Since I’m doing meta today: In case any of you are wondering exactly how I came up with such a cockamamie name for this blog, you can put at least part of the blame on The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges and Margarita Guerrero, which I’ve been carrying in my backpack for […]
Entries Tagged as 'Books'
Help Save Women & Children First Bookstore
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Feminism, LGBT, Media, News
Women & Children First bookstore here in Andersonville is in danger of closing, possibly before the end of the summer, according to recent stories in the Chicago Tribune and the Windy City Times. One factor hurting sales at W&CF is competition, of course. Borders Books & Music, for instance, has four locations—all within four miles […]
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Tolkien’s Children of Hurin: Break a Leg, Professor
April 17th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Books, Culture, Fantasy, Journal, Lit, Mythology, News, Peoria
It appears that Christopher Tolkien has one more book to produce out of his father’s magic hat, although this one will almost certainly be the last. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien goes on sale today, three decades after his death: Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher, now in his eighties, constructed “The Children […]
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Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man”
April 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man” · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Culture, History, Lit, News, Peace, Uncategorized
Gregory Rodriguez has a piece in the LA Times today in which he remembers working as an editorial assistant for Kurt Vonnegut’s publisher, and getting to know Vonnegut as he worked on revising Hocus Pocus for publication. Their first meeting, as Rodriguez recounts it, has Vonnegut displaying a vulnerability that is at once charming and […]
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Kurt Vonnegut, Home at Last
April 12th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Books, Culture, Journal, LGBT, Lit, News, Science Fiction
Kurt Vonnegut is dead. Today the world is a little less kind than it was yesterday. American literary idol Kurt Vonnegut, best known for such classic novels as “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “Cat’s Cradle,” died on Tuesday night in Manhattan at age 84, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Longtime family friend, Morgan Entrekin, who reported […]
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The Waterboys: Mike Scott in The Guardian, and new album Book of Lightning
March 26th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Books, Culture, History, Journal, Lit, Music, Mythology, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Travel
Mike Scott, singer, songwriter, and bandleader of The Waterboys, has a thoughtful and entertaining piece in The Guardian recounting his experiences trying to correct errors in the band’s entry on Wikipedia. Meanwhile, the Waterboys have a new album coming out in April! It’s called Book of Lightning and you can hear samples of a couple […]
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In Chicago: The Return of the Partly Dave Show, Plus Jellybeans, Oobleck, and Jane Goodall
March 23rd, 2007 · 4 Comments · Books, Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Journal, LGBT, Lit, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Theater
I was at the Landmark shop in Andersonville yesterday, and the nice lady behind the counter asked me to guess how many jellybeans were inside the glass human head and write my answer on a slip of paper. I guessed 425. No wait, 450! 17,034! A zillion! Oh my heavens, the pressure. I seem to […]
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News: The Pleasure of the Preznit
March 21st, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Film, Food, Health, HIV/AIDS, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Science
• Preznit Bush is stonewalling and hurling threats of a constitutional showdown over subpoenas. Ocelopotamus say: Call. His. Bluff. If he refuses to obey the rule of law, commence the impeachication. Meanwhile, over at Crooks and Liars, we read this: President Bush kept making the point over and over that allowing his staff members (i.e. […]
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News: Three Rings, No Waiting
March 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Three Rings, No Waiting · Books, Culture, Food, LGBT, Lit, Media, News, Politics
• Karl Rove may be facing a subpoena this week if he doesn’t agree to appear before the Senate to testify in the fired prosecutors scandal. The chairman of the judiciary committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, wants White House officials on the record, under oath. The final decision on putting on the agenda subpoenas is mine,” […]
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News: Wear Sunscreen
March 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Wear Sunscreen · Apple, Books, Climate Change, Culture, Internet, iTunes, Language, LGBT, Media, Music, News, Politics, Science, Tech, TV
Worldwide, the winter of 2006-2007 has been the warmest since record keeping began in 1880, according to a new government report. A variety of desperate schemes to save the planet from global warming are being considered by NASA and other organizations — including a man-made volcano that spews sulfur into the atmosphere; a “sun shade” […]
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