Concept: Collaborative Writing Project This Summer.

Elisabeth Blair and I are composing/editing a Gothic Funk novel to be titled Hollywood. However, it is set in Chicago.

I'm taking charge of the writing, and Lisa of the music, but we're looking for additional collaborators. In addition to a tangible application of the "gothic funk aesthetic," Hollywood will also be a teen noir (or at least a 20-something noir) for those of you familiar with that term... think of an episode of Veronica Mars codirected by Baz Luhrman and David Lynch. It will also be a hypertext novel a la Judd Morrissey, Shelley Jackson, and John Cayley.

Let me know if you're interested in contributing writing (or something else) to this piece, or if you're interested in more details.

It isn't a paying gig, but you will get credit for publication via the Internets.

Thanks,

Connor Coyne

Concept: Link to Zambian Economist.

Today I link to the blog Zambian Economist in the sidebar "cool people" section. Maintained by "Cho" as "a non-political platform for exchanging ideas" the Zambian Economist nevertheless promotes a pragmatic argument to ease Zambian material and economic distress through common-sense reforms and responsible governance. I was particularly taken by the Memo to President Banda, but this blog discusses everything from food distribution to copper mining, and I'm going to have to visit many times before I've absorbed what it really has to offer.

You should drop by!