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[adelaidesean]

I'm juggling two projects at once this weekend, which always hurts my brain.  Here are some recent happenings:

• Shawn at Suvudu asked if any of my books originally had different titles. There are a few.
• Paul Cornell wondered what I was doing for Christmas.
• The ABC's Life Matters program wanted to interview me about my essay on Doctor Who in 50 Voices of Disbelief.
• Au Contrair, the New Zealand natcon, very kindly asked me to be their 2010 GOH, and I'm excited to be going.
• The Dragon Book is out and looks awesome.  If you want to know what happens to Ros after The Changeling, here's part one.

If I hear one more Christmas carol, I swear I might have to kill someone.  Unless it's this one, of course:

Comments

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Ah, Muppet love...

I agree with you on Christmas songs. There's a reason my favourite Christmas song is "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues and Kirsty McCol.

Carols are a different thing. Most of my favourite carols are medieval. It's an acquired taste.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Very fair distinction between carols and songs, but I'm even getting sick of the carols too, I'm afraid to say. :-(

One of my favourite books ever is The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Have you read it? I must not have read it at this time of year, because I've never noticed the Xmas-deadening effect of ambient music on a certain pivotal scene in the middle before...

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

I've read the wholes series three or four times (Its a favourite). I couldn't bring myself to see the film, not even for Ian McShane. And yes, that's a good scene.


I'm sick of the very well known carols, but I still love ones like the "Cherry Tree Carol", "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day", "The Sussex Carol" and some of the medieval ones that I have on CD sung by the Anonymous Four. Very beautiful. Have you ever heard Benjamin Brittin's A Ceremony of Carols? That is a lovely thing to listen to. Carols, by the way, are not just for Christmas. Carols are songs for religous festivals, so there are carols for Easter and Palm Sunday. "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day" starts at Christmas, and has different verses to sung at different times of the year, until Easter. The Oxford Book of Carols is a great reference if you're interested.

Do you think that someone could write atheist carols?

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I couldn't bring myself to see the film, not even for Ian McShane.

Me either. What a godawful cock-up that sounded like. Very sad.

Do you think that someone could write atheist carols?

I don't see why not, particularly with the idea being that every day is a festival of life. This probably isn't it, though. (http://www.amazon.com/Joyeux-Mutato-Mark-Mothersbaugh/dp/B00004XSZ5)
If Zappa had lived long enough, he might have. I'll pin my hopes on They Might Be Giants.

Yes, the Brittin is lovely. Thank for the reminder. Maybe I'll give that go.

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Try George Winston's Winter. It's a set of piano pieces based around old carols (his version of The Carol of the Bells is a personal favourite), and some original pieces. Truly a lovely album for Christmas. Loreena McKennit's To drive the cold winter away is a wonderful album full of spare, strong renditions of very old carols and some original pieces. That too is a favourite.

Merry Yuletinde to you and yours.