Thrillin' to Trillin

Calvin's got more
con-Bush verse
In a book you can carry
In your purse.

It's funny and smart
With the usual bite.
Calvin's voice is soft,
But his words hold might!

He was on Today
And The Daily Show,
But Comedy Central
is just a bit slow

Updating their site.
So you'll see Campbell Brown
Not my man, Jon Stewa't
Talking to Calvin...

Where's my cadence?
I think I blew it.

Ok, doggerel might be the word of the day (now I'm sounding like Stephen Colbert [also from Comedy Central, and also very funny]), but you really should pick up a copy of Calvin Trillin's newest Bush-whacking book, A Heckuva Job: More of the Bush Administration in Rhyme, which follows Obviously On He Sails: The Bush Administration in Rhyme.

Both those books, and more Calvin Trillin can be found at your neighborhood, independent bookstore. If you're in the Boston area, call Brookline Booksmith to see if they still have some signed copies from Calvin's visit! You could even check that out when you go there tonight to see Louis Bayard read from his newest novel!

Thursday June 22 7PM
LOUIS BAYARD – The Pale Blue Eye
When a detective is sent to West Point to investigate murder and mutilation among the ranks, you've got an interesting story. But when cadet Edgar Allen Poe is assigned to help him as an inside source, you know something weird is going to happen. Louis brilliantly fictionalizes Poe's short time at West Point in a story of intrigue, dark forces, and, inevitably, a beating human heart.

Love will out...

...or in this case, it's more like love will in. Inter, that is. Next Monday, the 26th of June, the bodies of the wife and daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne will be returned to Concord, from England, and will be laid to rest beside the famous, local author in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Details:
Monday, June 26, 2006. 2:30 - 5:00 pm.
In a private ceremony sponsored by Hawthorne's family and the order of The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the remains of Sophia and Una Hawthorne will be transferred to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord and buried next to Nathaniel. Following the interment, the public is invited to attend a public reception at The Old Manse from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. Rumor has it (living) author, Megan Marshall will be onhand to say a few words. The Old Manse is located at 269 Monument Street, Concord, MA. For information please call 978-369-3909.

In truth, I'm a firm believer that our bodies are just shells that house our spirits. Nonetheless, I think this is kind of cool...if only symbolic. Even if you don't attend the ceremony at The Old Manse, you might want to stop by The Concord Bookshop where you'll find a table of book by Hawthorne and Peabody Sisters books signed by Megan Marshall.

What better reason to visit Sleepy Hollow Cemetery??

See you there~
Fischlipps

Da Vinci Mysteries...

Will we ever really know the truth? Well, since everyone who could have the last word on the point of the relationshiop between Mary Magdalene and Jesus (among other issues) has long since passed into the realm of the seance, that one will never be solved. However, according to the journal Editor & Publisher, Vanity Fair is about to publish a piece continuing the Dan Brown plagarism controversy, and there's a bit in there about mysterious emails that's starting to sound like the makings of a followup book...or movie: the boggle behind the conundrum?

What does Fischlipps think about all this? Well, there's no arguing that stealing someone's writing is dead wrong. Sometimes it's hard to say. I once wrote a treatment for an episode of Northern Exposure. I hadn't done anything to protect it. I just hoped they'd like the idea, and apparently (to me) they did, as an uncannily similar episode showed up that fall. But who's to say their writers didn't come up with it on their own? Most of our ideas aren't so awfully unique. But if, as has been rumored, Dan purposely took quite a bit from other people's writing, it's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

As for "the truth." Well, I'm pretty much of the same mind over Da Vinci as I was about the brouhaha (what a fun word!) over A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. If you enjoyed either book--or the movie--or if they made you think, then who cares if they're fact or fiction? The point in life is to observe, analyze and learn from everything around you. If you need to believe the conventional take of the Church on Jesus, then believe it! For you, it's the truth. If it doesn't shatter your faith to imagine that Jesus had a ladyfriend, that's fine, too.
And there you have the Saturday gospel according to Fischlipps.

Peace be with you.

~Fischlipps

Pretty Good Gore...

I saw that you asked for comments on the Gore movie; I saw it last night.

It's like Stop Making Sense or Swimming to Cambodia, except it's Al Gore giving a lecture on global warming.

I liked it, but it needs a bit of work. Say what you want about Michael Moore, but he is the master of the entertaining documentary. And because the movie touches on Gore's career and 2000 defeat, you can't help but think of Fahrenheit 911. Obviously Gore had more reasons not to use Moore than to use him, but if he could have snuck in some anonymous help, it would have helped.

Gore makes his primary case, that global warming is occurring and that the only people who deny it are corporate interests, very well. He does a lot of it in his now familiar "I'm funnier than you think I am" dry tone, which works well because it's a refreshing change from -- I'm a liberal, so I can say this -- screaming environmentalists.

Interrupting the lecture are bits about his life, several of them sad. His father grew tobacco and he loved working in the fields, but his father stopped when his sister died of lung cancer. And stories about his career inevitably end with the 2000 election results, and we all know the story, but there was Gore himself talking about it, and it was fascinating.

On the downside -- it lagged about 75% in, but then picked up. The low point is probably an animated sequence that looks like it was made by the Simpsons production team, and it's probably a great surprise when he shows it to a live audience, but in the movie, it looked stupid.

Finally, it helps if you're interested in Gore, as I am. He seems to actively struggle to be a regular guy, which is literally impossible for a former vice president, but I give him credit for the effort. And he seems very sincere about the message. Along the same lines, you could argue that he should have kept his personal political life out of the movie, but that would have reduced interest in the movie, so why separate the message from the messenger?

I think you should see it. It's eventually going to be overshadowed by the presidential campaign, but the message is important.

~Jim Corrigan

Blog, blog, blog...

Ingram Books has a few how-to's for those of you who want to delve into this blogging thing. They look like good books...and I would no-doubt benefit from reading them. I just don't have the time (or the patience)!
~Fischlipps

Inconvenient Truth, convenient location...

I'm sitting in my office, looking out at such a pretty spring day on our lovely, lovely planet. Aren't we lucky? Yes! But as any gambler would (or should) tell you, "luck" will only take you so far. If we want to keep this place, we're going to have to start to work for it. And don't start up with the "but I'm only one person, what can I do?" blather! EVERY little thing you do to help, will count toward saving the gorgeous orb on which we were fortunate enough to have landed.

Now, if you live in a cool community like Brookline, you won't have to put much effort at all into heading over to the Coolidge to see Al Gore's film. If you live in a less progressive area, you may have to travel--by bike, foot or hybrid car, preferably--to view the film. And whether or not you get to see it, read the book. You can order it from your local, independent bookstore! I haven't had a chance to get it yet, but if you have, tell me what you think.
~Fischlipps
p.s. no, that picture is not what I see out my window. It's the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand. Wow.

What to do, What to eat...

Seats will go quickly, so you'd better get your tickets right now, to this neat evening:

The Second Event in the Boston Progressive Reading Series
A monthly literary benefit to support progressive congressional candidates nationwide.
sponsored By LitPAC and Newtonville Books.
Sunday, June 18, 7pm, Donations at the door and online
at The Attic/Union Street Bar 107 R Union Street, Newton Centre, MA

FEATURED AUTHORS:
Dennis Lehane -- author of Mystic River and Coronado
Anita Diamant -- author of The Red Tent and The Last Days of Dogtown
Ed Schwarzschild -- author of Responsible Men
Paul Rieckhoff -- author of Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier’s Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington
Jennifer Traig -- author of Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood
Stephen McCauley -- author of The Object of My Affection and Alternatives to Sex

Price: $10 - $20 sliding scale. Purchase tickets online at ActBlue. Just print out your receipt and bring it to the door as your ticket. Tickets are also available the night of the event.
Click here for more information on LitPAC and to get on the Progressive Reading email list.

Also at Newtonville Books...

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig Wednesday, June 14 7:30pm reading and signing Books & Brews Event

A paean to a vanished way of life and the eccentric individuals and idiosyncratic institutions that made it fertile, The Whistling Season is Ivan Doig at his evocative best.

While on another side of town, Brookline Booksmith is also rife with author events for every taste. For the romantics, Francine du Plessix-Gray will relate the fairytale-like (remember, not everything in those stories is happy) existence of her mother and step-father. For those of you with a less romantic bent, the endlessly entertaining Chuck Palahniuk, will stoke the fires of your darkest thoughts. And for the 40-something guy who's toying with the idea of getting a Harley instead of having children, and the 40-something gal who likes to sit in the cellar of a bookstore and make eyes at a handsome and funny author, we have Douglas Lawrence. It's usually not that hard for me to pick one event a week that I think you should hit, but all three of these would be well worth your time!

Porter Square Books will be hosting an evening with "the incredible edible egg" next week, which could, for those of you who wrinkle your noses at the thought of hard-boiled or sunnyside up, being a turning point. How about smoked trout and peeper frittata, pesto vegetable quiche, Moroccan tangine with meatballs, tomatoes and eggs, almond and orange pound cake with orange glaze, or sweet potato pie with bourbon-meringue topping?

Eggs to mild a fare for you? Just wait until October when Fierce Food: The Intrepid Diner's Guide to the Unusual, Exotic and Downright Bizarre by Christa Weil, comes out! I was reading from this hilarious and sometimes unbelievable book, to my boyfriend the other day as we were driving somewhere. You know how on some menus there is a legend telling you how spicy, or how low-cal some of the offering are? Well this legend has icons that let you know how spiny, revolting, messy, or dangerous ("eating may cause pain/death) a food is. It also has an icon to clue you in that a dish "tastes like chicken" (the head of a chicken), has aphrodisiac qualities, has eyes, may require special equipment or a special technique, or may be incredibly smelly. Christa Weil is not only an adventuress eater, but she's also got quite a knack for serving up what could be dull facts, in a creative and pleasing way!

There's a chapter on chapulines. Also on on cordyceps. How 'bout fat-tailed sheep tail?! Yummy! And those are just from the beginning of the alphabet. I'll remind you when this book hits the shelves this fall. If nothing else, it's a great gag (and I mean gag) book for those of you who consider yourselves gourmets. It's also just an entertaining read that you can pick up whenever you have a minute and feel like whetting your appetite.

~Fischlipps (for which there are no recipes in Christa's book)