Harbour of Newcastle Shewing the Proposed Extension of the Northern Pier by E.O. Moriarty, Civil Engineer. 1858

Thank you to Mr Rod Caldwell who kindly arranged for his personal copy to be digitised and provided for us to publish to the wider research community.

The full report can be accessed in a number of formats:

Legislative Assembly. New South Wales. Breakwater at Stockton. (Report of Mr. Moriarty Upon Advisability of.) Ordered by the Legislative Assembly to be Printed, 27 April 1858. [5.9 MB PDF File] With Moriarty’s Plan of the Harbour of Newcastle Shewing the Proposed Extension of the Northern Pier.

Moriarty, E.O. Harbour of Newcastle Shewing the Proposed Extension of the Northern Pier. 1858. Full Plan Only [4.9 MB PDF File]

On Flickr – Breakwater at Stockton – Moriarty Plan 1858

As promised, I will continue my ongoing SIDEWISE commentary. I will do my best to get caught up so I need only write commentary for page 15 (which will be posted here Thursday).

PAGES 6 & 7

Pages 6 and 7 are the in-your-face action pages. It was almost entirely artist Igor Norohna’s idea. You see, I was extremely busy when we began working on SIDEWISE, so I simply suggested “Hey, let’s have some action on these pages.” The end result is what you see: a stylized battle scene with the Queen’s robot army that showcases the abilities of their exo-suits. I simply went back and added dialogue after the pages were complete.

Well done, Igor. Take a bow.

PAGE 8

Page 8 was our last chance to hook readers and make ‘em hungry for more. It was also my intent to question the nature of reality. “And that’s exactly what it was.” In light of Adam’s previous statement, perhaps there’s more to this assertion than meets the eye?

Did you think Wells’ “Come with me if you wish to live” was a nod to the Terminator films? It was. A tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the greatest action flicks of all-times. Why not?

PAGE 9

This is one of my favorite pages. Igor really captured my vision of a “Teslafied” Buckingham Palace. The Tesla coil powered force field is especially important in the future, but I won’t give it away. Keep reading.

Page 9 is also particularly important because it introduces the Knights of Hanover: Dr. Fain, Sir Campion, Lord Tritton and Major Wilson. In case you didn’t notice, the Knights are manifestly strange.

More on that later.

PAGE 10

Introducing the monstrosity that was once Queen Victoria! I really wanted to impress readers with the strangeness of the Queen. Igor really nailed it.

This is also the first mention of Minister Moriarty. Is he the Moriarty from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, he is a major player in the story and–as we find out later–a bitter rival of Lord Tesla. Why? You’ll just have to continue reading to find out.

Th-Th-That’s All, Folks

I need to get back to work, but I’ll post commentary on the remaining pages in the next couple days. I would say tomorrow, but I’d hate to become so busy that I lie to you (again).

Please take a moment to check out Parts 1 and 2 of my interview with Rocket Llama. The conclusion of the interview should be posted this week. Be sure to check my tweets for a link as soon as I get it.

Thank you for your patience. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to read my little blog.

There’s no much music in here and since it is an important part of my life I think it is time to change this… So last Friday we went to see a concert at the Casino de Paris and since then I cannot stopped playing Moriarty and Andrew bird…

So here is a video clip of Moriarty ; Private Lily

And a live video from the genius Andrew Bird :

Enjoy

On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to get myself a ticket to see the wonderfully talented Mr Andrew Bird play in the beautiful Union Chapel. I caught him play at the, also wonderful, St Giles Church… and so the prospect of hearing his wonderful songs in a church again was well worth the ticket price. 

Moriarty opened the show and managed to warm the chapel with their fun, playful old time jazzy, cabaret style folk music. You know it’s the hallmark of  good band when you’ve seen them before and then you see them on the bill of a show you are going to and think ‘oh good, I’d like to see them again’. Perhaps the majority of the crowd were unfamiliar with the Franco-American’s light hearted tunes but you could tell from the applause and cheers between songs that they were most certainly being won over. The band all gather round one single mic; the acoustics of the chapel leant itself perfectly to this minimalist setup. Each band member had their chance to shine, with some brilliant harmonica, spoken word, guitar and (crazed ninja-style) glock parts. Thoroughly recommend catching this band if you have the chance.

Then! Andrew Bird o’clock! The Bird man always looks very suave, and in the seated venue it all felt like a pleasingly sophisticated affair. It’s amazing how he can fill such a big space with his looping. The whole chapel was loving it and hung on his every word. He alters the arrangements of songs when performing live, often making them even more magnificent. I foolishly did not note down the setlist, but he played a nice mixture of old and new. Early on in the set her played a favourite of mine – Sweetbreads. He explained about he felt it was too cheery, which is why he spliced it up and turned it into Dark Matter. The song he played live was quite similar to the original, and a real delight to hear- it’s my favourite Andrew Bird song (which you can find on Fingerlings). Oh No was stunning, the live version even more wonderful than the original. There’s a playful sense to Andrew Bird; he brings a stuffed animal to the stage with him and frequently walks in circles and activates the giant gramophone behind him (he calls it Spinny), and always slips off his shoes. It’s endearing and there was a really warm atmosphere.

Effigy, Anonanimal and Tenuousness were all beautiful- three of my favourites from Noble Beast. He treated the audience to a completely brand new song, it was about the ship Lusitania and its sinking. It was fantastic and I can’t wait to hear it recorded. He played MX Missiles because he hadn’t played it in a while. It was a treat. Why? is always fun live, it’s a playful and sweet song. He closed with Plasticities. 

He returned for an un-amplified song at the side of the stage, it was perfect. He is a very talented musician, listen to his albums and don’t miss the chance to see him live. He’s wonderful both with a band and by himself. 

“Wir leben auf der Milchstraße”

All I ever wanted / All I ever needed / Is here in my arms / Words are very unnecessary / They can only do harm. Ja, bei diesen Zeilen kommt sicher jedem von uns das eine oder andere traurige Andenken hoch. Damit es nicht zu traurig wird, lege man sich ein Hirschgeweih in die Arme und schaukle es sanft. Komisch? Nein, das ist einfach die Interpretation des Depeche Mode Hits „Enjoy the Silence“ auf moriartisch, wie man sie am Sonntag als Schlussakt des 5. Francophonic  Festivals erleben durfte.

Was diese Künstler kreieren, könnte man als Ergebnis vielfältiger „transpositions d’art“ beschreiben, als ein Mosaik unterschiedlichster Genres der Kunst. Moriarty bedienen sich zwar vorranging des Mediums Musik, aber das, was sie ihrem Publikum am Sonntagabend präsentierten Konzert zu nennen, erfasst schier die Bandbreite dieser Formation nicht. Es war ein Spektakel, das man sich ansehen und erleben musste, bei dem man, so man es wollte, mitsingen oder dazu tanzen konnte.  Auf der Bühne hebt dieses außergewöhnliche Quintett eine dem Laienzuschauer angewöhnte Band-Hierarchie von Sänger – Gitarrist– Schlagzeuger – Rest einfach auf. Jedes Mitglied ist nicht nur musikalisch bedeutend, sondern ebenso integral im Bühnenbild und in der Performance verhaftet und irgendwie immer im Mittelpunkt. Auch wenn man einräumen muss, dass die Aura, welche Rosemary umgibt, zusammen mit ihrer unglaublichen Stimme wohl am direktesten unter die Haut geht, da diese auch auf der Bühne Studioqualität und somit einen Wiedererkennungswert besitzt.  Hier nun einige Elemente eines Spektakels, die sich nur live erleben lassen: beispielsweise das nicht nur herrlich anzusehende Spiel des Kontrabasses, der kurze Xylophon-Exkurs, die mich in die Welt des Blues tragende sich mit dem Künstler bewegende Mundharmonika oder der zeitweise am Boden liegende und sich der Dinge erfreuende Gitarrist Arthur, der uns auch später ein kurzes Interview gab. “Die anderen von unten zu sehen war eine fabelhafte Erfahrung.” Nein, keine Drogen und sehr selten Alkohol. Moriarty eben. Zur Erinnerung –the Almighty Oracle Blog schreibt: „ They have their own imaginary world and paint it around with each song.” Ja, das fühle ich nach diesem Abend noch mehr als vorher, da ich nur ihre Studioaufnahmen oder einige Konzertmitschnitte kannte. Eine wahrhafte Inszenierung, die Akt für Akt unterschiedlich funktioniert und viel Raum für Spontanes lässt.

Wo sie lebten, frage ich sie. In Paris, New York oder in den Hotels dieser Welt. “Auf der Milchstraße”. Das sei das einzige, dessen Arthur sich sicher sei.  Da war sie wieder, die augenzwinkernde Leichtigkeit Moriartys. Die Konzerttermine auf ihrer Homepage lassen der Band scheinbar kaum Freizeit. Arthur Moriarty stört sich daran nicht. Zim Moriarty, der Architekt unter den Moriartys, kümmere sich dennoch um die städtebauliche Bildung der restlichen Moriartys. Und diese freut’s. So wird jede Reise der Band auch eine touristische.

Hier der erste Teil des Interviews:

Der zweite Teil bisher ohne Videospur… Ich versuche das zu ändern, bis dahin, gibt’s die Ton-Version:

Nach dem Konzert war es nicht möglich, alle gemeinsam zum Interview zu bekommen, da jeder irgendwie mit mehreren Fans oder mit Signieren beschäftigt war. Das ist auch eine Sache, die Moriarty so einzigartig  macht. Jedes Bandmitglied scheint irgendwie sein Ding zu machen und zusammen ergeben sie dennoch ein in sich stimmiges Ganzes. Wie eine bewusst gewählte Familie. Das sehen auch die Fans des Moriarty-Landes so. So habe ich vor und nach dem Konzert mit einem französischen Pärchen  gesprochen, die Moriarty bereits vorher live gesehen haben und sie gefragt, was die beiden an der französisch-amerikanischen Gruppe mögen. Die Atmosphäre der Konzerte sei es – stets eine sehr intime, familiäre, auch wenn die Band in großen Clubs auftrete.

Als ich Arthur später davon erzähle, sagt er, sie müssten wohl einmal versuchen, auf der Bühne aggressiver zueinander zu sein. Keine gute Idee!

Eine ziemlich gute Idee hatte allerdings Ben, mein Blogpartner. Anstelle gewöhnlicher Interviews haben wir die Leute gefragt, die Konzerte von Moriarty und Peter von Poehl in drei Worten zusammen zu fassen.

Leider haben wir ihn nicht nochmal getroffen… Wenn du das liest, bleibst du dabei? Oder konnte sich Moriarty als Hauptact behaupten?

Hier noch mehr Interviews und Infos zu Moriarty:

http://www.lecargo.org/spip/moriarty/%28nf%29_diva_;_%28nmplur%29_divins/zooms-3967.html

Und das Schönste zum Schluss: Enjoy the Silence von Ben:

Danke, Julien, für deine Fotos und Videos!

Von Christin Hartung

Moriarty will play at Institut Franco-Portugais during the French Cinema Fest.

Want to read intelligent articles on surfing? Tired of the same old points of view? Looking for some stunning photographs and artwork? Then look no further that ‘Drift’, recently launched in Europe and even spreading across to the Spanish language, with a touch of help from me… Here is what they say about themselves: “Drift is by, for and about surfers, artists, filmakers, shapers, activists, musicians, organizers, appreciators and experts looking for something different in today’s surf media”. It really is beautifully done and I can honestly say as a result I haven’t even bought the most recent edition of ‘The Surfer’s Path’.

A couple of interesting quotes taken from the website:

1. Alby Falzon (director of  the film ‘Morning of the Earth’) speaking about surf and art:

“ Art is to be conscious of everything you do, regardless of whether it is painting a picture, surfing a wave or washing the dishes. Art is the way you live your life from moment to moment. It is recognizing the divinity and beauty in all things, and all people and expressing that through your life. Art is the essence of who you are”.

2. From an article asking: “Is surfing a new religion?” I found this nice explanation of what surfing is as seen by Jay Moriarty:

“Surfing fits into all categories. It’s an ART by the way you express yourself on a wave. It’s a SPORT because you compete with it, and it’s SPIRITUAL because it’s just you and Mother Nature.”

If you really want to understand the essence of surfing and it’s real roots, then Drift is a must to check out:

www.driftmagazine.co.uk

Looks like it will be a while before I get back to that Utah trip.

Last week Chic’s class went to McCall’s Pumpkin Patch for a field trip. They go every  year, and we have gone on our own a couple of times. No matter what, it’s always fun.

The place is open during the week only to groups with reservations. There are less activities on weekdays than weekends, but there is enough to keep the kids happy no matter when they go.

For field trips, Prince Charming always takes a day off work, and we make it a family event.

Here is some of what we did…

The New Mexico sky is ever-changing and always beautiful. I could not stop myself from taking this picture of it over the pumpkin field.

On field trips, the first thing we do is take a hayride to the pumpkin field. Everyone gets a pumpkin. Size doesn't matter as long as they can carry it. It really is funny to watch the kids and what sizes they choose to believe they can carry.

Lunch is always after pumpkin-picking. This rope maze is right outside the lunch area. It is always difficult to make the children finish their lunches before they run to play in it.

There are lots of farm animals at the pumpkin patch. There is "Bunnyville" with the cutest bunnies in the world. But my favorite are the goats. This one was happy for me to scratch its head--no food required. If I lived in the country, I would have goats.

Probably the biggest attraction on a school day is the slide that goes through this hill.

From the top, the slide is steep, but I have never seen a child whose fear got in the way of his sense of adventure with this slide.

I even went for a picture. I tried to streamline myself, but it wasn't nearly as fast as I thought it would be.

Second biggest attraction is the "corn box." The kids could be here for hours burying one another and transferring corn kernals from one bucket to another.

New this year for a weekday was the corn maze. Prince Charming went through it backward to hide and scare the girls and their friends. I think it scared the teacher more than them!

It was a horribly windy day, but by 1 p.m., it was getting to be more than most of the grown-ups could handle. (The kids didn't seem to notice.)

Chicklet (and Chic) were on the giant tractor tires dancing... to country music. (Who are these children, and why are they calling me "Mom?")

One of MY favorite things there is that they have nice, big funnel cakes for only $4! We got two for the road. One for me; one for everyone else.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

Brad Pitt

Segundo a Reuters, em Nova York, em matéria publicada na Folha Online, o ator Brad Pitt teve conversas com os produtores de “Sherlock Holmes” para estrelar uma sequência como Moriarty, grande antagonista do famoso detetive, segundo pessoas próximas ao projeto:

Não há nenhum acordo formal com Pitt, atualmente em cartaz com “Bastardos Inglórios”, e ainda há três meses pela frente antes da estreia nos EUA do primeiro filme “Sherlock Holmes”, em 25 de dezembro de 2009.

Robert Downey Jr. interpreta Holmes, dirigido por Guy Ritchie. Jude Law tem o papel de Watson e Rachel McAdams faz Irene Adler.

Leia mais clicando aqui. A mesma matéria afirma que Brad Pitt tem sido alvo de “rumores na internet que afirmam que o ator aparece em várias cenas de “Holmes” como Moriarty, mas pessoas próximas ao roteiro afirmam que o personagem está nas sombras e não pode ser reconhecido”.

“Some have chocolate / others have Jesus / some have buddhas / we have buffaloes” (aus: The Almighty Oracle-Blog) Menschenskind, möchte man sagen, aber das ist doch mal ein cooler Country/Folk-Sound!  Weg mit Depression, Weltschmerz und erhobenem Zeigefinger  Zum zweiten Mal in diesem Jahr beehren Moriarty Berlin. Diesmal werden sie im Lido spielen und uns ihr Debütalbum „Gee Whiz But This Is A Lonesome Town“ vorstellen, was in Deutschland im letzten Oktober erschienen ist. In Frankreich gab es die Platte schon 2007, schaffte gleich den Sprung in die Top 30 und ließ die Band viel rumkommen. Daran hat sich bisher auch nicht viel geändert, wenn man mal einen Blick auf die Konzerttermine Moriartys wirft.

Die fünf Bandmitglieder mit vorrangig französisch/us-amerikanischem Familienhintergrund nehmen sich Genres vergangener Tage an um einen außergewöhnlichen Stil der Jetztzeit zu kreieren und erinnern  an Künstler wie CocoRosie, Alela Diane oder M Ward.

Hervorzuheben ist vor allem die Stimme der Frontfrau Rosemary – sie klingt warm, erwachsen und stark, dringt tief in uns ein… Sie ist so unverwechselbar wie jene von Cat Power oder von  Antony von Antony and the Johnsons. Mal erzählt Rosemary uns in ihren Songs von Private Lily, einer 19-Jährigen, die auszog um in den Krieg zu gehen, in „Cottonflower“ von der Geschichte einer tragischen Liebe: „Cancer riding on my chest / Soon I’ll return tu dust and rest“. Und dann ist schließlich von „Jimmy“ die Rede, der dorthin zurück gerufen wird, wo das Gras grün ist und die Büffel  ihres Weges ziehen. („Jimmy“ ist nicht nur musikalisch interessant, auch das Video ist wunderschön)

Gecovert haben die seit 1995 in dieser Besetzung bestehenden Moriartys auch: „Enjoy The Silence“ von Depeche Mode. Stilmix.
Die Themen Moriartys sind facettenreich, wenn auch fast durchweg melancholisch-traurig angehaucht oder folkig rhythmischen Charakters. Gleichzeitig sind die Titel von einer augenzwinkernden Leichtigkeit durchzogen, sodass man, kaum dass man sie gehört hat, drin ist, im „Moriarty-Land“. Die Band, deren Mitglieder sich wie einen gemeinsamen Familiennamen allesamt dem Namen Moriarty gaben, behauptet auf ihrer MySpace-Seite, sie klinge wie ein Zug auf dem Lande. Komisch? Gar nicht wirklich, denn Moriartys Musik ist wie eine lange Reise oder die perfekte Musik um auf eine lange Reise zu gehen. Sie geht unter die Haut wie etwa Bon Ivers „Flume“ oder „Hard Sun“ von Eddie Vedder „They have their own imaginary world and paint it around the listener a little more with each song“, sagt The Almighty Oracle-Blog dazu.

Dieses Album ist tatsächlich ein Erlebnis, die Frage ist nur, warum hierzulande noch nicht viele die Reise ins Moriarty-Land unternommen haben…

Gemeinsam mit Ben, meinem Blogpartner für den Abend des Moriarty-Konzerts im Lido bin ich auf einer Party im Prenzlauer Berg gewesen und wir haben Leute gesucht, die Moriarty kennen. Hm. Seht selbst!

Hier könnt ihr mal ins Moriarty-Land reinhören und –schauen:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x36n4f_moriarty-epk-mini-docu_music

Oder euch ein Interview von Moriarty anschauen:

Also, wir sehen uns!

Voici un groupe que je ne connaissais pas il y a  encore 2 heures! Mais après un petit message de ma belle soeur sur MSN, qui me conseillait d’écouter Girbig, alors que je regardais la France s’éloignait de plus en plus de l’Afrique du Sud pour la Coupe du Monde, je me suis dis: “Let’s go to Deezer! Et là,déjà une bonne surprise, on retrouve 6 chansons de ce groupe français! Une première chanson, puis une seconde…et je rentre direct dans leur univers Folk! Guitare sèche, arrangement contrebasse et piano bastringue, Girbig a su créer une musique douce et harmonieuse! Si vous aimez Cocoon ou Moriarty, vous allez adorer Girbig. Pour ne pas perdre ses habitudes, je vous laisse découvrir le vidéo clip “Daddy, it’s on me” de leur premier album “Songs from a pandora box”!

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/girbig

GIRBIG – Daddy, it’s on me

A simple and beautiful song…

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can’t you understand
Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary

They can only do harm 

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can’t you understand
Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary

They can only do harm

A CD that you shouldn't miss!

CD Review: ‘Moriarty merge many differing genres together to create a unique blend of Waitsian charm and gruff – adding just enough carnival-esqe humor and originality to keep things fresh and exciting…Gee Whiz, But This Is A Lonesome Town is their first release on Naïve Records; and one of the first things I noticed upon popping this CD in was the excellent production – it just sounds fantastic! Second was the voice of Rosemary Moriarty which is very flexible – from the deep and sexy “Cottonflower”, to the melancholic opener “Jimmy”… ’ For more please read here.

For more info about the band, please visit here : http://www.myspace.com/moriartylands

just a lovely song…

for a lovely night…

Merci à Amélina de m’avoir fait découvrir ce double-album, original et intimiste, qui m’a tout de suite plu.
Il me semble bien que j’avais déjà vu par hasard ce groupe dans une émission Taratata (que je ne regarde jamais, d’ordinaire, malgré l’intérêt certain qu’elle me semble présenter) et qui s’adaptait bien à l’atmosphère feutrée de celle-ci. Cela n’avait d’ailleurs pas manqué de m’interpeller aussitôt. Mais je n’étais malheureusement pas allé plus loin, par manque de temps et puisque je n’écoute pas beaucoup de musique. Quelle erreur… heureusement réparée. J’aurais raté quelque chose.

La voix de la chanteuse semble sortir du temps, venir d’autrefois (comme d’ailleurs son visage, ou plutôt son allure), ce qui donne beaucoup de charme à cette création. Les consonances de l’accent américain à la fois prononcé et assez doux seyent particulièrement à mon oreille. La voix est vraiment ce qui me plaît le plus ici.
La musique, presque un peu cow-boy ou far west n’aurait quant à elle pas forcément dû me plaire, mais l’originalité de la composition, qui est plutôt très « internationale », avec des instruments divers et assez originaux, ainsi qu’une vraie richesse dans les compositions multiples, et par ailleurs l’impression de liberté totale qui s’en dégage (ce qui ne peut pas me laisser insensible… voir mes commentaires de livres) font que l’ensemble me convient parfaitement.

Avec le petit grain de folie (douce) en plus, de temps en temps.
Un livret assez complet et lui aussi apparemment original accompagne ce double-album, pour ceux que cela intéresse. Pour ma part, je ne suis pas très curieux et ne cherche même jamais à savoir ce qui est exprimé à travers les paroles (ce qui pourrait parfois être fâcheux), considérant une voix comme un simple instrument (désolé pour les compositeurs, mais c’est ainsi).

De la même manière, en voulant écouter le second disque à partir de mon ordinateur, j’ai constaté qu’il y avait deux clips video, apparemment dans le même ton que le livret et bien en harmonie avec l’originalité et la relative intemporalité du groupe décrite ci-dessus. Pour les mêmes raisons (manque de curiosité), je renvoie ceux qui y sont plus sensibles à cette information. A noter que ce second CD contient, entre autres, une reprise d’un titre célèbre des Dépêche Mode, ainsi que des morceaux en concert.
J’avais déjà découvert The do en 2008. Voilà un autre groupe qui mérite de figurer parmi mes belles découvertes de cette année écoulée.

Download Gee Whiz But This Is A Lonesome Town

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Dear Diary,

Allright, the resident of the house was… peculiar. The instant I went in, she asked who the hell I was and if some “Moriarty” had sent me. I asked her to calm down and wondered who she, and that  Moriarty guy was. She told me that Colin Moriarty is a barkeep in the nearby town of Megaton (god knows why they’d name the place that), and that she used to work for him as a prostitute. Eventually she got sick of it and wanted to leave, so she told Moriarty she’d take her pay and go. He made her sleep with him to seal the deal, then told her she couldn’t go the next morning. So she took her money and ran, and now Moriarty’s branded her a thief and sent people to find her.

I took pity on the poor woman, but I had to look out for myself as well. We eventually agreed that she’d give me 300 “caps” (apparently they use nuka-cola caps as currency up here… crazy!) and I’d keep her location a secret. After that, I went out and set about scavenging the ruined houses. Thankfully, I found a refrigerator with some food and purified water in it. While I was eating, I heard odd footsteps behind me. I turned around and almost shat my pants when I looked into the face of… well, I dunno what it was. I pulled my 10mm pistol and shot it, and didn’t get a clear look at the thing until after it was dead. It looked reptilian, kind of like the chameleons I saw in the old children’s books back in Vault 101 except that it walked on two legs and had these odd frills on its head. After a breather to calm down, I took some cuts of meat from it (it doesn’t seem to be that much food up here; I’ll take what I can get) and headed off towards Megaton. On the way, I saw an old nuka-cola machine and would you believe it, there was still three full, unopened bottles inside! It was warm and flat, but damn I love that stuff.

After a few minutes of walking, I saw Megaton. It’s a walled settlement, seemingly constructed from old aeroplane parts. The gate was made out of two wings that were lifted upwards with the help of a converted jet engine… nifty. Now before I go in, I’ll keep talking to Micky for a while. He’s a beggar outside Megaton who was half-dead from thirst, so I shared some of my purified water with him. He’s warned me not to trust Moriarty, the man’s got quite a reputation for being a complete asshole. I’d figured that out already.

Sincerely,

Todd

From AceShowBiz.com

There will be no Brad Pitt in “Sherlock Holmes”. Warner Bros. Pictures has squashed the recent flying rumor suggesting that the star of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” has been recruited to play Holmes’ arch nemesis, Moriarty, in Guy Ritchie’s new take on the legendary detective and his crime-solving story.

“The report in today’s London Mirror is completely inaccurate. Brad Pitt is not joining the cast of Sherlock Holmes and we’re extremely pleased with the production of the film,” a studio-sanctioned statement, released Monday, August 17, read. “As planned, it will be released on Christmas Day, 2009.”

Warners further explained about the shooting of some additional scenes for the film. “In order to complete the movie, we’ve scheduled a few days on set to shoot a couple of additional scenes, obtain pick-up shots, and perfect some of the visual effects elements, all of which is standard filmmaking practice,” so the studio claimed in the statement.

Earlier on the day, The Mirror had come up with a story that Pitt has come aboard the film as Moriarty at the behest of Ritchie, who has worked together with Pitt in 2000 gangster film “Snatch”. “It’s a huge coup to have Brad joining the cast. He has worked for Guy before and said if he could, he would do anything to help out,” the paper quoted a source of the 45-year-old’s involvement.

Mirror, in addition, claimed that the Lt. Aldo Raine of forthcoming “Inglourious Basterds” is headed to London for 10 frantic days of filming, which was said due to start this week in London and on location at Cliveden House. The paper also stated that the addition of Pitt would push the release of the film from December 2009 to June 2010.

Based on Lionel Wigram’s upcoming comic book, “Sherlock Holmes” will present a new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters. This first major big-screen version of “Sherlock Holmes” in more than 20 years will see Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson on their latest challenge. Having lethal fighting skills in addition to his legendary intellect, Holmes attempts to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

This action thriller film will see Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character, Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, Holmes’ love interest, in addition to Mark Strong who is set to play Lord Blackwood. Originally expected to make its debut in U.S. theaters on November 20, it is now due for December 25 release.

La liebre la soltó el Daily Mail y todos los medios se han tirado a la piscina, así que la daremos, a falta de desmentido, por buena: Brad Pitt aterriza en el Sherlock Holmes de Guy Ritchie. La noticia no tendría nada de raro, y podríamos simplemente debatir si es una buena o mala noticia, según las filias y fobias de cada cual, de no ser por un pequeño detalle: el rodaje ya había terminado. ¿Qué ha ocurrido entonces? Pues que a los que realmente mandan, los que ponen el dinero, los productores, no les debe de haber gustado un pelo lo que han visto y le han cantado las cuarenta al amigo Ritchie. ¿Qué ha hecho este? Dos cosas: una, darse cuenta de que necesita un antagonista en condiciones, y hablando de Holmes, ese es el profesor Moriarty; y dos, recurrir a un colega, Pitt, con el que trabajó tan efectivamente en Snatch. Así que el marido de la Jolie, siempre según el Daily Mail, deja New Orleans por London y aterriza en la capital británica para grabar unas escenitas. Se especula (?) con la posibilidad de que Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes) y Jude Law (Watson) tengan que ponerse ante la cámara junto a Pitt. Piensa un servidor que esto, más que una posibilidad, debería ser una certeza, al menos en el caso de Downey Jr.: si no es para que haya unas cuantas escenas potentes juntos, no se entiende la inclusión del personaje de Moriarty. Por cierto: ¿Pitt como Moriarty? Vale que se le dé un giro al personaje… pero la elección chirría bastante (uno se imagina a Moriarty como a un tipo bastante siniestro y físicamente menos exuberante).

En fin. Toca reescribir, filmar, retrasar el estreno… Personalmente me duele la noticia en la medida en que parece confirmar que el ex marido de Madonna no hace otra cosa que dar bandazos. Tras un arranque excelente, con dos títulos-referencia del calibre de Lock and stock and two smocking barrels y Snatch, más dura fue la caída con ese churro llamado Barridos por la marea, con la susodicha reina del pop, y la fallida Rocknrolla, que no cubrió las expectativas. El proyecto Holmes pintaba bien. No parecía del rollo de Ritchie pero el personaje es quien es, un caramelo, se nos prometía una interesante revisión/actualización y había óptimo material humano (Downey Jr., Law). Ahora parece obvio que fallaba, ay, ese minúsculo elemento tan molesto en toda cinta: un buen guión. No puede serlo (bueno) sin un villano en condiciones, una trama poderosa y un final de peso. Es de temer que no hubiera ni rastro de todo esto.

More about Moriarty’s album: http://www.sunrise-records.com/moriarty/music.html

My name is Lily
I’m 19 years old
No money to study,
No boyfriend,
I’m kind of bored
I went to the trade fair,
To find a job
There I found a few guys from the army
They told me that I was smart and pretty

I’m goin’ to war I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war
She’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war

My name is Lily
They told me that I could make it
They’ll pay for my studies,
So I will graduate
I went to the parking lot
To meet with my recruiters
I leave next week
Assigned out for four years
Six more months and I’ll be ready
To drive machines and tow M16s

My name is Lily
I’m 19 years old
On my way to the black zones
Gonna do what I am told

I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war, I’m goin’ to war
She’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war
And she’s too young

She’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war, she’s goin’ to war