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.
Blogging Archive
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So Long, Number One
Posted on August 1, 2006 | No CommentsAw fuck. Another good blog bites the dust. Best of luck, Dana, wherever your banter takes you. -
Speedy Snail Turns Seven
Posted on July 31, 2006 | 1 CommentHappy Seven Years, Mr. Ewins! -
Newspapers Confuse Print for Weblogs
Posted on July 31, 2006 | No CommentsNew York Times: “The Washington Post, The New York Sun and The Daily Oklahoman, in Oklahoma City, have contracted with an online news aggregator, Inform.com, to scan hundreds of news... -
It’s Funny Because It’s True
Posted on July 31, 2006 | No CommentsYour Blog Sucks. -
Blogathon ’06
Posted on July 18, 2006 | 2 CommentsOkay, we might do it. -
Minnesota TV Station Employs Stalinistic Tactics Against Blogger
Posted on July 12, 2006 | 6 CommentsStar Tribune: “Matt Bartel, owner of the popular MNSpeak blog also was issued an invitation by WCCO, although the station apparently didn’t recognize the name Bartel (ubiquitous in Twin Cities... -
The Lesser of Two Evils?
Posted on June 20, 2006 | 1 CommentDan Green takes umbrage with Wendy Lesser’s establishing principles behind The Lesser Blog. I’m a big fan of The Threepenny Review (and Lesser was once interviewed for The Bat Segundo... -
Imagine What She Might Have Said If She Were Heading to Lunch
Posted on May 12, 2006 | No CommentsNew York Observer: “What Time once had—and still could have, despite Time Warner’s budget cuts—is a giant apparatus for reporting and writing news. And reported fact is what keeps the... -
So Should I Make My Thoughts Known on “Joe Vs. the Volcano” So That Abe Vigoda Can Collect a Small Residual for His Pension?
Posted on April 19, 2006 | 1 CommentThe Guardian: “Bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a ‘disproportionately large influence’ on society, according to a report by a technology research company. Its study suggests that although “active” web... -
“Why Don’t You Write a Book, Ed?”
Posted on February 14, 2006 | No CommentsOh boy, is this spot on. -
Side By Side On My QWERTY Keyboard
Posted on February 7, 2006 | 4 CommentsTim Redmond’s public flailing against Craig Newmark has garnered a few notable responses. Locally, there was a thread over at the SFist, in which mystified San Franciscans responded. More prominent,... -
To Journalists
Posted on January 31, 2006 | 2 CommentsI can understand a newsppaer’s authoritarian impulse. But it seems that preventing a substantial bloc of people from accessing content is a sure path to extinction. In other words, if... -
Bloggers vs. Journalists
Posted on January 31, 2006 | No CommentsCrooked Timber has an excellent post up about the differences between bloggers and journalists. -
The Internet Works?
Posted on January 30, 2006 | No CommentsHere’s the deal: Over the weekend, bloggers have been organizing a plea to the Democrats to get a filibuster started in the Senate. The hope: to prevent Alito from becoming... -
Round the ‘Sphere (by 1995 Fax Machine)
Posted on January 24, 2006 | 2 Comments -
The Last Word on Bob Hoover
Posted on January 19, 2006 | 2 CommentsOver at Scott’s, Kevin has observed that newspapermen often ignore the rebuttals. In an effort to test Bob Hoover by his own standards and demonstrate just how slovenly we litbloggers... -
Neocon Starbloggers
Posted on January 3, 2006 | No CommentsDamn you, James Wolcott. I’m crying with laughter, particularly this unintentionally hilarious exit strategy. For the record, you’ll never ever see me giving a thumbs up sign to a random... -
Can Actors Get Fired for Blogging on the Clock?
Posted on December 23, 2005 | No CommentsFrom a Rainn Wilson interview: “Yeah, we have working computers on the set, though the internet connection can be really bad. A lot of times, if we’re just doing background... -
Meanwhile, We Remain Overworked and Mostly Silent
Posted on December 14, 2005 | No CommentsThe Hag is back, and she’s giving away books. -
“Civil and Courteous” or Simply Listening?
Posted on December 9, 2005 | 4 CommentsAt the Les Blogs conference, an altercation occurred between Mena Trott and Ben Metcalfe. (Video of the encounter can be found here.) Ms. Trott had urged bloggers to be civil... -
More Literary Networks
Posted on November 29, 2005 | No CommentsThe ever-resourceful Bud Parr has launched MetaxuCafe. -
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. -
Who is David Carr to Set the Limits of Comedy?
Posted on November 14, 2005 | No CommentsMaud points to this New York Times item on Gawker. David Carr criticizes blogs (and specifically Gawker) for being “remarkably puerile to make jokes…[when Fairchild Publication] has posted guards in... -
Well, If You Want to Point Fingers…
Posted on November 8, 2005 | 4 CommentsThe BBC asks why the blogosphere didn’t react to Fowles’ death with 6,000 word essays. Well, the answer’s quite simple. There are only so many hours in the day and... -
On the Job, Going Postal’s a Close Second to Blogging
Posted on October 27, 2005 | No CommentsForbes Magazine has peered into the workplace and determined that it’s the bloggers who are evil incarnate. Good to see time and money spent on exposing the real threats to... -
Small Wonder
Posted on October 25, 2005 | No CommentsThe Wonder Chicken returns, although he’s playing hard to get and feeling a bit introspective about this aging thing: a existential predicament that we can certainly relate to. -
Just Don’t Forget to Use Alt-Tab When the Boss is Coming
Posted on October 24, 2005 | 1 CommentEveryone seems to be pointing to this Advertising Age article about how U.S. workers will waste 551,000 years reading blogs. Well, what the article doesn’t say is that businesses will,... -
New Literary Blogs
Posted on October 19, 2005 | 1 CommentFor those interested in thinking outside of the box (i.e., sick of reading the usual suspects), here are a few literary blogs I’ve recently stumbled upon : Notes on Non-Camp... -
Roundup
Posted on October 11, 2005 | 4 CommentsFrances Dinkelspiel covers the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association. This week, in the City, it’s Litquake. We’ll be crawling ourselves this Saturday, in more ways than one. Word on the... -
The End of Denton’s Empire is Nigh?
Posted on October 5, 2005 | 2 CommentsGawker jumps the shark.