“A unique dystopian adventure with anchors to the real world… set to become a cultural phenomenon.”
Kids Books: Endgame: The Calling – James Frey
Folks in the kids department have spent a long time getting ready for this juggernaut from James Frey (of I am Number Four fame) and his co-writer is Nils Johnson-Shelton, author of several bestselling children’s series.
Inspired in part by the 1987 megahit Masquerade, this inaugural book in a dystopian adventure series incorporates an elaborate puzzle for which Frey has brought on professional cryptographers.
The puzzle invites readers into Endgame in a very real way: like Masquerade, there’s actual gold—in this case bullion worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars”– for the reader who solves the puzzle at the heart of Endgame.
Here’s Frey explaining the project:
There’s more about the prize in USA Today’s 9/22/14 “Book Buzz” column: James Frey’s ‘Endgame” has a golden prize.
“A unique dystopian adventure with anchors to the real world… set to become a cultural phenomenon.”
— ALA Booklist
[ click to continue reading at http://KatesHarperNews.wordpress.com ]
The Greatest Jazz Quintet Ever
“I have never loved dialogue in a novel more….”
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – review
‘Dorothy was a monster. A completely terrifying, sweet-talking, party-obsessed, mean, creepy monster’
Amy Gumm was just a girl from Kansas: unpopular, lippy and practically hunted by her school’s very own personal demon, the “ever lovely” Madison Pendleton. Then, one day, a tornado hits her home and Amy is swept away to Oz. Only, it’s not the Oz she’s read about, this Oz has no cheerful munchkins or joyful parades; here in Oz Dorothy rules, and Oz has paid a heavy price for it. Torture, imprisonment and evil punishments are all Amy finds in this new, drained version of the magical land she knew as a child, and she’s a much bigger part of it than she thinks. She’s been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked with one mission and one mission only: Dorothy must die.
I’ll admit, at first I didn’t understand all the hype over this book; I mean, a retelling of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is evil? It kind of just sounded bizarre. But THEN, I read it and whoa. This book was insanely addictive, it blew me away on so many different levels. Dorothy was a monster. A completely terrifying, sweet-talking, party-obsessed, mean, creepy monster. She is the queen of evil characters in YA. Her insanity just pours out of the pages along with her unnatural lip glossed smile and hypnotic red heels. Yes, the ruby slippers are hypnotic. Paige went there.
As for our heroine Amy Gumm, how can we not adore her? She’s feisty, brave, insecure, grounded, sarcastic (ALWAYS sarcastic, I have never loved dialogue in a novel more) and most importantly, real! She isn’t your typical, crazy talented, beautiful selfless character, she has a real story and a personality you can really relate to.
Michaelangelo Lovelace
November 15, 2014
1834 E 123rd St, Cleveland Ohio 44106
Michaelangelo Lovelace is 1 out of 62 other Artist featured in The Artist Archives of the Western Reserves book titled “The Archives Speak: Insights and Images of Ohio Artists”
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 7:00 pm
For more details Please feel free to contract info@artistsarchives.org
[ click to view Michaelangelo Lovelace’s website ]
Oh Sad Day.
ENDGAME RELEASE PARTY NYC: James Frey, John Hanke, James Murphy, Pete Tong, Woo-hoo!!
ENDGAME: James Frey, John Hanke, Music by James Murphy and Pete Tong
| Date: | |
| Time: | 7:00pm |
| Venue: | Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom |
| Address: | 311 West 34th Street, New York, NY10001, US Show Map  |
| Appearing: | James Frey, James Murphy, Pete Tong, Pete Tong and Pete Tong |
| Bob |
Compare and buy tickets for ENDGAME: James Frey, John Hanke, Music by James Murphy and Pete Tong in New York, NY on 10/07/2014: Get your tickets for ENDGAME: James Frey, John Hanke, Music by James Murphy and Pete Tong now!
Colossus Burns
Fire Burns Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Colossus Coaster
By Jonathan Lloyd and Kevin LaBeach
A portion of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s wooden Colossus coaster collapsed Monday when the decades-old ride caught on fire.
The wooden Colossus opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, in June 1978. It closed in mid-August, celebrating with free rides for a final few hundred riders before crews began adding steel segments to create a “hybrid” coaster set to open in 2015.
Colossus was the world’s fastest and tallest wooden roller coaster when it opened, and the first to feature two drops that are more than 100 feet steep.
FFF Digital – Hello World.
James Frey’s New Digital Publishing Venture Promises 1 New Book per Week
James Frey’s publishing house Full Fathom Five, which has already made it to New York Times bestseller lists with I Am Number Four (also a major motion picture) and Dorothy Must Die, is launching a digital imprint with plans to release a new e-book every week, for a total of 13 books this year alone, Mashable can exclusively report.
FFF Digital begins life with Amanda Black’s The Apartment, the first of many genre e-books that the new imprint believes wouldn’t fit into a traditional publishing model but would resonate with digital-savvy modern readers. It’s also hosting a two-month-long contest to find new authors; the prize is a publishing deal and $10,000 in cash.
SEE ALSO: 24 Must-Read Books for Summer 2014
“We are looking forward to discovering unconventional projects that have the potential to connect with a wider community of readers that haven’t been available to them before,” Frey tells Mashable.
The venture is also seeking film and TV opportunities for its authors, and has tapped Samantha Streger, who was worked with Frey’s company since April, as director of digital publishing.
New books from FFF Digital will come every Wednesday to all leading e-book retailers, beginning with Black’s The Apartment, the first in an adult romance series, on Oct. 1.
“The FFF Digital team has helped me fully realize and achieve my dream of becoming a published author,” Black said. “They have provided me with so much support along the way.”
Aspiring authors can submit work for the contest between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30. Four additional finalists will also receive a FFF Digital deal, and all submissions will be eligible for publication.
Ew Taylor!
Go Twitch!
What’s Twitch? Gamers Know, and Amazon Is Spending $1 Billion on It
The video in video games is suddenly a billion-dollar business.
Video games have long been something people played. But in the last few years, thanks in part to fast Internet access and multiplayer games, the games have become something that people sit back and watch, too. On Monday, that new habit enticed the web giant Amazon to reach a $1.1 billion deal to buy Twitch, the most popular website for watching people play games.
The deal for Twitch is the latest sign of the way forms of behavior once seemingly on the fringe can, in the hands of tech entrepreneurs, turn into huge online communities in no time. Twitch did not exist a little over three years ago, and it now has 55 million unique viewers a month globally, helping turn games into a spectator event as much as a participatory activity.
Joan Rivers Gone
Joan Rivers Dead at 81: Comic Legend Passes Away After Being Taken Off Life Support
Joan Rivers has passed away at 81 years old.
Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, released the following statement: “It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother. She passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother.”
It continued: “Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated. My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.”
The tragic news comes days after the Fashion Police host suffered from complications while undergoing a recent throat operation in New York City on Aug. 28.
Melissa and her son rushed to be by the Hollywood icon’s side upon hearing the news, and love and support from Hollywood’s brightest stars quickly poured in paying tribute and sending well wishes to the legend.
The previous night, Joan was at a Q&A event where she was seen greeting fans before taking the stage to perform several minutes of stand-up.
Semi- Props From the ‘Doo
From racetracks to race relations: Denison’s little-known alumni
By David Allen and Carole Burkett, Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief
We all know about Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, and Richard Lugar, but who knew that we had a potato salad entrepreneur, top international pastry chef, and Indy500 winner in our ranks? Here are some exceptional forerunners to inspire us as we begin a new academic year.
Zack Brown ‘05 Known recently for becoming a viral sensation after raising over 60,000 dollars for a faux potato salad kickstarter campaign, Brown has recently dedicated a large portion of that fundraising to charity.
James Frey ‘92 Writer of international bestsellers A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), as well as Bright Shiny Morning (2008), James Frey is CEO of media company Full Fathom Five. His new book, Endgame The Calling, comes out on October 7.
Where’s All The White Willy’s At?
Where Are All the Hacked Pics of Men?
From Scarlett Johansson to Jennifer Lawrence, the victims of hack attacks are almost never men—part of a bigger problem with sexist internet culture
When I read the headlines that someone had hacked into Jennifer Lawrence’s phone and posted her private photos on the Internet — along with many other celebrities — my initial reaction was sadness. I felt awful for her, awful for them, and awful for anyone that could possibly happen to, ever. I imagined the same thing happening to me, and how humiliated I would be to have my personal life made excruciatingly public — how ashamed I would feel if untold numbers of people saw me in a context I meant to be private, always.
This latest piece of unsavory, repulsive news is part of a larger theme on the Internet. Women who write about feminism are harassed and stalked. Women tech execs are dismissed on double standards. Female gamers are threatened and belittled. It’s not really a surprise. The world is sexist; the internet is sexist. Maybe the internet is more so, because it is such a haven for cowards.
I wondered briefly if it might help if every Jennifer Lawrence or Ariana Grande or Mary Elizabeth Winstead fan in America posted a nude selfie, as a way of saying that we stand with them, and refuse to be humiliated. Or maybe we should just stop talking about about all the harassment because then they won’t get any attention. But then women would have to suffer in silence.
ENDGAME: “A new series of books is to offer readers the chance to get rich”
Pot of gold awaits sleuth who cracks literary code
The treasure hunt craze triggered by Masquerade in the 1970s is to be recreated by a novelist burying clues to $3m, says Dalya Alberge
Dalya Alberge
IT IS usually the author who makes a fortune from a best-seller but a new series of books is to offer readers the chance to get rich, too.
The Endgame trilogy of adventure stories by James Frey, whose previous works include The Lorien Legacies and I Am Number Four, will challenge readers to solve puzzles, riddles and codes with prizes totalling $3m (£1.8m) available to those who are successful.
The first person who solves the puzzles in Endgame: The Calling, the first book, will win $500,000 (£300,000) in gold coins. For the second book the prize rises to $1m and for the third $1.5m.
The rights to the series are being sold to publishers in 27 countries and Frey is working on a script for the first of three films of the series, which will be financed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy is published by HarperCollins….
björk: biophilia
Aphex Twin SYRO LPs
Aphex Twin Will Hold ‘SYRO’ Listening Parties for Lucky Fans
One-off events being held in the U.S., Canada, and Europe before album’s September 23 release
Aphex Twin’s rollout for SYRO, his first album in 13 years, has been fairly unconventional, what with the blimp teaser, deep web announcement, and barely legible autobiography. But now the “fartist” born Richard D. James is giving some lucky fans the chance to hear the new songs in a more traditional matter. Starting September 5 in London and Paris, with subsequent events in the U.S., Canada, and other European countries, SYRO will be played in its entirety at listening parties, with tickets available to the public via a lottery. According to Warp, the contest “begins on Sunday, August 31 at 4AM PST / 7AM EST / 12PM GMT / 1PM CET and closes Tuesday, September 2 at midnight in each time zone.”
NYT: Pittacus @ Six
ENDGAME: Something’s Happening
The 400 Gnomes
400 gnomes disappeared in Austria, and it’s causing a political scandal
By Rick Noack
Gnomes used by the Social Democrats in Austria. (Social Democratic Party)
Last weekend in the mountainous Austrian state of Vorarlberg, 400 gnomes disappeared. Nobody knows where they have gone. But everyone knows it’s down to politics.
With regional elections set for Sept. 21, the left-wing Social Democratic Party ordered 20,000 gnomes called “Coolmen” earlier this year. The gnomes, toting sunglasses and campaign signs, were the party’s last-ditch effort to prevent an electoral defeat in Vorarlberg. About 400 of the gnomes were attached to lampposts on Saturday as alternatives to traditional posters, but their mass disappearance by Sunday morning was conspicuous.
“I suspect our rival party OeVP [the Austrian People’s Party] to have removed the gnomes,” local Social Democratic Party leader Michael Ritsch told The Washington Post on Tuesday. Ritsch has filed a complaint, and the state’s police forces have launched an investigation.
Speaking to Austrian public broadcaster ORF, the local leadership of the OeVP party denied the allegations. The party’s local general manager told ORF that people who leveled such unfounded accusations were no better than the actual gnome thieves.
But Ritsch persists with his accusations. “All of our gnomes are 40 centimeters tall. The thieves must have needed more than just one truck to steal them,” he said.
Frey Does Arkin’s Gnomes
A million little gardeners
Seedbed, 2010, by Elliott Arkin. Photograph: Amherst College
A Million Little Pieces author James Frey is set to turn the artist Elliott Arkin’s series of sculptures depicting famous artists as garden gnomes into a children’s book, due to be published in 2016. Four years ago, Frey purchased one of the resin works—a miniature lawn-mowing Picasso—from the series, titled A Peaceable Kingdom, 2004-2012, at New York’s Half Gallery, which he co-owned at the time. “It is one of the most brilliantly funny works of art,” Frey says. So when Arkin later asked the author to write a catalogue essay for his exhibition at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice last year, Frey suggested a short story. He wound up with enough material for a book and took an option on the rights from Arkin, who says, “I am thrilled to see what narrative James creates.”
Methane Plumes Are Cool
Hundreds of Methane Plumes Erupting Along East Coast
By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer
In an unexpected discovery, hundreds of gas plumes bubbling up from the seafloor were spotted during a sweeping survey of the U.S. Atlantic Coast.
Even though ocean explorers have yet to test the gas, the bubbles are almost certainly methane, researchers report today (Aug. 24) in the journal Nature Geoscience.
“We don’t know of any explanation that fits as well as methane,” said lead study author Adam Skarke, a geologist at Mississippi State University in Mississippi State.
Surprising seeps
Between North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras and Massachusetts’ Georges Bank, 570 methane seeps cluster in about eight regions, according to sonar and video gathered by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer between 2011 and 2013. The vast majority of the seeps dot the continental slope break, where the seafloor topography swoops down toward the Atlantic Ocean basin. [Gallery: Amazing images of Atlantic Methane Seeps]
The Two-Million Dollar Man
First Superman Comic Breaks $2 Million on eBay
David LaGaccia
Action Comics #1 (June 1938).
Photo: Via eBay.
With blockbuster superhero movies dominating cinemas this summer, it’s not surprising to see blockbuster comic book sales at auction. Darren Adams, owner of Pristine Comics, is auctioning off a rare copy of the first issue of Action Comics on eBay, and, with a current bid as of this writing of $2,002,038, it could break the record for the most expensive price ever paid for a comic book. Action Comics #1 was first printed in 1938 by DC Comics, and is famous for marking the first appearance of Superman. Another copy of the same comic set the current comic auction record of $2,161,000 in 2011. Adams’s auction ends August 24, leaving it plenty of time to surpass that record.
“It is referred to as the Holy Grail of comics and this is the finest graded copy to exist with perfect white pages,” writes Adams in the auction’s listing. “This is…. the Mona Lisa of comics and stands alone as the most valuable comic book ever printed.”
Little Dragon Does Andre 3000
Like A Rhinestone Cowboy
COWBOYS WORTH MORE THAN $3 BILLION, TOPS IN NFL
(AP Photo/Sharon Ellman, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are the first U.S. sports franchise to top $3 billion in value.
For the eighth straight year, the Cowboys are worth the most of all 32 NFL franchises, according to Forbes. They’re valued at $3.2 billion; only Real Madrid at $3.4 billion is worth more among global franchises.
Dallas posted the NFL’s highest revenue, $560 million, and operating income, $246 million. That was far ahead of second-place New England, worth $2.6 billion and with $428 million in revenues, $147 million in operating income.
Yogi Iyengar Gone
B.K.S. Iyengar Dead: Indian Yoga Guru Dies At 95
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar, who helped popularize yoga around the world and authored 17 books on the subject, died Wednesday at age 95.
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar’s death was reported on his website as well as major Indian TV stations, which said he had been hospitalized with a kidney ailment over the past week in the western city of Pune.
Iyengar created his own brand of yoga, called “Iyengar yoga,” and established studios in 72 countries where yoga practitioners are taught ways to improve breathing, concentration and meditation.
In 2004, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Endgame at Comic-Con 2014 | James Frey, Wyck Godfrey, John Hanke, & Mat Laibowitz
Don Pardo Gone
Longtime ‘SNL’ announcer Don Pardo dies at 96
This March 14, 1992 photo provided by NBC shows announcer Don Pardo on the set of ‘Saturday Night Live.’Photo: Associated Press
(AP) — Few would recognize his face, but most would know his voice: that booming baritone that for nearly four decades would introduce the lineups on Saturday Night Live.
Don Pardo, the durable television and radio announcer whose resonant voice-over style was widely imitated and became the standard in the field, died Monday in Arizona at the age of 96.
Mr. Pardo—a handsome man with a strong chin and confident smile that were overshadowed by his majestic delivery—graced newscasts, game shows and TV programs for more than 60 years. During the original version of Jeopardy!, his answers to the question, “Tell ’em what they’ve won, Don Pardo,” became a memorable part of the program.
And he was an integral part of Saturday Night Live for heralding the cast’s names to kick off each show, which led former cast member Jimmy Fallon to comment later, “Nothing is like the moment when Don Pardo says your name.” Mr. Pardo continued at SNL through the end of last season, when he performed the introductions on the finale in May.
1-hour on One: Number 31, 1950
Strictly Critical Video: One Hour Looking at a Jackson Pollock Painting at MoMA
With this week’s video, our two critics embark in a new direction: the hourlong single-work review.
Over the course of a full hour at the Museum of Modern Art, they discuss Jackson Pollock’s One: Number 31, 1950, one of the “official masterpieces of American art” by “the first American artist to affect world art” (as they put it).
Why do Gopnik and Viveros-Fauné spend an entire hour discussing a single work? Because that is what art deserves. Consider that people spend weeks, even months, with a novel; hours with a movie or a play; and countless hours playing video games.
But when it comes to visual art, the treatment—the time devoted to a viewing—can approximate the length of a drive-by shooting or a turn on the catwalk. Too often people literally take a spin around the room of a gallery or a museum and then dine out on the experience—”We saw Pollock!” They say. “And Judd and Albers and Soutine!”
“My favorite books are by J.K. Rowling and the ‘Legend’ series by Marie Lu,” Dasha said. “I also like the ‘Lorien Legacies’ series (by Pittacus Lore).”
These kids ‘Wannaread’
North Hampton Library’s summer camp book club a hit
Lisa Tetrault-Zhe Photo Fifth-grade North Hampton School students Calvin and Trevor, and sixth-grade student Dasha, with the grand prize for the summer reading program, Scout the Bear.
By Lisa Tetrault-Zhe
NORTH HAMPTON — Readers in the Camp Wannaread book group kept up their skills and got a sneak peak at a new Gordon Korman novel this summer.
The North Hampton School students in grades four through six who participated in the summer reading club finished “‘The Hypnotists” by Korman, and also had a chance to start the sequel, “Memory Maze.”
“We had 23 kids sign up,” explained children’s librarian Lorreen Keating. “The afterschool book club was such a success, we decided to continue it through the summer.”
On Thursday evening, readers broke into two teams (Rainbow Unicorns and Sandmen, both part of the book). The teams came up with trivia questions from the book, and the team with the most points won extra raffle tickets towards the grand prize (a giant stuffed bear, complete with binoculars).
“Every week there would be one winner of a smaller prize,” said Linda Sherouse, North Hampton School librarian (she also works at NHS library). “These included a reading light, movie tickets, a Barnes & Noble gift card, and a pencil pouch with glow-in-the-dark highlighters.”
One girl joined the club because she wanted an opportunity to further discuss books she’s read.
“I often have trouble finding time to talk with Ms. Sherouse about the books that I’ve read,” said sixth-grade student Dasha. “Joining the group, I got to read more and check in with her.”
Dasha, a self-described avid reader, read 400 hours this summer.
“My favorite books are by J.K. Rowling and the ‘Legend’ series by Marie Lu,” Dasha said. “I also like the ‘Lorien Legacies’ series (by Pittacus Lore).”