hollywood
Our Hollywood discovered by the Times.
googlegänger
That's my favorite new word. "A person with your name who shows up when you google yourself."
dickheads of the year
Bill Maher's list. Yes, the Congrassional Democrats made it. (thanks to Mollie in Austin)
iowa caucus
From our gal Laura in Ames:
In precinct #22, Ames, IA: Of 228 voters: Obama, 5 delegates; Edwards, 3; Richardson, 2. Hillary wasn't viable in this precinct: Thirty-five supporters were required for viability, and she started with 26, then ended with 30.
Iowa now has a Democratic legislature (as well as another Democratic governor). Last spring its members passed a bill that called for LGBT civil rights protection (including the "T" for gender identity). In Iowa. The corn/hog/soybean state that proudly features deep-fat-fried Twinkies at its annual state fair, always held in August, one of the two hottest and most humid months of the year. Anything deep-fat fried is the cuisine of choice at the fair, regardless of the heat index, which can reach 100 degrees or higher that time of year.
Opponents of the civil rights bill argued that it would pave the way for gay marriage. One gay couple from Ames was legally married last summer. A state court ruling will determine whether more gay marriages will be allowed.
from the Freezer Jesus Files
Not the Christ, but his mom. "I feel like it's telling us someting, like it's protecting us. It's a miracle."
cold snap
On my morning walk I saw some immobile anoles, wouldn't move even when I touched them. Some bigger guys in Miami felt the cold, too.
iowa
"Iowa is the thirtieth state in population, the twenty-third in land area, and 90 percent of that land is under cultivation. It's first in pork production, first in corn production, and second in soybean production. It's the eleventh smartest state. And here are the top ten fun things to do in Iowa: 10. View the Herbert Hoover birth cottage in West Branch. 9. Eat as much as you want for free at Pancake Day in Centerville. 8. See the country's largest collection of cotton balls in Waverly. 7. Visit the National Rotisserie Chicken Museum in Sigourney. 6. Attend the Donna Reed Festival in Denison. 5. Tour the American Eraser Factory in Des Moines and receive an eraser in the shape of Iowa. 4. Participate in National Tractor Safety Day, statewide. 3. Visit the Nail Clipper Shrine in Cascade. 2. Play mini-golf at the largest mini-golf course in the world in Dubuque. 1. Visit the Iowa 80 Truck Stop and order a Chubby Burger-two-and-a-half pounds of meat!" --from "Squeeze the Feeling"
the lives of others
Praise for The Lives of Others, a film I mentioned in my recommended list a few days ago. "Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's The Lives of Others, now available on DVD, is the best feature film debut by a director since Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. "
writing contests
The AWP Award Series. The Prairie Schooner Book Prize.
grammar lesson
More here.
found poem #2
Duncan
I would not flush a dog's ear unless . . .
Duncan, I'm so proud of my big man!
Do the ears have an odor to them when
you flip them back?
Sweetie Weenies
pretty much make up the whole Congress;
dust bunnies cannot evolve into dust rhinos
when disturbed.
Duncan, I'm so proud of my big man!
My friend helped build me a page
to help him get the surgery; neither he
nor his ex-wife are able to
ACT LIKE ADULTS!
Mist the air lightly; never poke into the ear canal.
banned words
Lake Superior State University unveils this year's list of banned words. It is what it is. (Thanks to Richard in the Keys)
at the movies
I saw ninety movies, mostly at home, and here are ten I would recommend. I didn't include the ones I love and watch over and over like The Castle, Waiting for Guffman, and Buffalo '66. The selections were all new to me in 2007.
I Like Killing Flies. Directed by Matt Mahurin. In this documentary, Kenny Shopsin runs a tiny restaurant in Greenwich Village and cooks an amazing variety of food. But the cranky chef/philosopher may have to shut down.
Avenue Montaigne. Directed by Danielle Thompson. Interwoven stories of love featuring a young waitress, a concert pianist, and art collector and his son, a zany actress, and a cast of notable supporting characters.
The Lives of Others. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The Stasi spies on artists during the last days of the GDE. Art reaches out to the spies.
Rocket Science. Directed by Jeffrey Blitz. A stutterer falls in love and goes out for the high school debate team.
The Memory of a Killer. Directed by Erik van Looy. A hired killer with ' goes back to his hometown for a final hit and gets involved with a child porn ring and with the cops trying to find him. A thriller with a gripping plot and compelling characters.
Away from Her. Directed by Sarah Polley and based on an Alice Munro short story. A woman slips into Alzheimer’s and her husband devotes himself to her care even as she slips into love for another man.
The Secret Life of Words. Directed by Isabel Coixet. Brilliant meditation on pain and silence and storytelling–and the horrors of torture. Dedicated to John Berger.
After Innocence. Directed by Jessica Sanders. How DNA testing has proven the innocence of convicted felons, and how the state ignores then once they are free. Sad and provocative.
Quinceanera. Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. A fourteen-year-old miraculously pregnant Mexican-American girl, her slightly older gay gang-banger cousin and a loving uncle try to make a life in LA.
No Country for Old Men. Directed by the Coen Brothers. A drug deal gone bad and a welder who finds a couple of million in cash. The bad man is after him.
what i've been reading
I read eighty-six books this year and here are ten that I'd recommend--there were more, of course, but ten seems reasonable. I decided not to include re-reads or books by my friends that I've already talked about on the blog.
All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones. Like Alice Munro, Jones can pack a novel into a story's length. Spare prose and luminous lives.
Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout. A wonderful, poignant, and insightful novel that deals with relgion without the syrup.
Collected Stories by Amy Hempel. Brilliant stories full of wit and intelligence; Hempel writes sentences you'd kill for.
A Miracle of Catfish by Larry Brown. Larry's unfinished symphony, and Larry infinished is better than almost everyone else done.
The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dwyer. A book-length essay on photography and photographers tracing similar images and themes.
The Long Exile by Melanie McGrath. The story of the forced exile of Inuit families to remote Ellesmere Island.
Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg. I love short stories, as you see, and these are breathtaking.
Gumbo Tales by Sara Roahan. This one isn't out yet--if you love food, New Orleans style, and fabulous writing, buy this.
The Artful Edit by Susan Bell. Every fiction writer ought to have this book on the desk with the dictionary and the thesaurus.
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje. A revelation--two brilliant guys talk about movies and stories and all that connects.
priests battle at nativity
"Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday." Religion builds character. (thanks to Don in Miami)
to live and die in dixie
The trailer for the movie is here: http://bfish.rzen.net/dixie/trailer.html