MALONEMAIL ISSUE NO. 1
Hello, lovers, and welcome to the first-ever issue of this spam email. Bet you already forgot you signed up for it. Tough break. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here's what's been goin' on in my world in the two weeks (!) since November began its tyranny:
I reviewed Swearin’s sophomore record Surfing Strange for Pitchfork. It is very good and grow-y, as second albums ought to be. "Loretta's Flowers" is the saddest-slash-holier-than-thouest tune of the year.
I wrote this short story inspired by Wu-Tang Clan’s “Bring Da Ruckus,” as part of a collection of stories for MySpace, each based on a song on their iconic, now 20(!!!)-year-old album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). My tale is about children being awful to each other, as is my custom.
I interviewed the guy who made those Thomas-Kinkade-being-invaded-by-Storm-Troopers art that went around the ol' Innernet recently. For WIRED, because duh.
My colleague Rachel Edidin and I compiled a collection of the best and worst Thor-themed doodads on Etsy. Some are very weird.
And I wrote about the world's most adorable synthesizer, the littleBits + KORG Synth Kit. Think Legos, but musical. Yes, this is basically an all-out shill for a thing that costs money, but no, I did not receive one of my own. :(
Here's some other stuff I've been reading:
Ayesha Siddiqi beautifully explains why Lily Allen's new video is racist and not feminist: "The world would certainly be a better place if intent determined impact. But it doesn’t, and Allen’s ability to ignore race doesn’t dissolve her song’s major racial connotations."
We're starting to get emotional about robots: "Carpenter wonders whether outcomes on the battlefield could potentially be compromised by human-robot attachment, or the feeling of self-extension into the robot described by some operators."
People talk about how the Internet – in particular Reddit – is the great democratic experience, but new data says voting on the Internet is strongly influenced by gender.
Here are some Tumblrs I recently, enthusiastically followed:
critiquemydickpic.tumblr.com - Sex-positive, hilarious criticism of user-submitted dick pics. Definitely NSFW, and definitely I'm sorry, Grandma, I know you are reading this.
textsfromtng.tumblr.com - Mashup of screengrabs from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Texts From Last Night. The ones with Troi are especially good.
buzzfeedminusgifs.tumblr.com - Pretty self-explanatory. Obviously, I'm a fan of anything even remotely like this.
howtofightwrite.tumblr.com - A black belt and an Eagle Scout give writers advice on how to write realistic fight scenes.
pitbull.tumblr.com - Thanks to Ann, now I know Pitbull has a Tumblr. IT IS WORTH EVERY REBLOG.
And here are some songs I strongly recommend checking out:
And....I guess that's it! How'd I do? Is this thing on?
'Til next time, chickadees! xo
devon s. maloney
wordmonger
P.S. (Parting Shot)
Sure, I may be the last person on Earth to have discovered the wonder of Tom Hiddleston, but I ask you this: Have you heard him read dirty e.e. cummings poetry out loud?