murales Rebeldes! L.A. Chicana/o Murals under Siege, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (Downtown), 12–6pm.

Smithsonian Magazine Presents Museum Day Live!, Pasadena Museum of California Art (Pasadena), 12–5pm.

Chakra Mapping And Art Workshop, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 1–5pm. $24–30.

Children’s Flower Arranging: Mini Succulent Wreaths, The Huntington (San Marino), 1–2:30pm.

ECLIPSE: A Discussion and Q&A, Art Center College of Design (Pasadena), 1pm.

Talk: From the Kilns to the Grave: Pottery from the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 2pm.

From Latin America to Hollywood: Latino Film Culture in Los Angeles 1967–2017, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Beverly Hills), 2pm.  

Marathon Sketching: En Plein Air, Pasadena Museum of California Art (Pasadena), 2–5pm.

A Woman's Place…, The William Grant Still Arts Center (West Adams), 3–6pm.

RESTORE: Modeling Alternatives to the Criminal Justice System, OCHI Projects (Mid-City), 3pm.

Billy Al Bengston: Dentos, 1965 - 1970, parrasch heijnen gallery (Downtown), 3–6pm.

Jaime Guerrero Artist Talk, Craft in America Center (Beverly Grove), 4pm.

Film: "Chocolate" and "Still Alice", LACMA (Miracle Mile), 4pm.

Robert Rauschenberg: Horsefeathers Thirteen and John Baldessari: Hands & Feet, Gemini G.E.L. (West Hollywood), 4–7pm.

LA / LA / LA, Robert Berman Gallery (Santa Monica), 5–8pm.

Artist talk: Kathy Curtis Cahill: Childhood Matters, Diane Mann: ...Continued, Carole Garland: I <3 DTLA, Elyse Wyman: Positive From Negative, TAG Gallery (Santa Monica), 5–8pm.

Alfredo Ramos Martinez and Latin American Modernism, Louis Stern Fine Arts (Beverly Hills), 5–7pm.

HANS BURKHARDT IN MEXICO, Jack Rutberg Fine Arts (Fairfax), 5–8pm.

Coastal/Border and Southbay / Long Beach Hub Opening Reception, Angels Gate Cultural Center (San Pedro), 5pm.

Frank Bowling, Marc Selwyn Fine Art (Beverly Hills), discussion with Gavin Delahunty, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Dallas Museum of Art, 5:30–7:30pm.

Christina Fernandez: Prospect, Gallery Luisotti (Santa Monica), 6–8pm.

Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 6–10pm. Opening day programs, September 24.

Skip Arnold: plus ou moins and Stephen Neidich: not necessarily necessary, ltd los angeles (Mid-City), 6–8pm.

Retna: Mano A Mano, New Image Art (West Hollywood), 6pm.

David Armacost and Nilay Lawson: Untitled, 2017, AA|LA (West Hollywood), 6–9pm.

Pedro Friedeberg: Tetragrammoebius, M+B (West Hollywood), 6–8pm.

Claire Anna Baker: Suspended Wire: Suspended Wire, Moskowitz Bayse (Hollywood), 6–9pm.

Amir H. Fallah: A Stranger In Your Home, Shulamit Nazarian (Hollywood), 6–9pm.

Jagdeep Raina, Grice Bench (Downtown), 6–9pm.

Renaud Jerez, Jenny’s (Silver Lake), 6–8pm.

Live Broadcast of Carmen, Exposition Park (Downtown) and Santa Monica Pier (Santa Monica), 7pm.

Sonorama! Latin American Composers in Hollywood, Getty Center (Brentwood), 7pm.

A Cut Above / aka In Taglio, Loft at Liz's (Mid-City), 7–10pm.

D*Face: Happy Never Ending, Kristen Liu-Wong: Conflict/Resolution, Ray Caesar, Corey Helford Gallery (Downtown), 7–11pm.

The Neutra Contemporary 2017, Neutra Institute Gallery & Museum (Silver Lake), 7–10pm.

Recuerdos de un cine en español: Latin American Cinema in Los Angeles, 1930-1960, UCLA Film & Television Archive (Westwood), 7:30pm.

Summer Happenings at The Broad: Basquiat, The Broad (Downtown), 8:30pm. $25.

Sunday, September 24

Get The Job: Résumé Crafting, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 9am–1pm. $48–60.

KIDS SCREENINGS: Family Flicks Film Series: Duck Soup, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 11am.

L.A. Artist Grant Opportunity Workshop, Craft in America Center (Beverly Grove), 11am–12:30pm.

City of L.A. Master Artist Workshop, Craft in America Center (Beverly Grove), 11am.

Coffee and Conversation with the Artists, Studios of Echiko & Minoru Ohira (San Gabriel), 11am–1pm.

Caribbean Festival, Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach), 11am–5pm.

Axé Bahia Opening Day Programs, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 12–4pm.

Ruben Ortiz Torres: White Washed America, Royale Projects (Downtown), 12–5pm.

Marco Kane Braunschweiler: MONKEY, Human Resources (Chinatown), 12–4pm.

A Clay Workshop with Andres Payan, Craft and Folk Art Museum (Miracle Mile), 1–5pm. $50–60.

Jesse Benson: Miracle Grow, Michael Benevento (Koreatown), 1–3pm.

Super Workshop: Design Your Very Own Superhero, 356 Mission (Downtown), 1–5pm.

Chalk it Out, California African American Museum (Downtown), 1–3pm.

Families: On-Site: North Hollywood—Imagining the Shakyamuni Buddha Today, LACMA (North Hollywood), 1:30pm.

TOURS & TALKS: Radical Women Curator Walk-through, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 2–3pm.

Danza Azteca: Honoring the Past, Blessings for the Future, Beta Main (Downtown), 2–3pm.

China Art Gardens, China Art Objects (Highland Park), 2–6pm.

Artist Walkthrough: Lineage Through Landscape with Fran Siegel, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 3pm.

The "Minor Players" of Art History: Reassessing the Field, MOCA Grand Avenue (Downtown), 3pm.

7th Annual Beyond Baroque Awards Dinner, Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center (Santa Monica), 6––10pm. $60–70.

Getting Real With Money, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 7–10pm. $60–75

Monday, September 25

Pinch, Slab, Coil, POT! A Clay Workshop with Andres Payan, Craft & Folk Art Museum (Miracle Mile), 1–5pm.

Families: On-Site: North Hollywood—Art Workshop, North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library (North Hollywood), 2pm.

Lecture: Old 'New Media': Xerox Art in Brazil, University of San Diego (San Diego), 6pm.

Screening: Teach us All, California African American Museum (Downtown), 7–9pm.

The Isherwood-Bachardy Lecture - Isherwood, Auden, and Spender Before the Second World War, The Huntington (San Marino), 7:30pm.

Tuesday, September 26

Film: The Wiz, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 1pm.

ARTIST TALK: Rodney McMillian, Art + Practice (Leimert Park), 7pm.

Wednesday, September 27

Suzanne Lacy & Pablo Helguera at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara), 5–6:30pm.

Talk: Panel Discussion—The Diversity Bonus in the Knowledge Economy, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 7pm.

In Conversation: Malik Gaines and Tavia Nyong'o, California African American Museum (Downtown), 7–9pm.

SCREENINGS: Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and Después de Terremoto: Two Films by Lourdes Portillo, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30pm.

[valeriebielbooks]

July Writers’ Forum

In my journey through the steps of independent publishing, refining my writing skills, and most recently completing a successful agent search, I’ve come across some excellent information, tips, tools, and shortcuts that I think would be beneficial to any writer. Once a month, I’ll share the “best of” information and news from the publishing industry as well as feature other authors and writing instructors with tips to share. I am incredibly thankful for the assistance and advice given to me from writing and publishing professionals and am happy pay that forward. On a professional level, I also use my publicity and editorial skills to aid other authors through my company Lost Lake Press.

Happy 100th Blogiversary to me! This is my 100th blog post since beginning the Three Rs: Reading, wRiting, and Roaming in 2014.

Book Events

I am not sure if Sherman Alexie had any upcoming book tour stops here in Wisconsin. I know he was here for the Untitled Town Book Fest in Green Bay this spring. Please take a moment to read his note about the heartbreaking reasons he has decided to stop his book tour.  

He was promoting You Don't Have to Say You Love Me -- a memoir mostly about his relationship with his late mother, Lillian Alexie. It's available in both hardcover and Kindle or wherever you prefer to shop for books. (Alexie is best known for his middle-grade novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.)

Bookish Happenings for August

Books & Company at 1039 Summit Avenue in Oconomowoc is getting creative with a Return to Hogwarts Party on August 24 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm . . . trivia, refreshments, games etc…  Looks like fun! Learn more at:  http://www.booksco.com/event/back-hogwarts-party-thursday-august-24-630-pm

Mystery to Me Bookstore at 1863 Monroe Street in Madison has a great schedule of events for August:

Wednesday, August 9 at 6 pm Lesley Kagen will be speaking at the Sun Prairie Public Library. Kagen is a bestselling and award-winning Wisconsin author who will discuss her career as a writer, actress, and voice talent followed by a book signing. (Books sold by Mystery to Me.)   Free and open to the public.

Thursday, August 10 at 7 pm at the store Allyson K. Abbott and Vickie Fee will be talking about their new installments in their cozy mystery series: A Toast to Murder by Allyson K. Abbott and One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee. (RSVP via the Eventbrite link on the store’s website below.)

Sunday, August 13 at 6:30 pm Craig Johnson (of Longmire fame) will visit the store. He’ll discuss his new book, The Western Star, to be released September 5. (Special bookplates are available for those who preorder the book for the author to sign that evening.)

Friday, August 25 at 7 pm William Kent Krueger will discuss his latest pulse-pounding thriller, Sulfur Springs. This event also has a rsvp set up on Eventbrite at the store’s website.

https://www.mysterytomebooks.com/events

Please let me know of any upcoming book releases or events that you’d like featured in the Writers’ Forum!

Featured Subject

Don’t Miss Out on Affiliate Marketing

If you have ever felt like there’s no way you’re ever going to learn everything you ought to know about the publishing world, join the crowd. I had one such moment a few weeks ago when I learned about affiliate link marketing. (Some of you I am sure are shaking your heads at this and asking, “How did she not know about this?” Trust me. I asked myself the same thing.)

So, for those of you who need a quick tutorial, I am here to save the day!

Here’s how Wikipedia defines Affiliate Marketing: . . . (It) is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.

What does this mean?

If you have links to your own products (or other products) on your blog or website you should be using an affiliate link which gives you a small fee for each purchase made by clicking through that link from your page or blog. You don’t get paid much, but if you already have purchase links to your books on your website, what do you have to lose by making sure these are affiliate links that pay you a small percentage on top of your book royalty. And you don’t have to stop there, many products are available for affiliate linkage. There’s a nice article about how this works on a blog by Melissa Culbertson.

At the moment, I’ve only created Amazon affiliate links—so that’s what I’ve focused on here. For the step-by-step process in how to become an Amazon Associate (the first step in being able to create these links), read this “Savvy Book Marketer” post. Once Amazon sends you your Associate acceptance email, this article from “Untethered Income” will help you successfully build (and test) product links.

This is a good start, but all of your book links ought to be affiliate links. Nearly every online retailer has a program, you just need the diligence to set them up.

Pre-Publication Information

Best Book Covers of 2016

The Design Observer released its winners of the 50 Best Book Covers of 2016. This may be especially helpful for reference if you are at the beginning of your cover design process. The only downside to this list is that the genre is not listed. Some are obvious, but others would require some research. There are a number of great contests out there to see which book covers are considered the best of the best. Definitely do some genre-specific internet searches to see what’s working best for the type of book you write BEFORE you finalize your cover.

The Pro-Bono Marketing Staff Every Self-Published Author Has at Their Fingertips

I have to admit that the reason I clicked on this Book Designer article by Eva Lesko Natiello was my reaction that I had somehow missed out on something. What the heck??  

I knew better, of course, but it got me to click. This article is a witty take on how elements of book design and promotion can serve as the hardest-working parts of a successful publishing venture. For instance, she lists your Book Cover as the Senior V.P. of Sales and your Meta Data/Book Description as your Senior V.P. of Marketing. Read the full article here.

Using Keywords to your Advantage in your Book Description

As you set up your book description (particularly on KPD/Kindle) you get to pick two book categories and then seven keywords. If you are savvy when choosing those keywords, you can leverage them to give you access to more than your two main book categories. But you have to know the right words to choose for other categories where your book might fit! A 2013 article from Jennifer Bresnick served as my original guide to this and a new article from Melinda Clayton at Indies Unlimited addresses this same topic.

Using my first novel as an example, I chose these two main categories for my young adult fantasy novel based on Celtic mythology:

·        Juvenile Fiction > Fantasy & Magic

·        Juvenile Fiction > Legends, Myths, Fables > Other

Then I added these keywords: Teen & Young Adult, Paranormal, Celtic, Coming of Age, Historical, Ireland, Romance

Those keywords have allowed my book to not only be ranked and searchable under the two main categories but the book has also been listed under Coming of Age and Paranormal & Urban Fantasy even though those aren’t either of the two main categories. The articles take a deeper look at this subject.

When to Publish Your Book

And just when you think your book should come out in time for Christmas sales, think again . . . The BookBaby blog walks through the best months for release, depending on your topic.

Agents Tell It Like They See It!

If you want to listen in on agents being extremely candid about the book industry, check out this discussionfeaturing Jodi Reamer (Writers House), Kim Witherspoon (Inkwell Management), Robert Gottlieb (Trident Media), Sloan Harris (ICM), Eric Simonoff (WME), and Christy Fletcher (Fletcher & Company) on the “Publishing . . . And Other Forms of Insanity” blog.

Post-Publication

My Failed WATTPAD Experiment

I had hoped that the free reader platform, Wattpad, would be a springboard to more fans and more sales. Unfortunately, the Wattpad Success Story proved elusive for me. I detail my experience and what I did right and wrong here.

Promoting your YA Novel

Another article from Book Baby this month gives tips on promoting your young adult novel through different types of social media . . . there’s some expected advice about Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest, but what was new to me were the tips about promoting via Reddit. I have one more thing on my list now--which might be good after my Wattpad fail.

Audio Books

Anne R. Allen has an excellent interview with an Audible/ACX narrator that gives inside info on getting your book recorded, so you don’t miss out on the fastest growing book market.

BUT I’M SO TIRED

I’ve thrown a lot at you today from a lot of different directions. Even if you’re not ready to use all of this advice immediately, you might be thinking, “I’m so tired!” or “There’s too much to do!” We all feel that way at least some of the time. Book writing is hard, but I think book marketing is even more difficult.  Judith Briles on The Book Designer website recognizes this and talks us through our “marketing fatigue”. She acknowledges the hard work that is required to be successful and gives encouragements to keep us moving in the right direction!

Happy Reading & Writing, Valerie  

[andmaybegayer]

Is "last monday of the week" a reference to anything in particular?

Nothing in particular, I just like trivial truths, although I'm a franchisee of the weekly roundup post organization "Tuesday Again No Problem Expanded Universe and Spinoffs" which includes such gems as the Untitled Wednesday Library series, Monday Late Night Magic, in lieu of a commonplace book and of course Tuesday Again No Problem.

So I suppose it's a reference to the concept of giving something a name.