tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58823281343013029102024-03-13T06:09:31.987-04:00Fringe Magazine"The noun that verbs your world."Fringehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357943047025361797noreply@blogger.comBlogger394125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-33913824499723217902009-07-20T10:00:00.003-04:002009-07-20T10:08:57.126-04:00New Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SmR42P3fDAI/AAAAAAAAAPc/sS8OmrENBFg/s1600-h/moving.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 287px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SmR42P3fDAI/AAAAAAAAAPc/sS8OmrENBFg/s320/moving.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360542329845255170" /></a><br /><br />We've moved! The Fringe Blog can now be found <a href="http://www.fringemagazine.org/blog"target="_blank">HERE</a>, as part of the fantastic new <a href="http://www.fringemagazine.org"target="_blank">Fringe Magazine site</a>! Check out the brand-new issue of Fringe, and while you're at it, please update your bookmarks, links, and RSS feed subscriptions accordingly, and as always, thanks for reading!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-47664893726765272009-07-02T10:09:00.002-04:002009-07-02T10:16:05.553-04:00How Boston Spoiled Me As A Reader<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SkzBEmL0uZI/AAAAAAAAAPM/huiFAqFq0-k/s1600-h/boston+books.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SkzBEmL0uZI/AAAAAAAAAPM/huiFAqFq0-k/s320/boston+books.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353866341750454674" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">I am a Florida resident now. I live in a place we’ll call Fahrenheit 101 (hey, can’t go pissing off the natives while still seeking employment). Down here they have something called a “Heat Index,” a number you reach by doubling the temperature in Boston and then adding another twenty. My skin is browning, my hair de-browning. I am a short drive away from white-sand beaches dotted with white-haired people. I am one of the youngest in my neighborhood. Most days, I sit on my back patio and watch dolphins play in the [Censored] River, reveling in my newfound (relative) youth.<br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Were I still a Boston resident, my umbrella would be my closest companion. My skin would be pale, my hair wet. The closest beach would be Revere, and that’s no fun in any weather. I would come down on the nearer-my-god-to-thee side of the median age. I’d sit on my balcony and watch the dark clouds pour more water into the harbor.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">But at least I’d be reading a book.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Brattle Bookstore was right behind my building. Commonwealth Books, steps away from the Emerson Bookstore, which was steps away from the Iwasaki Library, was a four-minute walk. The magnificent BPL at Copley was a mere ten minutes by foot</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">—</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">or 45 by T (if the Green Line was having a good day). I never had to resort to Border’s or Barnes & Noble, because in a one-mile radius from where I lived, there were thousands and thousands of books to browse, borrow, or buy.<br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">There are no bookstores in Fahrenheit 101, Florida.<br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Allow me to repeat that. There are no bookstores in Fahrenheit 101, Florida. Not one. Not even a mom & pop (or, to be more Florida-appropriate, grandmom & grandpop) joint. The local library has a Paperback Mystery section that is separate from, and nearly as big as, its Fiction section</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">—</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">which itself is stocked with row after row of hardcover mysteries, most of them in large print. Here in Fahrenheit 101, the only books in a one-mile radius from where I live are those stocking the shelves of my neighbors. And I have yet to be invited in.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Help. Into a literary wasteland I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.<br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Boston is poetry readings in coffee houses. Fahrenheit 101 is obituaries that rhyme. Boston is sidewalk stalls of used books. Fahrenheit 101 is yard sales featuring complete sets of </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">Guns & Ammo</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> and </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">ATV Magazine</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">. Boston is walking the same streets that Poe, Emerson, and Lowell walked. Fahrenheit 101 is walking the streets only when your monster truck breaks down and no other monster truck stops to help. And Boston is where all of my books are, stashed in a cardboard box in a dark corner of some warehouse, waiting for the moving company to load them onto an eighteen-wheeler.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">I know, I know</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">—</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">why didn’t I bring a few for the interim? Because I did not study my new surroundings in advance. I did not Google “Fahrenheit 101 Bookstores,” nor did I browse the [Censored] Library’s online catalogue. And with spotty Internet at my new home, I can’t even order books online. And even if I could, I’m pretty sure that the USPS is collecting all of my mail in giant sacks, and then hurling the sacks into the Charles.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">(Speaking of which … if you see, bobbing along in that water, envelopes addressed to me in my own handwriting, and the return addressors are literary magazines, and inside the envelopes are what appear to be 3” x 5” pieces of thin, impersonal paper, please let them continue on into the harbor and out to sea.)</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">So revel in your books, Bostonians. Sit amongst the Brattle’s outdoor stacks and breathe in the smell of the worn pages. Walk (walk!) to the BPL, choose a title at random, take a seat in a sheltered area of the courtyard, and read a few pages as you listen to the rain pelt the flower petals. Appreciate what you have while you have it, else you’ll turn out like me.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sorry, grandmom & grandpop, but you leave me no recourse</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">—</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m off to the Barnes & Noble six towns over. If I leave now and catch all the traffic lights, I can be home and reading a new book by tomorrow afternoon. And it’ll only cost $28.50 (excluding gas and aspirin). Which they’ll just take out of my first paycheck. If they’re hiring.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">And if I get the job.</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:85%;"> --Post contributed by Assistant Fiction Editor, Dave Duhr<br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-88500581758244010932009-07-01T00:54:00.004-04:002009-07-01T01:02:14.539-04:00Dick Cheney needs your helpJust kidding. Not really.<br /><br />Dick Cheney just signed a contract for the publication of his memoir, and while the Bush years will be a big chunk of it, the memoir will span his entire career in public, uh, service.<br /><br />The Washington Post is running a contest for submissions of the first chapter of Cheney's memoir. The sample, on the Post's website, reads as follows: <span style="font-style: italic;">Undisclosed Location, Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009: Well, the baton is passed. Our work is finally done. Eight years, one devastating terrorist attack, two wars and one recession later, it's finally time to relax. It's been an amazing ride.<br /><br /></span>Submit your one-paragraph draft by July 2 to pagethree@washpost.com. The best entries will be published. Further details can be found at the contest <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/24/AR2009062403427.html">entry <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>page</a>. Best of luck! <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-30322338301552807782009-06-25T16:42:00.007-04:002009-06-25T17:05:30.098-04:00The Key(s) to Writer's BlockMy writing routine includes a Mac book and an empty Word document. Slowly, but surely, the screen intermittently fills with letters, creating a peppered portrait. At least that's what used to happen before you came along, Writer's Block. Ever since my release from college a month ago I've undergone a painful case of writer's block. It's time for confrontation.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Writer's Block,<br /><br />I've tried everything: changing my atmosphere, hosting writing workshops on my porch, reading, doodling, listening to the radio, book clubs, events, and writing (gasp). The change in atmosphere only creates a drifting mind and, when applicable, intense sessions of people-watching and inner dialogue. Writing workshop turns into a wine manifesto, events are fun but mindless, and writing turns into illegible babble.<br /><br />What else can I do, Writer's Block?<br /><br />Buy a typewriter, you say? Why yes, a quaint typing machine that clicks and clacks should do the trick. A vintage toy that makes the sweetest of sounds, is irresistible to touch and impossible to ignore. Typewriters don't have Facebook or Google. Typewriters don't have iTunes or colorful, distracting screens. Typewriters help you get right to the point ... </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Write</span><span style="font-size:85%;">. To. The. Point.<br /><br />Thank you, Writer's Block, for understanding. I'm currently waiting, rather impatiently, to pick up a vintage Underwood - the kind that Kerouac once used. My fingers eagerly await their unborn masterpiece.<br /><br />Yours truly,<br />Alexandra<br /></span><br />P.S For more information on typewriters and which authors used what, click <a href="http://mytypewriter.com/authors/index.html">here</a>. <a href="http://mytypewriter.com/authors/list/Didion.html">Joan Didion</a> used a Royal KMM, <a href="http://mytypewriter.com/authors/list/Faulkner.html">William Faulker</a> used an Underwood, and <a href="http://mytypewriter.com/authors/list/Oates.html">Joyce Carol Oates</a> used an SCM Smith Corona Electra. The site also directs you to your nearest typewriter store. Fingers, rejoice!<br /><br /><img src="file:///Users/MorganReed/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///Users/MorganReed/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" /><img src="http://mytypewriter.com/explorelearn/collections/images/collection1.jpg" />Alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12652758304961381456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-13808539486050323542009-06-24T00:07:00.003-04:002009-06-24T00:32:31.181-04:00Seattle's Pilot BooksSeattle has a new independent book store, tucked away in a second floor story of a shopping plaza off Broadway and specializing in poetry and small press releases. Pilot Books doesn't sell all the latest bestsellers, and it probably won't change that anytime soon. If you're looking for chapbooks, local zines or small press novels you'll be well suited to stop by. The store is open 12-8 every day except Wednesday.<br /><br />The owner, Summer, is a friendly and knowledgeable book lover with a rockin tattoo of mastadons on her arms. "I’m always saying Pilot Books is for the now, the new, authors writing and publishing in times such as these," writes Summer on the bookstore's blog. <br /><br />Don't fear that you'll have a hard time browsing just because you don't see the latest Dave Eggers or Jhumpa Lahiri. Handmade signs bearing slogans like "new" and "local artist" stick out of books. I'm sure Summer would be happy to discuss any of the titles in detail with you. <br /><br />The tiny upstairs features a lending library and armchairs. According to the Pilot Books blog, Summer's planning on hosting weekly themed writing workshops and possibly reading groups in the future, too. During my visit the store was crowded with curious shopper and well-wishers, and was getting ready to welcome its first reading later that week. Not bad for a shop that had been open three weeks. <br /><br />Pilot claims to be Seattle's Most Secretive bookstore. If you're in the area give it a shout-out and maybe we can change that reputation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-33551820554453264722009-06-20T17:00:00.000-04:002009-06-20T17:50:03.939-04:00Virtual eclipse<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ecoarttech.net/images/eclipse_img2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 91px;" src="http://www.ecoarttech.net/images/eclipse_img2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This spring, a project I'd been <a href="http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/whats-wrong-with-this-picture/1">eagerly awaiting</a> went live. <a href="http://www.ecoarttech.net/">EcoArtTech</a>, who is Cary Peppermint and Christine Nadir, released its <a href="http://turbulence.org/Works/eclipse/">Eclipse</a> project on the Turbulence.org net-art site. This lil program grabs photos of U.S. national parks from Flickr, then uses real-time air quality data from <a href="http://airnow.gov/">airnow.gov</a> to mess with the images.<br /><br />I tried it out for the first time on the Great Smokies National Park, and despite a current air quality rating of G (that's "good" to you), the images were corrupted with pleasingly colored but alarming horizontal lines. A couple of them had a feel similar to to one of my favorite recent <a href="http://shirt.woot.com/">shirt.woot</a> entries—in particular, a photograph of huge grey-black rocks in a slow-moving stream, the water reflecting an odd bright yellow in the original photograph, became a disorienting/abstract thing with bands of magenta and cyan interrupting the flow of water around the rocks, the flow of the shapes the rocks made.<br /><br />I tried the Sumter, SC, national forest, another site dear to my heart, but got a message saying that AQI values aren't available for it right now. Wonder why.<br /><br />If we could see the effects of factors like air pollution all the time, we'd become inured to them. In fact, that's probably how we manage to stand seeing the ones that are visible without hyperventilating. There's the kind of filters that keep the world manageable—and the kind that make important parts of the world visible to us. That's what this project feels like. For our emotional survival, we have to keep the first kind intact; for our long-term survival, we have to keep making more of the second kind of filter, keep finding ways to see what's subtle or painful or too big to conceptualize. Keep it up, EcoArtTech!Anna Lenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534357967383755097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-22830022972520140492009-06-18T14:44:00.005-04:002009-06-18T15:07:51.233-04:00Unspeakable, Unthinkable FictionApparently, some fiction does not enjoy first amendment protection. <br /><br />Consider the case of Dwight Whorley. This Virginia man authored an icky pornographic story that included pedophilia, then emailed his fantasy to likeminded internet friends, <a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/email-obscenity/" target="_blank">Wired reports</a>. Whorley was convicted for possessing obscene Japanese manga and for possession of a filthy piece of print -- his pedophiliac fantasy.<br /><br />The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to hear his case, setting the stage for a Supreme Court Appeal.<br /><br />On the one hand, the production of written kiddie porn probably does hurt children by helping to create an atmosphere that suggests that it's ok, or by helping condition a person's orgasm to an illegal act that threatens the safety children. On the other hand, Whorley's being prosecuted for writing down a private fantasy and sharing it with others, an act that any writer will be familiar with.<br /><br />The whole situation makes me uncomfortable. I generally think of writing as a safe space to experiment with concepts, situations, and characters that might make me uncomfortable in real life. This case pushes that conception to its limit. <br /><br />I find Whorley's fantasies reprehensible, but the idea that the law could punish someone for expressing their feelings, no matter how deviant and disgusting, disturbs me as a writer.<br /><br />I'll be interested to read what happens next.Lizziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01191757447911582264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-89338466567789331732009-06-12T17:22:00.004-04:002009-06-12T18:54:25.148-04:00Review: Where Did You Sleep Last Night? by Danzy Senna<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SjLcWfZhCRI/AAAAAAAAAOE/H5o4P0Dd-tI/s1600-h/Where+did+you+sleep+last+night.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SjLcWfZhCRI/AAAAAAAAAOE/H5o4P0Dd-tI/s320/Where+did+you+sleep+last+night.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346577986585954578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Danzy Senna subtitles her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0374289158/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books" target="blank">latest book</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Where Did You Sleep Last Night?</span>, as a "personal history" rather than a memoir. The difference between the two terms is subtle but important--the book is as much a chronicle of her ancestors and a racially-divided world as it is a story of her own life.<br /><br />Outwardly, the book hinges on the relationship between Senna's parents: Fannie Howe, a writer from the prominent white Boston upper-crust, and Carl Senna, a black intellectual from fuzzy Southern origins. The unlikely couple married in 1968, full of hope and revolutionary zeal, only to divorce in 1975, their union a victim of alcoholism, domestic abuse, and the social pressures of an inter-racial marriage on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement. More significant, however, is the relationship between Senna and her father. At the book's core is the author's dogged search for information regarding her father's roots--an often exhausting and heart-wrenching search that propels her on a journey through the South.<br /><br />I found myself completely wrapped in the tangled threads of Senna's family history, eager for her to solve the mystery of her heritage. However, there was something keeping me from becoming completely involved in the story--something in her tone that's always bothered me. Senna was a visiting writer where I attended college and I took a creative writing seminar with her my last semester of senior year. I don't remember much about her--only about the writing prompts she gave us, the circles we would form for peer review. I think it's because she never seemed fully present or fully invested in our development as writers. Something about her kept us at a distance, even when we were surrounding her at a long table.<br /><br />Given that I had taken a writing course with her, I read the book on multiple levels. On one of those levels, I wondered if her multi-racial identity grants her writing an authenticity and depth that would be somehow lacking in my own. All of her books (two novels and this memoir) focus on this idea of racial duality--of the constant struggle for identity when there isn't just one constant. But what does it mean when you're just...white?<br /><br />While reading the book, I couldn't help feeling like without some element of another ethnicity to add dimension and significance to our experience, we racially plain people are one-dimensional, flat, without substance. There is an underlying tone of scorn for her mother's side of the family, described at one point as "a crowd of screaming red Irish faces, or a room of tight-lipped dismissive Wasps who assume their own significance and wit and intelligence as if they were still central, despite the evidence to the contrary." It was frustrating to feel like our ethnicity alone defines us and how we feel, see, and think about the world around us. Perhaps this is because my experiences have never hinged on my race--a luxury I certainly don't take for granted; however, I would like to believe that it is the totality of our life experiences that define us--not just our DNA.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-89814499281759797582009-06-11T11:57:00.002-04:002009-06-11T12:04:03.156-04:00Coming VERY Soon...It's almost here! Thanks to your generous support and contributions, the new Fringe site will be ready to launch on <span style="font-weight:bold;">June 29</span>. Designing and building a brand-new site is a pretty complicated task, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work out the last few tweaks. <br /><br />As part of the redesign, the blog will be fully integrated with the main site. Stay tuned for specifics and our new address. We can't wait to show off the new face of <a href="http://www.fringemagazine.org"target="blank">Fringe</a>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-53136215199566144102009-06-11T06:00:00.000-04:002009-06-11T06:00:00.200-04:00Shout Out to Zahra RahnavardA big Fringe shout out to bad-a** mother-feminist Zahra Rahnavard, wife to Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's main competition in Friday's Iranian election.<br /><br />After Ahmadinejad questioned Dr. Rahnavard's credentials during a televised debate with her husband, the spunky academe called a 90-minute press conference where she proceeded to excoriate Ahmadinejad for lying, humiliating women, and debasing the revolution.<br /><br />"Those who made up this case against me wanted to say it is a crime for women to study, to get two graduate degrees, to become an intellectual or an artist," she said.<br /><br /> In addition, she threatened to sue Ahmadinejad for slandering her academic qualifications if he did not publicly apologize to her within 24 hours.<br /><br />Dr. Rahnavard put on her feminist hat to woo young and female voters promising that, if elected, her husband will do away with the morality police, end discrimination, ensure that women are treated like humans, not second class citizens, and appoint women to cabinet posts.<br /><br />For a woman in Iran (or anyone in Iran), this is ballsy <ahem> busty styff, but because she's a woman, Rahnavard's been able to indict Ahmadinejad more strongly than any of his male competitors.<br /><br />You can read more about her at the <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6451868.ece" target="_blank">London Times</a>, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090607/wl_mideast_afp/iranvoteahmadinejadmousavi" target="_blank">the AP</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/world/middleeast/08iran.html" target="_blank">The New York</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/world/middleeast/26iran.html" target="_blank">Times</a>, <a href="http://blog.newint.org/majority/2009/06/08/the-architect/" target="_blank">The New Internationalist Blog</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Rahnavard" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>.Lizziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01191757447911582264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-53938741079608838852009-06-10T16:31:00.000-04:002009-06-10T12:41:00.586-04:00Open Book: Jorie Graham on Balancing Parenthood and PoetryI'm a fan of Slate V's <a href="http://www.slatev.com/li_openbook.html">Open Book: Writer's on Writing</a>—a collaboration between Slate and the NYU Creative Writing Program. Check out their most recent video interview of Jorie Graham in “Balancing Parenthood and Poetry.” I love the image of Graham rubbing her pregnant belly on Emily Dickinson's grave!<br /><br /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271557392" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=25839118001&playerId=271557392&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-74025487085199155862009-06-10T12:00:00.003-04:002009-06-10T12:00:00.445-04:00True Currency<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/Si8nP-nsvWI/AAAAAAAAANk/xEG9lW-t5cE/s1600-h/freaks-n-geeks_l4.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/Si8nP-nsvWI/AAAAAAAAANk/xEG9lW-t5cE/s320/freaks-n-geeks_l4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345534438173097314" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"The only true currency in this bankrupt world... is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."</span><br /><br /> <br />In a recent essay for <a href="http://therumpus.net/2009/05/swinging-modern-sounds-the-book-of-love/"target="blank">Rumpus</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Moody"target="blank">Rick</a> <a href="http://www.powells.com/authors/moody.html"target="blank">Moody</a> confesses his dark past as a high school outcast. Ostensibly, this is surprising--though not necessarily a household name, Moody is very well-known in the literary set, and gained fame with his novel, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Ice Storm</span>, which later became a feature film starring Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, and Sigourney Weaver. However, those who know writers and other creative types pretty well will tell you that most of us share a bond stronger than art--we were all tragically uncool in high school. <br /><br />The main focus of Moody's essay is about <a href="http://www.myspace.com/billgage"target="blank">Bill</a>, a band composed of Bill Gage, a man with Down's Syndrome, and his brother John, whom Moody was friends with in high school. Moody sets the stage for his discovery of this band by describing his group of high school friends: a motley and eccentric group of outcasts that others called a "cult." They were fused together in their loneliness and creativity--talent that gets automatically labeled "weird" by teenagers everywhere. <br /><br />I was, of course, uncool in high school, as were many of the most awesome people I know. The only thing that kept me going was my band of friends--like Moody's "cult," we didn't have much in common except for that subliminal quality that set us apart from the popular kids. We converted the small yearbook room at the back of the library into our headquarters--we monopolized the school newspaper, yearbook, and drama club. Nearly all of us were in band or orchestra, and on Friday nights, instead of partying, we made movies. <br /><br />It all makes me wonder if being labeled "different," being jeered at, laughed at, and torn down is what makes great artists great (I am by no means implying I am a great artist. But at least I have some imagination.) This isn't to say that those popular kids won't go far--they will. But without that special brand of angst only found in lonely teenagers, we wouldn't foster the kind of introspection and pain needed to create great art--or some of the best friendships of our lives.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-32118304409196953012009-06-09T22:43:00.008-04:002009-06-10T02:07:55.606-04:00Best. Gift. Ever.A move from one apartment to another made me realize how extensive my book collection got. As I moved my books from a box to the windowsill I looked at each one individually - scanning my eyes over the covers, flipping through the pages of folds, highlights and notes. Each book sparked a memory whether I bought it, found it, or received it.<br /><br />The best gift to get (and give) is a book with a personal message written inside. There’s something so telling about books as gifts. Just this weekend I was reminded of that delightful feeling when my friend and I went to the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/events/printersrow/">Printer’s Row Lit Fest in Chicago</a>. As we fingered through piles of used books he grabbed “Everything is Illuminated.”<br /><br />“I’m buying you this,” he said, not even asking if I read or owned it. Later as we sat over a pre-5 o’clock pitcher of sangria he opened the book to its front-page and began to write.<br /><br />“Don’t read it until later,” he said closing the cover and slipping it into my purse. I was all kinds of excited. I played fair and waited until I got home.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“It’s a rainy day in June. We bought this book a few hours ago and when I think about it I can’t help but feel excited about what you’re going to read. I hope you enjoy it; there’s more feeling and innocence and love in these words than you’ll have time to appreciate. Enjoy.”</span><br /><br />Yes, I teared up. Why? Because I’m a girl and sometimes girls cry about weird things. But come on … words are the indeed <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> best gift. Anybody have a similar experience?Alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12652758304961381456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-30597830438712382682009-06-05T16:29:00.005-04:002009-06-05T16:52:06.137-04:00Submarine, Joe Dunthorne<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MzWtYU8MCwY/SimAi3B3RsI/AAAAAAAAAhk/Lsj41a8NBPk/s1600-h/submarine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MzWtYU8MCwY/SimAi3B3RsI/AAAAAAAAAhk/Lsj41a8NBPk/s320/submarine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343943769227478722" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >“One of the things I have discovered is that, although my father’s beard looks ginger from a distance, when you get close up it is in fact a subtle blend of black, blond and strawberry.<br />I have also learnt that my parents have not had sex in two months. I monitor their intimacy via the dimmer switch in their bedroom. I know when they have been at it because the next morning the dial will still be set to half way.”<br /><br />Oliver Tate is 15. He is abnormally preoccupied with his parents’ marital relations, determined to lose his virginity before he turns 16, and has a girlfriend who can do some very clever things with matches. Oliver is fond of new words, translucent skin, and will happily feed rat poison to your dog if he thinks it will 'safeguard' your long-term emotional stability.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.joedunthorne.com/news.html" target="blank">Joe Dunthorne</a> has a real flair for language, splattering the pages with one-liners and odd observations, as gleaned from the delightfully skewed mind of a protagonist whose mixture of intelligence and immaturity is best served in the guise of a teenage boy. Oliver can pen witty diary entries to appease his girlfriend (crafting delicious parodies of Adrian Mole), yet remain stubbornly oblivious to notions of tact, subtlety, and common sense. Misadventures and grievous errors are sure to ensure.<br /><br />Consistently funny without ever feeling too forced, the narration far outshines the plot, which is a little random and not as compelling as Oliver’s observational nuggets. This is a novel perhaps best enjoyed in small segments, for as witty as Oliver’s precisely phrased narration is, the resulting detachment can feel a bit chilly at times. Indeed, Dunthorne’s protagonist is curiously reminiscent of <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.markhaddon.com/curious.htm" target="blank">Mark Haddon’s</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </span>infamous autistic narrator (also a fifteen year old boy). It is the sort of deadpan delivery that is initially striking but can feel a bit oppressive if you don’t take a break after a chapter or two.<br /><br />Despite its teeny tiny shortcomings, <span style="font-style: italic;">Submarine</span> remains an impressively assured debut from a very promising new(ish)* talent.<br /><br />*(It was published last year, so shame on me for taking so long to find it.)</span>Sam Peczekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067154213771707034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-27410229717607708372009-05-28T16:39:00.002-04:002009-05-28T16:43:18.817-04:00Teh Internetz: #BEA09Today kicks off <a href="http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/" target="blank">Book Expo America</a> at the Javitts Center in New York City. BEA is the largest book convention in the country, though this year is smaller than others. <br /><br />This year's vibe, I'm told, is going to be somewhere between "we're effed" and "where do we go from here?" Interesting discussions will hopefully happen and break ground for new business models in publishing. <br /><br />You can follow the chatter on Twitter by watching the <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23bea09" target="blank">#BEA09</a> hashtag.TJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04719097180277137070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-92212329363824124492009-05-25T13:58:00.002-04:002009-05-25T14:04:44.206-04:00Forage Oakland Anthology CFSYou don't have to live in the east bay to participate in this project! Forage Oakland is a neighborhood bartering food underground, allowing those with extra fruit trees to share with their neighbors. Those on the east coast might not understand that the streets of Berkeley and Oakland are LITTERED with free fruit for the taking...meyer lemon trees, orange trees, persimmons, figs, plums. Not to mention the rose geranium, lavender and rosemary that substitute for shrubbery.<br /><br />You can find out more about the Forage Oakland project <a href="http://forageoakland.blogspot.com" target="blank">here</a>, but if you write about the intersection of food and comunity, please consider <a href="http://forageoaklandanthology.blogspot.com/2009/04/call-for-submissions.html" target="blank">submitting</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-40073238076339421682009-05-21T11:02:00.001-04:002009-05-26T09:20:40.838-04:00Interview with Chamber Four--Part II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/ShQbnQYhMEI/AAAAAAAAAMM/75Ll624EmOE/s1600-h/c4-official-logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 196px; height: 233px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/ShQbnQYhMEI/AAAAAAAAAMM/75Ll624EmOE/s320/c4-official-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337921819567534146" /></a><br /><br />Here's the conclusion of our interview with Chamber Four:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Aside debates about the value of ereaders, and clips of other sources discussing the value of ereaders, what type of content are you trying to publish?</span><br /><br />Sean: We're really trying to promote the book reviews as a source of book information for readers by readers. The database is growing steadily, and our ambitions for it are big; we'll be importing it to a searchable, cross-referencing database at some point, hopefully soon. We're also planning to launch a digital magazine soon.<br /><br />Nico: I've always been frustrated with the way book reviews are done. Music and movie reviews are geared toward telling people if the music/movie is good or not, why aren't book reviews the same way? On the blog side, we also post about literature and reading, as well as ebook issues. I think our best posts are the more sprawling, big-picture pieces, because we're all in the midst of figuring out this tectonic shift in a medium that's been stable for almost 600 years, so I find pieces that can encompass the magnitude of that shift to be the most compelling. And while we do repost some big news items, we filter a lot of stuff out: our goal is to keep the lay ereader/literature aficionado informed without overwhelming him or her with the details of all the minutiae of either ereaders or publishing.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Is Chamber Four available for eReaders?</span><br /><br />Sean: Right now the whole site is in a blogroll format, which can easily be compiled and added to ereaders through programs such as Calibre. When we launch the magazine it will be available for free in an ereader friendly download, probably as PDFs and ePubs.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">As MFA students/graduates, how do you see eReaders changing the way writers try to publish?</span><br /><br />Nico: I think the big difference is that anybody can publish their own ebook. One thing we need, as more and more books are published every year, is a filtration system…In a world of digital distribution, hopefully there will be a lot more room for small press books to get a more equivalent share of notoriety because the cost of distribution will be leveled out. For writers, it means that simply getting published will no longer be a goal in and of itself.<br /><br />Sean: Right, but hopefully writers will remain focused on creating the best art they can. We know good authors will still be good, regardless of the format their books are delivered in. <br /><br />Nico: Another great thing about digital publishing is that it allows for more experimentation. If we start seeing more ebook-only publishers, their books won't necessarily need to all be 300 pages anymore, and their books won't need to have huge audiences because the costs of production will be much lower. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />What is your take on self-publishing?</span><br /><br />Nico: I just want to read good books, I don't care where they come from. I think the biggest problem with self-published books is that the good ones can easily be missed.<br /><br />Sean: The prohibitively steep costs of publishing make things especially difficult for unpublished writers. Self-publishing can help dedicated writers get their stuff out there for all to read, even if a firm won't take a risk on it. eBooks certainly help in this regard. Of course, the volume of poor quality self-publication will likely increase with ebooks (it already has), but like with their deadtree counterparts, if it isn't good, no one will read it anyway.<br /><br />Currently, your site is ad free. Will that be changing in the future?<br /><br />Sean: We're going to try our best not to change that. We toyed with ad space, but with our focus toward unbiased reader advocacy, we didn't want a bunch of Kindle and Sony ereader ads popping up all over the place. When the Kindle 2 came out, Amazon gave a 10% cut of any sale to the site that referred the buyer. This caused a weird imbalance in Kindle reviews, despite the fact that in the best light it is no better than its competition. We didn't want to be a part of that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">When does Chamber Four plan to start a literary magazine? How do you hope to distinguish yourself from other literary magazines? How does starting a literary magazine fit into the site's overall mission?<br /></span><br /><br />Sean: Our hope is to launch the first issue in the autumn of 2009. Each issue will be available for DRM-free download at no cost. Too often, stuff printed in lit journals tends to read as if it was written on only for other writers, perhaps because they are mostly read by other writers. We want to do something different. <br /><br />Nico: To a certain extent, it's us putting our money where our mouth is. We think digital publishing is the way of the future, so we're going to get into it, and see what we can do. We're going to have to stay quiet on specifics for now, but the magazine will definitely be reader-centered, like the rest of Chamber Four.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-76292970492530270802009-05-20T10:20:00.007-04:002009-05-20T11:01:46.356-04:00Interview with Chamber Four--Part I<span class="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/ShQWd73YUUI/AAAAAAAAAME/Z1iDzuxnOtA/s1600-h/c4-official-logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 196px; height: 233px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/ShQWd73YUUI/AAAAAAAAAME/Z1iDzuxnOtA/s320/c4-official-logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337916161882870082" /></a><br /><br />Fringe has been collaborating with <a href="http://chamberfour.com/"target="blank">Chamber Four</a> on an interview swap to exchange information about digital literature. It's been an interesting dialogue--the interview with Fringe's Editor-in-Chief Lizzie Stark can be found <a href="http://chamberfour.com/2009/04/17/fringe-magazine-interview-swap/"target="blank">here</a>. Now it's Chamber Four's turn to answer some questions! Lizzie sat down with Chamber Four founders Sean Clark and Nico Vreeland (Eric Markowsky wasn't available, due to a little thing called his thesis) to talk about writing and reading in the digital revolution. <br /><br />Part I now, Part II will be published tomorrow. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Why did you decide to start this site? How did you come up with the name? Who are its founding members and how long did it take you to get the site up?</span><br /><br />Sean: The three of us (Eric, Nico, and Sean--all from Emerson College's MFA program) came up with the idea while discussing books and Nico's new Sony e-reader. We actually got the first build put together after a long week of work, but some of our planned improvements are still being worked on. I think an enormous disconnect seems to exist between readers (and to an extent writers) and publishing as a business. Since finishing school, I've longed for a better way to discuss and share good books. The name references William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell.<br /><br />Nico: I had a whole lot of trouble finding good information about e-readers, especially the Kindle. After a lot of research, I found out that the Kindle has a lot of downsides: you can't borrow digital library books with it, you can't buy any book not sold through Amazon, and you can't buy much of anything that isn't crippled with DRM. So a big part of Chamber Four is detangling the mess of e-reader information out there. The other parts, like our book reviews, evolved out of that desire to inform readers, and our frustration as readers ourselves with the publishing and e-publishing industries.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />There is endless debate about the role of e-books in literature. How does Chamber Four contribute to this dialogue? </span><br /><br />Nico: We all like ebooks. We try to analyze how readers will be affected by the digital publishing revolution. A lot of sites and organizations look out for authors and publishers and publishing professionals, but very few honestly break down the effects all of this will have on readers. For example, a lot of publishers tell you that digital rights management (DRM) is necessary to protect their investments or stop piracy. But DRM drastically limits the way people can use ebooks compared to paper books, and there's no research to support claims that DRM actually prevents piracy.<br />Sean: The less difference people see between books and ebooks, the better. In any format, literature is words placed together in a precise order by a writer. However, there are a lot of opportunities for books and book distribution to flourish and improve in a digital environment, and readers will have unprecedented access to everything ever written. Basically, our stance is that people should read more, and in what manner they choose to read is secondary to that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">E-readers are slowly becoming more mainstream, but don't seem to be there quite yet. What do you think will be the tipping point?</span><br /><br />Nico: It's important for ereader skeptics to actually see one. That said, the technology isn't quite there yet. Another few years of development will do wonders. Other than that, I'm not sure there will be a tipping point, exactly. Ebook readership picks up every year, and I think that will continue until basically everybody reads ebooks.<br /><br />Sean: The term we (well, Nico) coined for this moment is the Great eReader Adoption. And Nico's right about actually seeing and manipulating an ereader. I still do most of my reading on paper books, but I actually find reading on an ereader quite comfortable. For me the turn off is the DRM. The tipping point for ereaders will likely be most evident when schools and textbooks make the switch. Younger readers will lead the push towards these devices being an everyday necessity.<br /><br />Nico: Yeah, getting rid of DRM is one of the drums we bang. There are already horror stories of <a href="http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44350"target="blank">Amazon locking people out of the books they paid for</a> and they can do that because almost everything they sell you is crippled with DRM, which means that you don't own it, you only license it. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Is DRM really all that bad? In this media market, where the demand for books, and for literary fiction in particular, have been dropping, when fewer people than ever are willing to shell out $25-50 for a hardback, why should publishing companies (and authors) give the public an infinitely replicable file for less than $10? Wouldn't doing so make the already not-very-lucrative profession of book writing even less appealing? Authors need royalties in order to continue writing.</span><br /><br />Nico: Yes, it's that bad. First of all, DRM does not prevent piracy, which is ostensibly the whole reason it exists. What DRM does do is cripple media by locking music and books to specific machines by brute force. There are also <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/04/amazon-kindle-incidents-highlight-drm-limitations-once-again.ars"target="blank">horror stories</a> about Kindle users getting locked out from their books and <a href="http://techreport.com/discussions.x/1518"target="blank">music buyers losing the DRM keys to their music</a>. <br /><br />Essentially, DRM means that you don't own the music or ebooks you buy; you only license them, and at some point that license will expire. I've personally had a lot of trouble trying to put old DRMed music onto new computers, or different mp3 players—and I've had trouble moving ebooks from one ereader to another. And you can forget about borrowing a friend's book like we're all used to. <br /><br />DRM exists because media companies see every illegal download as a lost purchase. But I don't believe that's true. As Neil Gaiman said in a <a href="http://www.richard-seymour.net/component/content/article/60-creativecommons"target="blank">talk</a> a while ago there's a long history of people discovering new writers or artists by borrowing books and music from their friends. There has to be a lot of experimental downloading—people trying new music or movies that they would not purchase otherwise—which is a good thing for authors and musicians, especially struggling ones for whom notoriety is of the highest importance. Plus there's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/21/study-finds-pirates-buy-more-music"target="blank">new research out</a> that suggests downloaders buy more media than non-downloaders.<br /><br />Sean: I'm the type who obsessively organizes iTunes, makes sure every album has cover art, a genre, etc. A big reason why I haven't made the shift to a digital library is that DRM prevents me from doing this with my ebooks. A lot of DRM systems also feed into proprietary formatting, which is especially frustrating, and fragments the market in a way that isn't good for readers or writers. DRM forces a situation where nobody wins besides the guys selling machines for twice the cost of production. And don't forget, right now anyone can read any book they want, totally free and legally: just walk into a library. DRM does nothing to help authors (exposure helps them more than anything); it merely perpetuates a failing business model.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Do you see a place for ebooks in bookstores, or will bookstore giants suffer for the cause?</span><br /><br />Nico: My heart doesn't quite bleed for Borders. When big corporate bookstores try to dictate which books readers buy, the whole publishing industry suffers. I sincerely hope ebooks reduce the power those bookstore chains have. <br />Sean: If Amazon, Borders, and other big corporate bookstores strong arm their way to exclusive deals (both ebook and deadtree) and forgo the publishing houses altogether, I think we'll see a real decline in quality publication, as good literature makes for risky sales. <br /><br />We're already seeing bookstores set up digital kiosks for selling ebooks. E-books can provide publishers the opportunity to produce more great titles at a fraction of the cost. My hope is that ebooks help them produce and sell stuff we want to read that will also make them the money to keep in the ring with the big boys.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-7290963610004577542009-05-19T10:11:00.007-04:002009-05-19T10:30:55.516-04:00Target WomenWhile surfing the internet in the name of procrastination, I stumbled upon my favorite new comedian: <a href="http://current.com/topics/88794117_sarah-haskins/new/">Sarah Haskins</a><br /><br />She takes a look at the way advertising targets women, and the result is hilarious. I recommend you spend the next 45 minutes-4.5 hours watching you tube clips. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r129AhhbDr8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r129AhhbDr8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-12345277226490719462009-05-19T00:31:00.006-04:002009-05-23T11:34:09.475-04:00The Play's The ThingI took Theories and Methods of Cultural Studies in grad school, so I have read <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw"target="blank">Edward Said </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayatri_Chakravorty_Spivak"target="blank">Gayatri Spivak</a> on the theoretical complications of first world writers "representing" colonial and postcolonial groups; these problems range from stereotypes and race/class-based assumptions and paternalism to simply projecting Western cultural emotions and motivations onto Others, just to name a few. My feeling on the subject back then was that it would be better for a writer not to try to speak for the Other at all, rather than to try but get it horribly wrong and come out looking like an elitist or racist. <br /><br />"Little did she know," a narrator might say, since several years later I am an expat and legal resident in Malaysia, and I'm really starved for the company of other people interested in writing. I was excited then when I saw that the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center is inviting submissions for a short play festival. I have written several short plays, so I looked through my DRAMA file and found that my plays are all based on assumptions and cultural norms for the U.S. and particularly Louisiana where they were performed. I believe that good drama has the potential to speak beyond its own space and time, but I never claimed to be Shakespeare or even David Mamet. Besides, I think an event like this is a good impetus to write something new.<br /><br />For the past two months I've been drafting a play in dialogue with Malaysian life and culture. Enter the concerns I listed in the above paragraph. Is it culturally sensitive? Are the characters authentic in terms of avoiding stereotype while presenting immediately recognizable personalities? Am I being so politically correct as to water down the aesthetics? I had a couple of Malaysian friends to read it for me, although even with them I wonder what the difference might be between how they represent themselves to expats, versus to each other. I get the feeling there's an entire other world I live in the middle of but am insulated from, and I am sure that's what causes some of the problems with representation listed in paragraph 1. <br /><br />I'll have to wait a while to find out if my play is going to be performed, but it's been fascinating to write far, far outside my comfort zone. The hardest part has been considering my audience, mostly Malaysian with a few expats judging by the crowd at KLPAC events I have attended. What do you think about such a writerly cultural situation as mine?Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039334681550424159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-31353786041592337672009-05-15T11:42:00.012-04:002009-05-15T13:05:09.971-04:00Is 30 Rock Feminist? Or, my eternal love for Liz Lemon.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y1yPFsbgb_o/Sg2dSAkHGRI/AAAAAAAAABw/6XkXZJaDbmY/s1600-h/30%2BRock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y1yPFsbgb_o/Sg2dSAkHGRI/AAAAAAAAABw/6XkXZJaDbmY/s320/30%2BRock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336094066218572050" /></a><br /><br />Recently, in the recesses of the interwebs, people have been discussing the feminist merits of every nerdy girl's favorite show, 30 Rock.<br /><br />A few weeks back Jonah Weiner, of Slate, called out 30 Rock for being anti-feminist and secretly conservative <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2217712/pagenum/all/">here</a>. The Pursuit of Harpyness (one of my favorite blogs!)<a href="http://www.harpyness.com/2009/05/07/yes-i-really-do-think-about-stuff-this-way/">weighed in</a>, and Bitch Magazine's blog joined in on the <a href="http://bitchmagazine.org/post/30-rock-and-liz-lemon-and-feminism-oh-blurg">discussion</a>, too. (There was also a Maxim article bemoaning Liz Lemon's low libido and the affects this will have on their female audience. Gasp! Horror! Bring back Sex & the City.)<br /><br />The question at the heart of this discussion seems to be: Is Liz Lemon a feminist? Unfortunately, everyone is banging their heads against the wrong door. The real question we need to ask is this: Is 30 Rock a feminist show? This is a very significant difference. Liz Lemon doesn't need to be motivated by feminism, nor Tracy Jordon by civil rights for the show to be a smart critique and satire of gender and race relations. <br /><br />Jonah Weiner (note: his last name is Weiner) writes:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Flawed people are funny, sure, but why does Liz Lemon have the traditionally gendered flaws she does? Elaine Benes and Murphy Brown, for example, were strong, feminist-friendly characters and funny, to boot.</span><br /><br />She's a real woman. Woman have flaws. Some of those flaws are, gasp, "traditionally gendered". Weiner is giving preference to Jack Donaghey as the more-perfect character because his flaws are gendered male (endless ambition, stunted emotions). Liz Lemon's flaws are worse because they are "feminine" problems. (baby hungry, <a href="http://www.harpyness.com/2009/05/07/yes-i-really-do-think-about-stuff-this-way/">hungry hungry</a>, in love with night cheese). The underlying argument here is that the only way to be a feminist is to be like a man. Masculinity is still better than femininity. Isn't <i>this</i> precisely what we're trying to undo?<br /><br />I love Murphy Brown and Elaine; they are some of the great t.v. female characters of our time. But to privileged them for their "masculine" characteristics and "masculine" flaws is, to say the least, problematic.<br /><br />Furthermore, to answer your question Weiner, it's SATIRE. Liz Lemon's gendered flaws are serving a purpose within the narrative of 30 Rock. Indeed, if you look at all the characters of 30 Rock (which some of these articles--I'm looking at you Weiner and Bitch--are hesitant to do), <i>everyone</i> is a caricature of their character/a stereotype. Tracy Jordon? Jenna Maroney? Frank? Toofer? Jack? Kenneth? <br /><br />They are all absurd. They are all mocking the stereotypes of sitcoms before them, and of our cultural stereotypes. The satire of 30 Rock is about mocking the system from within. The danger with satire, of course, is that people, like Weiner, will miss the joke. You run the risk of people missing the tongue firmly planted in your cheek.<br /><br />Is Liz Lemon a feminist? She'd say yes, but it doesn't matter. Is 30 Rock a feminist show? I say, while cuddled in my slanket, yes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-55267739492265584362009-05-14T13:39:00.004-04:002009-05-14T13:57:06.774-04:00Teh Internetz: Browsers and Jewelry<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.twistermc.com/blogimageupload/firefox-icon.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 48px; height: 48px;" src="http://www.twistermc.com/blogimageupload/firefox-icon.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I'm hoping that 98% of y'all won't need me to tell you this, but I'll do it anyway: STOP. USING. INTERNET EXPLORER.<br /><br />OK, so the latest version of IE isn't too bad, and as far as customization goes, Microsoft's browser of choice is greatly improved from its past versions, but still. All the cool kids are using Firefox. Don't you want to be using what all the cool kids are using? <br /><br />There are tons of browser options out there: IE, Chrome, Opera, Safari. But Firefox will always be my baby because of its amazing range of add-ons. <br /><br />Add-ons are kind of like accessories in Final Fantasy games. Ribbons protect you from status ailments, sprint shoes help you move faster, that sort of thing. If you aren't using add-ons for Firefox, you're seriously missing out on the best you could have. <br /><br />Here are some of my favorite add-ons:<br /><br /><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865" target="blank">Adblock Plus</a> will get rid of all annoying ads. If you feel frisky, get the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6846" target="blank">Add-Art bundle </a>that replaces all ads with modern art.<br /><br /><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/321" target="blank">SearchStatus </a>will give you the Google Page Rank and Alexa Rank of every page you visit so you can tell what's an awesome site and what's lame.<br /><br />There are tons of Twitter clients but I like <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5081" target="blank">TwitterFox</a> for its simple, out-of-the-way appearance in my Firefox toolbar. It also makes retweeting and sharing a breeze.<br /><br /><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1941" target="blank">HYPERWORDS</a>. Seriously, download it now. Hyperwords allows you to highlight any text on a web page and, with a simple right click, open up a world of possibilities. Instantly Google, Wiki, share via all types of social media, translate, or compare prices. You can instantly Google Map an address, you can price compare a brand of camera, you can find out what the Russian word for "love" is. It has seriously changed my life.<br /><br />Just like there's an iPhone app for everything, there is a Firefox extension for everything. I'm sure there are a billion awesome ones that I'm missing. Let us know in the comments if I passed on your do-or-die add-on.TJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04719097180277137070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-37949403282266746752009-05-11T16:36:00.004-04:002009-05-11T16:44:14.576-04:00Vernacular Spring Gala--THIS Friday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SgiNIw9MOMI/AAAAAAAAAK8/iYykkB1Ca5k/s1600-h/vernacular.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 78px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__RPbV9BjT-0/SgiNIw9MOMI/AAAAAAAAAK8/iYykkB1Ca5k/s400/vernacular.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334668940340377794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The members of Emerson College’s literary blog, <a href="http://www.vernacularlit.com/" target="blank">VERNACULAR</a>, are proud to present:<br /><br />Vernacular Spring Gala<br />An evening of live music, food and drink, and social networking<br /><br />Join us on Friday, May 15th from 7p.m.-10p.m. at GRUB STREET (160 Boylston St, Boston, 4th floor) for a chance to mingle with local publishing professionals, writers, bloggers, students, and <a href="http://www.emerson.edu/writing_lit_publishing/index.cfm" target="blank">Emerson College</a> faculty. Check us out at www.vernacularlit.com for details about the event, and to purchase discounted advance tickets! ($3 advance / $5 door) Free booze and food included in ticket price-- yes, really!!<br /><br />Live music provided by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/gentlemenhall" target="blank">Gentlemen Hall</a> and Heinz Healey Schaldenbrand; food provided by Teele Square Cafe; drinks provided by Narragansett Beer and Equal Exchange Cafe.<br /><br />I challenge you to find a better deal in the city this weekend! See you there.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Note: You must be 21 years of age to consume alcoholic beverages. Food and drink will be provided while supplies last.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-24422926260518490342009-05-06T16:56:00.003-04:002009-05-06T16:58:22.501-04:00Mission: Accomplished!Thanks to all of you, Fringe has reached our <a href="http://thenounthatverbsyourworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/help-us-redesign-our-site.html"target="blank">fundraising goal</a> (and then some)! <br /><br />You can look forward to a hot new design coming to <a href="http://www.fringemagazine.org"target="blank">Fringe</a> in June. We hope you're all as excited as we are.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-13025485990031430262009-05-04T15:00:00.000-04:002009-05-04T15:00:00.072-04:00social networking in modern times: or, what happens when your folks join facebookA couple weeks ago, my roommate was lamenting that her mother had joined MySpace. <i>Worse</i>said my roommate, <i>she wants to friend me. I'm going to have to reject her. I don't want to be friends with my mom on MySpace.</i><br /><br />Years ago, employers were apt to fire people for talking about work on social networking sites such as MySpace. Today, for better or worse, your boss is more apt to be signing up for such sites. So are Mom and Dad. And underage siblings.<br /><br />I keep tabs on my mother, aunts and little brothers via Facebook, and though none of them read <a href="http://giantsweettooth.blogspot.com" target=blank>my blog</a> they could certainly find it with little difficulty. Yes, there are all sorts of awkward negotiations that go along with this kind of family sharing. My mother tends to ask me what Every Single Status Update means. <br /><br />While my mother employs Facebook primarily for its social uses, she also uses <a href="http://www.linkedin.com" target=blank>LinkedIn</a>, the business-oriented networking site that allows you to "tag" personal and professional connections, and recommend past employees. LinkedIn is refreshingly professional, a form of social networking that's focused on sharing less, not more. Or rather, on sharing only job-specific accomplishments. <br /><br />Recently I accepted a consulting gig from an older gentleman (78, to be precise) looking to take advantage of social networking for his business. He asked if he should join LinkedIn. Then Facebook. Then Twitter. When I mentioned MySpace, he said <i>sure, why not? If it's valuable</i><br /><br />I almost wanted to laugh...I'd spent maybe fifteen hours with this man and knew he'd either be really frustrated by Twitter or incredibly, exhaustedly addicted to it. Then, seriously, I told him he should only join LinkedIn, and Facebook if he wanted to keep in touch with far-flung relatives or colleagues. <br /><br />More and more, it will be people my age and younger inviting people past a certain age into the technological wilderness of blogging, social networking, and new-media marketing. Inasmuch as we may owe it to them (to anyone, really) to give them skills they'll find useful, what specifically should we be teaching them? Should we make the judgment over what we think they would understand and enjoy? Should we invite them to share in our own digitized lives? Who is welcome at the party?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1