The Trouble With Tribbles, as it would have been if adapted by Edward Gorey.
Wonderful.
(via: MetaFilter)
Friday, August 31, 2007
A Very Small Fig Leaf
This is a follow-up to an earlier entry. Barnes & Noble has reversed itself and will now carry the controversial O.J. Simpson book. About time. Anyone who knows anything about the book business could tell that this nasty little volume would be in immediate demand. When internet pre-orders and media attention proved that the emperor had no clothes, B&N had little choice.
The Reverse Missionary Position
While I don't agree with their interpretation of scripture, I find myself perversely pleased that Kenya is sending missionaries to the United States. I guess what goes around does come around.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Last Call
Raise a glass tonight to the memory of the one and only Beer Hunter, the late, great Michael Jackson. Through his informative and exuberant writing Jackson inspired thousands of drinkers and brewers. Through his books he was my teacher and guide when I was but a young and enthusiastic drunkard. I learned more about beer and whiskies from him than from any other writer. The next time you have an oatmeal stout, send up a prayer of thanks. It was Jackson's advocacy for the style that encouraged Samuel Smith to bring it back. He did more to influence what was in our glasses and what we knew about it than any other writer. He'll be remembered for his books, his television series The Beer Hunter, and for making the world a much nicer and richer place in which to live.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Steak Bombed
A sub shop in Derry, NH is trying to trademark the "steak bomb." How does a company that isn't yet 20 years old think they can own a sandwich that's been a regional favorite since, well, forevah? That's wicked stupid. I've been eating steak bombs since before my arteries got clogged, and that's a long time, let me tell you. What's next for these guys? You suppose they'll try to trademark "whoopie pies?"
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
And the Protagonist is an Obnoxious Leper!
A few years ago, when I was reading a lot of fantasy, folks would shove Lord Foul's Bane
into my ink stained hands and tell me that I had to read it.
"It's the first book of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant," they would say, with a fervid gleam in their eyes.
"Yes, it says that on the cover," I would point out politely.
"It's a trilogy, and there's another whole trilogy after that!"
"Interesting," I would answer politely.
"This guy is pulled out of our world into this fantasy world. But the whole time he thinks that he's just in a coma dreaming. That's why they call him 'The Unbeliever.' It's really grim. And the protagonist is an obnoxious leper! Cool huh?"
"Oh yes," I'd say. "Sounds like loads of fun. I'll put that at the top of my list."
I should have.
Now I find myself doing some informal research that led me back to these books. That led me back to one of my favorite booksellers, Pandemonium Books & Games in Central Square, Cambridge. Tyler, the guy that owns the place, averred that Thomas Covenant was fantasy's second great anti-hero, after Elric. As you know, oh best beloved reader, I recently read the Elric novels, so I let him know I was chain-smoking my fantasy anti-heroes. He warned me that the first book starts out a bit slow, as if Donaldson is learning his craft as he goes along. It picks up later on in the book and the rest of the series is brilliant.
Tyler was, of course, dead on. It does drag a little in some parts of the first book, but stick with it. You will be more than amply rewarded.
In Lord Foul's Bane we meet Thomas Covenant, a man who has been stripped of everything that gave his life meaning. Once a successful writer, husband and father, he somehow contracted leprosy. Now his wife has left him, taking their child. He is a pariah in his community. He has learned to deal with his grim new existence by accepting leprosy as being the defining reality of his life.
One day, while out on some business, defying the shunning of his neighbors by imposing his presence upon them, he meets an old beggar who tells him to "be true." Covenant then stumbles in front of a moving car. He falls into unconsciousness, only to wake up in a fantasy world called "The Land."
A major theme of the series is Covenant's insistence that The Land is nothing but a dream, an elaborate hallucination caused by a blow to the head. It seems to be a reasonable theory. Much of what happens in the land parallels Covenant's struggles with physical and mental illness. Early in the series there is some ambiguity. Is Covenant a reincarnated hero, the wielder of the magic of the white gold ring, or is he in a coma? Or is there, perhaps, another truth?
This is a rich and complex story that deals with themes of health, morality, human frailty, honor, sacrifice, and redemption. I was halfway through the second book, The Illearth War, when I found myself describing the series to someone at a party. I told her that it was a great read, if you didn't mind hating the protagonist. Thomas Covenant is a self-loathing, emotionally tortured, wreck of a man. For most of the series he can't seem to control his emotional outbursts, lashing out at those who hardly deserve it. At the same time he keeps himself and much of his feelings under a constant, disciplined control. For a while I hated him, then I pitied him, and in the end I was on his side. He is one of the most intriguing characters I've ever read, changing and growing as the series progresses.
For all his command of the language (and he does like to show off his vocabulary) Donaldson doesn't write with the poetic beauty of, say, Tolkien, but his descriptions of The Land and its people are powerful nonetheless. As I began the third book, The Power That Preserves, I knew that I had come to care about this place and the fantastic characters that populated it. The climactic battles are both thrilling and moving. While the ending was wholly satisfying, I found myself looking forward to the second trilogy, as I wanted to spend more time exploring The Land. Highly recommended.
into my ink stained hands and tell me that I had to read it."It's the first book of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant," they would say, with a fervid gleam in their eyes.
"Yes, it says that on the cover," I would point out politely.
"It's a trilogy, and there's another whole trilogy after that!"
"Interesting," I would answer politely.
"This guy is pulled out of our world into this fantasy world. But the whole time he thinks that he's just in a coma dreaming. That's why they call him 'The Unbeliever.' It's really grim. And the protagonist is an obnoxious leper! Cool huh?"
"Oh yes," I'd say. "Sounds like loads of fun. I'll put that at the top of my list."
I should have.
Now I find myself doing some informal research that led me back to these books. That led me back to one of my favorite booksellers, Pandemonium Books & Games in Central Square, Cambridge. Tyler, the guy that owns the place, averred that Thomas Covenant was fantasy's second great anti-hero, after Elric. As you know, oh best beloved reader, I recently read the Elric novels, so I let him know I was chain-smoking my fantasy anti-heroes. He warned me that the first book starts out a bit slow, as if Donaldson is learning his craft as he goes along. It picks up later on in the book and the rest of the series is brilliant.
Tyler was, of course, dead on. It does drag a little in some parts of the first book, but stick with it. You will be more than amply rewarded.
In Lord Foul's Bane we meet Thomas Covenant, a man who has been stripped of everything that gave his life meaning. Once a successful writer, husband and father, he somehow contracted leprosy. Now his wife has left him, taking their child. He is a pariah in his community. He has learned to deal with his grim new existence by accepting leprosy as being the defining reality of his life.
One day, while out on some business, defying the shunning of his neighbors by imposing his presence upon them, he meets an old beggar who tells him to "be true." Covenant then stumbles in front of a moving car. He falls into unconsciousness, only to wake up in a fantasy world called "The Land."
A major theme of the series is Covenant's insistence that The Land is nothing but a dream, an elaborate hallucination caused by a blow to the head. It seems to be a reasonable theory. Much of what happens in the land parallels Covenant's struggles with physical and mental illness. Early in the series there is some ambiguity. Is Covenant a reincarnated hero, the wielder of the magic of the white gold ring, or is he in a coma? Or is there, perhaps, another truth?
This is a rich and complex story that deals with themes of health, morality, human frailty, honor, sacrifice, and redemption. I was halfway through the second book, The Illearth War
, when I found myself describing the series to someone at a party. I told her that it was a great read, if you didn't mind hating the protagonist. Thomas Covenant is a self-loathing, emotionally tortured, wreck of a man. For most of the series he can't seem to control his emotional outbursts, lashing out at those who hardly deserve it. At the same time he keeps himself and much of his feelings under a constant, disciplined control. For a while I hated him, then I pitied him, and in the end I was on his side. He is one of the most intriguing characters I've ever read, changing and growing as the series progresses.For all his command of the language (and he does like to show off his vocabulary) Donaldson doesn't write with the poetic beauty of, say, Tolkien, but his descriptions of The Land and its people are powerful nonetheless. As I began the third book, The Power That Preserves
, I knew that I had come to care about this place and the fantastic characters that populated it. The climactic battles are both thrilling and moving. While the ending was wholly satisfying, I found myself looking forward to the second trilogy, as I wanted to spend more time exploring The Land. Highly recommended.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Puffins!
Thanks to the fine people of Project Puffin the islands of coastal Maine is once again home to that marvelous bird. I've always loved puffins. They look like penguins, but they can fly! And they have pretty beaks. That's good enough for me.
Defending the Indefensible
Once upon a time I was a bookseller. I've worked at a few bookstores. I've worked with a lot of other booksellers. Most of them had something in common, other than a love of books; a sense of dedication to the principle of free speech. We believed that if people wanted to buy a book it was our duty to stock that book, and those who urged censorship upon us be damned. Certainly there were times that we didn't like the book. Sometimes we even despised the book. We hated The Turner Diaries. We chose not to give it a place on our front table or do anything to promote it. But to take it off our shelves? To put a barrier between book and reader? Never. Free speech isn't about defending speech you agree with -- it is about defending speech you dislike or even abhor. If all speech isn't free then no speech can be free.
That's why I was disappointed when I read that Barnes & Noble had announced that they would refuse to stock the new book by O.J. Simpson. They said it was because they didn't expect the book to sell well, but now that pre-release orders have shown a serious (and entirely predictable) demand, even that fig leaf is gone. They are choosing boycott this awful little book because they don't like it or they don't want the bad publicity that might come from selling it. With that they have surrendered their traditional bookseller's role as defenders of free speech.
Don't get me wrong. They have a right to refuse to sell anything they don't want. But as booksellers they have a duty to defend the free expression of ideas. They know that. That's why they pretended that they weren't boycotting the book over content, merely over a supposed lack of reader interest.
Booksellers, I believe, have a moral duty to defend free speech, even at the cost of losing the business of those who want to restrict expression to that which they agree with. It is a duty that elevates the bookseller beyond the standard shopkeeper and makes the bookstore a citadel of peace and freedom. It is by shirking this duty Barnes & Noble surrenders the citadel and reduces itself to mere shopkeeper -- not a bad thing to be, but not all they once were.
UPDATE: B&N has reversed itself.
That's why I was disappointed when I read that Barnes & Noble had announced that they would refuse to stock the new book by O.J. Simpson. They said it was because they didn't expect the book to sell well, but now that pre-release orders have shown a serious (and entirely predictable) demand, even that fig leaf is gone. They are choosing boycott this awful little book because they don't like it or they don't want the bad publicity that might come from selling it. With that they have surrendered their traditional bookseller's role as defenders of free speech.
Don't get me wrong. They have a right to refuse to sell anything they don't want. But as booksellers they have a duty to defend the free expression of ideas. They know that. That's why they pretended that they weren't boycotting the book over content, merely over a supposed lack of reader interest.
Booksellers, I believe, have a moral duty to defend free speech, even at the cost of losing the business of those who want to restrict expression to that which they agree with. It is a duty that elevates the bookseller beyond the standard shopkeeper and makes the bookstore a citadel of peace and freedom. It is by shirking this duty Barnes & Noble surrenders the citadel and reduces itself to mere shopkeeper -- not a bad thing to be, but not all they once were.
UPDATE: B&N has reversed itself.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Rock Steady
That's why Scott Dixon won today. He stayed rock steady while AGR fell apart. Marco and Dario took each other out and Danica obviously needs work in the pits.
It's a two man race now. Dixon and Dario will be shooting it out for the last couple of races. Pretty exciting stuff.
It's a two man race now. Dixon and Dario will be shooting it out for the last couple of races. Pretty exciting stuff.
Indomitable
Mark your calendars now for the literary event of the season. Tedy Bruschi will be signing his memoir, Never Give Up, at Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner on Saturday, September 1, at 2:00. Full tilt, full time.
Go Moto
I don't know why, but it would tickle me to death to see Danica Patrick win her first IRL race at the Motorola 300 in her Motorola Special.
Darwin Rides the Subway
I like a nice stroll as much as the next guy, but walking along the electrified track of a rapid-transit train might not have been the best choice. As for crawling under a stopped train . . . simply shocking.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Read a Book!
It should surprise no one that 27% of American adults did not read a book last year. A few hours spent among the great un-read usually impels me to retreat to the nearest bookstore, library, or to the safe confines of my own study.
I'd like to think of this as good news. 73% of American adults did read at least one book in the last year. Better than I thought. Hurray America!
I'd like to think of this as good news. 73% of American adults did read at least one book in the last year. Better than I thought. Hurray America!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
I'm Back
Did you miss me? No? Oh. Well, I guess that's good. Anyway, I'm back. I've been away because my trusty, rusty, old computer finally gave up the ghost. I've got a new machine and I'm feeling good.
Of course I have no time at all. But at least I have a computer.
Of course I have no time at all. But at least I have a computer.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Invisible Amish
For the second time this year I spent a week in Amish country and didn't see a single horse and buggy. What's the deal with that? Message to all you Amish guys who read this weblog: Go out for a drive now and then, will you?
Yes, I know you're out there. You don't fool me with that "no electricity" stuff.
Yes, I know you're out there. You don't fool me with that "no electricity" stuff.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Another Really Long Drive
For a guy who doesn't own a car I do seem to find myself behind the wheel a lot. I did a lot of driving yesterday (business, not pleasure). I saw some nice things, like hawks soaring, hot-air balloons floating, deer nibbling grass, and a Model A Ford on the highway. I also saw a lot of rest-stops, construction, and traffic. Worst of all I missed the Firestone Indy 400. Hooray for TK! Sounds like it was an ugly race though. Oh well. Perhaps the next one will be a little cleaner. And maybe I'll get to see it.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
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