Books To Jump Up and Down Over
Magic Hours by Tom Bissell: This marvelous collection of essays chronicles everything from film shoots to novelists rescued from oblivion. (The essay on the Underground Literary Alliance, with its portrait of raucous factions, unexpectedly reveals how soft today's literary world has become.) But if you peer between the cracks of these smart pieces, you may very well see how cultural lives are formed from the most unexpected life choices. And as we follow Bissell's development as a writer over the years, that goes for Bissell as well. (Bat Segundo interview with Bissell)
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: Harkaway's latest novel greatly improves on his previous book, The Gone-Away World, which I'm already on record as praising. Angelmaker adopts genre elements without ever feeling like a genre book, and it leads me to believe that Harkaway is well on his way to a narrative grace close to China Miéville's. Yet inexplicably this very fun book, which includes an eightysomething badass named Edie Banister, a mysterious mechanical object that may destroy the world, farcical scenarios involving lawyers and the police, and some unexpectedly moving moments about fatherhood, doesn't appear to be getting much attention in American newspapers. Nothing from the snobs at The New York Times Book Review, nothing from The Washington Post. And since I can't get Harkaway on Bat Segundo, I hope this Jump Up and Down mention gets you hopping as well.
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel: Unless you're really pressed for time, forget Jonah Lehrer. If you want to understand creativity and its relationship to neuroscience, then the bowtie-wearing Nobel laureate is your man. In addition to being a physically beautiful book (you will drool over many of the paintings), there are helpful overviews on optical illusions, science, biographical backgrounds, and many vital figures from the Vienna Secession. Kandel's enthusiasm (and his call for greater unity between the humanities and science) is contagious.
Archive for November, 2005
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President Bush’s Exit Strategy
Posted on November 21, 2005 | 1 Comment -
Holidays
Posted on November 21, 2005 | 1 Comment…in limn of existential meanderings and peripatetic journeys to urban locales (extra-SF), all concerning the inevitable turkey-stuffing grandcentralstat point, as presented on an X-Y axis shakily scrawled upon a napkin... -
Roundup
Posted on November 21, 2005 | 1 CommentBirnbaum Alert (x2): He talks with Rick Moody and pulls a Glenn Gould and interviews himself. Novelist Philip Hensher is not happy with the British Royal Opera’s staging of Ballo... -
RIP Link Wray
Posted on November 21, 2005 | No CommentsLink Wray, the father of the power chord, has died. The man who launched a million punk and metal bands through a staggeringly simple concept: top string at set fret,... -
The Head Cheese
Posted on November 21, 2005 | 2 CommentsIt’s criminal that it’s taken me this long to stumble across the covers of the appropriately named Richard Cheese. Anyone audacious enough to record a cheery lounge version of Nirvana’s... -
Who is Number One? You Are President Bush.
Posted on November 21, 2005 | 1 CommentDoor thwarts quick exit for Bush. (Watch the video.) -
Perhaps This Kid Needs the Veruca Salt Treatment Instead
Posted on November 20, 2005 | No CommentsDisturbing video of a 9 year old kid shouting at his mother because she won’t get him his chocolate milk. All of this as he’s blowing up enemies while playing... -
The Bat Segundo Show #14
Posted on November 20, 2005 | No CommentsAuthor: Jennifer Weiner Condition of Mr. Segundo: Concerned with time and elusive apocalypses. Subjects Discussed: Mysteries, Susan Isaacs, Zoe Heller, the specific details of murder, inexplicable shame and guilt among... -
Dawn of the Music
Posted on November 20, 2005 | No CommentsThis probably only means something to you if you are either obsessed with music cues or as fanatical as I am about George Romero’s masterpiece Dawn of the Dead, but... -
In Short, God Dictates That Marital Conflicts Are Best Resolved by Fucking Your Spouse’s Brains Out
Posted on November 20, 2005 | No CommentsMr. Jared Wilson may be my sworn rival, but this link of his is too unintentionally hilarious to pass up. Under “2. A Sexually fulfilled husband is a scriptural mandate.”... -
Yes, You Too Might Be Running a Site Relating to Personal and Social Alienation
Posted on November 20, 2005 | 2 CommentsHaggis received an email. Things that come to mind: 1. What Google criteria did this Zolen Caro enthusiast use to pinpoint “sites related to personal and social alienation? 2. How... -
Smoking Songs
Posted on November 20, 2005 | 3 CommentsJeff is, quite bravely, quitting smoking. Having started and stopped many times myself and knowing the terrible feelings of nicotine withdrawal and the resultant brain fog, and wanting to see... -
Bad Poetry Unearthed While Cleaning
Posted on November 19, 2005 | 2 CommentsThe following poem was found while reorganizing some papers. It was written by me circa 2002, it is bad and silly, clearly a desperate effort to imitate Ginsberg, and, most... -
NOCCA in Trouble
Posted on November 19, 2005 | No CommentsRichard Grayson alerts me to current predicament faced by the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Under Louisiana State Legislature HB156, a cost-cutting measure hoping to balance funds after... -
Some Preposterous Things Written by Lev Grossman
Posted on November 18, 2005 | 4 CommentsIt’s official. Lev Grossman is the Uwe Boll of the book reviewing world. ARTICLE IN QUESTION: “The American Tolkien” (via Locus) 1. “George R.R. Martin is fond of sudden reversals.”... -
But What Mailer Didn’t Tell You is That He Hasn’t Smiled Since 1977
Posted on November 18, 2005 | No CommentsNorman Mailer: “It’s a shame in the literary world today that passion has withered, producing fiction that is all too unforgettable.” Okay, either that’s a funny typo or Norman Mailer... -
Slack and Spaghetti Monsters Are More My Thing Anyway
Posted on November 18, 2005 | No CommentsAstonishing interview with L. Ron, Jr. (via MeFi) -
How Big of a Literary Geek Are You?
Posted on November 18, 2005 | 3 CommentsNew meme. Bold the titles. You know the drill. (via this guy) Here goes: 1. The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams 2. Nineteen Eighty-Four — George Orwell... -
Who’da Thought?
Posted on November 18, 2005 | No CommentsWilliam T. Vollmann’s Europe Central is currently ranked #189 at Amazon. -
At Least They’re Not as Contentious as the Gallagher Brothers
Posted on November 17, 2005 | No CommentsThe Goldberg brothers, hot on the heels of their Dean Koontz exposes, have taken over Beatrice’s confines this week. The idea of a pair of brothers taking over the litblogosphere... -
Okay, Cigarettes Are Evil, But This is Getting Ridiculous
Posted on November 17, 2005 | 3 CommentsEXHIBIT A: Clement Hurd author photo retouched. “HarperCollins said it made the change to avoid the appearance of encouraging smoking and did so with the permission of the illustrator’s estate.... -
The Brain is a Little More Sensitive Than Domino’s Pizza
Posted on November 17, 2005 | No CommentsIt’s started to make the rounds, but if you haven’t yet heard this All Things Considered segment about a lobotomy patient (lobotomized under radical psychiastrist Walter Freeman at the age... -
Useful Equations for “Lost” Watchers
Posted on November 17, 2005 | No CommentsTiVo + BitTorrent = TVTAD. (And if you’re an open source geek, there’s this alternative.) -
Why Not Just Call Your Blogroll “Glenn’s Unquestioning Hos?”
Posted on November 17, 2005 | No CommentsApparently, it’s now the rite of passage to fondle your breast when meeting a neocon blogger. James Wolcott has more. -
Women Podcasters: Less XXX and More XX Please
Posted on November 17, 2005 | 2 CommentsPinky’s Paperhaus attended the Podcasting Expo noting that only 15% of the people who showed up were women. She says the expo was “hype-y and ho-hum.” Why then is the... -
HOLY SHIT!
Posted on November 16, 2005 | 3 CommentsWilliam Vollmann won the National Book Award for Europe Central. Way to go, Vollmann. It is about time that Mr. Vollmann’s incredible output be recognized. Between this and Banville winning... -
No Compelling Reason to Fill Bill Gates’ Coffers Really
Posted on November 16, 2005 | No CommentsApparently, there is no compelling reason to use Vista until 2008. -
Wells Done
Posted on November 16, 2005 | No CommentsI can’t find a specific permalink, but it looks as if Jeffrey Wells somehow scored an interview with the highly reclusive Terence Malick back in 1995 and he’s posted the... -
Next Thing You Know, You’ll Find Them All Barebacking
Posted on November 16, 2005 | No CommentsLeave it to the trusted Mr. Sicha to report the astonishing developments of our time. Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain has been reducing steely septuagenarian critics to tears and that “one... -
Obviously, the Barter System Really Had Cocksucking in Mind
Posted on November 16, 2005 | No CommentsSync has a story about a 34 year old man who swaps tech support for sexual favors. “One girl didn’t even wait for me to finish the virus scan—she just...