we're allways sixteen

MZD tour video blog finally complete!

2006-12-18T01:50:00.000-08:00

After a couple of months of delays, the video blog is finally complete on YouTube. We've added some Dallas and Austin content and hope you've all enjoyed MZD's journey as well as bits of our own.

You can check out the videos at mzdinfo's YouTube

The full web documentary is available here.

Thanks to those of you that contributed, and stopped by to say hello along the way. It was a great trip that took us to places we'd never been.

OR Contest

2006-12-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Last updated November 13...oops. We'll try to work on that...

But hey! Hazel is back, and check out the new forum she's posted in:

OR Contest

More multimedia meantime

2006-11-12T23:52:00.000-08:00

We've been catching up on other things (namely sleep) since we've been home. Rest assured that updates are allways on the back of our minds. Sometimes at the front, but usually we don't act on those...

While you wait, here is some multimedia to peruse. The Only Rev page timeline should be updated soon with news that was from October and November.

Drinks With Tony
BookShorts' Moving Stories - Jonathan Safran Foer Interviews MZD at IFOA
The Agony Column
iF Magazine - The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D pic
the bat segundo show

Keep your fingers crossed for Mark to win the NBA award on Wednesday! While he's there in NY drinking, we are planning to see fellow Austin panelist and first Young Lions Fiction Award nominee Heidi Julavits at the Booksmith here at home.

confirmed: haunted is not the soundtrack to house of leaves

2006-10-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

this is all in lower case as a quick post. we'll have official texas and end of tour wrapup later today. mzd confirmed hopefully for the last time that haunted is not the soundtrack to house of leaves and he left the continental club gallery triumphantly to close out his only revolutions tour as blues by miles davis played. he pumped his fists in the air a few times and jumped into the back of a red pickup truck and rode off into the night. the tour is over and was a great ride for us all.

more details later sunday.

Dallas TX event added!!

2006-10-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

A Texas event has been added:
Thursday, October 26-Dallas
7:00 pm -- Borders #78, 5500 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75206.

As a side note - don't know why the LJ syndicated feed flooded with the old posts. I see that happen with other feeds from time to time. Sorry to flood your friendslist, but we didn't do it! ;)

MZD on KCRW's Bookworm

2006-10-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, MZD was a featured guest on KCRW's Bookworm.

THU, OCT 5, 2006, 2:30P-3:00P
Bookworm
Mark Z. Danielewski

Host: Michael Silverblatt

Only Revolutions
(Pantheon)
There's no mistaking a novel by Mark Danielewski for any other. This new one can be read forward, backward and upside down. It has multi-colored inks; two sewn-in bookmarks (green and gold); and a circular structure. Here, we explore how the book's design reflects the joy-ride/killing spree of its two perpetual teenagers as they careen through time and space.

KGB Bar audio link

2006-10-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

The KGB Bar audio of Ken Kalfus and Mark Z. Danielewski's reading from 9/24/06 has finally been posted by KGBBar.com here. (MZD starts halfway through)

You can also read their feature and review of the event at this link.

Only Revolutions Youtube Documentary Part 1

2006-10-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

The official Exploration Z web documentary of the Only Revolutions tour (Part 1) is now available in order for your viewing pleasure at The MZDinfo youtube channel. This playlist includes each video in the director's intended order. Enjoy!

Bonus material including previously unposted sections that MZD has read thus far on the tour and some more Q&A will be posted within the next few weeks, and the conclusion of the web documentary will be posted after the conclusion of the tour, and Exploration Z's next two MZD tour dates in Dallas and Austin.

MZD Event Video: Columbia University 9.25.06

2006-10-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mark Z. Danielewski did a reading and Q&A session for Columbia University's Writing Division on 9.25.06. Exploration Z's crew and a small group of students were lucky enough to attend. Now you get the opportunity to watch and listen to the entire event. We've divided it into five clips, and put them here in order.

Part 1 - Introduction and H1-8:

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages H1-8 from his novel Only Revolutions at Columbia University.

Part 2 - S209-216:

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages S209-216 from Only Revolutions at Columbia University.

Part 3 - "How did you write it?":

Mark Z. Danielewski answers the question "How did you write it?" about his novel Only Revolutions.

Part 4 - More Q&A:

Mark Z. Danielewski talks about the following:
What has changed in publishing to allow you to use more color?
Collaborating process with Poe and TZD.
The last page of House of Leaves.
The language of Only Revolutions.

Part 5 - The rest of the Q&A:

The last part of the Q&A at Columbia University, where Mark Z. Danielewski discusses:
Suggested way to read Only Revolutions.
Lessons learned from House of Leaves used in Only Revolutions.
Which philosophers inspired Only Revolutions and how much of their work did you logically implement into the book?

MZD Event Video: Brookline Booksmith, Boston, MA 9.26.06

2006-10-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages H137-144 from Only Revolutions at the Brookline Booksmith in Boston, MA.

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages H225-232 from his novel Only Revolutions at the Brookline Booksmith in Boston, MA.

Mark Z. Danielewski describes a conversation he had with French Translator Claro at the Brookline Booksmith in Boston, MA.

MZD Event Video: Barnes and Noble, 6th Ave (Chelsea) New York, NY 9.25.06

2006-10-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages S89-96 from his novel Only Revolutions at the Barnes and Noble on 6th Ave (Chelsea) in New York City.

Mark Z. Danielewski answers a fan's question regarding the audiobook of Only Revolutions at Barnes and Noble in Chelsea, NYC.

MZD Event Video: KGB Bar, New York 9.24.06

2006-10-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

The video is dark, but you'll get the sense of being there from it.

Mark Z. Danielewski is introduced to the capacity crowd at the KGB Bar.

Houseofleaves.com forum member pills23 checks in from the KGB Bar.

Sam Cam #8 through 15 - New York and Boston

2006-09-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

JT's out of office announcement while travelling to the East coast for Only Revolutions tour coverage.

US on the F train on the way to the KGB Bar Mark Z. Danielewski Only Revolutions reading.

A color wheel in a film reel. This is from the window of the Anthology Film Archive at 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue, on the east side of NYC. This footage was taken just a short walk from the KGB Bar, where MZD had just read to a packed house.

JT apologizes for the lack of video footage from the KGB Bar and the technical difficulties that make this the only Sam Cam footage to bookend the reading.

M complains about the speed limit while in search of a nonexistant White Castle on the road to Boston for the Brookline Booksmith Only Revolutions reading.

A Boston road sign on the way to the Brookline Booksmith Only Revolutions reading.

Dinner at Zaftig's deli was great while waiting to talk with Mark Z. Danielewski following the Brookline Booksmith reading.

Mark Z. Danielewski bids JT and M a fond farewell and says hi to all of you out on the internets as well, sort of... at the Brookline Booksmith.

MZD nyc/boston quick post

2006-09-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

barnes and noble 6th and 22nd, chelsea, new york 9.25.06
for his last new york event in september, mark z. danielewski did a reading/q&a/signing at the barnes and noble in chelsea. the artist who did the cover artwork and mark's brother chris were in attendance, as were around 70 others. mzd did five readings, this time substituting S209-216 where the memphis rendevous was previously. he answered many of the same questions he is often asked, but added some interesting bits about the audiobook. the engineer he is working with as well as the composer he is working with both have vast libraries of sound effects. so there may be specific car sounds or other noises in the background. in the scene that takes place in the middle of the book where sam and hailey are talking to each other, the only background noise was to be a ceiling fan. his composer had a better idea though. lets use the rotors turning from the opening of apocalypse now, right before they play "the end". again the audiobook, hopefully with this collaboration intact, should be available this holiday season.

brookline booksmith boston, ma 9.26.06
exploration z's last tour date until a month from now happened tonight at the brookline booksmith in boston. mzd read to an incredibly packed house, and i have to hand it to the staff for being very well-organized and having a wonderful store to boot. mark changed things up a bit tonight, reading hailey's versions of the memphis rendevous and a new to the tour passage involving lots of killing post saint louis (1991). three hailey, also including h1-8, and two sam staples, the orgy and the mountain. we said our final farewells for the month and got a sam cam clip with the man himself, which we hope to post up after we return home sometime this week.

it has been a wonderful ride.

MZD at Columbia University 9.25.06

2006-09-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

MZD did a reading and Q&A for the Writing Division of Columbia University this afternoon. Thanks to tips from fearful_syzygy, MZD and his publicist, and many thanks to the visitors center at Columbia, Exploration Z's crew of two was able to attend.

MZD read two passages, one Hailey and one Sam. He then went on to answer around thirty minutes worth of attendee's questions. Michele's request for "please read the part where Sam is mad at his boss and keeps changing the boss's name" was honored at this reading with around 20 in attendance.

We got video and audio from this event and will be sharing most if not all of it with you upon our return home later this week.

Non-Sam Cam report from the event... Someone asked about Poe and Tad's influence on House of Leaves but used Poe's given name. Later when he was getting his book signed, Mark corrected him and said "She goes by Poe" and when the same student asked Mark to sign under his name on the title page instead of on the dedication page, he was denied that request as well.

Michele says "He was 0wned twice" and wanted to share.

Thanks again to all involved in getting us there!

KGB Bar NYC

2006-09-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

MZD read at the KGB Bar on the lower east side of New York City tonight. The bar was jam-packed and incredible warm. Mark was preceded by another author, Ken Kalfus, whose reading did not inspire US to buy a copy of his latest novel. The reading talked a lot about stock portfolios and 401(k) and how the male protagonist was pissed at his ex-wife for having more money saved than he did. Then they took a short break to allow the bar to make some money and for Ken to sign copies of his book.

Eventually Mark came out from behind the curtain (he was sitting in the window, probably the only cool place in the whole building) and read five passages from Only Revolutions. Michele had passed him the list of requests from all of you, but he did the same five passages that he had done at Booksmith in San Francisco.

Due to the huge crowd and our position in the back of the bar, we don't have any video footage of the reading. We may have a couple of small Sam Cam clips to put up upon return, but the most we can offer as far as actual reading coverage is audio. The even better news is that there should be better audio than ours, officially available direct from the KGB Bar. Check out http://kgbbarlit.com for more details of the podcast, which should be available to download on Wednesday.

Our forum regular Sam Cam testimonial from tonight was from Pills23. Unfortunately, due to loud noise in the bar and bad lighting conditions, it is not usable. Thanks for being a willing participant, Pills23 and maybe we'll redo it tomorrow night at Barnes & Noble.

Sorry for all of you we didn't get the chance to meet. We're sight-seeing and such as well, being tourists in this fine city. That didn't leave enough time for food throughout the day and we were very hungry. Plus the heat was a pretty big factor as well. Either way, we walked a few blocks to Katz's Deli and split a pastrami on rye. Great sandwich, however if we never post again, it was because of the heart attack we just suffered.

MZD Booksmith San Francisco Event 9.22.06

2006-09-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

MZD did a fantastic reading and Q&A at Booksmith in San Francisco. My early favorite of the tour thus far. He changed up the story to introduce his reading, this time focusing on first love, and never mentioning ghosts. However, he did mention that even though they didn't realize it, Sam and Hailey were going to die.

Tonight's reading consisted of five passages, two Hailey and three Sam.

Mark is also interested in your requests for future readings, so please respond here or on the houseofleaves.com book tour thread.

H1-8
S89-96
S137-144
H241-248
S313-320

Since we're about to embark on a cross-country journey and we don't want to keep you waiting until late next week, here are the video clips from San Francisco:

MZD's author escort for the San Francisco Bay Area says hello to MZD and his fans on the internet.

Sam Cam #7 - Allways...

Mark Z. Danielewski answers a question asked at the Booksmith reading about how he reacts to the houseofleaves.com forums when he's sitting at home reading them.

MZD reads pages H241-248 from Only Revolutions at Booksmith in San Francisco.

working for VIAFFIOPOPLIS

2006-09-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

At work, viewing the timeclock that comes between me and my road trips...picture by Sam.

M is for Mystery signing

2006-09-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the M is for Mystery signing in San Mateo. Small crowd of around 10 there for this one. The store had around 300 copies of various incarnations of all of Mark's books that they were expecting him to sign. By the time he got done with the line (which he politely invited to stick around and chat), it was already close to 3:00, and he needed to be done by 3:30 or so to get back to San Francisco. I wished him luck!

He offered some news about the audiobook. His intent at this time is to complete the recording when he returns from tour at the end of October, then hopefully release it electronically through cdbaby. Eventually this may lead to an official legitimate release through Random House, but they would almost definitely ask him to wait until the paperback release.

My photos and video are all extremely blurry from the event. I've put up a very small clip on youtube, but nothing turned out from this place. Not much to report outside of this news, and a very cool Hailey drawing that one of the fans had done.

(this message minus the video clip has been crossposted to http://houseofleaves.com)

MZD Event Clips - Santa Cruz 9.21.2006

2006-09-22T01:49:00.000-07:00

Mark Z. Danielewski reads pages H233-240 from Only Revolutions, with a couple of interruptions from a very special fan at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

The sixth Sam Cam clip is brief on the way to Santa Cruz and an exterior shot of Bookshop Santa Cruz, the site of the September 21, 2006 reading. Soundtrack "Hey Pretty" Poe

Nick and Jeff at the Bookshop Santa Cruz MZD event

Bookshop Santa Cruz

2006-09-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Bookshop Santa Cruz reading/Q&A/signing. The reading was interrupted twice by a special guest, who seems to drift from place to place in Santa Cruz and had a guitar with him. Mark remarked later in the night that he was hoping he would play for him. The crowd was very enthusiastic to hear Mark and asked some questions that were different from the norm. Mark again read five passages from the book tonight, but this time read two from Hailey and three from Sam.

H1-8
S89-96
S137-144
H233-240
S313-320

Mark also did an interview on KUSF this afternoon. If we can obtain a copy, the audio may appear here on the blog. This was a testout for the Hailey passages. Mark still isn't sure he is comfortable reading the female side of the story. He also fears that fans will get confused if he reads passages from each. I suggested that as long as he didn't read the same 8 pages from each that it shouldn't be a problem.

There was a very cool crowd tonight and we will have more articles, Sam/Hailey Cam and event footage up soon.

So Hailey knew Johnny...

2006-09-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Taken from page 151 of House of Leaves (thanks to Pshairyn for the scans).

Only Revolutions Tour MZD Event Videos #1-3

2006-09-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Skylight Books, Los Feliz, CA September 16, 2006:

Mark Z. Danielewski introduces his first public reading from Only Revolutions and reads pages S1-8.

A brief look at Mark Z. Danielewski signing following his reading of Only Revolutions at Skylight Books. This is followed by shout outs from houseofleaves.com forum members Desplain and Heartbreak.

West Hollywood Book Fair, West Hollywood, CA September 17, 2006:

During a panel titled "HISTORY REPEATING: On Writing Historical Fiction," Mark Z. Danielewski describes how he integrates history within Only Revolutions.

OR - LA Alternative interview - September 15, 2006

2006-09-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sam Cam #1-5

2006-09-18T00:21:00.001-07:00

Sam Cam #1 - The OR Symbol behind the Powerhouse Bar

Sam Cam #2 - Poe says something for Onlyrevolutions.blogspot.com

Sam Cam #3 - Outside Skylight Books

Sam Cam #4 - Skylight Books Window Display

Sam Cam #5 - Entering Hollywood
soundtrack: "Jack The Ripper" by Error

More pics

2006-09-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

To get to LA from SF, you have to go up and down through a mountain range. This picture was taken a few days before our trip. From our view on the highway, this fire was burned out, but still smoking when we entered LA. The next day, a huge cloud of smoke loomed over the mountain as we drove back. AP Photo/Dave Waters

Michele, Poe, and Erik. Pic thanks to Trigger

This is the OR symbol found in Hollywood, behind the Powerhouse Bar, referenced in the LA Times interview. Sorry about the shadows, but my flash wouldn't go off, and the parking lot attendant was coming over

MZD at the West Hollywood Book Fair

2006-09-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, Mark Z Danielewski was a part of the HISTORY REPEATING: On Writing Historical Fiction panel at the West Hollywood Book Fair. He was joined by Aimee Liu, who writes stories that deal with characters historical times from China and India, Janis Cooke Newman, who has written a novel about Mary Todd Lincoln told in the first person from Mary's point of view, Denise Nicholas, who has written a book about a voter registration worker in 1964 Mississippi, and the panel was moderated by Leslie Schwartz, who has not yet published any historical fiction.

What was strange was that they considered Only Revolutions to even be a part of the category Historical Fiction. All of the "rules of writing historical fiction" discussed seemed to be ones that Mark had either deconstructed, broken, or ignored in all of his works. The most appropriate response from Mark came when a fan asked him why the historical information in the margins is blank starting in 2006. It was a bit ironic, because this fan was asking Mark to create future historical fiction.

As mentioned yesterday, Exploration Z will be updating this very blog with video tidbits, including some things captured from the "sam cam" that were not a part of the two MZD appearances. Stay tuned!

MZD Book Tour Coverage Begins

2006-09-17T01:21:00.000-07:00

The first public readings from Only Revolutions took place this evening at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. Exploration Z was proud to be there and have plenty of video highlights coming your way when we get back to our homebase later in the week.

For now, a brief review of some of the highlights.

MZD did five readings from Only Revolutions. He only read from Sam.
Whether or not this is a ghost story, I will leave up to you...

S1-8
S89-96
S137-144
S281-288
S313-320

Mark answered about his writing process that he uses the Jane Goodall method. He sits in the same place in the jungle and waits for the gorillas to approach and finally they do. He writes everyday. His process starts at 5:30AM with meditation and goes on for at least ten hours. He answered a bit about the deliberate colors for the book to help you not lose your place. Someone remarked that the layout of the book reminded them of the bible. Mark thinks it looks like a road.

Poe and several members of different incarnations of the Poe band were in attendance, as were several of Poe's Angry Psychos and several houseofleaves.com forum regulars.

It was a great turnout, a good crowd, and a hot debut for Danielewski's sophomore effort.

More soon!

Expanded Books interview

2006-09-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Expanded Books video interview.

OR - Los Angeles Times interview - September 13, 2006

2006-09-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

OR - Los Angeles Times Book Review - September 3, 2006

2006-09-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

Updated content at Exploration Z

2006-09-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

The Only Revolutions section of Exploration Z has been updated with new content!

OR - San Francisco Bay Guardian Booksmith Ad

2006-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

OR - Entertainment Weekly Review

2006-09-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

OR - Details September 2006 Review

2006-09-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

Please note, this is exactly how it was printed in the magazine and the review is actually under "The Echo Maker" cover.

It is here!

2006-08-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today, we received our UK hardcover edition of Only Revolutions. If you'd like a peek inside, be sure to check it out here!

MZD Book Tour Coverage

2006-08-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Exploration Z is happy to announce that we will be bringing you timely recaps of half of the Only Revolutions Book Tour.

Here's a graphic representation of our journey:

mzd.info and onlyrevolutions.com go live

2006-08-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

The newly redesigned markzdanielewski.info is finally live!

Even better news is that the official http://www.onlyrevolutions.com website is live and has been for two days. Mark's official site is amazing, and much more professional than ours will ever hope to be. But they'll complement each other well and we hope you get as much enjoyment out of both sites as we do!

Only Revolutions - the blog

2006-08-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

As an extension of http://markzdanielewski.info, we've decided to create an Only Revolutions blog. Hopefully this will come complete with audio and video posts as well as the written word. Stay tuned to http://markzdanielewski.info for all of the details!