Lola Granola

The x-treme spiritual seeker created by Berkeley Breathed, is hilarious (especially if you're acquainted with Woodstock). See the cartoon that the Washington Post would not run (except online). Hint: She renames herself "Fatima Struggle." Online at Salon.com.

Fox in the Henhouse

Did Fox steal the idea for a new series from legendary New York writer Pete Hamill? Will Hamill sue? If he does, will he collect a cent? Will the series spur sales of his book, Forever? Is he related to Dorothy Hamill?

I know the answer to at least one of the above questions. I wish Mr. Hamill the best, whatever course he decides to pursue.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place...to Live

Japan counts over 5,000 "net cafe refugees" -- working poor people, mostly men, who live in the all-night cafes that offer meals, showers and clean underwear as well as web access.

Not exactly Hemingway, is it?

Read about Japan's Lost Generation.

The Road to the Tait Prize

I'm still not sure why The Road has won a Pulitzer, and now here it's won the James Tait prize as well. It's just that I like McCarthy's other books so much more. Well, The Road perhaps seems more timely, what with global warming threatening to incinerate us all.

"A Novel Should Extend Sympathy"

"Many writers are sad, bookish people who are comfortable writing." Joyce Carol Oates at The Independent.

Well, bookish naturally. I don't know too many writers who are particularly sad. About average in happiness, moody, cranky, angry, misanthropic, but sad? Doesn't come to mind right away, unless it's sad to be indoors at the computer on a lovely late summer evening. Anybody?

Paper Clip Guy is a Writer

No surprise there, as most writers, speaking for myself, will do anything rather than work, including attempting to trade a paper clip for a house in western Canada. Well, not like he intended for the house to be in western Canada, although he doesn't seem to mind. Or even thought there would be a house at all.

On the Road, the Covers

The various editions, in English, French, Italian, German, Dutch. I like the Italian cover which is a portrait. Jack cut quite la bella figura. I also like the fifties-ish cover of the young, presumably fast, woman with the come-hither look. As a cultural artifact. I have the 1993 Quality edition, good for readability and paper quality. Also it has The Dharma Bums and The Subterraneans as a bonus.

(Click here for The Dharma Bums, a local Woodstock band with some fine musicians, including my neighbor.)

Jack's own suggestion for the cover, at the NY Times.
And in his own words, some sound clips.
Thanks to Maud Newton.

William Gibson reads at Second Life

And, the reading is so packed, the author cannot get in. Eventually, there is an evacuation, so that the author may begin. At the Penguin blog.

What if Jane Austen Had Married?

Is the question asked by the movie, Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway as Jane. Moreover, what if she had married the wrong man? Or would literature have been any better served if she had married the right man? Maybe her highly regarded novels would have been influenced for the good? Maybe they would not have been written at all...this seems to be the conclusion by the end of the movie, as Jane chooses neither suitor, but decides to "live by her pen," and in the company of her sister, at the risk of digging her own potatoes, as her mother (Julie Walters) puts it.

One in four read no books...

According to an AP poll. Article from Forbes.com.

And the rest didn't read that many, apparently:

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year - half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

Do they get extra credit if one of the books was Harry Potter VII?

This year, I decided to keep count of all the books I read (and movies seen, but that's another post). My total so far is 50, but keeping a list makes me competitive about it, makes me try to read as many as possible. Does it slow my writing down? Well, that's another possibility, but I'm sure I won't keep this pace up forever. Think of it as a reading vacation.

"If Moderation is a Fault, Indifference is a Felony"

Kerouac the romantic, at Alternet. He might have been too cool to care about what the establishment thought, but he wasn't too cool to care.

Who Writes History?

According to this article, it's mostly the CIA, the Vatican and the British Labour party.

The world according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is in a constant state of update, as tens of thousands of contributors work to ensure the site's content is correct.

But now an innovation on the site has confirmed a long-held suspicion: that Wikipedia is a prime target for spin-doctoring.

A new identification program on the site reveals that some of the most prolific contributors to Wikipedia are the CIA, the British Labour Party and the Vatican - and they are not just updating their own entries.

Profiling Americans? Stephen King

Busted in Australia for signing his books. The staff didn't recognize him -- luckily, there's an author photo on almost every book. At the BBC.

What Are the Lessons of On the Road?

The NY Times asks. I think it's amazing that so many people have been so influenced by Kerouac. I think his writing style is under-appreciated. I agree that Allen Ginsberg was the promotion engine that drove the Beat phenomenon. I think that Neal Cassady was over-rated. I think, well...read the comments.