Mary Phillips-Sandy » internet

Getting the hang of this internet thing

Mary — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:54:23 +0000

VERY exciting news from the world of the internet

Mary — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:53:05 +0000

Speaking of blogs and blogs about things, this evening I learned that my uncle — who is my role model in just about every respect — has been, for some time, contributing to an anonymous group blog. This is may be more interesting if you know that my uncle is an actor whose work you’ve seen, and that some of the other contributors are actors whose work you’ve seen, but none of them are, say, Brangelina-status (yet). Oh, and the point of this blog is (per the uncle) “to mock each other and to mock each other’s careers.” Which is done very cagily, you understand, with secret nicknames and veiled allusions and everything, but the closeups of the royalty checks are not to be missed.

Here you go.

I have already told him that they need to move this business to Tumblr and get a book deal, stat.

Extry, extry, read all about it!

Mary — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:34 +0000

Item! Carrie Tryharder is running a sweet summer contest, and you have until Friday, July 3 to enter.
Details are as follows:

The task: Turn this spam headline into something entertaining: Police end funereal striptease acts.
The format: Short story, comic, photo essay, pop tune, whatever, as long as it is bloggable
The prize: A box of awesome from tryharderland sent straight to your door!
The deadline: Friday, July 3

Want to enter? Of course you do. Go here.

Item! Tri-named virtuoso John Dermot Woods has a sweet offer for those who pre-order his forthcoming novel by July 15.
Details go a little something like this:

My novel (with drawings), The Complete Collection of people, places & things, is being published by BlazeVOX Books next month. To celebrate we’re offering the book for $12 with free shipping (that’s 25% off) to everyone who pre-orders by July 15. AND, the first 50 people who order will also receive:
- a signed and numbered silkscreen print, to commemorate the book’s release
- a personalized copy with a signed, limited edition book plate

Take advantage of John’s generosity right here.

Item! I once played a newsboy in a production of Irwin Shaw’s Bury the Dead. My only line was “Extry, extry, read all about it!”
Delivered with gusto, and a little tweed cap.

Programming notice

Mary — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:50:16 +0000

Things like this and this will now (again) be found here, twice daily. So what will become of the Nut House? I don’t know; maybe I’ll start writing about my feelings.

Anon.com

Mary — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:18:51 +0000

Developments in the burgeoning Portland* blogroll, of which this Nut House is** a part: a tempest flares and is calmed (?) over at the anonymous Point (who is this fractious critic?). Meanwhile, someone or something who is obviously (?) a pseudonym is reviewing baked goods on the city’s preeminent music blog (??). (Related, will I ever be able to identify the elusive Psst!, in order to buy him or her the glass of Syrah s/he so richly deserves?) Last but not least, a correspondent directs me to Overheard in Portland, where you can and should submit your juiciest eavesdroppings (anonymously, if you like!).

This peninsula is five miles square. It is not densely populated. We have passed each other on Congress Street a dozen times at least.

*I hearby renounce the practice of adding the qualifier “Maine, that is” or using the shorthand “PWM,” which no one understands anyway, in order to differentiate between this Portland and that Portland, the westerly one, PDX. Why should we be the ones who always have to clarify? Weren’t we here first? Yes, we were. Pac Northwesterners, get used to it: “I live in Portland.” [Pause for misunderstanding.] “Oregon, that is.”

**Not that this is a blog about Portland, per se, except sometimes.

Tune in(ternet)

Mary — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:53:05 +0000

I’m going to be on the Blog Talk Radio program “Unusuable Signal” tomorrow night, 11 p.m. EST, to discuss the economy, comedy, Ben Bernanke’s eerie resemblance to a walrus, etc. You can listen to the whole thing through your computer, and I believe you can also call in to ask questions/make walrus noises.

Click here for details and to listen.

Yes, I realize that’s 11 p.m. on a Saturday night (or 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, West Coast friends). Either bring a laptop to the bar or bring your iPhone to a quiet corner, or, I don’t know, maybe you should stay in and rest up for the Memorial Day parties.

I’m not falling down your rabbit hole

Mary — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:32:18 +0000

This is someone Facebook just suggested I “may know.”

I did not click any further, for fear of rending the space-time continuum.

Conspiracy theories

Mary — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:30:09 +0000

Let us hope that whoever registered this domain a few weeks ago plans to build a vast online repository of M.Ba’s “wingnut moments.” Let us hope that’s all it is.

Speaking of which, have you noticed what happens if you visit PalinBachmann2012.com?

It’s your lucky day

Mary — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:42:45 +0000

Well well, look what we have here!

This haiku offer still stands, by the way

Mary — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:40:26 +0000

I wanted to thank some friends who navigated the painfully-slow Webby Awards voting page in order to vote for Indecision. And nothing says thank you like original haiku about politicians, especially when they are historically accurate!

These are my favorites.

For Brian, who requested John Sununu:

Regardless Of Your Political Affiliation, I Think You Can Agree That It Was Mighty Big of John Sununu to Shave His Head in Solidarity With Arlen Specter, Who Was Undergoing Cancer Treatment in 2005
Clippers buzzing close.
Take a moment to reflect.
I hate Bill Clinton.

For Mr. Earfarm, who requested Andrew Johnson:

Controversial President Andrew Johnson Stands Defiant, Drunk, and Angry
Fine. Critishhiiize me.
Bring [hic] bills of impeachment.
I’ll have you all hung.

*Note regarding historical accuracy: this haiku is a conflation of the true-life events in which vice-president Johnson got drunk on inauguration day; called for the hanging of Thomas Jefferson; and, as president, was subjected to two impeachment attempts.