The Rabbit Hole USA

We sell a mixture of new and used books here. When people bring us hardcover thrillers and romances for store credit we have to tell them that no one will probably ever want them. Most hardcover thrillers and romance, except for a very select few, are worse than worthless since it can actually require money to dispose of them.

People often read those books in bed, so we have been told, and it becomes taxing to hold those books up while reclining, unlike a small mass market paperback. Or they read them while traveling, and don’t want the extra weight. Many thriller/suspense novels are time sensitive (Anyone want to read a cold war thriller from the early eighties? Probably not.) and like a new car, lose value the instant you take them off the lot.

We make sure to have a good selection of genre paperbacks, and just a few hardcovers for collectors at a very reasonable price.

There is always the great Graham Greene, who sometimes wrote thrillers. Those hardcovers are welcome. Some Ian Flemming hardcovers are valuable.

What sparked this post? This collection of photos where artists are using books in ways they were not originally intended. Many people cringe at the idea of destroying literature. But there are a lot of unloved books out there. Sometimes, because they are just too heavy. It appears they make fine support walls for forts though. Link

Charles Sternaimolo wrote a great article in the Pride about our recent baseball event here at The Rabbit Hole: Unique and historic baseball moments discussed by local authors

Denis Leary pokes fun at his film oeuvre. Yes, we have his book in stock, Why We Suck. Video may not be safe for work or small children – he swears.

First of all, check out this amazing photo taken in West Townsend by Patrick Campagnone. You can click the photo to see more of his work. Secondly, help is needed this Saturday to clear Townsend trails. Many trails were made nearly impassable by that ice storm.

From the Sentinel and Enterprise article:

Volunteers are asked to meet at Doyle Conservation Center between 8 and 9 a.m. or noon and 1 p.m. Saturday. Crews will be out clearing trails from 9 p.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Silly me. I didn’t realize there was a Twilight vs Buffy thing going on amongst the geeks. I present this t-shirt as evidence there must be. Clicking the photo takes you to the t-shirt order page.

BTW, the season eight Buffy comics are great.

This is the start of new series here, So, You Want to Know More About…, where we will pick a topic and suggest books that are useful in educating yourself about said topic. So far, we have plans to write posts about Japanese pop culture, punk, psychopaths, Medieval history, economics, creative writing, UFO’s, jazz, graffiti… If you have a topic you want us to include, you can leave us a comment.

This post is So, you want to know more about making your own movie, then The Rabbit Hole suggests the following books:

Rebel Without A Crew or How a 23 Year-Old Filmmaker with $7000 Became a Hollywood Player by Robert Rodriquez

Rebel Without A Crew is drawn largely from Rodriguez’s journals while he worked on developing and filming El Mariachi, including his time during the infamous human guinie pig fund raising gigs. The appendix includes one of his ten minute film courses, and the original screenplay for El Mariachi. A genuinely fun read, as he shares all of his disappointments, ups and downs, and ingenious tricks to get the movie made on the cheap and then shops it around.

What They Don’t Teach You at Film School: 161 Strategies for Making Your Own Movie No Matter What by Camille Landau and Tiare White

With chapters like If all you want to direct what are you waiting for, Fix the script and the rest will follow, and Uses for duct tape and other quick fixes this little book covers a lot of territory. Loaded with common sense, considering that you might have to be slightly crazy to take up such a task.

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television by Judith Weston

Once you have a great script, you will need to help your actors bring it to life. This is the book that will help teach you how to establish creative, collaborative relationships with actors. Ms. Weston also discusses just what exactly constitutes a good performances, what actors want from their directors, how to get the most from rehearsals, and much more.

Deep Cinema: Film as Shamanic Initiation by Mary Trainor-Brigham, M.A.

You want to make movies that move people, right? This book can help. Deep Cinema reveals how movie makers and movie lovers can perceive storytelling from an indigenous world-view through a layered shamanic cosmology that we all share.  We were lucky enough to get Mary here for a truly inspirational film discussion/book signing. Recommended by John Sayles.

In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing by Walter Murch

After you shoot your film, it is now time to actually make your movie. In the books forward, Francis Coppola calls the author a pioneer. You want to know why do cuts work, and what makes a good cut then read this book. The second edition includes a lengthy meditation on digital editing.

From Reel to Deal: Everything You Need to Create a Successful Independent Film by Dov Simens

What do you do after you’ve made your film? Actually, I would recommend reading this before you start filming – great tips on budgeting, screenplays, cameras, sound, etc. Then Simens gets into distribution rights and studios. If this book can help Quentin Tarantino get his start, then it may be able to help you.

We have had a couple of musicians express interest in playing an after hours show here. Would they please contact us here really soon? For whatever reason we don’t have their contact details at hand. We want to pull something together for March 6th. We have noise lined up, but we want to have at least a couple of bands.

The video below is Neil Gaiman promoting the new movie adapted from his book, Coraline. Filmed in his house, in Alfred Hitchcock style. Also in Gaiman news, his book The Graveyard Book, won the Newbury award.

Every once in a while we want to post here a little of the new music that has just arrived. Even if you don’t own a record player, these posts should be fun, since we will talk about the music, post videos, pictures, and sometimes – we tend to be vinyl-centric here – also discuss cd’s. We get in a wide variety of stuff  from all genres.

Be-Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim

From Wikipedia:

Be-Bop Deluxe never played bebop music, but instead came out of the blues-based British rock scene of the late 1960s. At first they were compared to the more successful David Bowie, but Nelson never tried to copy Bowie, and appears to have disliked comparisons or being pigeon-holed. This artistic restlessness eventually led him to disband Be Bop Deluxe altogether and pursue less commercial paths of expression.

Nelson was acclaimed as one of the finest guitarists in British rock at the time, and the music showed that, with his distinctive tones adorning most tracks. Stylistically, the songs took elements from progressive rock, glam rock (the band had flirted with make-up in the early days) and hard guitar rock.

Harry Nilsson – NIlsson Schmilsson

The Beatles declared that Harry Nilsson was their favorite American “group”. They loved his music so much they invited to come and hang out in London while they recorded The White Album.

The video below is an acoustic, solo performance for the BBC:

The Pressure Boys – Rangledoon

This is a 4 song ep. They play an angular, inventive guitar rock that could be described as new wave, ska pop I suppose. The album includes the original insert. The insert consists of cut outs of clothing for dressing the cartoon pig on the b-side. A little note suggests you affix the  cut-outs with moist chewing gum. No kidding.

The video for Where the Cowboys Went:

Willie Sordill – Silent Highways

This album, from Folkways Records is very rare, and it is rather difficult to find information about Willie. I do know that the Smithsonian has seen fit to include these beautiful, engaging, folk songs in their archives.

The Doors – Absolutely Live

The first live album released by an American rock band. There are something like 2000 edits on the album, sometimes right in mid-song! The best recordings from their tour were pulled together to make one cohesive concert experience.

The Double LP includes:

Side 1: Who Do You Love, Alabama Song, Backdoor Man, Love Hides, Five to One
Side 2: Build Me a Woman, When the Music’s Over
Side 3: Close to You, Universal Mind, Break on Through (to the Other Side)
Side 4: The Celebration of the Lizard, Soul Kitchen

A 10 minute interview with The Doors from 1969:

Iron and Wine – Endless Numbered Days on CD

The second full length album from Sam Beam is absolutely beautiful, brilliant and catchy. This is one of those pop cd’s that will remain timeless, and won’t embarrass you when a song turns up on your ipod random rotation years from now.

Video from Naked as We Came:

My own personal rule is to never complain about the weather. I have experienced a brutal -40. That hurt. After that, most everything else is a walk in the park, so to say. But, if I were one to complain, I might say something about the prodigious amount of snow this winter.