The Mumpsimus

The next issue of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet will soon be released into the wild, and it contains a marvelous variety of stories, poems, and oddities, most of which, I'm sure, are of high quality, and there's also a story by me. (Don't blame LCRW. The editors are sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you they're only publishing "The Lake" because I kept sending them gift subscriptions to The National Review and Soldier of Fortune , and I promised to stop only if they would publish one of my stories.) I'm particularly excited to see that Kirstin Allio has a story in this issue, because the only thing of hers I've read is Garner , an extraordinary novel set in my home state of New Hampshire. Garner was a LitBlog Co-op pick some seasons ago, and has remained one of my favorite LBC books. Though there are many different choices for how to subscribe, most subscriptions to LCRW cost less than a new lung. So what's your excuse?

Rick Bowes has taken to calling me "Garbo" (or, when he's feeling particularly familiar, "Greta"), but it is not true that I am avoiding the world, merely that I am busy with teaching, grading papers, writing lesson plans, etc. As proof, though, of my continued existence, I offer the following: Tonight's Interfictions reading at McNally Robinson , where I will be reading alongside Tempest Bradford, Veronica Schanoes, and Delia Sherman. (I may also channel Theodora Goss, having last achieved this feat two years ago at the World Fantasy Convention, when Dora couldn't make it to a panel.) A conversation about Best American Fantasy at Booksquare , in which Jeff, Ann, and I throw questions at each other. Many thanks to Kassia Krozser for inviting us to do this! The evidence is before you, my children. Garbo or ... Harpo ? You decide!

I admire Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild quite a bit, and so I was wary about seeing the movie. What I most like about the book is the interplay between Krakauer's sensibility and Chris McCandless's story -- Krakauer understands the mix of idealism, frustration, and foolhardiness that led McCandless to abandon as many of the accoutrements of civilization as he could, dub himself "Alexander Supertramp", and set out with very little preparation or knowledge, eventually heading for the wilderness of Alaska -- and yet Krakauer is also different enough in temperament from McCandless to be able to provide a counter-narrative through his wrestling with the implications of McCandless's actions, ideas, and mistakes. It's not as drastic a counter-narrative as Werner Herzog provides the story of a somewhat similar Alaskan dreamer, Timothy Treadwell , in Grizzly Man , but it's enough to make the book compelling and thought-provoking. Alas, the movie Sean P...

Some of the most fun I had at the World Fantasy Convention a few years ago involved hanging out with various Australians. They all stood on their heads to adjust to the gravity here, and I just found that tremendously endearing. A bunch of Aussies are coming to New York City this weekend and then continuing on eventually to the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga, NY. Alas, I'm not going to be able to be there this year (too many work obligations), nor am I going to be able to go to the event at the Australian Consolate to welcome Australian SF writers to the U.S. because it's at nearly the same time at the Interfictions reading at McNally Robinson, alas. (Yes, I said alas at the beginning and end of that sentence. Because I feel much alasness.) But I'm hoping to at least make a brief appearance at the Books of Wonder event on Saturday from 3-5, where Garth Nix, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Jonathan Strahan will be collectively and ind...

My thoughts are fragmentary today. Here are some of the shards: A few days ago I watched The Dresden Dolls: Live at the Roundhouse , and though it didn't give me the utter and complete joy of the Dolls' earlier DVD, Paradise (because how could they possibly top Christopher Lydon listening to the song about him ?! And Brian Vigglione's wonderful drumming at the beginning of "Half Jack" ? And the stiflingly heat and invigorating intimacy of the stage? And...?), it's great fun if you like their music. I was particularly taken by the collaboration with Trash McSweeney (of the Australian band The Red Paintings ) on the old Tears for Fears song, "Mad World" . I've liked the original version of "Mad World" since I first heard it while riding on the school bus one day many years ago -- that version of the song seems utterly psychotic to me now; Gary Jules offered a somewhat more melancholic and teen angsty version later. The McSweene...

Now and then friends send me links to weird things. I don't blog about them much, because, well, we're all pretty good at finding weird things on the internet these days, aren't we? But sometimes.... Sometimes somebody sends me a link to something so bizarre that I must share, because the joy I get from such things simply cannot be contained. So it is with this extraordinary video called "Baby Got Book" . (Don't worry, it's safe for work ... and church...)

Sad news this morning: Giornale Nuovo has reached an end . Giornale Nuovo is a blog I've been reading and linking to for years now, and, in fact, I have probably linked to a greater percentage of the posts there than to any other blog, because though new material came out somewhat infrequently, the posts were so often fascinating and beautiful -- many times focused on artwork of some kind -- that they deserved much attention. The archives are rich and extraordinary, and well worth sauntering through. I will miss the excitement of new GN posts, but I am grateful for all that has been given to us over the years, and I will keep some hope up for an eventual resurrection.