We can’t think of anything particularly compelling to say. And every time we open our mouths, it results in gardyloo. So we’re taking a sizable break. Happy holidays.
Break
– December 20, 2004Posted in: Uncategorized
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Break
– April 16, 2004Posted in: Uncategorized
Posting will be light over the next couple of days. I won’t go into the details, but it’s been the kind of week that drags you through a deep residue of pigshit, kicks you repeatedly in the gut, and presents conditions that challenge you to rise with grace, faith in humanity, and your dignity intact. (And it makes generous shoutouts like this that much more special.) Plus, I have serious rewriting to do.
In the meantime, check out Laila’s interview with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, watch Sam’s space for upcoming musings on literary theory, and hope that guest blogger Kevin Wignall doesn’t fall prey to dial-up noise over at Sarah’s grand pasture.
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It’s easy to grin
When your ship comes in
And you’ve got the stock market beat.
But the man worthwhile
Is the man who can smile
When his shorts are too tight in the seat.From the Hon. Judge Smails to you. Who loves ya, baby!
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birnbaum
Churchill said something like, “When you are walking through hell, keep walking.”
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. (
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.
“gardyloo”?????
Yup, gardyloo. If you ever visit Edinburgh, ask around.
Gardyloo is my new favorite word — and toast (well, right after “To Klinkenborg!”). The M-W.com definition:
Main Entry: gar·dy·loo
Pronunciation: “gär-dE-’lü
Function: interjection
Etymology: perhaps from French garde à l’eau! look out for the water!
– used in Edinburgh as a warning cry when it was customary to throw slops from the windows into the streets
but… but… I’ve been waiting patiently for the return of drunken writer night …
how will I go on?
“Slops” – there’s euphemism for you.
Hope you have a good break and festive season, Ed.