Smart Birds

If you look now, you won't miss this spectacular sight: a family of redtail hawks at MIT! This link is a live feed, which has been going on since mid-April, and it's fascinating. The "babies" are about to fly--they practice in the nest--so you won't be able to observe them for much longer. I go to this site first thing in the morning at work, and just check in on them every now and again. I'm riveted!

For more scoop and commentary on them, there's a blog you can peruse.

Just so I can stay true to the intent of this blog, however, I'll put in a link to the best bird books around, too! David Sibley, who lives just north of Boston, has written and illustrated the most informative and gorgeous books since Audubon. Another reason to like David and buy his books, is that if you go to the publications section in his site, you'll be directed to click and find out where you can buy his books from a local, independent bookstore, not one of those online behemoths!

~Fischlipps

Not to miss...

You know how some authors look like they'd write the kind of stuff they write? For instance, Steve Almond (whom I hope you'll see at the Brookline Booksmith tomorrow--see the last entry below) just looks like he'd write the sexily. Yes, sexily. Sensitively, but sexily.

On the other hand, to behold Elinor Lipman, you might not guess that she pens such pithy, darkly ribald novels. But boy, does she!

For a good time, go see her tonight at Porter Square Books in Cambridge.

Which brings me to Steve Almond, my Hero!

Attention all you Steve Almond friends and fans! Steve's put his money where his mouth is, and now it's time you did the same.

Earlier this month, Steve took a wonderfully brave and, yes, idealistic, stance, resigning his position at Boston College. Why-ever would he do that?! In his own words...

Condoleezza Rice at Boston College? I quit By Steve Almond May 12, 2006

An open letter to William P. Leahy, SJ, president of Boston College.

DEAR Father Leahy,
I am writing to resign my post as an adjunct professor of English at Boston College.
I am doing so -- after five years at BC, and with tremendous regret -- as a direct result of your decision to invite Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the commencement speaker at this year's graduation.

Many members of the faculty and student body already have voiced their objection to the invitation, arguing that Rice's actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive.

But I am not writing this letter simply because of an objection to the war against Iraq. My concern is more fundamental. Simply put, Rice is a liar. She has lied to the American people knowingly, repeatedly, often extravagantly over the past five years, in an effort to justify a pathologically misguided foreign policy.

The public record of her deceits is extensive. During the ramp-up to the Iraq war, she made 29 false or misleading public statements concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and links to Al Qaeda, according to a congressional investigation by the House Committee on Government Reform.

To cite one example:
In an effort to build the case for war, then-National Security Adviser Rice repeatedly asserted that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear weapon, and specifically seeking uranium in Africa.
In July of 2003, after these claims were disproved, Rice said: ''Now if there were doubts about the underlying intelligence . . . those doubts were not communicated to the president, the vice president, or to me." Rice's own deputy, Stephen Hadley, later admitted that the CIA had sent her a memo eight months earlier warning against the use of this claim.

In the three years since the war began, Rice has continued to misrepresent or simply ignore the truth about our deadly adventure in Iraq. Like the president whom she serves so faithfully, she refuses to recognize her errors or the tragic consequences of those errors to the young soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq. She is a diplomat whose central allegiance is not to the democratic cause of this nation, but absolute power.

This is the woman to whom you will be bestowing an honorary degree, along with the privilege of addressing the graduating class of 2006. It is this last notion I find most reprehensible: that Boston College would entrust to Rice the role of moral exemplar.

To be clear: I am not questioning her intellectual gifts or academic accomplishments. Nor her potentially inspiring role as a powerful woman of color. But these are not the factors by which a commencement speaker should be judged. It is the content of one's character that matters here -- the reverence for truth and knowledge that Boston College purports to champion.

Rice does not personify these values; she repudiates them. Whatever inspiring rhetoric she might present to the graduating class, her actions as a citizen and politician tell a different story.
Honestly, Father Leahy, what lessons do you expect her to impart to impressionable seniors?
That hard work in the corporate sector might gain them a spot on the board of Chevron? That they, too, might someday have an oil tanker named after them? That it is acceptable to lie to the American people for political gain?

Given the widespread objection to inviting Rice, I would like to think you will rescind the offer. But that is clearly not going to happen. Like the administration in Washington, you appear too proud to admit to your mistake. Instead, you will mouth a bunch of platitudes, all of which boil down to: You don't want to lose face. In this sense, you leave me no choice.

I cannot, in good conscience, exhort my students to pursue truth and knowledge, then collect a paycheck from an institution that displays such flagrant disregard for both. I would like to apologize to my students and prospective students. I would also urge them to investigate the words and actions of Rice, and to exercise their own First Amendment rights at her speech.

Steve Almond is the author of the story collections ''The Evil B. B. Chow" and ''My Life in Heavy Metal." He will be reading from his new novel--written with Julianna Baggott--this coming Thursday at the Brookline Booksmith...

Thursday May 25 7PM
STEVE ALMOND - Which Brings Me To You
DAPHNE KALOTAY - Calamity and Other Stories
This dude and dudette are not only two of our very favorite local authors, but they're both experts in the complexities of people changing, and they wrote about it. In Which Brings Me To You, Steve and Julianna Baggott write a novel in confessions – two 30-somethings meet at a wedding, toy with the idea of a quick horizontal hokey-pokey, but decide instead to exchange letters. Each gradually unveils their regret-littered pasts in an attempt to base their relationship on "reckless honesty."
In Daphne's "delicately graceful" twelve stories, the same characters appear in different stories, at different stages of their lives, in a deceptively simple study of the way our lives overlap, and the way that defines us.

PLEASE come to the reading, buy the book (he's going to need the money until he gets a new job), and let Steve know how proud you are to know him! Or, if you can't get to the event, but you do want him to sign a book for you, just give the 'smith a buzz at 566-6660. They can get a copy signed and you can come pick it up at your leisure (or the closest thing thereto.)

Oh! I've just begun reading Steve and Julianna's book, so I'll tell you what I think of it in more detail soon. I did, however, see Julianna and Steve read on of Tim Huggins' evenings at The Attic in Newton, and they were brilliant! As usual, their writing--collectively and individually--is really sexy, really funny and beautifully insightful. Get the book!

~Fischlipps

Perseveration

One entry found for perseveration.

Main Entry: per·sev·er·a·tion
Pronunciation: p&r-"se-v&-'rA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin perseveration-, perseveratio, from perseverare
: continuation of something (as repetition of a word) usually to an exceptional degree or beyond a desired point
- per·sev·er·ate /-'se-v&-"rAt/ intransitive verb
- per·sev·er·a·tive /-"rA-tiv/ adjective

Yes, I'm perseverating about this alligator thing. The more I think about it, the more reasons I come up with to find it appalling. What kind of lesson does this teach not only our children, but all the impressionable adults in our country? It teaches us that if something scares us, or threatens us in any way, if anything inconvenieces us or keeps us from doing exactly what we want to do when we want to do it, it should be eliminated!

A few days ago, they showed more footage of the poor, enormous and truly daunting beast that some Arian-looking gator hunter bested in Florida. He was trussed in duct tape, head to toe, and a bunch of people were gawking and cheering as this creature was thrashing and fighting for its life. It didn't strike me as much different than a lynching.

As a supposedly civil society, is this really how we want to treat anything?! Is it? Or are there preserves where these guys could live and thrive where we'd be safe from them...and they'd be safe from us?

Crocodile tears...

...or more precisely, alligator tears, must be being shed all over reptiledom, for the mammoth "monsters" being captured and killed in Florida these days. I don't get it. Yes, these guys are terrifying and dangerous. Then stay the hell away! Humans are encroaching upon their turf (and surf) every day, and yet we expect them to just slink meekly away into the next patch of swamp? I'm always amazed at the ego of human beings. These creatures have lived millions of years longer than we, and should be revered more than reviled. It made me sick to see a 12' alligator with his snout and eyes sealed shut with duct tape, struggling as a crane was attempting to load him onto a flatbed trailor.

Living in gator territory? Don't go swimming, jogging, fishing, toe-dangling, you dope! When will we realize that we can't impose our will upon everything in the universe?

~Fischlipps

According to Publishers Weekly...

"After four straight years that included some huge increases, title output fell 9.5% in 2005 to 172,000 new titles and editions, according to preliminary estimates from R.R. Bowker. Figures indicate that the largest decline occurred at small and mid-sized houses; production from the smallest house fell 7%, while new titles from small-to-medium and medium-to-large publishers dropped 10% and 15%, respectively. New titles from the largest houses fell 4.7%, to 23.017, while new titles from university press rose 1.8%.

Bowker said that every broad category with the exception of legal showed significant declines in production with output in general adult fiction and children’s books down by double-digits. Religion, biography, history and technology all had big declines last year, while sports and recreation had the largest gain in output at 22%. The number of adult fiction titles rose 6.9%.

Gary Aiello, Bowker COO, said early indications are that with costs increasing, publishers are being cautious about the number of titles they will publish in 2006." -PW

Could that be because we're all reading more blogs than books?
>>{{{{{}})> Fischlipps

What to Do...

First, let's congratulate all of our outstanding indie bookstores. Boston is, without a doubt, one of the best places in the country for un-chained bookstores. On account of that, it's also a favorite place for authors to come visit and read from their newest works. I think that all of our local bookstores attract the highest caliber writers, but I have to cast my vote this year for Newtonville Books as the absolute winner, because owner Tim Huggins has branched out and turned his readings into both literary and social events.

Here are the results of the Boston Phoenix Best Of voting...

Best Place To Hear Readings

The Harvard Book Store throbs with big brains and mighty tomes. People rub shoulders in the poetry aisle, make eyes in the lit-crit section, and listen to some of the biggest names in writing read their works. This independent force in increasingly homogenized Harvard Square draws the brightest of the literary luminaries: Franz Wright, David Mitchell, Catharine A. MacKinnon.

The space for readings at Newtonville Books offers intimacy; it’s a cozy womb of a room, stone walled and warm, and nearly every year our readers select it as one of the best spots to hear their favorite writers read. Run by the seemingly indefatigable Tim Huggins, the store draws authors like Gary Shteyngart, Tony D’Souza, and Julia Glass, plus local scribes like Steve Almond, Daphne Kalotay, and Dennis Lehane.

Harvard Book Store | 1256 Mass Ave | Cambridge | 617.661.1515 | Newtonville Books | 296 Walnut Street, Newton | 617.244.6619

Best Local Author

Boston is a literate city, no surprise, and has its fair share of active writers. This year’s pick for best author isn’t your typical novelist/journalist/essayist. J*Me is a slam-poet superstar, and he takes this category for the first time. He barrels through his fast-talking, hard-feeling spoken song and verbal dance, all passion, all rhythm.

While J*Me is a relative newcomer on the scene, Steve Almond is a familiar name around Boston. He writes about sex (My Life in Heavy Metal). He writes about candy (Candyfreak). He’s an erstwhile DJ. A short-story writer. A contributor to publications too numerous to name. A general literary man about town, whom Phoenixreaders pick as their favorite local man of letters.

Best Store for New Books

Scan the shelves at Harvard Book Store for the staff recommendations taped beneath various titles. There’s one written about one of our favorite books, a red clothbound The Elements of Style (illustrated). The recommendation reads, “page 109, #11 — Liz S.” Flip open to number 11. “Do not explain too much.” Harvard Book Store pulled more reader votes than any other best winner in shopping.

Other recommendations by best-bookstore staff: Tim at Newtonville Booksrecommends Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, and Chris at Brookline Booksmithrecommends Hand to Earth: Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture,1976–1990.

Harvard Bookstore | 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.661.1515 | Newtonville Books | 296 Walnut Street, Newton | www.newtonvillebooks.com | Brookline Booksmith | 279 Harvard Street, Brookline | www.brooklinebooksmith

Best Store for Used Books

Grill Steve Pasechnick, a used-book man for 11 years, about the Harvard Book Store basement and the death of hardcover books. The used-book department carries old and new fiction, nonfiction, foreign-language texts, and such, but Steve talks about Natalie, the eight-year-old plant that hangs above the counter. Natalie did a stint upstairs, but, Steve says, “She thrives in the used-book department.” Suddenly, you really like this basement. Beneath the counter, behind boxes of books, are old paperback covers. Steve points out a thank-you letter from Brigitte Bardot on the back cover of Best of Balzac. He’s a book man with an eye for detail. Oh, and Hilary, another staffer, collects eight-track tapes; for more information see the hanging eight-track, next to Natalie.

For more used books, check out Loren Ipsum and McIntyre and Moore, both best-used-book contenders.

Harvard Bookstore | 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.661.1515 | Loren Ipsum | 157 Hampshire Street, Cambridge

Those kudos recognized, here are my picks for local events next week (as it's already a little late for this'n):

Newtonville Books:
Announcing The First Event in the
Boston Progressive Reading Series
Sunday, May 14 at 7pm
The Attic/Union Street Bar, 107 R Union Street, Newton Centre, MA

This is the first in a monthly series of literary benefits to support progressive congressional candidates nationwide. (These events will be happening on the third Sunday of every month through the 2006 elections). Sponsored By LitPAC and Newtonville Books.

Host and Founder: Stephen Elliott (Looking Forward To It: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The American Political Process).
Tonight's Readers: Tom Perrotta (Little Children), Lily King (The English Teacher), Peter Orner (The Second Coming Of Mavala Shikongo), Jen Trynin (Everything I’m Cracked Up to Be), Luis Alberto Urrea (The Hummingbird's Daughter) and Steve Almond (Candyfreak)

Tickets:
Price: $10 - $20 sliding scale.
Purchase tickets online here or on the night of the event. For online purchases, please print your receipt and bring it to the Attic.

For more information go to StephenElliot.com. Get on the Progressive Reading email list by sending an email to: litpac-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Brookline Booksmith:
(You really shouldn't miss either of these; one lighter, one darker...for balance.)
Monday May 15 7PM
MARIAN KEYES - Anybody Out There?
Booksmith favorite Marian Keyes and her uproarious world of the Walsh sisters return to our famed basement. Anna Walsh, after a disfiguring car accident, retreats to the family home near Dublin to recoup where she pines for the glamour of New York City. Only Marian could make this situation joyously boffo. Not to be missed!

Wednesday May 17 7PM
AM HOMES– This Book Will Save Your Life

We'd all like to believe that those vicariously rich people in L.A. will all eventually have panic attacks and realize their lives are empty. And that's what happens to Richard in This Book Will Save Your Life. After being discharged from the hospital, the wealthy day-trader starts being extravagantly generous to marginal acquaintances and relatives and begins reconnecting with his teenage son Ben in this story of redemption gone slightly askew.